Review: Anthill: Tactical Trail Defense (iPhone)

The tower defence genre really does seem to be the flavour of the month (or year even!) when it comes to iOS gaming at the moment.

Opinion: Multiplayer is ruining the video game industry

In light of Matt’s opinion piece on how he believes that shooters are killing the games industry, I figured it would be as good a time as any to counter with my argument. This is something that has been stewing in my mind for quite some time but has never really had an appropriate time to be brought up. But now, with our tempers recently flared, I think it’s time to speak up.

Contrary to what our beloved Editor-in-Chief feels, I believe it’s not the shooters that are the problem. The problem is multiplayer – or, rather, how it seems that each and every game released these days needs to have some sort of multiplayer mode.

Single-player gaming at its finest!

RAAM casts his shadow on XBL in time for the holidays

Depending on your 'zone', the hotly anticipated expansion to Gears of War 3's single player campaign will be ready for downlading in time for the Holidays.

Review: Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (PSN)

I’m not sure how many of you were counted amongst our readership back in June – it seems so long ago, now – but back when I joined the ranks of Digitally Downloaded, my first review was for Red Johnson’s Chronicles, a point-and-click adventure game that simply oozed coolness. Whether it was the smooth jazz fusion, the amazing landscape artwork or the overall artistic direction included, Red Johnson’s Chronicles remained one of the coolest titles for download on the PSN. Until now.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the new king of cool: Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, available to you exclusively on the PSN.

PlayStation 3 to get movie streaming courtesy of Quickflix

And about time, too. Australia doesn't have Netflix, so Australian console owners haven't really had a way to stream movies and digital content through their consoles (though Mubi is awesome, it's for the cult classics). That's about to be remedied, thanks to a new partnership with Quickflix.

Free Realms is a 20 million-player hit

Sony's freemium, family friendly MMO, Free Realms, has apparently gone down with gamers really well.

Screens: Confrontation (yes, yes, yes!)

Not many videogamers will recognise the name, but Confrontation is a name with real weight. It was, essentially, a Warhammer competitor tabletop game.

Trailer: Matrix Games and Slitherine grab publishing rights to Unity of Command

Hardcore strategy specialists, Matrix Games and partner, Slitherine, have picked up publishing rights to promising WWII sim, Unity of Command.

Review: 3D Pixel Racing (iPhone/ iPad)

3D Pixel Racing started life as a WiiWare title. As with all WiiWare titles, it wasn’t all that cheap, and the game didn’t go down too well.

Sonic Generations Demo now available

The forthcoming Sonic Generations now has a demo up for all on Xbox Live.

Review: Sonic Adventure (PSN/XBLA)

Sonic’s first true 3D adventure makes its way to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but is it as impressive as it was in 1998? Short answer: no. It's a reminder that Sonic Team tarnished what could have been a more than solid game by cutting corners and neglecting to fix ever apparent issues. Surprisingly, it can still be thoroughly engaging entertainment despite this.

Review: Tiny Tower (iOS)

Tiny Tower is a management sim with a touch of the freemium business model going on. Your task is to build new floors on you tiny tower, populate it with residential or commercial entities and grow it until it’s tiny no more.

Review: Third Blade (Android)

The hack-and-slash rpg is for me one that I have always struggled to get into. Whilst I do love games that add an RPG element I always felt that hack-and-slash was a bit forced and a poor fit. This game surprised to a little bit though.

PlayStation Vita's worldwide launch is almost simultaneous

Sony's made it official, the PlayStation Vita will launch in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, and Australia/ New Zealand on the 22nd and 23rd of February, 2012.

Last chance to win a copy of indie hit, Astralia!

Astralia is a space-age indie game that impressed us greatly; We awarded the XBL Indie Games version 4/5 in our recent review. Our competition in which you can win a copy is about to close, so here's your last chance!

Review: Mystery of the Crystal Portal (Android)

Hidden object games are a great concept. They are easy understand whilst being hard to master making them ideal for all ages. They may not have the non-stop action of a FPS or the scope of an RPG but they provide you with a deceptive amount of enjoyment. Dare I even mention that they are subliminally good for you?

Catwoman, Dungeons, Jewels and more on Xbox Live

This week's XBL update features a few nice little XBLA releases and the Batman: Arkham City pack with a certain gal who dresses like a cat and cracks skulls.

Demo Impressions: The Cursed Crusade

Last week, a demo for The Cursed Crusade popped up on various online networks across North America. I figured, because I might not get a chance to review the actual title, I’d put together a few thoughts about the demo for you all to muddle over. But before we get to that, let me explain something:

Minecraft developer wins legal round against Bethesda

For those who have been following the legal battle between Bethesda and Minecraft developer, Mojang, over the latter's attempt to use "Scrolls" as the title for its new game, good news for the indie; it's won an interim injunction.

Opinion: Shooters are killing the games industry

The games industry is becoming subservient to the two shooter genres (both First- and Third-) at a rate that is not only uncomfortable to watch unfold; it’s utterly ruining the industry.

Review: Battle Group (iPhone)

Remember Missile Defence? The old game where you’d need to shoot little explosive lines to stop enemy moving lines from crashing into the pixelated city that you’re meant to be defending? Battle Group is like an action-heavy version of that, except now you’re moving.

Wizardry Online publisher is looking for worldwide launch

Fingers crossed, folks. Gamepot, the publishers behind Wizardry Online, is looking to bring the game to a global audience. It just needs to find a publisher partner.

New Sonic Generations demo will feature modern Sonic

If the first demo released in June wasn't a sufficient indicator of the game's quality, Sega Europe and Sega have announced that a newer build of Sonic Generations will be available in a just few days. 

The original demo only let players use classic Sonic in Green Hill Zone, but this one allows players to try modern Sonic as well. As this is a newer build of the game, it will be much closer to what the actual game will play like. The release date is only a few weeks from now, after all. 

Review: Mighty Flip Champs DX (PS Minis)

What many critics believe to be the greatest title on DSiWare is no longer an exclusive, recently making its way over to Sony’s PSP Minis service. It’s not a perfect port or even that much of an improvement, but there’s a reason why Mighty Flip Champs was so loved to begin with – WayForward’s complete mastery of retro-style games. If that’s what you’re looking for, Mighty Flip Champs DX delivers it in spades.

Screens: Professor Layton to hit iOS

Level-5's Layton franchise has been Nintendo's hero so far, appearing on the DS and, now, the 3DS. But no more. He's turned turncoat and will appear on iOS devices as well in his new adventure Layton Brothers: Mystery Room.

Review: Sonic Jump (Mobile)

While Sonic the hedgehog has a wealthy library of mainstream hits and misses available for consoles, the blue blur also has quite a few mobile titles under his belt. Perhaps the most well-known (which isn’t saying much, considering their relative obscurity) is Sonic Jump, the most notable of all his mobile outings from the standpoint of ingenuity. While anyone who has ever played Doodle Jump will tell you this is a watered down clone, it’s actually the other way around.  This precursor actually outclasses Doodle Jump in every conceivable way.

Screens: Dynasty Warriors NEXT, the Vita launch title to look forward to

Tecmo Koei's first PlayStation Vita Warriors game, Dynasty Warriors NEXT, looks like it's throwing every trick the Vita is capable of at the book.

Review: Danger Alliance: Battles (iPad)

Danger Alliance: Battles is a cute little tactics strategy game that doesn’t try to be too much, but offers a nicely rounded experience for what is there.

Review: Fate of the World (PC)

Being a long time fan of sims, I’ve played them all, everything from IL-2 Sturmnovik to Sim City; but Fate of the World is my first foray into the often ignored realm of ‘serious games’. All of these serious games intend to educate (wait! Don’t go away!) but often fail getting the full breadth and gravitas of their messages across. Fate of the World has a very obvious message, but instead of being bland and lost in translation, it’s utterly terrifying.