Game Reviews

Nintendo Wii: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: Skyward Sword

While Zelda is hardly adult-themed, that doesn’t mean it is reserved for youngsters, as this fantasy world has thrilled all demographics across its 25 year existence. In this installment of one of Nintendo’s oldest and most successful RPG / Action / Puzzle games, the player is taken to the origin. The Triforce is secured by the Golden Goddesses, the Demon King defeated. Skyloft, a hovering city above Hyrule was created to keep the Triforce safe. Princess Zelda, is sucked towards Hyrule and Link has to find her, fighting evil obstacles with skill and force. In addition to hours of exploration, activities and characters to converse with, a spirit known as Fi inhabits your sword assisting when you get stuck. The Wiis advantage is the physical action integration for sword wielding or flying actions when traveling on huge Loftwing birds (not as effective with regular controls). Other functions like Dowsing enables your sword’s search function, to find hidden people and essential items for upgrades. Zelda is more about driving the story with dispersed excitement than ultra-slick visuals. This anniversary edition comes with a nice bonus of a CD with orchestrated music themes from the series. The game requires a Wii Remote Plus or Motion Plus connection for your controller – for the avid fan, a special box set also sports a golden Zelda Wii Remote Plus. 3.5/5

Nintendo 3DS RESIDENT EVIL: Revelations (Not for under 18s)

The ever-evolving Resident Evil survival horror series always keep things fresh (or should that be rotten!). In this 3DS exclusive, Terragrigia, a utopian solar powered floating city is destroyed to stop a terrorist organization’s bio-organic attack. Raccoon City survivor Jill Valentine is a founding member of the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance), and here with her new partner Parker searches for Resident Evil veteran Chris Redfield, who disappeared with partner Jessica on a BSAA assignment. Their last location is a deserted cruise liner in the middle of the Mediterranean. This allows for creepy locations to exploration and puzzle solving, and of course ghastly creatures to destroy. The new Genesis scanner does more than just viral detection, you can also use it to find essential hidden items. Besides the in-depth Campaign Mode, Raid Mode gives you co-op enemy battle in both Local- and Online Play functions. The 3D effect is great, but again, you wished the screen were just a bit larger… The special Circle Pad Pro expansion peripheral clips to the bottom of your 3DS unit, adding extra shoulder buttons and right hand joystick. This vastly improves your character mobility and functions like a console game’s joypad, freeing up buttons for quick functions like weapon switching or health restoration. The touch screen and Circle Pad Pro combo makes this one hell of a control system. Don’t hesitate to get the pack including the Circle Pad, as it will prove essential for future DS releases. 4.5/5

PS3 WARHAMMER 40,000: Space Marine

The Warhammer concept goes back several decades. Before this PS3 version, it actually had its genesis in the late-’80s as a tabletop battle game with miniature figurines. Players pit their intergalactic armies of soldiers and various creatures against each other with battle strategies and execution dependent on rolling dice. This global phenomenon with tournaments has many chapters and platforms, with close on 20 video games, spin-offs and a CGI movie. With this PS3 Space Marines incarnation you enter a 3rd person Quake-style scenario, in the super bulky armour of Ultramarine Capt. Titus, charged with defeating the invasion of Forge World Graia (a metal and rust covered industrial planet). Together with fellow Ultramarines and Graia fighters you’re engaged in various battle scenarios against Orks and Chaos Marines, with a range of specific mission objectives to fulfil, from the destruction of strategic weaponry to thwarting a major character from performing a transcendent ritual. High powered weaponry is a given, but you also get to collect a Chainsword, splattering Orks all over the place (hence the age restriction). A special fury system allows for collecting power as you destroy enemies, stored to unleash at the right moment. The adopted Roman elements in this futuristic scenario does little to enhance the gameplay, merely giving it a particular ethos. The Sci-Fi action shooter scenario is nothing new, but will have particular appeal for those already heavily invested in the history, characters and mythology of the series. 3/5

PS3: inFAMOUS 2

This game is a shocker – literally! If you missed the first chapter, you get a stylized recap of how your lead character Cole went from bicycle courier in the big city to a saviour harnessing incredible power. After a mysterious sphere on a delivery activates super powers in humans (known as Conduits), Cole gains electrifyingly destructive energy. All hell breaks loose, with a gigantic being known as The Beast arriving to crush everything in its path. Now, as this seemingly indestructible flaming stone-like colossus rampages down the coast, leaving smoldering cities in its wake, Cole and his cohorts travel by boat to meet Dr. Wolfe, who can make Cole even stronger. With heavily armed militia members constantly coming in your way (led by an anti-Conduit head seeing them as freaks), this results in a whole lot of ass-kicking. You can whack them senseless with your electricity harnessing tool, attack from a distance by throwing bolts of electricity, summon lightning (with more powers to gain as you progress). You will get depleted though, and need to draw energy from any electrical power source nearby. This free-roaming action adventure does not let up on the excitement factor, and Freerunning / Parkour fans will love Cole’s swift, agile mastering of his surroundings, able to scamper up and over any obstacle. Karma points will fluctuate between good and evil, depending on your actions. 3.5/5

GO VACATION (Wii) [4/5]

If you’ve got Wii Sports Resort, then Go Vacation will ring a familiar bell. With some of us lucky to live in areas where these activities can be accessed, if you’re not, Go Vacation is not exactly the next best thing, but certainly a fun substitute. Select your Mii character avatar (you’ve by now certainly created), and head on out to explore Kawawii island, with its Marine, City, Snow and Mountain resort areas, packing in over four dozen summer and winter related sports and activities, or you can simply explore the island. Up to four players can enjoy tennis, horseback riding, golf, quad bikes, water-gun or light saber fights, arcade style games, jet skis, scuba diving, white water rafting, surfing, skiing, skydiving, car racing and loads more. As you progress, you get to claim your own island villa and decorate it according to your taste. There’s communication with other characters, and while this may all seem like a bit of The Sims, it is not as in-depth as that alternate world and focuses on the fun activities. Most peripheral controls get incorporated via the extensive game options, from the balance board to steering wheel. Don’t expect full-on realism, but rather a fun cartoon-style experience the whole family can enjoy. What would be a shame is if you are in fact on vacation by the seaside and you crash indoors playing this! Save it for when the sun is down or when you’re back home.