GamesRadar - PC Previews

DeathSpank (DeathSpank)

Nov 23, 2009

“Clayton Kauzlaric and I created the character of DeathSpank for the Flash comics on my website,” Ron Gilbert explains. “He came to embody all the little things we hated about the games business. At one point, we looked at each other and said, ‘He needs his own game!'” Alarm bells ring. Games that try to poke fun at the medium’s cliches only end up rehashing them. ...

The Saboteur (The Saboteur)

Nov 21, 2009

Sin City. Grand Theft Auto. Inglorious Basterds. Moulin Rouge. Indiana Jones. Daniel O’Donnell. All these things seem to inform Pandemic’s World War II-set open world kill-’em-up.

It’s German-occupied Paris as a big-budget action movie: explosions, preening Nazi race drivers, base-jumping off the Eiffel Tower and sexy secret agents. By which we mean it’s trashier than a gossip magazine. ...

Super Meat Boy - first look (Super Meat Boy)

Nov 20, 2009

Titles that absolutely describe their game are a dying breed. What is there that ‘Super Meat Boy’ doesn’t tell you? He’s made of meat, he’s super, and he’s a he. What else do you want?

It’s a retro-esque platform game that proudly describes itself as incredibly hard, and comes from two of the more ingenious but twisted minds of the current indie development scene. ...

APB – hands-on (APB)

Nov 20, 2009

Dave Jones’ initials are tattooed across our nipples. We have a mullet, a moustache, aviator shades and a belly that arrives in a room a few seconds before we do. “Players are going to have to think very carefully about who they want to be,” Jones tells us. “You can be a psycho, quiet, on-the-streets kind of killer." ...

Divinity II: Ego Draconis - first look (Divinity II: Ego Draconis)

Nov 19, 2009

The Divinity series, like its classmate at High Fantasy High School, Gothic, is a big deal in mainland Europe. Until now, neither RPG has made much of a dent in either the UK or US. With its impressive translation, convincing animation, inventive quests, and combat and reward systems reminiscent of Diablo, Divinity II has the best shot yet.

Cast in the role of a Dragon Slayer, your role is, oddly enough, to slay dragons. ...

Love – hands-on (Love)

Nov 19, 2009

The painterly multiplayer world of Love is, for now at least, a place as much as a game. It’s the passion of one improbably talented, audaciously unconventional programmer named Eskil Steenberg; a man who seems to have found a new way of doing just about everything. The result is an incredible experience to explore, like nothing else you’ve played. ...

The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood (The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria)

Nov 19, 2009

We haven’t covered LotRO much recently. There’s no dark reason for this, no sinister conspiracy – it’s just that this is an MMO that’s remarkably adept at keeping its head down and getting on with things. On the quiet, it’s accrued a massive and very happy audience. On the eve of its new expansion, it seems a good time to peer at what the game as a whole is like these days. ...

The Secret World (The Secret World)

Nov 16, 2009

Unlike their last effort, Age of Conan, Funcom is using an original setting for this online game: the real world. But don’t worry: this isn’t a game that has you washing +1 dishes before travelling to the supermarket to purchase increasingly nutritious vegetables. Like the classic shooter/RPG Deus Ex, The Secret World is grounded in our most intriguing urban legends, myths and secret societies. ...

RAGE (RAGE)

Nov 16, 2009

The world is a post-apocalyptic dustbowl populated by mutants and proud retro-fitted scavengers with fast, growling cars, deadly makeshift crossbows and upturned woks for hats. You, the unwitting outsider, emerging prematurely from your Armageddon-proof panic room, find you’re somehow better at surviving in this hostile environment than those who’ve been living in it their whole lives. ...

RUSE (RUSE)

Nov 16, 2009

Generals are shifty buggers. Hitler, for example, would often call up Churchill and claim to have sent 4,000 Maus tanks to Newcastle. Winston would hop on the train to go up and have a look, leaving Number 10 undefended. Such deception is a key element of war, as established by Sun Tzu in The Art of War – a book now read exclusively by advertising bumholes. ...

Joe Danger: First great download game of 2010 (Joe Danger)

Nov 16, 2009

What do LittleBigPlanet, bikes and Sonic and have in common? ...

Just Cause 2 - hands-on (Just Cause 2)

Nov 13, 2009

The first order of business in Just Cause 2 isn’t to steal a car, or motorcycle, or ATV, or fighter jet, or attack chopper. It isn’t to go exploring the miles and miles of jungles, mountains, and cities. No, first you must wrap your head around the grappling hook and parachute. ...

Napoleon: Total War – updated impressions (Napoleon: Total War)

Nov 13, 2009

Who’d have thought that, just 200 years ago, it was fashionable to hate the French? It’s one of the great burdens of having an empire. Poor Napoleon: before declaring himself the Emperor of France, he probably thought back to the time when he was the plucky revolutionary underdog, and all the blokes said “way to go, Naps.” ...

James Cameron’s Avatar: Hands-on (James Cameron's Avatar: The Game)

Nov 6, 2009

Five minutes into this prequel to the forthcoming sci-fi flick and we feel like we’re in one of the year’s most generic games. As we step off our transport into the alien planet Pandora, all the elements are in place for a generic third-person shooter. Main character who's a stoic military type with a crew cut: check. NPCs we have to seek out for missions: Oh yeah. A 40 foot monster that looks like a mad scientist has forced a hammerhead ...

Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online - hands-on (Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online)

Nov 2, 2009

After strolling the links in the closed beta of Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, we've discovered that EA might be onto something here. This is a game that comes to you completely through your browser, streaming via a small plug-in called the Unity Player. Since everything is hosted on the server, the game is playable on practically any recent Windows or Mac machine. ...

AvP: Alien vs. Predator vs. Marine - Who's the best in multiplayer? (Aliens vs Predator )

Oct 26, 2009

HANDS-ON: Xenomorph, hunter and human taken for a brutal deathmatch test drive. ...

Mass Effect 2 – hands-on (Mass Effect 2)

Oct 23, 2009

“Shepard! But... but you’re dead!” cries a baffled Asari crime lord having been backed into a corner by our hero. “I got better,” replies Shepard, as cool as a penguin’s bum. It’s not a dialogue choice, it’s right there in the cutscene; otherwise we’d have chosen the option along the lines of “I know, after that E3 trailer I’m just as confused as you about the whole thing." ...

Left 4 Dead 2 – dev interview (Left 4 Dead 2)

Oct 23, 2009

Left 4 Dead 2, Valve’s cooperative zombie shooter, has had to overcome two skeptical parties: the portion of Left 4 Dead players concerned that promised free content for the original game had been replaced with a rushed, full-price sequel, and Valve co-founder Gabe Newell. “Gabe’s got a good amount of healthy skepticism about anything we do,” says Chet Faliszek. ...

Assassin's Creed II: Hands-on (Assassin's Creed II)

Oct 22, 2009

We made no secret about our love for the original Assassin’s Creed. We scored it glowingly, took some flak from you guys, and stood proudly by our 10 like a Christ-like figure up against an inquisition of haters. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit much. ...

Dead Rising 2 (Dead Rising 2)

Oct 22, 2009

When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth. And, according to Capcom, appear in TV shows.

Years after the first game’s critically acclaimed zombie invasion of the Willamette Mall, the whole of America is infected. In the casino town of Fortune City, Nevada, a deadly TV show plays out to millions of viewers across the nation. ...