Recent Need for Speed titles have left a bad taste in the mouth for a lot of fans of the series. Whilst Electronic Art's other franchise Burnout has gone from strength to strength, Need for Speed has been in need for a make over. Thankfully I can say that this instalment is definitely a step in the right direction.
Back in the 1990s, the Neo Geo was console gaming's answer to arcade machines. If it was big, bold and ate through money like a starving moth, a Neo Geo version would follow, usually for an equally unthrifty sum. In that era, arcade conversions were all the rage, and if it was worth playing, it usually came from SNK.
Whilst Final Fantasy continues to dominate the western world in the RPG market, it is a sad fact that some of the other long-running and successful Japanese RPG series often go unnoticed. The Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior) series has been running since 1989 on the NES and now the fourth game in the series, The Chapters of the Chosen has been remade for the Nintendo DS.
Since the relatively recent explosion of poker into the mainstream, there have been many attempts to recreate the feeling of playing live games without the risk of staking any money. World Championship Poker: All In is the latest for the Wii and uses well known faces like Annie Duke and Howard Lederer to promote it.
Racing games these days seem to be the staple diet of consoles, so it really is no surprise to see the Sonic franchise have a go. With a series that is used to speed as a gameplay element you would think that it might come naturally to the blue hedgehog. Unfortunately, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is just another bland racer with little to hold interest.
Xbox 360
