Midlife Gamer » Midlife Gamer Video Showcase

Midlife Gamer Video Showcase: Star Wars: The Old Republic

Greg Giddens — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:29:26 +0000

Uncle Fista, antman, huntervp and Ancient Gamer get together in our latest Midlife Gamer Video Showcase to complete a flashpoint in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfgf52-4kzw

Midlife Gamer Video Showcase: Battlefield 3 (PC)

Anthony Bate — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:32:41 +0000

Shooter season 2011 is really in full swing, the generic B title games have done themselves a favour and neatly moved out of the way of the big boys coming through. First of the big two is Battlefield 3, tipped as a Modern Warfare beater by many, this really is EA’s chance to stick it to Activision. I can’t personally comment whether it will be better than MW3, I know they are certainly different in the overall approach but both share the limiting theme of a modern combat environment. It seems a greater disparity lies with the game machine you decide to play on, various problems to be had by all. With the PC version described as the best looking, I thought I’d knock up a quick gameplay video for all you Midlife Gamers. I would’ve loved to record the video in 1080p at 60fps, however my PC is not powerful enough to effectively play the game and record it at the same time. Instead I recorded 540p and upscaled to 720p in post-production. So this isn’t the sharpest you will see Battlefield 3, but all the effects are turned on and the sound is as sublime as ever.

Midlife Gamer Video Showcase: Payday: The Heist

Anthony Bate — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:00:44 +0000

This current generation of never-ending sequels, prologues and origins can be tiresome. Sometimes it feels that commercialism has really gotten its teeth into gaming, sucking out the originality in favour of peer pressure and ham-fisted tactics to get you to buy the latest Duty of Warfare 12. Often it is left to the indie developer to freshen things up, their main concern is the game’s fun factor instead of the corporation’s plofit and ross figures. Step forward Overkill Games and their fantastic co-op robbery simulator Payday: The Heist for the PC and PS3(PSN).

Imagine the best bits of Heat, Point Break and Inside Man smushed together into a co-op experience much like Left for Dead but with primary and secondary objectives. Don’t feel like shooting out the security cameras? You won’t fail the mission but you will definitely have a harder time completing it when the feds know exactly where you are, not that you’ll have an easy time in any case, as about 50% of attempts end in failure. Just like Left for Dead your strength is in your unity and organisation. As you’ll see in the video, if one of your party fancies himself a real tough-nut and decides to go all Rambo, chances are he will be incapacitated and so will the poor schmuk who goes to pick him up.

At the more than fair price of £14.99 Payday: The Heist gives a lot of bang for your buck. The extensive perks and unlock features add longevity to the game and the quality of the shooting is top notch with precise hit-boxing and very tight definitions on geometry i.e. if your crosshair is just around the edge of a wall it will miss instead of clipping frustratingly into the wall. I shall blabber no more, this ain’t no damn review, just take a goosey gander at the video and see for yourself. There are decent alternatives to drinking the Kool Aid and buying Call of Honour 27.

Midlife Gamer Video Showcase: Train Simulator 2012

Anthony Bate — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:30:40 +0000

The golden age of rail is a romantic idea, I don’t think anyone can really put their finger on it but it can’t be denied there is a strange allure to huge metallic beasts cruising the length and breadth of the land on steely arteries. With more than 50% of all adults having personal motorised transport i.e. a car, it amazes me that trains still hold the relevance they do, this country would be crippled if all rail stopped tomorrow. And to the drivers, these unsung heroes must direct vehicles that weigh more than your house at 120mph, stopping on a dime and keeping to the tightest deadlines. They say imitation is the best form of flattery so why not emulate these thankless few and have a go on Train Simulator 2012. On a personal note, I could’ve probably thanked them more by not placing pennys on the line as a child until an elderly neighbour threatened to kick me in the goolies, but I choose to honour them in this way instead.