Xbox One games

So, in reply to a tweet from the 19th November (I know, takes me ages to do anything) I thought I'd do a blog of videos instead of tweets.

The tweet in question: https://twitter.com/Flook666/status/1064501264959094785

So I should have a shiny new Xbox1-S tomorrow, and finally be able to catch up with current-gen gaming, so what games should I get for it once I'm done with the big hitters? I'm looking for obscurer game recommendations, indie hits you've enjoyed, etc. Ta!

Not obscure really, but here's some lesser known ones that I've been playing that no-one else seems to be playing at the moment.

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Get Even.

You're trying to piece together clues from memories that you're reliving to find out who was behind a kidnapping.  Some bits feel like Condemned where you're scanning certain objects or using a UV light to follow footsteps or using thermal imaging to solve a puzzle.  Other bits feel like a cheap FPS that doesn't quite work the way you feel it should.  Sometimes you can be stealthy, other times it's just blasting your way through.

It can never really decide what it wants to be.  There are levels that take place in run down buildings where you've to bypass guards, there's a level in a high tech building where you've to steal a gun, the inbetween levels are set in a mental institute.

It's all good fun though.

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Human Fall Flat

A daft wee platformer that can be done solo or multiplayer.  The controls: walk, jump and grab.  That's it.  If you like quirky simple platform puzzlers with slightly tricky controls (think I Am Bread, Super Bunny Man, a much easier QWOP) then this is a decent buy.

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Layers of Fear

This was doing the rounds a while ago now but has kinda been lost in the PT inspired stuff.  It's a slow non-combat game that has some interesting mechanics.  If you like freaky horror stuff then you should like this.  There are a few jump scares in it, but most of the horror is in the tension, intresting stuff happening (I can't be more specific than that!) and layout of the levels rather than here a boo, there a boo, everywhere a yawn.

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Guns, Gore & Cannoli

Simple side scrolling zombie platformer.  Good fun but a little tricky in places (even on easy!).  The only bad thing is that there's no manual aiming, you fire in the direction you're facing.  Looks like they've added manual aiming to the sequel though.

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 Typoman: Revised

A puzzle platformer with a difference.  You make words to solve problems.  Absolutely loved this because of it's unique approach to puzzles.  If you're good at anagrams hen this will probably be easy but it's still fun.

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Virginia

Now this is a marmite game.  It's a first person puzzler without any talking.  You've just got to interpret it what is happening yourself.  It's a bit like Twin Peaks and Deadly Premonition but shorter and with no conversations.  The achievements are pretty obscure as well.

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Death Squared

Another puzzler.  I think this was part of Games with Gold.  Fun and devious.

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The Turing Test

Think a slow paced less funny Portal but with electricity instead and that's pretty much it.  There is a decent story in it.

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Pneuma Breath of Life

What is it with me and puzzlers just now?  This is another one that's good.  Puzzles are based on movement or light.  Made me feel like a right idiot sometimes.

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Candleman

Light based puzzler (oh god, not another one!). Try to reach the end of the level without burning out.

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Inside

I didn't see this get as much love as Limbo but I really liked it.  I thought it was better.

Dario Argento films

Here's my Dario collection:

I know that The Church and The Sect weren't directed by Dario but he still had a big input to The Church and they were classed as parts 3 and 4 of Demons.  Just realised that I didn't include Once Upon A Time In The West bluray which he wrote the story for.

Thankfully I've been able to get all the Blurays I wanted but I may have missed limited editions of Bird, Inferno and Tenebrae but I'm happy that I still got the Arrow Video releases.  Especially glad I got Deep Red.  Suspiria is the one that everyone seems to talk about but to me Deep Red is far superior.

I'm not caring about getting the rest on BD as to me Terror At The Opera was the start of his lesser quality work which seems to just get worse and worse as he makes them.  The Mother of Tears, Giallo and Dracula 3D are particularly bad.  Leaving it so long to finish the Mothers Trilogy (Suspiria, Inferno, Mother of Tears) was a bad decision.  I still haven't properly looked to see why it took him so long to do Mother but it just feels completely different to the others.

I only got Cat O Nine Tails and The Bird With The Crystal Plumage last week which finished off the collection.  I still have the DVDs but they're the really low quality DVDs done by labels that you never see anymore.

The two versions of The Stendhal Syndrome are the EU and UK releases.  I think the UK was "Extended" but it was definitely still censored and the EU one is not Extended.  I'd have to check them again.

Here are the DVDs I'd bought before getting a BD player.  I also got the normal version of Arrow's Phenomena release way before I'd heard about the limited edition.  I'll be keeping the Arrow DVDs as they're well packaged with the reversible covers and clear sleeve.

I'm not sure about keeping the BD of Phenomena.  I *think* there are different extras but again I've not properly compared it to the limited edition.

Hellraiser Box Sets

So, here's a few photos of my Hellraiser DVDs and Blu Rays.


First up is the Limited Edition Puzzle Box DVD set.

Nice to look at on the shelf.

 This is the bottom of the box with all the juicy details.

And these are inside.  The design of it isn't very good as you need the polystyrene to keep all the sides upright and it's just made of cardboard.  The main part is thin card (maybe 1mm thick).  Stuck to that on the outside is 4mm thick card with the Lament Configuration pattern on it.  It's all pretty well stuck together but the folds are a bit thin.  You know the old Warner Brothers DVD snapper cases?  They had a plastic frame with cardboard making up the bulk of the case.  The folds on this box are about on par with those.  The discs are safe though, the plastic holding them in place is stiff.  The booklet is loose, glad it's not stuck to the case like some companies do with CDs that I've got.

I think the only reason the box is in good condition is it hardly ever got used as I was afraid it'd rip.

Now I don't need to worry about it ripping when I watch them as I now use my new set, the famed Scarlet Box Limited Edition:

 The outside of the box looks really nice.

 Front and back of the Hellraiser I and II discs

 Front and back of III and The Clive Barker Legacy bonus disc.

 Front and back of the Damnation Game hardback book and Documents of Blood.

 And this is inside the Documents of Blood sleeve.

And this is the inside of the front, the spines of all the discs, book and sleeve, and the inside of the back.

This set is fantastic.  The box itself is very sturdy.  Sure the discs themselves are just in folded cardboard but they're definitely thicker than the snapper cases.  The book is actually hard to open properly as the spine is very well made.  You can only open it about 60 degrees before you feel the strain of the spine.

Once again Arrow Video have done a fantastic job of the packaging as well as the extras and quality of the film transfers.  Arrow are fucking brilliant.

I'll be posting my Dario Argento collection in a few days as I've just got two Arrow Blu Rays to finish it off.  But more about that later.

2 very old maps

While looking for some old financial paperwork I had to look through a lot of other random stuff and found a small collection of Spectrum stuff I'd done.

So here's my hand drawn Treasure Island Dizzy map I made way back when I first played it in 1988/9.  I had to remove two things from it that weren't really publishable.

Not bad for my first ever map.

And here's a full playthrough on youtube courtesy of the RZX Archive:

I also found my half finished Rapscallion and Atic Attack map that I may scan in later.  The Attic Attack one is just really a collection of squares with the odd note on it.  Rapscallion is more in depth but still not finished with the links between areas in The Castle.