Tag: pc

UnMetal Review – I Recommend This Metal Gear Comedy

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Probably my favourite moment in UnMetal came when sneaking through a screen full of sleeping guard dogs. My stench was visibly wafting across the screen, alternating between going straight up and straight down. The goal was, of course, to carefully weave through the deadly mutts without my horrific, sewer-drenched clothes waking them up. But on my second attempt, I thought of something: I went to the inventory and equipped the thermal suit I had previously used to pass by thermal sensors. To my surprise and delight, the suit contained my reek and I was able to amble through the dogs. Was this just some bug, or had the lone developer really considered that I might stick the suit on? I think it’s the latter, because this is a seriously well-designed game.

Best of Xbox Game Pass

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The Avengers heading to Xbox Game Pass was probably, to steal a phrase from Thanos, inevitable. It sold okay but struggled to make its development budget back, and its reception was rather lukewarm. Hell, my own review was hardly a glowing recommendation. But now that it’s on Game Pass? Well, Marvel’s The Avengers becomes a more enticing prospect. It may have found its true home. Time to suit up.

Early Impressions of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

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Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous beings with a daunting boss fight, the kind that makes mere mortals tremble in their boots. I’m not talking about some hulking beast, although one does turn up quite quickly – I’m talking about bewildering and terrifying character creation system with its legions of numbers and arcane terms. By the time the game starts proper I already feel like I’ve had my head kicked in by some demonic foe. In the game’s defence it explains everything in detail, it’s just that to a Pathfinder noob like me those details might as well be written in Latin. While the visual customization is quite limited, there’s approximately 25 different classes, along with sub-classes. There’s tons of feats and skills and abilities to choose from. In short, this CRPG where you control a party of six has a lot going on and is probably only going to be for the kind of people who can invest dozens and dozens of hours into playing it.

Best of Xbox Game Pass – DOOM 2016

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It’d be easy to recommend jumping into DOOM Eternal, the 2020 sequel to the 2016 reboot that amps up the action to even more insane levels and complicates the gameplay mechanics. Arguably, it’s the better game, and yet I can’t help but think there’s something a little more pure about DOOM 2016. And anyway, they’re both on Game Pass so why not start at the beginning?

RiMS Racing Review – Bike Mechanic Sim, With Some Racing

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As someone who was raised by a biker and who religiously watches MotoGP, SBK and WSBK, the influx of two-wheeled racing games has been fantastic. This time its developer Raceward Studio rolling onto the grid and looking to pick up a win with the poorly named RiMS Racing, which sounds awfully close to some unspeakable act. With its stated goal of being, “The first motorcycling simulation that combines a realistic riding challenge with engineering and mechanics” how does RiMS Racing fare on the track and in the garage?

Ep. 16 Of the Podcast Is Live – Come Read It!

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After a month-long hiatus the 16th episode of my solo podcast is live, and if you hit the play button you can listen to my rasping, harsh vocals for a whopping 45-minutes or so! What a glorious way to waste a chunk of your day!

On this episode I gush about The Suicide Squad (2021) movie, complain about chest infections, talk about Outriders not breaking even yet, RiMS racing, and the entire Blue Box saga getting stranger and stranger.

Best of Xbox Game Pass – Gears: Tactics

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Videogame development is a complex and challenging task that takes years of experience and learning to master. The very best in the industry have spent thousands of hours honing their craft. They’ve burned away countless hours coming up with ideas and concepts for new games or how to take an existing franchise and spin it off into a different genre. But not The Coalition. Nah, they just took Gears of War and, in their own words, “we actually just took existing Gears and just moved the camera up.” Bloody geniuses.

Foreclosed Review – Should Be Foreclosed

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These days it’s like you can’t walk down the street without tripping over a bunch of cyberpunk games, from the high-profile cock-ups to a host of indie games that range in quality and scope. Foreclosed is the latest cyberpunk game stepping up, hoping that it’s mix of third-person shooting and stealth, along with a striking art style, will be enough to grab your attention. It’s certainly releasing at the right time – we’re in a bit of a drought when it comes to big, shiny new games, giving the small stuff a chance to shine. But I’m saddened to report that Foreclosed suffers from good ideas but crappy execution.

An update on my review of The Ascent

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Hey everybody,

I just wanted to give you a quick update because right about now my review of The Ascent, the new cyberpunk action-RPG available on Gamepass and Steam, should have been up. I was fortunate to get review code a few days prior to release, but sadly I’ve hit some big problems with the game, including one that has stopped me from getting anywhere near the end.

Eternal Starlight VR Review – VR. In. SPAAAAAAAAACE!

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Sometimes I get a moment where I stop and think, yeah, this is what VR was made for. This is what I envisioned when virtual reality became reality. I’m glad to report that Eternal Starlight VR evoked that moment and just kept on evoking it. Somewhere inside me a tiny, geeky kid who has watched every season of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager numerous times over is screaming in joy. This real-time strategy game uses the unique power of VR brilliantly, letting you lord it over a small fleet of ships. Let me tell you why Eternal Starlight VR might be your next reason to strap on a headset.