Castlevania: Symphony of the Night has aged quite badly on XBLA. While it once offered gothic ambience and creepiness, we've since been spoilt by strong storytelling of games like Shadow Complex, so Symphony of the Night felt a bit mindless. The entertaining game mechanics made for a fun experience but an experience that still left me feeling cold and unfeeling towards the purpose behind the game.

Tue, 16 Mar 2010

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Bolt Wii isn't just the usual aping of a movie story, it's an original prelude to the film. Not technically impressive, but perfect for the film's target audience and a great experience for fans of the movie.

Wed, 17 Feb 2010

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Even though New Super Mario Brothers has been out for a while, it's still worth a look. It's converted and hooked this ageing platformer cynic.

Fri, 12 Feb 2010

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Assassin's Creed II is everything I hoped it would be. I thoroughly enjoyed the game, but where was all the sex we'd been promised? We might not get to see that kind of action, but fortunately what remains is a fantastic game on the PS3, 360 and PC.

Tue, 09 Feb 2010

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The Chase: Felix Meets Felicity adds rom-com cliche to its platforming gameplay on the DS. Romantic missteps aside, although I enjoyed the gameplay for a while, no saving resulted in too much repetition for me.

Tue, 02 Feb 2010

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Parasol Stars magically extends the bubble and rainbow fun to some unassuming but surprisingly addictive umbrella action. Following the platforming of both Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands, Parasol Stars keeps thing bright, fun and simple. Scratch beneath the surface though and there is a labyrinth of controllable complexity.

Mon, 01 Feb 2010

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The simplest games can generate complex experiences. So goes the rhetoric behind Halo:

Tue, 26 Jan 2010

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Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure intelligently updates the Bubble Bobble sequel. Amongst a plethora of spin offs, for the first time we have a fitting follow up to the classic 90's arcade, Amiga and Atari ST hit Rainbow Islands. The games exquisitely balanced Challenge Mode had me transfixed, so I'll be zooming in on this baby for my Closeup review.

Mon, 25 Jan 2010

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This is not an easy cash-in follow up, that would come later with Bubble Memories and Symphony. Rainbow Islands is a full reimagining of its forbears play mechanic with rainbows replacing bubbles.

Sat, 23 Jan 2010

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Games connect us to exhilaration is various ways. I love mine to scare me. Although the shock, horror and gore are all pretty unnerving, nothing comes close to the sweaty palms of playing games that take you to ridiculously high places - InFamous, Mirror's Edge and Uncharted to name a few.

Sat, 23 Jan 2010

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