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Erica: The return of the FMV game

Gerard Campbell 1315 Views , 

I didn’t know what to expect when I was offered Erica, a PlayStation-exclusive full motion video game, to review.

It’s not often I go into video games cold, with no idea what I’ve let myself into, but I did with Erica. A full motion video game like we had in the ’90s but better.

Those of us who gamed during the ’90s will know FMV games like Phantasmagoria and The 7th Guest but Erica is nothing like those games.

Firstly, it’s better. Much, much, much better.

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The Church in the Darkness, PS4 Review

Guy 1186 Views ,  ,  , 

This game finds its inspirations from these very 1970s type cults. The setting being that of the ‘Collective Justice Mission’ cult and its fanatical leaders Issac and Rebecca Walker.

They have moved their flock to South America to avoid the constant gaze of the FBI back in the USA. I played as Vic, an ex-cop tasked to go down to South America and bring home a brainwashed youngster, Alex.

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Control Feature
GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPS4Xbox One

Control, PS4 Review

Guy 1131 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

Control is different to other games I have played this year, yet it still feels very familiar, like a sort of comfort food.

The reality of what is actually happening in Control is like an incomplete painting, masterfully placed just out of reach.

I kept pushing onwards, throughout the game, trying to grasp what the hell is actually going on in this contorted world. It was mind-bendingly magical.  Remedy and 505 Games have made a confusing, engrossing and strangely approachable title….. and I loved every damn minute of it.

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Borderlands 3 Crew in Action
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Borderlands 3 is coming in hot

Richard Armitt 1168 Views ,  ,  , 

There is no doubt that with a few weeks to go, Borderlands 3 is coming in hot.

Word on the street from Gamescom is full of praise. The hands on demos we’ve seen on social media have been looking great until now, but this feels more straight up.

Its absolutely obvious the Hype Train is at full tilt and won’t be stopping at any stations on its way to September 13th.

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No Man's Sky: Beyond
GamingFeature ArticleGame NewsPC / MacPS4Video ContentXbox One

No Man’s Sky: Beyond (yes, we’re excited)

Richard Armitt 1209 Views , 

No Man’s Sky has had a journey and a half, considering the theme of the game that’s kind of fair. The team here at koru-cottage have all had dealings with the Hello Games opus. From the early days of those outstanding E3 reveals all the way through to it’s actual release which at the time was PS4 exclusive.

Now we are two days away from No Man’s Sky: Beyond, the game is changing.

Excited, to say the least.

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Wolfenstein: Youngblood, PS4 Review

Guy 1656 Views ,  ,  , 

I’ll be honest, this has been a tricky Review to work on. Wolfenstein: Youngblood, thanks to collaborative talents of Arkane Studios and Machine Games, is a weird mash-up of video game ideas that I could have loved.

However due to poor characters, bad gameplay mechanics and literally idiotic design choices around a reliance on Co-Op, I grew to seriously dislike this series off-shoot.

Even the franchises you love can have bad days…

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Attack on Titan 2 – Final Battle Review (Xbox One X)

Barrie Clarke 1783 Views ,  , 

To be honest, I’m not sure what I just played… when you enter the land under constant threat from the Titans. And unless you are have seen the Anime series of the same name I’m willing to bet that you will have the same ‘What the hell?!?!’ moment I had.

I guess you could could call A.O.T.2 – Final Battle the ‘Lady Gaga in a meat suit’ of gaming. It is pretty good at what it does, but really? What are you thinking???

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Call of Duty: ‘Realistic’ Warfare.

Guy 1253 Views ,  ,  , 

Another meaty article from Gamer-Girl Guest contributor, Nina. This time sharing some thoughts on games, the media and how they deal with limits being pushed.

For as long as anyone can remember, the relationship between the video games industry and mainstream media has been riddled with misapprehension. Whenever games are involved in News stories, they’re often antagonistic or misrepresent the medium, usually said ‘articles’ come in conjunction with a Rockstar Games release, when we get the obligatory claims that violent video games make kids violent.

Today, I wanted to focus on the a recent example of a game/media clash that  involves a specific game that is rumored to feature very realistic depictions of war.

That game is, of course, the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019).

A reboot of the original Modern Warfare game, the new COD is set to release on the 25th of October, but Infinity Ward has already treated fans and the media to trailers that show off the game’s new graphic engine and direction. And it’s that last part, the new direction, that has people excited, including me.

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Yamagi taking a selfie on Nakamichi Street, Kamurocho.
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Judgment review: Treading the streets of Kamorucho again

Gerard Campbell 2082 Views ,  ,  , 

I absolutely love Sega’s Yakuza games, a rich, slightly quirky crime series set in the fictional Japanese city of Kamurocho, so it’s no surprise that I have fallen head first into Sega’s Judgment (PS4 exclusive), a game not directly set in the Yakuza universe but there’s some elements that the two games share, nonetheless.

It’s hardly surprising there are similarities in game play, though: Judgment’s made by Ryu Ga Gotuku Studio (Ryu Ga Gotuku is actually Japanese for Yakuza), the same studio behind some of the latter Yakuza games, and while there’s no appearance of the Dragon of Dogma Kazuma Kiryu in Judgment, the setting is a familiar one for fans of the Yakuza series: Kamurocho, a fictional Japanese city modelled on the real-world Kabukich?, Tokyo’s most well-known “red-light” district.

I have to say, it’s great to be wandering the streets of Kamurocho again with it’s bright lights and streets layered with signs and craziness.

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Observation review [PC]: When a sentient AI goes bad …

Gerard Campbell 1094 Views ,  , 

Previously posted at Gerard’s own blog GameJunkieNZ, here’s his view on Observation.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the team behind sci-fi thriller Observation – were fans of movies Alien, Event Horizon and 2001 A Space Odyssey.

The game opens aboard the international space station Observation which is above Earth’s orbit after suffering a catastrophic event. The ship’s medical officer Dr Emma Fisher eventually manages to reboot the ship’s AI Sam [System Administration Maintenance] but Sam receives a strange transmission telling him to “BRING HER”.

Fast forward a bit and after a second event, the Observation finds itself above Saturn, Sam’s core functions compromised and the rest of Observation’s crew missing. Emma tasks Sam with finding out what has happened.

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New Star Manager, PS4 Review

Richard Armitt 1366 Views ,  , 

There will always be room for more takes on soccer manager genre, at least there is if you’ve ever let one get its hooks into you.

For me the Holy Grail has always been CM97/98, many wasted weekends as nights turned to mornings and you’d catch an hour of sleep while a creaky 386 PC ground out the close season update. There have been all sorts of attempts to capture that lightning, sometimes they have just been too complex for their own good.

New Star Manager brings a fresh take and more importantly for consoles a better user interface than suits the medium. No more snapping to and fro between far too many icons, no more floaty cursors relying on your thumbstick that wished it was a mouse, you have to appreciate the design path going from mobile to Switch before PS4 being one of the core drivers here.

New Star is a relaxed and enjoyable take on the manager sim, the pace is fairly pedestrian which makes it a top-corner chill-out game and the mini games along with the in-match controls have raised more than a few smiles in my dugout.

If you are looking for something different that tickles your soccer fantasies, I’d be giving New Star a run out, new signings, fresh legs and all that.

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