GamesRadar - PS3 Reviews

Tony Hawk: Ride (Review)

Nov 23, 2009

Sometimes making a game more realistic isn’t always the best way to go. Learning how to skateboard in real life is an exhausting, frustrating, and frequently painful experience. In that regard, Tony Hawk: Ride manages to hit the reality nail on the head. ...

LEGO Rock Band (Review)

Nov 20, 2009

When the disparate worlds of LEGOs and rock stars collide, strange and wonderful things can happen. Seeing LEGO versions of an emaciated Iggy Pop, a mustache-emblazoned Freddie Mercury, a pretty boy-era David Bowie, and even the guys from Blur bash out their hits amidst a visual rock-n-roll cacophony of plastic toy bricks and rampant silliness offers far more enjoyment then we might first care to admit. ...

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Review)

Nov 18, 2009

Steven Spielberg and Traveller’s Tales are in a similarly tough place, both fine purveyors of last-gen thrills struggling to find relevance in the modern day. Indy 4 showed the director selling out his brand of practical derring-do for a handful of CG monkeys. Tales too try something glitzier, and under the extra weight their creaky design shudders like Harrison Ford’s knees. ...

Band Hero (Review)

Nov 18, 2009

Let’s get this out of the way up-front: Band Hero essentially IS Guitar Hero 5, but for tweens. There are really no substantive changes made in terms of the core gameplay, features, and extras found between the two. ...

Assassin's Creed II (Review)

Nov 17, 2009

It’s no secret we loved the first Assassin’s Creed – maybe even a little too much. Climbing up impossibly tall structures and stealthily murdering Templar knights during the sharply realized Crusades was so much fun, we accepted certain flaws – like the repetitive side-tasks you had to undertake before each assassination mission could be unlocked, or the way the game sent you back to your home fortress after each successful takedown – as minor irritations. ...

Madagascar Kartz (Review)

Nov 12, 2009

Hello, and welcome to the Automated Game Tie-In Development Program. Please obey the following instructions to the letter and your game will be produced within the hour. If you would like to make a 3D platform game with hundreds of collectible fruit, please press ‘1’ now. If you would like to make a kart-based racing title, please press ‘2’ now. ...

Cars Race-O-Rama (Review)

Nov 11, 2009

We honestly presumed, when embarking on this third outing for perhaps the most charmless Pixar franchise of them all, that it wasn’t THQ’s fault. There is, insane though it sounds, a new Cars movie in production, and of course a tie-in videogame is a must (even if we were already charmed quite enough by the first one, thank you very much). ...

Dragon Ball Raging Blast (Review)

Nov 11, 2009

Sorry Dragon Ball Z. These titles are a unique presence on the fighting calendar; an imposter of sorts. Squint and it almost looks like a beat-‘em-up: meaty roster, health bars, combos and counters; people could fall for it. Boot it up and the facade thuds to the ground. Throw a punch, sure, but only if Dragon Ball lore foretells it.

You see, Raging Blast is less a brawler than a historical re-creation simulation. ...

Modern Warfare 2 (Review)

Nov 10, 2009

Five minutes in and I find myself in a scenario unusual for Modern Warfare - no-one is shooting at me ...

Dragon Age: Origins (Review)

Nov 3, 2009

Dwarves. We already know what dwarves are. Dwarves are short, but strong. They make for good warriors and live underground. We already know all about dwarves, elves, mages, and dragons. So we thought we already knew all about everything Dragon Age: Origins could possibly throw at us while browsing through the unsurprisingly wide selection of beards for our upcoming dwarf warrior in the character creator. ...

Tornado Outbreak (Review)

Nov 2, 2009

Wow, this is a strange one. Tornado Outbreak is a completely new IP from Konami – home of Silent Hill and MGS – but it looks and feels like a Saturday morning cartoon tie-in. It’s hard to believe that this saccharine sweet title was once thought to be MGS creator, Hideo Kojima’s next project after Guns of the Patriots. ...

Comet Crash (Review)

Oct 29, 2009

Innovation is typically thin on the ground in tower defense games. Under the hood, very little changes: you’re still protecting your base - typically in a top-down perspective - by placing turrets and obstacles in the path of oncoming enemies. Well, Comet Crash innovates. You still do all of the above, but you do it while controlling a spaceship. ...

Heavy Weapon (Review)

Oct 29, 2009

Heavy Weapon is so full of testosterone, you’d think it was an 80s cartoon from Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Using the left stick to move and the right stick to aim and fire, you progress your atomic tank through 19 side-scrolling levels, destroying hoards of planes, helicopters, and anything else in your way. Upgrades such as lasers and homing missiles are available after each level. ...

SAW (Review)

Oct 28, 2009

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? ...

Fairytale Fights (Review)

Oct 28, 2009

There’s one good thing about Fairytale Fights – the combat doesn’t suck. Well, not immediately anyway. Sadly, everything else that surrounds this average hack and slash gameplay pretty much does. The story, the platform bits, right down to the character design – which reminds us of the annoying Rabbids – all of it makes for a huge drag. The worst bit? It costs as much as a top-brand game. ...

Tekken 6 (Review)

Oct 27, 2009

Balance is a delicate thing, so easily lost. Tekken is a series that thrives on it – on striking a balance between fulfilling its remit as the ‘accessible’ 3D fighting game (button-mashing will get you further here than in most fighters) and offering a system substantial and even enough to allow the hardcore fans to battle at a competitive level. ...

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Review)

Oct 27, 2009

For the first time in their career as saviors of the universe, Ratchet and Clank have been separated. But the time apart has done them good. This is Insomniac’s most confident game to date, bursting with flair and imagination. By dividing the duo they’ve been able to create two boldly different games in one – a free-roaming space adventure and a brilliantly designed time-bending puzzler. ...

DJ Hero (Review)

Oct 27, 2009

DJ Hero is a game that really needs to be played to be truly appreciated. On paper it seems to be yet another ill-conceived concept bundled with a money-spinning peripheral to give it a novelty value – the kind of thing you fiddle with at Christmas and chuck into the spare room for the rest of the year. But when you actually place your fingers on the turntable and scratch out your first mix, you’ll ...

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (Review)

Oct 26, 2009

For years now, EA has strived to bring FIFA up to the same standard as PES, often mimicking Konami’s masterpiece or (ahem) ‘borrowing’ gameplay elements in the process. PES, meanwhile, has procrastinated, barely changing for each iteration until – finally – it finds the boot’s on the other foot; FIFA’s the champ and Konami is looking to EA for inspiration. ...

Trine - PS3 Network (Review)

Oct 22, 2009

Finnish developers Frozenbyte pride themselves on originality, but Trine prompts obvious comparisons with LittleBigPlanet. Both are scrolling platformers with physics-based puzzles – even Trine’s voice-over is reminiscent of Stephen Fry’s musings. Playing alone, you’ll need to cycle through the three character classes, using their special abilities to get through the levels. ...