Computer And Video Games - Reviews

SAW

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:02:00 GMT

Brutal, repetitive, low-budget horror: just like the films.
SAW is a happy game with bunnies and flowers and cakes. Arch villain Jigsaw's had a change of heart and is dishing out presents because... no, not really. It's bloody miserable. It's also hugely dark, crudely animated, has ropey combat, and the scenarios - despite getting more and more gruesome as the game goes on - start to drag after a few hours. Not much to like then? Well...

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PES 2010

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:56:00 GMT

Half-time orange?.
A year can be a long time in football, something this reviewer, as a Notts County fan, knows only too well. But heck, who knows? This time next year, Sven-Goran Eriksson could be managing North Korea and our Meadow Lane ground could be razed to make way for a sausage factory. But then such unpredictability is what got us all hooked in the first place, right?

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Assassin's Creed 2

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Back to the future.
Putting it frankly, Assassin's Creed II embarrasses the original. The long-awaited sequel to the flawed but brilliant 2007 Crusade makes such leaps in scope, presentation and yes - gameplay variety - that in comparison its predecessor is left looking... well, a bit simple.

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Left 4 Dead 2

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Thriller.
When I held a six-pack of soda as an impromptu melee weapon, I knew Left 4 Dead 2 would treat me well. Clutching Cokes, my teammates and I were fleeing the Save 4 Less mini-mart we'd busted into moments before, and the damn alarm was acting as the dinner bell for dozens of lurching unpeople. This wasn't our idea of a good time, but we owed a parched gunshop owner a favour: he'd let us walk away with whatever shotguns, laser-sighted assault rifles and high-calibre pistols our 'Use' keys would let us carry. So I trotted on, gunless, wondering if too many melee attacks would over-carbonate the bottles, yelling at my teammates to cover my ass on the most insane, ill-advised escort mission ever.

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Tropico 3

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:53:00 GMT

Dan Marshall's not the sort of maniac you want in charge.
This should be fun, right? Thrust into the squeaking, tropical shoes of a cruel and vitriolic dictator, you're going to get to lord it up over your very own island paradise, raking in oodles of cash and setting up the sort of brutal military regime that'd make Darth Vader blush.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT

Modern classic.
We would've loved to have been able to tell you how fantastic Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is before the game was released. But Activision had those embargo shackles tied tightly round our wrists until this morning. Sorry.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT

As amazing as you expected - but with a few surprises along the way...
Epic. Essential. Amazing. Modern Warfare 2 is, predictably, all of these things. But you knew that already, right? A game rarely generates this much hype unless it's got the pedigree to match. But there's a lot you won't know. You won't know about the new co-op Spec Ops mode and how, in some ways, it's superior to the solo campaign. Or working with in the series' most shocking set-piece. And you definitely won't know about visiting... damn, you'll see.

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New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:48:00 GMT

A glorious trip down memory lane.
It was like being seven years old all over again as we excitedly stormed into Nintendo UK's office and headed into the clean white room, where a TV displaying the title screen for New Super Mario Bros. Wii awaited us.

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NHL 2K10

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:21:00 GMT

The other ice hockey game.
There aren't many remaining sports where there are two fully licensed major players in the market, but ice hockey remains defiantly committed to sowing its wild oats. The problem for 2K Sports' effort is that EA's competitor was leagues ahead in the gameplay stakes last year and has a much bigger online following. How can 2K10 compete?

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NBA 2K10

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:09:00 GMT

The Kobe Bryant of basketball games.
The classic sports game rivalry we're most familiar with in this country is PES vs FIFA, but there's a similar situation with basketball. One the one hand you've got EA's shiny but occasionally flawed NBA Live, on the other a game that doesn't look quite so polished but is built on a super-solid core that has consistently outplayed the opposition for years.

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Rabbids Go Home

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:59:00 GMT

Tired of being off their trolley, the Rabbids get in one instead...
Have you ever stopped to think about what's in your Wii remote? You might sensibly think it's batteries, or circuit boards, or jam, or whatever witchcraft it takes to make Nintendo's motion magic work, but it's not. Put the remote close to your ear and you should hear something unusual: "BWAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

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A Boy and his Blob

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:57:00 GMT

Just a case of 'bean there, done that'?.
Coo all you want, we don't trust Blob. Exhibit A: he crawled out of a meteorite. Nothing good crawls from meteorites. Exhibit B: when you hug him, his lifeless eyes wear the same disconnected gaze as Damien in The Omen. Exhibit C: when the Boy dies - be it speared, drowned or dropped - Blob stands idly by and sheds not a tear for his fallen master. Cold and calculating, Blob has boy murder in mind.

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Dragon Age: Origins

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:45:00 GMT

Mythical.
It is said it was the hubris of man that brought the Darkspawn into the world: a rampaging evil, swelling up from underground, that attacks without mercy or purpose. It has been over four hundred years since the last Blight, but even those who remember believe there will never be another. One man disagrees. Duncan, head of the Grey Wardens in the nation of Ferelden, sees all the signs of a coming Blight. He is seeking new members to join this most elite band of fighters, for it is only the Grey Wardens who can defeat the Archdemon at the centre of the onslaught.

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DJ Hero

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:30:00 GMT

Spin, spin sugar.
Activision has served up some rhythm action for the urban kids, so they don't have to pretend to like Metallica or Blur to join in on the beat-matching antics of the insanely popular Hero games.

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Tekken 6

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:30:00 GMT

Still fast, still furious.
Balance is a delicate thing, so easily lost. Tekken is a series that thrives on it - on striking a balance between fulfilling its remit as the 'accessible' 3D fighting game (button-mashing will get you further here than in most fighters) and offering a system substantial and even enough to allow the hardcore fans to battle at a competitive level.

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GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Fun over fiction.
Gay Tony puts the 'fun' back into GTA IV. Gone are the long, narrative driven car rides of Niko's adventure, and in their place are ridiculous, explosion-filled helicopter gun fights and the odd sexual favour in a nightclub toilet.

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Football Manager 2010

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:41:00 GMT

Martin Korda cancels his life and heads pitch side...
With the Championship Manager series mounting a resurgence of almost Manchester City-style proportions, it's time to see how the champ responds to Beautiful Game Studios' challenge. After last year's slightly disappointing debuting 3D match engine, Sports Interactive have clearly taken many of the criticisms on board. One hundred new animations and animated crowds have been added, giving the game match day experiences that are beginning to do justice to the unrivalled realism of Football Manager 2010's engine. But a 2D pitch view and commentary options have been retained for the purists.

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Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Stuck in its ways.
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction's chaotic fighting and enormous, colourful environments made it one of the first technical showpieces for PS3 in 2007. Two years on, A Crack in Time shows that the duo still has the polish, but has the gameplay progressed?

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Championship Manager 2010

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:24:00 GMT

Booked for simulation.
The year 2005 was a big one for football nomenclature. Some odd planetary alignment produced a moment of metaphor: as the team behind the original Championship Manager decamped to Sega, the UK's real-life-footballing second tier was rebranded as the 'Championship'. Connotations of second place (to Football Manager's Premiership) have not been shaken since.

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Borderlands

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Hybrid heaven?.
Plenty of parallels could be made between Borderlands and fellow post-apocalyptic shooter, Fallout 3. But truth be told Gearbox's effort is more like World of Warcraft; mental loot, quests that involve killing things, and boss characters with stupid stats and even stupider names... But where Bethesda leans towards the RPG side of the hybridisation, Gearbox has definitely opted for more FPS.

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Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Pretty port.
Chinatown Wars on DS was one of the most fun Grand Theft Auto entries in years, pushing the handheld's technical capabilities to breaking point while offering innovative tweaks to the traditional top-down car jacking.

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Smackdown vs RAW 2010

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

First verdict on the new season.
Wrestling fans, let us introduce Alex 'The Crimson Pontificator' Dale, the greatest WWE Superstar never to have graced the ring. A humble journalist by day, come nightfall he's a wrestling superhero who crushes villian's skulls to tight deadlines.

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Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:00:00 GMT

Playing it safe.
2007's Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has sold more than ten million copies. Ten million. When the sequel inevitably came sliding down the slopes then, there was always the risk we'd end up with a 'playing it safe' rehash, in an attempt by Sega to replicate the phenomenal sales figures of the first game. And who could blame them?

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PES 2010

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:13:00 GMT

A disappointing result...
For years now EA has strived to bring FIFA up to the same standard as PES, often mimicking Konami's masterpiece or (ahem) 'borrowing' gameplay elements in the process. PES, meanwhile, has procrastinated, barely changing for each iteration until - finally - it finds the boot's on the other foot; FIFA's the champ and Konami are looking to EA for inspiration.

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Brütal Legend

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:51:00 GMT

It rocks, but not as hard as we hoped.
There's a lot to love about Brütal Legend. From its quick-witted script and memorable cast of characters, to its brilliantly realised setting and diverse selection of missions. There's only one problem - the game itself isn't that great. If creator Tim Schafer didn't have such a talent for creating evocative worlds and arresting characters, we probably would have scored it a lot less.

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