Dead Space PS3 £8.50 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B0019840IA Ask either Braindead_hero or Crofterz to name one of the scariest games of this generation of consoles and they would undoubtedly answer “Dead Space!”. Any regular listener of our podcast will have heard these guys talking in depth about their love affair with this critically praised title. Taking influence from films like The Thing From Another World, Alien, and Event Horizon, and mixing it with the play style of the Resident Evil games, Dead Space is a third person survival horror game that has you trapped in space on a ship filled with undead aliens out for your blood. Crofterz finds it so frightening that he has to play it in day light with the sound off. You can’t really get better than that, can you?

Gears of War 2 GOTY edition £14.99 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B002MXX2IA Our very own Crofterz wrote: “Gears of War 2 is a brilliant game and it stands out as one of the fewer games which actually get somewhere to meeting the standards promised by the Microsoft hype machine. Building on a great first game, the second takes what the first game was so good at and adds to them. Both campaign mode and multi-player mode are both very enjoyable and certainly earns it’s right to be one of Microsoft’s blockbuster games.” Also included in this copy is every piece of downloadable content released for the game to date, which would set you back by at least £15 if you wanted to buy them all directly from the Xbox Live Marketplace. It would almost be rude not to take advantage of this offer.

Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise £4.99 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B001CSMAVG Who says every good game has to be filled with blood and gore? Certainly not the UK’s own Rare, makers of such classic titles as Goldeneye, Banjo Kazooie, and the Viva Pinata games. Rather than shooting fools in the head, you take the role of a gardener who sets out to tame a patch of scrub land and attract various species to your garden. Think of this as Pokemon and The Sims crossed with Ground Force, and add 100 Litres of pure charisma. Chuck in two player split screen, and four player online, Trouble in Paradise is a fantastic family friendly game that can appeal to people of all ages. And for less than £5, if you’re an Xbox 360 owner you would be mad not to pick it up.

Bioshock 2 360 £26.80 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B00175NQIA When this was announced, a vocal faction on the internet rose up to question why this game even needed to exist. The first Bioshock had a very clear ending, and while uneven, had one of the most engaging storylines in a first person shooter to date. In our review for the site Mightyles wrote “While the story is a lot more conventional and straight forward than the original, it is consistent with the Bioshock universe, and truth be told a lot more even. Playing as the Big Daddy adds a new level of strategy to the game, and the Multiplayer should keep people coming back for a good while to come.”

Darksiders PS3 £24.91 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B001CSME0I As War, Horseman of the Apocalypse, you must find out who has destroyed humanity by reigniting an eternal conflict between Angels and Demons and punish them with your mighty weapons. Mightyles wrote “While some may deride the game for being too derivative, I personally found the overall experience to be very pleasing. This game is ideal for those that like adventure games, particularly those that have never played a Zelda game but always wanted to try one without purchasing a Nintendo console.” and JoeFeesh wrote “There’s a lot to love about this game. If you ever wanted to see what a mature Zelda game would be like or hoped for more adventuring and puzzle solving in your action brawler games, it’s all here.”

Red Faction Guerilla PS3 £9.93 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B0015XIEYA Tom01255 is a big fan of Red Faction Guerilla, going as far as saying “Red Faction: Guerrilla really is a joy… I thoroughly recommend it if you’re stuck for something to play… Explosions, as you would expect from a game focussing on demolition, sound and feel real and gratifying. The gameplay certainly has some issues, but these issues don’t detract from the fun you can have with this game…”

MadWorld Wii £7.46 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B001J6NCAY Taking a very clear influence from Sin City, this ultra stylish gore fest arena combat game may lack depth, but it is viscerally entertaining. Mightyles wrote “There’s something utterly hilarious about taking a stop sign from the side of a road and ramming it into the head of an enemy you had previous trapped by sticking him in a dumpster. Did I mention that this dumpster was also on fire? Madworld is a fun, arcadey, gory, yet humorous game that will satisfy your inner child no ends.”

House of the Dead Overkill Wii £12.73 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B001EO6J8I It seems like the Nintendo Wii is the new home of Light Gun games. One of the best to be found on the console is the latest in Sega’s long running series, House of the Dead Overkill. Mightyles Wrote “The style of the game has been dramatically overhauled, moving to a graphical style similar to a 70s exploitation movie, and a world populated with quirky, over the top characters. There is a film grain filter over the graphics, and the script is pure trashy B movie material, with numerous hilarious moments. In short, it is fantastic.”

Okami Wii £12.99 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B0016OIITY One of the more unique games available on the Wii, and one that genuinely makes excellent use of the motion controls is Capcom’s Okami. While you play as a god in the form of a Wolf for the most part, you are able to perform special moves by using the Wii remote like a paint brush and drawing specific symbols in order to pull the moves off. JoeFeesh wrote “There is a debate out there that’s been going on for a long time; are games a form of art? Okami is a working argument that they are. The visual style is beautiful and… is what makes the game so pretty, not the technical prowess. It’s hard to understand until you see the game in motion, and see for yourself how the world moves and feels like a living painting.”

Preorder Multiformat Deal of the Week

Red Dead Redemption PS3 Preorder £34.49 http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B0026IBHH4

360 preorder http://astore.amazon.co.uk/newrev-21/detail/B0026IBHGU

Superstar developers RockStar, makers of the Grand Theft Auto series, have a new game coming out on 21st May. The sequel to the fantastic Red Dead Revolver, Redemption takes place in America’s old west, casting you as John Marston, a former outlaw sent to bring law and order to the what remains of the Wild West during the early days of the 20th century. With RockStar’s trademark excellent voice acting and attention to detail, this game looks to be more than just GTA on horseback.

If you were not aware, we have a little Amazon store here at Newbreview.com (link at the top of the page) which we use to try and raise a little cash that we can put toward prize giveaways and so on.  Good old Mightyles has been scouring the store to find some real bargains that you might be interested in.  Check out these prices and if you want to help support the site, click the links below and spend a few quid in the store. 

Halo ODST (360) £17.73
  
Batman Arkham Asylum (360) £17.99
 
DeadSpace £8.15 (PS3)
 
Lego Batman (wii) £10.98
 
Little Big Planet (PS3) £14.73
 
Brutal Legend (ps3) £14.99
 
Sega Megadrive Collection (ps3) £12.84
 
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (wii) £16.95 
 
Gears of War 2 Game of the Year edition (360) £14.95 
 
DeadSpace extraction (wii) £11.65
 
Viva Pinata Trouble In paradise (360) £5.95!!!!!!!
 
Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box (PS3) £14.99
 
The Orange Box (360) £12.99
 
House of the Dead: Overkill (wii) £11.29
 
Mirror’s Edge (360) £8.24
 
Madworld (wii) £3.91
 
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash Up (wii) £7.99
 
Resident Evil 0 (wii) £12.73

Joefeesh Plays Mario Galaxy

After going all 3D in Mario 64 there was no way te next game was going to be in 2D, but where could Mario go next? Sunshine put the hearty Italian on a tropical island with a water jetpack. Strange move and, although it reviewed extremely high, it did not do anything groundbreaking and many disliked the basic water squirting gameplay.

But where Sunshine didn’t shine Galaxy beamed. The setting is a strange galaxy where star systems are made up of a mixture of small planets, tiny planetoids and asteroid fields. The real innovation is in the gravity based gameplay. Run and jump on a small enough planet and you may orbit it several times or even fly off. Sometimes head spinning and always fun. The 3D platforming is totally refined, you won’t find better.

Space, the final frontier for Mario?

Even on an HDTV the amazing visuals hold up here. There’s a certain softness and sheen that makes you want to pick up and eat everything in the game. Level design is absolute genius, surprising me even down to the last few levels.

As far as I’m concerned this is one of the greatest games ever made.

Mightyles Plays No More Heroes

Meet Travis Touchdown, Pro Wrestling enthusiast and professional Hitman. Armed with a light sabre like sword, Travis sets out to become the number one Hitman in town. In order to achieve his goal he must take down all of the higher ranking assassins in Santa Destroy, California. Of course you cannot just walk up to these people and demand a duel, it is far more complicated than that. With your trusty motorcycle you ride around town performing jobs in order to earn money and enough experience to proceed. Missions involve collecting coconuts, cleaning up garbage around Santa Destroy, and killing a certain number of opponents as quickly as possible. To say that this game is bizarre is an understatement.

Travis Touchdown, a legend already

For a game that is so narratively focused, the story is peculiar and in some parts baffling. Fortunately it is a great deal of fun to play. Between missions you can drive around the city of Santa Destroy looking for missions, and visit shops to buy upgrades. The only real downside to this is that the city itself is mostly barren, so exploring the city offers little reward. The missions themselves are fairly linear and usually only require you to kill all of the enemies and progress through the level, before you must face the boss characters. The fighting controls are mainly controlled through swiping with the remote, although you can perform wrestling moves on enemies by pressing button combinations. It is a quirky and charismatic game, full of memorable characters, and fun game play elements, creating a well rounded package of peculiarity.

Joefeesh Plays Okami

There is a debate out there that’s been going on for a long time; are games a form of art? Okami is a working argument that they are. The visual style is beautiful and although not much has changed in terms of graphics from the PS2 to the Wii (there is now widescreen) the art style is what makes the game so pretty, not the technical prowess. It’s hard to understand until you see the game in motion, and see for yourself how the world moves and feels like a living painting.

Beautiful

The game is set in a world with Gods, mythical creatures and spirits. The monster Orochi is out to turn the world into a wasteland filled with monsters. You take control of Amaterasu, the Sun God, embodied as a white wolf, using the 13 celestial brush techniques to save the world. The brush techniques are a series of symbols that can be drawn on screen using the wii-mote pointer, with varied results in combat and interacting with the environment to solve puzzles or get over obstacles.

One thing to note about Okami is the length. If you like to complete games then you have a marathon on your hands here with over 40hrs of gameplay, easily.

Mightyles Plays House of the Dead: Overkill

It seems that the Nintendo Wii is the new home for light gun games with this generation of consoles. Sega in particular have released a selection of their old arcade light gun games on the Wii, including The House of the Dead 2 and 3 Collection. Their follow up game, House Of The Dead Overkill, is a game that has been made specifically for the the Wii. The style of the game has been dramatically overhauled, moving to a graphical style similar to a 70s exploitation movie, and a world populated with quirky over the top characters. There is a film grain filter over the graphics, and the script is pure trashy B movie material, with numerous hilarious moments. In short, it is fantastic.

EAT BULLETS VILE UNDEAD BEAST!!

In the tradition of House of the Dead games you can play through the whole game either in single player or in two player co-op. As well as the story mode there are a number of zombie killing mini games, as well as a director’s cut mode that is unlocked upon completion of the game. There are a number of bonus materials to unlock, including character designs, music, videos. You can also purchase and upgrade weapons to use in the single player modes, with the amount of cash that you earn being linked to your performance on each level. While the single player can take roughly five hours to complete, all of these collectables can provide incentive for replaying the single player, as you strive to unlock more bonus content.

Joefeesh Plays Metroid Prime Trilogy

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was released on the Wii in 2007 and is the finale to one of the most renowned and critically acclaimed series in games. The first 2 games appeared on the Gamecube rebooting the Metroid franchise in 3D with great success. In this pack is all 3 games in the series, presenting a great value package for the price of a normal full game release. The first two games are also upgraded with the finely controlled pointer shooting from the most recent in the series.

Set phazors to kick ass

A first person shooter at first glance, Metroid Prime’s gameplay is heavily rooted in exploration. The story is not the typical space marine fest. In the ruins of a dead alien species, you must use phazon, a substance that is poisoning your body to enter a hyper mode and become powerful enough to stop Dark Samus before the poison takes your life. This game is not for the action junkie but for those looking to experience an adventure.

With gorgeous art design the worlds are rich and full of culture and everything runs at a super slick framerate so the action is smooth and the chugs.

Joefeesh Plays De Blob

One of the most fun games on the Wii, De Blob is a unique game that mixes painting with platforming. I use the phrase art style again because this is what games on the Wii, have to do well to look good most of the time. The Wii doesn’t do HD graphics and hasn’t got much processing power but games like De Blob look great because of their style.

Colour the world

De Blob is a living ball of paint that has taken up arms in the Resistance against the evil I.N.K.T corporation, who have drained all the colour out of Chroma City. Throwing yourself at buildings instantly paints them whatever colour you are currently. Smash pots of paint to change your colour and find all the patterns to give the city even more style as you paint it back into a vibrant, fun loving metropolis.

The things I love most about De Blob are the music that reacts dynamically to how colourful you’ve made the city and the funny video skits that you unlock as you progress and do well in the game. My 5yr old son loved to flick through the videos, and artwork which he found hilarious (so do I).

Mightyles Plays Super Smash Bros Brawl

To describe Super Smash Brothers Brawl in one word is challenging. If I were forced to do so, I would likely choose the word Hectic. Make no mistake, despite the bright colourful graphics and loveable cast of Nintendo characters, this is not a game for children. Not down to any concerns over content, but simply because this game is hard. This is the third game in the series now, and for the most part the specifics of gameplay have remained unchanged since the Nintendo 64 original. Four players stand on a level and hit each other until their damage reaches such a high level that each subsequent blow sends them flying further in to the air. The aim in this game is not to remove any arbitrary health metre, it is simply to knock your opponents off of the level, and try not to get knocked off yourself. The action is frantic and fast paced, with numerous Nintendo specific weapons, such as Pokeballs and fire flowers, falling out of the sky ready to be used by the players.

You touched Kirby's cake? DIE!!

While the core gameplay is much the same, new additions to this game include the single player Subspace Emissary mode, which mainly resembles more of a platform game than a combat game. You are tasked with leading specific characters through levels, avoiding hazards and enemies, and making it to safety. You can also collect character trophies, and pieces of music. A level creation mode has been added, which features a ton of customisation. You can share your creations online, and download the creations of others. New characters include Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Did I also mention that there is an online multiplayer mode? Unfortunately you need to exchange friend codes with someone in order to play them online, which can make the online mode a little bit too much of a chore to actually enjoy at first. While it is not a game for everyone – many may be put off by the sheer craziness of the game – it is difficult not to recommend.

Joefeesh Plays Excite Truck

As one of the launch titles on Wii Excite Truck remains the best racing game on the console. Massively underrated at release, Excite Truck is undoubtedly one of the most exciting arcade racers there is.

The controls take some time to get used to, partly because they are very sensitive and partly because the trucks you are driving are going so mind blisteringly fast that onlookers to the game tend to become totally disorientated, wondering how the player is managing to follow what’s going on.

Fly you fools!

The feeling of speed however is one of the games strongest points and is something that is lacking in a lot of today’s racers. I just can’t play a racing game after Excite Truck that makes me feel like I’m going 30mph when the clock is showing 90mph. It’s just so boring. Which is something nobody can call this game. Flying off massive jumps, sometimes even mountains is commonplace, smashing into other trucks is expected and driving through special markers will make the whole land deform and all of this will gain you extra points in your attempt to “S-grade” every course.

Also Excite Truck is about the only game on Wii that integrates music from your SD card into the game. And it does it well, fading out so you can just hear the wind as you fly off a massive jump to add a great feeling of height. Try listening to the Israel Kamakawiwo’ole version of Over the Rainbow while racing in Fiji in the rain and you’ll see why your own music is a must.

Mightyles Plays Madworld

Ultra stylish Sin City like graphics in which the only colour you can see comes when you brutalise one of your enemies, filling the screen with their crimson life blood. And the blood, oh the oodles of blood, and excessive violence are all in the name of sport. Madworld is a blood sport simulator that is entirely slapstick in tone. There’s something utterly hilarious about taking a stop sign from the side of a road and ramming it in to the head of an enemy you had previous trapped by sticking him in a dumpster. Did I mention that this dumpster was also on fire?

He should have read the sign

To get down to the specifics, Madworld is an arena based combat game in which you must score a certain number of points to progress to the end of the level. Each level has a unique boss who you must defeat to rise up in the ranks of the competition. Sure you can murder everyone you see with your massive chainsaw arm, but the real way to get points is to be more imaginative in your killing. The ideal combo usually involves trapping your enemy by sticking a tyre on him, impaling him with some sort of sharp implement, and then dragging him over to some environmental hazard, usually involving spikes, and waving the remote around like crazy as you splatter him in to a fine pulp. It sounds easy, but the later levels become increasingly difficult, with enemies that can kill you with one hit, and more complicated motion controls. While it is not a very long game, and can get a little tedious if you play it for prolonged periods of time, Madworld is a fun, arcadey, gory, yet humorous game that will satisfy your inner child no ends.

Joefeesh Plays Scarface: The World is Yours

If you want something along the lines of GTA on your Wii then you want either The Godfather or Scarface. Leading on straight from the film, you get to play out what would happen if Tony Montana had survived. You will act out his revenge and rise back to power.

You filthy cock-a-roach!

There’s a lot of fun to have here, with great pointer controls to aim, that feel really great. The guns are varied enough and satisfying and the violence is bloody. If you think there is no violence and swearing on the Wii, you are wrong. Although the gameplay is fun the missions and drug runs can get pretty repetitive but this doesn’t spoil the game.

The voice acting is great, Tony Montana just is Tony Montana. I couldn’t get enough of him calling people filthy cockroaches while blowing their heads off. Classic Tony. Great game.

Mightyles Plays Resident Evil 4

Surely taking one of the best games from the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube generation, porting it over to the Nintendo Wii, and tacking on motion controls sounds like an exercise in futility, never mind the fact that it sounds like a rubbish gaming experience. Colour us surprised then when we discovered that the Wii version of Resident Evil 4 may very well be the best version of this game to date. The aforementioned motion controls are intuitive and make perfect sense; moving your character with the Wii nunchuck, and using the remote itself to aim your reticule feels perfectly natural, in fact it feels more than natural, it feels like the way the game was supposed to have been played from the start. You take control of Leon S Kennedy, the protagonist from Resident Evil 2, on a mission in some vague part of Europe to rescue the President’s daughter Ashley from a weirdo druid cult. What starts out as a simple search and rescue mission soon descends in to a frantic fight for your own life against a sea of monsters and hideously deformed cult members.

Just a little closer...

Sure the game still suffers from some of the criticism levied at the game when it was originally released, namely that it is a little too long (there is a whole section of the game that takes place inside of a castle that the game could have probably done without) but that does not change the fact that Resident Evil 4 is one of the greatest action games in recent years. Perhaps it is a little damning of the Wii to say that one of their greatest games is in fact a Gamecube game, but that would be doing Resident Evil 4 a disservice. It really is that good.

And There’s More…

The above games are just a selection of the games out there. Here’s some of the other games that we didn’t write about but are definitely worth playing:

• World of Goo
• Wii Sports Resort
• Mario Strikers Charged
• Boom Blox 1 & 2
• Lost Winds 1 & 2
• Super Paper Mario
• The Legen of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
• Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars
• Murumasa: The Demon Blade (not out in UK YET)