The Gamechangers | BBC Drama | Review
We watch and give our thoughts in this Retro Perspective Review of The Gamechangers. A BBC documentary drama film made for TV. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Sam Houser, creator of Grand Theft Auto, & Bill Paxton as Jack Thompson. The film takes place while Rockstar was creating Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas & Thompson was trying to sue them for "poisoning children's minds."
Final Fantasy X/X-2 & the Awful "Will" Audio Drama
We have two videos for you today! An in-depth discussion and review of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster and a much shorter video summarising the 'Final Fantasy X -Will-' audio drama. My co-hosts Tom & Luke had never played an RPG before Final Fantasy X and 15 years later, the game remains one of their favourite games of all time.
Project Cars Game of the Year Edition | Review
Racing simulator, or arcade racer? Since the dawn of gaming it has been a question that has plagued the minds of the people who care about racing games. I have never been one of those people...until now?
Resident Evil’s Fall From Grace | Part 2
Following on from our in depth Resident Evil 4 review, we play Resident Evil 5 to shed some light on the most divisive title in the series. It's a game that at first glance is incredibly similar to the 4th, but with some crucial differences which quickly become the focal point of our discussion. Look out for part 3 too, because we'll be playing Resident Evil 6 for the first time ever...I'm sure it will be amazing.
8-Bit Armies | Review
In 2003, when EA destroyed Westwood studios, the creators of Command & Conquer, one final group of original Westwood employees resigned and formed Petroglyph Games. Later, EA also destroyed the Command & Conquer series by releasing Command & Conquer 4. Yet with the recent announcement of 8-Bit Armies, there seemed to be some hope for people looking for a modern game with that classic Command & Conquer flavour.
Resident Evil Outbreak | The Retro Perspective
Josh was too busy to film the Resident Evil 5 review, so Jake & Arron decided to play one of their favourite games of all time: Resident Evil Outbreak. It's the greatest game never made....A very difficult game, made even more so by persistent hysteric laughter. In this game, a waitress, a plumber and a "scrotum guard" are attacked by zombies relentlessly and on all fronts. Only by using our character's special skills can we overcome all odds. Skills like: flipping a coin, our age being kept secret, being able to scream "OH GOD, HELP ME PLEASE!!" at the press of a button...and, of course, being the master of unlocking things. So come on my crew, let's play Resident Evil Outbreak!
Way Of The Samurai 3 | Review (PC Port)
If there's one thing that can be said about every entry in the Way Of The Samurai series, it's that they have insane amounts of potential. Way Of The Samurai 3 takes the criminally under-used setting of Sengoku period Japan and with its gameplay, sets out to give players a massive amount of customisation, and choices that drastically change the outcome of the story. At first glance, this game seems to retain all the things that made the first two games enjoyable. Except this is Way Of The Samurai 3, we have jumped a generation from the Playstation 2 to 3. (Xbox 360 too) ...and now, after the fans demanded it, a PC port hits steam. So we are safe to expect more polish, better controls, a more involved story, and graphics fitting of a seventh generation console, right?....
Resident Evil's Fall From Grace | Part 1
Resident Evil was once a colossal force in the gaming industry and no moment is more noteworthy for the series than the release of Resident Evil 4 on the Nintendo Gamecube in 2005. So in this 3 part video series we want to de-construct what makes Resident Evil good so we can then start to work out what went so wrong to leave the series in the unrecognisable state it's in today. Starting with what is widely renowned as the best in the series and one of the greatest games of all time: Resident Evil 4.
Yakuza 5 | Review
Yakuza 5 is a fighting/driving/hunting/dancing/karaoke simulation/action-RPG game by SEGA. The Yakuza series, (known as Ryu Ga Gotoku in Japan) which has won excellence awards in its home country with practically every new release, is basically the Grand Theft Auto of Japanese gaming. Yakuza 5 was originally released in December 2012 but Western audiences have had to wait 3 years for a version which didn't require them to learn Japanese. Was it worth the wait? Oh god yes!
Star Wars Episode I | The Retro Perspective
In the second part of our Star Wars game binge we take a look at Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace for the Playstation 1. A remarkable game, but whether that's in a good way, or bad, we'll leave that to you. Joining me again is 3D artist Tom and Star Wars Episode I veteran Luke. I hope you brought your T-14 Hyperdrive Generators because we have little tolerance for model Dx5 security doors. Have a nice day!
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void | Review
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void is the second and final standalone expansion in Blizzard's Starcraft II Trilogy. Though, to call it an expansion simply does not do this game justice. While at first myself and many other players may have felt short-changed at the copy/paste nature of the game's mechanics from the original Starcraft, Legacy of the Void looks, and plays like the culmination of all Blizzard has learned since Starcraft was released in 1998. That's a long time to perfect your craft...it's a long time to perfect your Starcraft.
Star Wars Battlefront II | The Retro Perspective
The Retro Perspective is a retrospective gaming talk show where we discuss the differences between the gaming industry's past and present. This time I'm joined by 3D artist Tom. We play Pandemic Studios' Star Wars Battlefront II and discuss the possible shortcomings of EA's new Battlefront game. Also on the table: the upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens and everyone's favourite...Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
The Purring Quest | Review
The Purring Quest is a game by cat lovers, for cat lovers. Valhalla Cats, the Spanish studio behind the game, proudly state on their website that each member of the team has at least one cat. However, the game's tag-line "have you ever wanted to be a cat?" is not entirely apt. The Purring Quest is not a sim game, nor does it offer the multitude of interactions found in the PS2 adventure game Dog's Life, with its similar tag line: "It's great being a dog." Rather, It's a somewhat old-school platformer, with increasingly difficult stages ending in a boss fight or similar encounter.
Undertale | Review
Undertaleis a predominantly one man project created by Toby Fox. Funded with a successful Kickstarter campaign which far surpassed its $5,000 goal, Undertale managed to raise a total of $51,124 and took over 2 and a half years to complete. Earlier in the year I cited Boot Hill Heroes as a perfect example of how the classic RPG genre accredited to games such as Chrono Trigger & Earthbound are both utterly timeless and just bursting with unexplored potential. Undertale takes a sledgehammer the size of the sun and just hammers that point home with the force of a billion stampeding chocobos.
Metal Gear Solid 4's Terrible Boss Fights
"If we're really gonna discuss how good Metal Gear Solid is, we have to discuss the boss fights, in serious depth because Metal Gear Solid 1, 2 & 3...all have exceptional boss fights..."
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Review
When I was 14, for a high school show and tell style project, I decided to do a review of Metal Gear Solid 3. I recorded gameplay on to a VHS tape and used this to deliver a presentation to the class. The opening line of the presentation went something like: "This video game, created by the genius mind of Hideo Kojima..." Do I still think Hideo Kojima is a genius? Absolutely, he is still one of the few game directors out there who really knows how to put the player directly in to a video game character's shoes. Is everything he's ever done perfect? Definitely not. Is Metal Gear Solid V a 10/10 game? You'd have to be riding its gargantuan hype train to believe that to be the case but...on the other hand...is it not the greatest, purest stealth game ever created? It probably is. Apologies if you're getting mixed messages so far but, from beginning to end, that's exactly what Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has given me.
Triple Triad Mobile | Review
For me, Final Fantasy VIII is not a game, it is a biennial event...Once every couple of years I'll visit gamefaqs.com for the brilliant walkthrough by Alex and proceed to go through every inch of Final Fantasy VIII, max out the stats, beat every boss, whistle at every chocobo...and of course, collect every card for the unique Triple Triad mini game. So it was with equal parts optimism and absolute dread that I decided to play Triple Triad Mobile. Thankfully the Triple Triad collectible card game has made its move to mobile quite gracefully though not without problems
Metal Gear Solid 4's Terrible Gameplay
It's fair to say that the hype surrounding Metal Gear Solid V has reached historic levels but I have a confession to make, I promised myself I would not get excited for Metal Gear Solid V because In 2008, Metal Gear Solid 4 was released with a legacy so gargantuan people tricked themselves into believing it was the greatest game of all time. It's time to stop kidding ourselves about Metal Gear Solid 4...
Crypt of the Necrodancer | Review
While Crypt of the Necrodancer comes dangerously close to being repetitive, it's (mostly) fair balance between gradual upgrades and increasing enemy difficulty keeps it fresh, at least until you've seen all there is to see. The incredibly strong melodies of the soundtrack mean you don't get tired of hearing the same tracks a lot and the merchant found on each level sometimes sings along in a hilarious midi voice which is always a treat.