Author Profile
PJ is a former staff writer across Hookshot Media. He's been playing video games pretty much nonstop since the early 1980s, which is ages ago. Favourite genres include RPGs, puzzle games and lovely big single player adventures of all kinds. The weirder the better.
Latest Reviews
Banjo Got High on No Man's Sky
You know, I'd sort of forgotten how much I enjoyed 2020's Journey to the Savage Planet. Typhoon Studios' debut was a fantastically unique and colourful one that challenged you to think at all times, as you made your way across what was - and still is - a great big planet-sized platform-puzzle populated by cute aliens...
Review DOOM: The Dark Ages (Xbox) - Puts The Finishing Touches On A Masterful Trilogy
Glorious Game Pass Gibbings!
Id Software's new trilogy of DOOM games, now that I've had the chance to sit down and play them all and a have a bit of a think (I can think, you know), comes across as a rather dazzling package when taken as a whole. It's almost, in hindsight, as though the devs have had a plan all along. And it's a plan that 100%...
Review 8BitDo's Retro 87 Keyboard & Retro R8 Mouse Nail The Original Xbox Vibe
But do they work with your console?
Now, you'll most likely have seen the 8BitDo Retro range of keyboards doing the rounds over the past few months, as the company has been pumping out fantastic variations on the core mechanical board that take in the likes of Nintendo, the Commodore 64 and, in this case, the original Xbox console in all of its...
Review Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Xbox) - A Sublime Debut And One Of The Freshest RPGs In Ages
Final Fancily
I'm coming in a little bit late on this review because Bethesda decided to drop good old Oblivion in a fancy new outfit right before embargo, so forgive me! However, and continuing with the Bethesda link as a lazy-ish way to kickstart this review, it's lucky for the masters at Sandfall Interactive that their brand-new action-RPG is so...
So, Eora into action RPGs?
Have we ever told you how much we love The Outer Worlds? There was a little pushback when it launched; some folk thought it was too short, too lightweight and wishy-washy, but we loved everything about it. Obsidian seemed to actively decide to remove itself from what felt like bit of a race circa 2019, to make the most...
O Come, all ye (hardcore) faithful
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is a hard-ass game, no matter how you choose to approach it. It's a hard game to play, to get a footing in and to stick with in its early hours. It's hard, too, in how it refuses to readily explain its myriad of interlocking mechanics and systems, or to help in many of the ways we've...
Resistance is futile, you slags
Have you ever wanted to play an entry in Rebellion's fantastic Sniper Elite series that stars Danny Dyer as the protagonist? Have you ever wanted to give a whole bunch of Nazi slags a right good doing? Well, we reckon you're not alone, sunshine. In fact, we've been petitioning Rebellion for this very thing for years...
Nobody trusts anybody now … and we're all very tired
Here's the thing about The Thing Remastered; it's still very much 2002's The Thing. Which is either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on how much you like your The Thing. 2002's The Thing, you see, which is based on the intensely sexy Kurt Russell movie, The Thing, (itself based on a...
Review Stalker 2 (Xbox) - GSC Game World's Long-Awaited Sequel Is A Mess
Zoned Out
There are many reasons why an endeavour as complex as creating a huge open-world video game sometimes doesn't pan out the way it should or could; absolutely millions of things that can and will go wrong at the best of times, no matter how much hard work goes in. Add in the stress of being at war during the development of your project -...
Exclusivity-Endedman
Death Stranding seemed to cause way more division that we thought it would when it released back in 2019. Some folk found it boring and bland, others were confused by the (confusing) plot, nonplussed by the lack of action, whilst more still just sorta thought it was way too long and ponderous. Make no mistake, it still reviewed...
Latest Feature Articles
Feature Best Stalker 2 PC Mods We'd Love To See On Xbox Series X|S
Hone your zone
We've had our issues with the launch version of Stalker 2, as our recent 4/10 review made clear. However, we know the long-term way of things with these games, and are in no doubt that GSC Game World has got big plans for the future of this enormous and atmospheric experience. For now though, the PC version — available via PC Game...
Feature Redfall One Year On: Xbox's Vampire Misfire Still Lacks Bite
Man, this sucks
Was it really only this time last year that Redfall launched? Actually? It seems so much longer in game industry terms. So many huge titles have come and gone in the interim, so many genre-defining monsters (any excuse to big up Baldur’s Gate 3, honestly), and the particular style of looting and shooting that Arkane settled on for...
Soapbox El Paso, Elsewhere Should Be In Your Gaming Plans This Xmas Holiday
Now I Have A Machine Gun, Ho-Ho-Ho
As 2023 finally comes to a close, and we look back over all of the lovely gaming goodies we've been treated to over the past 12 months, it'd be easy to just auto-focus in on the AAA stuff, your big budget fare and returning famous franchises. I'm talking about the Alan Wakes here, the Starfields, Baldur's Gates and...
Why the long nose?
Whilst Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest might not have been as packed full of surprises as we had perhaps hoped, we did get a nice little lift last night in the form of a demo drop for Neowiz Games’ Lies of P. This promising Soulslike has been on our radar for quite some time now, and the South Korean developer has...
Feature Best Resident Evil Games Ranked - Which Mainline Entry Is Number One?
13 games but only one can be top zombie dog
Resident Evil 4 Remake is finally in the wild and, I think it's fair to say, I rather enjoyed our time with it here at Pure Xbox. In my glowing review - some might almost say raving fanboy review - I gave the reimagining of this 2005 classic a big fat 10/10, going as far as saying that it improved upon...
Feature Best Resident Evil Games Ranked - Which Mainline Entry Is Number One?
13 games but only one can be top zombie dog
Resident Evil 4 Remake is finally in the wild and, I think it's fair to say, I rather enjoyed our time with it here at Pure Xbox. In my glowing review - some might almost say raving fanboy review - I gave the reimagining of this 2005 classic a big fat 10/10, going as far as saying that it improved upon...
Feature Hi-Fi RUSH Feels Like A Rhythm Game Version Of God Hand, And We're Absolutely Loving It
The Music Within
Wow. Stuff just happens doesn't it. You spend your whole week waiting and expecting a big game remake to drop that's gonna be the main topic of conversation for January 2023 (although the Dead Space Remake does look excellent) and then
Soapbox Elden Ring Is My GOTY, But It Was Incredible Indie Games That Kept Me Playing In 2022
AAA in the streets, indie between the sheets
Without a shadow of a doubt, FromSoftware's majestic Elden Ring has quite comfortably earned my own personal GOTY spot for 2023 (with Obsidian's amazing Pentiment in second place) and, really, it's been an easier choice to make than in any other year in recent memory. Nothing else really came all that...
Feature Our Predictions For The Game Awards 2022
Great expectations
Yep, it's that time of year again already! The Game Awards 2022 circus rolls into town later this week and, as per usual, we're certain to be in for some big announcements and surprises regarding upcoming games amidst all the important awards being handed out. So, in time-honoured fashion, we've put together a quick list of games...
Hands On Prodeus Is A Fantastic Retro Shooter That DOOM Fans Should Not Miss
Game Pass is slaying it
"The first-person shooter of old, reimagined using modern rendering techniques." That's how Prodeus developer Bounding Box Software describes its Kickstarter funded indie FPS and, boy oh boy, has this studio managed to absolutely nail what they've set out to achieve here. We hadn't heard a great deal about this one, even...
Latest News Articles
News 8BitDo Unveils 'Paper Thin' All-Button Arcade Controller For Xbox
They Call Me 'Captain Combos'
We are big fans of 8Bitdo's various controllers and accessories for Xbox consoles here at PX HQ, and they've just gone and released another one! Yep, the peripheral wizards have just issued details of their upcoming, and very swish-looking, 8BitDo Arcade Controller for Xbox. With a 'paper thin' design, according to the...
News Check Out This Amazing 6000 Piece Starfield LEGO Set
Bricking it
A LEGO Builder on X.Com (that's Twitter for those of us who like to keep it real) has shared a phenomenal-looking recreation of Starfield's New Atlantis. The 6000 piece beast, which took Taris120_Builds a whopping 50 hours to create, before kindly sharing the results on X and on the game's Reddit forum, has got some amazing details...
News Tales Of Symphonia Remastered Coming To Xbox In February 2023
GameCube classic gets a re-release
Update (Wed 9th Nov, 2022): We've now got an official date and a new trailer! Tales of Symphonia Remastered will officially arrive on Xbox on February 17th, 2023, and you can get a fresh look in the video above. Original story (Tue 13th Sep, 2022): Bandai Namco's classic JPRG, Tales of Symphonia, which first...
News Atomic Heart Release Date Confirmed With Explosive New Gameplay Trailer
Leaked release date confirmed for flashy Game Pass shooter
Yes, as it turns, the widely rumoured release date for Mundfish and Focus Entertainment's upcoming FPS, Atomic Heart, is in fact 100% correct. As we reported yesterday, an anonymous source via WhatIfGaming, reported that the game is set to launch on February 21st 2023, a date that also inc
News FIFA 23's EA Play Trial Is Currently Having Some Serious Problems On Xbox
Players unable to access their ten hour trial
If you're anything like us, you've probably been limbering up for a brand new season - the very last season, in fact - of EA's FIFA footballing franchise in the form of the upcoming FIFA 23 and, if you've got Game Pass Ultimate, you'll likely also have been looking to dive into the game's free ten hour...
News MultiVersus Patch 1.03 Adds Rick Sanchez, Controversially Nerfs XP Progression
Wubba Lubba Double XP
MultiVersus 1.03 patch has arrived and it brings with it everybody's favourite alcoholic nihilist, Rick Sanchez from Adult Swim's Rick and Morty. Good news! However, in a slightly more controversial turn of events, this new update also nerfs XP progression for characters between the levels of 3 and 15, meaning that you now...
News Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Beta Ability Working Exactly As It Shouldn't
Perk Ping Problems
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - that's the new one, not the 2009 one with exactly the same name - has been holding its multiplayer beta on Xbox over the weekend just past, and irate players have been taking to the internet in their droves to complain about the game's "Dead Silence" perk, claiming that it is, in fact, giving away...
Rumour Dead By Daylight's Next Chapter Could Be A Crossover With 'For Honor'
Horrific Behaviour
Behaviour Interactive's asymmetric survival horror hit, Dead By Daylight, is getting set to release its next new chapter of content - this usually occurs in and around October - and if DBD Leaks, a source which has previously nailed a few predictions about the game is to be believed, Ubisoft's For Honor is the next crossover...
News Fatal Frame: Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse Spooks Its Way Onto Xbox In 2023
Rogetsu's gonna get you
Creepy camera obscura classic, Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, is headed to the West for the very first time in a remastered version that's set to hit Xbox consoles in early 2023. This seriously spooky horror game was only released on the Wii in Japan back in 2008, although we did eventually manage to play it via...
News Dragon Ball: The Breakers Adopts The 'Dead By Daylight' Formula, Heading To Xbox In 2022
Update: Now officially confirmed for October!
Update (Fri 22nd Jul, 2022): We've now got an official date for Dragon Ball: The Breakers, along with a new trailer! The game will be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on October 14th, 2022. Original story (Tue 16th Nov, 2021): Bandai Namco Europe has just announced a brand new...
