Stuart, Author at Thumb Culture

Sonic Mania Review – Getting All The Feels

11Sep

By StuartNo Comments

Sonic Mania Review – Getting All The Feels

Sonic makes his return in Sonic Mania and he is bringing a few friends. The game is developed by Headcannon and PagodaWest Games and published by Sega for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. The game was announced to commemorate Sonic's 25th Birthday and features remastered 2D graphics and animations as well as stages from games of old, and a few new ones for good measure. Gameplay The gameplay of Sonic Mania is simplistic at heart, but as with every other Sonic game that has come before it, it has a great challenge. Following the events of Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic and Tails receive a powerful energy reading from Angel Island and board Tails's plane, the Tornado, to investigate. However, Doctor Eggman has sent an elite group of robots, the Hard-Boiled H...

The Lost Bear PSVR Review – Short But Sweet

8Sep

By StuartNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

The Lost Bear PSVR Review – Short But Sweet

The Lost Bear is co-developed by Fabrik games and OddBug Studio and published by Fabrik Games and is available for PSVR. When you first sit down and put on the PSVR headset and dive into The Lost Bear you know you are in for a treat. Sitting down on the comfy chair in front of a large stage area is mesmerising. Lets see how it fairs under scrutiny. Gameplay I will admit that it took me a little while to find the correlation of the games title - The Lost Bear - and what was happening on screen. However it suddenly dawned on me about 15 minutes into the game. You control Walnut, and your aim is to rescue your small teddy BEAR (!) from the Toysnatcher and get back to your Brother. You jump, run and slide to climb ledges and to reach other platforms, chasing down the little critter...

F1 2017 Review – Racing Got A Little Faster

21Aug

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

F1 2017 Review – Racing Got A Little Faster

With Codemasters returning to form last year with F1 2016, it left me wondering "How can they make this better?" Well with F1 2017 they seem to have been able to do just that! The new box art features some new drivers on the grid as well as the biggest smile from Daniel Ricciardo you will ever see. Why nobody else is smiling will be a mystery forever. I reckon Ricciardo just let out some gas and is loving it! With new regulations, new cars, new drivers, Codemasters have once again absolutely smashed it out of the Red Bull Ring with this game. Bringing new features, better visuals (most of the time) and great control. Lets dive in and find out why. Gameplay As with last years game, F1 2017 brings controls that are responsive, light and rewarding when you hit that apex perfectly....

LawBreakers Review – Definitely NOT Overwatch

15Aug

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

LawBreakers Review – Definitely NOT Overwatch

LawBreakers, originally called Blue Streak, was a free to play game or that's what the theory was. However, that has all changed. It comes in two flavours available on the PlayStation Store, the Standard version at £24.99 or the Deluxe version with some extra skins at £29.99. The back story to the game wasn't explained very well whilst in-game. This left me having to search online to find out the story behind LawBreakers. This wasn’t hard but a minor inconvenience all the same. LawBreakers is set in an alternate future after an event called “the shattering”. This wasn’t really made clear but at my personal guess it was some sort of act of mother nature, possibly? This event has caused problems with the laws of gravity. Anyway there are two factions in the game “The Law” the law enfor...

Samurai Riot Is Exploding Onto Steam In September

2Aug

By StuartNo Comments

News & Updates

Samurai Riot Is Exploding Onto Steam In September

French indie development studio, Wako Factory have announced Samurai Riot, their 2D, arcade beat'em up is set to release for the PC. Releasing this September on Steam and costing around £10.99, $14.99, €14.99 Fans of this genre can look forward to a visual treat, where a backdrop story compels the player to really think about their decisions in game and the ramifications of their choices . Having been hired to bring peace and tranquility to the warring land, each choice you make as a Samurai, Tsurumaru/ Sukane, will have an influence on your destiny and, with an arsenal of deadly attacks at your disposal, the fight to make it through each battle will require guile, skill and forethought! "The main inspiration in the creation of Samurai Riot is really simple - we always loved to ...

Dino Frontier Review – Settlers Plus Dinosaurs

1Aug

By StuartNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Dino Frontier Review – Settlers Plus Dinosaurs

Ever wondered what it would be like to train dinosaurs just like Chris Pratt in Jurassic World? Well wonder no more with Dino Frontier by Uber Entertainment on the PSVR. Gameplay The game begins with you looking over a Western vista, you are then prompted to carry out a few gestures using the Move controllers. These gestures include holding the trigger buttons and moving outwards to zoom in. Rotating around to turn the viewpoint as well as pressing the Move button and dragging the area around. Alternatively just hold the trigger button to the hand signal for OK. Something that I spent a lot of time doing, and I mean a lot. In Dino Frontier you take the role of Big Mayor, taking control over the building and running of your small western town. You can pick up and drop settlers and also...

25Jul

By StuartNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Tiny Trax PSVR Review – Scalextric It Is Not

Tiny Trax by FuturLab can only be described as a Scalextric virtual reality game. When I first laid eyes on this game, I was flooded with nostalgic feels. However, when I got into the game those feels dissipated and left me with a small sense of disappointment. Only a small sense though. Gameplay Donning the VR headset for the first time you are greeted with pretty colours all around. Then dumped into a bedroom which is actually really well detailed. You then pick a track and race. Picking between six vehicles which have no difference in statistics, you then chose from either a single race, or a cup. I recommend going straight to the cup, you get to race on all the tracks, and doing so unlocks the tracks for use in single race. Regardless of where you finish. What sets this apart from...

20Jul

By StuartNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Ancient Amuletor Review – Tower Defence Gone Virtual

Ancient Amuletor by TI Games was recently released on the PSVR and aims to give hours of fun on your shiny hardware. Essentially what is a tower defence game, but bringing you the power to aim, fire and often teleport to other platforms to get a better shot. Lets take a look at it in a bit more depth Gameplay Choosing between three characters to start with, an archer named Lia, a shotgun shooting Katie, Harry the mage and then unlocked at a later time Park the puppeteer. Once you chose your character you are greeted with a slim choice regarding locations. The Egyptian world and the Roman world, and each are littered with bright colours and in particular crystals. It's these crystals that you are protecting from the waves of enemies. Now don't panic they aren't fast moving by any stretch ...

13Jul

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

Pro Cycling Manager 2017 Review – Just A Hint

Pro Cycling Manager 2017 by Cyanide Studios and Focus Home Interactive is the equivalent of Football Manager, you pick a team out of the myriad of those available and take them through a season. Racing at the highest echelon of the sport. Gameplay Pro Cycling Manager 2017 gives you the freedom to control a team as you see fit. You control the day to day workings, having to answer emails, deal with the sponsors as well as ensuring your riders are fit and healthy. The menus are vast and sometimes complicated. Although a brief period of time in each of them will give you the necessary understanding with what you have to do. Skipping through the days, answering a few emails, checking sponsor objectives and eventually getting to a race. First things first is picking your team for the race ...

11Jul

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

The Golf Club 2 – The Best Golf Game Ever

A little while ago I professed my absolute love for The Golf Club and how much I hoped that The Golf Club 2 would be all I dreamed about. You can check out the previous article here So now with the released of The Golf Club 2, I finally got to get my gloved left hand on the controls. The game once again being developed by HB Studios they have given us what could be the greatest golf game released. Gameplay The Golf Club 2 builds upon the unique gameplay that made the first game such a joy yet a nightmare at the same time. Hitting straight shots is no easy feat, having the slightest deviation from the thumbstick causing the ball to veer off drastically either way. The game takes you through a pretty comprehensive tutorial when you first start the game. Taking you through shot shaping, ...