Tag: review

Dirt 5 review (Series X)

Published on by Chris Scullion1 Comment

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. Even better, since we’ve now reached a new console generation, I’ve upgraded my video capture hardware, meaning the below review can be watched in 4K and 60 frames per second. Scroll down for the written version of the review, or here’s the video:

Codemasters
Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, Stadia (Xbox Series X version reviewed)

There was a time when the launch of a new system often meant something almost equally as exciting: the launch of a new Ridge Racer game to accompany it.

The PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, Vita, Xbox 360 and 3DS were all blessed with a Ridge Racer game in the launch line-up, and they were always a safe bet because you knew you were going to get two things: a shitload of arcade racing greatness, and something visually impressive that would make your new console DANCE on day one.

Sadly, that was then. We haven’t had a proper Ridge Racer in over a decade, and if you’re talking proper numbered entries the last one was nearly 15 years ago. The days of buying a new console and a new Ridge Racer are gone. But do you know why I’m not so bothered about that with this new generation? Because we have Dirt 5 instead. Continue reading “Dirt 5 review (Series X)” →

A deeply serious look at Numskull’s latest PlayStation merchandise

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment

If you’re like me, your passion for gaming burns so brightly that you’re only happy when you have it emblazoned across your chest.

If you’re also like me, you refuse to drink from any cups unless there’s some sort of video game themed design on them. Nothing else will pass your lips, lest the liquid be poisoned due to the lack of any acknowledgement of interactive media.

If you’re also also like me, you have a two-year-old daughter called Serena and a wife called Louise, and you have a website called Tired Old Hack. Nobody’s that much like me, though. You be you. You’re good too.

Regardless, the lovely folks at Numskull Designs at least have the first two boxes ticked, as their new range of PlayStation clothing and merchandise should ensure that PlayStation fans are sorted when it comes to silently declaring their love for their favourite brand. Continue reading “A deeply serious look at Numskull’s latest PlayStation merchandise” →

Dodo Peak review

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment

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:

Screenwave Media / Moving Pieces Interactive
Switch, Apple Arcade (Switch version reviewed)

Dodo Peak was a launch title on Apple Arcade in September last year, back when we all still naively thought that for the foreseeable future we’d be outdoors with our phones a lot.

It’s finally broken free of its iOS shackles, though, and arrived on the Switch eShop this week. It’s a good job it did, too, because while it’s a fairly basic game in the grand scheme of things it’s also an entertaining one that’ll keep you busy for a while. Continue reading “Dodo Peak review” →

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” →

PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini review

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments

You can’t move for mini retro consoles these days. It’s a good job they’re so small, really.

Ever since Nintendo launched the NES Classic Mini three and a half years ago, we’ve been swimming in chibi versions of vintage video game systems.

The NES, the SNES, the Mega Drive, the Neo Geo… even the Commodore 64 was miniaturised (until someone saw sense and just re-released a full-sized one with a working keyboard).

Even Capcom decided to get in on the action, clearly revealing that they have no idea what ‘mini’ means by releasing a massive fuck-off arcade stick with a bunch of old coin-op classics on it.

Now it’s time for a dinky do-over of a system I desperately wanted to get the mini treatment, but didn’t actually expect we’d get: the NEC PC Engine. Well, a version of it, at least. Look, it’s confusing, but I’ll explain all in a second.

The EU version, the PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini, was supposed to launch back on 19 March, but then there was some sort of virus thing – I think I saw it briefly mentioned in one of the papers – and by pure chance one of the tiny handful of buildings shut down as a result was the Chinese factory that was manufacturing them.

Although there’s still not a set date, I’m reliably informed a release is now imminent, which is why I was sent one of them for review purposes. Let’s get stuck in, then, and find out how the CoreGrafx Mini performs and where it fits into the bigger (smaller) picture of mini consoles.

UPDATE: Amazon UK is now finally sending out units to customers. Continue reading “PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini review” →

Capcom Home Arcade review

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment

We’re very much living in the age of the mini system, with practically every relevant company eagerly miniaturising its consoles and computers in the hope that lightning will strike again with the same intensity of the NES Mini.

These mini systems almost always come with full-sized controllers, which makes perfect sense: after all, it’s all well and good shrinking a Mega Drive down to a fifth of the size but the technology doesn’t exist yet to shrink our hands to the same degree.

What happens, though, when the original control method wasn’t that small to begin with? What if the system was, say, a dirty big arcade cabinet? Cue the Capcom Home Arcade, the ‘mini’ system that’s bigger than pretty much every full-sized one.

Containing an interesting selection of 16 Capcom arcade titles spanning from 1988 to 2001, the Capcom Home Arcade is huge in plenty of ways, from its dimensions to its price tag, to… okay, it’s huge in two ways.

Does it justify dropping £200 on the bastard though? Let’s find out. Continue reading “Capcom Home Arcade review” →

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch) review

Published on by Chris Scullion2 Comments
Nintendo / Grezzo
Nintendo Switch

links-awakening-switch-boxWhen it comes to the Legend of Zelda series, one game stands out in particular as something of a black horse: a game that defies the normal conventions of the series and introduces a bunch of new ideas.

That game, of course, is Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

What’s that? You were expecting it to be Link’s Awakening? Nah mate, Zelda II. It’s proper side-scrolling and everything. Give it a go, it’s good.

Anyway, I’m digressing. You’re here to read about the Switch version of Link’s Awakening, so let me cut to the chase: it’s bloody good. Not without its issues, but bloody good nonetheless. Continue reading “The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch) review” →

Sonic the Hedgehog Pizza Cutter review

Published on by Chris Scullion10 Comments

There are some gaming releases that are considered monumental moments in the history of this relatively young medium.

The Magnavox Odyssey: the first ever home video game console, released in 1972.

The NES, which shook the industry to its core and revitalised a flatlining North American gaming scene.

The Sony PlayStation, which disrupted the normal Nintendo vs Sega war and showed that a new challenger could not only be successful, but dominate.

The Nintendo Wii, which opened up gaming to a whole new audience.

And now the Sonic the Hedgehog Pizza Cutter, which cuts pizza, but with Sonic and that. Continue reading “Sonic the Hedgehog Pizza Cutter review” →

Fire Emblem: Three Houses ‘review’ in progress

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment
Nintendo / Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo
Nintendo Switch

fire-emblem-three-houses-coverThere are two genres of console game that strike fear in the heart of reviewers: RPGs and turn-based strategy.

Both tend to take many tens of hours to beat, and given that this inevitably results in a need to ‘take our work home’ with us and commit a large chunk of time to them, the thought of reviewing one fills many with dread.

Yer man Scullion received review code for Fire Emblem: Three Houses about a week ago. Considering it’s not only the latest game in a much-loved turn-based strategy series but also has new features that make it more like an RPG than ever, it’s a lethal cocktail of free time devastation.

The reality, dear reader, is that this game can’t be beaten in a week. Not if you want to play it properly, and also have an adult life with a family and a job. As such, this isn’t a completed review.

After asking my lovely Twitter followers whether I should keep playing and turn in a review late, or just review what I’ve played so far, they showed their commitment to the cause by turning in a reliable 228/228 vote. So I’ve just decided to do the latter.

To make it categorically clear, then: this is not a full review. I have not completed this game. And from what I’ve been told by some peers, there’s a moment something like 40-50 hours in (that I have yet to reach) where shit goes down and everything properly kicks off, so this isn’t even a review of the meat of it.

What it should be, though, is enough to reassure you that Fire Emblem: Three Houses is bloody good, and well worth getting if you’re even slightly interested in the genre. Continue reading “Fire Emblem: Three Houses ‘review’ in progress” →

Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch) review for people who don’t want to create anything

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment
Nintendo / Nintendo EPD
Nintendo Switch

super-mario-maker-2Let me just make something clear so you know where I stand before going into this review: I’m very much a left-brained person.

For those unaware of the concept, it’s said that people who are more creative and artistic tend to use the right side of their brain more, whereas those who are more analytical and logical favour the left side.

Most of the time games are perfectly suited to both left and right-brained people: you’re given a task and can reach the goal using whatever logical or creative means you see fit.

Every now and then, however, you get a game that mainly appeals to right-brained, artistic types, where most of the fun is achieved through making your own creations. You know the type, games like LittleBigPlanet, Minecraft and Super Mario Maker.

For left-brained folk like me, these games are not a cavalcade of possibilities: instead, they more often result in staring blankly at an empty canvas with no bright ideas on how to fill it. For us, these games live or die not by their creation tools, but by everything else they offer (usually user-created content).

With that in mind, then, this review of Super Mario Maker 2 is going to do something a little different. You can already find plenty of reviews of the game on other sites, most of which will presumably have dedicated a hefty chunk to the creation tools.

From a completely blind approach – I never read other reviews before writing my own – I see that my long-time pal and former CVG editor Andy Robinson has reviewed the game over at VGC, so based on his track record I’m going to confidently assume that’s where you should go for a ‘proper’ review of the game, creation mode and all.

Instead, I’m going to look at the game from the point of view of someone who has no interest in the creativity element, and just wants an infinite supply of Mario stages to play. If that’s you, welcome aboard. Continue reading “Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch) review for people who don’t want to create anything” →