“Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man.” General Patton said that. Dude was dead wrong, or at least he never played Sanctum. Created by indie developer Coffee Stain Studios, Sanctum is not your average tower defense game. Yes, you have to purchase, build, and upgrade turrets to defend a core from hordes of monsters ever increasing in size and difficulty, but there’s an element that makes Sanctum stand out: once you’ve completed your defensive positions, you can get into the fight yourself...
For those not familiar with the SAS, it’s the Brits’ equivalent of the U.S. Marine Corps. Or, if you believe SAS: Secure Tomorrow’s interpretation, it’s an army of unkillable yet dim-witted super-soldiers that mow down international terrorists by the dozen.
PixelJunk Monsters got there first in bringing the classic tower-defense genre to the PSN, yet Savage Moon just about edges out in front to take the lead with its utterly bleak setting and screeching, scuttling creepy crawlies. The aim of the game is really incredibly simple: players must prevent waves of bugs from destroying their vulnerable moon base by building automatic weapons defenses around the map.
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?
Saw: The Videogame positions itself much like Saw: The Movie – an annual dose of interactive gruesomeness. And as with the films we find ourselves begrudgingly returning, not out of enthusiasm, but bleak curiosity. Zombie Studios follows up spine snapping and chest scything with explosive vests, acid baths and drowning tanks, preceded by a literally eye-opening kick-off. ‘Accidentally’ mess up the puzzles and you get to watch Jigsaw’s cruel machinations play out in ropey HD...
Don’t get us wrong, we like bikes as much as the next guys. We like riding bikes, we like looking at bikes, we like watching people rip their kneecaps off by falling off bikes at high speed. We like bicycle kicks, we like the phrase ‘get on your bike’, we even sort of like Burnley FC defender Andre Bikey. But do we like them enough to shun louder, more explosive racing games in favour of a gruelling motorbike simulation that’s as dry as a cactus with a skin condition? Well, that’s where we have our doubts...
It’s not a great advert for your sport when your poster boy/flagship rider jumps ship and joins up with the competition, especially when he then goes and gets his (presumably) hemorrhoid-riddled arse handed to him on a plate by old masters like Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. Poor old James Toseland… baptism of fire or what?
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