A new Playstation generation has arrived.
With that, the obligatory ‘Launch Games’ also rear their heads to show off the power of the new machine.
I have been lucky enough to get my hands on both Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Demon’s Souls Remake.
It is fitting in a way to have both a new Sackboy and Demon’s Souls come to christen the new console, as they have been stalwarts of the Playstation brand for over 10yr years.
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The Fitbit Inspire 2 sits in the mid-level device slot of the 2020 Summer range, but it is by no means limited in features.
Back in May, I reviewed the Fitbit Charge 4 and found it a great tool to help in my training. Over the following months I have come to really rely on it for exercise goal setting and feedback.
The new range of Fitbits are dropping for summer, so it seemed fitting for me to take some of the new devices for a test run…(yep, I meant that pun)
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Star Wars Squadrons, you say?
The close of 2020 is fast approaching, not to mention the end of the current generation of consoles. I for one did not expect this late in the piece to be blindsided by a wee budget priced title made by EA!? of all publishers, to come out of nowhere and insert itself squarely in my 2020 game of the year considerations.
Finally someone at EA has seen fit to make a game worthy of the juggernaut IP that is Star Wars. And to boot, they have drawn heavily from one of the all-time great video games of the past Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
Back in 1998 it was THE flight/space combat game to play. It has baffled many a gamer pundit why it has been over 20 years since we could strap on an X-Wing at shoot stuff.
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Crysis (Remastered) is one of those touchstone titles that most gamers have heard about, being released on PC back in 2007 to rave reviews. It was the “Ultimate Test” of a PCs graphical prowess.
Later in 2011 Crysis landed on Console, which is where I experienced it on the Xbox 360. Even in the paired down console version, I loved it, its was beautiful, unique and I even got 1000/1000 achievement points!
13 years have passed since its initial release. Which is a long time in game design terms. Unfortunately, even though Crysis has had the “Remaster treatment” to make it all pretty, the titles old bones are showing their age.
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I am a big fan of Control. I said pretty nice things a year ago in my review, such as…”It was mind-bendingly magical”. It was even my Game of the Year for 2019!
So, any offer to dive back into Controls twisted world is met with giddy laughs of excitement and much wringing of hands.
The second and final (AWE) DLC for Control has just arrived. Remedy have fully bridged the world of Alan Wake and Control in this 3-4hr DLC pack. I won’t spoil any story from here on in, but suffice is to say. Mr Wake’s typewriter is hard at work leading Jesse into darkness, hunting an escaped Bright Falls monster who is loose in the Strange House.
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Stranded on a desert island, what do you bring? As much as I would love to say…. “a PS4 and a copy of Windbound”, alas I cannot. Its beautiful art style and fun sailing mechanics, have been scuttled by the tough rogue-like penalties and clunky combat encounters.
Windbound is a survival game built around rouge-like mechanics and procedurally generated islands. Anyone who has played “Don’t Starve” will have a very good understanding of the design philosophy.
Windbound initially presents as a sort of paired down version of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Which, let’s be honest is a great place to start. Windbound will not however, have the broad appeal of Zelda. I think it’s going to be an acquired taste for many gamers as they will need to be patient and forgiving lovers of rogue-likes, to find joy here.
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Relicta does not make a good first impression.
The opening puzzles which serve as the tutorial feel very, “seen that sort of thing before”. The tutorial then leads into a fairly drawn out story delivery sequence told by disposable radio chatter. I will admit, I rolled my eyes and did not have high hopes for my next few hours of gaming.
But poor introductions aside, when the gameplay proper kicked off and some headscratcher puzzles where unleashed upon my brain. I completely changed my views on Relicta. It’s actually a super solid wee puzzler.
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In May this year, I reviewed the new FitBit Charge 4 and the overall takeaway was that it’s an excellent fitness tracker, that for a ‘Gamer’ helped formalised my training regime and even gamified my day-to-day workouts.
I admit, that at the time I didn’t fully appreciate what this wee device could do. Initially I set myself simple time goals for workouts to complete. Later I used the FitBit app to understand my workouts and in particular making the most of them by using the Active Zone Minutes (AZM) system.
To put it in ‘Gamer’ terms. My FitBit device and the AZM system has given me a tangible way to have stats to Min-Max, to get the best returns on my health and heart. It’s like dungeon crawling in real life!!
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Guest writer Nina, takes a deep dive into some thoughts about The Last of Us: Part 2 and its online turmoil.
“As I will be trying to analyse one of this game’s central themes, I’ll have to dive into the nitty-gritty details of the story. So, dear reader, consider yourself warned. Spoilers Ahead.”
To say that The Last of Us: Part 2 is a divisive game would be an understatement
All you need to do is scroll through the comment section of any The Last of Us: Part 2 related content to realise just how angry some people are over the games’ narrative direction. And while some of the criticisms of this title’s writing and plot have a modicum of merit, after playing the game myself I believe that the reality is something far different.
Part 2’s utilisation of perspective encourages players to question everything they thought they knew about the characters they’ve grown to love. Naughty Dog do this in what is a unique approach for a video game. By putting the player in the position of someone who was hurt or wronged by them.
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Ghost of Tsushima is an open world, action, Samurai RPG-lite with a 70/30ish mix of ‘toe to toe’ sword fighting and stealth gameplay. All set in 13th Century Japan.
There are a few issues which I cover in the Video Review, but what makes it a game worth experiencing is its beautiful art style, its music and audio design and the story beats in the later parts of the game.
If you like Japanese culture as I do, the recreation of 13th Century Japan is what made Ghost of Tsushima go from a fun game. To what is personally quite a special video game experience.
Guy was supplied a pre-release copy under strict embargo for the purpose of this review. Thanks to PlaystationNZ and Suckerpunch for the opportunity.
Watch, Like and Subscribe to the youtube review from @nzbrowncoat after the link.
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JBL have been a mainstay of the home audio fraternity since 1946. They have in recent years been brought under the Samsung Electronics umbrella, which may explain why after so many years, they have finally taken the leap into Gaming Headsets see what we think of the Quantum 400.
They have certainly jumped in boots and all too. The new ‘Quantum’ range boasts seven different models. Spanning entry level headsets through to models with head-tracking, noise cancellation and wireless surround sound.
The JBL Quantum 400s are a great headset. If the rest of the Quantum range have had this much thought put into them, then safe to say JBL are not here to muck about, Gamers!
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