A gamer since the 80s, Alex longs for a return to consoles with wood panels and games with manuals the size of phone books. When not working on his time machine he spends his time playing games like any normal person — with the controls inverted.
Review Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands (PS4) - Open World Shooter Lacks a Little Identity
Ghost of its former self
Republished on Wednesday, 10th August, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows. Ubisoft's open world games are pretty much all cut from the same cloth, with each implementing some common systems and design...
Review PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - Return of the Battle Royale King?
Royale lineage
Republished on Wednesday 26th August 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of September's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. While not the first battle royale game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (also known as PUBG to its friends) managed to kick-off a genre land grab in...
Review Mafia III - Gripping Presentation Marred by Repetitive Missions
An offer you might want to refuse
Republished on Tuesday, 19th May, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of Mafia III: Definitive Edition. The original text follows. 1968 was a turbulent year in United States history. With both the Vietnam War in full swing, and the assassination of Martin Luther King...
Review Close to the Sun - A Tribute Act That Struggles to Land
Current affairs
To say that Close to the Sun heavily evokes BioShock in its opening chapters is a massive understatement. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Arriving at a seabound utopia - established as a place where the great minds of the time can flex without being restrained by their governments - you find it in total disarray, with a...
Review River City Girls - Retro Brawling With a Twist
Girls about town
Dishing out knuckle sandwiches as either Kyoko or Misako in couch co-op brawler River City Girls is immediately fun, with the combat comparing favourable to the genre favourites of yesteryear. As tends to be the case with this sort of title however, fighting the ever growing hordes of enemies on your quest to rescue the duo’s...
Review Knights and Bikes - Girls on Bikes Take a Delightful Nostalgia Trip
On your bike
Every close knit group of childhood friends inevitably spawn their very own local legend. These stories are birthed not only by a child’s unique perspective of the world, but probably a bit too much sugar in their diet as well. For this reviewer, it was an ominous looking house that could just be seen over the treeline on my walk to...
Review Borderlands: The Handsome Collection - All the Looting and Shooting You Could Ask For
Claptrap compilation
Republished on Wednesday 29th May 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of June's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. It's becoming a familiar tale of late: a much loved game from the previous generation shows up on your new and shiny gaming apparatus, dressed up, and...
Review For Honor - Medieval Brawler Comes Out Swinging
'Tis but a scratch
Republished on Wednesday 30th January 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. The back and forth of a mano-a-mano sword fight rarely gets encapsulated effectively in video game form, and even the likes of Nioh or Dark...
Review Steep - Chill Open World Winter Sports
Peak performer
Extreme sports of the wintry variety clearly aren't for the faint-hearted, and anyone that partakes in snowy slopes that have more in common with the vertical than the horizontal need their head examined. Not only is it dangerous but it also happens to be bloody expensive to boot, which means that most of us will only ever be exposed...
Game of the Year 2018 Alex's Personal Picks
Big guns
The annual Push Square Towers tradition is back, as we sit down our scribes and pester them once more for their five favourite PlayStation games of the year. With such a strong assortment of software in 2018, it’s always tough deciding upon the cream of the crop. We told Alex he wouldn't be allowed to flip his Brazilian BBQ card until he...
Review Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition - A Decent Remaster with Duke
Hail to the skillshot, baby
Republished on Wednesday 31st October 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of November's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Ahh Bulletstorm, a title whose place in video game history will forever be entwined with the term 'di*ck-t*ts'. It's a real shame that...
Review Call of Cthulhu - Eerie Adventure Game Is Enjoyable Enough
Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and saviour Cthulhu?
H.P Lovecraft’s short stories and novellas have been a rich source of inspiration across many artistic mediums, and video games have not been immune to their call. The idea of a ‘Mythos’ populated with evil cults, interdimensional creatures, and ancient beings that can sever your...
Hunting horrifying hordes
As the British Empire’s occult hit squad, the Strange Brigade are dispatched whenever the rampant looting of other cultures leads to supernatural forces being unleashed on the world. While many would argue this may just be karma paying the Brits back for years of colonial oppression, it’s probably best to try and avoid...
Out of your mind
The main character in sci-fi adventure title State of Mind is a bit of a dick. Award winning journalist he may be, but Richard Nolan is not a very likeable character at all. He cheats on his wife, struggles to connect with his son James, and has a dislike for technological advances that gives him a holier-than-thou attitude to those...
Déjà crew
One of the elements that was universally praised about The Crew was its open world. While developer Ivory Tower’s abbreviated version of the USA was a wonderfully put together slice of Americana, the surrounding game, ultimately let things down with its Fast & Furious-inspired story, and disappointing opponent AI. With The Crew...
Review LEGO The Incredibles (PS4)
No capes
The licensed LEGO games have covered plenty of cinematic ground - especially if you include the now defunct LEGO Dimensions line - and at this point they’ve become a bit of a video game institution. While you’d think the well would’ve run dry over the last decade or so, the arrival of LEGO The Incredibles, to coincide with the release...
Review Space Hulk: Deathwing (PS4)
The not-so incredible hulk
The Warhammer 40K universe represents a ripe source of inspiration for video games. With its galaxy spanning conflicts, rammed full of fascinating factions, it's mind boggling that there’s only been a small number of great games that’ve made good use of its expansive lore. With a steady stream of Warhammer 40K titles...
AR you alive?
As both a critical and commercial success, Gone Home, the debut title from indie developer Fullbright, is rightfully seen as one of the seeds from which so called walking simulators grew. With this genre off-shoot proving very attractive to smaller developers – mainly due to being focused in scope – it came as no surprise that in...
Everybody loves Rayman
Republished on Wednesday 25th April 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of May's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. After spending far too much time in the shadow of the Raving Rabbids, Rayman made a triumphant return to consoles in Rayman Origins. While...
What a waste-land
Republished on Wednesday 28th March 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of April's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. With the recent cinematic success of Mad Max: Fury Road, there has never been a better time for a game based on Max Rockatansky's particular brand of...
Review Fear Effect Sedna (PS4)
Real-time tragedy
It’s been 17 years since the last Fear Effect game came out, and thinking back, the one thing that always tends to come to mind about the series is the questionable marketing that surrounded the second game. Fear Effect was always touted as a more adult take on the Resident Evil formula, but the way in which Eidos – the...
Everything old is new again
Republished on Wednesday 28th February 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of March's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. With the release of Ratchet & Clank on the PlayStation 4, this long time Sony series has amazingly managed to go full...
Totally rad. Not
Another week, another Kickstarter game makes the leap from PC to PlayStation 4. This time around it’s Rad Rodgers, a “spiritual successor” to those side scrolling platformers that graced the PC back in the nineties, such as Commander Keen and Jazz Jackrabbit. Nostalgia is definitely the main aim here, and for good or bad it...
PlayStation
Are we alone in the universe? Whatever the answer ends up being, it has some pretty heavy ramifications across multiple facets of society, such as religion and science. The Station looks to explore these topics by telling the story of The Espial, a space station setup to observe an alien civilisation to determine if first contact should...
