PIXEL GRAVE

This is the fourth instalment of the Sly Racoon games and although the first three games were created by Sucker Punch Games (who also created InFamous), Sly Raccoon: Thieves in Time was developed by Sanzaru Games, who also created the Sly Raccoon collection and a few others less known games. Despite being handed over from the original creators, Sanzaru continue the story from the third instalment: Honour Among Thieves. At the very start of the demo you are given the option to view the ‘full story’, which is a long recap of what I guess is the previous games (which I haven’t played) but it’s mostly about pointless social complications between the characters and their loved ones enough to fill an issue of a gossip magazine. Trying to explain it within a tweet sized sentence: An old master thieves’ book is being erased and you have to travel back through time to restore it and find out who is responsible #simple? There are three heroes to this game, Sly the raccoon, Bentley the intellig...

Sony have released a teaser video on the net of nothing but a few seconds of .... nothing. The reason? To let everyone know they are going to announce something big on February 20th and to get everyone excited, which they indeed are, including myself.  Follow the link and take a look at the trailer to find just how little there is to look at or even pick apart. Checking the trend on Twitter, it's got everyone scratching their heads over what it could be except the PS4. This comes as quite alarming news as Sony recently declared that they would like Microsoft to present their next generation first, though there hasn't been anything said by Microsoft.  Thinking of what it could be, perhaps the next Playstation, it makes me think of some areas they could improve upon in their next gen console. For a start they badly need to work on some kind of party chat and more interaction between friends and easy access to join friends in game and to allow gamers the ease that the Xbox ga...

Joe Danger returns with Joe Danger Touch. Leaving the Xbox and PS3 in the dust, does this exclusive iOS version match up to it’s dangerous older brothers? Unlike the PS3 and Xbox Joe Danger games, Joe auto accelerates and it’s up to the player to tap on key objects or hold to duck and release to jump. There are a number of other methods to move and manipulate Joe and as the game progresses and you’ll discover that you need to really concentrate and at times use two hands to fully complete some levels. It does get a bit fiddly later on, making the game almost unplayable in a slouched or casual position, but the overall experience is very smooth and the game uses the touch controls well. Aesthetically the game is stunning and runs incredibly smooth. The characteristic approach, the same as the Xbox and PS3 versions, holds it’s graceful presence beautifully on the iPad screen and at times I found myself pausing the game just to get a close up look at the comical and magnificent worl...

When first loading up the Dead Space 3 demo you’re politely greeted by a video thanking you for downloading the demo and giving a quick tour of what you’ll find in the 2gbs you just downloaded. It’s a lot like that video that repeats itself on aeroplane tvs and more inclined to be as the demo begins with Isaac waking from a crash landing, and whether you’re playing the solo or co-op campaign demo, another passenger will wake from the wreck as well. I was somewhat disappointed that the solo campaign is exactly the same as the co-op but without the brusque banter between Isaac and his new co-op partner, John Carver. This did make up for the lack of communication between myself and whoever was controlling John at the time (as players can drop in a out) and gave the characters a much more realistic bond. The mechanics of the game are still the same, get spooked, stamp on boxes and get hurled around like Uncharted’s Nathan Drake. One big difference though is the work bench which now allow...

Raiden, a hugely disliked character from the Metal Gear Solid series, returns Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, and no, revengeance is not a word. A spin-off of the MGS series, MGRR’s self contained plot is set four years after MGS4 and carries the PMC (private military company) antagonist with it. Players assume the role of Raiden, probably the least loved character in all the MGS series, as a cyborg, sword wielding ninja. A far cry from all the previous stealth orientated games, this is an action driven slash-em-up in which the player can slow down time to dissect foes before snatching their electrolyte spinal cords. Developed by Platinum Games, creators of other action slashers such as Bayonetta and the gore-tastic Mad World, MGRR shares many aspects as the other MGS games which were all developed by Kojima Productions. These include many sounds, such as the classic ‘spotted’ exclamation, to the codec, cutscenes and a handful of ridiculous but loveable characters. However it...

It’s difficult to begin to describe what kind of game Dota 2 is and also where it came from. Starting with the basics (the name) which stands for Defence of the Ancients, the original was a mod for Warcraft III and the expansion The Frozen Throne. Originally designed by ‘IceFrog’ who is currently employed by +Valve as lead designer to Dota 2, Dota arguably created the genre ‘multiplayer online battle arena’ or ‘MOBA’ and sits among other titles as an esport in Major League Gaming. To elaborate on the fundamentals, Dota 2 is a free-to-play competitive arena battle with RPG level and item elements. It’s difficult not to treat this ‘impression’ of a game that is still supposedly in beta (yet has hosted many prize giving tournaments), as a guide but Dota 2 is about as kind to newcomers as a cat is to a legless mouse. Myself, I am only familiar to the original by playing with friends as well as a few tries at League of Legends but it took me a while of watching others play it on YouTube ...

From the creators of the Majesty and Elven Legacy series (yeah, me neither), comes Warlock : Master of the Arcane. This game seemed to apparate itself onto Steam quite discreetly and missed a lot of the spotlight by being released almost at the same time as Diablo 3 as well as Civ V recently going on sale. None the less, it's game play style and fantasy aesthetic encouraged me to take a look. Warlock : Master of the Arcane is a turn based strategy game much like Civilization. In fact, it's so much like Civilization V it could almost be seen as a mod, much like the 'Fantastic Worlds' expansion for Civ II. Though being a Civ fan and disliking the series by each addition and the boredom that comes as soon as your borders are met with each other civilizations, W:MotA tackles this by creating multiple worlds within a game and increases the most fun part - exploration. You begin by selecting a hero with unique perks and units, then other options such as the number of o...