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Review: Diner Dash (Xbox 360)

Words by

Jennifer Allen

Posted on December 30, 2009

The life of a waitress has always seemed rather unrewarding to me, even more so now that I’ve played Diner Dash and experienced true dining mayhem. Diner Dash is part of the time management genre, one that’s probably quite unfamiliar to many gamers. It’s particularly popular with the casual player thanks to its simple but addictive nature.

You play Flo, a waitress in a restaurant, unfortunately for her the only waitress at that. You must serve customers as quickly as they come in. It doesn’t take long to get into the swing of things: seat a customer, take their order, deliver their food, take their payment, clean the dishes, and so on and so on. Written down it might sound dull but it quickly becomes frantic yet compelling. The customers come in at increasing speed and in greater number meaning the player must plan ahead when it comes to seating arrangements. Suddenly you have to ensure you remember the different types of customer such as old customers being slow, while business people are ridiculously fast. Before you know it, things involve a hell of a lot of concentration. Sure it might not sound overly exciting to those who prefer more action packed affairs, but for the casual or novice gamer it certainly has something about it. It’s quickly obvious why Diner Dash has been so popular on the many other platforms it has previously featured on. It’s simple yet addictive, a perfect formula for success.

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Review: SimAnimals Africa (Wii)

Words by

Jennifer Allen

Posted on December 29, 2009

SimAnimals Africa is a game that will be greatly misunderstood by many reviewers, mainly because it’s not aimed at the average games reviewer; it’s aimed at a child. A child who loves fluffy safari animals, especially cute baby ones, and who wants to frolic with them and watch them dance in the Savannah. Yup, SimAnimals Africa is unrealistic, cartoony and most definitely not aimed at the average gamer. But it certainly has some redeeming features for the younger generation.

The bulk of the game is comprised of the challenges available across Africa. There are a number of chapters to unlock, each achieved by releasing ‘good energy’ into the world. This is done by befriending the animals in the area and completing challenges and mini-games. There are quite a few different landscapes on offer such as jungles, savannas and volcanic deserts, all with their own unique challenges. The most important thing in each chapter is to befriend the animals available. There is a decent variety of animals on offer such as rhinos, hippos, lions, gazelles, crocodiles and my personal favourite: zebras. All the animals are cute in a cartoony way which will irritate adults but enchant kids. To befriend each of them you have to first of all pet them. This is where the Wii remote comes into play with the player having to shake the remote in certain areas of the animal’s body to make it happy and like you. It’s not as sordid as it sounds, and although it’s slightly tiring on the arms, kids are bound to enjoy the interaction. Once the animal likes you sufficiently, you can control the animal and wander around the area interacting with the others. Dancing with the other animals is particularly enjoyable and the way in which each animal dances is quite unique and entertaining.

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Review: Brütal Legend (Xbox 360)

Words by

Steven Wright

Posted on December 28, 2009

The hardest thing about reviewing Brutal Legend is refraining from using the word ‘AWESOME’ in every sentence, because this game really is just that, awesome. As awesome as it is, it does have some crippling problems, so bad that if this was any other game I would have long ago given up and tossed into the trade pile. Let us start with the positives, of which there are many.

Brutal Legend follows the story of the worlds best roadie, Eddie Riggs, who is voiced brilliantly by Jack Black. Eddie is a roadie for the pitiful nu-metal band Kabbage Boy, during one of their gigs he is killed in the process of saving one of the band members. Blood trickles down onto his belt buckle and the fire beast Ormagöden comes alive on stage, transporting Eddie to his world. The world itself is one of the best I have seen in gaming. Filled with wonderfully imagined scenery and metal puns galore makes it a joy to explore. The first level you find yourself in is a heavy metal inspired land, with gargantuan swords jutting out of the earth, trees spouting metal barbs, massive pieces of engines and walls of amps.

The rest of the island is equally as impressive – from Amazonian forests through snow filled valleys, eerie Goth landscapes and morbid castles – and thanks to the open world gameplay it is great fun to explore. Exploration is very important if you want to get the full enjoyment out of the game. With so many different collectibles, unlocking everything from songs to stat upgrades, you really are going to be kept busy. Exploring is made easy by summoning Eddie’s wheels, the Druid Plow, or Deuce to friends. Although a little chaotic to handle it is great fun to drive, especially when you hit the nitro and go flying off a cliff. To unlock these new lands you have to work your way through the story.

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Review: NBA Live 10 (PS3)

Words by

Billy Withers

Posted on December 21, 2009

The EA Sports franchise machine has become something of a monster these days. The layout on each game is the same, the special features that are kept inside them are also very similar, and it’s a bit on the hard side to review them all without feeling a real sense of déjà vu.

That’s not to say this is a bad thing, especially this year, as almost every single update that has been rolled out over the past 6 months, from Madden and Tiger to FIFA and the already rated NHL, have been above their class in a way even I never thought possible. NBA Live last year wasn’t really the best it could have been, with some rather choppy frame rate on occasion and a real lack of any encapsulation into the game.

This year we see a whole new ball game (no pun intended), with a nicely slick and more up to scratch effort, which does away with the drab feel of 12 months ago. The NBA franchise is huge, so the software advertising the sport and its wares has to be also. There is such a feeling of glossy American presentation with this, as even on the practice court that welcomes you to actively press the start button to begin you get little snippets of the ESPN Sports Center network, giving you highlights and news about what’s going on in the B-Ball world.

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Review: Blood Bowl (Xbox 360)

Words by

Sam Giddings

Posted on December 11, 2009

Blood Bowl is a strange game. Partly, it’s strange because it isn’t really a videogame – it’s a virtually recreated board game. Partly, it’s because it’s perversely fun, despite all its issues. And partly, it’s because it’s difficult to gauge at whom Blood Bowl is aimed.

For those who don’t know, Blood Bowl is a virtual adaptation of a classic board game from Games Workshop, the fantasy hobbyists. It mixes American football with goblins, elves, ogres, and dwarves, then underpins the entire sport with brutal, sadistic violence. Out here in this irritating thing called reality, fans will buy the board game, spend hours assembling and painting models, talk with fellow fans, discuss the rules, make up new ones, invent tournaments and scenarios, host grudge matches, and more. Adapting this for the small screen rather negates these huge parts of the hobby – actually playing is just one aspect of belonging to the war game fraternity.

Back in my youthful heydays of eating space raiders from the tuck shop, telling porkies about how the dog ate my homework, and failing to entice girls behind the bike sheds, I was a Games Workshop devotee. I played Blood Bowl – a lot. Strangely, this makes me feel rather over-qualified to judge the merits of this curious offering from Cyanide Studio. Not only do I have a nostalgic attachment to the board game, but also a firm grasp on the rules, even after all these years. As a result, I like Blood Bowl because of its failings, not despite them.

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