Saturday, May 4

Author: Jay Armstrong

Found as TheManMountain on every major gaming platform. I play a wide range of games across a variety of platforms, enjoying RPGs, action games and platformers. You’ll find me frequenting the podcast and hijacking the Twitch channel. In the real world, I’m a software developer by trade and spend a lot of time 3D printing and streaming.
Pacer – A Refreshing Hit Of Nostalgia That Won’t Leave You Feeling Wiped Out…
17Aug By Jay ArmstrongNo Comments
PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Pacer – A Refreshing Hit Of Nostalgia That Won’t Leave You Feeling Wiped Out…

As if 2020 wasn't already chock-full of nostalgia, with the likes of Half-Life: Alyx and Final Fantasy VII launching, we now have a new Wipeout. Well that's not strictly true, Pacer is actually a spiritual successor to Wipeout and also the re-imaging of Formula Fusion. Formula Fusion was the debut game from R8 Games launching back in 2015 as an early access game on Steam. It would seem that things didn't quite go to plan for R8 Games with them needing to explore Kickstarter as a funding option back in 2019. With a successful Kickstarter campaign behind them, and a rebranding of the game to Pacer it would seem the team at R8 Games has cracked the formula and is ready to unleash the game on the world. Coming from a team who worked at Psygnosis Leeds and actively contributed to Wipeout...
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Maid of Sker – Quite The Sker-y experience…
28Jul By Jay ArmstrongNo Comments
Xbox Reviews

Maid of Sker – Quite The Sker-y experience…

Maid of Sker is the latest title from Wales Interactive, an indie publisher and developer in the heart of Wales. There was a time when the term survival horror became synonymous with the likes of Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil; whilst Resident Evil has certainly managed to stand the test of time it's clear that nowadays a new breed of horror really makes up the genre. Arguably it was the game series Amnesia that set this new trend, with games like Outlast and Layers of Fear following suit. Maid of Sker is the latest in this style and tells us the tale of Sirens at Sker Hotel and the tragedy that became of the guests there. Set in the late 19th century, Maid of Sker is set on the Welsh folklore of Elisabeth Williams and how her fate was intertwined with the supernatural...
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Half-Life: Alyx – Not A Half-Baked Experience…
21Jul By Jay ArmstrongNo Comments
PC Reviews

Half-Life: Alyx – Not A Half-Baked Experience…

The year is 2020 and whilst we've been living in what feels like some future dystopian nightmare as a killer virus spread across the globe, ironically two of the biggest games of the year are Final Fantasy VII and Half-Life. We haven't had a new entry in the Half-Life series since Valve announced an episodic trilogy in 2006, episode 2 of which launched a year later in 2007 and then... nothing... The wait for Half-Life 2 Episode 3, or Half-Life 3 or any new entry in the Half-Life franchise moved through the 5 stages of grief until all hope was lost and everyone moved on. Now, 13 years later we're able to play Half-Life: Alyx; a new entry in the Half-Life franchise exclusively for Virtual Reality. It won't sate your need to find out what happened after the cliffhanger of Episode 2, but it...
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The Last Of Us Part II Review – Don’t Get Left Behind On This One…
2Jul By Jay ArmstrongNo Comments
PlayStation Reviews

The Last Of Us Part II Review – Don’t Get Left Behind On This One…

When Naughty Dog announced they were making a sequel to the PlayStation 3 system seller The Last Of Us I was incredibly dubious. Even with the beautiful trailers and game footage leading up to the release of The Last Of Us Part II I couldn’t help but feel that I wanted the story and characters of this world left alone and for them to instead produce a new IP. In this review I avoid discussing the story and focus on the key elements; as such it is as spoiler-free as I could get it but does allude to some of the elements that make up the game. The Last Of Us Part II has some big boots to fill with its predecessor arguably being the best game of the last generation and an excellent swan song to the PlayStation 3. After 4 years of teasers and footage, Part II is finally here, 7 years after ...
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Gloomy Eyes PCVR Review – This Little Gem May Leave You A Little Watery Eyed…
23Jun By Jay ArmstrongNo Comments
PC Reviews

Gloomy Eyes PCVR Review – This Little Gem May Leave You A Little Watery Eyed…

Gloomy Eyes is an immersive narrative VR experience about the sun giving up on mankind and going into hiding; this leads to the world being plunged into darkness with humans and zombies having to co-exist. Gloomy Eyes tells the story of Gloomy and Nena forming a bond and playing out a story in an almost Romeo and Juliet like tragedy. Gloomy Eyes is the debut title from 3DAR in collaboration with Atlas V; it features a unique art style and the voice of Colin Farrell to narrate the tale. Gloomy Eyes has won multiple awards across the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the SXSW Film Festival; not to mention a plethora of award nominations at various events. Gameplay With Gloomy Eyes being a 3 episode short film, it doesn’t have any gameplay; your only real interaction co...
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Doki Doki Literature Club! Review – Don’t judge this book by its cover…
18Jun By Jay ArmstrongNo Comments
PC Reviews

Doki Doki Literature Club! Review – Don’t judge this book by its cover…

Doki Doki Literature Club! is a 2017 game developed in America by Team Salvato. It’s a free game that acts as a visual novel where certain decisions can be made along the way to change the direction of the narrative. The game involves talking to and getting to know four girls who are active in their high school’s literature club. This game is all about these characters but there is more under the surface and some interesting twists and turns along the way; you’ll certainly start to suspect early on that the happy, colourful anime façade hides a darker secret. It’s important to note at this stage that the game does present you with a disclaimer; “This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.” This should be your first clue that the pink and purple accented ani...
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Journey For Elysium PCVR Review – A Bleak Window Into The Afterlife…
30Mar By Jay ArmstrongNo Comments
PC Reviews

Journey For Elysium PCVR Review – A Bleak Window Into The Afterlife…

Journey for Elysium is the debut title from Mantis Games. It's an immersive story-driven title guiding you through your initial steps into the afterlife. After an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign, it would appear the game was rescued by publisher Chronos Interactive and released to the world in October 2019. The game involves walking through a monochromatic world, solving puzzles and interacting with the environment to solve the mystery of your death as you travel to Elysium. Gameplay If you have played any 2-4 hour VR experience that encourages walking around and interacting with the environment, then at this stage you’ve seen them all. What you need for your game to stand-out is a hook; something to really grab your attention. Vader Immortal gave you a Lightsaber, Batman Arkham...
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Ultimate Fishing Simulator PCVR Review – If There’s Better, Let Minnow.
28Jan By Jay ArmstrongNo Comments
PC Reviews

Ultimate Fishing Simulator PCVR Review – If There’s Better, Let Minnow.

In a world where the term Virtual Reality is almost synonymous with the likes of Beat Saber and Boneworks it’s quite refreshing to sit back and relax whilst playing arguably one of the most in-depth games I’ve witnessed in VR. Ultimate Fishing Simulator; developed by Bit Golem and published by Ultimate Games S.A. as part of a Kickstarter campaign back in 2017, shows you that you don’t need crazy physics or frantic rhythm to have an immersive and fun virtual experience. Gameplay It’s worth noting at this stage that I have zero real-world knowledge of fishing outside of needing a rod, a bit of bait and to cast off into some water. It turns out fishing is a lot more complex than I had ever fathomed. I’ve started wrapping my head around line tension, different reels, even the size of the hoo...
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