☆ Review: Urban Trial Playground (UTP) - "A Flipping Good Time!" ☆

Game Title: Urban Trial Playground

Developer: Tate Multimedia

Platform Reviewed: Nintendo Switch

Rating: Melting

Urban Trial Playground (UTP) is a Nintendo Switch exclusive title that plays similarly to Redlynx’s Trials Fusion. A ‘pick up and play’ blast of fun with cool surf music, colourful summer locations and some serious stoppie action, although it does suffer from a lack of game modes and perhaps the shallowness of the gameplay isn’t for everyone.

🕹️ Which Video Games Were The Best Arcade To Console Conversions? 🎮 #Retrogaming

Back when the Arcades ruled the video games world the ultimate accolade was to be seen to produce an arcade perfect conversion onto home consoles and computers.

As a gamer you'd look out for the phrase arcade perfect in any review and you knew that was the game to buy if those immortal words were uttered.

It got me thinking about some of my favourite arcade to console conversions over the years and I have compiled a nice little top 5 to show off my fave arcade to console conversions.

☆ Review: Ayo: A Rain Tale - "Your Greatest Enemy is The Camera" ☆ #IndieGame #GameDev

Game Title: Ayo: A Rain Tale

Developer: Inkline Ltd

Platform Reviewed: PC (Steam)

Rating: Melting

In platform video games, you can often tell within a few minutes if there are going to be serious issues as it all boils down to responsive controls, if you are looking to spend several hours leaping around a game world that relies heavily on hand-eye coordination and it doesn’t feel accurate or natural, at best the game will never reach its full potential and at the worst, the player will give up out of frustration. 

⚽️ SNES Football Games Were Shite - Episode 2: Soccer Shootout - CAPCOM - 1994 ⚽️ #Retrogaming

🎮"Over the years of video games playing and owning a Super Nintendo I came to the realisation that the Super Nintendo was shit for Soccer games! They're all rubbish!"🎮

🎮"Join me as I trudge through the poo and serve up a steaming slice for you to consume in weekly portions"🎮

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⚽️ SNES Football Games Were Shite - Episode 1: 90 Minutes European Prime Goal - NAMCO - 1995 ⚽️ #Retrogaming

🎮"Over the years of video games playing and owning a Super Nintendo I came to the realisation that the Super Nintendo was shit for Soccer games! They're all rubbish!"🎮

🎮"Join me as I trudge through the poo and serve up a steaming slice for you to consume in weekly portions"🎮

☆ Review: Disc Jam (Nintendo Switch) - "Oversized Pretzel Tossing is Now an International Sport!" ☆ #DiscJam

Game: Disc Jam

Developer: High Horse Entertainment

Platform Reviewed: Nintendo Switch

Rating: Melting

I’m a big WindJammers fan after I played the PS4 version last year and got hooked on the awesome array of characters, moves and funky arenas to play in. WindJammers has what I believe to be the most fun competitive action out there along with a great set of added bonuses.

Disc Jam is obviously heavily influenced by the mighty WindJammers and when I began to play Disc Jam on the Switch I was expecting WindJammers Mark 2 but instead, it feels like I got WindJammers 0.75.

Disc Jam was released on PC back in March 2017 and was instantly heralded as the easy to play hard to master spiritual successor to WindJammers. It was the talk of the town for a while and has garnered good reviews but all those reviews have a similar theme as to what I’m about to go through here.

☆ Timewarp Arcade - Bridgwater - "Let’s do the Timewarp (arcade) again." ☆ #Retrogaming

I wrote an article on the very awesome Timewarp arcade in Bridgwater, Somerset last year (http://www.gamesfreezer.eu/2017/10/britts-bridwater-bender-at-time-warp.html), I originally visited as part of a friend’s stag weekend and completely fell in love with the place and its retro gaming charms.

Even as we travelled back to Cardiff from that trip, we all decided that we wanted to go back as soon as possible.

Finally, after a busy winter, we had all managed to find gaps in our schedules make time to head back and once again, it was a great experience.

☆ Review: A Case of Distrust - "Play it again, Phyllis" ☆ #GameDev #IndieGame

Game Title: A Case of Distrust

Developer: The Wandering Ben

Platform Reviewed: PC (Steam)

Rating: Melting

A Case Of Distrust is a heavily text-based mystery adventure video game set in the 1920s and heavy with a woozy, smoky atmosphere that takes you through the seedy underbelly of a Prohibition-era San Francisco.

You take control of Phyllis Malone, an ex-cop turned private detective who usually spends her days making money out of tailing deadbeat husbands in failing marriages but who gets dragged into a bootlegging gig involving blackmail and other general unsavoriness.

☆ Review: Distortions – “Violin Hero is something nobody asked for” ☆ #IndieGame #GameDev

I generally consider myself a very forgiving reviewer. I usually give games the benefit of the doubt, especially in as a far as indie and first-time developers go. 

It was with this frame of mind that I approached Distortions, a debut video game by fledgling Brazilian developer Among Giants. 

But sadly, I am in awe of Distortions, and not in a good way.

🎮 A Sony PlayStation Celebration 🎮 #Retrogaming #PS1

🎮 "The Sony PlayStation Holds A Special Place In My Heart So Join Me For A PlayStation Celebration Set To Music....Enjoy!" 🎮

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☆ Insidia - PC - Ten Minute Taster ☆ @InsidiaGame

🎮 "INSIDIA is a turn-based online strategy video game which I have just discovered. The art style is gorgeous and the gameplay is fast paced which make this an ideal title for me to get hips deep into a genre that i'm fairly new to" 🎮

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🐶 Ten Minute Taster - Turbo Pug DX 🐶 #GameDev #IndieGame

🎮"Turbo Pug DX is a Pug Pixel Perfect Runner Platformer Romp and it's mega fun (and it's free on Steam)!"🎮

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☆ Review: The Forbidden Arts - "Could Someone help these guys make a new trailer?" ☆ #IndieGame

After my editor sends me a game to review, I usually start by watching the trailer, a short clip of video that is designed to build hype and show off some of the best parts of the game, but the most exciting thing about that was the burning Steam logo at the end. 

That trailer did nothing for me, and I hate that, because that is no way to go into a game, especially one that is unfinished and needs a bit of an open mind.  

The Forbidden Arts is thankfully a straightforward game: an action-adventure platformer with a simple button scheme and a good dose of ambition, but this work in progress from Stingbot Games seems to have a long road ahead still, so this is more like a dry first impression.

☆ Assault Gunners HD - PS4 - Ten Minute Taster ☆

🎮"Charge around with me and my Mech crew in Assault Gunners HD the remastered version of the PS VITA video game from Japan"🎮

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🔥 Blazing Chrome Brings Metal Slug & Contra into 2018! 🔥 #Retrogaming #BlazingChrome

"Blazing Chrome is another retro inspired video game title that is set to get me all excited again as the new co-op run 'n gun is coming out later this year!"

☆ Ten Minute Taster: The Story Goes On "Mr Scarecrow Teaches Me How Not To Use A Mouse & Keyboard" ☆

🎮"The Story Goes On proves that my Keyboard and Mouse skills are crap"🎮

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⚔️ 5 Simple Things That Make Breath Of The Wild Special ⚔️

The Legend Of Zelda Breath Of The Wild is an amazing video game that many people have written the virtues of on various websites and magazine outlets all over the world.

It’s a game that has won over the older hardcore Zelda generation and won some new Zelda fans in 2017.

I’ve always followed Zelda from afar as I never owned a Nintendo until the Super Nes in 1992 and then I mainly played Mario games and various sports games with mates. 

At the age of 12 I was just never that into playing a solo video game like Zelda.

🎮 Extinction - Latest Trailer Looks Awesome! 🎮 @MaximumGames_UK @MaximumGames

🎮 The Extinction video game trailer looks awesome! 

Take a look at the trailer now and let me know what you think.

Will you be buying it?

Extinction will launch on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and PC on April 10, 2018 and is available to pre-order now! 🎮❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

📽️ Ten Minute Taster: Azure Saga: Pathfinder 📽️ #IndieGame #GameDev @agikun @MasshiveMedia

🎮"Join me and Noide The Droid as we roam a strange land in search for a way back home in Azure Saga: Pathfinder" 🎮

⚔️ Review: Azure Saga: Pathfinder - "Let's Have Fun With Noide The Droid!" ⚔️

Game: Azure Saga: Pathfinder
Developer: MassHive Media
Format: PC

Me and JRPGS generally tend to be at odds with one another. I like a good story with interesting characters but I am not one for the endless grind of random battles and levelling up. 

A few years ago I played Child Of The Light on PS4 and that changed my mind on the JRPG style of game as Child Of light had the right balance of exploration, party building and battles and created a far more enjoyable experience for me.

Since then I have searched to replicate that style of game where I could get invested into the characters without the constant drain of battle after battle.