Review: The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

Review by Matt S. 

Until I had started playing The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, I had no interest in the game. Despite being obsessed with Zelda games as a child, the series has left me largely cold following the heights of Ocarina of Time.

Why has my relationship with the franchise waned in recent years? It's been a combination of things, really; the love affair that the recent games have developed for unnecessary features like trains, boats, touch screen and motion control gimmicks are just the start. These features were supported by a formula that had become so familiar that I knew what was going to happen next in the game from the opening cut scene. Nintendo is a conservative company at the best of times but it seemed so uncomfortable with making even the slightest changes to the formula so perfectly defined by Ocarina of Time that the developers had clearly forgotten that a new game should offer something genuinely new.

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Review: Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas (iPad)

Review by Matt S. 

I suspect this game is going to annoy Nintendo fans. Without crossing into plagiarism, Oceanhorn is a faithful recreation of the basic Zelda aesthetic and gameplay structure, and not only that but it brings more new ideas to the famous formula than most modern Zelda games have managed.

The obvious inspiration for this title is Zelda: Wind Waker. Players come into possession of a small boat early on and from there the quest involves sailing from island to island, looking for precious objects and delving into puzzle-filled dungeons. As with Zelda games, environments only start to open up once you've acquired the right tool for progress through a barrier; for an easy example there are parts of islands blocked by objects that can only be destroyed by bombs.

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Video review: Stick It To The Man (PS3)

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.

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Review: Lego: The Lord Of The Rings (iPad)

Review by Andrew M.

Developing a game around a legacy like The Lord of the Rings is a not easy. Sure, it helps to have some of the most famous characters in the history of literature, television, film and comics on your side but still, it’s also so easy up upset fans by doing something wrong, and we've seen that happen often enough with Tolkien's work. Time and time again the Lego games do a stand-up job of living up to the legacy. Producing games with DC characters, Marvel characters, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and so on has always guaranteed interest in what the development team is doing. Now there's the second new Lego game on iPad in less than a month (following Lego Batman: DC Super Heroes). I can't see anyone having anything but a blast with this game.

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Review: Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel HD (iPad)

Review by Andrew M.

The adventure game genre has had a real resurgence on the back of The Walking Dead game franchise. And with that comes more casual titles that play on the same genre appeal, but offer a significantly gentler experience. Enter Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel. It doesn't come close to The Walking Dead, but it offers a decent and engaging narrative, and potentially becomes a "gateway drug" to the better examples of the genre for the kids.

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Review: Beyond: Two Souls (PS3)

Review by Matt S.

Jodie is a lonely little girl, incredibly bored in the middle of winter. Her mother suggests she go outside and play, though she's not allowed out of the yard. But she sneaks through the fence to join a group of kids in a snowball fight.

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Review: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (Wii U)

Since its unveiling at Nintendo Direct in January, I couldn’t help but feel a remake of Nintendo’s Game Cube classic, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, was a bit pointless. Numerous other titles could have used the high-definition treatment and Wind Waker’s original release presentation holds up better than most games of its era.

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Review: Shelter (PC)

When developer Might and Delight decided it wanted to do something different coming off its successful release of the demanding platformer that is Pid, it wasn’t joking. With the gaming industry so overly saturated with shooters and retro, well, everything (including shooters), - where does an indie developer turn to offer fresh new gameplay concepts and experiences?

By thinking far outside the box, Might and Delight’s emotional new title Shelter offers gamers the chance to take on the role of a vulnerable mother badger whom is being forced out of her nest and into the wilds of nature. It's a game that channels classic literature like Watership Down, and through it we are encouraged to think on issues such as environmentalism and sustainability.

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