Metal Gear Rising: Jetstream review – cool Brazilian wind

One of the many, many things we love about Bayonetta is that it’s such a complete package. Apart from a lengthy story campaign it has enough unlockable content to furnish a whole second game, with mountains of meaningful extras that take weeks of play to uncover in their entirety. Its complete lack of downloadable content was a purposeful statement by developer Platinum Games, but alas it’s not one they’ve been able to repeat in Metal Gear Rising.

The storied development history of Metal Gear Rising gives plenty of excuses for both the game’s short length and why downloadable content is more acceptable here than with many other games. In short Platinum Games was only taken on at the last minute, to save what had been up until then a failed internal project at Konami. That the final game turned out so well is a minor miracle, but even as one of its more ardent supporters we were certainly left wanting more. ..More

Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse HD confirmed for XBLA and PSN

Sega has officially announced an HD update of its classic Disney-themed Mega Drive platformer, to be released on consoles and PC this summer.

After teasing something Disney-related at the end of last week Sega has revealed that they are indeed working on a update of 1990 classic Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse.

The new game is due on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC this summer – although there’s no mention of the Wii U. The update is described as a ‘complete re-imagining’ that is ‘built from the ground up’ by Sega Studios Australia.

Their only previous work is the London 2012 Olympics tie-in, which would be a bit worrying except by coincide the game’s original director is now working at Disney Interactive and is collaborating on the title... More

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Games Inbox: Super Mario Galaxy 3 hope, BioShock Infinite U-turn, and I Am Alive

The morning Inbox considers the prospect of a video games utility bill, as one reader argues that games aren’t too expensive.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk.

Innovation or death
GC, in your reply to Up4Banter regarding sequels you stated that even for a game like Super Mario Galaxy you’d rather not see a straight sequel but an evolution. But why and how? The Galaxy games are amongst the best games of any generation, providing the almost near impossible trick of a fresh new idea per level so surely Big N adopting the same strategy with improved graphics and increased freedom of movement is no bad thing but something that should be encouraged and applauded?

The 2D series shows how stale Mario has become in that field so I’d much rather they focus on perfecting the 3D realm. Agreed that yearly updates and sequels for popular franchises are becoming a real chore but unless gamers refrain from buying them and placing their money on newer IPs we’ll always have the same issues crop up.
Barc555 (PSN gamertag) .. More

Injustice: Gods Among Us review – legion of superheroes

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the DC universe assemble for a brand new fighting game from

the makers of Mortal Kombat.

It’s now over a decade since the first Sami Raimi Spider-Man film and the start of the modern era of superhero movies. But we’ve still not been fully satisfied by any of the adaptations. Many of the characters have been handled surprisingly well but the level of over-the-top action is still obviously limited by technology and budget. And it’s taken a video game to show how things should be done.

You don’t need to be any great video game expert to realise that Injustice is a superhero-themed version of Mortal Kombat. Indeed our first clue was the words ‘From the makers of Mortal Kombat’ emblazoned across the top of the logo. We have to admit that when we first heard that Warner Bros. was making a new game featuring all the big hitters from the DC universe we imagined something rather more expansive than a one-on-one fighting game, but it’s a logical enough way to introduce some of the more obscure characters to the general public. ... More