Tom Quirk
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Writing For
Checkpoint GamingLatest Reviews
The Rock of Ages franchise has always been kind of difficult to fit in a box. Combining elements of platformer, racing game, tower defense and bowling, the series has so far proven to be more than the sum of its parts. With Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break, ACE...
Video games based on licensed properties are not usually given much credit, and understandably so. Spongebob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom was a 3D collectathon platformer starring everyone’s favourite sea sponge. The original title became a cult classic back in 2003 for actually being quite well-made, and capturing the charm...
This has been a long time coming. Originally coming out in 2011 on the Nintendo Wii, Xenoblade Chronicles was a revelatory role-playing game, combining elements of other genres, such as MMO-like combat and a western RPG-like focus on exploration, into a truly remarkable package. Nintendo has tried to bring the...
Itta
ITTA is a game about contrasts. It is partly a hectic boss rush action game with strong bullet hell shooter elements, and partly a tranquil isometric walking simulator with some light puzzle solving. While it may seem like these two gameplay styles should not go together, ITTA makes the two...
Indie roguelikes really can’t stay away from the 1980’s, with its colourful fashions and neon aesthetic. Taking inspiration from John Carpenter’s The Thing, HyperParasite sees you play as a parasitic alien creature who must kill and assimilate their human assailants in their quest to destroy the world.
Ever wanted a Pokémon game without all the humans in it? Well, 15 years ago, Nintendo obliged by releasing Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team for the GBA and Blue Rescue Team for the Nintendo DS. Putting the focus squarely on the creatures this time around, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon...
Since the company’s founding in 2008, Japanese developer Platinum Games has developed some of the most beloved action games in recent times. This month marks the 10th anniversary of two of its fantastic early releases, Bayonetta and Vaniquish. They form a curious pairing, considering Bayonetta went on to become a...
Sometimes, after mowing down hordes of enemy goons and exploring massive fantasy worlds, you just want an experience where you can relax and listen to a good story. Developed by Toge Productions, Coffee Talk aims to provide that kind of slower-paced experience, placing you in the shoes of a barista...
Black Future '88
There’s a rule of thumb that suggests that popular culture exists in 30 year cycles. Now that 80s kids are all grown up and making our TV, films and video games, nostalgia for the 1980s is clearly in right now. If it isn’t clear in the title, Black Future ’88...
Few games have had as much to prove as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. After the particularly frigid reception to Star Wars Battlefront II’s monetisation model, publisher Electronic Arts needed to prove that it can produce Star Wars games that are simply good games, and not simply complicated schemes to...
While licensed tie-in video games to film franchises have a rough reputation, Ghostbusters: The Video Game in 2009 sought to be a worthy successor to the two live-action films. Featuring the voices and likenesses of the original cast and a story penned by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, it stayed...
GreedFall
French developer Spiders’ output can be compared to a chef trying to make a delicious five course meal with fast food ingredients; their ambition has always eclipsed their resources. Their desire to make AAA titles has been held back by the studio’s AA budgets. Their latest endeavour, Greedfall, is an...
