AUSRETROGAMER

The Pop-Culture E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for PC

PC

FIFA Football Stays the Same

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Some video game franchises are so iconic, like the changing seasons, there will always be a new one. FIFA Soccer, or FIFA Football, depending on what country you’re in, is one of those franchises; but lately it feels like the popular game has become complacent and somewhat stale.

EA Sport’s FIFA Soccer 2006 is one of my favorite sports games. When it was released almost two decades ago; I couldn’t wait to get out of class and play a match, before I would work on my homework. On the weekends, I would play FIFA so much that I would lose track of time and realize it was suddenly Sunday. I found it difficult to put down my controller and turn off the addictive game.

The glorious EA Sports FIFA 2006!

FIFA 2006 doesn’t seem that much different than FIFA ’22. There haven’t been many radical changes to the franchise in years. Perhaps that’s why FIFA is the bestselling sports franchise, generating more than $20 billion in sales over the last twenty years. FIFA is such a popular game because gamers who love the franchise don’t particularly like big changes to the familiar gameplay and graphics. In all fairness, EA Sports’ Madden hasn’t changed that much in the last decade either.

The last EA Sports FIFA will be the ’23 edition

I like watching the PS4 Tournament Open Series. I get more enjoyment watching FIFA tournaments online than I do other EA Sports games on the market. Madden tournaments are fun to watch on television, but they’re on all the time. FIFA tournaments are less frequent, which makes them more entertaining and pleasurable when I happen to find one.

FIFA ’28 (or EA FC by then) will likely look a lot like FIFA ’22. The sports franchise is a gaming institution that’ll still be going strong decades from now. The players will change, but the game modes and graphics will not change dramatically.

It was recently announced that FIFA and EA Sports will end their successful partnership. The game will not change because of the breakup, most of the world’s popular clubs and players will still be playable because of separate licensing deals.

image source: clutchpoints



Slipstream: Retro Arcade Racer Review – Nintendo Switch

By

With the Australian F1 GP being on this weekend, we’ve been playing Slipstream non-stop on our Switch for this last week, and we must say, this is the closest we’ll get to a modern OutRun, especially OutRun 2006/Coast 2 Coast (with a mix of F-Zero & Sonic The Hedgehog), with amazing drifting, slipstreaming and speed mechanics, complimented with a cool time rewind feature and a thumping synth pop soundtrack.

Slipstream has been a labour of love for Brazilian solo developer, Sandro Luiz de Paula (ansdor) since 2015. The love and attention to detail really stands out. Sandro’s Slipstream has pulled us right into one of our favourite arcade racer periods of the 80s and early 90s with gorgeous 2D sprite scaling and colourful pixel art graphics. This all amounts to an authentic retro experience on modern consoles with smooth and constant 60fps gameplay.

The entire package of Slipstream, from its graphics (with Pixelated, CRT and NTSC filters), speed and racing mechanics, awesome soundtracks to its six game modes, all combine to draw you into racing across a variety of twenty exotic locations from all around the world, including cities, deserts, forests, mountains and beaches. With a plethora of other retro inspired racers out there, Slipstream stands out with its speed, drifting, rewinding and slipstreaming mechanics, which add depth to the driving gameplay, resulting in a strategic, challenging and fun experience – what more could you ask for?! Oh yeah, it gets better, grab a few friends or family members and have yourself a local 4-player split-screen race.

The six game modes add longevity and variety for solo players, with different challenges. If you are time poor and need a quick fix of racing, then the single race or time trial modes are for you. If you have a bit more time on your hands, then the other modes (Grand Tour – just like in OutRun, Cannonball, Grand Prix and Battle Royale) provide ample challenges to test your racing skills. There are also some secrets to discover, which we won’t spoil for you here. Just like the arcade racers from yesteryear, Slipstream’s difficulty is dialled up, but luckily you don’t have to pump coins to continue enjoying the racing!

For under US$10/A$15, you get bang for your buck here, with an abundance of modes and amazing content. This all amounts to transporting gamers back three or so decades, when racing games were pure fun. The nostalgia that Slipstream induces is strong, so if you ever played and enjoyed racing games in the 80s and early 90s, then we highly recommend you add Slipstream to your games library!



Disclaimer: Nintendo Switch review code for Slipstream was provided by BlitWorks.

Creative BT-W3 Bluetooth 5.0 Audio Transmitter – Review

By

It is quite amazing to think that modern gaming consoles don’t come with built-in Bluetooth technology to allow gaming from the comfort of your chair without any wires getting in the way!

We were on the lookout for ways to play our Nintendo Switch with our wireless headphones, and to be honest, there wasn’t much out there, till now! Creative have stepped in to fill the void with their BT-W3 Bluetooth 5.0 Audio Transmitter. The BT-W3 package comes with a USB-C adapter, USB-C-to-USB-A converter and an analogue mic which all work on PC, Mac, PS4 and the Nintendo Switch.

The versatility in its use was what caught our eye initially, from being able to use it on our Switch, to then using it on our Windows based laptop, it was all very easy to pair up and use our wireless headphones. Where the Creative BT-W3 truly shines is in its support of four different Bluetooth codecs – aptX LL, aptX HD, aptX, and SBC. Each of these codecs have their own strengths and are suitable for different uses, like the aptX LL codec being essential for lag-free gaming experiences, while aptX HD is ideal for music enjoyment. Codec selection is done at a press of a button on the USB-C adapter. Each codec has a unique light indicator, so you will always know which codec you are currently using.

Press the button to select from a choice of 4 different codecs!

To be able to use the analogue microphone on our Switch for some online gaming chatter, we had to download the HFP-off firmware to enable the function. This firmware update is necessary because the Nintendo Switch does not allow for input and output audio to be from different devices. Don’t stress though, as it is also quite easy to turn HFP back on by downloading and executing the HFP-on firmware.

To enable the analogue mic on the Switch, you will need to turn off HFP (which is really easy)

We put the BT-W3 through its paces on both the Nintendo Switch and our Window 10 based laptop, and we are happy to report that it worked flawlessly. We didn’t experience any lag or Bluetooth disconnections, which in this day and age of Zoom and WebEx meetings is an absolute must! It is early days in our use of the BT-W3, but we are impressed so far.

You may be asking yourself, do I really need this AU$64.95 contraption? Well, if you want to enjoy a lag free gaming experience on your PS4 / Switch or just want the versatility and quality without any wires, then you need the BT-W3 in your life. We were so blown away with the provided Creative BT-W3 that we went out and bought another one for ourselves – it is that good!

We were so impressed with the BT-W3, we had to get another one!

 

Disclosure: The Creative BT-W3 was kindly provided by Creative for this review. The second Creative BT-W3 was purchased by us.

 

Discovering Fall Guys’ Chaos

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

I love the chaos of the new game “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout,” developed by Mediatonic. I discovered Fall Guys, a platformer battle royale game, by hearing someone on the radio talking about it. Since its release on August 4, the game has become a unique alternative for Fortnite. The game is sort of a mix mash of Mario Party and Fortnite, but with funnier, and just as original looking players.

The jellybean-like figures manoeuvre through a three-dimensional playing field. The figures can jump, grab, and dive to help with gameplay. The aim is to qualify for rounds by completing each of the random mini-games. At times, you have to work as a team to make it to the end of the mini-game. The obstacles that randomly change throughout the game can be difficult to navigate even for an experienced gamer.

Players gain Kudos, an in-game currency, by completing matches. You get “Crowns” by winning; they are the ultimate currency. I’m not a fan of getting pink slime on me. When it first happened, I didn’t know what had happened to my dinosaur avatar.

Manoeuvring around the sliding walls in early rounds is easy. But the disappearing levels of plates and the turntable-like obstacles are sometimes difficult to master. The ability to dive becomes vital on those obstacles. Being able to grab other players helps as well.

My strategy is to always hang back behind the group or cluster of players as I move around the outskirts of the mapped obstacles. I think it’s oddly enjoyable to manoeuvre around giant fruit flying at you as you run with a herd of other players. I got taken out by a watermelon in one round.

I haven’t played a game this original and entertaining in years. I’m still discovering the various rounds. Sometimes, it’s not easy; but the game gets its hooks in you and it’s difficult to put down the controls.

 

Spin Rhythm XD – Steam Early Access Review

By

Prepare to blast down the intergalactic note highway in Spin Rhythm XD from the team at Super Spin Digital.

Spin Rhythm XD is an intense and fast paced rhythm game where players can use a multitude of different input devices from a humble mouse or gamepad to a full on MIDI controller. Regardless of your chosen input method, players will have to spin, slide, tap and flick their way through various high tempo tracks in hopes of a perfect run and high score. Spin Rhythm XD is a new take on the beat rhythm genre that is more about positioning of the notes and the style and flair achieved to hit them. Players must line up an alternately coloured ring with the correctly coloured notes or bars while also spinning the ring when needed to rack up multiplier points. With numerous thumping electronic tracks available, it is certainly not for the faint of heart or those with slow reflexes.

Each track has 4 available difficulties, each of which will make the notes multiply and style vary immensely. Easy tracks usually involve positioning the ring for notes, a few tap bars and a handful of spins, as difficulty increases these become far more frequent and complex. Some tracks require players to spin multiple times in succession and quickly maneuver the ring to the next note as fast as possible. We played with both the mouse and gamepad, finding both feel fantastic to use but those with serious musical dedication will want to grab a USB or MIDI controller for a bit more finesse.

Although still in early access, Spin Rhythm XD shows immense promise and still currently being revised and updated regularly, giving electronic music fans a long overdue beat rhythm game to call their own.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mat Panek, Chief Reporter
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.

Follow Mat on Twitter and Twitch

 

 

Disclosure: Spin Rhythm XD [Steam code] was kindly provided by Stride PR for this review.

 

 

Rescue HQ – The Tycoon: PC Steam Review

By

Emergency! Sound the alert, start the sirens and speed to the rescue in Rescue HQ – The Tycoon from Stillalive Studios on PC.

Rescue HQ is a management sim all about running and maintaining your very own all-in-one emergency department. Players start by setting up a small fire department and move onto others, including police and medical departments. As emergencies occur they will stack on the right hand side of the screen and it is up to players to decide the order in which they are resolved. Each emergency needs to be addressed within a set timeframe and takes a certain amount of time to complete, meaning it’s important to allocate teams, resources and vehicles based on qualifications and skills. Every emergency has a requirement that must be met from the number of personnel to equipment required. This ends up giving a “success rate” percentage before you dispatch, with a higher percentage meaning greater rewards. Completing a successful emergency rewards not only cash but also reputation points which can be spent to unlock new equipment. 

Although appearing to be a very simple looking game artistically, Rescue HQ is a complex and deep management game. The simple art style means that players can tell exactly what is going on at all times, regardless of how complex your headquarters starts to become. Departments will progress quickly and after a short time, players will have a beehive of activity across all three. Some major emergencies may require players to send two or even all departments to attend, meaning micromanagement is the key to success. Rescue HQ does also have some good tongue in cheek social commentary within the tutorial system that is presented by the eager and greedy Major.

Headquarters layout is very important, when staff are assigned to an emergency they must first head to their locker and prepare before boarding their vehicle. Players will quickly run out of space in the starting zone but more space can be acquired later on by purchasing adjacent plots of land. This does take longer than we would like to become available but it does allow players to learn the mechanics steadily rather than jumping forward too quickly. Games are divided into scenarios where players must last 5 weeks before endless mode is unlocked, this is our only real complaint about the game as it can be a bit of a grind. It is relatively simple to rework rooms in your headquarters though and maximising space is simple and rewarding.

Deceptively simple and pleasantly surprising, Rescue HQ is a game that we found ourselves happily putting in much more time than we expected. A great little game for those that like to whittle away hours trying to micromanage and streamline processes.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mat Panek, Chief Reporter
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.

Follow Mat on Twitter and Twitch

 

 

Disclosure: Rescue HQ – The Tycoon [Steam code] was kindly provided by Stride PR for this review.

 

 

Streets of Rage 4 Platforms and New Character Revealed

By

As huge fans of the classic Mega Drive beat’em up series, Streets of Rage, this news about Streets of Rage 4 has definitely got us very very excited!

Let’s get straight to it, fans looking forward to playing Streets of Rage 4 next year will be able to do so on their platform of choice, as publisher and co-developer Dotemu (Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, Windjammers 1 and 2) with co-developers Lizardcube (Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap) and Guard Crush Games (Streets of Fury) today announced that the title will make its way on to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch – now that is awesome news! Oh yeah, a brand new gameplay trailer released today also introduced the latest character to join Blaze Fielding and Axel Stone: a badass guitar-playing warrior named Cherry Hunter.


source: DotEmu

Cherry Hunter is the daughter of Adam Hunter from the original Streets of Rage. Trained by her father and Axel, Cherry learned self-defense from a young age. Her interest in following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a cop soon faded out, replaced by her love of music. Nowadays, she plays with her electro progressive rock band in some of the most dangerous places in Wood Oak City. She may look young but make no mistake – she is a seasoned veteran of kicking ass and taking names.

The new trailer also reveals several more levels in the upcoming game at different times of day:  neon lighted urban rooftops, elevator, seedy airport hangars, dirty sewers, thumping music stage and many more are all yours for the taking – lay the smackdown and don’t look back.

Just in case you have been living in a cave, Streets of Rage 4 will be the first entry to the core series in 25 years, standing as Axel and Blaze’s glorious return to serving up side-scrolling beatdowns. With lush hand-drawn animations, new combat abilities, and fresh tracks from an amazing team of composers, Streets of Rage 4 will be a masterful tribute to and revitalization of the classic action fans adore.

To keep your skull-cracking combo on the latest Streets of Rage 4 news going, head over to www.streets4rage.com, visit www.facebook.com/StreetsofRage4!

image source: Games Press

 

VR Review: Singularity 5

By

Review By Alexisms

Let’s start from the beginning, Singularity 5 is a virtual reality (VR) wave shooter for Oculus, Vive and Windows Mixed Reality. Using motion controls, I donned my Oculus to immerse myself in all things Singularity 5!

The year is 2050, you are tasked with stopping an AI uprising in Paris through five levels of quickly escalating difficulty. The game opens within an open lift travelling towards the surface. You start with a couple of very stylish pistols which give you a tiny glimpse of the graphic extravaganza to come. You first face some fairly simple static robot enemies which throw grenades which need to be battered away before they explode. They also create these shards of red veined rocks which again you must smash or will explode.

Once the surface is reached, the graphics of the city are mind-blowingly fantastic – with a kind of techno Gothic vibe. Sometimes in VR games the backgrounds can be quite muddy and indistinct but here they are very clear and beautiful using well contrasting colours of white, gold and black along with occasional neon. Of course, visuals doth not just make a game, so the music and sound effects are just as impressive and add to the whole atmosphere.

In normal mode, the difficulty soon ramps up and by level three I had to reduce it to (the recently introduced) easy mode but even then I was unable to get to level four and five. It should be noted that you can select the later levels from the menu so you won’t be left just playing half a game.

The enemies are pretty much all robots. These range from the static type lobbing grenades to robots on rolling wheels that speed directly towards you before exploding. The really hard ones are the larger robots that fire a laser straight at your head so you will have to physically move out of the way (which is so damn cool). You’ll be doing this whilst facing other robots, batting away grenades and smashing rock shards. The frenetic pace to stay alive in the game feels like a high pressure cooker – one little slip and you’re dead!

To help in your quest you have the aforementioned twin pistols. You later obtain grenade guns and machine guns. Thankfully, all these guns have infinite ammo, but do need to be constantly reloaded. You can also throw grenades but I could never get them to do anything but roll weakly towards the enemies.

In conclusion, if you love wave shooters you could do a lot worse than Singularity 5. But be warned, you’ll be sternly challenged. It may only have five levels, but if you’re a high score addict there’s plenty of scope for replayability with multiple kills increasing your combo meter. Go and grab your VR headset and check out Singularity 5.

image source: Singularity 5

Disclosure: Singularity 5 VR  was kindly provided by PR Hound for this review.

JB Hi-Fi Staff Have Done It Again!

By

We love our video game reviews and descriptions to be short, sharp and most importantly, witty!

Luckily for us JB Hi-Fi staff have a knack to nail their game reviews and descriptions. Who needs to read pages full of text when you can just rock up at a JB Hi-Fi and get informed on the spot.

Here are (quite) a few JB staff write-ups that caught our eye today:

 

Sonic Forces: Gameplay Footage Teaser

By

Just in case you missed it, at last week’s SXSW (South by Southwest) in Austin, SEGA revealed the first gameplay footage of the upcoming Sonic Forces game. We must admit, it is great to see Sonic back in force (Ed: sorry, it was there for the taking). The blue blur is smooth and as speedy as ever!

Sonic Forces, the latest in the Sonic the Hedgehog games series is being developed by the gun Sonic Team. The game is scheduled for release later this year on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC!


source: Five Star Games