Richard Armitt, Author at koru-cottage.com

Cinema Gaming, going large on the Silver Screen

August 13, 2020 Richard Armitt 1743 Views Big Screen, Cinema Gaming, Destroy All Humans, DOOM Eternal, Event Cinemas, Ghost of Tsushima, Maneater, Orion Springfield, Snacks, Sound, TLOU2

As a young man I had two dreams, one was to own a nice little campsite and the other was to own a boutique cinema. The second was born of a love of movies and the plan for some cinema gaming on the big screen after hours. Neither of these dreams took off, until now.

We probably have to thank Covid and 2020 for the opportunity, as traditional business finds other ways to make its assets work.

I recently spied a Facebook ad by my local Event Cinema offering gaming sessions. How could I not take it up?

For prices and details read on.

Gaming Game Reviews PC / Mac PS4 Switch Console Xbox One

Warhammer 40,000 Mechanicus, PS4 Review

August 6, 2020 Richard Armitt 2031 Views #Mechanicus40K, Games Workshop, Inquisitor, Mechanicus, turn based, turn-based strategy games, Warhammer 40k, XCOM

Warhammer 40,000 Mechanicus will be familiar to die-hard Games Workshop fans, the average gamer, perhaps not so much. Drawing on the very deep and very wide canon of Warhammer 40k, this game adds to a varied pedigree of stablemates.

Considering the complexity the Warhammer family its a shame that the digital versions of these tabletop adventures often fall flat.

It’s fair to say, that first couple of hours of doubt were soon demolished as I understood the systems on offer and gripped the gameplay.

Gaming Byte Size Review PS4 PSNetwork PSVR

Iron Man VR, PSVR Review

July 6, 2020 Richard Armitt 1617 Views Avengers, Iron Man, PSVR, Spiderman

Iron Man VR has been a while coming, having had a hands on at PAXAus last year and seeing the recent demo hadn’t moved on much from then. That said, the Rocket Boots have firmly landed hard in our living rooms now.

It has to be acknowledged that Iron Man (the Robert Downey Junior version) led, assembled and exited the Avengers Franchise for a decade. In that time we had a very ropey Iron Man game back in the 360/PS3 era, which didn’t make much use of the man.

You’d think Iron Man would be a perfect shoe-in for a VR game or experience. Remember how good the final swing was in that Spiderman one a couple of years back? Iron Man VR must surely offer that view from the legendary helmet, the sheer nature of donning a headset making sense in more ways than one.

Game Reviews Gaming PS4 Xbox One

Maneater, PS4 Bite Size Review

July 6, 2020 Richard Armitt 1588 Views Boss, Maneater, Shark, Simulator

Maneater has had me in a barrel, a game where you play a shark on a quest for revenge. How could this be a love hate relationship? Was Maneater the one that got away?

I love the premise, it is refreshing and quirky enough to grab mainstream attention.

It is also the most ‘gamey’ of games to have been landed recently, which will ultimately be in its favour. That said, there was something keeping me from plumbing its depths.

Gaming Game Reviews PS3 PS4 PS5 PSNetwork Video Content youtube review

The Last of Us Part 2, Youtube review

June 12, 2020 Richard Armitt 2248 Views Clickers, Ellie, Giraffes, Joel, Nathan Drake, Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, TLOU2, Uncharted

First up, a very big thank you to Playstation for providing us with early access to The Last of Us Part 2 for review.

A very, very big thank you to developers Naughty Dog too.

The Last of Us came in at the twilight end of the PS3 life cycle and what a way to bow out. The game grabbed people on so many levels for its story telling, characters and sheer class.

Now we find ourselves at the tail end of the PS4, who would have thought that day would come, but by all accounts there will be a PS5 under my TV before the year is out. The Last of Us Part 2 is delivering that same swan song again, in spades.

Our actual review will be the Youtube link you came for. We had to give it more of an introduction. Click the link below and watch, listen, absorb what Guy has to say. You won’t regret it.

This is it, this is the game your PS4 has been dying to show you.

Gaming Feature Article Preview PS4

The Last of Us Part II : Preview

June 9, 2020 Richard Armitt 1125 Views Ellie, Joel, Naughty Dog, Playstation, Sony, The Last of Us, The Last of Us 2, The Last of Us Part 2, Uncharted

It’s 2:47 am on a Tuesday morning, I got into a cold bed at 2:35 am after playing The Last of Us Part II. Again.

For clarity I just finished the area that is allowed to be previewed pre-embargo lifting and I can’t stop thinking about it. In fact I thought about it all the way to work. While I was at work, then all the way home. Being a week behind other outlets I wasn’t going to run a preview, but here we are.

In a couple of days full reviews will hit, next week the game will be out. For now we can lift the lid on a taste of what to expect.

Thanks again to Playstation and Naughty Dog for the opportunity to review The Last of Us Part II before release.

Gaming Game Reviews PC / Mac PS4 Switch Console Video Content Xbox One

Minecraft Dungeons, Review

May 22, 2020 Richard Armitt 1427 Views Couch, Dungeon Crawl, Local Multiplayer, Microsoft, Minecraft, Mojang, Steve, XBOX

Minecraft Dungeons is an exciting addition to the Minecraft family. We’ve been playing the Mojang block builder for over a decade on a multitude of platforms. Since the Microsoft acquisition in 2014 Minecraft Earth, Stories and Minecraft Dungeons have been the diverse additions, on top of regular world updates.

Personally I love a good Dungeon Crawl, because nothing beats the smell of loot in dank tunnel.

The ingredients were already there after ten years of creativity and the story probably wrote itself. Surely it was easy to put together the landscape and inhabitants. The Minecraft palette and world are so familiar now and the engine breathes life into well lit scenes. This isn’t an RTX shaded version of the game, it’s pure and simple and full of joy.

Thanks to Microsoft / Xbox ANZ for providing the review copy.

Championship Manager 97/98 (CM97/98) – in 2020

May 3, 2020 Richard Armitt 6628 Views Championship Manager, CM97/98, Football Manager, Goal, Soccer, Soccer Manager

Championship Manager 97/98 is an evergreen to me.

I can’t say exactly why, but like many of the converted it really is the equivalent of pulling an old sweater on. Born in a time where it strained an Intel 486, the game now runs like Ryan Giggs used to.

Whenever somebody Tweets up a best game ever poll or which game would you take to a desert island. Yep, I’m in like Flint with a quick and subtle CM97/98.

Maybe it was the time of my life that etched the game so deeply into my brain. This was my late twenties, and probably the period when I was most interested in football. Attending Premier League games over the years, feeling the joy of Aston Villa lifting the League Cup and more likely just needed a fantasy world.

Gaming Game Reviews Indie Game PS4 Switch Console Xbox One

Moving Out, PS4 Review

April 25, 2020 Richard Armitt 1272 Views Classic Arcade, Co-Op, Couch, indie, Local Multiplayer, Moving Out, Team17, Unpacking

How to start a Moving Out review?

Well, its probably best summed up with a classic like “Great things come in small packages”.

In short the game is a frantic race against the clock, part puzzle, part arcade craziness and a sprinkle of comedy charm. If you are looking for a couch co-op game to keep the family entertained or at least blaming each other.

Then look no further, its got lockdown shenanigans all over it.

PS5 Dualsense Feature Article Game News Gaming Hardware Playstation Sony

DualSense, PS5 – don’t judge a Book by its Cover

April 14, 2020 Richard Armitt 1508 Views Dualsense, Dualshock, Haptic, Light Bar, Playstation 5, PS4, PS5, Share Button

Easter 2020 came early when Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed: “the first images and design details of the DualSense wireless controller, the new wireless controller for PlayStation 5”. Being a few days before the holiday weekend it certainly gave all the thirsty gamers something to discuss. Fervently.

Given the consumable nature of Social Media and the way it spreads virus-like at unknown speeds. It was not surprising that the negativity outweighed the positive commenters. Because “Its the internet” and “They are all bored on lockdown”. Here’s an idea:

DualSense: Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover.

All the discussion and ribald rivalry was only concerned with how the controller looked. The news being supported by a decent rap sheet of features was devoid of interest for many. Personally and to get it out of the way, I love the look. Love, love, love it, love the look.

Gaming Byte Size Review Nintendo Switch Console Video Content

Zombie Army Trilogy, Switch Review

April 12, 2020 Richard Armitt 1778 Views Rebellion, sniper elite, Zombie Army, Zombies

Zombie Army Trilogy on Switch, comes hot on the heels of last month’s spectacular Zombie Army 4. That’s a big pair of Jackboots to fill.

To be fair the Switch port does a good job and is a well rounded package, but really showing its age. The muted colours and old textures don’t do much to upgrade the experience. Although the sepia / grey-green landscape does a good job of highlighting collectibles.

As expected the game looks heaps better in portable mode. To be honest, that’s really why you want ZAT on Switch.

There are multiplayer options with Horde, on and offline, but being a stubbornly solo zombie killer I lack comrades.