Games

Metal Gear (MSX / NES) Review

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After skipping forward (or backwards game-continuity-wise!) to MGS3 due to the remake being on the horizon it’s time to get this on-and-off look at the Metal Gear franchise off proper by looking at the very first game in the series. I actually own and played the NES version back in the day so unlike a lot of people who started with MGS on the PS1 this game does hold a lot of nostalgia for me. Okay, I was really bad at the game at the time and the NES version is much worse than the MSX original as it turns out, but regardless it’s always fun to head back here, and thanks to the “Master Collection” it was even easier to play the original AND the NES version on my regular TV this time round. So let’s take a look at the game that started it all.

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Persona 3: Reload (PS5) Review

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Persona 3: Reload came out around the same time as Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth back in February and I knew I’d only have the time for one so I chose the latter, but come mid-June I knew I had a good stretch of time with no new major releases I was interested in and so finally got round to purchasing it, and you know what? It’s actually quite hard which of the two RPG remakes I liked more. P3 has always appealed to me but I never actually played it, I saw a friend play through about a third of it and watched (and reviewed!) the four movie adaptations, plus played the Persona 4: Arena games that featured the P3 cast, so I was very familiar with it and really enjoyed the characters and setting but this was actually my first time playing the whole story myself. So let’s take a look!

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SD Gundam Battle Alliance (PS5) Review

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After the marathon that was Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and before the equally long game I’m playing now, I wanted a couple of smaller games to wind down to. As if hearing my call this game was dramatically reduced to the point where it would have to be REALLY bad to not be worth the price. The “gamble” paid off, as while I wouldn’t rank the game as a great it did keep me entertained for a couple of weeks. Let’s take a look!

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Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (GBA) / Re:Chain of Memories (PS4) Review

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Going into my first ever play through of the Kingdom Hearts series I was warned about Chain of Memories and its remake, how even some of the biggest die hard fans of the series seem to flat-out hate it, well the gameplay at least. I thought to myself “well, I want to complete all of them for this review series, so I guess I’ll just grin and bear it” but, man… hate to say it, but I’m going to have to join the many and say I really disliked the gameplay here. I was just going to play the Re:CoM edition but struggled so I heard the GBA original was easier, and it was… to a point, but the core gameplay is just badly designed. I’m sure some who played it when they were young and “forced” themselves to get good at it because it was finally new Kingdom Hearts game will get angry at my review, but for me, now in 2024? This is not a fun experience…

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Die Hard Trilogy (PS1) Review

David Hogan1 Comment

After completing the reviews for the original Die Hard trilogy of films, I thought there wouldn’t be a better time than now to also review the game “Die Hard Trilogy”! It was the big game I wanted for Christmas 1996 and boy I wasn’t disappointed; the game is split into three game types, one for each film, and I LOVED the Die Hard 3rd Person shooter, liked the Die Hard 2 light gun game (especially as I actually had a PS1 light gun at the time) and was… indifferent to the driving game for “with a Vengeance”. Having these three games on one disc was crazy at the time and a great Christmas was had, but what it’s like to play now? The answer may surprise you! … Or probably not.

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Star Wars: Battlefront (PS2/PS5) Review

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Here’s a review I never really thought I’d do, or at the very least it wasn’t on my mind, but thanks to the re-release of the two “Classic” Battlefront games I thought there would never be a better time to look at these PS2 greats from my early 20s than now. The original Battlefront was interesting because most things I remembered about the PS2 era Battlefronts comes from countless hours playing Battlefront II, I mean I played this a hell of a lot, don’t get me wrong, but as soon as BFII came out the following year I naturally stopped. So I made sure to play this a bunch (including a couple of hours of multiplayer with the same friend as the first time round!) before touching its sequel to make sure this review is focused on just the original. Oh and yes, the Battlefront Classic Collection was rough on launch, but for me who just plays offline by himself or with friends/family split-screen after the first patch I’ve had no issues… Let’s take a look!

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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Manga) Review

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The next Zelda manga adaptation is, unsurprisingly, the Oracle of Ages, following on from Seasons last time (though the games could be played in either order, for the record). After a magic seasons-changing rod and some talking animals gave Seasons a unique feel Ages feels more in-line with your standard LoZ affair, including time travel and even a battle with Ganon at the end (though again that would happen at the end of Seasons if you played the games the other way around…) So let’s get to it!

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Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (PS5) Review

David Hogan2 Comments

Time to take a look at one of my most anticipated games of recent memory with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The second part of the Final Fantasy VII “Remake Trilogy” arrived back at the very end of February and I’ve been playing it like a man possessed! Taking characters and a world I already love and not only expanding the already great combat system from the last game but also adding in fun open world exploration with great graphics and no pop ins and errors like the PS4 Remake was a recipe for greatness in my eyes, and I’m thrilled to report it lived up to those heights. So let’s take a rather unavoidably long look at the game!

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WWE WrestleMania XIX (GameCube) Review

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This time next year will mark 10 years since this review site/blog began and the second ever review I did was the first “Wrestling Game Rundown” review… safe to say I haven’t gotten through these as quickly as I’d hoped back then! Still, I want to see if I can get through the remaining ones before we hit that milestone next year, and given its WrestleMania XL weekend right now why not get the next entry up, given it’s a WrestleMania game! XIX will forever be remembered for its frankly bizarre, almost scrolling beat ‘em-like “Revenge Mode” but what about the rest of the game? Let’s take a look!

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Mario Kart 7 (3DS) Review

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Surprise! … to even myself really. As I’ve been playing through all the Mario Karts I’ve talked about how this was the only non-arcade Mario Kart I’ve never played due to not owning a 3DS, but guess what happened last month? I brought a New 3DS XL in CeX for just over £100 like new and brought this with it (plus Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for later review as I get through that series, though that’s an original DS game this has a bigger screen than my old regular DS I’ve used over the years) So before we actually end this look at the Mario Kart series with 8/8 Deluxe, let’s take a look at Mario Kart 7, my first 3DS gaming experience despite the year being 2024…

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