Platformer

GamingGame ReviewsPC / MacPlaystationPS5

Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart PC

Ratchet & Clank are one of PlayStation’s most endearing duos, first appearing on the PlayStation 2 in 2002 from developer Insomniac Games.

The pair were a resounding success on Sony’s games console, and over the years appeared in such classics as Tools of Destruction, Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal.

Now we have Rift Apart PC.

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Byte Size ReviewNintendoPS5Xbox Series X

Avenging Spirit, review

Arcade games in the 90’s were great, Jaleco were a powerhouse and Avenging Spirit was considered a classic in the stable. Lovingly brought back to the living room by Ratalaika Games S.L. its a classic arcade platformer, that deserves to be remembered.

I have a few memories of Avenging Spirit, originally feeding coins into it between college lessons at a greasy cafe way back when. More recently however it cropped up on my Pandora driven Arcade Cab, and I couldn’t help but have a rose-tinted go.

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GamingByte Size ReviewPS4PS5Switch Console

Turrican Anthology Vol. 1 & 2, Switch Review

What’s better than yearning after some retro Turrican goodness? Playing all the Turrican versions on Switch of course!

Turrican holds strong ground in my Amiga memories, I know I played a couple of them right through. Although I cant remember exactly which episodes they were.

That said the gameplay was always strong, wide open levels, secrets, enemies and upgrades. There was a forgiving respawn system and enemies stayed dead, which was nice.

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GamingByte Size ReviewPC / Mac

Skábma – Snowfall (Byte sized review)

Skábma – Snowfall is the first video game to focus on the Sámi people of Northern Europe.

The Sámi are the indigenous people of Northernmost Europe. Their homeland is called Sámiland (Sápmi in Northern Sámi language). Sámiland extends through four countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia.

Based on Sámi culture and steeped in both historical and mythological stories. Skábma – Snowfall sees you control Áilu, a young Sámi boy put in charge of the village reindeer.

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GamingByte Size ReviewPlaystationXbox OneXbox Series SXbox Series X

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD Byte Size Review (XSX)

Yet again I chuck on the rose-tinted glasses to revisit some good memories from the early days of the original Xbox.

This time it is a bit of an obscure HD remake in the form of Ty the Tasmanian Tiger.

Originally released in 2002 in the gaming vein of Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Banjo-Kazooie, Ty definitely hit a chord with New Zealand and Australian gamers.

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GamingGame ReviewsPlaystationPS5Sony

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, PS5 Review

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 ReviewsPS4Switch ConsoleXbox One

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, XBOX Review

Crash Bandicoot 4 is a difficult game. Negotiating this platform-hopping, crate jumping, dimension-swapping, time-slowing, enemy-infested gauntlet feels like you are learning a blistering guitar solo one note at a time, until you can almost play through it without stumbling. Almost.

It’s a journey conquered inch by inch, checkpoint by checkpoint, until you stand at the end, panting, spent.

Every level takes the form of attempt, die, repeat, die, repeat again. Usually, this is enough to make me bounce right off a game, but there’s something about Crash Bandicoot 4.

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GamingByte Size ReviewNintendoSwitch ConsoleVideo ContentXbox One

New Super Lucky’s Tale, Nintendo Switch

New Super Lucky’s Tale obviously treads well worn ground, and the Switch is the place for cutesy platformers. I did not play Super Lucky last time around when it graced the Xbox. In fact I haven’t played many platformers for a good while. The simple crux is, Super Lucky does the job well, it’s a joy to play.

Everything the game does it does well, without layers of complexity. There is no need to add depth, New Super Lucky’s Tale is here to scratch the itch of the classic platforming addict. Nice to look at and fun to play in this high paced disposable world, here’s a few hours of pleasant-ness.

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Game ReviewsGamingPS4Switch ConsoleXbox One

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 & 2 Review (Xbox One X)

Now I have to admit I see myself as a pretty big gamer and have been since the early 1980’s. So it is a bit embarrassing to have to say that I have never really played any Mega Man games and as I now know, there is plenty of them.

Not really sure why I missed so much gaming goodness when I was younger but am regretting it now, mainly because now I’m older the reactions aren’t up to scratch for Mega Man and his pals.

Well at least now I have given the Mega Man X series, all eight of them, a crack. Actually I was well and truly beaten on more than one occasion so ‘a crack’ may well be the wrong term. Maybe ‘I have been (old)schooled by Mavericks’ would be a better tag line…

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