XBOX Archives - koru-cottage.com

Fusion Pro Wireless Controller by PowerA

November 7, 2024 Richard Armitt 552 Views Controller, LED, PowerA, Wireless, XBOX

Until the Fusion Pro Wireless controller dropped into my post box I can safely say I’ve never thought about how a controller could be a work of art. I’ve had customisable controllers in the past, but I never really got on with changing weights and sticks. It just all seemed so faffy.

Programming back buttons, yes, that’s something Ive been able to get behind, more so when you can transfer a stick click to a button press, especially when its right next to a lazy, redundant finger.

Gaming Hardware Hardware Reviews

JBL Quantum 100X

December 12, 2023 Richard Armitt 1018 Views Console Headsets, JBL, Playstation, Quantum, XBOX

With the Quantum 100X JBL have catered for a lower end of the market as well as the younger end. I think it’s fair to get that out of the way.

As a big lover of the JBL brand and a convert to the mantra of ‘Sound is Survival’, I have to say the Quantum 100X was not what I expected.

Game Reviews Gaming PS5 Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2–Turbocharged Byte Sized Review (XSX)

November 26, 2023 Barrie Clarke 810 Views Arcade racer, Hot Wheels, Playstation, XBOX

Coming out over two years after the release of the first Hot Wheels Unleashed.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged is another serving of bold and bright arcade racing fun.

Game Reviews Byte Size Review Gaming LEGO Nintendo PC / Mac Switch Console Xbox One

LEGO Brick Tales Byte Size Review (XSX)

October 12, 2022 Barrie Clarke 1234 Views Byte Size Review, Family Friendly, Gaming, LEGO, PC, Playstation, Switch, XBOX

Who doesn’t like LEGO? I have always been a bit of a AFOL, Adult Fan Of Lego if you were wondering.

Whether it is physical LEGO or LEGO games I have been keen. In recent years LEGO games have been more diverse than the classic movie tie-ins we all love.

Game Reviews Game Pass Gaming Microsoft Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

Forza Horizon 5 Review (XSX)

November 4, 2021 Barrie Clarke 1399 Views Forza, Microsoft, Open World, Racing, XBOX

nd the first Forza Motorsport on the original Xbox, it had me hooked. But then in 2012 came the first Forza Horizon on the Xbox 360.

It was the Horizon Series that reeled me in. The freedom and forgiveness that Horizon has over its Motorsport brother is far more to my liking, and driving style. And here we are now in 2021 with the fifth instalment in the Forza Horizon franchise.

Viva Mexico!

Gaming Game Pass Hardware Hardware Reviews Microsoft XBLA Xbox One Xbox Series X xbox360

XBOX SERIES X, Impressions

November 7, 2020 Richard Armitt 2449 Views @XBOXANZ, Backwards Compatible, Crackdown, Dirt 5, Gamepass, Gears of War, Microsoft, Minecraft, Too Human, XBOX, XBOX ONE S, XBOX SERIES S, XBOX SERIES X, xbox360

I’ll come straight out with this, Microsoft and Xbox ANZ very kindly supplied us with an XBOX SERIES X in their review window. That means we’ve had it for about a week and a half. What follows are my thoughts after unboxing and those first steps with the next generation of gaming.

Don’t judge an Xbox Series X by its cover.

At least until you’ve read a bit.

Gaming Game Reviews PC / Mac PS4 Switch Console Video Content Xbox One

Minecraft Dungeons, Review

May 22, 2020 Richard Armitt 1457 Views Couch, Dungeon Crawl, Local Multiplayer, Microsoft, Minecraft, Mojang, Steve, XBOX

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.

Gaming Game Reviews PC / Mac Switch Console Video Content

Lonely Mountains Downhill (Nintendo Switch)

May 13, 2020 Gerard Campbell 1457 Views Cycles, indie, Lonely Mountains Downhill, Mountain Biking, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, XBOX

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.

Feature Article

2019 Xmas Gift List

December 23, 2019 Richard Armitt 862 Views Bluemouth, Nintendo Switch, Playstation, XBOX, Xmas

This was supposed to be a cool Advent Calendar, but December ran away with itself and formatting became an issue.

So here are the survivors, things we can heartily recommend as Last Minute Gifts for the Gamer in your life.

Gaming Feature Article Game News Hardware Indie Game iOS Nintendo PC / Mac PS4 PSNetwork PSVR Switch Console Xbox One

PAXAus 2019, being there and slightly square

October 20, 2019 Richard Armitt 1305 Views EB Expo, Expo, indie, Microsoft, PAXAus, Playstation, Sony, XBOX

After all the build up and fervour PAXAus 2019 has been and gone. It was a first visit for me, probably not the last, but my old bones are currently arguing against it. Having become something of a big hitter on the gaming calendar I was keen to see this year what all the fuss was about.

As an eclectic gathering of Gaming, Pop Culture and Cosplay it does the job well, and you can see from the eyes of the consumer that wanders the floors glassy eyed that they are getting all the shiny things they need. I enjoyed the relative tranquility of the table-top game area and retro section, it was a relief from the pressing crowds squeezing through the aisles.

The main event was loud, brash and exhausting, especially when I flew in for a single day with a maximum of six hours on the ground.

But, that’s me, at PAXAus 2019, being there and slightly square.

Byte Size Review XBLA Xbox One xbox360

Xbox – Lynx (for gamers)

July 21, 2019 Richard Armitt 2030 Views Grooming, Influencer, Lynx, Smelly, XBOX

I’m not sure how it came about, probably one marketing person talking to another, maybe they wanted to do something about influencers smelling of Bullshit, maybe it was because Gamers alledgely smell of teenage stockpiles stashed under their beds.

Also, it’s been around for well over a month, but sometimes when the PR guys decide not to send you something to review, you have to buy it yourself if you really want to try it out. This is just as true for games and hardware as it is for grooming products.

So here we are, a week after I spent $12 in Coles to try out the Xbox flavour Lynx and to see if it really did lift my game.

Overall, it has been a neat little spike for exposure on both brands, has it won over consumers? Probably not. Has it won over the Influencers, streamers and gang that gushed over their care packages? Well, let’s file that under Anthem shall we.

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