“Kick, punch, it’s all in the mind”. Never have the words of Parrapa the Rapper’s Chop Chop Master Onion been more applicable than to the original fan reaction to Street Fighter III. In trying to create a game that was truly different to both Street Fighter II and Street Fighter Zero III, Capcom almost alienated its entire fanbase. Complaints ranged from criticism of the unfamiliar characters to the disappointment that players could not choose between different fighting styles. Over the...

At what point does the revolutionary become the mainstream? It's a question that is not often asked in the usual videogame discourse, but one that would be interesting to analyse in order to understand why when classics from yesteryear, such as Super Mario 64, are ported to new systems, they are "reimagined" with new control systems or something even more drastic. The release of Panel de Pon DS is an interesting case in this regard. The original Panel de Pon was released for the Super Famicom, wh...

At the time of writing, Codemasters’ Dirt Rally is only available on the PC as an Early Access via Steam, but let’s hope it comes to consoles too, because it’s one of the best driving games released in a long time. There are a few niggles still to be worked out, and features to be implemented, but the majority of the Single Player game is complete and it's already at the point that it's so worth forking out the money. Essential even. If you want Multi Player, you'll have to wait though. EDIT:...

Don’t women just confuse you sometimes? I mean they go around touting how independent they are and how smart they are, but sometimes their craziness defies belief. I ask you now that if Emily Pankhurst had been some kind of time travelling type guy and had been able to travel forward to the year 2003 and seen what her free, independent women had become, would she have thrown herself under the hooves of the king's horse? I somehow doubt it. Take into consideration a girl this reviewer once dated...

There are a few gaming moments that will always be remembered. A first ever game of Space Invaders perhaps, watching the opening sequence of Ocarina of Time maybe, and now sitting on the grid in the first race of Bizarre Creations’ Project Gotham Racing 3 in the cockpit view with Night on a Bare Mountain blaring out of a 5.1 surround system, engines revving, ready to go. It was a spine chilling moment. PGR3 is an arcade racer, featuring the cities of London, New York, Tokyo, Las Vegas and a...

September 11th 2001, it's a date most people around the world will remember for a very long time. Were it not for the collapse of a couple of towers, Buile Baku would have been released earlier than it was so people were delayed from playing this building demolition puzzle game, laying bricks and mortar to the ground in short order. It took Kadokawa Shoten a while to decide that the sensitivity surrounding the flattening of tall structures had diminished, and had seen fit, at long last, to release...

Many moons ago in a silicon age when graphics had never heard of lighted textured 3D models, there was a game called Golden Axe, and much praise was lavished upon it because it was good. Today the 2D market is very much a niche area, even if you own a GBA, so enter Raging Bless a.k.a. Raging Blades in the Western release. The premise of this title is a simple one; chose a soldier to battle against the revived devil Daiguraid, from one of four available, which include, Gray the Knight of Basel Kingdom,...

There aren't many things that can be described as Beyond Good and Evil. You could argue this is accurate of the Pope, or the odd Arch Bishop, but not a computer game. Except in this case we have something that is beyond good (or, at, least above average), and evil in terms of some of the level design. You play the part of Jade, a freelance photographer who lives in a lighthouse in the city of Hyllis. Alas, the Hillians are at war with an alien race known as the Domz. Unfortunately, the crack milit...

As a first visit to any kind of games show, it was going to be very interesting to see what all the fuss was about. I remember reading about the Tokyo Game Show among other shows in magazines years back and having a sense of delight and amazement. Did you ever dream of going to a game show in Japan? I'm sure it's something most avid gamers can associate with. On Sunday the 28th of September, my wife and I headed towards Makuhari messe from western Tokyo, a journey of 2 hours. When we finally ...

Xbox owners have looked forlornly at their PS2 counterparts playing Gran Turismo, at least up until now. Be depressed no longer, for at last a challenger to the GT crown has arrived, and this fantastic petrol-laden revved-up game is known as Forza Motorsport. Whilst not featuring quite so many vehicles, lacking the 60 fps of its rival, and definitely wanting a better soundtrack, Forza beats GT4 in several important areas: solid AI, online racing, a decent damage model and it’s fun. Say no...