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Download Games Roundup

Hamsters! Balls! Cowboys! Frankenstein!

Kristan Reed avatar
Review by Kristan Reed Contributor
Updated on
18 comments

Earthworm Jim - DSiWare

  • DSiWare / 500 points (£4.50 / €5)

There's not a great deal to be said about Earthworm Jim turning up on DSiWare. It's not a remake, it's not a reboot, but a completely faithful port of the 1993 16-bit platform classic - albeit with one rather superfluous addition.

On each of the game's 11 levels, you are challenged to pull the same expression as Earthworm Jim himself, be it open-mouthed, or with a raised eyebrow. It's amusing for all of about 0.2 of a second before you realise it's completely pointless.

The game, though, is the same enjoyable knockabout romp that it ever was, and Gameloft has thankfully made no attempt to shoehorn touch-screen controls in unnecessarily. If you feel a burning urge to spend 500 points to relive some small part of your lost youth, you won't be disappointed.

7/10

Lead and Gold: Gangs Of The Wild West

  • PlayStation Network (PS3) / £11.99
  • Steam / £9.99

Talent borrows, genius steals, and this Wild West team shooter certainly knows which bits of Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead and Battlefield to half-inch.

Breakdancing shooters bust some moves.

With a great selection of stylishly designed maps, a decent selection of modes, a slick visual sheen and simple class-based mechanics, FatShark's budget-priced offering looks highly tempting.

From the simple team deathmatch of Shootout through the control zone domination of Conquest to the objective-based destruction of Powder Keg, Lead and Gold would appear to have something for all tastes. Indeed, all four classes give the impression of catering for your preferred playing style; from long-range sniper to close quarters and everything in between, it appears to tick all the right boxes.

But with woolly, inaccurate combat mechanics and some of the flakiest network code seen in years (we played the game on PS3), the hands-on reality comes nowhere near its lofty potential. Games continually dump you back to the menu, there are lag issues and a worrying lack of online matches to choose from; getting the game working properly is a frustrating experience.

Providing Fatshark can quickly patch the problems, then the player base may build. But that's a big if, and while its problems remain, it's difficult to see Lead And Gold making a big impression on players schooled in big-budget multiplayer thrills.

6/10

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