Anyone who has peeled back the shabby corners of some of the best loved fairy stories will know the true, dark depths that lay beneath and the twisted idea of what once passed for happily ever after. Eschewing the modern, demure approach to these tales, Playlogic swings an axe at all things saccharine and serene and in bulging-eyed style, takes no prisoners.

Boasting ‘gallons of blood’ and ‘dynamic slicing’, Fairytale Fights, despite its deceptive look, is no jolly picnic through a happy fairytale land.  Indeed, our four heroes, Jack (Mr Beanstalk), the Naked Emperor, Little Red Riding Hood, and Snow White are all painted as slightly warped, twitchy, trigger happy lunatics, whose stories risk fading from memory as the new kid in town schmoozes his way into people’s fickle affections. 

With a pristine tunic and golden hair, the Little Tailor has taken over the stories of our ‘insignificant’  heroes and won the hearts and simple minds of Taleville’s people with his jaunty but underhanded exploits.  With their fame fading, what can our four do but reclaim their glory  with a healthy dose of visceral slaughter and mayhem underwritten by the flimsy excuse of pursuing porridge kettles and kidnapped, narcoleptic princesses.  No bunny, buxom wench, or golden haired child is safe from the slicing, bludgeoning carnage -  just as it should be.

Scooping the prize for unlikeliest use of the Unreal Engine this decade, Fairytale Fights eschews the greys and gunmetals that traditionally go with the sort of games which utilise this workhorse and has instead conjured a lush world with a vivid palette of colours that wouldn’t look out of place in a traditional Nintendo offering.  Unlike anything really seen on the Xbox before, (with a few, more peaceful exceptions), this game boasts an engaging concept and a wealth of colourful, innovative backdrops and rich, imaginative levels, not to mention blood by the bucket load.  Primary colours and cutesy character may be the order of the day, but the twisted way in which the game delivers these things is a fiendish, hand rubbing delight and this contrast is rarely less than satisfying.

The humour on display here is delightful, from blink and miss moments in the background, to the achievements, such as slaughtering 7 dwarves while playing as Snow White for the ‘That’s Gratitude’ achievement.  The array of weapons is vast and you haven’t lived until you have pummelled a prince to death with a violin or melted enemies by vomiting acid over them.  The weapons range from the deadly and bizarre ‘Spoon of Destruction’ and ‘Twig of Destiny’, to the surreal ‘Marshmallow on a Stick’, ‘Beaver Mailbox’, and a ‘Waffle Iron’.  If you should find yourself short handed, grabbing a nearby gnome, bunny, or rat will serve as a useful weapon until something better comes along.  The twee colours don’t, for one moment, mask the dark humour, meaning that blended princesses, incinerated children and arguably one of the greatest looking bosses in the form of a stitched, conjoined Hansel and Gretel, give this game some great moments.  And it needs them, because the problems are legion.

Painful landings await...

There are many good elements to Fairytale Fights, but in reality, the basic things that it claims to be are a let down and the deceptive backdrops belie the game’s actually rather disappointing and limited feeling, side-scrolling nature.  The hack and slash element is maniac and fun until you run into clusters of enemies whose attacks decimate your health in one combo, leaving you stunned and unable to respond for another salvo, resulting in several deaths before you can extricate yourself.  Bad respawns cause more deaths than they should and if you find yourself sans weapon at some of the stickier points, progress will be excruciatingly painful.

Similarly, the platforming elements are very much hit and miss.  On one hand, the theory is fantastic, with some engaging and imaginative recipes for great platforming, such as traversing deadly saw-blades, escaping a crumbling candy castle while pursued by gingerbread men, and navigating some fantastic shelves of bric-a-brac in the Giant’s house. However, the stubborn camera fully intends to disrupt any progress as much as it can with it’s obtuse angles making judging depth a nightmare, leading to far more money haemorrhaging deaths than is reasonable.  Boss battles swing from the oddly easy to the bewildering to the hair ripping variety and are one sly way in which the game robs you of your carefully collected horde of gems and riches, meaning that when you limp forlornly back to the hubland and open your bloodstained purse, you realise that the upgrades for your illustrious statue will have to wait.  For a very long time. 

Got Listerine?

Given the game’s lack of similar competition and aforementioned plus points, it is easy to find certain problems forgivable, especially given the fun to be had in local multiplayer.  However, Fairytale Fights seems to have reserved it’s worst for the ultimate kick in the throat.

A significant number of achievements are glitched, some irreparably so until a patch arrives – in fact, I have never known of a game with this many issues right off the bat.  Multiplayer over Live is virtually unplayable, with vanishing characters, invisible enemies, terminal slow down, disappearing weapons, and game crashing chaos conspiring against you.  Also, should you have made the quite reasonable error of completing the single player campaigns first (the difficulties don’t stack I’m sorry to say), then thanks to a shocking glitch, you will have rendered yourself unable to pop the multiplayer completion achievements…something that if you are unlucky, you will have only discovered after several arse numbing playthroughs at six plus hours each.

A few more months tacked onto the release date might have allowed these problems to be caught, but as it is, they are a very glaring stain on what should be an entertaining and unique romp.  If the rumours are correct, then several last minutes changes were made to bring the game into line with its desired age ranking, (not least the amusing but predictably kneejerk garnering ‘kill 1000 children’ achievement), which is possibly a contributing factor to the oddly long glitch list.

Goose thief and slaughter-monger, Jack spills some claret

When all is said, done, and slaughtered, Playlogic have created an entertaining game, full of cartoony character and over the top, blood drenched action, but the flaws and bugs mar this twisted delight in a very off-putting way which is a crying shame.  Only the patient and fearless will pursue this game to the bitter end of an as-of-yet, elusive maximum gamerscore and although Playlogic have announced free DLC with up to four new characters promised, I fear that much of their audience have already hung up their Rainbow Swords and gone home.

Summary

Full of character and colour, this game, despite being a great concept with a dose of dark humour, doesn’t quite make the ‘better than average’ ground that it perhaps should have, thanks to a myriad of problems and an unforgiveable list of glitches.  Flaws aside, until it gets the patch it so desperately needs, Fairytale Fights certainly won’t have a happily ever after and that’s a real shame.

Creative weaponry, silly voices, and carnage – no it isn’t a gamer speed-dating event…everyone’s favourite invertebrate slaughter-mongers are back.  Worms is one of those games so firmly entrenched in gaming culture that whether they have played it or not, most gamers will at least have heard of it.  Originally springing fully armoured from the head of Andy Davidson for an Amiga Format competition, it was eventually snapped up by Team 17 and in 1994, a classic was born.

Many incarnations later, squatting firmly in the bunker of the artillery genre with strategy as it’s boot boy, Worms 2: Armageddon builds upon the strengths of it’s predecessor and ups the ante with a handful of Banana Bombs for good measure.  The aim of the game is simple – your quartet of plucky annelids have to obliterate the opposing team by any means afforded to them, and believe me, the range of weapons should satisfy even the pickiest general.  Traditional staples such as the Bazooka and Cluster Bomb are all present and correct and fan favourites such as the Holy Hand Grenade and the Concrete Donkey make a welcome return after their bitter absence from the first XBLA game.  As ever, strategy plays a big part in a player’s choice of weaponry and the usual Girders and Blowtorches remain for the ‘Dark Side’ players.

The environment may look stunning, but isn’t always friendly – water means sudden death and wind sheer will affect most shots (though more practised players will learn to use it to their advantage to pull off some nasty kills).  The cartoon style backdrops now also appear in vertical form, lending a new twist to some challenges and are as fully destructible as ever, with the added hazard of fire weapon fallout eating insidiously away at it, scorching Worms as it goes.  The lush palette and over the top themeing make the crisp landscapes a pleasure to blow apart and along with the expanded cacophony of ridiculous voices and sounds, imbues the whole thing with a genuine sense of addictive fun.

Everywhere in space is made of cheese, it's the law

35 single player levels will more than keep a player’s hands full and completing these earns gold which can be spent at the in-game shop on special weapons, silly hats, or even extra levels.  The single player campaign also includes puzzle levels which are both innovative and frustrating, requiring the player to solve problems or traverse the level with only limited weaponry or utilities, but which offer a welcome respite from the rigours of war.  Anyone venturing into the invertebrate strewn no-man’s-land of Live will find four new multiplayer modes, including Forts, with a flotilla of customisation options for those four player death scrums and of course, ranked two player matches which come with some gritty achievements.  Even the training levels have been given a lick of paint with some nifty extras such as Worm dummies to abuse (and if you’re devious, use for achievements).

It seems that the whole game is brimming with new features, meaning that new additions to the voice sets and landscapes, unlike the first game and it’s iffy requirement for the player to pay for extras, are packed in here as standard.  In fact, choice seems to be very much the name of the game with the player given a wealth of cheeky customisation options ranging from bizarre hats, victory dances, and skins to add to the usual wacky voices and gravestones.  A ‘cheese head’ hat or a ‘Grandpa’ speech set may mean nothing to some but you’d have to have a heart of stone not to crack a grin at the zany buffet laid out here.

Watch that wind sheer unless you want a Bazooka blast in the back of the head

It isn’t all brandy and cigars before curfew though – multiplayer is still proving buggy for some, several achievements are glitched and the rather bizarre intrusion of avatars between turns is both pointless and irritating, seeming oddly out of place  and serving only to slow down play, even if it is by one more button press.  For the more cynical, this is essentially more of the same -  anyone that has played any of Worms’ past incarnations will know the drill and when you strip back the baubles and new modes, it is the same game.  Again.  But it’s a damn good one, which makes all the difference.

Whether you’re dedicated carnage creator or simply fresh meat, you’ll find something worthwhile here.  The thought that has gone into refreshing a game which (let’s be honest) has not really changed for over 15 years, is obvious and appreciated – especially as we are once more being asked to pay 800MSP.  So leave your cynicism at the door, don your Alien Antenna and prepare to take cover, because there is a pale sheep trundling over the horizon, the Worm that sits on him is Death, and Armageddon is following with him.

Summary
Fan favourite weapons and a wealth of new modes and enhancements will please both veterans and newcomers alike. With a strong single player campaign and expanded multiplayer mode complimented by a range of customisation options, this may be just a slightly fleshier Worms but it still blows chunks out of the opposition.

Twenty years ago, the God genre was kick-started by the work of two men, Peter Molyneux and Will Wright.  While Wright introduced the world to Sim City and went on to produce arguably some of the most commercially successful games in the God genre and it’s Jesus offshoot, Molyneux created the original and purest form of God game in Populous.  Developed by Bullfrog in 1989, Populous  became an award winning classic, spawning  two sequels across various platforms, and firmly fixed Molyneux’s star in the gaming cosmos.  It seemed only logical, given how well the DS’s interface lends itself to games of this nature that Populous and it’s ilk would eventually arrive on the handheld.

Populous is a simple tale of good versus evil – the gods who created the world (Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Harvest) pitted against demons of similar powers who sprung from the wicked hearts of men and dare to challenge the gods for control over the world.  Each faction draws it’s strength from it’s worshippers and paradoxically, even a god cannot function without the devotion of it’s people  to give it it’s powers.  Gods need Psyche Energy in order to perform miracles which is generated from the houses of your worshippers and is stored up to be used to either aid them or hinder your foe.  Your worshipers need space to build so you have to flatten the landscape and remove obstacles which allow houses to expand and generate more Psyche Energy.  Should you take too long, your worshippers will lose Spirit and eventually die and your rival will gain ground on you.

Wonderful graphics show what happens when you play with fire

Simple orders can be used to control your worshippers, but their most important function will be to build. Worshippers alone cannot win the game for you though which is where the disruptive element comes into play in the form of Miracles.  Depending on the god you play, Miracles will vary, however, access to the nastier ones is withheld until you have amassed a sufficient amount of Psyche energy, so unleashing a meteorite to devastate your enemy’s followers requires patience and much landscaping.  In fact, everything about Populous requires patience and much landscaping and this is unfortunately where the game loses it’s charm and becomes grating.

Thankfully, control is simple and landscaping can be done with simple stylus movements which admittedly can prove problematic if you are too hasty, resulting in creating  town levelling peaks with clumsy ease.  The top screen shows  the changing world and results of your actions in the isometric work map which is assigned to the touch screen, along with the bars, gauges and order buttons where you will exercise your powers, all of which are intuitively laid out.   Miracles are also located here while the animations are played out beautifully in the top screen, but the most important thing, aside from the Armageddon clock is the gauge representing tribal influence which compares rival worshippers  – if the bar is more red than blue, you need to swing the balance, or come Armageddon, your backside will be toast.

You made them angry...

As entertaining as the Miracles can be, the novelty wears off quickly as you will be so preoccupied with endless landscaping that you won’t have much time for anything else but listening to the suitably dramatic underscore.  Even the stunning and detailed world occupying the top screen is sadly wasted as your attention will be focussed on repetitive stylus sweeps on the work map while occasionally taking a moment to send an earthquake or tidal wave to blight the enemy.  The orders which you can give your worshippers are largely irrelevant, as is ordering them to battle – the occasional Miracle is a far easier way to put a crimp on a demon’s day while you keep your worshippers building…do enough to swing the gauge in your favour and victory come Armageddon is assured.  And that is it.

When you scrape away the novelty of the Miracles and the gimmicky landscapes such as fairytale, outer-space and 8bit (featuring  Nintendo consoles past and present…yes, you read that correctly), the game is simple and actually quite dull.  The repetitive grind of constant landscaping isn’t enough to justify the occasional fun piece of devastation and  it is too easy to fall into a pattern of scrabbling to nudge the gauge up and then triggering  Armageddon as soon as possible to save any further tedium.  Armageddon is perhaps  one of the most entertaining aspects of the game with legions of little worshippers in red and blue swimming trunks bitch slapping one another to the strains of Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s Ninth.  It is almost worth the wait.  Almost.
 
Sadly Populous however, was not.  As one of those games that launched a genre and is remembered as the classic  it was, now, however beautifully revamped, seems sadly dull when not viewed through time’s rose-tinted window.  Some will undoubtedly love it, and as a quick time filler it is entertaining enough…it just won’t nuke your world.

Summary
A beautifully revamped classic which is sadly better remembered than replayed. Easy controls and rich graphics can’t save it from repetitive, grinding gameplay, and while the Miracles are diverting, Armageddon can’t come soon enough.

For what at first glance seemed to be a ten-a-penny puzzle game, Jewel Master: Cradle of Rome strives to bring a little extra to the tile-swapping party and surprisingly, attains some success.  Cradle of Rome is a puzzle game of the ‘match 3 tiles’ variety with the added task of building Rome.  Yes, the player doesn’t just get to randomly dab the stylus around in an attempt to build a high score, but they’re expected to build the heart of the Roman Empire and ascend Mount Olympus while they’re at it and it is this addition that makes the game more interesting than a standard puzzler.

The player gathers building materials and resources by swapping the tiles to clear the blue marble ones before the time runs out.  So far, so samey.  However, these resources build up and after each level is completed, the player can spend what they have accrued on a vital building such as a sawmill, foundry, or even a village.  Purchasing each available building in turn unlocks a new resource to collect which goes towards a new building and so on.  Before anyone gets too excited though, it isn’t quite ‘The Settlers’.  The available buildings are strictly controlled and ordered and you can’t just pick what you like and bung it down, it is linear.  Part of the game’s mind may have wandered into another genre’s territory but it’s heart is still a puzzler so you are limited and real choice is a mere illusion, albeit a pretty one.

Those stylus stabbings are finally building a better world, one resource at a time

The graphics are vibrant and glossy in the puzzle screens and the in between sprawl of a growing Rome while you spend your resources is detailed and pleasing to the eye.  All of this may be a trifle to some, for whom the puzzle is king but having colourful and well presented graphics aren’t going to harm it’s charm for the more casual puzzler, and indeed, can act as a pull beside drabber, crusty-nosed cousins on the shelf.

Vibrant graphics and well presented puzzle sceens don't hurt its cause one bit

The discovery that the resource tiles vary on some levels was a welcome one: some feature wood, others stone or hammers in addition to the standard coins and what appear to be leaves.  This touch of variety adds to the rest that the game offers and as such, offers a less tiresome playing experience, ensuring that it isn’t simply a five minute bus journey filler, but something someone may genuinely want to finish.  Indeed, seeing the city start to grow with the addition of each hard earned building is actually quite chuffing and this goal gives the player something more worthwhile to aim for than some vaguely impressive numbers to their name.  Traditional puzzle fans may detest these arguably unnecessary additions but for a genre that is the home of games that for most, are a mild diversion to be enjoyed in short bursts, this should be a  good addition.

Summary
A vibrant puzzler that offers something more than simply chasing a high score. Die-hard puzzlers and purist traditionalists will perhaps resent the intrusion of the resource gathering and goals but it is a solid, nicely presented addition to the puzzler catalogue.

When I first saw the name of this game, I’ll admit to getting rather excited.  The thought of dungeons, creatures and management put me in mind of one of my all time favourite games – Dungeon Keeper. I leapt at the chance to review it, even though the  couple of screenshots I had seen were cutesy and colourful.  No matter, I thought…it’s about time the DS had a game like this!  Let’s get it straight from the start though – Dungeon Keeper, this is not.  I was gleefully rubbing my hands as I imagined evil finally spreading onto the DS, perhaps laden with sarcasm and dark humour, oozing with the promise of nasty deeds, but the moment I picked up the manual and read the words ‘magic talking shovel’, I knew it was not to be.  Not a farting Bile Demon or svelte whip-cracking Dark Mistress in sight, this is the diet coke of evil, or rather, the Soda Stream version with added sugar.  So I reconciled myself instead to what I imagined would be a fun, intensive jaunt into dungeon making and monster bashing with side helpings of twee and much stat monitoring along the way.  I wasn’t entirely right there either.

You play as the hero, a twelve year old (boy, natch) with the requisite jaunty hair, dwelling in a little town painted with a lush Willy Wonka palette.  Very cute and warm; easy on the eye and far from dungeon-making material, surely.  Not so, it would seem.  Monsters have been seen around your village of South Arc and local surrounds and are troubling the entire kingdom of Krolan…so much so that the town’s plea for help to the local castle has, of course, been ignored. So the villagers take matters into their own hands in true RPG style – by sending a child to do the job while they sit around and moan about it.

Your trusty but annoying shovel and a typical battle screen. Prepare to become sick of both

Your task is to rid the surrounding lands of monsters and to make the town worthy of lucrative tourism for the grabbing Mayor into the bargain.  With the aid of your magical shovel, you start to dig out your dungeon, limited only by the number of magic points your shovel has per day.  Yes, you read that correctly – your shovel has magic points.  And a mouth.  And very irritating accompanying music.

Excavating earth and installing furniture (which can be purchased in the tiny hub town) attracts creatures into your new place which you can then happily slaughter.  A little more sinister than one would first think then.  No pandering to ungrateful or lazy minions here, oh no.  They’re lured in and slain and the best bit?  Their meat can be used in conjunction with gathered recipes to make a tasty meal every night which has the added bonus of levelling you up.  Different meals can level up different skills, such as speed, or strength.  It is a seemingly bizarre combination of ideas and it took a while to get my head round whether or not it worked.  Along the way you’ll be given little quests by townsfolk, namely errands of the ‘find me this’ variety which seem to be fulfilled at random by the only thing there is really to do i.e killing monsters repeatedly until the items turn up in loot.

Your home town acts as a hub for purchasing dungeon furniture and magic

On one hand, we have purchasing furniture, running errands for lazy townsfolk and making odd meals out of crow legs and dry slime, and on the other we have the staple checklist of monsters, MP, HP, attack and defence stats and annoying turn-based combat.  I’m not quite sure whether it’s a sim, RTS, RPG, or a lite-cooking game and to be honest, I don’t think the game quite knows.  It doesn’t seem to do any one thing with any real depth or conviction and even after hours of play, you’re struggling to cope with the realisation that this really is it.  It doesn’t get any more interesting and there are no hidden depths waiting to ambush you.

There are some interesting ideas here, (though nothing uncommon), but in mixing the elements together and not doing any of them particularly well, it has produced a shallow and sadly, rather dull game.  The graphics in the hub town are colourful and the menus and stats are clearly laid out, but the premise, though refreshing and unique in comparison to many games, is poorly executed, proving rushed and thin, making for a game as flimsy as a Blake’s Seven set.

Undoubtedly the DS is perfect for titles such as this, and cries out for a management game with a difference or even a RPG that straddles the line into another genre with aplomb but this one falls somewhat short.

Summary
Sadly, Dungeon Maker fails to be what it could, or even should have been and is ultimately shallow, repetitive, and disappointing. Though it will while away a few hours, I was left unsatisfied with the loose, mixed bag, wishing the DS had been given a punchy little gem of a game that oozed character, rather than just a colourful but strangely bland time filler.

Sudoku is one of those things which has crept from the sensible, inky pages of the morning papers where it nestled beside crosswords and quizzes, and slowly permeated into the world of console games.  After appearing on the more obvious formats such as the DS, it arrives rather demurely on XBLA in the form of the solid Buku Sudoku.

Control with a pad was always going to be interesting, especially given rival systems’ more natural methods which aped the chewed biro scribblings of ‘hardcopy puzzling’ with ease.  However, while relying on thumbsticks and triggers as opposed to a stylus could lead to a potentially game killing problem, Buku Sudoku carefully avoids this pothole with intuitive , easy controls which, after a grid or three, will become second nature.

The easy grid...ideal for knackered gaming or grinding points

A pleasing desk themed interface sets the mood, carrying through to friend’s leaderboards, personal stats, and game options.  The ambient music and sound effects (while oddly loud) , help make this one of those relaxing games for when you just can’t be bothered slinging on your assault rifle or stamping on Koopas.

While not a challenge of endurance or dexterity, the game is naturally, being a puzzler, not without its difficulties, though these are entirely of the player’s making, rather than obtuse gameplay.  A range of difficulty settings and modes, such as timed play, combined with a choice of grid sizes ranging from the baby blocks of a 6 number grid to a head-spinning 12, will ensure that there is something to suit even the most vanilla puzzler as well as those with more masochistic tastes.

Standard nine by nine for Sudoku traditionalists

Multiplayer is straightforward enough, providing team battles and head to head for competitive matches and a co-op mode for puzzling with friends on the same grid.  The ability to jump into a quick match or customise and create one is always welcome, but finding anyone with whom to knock down the multiplayer achievements may be a tall order.

Arguably, what is really a lone pursuit should not have come with multiplayer achievements shoehorned in, especially considering its likely narrow market, and this is one of the game’s main failings.  Additional content in the form of extra puzzles is available to download, though arguably, it would be hard to see any player running out or noticing any repeated grids unless they were a diehard puzzler.  Aside from the niggle of multiplayer achievements for a game such as this, there isn’t a great deal to complain about, but on the other hand, there isn’t a lot to shout about either.  It is simply Sudoku, albeit in pretty duds, and if that is all you want, then this shouldn’t disappoint.

Summary

Overall, Buku Sudoku is a well presented, solid puzzle game with easy controls and an attractive interface.  It offers a welcome diversion from the rigours of more dramatic titles on XBLA, making it ideal for passing time or simply winding down.  While it won’t set your world alight, it will compliment your cocoa and fluffy slippers and you can’t say fairer than that.