Video Games

Steins;Gate – Or Why Time Travel is a Bad Idea

/ Michael Beckwith / 2 Comments

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Opinions are a funny thing, aren’t they? We all have them, we love to share them and, for some reason, we can’t fathom the idea of somebody else having one different to ours. But possibly the most bizarre thing about them is how they can change. We can go from liking something to hating it and vice versa. It’s all very weird. Why am I bringing this up? Because of my experience with today’s subject, Steins;Gate.

Now, Steins;Gate isn’t an old game that I played as a child and am now looking at to see if it holds up or anything. It only came out in Europe last summer (though it originally came out in Japan in 2009), but it sticks out as possibly being the only game I’ve played where my opinion of it radically changed whilst I was playing it. Such an oddity deserves to be documented and shared with others. I guess you could say this is the will of Steins Gate itself. Let’s get started, shall we? Continue reading →

Ten Anticipated Games of 2016

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

Well, 2015 is officially over, and what a year it has been for the world of videogames. We had a lot of fantastic titles released in the last twelve months; fans of The Witcher were treated to a fantastic third title that showed that DLC didn’t have to be terrible, Nintendo made a successful jump into the world of online-shooters with Splatoon, and the Internet found a new favourite game ever in the form of Undertale. Continue reading →

Five Franchises that should get Platinum Games

/ Michael Beckwith / 5 Comments

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Platinum has come a long way in only a few years. Their work on the likes of Bayonetta and Madworld has garnered them a massive fanbase and a reputation for making exciting, action-packed and over-the-top videogames. And in the last couple of years, they’ve been allowed to create games based on existing properties.

We’ve seen The Legend of Korra, Metal Gear and Transformers be given the Platinum treatment and, at the moment, they’re working alongside Nintendo on the new StarFox and are apparently working on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game.

All of this has made me wonder what other franchises should Platinum be allowed to make magic with? Well, that’s what this list is about, isn’t it? Continue reading →

Why You Should Support Indivisible

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

I don’t usually go out of my way to support crowdfunding campaigns on the likes of Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Not because I don’t like the idea or consider it a ‘lesser’ form of making a product; they just don’t grab my interest. However, recently that’s beginning to change. It started with Yooka-Laylee (which you can read my thoughts about here), and it’s pretty much kicked into overdrive with today’s subject, Indivisible. Continue reading →

Four Ideas for the Next Batman Game

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman: Arkham Knight

With Rocksteady choosing to bow out and end the Arkham series, we find ourselves asking the obvious question: what comes next? As long as Batman remains popular, there will always be videogame tie-ins and considering how much money Warner Bros has made from the Arkham games, it’s unlikely they’re just going to let the series end.

Whether or not the games will continue in the same universe, play like the Arkham games or carve their own identity remains to be seen, but we all probably have some ideas we’d love to see become proper games, so to conclude this month of Batman, here’s a short list of my personal ideas for future Batman games. Continue reading →

Eight Things I Liked about the Arkham Series

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the following games:

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: Arkham Knight

Last week, I wrote an article all about things I didn’t like about the Arkham games. If you chose not to read the first paragraph of that article, I should clarify that I absolutely loved the series and it has left me with some great memories to share. So, in the sake of fairness, here’s a list of things that I liked from the main four games. Continue reading →

Eight Things I Didn’t Like about the Arkham Series

/ Michael Beckwith / 2 Comments

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the following games:

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: Arkham Knight

There’s no denying that Rocksteady have created a consistently good series with their Batman games. At best, they have been amazing and at worst, they’ve been decent. Unfortunately, as we all know, nothing is perfect and even games as good as these have their problems. And here, I’ve picked out eight of those problems; two for each of the main entries – Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Arkham Origins and Arkham Knight. Continue reading →

Five Scariest Batman Villains from the Arkham Games

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

(WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman: Arkham City & Batman: Arkham Knight)

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Batman is famous for a lot of things; one of them being his quite frankly impressive rogues gallery. He arguably has some of the best villains in all of comic books (there’s a reason they keep popping up in other media). He also has some of the scariest or, at the very least, creepiest, especially in the Arkham games. One of my favourite aspects of the series was seeing their take on the many bad guys of Gotham, how they’re integrated and being able to beat the crap out of them. So, here’s my personal list of who I consider to be the scariest villains from those games.

Oh and just a heads up, Scarecrow’s not on this list. I want to mix things up a bit. Continue reading →

Batman: Arkham Knight – The Story of How the Batman Died… OR DOES HE?

/ Michael Beckwith / 2 Comments

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Batman. Who doesn’t know Batman? Who doesn’t like Batman? I’ve never met a single person that didn’t like Batman in some capacity. Batman is infamous and loved in pretty much every medium: comics, films, TV and, of course, video games.

Though for the longest time, there was never really a ‘true’ Batman game. Not to say there weren’t any good Batman games but I don’t think there was ever a game where you actually felt like Batman. The World’s Greatest Detective, the master of hand-to-hand combat, the stealthy ninja that could take out a room full of armed guards without being seen; were there any games like that?

That all changed, however, in 2009 when developer Rocksteady released Batman: Arkham Asylum, a title that came out of seemingly nowhere and took everybody by surprise, much like Batman himself. It received critical acclaim and pretty much put Rocksteady on the map due to it being the first time where players weren’t just playing a videogame that had Batman in it – they were Batman.

This single game sparked an entire series of Batman games; the latest of which being the grand finale, Batman: Arkham Knight (though I doubt Warner Bros will let an easy money maker like this end). Is it as awesome as its marketing makes it out to be? Let’s find out (BTW, I’m reviewing the PS4 version). Continue reading →

Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward – A Super, Smart, Scary, Suspenseful Story

/ Michael Beckwith / 4 Comments

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Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward is possibly one of my favourite videogames of all time. I was actually surprised by how much I loved it since I only got it on a bit of a whim. It had received good reviews, particularly for its story, and I’m a sucker for a good story, so I figured I’d give it a shot. Little did I know what I was getting into. And with its sequel now on its way, what better time than to convince you lot to play it? … Well, probably when it first came out but I can’t time travel. Now, sit yourself down and get ready for the long haul because there’s a lot to get through, starting with the concept and plot. Continue reading →