Title: Killzone 2
Platform: PS3
Genre: First person shooter
Price: £44.99
ASIN: B000E69YHK

Is February too early to start talking about game of the year. Probably a touch, bearing in mind the goodies to come for all gamers during the latter part of 2009, but there’s no doubt that Killzone 2 will be in the mix for all awards, after providing a peerless demonstration of how a first person shooter can triumph in both single player and multiplayer modes. Graphics that give a true sense of what the PS3 boasts under the bonnet coupled with the creation of a science-fiction world that is believable from the first second to the last ensure that this is likely to be the only title on gamers’ lips through their bluetooth headsets. Four years in the making, the hype and anticipation has grown with every month, and it’s a tribute to the Guerilla development team to say that it delivers in every sense of the word.
5/5

A SILENT HILL WORTH SHOUTING ABOUT!

Title: Silent Hill: Homecoming
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Survival Horror
Price: £49.99
ASIN: B001DHHUIO
In Silent Hill’s first outing on Xbox 360, the series follows Alex Shepherd, returning to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen to investigate the sudden disappearance of his brother. Cue the familiar grim setting for more survival horror action, with some notably improved combat attacks and defensive options, making those freakish fiends you’ll come up against not quite so creepy to dispose of. The atmospheric graphics and sound are perfectly in keeping with what’s gone before, and Homecoming certainly makes its mark as an excellent next generation effort for the Silent Hill crew. Perplexing puzzles, eerie enemies and another spine-chilling storyline all points towards a 360 hit for 2009.
4/5

LIFELESS GAMEPLAY
Title: Shellshock 2: Blood Trails
Platform: PS3
Genre: First person shooter
Price: £49.99
ASIN: B001DCE0WI

Using next-generation powers of suggestion, Shellshock 2: Blood Trails planned to carefully execute the implications of horrifying acts without going gung-ho on the blood and gore. What it actually succeeds in doing is giving gamers a full frontal, in-your-face expose on how not to do first person shooters. The franchise has never really stuck in gamers’ minds and this latest effort will unlikely cause cries for a third installment. Poor graphics and sound, and a lack of interactivity with your environment quickly dissolves any sense of involvement you may have built up in the first half hour or so of gameplay. Another gaming casualty of war.
2/5

ANIMAL MAGIC ON THE DS
Title: My Pet Shop
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Animals
Price: £19.99
ASIN: B001O9C158
A new career as a pet shop owner awaits, as you and your mum settle down in town to serve all the inhabitants’ pet-related needs. And who’d have guessed, every blighter in town wants a new cat or dog, or their pooch needs some serious shampooing, a loving brush or clothing makeover. Played out in a kind of turn-based role-playing way, you can hunt down animals in the woods outside the town and entice them into your clan or accessorise them with ribbons, hats and bonnets. It’s all played out through straightforward navigation and cutesy cartoon graphics, which all adds up to a winner of a game for youngsters.
4/5

2D RUN’N’GUN HAS STILL GOT THE MOVES
Title: Metal Slug 7
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Action
Price: £29.99
ASIN: B001I45CB4
Metal Slug does action shoot ’em ups better than anyone, staying true to its original format and dishing out round after round of intense button-mashing battling with a peerless heritage behind it. Metal Slug 7 offers up seven brand new missions for the corking six playable characters to conquer. Even more weapons to wield and bosses so big it’s a wonder they manage to squeeze them into the diddy DS ensures that this addictive run’n’gunning at its best. Perhaps only comparable with Contra 4, the only thing really lacking is the two-player mode that hardcore Slug fans must be crying out for. This would ensure the series is truly taken to the next level, rather than a re-tuning of what’s gone before.
4/5

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT
The recession could be a “blessing in disguise” for the gaming world, says EA Chief Exec John Riccitiello, according to gaming website Gamesutra. Ricitiello argues that tighter times could help filter out the ’junk’ from the shelves of games stores, as “it seemed like anyone who cold draw a guy with a gun with a crayon could get funded”.
“I’m not pro-recession,” he added, “but to quote Rahm Emanuel, ’never waste a crisis’.”
In the charts this week, the resolute Wii Fit was finally toppled from its tower as super scrap franchise Street Fighter IV stormed into first place with a fabulous showing of fighter action. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II and Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection were the other new entries to the top ten, at three and seven respectively

GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1 (-) Street Fighter IV
2 (1) Wii Fit
3 (-) Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
4 (-) Ben 10: Alien Force
5 (5) FIFA 09
6 (4) Call of Duty: World At War
7 (-) Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection
8 (6) Mario Kart Wii
9 (7) Wii Play
10 (2) FEAR 2: Project Origin

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