-
OpinionImpressionsHands-On With Diablo IV: Dungeon Delving With An Open-World Twist
Diablo IV’s announcement at Blizzcon yesterday was packed with gruesome death The long-awaited sequel’s tone is dark, and that carries over into the gameplay. My hands-on time with a demo build was exciting. Diablo IV eagerly ramps up the gore and dark magic for an experience that feels old-school but adds a few modern twists.…
By Heather Alexandra Published November 2, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsDisney Classic Games: Lion King And Aladdin Is A Lovely Little Retro Bundle
Announced in August and released this week for PlayStation 4, PC, Switch, and Xbox One, Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King bundles together several different versions of two of the best movie tie-in video games ever made with concept art, music, and videos to create an excellent package that’s sure to please fans.…
By Mike Fahey Published October 31, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsDisgaea 4 Might Not Be The Best Disgaea, But It’s My Favorite
No game in Nippon Ichi Software’s long-running series of ridiculously deep tactical role-playing games will ever capture the magic of the original Disgaea. But Disgaea 4: A Promise Forgotten, released this week on PlayStation 4 and Switch as Disgaea 4 Complete+, has a level of humor and charm that makes it a joy to return…
By Mike Fahey Published October 30, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsFinal Fantasy XIV’s Nier Automata Raid Is Spectacular
Final Fantasy XIV is no stranger to crossover events. Whether that’s the chance to chill with Final Fantasy XV’s Noctis or battle in Final Fantasy Tactics’ Ivalice, there have been plenty of cool stories and difficult bosses. The latest challenge, a huge 24-player raid, adds a splash of Nier Automata and might be the best…
By Heather Alexandra Published October 30, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsLonely Mountains Goes From Good To Great Once You Bike Off The Beaten Path
There are trails to follow in Lonely Mountains: Downhill, thethrilling mountain biking game from developer Megagon Industries, clear paths indicating the safest route from start to finish. Learning these trails is step one. Ignoring them is step awesome. Successfully funded on Kickstarter and available now on Steam, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, Lonely Mountains: Downhill…
By Mike Fahey Published October 29, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsDownloading Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Was An Absolute Nightmare
It’s easy to feel nostalgic for the time when playing a new release meant cracking open a plastic box and slotting a cartridge into your console. It’s even easier when you’ve been watching the “download” bar crawl upwards for three hours. By hour four, you’re pulling your hair out. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published October 28, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsIce Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure Feels Like A PS2 Game And That’s A Good Thing
The last Ice Age film or short came out back in 2016. There has been the talk of a new film or TV series, but nothing has actually released in the last 3 years. Until late last week. For some reason the world received a new Ice Age video game, starring Scrat. It’s weird that…
By Zack Zwiezen Published October 26, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsModern Warfare Demands Your Attention, But It Might Not Deserve It
It opens with a suicide bombing. You are in a van full of terrorists, nervous, silent, about to do something awful. The van arrives, and a man with a bomb strapped to his chest strides out into a crowded urban space, detonator in hand. He moves to pull the trigger, and we smash cut to…
By Joshua Rivera Published October 25, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsMediEvil Looks Great But Has A Lousy Camera
When I think of classic PlayStation games, I think Crash and Spyro. If I think a bit harder I eventually remember MediEvil, a wacky, gothic-inspired action-adventure game released in 1998 for the original PlayStation. It didn’t set the world on fire, but it did get a sequel before the series mostly went dormant. Now, after…
By Zack Zwiezen Published October 25, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsWe Checked Out The Outer Worlds‘ Second, Monster-Filled Planet
Yesterday, Paul Tamayo and I played through a small portion of The Outer Worlds. The game is out today, but if you haven’t picked it up yet, let us wet your whistle. Paul and I played through the beginning portions of Monarch, the second planet you’ll visit in The Outer Worlds. If you want to…
By Gita Jackson Published October 25, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsA Halloween Journey To Heck Is Just What Borderlands 3 Needed
Today saw the start of Bloody Harvest, the first big event for Borderlands 3. After a month of hit-or-miss weekly events, this Halloween-themed update is a fantastic reason to get back into the game, with numerous challenges to keep players busy and, of course, mountains of loot to scavenge. Bloody Harvest opens for Borderlands 3…
By Ian Walker Published October 24, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsAn Adorable Robot-Themed Role-Playing Game Totally Disrupted My Best-Laid Gaming Plans
Into a crowded fall gaming season packed with games I had planned to cover weeks in advance comes Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers, which took me completely by surprise. It’s an incredibly charming and cartoonish turn-based role-playing game filled with cute kids and even cuter robots. Out this week for the PlayStation 4 and Switch, it’s…
By Mike Fahey Published October 24, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsDestiny 2’s Ongoing Story Has Potential, Even If The Vex Are A Little Boring
If you’ve logged on to Destiny 2 over the last couple of weeks, you might have noticed something different. The Tower, Destiny’s social space where players can collect quests from characters and store their gear, has a construction project underway. Two weeks ago, it was just scaffolding. As of this week, it’s starting to look…
By Joshua Rivera Published October 23, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsThe New King Of Fighters Mobile Game Kicks A Fair Amount Of Ass
Out now on iTunes and Google Play, The King of Fighters Allstar takes the expansive roster of fighters from SNK’s long-running fighting game series and turns them into collectible characters in a side-scrolling beat-em-up action RPG. It’s very flashy and obnoxiously free-to-play, but I’m actually having a great time. It’s a neat new way to…
By Mike Fahey Published October 23, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsA Mario Maker Remake Perfectly Captures The Moodiness Of Hollow Knight
Mario Maker isn’t all that great if you’re craving something moody. The game has proven itself to be an incredibly flexible tool for making clever video game levels that are quite unlike standard Mario designs, but it’s only got a few ways to tinker with mood or tone. That means player CerulanOak has a hell…
By Joshua Rivera Published October 22, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsMonaco Brings Good Old-Fashioned Thievin’ To The Switch
I love a good heist, and I wish more video games let me pull one off. Sure, Grand Theft Auto: Online lets you plot them if you have enough friends, there’s also Payday 2, and if you squint a little bit and don’t mind all the murder, Hitman is technically a heist game, sure. We…
By Joshua Rivera Published October 21, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsManifold Garden Is A Puzzle Game About Infinity, No Big Deal
Video games are quite fond of the work of M.C. Escher—you’ll see his influence in the mundane labyrinths of Control, the disorienting symmetry of the stealth game Echo, or in the clever puzzles of games like Monument Valley and echochrome. You can now add Manifold Garden to that list. And, like those other games, it’s…
By Joshua Rivera Published October 18, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsPlants Vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville Has So Many Great Ways To Play
There’s always something to do in Neighborville, the suburban wonderland that serves as the setting for the latest game in Popcap’s Plants Vs. Zombies third-person shooter spinoff. No matter which side of the conflict I choose, or what sort of competitive, co-op, or solo battle I dive into, the game never fails to put a…
By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsSea Salt Lets You Control Unruly Hordes Of Eldritch Beasts
Much of the horror in the works of H.P. Lovecraft comes from the fear of the unknown. Sea Salt, released today on PC, Xbox One, and Switch, flips that script by putting the player in control of a monstrous horde that terrifies seaside communities full of humans who, rather than being afraid, are ready to…
By Ian Walker Published October 17, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsThis Obscure Sega Puzzle Game Is Pretty Clever
Sega Ages Ichidant-R doesn’t have a lot going for it in terms of its sales potential. It’s out today on the Switch in the middle of a massive content explosion for Nintendo’s platform. It’s got a weird name that you’ve probably already forgotten even after having just read it. It’s going to get buried, which…
By Chris Kohler Published October 17, 2019