Some years ago now the release of the Nintendo Wii evoked in me a sense of bemusement and disbelief: the console was, as far as I could see, a dinosaur. Microsoft’s Xbox360 and Sony’s PS3 showed gamers that the gulf between the PC and the games console was narrowing.

Both consoles would immediately offer online services (most notably Microsoft’s Xbox Live, which had already proven its worth in terms of usability and reliability), allow media centre connectivity, the usage of mass-storage devices (having appeared to some extent on Microsoft’s original Xbox) and high definition graphics. Conversely, Nintendo’s latest iteration was a redesigned Gamecube with rather novel controllers – all old hardware. These reasons all contributed to the surprise experienced by so many at the Wii’s success.

Until now the motion-control domain has been owned by Nintendo exclusively, but the Sony’s newest peripheral, the PlayStation Move, is making its own foray into the market. Unlike Microsoft’s upcoming Kinect, which questions the necessity of controllers, Move is an improvement on the old technology used by Nintendo to staggering appeal; it is easy to dismiss Move as a Wii ‘cash-in’, but the similarities do not run deep.

I purchased my Move the day following release, with no prior intention of doing so. Browsing the shelves of Blockbuster I was allowed a quick go on their demo copy of Sports Champions, which is effectively a Move rehash of Wii Sports. The first thing that struck me was not the precision of the cursor but the precision of the controller when used in three dimensions. Unlike the Wii, which clumsily relies on mercury switches to detect force of action, the PlayStation Eye camera tracks the size and position of the ball atop the Move controller.

This allows it to not only move within three dimensions but to rotate on its axis – a much-overlooked benefit. I bought my Move the next day with R.U.S.E (an RTS), Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 and Resident Evil 5: Gold, leaving many poorly rated release titles behind.

R.U.S.E

Beyond the classic ports of Command & Conquer on the original PlayStation and (to some extent) the 360 port of Battle for Middle-Earth 2, I don’t count RTS games as welcome in the console canon. Joypads are rarely capable of navigating the complicated menu systems which were often designed for PC users, and the underwhelming success of Halo Wars and Tom Clancy’s: Endwar are a testament to this fact. Still, I went ahead and bought R.U.S.E with apprehension, and I was pleasantly surprised

Essentially, the Move doubles up as a mouse and scroll-wheel combined. Holding the trigger will allow you to control the zoom and view rotation, and when released is used as a cursor. This works extremely well and while not as precise as a mouse allows the dextrous individual to play a somewhat complicated game with a great sense of enjoyment and ease.

Unfortunately the Move’s youth is apparent with the decision by Ubisoft’s to add an aim-assist to the cursor which will cause it to jump to selectable units rather than allow the player the freedom of a mouse. Even so, ordering forth a wave of infantrymen is given a fresh coat of paint, and finally gives the RTS genre breathing room on consoles.

By Chris Tucker TNC Gaming Reviewer

Hitting the Playstation network in summer, Guardians of Light tells the story of a battle that took place over 2000 years ago between the forces of light and dark. Jump to present day and Lara has discovered and awoken the leader of the light, Totec, and now they have to work together to stop the evil Zolop and his returning dark forces.

This presents a brilliant opportunity of on or offline co-op with both Totec and Lara playable characters.

Crystal Dynamics have littered the game with ways that players must work together to overcome obstacles or solve puzzles. Totec can hold his shield above his head or throw spears into a nearby wall, which Lara can then jump on to reach higher ledges. Lara can also grapple onto Totec or create a tightrope by grappling onto a nearby object, which Totec can walk across.

But fear not single players, if you would rather take on the adventure on your own, crystal dynamics have made sure that single players can stampede through the richly textured tombs. When you select single player from the main menu the game totally changes and makes all puzzles and obstacles solvable using one person instead of two.

This adventure should take around 7 hours to complete, and is brimming with additional tombs and puzzles to solve. And with Keeley Hawes voicing Lara once again, its bound to be a hit with middle aged men everywhere.

By Ashley Tulett

It’s only been ten minuets and I have nicked the grim reapers scythe and then proceeded to slice him in half with it, saw my naked dead wife get dragged into some supernatural realm and watched the dead rise from their graves. Welcome to the world of Dante’s Inferno, a trip down the proverbial yellow brick road of hell. Filled with the 9 circles of the unholy damned, Dante must hack through waves of demons to rescue his beloved Beatrice.

Fear not though you are given a mystical guide in the form of roman poet Virgil, he will explain each unbelievable circle you visit, giving you some background into the sins of its inhabitants. The game is definitely not for those who suffer from a fragile mind and features an 18 rating for a reason. It has bucket loads of gore throughout and heading through the circle of lust sees you surrounded by visages of lady and boy bits (that’s penis and vagina for those scientific types among us).

As you trudge through hell you’re given a choice to either absolve or punish your enemies that succumb to your button bashing onslaught. The karma system is spit into holy and unholy and each side offers new combo’s or magic upgrades. Players are not bound to the path they started on and can freely hop between the two sides unless they are keen to stay on one side for the higher level power ups.

Camera angles are well thought out which makes up for the non existent control over the camera as you play. A great example of this is when you first enter hell and scale down a walled made of bodies, the camera moves just enough for a haunting image of a fiery stone statue spewing limp bodies out its mouth can be seen.

The sound is lush and gives the player a real foreboding sense that all hope is lost. The damned wail and scream with terrifying reality and shout as you go near them, tempting you with the very sins they are suffering for. Every blow you land sounds like it should, with that loud thud and a moist afterwards we would expect as you carve into someone’s flesh.

Accompanying your trusty scythe is your ability to use magical abilities. These include throwing gold crucifix’s at your enemies, making yourself into a tornado and stabbing yourself to cause massive damage to enemies. Some bigger enemies, quick time events and boss battles require the player to use timed button sequences to kill them. This is great fun for the first half of the game, but when you discover that the same sequences are used throughout the whole game, it really begins to grate.

For the kleptomaniacs among you there are 30 Judas coins to collect from alters that looks like every other alter ensuring the player cracks every one open. Similarly there are demon dogs and boss battles that leave relics behind, these give special power ups or bonus’s to the players and can be levelled up through punishing or absolving the minions of hell (much like the karma system). Finally you can collect 3 Beatrice stones which means you skip the absolve mini game you can play when you meet certain souls in hell.

The combat system reflects most hack and slash games with the standard block, heavy attack and light attack buttons. Obviously it’s up to the player to discover which combos work best and they will have to plan their route through the karma system carefully. With each path unlocking different magic or attack upgrades.

One of the more disappointing aspects of the game was the hit and miss quality in environmental textures. Some areas look breathtaking (considering you’re in hell) in particular the fire effects and boss fights. But some of the basic things like walls and rock just look rushed and grainy, something you do not expect nor want to see in a 3rd generation console game.

Overall Dante’s Inferno is a fantastic game which offers a refreshing change to the FPS and sports games that dominate the modern games market. Replay value comes in the unlockable gates of hell trials and the DLC ‘Trials of St Lucia’. Unfortunately it’s not a perfectly finished game, but the small niggles should not dissuade you from buying it

8/10

Ashley Tulett is a new addition to TNC family and during term time is based at Bournemouth University. As well as game review’s Ashley will also be doing music reviews.