Guitar Hero III + Guitar, Wii - £39.97 delivered
Burnout Paradise, Xbox 360 - £19.98
Burnout Paradise, Xbox 360 - £19.98 delivered
The 'Cagney' update for this, adding a load of new features, is available on August 4th. More details are available here.
Burnout Paradise, PS3 - £19.98
Burnout Paradise, PS3 - £19.98 delivered
The 'Cagney' update for this, adding a load of new features, is available now. More details are available here.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game Of The Year Edition, PS3 - £16.99
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game Of The Year Edition, PS3 - £16.99 delivered
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Xbox 360 - £17.99
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Xbox 360 - £17.99 delivered
Skate, Xbox 360 - £12.93
Skate, Xbox 360 - £12.93 delivered
Apply code "ENT10" for 10% off
Update: The code has now expired, so it's £12.93, still a fantastic price.
Cheers to Avon for letting me know.
Ninja Gaiden II, Xbox 360 - £19.99
Ninja Gaiden II, Xbox 360 - £19.99 delivered
Cheers to 'more heat than light' for the tip off.
1942: Joint Strike - Review
1942: Joint Strike, XBLA/PSN
Review by LewieP
I won't pretend to be a huge expert on the 1942 series, but I have played my fair share of various entries in the series both in the Arcades and via "Capcom Classics Collection" on the Xbox, which has the original 1942, 1943: The Battle of Midway and 1943 Kai.
194X is a series of vertical scrolling shmups, and the common theme across all the games is "There is a war, and we need someone to single handily win it for us, and you're the pilot for the job"
The thing about the 1942 series, is that it's fairly old school as far as shmups go, there's none of the modern level design and scoring system you would find in something like Ikargua, and the pace is fairly relaxed compared to say Triggerheart Exelica, and Joint Strike is no change. It's half way between a modern remake of the original 1942 and a new entry in the series altogether.
It's relatively underdesigned. There is a pretty basic combo system, and and upgrade system with two tiers and three branches, and the odd bonus level thrown in after a boss fight, but aside from those, it's just wave after wave of enemies, followed some pretty solid boss fights at the end of each level.
The enemies range from fodder that go down in one hit to bigger, more threatening airships, tanks and turrets. They all have really cool designs, and are animated very nicely.
In fact, the whole presentation is very slick. The diagrams that pop up to show you the boss's weak spots before the fight fit perfectly. There a bunch of little throwbacks to the older games too, like how enemies flash white whenever they are hit.
The levels all start out with a washed out grainy look to them, to remind you it is set in the 40s, then the colour fades in. It 's a really pretty game. Lots of levels artistic direction is taken from previous games, but the new 3D engine looks fantastic, and the water has to be seen to be believed.
Norihiko Hibino, the composer most well known for his work on the Metal Gear series and other Kojima titles, provides a soaring orchestral backdrop for the action. Spot on.
The difficulty might be a little unforgiving to newcomers to the genre, but it would be worth persevering I think. I have played a whole load of shmups, and it took me 3 attempts to be able to beat the first level without taking a hit, so seasoned shmupist like myself will probably feel right at home in no time.
A few bad things now.
The framerate is pretty weird. In my time with it, it has been locked at 60 frames per second the whole time during actual gameplay, but it stutters at some weird times, when nothing is actually going on on screen. Just before the traditional "DANGER" message pops up before a boss fight, the game stutters, and the same in the in game cut-scenes. Speaking of which...
It has some really annoying in engine cut scene bits. Nothing happens in them, there is no dialogue or action, the game just decides to take control of your ship for a while, and then zooms in and watches you do a barrel roll. In the middle of the level. I would forgive it if it looked as badass as similar things in other games, but really they add nothing to the game in my opinion.
There is a 2 player coop mode, but I haven't played it, since I am antisocial.
All in all, it's pretty great.
If you have tasted all the shmup flavoured goodness that the XBLA has had to offer so far, and want more, you can't go wrong with this. If you are sick of shmups now, then there is not really a whole deal completely unique to be found here, so I would say steer clear of it. If you are new to the whole genre, then this is a fairly uncomplicated offering, and certainly not the hardest around, it would probably be a great entry point.
1942: Joint Strike, XBLA/PSN
Update: For clarification, I was playing the XBLA version.
Ratchet & Clank: Tools Of Destruction, PS3 - £14.99
Ratchet & Clank: Tools Of Destruction, PS3 - £14.99 delivered
Clive Barker's Jericho, Xbox 360 - £8.08
Clive Barker's Jericho, Xbox 360 - £8.08
Spend £15 for free P&P.
Civilization Revolution, DS - Review
Civilization Revolution, DS - £19 delivered
Review by LewieP
I've not actually played that much of Civilization in the past. My love affair with Sid Meier is based mostly on 'Pirates!' and the glorious 'Alpha Centuari', which I will happilly name as being the game that has probably had the biggest impact on my gaming life. It was a big factor in my path from enjoying playing video games from time to time, to being a geek with a passion for game design and an interest in the process which leads to their creation. I have piled hours into Alpha Centauri over the years, probably more than any other game, and I will sing it's praises at any given opportunity. I don't even mind that it's not even had a sequel hinted at in the 9 years (!) since it's release, because it has aged like a fine wine.
If you haven't played it (which you really should, it's a fiver here, but I got it in Gamestation a while back for £1.98 in the buy on get one free section) Alpha Centauri is a pseudo spin off of the civilization series. It takes the same basic gameplay, but switches the historical setting for a futuristic, and still highly believable, Sci-Fi setting. Instead of rushing to develop gunpowder, you'll be striving for the Technological singularity, and instead of building aqueducts, you'll be working on the human genome project. It also has some of the greatest dialogue boxes from any game ever (Commit Atrocity? Yes/No).
Enough about that though, I could go on forever, but I've not even mentioned the game I am supposed to be reviewing at the moment.
Civilization Revolution is the new entry in the civilization series, aimed at making it more 'casual friendly'. The addition of customisable 'bling' that you can 'pimp your armies' with brings the series in a great new direction, and who wouldn't love the selection of Pussycat Dolls and 50 cent tracks available on the soundtrack.
Psyche!
Honestly, the streamlining of the gameplay is probably not going to be for everyone. I know that when I have got hours to set aside, I love nothing more than crazy levels of micromanagement Alpha Centauri offers, and tuning every aspect of my civilization to suit me is part of what makes the game. However, on a handheld, I think the simplifications are no detriment whatsover.
In fact, I can see myself playing more of CivRev on the DS than I would a regular Civ game. Whilst it has the same "just one more" turn draw of its less casual friendly siblings, half an hour is plenty of time to accomplish something worthwhile.
It's running on a mostly functional 2D engine. I say mostly, since every now and again the framerate chugs a little, but in a turn based game like this it's far from gamebreaking. It has kinda jankey battle animations. There may actually be an option to turn them off, but if not, you can immediately skip them (which I did every time). They add little to the experience, and are the most obvious example of redundant design, pandering to the mainstream audience.
The is some occasional unintended humour. I never expected to have Ghandi hassle me for Gunpowder technology in exchange for his knowledge of free market economies, and I can't help but laugh at the blatant political correctness shown by 2K by picking 'Otto von Bismarck' as Germany's most famous leader.
Some boring stuff -
I'm sure the Touch Screen controls are great, but I never bothered. The Dpad and buttons work perfectly fine for me.
It has online multiplayer I think, but I haven't tried it, since I have played it mostly on the go (Planes, Trains and Buses)
All in all, it's Civilization, on the go, and it's not bad in any meaningful way. Recommended heartily.
Civilization Revolution, DS - £19 delivered
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