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Building the Arcade Dream, Part 1

August 8, 2021May 8, 2022 Richard Armitt 1696 ViewsArcade, Classic Arcade, Coin-op, Homemade, Jamma, Pandora Box, Retro

Growing up in the 80’s gave the Arcade Machine a special place in my heart. While I wasnt ever able to fervently feed all my money into them I knew my way around. There was a time when you could stumble across a cabinet literally anywhere, from the local greasy spoon cafe to the common room at college. It was the best of times, etc. Even school swimming lessons would see us running across the road at the last minute after crowding a dark back room in a takeout. Shouting out ‘dibs’ on your mate’s last man in Frogger.

This is part one of a series. I’ve made my decision to go with the path of least resistance, in the next instalment I will share a wealth of useful resources I’ve been finding to make sense of the process. Along with some updates on the build itself.

For now, join me in wistful yearning to be able to play The Speed Rumbler again.

Feature Article Gaming Indie Game PC / Mac Preview Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

Death’s Door preview (PC)

July 10, 2021 Gerard Campbell 716 ViewsDevolver Digital, independent developer, PC

If Devolver Digital is the king of the independent video game, then Death’s Door is the latest jewel in its already glittering crown – and what a big, beautiful, glittering head piece it is!

In fact, Death’s Door could be the sleeper hit of the year that I knew nothing about, but I’m glad I know about it now.

Feature Article Gaming PC / Mac Playstation PS4 PS5 Sony

Days Gone PC technical review

July 3, 2021July 3, 2021 Gerard Campbell 973 ViewsBend Studio, Bikers, Open World, Sony, Zombies

Once upon a time, you would never have imagined seeing a PlayStation game appearing on a Windows PC but now it’s becoming more and more common place.

First, we saw Guerilla’s Horizon Zero Dawn make the leap from PlayStation to PC, then we were graced with Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding (although HZD was a rough port at launch that required a fair bit of work to get it working properly). Now, it’s the turn of Days Gone PC, a zombie-filled adventure across a post-apocalyptic American mid-west, starring grizzled biker Deacon St John. It’s a technical marvel that really show cases what is possible with PC gaming.

Feature Article Gaming PS4 PS5 Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (PS5)

June 25, 2021June 25, 2021 Guy 523 ViewsMass Effect, Sheppard

There are certain things in life that are just “good”. Cold feet in front of a warm fire, the smell of freshly cut grass or just sitting on the sand watching waves lapping at the beach. Well, there is another thing to add to this list…playing Mass Effect in 4K with HDR and 60 frames per second!

I am a massive Mass Effect fan-boy! Having played through Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3 multiple times, read all the books, watched all the anime. I even still have a N7 badge on my backpack. Guilty of being a Mass Effect nerd of the highest order; so this write-up is most certainly a fans appraisal of this Mass Effect trilogy remaster.

Feature Article Gaming LEGO

BrickResales, Brisbane

May 15, 2021May 15, 2021 Richard Armitt 1210 ViewsBrickResales, Brisbane, LEGO, Lego for Adults, Pre-Owned, Star Wars

BrickResales is Brisbane’s best kept LEGO secret.

After running their business as a successful pop-up for many years Judy and Greg took the plunge late 2020 into a bricks and mortar showroom. You could say they haven’t looked back. Over recent years LEGO has been back on another resurgence.

Especially in the hands of some during COVID lockdowns and undoubtedly on the coattails of LEGO Masters success.

BrickResales should be somewhere every LEGO lover knows about.

Feature Article Gaming iOS PC / Mac

Confessions of a DOGE Crypto Virgin

February 8, 2021February 8, 2021 Richard Armitt 966 Views#DOGE, #DOGEcoin, Crypto, Elon Musk, Gene Simmonds, Snoop Dogg, To The Moon

A few weeks ago, before I knew about DOGE Crypto the only Crypto I was familiar with was the badass little alien from Destroy All Humans. His (allegedly) life-size statue is staring over my shoulder right now.

Then there was the sudden flurry over trading Gamestop shares in the U.S. Which lead to people suddenly understanding stockmarket terms like Shorts, Bears and ‘Stonks’. Maybe not the last one.

I figured a shallow dive might be a fun feature.

Feature Article Gaming LEGO

LEGO Bonsai, Botanical Collection

January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 Richard Armitt 1065 ViewsBonsai Tree, Botanical Collection, Building, LEGO, Lego for Adults

LEGO Bonsai, not a couple of words you’d expect to put together. Being a growing fan of the complex interlocking building system as an adult, I’m not surprised.

As a child I loved LEGO as much as the next kid, I had the classic Space Cruiser and Moonbase – they were happy days. After that we grew apart for a while.

Feature Article Gaming PC / Mac PS4 Xbox One

Games of the Generation – ‘Guy Edition’

January 22, 2021January 22, 2021 Guy 988 ViewsBlood and Truth, Death Stranding, Destiny 2, Generation, Horizon Zero Dawn, PS4, xbox One

In my musing on the last 7 years of gaming, a few titles stood out for their impact on me. More specifically, there were certain games that were unique experiences worthy of a “Games of the Generation” title. Keep that term in mind. “Unique”. For me, for a game to hit my list it needed to be more that just graphically stunning. It needed to be like a fresh experience, not just a incremental refinement of previous titles in a genre.

I have been reflecting on this generation of consoles, specifically the Xbox One and Playstation 4. I must admit though, the Xbox One failed to capture my attention this gen. There was a couple of awesome months of replaying the Halo games in the Master Chief Collection. However, shortly after it was left unplugged and unloved, as the PS4 amazing exclusives captured much of my attention.

Feature Article Gaming Microsoft PC / Mac Playstation PS5 Xbox Series X

2020 Roundup, the year that was.

January 1, 2021January 4, 2021 Richard Armitt 1377 ViewsCloudpunk, DOOM Eternal, Dreams, Dualsense, Flight Simulator, Ghost, Hot Pursuit, Maneater, Microsoft, PS5, PSVR, Sackboy, Star Wars, Sucker Punch, The Last of Us Part 2, XBOX SERIES X, youtube, Zombie Army

How do you have a 2020 Roundup? A year that has put the Annus in Annus Horribulus. The ongoing pandemic notwithstanding its been a year where everybody seems to have shared tragedy on some level. Having lost close friends, dear pets and suffered a weather event catastrophe I’m just glad COVID has not yet reached my door.

Here we at the dawn of a New Year, and just like twelve short months ago. Everybody is wishing that when that calendar clicks over the trend gets better. We should take a quick spin around the highlights of what we managed under such adversity.

Feature Article Gaming PC / Mac Playstation PS4 PS5 Video Content Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

Rainbow Six Siege – The State of the Game 2020.

December 28, 2020 Guy 1706 ViewsOnline Shooter, Operator, Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft

We love the occasional guest spot from Nina, especially when its about her ass kicking abilities in Rainbow Six Siege…

A few years ago, I wrote an article for Koru-Cottage titled ‘Rainbow Six Siege: Why I Love it so Damn Much’. Since that article, Rainbow Six has seen a lot of dramatic changes.

So with this generation of gaming coming to a close, I thought now would be a good time to revisit my musing on my beloved Siege. To reflect on how the game has changed, discuss the state it is in now, and theorize about the game’s future.

Feature Article Gaming Indie Game Microsoft Xbox Series X

Xbox Series X – The First 14 Days

November 29, 2020November 29, 2020 Barrie Clarke 1090 Views4K HDR, Assassin's Creed, Gears of War, Microsoft, Touryst, Valhalla, XBOX SERIES X, Yakuza

I am one of the lucky ones. Despite constant doubt and rumours of supply shortages my Xbox Series X Pre Order was waiting for me instore on November 10th. I was working, it was a long day. This isn’t a deep dive into the hardware, or even the next gen games. This is a overarching opinion piece from someone who has been Xboxing since day one, almost 19 years ago.

I have be enveloped by the Xbox ecosystem, met great people online, suffered RROD, tried to dance and sing, been a rock god, and most importantly, loved the games.

Gaming is in my blood. At almost 50 years old there isn’t a day go by that I don’t play a game or at least do something related to gaming. And to my wife’s dismay, our teenager is following in my footsteps. I have owned countless consoles, PC’s, handhelds, all-in-one’s, and devices. From C64’s to Gizmondos. 386 PC’s to 3DS.

I love all gaming and am definitely not one caught up in fanboy, PC master race, console war rubbish. I want to play games. Nothing more, nothing less.