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Playing ‘The Last of Us’ Again

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

After watching the HBO smash hit “The Last of Us,” I think I’ll go back and play the original game again. The popular series tells the story of a smuggler and a teenage girl in a zombie-infested world.

When I first played “The Last of Us” when it was released in 2013, I thought the action-adventure, survival horror game was captivating and enjoyable, but I wasn’t into it that much. I played it like crazy for about a week, and then I moved on to something else. I did start a new job around the time I bought the epic game, so that might’ve contributed to me losing interest.

The HBO series has an incredible production budget, and it unquestionably shows. You are in the series’ post-apocalyptic 2023. The attention to detail is impeccable. It’s been almost ten years since I’ve played the game; breaking the game out again after watching the show sounds fun.

The show has done an amazing job creating the look of the blind infected, the “clicker” zombies, from the video game. I can see several award nominations for the series on the horizon. They are even scarier in the television series. In Episode 2, when Joel fought with one of the “clickers,” the choreography was taken directly from the massively successful game.

“The Last of Us” television show has knocked it out of the park since its debut on HBO. I thought the zombie genre was sort of getting stale, but “The Last of Us” feels like a fresh spin on the genre. The cinematography of the first three episodes has been visually flawless.

According to the industry website gamesindustry.biz, the television series is drawing in new “The Last of Us” game players, too. After the show’s release, sales jumped in the United Kingdom. Sony has already sold 37 million “The Last of Us” themed video games since the release of the original.

With only a small sample of three episodes, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Season 2, in 2024 or ’25. By then, time allowing, I can be caught up on playing some of the franchise. It’s a rich world that the developers of “The Last of Us” series have created for new, different mediums.



Arcade Archives P.O.W. PRISONERS OF WAR

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Oh yeah! One of our favourite SNK arcade games from the late 80s, P.O.W.: Prisoners Of War, is now incarcerated on the Nintendo Switch and PS4!

This side-scrolling beat’em up was a staple for us in the arcade. Once you lit the fuse to break free from your jail cell, then all hell broke loose as you punched, kicked, jumped and shot your way out to freedom by taking out the enemy’s main base and their leader. Getting to the chopper didn’t get better than this. The best part of the game was having a buddy with you (Player 2) to play co-op and cause as much havoc and mayhem in your prison break adventure!

We are quite chuffed to now be able line up our coins to play P.O.W. Prisoners Of War on our Switch, either on the go or on our humongous LCD TV to take in all that raster graphics goodness!

Title: Arcade Archives P.O.W. PRISONERS OF WAR
Platform: Nintendo Switch™/PlayStation®4
Price: from US$7.99 / £6.29 / AU$10.50
Players: 1-2

image source: HAMSTER Co. Arcade Archives

 

The Fisherman: Fishing Planet – PS4 Review

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Grab your tackle box and find yourself a nice spot at the lake in The Fisherman – Fishing Planet, the latest from the team at Fishing Planet LLC.

The Fisherman is an immensely deep and detailed online multiplayer fishing simulator game where players will seek out various species of fish across multiple countries and locations. Boasting life-like fish AI, realistic aero/hydrodynamics and over 110 different fish species in game, The Fisherman is certainly a leap forward for fishing sims. Players will have the chance to customise every part of their fishing kit, including but not limited to: rods, reels, leading lines, floats, hooks and even equipment bags. With so much variety and choice it can be a bit daunting at first for new players but the tutorial system is very detailed and spread out very effectively. Fishing is affected by multiple different conditions, just like real life, including time of day, weather and bait used so players will need to plan out each expedition depending on what they wish to try and catch.

On a standard PS4, The Fisherman visually looks good but has the usual sim game rigidity in certain secondary aspects like level elements away from the waterline but the details in the fishing itself are fantastic. Fish and fishing equipment are highly detailed and branded with different stats or visual flair so you can customise your character and load-out however you prefer. Equipment is also modelled to be as close to their real world counterparts as possible, meaning that rods, reels and fishing lines can break if used incorrectly or if too much tension is applied.

Being an always online game means that players can obviously play with friends but it also means that the game is constantly being populated with other players from around the world. This can help hint towards better fishing spots and adds to the sense of community around this title, which appears to be nice and strong. Fishing challenges and competitions are available to compete in online and bring with them some nice friendly rivalry and competition for players from all over the world.

Regardless of whether you are a casual fishing enthusiast or a die hard fan of the sport, The Fisherman – Fishing Planet has a lot to offer with the added benefit of not needing to wake up early in the morning.

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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: The Fisherman – Fishing Planet [PS4 PS Store code] was kindly provided by Homerun PR for this review.

 

 

Bus Simulator – PlayStation 4 Review

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Please have the exact fare ready as it is time to play Bus Simulator on PS4 from the team at Stillalive studios.

Bus Simulator is a game in the ever expanding genre of “Simulator” titles that has you start off with humble beginnings and go on to forge a mighty business empire. Players start off by learning the basics in a bus supplied by your new city council that wishes to develop more public transport. Starting off with a single test route outside of the main city, players learn all the knowledge required for the daily operations of a bus driver. As a driver, players are required to maintain a bus route correctly by stopping on time, opening the doors, lowering the bus, taking fares, giving change and deal with any disruptive passengers. While this may all sound rather dull it actually takes quite a bit of concentration. After learning the basics though it is possible to hire other drivers and buy extra buses to create more routes. After showing the city council what a wonderful job you are doing it is possible to expand your routes to various other parts of the city or create whole new ones.

Buses are naturally far more complex machines than the usual vehicles we are all used to driving and every single button on the controller is used to its fullest. Between the use of actual buttons and a pop up radial wheel, controlling the lights, wipers, turn signals and doors are all spread out in a way that can at first feel daunting but becomes second nature after spending a bit of time with the game. Various buses are available to unlock and buy from the simple double door design buses to full accordion buses that take some serious skill to maneuver around the city. Buses can be customised with different paint jobs, colour schemes and decals to make each one unique or make your fleet all superbly uniform. It is also important to note the deep and rich business sim aspect of the game that will have serious entrepreneurs weighing up every buses positives and negatives to make sure their business is profitable and each route is planned perfectly for maximum efficiency.

As with other games in this genre, the vehicles are finely detailed but the environments are simple and basic while still feeling like a natural city. There is a lot of good humour spread throughout the world too and some of the little details are fantastic, well worth the time to leave the confines of your chosen bus and do a little exploring when possible.

Bus Simulator is a terrific “podcast game” that will have you engaged enough to never feel bored but also relaxing enough to help players unwind after a long day with the help of a good podcast and a nice cup of tea. Fans of buses, Sim games and efficiency will definitely love all Bus Simulator has to offer.

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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: Bus Simulator [PSN Store code] was kindly provided by Homerun PR for this review.

 

 

Oh Lordy, Gunlord X Is Coming to the PS4!

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Hey peeps, get ready to save mankind from the evil Lords of Steel in the critically acclaimed 2D action platformer Gunlord X! This awesome title from NG:DEV.TEAM will be available digitally for the PS4 this week in North America and Europe.

Gunlord X features stunning pixel art with amazing parallax scrolling and a pumping soundtrack. With 11 open-world stages filled with more than 60 unique enemy creatures, massive boss battles and lots of secrets to uncover, you’ll be blasting your way for a while!

Gunlord X will be available on December 10th in North America and December 11th in Europe for US$9.99 and €9.99.

PS: Nintendo Switch gamers can enjoy Gunlord X right now, just hit the eShop!

image source: Eastasiasoft Limited

 

Observation – PlayStation 4 Review

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Reboot sequence initiated. Initialising. Launching review of Observation, the newest title from the crew of No Code Studios for the Playstation 4.

Observation is a Sci-Fi thriller adventure game with some puzzle elements thrown into the mix, set on the space station of the same name. The player controls the space station’s, Systems, Administration and Maintenance Operating System or “SAM” for short. After rebooting, SAM notices the crew missing and finds the space station drifting, orbiting Saturn instead of earth, after an unknown anomaly occurred. Players will have to recognize and carry out voice instructions from the initial survivor Dr. Emma Fisher as she attempts to restore power and figure out exactly what happened to the station. Starting off by following the progress of Dr.Fisher by using the on board surveillance system and using it to connect and interact with other parts of the station. The player is eventually allowed to use either the on board systems or one of the small spherical probes on and around the station. 

Observation does a great job of putting the player in the circuits of a cold AI that really changes the way you think about the whole situation at hand. If a voice print doesn’t match up will you accept it? If it does match but you don’t want to accept the command will you? From the offset there is something very strange going on and being put into an AI’s perspective changes the dynamics in a really unique way. SAM doesn’t feel like some omnipotent being the way HAL 9000 seems in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” he feels innocent and rooted far more in current technology. Observation is very methodical, camera controls are realistically slow and on board systems have a sort of clunky, outdated feel to them that even the crew’s logs complain about but this never feels like a hindrance.

The style of Observation is what really makes it stand out though, it strikes a balance between modern and slightly futuristic in all respects. The space station feels lived in with the daily life of the crew being visible but the Observation is still very clean and sterile meaning any overt deviation from order is jarring and strange. Camera effects and lighting play a major role, external station cameras are low resolution and fuzzy adding some great atmosphere while interior cameras are cleaner but still feel dated. There is always something eerie about the silence and isolation of space and the team at No Code have certainly got that feeling down to a science.

Observation is a fantastic Sci-Fi thriller that leaves the player with more questions than answers but definitely in a good way. A fresh take on a well worn genre with lots of little secrets and stories to discover. There are so many more good things to say about Observation but not without spoiling the mystery and charm players would experience by playing it themselves.

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Mat Panek, Chief Games Reviewer
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: Observation [PS4 code] was kindly provided by Power Up PR for this review.

 

 

Action Comics Annual #1: The Game?

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

I’ve read a great deal of Superman comics in my lifetime. One of my favourites is 1987’s Action Comics Annual . To me, it’s one of the most entertaining and enthralling comics I own. The comic, written by one of my favourite comic book writers, John Byrne, should be made into a Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment game.

It’s a four-word pitch: Superman, Batman and vampires.

The comic is oddly titled “Skeeter,” but “Cry Vampire” is on the cover. It’s not really clear, but “Cry Vampire” sounds a lot better than “Skeeter.”

The story takes place in Fayerville, South Carolina; a town near swamp land. Batman finds himself in the town because he’s been working three days straight investigating a series of Gotham City murders that leads him to Fayerville. He calls Clark Kent at the Daily Planet for some assistance. When Superman arrives in Fayerville, he realises that vampires are to blame for several grisly deaths. Batman tries to help a young, blond haired girl named Skeeter (the annual’s title). He quickly realises she is the vampire that has been terrifying the town.

What makes the comic truly gripping is that Superman is helpless to the supernatural when he fights Skeeter. She injures him by raking her claws across the S on his chest. Superman is rarely vulnerable to anything on Earth. I won’t tell you the ending, but Batman comes through in the clutch.

The game could be a third-person perspective, action-adventure game which focuses on Batman and Superman’s combat abilities in the swamps and around the town. Superman could take hoards of vampires out with his heat vision. In Annual , the Man of Steel doesn’t fly very much and he’s mostly grounded throughout the story. Batman could use his punching ability and various gadgets to take down blood suckers. Two-person play could get interesting. They could also complete side missions away from the main story.

I’ve really enjoyed the “Batman: The Telltale Series” for PS4. Action Comics Annual could be a perfect adaptation for that series of video games.

Spider-Man PS4: The Hype is Real

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Recently, I received a text message from a friend asking, “Should I buy the new Spider-Man game? Is it worth it?”

First, I didn’t even know she was a gamer. And second, I hadn’t played the game yet. I saw the trailer; I thought it looked interesting, but nothing about a new Marvel Spider-Man game, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4, intrigued me. Then, I fortunately played the game at a store demo.

Insomniac Games Spider-Man could be one of the most entertaining video games I’ve ever played. Superhero games are my wheelhouse. I’m not a big Spider-Man fan, but this game and the new Marvel films, starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker, have stealthily made me one.

The web-shooting is so clean and quick. You have a wide selection of weapons, but web slinging, to travel around the city and to battle foes, is a necessity to effectively navigate through the game. Sticking your webbing to a trash can, or manhole cover, and slinging it around to hit your enemies is one of the best fighting options. I find it oddly satisfying every time I do it to goons who have no idea what’s coming.

Swinging around New York City with your webbing is one of the most thrilling things about the game. The graphics are so exceptional; every swing down a new block is like a scene from a Spider-Man movie. The combo of fighting villains, who are sometimes morphed into baddies by others, and swinging to all of the unique locations, makes for what I think is the game of the year. Sorry, Red Dead Redemption II. Insomniac Games has made the definitive Spider-Man game, and, perhaps, the defining superhero game of the decade.

Some of the things I didn’t like about the game was how a certain villain morphs other random strangers, who are dressed as popular Spider-Man villains, into real threats. It seemed a bit gimmicky and just weird. My first time playing, I had a very difficult time with a large man dressed as super-villain Rhino.

Some of the instant call-ins from characters like Aunt May and Mary Jane took me out of the game when I was in the middle of action. It was clever, but it wasn’t needed. Also, the music by John Paesano seemed subdued.

3.3 million copies of Spider-Man PS4 have been sold, and I’m sure it’ll be on a few Christmas lists this year.

image source: Marvel

 

Tempest 4000: The Tube Shooter Comes of Age

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In the beginning there was Dave Theurer’s tube shooter, Tempest. Then came Jeff Minter’s Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar, a psychedelic take on Dave’s masterpiece. This was then followed by Tempest 3000 on the defunct Nuon and finally the contemporary take on Tempest for the PS Vita, the awesome TxK. And now we have the imminent release of this iconic tube shooter, Tempest 4000, again coded by Llamasoft’s Yak (Jeff Minter), which means the franchise is still in great hands!

Strap into your Claw peeps, cause the adrenaline-pumping Tempest 4000 will be available on your PlayStation®4 and Xbox One systems on July 17, 2018 for $29.99!

The original Tempest was one of the first videogames to use 3D vector graphics, securing itself as one of Atari’s hallmark titles and one of the most popular arcade games of all time. It has been featured prominently across pop culture, including Ernest Cline’s dystopian Ready Player One novel.

Developed by legendary game designer Jeff Minter, Tempest 4000 remains faithful to the fast-paced gameplay of the arcade original, while adding brand new features and visually stunning graphics.

As in the original game, players are in control of the Claw, a powerful spacecraft equipped to destroy deadly creatures and other obstructions with rapid-fire shots on vibrant geometric prisms. With three game modes to choose from and 100 levels to conquer, players must eliminate all enemies as quickly as possible to survive, aiming for the coveted spot at the top of the leaderboards.

Additional Key Features Include:

  • Arcade Style Shooter: Hordes of enemies will test players’ reflexes in this fast-paced arcade style shoot ’em up;
  • Visually Stunning Graphics: Revamping the look of the original arcade game, Tempest 4000 features vibrant graphics in sharp 4K resolution;
  • Multiple Game Modes: Three different game modes will push players’ skills to the limit, including Classic, Pure and Survival:
    • Classic: Equipped with three lives, players battle through enemies until all lives run out. Players can begin their next playthrough from the last completed stage with their previous high score.
    • Pure: The classic arcade mode, Pure gives players three lives to start from the beginning and progress as far as possible.
    • Survival: A brutal challenge, Survival gives players eight lives to survive as long as possible.
  • Level Up: With 100 unique geometric levels to progress through, players must equip themselves with various weapons and power-ups, earning upgrades through bonus rounds;
  • Global Leaderboards: Players can duke it out for the top spots on leaderboards for all three game modes in the quest to be recognized as number one;
  • Retro Techno Soundtrack: In true retro space shooter style, the game features a thumping soundtrack inspired by early 1990s techno;
  • Old School Gameplay: Nostalgia is here to stay with the traditional gameplay of the original Tempest with enhanced graphics on current generation consoles.

We can’t wait to EAT ELECTRIC DEATH!

image source: Tempest 4000

Getting Our Nostalgic Fix on the PS4 with Sega Mega Drive Classics

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Let’s get this out of the way, if you are still enjoying the Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on previous systems, then stop reading this review (even though you will be missing out!). If on the other hand you are yearning to play some classic 16-bit Sega games on your PS4, then read on. Oh yeah, Sega Mega Drive Classics is also available on Xbox One, but we don’t have a XBone, so there you go.

Now, should we connect our Sega Mega Drive console and compare the games side by side? Actually, if you are lucky enough to have a working Mega Drive console connected to your TV with all the titles that are in this Classics pack, then you know what, you should stop reading too!

Ok, we are glad we got that off our chest! Wow, two paragraphs in and we still haven’t started telling you about the games and the other bells and whistles in this nostalgia inducing package.

Sega Mega Drive Classics on the PS4 is the largest collection of retro classic games in one pack. There are over 50 classic Sega 16-bit games, ok we counted them all, there are actually 53 games (and that’s not counting the games that have region specific variants) to satisfy almost every genre under the sun, from arcade action, adventure, pinball (sort of), shooters, beat ‘em ups, fighters, puzzlers, hack’n slashers, tactical RPGs to everyone’s favourite, platformers – and there are lots of platformers!

These old favourites aren’t just dumped from their cartridges and thrown in this package, no sirree, they have had a raft of very cool modern features injected into them including mirror mode, rewind (for when you slip up), controller customisation, online multiplayer and achievements, optional emulation enhancement filters like pixel scaling and save states to save your game at any time, meaning players – both old and new, should find revisiting these retro games an absolute Sonic 3D Blast (Ed: Oh dear, that was terrible!).

Upon loading Sega Mega Drive Classics we were totally impressed by the opening title sequence, which we will leave as a surprise, but we can tell ya this much, it’s pretty darn awesome – either that or we are too easy to please. Anyway, once you stop drooling from the title sequence (unless you hit X!) you are greeted by the new-look menu system, developed by d3t, from which you can access the 53 Sega Mega Drive games and other options. The menu resembles the bedroom of an early nineties Sega fan, which is a great throwback, with dynamic time-of-day conditions, retro SEGA paraphernalia, a shelf full of the aforementioned 53 Mega Drive games, and of course, a CRT TV with the sexy Mega Drive console underneath it.

When selecting a game to play, its corresponding cart is removed from its case and then inserted into the Mega Drive console – pure nostalgic nirvana. On top of the already mentioned modern conveniences and features jammed into this package, the most important thing we can tell you is that the emulation of the games is spot-on. The word ’emulation’ may trigger negative connotations, but we are here to tell ya that this is as close as you will get to playing Mega Drive games without forking out for the console on eBay and then fishing around for the game cartridges.

We touched on this earlier, but we’ll elaborate – each game has additional options, some more than others, like region specific versions (L3), modifications (Y) and extras (R1) like target milestones that earn you specific trophies.

As we aren’t much of adventure or RPG fans, we stuck to Sega’s arcade conversions, platformers, beat’me ups and puzzle games. After playing a lot of Sonic, Ristar, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes, Columns, the Wonder Boy and Shinobi games, we can say that we definitely felt like we were back in the early 90s – good times!

Before we go on, here is the full list of games included in this package:

  • Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
  • Alien Soldier
  • Alien Storm
  • Altered Beast
  • Beyond Oasis
  • Bio-Hazard Battle
  • Bonanza Bros.
  • Columns
  • Columns III: Revenge of Columns
  • Comix Zone
  • Crack Down
  • Decap Attack
  • Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • ESWAT: City Under Siege
  • Fatal Labyrinth
  • Flicky
  • Gain Ground
  • Galaxy Force II
  • Golden Axe
  • Golden Axe II
  • Golden Axe III
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Kid Chameleon
  • Landstalker
  • Light Crusader
  • Phantasy Star II
  • Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
  • Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium
  • Ristar
  • Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
  • Shining in the Darkness
  • Shining Force
  • Shining Force II
  • Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Sonic 3D Blast
  • Sonic Spinball
  • Space Harrier II
  • Streets of Rage
  • Streets of Rage 2
  • Streets of Rage 3
  • Super Thunder Blade
  • Sword of Vermilion
  • The Revenge of Shinobi
  • ToeJam & Earl
  • ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
  • Vectorman
  • VectorMan 2
  • Virtua Fighter 2
  • Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
  • Wonder Boy in Monster World

The problem with a pack like this is that players will concentrate on all the games Sega left out of the mix. Granted, Sega probably could put the entire Mega Drive catalogue on one Blu-ray and flog it for $90.00, but then we would find something else to complain about – you just can’t please everyone. The games that are included are solid, bar a few questionable titles, however, just because we don’t like adventure and RPG titles, it doesn’t mean they should be excluded. Same goes the other way, if you loathe platformers, beat’em ups and puzzlers, it doesn’t mean these genres should be thrown out for more RPGs. Actually, if there was a driving game like Super Monaco GP or a motorcycle-racing-bashing one like Road Rash, then we could say that most, if not all, genres are well represented. Come to think of it, a few more shoot’em ups, like Truxton and Thunder Force would have rounded out this already pretty awesome package. Ah, we can speculate all we want, but we have to give it to Sega, they have tried to cater for the majority and we reckon they have done an admirable job.

After waffling on about this Sega Mega Drive Classics package on the PS4, the ultimate decision to buy or not buy is yours, but we’ll leave you with this little nugget – if you want to get your Sega 16-Bit gaming fix on your modern console, then you can’t go too wrong with Sega Mega Drive Classics.

Review System: PS4
Release Date: May 29 2018
Format: Xbox One & PS4 (sorry Nintendo Switch owners)
Price: $49.95

image source: Mega Drive Classics

Disclosure: Sega Mega Drive Classics [PS4] download code was kindly provided by Five Star Games for this review.