Hack of All Trades is my regular video series in which I try out ‘simulator’ games based on actual jobs to see how well I’d fare doing those jobs in real life.
I recorded the first Hack of All Trades a mere fortnight before my daughter was born, so it’s hopefully understandable that episode 2 comes a mere 13 months later. Safe to say the third video will have a much smaller wait.
This time I’m taking a look at PC Building Simulator. Released on the PC earlier this year, it’s just launched on Xbox One, Switch and PS4. I decided to give the Xbox One version a go to see if I’ve got what it takes.
PC Building Simulator is available now on Steam, Xbox One, Switch and PS4.
In order that I could make this video, I received a code for the game from a PR. The content of the video was in no way influenced by this.
If you enjoyed this and other videos and want to help me make them more frequently, please consider donating to my Patreon account.
Don’t want to commit to a regular payment? I’ve now got a PayPal ‘tips’ jar: if you like what you read feel free to chuck yer man Scullion a couple of quid here or there and help stock up my Irn Bru fund so I can continue working away like a bastard.
Alternatively, if you can’t afford to support me on Patreon, please do your normal Amazon UK shopping via this link or Amazon US 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.
E3’s all well and good but yer man Scullion can’t be doing with all that hassle. The 13-hour flight to LA would be bad enough, but given my global celebrity status I’m sure I also wouldn’t be able to move for autograph requests, people asking for selfies and offers of marriage.
Thankfully, Nintendo recently invited me to its UK headquarters to spend time with some of its E3 demos, away from all the hustle and bustle of the main show.
Not only that, I was also allowed to record footage for some of the games, meaning below you can see the likes of Link’s Awakening and Luigi’s Mansion 3 in perfect quality as recorded by yours truly.
I joined the Official Nintendo Magazine as staff writer (and started my career in games journalism) on 2 May 2006, the week before E3.
Five days before that, on 27 April, Nintendo had announced that its new console, the Revolution, was actually going to be called the Wii. And then, on 10 April, Nintendo held its conference where it showed off the final console and its games for the first time.
Now, given that I was only a week in the game, I obviously wasn’t sent to Los Angeles to cover the event: instead, I stayed at ONM Towers in London, writing all the previews for the special E3 issue of the mag: issue 5, my first full one as a staff writer.
Meanwhile, editor Lee Nutter and deputy editor Chandra Nair did indeed travel to LA to cover the event, and Chandra – as he always did when he was editor of Cube magazine – brought his ruddy big video camera with him.
He used that camera to film as much stuff as he could on the E3 show floor, with the purpose of putting it all on a free DVD to be included alongside issue 5.
This turned out to be a genius move. It’s hard to believe now in this ear of 4K, 60fps streaming video, but bear in mind that in 2006 many of the online E3 videos being published on various big sites looked more like this:
Because of this, the fact we at ONM had actual DVD quality footage (albeit slightly compressed to fit onto a single-layer disc) meant our readers had probably the best quality video from E3 2006.
This also means that, to the best of my knowledge, this is the best quality footage you’ll see of cancelled games like Project H.A.M.M.E.R., Wii Sports Airplane (which became part of Wii Sports Resort) and Rayman 4 (which became Rayman Raving Rabbids a mere five months later… which is suspicious).
Now, Future Publishing – who owns the copyright to everything ever created during the ONM days – is fairly strict when it comes to people republishing their content.
That’s why I’m extremely grateful to Future’s legal department for granting me a licence to re-publish this DVD in its entirety on this site.
We all know how the internet works, though, and it’s clear that if I’d just put up the entire DVD untouched someone would have it ripped and plonked on their own YouTube channel by the end of the afternoon.
To get round this, I’ve recorded a commentary for the DVD. I’m sorry this means you won’t be able to watch it without hearing my dulcet tones over it, but it should at least give you some context to the 13-year-old footage you’re watching, along with some anecdotes from the ONM days.
So, pour yourself an Irn Bru, get this loaded up on your TV’s YouTube app (it’s a long video, so you’ll need to get comfy: it’s easier to find it if you subscribe to my channel) and get stuck into the entire 97-minute E3 2006 DVD from Official Nintendo Magazine issue 5.
If you want to help me write more articles and publish more videos like this, please consider donating to my Patreon account.
Don’t want to commit to a regular payment? I’ve now got a PayPal ‘tips’ jar: if you like my work in general feel free to chuck yer man Scullion a couple of quid and help stock up my Irn Bru fund so I can continue working away like a bastard.
Alternatively, if you can’t afford to support me on Patreon, please do your normal Amazon UK shopping via this link or Amazon US 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.
In the last episode of Gemhunter, the Philips CD-I made its debut and shocked the world (well, a couple of people) by turning up a gem in the form of International Tennis Open.
Could lightning possibly strike twice? Let’s find out as yer man Scullion takes on another CD-I game, the dark funfair shooting gallery that is Mystic Midway: Rest In Pieces.
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.
The much-mocked Philips CD-I makes its Gemhunter debut in this episode, with International Tennis Open going under the microscope.
Could a tennis game on a shite console possibly be a gem? You’ll have to watch to find out. And don’t worry about the sound being terrible at the start: it’s fixed by the time the game’s intro ends.
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.
With a new-look site comes a new-look Gemhunter, complete with a lovely new cheesy intro.
Yer man Scullion is now commander in chief of the spaceship Tired Old Hack, exploring the universe of retro gaming in search of forgotten gems.
Does Digital Pinball: Last Gladiators on the Saturn fit that bill? Well, you’re going to have to watch the video to find out, innit.
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.
Nintendo’s kicking off 2019 with another Wii U port, as New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe comes to the Switch on 11 January.
The Wii U version was much-loved by those who played it and ended up being the third-best selling title on the console, with 5.77 million copies sold.
Of course, given that the Wii U console sales themselves were poor, that made it a big fish in a small pond. Nintendo will be hoping that by putting the game on Switch – which already has a larger user base than the Wii U and continues to grow – it’ll reach a much greater audience more in line with the Wii and DS New Super Mario Bros games, which each shifted around 30 million.
Naturally, yer man Scullion’s been sent review code by Nintendo, and I’ve already started playing it. I’ll have a review ready before the game’s out, but it’s currently embargoed up the wazoo so you’ll have to wait until early 2019 for that.
Until then, here’s an 11-minute video in which I talk you through what’s new, show off the new characters and try to rewrite the lyrics to The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York. Enjoy.
In order that I could put this preview together, I received a digital copy of the game from Nintendo. The content of this preview was in no way positively influenced by this.
If you enjoyed this and want to help me post more frequent articles, please consider donating to my Patreon account.
Don’t want to commit to a regular payment? I’ve now got a PayPal ‘tips’ jar: if you like what you read feel free to chuck yer man Scullion a couple of quid here or there and help stock up my Irn Bru fund so I can continue working away like a bastard.
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.
I already reviewed Sega Mega Drive Classics (known as Sega Genesis Classics in North America) when it was released on the Xbox One and PS4 this past summer.
If you want to read my general thoughts on it, head over there and fill your boots.
It’s now coming to Switch this week, and those interested are keen to know thing: how well does it run on Nintendo’s system?
So, rather than just tell you, I’ve decided to turn this review into an epic hour-long video, showing all 51 games in action and concluding with my final thoughts.
By the time you’ve finished this video, you’ll have seen the entire line-up of games included, know what they’re about, and know how they run on the Switch.
Enjoy!
Sega Mega Drive Classics is out on Nintendo Switch on 6 December. You can pre-order it from Amazon UK for £29.99. It’s also currently available on Xbox One and PS4.
In order that I could write this review, I received a digital copy of the game from Sega. The content of my review and the opinions therein were in no way positively influenced by this.
If you enjoyed this and other reviews and want to help me write them more frequently, please consider donating to my Patreon account.
Don’t want to commit to a regular payment? I’ve now got a PayPal ‘tips’ jar: if you like what you read feel free to chuck yer man Scullion a couple of quid here or there and help stock up my Irn Bru fund so I can continue working away like a bastard.
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.
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.
This week Nintendo finally announced the first details of its online service coming to Switch in September.
Cunningly titled Nintendo Switch Online, it’s going to come with a number of features for your £17.99 a year, including access to online multiplayer and cloud saves.
Of greater interest to retro fans like me, though, is that Nintendo Switch Online will also come with a library of NES games, with added online multiplayer functionality.
There will be 20 NES games at launch with more to be added, and so far 10 have been revealed.
Not everyone’s a (tired) old prick like me, though, and while some take it for granted that we all know these games off by heart, some younger gamers will be experiencing them for the first time.
After all, while all 10 were on Virtual Console on previous systems, there’s a big difference between willingly paying £4.50 for an old game you’ve never played before and trying it out for ‘free’ because it already comes as part of the subscription you already signed up to so you could play online.
With that in mind, yer man Scullion – NES expert extraordinaire – has put together this video detailing all ten games to bring you up to speed. Enjoy!
Tired Old Hack 