Brian, Author at Thumb Culture

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back Review – Worth a Wobble?

10Dec

By BrianNo Comments

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back Review – Worth a Wobble?

Yes, your two favourite dragons Bub and Bob are back, and this time they have an army! Well, two friends to be precise. Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back developed ININ Games and once again published by the legendary Taito. Bubble Bobble 4 was released on PS4 on November 17th 2020 and on Nintendo Switch in November 2019. So let us check out the Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back PS4 Review and see what it's all about. Bub And Bob Have Been Away For A While, Find Out What's Next In Our Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back PS4 Review For further reading, I suggest you check out Rainbow Islands and Parasol Stars. But, we are here to find out if Bubble Bubble 4 matches up to the franchise's legacy. Listen up noobs, this boomer is going to school ya! Bubble Bob...

Yakuza: Like A Dragon Review – Even Dragons Have Their Endings

7Dec

By BrianNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Yakuza: Like A Dragon Review – Even Dragons Have Their Endings

With Kazama Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima finally out of the Tojo Clan after 7 games, Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a brand new adventure. Known as Ryū ga Gotoku 7 in Japan, the '7' was dropped from the title to indicate that it is not like the previous games. As usual, Ryū ga Gotoku Studio was at the developing helm with SEGA publishing. Yakuza: Like A Dragon was first released in Japan on January 16th, 2020 on PS4. After translations from Japanese to native languages were done, it was later released on November 10th, 2020 for PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. A PS5 release is also slated for March 2nd, 2021. "So Comes Snow After Fire, And Even Dragons Have Their Endings" - J.R.R. Tolkein As a die-hard Yakuza fan, I was very excited. Intrigued, yet fearful of what Yakuza Like a Dragon w...

Metal Gear Solid Remake – Are We Going Back To Shadow Moses?

5Dec

By BrianNo Comments

News & Updates, Retrogaming Corner

Metal Gear Solid Remake – Are We Going Back To Shadow Moses?

Over the last couple of days, there is a rumour doing the rounds that Metal Gear Solid is getting a remake. Fans, myself included have been calling for this for years. And now, it is looking like a possibility more than ever. As with all leaks and rumours, they must be taken with a pinch of salt. This one, maybe more than a pinch. The leaker is also the same who let the cat out of the bag about God Of War: Ragnarok ahead of its reveal. It has been said that Mark Cerny, lead designer for the Playstation 5 is involved with the production, yet neither Sony, Konami or Bluepoint have neither confirmed nor denied that. Bluepoint Games are said to be handling developer duties and have been for the last 3 years, which makes complete sense. After all, they made the Metal Gear Solid HD Rem...

Remothered: Broken Porcelain Review – Fragile, But Not Completely Broken

30Nov

By BrianNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Remothered: Broken Porcelain Review – Fragile, But Not Completely Broken

Remothered: Broken Porcelain is the follow up to the award-winning Remothered: Tormented Fathers which released in 2018. The original game gained praise for its atmosphere and storytelling, yet was criticised by the LGBT community for a late story twist. Once again developed by Stormind Games, but publishing is handed over to Modus Games. Remothered: Broken Porcelain was released on October 13th, 2020 on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch. No time to hide, let's see what lies in our Remothered: Broken Porcelain PS4 Review. Find Out What Lies Beneath In Our Remothered: Broken Porcelain Review With my fondness for horror games and my general lack of fear, I was excited to get my teeth into the Remothered series. Let's see what I thought and let us know what you think in the comments below....

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope Review – Don’t Abandon Hope Just Yet

13Nov

By BrianNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope Review – Don’t Abandon Hope Just Yet

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope (we will just call it Little Hope for the sake of this review) is the second game of eight planned games in the series. Developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, Little Hope follows the averagely reviewed Man of Medan released in 2019, yet they are seemingly unrelated to each other in terms of narrative. Little Hope released on 30th October 2020 for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC. You have Little Hope on who can you trust, and who will you save? Supermassive Games have been synonymous with the interactive horror-drama type game in the last 5 years seeing success with titles like Until Dawn and Man of Medan. Little Hope seems to have taken a different path of the supernatural than it did in its predecessor. W...

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time – Something Old, Something New

20Oct

By Brian1 Comment

PlayStation Reviews

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time – Something Old, Something New

Imagine a world where The Wrath of Cortex, Crash Twinsanity and Crash of the Titans doesn't exist. Are you there? Good! For the purpose of this review, we will remain in this ideal world. It isn't that they are bad games, it's just they are not good either. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is first and foremost, the long-awaited sequel to the 1998 PlayStation game Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped. Since the days of being in the hands of developer Naughty Dog, it has moved about a bit but is now firmly in the grip of Toys For Bob. Toys For Bob have had recent successes with the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, so it seems only fitting that they take the reigns again for this original entry into the franchise. Once again published by veterans Activision, C...

Tennis World Tour 2 – Grand Slam Or Double Fault?

23Sep

By BrianNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Tennis World Tour 2 – Grand Slam Or Double Fault?

Tennis and video games haven't had the greatest relationship over the years. In fact, the only good ones seem to have 'Mario' or 'Virtua' in the title. The last tennis game I played was Virtual Open Tennis 24 years ago on the Sega Saturn. It wasn't great. Tennis World Tour 2 is the follow-up to the tragic Tennis World Tour released in 2018. Tennis World Tour 2 will release on PC, PS4, Xbox One on 24th September, and on Switch at a later date. Developed by Big Ant Studios who bring experience to the court having worked on the AO Tennis series. Once again, published by Nacon, will they serve up an ace or will it be a double fault? Gameplay With a new developer at the helm, this brings a new game engine as well. This means improved animations, more of them and an overall better ...

Hotshot Racing – Drifting All The Way To The Podium!

9Sep

By BrianNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Hotshot Racing – Drifting All The Way To The Podium!

Somebody hit the turbo button on the indie scene a few years ago now and kicked it into high gear. It has flourished wheel to wheel along with retro gaming, so naturally, new retro-inspired games are a big thing. Hotshot Racing is a nostalgic love letter to the 90s arcade racing games. Developed by Lucky Mountain Games and Sumo Digital, who have a fine racing pedigree including Outrun 2, TOCA 3, DiRT 2, F1 2011, and Forza Horizon 2 to name a few. Published by Curve Digital who specialise in indie games, Hotshot Racing is a very British affair and will be power sliding onto consoles and PC on September 10th. Now its time to reminisce about skipping school to go to the arcade and pumping 50p coins into Daytona USA. Disclaimer: Thumb Culture does not in any way condone skipping school...

3Sep

By BrianNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

WRC 9 – It’s Dirty!

WRC 9 is the latest game to be developed by Kylotonn (KT Racing) and published by its parent company Nacon (previously Bigben Interactive) and is the official game of the 2020 World Rally Championship. Kylotonn and Nacon have been working together successfully since WRC 5 to produce these games so it is fair to say they are very much qualified to continue the series, with WRC 10 and WRC 11 confirmed. WRC 9 will be available on Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC and Epic Games Store from September 3rd, with a released scheduled for a later date on Nintendo Switch. WRC 9 is also being developed for the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X with more details to follow in the coming months. With WRC 8 being a big hit, what can we expect from the latest instalment? Let's find out! Gameplay With...

26Aug

By BrianNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Mortal Shell – Or Mortal Hell???

Mortal Shell is a single-player action RPG made by new developers Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack. In their own words, it will "test your sanity and resilience in a shattered world". Combat is strategic, deliberate, and unforgiving". Mortal Shell is another game in the long line of "souls-like" games. The difference between this and previous games who try to deliver on the formula is, Mortal Shell IS a "souls-like" game, just smaller. There are enough nuances and unique features to separate it from its demonic brethren. It's like Dark Souls has a little brother, a brutal little brother, and his name is Mortal Shell. Gameplay Set in the world of Fallgrim, it is already apparent how different it is to other games who take on the Souls doctrine. Where others chose to hav...