Since release, the Xbox One has been trailing far behind the PS4, and only doing a fair amount better than the Wii U.  With a reputation for being a cable box that also plays games compared to the PS4 being the “gamer’s console” it had a rough start.  This was mostly due to a few poor decisions that got picked up by the media such as the Kinect being “unable” to be disconnected, or Microsoft’s overall focus to make the Xbox One to be the average Joe’s console that was more focused on what apps were on the device rather…

If you’re a fan of construction management games, then you’re sure to be pleased with the recent announcement of Planet Coaster. We’ve got Chris Sawyer to largely thank for laying down the foundations of this genre, after all, Transport Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon were two games which took this genre by storm back in the 1990s. Other memorable mentions, two from EA include ThemePark and ThemePark World. However, nothing has managed to come close to the Rollercoaster Tycoon series, but is that about to change? Let’s take a look at two big upcoming offerings… Rollercoaster Tycoon World I personally think…

There has always been an argument over the value of a game.  Do you justify the value based on how long a game kept you busy, or the level of enjoyment you had during those hours?  What’s more valuable, a game that can give you hundreds of hours of enjoyment, or one that gives you just a few hours of the best experience you’ve had in awhile?  Well, that’s a matter of opinion, and varies from person to person, today we’re just going to look at what good games you can get on the cheap.  More specifically, games under thirty…

Summer 2014, many indie developers were surprised with the sudden announcement that RPG Maker and Humble Bundle were teaming up to host one of the year’s biggest indie developer contest, Indie Game Maker Contest 2014.  With a $10,000 grand prize and another $10,000 split amongst smaller prizes it’s was a competition that had a lot of people’s interest, as was seen with over 700 entries into the thirty day competition.  Participating in the contest, even if they didn’t win, jumpstarted a lot of people’s careers into video game development.  This year the contest is coming back with even more to…

I find myself in the unusual position here in the UK of writing this humble review in the midst of humidity surely equal to the level of New Orleans at the height of summer.  Nearly.  Anyway, the thought of lifting a pinkie even to type never mind steer a character round the gruelling requirements of the Tour De France (never mind the thought of actually getting on a bike myself) currently fills me with utter dread.  This review must be written, however, and you perhaps feel like that about getting your characters through the challenges brought by this game –…

The 1980’s was a great era for so many reasons, however, if you were a gamer then the Sinclair ZX is what probably brought back many of those old dreams. For me, it was perhaps the SEGA MegaDrive which now brings back those nostalgic memories. However, with modern day gaming now in a place where we could never had imagined less than a decade ago, there’s something great about re-visiting the foundations of which brought about the gaming of today. We’ve got Steve Wilcox, the man behind Elite Systems, based in Lichfield, England, to thank for this re-make. The device cleverly uses modern tech, meaning you’ll…

It could be argued that the RTS genre was partly defined thanks to the C&C series, growing in popularity with every release since 1995. After all, the idea that you could resource gather, build up a base and then defend or attack the enemy was one that worked extremely well. However, the series appeared to reach its peak within the era of Westwood Studios, and ever since, things haven’t really felt the same. EA’s attempts to conquer, yes, pun intended, this series were seemingly unsuccessful. Perhaps it was the announcement of Command and Conquer: Generals 2 that had a large…

Ark is a great game with a few flaws.  It’s optimization at launch was horrid though through constant work from the team the game is mostly stable after update 180.  The game has yet to bore me. What it has done though is keep me engaged for over 70 hours.  It’s one of those games where when you’re not playing it, you are thinking of what to do the next time you get on.  When you finally do get on, you’re trying to knock a few things off the checklist, and as you check those off ten more goals take…

MOBAs or Massive Online Battle Arenas, have become incredibly popular in recent years.  If you play games on the PC you’ve probably heard of League of Legends or DotA 2.  If you’re a console gamer you may have heard of SMITE.  These games focus on five versus five combat at their core, with a series of objectives to complete.  They’re games that rely heavily on working your team and your experience with these games will often times depend on who you are paired with.  Though these games may not be for everyone they have grown a large audience with nearly…

Westwood Studios helped to define the strategic war genre, it’s how the Command and Conquer series began. The franchise started way back in 1995, allowing you to take command of an army and strategically deploy and arrange units, with the main aim of defeating the opponent. Once Generals 2 was announced, it got many fans excited, however, it became another title that was cancelled. Let’s face it, Act of Aggression looks like a modern day version of a C&C title, and then some. Act of Aggression will use the same recipe that made the C&C series so successful, it will…

Most games stick to a familiar formula, however, there’s an ever growing number of titles that are exploring totally new concepts. Developers are starting to think outside the box thanks to the power of 8th gen. Whilst we’ve seen some amazing blockbusters announced at E3, this article takes a look at two upcoming games that don’t fit within your typical offerings, and haven’t had much attention. Dreams (PS4) This game was announced at E3 and it’s definitely very different, making it stand out from most other releases. All focus is on allowing you to use the PlayStation 4 to create…

This week of the year has more breaking game news than the rest of the year combined, so it wouldn’t be fair to leave it at just five highlights from E3.  That’s why today we’ll be looking at a few more.  So grab your seatbelts and buckle up because here is another top five highlights from E3 2015. FireWatch – Campo Santo – PS4 and PC With all the action packed, shoot em ups, it’s nice to have a little adventure game thrown in to give your mind a moment to relax.  You play as Henry, a man with a…

There’s one thing that’s clear, the PS4 is out-selling the XBOX One, that’s by a massive margin. E3 was a great opportunity for Microsoft to totally change the destiny of the XBOX One. However, the PS4 will remain the slimmest and most powerful 8th gen console – a clear selling point for most gamers. With that said, Microsoft needed to have an incredible amount of new game announcements, however, it was Sony who impressed the most on this front. The result? Another easy win for Sony and the PS4. It should be noted that a 1TB HDD edition of the…

E3 is just around the corner and with that everyone is coming up with their own predictions of what may be revealed this June so we can get excited about what to spend our holiday money on this winter. So without further ado let’s get to the, “Top Predictions for PS4” this E3. Silent Hills Will Return Back in April the game Silent Hills was cancelled by its publisher, Konami, two months ago. Shortly after which its demo, also known as P.T. was pulled from the playstation store. The game was being lead by Game Designer Hideo Kojima, the man…

In my Digressions In Digital feature series (the first of which, an article on survival horror Outlast, can be seen here), I take a look at videogames which were released in digital format and which I think are worth discussing, and this time it’s the turn of Unepic, the 2D RPG platformer created primarily by Francisco Téllez de Meneses (with the help of several other people). Unepic was released on PC in 2011 and later on Wii U in 2014, and it’s the Wii U version I’ll be discussing in this article. Inspired by Konami’s MSX title Knightmare II: The…

If you’ve been sitting around waiting for the next Farming Simulator title to drop, fret no longer – it’s finally here (Farming Simulator 2015) and is basically a clear improvement over its predecessors in nearly every respect. Clearly the internet (perhaps, the world) has been gripped in recent times by what might only be described as “simulation fever”, where loads of games are being developed which attempt to replicate nearly everything you can think of. It’s a bit rash to lump the Farming Simulator franchise in this crowd, of course, as it is in fact a more serious-minded title devoid…

With 8th Gen gaming just kicking off, many have already questioned whether the console era has reached its limit. With technology moving at an ever-accelerated rate, it certainly seems a valid question, after all. Can the console market keep up with these technology demands? What’s obvious is that the lifespan of 8th gen has to be reduced. Some have already deemed that the PS4 and XBOX One are to be the last consoles ever released. However, Nintendo has recently put this question into massive doubt – they’ve announced that they are working on something new. Whilst many are hoping that…

Despite being almost halfway through the year, there are still a number of XBOX One games we should await the release of with some degree of glee and expectation. Here are five to get you going. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt As soon as next week we will see the release of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (scheduled for release 19 May 2015). If you’ve been following the saga so far, you may already be aware that Geralt of Rivia’s epic story is not yet complete, oh no, not by a long shot. The previous two games featuring…

Ever since its complete make-over in 2011, where all the extra convoluted layers of fiction and game mechanics were sliced off in favor of re-inventing the original story-lines and vintage characters, Mortal Kombat has become a raging success. Following this renaissance, NetherRealm Studios have recently come up with yet another riveting sequel of Mortal Kombat franchise: Mortal Kombat X. This new and refined game, which brings together exceptional cinematic narratives, unparalleled graphics and dynamic game play, is guaranteed to keep us on the edge of our seats. Additionally like all its predecessors, Mortal Kombat X also brings back all of our…

The release of Microsoft’s latest console called Xbox One has gotten everyone excited about the much anticipated console of the year. For many serious gamers wanting to get the most out of their new consoles, we need to remember that Xbox One is on a league of its own. The previous releases of Xbox 360 is not match for this console and that means it’s a whole different playing field when it comes to what accessories to go for. We all want to get the best gaming experience out of our Xbox One and so we’ve looked far and wide…

Weather effects play a huge role within racing games. For this very reason, we take a look at which recent release racing games have the best weather effects… Drive Club (PlayStation 4) This PlayStation 4 exclusive hopped onto the scene late 2014 with somewhat of a rocky start. A mostly forgettable driving experience and from all accounts, a competent but flawed racing game. The developer, Evolution Studios, put in a lot of effort to make things right in the following months. As of today you are looking at one of the most impressive racing games visually to date. From the…

RIDE for the PlayStation 4 is quickly emerging as the Gran Turismo for motorcycle racing. Developed by Milestone, RIDE is a total simulator for motorcycle racing that provides a thrilling and extreme virtual racing experience. The game is impressive right from the start, as you’re given the option to choose from 110 motorbike models from the world’s best manufacturers. Not only that, but you’re given a wide range of circuits that vary by city and by country, and you can even race on classic tracks from motorcycling history. Motorcycle enthusiasts and gamers will both be excited by this game. The…

I love RollerCoaster Tycoon, by that I mean I love the very first entry of RollerCoaster Tycoon released in 1999. I played that game endlessly, and I was overjoyed when we played that game for science class to learn about physics. RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 was and still is a favorite game of mine. It was released in 2002 and I continue to play it to this day. The isometric camera view and the accessible graphics work so well I often forget I’m playing a game over a decade old. For comparison the first Battlefield 1942 came out that year, And…

In the tradition of quality city building video games, Cities: Skylines by Colossal Order delivers an engaging experience that lets you build and maintain a virtual city from scratch. Arguably, it’s similar to the famed SimCity game which dominated the city building video game genre for some time, but some gamers suggest that Cities: Skylines surpasses it. Since SimCity’s golden era, before it faded into mediocrity with the fifth version of SimCity produced by Maxis, gamers have long since yearned for a great city builder. Cities: Skylines is the game for those today who want to have full control of…

Eugen Systems has just released its Act of Aggression pre-alpha PC gameplay trailer on YouTube, and a surge of excitement has already built up for this upcoming game across the RTS community. Even though the preview video is just a short teaser trailer for now, Eugen Systems has been consistently touting that Act of Aggression will bring back the 1990s Golden Era of real time strategy (RTS) games. In particular, the PC game will resurrect many of the core elements that many RTS fans have missed since the peak of classic RTS games like StarCraft and Command & Conquer. This…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vefhZp-d_uw  

While many aspects of the Dead or Alive series would give a psychologist plenty of fodder to analyze (for instance, the inexplicable meshing of violence and sexuality is primitively animalistic in character) in the end it remains one of the more prominent fighting series.   The reasons for this are numerous, of course – there’s the control systems, which are largely approachable, the storytelling, solid graphics and of course, boob physics.   In short, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is basically a definitive version, a title that brings together various elements which seem to make gameplay worthwhile.   Moreover, for some fans,…

The Total war franchise has been going steady for fifteen years now. The first two entries were fairly popular with a unique blend of an overhead campaign map strategy game that zoomed in whenever your armies fought a battle and changed the game from empire management to being a general, and back again. I played the first Medieval Total War and enjoyed it, though the bland battle graphics did get a bit dull after a while (1). With Rome Total War, the series absolutely exploded, in a good way. It had a sizeable campaign with great scale and was set…

The First-person-shooter genre is one of the most popular, and we’ve become accustomed to receiving a yearly release from both the Battlefield and Call of Duty franchises. Both of these juggernaut series started out with the theme of WW2 with Battlefield 1942 and Call of Duty. One of my favourite experiences was with Call of Duty – it had everything that a good FPS should. Battlefield 1942 on the other hand, offered a free-roaming experience which was a new concept for the genre back then. Looking back, it felt as though the first-person-shooter genre was saturated with nearly every single…