Author: PS3 Home
Initial fears that ModNation Racers is simply a rehashed version of Mario Kart, with some additional customisation options, will be dispelled the moment you switch on your console. The opportunity to create and easily share your own completely custom content with an online community is a wonderful addition to a karting game. But more than that, the incredibly competitive AI makes for a very real challenge in the single player mode, providing a game that can be enjoyed both on and offline. Graphically, ModNation Racers provides a cartoony look and feel to characters, karts and scenery. A good sense of…
Considering how good Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 was as a golf game, it would have been difficult to believe that its successor could be so easy to recommend as an essential upgrade, but it certainly is. The latest golf game from Tiger Woods is easily the most realistic to have ever hit the shelves on the high street. With a load of additional features and functionality compared to its predecessor, and many an option to make the game challenging to even the most skilled player, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 is a must by for anyone in the market…
You couldn’t be blamed for sighing and rolling your eyes at the prospect of yet another popular franchise finding its way to your console within the LEGO series. You will undoubtedly be expecting the usual collecting of studs, combined with plenty of combat, stacks of content to unlock and the familiar drop in and out co-op play for which the series is famed. However, although all of these elements certainly make an appearance within LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, the game feels decidedly different to the previous titles in the series. You’ll still laugh along to the comic and wordless…
Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Desmond Miles return as the protagonists of the third chapter of the Assassin’s Creed series, ‘Brotherhood’. Set in 2012 and picking up exactly where the second chapter concluded just after the Templars’ attack, Miles and the other contemporary assassins travel to Monteriggioni to set up a new hideout in the ruins of Villa Auditore. Meanwhile, Ezio’s tale starts back in 1499, with him exiting the vault escaping Rome and travelling to Monteriggioni with his uncle, Mario Auditore. Ezio finds his town besieged by Cesare Borgia, who overpowers the assassins, leaving the town in ruins. Ezio…
The first outing for Gran Turismo on the PS3 heralds over a thousand individual cars, 71 tracks, online racing for up to 16 players and the return of night racing. The damage model has had an overhaul, with improved details all round. Indeed, it is the detail of this game that really shines through, and it is not hard to see what the developers Polyphony have been focusing on in the five years since the last proper instalment of the series. The attention to detail in the visuals is particularly impressive, with painstaking detail put in to the reflections on…
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is quite simply the best ever wrestling game. Why? Well, first and foremost, the overall gameplay is superb. Added to this we have a compelling storyline and an amazing new customisation feature and plenty of modes. Gamers who have played earlier versions might well be sceptical, especially when recalling the inordinately long load times and the less than impressive graphics. Fortunately Yuke have addressed these problems: the load times are short and the graphics stunning. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is available on PS3 and Xbox 360. The game handles beautifully, satisfying both newcomers and…
Capcoms Resident Evil survival horror series has grown into an extremely popular series that has a large following audience. Capcoms latest installment in the Resident Evil franchise had to meet high demands after the previous fantastic Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 5 is the first to meet the PS3 or Xbox 360: could Capcom take full advantage of them? In short, yes. Resident Evil 4 centered on twitchy gunplay against fast moving enemies, over-the-shoulder viewpoint and the introduction of a laser sight to greatly improve aiming accuracy. Resident Evil 4 also increased action by making the zombies quicker, sharper and…
This autumn will bring the release of UK based, Black Rock Studio’s new arcade-racing game, Pure. Those fortunate enough to have been invited to a preview have been hugely impressed by what they have seen. The game developers choose the quad bike as there vehicle for the brilliant, extreme, off-road racing action that sets it apart from others of this genre. Quad bikes handle like cars, giving you stability, whilst allowing gravity defying jumps and outrageous tricks. The multiplayer racing, will allow up to 16 online players, but if you choose the single player game you will still be in…
Lost Planet is an all-action sci-fi shooter game. It is set sometime in the future, when humans, having left earth, have set up a colony on E.D.N.111, a planet locked in permanent winter. The planets inhabitants are the Akrids, monstrous, insect-like creatures, who seem to resent the humans presence. The colonisers soon discover that the secret of the Akrids ability to survive the extreme cold lies in their store of thermal energy. Kill Akrids, and an orangey, thermal goo oozes out. This can be collected, and used, by humans, as an energy source. The action, however, isn’t entirely centred on…
Let’s be honest, the follow ups to PES6 were disappointing: the series seemed to be running out of steam. The word has been, however, that the developers were getting back on track, and consequently a buzz of eager anticipation preceded the release of Pro Evolution 2011. Was this optimism justified? YES. With vastly improved gameplay, graphics and menus the developers have met gamer’s demands. Essential to the success of a football video game is, of course, the realism of the action – the defending, shooting, passing, dribbling etc. And without doubt the total control 360 degree movement system ensures that…
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days has just made its way out onto the market and found its way to a small fan base. There were many controversial aspects to the last game and much of the gaming world was surprised to see it out so quickly after the drama of the first game’s release. In Dog Days, they have played up the hand held video game view point and accentuated the things that the fan base knew and loved. However, most people who played the first game want reassurance that the ghastly plot holes and less than perfect co-op…
When buying a Madden game you can be assured of quality: top notch graphics and gameplay are guaranteed. There is only one question – has the new release moved the franchise forward? With Madden NFL 09 the answer is yes. Even better graphics and some interesting additions ensure that you will be delighted with your purchase. Madden NFL 09 is available on all console platforms, but not yet on PC. The best new feature hits you as soon as you turn on: you are confronted with a Madden IQ test. And no – this is not a return to the…
Killzone 2 is a PS3 exclusive, first-person shooter game released by SCEE on the 25th of February 2009. The game is the third installment in the Killzone franchise that first began on the PS2 with Killzone followed by Killzone: Liberation on PSP. Killzone 2 had people talking well before the PS3 was launched. There were huge expectations that Killzone 2 would be the definitive PS3 game. So was all the fuss worth it? Let’s find out! The storyline follows on from the previous titles. The ISA are convinced that the Helghast spirit has been broken, and are now ready to…
Grid is purely and simply a racing game of the highest quality. It is not cluttered by irritating cut-scenes that take you away from the action: there is no feeble, cliché packed external storyline. You create your own narrative, building your career by virtue of your performance. You start at rock bottom with an old car and a basic garage, and you progress by winning races, earning money and getting noticed. Put together some impressive performances and the big boys will come knocking on your door. Being hired by a major team gives you the opportunity to quickly accumulate the…
This years Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for the Playstation 3 hasn’t redefined the golf sim but it does have some nice improvements. The visuals are truly spectacular, and the addition of real-time weather courtesy of the weather channel makes the game seem more immersive and realistic. The game’s attention to detail is unparalleled from the 60 frames per second and reduced rate drop, and the broadcast commentary. It is almost like watching a tournament live on TV. The new putting mechanic is much more simple where you don’t have to know every bump and slope angle to get the…
Time Crisis 4, the fourth in Namco’s series, was released to arcades in 2006. A superior version was made available to PS3 in 2007. The plot centres around the insect-like, radio powered Terror Bites, a secret biological weapon system, developed by the US military. Gamers take on the role of Captain William Rush, who together with Giorgio Bruno and Evan Bernard, 2 European Union agents, are dispatched on an urgent mission to prevent the Terror Bites from falling in to the hands of international terrorists. The story takes an alarming twist when, after a helicopter chase and street fire-fight, examination…
Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) is a first person shooter game. Although primarily an online multiplayer game, it has a single player mode, which can be enhanced by co-opting up to 3 friends online. Despite the release of console versions, a myth persists that Unreal Tournament is only a PC game. It is not; UT3 is perfect for PS3, and for good measure an Xbox 360 version was released on 28th March 2008. Paradoxically, UT3 is the fourth game in the Unreal Tournament series and the eighth game in the whole Unreal series. Its name derives from the Unreal Engine 3,…
Viking: Battle for Asgard is a slash and hack epic that transports you into a magical, Lord of the Rings – like world. However, unlike Lord of the Rings this world is not the extraordinary product of one man’s imagination; it is, instead, grounded in the fantastical realm of Norse mythology. Asgard is the realm of the Gods, ruled by Odin, the Lord of Valhalla. But all is not well in Asgard – damaging conflict has broken out, which has extended into Midgard, the world of mere mortals. Hel, the goddess of the underworld, has been banished to Midgard, where…
Haze is a thought-provoking, first person shooter game, developed exclusively for PS3 by Free Radical Design and released in May 08. Serious issues, such as the way we view war and corporate abuse of power, are interwoven into an exciting plot. The action takes place over a 3 day period in the middle of the 21st century. In this future dystopia, governments contract out military operations to large corporations. One such corporation, Mantel Global Industries, is a multinational, which among other activities, has developed a performance enhancing drug called Nectar. Mantel supplies its soldiers with Nectar to ratchet up their…
Guitar Hero 5 is the latest offering in the highly successful Guitar Hero series. This fifth main entry into the series presented Neversoft, the developers, with a huge challenge i.e. how to freshen up the product without dismantling a winning formula. Have they succeeded? Yes. Series veterans will be pleased that they have resisted the temptation of resorting to tasteless new gimmickry, and have instead concentrated their efforts on refining and improving the gameplay, whilst introducing several new features, including the Play Party and Rock Fest modes. Well loved characters are still there, but looking even better. And let’s not…