Fluffymachappy

Developers: Team Bondi, Rockstar Games Publisher: Rockstar Games Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3 Rating: M Release Date: 20 May 2011 Good: Fantastic acting | Simplicity | Great story Bad: Lack of control | Not easy to pick up and play Prepare to get wrapped up in the world of a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detective set in 1947. In this third person crime solving game you are Cole Phelps, a balls-busting cop trying to clear the streets of L.A. I really enjoyed the variety contained in this game. Whether you are interrogating a suspect at the police station or hunting someone down in a high speed car chase, you will thoroughly enjoy yourself. The whole of Los Angeles is at your feet and there is plenty to keep you busy. Each character in L.A. Noire clearly and precisely shows their emotion. They act their part rather than in most games where it is just a simple animation. The acting here is based on the movements of a real life human as they display courage, fear a

Developers: Monolith Productions Publisher: Sega Platforms: Xbox 360 Rating: M Release Date: 2/12/2005 Good: Thrilling horror | Comprehensive gameplay | Engrossing environments Bad: Short story | Annoying achievements Monolith Productions have given us some fantastic games in its lifetime with the most notable game being F.E.A.R. Although F.E.A.R. is a fantastic game, I believe Condemned to be the better beast in both enjoyable gameplay and encompassing plot line. These two immersive and disturbing games send shivers through my spine just thinking about them. Monolith has successfully taken ideas and styles from famous horror films such as The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. You are Ethan Thomas, voiced by Greg Grunberg, and this is your story. After a serious of unfortunate events, Ethan becomes a man on the run from the law as he hunts down a serial killer. The killer has a witty and sadistic mind, similar to Hannibal Lecter, and is sure to give you a run for your money. I

If this is your first Need for Speed title then I am truly jealous of you. You have missed out on a massive amount of boring and annoying titles, none of which seemed truly confident in what they were. With the help from the amazing developers at Criterion, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is a complete rebirth of the famous series. Criterion has brought us the amazing and popular Burnout Paradise. Clearly they have learnt a lot about addictive racing games and have used this knowledge in creating a brilliant just-for-fun game. Buckle up and get ready for an online multiplayer experience which will leave its competitors in the dust. I would only recommend this game to casual gamers who like to play online with friends. There is not a large amount of content in the game but what you are given is truly a masterpiece. It has a single player mode but it seems this only exists to allow players to gain the upgrades for their cars offline. If you like the addictive fun of Super Mario Kart and wa

Rail shooters are the classic game we cannot help but play. They sit triumphantly in the arcade knowing full well you will feed it with your coins if only just to get the obsession out of your system. These are centred on ease of use where the only thing you have to concentrate on is shooting a pretend gun at a varying amount of baddies on screen. This clarity and focus on enjoyment captures my interest every time. The newest edition to the Time Crisis series, Razing Storm, brings this experience to the comfort of your couch. Coupled with the PlayStation 3's amazing power and the surprisingly realistic PlayStation Move, we should have seen something truly creative and enjoyable. Sadly this couldn't be further from the truth. You might be thinking “but Razing Storm has 3 games in 1! I'm sure there are loads of things in there to keep me occupied”. Included in this compilation are Razing Storm, Time Crisis 4 and Deadstorm Pirates. Razing Storm and Time Crisis 4 are perfect

I think a person's first Role Playing video Game (RPG) holds a very special place in their heart. These types of games are able to captivate our minds and engross us in a rich visual storyline. This is especially true when we are younger and have all the time in the world. It is easy to dive into the fable of Cloud in Final Fantasy VII as he progresses his way through the many twists and turns that is his adventure. Similarly, I believe Sega have successfully emulated Shining Force on the iPhone allowing me to easily lose myself into its rich world whenever I sit down on the bus. And the story of Shining Force is well worth reviving. For me, the love of RPG's began with the classic Shining Force II. I played this game to death on the Sega Genesis and this recent port of the original Shining Force has brought all the memories vividly back. This time we take on the role of Max, a kid with a sword in one hand and boredom in the other. After an incident involving the King, he gat

Just saying the words "turn based game" makes me think of a group of time wasters locked in a basement playing dungeons and dragons. Worms Armageddon is a turn based game like no other. In seconds you can start up the game and immediately be playing with your friends online or locally. This game thrives on simplicity and enjoyability. There is a great amount of content from randomly generated maps to explosive weaponry. This game taps into that addictive part of your brain in a funny and harmless way. The idea is simple, kill everyone else's worms and protect your own. This is easier said then done in a game where the weapons include a flying explosive sheep, an old granny packing a time bomb and a napalm airstike. The single player missions are quite annoying to play through as the opposing computer players can be pixel perfect with the shots they take. The single player events need to be completed at some stage if you want to get the additional content such as aqua sh

From silly Lego hairdos to being chased by a clumsy robot T-Rex, Lego Rock Band is obviously not a serious game. It is full of light hearted humour that makes you feel about 5 years old. And I love it. As you traverse through the many different stories and venues in the game, you have to use the power of rock to help people in need. Whether it is helping farmer Joe by getting it to rain on his crops or helping the construction company by demolishing a building, you will rock out to the most happiest and energetic songs out there. This is a great game if you love the Lego series but will surely disappoint the avid and hardcore Rock Band users. There are many great songs in this game and it definitely has the most enjoyable setlist of any other Rock Band game. My favourite song, Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows made famous by the movie Shrek, is fantastically up beat and I think it defines the template of all the other songs in the game. The game also allows other rock band songs

This game tells the tale of Riddick, a homicidal maniac captured and confined to live out his days inside a maximum security prison, Butcher Bay. Deadly in close combat and very quick witted, he does not plan on being locked up much longer. Playing as Riddick, I feel confident and cool. He is definitely a character you can have great fun with. The plot is simple to understand but the twists and turns throughout the game kept me captivated to my unnatural hero, Riddick. Whether he is taking on a group of thugs with a screw driver or creeping around in the sewers with 'eyeshine', his home made night vision, you are sure to love the bountiful action elements throughout the game. Escape From Butcher Bay is set before the popular movie Pitch Black, which I definitely recommend watching for anyone out there. The game focuses primarily on stealth combat. I get a strange satisfaction from successfully sneaking around in the shadows waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The consta

So, you're on Mars. It's your first day in a new place which turns out to be a scientific research facility. Scientists are messing around with teleportation, biological research and advanced weapons design. Some crazy stuff happens and all hell brakes loose. Demons and zombies galore and trust me, they don't want hugs and kisses. Time to look hell right in the face and show them who is boss. Lock and load. Id Software have been at this quite some time and this instalment in the series has not disappointed. They have successfully mixed horror aspects and a captivating storyline into the gameplay. The environment and enemies are perfect works of art using the award winning Id Tech 4 game engine. The protagonist has no background to allow you to fill his shoes instantly. This game is your experience and will haunt you forever. The Doom series has always been close to me. I remember when I was only a kid, probably 6 or 7, playing this game only allowed for over 18's. I

So you are a military sniper in the jungle. You keep stealthy and complete your mission objectives with as little influence as possible. You predict people's actions and mark everyone's locations. This kind of gameplay means you know your environment and you know your weapon. In a lot of respects it reminds me of sports such as rally driving and golf where you try and become one with everything around you. The popularity of first person shooter games brings the sport of hunting humans to a whole new light and this game allows you to better immerse yourself into this world. This might remind you of Call Of Duty and in many respects the game is similar, from loading screens to how you stab with the knife, however this is not a normal First Person Shooter. It focuses on understanding the effect of every shot you make. You must take into account a comprehensive amount of environmental factors such as your heartbeat and the wind. The art of shooting in this game requires patience,