Video Games – Page 8 – Tired Old Hack

It’s (Tired Old) Back!

Published on April 9, 2018 by Chris Scullion3 Comments

Last October I posted an article called ‘Tired Old Hack: a word on the coming months’.

It explained that I was about to start work on a new project that would “take up a massive chunk of my free time” and that as a result the number of articles on the site was going to take a hefty knock.

Six months later, that project – a 190,000-word book – is now complete. Expect more information on that in a while: there’s still some work to be done by the publisher before we’re ready to share the news and I can start trying to convince you lovely swines to pre-order it.

That’s news for the future, then. The news today is that – now the book’s finished – Tired Old Hack is back up to full speed again, meaning you can expect far more regular and varied articles instead of just the occasional reviews and podcast episodes I was posting during the site’s downtime. Continue reading “It’s (Tired Old) Back!” →

Kirby Star Allies (Switch) review

Published on March 14, 2018December 1, 2018 by Chris Scullion1 Comment

Nintendo / HAL Laboratory
Nintendo Switch

The Switch is a little over a year old now and the continued roll-out of established Nintendo (and Nintendo-related) franchises is ticking away nicely.

Zelda? Check. Mario Kart? Check. Splatoon, Mario Odyssey, Fire Emblem Warriors, Xenoblade Chronicles, Pokken Tournament? Check times five.

There’s more to come: Hyrule Warriors is out in two months, and we’ve obviously got a Donkey Kong Country game, a Fire Emblem, a Smash Bros, a Yoshi game, Metroid Prime 4 and a new Pokemon in the distant future. Slowly but surely, fans of every series are getting games aimed at keeping them happy.

This week marks the next step in the process, with Kirby getting to take centre stage on the Switch for the first time. Continue reading “Kirby Star Allies (Switch) review” →

Totaku figures #01-06: World exclusive review

Published on February 28, 2018December 1, 2018 by Chris ScullionLeave a comment

Anyone who knows me knows I’m an absolute fiend when it comes to collectible figurines.

Yer man Scullion currently owns a complete set of 70 Lego Dimensions characters, a complete set of 105 Disney Infinity figures, 116 amiibo – incomplete, because nobody needs two Kirbys – and precisely zero Skylanders (because obviously).

Later in March the first wave of Totaku figures hits the UK and US. They’re going to be sold exclusively at Gamestop in the US, and in a handful of stores in the UK (most notably GAME).

Given my obsession with collecting similar figures, you’d hopefully agree that I’d be the man to trust when it comes to reviewing these Totaku thingies.

It’s fortunate, then, that I’m lucky enough to currently have final samples of the first six figures, and I’ve managed to secure them before anyone else.

Friends, here is your world exclusive first review of Totaku figures #01 to #06. Continue reading “Totaku figures #01-06: World exclusive review” →

Bayonetta 1 & 2 (Switch) review

Published on February 14, 2018December 1, 2018 by Chris Scullion2 Comments

Nintendo / Platinum Games
Switch, Wii U (Switch version reviewed)

If you ask me, this is definitely the best social climate to release a pair of games about a sexy witch who has an outfit made out of hair that makes her naked any time she attacks with it.

Don’t worry: I can already imagine some of you getting nervous. That’s a discussion for another website, and given it’s an important topic (and rightly so, in my opinion) I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding said discussion elsewhere before too long.

It would be daft, though, not to address the skimpily-dressed elephant in the room: Bayonetta 1 & 2 are very much games that would result in plenty of uncomfortable conversations if they were brand new releases and not ports of games that are nine and four years old respectively.

Much like my review of the significantly more questionable Senran Kagura: Estival Versus on PS4, though (don’t click that if you’re at work), I’m going to spare you the morality lesson here. It’s up to you to investigate the content and tone of these games and decide if they’re suitable for you or any younger gamers in your life: my job is to tell you if they’re actually fun to play.

In that respect I can confirm that yes, yes they are. Continue reading “Bayonetta 1 & 2 (Switch) review” →

The Tired Old Hack Winter Games Challenge

Published on February 10, 2018April 10, 2018 by Chris Scullion3 Comments

Chances are you’ve probably noticed that the 2018 Winter Olympic Games have just kicked off in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

To celebrate this, I’ve decided to take a look back at the history of Winter Olympics video games: the good, and the very much not so good.

In the Tired Old Hack Winter Games Challenge I’ll be uploading daily videos over the course of the 2018 Games, as I proceed through the history of the winter games genre. Continue reading “The Tired Old Hack Winter Games Challenge” →

VHS Preservation Project #8: GameCube / GAME promo video

Published on January 21, 2018February 6, 2025 by Chris ScullionLeave a comment

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.

The eighth tape in my VHS Preservation Project is the first in my collection that celebrates the Nintendo GameCube.

This is a video that was given away free to customers of GAME and Electronics Boutique in the UK, in order to promote upcoming GameCube games.

It’s a mixture of official trailers and gamepay footage captured by GAME themselves, and as such the video quality varies quite a bit throughout. There’s also a brilliantly poor quality section at the end in which they try to shill third-party controllers.

Continue reading “VHS Preservation Project #8: GameCube / GAME promo video” →

Video: Review Round-Up Unscripted #2

Published on January 15, 2018 by Chris ScullionLeave a comment

Following some really positive feedback on the first of my more casual, unscripted review round-ups, it’s time for a second helping. Reviewed in this episode are:

• Tallowmere (Switch)
• Rock ‘N Racing Off Road DX (Switch)
• Aces Of The Luftwaffe: Squadron (Switch)
• Antiquia Lost (Switch)
• Ittle Dew 2+ (Switch)
• It’s Quiz Time (PS4)
• Star Wars: Battlefront II (Xbox One)
• WWE Mayhem (Android)
• Mom Hid My Game! (Switch)
• Arcade Archives: Vs Super Mario Bros (Switch) Continue reading “Video: Review Round-Up Unscripted #2” →

Video: Review Round-Up Unscripted #1

Published on January 8, 2018 by Chris Scullion1 Comment

Since I’m still working on a big Secret Project™ that’s been taking up the vast majority of my writing time, I’ve had to think of a better way to review games (which I still enjoy doing in my downtime).

Here, then, is the first in a regular series of review round-up videos, in which I’ll give you small reviews of a bunch of newly released games.

Most professional video reviews on YouTube are scripted, to ensure the reviewer gets across the points they want to make. Since I hate doing that fake radio-style YouTuber voice (trust me, I’ve tried it), these videos will be completely unscripted and I’ll be talking about them normally.

Think of them as a podcast that focuses on game reviews, complete with footage. Here’s episode 1: there’s more information underneath the video.

Continue reading “Video: Review Round-Up Unscripted #1” →

Pinball FX 3 on Switch – all 30 launch tables in one video

Published on December 22, 2017 by Chris ScullionLeave a comment

Pinball FX 3 launched on the Switch last week, giving pinball fans a whole wealth of flipper-based goodness on their grey / red-and-blue / yellow / pink and green baby (delete as applicable).

The base game is free to download, and comes with one free table, Sorcerer’s Lair.

However, there are also 29 other DLC tables that are available for purchase. While a couple of these – Portal and The Walking Dead – are standalone one-off tables, the others come in packs of two, three or four tables.

Because Pinball FX 3 tables feature things no real-life tables can (like CG characters walking around and hidden sections opening up to reveal mini-tables), each varies wildly in style and as such it’s unlikely that all 30 will appeal to you.

To make life easier, then, I’ve put together this enormous video showing around a minute of footage for every single table in the game, so you can see what’s on offer and better choose which tables take your fancy. Continue reading “Pinball FX 3 on Switch – all 30 launch tables in one video” →

Nintendo / HAL Laboratory Nintendo Switch

Nintendo / Platinum Games Switch, Wii U (Switch version reviewed)

Nintendo / HAL Laboratory
Nintendo Switch

Nintendo / Platinum Games
Switch, Wii U (Switch version reviewed)