Review: Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!!! (Vita)

When you stumble upon a game called “Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!!!”, your expectations don’t exactly soar. Aside from the muddled imagery, flinging around more than one exclamation point is a safety hazard. Yet despite this name, the game doubles as the most inventive 2D platformer I’ve played in years and Vita’s first must-have digital exclusive.

Review: Road Trip Adventure (PS2 Classics on PS3)

Road Trip Adventure is rather cute. It’s not a work of art by any means, but it’s an entertaining little racer with plenty of longevity for people who get into it.

Final Fantasy Tactics is on iPad now

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is a remake of a genuine classic Strategy RPG, and has been released on both PSP and iPhone. Now gamers can also experience it on the gorgeous big iPad screen.

Sega teases next Dreamcast port for PSN and XBLA

Several titles originally for the Sega Dreamcast have hit Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network over the past year or so, namely Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi. What game is next on the list? Take a look at the teaser trailer after the jump for a hint.

Review: Dillon's Rolling Western (3DS)

The tower defence star is fading. Thanks to an inundation of games on every download platform (especially iOS), there’s already a few thousand cheap, reasonably good quality examples of the genre out there and with little innovation, it’s all starting to become a bit stale.

This week's PSN update is Vita-l

Most all the new stuff in this weeks update of Playstationy goodness is of the PS Vita variety. There's full games, demos,and freebies galore- but have no fear! The PS3 gets some love too.

Nnooo's WiiWare hit, escapeVektor, coming to 3DS and Vita

Nintendo's poor old WiiWare didn't have a spectacular year in 2011, but there was one genuine diamond in the rough: Nnooo's escapeVektor.

Review: Arcade Classics: Volume 1 (PS2 classics on PS3)

While we all love the hundred hour time-wasters of today, sometimes it’s good to revisit our gaming roots. Retro compilations are often the best place to do this, as they ease the pain of paying exuberant amounts of cash while also delivering sheer bulk. 

Unlike other collections such as SNK Arcade Classics or Taito Arcade Classics, though, none of the games in System 3’s Arcade Classics: Volume One are from the arcade and their status as “classics” is up for debate.

That’s right, not a single one of these games is actually from the arcade. The games on offer either seek to replicate other titles from the past or bring something new to the games of yesteryear. With only six distractions, all lacking in any semblance of depth, this is a very dubious package. In fact, two of the games are eerily similar to one another and the lot of them follow the exact same rules.

The six games are Meteor Shower, Incoming, The Invaders, Bugs, Space Rescue, and Alien Raiders. While each game has its own little characteristics, nearly all of them take place on a lone screen (except for one, which is easily the most entertaining of the lot) and involves shooting. You’re given three lives to rack up as high a score as possible.

To be a bit more specific, The Invaders is essentially a clone of Taito’s Space Invaders. A large horde of enemies saunter left and right in a pattern whilst shooting occasionally, before gradually moving down to annihilate you. Alien Raiders is much the same, only with enemies that stray from the group to launch individual attacks.  

The other games don’t really warrant explaining, as every title in this collection follows the same basic formula: shoot and dodge. Each and every one is a shooter in some form, despite the ambiguous title “Arcade Classics”. Some variety here would have gone a long way toward making this feel like a collection, rather than the same game with different rule settings.  

Meteor Shower and a few other games are either buggy or incredibly cheap in that dying automatically respawns you at the exact point of failure. This means it’s very likely that upon coming back to life, you’ll die instantaneously. Given that achieving a high score is the central goal of all six games, this is frankly inexcusable. I even found myself dying upon just booting up a game.  

Since this was released in the PS2 era, there are no online leader boards. The developers can’t be faulted for that, of course, but it’s somewhat upsetting to play an obscure offline score-based game. You’re practically condemned to play in solitude, unless you’ve got a real-life friend willing to play and share frustration.

Overall, the interface is bizarre and inconsistent. When you try to restart mid-game, you’re taken to the high scores screen and must wait for all 10 of them to appear before you can actually choose another option to reset the game. In some games you are allowed to use either the D-Pad or left analog sick depending on your preference, but in others you only get to use one...even though the second control method serves no function at all.

Graphically, the games ditch the resemblance to early arcade games, instead taking on a PlayStation One-like identity. They’re too advanced to be lumped in with 16-bit visuals, yet clearly fall much below the PS2’s power. Perhaps this is not an error of the developers either, but it remains mystifying to play games with the complexity of the early 1980s and visuals of the mid-1990s. 

There’s not much of a soundtrack to speak of beyond the stock music on the main menu. The six games are entirely composed of various noises. What few sound effects present manage to be humorously out of context. Perhaps the developers have been enlightened about the extraterrestrial life, but I would not expect a dying alien soldier to squeak like a cute dog toy. I’m still baffled as to what motif they were going for with this whole arcade theme.

At the time of its release, Arcade Classics was a new game masquerading as a compilation of classics. It’s destined to become retro itself now that the game is included with other PS2 Classics, but that won’t change its quality for the better. I cannot justify telling you to spend €4.99 on six buggy, half-hearted shooters when the PlayStation Store houses legitimate classics as far as the eye can see.

-Clark A

Our Scoring Policy

Xbox Live Wakes up this week

Xbox Live plays host to Alan Wake's American Nightmare this week, but that's not all. Call of Duty, Saint's Row, and SSX fans will be happy too as a few nice little pieces of content take a bow.

Roll into the Nintendo Download

A brand new Nintendo property debuts this week alongside a demo of Nintendogs+Cats and a game about pushing boxes around random environments.

GOG selling Dungeons and Dragons classics, cheap

Oh man, this is the best sale ever, I think. GOG has a buy one, get one free sale going for classic Dungeons & Dragons games (the really awesome ones). But there's just one more thing...

Sonic Heroes hits the European PSN Store...quietly

So much for "sonic boom". Sonic Heroes has just landed on the European PlayStation Store to absolutely no fanfare. 

Originally released on Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube back in 2003, Sonic Heroes met with ho-hum critical reception. Some fans still consider it to be one of the better 3D games and true to the classic formula while others cite it as the "fall of Sonic". The unfortunate part is that the PS2 port is cited the worst of the three with regards to glitches and performance, but it's still a relatively playable adventure compared to some of Sonic's other outings. 

The strange thing is that this release comes entirely out of left field. No announcement was made by Sega of Europe and the game was not included with the regular PSN update schedule. One would expect more promotion, considering the company's track record of hyping up Sonic re-releases for months. 

Sonic Heroes will run you £7.99/€9.99 and about 4.5GB of memory on your harddrive, making it one of the heftier PlayStation 2 games on PSN so far. There's no word on a release on a non-European release yet, but  expect it to randomly appear as well. 

Perhaps it just cropped up because it's PlayStation 2 Classics week at Digitally Downloaded?

Review: Checkers (iPhone)

Sometimes known as Draughts, Checkers has been a popular board game around the world for generations. Often referred to as “The Poor Man's Chess” due to its simplicity, the game has quite a following so it's no surprise to see that Tesko Gaming have decided to bring this title to the App Store. While it struggles to make itself a highlight amongst the large crowd of similar Checkers titles, it's certainly one of the more polished attempts.

Review: Cel Damage: Overdrive (PS2 Classics for PS3)

As a Nintendo gamer, I missed the era of the PS2, with my party kart racing experience coming from the likes of Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing. Cel Damage: Overdrive attempts to take the battle mode aspect, made famous in Super Mario Kart, and create a full game experience from it.

Alan Wake's American Nightmare launches on XBLA

The House Party kicks into its second week with the debut of the newest Alan Wake adventure- American Nightmare. Click on through for a super cinematic (complete with 'movie guy' voice-over) launch trailer.

Nintendo Direct Japan broadcast: what happened?

So, Nintendo Japan is about to kick off an online presentation/ conference. Naturally we're watching as well, so keep an eye below for a running commentary as we watch!

Review: Seek and Destroy (PS2 classics for PS3)

So, every once in a while, these retro games that get thrown up on the download platforms such as PSN and Nintendo’s eShop give us games that remind us just how bad games back in the day could be. Seek and Destroy is one of those games.

Review: Reversi (iPhone)

Reversi has been around for a long time. Also known by the name Othello, the strategy board game was first invented back in the 1880's in England and has remained fairly popular since then and has also seen quite a few video game adaptations, with the App Store itself being numerous with them. So have Tesko Gaming done enough in their attempt at bringing the game to the iOS, to make it stand out above all else? Sadly no, but it does the job pretty well.

NeverDead expansion pack now available

Bryce Boltzman never dies, and neither does this game.

Wheels of Destruction unleashes the Scout

The first in a series of vehicle class trailers for the upcoming PSN exclusive Wheels of Destruction, the new Scout video shows why the Scout is a Capture the Flag champ.

Modern Warfare 3's DLC season continues

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's newest season pack for Elite service subscribers has just stormed Xbox Live for Premium Members. The update, titled 'Overwatch', sets you to task on a very tall building in the heart of the Big Apple.

Big Bang Racing blasts out a trailer

Digital Reality's Big Bang Racing continues to impress with a cartoony style all its own.

WWE Wrestlefest bodyslams iOS devices

THQ brings home all the action of the classic arcade brawler/wrestler to the iOS. Snap into a Slim Jim!

Review: Gungrave Overdose (PS2 classics on PS3)

I’m going to admit: I wasn’t entirely sober when I played Gungrave: Overdose. I don’t think I would want to play it while sober, either. But with the aid of a few bottles of fine Sapporo, this game makes for a surprisingly entertaining few hours of button destruction.

Review: Crusader Kings 2 (PC)

A few years back, before I even aspired to be a videogame journalist, I came across an article by a man who quickly became my favourite journalist in the industry. That man was Tom Chick and the article I speak of was a recap of a session of Europa Universalis that Tom had played. In the article, he speaks to an in-game character about why he is making the decision he makes, and explaining the hardships that come with being expected to rule. It was a riveting read and remains as such even to this day; I'd highly recommend you check it out. I'm sure there are some people here who will appreciate the humour!

Nintendo download disappointing again (UK)

It has been a really, really slow start to the eShop releases this year, and the grind continues, with very little to please gamers.

Review: MX World Tour (PS2 classics on PS3)

I have always had a bit of a soft spot for motorcycle racing games. I remember falling in love with Road Rash back on my PlayStation. In Twisted Metal, I was always about Mr. Grimm and his motorcycle. Still, MX World Tour was a title I never had the chance to try out on my PlayStation 2, so I get to approach the title with fresh eyes and no real nostalgia. That’s a shame too, because my guess is this release on the PlayStation Network is aimed at the nostalgic, because they may be willing to look past the flaws in this game.

Review: House of the Dead 3 (PS3)

House of the Dead 3 has quite a history. First released to the Arcades back in 2002 by Sega, the game was well received amongst the gaming community and found its way onto many home consoles. Fast forward 10 years and the game has resurfaced once more, boasting all new PlayStation Move support following the success of prequel entry “House of the Dead: Overkill – Extended Cut” on the console and comes off as the definitive home edition of the game.

Journey gets a release date

Journey looks absolutely stunning

Jenova Chen, co-founder and creative director at thatgamecompany, took to the Playstation Blog this week and announced a release date for thatgamecompany's long awaited Journey. It will be available for download on the US Playstation Store on March 13. and will set you back the standard $15.

In the past, thatgamecompany's games have been very unique and Jenova has often described them as emotional journeys. On the Playstation Blog he says:

Journey, our third game, is an interactive parable, an anonymous online adventure to experience a person’s life passage and their intersections with other’s.

They have made themselves a loyal bunch of fans for their previous works and many such as myself are ready to fork up the cash, no questions asked, but if you want to know more before you buy here is a deeper description of what the game is about:

You wake alone and surrounded by miles of burning, sprawling desert, and soon discover the looming mountaintop which is your goal. Faced with rolling sand dunes, age-old ruins, caves and howling winds, your passage will not be an easy one. The goal is to get to the mountaintop, but the experience along the way is discovering who you are, what this place is, and what your purpose is. Travel and explore this ancient, mysterious world alone, or with a stranger you meet along the way. Soar above ruins and glide across sands as you discover the secrets of a forgotten civilization. Featuring stunning visuals, haunting music, and unique online gameplay, Journey delivers an experience like no other.

We are excited for Journey and so should you. Look for our review around March 13 if you're on the fence or prepare to be mesmerized when we can finally get our hands on that digital goodness.

From the Playstation Blog

Review: Malicious (PS3)

Malicious is what happens when you take two of Japan’s most popular game franchises, and shove them into one game, But somewhere this game went horribly wrong and the result is a game that is… horrible.

It's PlayStation 2 Classics week at Digitally Downloaded!

PlayStation fans take note: we've got a big week planned for you!

Minecraft: Pocket Edition becomes real game with update

iPad and iPhone (and we assume other formats it's on) early adopters of Minecraft Pocket Edition rejoice: your game has just become a game.

It's a solid Nintendo Download this week

The Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D (wow that's a long title) demo headlines this week's selection of downloadable goodies on the eShop. The first 'official' NES title also bows in with Super Mario Bros.