It takes a brave soul to “reboot” a franchise, particularly one thats as legendary within its field as Tomb Raider is, but Crystal Dynamics and Square-Enix have decided to give it a go and if all of the marketing material we've been subjected to during its development is to be believed, they're going about it in a rather controversial manner that could make Lara Croft a key player within the videogames industry again. However, said marketing material has left a rather confusing message, as though Square-Enix aren't particularly sure who the game should be aimed at. We've been subjected to a bunch of rather violent, if not “torture porn”-esque, trailers that no doubt appeal to the man children out there, but theres also the side of the marketing that tells us this is Lara's most character driven and, more importantly, emotionally mature tale to date.


The confused nature seems to have spread to the game itself. Initially, it feels as though the developers want the experience to be one of survival, that would fit in with the story surrounding Lara in this new origins tale afterall, but the manner in which you're encouraged to play the game and the pace at which everything moves along suggests that this is more of an all out action game. One of your first tasks has you hunting a deer, which Lara sobs over and apologises to as she feasts upon its carcass at this point you'd be forgiven for thinking that the new direction of survival is really going to work out, but this is the first and the last time that you have to actually hunt for food, it never appears again. It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity, the game instead chooses to rely upon a regenerating health system like we get with every other action game on the market now and thus Crystal Dynamics have ejected the chance to develop what could have been a key part of the games own character by encouraging you to hunt for food and use the plentiful campsites to cook it and then ultimately use like the old franchise's health packs. Likewise, ammunition, for your bow and your guns, is scattered everywhere. You're never left wanting regardless of how you approach the games action sequences. Which is a shame, as again, there's an element of the developer wanting you to hunt and scavange for ammunition. One skill upgrade allows you to retrieve your arrows from fallen enemies and animals, but within the confines of what the developer has actually provided the player with it becomes redundant.

The plot elements are rather unfulfilled too. Early on in the game, Lara is a quivering mess. Shortly after killing a person for the first time she's genuinely shocked, but again thats short lived and rather shallow as she soon states to Roth (one of the key characters) that it was easier than she expected it to be. Rather than any further question being raised, this is dismissed with Roth simply stating that “she's a Croft” which is somehow used as the reason for her being able to kill hordes of people, regardless of the cirumstances (and in the circumstances given by the game, it would be completely understandable for her to have to kill others but this is never really addressed). These early moments feel like a falsified attempt to create sympathy for Lara's cause. Before long Lara is literally screaming for the blood of inhabitants of the island her and her colleagues and friends find themselves on. It all feels a bit weird in this post Spec Ops: The Line and The Walking Dead world. Both of those games allowed the characterisation to progress and Spec Ops in particular felt like it questioned the motives of the protagonist, the antagonist and the player themselves. Now, I personally don't expect every game to raise questions of morality or give us deep, interesting characters, but as mentioned previously, that is essentially what we were promised. An interesting origins story that would make Lara a more believable character in a more believable (and brutal) world than what was offered in previous games. Unfortunately it feels like the player has been sold short on this front.

The exploration, unfortunately, also suffers. There's plenty to see and do, but it all feels unimportant, it doesn't really have any meaningful use within the context of the game other than to fluff it all out a bit. The games titular tombs are all single room, optional affairs, they have no use other than to help fill a bullet point on a statistics screen and unlock achievements or trophies depending upon the platform you're playing on. They're all hidden, which is fine, but the challenge of discovering them is taken away from the player by the amount of sign posting and handholding the game throws at the player. As soon as you're close to one, a chiming type noise plays and a pop-up notification flashes up on the screen stating that an “Option Tomb is nearby”. It's not the only bit of handhold the game features either. Spend more than ten seconds trying to solve anything and you'll be given a hint, usually its telling you to hit L2 to bring up survival mode, but the game also likes to remind you of the various skills that you've been given at every little opportunity. This handholding has also taken the risk of the franchises key draw, the exploration of the environments. Gone are the leaps of faith, if it can't be made, Lara won't do it, the player is fenced in and in a move to take away the skill of keeping character momentum as an attribute of the player, you no longer have to make Lara swing or hop when its needed, she'll automatically launch herself of anything thats been designed with this purpose in mind. All too often control is ripped from the player, either because the plot calls for that obligatory moment that all third person games now have where the character is slowed to a walking pace whilst he/she chats to someone over a radio, other times the camera twists in a different direction so that the developer forces the player to look upon the piece of scenery that they have created, its never done in a way that tries to bring attention to something that the player can do, only for something for them to see. These are both criticisms that could be levelled at many other games, but they both seem to be more prevalent here. The player doesn't even have the option to crouch themselves and using ducking behind cover or being in a “ready” position with weapon drawn is automatically taken by the character.

Thankfully the auto-cover is never much of a problem and actually leads me on to the games strong points. The combat is genuinely good. The bow is particularly satisfying to use in such situations and has the versatility of being able to fire “fire arrows”. It can also be used to traverse the environment by firing ropes across pre-defined area's and can set alight to specific obstacles in order to solve puzzles. Despite my earlier criticsms of hand-holding when tackling certain obstacles or when popping in and out of cover, movement is genuinely enjoyable. Lara moves in a believably fluid way, her animations aren't stilted or advertised with no specific queues making her feel less like an on-screen caricature than she has ever felt. The inclusion of subtle, but incredibly believable, movements like putting a hand against a tree as you move past or gradually, slowly and silently crouching as you approach some bushes give her an uncannily lifelike appearance that makes the game a joy to watch.

There's one particular moment, and its not even a key point of the game, where all of these positive points really stand out. You're in a wooded area at night and there are a number of guards doing patrols all of whom are carrying torches. By slowly, quietly making your way from tree to tree and using some of the raised area's you can take each one out silently in a manner which feels so much more natural than many of the more dedicated stealth titles currently on the market, and this is where Tomb Raider excels. Forget all the marketing stuff, forget whats gone before and this reboot is a genuinely exciting adventure title. Okay, so there are elements that could really do with being filled out considerably and hopefully if a sequel is green-lighted then Crystal Dynamics will do just that, but what they have actually given us here is a highly enjoyable game, that whilst it shares many similarities with other titles on the market, it does so in a much more believable and enjoyably effortless way. Hopefully this is Crystal Dynamics testing the waters of what the fanbase want, afterall, rebooting a franchise as beloved Tomb Raider must be incredibly difficult, and whilst fans of previous instalments may be dissapointed with many aspects of this release, they should also take heart that there are some incredibly interesting foundations for some rather sensible game mechanics here. Develop that survival element more and give us proper tombs to explore, remove some of the Uncharted style elements and Tomb Raider could become as important as it was all those years ago again.

In an era of gaming where online multiplayer seems to be the focus of the industry’s attention it shouldn’t be unusual to even see Platinum games, usually creators of single-player action, get in on the multiplayer bandwagon to see what they can come up with. Past projects such as Bayonetta and Vanquish are finely tuned and surgical examples of the genre so can Platinum Games bring that design philosophy from their past games to the unsympathetic waters of online multiplayer with this game, Anarchy Reigns?

While they waters they sail are uncharted to them, as it is one of the few games of its kind, they do so in a ship that is familiar. Anyone who has played MadWorld will be familiar with how the game’s fighting system works, and the fact it shares many characters with that game makes it feel like something of a spiritual sequel. The big difference between Anarchy Reigns and MadWorld is the addition – and focus - of multiplayer.

In Anarchy Reigns, you’ll find yourself wandering around post-apocalyptic environments which seem like they could be lifted from Borderlands or any number of other games that have a similar setting, and you swing your fists through swarms of enemies that don’t put up much of a fight. This isn’t like previous games from the studio where each enemy is a satisfying opponent, but instead we have sacks of meat that bust under the force of a quick one-two. Sometimes you come across larger mutants that offer up a challenge but the game’s “Super Saiyan” style ability where you can become powered up and invincible for a short time make these kind of engagements quite unsatisfying after a while. Once you get into the flow of fighting to survive long enough to fill your metre then unleashing it then you find you don’t need to do anything else, and there also isn’t much else.

As for the single-paler campaign you work your way through a number of identical fights that are interrupted by out of place cutscenes that tell a story that seems to have been cobbled together as an afterthought. The story mainly follows two characters and you choose which story you will follow at the start of the game: one is about Jack, the star of MadWorld, and the other tale follows Leo, a new character.

Essentially, a story of revenge and redemption in the most basic form, and one that doesn’t do anything interesting; not only that the very aesthetic of the game is somewhat lacking. The fact that it stars so many characters from MadWord - a game known for its bold art direction if known for anything at all – it just highlights how visually muted Anarchy Reigns is. Seeing characters born from the black and white art design coloured in and placed in a brown world that doesn’t add anything to the formula is sad to see. Even Bayonetta who is in the game as a bonus for anyone who purchased the game day one, even looks bland in the company of Anarchy Reigns’ characters and environments. The life is sucked out of Bayonetta.

But Anarchy Reigns is primarily a multiplayer game so if Platinum gets this right then much can be forgiven. Unfortunately, that also isn’t the case.

The multiplayer is just anarchy, but not in a good way. Up to 16 players can take part but all it consists of is someone sneaking up on two others who are battling out and performing damaging back attacks, and the camera is placed close to your right shoulder so these attacks cannot be seen or realistically avoided; that is all that happens in any given match-up. It’s not too hard to master the simple combat system, but you don’t even have to as exploiting the mechanics is how you succeed. Even in one on one match ups fights aren’t like a good fighting game where you can use mechanics to be unpredictable and creative, you merely exploit the systems. Learn them, and then exploit them.

Not a great deal of joy comes from these fights which is strange considering the pedigree. Anarchy Reigns is an experiment, and an experiment which doesn’t seem to have a great deal of passion behind it. There is a place for a game like this but someone is going to have to really want to make it and not just be an obligation, which what Anarchy Reigns mostly comes across as.

Perhaps I wouldn’t be saying this if we didn’t know the development history of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, but it does have the feel of a game that has been saved. Areas are fairly small, levels mostly short, and there’s not a lot of enemies. It’s not unusual to beat 4 enemies, some more spawn in out of no where, move on a bit, watch a cut scene, beat another 4, cut scene, boss fight. Gameplay elements are re-used, the building running is less than great and is repeated in slightly altered forms a couple of times.

It’s apparent in the cut scenes too, not that they’re of poor quality, far from it, the cut scenes are great. There’s also a lot of them, which is pretty much par for the course for a Metal Gear game, although they aren’t quite as gameplay obstructing as they could be in Metal Gear Solid 4. Instead there are scenes, crazy scenes admittedly, that I’m convinced you’d play in another Platinum Games product. I know it’s a common complaint of CG cut scenes, that they’re showing you all this cool stuff you can’t do, but knowing that you would have done it in Bayonetta and Vanquish does make it more apparent.

Revengeance’s problems aren’t all about the feeling of what could have been, there are a few issues with the gameplay. The camera isn’t great, in fact if you do find yourself backed up against some scenery it feels oddly archaic, it’s been a while since I’ve played a modern game with camera issues like this. For the most part it’s fine as for the most part you’re fighting in fairly open environments, but there will be plenty of times during the game where you’ll helplessly be smacked around by enemies all because you can’t see the attack coming. It’s a problem exacerbated by Rising not doing a good enough job of explaining its systems to you. For example there’s a lock on feature which is a big help in boss fights, that was something I had to discover for myself.

The parrying mechanic too illustrates the lack of guidance. Rising does show you how to do it, kind of, but it doesn’t go in to the timing. What that means is that you’ll master blocking fairly quickly, reliably and almost accidentally avoiding damage, but it’s only later on you’ll realise that you can take a bit more time that you think for a counter. There’s a dodge move that can be purchased, it’s located in the combo list, again another feature oddly hidden. I never really felt the need to consult the move list apart from to learn that dodge move, not that I’d describe the combat as mashy, but there is a certain spongey, instinctiveness to it. You naturally begin to make your own combos, knowing roughly what you need to do to get the desired effect.

While it probably reads like there’s a lot wrong with Revengeance, it’s still a very good game. The combat isn’t as deep as Bayonetta or Devil May Cry, but it’s still way better than it has any right to be. The Zan Datsu adds precision and a conclusion to combat, ensuring that you don’t just mash away. Instead you need to precisely slice limbs from enemies, and hit the right area to refill your health. They’ve even included stealth moves, they add something different, tying Rising to its Metal Gear routes.

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance is superb, it’s stupid, daft, but also surprisingly politically charged. It manages to feel like a Metal Gear game whilst also feeling like a Platinum game, a quality brawler with some unique dynamics. It’s got a few too many issues for it to be a true classic, exacerbated because the core game is so much fun. but I dare say it’ll be as well regarded as both Vanquish and Bayonetta.

This generation seems to have been one that has been dominated by the Hollywood Blockbuster-esque action game, particular genre's which were once absolutely huge, haven't had the amount of attention that they once given by both the media and players. Or thats how it would seem, the truth is, these genres have seen some fairly high profile releases and attention with some high ratings thrown in for good measure and lets not forget that many of the elements that are keeping people hooked to the likes of Call of Duty are taken straight from the likes of RPG's and Fighters, and on the mention of that last point, some titles have become absolutely huge and essentially helped relaunch that genre (Street Fighter IV comes to mind here), and really, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch should do something similar for JRPG's.



A collaboration between Dragon Quest VIII developers Level-5 and animation studio Studio Ghibli was always going to garner attention from the typical JRPG crowd, and that includes yours truly, and the two working together has created such a sublime and charming piece of work.

You, the player, are placed in the shoes of Oliver, a young boy from Motor Town, who after an accident, loses his Mother. Struck with grief, his tears bring his favourite toy, Mr Drippy, to life and it just so happens that Mr Drippy is a fairy from a different dimensional world. Once awakened, Mr Drippy invites Oliver to his world, wherein Oliver can save a Great Sage that shares his Mothers soul and thus revive her.

It's fair to say, as far as JRPG tales go, its fairly cliche, but the way in which it is loving and charmingly written stops all of that from mattering. The game and its characters emit a kind of warmth that I've not particularly experienced since I first played through Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue, and the similarities don't end there. At a particular point, fairly early on in the game, you gain the ability to recruit "Familiars", what this entails is that the creatures that you battle out in the wild (discluding bosses and guardians) can be tamed an added to your party for you to use in battle. As expected they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, both in an elemental sense and a physical, and the latter can be addressed by feeding them treats to raise particular stats (in a similar manner to another RPG from my youth, namely Phantasy Star Online's MAGs). As they get stronger you're eventually given the option to "Metamorphasise" them, this is pretty much the same as Pokemon's evolutions, creatures change form (not as drastically as in the Nintendo franchise) and, for a short while, take a hit on their stats, which is remidied as they begin to level up again (or are fed more treats).

The battle system feels like it borrows from another highly popular title too, namely Persona 3, you control one character (but you can chop and change throughout the battle) and give the rest of the human characters particular tactics to follow. I for example have relied heavily on using Mitey (through Oliver) to attack with Esther as our support providing healing spells where needed. It's the flexibility of the system that makes it feel so rewarding and the challenging nature of the game that keeps you on your toes. Whilst we're on the subject of the game being "challenging", it would be unfair for it to be deemed difficult, it would also be unfair for it to be deemed easy or unfair on the player. It is none of these things and nor does it require a noticable amount of grinding, the difficulty comes in how you play it. This isn't a lazy players JRPG, you can't sit back and hit X constantly to attack, you need to pay attention to what your opponents are doing, attack or defend at the right time or move your character around to dodge dashing attacks or to take advantage of weak points. It's the closest the genre has come to developing an action element within its battle systems and it really does feel incredibly rewarding.

So, there's the base on this delightful cake, its something that Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood would be proud of, and the beautiful artwork, cutscenes and brilliantly performed voice acting (a huge shout out to the vocal talents of Gavin and Stacey actor Steffan Rhodri who voices Mr Drippy) add an incredible layer of icing to the perfect dessert.

Many, many years ago I wrote my first reviews for Bitparade (then Gamepulse), both were import Dreamcast shooters, released after the systems death. One was the brilliantly underrated Radilgy, the other a graphically impressive helicopter shmup named Under Defeat.

To be reductive, if you’ve played Zero Gunner then you’ll know how Under Defeat plays. You control a helicopter gunship, as such you rotate on an axis as you move across the screen. So if an enemy is to your left then you need to move, turning your ship, so you get a clear shot. Mostly this is useful as a way to avoid the sea of bullets while still landing some hits, but there are boss fights where repositioning yourself for a specific target is important.

Under Defeat has a gritty look to it, it’s kind of what gives it its character. While you’re fighting impossible enemies at points, there’s a grounding to things that makes it feel like a ‘real world’ war. The gritty nature of the graphics is reflected in the gameplay, everything has a punch to it. For example you get a choice of 3 options, a Vulcan machine gun, a repeat firing cannon, and a powerful rocket, the latter two feel especially weighty.

I mentioned my old review in the opening for a reason, playing Under Defeat again, it didn’t take long for my old criticisms to come to mind again. There are moments, although not too many, where the bullets get lost amongst the smoke and grime, and there are moments where you get yourself pinned into an inescapable position due to the huge amount of bullets headed your way. I still cannot tell where the hit box is, not helped that the rotation of your chopper can shift mid-dodge, adding to the feeling that it’s not where you expect it to be.

The new arrange mode adds widescreen, and seems slightly easier, possibly because it’s zoomed in, making it easier to see incoming bullets, but really there’s nothing here that couldn’t have been a download. Bear that in mind, but if you’re interested in shooters and haven’t played Under Defeat before. There’s a decent challenge too, and while there’s only a handful of levels initially, getting through them will take time, and then there’s the 2nd run to do.

All criticisms aside, after a couple of hours back with Under Defeat I started to like it again. I was never enamoured with it the way some were, and there’s some levels that aren’t as good as others, but it’s a decent shooter. It’s not as pure as your standard Cave game, nor as interesting as something like Ikaruga, nor as fun as Radilgy, but it’s still pretty good. Whether that and it’s curio nature is enough to justify the retail price is another matter.

Apples and oranges; that’s a term I know I hear a lot when comparing and discussing games and it’s frustrating to have a valid comparison written off with such a phrase. Just because the two things in question are fundamentally different it doesn’t mean comparisons can’t be drawn, and a base level of enjoyment can be judged against each other. For example, If I think a right-out-of-the-oven Greggs Stake Bake is more enjoyable than a weekend in Lanzarote then I should be able to say, as long as I have the context to back it up, and that’s what I’ll be doing with Motorstorm Apocalypse.

It’s hard not to have to draw comparisons to games that may not be like each other these days as so many games cross the traditional boundaries and melt into one another; just look at all the Action RPGs we have that take mechanics from Brawlers and FPSs. Also what we have today is a game that is one of the biggest franchises in entertainment that casts its influence across the entire games industry, and even in genres it has no direct competition with in a hope to capture just some of a popular game’s audience. What I’m saying is that it’s fair to say that an echo of Call of Duty rings in more then a few places within Motorstorm Apocalypse, for better and worse.

Apocalypse is the fourth game in the Motorstorm series and its gimmick that separates it slightly from other racing games is its wide open tracks with multiple routes and its decision to let you drive or ride a number of different vehicles, such as motorbikes, buggies, rally cars, racing trucks and monster trucks, as well as others. What makes the Motorstorm that little bit more compelling is that the tracks are formed in such a way where certain vehicles have more advantage than others over certain terrain; a monster tuck can plough through deeper bodies of water than a buggy, and a motorbike can access tighter areas than a pickup. Utilising your vehicles advantages and knowing its disadvantages is a key part of the game.

Also returning is the series’ boost mechanic. Holding down the X button will increase your speed until your engine overheats, and if you continue to boost beyond the warning your vehicle will explode. The key to maintaining a high speed is to either drive through water to cool the engine, release the accelerator during the time you’re airborne or just letting it eventually cool down on its own. Managing speed, obviously as it’s a racing game, is important to the best performance and being mindful of these mechanics as well as the rather heavy handling model; you really feel like you’re wresting these lumps of rubber and steel around unpredictable scenery and it certainly feels satisfyingly exhausting to complete a race.

Now playing Apocalypse, which adds taking place during a variety of natural disasters and man-made catastrophes to the usual mix, is full of the kind of set-pieces that have become a staple edition in the shootymaybearmytypethinggame genre that is hugely popular now. I imagine we all know the bit, the bit when your man falls on his bum and you hear his ears ringing and it’s a bit blurry and he puts his nicely rendered gloved hand up, blocking something out and a big thing in the background blows up then falls down. You know the bit that’s in pretty much every shootymaybearmytypethinggame since 2008.

But I digress. The reason I bring this up is because in Apocalypse it’s one of those rare moments it makes sense in terms of aiding the moment to moment gameplay. What it does in the context of a racing game, or at least this racing game, is change the geometry of the tracks. It usually happens at random intervals, too, so when one of these set-pieces happens it’s more of a surprise and also has consequences to the game. It’ not a marine falling on his bottom and watching something happen that has no gameplay relevance to you as you probably will have nothing to do with it much directly, but an impressive spectacle that has to be dealt with by finding a line through the falling buildings to stop you from being crushed like a Coke can, and also make you re-evaluate your route on the next lap. This unpredictability and having to deal with the results of these set-pieces makes Motorstorm Apocalypse as good as an action game as it is a racer.

What this means, as a whole, is Motorstorm Apocalypse is a constant fight. As well as the morphing tracks the opposition is also something that constantly pushes you forward as the heavy ‘rubber banding’ keeps opponents close despite how well you are doing. They’re very hard to lose, and a crash towards the end after a race where you have efficiently and swiftly navigated the course still has a good chance of costing you the race, which is frustrating. There is fun to be had in this scrappy style of racing but it does lack the purity of other arcade racing games like the Burnout games or Outrun 2 which are clear and are really satisfying to perfect your run. Apocalypse has an unpredictability to it in the physics which also works against it. You can be speeding along and hit one of the many pieces of debris in a specific way and it can send you into a spin or tumble even when you’ve done the exact same line a number of times previously with no problem. Restarts after a crash are quick, and you don’t lose that much time, but it still can be a frustrating problem on Time Trial type challenges.

As well as the single-player mode where you just go through a series of different types of races there is also an online multiplayer mode which is more interesting in some ways than the single-player mode. In that, you are assigned a car for that race but it’s in multiplayer where you can choose from either a selection of vehicles or even the entire roster. It’s here where you can find a play style that suits you, whether you prefer lighter vehicles such as bikes and buggies or prefer ploughing through with trucks. It’s a shame you can’t do that in single-player in Apocalypse as previous games in the series did allow you to do that and I’m unsure of the reasoning in limiting choice like that.

It’s in multiplayer that the influence of Call of Duty rears its head once again. The progressive unlock system popularised by CoD is also here in Motorstorm Apocalypse and locks customisable accessories behind challenges you accomplish persistently through a race, such as gaining a certain amount of air time during a race. It’s a nice addition but not one that alters the experience of the game too much. Another similarity to CoD is there are loadouts. Though here, they obviously aren’t guns and tools but abilities that do nothing but make the game slightly easier. One reduces the amount of time it takes to respawn after a crash and another makes it so you don’t have to lift off the accelerator to cool your engine down during air time.

I think this only creates a lazy play style and there aren’t any that alter the game in any interesting way It’s like this addition was nothing but to tick off a checklist to fit the current online multiplayer uniform.

But at its core Motorstorm Apocalypse is a fun racing action game that isn’t for the one who likes to shave seconds off their time but provides action game type thrills using the racing template. Oh, and it looks great, too.

Some may remember Tekken Tag Tournament as a bit of a disappointment when it was launched alongside the PlayStation way back in 2001, so Tekken Tag Tournament 2 being announced some 10 years later came as a bit of a surprise and now that we have our hands on the final package its a rather pleasant surprise because Namco Bandai have brought us what is essentially "Tekken: Greatest Hits", offering up all the craziness that the series is famous for all built around a pretty solid brawling engine that encourages the player to chain together combo's.



That's not to say that its a "safe release", Tetsuya Harada and his team appear to have worked amazingly hard to deliver an experience that doesn't just feel like a bunch of the finest introductions to the series all taped together. This gives a roster of characters that is at a ridiculously high number, minus pre-order content (and rumored content that has been found on the games disc) a quick count reveals around 50 playable characters with more rumored to be coming. That's a pretty sizable list of characters, covering series stalwarts such as Jin, Kazuya and Heihachi through to the more comedic characters such as Mokujin, Roger, Bear and Panda. The balance between fast but weaker characters such as Xiayou and powerhouses like the Jacks (of which there are two variants Jack-6 and Prototype Jack), and with near on every single character having their own skill sets that's a huge amount of combo's and characters to learn and find your chosen team. Whilst you can pair any two characters with each other, each character has a group of others that they share an alliance with which open up more effective tag moves and thus deal more damage, thankfully then the games practice mode both allows you to try out various tag partnerships and lets you display command inputs from the Commands menu as you batter away at your practice opponent, you can also watch animations of each move and combo which allow you to study the timing required to pull them off effectively.

With all these numbers being chucked about you'd be forgiven for finding the idea of picking Tekken Tag Tournament 2 up from wherever it is you buy your games to be a little bit daunting, thankfully then Namco Bandai have seen fit to include a sort of story driven tutorial mode centered around Combot, as you progress through the five chapters on offer the game teaches you how to effectively block, parry, counter and perform punishers amongst other moves meaning even the biggest Tekken rookie has a thorough tutorial at hand to enable them to hold their own if and when they play the game in multiplayer and begin to find their own style with which ever characters they find themselves choosing, and even then the personalization doesn't end as there's a ridiculous amount of clothing items to buy with any colour combination you can imagine available. This would all be for naught if it played poorly though, but thankfully the engine is as fluid as one would hope, criticisms of sluggishness are normally thrown at the series but playing as even the slowest of behemoth sized characters reveals that Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is no slouch. There's plenty of chance to get used to the pace of the game too, and thanks to a lack of reliance on Arcade Stick style controls, there's a refreshing absence of quarter circle moves meaning that if you happen to play on a pad you'll never feel at an immediate disadvantage, plus with a wealth of playing options there's always something to learn. As the playing options have been mentioned we'll have a quick run through of whats available, the Training and Fight Lab (the previously mentioned Combot section of the game) plus the normal inclusion of an Arcade mode wherein you'll unlock each characters ending movie (and I'm reliably informed that only Tiger Jackson is missing an ending, so that's a lot of movies to unlock!) and Survival Mode, there's also "Ghost Battle" which pits you against AI that has been based upon recordings of actual human competitors. So whilst the gameplay remains the same throughout (and as things stand ther'es no alternate play modes such as Tekken Ball), each mode can also help you learn and apply a different technique and discipline to your own fighting style. We've had a huge number of very good fighting games this generation, and with even more on their way (Dead or Alive 5, Persona 4: Battle Arena to name two), its hard to know where to throw your money if you've rinsed the offerings already available or if, like me, you've never gotten on with Capcom's Street Fighter series, but Tekken Tag Tournament 2 offers a different style of brawler that has an entry level that everybody can enjoy and the options available for even long term fans of the series to learn new techniques, its also incredibly fun, not in the way you'd expect but in that it doesn't take itself seriously a tall. There's a simple pleasure to be had from sticking a Siren light on Bear's head, a "child" (stuffed toy thing) on Roger's back to changing Ogre's head to resemble and elephant but it gives the game an atmosphere and charm that's not really available elsewhere within the genre and makes the whole experience a little more personal and enjoyable as your chosen "Main's" become truly yours with the level of customisation on offer. Some feel that the Tekken series has been on a downward spiral since its heady days on the original PlayStation, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is simply Harada's statement that those people are talking nonsense.

Poor Sleeping Dogs, its had a hard time of things, first off it was called True Crime: Hong Kong but Activision cancelled that project. Square-Enix bought the game but not the True Crime name, thus providing us with Sleeping Dogs.

Here's where we get a little lazy and bring a bunch of "this game is similar to" comparisons into the fold. You will have already seen many many places comparing Sleeping Dogs to the Grand Theft Auto franchise, and whilst they share alot in common (open world, being able to steal cars, shoot people and a plot focusing on gangs) but theres also elements of Yakuza in there, specifically in the manner in which the game prefers you to use hand-to-hand combat rather than using guns all the time.



As True Crime: Hong Kong was essentially finished when Square-Enix picked it up the game still takes place in the Chinese province, the player takes the control of Wei Shen an officer from the San Francisco Police Department who has been transfered to the Hong Kong Police Force as an undercover agent who's role is infiltrate the Triad group known as "Sun On Yee" and the plot attempts to draw focus towards Wei's personal struggle between completing his mission as an officer of the law and trying to prove his loyalty towards the Sun On Yee, many of whom were childhood friends before he left Hong Kong (they aren't aware of his career in San Francisco). As the story progresses Wei gets deeper and deeper into establishing relationships with key figures within the Sun On Yee and his relationship with his superiors within the Police force become increasingly strained.

Surprisingly Sleeping Dogs tries to deal with all of this in a mature manner, taking notes from GTAIV's development of the Nico character, United Front Games have tried to make Wei's reactions appear to be thought out and for the most part, applied in the manner in which an undercover cop would behave. In some respects it often feels like the writers of the plot have tried to use former FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone (better known as Donnie Brasco) as an influence, however Wei is put under much harsher pressure to climb the ladder of command and perform as any other member of a Triad gang would. This all makes for a compelling and believable plot that goes some way to attempting to add some maturity to the sandbox crime genre.

This wouldn't really be worth a whole lot though if the game played poorly, and thankfully it doesn't. As I mentioned previously, United Front Games appear to have tried to take some notes from SEGA's Yakuza franchise, this is probably a decision enforced upon them by setting hte game in Hong Kong. Because of the area's strict gun laws it would be unfeasible for the main character to be running around with hardware similar to that in the Grand Theft Auto games. That isn't to say that guns aren't available, just that it takes alot longer than you would expect from a game within this genre to get your hands on the most basic of guns and even then the core focus is on hand-to-hand combat, aside from the odd key event that has all-out gun fights. However as there is obviously a Yakuza influence, the combat mechanics aren't quite as deep as those in SEGA's series. Here attacks are based around the timing of pressing the square button plus the inclusion of the ability to counter (hitting triangle as an enemy flashes red) or grapple. As you become more accomplished and also as you progress through the game you increase either your Triad level and Police level, both of which allow you to acquire skills to use in hand-to-hand combat whilst you can also increase your "Face" level by doing jobs for NPC's dotted around the city which allow you to buy ever more exuberent items for Wei to use and wear whilst also changing the reaction of said NPC's towards Wei as he makes his way around Hong Kong.

Aside from the main aspects of the game as detailed above you're also given time to partake in a bit of Karaoke, join a fight club, visit gambling dens to bet on cockfights and join in with street race, theres also the chance to date a handful of different women and all of these "mini-games" have some element of plot attached to them, so when you want to take time out from choosing between doing a Police focused mission or a Triad focused mission theres plenty to do.

Sleeping Dogs wouldn't be an open-world crime game if it didn't feature cars to steal, however this is where I feel the game is at its weakest. The handling just simply isn't good enough, every single vehicle lacks weight and don't feel convincing to drive in the slightest but the biggest problem arises when you try and stop them as the brakes feel like bin lids. I don't think anyone playing this would expect Forza Motorsport levels of handling simulation but cars here are a chore to drive for all the wrong reasons which aren't helped when the frame rate begins to stutter a fair bit when you pick up speed.

That, however, is the only real major issue I've come across with Sleeping Dogs, and whilst I understand that most people will see the game as a filler title to tide them over the weeks that see Summer change into Autumn, and others will see it as a free-roaming stop-gap to keep them occupied until Rockstar eventually release Grand Theft Auto V it deserves so much more. As it stands it comfortably straddles the gap in the market between Rockstars behemoth franchise and SEGA's more underground but still excellent Yakuza series. If you like one or the other, or hell you love both, then Sleeping Dogs is deserving of your attention.

The Yakuza series has never been a wholly serious affair. It's incredibly earnest a lot of the time, proper manly tears and nods of understanding. But anyone who's played the games will know that in amongst the clenched fists of sincerity there's also moments of diaper clad Yakuza attacking you for not sharing their sexual perversions, and on the other end of the scale there's always karaoke.

If you haven't been keeping up with the series then there's likely to be the odd new face. I wont bore you with every returning character as I can't claim to know them all myself, but from Yakuza 4 you've got Akiyama, your first playable character. With his chapter done you move on to series stalwart Majima, then Yakuza 2's adversary Goda, before tying the plot up with the Dragon of Dojima himself Kazuma Kiryu.

As per usual Kazuma is dragged into a murky underworld thanks to Haruka's innate ability to get herself kidnapped. In her defence there aren't usually zombies involved, but still. Plot wise that's really all you need to know, it's zombies and revenge, everything else I'll leave you to figure out for yourself.

Rather than the brawling gameplay of the core games Dead Souls focuses on gunplay. The weapon management is pretty standard, equipping armaments to the d-pad, with a standard unlimited pistol acting as your go to weapon, grenades, and a unique power weapon for each character. The actual core gameplay is less than standard, it's boring, slow and awkward.

The camera is woeful and will always let you down, until you realise that the game needs to be played with you constantly keeping hold of the L1 button, locking the camera straight on, as generally that's where the zombies will be coming from. The L2 button gives you a first person view, useful for targeting weak points or picking off distant enemies. You can also spend your experience points acquiring skills such as head targeting for the L2 mode, which if you use it rapidly, bouncing in and out of first person to head shot on-rushing zombies, adds some much needed pace to proceedings.

Elsewhere it's standard Yakuza stuff, talking to people, gambling, helping people out in sub stories (which means re-entering the quarantine zone), backtracking. It's a shame the core game is so dull really as the gunplay is not the reason to play this game, a problem exasperated by how long the game is, and how big the gaps are between saves, and this is without disappearing to play pachinko for 20 minutes.

The game engine is really showing its age too, the whole game looks blurry, performing a double attack and filling a room with smoke makes things crawl, and it's not unusual to walk in to a room and see zombies start loading in a couple of seconds later. It's easy to shrug problems off as it not being any more than fan-service anyway, but Sega are still charging full price for Dead Souls.

Things do pick up towards the end, the game is easy but later on you're facing off against tougher enemies more regularly. The odd benefit of the gameplay being so monotonous and the game being fairly long is that it becomes a kind of white noise after 12 hours or so. You'll find yourself compulsively playing to tie up the story, maybe even enjoying it.

Dead Souls is not a good game, but nor is it really all that broken (camera aside), but it's dull, and tedious, and dated, and uninspired. It's like the worst Dynasty Warriors game. There is plenty of humour in there though, and if you are a Yakuza die hard then you might well be able to overlook some of the problems, just make sure you go in to it with your eyes open.

I loved Flower, it was in my top 3 games of the year for 2009. It was an experience more than a game, stunning to look at with one of the best soundtracks of the generation, the sort of thing that starts a ‘games as art’ debate. Journey has a lot to live up to.

In Journey you take your near featureless character through a barren landscape, you’re prodded in the right direction, past derelict sand-strewn ruins. Your interactions are minimal, chirping to activate objects, powering up your scarf to jump, sliding down sand dunes, using floating scraps of material to thrust you in to the air. There’s nothing complicated about Journey.

Journey’s simplicity is its strength, it lets you appreciate the feel of the controls, the sliding for example is more enjoyable than it really should be. The desolation is evocative, it makes you more receptive to any message the game is trying to tell, and it also adds power to the seamless multiplayer.

When you’ve been wandering alone, exploring and solving puzzles and then you see another person suddenly appear in the world, perhaps somewhere off in the distance and you race towards them, it‘s oddly exhilarating. Your interactions are limited to chirping, although standing close together does recharge your jump. The limited interaction and the anonymity of your partner helps identify with them, they can’t really ruin your experience, and you can’t prejudge them based on their accent, tag, or character design, they are, for all intents and purposes, another you.

Working together to solve a puzzle is great, joining half way through and them coming over to chirp a hello at you is joyous, and it’s easy to see how the end of the game would tie you together. The co-op isn’t without its problems though. You may have read complaints on the internet of people not working together, going off and doing their own thing. For me the opposite was true, I wanted to go off and explore, yet felt compelled to stick with my partner, and them seemingly feeling the same, meaning we saw less of the game than we otherwise would. The implied obligation felt at odds with the open landscape. Personally, and probably contrary to most people, I preferred the game with the multiplayer turned off.

Journey still needs to be a game though and it does manage that at points. The puzzles are incredibly simple, although one or two feel involved enough. There’s genuine moments of tension too, something that Flower didn’t manage, made more effective because it’s so at odds with what’s gone before. There’s bonus items to collect too, used to extend your scarf (and so your jump), they aren’t vital but it’s nice to have.

Everything you expect to read about Journey is true, it’s a rare experience, something with a message, something that does make you think and will stay with you. It is beautiful, the locations unique, and you wont need to force people to share their experiences. However, there really isn’t much to do and the experience isn’t quite as revolutionary as Flower. Each to their own I’m sure, but while I’m sure it’s an experience that will stay with me, I doubt it will trouble my games of the year