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Preview by Matt S. 

A couple of months ago I had the opportunity to play an early build of Tecmo Koei and Comcept's collaboration project, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. I was more than a little impressed by that early build, as Keiji Inafune's new zombie slasher seemed to be channeling the Goichi Suda philosophy towards game design, and I'm always up for more of that kind of action. With this new build I got a chance to delve deeper into the first couple of levels of the game, and I'm impressed to see where the game is going.

The first preview offered a simple highlights package, and as such there was always the danger that as wildly oddball that experience was that it would be like the trailer of a bad comedy film; all the good stuff is in that two minutes and the rest of the experience would prove to be quite pedestrian.

Review by Nick H.

Killzone released with serious expectations behind it. After all, along with Knack, it was one of the two retail exclusives the PlayStation 4 had to launch with, and while Knack was at times entertaining, it also fell flat as a 'next gen' experience. This puts even more pressure on Killzone to deliver both critically and commercially (though Knack did outsell Super Mario 3D World, so perhaps it'll be considered a commercial success).

The good news is, Killzone does a far better job of representing Sony's launch aspirations than Knack did. Unfortunately it is not quite the killer experience everyone was likely hoping for either. It hurts that Shadow Fall will be compared to Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4, since all three of these are blockbuster first person shooters that were released at the same time.

Review by Nick H. 

Toki Tori has been around for quite a few years now, but the plucky little fellow has been showing up on more and more platforms of late. He has made his appearance on Game Boy, PC, Wii - even the 3DS, which we reviewed here. It is somewhat curious that Two Tribes is still pushing the original, especially with the well-received sequel having been out on PC for a time now, but Toki Tori has finally made his way over to the PlayStation Network.

Review by Nick H. 

Tiny Brains sets itself up as an action/ puzzle game that tackles a lot of physics-based problems while showing off an amusing sense of humour. The world is seen from an angled overhead view, giving you a look at your tiny little abominations, which are attempting to break out of the lab of a mad scientist who imbued each one with specific super powers.

The premise is ridiculous, but often hilarious at the same time. I spent most of my time playing this with my son, while my youngest daughter watched, but the game is both cute enough and approachable enough that she enjoyed playing it with me as well.

Review by Clark A.
A surprising number of franchises have been able to achieve the 25^th anniversary milestone considering the relative youth of the games industry. However, much fewer IPs have histories as rich and remarkable as Ys. Nihon Falcom hasn’t been shy about making complete visual and mechanical overhauls, outsourcing titles to other developers, or bringing the series to obscure platforms. It’s extraordinary that such a prolific property can maintain its quality despite that.

Are you a fan of old school RPGs that involve a load of grinding and not much else? Rainbow Moon is the game for you. I loved it back when it released on the PlayStation 3, and I love it that little bit more on the Vita.

Review by Nick H. 

Those purchasing a PlayStation 4 early have had PlayStation Plus pushed their way frequently. It is all over the PlayStation Store, most games come with a free seven day trial and if you already had it for your Vita or PlayStation 3, it lives on in this new console. This push is only further emphasised by the need for PlayStation Plus to access multiplayer in games like Battlefield 4 and to receive weekly discounts at the PlayStation Store. Of all this Resogun is the best reason to have PlayStation Plus on the newly released console.

Review by Matt S. 

It's built right into the title: Need for Speed Rivals is all about competitive racing with other, real, people. Some of these people will be street racers. Others will be police cars. It doesn't matter which at any point in time though because the entire game is all about going really fast face-to-face against other people.

Review by Matt S. 

Of the many HD remakes we've seen this generation this one I don't quite get, though I'm certainly not complaining of its existence. While Soulcalibur 2 is arguably the finest game in the franchise, it's impossible to argue that the current generation's Soulcalibur 5 is a lesser game; it has more characters, more gameplay options, and more a more complex art direction.

Soulcalibur 2 in HD looks great thanks to its timeless art direction, but like most HD remakes there's small details that are missing here - environments look and feel more basic, for instance, and character models might be HD, but they are low on the detail that would mark them out as next gen character designs. They look like mannequin models, in other words. Other than the online combat there isn't anything that has been added to the package either. By modern fighting game standards it's quite the minimalist package.

Review by Nick H. 

Knack was one of the two retail Sony exclusive titles that were carrying the PlayStation 4's launch hopes. The problem is instead of ushering in the next generation of gaming, Knack feels decidedly last generation. It brings very little new to the table while feeling overly familiar at the same time.

Review by Nick H. 

I am a big fan of sports games. Madden is a yearly acquisition. NBA games as well. Hockey, golf and baseball are a slightly slower cycle, but I generally follow the sports in real life and enjoy their video game counterparts. Outside of playing soccer as a little kid however, I do not have much experience with the sport (Americans... :-P - Ed)

Review by Matt S. 

Until I played Contrast I wasn't interested in it. That changed about three minutes after I started playing. This is a deeply intelligent game, and yet another example of a wonderfully emerging class of games that maintain artistic credibility while also offering genuine production values. Rain, Shelter, Papo & Yo and now Contrast; it has been a good year for serious gamers indeed.

Review by Chris I. 

Do you remember that your PlayStation 3 controller features Sixaxis motion controls? I thought about as much; thoughts of Lair still send shivers down my spine to this very day and I'm glad that most developers ignored the Sixaxis controls thereafter.

Review by Nick H. 

So when I first heard about Super Motherload, I was at a bit of a loss. It is not often that a new console release relies on a nearly seven year old Flash game as the basis of a launch title, but that is essentially what we have here with Super Motherload. So while the premise sounds like a horribly mismatched partnership, I am excited to say that quite the opposite is true.

Review by Nick H.

The first A-Men was a title that caught me completely unprepared when it first came out. It was listed as a strategy game, but it also blended in some light platforming. Also, when I think of strategy I tend to think more of tactics title such as Fire Emblem, but here Bloober Team assembled a game that was more like progressive puzzle-solving. There were things about A-Men that I liked in my review, but there were also aspects of the game that were somewhat frustrating when I gave it a go on the PlayStation 3.

Review by Nick H. 

The Madden football series has a very long history, something that EA celebrated with the title of this year's release as well as in many of the game's loading screens. I enjoyed Madden 25 when it came out on the PlayStation 3 earlier this year. It proved to be a very good game of football that continued to take steps in the right direction. Small steps, sometimes, but they felt like forward progress all the same.

Review by Matt S. 

You would expect a game that has been written by the guy that did Adventure Time to be a little crazy, and Stick It To The Man is indeed a little crazy.

It's a game that really revels in being self aware and providing quite juvenile humour to an adult audience. Somehow within that context it also manages to offer a mature (but sadly forgettable), adventure/ puzzle game with some real mind twisters.

Review by Nick H.

The PlayStation 4 is a very serious-looking piece of hardware with a great deal of potential. At launch, however, it does feels somewhat unrealised. For a system that claims it is all about the games, the release would have felt a little bit stronger if it had a more robust library of actual titles. But that aside, let's talk about the console itself.