Brian, Author at Thumb Culture

27Jul

By BrianNo Comments

Samurai Warriors 5 Review

As you may have expected, Samurai Warriors 5 or Sengoku Musou 5 as it is known in Japan is the fifth main installment in the Samurai Warriors series. Samurai Warriors started life in 2004 and itself is the sister series of Dynasty Warriors. Dynasty Warriors is a spin-off from the 1985 turn-based strategy series called Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Confused? Basically, Koei Tecmo has been doing this for over 35 years so it's fair to say they know what they're doing. Samurai Warriors 5 - A Cut Above The Rest - "It appears you have bested me, well, if you excuse me I will now retreat." Samurai Warriors 5 is a hack-and-slash game set in the Sengoku (Warring States) period in Japanese history and features characterisations of real people and real events. With 37 playable characters, the game...

23Jul

By BrianNo Comments

News & Updates

GRID Legends Launches 2022

In case you missed it on the EA Play showcase, the GRID series is coming back and this time it has a story. Much like Codemasters' recent game F1 2021, in GRID Legends you will be front and centre of all the drama on and off the track. It will be like a fly-on-the-wall documentary in which you will encounter fierce drivers and internal politics. A classic underdog tale! “GRID Legends combines everything our players love and adds more exhilarating race features, including our new epic story mode,” said Chris Smith, GRID Game Director at Codemasters. “We’re giving players more variety and choice, whether that’s creating their ultimate races using our race creator or bringing back the community-requested Drift mode. This is just the start of the journey, and we can’t wait to reveal more in t...

Try Marvel’s Avengers for Free from July 29th to August 1st!

23Jul

By BrianNo Comments

News & Updates

Try Marvel’s Avengers for Free from July 29th to August 1st!

If you ever had any doubts about buying Marvel's Avengers, you can now try it for free next weekend! This will be available on PlayStation, Steam, and Stadia. Unfortunately, Xbox players will have to wait a while as Square Enix have said they will get a similar all-access experience in the coming months. This is to celebrate the permanent inclusion of the multiple-hero feature which first debuted in April as part of the Tachyon Anomaly event. The multiple-hero feature allows players to form teams online with more than one of the same Super Hero for any multiplayer mission, facilitating faster and easier matchmaking. “There’s never been a better time to assemble in Marvel’s Avengers. We’re nearing our one-year anniversary, and players who jump in will get eight heroes, tons of single- a...

Evercade Announces Renovation Collection 1

21Jul

By BrianNo Comments

News & Updates

Evercade Announces Renovation Collection 1

If you're British, then you can be forgiven for not knowing who Renovation Products are. That's what makes this announcement exciting. Renovation Products were a US publishing company in the 90s that would publish Telnet Japan's games, which in effect never made it to European soil. So what Blaze, the creator of the Evercade has done, is take twelve 16-bit retro games that have never been released before in Europe, and popped them all onto one cartridge! Some unusual are rare imports make up the list, so let's see what the Renovation Collection 1 has to offer: Arcus Odyssey Beast Wrestler Dino Land El Viento Exile Final Zone Gaieres Grenada Sol-Deace Traysia Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Valis 3 Fair enough Sol-Deace was released in Europe as Sol-Feace...

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game Review

20Jul

By BrianNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game Review

We're used to games being released a year before their namesake. For example, FIFA 21 releasing in 2020, but rarely is it the other way around. Well, thanks to a worldwide pandemic this is exactly what has happened, in a way. The event still hasn't happened yet but is still referred to as the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, or as it is officially known, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad. Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Going For Gold The game was originally released in Japan, for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in 2019. But because of this pandemic, it never made its way to western shores...until now. Now things have calmed down a little bit, Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 has since been released to the rest of the world on June 22nd, 2021 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Stadia. ...

12Jul

By Brian3 Comments

PlayStation Reviews

F1 2021 Review

There is a change in the air in the world of Formula One. Last season was a bit of a strange one. At one point we didn't know if it was going to go ahead at all. But thankfully it did and Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were dominant once again. So with the 2021 season underway, it is shaping up to be a very good one with Max Verstappen challenging Lewis for the championship. The F1 2021 season is going to be one to remember, that's for sure. Why am I telling you all this? Because this real-life season is entirely relevant to the game as you will find out later. "How you can crash into a wall without it being there in the first place is beyond me!" - Murray Walker F1 for me is what FIFA is to every Dave in the country. I must have the new game every year and I am never disappointed. As u...

8Jul

By BrianNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Alex Kidd In Miracle World DX Review

The story of Alex Kidd goes back all the way to 1986 with his first and most popular appearance on the Sega Master System, otherwise known as the Sega Mark III in Japan. The first game Alex Kidd in Miracle World was such a success for Sega that another 5 games were released with the final one, Alex Kidd in Shinobi World being released in 1990. It's also well known that Alex Kidd in Miracle World was built into some versions of the Master System II. But, as the 8-bit era draws to a close, Sega's mascot had to make way for a certain blue hedgehog. Did Altered Beast predict his death in 1988? I'll let you decide. JAN-KEN-PON! So here we are, 21 years after the release of Alex's last game with Alex Kidd In Miracle World DX, a remake of Alex's first game. Developed by Merge Games (Streets...

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Coming to Consoles!

1Jul

By BrianNo Comments

News & Updates

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Coming to Consoles!

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is the second game set in the Pathfinder universe and is set to release on PC on September 2nd, 2021. Publishers Koch Media have now announced that the game will also be coming to consoles in the autumn of this year. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is an isometric RPG that has been developed by Owlcat Games and is set to be released under the newly formed Prime Matter publishing label. It follows on from the previous game Pathfinder: Kingmaker which was released in 2018, previously published by Deep Silver (Chivalry II, Saint's Row, Metro Exodus). “As a game developer we are always happy to bring our games to as many players as possible. We received a lot of questions from our fans and today we can officially confirm that Pathfinder: Wrath of...

28Jun

By BrianNo Comments

Xbox Reviews

Song Of Horror Review

The horror genre is a bit of a strange subject for me. I love horror in all media; movies (especially foreign), games, books, and so on. But, it's rare that something comes along that gets under my skin. I desperately want to feel fear as I play, yet few games have been able to satisfy my morbid hunger and my gluttony for gore. This is thanks in part to my wholely responsible father exposing me to movies like Aliens, Poltergeist, and Children of the Corn at the age of six. I can recall only one game that made me turn it off after every checkpoint because of the sheer anxiety it bestowed upon me. That game was Outlast. A game that can be done in one sitting, took me about 3 years to finish. But, I DID finish it. I still haven't played the DLC or the sequel...but I did finish the first ga...

Farming Simulator 22 New Trailer and Release Date Revealed

22Jun

By BrianNo Comments

News & Updates

Farming Simulator 22 New Trailer and Release Date Revealed

Let the good times grow! And new crops, too – developer and publisher GIANTS Software have revealed grapes and two more crops in addition to the release date, regional pack shots, and an atmospheric CGI Trailer showcasing the next generation of farmers in action. Farming Simulator 22 will release on November 22nd for PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stadia. Virtual farmers can now plant and harvest grapes to produce delicious juice and olives to produce high-quality olive oil – thanks to the new production chain feature. Sorghum, a new type of grain, has been added to the range of arable crops. With the new crops, comes the need for new types of machines. The New Holland Braud 9070L grape harvester is one of the new additions to the fleet of new mach...