The Summer of Arcade kicks off in 2012 with the release of Warp from Trapdoor on the XBLA. Warp mixes elements of classic Metal Gear Solid top-down stealth action and the puzzle solving, lab escaping sci-fi of Portal. [read more]

Gotham City Impostors is possibly the least plausible Batman game that could have been imagined by a developer, aside from perhaps a kart-racing or sports game. Developing a multiplayer shooter in a universe with a lead character who does all he can to avoid gunplay is a strange design choice at best, and although the reasoning behind the set-up is briefly explained (something to do with brainwashing and gang-related violence), it still feels a little wrong dressing up as Batman and blasting away at thugs. [read more]

Puddle, a science-infused puzzle game released on PSN and Xbox Live, doesn’t just use water as a backdrop; it instead focuses on it as a main character. Throughout the course of Puddle you will be tasked with guiding liquid through various tracks, with the objective of saving enough liquid to meet the quota come level’s end. It sounds easy, but with the amount of obstacles placed in your path, you’ll quickly come to realise the importance of careful movement, strategy and accurate timing. [read more]

The wheels of fate are turning once again as the latest version of BlazBlue hits consoles with BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extended. This is the second major update to Continuum Shift and the third as a whole in the series. Now there will be some people asking “Why in the hell did we need a disc update? Couldn’t Arc System Works have done it as DLC? Are they trying to be like Capcom?” Is CS Extend necessary or is Arc trying to be the “new Capcom?” [read more]

Final Fantasy XIII was already a drastic change from the ‘traditional’ games of the series, so what more could Square Enix do to change it? Does Final Fantasy XIII-2 deserve all the hate that it has been given just because it is not a “traditional” Final Fantasy? [read more]

In 1992, Final Fantasy V was released for the Super Famicom in Japan. Despite selling over two million copies, the game did not come stateside until it was released alongside Final Fantasy VI for the PSX as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology collection in January 1999. Since that release, the game has also been ported to the Game Boy Advance and is also now available for purchase in the Playstation Store. [read more]

Shank 2 is a tale of revenge with Shank, our protagonist, fighting against the evil General Magnus and his militia with the objective of rescuing the head of the orphanage in which Shank grew up. Does KLEI Entertainment’s sequel offer up enough violence for the bloodthirsty hordes, or would it be better to suffer dismemberment than play this game? [read more]

The MGS series defined how stealth games should be portrayed and set the standard in storytelling through its in-game cinematics. The games took risks that ultimately paid off. For the 25th anniversary of the franchise, Konami and Kojima Productions decided to give three of the defining games of the series an HD upgrade. Those games are Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. These three games make up the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. [read more]

EA Games and development team Just Add Water have allowed me the chance to atone for past mistakes by releasing an HD ‘upgrade’ of the game, which is available for download on PSN. Was it worth my trip back in time to once-again experience this overlooked adventure, or should I have left it in the past where it belongs? [read more]

Denki’s word game "Quarrel" fits under the handheld devices umbrella by first being made available for the iOS. However, months have passed since it was released on that platform and after having overcome extensive publishing difficulties, this little title, that will undoubtedly remind you of Scrabble, made its way onto Xbox Live last week. [read more]