2017 - The JK Vision - Geek, Film, Gaming & Foodie Blog

There are few things more frustrating than losing due to lag. Although there could be a few reasons for this. If nothing else works, then read on for what we believe are the best monitors!

Asus ROG Swift PG279Q - $430.67

Asus is a great brand for most PC related gadgets, and a monitor is no exception. It comes with an extremely quick refresh and low input lag, but that’s not all. As it comes with G-Sync screen tearing will never be an issue, and it eliminates the need for V-Sync too. On the other hand, this monitor does cost a pretty penny, so consider a different one if you’re on a budget.

Asus VG248QE - $239.98

Another awesome Asus model, this monitor is both fast and affordable. Plus, it also supports 144hz, however, it does use a TN panel. Still, finding a budget gaming monitor is hard, and this is definitely one to consider.

Acer Predator XB321HK - $1099.99

There are so many incredible features loaded onto this monitor that we can’t possibly list them all here! Still, great power comes with a great price tag, and this is definitely not one for the financially challenged. This monitor is large enough to benefit from 4k resolution. Not only that, but the IPS display also offers good viewing angles and vibrant colours. Unfortunately, gaming at 4k requires more GPU power than most people can afford, and it also requires an Nvidia graphics card to use G-Sync.

Acer XR382CQK - $799

If you believe bigger is better, then Acer’s got your back. This 38-inch widescreen curves in a way that adds to the immersion, along with also having 75Hz FreeSync enabled. Again though, this is definitely an upmarket purchase and we would only recommend it if you have some disposable income.

Alienware AW3418DW - $1298.99

Alienware has a history of creating some of the best gaming gear and this is no exception. This top-notch monitor comes with an incredibly high refresh rate, and much more. Although it does take up quite a lot of room and is pricey.

AOC Agon AG352UCG - $856.85

Not only is this ultrawide monitor curvy, but it also comes with G-sync. Keep in mind though that it’s huge; We recommend making sure that it will actually fit on your desk before purchasing.

BenQ PD3200U - $799

In addition to 4K UHD resolution, this monitor also comes with a large screen. Considering the tons of features it comes with, it’s a great value for money too. It doesn’t have too many cons. Although if you’re after something that can double as décor then this might not be for you, as the design is a bit bland.

Asus MG248Q - $279.99

Here we have a budget monitor which comes with 144Hz and Adaptive Sync. Combine that with the 1ms response time and you really can’t fault it. Definitely a machine to think about picking up if you don’t want to break the bank.

BenQ Zowie XL2540 - $499

High refresh rates, an easy setup and a great resolution are but a couple of the incredible features include on this monitor. It doesn’t come with G-Sync or FreeSync, as this monitor assumes you already own a rig capable of eliminating screen tears. Definitely one of the best gaming monitors, but not so great in other areas. Still, as this is a list of gaming monitors we won’t worry about that.

Alienware 25 - $449.99

The design on this is truly superb, plus it also boasts a high refresh rate and a response rate of only 1ms. With all that said, it’s not the cheapest of monitors and is only 1080p. It’s still worth considering though, as its smooth 240Hz refresh rate puts it a few rungs above most other monitors!

If you still doubt that you need a gaming monitor then consider this scenario:

You log into your League of Legends account to play a few chilled out matches, only to notice that your monitor is glitching. The next thing you know you’re staring at a grey screen, filled with frustration.

There’s a reason that the pros use monitors included on this list. Now we’re not saying that having good equipment is a substitute for skill, but it never hurts either.

This is sponsored post, written by Alex over at Unranked Smurfs.

The people behind Bear Coffee Company kindly invited me and 4 of my friends to the opening of their new store in Derby. This is only their first new venue since their original shop opened in Uttoxeter in 2016 so they are a relatively new company since being founded in 2014.

Upon walking in the thing I first noticed was the alternative layout of the bar compared to the conventional way. The bar/counter was centred in the middle of the room with the seating area to one side and the majority of bar stools to the other. There was surprisingly good lighting in there as well. considering most modern coffee shops think its 'cool' to basically make you drink your coffee in the dark.

Cappuccino - £2.60

I thought I'd start with a classic cappuccino. Our server informed us that the baristas strive for perfection on the drink side of things. If a coffee doesn't come out perfect they will just throw it away and start again. There was a 20 minute wait for our drinks but was understandable since the place was completely full and it was the first time the workers experience the pressure of a busy flow of customers. When the coffee arrived it had a well-made design decorating the top and the actual coffee was quite strong. It didn't stand out as much as I would have liked it to but it wasn't a bad coffee. At £2.60 I'd say it's an average price at today's standards. I sneaked a bit of my friend's Salted Caramel Shake and wow was it good. You'd need a sweet tooth to be able to handle the whole thing. Now, let's get onto the food...

Eggs Benedict - £7.00

For food, I ordered the Eggs Benedict. Never had this dish before and didn't really know what it was but I took a chance when I saw it on the menu. English muffin, bacon, poached egg, spinach and hollandaise sauce. Did I regret opting for this? Not at all. The sauce that topped the eggs was phenomenal and the entire thing really does fill you up. I think I've found a new favourite meal. At a price of £7.00, it's definitely something I would have again.

Although the service was obviously going to be slow on their "trial-run" day, we felt welcomed and comfortable. Very friendly staff who were easy to talk to and have a laugh with. We even tried a Mexican wave at one point to get the waitress' attention (it worked).

Although I didn't try the other food my friends did have some comments. One friend, who ordered the BEAR breakfast loved the food but said the choice of bread was a bit too hard and crunchy. Another friend ordered the veggie BEAR which again was nice but he didn't feel was big enough since there wasn't much of a substitution for the meat ingredients in the main Bear Breakfast. My other 2 friends enjoyed the all American pancakes which they had nothing bad to say about what so ever!

I'm not going to beat around the bush, I'm 100% going back again. Until next time, BEAR!

Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Kenneth Branagh, Dame Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Josh Gad... the stars go on. Seeing any of these names popping up in cinema would catch your eye, let alone all together. Sadly though, star-studded films have a reputation of under performing at the box office. Big, big hopes come crashing down when the film gets released. But does Murder on the Orient Express follow this seemingly doomed genre? No. Absolutely not.

Wikipedia's synopsis for the film is (with spoilers removed):

"In 1930s Europe, famed detective Hercule Poirot boards the legendary Orient Express for a small break in between cases. While on board, he meets an interesting assortment of characters. A fellow passenger implores Mr. Poirot to assist him while on the train as he fears for his well-being, though Poirot respectfully declines. The next morning, the passenger is found stabbed to death. With the train halted due to snow build up on the tracks, and with the evidence and suspects piling up, Poirot finds himself diving into a case that could be his biggest yet." - Souce

I went into this film not knowing what to expect. I'm a big fan of Daisy Ridley and Judi Dench but I also know not to rely on a film being exceptional by judging purely on it's cast. I'll be honest, when the film first began my first thoughts were not good. I thought director and star, Kenneth Branagh, over-acted in his role at first. His monologue 5-10 minutes into the film seemed out-of-place and unnecessary, especially for a character many viewers would have only just been introduced to.

My initial quarrels were quickly scattered though through Kenneth Branagh's later performance as Hercule Poirot. His well timed quips along with a beautiful accent made for a likeable and intriguing character. I had no prior knowledge to the story before seeing this film. Never read the book, never watched a series or film. This was all brand new.

Johnny Depp's performance disappointed. I'm not a fan of Depp as a person but I do know he is a phenomenal actor. I loved him in Edward Scissor Hands and Pirates of the Caribbean. However, he was not right for the part in this film. His acting seemed as though any old, amateur actor could have done the job. Despite this though - the film was saved by the amazing performances by the rest of the cast.

As is expected with a murder-mystery film I spent the majority of the time trying to figure out some logical explanation for 1 of the passengers being the culprit. But did I ever guess it? Not even close. The final revelation of who committed the murder took me by surprise, and it will do the same to you. My one piece of advice before going to see this film? Because you should go and see it. Forget everything you know about Murder on the Orient Express and Murder Mystery films in general.

Rating - 8/10

What did you think of the film? Give me a rating out of 10 below!

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The folks over at Spektrum Glasses recently contacted me asking if I'd like to try out a couple of their blue light blocking specs! As I look at screens almost every second of the day I decided these would be perfect for me to try and use. That and my fondness for free stuff....

Spektrum glasses come in 2 main types: 50% and 99% blue light blocking. Their main purpose is, you guessed it, to block out different wave lengths of blue light. Blue light is considered a high-energy wave of light due to it's shorter wave length, meaning it's frequency is higher. Almost all smart screens nowadays give off some form of blue light. It has been argued and researched that prolonged exposure to blue light can affect your sleeping patterns and damage parts of your eye.

The 2 pairs I have received are at the 50% blocking level. Their site states that this level of blocking is suitable for people who need to block out blue light in the middle of the day, when the light takes the least effect on our bodies. These would be suitable for office workers, IT workers and students, or just people who use their phone a lot during the day. The 99% level variety is aimed more towards night users, where the effect of blue light is at it's most dangerous. These are suitable for night workers, nights owls or purely for people who like to browse through Facebook and Reddit in bed. Using the glasses should help you sleep after flicking through multiple screens.

Anyway, in addition to blocking blue light, the Spektrum Glasses offer a number of other helpful features. These include protection against UV lights, screen glare/flickering and even EM ray blocking. Starting to sound more like a Sci-Fi tech-fangled contraption.

Artist - 50% Blue Light Blocking

These are one of the normal pairs of glasses, great for people who use contact lenses or just have good eyesight in general. Looking almost like a normal pair or prescription glasses, these fit comfortably around your face and sit lightly, hardly being able to notice they're there. These retail at $39.95.

Pro Clips - 50% Blue Light Blocking Clips

Fellow glasses wearers will agree with me here. Wearing glasses on top of glasses sucks. From goggles in a Science lab to have the buy 3D tickets to The Last Jedi because that's all they have to offer on opening night... so these clips are a great substitute! They fit perfectly ad securely around the nose of my glasses, barely noticeable due to the lack of frame around the lenses. Great for sitting at home on my PC blogging and doing uni work. Selling for $37.95 these could be a bit pricey for a casual screen user but for someone who has to look at screens most of the time they could prove to be a lifesaver.

Fancy a pair for yourself? Checkout their collection here!

I haven't reviewed a piece of tech for a while so when USB Direct offered me the chance to review one of their USB devices. This one is called the 'i-USB-Storer' which is compatible with all USB and Micro-USB devices (including Android phones, tablets, laptops and macs). It also has an Apple Lightning connector. On the packaging, this connector is compatible with: iPhones 5,5s and 5C, 6, 6 plus and (as tested) the SE. It also supports iPad 4, Air Mini, Mini 2 plus the iPod Touch 5.

Now that the compatibility issues are out of the way, let's get on with the device itself. The storage options you can buy range in powers of 2 from 4GB to a massive 128GB. For transparency, I received a 16GB device which I have tested on a Galaxy S6, Lenovo Z50 and an iPhone SE. The device worked on each device interchangeably without the need for formatting. This makes it so much easier to transfer images between phones and computers, without the need for a cable or a cloud. I used to use email to transfer my pictures but now I'll be using this USB. In fact, the images in this post were taken on my S6 and transferred to my laptop using the USB.

From top to bottom: Apple lightning, Micro-USB and USB connectors

To be able to use the device on an Apple handheld product you have to install an app provided by USB direct. With laptops and Android devices, on the other hand, it is not necessary and you can begin to use the product from the off. There are not many problems I can find with this device. One of the few is that the Apple lightning connector is a little bent when outside the device, which could lead to damage when using it. The other small issue is the packaging. Of course, this doesn't affect the product at all, there are a few spelling mistakes along with the absence of the storage size.

Besides this, the product is exceptional and does the job. The ease to transfer files from phone to PC will make my life a whole lot easier. The only problem is that on USB Direct's site you can only buy these things in minimum bulks of 25 which you can customise. This would be good for goodie-bags, meet-ups and conventions but not for the average person who wants to by just the 1.

To check the product out for yourself, please visit their website here!

It's official. It's finally official. Disney has confirmed what I've been waiting forever since they took over Lucas Film in a deal worth over $4 Billion in 2012. An Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone film will be happening. The film is in a very early stage at the moment. There is no script, no director and no cast. Seeing as I have been waiting 5 years for this to be announced, I thought I would give my ideas on what the film could entail.

First off, let me just say: If Ewan McGregor doesn't agree to sign on for the film then Disney should just scrap the film altogether. McGregor was one of the few decent parts of the prequel trilogy, it would be a disaster without him.

I believe the film should be set in the time that Kenobi spent living on Tattooine, watching over a young Luke Skywalker. We would be able to see how he lived and just how much impact he had on Luke's upbringing. We would get to see the people he met, see if he ever strayed from the path of a Jedi and fell in love. Maybe he fathered a child, who then went on to be the parent of a little girl named Rey? Who knows. I mean if Rey does turn out to be a Kenobi then there's no doubt in my mind that this film will centre around how that happened.

Maybe Kenobi had a previous run-in with Han Solo and that how he and Luke came to board the Falcon in Episode IV. Although, that does seem a bit far-fetched considering how they acted with each other in the original. But maybe Obi-Wan could help the rebel alliance in a small mission since Leia already knew of his existence.

A more plausible key plot feature would be Kenobi interacting with the force-ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn. We know that he was to be taught this power by Yoda after the events of Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan trained Anakin Skywalker, who then turned to the dark side and took the form of Darth Vader. Kenobi may have not trusted himself to do this again and sought the assistance of Qui-Gon who realised Anakin's potential in the first place.

The last thought I had when hearing the announcement was 'did Kenobi and Yoda ever contact/visit each other?'. We know that Yoda planned, and did take exile in the Dagobah system. But did the two Jedi ever visit each other? Or at least stay in contact. It could be possible that all 3 of Kenobi, Jinn and Yoda trained Luke together, whilst all communicating and discussing his next steps.

Finally, I'd like to give some of my ideas about titles for the new film:

Kenobi: Hello There!

But seriously...

Kenobi: The Tatooine Years
Obi-Wan Kenobi: After Mustafar
Kenobi: Watching Over a Hero
Kenobi: The Real Chosen One
Or just simply... Kenobi: A Star Wars Story

Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts. Do you have another of your own? Or just think mine are waffle? Let me know in the comments below.

Men's Society is an Online gifting service focused on the male gifting sector. Available gifts range from sport to lifestyle, with a tonne of grooming products (if only I could grow a beard without looking like a brush). Anyway, Men's Society was formed when the original couple founders, Hugo and Bella, would try to 1-up each other on gift giving when Bella was always the best at it. It was from this that they spontaneously decided in 2012 to share Bella's ideas with the rest of the world in the form of Men's Society. They now work with multiple retailers in the UK and around the world, which all started from that kitchen table they were sitting at when they first made the decision to create the company.

Their website proudly states that their products have always been handmade and produced right here in the UK. I was asked what products I would like to be sent from their website to have a gander at. Due to my general inability to grow decent looking facial hair I had to steer clear of a number of products. In the end, I decided to take a look at the Spectacles Repair Kit (because both my set of glasses have decided to have a break-up) and the Bear Head Bottle Opener (because just look at it).

Spectacles Repair Kit

I desperately needed this kit. Constantly walking around with Sellotape holding my glasses together was seriously harming my street cred. In the kit, you get a few plasters to hold your glasses together, a couple of cleaning cloths with lens cleaner,, a few screws of different sizes and a tiny screwdriver. It took me a while to fix my glasses because tiny screws are so fiddly but I managed to fix them! Celebrate! This kit sells for £20 on the site.

Bear Bottle Opener

Just look at this thing. Nothing is more manly than an iron-cast bear that gives you the ability to drink your favourite beer. I have yet to place mine on the wall since I'm still trying to find the best place for it. It requires 3 screws to be attached to the wall (not included) and retails for £16 on the site. This product is hand-painted to give a natural and realistic 'bear look'.

I am more than happy with the products I received. Especially the Spectacles Repair Kit. Since, being a student, I couldn't afford to buy another 2 pairs of glasses. Also, the Bottle Opener is pretty sweet. If you would like to check out the whole range of products on offer, then take a look at the Men's Society homepage.

Film... An industry, an art form and even a powerful force of change. For many decades our society has produced some absolutely amazing films: Schindler's List, Star Wars, Mulholland Drive and even amazing comedies/kids films, such as Lion King and How to Train your Dragon, even Zootopia and Wreck it Ralph, which in my opinion will definitely go down among them.

And then... there's the emoji movie. I honestly don't even know where to start with this, to be honest.

I mean I suppose I should start with the premise. I don't even want to do a proper and genuine summary for this film because it doesn't deserve it. Essentially this kid wants to text his crush but doesn't know what Emoji to send, from there we enter the world of Emojis... And massive fucking product placement... Literally, they go through these different 'worlds' which are essentially just different apps. Now admittedly that could actually be a pretty cool idea and I could see some ways of them being able to make that into something different, but you know what it is? It's a Facebook app, a YouTube app, a candy crush app and a Just Dance app that is out now on IOS and Android! It's just insulting.

Then there's the blatant ripping off from Inside Out and Wreck it Ralph; two actually good kids films. The former being ripped off from the whole jumping to multiple worlds thing as well as the whole 'world within X' situation. And Wreck it Ralph, well the whole story just has so much of that film written all over it.

The point that I'm trying to get at is that it's just a pure representation of everything that is wrong with the film industry in my opinion. I think what makes it worse is they genuinely don't care about the hate it gets, the whole point of the film is so that if (and when) shit is thrown at it, it sticks. They couldn't care less if the film is reviled, as long as they make that money, that's what separates this from other bad films in my opinion, like I'm all for ironically going to see shit films, I love it, but in this case I just think you shouldn't give them the money, if you have to see it I urge you to borrow it from someone when it comes out on DVD or do something to not give them money as this film seriously doesn't deserve it, if anything, I hope the film flops disastrously, it would send a good message to the execs, but of course, it'll sell really well.

Anyways, thanks to Adrian for giving me the opportunity to be a guest on his excellent blog and thanks for listening to my rant you lot! If you want to find my blog you can do so here:

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I was asked by author Dane Cobain to review this book called Subject Verb Object. Subject Verb Object is a self-proclaimed "Anthology of New Writing". It is a collection of short stories and poems from 18 different new-style authors. The whole concept and idea of this book is a format that I've found myself to love. Each of the included writers was asked to submit a short writing prompt which included a Subject, a verb and an object (e.g. Philip picked up the magnifying glass). These prompts were then shuffled and randomly assigned to the writers who were then tasked with creating a short piece of writing based on that prompt. The pieces in this anthology range from love to tragedy, mystery to discovery. Here are a few of the stories I enjoyed the most.

Dane Cobain - When The Mirror Clouds

Prompt: "Jay Pulled At The Mirror" (J.G.Clay)

One of my favourites came from co-editor Dane Cobain. One of the first things I enjoyed whilst reading this was how literal Cobain took the prompt. A few of the authors use the prompt as a kind of metaphor for their writing which can be fun to try and figure out how the story stems from it but can also prove to be frustrating. Cobain's story, on the other hand, simply includes a character named Jay and a Mirror. Simple. This passage follows therapist Jay's struggle with spectrophobia, a disappearance and "the weirdness".

Eileen Maksym - The Judgement Of Little Bug

Prompt: "A Dog Takes Umbridge" (Clive Whitelock)

This short story is probably my favourite out of the whole anthology. If I had to write my own blurb for this entry I'd put "A mysterious sci-fi entry, taking a real life event and adding their own twist on it. The Judgement Of Little Bug follows "The Watchers" as they observe humans developing through time until they do something they never thought any form of life would be capable of". I'm a big fan of sci-fi media so this story was immediately a hit for me. Add that to the excellent writing style of Eileen Maksym, the speed that the story takes is ideal to follow, and I would be interested in reading a novelized version of this concept. Come on Eileen, give the people what they want!

Heba El-Husseini - Tom Ate The Cheese

Prompt: "Tom Ate The Cheese" (Oli Jacobs)

My third and final favourite entry into this anthology is Tom Ate The Cheese. First impressions of the title and prompt made me think "oh, this will just be a silly, comical story" but I was wrong. Without giving too much away, a 3 word summary of this story would be regret, conflict and decision. Such an eye opening piece about how the wrong decision can greatly affect your life. I wouldn't want to say much more because this is one of the shortest stories in the book but one of the best.

So would I recommend this book? Yes, without a doubt. It's great for both major and casual readers alike. With a whole range of writing styles and topics, you are bound to find a few that you just adore. A lot of these stories I would love to see made into a full novel. Especially The Judgement of Little Bug.

Grab your own copy here!

If you read it, come back and let me know your favourites.

I was invited back to Turtle Bay, a Caribbean inspired restaurant in the city centre of Derby, earlier this year to try some more of their delicious food. If you have read the previous Turtle Bay review then you would understand why we were quick to revisit this restaurant.

The members of staff in the restaurant are incredible. This time around my guest and I had a waitress named Precious. She was professional, friendly and her personality was so bubbly and energetic it made you feel instantly comfortable.

Now to talk about the food.

Starter

Duck Rolls - £5.10

The duck rolls were delicious. The duck was wrapped in a toasted flatbread and was served along with orange chutney. The chutney personally wasn’t to my taste but the toasted duck rolls tasted perfect without it anyway.

Garlic and chilli pit prawns - £5.10

My guest ordered garlic and chilli pit prawns. These prawns still came in their shell and were covered in a tasty herb and chilli butter. They were served alongside a nice, soft roti which paired really nicely with the prawns. The fact that the prawns still came in their shell, gave a real authentic feel to the dining experience.

Main

Trinidad Chicken and coconut curry - £9.95

For my main, I ordered a Trinidad chicken and coconut curry. This curry is not particularly spicy so it’s perfect for people who like it mild. It was creamy and full of flavour. Not only did it come with rice like you’d expect, but it also came with flat bread too so you could choose which you’d prefer to eat. You also got a perfect portion size.

Jerk Sirloin Steak - £16.95

My guest ordered a Jerk Sirloin Steak. This consisted of a big piece of steak cooked to your preference and came with fries, salad and fresh chutney. It was cooked to perfection.

Dessert

Passion Pie - £4.96

For dessert, I ordered a passion pie. This tasted fresh and was full of flavour. It was very like a key lime pie but instead of lime it was passion fruit curd and had a nice generous portion of meringue on top.

Caymans upside down rum cake - £4.95

My guest ordered a Caymans upside down rum cake and let’s just say you could taste the rum. I would massively recommend this cake if you are a rum fan. This came served with a nice creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cocktails - £7.50 each

Koko Colada

Rude Boy

Jamaican Mule - Seen Above Right

Passion Rum Punch - Seen Above Left

All the cocktails were delicious and are worth the price. Each one tasted different and would be perfect in different scenarios, for example, the Koko Colada was very creamy and heavy feeling so this drink would be perfect if you were just visiting for cocktails or would be nice to drink after your food has settled. However, the passion rum punch was very light and refreshing tasting and is perfect to drink whilst eating your meals.

I was invited by the team over at Game Over Escape Room Derby to come along with a few friends to test out one of their escape rooms located on Gower Street on the 2nd floor of the Abbotts Hill Chambers building. I'd never been to an escape room before so I jumped at the chance and rounded up 5 other friends to go and see if we could beat the room.

The venue offers 4 different rooms to try to escape. These are: Saw, Jack the Ripper, Mission Impossible and Temple of Montezuma. I was torn between Saw and Jack the Ripper so I asked the manager to book us in for whatever room he thought was best. He decided on the Saw room because that's what he liked the most.

Upon arriving we were greeted by a really friendly staff member. He made us all feel right at home. We were asked to take a seat so here could quickly reset the room. We were only waiting for about 10 minutes before it was time to go in. We were all buzzing with excitement but had no idea what to expect as nearly all of us hadn't been in an escape room before. We were led into the room 1 by 1, each with a blind fold on. I was the first to go in cause, you know, I'm meant to be the blogger. We were each sat down on the floor (except for Joe because he gets a chair for some reason) and had one hand cuffed to the floor. There was almost no movement possible with the real metal cuffs. We were then told to begin once all of us were tied down.

I don't want explain any more about what we did because I don't want to spoil it but my God was it amazing. If I get any requests I may write a complete walk-through of what we did as an optional external link but in this post there are no spoilers. I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed this. It was mentally challenging but not too much at the same time, as shown by our completion time of 57:40 out of a maximum of 1 hour. In addition to this, the Saw room only has a completion rate of around 35% so we were quite proud of ourselves! The fasted time for the Saw room so far is somehow around 36 minutes, with only a 2 player team as well.

I would love to return at some point during the summer and especially around Halloween for another go at getting on the leader board. What I was most impressed with about the escape room was the wide range of types of puzzles and cryptic clues we had to solve. We had to constantly change our way of thinking, from code solving to using our Maths skills, the room had everything. I truly recommend this escape room fro anything. Birthdays, stag and hen dos, even for workplace team building!

Seriously, give this place a try. The rooms range from £15 to £21 per person depending on how many people are in your teams, the more you have the cheaper it is. Teams can be as small as 2 or as big as 6. For groups of 12 or more (where you'll be split between 2 rooms) the price for each person is reduced to £12.50. It was so much fun visiting with a team of 6 where each and every person made a breakthrough for us. I we weren't all there, I don't believe we would have escaped in time. Give this place a try!

To Book:

Phone: 01332 913333

E:mail: info@escapegameover.co.uk

Or click here to book online!

Make sure you let me know if you're planning on a visit, and comment what time you got!

So way back in April I was invited to the opening of the brand-new Derby chain of Bodega Cantina. Due to university work, exams and other 'adult stuff' getting in the way my report of the opening was put on hold. So without further ado let's FINALLY take a look at the (kinda) new restaurant.

Bodega Cantina is a chain of South American style restaurants with venues in Birmingham, Worcester, Leicester and, now, Derby. I was invited to the opening of the new eatery on the 12th of April. Upon arrival in Sadler Gate, Derby we were greeted with a Margarita and began looking around the building. The thing that immediately hit me was the beautiful decor, most of all this artwork on the wall:

From what I recall being told it was created by a local artist in Birmingham. This mural sit underneath a sky-light making it a very gorgeous part of the main room.

We were brought around little tasters of the food Bodega has to offer and my god they were all so amazing. With almost all their dishes being made on site you could really taste the freshness pushing through the flavour.

My favourite dish that I tasted that night was the Pulled Pork tacos, but the real twist was that the meat was marinated in Dr. Pepper. Sounds strange but your questioning would stop when you taste them, absolutely flavourful and tender. Other items that we tasted included nachos, fritas and coxinhas. Every time a new plate of food came around I found it difficult to say no, it tasted so good.

The one thing that caught my eye when looking at the menu were the prices. It's not exactly the cheapest place, especially for a student city. It's a good place to go for a treat every now and but wouldn't be your sort of 'regular' place to go. After talking to the owner of the restaurant he confirmed that they never planned to go for the cheap, student vibe and wanted the place to be seen as a once-in-a-while treat.

In summary, Bodega offers great tasting food combined with a beautiful design. Great for visiting every now and then if you fancy trying something alternative and different. If you want to try this food out for yourself then please making a booking online or call: 01332 224270.

Thankyou for reading, if you have visited or do visit Bodega

then please let me know what you thought down below!

Video gaming has been around for quite a few decades now and the market shows no signs of drying out. Game developing is one of the best but hardest industries to get into nowadays due to the sheer popularity of the jobs in the sector. When video games first came about and their popularity grew is was very difficult to get a copy of the most popular games purely due to the fact that there wasn't enough copies being produced to satisfy the demand. This is where pre-ordering games first came about. Pre-ordering was the main way to guarantee yourself a copy of the game which was a great idea for the days when not enough copies were sold but in these modern times there are more than enough copies to go around so why do we still pre-order our games?

"Faceless" Bug - Assassins Creed Unity

Why would you pre-order a game that you know nothing about when you can easily get it a day or two after the release date? Why not wait a read a few reviews first before you invest your hard earned money in a new game, especially considering how expensive games are beginning to get. There is almost no reason to pre-order a game other than to get it on release day even though you would still be able to walk into a shop and get the game as there would be more then enough copies of the game available.

Pre-ordering games sometimes leads to developers not respecting their fan-base. some developers/publishers could have the mind set of "Well, these people have already bought our game, why do we need to improve it any-more?". This mindset leads to the release of terrible or even unfinished. Less attention to detail on the developer's part can be a consequence of guaranteed income from the already purchased games. Less care and more complacency.

So I say to you...Stop pre-ordering games! Stand up for your rights as a consumer to have the best possible finished games from developers and publishers and make them have to makes the games as good as possible so more and more players buy them instead of making their money from pre-orders and unfinished games.

Of course some publishes are more ethical than other so it's safer to pre-order from Nintendo who almost always release a semi decent game. Also indie developers are usually safer but some cases have been shockingly unfinished but never should you pre-order from EA. (Need I Tell You Why?)

Thankyou for reading!

What unfinished games have you played?