wake up & smell the ashes

Review: Scribblenauts Unlimited

May 10, 2013 by Mark Seymour

The airmen have riddled King Kong’s hulking frame with metal, and that’s the good news! New York lies in ruins; the skeletal remains of a dozen prehistoric beasts serving to remind of the dreadful ruckus that occurred moments earlier. The crowd bay for revenge, but none comes. The aeroplanes about-turn victorious having extracted the life from Kong. But lo! Maxwell, hero to the people, cuts through the New York skyline; a half-slice of equity strapped to a jetpack; a diminutive […]

Categories: Review • Tags: 5th Cell, nintendo, PC, Review, Scribblenauts, Scribblenauts Unlimited

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Review: Dead Island: Riptide

May 2, 2013 by Mark Seymour

The upward stroke leading to total cranium divorce from torso is my favourite Dead Island dance floor maneuver. The act itself demands little dexterity or poise, an insouciant flick of the analogue stick in a skyward direction is all it takes. But while the upward stroke leading to total cranium divorce from torso is painless enough that an orangutan on ketamine could convincingly mock the motions, executing the move in the midst of pandemonium is a true test of mettle. As Dead […]

Categories: Review • Tags: Dead Island, Dead Island: Riptide, Deep Silver, PS3, Review, Techland

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Review: Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine

April 24, 2013 by Mark Seymour

“No wonder we started the game in prison.” – inspirational words from BeefJack’s Heist Squad hacker. BeefJack’s home-grown Heist Squad, hastily assembled in our defence, is not made up entirely of mastermind criminals. Nor is it made up even slightly of mastermind criminals. We take our cues from Charlie Chaplin, not Dillinger, so when it comes to talking about Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine, our greatest stories are those of complete failure. And if that’s not the hallmark of greatness […]

Categories: Review • Tags: Monaco: What's Yours is Mine, PC, Pocketwatch Games, Review

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Review: Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge

April 16, 2013 by Mark Seymour

They say if you put an infinite number of monkeys in a room with typewriters for all eternity the hairy tykes will eventually pen the entire works of Shakespeare, word for word. I propose if you put one monkey in a room with a typewriter for just three hours the cosmos’ natural comedian will write Ninja Gaiden 3 in its entirety with at least 65% less MacGuffins. Not that anybody would approach a Ninja Gaiden game expecting a tale well spun of course – lest […]

Categories: Review • Tags: Ninja Gaiden 3, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, Review, Team Ninja, Xbox 360

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Review: Ridiculous Fishing – A Tale of Redemption

March 22, 2013 by Mark Seymour

Fishing with chainsaws, toasters and orbital death lasers. Those of a fish-fearing nature may not be the only ones to find joy in Vlambeer’s updated version of Ridiculous Fishing. I’m no more a fishing-man than my father (who once suffered a chronic bout of seasickness on the ferry over to the Isle of Wight and vowed never again to set foot aboard a sea-faring vessel) or his father before him (a man who, safe in the cold embrace of his […]

Categories: Review • Tags: iOS, Review, Ridiculous Fishing - A Tale of Redemption, Vlambeer

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Review: Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army

March 5, 2013 by Mark Seymour

It’s a well known fact that when Hitler ordered Nazi forces into Poland he had several tactical advantages. The Luftwaffe, for one. He also wielded the numerical upper hand which, in turn, aided in reducing morale among the Polish. More importantly than all this however, Hitler had an elite cadre of unwavering jetpack snipers. Honest. And yet even with these spry bastards the German army was eventually spread too thin. Historical accuracy is not high on the list of priorities for Sniper Elite: Nazi […]

Categories: Review • Tags: PC, Rebellion, Review, Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army

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Interview: Triumph Studios’ Lennart Sas

March 4, 2013 by Mark Seymour

We strategy connoisseurs have had a pretty good time of late. XCOM won hearts late last year, we’ve had news of a new Stronghold Crusader game and, this year, Age of Wonders is set to grace monitors for the first time in nearly a decade. Early images suggest this one’s a looker having made the leap to 3D, while Triumph are developing the game with support from Notch. With interest piqued, I fired some questions in the direction of Triumph […]

Categories: Interview • Tags: Age of Wonders 3, Interview, Lennart Sas, Triumph Studios

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Gallery: REICH IN THE MUSH

March 3, 2013 by Mark Seymour

Videogames have played fast and loose with authentically recreated history for decades. With Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army, they’ve reached a great new low high. Dramatic imagery captured from the frontlines of Nazombie Germany. Click to biggerise. REICH IN THE MUSH, by Mark Seymour

Categories: Gallery • Tags: ARE GAMES ART?, Photojournalism from the frontlines, Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army, Videogames

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Interview: Stronghold Crusader 2

March 2, 2013 by Mark Seymour

This July marks the eleventh anniversary of Firefly Studios’ Stronghold Crusader, and while 2008 brought with it Stronghold Crusader Extreme, we’ve not had an all-new Crusader since 2002. That’s about to change. Firefly Studios are at work on Stronghold Crusader 2, a self-published, 3D sequel to a game Firefly feel especially fond of. With a potential 2013 launch for Crusader 2, I took the opportunity to speak with Firefly CEO Simon Bradbury about the pressure of revisiting Crusader after so long, […]

Categories: Interview • Tags: Firefly Studios, Interview, PC, Simon Bradbury, Stronghold Crusader 2

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