Posts By Mat Growcott

There aren’t any real, physical Thai casinos, which leaves fanatics turning to their phones for fun. It’s true that online gambling in Thailand is also prohibited, so the most dedicated gamblers might need to try and find somewhere where they can gaming access to their favourite games. This isn’t overly difficult, as there are plenty of Thai-based websites that will allow you to play pretty much any online gambling game that you can imagine. Naturally, you ...

Once upon a time if you wanted to gamble, you had to rely on a local betting shop or casino. Those days are long gone. Today you can gamble at places based all over the world – all from the palm of your hand. And yes, that includes Asia. The world is smaller than ever. We all have different traditions, outlooks and hobbies, and yet forms of gambling exist all over. The challenge, the adrenaline of chance and the pure…

I’ve spoken endlessly about how awesome Game Pass is, and I”m not the only one. The reason for that is because it’s brilliant. Arguing it is pointless. But there is one area which makes it fall down. Don’t worry dear reader, I won’t stop evangelising – my local Game Pass door knocking sessions are finally starting to pay off. But as the single biggest flaw in the service, this is something that needs to be fixed sooner rather than later.…

There was a time when you felt lucky as a PC gamer if you had any degree of control over a console-to-PC port. If it released the same year as the console version, it was practically Christmas. Then the money started coming in. Steam sales allowed every title to have a tail that lasted months or even years after release. Simply porting your title and giving it some customisability eventually meant you made money. It should have stayed that way,…

Gamers don’t have to worry about what engine their favourite games run on. Not usually. Not like a few years ago. The engine is like sound or editing – if it’s doing its job, you don’t even really notice it exists. And yet engines are right at the forefront of conversation again thanks to the Matrix interactive trailer released last week. It was mind-bending. I don’t want to take anything away from it, because I still can’t quite get my…

Pokémon used to be pretty simple. Go from place to place, catch wild animals in tiny balls, fight gym leaders, complete the Pokédex and, I presume, get laid. No other reward would be worth it. There was a complexity behind how simple it was. Hardcore fans could compare statistics while the rest of us refused to level up our Pikachu with a thunder stone. There were no massive storylines, no systems on top of systems on top of systems, and…

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the Game Awards. That means a fanbase who simultaneously don’t value awards but get incredibly angry when their favourite titles don’t get any. There’ll be some fun trailers and, as is tradition, absolutely no mention of Silent Hill. And, genuinely, for all the downplaying that gets done at this time of year, it’s still and event that gets people talking at a time when there ...

The United States is a sometimes confusing place and that’s extra true for gambling. It is really 50 countries held together by a common central government and each state has its own laws and regulations that can be impossible to keep track of, especially if you’re moving from place to place. For instance, it’s illegal to drive while blindfolded in Alabama. In LA, you can get in trouble for washing your neighbours car. And while these make for interesting ...

Sometimes it feels like the days of extreme PC discounts is long gone – and then you see the new Batman Humble Bundle and the memories all come flooding back. For less than £8 – somewhere around $10 – you can have almost every great Batman game made in the last 15 years. And it’s well worth every penny. The bundle includes Arkham Asylum, City and Knight, as well as the often forgotten (officially) Origins. You’ll also get three Lego…

Christmas is nearly here and that means nostalgia. In gaming terms, that means endless pictures of 90s kids and their latest consoles – the Mega Drive or SNES. Probably while wearing Sonic the Hedgehog pyjamas. But it can also mean revisiting your old faves, and that’s exactly what me and Mrs G are up to. Along with our never ending battle with Crash 2, we’ve also decided to do a sweep of the Sonic franchise – from humble beginnings in…