GamesRadar - Xbox 360 Reviews

BAJA: Edge of Control (Review)

6/10/2008

Much like its name (it’s pronounced Bah-hah, if you didn’t know), we think Baja: Edge of Control is likely to be misunderstood… Off-road games, with the exception of a few notable rally titles, generally fall into the ‘over-the-top, “whoa dude” extreme sport’ mould, where realism takes a back seat to outlandish arcade racing. ...

Band Hero (Review)

18/11/2009

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. ...

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Review)

11/11/2008

Nuts & Bolts truly is the return of Rare. Enough with the papery menagerie, let’s get back to N64 basics: the wordplay, the self-deprecating humor (pops are taken at their own distastr-o-game Grabbed by the Ghoulies), the design philosophy that states ‘object + googly eyes = endearing thing’. And in a winter of bleak, dreary games, the lightness of touch is very, very welcome indeed. ...

Bankshot Billiards 2 - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

28/04/2006

There's a little pool hustler in everyone, and now you can take your game to the world via Xbox Live with Bankshot Billiards 2. Whether you're an 8-ball player or a trick-shot master, this little Live download lets you run the table for hours, days or weeks, depending on the depth of your Friends list and the severity of your own personal obsessive-compulsive ...

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Review)

21/08/2009

REVIEW: Gotham is the new Rapture. ...

Battle Fantasia (Review)

5/01/2009

Pretty, isn’t it? Like the forthcoming Street Fighter IV, Battle Fantasia’s 3D graphics power 2D gameplay, and it looks almost as good as Capcom’s new fighting king. Battle Fantasia is a departure from Arc System Works’ heavy-metal fighter Guilty Gear, and no, before you ask, it’s not nearly as good. ...

Battlefield 1943 (Review)

8/07/2009

Sorry, solo gamers, Battlefield 1943 can only be bought and played online. There’s no single player campaign, no option to fight bots – there isn’t even the option to run around the maps on your own (unless you’re playing the tutorial). It’s all about human vs human FPS combat; a game so perfectly balanced to accommodate and encourage the randomness of online play that it simply wouldn’t work with AI. ...

Battlefield 2 Modern Combat (Review)

13/04/2006

Its just about time for this better-late-than-never porting business to stop on the Xbox 360. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is nothing more than a slightly-tweaked version of the (admittedly cool) military shooter we were all playing on the Xbox and PlayStation 2 last year. So if you already played the heck out of it then, you can probably stop reading the review at this point. Modern Combats major tweak is obviously the graphics. While Battlefield isnt the most impressive looking game on the ...

Battlefield: Bad Company (Review)

23/06/2008

It’s finally arrived – and while the silly story, drab voice acting, contrived dialogue and limp characterisation made us wince more than once, the world that it takes place in is more than enough to compensate for said errors. For the uninitiated out there, the story of Bad Company is this: you play Preston Marlow, a new recruit in B Company (hence the title) working with a ragtag threesome of war vets in the midst of a ...

Battlestar Galactica - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

30/10/2007

Battlestar Galactica is a difficult game to judge. On the one hand, it doesn't seem nearly as good as it should be. On the other hand, it is kinda fun to fly around and blow the bejeezus out of Cylon fighters. Battlestar Galactica should really be a clone of classics like Wing Commander, Freespace, or Colony Wars. All of the elements are there - giant capital ships with ridiculous weapons systems populated by swarms of one-man fighters; two sides locked in an epic struggle; and the vast ...

Battlestations Midway (Review)

9/02/2007

Calling it “the Pacific theater” always seems somewhat disrespectful. Yet for Battlestations: Midway, the name is all too appropriate. Here, the Second World War really is the greatest show on earth. At its best, the game offers a string of unique sensations, and manages to convey the sheer scale of war. Seeing a good couple of dozen planes flying in formation towards a naval base - literally filling the sky - and then scattering as you swoop in to engage them in your fighter, is ...

Battlestations: Pacific (Review)

13/05/2009

Due to the arcade nature of its combat and presentation, Battlestations: Pacific screams “average!” at you from the off. While it’s tempting to dismiss it as a bland arcade fly-fly bang-bang game, this would be doing it a great disservice. It falls between that particular stool and the one marked “Incomprehensible simulation”. ...

Battlezone - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

18/04/2008

Xbox Live Arcade has become home to a number of decent series of games, mostly having to do with one publisher repackaging all of their classic titles. Sega’s done it, Capcom’s readying to do it, and Atari has been trying desperately to reach deep into their back catalogue and make some of their groundbreaking games feel relevant again. So far, they haven’t been very successful. And now we have Battlezone, the classic tank battle game that used vector graphics to create a 3D playing field. ...

The Beatles: Rock Band (Review)

8/09/2009

Let’s face it: one’s enjoyment of a game in a popular franchise is always partly dependent on one’s familiarity with said franchise. So as much as we’d like to make a universal statement regarding the enjoyment you’ll get out of The Beatles: Rock Band, doing so does the game a disservice. ...

Beautiful Katamari (Review)

19/10/2007

Oct 19, 2007 The first thing we noticed upon firing up Beautiful Katamari was that we were constantly steering our ever-expanding sticky ball straight sideways into the wall. Because the analog sticks on the Xbox 360 are offset, instead of being side-by-side as they are on a PS2 controller, you may need a few minutes to adapt before you can guide your adhesive sphere properly. The second thing we realized was that, despite the move to fully HD graphics, it looks, feels, sounds, and plays ...

Bee Movie Game (Review)

5/11/2007

Nov 5, 2007 The "ordinary" can often be unusual in a gaming industry full of complicated concepts, which is why the idea of playing as a bee seems so appealing. Imagine freely exploring the Manhattan setting created for Spider-Man 3, but as a miniscule insect facing exponentially larger structures, vehicles and challenges. Sounds potentially awesome, but that's not what Bee Movie Game is all about. In fact, Spider-Man 3 may actually be Bee Movie Game's closest modern contemporary, but for all ...

Beijing 2008 (Review)

8/07/2008

First, a cautionary note. Beijing 2008 requires some form of protection for your hands. Our right hand is cut to shreds; this despite using various aids, including cartoon plasters, a thick promotional T-shirt lying around the office, and a comedy sponge hand. None of those prevented a seeping welt from appearing on our palm, soon to be joined by a pair of blisters and, most irritatingly, cuts on the skin at the base of our ...

Bejeweled 2 - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

20/04/2006

Go get a chessboard. Then grab your collection of sapphires, pearls, rubies and other precious stones and put one gem on each square. Now, kinda move them around a bit; try swapping their places. If any of them start disappearing - or better still, exploding - when they line up with two other jewels of the same type, congratulations! You've invented a real-world version of Bejeweled 2. Let us know how you managed it. It didn't work when we tried ...

Beowulf: The Game (Review)

15/11/2007

Nov 15, 2007 If you've seen Beowulf's motion picture magic in 3D IMAX, you already know it's a must-see blockbusting behemoth. But don't let the big screen sparkle fool you; Beowulf was meant for the big screen, not your little one. In fact, following in the forgettable footsteps of this summer's Pirates and Fantastic Four celluloid-to-console adapts, Beowulf: The Game is destined to line bargain bin bottoms. It has its hacking and slashing moments, but like so many movie-licensed titles, it ...

The Bigs (Review)

25/06/2007

The centerfielder weve created in The Bigs Rookie Challenge mode is not only grossly overweight, but he also sports the most horrific aviator sunglasses and mutton chop sideburn combination known to man. But the kid has undeniable talent, with blazing speed and a prowess for launching home runs thats earned him the nickname “Dr. Bleachers.” The Bigs is the exact opposite of our creation: beautiful to look at, but an on-field performance that leaves a bit to be desired. The biggest ...