With the opening month of 2012 now behind us (did that go as quick for everyone else too?) we’re at that time of a new month when we have a look at the best of the content on offer from the other members of the Character Select Network.

Without further ado, here’s some of what the others were up to during January:-

Introspective Retrospective

2011 may be old news now, but that doesn’t mean there’s no scope for people to sit down and have a natter about what gaming treats they enjoyed. The Cane and Rinse podcast gets a few members on board to talk about their favorites.

To conclude our thoughts on the year in videogames that was 2011, Cane and Rinse contributors Karl Moon, Darren Gargette, James Carter, Joshua Garrity and Darren Foreman each offer their own personal perspectives on the previous twelve months of digital delights.

And while you’re there, and if you’re a fan of Halo, you might want to check out their podcast all about Halo:Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition

This week Leon and Tony are joined by Karl Moon and, making his Cane and Rinse podcast debut, Darren Gargette, to discuss 343 Industries Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

 

The Changing Demands of Gamers

Onyersix (possibly not his real name) ruminates over just how gamers tastes may be changing as the medium pushes ever onwards, including things like value for money and catering to everyone’s different play styles.

Although the character is an important aspect of the game, modern day RPGs have taught us that you can, to a certain degree, role-play and develop characters in your own styling.  You might choose to play Fallout 3 as a psychopath, homicidally murdering people in their sleep and insulting everyone you speak to.  (Telling a woman she was bats**t crazy was hilarious to me!)  If nothing else, it lets us mold the story to our own choosing, rather than dictating a linear path in the style of games like Uncharted 3.

Syndicate Preview

While the change into a First Person Shooter may not site well with some,  sci-fi title Syndicate is soon to be reborn. Tony Chandler has a look at how the game is shaping up with a hands on preview.

The new Syndicate takes the basics of this, and spins it into a very modern game. Gone is the old fashioned isometric viewpoint, replaced instead with a first person perspective. The characters look has been changed too, from the very 90s sunglasses and trench coats look of the original to a futuristic cross between a character from Mass Effect and Killzone. The demo we were given to play was the four-player online cooperative mode, on a mission to find and kill a rival Syndicate’s Colonel. There were three classes of agent to choose from, Offense, Defense and Support, so for the first game I picked Defense.

Meanwhile Dan Bendon takes a look at the latest in the series of Boobs and Battles…sorry, Swords and Souls with a review of Soul Calibur V

Once fully unlocked you’ll have a choice from a cast of around 28 characters made up of returning characters and newcomers in about equal measure with some of those newcomers being inspired by older characters, remade and revamped into younger bodies. All of the newcomers have entirely new move-sets and fighting styles so while it might look like Taki, Kilik and Sophitia have just undergone some plastic surgery and been given a new name it’s not the case. The cast feels very well rounded with very little overlap in styles, even the Alpha and Omega versions of Patroklos and Pyrrha play quite differently from their standard alter egos.

A rather stifled week again for the Nintendo downloads. Punch-Out with swords, Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword is probably your best bet in North America if you have a 3DS.

Nintendo users in Europe fair little better with TNT Racers on WiiWare and the original Kid Icarus on the 3DS (if you didn’t qualify to get it free a few weeks ago).

As usual the full list of notable releases can be found below:-

3DS Download Software – Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword ($6.99)
DSiWare – GO Series: Undead Storm (200 Points)

3DS Download Software – 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (€6/£5.40)
3DS Download Software – Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon (€5/£4.50)
DSiWare – Castle Conqueror — Against (200 Points)
WiiWare – TNT Racers (1000 Points)

It’s another week of iffy Nintendo downloads and there’s no mistake.

Aside from lots of rubbish learning games, North America at least gets a WiiWare release with physics puzzle based game Newton Vs the Hoarde.

Meanwhile Europe has to make do with just the 3DS Virtual Console release of Balloon Kid and, for DSiWare, one of the most dodgy titles games I’ve had the misfortune to read for a long time; Double Bloob.

It’s only one letter away from making a tit of itself… *budum tish*

Ahem.

Puns aside, below you can find the full list of download releases for the region (crappy learning games not included):-

3DS Download Software – Mutant Mudds ($8.99)
DSiWare – Flipper 2: Flush the Goldfish (500 Points)
WiiWare – Newton Vs The Horde (500 Points)

3DS Virtual Console – Balloon Kid (£2.70/€3)
DSiWare – Double Bloob (500 Points)

With today’s update the Virtual Console releases something in Europe for the first time in ages! The SNES version of Prince of Persia kickstarts the old girl back into life, while the title also arrives on the 3DS’ own version.

Meanwhile in North America there’s Stonekeep: Bones of the Ancestors on WiiWare, with some little scraps for DSiWare and the 3DS Virtual Console. Check out the full list below for what’s out now to download:-

3DS Virtual Console – Lock ‘n’ Chase ($2.99)
DSiWare – Gaia’s Moon (200 Points)
WiiWare – Stonekeep: Bones of the Ancestors (500 Points)

Wii Virtual Console – Prince of Persia (800 Points)
3DS Virtual Console – Prince of Persia (£4.50/€5)
DSiWare – 40-in-1 Explosive Megamix (800 Points)
Come On! Heroes (200 Points)

Meanwhile in North America the most memorable release comes from Zen Studios with the portable version of the celebrated pinball title for the 3DS.

And then, to make sure DSiWare users don’t get left out, there’s 101 Pinball World for them to play. Seems the big N has gone pinball mad….

A full list of releases for the two regions can be found below:-

Nintendo 3DS Download Software – Zen Pinball 3D ($6.99)
DSiWare – 101 Pinball World (500 Points)
WiiWare – Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math: The Case of the Crumbling Cathedral (600 Points)

Adventures in Math?! Sounds like an Adventure Time episode…

WiiWare – Bobby Carrot Forever (800 Points)
DSiWare – Doodle Fit (500 Points)

As 2011 drew to a close (and is now a distant memory) the other members of the Character Select Network were hard at work bringing you lots of delicious content to slap your eyes on.

So what better way than to kick off 2012 by highlighting our picks of the very best content on offer.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review

Joshua Garrity has put together a sterling review of Link’s latest (and probably last) outing for the Wii.

While the greatness of the presentation is immediately apparent, the game takes a while to show you anything more than that. As has been noted by many, the introduction to this game is rather slow. Now I can understand why this might get on certain people’s nerves, but personally I really liked it. Why you ask? Simple, the answer is Zelda. Skyward Sword uses the time spent in its lengthy tutorial to establish Zelda as a character, and develop her and Link’s relationship. Yes, Nintendo could have been more economical with their use of your time, however the pleasing result is that when Zelda finally does go missing and it’s time to rescue her, you really want to save her. I’ll be honest, caring about Zelda as a character was never my motivation to progress in previous titles.

Quick Rinse: Super Meat Boy

Darren Gargette takes a look at the beloved Super Meat Boy, a game we share his love for, with a fantastic little play through.

It’s all gone a wee bit quiet over at Gamerdork of late (probably due to a 24/7 hootenanny) so there’s only one pick for them this month. That said, it’s a corker:

Location, Location, Location

No, Kirtsy and Phil haven’t invaded Gamerdork. Instead Delb2k once again comes up with the goods with an interesting look at the locations used in games.

For most games, it is important to realise that not every location has to tell a story through the pictures it creates. The central aim has to always be to envelop the player into a world, however fantastical, that feels genuine and enjoyable to explore. By delivering this alongside strong level design, navigation becomes not only more natural but exponentially more beautiful to look at and admire. Like a good painting, admiring an artist’s work can be just as fulfilling within the digital space as it can be within your local gallery.

Rayman Origins Review

Mark Patterson takes a looks at Ubisoft’s finest looking game ever, in his review of Rayman Origins, giving it a very healthy and deserved  8/10.

Rayman Origins is the most visually stunning game I think I’ve played this year. It was inevitable that at some point in the review the visuals would be mentioned, so I thought “Hey, let’s just batter into it, first thing.” Everything you see in Origins is essentially concept art that has been brought to life by the fantastic UbiArt Framework the game is running on. It’s almost like it’s less of a game and more of an interactive painting, really.

Ready Up Game Awards 2011

We’ve recently compiled our list of the Games of 2011 and over at Ready Up! Kirsten Kearney has done the same.

We really do have the best hobby, don’t we? This year the games that have graced our consoles, PC’s and phones have been an embarrassment of riches, as they were last year. The games that we have chosen to award our highest accolade, as voted for by the entire staff at Ready Up, are popular choices that few could dispute. Don’t assume, however, that the Ready Up team members throw their lot in with the majority. Far from it. We had votes for a very diverse mix of titles including Tiny Wings, Mount&Blade: With Fire & Sword, Xenoblade Chronicles, Where is my Heart, Frozen Synapse and Terraria.

And I can’t help but agree with their choice of Most Anticipated for 2012 too.

Nintendo kicks off their first batch of releases for 2012 with some titles across all formats – perhaps the most interesting being the US release of Samurai Sword Destiny for the 3DS.

In Europe, those who registered two qualifying games via Club Nintendo can download a free game this week; none other than the classic Kid Icarus. Those who didn’t will be able to pay to download the game at a later date. Or just play the fantastic 16-bit remake on your PC right here (you can thank us later).

A full list of releases in each region can be found below:-

Nintendo 3DS Download Software – Samurai Sword Destiny ($5.99)
WiiWare – Zombii Attack (500 Points)
DSiWare – Quick Fill Q (200 Points)
DSiWare – 3 Heroes — Crystal Soul (C500 Points)

3DS Download Software – 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (free to qualifying users)
3DS Virtual Console – Trip World(£2.70/€3)
WiiWare – Fish Tank (500 Points) — Not in fact an aquarium simulator, this is a pretty enjoyable underwater puzzler, as our Fish Tank review explains.

So that’s another year over. Done, dusted, gone.

As 2011 slinks away, 2012 comes bounding into view like an over-enthusiastic puppy- which means that it’s once again time to offer up our annual run down of our top ten downloadable games for 2011.

All in all it’s been an undeniably odd year for the console download services. After being shaky for a good while now, 2011 was the year that Nintendo’s content finally fell apart, going from mediocre at the start to appalling by the end. As we don’t count teaching kids how to count, nor massage and car parking simulators as games, there was very little of note. In fact Nintendo fans, we’ll warn you right now, there’s not even anything that breaks into our top ten.

Hopefully with the launch of WiiU in 2012 things might take a turn for the better…

That said Sony and Microsoft also seemed to find themselves in something of an aimless rut during parts of this year. The PSN produced some memorable titles, but the majority of these seemed to be multi-platform. Even with Sony’s `Only on PlayStation` promotion in the latter part of this year, there was little in the way of stellar exclusives. It was also a year where Sony continued to make a complete mess of getting the content out between the regions, meaning that it still managed to feel like it was trailing behind Microsoft’s efforts.

That said the big M’s service also seemed to falter on times this year. Aside from the annual Summer of Arcade event there were fewer launch promotions than recent years. In fact even the Summer of Arcade seemed to cause a weird sort of backlog and resulted in some particularly dodgy scheduling towards the end of the year, hearkening back to a time before XBLA actually took off. Going from an excessive three or four releases in a week, down to just one smacked a little bit of a directionless (and rather scattergun) approach.

But all of that becomes insignificant when you consider the most important aspect; the games themselves. So without further ado, let’s take a look at those we though were well worth your time and money.

10. Mercury HG (PSN / XBLA)

Puzzle game Mercury had a little bit of a revival this year and rightly so thanks to the fantastic Mercury HG. Offering plenty of mind bending puzzles with an aesthetic style that was pitched perfectly for the modern era, what made it notable was that it was also incredible value for money.

Click here to read our full review.

9. Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury (XBLA)

Even this long after their launch, one of the most interesting uses of the current download platforms remains that it can bring players titles that they wouldn’t ordinarily have a chance to play. Gamer’s tastes change over time which means every now and then you fancy something a bit different which you either weren’t around for at the time, or overlooked on release and can’t get any more.

Bangai-O is a good example of this. The niche following the original game garnered has elevated it into something of a cult following (just like another release from this year, Guardian Heroes). Bangai-O: Missile Fury is probably as niche as it gets too, but that didn’t stop it from being thoroughly enjoyable.

Fast paced and manic enough to make your eyes bleed, you can read our review by clicking here.

8. Iron Brigade (XBLA)

Poor Trenched… er, I mean Iron Brigade. Pulled at the last minute from its European launch due to the issue with its original name, it didn’t get a rebrand outside of America for several months. Even when it finally arrived it still ended up a rather schizophrenic launch, showing up with the wrong name and boxart and no doubt causing the lawyers to go into a frenzy.

But none of that little saga should deter from the fact that Iron Brigade was a highly competent Tower Defence title, with a setting that was undoubtedly DoubleFine through and through. Their efforts certainly made it unique and interesting enough to raise it above other titles in what’s becoming a rather tired genre.

If you’re in Europe and didn’t bother to pick it up when it was released, then do yourself a favour and give it a try (and be sure to read our review by clicking here).

7. Joe Danger Special Edition (XBLA)

This isn’t the first year that Joe Danger has made a crash landing into our annual rundown. In fact he scores slightly higher this year than last with his arrival on XBLA .

The release might have happened at a very late stage on 2011, but the additional content crammed in by Hello Games firmly cements the stunt man’s antics into the 2011 list. And with the promise of Joe Danger: The Movie for PSN and XBLA in 2012, it’ll be interesting to see if Joe can make it a hat trick this time next year.

Click here to read our review.

6. Half Minute Hero (XBLA)

If there’s ever a concept that could only have been pitched in Japan, then it’s Half Minute Hero.

By all rights an RPG game whose levels take 30 seconds to play just shouldn’t exist, but thank God it does. With a lovely HD makeover to accompany it, the game proved that the concept can be done and, more importantly, done well. You’d think the whole thing would get repetitive, but frankly if you have trouble staying engrossed in something as fast moving as this then you’re either a hummingbird or need some sort of strong pills to get you to calm down.

Click here to read our review.

5. Sideway: New York (PSN)

Half way through the list and, at last, a PSN exclusive! And what an exclusive it was.

Yes, Sideway: New York was one of the better titles in Sony’s` Only on PlayStation` promotion. Taking a rather different spin on the platformer, the game oozed a style which meant it not only caught your eye but was fun to play. Full of interesting little ideas it was something of a breath of fresh air for the platform that seems to have become hamstrung by XBLA’s runaway success.

Click here to read our review and see why the game is worthy of your time.

4. Outland (PSN / XBLA)

Just like Half Minute Hero further up this list, Outland is a game which must have been hell to pitch. Crossing an action-platformer with Ikaruga and making it look like Tron sounds like an utter train wreck, but thanks to HouseMarque’s ample talents it worked extremely well.

Visually stunning, the title ended up a classic example of how style and substance can help propel your title over any preconceptions and barriers in its way.

You can read our review from earlier in the year by clicking here.

3. Bastion (XBLA)

In the year when everyone seemed to fall over themselves to praise SuperGiant Games’ XBLA release, it may surprise people to find it isn’t at the top of our list.

There’s no denying that the title was entertaining, with a strong visual style and an interesting take on how to tell your story to the player, but ultimately the game fell a little short of Game of the Year round these parts.

Of course that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great game. Far from it in fact, and you should check out our full review to see why you should still play it (if you’re one of the few who haven’t already of course).

2. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (PSN / XBLA)

Capybara made a welcome return in 2011 with the HD port of the Clash of Heroes title. Part puzzler, part RPG it was a fusing of genres that hasn’t been seen since the original Puzzle Quest. Except, with all their usual flare and panache, Capy ultimately stole that crown. Something that even the makers of the original Puzzle Quest couldn’t do with the release of their own sequel last year.

The Might and Magic HD title wasn’t just a looker either – thanks to its puzzle element, it was utterly involving and real value for money / a time sink if you let it.

Click here to read our review from earlier in the year and see just why Might & Magic is a very worthy runner up to this years gaming highlight.

1. Renegade Ops (PSN / XBLA)

Here we are at first place with a game which was so action packed it was bursting at the seams.

Fast paced, furious arcade action with plenty of challenge, Renegade Ops was the perfect embodiment of just what you want from your download titles. And if anyone can do action right then it was Avalanche Studios, who perfected their shtick of blowing things up with the Just Cause games.

Finley tuned, tightly focused and incredible fun to spend time with, blowing stuff up simply never gets old. For that reason, along with its riotous multiplayer, Renegade Ops was something of an understated triumph that deserved to do incredibly well.

Click here to read our review and see just why this game is a very worthy winner of 2011’s Game of the Year.

And that’s it… well, aside from some very honourable mentions for titles which were still great / memorable but didn’t quite squeeze into our top ten.

First on the list has to be the fantastic The Adventures of Shuggy, a criminally overlooked little XBLA platformer which was probably the best game you didn’t play in 2011. PSN users probably overlooked the excellent Rochard too, a game which ultimately deserved to do far better than it actually managed.

Then there were the titles which had a bit more weight behind them, such as the incredibly stylised Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet and a welcome return from Eric Chahi with his title, From Dust.

There was also some very notable HD makeovers, with Guardian Heroes getting the chance of a wider audience, Stranger’s Wrath HD making a slight return in the closing weeks of 2011 and the fantastic Beyond Good and Evil HD reminding us why we all fell in love with the original to begin with.

And of course there were also some rotten fruits of digital distribution – the games that should have been good, but somehow managed to turn out to be stinkers. This was the year that the badly broken Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, tragic waste of ideas that was War of the Worlds, and the utterly pointless Burger Time World Tour, all did their best to try and stink things right up.

But rather than end on a sour note let’s not forget, for services to the continued support of their titles with DLC, Zen Studios and Pinball FX2 / Marvel Pinball which received a plethora of great new content throughout the year and showed other companies how to do it.

Now that really is it…

Agree or Disagree with our selections? Why not let us know what was your game of the year in the comments section below.

Once again it’s time for me to start panic buying, slowly burying myself under a mountain of wrapping paper whilst getting indigestion from drinking and eating too much.

Which can only mean that Xmas is once again bearing down on us like a big festive monster!

As the year draws to a close,  everyone here at Console Arcade would like to wish all our readers and friends a very Merry Xmas and happy 2012! This year has been hectic behind the scenes for us,  but it was also a year that produced some some amazing download releases. Here’s hoping that the latter of those two things continues into 2012!

It’s been a tough year for many and one where other notable sites have dropped of the face of the Internet – sites and people we had a lot of admiration for. Somehow we’ve managed to keep going without imploding or killing anyone. Still, there’s always next year…

In all seriousness though, we hope to be around for all your general download info and reviews for 2012 (and beyond) so hope you’ll join us for whatever  Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have to offer. Okay, well maybe not Nintendo because their offerings usually stink…

Naturally updates over the festive period will be a bit slow (mainly because I’ll be following the drunk-hungover cycle for at least a week) but we will be putting up our usual Game of the Year feature which will run down what we think were the top releases for this year.

All that’s left for now is for me to once again wish you a Merry Xmas. Now, where’s that mulled wine…

Xmas is almost here and Nintendo’s giving out one last update before the big day. In a rather rare display, there’s a fair bit of simialrity between North America and Europe this week…

Firstly both regions get Soccer Up! for WiiWare (or Football Up! depending where you are), followed by Mighty Switch Force for the 3DS and Tetris for the 3DS Virtual Console. A full list of this weeks releases can be found below:

3DS Download – Mighty Switch Force ($5.99)
3DS Virtual Console – Tetris ($3.99)
DSiWare – Chronicles of Vampires: Origins (500 Points)
DSiWare – Rytmik Retrobits (800 Points)
DSiWare – Doodle Fit (500 Points)
Christmas Wonderland (800 Points)
WiiWare – Soccer Up! (500 Points)

3DS Download – Mighty Switch Force (€6/£5.40)
3DS Virtual Console – Tetris (€4/£3.60)
DSiWare – Castle Conqueror – Heroes (500 Points)
DSiWare – Commando: Steel Disaster (800 Points)
WiiWare – Football Up! (500 Points)

A real mixture of releases this week between the Nitnendo downloads in Eurioe and North America. The only consistent release between the two is Elite Forces: Unit 77 on DSiWare.

There’s a Carmen Sndiago release for WiiWare in North America, while Europe gets Paint Splash; for a full list of releases, check out the list below:-

3DS Virtual Console Blaster Master: Enemy Below ($4.99)
DSiWare – Elite Forces: Unit 77 (800 Points)
DSiWare – Just Sing! Christmas Vol. 3 (200 Points)
DSiWare – WordJong Arcade (800 Points)
WiiWare – Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math: The Lady Liberty Larceny (600 Points)

DSiWare – Elite Forces: Unit 77 (800 Points)
DSiWare – Cake Ninja (500 Points)
DSiWare – Escape Trick: Ninja Castle (500 Points)
WiiWare – Paint Splash (500 Points)

Imagine being jammed in a room full of strangers with no windows or doors. You’re stuck together with your new cell-mates in this purgatorial nightmare until someone figures how to get you all out. Or the Rapture comes. Either way, you’ve got a lot of time on your hands to get to know your new `friends` and figure out which one will be the first to go nuts. What better way to help with that than by asking them if they have the time.

You see, such a seemingly innocent question actually has no end of answers that can help determine a person’s mental state, ranging from responding with the actual time (boring, avoid!) to not wearing a watch (ill prepared!), Hammer time (trapped in the past), Miller Time (party animal), Chico Time (undoubtedly the nutter in waiting)… the list goes on. But this reviewer will be willing to bet that in the millennia you’re trapped there, no one will ever say Burger Time.

Not surprising really given that the original release of Burger Time didn’t set the world on fire, but MonkeyPaw Games are looking to change that, putting it into the forefront of people’s minds with the recent release of World Tour. It’s been a long time since the original, close to the thirty years in fact, and the first thing you’ll find is that the gameplay in World Tour hasn’t really changed much.

Guide Peter Pepper the chef (or your Avatar if you’d prefer when playing on XBLA) around the platforms avoiding Mr Egg, Mr Hot-Dog etc (here given `hilarious` new names such as Frank Furter and Sonny) whilst walking over the Burger ingredients built into the platforms to make them fall and create a slap up burger. Time it right to catch enough enemies in the falling ingredients and you’ll rack up the points. Complete the burgers in the level and it’s on to the next. World Tour doesn’t really tinker with the very basic formula of the original and while it’s arguable if it ever could have, lest it become something else, it’s this rigidity which plays a large part in its downfall.

The game tries to keep things fresh by mixing in a few modern elements, such as ditching the 2D levels for wrap around 3D towers. A nice idea, sadly it makes things a little confusing as you blunder around the level looking for the ingredients and the curvature means things some time roll into view when you weren’t expecting them. Nice if it’s a power-up, no so nice if it’s an enemy that, if you’re lucky enough that it doesn’t kill you, then tries to chase you down. This is where World Tour’s other main issue comes into play – the controls, like a jar of mayonnaise left in the sun for a week, are sloppy and make a real chore out of trying to avoid the rogue foodstuffs.

There’s also the inclusion of new food based enemies, some level bosses or environmental traps, and power-ups such a spatulas to avoid and fend off enemies, but by and large you’ll really feel like you’re still playing a game which is probably much older the its target audience. Unlike the other recent updates of titles which are even older, such as Pac-Man CE DX and Space Invaders Extreme / Infinity Gene, here the presentation isn’t really up to much. While the developers might have thought that it was endearing to have an opening scene where Frank Furter drives past you in a car hurling abuse, it’s an inclusion that ends up as baffling and it is pointless. Not just because Hot-dogs can’t drive cars, but because it genuinely feels bereft of any charm.

By sticking so close to the original title, the dated gameplay and mechanics quickly become boring, so while there’s a wealth of different levels to conquer, you’ll probably have lost interest in the game long before you get half way. While there’s a multiplayer mode, the fact that the title seems to have been vastly overlooked means you’ll have little hope of finding anyone to play against.

It’s undoubtedly a harsh criticism, but Burger Time World Tour ends up as a classic example of a title that no one really asked for. In the crowded market that the download sphere finds itself in at the moment, it really is the kiss of death. In fact it would probably be fair to say that it’s more fun being stuck in the metaphorical room mentioned at the start of this review, playing hunt the nutter, because at least it would probably be more interesting.

Hopefully this is one case of what goes on tour, stays on tour.