Voxie's Top 10 Games of the Year

By Voxie

Right before we start I just need to point out a few things.

Number 1, I'm looking at any game that I played for the first time during 2014 no matter how old the game actually is.

Number 2 and this is important, These are my opinions, You will obviously have your own and that's what makes life great.

Anyway on with the list.


10. FEZ

Like a few other games on this list, I got this through PS Plus and i was enthralled by this game.
A beautiful art styling and fantastic platforming and puzzling made this game a unique experience.


9. FIFA 15

I was debating weather to put this on the list or not  because historically there not much between each iteration, But this year EA seems to have surpassed themselves.
A very pretty looking game (on PS4 anyway) and much better collision detection makes this a must for football fans.


8. Spelunky

Another one from PS Plus, This action adventure is one of those games which is easy to hate as it is to love.
with huge replay ability its that type of game that has you coming back for more and I was hooked on this for much longer then i care to admit.


7. WWE 2K15

Ok again I wasn't sure weather to put this on the list the collision detection makes the game play exceptional which is unusual for a wrestling game, But half of the modes both game and creation seem to be missing.


6. FTL: Faster Then Light

If you've played this you will get what I'm saying when I say you haven't experienced panic like this in any game before. If you haven't played it then I suggest that you go and play it now, I'm not going to spoil it because i think its best you go in blind. Its exceptional.


5. Mario Kart 8

I can hear you all groaning now and saying its just like every other Mario Kart.
Well apart from the Anti-grav stuff you maybe right but why would you mess to much with a winning formula.
I've had great fun with this since its release weather I've been playing by myself, With my wife or with friends. this has been essential if you've got a WiiU.


4. Pokemon Omega Ruby

I've loved the changes Game Freak made to the Pokemon series when X and Y came out, And now I've had the chance to revisit the old regions but with the updated graphics Im falling in love with Pokemon all over again.


3. Titanfall

I'm sorry this had to go near the top any game that allows you to parkour around the map and then get into a giant Mech and smash things up is ok in my book.
Also the smart pistol seems to have re imagined the FPS.
Sorry Destiny you don't even come close to this as a unique experience.


2. Forza Horizon 2

A game that I'm still playing and actually want to 100%.
I love the Forza series (with the possible exception of Forza 5)
and with the massive disappointment of Drive Club this was a great relief.


1. Binding Of Issac Rebirth 


Somewhat controversial I know but this dungeon crawler is outstanding and is one of the very few games that i find myself going "oh just one more go"
I've completed it many many times and it still throws something new at me.
I don't think i'll ever get board of this and whats more its on PS Plus until well new years day I guess so don't waste time go and get it NOW!!!

Any way that's my top 10 of 2014 let me know yours in the comments bellow and please subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter @consolemash

Have a happy and safe new year and I'll speak to you soon 








  
      
        

   

           

January on Twitch

By Voxie

Just a quick heads up for everyone to what's coming up on the Twitch channel in January.

The next couple of months are going to be a bit of a transitional period for us at Console Mash as we are looking to get the YouTube channel and the website up and running.

That being said this is what my Twitch schedule will look like over the next month (hopefully).

January 1st - 15th

Tuesdays: Forza Horizon 2

Thursdays: Husband and wife day

Fridays: WWE 2k15 Interactive

January 15th - 31st

Mondays: Random Day

Wednesdays: WWE 2K15 Interactive

Fridays: Husband and wife days

This may be subject to change due to other commitments but I will try to stick to this schedule.
Madness will also be streaming as and when he can.

Anyway that's all for now, I hope you all had a great holiday season and have a good and happy New Year, Please subscribe to the blog and follow us on twitter @consolemash  and catch our Twitch Streams Here

Be safe and i'll speak to you all soon



   

Twitch Schedule for December 2014

By Voxie

This is going to be a very short post

We've decided to put out a schedule for our Twitch streams every month from now on.
So this is the weekly schedule for the December.

Monday: WWE 2K15 - WWE Universe mode

Wednesday: Minecraft - Wednesdays in Winterberry

Friday: Multiplayer games - Husband and Wife Day w/ Voxie and LittleBigKittie

Sunday: Random game

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays will just be extras and won't be everyweek

Subscibe to the blog and follow us on Twitter  @consolemash

Well thats it from me, Have a great day.

December's Game's with gold and PS Plus

By Voxie


That time has come again where both consoles put out some lovely games for their subscribers to get stuck into


Games with Gold

This months Xbox one Treat is Worms Battlegrounds which is usually priced at £19.99/$24.99.

On the 360 for the first part of the month (December 1 - 15)
is The Raven: Legacy of a Master and for the second part so 15th onwards will be snowboarding remake SSX.

The Raven is usually priced at £7.99/$9.99 and SSX £19.99/$19.99

So a good trio of game for Xbox gold subscribers and well worth a look.


PS Plus

Heading to PS4 this month is DC fighter Injustice: Gods among us  Ultimate edition and wild west 'em' up Secret Ponchos.

PS3 owners can enjoy the fantastic Hitman Trilogy HD (Which consists of Hitman 2, Blood Money and Contracts) along with that PS3 owners can get stuck into Cult Horror Classic Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut (I wont be because I'm a big chicken).

Meanwhile on its way to the Vita  is tower defence game Final Horizon.

To round things up everyone can enjoy Titan Attacks.
This arcade shooter will be available through Cross-Buy.

Well there seems to be a nice selection spread over the two consoles and if you haven't already checked out Novembers selection, Go do it because you haven't got long until they disappear.

Anyway that's all from be if you like the blog please subscribe to it and remember to follow us on Twitter @consolemash

That's all for now, Hope you have a great day.
BYEEEEE

 

 

 

 

        

Forza Horizon 2.........The Review

By Voxie

The Horizon Festival is back and this time its taking in the sights and sounds of southern France and northern Italy.

Personally I couldn't be happier that is back, After the seriousness (apart from the Top Gear Bits) of its bigger brother its a nice change of pace to take a road trip among some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe.

Right before we go any further I've just got to point something out. After the trail of destruction left in Colorado from the first festival its a surprise that any where would let Horizon take place let alone France and Italy. But they did and in the first few minutes of racing lamp posts have been knocked over, cafe furniture has been smashed all over the road and the motorcycle that were parked at the side of the road have now been propelled through the air as if they were cardboard boxes.

The races as before are spread across the map. The difference being that the race hub changes from town to town.
In each town there are 8 (I think) championships with each of these championships consisting of 4 races, which means there is an awful lot of racing to be had.

On to the cars. As usual there is a huge verity of cars on show from hyper cars like the Bugatti Veyron to icons like the VW Beetle and everything in between.
Along with the cars for sell in the game (and the inevitable DLC)
There are also Barn finds for you to look out for.
Barn finds are special cars that are placed around the map at certain times for you to seek out, These can be anything form classic racing cars to a 1945 Willy's Jeep.

The Controversial Drivatars from Forza 5 are back, But this time they seem much better behaved although it is still some what unclear as to whether these are more then just AI with Gamer tags above them but there still good fun though.

On a personal note I've  enjoyed this much more then Forza 5 and I think its because well you feel like you're part of something more.
I don't know check it out for yourself its out now and I wholly recommend it.

Any way I've waffled on for long enough, Let us know what you think and if you like the blog please subscribe and of course you can follow us on twitter @consolemash

That's all today so

Bye for Now   

Sorry for the break

By Voxie

Sorry there has been no blog for a while

There's been a few problems here over the last few weeks.
My work PC kinda bit the dust, Poor thing
But we are almost back to normal so blogs should continue as normal
tomorrow with a quick review of Forza Horizon 2
Anyway thats all for today
Please subscribe and follow us on twitter @consolemash

Bye for now

PS Plus - November

A quick look at the titles available on PS Plus this November

For the PS4:

Binding of Isaac Rebirth
Steamworld Dig
Escape Plan

All three will be cross buys with the PS Vita

Speaking of which action puzzler The Hungry Horde chomps its way onto the Vita as well this month.

and last but not least for PS3

Frozen Synapse Prime
Luftrausers

All of which means we say good bye to: 

Dust: An Elysian Tale
Spelunky
Batman Arkham Asylum
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
Pix the Cat
and Rainbow Moon


Well that was a very quick look at the month ahead, Remember to please subscribe to the blog and follow us on twitter @consolemash


Bye For Now

A Quick look at Mimicry Man

By Voxie

You know what i don't want to tell you much about this game because you should just go and play it.

Anyway very quickly this is an RPG where you play as a Mimicry box (the type that you open thinking you'll get treasure and you end up getting attacked) and you have to lure people in to attack them.
I'm not going to give away anything else because you really really should go and play it and best of all ITS FREE.

Here's the link vgperson.com/games/mimicryman.htm

Anyway please subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter @consolemash


Bye for now 

Console Mash Time Machine: GTA San Andreas

By Voxie

On Monday saw the HD Re-make of this great game released on the Xbox 360 to mark its 10th anniversary.
So we thought we would have a look back at San Andreas and find out why we fell in love with this game.

Rockstar had been the kings of open world games for many years prior to San Andreas Release, They had gone from the 2D top down view of the original Grand Theft Auto and with the release of GTA 3 they had gone full 3D.
GTA 3 was a great game don't get me wrong but there always felt like something was missing, Vice City was next and it expanded greatly on its predecessor. But it wasn't until San Andreas came out in 2004 that things really took off.

The game takes place in the west-coast themed state of San Andreas.
As with all GTA games San Andreas is an island and this time instead of just one city its comprised of three.
Los Santos Based on Los Angeles, San Fierro which is of course San Francisco and lastly Las Venturas which is a fantastic take of Las Vegas.
All of which made San Andreas feel a lot bigger then either Liberty City or Vice City and gave you many more things to see and do.

San Andreas takes its cues from gangsta and ghetto films of the early 90s.
You play Carl 'CJ' Johnson who is returning home from Liberty City on the news that his mother had been killed. As soon as the game starts CJ is picked up by a pair of crooked cops (one of which i think is voiced by Samuel L Jackson but I'm not sure) and force back in to the street life he went to Liberty City to try and avoid.
Over the next hours of play time you play out a Gang warfare story that sees CJ rise to power.
The story is fairly linear as in most GTA games but the sheer number of things to do can mean you can leave the story for days at a time.

CJ's customization is massive for its day, You can change clothes, hair style, tattoos and even his body appearance can change depending on weather you work out with him or just get him to eat fast food.
The great thing about his body appearance (which is tied into the stat system) is that its in the back ground and doesn't dominate the game.

I personally think you should go pick up the HD version on the 360 as its only a couple of pounds or the original on the PS3 store and go and play it yourself.

Just one last thing before I wrap this up there is spots in each of the cities to allow another player to join the action, Through you cant do missions together it is fun just to run around and cause a bit of mischief.

Any way that's a look at GTA San Andreas go play the game its a lot of fun.

Please feel free to subscribe to the blog and also follow us on Twitter @consolemash

Bye for Now


  
             

A Quick Look @ SUNSET OVERDRIVE

By Voxie

Well Sunset Overdrive is out today here in the UK (I'm not sure about in the States, I'll have to look that one up) and we thought we should take a quick look.

Well with the very short time that I've spent with the game one thing is for sure its very colourful.
Which is a great thing as it seems most games in the modern era seem to be very dull and try to strive for realism, So its nice when a game like this comes along.

The game play itself is kind of a cross between Jet Set Radio and possibly a Third person Borderlands with just of touch of Scott Pilgrim.

Insomniac seem to be recovering very well from 2013's less then successful Fuse and have created something quite original and that seems to have a lot of heart.

This is just a first quick look, There will be a review to follow and remember these are just my OPINIONS.

Whats your take on this game let us know in the comments bellow and please don't forget to subscribe to the blog and follow us on twitter @consolemash.

Bye for now

     

Fifa 15............The Review

By Voxie


Another year means another batch of EA Sports games.

This years FIFA game seems to be a nice improvement over previous releases and yes I know there isn't normally too many improvements to these games year on year, But this years game is slightly different.

First of all EA have gone for a more televised style this year trying to make you feel like your actually watching a game instead of playing, This can be seen best of all in when playing as two teams from the English Premier League.

Which brings us on to the second biggest improvement this year which is The English Premier League, This year EA have obtained the rights to the whole of the Premier League this year that means all of the stadiums, all of the players likenesses as well as a lovely new match presentation overlay just for the added realism.

Thirdly EA claims players have now got over 600 emotional reactions which range from goal scorers looking pleased with themselves when scoring a particularly good goal to Defenders getting agitated and wound up after a series of bad tackles and even the linesman twitching there nose when making an offside call.
I know this seems a bit unnecessary but it all adds to the realism and the feel of the game.

These in my opinion are the three biggest improvements, there has also been an over haul of the tactics to give it a more Football Manager type feel to it but they can be quickly forgotten (well I did anyway).

So remember these are my Opinions and we all have different ones.
Let us know yours in the comments below and please remember to subscribe to the blog and follow us on twitter @consolemash.

Bye for Now             

Console Mash Blog Our week ahead

By Voxie

I thought just let you know whats coming up on the blog this week.
This may become a regular thing.

Monday(so today): Fifa 15 review, Football and what not.

Tuesday: A look at Sunset Overdrive released on the 28th.

Wednesday: Time Machine GTA: San Andreas, I want to spend sometime on this).

Thursday: Mario Kart 8 review.

Friday: Mobile Gaming (If we must, we must).

Saturday: PS Plus and Games for Gold Update.

Sunday: Mystery Day (because i haven't anything planned).


These are the scheduled Blogs this week there will be others as well (I think).

Subscibe to the blog and follow us on twitter @consolemash for more news and stuff.

Bye for now   

Upcoming Console Games

By Voxie

A quick look at some of the games that are in bound in the next couple of months.
Just because i feel like poop today and cant concentrate on writing (sorry).

Bayonetta 2                   24/10 (Today)     WiiU

Sunset Overdrive              31/10             Xbox One

COD: Advance Warfare          8/11              All

Halo: Master Chief Collection 11/11             Xbox One

Assassin's Creed Unity        14/11             All

GTA 5                         18/11             Xone/PS4

Far Cry 4                     18/11             All

Dragon Age: Inquisition       21/11             All

Pokemon Omega Ruby            28/11             3DS
        Alpha Sapphire        28/11             3DS

Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix      5/12              PS3

Ok there's some release dates for some upcoming games  Im sure i missed some, If I have then feel free to list them in the comments and please subscribe to this blog as we are working hard to get this and a YouTube channel off the ground and you can also follow us on Twitter  @consolemash.
That's all from me I'm off to play Spelunky (A great game its on PS Plus for free at the moment GO GET IT!) and feel Ill

Bye for now 

Steam Workshop: Age of the Mods

By Voxie

Mods have been around as early as the 1980's, These are generally just add on's to games but sometimes also included total conversions as well, One example being the total conversion of Sins of the Solar Empire.

I always considered Mods to be a bit risky because of things like The Sims 2 where some mods drastically changed the behavior of certain items in the game.
There have also been instances of players downloading Mods and inadvertently infecting their computer with malware.

Then along came Steam Workshop which in the beginning did only support mods for games. But in 2012 this was extended to any game on the Steam platform.

This meant that we the consumer (boy that sounded posh) could download Mods to our games with the safe knowledge that it wasn't going to cause a massive catastrophe.

There has been talk of content makers being able to charge for there content but i haven't come across it yet.

Anyway that was a very breif look at the workshop and mods if you would like to learn more visit Steam's website and please feel free to subscribe to this blog for more poorly written gaming articles daily.
Also follow us on twitter @consolemash for the latest gaming news.

Bye for now



Steam logo copyright of Valve
Vice city copyright of Rockstar

Tomodachi Life.......The Review

By Voxie

I had to write about this game, Its been my go to handheld game since its release.
Ok for those who don't know Tomodachi Life known in Japan as Tomodachi collection: New Life is a sequel to the 2009 Japan only Tomodachi Collection.
I think its best described as a cross between The Sims and Animal Crossing (Were get onto Animal Crossing at a later date).
As in The Sims your main goal is to move Mii's onto your island and the take care of them, From feeding them and decorating their rooms to playing with them and helping them fall in love.

They can get sick and they can get sad, They can also get angry and have arguments with the other Mii's living on the island, Which means you have to intervene and try to help them sort things out.
As I've said before Miis can fall in love with one an other and will eventually get married and have baby's.
The weirdest part of the game is the dreams, I Feel like I've seen everything. (I wont spoil it for you)

Tomodachi Life offers great humor and a lot of fun, Nintendo really pulled through with this and i just wish they could bring games like this to the Wii U.
If you have a 3DS or a 2DS then this is a must have, Its great fun putting your friends into absurd situations and is a very well made game all round.
For more reviews and news please subscibe to this blog and follow us on twitter @consolemas

Bye for Now   

PS4 firmware 2.0 inbound

By Voxie

As we are all aware Sony announced at Gamescom Firmware 2.0 and some big changes to our PS4s.
But what are these changes well were going to run through a few here

First we will be able to add themes and change the colours choosing from 7 new colours gold, blue, red, green, purple, pink and gray

Your PS4 will now suggest people you may know as potential friends.

PS4 owners will now be able to play their own music in the background thanks to a new option for the USB music player.

PS Plus games will now have an Add to Library button on the store meaning you can add a game without downloading it.

New voice commands will be added, Players now say 'Playstaion' to start commands and 'All Commands' to see a list of all that are available.

New enhancements will be added to live broadcasting including official channels and filters for searching for a specific game.

Finaly there is a redesign for the content area and library making it easier to use. 

More details are yet to be released so subscribe to us here and follow us on twitter  @consolemash

Bye for now
     

Our favorite Youtubers (Well Voxies anyway)

By Voxie

I wanted to spend a little time listing my favorite youtubers today.
So in no particular order.

Nerdcubed

He is one of the first people i watched consistently and my personal inspiration for wanting to start up this blog and youtube channel.

He covers a wide variety of games on his gaming channel and does a few gaming rants and unboxing on his IRL channel.

  www.youtube.com/user/OfficialNerdCubed

Boogie2988

In my opinion one of the nicest people on the internet if not the nicest.
He does a lot of character work and is best known for his characters Francis and Jessy.
A gamer and vlogger who just wants us all to get along.

www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bwov47DseacR1-ttTdOg

Ashens

A British comedian and reviewer of poor quality items (manly from pound shops and the like).
He has in previous years done some web series for the BBC and in 2013 stared in his own movie.
ASHENS AND THE QUEST FOR THE GAME CHILD

 www.youtube.com/user/ashens

Yogcast Hannah

On to the yogcast folk and two that I have enjoyed a lot over the past couple of months.

Hannah plays games along the line of The Last of Us, Alan Wake, Watchdogs and at moment Shadow of Mordor.

She also makes play throughs of indie games most of which seem to be quite scary.

www.youtube.com/user/yogscast2

Yogcast Zoey

Zoey plays games that are a little less scary, Games like Pokemon and Tomodachi Life.

She also makes vlogs and videos on issues such as mental health and LGBT issues.

www.youtube.com/user/ZoeyProasheck

Dadcubed

Last but certainly not least its Dans(Nerdcubed) dad, Who has just reached his 100th video.

Unlike Nerdcubed, Dadcubed plays lots of triple A titles.

 www.youtube.com/user/OfficialDadCubed

That was my list of youtubers that i regularly watch, I hope you go and check them out.

You can also check out our youtube channel here   www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kklQ-8PRmlF4tkkZTe_cg

and dont forget to subscribe to this blog if you like it and feel free to leave some constructive criticism on how we can make it better.

Also follow us on Twitter @consolemash 

Bye for now

Lets go find some loot chests (or is there much point)

By Voxie

There have been a fair few comments made about Destiny in its short life, Things like the story is far to short, The voice acting seems kind of weak, The game is just a bit dull and of course the loot system.
Now we all know by now of the famous(or infamous) loot cave, A cave in the game which spawns unlimited enemies which you can pick off to get more loot.
This was welcomed by players who had gotten tired of having to grind for any decent loot, But Bungie decided to take that away from us with a patch a few weeks ago.

Oh well it looks like we're back to grinding and looking for chests,
But are these chests really useful when your at a high level. 

On one hand these chests give players the raw materials they need to upgrade their legendary and exotic weapons and armor which is all great, But the items these chests give out are next to useless to higher level players.
I feel that maybe this can be tweaked to give out better stuff the further you get in the game.
Hmm anyway that's just my opinion on the matter and it is just an opinion I could be very wrong about the whole thing.

Anyway let us know your opinion in the comments below and Subscribe to us here and follow us on Titter @consolemash

Bye for now       

DRIVECLUB IS HERE........ no wait nevermind

Driveclub the social racer from Evolution Studios, which was meant to be released as a PS4 launch game has suffered another set back.

After the North America launch of the game most players have suffered a lot of multiplayer connectivity issues.
Because of this Evolution Studios have taken the decision to postpone the launch of the PS Plus edition until further notice.

Evolution has apologized for the delay and have a team working to rectify the problem.

For updates on the situation catch @DRIVECLUB and follow us on Twitter @consolemash

Playstation Home is Shutting

With the full shut down of Playstation Home happening in March 2015
and no new content being made as of 15th November, We wanted to take a nostalgic look back.
Unfortunately PS Home will probably be remembered for having very slow servers resulting in very very long loading times and being riddled with micro transactions and advertising.
Maybe it was about time that it closed, But it did provide some entertainment whilst it was around even letting people experience a virtual E3.

where going to release a video before the shut down so we can have a proper look at Playstation Home

Follow us here or on Twitter @consolemash to stay up to date