Gaming

Blackwood
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ESO: Blackwood, Byte Size Review (XSX)

Barrie Clarke 1007 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

Welcome to Blackwood.

For the first time since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion you can return to the Imperial City of Leyawiin and again enter the realm of Mehrunes Dagon. That’s right Portals to Oblivion are back. And to make your adventure into Oblivion even better the release of Blackwood has coincided with an upgrade for latest gen console users.

Blackwood is the latest chapter in the grand Elder Scrolls Online universe following up Greymoor, Elsweyr, Summerset, and Morrowind.

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Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
GamingGame ReviewsPlaystationPS5Sony

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, PS5 Review

Guy 1294 Views ,  ,  , 

Insomniac Games has to be an absolute Golden Goose for Sony. In 2019 they paid a mere $230 million for a AAA studio that consistently and more importantly quickly, churns out top quality games.

Only 7 months after helping the PS5 launch with Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Insomniac have dropped a new PS5 exclusive – Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart…and as expected.

It is a stunning example of a top tier studio putting powerful next-gen hardware to work.

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GamingGame ReviewsIndie GamePS5Xbox OneXbox Series SXbox Series X

Necromunda: Hired Gun Review (XSX)

Barrie Clarke 902 Views ,  , 

Necromunda: Hired Gun is a fast paced shooter based in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Why I have never been pulled into the Warhammer universe is beyond me. It is as cool as hell, and ticks pretty much every box for my likes in a world setting. The plethora of Warhammer games out there, including the recent Mechanicus, just shows the sheer amount of material available of conversion to video games.

Developers Streum On Studio obviously have a love for Warhammer as their last title was Space Hulk: Deathwing. Unfortunately many of the criticisms laid against Space Hulk will be just as valid for Necromunda. But there is a dog. And you can pat it!

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Biomutant
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Biomutant, PS4 Review

Richard Armitt 1289 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Biomutant, where to begin? A post apocalyptic RPG set in a world not unlike ours, albeit when ours is the ‘before times’.

We felt the sprawling nature of Biomutant would be a good opportunity to team up Richard and Dylan, let’s see.

A world poisoned by toxicity, inhabited by mutated creatures instead of people. Living their simple lives in a pseudo medieval-samurai-esque setting.

Biomutant has a colourful open world, liberally peppered with ruins of humanity. Shells of buildings and rusted cars, intersected with skeletal tracks of Chuggers, sorry, trains.

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Resident Evil The Village
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Resident Evil Village Spoiler Free Review

Barrie Clarke 1127 Views ,  , 

Barrie and Dylan takes turns at being chased by Lady D.

Resident Evil Village, a very decent continuation of Resident Evil 7 that features more than a little DNA from Resident Evil 4 (AKA probably the best one ever).

A safe sequel, for sure, but also one that filled me with relief to play a big-budget, single-player game with no always-online bullshit, no co-op, no daily challenges (well, not for single player anyway), no reason to come up for air into the real world at all.

It truly is a engrossing journey told in true Resident Evil fashion. The atmosphere and jump scares are all there. If you haven’t already played Resident Evil 7 (included with Xbox Game Pass), I highly recommend it before embarking on your trip to the Village.

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R Type Final 2
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R Type Final 2, Switch review

Richard Armitt 1284 Views ,  ,  , 

R Type Final 2 is a trip down memory lane, for me. I first flew an Arrowhead Fighter in the Arcades of 1987.

Following it up with the Commodore 64 a while later. After that, we parted company for a number of years. From memory the original was a revelation in the schoolyard, Gieger styled enemies and the enigmatic upgrade ‘The Force’.

After growing up on side scrollers like Scramble you had to admit R Type was an epiphany.

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GamingByte Size ReviewPC / Mac

Before We Leave Byte Size Review (PC)

Barrie Clarke 1085 Views ,  , 

Before We Leave goes down the tried and true path of many city building games but with a interesting point of difference.

Before We Leave has removed the conflict and conquering elements often present in the city building genre. Gone is the need to take over other civilisations and attack villages in your way. Before We Leave is all about furthering your world without bloodshed.

Trust the Kiwis at Balancing Monkey Games to come up with a game that is fun but also acceptable in a rapidly changing world. Anything that makes gaming more acceptable is a good thing in my books.

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brickresales
Feature ArticleGamingLEGO

BrickResales, Brisbane

Richard Armitt 2156 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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.

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Norton 360 for Gamers
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Norton 360 for Gamers

Gerard Campbell 1504 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

Norton 360 for Gamers, you say? In this day and age, anti-virus is a vital necessity when it comes to online protection from data and identity thieves.

I’ve had warnings in the past of accounts being potentially compromised but they never seemed to come to anything. At least I don’t think they did. But I’ve always used some form of anti-virus, both free and subscription (Kaspersky, AVG, Avast, even Windows Defender), and it’s certainly true that you get what you pay for.

Norton is one of the industry’s big players and I’ve been a fan of the company’s anti-virus solutions for a few years, offering a pretty consistent product that provides solid online protection combined with an easy-to-use interface.

(Previously posted at www.gamejunkie.net.nz)

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Returnal
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Returnal, Review (PS5)

Guy 1674 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

I have always hated games from the Rogue-Like genre. The lack of progression, the severe penalty for simple mistakes and if I’m honest, the feeling of games just being unfair. It does nothing for me.

Well…the genius’s at Housemarque have found the perfect Rogue-Like recipe. Cooking up a beautifully atmospheric, AAA quality, frenetic shooter.

In fact, at this stage of the year Returnal currently sits atop my Game of the Year list for 2021.

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NieR Replicant
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Nier: Replicant, Byte Size Review

Guy 1556 Views ,  , 

Nier: Automata arrived on the scene in 2017 and became an instant cult classic. Square Enix have as a result, seen fit to put some spit ‘n’ polish on the original Japanese version of Nier: Replicant, released in Japan in 2010.

Neir: Replicant ver.1.22474487139 … is a “Version Upgrade” bringing Replicant up to 60fps, adding a full voice cast and importantly modernised combat, akin to the brilliant Automata.

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