Stuart, Author at Thumb Culture

4Oct

By StuartNo Comments

NBA Live 18 Review – Swish or Air Ball?

NBA Live 18 returns for another year that, in previous years, has been dominated by a certain other basketball game. However, EA Tiburon have returned with what they feel could be the game that puts them back on top. Let's have a look and see! Gameplay There are a few new gameplay elements this year, included a new one on one control system. This sees you having to get the defender off balance by using dribble moves, and likewise as a defender you have to guess the direction the offence is going to drive. Guessing correctly and timing it right cuts off their attack and gives you an opportunity to steal the ball and start off on a counter attack. Using a defensive assist button allows you to stay in front of the ball carrier and then it makes it easier to try and cut them off when they dr...

NASCAR Heat 2 Review – Rubbing’s Racing Harry

25Sep

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

NASCAR Heat 2 Review – Rubbing’s Racing Harry

NASCAR Heat 2 is quite clearly a sequel to NASCAR Heat, but having not played the first iteration I was able to go in to this game with a clear mind. Although how much of a good thing that will be is left to be seen. Developed by Monster Games and published by 704Games, NASCAR Heat 2 takes on the massively popular racing franchise over in the USA. So does it cut the mustard with an F1 fan like myself? Gameplay The gameplay of NASCAR Heat 2 is summarised in the following words, Round And Round. Essentially it's an oval racer which challenges you to draft your opponents in order to overtake and make your way through the field. Sounds simple right? Well, you would be a fool to believe so. It's tactical and brutal, go down to low on the corners and you can quickly find yourself facing onc...

23Sep

By StuartNo Comments

Features

EGX 2017 Daily Summary – Day 2

If you haven't read the EGX day 1 summary then head over to here and have a quick read...go on it's ok, I can wait.... Welcome back! Now it's time for the summary of Day 2, as the previous article it will be a short summary of the days events, purely so that you get a flavour for what EGX is all about. So let's get stuck in with the first game... Raging Justice When I received the press release for Raging Justice is instantly reminded me of classic side-scrolling beat em ups such as Street Of Rage and Double Dragon, but with a really nice claymation style to the game. You can imagine my excitement when I took control of the game and it was EXACTLY what I expected. MakinGames is made up purely of Anna and Nic and after speaking to them both you can see exactly why they wanted to ...

22Sep

By Stuart1 Comment

Features

EGX 2017 Daily Summary – Day 1

So it's that time of year again and rather than bombarding you with tens of other articles, like you would find elsewhere, we at Thumb Culture thought it might be best just to give you a bit more of a personal account of the day. So that if you have never been to an EGX show before, you will get a taste of what you might expect. The day started with a bit of a wild goose chase trying to determine where you pick up press passes from, if only we knew that its the same place as EVERYBODY ELSE! Rather than being sent all the way to the other end of the Birmingham NEC. Once we picked up our press passes, we were straight in and faced with the familiar low light setting, noise heavy playground for gamers' to try out the newest and latest games. Having made a few appointments it was time fo...

Steering Wheel Series – The Fanatec Hardware

15Sep

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Steering Wheel Series – The Fanatec Hardware

Having been a huge fan of the racing game genre for a long time, I consider myself to be a decent racer when it comes to using the controller. Playing games like Project Cars, Driveclub, GT, and many more, I always felt like something was missing. Could a steering wheel make me better? This was a big question that always rocked around inside my head, and finally i decided to find out. After reaching out to the good people at Fanatec who generously donated some brilliant hardware it was time to finally find out if using a wheel made me better. The Hardware For this I am using the Fanatec CSL Elite PS4 Starter Kit, with an additional Loadcell kit. To those of you that aren't familiar with this allow me to elaborate. The Fanatec CSL Elite Racing wheel is officially licensed for use...

Sonic Mania Review – Getting All The Feels

11Sep

By StuartNo Comments

Switch Reviews

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 ...