Reviews Appendix

Geometry Wars 2 - 8/10
By Ryan Fernance

Overall Geometry Wars 2 is pretty much exactly what everyone was expecting from a sequel. The game is as fun to play as ever and the new modes add a longer lifespan to the game. As ever beating your friends high scores on the leaderboards is what it is all about and it’s perfect for a pick up and play session. Another great addition to the Live Arcade. Oh, and don’t forget to smile.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit - 7.5/10
By Ryan Fernance

Despite its shortcomings the one thing Burst Limit does very well is just be fun. The speed of the matches is great, it look visually stunning and it just genuinely fun. The lacking story mode and characters will no doubt be added too in the inevitable sequel (the last DBZ game series spanned three games) but the combat engines make the fighter quite deep and immensely playable. A must for Dragon Ball Z fans but also worth a look for anyone wanting a good fighting game.

Battlefield: Bad Company - 8.5/10
By Ryan Fernance

Battlefield: Bad Company is a breath of fresh air to the console FPS market. Mixing in the fantastic Frostbite engine with a short yet fun campaign mode and an addictive and deep multiplayer component, Bad Company is a must buy for FPS fans looking for a great multiplayer experience, though if it is single player you are after you may be dissapointed.

XBLA: Soulcalibur - 7/10
By Ryan Fernance

Soulcalibur is a faithful recreation of the geound breaking original, running just as well on the Arcade as it did on the Dreamcast. While the notable exclusions of online multiplayer, story mode and a 4:3 screen resolution hurt it, the gameplay, fighting styles and nostalgia factor more than make up for it. Well worth the 800 point price tag and a great place to start of Soulcalibur virgins.

Civilization Revolution - 8/10
By Shane Bailey

All in all, Civilization Revolution is a solid, perhap even strong game that shows that a strategy game can work on a console. Sure, it lacks some meat on it’s bones but it’s fun, challenging and does it’s job, which is to entertain.

Ninja Gaiden 2 - 8/10
By Ryan Fernance

However despite its short comings Ninja Gaiden 2 is one hell of a sequal. It retains the bloodbath filled violence and difficulty of the first game while adding new abilities and techniques of its own. It will be more than a challenge for the most accomplished gamer. Ninja Gaiden 2 is everything a succesful sequal needs to be and while it does have its fair share of issues and isn’t even a real evolution from the original, the good easily outwieghs the bad.

The Bourne Conspiracy - 7/10
By Shane Bailey

Overall, Bourne Conspiracy is a fairly decent game that tries to do things well and succeeds in a few areas such as the fighting but fails in others eg. driving, reliance on context sensativity etc. If you’re looking for a game to rent or a quick 500 plus achievement points, pick this up otherwise there are other games to spend time on.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slicked Precipice of Darkness, Episode 1 - 8/10
By Ryan Fernance

All in all Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slicked Precipice of Darkness is a thoroughly entertaining game and highlights the need for more unique and original IP’s on the Xbox Live Arcade. The comedic value coupled with the intuitive combat and fantastic story is a winner in my books, and though the downfalls of lacking locations are enemies are a missed hit, the game more than makes up for it in other ways.

Grand Theft Auto IV - 9.5/10
By Ryan Fernance

Grand Theft Auto IV takes everything we thought we knew about gaming and shakes it up. It presents cinematic quality with a level of interactivity and detail not before seen in a video game. The characters are deep and believeable and the story is compelling. The city is amazing and the graphics and physics engines need to be seen to be believed. GTA IV may just be the game of this decade, beating out titles such as Halo 3, Gears of War and all the other great titles that have gone before it. Rockstar have entered a new era of video game development, the question is, can the rest of the pack catch up?

Devil May Cry 4 - 8/10
By Ryan Fernance

The positives far outweigh the negatives though and having many difficulties and a rather long arena mode when you finish the game, DMC 4 is a great return to the series and a welcome addition to the 360 library. If you love all out action with a touch of style, this is the game for you.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - 7.5/10
By Ryan Fernance

Overall Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is Vegas 1.5, the story is compelling and the few new features that has been added are great, but there really isn’t enough new content for it to live up to the benchmark that Ubisoft was aiming for. But the unforgiving realistic difficulty setting along with some great FPS multiplayer will have you coming back for a while.

Army of Two - 7/10
By Chris de Wacht

The game is great fun which you can lose your self in but in reality there is just not enough content to keep you playing for long, if there were more to do on the campaign other than playing the next difficulty, unlocking new weapons and being able to find a game with host with a decent connection, I would definitely be hooked, but with a game that seems to have some thoroughly thought out modes and A.I the rest of the game just feels un-baked and needed just a couple more months in the oven to fix some of these flaws.

XBLA: N+ - 7/10
By Gareth Blayney

Although some may initially be turned off by the simple presentation, it really is the old-skool 2D look and satisfyingly simple gameplay that gives N+ most of its charm. Its great to see the early download stat’s indicate some strong community awareness for the game — so just like its flash-based predecessor, N+ appears to be doing well and getting lots of people addicted. However its a shame to see the wasted potential of what could have been a really exciting user-generated content scenario, but there are some rumours that Microsoft is considering implementing the feature in a future update. N+ truly is a game that needs to be played to be appreciated, and I recommend everyone do just that.

Bully: Scholarship Edition - 7.5/10
By Chris de Wacht

Bully brings a chance for those that have been out of school for a while to wail on those demonic authority figures with the over the top characteristics that Rockstar is well known for. Overall the game is great; giving us a chance to dish out wedgies instead of receiving, with only a month an a half until Grand Theft Auto 4 is released this will definitely fill the void.

Frontlines: Fuel of War - 6/10
By Ryan Fernance

In fact, that is the tone for the entire game, untapped potential. The game feels rushed, the story is presented well but the rest of the game feels very unfinished, whether it be the dirty textures or poor gameplay, had this game had another six to twelve months of development time I could be singing a largley different tune. Frontlines has the right idea, but the execution of said ideas are not done well, should there be a sequal Kaos have a lot to work with, a rich story and a great setting, but more time needs to be put into the core gameplay to make the game fun.

Nartuo: Rise of A Ninja - 7/10
By Camilo Cayazaya

This game really is for people looking to just have a casual gaming experience on the few hours off they have. The length and replayability, as well as the under-execution of a lot of ideas in the game keep me from recommending you purchase it with 100 percent confidence. I would say try before you buy unless you’re already a hardcore Naruto nut but I know that a lot of over-18’s will be surprised by the fun and quality of the game regardless of whether or not they think blonde ninjas are cool.

Burnout Paradise - 9/10
By Shane Bailey

Burnout Paradise is a fantastic racing game that has continued the tradition of great Burnout games while adding the new innovative features to the mix. It looks stunning and plays great. It really is the next best thing to achieving the rush of speed and momentum that we all enjoy so much.

Lost Odyssey - 8.5/10
By Ryan Fernance

Other than that Lost Odyssey is a masterpiece. Like Final Fantasy before it Lost Odyseey will captivate anyone who plays it. The story integrates well with the gameplay and the characters are lovable (some of them, I won’t spoil anything here). The score is epic as is the size of the game, with 35-40 hours needed to beat the main quest alone. Epic is what I used to describe the game earlier and epic it is. Microsoft may have hit gold in trying to crack the Japanese market with Lost Odyssey, as well as creating a JRPG that western gamers will love as well.

Turok- 8.5/10
By Ryan Fernance

Overall Turok is a return to form for the franchise. Taken a face value its a fun run-and-gun FPS set in the future with a fantastic gimmick in dinosaurs and a compelling story. It doesn’t try to revolutionise the genre and doesn’t really have to, the objective set was for the game to be fun and Propaganda Games have done just that.

Madden NFL 08 - 7/10
By Ryan Fernance

All in all Madden 08 is a giant improvement from 2006 and 2007 and is the next generation version of Madden that we have all been waiting for, but there is still room for improvement.

NBA 2K8 - 8/10
By Ryan Fernance

All in all though NBA 2K8 is a fantastic basketball simulator, far better than anything else on the market, including EA’s NBA Live 08. If your a fan of the NBA this is the game you must have but if your not its still worth picking up. It’s a blast to play and with so many modes it will keep you coming back for many months.

Call of Duty 4 - 9/10
By Ryan Fernance

All in all Call of Duty 4 is one of the most complete, atmospheric and all around fun first person shooters on the Xbox 360. The combination of fantastic graphics and sound, compelling story and addictive multiplayer make it a must for any fan of the FPS genre.

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008- 7/10
By Ryan Fernance

As a package WWE Smackdown vs. Raw is a flawed but nonetheless fun game that all fans of WWE will devour, but if you are looking for an in-depth fighting game you’d be better off picking up Virtua Fighter 5 or waiting for Soul Calibur 4. The game will still sell to WWE fans though, and as the commercial says; WWE fans? There everywhere.

Assassin’s Creed- 8.5/10
By Ryan Fernance

If you go into Assassin’s Creed with no preconceived notions you will find an amazingly fun game that may a little too on the simple side for accomplished gamers, but nonetheless will leave you with a feeling of satisfaction after playing it. There is a long lifespan with the sheer number of collectibles in the world and like hunting for Orbs in Crackdown, searching for the flags never gets boring. In fact, Assassin’s Creed is almost a medieval Crackdown, exept that Creed has a story too it. As I’ve said time and time again, play Creed without the hype and you’ll have a great time with it but if you can’t put what you’ve heard out of yout mind be prepared to be let down.