Our old friend Will Barker takes a look at the latest installment of
Namco Bandai's Tekken series, which was released in Japanese arcades
way back in 2007. Who will win the King of the Iron Fist
Tournament....
Rockstar games has released its two
downloadable
episodes -
The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on one disc. So, for
those of you who don’t have access to Xbox Live you can now play these
two episodes.
For those of you that have been waiting in
anticipation for the latest from game developers Gearbox, who brought
you the Brothers in Arms franchise, then wait no more. Introducing
Borderlands!
From the mind of Tim Schafer comes the
ultimate
heavy metal action game starring Jack Black. Mixing action,
humor, and heavy metal, Brütal
Legend makes a statement as one of the most enjoyable and unique games
in recent years.
Following on the success of its preceding
title, Guitar Hero World
Tour, Activision brings gamers Guitar Hero 5. Building on the
popularity of playing in a four-person band experience, Guitar Hero 5
opens up opportunities not just to play a new, if somewhat eclectic,
playlist, it also gives players the freedom to play lead and bass
guitar, drums, and vocals in whatever combination they want.
DiRT 2 features a host of contemporary
off-road events, taking
players to the most diverse and challenging real-world environments.
This World Tour has players competing in aggressive multi-car and
intense solo races at extraordinary new locations, from canyon racing
and jungle trails to city stadium-based events.
Marvel action RPG games have a long
and illustrious history that
features titles like X-Men Legends, X-Men Legends II: Rise of
Apocalypse, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and now the latest from Vicarious
Visions, Activision (PS3 and Xbox 360) - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
Step into the shoes of American spy B.J.
Blazkowicz as you gun down relentless Nazi scum. B.J isn't new to the
whole Nazi killing game, some of his previous endeavors include Spear
of Destiny in 1993 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory in
2001.
With a regenerative metabolism that renders
him almost indestructible,
augmented with an adamantium bone structure and retractable claws,
Wolverine is one bad mofo. We review the game based on the X-Men Origins: Wolverine
movie, and thankfully it's very playable. And very gory!
Most games based on movies turn out
to be torrid affairs, but Wanted
is different. It's probably one of the first games to successfully
deliver cimenatic gameplay, reinforced with a strong score and decent
dialogue. There's also eye candy galore and some very cool gunplay.
We had our first glimpse at Resident Evil 5
months ago now we have
played it. Some pure zombie shooting action, with a half decent story
line and throw in some beautifully rendered cut-scenes. Capcom have a
winner on their hands.
SingStar
has been a massive
hit for the Sony Playstation consoles, making Sony squillions of
dollars in revenue. Microsoft loves money too, so decided to commission
its own singing game. It's called Lips,
and we gave it to Will Barker to review. We probably shouldn't have...
There are few games that have such a
fervent following or the heritage of the Street Fighter series. Legions
of fans - many
of the Games Channel crew included - have been awaiting its release.
And now, finally, we've played it and we've rated it, so don't tarry -
read the
best review ever!
Having worked at Web Wombat for years, Will
Barker is not easily scared. But he describes FEAR 2 as "...one
of the
scariest, most engrossing FPS games I've ever played." Combining
destructive weapons with awesome graphics and one of the best plot
lines in history, this horror title will shake the foundations of
gamedom.
It came out late in 2008 and has
been one of the best-selling games so far in 2009. We finally decided
to take a look at Left
4 Dead
- a zombie-slaying game of extremely violent proportions that allows
four players to participate co-operatively - and we like it. A lot.
One of 2008's best games, or just a cheap
Grand Theft Auto ripoff?
Jay Williams delves into the comedic criminal world of Stillwater city
in Saints Row 2, to see if this title warrants a closer look for those
gamers with GTA IV withdrawal symptoms. In some ways it's more fun, in
others it's not...
Videogaming is Australia's favourite form of
visual entertainment
according to new figures. Billions of dollars of revenue is filling the
bank vaults of developers and distributors as social and family games
like Singstar and systems like the Nintendo Wii attract casual
gamers.
Will Barker reports.
As
Jay Williams discovered - inbetween trying to woo the digital babes of
Albion - Fable 2 is an impressively polished game with a level of depth
and attention to detail that is rare in modern day games. Simply put,
fantasy gaming doesn't get better than this.
Like a well-trained grizzly, William Barker
can walk on his two hind
feet so we thought we'd let him review Biology Battle, the Games
Channel's first Xbox Live Community game review. He's played the game
for a few weeks and settled on a verdict for this ultra-fast shoot 'em
up.
Car fanatic Jay Williams tries out EA's
latest Need For Speed game
which is being billed as an interactive movie. He couldn't review the
Playstation 3 version as it suffers from chronic frame rate issues so
he tested the "superior" Xbox 360 version instead, calling it
'rubbish'
and 'unrealistic'.
Just like Spyro the dragon, long-time
reviewer Will Barker is
trapped in a fantasty world. But as he scrawled in this review,
"...this game is a third-person action adventure with a satisfying
combat
system. It's drag-tastic." Spyro has finally grown up, and the new game
reflects this in every way.
Crash Bandicoot is back for another
adventure on the Xbox 360, in what
is an interesting combination of Sonic the Hedgehog, Banjo Kazooie, and
Pokemon gameplay. With co-operative 2-player modes and hordes of mutant
Titans to take control of, it could be Crash's best outing yet.
The Call of Duty series returns to the 1940s
during a time when the
world is at war... But after Modern Combat, are gamers going to want to
take a trip back in time? Will 4-player online co-op and
single system
split screen modes be enough to entice gamers back? Find out in the
review.
Tennis games have always been a bit
'arcadey' but this is all set to
change with Top Spin 3. As our intrepid tennis fan Will Barker
explains, "This is what the die-hards have been waiting for -
brilliant, nuanced, in-depth digital tennis that is tough as
nails". E-gads!
It only took one plane ticket, several
illegal boat journeys and a
restraining order, but Will Barker finally managed to snare an
interview with Novaleaf's CEO and chief architect Jason Swearingen, the
creator of the new Biology Battle game. If you liked Geometry Wars,
you'll love this.
Some people call him Batman, others know him
as the Dark Knight.
Here at the Games Channel we like to call him Bruce, but whatever you
want to call the caped crusader, know this: his adventures in LEGO-land
are pretty freakin' cool! Be smart, read the review.
The third- and first-person shooter
genre is inundated with titles
that claim to be 'new' and 'innovative', but this new game
from Day 1
Studios truly is a breath of fresh air. With terrain and gravity
deforming weapons, you can get super creative with how you dispatch
your foes.
Stop monkeying around. Quit with all that monkey business. Monkey see
monkey do... with all the puns out of the way, Jay Williams takes a
sensible look at one of the most visually impressive kids games to hit
the market in some time.
First there was LEGO Star Wars, then LEGO
Indiana Jones hit the
scene, and now it's time for LEGO Batman to start busting blocks. As
Will Barker explains, the new game plays better than previous titles
and is a much richer, more diverse experience. And it features
the
batboat!
It's finally here!! Resident nut job Will
Barker reviewed it, calling the title "a monumental game that will go
down in the annals of not only gaming history, but cultural history as
truly visionary and eminently interactive work of art." Yep, another
almost perfect score. Find out why in this banging review.
Texas hold 'em poker has riden a tidal wave
of success as the most
popular card-based gambling game since the French government banned Pog
in 1995. But are the videogames any good? We test the best of the best
- WSOP 2008.
The Call of Duty franchise has been a
strong seller, and for good
reason - the games are some of the most realistic, pulse pounding
experiences you're likely to encounter on the small screen. The fourth
game in the CoD series has arrived and it's easily the best
yet!
The
Tony Hawk franchise is starting to see solid competition in
the form of
EA's Skate, but the latest game in Hawk series is crammed with new
stuff. But will a new video editor, open-ended gameplay and
the online factor be enough? Will Barker investigates.
The Master Chief returns for his third and
final sojourn, but
will
he succeed? Arguably the biggest videogame launch in the history of the
world, Will Barker reviews the game and says it's got
some issues.
Ouch! We've also included a full run down, description and
even a
rating of each weapon, grenade, and vehicle in the game. Take a seat,
this one's big...
If there's one thing that unites Xbox 360
and Playstation 3 gamers,
it's Stacie Orrico. But, in the grand scheme of things, Will Barker
writes that an online mode for the upcoming Resident Evil 5 game could
also change the way rival console gangs approach each other. In-game
trailer included.
The Xbox
360 is home to a number of excellent games, and has a pretty cool
online network as well. But as is increasingly the case, thousands
of
owners are reporting system failures, often indicated by the red ring
of death. William Barker delves into the issue, and looks at a couple
of theories that may be the source of the console's bugs.
Bringing
automotive carnage to the Xbox 360 in high definition is the latest
FlatOut game from Scandinavian developer BugBear. It features fully
deformable cars, heaps of tracks, plenty of game modes, and even online
play. But is it worth getting when games like Forza 2 are out there?
Will
Barker takes the game for a test drive to find out.
Do
you ever tire of games? Have you thought the frustration and punishment
you must endure just to beat a game is obscene? Offensive? In
her regular gaming
column, Sandra
Maksimovic writes that she has gamer-over phobia. This often
wrongly
diagnosed fear of digital failure affects one in every three gamers,
and like Bird Flu there is no cure...
What is a Fanboy?
Perhaps a more appropriate question would be, when does a fan become
into a Fanboy? Sandra
Maksimovic has taken time out of her videogame development studies to
take a closer look at the Fanboy (Fan-people?) phenomenon, and some of
the possible reasons for their one-eyed love of Nintendo, Sega, Sony,
or Microsoft. And sometimes Atari.
We've
got a new writer and she's got a new bi-monthly column - but what's it
all about? Well, seeing as how Sandra is currently studying game
development at a top secret laboratory that floats in the clouds and
can only be accessed by headbutting a floating block of
masonry that reveals a
strange bean stalk, she offers her opinion on all
topical games
industry issues, such as the looming Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, and
Xbox 360 console war.
Having
been abandoned for 20 years after a murderous alien race was discovered
during human colonisation, the Lost Planet is now being repopulated.
But why? William Barker reviews what could be one of the best games of
2007, even at this early stage, saying "It's one of the most immersive
gaming experiences ever". With amazing visuals and rewarding gameplay,
this is one adventure you won't want to miss.
Featuring
some of the most gorgeous anime babes in the history of gaming, Dead or
Alive 4 on the Xbox360 is quite an eyefull. But on top of the stunning
eye candy, there's also a eminently playable fighting game hidden
beneath the gorgeous veneer, and as the sometimes
lucid William
Barker explains, it's easily accessible for newcomers to the fighting
game genre, yet has the kind of depth to keep core gamers happy.
Are you a good cop or a
bad cop? Do you arrest the
crims or buy drugs from them? Will Barker and Chris Green join
forces, discovering that freedom of choice in the seamy underbelly of
New York City is the ultimate prize. True Crime: New York City allows
players to roam freely across the sprawling mega city, kind of like GTA
- and it's a big improvement on the original.
When
he's not giving tai bo advice to Oprah and Donald Trump, Thomas
Machuca likes to spend his spare time dungeon crawling through the
best RPGs on the market. So why is playing the Fable addendum, you ask?
Simple. Because wombat ninjas told him to.
Adding some dynamic new
weapons, a solid single-player campaign and even the original Doom is
the new Doom 3 Expansion pack for the Xbox. Martin Kingsley went to
hell and back (again), saying "it would be fair to say that Doom 3 is
still the best looking game on the Xbox."
Chris Green knows a
thing or two about cricket - he once used a cricket bat to "persuade"
his way into police custody, so who better to put the new PS2/Xbox game
through its paces? The 2005 version can be commended for its improved
graphics and bowling mechanics - but those with only a passing
interesting in the game may be best advised to steer clear...
