The first Grand Slam Tennis was originally planned as a PS3 release but EA faulted on its first service, and it never saw the light of day. EA are back with their second try with Grand Slam Tennis 2 which has a few things in its locker: Total Racquet control, tons of official licenses, and full Playstation Move support if you’re feeling active. Now if we could have quiet please, we’ll get started on this review. Grand Slam Tennis 2 employs a control scheme called Total Racquet that allows you to move the right stick in a manner similar to that of a real racquet. It’s a method seen before in EA’s NHL series to control the players’ stick, and to an extent in FIFA when executing skill moves. By pulling it back and forth and then aiming it where you want the ball to go, for example pull the stick backwards then follow through upwards for a topspin shot with the speed of movement determining the speed of shot, you can have more control over your shot. You can also slice shots by reversing this action and hitting the ball away and to play a flat shot you just push the stick forward. All of these movements are in the direction you want to play the ball so there is a lot of flexibility but I found it unreliable when it came to the crunch. The same can’t be said for Move as well which makes serving tedious to time and still relies on buttons to play different types of shot. I was hoping I could slice shots with a cutting movement to create spin or even having to do a backhand swing to play backhand shots but you can just swing the same way each time. It makes it easy to get into but hard to execute the shot that you wish. Ultimately after trying these two control schemes I reverted back to the arcade button layout as it provides a greater sense of timing and precision. On the court, GST 2 plays a good game of tennis with fast action and tactics coming into play allowing you to cultivate your own play style whether it is power shots from the baseline or volleys at the net. Playing against different players forces you to adapt to your game resulting in you needing to change your tactics to overcome them. You can play as 23 different pros that are evenly split between current to old pros including Novak Djoković, Maria Sharapova and Pete Sampras. They don’t just look realistic, they also benefit from some custom animations, so McEnroe does his little hop, Nadal flails his arms everywhere and Federer serves in his graceful manner, which all helps to bring out the personalities of your opponents who have their own unique play styles too. Notable absences include Agassi, Caroline Wozniacki and Sue Barker(!), but fortunately internet whizz kids have created missing pros, which are available to download in the create a player section, making their absences bearable. Naturally, there are 738 versions of Anna Kournikova, along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Whitney Houston, which kinda brings a whole new meaning to My Love Is Your Love when used in Tennis. The multi-year spanning line-up results in a bizarre career mode where the likes of Boris Becker and Andy Roddick fight it out for the US Open title. It doesn’t quite feel right considering EA have made a point of featuring all the major Grand Slams, and I fail to see what makes them more realistic than Virtua Tennis. At least that has Laura Robson even if she is rubbish. I mean only 4 current women’s tennis pros? I’m pretty sure the women’s Grand Slam tennis finals don’t start at the semi-finals. There are fictional players to make up the numbers, but it still feels week compared to the thousands of licensed players in other EA Sports’ titles. Career Mode has taken a nod from the FIFA series “Be A Pro”, allowing you to import your own face, even accessing that same photo you uploaded for FIFA 3 years ago when you had that rubbish beard that you still regret. Fortunately, you can always reupload your photo sans the it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time facial hair and acne. It’s great to see it seamlessly integrated, as I had my pro on the court in a matter of minutes, and there’s no doubting the appeal of seeing your smug face celebrating a backhand winner against Nadal. Your aim is to climb the ranks and become the world’s number 1 by gaining XP throughout your career, and each match has specific goals to boost your score, such as 5 backhand winners or win a point after a rally of 10. Interestingly, your XP can also be lost if you fail to win a match, making every match count. The 10 year Career mode pans out as you’d expect with you spending the time between Grand Slams training, taking part in minor tournaments, and buying new items from the shop like sweatbands (yay!). Training is available between each event and aims to improve a couple of you stats categories from Power to Accuracy and Speed (these pretty much entail you hitting the ball a certain way to a particular area of the court whilst McEnroe shouts at you). There’s little margin for error, meaning not only does it punish you by awarding no upgraded stats, but it also stops you from training again until after the next tournament. It’s a frustrating affair in that it doesn’t improve you helping to work at the weaker areas of your game, and you end up just being rewarded for what you’re already good at. There’s also little doubting that the training is less fun than Virtua Tennis 4’s mini games. Granted, Murray may not warm up for Wimbledon by chasing chickens around a court, but then again he also doesn’t play Bjorn Borg in the final… Other than career mode, you can relive classic tennis moments with the ESPN Grand Slam Classics challenge mode, placing you in the middle of iconic matches: you either recreate history or change it. The classic players make sense in this mode, as you get instantly stuck into epic tennis matches, playing against the best players ever. There’s some decent multiplayer too, with not only head to head matches but online tournament mode where you face other players online to win the cup. Bafflingly there is an online pass, but it is not necessary for online play, and without redeeming my code I didn’t come across any content unavailable to me, so why it’s present is beyond me. Commentary is provided by Pat Cash and John McEnroe, and is limited at best. They’re both seemingly obsessed with shots from the back of the court whilst constantly repeating themselves. The crowd do a great job of building up atmosphere by quietening down before each service, yet still containing the odd twit who shouts if the player takes too long. They also grow more excitable as a rally progresses, and give extra applause for a well won point which is a great touch. Grand Slam Tennis 2 does a grand job of simulating tennis with highly detailed players and stadiums, with a novel total racquet control scheme which remains simple enough to understand it in no time. It may lack the fun of Virtua Tennis 4, or the simulation depth of Top Spin, 4 but it finds a good middle ground offering up licensed tournaments and a great challenge mode. Without being too difficult for newcomers, Grand Slam Tennis 2 is a great recommendation for Tennis fans who don’t like their wacky minigames, but want a tennis game that is easy to pick up and play. A game winning second service, but EA still has a little way to go to become a match winner. Review Pros Cons Licensed tournaments Simple yet deep gameplay Be A Pro Classic challenges No fun minigames/training Time travel tournaments Total racquet is a bit naff Rating 70% This review is based on a copy of Grand Slam Tennis 2 provided by EA

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[PS3 Review] Grand Slam Tennis 2

Following the events of the game’s first episode, park veterinarian Gerry Harding, his daughter Jess, and a mysterious visitor to the park must fight to survive the deadly beasts that inhabit Jurassic Park. Episode 2 introduces some new characters and puts you face to face with dinosaurs never before seen in the Jurassic Park films! Be sure to read the review for Jurassic Park: The Game Episode 1 to learn about the basics on how to control the game, as well as how the grading system works! After what happened during the last episode, Jess, Gerry and Nima are stranded at Isla Nublar with hungry dinosaurs all around them. InGen decides to send a group of mercenaries to rescue them, and Dr. Sorkin and her assistant, before it is too late. As one can imagine, some of the mercenaries had no idea what they would be up against, and one of the rescue teams needs to be rescued after they confidently walked into a dinosaur filled Visitor’s center! And speaking of the dinosaurs, I have to say that Telltale Games did a great job when creating them for this digital release. The texture work on the T-Rex and on the Velociraptors really shines, and it shows us how they’ve gotten better and better with each new release (which is great news considering they will soon launch their take on The Walking Dead). For some reason, I had a bit of a problem with the icons this time around, and I had to play closer to the screen to tell which button I had to press. Maybe it’s an age thing, but bigger prompt buttons would have been welcomed. The new characters that are introduced during this episode (and that actually make it to the end), bring a new perspective to the series, since we had only seen things from Gerry and Jess’s perspective (dinosaurs are awesome and I’m so happy to be here!), as well as from Nima (another “hired-gun” with a more human agenda, but someone that despises what InGen has done to the island). Can’t really refer to the mercenaries that will live (as to not spoil things), but I especially liked having one of them around during this episode. Episode 2 picks up the pace and provides us with a tense and exciting adventure. It is more action packed than Episode 1, and gives us a glimpse of what to expect from the next two installments. The darker environments, new characters, and the constant peril at hand make for a very entertaining game. Review Pros Cons Great sound design Interesting cast of characters Some icons meld into the background, making it harder to quickly react Rating 82% Published by Telltale Games Cost – $29.99 (Full Season) Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 2.5 hours This review is based on a copy of Jurassic Park: The Game provided by Telltale Games.

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[PSN Review] Jurassic Park: The Game Episode 2

First off be sure to read the Gophermods RSX reballing service review by Jay. If you ever need your PS3 repaired, I highly recommend these guys over shipping your PS3 to Sony to repair it. We have this big giveaway courtesy of Gophermods ! There will be 1 winner and they have the choice between the Deadmund’s Quest/Sports Champions PS Move Bundle or the LittleBigPlanet 2 Special Edition PS Move Bundle ! If you’ve forgot, the upcoming PlayStation Move game Sorcery is coming out late May 2012. So if you don’t have a Move controller or just want another, here your chance to win one. This will be a global giveaway as well. Entry details after the jump. Like the Gophermods Facebook page and keep an eye in their deals section for the Bonus URL entry link. Which will get you an extra entry into the giveaway. Please like & follow them on Facebook & Twitter. It’s because of them we are having this giveaway! So show them some love. Follow @gophermods [Worth up to 10 Entries] Purchase ticket for 75 Points for a entry into the giveaway. Here are all the possible ways to earn points . [Worth 1 Entry] Like the giveaway post on the giveaway entry page (not the actual post itself) via Facebook. Then post a comment to your facebook wall from the giveaway entry page. [EARN 50 Points] [Worth 1 Entry] Follow @ps3blogdotnet on Twitter. Then there will be a tweet button. You just have to click that & tweet the exact text in the pop-up . Then a notification will pop up saying your entry was successful. [EARN 50 Points] [Worth 1 Entry] Use the Google +1 button on the giveaway entry page (not the actual post itself), then share on your Google+ profile to complete your entry. [EARN 50 Points] [Worth 1 Entry] First, be a fan of our our Facebook page . At the top you will see a Giveaway box. Go there and click the “Enter Contest” button for your Facebook PS3Blog.net Fan Page entry. Note: Make sure you’re logged into PS3Blog.net before you click the button. [EARN 25 Points] [Worth 1 Entry] Subscribe to our YouTube Channel . We will post a bulletin. Follow the link & it will count as your YouTube entry. Note: Make sure you’re logged into PS3Blog.net before you click the link. [EARN 25 Points] [Bonus 3 Entries] After you have purchased at least 1 ticket you are eligible for video entries. Make a video saying why you want to win. It can be funny, unique, strange, etc. Have fun with it. Include PS3Blog.net and the name of the item being given away in your video & in the title of the video. Then use the button above to submit your video for review. Also leave a comment below with a link to your YouTube video. [EARN 60 Points] Here are the most recent YouTube video entries for all giveaways on PS3Blog.net with the most recent ones displayed first.

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[Giveaway] Win a PlayStation Move Bundle Thanks To Gophermods!

In a well established, post-apocalyptic theme era, I Am Alive proudly presents itself as a psychological survival horror game, with emphasis on the psychological part. While I Am Alive’s unique concept distinguishes the game from other titles in the genre, some poor executed decisions made my walk-through a “displeasing experience”. [Story] Set in a fictional American city called Haventon, most of the human civilization were wiped out during a catastrophic event, covering the world by clouds of toxic dust, and thus making it barely habitable. You assume the role of an unknown man in his journey to reunite with his wife and daughter. The hazardous environment is your biggest enemy in I Am Alive. Ubisoft has also created a genuine feeling of tension in the sections you meet other survivalist, whom will either: A: request your aid, B: point a gun in your face, or C: simply attack you for the goods you are carrying. However you react to these encounters, the choices you make will affect your, and others’, survival . The first thing you will notice when playing I Am Alive is the colors. Everything is tuned down to grey, red or black. The ruins of past civilization adds a depth of reality to the overall experience. Ubisoft managed to create a unique atmosphere in I Am Alive, but my anxiousness to explore the environment was shattered by the limited exploration the game offers. Buildings, cars, bridges … etc, are only created as parts of the environment in a sense that you can explore a little and interact with a few . The graphics are not the prettiest I’ve seen. Given the time spent on the game, nearly 3 years since 2008 E3, makes you wonder why characters have no facial expressions, or why everything lacks polish and look somehow .. unfinished. Even the commonly polished cut-scenes are not commonly polished in I Am Alive . I should mention that Darkworks , known for games such Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare and Cold Fear, was in charge of development from 2008-2010. Ubisoft Shanghai took on the project from 2010-2011. Personally, I loved the 2008 version the Paris based studio Darkworks had. If you are wondering, in 2011, Darkworks was placed into compulsory liquidation and was closed, but their 2008 E3 trailer will always be the “I Am Alive” version I’ve always wanted. [Gameplay] How the media portrays the protagonist VS. What your character actually looks like My biggest upset with this game is the poor controls . They are either slow, delayed, or unresponsive. When you are climbing a 20 story building, hanging from a small pipe (come to think of it, I wonder why skyscrapers have pipes), you’d expect to have a level of control over your environment. What you get is the most frustrating climbing system I’ve ever encountered. Pulling my character up a ledge was my biggest challenge throughout the entire game. When you run out of health or stamina, you will obviously fall to your death and restart from the last check point. In I Am Alive, you can’t save your previous progress. You can restart the last check point, but it could be somewhere far behind your current progress. There is no actual method to tell where in the timeline the saved point was. Also, you have only 3 (Rewinds) from the last checkpoint. Rewinds are actually collectible throughout the game, or acquired by doing favors for strangers. Think something like an old school platformer, 3 lives left. When you run out of rewinds, you will have to restart the game from the last saved point. That could be anywhere from 2 minutes back, or the entire time you spent climbing up a building to reach an objective. There is no actual way to tell. In I Am Alive, you can’t jump! There is no actual button for jumping. There are certain areas you can access and others you can’t. Say if you are standing near an object you can climb, like a wall or a fence, pressing X will make your character jump and climb this object. I find it annoyingly strange that you can’t get on top of a car or climb small walls if there is no purpose of doing it. If it is not part of the story, you simply can’t do it! The developer introduces a new concept with the Stamina meter . Everything you do will affect your stamina meter. Running, climbing, being exposed to toxic gas, getting shot at, getting stabbed, hanging from a ledge; every action you make will effect your stamina meter. In some cases, the meter will refill when you rest. In other cases, some items are required. Items you can find by exploring a little more, such as bottles of water, food cans, pain killers, soda .. etc. You can access your inventory at any given time, check out the items you have collected and select the one you think fits most for your particular situation. Your resources are very limited . Getting to one of the objectives can be undeniably challenging During my play-through, I had many encounters with strangers in need. Some will ask for particular items, such as fresh fruits, cigarettes, water, and pain killers. You can always come back once you acquired the needed item. Strangers will grant you rewinds and access to some goods, which proved to be useful in many cases. The soundtrack of the game is annoying. It is not realistic, authentic or related somehow to the actual story. It is simply annoying. When you are presented with a situation where your stamina is running out, and you will encounter many of these, the game makes a noise to indicate that your stamina meter is running low. In my 20 years of playing video games, I haven’t ever turned any game volume down because I was annoyed. I am not bashing on the work of the sound artists, but man, what were you thinking? There are a few unique concepts to explore. The psychological act of pointing a gun at someone and witness their reaction was somehow .. satisfying! You won’t find much ammo for your gun, but once you do, you will have to use them wisely. Other survivors in the game will be intimidated if you point a gun at them. Some will ask you to “take it easy .. man”, while others will challenge your morality and ability to actually fire your gun. Making your decision based on the facts you are presented with can make a big difference. For example, I was presented with a situation when three strangers attacked my character because “I stepped into their territory”. I had only one bullet to use, so I aimed at the most intimidating character in their group, who happened to be the big guy, and fired my pistol. The remaining two characters attitude changed into fear and they decided to put their weapons down and I was able to pistol-whip them unconsciousness without them knowing that my gun was empty. [Final Thoughts] Although “I Am Alive” poses some unique ideas, the game still falls short in all other areas. Since the 2008 E3 trailer, the game had lot of potential to stand among other great titles in the genre, but came out somehow disappointing. You can clearly tell that it was rushed for release by the publisher regardless of some major improvements that could have been done to the gameplay. If you still want to experience the story and the intense atmosphere, I would suggest that you wait for a price drop. Review Pros Cons Intense Atmosphere Some unique Ideas Poor Controls Aggravating soundtrack Feels Unfinished Disappointing Rating 65% Price on PSN is $14.99 Disclaimer This review is based on a PS3 copy of I Am Alive developed by Darkworks (2008–2010) and Ubisoft Shanghai (2010–2011) and Published and provided by Ubisoft.

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[PSN Review] I Am Alive

Welcome to a brand new era of rhythm! Let Vibes take you on a heart-pounding, button-bashing journey through a huge variety of music tracks. Your accuracy, timing and finger speed will be taken to the limit in this unique test of rhythm. Follow the pattern of music and chase the big combos and high scores! Amaze yourself by beating all the difficulty levels which push your fingers to breaking point! Do you have what it takes to become number one? From the trailer, you can tell that icons appear at the edge of the screen, making their way towards the center of the screen. You must use the analog stick to aim the center arrow in the direction of the incoming icons, so you can press the corresponding button to hit said icon. In case yo run into an icon with a tail, you must press and hold the button until the trail is over. Pressing the button to early or two late will not give you the best score possible, nor will it help you regain some of your lost health. There are 13 songs available in total which is very impressive considering this is a minis release. 5 songs are available from start, and as you complete them you will unlock the rest. How varied are the music selections? You have Pop, Hip Hop, House, Emo, Classical, J-Pop, Psychobilly, Rock, Trip Hop, Latin, Punk, Electro and Indie songs for this game (one song per genre), which is sure to please all music game fans. At first, you can only pick the first difficulty option for each song, but you will eventually also unlock the next two difficulty settings to increase replay value. Just be warned that the higher you go, the more focused you need to be. This is the reason why Headphones are must when playing on PSP/PSP Go/Vita. Being able to clearly listen to the music while playing makes a huge difference. If you play on the PS3, just crank up the volume and dive into this trippy journey! As other music/rhythm games have taught us, we can’t miss too many icons or it’s game over. The upper right has your lifebar, and it lets you know how good/bad you are doing depending on color (Green, Orange, Red, Doomed). Vibes is a fun release that brings something new to the music/rhythm game genre. 13 tracks with 3 difficulty settings add to the overall replay value of the game, and the great music selection will keep you coming back for more. Review Pros Cons Great music Easy to understand controls Can get very hectic at higher difficulties Rating 81% Cost – $5.99 Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 4 hours. This review is based on a PS3/PSP copy of Vibes provided by Laughing Jackal.

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[minis Review] Vibes

This morning was just like every other morning. Then, it happened. No one knows where they came from, or what they are. But we all know that nothing will ever be the same. Now, your only chance for survival is to outrun the destruction of your city… with just one button. Run for your life! Canabalt PlayStation minis trailer from Beatshapers on Vimeo . When you wake up to a robot invation, you can only do two things: run, and run faster! Canabalt hails from the year 2009 (yes, that does sound like a long time ago), and it was the start of the auto runner craze. What is an auto runner? It is a game on which your character runs automatically (get it?) without any outside input. You usually only have control over him with a single button that allows him/her to jump. Other games have added a double jump, or even another button to allow you to fire ( heeeellooo One Epic Game! ), but the basic concept is still there. Canabalt is all about running until you die, always hoping to escape the madness that is brought by GiantKillerRobotsTm, when they decide to invade somewhere. You will need to jump from building top to building top while avoiding any obstacles that might make you sit down for a cup of coffee with the Grim Reaper. The more time that your character spends running, the faster he will continue to run. This is great when you want to outrun an off-screen menace, but it is not that great when you’re trying to make a precise jump over then void that is imminent dead. By hitting small obstacles, you can slow down a bit, but you must be careful to not slow down too much, or else you won’t be able to make the next jump. A bit of a Catch-22 since you can’t see how big the next jump is if you’re going to slow, but going too fast means you could jump OVER the whole building, falling down to the far, far away land of concrete floor. You must also avoid “death from above” objects, that are either missiles or discarded arms from the GiantKillerRobotsTm. Hitting those will bring you to a halt, and your game will be over in a flash. Why? Because you’re crashing into a very hot piece of metal that is bigger than you, and when you combine human flesh with hot, smoldering metal… Some buildings are just waiting for you to set foot on top of them to start crumbling down. Guess all the pigeons on the rooftop were not heavy enough to destroy the whole thing. But the pigeons sure look nice when they fly away, trying to avoid you at all cost. Canabalt is a small and minimalistic game that you should definitely add to your collection. The Auto runner extraordinaire is still fun after all these years, and you can now enjoy it on your PS3, your PSP or your Vita. How far can you run before you just can’t run anymore? Review Pros Cons Great art and music One button controls Random levels are not for everyone Rating 80% Cost – $2.99 Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 3 hours. This review is based on a PS3/PSP copy of Canabalt obtained from Beatshapers.

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[minis review] Canabalt

I reviewed Toki Tori , a very charming puzzle game from Two Tribes, that brings back an old classic for a whole new generation to enjoy. Please go read the review so you can get an idea of why this is a game you want to add to your collection. All done? Great! Now, would you like to have a chance to own Toki Tori for the very interesting price of FREE? Two Tribes has provided me with 5 EU PSN Codes so that some lucky readers can enjoy the game at no cost! As a bonus for the first 15 people that enter this giveaway, we will refund your 1st ticket point cost (75 points) + give you 5 bonus entries into the giveaway. Hurry act now, supplies are limited. This is open to all our readers worldwide. Don’t have an EU PSN Account? Mmm, if only it didn’t take two minutes to create one – Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Please like & follow them on Facebook & Twitter. It’s because of them we are having this giveaway! So show them some love. Follow @twotribesgames [Worth up to 5 Entries] Purchase Lottery Ticket for 75 Points for a entry into the lottery. Here are all the possible ways to earn points . [Worth 1 Entry] Like the giveaway post on the lottery page (not the actual post itself) via Facebook. Then post a comment to your facebook wall from the lottery page. [EARN 50 Points] [Worth 1 Entry] Follow @ps3blogdotnet on Twitter. Then there will be a tweet button. You just have to click that & tweet the exact text in the pop-up . Then a notification will pop up saying your entry was successful. [EARN 50 Points] [Worth 1 Entry] Use the Google +1 button on the lottery page (not the actual post itself), then share on your Google+ profile to complete your entry. [EARN 50 Points] [Worth 1 Entry] First, be a fan of our our Facebook page . At the top you will see a Giveaway box. Go there and click the “Enter Contest” button for your Facebook PS3Blog.net Fan Page entry. Note: Make sure you’re logged into PS3Blog.net before you click the button. [EARN 25 Points] [Worth 1 Entry] Subscribe to our YouTube Channel . We will post a bulletin. Follow the link & it will count as your YouTube entry. Note: Make sure you’re logged into PS3Blog.net before you click the link. [EARN 25 Points] [Bonus 3 Entries] After you have purchased at least one lottery ticket you are eligible for video entries. Make a video saying why you want to win. It can be funny, unique, strange, etc. Have fun with it. Include PS3Blog.net and the name of the item being given away in your video & in the title of the video. Then use the button above to submit your video for review. Also leave a comment below with a link to your YouTube video. [EARN 60 Points] Here are the most recent YouTube video entries for all giveaways on PS3Blog.net with the most recent ones displayed first.

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[PSN Giveaway] Toki Tori

Shienryu is a classic vertical-scrolling Arcade shoot’em-up that was faithfully translated to the Playstation with good flair and fun back in 1999. You’re captain of a sleek space craft out to defend the planet against a horrific enemy. The game can be flown alone or with a friend for added power (and laughs!). You’ll face off against towering alien mechs and endure a bedlam of bullets that will test your steel. Warashi developed the game with stunning arcade graphics and gave intricate detail, which makes this shooter a wonderful play even to this day. The amount of particles on the screen and their effects in the background as they fall to the ground is superbly displayed. The variety of power ups and weapons give the game much diversity and increase its longevity. Shienryu one of those great shooters you go to again and again cause its so much fun to shoot the living piss out of every mech coming at you. If you don’t laugh as you blast the Red Octopus boss in stage 3, then you really should have your humor bone honed. It’s a game that will surely keep your fingers tapping and your heart racing. A brilliant arcade classic. As has been the case with other PSOne Imports, all menus and text is in Japanese… which really isn’t much of a problem with Shienryu since we can all understand that we are good, every other ship/vessel/tank is bad, we move with the D-Pad, Shoot with Circle or Square, and we can use X to unleash a powerful Smart Bomb that changes depending on the weapon you have equipped at the moment. This shooter is part of the “one hit and you’re dead” genre, so you must be extremely careful when dodging all the bullets that will be flying towards you. Not as crazy as “bullet hell” shooters, but still a humbling experience. By now, you know the drill: Make your way to the end of the level, after shooting hundred of enemies while collecting power-ups that increase our your speed, your firepower and your Smart bombs, and hope that you can quickly understand the attack and movement pattern of the huge boss that is trying to stop you from making it to the next level. If you’re too slow, if you can’t understand the pattern and if you’re completely destroyed and run out of lives and continues, you make the most of what you’ve learned so far, and try again from the start. And this is just how I like my shooters. To make it even easier for everyone to understand how the game works, here is the list of all the Power-ups and Weapons you will run into during your experience: Power-ups Weapon Power (red square with a P in it) Increases your weapon power by one level. There are three levels of power for each weapon. Collecting a power increase while at maximum power will allow you to carry upgrade-levels over to your next life. Collecting one once your next ship reaches maximum power gives you 5000 points. Ship Speed (blue square with an S in it) Increases your ship’s speed by one level. There are three levels of speed. Collecting one once your ship reaches maximum speed gives you 5000 points. Super Power (moving, flashing square with a P in it) Upgrades your ship to full weapon power and speed, and gives you a shield that will protect you from a single hit. Bomb (shifts between a red B and a bomb icon) Increases your bomb stock by one. You gain a bonus for unused bombs at the end of a level. Bomb effect changes with current weapon. LEDs (look like little poles with a red or blue light on top) Cashed in for bonus points at the end of the level. 1 blue LED is worth 10 red LEDs. 1UP (1UP in text) An extra life. Weapon Panels (red, yellow or blue panels with a circular eye-design in the middle) Changes your weapon. Red swaps you to the Vulcan Guns, Blue swaps you to the Homing Lightning, Yellow swaps you to the Missiles. Collecting a Weapon Panel of the same sort as the one you’re currently using is worth 5000 points. Weapons Vulcan Guns Fires bullets forward in a wave pattern. Number of bullets and width of wave-pattern increases with power-level. At higher levels, also fires energy balls. Bomb Effect Wide-spread laser that gradually narrows. Lightning Fires homing lightning that deals continual damage before vanishing. Amount of damage dealt and number of bolts increases with power-level. At higher levels, lightning will arc from one target to another. Bomb Effect 5 large lasers firing directly forward from near the ship. Missiles Fires missiles in a forward formation. Number of missiles fired increases with power-level. At higher levels, homing-missiles are fired out to the sides. Bomb Effect short-range explosives surround the ship. Right from the start, you can decide to play the game on normal mode (Shienryu option on main menu), on Easy mode (second option), Hard mode (third option) OR you can select the last option in the main menu to have access to the extra modes menu. What does this special menu hold? Let’s mention some of them, as to not ruin the whole surprise! First up is Jienryu which answer the age old question: what would happen if I played a vertical shooter on something less powerful than a Dremcast VMU? And the answer is simple: You would have a lot of fun while playing a game that is even harder than the Shienryu itself. Without any powerups, a constant stream of enemies, and a huge boss at the end that can deplete your extra lives stock in 10 seconds, you will really need to focus while playing. Did I mention that after defeating the boss you start again but now all enemies shoot at you and the also move faster? Second extra mode is Stingy Mode, in which you only have the one ship and one bomb to complete the game, you cannot continue after you’re killed, and there are no power-ups. The enemies also only give you a single point when destroyed, so good luck with reaching a high score! Another option is playing Merciless Mode, a bullet hell version of Shienryu that puts other bullet hell games to shame. Enemies fire fast, homing bullets, they pack every single inch of the screen, and are out to get you. If you think that Hard mode was too easy, you can take this for a ride and see how good you really are. Shienryu is a great port of a Japan only arcade game that most of us had probably never heard of before. MonkeyPaw Games has made it possible for us to enjoy this game either on PS3 or PSP, and thanks to the fun gameplay, extensive levels and extra modes included in the release, I can completely recommend this to all shooter fans. Review Pros Cons Polished 2D Shooter Fun extra modes A bit of slowdown on PSP Rating 89% Cost – $5.99 Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 4 hours. Game was completed before writing this review. This review is based on a PS3/PSP copy of Shienryu provided by MonkeyPaw Games

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[PSOne Review] Shienryu

Toki Tori for PSN is Based on the critically acclaimed Game Boy Color game, this update improves the original on every front. Sporting a new look, updated content and a completely overhauled control scheme, the game offers players of all ages a classic gaming experience while making the most out of the Wii console. The gameplay in Toki Tori is a blend of two genres. While it looks like a platform game, it’s a puzzle game by heart. Players will have to look and plan ahead carefully while using a variety of items, such as the Telewarp, Freeze-o-Matic and InstantRock™ to name but a few. Toki Tori has been improved over the other available versions (Wii and Steam, to name a few), and some wrinkles have been ironed for it’s HD showcase. The game is now fully playable with the PS Move controller (pointer controls really help since you just point at the exact spot were you want to move, and click. Same goes for selecting tools and using them in the level), and full 3D display support is available, making this a very surreal experience. You will easily find the solution for the first set of levels, since they allow you to get used to the controls and mechanics for the game… but once you start to play in the later levels you’ll soon realize you’re not as smart as you think you are. I recommend that you start playing the game on Easy mode since it features a different set of levels from the main game, and it will slowly introduce you to all enemies, elements and items you can use. In case you run into a level you cannot complete, you have the option of using a Wildcard to skip the level in order to try your best at beating the one right after it. You only get one Wildcard and, in order to use it in another level, you must first complete the level you initially skipped. It’s a great idea that allows you to retry past levels with a new focus, but without allowing you to right out skip until the last level. In case you make a mistake and use an item in the wrong spot, or fall down a hole with no way of teleporting out, the game allows you to use a rewind feature that takes you as far back as you want (from a couple of seconds to aaaaaall the way to the start of the level), making it easier to try several solutions without having to restart the whole level if you accidentally placed a cube half a step in the wrong place. Should you run into an enemy, the game will present to you with the option of restarting the level, or of rewinding time to a bit before you were sent the way of the Dodo. Now, if you’re just finding the solutions to all levels with ease, and you think you are the master after completing the last level, I’ve got news for you: Toki Tori does not only have 48 levels, split into 4 themed worlds… it also features HARD levels for each of the 4 themes AND even harder bonus levels if you’re feeling extremely confident. These additional levels will stump you more than once, but the Toki Tori is a very fun puzzle game that brings back an old classic for a whole new generation to enjoy. The puzzle variety, the huge amount of content, and the responsive controls make this a great purchase. You’ll enjoy the game for many, many hours, always playing just to complete “one more level”. Review Pros Cons Great update to the interface and graphics. Huge amount of content thanks to extra levels you can unlock Some slowdown in a couple of levels Rating 90% Cost – £6.29/€7.99 (Only available in Europe at the time) Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 8 hours. Game was completed, and all trophies were obtained before writing this review. This review is based on a PS3 copy of Toki Tori provided by Two Tribes

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[PSN Review] Toki Tori

Sumioni is a game developed by ACQUIRE Corp. and published by Xseed Games for the PlayStation Vita. In Sumioni, you control an “Inkdemon” by the name of Agura, who was summoned to save Japan from being destroyed. Agura is a very lazy demon and really did not want to do much more than go back to sleep, but he was coerced into helping by two other demons that follow him on his adventure as summon spells. This game is a 2D side-scrolling platformer in its base gameplay, but there are some interesting twists that make this game more enjoyable. Being an “Inkdemon,” you have the power of creation and arts through using ink. The basic use of ink is drawing a platform to stand on, jump over large objects, and to reach power ups that are out of your reach. This is done simply by drawing a line with your finger using the PlayStation Vita’s touch screen. If you draw an excessively long platform, your power will be increased for as long as you stand on the platform. Another use of ink is setting things on fire or causing a cloud to rain down lightning from above. This is done from the arts screen, which is brought up by hitting the left shoulder button and also pauses the game. You draw over what you want to set fire to, or hit with a lightning bolt, then hit the left shoulder button again, which will activate the technique. All of this uses ink from a meter that can be refilled by finding ink wells or by rubbing the back of your Vita quickly while standing still in the game. Each level completed results in a 3-star rating. The higher the rating, the further you delve into the world of Sumioni to see one of its 6 endings, however, the game fails at delivering any depth whatsoever. There are many aspects to the game, that I consider lazy, that did not take advantage of any of the Vita’s strengths. My first run through took a total of 41 minutes, and that is with watching 5 minute scrolling texts plot stories at the beginning and throughout the game. You can go back to other levels and try to attain a high star rating to lengthen the game to see a different ending, however, the levels are insanely short (some are about a minute or two long) so its not like you missed much. To me, this game could have been so much better, but it ended up being nothing more than a very expensive ($20) IOS game. Again, the concept of the game is amazing, the art is beautiful, but the overall delivery failed. I just believe this game could have been so much more than what it ended up as. Review Pros Cons Great concept Unique Artistic Extremely short game Levels can be beat in under 2 minutes easy Very Expensive Rating 65% This review is based on a copy of Sumioni: Demon Arts provided by XSEED Games, and it was completed before writing this review.

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[Vita Review] Sumioni – Demon Arts