Weekly Gaming: Abzû (PC)
Hi all! For this week, I’m going to link to a review I done back in August. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed Abzû, I couldn’t help but think that it was a little too similar to Flower and Journey. Not that this is a bad thing, it just made me feel a little… cheated? Anyway, if you wanna give it a read, click the link below: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/265432/abz-pc/ And as always, I’ll see you next week! -Dan
Weekly Gaming: Mortal Kombat X (PC)
Some things never change, and in the case of Mortal Kombat, this old saying couldn’t be more true. Yes, the game’s been given a facelift with new characters taking the centre stage, but at it’s heart, Mortal Kombat X manages to stay true to the reboot from a few years ago, whilst also adding a few new Kostmetic (see what I did there?) and gameplay changes. First off, Mortal Kombat X takes place both after the events of the first games epic conclusion, and also 20 years into the future, helping to mitigate the amount of characters that died from the original. A great Elder God tried to take over Earth-realm once Shao-Kahn was annhilated, and as such, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade came to the rescue alongside Raiden, trapping said Elder God for millennia. Fast forward 20 years, and you have the world as a different place – kids…
Weekly Gaming: Nidhogg (PC)
It’s rare that a game truly encapsulates the mantra “Keep it Simple, Stupid”, fortunately, Nidhogg is one such game. Don’t let it’s simplistic retro art style throw you off, for all of it’s simplicity in the aesthetics departmenr, Nidhogg is one deep and lovely game. First off, the main appeal of the game: The combat. Being a simple 2D platformer, you’d expect for me to just say there’s 2 buttons to attack, wouldn’t you? Well… technically that’s correct, but its the manner in which Nighogg combines these buttons along with your analogue stick that truly makes the combat come alive. You see, whilst there’s only two buttons to master (A to jump and X to punch/slash with your sword) Nidhogg has multiple ways to chain these buttons together and give them different uses depending on the context of your movement. Jump and pressing X? Why not dive kick to knock…
Weekly Gaming: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Call of Duty Black Ops recently. I mean, it wasn’t fantastic, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it definitely punched above my expectations for it, and proceeded to make me eager enough for more of the story to go out and purchase the second and third of this trilogy. So with Black Ops now a distant memory, and with me having some time to myself, I decided to give the second a go, to see if it manages to surpass the original or whether it manages to fall flat on it’s face. My initial impressions upon starting the game were “who the fuck is woods, and who the fuck is this?”. Suffice to say, if I was having problems remembering characters from the first game when I only played in 2 months ago, i feel sorry for players who had…
Weekly Gaming: Inside (PC)
It’s been a long 6 years since Playdead graced our Xbox’s worldwide with their first hit Limbo, and in that time the world has changed an insane amount. Looking back, it was always going to be a huge success: indie releases on Xbox were still relatively rare, meaning any that did manage to hit the platform were an instant overnight success. That’s not to detract from the game in anyway; it was still a great platformer, but I can’t help but feel it’s success was guaranteed regardless of it’s quality. So what has Playdead been up to these last 6 years, and does Inside manage to fee like 6 years worth of quality? Lets find out. Just like Limbo before it, you start off as a small child wondering through the woods. The immediate difference is the visual style of the game: what was once a plain black 2D art…
Weekly Gaming: Pullblox World (Wii U)
Given how much I loved the original Pullblox (it was called Pushmo in america, and is different in different territories) I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a Pushmo for the Wii U. What I’d lose in portability I’d certainly make up for in visuals and the sheer quantity of puzzles to solve. Suffice to say, Pullblox World met me expectations, and even advanced on them. First up, the game is no different than the 3DS version that I reviewed many years ago. You play as Mallo, a little red sumo wrestler character that must save children that have managed to get themselves trapped on top of elaborate structures. These structures can only be pulled out a maximum of 3 spaces, meaning it’s up to your own ingenuity to discover the best method (and sometimes only method) of getting to the top of the puzzle and rescuing the children.…
Weekly Gaming: Mighty No. 9 (PC)
Hi all! This week I’m going to post a review back to Mighty No. 9, a game I reviewed a while ago, but never posted to this site. For those of you who need a little background: Mighty No. 9 was a kickstarter project from the man that brought us the original Mega Man. This hard 2D platformer was hugely successful in the NES years, but with Capcom owning the IP, it stagnated, becoming a title that was never developed in the 3D era. If you fancy reading my feelings on the game, by all means give the review a read below: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/264813/mighty-no-9-pc/ As always, thanks for visiting, and until next Friday have a fantastic week! -Dan
Weekly Gaming: Call of Duty: Black Ops (PC)
I genuinely cannot believe that it’s almost been 6 years since Call of Duty Black Ops was introduced to the world. The game still (in my mindset at least) feels like it was just announced yesterday, with it’s weird mid-60’s era warfare being quite new and revelatory for the time. But alas, here we are 6 years later, and with myself having never given the game a go. For someone that was a fan of the series (I specifically asked for COD 2 for christmas one year, loving the series that much), I was never that interested in the concept of Black Ops. Maybe it was because, to me at least, the series was trying too hard. Modern Warfare was astounding, and it’s follow up, Modern Warfare 2 was just as good, so I suppose I just couldn’t be bothered with what felt like a stand in for a fully fledged game…
Weekly Gaming: Hohokum (PS4)
I remember seeing Hohokum announced for the PS4 before the consoles inevitable release. It was charming to watch in action, but I couldn’t help but feel confused as to what the game was actually about. Here was a tadpole-like creature that was going around weird but colourful worlds in a seemingly random fashion. Needless to say, I had to give the game a go, so when I got it as a part of Playstation Plus many months ago, I decided to finally sit down with Hohokum and see what it was all about. The game starts off in an abstract black circular area. You proceed to move your “tadpole” around the black circular area whilst button prompts come up showing you how to move your tadpole through the world. Pressing X speeds up your character, whilst O slows it down, and Square closes your tadpoles eye. That’s it, simple controls…
Weekly Gaming: Her Story (PC)
Given how many awards Her Story has received this year (some from BAFTA for example), I felt it was time to give the game a go, and see what all the fuss was about. I recall walking past the game at EGX Rezzed 2015, but didn’t think much of it due to its lacklustre appearance. I mean, who wouldn’t? You’re in a tiny room with hundreds of other games making loud noises and packed full of action and explosions, and all you see on this one monitor is an artistic impression of an old CRT monitor, complete with scaliness and reflections, with nothing more than a lady talking on it. I’m sure many others would walk past too. But boy ‘ol boy was I a fool. After spending the best part of an entire evening with my other half playing through Her Story, I can say I’m a fool for…
Weekly Gaming: Cibele (PC)
Losing your virginity; it’s a deeply personal experience, and one which rarely gets mentioned in all forms of media. There’s a reason; this awkward first time is meant to prepare you for a lifetime of sexual encounters, so it’s hugely intimate and infinitely personal. So imagine my surprise when a game is made that goes through a girls first sexual encounter, and online relationships in general. I was interested, don’t get me wrong; indie games really do push the boundaries when it comes to what can and cannot happen within an interactive medium. So how does Cibele go about explaining it’s developer’s (Nina Freeman) first experience? Through a simulated desktop of what Nina would have said and done during this time. You’re able to click around this desktop, looking in Nina’s files and folders, exploring her most intimate poems and pictures. It’s this freedom to explore the game at your…
Weekly Gaming: Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (Wii U)
I’m a massive fan of Mario Party. That is no surprise to those of you who know me, what is a surprise is how much so. It’s strange I know, especially for a series that evokes such hatred and love from it’s simplistic mechanics. In fact, there’s something about video board games that truly hits the spot for me. Maybe it’s the fact that no matter how much bad luck you have in rolling virtual dice you still have a chance to get points back with your skill, or even the randomness of it all, there’s something enthralling about playing a good video board game with friends or family. So, with that in mind, let me tell you about a little game that was on sale (for £15!!!!) for the Wii U called Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival. Amiibo Festival, as the name implies, revolves entirely on Amiibo’s being placed on the…
Weekly Gaming: Lumo (PC)
Hi all! I hope you’ve all been well. This ones a bit late, as I forgot that I had reviewed the game but never published it on here! So for this week, enjoy my video and written review for Lumo, a classic isometric platformer that I enjoyed, but felt was quite flawed. http://www.vgchartz.com/article/264425/lumo-pc/ Apologies if this reviews a bit over the place, I must admit I felt my words were certainly convoluted and all over the place whilst writing the review and the script. Anyway, until next week, have a great one! -Dan
Weekly Gaming: Ryse (PC)
I’ve been intrigued with Ryse since it first came out on the Xbox One. It’s troubled development (originally planned to be released as a Kinect game) and mediocre reviews that all said it had generic gameplay with shiny graphics made me hesitate on my purchase at the time. Now with Ryse being ported to the PC, and with it also being included on a Steam sale for £3.74, I decided to pull the trigger, and finally give the game a go, to see if all of those criticisms were valid. The first thing that grabs your attention about Ryse is it’s insane amount of detail. Every marble staircase, every glisten of light, and every single model in the world looks absolutely stunning, so much so you’d be forgiven at times for thinking it’s a 3D film. This amount of realism also extends to the characters on screen and the animations deployed.…
Weekly Gaming: TTR: Table Top Racing (PS4)
It’s been a while since I’ve downloaded a game on my monthly subscriptions and instantly given a game a go. Most of the time I forget I own games and end up purchasing them on another platform (cause I can be an idiot at times). But given how it’s been a lovely few weeks, and how I’ve managed to get caught up on a lot of work, I decided to jump into one of the games I downloaded for this months Playstation Plus (I’m writing this in May). I didn’t have much criteria for what I was going to play other than it needing to be simple and laid back enough that I wouldn’t have to concentrate too hard. TTR fit that need perfectly. You see, like Super Toy Cars that I reviewed last year, the game takes place around miniature toy cars that are racing on table tops. The…