So, we've all seen it. The argument over which is better; the old school written review or the video review. I, myself have had a lot of reason for thought on this subject as of recently. After investing in a better microphone and a pretty big upgrade in terms of my PC, I have started to wonder about the possibility of using videos in addition to my written reviews.

The big question of course is whether this is a less professional way to present reviews. I think a big thing to keep in mind is the quality of the video and audio of each video. I mean, unless the microphone is of high quality, surely it will show. On top of which if the PC can't keep up with what's being recorded it would show as well, this would drive away viewers and make the whole thing pretty unpleasant. The quality of the written review is down solely to the writer, I suppose if you're pretty bad at writing reviews then your skills will suffer regardless what format you use.

Personally, I am planning to start producing brief written reviews, simply summarizing what I said in the video and making the video more in depth. I think in some ways the video is both easier and more difficult that it's written counterpart. If you think about it there is a lot more to remember when producing a video review. If you mess up you have to edit it it out, if your accent affects what you say it could also make the review harder to watch. To put it bluntly if you make a mistake and not realise it until after you upload the video, you can kinda look like an idiot. If you muck up something on a written review you can just edit it then and there, Bam. Problem solved.

Now onto a little bit more of a tender note. How much does prejudice make a play in video reviews. If you click one just to hear a kids voice, do you instantly stop listening? Do you counter all of his views because "he's young and doesn't know what he's talking about". I will be honest and put my hands up, hearing a kid review a game does kind of promote a little elitist attitude, even though that kid might have some really interesting and different views.

So what about accents? If I have a very heavy french accent (I don't...but I could... But i don't) would this mean that some people would have trouble understanding what I'm saying. I have a South Western, British accent.. one would akin this to a "farmer"... You'll know what I'm talking about when I, well, talk. Would this propose any problems, if say, a canadian listened to it?

Obviously this isn't a snipe at people who do video reviews or at people who do written reviews. It is more just an expression of my thoughts, feelings and concerns on the matter. If you have any thoughts on the subject please, feel free to leave a comment. Or follow me if you like anything else on the blog.

Cheers, beautiful people!

Hello there, you beautiful mother lovers! In this episode we discover the fear of a cow in a slaughterhouse, the cutesy wutesy comic style of a hack-and-slash ARPG and a JRPG with a theme song that'll make you want to play it right now! As in RIGHT NOW! But first, I do believe I should apologize, I have been slacking. Well, less slacking, more partying for my birthday week. Anyway, on with the Round Up! So up first is a cute little game called LFG - The Fork of Truth http://www.lfgcomic.com/ and if you want to check out the actual comic, which I definitely would advise, it's right here: http://www.lfgcomic.com/archives/ LFG is a 4-player co-op ARPG in a hack-and-slash style. As you may have guessed by my repeated use of the word "Comic", the game is based on LFG's ongoing webcomic following the adventures of Cale'Anon a fearless, righteous, elven archer and Richard the not-so-nice, kinda evil, undead warlock and their companions. The game follows the same four fellows in a "mini-arc" set between the first and twelfth episode. From what it seems, each character has 4 different abilities. These 4 abilities range from Krunch's Ground Slam, Richard's Fireballs and Benny's Shield. The art style of the game coordinates well with the comic roots and the humour flows perfectly. Interestingly enough Paladin Studios had little to no interaction with Blind Ferret before sending over a little trial of the game and they nailed the humour perfectly. They've yet to show what kind of character progression they're including but as a ARPG, I hope they nail it. Nothing lets down a good ol' RPG like a lack of, well RP. To all those people sat on the fence as their reading this, my suggestion would be to go check out the comics and if you love them, like I do. You wont be able to wait for the game. Check this sexy mo'fo out on kickstarter right here! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1412277313/lfg-the-fork-of-truth [URL=http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/51183/755497_full.jpg] [/URL] [URL=http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/51183/755501_full.jpg] [/URL] [URL=http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/51183/755493_full.jpg] [/URL] Onto the next one and say hello to BEEF. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fancydino/beef-not-all-cows-have-grassy-endings Yes BEEF as in the meat, out of cows. Incidentally, the the plot of the game is that you play as a cow. But this isnt just some secret cow level or a game where its all bunnies and rainbows, no, this game is a cow-survival-horror. Or as I like to call it, a COSUHO... wait- a COSHO... a COS- oh screw it. Basically the whole idea of the game is to escape the slaughterhouse as you play as the cow Beef, a genetically engineered cow thats been given awareness and the ability to walk on her hind legs. As you navigate the white walled, blood spattered utopia of gore, you will be chased by Meatjoy, a lovely young fellow who enjoys hacking cows to bits. As he encroaches on your position you will hear many of his quotes and be scared dungless as he sprints swinging his cleaver. Along the duration of the game you will have to help other cows mooing for help and aid them on their escape. The game is currently in Alpha so its going to be a while off, but really? A survival horror cow game. I hope this one is super scary. I would be more than happy to hold my hand high and say Yes, this cow game made me scream like a little girl. This hunk of meet can be kickstarted and please, for the love of god do. I really want to make a cow-pun-filled review of this puppy...er- calf. [URL=https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/667/289/a5934a9dce4909f766692809dd9bf2bc_large.jpg?1371033729] [/URL] [URL=https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/667/343/ea95c8bb12707fe4c23ff29e496ba033_large.jpg?1371036691] [/URL] [URL=https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/667/320/72d8f0d66697d6abccaf2d4e46d29463_large.jpg?1371034810] [/URL] And we also have the beautiful Soul Saga! http://www.disastercake.com/games/soul-saga/ Uber-excited to be introducing this gorgeous piece of work. Its a J-RPG styled game, taking heavy influence from games like Suidoken, Breath of Fire and of course Final Fantasy. The games developer Mike Gale has had a lot of experience as a programmer, game designer and technical artist for Microsoft, so the man knows what hes talking about. He has a very passionate and ambitious project tying down all the good mechanics from the most popular game series. The game revolves around the life of Mithos, a young guildmaster currently living on the floating village of Medonia. His dad was the guildmaster of the worlds strongest guild and now Mithos wants to top him. Collecting a few allies to join in his guild, he has the goal of killing the King of Dragons, which was his old mans final goal. The game boasts some gorgeous graphics, art and some pretty top-notch music and voice acting. The combat actually seems like a good concept of enemies needing a little understanding to beat, like in the good old days of using fire to kill that ice thing so you can then attack it with a melee weapon, but not a elemental melee weapon cause that woul- well, you get the idea. Mike seems real passionate about this project and has put a whole lot of effort into this game. It would be a real shame to see it go to waste. Hit this beauty up on heyere and pledge some moolah: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/disastercake/soul-saga-a-j-rpg-inspired-by-playstation-classics [URL=http://www.disastercake.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Soul-Saga-Bad-Guys-Group.jpg] [/URL] [URL=https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/675/795/4fa878ff633c3e915dd6eb92fef25a08_large.jpg?1371280719] [/URL] [URL=https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/675/749/8370b463339dc16f1f117ec37950a067_large.jpg?1371278435] [/URL] So, that about wraps up that Round Up folks, if you wanna see more of this then just hit subscribe or if you need any more information about these games, or just fancy a chat, then hit me up. Love Love! xox

Heya Foxy Folks, Just a quickie to let y'all know that the demo for Rogue Legacy, which I featured here: POW! is available right now, right here DOUBLE POW! So get your grubby mitts all over that mother lover and have a ton of fun, I've played it for at least 3-4 hours, it really is a time killer.

Hello you sexy gamers! This time round, we have a few games that have already been Greenlit and Kickstarted, in no way does that mean you should miss out on these puppies. So first on the line we have a game called Full Bore http://www.wholehog-games.com/fullbore/ A pig that digs and is a digging pig, that digs. The has a heavy emphasis on exploration, meaning although there is a goal, you're not pushed in any way. Think open-world, only, it's underground. You play as a young boar pushing blocks, knocking blocks down, activating contraptions and navigating through caves. The game has an awesome soundtrack to boot, a truly funky and happy synthesized vibe to it. I mean that's far from the only charms of this game I mean just look at the screenshots, the pixelized art has a real sweetness to it, the game just looks as if a child could pick it up and enjoy it too. The story isn't too heavy either, it's about a young pig, digging it's way down to uncover the secret of pig-kind, a bit like Indiana Jones, kinda. When it comes to these kind of games, the real clincher is the controls and the playability of it, a simple fault from buggy controls or even a sloppy rendering engine can really make or break a game. Although I wish these guys all the luck in the world and hope this game gets on without any bumps along the way. On top of all of this, you can't say that it's been done before, a digging pig in its own right sounds like one hell of a game. Full Bore is currently on Steam Greenlight waiting for your upvote. [URL=http://www.wholehog-games.com/fullbore/img/fb-3.png] [/URL] [URL=http://www.wholehog-games.com/fullbore/img/fb-6.png] [/URL] [URL=http://www.wholehog-games.com/fullbore/img/fb-1.png] [/URL] Next up is a game i'm really looking forward too - Rogue Legacy http://www.cellardoorgames.com/roguelegacy.html From the surface this looks like a standard platformer, maybe it's got some RPG elements but nothing more. Now, while that is bang on the mark, it's got ways of breaking the mould. Straight up is the whole concept behind the game, you will die. The game needs you to die for the game to really bloom, you see as you die, your children come to avenge your death, but maybe they have a genetic deficiency that you didn't like, gigantism, dwarfism, colorblind, IBS, etc. and this literally affects your game. You will also get to develop your castle, your armor and even play different classes, the whole while handing down your deficient lineage to take up the game again to play. A constant, RPG like, development of gaining better loot and inscribing new runes and enchantments, just push the need to come back for more. The game already includes controller support and is ready for Steam's Big Picture, which means if they release a multiplayer mode, it would well be a very welcome addition to the couch co-op world. I really like the idea of this game, it looks like a load of fun to play with the game's lighthearted take on dungeon crawling really does bring a smile to my face. The game is currently on Steam Greenlight and looks to be released into a Humble Bundle very soon. [URL=http://www.debugdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/rogue-legacy-castle1.jpg] [/URL] [URL=http://www.debugdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/rogue-legacy-boss.jpg] [/URL] And finally we have Stonehearth http://stonehearth.net/ Now Stonehearth is beautiful looking game and one that again, I'm really excited for (let's face it, I just love indie games) The game is a sandbox, RTS, RPG styled game. What this means is that, when you build a house for your villagers, you literally design that house, if you want a three story high house, that's fine or if you'd like it shorter but longer, that's fine too! The whole ideal behind Stonehearth is that it should be played however you want to play it. Whether you want to mess around with complex engineering systems, wage massive wars or just make a really nice looking city, it's all your choice. I will be honest, I haven't seen much of combat within the game but what I have seen looks pretty RTS basic 'hit them until they die', that's not to say that it will stay like that, on release there may be different styles of combat, etc. we'll just have to wait and find out! Now like I said the game is beautiful looking, it's voxel based but the bloom and depth of field really smooth it all out and the animations look fantastic. For people looking for more of a goal based game, this may not be your cup of tea, form the looks of it, it is immensely open-world. I can already see myself losing a lot of my night on this game and I don't think I would really care about losing it either. Anyway the game currently has 8 days left on Kickstarter, it's already $385,000 but that doesn't mean you should check it out or pre-order it. [URL=http://stonehearth.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/farm.jpg] [/URL] [URL=http://stonehearth.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/city.jpg] [/URL] [URL=http://stonehearth.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/crafting.jpg] [/URL]

Heya All! This issue of Kickstarter Round Up, I have 3 new games for your beautiful eyes. I'm really interested in these little bundles of joy, hopefully you will be too! Anyway here we go! First up we have Rays the Dead www.kickstarter.com/projects/ragtag/rays-the-dead Now as a massive zombie fan, this one grabbed my attention straight away. It's cartoon likeness to a mix of Don't Starve's 2.5D characters and Plants Vs. Zombie's cutesy zombie style, really brought a smile to my face. The game revolves around the story of Raymond La Morte (he wasn't going to get far with that name was he) and his unpleasant position of being very much alive, when he should be very much dead, thanks to a random lightning strike. The idea of the game is that as you play through the game with Ray, you start to have flashbacks of your life, prior to death, funnily enough. As you stumble your way through Rays old town you can create an army of zombies to aid you, having an army of zombies won't be enough however, you'll have to expend a certain amount of stealth and puzzle solving and zombie management in order to complete each mission as efficiently as possible, ambushes from bushes and dark alleys will likely be a key feature, Pikmin, anyone? On the flip side of that you'll also be able to play through the flashbacks that I spoke about previously, this will probably provide players with more of a challenge as there will be no more zombies to help you in these sections. Anyway if you like Pikmin and you like Zombies, then your definitely going to like Zombie Pikmin. Check it out on Kickstarter! [URL=https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/536/763/6503959d44362fb2a9b086886ab6c403_large.png?1366735419] [/URL] [URL=https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/401/802/295af6247526ea52f4d2fb4474d842d4_large.png?1361496952] [/URL] [URL=https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/534/656/b3487b227dd0ae339f9b010cbb9e871a_large.png?1366664223] [/URL] So next is a game called Moon Rift http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/843950213/moon-rift This game shares a lot of similarities with another upcoming indie game called Starbound, but please don't let that deter you, believe me I'm after both. This game essentially is a platforming RPG shoot-'em-up, following the story of your custom created character as they travel the world in order to collect all the pieces of the moon which has recently, well, exploded. This has caused a fair bit of chaos down on earth and it's your job to find them all and restore peace to the world. The game shares a borderland-esque way of dealing with gun randomization that means there's a lot of different weapons to get each with different combinations, this is also a common detail in the game Starbound, which may put people off as this is lacking any building process. I argue the fact that although, yes, this game doesn't have any building system like Starbound, however this game is much more of a frantic shooter, with lots of explosions. I like explosions. A gun-element system is implemented, along with leveling up and skill upgrading systems, which comes from killing bad guys and finding moon-pieces, respectively. The whole game is procedurally generated (I've been throwing that word around an awful lot) so it means you won't be playing through the same game twice. I should explain that this game is currently aimed at an IOS/Android release initially, but the Author has stated a PC/Mac version will be quick to follow. For more information head on over to the Kickstarter page! [URL=http://www.moonrift.com/uploads/1/9/9/6/19964567/9442111_orig.jpeg?708] [/URL] [URL=http://www.moonrift.com/uploads/1/9/9/6/19964567/4228781_orig.jpg] [/URL] [URL=http://www.moonrift.com/uploads/1/9/9/6/19964567/1805562_orig.png?693] [/URL] Okay, so this next one, TUG, is a bit of a big deal http://nerdkingdom.com/ The game is a voxel based, procedurally generated (again), open-world sandbox-RPG. It utilities brand new technology based on social and psychological research. There are actually a massive amount of scientists and Ph. Ds working on this project and have a fair bit of influence into how the game is made. It's using a constant beta to allow constant feedback from players and testers. The character grows through the game by starting as a child, right form the get-go the player is encouraged to explore his or her surroundings as the game relies on this. If you hole up in a cave for the entire game, you won't get any story, if you don't find the pillar with the runes inscribed all over it, you'll never know it existed. The game's story is fed to you very organically, think back to your time with Shadow of the Colossus. In a very Lionhead statement, TUG creators explain that you'll be able to "tell your characters attributes by looking at their physical appearance". I would like to see how they tie in both the ability to have organic stories being fed to the character, whilst still being randomly generated, but if they do it well, like it looks at the moment, this will be an excellent game and definitely one to look out for. Again this little beauty is up at Kickstarter so feel free to mosey on over and share the love. Unfortunately TUG is in Pre-Alpha and they haven't threw up any screenshots for you guys to devour yet, but I do urge you to check out their website and Kickstarter page. This is an exciting project which I can't wait to get my teeth into. So that's it for this issue of Kickstarter Round Up. Thanks for reading and if you liked it, feel free to Subscribe! Love Love guys! xox

Hello beautiful Gamers, Today I'm coming to bring you my first issue of Kickstart Round-up. Don't worry I can already hear your shouts and screams of excitement at this novel and completely original idea. Anyway without much further ado, here is my first line-up of games to take a look over. First off we have The Realm. http://www.therealmgame.com/ This beautiful game is the love child of several different video game companies meeting and then coming back together in this piece of art. The game consists of guiding a little girl by the name of Sarina, through the jungles of an abandoned, overgrown city. Humans still exist, but they have moved out of the city into more rural, tribal communities. Sarina is in search of a mysterious flower that has magical healing properties for her Mother that has fallen ill. On her path she finds a legendary creature, known as Toru, which is basically a Rock Giant. Together on their journey they bond and become heart-warmingly close. The game is basically a point-and-click adventure title, that utilizes innovative and experimental ways of interacting with the environment, instead of the classic "Pick up, Use, Talk to" icons, the game actually gives you different actions depending on context and which character you currently control. The game is currently on a Kickstarter Plan, So go check it out! [URL=http://www.therealmgame.com/media/07.jpg] [/URL] [URL=http://www.therealmgame.com/media/05.jpg] [/URL] [URL=http://www.therealmgame.com/media/08.jpg] [/URL] Next up is Past Away. http://scindomedia.com/blog/ Now Past Away is a pretty interesting looking project. It consists of Zombies, yes. The Future, yes. Comics, yes. Game...Yes. The whole thing is an interactive comic, allowing you to influence the story at certain points. Players of Heavy Rain, Walking Dead and the ilk should be familiar with the concept. The whole thing is more or less based around your player (a pizza delivery guy) surviving and handling a zombie apocalypse in the not-so-distant future. The game really does look gorgeous and as the whole thing was illustrated, conceived and produced by one guy, my hat really comes off to this one. I'm not sure how deep the story is going to be, or how much of an impact a player will have on the actual outcome of the game. All I know is that the game's art style, the animation and from what I've heard of the soundtrack feels pretty much flawless. Even if you're not too much of a Zombie fan or a Interactive Movie/Comic fan, it's still worth a look over. Past Away is aiming to be funded by the 25th of May. Lastly here's Chasm. http://discordgames.com/?page_id=1947 Now if you've been floating round the indie scene, you might possibly have seen this name come up a few times. Chasm is causing a fair amount of hype. It's clear inspiration from Zelda is pulling a lot of attention and it's solid gameplay, charming graphics and well designed soundtrack just sets the attraction in stone. The upcoming Action-Roleplaying Game is one of those procedurally-generated games, meaning the game actually builds itself as you play, bringing a very different game through different playthroughs. The game revolves around your character being trapped in a mining town, on his way back from fighting in a war. With your battle-trained hero ready to go he starts to pummel every monster in every mine/dungeon/castle in sight, in the true ARPG fashion. The village that your character is resting at has a stash, item shop and plenty of villagers for you to go round and chat to. The game is in Kickstarter til the 12th of May and the lovely people at Discord even released a Demo for us, check it out here: http://www.indiedb.com/games/chasm/downloads/chasm-105-windows

Hello world! I've been imm'ing and arr'ing for quite some time now, behind the the possibility of starting my way into the gaming industry. Now before I explain my life story, etc. be warned that you will do at least one of the following; Scoff, Roll your Eyes, Refer to me as a Hipster, Start to hate me. Basically I'm aiming to be a Graphic Designer in life, this is my passion and a very pinpointed focus. My second passion in life is gaming, from a young age I've played games, all through my life I've played games. I believe I pretty much know what makes a good game, what makes a bad game, what features should be included, opinions, opinions, opinions. On trying various different approaches it kinda came down to realizing my humor and literacy skills could have what it takes. So here I am about to start my journey into the reviewing world, if you have any criticism, please, please, PLEASE! Tell me. I need criticism on my criticism to make sure that, well, I'm not just chatting out my arse. Love love!