From Russia with Love is reminiscent of EA's previous third-person Bond adventure Everything or Nothing, at least insofar as the controls feel similar. You can shimmy up against walls and peek around corners, the unique method of aiming (by locking on to targets and fine-tuning your aim with the C-stick) returns, and the on-foot action is broken up periodically by driving sections. However, while its predecessor was rife with annoying niggles, From Russia with Love seems much more ...
» Read More

15 Feb 2006

Animal Crossing

GC Preview | Animal Crossing

Hurrah! At long last Nintendo are releasing the brilliant Animal Crossing in the UK. It's been a long time coming. The game was originally released in Japan for the N64 years ago, then it got rejigged for GameCube and hit the US last September. And finally, PAL gamers are going to get the chance to see what all the fuss is about. Animal Crossing is about moving to a new town and living your life: interacting with the inhabitants, making a living, paying off your mortgage, and so on. And ...
» Read More

15 Feb 2006

True Crime: New York City

GC Preview | True Crime New York City

The 18 certificate earns its keep in the first five seconds, when Marcus Reid's third word begins with an f, and his final word is a bullet to the face of some gangster who set him up. Nice. Cue all-out gang warfare, with blood spraying thickly over the walls as the thud-thud of Uzi gunfire blasts out of the speakers. With more blood, a higher body count and no more local news presenter gags, True Crime: New York City is aiming to be grittier, darker and tougher than its ...
» Read More

6 Oct 2005

From Russia with Love

GC Preview | From Russia With Love

From Russia with Love is reminiscent of EA's previous third person Bond adventure Everything or Nothing, at least insofar as the controls feel similar. You can shimmy up against walls and peek around corners, the unique method of aiming (by locking on to targets and fine tuning your aim with the C-stick) returns, and the on-foot action is broken up periodically by driving sections. However, while its predecessor was rife with annoying niggles, From Russia with Love seems much more ...
» Read More

11 Aug 2005

Battalion Wars

GC Preview | Battalion Wars

Erasers out, then - all references to Advance Wars Under Fire are out in favour of Battalion Wars. And quite rightly so, because this isn't much like our turn-based GBA friend at all. Forget just shunting icons around; you're right in the thick of a war that would get George W salivating.You kick off each mission with a handful of troops, and recruit others you find. Bump into a tank and it's yours, rescue POWs who've inexplicably got flamethrowers on them (as we did) and you can have yourself ...
» Read More

25 Jul 2005

WWE Day of Reckoning 2

GC Preview | WWE Day of Reckoning 2

Being repeatedly punched in the face hurts. But what seems to have been forgotten in the vast majority of wrestling games is that being repeatedly punched in the face is also tiring. Luckily, all that is about to change; Yuke's has learnt its lesson.The key to the much-enhanced grappling is a stamina bar that dictates how your brawler responds to your commands. Reckoning 2 drags the stamina bar into the centre of the action. Working in tandem with the C-stick driven submissions and more ...
» Read More

27 Apr 2005

Medal of Honor European Assault

GC Preview | Gamecube

When was the last time you got really psyched up about the release of a new Medal of Honor title? It's been a while, right? The series hasn't been on top form for quite some time. But according to EA, that's about to change. They reckon European Assault is a major step forward and a massive improvement on its lacklustre predecessors.Still, don't expect a groundbreaking storyline. This time you're William Holt, an agent of the Office of Strategic Services (the organisation that was later to ...
» Read More

21 Apr 2005

Killer 7

GC Preview | Killer 7

From the moment we saw the first batch of Killer 7 shots we were instinctively drawn towards it with magnet attraction. The arresting visual style held promise of a game resisting the flow of mainstream convention.Almost two-and-a-half years later - and in the company of Killer 7 producer - we finally enjoyed our first hands-on experience of the game that defies explanation.And within five seconds we were perplexed. Following usual gaming conventions we assumed our avatar would be controlled ...
» Read More

22 Feb 2005

FIFA Street

GC Preview | FIFA Street

Jumpers for goalposts? You're havin' a laugh. EA may well be taking football back to basics but FIFA Street isn't just a bunch of scruffy urchins having a kick-about in the park, before legging it home to a clip round the ear from mum because dinner's gone cold and they've worn a hole in their school trousers. We're talking glamorous locations in football's global hotspots, such as Rio de Janeiro, Marseille and Rome. We're talking the world's greatest players representing their home nations in ...
» Read More

21 Dec 2004

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

GC Preview | Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat

You know, sometimes it's hard to keep an open mind. Over the years we've seen enough 'me too' games to last a lifetime. Bandwagon jumpers clinging to the hope of generating a few sales off the back of one innovative title. Sometimes playing games doesn't seem the rewarding pastime it should be.Which is why we applaud Nintendo for breathing new life into a peripheral that seemed doomed to gather dust once you'd gone off Donkey Konga. Regular readers will know that you use the bongos to control ...
» Read More