Being an avid gamer all of my life I had decided several years ago to apply to a popular Nintendo based press website, Cubed3.com. After being successful in my application I had worked for several years providing news, reviews and articles throughout the website. At the start of 2007 I had decided that my interest with Nintendo was failing and I had decided to apply for 360Monster, a website dedicated to Xbox 360 news and content coverage.

It’s been many years since the last true claymation adventure, but at long last The Dream Machine looks set to create a name for itself on the very short list of hand-crafted stop-motion titles. This five-part episodic series includes the debut chapter for free with four commercial instalments to follow, the first of which has been released already. These two episodes combine to introduce a series filled with mystery and charm, elevated to lofty heights by its whimsical clay and cardboard design, surreal storyline, and heartfelt attention to detail.

As soon as the game begins, you’ll instantly notice the unique art style, which is a surprisingly realistic-looking world made out of figurines. The entire game is made out of a combination of cardboard and clay, and you can clearly make out the knife strokes and the cardboard backgrounds supporting the clay. This isn’t a flaw, as it adds even more character to the game and highlights the designers’ intricate attention to detail: withered hardwood floorboards are pushing up, walls are stained, and bathroom tiles are cracked and worn. While only displayed in a moderate-sized box in the center of the screen, each scene looks fantastic, and the fluid character animations resemble what you would expect from traditional game models, instead of the clunky movement often found with clay figures.

By the time this unique visual presentation sinks in, you’ll have also noticed the mild background soundtrack that blends into the atmosphere perfectly, with subtle eerie loops that effectively immerse you without ever distracting you from the action. The opening and closing tune in particular has stuck with me, as this simple, elegant piece is both whimsical and woeful at the same time. The score is remarkably diverse as you move from one main location to another, at times giving way to just silence and ambience noise. Fortunately, there is also good use of sound effects throughout, from the lapping waves of water in an opening island beach sequence to the dial tones of your newly-installed telephone. The only complaint about audio is the lack of any voice work, as all of the dialogue is text-only. This isn’t the largest drawback, and it’s an understandable decision for a small indie developer, but there’s a fair number of conversations in the game, so it’s a missed opportunity to personalise the characters further.

The story follows a young married couple, Victor and Alicia, who are expecting their first child and have just moved into a new apartment. After their first night in the new place, Alicia details a rather horrific dream which involved the building’s caretaker. There are more immediate things to worry about, however, like acquiring a new key and getting your furniture delivered, which are easier said than done. Playing as Victor, these tasks lead you to investigate some odd neighbours and strange discoveries about the apartment, which begin to build an eerie atmosphere that grows more uncomfortable as you go along. The free first chapter ends just as the story begins to gain momentum, focusing much of its time on establishing the game’s characters and mechanics, preparing and enticing you for what’s to come.

The second chapter starts off directly where the first finished, as you continue to delve deeper into the disturbing events you’ve uncovered to that point. What seems to have a very rational explanation, however, soon reveals itself to be far stranger than ever imaginable. It turns out the apartment has an Inception-like machine within its walls, in which one person is able to step into the dream space of another. With this technology, you’ll need to journey through the dreams of other inhabitants and sever their connection with the machine. The dream world is a kind of collective subconscious, with each individual occupying their own ever-changing portion. We’re only treated to one character’s dream space so far, a place where the abstract and odd are commonplace. Walking amongst clouds... talking to stone statues... navigating portal systems – all completely normal when you’re in a dream.

Unlike most games, The Dream Machine is played entirely in your browser, with no permanent download or installation required. Certain content like music and room layouts are streamed in the background to avoid any need for long load times. Even saved games are stored online, allowing you to pick up where you left off regardless of what machine you are using. This does require you to be constantly online in order to play the game, of course. You’ll also need to be registered at the developer's website to save games from episode two on, though the first chapter can be played without signing up for an account.

Progression through each episode plays out like your typical point-and-click adventure, blending exploration, character conversations, inventory management, and various different types of puzzles. Interactive items highlight when you mouse over them, but some are purely optional, yielding only a brief comment from Victor. Dialogues with such people as a lazy furniture mover and a real estate agent have various branches, allowing you to personalise your approach to different situations, like responding jokingly or aggressively. This option is a welcome one, though your choices don’t seem to have any real impact on the overall direction of the storyline, and you can simply reinitiate some conversations to try a different approach. Talking with your wife in particular is a highlight, as your discussions are often filled with humourous banter, whilst still containing the occasional supportive and loving lines to give a proper sense of the bond between the two.

Most of the challenges are small combination tasks solved through inventory management, such as lubricating stiff elevator doors or creating a makeshift statue-sized eardrum. This process is as simple as dragging items from your inventory located at the top left of the screen to the object or person you want to interact with, or with other items still in inventory. There are a handful of other puzzles in the game as well, ranging from a simple jigsaw to moderately complex logic puzzles, like a circuit board that needs its electrical current rewired and a rather obscure riddle to deduce. A few puzzles are cryptically clued, requiring you to apply hints found elsewhere to solve them. One particular puzzle, a safe code, had me stumped trying to decipher a vague clue in different ways until I realised the answer was literally staring me in the face all along.

In general, the puzzles shouldn’t be too much for the average adventure player to get through, since you’re typically confined to only a small selection of items and scenes at any given time. Depending on how successful you are at these puzzles, the first and second chapters each hold between one to two hours worth of gameplay. That may not sound like a lot, but the time spent playing is well worth it, and will undoubtedly leave you wanting more. Each chapter ends with a cliffhanger that leaves you anxiously awaiting a new instalment to find out what happens next. It’ll be a while before we discover that, though, as the next episode is still several months away at least.

The Dream Machine already displays the potential for something great. The unique clay-based design pulls you in with its distinctive charm, introducing a handful of bizarre characters and setting you on a journey beyond the mundane and into the surreal world of dreams. A true “episodic” adventure, the chapters may be short but the content offers no shortage of entertainment. The creation of essentially a two-man Swedish team at Cockroach, Inc., the first two episodes are available now from the official website. A single-episode purchase option will be added soon, though for now the only way to buy episode two is by ordering the full season. Chances are you’ll want to anyway, as you can see for yourself in the free first chapter. Giving it a whirl is as simple as a button press, so why hesitate when you can be playing already?

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde remains one of the most influential stories that exist today, with countless adaptations spread across film, stage, radio, and other printed works. Somewhere in between all these retellings of the 1886 classic novella are several video games, the latest of which is Pixelcage’s Jekyll & Hyde. This is NOT to be confused with the 2001 action-adventure game with the very same title, as this is a completely new take on the familiar story. Unfortunately, whilst this latest iteration offers some engaging exploration and enough puzzles to please the average adventurer, some awkward controls and troublesome platforming elements will likely have players throwing themselves over the edge at times.

This particular adaptation is only loosely based on the original tale, as the focus of the game is on Jekyll and Hyde cooperatively chasing down the truth behind an ancient cult. Morphing between Jekyll and his brutish alter ego is done freely with the aid of a potion which players help create early on – albeit by mistake, as Jekyll is attempting to find a cure for a plague that has swept the streets of London. Instead of finding a remedy, Jekyll creates a potion that unleashes the beast within, and in doing so uncovers a series of caves beneath his estate. As you progress through these underground caverns, you will discover vast chambers and evidence of human civilization hidden here. From then on, you’ll slowly begin to unravel a deadly scheme that forces you to help those you hope to stop, solving intricate puzzles in pursuit of an item of immense power. London and all of its citizens are in grave danger, and only your two identities can defend them.

Exploring is certainly one of the main highlights of this game, as the vast, sprawling caverns below your mansion are filled with exotic Greek monuments and deadly traps. To navigate them, the game uses a free-roaming, third-person control system. The developers have made the effort to suit any preference by letting you use the keyboard, gamepad, or click-and-dragging with just the mouse to control the main character. What sets the game apart from traditional adventures is the ability to jump, crawl, and climb, adding some light platforming to the action. You will need to leap over countless chasms and run over tiles that spew columns of fire or are charged with electricity, requiring you to time your advances correctly. In order to spice things up further, the obstacles often need more precision or agility than Jekyll can provide, and this is when you need to make use of Hyde. Hyde’s tricks include being able to leap long distances, slow down time, walk through fire and use brute strength, skills you’ll gradually obtain as you progress. Calling on Hyde at will feels a bit thematically strange at first, but it aids the gameplay quite well.

Unfortunately, the action elements can become frustrating due to some lousy implementation. Jumping over a gap, even a small one that Jekyll can manage, can be a chore because of the awkward controls and horrible collision detection no matter which scheme you use. More times than I can care to remember, I walked to a ledge only to fall to my death before being able to initiate the jump, or hit an invisible wall on the other side as the game decided I didn’t make it when all appearances indicated otherwise. It's a shame the mechanics aren't more responsive, as the obstacles themselves don’t require much action gaming skill to pass.

The frustration of death is somewhat offset by the liberal number of checkpoints that save your progress. Upon dying, you automatically respawn at the closest checkpoint, which is never more than a few minutes away. Your health is indicated onscreen and decreases when you take damage, but since most of the danger comes from large falls or traps, more often than not you’ll be killed outright. At the end of several chapters, you will need to defeat a ‘boss’, but these encounters are designed with puzzle-solving in mind instead of action. These enemies are welcome additions, further supporting the sense of danger and risk felt exploring the caverns.

Platforming pitfalls aside, the adventuring aspect of the game delivers quite well with puzzles that are generally intuitive. There are clear ties to Greek mythology in both the environmental design and the puzzles you encounter, so you’ll need to solve sliding tile puzzles adorned with a depiction of Pegasus, determine the correct order of sequences by looking at star signs, and even dismantle huge statues of the gods. These puzzles are quite frequent as you move from place to place, and they fit nicely in their respective locations. In between the larger puzzles, you will need to manage an inventory of items in order to solve simple challenges such as creating light, opening a locked door or creating a mould. By collecting recipes and ingredients, you can also create new potions using a portable laboratory, following vague instructions with trial-and-error to gauge the correct amount of each ingredient. When you hit the right amounts and create a new potion, your existing Hyde potion will be upgraded. This potion sits in a rather intrusive quickslot ring that’s constantly displayed onscreen. As Jekyll, this is where your inventory is stored, but when playing as Hyde, these quickslot buttons act as your abilities, allowing you to quickly toggle them on or off.

With the generally intuitive puzzles and an option to highlight all hotspots, there is no reason you should ever become stuck and need to consult a walkthrough. That is, unless you hit a brick wall as I did, in the form of a bug that simply disabled the interactive option on a particular object. Restarting the section resolved the issue, but this is just one technical problem of many you may encounter on your adventure, from falling out of mine carts whilst riding mid-track (the camera decided to carry on without me there) to simple errors like walking on air.

This lack of polish also shows in the lacklustre animation that adds to the clunky feel, as it’s choppy, unnatural, and often delayed. Right from the first moment, Jekyll begins waving his hands around repeatedly, but instead of looking like a conversational gesture, it’s rather silly and completely out of sync with the dialogue. This is a common trait of all characters in the game, and a complete lack of lip syncing – or lip movement of any kind – even intrudes on the game’s impressive voice work. Supporting characters include Ann Cunningham, the love interest of Dr Jekyll, Coltrane the ever-faithful butler, plus Rufus de Lombard, the man who is arranged to marry Ann, and his father. Jekyll is a likable protagonist, mild-mannered and well-meaning, while Hyde obviously isn’t as noble, mocking Jekyll in his brief dialogue by calling him weak and trying to belittle his actions.

The cinematics are done using hand drawn cut-outs sliding across the screen, looking somewhat like an animated diorama. This style fits the game quite well, given the period in which the story is set. As for the in-game environments, Jekyll & Hyde uses more of a realistic style. Although the scenery isn’t overly detailed, this comes off reasonably well since the majority of locations are underground, with grand eerie halls and corridors littered with skeletons, corpses, statues and even strange mechanical creations. One graphical aspect that excels above the rest is the particle effects. Each time you discover a waterfall or use fire in heavy shadows, these scenes are portrayed nicely. Jekyll often needs a torch to explore, the light beaming around him as he plunges further into the lurking darkness. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the character models, which are rather primitive and lack proper expression. Usually the only one present is the prim Dr Jekyll in his tailor-made suit, and while I’d love to say that Hyde fares better as the fearsome inner beast he is, he more resembles a particularly large man in need of a haircut and a back wax.

In terms of audio, the game is rather forgettable outside of the voice acting. There are never periods in which you recognize the music adding to the ambience, immersing you further. On the other hand, it isn’t a distraction either, pleasantly content to fill the silence without much atmospheric impact. The sound effects occasionally falter, however, as there are times you’d expect a noise to trigger but nothing is heard. One particular cutscene has you striking another character yet making no sound at all.

Ultimately, Jekyll & Hyde is a bit like its dual protagonists: a very mixed bag. It’s more adventurous than most traditional point-and-click fare, and it’s got some promising features, such as using Jekyll’s alter ego to pass certain obstacles. But the presentation looks dated, and the poor control issues make the game feel unstable, too often replacing immersion and enjoyment with frustration. Anyone able to overlook its flaws will find an adventure of good length (around 15 hours) that offers a variety of puzzles and some platforming that’s light enough not to alienate those that aren’t too familiar with action games. It’s just a shame that the formula doesn’t quite work, as you’ll never be able to escape the darker, untamed side of this wildly uneven adventure.

Wario is back in another mini-game based adventure, this time taking place on the Wii, showing the possibilities that the Wiimote can offer. The concept of the game is extremely easy to understand. You hold a Wiimote in your hand, you have but a few seconds to complete the shown task (with little description) and you are going to spend the next few hours making a complete idiot out of yourself.

Such a simple concept can put off many, but what the game lacks in depth, it provides in spades of fantastic hilarious gameplay. Wario Ware: Smooth Moves is split into many different stages that present their own individual style, in the form of cut -scenes and varied user-interfaces. However the actual gameplay of the stages are the same throughout the game, often repeating many of the mini games (but often on a different speed). As you progress you will unlock different “forms of the baton”, in which you will hold the Wiimote differently for the intended mini-game. For example you will soon be holding the Wiimote in front of your face like a nose, then perhaps on top of the head and lastly in both hands like a tug-of-war. After the initial explanation of the new forms, you will be given nothing more than a quick snapshot and a few seconds to prepare. Thanks to this fast changing, little warning style of gameplay, the simple mundane tasks quickly become intense, making the player panic whilst the crowd watching will roar in laughter.

The stages are split into levels, usually to around level 15, at which time you will be faced by a boss stage that is usually longer and far harder than the usual stages. As you progress up the levels the speed will increase gradually until you are given but seconds to complete the mini-games. With the lights flashing faster, the music increasing in speed and the instructions of nothing but a flash of the form, the gameplay is extremely frantic. Having only four lives per stage adds to the tension, as losing all four will take you straight back to the first level and most likely handing the baton to a friend.

Whilst unlocking more stages and baton forms, you will unlock individual mini-games that can be played simply for achieving a high-score. This can range from Duck Hunt style shooting to table tennis balancing. Whilst the games add little depth, extra content is always welcome. Unfortunately the bulk of the game can be completed in a single sitting, with the credits rolling suddenly after only a few hours of gameplay. After the credits, a few more stages are present, but offer no more than another hour of gameplay. Three stages however can offer great replay value, the first two being a random level choice stage that will continue till all lives are lost, both with easy and hard mode (hard being insanely fast paced, for even the most skilled to test their reactions). The other mode, and personal favourite, allows you to pick from every mini-game that you have already played, set the speed, and play through the three varying difficulties on offer. This is a thankful addition as everyone will have their favourite mini-game, or a mini-game that they wished they played when watching another.

Whilst the majority of the game uses a single Wiimote, the game is best played with friends, easily done by having to pass on the “baton” upon completion of the stage or death. Playing this way would be far more enjoyable than playing alone, which is understandable as Wario Ware is without a doubt a party game, intended for large crowds (although, two people would do). The game can be played solo, but dancing around alone can never be fun for long. There is a multiplayer feature (aside from playing the single player as a team) that is unlocked after some progression in single player. The multiplayer offers two variants of mini-games. The first being several stages of which you will need to complete a given random task (or picked by the other player in one case), handing over the Wiimote as each new stage. The other are mini-games that can be played with either taking turns, or cleverly having one person on the Wiimote, whilst the other uses the Nunchuck attachment. The multiplayer is a welcome addition that can provide additional length, allowing for up to 12 players to compete.

Graphically the game once again follow the simple concept and gameplay, they are simple. There will be 3D stages such as sharpening a pencil or picking a giant nose, there will be unique stages such as games based using actual in-game footage, such as a Zelda Wink Waker flying mini-game. The majority of the games however will be simple 2D, with crisp and clear graphics similar to what you would expect from a cartoon, a Japanese cartoon. The game certainly has flavourings from the land of the rising sun and can be extremely weird. If you can imagine putting in old women’s teeth, cleaning a cow’s behind and wafting away an unpleasant smell, then you can already picture the world of Wario Ware.

As for the sound of the game, there is very little to say. The background music that will play during the whole experience is easily forgotten, the voice-over is incredibly cringe-worthy and the sound effects are nothing than ordinary. It would have been nice to see more of an emphasis on sound, especially trying to improve the panic that the fast paced music already provides. The one positive mention for sound is the unique use for the Wiimote speaker. It is nice to see it put to good use in several of the mini-games; one in particular requiring you to place the Wiimote on a surface pretending it is a phone, not touching it till someone rings, which when picked up will have a phone conversation through the Wiimote speaker.

Overall this is a fantastic step for Wario providing one of the best experiences that can be had on the Wii, simply for the sheer hilarity of watching someone else play. Only some-what spoiled by the extremely short length of the title, and the fact that the game is nowhere near as fun when played alone. If you expect to have friends around often, then this should no doubt be a welcome addition to the collection.

Mercury Meltdown is already known as an enjoyable PSP title, what will happen when you throw the interactive Wii controls into the mix? Ignition have been working hard behind closed doors making sure that the controls are fluid, easy to use and most importantly enjoyable. Let’s take a look on how the puzzle platform performs!

Upon starting the game you will be given the option to take the tutorial. Thankfully you will quickly find that the controls are extremely straightforward. Holding the Wii remote like a normal game pad, buttons facing to the air, you simply tilt the pad to tilt the environment in the same fashion. This will roll the ball of mercury in the angled direction. The buttons and dpad are used to move the camera in a range of directions, allowing for the best view at all times. The tutorial will also introduce the basic tools that will be present throughout the levels, such as gates that require to be opened and portals that will paint your mercury a specific colour to enable specific coloured items, such as gates and exits.

You will quickly notice that the games concept is extremely simple. From the start you must travel to the goal without losing too much of your precious mercury or taking too much time, whilst always on the lookout for bonus items which reward with a bucket of points. Eventually you will notice that this simple task will be turned into an often frustrating (yet enjoyable) challenge as you are present with obstacles, puzzles, tools and traps that will make your journey troublesome.

Directly jumping into the game you will notice that the title features a range of unlockables, including a range of five party games. The game’s menu system is well designed with clear sub-sections and well laid out information. One example of this can be seen when searching through the available levels. Not only will you be presented with the level number, ratings from the level and high scores but you will have a small screenshot of the level which helps to determine which stages have been attempted. The main game area is split into eight completely different zones which feature a range of different tools, layouts and style. Each zone is packing a large range of levels, equalling over 150 levels to complete.

The levels themselves feature three main goals. The first requires maintaining as much mercury as possible till the end, the second being how many bonus items you picked up along the way and the third being just how fast you completed the level. These three items combined will give you an overall score, placing you against the pre-defined high scores for each level. With each of the three tasks completed, you will be presented with either a star, a number 1 or a lid – each indicating competition of a specific element.

In the bottom left of the screen you will notice two bars that will increase towards full with each level that is completed. These bars are indications of how long till the next zone or party game is unlocked. Thankfully they both work independent of the other and the system and are forgiving, allowing you to continue onto the next zone without completing the previous one fully.

When unlocked the five party games provide additional gameplay that unfortunately lack any multiplayer modes, which given the title of “party” is a major shame, one of which Ignition should not have made. The five games include Rodeo, a game in which you must stay on the board for as long as possible. Metrix, a puzzle based connection game. Shove, a game of time and precision. Race, where you must race mercury at great speeds and Paint, in which you must paint the environment more than your opponents.

The game has a huge amount of replay value given in each and every level, in the form of highscores and badge style icons for completing the three tasks of each level fully. Throw in the additional unlockable items, especially the five party games and you have a fantastic package and great value for money. Mercury Meltdown Revolution will no doubt last a long time.

Graphically the game features a cartoony celshaded style that suits the game exceptionally well. The mercury ball especially is fluid and realistic, especially when the ball splits into many, later (if careful and skilful) coming together to reform. The environments are vibrant featuring vast stages full of steaming mechanics and complex routes to bring the stage to life whilst also making the journey ever more challenging.

Any fan of the series from other instalments should rest assured; the controls are fluent and responsive, showing that a large amount of time and effort has been put into making the game play as intended. The developers have also kindly included the option to play with the Wii classic remote, giving the option to anyone that finds balancing the actual pad awkward. Overall Mercury Meltdown Revolution is a fantastic addition to any Wii collection, not only showing how effective the Wii-mote can be but also providing many extensive hours of enjoyment.

PS3 owners will no doubt have heard of Heavy Rain a lot over the past months, given that Sony are pushing the game as a console seller. After spending countless hours with the game and witnessing a handful of the many possible endings, I have absolutely no problem agreeing and expressing that if you don’t already own a PS3 or have Heavy Rain on pre-order; now would be the time to do so.

Heavy Rain is something new... something different. For a nice change the developers stand behind their product and instead of excusing their decisions defend them. They made the product how they wanted it to be made, it won’t appeal to everyone and will certainly find those that simply can’t understand it – but it is what it is, and that’s a masterpiece.

The genre classification of Heavy Rain is that of ‘Interactive drama’, which you will no doubt see listed as an ‘Adventure’ due to the rarity of such games. Anyone that has played Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy for some) will instantly know what to expect, for others think film, choices, multiple directions for the story to follow and a heap load of quick time events.

The gameplay is based heavily off quick time events, the process of pressing buttons, moving analogue sticks and even the pad at times when prompted. Missing these quick time events or simply performing the wrong action likely causes you to fail the event at hand which will change the scene and perhaps the entire story. This gameplay mechanic will instantly put off many, most simply because they aren’t holding a rifle and running mindlessly into something they can shoot. Those not wanting every game release to be that of a shooter's pace should rest assured that the gameplay can be just as intense, if not more so, than any game comparable.

This is often greatly aided by the fact that your character can die; die! Not the type of death that simply has you promoted with a game over screen in which you select the latest save and try again, but fully fledged death that will result in that character being written out of the story. In Heavy Rain there is only auto saving, so any decisions made for good as they would be in real life. Knowing this, and amazingly enough feeling it, I have experienced some of the most intense gaming moments of any game before it. Quick time events during a fast paced scene are fast requiring split second reactions to perform one of many possible combinations, or they can come slow at a torturing snail’s pace that has you hoping to have made the right choice and anticipating the results in delayed agony. These moments will have you sat on the end of the sofa, gripping the pad and pulling the strangest of faces in anticipation of what’s coming next.

Thankfully if you do fail to keep your characters life continuing, there are three others still available. This is thanks to the game having you lead four separate characters in an intertwining story, that if one was to become lost it will only impact your story (albeit heavily) and not your ability to finish the journey you are on.

Quick time events come in the form of quick button presses, holding down buttons, tapping of buttons, flicking the analogue stick in a certain direction, moving the analogue stick slowly in a given path, and slamming or shaking the entire PS3 pad making use of the sixaxis. Given the long list of possible quick time actions, you will fail to hit one in time or panic and hit a different button altogether, and when this happens, fully dependant on how often and at which precise moment, it could mean anything from a slip, a cut, a bullet wound, a broken bone or even your death. Anything outside of death will have an effect on your character, so keeping them at their best is in the better interest of finishing the story as you would want, and ultimately solving the crimes of The Origami Killer. In order to trigger these quick time events you will be mostly moving around environments yourself using a Resident Evil style of R2 to walk. Unfortunately also like Resident Evil the camera will often flip around to provide a cinematic viewpoint, which often results in walking in the wrong direction; no doubt the main criticism of the game.

The game's story is all about normal people who have landed in extraordinary situations, with scenes that flow from one to the other between characters and back again. The story is best summarised as an intense noir thriller that surrounds a serial killer, with each character developing a reason for wanting to track the killer down. It's impossible to express some of the fantastic scenes without providing countless spoilers, but just imagine a game in which you finish the story and are still hesitant to talk to others about what you and they experienced, as the differences could be huge. A game where emotion is actually taken into consideration, of the sense that will not have you angry at failing like most games, but sorrow, regret and even sadness. Games like Fable and Mass Effect, which promise choice and game change depending on your choices, are put to shame as Heavy Rain actually delivered on this pledge. Each time a large choice is given to you, you will likely struggle to hold to your initial decisions and afterwards wonder what would have happened ‘if only’.

Throughout my countless hours with the game (8-12 hours for a single playthrough) there were many times I was blown away with the fantastic graphical scenes, amazing facial and body animations and great voice acting. This often has the effect of making the game feel more like a film than anything else, or even more of a compliment to a modern day Shenmue. The game wasn’t without fault though as certain scenes (typically those in daylight) made apparent a few of the games graphical inadequacies and many of the game's characters voice acting was not nearly as high quality as the staring cast. These small issues aside though, the game is beautiful and the technical achievements in bringing characters to life is one of which I hope the game will be remembered for and replicated in future games for years to come. You get the sense that developers Quantic Dream have put their heart and soul into the game's creation, and it shows.

Heavy Rain is the Marmite of gaming, and one of which I hope gains enough respect for the developers to continue working their magic. I would typically recommend any fan of the adventure genre to make sure to pick up the game, but in all honesty I wish everyone to do so. For every person that hates this breath of fresh air for gaming, a dozen will love it. For me, Heavy Rain has been the highlight of the last ten years and a ground-breaking event in video games that I am glad to have experienced; a masterpiece of gaming.

MAG (Massive Action Game) as the name suggests is a first person shooter that has an emphasis on being massive; supporting up to 256 players on a single battlefield. This promising feature has certainly gained the game interest for PS3 owners and Sony has made especially sure to promote it as one of the console best exclusives. I don the helmet and jump on in with 128 fellow teammates to determine just how successful developers Zipper Interactive have been.

Your first choice in the game is that of your characters race, from a selection of three: Valor Company, Raven Industries and SVER. The three different factions are explained through a short video that demonstrate different views and backgrounds, there is little more to determine a choice than this so I selected the Raven Industries who have an emphasis on high-tech weapons and armour – certainly a recipe for success. You can make a second character from another faction, but this first requires hitting level 60 (which is no easy feat). A word to the wise, S.V.E.R. are said to have an advantage in balancing at the moment; but I expect this will be rectified by balancing patches (or at least one would hope).

Outside of your faction choice you can select from a handful of different faces, voices and armour. You can also upgrade or change your arsenal, but this comes from levelling and earning skill points. Unfortunately you start the game as a blank canvas, with only three weapons, no attachments and few additional items (such as a repair kit and grenades). This makes the initial investment into the game tiresome as enemies you encounter will typically be kitted up to the nines, able to scope you out from distance and pick you off with their advanced weaponry; and by initial investment I mean around five hours.

By the time you hit level 10 the game finally opens up and allows you to begin specialising in the games impressive skill tree system. Do you want to sit prone from a distance and snipe the enemies? The sniper talent tree is for you. This will give you bonuses to accuracy, additional scopes for your rifles and a few new rifles to choose from. For me, it was the medic talent tree as everyone’s best friend is always the soldier that picks you up off the floor when you thought the curtains had closed. In MAG a fallen enemy is not fully lost until they bleed out, which gives vital moments for a medic to run in and bring them back to their feet. That is unless they were blown to bits by a grenade or shot in the face, of course.

Whilst it would be nice to comment that the only downside of the system was the unfair advantage veteran players get along with the slow start new players have to endure, there is also the fact that resetting your talent points so you can spend anew requires you to earn the right to do so – by collecting a wealth of respect points that require hours and hours of gameplay. If that wasn’t enough of a frustration (I spent a point in the wrong tree, and want it back!) there is also the fact that points are few and far between, which results in few actual upgrades to your arsenal and far less than you would expect in your smaller online first person shooters (you know, the ones that come with an entire single player campaign). Upon hitting level 15 you are granted leadership powers that provide additional gameplay elements and add benefits for your squad, but this customisation and unique addition, whilst welcome, is little to create a sense of individualism on the battlefield.

Putting all the qualms with the levelling system aside, we jump on into the important stuff: the gameplay. Before you run on in and get yourself killed though, it’s wise to go through the games tutorial in order to get to grips with the games controls, weapons and vehicles. Unfortunately after this you can only play one gameplay mode, limiting the player count to 64 players until you level up (okay, that’s the last complaint). This mode is Suppression and pits you against your own faction in a friendly team deathmatch environment. Pick a spawn, pick your gear, and away you go hunting down your own men on a small battlefield.

You will find that your time is Suppression is brief as the initial levels will pass by quickly, where you will then be allowed to step into Sabotage and Acquisition. Sabotage is another 64 player mode which introduces an additional faction, in which one team is required to attack two outposts whilst the other defends. If the attackers are successful at obtaining the two outposts another will become available that they must plant a bomb at in order to win the match. Failing this the match will end after a twenty minute countdown and the defending team will win.

Acquisition steps the game up a little more by allowing 128 players on a map. Similar to Suppression one team attacks whilst the other defends, this time being prototype vehicles that the attacking team need to control and manually drive to an extraction point. The introduction of vehicles is a welcome one, especially being able to spawn from helicopters to jump into the middle of the battle instead of at the initial spawn point at the back of the map every time. Death and spawning is certainly an issue, as with the player count increasing you notice that death can appear more frequently from areas unchecked, and having to wait for the respawn timer to tick down followed by a long run can become a large burden for the twenty minute matches.

The final mode, Domination, will not become available until level eight and is the only mode that allows the full 256 player battles. Lasting thirty minutes, the mode’s aim is once again attacking and defending, this time with eight different command points that the attackers need to take, and then slowly damage. Damage is done during the duration that the attackers control the command points, and taking down two will unlock a further two as you progress through the map.

Matches are fast, gameplay is frantic and death can strike at any time from any corner. This only becomes more and more apparent as the modes unlock and the player count rises. With 256 players you will find with the core gameplay consists of 128 players rushing a point with a timer, whilst 128 sit and try to defend; this becomes quite hectic and the possibilities for tactical precision manoeuvring becomes less and less. It was a common occurrence to find everyone in the squad with far more deaths than kills, and the players over level 50 that have been playing for a long time doing just as poorly as the newcomers. This demonstrates my feelings well, as I found that the higher the player count went up the less enjoyment was being had. For the sake of the review I stomached the torture of surprise deaths (and believe it or not, I was one of the highest scoring on the server) and looked forward to being able to return to the 64 and 128 player battles, where the combat was large, fast, frantic... but manageable and sensible.

Obviously this perception would be completely different if working in a small squad, all communicating with headsets and taking out the majority of solo players. Unfortunately this is difficult to pull off given the PS3 doesn’t come with a headset combined with the length and distant spawns pulling you away whenever you manage to group up and appear organised. Medics do aid this somewhat, and being pulled back up in the middle of a squad battle is a fantastic feeling and one which I hope other games and gamers take to.

From a technical perspective the game held its own and from my experience dismissed all fears of the lag issues which plague many other games. For the entire duration of the review, lag was not encountered at all, bullet registration felt spot on and finding a game was fast and easy. It’s surprising that if developers Zipper Interactive can do lobby management and server hosting so well, why can’t other developers? Graphically the game does not compare well to the most graphically intensive games on offer for the PS3, but this is to be expected given the sheer scale of battles the game can encounter. They are certainly pleasant and with the varied environments, clean UI design and general graphical polish throughout. Audio is also well done, particularly the fast paced audio tracks that burst out loud in the middle of an intense fire-fight, adding perfectly to the moment. Some graphical and audio hiccups can be found, but rarely take you away from the hectic gameplay for too long.

MAG certainly tries to raise the bar over the competition, and in some senses it succeeds. Unfortunately it has numerous faults that simply shouldn’t be there considering the game is lacking a campaign mode, and should have an emphasis on refining online play to perfection. I would recommend MAG to any fan of online shooters, but heed them a word of warning that the game will require patience to fully enjoy, and to drop the expectation that the game's sale boasting player count is not the highlight.

Kirby Superstar provides six games in one package, all of which we will look at individually as well as the entire package. These games include Spring Breeze, Gourmet Race, Dynablade, The Great Cave Offensive, Megaton Punch and Samurai Kirby, with two additional secret titles to unlock.

First off the bat is the Spring Breeze title. The story behind the title requests Kirby to help the people of Dream Land get there food back that was stolen before everyone starves. The story is as minimal as a few short lines stating the above, unfortunately the game follows suit with minimal content and length. The game features four stages, which took exactly 9 minutes to complete. The length of the game is nearly as poor as the difficulty; never would one expect to defeat an endgame boss in 4 hits, a few seconds and without a scratch.

Graphically the game is well presented with a bright cheerful atmosphere, the characters themselves being also of a cute nature (nothing beats a cute pink blob smashing another cute blob in the face with a stick). The game features fast frantic gameplay fuelled by a large amount of action on the screen at all times and fast paced music, as your pink blobby self you have the ability of sucking up enemies, from there you can either turn the enemies into your partner or use there techniques and powers as Kirby. This system works well adding variation to the gameplay as you find a characters style which you favour for yourself and a partner.

After completing the first title so fast I moved onto Gourmet Race which is even simpler than the Spring Breeze, race to the end of the course and beat your time. Alternatively you can race the interesting amount of courses (three in total, outstanding) available against King Dedede both racing for the finish line and obtaining as many food pickups on the way as possible. With the game providing nothing more than walk, double tap walk to run and jump... be prepared for 5 minutes (at best) trying to catch up with a overweight penguin that is once again extremely easy to defeat.

Graphics, sound and presentation is identical to the previous title as well as the same control scheme. There is little more that can be noted about such a short and easy game.

Dynablade follows identical style to Spring Breeze in all aspects but thankfully includes one more stage and more enemies to defeat or consume. Each level provides a slightly more difficult experience requiring a full 20 minutes before I had fully completed all stages and a boss battle that required two attempts to pass. However this is still very little in comparison to other platform games on the same console, and although the title is just one of many to choose from, that is no excuse to provide such short and unfulfilling experiences as these. The more titles I progress through the more I am disappointed knowing the chance of a worthy title is decreasing.

The last major title The Great Cave Offensive provides the best experience out of the set requiring you to obtain 60 hidden treasures throughout a world similar to the levels previously, now only continual through endless doors and mazes. The game will no doubt require several runs to obtain all the treasures as often by completing tasks in the incorrect order you can block off treasures ahead. Without this one case the game would feature near to no replay value. Once again as expected the graphics, sound and presentation is identical as before.

The two other minor titles have clearly been thrown in to make the game look like there is a wealth of content provided, when however these two titles especially hold no entertainment whatsoever. Megaton Punch has you pressing a button with good timing for 3 pathetically short easy rounds whereas Samurai Kirby is a matter of pressing one button presented before the opponent. These modes do offer a choice of two players but with what is provided, the game should not be shipped stating the game offers "two player support".

There are three additional games that can be unlocked as you complete the original titles. These include Revenge of Meta-Knight, Milky Way Wishes and The Arena. The first two titles follow a similar style as featured in Dynablade and Spring Breeze. Meta-Knight features an additional timed environment and entertaining story with the enemies conversations posted for your entertainment at the bottom of the screen with comedic moments such as "Oh Noes, that's my hidden tomatoes" and "Oh golly gee gosh". Unlike the other titles, Milky Way Wishes has Kirby needing to obtain "Deluxe Ability Pedestals" instead of simply copying abilities from enemies. The new technique allows Kirby to, when in position, change between abilities at will. The final title The Arena works as a time attack endurance challenge where you must survive nineteen rounds against enemies, often multiple. These unlockable titles are a welcome addition to a lacking overall package, Revenge of Meta-Knight being the best of the three.

Overall the game provides short bursts of entertainment value with good clean graphics, great audio quality and track. Unfortunately all titles are extremely short and Kirby Super Star can easily be completed within 1 hour leaving only high scores and time trails as little replay value. The mini-games provided are enjoyable but far too short to provide a worthwhile experience and overall purchase; the game would have been a large improvement if one of the good titles such as Spring Breeze or Meta-Knight was to be a full length title split into well designed levels.

Diddy's Kong Quest takes place as the second title in the three part series, Donkey Kong Country. You will find yourself in familiar situations to be expected but this time a twist in story takes place. Instead of controlling the legend himself (or in fact the true legends son.

Any fan of the Donkey Kong Country series would instantly feel at home in this new title, you are literally playing the first instalment with additional improvements thrown in. Instantly thrown into the game you start on a pirate ship fighting your way through the levels. Thankfully the game does a fantastic job of slowing increasing the difficulty whilst providing more and more depth to the game, all of which is comes together perfectly. You will no doubt find yourself disappointed by the games low level of difficulty but as the hours pass you will be wishing the game would take it easy on your nerves. Everything from fast frantic rollercoaster rides to levels ridden with wind that will literally blow you off your feet awaits you.

As you have noticed by now the graphics are unbelievable, especially considering you are playing a 16-bit console. Well created artwork mixed with flawless animation provides a seemingly 3D world from simply 2D graphics. The one worry I had from being blown away from the graphics at such an early stage was the ability of providing new artwork for the vast amount of levels, but fear not as the levels are all extremely unique and full of character. Donkey Kong Country 2 is ticking all the right boxes but is it just a matter of time before the flaws show?

Of course not! The game is kept to a high standard throughout. The next aspect of the game and my personal favourite is the length and amount of detail included. Not only does Donkey Kong Country 2 take at least 10+ hours to complete by simply running through the levels at speed, there are several additions in each level to keep enjoyment of achievements whilst adding reply value. First off there are Kong Koins which can be collected throughout the levels providing the options of spending them in a variety of ways from saving the game, playing quiz games for prize rewards and even receiving help on specific difficult levels.

Another set of coins are DK Koins, provided only once per level these coins are extremely difficult to find and then obtain, collecting every coin for all levels would certainly be an achievement worthy of bragging rights. Lastly each level has the letters K, O, N, G spread one after another to be collected, upon collecting all four you will be rewarded with a life.

The detail does not only include the repeated collectables, the very level design, enemy opponents and varied gameplay elements. Such detail and constantly changing gameplay is rarely seen in titles of this age or previously. Each few levels a new treat of gameplay was left to me, with little idea on how to perform the actions required of me to continue. Whilst no doubt this situation could provide confusion and frustration the new gameplay elements were never too difficult to get to grips with quickly and easily, yet still providing a fresh feeling each and ever time. A perfect example of this would be the many animal creates included in the game, as soon as you see a create with an animals face on the side its enjoyable to dive in allowing for the second half of the level to be completely different to the first half you have just experienced. Apart from the loveable Rhino from Donkey Kong Country 1, my personal favourite would be the parrot allowing for fast flight in all directions whilst also providing a missile weapon out of the parrot's mouth, the later parrot levels providing a difficult challenge whilst painfully hard always enjoyable to conquer.

Stopping before I go into too much detail on the fantastic gameplay elements that lie ahead, we take a look at the basic gameplay. Controlling Diddy and Dixie together (similar to what was found in the original title) you are to work together taking advantage of each of the characters unique features. Unfortunately these were few in Diddy Kong's case (poor monkey) as I found myself constantly favouring Dixie in every situation to the point where I would curse when she would be killed leaving me no choice but Diddy Kong himself. I can see the differences as planned, with Diddy Kong being fast and Dixie being slower but with a slowfall technique, but the speed increase by Diddy Kong is minimal, whilst the slowfall technique is extremely useful in nearly every area of the game, this could have been improved upon allowing Diddy to have a useful technique himself.

The main of the gameplay when not taking part in the unique elements is a case of side scrolling through the level and killing enemies by landing on there heads and throwing creates at them. Although you can kill the enemies using the attacks provides, it is not advised as you will be killed in most cases. With the variation in enemy's as a whole and then the enemy's in different difficulty settings you are even kept on your toes going through the game with the simplest of tasks. Be warned some players will certainly dislike the high difficulty and often frustrating moments of the game but personally I find them a fresh change in comparison to most platform adventures.

Lastly but not least the sound and music of Donkey Kong Country 2 keeps with the high quality of the other elements by providing great contrast of music through the levels and good sound effects whilst you play. Nothing is truly brain drilling to the point where you are humming the notes for weeks to come (Tetris get out of my head already!) but when playing a game, not taking note of the background sound is in my opinion a good thing as its providing you with the combined sound and music expected for the scenes.

Super Mario World was possibly the most popular game to be released on the SNES console. Following a large change of direction in the sequel you will find yourself controlling different Yoshi's in an attempted to protect a baby Mario. The game sounds unappealing, but after giving the game a fair chance you will experience a platformer like no other.

The game starts off with an entertaining intro set in a very childish, even baby setting and style. This style will follow throughout the game and on first glance will make you think you have put the wrong cartridge in, however the unique style of the game adds depth and character on a whole different level. The story starts off showing poor baby Mario is helpless to a constant threat from the enemy, knowing this the Yoshi's of the island have decided its there duty to protect baby Mario on the voyage ahead.

A Mario game without Mario leading, madness I hear you cry. Whilst such an idea should be frowned upon in most conditions, this is one case where Yoshi shines as the lead role providing entertainment for hours to come. As with most Mario titles the game is extremely straightforward, with tutorials for each and every new situation that you will encounter. The typical abilities are maintained in this title with the usual jump, eat and spit abilities of Yoshi, there is however a new and interesting ability to consume the enemy you have just eaten, producing an egg that can be thrown in all directions for use in puzzles and as an attack.

These simple controls help to keep the game simple and suitable for all age and skill groups. As you progress through the levels your main target is to get to the end. Whilst that would be entertaining enough there is a points system which is truly magnificent added on top. The system works by providing collectable items throughout the level that the player must try to collect, be it in hidden locations or just out of reach areas. Upon completion of the level, your items are counted and points are given.

The points system is simple yet genius. Not only do you have the fun and simplicity of completing a level, you also have a requirement to collect a specific amount of items on your travels. Simply skipping the need to obtain points will leave future levels locked, needing you to return and obtain more points. Such a basic system steps the game from enjoyable gameplay to rewarding, achieving and enjoyable gameplay with added replay value of obtaining a higher rank of points.

Lastly on the level system in place, levels are split into short varied environments with a ranged of tasks needed to complete, these levels have checkpoints to help ease the annoyance of failing. Failure comes in two forms. Every time Yoshi is attacked he loses Baby Mario who will slowly float off, you will have a countdown to obtain Baby Mario before he has been kidnapped. Alternatively you can also simply die if you are hurt in specific conditions (i.e. falling off a cliff or landing on a spike).

The levels themselves are often varied in style and landscape, but usually feature the same type of techniques needed to progress. After a certain number of levels have been completed you will progress onto a Boss Stage which provide some entertaining dialog and well thought boss creations to defeat. These battles are usually epic in size requiring unique methods to complete. You will also find that the boss's are familiar faces from the levels, often normal enemies that have been altered to 10x there original size.

Whilst the levels are entertaining they are admittedly rather easy to complete, this could be compensated by a lengthy game but this is not the case with Yoshi's Island, the game can easily be completed within 5hours. Although there is replay included in the form of the points system I find it a shame that the length of the package can spoil an otherwise fulfilling experience.

Graphically the game is fantastic featuring a unique style for the game using etched cartoon style graphics and flawless animations. The levels were varied in theme and colour, changing from lava to grass to snow. I specifically took note of the fantastic enemy sprites, being original and well animated providing little re-use as compared to most sprite based games of the same time.

Lastly the sound and music provided was of excellent quality. Whilst there are not too many music tracks included in the game they have been beautifully composed and resemble the best in music creation to be expected with most first party Nintendo games, rememberable and well suited to the current situations and environments. The sound effects are also of great quality

All in all this is a fantastic platform adventure that should not be missed, I am glad to return to such a fantastic Mario adventure. Back in his time the plumber himself could do no wrong, anyone to view Mario titles in there current state should take a look at how amazing they used to be.

Independent developers have achieved modest but consistent success in the adventure genre in recent years, yet this is by no means a new occurrence, as even a distant twenty years ago there were indies churning out adventures. Back before technology really took precedence, games could be developed in mere weeks as opposed to several years, and instead of being created by large teams, even the most popular game could be made by a few select contributors, or often enough just one. This was the case for Hugo’s House of Horrors, released in 1990 and designed by a single man named David Gray. The game places you in control of the titular protagonist as he looks for his girlfriend Penelope, who hasn’t been seen since she went babysitting at the local spooky mansion. The premise bears many similarities to Maniac Mansion, though this is apparently strictly coincidence, as Gray claims he’d never played the LucasArts classic.

The first of three Hugo adventures has little in the way of character and story progression, primarily because there isn’t much dialogue. The few lines present typically describe a room for the sake of solving a puzzle or finding an additional inventory item. Even the puzzle-related script offers little to no explanation of why exactly you are in your current predicament, from bizarre characters wanting to perform experiments on you (never having seen or spoken to you before) to strange old men testing you with trivia questions that have no relevance to anything before you can progress further. All that is known about the story is a brief introduction provided in the help screen, which is certainly not the ideal location. It would have been better to offer a proper introduction to the characters and a continued sense of urgency in saving Penelope, if only to emphasise Hugo’s feelings towards her and the importance of the task at hand.

The adventure actually begins with Hugo standing outside of the mansion, eagerly looking for a way in, but you spend the majority of your time inside searching for hints to his girlfriend's whereabouts. In the house you will find familiar horror personalities such as Dracula, Frankenstein and the wolfman, but they are contentedly enjoying a meal in the dining room, ignoring your activities. The true terror of the game (limited though it is) comes from other characters like a crazed scientist, a man eating bats and a ravenous dog. There is very little interaction with these characters, as the game lets you know to keep your distance through their innate desire to run at you whenever you go near.

Keeping clear of trouble if you can, you progress through the house by solving simple puzzles using very basic adventure instinct, such as knowing the candle obtained in one room will have relevance in a dark room to come. Many of these puzzles are extremely easy and often only require you to perform obvious tasks like opening a closed closet or lighting up a dark shed in order to locate more items. On the whole this process works fine, but a few of the puzzles are so vague and arbitrary, with so little in the way of hints or direction, that reaching the correct conclusion can be down to nothing but guesswork. One example has you placed in front of a locked door in a box room with nothing but a few boulders present. Trying to open the door with every inventory item provides no feedback, and there is no indication at all that there is another room accessible by simply walking Hugo behind one of the far boulders that appears graphically impassable.

Scenarios like this can be frustrating in their own right, but it’s far more annoying when a lack of feedback ends the adventure altogether. At several points it is very possible, and easy, to die at the hands of many of the mansion’s characters. Dying leaves you with no choice but to reload a previous save (assuming you’ve done so, as there is no auto-save feature), and as these moments are typically sprung on you with no prior warning, it is bound to happen at least once.

While hint systems are becoming more popular today, there is no such option here, so when encountering a puzzle that has no logical solution or any in-game clue at all, you may have no choice but to get external help to prevent certain frustration. I like to keep free of guides, but a particular point in the game requires you to answer the question: ‘What is the name of Roy Rogers’ dog?’... a totally irrelevant question that I would be stuck upon for all eternity, given that there are no hints anywhere to be found. I’d apologize for the spoiler, but if you plan to play, you’ll thank me later. Whilst this type of test only occurs once in the game, it includes a handful of similarly random trivia questions that you either know already or don’t, providing no assistance within the game itself for the latter.

Being comparable to a progressive title like Maniac Mansion was unfortunate for Hugo’s House of Horrors, as the gameplay mechanics were functional but several years out of date right from the outset, noticeably inferior to the impressive SCUMM advancements. Hugo has you moving the protagonist around using the keyboard arrow keys, and controlling his actions by typing in commands. This isn’t a problem on its own, but often the puzzle-solving challenge comes not from clever design but rather the frustration of trying to find words the parser will understand. Large gaps in the game’s word recognition can result in using twenty words before finding the sole solution the game wants you to use. You might think that fixing a hole with a rubber bung should work with ‘fix / repair / use bung / fill hole’, but these had no effect, and it wasn’t until I ‘plugged’ the bung into place that the problem was solved.

Outside of these manageable annoyances, the game also suffers from possible dead ends, and if you’re extremely unlucky like myself, you can find yourself unable to continue without reverting to an old save (thank the skies for anytime save and load states) or restarting from scratch. Such pitfalls can be as simple as failing to solve puzzles in the order desired or missing a cue to act and never receiving it again. My greatest frustration came after neglecting to obtain an item when Hugo was temporarily shrunken in size. When trying to acquire it once he was large again, I somehow became stuck in the game’s environment, completely unable to free myself with any amount of keyboard mashing.

Whilst Hugo is not the prettiest game by any stretch (nor was it two decades ago), it does still hold a nostalgic charm that is reminiscent of early Sierra and LucasArts games. You can practically count the pixels on screen at any given time and the colour pallet is rather limited, but each room effectively displays its desired personality, be it the brickwork and cracked walls of the neglected garage or the eerie entrance hallway that is host to many unwelcoming portraits. These details, whilst slight, help provide a unique flavour everywhere you go. The game doesn’t fare quite as well in the audio department. It starts well enough, as you are welcomed with a fantastically effervescent chiptune, but this is unfortunately one of the few the game possesses. In fact, the game has so little music or sound effects, several times I checked just to ensure the audio was still enabled. Occasionally a new track surprised me out of nowhere, then ended just as quickly, followed by nothing but more silence.

The original version of the Hugo’s House of Horrors is available as legal shareware, meaning it can be downloaded for the costly price of nothing. That’s a good thing, as it only offers around an hour of play, not counting any dead ends or excessive time lost to unanswerable questions, wicked puzzle solutions or nasty bugs. Whilst the game may be graphically underwhelming and lack the polish found even in the competition of its day, free is free, and this adventure is certainly something to keep you occupied for at least a short while. Anyone interested in giving the game a try is advised to make use of DOSBox, which fully supports the game and allows it to run as intended on any modern computer. Without DOSBox, I was completely unable to get the game to start in the latest versions of Windows 7. There is also another option for those happy to part with a little bit of money, as the game has been reworked with point-and-click controls and a modernised Windows interface, released as a trilogy along with its two sequels directly from the developer.

In my childhood, it was difficult to find a PC magazine without this game being mentioned in the shareware section of the demo disc. Now twenty years after release, for those who have never tried a Hugo game before, there is little reason to do so unless strictly for curiosity or to relive fond memories of older times. Still, whilst Hugo’s House of Horrors was never groundbreaking and can’t be considered an enduring classic by any means, it does hold a nostalgic charm of adventure games past, from an era in which anyone could contribute with moderate success.

Nothing pleases me more as a gamer than when a developer truly listens to the feedback of its player base. This is certainly the case with Turkish developers Zoetrope Interactive and their Darkness Within game series. In 2007’s In Pursuit of Loath Nolder, the world was navigated by clicking to jump to a new scene, like so many other first-person titles over the years. Instead of sticking with this formula, however, Darkness Within 2: The Dark Lineage allows you to freely move through its 3D environments, even impacting your surroundings in physical ways. This change is certainly welcome, as it lets you become more fully immersed in this eerie atmospheric adventure. Unfortunately, an overly vague storyline combined with some questionable design decisions prevent the game from realising the full promise of its technical improvements.

Although there are some definite horror themes woven into Darkness Within 2, calling it a mystery would best describe the game’s storyline. Playing as ex-detective Howard E. Loreid, you have gone from investigating a murder (the focus of the first game) to setting out to discover the secrets of your own family history, and why your destiny seems to be inseparably linked to a dark cult and its ancient conspiracy. If you haven’t played the original Darkness Within, you may find the plot quite confusing at first, as the sequel closely follows the events of its predecessor, though you’ll eventually pick up much of the original lore as you progress.

Being inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the game reeks of mystery involving other-worldly beings and sinister activities that inspire curiosity blended with fear. Regrettably, it tends to present too much mystery and not enough depth, casually skimming over critical storyline aspects and leaving you confused as to exactly where the story is heading and why. As its title suggests, Howard spends most of the game in the dark, and at least figuratively speaking, so will the player. Most of the story is told via the many notes and books you find along the way, as there are only a small handful of characters in the game. Very few of these have any dialogue at all, and the ones that do possess little personality.

Much of the action takes place in and around a little village, in which you’ll uncover clues left behind, both by individuals trying to aid your investigations and those failing to hide them. Right from the outset, you’ll be aware that your presence is not welcome and that danger is afoot if you aren’t careful, but this does little to stop you from poking your nose everywhere it isn’t wanted. Your investigation will lead you to such places as a secluded cabin in the woods and then ever deeper into the unknown, eventually into strange caves and catacombs that really awaken the sense of suspense. Along with your real-world exploration, you will also find yourself running around in Howard’s nightmares, which provide further insight about what to do next. Both in and out of reality, Howard finds that asking questions others wish left unanswered often causes more trouble, only narrowly avoiding certain death on numerous occasions.

The environments generally look fantastic, providing ample detail and enough variation to keep the world fresh and interesting, from a large Victorian mansion to a derelict nursing home to creepy bug-infested underground caverns. Especially impressive is the use of light and shadow, often manipulated by the player holding a torch or lantern, which adds beautifully to the eerie backdrops the protagonist wearily navigates in the darkness. Also available is an optional noise filter to add an old movie grain effect. The technical quality of the graphics is supported by audio that effectively introduces well-timed scores to develop the chilling atmosphere, and background noise that’s just barely audible, leaving you wondering if you just heard someone, or something, moving in the distance. The voice acting is equally pleasant to hear, helping bring the few interactive characters to life, although one look at the chunky models and awkward, jittery animations quickly counteracts that impression.

The new keyboard/mouse controls are fluid and responsive, and the freedom this allows helps make the overall experience far more immersive, as you feel more like the actual character than simply a passenger guiding him through a collection of interactive photos. An added benefit of this change is the ability to crouch and jump, which are never demanding but are needed on occasion to locate additional clues, inscriptions or even hidden hatches (making sure to check under every table!). The element of physics also enables whole new possibilities. From the moment the tutorial informed me that I could pick up a nearby box and place it as I saw fit, my mind raced with the endless potential that could hold for entertaining puzzle design.

Unfortunately, the opportunities presented by the improvements to the game engine haven’t been used to full effect. In every room you’ll feel compelled to search high and low, on top of bookcases and under beds, only to find very little of actual use. The same can be said for the implementation of physics. The presence of movable crates and furniture littering most rooms begs for some attention whilst holding little purpose. The few rare moments that these two elements are put to good use (mostly found during the later segments of the game) are easily the most memorable, and serve as samples of the promise missed throughout.

In fact, whilst plenty looks to have changed from an outside perspective, little has actually altered inside the game, as Darkness Within 2’s overall design largely follows in the first game’s footsteps. The general focus is one of discovery, as rarely will you be faced with a puzzle that can be solved outright, requiring you to seek out other clues and information first. Your tasks involve such things as code-breaking, fitting jigsaws together, and even completing some sliders and other mechanical puzzles. As with the original, however, the sequel also places a heavy emphasis on solving puzzles within the interface instead of the world around you, requiring a lot of fiddly item management.

There are certain expectations that come from a new Telltale game, but the company’s latest offering is going to seriously defy those presumptions. The episodic developer has now launched the first title in its ‘Pilot Program’ called Puzzle Agent, which takes a significant step in a new direction with a darker tone and more puzzle-based adventuring than usual. Thankfully, while far more streamlined and simplistic than anything we’ve seen from them before, the change has resulted in no drop-off in quality, as this game is a charming lite adventure filled with quirky characters and challenging puzzles that anyone can enjoy solving.

In Puzzle Agent, players take on the role of Nelson Tethers, the sole operative of the FBI’s Department of Puzzle Research, a department that has not seen any field action in ages. After a startling dream and surprise phone call, however, Tethers soon finds himself on his way to wintry Scoggins, Minnesota, where he must investigate why the factory that supplies the White House’s erasers has suddenly stopped production. Thankfully, Nelson is the perfect man for the job, as it seems that all the local residents are obsessed with puzzles.

In a similar fashion to the Professor Layton titles, Puzzle Agent makes you work your way through Scoggins solving all sorts of standalone conundrums in order to advance the mystery, which takes increasingly crazy turns the deeper you dig to uncover the hidden secret the townsfolk are so eager to protect. The story typically takes a back seat to the puzzle-solving gameplay, as there’s only a very loose attempt to incorporate the puzzles into the actual narrative. This can mean anything from having to chart a path-based puzzle before you can use your snowmobile to solving brainteasers for confused individuals to gain their trust. While mainly serving to set up each new puzzle, the plot does manage to separate the challenges nicely through a fair chunk of interactive dialogue and short cutscene sequences that are compelling in their own right.

Destinations are selectable from a map screen, and you will visit several locations in town, from the Moose Ear diner to the eraser factory itself, plus a few areas beyond its borders, as Nelson goes tramping through the frigid woods to an ice fishing shanty and a local brotherhood lodge. Upon your arrival, you are greeted by the suspicious Bjorn, who misleads you to the town’s hotel (which happens to be right behind him), and you’ll soon meet up with the never-helpful town sheriff and a peculiar handyman that seems to be everywhere, among others. Each new encounter results in more misdirection and additional assertions that your snooping about will lead to no good. Few of the characters you meet delve too deeply into their personal lives, but each gives up snippets of information regarding their (or someone else’s) connection to the factory’s shutdown.

Whilst Tethers is always present as you explore, there is no freedom of movement allowed onscreen, as your actions are carried out simply by clicking on key objects. A single click anywhere in the scene results in a pulse-like animation that indicates all available interactions in the immediate vicinity, such as a speech bubble for dialogue or a magnifying glass for investigation. Unlike traditional adventures (and Telltale’s other games to date), however, such interactive objects are few and far between. Some areas have you jumping between scenes via doors or paths, but on the whole each new location is self-contained, and the game often holds your hand to ensure you never get lost, boldly displaying each new objective one step at a time.

Switching to first-person mode, the puzzles themselves allow a close-up view of the current obstacle at hand. Puzzle Agent has a total of 37 puzzles (a few them optional), which range from jigsaws to conditional word riddles to logic puzzles of all kinds, such as code decryption, route-tracing, and geometry challenges. Answers are input by clicking on the puzzle elements themselves or an onscreen keypad, but they don’t register until you click the “Submit” button once the required arrangement is complete, so you’re free to change your mind, experiment, and even reset to try again. One minor disappointment is the lack of any kind of note-making feature. Several math puzzles that would benefit from notation require you to find a pen and paper to solve manually. Old-school adventure gamers may be used to this, but it isn’t particularly user-friendly.

There is no puzzle skip option available, but if you need help, there’s a hint system with three tiers for every puzzle, providing a minor tip at first and working your way up to more blatant clues. Total hints are limited to the amount of gum you currently possess (chewing gum helps Tethers concentrate), but more gum is littered (literally) throughout the environment for you to collect along the way. Upon completion of each puzzle, you earn a grade that’s determined by how many times you guessed incorrectly and how much help was needed, which provides an incentive to avoid abusing the hints or rushing in with careless answers. Whilst you can go back and replay a prior puzzle at any time by viewing your investigation documents, your original result will always remain on your permanent record. Some puzzles are very easy, but a good number provide a welcome challenge, and I have no problem admitting that at times I had to make use of the hint system.

The game’s visual design borrows heavily from the Grickle comic creations of Graham Annable, a former Telltale employee who teamed up with the company again for Puzzle Agent. The simplistic art style features thick pencil outlines, much like a newspaper-styled cartoon, with purposely choppy animations and a heavy emphasis on bold colours. It may sound plain, but all of this comes together to create a wonderfully stylised presentation that stands out from the norm. The look may not be for everyone, but I personally prefer it over the 3D visuals of Telltale’s other games, as it feels much more personal and distinctive this way.

The voice acting is also fantastic, with each voice fitting perfectly. Tethers is entirely believable as a mild-mannered agent in a little over his head, and the heavy Scandinavian accents of the rural Minnesotans really bring the supporting characters to life. The subtle background music is excellent as well, aiding the game’s dark tone with chilling music played in time with grave facial expressions during tense moments. Whilst the game is designed to be humourous and light-hearted at times, the presentation comes together to portray Nelson’s growing sense of anxiety brilliantly. In this strange and eerily hostile environment, he is filled with dread at the strange behaviour and mysterious events he encounters, particularly the mischievous gnomes that keep appearing just to spook him.

Anyone looking for the next Sam & Max or Monkey Island won’t find anything like that here, but with Puzzle Agent Telltale took an intriguing step in a new direction towards puzzle-based adventuring, and the result has proven to be well worthwhile. While scaling back exploration and character interaction considerably, the game serves up a reasonable selection of challenging puzzles, along with an intriguing story and unique artistic design to match. It’s a shame there wasn’t more attempt to integrate the puzzles into the actual storyline, and some of the challenges are essentially just repetitive variations of the same theme. It’s also not a lengthy experience overall, totaling around four hours of gameplay, so it won’t keep you going for long. That said, puzzle fans in particular will find more than enough to keep them occupied, and with this successful pilot under their belts, it’ll soon be time for Telltale to answer the next question themselves: When’s the next episode?

"Welcome to Tony Hawks Underground 2". As you stare at the nice new menu of the 'wheel of loogies' you may note the return of some pretty nifty customisation tools, which can be found in "Create-A-Modes". As you enter this category you are shown many interesting tools such as: create a skater, create a trick, create a park and the all new create a tag. We were pleased to note all of the create modes are very versatile and provide a good sense of control to the user, whilst thankfully keeping everything simple and quick to complete. This means you can quickly get into the in-game modes, where the fun begins...

The story mode is surprisingly pleasing and brings a breath of fresh air into Tony Hawks gaming. The story mode now offers you a choice of four different skaters on each of the fifteen overall levels, letting you switch between each during play. There is a choice of a "pro skater", a "guest skater" and the "secret skater", who opt for weird and wonderful methods of transportation (shopping trolley anyone?).

This gametype revolves around a 'World Destruction Tour' with the "Hawk Team" vs. the "Bam Team". As the game progresses skaters change teams, coming and going, challenging you personally and specific skaters causing trouble. This is an interesting addition, but could do with being a bit less linear feeling, the same line of events takes place every time you play, reducing replayability. None the less it's an extremely welcome addition, and helps to pad out the game from just simply performing tricks.

When Tony Hawks went from Pro Skater to the Underground, many of the loyal fans were upset with the new look and feel to the game, losing the simple but effective task orientated gameplay. Well now it's back and cleaner than ever! You have all the old favourites of S-K-A-T-E and C-O-M-B-O whilst still adding new fresh fun tasks to perform which change on each levels just like the originals, it's almost like a second game.

With each new game new tricks are obviously expected and this time we are blessed with the graphic tag moves. Surprisingly, we found these new little tricks, and in particular the tag wall slap, a huge help in creating new longer and more creative combo's that span further whilst going faster, longer and higher than ever before. The wall slap is a simple push off the wall that you are about to collide into, sounds simple enough but this provides some huge combos where as in past titles you would simply hit the wall, and fall flat on your face...

With this added trick included we found ourselves performing grabs, into manuals, into kick flips and grinds and then at the end of the rail a simple hop into the wall, press A once, slap the wall, land back on the rail and repeat the entire line again in the opposite direction. This gives combos and lines a new life and if you can handle the balance meter, you can continue forever in mid combo. Exhausting stuff!

The graphical elements of the game are clean and good, which we are proud to say is a huge update from dull and dark days of THUG, thankfully the games graphics have gone back to their older roots of having colourful and light surroundings. The levels now feature a day and night feature, the day will pass to night after you have been skating for some time, this is a nice touch of realism, whilst also keeping the levels looking at their best thanks to the ever changing light.

The sound on the other hand is where the game has fallen short on. All previous games of the series have had rich sound tracks from popular artists currently topping the chart or old classics, unfortunately this time the playlist lacks a lot of the fresh talent that we are used to hearing in a Tony Hawks game. However with the few good songs present you could always just loop your favourites or simply turn it off and enjoy the sound effects, or (and this is a stunning idea), put on your favourite CD...

THUG 2 excels in length by giving you a mass of unlockable characters, double the amount any other game of the extreme sports genre has to offer, whilst still also including other unlockable items known to the Tony Hawks series. Thankfully the story mode lasts far longer than would be expected and with the added bonus of classic mode, lastability really is not an issue. This game really could last a lifetime and still get you coming back for more.

Resident Evil, the original, is for many one of the best games to grace the Playstation back in the day. When Capcom released images of the exclusive remake for the Gamecube, fans of the series were shocked at such a strange move as Nintendo is often labelled the "kiddy" console. No matter what the case, finally we lucky Gamecube owners have the chance to re-live a piece of gaming history. There has been discussion as to which title in the Resident Evil series deserves to be crowned champion, well that discussion and confusion has ended now, as everyone must agree that Resident Evil Gamecube is by far the pinnacle of the franchise.

From booting the disk you are asked how "Which best describes your opinion about games?" with the two choices "MOUNTAIN CLIMBING- beyond hardships lies accomplishment" and "HIKING- the destination can be reached quite comfortably". Confused by these options and remembering that the original Resident Evil is an extremely difficult game I decided to go with the first choice, believing that I was selecting the "I find games really hard, and enjoy the reward at the end so give it to me easy" when in actual fact I was choosing the difficult setting. I mention this choice simply because I find myself having to reset the entire game and start from scratch as I am unable to progress with no bullets, no ability to save and no life on all saves I had.

After starting the game again on the "HIKING" easy difficult its time to get this review going! The Raccoon City Police Department recently sent out a S.T.A.R.S. team (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) to investigate the Arclay Mountain area on the outskirts of the city, where a number of people (including, the S.T.A.R.S team themselves) have recently gone missing. The department decides to dispatch another S.T.A.R.S unit, the Alpha team, to find out what is going on.

Starting off with the beautifully rendered cutscene you soon learn the teams helicopter has crashed in the woods, on inspecting the helicopter a strange pack of dogs (strange, in the way there flesh Is hanging off) attack the Alpha team. With no other option, the team runs to a nearby mansion and here the story beings to unravel itself.

With the choice of playing as Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, providing different roles in the story, different inventory sizes (Jill has 8, where Chris only has 6 slots) and a few different key items. Personally I decided to go with Jill as I remember using her on the original, the choice however wont have a large difference overall.

The game starts at a very slow pace giving you a false impression that the game is easy, this works fantastic as suddenly everything change for the worse and you will soon realize that you're out of ammo, out of health and out of luck. The game features the same gameplay that was found in the original five years ago, with a few additional improvements that have been included, such as quick turnaround (far more useful than it sounds) and the ability to shoot whilst walking backwards. Unfortunately they have not fixed many of the issues with the series as a whole, leaving the movement and animation feeling very bulky and awkward and a camera that can be extremely frustrating at times. The control scheme is a massive issue with the series as a whole and players that cannot tolerate it will instantly leave this title collecting dust.

Capcom stated that the majority of the game will be changed for the remake, and they have done a great job at that. Without changing the classic game itself, they have added new features such as defense items that will save you (if you are holding them at the time) from being attacked and puzzles have been changed so that even the most hardcore of fans will feel like they are experiencing the game all over. The majority of the actual mansion has been changed too placing enemies, items, rooms and events in different locations to once again make the game feel fresh to fans of the original as well as newcomers.

Graphically the game is fantastic; being one of the best titles graphically the Gamecube has to offer. Whilst all the beautiful backgrounds to the mansion in Resident Evil are pre-rendered the animation used makes them blend perfectly with the in-game rendered items and characters. The spooky style, amount of shadows and colours used throughout the house provide a fantastic atmosphere that, when used to the advantage of the game will scare the hell out of you; for example when you least suspect it, something will jump out at you with no warning. Resident Evil Gamecube is by far one of the scariest games that can be experienced.

The games audio is equally as fantastic as the graphics, helping create a truly horrific atmosphere that even films fail to create as well. The games sound effects are nothing less than spectacular. It's the fantastic balance of the ambience of every area in the game mixed with a slight noise that is out of place, fantastic shadows and realistic graphics that work perfectly together.

The game itself will take a long time to complete due to the puzzles and exploring needed. Within the game itself is a range of creatures, a large arsenal of weapons, several different plot directions and 10 different endings; not only this but if you complete the game in specific manners (no spoilers here) you will be rewarded with different modes and items giving more reasons to come back again and again.

Resident Evil for the Gamecube is truly fantastic and I would recommend it to any fan of the original series, any fans of horror and any fans of great games in general. If you are able to look past the poor control scheme and withstand the fear around every corner then you will be rewarded with a fantastic deep game which will scare you, shock you and reward you like few others.

Spider-Man 3 for the Wii launches alongside the cinematic debut of the film. With fans everywhere hoping to get some of that spidey action at home, where better than the Wii? A sensible assumption one might presume, but sooner rather than later it becomes apparent that it's all a little underwhelming.

Jumping straight into the game you will be presented with a short tutorial on the controls, whilst actually taking part in the very first mission at the same time. Within thirty minutes you will have the strange desire to switch the console off, that much is guaranteed. Yes, the controls and the camera actually are that frustrating. Whilst you will get used to the controls after around an hour's learning curve, they will always be problematic, especially when the camera is expected to be even slightly reasonable.

To describe the controls in more detail, picture you are in the game for a moment. The nun chucks pad's stick is to move around, the Z button is to jump and the C button is to align the camera (or attempt to look around, and fail). The Wiimote's A button is for a large slow attack where the B button is for web attacks. To attack normally you wave the Wiimote back and forth, to dodge you wave the nun chuck down and up, still with me? Okay good, that's the basics covered then. With all that out of the way we can begin by web slinging through the city by simply pressing Z, swinging the nunchuck forward, pressing Z again for the left hand (B for the right hand), A to increase your swing, let go of Z at the peak, swing the nunchuck forward and press Z on the decent. Oh and please don't forget that you need to guide spidey with the analogue stick or you will be eating brick. Phew, that was quite a mouthful.

It may actually be possible to stomach the controls if it wasn't for the unbelievably poor camera, which somehow manages to make even the simplest situations a huge challenge and frustration. Whenever the camera comes into contact with another object it could be anyone's guess what happens next, often you will find Spider-Man decides to leap in the opposite direction you were heading.

Without making the situation look too bleak, it's time to move onto the graphics. Maybe we will see a huge improvement in the game so far? Unfortunately that is not the case, whilst it is common knowledge that the Wii has never attempted to be a powerful machine, there is simply no reason that any of its titles should look this bleak, providing graphics that would make even the Gamecube blush. Not only is the city poorly detailed with jaggies galore streaming on every item in view, but everything from lighting to texturing is just as poor. The worst aspect of the game by far is the unbelievably poor draw distance, which you will find has the city's many buildings magically appearing in-front of Spider-Man as he swings towards them, often texture-less. The most extreme example of this comes from swinging above the town, where every building in view will likely have no textures what-so-ever; leaving an environment that looks more like a bar chart than a bustling cityscape.

The game follows the typical "GTA style" that has become common in previous Spider-Man games, this type of style works fantastic with the Spider-Man universe. The actual storyline however is a strange mix of events that attempt to blend the movie's storyline into a mix of other plots that have no relevance. The overall design of the game may have been welcomed if it wasn't for the fact that the majority of the missions are simply moving from point A to B, whilst beating up a few easy enemies in-between or defusing the odd bomb. Boss encounters aren't much of an improvement, leaving new and interesting scripted events ruined by dull simple timed actions, such as "move Wiimote left" within a few seconds to progresss in the battle.

Thankfully there's not many negative points that can be said about the audio, not because the audio is good (far from it), simply because there is not much of it to comment on. You will find that the majority of your time in the cityscape won't be even remotely realistic, as often there will be silence filling the streets. Not only are the sound effects horrendous, but the voice acting is poor, with even the stars from the movie leaving cheesy dialogue lines poorly spoken.

Worry not; one of the good features of Spider-Man 3 (depending on how you look at it) is that you won't have to endure it for too long, as the game is relatively short, easily be completed in around 6-8hours. The main storyline has been shortened in comparison to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The game does however feature a good deal of bonus material to enjoy, if you enjoy completing all aspects of a game then this will no doubt add many hours of gameplay.

Overall I would not recommend this title to any gamer out there. If you must own a Spider-Man title then I would sway you to another version from one of the many other consoles providing a better experience (with the exception of PS2, which is very similar to the Wii title).

Mass Effect 2 is easily one of the most anticipated sequels this generation, which is no surprise given how fantastic and deep the original was. When developers BioWare promised improvements in all areas, gameplay that could compete with any straight shooter and of the scale that requires two discs - you sure need to pay attention.

Personally, having been brought up on BioWares typical breed of RPG gaming, I have longed to step back in the shoes of Commander Shepherd and face the Reapers once more, and a lot has certainly changed whilst I've been waiting. Fans of the original will be surprised to see the game be taken in a new direction, as whilst all the core aspects remain, the game has certainly evolved from the initial departure.

Gone is your typical loot and inventory management, skills have been greatly reduced and levels are few. As I began my adventure I often checked the interfaces in order to outfit my squad and wondered where all the guns and armour was; "they are introducing the game bit by bit" I told myself, expecting a tutorial to help non-RPG gamers get a grip of the deep and plethora of customisation.

Both initially and at the close I am still undecided if this departure is one that leaves a sour taste as whilst I love the streamlined approach that allows a stronger emphasis on the action, I often felt I was playing Gears of War In Space; and not the space shooter RPG I came to love. This is the main criticism a fan of the series will give, something that any returning should be weary of.

As for new comers of the series, welcome! As Mass Effect is very much a console game (even though it is readily available on PC) it would seem BioWare have aimed to cater for you as prior problem areas for the general console gamer has been rectified, such as the citiadel is now of a small size in comparison to the mammoth spacestation it was in the original, dialogue is more streamlined, missions simpler to follow, gear management less convoluted and obviously the change to statistics management as mentioned above. Like the recent Assassins Creed 2, it looks like the developers have taken on the full list of criticism and put to work resolving them.

Instead of trawling through tons of inventory items with different statistics you will mostly be rewarded with a handful of research plans that can be viewed when on the Normandy, this means that in the heat of battle you are never interrupted. Once on the Normandy you can research in several fields, be it improving your own weaponry, level of protection or even the ships defences - using resources you have mined from the games many empty planets (using a mini-game that actually broke the left trigger on my pad). This lets you focus on the part of the game BioWare wants you to focus on - the storyline...

It's difficult to delve into the storyline without flooding the review with spoilers, as Mass Effect 2 has more twists and turns than a slinky. Rest assured that the story is a grand improvement on the original and far less convoluted in order to avoid confusion on the road to saving the galaxy. Key characters and events from the original are often present in the game, all of which fit in surprisingly well and never feel like a quick attempt at association. Any fans of BioWare's classic Baldur's Gate will also find novelty in a pet rodent that can be found if you look carefully enough (with no signs of a Minsc to follow). It's this level of design excellence that makes Mass Effect 2 shine, as the smallest quip from Joker, the constant sly sexual advances from your personal secretary or even the background arguments between fellow squad members - all examples of tiny forgettable moments that add so much depth to the world, the attention to detail that astounds.

The basis of the storyline following the proven RPG formula of getting together a team in order to take on a great threat. Half of the game is recruiting and building up this dream team, whilst the other half is putting them into action to solve their own personal dilemmas and the overarching one. No matter what though this generally involves you needing to kill waves and waves of enemies in numerous varied and unique environments, and no empty canyons this time around (and no Mako!). Thankfully the controls have been heavily tweaked letting you navigate around obstacles and take down foes just as well as you would in any other third-person shooter - and no longer clumsily as the first would suggest. The game also tries to spice things up a little from time to time, from having you escort, play the bait or perform small mini-games. By the time any of these are over, you are refreshed and ready to start shooting again.

Thankfully this fantastic gameplay goes on and on as you will easily clock up over 30 hours completing everything the game has to offer, which explains why the game had to be split onto two discs. It's a wonder how they managed to fit such quality in graphics and audio into the space allowed, even with two discs, when you consider the endless possible directions for a single conversation or fight to go. Graphical issues with pop-up have been eradicated, so the tech is even more impressive now with no slow down and improved particle flair.

With more characters and a stronger sense of right and wrong, Mass Effect 2 houses more choice than the original. This goes hand in hand with one of the best new features in the game, sudden decisions. At any moment during a scene you could be promoted with either a good or evil option (left and right trigger respectively) which will then perform a sudden action that will change the progression of the scene. A mission to convince someone to let slip some information, for example, could prompt for an evil action that when pressed would have Shepherd shoot them in the leg, jumping the scene to a prompt conclusion.

Due to all of these reasons and more Mass Effect 2 is a worthy successor to the original, and whilst it's a surprise to see the legends of hardcore RPG developers BioWare take a step away from the RPG and into the third-person shooter; it's one that will appeal to a far larger audience and when it's at this level of brilliance - everyone should be lucky enough to enjoy it. Game of the year 2010 already? Perhaps.