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OpinionImpressionsIt’s A Shooter With Dinosaurs, And That’s Enough For Me
Dinosaurs are rad. Sadly, they rarely appear in video games. So I was excited to play Second Extinction, a new shooter featuring dinosaurs, both big and small. What I wasn’t expecting was how much this early access game would remind me of Destiny, or how much fun I would have playing it. Second Extinction is…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 29, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsOne Of The Best WW2 Games Is Now Even Better
I reviewed Unity of Command II a couple years back and, a few quibbles aside, found it to be one of the most interesting and innovative turn-based tactics games I had ever played. It’s now back with a major expansion, and those quibbles are in the firing line. If you’re just joining us for Unity…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 22, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Nier Replicant Remaster Does Many Good Things And One Awful Thing
I played the original Nier back in 2010 and thoroughly enjoyed it despite the main character being a hideous troll of an old man. Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, with the handsome younger hero originally exclusive to Japan, looks, plays, and feels better overall, save the unfortunate inclusion of an achievement for players who peek at the…
By Mike Fahey Published April 22, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsReturnal Feels Like An Actual PS5 Game
A busted spaceship. An uncharted exoplanet teeming with hostile life. An emphasis on scanning objects, upgrading equipment, and retracing your footsteps. Those might sound like core components of a new Metroid Prime, but they’re not, at least not in this case. They’re the ingredients of a riveting—if somewhat punishing—action game called Returnal, out next week…
By Ari Notis Published April 21, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsA Horror Game Where Reloading Is The Scariest Part
Reloading in video games is rarely something you think a lot about. Often it’s a moment in time when you’re forced to stop shooting. But a new indie horror game makes reloading fun, nerve-wracking, and interesting. And it’s just one part of a great collection of horror games released earlier this week. Released on April…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 17, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsKnight Squad 2 Knows How To Party
Party games balance on a tightrope. If they’re too rooted in chance, everyone will be at each other’s throats within a round. (See: Mario Party.) If they’re too basic, they’re boring, and if they’re too complex, well, there’s no fun for a party. Every so often, a game comes along and nails the balance, like…
By Ari Notis Published April 14, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsFinal Fantasy XIV Runs Like A Dream On The PS5
If I weren’t holding a DualSense controller while playing the PlayStation 5 beta of Final Fantasy XIV I would think it was running on my gaming PC. As much as I love my massively multiplayer online role-playing games, I hate playing them on game consoles. They always look muddy and the frame rates are always…
By Mike Fahey Published April 14, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Year Is 2021 And I Just Played A New Official Halo 3 Map
The Master Chief Collection’s latest season, Season 6: Raven, launched last week on April 7 for Xbox and PC. I’ve been busy with Outriders, so I didn’t get to check it out until now. This update adds a lot, but the most exciting new piece of content is a new map for Halo 3 The…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 12, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsOddworld: Soulstorm Has More Heart And Less Farts
My name is Abe, and I have to save my friends. I’m locked in a multi-level, two-dimensional room. In the distance, I see my buddies, all 200 of them, climbing a ladder that will lead them to safety and where. they can reach the lock that will free me. Suddenly, a loud crackling noise alerts…
By Ash Parrish Published April 9, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsClap Hanz’ First Non-PlayStation Golf Game Is My New Happy Place
Japanese developer Clap Hanz has been making colorful cartoon golf games for PlayStation consoles since 1999’s Hot Shots Golf 2. The studio’s first non-PlayStation game, Apple Arcade’s Clap Hanz Golf, is more of the same, only now all it takes for me to tee up is a few taps of my iPad screen. Hot Shots…
By Mike Fahey Published April 7, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsFree From Stadia, Lost Words‘ Story Hits Hard
Lost Words: Beyond the Page is poised to snag a second lease on life. First released last spring as a Stadia exclusive, the idyllic puzzle-platformer from Sketchbook Games, officially released yesterday for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Switch (where I’ve been playing). Lost Words sports the sheen of star power: Rhianna Pratchett, of…
By Ari Notis Published April 7, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsMansions Of Madness Deserves A Better Video Game
Fantasy Flight’s Mansions of Madness, the standout game from the publisher’s Arkham Horror line-up, is one of my favourite board game experiences of all time, a near-perfect blend of occult investigation and unforgiving combat. Both things that its new video game adaptation is terrible at. Which shouldn’t be too surprising, given this game’s rocky history.…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsPrime 2D Is The Coolest Metroid In Over A Decade
A group of independent developers known as Team SCU recently released a demo for Prime 2D, an impressive side-scrolling remake of 2002’s Metroid Prime that has been in the works for over 15 years. After spending some time with it, I can say it was definitely worth the wait, even if Nintendo’s lawyers are no…
By Ian Walker Published April 5, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsStar Trek Legends Is A Fun Time, Not An Annoying Grind
Star Trek Legends, recently released on Apple Arcade, plays a lot like Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, Disney’s Sorcerer’s Arena, DC Legends and countless other turn-based mobile RPGs. But without any energy meters or annoying microtransactions. As a result, it feels like a game and not a treadmill designed to ferry you to a store.…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 4, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsDoom 3 Is Better In VR
Most folks don’t love Doom 3, often citing how much slower the game feels compared to old Doom titles. But that slower speed plus its focus on creating a dark, scary atmosphere means that nearly 17 years after its release, Doom 3 ends up being a great VR game. It might even be a better game…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 3, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsFinal Fantasy Creator’s New RPG Is Out And Painfully Pretty
I’m having a problem playing Fantasian, the new turn-based RPG from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker released today on Apple Arcade. I can’t stop pausing to look at how gorgeous the game’s real-life miniature diorama sets are. I didn’t say it was a bad problem. If you have access to Apple Arcade and you…
By Mike Fahey Published April 2, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsNier Replicant Gets Off To A Really Slow Start
After playing and being thoroughly wrecked by Nier: Automata, I was curious if Nier: Replicant ver.1.22474487139… the “version up” (since according to the developers it’s not a remake or a remaster) of the original Nier would inspire similar emotional devastation. I have dim memories of the first game. I remember the gruff dad and the…
By Ash Parrish Published March 29, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsChill City-Builder Forever
Life is hard. Sometimes games are hard, and that just reminds me that life is hard, and then everything feels too damn hard. Not early access city-builder Dorfromantik, though. That game is just the right amount of chill. Dorfromantik came to Steam early access last week. You’re given a stack of hexagonal tiles with landmarks…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 29, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsImmortals’ New DLC Taught Me A Lot About Chinese Mythology
It’s probably fair to say most DLC isn’t that great or memorable. That was the case with the first download for Immortals Fenyx Rising, which added a bunch of new puzzles and not much else. However, the game’s second DLC, Myths of the Eastern Realms, is a rare example of good downloadable content. In fact,…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 26, 2021
