YouTube FIFA 10 review

Once again it’s time for another EA Sports game with a new number on the end. This time it’s the turn of FIFA. When you first look at the game it doesn’t look much different but you’ll soon realise that they’ve ironed out all the things that made 09 great to make this version excellent.

First of all there’s the 360’ movement, meaning you’re no longer running at 45 degree angles. This makes for a more realistic movement of the players and coupled with the improved ball physics, some truly interesting and freakish goals that are sure to make you shout out or hold your head in your hands.

Manager Mode is the main season mode where you play through a number of seasons and make transfer and squad decisions. Be a Pro mode is back where you play as an individual and now you can make your own Virtual Pro. Using EA’s Game Face technology which is currently broken as I review the game due to high demand, you can put your face right into the game and level them up RPG style in custom games and even in the arena.

Following on from the Adidas Live Season comes Live Season 2.0 where you can download the latest games your club’s played and try to replicate or re-write history. It’s a shame you have to pay for this after a 5 game demo but hardcore fans will find it worth the extra spend. There’s also a set piece creator where you can modify and save set pieces for use in games. Again, only the hardcore will probably go this deep into the game but it’s a nice touch.

As ever, presentation is slick with some great player likenesses and some good ad-libbing from Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. I usually say not to bother getting the new version of an EA Sports game if you’re enjoying last year’s, but once again, FIFA’s come up trumps. Over to you Pro Evo. FIFA 10 gets 9 out of 10, if you know what I mean.

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Related: Fifa 09 review, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 review, FIFA 10 review

Tags: FIFA 10, FIFA, football, soccer, FIFA Soccer 10, EA Sports, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS, PC

YouTube Raven Squad review

In Raven Squad you play as two groups of mercs who land behind enemy lines to retrieve some data. Quite what that data is I can’t remember as this game bored me so much I almost fell into a coma. What they’ve tried to do is marry a first-person shooter with an RTS and the result is either a very poor FPS that’s sub-standard to nearly any other FPS I have ever played or an RTS so simple that you may as well be playing Cannon Fodder on the Amiga – actually go and play that because it’s better.

In FPS mode you can switch between your soldiers to use their special weapons and struggle with the dreadful AI that seems to just stand there whilst you try and fight the good fight alone. I quickly gave up on this idea and decided to play the whole game from above, but this too was a rather dull affair as I pointed around the map and watched my little fellas run about the same drab looking levels over and over again.

Oh, actually, one thing I did find very entertaining about this game. The voice acting (if you can call it that) is hilarious. If you know the UK comedy show ‘Allo ‘Allo then you’ll find the accents in this game just as bad as the awful French and German accents in that.

And just for good measure, if you want to get rid of your housemate, get them to play the game in co-op with you. They’re sure to leave the house and never come back.

Don’t waste your money on this, you’ll have far more fun hiding in your back garden with a spud gun. Raven Squad gets 2 out of 10.

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Related: Wolfenstein review, Quantum of Solace review, Raven Squad review

Tags: Raven Squad, SouthPeak Games, Xbox 360, PC

If you’ve been following my reviews of the wonderful point and click adventures; Tales of Monkey Island Episode One and Tales of Monkey Island Episode Two so far then you no doubt have been dying to read this Tales of Monkey Island Episode Three Review right? Welcome to the third instalment of Telltale’s new adventure in the Monkey Island franchise. This time our hero Guybrush Threepwood is starring in the ‘Lair of the Leviathan’. Please be aware of spoilers of Episode Two coming up shortly. As previously mentioned Tales of Monkey Island is a brand new spinoff of the classic Amiga and PC games released in the early 1990’s. This 5 part adventure from Telltale (the developers of Sam and Max as well as Strongbad’s Cool Game) is a fresh take on the series but does feature input from many of the original developers. Best of all you can enjoy Tales of Monkey Island on both PC or Wiiware.

As you may remember, Episode Two ended with Guybrush on the trail of the Sea Manatee and the Giant Voodoo Sucking Sponge. As usual Guybrush didn’t exactly know what was in store for him because soon enough; his crew, his ship as well as himself are all swallowed and therefore trapped inside the belly of said Sea Manatee. Without wishing to spoil the four or five hours of playtime to be had here I can say that in this adventure you’ll bump into the Voodoo lady’s old flame Coronado De Cava who was previously on the trail of La Esponja Grande. After years stuck inside a Manatee you’ll understand that he’s not quite as sane as he once was.
If you’ve enjoyed the first two episodes then of course you’ll love to see how the story is progressing.

Just as with the first two episodes both the graphics and voice acting are a treat and as crazy and imaginative as usual. The whole series so far is a treat for point and click fans everywhere and I’m really engrossed in this series and can’t wait until Episode 4 is ready. Another 8 out of 10.

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Related: Tales of Monkey Island Episode One, Tales of Monkey Island Episode Two

Tags: Tales of Monkey Island Episode 3, Lair of the Leviathan, Chapter 3, Tales of Monkey Island, Episode 3, Telltale, Wii, PC, Monkey Island, Guybrush, Point and Click

YouTube Order of War review

Here’s something you don’t see every day, Square Enix making a World War II strategy game which covers real historical events and not a role playing game which involves pointy eared characters in some fantasy land. Order of War focuses on the end of World War II and is set in the 40s as you push back the German Axis from France or play as the German army trying to repel the Red Army from the East.

A couple of years back Company of Heroes did a good job of telling this story so how does this RTS shape up? Well it turns out that Square Enix seem to have made a rather good game.

In typical RTS style you point and click your way around the map, swooping round the objectives as you command your soldiers, tanks and artillery to push forward and hold ground. You can also call in air strikes and bombing runs when the situation allows it and of course have to play to the strengths of the resources you’ve been given. For example, foot soldiers can launch surprise attacks on artillery by moving through the trees or can entrench themselves for better protection.

I’m not very good at RTS games but it’s good to see the game also caters for players like me. In the early stages each level is divided up into smaller objectives and you’re shown exactly what to do. Your commander even sends in more troops if you’re running low. And if you need some thinking time you can pause the game and still give orders to your troops to get the upper hand.

You can watch the action from above or zoom right in, and at the touch of a button the game goes into cinematic mode where you can see the fight in great detail. A nice touch indeed.

The music is also excellent although the accents of your commanders can be a little over-the-top at times. With the single player campaigns and online and skirmish modes, there’s plenty to keep you occupied. If you’re a World War II boffin and you like your strategy games, then this one’s definitely worth a look.

Order of War gets an excellent 8 out of 10.

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Related: Call of Duty World at War review, Frontlines Fuel of War review, Order of War review

Tags: Order of War, PC, Square Enix, Company of Heroes

YouTube Mini Ninjas review

Just because a game’s for kids doesn’t mean it has to be hurriedly put together. Luckily, it seems that quite a bit of care and attention has gone into making Mini Ninjas which means kids are going to have a fair amount of fun with it. In the game, the land has been ravaged by violent storms and the leader of the town has sent his best ninjas one by one off to solve the problem. The problem is, they never came back so it’s up to Hiro, the youngest of the ninjas, to find his buddies and stop the terrible storms and the samurais from burning down the villages.

Combat’s a simple case of hitting, blocking and stunning enemies if they choose to block you. You also have Kuju magic available which can be used to find secret shrines or fight enemies with fireballs or tornadoes. You can even possess the little animals around the land to sneak past samurais or even attack them. Hiro also has a big white hat which can be used to guard against arrows or as a boat. It’s all very cute and colourful and running about the land feels very fresh if you know what I mean.

There’s also a fair amount of platform gaming as Hiro shimmies along ledges and balances on beams.

Once you find your fellow ninjas you can then hot-swap them into the battle and use their abilities. There’s a big chap with a hammer called Tofu or something and a little girl with a flute amongst others.

My problem with this game is, even though it’s for kids, it just feels a bit shallow and easy. Combat is rarely difficult unless you’re later in the game and haven’t levelled up enough so there’s no real sense of danger throughout the game. You sort of go through the motions albeit very slick ones with tight controls and smooth graphics.

It would also have been nice to have some extra 2 player game modes in there for more family fun. Still, it’s a good game and even though there’s swordplay, no-one dies. All the enemies you fight turn into frogs, rabbits and foxes etc when defeated. Mini Ninjas gets a good 6 out of 10.

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Related: Ninja Blade review, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword review, Youtube Mini Ninjas review

Tags: Mini Ninjas, Mini Ninja, Eidos, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC, Mini Ninjas review

YouTube Batman Arkham Asylum review

So after a disappointing delay, Batman: Arkham Asylum has finally sneaked onto the shelves so listen up to find out if it’s any good.

The game begins with Batman bringing the Joker into Arkham Asylum and then he conveniently and easily escapes further into Arkham Island to cause mayhem as he formulates a toxin to turn normal goons into super soldiers. So Brucey baby swoops from ledge and kicks and punches people in the face to put a stop to it.

Combat is a simple matter of punch and counter buttons being pressed at the right time. Build up a big combo and you can do super moves that take out more than one bad guy at a time. If you want to be stealthy, you can swoop between high perches and glide down for a quick kill or even string up bad guys in style.

Batman also has all the gadgets of his utility belt at hand. These include exploding gel for getting through walls, remote control batarangs, grappling hooks and little gizmos for hacking into security.

As well as all the usual suspects you’d expect from the Batman universe, also expect lots of riddles from Edward Nigma to pop up in most rooms. When in detective mode which is used for counting guards and following trails, you can also scan areas relating to his clues. Succeed and you get more XP which can be used to upgrade Batman’s armour and weapons.

The thing that makes this a cut above other games of this genre is simply the fact that the Batman universe is recreated so well here. It’s dark, moody and gothic and certainly more akin to the comics as opposed to the TV series or any of the movies. Even the Scarecrow makes an appearance more than once as he induces you into a state of fear with some of his lovely poison gas. It’s creepy to say the least.

The game’s not massively long at around 7 hours but once you’ve finished the game, you can go back and try to solve all those riddles, or play the Challenge Mode which will extend play further.

I was hoping this would be everything it was hyped up to be and fortunately it is. My only gripe is I wish there was more to do once it was finished. So far, for replayability, Resident Evil 5 still gets my award. Still, with free DLC on its way, things are looking good! Batman: Arkham Asylum gets an almost perfect 9 out of 10.

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Related: Batman Arkham Asylum demo available, Batman Arkham Asylum Joker PS3 exclusive content, Youtube Batman Arkham Asylum review

Tags: Batman Arkham Asylum, Batman, Arkham Asylum, PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Batman Arkham Asylum review