The main single player campaign sees you as a new recruit joining the 222nd Army Battalion, B Company, better known as Bad Company, a small group of miscreants who have been given their last chance to prove themselves in combat. The game starts off as your usual rough and ready army types going into battle but then the story turns it into a mad treasure hunt, think the movie Three Kings but with loads more action. The main story is interspliced with some cool cinematics where you control the camera and then it will drop you right into the game. You play as Preston Marlowe, also in the team are your usual stereotypical grunts, the one who is a bit nuts and likes explosives, the chatty one and the Sarge, in this game they are called Haggard, Sweetwater and Sarge (appropriately enough).

Controlling your character is just like any other FPS, however the weapon restrictions are quite tough to get used to, you can carry one main weapon and a secondary weapon. At first this does not seem enough but you also have a secondary alt fire on some rifles, plus you can swap weapons on the fly from downed enemies. Primary weapons range from the usual selection of assault rifles and shotguns whist the secondary weapons are more like grenades, C4 or rocket launchers.

Whilst the controls are simple and good to use there is the strange emission of a prone movement, only run, walk and crouch. At times, especially when under heavy fire you really need to lay flat to get better cover, but oh well, you work with what you’ve got. As well as the weapons you also have a syringe, this is essentially you health pack, it is always there to use so whenever you are about to die you can quickly whip this out and regain your health. That said there are still plenty of opportunities to die and this is where another risky move has comes in, just like online play, rather than send you back to the start of the level, you are sent back to a checkpoint but with the battle still raging around you, so essentially you can complete this game by a war of attrition, whilst not everybody’s cup of tea, I actually welcome this move as it keeps the pace of the game really high and allows you to quickly think of other strategies to take down the enemies with a full health bar.

Level wise the game is huge, each main level is split into small sub-levels. Each area is quite large and there are plenty of different approaches to each situation. The level layout for each area has clearly been lovingly looked at and altered to give the best gaming experience, rocket launchers are found in high, advantageous places, weapons crates are left around for you to store up on ammo and of course, those lovely red barrels that go with quite a bang are everywhere. The Frostbite engine is simply stunning, you can destroy about 90% of most buildings, leaving just the structures, due to this the usual tactic of hiding behind cover is now over with. There are moments were the enemy will get a few hits on you, leaving you to run behind a wall or into a house to regain your composure, only to have them blow the wall right up and take you out. Instead you have to learn to keep moving, hang around and the enemy will wait for you to show your face, whilst the AI is good in this aspect, they still seem to enjoy running into the open to get shot down by you or your team mates.

Even though EA and Dice have tried to make a single player experience, they could not resist an online segment, and would you believe it, its great, at the moment there is one mode (new modes have recently been announced), but don’t let that disappoint you. In Gold Rush you play as Attackers or Defenders, the Attackers need to destroy the gold by any means necessary and the Defenders need to protect it, if the Defenders lose they get forced back to another location and this is repeated until all of the gold has been destroyed.

The classic Battlefield player selections are there, including the usual Assault and Defender set ups. You can also purchase new weapons to up you game, but this is only through ranking up you player. An impressive 24 players can go at it, 12 a side and there is no slowdown at all, even with helicopters, tanks and boats all going hell for leather.

Bad Company offers one of the best online experiences I have had for a long time and there is no let up in the action. The online menu is quick and simple to use, allowing for quick and custom matches and giving you the option to look at you’re in game awards and achievements. The single player game aint too bad either.

Overall Rating 6.1/10

Words by Magnapop

The first thing you will discover about Bourne Conspiracy is that it certainly doesn’t hang around. Straight from the off you are thrust into the action, and there is plenty of it. Obviously you will need to learn the basics of combat before you start the action, thankfully though this is pretty easy to pick up. The game has two main action buttons for fighting and combining both of these buttons together will string together some pretty amazing combos. You also have an adrenalin gauge which will fill up as you fight, this is divided into three sections, you can use this with one press of a button to take down an enemy, even when only one section is filled, or you can fill all three and take down multiple enemies, which does come in useful sometimes.

The combos and takedowns that you will perform certainly look very impressive, enemies get their arms broken, their heads smashed off of walls and also find themselves being thrown downstairs, nice. While a single takedown may be enough to defeat your standard enemy, when you come up against the bosses it is an entirely different story, these guys are tough, so tough in fact that you may find yourself using at least seven or eight takedowns before defeating them, and that’s if they don’t get you first.

Another aspect of the combat is the weapons, there is certainly a decent choice, and the takedown system is also available here, again meaning that with one push of a button your can defeat an enemy in impressive style. Weapons do run out of ammo, so you will need to make sure you stay stocked up, this is done by either killing enemies and taking theirs or finding ammo which is stored through the levels. The game also implements a cover system, meaning that you can hide behind crates and other objects to replenish your health and also to hide from the barrage of bullets coming your way.

As well as his adrenaline ability, Bourne also has a rather nifty sixth sense. This ability is made useful by the map in the bottom corner of the screen, when the Bourne sense is activated, this shows you where you are, where the enemies and your destination.

There are a few unfortunate drawbacks to the game, for one often during gameplay you are required to press buttons in order to beat certain sections of the game, for example during the embassy scene you are required to push a button in order to dive under the closing door, and often during boss fights you are also required to use this type of control. While this is not a major flaw, perhaps it just happens a bit too often, therefore making the game feel like it is showing you the way. Another problem comes in the form of the Bourne sense, although it is great to be able to see enemies and where you are going, it does take away the sense of tension, such as not knowing where the enemy fire is coming from.

During the game you also have the option of collecting passports which are spread around the levels, this will then unlock new items such as artwork, music and other extras, the main one being the ability to skip directly to the boss fights once you have finished the game and collected them all.

Graphically it is hard to fault Bourne Conspiracy, the presentation is excellent and everything about the game looks great, from the action scenes to the backdrops. The sound also helps to add to the atmosphere a great deal, so top marks for this department.

Overall Bourne Conspiracy is a fairly decent action game, sure it does have it’s moments of frustration, however the fight scenes are excellent and some of the best I have seen in an action game. This alone may be a reason for you to give this game a try.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Civilization Revolution has a great advantage over the previously mentioned games and that is that it has been designed from the start with console gaming in mind, and this really shows, from the presentation to the overall feel and playability.

Revolution in the most recent in the long running series. The basis of the game is to build a world dominating civilization. You can do this by one of four ways, Domination, were you defeat all of the opposing civilisations, Economic, where you have enough money to buy power, Culture, where your own cities reach a level of culture and also Technological where you send some of your loyal people to space and colonise Alpha Centuri.

There are a few modes to choose from, the main single player game, scenarios, online multiplayer and the addition of new download scenarios. Whist the scenarios dictate who you choose, each game is similar. You have a choice of 16 civilizations, each one has their own advantages, The Romans have cheap road building, Germany has more experienced warriors, the Mongolians can join with Barbarian villages and the African warriors can move more squares per turn. Once you have chosen you will be introduced to the game by a helpful chap who will pop up on screen from time to time, rather like the annoying paperclip on Word, but thankfully not as irritating. He will guide you through the first baby steps of creating your civilization but if you have played a few times you can turn him off.

At first you are given some settlers to start you city and long with one group of warriors, initially the world map seems huge, unexplored areas are covered by mist and its up to you to move your warriors a space at a time to learn the lye of the land. Here you will also learn the great addition of the turn based rules, at first I was sceptical on how this would work, but I can say this is a great idea for RTS games and makes for perfect control of all of your characters and resources. At each turn the screen will move to each idle item, here you can command warriors to go forth, galleys to map the coastline and meet strange small cultures and get offered gifts and also set up your city to create new buildings, make new Wonders of the World like the Magna Carta or Stonehenge or just build more units. The research of each new step in technology will be prompted once, you will then choose what you want to concentrate on, Bronze for better weapons, Pottery for culture, each one will have a set amount of turns to be completed, once this is done, more units and buildings are available to create and command and then you can choose the next step. I really like this approach as it enables you to concentrate on your character movements rather than getting bogged down in deciding the pro’s and cons of research.

As you pay through the game you will meet other cultures, initially you can decide if you want to trade and be peaceful or try and destroy them and take over their cities, if you are unsure on what to do you can select your diplomats and will each give their opinion on the situation. Be warned though, even on the easy setting some cities may get greedy and want some of your power and launch an attack, and here of course you can then retaliate and depending on which era you are currently playing in the game you can overrun them with archers and catapults, artillery, planes and tanks or even nukes, but using these normally turns everyone against you.

Graphically this game is on par with most PC games, the nature of the cities makes them a bit squashed together and therefore not great to look at, but the detail of each character and the animation is great and since you are watching this most of the time you forget about the mess of each city. Revolution has also cleverly avoided the age old problem of in game music, they have gone for a classical approach for the main menu, but in game they have completely removed it, so no more annoying tunes, instead you have the atmospheric noises of the cities and the occasional mumbling and gibberish of the in game helpers.

Games like this normally scare me, the instructions are huge and the menu’s bewildering with so many different options to select and change I would rather not play them. I can say with confidence however that this is a great RTS with plenty of pick up and play appeal, perfect for the console generation, the programmers have really worked hard on this great title and I would love to see more RTS games in this ilk rather than something just cloned from it’s PC counterpart.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Words by Magnapop

My first memory of Aerosmith came in the form of Alicia Silverstone in one of their videos, I’m sure that was the case for many young males around this time, however in my case, after looking into their back catalogue of music, I actually started to think, “Hey this isn’t a bad band”. Anyway reminiscing aside, before I get into this review let’s get one thing straight, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is exactly what it says on the tin or to put it another way, it’s Guitar Hero III but wearing an Aerosmith T-Shirt.

The game takes the form of Guitar Hero III by giving you the option to choose your rocker, dress him, give him a guitar and then start a career. The career mode also follows the Guitar Hero III lead in the way playing venues is set out, however there is a slight difference, for instance, just before you begin your career you are treated to a short documentary style video, here the members of Aerosmith discuss their humble beginnings before you are thrust into the game at the place it all started, Nipmuc Regional High School. Once you are in the section for each venue you are then required to play, two non-Aerosmith songs, two examples being “Hard to Handle” by the Black Crowes (which is a cover version) and “Dream Police” by Cheap Trick, followed by two Aerosmith songs and an encore, before progressing to the next stage.

The stages within the game include the afore mentioned Nipmuc Regional High School, Max’s Kansas City, The Orpheum, Moscow, Half Time Show and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. As previously mentioned you are introduced to the first venue courtesy of a documentary style video, this is also the case before beginning each of the other venues, with the band telling you why these places are special to them. The video introductions to the venues are quite interesting and include some humour, which Aerosmith fans in particular will find interesting.

Although during most of the venues you are simply playing through songs, once you get to the last venue, you are given the chance to battle Joe Perry in order to unlock him, this was a real frustrating part of the game for me, though I did beat him eventually (take that Joe Perry).

The mix of songs in the game is fairly decent, though there are quite a few surprising omissions such as most of the songs from the popular 1993 “Get a Grip” album, however this is more than made up for by including tracks such as “Walk This Way” (Run DMC and Original version), “Love in an Elevator” and “Rag Dog”. Guitar Hero Aerosmith also includes The Vault, where you can buy Aerosmith songs not included in the main venues with your in game cash, songs here include more recent hit “Pink” as well as others such as “Rat Cage” and “Pandora’s Box”.

It’s not only music you can buy in The Vault though, here you can buy new clothing and characters, as well as Joe Perry’s guitars such as his Concept Gibson Signature Guitar, you will also find interesting facts about the guitars here, as well as being able to watch the documentary videos for each section of the main career mode.

As well as the main career mode, Guitar Hero Aerosmith also includes the same multiplayer options as Guitar Hero III, so you can battle online against friends and strangers until your hearts content.

Graphically the game does not disappoint, the venues look great and have a nice cartoon effect to them, the Aerosmith members themselves also look great, Steve Tyler’s lips have been scaled to perfection. It must be mentioned though that you will only see the members of Aerosmith when playing their songs.

Guitar Hero Aerosmith is no doubt one for the fans, if you are not a fan of Aerosmith’s music then it is probably not a good idea for you to invest in this game. On the other hand, if you are a fan of Aerosmith then this game provides some interesting facts about the band and also lets you recreate their music, meaning you can’t really go wrong.

Overall Rating: 7.6/10

Straight from the beginning of Quiz TV you are met with fantastic HD presentation, which from the off, gives you a very good impression of what you are about to play. The menus line up on the left hand side of the screen, giving you the option of playing alone, with friends at home or online. There is also some rather snazzy quiz music which accompanies the menu, just to get you in a quizzical mood.

Before starting the game, you are given the option of choosing you character, clothing and then naming them. Finally you are then asked to choose a buzzer noise, which range from animal noises to all sorts of things such as trains, bells and clowns. The best thing about this part of the game in my opinion is that each character has their own personality and will act differently depending on whether they answer right or wrong, it isn’t a big deal really but at least it shows you that thought has went into not making the characters all clones of each other.

The single player campaign it has to be said, is a bit of a disappointment, playing through the game by yourself offers no reward whatsoever, once you complete the quiz the only sense of satisfaction you are left with is that you got the questions right, however apart from that, nothing. Things improve 100% once you have friends next to you, this is where this game really comes into it’s own, unlike in the single player game, when more than one person is playing you are suddenly met with a good variety of round types such as fastest finger, pass the bomb, high stakes and pie fight, with the climax being the final countdown, were points are swapped for time and the loser ends up in the basement. The multiplayer is certainly good fun as answering the questions and getting them right suddenly means something, after all you have the incentive of winning the quiz against friends, which is at least rewarding.

While the local multiplayer is probably the most fun, there is still something to be said about playing against strangers or friends online. Unfortunately not all of the rounds from the offline mode make it on here though, but there is a decent enough variety to still make it worthwhile. The biggest drawback here is that you don’t seem to be able to have a friend join in with you at home, so should you venture online you will need to do so by yourself, which is a bit of a shame really.

The best and main addition to Quiz TV on the PS3 is the ability to create your own questions and then use them in the game. Even though the game already has an impressive database of 5000 questions, allowing users to create their own lengthens the games appeal a lot. Creating a quiz is a simple process, all you need to do is visit mybuzzquiz.com, log in to your PSN account and then get creating. Within the game there is news channel which allows you to see the most popular quizzes, the most recently added and also how many times your own quizzes has been played and what rating they have. Already user generated quizzes seem to span all sorts of subjects from formula one and music to questions relating to the history of gaming and more specifically the Playstation.

Choosing users generated questions is simple, before you start a game you are given the choice of what subjects you would like to cover and from here you simply select user generated questions, within this option you can even choose specific question sets or just press start and be given four random ones. Once you complete a set of questions you are then able to rate them for quality.

As far as presentation goes you will certainly not be disappointed, everything has been given a nice high definition upgrade and a lot of work has went into making this game look like any quiz you would watch on TV. Buzz is his usual cheeky self and is expertly voiced by Jason Donovan. You couldn’t really ask for more in the presentation department, it’s pretty much as good as you hoped it would be.

Buzz! Quiz TV is certainly a game which will appeal to the same audience as Singstar and in the future Little Big Planet. If user generated content is the way games are going then this is certainly a step in the right direction. If you are not a big fan of casual games then you will probably want to steer clear of this, but for people who enjoy a social gathering at home now and again, this is probably as good as it gets.

Overall Rating: 8.1/10

Normally when the PS2 gets a new version all that has changed is the songs, however this is not the case with Singstar Vol.2 as it introduces quite a few new features, as well as the 30 new songs which grace the disc. The main feature on the new disc is Harmony mode, which basically allows for two people to sing together, it’s a great addition, although it does seem like something that should have been present before now. Wisely Sony seem to have limited the Harmony mode to songs which suit this mode, meaning that singing Offspring’s “Pretty Fly For A Wise Guy” together is a complete no no.

Other new additions to the new disc is the ability to swap discs with a simple press of select, just like in the old PS2 games, however more impressive is the added ability to use Remote Play via the PSP in order to access the Singstore, Singstar Online and any of your saved data, such as videos, vocal tracks or pictures from wherever you are. The Remote Play feature really is a great addition, it’s great to be able to preview new releases on the Singstore or even buy them, however the best part is watching all the latest videos which have been uploaded to Singstar Online, it’s fun enough watching them on the PS3, but having the ability to view them through the PSP is just genius and yet more proof of how well the two machines work together.

As previously mentioned there are 30 brand new tracks on the disc, and they are quite diverse, from songs such as Aerosmith’s “Dude Look’s Like A Lady” and Nirvana’s “Lithium” to more unusual songs such as Paul McCartney’s ”Frog Chorus” and the classic (open to opinion) Proclaimer’s track “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, yes as usual there is certainly plenty for everyone, which is probably why the game is so popular.

It is also worth mentioning that if you own the previous disc and have bought songs from the Singstore, these will be present as soon as you access the new disc’s song menu, you will also keep your previous wallpaper. For those who didn’t purchase Singstar Vol.1, all of the same features appear on this version, you can access the Singstore, view other people’s uploaded efforts and also save your own videos and watch them back when you are feeling sufficiently brave enough to embarrass yourself in front of your friends.

As far as presentation goes, the menus offer the same Hi-Def, glossy look that the previous disc did, all of the menus look very swish and are very easy to navigate. The videos and vocals are all presented in the usual high quality that you will have come to expect from the series, so overall top marks in this department.

Singstar has always been a fun game to play, sure there are some people who wouldn’t go near it, but for them there are another 10 people who would. What Vol.2 does is take a great idea and then add some new innovative ones, such as the Harmony Mode and the PSP Remote Play option, not to mention the very impressive track line up. If you are a fan of Singstar then Vol.2 is probably a must buy for you, sure the songs may appear on the Singstore at some point in the future and Vol.1 has already been updated to include the new features, but why wait? After all who could resist singing I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) this Friday night?

Overall Rating: 9.4/10

For those of you who are new to the game, you control Snake, voiced by the now very famous David Hayter. Snake is a badass one man army, genetically engineered and involved in a generation spanning battle against terrorists wanting to use the Metal Gears for world domination. This game promises to finally tie up all of the loose ends from the other stories and give the players a gaming experience they will never forget.

I had played the first two games in the series and thought they were great, however for some reason I could not get into the third in the series, in fact I was really worried about this game, hoping that it was not more of the same, but after playing MGS4, I can happily say its all back to normal.

The game is presented in the near future, Liquid Snake has resurfaced and Snake and his team are trying to take him down. Like all MSG games expect a massively disjointed storyline, with plenty of twists and turns, also expect to see a lot of old characters pop up at some point. To make the most out of this game you will be required to have some previous knowledge (not essential), as thought the game there are references made to previous plots and characters, there are flashbacks that you can activate with the X button during the cutsenes, but again you need some previous history with the game to know what is going on.

MGS4 again blurs the line between films and games, the lengthy cutscenes are well acted, all of the original cast member return to reprise their characters. The cut scenes are always the area that splits the gaming community, people feel that they are not playing the game as much, however I felt that this just brings you closer to the game and the surrounding characters. Also for the first time the cutscenes are almost on equal par in terms of graphics to the game itself.

MGS4 is essentially a sneaking game, the main aim is to get through the game without being spotted, if you do, all local enemies will converge on you, they will also call for backup, here you need to either fight it out or find a hiding place, such as a box or under a car to wait out the alarm to die down. Once the initial alarm has dropped the guards are still on cautious. Once this time has passed you are clear to go on safely. Even though this is supposed to be a sneaking mission (Otacon will remind you of this frequently), there are parts of the game where you are in a full blown street war, here all your weapons come into play, and there are plenty to use, these are collected from fallen enemies and also supplied by Otacon throughout the game. You can collect weapons from the floor however some of these are ID locked, thankfully though this is were a weapons dealer called Drebin comes in handy as once you meet him you can trade and purchase new items and upgrades for your weaponry.

To keep the hardcore fans happy there are loads of new additions to the game. I won’t mention most of them as they will essentially spoil the game experience, however a few neat additions include an Ipod that you can use to listen to tunes that you pick up along the way, there is also mention of using your own tracks on the PS3 harddrive, but that won’t happen just yet. Another great bit of product placement is a Playboy mag, place one of these on the floor and watch the guards get put off by it, allowing you time to sneak or attack them without harm or setting off alarms. You also have a Metal Gear Mark 2, this little fella is controlled by Otacon and follows you around. You are also able to control him by selecting it as an item, here he can traverse the battlefield, use a cloaking device and scout for possible threats. Finally, the eye patch seen in the demos all over the net is in fact a Solid Eye, this item allows Snake to switch between infrared and battlefield info, this is where each item will be highlighted, enemies will be red and allies blue.

The Codec makes a welcome return, this time it has full video, so you can see who you are talking to. Also worth a mention is a great little touch I noticed playing around with the options. You can switch in game Codec messages to your bluetooth earpiece, so rather than coming out over the speakers, Otacon will talk directly to your bluetooth device, a truly great touch of realism.

Controls are the same as always, R1 and L1 operate the weapons, R2 and L2 bring up the quick select for items and weapons. The Start button brings up a map that has some really helpful objective markers, plus you can go to Snakes backpack and select more weapons and items, check you mission brief and also use the Codec.

The levels and boss fights are really huge as always, with 5 Acts to play through, each one is separated further into smaller areas, meaning that this game will take a while to play through. You also have 4 difficulty settings, with another opening up on completion of the game.

The graphics and sound on this title are truly premium, there is nothing even close to it on any console at the moment, the surround sound is engrossing with effects of full on battles taking place all around you to the more subtle sneaking areas, where you listen out for footsteps of approaching guards.

As well as the main game you also have the completely new Metal Gear Online. Once you have gone through the lengthy process of installing and updating (approx 9 min), you then need to register a Konami and Game ID, thankfully this links straight to the required site. Set up these and you will go to the next set up area, designing your character. There are a few models to choose and customize, but not really enough to keep your player original, I think maybe Konami will release some new items in the Metal Gear Shop, for a small fee of course. There is a lot of setting up to go through before you start play, about 20 mins worth, however once done you are ready to go. In the game lobby you can choose from plenty of options including Training, here you are given the basic moves and also short training on the CQC and SOP actions that are not used in the main game. You can also be trained by another online player, offering you direct hints and tips to improve your game. To play online you can choose from starting your own game or joining up in an existing one, the lobbies are quite laborious to get through, however this is there to fine tune your experience and ensure you play against the right level of player. There are 5 maps to play through, and each one has a choice of 7 mission types, making sure there is plenty of variety. The levels themselves are well made, offering plenty of cover and also trigger points were well organised players can set ambushes in tunnels and the like. You have the usual deathmatch and team deathmatch, but there are also the sneaking missions where it’s all against one, the idea is for the player playing as Snake to take down and collect as many dog tags as possible. Team Sneaking is sees one team in full stealth camo and while needing to capture certain objectives. Rescue, Capture missions and also Base missions finalise this great list of online styles. Whilst most of these are fun, I feel the team deathmatch will be played the most as this is the most engrossing style.

As far as online communication goes there are a few selections, you can either use a keyboard and type or use the select button in game, choosing from a pre-selected group of commands, like fall back or cover me. The server itself seems capable of dealing with a large amount of people and I had not experienced any lag whatsoever during play. The graphics and sound again are as good as the main game itself.

In the end I cannot recommend this title enough to fans or newcomers. All who play will be engrossed by the great story and action. There are so many ways to play this game, full on action or slow paced stealth so everyone is happy. With so many cool little touches, this game will take forever to get through and experience it all. Even the naysayer’s who feel this type of game is not really a game but a long movie will have to shut up and take note as this is truly what the PS3 is all about….At last an epic title the console can be proud of.

Overall Rating: 9.9/10

So what’s so different about Everybody’s Golf 2? Well it has a new 16 player online mode for starters, not bad eh? And as well as this it has the usual extras such as unlockable characters, new courses and more clothes, hairstyles, clubs and balls than you will find in a golf complex with a built in hairdresser.

For those who have never played any of the games before, it couldn’t be simpler to pick up. There is a power bar at the bottom of the screen and within this there is also a guide as to the distance you will hit the ball and how far the away the green is. To start off you simply press the X button, and then press it again when you have the power for the distance you desire, finally you must line the power meter up with the impact line to hit your shot, then you will either be met with someone shouting nice shot, or the sound of your club cutting the grass. Now it may not sound too complex just pressing the X button, however there is a lot more to this game than first meets the eye. There is a compass at the top of the screen which shows how strong the wind is and which way it is blowing, using the D-Pad you are able to shoot slightly to the left or right, which allows you to take the wind into account and adjust your shot accordingly. You are also able to change clubs using the L and R buttons, therefore if the wind is too strong you can gain extra power by doing just this and if you need more power still, a tap of the square button will allow you to use a power shot. Of course golf isn’t without its hazards and this game is full of them, from bunkers, water traps and out of bound zones, one false move could see you in trouble, so while the game may seem as simple as tapping X, you will soon find out that it isn’t quite as simple as first thought.

Once of the greatest achievements of the Everybody’s Golf series is the way it hooks you in, this is done by a combination of the excellent gameplay and of course, the sheer number of unlockables, most of which can be found in the challenge mode.

The challenge mode is where the single player will spend mode of their time, here you will play through the games many unlockable courses, finding more and more characters, abilities and accessories the longer you play. The beauty of challenge mode is that is just so addictive, even though you only start the game with two golfers and two courses you will find yourself hooked and before long you will have a lot more choice too. One of the best things about starting the game with a limited amount of characters is the loyalty system, this allows you to unlock new items for that character even if you don’t win. You see every time you play a game with the same character your loyalty bar (represented by a heart) will fill slightly, fill it straight to the top and you will be rewarded.

When you win a match in challenge mode you are now awarded with one of three cards (head, body and accessories), what card you get depends on which challenge you choose. Once you win a match you have to choose one of four facedown cards, when you choose one you will then be awarded with an item and +1 will also be added to the category that the card relates to, once you reach the required amount of cards, your character will then go up a level in that category. To add to this, once you reach a certain amount of cards you will also unlock a Vs. challenge against a new golfer, beat that character and then you will get to keep them.

As well as challenge mode the game also includes, stroke play, training and a minigame. The latter is probably the most fun out of these as you have to try and sink as many holes in one as possible into one of three huge holes, each holes has a certain value (+10, +20 and +30), with the value increasing depending on the difficulty of the hole.

The main addition to Everybody’s Golf 2 though is the multiplayer mode, either creating your own tournaments or joining in on one of the other 16 player online games, this is great fun and it also seems to be pretty much lag free, which I’m sure you will agree is great news. The multiplayer tournaments also support the loyalty system so you can unlock new abilities while playing online, in fact you can even use the abilities you earned offline here.

Graphically the game lives up to the usual high standards set by the series, the characters are well animated and the courses all look fantastic. The sound is also up to its usual high standards, the music has a nice upbeat feel to it and the characters all have their own little personalities which make them stand apart from each other.

If you have a PSP then this is the sort of game your handheld was made for, in fact you don’t even need to like golf to play it. Everybody’s Golf 2 is just one of those games that you can’t put down, its addictive fun and well worth anyone’s cash.

Overall Rating: 8.9/10

Lego Indy, as we shall call the game from now on, provides you will six episodes for each of the original movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade), much like in Lego Star Wars each level begins with the usual humorous cut scenes, which it has to be said will make you laugh out loud on a few occasions. There are some neat additions in this latest game, for starters the weapons now have a far wider range, dynamite, bazookas, swords, guns and bows all make an appearance and not forgetting of course Indy’s rather snazzy whip, which can be used for spinning enemies, picking up discarded weapons and also for lifting items over heavy platforms (which you cannot jump across when the item is in your arms), Indy’s whip really is his special ability.

Other characters within the game also have abilities which will come in handy during the course of the game, females can now jump higher, smaller characters fit through hatches, and thugees can operate the statues, which in turn reveal hidden areas. Of course not all of the characters are available at the beginning of the game, meaning that (much like in Lego Star Wars) you will have to play through the levels again in freeplay mode (once you have bought/unlocked the new characters) in order to get to the hidden parts of the level that you where previously unable to reach. As well as weapons and new characters Lego Indiana Jones also introduces objects which you are able to use to your advantage, shovels allow you to dig for machinery parts or hidden treasure and spanners allow you to fix broken lifts or vehicles, these items are a great addition to the game and really make you search around the level a bit more for things that you require in order to progress.

One other rather amusing addition to the game is character phobias, Indiana Jones is famously terrified of snakes and in Lego Indy it is no different, every time Indy goes near a snake he will cower, hiding his eyes with his hands, until his companion disposes of the snakes. Other characters have phobias too, some are scared of spiders for instance, allowing Indy to make up for his own cowardice by giving them a slap with his whip.

There is no doubt that Lego Indiana Jones has been built with Co-op play in mind and therefore it is no surprise that the game is much more enjoyable when played in this way. Most of the time co-op requires no more that one person stepping on a switch while the other stands in the elevator, or has one player push something in order to make it easier for the other player to reach a platform, however there are more complex puzzles, which makes finding the secrets together a much tougher task than it was before.

No game is without at least some issues and Lego Indy is no exception, the point of frustration comes in the controls, or the Y button, it is quite bizarre how this manages to double up for swapping your character and getting on a vehicle/bike/elephant, many times throughout the game this made me quite frustrated, still I suppose it isn’t too much of big a deal. Another problem I found was with the camera, although most of the time it’s generally ok, sometimes it’s just downright frustrating, because you can’t switch the angle when jumping on certain platforms, half the time you just fall off and have to keep trying until you eventually manage to get where you want to be, this happened to me on quite a few occasions, giving me more frustration that I feel I should get from a videogame.

Thankfully the above issues do not spoil the game at all, and are more than made up for by the sheer amount of things to bash and find. What I will say is that collecting coins seems to be easier than I remember, filling up your bar to achieve True Adventurer status seems to happen without trying too much, although perhaps this is due to the vast amount of items that these coins lay behind, from tables, spiders webs, old crates, you name it, anything you would expect to find in an old dingy cave is there. As with Lego Star Wars there are also 10 special collectables (Artefacts) to be found within each level, finding these will allow you to go the museum at the college and view them, there are also hidden parcels throughout each level which can be sent back to the college.

The college is almost an adventure in itself, here you can destroy almost anything for coins, buy new characters, visit the cinema and view the cut scenes you have unlocked so far, as well as finding things of interest which are hidden around the building. The college is also the epicentre for your adventures, there are three maps on the wall (each representing one of the movies) and from here you will be able to play through the game in story mode or alternatively play the levels you have unlocked in freeplay mode.

Graphically the game cannot be faulted, every brick looks fantastic and the cut scenes really are top class. The same can also be said of the sound, sure the characters do not speak but all of the weapons are very authentic in combat and the soundtrack adds so much to the game.

Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures offers everything you could hope for, it doesn’t venture too far away from the Star Wars games but what it does add makes this one of the best co-op games you will play this year, well at least until Lego Batman comes out anyway.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Dragonball Z is a long running anime show that has had many series and numerous film and other tie-ins. There was always a problem (like with many other imported shows) that the storyline has been cut and changed for a western audience. Burstlimit helps fill in the gaps and starts from the beginning of this huge saga. Just like the BanDai/Koei Gundam tie-in last year, this time BanDai have teamed up with Atari to bring Dragonball Burst limit which is a start to finish chronicle of the greatest stories from this universe.

Burst limit is a 1 on 1 fighting game with a few different modes to choose from to keep you interested in the game. First off is the training session which is really recommended as there are just so many moves to remember. Each move is explained by a mentor, these are well narrated and this helps make sure you nail each move before moving on. Though I mentioned there are loads of moves to remember, thankfully the button layout is quite simple, the face buttons are two types of attack, a block and a projectile move. The projectile move is a weak fireball, this wont do much damage but can knock your opponent off guard, enabling you the upper hand, mix this with the two attacks and you can pull off some easy combos. To use more powerful moves you can use trigger buttons together with the attack buttons to pull off Aura actions like the Mega Crush. The block button is quite versatile, depending on when you use it, you can dodge, deflect or ricochet a projectile back at an enemy, with the press of a direction you are also able to jump behind the enemy for a better advantage.

The main screen is nice and simple to understand, you have your standard energy bar which depletes with each hit received, your Ki bar which increases as you fight, and once this is full you are able to pull of Ultimate moves with a simple combo. You also have Drama Cards. You collect these during the main campaign, if you find yourself in a required situation you will unlock a short cutscene, which usually culminates in an assist from another character. Once unlocked you are able to select these in the multiplayer games, adding a nice touch to the game.

As well as the training you also have a practice room, here you can go and try out some of the more technical moves in your own time without the hassle of another player beating down on you. Having played DBZ games on the PS1, I found these training areas really helpful to get to grips with the moves and also the multi level battlefield.

The Z Chronicles is the main fighting mode, here you will play as numerous characters from the Dragonball Z series, fighting in some of their more memorable fights. As you play through you will experience stories from the Saiyan Saga through to the Cell Saga and play as favourites like Napa, Piccolo, Gohan and Vegeta. In this mode you are able to unlock the Drama scenes to assist with online play. You are able to choose from 4 difficulties on each fight. At the end of each fight you are also graded, with Z being the best, you are graded on numerous areas such as speed to win, first hit, finishing moves and so on. The stories themselves are fun and engrossing enough that you will want to play through to the end, there is also plenty of DBZ humour to keep a light note to all of the violence. There are about 21 characters to play and unlock throughout the game which is reasonable enough, whilst the actions to perform the moves are identical, the on screen moves differ so a different technique is required for each player. This is a really good idea as it levels the playing field for new players and the more experienced.

In the One on One mode you are able to choose from local play or online, here you can choose from any of the characters and levels you have previously opened. A cool touch is the power level of your character. Play online and with each win or loss you will gain power points, you are able to view your own points and your opponents, just like in the show. Online is the same as local, no lag and really fast paced, on a few occasions the servers were so full I could not get a game which shows how popular this game is.

Finally there are a few filler modes that you unlock during play including a survivor mode where you have to try to take out 100 opponents without dying. Fun in the short term, but does not add anything extra to the game.

The three main ingredients for fighting games is the characters, the moves and the levels. DBZ has plenty of well animated characters and great moves lists, though the same for all characters, each one has their own weakness and strength but it really misses out on the levels, they are very bland and similar. There is no interaction, you are left with just an open area and lots of sky to fight in, which is a bit boring to say the least. In the end I did enjoy this game, the ease of online and the ability to view your opponent’s power rating is faithful to the show and the inclusion of Drama abilities is a really good idea. Well worth a look if you are after a good fighting game.

Overall Rating: 8/10