Posts By Mat Growcott

I sometimes complain about the lack of surprising news in the gaming industry. Well, here’s what I’m talking about. A new Game Boy Colour game has been released… and it’s been put out by McDonalds. No, this isn’t a madlib. You heard it right. The game, Grimace’s Birthday, can be played in your browser or on your phone. It even sits on a suitably retro website. Or, because this is the internet and people take seconds to do ...

Starfield had a blowout today as part of the Xbox conference, and it’s safe to say it did its job. Opinion on the game has shifted dramatically. Not that the muted reaction to it before was ever fair. I think a nice combination of Fallout 76, Bethesda’s reputation for janky launches and general attitude to Xbox made people comfortable to knock it. And maybe those people will still turn out to be right. But before it felt like those critics…

The second part of the Final Fantasy 7 remake – Rebirth – got a reveal yesterday, and it was the most joyous moment of gaming I’ve had in a long time. Sometimes you get into a rut, and nothing you play seems to capture your imagination. We’ve all been there. And that might be due to busy schedules, or changing tastes, or a mild dislike of many modern games. For me personally, it’s just a bit of burnout. But I…

Since the pandemic, it is undeniable that mobile casino games have become more popular. And they’re likely to keep increasing in popularity too. There are a lot of reasons for that. Ease of use is a big one! It used to be if you wanted to play something like you would at a casino, you needed actually to go to a casino. That’s not true anymore. Thanks to the rise in smartphones, you can play anything you want anywhere. And…

Some of you may have heard about the issues with Steam, Nintendo and Gamecube/Wii emulator Dolphin in the last couple of weeks. It boils down to this: it ain’t happening. Dolphin was trying to get onto Steam, but Valve contacted Nintendo to check on the legality of that. Nintendo shut it down. Regardless of if they’re right or wrong, anybody who follows this stuff won’t be surprised by that move. Emulation exists in a grey area. You’re ...

A couple of people have spoken to me about a tragic new trend amongst blockchain fans – the odious idea of “play-to-earn”. No longer will playing a video game be frivolous – your time will be rewarded with actual currency. If you’ve got to the second paragraph without feeling your stomach churn in disgust, you may well be part of the problem. The idea that playing for the love of the craft isn’t enough, but that digital busy ...

There may not be many surprises here, but it perhaps confirms what we all suspected. A new article from Jason Schreier has spilled the beans behind Redfall’s miserable development, and its critically poor reception. This isn’t an article revisiting what is already at Bloomberg. In short: Redfall was planned as a GaaS title, but direction was extremely muddled. Morale was low. Microsoft did nothing to fix the project. The most damning part, in my ...

Metal Gear Solid 3 is one of the greatest games ever made. But it’s also nearly twenty years old. Things have changed a lot since 2004. That means the recently announced Metal Gear Solid Δ Snake Eater – the actual real name of the remake – has a few easy targets they can hit to make massive improvements without doing anything controversial. Here I’m going to be talking a little bit about options the developers have for making a Metal…

Yes, a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is in the works. And yes, it will be without Hideo Kojima. Should we be worried? I mean, it’s one of the greatest games of all time, filled with iconic moment after iconic moment. Any shift in tone would stick out like a cheese sandwich in a gourmet restaurant. And this is the internet. So there is always room for worry. However, a tidy bit of good news has potentially come out this…

The Activision-Microsoft merger has been accepted in the EU, and that means we’re in uncharted territory. It’ll be the first of many to approve the purchase – and nobody knows for certain what that means at this stage. The CMA – the UK’s market authority – recently blocked the deal. And there’s very little way to circumnavigate that. You can appeal, but that most likely means that it’ll just come back around to ...

The cost of living crisis is hitting hard and that means there is less money to spend on games. But you know what? eSports betting is still going strong. Yes, despite the Covid boom being well and truly over, it seems like the increased popularity of eSports is here to stay. What exactly does that mean? And is betting on eSports in 2023 still worth doing? Here’s a quick rundown of everything that you need to know about eSports betting…

One of the most important things we say time and time again about gambling is to know what you’re doing. Of course, that’s partly about setting limits to how much you spend, and not letting yourself become too obsessed. When gambling stops being fun, you should stop. But it’s not just about safety. Knowing what you’re doing is also about knowing the places you’re gambling, and where the best offers are. A few Google searches, or using a reliable gambling…

It’s a bit of a mystery, but interest in emulating the Nintendo Switch seems to have increased in recent days. I’m sure there’s a rational explanation. I mean, let’s just take a look at Nintendo-related things that have happened in the last week. Could it have something to do with the release of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? Nah, couldn’t be. But whatever it is, it’s an interesting trend. One that Nintendo probably ...

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom comes out today, and I think it’s safe to say that it’s already probably going to be Game of the Year. I’m not basing that off any special knowledge. I’ve barely played the first, let alone the sequel. But sometimes a game causes such a stir, creates such a hype, that there’s no way it’s going any other direction. Last year it was Elden Ring. Nothing else was going to replace that…

Last week I asked where the hype for Redfall was. Then the reviews were released. It has not fared well, and that’s not good news for Xbox. The Metacritic score currently sits at 64 on Xbox Series X and 62 on PC. Commentary on the game is, to say the least, mixed. Multiple outlets are talking about failed experiments, trying to venture into the wrong genre and Arkane ignoring their own design principles to bring in a multiplayer element. There…