Mike

About Mike

Mike gets all the racing games because he understands that stuff even though he doesn't drive.

Tower Defence is not my thing but Ace Team’s Rock of Ages series does carry a daft Monty Python-esque sense of humour. Couple that with a level editor and you have me intrigued. For the third iteration, Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break, they’ve combined a lengthy campaign with […]

Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break – PS4 Review

July 25, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged ace team / boulder / creation tools / history / monty python / rock of ages 3 make & break / skeeball / strategy / time travel / time trial / tower defence by Mike

I’ve grown to like the NASCAR Heat series. Whilst I tend to spend most of my gaming around circuits, the ovals of North America provide something different and the racing has a compact competitiveness I just don’t tend to find much outside of Touring Cars. 704 Games are back with […]

NASCAR Heat 5 – PS4 Review

July 14, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged 704 games / esports / motorsports / nascar heat 5 / online multiplayer / ovals / racing by Mike

With the new season just getting underway, it seems F1 2020 release has been accidentally well timed. Representing the season Covid won’t allow you to have, Codemasters’ latest effort features the two new circuits and a new mode to express your inner Jack Brabham. Some of the tech is looking […]

F1 2020 – PS4 Review

July 11, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged cars / codemasters / esports / f1 2020 / formula 2 / formula one / motorsport / online multiplayer / racing / team management / time trial by Mike

Now I’ve done it. I’ve opened the Pandora’s box on visual novels now and another one has been sent my way. It’s not a genre I’ve ever been enamoured with but at least A Summer With the Shiba Inu offers a decent mystery on paper. It’s a genre where the […]

A Summer with the Shiba Inu

July 5, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged a summer with the shiba inu / dogs / military laser tag / mystery / narratively-driven / quill game studios / spying / visual novel by Mike

You probably know this by now but I’m a sucker for hardcore race sims. There’s something about the act of driving that I want to pursue. Unfortunately, life as a cowardly pedestrian has left me resigned to playing at being a boy racer virtually. More often than not, the good […]

Assetto Corsa Competizione – PS4 Review

June 29, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged assetto corsa competizione / endurance / gr world challenge / hotlap / hotstint / kunos simulazioni / motorsports / racing gt3 / simulation / time trial by Mike

Games of all shapes and sizes come to me in this job. Radio Squid comes from PixelTeriyaki and looks to deliver an experimental look at the twin-stick shooter. Whilst somewhat small in scope, there’s some interesting choices here that at least make the game plough its own furrow. The plot […]

Radio Squid – PS4 Review

June 23, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged arcade / money toad / Pixel art / radio squid pixelteriyaki / sealife / twin-stick shooter by Mike

Say the words visual novel to me and I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Just through osmosis, I’ve gained a perception of a genre that has a rather uneasy underbelly to it. Strawberry Vinegar manages to punch this home every step of the way. Coming from […]

Strawberry Vinegar – PS4 Review

June 6, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged anime girls / children / choose your own adventure / ebi-hime / feeder fetish / narratively-driven / romance / visual novel by Mike

Sport is very slowly getting back on the menu. The real Tour de France is hoping for a race in August whilst the virtual equivalent is hitting shelves when the original race was due to be scheduled. We live in unprecedented times but, you can rest assured that Cyanide will […]

Tour de France 2020 – PS4 Review

June 3, 2020 in PS4 tagged classics / cyanide / cycling / racing / sport / time trial / tour de france 2020 by Mike

Invader Studios have certainly tattooed an influence firmly on Daymare 1998. The title screen, gameplay and tone take huge nods towards Capcom’s Resident Evil series. Indeed, this project originally began as a fan-made remake of Resident Evil 2. It just about gets away with it being a loving homage but […]

Daymare 1998 – PS4 Review

May 9, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged Biohazard / daymare 1998 / invader studios / inventory management / resident evil / survival horror / zombies by Mike

Her Story‘s a game I completely missed the boat on. Sam Barlow’s attempt at a narrative experience focusing entirely on a police interview raised many eyebrows and critical acclaim. Sam now returns with another desktop detective thriller in Telling Lies. Following up in spirit and structure of its predecessor, this […]

Telling Lies – PS4 Review

May 3, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged espionage / fmv / full motion video / narratively-driven / sam barlow / telling lies / voyeurism by Mike

You know the world’s in a weird place when a sports title comes out ahead of a new season. MotoGP 20 becomes my first taste of the sport this year and my first return to the series in a few years. Since then, Milestone’s changed engines and are making noises […]

MotoGP 20 – PS4 Review

April 25, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged grand prix / milestone / moto2 / moto3 / motogp 20 / motorcycles / motorsport / racing by Mike

Life under lockdown’s been weird. I’ve spent a fair amount of time doing some mundane things in video games in lieu of travelling from place to place in reality. Perhaps it’s a good thing then that Bus Simulator‘s map expansion DLC has finally arrived on consoles. Stillalive Studio’s public transport […]

Bus Simulator: Map Expansion DLC – PS4 Review

April 18, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged bus simulator / buses / driving / map expansion dlc / routemaster / stillalive studios by Mike