Category: Game Reviews

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Game Reviews

We Review: Operation Flashpoint Red River

War. What is it good for? Edwin Starr’s assertion of “absolutely nuthin’!” was perhaps a bit premature, and who could blame him? I doubt anyone back in the 70s could have predicted that video games based around all kinds of small and large-scale wars would become the preferred genre of choice for the dude-bro generation, and generally being good for lining the pockets of the publishing studios. While it’s widely accepted that the gritty, war-machine FPS genre is over-saturated, it’s certainly not stopping developers from churning out game after game, stacking them on a steadily rising pile that’s sure to come crumbling in on itself at some point (or perhaps it already has?)

Codemasters’ Operation Flashpoint: Red River is the latest installment being added to this pile. Is it relevant? Does it warrant your hard-earned money, and is it worthy of your attention? If said attention span is fairly short, the answer’s probably not. Find out why after the jump.

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: De Blob 2

De-Blob-2-bringing-colour-to-the-world

Famed cubist artist Pablo Picasso once said: “The world does not make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?” He had a point. These days it seems that everything needs to be more and more realistic, and video games are no exception. Modern games push the boundaries of realism, and this may not always be a good thing. Consider that it may be our obsession with realism that has led to the rise of ‘reality television’, the horrors of which I need not delve into. Cast your mind back to a time before ultra realism, where game-play and having fun were the order of the day. Let’s see if De Blob 2 can take us back to those days where fun was paramount, after the jump.

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: Playstation Move Heroes

Three great Sony franchises featuring six of Sony’s most well-known characters. Jak, Ratchet, Sly, and their three respective side-kicks. When initially announced, I admit I was left feeling a little giddy with excitement. The idea of throwing these beloved platforming mascots together for all sorts of mayhem and the ensuing hijinks they would cause must surely be a recipe for sure-fire success. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, only everything. Read my full review of Sony’s Playstation Move Heroes (or as I call it, Ruined Potential), after the jump.

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

LEGO Star Wars III: Clone Wars is the latest in a series of games that make the unlikely mix between the famous toy and famous movies. The game itself follows the first two seasons of the Star Wars Clone Wars animated series on television (which I have to admit, to my chagrin, I have never watched. I am the world’s worst Star Wars fan). Find out whether the game is a brick-building success or a brick-breaking mess after the jump.

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Entertainment Featured Game Reviews Music

We Review: Singstar Afrikaanse Treffers

Singstar is one of those great Playstation institutions, and one of those absolute must-have games for whenever you have—or want—a karaoke party. It’s awesome, then, that Sony have decided that South Africa’s Afrikaans-speaking market is big enough to warrant their own Singstar game: Singstar Afrikaanse Treffers. Find out about my experiences in delving into the world of Afrikaans music after the jump.

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Game Reviews

We Review: Mindjack

Mindjack Cover
Mindjack Cover

Mindjack, as an idea, sounds great. The chance to bridge single player and multiplayer campaigns seamlessly with the ability to “hack” into other neutral players at a whim intrigued most of the gaming scene. The hype around the game set the expectation bar high when teaser trailers and screenshots were released prior to its launch.

This over-the-shoulder, cover-based third-person shooter has strong competition. It faces up to franchises such as Gears of War, Uncharted, and the recently successful Vanquish. How does Mindjack stack-up against the rest? Let’s see if this potentially brilliant concept, developed by feelplus and published by Square Enix, has what it takes to heat up the competition.

Wander around some more after the hack.

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: Homefront

First-person-shooter fatigue. It’s a not entirely uncommon syndrome, and I’m suffering from it. In an already overcrowded genre, with multiple development studios trying desperately to chip away at the market share owned by the Call of Dutys and Halos of this generation, I’ve recently become largely disinterested in anything that proffers the “first-person-shooter” moniker. Lately, I can stomach only so many variations of “Capture The Flag” or “Team Deathmatch” before I start losing interest faster than you can say “kill/death ratio”. After taking a break of sorts, purposely avoiding the genre for little more than a year, my self-imposed hiatus ceased with the recently released Killzone 3, and now (the purpose of this rather long-winded introduction) Kaos Studios’ Homefront. My full impressions after the jump.

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Game Reviews

We Review: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is not a game to be reviewed lightly: it is probably one of the most anticipated fighting games of the year (Ed – right up there with Mortal Kombat 9!), and at the top in terms of genre. When Marvel vs. Capcom debuted on the Playstation and Dreamcast in 1999/2000, it revolutionised the fighter genre with its flashy combos, fast pace, and fan-favourite characters. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 took this model and advanced it: 56 playable characters, 3 vs. 3 match-ups, hyper combos the size of your screen, and the unique feature of making me hear Ringo Starr scream “I got blisters on me fingers!” in the background.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3—amidst much hype—needed to not only match the expectations of the die-hard fans, but also accommodate fans new to the series and genre. It did this perfectly and in style.

You can easily pick up a controller, jump into Arcade mode, and mash some buttons together to pull of some awesome hyper-combos with little practice. This is not the extent of the depth of this fighting game, however. MvC3 will go as far as you can, all the way to the 3-teamed hyper combo finish line.

Read more after the Super Jump.

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: MotorStorm: Apocalypse

When it comes to the world of racing, you have the simulation fanatics, the burnout fiends, those with the need for speed. And then there are the MotorStormers. These mental thrill-seeking junkies were first spotted on the vertigo-inducing mountains of Monument Valley, and then running amok on the sun-kissed shores of a lush Pacific island. And now in their latest excursion, the crew travel to wholly new playground, a city on the verge of collapse. Earthquakes are the heralds of the coming apocalypse and for normal people that is a massive inconvenience but for the MotorStormers, the hair-brained idea to have them racing in, around, and through these disastrous events is an inspired one; to them, the end of the world couldn’t have come sooner. Join me as I suit up, strap in, and put foot in MotorStorm: Apocalypse.  My race to survival continues after the jump.

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Flash Games Game Reviews

We Preview: Dragon Age Legends

It seems like a good many games coming out these days have a related Facebook game to try and get the fans excited about the coming blockbuster. Dragon Age: Legends is the companion game to the up-and-coming Dragon Age 2. Legends is still in closed beta, but here’s a preview of what you can expect when the game opens to the public after the jump.

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