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Jackbox 8 is the Party You Need When You Can’t Have a Party
When you are relying on using technology to join everyone together to play an online party game a lot can go wrong. When you add to that, people who may not be “gamers” or as proficient at using that technology then you are just asking for trouble. The exception to the rule seems to be the team at Jackbox Games who continue to deliver fun party games that are easily accessible to everyone and the 8th instalment is a testament to that.
The Jackbox Party Pack 8 is out and it’s got four brand new games and a sequel to a fan favourite that makes it a bit more modern.
JOB JOB:
Wordsmiths will love this twisted interview game where you use other players’ answers to score the job. Each game can have very different experiences depending on who you are playing with and what hand you are dealt with the randomly generated selections but there are some uniquely funny responses that will give everyone a giggle, especially when you can turn it into something rude. Let’s face it that’s what we all try to do when we play these games. (3-10 players)
POLL MINE:
This is the real standout of the new titles and is Jackbox’s very first head-to-head team game. You are trapped in a magical mine with no way out and the idea is to try to correctly rank your group’s poll opinions and escape. The setting of the game is visually very good and includes really interesting creatures. Think along the lines of a Halloween themed Familly Feud episode and you’ll have this one nailed. (2-10 players)
THE WHEEL OF ENORMOUS PROPORTIONS
This is the first one of the new batch that we played immediately and its selection was purely based on the brilliant name. It also turned out to be a game that returned Jackbox to its trivia roots. The trivia is really strong but then there is this weird spinning of a wheel element that is obviously there to give the non-trivia buffs a bit of a leg up making it just as much a game of skill as it is a game of chance. (2-8 players)
WEAPONS DRAWN
This could be Jackboxs answer to “Among Us” It’s a murder mystery party where you can’t trust anybody. It’s by far the most complicated game of the new batch but is still worth the time to give it a go and the game does a much better job of describing what is happening than I ever could. Can you hide your murders while solving others? (4-8 players)
DRAWFUL ANIMATE:
Drawful has to be one of Jackbox Games biggest masterpieces. If I was doing a list of the best games in the arsenal this would be the first one I would write down. So it’s exciting to see a new spin that introduces animated gifs that you create. Once you are given a phrase your objective is to draw it as best you can so that other players can guess what it is. You don’t have to be an artist either you just need to be able to tell a story in pictures. (3-10 players)
FINAL THOUGHT
Like all Jackbox Party Packs, you’ll have the favourites that you go back to again and again and others that you’ll play once and never try again. The good thing about this pack is the former outweighs the latter. Games like Drawful: Animate and Poll Mine are absolute standouts and are worthy of inclusion in the weekly family board game night.
If you’ve never experienced a JackBox Game before it’s really easy to start and there’s no order you need to try them in, there’s also no extras you need to buy for them as it’s all played on your phones, tablets, and computers used as controllers making it the worlds most accessible game and fun to play with your whole family or friend group
This game was reviewed on PC via Steam, visit the official site to see how you can get it https://www.jackboxgames.com/
This review first appeared here and was reposted with permission.
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Crytek is a company that has always pushed hardware to the absolute limits. As a result, we can thank them for the massive leaps forward that graphics have taken in the last 20 years.
In 2004 they released the first Far Cry game which was published by Ubisoft who has since turned it into one of the most popular gaming franchises on the planet. The first game was a groundbreaking 1st person shooter that was graphically stunning for the time and led to Electronic Arts commissioning the developer to create the Crytek engine and the series Crysis.
Crysis was and in some ways still is one of the most powerful gaming titles ever made. It led to the series of memes that stated “but can it play Crysis” in reference to even the most powerful gaming PCs having difficulty running the title on the highest settings. It turned the product from simply a game into a mythical unicorn that gamers tried to tame.
Now in 2021, we see the release of a remastered edition of the Crysis trilogy, and the question is asked, does this unicorn still put up a fight, or has today’s technologies tamed the wild beast?
The answer is mixed in both yes and no. It really comes down to what system you are playing it on. The console versions on PS5 and Xbox Series X perform amazingly, the graphics upgrades are stunning and even the slightly outdated gameplay in the first title is surprisingly still a lot of fun. I mean let’s face it, they’ve even made it run relatively well on the Nintendo Switch, albeit not nearly as impressive looking but that’s the equivalent of getting your toaster to play Super Mario.
On PC is where you can adjust the specs of the title to really push the limits of any system still. The idea of playing the game at 60fps is doable, but you might need to make some sacrifices to support that, meaning it retains its status on this platform. A status you’ve got to think that at this stage is more an issue with the game rather than the capabilities of the machine. Either way, it’s nice to still be able to say, “but can it play Crysis?”.
The trilogy gameplay itself is really strong. If you haven’t played it before it’s worth a look at for history’s sake and because at the heart of it these are great stories with interesting choices.
The first game feels like you have just landed in the movie “Predator”. You battle North Korean soldiers before discovering an alien threat that gives you a run for your money even in your super-powered nanosuit of armour.
Crysis 2 is set 3 years after the events of the first game and takes you to city streets during the alien attack. It’s fast-paced and bigger and better in every way. But it’s the third game that really does a number on you.
Crysis 3 takes place in New York once again but is now set in 2047. The mission of revenge against the alien threat is called the Cell. It’s this title that feels the most modern as far as the gameplay and with good reason, it was released in 2013, the same year we saw Bioshock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto 5, The Last of Us, and Metro Last Light. So gaming mechanics and systems had hit a peak that Crysis now needed to keep up with. It’s also got the most powerful story of the three games and is an excellent way to tie the trilogy together.
It’s really great that they decided to bundle all the titles together in one remastered release, although there is the option just to buy the titles you want individually as well. The optimisations for the next generation consoles prove that the game is a powerful tool in the arsenal of first-person shooter history that deserves respect and thanks for driving technology further and faster. Finally being able to play the game the way it was intended feels like an accomplishment, like something you would tick off your 50 things to do before you turn 50 list.
Crysis Remastered is a downright masterpiece, and it’s time you found out what all the hype is about.
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Mario Party Superstars is a classic collection that features boards from the classic Nintendo 64 games as well as 100 minigames from across the Mario Party series. It’s like a “Greatest Hits Album” for Mario Party and the best news is we don’t have to wait as it will launch on 29th October for Nintendo Switch.
The boards have been completely redesigned for Nintendo Switch and each come with their own unique events.
Players just looking for a quick burst of minigames can enjoy Mt. Minigames, which offers seven different modes in total – Free Play, cooperative Tag Match, Trio Challenge, Sports and Puzzles, Survival, Coin Battle, and a Daily Challenge.
The title also includes an online multiplayer system so you can play on your own or online, with friends on the same system or via local wireless using multiple systems. With online multiplayer, everyone can hop in for a quick session with friends or even a marathon 30-turn match. When partying solo, it’s also possible to randomly match with other players worldwide.
Nintendo has been a strong leader in protecting people’s identities and being safe from online bullying and abuse that you see in big games like Fortnite and Call of Duty. So when you play a Nintendo game online you have a very different experience. Players can use stickers to communicate with their fellow partygoers while on the board.
It’s easy to take a break to grab a drink another slice of pizza or a quick loo break, just use the suspend function at the start of each turn in board game mode when playing with friends.
Here you can get more information about Nintendo’s Online Service
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When you are armed only with a torch (flashlight) in any video game it usually means you have run out of ammo and are about to die, but in Alan Wake, it could save your life.
The award-winning “Alan Wake” has become a cult classic video game since it’s release back in 2010. At that time it was exclusive to Xbox 360 but now with a full 4k makeover, the game is accessible to nearly everyone with its remastered release on Xbox, PlayStation and PC.
Troubled author Alan Wake is desperately searching for his missing wife after they arrive in the small town of Bright Falls for an escape. He finds clues along the way in the form of a novel he has no recollection of writing.
The story is split into chapters and therefore feels like a novel as it plays out. One that could have been written by (and clearly inspired by) the likes of Stephan King or Dean R Koontz. It also includes the original DLC content that feels more integrated into the game than when it was originally released and adds depth to the overall story.
It’s a wonder this game has never been adapted for the small screen by Netflix or Amazon. The story is stronger than most shows you watch now while having enough homage and familiarity to be consumed by a mass audience. Having said that it works perfectly as a game and having you ultimately responsible for decisions genuinely immerses you into the world.
One of the most talked-about “issues' with the game, in general, was the lack of a HUD (heads up display) but it's often overlooked that the game does clever on-screen interactions to replace this. A hud would ruin the overall feel of the game, so it does things like make the character glance backwards if there is an attack coming in from behind or listen to your breathing to know when you are going to run out of steam when running. I’m glad it doesn't have “shooter” qualities because it’s not a shooter, it’s a story-driven, survival horror. It performs that task with perfection.
This new release is a Remaster, not a Reboot or even a Remake. That means all the original gameplay elements are from the first release with some minor tweaks and a nice new coat of paint. That coat comes in the form of all rendered 4K visuals. The cutscenes now look really amazing and capture the beautiful yet eerie setting of Bright Falls. Characters look amazingly better even if at times the movement betrays that by being a bit wooden.
Taking that into account, these changes are welcome as they don’t mess with what was already a great game, instead, they look to enhance it. It’s like watching one of those videos where they restore an old car. They keep the main body intact and just make it look much better, otherwise, it becomes something else entirely and we fans don’t want that.
Alan Wake Available Now
If you love a good jump scare and are into survival horror games like Resident Evil then you should take a look at Alan Wake. It doesn't include overly complicated RPG mechanics like those games; it's done on purpose to let the story suck you in with its purity. Having the game displayed with improved visuals gives it new life and with it now available to PlayStation owners having an increased audience is likely the reason they have moved the sequel with Epic Games into production.
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