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OpinionImpressionsRadio Commander, A Strategy Game Where You Just Talk On A Radio And Get Very Upset
The entire point of strategy games, and a lot of the appeal, is that you’re given direct control over entire units or even armies, even if historically you’d have only a fraction of that influence. Radio Commander realises that, and it’s a fascinating game because of it. It puts you in the position of an…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 7, 2020 -
OpinionGameplay Trailers Should Have Gameplay In Them
During today’s Inside Xbox presentation, Ubisoft showed off what they described as “the first look” at gameplay from the recently announced Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. But for many watching, myself included, it wasn’t really what we expected when I heard the term gameplay. The day before the Xbox event, Ubisoft was quick to point out that…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 7, 2020 -
OpinionGames Criticism Is A Kindness
Writing about games invites accusations of taking things too seriously. Criticism, it sometimes seems, is a dirty word. I don’t think that’s true. I think that whether you are praising something or condemning it, criticism is an act of love. I suspect that the word “criticism,” when read in isolation, evokes a negative connotation in…
By Heather Alexandra Published May 7, 2020 -
OpinionIt’s Time For A Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Remaster
Yesterday, I finished Final Fantasy VII Remake. Today, I find myself wanting more, but only a little more. Maybe another 15-20 hours in and around Midgar, seeing the surrounding slums and deserts through the eyes of somebody who’s more relevant to the series’ larger machinations than ever? Something along those lines? I don’t know, just…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 5, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsIndie Adventure Neversong Reminds Me Of My Coma Nightmares
Released on Apple Arcade last week and coming to Steam and GOG on May 20, Neversong tells the story of Peet, an orphan boy who slips into a coma when his girlfriend is snatched during a visit to the local asylum. Peet wakes up in a melancholy twilight world populated by freakish children and twisted…
By Mike Fahey Published May 5, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsJohn Wick Hex Puts You Inside The Complex Mind Of An Assassin
In the John Wick movies, the titular character is not superhuman. He is bound, like all of his enemies, by the laws of physics. When he gets hit by a car, you see the effects of it on his body. By the end of fights, he is often limping and bleeding. When he gets stabbed,…
By Gita Jackson Published May 5, 2020 -
OpinionAssassin’s Creed Games’ Modern Day Sequences, Ranked
The announcement of a new Assassin’s Creed has inspired people to prove their taste and expertise by ranking the series’ main games. That’s nice, but how about we rank the most important parts of each Assassin’s Creed game, shall we? From best to worst… III’s Modern Day Black Flag’s Modern Day Rogue’s Modern Day Brotherhood’s…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 1, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsMoving Out, A Game About Trashing Someone’s House
Moving Out is a new game out this week on PC, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. It’s a singleplayer or co-op experience, full of wacky arm-bending and physics gags, and depending on how you’re involved with the process is also an eerily accurate simulation of the art of moving house. As we’ve reviewed previously on…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 30, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsPredator: Hunting Grounds Is Only Fun When The Predator Is Around
Predator: Hunting Grounds takes the original film’s concept—a small squad of soldiers on a mission in the jungle are ambushed by a deadly alien hunter—and turns it into an asymmetrical multiplayer game. It seems like a logical and fun adaptation, but some mediocre gunplay and long waits bog the whole experience down. Hunting Grounds, out…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 30, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThere Is Nothing Cathartic About This Spider-Killing Game
First-person spider hunting game Kill It With Fire is the stuff of nightmares. Here is the premise: the player is locked in a house filled with spiders. Squeaking spiders. Spiders that hide in drawers, under the toilet seat, and beneath cushions. These are spiders that screech as they tear ass across the room from one…
By Mike Fahey Published April 30, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsXCOM’s Breaching Is A Door-Kicking Revelation
XCOM: Chimera Squad isn’t your normal kinda XCOM experience, and while in some ways (reduced scale, smaller missions) that’s a bummer, in other ways—namely the new “Breach” system—it has been an absolute pleasure to play. Nathan has played more of the game than I have, so definitely go and check out his impressions pieceif you’d…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsHellpoint Is A Souls-Like With Some Cool New Ideas
Hellpoint wears its influences on its sleeves. It’s obvious that Canadian developer Cradle Games knew what it wanted to make—Dark Souls in space—and set out to do just that. I recently had the chance to try a preview version of Hellpoint on Xbox One, and while I often found it frustrating from a technical standpoint,…
By Ian Walker Published April 29, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsNew Game From The Developers Of Her Story Is An Unsettling Trip Through Stolen NSA Footage
Telling Lies, the latest work of interactive fiction from Her Story creator Sam Barlow, invites players to curl up in front of their computer and comb through hours of leaked fictional National Security Agency footage. Mostly, that involves watching the game’s characters via their webcams and other video sources, everything having been captured without their…
By Mike Fahey Published April 28, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsMy Video Game Ate My Homework Is A Sweet Graphic Novel About Games And Growing Up
In My Video Game Ate My Homework, a new middle-grade graphic novel from DC Comics and writer/illustrator Dustin Hansen, 13-year-old Dewey Jenkins’ science project is sucked into a malfunctioning virtual reality game console. Dewey and friends must navigate a digital role-playing adventure to retrieve the project and save Dewey from summer school. Check out an…
By Mike Fahey Published April 28, 2020 -
OpinionMajora’s Mask Still Hits Hard 20 Years Later
The Legend of the Zelda: Majora’s Mask is 20 years old. It’s been the dawn of the final day for two decades, and looking back after all this time reveals one of the most interesting games of its time. It’s creative use of limited assets led to an experience drenched in anxiety. Existential, human, experimental.…
By Heather Alexandra Published April 27, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsSakura Wars’ Dramatic Intro Makes The Mech Battles Better
It took me an hour and a half to get to the first mech combat portion of Sakura Wars, the soft reboot of Sega’s long-running role-playing game series coming to PlayStation 4 on April 28. The first 90 minutes of the game is all about getting to know the characters and circumstances of this unique…
By Mike Fahey Published April 27, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsNew GTA Online Missions Are All About Preparing For A Recession
Grand Theft Auto Online received a new update a few days ago that added six new missions. These missions are all about an old-time GTA Online character, Gerald, and his attempts to get ready for an upcoming recession. Five of them are good and one of them is the worst mission I’ve played in GTA…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 25, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Trials Of Mana Remake Proves Square Enix Can Faithfully Redo A Classic ’90s RPG
The second high-definition remake of a 90s-era Square Enix role-playing game coming out this month is much more faithful to the original than Final Fantasy VII. Beneath Trials of Mana’s cartoonish 3D makeover and questionable voice acting, it’s the same simple, satisfying action RPG it’s always been. This piece was first published on April 22,…
By Mike Fahey Published April 24, 2020 -
OpinionFinal Fantasy VII Remake Is Haunted By What Came Before
Final Fantasy VII Remake bears a heavy weight on its shoulders, needing to recreate a beloved classic in a way that can ignite the imaginations of old-school fans and newcomers alike. There is an expectation surrounding the game: Be like the thing that existed in 1997. Be the game we loved. Be the game we…
By Heather Alexandra Published April 23, 2020
