GamesRadar - Xbox 360 Previews

Madden NFL 07 impressions (Madden NFL 07)

Jul 27, 2006

The annual evolution of Madden christens "the season" for every would-be athlete, coach, or super fan trapped inside the sweaty cushions of their couches, and Madden NFL 07 is proving no exception. Due to hit stores in August, 07's overhauls to the interface and - more importantly - the running game are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. In 07, you'll be able to step up as the lead blocker and crush any oncoming attempt to foil your running game, then meld right back into the light feet ...

E3 06: Madden NFL 2007 (Madden NFL 07)

May 12, 2006

NFL Football is a game where linebackers routinely mow down scrawny-but-nimble defense backs. In previous outings, Madden NFL has focused almost too much on the passing game and quarterback mobility. That's all changing with Madden 2007 for Xbox 360. Electronics Arts will finally add some bone-crunching realism. By pressing B on the controller at the start of a play, you can control any linebacker for a few seconds to create running lanes. Or, you can switch to a wide-out receiver and set up ...

Madden NFL 08 - Hit me with your best shot (Madden NFL 08)

Aug 2, 2007

Ray Lewis shifts right and stacks the line, right in the direction your halfback sweep is supposed to go. It doesn't take a MENSA-level IQ to know you need to audible to something - anything - else. You just don't run at Ray Lewis, one of the NFL's most dangerous defensive weapons, period - especially this year. In Madden NFL 08, EA introduces its new player weapon feature, meant to represent the dominant players of the league. In past years, "dominant" was defined by a speed rating. In 08, EA ...

Madden NFL 08 - hands-on (Madden NFL 08)

May 21, 2007

Fellers, the game here is obliteration, fully American. Your team is a horde of juggernauts, growling and grunting and advancing downfield, shape-shifting into strategic formations to confuse your enemy, trampling any mound of flesh and bone that isn't a cheerleader…. Football will eternally be entertainment based on blood-thirst, and the game-architects at EA embrace the violence with the standout new addition to this year's Madden - the weapon system. It labels players according ...

Is Madden 09 too noob-friendly? (Madden NFL 09 )

May 30, 2008

Just as the leaves fall in autumn and the birds migrate south, each August will see the release of a new Madden game. Millions of dutiful fans line up to buy it every year, while the rest of the gaming world looks on and wonders what all the fuss is about. Every year, EA is forced to up the stakes to keep the fanbase happy, but the more complex the game becomes, the fewer new recruits are drafted into the ranks of happy Madden players. Even ...

Madden 09: Why even Europeans will love it (Madden NFL 09 )

May 22, 2008

For non-US gamers, American football is a daunting sport. EA's Madden-sponsored yearly videogame strips away none of the intricacy or depth, and so it's not surprising that it leaves most non-believers in a state of almost paralytic befuddlement. But with Madden 09 we finally get an American football game that doesn't alienate casual observers with its impenetrable action ...

Mafia II - first look (Mafia 2)

Apr 9, 2008

2008 is shaping up to be the year of the free-roaming sequel. In the coming months, fans of open-world games can look forward to Grand Theft Auto IV, Saints Row 2, Mercenaries 2 and Just Cause 2, for starters. And assuming its still-unannounced release date happens later this year, one of the biggest will be Mafia II.

Forget what you might remember about the first Mafia's crappy showing on the PS2 and Xbox. When it arrived on ...

Mafia II (Mafia 2)

Jan 4, 2008

Jan 4, 2008 GTAs success means gangster chic will never fade, yet there are few games that place you in the trilby hat and spats of yer actual mobster, rather than an Uzi-toting modern wannabe. Fewer still that offer anything more than pun-heavy ...

Major League Baseball 2K6 (Major League Baseball 2K6)

Mar 17, 2006

Forget about “the cream” and “the clear” - baseballs back in the one place its guaranteed to be steroid-free: on your favorite videogame console. With a third-party exclusivity agreement with Major League Baseball in publisher 2Ks back pocket, MLB 2K6 steps onto the field as the only pro hardball title on Xbox and GameCube, and just the second on PS2. And while longtime fans of the digital diamond may be nervous at the thought of a pro MVP-less season, youve got to like ...

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Major League Baseball 2K7)

Feb 1, 2007

One of the benefits of having an exclusive deal in this crazy business-of-game should be not having to try that hard. Apparently no one told 2K Sports, because the way they've been cramming their MLB games with fistfuls of features could find the casual slugger pressed to experience them all. So, did you think 2K7 would have less going for it? All of the bells and whistles from 2K6 are present and accounted for. And everything that wasn't in full working order last season has been overhauled ...

Major League Baseball 2K8 - hands-on (Major League Baseball 2K8)

Feb 15, 2008

Now that football season has ended, it’s about damn time America’s got it’s priorities straight and focused on hot dogs, apple pies and shagging foul balls. 2K Sports hasn’t forgotten what the ol’ red, white and blue is about and has worked tirelessly on adjusting the finer points of new baseball sim, Major League Baseball 2K8 (aka MLB 2K8). Set for release on March 4 - just in time for spring training - 2K has ...

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance)

Oct 17, 2006

Tuesday 17 October 2006 X-Men Legends had a good run as an Action RPG but what about those of us who like our superheroes with a little less social outcast to them? Publisher Activision is embracing the entire Marvel universe with Ultimate Alliance, and allowed us to embrace every next-gen version at a recent hands-on event. The cast is a veritable who's-who of the heroic elite (in the Marvel universe, anyway). We were able to formulate our team from the following icons: Captain America, ...

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance)

Oct 6, 2006

X-Men Legends had a good run as an Action RPG, but what about those of us who like our superheroes with a little less social outcast to them? Activision is embracing the entire Marvel universe with Ultimate Alliance, and allowed us to embrace every next-gen version at a recent hands-on event in Santa Monica, CA. The cast is a veritable who's-who of the heroic elite (in the Marvel universe, anyhow). We were able to formulate our team from the following icons: Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron ...

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance)

Jul 31, 2006

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance doesn't really need a serious introduction - just take the action RPG elements of the two mega-popular X-Men Legends games and add about 20 new characters. It's not the gameplay that'll bowl anyone over (at least from what we've seen so far), but the sheer amount of Marvel-ness is staggering. At the recent San Diego Comic-Con, three new playable heroes were revealed: The Fantastic Four's Invisible Woman and Human Torch, and Iceman of X-Men fame. We saw these ...

E3 06: Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - first look (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance)

May 10, 2006

When action-RPG Marvel: Ultimate Alliance ships this fall, it'll be the third game to follow the beat 'em up precedent set by X-Men Legends. You'll take 20 of the most popular Marvel heroes through Atlantis, a floating military base and even an alien homeworld, powering them up and fleshing out their individual moves. Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Thor are just the tip of the iceberg, all recruited to stop Dr. Doom and his assembled team of villains. The coolest level we saw had ...

Marvel Universe Online (Marvel Universe Online)

Jan 14, 2008

Jan 14, 2008 Whats going on at Cryptic Studios? Three years ago, they came out of nowhere to deliver City of Heroes, the super-hero MMO that demanded you wear spandex when playing. It had a smart approach to group play (you could rope your low-level friends into your group by making them a sidekick) and comic book panache (punch a goon and hed fly back a dozen ...

Mass Effect - latest impressions (Mass Effect)

Jul 18, 2007

Mass Effect is about many things - exploration, war, adventure, romance, politics and, of course, lots of weird and creepy space aliens. But above everything else, Mass Effect is about choice. Watching the game for just half an hour at this year's E3, we were positively staggered by the number of large and small decisions the player was forced to make, and how reaching an impact each one had. It begins before you even start the game. Do you want your hero, Commander Shepard, to be male or ...

Mass Effect (Mass Effect)

Oct 6, 2006

With its beautifully refined sci-fi universe and the mind-boggling enormity of its galaxy-spanning adventure, the best way we can describe what we've seen so far of developer BioWare's interstellar action-RPG, Mass Effect, is to say that it's out of this world. Our first contact with Mass Effect showed off the neat character interaction system as well as offering a glimpse of some of the squad-based, real-time combat, and the latest Mass Effect demo we were shown launched us deeper into space ...

Mass Effect (Mass Effect)

May 16, 2006

Tuesday 16 May 2006 RPGs are frequently measured in how many hours it would take someone to complete the whole game, but with Mass Effect, perhaps months would be a more effective yard-stick. Our private viewing of this game revealed an adventure so huge, it strains the capacity of your brain to attempt to encompass what it's all about... but we're going to try anyway. You play as Commander Shepard, a sort of space federal agent in the employ of a peace-keeping organisation called Specters. ...

E3 06: Mass Effect (Mass Effect)

May 11, 2006

RPGs are frequently measured in how many hours it would take someone to complete the whole game, but with Mass Effect, perhaps light-years would be a more effective yard-stick. Our private viewing of this game revealed an adventure so huge, it strains the capacity of your brain to attempt to encompass what it's all about... but we're going to try anyway (just for ...