mascot
Mobile Menu
 

PS3 Game Reviews


9.0 Demon’s Souls

 

You may have heard that Demon’s Souls is pretty tough. That’s not entirely accurate. The truth is that Demon’s Souls is very, very simple. Everything about it is signposted. It wants you to exploit every inch of it. Enemies show what they’re doing from a million miles away. There’s always somewhere to hide, or to run to. And now, with the arrival of the remake on PS5, you have over ...

 

8.0 Walking Dead Season 2

 

Last year, Telltale elevated point and click games to a new level with their first season of the award-winning The Walking Dead. Creating a follow-up to that fantastic set of titles was a difficult task for Telltale, and they mostly succeeded. While there are moments of brilliance, season two doesn’t reach the level of excellence that season one was able to achieve.

 

6.5 NASCAR ’14

 

Racing games can generally be played in a variety of ways. While those that love Gran Turismo the most might play it as a simulator, it's just as easy to experience it as some approximation of Mario Kart, crashing into other vehicles on long bends or swinging onto the grass when necessary. NASCAR '14 is all about tight lines and clever driving, a fact that makes it both very playable and undoubtedly niche.

 

9.0 Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster

 

Cybernet was a video game focussed TV show here in the UK back when the PS2 launched. When they weren't showing and reshowing the opening of Metal Gear Solid 2, they were showing and reshowing clips from Final Fantasy X. Look at the graphics! Look at the characters! And, oh, they've got voices as well!

 

6.5 Pac-Man Museum

 

Video gaming's first yellow circular celebrity has turned 30 this year, and instead of getting trashed with friends Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde, he's taking a trip down memory lane, through the highlights (and low-lights) of his prestigious career.

 

6.5 Killer is Dead

 

Killer is Dead is a hard game to pin down. You play as an executioner for a government agency that hunts out murderers for the general public. It plays a little like something from Platinum, a third-person action game with an anime flair. That flair runs deeper than just the visual style though, and a unique fantastical twist makes it all the more unusual. Expect blood, whimsy, sex, adventure and intrigue.

 

7.5 Lightning Returns Final Fantasy X...

 

The Final Fantasy XIII franchise has managed to completely split the Final Fantasy fandom down the middle, becoming a punchline for a certain sort of online persona. In the echo chamber, those that are angry shout the loudest, and they only hear their own voices jump back. That's a shame, because Lightning Returns shows that things can get better, and that new ideas sometimes pay off. It was never going to be ...

 

9.0 The Last of Us Left Behind

 

The Last of Us’ first and last piece of single-player DLC, Left Behind, is a great piece of additional content that further fleshes out both The Last of Us’ exceptional world, and its equally compelling female protagonist, Ellie. Left Behind works well as a standalone experience and breaks free from being marred by the core game.

 

8.0 Assassins Creed IV Black Flag

 

Assassins Creed IV Black Flag is Ubisoft’s latest attempt at reinvigorating their flagship franchise. With the disappointment that was Assassins Creed 3, especially considering the massive marketing campaign associated with the title, many questioned whether or not the series can still stay relevant. This new sequel is a direct result of Ubisoft’s awareness with the problems plaguing Assassins Creed 3. AC IV: ...

 

8.0 Ratchet and Clank Into the Nexus

 

After a poor showing over the last couple of games, Ratchet and Clank Into the Nexus attempts to revisit the series’ core mechanics and return it to its former glory. Series creator Insomniac mostly succeeds, crafting a short but focused adventure that satisfyingly wraps up the Future sub-series. The game rarely, if ever, breaks new ground. But despite this fact, a funny script, engaging characters, sound ...

 

8.5 Splinter Cell Blacklist

 

The general interest in Splinter Cell Blacklist seemed to be practically zero ahead of its launch. A change of pace in its predecessor, Conviction, as well as a new Sam Fisher and a series of generic trailers meant that release came and went with little fanfare.

 

5.5 Final Exam

 

There have been quite a few beat 'em ups in recent years, and you can't swing a semi-rotten cat without hitting a zombie/nightmarish creature game. That doesn't mean that the two combined can't be something interesting and special, it just means that its harder to have the title stand out. That's unfortunate, because Final Exam probably won't get the attention it probably deserves.

 

7.5 Beyond Two Souls

 

If you’re a PS3 gamer, then you’ve probably heard of Quantic Dreams previous title - Heavy Rain. More story focused with simplistic gameplay, with a large portion of that being quick time events, people had mixed opinions on this style of game. It was criticized just as much as it was praised for its style of gameplay and its plot heavy nature, but how does Beyond: Two Souls compare?

 

7.5 Atelier Rorona

 

It's pretty obvious that Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland, was created from the get go with multiple playthroughs in mind, but even if you decided only to give the game just one playthrough

 

8.0 Batman Arkham Origins

 

Long before being locked in Arkham Asylum, Batman was a talented, slightly cocky crime fighter just making a name for himself. While he still adhered to his strict code of ethics, he'd never had to really push himself before. He was a thorn in the side of the Gotham underground. He didn't have the protection of the police. He didn't have the respect of the people. He was, to some, a myth.

 

7.0 Ethan Meteor Hunter

 

Alli took a look at Ethan: Meteor Hunter a few months ago, ahead of it being finished, and found a game that had a lot of potential. Now, fully released on PlayStation 3 and PC, you can now play through the whole time-stopping adventure to your heart's content. Does it manage to live up to the potential we saw when we first saw it?

 

8.0 Puppeteer

 

One of the biggest problems with Puppeteer, at least in my experience, is that people go in expecting it to be a lot like LittleBigPlanet. Some people I've spoken to about it have dismissed it entirely, thinking that is had been developed by Media Molecule. That crowd cheers and changing sets make up a huge part of its aesthetic mean that some are quick to point out the similarities.

 

8.5 Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX

 

Disney and Final Fantasy characters fighting alongside each other, a story about hearts and key blades, real-time button mashing combat, and a main character with hair that defies gravity; Kingdom Hearts hit the industry with originality, bravery, and charm back in 2002. Fast-forward 11 years and we have a well made HD remastering of the original classic and its direct sequels.

 

8.0 Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

 

Those buxom beauties are back, along with Ryu from Ninja Gaiden and some other guys whose names you don't remember! Dead or Alive has been the subject of some controversy. Is it ok to build a game around the idea of looking at pretty ladies? As any Dead or Alive fan will tell you though, the gameplay goes far deeper than that, and it boasts a roster of characters to equal nearly any other fighting game franchise.

 

5.5 Girl Fight

 

Girl Fight is almost exactly what it sounds like - a game in which a bunch of girls beat each other up. Oh, and the girls don't wear very much. On some levels it manages to be much more than this, on others it falls well short. What you're left with is an interesting idea, a degree of eye candy and occasional disappointment.

 

6.0 The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

 

The Bureau is a fresh take on the traditional XCOM games with an emphasis on real time strategy and third person shooter elements. However, there are several flaws that tarnish what could have been a great game. It also lacks a multiplayer aspect, which could have helped increases this title's longevity and value.

 

7.0 Port Royale 3 Gold Edition

 

There aren't enough sim games on the PlayStation 3, especially when it comes to sim games with RPG elements. It's a niche within a niche - if there were demand for this sort of thing on consoles, no doubt someone would be chugging them out yearly, and yet when they do come out, as with Port Royale 3 Gold Edition, it never feels like you're getting the most bang for your buck.

 

6.0 Payday 2

 

Payday 2 worked incredibly well as a digital only co-op shooter, its shortcomings easily overlooked thanks to it offering far more value than its asking price. Payday 2 is bigger in scale and comes with a price boost as a result, but is it a crime gone wrong or a heist worth getting behind?

 

9.0 Resistance Trilogy

 

Taking on the challenge of creating Sony's own first-person shooter blockbuster, Insomniac Games released Resistance: Fall of Man as a launch title for the PlayStation 3 with two sequels following it afterwards. With a unique alternative history setting fused with science fiction and a flair for designing inventive weaponry, Insomniac created a series that offers three unique first person shooter experiences. ...

 

6.5 Farming Simulator

 

Farming Simulator is exactly what it says it is. It's not Harvest Moon, nor is it a chance to mess around an open world with dangerous farming equipment. There aren't really any objectives, no goals - you just run a farm. Harvesting, planting, cutting grass... this is a farming simulator.

 

7.5 Tales of Xillia

 

These past eight years has seen a great slew of changes in the video game industry. Whether it is the global domination of Call of Duty and Activision’s implementation of a one year release cycle, the integration of online, the creation of achievements and trophies, or the rise of casual gaming; this generation has changed the medium and its landscape in a multitude of ways. But there was one prominent trend ...

 

7.5 Strangers Wrath HD

 

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee was a PlayStation staple. Along with Rayman, I'm not sure there was a single person I knew that didn't have that iconic green sewn-up mouth grinning within their PS1 collection. When the Oddworld series jumped to the Xbox, abandoning not only much of the userbase but also, in a small way at first, Abe himself. Stranger's Wrath ended up under-performing and would have been lost to time if ...

 

9.5 Dragons Crown

 

I've only tried one other Vanillaware game, and that's Muramasa Rebirth. While I did understand the appeal, it was still an experience that left me feeling cold, and my expectations for their next release plummeted. Regardless, I still felt like I should give their next effort a chance. I'm glad I did, too, because Dragon's Crown is one of the finest games I've played all year.

 

7.5 Cloudberry Kingdom

 

Imagine a world filled with an adorable, cartoon-like visual style. Suddenly, the level's door opens and out comes this incredibly heroic-looking "Bobâ" figure, cape and all. Now, out of nowhere, this incredibly exhilarating music fades in... and you set your eyes upon the trials that lie before you, from two measly spikes to a fear inducing 2% of unoccupied screen space.

 

7.5 Killzone HD

 

In 2004, Sony Computer Entertainment acquired a somewhat unknown Amsterdam based studio called Guerrilla Games. At the time, the studio had really only produced one game: a multiplatform third-person shooter set in the Vietnam War called Shellshock: Nam '67. Though Shellshock went mostly unheard of, one title of theirs began to stir some excitement amongst gamers, generating considerable hype: Killzone.