ItsMuchMore

This Game !!!! it took me back to when my love for gaming started with dig dug in the 90’s. The 2D platform works great. You actually have to think about your moves; if you don’t then life is made a lot harder for you trying to play this game. It’s one of them games were you find yourself addicted, Very easily and quickly. The start of the game starts a little hard work and slow, but once you start picking the correct tools and perks you’re soon on your way. Compared to top platform games it does somewhat sit behind them, but if your wanting to work your mind and have a little fun then BUY THIS GAME. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Kholat is a horror game based upon the Dyatlov Pass incident where nine hikers lost their lives in the Ural Mountains. Horror games for me have never truly been “horror”, I will admit that they have never been high on my list when it comes to choosing what to play. The horror genre had started to rely a little too much on “Oh look something large and ugly” is jumping out at me and let’s not even mention the tendency to love the colour black. So when Kholat passed across my screen, my interest was piqued, promising open world progression with an immersive exploration experience powered by the unreal Engine 4. Horror games in my opinion have always sought to limit your freedom as a way to heighten your sense of tension. Kholat however manages to provide that freedom yet at the same time impress a sense of claustrophobia. Within a few minutes, the game had passed the goosebumps test, the shudder up my spine **** scare and not one of the “things jumping out at you” variety. That sense of fear didn’t leave through my playthrough. The freedom afforded to you by the game could be a blessing or a curse depending on you, the explorer. After the opening video, you are placed in a deserted train station, no heads up display, no objectives, just you and your desire to explore. There are no readily apparent ways forward and the initial finding your way towards the hiker’s camp is up to you. There was no doubt in my mind however when I saw the path below that it was about to get interesting. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Hatred has had a rather bumpy ride to release. Valve originally pulled it from Steam Greenlight only to have it reinstated the next day, whilst **** refuse to actually distribute the game. So what is all the fuss about? The developer Destructive Creations touts Hatred as “an isometric shooter with disturbing atmosphere of mass killing, where the player takes the role of a cold blood antagonist, who is full of hatred for humanity”. “It’s a horror, but here YOU are the villain.” As you can see, the trailer revels in the antagonist’s massacre of civilians with much enthusiasm, and you would be forgiven for being reminded of Manhunt or Postal. The game does deal with quite a graphic and dark theme and it’s not for everyone, so for this review I am going to attempt to leave my morality at the door. I played Hatred using my preferred weapon of choice – a keyboard and mouse. Control wise, the game is pretty much what you would expect from an isometric view. W,A,S,D moves the player while the aiming reticule is provided by the mouse. Aiming in itself can be a little “hit and miss” (stop it) and this is mostly down to the camera. A fair few times I am being shot at from off screen with rather good accuracy. The player can combat this by aiming, which zooms the camera out slightly, however I found this to be a hindrance in some of the more hectic engagements as my aim is thrown off. The actual combat isn’t ground breaking but in itself feels solid, most of your civilian targets will attempt to flee and you will literally gun them down from behind and watch them fall to the floor. The police and eventually soldiers are much more aggressive towards you but do have a tendency to funnel towards you allowing you to dispatch them as they turn corners or move up. Occasionally they do flank you, or as I’ve also found some civilians will pick up dropped weapons and shoot you, something our protagonist certainly deserves. Other than the camera throwing you off when you aim, combat appears to have 2 other oddities. Firstly targets stood right next to you can have the reticule on their face and you will still miss and secondly crouching appears to mitigate a lot of damage in that the AI seems to miss a hell of a lot more. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

In the App Store, the match three Candy Crush style game, running games and online “clan” games are king. These games are hugely popular, but lets be honest, once you’ve played one version of them, you’ve played them all. But what should you try if you want something a little different? Which games really stand out from the crowd? Set in Paris, 1890, Criminel in a first person investigation game based around a number of murders linked through an over arching plot. You play a photographer working with the Paris police department. Your role is to collect and record evidence at the relevant crime scenes, interpret witness statements and charge the culprit. The protection of the people of Paris depends on you. Stylistically the game is presented as if through the sepia photos taken of the age, and this lends a real level of grit to each of the, often expansive, murder scenes. The grey brown hues broken only by the splashes of crimson around the victims. The graphics are very good. The two other policemen you work with are wonderful creations, they almost look like period photos apart from the constantly moving eyes. The photo analogy is perfect in fact, as they never really move. Max, your police sidekick, is on hand to ask for hints if you get stuck, although he will offer hints on each piece of evidence as opposed to the evidence you’ve not located. This can become a bit frustrating if you are only stuck for two clues and have to ask over and over to get to the right hint. Movement is completed by a touch to move system, where you go to where you touch on the screen. This works, but it’s hardly an elegant solution to movement and perhaps a virtual D-Pad would have been better and would have keep you more involved in the game environment. After photographing the evidence you make your way through the police station to the evidence rooms. This is the games weakest section as its repeated several times per case and also adds very little to the over all experience. You can only travel down a single corridor and, whilst some exposition is given during the walk, the attempt to add to the over all atmosphere of the game falls a little flat after repeating the process several times. Also, you appear to enter the evidence and interview room through a window instead of a door. Once the case is complete and the murderer is in prison, the chief of police gives a break down of the case, and you then have to move down the corridor to start the next case. After solving a couple of cases, a running theme is clearly evident and the conspiracy aspect of the game really starts. I would expect you to pick up on it much sooner than Max, your policemen sidekick, as despite his many years on the force, he does seem somewhat slow. But as layer upon layer is peeled back, the game becomes more compelling. The difficulty increases in a linear fashion and the jumps of logic needed to complete the game seem rational. You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out the early cases and in the latter ones you kind of have a feel for the way the designers work. Whilst not the longest iOS game I’ve ever played by any stretch, clocking in at about an hour of steady play first time through, I wouldn’t count this against the game. It is a quality game, and a breath of fresh air when compared to many other games in the App Store. However, this does feel very much like a first chapter of a larger story and it comes without a totally satisfying resolution to the conspiracy. As you would imagine, there is very little reason to replay the game once completed, so the question must be asked, is it worth it? In short, yes. Despite some issues I have with the game, I hope this case gets reopened in a sequel, as I would thoroughly enjoy some more of this game, presented as it is in its 19th century colour palette. Read our full review @ItsMuchMore

FAR CRY 4 this is basically a Bear Grylls adventure set in the Himalayas. This is the most beautiful, dangerous and inspiring place this Far Cry series has given us – not a huge mountain or wild Elephant While previous settings have brought with them an inherent hint of danger, Far Cry 4’s fictional state of Kyrat often feels overtly serene and gentle as religious villagers go about their everyday chores, animals meander around soft canopied trees and clouds flow and fall down and around the peaks at the ceiling of the world. I was surprised with the length of the game. This review is being written only 30% through the game but I remember playing around an hour and thinking I had completed quite a few missions. Clicking the pause menu and only being on 4% gave me a mixture of shock and excitement. At least it would fulfill my pleasure over Christmas and the New Year! I think part of the time consumption was capturing radio towers and outposts. This task evidently reduces Min’s soldiers influence around the specific areas and makes it safe for you and your Golden Path resistance movement allies to move in. How and in what order you attempt to spread your holdings is up to you, although much of the available environment is not unlocked until you reach a certain point in the main story mode. The Co-op/Multiplayer side of the game I struggled with, and when played didn’t really enjoy, simply because I didn’t have many Xbox One friends that had purchased the game. I’m not really a people person anyway – rather a lone ranger! So ill just concentrate on the single player stuff. The story missions themselves are decidedly and unsurprisingly more complex than the optional extras and side quests, your goal often only achievable by acting in a certain way or treading a pre-determined path. To be honest this is a big help, and makes the outcome become a lot simpler. The weaponry and customisation is great. Most missions I completed were always done in a stealthy fashion, choosing a crossbow over an AK47 ALL DAY LONG. Even the weapons I did use were always, always silenced. This part of the game really appeals to me and its most rewarding picking arrows out of Min’s Soldiers skulls without being noticed. Always a good save on restocking with bullets and clips too. Not being caught infiltrating a base or kidnapping an important enemy might work for the story missions, but it doesn’t work for a game based around the player having to smartly react to unpredictable and dangerous events. For example, Min’s Soldiers driving down a mountain, quickly recognising you and unleashing a barrel of clips without reason. That always calls for a quick getaway and the occasional heal. To summarise, the strength of the world and its systems alone makes this one of the year’s best games and the extreme detail and environmental opportunity means you’ll be playing this game well into the New Year. By taking things to the Himalayas, Ubisoft Montreal has managed to skilfully string an attractive partnership of awe-inspiring landscape and exhilarating, surprising action. 8.5 for me! Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Theoretically, the formula to an enjoyable and therefore successful videogame is one that continuously challenges yet rewards the player, familiarizing them with the default state yet consistently extending the experience with a progressive story, new features, and unlockables. Freedom Wars, an ambitious action game developed by SCE Japan Studio for the PS Vita, certainly lives up to this formula. freedom-warsIn its home country the title fast became the second highest selling game for the portable console in its opening weekend and remains one of the most popular first party games. At first glance, the Monster Hunter style structure of completing missions in a 3rd person sword-play / shooter setup may appear to lack any originality. For those who persevere however, they shall find a strong example of the previously mentioned formula of success; a deep and addictive game that pleasantly surprises as much as it hits all expectations. The story follows a dystopian future in which the world’s resources have run dry. Humanity has split into several mega cities known as Panopitcons, each of which enforce a Big Brother style regime on its residents. Individuals seen to possess unique and indispensable skills that may contribute to the Greater Good of society are known as Citizens. Members of the bottom rung who are deemed lazy and unproductive are treated as Sinners, locked in cells and punished for the simplest acts unless they have earned the right to them. The player takes control of their own customised Sinner and are given a 1,000,000 year sentence for the ‘crime’ of losing their memory. The key focus then, at least initially, is to complete tasks in order to reduce your sentence. As events develop, various threads arise and entwine, featuring a terrorist groups, a dangerous conspiracy, the ominous and powerful ‘On-High’ civilization, and a mysterious woman named Aries III who appears only to the protagonist on a plane between dream and reality. What could be over-complicated or too reliant on the gimmick of abiding to a penal system instead presents a wonderfully deep and involving narrative that expands the gaming world confidently and at a decent pace. Gameplay is a fairly complex hybrid of role-playing and 3rd person action pumped with a slew mechanics and options yet, like the plot, is dished out to the player at a forgiving pace that keeps them hungry for more. Within the first hour, taking more than five steps in your cell or speaking with a member of the opposite gender will result in a penalty of years further added onto your remaining sentence. By completing missions your character will reduce their sentence and receive Entitlement Points which will allow them to claim Rights. These include permission to pace and speak with various peoples as previously mentioned as well as Aesthetic options such as unlocking new customisation kits and Interface options such as building Research Facilities. Resources are gained from missions and can be donated to the Greater Good of your Panopticon to reduce your sentence and add to online score of the mega city and your character. These resources can also be used in Facilities to produce items of medical supplies, ammunition, and weapons. Weapons can also be bought or picked up in the field during missions and are split into Melee and Firearm types, each made up of three sub-categories: Assault Weapons, Portable Artillery, and Autocannons; Light Melee, Heavy Melee, and Polearms. Furthermore, each similar unit (i.e. a Longsword in the Heavy Melee category) can differ greatly from the next depending on its base statistics, rarity, level, and modifications. The player themselves can set up and equip several customisable loadouts consisting of two weapon slots, a ‘Thorn’ slot, Combat Items, and Augmentations which grant further bonuses such as stat upgrades. The level of customisation is far above the standard and goes a long way to keep the player addicted, consistently farming the game to achieve new abilities. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Probably the last we’ll see of Assassins Creed for the last gen consoles, Rogue finally allows you to experience the game as a Templar, the major antagonists of the series. Said to be created to meet the requests of the fans I was pessimistic the game would be worthy, I didn’t think this would be the ‘out with a bang’ the game needed to be. I am a massive, and proud, fan boy of Assassins creed. Personally I don’t think the game has been as fun to play since Brotherhood, but no one should argue that any of the 7 games released for last gen consoles and other formats are anything less that top quality games. Visuals, gameplay, plot and story cannot be questioned, though many, me included, agree Ezio’s titles are still the best. Assassins Creed Rogue is a prequel to AC3, sequel to AC4 BF, and ends at the start the recently launched next gen AC Unity. You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking this title is just something to keep those without next gen console feeling left out and lose touch with the franchise. Rogue doesn’t seem detrimental to following the plot at this stage but is certainly something all fans should experience to getting a fuller picture of the AC universe. Set in the mid-18th century during the French and Indian War around North America, you play as Shay Patrick Cormac, a recent addition to the assassins Brotherhood that find himself questioning the brotherhoods motives and eventually escapes the organization after stealing a guide that supposedly teaches the reader how to decipher another artefact, which could lead to catastrophes around the world. He is then taken in unknowingly by Templars and is soon enough fighting the assassins using the very skills they gave him. You realise the change of team before the character does, suddenly your enemies are laying in wait, in haystacks and on rooftops, ready to jump out and attempt to assassinate you, your new attire displays the Templar cross as if it a brands logo, and if all of that wasn’t a big enough clue your new allies are very clearly British, very well spoken tea and crumpets British. Characters from previous games have secondary roles, Haytham Kenway the playable characters from AC3s father, Achilles Davenport the same characters mentor, and Adéwalé from AC4 BF, all come into the plot suitably, the fan service here is well tucked away. The story does its best to slowly slide you into the role of a Templar and before long I started to question who the antagonists truly are, the assassins are the ones digging up ancient artefacts, that seem to do nothing but bring disaster, the Templars are just trying to stop them by any means necessary. This made me consider if I wasn’t being prompted to dislike the Templars by previous games in the series would I have seen them as the baddies? If I had experienced both sides of the war from an uninvolved perspective would I have seen the Assassins as the heroes? You play in and explore locations in the north Atlantic, New York and the river valleys which is a luscious inviting setting that feels almost tropical after spending massive portions of the game in the frosty north Atlantic. There are countless different land locations you sail between on the ship you acquired early in the game, the Morrigan. You sail to one of the countless undiscovered locations, discover it, board the Morrigan at the location and go searching for collectables, completing missions, freeing hostages, raiding supply camps among a variety of other activities. The smaller locations have a unique charm and can tell their own story if you look for it; Sometimes you’ll come across only a few enemy troops with a few ladies, all drunk dancing, has they fled the armed forces? Sometimes the ground is littered with the bodies of troops clearly, you’ve arrived not long after a battle. As you sail between these locations on missions or simply searching for collectables or discovering new locations to use in the fast travel feature, you will encounter enemy ships and have naval battles. The game almost turns into a 3rd person shooter at these parts; you get into position, aim and shoot. Knock the enemy ships health down low enough and you have the option to board it, and the usual combat style comes back for you to take out an indicated number of the crew and take the rival ship. You earn resources, new crew members, and money as well as the option to either repair the Morrigan or add the captured ship to your fleet to use in naval campaign. Naval campaign is side game playable from certain locations within the main game, think of the assassin’s side game in Brotherhood, but with ships. Send the ships you capture in the main game on missions to earn money. Playing this part of the game is not essential but it’s an effective way to keep money coming in for use elsewhere. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Release the Hounds is based on a TV show on one of the ITV channels (yeah, me neither) where contestants must complete Crystal Maze type activities based on a horror theme, and then at points they must sprint down a pre set route whilst being pursued by the eponymous hounds. The tie-in game is based on the chase section and is yet another in a long line of running based games. But where as Temple Run and Minion Rush are both free and brilliant time wasting games, Release the Hounds costs over £1. Whilst I have nothing at all against paying for apps, I do have a problem when you’ve paid for something inferior to games which are already on the market. The stills on the App Store appear to pitch the game somewhere between Temple Run and a Slender Man survival horror title, so it was with and open mind and high hopes that I installed the game. You never know, this might be Resident Evil in Nike running shoes! The basis of any reaction based game is smooth animation and a rapidly responding control system. This allows you to both see obstacles coming and allows you to avoid them with time to spare. Sadly, in these two critical requirements, Release the Hounds is woefully short of the mark. Whilst the lighting used in the game is effective at creating a creepy torch lit atmosphere, it also highlights the poor frame rate which makes the back ground appear to move like a Grand Prix racing game on a ZX81. The character design is similarly flawed, moving in a flip book fashion and not changing its action until it’s finished its animated cycle. This has the effect of reducing your reaction time and basically taking the control of the character out of your hands. The control system of swipes and taps works well when it wants too, but if you’re attempting to jump over an obstacle, it’s more a matter of chance if the character reacts in time to clear it. Also the character often moved back to the centre of the screen without me telling him to, frustrating to say the least. Progression is based upon collecting coins whilst running through the horror based levels. At points along the levels you’re offered the option to run against the Hounds of the title. This involves you tapping the screen to increase speed, whilst also compacting the control system, all whist the dogs close in on you. It’s safe to say I lasted about 6 seconds. So what we have here is an excellent concept totally hamstrung buy a poor control system. Hopefully, with an update or two, these can be ironed out and the title will become an enduring horror based runner. But for now it remains in the shadow of its better, and cheaper, brethren Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Ubisoft’s Just Dance series kicked off with a bang on the Wii with young children and families getting involved in the new craze. But with so many games in the series including spinoffs, could they be milking the game too much like Activision and Guitar Hero? The game does include some new features but, it is possible that these could have been implemented as DLC in last year’s game. So, the game still uses the classic Wii remotes to trigger the moves you pull from the on screen choreography and scores you points on how well you actually did pull it off. The target is to get the highest points you can in each of the different songs available. The songs have been updated to new tracks of this year and the graphics have been polished for the Wii U. One nice little feature is the community remix where the game records you performing your favorite songs and also shows you how other people playing the game do the same. This can be both helpful and annoying, as if you can’t do the move in the first place, trying to copy someone else doing it while they watch you can really put you off. The game can also be connected to your smartphone using the Just Dance Now app, so you can take your dance moves on the go. As said before though, new songs could’ve been added through DLC to previous games, and also an update to the software could have added the smartphone connections features just as amiibo have been added to Mario Kart and Hyrule Warriors. Just Dance is still as fun as it was when it first released back in 2009 if you enjoyed it then. But I’ll be honest, it’s just starting feel repetitive if you haven’t skipped a few. The new features are good, but they just don’t warrant a £40 purchase for updated songs which could be added as DLC. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

I’m a huge fan of the Smash Bros series and was eagerly awaiting its release on Wii U and 3DS, hoping it would capitalise on what it’s Wii predecessor had put in place, and it did just that and more. Being an old school smasher, I enjoyed playing the game with the Gamecube pad, but unfortunately, the adapter is in very short supply, so had to manage with the pro controller and the WiiU pad. These are not the only ways to play though, as you can pretty much use anything in your room to play! Wii remote, nunchuk, classic controller and 3DS can all be used to play on the WiiU version, which is great for people who can’t afford the extra pads. I’m not going to spoil the unlockables, but there are so many characters and stages to unlock that you’ll have a fun time trying to collect everything including all those trophies and stickers! DLC is also planned for new characters, so you can look forward to new or veteran fighters in the games life span. There is also early access to Mewtwo to those who purchase both 3DS and WiiU versions of the game, a character I actively enjoyed playing with in the Gamecube version. One thing I do miss from a previous game was the Subspace Emissary mode that has been replaced with Smash Tour in the WiiU. This is due to social media being too easily to access, it can spoil the nostalgia of a storyline if browsing a simple website. Smash Tour does stand tall in its place though, where it takes on the role of a mini Mario Party game, but yourself VS other Miis collect upgrades and fighters for the final battle to see who came out on top. Nintendo have also given gamers something to take their minds off this though with the inclusion of 8 player smash mode, where the cap used to be 4 players or the slight painful rotation mode, you can now have up to 8 players playing simultaneously, all using their own controller from the many to choose from, without having to wait for someone to be smashed off stage to join in the fun! Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Lets gets the main comparison out of the way straight from the off, Yes, TULPA does have that ‘Limbo’ feel to things. Aesthetically its a 2D side scrolling platformer, with puzzles, with standard back and forth gameplay, jumping, pushing, pulling elements, yet what differs TULPA from the likes of our main comparison here, Limbo, is that you have to control two characters to complete your journey. First, our main character is Ophelia, who, if she gets too upset over certain situations, she will ‘Shatter’ (die), to the point you need to try again, and after the first few puzzles, we also play as Oliver, who is there to help Ophelia on her way, and can help in a manner of different ways, but safe to say, throughout, Oliver is a bit dead on his feet. Graphically TULPA has simple yet bold colours, from pitch blacks to cold blues and bright whites to stunning yellows. Backgrounds and the puzzle environments change throughout as you get to the next section, blue changing to a daunting purple, or piercing green to blood red. The game has a fixed camera angle,. and it is just you looking at the blacks and whites of the world as you traverse through here, and it does give TULPA a unique look, but as you look closer at times it can also look a little basic. TULPA is a standard 2D affair, and our playable characters are mostly a contrast in colour to our playing field, so its easy for you to see Oliver and Ophelia and work out where you are as you go along. The puzzles vary in difficulty with some being down right easy, to some being beyond confusing. The likes of the first puzzle, where you are told a little about Ophelia that if she gets upset, there will be consequences (as in you die and to try again), is nothing hard at all, but as no gameplay dynamics are shown, its more down to the fact you don’t actually know what you’re suppose to be doing, but as it turned out it was a simple walk, back, walk, wait, proceed type of puzzle. Other puzzles are of the same, and when they use the background and the environments the puzzles can look really nice, for example the peacock, dream catchers, or one eyed person, and make aspects interesting and fun to look at and work out, but then you get some that in terms of difficulty or explanation race up massively, for example the lithographic puzzle or apple puzzle, which could end up the player just clicking on various objects until something moved or changed on the screen. Puzzles are the main bread and butter of the gameplay experience, and its by far not terrible, but also in terms of quality and differences in completion of puzzles its not up there with the best. The way around to completion of puzzles are all unique and interesting, but there is not enough substance here. Also when you look at the puzzles in numbers, there is only around 10 main story progression puzzles to work out, so its not a massive story that will have you coming back for more, or have you in this dreamlike world for very long. At the start of the game, the first character you control is Ophelia, you have the basic controls of move forward, move back, jump, and pull. We start off with her walking through a house, where someone’s body looks to be hung up on a wall, with red markings or rituals on the wall, and candles lit around the room, and then you come to more bodies on the floor or hanging by nooses from bridges. We are then introduced to our second playable character Oliver, who from what we can tells seems to be a ghost like person, and along with Ophelia, its down to you both to work your way through the puzzles and find out what has really happened two these ‘Two Unique Lovers Pulled Apart’ (TULPA) (OK so that’s not what TULPA means, but something along those lines, well I like). Oliver can fly around the screen, and complete actions that Ophelia can not reach or pass, for example moving blocks, or pulling levers, and then as Ophelia you just proceed along this path throughout this journey. Another gameplay element, as previously mentioned, when Ophelia gets upset, this causes her to shatter, which is also classed as her sanity, so when controlling Oliver, you need to remember not to stray too far from Ophelia, as you both will get too upset from being apart, and both shatter, to make you restart that section. Its can be annoying in terms or restricting you to play a certain way (as you move with Oliver, Ophelia automatically follows you, and the same if controlling Ophelia) but it keeps the gameplay tight, and allows the creators of the game to make you focused on one area at a time, and makes you as the player also think about two characters when controlling one. Full Review & Video Review @ItsMuchMore

Windows 8 Phone Version: Yet another Sonic racing game, if there wasn’t enough already, but now this time the Windows 8 users get a chance to be the worlds fastest hedgehog in Sonic Dash, will it get set ‘n’ go to be a sure fire winner or will it get fried like an egg …. man? , here is our review Sonic seems to be everywhere, on every console and now it would seem on every mobile device and gadget, so if your a fan of the Temple Run series or you just like Sonic the Hedgehog then you have most likely already downloaded this and gave it a go or if you haven’t yet why haven’t you, its a good game and you should give it a ‘Spin’. The game itself looks beautiful, with lots of colours and smooth graphic but that’s that goes in the way of being pretty the rest is more annoying than anything on the Windows phone (using a HTC Windows 8s Phone). Gameplay The idea of the game is to dodge oncoming objects and make it to the goal, so that means jumping over baddies or using your spin attack or just moving from side to side to collect rings, the more rings you collect the more ‘Dash’ you will build to do a speed dash which is kind of like the Sonic Boot from the other Sonic games which gives you a short burst of speed, this will take out the objects in your way so its useful to collect as many rings as you kind. Moving from left to right by swiping your finger in the direction on the phone screen to collect the rings / power-ups, by swiping up will make Sonic jump or swipe down will duck under objects or do a roll attack to take out the baddies, sometimes you will need to jump and tap the screen to attack an enemy, there is moments where you are asked to swipe the direction shown on the screen in mid air after a jump to collect extra rings. On the Windows Phone (HTC Windows 8s Phone) the game really struggles, which means at times you swipe the screen and Sonic doesn’t respond which means you will lose you rings or lose an life which can be very annoying, the game lags during the jump sky moments where quick time events (QTE) are needed, you swipe the screen and just sit there and Sonic doesn’t do anything, just spend half the time swiping a number of times to move the blue hedgehog. Graphic Outstanding graphic for a smart phone, with no pop ups and good draw distance with the graphic I cannot fault a thing, bright colours and clear level designs, which keeps Sonic true to the more recent Sonic game levels. The character design also is really good as you progress through the game you can unlock other characters, these are Sonic’s friends and foes from over the years which are all every detailed. LifeSpan Due to the issues outlined above with the gameplay sadly Sonic Dash wont last much longer on my Windows Phone, its a shame but if the phone could handle the game a lot better the lifespan would be prefect, as there is some much that will keep you coming back each and every day to unlock rewards / daily challenges and also collect free rings to purchase powerups or enable you to unlock more characters, like many games if gives you the game for free but to unlock many powerups and items you will need to pay your hard earned cash but I wont be adding my card details anytime soon. There is also a number of daily tasks or things which you could do which could earn you more coins/points to unlock extras, sadly the Facebook login / invite friends doesn’t work on the Windows 8s phone, it allows you to login then takes you back to your phones home screen. Overall With all that said it is a good game, it has been enjoyable but the negative factors out weigh the positive factors but as the game is free I would say to give it at least a go, if you have a more powerful smart touchscreen phone / PC or tablet the game may run a lot better than what it does on the HTC Windows 8s . Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Since September 2013 Japan has been enjoying this game, and now thanks to the Capcom localisation team’s hard work, we get to too. Finally as of February 2015 the western hunters can get hands on Capcom’s latest hack and slash JRPG. Was it worth the wait? To get straight to the point, monster hunter 4 ultimate is the best installment to the series so far. If the title doesn’t give it away already, in all games in the series you are a hunter in a world inhabited by natural titans. You spend your time conquering these beasts and gathering supplies and resources that use to craft an arsenal of armours and weapons capable of tackling bigger and badder beasties. Your personal motivation varies from game to game. In previous titles there may have been a boss monster that you live to beat, or a monster threatening the village you live in. In this game you are part of a traveling caravan crew. You travel the land fulfilling the requests of the villagers you meet along the way. Right from the outset you are treated a vibrant world, with new features to find, new allies to meet and new monsters to beat. Despite the monster hunter franchise being more complex than ever, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the best starting point for new players. It’s tutorial system is improved, it’s difficulty curve is much more balanced and with the new online play functionality, help is only a WiFi connection away (Or a couple steps if you’re using local wireless). And for seasoned monster hunters the brand new weapon types, mechanics and the verticality system will give you plenty to brandish your blade at. Overall it’s just much more fleshed out. Previous monster hunter games didn’t have a very tactile story mode and it was easy to feel disconnected with the NPC’s. In this game they easily meld story and game-play. You are a traveling family, the cut-scenes and dialogue give the characters more depth and emotion than any previous game. Monster hunter has never been a massively story-oriented game, but this one took a step in the right direction and the verticality system (Jumping and climbing mechanics that were unheard of in previous games) give more power to the play and gives Capcom the freedom to make much more dynamic and treacherous landscapes. (You can jump on top of a bloody dragon and stab it all shadow of the colossus/Beowulf style). The combat system is easy to pick up with simple combo, guard and evade mechanics and you’ll quickly find, out of the 14 weapon types 2-3 will raise to the surface as your favorite to use and you gain a natural affinity for them. Graphically, monster hunter has never excelled. It’s never looked sharp or HD. Even the wii U game was a port of the 3ds game and was limited in quality. But despite that, monster 4 ultimate has pushed that little bit further for brighter fields, deeper caves and fiercer monsters. It gets a 6.5/10 Game-play wise, there hadn’t been a day since I bought the game that I have wanted to put it down. Every felled creature feels so satisfying, ever hammer slammed or blade chopped reminds you of the tangible strife it takes to be the best hunter you can be. It’s fantastic. 8/10 With regards to lifespan monster hunter freedom unite (a previous game in the series) took me 300 hours to reach the final monster and monster hunter 4 ultimate has even more monsters than any previous game in the series. I’m 40 hours in and still have so much more to do, and with 3 file slots and a wealth of different weapon types to master, there is plenty of replay Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Undead and Undressed is a rather strange game from the start, you begin in a very dark room strapped to a table after being experimented on only to then be told that you are no longer human in, you have been changed into a man made vampire who will soon be feasting on the general public’s energy an just to be difference its not their life force you are after it is their determination its amazing what happens when you apply for a job and sign something without reading it T&C’s its how they get ya. Don’t worry though as just before they are about to kill you after marking you as a failure you are saved by a rather good looking lady in white who’s weapon of choice is wait for it an umbrella!! I know what you are thinking but its more useful than you think as then the game will shift to battle mode where you get a rather old school 3D fighter where you beat your enemies into submission. The battle mode is good as it flows pretty well and the controls are easy to master and before you know it will be handing out combo after combo in no time at all, but get this in this game you don’t really have a life meter remember when I said you are a man made vampire well whats a vampire’s biggest weakness you got it the SUN!! but only if your body is not covered in cloths at all times when in the sun so this is in essence your life meter as in order to keep your enemies down you need to beat them senseless and then rip off there cloths before they rip off yours and when I say rip them off that is literally right down to their underwear and if you can get a good going rhythm then you get the bonus of pulling off their underwear as well the only bad point on this is its all blocked out AND they tend to either run away or they burst into flames before your very eyes. All that aside the graphics themselves are not state of the art but the over all experience that you get from this game is pretty strong I personally saw it as a bit of fun that really does justice to not just a fighter but also a decent J-RPG as the story is fairly strong this is a game that you can pick up and just fall into even if you have not played it for a while. I recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of JRPG’s and 3D Fighters be you hardcore gamers or casual gamers this is a really fun game to play and enjoy. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

“How long will you survive?” Ubisoft’s Zombi U is a fresh and surprisingly innovative addition to the first person survival horror genre and a good attempt at showing that the Wii U isn’t just for family friendly Nintendo party games. This **** British game follows an army of disposable protagonists all hoping to survive a zombie apocalypse under the guidance of what might as well be the hard balled love child of Ross Kemp and Bear Grylls called ‘The prepper’, called so because he seems to be the only person suitably prepared for the oncoming swarm of London guard clad zombies. He gives you a place of shelter in the London Underground system after he sees you through a security camera dramatically cornered by a wave of your infected neighbours. His instruction teaches you survival skills and drives the story forward by giving new locations to travel to, all at the hope of new equipment or solace to be found throughout the hellish streets of London. Along the way you’ll encounter other characters who put your ‘fate of the world’ role into perspective, with the root of all the chaos deriving from one biblical prophecy telling of the purification of the world. The game was an interesting pick from the list of games the Wii-U had available early to launch. Right off the bat, the hell-scape atmosphere of the game is thrust onto the player having you rapidly maneuver through the dimly lit London underground with infected at every turn, and the games various settings and everlasting night time does maintain this feel, through and through. Controls get shaky at times because you must break you focus and connection with the surroundings to make of the Wii-U gamepad quite often, however the the feeling of uncertainty you get while looking away from your stationary character proves that the game is achieving a feeling of stress and dis-composition as a survival horror should invoke in a player. Similarly, the early scarcity of ammo also accentuates the survival aspect of the game. Combat is a breeze if there is only one zombie around, however using the single melee weapon you get in game becomes a tedious task despite it being the easiest option for single combat (Prepare bat, swing, prepare bat, swing, prepare bat, swing, prepare bat, swing). But when two or more zombies should appear you have an adequately sized arsenal of upgradeable guns and explosives to fight back with, however you’re limited to what you can carry in your “bug out bag” and pockets. And with a slot being taken up for each weapon, and a second slot being taken by it’s ammunition type, you never find yourself with more that 4 firearms at a time. The curve of difficulty seems to skyrocket when faced against special or armored infected but not to an extend that can’t be beaten, it makes for a change of pace and rethink of strategy in combat, which makes for challenging gameplay. In terms of smaller features, the game takes a nod to the dark souls series in the form of having to re-retrieve your inventory after death by going back to the location of your last death and kill your zombified old character. It also has the same system of other players leaving cryptic hints and messages around if you connect to the Miiverse. However this realistic feature comes with a drawback. The fact that throughout your play-through your protagonist will be killed and replaced anywhere between 4-40 times means you will lose any sense of connection with your survivor and my find yourself quickly throwing away another in your effort to speed-run your way to your best firearm that you left with your past infected incarnation. The graphics lack something to be desired. While the caved in skulls are suitably gruesome and the lighting keeps things as spooky as slender, the protagonist looks like it’s missing a few polygons (If ya know what I mean). The Wii U is an HD console and for a game that boasts it’s realism with zombie activity, some of the textures just don’t agree with that. The chosen settings of bogs, sewers and buildings old and new are a treat though. The Graphics get a fair 6 out of 10 for their worthy but still lackluster presentation. The Gameplay gets a 7 out of 10. While the controls are not brilliant with the shaky but innovative usage of the Wii U gamepad, it’s challenging, dynamic and varied in execution and environment. However the detachment from the protagonist really didn’t sit with me well. (Granted the do have a one life ‘survival mode’ available where you 1st life is your only life). The lifespan gets a 5 out of 10. The story is quite short and the only other feature is what I’m going to assume is a very underplayed multiplayer mode where one is ‘King of zombies’ and must send hordes at a lone survivor. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Superpowers? Check! Aliens? Check! Santa Claus? Check! Yes indeed folks the 4th edition of the Saints Row franchise really does seem to have it all! From the very outset high octane action is on the cards, throwing you straight into the Saints latest mission. The core of Saints Row is there; there are still plenty of absurd weapons, costumes, and activities. But the way you interact with the world has changed. No longer are you an ordinary earthbound mortal. Saints Row IV turns you into a superhero capable of running up the sides of buildings and flinging people with your mind. The new world actually enables even more craziness that what any fan of the series would be hoping for. The game itself is not a tough challenge for any experienced gamer, in fact some may deem that the missions are too short or too easy, however this game is designed to entertain not frustrate. This is non-clearer than the moment you find yourself swaying gently whilst you guide our hero to climb a rocket whilst Aerosmith’s ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing’ blares through your speakers. Let’s not forget the pink elephant in the room…. How does it compare to GTA 5? Well although the similarities are there, a comparison may not ever be needed. GTA offers reality whilst Saints is pure fantasy. So it’s time to let GTA go guys and let down your hair by blasting crazy aliens out of the sky! Visually Saints is what we have seen in the past, after 4 hours of gameplay I was unsure whether the designers had taken advantage of the next-gen to its full potential (PS4 version reviewed). All is forgiven as this little **** is soon out-weighed by the fact that Saints is a pick up and go type of game with easy to use controls and opening missions which quickly allow players to practice their superhuman skills such as running along walls and lifting objects with the power of your mind… indeed! Because the game is so good about dishing out new weapons and abilities at a steady pace, you often feel like you have some fun new toy with which to torment your puny alien oppressors. However, because you have so many ways of so effectively overcoming them, combat eventually starts to feel rote and inconsequential, and you may often find yourself just freeze-blasting and **** your enemies repeatedly to be done with a fight as quickly as possible. And it doesn’t help that even though many of your weapons have crazy visual effects or other gimmicks associated with them, they lack any sense of oomph. Although it’s easy to do so, try not to run straight through the story missions, as it is some of the side missions (each allowing you to gain XP, Cache or goodies) that bring some of the biggest laughs so taking the time to explore these is highly recommended. ‘How the Saints Saved Christmas’ is a little festive delight allowing you to shoot Santa Claws out of the sky whilst dressed in last year’s Christmas jumper! In all if you want a game that’s easy to play from the get go that gives you and your mates a true belly laugh pick up the latest installment and you will not regret it! Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Dirt bike racing is a very a competitive and tough sport to be involved in, with very tight corners, high jumps and awkward ground to race on. MX vs ATV captures it wonderfully, but with a slight few hitches that unfortunately takes away from the games nostalgia. The game features the usual modes that you’d see in many racing games nowadays, but one I do like is the free ride mode, which allows you to master the tracks at your own time and pace, very handy for those looking to play online and need the upper hand on opponents. The career mode features some great customization for riders, and can also fine tune your gear with colours and patches to make your rider authentic. As you play through the career, you’ll unlock more gear and more bike upgrades which will become essential when the difficulty increases. The graphics in the game are great; the tracks are very well detailed and look great in high definition. Being able to see the dirt tracks darken as riders slide through is neat and they don’t reset unlike some racers tend to do. The details on the riders are fine, as with the many different colours on the outfits, you’d think that the detailing may have dumbed down during races. While this looks great, the background crowd and the bikes themselves look a little bit flat, and the bikes don’t get dirtier the more laps you do. Physics in the game tend to be a lot stiffer than previous games in the series, while making a jump, it’s very hard to control your bike if its starts steer off course, which can cause a lot of problems if you mistime your jump. On the other hand, cornering has been made easier, but rather than drifting the usual way, the back end tends to kick out, with the camera angles lagging behind a second as you’re racing off. There also seems to be a generic landing animation from a jump, which can look a little odd if you’re landing at an angle and your bike and rider are perfectly straight. Overall I think the game is great, it is competitive, fun and has paid attention to detail in the customization department. Unfortunately it is a little let down by the physics in some places and some new bikes rather than the ones recycled from its past game under a new name. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments is a game that demands patience, and a lot of it. If you can handle the frequent loading screens and slow pace of the game, you will be rewarded with an experience that reflects the heart of Sherlock Holmes and his adventures. Crimes and Punishments is a game that takes getting used to. However I didn’t feel emotionally engaged when playing the game. I didn’t feel I could finish work and go home, switch the Xbox on indulge in this game. Crimes and Punishments is made up of 6 main cases that vary in locations which helps keep the game fresh and exciting to see what the next case will bring. However the cut scenes don’t really helps its cause as I’d much rather it be an open world game and me travel there myself. The environments and landscapes are very detailed with bright colours that pop out when playing. The sound design is also excellent with all the voices for the actors well voiced and the environments come to life, the music is also fittingly mysterious and creepy. The only issue is, after watching numerous Sherlock Holmes movies I didn’t feel the game quite projected what I had expected. However, the game really excels at putting the player in the shoes of Sherlock Holmes from investigating the crime scene, interrogating suspects, analyzing clues, and finally finding out what happened. So I guess more or less it involves doing what is says on the tin. One significant fault with the game is that sometimes it doesn’t explain fully what you are supposed to do in a certain sequence or puzzle which left me lost and specifically bored. Luckily you can skip any puzzle, but the tutorials for these parts still should have been explained better I think Another problem that can grate after a while is the lack of variety of gameplay mechanics in the game. I got a bit tired of the formulaic structure of the game. I also wish the investigations were more open because you could more or less guess who the suspects were. Overall though, I enjoyed my time with Crimes and Punishments. I’d recommend this game for fans of Sherlock Holmes and players who like to solve detective mysteries but it’s not as action packed as the films are and that was a big disappointment. Full Review @ItsMuchMore

I remember seeing World of Tanks a few years ago, and the gamer inside of me turned his nose up to the idea of just Tanks vs Tanks, no idea from the looks of things of getting out of the tanks for some frantic FPS game play or third person action, no PvP on the battlefield, no tactics with team mates, just that Tank rolling along to get taken out by another Tank….BORING… My nose was well and truly up, I loved playing online with and verses friends, with a preference of FPS, but now times have changed, and I’ve personally drifted away from many a FPS, the whole online vs competitive nature of game play just doesn’t do much for me these days, I still enjoy the online co op experience, and an odd match verses mates here and there, but just the whole First Person and generally Shooter aspect has lost my interest. So that’s when a week ago I decided to bring that nose back down to earth, and actually give World of Tanks a go on Xbox 360. Boy was I glad solider… World of Tanks is a massive hit on PC, with close to 80 million registered users, and a fair bulk of them actually playing the game at points as well, and with World of Tanks on Xbox 360 as a free downloadable game, with everything available to work towards with no cost to the player apart from the Gold Live Membership (yet you can purchase various items to help speed this along with real money if you prefer), then Microsoft will certainly be looking to tap into the millions of Xbox Live Gold Members on the console side of the market. As I said previously, I was hesitant in playing World of Tanks a few years ago on PC, and it was no different here on Xbox 360. World of Tanks came out close to a year ago in February 2014, and I’ve only downloaded this as of 3rd January 2015, but i have been playing it for the last 7 days, with a kind of addiction, where I have these massive fully fledged AAA titles purchased over the Christmas period, but every time I turn the Xbox 360 on, I decide, lets have a little bash of World of Tanks, and that’s the reason why there is so much good in this game, the nature of the game play, and how the game works just brings the player to have that one more go or that quick match before work, before you head out, before you need to get to the real life things, this is a fantastic little time killer, but more on that soon. As the title suggests, World of Tanks, is basically war type scenarios fought only with Tanks, no Battlefield 3 running and gunning with you holding the gun, no Call of Duty continuous camp and spawn kills with you holding that stupid sniper, and no Counterstrike fast paced action with continuous lives or respawns…..wait actually, World of Tanks is actually a bit of all those above in its own very niche way In World of Tanks you are the runner, you are the sniper, you are the gunner, you are a bit of everything. Like camping and sniping, it’s here, like running and gunning, yup right here, like team work and flanking, all here too. It really is a twist of any FPS shooter, but in a massive mother of a machine! World of Tanks is brutal from the offset, you play on various maps, with around 17 available (even though with the way the matchmaking works on Xbox 360, certain level tank for certain maps, I’d say I’ve only come across around 12 so far). Maps vary in size, design, terrain, location, weather and land levelling. Each map offers different tactics with different tanks and in the nature of brutality, it can be one shot and its over. There are no respawns, there are no health pick-ups, there is no regeneration, no shield to reload, just your crew in the tank, with your armour, but even then with you sitting in this might of a machine, you can still killed within the first 30 seconds! Just to go back, when I say no health no shield no regeneration, that’s a slight twist on a lie, before you set out for battle, you can select up to 3 consumables products and or, 3 pieces of equipment to help you along in the battle (that’s if you have enough gold or silver to spend on the items). You can select the likes of 10% boost on engine power, a small or large health kit, a repair service is someone shoots out your tracks, then get that repaired quick or even the likes of a manual or automatic fire extinguisher to put out any fire on the tank, which is one of the must have items on your arsenal. You can also select the likes of camo to help stay sneaky, speed of hull to help turn around to see someone attacking your weak points, or better sight to zoom in and snipe someone from the other side of the map (all elements of a normal FPS then), but these pieces of equipment can start to get costly. Certain ‘Perks’ to a lesser term can only be used once per level (like the health pack) but also some are purchased to be continuously on throughout the map (like engine or turret speed). As said previously these all cost either silver coin or gold, and vary in prices. Full Review @ItsMuchMore