Kevin, Author at Thumb Culture

Total War: Arena Preview – Divide and Conquer, 1, 2, Flee!

16Mar

By KevinNo Comments

Total War: Arena Preview – Divide and Conquer, 1, 2, Flee!

Total War: Arena is being developed by Creative Assembly to bring us real time mass battle with people all over the world. I mean, what's not to like? Hopefully they have achieved their goal and this is going to be one epic indulgence. Time to strap on a pair of steel boots, clamber onto a steed and charge into a preview. Gameplay Once Total War: Arena opens you have to choose your squad commander and the units. Read the descriptions to see what type of game you prefer playing. Charge in with cavalry, grind out melee combat with swordsmen or fire in arrows and stay safe. Once you have chosen your squad, hit play and you will be matched with players of a similar skill level. The terrain will pop up and several starting positions will be available. Pop your squad in one of these and...

Nantucket Review – All Aboard to Discover the World

31Jan

By KevinNo Comments

PC Reviews

Nantucket Review – All Aboard to Discover the World

Picaresque Studio bring us Nantucket, a game all about hunting whales. This is the first offering from Picaresque Studios and a niche market seems to have been aimed for. So time to learn some sea shanties and set sail into a voyage of discovery and find out if Nantucket is worth getting on board with, or if it's just the start of a bad limerick. Gameplay Nantucket is a point and click game, so check out the tutorial to see where to point, and where to click. You start out in Nantucket as the captain of a small boat with no crew. The premise of the game is quite simple. Hire a crew, go whaling and sell the spoils. Get rich, get a bigger boat, hire more crew, kill bigger whales, sell more etc... All seems pretty simple, so how have Picaresque Studios made such a simple concept into...

Railway Empire – A Trip Down Memory Lane

26Jan

By KevinNo Comments

PC Reviews

Railway Empire – A Trip Down Memory Lane

Gaming Minds Studios have brought us a trip into the history of the train and how it transformed North America. The question is, did it make the nation bloom or did it sink into a great depression? I once again tackle a great railroad, but this time from the safety of the owner's office. Railway Empire, here I come. Gameplay Railway Empire is a classic point and click construction game, not a lot can go wrong really. There are a few modes, Campaign, Scenario, Free mode and Sandbox. Start with the campaign as this will guide you through the basics of the game. It's the 1800s and you need to build a successful railroad company. Build stations, build trains, build track. That's the game in a nutshell. Obviously there is more to it than that, I'm just making it sound easy. You need to su...

Purrfect Date – Will You Get The Right Pussy?

22Jan

By Kevin1 Comment

PC Reviews

Purrfect Date – Will You Get The Right Pussy?

Bae Team have decided to give a spin on the dating sim by adding furry felines to the agenda. The question is, will Purrfect Date be the cream of the crop, or pussy whipped into oblivion? Gameplay Purrfect Date, as the name suggests is a cat dating simulator. I know what you are thinking, why? Why would anyone create such an experience? Well unfortunately I cannot answer that question without a little time playing with my ....... cats. I started as a human. I chose a name. I wanted to be called Dick Whittington, but that was too long. So Dick began his adventure with the famous Professor Pawpur. Dick gets shown the famous Cat Island and to his tent and then his equipment. Have a drink? Don't have a drink? What drink to have? The sense of realism and decision making was finally upo...

Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier – A desolate and hopeless situation

4Jan

By KevinNo Comments

PC Reviews

Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier – A desolate and hopeless situation

Imaginati Studios brings us Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier, a journey placed between Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes. Being a fan I was chomping at the bit to get hold of this, the big question is will it live up to expectations? So time to find out if it is a mighty silverback or whether it's made a monkey out of us. Gameplay I think I will have to use the word 'gameplay' as a very loose interpretation. The concept behind Planet of the Apes: Last frontier is quite simply to make an interactive movie. I've watched plenty of movies and thought to myself 'I wouldn't have done it like that', so I was very intrigued to see how I could affect the course of the action. You essentially take 2 parts in this saga, one human, and one ape. The story plays ou...

Train Simulator 18 Review – Knobs, Levers and Buttons

2Jan

By KevinNo Comments

PC Reviews

Train Simulator 18 Review – Knobs, Levers and Buttons

Dovetail Games brings us Train Simulator 2018 on the PC, the cunningly named sequel to ....... Train Simulator 2017. So apart from the unoriginality of the game title does it speed down the tracks or should it be shunted back to the yard for scrap. Time to wrap a sandwich in tin foil, grab a flask of tea and perch myself in the cab. Gameplay I have never driven a train, so am I qualified to even write a review of Train Simulator 2018? I do however have a train set, in fact I have 2, so I think that should qualify me to test out what it would be like to be the person responsible for getting my train from A to B with as little hassle as possible. The first thing you get in this game is a choice of what to do, drive, build, profile, ACADEMY, ok, so I hope you got the hint. There is no way y...

1Dec

By Kevin1 Comment

PC Reviews

Party Hard Tycoon Review – Party Hard?

Party Hard Tycoon is being offered by Pinokl Games as a way to bridge the gap between the sims and the tycoon games. Have they packed out the place with banging choonz or is it as lifeless as a piece of warm wet lettuce? Time to find out. Gameplay Have you ever done something that achieved nothing? Have you ever regretted a decision? Have you ever meticulously planned something out only for it to fail? Welcome to Party Hard Tycoon. The instructions come in the form of a messenger conversation with a few pictures. These explain the basic game without going in to too much detail i.e. not having much point. The smart person will be able to work out what to do, but maybe never figure out why to do it. Party Hard Tycoon puts you in the position of a party planner. How hard can it be? R...

Oure Review – Beautiful, Majestical And Pointless

21Nov

By KevinNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Oure Review – Beautiful, Majestical And Pointless

Oure is the new release from Heavy Spectrum. All you need to do is fly around and save the dying world that your parents live in. Simples. Time to slip into a nice silk kimono and zen my way through the game. Gameplay Oure is a fairly simple concept to grasp. You are a little girl sent to a new world to save the world you and your parents currently live in. No pressure. Your new world is a cloud city and clouds are your friends. When you pass through the portal you turn into what can only be described an a flying elongated fox with a dodgy moustache. You're supposed to be a dragon, a Chinese one, one of the long ones. Your dragon flies effortlessly around, but make sure you conserve stamina for long climbs and boosting. Oure moves around as effortlessly as your dragon, go places, explore...

Computer Tycoon PC Preview – The Tycoon’s Tycoon

9Nov

By KevinNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Computer Tycoon PC Preview – The Tycoon’s Tycoon

Produced single handed by András Illés, Computer Tycoon is a foray into the world of building computers. The aim of Computer Tycoon is to dominate the global markets in all forms of computer production. Time to see if it is cooler than super-cooled or overclocked and overheated. Gameplay So jumping straight in and avoiding the 'easy' difficulty setting I chose my avatar, a slick 70's throwback and I named my company. Time to get building computers. The first screen you are met with is a map of the world. On top of this is the advice you need to be successful. Build in 2 countries, create your computer and then start the clock. I chose Italy because the women are pretty and I like the word "ciao", not that I would be having much to do with the women being a 70's throwback with the ...

Sudden Strike 4 PC Review- Once More Unto the Breach

25Oct

By KevinNo Comments

PC Reviews

Sudden Strike 4 PC Review- Once More Unto the Breach

Kite Games have treated us to the 4th instalment of the Sudden Strike franchise, the very cleverly named Sudden Strike 4. After the previous successes, this release has a lot to live up to. This is my second foray into the series, having only played the original release before, so I'm sure my rustiness will be evident as I jump back in. So with my lunch packed in a tin, a flask of tea and a English to German phrasebook, I'm ready for action. We won the war, so I have victory running through my veins. This one's for you Grandad. Let the war begin. Gameplay Sudden Strike 4 is an RTS set during the second world war. RTS stands for Real Time Strategy, this means that everything you do is in real time and you have to be quite strategic. This isn't rocket science. If you are in any doubt then...