Author: Chris Scullion

Chris Scullion is a Scottish video games journalist who's been covering video games professionally for 16 years. For the first six years of his career he worked at the Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK, then became the Games Editor of CVG before its untimely end. After setting up his own site, Tired Old Hack, Chris then joined Video Games Chronicle (VGC) where he is currently Features Editor. He has a passion for retro games and cataloguing their history, hence his ongoing series of console encyclopedia books (search his name on Amazon).

Wee-views: Sega Ages Sonic, Picture Painting Puzzle, Party Crashers, Pilot Sports, Timber Tennis, Mr Tako

Published on by Chris Scullion5 Comments

Welcome to wee-views!

Those who’ve been following me on Twitter will already know my life’s been pretty hectic these days.

My wife and I now have a gorgeous baby girl, my first book is due for release in March and I’m juggling a 9-to-5 on top of all that.

As a result of this, the number of reviews I’ve been putting on the site has dropped dramatically: there just aren’t enough hours in the day any more to play these games.

If you don’t like this new idea, direct all complaints to Serena Scullion. But bear in mind she can’t read

Well, actually, there are. There just aren’t enough hours to finish them. And that’s where wee-views come in.

The general rule for reviewers (or at least the rule I’ve always followed) is that you should always complete a game where possible before writing the review.

That way, if there are any odd quirks near the end of the game – a sudden rise or drop in quality, some brilliant post-game content, a game-breaking bug, that sort of thing – you’ll be in a position to mention it in the review and deliver a comprehensive, complete verdict with all of this in mind.

The thing is, after 12 and a half years of doing this, I’d like to think I’ve got a fairly good grasp now on whether a game is good after a few hours of playing it. Granted, there will always be those “you need to put some time into it before it gets great” situations, but those are fairly uncommon, especially with the smaller non-triple A games I tend to play and cover on the site.

Wee-views are mini reviews where I make it clear – both in this intro and a ‘how much I’ve played’ section in each wee-view – that the verdicts I’ve reached are based on me playing enough of the game to decide what I think of it, but not necessarily playing it to completion.

If you aren’t keen on this idea, don’t worry: I’ll still be doing ‘proper’ reviews of bigger games and the like. This is just a way for me to help advise you on a wider range of new games with opinions that are generally going to be fairly accurate rather than spending a long time trying to beat a single game.

Put it this way: if you’re at school / at work / in the pub with a mate who has a game you’re interested in, and you ask them “is it any good?”, you can pretty much guarantee they won’t reply: “I can’t say yet, I haven’t finished it.” They’ll always tell you what they think, even though they haven’t seen the credits. That’s the idea here.

So there we go, that’s wee-views. Let me know what you think of this first batch and your opinion on the concept in general: that aside, let’s get cracking. Continue reading “Wee-views: Sega Ages Sonic, Picture Painting Puzzle, Party Crashers, Pilot Sports, Timber Tennis, Mr Tako” →

Gemhunter #11 – Cyber Speedway

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After a not-so-brief hiatus – when you’ve just had a baby it’s hard to find enough uninterrupted time to make a lengthy, unedited video – Gemhunter is back!

This time the Sega Saturn makes its Gemhunter debut, as I try out the suspiciously WipEout-looking Cyber Speedway.

Does it hold a candle to that much-loved futuristic racing series, or is it little more than a pale imitation? Find out in the video below.

Gemhunter is my video series in which I try out forgotten, ignored, licensed or shovelware games I’ve never played in the hope of finding a hidden gem. The video is presented unedited so you can experience the game for the first time as I do. Enjoyed this video and want to see more? You can find past Gemhunter episodes here.

Tired Old Hack is an ad-free site for your browsing convenience. If you enjoyed this article please consider donating to my Patreon account.

Alternatively, if you’re a UK reader and can’t afford to support me on Patreon, please do your normal Amazon UK shopping via this link. Tired Old Hack is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.co.uk and affiliated sites.

Red Dead Redemption II (Xbox One) review

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments

To avoid spoiling anything major in Red Dead Redemption II, this review deliberately avoids revealing any plot details beyond what’s already been shown in official trailers. It also doesn’t describe any mission details beyond what you’ll discover in the first five or so hours of the game.

As ever, this review is available in both written and video format. The video shows the game in action while I read the review as a voiceover, so if you watch the video you don’t need to read the written review that follows since it’s the same ‘script’.

Rockstar Games / Rockstar Studios
Xbox One, PS4 (Xbox One version reviewed)

Look, I’ll save you the time. This one’s special.

In an ideal world, that would be all I’d need to tell you, so I could get back to playing Red Dead Redemption 2 instead of having to force myself away from it to write this review. But you’re here for yer man Scullion’s take, so I duly oblige.

It’s been eight years since the last Red Dead Redemption, a game that blew everyone away by taking Rockstar’s impressive RAGE engine – designed for GTA IV – and placing it in a wild west setting.

Since then, thanks to Rockstar’s famously lengthy development cycles, only two more games have used RAGE: Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto V, both initially released on last-gen systems. Red Dead Redemption 2, then, marks the first RAGE game created specifically for the Xbox One and PS4, and it shows.

This is obviously most notable when it comes to how the game looks. Put simply, Red Dead 2 is one of the most beautiful games ever made. Continue reading “Red Dead Redemption II (Xbox One) review” →

Starlink: Battle For Atlas (Switch) review

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments
Ubisoft / Ubisoft Toronto
Switch, Xbox One, PS4 (Switch version reviewed)

This review is available in both written and video format. Naturally, the video shows the game in action while I read the review as a voiceover. If you watch the video, then, you don’t need to read the written review that follows since it’s the same ‘script’.

It’s fair to say the toys-to-life genre is on its arse.

What began as a craze when Skylanders appeared seven years ago has burned out: plastic figures now replace plastic guitars in this generation’s second-hand game shops.

Skylanders may not officially be dead but considering Activision hasn’t released one of its annual games since 2016, it’s safe to say it’s been benched indefinitely.

Meanwhile, the death of Disney Infinity and Lego Dimensions – two games much better than Skylanders – showed that not even two of the world’s strongest child-friendly IP could stop the toys-to-life boat sinking.

The only thing still hanging in there are amiibo, but that’s because they’re video game themed – not Disney, Lego or original creations – and many gamers (like myself) collect them for display purposes.

It’s a little odd, then, that as toys-to-life finds itself lying in a coma, Ubisoft’s turned up at the hospital with a crate of beer looking for a party.

Continuing the plastic guitar analogy, Starlink is the DJ Hero of toys-to-life, turning up late in the genre’s life and offering one more inventive way to breathe new life into it.

I know what you’re thinking. I was thinking it too. But before you roll your eyes and say “too little, too late”, do consider that Ubisoft has made a very clever decision that could make all the difference to you:

You don’t need the toys. In fact, the game is much better without them. Continue reading “Starlink: Battle For Atlas (Switch) review” →

NBA 2K19 (Xbox One) review

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2K Sports / Visual Concepts
Xbox One, PS4, Switch, PC (Xbox One version reviewed)

This review is available in both written and video format. Naturally, the video shows the game in action while I read the review as a voiceover. If you watch the video, then, you don’t need to read the written review that follows since it’s the same ‘script’.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the NBA 2K series, which started in 1999 with the fittingly named NBA 2K on the Dreamcast.

For two decades now developer Visual Concepts has been tweaking and improving its take on America’s third-favourite sport, and by this point it’s got everything down to a fine art: on the court, at least.

At this stage NBA 2K is as close to a perfect representation of basketball as you can get, so it’s probably unsurprising that things don’t feel massively different this year compared to 2K18. Continue reading “NBA 2K19 (Xbox One) review” →

Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle (Xbox One) review

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments
Capcom
Xbox One, Switch, PS4, Steam (Xbox One version reviewed)

This review is available in both written and video format. Naturally, the video shows the game in action while I read the review as a voiceover. If you watch the video, then, you don’t need to read the written review that follows since it’s the same ‘script’.

I’ve been an enormous fan of the beat ’em up genre for decades now, though it’s not as prolific as it was back in the days of ’90s arcade gaming.

Capcom was arguably the company most responsible for the growth of the beat ’em up in those days, with 1989’s groundbreaking Final Fight the main driving force.

It was such an important and much-loved game that if you owned an arcade and you didn’t have Final Fight, you didn’t really own an arcade at all: you just had a bunch of shiny light-up boxes in a big room.

Naturally, Final Fight is very much present and accounted for in this fantastic compilation of seven Capcom beat ’em ups spanning from 1989-1997. Continue reading “Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle (Xbox One) review” →

Kartography #3 – Mickey’s Speedway USA

Published on by Chris Scullion6 Comments

Kartography is my regular series in which I look at licensed kart racers throughout gaming history, and figure out where they fit on my all-time karting game leaderboard.

For more information on my scoring policy for Kartography, check out this introductory article.

Nintendo / Rare
Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color (N64 version covered)

The first two Kartography entries – in which I treaded the murky waters of Hello Kitty Kruisers and Garfield Kart – looked at fairly recent titles.

Not all karting games were released during the shiny HD era, though. With that in mind, it’s time to dive into the blurry-as-all-hell world of the Nintendo 64 (where possible, I always play and capture games on original hardware, not emulators).

Up next, then, is an N64 karting game from legendary UK studio Rare. No, not that Rare N64 karting game: Diddy Kong and chums can wait. I’m talking about the other one.

With its odd focus on real-world locations and relatively restrained racing controls, can Mickey’s Speedway USA overtake Hello Kitty and Garfield and claim the top of the Kartography leaderboard at this early stage? Continue reading “Kartography #3 – Mickey’s Speedway USA” →

Review round-up: PES 2019, De Blob 2, Haunted Dungeons, Ultra Space Battle Brawl, Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers, Ninjin

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It’s time review round-up time again, in which I share my thoughts what I’ve been playing recently.

In this round-up yer man Scullion:

• Cheats on his beloved FIFA with PES 2019
• Paints the town red in De Blob 2
• Heads back to the ’80s in Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle
• Plays yet ANOTHER Indonesian Pong/Street Fighter hybrid in Ultra Space Battle Brawl
• Squares things up in Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers
• Rabbits on a bit in Ninjin: Clash Of Carrots
 Continue reading “Review round-up: PES 2019, De Blob 2, Haunted Dungeons, Ultra Space Battle Brawl, Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers, Ninjin” →

Revealed: My Secret Project™

Published on by Chris Scullion27 Comments

When I was six my dad came home from work with a new games magazine for me to read.

He’d been doing this for a while – he used to buy ZX Spectrum mags and CVG before I was even born – and now I was old enough to read and very much obsessed with my NES I loved each new issue he’d buy for me.

This one was something else, though. It was bright yellow, was twice the size of normal magazines and was a special edition created by the CVG staff. It was called The Complete Guide To Consoles.

Inside its 124 pages were over 300 reviews, covering “just about every game available on the PC Engine, Mega Drive, Sega, 7800, Coleco and VCS”.

Over the years the CVG team released a further three issues of The Complete Guide To Consoles, each one offering a new batch of reviews.

There were spin-off issues too: The Complete Guide To Sega, for example, covered “every” Master System and Mega Drive game available at the time (though in reality it was missing loads of stuff).

While I always enjoyed reading every magazine my dad brought home, I adored these ones in particular. I was constantly blown away by how many games were in there, and given that the first was released in 1989 – long before the internet was commonplace – they truly felt definitive.

I carried them everywhere I went, read them over and over, knew them cover to cover. By the time the fourth book – covering the likes of the Neo-Geo and Super Famicom – was released, I was old enough to know what I wanted to do when I was older.

Firstly, I wanted to write for a video game magazine: preferably CVG or Nintendo Magazine System, its official Nintendo spin-off.

Secondly, I wanted to write something ‘definitive’ too. Something like The Complete Guide To Consoles, that people would love, read multiple times and cherish like I did with those mags.

The ‘Welcome’ page of The Complete Guide To Consoles, written by my hero Jaz Rignall

Basically, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my lifetime hero, Julian ‘Jaz’ Rignall. He joined CVG as a staff writer, became editor, then ended up editing The Complete Guide To Consoles too. Jaz was the man, basically, and I wanted to do what he did.

Those of you who know me already know how the first part of my dream went.

I went to university and got my Journalism degree in the hope it would help me get into a games magazine, and sure enough I made it: first as a staff writer (and then games editor) for the Official Nintendo Magazine, then online editor for Nintendo Gamer and finally – completing the dream – as games editor for, yes, CVG in its final years before it was tragically closed down.

I’ve been a games journalist for 12 years now, and have been lucky enough to do the ‘holy trinity’ of working on a magazine full-time, working on a website full-time and working freelance while running my own website. It’s safe to say, then, the first part of my dream – to write about games for a living – has been well and truly ticked off.

The second part, though – to write something definitive – has continued to elude me. Until now. Continue reading “Revealed: My Secret Project™” →