Gaming

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Back 4 Blood Review (XSX)

many are calling a spiritual successor in the form of Back 4 Blood. Developer Turtle Rock Studios (renamed as Valve South) are the team behind the Left 4 Dead games and even the format of the game name points towards a sequel to Left 4 Dead.

But thanks to Copyright/Ownership/Politics Turtle Rock Studios in its current form had to create a ‘new’ IP. And so Back 4 Blood is born.

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GamingByte Size ReviewPC / MacPS5Xbox Series X

Alan Wake Remastered: Have torch, will travel

Alan Wake is not your typical video game hero.

He’s not a former soldier skilled in the art of warfare or a wronged man out for revenge: He’s a writer in a tweed sports jacket with leather elbow pads (over the top of a hoodie) who runs out of puff after he’s sprinted for a few seconds. He’s an every day man.

Alice. He’s hoping to cure the writer’s block that has stifled his creative flow for two years but he quickly finds out that all is not what it seems in this seemingly sleepy town.

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GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPS5Xbox Series X

Insurgency: Sandstorm, PS4/PS5 Review

Rainbow 6 has become a toxic, fluro-laiden, run and gun fest. Ghost Recon is now a soulless open-world monstrosity which as of last week is set to become of all things, a Battle Royale!? And Splinter Cell has been missing in action for almost a decade. What I’m getting at is that the goods on offer for the Tactical console gamer are slim pickings at the moment.

But thankfully dear squad mates, I have good news! Insurgency: Sandstorm has finally migrated from PC to the console and there is now some solid tactical shooter goodness to be had.

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GamingFeature ArticlePC / MacPlaystationPS5

Deathloop retrospective

After guest writer Mark delivered a hefty Deathloop review previously. Dylan and myself thought it would be worth having a Deathloop retrospective to chew over some of the key elements.

We’ve chatted back and forth over an extended period. Rather than a review crammed into a short period we wanted to follow our own journey.

Thanks to Bethesda ANZ for the review codes.

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GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPS4PS5Switch ConsoleXbox Series SXbox Series X

Hot Wheels Unleashed, PS5 Review

Well, the cars are the stars. It’s that simple, yes its a sturdy arcade style racer that’s accessible and entertaining, but grinding the collectible and familiar cars. That’s where it’s at.

It’s a cool game, with fun bells and whistles. I really like the concept, I don’t like getting frustrated at certain things. There is a buzz attached to finding a rare car, but under the hood, they’re not that different. Although I tend to melt them for Gear Bits or coins to upgrade or buy something else.

Hot Wheels Unleashed has plenty of fun factor for now, I just can’t see it staying exciting for long.

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GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPS4PS5Xbox Series SXbox Series X

Far Cry 6, PS5 Review

not looking forward to Far Cry 6 at all. I haven’t been interested in a Far Cry game since the brilliant Far Cry 3. I’m happy to say Far Cry 6 has grabbed me in a big way and it is great fun.

There is no great mystery around what sort of game and genre Far Cry 6 is. It’s an FPS open-world action game. Exactly like all those that have come before. This time round it is set in a fictional Caribbean archipelago called Yara, which for all intents and purposes, is Cuba. Ruled by the ruthless “El Presidente” Antón Castillo played by Giancarlo Esposito. Yara is controlled by his military and as expected, there is a grass-roots resistance movement. Which it turns out needs my special ‘Guerrilla’ gamer skills to overthrow the “El Presidente”!

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GamingByte Size ReviewPC / MacPS4PS5Switch ConsoleXbox Series SXbox Series X

Gearshifters, PS5 Review

Gearshifters is a game that fits right into a classic arcade niche. Up until recently it was completely off my radar, but for catching a Tweet and having my fancy tickled. It turns out this indie game is right on the money.

Red Phantom Games have pulled out a fun, playable homage to cult car games and arcade shooters. Now, I’m off for one more go before bed.

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Byte Size ReviewGamingiOSSwitch Console

Super Arcade Football, Switch Byte Size review

Super Arcade Football, is absolutely a spiritual successor to any misty eyed memories of Sensible Soccer.

What more can I say, I’ve lived and loved Sensible over the years, my Amiga was never far away from the 5 1/4 floppy. When SWOS arrived I changed holiday plans around the release date, which didn’t go down too well. Yes there have been newer versions, but we needed something fresh and Super Arcade Football is the new challenger for that void.

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GamingGame ReviewsMicrosoftPC / MacPS5

Deathloop, PS5 Review

Thanks to guest reviewer Mark Isaacson for his in depth Deathloop review.

Set on the mysterious island of Blackreef, you play as highly trained assassin Colt, who awakes to find himself stuck in the same day, every day.

He must slowly piece together clues in order to kill eight targets (Visionaries) before the day ends.

Each visit to the island provides new opportunities to explore, new paths to various objectives and plenty of weird ways to mess up the timeline before it resets.

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GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPlaystationPS4PS5Sony

Death Stranding: Directors Cut – PS5 Review

Death Stranding Directors Cut is an odd descriptor for the re-release of a Hideo Kojima game. Kojima is renowned for being that unbridled Game Director with creative freedom aplenty. So, one would expect a game he made was already his “cut”.  And I would argue this was especially true regarding the genre bending, Postman Pat simulator, Death Stranding.

Rest assured, Kojima has confirmed that this “sub-title” is essentially a Sony Marketers attempt of saying, this is the PS5 remastered version of Death Stranding with a few extra bits.

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GamingByte Size ReviewIndie GamePC / Mac

Hell Architect, Byte Size review (PC)

The management sim genre is one that has been around for as long as I can remember but I can’t say I’ve ever played one set in the realms of Hell that tasks you with making hell a better version of itself (is that even possible?)

That’s the idea behind Hell Architect, a management sim from Polish developer Woodland Games where you’re tasked as Hell Manager who is in charge of, well, developing the nine rings of Hell and making it a place Lucifer himself would be proud of.

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