Go Forth Mighty Platypus: Islands of Wakfu has launched!

On March 30th, Islands of Wakfu (which hails from French publisher Ankama Play) saw its highly anticipated launch on XBOX Live Arcade; the game is based off of the famed and increasingly popular massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) Dofus and Wakfu which revolves around mysterious dragon eggs known as 'Dofus' and those who seek to secure their procession in order to utilize power of these Dofus to their own ends.

Review: NinJump (iPod Touch)

I've been spending a lot of time lately with my beloved iPod Touch and one of the latest games I've discovered is an addictive tower scaling game - NinJump.

NinJump is basically a simple 'pick-up and play' game in which you set out to get a higher and still higher score (submitted via OpenFeint) as you jump back and forth between two parallel walls avoiding obstacles and enemy ninjas.

Duke Nukem to star in iOS version of Death Rally

Now here's a game with serious pedigree. Death Rally, on all iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch models, comes to us from the same folks who produced the excellent Max Payne and Alan Wake games.

The developer, Remedy, has also collaborated with two iOS specialists, Mountain Sheep and Cornfox & Bros to optimise Death Rally for Apple's platforms.

'Realistic' weapons sim, Reload, comes to iPhone and iPad

Looking for an iOS shooting gallery, with 'realistic' recreations of weapons? Then Reload might just be the game for you!

Got Nintendo 3DS headache? Apply Hed Saver.

Just how many depends on where you get your information from, but a percentage of 3DS gamers struggle with tiredness and headaches as a result of playing the 3DS.

So naturally third parties are scrambling up solutions. One is GamingZap, who has come up with the 3DS Hed Saver (yes, they did seem to forget an 'a' when naming the product).

Marketing: StreetPass will be the real reason for Nintendo 3DS success

Forget 3D screens and augmented reality, the Nintendo 3DS' greatest feature is, in fact, StreetPass (read the Wikipedia article on StreetPass here). While the other features are good as initial selling points, and getting consoles into people's hands, it is StreetPass that shows Nintendo's genius at building communities around products, and is a genuine case of marketing outside of the box.

A stroke of genius, this.

New demo for Hannibal: Rome and Cathage released

You might not have seen in before, but Hannibal: Rome and Carthage has a new demo available, so you can try before you buy.

Opinion: The FPS is dead

I’ll start straight out with this little opinion piece and say this – I like the FPS genre. I lost many hours of my life to the original Aliens vs. Predator, and multiplayer Goldeneye was the very reason I bought a N64.

In recent years, though, the appeal of FPS games has waned with me greatly. I’m not a huge fan of Call of Duty, Homefront, or Killzone, and the more experimental games such as Bulletstorm didn’t really strike a chord with me.

Boom Boom Gems (iPhone) gets update

We recently reviewed Boom Boom Gems - a fun little, casual, match 3 style action game. It had a few small flaws however, one of the main ones being a limited number of gameplay modes. Well, that's about to be remedied.

Preview: Why you're going to love Might & Magic Clash of Heroes

Might & Magic Clash of Heroes was tragically ignored when it was released on the Nintendo DS, which is why the HD version, due for release in April, will hopefully make amends, because it's an essential game for anyone who enjoys fun.

Having sunk our teeth into a preview build of the game for a couple of hours, we can safely say that, although the high definition version isn't dramatically different to the small screen experience, it is a great port of an already brilliant game.

Highly strategic, highly addictive battling

Review: Ascendancy (iPad)

What would happen if you took the complexity and depth of a Civilization game and sent it into space? Ascendancy is what. A somewhat forgotten PC game from 1995, it's been given a second lease on life with the iPad. And while Civilization has won the war for the masses' hearts historically, the guys at Logic Factory International have one-upped Sid Meier with this port, because while Civilization Revolution is a great game, this is even better.

This takes hours

GameJam project, Three Trees, to become full iOS release

Independent studio, Studio Pepwuper, is soon to release its section game, Three Trees, a game it is positioning as an "environment puzzle game for the whole family."

Screenshots: Advanced Tactics: Gold

It's safe to say we're looking forward to Advanced Tactics. We've already seen one good new wargame this year in Combat Command: The Matrix Edition, and this one, due for release soon, is shaping up very nicely. And we have some new screenshots!

Doodle Jump gets multiplayer

It still sells for just $US0.99, but Lima Sky's Doodle Jump just got a whole lot better with the inclusion of multiplayer.

Review: Look Again! (iPhone)

Look Again! takes one of the simplest IQ-test style puzzles, and builds an entire game around it. And, while it's a remarkably well-made game for such a simple idea, a lack of breadth of content will mean it's not for everyone.

An acquired taste

Review: Bird Zapper! (iPad) - the heir apparent to Angry Birds

Bird Zapper! is the perfect example of what happens when a developer has simple concept, but a reasonable budget. As far as we're concerned, it's the new Angry Birds.

Bird Zapper takes the basic match 3 concept, but reworks it into a casual masterpiece. In the brief story setup, you play as a squirrel who has had his power cut by a bunch of obnoxious birds who have taken residence on nearby power lines.

Haha, this game is sadistic

Is the original Resident Evil still scary?

Last week in Europe and Australia, Capcom released Resident Evil: Director’s Cut on the PlayStation Network as a PSOne Classic release.

On the surface, you wouldn’t expect this game to be worth the premium price Capcom is asking for it – after all, games have come a long way since the PlayStation One. Developers can now render high-definition creatures of the night, dynamic lighting, and surround sound. How can this game possibly be worth playing if it’s not even slightly scary?

Doesn't exactly look scary by modern standards, does it?

Review: MadCap (iPhone)

MadCap may well send you mad. You see, while it's a cute enough game on the surface, it's also one that could have used a few more rounds of product testing.

It's a simple game in concept. There's a monkey-thing, that is throwing tomatoes at various farm animals. The goal is to land a tomato (which for some reason has a squirrel sitting on it) near an animal, where it will then explode, grenade style, covering the poor critter with red goo. Do this to all the animals on a level, and you'll move on to the next one.

Yeah, this guy is nuts

Namco Bandai zaps birds with Bird Zapper!

Namco Bandai's Romanian development studio has come up with a new IP for the publishing giant. It's an iOS Match 3 puzzler, called Bird Zapper! Not exactly a massive-scale release, but it's early in the year yet.

Hungry Monsters looks for a feed on iPhone

Beep Blip Games' Hungry Monsters is another cute, $US0.99 game. It wont cause any game design revolutions, but it looks charming nonetheless.

Alien Breed collection released on Steam as one package

Steam users can now buy all three Alien Breed games as a single, inexpensive package!

We've reviewed all three Alien Breed games as they were released on the PlayStation Network. Despite the combined cost of all three games being a bit high, we enjoyed the gameplay a great deal. Now, that price problem has been resolved.

Trilogy retails for £16.99/ $22.99/ €20.99. Team17 is also offering a further 10 per cent discount on the trilogy for the first week of release. For that price, it is well worth buying.

Paper Wars: Cannon Fodder hits the iPhone and iPad

Paper Wars: Cannon Fodder was something of a sleeper hit on the PlayStation Minis service. Now it's coming to the iPhone and iPad. 

Review: Tactical Soldier: Undead Rising (iPad)

Recently I reviewed Tactical Soldier: Undead Rising for the iPhone. Generally, it was a good game, and was easy to recommend, but it had a few flaws that held it back from greatness. Having spent some time with the iPad version of the game, I felt it was worth running a brief review again, as it is a significantly better version.

Here we go again!

Might and Magic Clash Of Heroes HD (PSN, XBLA); screenshots galore!

On the Nintendo DS, Ubisoft's Might and Magic Clash of Heroes HD was a very underrated and often overlooked classic. Now it's heading to PSN and XBLA in glorious HD, and as you'll see in the screenshots below, it looks awesome.

Characters we'd like to see in Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy (and are currently missing)

As I mentioned in my recent review of Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy; although the list of playable characters is large, there are a lot of really good characters missing. Below are 12 favourites that missed out, but we’re hoping to see as some kind of DLC in the future.

Oozi: Earth Adventure crash lands on XBLA Indie Games

Classic platformers are increasingly rare in the world of polygons and 3D visuals. Thank goodness for XBLA Indie Games, then.

Smappsoft promises puzzling iOS action with Look Again

If you're into puzzlers on your iOS devices, then Smappsoft may have just the new app for you.

Look Again has been designed for iPhone and iPod Touch with a great deal of variety. Smappsoft claims over 250 levels, randomly generated levels with an 'unlimited' replayability, and Game Center integration with leaderboards and achievements.

iPad owners can look forward to an version in the coming weeks, as Smappsoft is planning to update it to a universal app.

Review: Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy - the best, and worst fighter of all time (PSN - PSP)

Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy is simultaneously the greatest and worst game I’ve ever played. Somewhere under the whirlwind mash-up of fighting game and hardcore JRPG is an addictive and nearly endless experience, but getting there is like trying to dig through solid granite with a plastic spoon.

Oh c'mon... Vaan? Really? Not Ashe, or even Balthier?

New free app service, Monster Free Apps, hits iOS devices

A new “free app” service has popped up for iOS owners to take advantage of. Monster Free Apps is positioning itself as a competitor to the likes of Free App a Day, Monster Free Apps claims it does a few things differently.

Review: Combat Command: The Matrix Edition (PC)

The instruction manual that comes with Combat Command: The Matrix Edition is over 100 pages long. There's no 'tutorial' levels and minimal in-game handholding. It's a game that is resolutely 90s in concept and execution, but strategy buffs should lap it up.

Battles can literally take days to complete

Review: Max and the Magic Marker (iPad)

Max and the Magic Marker has been something of a sleeper hit. On WiiWare, it probably never got the broad market attention it deserved, and while it's available on Steam it was in many ways overshadowed by the big budget stuff you can download there.

The iPad is a more natural fit for the game, and fingers crossed that it's a runaway success on that platform, because it deserves to be.

Buildin' my castle