Gaming

The Last of Us Part 2
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The Last of Us Part 2, Youtube review

Richard Armitt 2254 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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.

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The Last of Us Part II Ellie
GamingFeature ArticlePreviewPS4

The Last of Us Part II : Preview

Richard Armitt 1131 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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.

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Mafia 2 - definitive
GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPS4Xbox One

Mafia 2 review (The Mafia Trilogy Definitive editions)

Gerard Campbell 2028 Views ,  , 

The Mafia franchise is one that has polarised gamers right from the very beginning, to say “things never change” here’s our Mafia 2 review.

You either liked it or you hated it but I have fond memories of playing the first Mafia on a PC.

Ultimately, with Mafia 2 Definitive Edition, 2K have done the bare minimum required and released it, which is disappointing. All eyes will be on the original Mafia at the end of August to see how that game fares with a new lick of paint. 

Our fingers are collectively crossed and we’re all holding our breath. As the state of that Mafia will seal the fate of this so-called Definitive collection.

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Saints Row The Third
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Saints Row: The Third Remastered (Xbox One X)

Barrie Clarke 1914 Views ,  ,  , 

Back in the day when Saints Row first hit the market it was pretty much known as nothing more than an ok Grand Theft Auto knock off. And it was. Volition’s response, over the top silliness. And in my opinion this move worked. Each title after the initial release managed to get even stranger and push the limits of decency.

To the point where Saints Row: The Third is definitely not a game for the kids.

The Saints Row franchise has never hidden its roots, on the contrary, it has dyed them bright purple, and put on a g-string. Saints Row The Third is a solid piece of gaming aimed at the adult market. Even just running around with a giant dildo in hand brings a smile to my face.

We are in a very serious world at the moment. Take this piece of entertainment for what is meant for, to bring a smile and some escapism from real life.

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JBL Quantum 400 Unboxing
GamingHardwareHardware ReviewsVideo Contentyoutube review

JBL Quantum 400 – Video Unboxing

Guy 1737 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

A quick unboxing of the brand new JBL Quantum 400 gaming headset, so why not take a look. Keep an eye on the site and for the full Review in the next few weeks.

First impressions are good though, but we will see how they stack up with some gaming hours under their belt!

Remember, as always…Click, Like and Share!

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Minecraft Dungeons
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Minecraft Dungeons, Review

Richard Armitt 1431 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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.

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FitBit: Charge 4 – Review

Guy 2079 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

For the past week I have swapped out my trusty time piece for the brand new FitBit Charge 4.

My “wrist real estate” is a valuable commodity in 2020. If I’m going to stick something on the all important none-master-side wrist, it better be worth my while. 

This impressive little GPS Fitness Tracker, has managed to punch its way into the Smart Watch space.

The actual nuts and bolts are like this. The FitBit: Charge 4 is a compact fitness tracker that will monitor a myriad of fitness data points. Including heart rate, steps, distance traveled, sleep patterns, minutes in various cardio zones… and more.

Thanks to FitBit for the review item to trial, any questions feel free to ask me @nzBrowncoat on Twitter.

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GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacSwitch ConsoleVideo Content

Lonely Mountains Downhill (Nintendo Switch)

Gerard Campbell 1430 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Lonely Mountains Downhill began life as a Kickstarter project by German game makers Daniel Helbig and Jan Bubenik.

Full disclosure here: I backed the project and my name’s in the game’s credits. It also got a mention in my pick of 2019.

As an ageing mountain biker the game appealed to me as a way to enjoy one of my passions. When I’m stuck at home and the weather’s too horrific to don the rain jacket and hit the trails. I was also attracted by its low-poly graphical style, with a blocky, chunky biker and vibrant environments.

Thanks to Lonely Mountains Downhill on Switch, I can now “ride” my mountain bike any time I want. At the office, while I’m lying in bed, while I’m, ahem, in the bathroom. It’s also the perfect thing for when I just can’t bothered kitting up and hitting my local trails. Especially with winter looming and its inevitable wet & chilly weather.

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Fledgling Heroes (Nintendo Switch), Byte sized review

Gerard Campbell 1090 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

Side-scrolling game Fledgling Heroes is bright, colourful, easy to play – and I’m having a great time with it, despite not being the target demographic.

Most likely aimed at young children due to its bright and cheerful visuals, Australian developer Subtle Boom’s Fledgling Heroes first appeared on the Apple Arcade but now it’s on Nintendo’s platform.

It’s reminiscent of that Flappy Bird game that was all the rage a few years ago but it’s much better, with a charming visual style.

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CM 97/98
Book RelatedFeature ArticleiOSPC / Mac

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

Richard Armitt 6634 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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.

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Cloudpunk by Ionlands
GamingGame ReviewsIndie GamePC / MacPS4Video ContentXbox One

Cloudpunk: Tripping the neon-lit fantastic

Gerard Campbell 1711 Views ,  ,  , 

Cloudpunk is what I’d imagine the offspring of movies Blade Runner and The Fifth Element would look like – if Blade Runner & The Fifth Element got cozy for a night, that is.

Hear me out on this one. Take Blade Runner’s dystopian and neon-lit bleakness and The Fifth Element’s chaotic driving and downright craziness and you’ve got their offspring: Cloudpunk.

A damn good looking child, if I say so myself, that I’m sure it’s parents (ionlands) would be so proud of what it has achieved.

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