TL;DR: A genuinely flexible civilization with a side of military expansion
We are getting a new expansion for Civilization VI, well not quite, over the next year we have a season pass, the New Frontier Pass, which will give us several new Civilizations and Game Modes over the next year (which you can find out more information HERE). The next new Civilization has been announced, so let’s dive into Vietnam.
Continue readingTL;DR – A game where the mechanics, story, music, and design all pulls you in, so you keep trying to escape your captivity run after run after run
Disclosure – I paid for the game
At the start of this year, I thought I would take some time to catch up on some of the things I might have missed last year, and I also wanted a bit of an escape from the current world around. With this in mind, several people I respect had Hades on their ‘Best Video Game of 2020’ lists so I thought that might be an excellent place to dive in and I was right.
So to set the scene, you are Zagreus (Darren Korb) the son of Hades (Logan Cunningham) and Prince of the Underworld. However, a prince he may be, but in reality, he is trapped, a prisoner to his father’s wishes and demands. When he discovers that Nyx (Jamie Landrum) The God of Night is not his birth mother, Zagreus takes on himself to escape from the Underworld, even if that means fighting his way through Tartarus, Asphodel, and Elysium to get there.
TL;DR – This is a film dipped its toes into the weirdness, and I wished it had done a bomb dive of the highest platform into the weirdness instead
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene
Warning – There is extensive use of strobe lighting effects
Disclosure – I paid to see this film.
Alas, another video game adaptation bites the dust. I wish this were something I didn’t have to keep saying, but time after time we see that adapting a video game to the big screen is a difficult job and very few films can pull it off. In today’s entry into the list, we have a film that should get credit for adding elements of the gameplay into the film and then frame it around one of the most generic action films imaginable.
So to set the scene, in some desert on Earth (there are actual GPS location coordinates but I was not quick enough to jot them down, if you got them, please let me know) a military expedition is out exploring trying to discover what happened to another of their teams. The United Nations team is led by US Army Ranger Captain Natalie Artemis (Milla Jovovich), and they find the last position of Bravo Team just as a large sandstorm appears out of nowhere. As Alpha Team tries to outrun the storm, markers on the side of the road start flashing, and then the world falls out from underneath them. They wake up on some sand dunes that look nothing like where they left, which is about the point where Alpha Team comes under attack from things that lurk beneath.
TL;DR – A buggy experience that even when you power through it, you find a mostly surface-level game failing to delve into the world they had created
Warning – Contains scenes that have been reported to induce seizures
To be honest, I was wondering if I was actually going to write this review. The discourse around this game has been unpleasant, to say the least, and what difference would be one more voice howling into the void make. I mean, I even found myself cleaning the house to put this off. But in the end, I paid full price for this game, a game that was clearly not ready for release, and also this is my profession, so I kind of owe myself and the working hours I put into this game to contextualise that into words.
So to set the scene, in a boardroom, on the streets of Night City, or in my case on the northern outskirts of the city, we meet V (Gavin Drea/ Cherami Leigh) as his car is being put together. He is a nomad but without a clan or family anymore and is just trying to get ahead. One uppity sheriff later and he is on the way to meet his contact Jackie Welles (Jason Hightower). All V has to do is smuggle this little crate into the city, and he will have enough money to set himself up. There is just one border crossing between him and freedom … what could go wrong. When he thinks he has survived that skirmish, he is offered a chance to put together the heist of a lifetime involving the mysterious Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves). From this point forward we will be looking at the game as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – A fascinating game full of interesting places, solid mechanics, and many bugs
Warning – Contains scenes that have been reported to induce seizures
It took longer to get to us than anyone including the developer planned, but today the world finally got their hands on CD PROJEKT RED latest work Cyberpunk 2077. I must admit I came into this game with a little hesitation, a lot of people had recommended to me The Witcher 3, and well I bounced off that game as if it was Henry Cavil’s torso. But given this was a new franchise and new genre for the company, it was the perfect place to get it a second try.
Now before we dive in, we need to make a couple of clarifications. The first of which is that this is a ‘first look’ not a full review. I have spent a couple of hours with the game and enough time to get a sense of the world and the mechanics but not a deep dive into the story which will come in our full review. Also, I am playing this game on PC, so your experience may vary depending on your console or the rig you are playing this on.
So to set the scene, on the outskirts of Night City, we meet V (Gavin Drea) as his car is being put together. He is a nomad but without a clan or family anymore and is just trying to get ahead. One uppity sheriff later and he is on the way to meet his contact Jackie Welles (Jason Hightower). All V has to do is smuggle this little crate into the city, and he will have enough money to set himself up. There is just one border crossing between him and freedom … what could go wrong.
TL;DR – From remasters, to loot boxes, to COVID-19, we look at the Video Games news from the week
It has been a busy week for video games, and while many people are diving into the next-gen consoles this week (not super jelly at all), I thought it would be a good time to look back at the news that was this week for video games and related
The worst kept secret of video games has finally been announced on N7 Day with all three of the original Mass Effect Trilogy (sorry Andromeda). The remaster officially called the Mass Effect Legendary Edition will be out in Spring (or Autumn for those of us Down Under) in 2021.
Continue readingTL;DR: There has been a dearth of perfect science civs … that is until now.
We are getting a new expansion for Civilization VI, well not quite, over the next year we have a season pass, the New Frontier Pass, which will give us several new Civilizations and Game Modes over the next year (which you can find out more information HERE). The next new Civilization has been released so let’s dive into Babylon.
Continue readingTL;DR – This is an excellent resource for parents wanting to know more about video games to help understand and engage with their kids on the issue
Last year, I got a chance to see a documentary series that was as informative as it was entertaining. Help! My Kid Is A Gamer! was very much as the title suggested. It explored the world of Video Games for parents that might not have a firm grasp on it. In my review, I found the show to be exciting, but there were some areas that I thought they had missed. Well, Season 2 is here, and those topics and more have been addressed, which is great to see.
So to set the scene, Help! My Kid Is A Gamer! is a show that explores the realm of video games for parents and caregivers, and not just video games but the surrounding ecosystem that supports and thrives around it. This season, we get topics that run the gamut from Online Safety to potential careers in Esports. All of these topics are important for parents and other care providers for giving them insight into a rapidly changing but also influential world. They are also presented in an easy to understand manner, with experts that can walk you through the issues, and an excellent summary at the end to give you strategy to engage with the issue at hand.
TL;DR – We get our party on, in what is a robust new outing for Jackbox Games
If you have spent any time on Twitch, you would probably have a passing understanding of Jackbox games. These are fun little party games like Trivia Murder Party that can be played with a group of friends around a TV or on large streams when hundreds of people can join in on the audience. It is this flexibility that gives the Jackbox Party Pack their longevity.
Well, today we are going to dive into the world party games and look at Jackbox Games newest outing Jackbox Party Pack 7. To put together this review, I have played some of these games on stream via Twitch and also with friends in local coop.
TL;DR – Every single feature of Civilization VI (at time of posting) in one map, this time featuring the new addition Ethiopia.
Today we got the latest update to Civilization VI with the newest addition to the New Frontier Pass, and next pit stop into Europe and across the Mediterranean with first the Gaul and then the Byzantine Empire. So once again, we are going to dive back into the world of Cartography plus Video Games. If you want more detailed information on anything that appears on the map, you can find it at our Civilization VI Cartographic Educational Database.
Now as always, a couple of notes before we start, first the Civilization boundaries on the map are based more on clarity than anything else, so in most cases, they conform to their modern counterparts. We have also worked using the commonly implemented political borders, not necessarily what nations claim, and this means making some judgement calls which you will see below. Also, while all attempts have been made to make sure that everything is accurately placed, putting this together meant working from multiple different sources, and map projections. As such, no matter how much you try, there might be some slight discrepancies here and there.
We will be mostly going over the new additions and changes to the map in this update, if you want to learn more about some of the location choices that we made you can find more detail in our First Full Civilization Big Map and out Gathering Storm Update Map.
Movie Reviews in one sentence (or you know like the whole thing, whatever floats your boat)
Dedicated to the support and promotion of Australian made films through independent news, reviews, features and interviews.
50,000 Monkeys at 50,000 Typewriters Can't Be Wrong
A Movie Blog for Movie Reviews, Trailers, and More
freelance film critic with an interest in multilingualism, feminist perspectives in cinema and crime dramas.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 