Pelicans. They’re big, they have beaks so gargantuan that they come with their own interdimensional pockets, and they’re massive dorks with a penchant for eating fish and probably small children. So naturally, these monochromatic non-passerines were chosen by Australian author Colin Thiele in 1964 as the emotional centre for a tale that would go on to be a much-loved classic. That tale was Storm Boy, and such is its enduring legacy of friendship, growing up and connection with the Australian landscape that it has inspired numerous adaptations. Continue reading →
It’s become kind of ‘cool’ to bash Fallout 76. Whilst its release has been by no means “smooth” one could argue it’s been no rougher than any to come from Bethesda. In fact most of their games are lauded for their janky demeanour and are hilariously abundant with quirks, so why then has everyone been so quick to turn on this particular one and even more puzzling why am I enjoying it so much more? Continue reading →
PAX Australia is just around the corner and whilst its absolutely jam packed with amazing things to see and play there are a few of them that, in our opinion, stand out above the rest. To play them though, you’ll probably need to jump in a queue at some point so plan wisely and bring that Nintendo Switch or DS with a battery pack to keep you busy!
Also, don’t forget you can catch me (Raj) on a panel at PAX too! Along with the Press Start gang we’ll be chatting about the console wars and if they’re still relevant on Friday night at 6:30pm in the Ibis (Bin Chicken) theatre. Come say hi! Continue reading →
Thanks to the very nice folk at 2K Games & PlayStation we’re happy to announce that we’re giving away a copy of NBA 2K19 to one lucky PS4 owner.
To enter all you need to do is pop in your details below and you’ll automatically go in the running to win the digital copy. The giveaway is only open to Australian and New Zealand residents due to the regioning behind the game’s digital download code. Sorry!
You can also earn bonus entries by doing things like subscribing to our YouTube channel or liking our Facebook page or subscribing to our podcasts. All the links and details are in the competition form below.
The winner will be drawn and announced next Tuesday – 16/10/2018.
Like any awkward, game-obsessed, stamp-collecting sproglet that grew up in the last century, I didn’t have a lot of friends. The few I did have I clung to like pet hair on dark clothing, and despite being similarly obtrusive and smelly, I like to think I made some cherished memories. However, there was always a pervasive anxiety that I’d either lose my friends, they’d stop talking to me, or- worst of all- that time and distance would one day part us. Continue reading →
It’s only fitting that Australia’s spiritual home of sport should play host to the country’s largest esports event too. In just over a week an expected ten thousand plus esports fans a day will descend upon Melbourne & Olympic Park to be a part of the inaugural Melbourne Esports Open (MEO).
Spearheaded by esports production giant ESL and event management team TEGLive the Victorian Government backed event is expected to generate upwards of $25 million to the local economy over the next five years.
Held over the first weekend of September the MEO is headlined by a final series for two of the world’s biggest and most popular esport gaming titles, Overwatch and League of Legends (LoL). Continue reading →
We Happy Few is a game that very quickly drops the player into the deep end of a very disturbing pool and leaves them to sink or swim alone. From the moment the game starts, with the player character at work censoring old newspaper articles, you’re aware that there’s something very wrong in this world. The Joy pills to make everyone happy, the hockey mask like faces of everyone around you and the absence of children, while the adults play children’s games at the orders of a man on the television and radio; all jarring notes in an otherwise pretty looking setting that hint at the darkness underneath. Continue reading →
Although some may consider the subject of Chemistry to be Boron, or they hated their science teacher enough to want to Barium, Flightless studio’s real-time strategy game, Element, wants you to value your elements. So much so, in fact, that they want you to mine for lots of them, regardless of whether they occur naturally or not.
Platform: PC/PS4/XB1 Developer: Ubisoft Release Date: 15th March 2019
I’ve always been a big fan of The Division. Even way back when they were drinking the multi-screen-experience kool-aid I was high on the game.
Tablet play never came for The Division but what did was a game world caught between the realism of an impressively, albeit grungy, rendered Manhattan and the supremely unrealistic bullet-sponge like nature of enemies you’d encounter. It also seemed to lack an end-game, or did at least at the time of its release, and while Destiny was going strength to strength with its own set of issues The Division chugged along with a less than stellar retention rate. Continue reading →
Platform: PC/PS4/XB1 Developer: Avalanche Studios Release Date: June 2019
One of the now infamous Walmart Canada leak titles Rage 2 was, to many, an odd franchise to be getting a sequel. The first was to be id software’s big return to the triple-A stage but ultimately fell flat.
Rage 2, which is being primarily developed by another studio seems to take all of the good bits from the original and cranks up the action with a much needed injection of Doom like adrenaline.
The area I played through was the space port shown in the Bethesda reveal and is very much a chained series of extremely satisfying, non-stop action.
Don’t ask me what the names of any of the weapons were, other than the franchise’s iconic boomerang I couldn’t tell you one gun from another but they were all very fun and ultimately fall into the silos of assault rifle, pistol, shotgun, sniper, etc.
Larger portions of the game were walled off not giving the opportunity to explore the world or experience any vehicle systems. I’d expect the world to be a little more populated as the original was criticised heavily for being a sparse series of fetch quests with little to no point to vehicle travel.
While I’m not chomping at the bit for it my time with it did have me coming away much higher on it than I did walking in. With a lot more to come between now & its release in June 2019 there could be a special place for Rage 2 and fill that Far Cry gap.
