Patrick O’Rourke’s 5 favourite issues of 2024

2024 was a 12 months of change for me. I left my job because the Editor-In-Chief of MobileSyrup after operating and serving to to construct Canada’s premiere know-how web site for greater than 10 years, for the gadgets managing editor function at Pocket-lint. I then discovered myself again within the EIC role a few months later, however this time at Pocket-lint.

I am thrilled to take the helm of a historic publication like Pocket-lint, and the stellar workforce and I’ve massive plans for 2025, together with content material that goals to supply a glimpse on the small however nimble editorial workforce behind the location. This “my 5 favourite issues” story is an instance of this — and sure, for those who’ve adopted my work prior to now, you will recognize the format from MobileSyrup 😉. You will see different members of the Pocket-lint editorial workforce’s 5 favourite issues tales hit the location within the coming days.

Outdoors of work-related modifications, there are a number of issues I favored this 12 months, starting from taking part in Ship of Harkinian (a PC port of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) on the ROG Ally X to the Fallout TV present and a surprisingly empty pop-punk competition expertise.

1 Ship of Harkinian on the ROG Ally X

Reliving one in every of my favourite childhood video games has been a blast

In case you informed me just a few months in the past that I might spend 30 plus hours taking part in Nintendo 64 traditional The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in direction of the latter half of the 12 months, I fairly merely would not imagine you, however right here we’re. I’ve recognized about Ship of Harkinian, a PC port of Ocarina of Time, for fairly a while, however I’ve by no means bothered to get it up and operating till lately. It looks like the proper sport to play on the Steam Deck OLED, however any time I appeared up the steps to get it engaged on Valve’s handheld, it simply appeared too difficult.

That is the place the Home windows-based ROG Ally X is available in. As a result of it runs Home windows 11 (which is each its finest and worst characteristic), you are able to do just about something you’ll be able to with a laptop computer on the hand held, permitting me to get Ship of Harkinian and a 4K texture pack known as OoT Reloaded put in in just some minutes. Ocarina of Time has aged remarkably nicely for a sport that launched approach again in 1998, and that further sheen of high-resolution textures and 60fps brings its visuals as much as par with its outstanding gameplay. I am stunned at how a lot I bear in mind about Ocarina of Time but additionally how a lot I’ve forgotten, particularly relating to some puzzles early within the sport (the variety of occasions I’ve wanted to make use of a walkthrough is embarrassing).

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2 Fallout TV present

I am nonetheless stunned at how a lot I loved it

Amazon

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Fallout

Style

Sci-Fi

Variety of Seasons

1

Studio

Amazon

Creator

Jonathan Nolan

Starring

Walton Goggins, Ella Purnell, Aaron Clifton Moten

Format

TV sequence

Develop

Until it is The Last of Us, I’ve just about given up on online game TV exhibits, however I am glad I gave Amazon’s Fallout TV present a shot. It just about completely captures the sport sequence’ tongue-in-cheek tone, and Ella Purnell (Lucy MacLean), Aaron Moten (Maximus), and Walton Goggins (The Goul 🥵) supply glorious performances. It is a bit crude and shockingly gory at occasions, however there’s additionally coronary heart to it, similar to the long-running sport franchise.

A part of why I feel the Fallout TV present works so nicely is as a result of it is solely set within the sport’s universe, giving its creators (which incorporates government producer Jonathan Nolan) free rein to do just about no matter they need inside the confines of the sport’s universe. I am wanting ahead to season 2 when it doubtless drops sooner or later in 2026. The Fallout TV present is accessible to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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3 Attending All Your Buddies Fest

Getting a personal live performance from Gob was fairly cool

I am a sucker for nostalgia, so when my associate managed to get her arms on VIP tickets to All Your Friends Fest, a pop-punk/emo competition that appeared prefer it aimed to be a smaller scale When We Were Young, I used to be all in. Then I discovered it was approach out in Burl’s Creek, a competition venue that is roughly two hours away from Toronto, and my pleasure shortly disappeared. In actual fact, at one level, my associate and I deliberate to skip the competition altogether, however I am very glad we did not.

As a compromise, we hit up solely the Friday date, and to my shock, the venue was just about empty. This gave us the possibility to observe Silverstein, Gob, Billy Talent, and extra, from the entrance row. In a approach, it virtually felt like a semi-private live performance expertise. I doubt subsequent 12 months’s competition will likely be as low-key, so I will all the time treasure having the chance to see a number of of the manufacturers I grew up listening to up shut and private. And hey, Gob might not have performed Ming Tran, however no less than I received to hearken to Soda whereas standing 5-feet from the stage.

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4 Anbernic’s RG35XXSP taught me the significance of authenticity

Taking part in retro video games is all concerning the platform you are gaming on

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I used to assume it was foolish to wish to play retro video games with old style controllers or, on this case, a familiar-looking gadget. “It is the sport that issues, not the gadget,” was the opinion I held for years. Then I got here throughout Anbernic’s RG35XXSP, a retro handheld that is a bit greater than impressed by Nintendo’s traditional Game Boy Advance SP, the primary backlit Sport Boy launched in North America.

In case you put the 2 handhelds side-by-side, most individuals most likely would not even be capable to inform the distinction. Anbernic has recreated the GBA SP in a outstanding approach, proper all the way down to its clamshell design, button format, and the a number of good software program methods it gives, like pixel scaling, a digital drop shadow border across the show, and extra. In some methods, I’ve discovered that taking part in GBA video games on a handheld with this acquainted design is a greater expertise than the far dearer and premium-feeling FPGA-based Analogue Pocket (you’ll be able to choose up the RG35XXSP for just $60). I can also’t complain concerning the numerous ROMs that will or might not be already put in on the RG35XXSP relying on what storage configuration you go for, or its small dimension, which makes it straightforward to take with me on work-related journeys (the above image is me gaming away on a aircraft).

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5 Going to the Tea Home on the Royal Botanical Gardens

Trying out flowers and consuming tasty treats

I actually like know-how, and that is a giant a part of why I received into the journalism area. However I additionally like completely unplugging, flowers, gardening, and consuming tea. In an effort to briefly disconnect from our busy lives, my associate purchased tickets to the Royal Botanical Gardens Tea House, a fantastically adorned and historic tea home positioned in southern Ontario, for my birthday. For just a few hours, we munched on scones, macarons, tarts, and extra, and, in fact, additionally had tea. We then spent the afternoon wandering across the Royal Botanical gardens, trying out the sprawling park’s strolling trails, beautiful flowers, and its tropical plant-filled greenhouse.

It was a brief respite throughout a 12 months that feels prefer it’s been completely continuous for the each of us, and each time I am having a troublesome day, I feel again to that very chill expertise and do my finest to do not forget that life is not all the time a relentless whirlwind.