Two or three hours into Ninja Gaiden II, you will come to a very important realisation. It’s the kind of realisation that one sometimes gets in a game; that ‘Aha!’ moment when some characteristic or design principle is suddenly made clear as daylight and your perceptions of said game are shifted, redefined and solidified. This particular moment in Ninja Gaiden II happens during a boss fight – one of the earliest in the game – and the realisation is this: you are not having fun.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Ninja Gaiden II.

The latest entry to the series of, essentially, 2D fighting games based on the Dragon Ball Z license, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, really wants to impress you from the get-go. Burst Limit opens with an energetic, explosive cinematic, supported by hyped-up music in the traditional style of a DBZ television episode. This opening reveals the characters, as well as playing on fans emotions by showing some of the key set-pieces they would have come to know from pouring over every episode and manga they have. If you are (or even were) a DBZ fan, you’ll be hard-pressed not to get at least a little excited.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit.

With the original SoulCalibur (Dreamcast) considered by many to be the greatest console 3D fighting game ever made, it comes as no surprise that the latest instalment in the series has met both fervent anticipation and impossibly high expectations. Fortunately, SoulCalibur IV is a game that not only holds its own amongst its esteemed predecessors, but also makes a strong case for being perhaps the richest and most satisfying fighting experience we’ve seen this generation.

I should mention that I am no frame-counting hardcore fighting game fanatic. I approached SoulCalibur IV from the perspective of a middle-core gamer craving a fighting game that is accessible and intuitive enough to pick up and play with little resistance and frustration, but also deep and technical enough to offer a rewarding and lasting experience that would push me to constantly improve my skills and rule out luck as a determining factor during matches. From this perspective, the game delivers the goods. In spades.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of SoulCalibur IV.

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!

Sega Rally doesn’t begin with any fanfare. No lengthy celebratory introduction video showing off the game. No overly hyped-up music to get you pumped for the races to come. Not even the traditional arcade “Sega Rally!” voice-over to welcome you in. No, everything is pretty subdued and functional in this direction of Sega Rally, which can mean either the game wasn’t given the necessary time and budget, or it simply serves to reflect the fact that the chosen direction for this particular arcade rally racer feels lifeless, despite the colourful, animated tracks.

The first thing that stands out as you start is the minimalist menu system. Reminiscent of the PS3’s 3D photo viewer, each menu item is represented by a photo, one at a time. While this is a fresh approach, it can get a little tedious, not only cycling through each photo every time, but also the fact that you have to memorise in which order the menu items appear, as not all of the items are on-screen at once or immediately available. The other thing about the menus is that there are a lot of them. Being able to choose all of your car preferences, such as car type, colour and tyres on one screen, for example, would have been a bit more intuitive than cycling through three (and more) different photo menus to simply start a race.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Sega Rally.

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.

From start-up, you’re presented with a loading bar, leading to a (pleasant looking) pre-rendered cinematic, explaining Earth’s current plight as they’re invaded by the Strogg, an alien race constructed from other alien races. This is the only real bit of exposition you’ll get and the only reason given to care about defending - or invading - Earth. The rest of the story is left to ‘emergent storytelling,’ the latest buzz words, especially in the arenas of online gaming, as players tell their own stories of how they accomplished a mission, or the funny way another player met their demise.

In this squad-based multiplayer first person shooter, players choose a side - either the alien Strogg or the human GDF - and set off with their team mates to complete a set of objectives within a time-limit, with each team’s objective trying to counter that of the other; the GDF may be trying to build a bridge while the Strogg are trying to stop the bridge being built. The GDF may be trying to get their mobile command centre to a strategic location and the Strogg are trying to stop it. This results in the creation of a consistent battle-line being drawn, so conflict is persistent even on large maps, instead of dividing the battle into tiny, tiny skirmishes, sprawled across the level.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

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!)

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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.

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If the premise of this game intrigues you then you should buy it and play it. There’s not much that needs to be said – I can’t recommend it enough if you’re in the least bit interested in action/adventure movies. In fact, this is an Indiana Jones or National Treasure experience in game form, and arguably does just about everything better than those movies do. As such, it’s an advertisement for where gaming could take us, and shows the potential for it to be a more engaging form of storytelling.

Nathan Drake is an everyman, a sort of reluctant hero. He’s a bounty hunter out to make a quick buck by helping a documentary film-maker called Elena Fisher find Sir Francis Drake’s coffin and an interesting story. Being an opportunist, when he finds a notebook left by Drake he ditches Elena and flies off with his friend and business partner Sully to find the treasure Sir Francis mapped. Of course, it’s not so simple; Drake’s notebook is really just a set of clues that send Nathan all around the Caribbean in search of El Dorado (what else would a bounty hunter be searching for?)

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

Kung Fu Panda does something extraordinary in my opinion, it re-defines the movie tie-in game genre and issues a stern challenge that we can only hope future movie tie-in games will live up to. And all this before we even meet the very likeable, although somewhat unlikely hero, Kung Fu Panda Po.

Let me say straight up that there are probably some gamers that will not enjoy this title, simply because it is a movie tie-in and it is quite short too. However, if you are looking for a humourous adventure this may be just up your street. It will certainly appeal to kids and any gamers who want to spend a good couple of hours picking up some moves (kapow!) and laughing as you do so.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Kung Fu Panda.

Thanks to Megarom for kindly sponsoring the review copy of the game. Head over to our competitions page if you want to win a copy of Kung Fu Panda for the PS3.

After several delays the day has eventually dawned upon us where the most anticipated, hyped about game has been released. Rockstar North had the most difficult task ahead of them of having to outdo themselves as they had very few competitors who took them on in their own game – free roaming.

This is Grand Theft Auto with the nasty bits trimmed off, the rough parts smoothed over and fun squeezed into every possible nook and cranny. The bad bits are gone, the good bits are better, and it’s very rare that you will find yourself bored sitting on your sofa, staring at your TV.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Since I am a fan both of the Lego series and of Indiana Jones I was looking forward to combining the two, I mean its Lego and its Indiana Jones, how could it not be fun.

The game follows the adventures of Indy as he faces dangers and obstacles in The Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade. As such if you have watched the first three Indiana Jones movies you will recognise many scenes made famous by the movies whereas if you are new to the series you will wonder why it has taken you so long to indulge in a little adventure or two.

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

Thanks to Megarom for kindly sponsoring the review copy of the game and look out for details of our LEGO Indiana Jones competition soon.