Much like developer’s Sumo Digital’s SEGA Superstar Tennis, All-Star Racing applies a Smash-Bros approach to its tracks and characters by digging deep into the companies back catalogue, rather than relying on Sonic’s ever-expanding cast of anthropomorphic cretins. Okay fine, I’ll admit Big the Cat does makes an appearance but who could moan at a racer that features the return of Shenmue’s finest sailor-questioning Ryo Hazuki? And when even Alex Kidd and Fantasy Zone’s Opa-Opa have shown up to race it’s clear this is a title that’s been designed through the wishes of SEGA fan boys first and developers second.

SEGA have also wisely chosen tracks from titles as varied and beloved as House of the Dead, Super Monkey Ball, Jet Set Radio Future and erm, Billy Catcher. It is a credit to Sumo Digital’s talents however that each track variation genuinely provides new challenges whilst adhering to many individual principles of their franchises e.g. Super Monkey Ball tracks can be frustratingly labyrinthine, with a noticeable lack of track barriers whilst the speedy, rollercoaster-like Sonic tracks recall the glory days of F-Zero GX. Sure certain franchises that might seem perfect fits are left out (Outrun) and most likely no SEGA fanboys demanded three Billy Hatcher tracks (three!) but in all, track design remains of an extremely high standard throughout.

Gameplay-wise, Mario Kart references are inescapable. Powersliding and item control are consigned to the DS button shoulder buttons, whilst correct powersliding even registers a slight speed boost for players. Item-wise, a red shell becomes a Rocket, bananas become Mines and mushrooms become Sonic’s own High Speed Shoes. It’s very familiar territory, shameless even, yet when your inspiration is one of the few gaming titles to have ever arrived fully-formed in its first instalment, imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery. Players can also utilise All Star Moves; hugely speedy items that transform the drivers, such as Sonic’s Super Sonic abilities and the fanboy-arousing return of Ryo Hazuki’s beloved Dobuita forklift. Thankfully races do not employ the oft-criticised rubber-band opponent AI of Mario Kart that punishes leaders constantly. In All-Star Racing, wins are earned and in the case of the unforgiving Super Monkey Ball courses, cherished.

Production values are of a sky-high standard throughout, with sharp, colourful visuals, recognisable tunes and full-voice acting. Sumo Digital hasn’t skimped on the details either. Aside from the requisite Grand Prix, Time Trial and Multiplayer options, All-Star Racing features Missions, WFC races and Sega Miles, which store your lifetime miles to be used as a currency to unlock new characters, courses and music. It’s a clever approach that encourages replay in a manner that deviates from the standard “beat a tournament/unlock a character” approach for handheld racers. Once you’ve collected the six Grand Prix cups there is still plenty of content to be acquired. Missions are also a surprisingly challenging and substantial investment, ranging from time-attack head-to-head races or solo item-collection challenges. With 55 missions, 24 tracks and a wealth of vehicle styles to master (truck, aeroplane, motorbike), substantial longevity is assured.

There’s probably no greater feeling in gaming than that of a welcome surprise. Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing works hard to surprise, enthral and thrill players, with a polished title that pays homage to its nostalgia with well-executed gameplay, rather than relying upon it. Ultimately Sumo Digital and SEGA are to be commended with a racer that is a perfect marriage of universally beloved fandom and universally appreciated core videogame mechanics. Whilst it wears its influences on its sleeve and won’t supersede Mario Kart DS as the handheld racer of choice, All-Stars Racing ensures a thrilling duel to the finish line.

The game follows the plot of Tim Burton’s reimagining of Alice in Wonderland – Alice has been summoned back to Wonderland (here renamed ‘Underland’) and all is not well. The Jabberwocky has flipped out and torn the world apart and the creature can only be defeated by Alice, who must take up the legendary Vorpal Sword and strike it down. With four old friends (namely the Tarrant Hightopp aka the Mad Hatter, Chessur the Cheshire Cat, McTwisp the White Rabbit and Absolem the Caterpillar) to guide her, Alice has quite a task ahead of her. That she is pretty much useless doesn’t help matters.

The game can loosely be described as a 2D action adventure with a wonderful hotchpotch of play styles blended together to make an extremely satisfying whole. Initially you take control of the White Rabbit who must ferry a vulnerable and (as previously mentioned) useless Alice around the world. Much like the ethereal Yorda in the classic Ico, you must ensure that Alice is kept under your watchful eye at all times. Leave her alone for too long, and the Red Queen’s guards will do their utmost to drag her into a portal and take her to the Queen…then…(as one would expect) it’s off with her head. This is a tried and tested mechanic, that once again works brilliantly in this setting and you’ll often find yourself madly dashing back to Alice’s side to save her with only seconds to spare.

As you progress, more members of your team become available with each character having their own special abilities. The White Rabbit, for example, can pause, fast-forward and rewind time; the Cheshire Cat can make objects appear/disappear and leap up walls and so on. Using these abilities is central to solving the game’s puzzles, with combinations of multiple skills often needed. As with much else in the game, not all of the abilities available are necessarily that original, but the magic is in how they are implemented and the cadence with which the game serves them up. Acquiring a new ability nearly always opens up new possibilities and new areas to explore, and the sense of progression (both in terms of your characters and your physical progression around the world) is masterfully eked out.

Also masterfully handled are the controls, which make excellent and imaginative use of the DS’s (and DSi’s) many inputs. Movement is primarily controlled with the stylus, with combat being conducted with swipes and slashes (a la Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass). Character changes are also easily activated and menus, maps and goals are delivered with clarity. The DS’s microphone and camera are also put to great use in combat and puzzle solving. Should you manage to smash off a card guard’s armour, for example, a quick blow into the mic will send your foe cart-wheeling off the screen. Certain chests, on the other hand, can only be opened by locating a matching colour in the real world using the DSi’s camera. While this latter example is an optional extra (we don’t all have DSi’s…), both these examples highlight the confidence with which Étranges Libellules have approached the DS’s technology. Let’s put it this way – if you were to replace the cast of the game with that of the Legend of Zelda, Nintendo (and fans of the Big N) would be more than happy to call it their own!

You know a game is doing something right when even its map-screen feels worthy of mentioning but…well…did we mention the map screen…? As you progress through the game, you unlock puzzle pieces which are added to the map, these can then be rearranged, opening up new areas to explore or, more cleverly, opening up shortcuts. Want to get from one side of the map to the other? Simply rearrange the map, and ‘over there’ is quickly brought next to your location. It’s a lovely touch that excellently mirrors the chaos of the original book.

Also extremely noteworthy are the visuals which grab you before you even reach the menu screen – the opening sequence shows Alice plummeting down the rabbit-hole and introduces you to the pristine art-style and the beautiful character animation that runs throughout the experience. Partly inspired by Tim Burton’s own illustrations, it genuinely feels like a story book brought to life on the DS’s screens. Inked in monochrome with subtle washes of colour and flashes of more vivid hues, it captures the eccentricities of Lewis Carrol’s book and Tim Burton’s uniquely twisted stylings and arguably stands shoulder to shoulder with titles such as Okami and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker as one of the most visually striking games we’ve ever played (no small feat when considering the aging platform that houses it).

Underlining the glossy presentation is character animation that is more than worthy of being placed under the Disney name. Alice herself is a particular highlight that, despite her diminutive on-screen size, conveys a wonderful degree of schizophrenia, constantly flitting from wide-eyed bewilderment to carefree skipping to stern-faced concentration. She’s a lovable, freaky, sweet, hilarious bundle of energy that you just want to hug. Or run away from (depending on her mood). The rest of the cast are lovingly designed and each brings an individual personality to the game (Chessur the Chesire Cat’s reveal is one to look out for…as is the White Queen’s..er…’mount’).

So…Alice in Wonderland on the Nintendo DS is pretty much perfect then? Well…yes, it is…while it lasts. Reaching the end of the game doesn’t leave much incentive to replay, and the adventure isn’t the longest ever made. And, if we’re honest, the combat can at times feel a little repetitive, and the puzzles could be a bit more challenging… But that’s nitpicking and ultimately these things don’t matter as come the end credits you’ll be satisfied that you have experienced one of the most enjoyable, memorable and lovingly crafted titles to cross your path. We were tempted to end this review with a Wonderland-themed pun – something about it being one Rabbit hole you’ll want to jump down, or that you’d be Mad as a Hatter to miss it…. but such clumsy wordsmithery would feel out of place when describing such a sweetly compelling title. So, instead, we’ll just say this: Alice in Wonderland DS – flippin’ wonderful.

Admittedly we’re tending a bit to close to hyperbole; Sega All-Stars is great fun to play and the first few hours (which I spent in a state of perma-grin excitement) give the impression that this is indeed a fabled equal to Mario Kart. Though that initial spark is eventually blunted – it’s all a little simplistic to leave any genuine impact – the overall impression is that this is as close as people who don’t own a Nintendo console will get to the experience.

It’s no surprise that this review only took three words before the first mention of Mario Kart. For Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing With Banjo-Kazooie (to give the Xbox 360 version of the game its full title for the first and last time) isn’t so much another imitation as it is a full-blown HD Xerox; the manner with which the developers have gone about lifting, er, inspiration from Mario and co is so brazen as to be endearing. It’s fair to say that, in this respect, Dante’s Inferno and its love for God Of War didn’t have quite the same effect. Tellingly the two best Mario Kart clones in my memory – Crash Team Racing and now this – are the two games that have stuck closest to Nintendo’s blueprint. Sumo Digital of course have a huge part in Sega All-Star’s success, but their role is one that has been built on this fifteen-year old foundation. What they’ve done is proven that Mario Kart’s key mechanics are pretty much timeless.

Sumo Digital certainly has pedigree in this area. Not only were they the developers behind Sega Superstars Tennis, the previous attempt at marrying Sega’s glittered past to a standard sports genre, but it’s their recent work on console conversions of OutRun that acts as the basis for the handling model in All-Stars Racing. Both areas are significantly more successful here than they were in Superstars Tennis, which lacked both the engagement of Virtua Tennis and the wealth of Sega references that permeate every track, choice of music and even mission briefing here.

Drifts can be triggered to slide around corners by using the brake trigger whilst driving; the longer this drift is maintained the bigger the boost you get once the brake has been released. It’s a basic version of the system of drifting used in OutRun – here you hold down the left trigger as opposed to applying deft touches to skilfully manoeuvre – but suits the accessible approach that ensures even newcomers to the karting genre will be able to slide around in no time. It’s also no less an enjoyable experience for being so streamlined, as some of the closely-fought races I’ve had online will attest to. This emphasis on accessibility also extends to the track design itself, the majority of which are wide and full of eye-catching loops and jumps, with little or no emphasis on tricky turns; the only course that had me confused at first was a later Super Monkey Ball-themed level, and that’s probably more in keeping with the disorientation of Monkey Ball itself than any fault on Sumo Digital’s part.

Also commendable is the license structure. Everything you do in the game, be it a single race online, a grand prix or one of the many missions, rewards you with Sega Miles, which are then added to a cumulative total that slowly sees your ranking rise. Having the reward of ever-higher licenses framing everything you do in the game creates an excellent sense of progression. The aforementioned missions are also a well-considered addition to the other standard modes on offer. Ranging from mini-tournaments to races in which the main task isn’t always to come first (in one mission you’re given an infinite supply of boxing gloves with which to attack Billy Hatcher until he submits) they work best as quick diversions from the action elsewhere, whilst completists also have the chance to get an AAA ranking in each one (there are 64 in total).

Added to the racing mix are the inevitable weapons. Aside from the brilliant character specific All-Star moves (another feature from Superstars Tennis), there isn’t anything remotely as unfair as that dreaded blue shell. Missiles, bouncing bombs and mines are only fleeting annoyances, while the items that briefly affect your playing experience (for example, the rainbow covers your screen in waves of colour) are actually more pleasing than disorientating. In general if your basic driving skills are good enough then even the Advanced Grand Prix won’t pose too much of a challenge. The All-Star moves are only handed out to those languishing at the back of the pack, but it’s worth being a bit rubbish to see them all. In fact the sight of Ryo Suzuki’s bike suddenly turning into the iconic forklift truck from Shenmue, before ramming aside the likes of AiAi and Space Channel 5’s Ulala to charge to the front of a race set in House Of The Dead’s Curien Mansion is already one of our gaming highlights of 2010. Such an episode, and the All-Star moves in general, also highlight what is the key strength of All-Stars Racing: its unconditional love for all things Sega.

It’s everywhere: the use of Nights in the Lakitu/race-starter role, the courses set in such locations as a Monkey Target course, or the city streets of Jet Set Radio, the classic Sega themes on the soundtrack. It even extends to the name of the Achievements, our favourite of which is Dreamarena (“Play a friend over Xbox LIVE”). Chances are if you’ve been gaming for a number of years then a lot of Sega All-Stars Racing’s appeal will be in the various memories tied to many of the games referenced here. If you’re a Sega super-fan then you’ll be in heaven (even the $32,500 chance to purchase Alex Kidd from the in-game store as a playable character is Primark-like value). Sega Superstars Tennis made clever use of Sega’s history, but not to the extent evidenced here. Mario Kart may still hold the crown overall but All-Stars Racing is certainly the closest Sega has come to its own Smash Bros, and in its own little way suggests that, putting aside the welcome updates of classic franchises like After Burner, the still-mighty company has finally learnt to accept – and even revel – in its status outside of the hardware race.

This should probably be classified as a retro review; Switchball was first released over two and half years ago on the PC, with an Xbox 360 version hitting Live shortly after. Only now are Playstation 3 owners being given the opportunity to get to grips with the game’s 5 worlds and while the lack of Switchball on the PSN roster is unlikely to have been noticed, now it’s here PS3 owners looking for some cheap gaming comfort-food need look no further than this.

Switchball doesn’t even attempt to frame the experience with any kind of plot; this is good old-fashioned marble-rolling gameplay – you start at one point on a floating maze, and must roll your marble through a series of obstacles and puzzles to reach the finish line; then it’s on to the next level. The marble-maze format is older than videogaming itself, but that doesn’t stop Switchball proving that even simple and (let’s be honest) old fashioned gaming concepts can still be engaging and entertaining when handled correctly. That it also manages to bring some originality to the genre is doubly impressive.

Where Switchball shines is in its use of physics, but this isn’t just technical showboating – Atomic Elbow have integrated a strong physics engine into the game’s many puzzles and obstacles, making the calculation of how certain materials react to certain forces a central part of the gameplay. Ropes swing, cloth flexes and tears, magnets attract metal objects and lighter objects float. Add into the mix a ball that can change state (much like the blob in Archer McClean’s Mercury) and the game is equipped with a fairly impressive range of tools with which to hew some puzzles.

Key to success in Switchball is getting to grips with controlling the ball and manipulating its form. Using the analogue stick, controlling movement is extremely simple and intuitive and (as is vital in any game of this type) mistakes that you make are purely down to your own errors rather than wayward controls. The game also offers perfectly workable SIXAXIS-based tilt controls, but we found the analogue input more preferable. Even though the controls are easy to pick up, the game still does an excellent job of easing you into the gameplay.

The traditional marble-maze gameplay is embellished with switches scattered throughout the stages that alter your balls state with the original marble form converting to a larger and heavier metal-ball, an air-ball or a ‘powerball’. Reminiscent of Metroid Prime’s Morphball, the powerball can be imbued with additional powers such as magnetism and the ability to jump or dash. The game does a sterling job of exploring the potential of these various forms and constantly throws new puzzles at you, keeping the game feeling fresh and compelling. For example, a pair of parallel running ropes are useless to the metal-ball, but the lighter air-ball can use the ropes as a rail track and reach another part of the level. Such puzzles feel logical and do a great deal to showcase the robustness of the game’s physics.

While the game does throw a fairly broad repertoire of puzzles and tests of skill at you, it never feels overwhelming. In fact, for much of the time gameplay encourages a more sedate approach, as rushing through a level can often result in your ball plummeting off the edge of the map and undoing any progress made since the last check point. Medals are awarded for speedy play, but this is purely optional. The slow pace of the game might be off-putting for some, and the game certainly lacks the adrenaline fuelled tension of Super Monkey Ball, but it is hard to level this as a criticism of a game that has such a clear sense of identity.

Presentation wise, the game is unspectacular but robust and has a degree of character. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is pretty woeful, churning out a range of ambient Euro-pop that does little more than suck atmosphere from the game. Our advice would be to turn the music off and soak up the minimal but very effective sound effects.

That’s all that can really be said about Switchball – a game that is without lofty ambitions to change the world and that is content in merely polishing and perfecting an aging format by bringing to bear some new technologies. It is, in many ways, a very meek and understated game…but under its mild-mannered exterior lies an engaging, diverting and enjoyable title that, for the price, offers a heap of entertainment. So, while the lack of spinning bananas and cartoon monkeys may make ending this review with a witty pun a little more difficult, Switchball is nevertheless more than worthy of a place on your PS3’s hard drive.

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About Half Minute Hero:

Half-Minute Hero is a homage to a bygone era, fusing old-school visuals with a modern-day twist. In each level, a Dark Lord discovers a new way to destroy our Hero’s world: he must solve a series of puzzles and level-up enough to defeat the massive end-of-level boss. In 30 seconds. Every time.

Check back for our full-review of the game!

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For newcomers, Super Monkey Ball was originally an arcade hit (Monkey Ball) and rewards co-ordination and endless patience to guide your chosen simian through a maze-like course without falling off the edge, marble-madness style.. Bananas can be collected for extra lives and all courses operate under strict time limits. It’s staggeringly simple in concept but has earned its success with simple “just one more go…” addictive gameplay. Step & Roll is the Wii follow-up to the 2006 launch title, Banana Blitz, which not only implemented motion controls, but tweaked the formula with mini-games, bosses and a new jump function, with modest success. If anything Step & Roll is a back to basics approach – boss battles, jumping and nunchuk controls are out whereas balance board implementation is in. The mini-game total has even been cut in half – sound like a fair trade?

First impressions don’t help. Simply moving in a straight line on the the Balance Board is an excruciating challenge. The player controls are far too imprecise and overly-sensitive to calculate. What’s more, the awful in-game camera will work against you, constantly shifting position for no discernible reasons and causing flailing of limbs in attempts to re-align yourself. Thus frustration sets in very quickly. On switching back to your standard Wii Remote controls, you will notice a slight change in the level layout – suddenly obstacles have appeared to block your way. It’s hard to tell which the original course was although I’d wager that the obstacles were created first, until SEGA realised they’d rather have an easy but broken game than a challenging but broken game. To be fair Remote controls are perfectly fine to see out the rest of the 70 courses, but once you realize you didn’t need the board at all you’ll wonder if you should’ve bought Banana Blitz for half the price.

Mini-games don’t fare much better. With the surprising omission of Monkey Bowling (!) there are not many events that hold up to scrutiny after a couple of playthroughs. If there is one trump card for Step & Roll over its forbears, it’s in its delightful presentation. With bold, colourful graphics (running at 60fps), and an infectious soundtrack (admittedly with monkey squeals), it’s easy to see why gamers first fell in love with the franchise.

With Wii Balance Boards around the country propped up in attics or utility rooms, it is pretty admirable though that SEGA have attempted to take its series in a new direction, as well as a reason for its owners to try something different than various yoga poses for a change. And with Wii Fit’s incredible sales, there was also sound business motivation in doing so. However what Step & Roll proves is that perhaps the Balance Board itself is only suited for fitness titles. With two control schemes (Remote or Board), the developers surely hoped to mimic the dual controls and universal appeal of Mario Kart Wii. However this is exactly where the title falters – levels have been designed with fewer intricacies for casual gamers to navigate, which will alienate longtime fans hoping for a challenge. Considering the unique selling point of Step & Roll and the default control scheme for casual gamers is a complete failure, where exactly is the appeal?

If anything Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll is the simplest in the series if played with a Wii Remote and possibly the most difficult if using the Board, for all the wrong reasons. Even if you have fun playing with the Remote you’re still playing a stripped-down and easier version of a title released four years ago. In all, Step & Roll can only be seen as a missed opportunity but one presumes SEGA can still return to the drawing board and wow us with future simian antics, as this has always been one series that refuses to ape its predecessors.

The gimmick of each of the game’s four modes is simple: to distil expansive, sprawling experiences into concentrated, ADHD-friendly chunks you can easily play whilst sitting on the loo or waiting for a PS3 game to install. It’s in accessible bursts that Half-Minute Hero is at its best, with the experience wearing a little thin when ploughing through great chunks of content in a single stretch. I can forgive it for that: it makes perfect sense that compact play sessions bring out the best of the ultimate bite-sized game.

Each of the game’s four modes has an imposing 30 second countdown timer at the top of the screen, although a way to add time to the clock is always provided. Hero 30, an unashamed take on the JRPG, takes up the bulk of the game, with the Hero taking on a group of villains who have learnt a world-destroying spell that takes 30 seconds to cast. It’s a bit of a one trick pony but, by Jove, what a trick. With the protracted storyline chopped out and the dreaded grind placed in the short-term – you level up in seconds, but start each stage at level 1 – Hero 30’s long haul consists of picking up tidy bits of loot and swish titles.

Perhaps surprisingly, Hero 30 contains a fully-formed game that requires an economic and judicious use of timing. It might mimic the JRPG, but there are entirely different systems at work under the hood. There are inevitable repetitious patterns – I found it invaluable to spend a few seconds at the start of each level grinding up a bit, for instance – but essentially it’s a game that rewards memorisation and effective time-management over strategy and working out the right time to get your White Mage to cast Cure.

At times I wondered why other RPG’s can’t be more like this. Hero 30’s automatic random battles, relieving you of the need to keep your finger forced down on the attack button, are over in seconds. Its dungeons exist to provide a quick flash of visual spark instead of hours of tedious wandering. Its design shortcomings, namely simplicity and repetition, are easily forgotten because the staccato pace keeps throwing up fresh sights. It even has an excellent sense of comedic timing: when fighting a talking clump of rocks, for instance, the game admits that the designers were having problems coming up with ideas for enemies.

It pokes a fair bit of fun at the genre, but reveres its source material. It’s frequently hilarious, from the tongue-in-cheek writing and ludicrous plot – this is your typical tale of unspeakable Evil forces fighting valiant Goddesses, only the Goddess here is obsessed with making money – to the flashing “YOU > EVIL” message that pops up on the screen from time to time. One of my favourite visual gags is how, mocking the JRPG’s penchant for using beautiful high-resolution portraits to accompany boxes of text, Half-Minute Hero just enlarges the sprites to fill the screen.

The 8-bit presentation, other than providing an aesthetic blast from the past, combines with heavy guitar riffs to turn the game into a flashing symposium of colour and sound. Each level also ends with an entire credits sequence and a lengthy prologue to the next chapter, although you’re encouraged to just skip these. It’s absolutely barmy.

The other modes are less significant but no less joyous. Evil Lord 30 throws up a condensed RTS, Knight 30 gives you what I can only describe as a survival action brawler and Princess 30, transformed from a timid and shy princess into a brazen warrior after receiving a crossbow, turns the shoot-em-up into an abrupt dash. Her overworked knights – who ferry her about on giant pillows – are the stars of the show, treating their bizarre quest like a completely normal occurrence.

There are also two further unlockables in a 300-second Hero mode with no rewinds and an extreme 3-second stage that YouTube videos make look significantly easier than it actually is. These extras will satisfy the game’s more devout followers, but none of the game’s superfluous content proves to be as entertaining as the deceptively lengthy, and brilliant, Hero 30 mode. It’s being billed as a niche title, but there’s enough joy within Half-Minute Hero to make the game an entertaining experience for anyone.

The game begins with a familiar face – played by none other than series regular, Lance Henriksen – opening the door to a Predator temple, in turn provoking the ire of those who consider it holy. What follows is a tale of survival, experimentation and desperation that never strays too far from the formula seen in the films. The plot and its characters are as undeveloped as you might expect but the story redeems itself by allowing you to view it from the three different perspectives, which competently intertwine without ever converging directly. The world is expanded through the many audio diaries scattered about the stages but the inability to listen to them on the fly is unfortunate, particularly if you’ve recently played through Bioshock 2. It’s unlikely to matter much though, as this game is all about shooting, gutting and beheading your way through the levels then taking the battle online.

The first of the campaigns is that of the Marine. Armed with a pistol, a Pulse Rifle complete with secondary grenade fire, a Smart Gun with the handy ability to detect Aliens (Xenomorphs) and a powerful shotgun to name a few, your job is to traverse the abandoned corridors and jungles to unravel a conspiracy involving the Weyland-Yutani corporation. Any issues we had with handling from our preview were mostly dispelled, though the complete omission of iron sights is questionable at best as is the ever-changing load out between levels. The opening levels are thrilling and make you feel a part of the Aliens mythology due to proficient development of suspense and atmosphere. After these first few hours you’ll have hit switches, moved power supplies to open new routes and hacked terminals while fending off the horde for a set amount of time. The problem is these activities repeat themselves many times throughout the single player story, making the campaign feel stale far sooner than it should.

Playing as the Predator is a much more stealth-based affair. It’s all about stalking your prey with the weapons at your disposal, moving silently in for the kill then disappearing before the rest of the group detect you. You can distract Marines by throwing your voice, fire your shoulder-mounted Plasma Caster and tear into them with your intimidating wrist-blades. These blades prove especially useful when stealth is no longer an option, such as the moments when faced with a group of Aliens. New areas can be traversed through the Predator’s superior leaping skills and this coupled with the indispensable cloaking device will give you the environmental upper hand, thus giving you time to consider your next move. Above all, the style of play presented demands a much more methodical approach where those patient enough will learn to use the landscape to devastating effect. Fans will be pleased to know that the spine-ripping trophy kill from the movies is in, even though the finishers appear to be randomised or dependant on the angle of your approach.

The third campaign – though chronologically the first – is that of the Alien. Beginning life as a captive, this bloodthirsty warrior known only as Specimen 6 has the single task of obeying the commands of the Queen. The story here is very short and can be beaten quite comfortably in an evening of gaming. The biggest issue with this mode is one of control; the Xeno is incredibly nimble, so the frequent moments of wall to ceiling action may well leave you disoriented and more than a little frustrated as you wrestle with the sticks and trigger buttons. Lacking a ranged weapon of any type, close-quarters kills are the only method with which to butcher the Marines that impede you, so learning to use the darkness to your advantage by killing the lights, destroying power terminals and biding your time in vents becomes a necessity, especially if you wish to pull off a grisly finishing move. These are every bit as gruesome as those of the Predator and often involve slitting a throat, removing a head or gouging an eyeball to refill your own energy bar. The stealth of this campaign lacks the finesse of the Predator but it still presents some satisfying moments due to a sense of empowerment and agility.

AVP supports a diverse range of multiplayer modes for up to 18 players. Standard Deathmatch is the usual free-for-all while Domination stands in as Rebellion’s take on Capture the Flag. Other modes are tailored more towards the AVP experience such as Species Deathmatch, which pits a team of each class against the other in a feverish attempt to reach the target score. Infestation is one of the most chaotic modes and generates a real sense of panic as a randomly chosen Alien takes down your teammates, who subsequently respawn as a member of that species. The reservations we had regarding Predator Hunt have also been swept aside, as the beeping of the radar and sense of impending doom will likely get your adrenaline pumping and your fingers twitching. Mixed Species Deathmatch allows teams of the various classes to do battle, though this can end up more confusing than thrilling. The major problem suppressing each of these modes is the lack of stages overall and while we expect the game to be supported post release with a number of downloadable map packs, the lack of arenas out of the box does pose an issue of longevity. Survivor allows up to four Marines to take part in a last stand, facing waves of increasingly ferocious enemies in an arena. It’s a nice addition, particularly given the sense of camaraderie it offers, though it’s fair to say that this mode has been done more expertly in previous titles.

The world has been crafted with some consideration for each species; tight corridors for the Marine, large open areas for the Predator and small vents for the Alien punctuated with dark ceilings to facilitate the murdering. The lighting effects are top notch and add much to the environment, even though the graphics as a whole fail to take advantage of the tech available. Describing the game as scary is a bit of a stretch but the levels have been designed with enough flair that a sense of foreboding continues to affect you even towards the final acts. A few more environments online would have been beneficial but with three, albeit fairly short single-player campaigns, it would seem unfair to be too critical. The three classes are surprisingly well balanced given the diversity of powers, yet AVP still fails to reach the dizzying heights of other games released these past few months. The series has been off the radar long enough to appear fresh and this is exactly how it feels, making it easy to recommend to anyone after a solid game based on the AVP franchise.

If there’s one thing the advent of downloadable titles has brought us, it’s in supplying a direct route for lower budget titles to reach the market. This in turn has fostered a roaring trade in retro-themed titles, from the twin-stick shooters of Geometry War’s and Super Stardust HD to authentic arcade experiences such as (the rather wonderful) Outrun Arcade Online and Super Street Fighter II HD Remix. This is definitely a good thing – as much as we all look forward to the next big thing, it is important to hold on to gaming’s rich history and that we can continue to have access to more simple thrills from the past.

Revenge of the Wounded Dragons can certainly be described as simple, but it’s not especially thrilling. Taking control of one of two identikit brothers on a mission to avenge their grandfather’s death and rescue their sister, this is a game about kicking (lots of) ass and not much more beyond that. Played on a 2D plane with 3D visuals, Wounded Dragon’s looks the part (i.e. you could imagine it sitting in an arcade in the late 90’s!), has the required bank of clichéd sound-effects and is very easy to pick up and play – move with the analogue stick or d-pad, punch, kick and jump and pull off the odd special move.

So, while Revenge of the Wounded Dragons knows its place as a simple old-school beat ‘em up, is it a good example of the genre? Well…not particularly. While perfectly playable, there is nothing here to really get excited about with very little that rises above ‘perfunctory’ and very few (if any) original ideas of its own.

This being said, there is some enjoyment to be found here as long as you approach it with suitably low expectations. It’s a title that requires little skill but there are pleasures to be found, such as head-stomping your one-hundredth identikit-henchman, assaulting your foes with a wealth of weapons (from axes to knives to Uzis and shot-guns) and the collectors out there may relish hunting down the gold statues scattered throughout the game. We would also be more than happy to see more titles award you for knocking a ninja off his scooter with a baseball-bat.

There is also a kung-fu b-movie charm underlying the action. Lively anime cut-scenes tell the story (which can be summarised in three words: murder, kidnap, fight!) and music is as chicka-chicka-wah-wah as you’d expect. Much of the animation is also reasonably charming, with some impressively violent finishing moves (our favourite being the ‘Iron Head’ headbutt…ouch!). The two player mode should offer a Sunday afternoon’s entertainment and there are a number of mini-games in which to compete once you’ve finished the story mode.

Unfortunately, it is hard to recommend Revenge of the Wounded Dragons, even at the low £6.29 asking price. Though by no means a disaster, PS3 owners looking for cheap martial art’s thrills are much better served by something like Rag Doll Kung Fu, which is infinitely more charming, more playable and sports higher production values. Wounded Dragons does feel like it has been made by a team with a lot of love for the genre and it is obviously not a title looking to break the mould; unfortunately it fails to fill the existing mould with enough meaty content to justify its existence. If you’re looking to kill a few hours with a mate, then this would do the job; if you want any more than that, steer clear.

Here’s a bit about Van Halen, a band who sit uncomfortably in something of a rock no-man’s land. Lacking the simple brilliance of AC/DC, the mythic quality of a Motley Crue, they’re arguably still more of a focus for ironic hipster appropriation than they are for genuine adulation. So the choice of them to front their own Guitar Hero game, given that the last band to be given the honour were the mighty Metallica, is in itself a little baffling (they may be significantly bigger in the US then Europe, but American first week sales of just under 80,000 across all the game’s formats suggest that the apathy with music games is stronger than any identification with the band could possibly be). That Van Halen appear in this bastardised form, with one entire era of their history excised, is even stranger. Contractual disputes and tangled histories have long been hallmarks of rock and roll, but the fact that this background has been allowed to intrude on the substance of the game – cutting out all the tracks that featured the group’s second lead vocalist Sammy Hagar, which means no Why Can’t This Be Love(!) – itself reflects on the lack of effort expended on the project overall. The desire to make a Van Halen branded Guitar Hero game, whatever its quality, seems to have been a bigger consideration than making a Guitar Hero game that, at the very least, Van Halen fans would reasonably enjoy.

The difference is striking when compared to the two most recent band-focused music games, the aforementioned Guitar Hero: Metallica and The Beatles: Rock Band. In all fairness Van Halen is also subject to two of the biggest criticisms that were leveled at those games – as mentioned this is far from an exhaustive trawl through the band’s back catalogue, something which Harmonix’s McCartney/Starr-approved classic was also guilty of (although it was very well balanced), while the blandly functional presentation of GH: Metallica is replicated here. However in the areas where those games did excel – Rock Band’s achievement in singularly reflecting the essence and story of the band, Metallica’s generous bonus material and wide spectrum of music, Guitar Hero: Van Halen comes up short.

The game’s career mode presents batches of songs split into various regions, with pure-Van Halen sets alternating with those of their chosen “guest artists”. Although there is this semblance of structure, any sense of narrative or momentum is lost – the Van Halen tracks are grouped together with no care for chronology, whilst the only way to play a bunch of tracks consecutively – outside of the scene-setting introduction – is to program them yourself in Quickplay. It’s all rather joyless.

The 25 Van Halen tracks are supported by a further 19 additional songs by these guest artists, made up of groups that were mostly picked by the band’s current 18 year-old bassist, the improbably named Wolfgang Van Halen. These range from the genius (Blink-182’s First Date) to the teeth-gratingly bad (Tenacious D in general) to the inevitable track you don’t realise you know until it starts (Third Eye Blind’s Semi-Charmed Life). It’s unlikely that anyone would buy the game for these tracks, especially as their crossover potential with any existing Guitar Hero games you may already own is rendered useless by the fact that you can’t import anything across. As a self-contained music game then, Guitar Hero: Van Halen really isn’t substantial or appealing enough to warrant extended play.

Guitar Hero itself is still a fiendishly playable game, and the note charts here are of a high standard (this is one area in which the franchise has been steadily improving following Harmonix’s departure). But the central problem with Activision’s latest isn’t so much that music games are past the point of saturation, that familiarity has bred boredom (though there is that as well); it’s that Guitar Hero: Van Halen would fare better were it a budget release, or a modest little DLC pack with character models. As it is we’re left repeating the same old tired journalistic clichés, like one of those Eddie solos that go on and on and on…

Much has been written about Heavy Rain and that it will fuel debate for many years to come seems to be inevitable. Ever since the game was first revealed with a video audition of a virtual actor at E3 2006, it was apparent that Quantic Dream had ambitions far beyond the usual action/adventure fare; now the completed title is with us, we finally have the opportunity to see if this ambition has borne fruit and if the answers to the game’s main question – “How far are you willing to go to save someone you love?” – are both forthcoming and satisfyingly dramatic. The significance of this quote is two-fold; it drives the game’s narrative but it can also be seen as something of a challenge to you, the gamer – how willing are you to accept new ideas and new mechanics; how much control are you willing to give up and how much control did you actually have in the first place? So many questions…so little time…. Let’s move on shall we?!

Heavy Rain’s plot, characters and settings are so central to the experience that to discuss them in any detail would in all likelihood diminish your experience when you finally get your hands on it; so read on safely in the knowledge that there will be nothing here to ruin your enjoyment of the game. Most simply described as an interactive psychological thriller, Heavy Rain follows the lives of four characters as they all attempt to unravel the truth about the mysterious ‘Origami Killer’. Set in an unnamed American city drowning in torrential, oppressive rain and heaving with terror at the killer in its midst, the world of Heavy Rain is far from a happy place – Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in the Mushroom Kingdom any more…

The most obviously striking thing about Heavy Rain is its visuals; this is without doubt one of the best looking games ever made and for the most part borders on photorealism. The sheer level of detail lavished on every scene and character is often staggering and the game admirably fulfils its assumed role as a showcase for what the PlayStation 3 (and console gaming as a whole) is capable of. Any game that pitches itself as an interactive drama would quickly unravel with robotic or lifeless performances from its ‘actors’ but here the cast is wonderfully believable, allowing you to focus on the drama unfolding on screen. There are some dud bits of dialogue here and there and the pace does stall from time to time…but are we now well on our way out of the ‘Uncanny Valley’? With Heavy Rain and Mass Effect 2 as evidence, the answer seems to be a resounding ‘yes we are!’.

Once you’ve stopped gawping at how lovely (in all it’s rainy, overcast misery!) everything looks, you can shift your focus to the gameplay, and it’s here that Heavy Rain will be considered most controversial. Thirty years of gaming history have taught us that (as a general rule of thumb) you control your character with the d-pad/analogue stick, and pressing buttons performs actions. Any game that strays from this format is probably called Dragon’s Lair or Space Ace (famous, and much derided Laserdisc based interactive animations) and has gameplay about as deep as one of the many puddles featured in Heavy Rain.

The control scheme in Heavy Rain is far more fluid, shifting from scene to scene and from moment to moment. In fact there are frequent occasions when it would probably be wrong to call them ‘controls’ at all. The reason for this is that Heavy Rain is as much about decision making as it is about manipulating your character, from simple choices such as: do you want to go left or right?, to more demanding decisions such as: should you intimidate a suspect or attempt to appeal to their good nature? Should you pull the trigger? Flee a crime scene? Tend to a wound? Do you want to live or die? Decisions, decisions, decisions…

There are many scenes in which you assume direct control to explore the environment, approach characters or search for clues; there are an equal number that play out as interactive cutscenes that demand that you press specific buttons, perform SIXAXIS waggles/shakes/swings and/or analogue stick gymnastics. Failure to hit cues results in the onscreen outcome changing course – miss a button press, for example, and an aggressor’s punch reaches its target; a successfully timed tap sees your character nimbly dodging out the way.

‘That sounds a lot like Dragon’s Lair?!’ we hear you say? And, you’re not entirely wrong; in parts Heavy Rain shares a lot in common with the Don Bluth classic/industry joke. Dragon’s Lair was launched 27 years ago however, and much has changed in this time; Heavy Rain offers a far more complex, nuanced and satisfying experience that, while on paper may sound slightly passive, in reality feels utterly engaging and you rarely feel detached from the onscreen action. This is in part due to the fact that inputs are far more densely packed, keeping you on your toes and (in all likelihood) on the edge of your seat.

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Darwinia was never a standard PC game, never using a standard mouse and keyboard configuration, and Introversion’s minimal design ethic means everything can be neatly translated over to the Xbox 360 controller without any problems. Much the opposite, actually: in many respects the controls have actually been improved over the PC version.

You battle the virus by using the in-game Task Manager to summon up a bevy of essential applications. Your Squad program makes up the bulk of the game, and when these are selected the game takes on elements of a twin-stick shooter, the little grunts plinking away at everything until you let go of the right stick. The virus makes a formidable enemy, starting out as little more than intertwined bundles that imitate snakes but progressing into swathes of centipedes, ants and spiders. Like an actual virus, leave it unchecked for too long and it’ll overrun everything.

The concession Introversion make for adding a more direct control system for the Squads (in the PC version they were controlled by points and clicks) is a loss of firing accuracy. Their shots now travel in a looser spread, which is generally fine for attacking big packs of nasties but can prove a little irksome when trying to pick off single units. It doesn’t prove too much of a problem, but if you’ve played the PC version you’ll definitely notice the change.

The other primary unit under your control is the Engineer, a towering floating structure that looks like it has been ripped straight out of Tron. These are directed with a cursor, and float about an area hoovering up the souls of the dead programs and ferrying them back to incubators to be revived. They also collect vital research cores, which give your units new abilities, and reprogram control towers. Which you’ll definitely want to do.

The whole point, of course, is to keep the hordes of Darwinians alive. They can’t be controlled directly, although you can turn the odd one into immovable ‘Officers’ who can herd others in a specific direction. The Darwinians are the vital link between your units, who exist to protect them, and the virus that would love nothing more than to gobble them up. They’re also quite cute.

Introversion’s XBLA offering manages to one-up its PC counterpart at the beginning of the game with the addition of an accessible tutorial. The original approach was very much an on-the-job training session, which could sometimes prove a little bit confusing for people who do their best to avoid screens of text at all times.

Darwinia’s curious world is only half of the package, though. The game’s other chunk comes in the form of Multiwinia, a previously-standalone multiplayer experience that pits players together in tightly-packed, lightning-paced skirmishes. There are no Squads or Engineers here, mind, with you controlling big clusters of Darwinians themselves. They’ve ended up in a violent civil war years after the events of the single-player game, which is a perfect excuse for you to send dense hordes of them head-first into anything else on the map that’s a different colour. It’s very, very fast and chucks you straight into combat from the start, which makes it quite nicely suited to the XBLA format. But there is something disappointing about it that’s got nothing to do with the game itself: you can’t find a game of it for love nor money. Multiwinia certainly isn’t a game for everyone, but it’s a shame to see it so unpopulated.

Owners of the PC version won’t find anything in the XBLA port to convince them to part with their money a second time unless they’re desperately looking to experience the game from the comfort of a sofa. The team at Introversion have added nothing new to their games, but Darwinia+ is a well-handled port, with a competent re-imagining of the control scheme, of a game that’s comfortably stood the test of time. There’s nothing else out there quite like it, and Darwinia+ will absolutely delight anyone who fondly remembers the arcade games of the seventies and eighties.

Set ten years after the events of the first game, the story has you take control of Subject Delta, the prototype Big Daddy long since decommissioned. Armed – quite literally – with a drill or gun attachment in one hand and a plasmid in the other, your task is to smash, grab, scavenge and upgrade your way to victory in an increasingly fierce environment. Much has occurred since the last trip, with Ryan’s political adversary Sofia Lamb rallying her forces to hamper your efforts in reaching the Little Sister who was stripped from you. The quest is much more personal this time, providing more insight into this bizarre father-daughter relationship as well as Rapture’s depraved dealings; rather than playing as an outsider looking in, the story is an internal one and proves all the more engaging for it. The game does an admirable job of moving the tale along at a decent pace and the crescendo of a final act proves far more exciting than the slog that plagued the original. Certain plotlines are still only developed via audio diaries, though these may actually hold your attention this time due to more interesting dialogue.

Despite playing as one of Rapture’s most powerful residents you’re far from invincible, so staying alert and thinking ahead is demanded if you wish to survive for long. Little Sisters can again be left helpless by defeating their Big Daddies but rather than leading to a basic ‘save or harvest’ option another level of complexity has been added. Choose to adopt and you will be presented with the chance to gather ADAM from the lifeless bodies scattered about the environment. Doing so will cause splicers to charge from every angle to interrupt the process, so laying down proximity mines, turrets and traps can tip the scales in your favour if you’ve been thoughtful in your preparation. After a few harvests the process will begin to grind however, so the option to escort the Sisters straight to a vent rather than suffer the onslaught every time comes much appreciated.

The most publicised additions to the sequel are the Big Sisters. Swift and deadly, these plasmid-wielding foes prove a real challenge even for those adept at taking down a Big Daddy with ease. The game even forewarns you when one is approaching, though all encounters are scripted which makes them predictable rather than unexpected, or hanging over you as an ever-present threat. With a loud screech to announce her arrival, you have just one minute to prepare by laying traps, stocking up on ammo and making note of any security turrets or oil spills in the area. The following battles are intense, thrilling and dramatic, particularly on higher difficulties where there’s no guarantee that Delta will come out with the better hand.

Those who found the first game too easy will welcome the tougher challenge, despite the irony of playing as a more imposing character wielding a deadlier array of weapons. Where once atmosphere and a sense of foreboding were the order of the day, BioShock 2 spends much of its time inundating you with well-armed groups of splicers, now rallied by the machinations of the thoroughly insane Sofia Lamb. No longer the stragglers of ten years prior, Rapture’s residents are more aggressive than ever and the story accommodates this change sufficiently. The game has very little downtime and the change in pace makes it feel much more akin to a full-on first-person shooter than its predecessor. The new weapons are themselves more entertaining with a variety of ammo for each; it’s up to you to decide which strategy is best employed for each enemy type. Scavenging money and ammo from the dead has greater importance than before due to the regular depleting of ammo reserves. Additions such as the Rocket Spear, which will propel an enemy forward in a flaming frenzy will likely become a fan favourite and new abilities such as stacking the Cyclone plasmid with flame or electrical effects reveal significant depth to the combat.

As much of the game is about resource management, it won’t be long before Delta is equipped with gadgets to make the job easier. The research camera returns in the form of a film reel that can help to decipher an enemy’s weakness, in turn making you more proficient at taking them down. Far from yanking you out of the experience as the photo camera did before it, researching now proves more accessible without tearing the sense of immersion. The hack tool has also had a makeover, this time featuring a permanent item in your inventory. You’ll still have to gather tools such as Auto-hack but this time it can all be done from a distance and is therefore of greater use whenever a security camera or missile turret stands in your way. In a clever move, 2K has opted to ditch the terrible pipe connection mini-game, which always seemed like far too much work to be bothered with. It’s now a simple test of reflexes involving a sliding dial and the coloured areas in which it needs to be stopped.

Not everything has aged so well though, the biggest issue being a lack of polish overall. While the features of any given splicer are easier to make out and the weapon models outstanding, graphics on the whole have taken a significant nosedive. This latest take on Rapture is rife with muddy textures, pixelated water – particularly on the Playstation 3 – and even though the world is well designed with artistic flair, the fact is it looked decidedly more current-gen two years ago, and will be initially jarring to anyone who has spent time with the likes of Uncharted 2 and Bayonetta. Even so, BioShock 2 runs smoothly with virtually no pop-in, something fans of the original may remember was an issue. Barnacled and run down, the once magnificent Rapture lies in ruins on the ocean floor and, in this regard at least, the developers have succeeded in presenting the world in its dilapidated state.

A controversial addition to the game is the new online component taking place before the city’s fall. Developed by Digital Extremes, the multiplayer offers a number of modes, all of which will seem familiar despite the half-baked attempt at feigning innovation. Civil War is standard team deathmatch, Capture the Sister sets one team as defenders and the other as attackers while ADAM Grab plays as a free-for-all with victory awarded to the first player to keep a Little Sister for three minutes straight. There are a few other match types but they all come across as derivative and unimaginative – instead serving as the obligatory attempt at cashing in on net play’s growing popularity. Although plasmids do feature it’s simply not enough; BioShock 2’s multiplayer feels just as shoehorned in as fans will have feared due to a lack of creativity and a budget feel, especially when compared to any one of last year’s big releases.

BioShock 2 is an enjoyable experience in its own right regardless of the few niggles which hold it back from being a true masterpiece. The game is unmistakeably more focused on combat than its predecessor, whose shadow it fails to step away from due to lack of atmosphere courtesy of a removed sense of isolation. Thankfully, the weapons have never been more thrilling to wield, the powers never more necessary and the enemies never more challenging. Taking arms against a Big Sister complete with telekinesis and fire abilities has to be seen to be believed and even though the graphics as a whole have taken a hit, the game redeems itself with an affecting storyline that triumphantly overcomes the disconnect between player and protagonist. True enough, the multiplayer suffers from the ‘me too’ syndrome but it’s unlikely that people will be picking this up for its online capabilities. BioShock 2 expands the world, evolves the series and proves itself an excellent purchase for anyone looking to journey to a world beneath the waves.

Establishing a new franchise is never easy, and we think this is probably a pretty good move by THQ – since launch, Darksiders has faced stern competition from the likes of Bayonetta and Dante’s Inferno and with big hitters such as God of War III around the corner, this is great method of getting the title into gamers’ living rooms. In an increasingly competitive market place, we’d bank on extended demos becoming a much more common occurrence. Is this is good thing? Let us know!

To read what we thought of Darksiders, check out our full review.

EA’s appropriation of the 14-century poem may have initially raised a few eyebrows when first announced but with the benefit of hindsight and many hours spent slashing at flaming babies it makes perfect sense: er…of course Visceral aren’t brazenly resting on the laurels of God Of War! They’re merely following in the footsteps of Sony’s behemoth by also basing their epic adventure on ancient mythology! David Jaffe had the Greek Legends, so Visceral have the Divine Comedy. It’s a dishonest justification – as much as I wanted to try and avoid bringing up Kratos and co it’s difficult to ignore the comparison when both the base material and game mechanics of Dante’s Inferno are so similar, stubbornly rooted as it is in the world of ancient bloodletting, gothic fantasy and, as another reviewer so memorably put it, a place where “tits abound”.

Dante’s Inferno sticks surprisingly close to the overall structure of the poem – not that I would know, but thanks Wikipedia – and wraps up the incessant hacking as a descent into the unpleasant depths of Hell. In the poem Hell is depicted as being composed of nine circles of suffering – Limbo, Lust and so on until the final circle, Treason. It’s probably the only symbolism inherent in Dante’s work that translates well to the game, offering as it does a neat device for nine clearly demarcated worlds, each with their own architecture and enemies (the sickly human folds of Gluttony are a particular standout). It would of course be a gross misunderstanding to accuse Visceral of failing to respect the subtext of the work – anyone looking for any great depth or understanding of the human condition in a game where you have to fight a boss who produces babies with knives from the nipple of her screen-filling breast will likely come away disappointed.

It’s also unlikely that you’ll be thinking of 14th century literature while actually playing Dante’s Inferno. In small doses, or when looking at each individual circle in isolation, it’s an immensely gratifying, undeniably exciting game: demon hordes are dispatched in brutal fashion, it moves at a tremendously fast pace, and only a few puzzles have the audacity to appear and break up the momentum – when these pauses in the action do occur they’re little more than of the cursory block-pushing/switch-pulling variety. But ultimately, though there’s little wrong with Visceral’s technical work here, not enough thought appears to have gone into how the player might feel after six or seven hours of the same repetitive gameplay and set-pieces.

Last month’s Darksiders, which also shared a similar (over)affection for God Of War, suffered from the same problem of initial enjoyment sliding into thumping familiarity (its last third especially was particularly grinding), but at least its developers had the good sense to throw in a few testing puzzles and a combat system that at least afforded the player some choice. By comparison Dante’s Inferno sees the player use only their scythe throughout the game, with variety coming in the shape of extra combos and magic attacks as opposed to different weapons, which would at least have had more of a tangible effect on gameplay and the approach to combat. There is a side-arm, Beatrice’s Holy Cross, which allows you to fire projectiles, but Dante’s Inferno is mostly a case of hammering X, with the odd dodge, block or magic attack thrown in for good measure. Yes they are the building blocks of nearly every third-person action game, but it’s amazing how reductive Visceral have made this system feel.

The system of acquiring extra skills is at least handled with a degree of ingenuity. Dante is able to grab most enemies and then, as a finishing move, decide whether to punish or absolve them for their sins – the latter grants Dante unholy souls (note to heathens: this is what will happen to you without salvation), while the latter is considered a holy act and awards Dante the equivalent holy souls. Both unholy and holy have their own individual experience levels and subsequent sets of upgrades, so the more souls you accumulate for each particular side, the more options open up. It’s a clever system in principle, sharing much in common with similar models used in the likes of BioShock and Fallout 3, but leaning towards being either merciful or mean doesn’t seem to particularly affect Dante in any discernible way. Not only this but we found that the upgrades available on both the holy and unholy sides were largely similar, leaving no real motivation to opt for one decision or another.

Dante’s original text is only shoehorned in as a loading screen when you die. Otherwise the narrative is told through a mixture of excellent 2D animation for the flashbacks and, for the current events, boring CG cut-scenes. If Inferno is an allegory of the soul’s journey towards God – again, thanks Wikipedia – then Visceral’s take on the epic poem is, more simply, about a guy trying to get his girl back. As in most videogame stories reaching a conclusion to this tale isn’t the overriding motivation to play. Instead it’s the impressively successful feeling of burrowing ever deeper into these nightmarish depths.

So while it’s hard to fault the efficiency of Visceral’s final product – all carping aside, the controversial license has at least been handled with a certain care given that this is a videogame and not an academic study – Dante’s Inferno is too familiar, too regressive and too content to do the necessary minimum to recommend wholeheartedly. I’ll leave it to Ralph Pite, an expert in Dante studies, for the brilliantly succinct – and accurate – final word: “The lower he descends, the more haunting and powerful the graphics become, but it’s a much duller story than the book. Kill one monster, kill another.” Next week on D+PAD: Criterion and their conversion of Hamlet.