Format: DS | Genre: Puzzle | Publisher: Nintendo | Developer: Nintendo | Release date: 4/02/2011| Price: £34.99

Steve Peacock indulges his urge to save mini people with MARIO VS. DONKEY KONG: MINI-LAND MAYHEM.

MARIO IS a coward. For a man that’s made a career out of saving princesses from overly muscular animals, his unwillingness to get stuck in against his oldest enemy is astounding. No, instead of going toe-to-toe with the big ape, Mario lets his clockwork creations do the work. What this leads to, oddly enough, is a game that might perhaps be better titled Mario Lemmings.

Mario versus Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is a break from your usual Mario game. Instead of squashing goombas, the game revolves around using a variety of constructions materials to guide your little wandering Tonka toys around various mazes. Where Lemmings used skills, Mario uses girders, springs, ladders and various other gizmos.

Mini Bosses

Things start off simple enough, building bridges and ramps out of girders to get your brave boys to their destination. But then you get more tools, different types of automatons, and ultimately the Donkey Kong boss stages, each bringing new twists to the formula. Add into this the all devouring urge to collect every gold coin and you’ve got yourself something quite compelling.

But then, at the same time, I can’t help but think that what you’ve really got is Lemmings. The puzzles may be different, but the core of the game is the same. The collectibles and the need to rescue every single automaton may give the game a different flavour, but for the most part it’s all very similar. Admittedly, the puzzle variation is broad enough to avoid the game going stale, but it never quite does something that stands out. Don’t get me wrong, the game is fun, but it’s not its own game.

And yet I don’t care. The puzzles lull you into a false sense of security: the path to the exit is usually straightforward enough, but just getting there won’t do. Fail to pick up every coin and while the game won’t punish you in any way, you’ll feel weaker for it. Like all good puzzle games, these optional extra challenges are woven into the game so politely that you can’t help but see them as necessary.

Comfortable

The game itself, the important bit, is both compelling and fun. That it feels like Lemmings is, perhaps, a good thing, especially considering the relative lack of save ‘em ups in recent times. It’s different enough to not feel like a retread, but not quite different enough to avoid the comparisons. If you don’t mind that comparison, Mario versus Donkey Kong is well worth a look. The frantic tool juggling that kicks in roughly halfway through the game, which only gets worse from there, can be a bit fiddly at times but it’s never overly punishing. True, prolonged play sessions may start to lose their sheen quickly, but this is a game to be played in small chunks. With that in mind, you could do a lot worse.

Besides, who hasn’t wanted a wind-up, robotic Princess Peach to call their own?

7/10

What does this score mean?

Format: Wii/DS| Genre: FPS | Publisher: Activision | Developer: Eurocom | Release date: 05/11/2010 | Price: £39.99

Jennifer Allen discovers if memories are all they’re cracked up to be with GOLDENEYE 007.

NOSTALGIA IS a wonderful thing when used appropriately. Happily looking back through rose-tinted glasses at the lovely memories of your youth is frequently brilliant. Games in particular are so easy to remember fondly. I’ve lost count of the number of games I’ve returned to with fantastic memories, cruelly destroyed by the fact that it’s aged terribly and I’ve moved on. Enter Goldeneye 007 for the Wii – the original having defined a considerable period of my youth.

I spent hours upon hours playing the original Goldeneye on the N64. I can vividly remember the first time – the day that my friend got an N64 for his birthday and we dived straight into Goldeneye. An entire summer was lost to the game, mostly its multiplayer mode which was like nothing we’d ever played before. This isn’t a retrospective piece though; this is a review – a review of the new, shiny, and full of potential Goldeneye 007 on the Wii. Does it live up to the memories? Partially but there’s still that sad feeling that you can never truly go back.

Different but the same?

There’s a huge wave of nostalgia at the start of Goldeneye 007. The opening sequence immediately feels like the original first level. You take down the guards in the same manner and – at first – it’s all business as usual. 007 might now have transformed into Daniel Craig and 006 is now some random nobody rather than Sean Bean, but it does feel like a return to the past. That is until you progress slightly further and a cut scene kicks in. Quickly it becomes all too apparent that this is a re-imagining. While there’s a scattering of homage throughout, this is Goldeneye 007 post Call of Duty.

The plentiful cut scenes are there, seamlessly cutting back to action – just like Call of Duty. Regenerating health bars are in operation making the game much easier than it ever was – again like Call of Duty. Even the occasional slow motion entrances to rooms are there, and the ever annoying Quick Time Event sequences – guess what they’re just like? Exactly.

Even the multiplayer is like a simpler version of Modern Warfare’s. There’s experience to be gained through each kill and accolades to acquire. New weapons are unlocked as you progress, just like the CoD behemoth. It’s fun but unfortunately it’s let down by the lack of original maps and the non-existent voice comms system. There’s no way of communicating with your teammates making any of the team modes utterly redundant. It’s fun but you’ll garner more enjoyment from the split screen multiplayer, providing you can find some local friends to join in.

Fortunately the regenerating health bar issue can be rectified by switching difficulty levels ensuring that old hands at Goldeneye can still be just as challenged as before. The variety of difficulty levels also still offer different objectives, just like the original, although they don’t feel quite as clever or as original as before.

Live and Let Die

There’s the crux of the problem really. Goldeneye 007 no longer feels fresh and original. It’s an enjoyable romp but it’s nothing new. It’s just a very linear Call of Duty esque experience with the occasional Goldeneye reference. It’s fun while you’re playing it but switch it off and it’ll all be forgotten in an instance. That’s assuming you’re a multi platform gamer. If all you’ve ever known is the Wii, as patronising as it might sound, you’ll probably love this. It’s not meant to be condescending but it’s the truth. Goldeneye 007 suffers because multi platform gamers know what else is on offer. If you don’t, you’ll like it. It’s clearly a strong Wii FPS title and even the Wiimote/Nunchuk combo works just about although you’ll find using a GameCube controller or Classic controller much simpler.

Me though? I’m going to stick with my memories. Those wondrous, awesome, rose-tinted memories.

6/10

What does this score mean?

Format: DS| Genre: Platformer | Publisher: Sega | Developer: Sega | Release date: 12/11/2010 | Price: £29.99

Jennifer Allen dashes around the portable world of SONIC COLOURS DS.

THE MANY comments about how Sonic Colours is a return to form have been done really. They were done to death with Sonic 4 too. The thing is though, Sonic Colours (at least for the DS) really is a return to form for the lovable blue hedgehog, even more so than Sonic 4. It just can’t be said enough. Sonic Colours combines the best elements of Sonic Rush and the original Sonic games making for a fantastic portable experience.

Crucially it can be summed up simply – you liked Sonic, right? Before he turned 3D and all it went a bit wrong? Then this is the game for you. Sonic Rush was a fantastic title but this somehow feels better, tighter and more in key with the speed stereotype that we’ve come to expect from the series. You can rush through the stages at the speed of a running hedgehog without worrying about cheap deaths. There are a few perilous falls but when you do go over the edge, you know it’s your own fault. While Sonic 4 felt unfair sometimes, Sonic Colours doesn’t in the slightest.  That’s not to say that rushing through each level is essential. With the addition of new power ups throughout each zone, it’s worth your while to take your time sometimes and to explore. Sonic Colours practically encourages this via the ability to go back to previous stages whereby you can use newly acquired power ups to access different routes. The power ups come in the form of Wisps. Each colour grants Sonic a new power. These powers range from the ability to jump further to being able to drill through soft ground. There’s also the DS exclusive Wisp, the Void Wisp which enables you to float and suck up enemies. While it is impressive sounding, I was less than impressed with the controls here. Regardless of this faltering moment, Sonic Colours is terrific fun to play.

SEEEEEEGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAA

It’s perhaps a trifle too short comprising of 6 main zones with three acts in each, including one boss battle per zone, but the addition of side missions helps a treat. The side missions themselves are also nowhere near as easy as the main game, adding a harsh edge for those after a challenge. Boss battles are fairly traditional in their approach. Each boss follows a relatively set pattern which requires timing and skill in order to defeat. They each require the use of the Wisp that you’ll have acquired through the rest of the zone also. The bosses, much like the rest of the game, never feel difficult to defeat though and it’s doubtful you’ll struggle much at their hands. Special stages feel distinctly like a throwback to Sonic 2 – no bad thing at all. Using the DS stylus, you control Sonic as he runs around a half pipe arena collecting orbs. Collect enough of the right orbs and you win a chaos emerald, just like Sonic 2’s special stage. It’s good fun and the stylus controls work well, never feeling obtrusive. The rest of the game controls via the face buttons and d-pad which is much better than throwing in stylus controls for the sake of it.

There’s a versus racing mode bundled in, and a time trial mode too, offering what Sonic’s always been best at. Sonic Colours’ great strength lies in the main game though. It really is, simply put, excellent fun. It’s the ever predictable line again – a return to form for the series. It’s a fantastic combination of 2D gameplay with 3D elements that never infringe too much on the action. Roll on a sequel please.

9/10

What does this score mean?

Format: Xbox 360/PS3/PC/DS | Genre: FPS | Publisher: Activision | Developer: Bizarre Creations | Release date: 05/11/2010 | Price: £39.99

Steve K Peacock dons the tux, acquires the cheesy chat up lines and asks for JAMES BOND: BLOOD STONE shaken not stirred.

IF THERE’S one thing I took away from Blood Stone it is that there is, perhaps, a good reason why MGM are circling the drain. When one of your main franchises is around fifty years old, keeping it fresh is naturally going to be a problem. You work yourself into a rut, working from formula rather than having a story worth telling, and that very flaw seems to have transferred over into Activision’s latest attempt at a stand alone Bond game.

Blood Stone is meant to be an all new Bond tale, just as its predecessor Everything or Nothing. The thing is, Bond has moved on since the camp extravagance of the Brosnan era. Casino Royale was a game changer, introducing a grittier, more psychopathic Bond, and the story changed as a result. Supervillains and ridiculous gadgetry were sidelined for a more “realistic” take on the whole superspy theme. If Blood Stone is any indication, however, nobody bothered to tell this to Activision.

Naturally you play Bond, voiced by a barely conscious Daniel Craig, tasked with saving the world from a stolen bioweapon. To this end you trot around the world, shoot hundreds of people, and drive some cars a bit. On paper this is very Bond. Very Old Bond.

Bullets Galore

For what it’s worth, Blood Stone does a good deal to avoid becoming a repetitive bore, mixing up frenetic bullet storms with optional sneaking sections, sprinkled with the odd driving segment. The shooting mechanics, while somewhat simple, are still decent enough to be fun, and the competent cover system works well enough to snap you into a safety zone easily. There’s even the option to take the fighting a little more close quarters with the hand-to-hand system, which amounts to little more than pressing a button and watching people die, but Blood Stone does a good job of mixing the two types of combat together. Melee kills give you focus shots, a sort of MI6 version of aimbot that kills anyone you shoot in a single bullet, and in the later stages this single skill can be a life saver.

That is not to say that Blood Stone is particularly difficult, because it isn’t. With the exception of the driving stages, which are all chase scenes that rely on learning the route through failure for the most part, the game borders on being a cakewalk. If you get lost, a quick glance on the Arkham Asylum-esque smartphone will tell you where to go. Want to know enemy positions? It does that too. It scans hard drives, kills the background music, and generally does everything you’d expect of a Bond gadget. Then there are the enemies, who are content to walk up to the very corner you’re hiding behind so you can kick their heads in, one by one, until Mooks R Us is out of stock.

But does that really matter? Henchmen in Bond have always been brainless and thick, and the plot has always been dozy and nonsensical. Admittedly, they don’t usually end with such an unashamedly poor sequel hook, but they’re not above appealing to the lowest common denominator. And the combat is fun, if in a somewhat shallow way. Mixing up the shooting with the melee feels right in this case, there’s not that noticeable disconnect other games of similar premises have had. But there is the nagging sensation that Blood Stone is Splinter Cell: Conviction in a bad disguise, differentiated only by the driving sections, which I hate.

Continues…

Format: Xbox 360/PS3/PC/Wii/DS | Genre: FPS | Publisher: Activision | Developer: Treyarch | Release date: 09/11/2010 | Price: £54.99

It’s the big one, Jennifer Allen reviews CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS.

IT’S NOVEMBER again which must mean only one thing, it’s getting bloody cold. Also, it means a new Call of Duty game is out – Black Ops to be exact. Writing this is bordering on pointless. By now you probably already know which side you’re on – whether you’re a person who avidly bought it within the first week and enjoyed its increasingly formulaic attitude to the FPS genre, or you’re a person who has absolutely no interest in buying it and almost certainly never will. This review certainly won’t sway you.

Call of Duty: Black Ops, or BLOPS as I’m unoriginally now going to call it, is just what you would expect from a Call of Duty game. It’s loud, it’s brash, it’s all American, gung-ho, explosive nonsense. As a friend described it within an hour of playing it, BLOPS is very ‘Hollywood’. This has been the case with Call of Duty since the days of the first Modern Warfare. It’s to be expected to an extent but this time round, it’s feeling old and tired, even despite the hidden potential.

Following protocol

While I adored Call of Duty 1 and 2, even 3, and held Modern Warfare to my virtual bosom, I felt a bit disenchanted by Modern Warfare 2. It felt too predictable, too formulaic. I felt like I was leaping from set piece to set piece without really caring about why I was doing what I was doing. No Russian wasn’t brave or daring, it didn’t work. That’s already been discussed though. I still had quite high hopes for Black Ops though. It looked like an interesting change of pace, one with great potential. It does have great potential but it doesn’t take advantage of this anywhere near as often as it should.

Instead, BLOPS borrows, borrows, borrows from as many films and TV shows as it can get away with. Each time it does this, it’s entertaining but it also feels like a checklist of references. There’s the nod to 24 and Lost, the Apocalypse Now reference, even Forrest Gump gets in on the act. The main storyline positively oozes Lost with a dash of…well, annoyingly I can’t say because simply saying the name of the film will give the big plot twist away to anyone who’s seen said film. Bugger, that’s a bit awkward. Still though, believe me; it’s been done before, just in a film rather than a game. Is this progress? Well no, it’s not. It’s imitation, homage if we’re being generous.

The name’s Mason, Alec Mason

It’s fun of course. It’d be daft to say it isn’t. Treyarch has done a lovely job of offering variety in terms of the game mechanics; it’s the story that feels unexciting and derivative. Besides the typical FPS type action, there are moments where you control tanks and motorbikes, even helicopters. They’re all fun and despite the less than ideal controls, they’re the sort of sections you end up looking back at fondly. My personal favourite was that of an RTS style segment whereby I guided my team of operatives around from miles away. Whenever they came across a threat, the game zoomed into the action and you took over. It’s something that used in large doses would have become irritating, but it was just the right quantity to feel that little bit clever. There’s another section towards the end of the game that doesn’t even involve any combat and it actually feels rather refreshing. Another glimpse of potential. Always a glimpse.

Continues…

de Blob 2 coming to Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360

THAT CRAZY wibbly wobbly blobathon puzzle-platformer called de Blob. What did you think of that? Bet you didn’t even play it. No worries, like. Niether did I, to be honest.

It was only out for the Wii, you see. But this time… This time will be different. De Blob 2 will be released on all major platforms in spring next year, THQ have announced. That means it’s coming out for PlayingStation III, Xbox Three-hundred-and-sixty Edition and the Wii Boy. DS gets some too.

“In de Blob 2 … Comrade Black is back and so is his war on color. Disguised as Papa Blanc, Comrade Black rigs the city’s election in order to win and take control of Prisma City with his brainwashing new cult. That is, until de Blob bounces back in full color-spreading force with his revolution to restore color and life back to the city and its residents.”

There’ll be side-quests, upgrading of special moves an co-operative and competitive multiplayer.

Brendan Caldwell

Format: DS/Wii | Genre: Puzzle Platformer | Publisher: Rising Star Games | Developer: Prope | Release Date: 29/10/10 | Price: £24.99

Jennifer Allen helps out a flightless kiwi in IVY THE KIWI.

THE WORDS ‘From Yuji Naka, the creator of Sonic’ bring about an awful lot of connotations. It conjures up great excitement and that tiny fangirl urge in the back of my head to scream ‘OMGMUSTBUYNOW’. Ivy the Kiwi very nearly deserves this too, if only it wasn’t quite so fiddly.

Ivy the Kiwi reminds me an awful lot of a high quality iPhone game. Not because it feels that cheaply made, far from it. Instead it’s because of the whole concept behind it. It’s a title that relies heavily on its wondrously charming presentation and its physics based puzzles. While Ivy the Kiwi’s story is a bit of a moot point, it’s still wonderfully told through the use of picture book style graphics. It tells the tale of poor Ivy the Kiwi who seeks to find her mother again. Obviously she’s pretty stressed about all this as she never stops moving. Yes, perpetual motion is the name of the game here and so is exceptionally precise timing.

Do the perpetual motion

You see, while Ivy the Kiwi refuses to stop moving, you have to guide her towards the end of each level safely. While you can’t control Ivy directly, you can guide her by drawing vines on the screen. You can draw up to three vines at any one time with the game quickly requiring you to juggle these three at speed. Indeed if you make a mistake in one placement, you can mess up a whole lot of other things. This is where the most satisfaction and the most frustration come from. While early stages are relatively simple to navigate, others require pinpoint accuracy. Make a mistake and before you know it you’ve messed up your vine placement and Ivy has run past. Thus you’ve got to get her back to the earlier point before you can get anywhere. In a slight nod to the time trials of Sonic games, it’s all about timing things correctly in order to succeed.

It’s excellent fun though once you get used to this fact. Vines don’t just nudge Ivy in the right direction; they also can form bridges, ramps, even blockades to fend off enemies. Ivy can be propelled by these vines, which although rather fiddly to pull off, is an excellent means of attack against the enemies you come across throughout the game. Enemies are typically as cute as the rest of the game, creatures such as rats who can be quickly dispensed with by a flying Ivy who turns into a drill like shape as she flies.

Vine weaving

Each stage is fairly brief, assuming you succeed quickly of course, but in the case of the DS version, this is ideal for a portable format. That’s not to say that there isn’t a fair amount to do. With 50 stages to progress through initially, and a second mode unlocked which introduces more challenges, it’s quite a reasonable length. Perfectionists are also quite welcome to attempt to collect all 10 feathers that are scattered throughout each level, and of course they can replay levels in order to achieve better times.

There’s also a glimmer of a multiplayer mode in which up to 4 players can race against each other. This is made all the more convenient by the download play functionality that’s available so not everyone requires their own cartridges. It’s a good idea but one that I didn’t feel overly compelled to keep playing.

Ivy the Kiwi is excellent fun but it’s also quite extraordinarily tense at times. While there’s no huge punishment for failure – you don’t lose much progress, even if you lose all your lives – it’s still frustrating to fail. Some of this is almost certainly down to the appearance. Ivy the Kiwi feels like a game that should be easier than it actually is. It gives you that feeling that you should be better at it than you really are. Really though, it’d just be nice if the controls were a teeny bit tighter than they currently are.

Clearly an enjoyable title, Ivy the Kiwi is worthy of a purchase by anyone with a passing interest in puzzle based platformers, but do bear in mind that patience is necessary. As cute as everything looks, this is a more hardcore game than you’d initially suspect. It’s a double edged sword but one that ultimately still feels like a good move.

6/10

What does this score mean?

Format: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS | Genre: Sandbox | Publisher: Activision | Developer: Beenox | Release date: 10/09/2010 | Price: £44.99

SPIDER-MAN: SHATTERED DIMENSIONS shatters all of Steve K Peacock’s worries.

The docks were quieter than usual, which was a bad sign. You expect docks to be noisy, embittered drunks hauling goods across concrete forecourts. The silence meant that the dockers weren’t working, and dockers don’t do days off. They can’t afford it. What light the pitiful lanterns provided was enough to see the mooks and their typewriters, and their boss, a guy with a head like a swollen cliff face and a mug like every wanted poster you’ve ever seen. He’d be difficult to take with his goons around. Good thing it’s always night in this city. What I can do in the dark would surprise you.

IT’S A difficult task, a Multiverse crossover. You’ve got to balance the need for a central protagonist with the necessity of making his alternate versions looks just as strong. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is one of the rare breed that seems to do this rather well, crafting a story that originates in the mainstream universe while roping in three other entire universes without any significant subordination on their part.

Mysterio, long-standing enemy of our witty web-slinger, has set his sights on the mystical Tablet of Order and Chaos, a relic that gives the bearer the ability to remake reality as he sees fit. Naturally, being Mysterio, he’s foiled in the opening cut scene, but not before Spidey accidentally shatters the tablet into a dozen pieces with a punch so powerful that it can apparently drive certain fragments into another dimension. Thus enter Madame Web, powerful telepath, who brings together Spidey’s counterparts in the hope that together they can reunite all the pieces of the tablet before the various supervillains get their grubby little mitts on all that godly power. In true Spider-Man fashion, the various Spideys are a little lacking in punctuality.

A Spider-man for every mood.

If you’ve played a Spider-Man game before, you’ll be familiar with how most of the Spideys handle. For all the pre-release boasting on the part of the developers, Amazing, Ultimate and 2099 all handle pretty much the same: run into a group of enemies, pound their faces in till they stop getting up, repeat. This is not actually as repetitive as it sounds, with each Spider-Man having slightly different enemies to deal with. Though they are all built around the same basic classes (small, medium, large and annoying little swarmy buggers) their tactics shift to take into account things relative to their universe. 2099’s hulking brutes fire homing missiles at you, for instance, that require the liberal use of that particular Spider-Man’s special power: accelerated vision.

I’m not sure whether to feel terrified or honoured: I knew Alchemax hated me, but to go so far as to engineer me a little Hobgoblin of my own? I’m touched, I really am. But then, so is he. With the ugly stick. Repeatedly.

The only real differentiation between those three Spideys come from their special powers. 2099 has accelerated vision which slows down time, Ultimate has rage which makes him very angry and punchy, and Amazing has, well, nothing. Actually, that’s not true, Amazing has Neil Patrick Harris.

All the Spider-Men are voiced by previous Spider-Man voice actors, drawing on familiar voices from the various cartoons. It is a brilliant idea, and immediately undoes one of the major problems I’ve had with every previous Spider-Man game. Usually, Spidey is played by a whinging prat, but here we’ve got four established voices that can maintain the various Spider-Men’s personalities without turning them into the sort of snarky tween that you would be quite willing to punch. Special mention goes to Josh Keaton, for actually making the Ultimate universe not terrible, and his delivery of the never-ending punpocalypse in the Electro level is outstanding. If you’re going to make electricity jokes, you might as well stay current.

Continues…

Mafia II retains top spot in charts for third week

MAFIA II kept its title as the don of the UK charts for a third week, despite competition from a few new releases.

Tom Clancy’s Hawx 2 jets up to second place from tenth (punshot!) while Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days claws on to third (double pun!)

Multiplatform title Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions webslings into the charts this week at sixth position (triple pun!) and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for the PSP snoozes at seventh (puntacular!)

Even irrelevant acronym strategy R.U.S.E. failed to outflank the enemy, breaching the charts in eighth place.

(Overpun!)

Brendan Caldwell

Lots of blue in TRON: Evolution gameplay trailer

TRON: EVOLUTION gets another trailer today, this time focusing on gameplay. Propaganda Games have previously announced the game’s release for November 19, to coincide with Disney’s new movie TRON: Legacy.

The game is set between the events of the two films and will be released for all platforms in some shape or another.

Brendan Caldwell