Recent reviews by ShelLuser

So, brief context: I'm an overseas NFL football fan, been following the season for 4 years now. And in my opinion there's no better addition to an NFL (international?) gamepass than a current copy of Madden football; started following the franchise since Madden '22 and I usually have a great time even though I am well aware that Madden is far from perfect.

The presentation is very convincing, as is usually the case. From having various NFL team members citing the iconic line "EA sports... It's in the game!" to doing away with a repeating animation for a loading screen and instead having that replaced with a moving flag. Speaking of those loading screens... they worked on those as well. Going back to the main menu after you played a game mode has become a lot faster than before.

As before the menu is now shown vertically on the left and I think it makes the whole thing look more professional. Personally I also really enjoy this season's "blue theme". The menu icons don't dynamically move around based on what you played, but always show game modes in a specific order:

• Ultimate Team => Collect (player) cards and try to build your perfect team. Take on challenges, play against the CPU or your friends and earn rewards. This is my favorite game mode btw, and if you feel the same then don't forget about the companion app for your smartphone; this allows you to keep track while on the road (I got some of my best auction deals while checking out UT in public transport).
  
• Franchise => Think you can do better than the current coach of your favorite team? Then this is for you! ;)
  
• Superstar => Now is your time to shine and try to become an NFL star yourself. They even added extra positions within the team that you can work towards; the day that you could only become a quarterback are far behind us. In specific: Tight End, Edge Rusher and Free Safety are all new positions.
  
• Online H2H => Play matches online with your friends or against total strangers.
  
• Quick play => Want to "explore" an upcoming game on the NFL calendar? This could be a good place to start.
  
• Training camp => I know some Madden players consider this the "newbie corner" but honestly... you're only limiting your gaming experiences with that attitude. Because this can easily be the perfect way to get a better feel for the game. You should at the very least check out the Skills Trainer because it will show you exactly what is new in Madden '27, and even give you the option to test these out for yourself.

In addition I'd also like to mention the graphics improvements. Better yet: while you may notice some delays when you play on a "not so great" gaming PC it's still very well noticeable that you don't need to have a monster gaming setup in order to enjoy a nice game of Madden.

And even though EA officially recommends the use of an SSD... I can tell you that this isn't a strong requirement either. Which I really think is admirable, also considering all the new features and player behavior that got added.

Finally... several team entrances have been enhanced to make them look more special. And I think it really works, from extra fireworks to more inclusion of mascottes. Not to mention the music, stadium music and the stadium announcer (this is one of my favorite current features tbh...).

For all the years that I've been playing Madden I know that we always had a lot of customization options to fully tune the game(s) to our liking. Do you think the CPU quarterback isn't difficult enough? Then maybe increase its accuracy. Do you think you're getting intercepted too much? Then maybe tone that option down a bit. This applies to both the CPU as well as your own player skills by the way.

But EA added something new in '27: "Custom Adjustments", it's part of the creation center and it allows you to do just that by adjusting the general behavior of the game. Better yet: you can even set up different profiles so that you can switch back and forth to experiment and find out what works best for you. From the way blitzes are shown to the way RPO should be handled. From specific defensive techniques to getting more control over your linebackers.

Though honestly... I'd suggest not applying any changes right from the start, not before you became familiar with some of the new game mechanics.

Timed catching
This is a bit of a love/hate for me right now. As soon as your QB passes the ball then you can decide on how you're going to catch it: aggressive, possessive and of course Run After Catch ("RAC"). In '27 they introduced a timing mechanic, so now you not only need to press the right key for the type of catch, but you also need to try and time this. Don't worry: you can customize this behavior and even turn it off completely if you want to (for both offensive & defensive plays individually). I don't like using it while playing defense, but I do have to admit that you can get some nice advantages when trying to make an "impossible" catch. But it definitely takes getting used to (which is also why I very much enjoy the training center!).

Ever had the urge to fire up your favorite football game, only to end up realizing that you're actually not really in the mood to play a football game? ;) Well, then you could consider activating coach mode; you'll find this in the general settings. What it does is move you away from controlling your team directly, and instead place you on the sideline from where you get to "coach" them. Think of this as a super-sim mode, but instead of running it fully automatic you now still get to provide input on which playbook entry you want your team to use. After that they'll perform the play on their own.

It takes getting used to, it's definitely not perfect I think, but can be fun to play with every once in a while.

As you probably know this game uses its own launcher through use of the EA app. And it shows. Earlier this week I tried to fire up the game, only to be greeted with an error: "Update failed!", and that was that. Eventually the app's interface showed up, which I closed, and then tried again. I also had an issue once where the app seem to have crashed after which the game refused to recognize my controller.

Even so, I could always recover from this by restarting the game, no problem. This is hardly comparable to what happened 2 years ago with Madden '25.

Another personal con for me... is the fact that Kate Scott is still part of the commentary team, together with Brock Huard. No personal offense intended (!), but I simply don't think she has the right voice to be commenting on a football game; she's too much present for my liking. The reason I mention this is because you can't disable certain commentators while playing UT challenges. So I usually end up either skipping the challenge for now, or opening the audio settings to turn of commentary completely (which I dislike doing).

All in all I think that Madden '27 is a solid addition to the franchise. And I just love how the "core Madden community" (as I like to call it) are already fully active within game modes such as Ultimate Team; I already managed to grab some fun stuff from the auction hub. Can't wait for the full community to show up!

If you're new to the game then I think it's a no brainer; especially once the discounts start coming during the Holiday season. This game is seriously good, can definitely recommend!

This game is pure satisfaction. That is, if you're into a little grinding every so often, only to see that all your efforts are definitely paying off. Not to mention... "oooh, I could have done this a lot smarter!".

What is this all about?
The story is simple: your grandfather passed away and he left you with the family farm. Good times! Yah, unfortunately the place hasn't been looked after and it's actually a complete mess. Good to get you a little bit of instant cash, but after that it'll be up to you to make this place working and profitable again.

Start small, and work your way up!
First... everything in this game is going to cost you. Driving your car takes up fuel, which you can buy at the gas station. Running (most) machines also requires fuel. And while you can get your own wood by cutting trees and then sawing the logs into planks... you can only get your hands on metal and concrete by purchasing this in the hardware store. And you're going to need those if you plan on building some new buildings.

And the best way to start? A chicken coop! Get a few chickens, place 'm in their coop but don't forget that you also need to feed them and provide water for them to drink! You can then sell the eggs at the burger shop for some nice earned cash. How to make such a coop? Well, you're going to need wooden planks, lots of them, so that's a good place to start.

Also... growing and selling vegetables is also always a good idea! Maybe make some crop plots so that you can grow them? How do make those you ask? With planks of course!

Invest a little to better manage your time....
What I really like about this game is that you can play any way you want. It also happily allows you to do "dumb" things, but who cares? At first I would cut down trees, and bring the logs over to my garage one by one. Then I'd start cutting them. Only to finally realize that... "wait a second, I got a frickin' truck here!"... so then I drove my truck out, cut trees, filled up the truck with logs and then went back home. Saved me a lot of time!

Could I do even better? Of course I could! Because what happens if you don't want to (or can't!) saw all the logs right now? That's when I decided to get myself 2 log shelves: these can contain either 42 logs or 200 planks and it can easily be a time safer!

Beware of wrong custom key bindings! The game allows you to rebind your keys, which is a good thing, but it doesn't check for any overlap. And some keys... should be left alone. The 'f' key is used to start your car, but if you accidentally bind a key to "f" then you're in for a bit of a problem because you can't easily reset this.

And also... sometimes your character can find themselves stuck in walls if you perform actions too close to such areas. It doesn't happen often, but can happen.

So no, not perfect but then again... these are minor issues. You'll get over this soon enough.

This game is really satisfying. The build (and demolish) process is very straight forward: start by selecting the right tool. Building requires a blueprint: once you select your hammer a book with designs shows up. Select a design, place its hologram where you want it placed and then all that's left to do is to "insert" enough building materials.

And the best part is that this game goes a lot further than just being a farmer. There's also things to discover like becoming a hunter or a fisherman. Ever wanted to get your own bee farm? Well, time to build a hive and then find a nest in the wild to collect bees. Don't forget your smoker!

And yes, like I said: there's something very satisfying about pouring in effort, getting paid and then being able to use that money to expand on your activities. First I made a bigger chicken coop, then I added more chickens and eventually also added a rooster. So now I get fertilized eggs, which means: chicks, free new chickens!

If only those darn tourists and their fancy campers would learn how to drive.... lol.

PS

In case you're wondering about the title: that's Dutch (sorta) and also a song from a Dutch rockband called Normaal.

As you probably already know: playing games is one heck of an awesome hobby, especially when you got a service like Steam to back you up. And what's better than playing games? I dunno about you, but in my opinion it's either playing games together with friends, or sharing the experience with the Net (I'm a huge fan of Steam's streaming features, even though I barely get any viewers ;)).

As mentioned: Steam can also help to stream and/or record stuff. But if you want more direct control, if you want to record non-Steam games (Minecraft perhaps?) or want to record multiple sources at the same time (perhaps your game, a webcam and maybe a server console?)... if you want that... then you should look into Open Broadcast Studio, because this software is amazing.

A lot easier than it may seem!
This is what genuinely surprised me... once you get your fingers behind its mechanics you're home free. And it's very straight forward: you set up a profile to keep track of system settings (like, for example, video bitrates, audio sample rates, etc. Normally one profile is enough, and fun fact: it also has a setup wizard.

Once you got your profile ("settings") done the real fun begins: setting up a scene; this defines what input sources you plan on using. These sources can vary between a whole monitor, a specific window, a specific audio device (like a microphone?), a webcam... you can even set up browser windows, image slide shows, scene's, dedicated game captures...

For example, right now I have 2 scene's set up: one to record the entirety of my main monitor, and one which is fully geared towards making my first Minecraft video: I have the game window itself set up, the so called Prism launcher and I also plan to talk about shaders so I made sure to add browser windows for both previously mentioned Prism launcher and the Irisshader website.

And that's all you need.... You could dig 'deeper' but after you set up your scene(s) you're pretty much ready to go.

So yah, this software is an absolute must have in my book!

I'm serious: even if you're not into modding then having access to the Creation kit can be a huge gamechanger!

Ever had this happen to you? You're playing through a certain quest and... you're stuck. Sure: you could look things up on the Net but then you risk getting into major spoilers which could ruin the surprise(s) and/or game a little bit. Well, another thing which you could do is fire up the Creation kit, check the steps on the quest you're playing and then maybe... check the next step for a few hints?

What is this 'Creation kit' anyway?

The Creation Kit is the toolbox for getting access to the so called Creation engine. You see, games like Skyrim and Starfield are build upon a so called 'engine': this allows game developers to fully focus on game design vs. game development. For example.... say I want to add a new note to the game. Then I don't have to study API's or having to write dozens of lines of code. Instead... I just add a new note 'prop', then I customize its looks and contents after which I can then place it somewhere in the game by literally dragging and dropping it somewhere.

After that you save your changes (the 'mod' if you will) and then you have successfully expanded your game.

The fun part is that you can fully focus yourself on contents. Everything else (like: what sound will it make, how would it react when you drop it, would other NPC's be able to recognize it, etc.) ... all of those aspects are things which are handled by the engine.

So yah... your personal full access into the game mechanics of Starfield. And it's even free!

I can summarize my review for any impatient random readers: "If you enjoy playing Starfield, then you're going to appreciate this expansion, a lot".

So, brief context: I'm a relatively new Starfield player: picked up the game in December 2025 and even recommended it. Sure, the game has its issues and glitches, but then again: the same happened with Skyrim "back in the day". Not only did I live its release, I also still remember the massive bugs that were plaguing the game at first (dragons flying backwards, anyone?), and some still are! Anyway, I'm obviously not new to the Creation engine (= the engine powering games like Skyrim & Starfield).

First things first: this expansion is honest. I bought it before the latest Starfield update, and lo and behold: I got free (!) access to the latest DLC Terran Armada! That's being fair towards you players in my book, you know: us who upgraded their game? Of course that's also no guarantee that it will happen again if Bethesda releases another DLC, fair enough, but even so... I still think it should count.

What I like most about this expansion is that you get everything PLUS a little 'extras'. You get access to the all the DLC's, the soundtrack and also some Creations like a new cool spacesuit, extra (Constellation) textures, a cool prop for your outposts (if you want to build some), a nice powered vehicle and 1000 Creation credits to grab yourself even more stuff. Also: it's easy to actually spent those credits as well; you can (for example) pick up a new follower for 400 and another expansion for 600. No need for "left overs".

But most of all... even though you get some really useful gear it won't make you super OP or such. "Sorta" ;)

One small con (IMO) is that both DLC's are geared towards the mid / end-game (level 30 or 50) which I suppose can be annoying if you just started playing. But then again... there's nothing stopping you from heading out there anyway and make a name for yourself (or more likely: die trying). Not to mention... if you want more then there's also the spacesuit, textures and don't forget your 1000 Creation credits!

All in all... I can definitely recommend this. If you enjoy this game then this is some really good icing on your Starfield cake.

So, the Aliens table is an absolute favorite of mine; the moment I started a trial for the first time I knew that I was going to enjoy this, and well: I am! See, here's the thing: a lot of the pinball tables I enjoy the most provide many audible effects: solid music, strong dialogs and of course lots of cool sound effects.

The Aliens table otoh... provides a lot of silence. Not total silence, just no obvious music (at first) and no extensive (electronic) sounds.. just the noise of the ball, the bumpers and flippers. And this provides exactly the right eerie mood I think. The first time I (accidentally) started the first scene and suddenly see the movement detector come to life? It wasn't scary, but definitely surprising and I think also fully in line with the movie.

I mean... you do realize that one of the most tense scenes in the movie is us staring at some electronic counters going down, without showing all that many special effects?

And I can't help but grin at the scene where you have to drive the car through the tunnel. No, I'm not playing an action game, I'm enjoying pinball!

Aliens vs. Predator
I know not everyone enjoyed this movie, but I honestly never thought it to be that bad. Silly here and there, sure, but still entertaining. Well, I can say the same about the pinball machine. It has a nice creepy atmosphere but without overdoing it. And well, some of the mini games were quite entertaining (like "opening up" the pyramid). Nothing super special, but it definitely catches my nostalgia.

Both tables have nice (sometimes hidden) ramps, solid bumpers and very cool sound effects.

Like I said: I did a trial run on Aliens, and even before the time had ran out I knew I'd enjoy this. And I am.

The thing I don't always enjoy about some table collections is the fact that it's often one good table and some ... well, nice other ones but not as good as "that" special one. This pack is different, way different!

No good Gophers
This table is plain out hilarious, the dialogs are just super funny (and annoying sometimes). The take is simple: you're playing golf (or... try to) and there are these two gophers causing trouble. And they're just... SO funny... say you lose the ball, you might be hearing: "Hole in one!!! oh, wrong hole...", stuff like that. Locking a ball is now disguised as one of the gophers actually stealing it: "I got the ball!". Good music, funny dialogs, cool effects. Nice long ramps, 3rd flipper, movement effects, solid bumpers!

Tales of the Arabian nights
Banish the genie and save the beautifull princess! This tabe has everything... cool ramps, solid sound effects, awesome dialogs. And while it also has a bumper... it has something even better: an actual lamp which you can spin around and thus power up your 'attacks'. The game is simple: you need to shoot the ball into the righ holes (and ramps) and by doing so you start certain "tales", and each tale needs you to do something. Shooting the golden symbols (several targets on the table), hurling fireballs (= shooting at the genie) and there's even a bazar where you can get stuff, like a camel ;)

These two tables are absolute classics! And it only gets better!

Cirqus Voltaire
This one... is a very special table because it features a rather "new" mechanic: magnetism. You're in the circus but there's the evil ringmaster trying to make your life miserable. Shoot his area and his head will pop up, then you can 'attack' him... Apart from this mechanic there's of course also ball locking (for multiball), some solid bumpers and, well, the "balloons" at the left side of the table are also a very nice touch.

Honestly? I think this pack is a true must-have for pinball fans, all these tables are total classics.

First... all tables can be roughly summed up with: lame lanes. Just dumping a bunch of lanes on a table doesn't automatically make it a good pinball game.

But second.. the mechanics are overal just... bad. Locking a ball with magnetics right in the middle of the table and then sending it down exactly between the flippers... that's not challenging: that's just cheap and horribly bad table design.

And those same bad designs are noticeable with all of these tables. It just seems... lazy. As if they hope that with all the Star Wars music and quotes you will look past what is actually happening here: a bad game.

These are some of the worst tables I've played; and in my opinion the only thing these machines have going for themselves are the cheap nostalgic tricks, and even that doesn't always add up. Strip the whole Star Wars angle away and you're left with tables which are just.. nasty.

See, all tables have one thing in common: cheap lanes. Some tables are just that: 2 bend lanes which provide 4 entrances/exits yet which don't really "do" anything; basically the table heavily relies on CGI mechanics which - in my opinion anyway - doesn't really have much to do with pinball at all.

Sure, the music is nice, the sound effects fun and you'll be bombarded with a ton of quotes which... doesn't even sound genuine at all; very fake. Not to mention sometimes plain out wrong... why does the cantina sound play while you're being bombarded with "asteroid quotes" (from 'Empire'?) while you're playing the Solo table?

And once again: it's ramp galore.

If you want a quick nostalgic thrill... maybe this can be fun, but these aren't the pinball games you're looking for.

Errrr, sorry about that ;) I'm gonna be honest.. this is a copy/paste of my review of the FX3 version, but more about that later.

In my opinion there's only 1 reason to consider purchasing this pack, and that's the Williams classic Funhouse!

That table has everything... skill shot, flippers, bumpers, fun music, solid sound effects and plenty of ramps to use and discover. And then there's Rudy: the talking head on the table. Oh dear, where do I even begin....

Rudy constantly talks about stuff that's going on and it's sometimes just way too funny (and silly!). First, simple things like the moment when you enable "hot dog" mode Rudy will tell you to get yourself a hotdog, and if you hit the bump he'll go "yum yum!". Or... if you don't manage to get a hotdog shot in he'll mention how he's still hungry. Still like that. If you manage to hit him with a ball he'll yell "ow!!" and yes... you can sometimes even manage to have him swallow a ball (eew!).

At first Rudy is all buddy buddy with you, but when you manage to move the clock to 11:30 then he'll become annoyed, because it's getting late and he doesn't like that... "I thought we were pals", and now he'll even start calling you out if you manage to hit him with a ball: "that was no accident!" (lol).

Push the clock even further (by shooting the ramp, of course) and Rudy will fall asleep. NOW... try to shoot the ball in his mouth and enjoy pure multiball chaos! And beware of the ramp... my gf sometimes still looses if in giggles by the way Rudy yells at you: "You don't know what's down there!".

This table... is a total classic, if you're into pinball then this should be part of your collection.

So... I own both versions and both are well worth it. And both have their pro's and con's... FX3 has the Zen classic tables and I also enjoy how I can play "against" my Steam friends. While FX provides better ("fuller") sound and of course also some specific tables that are only available on FX.

My take? Play FX3 for its specials, and FX for the tables dedicated to here. Thanks to the "Legacy pack" bundles you could grab the tables you already owe on FX3 with a 50% discount (give or take) because you already have one of the products in the bundle.

But honestly? I wouldn't do that for all your tables. The differences between FX3 and FX aren't all that many and ... yah, I'd only "upgrade" those tables you really like but not all of 'm.