VHS Preservation Project #3: Blown Away (PS1)

The Video Game VHS Preservation Project is an attempt to digitise as many video game VHS tapes as possible for the purposes of preservation. Click here for more information.

For the third of my VHS Preservation Project videos, it’s time to move away from the SNES and focus on what could have been its successor in an alternative timeline.

Blown Away is a video commissioned by Sony in 1996 to showcase the games coming to the original PlayStation in late ’96 and early ’97.

It’s got some interesting imagery and loads of stylishly put together game footage. Well, stylish for its time.

Continue reading “VHS Preservation Project #3: Blown Away (PS1)”

Sony E3 2017 conference: exclusive script leak

Two years ago, yer man Scullion managed to use his contacts to secure an early copy of the script being used for Sony’s E3 2015 conference.

Barring a few last-minute changes, it was pretty much 100% accurate.

People have been asking me if I’ve been able to secure a copy this time around, and if so whether it’s the real deal again.

Does the Pope shit in the woods? Continue reading “Sony E3 2017 conference: exclusive script leak”

21 iconic musicians who were influenced by PaRappa The Rapper

Last week Sony announced it’s releasing a special 20th anniversary version of PaRappa The Rapper for PS4, featuring enhanced 4K visuals.

For those not in the know, PaRappa The Rapper was a 1996 PlayStation game that is considered to be one of the first modern examples of the rhythm action genre.

What’s less discussed, however, is the sheer number of iconic musical artists who took inspiration from the lyrics in PaRappa The Rapper. Continue reading “21 iconic musicians who were influenced by PaRappa The Rapper”

The 30 best Vita games

This is the seventh in my ’30 Best’ series of articles in which I discuss my favourite games ever on a system-by-system basis for the first time in my career. In case you missed them, the full list of other ’30 Best’ articles can be found at the bottom of this page.

’30 Best’ will now be a monthly series, thanks to my lovely Patreon followers helping me reach a stretch goal. If you want to contribute and help me reach my next goal (to start a Tired Old Hack podcast), please visit my Patreon page.

ps_vita_front_side_sony“I didn’t even know it had 30 games!”

This was the predictable reply I got from all manner of clever individuals every time I informed my Twitter followers that my next ’30 Best’ article would be dedicated to the Sony PlayStation Vita.

It’s little wonder, to be fair. Sony abandoned its handheld quicker than David Cameron abandons his children in pubs, which led to the understandable consensus that the Vita was dead before its library had a chance to grow.

In reality, the Vita does have 30 great games. Indeed, it’s got plenty more than that: I’ve added another 15 at the end of this list for good measure, and even then there were some I had to leave out. Continue reading “The 30 best Vita games”

Gemhunter #3 – Boxing Champions

Gemhunter continues with Boxing Champions, a 2003 PlayStation 2 game from Midas Interactive Entertainment. Boxing games are generally either very good or hopeless, so which category does this fall under? Watch the video and find out… Continue reading “Gemhunter #3 – Boxing Champions”

Gemhunter #2 – Urban Freestyle Soccer

Gemhunter is my new video series in which I try out forgotten, ignored, licensed or shovelware games for the first time 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.

The second instalment of Gemhunter looks at Urban Freestyle Soccer, Acclaim’s street football game from 2003. Could we have already found a hidden gem so early in the series, or is it as bad as the cover looks? Watch the video and find out… Continue reading “Gemhunter #2 – Urban Freestyle Soccer”

Don’t Die, Mr Robot! (PS4, Vita) review

Don't Die Mr Robot pic 3When the PlayStation Vita launched back in 2011 its big selling point was the fact that it was essentially a slightly underpowered PS3 in handheld form.

In the early days this resulted in a bunch of handheld versions of beloved console games, with the likes of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Resistance: Burning Skies and Killzone: Mercenary really driving home the ‘console in your pocket’ mantra.

While this sounded exciting in theory, for some – including me – the concept didn’t quite work in practice.

On public transport my journeys were never quite long enough to comfortably finish the often large stages in adventure games. Level exploration was ditched in favour of hurriedly yet grudgingly running to my next destination, like someone bursting for a shite trying to discreetly get to the nearest toilet without outright running to it.

At home, meanwhile, the novelty of playing a console game on a handheld isn’t quite as enticing when there’s the obvious alternative of playing a console game on an actual console and a dirty big telly.

This is all a long-winded way of saying that for me, the best Vita games weren’t the ones that embraced the feel of console gaming, but those that stuck to the tried and tested handheld formula of quick-burst experiences. Don’t Die, Mr Robot! undoubtedly falls into this latter category. Continue reading “Don’t Die, Mr Robot! (PS4, Vita) review”

The week in games: Kojima’s birthday, Jimmy Kimmel

gallery-hitman1Agent 47, the second movie based on the Hitman series of games, was released last week and currently has a score of 28 on Metacritic. Nonsensical, ill-thought-out and potentially financially devastating for people involved in it, Metacritic is a review aggregator that launched in 1999. Continue reading “The week in games: Kojima’s birthday, Jimmy Kimmel”

The week in games: Jamie Lee Curtis, Five Nights At Freddy’s 4

Jamie Lee Curtis VegaJamie Lee Curtis surprised gamers by revealing she’d gone to the Evo 2015 fighting game tournament dressed up as Vega. It turns out she was there with the rest of her family as a graduation treat for her son, who’s a massive fighting game fan, but she had decided to wear the Vega costume for anonymity. Apparently, her son didn’t want anyone to find out his mum was in Christmas With The Kranks. Continue reading “The week in games: Jamie Lee Curtis, Five Nights At Freddy’s 4”