GamesRadar - Xbox 360 Reviews

Galaga Legions - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

Sep 22, 2008

When the original Galaga came out, we were speechless. That’s not unusual for a baby, but we grew up, learned to speak, played Galaga, and liked it. To say Galaga Legions adds something new to that ancient shooter would be missing the point. The new thing – the ability to place two turrets anywhere you like – is this game. Its resemblance to Galaga is tenuous enough to warrant a paternity test. You can now fly freely ...

Galaga - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

Jul 26, 2006

No discussion: Galaga is one of the best space shooters the golden arcade age ever produced. There's almost no need to review it now that it's on Xbox Live Arcade, right? Instant classic plus reissue equals massive score? Not so fast. There's something missing that makes this oldie a little less of a goodie. The core gameplay still gets our adrenaline pumping. Insectoid aliens swoop down on your tiny starfighter, dropping bombs and flying in suicidal, looping lines as you frantically try to ...

Gauntlet - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

Apr 20, 2006

We're sure a good amount of you Xbox 360 owners don't remember the days of wallet-murdering arcade games. The claustrophobic dungeon crawler Gauntlet was the worst kind - one quarter wouldn't cut it. As you ran through overhead, labyrinthine passageways packed with monsters, you were constantly losing health. To keep it up, you had to find scarce items like food, or keep pumping Washington's skull into the arcade ...

Gears of War (Review)

Nov 22, 2006

Blending unmatched twitch-action with an incomparably oppressive atmosphere and multiplayer that will monopolize your broadband for months, Gears of War is the game the 360 was designed to play. Talked up for months in a marketing campaign whose cost undoubtedly dwarfs the gross national product of most third-world nations, we can safely announce that Gears of War delivers on the promises developer Epic has made. Here's how it suckered us... Gears of War zigs when you expect it to zag - where ...

Gears of War 2 (Review)

Nov 3, 2008

There’s a moment at the end of the second act of Gears of War 2 where, all of a sudden, the infamous Unreal Engine 3 ‘Meatcube’ demo makes sense. At that point, you’ll realize why Epic thought it so important to show Marcus Fenix blasting around a giant hunk of meat at the Games Developers Conference, and just why getting those wibbly-wobbly meat physics right were so important. ...

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

Aug 15, 2008

It’s almost three years since Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved first appeared on the marketplace, but three spin-offs later and it’s still classed as the pinnacle of twin-stick shooting. So just how do you go about reinventing the wheel? Developer Bizarre obviously knows. The key to this sequel is that it’s Retro Evolved... evolved. ...

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

Apr 21, 2006

There's a pinwheel on your ass. You try to run away but you're suddenly bombarded by two dozen pulsing blue diamonds. Quick, cut left - but don't get sucked in by the black hole that's inexplicably bright red. After a narrow escape to a relatively empty corner of the undulating, pinpoint-laden blue grid, you're abruptly annihilated by an explosion of what can only be described as electric sperm. If you think you're stuck in a nightmare, you're right - but when that nightmare is Geometry Wars: ...

GEON: Emotions - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

Sep 26, 2007

Sept 26, 2007 Say what you want about how new, how fresh, how vibrant this arcade action title is; anyone who was alive in 1985 knows better. The shape of the playfield may change, and you may not be a yellow circle pursued by ghosts, but there's no mistaking the dot-munching pedigree on display here: this is head-to-head Pac-man with a trip to the restroom added. ...

G-Force (Review)

Jul 29, 2009

Waffle irons, toasters and water coolers have gained self-awareness and a desperate desire to rip into human flesh, and it’s up to small group of typecast guinea pigs with jetpacks to save the day. So the story goes in G-force, a fuzzy-edged action game made to tie in to this summer’s blockbuster film. ...

Ghostbusters The Video Game (Review)

Jun 24, 2009

It's funny, really, 'Ghostbusters: The Video Game' is a bit of a misnomer. It's Ghostbusters, yes, and it's clearly a video game because here it is loading up in our 360 under 'Game'. But this is, without question, Ghostbusters 3 'the movie'. As a game it's far from perfect, but in a very refreshing turn of events we can confidently say that, for once, that isn't the point. ...

G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra (Review)

Aug 25, 2009

Games used to be like this all the time. Stick two dudes (or dudettes) in a level, give them some big guns and throw wave after wave of even bigger enemies at them. Strap your finger to the fire button, keep moving, shoot everything that looks at you cock-eyed. Die, repeatedly. Hurl the controller at the cat’s smug face. Start the whole process again. With a sob and a sigh. ...

The Godfather (Review)

Dec 21, 2006

So here's the $60 question: if you played The Godfather when it was released six months ago on the Xbox, PS2 and PC, is it still worth playing on the 360? That depends on whether you're the type to run out and buy director's cut versions of DVDs you already own. The Godfather is still basically the same Grand Theft Auto clone it was in March, but so much has been retooled and improved that its fans will want to take a second look. If you didn't catch The Godfather the first time, though, this ...

The Godfather II (Review)

Apr 7, 2009

Whether or not you agree with its high position as IMDB’s third greatest film of all time, The Godfather II is a license that no developer outside of Rockstar North could even come close to fulfilling. Other than Grand Theft Auto IV there hasn’t been a sandbox game that has even promised to match The Godfather II’s tone, quality and vision. ...

Golden Axe: Beast Rider (Review)

Oct 22, 2008

Pretend God of War hasn’t happened. Pretend you’ve never heard of Devil May Cry – this has the bonus side effect that you can squint at the box all over again, and think: “Don’t they mean Devil May Care?” for the first time, just like you did in 2001. Now go back further, to 1989, and pretend you’re enjoying Golden Axe for the first time.

Now come back, and try to make sense of Beast Rider. ...

Golden Axe - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

Jul 27, 2007

Following in the footsteps of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Double Dragon is another great arcade brawler for Xbox Live Arcade. Golden Axe was one of the earliest weapons-based beat-em-ups in arcades, and remains one of the best out there. Golden Axe on Live Arcade is actually based on the original arcade version, rather than the more likely Genesis port from back in the day. You'll notice little things that give it away, such as the bodies of minions you slay lying on the ground rather ...

The Golden Compass (Review)

Dec 14, 2007

Dec 14, 2007 The first levels blast you right into the action as mighty polar bear warrior Iorek, viciously slaughtering Inuits and wolves as you carry the heroine Lyra through dramatic icy wastes. Its messy, and unoriginal, and painfully linear (even stepping one inch out of line will reveal hidden walls), but it is at least fast and action-packed. Problem is, the game tells the story of The Golden Compass all out of sequence, and soon youre back at the start of Lyras journey, snooping around ...

Golf: Tee It Up! - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

Jul 11, 2008

Multi-format golfing fans will already know a thing or two about Hot Shots Golf – named Everybody’s Golf in the west – on PSP and PS3. Tee It Up is a competent clone, and a demonstration of how slim the good/bad game divide is. Played with the classic three-click golf controls, this is a classic cartoony golf game which slips up on the essential details. ...

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City (Review)

Oct 28, 2009

It’s strange to think that, as of this writing, Grand Theft Auto IV is more than a year and a half old. It’s even stranger to think that the story it began is finally complete, with the two downloadable episodes – The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony – filling in plot holes and offering up inventive new ways to explore the city that most GTA fans probably thought they’d exhausted of possibilities by ...

Grand Theft Auto IV (Review)

Apr 27, 2008

What with GTA IV being the single biggest game release of 2008 there's going to be a lot of reviews and opinions out there vying for your attention. So in this 360-centric appraisal we're doing things a little differently. ...

GRID (Review)

May 30, 2008

“Hello, Bozo.” It’s charming enough when a game greets you every time you load it. It’s even more endearing when you can choose to be called, instead of your first name, a gently satirical nickname like Bossman, or Chief or, indeed, Bozo. The announcer sounds like she’s almost laughing whenever she says it, like it’s our little shared joke. So we’re proud to be a Bozo, and we feel welcomed. ...