Notes from a brief stay in New York
I’m used to big cities. I’ve lived in London for more than a decade and have spent time in various European capitals, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, Las Vegas, and Austin. But as Manhattan emerged over the horizon on the cab ride from JFK Airport, I realised that none of these had...
Stellar Blade is a challenging and stylistic gaming nostalgia trip
The Stellar Blade demo is here! There are many adjectives that could be applied to Level Up’s much-discussed PlayStation 5 exclusive - beautiful, unique, gruesome, and challenging, to name a few - but for me, more than anything else, the upcoming action-adventure title is a nostalgia trip to previous eras...
Apple Watch Series 8 review: You'll get it when you get one
I can’t remember a technology product I’ve been so undecided on for so long as the Apple Watch. Since the first generation launched in 2015, I’ve watched Apple’s iteration from afar, always unsure as to whether a smartwatch could ever provide enough benefit to warrant a price tag of at...
The Sims (PC) retrospective
If you think of The Sims today, you’ll likely think of the EA money printing machine and its endless conveyor belt of expansion and stuff packs. The modern games have a cutesy, sanitised face, and the bright marketing material reflects their apparent positioning as a platform for teenage girls to...
Cities: Skylines II review
Cities: Skylines II is Paradox Interactive’s follow-up to 2015’s Cities: Skylines, a city builder that served as a spiritual successor to SimCity in the aftermath of EA’s 2013 mess. In the following years, the original Cities: Skylines received no fewer than 11 expansion packs, as well as a smaller number...
Merry Christmas from Strat Packer
If your December has been anywhere near as busy as mine then you’ll understand the dearth of articles and videos in recent weeks, as a few ongoing reviews and retrospectives have taken a back seat to social events and Christmas preparations (and rightfully so). Don’t worry - I’ll return to...
Notes from a brief stay in Austin, TX
Through a stroke of good fortune I was recently invited to spend a few days in Austin, Texas, and having never been to the United States I jumped at the chance. The city wasn’t on my to-visit list and I had minimal prior knowledge about the local area, so I...
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged is something of an anomaly. For every online commenter promoting Ayn Rand’s modern classic as essential reading, there’s a critic advising against ever picking it up at all, and it’s hard to separate opinions based on incompatibility with the holder’s politics from those critiquing it as a work...
FC 24 Career Mode: Everton – fighting for Premier League survival
It’s been a year since I last updated my FIFA 22 Career Mode series, guiding TSP United into England’s top flight. With my enthusiasm for EA Sports FC 24 yet to wane, I thought it was time to start a new campaign with a new club. A quick note before...
Like a Dragon: Hands on with both new games at EGX 2023
I attended my first post-pandemic EGX this week in London, and while the event itself was certainly subdued compared to previous years, I was very excited to get my hands on two new entries in the Like a Dragon series ahead of their release. While both are brand new games,...
