HGZine Issue 19

Issue 19 of HGZine is out now and includes a special feature looking at the games coming in the year ahead for the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. From FIFA 09 to the new Prince of Persia, there's some very fine looking games coming your way.
You'll see previews of PES 2009, Quantum of Solace and Hellboy II, plus hands on with LEGO Batman, Final Fantasy IV for DS, and many more.
In the review section, you'll see the verdicts on the games for your summer hols, including Track and Field, Race Driver: GIRD, Final Fantasy Tactics, Doodle Hex, and good old Space Invaders Extreme (it's a lot, lot better than you're expecting).
And there's not one, but two exclusive competitions for you this issue as well. You can win copies of Guitar Hero on Tour and Ninja Gaiden inside this issue.

Issue 18 of HGZine is out now

Issue 18 of HGZine is out now for handheld gamers everywhere. It has the full review of Guitar Hero on Tour, the completely re-imagined version of Guitar Hero for handhelds, complete with its own controller. It also features reviews of all the latest games for DS and PSP, including Lego Indiana Jones, Wall-E, Narnia: Prince Caspian, Wacky Races and more.

If it's preview you're after, look no further either. We have an extensive preview of Echochrome, the new Sony PSP game that offers a unique game experience. It's Portalesque (yes, we just invented a word) in its inventiveness and is bound to have as many fans as people who say "I don't get it". Well, we do and we love it.

Then there's an exclusive interview for Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon where we see the new game features and enemies, plus Ninjatown, The Sims 2 Apartment Pets, which proves that there's more to a game than a name, and Igor, Brave: Shamen's Challenge, plus many more.

Get Paid to Play Video Games

HGZine 17: Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Sim City and more

Issue 17 of HGZine is out now. There's an exclusive preview and interview for the new Crash Bandicoot game. Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant is coming out on DS and PSP and there's the scoop on both versions in this issue.

And that's not all, there's a new preview of Guitar Hero on Tour. Find out how the new game is shaping up and how the bespoke controller works with the DS. And on the subject of upcoming DS games, a new Sim City is coming our way, which couldn't have us all excited because the last Sim City DS outing was so compelling.

In fact, it's a packed issue with previews of Lost in Blue, Kung Fu Panda, Arkanoid, Dragon Quest and Spyro and reviews of Iron Man, Everbody's Golf 2, Soul Bubbles, Dragon Sword, Looney Tunes and the new Doctor Who game.

Reeves admits PSP needs more new games

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves has admitted that the PlayStation Portable is suffering from a lack of new games titles in the region.

Although the company has its Go! Explore sat-nav application, and cross-platform functions with the PlayStation 3, at its recent PlayStation Day the only new PSP games mentioned during the hour and a half presentation were Echocrome and Buzz! Quiz Master.

Full Interview with Matt Martin

HGZine Issue 16: Guitar Hero on Tour, SBK 2008, Gauntlet, Space Invaders

In this latest issue of HGZine, you'll find a fantastic combination of the old (revitalised) and the new. There's an interview and review for SBK 2008, and fantastic previews of WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2009, Soul Bubbles, Doctor Who, and masses of others. Then there're previews of the new version of Gauntlet and Space Invaders. Now, some old skoolers may well be shivering at the thought of these, but actually, hang on because both Gauntlet and Space Invaders are looking pretty good. Download the issue here.
And then there's Guitar Hero on Tour. How can GH fit on a DS, we hear you cry? With a brand new controller that fits onto the GBA slot. See how the new game and controller are looking inside.

Issue 15 of HGZine is out now!

The headline of this issue is Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. So, when you think Sonic, your mind probably doesn't immediately leap to the idea of an RPG game. And, when you've got your head around that idea, you're probably asking yourself who will be developing this little title. Bioware, that's who. Bioware, the genius behind the best RPG games of all time: Baldur's Gate, KOTOR, Mass Effect - you get the picture. And we've got an exclusive developer interview on how the game is shaping up.

It's interview-tastic in this issue, with a chin wag with the developer of Final Fantasy: Crisis Core and the developers of SEGA Superstars Tennis, including the huge 26 minutes original audio interview to listen to, inside the mag itself.

Download your HGZine here.

Warriors Orochi Reviews

Gamespot:
If the Dynasty Warriors franchise is to be commended for anything, it should be for its utter unwillingness to evolve -- it has absolutely perfected the art of remaining static in a landscape of constant flux. Warriors Orochi continues this long and dubious practice by melding the worlds of Dynasty Warriors with its Japanese offshoot Samurai Warriors, and the result is a game that the faithful it caters to time and time again will surely enjoy immensely. If, on the other hand, you do not enjoy brainless button mashing, laughably one-dimensional gameplay, and a severely aged combat system, you're better off running for the hills.

The Good
* The large battlefields of the console versions are mostly intact
* A total of 77 warriors from both franchises to recruit.

The Bad
* Boring, brainless button mashing
* Ugly and repetitive environments
* Poorly executed team system
* Enemy soldiers almost always pop up onscreen.

Full review

Gamespy:
How stressed out must the developers at Koei and Omega Force have been when attempting to bring their popular Warriors series to handheld systems? The series (both the Dynasty and Samurai varieties) is known for tossing dozens upon dozens of opponents on the screen at once to fulfill players' hacking and slashing needs. It would be extremely difficult to bring that experience to a portable.

Previous attempts at Warriors titles for the PSP have been fairly solid, but they haven't been able to fully recreate the console versions of the games. Instead of dropping the player on a large map full of enemies, these games broke the action up into a grid-style playing field with multiple smaller missions to complete.

Warriors Orochi, however, changes all that. This is a direct port of the PS2 and Xbox 360 game that was released last fall, and it does a surprisingly good job of living up to the game that inspired it. Just be sure to take advantage of the game's interim save feature or the PSP's sleep mode. Some of these battles can take half an hour or more to finish -- not exactly conducive to pick-up-and-play portable gaming."

Pros:
*Faithful recreation of the console game
*Tons of playable characters
*Weapon Fusion system allows for good customization

Cons:
*There's some noticeable pop-up
*Long load times
*It's the same Warriors gameplay

Full review