GamesRadar - Previews

LA Rush (LA Rush)

Apr 26, 2005

Going forward - fast - sometimes requires a little reverse. At least, that's what Midway are banking on with in-production customisable street racer (heard that before somewhere?), LA Rush. It's been a while since we've seen any Rush titles, the classic arcade racers set in places as diverse as San Francisco and The Future. In fact, it's been so long that they'll turn up soon on a new Midway Arcade Treasures compilation. Really. But if you're going to jump into an already saturated genre why ...

Lair - updated hands-on (Lair)

Apr 13, 2007

It's been a few months since we got our last close-up look at Lair, the dragon-riding simulation that some thought would launch alongside the PS3, and news on the game has been sparse since then. But with its July release date drawing closer, we've gotten another crack at its fiery, high-flying action, and this time we've come away with a much better idea of what's lying in wait. We also got a few more plot details; Lair, as you may or may not already know, is the story of Rohn, a ...

Lair - hands-on (Lair)

Sep 22, 2006

After months of nothing but a few teaser shots and an E3 trailer, we finally had a chance to sink our fangs into the dragon-combat sim Lair. Due out sometime next year, it casts players as an armored, dragon-riding knight charged with defending his kingdom against an army that uses plenty of its own monsters as weapons. Our time with the game started out with a brief tutorial, and we had a little time to marvel at the beautifully detailed scenery and leathery wings of our dragon as we flew ...

The Last Remnant - first look (The Last Remnant)

May 10, 2007

According to Yoichi Wada, the president of Square Enix, The Last Remnant is "A Square Enix RPG for the world." It's going to be "the cornerstone of the Square Enix global strategy - a completely new franchise designed to take full advantage of next generation platforms." This is a new RPG for both the 360 and the PS3. Though they didn't say what platform the demo was taking place, it appeared to be 360 - but it was up and running for the demo. And most exciting, though they won't say when it ...

Left 4 Dead (Left 4 Dead)

Aug 19, 2008

Self-shadowed normal mapping. That got you sitting up in your seats didn’t it? Forget zombie hordes for a second, put the intricate and sophisticated animation system to one side, and focus on what’s going to make Left 4 Dead special: self-shadowed normal mapping. What’s self-shadowed normal mapping? We had no idea, so we picked up the phone and asked Valve. ...

Left 4 Dead gets dissected (Left 4 Dead)

Jul 23, 2008

Face it, pirates and ninjas are out and zombies are in. And we have no doubt that one of our most high-anticipated games of this year is Left4Dead, Valve’s post-apocalyptic survival horror shooter. Our initial playtest sent chills down our spine when we first saw it at last year’s Showdown LAN, and the game looked much more refined and polished when we played it at this year’s E3. ...

Left 4 Dead's seven scariest moments (Left 4 Dead)

May 1, 2008

Left 4 Dead is a very scary game. Scary enough to turn four grown men (alright, four videogame journalists) into yelping, squealing hysterical wrecks, even when surrounded by the hubub and spot-lit, brash environment of a games show event. The following report details our experiences at this frontline of fear - videogaming's scariest moments, all of which come from Left 4 Dead ...

Left 4 Dead (Left 4 Dead)

Mar 17, 2008

Friends, at last: we have a game in which you can kill a man with a medkit. Remember, Left 4 Dead’s hordes aren’t strictly zombies: they’re people with crazy-rabies. One shot will rip a limb clean off, but they can survive a few close-up thwacks. And every weapon and item - including medkits - has a melee attack. Indeed, our latest chance to play four-player co-op led to an emergent minigame we’re calling it Zombie ...

Left 4 Dead (Left 4 Dead)

Jan 11, 2008

Jan 11, 2008 Chet Faliszek, Left 4 Dead's writer and one of the funniest parts of the internet since it was all HotBots and AltaVistas, offered advice and information as we played through the new rural map, which culminates in a farmhouse stand-off surrounded by cornfields. Its classic, its cliche, and its five decent-sized stages away from the temporary campsite we started in. Like the other maps, each scenario is broken up into five large stages, punctuated by safe areas where you can ...

Left 4 Dead - hands-on (Left 4 Dead)

May 18, 2007

Left 4 Dead is not a zombie game. These are sprinting and screaming people you're killing here. They've contracted a mutated strain of rabies, but it hasn't made them slow or stupid, it's just made them murderously angry. They don't shuffle toward you in hordes; they run towards you in crowds, snarling with rage. You've never seen anything quite like it. And the noise - imagine the sound of a riot, but a riot where everyone's in agony and hates you. You hear it faintly at first, a distant ...

Left 4 Dead - hands-on (Left 4 Dead)

Apr 26, 2007

You've got to raise at least one eyebrow when Valve's buddies at Turtle Rock Studios claim that with Left 4 Dead, they're out to beat Counter-Strike - but that's exactly what they're planning on doing. They're adamant that with their four-way zombie co-op survival horror extravaganza they can supersede the most widely played online shooter on the planet, and having flown to Valve, taken part in the undead slaughter and relished the sort of interdependent gameplay so rarely seen in PC games, we ...

Left 4 Dead - first details (Left 4 Dead)

Nov 21, 2006

The creator of terrorist shooter Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Turtle Rock Studios, is working on a brand new multiplayer PC game called Left 4 Dead, due for release in summer 2007. A Counter Strike-esque co-op shooter, Left 4 Dead pits you and three friends against an impressively inventive and relentless horde of mutated nasties, with up to four rival players also able to join the ranks of the zombie menace. The game will use Valve's Source engine, and you can expect Left 4 Dead's gruesome ...

Left Brain Right Brain - hands-on (Left Brain Right Brain )

Oct 9, 2007

Left Brain Right Brain would be better named Left Hand Right Hand, as the entire focus of the game is to help train your non-dominant hand to be as dexterous as your dominant hand (i.e. train you to be ambidextrous). If you can force yourself to sit through yet more minigames on the DS, ambidexterity may be an achievable (if not entirely fun) goal. To get your non-dominant hand up to speed with your dominant hand, you play a series of minigame exercises that are focused on speed and dexterity. ...

Legend of Heroes II: The Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch - hands-on (The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch)

Jun 15, 2006

PlayStation 2 gamers are spoiled for choice when it comes to role-playing games, both great and small. On the other hand, the PSP has... well, just some small ones. The first Legend of Heroes to hit the PSP- last year's A Tear of Vermillion - was a modest success, paving the road for a sequel, and what might be the PSP's first successful RPG series. Legend of Heroes II: The Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch is practically indistinguishable from last year's game, delivering plenty of highly ...

E3 06: The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch impressions (The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch)

May 11, 2006

The original Legend of Heroes game rolled back the clock about ten years. It showed us that - given a great-looking PSP facelift - classic-style role playing has a place in our pockets. Legend of Heroes II plays it so close to its six month-old sibling that it's tough to even tell them ...

Legend of Heroes III - hands-on (Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean)

Jan 12, 2007

We recently got a chance to try out this third installment in the PSP's most prolific action RPG series, and while there's plenty here you've seen before, there are some four-legged reasons to check it out. Just be sure you wear your flea collar. The game begins with the traditional series of events - more than necessary, actually - that sets main characters Forte, Una and Forte's grandfather, McBain (we'll pause here to let Simpsons fans make the traditional reference to goggles) off on a ...

First look at Legend of Heroes III (Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean)

Dec 15, 2006

Recently, we got our first look at the third (fifth in Japan) installment of the Legend of Heroes series: Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean. The game follows several central characters, including: McBain, a grandfather looking for one last adventure; Forte, a young man taking up the troubadour lifestyle of his grandfather; and Aida, a possible love interest of Forte. The story begins with McBain receiving a magical map with the power to lead him Resonance ...

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning - hands-on (The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning)

Aug 24, 2006

Every once in a while, an aging series needs a shot in the arm. When Spyro the Dragon originally debuted on PlayStation back in 1998, it was a cute platformer that still managed to be enjoyed by young and old alike. Eight years and over a dozen games later, the series has devolved into something mostly for the kids - who, in fact, largely ignore it. As the title of the game implies, Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning hopes to reverse all that, taking the little purple guy back to his roots and ...

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning - hands-on (The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning)

Aug 24, 2006

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning - hands-on (The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning)

Aug 24, 2006