Jason, Author at Thumb Culture

The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing II Review – Blood Suckers Beware!

8Sep

By JasonNo Comments

The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing II Review – Blood Suckers Beware!

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II by Neocore Games is the second instalment in a trilogy of hack 'n slash Van Helsing games to come to console. Already available on PC since 2014, Van Helsing II boasts "PS4 Pro Enhanced" support and can also be played as a standalone game with no prior knowledge of the first adventure. For those of you that have never heard of Van Helsing, well he is the son of legendary vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing found in Bram Stoker's awesome novel "Dracula". If you love all things gothic and creatures such as zombies, ogres, vampires and other occult beings then this is for you! The first instalment of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, which hit the Playstation store back in March this year received mixed reviews however generally it wa...

Surf World Series Review – Radical or Wipeout?

30Aug

By JasonNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Surf World Series Review – Radical or Wipeout?

Surf World Series by independent games developer Climax Studios is a daring plunge into the extreme sport of, you've guessed it! surfing. With my surfing expertise comprising of a few hours playing Sega's Soul Surfer down the arcade and an attempt at the sport while on a stag do down in Newquay I was excited to have the opportunity to don my long banned Hawaiian holiday shorts and start yelling "Cowabunga" and "Radical" around the room. Gameplay Surf World Series begins with a lovely fullscreen video intro featuring professional surfer Tom Lowe explaining how surfing makes him feel set to stimulating visuals of crashing waves and surfing moments. It reminded me a little of how the Tony Hawks games used to begin however in this instance the soundtrack is more calming as opposed to the p...

Puzzle Showdown 4K Review – Pass Me My Pipe & Slippers?

17Aug

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Puzzle Showdown 4K Review – Pass Me My Pipe & Slippers?

Puzzle Showdown 4K developed by Kingdom Games (the devs behind the "Five" series on Steam) and published by 70 Times 7 LLC is a jigsaw based puzzle game that is available both on the Playstation store and Steam. I must admit that when I was asked to review a jigsaw game I really thought it was going to be some horror/survival type featuring the well known doll from the Saw series. How wrong was I!! Instead of blood and all manners of fiendish traps I was faced with a family friendly jigsaw puzzle based game in which I am to try and piece together aesthetically pleasing 4K wallpapers on my screen. Gameplay Ok, so my first reaction as I sit infront of the PS4 Pro is "really?" I remember playing similar games in the past on a Nintendo DS and that was only when I was really bored. C...

Dead Purge: Outbreak Review – Head Shot or Head Flop?

7Aug

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Dead Purge: Outbreak Review – Head Shot or Head Flop?

Dead Purge: Outbreak by Microlith Games is a first person zombie shooter set in a post-apocalyptic era that is available for the PC. With the zombie shooter genre constantly being pushed upon me via the daily shared videos on social media of Days Gone and my friend's showing off their latest gameplay from Call of Duty Zombies my appetite is constantly whetted. Boasting of "beautiful locations & dozens of weapons" along with a "realistic combat system & multiple game modes" I sat down at my PC and looked forward to what was going to unfold. Gameplay Ok, so lights down nice and low, headset on and most importantly; nothing around my feet incase there are a few jump scares! Hitting "Play" on the opening screen I proceed to choose game mode. Hang on, there is only "Horde" an...

4Aug

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Perfect Universe Review – When Love & Gravity Collide

Perfect Universe by Indie Developer Will Sykes Games is this weeks deployment onto my Ps4. From the title I was not sure what to expect; a universe where Arsenal FC play consistently enough to win the Premier League? A day where Donald Trump's latest antics aren't plastered across my news feed? Unfortunately only one of these can probably happen (Arsenal winning the Premiership) however Perfect Universe is actually a cool collection of 9 mini games that are based around physics and gravity. Gameplay With a hand-drawn concept to the monochrome comic book graphics all rendered on a parchment style background, Perfect Universe may not sound like a stand out game however it is surprisingly addictive and fun to play. There are 9 mini games, of which 3 are single player and the other 6 ...

Unbox Newbie’s Adventure Review – Keep or Recycle?

24Jul

By JasonNo Comments

Switch Reviews

Unbox Newbie’s Adventure Review – Keep or Recycle?

Unbox - Newbie's Adventure by indie developer Prospect Games is a 3D platformer set in a colourful large world. Taking control of a cardboard box, yes you heard me right, it is down to you to single handedly raise the reputation of the Global Postal Service (GPS) that is currently in a down hill spiral thanks to parcels going missing and failed delivery times. Proving yourself "as a sentient, self delivering package", this game sounds so riveting, the enemy is introduced as someone called "Boss Wild" and the little evil minions, "Wild Cards". Gameplay Having sat through the intro that builds up to your dramatic arrival into the GPS I was under the impression that I was about to be unleashed into a fun, action packed world and couldn't wait to begin. Through the tutorial it is expl...

Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy – Yes it is that good!

10Jul

By JasonNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy – Yes it is that good!

Wow, just wow! From the moment that family friendly Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy was delivered through my door last Friday we as a household have been hooked. As soon as the familiar voice-over begins on the intro screen it is as if I have been transported back to when I was 16 years old when the original first edition came out on the the Playstation 1. I must confess that at this point I wasn't a huge console gamer, the PS1 infact belonged to my 8 year old sister who had parted with her birthday money earlier that year at Woolworth's. I was still pretty much hooked on the Atari ST however changes were beginning to happen as many of my friends began to go down the console route. So does Crash Bandicoot live up to the hype that it has generated since its release? Well quiet si...

AereA Review – Musical Hit or Musical Tragedy?

4Jul

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

AereA Review – Musical Hit or Musical Tragedy?

AereA is a music themed action RPG (ARPG) developed by Triangle Studios and published by SOEDESCO. Presented in 4K resolution, you are to play as one of the Great Maestro Guido's disciples as you explore the mysterious floating island of Aezir. Your quest? to find 9 primordial instruments in order to restore balance and peace to the world. With a fair amount of ARPGs currently currently on the market such as Victor Vran and Super Dungeon Bros, I was wondering how AereA would squeeze itself into the genre and set it apart from the others. Gameplay The intro kicks in and a simple menu appears set to a background containing Aezir broken into a number of smaller islands and a floating airship. Selecting "start game" I embark on choosing my save slot and selecting my character. ...

27Jun

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Nex Machina Review – Dodge, Dip, Dive, Duck and Dodge

Nex Machina, a collaboration between Housemarque (Resogun and Alienation) and legendary game developer Eugene Jarvis (massively famous for Defender, Robotron & NARC), is an explosive arcade experience that gives a strong nod towards the fun coin-op games I used to play down the arcades in the 80s/90s. As I patiently wait for the game to load I am greeted by the intro screen showing a machine of death, its eyes glowing on and off, red with power. The retro arcade electronic music kicks in and I am prompted to press X to continue. Gameplay A list of game options presents itself and allows you to either experience arcade mode; an arena; or a single world. A grin crosses my face as I see that local 2 player co-op is supported (I'm easily pleased as I seldom get to play on my own...

Victor Vran: Overkill Edition Review – Wanderer, Adventurer, Hunter

21Jun

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Victor Vran: Overkill Edition Review – Wanderer, Adventurer, Hunter

Victor Vran: Overkill Edition, developed by Haemimont Games and published by Wired Productions is an award winning isometric action RPG crawler that lets you take on hordes of demons and clever bosses as you battle through your adventure as Victor Vran. Originally made for PC, Victor Vran: Overkill Edition makes its debut on Playstation 4 & Xbox One. Having been completely rebuilt from the ground up, the new improved version running at 60FPS includes two new expansions; Fractured Worlds and the head banging Motörhead: Through the Ages. “We’re delighted to finally bring Victor Vran to consoles, answering the call of many Victor fans,” said Gabriel Dobrev, CEO at Haemimont Games. “We are incredibly proud to have collaborated closely with Motörhead during the development of Mot...