F1 2011 offers plenty of modes including Time Trial, Grand Prix and Championship mode. In Grand Prix mode you can just jump straight into a race at any circuit and decide whether to play through a full race weekend, a short one or just get straight to the tarmac. This is a good place to get used to racing with other drivers as well as getting used to the new locations including the new Indian Grand Prix.

In World Championship you get to race as any driver from the 2011 season. There is no career mode here so if you just want to race at Red Bull you can; it’s a shame they decided to leave this out as it was fun working your way through the lower teams to eventually join one of the big teams. Finally Time trial allows you to choose a circuit and race up to ten laps to clock the fastest time possible.

“So what about the racing?” I hear you say, well you will either love it or hate it to be honest. There are four different presets for controlling your car, with default one offering full brake/throttle control with tilt steering. The others included auto acceleration and using an on screen steering wheel which was infuriating to drive, in fact it felt broken. I stuck with the default preset as it was the best of a bad bunch. The cars feel far too unstable at high speeds and I spent more time off the track than on it! With more practice I did improve but I still crashed far more often that I would have done on the console version. The 2011 season saw the KERS system introduced which meant there was another on-screen button for you to use, which sits just above the accelerator. I would have found it much easier to use if had been below the accelerator but hopefully an update might allow you to change this.

I’d love to say that gameplay makes things better, but it’s not the case. For example. it doesn’t matter if you are driving for Ferrari or Virgin the cars all seem to be equal, which means you can end up seeing the likes of Lewis Hamilton starting at the back and Sebastian Vettel actually losing races. To compound the misery I have for this game there is a weird pit-stop mini game which involves you tapping the screen 15 times to complete a pit stop. I don’t have a problem with the fact there is a mini game but the fact that it meant each pit stop took over 15 seconds is unacceptable in F1 these days.

If you are still reading this review in hope that things get better, they don’t. Apart from the main menus the presentation is pretty poor. Despite being recognisable, the cars and tracks look blocky and certainly don’t take advantage of the retina display on my iPhone 4s. The in-game music is familiar to those who have played the console versions of the game and isn’t too bad but once you hit the race track it all goes downhill again. The engine sounds from the cars is very poor too, it all feels very flat.

I don’t think I’ve been this disappointed by an iPhone title before, even more so as I was quite looking forward to reviewing it. I’d love to say that a quick update would fix the game, but I don’t think it will. I also think Codemasters have a bit of cheek to charge £4.99 for this. There are much better racing titles about. Just avoid this.

MLG Rating: 2/10 Platform:  iOS Release Date: 17/01/2012

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a digital copy of F1 2011 for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of one week on an iPhone 4s. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

I have always found the Soul Calibur games to be very easy to pick up and play. The combos aren’t overly complicated which is a huge plus as it makes for a nice learning curve. I’ve found with other fighting games – like Blazblue – you had to take in quite a lot before feeling comfortable with the controls and nuanced mechanics, also you had different combos for each character’s special move to memorise and study. Soul Calibur V completely streamlines this by making every character’s special move assigned to the same combo. These moves are called Critical finishes and can only be attempted after you have filled up your Soul Gauge, this is done by successfully landing strikes on your opponent. Using your guard will also drain your Soul Gauge so the game encourages an agressive playing style.

The controls are really responsive, as they really need to be in a game like this. What I love about the controls is that they seem to have taken into account that not every person playing it has a fight stick on their lap. Going back to the Critical finishes; these require you to hit all three attack buttons at the same time at the end of the combo. Now at first I struggled to make sure I hit them all at the same time, even messing up my fight as I changed my hand position on the controller to make it easier. Then I realised that they had assigned this three button press to a single press of the R2/RT. Also the other trigger buttons are assigned to other two button presses. Once I realised this it instantly improved my game. It’s a smart design choice, one clearely insp[ired by titles such as Marvel vs. Capcom 3 but a excellent addition nonetheless.

The fighting style in Soul Calibur games is quite different to that in other fighters. In most you have you light, medium and heavy attacks which you can chain together to make combos. Soul Calibur instead focuses on horizontal and vertical strikes with a heavy emphasis on kicks. If someone uses a vertical strike on you then the best way to avoid it is to strafe left or right. Horizontal strikes will hit you if you try to use this method, so the best thing to do is to step back out of range or use your guard. I really do enjoy this fighting system; it feels so good when you perfectly time a side step that leaves your opponent completely open to a barrage of pain.

The story mode takes place seventeen years after the events in Soul Calibur IV. You play as Patroklus and Pyrrha who are brother and sister and the children of the series’ familiar face, Sophitia. The presentation in this story is a bit all over the place if I’m honest. Some of it is presented in beautifully rendered cut scenes with not so great voice acting. Other times it is just narration over still images and finally there is a small bit of text you have to read before you click on a new episode. It’s a real shame that there wasn’t more cut scenes in this game because I really enjoyed the ones that are there. After seeing the story mode in last year’s Mortal Kombat – which had brilliant cut scenes that seamlessly transitioned into the fights – Soul Calibur V just seems a bit lacking in this area. Also the story isn’t that long at all; I managed to clear it in around three hours. I can kind of forgive the length of the story, however. While it’s short and rather forgettable it serves as a decent introduction for new players.

The training mode was a real disappointment for me. It’s pretty much the same thing you see in most fighting games; you against an opponent that is essentially a punching bag. While this is a great place to learn your combos without hindrance from the AI or other players I feel that a lot of players new to the genre expect the game to hold their hand a little more in this mode. Even if it was just a simple explanation of the fight system followed by “now you give it a try”

Now to quite possibly the most important question asked of pretty much every fighting game of the last five years. Does the online work? Yes it does and I think it does it very well. Namco have clearly been paying attention to what their rivals have been up to lately. Match making is handled very well as you are able to filter your searches to look for players around your own level or higher if you are looking for more of a challenge. I think that this little option is great for entry point players as they are more likely going to go against players like themselves and not immediately get matched up with a series veteran and get scared off at the first hurdle.

Player lobbies can hold up to six players but only two players can fight at a time in a simple tried and tested winner stays on format. While you are waiting for your match you can watch the fight that is going on in real time. Another nice feature is the text box; this may sound like only a small tweak but I feel that the game is taking into account that not everyone has a headset. This simple text box gives everyone the opportunity to communicate with the other people in the lobby.

You will also be pleased to hear that during my experience online that I experienced next to no lag at all in the gameplay, even when matching up against people in America and Japan.

The visuals in this game are nice but it fails to match the overwhelming sense of style of its contemporaries. The Soul Calibur series has always stuck to its clean, crisp aesthetic of armoured combatants wielding a host of melee weapons, but visually it lacks flare. Games like Street Fighter IV and Blazblue have distinctive art styles that are instantly recognisable as their own. Soul Calibur V just seems quite plain in comparison. The music, however, is another story. It’s powerful and inspiring and it really helped me get into the zone.

Creation mode has returned again. This allows you to make your own character of any shape and size and also allows you to choose between a reasonable variety of clothes for them to wear. You do not get to create your own fighting style; instead you pick a character that is in the game. This I feel is a fair compromise as you are able to take these characters online. So if you could create your own combo list then the online experience would quickly become unbalanced and generally not a fun place to be.

Other modes that are practically a standard with fighting games are also present here. Arcade mode presents you with the challenge of going through six different opponents to reach the end. You are then graded based on your time and difficulty. Quick Battle and VS mode are also featured. Quick battle just throws you against a random CPU opponent – you can earn new titles for your player card by playing this mode as well. In VS mode you can play against either another player or the CPU. You can also watch the CPU fight itself.

The Soul Calibur series has started to make a tradition of featuring cameo appearances of characters from other games or even film licences. I remember buying Soul Calibur II on the Gamecube because it featured Link from The Legend of Zelda”. This time around it is Ezio from the Assassin’s Creed games. He fits into this game perfectly. The way he dresses, the weapons he uses. It’s a sensible move and a much better choice than Yoda and Darth Vader from Soul Calibur IV. As cool as they are they just seemed out of place.

Overall I feel that Soul Calibur V is a strong and worthy successor to its predecessor. It doesn’t take leaps and bounds forward from previous games in the series but I feel the key word here is refinement. The story mode brings it down a bit with its disjointed presentation and short length – I worry that people playing this part first may get switched off and not want to do anything else. I implore you to carry on. The online is very strong and the lobbies are a great place to hang out with friends. If you are still unsure whether fighting games are for you then I say give this one a go. It’s very easy to pick up and play and like all great fighters it has enough depth in its fighting system to keep veterans interested. A great start for fighters in 2012.

MLG Rating: 8/10 Platform:  PS3/ Xbox 360 Release Date: 03/02/2012

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a physical copy of Soul Calibur V for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of one week on a PS3. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

Jump N Roll is, when you take away the smooth graphics and quite impressive music, an old school game at heart. Like Frogger it feeds that repetitive, ‘get to the end of the level’ urge. Yet with its coin and diamond collecting, it reminded me of a stressful Sonic game as well. What it also incorporates is the use of two dimensions of platforms to work across, much like Little Big Planet, with a foreground and background route. As the screen progresses to the right and you struggle to keep up, your character (which I can’t even begin to describe. A flaming lion’s head perhaps?) can choose to work on the easier path at the front of the screen or, take the high road at the back, where the challenge is far greater.

It’s a free title, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t spend money. This is one of those titles that allows, no scratch that, encourages you to spend your money on upgrades through the purchase of Pink Diamonds through the App Store. These diamonds offer such things as extra lives, instant access to locked levels and other upgrade items. Purchasing diamonds from the App store as we all know can be expensive and, sometimes, take the fun out of the game. It acts like a quick ladder to the top rather than working your way there on your own accord. Why miss the grind? Well, one reason would be to beat most of the annoyance out of the game. And I found this game annoying.

Ultimate frustration in videogames nowadays comes in the form of such games as Trails HD or Super Meat Boy. The fundamentals are all solid and the frustrations come from intentional mechanics. Yet I now find myself getting stressed with many videogames recently for dropping the ball on elements that we should have perfected by now. In Jump N Roll’s case it’s the controls that really let it down.

Many people’s biggest bugbear with iOS games is that the controls, well, don’t control. Even more so if you are playing on an iPhone or iPod touch. And with Jump N Roll, a game I otherwise enjoyed, this issue with controls ruins the entire experience. Even more upsetting is how simple the control are and should therefore function; two buttons on either side of the screen. Tap on the left hand side to jump, tap the other to ‘boost’. This would normally completely eliminate the clumsiness that is directions but I found them consistently unresponsive. Additionally, because there are no visible buttons to press, I found myself pressing anywhere on that side of the screen thus adding to the confusion.

Yet saying all this I did enjoy the game. Sure the Pink Diamond business model can be intrusive, asking if you want to buy things from the App Store, and yes it was unresponsive therefore I died a lot. And yes, the main menu leaves a lot to be desired. But, it pushed the old school gamer urges that I liked to get pushed now and then.

Jump N Roll is worth downloading. I would even pay between 60p to £1.50 for it if that would mean less aggressive selling of the diamonds. The graphics are also hugely impressive, complimented by some truly hypnotic music. Getting caught up in coin collecting and landing those perfect jumps is a compelling experience but the controls threaten to completely undermine the fun.

MLG Rating: 6/10 Platform:  iOS Release Date: 11/12/2011

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a digital copy of Jump N Roll for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of one week on an iPhone. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

Brawl Busters (avaliable here) is a free to play multiplayer, melee heavy, class based combat game where players set out to beat each other, or AI zombies, stupid with a selection of sport based weapons, special moves and collectable items.  Sharing more than a passing resemblance to Team Fortress 2, Brawl Busters cartoon-esque visuals and humorous avatars branding footballs and baseball bats make for a charming, appealing and familiar setup. It’s an easy game to pick up and play. However, there are some nuanced mechanics such as power-ups and environmental navigation that a comprehensive set of tutorial missions ease you through against AI zombie enemies. Once your savvy it’s off to the arenas, either playing a small selection of singleplayer missions to cement your training, or online where the meat of the experience lies.

Five modes are on offer in multiplayer. Glow Rush is a team based mode where fallen enemies drop orbs and collecting enough of them wins you the match. Two cooperative modes:  Zombie Survival – Brawl Busters’ version of Horde mode – and Boss Battle where players must take out a mighty zombie whilst its minions attack. And to round things off the multiplayer standards of Team Deathmatch and Free For All. On the surface it seems like a decent selection of modes, however, they all boil down to the same carnage of players rushing around the arenas duking it out. Fortunately it’s a lot of fun.

The fast paced action of combat is complimented by responsive controls and a great isometric view camera, and each class offers a defined role to suit your play-style. The Slugger acts as the ranged class, hitting guided baseballs around the arena but with the disadvantage of low health and movement speed. The Firefighter acts as the defensive class, throwing up shields and attacking at range whilst also having high health. The Boxer is agile with powerful attacks but low health. The Blitzer is the close combat specialist with high attack and heath. Finally the Rocker is a completely balanced character acting as the jack of all trades, master of none.

To begin with you’re limited to choosing a single class but as you gain experience points and level up you can unlock the additional classes and switch between them at will. Once you’ve found the ideal class for you it’s time to dive into the combat, level up and gain currency before customising your character.

Here is where this free to play title makes its money, offering stat boosting weapons and apparel for real cash that last for a set amount of days. Like with most games of this ilk this can and does unbalance the combat as the wealthier players have the edge, however, the limitation on how long these boosts last per purchase helps mitigate this slightly and the stat increases aren’t overwhelming. Another currency earned through ordinary play also allows all players to buy non-stat boosting items to customise their characters, and slight stat boosting items are gifted to you as you level up for limited use.

Despite the stat boosting bonuses to paying players, Brawl Busters does remain a highly playable game. The frantic close quarter battles are as exhilarating and entertaining as any you’d find on a full retail title, and for that Brawl Busters must be commended. The community is currently a little thin and there are most than a few bad eggs booting players randomly from matches or hosting with no intension of starting, but as the community grows these issues will hopefully be diluted. In the end Brawl Busters offers a compelling multiplayer experience for no cost, providing the exception to the rule in regards to the negative view of free to play games.

MLG Rating: 7/10 Platform:  PC Release Date: 15/12/2011

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a digital copy of Brawl Busters for review purposes by the promoter, however the title is also available for free here. The title was reviewed over the course of one week on a PC. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

Sadly though history has shown that mass appeal is no surety of quality, just look at Jeremy Kyle and the resurgence of wolf fleeces, so after a few months of intensive play I thought I would share my thoughts on League of Legends and its long term appeal.

My adventure began quite by chance three months ago when I exposed myself (not in a literal sense) to a League of Legends tournament game on YouTube. With a $10,000 prize it made for compelling viewing and having observed glimpses of talent trees and experience based levelling mechanics I got all giddy, found it was free to play and signed right up.

Defence of the Ancients, a popular mod for Warcraft 3 is credited as the driving inspiration behind League of Legends and the gameplay mechanics – which I will endeavour to describe – are almost identical. It’s hardly surprising when you consider that many of those involved in the development of Defence of the Ancients were instrumental in the setting up of Riot Games in September 2006. However production values from mod to stand alone game have escalated dramatically and the first thing that really grabs your attention is how truly polished the product is. The interface is clean, there’s an absolute wealth of content with over ninety champions to choose from and game maps, character models and environment graphics can only be described as superb.

Each game sees you controlling a champion who fits one of the stereotypical MMO archetypes and has a variety of melee or ranged attacks. I play Caitlyn who does little to deter the objectification of women with her oversized boppers but falls neatly into the ranged DPS hunter mould. She fires various projectiles from her beautiful musket and I found myself immediately drawn to her having once observed a lady in a Blackpool nightclub do something similar with ping pong balls.

Games are either 3v3 or 5v5 and require you to transit from your spawning pool along three horizontal lanes crossing each map to the enemy base. You are supported in your assault by minions (think Orko from He-Man) that periodically spawn from a Nexus within your base. Whilst travelling the lanes you destroy enemy turrets, battle enemy champions, explore jungle areas housing neutral monsters to kill for rewards and ultimately try to destroy the enemy Nexus leaving your team victorious. Each victory increases your experience unlocking newer, stronger champions, Influence Points which can be used to acquire upgrades and Masteries. Masteries are essentially talent tree points, giving you various passive effect perks grouped as defensive, offensive and utility.

There’s a lot to take in and thankfully for new players the tutorial and AI game modes provide an opportunity to get to grips with the mechanics in a safe environment which is helpful. Helpful is not however a word which could be used to describe the League of Legends community. As a Starcraft player I’m used to bumping into the occasional ‘brain wrong’ but the ratio of mentalist to non-mentalist in the League of Legends community is out of this world. From the moment you start playing you’re bombarded with abuse and aggressive instruction from elitist biffers who become increasingly distressed that you are not playing the game exactly how they think you should, I affectionately refer to them as the League of Bellends. Admittedly these people exist in every game but the free to play model means there are more of them here than any other game I have ever played.

If you so wish, the free to play model facilitates the cash purchase of a higher level champion to avoid much of the levelling process but there really is no need. Things improve dramatically as you start to gain familiarity with the strategies at play and once your experience level increases the matchmaking system drags you out of the depths of depravity, the insults start to decline and the game becomes genuinely enjoyable. Most games last around 45 minutes to an hour and thanks to the quick spawning system following death you are rarely sat on the sidelines spectating like Bob Carolgees at a swingers party.

The revelation that there are only three maps can also be off-putting to some, but I have to say the repetition is wholly mitigated by every game feeling completely unique. This has also been alleviated with the recent introduction of a new game mode called Dominion which introduces the wonderful Crystal Scar map. Dominion moves away from traditional Nexus bashing gameplay to more of a capture and hold position style of match. This in turn offers more action, the opportunity for more tactical play and shorter game times; I have yet to play a game which has gone over 30 minutes.

There is also a ranked mode which can only be accessed once you reach level 30. This places you on a ladder system and reaching the upper echelons earns you the right to compete in tournaments with cash prizes of up to $100,000 adding a further aspect to the longevity of the game. As you can no doubt imagine such high vale prize funds have made the game very popular on the ESports scene and I find watching these high level matches helps give me a greater understanding of how the game is best played.

One of my biggest gripes is that the method for reporting players who employ game breaking behaviour is ineffective, this is a particular problem when you are dependent on team mates who subsequently go ‘away from keyboard’ or just sit there trolling making the match unplayable.

Ultimately I’m finding it quite difficult to give the game an overall score. The negatives are wholly attributable to the venomous community, lack of repercussions for disruptive players and streams of verbal abuse from pillarks. I really hope Riot Games will address this in the near future because if you can tolerate the downsides then your reward is an engrossing, beautiful game of tactics and turmoil with great longevity which when played with friends verges on the absolute sublime.

MLG Rating: 8/10 Platform:  PC Release Date: 27/10/2009

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer community member ShatnerzBassoon were played League of Legends for review purposes. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

The game is viewed from a top down perspective; each puzzle requires you to get Woop to the exit, a swirling blue vortex. The puzzles range from the basic, moving blocks to clear a passage, meanwhile other levels require you to pickup  little power ups to allow you to walk on water or Lava to help you on your way. Sometimes you will come across electrical barriers that will require you to collect F.I.S.H. (Fuel In Silicon Housing) to remove them.

There are plenty of characters, or ‘pets’ as Woop calls them, to come across too. The first ones you meet are Snappy and Nibbles, normally Snappy is really helpful by moving in patterns to help you reach the exit, but don’t move them about too much otherwise they become Nibbles and you’ll be for it. There are plenty of other characters with their own unique characteristics to encounter later on in the game too.

If things don’t go plan in a level you have the ability to rewind each move you make, rather than having to replay the whole level, though really each puzzle is designed to be completed within a couple of minutes so it’s not the end of the world if you need to start again. In fact it’s a big positive for me; you can play the game in quick bursts without having to commit large amounts of time to the game. Depending on how quickly you complete a level you will get a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal, so there is always a reason to go back to try and better your times.

Unfortunately the control scheme is a real let down, there is an on screen d-pad in the bottom right corner of the screen and I found it a real pain to use. At times it was unresponsive and when it did respond it felt very slow, not helpful when trying to improve your times. There are other control modes though they aren’t much better, the joystick is over sensitive and swiping feels like it doesn’t work, I felt like I had no control over Woop at times and it led to needless deaths and times much slower than I would have liked.

There are two other modes which add some extra playing time to the game. Race mode gives you the chance to go up against your friends to see who is able to complete the different puzzles the fastest. There is also a Create mode, which gives you the ability to harness your inner Chuck to design levels which can then be shared with your friends. Anything you see in the different levels can be built into your customised levels. I spent longer in this mode than I thought I would and ended up having quite good fun. Another nice feature is Puzzle of the week which you can download for your puzzle solving pleasure.

There are 25 puzzles to start you off and they are free, if you wish to play on more maps then you’ll need to pay. If you enjoy a good puzzler then this could be another game to add to your iPhone Pile of Shame. The control scheme are a real let down though but hopefully they can be improved in future updates.

MLG Rating: 6/10 Platform:  iOS Release Date: 02/12/2011

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a digital copy of Chuck’s Challenge for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of one week on an iPhone. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

Starting with Tumble, for any Nintendo fans reading this it plays like a cross between Art of Balance on WiiWare and the EA-Steven Spielberg project, Boom Blox. This proves to be an interesting combination of two games that were extremely successful in their own right and it is definitely one that excels in many ways. The basic aim in one of the modes is to use the PlayStation Move controller to pick up numerous blocks of varying shapes — cubes, triangular wedges, cuboids — and place them one atop the other to build the highest possible tower without it tumbling and falling to the ground. Elsewhere it is more a case of using every oddly-shaped block on the floor and balancing them within a designated area, or there are even stages where blowing up large towers with a limited amount of mines to score the most points by causing the highest level of destruction is the order of the day.

Tumble is by Supermassive Games, the same folk that worked on the short-lived Start the Party! series of mini-games, so it should come as no surprise that Tumble is a rather bite-sized experience, despite the inclusion of turn-based options for two players with only the one Move controller. However, to lengthen the game slightly, along the way there is the opportunity to attain Gold, Silver or Bronze medals dependent on how successful you were on a specific level. By building the highest tower, using as many blocks as possible to create a semi-stable construction on just a small platform, or spreading debris far and wide across a bulls-eye target. The beauty of the blocks in Tumble is that they are all made of varying materials, some heavier than others, ones that are light and prone to easy movements if not placed accurately enough, or even certain ice-like, slippery blocks. Thankfully, the Move controller can be used to scan up and down to see any potential flaws in the construction, and around in a 360-degree circle to cast an eye over the creation. Whereas Start the Party! started to feel quite empty at times, despite Tumble not being the longest game ever, it will hopefully allay the fears of those thinking about the lack of developer quality.

As for Japan Studio’s echocrome ii, it is such a beautiful game right from the very start when the serene piano and strings begin to pour gracefully from your TV’s speakers. The majestically composed score sets the tone for what is a truly delightful concept that is extremely reminiscent of Hudson Soft’s Lost in Shadow on Wii, another gorgeously designed title based around the manipulation of shadows to help a character towards a particular goal. Unlike in that release, however, echocrome does not allow for direct control of the lead star, known as a Walker. Instead, each level focuses on how players can move a light source around to formulate intricate pathways for the little doll-like person to automatically wander along. In a Lemmings-esque manner, the small wooden mannequin will commence its meander when instigated by the player shining the light in its direction, and then it is a case of controlling its movements by deftly changing the surrounding landscape by moving the beam of light around. Shadows are cast as the ray hits objects dotted around the level, forming direct routes to the goal, creating trampolines when the shadows of circular objects are only partially shown in order to leap over large obstacles, or even uncovering the exit itself by joining the silhouette of a block and sphere together.

This entry into the Move Mind Benders is quite possibly the best of the bunch, with its minimalistic visual approach working to its advantage as it is all delivered in such a wonderfully stylised manner, complete with the tranquil music that sends chills down your spin in many instances, whilst proving to be highly uplifting at certain points. It is the sort of score that can easily be left playing for long periods in the background whilst doing other tasks. As for the main game itself, parallels can be drawn between echochrome ii and Broken Rules’ quirky Indie hit And Yet It Moves, where the rotation aspect of levels saw the entire stage being turned around to shed light on the situation at hand. Here players will be faced with all manner of objects that can be used to change the perception of an area in order to discover the exit. Over the course of the 100 levels in the main mode, and with a community element where self-designed levels can be shared online, solved puzzles can be uploaded to YouTube, or new stages from others downloaded, this was definitely a worthy download prospect on the PlayStation Network. As part of Move Mind Benders, though, it goes a long way to justifying the retail price.

There are three ways to enjoy echochrome ii: the standard Escort Mode where the Walker must head from A to B; the Echo Mode where exploration is encouraged as the aim changes to seeking out ‘echoes’ of the Walker itself; and Paint Mode, which is a case of the Walker being dropped into paint and having to cover each nearby block red, blue or green. The amount of customisation, the level of detail gone into the presentation, the fantastic online community sharing elements, Japan Studios has a game that can easily stand on its own two feet, yet works just as well being the shining light of Move Mind Benders.

Finally there is Lemmings, the classic puzzler that Team17 has resurrected, where the aim is to guide the troop of fuzzy green-haired critters around a stage, helping them reach their goal without causing undue harm to themselves by accidentally wandering and falling to their doom. To prevent their demise at the hands of guillotines or radioactive material, for example, certain individuals can receive orders either from the standard DUALSHOCK3 or PlayStation Move motion controller to take on specific tasks that may well be of help. Use Stoppers to protect from the treacherous drops or grab a Digger to start working through barriers. With whole new stages included, all complete with devilishly tough puzzles, Lemmings definitely grabs players and demands they come back for just one more go, and even entices people back with the newly included online leaderboard function where keeping track of global rankings is made easy.

Move Mind Benders is a fantastic low-priced bundle with three amazingly addictive puzzle experiences. Frustratingly there is no way to soft reset out of the game you are currently trying in order to leap into one of the others on offer, meaning that each time you fancy switching over, the entire game needs to be quitted out of and reloaded. However, that minor drawback aside, any fans of the genre should definitely be checking this gem out.

MLG Rating: 8/10 Platform:  PS3 Release Date: 09/11/2011

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a physical copy of Move Mind Benders for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of two days on a PS3. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

So what about the “twists” aspect? Here’s where the game shows some promise. In the demo you get seven levels that introduce you to playing field and some of the tools. The object of the game is to use these tools, which I kid you not are called Bowlaids, to redirect and multiply your bowling balls so that they can hit multiple sets of pins. One Bowlaid can change your ball’s direction, one can double up your balls, and one Bowlaid can split off other balls into three different directions.  The only thing that makes these puzzles challenging is the time limit. It can be rather difficult setting up your shots in the short span of time you are given. This is especially true on the i-Phone version, where it feels like you are using ham fingers to move and configure these rather small tools. And there’s no way to make this any easier by zooming in or out.

On seventh level a new Bowlaid is introduced that curves the trajectory of the ball, however, they never provide you with a playing field to use said Bowlaid. At this point I was thinking that I couldn’t really do a fair review on just seven levels. The game was just starting to become compelling but there were not enough levels to know the game would get any better or reach a glass ceiling.

So I paid the $1.99 (US) to unlock the full game. And what did I unlock? Ten introductory levels to a miniature golf game that plays nothing like the demo. There are no Bowlaids or multiple sets of pins. Instead you get large windy playfields with a limited amount of visibility and some gimmicky obstacles. Since you can’t zoom in and out there is no intuitive skill to this game. You have to use trial and error to figure out where to aim your ball and discover how the gimmicks react to being hit.

Despite its flaws there’s a hint of promise in Bowling Wizards. If you took all that there is currently in the game and made that a Free Demo, I would give it five out of ten on the Midlife Gamer rating scale. But if I were to grade the version NextWave Multimedia is actually asking money for, then I’m going to have to give it an “Incomplete”, which can only be numerically represented as a zero out of ten.

MLG Rating: 0/10 Platform:  iOS Release Date: 22/12/2011

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a digital copy of Bowling Wizards for review purposes by the promoter and the full game was then purchased by Midlife Gamer. The title was reviewed over the course of one week on an iPhone. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

Micro transactions are appearing in games more often these days and they also make their presence felt in Coin Flick. A casual player who just wants to fill a few minutes each day won’t really be affected by this. However, if you do get sucked in by the repetitive, simple gameplay then this game really begins to show its true colours.

If you don’t plan on spending any money on this game then your pile of coins is capped at forty. This may sound generous but it is amazing how quickly you work your way through them as you try to hit the bucket which has a bonus prize attached to it. When you run out of coins there is no simple “Play again” option. You instead have to wait on a timer to be credited more coins While you are playing the game they regenerate at a rate of two per minute or six per hour if you are not playing.

This can be incredibly frustrating when you run out of coins to then realise you have to wait thirty seconds before you can flick another one. As mentioned earlier there are prizes placed over various buckets such as toy cars, boats, planes etc. These can be traded in for coins but they aren’t worth many; mostly they vary between one and three coins per prize, so sooner or later you are going to find yourself at zero and waiting for your coins to regenerate.

The game has you covered though, as constantly presented on the screen just to the left of the coin you are about to flick are two options: Get Coins and Free Coins. Hitting the Get Coins option takes you to another screen with four different amounts of coins you would like to purchase for real money. These range from 100 coins for £0.69 to 1200 coins for £5.99. Now my observation about literally flicking money away earlier is starting to make sense, eh?

Now in the other option – Free Coins – the word ‘Free’ is being used very loosely indeed! There are a few ways to get free coins. These usually involve signing up to a site which will then in turn spam your email inbox with stuff you don’t want. Most of these offers will offer you around 45 coins to use in the game.

It’s the other offers that baffle me completely; here is a slightly censored offer I came across: “Complete an order of $40 or more from _______ with a valid credit card and personal information. After completing these steps you will earn 637 coins”. Now correct me if I’m wrong but that doesn’t sound very “Free” to me. Also $40 – which I believe is around the £25 mark – is an awful lot to spend to get 637 in-game coins.

Oh yeah, I haven’t even got to the best bit yet. The “flicking” mechanic in this game isn’t that great. Yes it does a good job of recognising which way you want to flick it but it seems to have no idea how hard you are trying to flick it. The same gesture across the coin could lead to it either limply falling off the podium it starts on or flying past and missing all the buckets on screen. As a free game it’s almost forgivable; as the saying goes “you get what you pay for”. To expect people to actually pay money to play this game you at least have to get your core mechanic working properly. When I first started playing this game I thought it could be a bit of throwaway fun, but the more I played the taste in my mouth just kept getting worse and worse… I’m off to play Ovenbreak.

MLG Rating: 2/10 Platform:  iOS Release Date: 16/01/2012

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a digital copy of Coin Flick for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of four days on an iPhone. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

There’s no point in keeping you waiting for that answers, it’s a resounding yes. The package as a whole is exactly what fans have been waiting for all these years and suitable redeems itself after XII’s gimmicky entry. Bar a few online hiccups and the usual accessibility problems, with such a technical fighter The King of Fighters XIII can count itself as one of the best of the series.

The King of Fighters XIII offers a selection of familiar play modes. Mission mode offers a structured set of challenges with time trails, combo challenges and survival challenges to truly test your might, whilst a comprehensive tutorial and practice mode allows for casual learning opportunities. The fighting game standards of Story and Arcade mode make up the meat of the experience, with story mode offering the full narrative with branching paths and exposition galore and Arcade offering essentially the highlights of the narrative. Meanwhile a great selection of extras such as the gallery encourage you to explore everything on offer and the ability to customise your characters colour and clothing options is a pleasantly vast and satisfying way to personalise your favourite characters.

Online lacks lobby support and live match spectating but makes up for it with the excellent option to play arcade mode whilst you wait for challengers. Additionally you can save replays and analyse them frame by frame to truly learn and develop your skills, and if you score highly enough in a ranked match then that replay is available for all to view. What it boils down to is nothing overtly fancy but a well thought-out online mode; unfortunately it’s plagued by technical issues. Matches are hard to get into and stability once you do find one is shaky. When it all goes well the experience is fantastic, it’s just a shame it’s not consistent.

Learning the nuances of combat is just as compelling in The King of Fighters XIII as it is in any of its contemporaries. The 30 characters each provide a set of interesting tactics, move-sets and special moves to learn and experiment with, providing countless hours of enjoyment. The actual act of combat boils down to the modern standard with combos being your main goal and having the potential to inflict huge amounts of damage when stung together correctly and strategically, whilst two power bar – Powers and Drive – allow you to pull off powerful enhanced special moves and desperation moves, as well as cancel one move into another for strategic benefit. The problem is that characters are very specialised and their moves venture over the line into over complicated. The basics the tutorial teaches you soon become far too ineffective against veteran players and the tougher AI, there’s so much more to learn with timing, the moves themselves, as well as the four different kinds of jumps and the diving dodge move.

It’s a rich and rewarding system, for sure, but one that comes at a steep price of dedication that new comers will undoubtedly suffer with.

The King of Fighters XIII certainly understands what makes fighting games compelling and the offering of unique characters with equally unique moves-sets proves this. The many different ways you can approach a battle, invoking a huge array of tactics and special moves all in glorious 2D sprites and backgrounds may not be the most accessible for new comers but for the fighting game enthusiasts – and especially The King of Fighters fans – there’s a lot to explore, and thanks to it also being a technically and visually striking package, you’ll enjoy every moment.

MLG Rating: 8/10 Platform:  Xbox 360/ PS3 Release Date: 25/11/2011

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a physical copy of The King of Fighters XIII for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of one week on an Xbox 360. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.