Stuart, Author at Thumb Culture

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard – Forgotten But Not Gone

16Nov

By StuartNo Comments

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard – Forgotten But Not Gone

Something that has always interested me as a gamer and reviewer is looking back on the older console generations and picking up the games you may have missed the first time around. I’ve done it before and discovered some great games. Some great older games are now some of my all time favourites, with the likes of Mario Kart 64 and Metal Slug 3 being members of that list. Other times though you do have to admit that the older games you missed out on really aren’t worth it. It really doesn’t help that I often go out of my way to buy a terrible game. Parody and comedic games are something I find very interesting indeed. Oddly terrible games have become a genuine interest of mine. The incredibly dull Duke Nukem Forever was definitely on the right wavelength but it’s just so bad I barely mad...

Space Pirates And Zombies 2 – A Moonlight Review

10Nov

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

Space Pirates And Zombies 2 – A Moonlight Review

Space Pirates And Zombies 2 was an interesting title to come my way. It is developed and published by MinMax Games Ltd. I have never heard of the previous SPAZ (Space Pirates and Zombies) but immediately started to love this one. From the whacky cast of characters that I have come to love, and hearing them talking about the meaning of insanity, making a blatant and funny Far Cry joke. It kept me playing for hours at a time. Gameplay The gameplay is very fun with some minor learning curves. This is something I have come to expect after playing games like Rebel Galaxy. Space games seem to always have a learning curve to them, this game being no different. You start the game off in a “janky” mother ship, tasked with fixing her up with better parts. The tutorial section of the game is int...

Call Of Duty: World War II Campaign Review – Brutality At It’s Most Beautiful

10Nov

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

Call Of Duty: World War II Campaign Review – Brutality At It’s Most Beautiful

So usually you get a review of a game as a whole over here at Thumb Culture, but with Call of Duty: World War II we are going to do things a little different. This latest installment of the franchise (the 14th main release for all you number hounds) see's Sledgehammer Games take on World War II. WWII hasn't been tackled in the franchise since World at War back in 2008. Because this is such a high profile game we couldn't give it a score for the game as a whole, so we are splitting it into three separate reviews, Campaign, Zombies, and Multiplayer. So sit back and relax as we dive into the Campaign with as little spoilers as possible. Ladies and Gentleman, Call of Duty: World War II. Gameplay So as with any Call of Duty game, World War II is no different. Its a heard pounding ride ...

Official Sony PlayStation Gaming Glasses Review

9Nov

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech, PlayStation Reviews

Official Sony PlayStation Gaming Glasses Review

Recently through the post at Thumb Culture we received a pair of the Official Sony PlayStation Gaming Glasses, designed by our good friends over at Numskull and delivered from our pals over at Yellow Bulldog. They looked good and with the promise of reducing eye strain on my gaming marathons, what isn't to like about these. Let's take a closer look. On the packaging of the Gaming Glasses we are given an insight into what these revolutionary goggles are designed to do for you. Lot's of taglines that could all be total horse doo-dee but lets see, Improve Vision, Play Harder, Play Longer. These are a few of the killer lines that get gamers' excited I guess. But what do they mean! Play Longer - Lightweight and stylish frame for prolonged comfort during marathon gaming sessions. Imp...

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Review – Controversially Beautiful

7Nov

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Review – Controversially Beautiful

So recently we received a copy of Bethesda Softworks and MachineGames' Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus through the post, and with all the recent controversy surrounding the game I was eager to get the game loaded up and start playing through. So in went the disc replacing my copy of Dying Light and as per usual, a day one patch was required. Coffee Time. Eventually after it had finished downloading and the proverbial mice had run in their wheel for long enough, I started the game up. What came next was a mixture of joyous applause as well as hiding behind a cushion cringiness. Want to know why? Of course you do! Gameplay Loading up Wolfenstein II and deciding which difficulty setting to play the game on was the first hurdle that I came against. Do I opt for the harder than granite...

Citadel: Forged With Fire Review – Old Man Mordaith

30Oct

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

Citadel: Forged With Fire Review – Old Man Mordaith

So gather ‘round y'all, and listen to the ol' fella for a moment. Once again we’re taking a look into the guts of an Early Access promise. Yeah, that’s right... A promise. Sure it is technically a game, but when a product’s in Early Access it may as well be strung together with hopes, dreams, and unicorn blood. That isn't to say they're necessarily bad products, but consumers need to take a good long think about what they’re getting into. There are great companies that have used Early Access to engage with their fan bases. We'd be remiss not to mention them, companies like InXile and Larian that have shown us gamers how positive an experience the Early Access path can be. But, we can't ignore the risk. For every InXile or Larian, we have half a dozen or so companies that produce unfinis...

24Oct

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

Rugby 18 Review – A Perfect Union

Rugby 18 is developed by French studio Eko Software and published by Bigben Interactive. Eko Software might be known for their diversity in game genres, creating both the How To Survive games as well as a game about Handball. The game boasts 65 officially licensed teams with more than 2,000 licensed players and bringing teams from some of the biggest divisions including the Pro 14, TOP14 and the Aviva Premiership. So with a break in the Rugby games for a few years, is Rugby 18 going to revolutionise the genre and bring life back to a neglected sport? Let's find out. Gameplay When you first load up Rugby 18 you are taken through a tutorial match, and explained each of the controls. Well that is if you happen to be in the situation where you need instruction. For example, if the ball go...

The Indie Dev Showcase Templarius Studios – Don’t Die

23Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Features

The Indie Dev Showcase Templarius Studios – Don’t Die

Welcome to the first in the series of the Indie Dev Showcase, where we aim to help Independent Developers get their games out there for people to see. What we will be doing is asking a series of questions and bringing you their answers, as well as a short video to give you a glimpse of what their game is all about. So without further ado, let's move onto our first game! Knowing Me, Knowing You Name - Michael Cox Age - 21 Lives - USA Studio Name - Templarius Studios Website - https://harbingersoc.org/templariusgames Time Being A Dev - Coming up on 5 years. Digital development for 2 years. Previous Work - Completed several prototypes, but putting out my first commercial release Game Name - Don't Die Explain what your game is in 15 words - A challenge of extraordi...

19Oct

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

Deceit Review – Big Trouble

Deceit is what you’re doing when you cheat somebody by concealing or misrepresenting the truth. This game involves a little bit of that, but mostly shooting your teammates who haven’t done anything wrong. The original concept of Deceit is simple. A team of people exist in a world somewhere and roughly a quarter of them aren’t who they say they are. They’re the bad guys in disguise. So, while they are taking a lot of precaution to make sure you don’t find out who they are while they position themselves to murder the rest of you, your job is to figure out who is who, and murder the ones that are bad. If this story sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Garry’s Mod has a game inside of it called “Trouble in Terrorist Town” and… it’s pretty much the exact same game. “Trouble in Terrorist Tow...

18Oct

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

FIFA 18 – A 2 Good 2 Bad Review

It's that time of year again when EA release their iteration of FIFA to go up against Konami's PES, this year FIFA getting the 18 treatment. So how does FIFA 18 hold up against the rest and what do we think of the game as a whole. Rather than give you a run down of what the game is about, i'm going to come at this from a different angle. For those of you that watch Match Of The Day 2 you will know all about this. The feature on the show where the pundits look back at the weekends action and give their best and bad bits. So without further ado, lets take a look at the 2 Bad side first (I always have bad news first) 2 Bad New Standing Tackle So a new standing tackle system has been introduced where you have to charge up your tackle, the further your tackle bar goes up the harder the tackl...