Have you ever wondered why so many kids were running round with blue teddies of a thing with elongated limbs? They were sold everywhere you went during the summer holidays of 2022. That’s Huggy Wuggy, and he is anything but child friendly. Find out his origins today as Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1 releases on Xbox.
E3 2017 and many people tuned in to Microsoft's E3 conference to find out about the highly-anticipated Project Scorpio. Of course, we now know it as Xbox One X and it will be the world’s most powerful console. As we also discovered during the same conference, not only will the Xbox One X be able to run in native 4K, HDR, blah blah blah, but it will also be able to play games over 15 years old as part of the announced Original Xbox Backwards Compatibility! They confirmed that Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge will be the first game available from the original Xbox and Microsoft have even gone as far to say they may be able to retrospectively add Achievements to first party games. So this got me thinking…
Micro Machines is back!
That is the exact phrase I used at the start of my preview piece back in January when Codemasters confirmed that Micro Machines was indeed returning. The usual drip-feed of information then followed from the developers: screenshots, trailers and something no game would be complete without - a delay to its intended release date. The dust has settled now though, and the game is finally here.
After being teased at the end of the first DLC pack, Episode Gladiolus, the second premium piece of DLC for the long-awaited Final Fantasy XV is finally here. Its predecessor was much maligned for being short, clumsy and not very imaginative, and they weren’t just my thoughts. Does the second piece offer more, or is it as ‘Prompt’ in its length?
The second issue of the Blood Feud story-arc of Titan Comics' Tekken series is finally here, continuing the story of Jin, Paul, Ling Xiaoyu, Panda, Anna, King and Yoshimitsu, and their journey to find Artefact 333.
Where to start with a game called Star Balls? I could be really immature and refer to it as Cosmic Testicles, or completely puerile and call it Interstellar Nuts. Supernova Stones anyone? No, I am not going to be that person and will instead provide a detailed review of Galactic Genetalia. I mean Star Balls.
Let’s start with the glaringly obvious; Tokyo 42 is a visibly striking game that is flipping beautiful to look at. In terms of its aesthetic it may be one of the best looking games available on the Xbox One, not graphics wise, but simply that the art style looks fantastic.
Unfortunately for Tokyo 42, the rest of the game is very hit and miss. At times I was completely engrossed in the stealth elements and placement of enemies, causing me to treat each mission almost like a maze, figuring out the correct path to take and stay hidden, adjusting my mind accordingly. The rest of the time I was cursing the game at its lack of depth found in the gameplay and at the repetitive missions.
Tokyo 42 was announced towards the back end of 2016 and immediately grabbed the attention of gamers with its unique and highly stylised aesthetic. Its isometric view of Tokyo and its rooftops really do make the game stand out from others available.
The game is all set to launch on Xbox One, PS4 and PC on 31st May and for many people, the aesthetics are enough to warrant the purchase of £15.99. But for those yet to decide, what else does it offer?
When growing up, I was fortunate enough to have a father with a piqued interest in video games.
After receiving our first home computer around 1994, he was quick to fill it with any and all games including Fury of the Furries, Jazz Jackrabbit and DOOM. I adored the first two but was never allowed to play DOOM for obvious reasons. It didn’t stop me though, and never failed to reduce me to a shaking mess. It was far from a scary game, but the atmosphere it presented was beyond creepy, and for a young naïve child, was very disturbing. BUTCHER has been designed to re-create the atmospheric feeling of wandering round the corridors of DOOM and Quake. And it has done so perfectly.
Tekken 7 is finally due to release on consoles, over two years since its arcade release, and has promised to tie-up the series’ Mishima Clan saga that has been running throughout the series over the past 23 years. As it has been over six years since the last canonical game (Tekken Tag Tournament is non-canon), Tekken: Blood Feud is a 4-issue comic arc that will bridge the gap between games 6 and 7.
Misogynists and sadists look away now because The Sexy Brutale is not what you are expecting. Unless you are expecting a review of a macabre puzzle adventure game set inside a casino mansion, then read on.
Growing up as a 90’s kid meant having to go round to our friend’s house and physically knocking on their front door just to see if they were in. There were three of us on my street and between us we had a Sega Mega Drive II, Sony Playstation and Nintendo 64. It meant we got to experience all the classics of the day, and many of those classics were platformers. Spyro may have been my favourite, Sonic 2 was the game I could ‘speedrun’, but Banjo-Kazooie was always the one I wish I had played more of.
If we are ever to see another Banjo-Kazooie remains to be seen, but after my time with Yooka-Laylee then another one may not be needed.
In the four months of its release since the 10 year build up, Final Fantasy XV has been kind to its fans by offering a wealth of free game updates including additional music and a whole festival dedicated to two of the franchises most famous creatures, moogles and chocobos. The first paid-for DLC has now arrived and as advertised as focusing on each of Noctis’ companions, with this one concentrating on Gladiolus.
Yooka-Laylee is a game that feels like it needs no introduction, having been front and centre of a certain generation of gamers’ minds for over two years since its Kickstarter announcement back in May 2015. For the un-informed though, a quick history lesson is needed.
A King’s Tale was released as a pre-order bonus to select retailers for Final Fantasy XV back in November 2016. As of the 1st March 2017 the game became free on Xbox One and PS4, but even at that price, is it worth your investment?
For those of you who have been living under a rock or deep in the jungle for the last ten years, the Devil May Cry games feature a protagonist called Dante. And this is Dante when he was just effortlessly cool...
Cars and coffee, eh? Those are two of the things I like in real life, but now they have come to Forza Horizon 5 and Series 36 of the Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges.
As I've played almost every fishing experience that you can find on the big black box, I thought I'd attempt to rank them, nailing a list consisting of 5 of the best fishing games on Xbox One, if you will.
