My Thought's On The PS Plus Collection

 

At the most recent PlayStation event we saw them announce the PlayStation Plus Collection which features some of the best games from the PS4 era being available to play on the PS5 at no extra cost for the PlayStation Plus users. Now I have been a PlayStation Plus user for a long time now and I love the way they give you free games each month to make sure that you are getting value back from the subscription and we have definitely been given some great free games throughout the PS4 era. 

For me this collection is a way of getting those players a bit of an extra incentive for subscribing through the PS5 lifecycle too. The Xbox has Gamepass, which I definitely need to check out in the near future, with a whole host of games that you get in your membership so it feels to me as though PlayStation are trying to match this with the collection as well as PlayStation now subscription which again I still need to try. This collection just adds to the value of the subscription but also gives players the opportunity to try games from the last generation that they may have missed out on. 

Not everyone will have picked up these titles on the PS4 but they will no doubt be tempted into playing them due to them not technically costing them anything extra (other than the subscription they already have), I know a few of the titles on the list have definitely got me interested. 

So here is what we know the PlayStation Plus Collection is going to offer us so far...

Batman Arkham Knight 

Battlefield 1 

Bloodborne

Days Gone

Detroit : Become Human

Fallout 4 

Final Fantasy XV 

God of War

inFAMOUS : Second Son 

The last guardian

The last of us remastered 

Monster Hunter : World 

Mortal Combat X

Persona 5

Ratchet & Clank 

Resident Evil 7 : Biohazard 

Uncharted 4 : A thief's end 

Until Dawn

I know that from this list I will be giving about 8 of the games a go as they are games I have wanted to try but haven't been 100% on purchasing. At least if I am already purchasing the subscription if I don't like the game I am not technically wasting money on something I don't like, plus it means I am trying out new games for a change. 

This collection is definitely going to add that extra value for subscribers and who knows more could be added in the future to make it even better. It is also great for those who are wanting the PS5 at launch but don't want just the 1 or 2 games in their collection to begin with. This way you could just buy a PS5, renew your PS Plus subscription and gain access to these great games without having to basically get anything new. 

The top 3 games I will definitely be trying through this collection are God of War, Ratchet & Clank and Mortal Combat X as God of War is a game I have wanted for a while, Ratchet & Clank is one I have never tried just like Mortal Combat X.  What will you be getting from the PS Plus Collection? 

My Dream Office Set Up

One of my big goals over the next few years is to get a nice little office for content creating. I now have three blogs and also am planning on starting YouTube along with a few other things I am hoping to make happen very soon. Currently I blog from the games room at my gaming PC or at my dressing table in the spare room and to be honest these areas are full of distractions and not really what I want for filming in the future plus with working in the places I use for other things daily I just feel as though I never switch off. 

That is why I think an office space would be perfect for me as it could be a place I could just head to, create my content, edit, write posts and then head home where the games room is back to being for gaming and the spare room is for relaxing and getting ready. My perfect office would be somewhere where I can relax, get things done and really optimize productivity whilst having a space to split my three blogs personalities in one space. One blog is football, the other is fashion, fitness & sneakers where as this one is all about gaming and tech. So if I could have one space where I can combine all these themes and stay inspired for my content that would be fantastic. 

Here is how my dream office would look, well to start with as I am sure I would change it up quite often...

Ikea table top 

I love the look that the Ikea kitchen counter tops can give your set ups, a nice wood effect would be perfect for the set up look I would aim for. As I would want a couple of these the Ikea work top idea would be perfect as they are really affordable too. You get quite good depth on these too so you can fit plenty on both desks. I would definitely opt for two different desks one for me with a permanent set up then a spare desk for if I ever had visitors or just for sitting and working on my laptop if I wanted. 

Ikea Alex drawers

To hold up the worktops I would use the Ikea Alex drawers, you can get these with 5 drawers which would be the perfect height for a desk along with giving ten drawers across the two desks meaning you have plenty of storage space built into your desk. With the different sized drawers there would be storage for anything from pens to camera equipment, everything would have its own space. Plus I can have a drawer for my different blog notebooks so they all have their own space and aren't just laying around. 

Gaming chairs

I currently have a cheap gaming chair at home which is brilliant as it is comfortable and I can sit in it for hours. I would love each desk plus a filming/photography set up to have a great quality gaming chair so no matter where I am sat I am comfortable and any possible visitors are comfortable too. For years I have had bad chairs that have hurt my back or meant I have been moving around more instead of just getting on with things so it is time for that to stop once and for all. 

Spare monitor, wireless keyboard, wireless mouse

For that potential spare desk I would love a spare monitor along with a wireless mouse & keyboard just so if I wanted to hook my laptop up to it I would be able to plus if anyone else wanted to work from that desk they would be able to too. Plus with having the Alex drawers when you aren't using the mouse and keyboard you can just put them in a drawer so they are out of the way and keeps the desktop looking nice and tidy. 

Filming & Photography set up

I would love to have a seperate area just for taking images for my blogs/Instagram accounts that I can move around and change to suit what blog it is for. This would definitely be more suited to this blog & future YouTube channel as I would be taking product shots & filming videos on a desk. My ideal set up would just be a simple Ikea white table top as it would work well for 90% of product shots and videos. Then if I wanted to take image indoors for my other blogs I could easily just move the desk out of the way and adapt the area to suit the images I need to take. 

Overhead camera rig

I would love an overhead camera rig for when I finally get filming. The direction I want to go in for YouTube would definitely benefit from this item and honestly they just do such a good job from what I have seen in the videos I have seen that use them. Just having it there ready to hook my camera up to and get cracking with filming would be fantastic. This would also help benefit something else I am starting to plan out too. 

Soft box lights or ring light 

Lighting is definitely an issue when it comes to my content, I just struggle to get it right on my images when I just use natural lighting due to the house being so dark 90% of the time. I am really wanting to work on how my images look in the near future so soft box lighting definitely seems like the way to go. If I had these set up in an office just ready to move a bit or just switch on I think it would make my images a lot better.

RGB lighting

I love RGB and no doubt knowing me I would be in the office late so I would love to add RGB lighting in some areas just to create a nice relaxed atmosphere when it does get dark and I am just doing things like editing and writing. There are plenty of great panels out there and LED strips so I can do this for a reasonable price. 

TV

 Having a TV in the office would just be for any down time I had or just for playing YouTube or music through to keep me going and motivated. Again you can get decent TV's for a reasonable price these days so just a cheap one would do for what I would use it for, mounted on a wall would be a great addition.

Sofa

A small sofa could be a good addition too, I can just imaging getting comfortable with my laptop and writing away whilst lounging on the sofa. Plus it could also double up as a bit of a second set up for recording if I wanted it to. Plus if anyone drops by to see me like Liam or family they can just sit at the sofa instead of at a desk. 

Cushions with logos on

To go on the sofa it would be great to have a couple of cushions with each of the blogs logos on as this just adds a bit of the blogs personalities into the room and just adds another level to the sofa. It isn't an expensive addition as you can get cushions printed at a very reasonable price.  

Canvasses

Just like with the cushions I would love to have three canvasses on the wall all with a blog logo on which again will just add personality to the room and also showcase each of the blog logos. Again you can get canvasses printed for reasonable prices so it is an inexpensive way to add that personality to the room.

Whiteboards

My whiteboard that I currently have is the best thing I have for staying organised as it is in a monthly calendar format. I would love to have just a plain whiteboard to go along site the calendar style so I can write down ideas, what I am working on and things that need doing. It will just add a bit more efficiency to my productivity system and I might stop forgetting things and leaving some bits until last minute. The best thing is with just those two whiteboards I could easily have a months view of all three blogs and to do lists for all three.

Bookcases

I would love to have three tallish bookcases in the office too, again one for each blog as it means things are kept separate and each blog can have its own area with its own equipment etc on it. Something like this would be great as it could have a shelf for things to write about, new in etc plus space for the equipment for future plans too. 

Mini fridge 

One of the best additions to any office in my opinion is a mini fridge. Just somewhere to keep the cans of Monster or Reign that I can't stop drinking at the moment or even bottles of water, having a mini fridge on hand would mean I don't have to worry about leaving a drink at home or having to run down to the shop to pick one up. I would just need to nip across the room then can get back on with working. 

Coffee machine

Finally we have the essential coffee machine, I have tried going without coffee before and it just doesn't work so a coffee machine would be a brilliant addition as just like with the fridge I can just walk across grab a coffee then get straight back to my desk to work. You can get a decent coffee machine for a decent price these days so this is certainly an essential for me once I get that office.

So there you have it that is what I would love to have in my future office, fingers crossed I end up having one in the near future as this is definitely one of my big goals that I am working hard towards. What would you have in your dream office/ content creating studio?

September 2020 New In

Compared to August I have managed to really keep on track with my spending. For a change there has been no major purchase however, I think the big contributing factor to this was that my birthday was at the start of the month. To be honest there just hasn't been much out there that I have wanted to pick up although I have currently made a list of future items I want to pick up. So here is what I picked up in September...

I managed to get another Christmas present sorted for my nephew in September. I have decided if I see items I like for presents I am just going to get them instead of waiting around. He loves Toy Story so for £14.99 I picked him up this walking Buzz Lightyear which to be honest I think I might be more excited for. Now do I try to find more characters or getting him something else? 

Primark were selling off these Jurassic Park t-shirts for just £3 so I wasn't leaving it behind. I think I am going to be getting plenty of wear out of this especially whilst lounging around the house which seems to be the only thing I do lately. 

It seems to be difficult here in the UK to find Xbox clothing for adults, or at least I have found it difficult to find so as soon as I saw this Xbox t-shirt in Primark I wasn't leaving it behind. I have plenty of PlayStation clothing so really it was only a matter of time until I finally added something Xbox. Nice and simple in design it is definitely going to end up being worn for plenty of gaming sessions. 

Finally technically not a purchase however, thanks to being a Spotify Premium member I got the Google Nest Mini for free. I had actually been wanting on of these for a while but never got around to picking one up so this has certainly saved me some money.

 I was also kindly gifted 2 new games from publishers this month and I am in the process of reviewing those games so keep checking back to see what they were as I am pretty excited about them. So that is what I picked up in September, let's hope that I can keep October's new in list to a minimum too. 

What's your favourite item on this list? 

1 Month With The Macbook Pro 2020... How Am I Finding It?

 

Well I have now had my Macbook Pro 2020 for over a month and after so long saving up for it has it lived up to my expectations? 

It definitely does, blogging on the go and from different rooms around the house has got much easier and thanks to that I have ended up been so much more productive with my time. It has been great just being able to it anywhere and get on with what I need to be doing. The issue I had previously was that my old laptop was just too slow at loading items, constantly crashing and the screen just looked really grainy but thanks to my Macbook I no longer have these issues. 

I will admit when I first made the purchase I was a little wary due to the amount I was spending on it, I was worried that I might end up paying a fortune on something that didn't actually offer me any benefit but I guess that is always in the back of your mind when you are making a big purchase. 

As soon as I opened the box I was impressed and set off using it straight away. One thing I love is how sleek it looks, I opted for the silver model and it looks fantastic. My previous laptop was a bright blue HP so the silver is definitely more subtle and doesn't draw too much attention when you are using it. It isn't as heavy as my previous laptops either so carrying it around isn't a problem neither is having it on my knee for a long time. What I have also found is even if I use it for a long period of time it doesn't overheat and start to make a lot of noise, it is practically silent and I don't have to worry about burning my knees by sitting with it for a long time which makes a nice change. 

The Macbook is also really fast, I have had no issues connecting to anything or it randomly crashing and not responding like I have with my previous laptop. This has meant my productivity has certainly increased as I aren't sat around waiting, I can jump between tabs etc easily and not have to worry about losing any of my progress. It has been great being able to do a lot more in a specific time frame and not having to sit around waiting for things to load or reboot. I have also noticed that it uploads my images a whole lot quicker too which is fantastic as I hate how long my PC and previous laptops take to do this. just having time to do more blogging means I can get more content out there across my blogs and I am seeing an increase in my stats since using the Macbook as I am put more content out there on my blog and social media. 

It is really easy to use too, literally just lift the screen up, use touch id to log in and I am good to go. No more messing around waiting for it to load up every time I use it I can just get on with what I need to when I need to. This has been great for when I have had post ideas too as I aren't sitting around waiting so my ideas aren't just disappearing, if I get an idea I need to get it down quick or it just goes away so not having to wait around means the idea is typed a lot faster and I can refer back to it at any point. I thought it would take some getting used to with commands, layout and the touch bar too however, it has been really easy to pick up on where things are and what to do for certain actions. I just need to try customise my touch bar a bit to make it even more efficient for me and so that I stop catching Siri when I am typing a bit too fast. The keys are brilliant to type with too, it feels like I am just gliding when typing instead of having to hear far too much noise thanks to the mechanical switches I am used to. It is nice just having that usual typing sound taking away as it often drives me absolutely mad and is sometimes the reason I end up giving up for the day and putting things away for the day. 

Even with the Macbook being constantly on I am not having to charge it every 2 minutes like I had to with my HP. I can actually use it for long periods of time and not have to charge it for a few days which is fantastic. If I am using it on the go though I will make sure it has plenty of charge as the charging brick is just far too big for my liking. It is nice not having to worry about finding a plug socket or watching my battery all the time and just being able to get on with what I am doing without worrying about making sure everything is saved all the time just in case. Previously so many times my HP had just died on me so having something I can now rely on is so much better. 

The quality of the screen and display is also fantastic. I ended up going for the 13" model and to be honest when working on it to me it just looks I am on a high quality TV screen due to how clear everything is even with the brightness turned down you can see the quality. This is fantastic for me as I am wanting to start making sure all my blog images are edited to the highest standard and any graphics I create look sharp and to the highest standard. This is also a benefit when I am looking for those details I am reviewing for my fashion blog as I can see the details a lot better on the bright clear screen than I would be able to on my old grainy pixelated screen. I am hoping this also means that I can get some good details for some future projects I am working on. Thanks to the screen being such good quality I don't seem to be having as many headaches either as my eyes aren't been strained as much to focus. 

Since getting the Macbook I have been using it daily and to be honest I find it gets better and better with every use. I do still need to put some of the essential apps on it for what I am going to be using it for but it is certainly serving me well. The real test is still to come for it though as I am going to be using it for the image and video editing for those future projects I am working on. But I definitely have high hopes that it is going to be just fine and serve me for a long time.

I still need to pick up some accessories for the Macbook and download some apps but can you recommend any that I need to make the most out of the device? 

September 2020 Favourites

Well September has flown by, it doesn't seem to have lasted two minutes at all which to be honest seems the way the whole of 2020 is going. September saw me returning to work 2 days a week, working on plenty of blogging content for now and the future and it also held my birthday. It has certainly been a busy month will plenty been done, new favourites discovered and old favourites rediscovered. So here are my favourites for the month of September

Film & TV

YouTube

I seem to have spent any free time in September just watching YouTube and not much else. I have had plenty of content to watch from old favourite channels but I have also discovered some new channels. My go to channels in September all revolved around tech and a little bit of gaming as there has been some fantastic content released recently.  

Music

Alex Lahey

I have fallen back in love with Alex Lahey's music recently and just can't seem to get enough of it. Alex is someone I discovered in 2017 and to be honest I hadn't listened to her for a while but now I am not sure when that is going to stop. I love how you can not listen to an artist for a long time but still end up remembering all the lyrics. 

Tech

Macbook Pro 2020 

Of course the Macbook was going to make it onto the list of favourites as September was my first full month with it and WOW I love it. I am using it daily and I don't know if it is psychological but I definitely seem to be more productive these days and I can't wait to really put it through its paces with some future ideas I have got in the works. 

Gaming

Spider-Man PS4

Both me and Liam have been absolutely loving playing through Spider-Man on the PS4 throughout September, we seem to have been playing any spare moment we have had. It is such a good game and we are both looking forward to Mile Morales on the PS5. I don't think I have enjoyed a game this much since Detroit Become Human. 

 

So there you have it those are my favourite things from the month of September. What have you been loving throughout the month?

The Most Recent PS5 Event... My Thoughts

 

On the 16th September we were treated to another PlayStation event which finally revealed the price of the consoles along with the release date at long last. 

The event kicked off with Final Fantasy XVI which once again is coming from Square Enix. To be honest I have never played a Final Fantasy game and I don't really see me playing one any time soon but honestly it did look like something Liam would probably enjoy playing. 

Then we were treated to a bit of game play from Spider-Man : Mile Morales which I really can't wait for as I have loved playing Spider-Man on the PS4 and Miles Morales just looks absolutely fantastic. The game play definitely sold me even more on this game and I think it might just be game I am most looking forward to. 

We were also treated to a look at the new game from Warner Bro's games... Hogwarts Legacy which looks absolutely fantastic. According to what we were shown your choices define your legacy in the game which definitely made me even more intrigued. I am a huge Harry Potter fan so I am really looking forward to playing this as it means I finally get to go to Hogwarts.

We also got a closer look at Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War which to be honest I wasn't too bothered about at first however, after seeing a bit more from this event I will definitely be looking into this a bit more as it does look like a good game. We were treated to a look at the first campaign mission and I have to say as someone who only plays Campaign it looks fantastic. 

We saw a bit more of Resident Evil Village too which again is far too creepy for me but does look great for anyone who is a fan of the franchise. 

One game we saw more of that has definitely got me more interested in the game is Deathloop that game just looks fantastic. It really does give me John Wick vibes but seeing a bit of the game play has made me very tempted to put it down on the list of games I want to buy as soon as they are released. 

I have never played a Devil May Cry game however, after seeing Devil May Cry 5 being shown I am actually very tempted to give the game a go. This game will be available at launch which is a good move in my opinion and I think we may just end up picking it up.

We also got a bit of a look at Oddworld Soulstorm which again looks like a great fun game. I haven't played an Oddworld game in the past either but I think the PS5 generation might be a chance to give it a go. 

There was also a quick look at Five Nights At Freddy's which I will definitely be skipping as I have had some bad experiences with the game on PC in the past, I certainly don't need to ever play the game again, unless you would possibly enjoy seeing it in a future YouTube video? 

Demon Souls is on it's way to PS5 and I think this could very easily be a game Liam ends up purchasing. Personally I would love to pick up a copy of this game but I know I would end up getting far too frustrated with it. 

Of course we got the obligatory showing off Fortnite too so all those fans out there will be impressed but for me I still haven't played the game and honestly don't think I will play it anytime soon.

For the PS+ subscribers there is going to be the PS Plus Collection with some of the PS4 blockbuster games available at no extra cost. I won't go into this too much though as I will be doing a full post on it very soon so keep checking back for that. 

Then we were onto what we were all waiting for the price which was a very pleasant surprise as I was still waiting for a price point of around £550 but the console is coming in at £449.99 with the digital edition being £359.99 which is quite a bit under what I expected and a very pleasant surprise. Plus we finally got a release date of 19th November here in the UK which is just 9 days after the Xbox release. 

Just to finish off the show we got a quick glimpse of God of War 2 which is coming in 2021, I still need to play the first one but I can't wait to play both the games in the near future

So there you have it we finally got the price & release date but there was a bit of an issue with how pre-orders took place with many missing out just down to lack of preparation and announcements. We were lucky enough to get our self a preorder (if it all goes to plan on Amazon) did you manage to get the console which you want? I can't wait for 19th November.

My Current To Be Read Pile

I have a little set of drawers in the games room where I keep my blogging equipment and I had a spare drawer so I have decided to use that drawer as a space to keep my TBR's. When I complete a book and want to move something new I always struggle with what to read next so my plan is to keep 5/6 books in this drawer at one time so that I can go in and see what previous me has been looking forward to reading the most. To be honest this will probably only change every 3/4 months as I don't read as much as I would like to however who knows this might encourage me to read more. So here is what has made it to the TBR for the first time... 

Liam actually got me this Mythology book at the start of lockdown as I love anything to do with this subject, in fact I was a little obsessed with it as a kid. So I think this might be my first read out of the drawer. 

Growing up I absolutely loved the Robert Muchamore books so I have rescued them from my parents loft and am going to read them all over again. The Cherub books are just fantastic. 

I have never read a James Patterson book before however, I have heard good things about them so maybe it is finally time to pick this book up and give it a read. This is another book Liam treated me to that I just haven't got around to reading yet. 

Another book I really want to read due to the Nostalgia purposes. I used to be hooked on these books growing up so I am going to go back to the beginning and read them all again. I currently have the first 6 in my collection so it is time to get cracking on book number 1. 

Anyone who knows me will know I absolutely love football so it is about time I give Kelly Smith's book, an absolute legend in the women's Kelly's book is bound to be a great read. 

One my favourite YouTube channels over the years has been iJustine's so why I haven't got around to reading her book yet I don't know. I am really looking forward to reading this one though because if it has plenty of Justine's personality in just like her channel then it will be fantastic. 

So there you have it those are the books I am going to be reading in the very near future. Have you read any of these books in the past? What did you think to them?