PS4 Reviews

Whatever happened to the brawler genre? One day, every game was a brawler, and the next it was gone. It had become retro, with new content consigned to stylised sequels like the incredible Streets of Rage 4. 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is an attempt to bring those old titles back in something feeling a little fresher – and it mostly succeeds. But not just that. 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a perfect combination of genre and theme, bringing back kung-fu…

Crash Bandicoot 4 continues Activision’s string of resurrecting old IP into something that feels both fresh and familiar. The game — developed by Spyro Reignited devs Toys for Bob — strikes the perfect chord between throwing back to the original trilogy and adding new bells and whistles to differentiate the experience.   In Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, Crash and Coco are sent on an adventure to track down four masks before Dr. Cortex and fellow baddies can get…

The remake of the first two Tony Hawk Pro Skater games — recently released on Xbox One and PS4 — continues the recent Activision trend of stellar updates of classic games from the 1990s. This package, more than any remake or remaster in recent memory, speaks almost directly to me. The original games were among my favorites on the original PlayStation.   Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 perfectly captures the memories and feelings of playing the originals. The visuals are…

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is a spin-off/companion game outside the main Final Fantasy series. Released in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube, it marked the first return of Final Fantasy to a Nintendo console since Final Fantasy VI. This Final Fantasy game features many new gameplay elements previously unseen in Final Fantasy, like real time fighting, as well as being the first RPG to incorporate GameCube-Game Boy Advance compatibility. The music was scored by Kumi Tanioka. A remastered edition was originally…

Having previously played Doraemon Story of Seasons on the Switch, it was wonderful to also be able to experience it on the PS4. I have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Natura, engaging with the various citizens, solving problems, and working on finding a way back to the present. Now we dive into the nitty gritty of this experience, and spoilers…it’s really good! When asking Bandai Namco for an opportunity to review Doraemon Story of Seasons, I had to pitch to…

Who knew that a TV series following gangsters with Brummy accents could have such selling power? Birmingham has become the unlikely setting of Peaky Blinders, one of TV’s most popular British shows, giving our second city a focus outside the meat market and that funny shaped shopping centre. It only makes sense that a game was going to follow, and Mastermind has come along to fill that gap. What you end up with is a title that suits its source…

What do you get when you take Harvest Moon, take out all the RPG elements, add some really simple puzzles and then charge £17 for it? Well, you get Harvest Moon: Mad Dash, and you might well wish you hadn’t. Here is a game that’s almost entirely the opposite of what Harvest Moon is all about, but with the name splashed all over it and the familiar sprites front and centre. It’ll almost make growing vegetables seem a chore, if…

As a gamer we are often analyzing the value of a game by it’s length. We want the most bang for our buck, however at times games can overstay their welcome and become a fetch-quest driven chore of a time to complete. Giraffe and Annika is not that type of game, it is a charming fairy tale of an adventure game that can be beaten in 6 hours or less. A magical, mystery-filled adventure awaits! When a young girl named …

Fingerboarding, along with having really, really good Pokemon, was one of the main ways of proving you were cool when I was in school. I remember it well – wearing a leather jacket and awesome sunglasses, armed with a stick used to beat off the girls, I’d flick my way through the schoolyard with my tiny skateboard. It wasn’t the size though, dear reader, it was what you did with it, and that sums up my experience with Skater XL…

Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack includes two side-scrolling action games (Azure Striker Gunvolt 1 & 2) that appear comparable to the Mega Man platformer series. However, with Mega Man as such an established franchise, is there a need to add another series of pixelated run and gun games to your library? We'll take a look at how these games stack up and give you our best advice - take a read and let's see how Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack measures up!