Author

Sean Phillips

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Aero The Acro-Bat: Rascal Rival Revenge Review

I love the fact that we’re getting so many remasterings and re-releases of classic video games as of late. From classics like the upcoming Gex Trilogy to all the titles Nightdive Studios put out, we seem to be living in a golden age for this market and I’m all for it. However, not all games hold up well and, sadly, this is one of them: Aero The Acro-Bat. First of all, I don’t ever even remember hearing about this game’s existence. I mean, outside of a small blurb in an old Nintendo Power magazine, I don’t recall ever seeing anybody talk about it. Heck, I never even saw it in any YouTube videos on the subject of forgotten mascots, so you’d think that means this is a hidden gem, yes? If we’re talking about the original console versions, then maybe, but not in this game’s case.

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Vampire Hunters Review (Xbox)

Ever have a game come along that slips under your radar and ends up being one of the most fun games you’ve ever played? That’s what happened to me with Vampire Hunters; a game I recall seeing one trailer for and not hearing anything else until it was released and let me tell you something. Of all the FPS I’ve played, this one might be one of the best ones in a while.

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A Quiet Place: Road Ahead (Review)

I’m not the biggest fan of modern horror cinema. Sure, every so often, I watch one and I do enjoy it, like Tucker And Dale VS Evil and, surprisingly, Halloween Ends. But, most, if not all, of modern horror cinema I tend to avoid as I’m just not the biggest fan of how many horror films are going for the over the top gore and cheap, telegraphed jumpscares. In fact, I tend to gravitate towards classic horror and the more comedic ones, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Same goes with horror games as I usually tend to gravitate towards games like the Resident Evil series or the 2017 version of Prey, a game which I will always defend and I feel is better then the 2006 original. Anyway, this is where the 2018 movie A Quiet Place comes into the picture. Now, I have never seen any of the films yet, but I do know of them and have seen various clips of them, so I do have a bit of knowledge of them. Yet, it was also one franchise I never thought a game adaptation could work and yet? Here we are with A Quiet Place: Road Ahead, a game that is quite surprisingly one of the better horror games I played in a while.

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Starship Troopers: Extermination (Console Review)

I really enjoyed the first Starship Troopers movie, though I felt it was one of those movies that should’ve been a one and done deal. Sure, Starship Troopers 2: Hero Of The Federation was watchable, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder is probably the worst sequel I’ve seen in a long time, and the CGI films I heard are OK (I personally only seen Invasion and that was decent), but I still feel that the first film is probably the best movie. Still, movies aside, you’d think a movie like Starship Troopers would be prime real-estate for games, right? I’d thought that, too, but outside of two real time strategy games and a 2005 first person shooter, there really hasn’t been much in the way of video games for the series. Until recently with the release of Starship Troopers: Extermination; a game that, no joke, is a prime candidate for my Game Of The Year, even with a few issues I have with the title. Would you like to know more?

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Nikoderiko: The Magical World Review (Xbox)

The best way, I think, that I can describe Nikoderiko: The Magical World is that it’s essentially a Crash Bandicoot-style game. That is, you run on a 2D plane that sometimes transitions to 3D, from one end of the level to the other, collecting various items on the screen while avoiding traps and either avoiding or taking out the various enemies. Nothing really revolutionary but still a fun concept. However, Nikoderiko doesn’t really bring anything new to this genre to make it stand out from the others on the market. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad game, mind you, just that it could’ve been the next great mascot platformer.

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2024's Xbox Partner Showcase

So, today was the Xbox Partner Preview showcase, where the latest in third-party games coming to Xbox were shown and to be perfectly honest? Outside of a few select titles, there really wasn’t much noteworthy here to really get excited about, which is a shame as, usually, I find a good bit of games that look fun, but not this time, sadly. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t anything good on the show, just that nothing really screamed MUST GET, for me at least.

Read more 2024's Xbox Partner Preview - Thoughts & Trailers
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Remastered Review

When I did my review for ‘Turok 3: Shadows Of Oblivion’, I had mentioned that I used to work for a radio station and two of the earliest reviews I did were on the HD remasters of both Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Turok 2: Seeds Of Evil. Well, seeing as that station is no more and the reviews are now lost, I figured it’s time I revisit these two games and see if my thoughts on them from back then still hold up or if they had changed over the years. Beginning with the first Turok and my thoughts on this one greatly changed from my early review of it.

Back when I first first played the game, I felt that Turok: Dinosaur Hunter did not age well, even with it being remastered and that its biggest issue was the gameplay feeling archaic and very clunky in its design. I also felt that the sequel was superior to this game because it not only improved and fixed the issues this game has, but it feels like what the first game should've been. However, after doing some replays of both games, I actually feel the opposite now. Yes, the game still didn’t age well in a few areas and I still feel the frequent platforming areas and the huge difficulty spikes throughout the game do hurt it, but I actually prefer this one over Seeds Of Evil, though I still say Shadows Of Oblivion is the better game.

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Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II Review (Xbox)

The Warhammer 40k universe, though widely popular, was something I never really gotten into at all. I have played some of the games, like the Vermintide series and BoltGun, but it was really never something I felt compelled to be a part of in any way. Still, I did enjoy the few games I played, Vermintide 2 being one of them, and I did like the original Space Marine when I played it a few years back, so when a sequel was finally announced in 2021 at the Game Awards, I’ll admit that I was curious but not super excited. I’m kind of glad I wasn’t hyped for the game as, unfortunately, the game did not live up to the years of waiting. Sure, it has some good moments here and there and it isn’t broken in any way, it’s just not a fun game overall.

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The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Review (Xbox)

You are Stanley. You work in an office complex pressing buttons. One day, no instructions come through your computer and everyone is gone. Wanting to find out what happened, you leave the office and begin your unpredictable journey in, what is quite possibly, my second favorite game of all time.

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Democracy 4 Review (Xbox)

I don’t like using the phrase ‘one of the worst games I ever played’ to describe any game. In fact, I rarely use it as is, even some of the bad games out there I still found some enjoyment or I question why said game is considered by many to be bad. However, this game is one of those rare exceptions: Democracy 4 is, without a doubt, one of the worst games I’ve played in a long while and, no joke, a game that made me rethink on how I do future reviews.

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