Author: Xenojay

You have to appreciate a good pun. And a good rhyme also. One. Mum. Pun. What a run. Apparently you can’t stop me now, as I attempt to talk about TVNZ’s latest free-to-air television show, Ready Gamer Mum. Hosted by Mai FM’s Tegan Yorwarth, “it’s got a mix of gaming, competition, family chaos, and some genuinely wholesome moments throughout”. Because if anything is going to stop you from being a toxic gamer, it’s your Mum. Featuring 10 teams from “across the motu”, it manages to tick the cultural diversity box while suffering at the hands of the patriarchy, as we…

If there’s two things I love in life, it’s PlayStation and Korea. I know 2019 was the year K-pop took over my end of year wrap-ups. I tread within the territory of becoming a BLINK, the fandom for popular 3rd gen. group BLACKPINK. Yes, I even understand the generation system now. And I’ve been lucky enough to go to Korea, and bask in all its insane glory. The Korean war, which devastated the continent before ending in 1953,was quickly replaced with sprawling supercities that now houses over 50 million people. And hiding amongst these is a brand known as Lotte.…

We’re all gamers here, right? We make up a group of people that existed just outside of what they were trying to achieve with 2021’s Mortal Kombat. Wider audience marketability. We know our Sub-Zero’s from our Scorpion’s (while underutilized, I always appreciate the casting of Hiroyuki Sanada in a film). Our Sonya Blade’s and our Kano’s. So why the heck does Cole Young exist? I have a feeling my friends got sick of me prattling on about the titular ‘hero’ of the 2021 reboot. A convenient avatar for the audience, even more conveniently related to long-time fan favourite Scorpion. For…

BLAZING. I found it tricky to write up this review for SAROS. Not because of any kind of negative sentiment toward the game. Far from it. Even though I’ve reached an end, much like its predecessor, Returnal, I don’t think I’m at THE END. And it felt like an obsession was washing over me to chase it. Which means the game has succeeded in linking its gameplay to the narrative. Obsession. Arjun Devraj is an Enforcer for the Soltari corporation. Played by Rahul Kohli, they are sent to the alien planet Carcosa with the Echelon IV colony. Their mission? To…

Or how Rahul Kohli held my hand. Housemarque Creative Director Gregory Louden appears on-screen with a giant title next to him; “Housemarque is gameplay first”. He humbly points at it, remarks on what it means to the studio, and moves along. This is my introduction to the time I get to spend with their upcoming title, SAROS. During this brief start, they go over Housemarque’s history. While I played and enjoyed their game Returnal, I didn’t realise they were also the studio responsible for Resogun! I never played it myself, but I often heard and read that it was one…

Ryan’s Rocky Horror Picture Show. TAU CETI. It’s quite the popular term right now. As I found myself watching Project Hail Mary, written by Andy Weir. Adapted by Drew Goddard. Directed by Lord and Miller and starring Ryan Gosling. I felt myself almost leaping from the chair as they plotted a course for Tau Ceti. You know. The world all the Runners in Marathon are currently occupying. But alas, not in this universe. Instead, it might just be the answer to saving our world’s dying sun. A man awakes from an induced coma. He’s confused about who he is. Where…

Leon S. Kennedy is a married (to the job) man. It’s been 30 years. 30 years since a very specific zombie in the first major hallway of Spencer Mansion introduced us to the world of survival horror. At the time, our heroes Chris and Jill clumsily spun on the spot to attempt to evade the zombie. Alternatively, they could also risk their low supplies allowing them to venture further into the puzzling mansion. And right there is the direct influence of naming this genre: Survival meets horror. Since then, we narrowly avoided becoming a Jill sandwich. We’ve escaped our first…

“Electronics Bye-tique” When I was a young boy, my father took me into the city. To see a gaming store. I knew the day would come when I’d get to use ‘Welcome To The Black Parade’ by My Chemical Romance as an introduction. But I didn’t think it would be about Central Park Interactive. Wait. Sorry. The Gamesman. No, that’s wrong too. Unfortunately, the latest piece in the daisy chain of lost gaming retailers is EB Games; A stalwart of Aotearoa for over 25 years. A momentous effort if you ask me. Before we jump into the how’s, why’s and…

Sometimes I like to think about situations where I may need to drop the most passion-filled piece of trivia I can think of. And there’s often one thought which precedes the others I may have. The piece of trivia? “Nintendo created its biggest rival.” How did this happen? In 1988, Sony had started developing a CD-ROM add-on for the Super Nintendo. 3 years later, they announced at the Consumer Electronics Show they were going to develop this. A day later Nintendo said they were going to work with Philips to develop the add-on. Considering that this was in development for…

Do you feel like you’ve been stunlocked? “Where’s part 1?” you say with curiosity. It does exist friend. As a collaborative piece over at XENOJAY.COM. There we started a conversation with the Campaign Director for Ghost of Yōtei, Rob Davis. In this part we covered the hand crafted feel of Yōtei and how the load times can have some influence on the story. And with part 2, we continue into how the design doesn’t rush players, along with some lighter questions surrounding their illustrious career. Rob Davis (Source: Extremely Casual Gamers Podcast) I think it has been very inspiring to…