Home » Articles and Reviews by 'James Gilmour'
Angry Birds Stella Review
So here we are again. Rovio has released the latest spin on its ever popular Angry Birds franchise. This time, however, the ladies are the stars of the show, with pink bird Stella taking the starring role in a new all-female cast. As Pocket Gamer's Harry Slater discovers, though, nothing much has changed beneath the game's frosted veneer. This is still Angry Birds, albeit with no dudes and added wait timers. Is this a feminist triumph? Or is this a slightly patronising spin-off…
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The Nightmare Cooperative Review
Roguelikes are everywhere at the moment. You can't fire up iTunes without clapping eyes on a Dungelot or a Wayward Souls peeping out of the milky whiteness. However, as Pocket Gamer's Craig Granell discovered, The Nightmare Cooperative shouldn't be dismissed as yet another tile-based puzzler. Yes, it's filled with randomised dungeons and chance encounters and lots and lots of death. But there's a clever team dynamic at play that elevates it beyond the average swipe-powered puzzle adv…
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First gameplay footage of Angry Birds Stella surfaces
The first gameplay footage of Angry Birds Stella has surfaced online. Rovio has been promoting this newest (and pinkest) addition to the Angry Birds family through US bookstore Barnes & Noble ahead of the game's release this Thursday. Handily for those of us stuck in the UK, a member of AngryBirdsNest was on hand to play through the first seven levels of Angry Birds Stella, and record the results on their phone. A quick glance at the video confirms that unlike the RPG-themed Angry Birds Epic, this game sticks far closer to the traditional swipe-and-fling Angry Birds formula. There are some differences, of course. Early levels are structured more like mazes, built…
Bioshock Review
BioShock is great. Deservedly held up as a premiere example of digital world building and interactive storytelling, it's a game which drags you through your TV and submerges you in a nightmarish world of neon and noir. Andrew Ryan's failed utopia, populated with genetically modified maniacs and lumbering, drill-armed childminders, is one of the most atmospheric, immersive, and effectively-realised video game settings ever conceived. The gameplay elegantly fuses traditional gunplay w…
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Hands-on with Armello, the beautiful boardgame which conquered my heart
Armello has been generating a bit of buzz within the PC community recently. Something of a genre hybrid, it combines elements from tactical RPGs, strategy games and CCGs, and wraps them in a big boardgame-shaped package. Yesterday, we learned that the dev team behind this colourful and charming project is also hard at work on an iPad version of the game. Naturally we were curious, and managed to get our hands on a very early build of the iOS version. And, after spending around 30 minutes with Armello, I can safely say that the game has worked its way into my top 10 most anticipated games for 2015. It's beautiful and beguiling, and though the systems are diverse, it doesn't overwhel…
Hands-on with Fifa 15: Ultimate Team, EA's latest mobile football sim
While I've seen some surprising things at this year's Gamescom, there are a few constants which provide comfort amidst the madness. The Fifa franchise is one of these constants, the latest iteration of which takes the form of Fifa 15: Ultimate Team, and is due to arrive on iOS in the very near future. Taking onboard the negative feedback Fifa 14 received regarding its gesture controls, the team has opted to return to a button-based control scheme this year. There's now a dedicated throughball button, and the ability to active close ball control by double-tapping the floating joystick. The other big change is the franchise's new focus on Ultimate Team mode, which proved the mo…
Goat Simulator set to charge onto iPhone and iPad later this year
Bonkers sandbox destruction game Goat Simulator is set to charge onto iPhone and iPad sometime later this year. Having already wormed its way into the hearts of millions of PC gamers via a series of viral videos, Coffee Stains studio's surprise novelty hit is making the transition to mobile. Though it's still early days - the video above showcases the roughness of the current interface - the current build already lets you charge about the streets, ram pedestrians, and attach yourself to passing vehicles using only your tongue. Pocket Gamer's Mark Brown and I went hands-on with the game in a darkened Gamescom corridor. You can see the result in the video above. …
BioShock: iOS vs Xbox 360 Graphics Comparison
As you probably already know by now, BioShock is coming to iOS later this year. Mark Brown, editor of sister site Pocket Gamer, went hands-on with an iPad build of the game earlier in the week, and shared his experience in an exclusive AppSpy video (which can be found at the bottom of the article). Having aquired some footage show ing the mobile incarnation of Rapture from publisher 2K, I decided to fire up the Xbox 360 version of BioShock and see how the iOS visuals stand up against the original console graphics. Check out the results in the video above. Though we don't have a solid release date for BioShock on iOS, we do know that it'll be live on the App Store before the year is out…
Unreal Engine 4 on iOS: does it look any good?
Angels in the Sky, the first game to utilise Unreal Engine 4 on iOS, hit the App Store last week. It's basically a gallery shooter with swish visuals. You float through an alien landscape using a pair of sci-fi cannons to blast waves of oncoming enemies. There's not much to it beyond that. You can't steer your craft or even pick your targets. You just hammer the fire buttons and hope to survive the oncoming horde. However, though the gameplay itself is less than noteworthy, we felt obliged to put Epic's shiny new game engine under the microscope, and see whether it makes the iPhone 5S - the only device Angels in the Sky is compatible with - sing. Here are the results:…
Hearthstone Naxxramas second wing The Plague Quarter out now for iPad
The second wing of Hearthstone's Curse of Naxxramas DLC series, titled The Plague Quarter, is now available on iPad. The second of five seperate patches - or 'wings' - which will make-up the complete Naxxramas update, this update adds three new bosses to defeat: Heigan, Loatheb, and Noth. Those who purchase the update will also gain access to four new cards: Stoneskin Gargoyle, Unstable Ghoul, Sludge Belcher, and Loatheb. These bosses and cards bring with them some new challeges and modes, including Heroic Difficulty mode. If you want to see what the first wing of the Naxxramas campaign looks like in action, then check out our hands-on video below. You can still download this episode f…
Telltale confirms The Walking Dead Season 3 is on the way
Telltale has confirmed that its acclaimed interactive adventure The Walking Dead will return for a third season. The announcement was made at this year's Comic Con in San Diego, and later shared with the world via the developer's Twitter account. Given the ongoing success of the zombie-themed series, it's no surprise that Telltale is keen to continue building stories in the world of The Walking Dead. However, with the team already prepping Tales from the Borderlands and an interactive Game of Thones series for release before 2015, it's going to be a very busy year for the studio. Unfortunately, there's no word at this time whether Clementine will return in season three, or when the gam…
Modern Combat 5: Blackout Review
Modern Combat 5: Blackout is an orgy of simulated violence - short bursts of brutal, amoral slaying set to a soundtrack of bombastic Zimmer-esque strings and the metallic trill of shell casings on concrete. Like it's predecessor Zero Hour, it throws set piece after set piece at you, switching between urban shootouts, gunship massacres, sniper challenges, and aquatic escapes with the excitement of an impatient child opening Christmas presents. The controls are the familiar mixed bag o…
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Modern Combat 5: iPhone 4 vs. iPhone 5 Graphics Comparison
When I captured my hands-on with Modern Combat 5: Blackout, I recorded the footage while playing the game on an iPod 5th gen. This iPod runs on Apple's A5 processor, the same processor found in the most commonly owned iPhone model: the iPhone 4S. However, some pointed out that the visuals on display in the video didn't seem as impressive as the graphics seen when playing Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour on an iPhone 5. To see just how much difference processor speed makes to Gameloft's soon-to-be-launched military shooter, I decided to play Modern Combat 5 on an iPhone 4S and an iPhone 5c, and compare the results. Is the iPhone 4S version the ugly duckling to the iPhone 5S's beauti…
Hands-on with 80 Days, the Jules Verne-inspired steampunk adventure book
My first encounter with Jules Verne's sci-fi classic Around the World in Eighty Days was not through the novel itself. Though I'd love to say I was lounging around reading French literature at the age of 6, in truth I was watching quaint, already outdated cartoons like Around the World With Willy Fog. Though the cartoon adaption turned the globe trotting Phileas Fogg into a talking lion, Inkle's upcoming digital adventure book 80 Days is a little more faithful to the original text. In the game - which will be released this Thursday - you assume the role of Fogg's assistant Passepartout who must help his companion win a bet to circumnavigate the globe in under 80 days. I'll admit right no…
Hands-on with Game of Thrones: Ascent, the mobile strategy baa-ba baba-baa-ba baba...
Games of Thrones: Ascent has been around for a while now. Originally released as a Kongregate and Facebook game, before being ported over to the iPad, it has been unavailable on iPhone since its inception. Until now. Last week, the mobile phone-owning crowd were finally invited to the Game of Thrones: Ascent party. Which, as those who've read the books or follow the TV show will know, will probably play host to several murders and at least one use of the word 'bastard'. The game itself plays out as a strategy adventure in which you must rise from the rank of nobleman in an effort to claim the Iron Throne. You complete quests, improve your lands and title, and occasionally remind people…
