CounterSpy review

There is little point beating around the bush, or shadowy enemy installation here: CounterSpy is bloody brilliant. Its stylish, cool, doesn't take itself too seriously, and most importantly its a jolly fine blast to play. Such a blast that after stopping the Doomsday Clock from going off (this time on the moon), you will be wanting more. And more. And being as players can complete CounterSpy in the 2 hour mark,  this is my only gripe towards it. I want more dammit, so much more.
True to its stealthy ways, CounterSpy (by Dynamighty games), appeared out of nowhere, popping up on my PlayStation 4 dashboard unannounced  like a fel shaded ninja. And with those looks I was hardly going to ignore IG, especially when  I clocked the trailer. If the gameplay doesn't hook you, that wonderful theme music will,  a bombastic little number made for movieland rogue agents everywhere.
Your guy is a matchstick type hero with white eyes and an arsenal of guns and sneaky moves at his disposal. He might look a bit weedy but don't be fooled, this dude from C.O.U.N.T.E.R spy agency is as much a master of weaponry /shadows as any Solid Snake. Hell even Snake can't steal the enemies national defence lunch money. Its little quirks like this this that give CounterSpy much added coolness. Did I tell you that I love this game?
Infiltrate Imperialists or infiltrate Socialists but get those all important launch plans soldier before those rockets fly, and the moon gets a new make over.
And how much for this slice of stealth pie? A mere ten of your earthling pounds sir! Worth every penny too in this humble gamers opinion. Believe you me, CounterSpy will get every much as plays as big hitters like The Last of Us and you can take that to the bank. Or secret bunker.

As I am so fond of saying, this game is f**king ACE. 5/5

Uncle Salty Crabs

So the Hong Kong crime caper, Sleeping Dogs, is coming to Playstation4? Well you know what? Amidst all the negative nancies complaining about there being too many remakes emerging for current gen consoles, I for one am pretty excited about this one. It plays like movie classic Hard Boiled with you as a karate  kicking cop yer Crissakes! What's not to love? GTA Japan anyone?
Actually (and this is only my opinion of course), but Sleeping Dogs is better than that. "Better than Grand Theft Auto?" You ask. "What could be a better sandbox game than GTA?" Well the setting for one. My personal love for Japan aside, Hong Kong is the perfect backdrop having plenty of 'flavour' from the East to make it exotic while still having a fair dose of Western culture to keep it familiar. Sure you'll hear Japanese music on the radio (beautiful it is too), but flick a few channels and you can hear everything from Mozart to Black Stone Cherry.
There's nothing ground breaking about Sleeping Dogs but what it does, it does well and is a welcome break from creating mayhem in California. Comparisons with GTA are inevitable and while vehicles are lacking, (petrol heads will be disappointed),  it makes up for in other, some would say cooler ways. Side missions and things to do when not killing folk for example. In Grand Theft Auto the player can relax with a round of golf or do yoga (yes YOGA). Reports of a knitting circle are unconfirmed.
Sleeping Dogs has much more suitable past times for a career criminal however. Maj jong poker on a private ship. Kung fu brawls that would make Bruce Lee happy. Oh and cock fighting. Controversial perhaps but no real roosters were harmed during the making of this game. It all fits so well.
I've played some great videogames recently, including the mighty BioShock Infinite (easily in my gaming top 10), but Sleeping Dogs is the one that revved my thrill clock to the limit. I had a f**king blast on it, so much so that I will be visiting Hong Kong again pretty sharpish. And the fact it reminds me of classic Shenmue is bonus.
I'm not saying the game is a stellar 10\10 gold, and it does have some (minor) niggles but nothing that ever comes close to spoiling a wonderful experience. Every gamer should play Sleeping Dogs, and I'm in raptures over the fact it is being rebooted for PS4.
The only thing I can imagine some being upset about is the map. Its fairly small when compared to say Red Dead Redemption but then again, that can be a blessing too. After all who wants a huge map filled with nothing to do?  This is just me of course but after completing the missions in GTAV, I wasn't in a hurry to get back to Los Santos. Like I said, yoga isn't exactly laugh a minute (no offence to yoga loving hipsters reading).  But the whole Hong Kong city vibes hooked me in proper and I loved just wandering the markets listening to food vendors (the pork bun man is legendary) sell their wares, and seeing dodgy DVD sellers tell you they have the latest movies.
A big mention is the hand to hand combat which makes fighting in other open world games feel boring. It does a good job of making you feel like a martial arts master and even getting surrounded by 10 thugs you never feel too worried (in fact the more the merrier).
To cap it all off, Sleeping Dogs is like being in 80s movies American Ninja and Remo Unarmed and Dangerous. And for a guy growing up back in those neon tinged glory days when Commodore and Spectrum ruled the games world, this is indeed good news. (There's also a cool retro DLC pack).
So a reboot for PlayStation 4 is very welcome news for this gamer. I have a feeling these current gen consoles are just what the game needs because machines have the 'oomph' to bring Hong Kong truly alive. Whisper it, but I reckon it could do better than the GTAV reboot. You read it here first.

Dagger Rips Skin for Dog Tribes

MoThe suicide (or that is what is being reported) of the comedian/actor Robin Williams last night came as shocking news but news that sadly won't come as any surprise to those of us  who face this battle every day. Robin had 20 years, <strong>two decades</strong> of clean living under his belt, enough time for the weekend boozers  (who strangely aspire to being awesome drinkers) to among us to depressingly believe  that "hey! We beaten it! The dog finally nails the dastardly (bastardly) beast by cutting off its way-too-cunning head!" Viva la sobrieta! Cured, the man is cured!
But as addicts who face the struggle at every step, we know that with the heaviest of souls, and a finality seldom seen outside morgue doors, that our war is never won. Ever. And respite is always fleeting. Sure, we get "victory days", happy times when the dragon is quiet and busy elsewhere but relief is temporary. As monarchs of revelry,  murderers of moderation, we don't get off that easy. Why should we? Our disdain toward moderation is well known as is our mocking of it, so nature is bound to want to treat us to some lashings of its own.
I put down the sauce on 19th February, 2014. 173 hours ago. 4174 hours. I feel extremely blessed, indeed this current dry run is one of the longest of my drinking career (or non drinking rather *knock on wood*).  Proud is an understatement and my cup of gratitude, much to my delight, is overflowing with the milk of Hope.
But I must be ever vigilant, always on my guard, because it would only take a gentle wind to blow my little HMS Sobriety into rough waters,  and land me back in the eye of a very potent storm. Oh, vile addiction!  And this is the brutal truth of it, so apologies for using yet another soul to illustrate just how grim the battle is. I sincerely hope this post doesn't come across as, "oh poor us! Take pity on our weak, addicted asses!"
I'm merely setting the table and inviting the reader to the dinner of razor children, a feast forged initially by greed and excess,  then after the flames of debauchery have tanned even the darkest spirit, lights dim and we pray for serenity to touch our honest chapters once more.
I wish this sh!t was easy but as the deaths prove (and folk with addiction issues die every day), it never is. Good luck to family and friends who believe their recently sober loved ones are now free from their foul chains but keep them close and guard those precious hearts. That last drink doesn't slay the demon.

Mighty Abe....King All Odd

Abe's Oddysee HD, New N' Tasty interview with Stewart Gilray and creator Lorne Lanning.


New n' Tasty dropped on Playstation4 a matter of weeks ago now, so this blog post, while slow on the news front (think of us as the BMX powered Paperboy who appeared in videogame arcades of the 80s. YEPPERS! We might be guilty of using the slowest Elum to bring you this article but don't chuck us down the Glukkon meat grinder just yet.
We present a giant Scrab cake filled with praise, toward the lovable, wimpy Frankenstein who has returned from death in 1997 on PS1, to be reborn (a word we're fast becoming used to with current gen consoles).

The Oddworld games that started it all(minus my lovely legs)


Remakes, remasters, reboots. I don't particularly mind what we're gonna call them, and im not intending to loose my beauty sleep over it either. And readers here would be wise to follow me too because regardless of how many gaskets get blown, or how many game subscripions are threatened during the faux outrage toward videogame rehashes. I think its a cool thing and once the pitchforks simmer a tad, other fans will chill too.

Expendables 3

Boom! This the most appropriate word I can use to sum up the new Expendables 3 movie. Like the previous two, this is a rip roaring romp which is all gun and chiselled heroes. What else can you expect when one of Hollywood's icons, Sylvester Stallone decides to make movies that capture all of the testosterone fuelled magic of 1980s action films? Its like an adrenaline shot to the bollocks.