Tag: PC

Streets of Rage 4 review

Published on by Chris Scullion4 Comments

This review is available in both written and video format. Both versions have the same ‘script’, so if you’re able to watch the video I’d recommend doing that, since you can see the game in action without worrying about missing anything I’ve written. Here’s the video:

Dotemu / Lizardcube
PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC (PS4 version reviewed)

Streets of Rage 2 is one of my top 5 favourite games of all time. To my mind, it’s a virtually flawless game: one that would feel just as immensely satisfying during my thousandth playthrough as it did during the first.

Because of this, you’d think I would have been thrilled when it was announced that Streets of Rage 4 was finally on the way. On the contrary: having watched some of the trailers, I was worried that this may not be the Streets of Rage I knew and loved, and that in the 26(!) years that have passed since the last game, it looked like something special may have been lost.

When I was offered review code for the game a fortnight ago I reluctantly accepted, ready to have my heart broken. Instead, for the past two weeks my heart has been singing from the rooftops. Although it’ll never replace my true love, there’s no denying that Streets of Rage 4 is glorious. Continue reading “Streets of Rage 4 review” →

NBA 2K19 (Xbox One) review

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment
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” →

HELP: The Game review

Published on by Chris Scullion1 Comment

SEGA / VARIOUS
STEAM

In a time when Humble Bundles are born on a weekly basis and the idea of giving money to charity in return for gaming goodness is no longer a novel one, it takes something different to stand out from the crowd of other philanthrotainment, a word I just made up and immediately hate.

HELP: The Game attempts to do just that by offering no fewer than 12 games, each sharing three distinct properties:

1) They were all made by notable development studios.
2) They’re all exclusive to this compilation.
3) They were all made in just six days. Continue reading “HELP: The Game review” →

Her Story review (spoiler-free)

Published on by Chris Scullion7 Comments

Her Story is a plot-based game. As such, this review is completely free of spoilers. The only plot information revealed is what is revealed to the player right at the start of the game before any user-instigated interaction takes place.

her story reviewpanelThere’s currently a thread on popular games forum NeoGAF called ‘Her Story | Spoiler Thread’. I won’t link to it in case you’re tempted to click it before playing the game.

In it are all manner of theories, questions and debates on the events of Her Story, the latest game from Sam Barlow, writer of the incredible Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.

While I have my own theory and I’m pretty happy with it, I’ve also seen some contradictory (and pretty convincing) ones from other people on the thread who have also enjoyed the game’s 3-4 hour duration. It’s making for some exciting discussion.

That there’s such animated chat surrounding the game is mainly down to the clever way in which Barlow presents Her Story to us, turning a series of linear video interviews into a fragmented mess we’re expected to gather and tidy up in our heads.

I’ve read other reviews of Her Story that have made some pretty bold (and in my eyes, wrong) decisions as to what’s considered spoiler material. For this review the only plot details I’ll reveal are those made available to you right when the game starts. Everything else should stay off-limits until you discover it for yourself. Continue reading “Her Story review (spoiler-free)” →