Download Games Roundup

Fast Draw Showdown

• PSN $7.99. Coming to PSN EU in August.
• Previously released on PC and WiiWare - 500 WiiWare points (£3.50).

A small part of me misses that sunny optimism of '93/'94 when games started to fully embrace Full Motion Video. The results were almost always complete bobbins, but it was THE FUTURE, and we all wanted to live in THE FUTURE, even it it meant actors flapping around in front of a blue screen for our entertainment.

Fast Draw Showdown existed in this amusing portion of our history, but only in arcades where gigantic laserdisc-powered cabinets hadn't been outlawed yet.

Essentially a light gun game with 'real' enemies, the premise couldn't be simpler: be quickest off the draw and blast gunfighters to death over a series of showdown.

In the arcade, of course, a wired gun controller provided a semblance of credibility to the proceedings, whereas now you have the glowing Move dong to contend with. No-one should expect to come out of this with any dignity.

Playable over three difficulty levels, it's simply a case of going through the motions, pointing the Move controller down until you hear the tell-tale sound of your opponent reaching for their weapon. Once that occurs, you're free to blast with impunity, and get judged in terms of your speed and accuracy.

In its newly 'remastered' form, it all works as well as you'd expect, with responsive, precise controls making it fun for about half an hour. The problem is one of length, and once you've creamed all your opponents with your insect reactions, there's not much else to see.

You'll hear the same 'hilarious' wisecracks from the same old opponents, and become too good at the game too quickly. A few unlockables for your outfit provide rather scant incentive to return. As a relic to amuse your friends with it serves a purpose, but you could probably achieve the same result by visiting YouTube.

3/10

Gameocracy One: Legend Of Robot

• PSN Minis - £2.49

Stitched together from the collective musings of the European PlayStation Blog, The Bearded Ladies put its faith in the community to make its latest Mini offering worth your while.

Everything from the look and feel of the character and boss design to the details on the environment were as a result of an eight week long 'Gameocracy' competition, and initial signs are extremely positive.

You play as a jolly robot, known as H7, who literally has to use his head to get around. Blessed with the ability to chuck his bonce around to deck enemies, it quickly becomes an essential part of your arsenal as you traverse the jolly environments.

But not only is it a weapon, your head also acts as a makeshift platform to bound off, and can remain in levitated in mid-air if you tap the circle button after you've thrown it.

As you progress, you also pick up a few other abilities, such as a magnet that allows you to latch onto overhead platforms and swing yourself around.

Sadly, just as the game is starting to get into its stride, the 'Gameocracy' appeared to think it was a great idea to make it 'old school hard' by deleting your save game if you deign to lose all your lives, which you invariably will. Needless to say, it's an absolutely ridiculous idea, and one that turns a charming, engaging experience into a painful exercise where you repeatedly have to start right from scratch.

However, fear not, because there's an workaround to this nonsense. If you press the Home/PS button and quit out before you lose all your lives, you'll be able to resume the game from the last level you got to, complete with the lives you had before it all went pear-shaped. It's unacceptable, obviously, but at least it's possible to avoid the worst case scenario.

If The Bearded Lady can re-issue a patched version, Legend Of Robot will be well worth picking up, but until then you're better off saving yourself the aggravation.

6/10