Review Archives (Staff Reviews)

You are currently looking through staff reviews for games that are available on every platform the site currently covers. Below, you will find reviews written by all eligible authors and sorted according to date of submission, with the newest content displaying first. As many as 20 results will display per page. If you would like to try a search with different parameters, specify them below and submit a new search.

Available Reviews
	The Last Remnant review (X360) Reviewed on November 30, 2008 Strategic RPGs have only come so far in advancing the traditional turn-based gameplay we have seen implemented in past video games. With The Last Remnant, Square-Enix tries to do something different, offering larger scale battles that focus on group support rather than individual fighters. But will this attempt at innovation help the company establish a new franchise, or have their efforts come to naught?
	Star Ocean: First Departure review (PSP) Reviewed on November 30, 2008 It's all quite basic and it works smoothly without any noteworthy hitches except the obvious one: it gets repetitive. By the time you reach the end of the game, you'll probably have faced more than 800 different enemy groups, with most battles won simply by spamming your basic sword strokes and perhaps the same projectile spell. You can experiment with numerous variations if you like, but there's no incentive to do so... especially since almost any rival can be overcome simply by level grinding (though frankly, that's seldom even necessary).
	Pathologic review (PC) Reviewed on November 29, 2008 Pathologic is gloriously ambitious and intentionally abhorrent, but in pushing the boundaries of game design, it manages to cross them to often disastrous effect. It realises the best and worst of the medium's potential and, while I'm mightily impressed by its flair, I'd find it difficult to actually recommend to anyone. If you're prepared to overlook its problems - and there are a lot of them - you could well find yourself completely swept away.
	Super Text Twist review (PC) Reviewed on November 28, 2008 Feel free to eat all the cod you want, but koi is not on the menu. Pay for your fish craving with yen, but smaller denominations such as ren are not accepted here. You can bring your sis but not your bro. You can be an ace or a con, but not a pro. Bod, bio, ern, ave, mot and eek will be refused. Sic, tun, roc, pus, dun and bur will all eke by. Maybe you think this is a gyp. The game won't hear that either.
	Hatris review (TG16) Reviewed on November 26, 2008 You are Alexey Pajitnov. Perhaps the name rings a bell. You've just created Tetris, the mega-hit puzzle game that has sparked legal battles across the globe over licensing rights and taken both eastern and western audiences by storm. Atari wants you. Nintendo wants you. But luckily for you, you haven't had to worry yourself with any of that trouble; your government has it all under control. Phew! I bet the check is in the mail already. Regardless, your career has skyrocketed overnight. One minute you're an unheard of computer engineer toiling away in the Soviet Union. The next you're being mentioned in the same breath as Miyamoto and Bushnell as a who's who in the video game world... as you toil away in the Soviet Union.
	Mouse Trap review (A2600) Reviewed on November 26, 2008 I'm not sure why the mouse looks so happy, all things considered, as a number of (possibly starving) felines patrol the corridors of the maze. Working in the mouse's favor were a few dog biscuits, which would turn it into a dog that could rip through the cats like me through a Thanksgiving turkey drumstick, sending them back to their cages � much like Pac-Man could do to ghosts.
	Pokemon Red review (GB) Reviewed on November 26, 2008 But it doesn't have to be Mankey; it could be Ratatta. It could be Nidoran. It could be Pidgey, or Pikachu, or Geodude. There is a tendency for the Pokemon you start with to become one of your strongest, but it's not a necessity, and any Pokemon can eventually be beneficial to your six member team. Moreover, you can have well over six Pokemon; you can only carry six with you to use in battle, while the others are stored remotely and recalled from the Pokemon Centers.
	Disgaea DS review (DS) Reviewed on November 26, 2008 It's this trio that quickly become the driving force of Disgaa, be it through Etna's constant sadistic mocking every time Laharl makes a mistake or Flonne's unflagging insistence that both of her new demon friends are basically good people underneath all the mindless slaughtering and evil cackling. Such is the force behind the threesome's interactions that it's all too easy to forget that there's a competent strategy game lurking between all the comic capering.
	Space Invaders review (N64) Reviewed on November 26, 2008 No shooter formula is more archaic. No shooter formula holds such nostalgia either. Space Invaders has been a simple concept since its first appearance in the arcades of the late 1970s, a classic dance with death from above. The aliens descend with uniformity and precision, swaying to surface level as a trained squadron with no intention to deviate from the plan. It will work. They believe. Down below dissonance breaks their harmonious, synchronized descent; one lone Earth pilot desperately fires blasts skywards from his roving craft, shifting left and right with the pack, dodging sporadic projectiles and wreaking havoc on their ranks. Will it be enough?
	Bejeweled Twist review (PC) Reviewed on November 25, 2008 As always, the basic goal is to clear three panels adjacent panels of a particular color: red, yellow, blue, green, white, orange or purple. Previously this was accomplished by moving a single piece through the grid, swapping out as you went. That mechanic is gone now. Instead, you move a circular patch over the field, position it wherever you think is best, then set a 'twist' into motion. This will cause the four pieces caught within that patch to turn clockwise a single quarter of a rotation. At that point, three or more connected panels will vanish and possibly even set a chain reaction in motion (if you were particularly clever).
	Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff review (DS) Reviewed on November 25, 2008 Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff isn't just a distant descendant of Tecmo Super Bowl; it's a reincarnation. Recognizable names are the sole component that died for good.
	The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft review (PC) Reviewed on November 25, 2008 To find the whole truth behind The Hidden Theft, the Hardy Boys must scour the town for clues, interview all the witnesses, and continuously think outside the box. But before the journey can begin, the pair has to get past Mom. She grounded them.
	Agatha Christie: Peril at End House review (PC) Reviewed on November 25, 2008 Peril at End House is another of those “search and find” experiences so reminiscent of the puzzles in old issues of Highlights for Children. You're presented with a list of objects, then must locate them by carefully poring over a cluttered photograph. Within the context of this particular game, that simple approach actually works fairly well. It's easy to imagine a stereotypical sleuth doing the same thing with a magnifying glass in hand.
	Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe review (PS3) Reviewed on November 24, 2008 The result is something that feels more like an old-fashioned fighter and less like a grim SoulCalibur clone with too many characters. Instead of a cluttered roster, you'll be asked to choose from the distinct likes of Kano, Baraka, Sonya and Jax. Each utilizes vaguely familiar moves that haven't really been prominent in the series for quite some time. Seeing them executed regularly here is enough to bring a nostalgic tear to the eye. More importantly, it adds to the impact of seeing Sub-Zero square off against Batman. Such a conflict would feel like nothing more than a cosplay convention if they were hauling around generic swords, but instead you'll see them battle it out in exactly the manner you'd expect.
	FIFA Soccer 09 review (PC) Reviewed on November 23, 2008 Annually updated for pretty much as long as I can remember, it's always sat a little behind the Pro Evolution series in capturing what makes this most godlike of sports so magical. This year's – or, if you go by the date, next year's - update inches ever closer to realising its dream, but once again falls just short of the mark in a few areas.
	Cooking Mama: World Kitchen review (WII) Reviewed on November 22, 2008 The real problem is a lack of consistency. A horizontal arrow might mean just a quick little shuffle for one task, while in another situation a huge sweep is mandatory. You just never know until you've tried a few times and gotten the hang of that individual process. The amount of trial-and-error here is staggering and each new complication is cause for trepidation rather than excitement. You can eventually overcome such obstacles, but the hassle involved isn't pleasant at all. This is supposed to be fun, not a chore!
	Last King of Africa review (DS) Reviewed on November 22, 2008 Last King of Africa is like a Best Of album that does away with all the tracks that never really worked and exist only to bolster the self-esteem of the band, keeps everything that did well enough in the singles chart to indicate the fan base’s enjoyment, then transfers it from vinyl to CD.
	Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm review (PS3) Reviewed on November 21, 2008 The Naruto name is slowly becoming well recognized in the entertainment industry as one of the few mainstream Japanese anime franchises to become an international hit. The transition from manga to anime to video games has had a positive effect on the series, as it has received plenty of attention worldwide for its creative and action-packed storyline. Developed by CyberConnect2, the Ultimate Ninja series has always captured the feel and atmosphere of the Naruto universe, not to mention offering a fast and ninja-like fighting experience. The new addition into their popular series hits the Playstation 3, offering an old experience with a new look.
	Far Cry 2 review (X360) Reviewed on November 19, 2008 Individually, each area is exquisite. The sprawling roadways are extremely well designed, as are the waterways that run through certain portions of the jungle. The mountainous locations are also impressive, forcing you to ditch whatever vehicle you’re using (such as a car, jeep or boat) to climb to the top. Sometimes you’ll be forced to leave a vehicle behind because of a gunfight gone sour or because you rammed it into a tree one too many times. Vehicles can get stuck in pitfalls and other natural hazards, a problem you’ll also encounter when traveling by boat.
	Left 4 Dead review (PC) Reviewed on November 19, 2008 I can't quite believe that I find myself, just a few weeks on from Fallout 3, playing yet another game of such ferociously high quality. Left 4 Dead is astoundingly good fun, polished in all the right places, tense, atmospheric and relentlessly gruesome. As a single-player affair, it would have satisfied my old-school bloodlust just fine. In co-operative mode, the game's main selling point, it's to die for.

Additional Results (20 per page)

[001] [002] [003] [004] [005] [006] [007] [008] [009] [010] [011] [012] [013] [014] [015] [016] [017] [018] [019] [020] [021] [022] [023] [024] [025] [026] [027] [028] [029] [030] [031] [032] [033] [034] [035] [036] [037] [038] [039] [040] [041] [042] [043] [044] [045] [046] [047] [048] [049] [050] [051] [052] [053] [054] [055] [056] [057] [058] [059] [060] [061] [062] [063] [064] [065] [066] [067] [068] [069] [070] [071] [072] [073] [074] [075] [076] [077] [078] [079] [080] [081] [082] [083] [084] [085] [086] [087] [088] [089] [090] [091] [092] [093] [094] [095] [096] [097] [098] [099] [100] [101] [102] [103] [104] [105] [106] [107] [108] [109] [110] [111] [112] [113] [114] [115] [116] [117] [118] [119] [120] [121] [122] [123] [124] [125] [126] [127] [128] [129] [130] [131] [132] [133] [134] [135] [136] [137] [138] [139] [140] [141] [142] [143] [144] [145] [146] [147] [148] [149] [150] [151] [152] [153] [154] [155] [156] [157] [158] [159] [160] [161] [162] [163] [164] [165] [166] [167] [168] [169] [170] [171] [172] [173] [174] [175] [176] [177] [178] [179] [180] [181] [182] [183] [184] [185] [186] [187] [188] [189] [190] [191] [192] [193] [194] [195] [196] [197] [198] [199] [200] [201] [202] [203] [204] [205] [206] [207] [208] [209] [210] [211] [212] [213] [214] [215] [216] [217] [218] [219] [220] [221] [222] [223] [224] [225] [226] [227] [228] [229] [230] [231] [232] [233] [234]

User Help | Contact | Ethics | Sponsor Guide | Links