When Konami handed the reins of its staple franchise to little known Spanish studio MercurySteam to reboot back in 2010, fans were admittedly skeptical at what the studio intended to do with the franchise. View the full article »
The dynamic duo return in Ratchet and Clank: Nexus (or Into the Nexus for the USA), the epilogue to the well-received PS3 Future trilogy. As a budget title releasing alongside the launch of the PlayStation 4, you’d be forgiven for expecting Nexus to be a half-hearted effort. Thankfully, it’s back to greatness for the beloved heroes, undoing the pain of recent instalments that strayed too far from the winning formula.
The Guided Fate Paradox is one of those RPGs that slipped under the radar this year, overshadowed by the arrival of next-gen consoles and a late in the year release date. You’d be forgiven for assuming NIS America’s dungeon crawler can’t be all that great as it wound up on store shelves with little fanfare at all.
The WWE simulation series over the years has proven itself to be a popular choice with fans of professional wrestling. Despite the lack of contenders in the genre, developer Yuke have managed to produce wrestling titles year in and year out to excite gamers, building strength upon strength.
WWE 2K14 represents a new era as the first title to be published by 2K Sports, since the publisher acquired the license from THQ last year. With the help of Visual Concepts (the developers behind NBA 2K series), it’s a relief to know the series is alive and kicking with an impressive maiden title. View the full article »
There’s something instantly alluring about Quantic Dream’s latest effort, Beyond: Two Souls. Following on from the success of Heavy Rain – with all its intrigue and shock twist – Beyond could have been content to repeat the formula, placating some fans but ultimately failing to push for the new. To the team’s credit, one thing the game doesn’t do is play things safe, gifting us a unique tale with aspirations to leave the Hollywood heavyweights in the dust. View the full article »
I’ll admit when the first Kingdom Hearts title was announced back in 2002 that I thought it was all one big joke. I mean seriously, Square Enix teaming up with Disney to create a J-RPG? It smelled of disaster. Clearly I was wrong as more than a decade on and multiple releases on multiple platforms, the series is still going strong with a fan base of dedicated gamers clambering for their next fix.
With that in mind, it isn’t all that surprising for Square Enix to put out Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, a high-definition compilation of arguably some of the best titles in the series so far. The 1.5 ReMIX includes Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, and lastly Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Despite the success Kingdom Hearts has garnered over the years, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories have never been released locally in Australia, until now.
Dead or Alive 5 gets an update with the release of Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, an expanded version of the original DOA5 which incorporates features from the PlayStation Vita release Dead or Alive Plus, as well as some rather nifty new inclusions.
When a beat ‘em up gets revamped a year on from the original, the question is often raised on whether or not the extras justify purchasing what is in essence the same game all over again. In this case, there may very well be just enough of the new balanced with the not-so-new to make it a considered purchase with developer Team Ninja partnering up with Sega AM2 for another round in the DOA5 arena. View the full article »
NBA 2K14 makes a return as the dominating force in basketball simulation for another year. After the uncontested dominance of the NBA 2K franchise over the last four years and the near perfection of NBA 2K12 onwards, is there enough improvements and features in NBA 2K14 to justify purchasing the series for another year? View the full article »
The latest battle in soccer video game rivalry is back for another year as Konami launches Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 against EA’s FIFA 14. The competition gets more and more heated each year as each chase down the coveted title of best soccer simulation of “the beautiful game”. Has Konami done enough with PES 2014 to shoot past the competition? View the full article »
You have to hand it to the creative minds behind Dragon’s Crown; their decision to produce a side-scrolling, multiplayer focused game akin to the arcade titles of yore is a bold one. With big-budget action releases all vying unashamedly for your last remaining coins, it takes a team with real nerve to attempt something so retro while still shooting for the full price at retail. The world of Dragon’s Crown is not for the faint of heart any more than it is for the single player, so you’ll want to buddy up right away if you wish to see the journey through to its end.
