Our gaming hobby might be movie like in this day and age, but it is because of consoles pushing the limits by outclassing each other with each new generation that this industry evolves so quickly. Some of you have been with us since the Atari 2600 days in the 70’s and some might have only joined recently without any knowledge of where it all started. Come back every week, as we will be looking at each console and what exactly it did that made us buy into it and how it helped the industry to become the monster we know and enjoy today.

Continue reading El33tonline’s third editorial on the rise and fall of console gaming as we take a closer look at the SEGA Master System. Stay tuned as we put the SEGA Mega Drive in the spotlight next week or check out our thoughts on the Atari 2600 or NES.

I know the question on your lips: Is TNA Impact any better than any of the annually released Smackdowns and the short answer is “no.” That does not mean that this game is no good.

Using the N64’s classic WWF No Mercy as a starting block and then taking influences from popular Japanese wrestling games, locking wrestlers into the six-sided ring and its surrounding arena, this brawler is speedier than other wrestling games and even pops in some mini games. Break out a submission move and the two players must battle with Quick Time Events (think Smackdown meets Shenmue). Other than that it is the straight forward scenario of punch, kick and grapple your way to victory, with the odd table and chair being smacked over an opponents head. Nothing new really.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of TNA Impact! for the PS3.

Take a collection of hoverships. Add a rollercoaster circuit, the occasional weapon and drop in a thumping soundtrack. This has been the Wipeout recipe since 1995. Wipeout HD is no different. In fact, it’s better than Wipeout 2097 – you heard right.

Continue reading El33tonline’s PS3 review of WipEout HD.

“Playing the apprentice of the baddest bad guy of them all is possibly what sets this Star Wars game aside over and above any other Star Wars game franchise before this. What does stand up even more though is the way Lucasarts has made this a living breathing game that emphasizes just how strong this apprentice is with the force at his side… while Darth Vader watches on.”

Continue reading El33tonline’s Xbox 360 review of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

You might have read about how great the PS2 version of this game was on another review on this very site, but I’m afraid the DS version got given the “Let’s squeeze some more money out of the consumer” treatment. With all the hype around the LEGO franchise I was expecting a lot more from this dismal title.

Think of LEGO Indiana Jones as a modern, not so well crafted, pseudo 2D Pandemonium game with no charm and puzzles thrown in that your three year old brother or sister could solve if they were blind folded while holding the DS upside-down. Did I mention that the platforming bits are useless?

Following all the other versions, this game takes you through all of the Indiana Jones movie franchises including “The Lost Ark,” “Temple of Doom” and “The Last Crusade.” The latest movie “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” has been excluded from the list; lets all hold thumbs that this game never sees the light of day on the DS. From the word “go” the menu system is just far too confusing.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures for the DS.

Another game in my backlog and one that I am sad to say I should have played ages ago. In my view it should not take longer than an hour to start enjoying a game. Games such as Grand Theft Auto, Mario Kart and Tetris are all good examples of games that have you mastering the controls within minutes of picking it up, and they’re brilliant titles.

Loco Roco breaks the record though as I rolled the squishy yellow Loco Roco off his first platform, ate some fruit (which made him grow slightly in size) and listened to him sing along to the most bizarre, but brilliant, music…and fell in love straight away.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Loco Roco.

Kratos shouts, “I won’t take your riches of your woman – but I will take your life!” He then smashes the Persian ruler’s face using one of his own treasure chests. Now that is how you make an entrance.

This installation of the franchise is based as a prequel before God of War 1 (seems Ready at Dawn likes explaining reasons for situations in games as they did with Daxter, explaining Jak 2 a bit better). It is also in this game that you understand why Kratos is beside himself right in the beginning of God of War 1 – he, for the first time, shows his more humane side. Telling you what it is would totally spoil the game for you, so I’ll leave it at that. So, let’s get back to the very reason you would want to play this game – bone-crushing violence. For those new to God of War (duh! Where have you been?) the opening level is pure adrenaline, pure spectacle, pure Kratos. The action takes place at a 200KM/H pace and you have no choice but to keep up.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of God of War: Chains of Olympus.

One by one I’m ridding myself of many of my backlog games and Daxter was next in the list to see if it would stand the test of time, even if it is just two years old or so.

Jak’s irritating sidekick is getting a game for himself? Now how much fun could that really be? Surprisingly lots – this a great example of all that is good and right about the dying genre: Platformer games. You might have thought that using the dodgy analog nub on the PSP would be a dodgy proposition but, you’re wrong, it plays just brilliantly. And who would have thought?

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Daxter.

Lets get things straight from the start – Race Driver GRID isn’t a simulator in the same sense as Gran Turismo; a racing game recreated in it’s most scientific form. The weight shift of cars, the use of tyre grip and wear, the subtle variations that come from altering aerodynamics and gear ratios. Gran Turismo promotes the essence of driving like a gentleman in order to appreciate it fully – which is probably why creator Yamauchi managed to convince people over the years that damage is not essential to a racing franchise.

If you ever made an effort to watch any Motorsport on TV then you will know that this non-contact driving utopia doesn’t exist. What does make Motorsport exciting is that danger and fear that you might not take a corner correctly and hit into a wall of tires, misjudge a curb and spin out or that an opponent could spin out in front of you leaving you with little option but to squeeze your opponents out of the way to avoid contact. While Gran Turismo will pat you on the back for a faultless lap, there is arguably more satisfaction from surviving the rough and tumble of a close-fought race and nursing a battered car across the line against all odds.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Race Driver: GRID.

It is a sad fact that puzzle games don’t sell by using any kind of hype. They have basically got to be supreme at what they do – they’ve got to play like a dream. Soul Bubbles does just that, but it looks and sounds like a dream as well. A very peculiar dream…involving a naked baby with lungs like bellows. Don’t ask.

It is very difficult to describe this game, kind of a cross between Loco Roco and Lost Winds. The aim is to use the stylus to blow a spirit-filled bubble through a maze from point “A” to “B.” Despite the early stages being very simplistic it does gradually up the difficulty curve, forcing you to think differently. By pressing “up” on the D-pad it allows you to draw circles with your stylus, creating bubbles, and doing this traps certain elements within the bubble.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Soul Bubbles.

Never in your wildest dreams would you have imagined that the Guitar Hero franchise would go to a handheld system…ever. This alone is absolutely revolutionary!

Guitar Hero: On Tour Guitar GripRock icons don’t play by the rules. They throw tellies out of windows, bite the heads off bats and smash up the instruments - that makes them what they are. One instrument you won’t want to smash up, no matter how raw you are, is Guitar Hero: On Tour’s “Guitar Grip.” It’s a beautiful designed piece of kit that fits in the palm of your hand (literally) and is very user friendly, but not in the least bulky.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Guitar Hero: On Tour. And don’t forget to enter our Guitar Hero: On Tour competition where you stand a chance to win one of three Guitar Hero: On Tour demo units!

Another Guitar Hero? So soon? It’s only one band? Okayyyy…So, what’s new? It’s Aerosmith! Now this is where you decide if you’re super excited, or not.

Setting a whole game around one band can be very risky after producing the three best rhythm games in ages. Not only is it a matter of hearing the same sound over and over again but you also stand the chance of losing hardcore followers who reckon that they’ve (Neversoft) lost the plot and are now just doing Guitar Hero sequels of bands.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

This might have been released ages ago but only recently have I had the chance to get through some of my backlogged games (there are plenty more where this came from). I finished Call of Duty 3 on the Xbox 360 ages ago and thought it would only do me some good to actually play this Wii version of the same game. Sadly it does not live up to what I was hoping it might be.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Call of Duty 3.

Let me hear a “Hell Yeah!” if you would like to see the Contra of old! Since Contra Hard Corps and the Alien Wars there has been very little for Contra fans to cheer about. Yet, while this is not the genuine successor to Contra 3: Alien Wars (downloadable on the Nintendo Wii as a Virtual Console game for the Super Nintendo) it is one of the best old-school shooters around…don’t forget that this is 2008 and these kind of games are far and few in between.

Visually, Contra 4 truly evoked a bygone era, with side-scrolling 2D levels, gigantic boss sprites and pseudo-3D bonus missions. Contra veterans will be chuffed to see some recognizable enemies, weapons and levels from previous incarnations in the series – in fact, this feels like one massive nostalgia trip. Not to even mention unlockable comics, bibliographies, sound galleries and…wait for it…PIXEL-PERFECT ports of Contra and Super Contra on the NES. Yup, you even have the option to keep the game at the original aspect ratio or to fit the DS screens which are a tad bit wider that your good old standard TV (Standard TV’s feel so last year!)

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Contra 4.

Ever played Max Payne and wished for even more bullet time action with the chance to destroy anything, and I mean “anything,” in your path with a game that could not really care much for the story? You’ve got it!

Over and above Max Payne there is nothing like Stranglehold in this generation. Some have tried of course, but when it comes to the simple act of bullets hitting things really hard – be it furniture or faces, Stranglehold reigns supreme – and for one simple reason: everything in this game can be blown to smithereens. The right trigger on your Xbox 360 has its best use since keeping it down to accelerate in Project Gotham Racing. It’s exceptionally satisfying and some nice extra features make it well worth a purchase.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Stranglehold.