I have something of an odd history with dance music. Like many who grew up in the mid-90s, my distinct opinion was that proper music had to have proper instruments, i.e. guitar, bass, and drums. Even the keyboard was a bit racy for my liking.
That said, I never turned off thumping video game soundtracks as, to me, they didn’t count, so I would happily listen to the mental Rotterdam Nation across the Ridge Racer games and think nothing of it.
Of course, like every grunge-slash-indie fan, once I heard Born Slippy, all bets were off and I remain a dedicated raver to this day.
I’ve always been a sucker for black and white, sketchy, pen ‘ n ink art styles in video games. A recent example would be the wonderful Mundaun, although here, Mundaun’s folkloric, creeping horror is replaced with breezy 2D strolling and featherweight puzzling, combined with calming music and audio to create a relaxing atmosphere as you make your way through the world.
A Winding Path starts with your character outside a farmhouse, near a scarecrow and some fields. Viewed from the side, the sketched world is captured in an expressive format, with the sounds of wind whistling through the fields and trickling water blending well with the penmanship that makes up the visuals.
I’ve played quite a few LEGO games over the years – mostly in local multiplayer – and they’ve always had a lot to offer in terms of accessible fun.
Admittedly, the sheer amount of movie franchise-based games did get a bit wearying, but LEGO City Undercover and the more open-world, sandbox games were highlights, and so – when offered LEGO Bricktales to review, I just assumed that there would be an inherent quality to whatever approach was taken here (as I’d not heard of the game beforehand) and yes, LEGO has (mostly) woven their magic again, and this time in a game that feels the most traditional ‘LEGO’ game yet.
In this papercraft rogue-lite, explore a mysterious mansion floor by floor. Solve puzzles, battle enemies and complete quests as you unlock new abilities to aid you on each run as you solve the mystery behind the Paper Cut Mansion.
Out There: Oceans of Time is a space exploration game that puts you at the helm of an interstellar mission of discovery spanning a vast and vibrant cosmos.
Come and watch Rich wander about aimlessly in a galaxy far far away from here!
Complete with 13 different ports, the USB-C Docking Station allows users to connect several external devices to their laptops
Ugreen, the award-winning manufacturer of quality and affordable electronic accessories and consumer technology products is expanding its range by welcoming its latest product, the USB-C Docking Station designed for use with MacBook M1s and Windows laptops.
The docking Station is equipped with 13 ports, enabling users to access 8K video output, triple display, SuperSpeed data transfer, powerful charging, USB-Connectivity, ethernet, and audio connectivity. It is available for $329.99 on Amazon and £349.99 on Amazon UK using the £20 discount coupon.
"With two independent output power sources through USB-C(87W) and USB-A(18W) to charge laptops and phones simultaneously"
Experienced mobile charging specialists EXCITRUS, who has a strong history of developing the latest technology in PD chargers and power banks and previously worked with well-known tech brands, is today pleased to announce the latest product in its charging series, the 105W Power Bank Ultimate.
Designed to provide super-fast portable charging and Power Delivery (PD) for MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, iPhone, Laptops and Other USB Devices, it is small but powerful.
The new power bank is one of the smallest in the market with around 100W power output and retails for $89.99/£81 on Amazon and the EXCITRUS store.
A group of pop culture-loving preteens discover something supernatural afoot in their small, 1980s American town.
They cycle through creepy woods, battle inter-dimensional horrors and navigate shady government facilities, all while dealing with burgeoning hormonal urges and hair where there was no hair before.
Card battlers have really become a thing in recent times. Series like Final Fantasy has had them as minigames for years, and then there's Witcher 3's Gwent, as well as standalone offerings like Slay the Spire and Monster Train.
Foretales sort of comes from this tradition, although here, the big focus is on the plot rather than battling. In this game, you progress the story by playing cards from your deck.
Depending on which character you use and your playstyle, you can mostly avoid enemies, instead moving through scenes with clever use of card effects.
Come and watch Rich attempt to bust some ghosts to varying degrees of success in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed the brand new Ghostbusters game from Illfonic that we have been sent by Illfonic to take a look at!
Of Blades & Tails is a turn-based RPG that is action-oriented but rewards a thoughtful approach. Explore a fantastic land populated by different animal tribes. Follow the main story or hunt for treasures in ancient ruins and mysterious dungeons. Develop your character and gain powerful equipment.
Lovecraft’s Untold Stories 2 is the continuation of the first action RPG with rogue-like elements based on the Lovecraft Mythos ever released. Brand new graphics, a new and complex crafting system to create your equipment, 6 playable characters, and lots and lots of incredibly challenging content!
Trifox is a colourful and cartoonish action adventure featuring a phenomenal fox with a multitude of talents! Choose from a trio of classes – Warrior, Mage, Engineer – or mix-and-match abilities to create a tailor-made hero! Inspired by the golden age of 3D platformers.
With 40mm Dual Dynamic Drivers, Hi-Res Audio Verification, 45-hour battery life and comfortable protein ear muffs, the A10’s sound and feel great
Designed by a manufacturer of professional-grade audio equipment, OneOdio, the A10 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones are the perfect travel companion.
With both wired and wireless functionality, and equipped with unique Talk-in through technology and Ambient Listening Mode, wearers will no longer miss any important flight/train information when on the go.
The OneOdio Hybrid Active A10 Headphones are available on Amazon for $79.99 and Amazon UK for £69.99. They are also available on the OneOdio websitewhere customers can get 20% off with the code ONE20%SP (minimum purchase of $30).
Danish mobile accessories brand, Sandberg A/S, is pleased to announce its USB Webcam Flex with Full HD 1080p resolution and USB-C All-in-1 Docking Station for a convenient yet stylish solution for connectivity. An ideal pairing for those working from home and participating in video calls, the two products are both high quality and sleek to seamlessly fit into a desk setup. The Sandberg USB Webcam Flex 1080P HD is available for £39.99 on Amazon and the USB-C All-in-1 Docking Station is available for £127.98 on Amazon.
Whilst reading Ready Player One yesterday I daydreamed about having my own TV Channel full of old TV Adverts for video games and consoles. My overriding memories of those times were the endless adverts for consoles and computers that I didn't have a chance to own, making the adverts even more appealing and entertaining.
Broken Pieces is a psychological thriller taking place in a french coastal village somehow outside the flow of time. Solve the mysteries by putting the pieces of the story back together by figuring out the enigma behind this mystical place.
Those familiar with the classic Fighting Fantasy books will remember holding their thumb as a marker in various pages as they skipped forth to whatever fate their choice has dealt them…before quickly making the opposing choice when they see that they are going to get gassed and knocked off a ladder and killed when they try to yank that emerald from the statue’s visage.
Rich gets to grip with the Trust Bayo Wireless Rechargeable Ergonomic Mouse. It's a Wireless, rechargeable RGB-lit mouse with an ergonomic, vertical design to reduce arm and wrist strain.
Designed in a vertical orientation, the Bayo Ergonomic Rechargeable Wireless Mouse brings your underarms and wrist into a natural position, which relaxes the muscles in your hand, wrist and arm.
You hold the mouse Parallel to the desk surface, like a handshake, with a comfortable and slightly curved handle.
The Bayo enables you to work effortlessly and tension-free for hours on end.
Let's see how Rich got on with his first time using it...
When playing a game based in the Wild West, there are certain sounds I expect (and yearn) to hear; tremolo, acoustic guitar, saloon piano, dusty slides and possibly a touch of Mariachi music, If I’m lucky.
Desperado III has all of this and manages to throw some surprises into the mix as well. On a personal level, after covering so many albums of varying genres and styles, it spoke to the string-twiddler in me to hear a full instrumental album of music that featured (tasty) guitars as the main focal point in terms of instrumentation, Yee-haw!
Your first steps into Roadwarden’s unnamed peninsula are timid and paranoid. Anyone who’s played a dark fantasy game will steel themselves for untrustworthy inhabitants, death lurking around every corner, and your character forced into tough moral decisions for some ill-defined greater good.
Gaming Memes are everywhere on the internet and are loved by all gamers out there!
From classics like; “do a barrel roll” - an iconic reference from Peppy Hare in Starfox 64, to taking an arrow in the knee in Skyrim! They’ve all been done already…
So let’s spice this up a bit!
Below we have the 10 most hilarious and trending gaming-themed private plates memes that all hardcore, true and retro gamers will get, put together by the team at Regtransfers!
Who knew you could get a gaming reference on your car??
These gaming-related number plates won’t just make you laugh out loud, but give you a sense of nostalgia too…
Let’s never forget the classic games that made the gaming world what it is today!
There are several recommendations in FIFA 23 that affect everything from shooting to dribbling. Surprisingly, unless a new agreement is struck, this will be the last FIFA game produced in partnership with EA.
The venerable football series seems to want to go out on top by including real next-gen features that should greatly improve gameplay.
It's time to adjust and start practising with FIFA 23's many new features and improvements.
White Day was something of a legend for a long time, I would see many videos and articles talking about it, marking it as one of the scariest games to ever come out.
It was only available in Korea and was so scary that some people emailed the developer to ask them to make it less scary so that they could complete it.
Now, I have no idea how true all the legends are - but it’s always been a game I desperately wanted to experience.
Dakar Desert Rally is the biggest off-road rally racing adventure ever developed. Experience the speed and excitement of the largest rally race on the planet, featuring a wide variety of licensed vehicles from motorcycles, cars, trucks, quads and SSVs.
Inspired by classic PC games, C.A.R.L. is a retro-style adventure that blends classic platformer action with quirky RPG and story elements for a quest as lively as it is robotic!
Hop into the shiny metal shoes of the Computer-Automated Resource Locator, a small yet daring automaton lost within the sprawling Kent Industries facility. Brave each perilous factory floor to fetch Tech Units for your engineer friend on the outside, unlocking new areas and abilities along the way. Befriend defective robots in the D.U.M.P. (Depot of Unusable Machinery and Parts), collect items, and beat fierce foes to bring the facility’s sinister secrets to light!
Chock full of off-beat humour and catchy “Electro-Chiptune” musical tracks, C.A.R.L.’s journey makes for a clever and endlessly satisfying retro romp!
Everyone Can is a fantastic charity full of lovely people who help others with disabilities to improve their quality of life through the power of technology.
When I heard about this fantastic charity and was asked if Games Freezer would support it by doing a gaming marathon at this year's Game Together event I obviously said yes to such a fantastic cause.
By playing Elden Ring across the weekend of the Game Together 2022 event we raised a whopping £180 for this charity and we are proud that we were able to make a small difference to this worthy charity who do so much good.
I think I’ve only ever played one truly awful quiz game – downloaded from the Nintendo eShop, natch – and so it almost feels like it’s impossible to make a bad game based on the quiz show format.
That said, it is very much possible to make games that don’t stand out from the crowd – and that’s kind of the high-wire on which Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader teeters.
A terrible storm ravages the seas around you, casting your mighty vessel into the perilous rocks of a nearby island.
You awake to find your ship in pieces, shipwrecked on a strange island filled with… frogs?
A spaghetti network of trades will take you all over this strange island as you seek out materials to fix your boat. You will meet a cast of friendly characters, solve head-scratching puzzles, find hidden treasures, and much more as you explore the world of Time on Frog Island.
Explore at your own pace:
- Make your own path in this island sandbox, you never know what will be around the next corner!
- Get to know the froggy locals and help out where you can.
Discover new items by fishing and farming, and concoct simple brews that will change how you traverse the island.
- Learn from the frogs and put your new skills to the test around the island.
Trade to fix your boat:
- Ask around for the items you need, but bear in mind that you might need to do a frog a favour to get what you want.
- Solve interesting puzzles to get your hands on required items.
- Try not to get too sidetracked by island life!
Experiment with everything!
- Run faster, jump higher, fall slower, anything is possible if you’re holding the right item.
- Discover different ways to complete those crucial trades.
- Each object you pick up could end up being the key to something bigger.
Re: Legend lets you adventure with friends in a beautiful world of wonder and fantastic creatures. Build, craft, farm and fish, as you raise and breed amazing pet companions!
Serial Cleaners is a top-down stealth-action game, where you get to experience being a murder scene cleaner for the mob in 1990s New York. Alternate between four cleaners, each with their own unique style, and live their stories.
Another Bitmap Books offering means another deep dive into some aspect of video game history. I own Go Straight, the publisher's love letter to side-scrolling beat 'em ups and it's a thing of coffee table-straining beauty.
This 540-page monster delves into what is probably the second most famous one-on-one fighter franchise, SNK's venerable king of Fighters series. This book represents the latest in Bitmap Books' ongoing relationship with the company, following in-depth looks at the Metal Slug series and a visual history of the Neo Geo. This relationship gives the publisher what looks like full access to SNK's archives, as well as the ability to interview what must be most of the past and present contributors to the series.
