Features

EGX Rezzed 2019 Roundup – Games To Watch Out For

1May

By JasonNo Comments

EGX Rezzed 2019 Roundup – Games To Watch Out For

As the doors to Tobacco Dock in London closed to what was a heaving and successful EGX Rezzed 2019, what up and coming games stood out for me I hear you ask?! Well let me kick off my Sketchers, upload my photos and I'll tell you all about it! Hamsterdam: Paws of Justice First on the list is Hamsterdam: Paws of Justice developed by Muse Games. Coming out around late Spring to Nintendo Switch, Steam, iOS and Android, you play as a cartoon drawn cute fluffy hamster called Pimm who is out for vengeance after his grandfather is kidnapped by the evil Chinchilla known as Marlo. Set in a mafia/old school gangster environment you must use your Hamster-Fu to bring down the villains as you fight your way through the many combat and scooter-based levels. Created from a successful Kickstart...

14Dec

By StuartNo Comments

Features, Gaming

5 Things To Make Blackout Better

So with Call of Duty Black Ops 4 being out for a little while, and many many hours of frustrating Blackout having been played, it left me thinking on ways that the game could be improved. So here it is, my 5 Things To Make Blackout Better 1, Hardcore Mode So lets start off with something that I feel would be great. Adding a hardcore mode to the Blackout mode would make things a little more interesting. Imagine wandering around the open areas near turbine and suddenly getting sniped from a distance. Yes I know with a well place sniper shot you can get downed straight away anyways, but with the addition of hardcore mode it would bring more emphasis on finding those shadows and using movement between cover. 2, Body Based Damage Other games have used this to great effect, having body ba...

12Dec

By JasonNo Comments

Features, Gaming

Thumb Culture Team Christmas Wish List

Here at TC HQ we love Christmas! This year we have rounded the staff up, stuffed them with mulled wine, plyed them with mince pies before asking them to write down what they would like to find under the Christmas tree on Christmas day. Everyone has come up with a game title, a piece of merchandise and a random third choice of whatever they would like to see them through the festive season! If you're stuck for ideas yourself, take a look at what we are after, you may be pleasantly surprised! Stu Game - Battlefield V, around £45 from numerous sites. Contrary to a lot of opinion and even though this game is primarily the same at Battlefield 1, there is something about it that feels new. Yes its essentially a re-skin with upgraded textures, but the gameplay feel fresh. Those bullets ...

Online Trophies – Should they be tied to a Platinum Achievement?

11Oct

By JohnNo Comments

Features, Gaming

Online Trophies – Should they be tied to a Platinum Achievement?

With the upcoming release of Red Dead Redemption 2 in just a couple of weeks, more and more information is coming out about what we can expect and one of the things that jumped out at me this morning while I was flicking through the little bits of info (when I was supposed to be working) was the inclusion of Online only trophies. What’s the big deal? You might be asking. Tons of games have online trophies! And you are correct, they do. BUT, my question is: Should they be tied to the 100% Completion Platinum trophy? I’m sure this is partly my age creeping in, but I remember a time when you didn’t need all the extra bits and DLC and paid content to be able to complete a game fully. Hell it wasn’t really that long ago that online content didn’t really exist and 100% of the content y...

Deadstick Bush Flight Simulator First Play – EGX 2018

8Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Features

Deadstick Bush Flight Simulator First Play – EGX 2018

Getting to grips with Deadstick at EGX was a great joy! Deadstick Bush Flight Simulator to give it it's full title, developed by REMEX Software, headed up by private pilot Chris Cheetham, gives us a different take on the flight sim genre. Having spoke to him on the stand whilst being walked through the controls, you gain an insight into why he wanted to bring this game to life. He wanted to bring a sim that focused more on the low and slow flying, but at the same time appealing to anyone who picked up the controller or flight stick. At first Deadstick could be confused as just a standard flight sim, but scratch away at the surface and it turns into a deep game where you are tasked with growing your own flying company by delivering products in many and various forms. So sitting...

Can We Loot Box This? – The Fine Art Of Monetization

27Jun

By Alex1 Comment

Features, Gaming

Can We Loot Box This? – The Fine Art Of Monetization

In a world where everything has been monetized by loot boxes is it necessary to just pat the back of a studio for just making a game. When did this become worthy of praise and headlines. How did we get here and how can we go back to just having good games. Well tune in and get ready cause I believe I have the answers you seek. Battlefield V recently announced that it wouldn't have loot boxes or season pass. I had to do a double take because I was sure that the lords of monetization and dumb choices (looking right into your eyes EA) couldn't have let this happen. I mean the FIFA game series literally brings in millions of dollars from their loot box system. EA has systematically destroyed both studios and game series all the while raking in heaps and gobs of money. Now they announce no ...

16Jun

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Features, Gaming, Gaming For All

How Video Games Saved My Life And Helped My Mental Health – The Healing Power Of Gaming

We've heard it time and time again, "Video games make people violent", "Video games aren't a productive use of your time" and "Video games are a negative and angry place". These words are usually spoken by people who don't know a lot about the gaming world, who fear the unknown and adhere to all the misconceptions, typically brought to the world via the media or frustrated parents. All of these words you have undoubtedly heard, couldn't be further from the truth. How do I know that? Well, because I am a gamer and If it wasn't for video games I wouldn't be here talking to you today. In essence, gaming has saved my life and I'm here, thankfully, to tell you why. I would say that throughout my life Ive always been a very sensitive soul, prone to taking matters to heart hence leaving me quite...

#LetsPlayMay – Shining a Positive Light on Family Gaming

15May

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Features

#LetsPlayMay – Shining a Positive Light on Family Gaming

The world is a very judgemental place, and when you bring children into it, it becomes even more judgemental than you originally thought. Even more so when you throw video games into the mix, with both parents and non-parents scowling at the idea of your child playing "toxic video games". #LetsPlayMay seems to be wanting to change that mindset. The slight mentioning that a child plays video games is usually enough these days to have people attack the parents of said child. Online users calling the parents lazy, or accusing the parents of neglect are just a few examples I’ve seen. I have also experienced this attitude. There’s also the current political situation which I’m not going to go into, but it keeps the long running “belief” that children playing video games with violence lead t...

23Apr

By JasonNo Comments

Features

EGX Rezzed 2018 Review

Wow what a busy weekend I had the other day! I had the great delight of checking out the latest indie offerings at EGX Rezzed in London where there was so much to see and play! With just under 200 games on display set across two floors of Tobacco Dock beside the river Thames, I was in gaming heaven. Showcases by SEGA, Nintendo and Xbox were equally matched by the talents on display within the large Indie rooms that housed the majority of up and coming titles. Here is my pick of up and coming games that you should look out for! Another Sight by Italian developers Lunar Great Wall Studios tells the tale of a young girl called Kit who suffers the misfortune of a tunnel collapsing while out exploring. The accident results in her losing her sight, creating a surreal world around he...

Launching My Seven Year-Old Daughter into a Life of Piracy with Sea of Thieves

30Mar

By TC Staff Writer3 Comments

Features

Launching My Seven Year-Old Daughter into a Life of Piracy with Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves has done well since launch. It shot to the top of the GfK charts for most physical sales in the UK alone, someones chicken got stolen, and over a million players jumped into the game on launch day. It has also become one of my favourite pirate games, and so I grabbed my seven year-old Daughter and threw her into a life of piracy. Before I rabbit on about the Sea of Thieves experience. I'm usually laid back with video games and parenting. My eldest (7 y/o) is innocent enough to play Grand Theft Auto 5 just to go for a walk in the park with no weapons. She's cute enough to jump onto Red Dead Redemption and tend to the horses pretending to brush them. She avoids violence. And with me near, she'll throw the controller at me, narrowly missing my head if a situation that inv...