Tag Archives: video games

Surviving Mars: Relaunched – Video Game Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – if you have never played the game before, this is by far the best version, and you should give it a go. If you have bought the game before, I am not sure there is enough to warrant the price tag.

Disclosure – I paid for this video game.

A Map of Mars.

Surviving Mars: Relaunched Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a bit of an odd duck in that we are looking at what is apparently a from-the-ground-up remake for a game that is less than ten years old, which, for a strategy game, is quite odd. However, as I enjoyed my time with the first Surviving Mars, I thought it was only good to dive back in to see if it was worth the relaunch.

So, to set the scene, in Surviving Mars, as the title suggests, your job is to help manage the first colony on Mars and make sure everything runs smoothly. You begin by picking your mission’s sponsor, the USA, Europe, Blue Sun Corporation, and more. You then choose what type of commander you are going to be, an Ecologist, Oligarch, etc., and then you are off to the red planet. Here you have to pick your landing site on a very detailed map of Mars, you can select from one of the pre-determined locations or go ‘stuff it game I’m landing in the Utopia Planitia’, and then it is just you, a rocket and a couple of automated rovers to start you on building the first place for humankind away from Earth. Where you will face the needs of a growing colony, the harness of the environment, and the risk of declaring independence.

Continue reading →

Dogpile – Video Game Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – Charm from the first click to the last.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for this game.

A sleeping dog.

Dogpile Review Introduction –

Every now and again, you don’t need a hundred-hour RPG or twitch shooter or even a dudes diving into an asteroid to mine dig-fest, what you need is something quaint and full of charm. The sort of charm that knocks your socks off or makes you say audible ‘awwww’. Well, today we look at just such a game, one that has charmed me all week. It is also interesting that two of the games that I have gotten the most out of this year, this and Peak, have been indie-studio collaborations. I am not sure what that means, but it is a fun anecdote for me.

So, to set the scene, you run a kennel where many dogs with many different behaviours come to be found. You’ll need to keep everything from spiralling out of control, while making sure you get to the dog wash, buy items in the shops to help you, and also, don’t forget to give your dogs all the pats in the world.

Continue reading →

PEAK – Video Game Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – An enjoyable single-player experience that comes alive with a group.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for this game.

Looking down to the shore from the PEAK.

Peak Review –

One of the events I find fascinating is Game Jams. These are where developers set themselves a short period, usually a day or two, to see what they can build in that time. Here, time forces you to be creative and many weird and wonderful games, from Goat Simulator to Thomas Was Alone and everything in between, have been spawned. Usually, game jams spawn ideas that later become something grand. Still, I have never seen a game conceptualised in February and then released in June before, which is what we will examine today.

So, to set the scene, you are just a happy little guy going on a flight to a new tropical destination on Bingbong Airlines. But disaster strikes, and your plane crashes into an unknown tropical island. What do you do? Well, Scoutmaster Myers’ Wilderness Handbook Vol. 1 advises in How Not to Die, to run, not walk, and “You’ve gotta get to High Ground”. Looking around, you see a high peak in the distance, so it is time to collect supplies, gird your lions, and start climbing.

Continue reading →

The Last of Us: Day One – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – It is time to find out what is happening in Seattle … and it is messy, to say the least.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Max service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – There is a trailer and behind-the-scenes making off.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Ellie and Dina scoping out a site.

The Last of Us Review –

In cinema, while the word ‘physicality’ gets thrown around a lot, what it means is a tangible sense that you believe what you see. Does an actor have the presence to make their performance believable? Does a place feel real, or is it coming off as a paper veneer? Well, today, we get some good examples of how The Last of Us uses physicality to make its world work.    

So, to set the scene, eleven years ago, FEDRA ruled Seattle with a hard fist, so much so that they have dehumanised the local population. Few believed this was an issue, but Isaac Dixon (Jeffrey Wright). In the world of now, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) have just made it into the city to find no signs of life but a lot of dead FEDRA corpses around. But there is hope. In the distance, there is a large dish brandished with the WLF, and they realise they are in the right place for their revenge. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

The Last of Us: Future Days – TV Review

Posted on by
4

TL;DR – This first episode lets us catch up with the cast and world and catch our breath before the world turns.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Max service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – There is a trailer and behind-the-scenes making off.

A group standing around some newly dug graves.

The Last of Us Review –

While the First Season of The Last of Us was a triumph, not just for Video Game adaptations but for adaptations in general, it was one of the rare works that fundamentally understood the source material, sometimes down to a shot-for-shot recreation. But also knew when some aspects needed to be refreshed or, in the case of Long Long Time, completely rewritten from the ground up. Yet, still, I came into Season Two with more than a bit of trepidation. The adaptation of the source material is going to require some hard choices, which is not going to be popular. I was there when it was released the first time and lived through that moment of ‘less than stellar’ online discourse. Yet still, I knew I had to sit down and watch, and here we are today.   

So, to set the scene, it has been five years since Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) walked away from the Firefly facility in Salt Lake City to return to Jackson. But the legacies of what Joel did, and very much lied about, live large in those who made it out of the massacre. Jackson is one of the rare places in the old America that has survived the Cordyceps Apocalypse without being under the thumb of FEDRA. But there are more than a few stragglers out there, and there are more people than construction can keep up with. Tensions remain everywhere, and the echoes of the lies we tell have started to reverberate. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

A Minecraft Movie – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – It is a film that absolutely captures the essence of the camp it is adapting. Even if all the added features should have been enough to torpedo the movie, it remained a solid kid’s film, even if it made some questionable choices.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film

A Minecraft Village

A Minecraft Movie

This was such an interesting movie for me to review, not in the least that it has been in devilment hell for ten years or so, which makes it fascinating to see what was finally produced. But also, this is a film about a video game that I have probably had my second-longest relationship with. Every year, I dive back in and build a new Minecraft world from scratch, discovering all the wild changes that have been made since last time. But video game adaptations can be very much hit or miss, and that long of a production period does give me pause.  

So, to set the scene, one day, a boy really wanted to be a miner, but no kids were allowed. Time went on, and when Steve (Jack Black) became an adult, he ran back into those mines, found a cube and activated a portal to another cube-based world. It was a joy to create until, one day, he discovered a portal to the Nether, ruled by Malgosha (Rachel House/Allan Henry), who loves gold and hates creativity. Forced to send his dog fleeing with the cube, the portal remained undiscovered until one day when four weird and different characters, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) from the town of Chuglass rediscover it. When they step through, they find themselves thrown into a world where everything from the trees to the grass to the sheep are all now cubes. It is a wild world that becomes even more dangerous when the sun goes down.

Continue reading →

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Review: Third Time’s the Charm

Posted on by
8

TL;DR – Well, I think the third time is the charm, as they finally get a story that makes the most of their outstanding character work.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Sonic Racing

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Review –

I have had real issues with the previous two Sonic films because while Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 had strong character work, they were let down with generally average at best narratives. Even their absurd Knuckles series came across these same issues, which meant that when I walked into the third instalment, I didn’t have much hope. Well, have I ever been glad to be wrong.

So, to set the scene, things are almost calm in the lives of the Wachowski family, bar the fact that they are now home to three different alien beings with extraordinary powers. But while Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) can’t out-race or fight Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba), they can still surprise with an Earthday party. But while this wholesome bonding session is happening in Green Hills, Montana. Over in Prison Island in the Bay of Tokyo, one of the most dangerous weapons on the planet has just escaped. G.U.N. needs Team Sonic’s help because Shadow (Keanu Reeves) ripped through their teams. Well, when Team Sonic is called, they respond, and thankfully, a helpful explosion lets them know where to go and immediately get stomped.

Continue reading →

Latency (Hana’s Game) Review: A Missed Opportunity in Sci-Fi

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – Latency is a film that explores an exciting topic but feels more defined by its limitations than what it was trying to achieve.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Aliens converge on Hana.

Latency Review –

Today, we are looking at a film that explores the interface between biology and technology, which is probably one of the significant issues that will impact people in the not-so-distant future. This is the kind of science fiction that we have seen a lot of in the last couple of years but with more of a video game lean to it. Which I always find fascinating.

So, to set the scene, we open with Hana (Sasha Luss) hearing something crashing against her door when it crashes open and aggressive aliens storm in. She takes out her gun and despatches wave after wave on them until she notices one of them glitching through a wall. She likes QA work because she has agoraphobia and struggles to leave her unit with only her friend Jen (Alexis Ren) able to come inside without Hana having a breakdown. But when Hana gets a surprise package of the next Omnia headset, she has to try it out. But it is more than just a game. It is a brain-computer interface that can interface with every device in your life and learn from your brain patterns. It should give zero latency to gaming. It is revolutionary, but it also has the stink of a corporation messing where it shouldn’t.

Continue reading →

DEATH NOTE Killer Within Review: A Unique Social Deduction Game

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – A solid social deduction game with a clear visual style that plays very well when you are with a group of friends.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I purchased this game

Kira figure from the trailer.

DEATH NOTE Killer Within Review –

When some friends suggested having a look at DEATH NOTE Killer Within, I did approach with a bit of caution. While I know of the anime series Death Note (デスノート), I am not someone who has taken a deep dive into its lore. Also, since the rise of Among Us, several other games have tried and failed at bringing that Mafia/Werewolf/Resistance social gameplay into the video game world. But a rough start aside, I think it nailed the brief.

So, to set the scene, there is a battle of wits going on between L (Kappei Yamaguchi) and Light Yagami (Mamoru Miyano), each creating a scenario where Kira survives and wreaks havoc, or who is arrested by the Investigators before they can kill everyone with their Death Note. For you see, Kira can only kill people who they know the name of, so the investigators must find the culprit whilst also making sure no one else gets their ID because if they do, it might be a chandelier to the noggin for you.        

Continue reading →

Civilization: Full Map (2024 Edition) – Map-It

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – Every single feature of the Civilization Franchise (at the time of posting) in one Map

Back in 2021, during Civilization’s 30th Anniversary, we put together a map that charted every location that has ever been added to a Civilization Game. It was a fun exercise, well, other than trying to get Mesopotamia to work. But after I released the Map, it became clear that I had missed a couple of items. So, with the recent Civilization VII announcement, it felt like this was the right time to come back in and fill in those missing spots.  

Continue reading →