WWE games by the numbers: a stat nerd’s paradise

Published on by Chris Scullion6 Comments

WWESmackDownHereComesThePainI love wrestling games. All of them. Even the shite ones.

Wrestle War on the Mega Drive? Love it. WCW Backstage Assault on the PlayStation? Love it. World Wrestling Championship on PS2? Okay, not that one.

Of course, given my lifetime passion for WWE, it’s the games based on that particular promotion that I love the most. There isn’t a WWE (formerly WWF) game that I haven’t played.

Recently, WWE 2K16 was released. It’s the 57th WWE video game released, and if that stat excites you a little then grab some tissues, because that’s the tip of the iceberg.

Yes friends, I’m about to take you on a tour of WWE game history using nothing but stats and numbers. It’s going to be the nerdiest thing to happen to wrestling games since someone created Dragon Ball and Avengers characters in WWE 2K15. Continue reading “WWE games by the numbers: a stat nerd’s paradise” →

Lego Dimensions Starter Pack review

Published on by Chris Scullion8 Comments

Disclaimers: This review is not based on a free review copy. I pre-ordered it from Amazon and bought it with my own money. The review covers the Xbox One version of the game. While there are references to other characters not included with the Starter Pack, this article should by and large be considered a review of the Starter Pack only, and whether choosing to buy it alone (with no plan to buy any additional packs) is worth your time and money.

LEGO Dimensions Xbox OneLego Dimensions is a game about shaking things up. It was marketed with a #BreakTheRules hashtag, and this mantra is persistent throughout: not just in terms of its storyline, but also the game’s structure itself.

You see, at the heart of Lego Dimensions lies a massive inner struggle, one that questions a fundamental part of what makes Lego games so well-loved.

But we’ll get to that. Continue reading “Lego Dimensions Starter Pack review” →

Xbox One backwards compatibility – the 20 best XBLA games to play now

Published on by Chris Scullion1 Comment

Xbox-One-backward-compatibilityThe first batch of backwards compatible games launches on Xbox One on Thursday, giving players the chance to play 104 titles from the Xbox 360 catalogue on Microsoft’s current-gen console.

Some of these are retail games: the likes of Assassin’s Creed II, Fallout 3, the entire Gears Of War saga and the first Mass Effect (but not the other two, oddly) are in there.

These are well-known titles so chances are you don’t need a hack like me (tired and old or otherwise) to tell you if they’re any good.

However, the vast majority of games on the list are Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) games – titles that were only made available to buy digitally through the Xbox 360’s online storefront. Some are relatively new, others stretch all the way back to the Xbox 360’s launch a decade ago.

If you’re a long-time Xbox 360 owner then these titles will be familiar to you, but if Xbox One is your first Microsoft console – or even if you’ve only had a 360 for the last couple of years – there may be a few that don’t ring a bell.

With that in mind, I’ve put together this list of the 20 XBLA games on the backwards compatible list that I personally consider must-owns. In alphabetical order, mind: I can’t be arsed with any “number 17? It should have been 16 you prick” nonsense. Continue reading “Xbox One backwards compatibility – the 20 best XBLA games to play now” →

Licensed To Thrill? #1: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment

Licensed To Thrill? is my new video series looking back at licensed video games based on movies, TV shows, celebrities or brands. Though it’s a video series, you may be more of a reader than a watcher so there’s a written version after the jump.

Continue reading “Licensed To Thrill? #1: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween” →

ICYMI – Beach Buggy Racing review

Published on by Chris Scullion1 Comment

ICYMI (or In Case You Missed It, if you’re an old fart like me) is my new video review series looking at games that for whatever reason weren’t fully covered in bigger sites. The video is below, if you want the written version you’ll find it after the jump.

Continue reading “ICYMI – Beach Buggy Racing review” →

The Games Media Awards – loved or loathed?

Published on by Chris Scullion1 Comment

games-media-awardsThe Games Media Awards (or GMAs for acronym fans) took place last night, and with it came the usual outpouring of moany tweets, mostly from people who weren’t there.

For those not in the know, the GMAs are a UK award ceremony in which some members of Britain’s gaming journalism industry are given little plastic blocks to commemorate their top-notch journalising over the past year.

In case you’re curious, here’s who won last night. Continue reading “The Games Media Awards – loved or loathed?” →

Video on Tired Old Hack – my plans

Published on by Chris Scullion5 Comments
Here's a stock image illustrating that, because sometimes list features add stock images for comedic effect
A man watching one of my videos, yesterday

If you’re a regular Tired Old Hack reader (well, as regular as you can be given how sporadic my posts are), you’ll have noticed I’ve started making video content.

This is a relatively new medium for me and I’m still trying to figure out various bits and pieces but so far the response has been pretty positive, for which I’m hugely grateful.

With that in mind I thought I’d put together a wee article detailing my future plans for video content on Tired Old Hack, so you know what sort of ideas I have bubbling away and what to expect in the relatively near future. Continue reading “Video on Tired Old Hack – my plans” →

Retro Vault – Rescue: The Embassy Mission

Published on by Chris Scullion2 Comments

Retro Vault is my video series looking at vintage games from back in the day – both popular ones and those forgotten over time.

The video can be found below, but if you’re more of a reader I’ve provided a modified version of the script after the jump so you can read my thoughts in written form instead.

Continue reading “Retro Vault – Rescue: The Embassy Mission” →

Lego Dimensions FAQ and complete character / level pack release date checklist

Published on by Chris Scullion24 Comments

UPDATE: Since I posted this article I’ve written up a massive guide in which I review every Lego Dimensions year 1 character. That’ll be far more useful to you than this article (which is now out of date), so you can find it by clicking here.

lego_dimensions1Lego Dimensions is out on 29 September (or 27 September if you live in Americaland). I first reported on it, all full of wonder and excitement, back in April, and since then it’s become much clearer exactly what the game consists of and which separate figures are being released.

That said, Warner has been announcing each new figure and licence in such a bitty, piecemeal fashion that it’s been pretty hard to keep track of absolutely everything due for release.

That’s where yer old man Scullion comes in. Here’s a complete list of everything planned for release for Lego Dimensions to date: what you get in each pack, when it’s released and how much it costs. Continue reading “Lego Dimensions FAQ and complete character / level pack release date checklist” →