Console Games

Ask Guru Joe

2008-11-25T01:05:00.000+01:00

Ask Guru Joe

Find the answer to any question you want!

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Aquanaut

2008-11-15T01:05:00.000+01:00

Aquanaut

Explore underwater worlds and find the treasure chest in each level!

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Aqua Energizer

2008-11-05T01:05:00.000+01:00

Aqua Energizer

Help Aqua solve the underwater puzzles.

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Anagrammatic

2008-10-25T01:05:00.000+02:00

Anagrammatic

Head to head battle of anagram solving action!

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All Out

2008-10-15T01:05:00.000+02:00

All Out

Turn all the lights out to complete a level.

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Alien Hive

2008-10-05T01:05:00.000+02:00

The Ship has been infested by unknown creatures. Neutralize them all!

Alien Hive

Neutralize the unknown life forms!

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Alien Disorder

2008-09-25T01:05:00.000+02:00

Alien Disorder

You have been sent to clean up the alien vermin!

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Alien Clones

2008-09-15T01:05:00.000+02:00

Be fast and accurate - defend yourself from the onslaught of alien clones.

Alien Attack

2008-09-05T01:05:00.000+02:00

Defend your Mars base and eliminate all alien ships - avoid friendly fire at all cost!

Alien Abduction

2008-08-25T01:05:00.000+02:00

Use your UFO to abduct all the required people or objects before the time runs out and drop them into the mothership.

Alex in Danger

2008-08-15T01:05:00.000+02:00

Alex in Danger

Help Alex find his way home through 3 treacherous worlds!

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Age Of Speed

2008-08-05T01:05:00.000+02:00

Age Of Speed

Master the race tracks of the future as you tackle huge jumps.

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Adventure Elf

2008-07-25T01:05:00.000+02:00

Adventure Elf

Help Oliver collect all the stolen loot and save Christmas.

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Acno's Energizer

2008-07-15T01:05:00.000+02:00

Use Acno to push the red and grey balls into the energizer then jump into it to go to next level.

Acno's Energizer

Help Acno clear a level by moving the balls into the energizer.

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Base Jumping

2008-07-05T01:05:00.000+02:00

Base Jumping

Base jump over 5 rounds to challenge the King.

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Alphattack

2008-06-26T01:01:00.001+02:00

Can you save the planet from the alpha bombs? Defeat the threat before our cities are destroyed!

3 Foot Ninja

2008-06-05T01:05:00.000+02:00

Help little ninja defeat enemies and collect all the scrolls to move to the next level.

Tags: 3, three, foot, ninja, fun, video, play, free, online, flash, games, level.

Clowning Around

2008-05-25T01:05:00.000+02:00

Balance the most clowns on your unicycle and stack them up to the Big Top.

Tags: clown, around, play, free, online, flash, games, circus, fun, party, bicycle, unicycle, tricycle.

Dancing Hillary

2008-05-15T01:05:00.000+02:00

Check out Hillary's moves!

Tags: Dancing, Hillary, move, dance, play, free, online, flash, games.

Commando

2008-05-05T01:05:00.000+02:00

Defend the Allies from the scourge of Europe. Can you stem the tide of the enemy invasion?

Tags: commando, play, online, free, games, flash, allies, defend, europe, invasion, shoot, action, enemy.

Monkey Kick Off

2008-04-14T16:43:00.000+02:00

Help Monkey kick the giant coconut all the way to the Monkey Village!

Tags: play, online, free, game, monkey, kick, ball, coconut, village, kick-off, fun.

Balance

2008-02-25T16:41:00.000+01:00

Grab your racquet and head to the courts. Don't let the other sports catch you off guard!

Tags: balance, play, online, flash, game, free, court, racquet, guard, fun.

Up Beat

2007-09-12T16:32:00.000+02:00

The best online music game EVER! Keep the rhythm to chart topping tracks and rock the party!

Tags: up, beat, flash, game, play, online, free, music, chart, rhythm, rock, party.

Sport / The Ashes

2007-07-26T04:08:00.000+02:00

Destiny is in your hands as you lead your country to the crease to claw back a victory from the jaws of defeat.

Tags: sport, ashes, destiny, country, claw, victory, defeat, flash, game, play, online.

Action / Acid Factory

2007-06-05T01:00:00.000+02:00

Help harry escape the horrors of his acid-flooded factory.

Tags: Action, Acid, Factory, harry, escape, horror, flood, platform, flash, game, play, online.

Shoot 'Em Up / Hunter

2007-05-30T03:23:00.000+02:00

Clear the Astral Mine from alien invasion and rescue the power crystal to save the mine.

Tags: Shoot, Em, Up, Hunter, clear, astral, mine, alien, invasion, rescue, power, crystal, flash, game, play, online.

Sport / Ping Pong

2007-05-09T12:31:00.000+02:00

Bounce the ball as many times as you can. How long can you go?

Tags: Sport, Ping, Pong, bounce, ball, flash, game, play, online.

PS3 vs. Wii

2007-05-01T18:28:00.000+02:00

A funny video clip, a comparison between SONY Playstation 3 and Wii.

Tags: sony, playstation, 3, ps3, wii, nintendo, console, game, gaming, video, clip, funny.

Winter / Ice Slide

2007-04-11T01:43:00.000+02:00

Catapult your favourite polar animal as far as you can. Avoid the snowy hazards.

Tags: Winter, Ice, Slide, catapult, polar, animal, snow, hazard, flash, game, play, online.

Winter / Deep Freeze

2007-04-03T14:55:00.000+02:00

Freeze your enemies with your water gun and stop the bad guys from ruining Christmas.

Tags: winter, deep, freeze, flash, game, play, online, water, gun, shoot, Christmas.

Winter / Snow Line

2007-03-20T20:13:00.000+01:00

Help Santa Claus collect the presents ready for delivery on Christmas Eve.

Tags: Winter, Snow, Line, Santa, Claus, collect, presents, delivery, Christmas, online, play, flash, games.

Shoot 'Em Up / Galactic Warrior

2007-03-12T02:57:00.000+01:00

Defeat the Aliens to get to the Galactic Big Boss.

Tags: Shoot, Em, Up, Galactic, Warrior, miniclip, flash, game, play, online.

[PC] Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

2007-02-28T16:29:00.000+01:00

The very fact that this game is called "the longest journey" and is a point-and-click game worries me a bit, but let's continue. Dreamfall: TLJ takes the life of college drop-out Zoë Castillo sees it turned around when she starts poking her nose where it's not wanted to discover the secrets of a conspiracy. The game mainly involves both the normal world and the fantasy world of Arcadia, immediately leading to many gameplay possibilities. Dreamfall: TLJ has a good story that should keep you interested, the main premise of which is finding a girl called April Ryan who disappeared several years ago. At different stages of the game you control different characters and go through their stories; all of which intertwine and give you a different perspective on the others.

At the start of the game, Casablanca in the year 2219, the world looks believably futuristic, where everyone has a robotic ape (or Watilla) and no one knows what post boxes are. This is also basically your tutorial with many items to look at and lots of pointless dialogue to be had. Unfortunately throughout the game, the impression was given that a lot of the dialogue had been stretched out too much with a lot of waffle, though that could just be my impatience. Sometimes I found myself reading the subtitles and skipping ahead in the conversation rather than listening to all of it; "the longest journey" seemed an appropriate title. You'll be glad to hear though that after the 'tutorial' level the dialogue becomes shorter and less pointless, in general at least, leading to an interesting story. It was good to see that the game remained light-hearted even when choosing aggressive options in conversations; in one piece of dialogue you end up punching someone only for your banter to continue.

The start of the game is also the time to start familiarising yourself with the character movement; the camera is automatic yet you move the mouse to change it - this leads to sometimes frustrating gameplay especially in small rooms. My final annoyance about this game has to be the unnecessary fighting system; I'll just go as far as saying it's very bad and doesn't need to be in the game.

At certain points in the game, Dreamfall: TLJ springs a full-screen puzzle upon you to solve before continuing, for example when lock-picking. They are not hard puzzles but do give a nice interactive touch, and provide the feeling of accomplishment. Also, I liked the way that items would be combined to give you a useful object. Dreamfall: TLJ does well in making you look everywhere for items that may help you out along the way, while still giving you enough hints and notice when you would need them. This should mean that the game doesn't leave you stuck.

Dreamfall: TLJ is a very original game and I would expect anyone that buys it, knowing that it's a point and click adventure game, wouldn't be disappointed with the story line. I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone with a short attention span or people that want FPS levels of action and control. The game should give you your money's worth of hours of gameplay because of its long captivating story.

Reviewed by: Neil Chittenden
All about games

Tags: computer, video, games, PC, dreamfall, tlj, review, FPS, play.

[PS2] Black

2007-01-23T02:11:00.000+01:00

Criterion will of course be known for their excellent Burnout series which has seen four iterations grace our screen over the past 5 yeas. Not many people will realise that the company is also responsible for RenderWare, the middleware technology used in a whole host of console titles that, among other things, allows developers to easily port games from one platform to another. So we already knew they weren't a one-trick pony, but since 2001's TrickStyle on the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, we haven't seen anything more than Burnout from their games division, until they revealed the long-awaited Black.

It had been rumoured for quite a long time that Criterion were working on a first-person shooter, but it was at E3 2004 that they revealed their hand. What hit people immediately was just how good the game looked on the ageing platforms, with an almost next-gen shine coming from even the PlayStation 2 edition. And ultimately in this final version there's no getting from how good the graphics look. We already knew from Burnout Revenge that Criterion could deliver something special, but there's a lot coming together that means Black delivers both a pretty and a believable experience. Firstly it's the level of detail present in each environment, with textures that are neither stale nor overly repeated. Secondly, there's the enemy soldiers which are well animated, and look more real than you'd expect. Lastly, and quite importantly, is the sheer sense of scale of the levels. The intricate environments span a large distance, with multiple objectives and sections without a single bit of loading.

Of course, the initial load times suffer, but the sheer amount of play you get out of each level makes it worthwhile. Unlike the short bursts of gameplay with cut-scenes splitting up the flow in some FPS titles, Black features both a heavy and a long dose of action in each environment. Even on normal difficulty, the levels can last almost an hour if you play the game properly (i.e. achieving the secondary objectives and not rushing through the action). There are 10 levels overall, so Black is clearly a game you won't rush through.

So we know how it looks, and it lasts a while, but how does it actually play? Well, Black certainly isn't a game that's going to revolutionise the genre, and feels more like a combination of the best elements of the modern FPS in an action-packed adrenaline-pumping adventure. There is no bullet time, wall jumping, anti-gravity guns, or team-based action. You're a one man band, armed with powerful weaponry, and you get to blast through people, vehicles, and explosive crates. The sheer scale of the experience, that comes from the amazing graphics engine mentioned earlier, as well as the constant pace of raw action, is what makes it more than a run-of-the-mill shooter. The game offers multiple difficulty settings that change not only the pace and quantity of the action, but set you up with secondary objectives, such as finding 'intel' or picking up certain arms.

The game is made more compelling by a rather tough AI. While not particularly clever, their diving for cover can make it harder to pick them off, and the fact that they arrive in such numbers always gives you a challenge. On just the second level you'll find yourself up against a huge barrage of fire as you pick through an enemy base, and after that you then have to face an RPG-wielding foe who can only be approached by zigzagging around. Sometimes one move wrong can wind you up dead, or trying to take on too many people can leave you in the same situations. It's made all the tougher by the lack of ability to save mid-game, with checkpoints very few and far between. You'll also find that even cover isn't as useful as you'd hoped; hiding behind a crate may stop the fire reaching you for the moment, but you'll soon find that the destructible environments leave you out in the open in no time. At least it works both ways.

It's not surprising that the single player is so comprehensive and so enjoyable considering the game takes an unusual step in the era of modern FPS titles; it features no multiplayer whatsoever. Instead of trying to get working online protocols, servers, lobbies, etc., Criterion decided to focus on offline play, with not even split-screen in sight. It's a bold move, against the flow towards online play that is the focus of the next-generation consoles, but a good choice, as it has resulted in a more compelling and arguably more definitive experience for the solo gamer.

Reviewed by: Matt Bailey.
From: All About Games.

Tags: PS2, Black, PlayStation, console, games, FPS, first, person, shooter, review, Criterion, AI, enemy, kill.

[PS2] Kuon

2007-01-07T01:04:00.000+01:00

Japanese horror games have become a part of the gaming culture over the past few years. Capcom's Resident Evil, Konami's Silent Hill and Tecmo's Project Zero series have all played a major part in scaring gamers. Now FromSoftware, creators of the Armoured Core, Tenchu and Otogi series are bringing a new survival horror game in from the East, Kuon.

Unfortunately Kuon seems to be fairly standard fare. While it takes the original step of setting the game in ancient Japan rather than a modern urban environment that seems so popular these days, overall the game doesn't really offer much to the genre. Interestingly, the game was originally released in both Japan and the United States before Resident Evil 4 appeared, and raised the bar considerably. In fact, it's taken so long to arrive in Europe (over 2 years!) that even a PlayStation 2 version of Capcom's title has arrived.

The delay hasn't done well for Kuon's looks. That's not to say that Kuon looks bad, but it wasn't even cutting edge upon initial release, and more recent PS2 titles such as Black and even Resident Evil 4 somewhat put it to shame. Still, they do the job, particularly providing an authentic look to 12th Century Japan, and successfully providing the atmosphere for a creepy game.

You begin the game with a choice of two different perspectives; Yin and Yang. Each represents a character, who has their own reason for being at the Fujiwara manor. While the two feature different abilities, you'll still find yourself repeating quite a bit of the game. Each girl has access to basic weapons such as knives, which often seem rather pathetic in light of the monsters you face. At least they aren't generic zombies for a change.

The weapons are made up for by the magic spells you are able to cast. These are more interesting and often more effective - but their use is limited, which can be frustrating. The time it can take to use both weapons and spells doesn't seem to match up to the onslaughts you can face. This is made none the easier by the fact that movement seems slow at normal pace, and while you can run - though not that fast - the game seems to discourage you from doing so. Sometimes you can come across negative pools of energy, seemingly at random, which flash on screen. If you happen to be running when this occurs, your character experiences vertigo, which could spell the end of your quest. Thankfully there is the ability to stop and meditate to recover, though this is of little use in the middle of a battle.

The main gameplay consists of exploration and puzzle solving - again typical fare for the genre. A lot of the puzzles are simply find-the-item quests, and aren't particularly interesting or difficult. An eye for detail is also needed - picking up clues is essential to progression, and noticing the sparkles or items you need to investigate becomes an important skill. But overall we're left with a game that, while having an interesting premise (ancient Japan certainly sounds more interesting than some generic American city), ultimately doesn't interest. I have to admit to not being the biggest fan of the genre, which could explain the boredom I experienced at times while playing Kuon, however I was still able to enjoy Silent Hill and the like, simply because they featured more interesting stories, and gave a more unique experience than anything seen in this game.

Reviewed by: Matt Bailey.
From: All About Games.

Tags: Kuon, console, games, PS2, Sony, Playstation, 2, Japanese, horror, gaming, 12th, century, yin, yang, Fujiwara, battle, knife.

[PC] Take Command: 2nd Manassas

2006-12-17T01:05:00.000+01:00

I have to admit that I know remarkably little about the American Civil War. I've studied quite a bit of history through my education, but it seems we were far more interested in the World Wars and the Russian Revolution than the Americans fighting amongst themselves. So in this spirit of ignorance (though still tipped off about the basics thanks to Wikipedia), I approached Take Command: 2nd Manassas.

The game is set in 1862 and sees you take command amidst a pivotal engagement of the Northern Virginia Campaign. Instead of the usual wartime RTS fare, the game relies on heavy use of proper strategies and tactics. It's not about tank rushes, or assembling more units than your opponents, or even gaining an advantage on the tech tree. This is about real nineteenth century warfare, with outflanking and positioning the troops to achieve maximum effect. MadMinute Games have taken every effort to provide an authentic experience, which should please many war gamers.

But what about the rest of us? It's clear immediately that TC2M is an acquired taste. The game isn't a full polygon-crazy affair, like Total Assembly's Total War series, instead opting for animated sprites on bumpy terrain, with the only 3D objects being the occasional buildings or bridges. There's certainly no HDR lighting here, or highly detailed physics, or particle effects, but the small team (essentially two people) have put in a lot of effort to give each character as much detail as they can. While it doesn't usually distract from the action, and seems to do the job reasonably well, it is one of a few points about the game that show why it isn't for everyone.

Of course, visuals mean relatively little in the world of wargaming. For those players who are heavily interested in this genre, then the historical accuracy (which the game already satisfies, as mentioned above), and the core gameplay are the most important parts. It is clear that a lot of effort went in to produce some impressive AI. Opponents are varied, and will take a whole variety of approaches to conquer, while even your own side can show erratic behaviour. TC2M rather uniquely gives a personality to your units, which provides a challenge in itself; you don't know whether your units will always follow your orders directly, though there's a "Take Command" option for when you don't want to leave decisions to the AI.

The game offers a comprehensive set of campaigns set in the period stated above. You get to play either as the Confederate States or the Union across a range of battles that can last for hours. There's also an Open Play option, allowing you to choose your own scenario set up; play as either side, where you like, and with the Commander you want. MadMinute have thoughtfully included a Custom Scenario option that allows you to easily access the scenarios that will likely soon spring forth from the active online community of war gamers. What is missing, however, is multi-player. With such epic battles it may not be suitable for all (not everyone can play non-stop for hours), but the nature of the game lends itself well to such game-play, and maybe we'll see it added on further down the road.

Also available on the Main Menu are the tutorials. These somewhat drawn out scenarios are designed to teach you how to play the game. The main problem is that while they are useful — indeed I couldn't play properly until I completed them — the very fact that you almost have to run through them in order to play is a testament to the difficulties of TC2M. The interface isn't particularly intuitive, with a separate pop-up map, combined with awkward use of the cursor keys to locate on-screen units. It can also be hard to work out when you've switched off the AI with the Take Command option, or moved it into one of the intermediate states.

Still, these shortcomings are probably not of particular importance to the hardcore fans of the genre. They will be used to not being able to select multiple groups (it isn't the done thing in proper strategy games), and will be impressed by such ideas as sometimes restricting your view down to a low level, the limitation determined by the position of your units.

Reviewed by: Matt Bailey.
From: All About Games.

Tags: PC, Take, Command, 2nd, Manassas, review, video, game, computer, american, civil, war, history, northern, virginia, campaign, 3d, tc2m, terrain, tactics, strategy.

Serious Sam 2

2006-12-09T03:13:00.000+01:00

Serious Sam 2 isn't what you'd expect from an FPS. For those who are new to the franchise, pin point headshots with ultra realistic weapons and modern military settings are not what's on offer here. Serious Sam 2 isn't like that. Oh no. Instead it offers a horizon full of enemies, an unfeasibly large gun in your hands and unerring path finding, from them to you. At first that idea doesn't sound so appealing, like Space Invaders with too much budget, but, almost surprisingly, its damn good fun.

The gameplay it offers is very simple; you are assailed by a truly staggering number of enemies and you have to shoot them all. The challenge is that you have to decide which enemies are the highest priority and engage those first. You're given seconds to decide and while the red things firing rockets are shooting at you now, the nasty skeletal things will be here very soon. While accuracy of fire against single enemies is relatively unimportant, being able to take out the maximum number of targets while expending as little ammo as possible is essential. Even with the number of weapons you have to choose from, you will miss the rocket ammo when suddenly it's gone. Back strafing is also essential; you'll do a lot of it. At times it can be frustrating, on a couple of occasions I began to wonder how anybody could be expected to kill THAT many enemies. Thankfully these are rare and your quick saves are backed up with auto saves and extra lives, so you'll rarely have to replay much of the level if you do get bogged down by sheer weight of numbers.

The basic story is that you've been sent back in time to stop a war in the future that will destroy mankind. To do this you have to kill someone called Mental, but really it has little effect on the game apart from giving straightforward objectives; these are basically "go to X, get Y, shoot stupid numbers of brightly colored nasty things, say witty one liner". Serious Sam Stone is a low rent, slightly cleaner Duke Nukem and while you can't pay strippers, he does come out with one liners on a regular basis; "We can do this my way or the hard way, they're basically the same thing." The whole game is delightfully tongue-in-cheek, and cheerfully mocks itself, the characters and the developers.

The game caters for a wide range of skill levels; a number of the weapons have auto aiming features which make things easier for new players, and the higher difficulties are obscenely hard, should you be indecently good or just masochistic. The main campaign offers little variety, vehicles and turrets do offer some diversions but it's still a case of shooting everything you can see. The boss encounters are entertaining, often because of their sheer size; while not Shadow of the Colossus-scale, they're still damn big. It's not the sort of game that most people will want to play for hours straight, there just isn't enough variety, but it is excellent to dip into and get rid of some stress by annihilating a telephone number amount of enemies. Also, because it's such a different atmosphere to the majority of games on the market it makes a refreshing change. The multiplayer options are run of the mill, but a Co-op mode is available, which is an absolute blast and definitely worth forcing your friends to play. Kudos to Croteam for putting in the effort to include it, as it's a feature so often promised and rarely delivered. Replayability is debatable, playing it again offers absolutely nothing new, but neither does most of the story, so it's just as much fun as before.

The game itself is very well presented, while not quite up to par with the graphical splendour of the latest games like F.E.A.R. or Prey, it is still easy on the eye and scales very well. The sheer amount of enemies that the game engine can put on your screen with modest hardware is impressive in itself. Some slowdown can occur during the larger encounters but in most cases you'll be more concerned with staying alive than watching the frame rate.

Reviewed by: Tom Baker
From: All About Games.

Tags: Serious, Sam, 2, video, computer, game, console, PC, xbox, nintendo, ps3, ps2, shoot, fps, version, croteam.

[PC] Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday

2006-10-08T19:57:00.000+02:00

A standalone expansion pack. Where have I seen that before? Ah, yes, Cossacks II: Battle for Europe which I reviewed prior to this. Like Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday, BfE included the original game and was supplemented by new content, itself deemed by the developers not to be worthy of a proper expansion pack. So where does this leave us? Again in a situation where existing owners are short-changed, but newcomers get more for their money.

Of course, if you read my review of the original, then you'll already know that the game isn't for newcomers, at least not newcomers to the genre. In fact, the game's steep learning curve probably doesn't suit the more light-hearted RTS players; those who indulge in a bit of Age of Empires 3, for example. The very nature of game makes even the more strategy-heavy (and history-heavy) games I've recently reviewed, BfE and Take Command: 2nd Manassas, seem tame. Of course, if you get into HoI2 there's a very deep and enjoyable experience to be had, which is detailed in the original review. As it's not worth treading over the same ground twice, I recommend you read that if you're new to the series.

If you're well aware of HoI2, then you'll be interested to know what Doomsday has added. First up on the cards is an extension in the game's timeline. This means that you are taken beyond the realms of World War II, beyond the restrictive end-date of December 1947 that previously existed, and allowed to proceed up to 1953. Thus, new conflicts play a part, including the start of the Cold War. This also inevitably leads to the introduction of new technologies, such as the Jet Engine and Nuclear Warheads, into the game. This will, of course, change how you play not only after World War II, but during it; there are now different goals, and new alliances to consider. Remember, the Soviet Union will no longer be your ally from the end of the war...

Unfortunately, the effect is somewhat minimal, but the new edition also tries to shake things up with the new Doomsday mode that gives this edition its title. This is an alternative route through history, taking a look at what could have happened following the end of the alliances that won the war. The beginning of World War III beckons when the United States retaliates for the Soviet Union's invasion of Western Europe by nuking Moscow and other strategic locations. The resulting conflict is thus in your hands as you begin in 1945, and fans will be interested to play this one out, taking on the new balance of power.

That said, it's still a rather lacking package. A few other additions like an intelligence tab are nice, but still not repurchase-worthy. Also, some of the problems that were in HoI2 are still here. Though the AI has had an upgrade, it still faces some annoying problems in areas such as air attacks. The graphical issues that were present in the preview code, however, seem to have been sorted.

Reviewed by: Matt Bailey.
From: All About Games.

Tags: console, game, PC, personal, computer, hearts, iron, doomsday, doom, day, strategy, release, Panta, Rei, GoodBytes.

[PS2] ATV Offroad Fury 3

2006-05-21T01:28:00.000+02:00

ATV—or all-terrain vehicle—titles have had quite a run in computer gaming. There has yet to be a standout title for the sport we know as quad biking, but the best series is arguably SCEA's ATV Offroad Fury. Southpeak Interactive have brought the latest, Climax-developed ATV Offroad Fury 3 to Europe. Unfortunately, even with OF3 in the mix, there is still no must-buy ATV-racing game.

However, that doesn't mean ATV Offroad Fury 3 is bad; the controls are comfortable and fluid, and the physics are consistent (if not entirely believable), and it's still a fairly competent game. Being an ATV game means it isn't all about the racing. You are also able to perform tricks mid-race, by combining the use of the d-pad or analogue stick with the face and shoulder buttons. These vary in difficulty to perform, though the bigger issue is usually trying to pull them off before hitting the ground. Whether you bother at all while racing is up to you—you can still proceed and win the racing championships without racking up trick points, though they are the main feature of the Freestyle championship.

The game offers a range of ATV race types in Single Event option. There's Supercross (races in stadiums), National (races in open land), Endurance (in open land with no track boundaries, but gates to pass through), Short Track (er... short open tracks), and Freestyle (where it's all about the stunts). Each of these are available in Amateur and Pro flavours, as well as being playable through a Championship. I have to admit that as the tracks were immediately recognisable to me (having also been playing the PSP version), the Championship was probably easier than it should have been. Overall, it's reasonably good fun, but seems to lack a sense of excitement present in some racing games' main career modes. There's also a Waypoint mode allowing you to create your own paths through Endurance that's a worthwhile addition.

It's also very disappointing to learn that the online mode that was present in the North American version of the game has been sadly removed, despite remaining present on the PSP release. No reason was given for this, though it could be that the European publisher did not want to set up the separate servers—though it's a pity there's not even the ability to play on the North American servers. It's even more of a pity when you realise that this mode was actually one of the best around on the PS2, including full USB headset support, scoreboards, the lot. Still, there's some split-screen offline play to enjoy for up to four people, even if it isn't that exciting with a quarter of a screen.

The game's graphics are not exceptional, and are often quite murky, but they aren't bad compared to many PS2 titles. The brown-based palette is a symptom of a mud-based sport, and so isn't really the fault of the developers. However, it does contribute to an overall dull look to the game, failing to provide the excitement the sport itself thrives on.

Reviewed by: Matt Bailey.
From: All About Games.

Tags: console, game, SONY, PS, PS2, Playstation, 2, Playstation2, ATV, race, racing, offroad, Panta Rei, GoodBytes.

[PC] And Then There Were None

2006-03-15T23:54:00.000+01:00

And Then There Were None is AWE Games' interactive interpretation of Agatha Christie's 1939 novel of the same name. For those who, like me, who have not read Christie's original text, the basic premise is this: ten strangers are invited to an island in Devon by a Mr. U. N. Owen. Some time after they arrive, each of the guests is accused—via a recording—of a wrongdoing that has, either directly or indirectly, claimed the lives of other people. Shortly after, the first guest chokes to death, being the first in a chain of deaths as foretold in a rhyme.

For reasons and brevity and so as to avoid spoiling the story, that's as far as I'll go. Apparently the game sticks fairly closely to the original novel (though as mentioned, I have not actually read it), with a number of exceptions; for example, the inclusion of a player character (the boatman, who gets stranded on the island with the rest of them when a suspicious guest wrecks his boat), and the change of "Indians" to "sailor boys" in the rhyme, presumably for political correctness. Oh, and let's not forget the completely different ending; so as to give some more play value to readers of the novel, AWE Games decided to change the outcome of the story, depending on how you complete it. Before you shout "HERESY" and destroy the offices of AWE, though, the original ending is still included after you have seen the (in my opinion, inferior) new endings.

But anyway, enough about the story line; being based on the Agatha Christie novel gives ATTWN a free pass when it comes to plot quality. How fun actually is the game to play? It gets off to a bit of a slow start, with you—Patrick Naracott—going through every room, examining every square centimetre of the house, and talking to everyone, all in the traditional adventure game manner. Saying that, part of this perceived slowness is probably just getting used to the (simple) controls and game concepts. Once the first victim is killed, the game starts to kick off. From then on, it progresses at an enjoyable pace, with the exception of the odd traditional "adventure game frustration syndrome" moments.

ATTWN feels like it is missing a layer of polish on top of it. Its voice acting is good, models are fairly detailed, backgrounds are high quality, music is correct for the period, but there are just some niggling details that stick out somewhat. Most obvious when the game is loaded up is that you are limited to 800x600 full-screen. Whilst this is perfectly acceptable for most people, my native resolution is 1600x1200, and 800x600 has a noticeable "low-quality" look to it on my monitor. For people with LCDs, I can see this being a more major problem, as they will either have a horrible looking fullscreen display, or a small rectangle in the middle of their screen.

The second area which could do with polish is that of animations; specifically picking up objects, and opening doors. Whilst purely aesthetic, both lack a degree of realism. When Naracott obtains items, he extends his arms, moves them in the general direction of the item, and it disappears. Door opening is less obviously disjointed, but still far from highly realistic; Naracott puts his hands on the door, but it doesn't actually open. In fact, in general, transition animation is missing—objects tend to go directly from one state to another.

So as to offer a slight diversion from the main plotline, there are a number of "sub-quests" within ATTWN; for example, at one point you can find the parts to mend a radio. These offer a welcome change from the main plot when you inevitably become stuck, but their almost complete lack of change within the game makes them feel like a generic welded-on addition. In other games, they also would have caused the problem of having more items in your inventory than needed, but ATTWN already gives you a lot of useless items. Quite why, nobody knows.

If you are a fan of adventure games, or were in the genre's heyday, you may want to take a look at ATTWN. Moving aside the minor issues such as animation and unneeded items, it's an enjoyable game with a good plot.

Reviewed by: Dave Wickham.

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