Minisode – PlayStation VR

OPM's Podcast Blog

Welcome back to the Official PlayStation Magazine UK Podcast. This minisode, Team Bennifer discuss PlayStation VR’s price and what games they’re excited for, while Matt talks about going hands on (or should that be eyes in?) with the headset at GDC. One game in particular stands out and it’s not what you would expect…

Click here to listen.

We’ll see you back here on the 1st April for the next podcast. No fools, promise!

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OPM Podcast 2016 – Issue 121

OPM's Podcast Blog

Like Snake springing out of his cardboard box, the team behind OPM UK are sneaking up on you with a brand new podcast. In this return episode, we discuss Jen Simpkins’ huge feature on No Man’s Sky, Matthew Pellett’s journey to the depths of the ocean in Abzu and Ben Tyrer’s prehistoric adventures in Far Cry Primal.

There’s chatter about Street Fighter V, Bloodborne, Crypt of the Necrodancer and even why one team member can’t put down Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth.

Don’t worry, the wait until our next episode will be much shorter: we’ll be back on Friday 18 March with a mini-episode discussing the PlayStation VR event at GDC, and on 1 April we’ll be talking about the biggest PlayStation game of the year: Uncharted 4.

OPM Podcast – Issue 121

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Amy Movie Review: Sad glimpse at what could have been

“It’s all so boring without any drugs.” If any film in 2015 manages to come up with any line that’s sadder than that, I’ll be shocked and almost certainly reaching for some bleach to drink. Because hearing a friend describe Amy Winehouse’s reaction to winning a Grammy while struggling with (relative) sobriety is one of many gut-punches that make Amy a compelling documentary on the horror of celebrity.

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Red Hoodwinked: What Rocksteady Can Do To Give Arkham Knight’s DLC Purpose

I’ve got some massive spoilers for Arkham Knight and it’s DLC lined up, so best to avoid all the words underneath if you prefer not to know what goes on in it.

Last week, the latest bits of Batman DLC rolled in the thoroughly underwhelming Under The Red Hood and Harley Quinn level packs. Offered as pre-order incentives to begin with, players who somehow managed to find a copy of the game without these included have the chance to squeeze a bit more out of Arkham Knight by stumping up some cash. Well, a bit more is an exaggeration, as combined they offer 35 minutes worth of gameplay. That’s less than an episode of Gotham or a head-scratching Riddler challenge.

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Pictured: Something better than Under The Red Hood

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Hannibal’s cancelled, but is there hope for another course?

Hannibal’s surprisingly swift cancellation should come as very bad news for TV lovers who prefer it when great shows get to stay on our screens. It’s also sad news for the fannibals of Mads Mikkleson’s perfect cheekbones. However, news of NBC giving up on the relatively cheap-to-produce show could mean Hannibal will become the latest beloved cult entry on the merry-go-wheel of revived TV shows. Here is some – major – speculation of potential saviours for everyone’s favourite questionable chef.

I mean you could cut a man's liver on them cheekbones!

I mean you could cut a man’s liver on them cheekbones!

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Un-Welfare State

Sorry if you came here for the usual drivel about games, today I’m angrily bumbling my way through politics. 

Finally, a junior minister has come up with a new way to make the work-shy sofa lovers of England drag themselves to the job centre! The brainwave: turn Job Seeker’s Allowance into a  quasi-loan. That’s from a new book by Conservative MP Kwasi Kwarteng – who the BBC describes as a “rising star of the right” and it’s exactly the sort of big society thinking that we’ve come to dread from the party of the privileged. While it is not a government policy – merely a recommendation – it yet again highlights the callous vein that runs throughout our government when it comes to welfare

Honestly, it sounds like it was written by someone who’s never been unemployed and – more importantly – doesn’t understand there’s more to unemployment than money. This government loves to talk about the welfare state as if it’s a giant lottery for the slovenly unemployed or – even worse – work dodging young adults.

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The Evil Within Review: Survival Horror Revival

This definitive, essential review of a 6 month old game was conducted on the PS4

If you were inclined to count the number of ‘homages’ The Evil Within pays to the past of Shinji Mikami, you might start to wonder if you accidently bought a HD remake of any of the Resident Evils. The guttural revs of a chainsaw, the looming mansion and, of course, disfigured monsters who routinely try to discover what your insides look like. For horror fans, it’s like stepping through the front door at Christmas and having childhood memories flood back. But this isn’t a mere greatest hits throwback, The Evil Within is an attempt to drag the survival horror genre into the future.

Hmm, don’t suppose you know a Mr. Pyramid Head, do you?

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Peggle 2 is Pure Evil.

What is true horror? Is it the heart palpitations as the Alien breaths into the locker you’re sinking into? How about the the sweaty palms and laboured breathing that accompanies any trip to Outlast’s Asylum? Some purists might even argue true terror is the roar of a chainsaw as it gobbles up Leon Kennedy’s neck. All those are incorrect. You’re yet to know true mind-destroying terror until you have tumbled into the twisted evil that is Peggle 2.

Yes, the bright and cheery puzzler with unicorns, primary colours and Ode To Joy. Book a trip into a nice padded room, because a trip through Peggle’s madness will alter your soul.

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Videogames, Parents and Neglect: Why Mainstream Media Needs To Catch Up

If you let your child play inappropriate videogames, you could be reported for neglect. That’s the message coming from the Nantwich Education Partnership according to the BBC. As someone who has sold games for a living since 2008 and been writing about them for just as long, it’s hard not to be a little bit conflicted about this well intentioned piece of news.

A part of me thinks it’s a step in the right direction and the reason for that is my time in sales. I worked at a chain who sell games from 2008 to 2010 and I recently joined again last year. Any retail job has a long list of problems, but my biggest issue throughout all the hours spent behind tills and on the shop floor was ignorant parents.

Where the parents, ey? Get it together stock photo kid.

Where the parents, ey? Get it together stock photo kid.

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Sniper Elite 3: Sneaking, shooting and exploding testicles.

Deep breath in. The unsuspecting guard ambles his way into you crosshair. Deep breath out. The sound of thunder roars throughout the night giving you the ideal, possibly only, opportunity. Squeeze the trigger. Time slows. A bullet crashes into the soldier’s pair of dangling, fleshy bullseyes. Testicle Shot. 30 XP. Welcome to the world of Ruptured Testicle Simulator… Sorry, Sniper Elite 3.

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