In the short time since they popped onto the scene Platinum Games have delivered a series of unique games, across a wide array of genres, imbuing each with such style that I don’t think we can rule out the fact that they might just be wizards.

Teaming up with SEGA (as they have done for each of their four previous titles; MadWorld, Infinite Space, Bayonetta and Vanquish), autumn 2011 will see the Japanese developers step into the world of online as they release Anarchy Reigns, a third-person multiplayer brawler incorporating a diverse range of multiplayer modes to provide players with different challenges.

The game – announced as Max Anarchy in Japan – will feature a wide array of character each with unique abilities and super-powers, including MadWorld‘s protagonist Jack.

From the description we’ve been given it sounds an ambitious pitch, but based on Platinum Games’ track record you can’t help but anticipate this is going to be a title worth waiting for. I’ll be keeping an eye out for this game, and bringing you all the latest news as it is developed.

If I asked you what Spectrum Shock was, you may be mistaken in thinking it was an unheard of spiritual successor to System Shock, or maybe a bad TV show about a guy who can manipulate electromagnetism, or maybe even a movie with Alan Rickman. In fact, it is the debut game from Boxfrog Games featuring all the tilting and tapping you can fit into a device rife for tilting and tapping.

So how does it shape up to the other titles on the app store? Is it a Canabalt or a Can Of Ba… Okay, even I’m not crass enough to finish that pun. Hit the jump to find out why Spectrum Shock should be the next game you download to your iPhone.

A worrying trend in the indie game development community at present, fuelled heavily by the runaway successes of games utilising simple mechanics, is the seeming belief that simple means a lack of effort. You only have to hop on to an app store, or a ‘speciality store’ to realise just how much you need to wade through to find the quality entertainment, well wade no more as this one is a diamond in a sea of rough. Hm, I don’t think that metaphor went right.

The controls boil down to tilting the iPhone for rotation of your base, and tapping on the screen to fire, with a tap of the base you have sworn to defend creating an impulse that blasts any enemies on the screen away. However, there is a twist in how you can destroy the enemies which takes the gameplay beyond the conventional tap to shoot things mechanic, and into a realm of frustration and frantic tilting that can only be compared to balancing a basketball on a watermelon on a jello shaped like Paraguay. Or a somewhat less specific analogy that still involves alot of tilting.

If you can grasp the basic ’round peg goes into round hole and square peg goes into square hole’ idea, then you should be fine; as you have three turrets on your base (square,triangle and circle) which can only hit their respective shape-sake targets. It is this unique twist that gets the game going, as you swivel your base round in desperation before the enemies can latch onto you. If they do manage to do so, then they will begin to slowly drain your health with the only way to get rid of them being the impulse clearing the screen of any and all enemies.

A sleek and stylish theme underpins the entire game, with simplicity thankfully coming through as a design choice, and not as the unfortunate byproduct of apathy I mentioned before. Now, don’t fool yourselves if you think simple mechanics mean it is an easy game. Spectrum Shock is a game in which you may die rather quickly at first, and if you are anything like me, at second, third and all the way through to at about fifty-ninth, but stick with it, because there is a point the game just clicks. No mass epiphany happens, and don’t expect to be basked in a radiant ethereal glow, but at some point your hands and your brain suddenly look at the game and at once say “Oh, it’s on now” in a manly action movie way, not the camp way that it would come out if I actually said that out loud.

Gamer Limit gives Spectrum Shock for the iPhone 8.5/10

I like my expos like I like my Tom Hanks movies. Big. And this year’s Eurogamer Expo is Tom Hanksier and better than ever, moving to Earl’s Court for a larger venue, cramming even more salivating gamers into the place than ever.

Tickets sold out, and exhibitors are lining up to peddle their wares. Last year Heavy Rain, Left 4 Dead 2 and Lost Planet 2 stole the show for me. But what will this year offer? Well, let’s hit the show floor and find out.

After attending Comic-Con in 2008, I can’t help but compare all other events I attend to this as some kind of ‘geek barometer’, which is somewhat similar to losing your virginity to a pornstar, and all other sexual encounters involving utterances of “What do you mean that doesn’t bend that way?” Okay, I may have lost the train of thought there, where was I?

Eurogamer Expo! The first thing that I can convey is the grand sense of “what first?” that strikes you and the enormous queue for Brink made that an obvious choice of what to ignore first.  Less queues were to be found at the stalls for Def Jam Rapstar, Just Dance or Dance Central but my masculinity is frail enough as it is that such endeavours may shatter it for good.

Vanquish is a game that is almost as fun to watch as it is to play, and when you do you see all sorts of delightful animations you may have otherwise missed whilst engaged with all the frantic dipping/diving/sliding that goes on amidst the hail of gunfire. It manages to remain effortlessly stylish throughout, achieving the rare quality of a third person shooter that doesn’t feel like a clone of Gears of War.

E3 saw a war of motion with Move and Kinect vying for your attention, and as the dust settled the impression was that Kinect (or Natal for traditionalists) showed the potential whereas Move showed the fact it was a tech demo. Playing the two technologies, the tables have turned as Move now shows the greatest potential whereas Kinect is still waiting to show anything worthwhile. By just showing Avatar-Friendly minigames, Kinect does not feel like it is playing with the big boys, whereas Move had the joyful games like The Shoot, the violent fan-pleasers like SOCOM and the “my arms are getting tired” violence with The Fight, and whilst none of them instantly scream “Buy me!”, the Move is a peg or three above the rest.

Gears of War 3 brought its beast mode to the table, which exists as a clever balance to horde mode, in which you play as the big nasties, although the twist lies in the fact each “spawn” presents you with a choice of units to play as ranging from Tickers to Butchers to Berserkers. Each is purchased via tokens which you earn through your efforts. So you may start a round as a Ticker but finish as a Berserker. There seemed to be a plethora of tokens left unused, which I can only assume was due to the environment we were playing it in, as being stuck as a unit you don’t want to play of isn’t to leave you in the mindset to rush out and buy the game. Or to rush out, wait five months, then buy the game.

Also from Epic was the ever-gratuitous Bulletstorm, bringing its gore-fuelled bravado to the fray. It was fun, in a gleeful “I just kicked a man into a giant cactus” kind of way, but ultimately felt let down by an overpowered whip mechanic, in which you fling out a Samus-Aran-esque leash which can pull enemies closer to you, leading them to be Slo-Mo’d in the air. The length and seeming invulnerability to most obstacles left it an odd experience that certainly needs refining before release.

Whilst these sorts of venues provide a wonderful stage to try technologies or games you would otherwise be unable to have access to, they also prove the environment in which you play is often key to the enjoyment of the game you are playing, with Fallout: New Vegas and Dead Space 2 being prime examples of this. Fallout is a game to get lost in, to wander around finding the treats of level design like a digitized Easter egg hunt. The small sampler provided does not leave the chance for that. Dead Space - and presumably its sequel – is a game of atmosphere, of terror at every corner at what might leap out at you, because let’s face it, if it is a corner in Dead Space something will leap out at you. Playing this in a well-lit Earl’s Court with 20% of the country’s supply of ironic t-shirts stood behind me, silently judging, isn’t quite the environment for the game.

I will be the first to admit I’m sceptical about 3D technology; I’d even go as far as to say I think it is a fad. This is despite quite enjoying many 3D things, in fact some of my best friends are 3D. But rather than fall into the category of luddite, I still give it a go. From Invincible Tiger to the game of the 3D movie that isn’t to do with bending various elements, I remained unimpressed. It wasn’t until Killzone 3 that I have managed to fall into the impression it is actually a detriment to gaming. This is on top of my current gripes of it being uncomfortable for those of us who already wear glasses already and expensive for those of us who don’t have 3D TV’s.  I may be too quick to judge, as it was a pre-alpha build, but I remain still opposed to what I see as a useless “advance” and am still waiting for something to sell me. Until then, I’ll be in a world of 2D, maybe even painting myself in multiple colours so to disguise how many edges I have. Well done to the two of you out there who got that reference, by the way.

As the expo was in London, I managed to sample another fantastic English game, known as “Navigating the Underground” which was made ever more interesting with its sequel “Navigating the Underground during a strike.” Ah, such fun. This wonderful system also played a part in me missing my train home, and having to buy a new (and very expensive) ticket. Now, a lesser man than me may have taken this negative, and had it sour the whole expo, but alas I am a greater man than a lesser man than me, as I am me, and with this optimism I now turn my gaze towards Fable 3.

This series has hurt me in the past; sullied expectations, broken promises and, with Fable 2 being a disappointment in almost every way, did not do alot to invigorate the yearning for more from Albion, but as it turns out, deep down inside of me it didn’t matter. Like an abused woman on a terrible TV show, I still remain convinced Fable loves me, and won’t do it again, and this time Fable 3 will treat me right, so I needn’t get nasty with an iron to its face just yet. The game is funny, charming, self-referential and has possibly the best voice cast I have seen since Mass Effect 2 was announced. I am not hoping this game will be better than previous instalments, I know it will, and when it comes home it will have its dinner ready on the table waiting for it.

So, as I look back on Eurogamer Expo 2010, I realise I did not play as many games as I wanted, nor did I meet nearly as many people as I meant to, but I have been left with a lot to look forward to, so if you don’t mind I’m off to construct a shrine to Peter Molyneux. Well, a man needs a hobby.

Now in his 11th incarnation, with Matt Smith leading the charge, Doctor Who has graced many forms of entertainment from board games to trading card games and even had his own terrible movie. 2010 sees the return of the gallivanting Gallifreyan, as four interactive episodes are coming to PCs (and macs) this June.

Any doubters will be pleased to know that Steven Moffat (the current series’ writer, and the writer behind some of the best loved episodes since the re-launch) is involved, as well as games industry veteran Charles Cecil – the man behind Broken Sword.

This isn’t the first time we’ve had our very own pixelized Time Lord, as these images can testify. With opinions of the new series (and new Doctor) mixed, can this game calm the rabid fans down, or will it simply fuel the fire?

We posted recently about the pre-order incentives available for Modnation Racers on the PS3, well, the Playstation blog recently dropped some pictures and they are just so darn adorable how could we not share them with you?

The available packs are for Kratos (of God of War fame), Ratchet & Clank and everyone’s favourite incarnation of Nolan North, Nathan Drake (of Uncharted fame) and after the jump you will be delighted by screens of both Kratos and Ratchet.

I’ve got to say that Kratos is adorable, if it wasn’t for witnessing his recent evisceration-fest, I might just want to hug him.

Apparently, I have yet to learn to count as the Hydrophobia clock ticked and tocked its way down but still crept up on me.  As the digits decayed it revealed Hydrophobia‘s aquatic new homepage, fresh with screenshots, and a game trailer. The game will be released exclusively on Xbox Live Arcade and will be playable to all those attending this year’s PAX East, so if you’re heading over there, do yourself a favour and check it out.

Hit the jump to see what breadcrumbs were left along the way, and a sampling of the brand new screenshots.

Before the clock hit the obvious finale of zero, there was a change to the site. A few X’s were scattered across the side, each providing a link to a separate page; We Are Malthusians. For those who are too lazy toWikipedia this, it would seem to be a theory pertaining to overpopulation and access to food, which obviously is heavily related to the game’s central plot.This new page offered a puzzle, for the mathematically inclined:

For those who want to work it out, by all means, get your pens and paper out, for everyone else, highlight here -> g(t) = b x 1.02t

And so the rabbit hole deepens, as that too lead to a new site, this time on youtube with a bizarre and positively viral video promoting the message “Save The World, Kill Yourself.” Also, commenters to the video have been granted the following wisdom:

“This is? the first phase of your initiation. Further tests will come.“

“In less than two days, our target will be identified, our infiltration? will begin“

Last week via the all-powerful and all-knowing entity that is Twitter, Dark Energy Digital announced a countdown was coming, and it was for something big…

With the countdown tick-tocking its way below sea level, Hydrophobia is looming ever closer ready to sweep you away with the current…ready to pull you under the waves…ready to make you wet? I should really stop making water-related puns and just tell you to hit the jump for extra content such as screens already, shouldn’t I?

Who knows what it’ll be they announce/release when the timer finishes (12:00am GMT March 26th for the intrepid sort, unless I lost the ability to count), but until then why not find out some more about the game with me, as we delve into Hydrophobia 101.

In the mid 21st Century, Thomas Malthus’s 18th Century prophecy will finally be realised.

The Great Population Flood has brought the world to its knees. Cities and towns have become swamped as mass poverty spreads, and the rights of the individual are lost in a sea of desperation.

You are Kate Wilson, a Security Engineer onboard the Queen of the World – a stateless supership where the powerful and the wealthy live in exile from the chaos of the outside world, but united in their quest to save it.

For ten years this “City at Sea” has stood as a beacon for progress, prospering as the rest of world slowly drowns.

On the eve of the Queens massive anniversary celebrations, with a breakthrough announcement looming, the great vessel comes under attack.

Trapped behind enemy lines, Kate must fight her own demons as she becomes the last hope against an army of Neo-Malthusian terrorists, whose philosophy is simple: “Save the world, kill yourself”.

I’m not sure I can say the transition from anime to games has generally been met with staggering success in the past, so have Sega struck gold with their tactical RPG on the DS?

Well, no.

I guess I should elaborate at least a little on that sentiment. The fact that the game carves out a new story, instead of just rehashing pieces of the original series is certainly a point in its favour, and a point that more developers should take into consideration when transitioning a game from a long-running series such as Bleach. Not only that, but this story is written by Tite Kubo, a name fans will recognise as the creator of Bleach, in which you play one of a set of twins created especially for this game.

However, it’s unfortunate that that remains the most positive thing I can say about the game. While dropping the fighting format of the previous titles shows a willingness to broaden the series, it also pits the game against some heavy hitters of the genre, such as Fire Emblem or Disgaea – and when compared to those titles, it doesn’t fare too well.

The format is essentially the same, placing you on an isometric grid with control over your various pawns like an adrenaline-fuelled game of chess. It’s the little things that combine to letting it down, from a lack of movement of the camera that hinders the view and makes the top screen’s map an essential addition rather than a pleasant addition, to the over indulgence of text conversations.

I like a good story, and I appreciate when a game wants me to become involved, immersed and genuinely care about the characters, but when I spend a hefty amount of the game tapping A to funnel my way through yet another conversation, I’m going to lose interest eventually. Perhaps this decision was made to veer off the preconceived notion of “another fighting game” that the series may have felt it was plagued with, but it was a step too far. I lost track of the amount of times I went to another character’s house for dinner.

It’s a shame these scenes left a sour taste, as the involvement with the existing Bleach universe is tremendous. You find Urahara longing to open his own shop and free himself from the shackles of the Soul Society, Gin Ichimaru at a time before he reeks of pure evil, and Rangiku Matsumoto at a time when any mention of cleavage is about twelve steps past inappropriate.

Outside of the main plot, you engage in “free time”, which is the game’s way of letting you flesh out the story by allowing you to interact with the characters you want to. The choice in the order you watch these can also affect your game, as each day is placed on a path and each scene takes up a certain amount of action points; use too many and you might overshoot a bonus, too few and you might end your free time early.

If you are a die-hard Bleach fan, this game has an entertainment factor that will draw you in as you immerse yourself in the world of the anime (or the manga, however you enjoy your poison). If you aren’t one of those people, then there isn’t a lot of potential here and your Strategy RPG fix would be better served in Disgaea, Final Fantasy: Tactics or Fire Emblem.

It’s not often I get to use the term “musical platformer”. In fact, without creating some diabolical contraption to mix Mario and Musical Chairs, it seems unlikely I’ll be using it a lot in the future either.

Fret Nice accomplishes this without the use of furniture, however, as you are able to use your guitar peripheral to strum, pluck or twang your way through each level. It is certainly the first time I’ve used my guitar for anything other than the arthritis-inducing, colour matching Guitar Hero and Rock Band. However, does it measure up to other platforming stalwarts?

I think it’s safe to say there is nothing like a smoothly controlled platformer, and Fret Nice is certainly nothing like a smoothly controlled platformer.

With guitar peripheral in hand, you use two colour buttons – yellow and green – to move your avatar forward or backwards respectively. The tilt, usually the sign of star power incoming (or just your inner rock god eschewing forth), is used to make your character jump in what has to be the most awkward of configuration choices. Strumming delivers your attack whereas the whammy bar is ignored at first, only being used when bigger enemies come into play to force the apex of your attack towards the enemy.

The awkwardness is continued, due to the fact that you can only strum whilst in the air, leading to some frantic jumps as you enter combat. The actual method of delivering your blows, however, is an innovative stroke. Each enemy has a mixture of facial features; some having three eyes and two ears, whereas others will have one eye, one ear, three mouths. As you can guess, the permutations extend rather far. To defeat an enemy, you must play a relevant amount of notes for each specific facial feature your enemy has, which sounds more complicated than it actually is and actually becomes a fun puzzle with each enemy you encounter.

One astounding part of the game is the art, creating a unique style that reminded me of both Patapon and Little Big Planet. The enemies are always a wonderful balance of hideously adorable, and as you play, you gain the option to change your character’s costume or guitar, again ending up with something freakishly adorable.

The progression of the game is handled via medals, such as getting a certain score, amount of enemies or under a specific time for the completion of each level. In doing so, it forces you to replay various levels quite frequently in tedious pursuit. This wouldn’t be so bad if the levels felt like they had different paths to take, or areas you can get to on future replays that you couldn’t on your first, but without any such choices, it becomes nothing more than by the book monotony.

It’s certainly one of the more innovative titles on the Xbox Live Arcade. However, with an attempt at innovation comes the risk of hitting a flat note, missing the beat or [insert your own music related pun].

Whilst the press release states more details are to be made available at the Game Developers Conference later this month, it does at least cover the basics. A new Tomb Raider game is to be released via Digital Download this year, titled Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, to be developer by Crystal Dynamics.

For more details, hit the jump.

Crystal Dynamics, a part of Square Enix Europe, today announced Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light, a new game developed by Crystal Dynamics, which will be released via digital download n 2010.

“This is a really exciting project for Crystal Dynamics, we have created something completely new and very different to what people might be expecting,” said Darrell Gallagher, General Manager of Crystal Dynamics.

“Lara Croft is such an iconic character in videogames, with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light we have created what we believe is a truly original digital experience.”

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be shown strictly “behind closed doors” at this year’s Game Developers Conference beginning on March 9th.

Crystal Dynamics is an award-winning studio located in San Francisco. Founded in 1992, the studio has created and developed key game franchises such as: Legacy of Kain, Pandemonium, Gex and most recently the Tomb Raider series.

For more information visit www.laracroftandtheguardianoflight.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook – @Crystaldynamics – Facebook.com/LaraCroft.

For some highlights, hit the jump, otherwise head over to Ruffian’s forums to check out the winners for yourselves.

This one is for the parents out there, and just by sheer statistics, that must be some of you. The latter period of 2009 saw EA release a range of books on the DS – Flips – aimed at encouraging those little chaps; you know the ones that are out of diapers and into school to use their DS for more than just just Pokemon, and get their head into a book.

As a parent myself, I can understand why people would stand behind a product aimed at encouraging more reading, but, one question that can’t help but crop up in the addled grey matter that science would call a brain: Why not just read a book?

Read on as I take a look at EA’s release, and see if it really can grow the DS audience, as they claim.

As those who immerse themselves in tech will know, eBook readers are a hot trend right now. From Amazon’s Kindle to Barnes and Noble’s Nook, they are spreading like wildfire and selling like hot cakes; they have the complete fire and cake combination. Whilst there can be dozens of reasons people want these products, there are two which seem the largest factor in my mind.

The first is that of space and convenience; dozens of books can take up a lot of space on shelves, and they don’t really lend themselves to being able to carry them all about. However, all books can be stored and carried about in something smaller than a laptop.

Secondly, the green reason. Deforestation is a concern to many people, and when you think about big sellers like Harry Potter – a franchise EA is likely looking to for future releases (as Flips comes from Bright Light, which is the studio responsible for the latest Harry Potter title, it is not too far fetched), that’s a whole lot less chainsaws that need to be revved.

EA have capitalised on both of these factors in their release, although obviously not to the extent of the popular eBook readers on the market already. The DS cartridges contain entire series of books, and the initial launch has seen a decent range of titles for young nippers of either gender, from Enid Blyton to Artemis Fowl.

Not every parent can be an encyclopedia, and unless I get asked questions about maths, Kevin Smith movies, or obscure trivia about early 1990s British pop groups, it is very possible my answer will be “ask your mother”. The Flip range offers information at the touch of the screen, so when you get asked “Where’s Azerbaijan?” while you are reading a bedtime story, the answer is mere moments away.

It isn’t just factoids at your fingertips; you can click to get sound effects, pictures of characters, and some pages even offer little mini-games, or a quiz, just to make sure you’ve been paying attention.

I’m not sure how comfortable I am in ushering in a book-free digital age, but then again, I thought that mini disc players were a good idea, so it’s clear that spotting trends of the future are beyond me.

When it comes down to the final decision, I would say that the range of Flips are well made, fun to read with your child, and anything that gets kids into more books is a fantastic idea – regardless of whether the story comes in the form of paper, or 1s and 0s.