Wolf of The Battlefield: Commando 3
Review by Nintenfan1989

Following the amazing 1985 smash hit Commando and the 1990 master-piece which was Mercs, Wolf of The Battlefield has a lot to live up to.
Its been 18 years since the last game and surprisingly enough the gameplay stays fairly true to its origins, you grab a gun and run through enemy territory killing bad guys and saving POW’s.

Sadly I feel the graphics have taken the series in the wrong direction, gone are the 2D but wonderfully detailed graphics of Mercs, and in are the slightly plain 3D graphics of WoTB.
Don’t get me wrong, the graphics aren’t awful, but they are slightly dull. The environment lacks certain detail and lighting effects are next to non-existent, luckily there is so much going off on the screen that you wont notice lack of detail unless you look for it.

The gameplay is pretty action packed, you run through enemy territory with the left analog stick, and gun everything to death with the right, hundreds of enemies are running at you from all sides and your literally dodging bullets every inch of the way.
With bullets are flying everywhere, its a damned good thing your character is hard as nails, no man i know can take a round of machine gun fire to the head, jump on a dozen land mines and blow himself up with a rocket launcher… and still be running round like nothing has happened, you never loose much health and there is always health packs near by, it makes this game much more easy then the previous 2, this is probably because Capcom no longer feel a need to take our 20p pieces away from us.

What you will notice is the bad collision detection, through out the game your bullets will be stopped by invisible barriers placed near boxes and tank traps, while it can be damned annoying it doesn’t actually distract from the fun, yep, through all its problems the gameplay is still very fun, just like the previous 2, it has its faults but is still very entertaining.
You can switch weapons just by walking over a weapon crate, and since there isn’t any ammo your weapon lasts until you pick up a better one. This includes a lot of guns, Machineguns, Flamethrowers, Rocket Launchers, Shotguns and a wide variety of others, the Rocket Launcher is the most useless weapon i have ever used but except from that they are all really cool.

What isn’t cool though is the vehicle control system, the cars handle like they are floating and unless you have a friend handy to control the gun then it will only fire straight in front of you, this kind of breaks away from the excitement of the 1 man army that Mercs and Commando had, and instead tries to get you to team up with others.
Good thing it has an Online Mode, so even if you don’t have any friends you can still enjoy a full 3-player game.

There isn’t much to say about the story, its a kind of run of the mill action story, meaning there isn’t much of one, but the little cartoony cut-scenes are good and very stylishly done.
On the mention of Cartoony and Very Stylishly Done i have to give extra notice to the Title Menu, it looks brilliant, possibly the best game menu i have ever seen and right at the bottom is a very nice little extra from Capcom… special access to the Beta of the new Street Fighter game.

Over all the game is worth getting if you don’t already have a Run and Gun Shoot em up, it does have a few problems but it is still entertaining, its a game you can quickly jump into for 10 or 20 minutes with out having to study a play guide.
Its all fairly simple stuff and most of the game is the same thing over and over, so your never really forced to learn anything new. The boss battles are slightly boring after a while, but least its something different from the same handful of the far too similar enemies which attack over and over with out rest.
Vehicles spice up what would have been a boring experience and there is also the gun turrets which are brilliant fun to play with, sadly some of them have been placed where it makes the bad collision detection as obvious as possible.

Gameplay: 7/10 - While its pretty much the same thing through-out, it is still very fun.

Graphics: 6/10 - while not bad, they aren’t anything special, apart from the Title Menu which is brilliant.
Story: 2/10 - not much of a story at all.
Sound: 4/10 - once again, its not bad, but its plain.
Controls: 6/10 - would be really good if the vehicle controls was better.
Overall: 6/10 - It has faults, and its pretty plain, but overall it is fun and you do get the Beta version of Street Fighter to try out as well. Give the Trial a try, you may enjoy it.

WizKids®’ popular constructible strategy game comes to Xbox LIVE® Arcade and PLAYSTATION®Network this fall with Rocketmen: Axis of Evil. In this arcade shooter, players will join the heroes of the Alliance of Free Planets in their white-knuckled, frenzied struggle to free the Solar System from the tyrannical grip of the Legion of Terra. Up to four players will be able to cooperatively shoot their way through multiple levels, powering up their weapons, picking up bonuses and laying waste to anything that moves. 

Key features

• Fast-paced arcade action
• 1 – 4 players on or offline
• Online multiplayer gameplay through a variety of mini games that let players instantly jump into existing games
• Design and build your own character for both single and multi-player games, each with their own unique skills and look
o Male or female
o Three races – Human, Mercurian or Venusian
o Three classes – Fighter, Engineer, Outcast
• Further character customization options through new items and abilities earned by progressing through a variety of quests
• Multiple hours of gameplay with plenty of levels, hordes of enemies, huge bosses and engaging story for maximum replay value
• Beautiful cartoon-like art style brings life to the characters and environments
• Competitive online ranking system
• High definition 1080i graphics

Rocket man axis of evil is an xbox live top down shooter with rpg elements, if you looking for something cheap, addictive and fun with 4 player local and xbox live play, then this is for you.

The game lets you customise your character with different colours, suits , hair styles etc and also a choice of character called rebel, mercury, Venus which are kinda like three races. Your then able to choose weather to be a warrior engineer and outcast. Once you have created you character your ready to go.

The next thing you see is a cut scene very much like a comic book with some animation, good dialogue, some cut scenes have a comedy side to them and are funny from time to time. you get cut scenes in between missions and at important points in levels, they are quite fun to watch but if your bored you can easily press the x button to skip. The storyline is very simple, rocket man(you) and the alliance have to save the galaxy against the legion of Terra. Your missions are based on ships, planets and other space objects.

The controls for the game are very easy, you use your left analog to turn and move and you use your right analog to aim, you aim by pointing the analog in different directions, RB can switch through secondary weapons and RT can fire them, all basic and easy to get used to.

 Also when firing your primary weapon you can strafe left to right with your left analog stick to avoid incoming fire. While in the game you come across an arsenal of weapons which range from fast laser type weapons, shotgun, and a razor disc launcher that can bounce of walls.

Its best you keep firing when using these weapons as you only have a limited amount of time to use them until that weapon gets reverted back to your basic laser pistol, after killing groups of men you usually find one of these weapons. Secondary weapons can be rockets , homing missiles, mounted guns and mines, these weapons can come in short supply and are best to store up and use against tough characters such as bosses. On your travels you will also collect cash, life and xp points from killing enemies, although you lose xp when you die. After every mission you get to upgrade your character using the the money you have found. You can upgrade your armour and all types of weapons, my favourite part is stats upgrade. You can upgrade your speed, damage, demolition, engineering, evasion and life. All is vital as you pro cede through the game and face harder tasks.

The gaming graphic and sound quality are pretty much on par with live games like 3d ultra mini golf or mad tracks, maybe better but who can complain, this is a cheaply priced game and worth it.

Overall its worth the buy , great for groups, local or live play. I have to admit it can get boring playing single player, mainly because you face a horde of enemies and your guaranteed to die on every level without multi player help. Available on xbox live arcade for 800 points, buy it right now!

Game play 8/10 easy controls, fun to play , get a group going.

Graphics 8/10 good for an arcade download

Controls 9/10 so easy and go well with this top down shooter

Sound 8/10 again its all good! He he

Overall 8.2/10 its a fun game with plenty of levels, good price, 4 players. What more do you need.

Reflexive Entertainment reveals first details of the Blast Thru game mode in its upcoming XBLA title Axiom Overdrive.

Players develop precision left stick thrust control skills to navigate asteroid AF128’s winding mine shafts at high speed, while carrying delicate shock sensitive high explosives.

Managing the counter orbital movement of the grappled explosives is key to success on these levels, as is mastering a well-timed grapple release, to slingshot the explosives and blast open bulkhead doors that have become fused shut.

“The faster pilots can blast their way through every fused bulkhead in a sector, the higher their rewards, which are credited towards their pilot cert rating,” said lead game designer Tony Barnes.

For further information about the opportunities for OTF pilots within The Axiom Corporation, please read the documentation available on www.axiomoverdrive.com.

Conan - Xbox 360
Review by Nintenfan1989

“Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.”
– Robert E. Howard, The Phoenix on the Sword, 1932.
Created in 1932 Conan The Cimmerian, The Barbarian & The Destroyer has come a long way, through books, movies and now games. However does this game live up to a 75 year old legend?

The gamplay is fun, with loads of blood, gore and flying limbs its definatly worthy of the title “Hack and Slash”, but its incredibly buggy and you often find Conan stuck in the ground and only able to spin, arrows suspended in mid air, limbs floating all over the place like some bad space horror film or the AI attacking rocks for no reason. This shouldn’t put you off too much though, because its funny to see and can be just as entertaining as the game itself, and to make up for the horribly glitchy game play they have added a ton (over 100) combat moves and a load of naked women chained to the walls with only a bit of string between their legs to protect their modesty, and to top it off they are VERY glad to see you, chained up naked by horny pirates you would think these girls would be a tad bit upset, but instead they pull a stripper pose and purr something sexy to you in hopes that you will carry them off into the bushes.

Conan also has a few tricks up his sleeve (or rather, under his loin cloth, since thats all he really wears) the moves Conan can pull off are gory, violent and very entertaining, and with the ability to remove just about any part of the enemy’s body or even chop them in half vertically so each piece has a leg, same as a Sunday chicken roast, this game is full of entertainment for Conan or Hack and Slash fans alike.

Theres loads of enemys to slaughter and rip limbs from, but sadly they are basically the same thing copied over and over and just given different weapons, you have your soldiers that get tougher, better equipped and more combat skill as you progress, you have the odd lion and flying lizard thing and of course the annoying apes which repeat the same annoying and frustrating 2 moves over and over again, but apart from that each different enemy is only a change of graphics. But, no matter how repetitive it seems, with all them combat moves and different ways of killing someone you will always find something to keep you amused.

Putting the game play aside, the story line is pretty dull, your Conan and you have just woke up a sorcerer who has decided to enchant your armor and spread it across Hyboria. So now you must go and reclaim your armor, piece by piece with each one giving you new powers to overcome the sorcerer. He cant be too smart if hes giving you all these powers to destroy him, but then again what villain is.

The search for your armor does however lead to some of the most fun and hyper-violent boss battles a hack and slash could ever hope for, from smashing pirate bosses faces into their own clubs till point where their heads turn to mush or ramming a witches staff down her throat, to even climbing inside a sea monster to destroy its insides and then cutting your way back out through its eyeball.

My one put off of the story line however is the fact that Conan casts spells, anyone that has read the books or watched the movies will know that Conans pet hate is “Sorcerers and their tricks”, so why he would run round turning monsters to stone, creating portals to suck in unsuspecting soldiers, making fire rain from the skys and even spewing bats from his body is beyond me, because it entirely destroys the original Conan.

What does stick to the Conan universe however is the graphics, while they don’t look good enough for the 360 they do have some painted charm to them, which brings you back to the realms of the REAL Conan, it looks more like a painting then a game and has its own beautiful charm that makes up for the lacking detail in the models and jerky animations.

The voice acting and sounds are also very much like what you would get if you watched the movies, giving the games a small slice of the movies charm, but the surround sound could have been used a little more.

Overall the game could have used a good bit of polishing up, you just cant help but feel like its been rushed, but even though the downsides to the game are large and plentiful you will find that you hardly even notice them once you get into the full swing of the game.
Conan isn’t worthy of an immediate buy at full retail price, but once it drops in price i highly recommend it, it is a game that you shouldn’t miss out on if you enjoy a good bit of hyper-violent, blood and boob filled slash-fest.

Gameplay - 8/10 - Very fun, very violent but very glitchy
Graphics - 6/10 - definatly suiting to Conan, but not next-gen
Sounds - 7/10 - Its Conan magic, but the voice actors could have tried a little harder.
Overall - 7/10 - Well worth a buy, just not at full price.