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Written by Daniel O'Carroll

Category: Gaming News

Published: 11 January 2022

Hits: 124

If you are a “Peppa Pig” household and you have young kids discovering video games then it might be worth pressing play on a pretty impressive little title based on the franchise. After all, I’m a Daddy Pig myself and as he says on the show “I’m a bit of an expert”.

My Friend Peppa Pig is a game that was released in 2021 and given very high scores by critics at a time when games like Battlefield and Call of Duty were getting panned. In fact, the Peppa Pig game is as close to being the perfect game, based on the target audience.

When I was a kid I enjoyed playing story-driven adventures on an old PC. Games like Sam and Max Hit the Road and even Day of the Tentacle. These were adventure titles with puzzles to solve in order to progress the story. This game borrows from that genre to create a game for younger kids to enjoy while teaching them the basics of gaming.

The game starts with the player creating their own animal character to play as. So while you don’t play directly as Peppa Pig, she becomes your guide to hold your hand throughout the adventure. 

The character creation process was very simple as you choose the basic outfit and rather than choose to be male or female the game provides a sexless approach letting you simply choose if you wear a dress type outfit or not. You also choose which animal you will be, we chose to be a Fox but you can also choose from mouse or sheep or other types that appear on the show.

Once the character is created, the show begins as the narrator tells the story and takes you through a quick tutorial to learn the basics of jumping, movement and interacting with the environment. 

Although the controller can be quite daunting to a first-time gamer, My Friend Peppa Pig uses very little of the features keeping it as a simple “one button for everything” approach. So all you’ll really need to do is move and hit a single button. 

The game also has subtitles to follow along with and is also explained through the Narrator and characters so there is no requirement to know how to read. If you miss what to do they will always tell you again so you can get back on track with missions after a little sidetracking.

You’ll start at the most familiar place in the series, Peppas house, and although the game will guide you to complete missions it’s also perfectly ok to explore and enjoy the sandbox world around you. Some of the places you can visit are Windy Castle, Potato City, The Museum and Peppas Grandparents house. At each destination, you’ll meet characters associated with those areas like her Grandparents pet parrot “Polly” sitting on a perch at their house and giving you instructions.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Peppa game without her amazingly entertaining family. Mummy Pig is there, Daddy Pig and of course, George is wondering about raving about “Din-o-saurs… Raaah”. One of the first missions you’ll come across is to find Daddy Pigs glasses, it is really easy and gives kids a sense of accomplishment straight out of the gate, before completing other taskings like collecting Grannys Chickens. 

This game is not one that you will pick up after the kids go to bed and is definitely targeted at that younger audience. My daughter is 3 and has picked up some of the movement quite well. She gets distracted easily so gets just as much fun out of taking the character to the nearest muddy puddle for a jump rather than play the missions of the game. This frustrated me for a brief moment until it clicked that she was having fun and that is really what games are all about so I just let her go and do her own thing. 

Parents who might be concerned with screen time can breathe a sigh of relief. The game has built-in parental control. This allows you to set how long your child can play for. It doesn’t just abruptly end either (cause we know that would end in tears). It lets the child down gently by taking the character back to Peppas house for a sleepover. It’s a great feature that is more subtle than most consoles versions of parental control, some might think it a little too subtle but I thought it was a nice touch.

My Friend Peppa Pig is a wonderful recreation of the television series for kids in an interactive format that is as simple as games come. It’s designed to engage first-time video game players and is relatively educational without being overt about it. The look on a child’s face and sounds of enjoyment as they see characters they’ve become to know come to life and interact with them on screen is just priceless. 

The game is available on Playstation 4 & 5, Xbox Consoles, PC, Stadia and Nintendo Switch. It was reviewed on a PlayStation 5. If anything that is the only regret with this purchase, I should have gotten it on the Nintendo Switch where the controller is more manageable for tiny hands.

This article originally appeared here and is republished with permission

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Written by Daniel O'Carroll

Category: Gaming News

Published: 10 January 2022

Hits: 119

Sony Interactive Entertainment have announced the next-generation virtual reality system for PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR2 and the new VR controller, PlayStation VR2 Sense Controller.  

In addition, one of the biggest exclusive franchises on PlayStation will be coming to PS VR2, Horizon Call of the Mountain from Guerrilla and Firesprite. This original game is being built specifically for PS VR2 and will open the doors for players to go deeper into the world of Horizon. 

PlayStation VR2 takes virtual reality gaming to a whole new level, enabling a greater sense of presence and allowing players to escape into the game world like never before. With the new headset on and controllers in hand, players will feel a heightened range of sensations unlike ever before.

PlayStation VR2 adds a true next-gen experience with high-fidelity visuals, new sensory features, and enhances tracking, along with a simplified single-cord setup. 

• Visual Fidelity: For a high-fidelity visual experience, PS VR2 offers 4K HDR, 110-degree field of view, and foveated rendering. With an OLED display, players can expect a display resolution of 2000×2040 per eye and smooth frame rates of 90/120Hz.

• Headset-based Controller Tracking: With inside-out tracking, PS VR2 tracks you and your controller through integrated cameras embedded in the VR headset. Your movements and the direction you look at are reflected in-game without the need for an external camera.

• New Sensory Features: PS VR2 Sense Technology combines eye tracking, headset feedback, 3D Audio, and the innovative PS VR2 Sense controller to create an incredibly deep feeling of immersion. Headset feedback is a new sensory feature that amplifies the sensations of in-game actions from the player. It’s created by a single built-in motor with vibrations that add an intelligent tactile element, bringing players closer to the gameplay experience. For example, gamers can feel a character’s elevated pulse during tense moments, the rush of objects passing close to the character’s head, or the thrust of a vehicle as the character speeds forward. Additionally, PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech makes sounds in the player’s surroundings come alive, adding to this new level of immersion.

• Eye Tracking: With eye tracking, PS VR2 detects the motion of your eyes, so a simple look in a specific direction can create an additional input for the game character. This allows players to interact more intuitively in new and lifelike ways, allowing for heightened emotional response and enhanced expression that provide a new level of realism in gaming. 

All of these advancements in PlayStation VR2, combined with the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers from the PS VR2 Sense controllers, enable players to feel and interact with games in a much more visceral way. PS VR2 will have a simple setup process, with a single cable connected directly to PS5. 

For more information on PlayStation VR2 and PlayStation VR2 Sense Controller specifications visit the PlayStation Blog. 

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Written by Daniel O'Carroll

Category: Gaming News

Published: 21 December 2021

Hits: 106

It’s that time of year where you might have a little bit of Christmas money or you are looking for that perfect gift for someone who is into games on PS5, Xbox or Nintendo. Here are a few of the must-own titles for each of the 3 major consoles.

One of the best presents you could buy would be a voucher for the digital stores or a subscription to Game Pass or PlayStation Plus. These are ongoing costs for gamers and I’m sure they would be thankful for the gift.

XBOX – X & S

For Xbox the best present you could get would be a Game Pass subscription. It’s the easiest and best way to access hundreds of great games including these new release titles.

Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC)

Forza is the undisputed leader in racing games at the moment and is really part of the Xbox ecosystem as one of its consistent exclusives. The franchise is available now on PC as well, so you get the best graphics and the most fun racing sim on the market.

Halo Infinite (Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC) 

Halo Infinite could well be the game of the year. The title has embraced the open-world genre for this outing and it’s reinvented the franchise bringing Master Chief back to his former glory. The game multiplayer is also the most fun we’ve had in ages with its fast-paced and versatile gameplay. 

PLAYSTATION – PS5

While PlayStation plus doesn’t have the number of titles that Game Pass does, the titles it does have still makes it a great value subscription. God of War, Day’s Gone, Plus this month the 3 free games are Lego DC Super-Villains, Mortal Shell and GodFall which are all worth playing.

These titles are the must-own games to buy separately though:

Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5, PS4)

A launch title for the PS5 this game has it all. Great graphics and amazing gameplay. Miles Morales story is really compelling making this still one of the must-own games on the system. 

Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart (PS5)