It’s a wild time to be a Dragon Ball fan. The late Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball first hit the pages of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1984, and Shueisha is now in the midst of celebrating the milestone 40th anniversary for the franchise. It’s kicking things off in rather notable way with not only the premiere of a brand new anime series, Dragon Ball Daima, but with a brand new video game title, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, releasing on the very same day. Both of these new projects releasing in tandem is no coincidence either as both are notable new steps forward for their respective mediums, but also a celebration of what has come before. 

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is cumilatively both a brand new experience for Dragon Ball fans, but one that will also feel incredibly familiar to anyone who has played a Dragon Ball game in the last 20 years. Like many of the characters that fans can choose within it, Sparking! Zero is a fusion of the past and present to offer a new experience that’s going to have a bright future. It at times feels like the version of Budokai Tenkaichi that we all thought we were playing on the PlayStation 2 back then, while still feeling like it’s gotten much needed improvements that elevate it over its spiritual successors like Dragon Ball Xenoverse. It’s the Dragon Ball game you’ve been dreaming about for years. 

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is a new entry in the long running, but previously defunct Budokai Tenkaichi franchise. With the last entry releasing back in 2010 with Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team for the PlayStation Portable, there have been many games released since that have tried to capture the same spirit. For some reason, Dragon Ball had a lot of issues when it came to jumping from the PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 3 eras. Multiple titles were released that tried to emulate the Budokai Tenkaichi series to increasingly worse effect, and it wasn’t until Dragon Ball Xenoverse introduced its own take on it that it felt like fans were finally getting to play something that scratched that Budokai Tenkaichi itch. 

For anyone who was still worried as to otherwise, Sparking! Zero is a full return to the Budokai Tenkaichi gaming experience. It’s title may have changed to better reflect it being a brand new start (and to reflect the original Sparking! title of the franchise in Japan), but it’s a sequel. That means it’s got all of the appealing things fans loved about those first three titles, but also there are some of the same nitpicks that can be made about it as well. It’s a franchise that has always believed in providing the best experience possible for Dragon Ball fans even if it was at the expense of being a balanced fighter.

What Is Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero? 

Sparking! Zero is an arena fighter that sees the matches expand to a very wide area. Flying around is freely possible and is much faster than it ever has been in the series before. There are additional movements mechanics included that make for better quality of life in general too. There’s an extra dash step that makes closing in quicker, and the powered up ki dash can help you cross distances quickly. Up-close fights are frenetic, and there are deeper abilities that allow you to guard, dodge and parry hits at the right time. If you and your opponent are using the full extent of these additional mechanics it’s basically the closest we’ll get to recreating Dragon Ball’s fights as we ever will. 

For example, one of the biggest quality of life improvements for the fights themselves is the Skill Count meter. This is an additional meter alongside your Ki and Health bars that either gradually fills up over time, or builds as you land hits. Having a Skill Point will either allow you to use skills that buff your stats (or specialty skills like the Solar Flare), or allow you to charge your Ki beyond its maximum amount to enter a special mode that allows you to use your super attacks. It never feels like this meter takes long to charge, but it also helps to limit spamming the strongest super techniques. There’s still a bit of a spamming issue built in, however, as while in your fully charged mode, you could fire a regular Kamehameha Wave then follow with a Super Kamehameha in the same combo chain. That’s also the inherent flaw of having such a wide space for the matches as players could be tempted to just cheese it by firing energy beams back and forth instead of dashing in for hand to hand combat. 

Either way you decide to play, matches are also decided quickly. It’s very easy to just run back matches as soon as they’re over because they can end so quickly. You can choose to make them longer with Team Battles which let you take up to five fighters into a match (and swap out with them after a certain time). Battles feel fresh due to the number of options there are to take down your opponent, so when you add in additional layers on top with transformations it goes to a whole new level of fun in the fights. The only issue with the gameplay itself is one that won’t bother Dragon Ball fans: it’s not the most balanced fighter on the market. 

Eschewing the traditional fighting game mindset, Sparking! Zero instead allows the strong characters to be openly stronger than the weaker ones. Characters you expect to deal lots of damage and have more health indeed do. Mastered Ultra Instinct Goku is going to be much stronger than early Dragon Ball Z Goku, and godly compared to the generic Frieza Soldier. This is in service of adhering to the Dragon Ball canon, and for many goes that extra mile that allows fans to truly play out their Dragon Ball fantasies. It’s still not an impossible gap to cover if you have the skill, however. Using Mr. Satan to defeat Jiren (Full Power) is still doable; it’s just going to take some time while playing perfectly. This decision makes sense when accounting for the 182-character roster at launch. 

For Dragon Ball Fans, By Dragon Ball Fans

Character selection still somehow isn’t going to please everyone. There is a lack of classic Dragon Ball representation, but this is also the first game in the series that includes canonical materials from Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and beyond. It’s a wider net being cast, and the characters selected at least all feel like they offer something different. There’s a distinct lack of generic shared specials and rush attacks, and while characters can all move around the arenas at the same kind of pace, slower characters are a bit slower and speedier characters are a bit faster. Balance is lost in favor of this massive roster maintaining its canon adherence and size, so mileage will vary in how you respond to that. 

Speaking of fan service, there’s no better example of this than everything that has been included in the single player content. Before even jumping online to test your skills against others (or split screen fighting in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber stage), the story modes included this time are Episode and Custom Battle. Episode Battle focuses on eight different fighter’s paths throughout the story depending on when they take part. For example, Goku’s goes on for longer because it ranges from the Saiyan Arc to the end of the Tournament of Power in Dragon Ball Super. But Jiren’s will only showcase his time in the Tournament of Power. And depending on how well you do in some matches, your Episode Battle experience can change drastically. 

There are certain “What If?” paths you take go down by either making a choice, or fulfilling a secret battle requirement. And these parallel universe branches can range from insignificant to changing the story entirely. For example, you can fight Raditz without Piccolo’s help and get help from Krillin instead. This seems like a small detail, but then you’ll see through some other events that go down that Goku survives the final blow. It changes how the rest of the Saiyan arc evolves from that point. Because if Goku doesn’t die in the fight against Raditz, he never learns the Kaioken or Spirit Bomb. Thus this story then shows what it could look like if Goku was around for the fights against the other Saiyans without those techniques.

Tons of Surprises in Store

That’s a small example of the unique ways the stories can go, and there are some truly excellent surprises in store with special “Sparking! Episode” cutscenes that play out some of the big “What If?” scenes. You can also make your own with Custom Battle, and the level of detail in what you can edit is quite surprising. You can make your own episode of the anime including episode title backgrounds, music, and even why characters might be fighting. This is going to be the mode fans are likely going to dive into the longest, and especially so when everyone’s uploading their own custom fights.

Finally, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is just pure eye candy. Funny enough, this seems like this needs the least time spent on it of all the subjects as one look can tell you that Dragon Ball! Sparking Zero has a visual fidelity that gets as close to the anime as you might hope. Particle effects, explosions, dashing around, quick teleports, beams and more just look fantastic. There can be a bit of a stutter when things are going a bit too wild (and the arena itself is breaking apart), but it’s not very common as it was rarely seen in the hundreds of matches I had in the time with the game. You’re going to see lots of Supers thrown around, so luckily, it all looks incredible doing so. 

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is the Budokai Tenkaichi 4 fans have been waiting to get for a long, long time, but it’s also the perfect first entry to jump into if you’ve never played a game in this series. It’s a great first impression, and even better reunion. You’ve been waiting for a Dragon Ball game like this. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero releases on October 11th (October 7th for those with early access) on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and was reviewed on a PlayStation 5.

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It is shocking to me how well games from the Xbox 360 and PS3 era continue to hold up. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been replaying a lot of games from this period whether it be in their original forms or with new remasters/remakes. Every time I do, I come away wishing that modern releases felt as creative or unique as the titles that stemmed from this era. After playing Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, this feeling has only been amplified further as Capcom’s latest remake perfectly keeps intact the chaotic fun distinct premise of the original. 

For the most part, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a faithful revamp of the first game in Capcom’s second most popular zombie franchise. You play as journalist Frank West, who finds himself trapped in the Willamette Parkview Mall in the midst of a zombie outbreak. Everything in the mall is then turned into a weapon for Frank as he’s forced to fight off the undead hordes and uncover the mystery behind the epidemic. 

This process of running around and mowing through zombie masses with whatever you can get your hands on in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is just as enjoyable as it was almost two decades ago. The gameplay has also received a number of quality-of-life changes in Deluxe Remaster and feels more fluid than ever before. Thanks to Capcom’s RE Engine, more zombies are able to fill the screen in Deluxe Remaster and can respawn more quickly as well. This latter change can be a bit of an annoyance, though, as I found that dozens of zombies I would have slaughtered would be replaced by a new horde far too quickly. This dampened some of the satisfaction of wiping out an entire section of the mall and being able to traverse about more easily as the fruits of your labor. 

Survivor AI has also been greatly improved in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster to where it’s no longer infuriating to escort civilians to safety. The original version of Dead Rising essentially forced you to babysit any survivors that you came across or risk losing them to the undead. This added a certain level of challenge to Dead Rising, but the challenge was often rooted too much in frustration to be enjoyable. Deluxe Remaster now strikes a much nicer balance and makes the process of saving every survivor much less grueling. 

The one thing that makes DRDR even more forgiving is the mere implementation of auto-saves. This might not seem like a big deal, but again, it eases some of the headaches that are often talked about when it comes to Dead Rising. Being able to immediately jump into a boss fight at the start of the encounter rather than having to reload a previous save from a fixed point was a godsend in Deluxe Remaster and eased the stress that I used to constantly have when playing Dead Rising. 

Despite my overwhelming positivity, some changes in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster have been made that I really don’t understand. Specific characters have had their dialogue or appearances completely altered for reasons that are never made apparent. None of these changes markedly improve Deluxe Remaster when compared to the original Dead Rising, which just has me questioning why some of it was done in the first place. I wouldn’t say these tweaks make Deluxe Remaster drastically worse by comparison, but it’s certainly puzzling. 

Frank West has also seen some notable overhauls in his character design and voice in Deluxe Remaster, both of which I don’t care for as much when compared to his initial appearance. This new iteration of Frank grew on me over time and I had him wearing such outlandish outfits while I played that it almost didn’t matter what Capcom turned his base design into. Still, I can’t help but miss the performance of original voice actor TJ Rotolo and I wish he could’ve been involved with this remake. 

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster hasn’t only been fun to revisit as a longtime fan, it has further proven to me just how much juice this series has left in it. Capcom made all of the right choices in Deluxe Remaster from a gameplay standpoint, and even if there are other alterations that I don’t care for, it’s hard to say that this is anything but the definitive version of Dead Rising. Despite pushing 20 years old, Dead Rising is still a blast to play and Deluxe Remaster should hopefully be the starting point for more to come from the franchise moving forward. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is available now digitally for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A courtesy copy of the game was provided by Capcom for the purpose of this review. 

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I’ve been sold on the concept of The Plucky Squire since its first trailer debuted in 2022. The idea of a 2D and 3D action-platformer centered around a child’s storybook was absolutely perfect and had me eagerly waiting for its arrival. Luckily, after having now fully played The Plucky Squire, I’m happy to say the finished product is one that met my expectations and then some. 

The Plucky Squire centers around a young boy named Jot, who is the hero of a line of children’s books. Alongside his two friends Violet and Thrash, Jot adventures across the land of Mojo to primarily thwart the plans of the evil wizard Humgrump. This is how the tale of “The Plucky Squire” always goes until Humgrump realizes he’s merely part of a story and decides to use his magic to upend the outcome. The result sees Jot punted out of the pages of his own book and begins his latest quest to set things back to how they were. 

From start to finish, the story The Plucky Squire tells is adorable. The writing is dripping with charm and is easy enough for children to understand while still being smart enough for adults to want to engage with. One stage that predominantly centered around heavy metal particularly appealed to me, although I imagine most of its references wouldn’t be understood by younger players. I find it’s really difficult for many games to be for “all ages” as this term is more often than not associated with titles strictly for children. That isn’t the case with The Plucky Squire, though, as it’s a game I think anyone could find enchanting. 

The real star of The Plucky Squire, though, is its art direction. This is the element of the game that first grabbed my attention two years ago and it proves to be just as gorgeous in full motion. During the storybook sequences of The Plucky Squire, in particular, the colors and accompanying animations really pop. The game’s appearance when outside of these pages is largely still great, but it definitely pales in comparison and left me wanting to return more often to the in-book areas. 

Art direction alone often isn’t enough to make or break any game, but fortunately, The Plucky Squire is just as fun to play as it is to look at. One of the best things about The Plucky Squire is that it’s constantly keeping you on your toes and doesn’t commit to any single genre. While the standard, storybook sections of the game might play in a similar manner to old-school Zelda titles, it also throws these conventions out the window left and right.  There are sequences scattered throughout The Plucky Squire that draw inspiration from games like Super Mario Bros., Punch-Out!!, Resogun, and even bubble shooter games synonymous with the late 90s. This diversity of playstyles keeps The Plucky Squire constantly feeling fresh and keeps you guessing about what will happen next. 

Outside of these gameplay moments, the majority of the time in The Plucky Squire will be spent jumping in and out of Jot’s storybook. The biggest benefit to this style of play is the puzzles as you’ll have to go back and forth between the two worlds to advance past certain roadblocks. As Jot unlocks more abilities that allow him to interact directly with the storybook, these puzzles become a bit more complex in nature and become that much more enjoyable to solve.

Unfortunately, some of the only problems that I ran into during my time with The Plucky Squire were related to these puzzles. These issues seemed a bit random and included one instance where a block at the center of a puzzle clipped into the environment and kept it from working properly. None of these problems were ever enough to prevent me from outright completing the game as a simple reloading of my most recent save often fixed things. Other than these few struggles, I never had any additional issues of note. 

Over the past year, I’ve been looking for more games like The Plucky Squire. In a market that feels oversaturated by live-service, free-to-play fodder, The Plucky Squire is a breath of fresh air that reminded me of just how inventive and unique video games can be. It’s not just a game that I enjoyed myself, but it’s one that I plan to introduce to my kids to watch them play, too. If you’re also looking for more games of this type, then I cannot recommend it enough. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The Plucky Squire is out today across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms. An advance copy of the game was provided by the publisher and was reviewed on PS5. 

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Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a game that I’m baffled even exists. The past decade has been a particularly rough one for Marvel vs. Capcom fans following the dismal release of MvC: Infinite. This combined with the previous delisting of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 from digital storefronts made it seem as though Capcom’s iconic fighting game series might be gone for good. Fortunately, these fears have now been put to rest as the franchise has now been revived in a way that could make it more relevant than ever. 

After having spent time with all seven titles in the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection, I’m surprised by how great each still feels to play. From X-Men: Children of the Atom through Marvel vs. Capcom 2, every game included here is still incredibly fun and offers a top-tier fighting game experience. The odd inclusion of the bunch, 1993’s The Punisher beat ’em up, is still quite enjoyable in its own right, especially given how sparse brawlers are nowadays. 

While you can play all of these games in the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection with friends on your own couch, online play has also been added to each title. In my experience, online matches worked seamlessly and gave me no issues whatsoever. While I struggled to find opponents at times, I chalk this up more to the lack of people playing in the pre-release phase. Whenever I did land a match, though, each one felt just as fluid as if I was playing with someone else locally. Capcom’s commitment to rollback netcode with this collection is likely a big reason for this seamless experience and it’s very much appreciated. 

Outside of its online component, practice mode is the other big inclusion with each game in Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection. This is a rather straightforward addition, but it’s also one that was particularly needed, especially as a way of cultivating new fans. Given how old these games are, there are surely millions of players already familiar with the ins and outs of every title included. Practice mode being folded in doesn’t only ensure that veterans can hone their skills further, but it can get new players to better understand how the various systems and mechanics of each title work before then jumping into matches against others. This is something that I particularly found helpful, and I’m glad Capcom put in the effort to include it. 

Arguably the coolest aspect of Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection is its slew of bonus features. More often than not with collections like this, I find that the extra inclusions are a bit of a letdown. That’s far from the case here with MvC Fighting Collection, though, as the game is filled to the brim with hundreds of old pieces of concept art, design docs, and other materials from Capcom’s creation processes in the 90s. Documentation of this kind is rarely ever released to the public, and I’m baffled that some of these items haven’t been lost over the past two to three decades. While I wouldn’t consider any of this a main selling point of the game, it’s a fantastic inclusion for those who are interested in Capcom’s history. 

If there is a downside to this Marvel vs. Capcom collection, it would be that there is little reason to go back and revisit some of these games. Most of Capcom’s Marvel fighting games of the 90s progressively built upon one another until they eventually culminated in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which is by far the best entry of the bunch. As a result, going back to some of the precursors of MvC2 can feel a bit stale by comparison. Still, this is hardly a negative aspect of the collection as I’m happy to see Capcom include all of these titles for no other reason than game preservation. 

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics largely makes good on its simple premise. All of the games included here are of a great quality, and Capcom fortunately hasn’t messed anything up in the porting process. This combined with some of the ancillary bonus features makes Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection just as interesting as a historical piece as it is a game that can be played with friends. Whether you’re a newcomer or a veteran to Marvel vs. Capcom, this is a collection that is well worth the price of admission and should hopefully pave the way for a wholly new installment. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is set to release this week on September 12th and will come to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A copy of the game on PS4 was provided by Capcom for the purpose of this review. 

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I cannot remember the last time a game made me smile as much as Astro Bot has. From beginning to end, Team Asobi’s latest adventure with PlayStation’s new mascot is an absolute joy. Not only does it stand out within its own platforming genre, Astro Bot serves as a shining example of the types of games that PlayStation should look to focus more on releasing. 

In simplest form, Astro Bot is a natural extension of everything that was seen in Astro’s Playroom which is the pack-in game that launched in tandem with the PlayStation 5. The level structure of Astro Bot is similar to Playroom as is its focus on PlayStation’s hardware and history. Scattered throughout its many colorful worlds are numerous callbacks to famous PlayStation icons (Kratos from God of War, Nathan Drake from Uncharted, etc.) alongside many others that only the most hardcore fans might recognize. 

It’s this focus on PlayStation and the history of the brand that is arguably my favorite element of Astro Bot. As someone who has been playing in the PlayStation ecosystem since the early days of the PS1, Astro Bot feels like both a love letter to fans and the brand as a whole. Many of these callbacks and references to PlayStation titles from yesteryear are pretty straightforward, but they still find a way to elicit nostalgia without feeling tacky. 

What also helps on this front is that gameplay never stops being the focal point of Astro Bot. Throughout the game’s more than 50 stages, Astro Bot gives players a litany of different abilities and unique environments to hop, dash, and punch their way through. Across these diverse levels, a standard “collectathon” approach is taken that will task players with saving various bots and discovering puzzle pieces. Doing so will allow you to return to your hub world and open up new areas that can enhance the experience in different ways. It’s perhaps a bit of a straightforward setup but one that works great nonetheless.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this hub area in Astro Bot is that it also allows you to interact more directly with the PlayStation-specific bots that you’ll rescue. These bots can have their appearance and interactivity further altered if you unlock a corresponding item that is tied to their character. For example, getting the Leviathan Axe for Kratos and then finding him in this hub can result in the Kratos Bot using the weapon and freezing other bots around him. This is just one unique example of well over 100 and the manner in which Team Asobi implements these elements is dripping with creativity and cuteness. 

Where Astro Bot is at its best, though, is when it meshes its excellent gameplay more directly with these PlayStation callbacks. There are a handful of levels within Astro Bot that lean very heavily into select PlayStation franchises and introduce mechanics that would be found in those properties. I won’t spoil which games Team Asobi chooses to lean into in these moments, but there are some that left me both surprised and thrilled to see spotlighted. 

Like Astro’s Playroom, Astro Bot also looks to place a major focus on the DualSense controller and what it’s capable of. This doesn’t just include unique uses of the haptic feedback or adaptive triggers, either, as Team Asobi uses the DualSense in ways that I haven’t seen other studios ever attempt with their own games. Whether this be blowing on the DualSense’s microphone to generate wind within the game world, or using the motion controls to hammer together the broken remnants of Astro’s PS5-style ship, the DualSense controller is one of the stars of Astro Bot. 

Those looking to test their platforming prowess in Astro Bot are likely to find that the game isn’t as challenging as they would like. While there are some difficult levels later on in Astro Bot, they pale in comparison to stages that I’ve encountered in other platforming titles. Still, this isn’t a bad thing whatsoever as it keeps Astro Bot an accessible title for players of all ages. And in a time where PlayStation has perhaps focused a bit too much on Mature titles rounding out its offerings from its first-party studios, a game aimed more at younger audiences feels particularly fresh. 

If there is one concern I have with Astro Bot, it’s less about the game itself. Instead, I’m simply left wondering what Team Asobi can do next with this franchise. Between Astro’s Playroom and Astro Bot, I don’t think this series can continue to tap into PlayStation nostalgia and history without it beginning to feel worn thin. Obviously, the Astro character can thrive well enough without this reliance on the PlayStation brand as seen in Astro Bot: Rescue Mission. Still, if Astro is going to be another major pillar of PlayStation in the years to come, I believe it has to evolve in some manner from what’s been seen in Astro Bot. 

Despite having high expectations for Astro Bot, Team Asobi still found a way to surpass all of my hopes. This isn’t just one of the best games of 2024, it’s one of the best platformers that I have played in the last decade. Those who have a long attachment to PlayStation or just a simple love for games of this genre cannot let Astro Bot pass them by.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Astro Bot is set to release later this week on September 6, 2024, exclusively for PlayStation 5. A review code was provided by PlayStation for the purpose of this review. 

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Star Wars fans have been eager for an open-world game to allow them to fully immerse themselves into the galaxy for what feels like forever, and Ubisoft has finally delivered with their latest release: Star Wars Outlaws. Outlaws, while not without fault, offers an expansive exploration of the galaxy far, far away the likes of which Star Wars fans haven’t seen before, with multiple dense planets to explore as players aim to become the best thief in the galaxy, making a name for themselves through Outlaws‘ reputation system while experiencing a compelling new piece of the Star Wars narrative.

As is the case with the Andor and the majority of The Book of Boba Fett series, Star Wars Outlaws offers a welcome departure from the fantastical world of the Force from being the center of the galaxy, and the Force’s presence is integral to the overarching story and themes with the galaxy it’s nice to see parts of the galaxy’s without a Jedi being central to it. Much like Andor, Outlaws allows its audience to see the impacts on the everyday individuals and their loved ones that the harshness of the Empire creates, and because this is considerably more relatable to audiences as none of us can understand a life with the Force’s wonders (unfortunately) and allows for a level of immersion not achieved with any previous Star Wars gaming title. 

Early previews heralded Star Wars Outlaws as the new Red Dead Redemption 2, and while I don’t feel Outlaws offers quite the same level storytelling and exploration offered by Rockstar Games’ 2018 title, I have to say it comes as close as possible. Its settings are as dense as any in RDR2, yes, and therefore just as intersting to explore, with the star ship and speeder Kay Vess has at her disposal offering some seriously fun traversal mechanics. With some changes and enhancements Outlaws could have truly been Red Dead Redemption 2 in space, and falls only just short – Outlaws simply doesn’t deliver any overly memorable characters that I anticipate many fawning over in excess in the future, and the gameplay just isn’t as fun.

The writers for the game, while clearly deeply knowledgable on the Star Wars franchise and passionate to deliver the aforementioned compelling story, have only fallen somewhat short when it comes to the game’s content, and as mentioned it’s only the characters that I feel could’ve been improved upon. The two standouts for me from the game were Sliro, who is a wonderful representation of the title “crime boss”, and the player character Kay Vess’ companion, Nix. I simply didn’t feel attached to any of the characters outside of Nix, and for me it’s a huge missed opportunity in a game when I find I don’t connect with the character I’m playing as – and unfortunately, I just don’t see a character in Kay that many people will. The various storylines will have you intrigued and eager to experience more, familiar appearances from characters we’ve seen in the past will inspire that Star Wars nostalgia to carry you through, but ultimately the most compelling “new” content that Outlaws has to offer is its worlds and adding more depth to the criminal syndicates running the under workings of the galaxy.

In trying to become the best thief in the galaxy as Kay Vess, you will experience Outlaws‘ Reputation and Imperial Wanted sytems, which for me was the most interesting part of the game. It’s never going to not be fun to make such a horrific group such as the Empire increasingly frustrated with you, and the reputation Kay develops with each of the criminal syndicates offer sizable changes to how the player will experience the game, with their behavior changing toward Kay dependent on the player’s choices. This offers a replayability factor to the game, and I personally would be the type of person to replay Outlaws several times over to experience as many variations as possible if it weren’t for a major setback – Outlaws‘ gameplay itself. 

Outlaws plays exactly like any other Ubisoft title you’ve experienced before – it’s commonly said that if you’ve played one game from the studio, you’ve played them all. While from a gameplay point this is accurate and anyone playing Outlaws that has played a previous Ubisoft title will know exactly what to do from a gameplay perspective – which is either good or bad dependent on how you feel about Ubisoft gameplay, and them falling into this almost formulaic approach to game development. For me, this monotony became tiresome in a way it has in many Ubisoft titles before it – the open world, while it should feel vast throughout the game, almost feels small at times because of the repetition in the open world chores, and stealth mechanics become increasingly eye-rolling to have to carry out throughout the game. 

The stealth and most aspects attached to it are the only thing holding Outlaws back from truly fun gameplay. At certain points it becomes outright frustrating to navigate the criminal underworld, and its steal level layouts simply do not allow its players to have a seamless experience. Enemy line-of-sight isn’t communicated well, the guard layouts simply do not make sense more often than not and become an overly frustrating source of planning, and ultimately the stealth becomes horribly monotonous and unexciting. 

Overall, while I finished the main storyline and got a fair amount of exploration in, I’m already fairly excited to load up Star Wars Outlaws some more today to get back into the aspect of the game where it’s at its best – exploration – though I’m not particularly enthralled to have to sit through more of its gameplay. 

3.5/5

Star Wars Outlaws launces on August 30th for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

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This is a silly analogy, but playing Madden NFL 25 reminded me a lot of anyone I dated in high school. Things started exciting. The first kiss. Staying up late talking about nothing. Taking them to Prom. You know how it goes. But the more you spend time with them, you start to realize that things aren’t as great under the surface, and the two of you are looking for completely different things in life.

Madden NFL 25‘s On-Field Improvements Are Marred by Countless Legacy Issues

From a macro level, Madden 25 feels better than last year’s version on the field. The team has seemingly taken a page from the more wide-open College Football 25 and injected more fluidity into your ball carrier. With high-level studs like Christian McCaffrey or Tyreek Hill, you can make defenders miss much more dramatically than in years past. Remember that iconic scene from Hard Knocks where DeAndre Hopkins snaps DeAngelo Hall’s ankles with one of the nastiest cuts you’ve ever seen? I saw something similar happen a few times during my Franchise Mode save with Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings.

Beyond the open-field movement improvements, Madden 25 also brings several pre-snap adjustment improvements from College Football. You can half-slide your offensive or use more tricky coverage shells to hide your defensive alignment. It’s the kind of control hardcore Madden players are going to love and newcomers can learn to use it with practice. There are also some great new catch types and animations that are more than worthy of the Sportscenter Top 10 list.

That said, my point about looking under the surface couldn’t be more apt than it is in gameplay. Yes, some of the new features and mechanics are great additions, but this is still the same broken Madden players have been dealing with for several years. Blocking remains a guessing game of whether your players are going to function like anything resembling a human being or not. Far too often, I’ve seen blockers get beaten or slide off of a block and then just stand there like they’ve been frozen in place. 

On top of the questionable-at-best blocking, I’ve also noticed animations overtaking sense far too often, especially with EA touting its physics-based tackling this year. When it works, it looks great, but when it doesn’t, you’ll quickly be pulled out of the simulation and remember that Madden doesn’t replicate the real-world NFL. It replicates Madden. 

To give you an example of what I’m talking about when I say you’re not really playing a football simulation when you’re playing Madden, I was playing with the Vikings and called a slant route for their star wideout Justin Jefferson. Most fans would agree that Jet is one of, if not the best receivers on the planet right now. A slant route is one of the simplest routes in football. You cut at an angle and run straight. There’s not much more to it. On this particular play, Jefferson ran the route like normal, but when I threw to him, he just stopped running. The cornerback then ran past him and grabbed an interception. This is supposed to be the best player at his position in the NFL and he just stops in the middle of a route for no reason. It’s unacceptable.

And to be fair, if this were a one-off occurrence, I’d give EA the benefit of the doubt. However, there are plays like this in every game. Your cornerback is staring at the opposing QB but just runs away from the ball when he throws it. Your wideout is running a go and you check it down to your running back, so the receiver starts to block even though there’s no way they could know the ball is out. It’s these little details that make Madden NFL 25 difficult for me to enjoy because I wish another developer could be competing to make something that takes a little more care with the on-field aspect of the game.

Mode Improvements Leave Much to be Desired 

Though, even saying that, the lack of care extends to the modes as well. I don’t think any of them are necessarily bad, but nothing feels impressive or like the developer is taking a step forward. The more you play modes like Franchise, the more you notice weird details that seem like strange oversights. In my news tab, ESPN was talking about a “highly anticipated quarterback showdown” between two 58 overall, free-agent quarterbacks who didn’t play a single down. I was asked to talk to my coordinator about my plans to progress my rookie defensive end, but when I went to the conversation, we were talking about my quarterback’s development. It’s just a frustrating lack of detail that sours the entire product.

It’s also worth noting that, for the first few days I was playing Madden NFL 25, if I tried to start a new Franchise, it would soft-lock my PlayStation 5. If I wanted to play Superstar mode, I had to log into the mode, exit it, log into Ultimate Team, log out of that mode, and then go back into Superstar before it would work. Fortunately, most of those issues seem to have been resolved, but I’ve also heard other players are still having problems.

Look, I could spend the time talking about how much better the menus look or discuss how pointless a lot of the extra storytelling in Franchise and Superstar Mode is. I could tell you that MUT is the worst version of Ultimate Team in any sports game and complain about how annoying it is to navigate the mode. I could talk about how great the new “Cheat” plays are and how fun kick-offs can be once you learn the new rules. But, the long and short of it all is that Madden NFL 25 is the same Madden it’s been for the last several years. EA Sports makes some fun changes on the surface, but the more you play, the more you see all the same problems bubbling to the surface. I think this year’s version is marginally better than Madden NFL 24, but not in any way that’s going to matter to most fans. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to College Football 25.

Rating: 3 out of 5 

The post Madden NFL 25 Review: Old Problems Loom Large appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Mega Cat Studios have released the newest Five Nights at Freddy’s game, and in doing so have set a new standard for the future of gaming in the franchise. Historically, I play any new Five Nights at Freddy’s game purely for what it is by name, not expecting to be wowed by gameplay or mechanics and instead seeking to have a good FNaF experience. In that way, Mega Cat exceeded my expectations for Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit: not only is this a good entry to the franchise, Into the Pit is also a good game in general, and certainly what I would consider the best Five Nights at Freddy’s game release in years – and easily one of the top-ranking for me across the board when compared to previous releases. 

I have been excited for Into the Pit since the game debuted its official trailer in June, patiently counting down the days until I’d be able to jump into the game. When the time finally arrived a day early, I was impatient to begin my time in the pit myself – I had high hopes, and honestly moderate expectations, again – I was just looking for another fun Five Nights at Freddy’s game. Into the Pit is consistently everything that all FNaF games should be – atmospheric, immersive, and fun, but while delivering something fresh to the franchise. There aren’t any groundbreaking mechanics, and Into the Pit doesn’t reinvent the wheel. But what it does, it does well. 

From top to bottom Into the Pit is polished, and in the relatively short time since its initial launch Mega Cat has already addressed a number of bugs and issues impacting some players’ experiences. The environments of the game are rich, offering plenty of interactions to further develop the player’s knowledge of the digital world around Oswald (the player character of Into the Pit). The sound design is flawless and the game as a whole wouldn’t be the same without it. The story is so well-written and deliciously intricate (as all FNaF should be) and demonstrates that Mega Cat’s developers weren’t just creating a new Five Nights at Freddy’s game for the sake of doing it – you will be able to feel a genuine love and respect for the IP in every moment of the game. 

I’d be ashamed of myself if I didn’t dedicate a portion of this review to the art of Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit. If you’ve seen the trailer or any screenshots online by now, you’re well aware that Into the Pit’s art is in a lovably retro 2D style, its pixelated settings and characters delivering a style that predates when most FNaF fans were even born – and to me, this is perfection. I knew I was going to love this art style choice from the game’s initial reveal, but what I didn’t expect is how Mega Cat has constructed environments that are just as full as the 3D games in the franchise. It’s an aesthetic that just feels right with FNaF, and there are many moments I found myself reaching for F12 to be able to look at them again in my screenshots folder for many years to come.

An aspect of the game that stood out to me in how much it added to the overall experience was the sound design. After downloading the game for the first time and loading it up to play, there is a screen with a suggestion from Mega Cat Studios to wear a headset while you’re playing their Five Nights at Freddy’s game, and I can only reiterate this – plus add in my own note to have your space as dark as possible around you so only the glow of your monitor or PC lights can offer reprieve from what the environmentally immersive sound design will have you worried is lurking in the dark around you. 

On that note, as with any FNaF game it’s vital to talk about the suspense and terror that Into the Pit inspires in its players (or at least me), and I can’t believe it’s taken me this many words into this review to type the words “jump scare” considering we’re talking about FNaF. As I mentioned, the sound design will allow you to get immersed enough to fully grab your attention, and if you’re not allowing distractions, you will be able to slip into enough of a comfortable lull at certain points for Mega Cat to swoop in and take you off-guard. In complete honesty, I personally had a jump scare within five minutes of loading up the game for the first time, and that’s exactly what I want from FNaF. From that first moment of making me lift out of my desk chair briefly, Into the Pit offers plenty of suspense building and has a creeping sense of dread throughout, mechanics like breath holding while hiding from animatronics and a changing heartbeat sounding in your ears adding to the overall experience in the exact way a FNaF game is expected to. 

Outside of how polished the game’s various aspects are, one of the things I respect Into the Pit the most for is its careful handling of adapting its source material. Into the Pit was first released as the first short story of the Fazbear Frights anthology novels, and while the game doesn’t follow the exact same story line-for-line it’s still faithful, and any changes or additions honestly make the game version of the Into the Pit story my personal preferred version. 

My only true complaint is a genuinely minor one and an additional compliment toward the game in itself – I was able to finish Into the Pit fully in a little less than five hours, and it’s because I had such a fantastic time in the game, I wish it had been longer. This minor complaint does open up additional praise – I want to replay Into the Pit, and I want to do it soon. With multiple difficulty settings to challenge your skills with additional playthroughs and multiple different endings, Into the Pit has more to offer its players than the roughly five-hour commitment it takes to complete it. Completion, in this case, doesn’t mean you have to be completely done with the game.

Overall, I’m clearly incredibly happy with Into the Pit – I feel like it’s a great game for veteran Five Nights at Freddy’s fans as much as I feel like people who have never played a FNaF game before could enjoy it. Not only am I excited to see what other games Mega Cat crafts in the future in general, I’m hopeful we’ll see them continue to release Five Nights at Freddy’s games. 

Honestly, let them turn every Fazbear Frights short story into a game – and if not every, at least The Man in Room 1280, please. 

Rating: 5/5

The post Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit Review: A Pit of Despair You WANT To Dive Into (We Promise) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

EA Sports College Football 25 feels like an impossible game to review. I have been waiting for this game for more than a decade, but that waiting is different compared to a normal video game. Sure, people have been waiting for Grand Theft Auto 6 for several years, but at least they had an easy way to play the previous entry or jump into another open-world action game. With College Football, there simply hasn’t been anything official to play since 2013. Because of that, there’s no way I was always going to be over the moon that College Football 25 even existed, which makes it difficult to be objective. I feel like a parent with a kid who was sent to the principal’s office. I know there are some problems here, but it’s my kid. They’re perfect. 

College Football 25 Gameplay is an Improvement on Madden

But let’s be honest, it’s not perfect. College Football 25 is building on the shaky foundation set by Madden NFL 24 (and to take it even further, the Frostbite engine). With that, there are a ton of inherent issues. I’m still noticing players missing blocks that don’t make sense multiple times a game. I’m seeing weird animations that show off why we need EA Sports to move on from Frostbite before we see the wholesale changes the developer’s football games need.

Here’s the thing though: I do think College Football 25 has made some strides in gameplay that put Madden to shame. It still has all of those same Frostbite issues, but running the ball feels more fluid and the passing mechanics give you more control than Madden ever has. Fade routes are something you actually do now. That seems small, but it’s huge for this engine. However, part of me can’t help but wonder if some of these gameplay changes aren’t, to some degree, mental.

See, there’s a part of me that knows I’m playing with college kids who aren’t that great at football in the grand scheme of things. Would they wipe the floor with me? Absolutely, but most of these guys aren’t playing on Sunday. In Madden, if a mediocre offensive lineman misses a block, I get mad. That’s their job. In College Football, I’m a little more understanding because these players just aren’t as good. It’s the real-world representation of that Gordon Ramsey meme comparing how he treats kids on his cooking shows to adults. I’m willing to give a little more leeway to a freshman UTEP because he’s probably trying his best, right?

That said, I don’t think it’s simply just me being a bit more lenient in my criticism. The College Football series has traditionally felt more dynamic than Madden on the field, and that remains true in College Football 25. The passing game is more wide-open, and you feel like you have more room to maneuver in the open field as a runner. However, even if it was the exact same game as Madden on the field, I think College Football 25 would be a better game because of how well it nails the presentation of the sport.

The Pageantry of College Football is Game-Changing

Stepping onto the field as an away team feels like a religious experience. It’s not just all of the research EA has done on all 134 teams to add their various traditions to the game. When you line up under center, you can feel the stadium pulse. The screen shakes, you can’t see your plays during pre-snap, and don’t even think about audibling. To be fair, we’ve seen most of this stuff before in Madden (and the old NCAA series), but there’s something about it in College Football 25 that puts it on another level. If nothing else, EA has to be commended for capturing the essence of a college football gameday better than anyone ever has.

Fortunately, that’s not all College Football 25 gets right. Dynasty Mode remains the focal point of the franchise and while EA hasn’t quite taken this one back to the house, they’ve at least got the ball in the red zone. Look, this is the team’s first effort in a decade. It was never going to be perfect. Do I have several little tweaks I want them to implement to make the menus cleaner and recruiting more fun? Absolutely, but as a foundation for the future of what I hope is a long-running franchise, this is about as rock-solid as it gets. Recruiting is tough, but not too tedious. The coaching trees are extensive and force you to make big decisions. The coaching carousel is back and not quite as fun as it used to be, but still solid. Team Builder gives you a stunning level of control for creating your own program. Almost everything I’ve wanted for 11 years in here and I am having so much fun losing 45-7 against Ohio State while trying to rebuild San Jose State. Dynasty mode is back, folks (though the sim engine still needs some work).

A Lack of Polish Outside of Dynasty Mode

When you get to the other modes, things aren’t as peachy. Road to Glory feels like an afterthought. It’s heavily menu-driven, which makes it pretty boring outside of some off-the-wall texts you’ll get from teammates. On the field, there aren’t any big differences outside of the camera angle. The one good thing is that careers have to end after four or five years, so you can quickly play through a new position in a handful of hours if you want to try a new position or school. 

Of course, EA wants Ultimate Team to be a big deal, but it doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from Madden’s version of the mode. For my money, Madden has the least engaging Ultimate Team mode in the sports world, and College Football is going to be an even easier skip because of the sheer number of players in the game. Sure, when they add Barry Sanders to the mode, I’ll be excited, but if a bunch of Alabama and Michigan players get high-rated cards, I’m not going to care as much as I do in the NFL. College football is deeply regional, and I think that makes Ultimate Team a slightly tougher sale, though it’ll likely still do gangbusters for EA. Ultimate Team always does.

It’s very difficult for me to wrap my thoughts about College Football 25 into one neat package for a review. On the one hand, I am having a blast playing Dynasty mode and am loving the customization and pageantry of collegiate sports. On the other, I can’t help but notice the Madden bugs in the system that we’ve been dealing with for at least five years, and I’m a little bummed that every other mode feels like the team ran out of time. At the end of the day, College Football is back, and the foundation EA has built is solid enough that I am very excited to see what the future holds. That’s about all I can ask for.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

EA Sports College Football 25 is available now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A PS5 review code was provided by Electronic Arts.  

The post EA Sports College Football 25 Review: Like Coming Home Again appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Ninja Theory has released the newest entry to a long-awaited story with Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, which is available now on Xbox Series X|S and PC. When I was able to load up the game, I was immediately intrigued by the content warnings provided in the continuation (graphic violence, burning, terror..), eager to see how the next chapter of Senua’s story unfolded. While I’m overall pleased with Hellblade 2, there are certain aspects I certainly feel didn’t live up to the standard set by others like the graphics, settings, sound, and the storyline.

When we received the review key for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, there was a note included from Ninja Theory studio head Dom Matthews that expressed “Senua’s Saga has been a genuine passion project.” My favorite part of this gaming experience is that you can truly tell – from beginning to end – that Hellblade 2 is exactly as described by Matthews: a passion project. With the developers’ goal of “cinematic immersion” in mind, I truly feel as though Ninja Theory has delivered on what they set out to do. While not perfect, there are two undeniable truths to Hellblade 2: you can feel the passion that the team who built the game feel toward it, and this is one of the most immersive experiences in gaming to date.

I want to focus on the aspect I loved most about the game, which is the sound. Hellblade 2 is a testament to years of work by the sound team, which I am certain will be at minimum nominated for awards going into the 2024 gaming awards season later this year, if not winning overwhelmingly across the board. I cannot recommend wearing a good quality pair of headphones enough to experience Hellblade 2 in its fully intended state – I initially started playing the game over my system’s speakers and was infinitely more pleased when I swapped to headphones for that more intimate experience.

The voices in Hellblade 2 are recorded binaurally, placing them in the world “surrounding” the player – the voices Senua (and therefore the player) are hearing due to her psychosis at times sound close enough to replicate the softest, spine-tingling whisper in your ear, or as faint as the final voice you hear as you drift off to sleep, to the harsh, cutting, visceral darkness that fills your ears. Not only are the binaural voices deeply immersive, the environmental sounds are deeply realistic and believable – so much so that a crack of thunder through your headphones or the crashing of a wave will make you question your own setting.

It’s on this believability that I feel Ninja Theory did their best – not only in sound, but visuals as well. With scanned costumes, actors into characters, and locations every single visual frame is realistic, which brings the mythical sides to life in ways that feel grounded and within grasp.

Sticking with mentions of the game’s stunning visuals and believability, the scenery and locations in Hellblade II will almost certainly have you considering a trip to Iceland. Every location has a feast for the eyes to offer – from waves crashing against a shore to the reflection of a beautiful sky in a puddle to sprawling fields of green, there’s a lot of beauty in this place that has been replicated to the screen for this game by Ninja Theory in a way that shares the beauty with audiences despite them not being real.

At times, the visuals combined with the sound feel so close to reality that you could almost forget you won’t also smell the rain or taste the salt of the ocean. If you’re a photomode fan (who isn’t these days?), there are ample opportunities to document the beauty of the game – with an impressive zoom scope and camera mobility to help you get the exact shot of your dreams.

Performance capture has gotten better overall in the last several years, with Hellblade 2 proving to be no exception to this new norm, and every character feels as though they’re someone you could be interacting with before you. On top of the smallest movements being picked up, furthering the full understanding and characterization of these individuals, the designs and writing for each character indicate how much Ninja Theory cares for each of them.

Narratively, Hellblade 2 is a powerhouse and continues Senua’s story in a way that provides her with ample opportunity for continued growth, and uses her story to respectfully explore such a serious experience such a psychosis. As the smaller pieces of the much larger puzzle come together to show what Ninja Theory has planned in full for Senua, you see an exploration of truly beautiful and complex topics – psychosis, grief, survivor’s guilt, childhood trauma and how individuals who experience it often experience additional trauma later in life, and so much more. For such a short game there is really so much depth, and that alone is impressive enough and a true demonstration of a wonderful script.

Ninja Theory has clearly worked hard to provide a deeply respectful, well-informed and well-researched representation of mental illness. Ninja Theory notes, “To bring Senua’s perspective of the world to life in a truthful way, we have once again worked closely with Professor Paul Fletcher at the University of Cambridge, as well as people with lived experience of psychosis.” While I personally am far from an expert on these topics and my opinion carries little weight, I do believe the developers have done their best to represent this issue with care and respect.

Ninja Theory did a fantastic job making improvements to Hellblade 2‘s accessibility, with several features included to ensure as many people can enjoy the game as possible. For me personally, text size changes and user interface color scheme customization are massive bonuses that were appreciated throughout the entirety of the game, and these are far from the only options available to make the continuation to Senua’s story more accessible.

In terms of what I didn’t like and what unfortunately drops the score for me significantly are two large pieces of gameplay in this instance: combat and puzzles. While neither of these aspects to Hellblade 2 could be considered wholly bad, and there is an impressive realism to the combat and a noticeable weight to the swings that has great potential to add to the adrenaline-filled feeling of high-stakes combat, I did feel the movements become fairly repetitive, and therefore easy. This complaint is mirrored in Hellblade 2‘s puzzles as well, which while they provide fantastic visual additions and opportunities to the game, I never felt like any were particularly difficult. With combat specifically, Ninja Theory has noted that 69 days alone were spent on performance capture for combat, indicating this was clearly an area of focus, and one I feel the result is lackluster in comparison with the rest of the game.

Overall, I am looking forward to playing what’s ultimately a fairly short game again (about 10-15 hours stopping for breaks and photomode) without needing to pause to take notes for review purposes in order to fully immerse myself in the experience Ninja Theory has crafted without interruption. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S and PC. A PC review code was provided by Xbox.

The post Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Review: Immersion You’ll Have to Hear to Believe appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Sand Land The Game isn’t just a video game that is based on an anime series, it’s one that garnered a lot of attention thanks to the passing of creator Akira Toriyama. While Toriyama might be best known for the Dragon Ball franchise, the mangaka spread his wings in his anime career with works such as Sand Land. Taking the characters and locales that only could be created by Toriyama himself, Bandai Namco aimed to give fans a beautiful, interactive landscape for gamers, and in that, the video game producers succeeded. 

To start, Sand Land is a world wherein humanity co-exists with a race of demons, as all the living creatures seard for any and all water that they can find. Our main star, and the character that players control in the game, is Beelzebub, the son of Lucifer who finds himself journeying forth, to both save his people and cure his never-ending boredom. Joining Beelzebub on his quest includes the human Sheriff Rao, the human Ann, and the demon Thief as they traverse the desert locale using a variety of vehicles at their disposal. Fighting against human opponents, demons, dinosaurs, and just about any creature that you can think of, the Akira Toriyama world is fit to bursting with creativity.

To start with the positive, this game is absolutely gorgeous and it feels as though it’s the best example of a video game so far to capture the beauty and aesthetic of Akira Toriyama’s art. The landscape of Sand Land is a giant one that asks a lot of your time to fully complete Beelzebub’s story, and luckily, you’ll never feel as though that exploration itself is boring. This is a boon considering this game can skyrocket well over one hundred hours of gameplay if you are looking to comb the Earth itself and complete the bounties, resource collecting, and other side quests that populate the desert world. 

Similarly to other Akira Toriyama-designed games such as Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and the video game entries of the Dragon Ball franchise, Sand Land’s characters are gorgeous in their simplicity. Every character, hero, enemy, or in-between, is downright dripping with personality and it makes you want to have a discussion with each of them when you hit a new town or find a vendor while blasting across the desert. Boss fights are big and bold thanks to this fact, helping to create some of the more memorable moments of the game. The simplicity of the characters is their strength and discovering new beasts and opponents is always a thrill. 

The humor of the game is also trademark Akira Toriyama, with more than a few moments getting a genuine chuckle. There’s just something surreal about Thief stating that he has the “perfect costume” for stealing someone’s belongings, slapping on a Santa Claus costume, and then performing his shady dealings in the dead of night. Beelzebub himself is charming in his naivety, where the son of the devil is looking to take down evil-doers simply because he feels that no one should be more evil than him. Toriyama gives us colorful, interesting characters here that are worth speaking to, even if their dialogue isn’t exactly thought-provoking. 

Luckily, the traversal also is varied thanks in part to the amount of vehicles that you are given to scour the sands. Beelzebub and his friends have the ability to effortlessly and instantaneously call upon tanks, motorcycles, leaping robots, mech suits, and more when it comes to both fighting and exploring, which is a boon for players here. Players will never feel bored when it comes to swapping out vehicles for any given scenario. On the customization side, Sand Land allows you to fully make each of these vehicles your own, whether that comes to the overall aesthetic and design of a machine or the weapons that help the player blast through any barriers in their way. It’s in the vehicles that fans can truly express themselves here and we imagine that there will be plenty of pictures of players’ tank designs making their way to the internet in the future.

Unfortunately, when a player is put on foot, that’s where the game tends to suffer. Beelzebub’s cadre of tricks when it comes to fighting in hand-to-hand combat feels slim as you will routinely feel like button-mashing is all that is needed in dispatching a group of baddies. Beelzebub’s attacks seem rather limited, especially considering that he is routinely joined by both Rao and Thief in his exploits. The fact that you can’t take control of the demon’s allies seems like a missed opportunity and would have added much more variety to combat overall. Many of the upgrades for the characters can be useful, but many feel like window dressing, expanding on the game’s already weighty girth. While they do incorporate some interesting mechanics such as some stealth missions in the quest that take players out of a vehicle, the game needed more variety when it came to Beelzebub’s encounters sans-vehicles.

While it was mentioned earlier that the environments were gorgeous to take in, there was a serious problem encountered when it came to repetitive dialogue along the way. Rao, Thief, and other allies would routinely spam old lines depending on what you encountered on your journey and it could become grating at times. If you happened to encounter an environment or opponent that would create a new line of dialogue, you would return to the original line from the very beginning, hammering home the repetition.

Sand Land is a gorgeous game that is far larger than you might expect, and it’s ultimately worthy of a journey, but there are several factors that are holding it back from being one of the biggest anime games of all time.  

Rating: 3.5 Out Of 5

Sand Land is now available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

The post Sand Land The Game Review: Coarse But Fine appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Stellar Blade‘s review embargo officially lifted on Wednesday which means that scores have finally started coming in for the next PlayStation 5 exclusive. Formerly known as Project EVE before developer Shift Up adopted the Stellar Blade name, the PS5 game stars EVE, an “angel” tasked with fighting off an invading species known as the Naytiba. Due to its protagonist’s appearance and the combat mechanics shown off in gameplay and in the PS5 demo, the game’s attracted comparisons to to other series like Devil May Cry, NieR, and Bayonetta.

The combat in Stellar Blade is heavy on combos, parrying, and a mix of special moves, so from that alone, it’s easy to see why those other series come to mind. Aside from combat and similarities to other series, much of the discussion pre-launch for Stellar Blade has also been about EVE herself and the way she’s portrayed in the game. EVE’s been compared to NieR’s 2B and Bayonetta because of the focus put into her appearance combined with a number of revealing outfits players can equip, so between combat and EVE, Stellar Blade has had quite the pre-launch discourse to wade through. 

But the reviews are out now, so what do critics actually think of the game? Right now, the game’s sitting at a solid 83 on Metacritic. That puts it squarely in the “green” zone as far as scores go with over 15 scores ranking it at a 90 or above to help push that average up. Many of those reviews boasting higher scores for the game praised its combat mechanics, the stylized action sequences, and the design of bosses and lesser enemies alike. Even some of those more favorable reviews acknowledged some issues with narrative pacing, but many felt Stellar Blade makes up for that misstep with a refreshingly lived-in world.

Our own review was still big on Stellar Blade but had it just below those scores at a 4/5 which translates to an 80 on Metacritic. The intense combat that was surprisingly more engaging than anticipated was a high point of our review, though Stellar Blade has some issues with its more open-world segments, some clunky traversal mechanics, and indeed with narrative pacing that could be improved on.

“Considering her potential and Stellar Blade‘s surprisingly deep combat system and intense boss fights, I’d be interested in seeing how she and other parts of the game evolve further if Stellar Blade ever gets a sequel,” reads a summation of our review.

But what about those on the lower end of the review spectrum? The sexualization of EVE showed up in reviews regardless of whether the score was high or low, but it does seem to be a factor in why some knocked some points off the game’s score. Rather than being prudish about EVE’s design, some of the lower scores pointed out how disjointed some of EVE’s outfits when she shows up in them during otherwise dramatic and emotional cutscenes. Some of the more middling reviews echoed a point from our own that acknowledged the way EVE’s presented while saying you can take it and appreciate what else the game has to offer or can leave it if it’s not your kind of game. 

Stellar Blade releases exclusively for the PS5 on April 26th.

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South Park has had a long history in the video game world, with two of its more recent entries, South Park: The Stick of Truth and South Park: The Fractured but Whole, finding a way to take the humor and crudeness of the series and transplant it seamlessly into a video game environment. Unfortunately, for both franchise fans and gamers alike, South Park: Snow Day attempts to recreate the formula and massively stumbles in doing so. Even if you’re a mega-fan of Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman, Snow Day might not be the video game that you’re looking for to follow in the footsteps of Stick of Truth and Fractured but Whole. 

South Park’s latest video game begins in a day much like any other in the small Colorado town as Eric Cartman prays as hard as he can that the locale is blanketed in snow. Cartman’s wish is granted, much to the detriment of the town, as South Park is bombarded with a historic blizzard that cancels school for our favorite crude cartoon characters. As the player, gamers once again take on the role of the “new kid,” a customizable character that has no voice of their own but marches forward on the behest of Cartman and his fictional machinations. Fighting against elves, older students, boss fights featuring beloved characters, and more, Snow Day attempts to capture the spirit of the show, but falls on its face in its attempt.

To start, South Park: Snow Day is a 3-D “roguelike” meaning death is but a rung on a ladder in empowering yourself to take on challenges in this five-chapter affair. Fans will be dodging, hacking, slashing, and “magicking” their way through countless waves of enemies, rather than taking on the turn-based role-playing game system as the previous two console entries. Fractured, But Whole and Stick of Truth found a method to make players feel like they were entering the world of South Park, both in their humor and in their gameplay, two elements completely lost in Snow Day.

What’s most baffling about Snow Day is how neutered it feels compared to the crude humor and story structures of the recent South Park titles. The stilted, often frustrating combat system could be forgiven if the story fired on all engines, making players believe that they were playing a series of South Park episodes. Alas, what players get here is more like the South Park Nintendo 64 game where you had the minimal trappings of the animated world but failed to find much enjoyment in traversing the landscape. There are some smirk-worthy jokes, such as using toilet paper as currency to poke fun at the Coronavirus pandemic, but ultimately, so much of the humor falls flat, which was honestly the last thing I was expecting here. 

Even for a budget title, South Park: Snow Day feels surprisingly bare-bones with its options for player modification in terms of cosmetics, emotes, weaponry, and abilities. You’re given three primary weapons, three ancillary ranged weapons, and some magical abilities to crash your way through South Park’s other youngsters, though they all feel rather dull and uninspiring. When the chaos of waves of enemies hits you, you mostly find yourself foregoing strategy to simply button mash and hope that your three cohorts, who can be real players or bots, will revive you in a pinch. The four-player modes are also only relegated to online play meaning those hoping for a couch co-op won’t find good news here. The game attempts to add variety to the adventure of the four “new kids” by injecting the “BS” mechanic to inject variety, but once again falls short. 

Speaking of “BS”, this turns into one of the more frustrating parts of the experience as your opponents will routinely have their own “BS” cards to play on top of the cards you receive. The abilities that they demonstrate will routinely feel far more aggravating than inventive, sometimes turning your main weapon into a “pool noodle,” meaning you’ll have to rely on your secondary abilities that can have cooldown times and frustrating styles to make your way. It all feels extremely tedious, and once again, doesn’t rely so much on strategy rather than simply brute forcing your way through the game’s issues. With your character hulking through the map with little maneuverability, the game’s weaknesses are placed further on display. 

There are ways to strengthen your character, of course, using “Dark Matter” to permanently upgrade aspects for your “new kid” or “PP” to unlock new cosmetics, but it all feels like window dressing in this rogue-like. In my run-through, I was able to beat the game’s five chapters in a little over five hours before diving into more of the nitty gritty, but I never felt as though my strategy ever changed or that my character was gaining significant strength as a result of their runs. Some weapons felt downright unusable in many of the game’s scenarios causing me to put them down and never pick them up again for even the purpose of experimentation. 

Finally, South Park: Snow Day’s biggest sin is the complete lack of what made Fractured, But Whole and Stick of Truth work so well: their humor. Gone are many of the edgy jokes that made the previous two entries stick out, instead being replaced by characters that feel neutered and lacking the punch that helped make the animated series such a hit for oh so many years. Everything feels safe and stale, meaning that Snow Day is an easy pass for those looking to re-enter the world of South Park on their consoles or computers.

Rating 1.5 Out Of 5

South Park: Snow Day is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A PS5 review copy was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. 

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Over the last few years, developer Sony San Deigo has built its MLB The Show series into the best sports franchise on the market. That’s partially because of several bad choices from its competitors, but the developers have continued to introduce new ways to play, improving the baseball sim’s overall product. That doesn’t change with MLB The Show 24. Not only is gameplay among the best in the sports world, but SDS keeps the focus squarely on giving players plenty of ways to play.

There aren’t many massive gameplay changes in MLB The Show 24. With how good the on-the-diamond action has been over the last few entries, that’s far from a bad thing. If you kept up with The Show 23, there will likely be a slight learning curve as you get adjusted to playing with low overall players again in Diamond Dynasty. That said, the gameplay changes are mostly inconsequential. 

Endless Possibilities

Instead, SDS has focused on giving players more ways to have fun with the excellent gameplay they’ve built. One of the most discussed features is the inclusion of women in MLB The Show 24. EA Sports FC 24 was the first modern sports sim to do this, and The Show’s inclusion is just as seamless. There’s the option to make a female Road to the Show character, and Toni Stone’s groundbreaking story is playable in the Storylines mode. After finishing that story, you can add her to your team in Diamond Dynasty. I haven’t had the time to get very deep into RTTS, but the addition of women is handled well overall.

Speaking of Storylines, this remains the most exciting feature in MLB The Show 24. Last year, SDS introduced the first season of the Negro Leagues storyline, and the team is back with season two. Players get access to four stories out of the gate, and six more will drop over the next few months. Splitting it up is a smart strategy because it keeps players invested while giving SDS an easy way to introduce higher-rated Negro Leagues players for Diamond Dynasty.

The team has also introduced a more modern storyline, though this one is less interesting. This storyline focuses on the early part of Derek Jeter’s career. It’s a fun mode to go through with some neat rewards, but Jeter’s story isn’t as exciting as digging back into baseball’s deep catalog. Having Jeter involved might sell more copies, but most baseball fans already know about The Captain. I’d prefer to explore less discussed players and give them the spotlight. Again, it’s not a bad choice, it’s just not the one I would make.

Much like gameplay, most of the modes have small changes that some players might not even notice. For example, one of my favorite additions to Franchise mode is that you can finally see your players’ awards tracked on their player cards. Previously, I had to keep that data tracked in a spreadsheet, so this is a huge improvement. There are also better options for jumping into games, making it easier to get through a Franchise season if you don’t want to play every single game. I feel like it lets you set a sweet spot between running a full franchise and playing March to October mode.

Cause for Concern in Diamond Dynasty

Over in Diamond Dynasty, the biggest change is that seasons are now longer. That also means the team is splitting Team Affinity drops into three mini-seasons. The hope is that this will give players much more content to work through, but I can see it becoming an annoyance depending on how SDS handles things. It’s always tough to judge these changes to a sports game’s live service mode at launch because we don’t know what it’s going to look like in a month or two. That said, I’m comfortable in saying that I don’t think this will have as negative an impact as taking the Auction House out of NBA 2K24. Players might become annoyed with the developers if the content starts to feel stale, but it’s probably not going to completely break the game.

It’s not all perfect though. You’re still at the mercy of other players if you decide to hop online. The best example of this is that it’s currently possible to rack up Team Affinity points quickly by pitching in online games. Because you don’t have to do anything outside of pitch innings, you’ll run into players who aren’t playing the game. Not only is that boring to come up against, but it slows things down in general. Again, this kind of behavior isn’t game-breaking yet, but if SDS doesn’t find ways to get around it, the team might have some problems on its hands.

Either way, most of my annoyances are largely nitpicks in the grand scheme of things. Having Jeter take center stage once again in Storylines is ultimately not going to affect my opinion too much. Knowing that the RTTS mode has a lacking narrative is frustrating, but it’s also incredibly hard to write a compelling story for a yearly release like MLB The Show 24. At the end of the day, the on-the-diamond gameplay is as good as it was last year and Sony San Diego keeps finding fun ways to give players more content. If you’re a baseball fan, this is a must-play. If you want a fun sports game, there isn’t a better one on the AAA market.

Rating: 4 out of 5

MLB The  Show 24 is available now on PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox platforms. A review copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.   

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There is simply nothing special about Rise of the Ronin. Team Ninja’s new open-world samurai game wears its inspirations on its sleeve and has a lot of similar DNA found in games like Ghost of Tsushima, Assassin’s Creed, and Dark Souls, just to name a few. Despite borrowing ideas from so many acclaimed and successful franchises, though, Rise of the Ronin fails to do anything on its own that is wholly unique and instead leaves it feeling like nothing more than a budgeted imitation. 

Set in the mid-1800s, Rise of the Ronin sees players controlling a titular ronin that can be created all their own. Upon establishing the basis of this revenge tale up front, players are then let loose to run, glide, and grapple hook their way across Japan and liberate the nation during a tumultuous period of war. It’s a pretty simple premise that doesn’t do a whole lot to grab your attention out of the gate. 

Outside of its slow opening, the throughline narrative of Rise of the Ronin is one that I never found myself engaged with. Much of this is because of the main character simply being a conduit for the player. Some games that use player-created characters still do a fantastic job of incorporating that character into their world and story, but the same can’t be said for Rise of the Ronin. Instead, the main protagonist feels completely devoid of any personality or distinguished characteristics, which only further hampered my interest in their arc over the span of multiple decades. 

I also cannot stress enough how poor the voice acting is in Rise of the Ronin. This game features some of the worst voice performances I have seen in a AAA title in a long, long time. Any time I found myself interested in some of the twists and turns that were made in the story, I quickly had my focus diverted by some of the bewildering voice lines that were being uttered. I’m genuinely fascinated by how rough some of the voicework is in this game as it’s something I feel like I have not seen since the early 2000s. 

Combat is the one aspect of Rise of the Ronin that I came to appreciate the longer that I played. The game’s greatest strength on this front is that it allows for a lot of experimentation between a variety of weapon types. While featuring similar controls, combat styles all vary depending on the weapon that you might have equipped. For example, a katana might have a more balanced manner of dealing out damage with a steady cadence of strikes, while a greatsword is going to be much slower but is better used to take down groups of foes with major blows. One of my own personal favorite weapons ended up being the Oxtail Blade, as it featured a heavy emphasis on air combos and was unlike anything else. 

What makes this combat system even better is that there is a mastery system with all of the weapons in Rise of the Ronin which allows you to further unlock new abilities and combat stances the more you use a certain type of sword. With that aforementioned Oxtail Blade, I was able to feel like the weapon had more for me to learn and get out of it upon repeated use rather than feeling the need to switch to another weapon type. Whether you decide to stick to one specific blade or instead cycle between a variety, either playstyle is rewarded as you’re constantly going to grow your overall mastery with whatever you might utilize. 

When you’re not using a sword or sword-adjacent weapon, there are some other unique options in your repertoire that can prove to provide some fun. Guns are present in Rise of the Ronin and can generally be used to snipe foes from afar or can be mixed in with larger combos tied to your primary weapon. Then there are some truly offbeat inclusions such as a flamethrower, which essentially sets everything in your vicinity ablaze. A grappling hook can also be used to not only pull in enemies, but can grab various objects in the environment and hurl them at opponents. If you see an explosive red barrel in the corner of an area, chances are you can whip it around your head thanks to your grappling hook to launch into a group of foes. 

Despite these positives, there are still some drawbacks to the combat in Rise of the Ronin. The parry mechanic, in particular, is one that I found quite difficult to execute during my entire time playing as it didn’t seem consistent whatsoever. I also didn’t find there to be enough animation variants when it comes to combat, which led to every encounter feeling far too similar. The game’s basic decapitation animation is one that I feel like I’ve already seen hundreds upon hundreds of times. 

Systemically, Team Ninja has also thrown in a couple of novel ideas with Rise of the Ronin. The most prominent of these is a Bond system, which relates not only to other characters but different regions of the world. The act of deepening your relationships with others in the world isn’t all that interesting, as it’s largely just done by the act of having conversations, giving gifts, of completing certain quests. Still, doing so can give you more combat styles and skill points which can then be used to upgrade your character. It’s a system that isn’t all that novel, but still leads to you having to do things outside of just combat in order to grow your own ronin’s prowess. 

As an open-world game, there’s not a whole lot about Rise of the Ronin that makes it interesting. The title’s sprawling world is designed well and at times is pretty to look at, but it also feels incredibly empty. Outside of key points of interest that are highlighted on your map, Rise of the Ronin doesn’t do anything else to make use of its open environments other than give the player a bit of tactical freedom when it comes to approaching combat situations. Otherwise, this is simply a game that will have you wandering about its world to check off a list of tasks purely for the sake of unlocking items or other rewards. 

Traversal is one element of Rise of the Ronin that I feel like Team Ninja got absolutely right. Not only can you ride a horse and grapple up the sides of buildings, but a glider also allows you to soar through the skies Breath of the Wild style. This glider isn’t only great as a means of getting around, though, as its best use is to get the drop on unsuspecting baddies. Being able to swoop in on an enemy encampment from a nearby cliffside and assassinate foes by dropping out of the sky was always a joy and helped encourage creativity when approaching combat. 

The thing that I found most annoying with Rise of the Ronin is that it is constantly giving you loot. Between its many weapons, gear items, crafting materials, and other accessories, it makes the process of going through your inventory monotonous, to say the least. Even if you happen to go to a local merchant and offload the items you don’t want, you’ll soon find your inventory filled up with more useless junk before you know it. Not to mention, it’s hard to decipher the differences between many of the weapons and armor pieces you can equip as they’ll come with very minor stat bonuses that almost feel like they do nothing. Some armor and weapon sets can provide stacking bonuses if they’re of the same set, but the passive bonuses are often a chore to try to compare with one another. 

Rise of the Ronin isn’t necessarily an awful game, it’s just one that’s quite unremarkable. When this project was first unveiled back in 2022, I was ecstatic to see Team Ninja tackle the open-world genre and was curious to see how the studio would bring its own unique ideas to this format. Instead, virtually nothing that Team Ninja has done with Rise of the Ronin is enough to set itself apart from a growing deluge of games in the genre. With so many other titles to choose from in this space, there are far better options that warrant your time and attention.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Rise of the Ronin is set to launch at the end of this week on March 22, 2024, and will be available exclusively on PlayStation 5. A review copy of the game was provided by PlayStation for the purpose of this review. 

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It is only February, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League may end up being one of the most divisive games of the entire year. The new third-person looter-shooter from Rocksteady Studios continues the Arkham universe but from the perspective of the Suicide Squad this time. Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang are forced to band together as Task Force X to take down the Justice League after they become brainwashed by Brainiac. Not only does the fate of Metropolis and the world itself rest in the hands of these scummy DC characters, but so does the fate of some of the most iconic characters in all of fiction.

There are many reasons why Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been controversial. For starters, it’s a live-service game which has a negative stigma no matter what game that descriptor is attached to, but doubly so for a developer known for well-crafted single-player games such as Batman: Arkham City. Secondly, you’re by all intents and purposes targeting and killing beloved characters that fans have invested years of their lives into. While we won’t give away who dies and who doesn’t, it doesn’t seem like a spoiler to reveal that there are some big names taken off the board during this game’s story. 

With all of that said, it would be oversimplifying things to say Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is just good or bad. It has a lot of layers, some of which make for a really strong product and some of which weigh it down tremendously. The story of the game is likely what a lot of people are going to be drawn to given the core premise and Rocksteady’s pedigree as a renowned group of storytellers. I can safely say that Rocksteady’s narrative prowess remains intact in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League even amidst some outrage over big twists and story decisions.

This is a game with a gargantuan sense of scale and that only continues to ratchet up as you progress through the story. Superheroes are throwing each other through buildings and hitting each other so hard it sounds like thunder is cracking in the sky while universes collide with each other.

Killing the Justice League

Rocksteady Studios had serious cojones to make a promise like killing the Justice League and then not cop out. It’s a big swing and it understandably won’t work for a lot of people who are really attached to certain characters, but it’s a risk. The fact Warner Bros. and DC weren’t cringing at the idea of blowing the heads off of some of the most valuable characters they own shows the studio has earned a lot of goodwill and trust. 

Rocksteady has also proven it is capable of doing more than dark, gritty stories like the ones in the Batman Arkham games. It can completely change the tone and do something that is far more comical like Suicide Squad. Kill the Justice League is a truly hysterical game that had me laughing out loud thanks to the banter and antics of the four playable protagonists which went beyond simply having funny dialogue. 

There’s a lot of smart comedic moves made on the technical side. The facial animation in Kill the Justice League is some of the best I have ever seen and allows for these characters to just give a look with no words and still make you laugh. Even things as simple as where the camera is placed goes a long way. One of my favorite jokes in the game comes from Harley Quinn off-screen, shouting something from the corner of the room, which shows Rocksteady has a great handle on comedic timing and execution. The game is as irreverent as you’d hope and very few jokes miss the mark.

The only time the comedy can feel a bit misplaced is when characters held with a lot of reverence are lying dead at their feet and the Squad are cracking wise, giving little fanfare to an icon who was unceremoniously brutally murdered. It’s a bit jarring and removes some of the impact of the idea of killing the Justice League. That should be a herculean effort and more often than not, it’s actually quite easy and the Squad seems like they’ve barely broken a sweat and don’t seem to bat much of an eye at God-like characters being vanquished. They’re so unbothered that they can riff for a few minutes about it like it was just another day on the job, even though this is their first day at said job.

A Mixed Bag

On the gameplay side of things, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an extremely mixed bag where it begins to feel like two separate games haphazardly slammed together. Rocksteady is known best for creating the innovative and graceful combat mechanics in the Batman Arkham games. It’s true, you did feel like Batman in those games. Rocksteady managed to carry those skills over to Kill the Justice League and create a really different but satisfying combat system for four characters who could not be more unlike Batman.

The action in this game is stupendously frenetic, and at times, even a bit overwhelming. This is not a slow shooter by any measure – if you stand still for too long, you will likely die. It’s very bouncy and punchy, encouraging you to constantly be flinging yourself into the air using your traversal methods (Deadshot has a jetpack, Harley Quinn has a grappling hook, etc.) to rain hell down upon your foes below. It almost starts to feel like a game of The Floor Is Lava where you know standing on the ground for too long would be a fatal mistake.

I played primarily as Deadshot, and his jetpack made me see the vision for a great Iron Man game. You can propel yourself through the sky, drop bombs on enemies, hover in the air and headshot enemies with your AR or sniper rifle, or you can run up the side of the building, boosted by your jet pack, and kick an enemy standing on the edge of the roof before dropping a grenade between his legs and flying off while it explodes behind you.

The movement feels propulsive like Sunset Overdrive, the combat takes inspiration from Doom by encouraging you to use different attacks to get enemies to drop different things like shields, and it even mixes in a little bit of Gears of War with an active reload-esque mechanic. It’s an interesting but successful blend of different mechanics from other great games that helps the combat feel engaging like it’s constantly building a sense of momentum.

It’s a ton of fun, but the moment-to-moment gameplay is also what saves the game from one of its biggest problems. Kill the Justice League doesn’t have a terribly long story, which is fine, but it pads itself out with a lot of filler missions that don’t feel dissimilar to regular side missions. A lot of the missions in the game have you fly to a rooftop and defend an objective or destroy one, kill X amount of enemies before the time runs out, or escort a very slow truck across the city. Those are pretty much the only missions you’re going to play in the game excluding boss battles which admittedly aren’t terribly inventive either.

It can grow to be very repetitive and monotonous, especially when it doesn’t feel like there’s much rhyme or reason to these filler missions. One mission toward the middle of the game has you killing a bunch of enemies to collect “data shards” from their bodies. It’s just a typical shooting gallery, but I didn’t really understand why we were doing it. At the end of the mission, a summary screen read: “Somehow this will help us stop The Flash? We missed the details.” Which feels like a pretty lazy way of “We just needed to give the player something to do for a bit.”

Live-Service Conundrum

These kinds of missions feel designed to be replayed in co-op or made for a live-service grind. They’re short, they’re formulaic, and they are made to let you keep your finger on the trigger for several minutes without letting go. It’s not what I’mlooking for from Rocksteady, and it’s also not particularly interesting regardless of if you like live-service games like Destiny or not.

It also doesn’t help that the loot didn’t really excite me. None of the weapons I got aside from a grenade really blew me away and upgrading them felt even less exciting. The system is all RNG-based where you reroll the stats on your weapon, and often, it resulted in an inferior weapon. A large chunk of the game’s cosmetics are earned either as simple mission rewards or locked behind a very dated microtransaction store. There’s very little reason why a $70 game should have $20 Harley Quinn skins like Fortnite when the previous Batman games had loads of free skins. Rocksteady even released a free update to 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight in December which added Robert Patinson’s Batman suit to the game.

It’s all disappointing to see and feels like it was all made for a completely different, possibly even free game. Given it was reported that Rocksteady was previously working on a new multiplayer game, unconnected to DC prior to this game, it’s possible remnants of that title made its way into Kill the Justice League.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is not a death rattle for Rocksteady Studios. If anything, it shows the studio was able to salvage a piece of its identity in a game that is clearly at war with itself. Whether that’s a result of Rocksteady having an ever-evolving vision that was misguided at some point or requests from Warner Bros to make it more commercially viable, we’ll likely never know. The point is, the things that Rocksteady is known for are found here. Rocksteadystill excels at satisfying superhero combat and larger-than-life comic book stories. However, it would be a mistake for this studio to double down on these live-service elements in future games. This isn’t a great game, but it’s also not a terrible one. It’s simply two different games of varying qualities blended together to create a violent cocktail with mixed results.

Score: 3.5 out of 5

A PS5 review copy of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was provided by the publisher for this review.

The post Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Review: A Tale of Two Games appeared first on ComicBook.com.

You know how it goes. One minute you’re on a mission to stop a shady government organization from doing something nefarious, and the next, you find yourself whisked away to a dream-like island by a dolphin. It’s all in a day’s work for former yakuza associate Ichiban Kasuga, whose journey to Hawaii in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth blends pulpy, soap opera-like drama with pure whimsy in a way that only developer RGG Studios has mastered. As the sequel to the best game in the Like a Dragon (formerly Yakuza) series, Infinite Wealth has a lot to live up to and I’m happy to say that in almost every regard, this surpasses its predecessor.

Like every RGG game, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is best experienced by taking in everything and enveloping yourself in the heartfelt, action-packed, and wacky world the studio has created. If you’re mainlining Ichiban’s story, you’re doing it wrong. After all, this is a game with a button dedicated to throwing up the Shaka symbol to the residents of Hawaii. If you’re not diving in and vibing with everything Infinite Wealth has to offer, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Infinite Wealth Has Enough Content for Multiple Games

Thankfully, almost everything here is, at worst, good. Between adding an entire battle system to the Pokemon-like Sujimon mechanic, dropping in an entire set of Kiryu-specific side quests called the “Bucket List,” and the Animal Crossing-like Dondoko Island adventure, there’s more than enough to sink your teeth into. That’s not even getting into the smaller games, like Ichiban’s dating app, the Crazy Taxi-inspired delivery game, or all of the standard minigames that the series is known for (Darts, Mahjong, the arcade, etc). 

The developers said Hawaii is the biggest map they’ve ever created and they have stuffed that thing full of content. I’m around 80 hours in and there’s still so much more for me to see. I’ve barely scratched the Sujimon tournaments and there are still 10 or 15 substories left to dive into. If you’re looking for a game that’s going to occupy your brain for a month or more, it’s hard to recommend a better one than Infinite Wealth.

Of course, that side content is only half of the game. The main storyline and the core combat is where Like a Dragon (previously Yakuza) games often live and die. Granted, I think there’s only been one game in the franchise that’s not at least good (Yakuza 5), but when LaD’s combat and story are working, there’s nothing like it in video games.

Fortunately, I’m here to report that both aspects live up to the previous entry Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The main story is full of the usual twists and turns that players have come to expect from the series. There are a few instances where events happen that don’t really make sense and are then used to set up something down the line. We’re not stepping into rubber bullets territory with this one, but it’s worth saying that there are a few odd choices. In many ways, the main tale is the only thing that I felt was a downgrade from Yakuza: Like a Dragon. That game had one of the biggest gut punches in video games to top off an excellent story. Infinite Wealth is very good but didn’t have that same level of payoff at the end for me. 

Infinite Wealth also suffers from a similar problem as its predecessor. There is a noticeable jump in difficulty toward the end of the game that will leave some players frustrated. However, the team has found a way to split the difference and make this difficulty spike much more palatable. There’s no lengthy run-up to the fight. If you lose (and this was the only story mission where I died), all you have to do is skip through a few cutscenes and you’re right back into the boss battle. RGG is essentially having its cake and eating it by keeping in the bumped-up difficulty, but providing players with plenty of checkpoints before major fights. It’s an excellent change that really does make Infinite Wealth’s toughest moments much more palatable. 

However, even if the main story is slightly lacking compared to the last game, the character moments between Ichiban, Kiryu, and the rest of the crew are some of the best work RGG has ever done. Your entire party is much more fleshed out than they’ve been in the past, and series newcomers Eric Tomizowa and Chitose Fujinomiya get more than enough time to shine. In fact, I found myself wanting to dive into Tomi and Chi-chan’s stories even more than my old friends. RGG knocked all of those little character moments out of the park, making for what is sure to be one of the best ensemble casts of 2024. 

This extends to the side characters and villains. I’m not sure if he’ll continue to be involved in the game going forward given what happens, but it seems like Ichiban might have found his version of Goro Majima in Hawaii. I won’t spoil who that might be, but let’s just say that it would not be surprising to see one of the antagonists join your party in the next game. The Like a Dragon series has had some great villains over the years, and I think this group is another exceptional collection of guys you love to hate. I switched over to the English translation just to hear Danny Trejo talk about his machete and I was not disappointed.

Like a Dragon: Combat Evolved

On the combat side, this feels like a major upgrade from Yakuza: Like a Dragon and it’s all thanks to one change. Now, you can control where each character moves in battle. You don’t have free roam like in the action-focused Like a Dragon games. Instead, you have a circle of movement around your character that you can work within. As you level up, that circle gets a little bigger, but learning how to use your limited movement to give yourself the advantage is key to most fights.

With the ability to move around the battlefield, RGG has opened up several new possibilities for taking out foes. The most important of these is backstabbing. No, this isn’t the Dark Souls-ification of Like a Dragon. If your opponent is focusing on one of your other party members, you can circle to their backside and get off an attack that deals a ton of extra damage. You can also get a proximity bonus if you get up close and personal and, as you improve your Bond with the characters in your party, you can unlock even more combat options, but the backstab was the attack that got me out of more than one sticky situation.

Outside of the movement options, combat is very similar to Yakuza: Like a Dragon. You’re still using abilities to gain a type advantage over your opponents, switching to different classes to open up new attack options, and bringing the story into the mix through the previously mentioned party Bond mechanics. However, because Kiryu is now involved, the developers have given him a few options to unleash his action-focused moveset. 

From the jump, you can switch between three of his most famous combat styles while in the thick of things to suit your needs. For me, this mostly just meant flipping to Beast when an enemy was guarding to break through their defense. As you progress, you’ll also unlock the ability to turn on the Dragon of Dojima style and, for a few brief seconds, use Kiryu’s trademark combat skills in their full glory. It’s not nearly as robust or fun as an old Yakuza game, but it does give you a fun nostalgia hit every time you flip the switch to turn it on.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn’t without issues. Some weird story moments don’t make a ton of sense, and while I didn’t really get into it, some of the stuff happening on Kiryu’s side might not hit as hard if you haven’t played his games before. That said, it is tough for me to imagine liking a game more this year. Infinite Wealth got me out of my seat during several momentous story moments and sucked me into its grips with all of the outstanding side content. I’m not ready to say this is the best game RGG has ever released, but it’s very close. This is a master fine-tuning its craft to the point of near perfection and one of the first must-play games of 2024.

Score 5/5

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was reviewed on a PC courtesy of a review copy provided by the publisher. The game was released on January 25 across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms.     

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Like millions of others around the globe, Persona is a series that I’ve only started to really get into over the past few years. After playing Persona 5 Royal upon its launch in 2019, I’ve since started to revisit some older entries in the series, all of which I have greatly loved. Knowing that Persona 3 was getting a new remake in the form of Persona 3 Reload, though, I opted to hold off on playing the original P3 (or P3P) in favor of experiencing the game for the first time with this new version. Having now done so, I’m even more thrilled that Atlus chose to bring back Persona 3 as it’s an RPG that still stands toe-to-toe with some of the best of the genre. 

Per usual, Persona 3 Reload centers around a cast of high schoolers that use supernatural powers to take on dark forces that are slowing harming the world. Reload doesn’t differ any any drastic ways from the original Persona 3, which makes this an incredibly faithful remake. Given that this is my first time playing Persona 3, I can’t speak to any differences that might be found with the story in this iteration. That being said, the tone and larger themes of P3 remain intact with Reload, making for one of the most unique Persona games in the franchise. 

Compared to later installments, I do think that Persona 3’s story lacks a bit of cohesion, especially out of the gate. Key plot elements such as the Dark Hour and Apathy Syndrome are glossed over a bit flippantly at first to the point where it’s a bit hard to understand your overall goal. As Persona 3 Reload continues, though, its story becomes much stronger and is primarily amplified by some fantastic character work. The Social Links in P3R, in particular, are some of my favorites in the series and are very much worth going out of your way to experience in full. 

Gameplay-wise, Persona 3 Reload keeps many of the standard turn-based mechanics from the larger series while folding in others that were seen in Persona 5 Royal. At a baseline level, you’ll use weapons, fists, and abilities from your titular Personas to take on different Shadows and bosses. Elements such as the Baton Pass from P5R are found here in Reload, but Atlus does implement a few wholly new mechanics as well. My favorite new feature, Theurgies, allows the main protagonist (and other ally characters) to unleash incredibly powerful moves that can deal huge amounts of damage. These attacks all come with stylish animations that I loved watching each time around. Theurgies don’t completely change combat in P3R, but they do freshen the game up quite a bit and bring one more layer of depth. 

One thing that might be more apparent to those like myself who have never played Persona 3 before is that the game is much smaller in scope compared to later entries. There are only a handful of in-world hubs to visit, most of which are unlocked in the game’s earliest hours. Given that this is an RPG that lasts dozens of hours, more locales begin to become available as the experience continues onward. At its core, though, this very much does still feel like a PS2 game in terms of its scale.

This remains true as well with Tartarus, which has always been the one big sticking point of Persona 3 for many. While later entries introduced hand-crafted dungeons, Tartarus is a singular, sprawling labyrinth that is ever-evolving and randomly generated. To that end, Reload hasn’t done a whole lot to make Tartarus more compelling, even for a newcomer like myself. This is an area that at times can feel like it is dragging on with no end in sight. It’s clear why Atlus moved on from this type of dungeon in later entries, but if nothing else, Reload doesn’t make many compromises to the format of Tartarus, which I very much do appreciate. 

If there was one aspect of Persona 3 that I was incredibly familiar with before Reload, it would be the game’s stellar soundtrack. Rather than simply recycle all of the fantastic tracks from Persona 3 here in Reload, though, Atlus chose to re-record every song in the game (and add a couple of new ones), which I think is something that largely works well. While the songs themselves are the same, some of the instrumentation and vocals are different, which leads to Reload’s score sounding fresh. This is also true of the game’s voice cast, which features new actors in all major roles. As someone who doesn’t have a connection with the original cast, it’s hard for me to compare this cast to the previous one, but I found the voice work here in Reload to be one of its strongest components. 

More often than not, when a game from the past is remade, it ends up coming back with excellent graphics and heightened performance capabilities. With Persona 3 Reload, the biggest improvements on this front are less with the actual graphics and more with the style. Obviously, Reload looks drastically better compared to the original Persona 3, but it’s the game’s artwork that has been overhauled the most. Reload features some slick menus and revamped cutscenes, all of which look stunning. At times, Reload feels like it’s trying to a bit too blatantly rip off the look of Persona 5, but that doesn’t prevent it from being a visual treat all the same. 

Persona 3 Reload definitely still feels dated in some areas, which isn’t always expected from a modern remake. Despite this, some of these older aspects of Reload are what I came to appreciate the more that I played. Atlus isn’t trying to create the best all-around modern Persona game with P3R, it’s instead simply trying to create the best version of Persona 3 by combining everything from the original with some enjoyable new mechanics and aesthetic tweaks. To that end, I have a hard time believing that newcomers or veterans of Persona 3 will be anything other than delighted with Reload. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Persona 3 Reload is set to release on February 2, 2024, and will come to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. An advance copy of the game on PS5 was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. 

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Fighting games are in a great space right now, as many franchises returned with new entries last year, and now one of the big contenders has returned as Tekken 8 is finally here. Tekken is one of the key fighting game franchises fans have been drawn to over the years, as it helped to usher in the wider popularity of 3D fighting in general. But for as much as it has ruled at the top for many players, it also has been a bit alienating for inexperienced players; an aspect of the franchise that’s only gotten more complicated over the years as its gameplay systems advanced. 

Although it might not feel like it because Tekken 7 has been around as a dominant fighter in the scene for such a long time, it’s been nearly a decade since the last numerical entry in the franchise. That’s nearly ten years of fighting games evolving and experimenting in different ways, and nearly ten years of hoping to see a Tekken that uses those learned tips and tricks from others in the scene to evolve in its own way. Thankfully, Tekken 8 does just that. Tekken 8 is undoubtedly the best Tekken has ever looked, and the best Tekken has ever played. 

Tekken 8 is the first in the franchise on modern consoles, and the first in the franchise to utilize Unreal Engine 5. All of these firsts also inform the approach for this new entry overall. It’s built with first players in mind who might have never really dabbled in Tekken before, and Tekken 8 is sure to make a strong first impression with potential new players as it has a great way of onboarding them to figure out how the game itself is played. There are many options to get better with the game, and that’s especially important with how technical Tekken can be. Although it’s the eighth entry and is treated as such, Tekken 8 feels especially welcoming. 

Tekken 8 has an expanded Story Mode that feels like the biggest it has ever been for the franchise. Telling Jin’s story across multiple chapters (with a few opportunities to try out a few other members of the roster), this experience lasts a few hours and can even get pretty difficult towards the end. It picks up right after Tekken 7‘s story as Kazuya is now expanding his power following Heihachi’s defeat, and Jin is trying to fully embrace the Devil Gene power within him in order to take down this threat. It’s not the most complicated tale, but it’s also one that even new players can jump into without any real problems. 

It has some big reveals, new forms, and explosive anime-like battles that long-time fans will enjoy, but at the same time, its flashy presentation and grandiose tale will definitely hook new players. It’s also a great way to get used to how Tekken 8 is played, and there are other great single-player options for new players to potentially expand on. The biggest of which is Arcade Quest, which is its own kind of Story Mode which tasks players with creating an avatar to take them through a series of arcade locations to rise up the ranks of the best Tekken players. 

It’s built to be especially beginner-friendly as you can challenge increasingly difficult opponents, and choose any of the characters to really hone your skills with. This welcoming feeling just permeates the entire package, too, with the return of minigames like Tekken Ball, and most importantly, with the introduction of the Heat System and Special Style. The Heat System is likely the most noticeable change to how Tekken 8 plays, because while there have been a ton of smaller adjustments to the returning roster characters, the Heat System is a big addition that could really close the gap in particular tense matches. 

The Heat System is a special meter that can be activated with a button press (or by using particular moves in a combo) and gives you certain buffs for a brief time. This not only gives you access to a few different moves for certain characters, but it also does chip damage on a block. The biggest addition is the Hit Smash, which is a powerful move that uses the rest of the Heat meter to deal some big damage. If you have this active, connect with a Hit Smash, and then land a Rage Arts (which is a super move that becomes available when your health drops below a certain point), it could really bring a different end to a match than your opponent might expect. 

It’s great to see that so much attention has been paid to single-player content to help get new players adjusted because Tekken 8 still feels as technical as the franchise has always been. While execution of certain moves is a bit easier than before, and the necessary timing to keep combos and juggles going feels less restrictive, Tekken 8 runs the risk of feeling unapproachable due to the large roster full of characters who all play differently. It’s one of its greatest strengths due to variety, but almost can feel daunting just looking at the sheer number of combatants available. 

Still, this is a great problem to have and Tekken 8 does as much as it can to ease that process (though it’s not always successful). Special Style is the second of the major new additions that help alleviate that fear of being technically proficient. It’s a mode that you can toggle with a single button press during matches that gives you access to a set number of combos that show off some of the coolest moves with single-button activations. It’s like the more approachable play styles seen in the recent Street Fighter 6, but can be toggled on and off whenever desired rather than be a style that you’re locked into in a particular match. 

It’s a great option to utilize without ever feeling like a potential crutch that could keep someone from diving even deeper. That’s just Tekken 8 as a whole, too. So much of it feels so welcoming that there are plenty of options for single-player battles, and if you spend enough time, it will eventually build the confidence to take it all online. But like other fighting games, it’s going to be necessary to grind your skills. The strength of all of these potential options will be put to the test long after release, but as of right now, Tekken 8 is the best Tekken has ever been. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tekken 8 releases on January 26th on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and was reviewed on a PlayStation 5.

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During the Switch era, Nintendo has dug deep into its back catalog, giving older games a second chance at finding an audience. The latest example is Another Code: Recollection, a remake of two games that first appeared on Nintendo DS and Wii. Another Code: Two Memories released on DS as Trace Memory in North America, while the sequel, Another Code R: A Journey Into Lost Memories never made it to Wii users outside Europe and Japan. Another Code: Recollection offers both of these games in one package, giving a new audience a chance to experience the story of protagonist Ashley Mizuki Robins. 

When Another Code: Recollection begins, we find Ashley on a boat headed towards Blood Edward Island with her aunt Jessica. Ashley’s mother died when she was young, and she and her father have been estranged ever since. Right before her 14th birthday, Ashley’s father sends her a mysterious device known as the DAS, alongside a request to meet him on the island. Upon their arrival, Jessica quickly goes missing, forcing Ashley to search for her and her long-lost father in and around the grounds of an old mansion. It’s here that Ashley meets the ghost of a young boy named D, and they must work together to solve two mysteries surrounding their lost memories. 

Resident Evil Without the Evil

Both games in Another Code: Recollection are point-and-click adventures. The first game is a lot like the original Resident Evil, but without monsters or combat. What’s left is solving puzzles to unlock new areas in a mansion full of mysteries. As players do just that, they’re given greater insight into the events that revolve around the deaths of both Ashley’s mother and D. Many of the game’s puzzles revolve around the DAS, which resembles a Nintendo Switch. The DAS has several features, including the ability to take photographs, review character biographies, and interact with a device known as Another. 

Puzzles in Another Code: Recollection are something of a mixed bag. While I never played Trace Memory or its sequel, Nintendo has apparently made some big changes to the puzzles that appeared in both. Some of them are intuitive enough, while others could provide more in the way of context. For example, one puzzle requires that players take two photographs using the DAS and use the overlap feature to combine them. However, the game doesn’t reveal that this is even a feature, and I found myself frustratingly trying to solve a puzzle in the specific way that the game wanted me to, even though I knew what the actual solution should be. A lot of point-and-click games suffer from similar problems, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating when it pops up. 

The Power of Memory

The central theme that connects the two games in Another Code: Recollection is the impact of memory. Ashley’s memories of her mother’s death are murky; she witnessed the murder of Sayoko Robins, but Ashley was just three-years-old at the time. Meanwhile, D’s memory of his own death has been lost over decades. As the game progresses, Ashley discovers that both of her parents were working on a device known as Another, which has the ability to erase harmful memories and even replace them. Her parents saw this as a way to help those suffering from trauma, while others seem to be interested in the device for more nefarious purposes. 

The storyline is the biggest highlight in Another Code: Recollection. The actual violence is minimal, but the games both deal with themes that include things like PTSD, abandonment, and murder. It’s a little bit heavier than your average Nintendo game, and getting to see Ashley’s journey across both games is compelling. The two games are presented as one, with players jumping into A Journey Into Lost Memories right after the first game ends. Two years pass between the two titles, so players are given a chance to see Ashley older and how things have changed since the previous game. 

Two Games as One

Despite originally releasing on different platforms, the remakes of these two games are presented in the exact same style with the same controls and even the same save file. Another Code: Recollection could have felt like a disjointed combination of two games from very different systems, but newcomers might not even know they had different origins. A good deal of that can be attributed to the presentation. It’s not a technical marvel on the level of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but the characters and environments look nice, and the music is enjoyable throughout. 

Another Code: Recollection is a welcome addition to the Nintendo Switch library. The puzzles can get frustrating at times, and the gameplay won’t be for everyone; I highly recommend those on the fence check out the game’s free demo. Despite these flaws, the story and characters make it a worthwhile purchase for fans of the genre. It’s great to see Nintendo giving such an unusual pair of games this type of treatment, rather than leaving them abandoned on their original hardware. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Another Code: Recollection is set to release January 19th, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch OLED.

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The Last of Us Part II Remastered is the third remaster/remake that PlayStation developer Naughty Dog has released in a span of two years, and by most accounts, it’s another great re-release from the studio. Naughty Dog’s previous venture in this space, The Last of Us Part I, fully remade the original PS3 game to great effect, which definitely isn’t the same treatment that has been given here with Part II Remastered. That’s not to say that this new iteration of The Last of Us Part II is disappointing, because it isn’t by any means. Outside of a few new bells and whistles, though, this PS5-only iteration of the second The Last of Us entry doesn’t contain a whole lot that will demand the attention of PlayStation fans in the way that Part I may have.

For the most part, The Last of Us Part II Remastered is the same game that Naughty Dog released back in 2020. The core game and all of its post-release updates are included here, which is to be expected. It surely goes without saying, but The Last of Us Part II’s story mode is still fantastic and is very much worth playing (or replaying) here with this new release, especially given that it now features commentary from the devs and actors behind the game. 

When it comes to The Last of Us Part II Remastered’s prowess as a remaster, it’s hard to see a drastic jump in visual fidelity. That’s not to say that the game isn’t pretty, because it absolutely is and is likely one of PlayStation’s best-looking games ever. That being said, dubbing this release a “remaster” is perhaps generous, especially given that the PS4 Pro version of the game already looked fantastic in its own right. This is doubly true when taking into account how it previously ran on PS5 following Naughty Dog’s release of a performance optimization patch back in 2021. Make no mistake, this is the prettiest that The Last of Us Part II has ever looked, but you likely won’t notice a huge step up in graphics as you would with many other remasters.

Outside of this boost in visuals, Naughty Dog has also included a couple of other new features that are unique to this release. One of those is dubbed Lost Levels, which is essentially a look at cut content from The Last of Us Part II that Naughty Dog removed for one reason or another. More than anything, these levels provide a lot of neat context into how game development works behind the scenes and sheds some interesting insight into Naughty Dog’s process of crafting its projects. Other than this, though, the levels themselves aren’t all that fascinating (outside of a couple of added story wrinkles) and it’s easy to see why they were removed from the base game. 

Far and away the most notable new addition to The Last of Us Part II Remastered is No Return, which is a new roguelike-style game mode. This mode allows you to play as Ellie, Abby, and a litany of other characters from the cast of The Last of Us Part II, most of which for the first time. No Return allows you to advance through a series of encounters with each one becoming progressively more difficult. While you might start out simply taking down a couple of W.L.F. soldiers in the early levels, you’ll eventually progress to having to take on hordes of infected that can even include Part II’s iconic Rat King. In between each stage, you can buy new weapons and upgrade your gear with currency that you earn after completing a given level. It’s a pretty basic structure but it’s one that also evolves over time you’ll begin to unlock new rewards and modifiers that can then be used to keep things feeling fresh. 

My biggest gripe with No Return lies with its pacing. Compared to other roguelike or roguelite games, No Return is much slower-paced and has a lot more downtime with its combat. Part of this is because of how The Last of Us Part II operates at a gameplay level, as the title is much more about preparation and stealth than it is about mowing down hordes of enemies. Still, encounters play out in No Return in a wave format, which means that once you defeat one group, you’ll then have to wait 20 or 30 seconds for the next wave to start. This leads to levels feeling a bit stilted and has me believe that a single, mass encounter would have been a better approach for each level rather than this wave system. 

More than anything, though, what makes No Return great is that it is entirely about gameplay. While The Last of Us Part II is often talked about by fans for its story, it’s also arguably the best game that Naughty Dog has ever crafted in terms of its combat mechanics and systems. For the studio to add No Return to The Last of Us Part II’s overall package means that it will get a lot more life out of this great gameplay, which is especially nice to see in the wake of Naughty Dog scrapping its The Last of Us multiplayer game. 

The best thing about The Last of Us Part II Remastered by far is that PlayStation isn’t looking to charge full price for those that already own the original PS4 game. Rather than demanding $60 or $70, anyone who already bought The Last of Us Part II can upgrade to Remastered for only $10. To me, this really saves The Last of Us Part II Remastered from being a hard sell. Even though No Return is fun, the Lost Levels are interesting, and the new guitar free-play mode is enjoyable to toy around with, a $70 ask for this remaster would have been a difficult value proposition. Instead, a mere $10 charge to upgrade to this version of the game is something that I think most The Last of Us fans should take advantage of. 

If you still don’t have your fill of The Last of Us Part II nearly four years after its arrival, this PS5 remaster is a pretty easy recommendation. No Return, in particular,  gives Part II some post-game content of sorts that should keep it feeling fresh for the foreseeable future. This combined with the fact that The Last of Us Part II now looks better than ever before makes this the “definitive” version of the game and should help bridge the gap to a potential The Last of Us Part III. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

*An advance copy of The Last of Us Part II Remastered was provided by PlayStation for the purpose of this review. 

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For nearly two years, I’ve struggled to avoid purchasing Valve’s Steam Deck handheld. Despite hearing such much praise for the hardware and what it was capable of, I continued to hold off on purchasing the device, partially in the hope that an upgraded version of the machine would come about before long. As luck would have it, my patience finally paid off to close out this year as the Steam Deck OLED was surprisingly revealed and released within the past month. After having now experienced the Steam Deck for myself, I’m thoroughly impressed with what Valve has created on just about every front. 

Generally speaking, the OLED model of the Steam Deck is the same as the original version in terms of its form factor. Valve has included a few new, major upgrades that you would expect from a mid-gen refresh of this type, though. Notably included with the OLED iteration is an improved battery life, a better cooling system, and an improved Wifi chip that allows downloads to be faster than on the baseline Steam Deck. 

This final upgrade is the one I’ve found myself most impressed with as I was able to download dozens of games from my Steam library in mere minutes upon booting up the Steam Deck for the first time. Obviously, these downloads will only be as fast as your own Internet speeds, but I found that adding games to my Steam Deck took roughly half the time that it does on my other various consoles and computer. Knowing this, it makes me that much more likely to freely install and uninstall games at a constant rate without fearing lengthy downloads in the future. 

The big selling point with this new Steam Deck is in its name. The OLED screen that Valve has implemented on the latest version of the Steam Deck is a huge improvement to the LCD screen. Every game I have played on the Steam Deck OLED so far has been incredibly vibrant, and when compared to Nintendo’s own Switch OLED, has been far more impressive. Much of this is likely due to the fact that the Steam Deck has more powerful internals when compared to the Switch, but this increased power only makes better use of the OLED screen compared to the competition. This is without a doubt the best handheld I’ve ever used, at least in terms of visual fidelity. 

Even though games look great, I have to say the act of playing them isn’t always lovely. The Steam Deck is a bit obtuse in its design and is something that I didn’t always find comfortable after prolonged use. I think this is primarily due to the size of the Steam Deck itself, which has a bit of heft to it. Outside of the weight, the height and length of the handheld can make for a bit of discomfort. I imagine this is only amplified by those who have smaller hands. 

Despite this general complaint, I think all of the individual components that make up the Steam Deck feel great. Triggers are responsive, thumbsticks glide in a smooth manner, and even the trackpads are better than I expected. The general build quality of the Steam Deck is also excellent. This is something that I feel is going to stand the test of time and won’t begin wearing down in the years to come. 

The operating system (OS) that sits at the core of the Steam Deck is something I have also found to be very snappy. Swapping between your own library of games, the Steam storefront, and the platform’s own personalized settings can be done with just a few simple button presses. The OS really allows Valve to show off many of the improvements and core features of Steam that it has built on in recent years in a way that makes sense on a handheld device. 

The thing that I’m still finding myself most compelled by with the Steam Deck is just how customizable it is. This doesn’t only extend to downloading different boot-up animations (which I do love), but also with what you can install on the hardware. In its purest form, the Steam Deck is simply a handheld PC, which means that there is a ton you can do. Swapping to the system’s desktop mode to download emulators for the Steam Deck, in particular, is something I’ve been experimenting with a lot more lately and I’ve been shocked by how easy it is. Best of all, if this is something you opt to do for yourself, games you’re looking to emulate will appear in the “Non-Steam” section of your library and can be fired up in no time. It’s this level of customization that really sets the Steam Deck apart, especially when compared to traditional gaming platforms. 

If you’re like me and have been patiently waiting to pick up a Steam Deck for yourself, I can comfortably say that the OLED model is finally worth taking the plunge. I have not found myself as engrossed with a new piece of gaming hardware in quite a long time and I believe that I’m only going to keep using the Steam Deck more and more in the future. Assuming that you already have a vast Steam library at your disposal, the Steam Deck is an easy recommendation, especially with this year’s Winter Sale right around the corner. 

A complimentary Steam Deck OLED unit was provided by Valve for the purpose of this review. 

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PlayStation’s new Pulse Explore Earbuds that are compatible with various PlayStation 5 devices have left a lot to be desired after my prolonged use. Since the days of the PS2, Sony has released its own headsets and earphones that have worked with its various consoles. With the PS5, though, Sony decided to embark upon creating its own set of earbuds with the PlayStation branding for the first time ever. While being a good idea on paper given Sony’s relevance in the wider electronics scene, the Pulse Explore Earbuds have been a bit underwhelming. 

Generally speaking, the Pulse Explore Earbuds from Sony are what you’d come to expect from other wireless earbuds in 2023. The Pulse Explore Earbuds come with Bluetooth, lossless audio, and a nifty little charging case to tuck them inside of when not in use. What sets this device apart from others, though, is that it has been designed specifically for the purpose of gaming. And on that front, I don’t have many complaints. 

After using these earbuds while playing games on PS5, I have found that they generally work quite well. The audio on every game I tried felt full and clear, leaving me with no real complaints when it comes to the quality. Despite this, I found that the Pulse Explore Earbuds weren’t as impressive when compared to other options that Sony itself has released. Specifically, the Pulse 3D Wireless Headset for PlayStation 5 is still my preferred option strictly for the fantastic sound experience that it offers. By comparison, the Pulse Earbuds aren’t a bad alternative, especially if you prefer earbuds over headphones. 

Outside of gaming, I’ve also tried to use the Pulse Explore Earbuds as my everyday option for other audio purposes as well. Like any other Bluetooth device, it’s easy to pair to your phone and laptop and I did just that for a couple of weeks. On this front, I became more aware of just how good the noise cancellation tech was. When using these around other people, I would find myself nearly unable to hear other conversations that were happening directly next to me. That being said, the same high-quality audio experience that I found when playing games didn’t translate when using the earbuds for the purpose of listening to music or talking on the phone. This isn’t to say that the fidelity was poor, but it didn’t stand out when compared against other earbuds from competitors. 

One of my other primary complaints with the Pulse Explore Earbuds is that they simply aren’t that comfortable, especially after prolonged use. The outer shell of the earbuds are a bit gaudy, which means that they sit outside of your ear canal in a bit of an awkward manner. Even when inserted correctly, the weight of the earbuds feels too heavy on the outer portion to the point that I often feared they would fall out of my ear. This (thankfully) never happened, but I still don’t see myself ever taking these earbuds to a place like the gym or anywhere else where I might be quite active.

Perhaps the biggest selling point of the Pulse Explore Earbuds is that they’re one of the only wireless audio options available with Sony’s new PlayStation Portal remote play handheld. One of the major drawbacks of the Portal was that it didn’t come equipped with Bluetooth, instead opting to only integrate Sony’s new “PlayStation Link” technology. PlayStation Link is pitched as a faster audio option than Bluetooth and also comes included here with the Pulse Explore Earbuds. To that end, I found PS Link to be a very snappy way to tether my earbuds to other PlayStation devices, especially when compared to Bluetooth. Still, this omission of Bluetooth with the Portal presents a very costly problem.    

Basically, if you already have a PlayStation Portal and you’re looking to get a set of earbuds to go with it, Sony’s Pulse Explore is really the only option that you have. Given that the audio fidelity when playing games through the Portal remains solid, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What is rough, though, is that both the Portal and Pulse Explore Earbuds retail for $199.99 each. So to even use wireless audio with earbuds with the PS Portal, you have to be willing to shell out over $400. That’s a cost that rivals the price of the PS5 itself, which is yet another piece of hardware you need to make the Portal work in the first place. With all of these steep costs taken into consideration, it makes me saddened to see that Sony opted to go in this route with the PlayStation Link tech and its implementation across devices. 

If you’re simply in the market for new earbuds, there are better options available than PlayStation’s Pulse Explore set. For all-around purposes, there are other earbuds that I own that I see myself going back to as my default pair when it comes to use with my phone and computer. Even when it comes to strictly gaming, I also don’t see the Pulse Explore Earbuds overtaking my over-ear headphones that I typically use with my PS5. 

In short, this is why the Pulse Explore Earbuds are hard to broadly recommend. Essentially, your own interest in Pulse Explore is going to rely on whether you prefer an in-ear audio option compared to an over-the-ear device. The product that Sony has developed here isn’t necessarily a bad one, it’s just for a very specific audience. If you’re in that audience, then there’s definitely some consideration to be had here. Otherwise, PlayStation’s Pulse Explore Earbuds can safely be passed on. 

*The PlayStation Pulse Explore Earbuds were provided by Sony for the purpose of this review. 

The post PlayStation Pulse Explore Earbuds Review: Steep Price, Few Perks appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The other day, I was out on a run through my neighborhood. The sun was just starting to set, so I was hoping to use all of the Christmas lights turning on to distract me from how much I hate running. As I went past a house that had a giant display of reindeer on its roof, I noticed something else up there. My neighbors had a large spot of dirt on some of their side paneling. Most people would probably see this and immediately move on. Maybe you’d alert them, trying to be the good, if a bit nosey, neighbor on the block. For me, my first thought was, “Well, I need to switch to my cleaning tool and get rid of that before I can finish this flip.” That’s the hold that House Flipper 2 has had on me over the last week. It’s not only infecting my dreams with its soothing music, but I’m now thinking about cleaning a neighbor’s house because of this game.

House Flipper 2 Makes Intuitive Changes to Your Toolbelt

With this sequel, developer Frozen District has improved almost every aspect of the original House Flipper. Every tool in your belt feels snappier. Painting is more intuitive, making it feel more true-to-life, including the “ability” to paint over trim after you’ve unlocked free-form painting. Walls go up and down much faster, letting you re-shape a house to your heart’s content with much less needless busy work. Heck, House Flipper 2, despite looking and playing better, loads much more quickly than the original. You’re still not getting into levels as quickly as other simulation games of this ilk, but it’s smoother in almost every regard.

Frozen District has also made the smart decision to break assembling appliances out into its own mini-game. You’re no longer stopping down to connect wires each time you want to install an air conditioner. Instead, you can work your way through several stand-alone sidequests where you’re putting together furniture and appliances under a time constraint. If you do it under the limit, you’ll get cheaper prices when you purchase that type of object in the future. Or, if you’re like me and don’t care, you can skip that part of the game entirely and not miss much.

On top of that, House Flipper 2 takes a page from games like PowerWash Simulator to give the world some extra story beats. It’s nothing as grandiose as an RPG, but there’s a central narrative that keeps things churned and several fun bits of interactive story-telling, especially when you dig into the houses you can fully flip. Unfortunately, this is one of the places where PowerWash Simulator moved the genre forward, and while House Flipper 2 makes a solid go of it, the developers aren’t having nearly as much fun with the story compared to FuturLab.

House Flipper 2 Could Use More Personality

It’s also worth noting that House Flipper 2 can be a bit finicky at times. For example, there was a point where I was trying to clean a spot on a ceiling, but using the rag tool on the spot didn’t do anything. Instead, I had to move my cursor over a clean window near the spot on the ceiling to get it to go away. It’s nothing major, but it can get frustrating if you’re trying to completely clean a house before moving into the remodel phase.

I’d also like to see the personality of the citizens of Pinnacove extend to house flipping. What I mean is that each time you flip a house, you don’t have any idea of what buyers want. It’d be nice to have something showing you what’s doing well on the market, so you could stage your house to meet demands. Instead, I ended up doing the renovations and then not actually putting in furniture. Sure, I make less money, but you make more than enough to buy even more of the more expensive flips without putting in that extra time.

But those are relatively small potatoes compared to the improvements House Flipper 2 brings to the table. And, the game has the potential to become even better once it’s in players’ hands because of the new Sandbox Mode. In pre-release form, it’s a bit bare, but when players jump in and start creating their own houses, there will be all kinds of new places to fix up. The original House Flipper received a ton of DLC content over the years, but this Sandbox Mode could give players nearly limitless options of new houses to flip. That’s an exciting, yet terrifying prospect, as I worry that all of my free time is about to be taken over by yet another great simulation house-flipping game from Frozen District.

Rating: 4 out of 5

House Flipper 2 launches on December 14 for PC. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version is scheduled for March 21, 2024. A review copy was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review and the game was experienced on a PC.   

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When Avatar was released back in 2009, there was a phenomenon that swept viewers known as “post-Avatar depression.” Viewers described a feeling of sadness after leaving the film as they had to leave the lush, vivid world of Pandora and return to the much more drab and dreary Earth that we know. Fans were so swept away by the film’s otherworldly beauty and how real it all felt that they couldn’t help but long for it. 

Now, 14 years later, Ubisoft has given those people something they can properly immerse themselves in and enjoy for as long as they want in the form of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Frontiers of Pandora takes us to an unseen side of Pandora and places us in the shoes of a new, unnamed character that is going on their own adventure parallel to the events of The Way of Water. 

The Battle for Pandora

You play as a Na’vi teen that was raised in an RDA lab, stripped of their roots and forced to learn the ways of the humans with the end goal of becoming the perfect RDA (Resources Development Administration) soldier. Around the time Jake Sully begins to help the Na’vi in the first Avatar, you are put into cryosleep. You awake a decade and a half later, break out of the lab, and run free into the forests of Pandora to make your stand against the RDA. 

The second I escaped the dark halls of the lab and burst out into the colorful outdoors, I was overwhelmed. It makes an immediate, showstopping impression and is reminiscent of the powerful moment where you leave the vault in Fallout 3. I got goosebumps and even a bit misty eyed due to how gorgeous this world was and how well-realized James Cameron’s creation was in this game. That is arguably the most important part of Frontiers of Pandora, it has to make you feel something for this world even if it’s not real because the entire story is about protecting and loving it. 

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora features a ton of missions, both side quests and story missions, that center on the damage the RDA is doing to Pandora. There are portions of the map that have had their color sucked out of them and been reduced to gray/brown wastelands with dead animals littering the ground thanks to the mining and pollution of the RDA. You will also stumble across the RDA trapping innocent creatures and hurting them, allowing you an opportunity to swoop in to save them. The environmentalist themes of the Avatar films are very much present in this game and are at the forefront of this story. It really motivates you to want to push the RDA out and revive this beautiful world.

Ubisoft also creates a lively open world to show you what Pandora could look like if it was left completely unbothered. Clans will be playing music, cooking food, and you can even stumble upon a lone Na’vi who will dynamically teach you how to fish. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the story fails to make as much of an impact. The story largely focuses on the Resistance trying to rally together a bunch of Na’vi clans to fight back against the RDA. While there are interesting ideas, such as some clans being put off by you because you so clearly don’t understand your Na’vi heritage, it’s executed in a way that feels a bit too static.

A lot of cutscenes in the game may have you zoning out or looking at your phone simply because you’re standing there staring at someone talking without moving. Everyone just stands in the same position and speaks to you without much emotion, making it difficult to connect with the characters let alone feel immersed in their struggles. There are some exceptions to this, such as when one of your allies’ Ikran  (the flying creatures seen in the films) dies and their bond is broken, but these standout moments aren’t enough to make the story feel like it matches the brilliant storytelling of James Cameron’s films.

A Surprisingly Layered FPS

While Ubisoft has some pretty solid gameplay in its FPS titles like Far Cry and Rainbow Six, I really wasn’t expecting anything too wild for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. If you were anticipating a reskinned Far Cry, think again. While there trademark Ubisoft elements like big outposts to clear, the gameplay itself is radically different. For starters, you absolutely tower over every human as a Na’vi average around 10 feet tall. This allows you to stand at eye level with mechs and absolutely pummel standard cannon fodder enemies with a single melee attack. You are a titan, and it’s clear Ubisoft wants you to feel like the apex predator of Pandora. 

There are so many different tools to battle the RDA. Some simple ones include your typical assault rifle, a bow, or shotgun, but you also have things like a lacrosse-esque stick that lets you hurl mines. No matter what kind of player you are, there’s a tool for you to utilize, and you can mix and match to create the most fun. Want to weed out the strongest enemies first? You can hack mechs to disable them and take them down and then go loud on the weaker enemies, allowing you to tear them apart with AR rounds with little to no reinforcements.

Strangely, it may be more fair to compare Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to Halo and other reflex shooters than Far Cry. There are power weapons such as rocket launchers you can find in the environment and briefly use, jump pads that launch you across small arenas/give you the chance to get above enemies, and the game is constantly encouraging you to stay moving. If you’re a big Modern Warfare 3 fan and enjoy slide canceling, you may be surprised to see that it’s a viable strategy in Frontiers of Pandora. It’s all about bouncing around, keeping your momentum, and understanding that just because you’re a big target, it doesn’t mean you’re a slow one.

Pandora’s Box

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora successfully immerses players into James Cameron’s multi-billion dollar franchise. It’s easily one of the most beautiful sci-fi worlds I have ever had the pleasure of exploring and ensures that when it’s threatened, you’ll feel the desire to protect it. On top of that, it’s possibly one of the best single player FPS games I’ve played in awhile with how dynamic and active the combat is. Every combat encounter is a joy thanks to the engaging movement, and feels like it rewards creativity by utilizing all of the different tools allotted to you.

Frontiers of Pandora may not blow you away with its story, but it will immerse you in its world and give you a rush of adrenaline. For those just wanting to take a trip to Pandora, this should satisfy you until Cameron releases Avatar 3 in 2025.

Rating: 4 out of 5

A PC review copy was provided by Ubisoft for the purpose of this review

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For our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Campaign review, click here.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3‘s multiplayer is one of the most fascinating Call of Duty experiments to date, though it’s only somewhat successful. We got what is essentially a continuation of last year’s multiplayer, something that has never explicitly happened in the 20-year history of the franchise. It shares a lot of the bones and DNA of Modern Warfare 2 (2022), so those who weren’t intimately familiar with how things worked in that game down to the most minute details may not actually be able to notice the changes this year. 

For a series that has been heavily criticized for never changing, this is the first year where that critique actually may have some validity. In the standard 6v6 modes, there isn’t a single new map as the whole map rotation are remastered Modern Warfare 2 (2009) maps. The vast majority of weapons in the game are from last year’s game. The overall UI and presentation of the game is identical to the previous Modern Warfare game. For those claiming this feels like a DLC, I can’t say I totally disagree. However, there is still a lot to discuss, and I don’t think it’s fair to totally write the game off or be dismissive of it if you do love Call of Duty.

The Best Call of Duty Gameplay in Years

Call of Duty has had a bit of an identity crisis over the last few years, but especially so with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022). That was a game that had a lightning fast time-to-kill, meant to reward those with the quickest trigger finger, but ultimately made for a slower game as it rewarded habits like camping. On top of that, movement was significantly reduced, and Infinity Ward gave the game a lot more weight by making players feel like they were trudging through mud. In the pursuit of being more “realistic” and “tactical,” Call of Duty lost some of its fun factor.

Despite a lot of players asking for the game to be made faster, it took months for that to actually happen, and by then, it was too late and was just another bullet point on the laundry list of issues with that game. Modern Warfare 3 brings us closer to how Call of Duty should feel, utilizing the foundation of Modern Warfare 2 and fine-tuning it for a much more aggressive, fast-paced experience.

If you only watched people play 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 on Twitch or had limited playtime with it, you may not even notice, but Call of Duty veterans are going to feel like Modern Warfare 3 is a totally different game. For once, you can feel a sense of momentum building through you as you sprint through the map, allowing you to almost gracefully glide across the ground and mantle over waist-high walls and lightly parkour your way up a building. It’s actually engaging to make your way back to the action after dying instead of a total slog. On top of that, sliding can feel like the greatest virtual slip and slide, diving may actually get you out of a pinch since you will not be magnetized to the ground after you do it, and you can even work in some bunny hops in order to prevent yourself from being too easy of a target.

There is very little about Modern Warfare 3 that promotes camping, this is a game that wants you to feel like you just snorted crushed up Dorito dust and injected Mountain Dew straight into your veins to fuel your virtual zoomies. Some people may not enjoy this because they got used to the slower pacing of Modern Warfare 2, but there are a lot of people who have been asking for this and it will get the adrenaline pumping for those people.

Similarly, the increased TTK and player health means that gun fights will feel exactly like that: a fight. It’s not a quickdraw. Of course, players who are faster on the trigger will have the advantage, but you actually have a fighting chance now as you will have enough time to react and at least get one or two shots off if not win the fight entirely. The faster movement also means you can dodge and weave incoming fire to either escape or gain better positioning in the moment and you can flick your gun to people with greater ease.

Despite all of this praise I give to how Modern Warfare 3 feels, it is also incredibly inconsistent at times. When it works as it’s clearly supposed to, it’s a joy. When it doesn’t, it brings out a level of rage that I have not experienced with this series since before I could grow facial hair.

If you go on various Call of Duty Reddit pages and forums, you will rightfully see a lot of people noting that Modern Warfare 3‘s TTK is all over the place. No one can pinpoint exactly why this is, but it can feel like you’re unloading a clip into someone’s chest while they kill you in a burst that hits you faster than you can blink. While these things will always be present in shooters due to player connections and netcodes, it is prevalent enough to be seen as an actual issue rather than something that happens on occasion. Hopefully Sledgehammer Games can find a way to fix this to make it feel like fights are less a game of chance and more based around player skill.

When these problems aren’t occurring, I’d go as far as to say this is the best feeling Call of Duty in years. There are games that come close like Black Ops Cold War, but the speed of Modern Warfare 3 takes us back to the pacing of games like Black Ops 3. If you’re someone who really enjoyed the frenetic and non-stop momentum of those games or vibed with the gunplay, but not the wall-running and jetpacks, this game strikes a strong balance of that high-speed gameplay with grounded combat.

Change for the Sake of Change

Modern Warfare 3 is going to feel the most similar to Modern Warfare 2 in its menus. Yes, graphically the game is going to look pretty identical and a ton of content has carried over from last year’s game, but the menus really feel hardly any different to last year’s game. As a result, it feels like Modern Warfare 3‘s changes to things like loadouts and progressions are done to try and come across as new and different, but not always for the better.

For starters, the Armory Unlocks system actively hinders any kind of progression. Once you hit level 25, a bunch of guns, killstreaks, and gear will become available to unlock via this system. Simply mark whichever one you want to prioritize and then complete a set of daily challenges (usually 3 – 5) and it’s yours. However, there are only 3 multiplayer daily challenges every day and 3 for zombies. So, if you do all your challenges, you can progress by simply winning matches. It’s nice that you can pick what you want instead of having to wait until the later levels in the game, but they also lock essential items like Semtexes, flash grenades, and other items that are sometimes required to even complete the daily challenges needed to unlock them (i.e. kill 5 people with a Semtex).

I don’t think anyone was really asking for this, and I also fail to see how this will even function out of the first weeks of the game as people will have unlocked everything by then. It seems like a system that will become redundant very quickly or have minimal/infrequent usage in post-launch updates.

Sledgehammer Games has also redone the perk system to be “gear” like gloves, boots, vests, etc. This has no actual effect on how your characters look since you’ll be playing as operators with a very specific design, meaning you can’t slap different cosmetic items on them à la carte. It’s another change that feels like it’s done to just be different without actually affecting how they work in-game.

The one change in this area I can commend Sledgehammer for is getting rid of the weapon tuning feature in Gunsmith. It was such a needlessly obtuse feature in Modern Warfare 2 that I completely avoided it and if I ever did use it, I was just following a guide off of YouTube to properly tune it anyways. 

The Double Edged Sword of Nostalgia

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 brings back all 16 launch maps from the original 2009 Modern Warfare 2, a game widely viewed as the peak of the series. This was a seminal time in a lot of people’s lives and helped truly define the series, prompting fans to call for a remake many times over the last decade especially after Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered. Modern Warfare 3 is the closest we will likely ever get as all of its maps are faithfully restored. A lot of the exploits on those maps return, and really the only significant changes to the gameplay itself come from the fact they added interactable doors, which aren’t great, but at this point are to be expected.

So once again, Modern Warfare 3 listened to the fans and gave them what they wanted without compromise. Admittedly, Call of Duty maps in the last few years have been abysmal with a few exceptions, so I had no qualms with bringing back ones that we all know are fan-favorites.  However, maybe this wasn’t always for the best. Some of them do not hold up at all and are actually quite puzzling looking back at them without the rose-colored glasses. Maps like Wasteland, Derailed, and Estate are absurdly big with massive amounts of space on the sides of the map for no real reason. Why this was a thing in 2009 is head-scratching in and of itself, but it makes for a more confounding gameplay experience that lacks flow in 2023.

The increase in graphical fidelity and advancements to the gunplay since 2009 means that these larger maps are hell to navigate. You can feasibly fight at much longer distances than you could in the original games, so you’re bound to get obliterated by snipers and even ARs from someone extremely far away. It’s not fun and you will likely see players frequently skipping these maps or even completely leaving the match. Thankfully, you can vote for maps now, but the option to get a third, random map like in the original game would be much appreciated if the two voting options aren’t favorable.

Even with some of these classic maps being flawed, I appreciate Sledgehammer staying faithful to their original designs. If they hadn’t, fans would’ve just complained that they’re not the same as has happened in recent years when games like Modern Warfare 2 did “reimaginings” of some maps, resulting in less than ideal outcomes. At the very least, we can all say we got what we asked for which is pretty rare for Call of Duty.

It’s possible these maps could feel better if the original Ground War mode made a return and allowed you to play with teams of 9 or 10, as it would fill up the map more and create a more consistent battle with less empty spaces. Even a new mode like Cutthroat, a 3v3v3 mode with one life per round, doesn’t feel designed for these maps as you’ll almost certainly get picked off in these open areas. Cutthroat could use some original maps designed for its very specific style of gameplay, similar to the Gunfight mode from previous games.

That’s not to say all of the maps feel this way because majority of the maps are still some of the best in Call of Duty history. Favela, Rust, Sub Base, and Terminal are absolute standouts and allow Modern Warfare 3 to feel like its nostalgia trip is justified. Bouncing across the rooftops of Favela and sliding through the hallways of Skidrow make for a familiar but enhanced Call of Duty experience. At the time of writing, Modern Warfare 3 has added a few of the maps that were actually worthwhile from last year’s game such as Shoot House, and they feel even better with the improvements to movement.

Is Modern Warfare 3 Worth It?

It’s clear Sledgehammer Games was put between a rock and a hard place with the development of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, but they made do with the situation they’re given. They listened to feedback from the last game and created a faster, more arcade-y PvP experience, faithfully recreated iconic maps even if some of them don’t fully hold up, and ultimately made the game a lot of people have been asking for. It’s not perfect, but the fact I keep going back for more despite its flaws is telling and hopefully, I will be rewarded for doing so if Sledgehammer continues to implement feedback.

Now, for the big question: Is it worth $70? I got this game for free and have spent dozens of hours playing it in the last week alone. I plan to keep playing it for quite awhile too. The changes to the gameplay in addition with some really great returning maps mean it is a significantly better experience than Modern Warfare 2, and I will never have any reason to return to that game.This couldn’t have been a simple free update to last year’s game given the changes to gameplay, but I also don’t know that it expands itself enough to feel like a brand new $70 game. It’s fun, but given how stacked 2023 has been with amazing games, can I really recommend you spend $70 on this especially with its lackluster campaign? It really just depends on how much you play Call of Duty and whether or not all of this sounds like it fits into your idea of what the series should feel like.

Multiplayer Rating 3.5 out of 5

A PC review copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was provided by Activision for this review.

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As platforms like the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck have continued to become hugely successful in recent years, I’ve been left hoping that Sony would take another crack at the handheld space. Despite being a huge failure on Sony’s end, I thoroughly loved the PS Vita and felt like there was still a lot of room for improvement and growth if a new PlayStation handheld did ever release. Now, with the PlayStation Portal, my dreams have at least somewhat been realized, as Sony’s newest accessory has at least partially scratched my itch to experience PlayStation games in my hands. 

Rather than play games natively, the PlayStation Portal is a dedicated Remote Play handheld that it means to work in tandem with Playstation 5 console. This means that upon booting the Portal up for the first time, you’ll then tether the accessory to your own PS5 where you can then stream games that are already on your console over Wi-Fi to the platform. Remote Play on its own is nothing all that new as Sony has already allowed this functionality on phones, tablets, and computers for years. With this in mind, the Portal’s $200 price tag is a steep one, especially since Remote Play is widely available in so many other ways. 

Despite coming in at a high price, Sony puts its best foot forward when it comes to the build of the Portal. Between its 8-inch LCD screen and split DualSense controllers, the Portal is of a very high quality and is quite comfortable to hold for prolonged spans of time. Even though it’s pretty sizable, the PS Portal is relatively lightweight and never at any point felt cumbersome to me. 

It also cannot be understated just how nice it is to have DualSense controllers available to use in an on-the-go device of this manner. I’ve given Remote Play a shot in other ways over the years and my biggest complaint has always been that other controller options for smartphones, in particular, don’t feel great. With Portal, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Outside of some slightly smaller thumbsticks and the lack of a touchpad, the DualSense controller that comes with the Portal is exactly like one you’d use with the PS5. This even includes features such as haptic feedback and the adaptive triggers that have become synonymous with the DualSense. Over the past few years, I’ve loudly proclaimed that the DualSense is the best video game controller ever and its implementation here with the Portal is a huge selling point. 

There’s also just a general ease of use that I didn’t expect the PlayStation Portal to have. Once you turn the device on, all you have to do is press the X button once for it to begin connecting to your PS5. This connectivity phase takes anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds, but once done, you can begin accessing all avenues of your PS5 like you normally would. It’s a really seamless process that I think best showcases what Remote Play is capable of to those who still haven’t used the feature much. 

As you’d surely expect, though, the biggest drawback of the PlayStation Portal is that the further away you are from your PS5, the more difficult it’s going to be to stream games. In my own experience, when it came to using the Portal in my house where my PS5 console also resides, I found next to no input lag. This was especially pleasing to me given that my personal PS5 isn’t hardwired into my internet and is instead only connected via Wi-Fi. Although the resolution was clearly lower on the Portal’s screen compared to what I’d view on my TV, I was able to play fast-paced action games like Final Fantasy XVI and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 without feeling like I was getting a drastically worsened gameplay experience. 

Whenever I was outside of my home, though, this didn’t necessarily hold true. Input lag became a far bigger problem when I tried using the Portal away from my own house, and I even suffered some connectivity issues at times. It’s hard to know if these errors were the result of simply using poor Wi-Fi (I don’t believe I was) or if it was just the general limits of Remote Play. 

At the end of the day, this is kind of the big determining factor with the PlayStation Portal. If you feel like you have a strong enough internet connection at home or the other places that you might frequent, then I can’t imagine you’d have many problems with the handheld. Otherwise, the Portal is a much harder sell. This is a platform that relies less on the functionality that Sony has directly put into it and is more about the internet infrastructure you might have. As such, I’d definitely encourage anyone even broadly interested in the Portal to run some internet speed tests beforehand to evaluate how it might work on your own networks. 

Beyond these potential internet struggles, I also cannot fathom why Bluetooth was not incorporated with the Portal. Despite being so common nowadays on just about every device, Bluetooth is nowhere to be found with the Portal, which greatly limits the way in which you can use audio devices. Even though there are built-in speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack, Sony clearly seems to be pushing its “PlayStation Link” tech strongly with its upcoming family of devices. 

To briefly explain, PlayStation Link is Sony’s own equivalent of Bluetooth and is implemented with both the Portal and the upcoming Pulse Explore earbuds that are launching this December. With this in mind, it really looks like Sony is trying to push PlayStation fans to purchase these earbuds if they want a non-wired audio experience with the Portal. Still, I’m not sure why this perceived synergy between accessories had to come at the cost of Bluetooth being on the Portal at all. 

It’s hard to broadly recommend the PlayStation Portal to those who might own a PS5 as it really is a device that is for a hyper-specific audience. If you’re like me, though, and have been looking for a way to play PlayStation games while watching sports on TV or simply reclining in the comforts of your own bed, then I absolutely think you should consider snatching up the Portal. This is an accessory that I have loved using over the past week and see myself putting to use a whole lot more in the future. Even with a couple of caveats, the PlayStation Portal still shows that Sony is very much capable of creating some of the best handheld hardware around and leaves me ever-hopeful that a dedicated platform will re-emerge in the future. 

*A PlayStation Portal unit was provided by Sony for the purpose of this review. 

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In the Super NES era, Square (later Square Enix) released a number of beloved games on Nintendo’s system, including Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, and Secret of Mana. By 1997, Square would become synonymous with PlayStation, but not before releasing one final swan song for the SNES: 1996’s Super Mario RPG. The idea of putting Nintendo’s mustachioed mascot in a turn-based setting seemed bizarre at first, but the humor and gameplay quickly made it a favorite. Nearly three decades later, Super Mario RPG is back on Nintendo Switch in the form of a faithful remake that adds a handful of welcome new features. 

Super Mario RPG begins just like most of Mario’s adventures: the princess has been kidnapped by Bowser, and it’s up to Mario to save her. However, things quickly go off the rails, as the battle between them is interrupted when a gigantic sword named Exor crashes through the Star Road and into the castle, sending Mario, Peach, and Bowser in different directions. The villain Smithy takes over Bowser’s castle, recruiting several of his minions and unleashing an army all his own. With the bridge to the castle destroyed, Mario must set out on a mission to fix the Star Road by locating its seven fragments. On that quest, he’ll be joined by both Bowser and Peach, as well as original characters Geno and Mallow. 

Super Mario RPG: Nintendo Switch vs. SNES

In Super Mario RPG, the traditional Mario action has been replaced with turn-based combat. Players must form a party of three, and Mario must always be a team member. Each character has their own various strengths, but players can also choose which stats get boosted as their levels increase.

Picking a party is always one of the most difficult decisions in an RPG, and I found myself mostly using Mario, Geno, and Peach when I first played the game back on SNES. In one of the most welcome changes from that game, Super Mario RPG now allows players to swap out party members right in the middle of battle as many times as they want without penalty. Peach’s greatest strength is her ability to heal other party members, but when I didn’t need that ability for a few turns, I could swap to using someone else. As a result, I finally found myself getting to enjoy all five playable characters.

The game also gives players an incentive to swap party members thanks to Super Mario RPG‘s new Triple Moves. As players pull off attacks against their enemies, a new meter will start to fill. When the meter reaches 100%, Mario and friends can use a Triple Move. The move changes based on which three members are in the party, and it can be advantageous to swap a different party member to change up the move based on the current need. For example, “Spare Us All” protects the whole party from any one attack if Mario, Geno, and Peach are in the party, but swapping Geno for Bowser changes the Triple Move to “Starry Shell Spike,” which does heavy damage to all enemies. It would have been easy for Triple Moves to make the game less balanced, but I found that the meter takes a fair amount of time to fill, and it never felt like the moves made the game too easy. 

Those two changes are the most significant ones players will encounter in the game, but there are a handful of other things that have been altered from the original version. Players can find save points in the exact places that they used to be, but the game also autosaves. There are also new cinematic sequences, replacing moments that took place in the original game’s engine. A couple characters have even been renamed: the Princess now goes by her more commonly used “Peach” as opposed to “Toadstool,” while Frogfucius has been renamed “the Frog Sage,” likely in an attempt to avoid a cultural stereotype. Last but not least, the game features a newly arranged soundtrack, and players can freely swap back and forth between it and the original version. 

Super Mario RPG Price Versus Value

While these changes are pretty significant, Super Mario RPG sticks fairly close to the formula established on SNES. The game is very faithful to the original English translation, offering the same heart and humor that made the game a hit more than two decades ago. On one hand, that’s a very good thing: Super Mario RPG has never been offered on Nintendo Switch, and this new version is the perfect opportunity for newcomers to experience one of the very best SNES games. However, there’s bound to be questions about whether the $60 is worth it. While the new graphics, cinema scenes, and gameplay changes make this feel like the definitive way to play Super Mario RPG, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this game was offered on the Wii U Virtual Console for less than $10 not that long ago. 

If there’s one element that hasn’t aged quite as gracefully as the rest of the game, it’s the platforming. Super Mario RPG takes place from an isometric perspective, similar to a lot of other “quasi-3D” games from that era, such as Sonic Blast. While Nintendo would refine isometric platforming in later games like Super Mario 3D World, it never feels that precise in Super Mario RPG. There are several moments in the game where players will have to jump from platform to platform, and it just doesn’t feel as tight as it could. At times I even found it a little bit frustrating, including one area where I had to climb bean stalks. It never ruins the experience, but some of these moments just aren’t as fun as the rest of the game, and they stand out even more after spending a lot of time with an excellent platformer like Super Mario Bros. Wonder. 

The Return of a Classic

Super Mario RPG is one of the very best video games of the SNES era. It’s funny, it’s charming, and it helped add depth to the Mario universe that hadn’t been seen in previous adventures. After replaying the game, it struck me what a smart move it was for Nintendo to release this in the same year as The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as the plot could serve as the perfect basis for the movie sequel. Super Mario RPG has aged fantastically well, with great gameplay, a terrific story, and some excellent characterization. Developer ArtePiazza has added just enough quality of life improvements to refine the experience, while still maintaining the elements that made it a classic in the first place. For those that have never played it before, Super Mario RPG is a very easy recommendation, but those that have played through it a number of times over the last 27 years might find that there isn’t enough new content to rationalize the $60. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Super Mario RPG is set to release November 17th, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch OLED. 

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The Phantom Thieves of Hearts return in Persona 5 Tactica, the latest spinoff of the hit . Developed by P-Studio, Persona 5 Tactica takes Persona 5‘s core cast, concepts, themes, and aesthetics and applies them to the tactical RPG genre. This isn’t the first time the Phantom Thieves have embarked on a new adventure with a different gameplay style, having starred in 2020/2021’s well-received action RPG . However, while P-Studio manages to apply some distinct Persona-like flourishes to the turn-based strategy formula, there are core Persona tenets that get lost in translation, which results in a final product that rarely captures the magic of the original game.

Persona 5 Tactica begins at the tail end of Persona 5‘s story, during the otherwise chill period that follows the defeat of that game’s final boss. Joker and the gang convene at Café Leblanc and enjoy each other’s company until the festivities are halted – literally – when time seems to freeze around them. Exiting Leblanc, they find themselves in a region or version of the Metaverse that doesn’t follow all of the rules previously established about the cognitive realm.

The story eventually explains why the Metaverse seems a bit off, but it’s all justification for changing how the Phantom Thieves battle in Persona 5 Tactica. Most notably, Joker’s “Wild Card” ability applies to all characters, allowing each to equip a secondary persona to boost their stats and supplement their skills. Each character also has a tree of unlockable innate abilities.

Combat occurs on a three-dimensional plane, with the player maneuvering all of the fielded Phantom Thieves (three to a squad) before turning the board over to the opponent. In an odd mix, aiming ranged attacks and abilities is done via a grid but not character movement. Some aspects of Persona 5‘s combat have been adapted and applied to the tactical RPG format. Enemies do not have elemental weaknesses but can be knocked down if attacked while not in cover, resulting in a “One More” action for the attacker. If the Phantom Thieves surround a downed opponent, the attacker can activate a “Triple Threat.” It’s similar to Persona 5‘s “All-Out Attack” and deals hefty damage to all opponents caught in the crossfire. This encourages players to spread their characters out rather than keeping them bunched up, thus affecting the largest possible area and helps imbue the gameplay with Persona combat’s emphasis on momentum.

However, it doesn’t capture that signature Persona gameplay rhythm. The core Persona games divide the player’s time between long bouts of narrative progression, combat-focused dungeon delving, and pursuing relationships to boost social links, with long sequences of plot development that players watch more than play counterweighted by free-form dungeon exploration and social pursuits. With social links and dungeons absent from Persona 5 Tactica, that leaves only the story and combat. The story portions in Tactica can run just as long as Persona’s reputation suggests. However, the game’s battles often end quickly, throwing off the balance of story and play.

Persona 5 Tactica‘s combat being short isn’t a complaint. The few instances where the battles do extend longer feel like the game stretching for time. There are only a handful of enemy types, and the game relies on terrain features like color-coded elevators and pressure-operated doors to add complexity. However, these elements are more nuisances than challenges, making it difficult to traverse the board and get to the enemies, who mostly sit and wait for the player to come into range. Some enemy attacks and other effects will cover the terrain in a bright yellow overlay styled like a caution sign, making it almost impossible to recognize those color-coded elevators and frustratingly difficult to find door switches. It’s a baffling visual design oversight from a game series known for its graphical flair.

Persona 5 Tactica‘s gameplay is at its tightest in the “Quests” section of the game, which are side missions players can undergo to earn bonus skill points. They’re single levels that are more puzzles than outright battles, tasking the player to reach a spot on the map or defeat enemies in a certain number of turns. This requires the player to think more carefully about how they dole out their extra actions instead of steamrolling the enemy with brute force. They’re much more interesting than the banal bonus challenges applied to the main missions, like “clear the stage.”

Narratively, the Phantom Thieves are supporting characters in Persona 5 Tactica. In the Metaverse they meet Erina, a revolutionary leader seemingly native to the realm, and Toshiro, an amnesiac politician from the real world. Having completed their character arcs already in Persona 5, Tactica casts the Phantom Thieves as supportive friends, helping Erina and Toshiro through their journeys. It offers an interesting new perspective on the characters, emphasizing their growth, even if some of the dialogue is over-the-top, even for Persona.

The pacing of Persona 5 Tacitca‘s story is a problem. It keeps its secrets for too long, with some of the answers to them being fairly obvious from early on, while others only become so in retrospect. Despite the pacing issues, the story’s themes compliment Persona 5‘s nicely. There’s talk of the cost of change and revolution and consideration of when it is worth paying that price, all cast against various “Kingdoms” that display different facets of tyranny, like corruption, surveillance, and censorship. In one of the game’s more commendable efforts, those tyrannical traits play out in the gameplay, with the introduction of cameras and speakers that punish certain actions, albeit with clumsy results.

When the narrative hits its climax (without spoiling anything), the story threads coalesce into a satisfying revelation. That moment is the one part of Persona 5 Tactica that generated the same excitement that Persona 5 seemed capable of conjuring regularly. It’s a shame that Tactica then goes and spoils it by dragging out the finale with unnecessary battles ahead of the last showdown.

Persona 5 Tactica doesn’t capture the magic of Persona 5 or even Persona 5 Strikers. It may remind fans instead of the Persona Q games, dungeon-crawler spinoffs designed for the Nintendo 3DS. Those game have their fans, as Persona 5 Tactica surely will as well. Yet, while the game has its moments, there are too many flaws to earn a full-throated recommendation. Those who live at the intersection of “Persona fan” and “tactical RPG fan” will likely find it worth at least a look and die-hard Persona 5 fans probably won’t want to miss another Phantom Thieves adventure. More casual Persona enjoyers will be fine passing on this outing.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Persona 5 Tactica releases November 17th for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, played on a Nintendo Switch OLED.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 continues to disparage the Modern Warfare brand with yet another disappointing campaign. Modern Warfare 2 was mediocre, but Modern Warfare 3 is genuinely a bad story. It’s rare that the Call of Duty series has a total misfire with its campaigns, but this is one of the few.

This is a franchise known for brief, but unrivaled campaigns every year that take us on an over-the-top ride with non-stop spectacle, badass characters, and satisfying levels Unfortunately, Modern Warfare 3 really lacks in just about every department this time around. 

No Shock, No Awe

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 places us back in the shoes of Task Force 141 as they embark on a manhunt against Vladimir Makarov, a Russian ultranationalist hellbent on tearing the world apart with acts of terror. Those that played the original 2009 Modern Warfare 2 will get a sense of déjà vu from this story as Makarov’s plans are identical in both games, with a few tweaks. Instead of trying to frame America for a Russian airport massacre, Makarov is trying to frame the fictional country of Urzikstan for various terrorist attacks such as a plane hijacking, a chemical attack, and more. America would have some culpability in all of this as Modern Warfare 2 revealed General Shepherd supplied the country with weapons, but the story doesn’t pull on this highly lucrative narrative thread very much. Makarov is actually successful at some of his attacks, but all it amounts to is some news channels commenting on how tragic this is and questioning the reputation of Urzikstan.

In the original Modern Warfare 2, “No Russian” happens, and almost immediately, Russia invades the United States. There’s an instant sense of escalation and consequences as Makarov continues his game of 4D chess. There are stakes. The same can not be said for Modern Warfare 3, despite multiple successful terrorist attacks, it feels like it doesn’t really matter because nothing spawns from it. By proxy, it makes Makarov look far less threatening and removes any urgency to stop more attacks from happening.

The shocking moments mean nothing either since they’re quickly moved past. “No Russian” had a ripple effect that stretched across two games and made you feel culpable in that bloodshed. Modern Warfare 3 would rather not linger in uncomfortable moments, being too afraid of having something to say in such a massive, big budget game that all it does is tease you with larger ideas without actually having the guts to say what those ideas are. 

Modern Warfare 3 contains a mission where Task Force 141 has to stop an active mass shooting, and it feels more and more like these games want the shock factor while being too cowardly to go far enough with it to mean anything. Modern Warfare (2019) had its issues with this too, but it did a far better job by comparison. You could kill civilians if you weren’t careful enough. Modern Warfare 3 doesn’t allow this. I’m not arguing that we should be able to mow down pedestrians at our leisure, but anytime you even wound a civilian or throw a flashbang (a non-lethal device) in their proximity in Modern Warfare 3, it’s an instant fail. It strips the moment of any stakes or weight. 

It would be much more tense and upsetting if I was responsible for a stray bullet hitting a civilian while trying to kill an enemy. Instead of instantly failing the player, the game should recognize that if you kill too many innocents in quick succession that you may be doing it on purpose and punish you.

Failing to Innovate

Modern Warfare 3 features a promising opening with a prison break that feels more in line with the flashy missions the series is known for. Unfortunately, any momentum generated by this opening is quickly derailed right away. A large portion of Modern Warfare 3‘s campaign missions are the “Open Combat Missions,” something Activision has been pushing pretty heavily for the past few months as its big new feature for the campaign. 

These missions put you in a small sandbox with vehicles and loot boxes containing weapons and other gear to help you decide how you want to complete your objectives. You can go loud, stealthily, or a mix of both. The unfortunate thing is these are glorified Spec Ops missions with all of the clunkiness you’d expect. For starters, the story almost always grinds to a screeching halt during these missions as you’re just there to do something very generic like defuse a few bombs quickly and then evac. You go in alone while you listen to some radio chatter, but it’s usually just a way to deliver exposition or have commands spouted at you. It loses a lot of the charm of Call of Duty missions where you have camaraderie with your squad or engage in some big set piece.

Instead, it’s just soulless gameplay with AI that are dumb as rocks.There were multiple moments where an enemy would spot me and shoot me, but guards who were visibly just feet away would not be alerted. Similarly, they lack any kind of nuance beyond spamming grenades at you when you’re behind cover, so they’re very easy to predict and manipulate even on harder difficulties. This is not what you want in a sandbox-style campaign.

On top of that, the “sandbox” gameplay feels very limited. It’s more a case of “What guns do you want to use, and where do you want to use them?” than it is having a bunch of different opportunities. This is by no means Hitman or even Far Cry where there are numerous dynamic systems blending together to create unique, circumstantial instances of chaos every time you play an Open Combat Mission. Those worlds have a bit more life to them with NPCs roaming around, doing certain tasks, and windows of opportunity. Everything in Modern Warfare 3‘s Open Combat Missions is static – the most amount of change that happens is when you break stealth and set the enemies on alert. The most creative I felt was when I strapped C4 onto a truck and drove it into a helicopter, but I ripped that off from a gameplay trailer.

The one notable highlight from the Modern Warfare 3 campaign is a mission where you climb multiple floors of an apartment building with various different paths that give it a maze-like feel and include a feeling of danger akin to the film The Raid. It’s the most interesting level design in a Call of Duty campaign level in years, but it’s the only flicker of hope for a more compelling game throughout the entirety of Modern Warfare 3.

But even when you are in a more traditional Call of Duty mission, it feels like they forgot what makes these campaigns stand out. It’s supposed to be more than just running down hallways, shooting at whatever pops its head up. That’s a piece of it, but every mission should have some kind of spectacle. By comparison, the original Modern Warfare 2 has you taking back the White House, pursuing a terrorist through a claustrophobic favela, escaping an enemy air base on snowmobiles, and more.

Modern Warfare 3 does not pack that same kind of punch – it’s all quite forgettable. These tasks feel more like half-baked tutorial missions for a multiplayer mode like DMZ with bots that are meant to be nothing more than fodder for content you’ll only play once. Modern Warfare 3 seems to think you’ll be back to play these missions again, when in reality, I never want to see these again in this game nor any other Call of Duty game for that matter.

The Crushing Weight of Nostalgia

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 offers a hastily, haphazardly assembled, and often nonsensical story with no guts. It takes no new risks, has nothing to say, and most frustratingly, it abruptly ends right when the story starts gaining some traction. Any attempt to innovate comes across as clunky, misguided, and cheap. It may not quite be the worst Call of Duty campaign, but it comes pretty damn close. 

The story attempts to hit a lot of familiar beats, but instead ends up feeling like someone copied the homework of the original trilogy without showing their work. Modern Warfare 3 seems to think nostalgia will carry the load of this story and that players may project their love for the original onto this one without it doing anything to earn that. On one hand, I commend Call of Duty for taking 20 years to deliver a campaign this messy. On the other hand, I hate that it happened to a story that revolves around characters and storylines that fans like myself have so much affinity for. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign is not a celebration of 20 years of Call of Duty – it’s a cry for help.

Rating: 2 out of 5

A PC review copy was provided by Activision for the purposes of this review. A full multiplayer review will also be coming after it releases on November 10th.

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Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was definitely a surprise as it brought multiple characters from across Nickelodeon’s vast cartoon library together for a big fight. It’s no secret that the platform fighter had a rough start, however, as it originally released with fewer characters and features than many fans had been hoping for. But by the end of its life cycle, All-Star Brawl started to really show off the true potential of what a cartoon fighter of its kind could really accomplish with the developing studios Fair Play Labs and Ludosity, the latter being the studio behind viral hits like Slap City and more, in full effect. 

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 takes that potential and goes even further to deliver a new experience that fans playing the first title wouldn’t have ever expected to see. All-Star Brawl 2 is a massive upgrade to everything found in the first game and more. There are tons of new faces fans wanted to see (with unique and interesting play styles not seen in the first game), returning characters have been basically rebuilt from the ground up, there’s a full story available, and it’s a complete feeling package right from the jump. It’s a much better start this time around. 

The main objective is the same in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 as players are meant to enter an arena, deal enough damage to opponents, and eventually knock them off the stage platforms to get a KO. It’s the same set up seen in a lot of platform fighters, and thankfully works just as well here. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl’s final roster was 25 after DLC, and All-Star Brawl 2 is jumping out of the gate with 25 characters in the base roster. There are some notable absences that didn’t return from the first game, however, such as Hey Arnold’s Helga Pataki or CatDog, but in their place are some newcomers that are also from classic franchises. What’s immediately clear just glancing at the roster is that each character here is unique from one another as no two really play or feel the same. 

Each newcomer offers something that fans didn’t get to play around with in the first title. El Tigre’s Manny Rivera (the announcer uses his full name, Manuel Pablo Gutierrez O’Brian Equihua Rivera, for that extra bit of fan service) has a slower walking speed than you would expect, but fights with long claws and stretchy limbs that give him the kind of reach seen in the original cartoon. Jimmy Neutron can call out Goddard with one of his specials, and you can temporarily switch control and attack with Goddard while keeping Jimmy at a safe distance. Or characters like Daggett and Norbert from The Angry Beavers are actually a tag team that you can swap between at will. 

Like the first game, the character selection is widespread and unexpected as there are both traditional fighting type characters who fought in their respective cartoons such as Aang, Korra, and Azula, and characters you would never expect to see fighting like Squidward or Gerald. Each one offers their own kind of fun gimmick that players will want to explore over long play sessions. There’s a reward to figuring out how each character’s unique traits work (like properly using Korra’s projectiles or managing Ember’s ghostly meter), and even more so when digging into the fan service of it all. 

Both returning and new characters are packed to the brim with new animations and move sets that are highly referential and full of Easter Eggs from their respective series, and it comes out in surprising ways. Like one of SpongeBob SquarePants’ charge attacks is his famous “Imagination” line (complete with rainbow to boot). Thankfully, it’s not all just looks either as there was a lot of care and attention put into how it all plays as well. There’s admittedly still a bit of stiffness here as animations for attacks last a brief moment longer than you’d hope, and they don’t always have clear hitboxes, but it’s a dramatic improvement from the first title. 

This starts with the variety of attacks here. In the first title, there were light, heavy, and special attacks that could be altered with a directional input. But here it’s been improved significantly as there are plenty more options to do damage. Light attacks have quick combos, and special attacks return, but heavy attacks can now be held down and charged to deal more damage. Movement options have also been increased as now players can dodge roll and dodge attacks in mid-air. But the biggest alteration to the gameplay is the addition of the Slime Meter. 

The Slime Meter is a special meter that builds up with attacks and can be used at different times for different effects. It’s sort of how an EX Meter would work in a traditional fighting game as you can use it to make an attack hit harder, use it for a quick attack cancel, use it to knock back opponents after a successful guard, or use it for a super move that activates a quick cinematic and deals a lot more damage. Item selection doesn’t always feel as fan-service heavy as the rest of the package, but they do what they need to do in terms of offering fun new ways to deal damage. 

Thankfully playing the game feels as good as it does and as full of variety as it does as that makes the rest of the offerings all the more compelling. Along with offerings of an arcade mode, local and online multiplayer (which will really get put through the wringer over the next few weeks as the real test), and tutorial and training modes, the biggest new addition for All-Star Brawl 2 is the Campaign. It’s a brand new story incorporating Danny Phantom villain Vlad Plasmius as the core baddie. 

The Campaign is a good way to introduce new players to how everything works as starting with SpongeBob (who works well as the default character), campaign mode tasks you with going through a randomized slate of matches. Playing certain matches can earn you Blimps, which are used to buy perks in the various shops you can reach during the Campaign (which have various non-playable characters like Mrs. Puff or Hugh Neutron saying hello, with completely voiced dialogue), Slimes, which you use to buy overall Campaign perks (such as adding more stocks or a random projectile that fires every few seconds), and Splats that unlock more perks. 

Campaign is basically 12 rounds of fights and potential perk spots, and you have to do it three times in order to fight Vlad. Then from there, you have to complete the Campaign two more times all the way through to get the full story. It’s not an extensive story with full cutscenes, but there’s a lot of extra fan service in the addition of non-playable characters and several bosses you can face off against like the aforementioned Vlad Plasmius, King Jellyfish or The Flying Dutchman. 

There’s just so much more attention, care, and time that seeps through the pores of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2‘s entire package. It’s just a stark difference from where the first game began, and a tease of the kind of bright future this series is heading in. It’s just a lot more fun to play than the first title, and it’s only going to get better as the weeks roll on. It already feels like a complete package, and while there is still some stiffness is how it plays moment to moment, Nickelodeon fans will definitely want to seek this out for some party fun. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is now available digitally on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC with a physical version hitting retail on December 1st. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

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Writing a review for Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is tougher than usual because I think RGG’s latest game is so good that if you have any interest in checking it out, you shouldn’t read another sentence of what I’m about to write. There are basic story elements and game mechanics that I don’t want to spoil for you, but I have to talk about Gaiden with any authority. If you need to be sold more, feel free to read on, but if you’re a fan of the franchise or even Yakuza curious, just go play it. If you have Xbox Game Pass? Even better. Gaiden is available on day one and is worth the monthly fee.

Secret Agent Kiryu

For those of you who weren’t swayed by the opening paragraph, let’s talk about what makes me love Gaiden so much. The first, and arguably the most important thing, is the combat. Yakuza: Like a Dragon took the franchise in a completely new direction by making Ichiban Kasauga’s story into a turn-based RPG. Gaiden puts players back in the control of Kiryu Kazama and fully embraces the Dragon of Dojima’s love for fast-paced fisticuffs. In Gaiden, Kiryu has access to two fighting styles, and while they both have their uses, the new Agent style is the clear winner.

As a long-time fan of the series, I’ve often thought the series combat peaked with Goro Majima’s Breaker style in Yakuza 0. It’s one of the fastest and certainly the flashiest fighting style of any Yakuza protagonist has ever used, but Gaiden puts a new king on the throne. Agent style gives Kiryu access to several James Bond-like special weapons that he can use in combat. It starts with a  Spider watch that you can use to lasso foes and either tie them up temporarily or pull them toward you for a powerful punch to the face. Over the course of the game, you slowly add new gadgets that can all be upgraded into formidable weapons.

The best of these are the Serpent loafers which give you the ability to rocket propel Kiryu into his foes like some kind of human bowling ball. And Gaiden loves to put dozens of enemies on the screen at once. It’s hard to remember a time that I had more fun with RGG combat. Add in control of swarms of attack drones and a cigarette bomb, and you have Kiryu’s best kit ever.

With all of this available to you, it might seem like it’d be a lot to manage, and on higher difficulties, that can be true. I never struggled on Standard difficulty, but I’ve played 11 of these games. The good news is that RGG has gone a long way to making this game accessible to anyone regardless of skill level. If you turn the difficulty down to Beginner, you can essentially button-mash your way through much of the combat, and it’ll still look almost as incredible as it does if you master every system. When playing on the lower difficulty, Gaiden switches combat styles for you when it makes sense and even gives you the lee-way to press the wrong button to do Heat Actions and dodges. As long as your timing is down, you’ll pull it off, letting newer players feel as powerful as someone who’s been playing for years.

A Family Affair

In many ways, that same desire to give new players a path to jumping on board extends to the story. RGG has taken steps to onboard newbies to Kiryu’s long journey. As someone who’s been around since the beginning of the game’s popularity explosion in the West, it’s impossible for me to say if it completely works because I know all of these stories, but I think the use of quick flashbacks helps flesh out why Kiryu is doing what he’s doing and what makes him the man he is. 

Even if it doesn’t fully work, the central tale in Gaiden is classic Yakuza. There is plenty of drama that sometimes doesn’t really make perfect sense, but RGG does such a great job with its twists and turns that the unevenness doesn’t detract much. I won’t spoil any specifics, but this is a story about Kiryu’s work after he’s given up his name to protect his family at the Morning Glory Orphanage. As part of that, he’s pulled back into the Yakuza in events that run alongside what happened in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. If you’ve played that game, you largely know where Kiryu’s story will end up, but the path to get there is full of surprises. 

It also ends with a scene that is as big of a gut-punch as the finale of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. I’m not the type to get overly emotional during video games, but RGG somehow knows how to cut to my core. It’s also worth noting that the ending is the one part of the story that loses the most if you haven’t played previous Yakuza games. If you don’t already know these characters, it probably won’t hit as hard, but I think it’s still effective.

Of course, one of the best parts about this whole story is that Kiryu has adopted a new name. Going by Joryu, the former Yakuza hides his identity by wearing sunglasses. Literally, no one believes that it’s not Kiryu, but he refuses to break character. It gets as ridiculous as you’d expect when he meets old friends, but Kiryu proves that he will do anything to protect the kids at Morning Glory. 

It’s also important to note that this is a much shorter main campaign than Like a Dragon fans are used to. Expect to wrap up this five-chapter tale in about 10 hours. That short run-time forces RGG to keep things tight, which generally works in its favor. However, there are several times when the team uses quick cutscenes to move the story forward that I would have loved to play. The best example of this is the times Kiryu’s tale crosses over with Ichiban’s. It’s easy to write off knowing RGG only had six months to get this out the door, but it does feel like a slight missed opportunity.

The Wackier Side of Organized Crime

Another place you’ll notice the quick development cycle is in the substories. In most Yakuza games, these are often one of the biggest highlights. That’s still true here, but there aren’t nearly as many of them, and the way they’re implemented can be frustrating.

Early on in the story, you meet a character named Akame. Truth be told, she is the star of the show and has to come back in some form Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Akame has a city-wide network of contacts and needs you to help her improve it. That means doing tons of mostly boring Stroll ‘n’ Patrol missions. These include things like beating up a few thugs and getting a homeless man a sandwich. Not very riveting.

However, they’re worth doing because finishing a handful of them opens up what would traditionally be substories. Losing out on that feeling of stumbling upon a story is a shame, but this format means you can’t miss anything. As always, the substories are the right mix of wacky and heartfelt. There’s one where you’re helping a young man find love using a ChatGPT knock-off and another that sees you interacting with one of the more famous characters in RGG’s Yakuza universe.

In fact, several of these substories bring characters from either Kiryu’s or the franchise’s past in fun ways. I won’t spoil anyone who pops up, but long-time fans should grind through the Stroll ‘n’ Patrol missions quickly to get to the good stuff.

On top of the substories, RGG has all of the usual side activities you’d expect in Sotenbori: golf, billiards, darts, and the arcade. The standouts for me are Pocket Racing and the Coliseum. Pocket Racing has long been my favorite Yakuza side activity, so I’m a bit biased, but getting back on the track has never felt so good. 

The Coliseum also has a new addition, the Hell Rumble. This lets you put together a team of up to 10 NPCs and fight against hordes of enemies. It is as absurd as it sounds and is the perfect opportunity to use Kiryu as a rocket-propelled battering ram. Again, it is hard to remember having this much fun with combat in an RGG game. It’s a blast to play, and I wish there were more matches to dive into so that I didn’t have to stop. 

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name isn’t a perfect game. Some of the things it does are downright annoying. However, it’s exactly what I’m looking for in a Yakuza game. Gaiden has combat that is as intense as it is hilarious. Its central story is full of the twists and turns that keep you on your toes even if you know where it’s going. It perfectly sets up what’s coming next for Kiryu’s journey and leaves enough questions unanswered to keep you on the hook. It even let me see my son Taichi all grown up. Gaiden is a must-play game for any fan of RGG’s brand of oddball action and one of the best games of the year.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is set to release November 9th, exclusively on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on a PC. 

The post Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Review: The Things We Do For Family appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Remedy has gone above and beyond everything I’ve been expecting from Alan Wake 2 in my 13 years of dreaming about it. As someone who played the original the week that it launched back in 2010, Alan Wake 2 is something that I have been pining for Remedy to make for nearly half of my life. Oftentimes, when I look forward to a piece of media for this long, my lofty expectations fail to be met for one reason or another. With Alan Wake 2, though, this couldn’t be further from the truth, as Remedy has instead crafted a video game experience that is one of my favorites of all time and stands as one of the most impressive AAA games I’ve played in years. 

After being trapped in the “Dark Place” for 13 long years, Alan Wake 2 sees its titular protagonist finally looking to escape from his haunting, supernatural prison. In this pursuit, a new protagonist named Saga Anderson, an FBI agent, comes to investigate Alan’s previous disappearance in Bright Falls which coincides with other matters taking place in the town. Eventually, Alan and Saga’s stories end up intersecting and players are given the ability to bounce back and forth between the two over the course of the game’s 20-to-25-hour run time. 

Without spoiling anything, the story of Alan Wake 2 was supremely satisfying and kept me engaged from start to finish. Not only did Remedy answer many of the lingering questions that I had about the original Alan Wake, but it deepened its world and characters, which led me to become even more engrossed in its narrative. There are also some twists and turns throughout AW2 that I absolutely did not expect. Days after completing AW2, there are still a handful of moments that I’m reflecting back on in awe. Remedy’s writing team, led by director Sam Lake, did a phenomenal job not only with crafting this story, but with the game’s character-work. New faces like Saga Anderson, who I feared I wouldn’t find engaging initially, only grew on me over time, to the point where they felt like perfect fits in this universe. 

The most impressive part of Alan Wake 2’s story is how much depth it boasts without ever feeling overwhelming. Not only is Remedy trying to tell its own story here, but it’s also working on folding Alan Wake 2 into its larger “Remedy Connected Universe” that began to take shape with Control. Outside of this balancing act, there are an unreal number of self-referential and meta moments scattered throughout Alan Wake 2 that call back to other Remedy games (including those that the studio doesn’t even own IP right to).

In short, Alan Wake 2 has the potential to be complicated, especially for those who haven’t played previous Remedy titles. In fact, if I tried to explain everything that AW2 is doing with its writing and underhanded references, I would surely sound like a madman. Despite all of this, though, I never struggled to understand the broad beats of Alan Wake 2’s story, which says a lot given how out-there some of its concepts are. The deeper callbacks in Alan Wake 2 were still there for longtime fans like myself, but these instances never overshadowed the core narrative to the point of coming across as a jumbled mess. 

One of the biggest changes for Remedy with Alan Wake 2 is that the game is now a survival-horror title. As Remedy’s first experience with the genre, I worried that there might be some growing pains with how the studio would handle horror, especially while trying to still include its typical penchant for wackiness. Once again, though, the studio found a great balance between the two throughout all of Alan Wake 2. 

Much of AW2’s bonafides as a horror title are thanks to the fantastic visuals that it boasts. With no hyperbole whatsoever, I believe that Alan Wake 2 is the most gorgeous, photo-realistic video game that I have ever seen. The game’s lighting, in particular, is absolutely stunning and is showcased particularly well during Alan’s missions. Outside of simply being pretty to look at, Remedy’s art direction in Alan Wake 2 is also downright excellent. While it’s one thing to have a game that properly takes advantage of modern hardware to achieve high fidelity, it’s another to combine that with a cohesive and unique design. Between its dense forests and dimly lit cityscapes, Alan Wake 2 is a constant pleasure to look at, no matter where you might be in its world. 

The visual components of Alan Wake 2 really help set the tone when it comes to how it is as a horror game. AW2 isn’t necessarily about jump-scares or being chased by monsters, but instead is much more psychological in its approach to horror. That’s not to say that there aren’t any moments throughout the game that are explicitly meant to frighten the player, because there absolutely are. Still, it’s the grim atmosphere and look of Alan Wake 2 that helps make for a tense gameplay experience. 

I’ve had so much positive to say about Alan Wake 2 and haven’t even touched on how it is to play. Generally speaking, most of the baseline mechanics here are what you would expect from a survival-horror title. Resources are scarce, your inventory has to constantly be micromanaged, and enemies can prove to be foreboding if you’re not adequately prepared. Many of the gameplay stylings from the original Alan Wake also return in the sequel, as foes can only be taken down after first exposing them to light, which predominantly emanates from a flashlight. Sadly, there aren’t many new weapons or other items to use in Alan Wake 2 that are wholly new to the series. Flashbangs, flares, and flareguns are all back and are really the only unique tools that can be used outside of a general array of guns to defeat foes in combat.

What sets Alan Wake 2 apart from other games in the genre are some unique abilities that both Alan and Saga have at their disposal. As a detective, Saga has the ability to enter what is called her “Mind Place,” which is a physical manifestation of her thoughts. It’s here that she’s able to assemble the clues on her Case Board that she’s uncovered over the course of her detective work to tie them all together. Doing so can result in new leads that can advance ongoing missions and the larger mystery at hand. 

The Mind Place was an element of Alan Wake 2 that I really loved in my previews of the game, and for the most part, my feelings have continued to hold true with the final product. What I have come to realize, though, is that there’s not a ton of depth to the Mind Place. This part of AW2 is fairly linear in its execution and doesn’t necessarily leave much room for the player to figure out things on their own. Much of my use of the Case Board in the game was done via trial and error, which made me feel less like a detective and more like I was jumping through hoops that were laid out before me. If nothing else, though, the Mind Place proved to be a fantastic resource to keep all of the story elements of Alan Wake 2 in a very neat order. Whenever I found myself forgetting certain names, characters, or places that were integral to the story, I could just consult the Case Board to give myself a quick refresh before continuing to play. 

When it comes to Alan, he has his own array of reality-distorting abilities. Similar to Saga, Alan can enter the “Writer’s Room” to rewrite reality around him. This is an idea that has been at the core of the Alan Wake series from the beginning and for Remedy to find a way to gamify it was something that I loved in AW2. Still, there isn’t a whole lot of variation or experimentation to be had when it comes to changing Alan’s own surroundings by proxy of the Writer’s Room. Some puzzles do use the feature in an interesting manner, though, especially when combined with Alan’s lamp tool, which can further alter the environment and open new pathways. 

Across the entirety of Alan Wake 2, the thing I remained most consistently roused by was the game’s performances. From returning Remedy veterans such as Ikka Villi, Matthew Porretta, and James McCaffrey, to new faces like Melanie Liburd, everyone that is part of Alan Wake 2 gives it their all and enhances the story and writing that much more. These performances get even more time to shine in AW2, thanks to the inclusion of a lot of different live-action cutscenes. 

Live-action implementation is something that Remedy has been toying around with since Quantum Break, but it reaches a new high point here with Alan Wake 2. Similar to Control, AW2 features frequent moments that mesh both gameplay and live-action to great effect. For the most part, this is done to set a certain tone or advance the story in specific ways, but other instances go beyond anything that I ever thought I’d see in a video game. One sequence during Alan’s portion of the game makes for one of the most enjoyable and awe-inducing stretches I have ever seen in a video game. The way that Remedy bounces between these live-action and standard gameplay moments is masterfully done and has started to make all of its titles feel that much more cohesive with one another. 

If there is one predominant issue that I have had with Alan Wake 2, it would be tied to its performance. Given how stunning this game was to look at, I tried my best to play on Fidelity mode, which targeted 30fps. Unfortunately, the frame rate varied quite often for me, especially during areas that were dense with foliage or other objects in the environment. Still, as I played Alan Wake 2, I noticed that many of the newer updates for the game started to improve my experience on this front. As it is now, the performance in AW2 is a bit unstable, but I imagine it will only continue to get much better in the weeks and months to come. 

By all accounts, Alan Wake 2 is simply a masterpiece. This is far and away the best game that Remedy has made so far and only continues to assert that the studio is one of the top AAA developers in the world. On all fronts, Alan Wake 2 is rife with inventiveness and wit that was only matched by its ability to scare me and make me laugh in the same short span of time. Not only does this serve as a new benchmark for what Remedy is capable of in the future, but it should be a shining example to other studios around the world of what story-driven third-person games can achieve. Whether you’re new to the series or have been waiting 13 years like I have, Alan Wake 2 should absolutely not be missed. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Alan Wake 2 is available now across Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC platforms. A review copy was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review and the game was experienced on a PlayStation 5. 

The post Alan Wake 2 Review: Remedy’s Best Game Yet appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Metal Gear Solid is arguably my favorite video game series of all time. Since first playing the mainline games for myself back in 2008, I have often cited Konami’s stealth-action franchise as my favorite in all of gaming. As such, I’m always looking for a reason to replay these titles once again and have been loudly expressing my desire for multiple years to see Konami bring all of its Metal Gear titles to modern hardware. With Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, this wish has finally been fulfilled (at least partially). Sadly, rather than be thrilled to now have these games easily accessible, I’ve been disappointed to see how little effort went into this release. 

As the name suggests, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is the first release of likely two bundles that Konami will release. Vol. 1 happens to contain many of the earliest installments in the series that begin with the original Metal Gear and runs through Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Personally speaking, my favorite Metal Gear games happen to be included in this collection, so having them all in one convenient location is a big win. 

What’s not as thrilling, though, is that Konami has done virtually nothing to improve these games. Nowadays, remasters and remakes are incredibly common and have established a general baseline of what’s expected when older titles are brought to new platforms. Rather than taking advantage of what current consoles and PCs are now capable of, however, Konami has chosen to simply port these games rather than remaster them in any way. None of the Metal Gear titles included here run at 4K, which is perhaps the biggest oversight of all, given that upscaling them to this resolution shouldn’t be too difficult. Additionally, the original Metal Gear Solid is locked to 30fps no matter where you play, while MGS 2 and 3 hit 60fps depending solely on what platform you’re on.   

This is something that Konami didn’t necessarily hide when promoting Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, but it’s still proven to be greatly disappointing upon booting these games up and seeing them in action. What’s worse is that Metal Gear fans over the years have already created various mods and emulations of these titles that look better than what Konami itself is releasing. It’s a pretty poor look when the official license holder of a game isn’t able to release a product that outshines what everyday people have cooked up in the past. Not to mention, this only further suggests that Konami doesn’t seem to have much interest in its AAA properties any longer, which has been a common complaint from many fans over the past decade. 

Even though I’m pretty negative on the fidelity seen with Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, not everything here is bad. Outside of the actual Metal Gear games included, Master Collection Vol. 1 also has a number of other bonus features that have been added. None of these additions are worth buying this Master Collection on its own, but inclusions such as the Metal Gear Solid graphic novels and the official scripts are cool to check out for those who love the series. I’ll also always be a sucker for digital soundtracks, even though the one included with this Master Collection isn’t very comprehensive. 

Likely the best inclusions here with Master Collection Vol. 1 are tied to the original Metal Gear installments. Both the MSX2 and NES versions of Metal Gear have been added to this bundle alongside Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and Snake’s Revenge. All of these initial Metal Gear entries have been ported and included in other bundles in the past, although this is the first time that Konami has released them in one package. Most people who are looking to snag this collection are likely more interested in playing through the original Metal Gear Solid trilogy more than anything, but it’s nice to see the older games given some love. 

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 isn’t necessarily an atrocious bundle of Metal Gear ports. The games that have been included here generally still hold up well in 2023 and have been fun to revisit. Still, it’s disappointing to see that Konami has done virtually nothing to touch up these titles in the slightest of ways. As such, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 feels like something Konami is simply releasing to make a quick buck. Rather than improving these games to ensure that the the legacy of Metal Gear is something that remains intact for newer generations of fans, this Master Collection fails to put its best foot forward given what modern hardware is now capable of. And for longtime fans like myself, there’s very little reason to buy this bundle outside of the convenience of having the series on current platforms. 

Rating: 3 out of 5

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is out now across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A review code for PS5 was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. 

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At some point during peak Star Trek – when there were five Star Trek shows in production, one releasing right after the other on Paramount+ — I came across Stellaris. I’m not a player of grand strategy or 4X games, but it occurred to me that a game like Stellaris – which cast players as the controller of an interstellar polity – could be recast in the Star Trek universe with relative ease. It turned out that some interpret modders had already had the same idea. Thus, I purchased a copy of Stellaris and immediately downloaded a total conversion mod that turned it into a Star Trek game.

I played it for a bit, but not too long. Ultimately, the novelty of turning Stellaris into a Star Trek game wasn’t strong enough for me to climb the steep learning curve required to understand the various nuances of complex 4X-style gameplay. But then Paradox Interactive, the company that published Stellaris, announced Star Trek: Infinite, a 4x-style game bearing the official Star Trek license, and my curiosity was piqued again.

I tell you all of this so you know that I coming at Star Trek Infinite as a Star Trek fan first and foremost and not a great lover of 4X games. That perspective, the search for a unique Star Trek experience within the gameplay, undoubtedly colors my opinion of Star Trek: Infinite.

Star Trek: Infinite allows players to take control of any one of four major factions in the Star Trek galaxy: the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, or the Cardassian Union. Each faction has its distinct strength that lends it to loosely pursuing one of the four “X” strategies (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) that give the genre its name. The Federation is based on diplomacy and peaceful galactic exploration, while the Klingons, a warrior culture, are more invested in their military, and so on.

Each Star Trek: Infinite campaign is slightly less random than a game of Stellaris because Star Trek: Infinite is rooted in Star Trek canon. In each game I started, the major powers are arranged in roughly the same areas relative to each other, and galactic events proceed in a more-or-less fixed sequence, starting with the Romulan sneak attack on Khitomer that leads to an alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire (events Star Trek: The Next Generation fans will be familiar with).

Other Star Trek polities are considered minor powers. They’re allowed more leeway to stray from established Star Trek stories. Events around them may transpire differently than in Star Trek’s shows. The Betazed might ally with Cardassians while the Federation can, theoretically, liberate the Bajoran Republic well ahead of schedule. This keeps things interesting, though there are some oddities. For example, early on, the Federation can colonize the Denobula and Risa, which should each have established populations.

All the pieces are there, and the game mechanics seem solid in their fundamentals (though, admittedly, this is not my area of expertise). Explore new worlds, use diplomacy with familiar civilizations, and send spies and military fleets against those who don’t cooperate. The major powers are designed to encourage you to play them within their established moral character — Starfleet will typically put diplomacy and scientific exploration first; Romulans will always have a few spies in place wherever they go. Yet, the game didn’t spark that Star Trek joy. Instead, Star Trek: Infinite made me realize how important characters are to the Star Trek experience, for me, at least.

I’m sure some fans will enjoy moving their fleets around on the galactic map, expanding their territory, and completing the long list of tasks the game offers. For me, it feels too much like meaningless busywork without a performance to anchor it all, which explains why games like Star Trek Online and Star Trek: Resurgence — which both put so much effort into honoring the experience of watching a Star Trek episode over recreating the political reality of the universe that those episodes transpire in — resonate with me more strongly.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Star Trek: Infinite is available now for PC. A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

The post Star Trek: Infinite Review: A Universe Without Stars appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Hellboy has lived in the pages of comics for decades. Though attempts have been made to bring him to life in live-action, animation, and video games with varying degrees of success, there was always something missing, that signature look and feel of Mike Mignola’s original comics. The gothic tomes that Hellboy starred in have become a pillar in the language of comics thanks to Mignola’s visual storytelling, and that is Hellboy: Web of Wyrd‘s big selling point for fans and gamers, it has recreated the comic legend’s signature style in a roguelike beat-em-up. What Hellboy: Web of Wyrd offers on its surface however doesn’t really make up for the fact that at its core it is a repetitive, sometimes dull, experience. 

The visual style of Hellboy: Web of Wyrd really is its best selling point. Hellboy: Web of Wyrd is able to take the shadows and darkness that define negative space in Mike Mignola’s art and make it work in a medium that has depth, texture, and movement. Even just moving the camera around the lead character while walking across a level can produce unique shadow patterns on his image that feels like the Hellboy comics have come to life. 

In a narrative sense, Hellboy: Web of Wyrd has crafted a tale that not only makes the mold of the roguelike work for its plot but a story that feels like something Mike Mignola might have come up with for Hellboy comics. Hellboy and a team have been deployed to a mysterious house in Argentina, seeking answers for spikes of psychic activity happening around the world. Inside Hellboy finds the Wyrd, a mysterious alternate dimension filled with monsters and mayhem, but one that seems to rigidly stick to the idea of storytelling and narrative being a living construct. By working his way through the Wyrd and battling the forces from within, Hellboy can combat the problems happening around the globe, but naturally, there’s a deeper layer to it all.  

The environments that Hellboy finds himself in also lend themselves to the larger Mignola aesthetic, with each level taking on a different location and featuring its own unique enemies, all of them bringing the non-euclidean geometry from Mignola’s pages into a (mostly) 3D space. Hellboy: Web of Wyrd‘s enemies are all brand new for the game, with no familiar faces appearing from the pages of the comics, but they all still have the right kind of look to them. Whether they’re based in folklore or in mutated animals, these Hellboy villains feel like they’re in the right place.

In terms of actual gameplay, it’s a little ironic to see how influenced Hellboy: Web of Wyrd is by 2020’s Hades, which can largely be credited with igniting interest in the roguelike subgenre for the mainstream. Hades offered players a slew of customizable options and upgrades, meaning that their “runs” in the game could be vastly different each time based on not only the procedurally generated levels but in how they choose to play the game. Hellboy: Web of Wyrd however has very few options by comparison. Ahead of each run, three different side arms and three different charms are at your disposal, plus a handful of different blessings (upgrades) that can be applied to them as you venture further into the Wyrd. 

Like other roguelikes Hellboy: Web of Wyrd rewards players for continued playthroughs, allowing you to upgrade not only your weapons and charms but your health, toughness, and other key character components. The various levels that players find themselves in however become tedious after the handful of attempts it takes to really get the hang of it all, resulting in gameplay that feels repetitive, and seldom in a fun way. 

At times while playing Hellboy: Web of Wyrd, the AI will just not engage with the player at all, standing around like they’ve forgotten their purpose, sometimes even walking about as if they’ve misplaced their wallet. This is nice of them as it will give players the opportunity to reload their gun, but when you engage in eight or nine battles just like this before getting to the boss fight of a level the boredom may already have begun to set in. There’s also the matter of figuring out the meta of the game, which charms and weapons work best with which blessings, but with so few options the trial and error of what works the best can be figured out quickly, taking a lot of the wind out of the fights’ sails.

Take all that and add to it that by the time it feels like your run is just getting started, your upgrades coming together and your plan for how to tackle all fights, the levels are over. You’re back to square one, and it’s time to start a different level. Eventually, about nine or ten hours into the game, you get to a point where Hellboy: Web of Wyrd will finally let you go on an extended run. When this happens you can make your way through a version of all the levels combined into one, but the apparent trade off for giving this to you is that each level’s bosses are now nowhere to be found. As a result, yes you can go on a longer run with the most powerful version of your character that you’ve ever had, but now most of the challenge is gone and the real thing that made each level so unique is now gone.

Combat in Hellboy: Web of Wyrd is the majority of the game, which goes hand in hand with the customization aspects of players’ builds for each run. There’s also a hint of exploration, as the levels change every time you play them. New paths are forged and new thresholds are present, which at least gives the forced replayability some freshness. This can also result in frustrating moments, though, as the game might give you two different places that need to be unlocked by keys, but only one key will spawn in the entire level. When given the choice of backtracking to look for new paths or items you may have missed, the exploration side of the game becomes a walking simulator and feels nothing like an investigation that Hellboy would find himself a part of.

It goes without saying that the late Lance Reddick was an undeniable talent on screen and as a voice actor. With Hellboy: Web of Wyrd however, Reddick takes on the voice of the title hero, and sadly, it’s another element that will pull you out of the action. Reddick’s line readings largely just sound like him, no different in terms of delivery or voice than The Wire’s Cedric Daniels or Fringe’s Phillip Broyles. Some instances, largely when he’s in a major action beat and speaking through gritted teeth, will really sound like an actual Hellboy performance, but mostly you’re just going to hear Lance reading some fun lines. It’s all another instance of the game’s repetitive nature if you’re going to hear Reddick say the same things over and over and over, prepare to hear “This definitely looks like a key of some sort,” like only Lance could say it, about 1,000 times. 

Hellboy: Web of Wyrd has spurts of fun to be found in its gameplay, which is held up by the grand visual aesthetics at the heart of it all. If the game didn’t look like a living Hellboy comic it wouldn’t be engaging, but that alone cannot save it from the repetitive and slow gameplay that sits at the heart of the entire thing. Luckily Hellboy: Web of Wyrd looks good and it has a story that feels authentic to its character. In the end though, it’s also a very short game, and by the time you complete it all and are then allowed to do long runs with more customization options…you may have had your fill. 

Rating: 3 out of 5

Hellboy: Web of Wyrd is available now on PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series S & X, and Nintendo Switch. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on PC.

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For nearly two decades, Nintendo has had a system with Mario games; 3D games like Super Mario Odyssey would take risks and deliver new experiences, while 2D games like New Super Mario Bros. U would adhere closely to the formula established in the ’80s. Those 2D games were undeniably well crafted, but they never felt as revolutionary as the games that inspired them. Enter Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the first wholly new 2D Mario game in more than a decade. The Nintendo Switch game feels like a much-needed revolution, and the result might even be the best 2D Mario game ever. 

New Worlds and New Concepts

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Mario and friends have traveled to the Flower Kingdom. Shortly after they arrive, Bowser comes along, merging with the kingdom’s castle and sending the inhabitants into panic. Without hesitation, Mario and his crew set off to take on Bowser and restore peace. As players start out, they’ll quickly notice that the world map is a bit less rigid than past Mario games. Instead of constantly following a straight line between courses, world maps have some areas where the player can move around and freely choose between them, similar to Super Mario 3D World. Every course in the game has an assigned star level that can be seen from the map, offering an idea of its difficulty level. If one seems too tough, players can often avoid it and select a different course instead. To progress to the next world, players must collect enough Wonder Seeds to unlock the final stage. Each course has at least two Seeds, so players can easily obtain enough without completing every course in the world. After completing the campaign, I was astounded to discover that I hadn’t even found multiple courses from the first world.

While players can skip past quite a few courses in the game, most probably won’t want to. The game’s Wonder Flowers play a big part in that. With the exception of special courses like KO Arenas or Search Party areas, every course has a Wonder Flower to discover, and each one drastically changes the course in ways that players are going to want to experience. Sometimes, Wonder Flowers change the player into a Goomba, while others will make the Warp Pipes come to life. Wonder Flower effects rarely repeat, and since they offer a way to get a Wonder Seed in each level, they’re always worth seeking out. 

What’s amazing about Super Mario Bros. Wonder is just how much thought and care has been put into every single course. Each one feels different from the last, and the game never stops throwing original ideas and concepts at the player. The platforming genre often results in games that are too difficult to actually enjoy, which was one of my gripes with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Super Mario Bros. Wonder strikes a perfect balance between fun and challenging; players who like a challenge will have no problem finding one, and there are plenty of courses that require perfect platforming prowess. However, the game has plenty of courses that can be enjoyed by players of all skill levels. 

New Enemies and New Powers

Over the last 38 years, the Mario franchise has added a number of iconic enemies, including the Koopalings, Chargin’ Chuck, and Monty Moles, though many of these enemies have been abandoned in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. While familiar enemies like Bowser Jr. and the Piranha Plants are back, they’ve been joined by a massive number of new opponents. New enemies like Skedaddlers, Outmaways, and Bloomps have been added to the world of Nintendo, and having new enemies to learn the powers and patterns of adds to the game’s overall feeling of newness. 

Fortunately, Mario and friends have new abilities to take down their opponents. The game introduces power-ups like the Bubble Flower and Elephant Fruit. While Elephant Mario has gotten a lot of attention based on his excellent design, the Bubble Flower quickly became one of my favorite power-ups thanks to its versatility; it fires projectiles like the Fire Flower, but the bubbles can pass through objects and also work like platforms. In addition to power-ups, players can also use Badges, which are one of the biggest new features in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Badges are unlocked throughout the game, and players can equip one at a time. Action Badges change the player’s abilities, while Boost Badges can make things a little bit easier. For example, the Grappling Vine Badge lets Mario shoot a vine that can be used like a grappling hook, while the Safety Bounce Badge can save the player from a fall. 

An Animated Adventure

One of the most stark differences between New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario Bros. Wonder is in the presentation. While the game is not technically based on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Super Mario Bros. Wonder director Takashi Tezuka set out to make Mario’s movements feel similar to an animated film, and the results are incredibly impressive. The heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom are more expressive than they’ve ever been, and even enemies that have been around since 1985 like Goombas and Koopa Troopas look livelier. The world in Super Mario Bros. Wonder makes previous 2D Mario games feel absolutely static by comparison.

Adding to this animated feel is the game’s sound. The majority of the cast doesn’t talk very much, and the voices are basically on par with what players have come to expect from Mario games. New Mario actor Kevin Afghani does a perfect job replicating the voice popularized by Charles Martinet, and most casual fans won’t even notice a difference. While Mario isn’t any chattier, the game’s Talking Flowers more than live up to their name, with multiple lines in every level. Whether they’re reacting to changes brought on by the Wonder Flowers or cheering on the player, they inject the game with a huge dose of humor. 

As great as the voice work is, the music is even better. Super Mario Bros. Wonder has a number of new and returning tracks that perfectly add to the atmosphere of the Flower Kingdom. That’s to be expected from the series, but there are also rhythm-themed courses and areas where music plays a major part in the gameplay. Without spoiling anything, the game has some musical moments that players will be discussing for years to come. 

Playable Characters

Mario’s crew has gotten fairly large over the years, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder gives players the chance to select from 12 heroes spanning the franchise. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Daisy, and Toadette all control the same, so players can freely select whichever one they personally prefer. However, younger or more inexperienced players can choose Yoshi, Red Yoshi, Yellow Yoshi, Light-Blue Yoshi, or Nabbit, who won’t take any damage from enemies. 

The trade-off with the Yoshis and Nabbit is that they don’t get to use Badges or power-ups. The inclusion of these easier characters is a welcome one, but I found myself wishing that at least one of the Yoshis played a little more traditionally. Knowing that they made the game easier, I mostly avoided using them, but I still found myself wanting to. That’s largely because the game’s developers did a great job incorporating the Yoshis into the game, as they have their trademark moves from games like Yoshi’s Island: they can flutter jump, eat enemies, and spit seeds after devouring Melon Piranha Plants. In local multiplayer, standard characters can even hitch a ride on Yoshis. So much thought was put into bringing these characters to life, yet I just wish there was an option that allowed them to take hits. 

Speaking of multiplayer, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has multiple options to choose from. Locally, up to four players can enjoy the game, but there are also new online options. Players can compete in course races with one another, attempting to get to the end flag before anyone else. When playing online, players can also see shadows of online players, and even help them out if they get turned into “ghosts.” After testing out these modes with other reviewers, I found that the races are pretty fun, but the online options don’t seem like much to write home about when compared to local multiplayer. 

Everything Old is New Again

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is about as close to perfection as it gets for a 2D Mario game. While the New Super Mario Bros. games were fun, they never felt like they had their own distinct identity, the way we saw with classic Mario games like Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is dripping with creativity and personality in every facet. The game has set a new high bar for future Mario titles, offering an adventure that can stand with the very best games on Nintendo Switch. Nearly 40 years after the original Super Mario Bros., Nintendo has come along once again to prove that no one does the platforming genre better. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is set to release October 20th, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch OLED. 

The post Super Mario Bros. Wonder Review: A Mario Masterpiece appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is finally here and it’s a bigger, better sequel in almost every single way. Although it comes with some caveats, Insomniac Games continues to prove it understands Spider-Man across both gameplay and story. There are few developers capable of giving this much depth to a character that has been around for this long and had this many stories, but Insomniac finds a way to make it all feel fresh.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 brings Peter Parker back into the fold with Miles Morales at his side. The two heroes are taking on New York’s challenges together and they face their toughest battle yet in this massive sequel. The likes of Kraven the Hunter, Venom, and many others all put our trusty web-slingers to the test physically and emotionally in ways that are sure to surprise fans.

The Evil Within

One of the reasons I love Spider-Man is that he’s human, flaws and all. He is everything that is good in humanity, but is also able to exercise our worst parts as well on rare occasions. Spider-Man can fail at saving those closest to him and can fail at maintaining his morals.. He is not some picturesque hero who never does anything wrong, and that’s precisely why he’s the best hero. He can succumb to something destructive or revel in a loss for a moment, but he will bounce back and become stronger for it. Spider-Man is a character that shows it’s ok to fail, to make mistakes, and that no one is perfect.

Insomniac Games understands this incredibly well and gives us a Peter Parker who is fresh off the death of Aunt May, still processing his way forward with no immediate blood relatives surrounding him. Parker is now stuck with May’s massive mortgage and all of her belongings, unable to cope as he believes it would mean letting go or moving on from her. He also risks losing his best friend, Harry Osborn, who has re-entered his life after being gone for years and is dying of an unspecified illness. As teased in the first game, Harry has been using an alien substance known as a symbiote to treat his disease, but given it is otherworldly, no one totally understands what kind of side effects it may have. Peter is eventually consumed by the alien goo and although it makes him stronger, it brings out a lot of the negative emotions he has likely tried to bury and gives us a more morally gray Spider-Man.

Once Peter gets acclimated to his new suit, the once-quippy character is now totally devoid of his cheesy jokes and feels like he could explode in rage at any given moment. There is a theme across the whole game that everyone contains this monster within them – we just need something to bring it out of us. Peter gets this with the black suit, Dr. Connors with the Lizard, the person who later becomes Venom (no spoilers) gets it from the symbiote, and even Miles in some capacity as he contends with this thirst for revenge/justice against Martin Li. That duality is at the center of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 with a battle for the souls of both of our heroes as the evil forces at play try to bring the worst out of both Miles and Peter.

Both of them find themselves working through their issues more or less on their own without success. It is only when they come together that they’re able to conquer their demons and triumph. We see both of them feel the crippling weight of self-doubt, only to realize that everyone needs help, including Spider-Man. 

Combat Evolved

Marvel’s Spider-Man had some of the best superhero gameplay we’d seen since the Batman Arkham games. It was a remarkable starting point, and Insomniac Games has built upon that foundation to create quite possibly the most satisfying and immersive superhero experience in gaming. The biggest addition is, of course, the black suit. We’ve seen the black suit in numerous Spider-Man games like Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Spider-Man 3, Ultimate Spider-Man, and many more. They all have their own take on how this should function in gameplay, but Insomniac taps into that power in all kinds of satisfying ways in this game.

You have a handful of symbiote abilities, some of which can be seen in gameplay previews, that allow you to be more powerful than Spider-Man could otherwise ever be. Of course, on a narrative level, it has its negative effects on Peter. On a gameplay level, you probably won’t want to stop using it which may actually help you empathize with Peter’s inability to shake it. Some of these abilities allow you to punch people with a giant, forceful symbiote blob, grab a large group of enemies with tentacles and slam them into the ground, or even propel yourself toward enemies and fling them into walls while they’re covered in symbiote goo. You feel the extra aggression behind Peter’s punches and kicks when it’s enhanced by the suit. The violence in the game becomes a little less gleeful and more primal. It’s a noticeable gameplay difference that brilliantly blends together with the story.

Beyond the symbiote powers, Insomniac Games has found other ways to streamline combat. Previously, you had a gadget wheel that allowed you to slow down combat and switch to different gadgets. It was a bit disruptive to the flow of gameplay, but Insomniac has completely removed it in favor of four simple gadgets that are bound to R1 + one of the face buttons on the controller. It gets rid of the gadgets that people probably didn’t use as much or at the very least, meshes them together with other ones via skill upgrades. It makes a world of difference and keeps things feeling smooth and simultaneously frenetic.

Combat does get pretty chaotic, too. The side crimes have been vastly improved to be more dynamic. You may be fighting some arsonists in the streets, and then all of a sudden, Kraven’s hunters will show up with their own unique tools and weaponry to try and fight you. Now, it’s become a three-way battle. Sometimes it won’t stop there, either. I have seen every single faction of enemies participating in one big battle, and it’s truly something to behold. Cleaning it up is no easy task, but thankfully, the other Spider-Man will sometimes swing in to try and help you restore peace. Although it appears you can’t force Peter and Miles to meet up in the open world by repeatedly switching to them and taking them to the same location like in GTA V, you will sometimes see the other web-slinger come and provide help to you during open world crimes. It’s completely random, but it does spice things up and allows you to celebrate together with a short animation once you have saved the day.

Insomniac has done a lot to make the combat feel familiar and immediately understandable to the players of the previous games. However, they have also gone above and beyond to not just refine it, but actively evolve it so that the already-euphoric combat feels fresh and electrifying.

Even Mary Jane Watson has gotten an upgrade. Yes, those Mary Jane stealth missions make a return, but it’s clear Insomniac listened to the criticisms of them. Now, she can taser enemies and do stealth takedowns. Her having a weapon also means that if you’re spotted, you don’t immediately fail either. I really didn’t enjoy her missions in the last game, but they are done sparingly here and the gameplay has been improved to make them a welcomed addition this time around.

They Fly Now

Spider-Man has the most unique method of navigating the world out of any superhero. He doesn’t technically fly, he doesn’t have a sick car (I’m not counting the Spider-Mobile), he swings from webs and occasionally glides when he has his web-wings. The traversal and web-swinging was perfect in the first game, it was hard to imagine how Insomniac Games could make it much better, but somehow, they did it! 

It is clear the power of the PS5’s SSD has given Insomniac the ability to make Spider-Man feel faster. You can zip through New York City at breakneck speeds, sometimes to the point of it almost being a bit difficult to handle with grace. Nevertheless, being able to load the game’s map extremely quickly has allowed Insomniac the chance to really expand how Spider-Man can move from place to place. On top of your traditional web-swinging and acrobatics, you can also now slingshot yourself. A new skill allows you to place yourself in the center of two webs and launch yourself into the air, giving you a bunch of momentum. There are even designated slingshot launch pads around the city that give you extra power and can launch you across bodies of water so you can quickly move between Manhattan and Queens with ease without giving up control. 

If you’re trying to clean up collectibles or side missions, you can also fast travel to wherever you want on the map instantaneously. You can be on one side of the map and highlight wherever you want to teleport to and you will immediately be swinging in that new area. It’s really impressive what Insomniac has pulled off with the PS5’s tech and is like nothing I have seen before in a game of this scale.

It’s furthered by the new web-wings which allow you to glide across the city. It’s some of the best flying that’s ever been in a game and when combined with the web-swinging, makes for the most engaging and satisfying traversal in a superhero game. The speed you get from going into a wind tunnel and then exiting it by pulling up on the stick, sending Spidey soaring into the New York City skyline never gets old.

There are also special skills that allow you to use some of Miles and Peters’ gadgets/abilities to propel yourself further and higher into the air, which can be useful for those who want to get some extra acceleration and height before activating the web-wings. If you’re one of those people who likes to get creative with the traversal and try to use tricks or go as fast as possible, you will have a field day with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. There are so many ways to get around now beyond simply swinging like a pendulum. 

Not Without Flaws

While there is a lot to praise this game for, there are some issues. The story of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 suffers from some of the problems of other jam-packed Spider-Man media like Spider-Man 3 or The Amazing Spider-Man 2. That’s not to say it is anywhere close to as flawed as those two films, but it does share the issue of being very overstuffed. We have the black suit arc, Kraven the Hunter, Venom, the Osborn family continuing to evolve, Miles’ arc, and a lot more. There’s plenty going on here and Insomniac Games wants to accomplish it all in 31 missions across roughly 15 – 17 hours.

That is a lot more time than a movie has, but Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 strangely feels like it takes a while to really kick into gear. After an explosive opening sequence, we spend a lot of time with Peter, Miles, and Harry kind of just vibing while Kraven’s story slowly unfolds. The story could probably be told in under 20 hours, but because Insomniac spends a quarter of the game’s length without moving the needle forward much, it leads to big moments later in the game feeling a bit undercooked or rushed. They’re not bad, and I wouldn’t even say all of the big beats are unearned, but some of the most important ones lack the overpowering emotional punch of something like Aunt May’s death or the heartbreak of Peter seeing his mentor be overtaken by evil in the first game.

For as much advertising as PlayStation put behind Venom, he’s not in the game for that long. The Marvel monster still has a massive impact on this story, but Kraven definitely feels more like the central antagonist. However, we also deal more with his goons than him across the game. Perhaps this is a case of Insomniac not wanting to make us have multiple boss fights with a main villain, but the boss fights that are in the game are very long and drawn out as is. They probably would’ve been better utilized if they were scattered throughout the game rather than turned into one big long sequence with multiple stages for each villain.

That’s not to say Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has a bad story – it’s far from it. It still has incredible characters and explosive moments that are sure to delight hardcore and casual fans and possibly even get you a bit misty-eyed. The problem is, it’s just not as tightly or neatly told as the first game resulting in some of Spider-Man’s most iconic storylines lacking an emotional catharsis.

The Sensational Spider-Men

Surprisingly, Insomniac makes up for the main story lacking some emotional juice with some stellar side content. The side quests in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, like many other returning elements, are a marked improvement over its predecessors. While you’ll still find yourself tracking down members of Spidey’s rouge’s gallery and dismantling their various operations, the side content that really shines are the ones that aren’t really about beating people to a pulp. There are various missions in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 that remind you why the web-head is known as the “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.” He’s a man of the people, and despite the fact he swings above their heads at high speeds, he will stop and speak with an average joe. 

One mission revolves around helping a man grieve the loss of his wife and come to terms with the fragility that is life. It’s pretty heavy, but Spider-Man sits down on a park bench and has a simple conversation with him. There are no punches to be thrown, no big car chases – it’s just someone looking for an ear to talk into and the person who listens just so happens to be Spidey. Spider-Man doesn’t just nod quietly, he also asks questions and engages. They talk about love and how powerful it is. These moments highlight the empathy that Spider-Man possesses, that inner humanity and kindness that makes him a cut above many other heroes. One of Spider-Man’s greatest powers is his heart, and there are multiple missions that showcase this in the game.

Spider-Man is such a fantastic hero because he will fight until his last breath to save the world, but he will also be there to comfort someone in a very intimate, personal time of need. Peter Parker and Miles Morales may have superpowers, but these kinds of missions show that they can make an impact without them, and what better message is there than that?

Ultimately, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 captures the essence of the character on a micro and macro level. We get big, epic set pieces infused with personal stakes, spectacular combat, the amazing web-swinging that every kid dreams of, and a story that tests Miles Morales and Peter Parker on both physical and mental levels. While it isn’t without its flaws, Spider-Man 2 is a sensational follow-up to the previous games and yet another winner for PlayStation players.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will release on October 20th for PS5. A review copy was provided by PlayStation.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The post Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Review: The Spectacular Spider-Men appeared first on ComicBook.com.

FromSoftware has changed the video game landscape with its difficult entries such as Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring to name a few. Developed by Hexworks, Lords of the Fallen is a follow-up to the 2013 release of the same name, but it’s clear that the creators have gone bigger and more “metal” with the new entry. Keeping this new stylish aesthetic in mind, does Lords of the Fallen improve on its past entry and become a worthy entry in the ever-expanding market that is “Soulsborne games”? 

If you’ve played a game like Dark Souls before, you know what you’re in for with Lords of the Fallen, but if you haven’t, allow us to break down what’s in store. In this third-person action game, you’ll need to use a combination of strength and skill to parry, block, and dodge your way through crude and gruesome enemies that fill the land of Axiom. Chosen as the next Umbral lamp bearer, you find yourself switching between two realities as you work your way through nefarious hordes to stop the demonic march of the villainous Adyr.

Lords of the Fallen has quite a few staples that helped to make FromSoftware’s Souls games so popular. At the start, you’ll have the option of choosing between quite a few classes that will differ in numerous attributes. If you’re a player who relies on brute strength to bludgeon your way past enemies, you might lean more toward Warwolf. If you want to cast magical spells to rely on sorcery to traverse through Axiom, then a Preacher might be the way to go. There’s certainly variety to be found in your class and appearance customization before even stepping foot into the Soulsborne entry.

The game also grants you quite a few mechanics when it comes to your lantern, allowing you to perform tricks like “Soul Flaying” when facing down enemies. There’s a certain satisfaction you can get when you rip out an enemy’s soul and then begin striking it with a weapon as their physical body tries to play catch-up. The mechanics can seem a tad overwhelming at the start, but once it begins to click, Lords of the Fallen finds a groove but can still be weighed down by the gameplay mechanics that can come across as stiff. 

Like other Dark Souls-like titles out there, enemies can make or break the game. Unfortunately, Lords of the Fallen tends to stumble here a bit as many of the regular enemies can feel repetitive, and while the boss opponents can have some startling designs, they don’t have the mechanics that could make them truly memorable. While some have truly gnarly designs to match their environments, you might walk away feeling as though some of the grunts are showing up a bit too frequently. 

When it comes to the general gameplay of Lords of the Fallen, it unfortunately tends to fall a little flat in comparison to FromSoftware’s well-tuned playstyles. Quite a few times during my game, I found myself never even checking my stamina, and if you’re an old hat when it comes to environments like The Lands Between or Yharnam, this might come across as a shock. I often felt as though my blows weren’t as precise as they could be and moving your burly protagonist doesn’t feel as heavy as it should. The gameplay itself is serviceable but it could have used some fine-tuning. Since “Soulsborne” games are so reliant on their gameplay, it makes for a big knock against the overall experience. I also ran into some big technical issues such as stuttering during gameplay and cutscenes as I attempted to further explore Axiom’s gruesome locales. 

Where Lords of the Fallen truly shines is the worlds of Axiom and Umbral. Thanks to the lamp that you’re carrying, a player has the ability to traverse between two realities that are overlapping one another throughout the entirety of the dark journey. Both environments are stunningly gorgeous, cranking up the “heavy metal” vibes whether you’re traversing through the spiritual realm or the material one. You’ll want to take in as much as you can when it comes to these gruesome aesthetics, as you warp between worlds similar to Raziel in the Legacy of Kain series. 

Ultimately, Lords of the Fallen is a good enough “Soulsborne” entry, but a number of its technical issues and gameplay foibles stop it from being truly great. 

Rating: 3 out of 5

Lords of the Fallen was reviewed primarily on the PlayStation 5 with a code provided by the publisher. 

The post Lords of the Fallen Review: A Soulsborne by Any Other Name appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Detective Pikachu Returns is a muffled and monotonous sequel to the quirky 2016 Detective Pikachu video game that struggles to keep pace with the rapidly evolving world of Pokemon and ultimately is one of the least-engaging Pokemon games in quite some time, at least for adults. When the original Detective Pikachu game came out in 2016, the series won praise for its quirky lead character and depiction of a lived-in Pokemon world, leading to a relatively quick live-action adaptation just three years later. But while Ryme City and Detective Pikachu seemed ripe for a foray into other media, there was shockingly little buzz when Creatures Inc. (best known as the makers of the Pokemon Trading Card Game) announced a sequel game a few years later. Part of that was that the original Detective Pikachu video game wasn’t really … compelling to adults once you looked past the memeworthy main character. The mysteries were straightforward to solve and almost always involved interacting with every character, the puzzles were simple (even for a Pokamon game), and the only characters with any real personality were the Pokemon themselves. 

Unfortunately, all those criticisms extend to Detective Pikachu Returns. While billed as a mystery game, it’s more of a “collect information by speaking to various NPCs and then regurgitating that information in various interactive menus” game. Despite Detective Pikachu’s so-called “bolts of brilliance,” players are led to Point A to Point B to Point C in every mystery in straightforward fashion, with the characters, the menu, and even the HUD screen telling you where to go and what to do next. Occasionally, players will be asked to mash a single button or time a button push correctly to progress the storyline during action sequences, but there’s seemingly no consequence for failure. Even the occasional search for clues is hilariously easy to solve, as players are presented with a static screen and a cursor that changes when there’s something to interact with. For a grown-up, the game is mind-numbingly easy to work through and the linear approach to the game (even the NPC side-quests can mostly be boiled down to “find this Pokemon/person and interact with them) makes chapters a drudge to play through. 

New to Detective Pikachu Returns is the ability to “team up” with certain Pokemon to clear either obstacles or help solve mysteries. Growlithe can visualize scent trails, Galarian Darmanitan can punch through objects, and Luxray can see through walls. While it’s marginally more fun when Pikachu is paired up with a Pokemon instead of his personalityless partner Tim if only because you can actually “hear” the Pokemon speak instead of receive Pikachu’s interpretations, the individual chapters and locations are far too small to really do anything interesting with the new mechanics. While Ryme City was depicted as a vibrant world in the movie, it’s limited to a handful of crime scenes and a few side alleys in the new game.

While the original Detective Pikachu game had some charm for its use of interesting Pokemon who rarely appear outside of battle sequences and for fully depicting a world where both Pokemon and people co-exist side-by-side, that charm has largely been passed by simply because the newer Pokemon games (Pokemon Sword and Shield and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet) depict the Pokemon world in much the same way. With every Nintendo Switch Pokemon game showcasing a much larger Pokemon world in the same way that Detective Pikachu originally did, the game mostly relies on the charm of Detective Pikachu himself (who is still voiced by the fantastic Kaiji Tang) to get by. Sadly, there’s no other characters in the game that exhibit anywhere close to the same charm, which I feel would have gone a long way in making the game a bit more enjoyable. It’s a shame that the villains are perhaps the most memorable part about Detective Pikachu Returns outside of Detective Pikachu himself, as the game would have benefitted from some stronger personality.

As much as I was bored by Detective Pikachu Returns, playing the game in a house full of children helped provide a different perspective to the game. I found the mysteries tedious and linear, but my 8-year old son ate up the storylines, shouting out answers to questions, gasping at very telegraphed twists, and cackling at Detective Pikachu’s shenanigans. It was about halfway through the second chapter of Detective Pikachu Returns that I realized that this wasn’t really a game meant for adults. It’s a Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game made for 8-year-old Pokemon fans who might be a little too young to enjoy a full-sized Pokemon game. While I probably would have preferred a Pokemon game that involved a bit more deductive reasoning, testing basic memory skills and training attention to detail are probably perfect skills for a younger Pokemon fan to enjoy. Even my two toddlers seemed to get a lot more joy out of Detective Pikachu Returns than I did, which firmly signaled that I was not the intended demographic for the game series. 

Unless you’re a Poke-Fanatic or a young child, Detective Pikachu Returns probably won’t hold very much for you. Detective Pikachu is still a joy to watch, but his shenanigans are hardly worth the $50 price tag. However, I think that this game would be a great fit for younger Pokemon fans who aren’t looking for deep multi-layered mysteries. As much as I wished that Detective Pikachu Returns had a stronger storyline, Detective Pikachu still has plenty of charm and the kids seem to enjoy his shenanigans as much as they did during his movie.

Review Score: 2.5 out of 5

Detective Pikachu Returns was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch OLED. A review copy was provided by Nintendo.

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The phrase “identity crisis” has long been tossed around when it comes to Ubisoft’s acclaimed and dependable Assassin’s Creed series. Gone were the days of slow-and-steady stalks with assassinations largely replaced by brawls and beatdowns fueled not by patience but by gear scores. With Assassin’s Creed Mirage, a new mantra was put forward to counter the identity crisis – returning to the series’ roots, a commitment that replaced the suggestions and solutions the community continually put forward with hurrahs of the nostalgic Assassin’s Creed experience instead.

After playing games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and even Far Cry 6 which is from a far different series that adopts a distinctly similar RPG formula as of late, I too was in Camp Good Old Days. Excited to see what Mirage had to offer, I soon found myself confused (and slightly embarrassed) to realize how much I missed the bloat of Valhalla, Origins, Odyssey, and others that’d strayed from the path. It delivers on its promises for the most part, but after getting accustomed to the new take on the series, it’s difficult at times to shake the feeling that there’s just not that much to do in Mirage.

Not that much to do in the sense of newness, however, which I suppose is the tradeoff when asking for a return to how things used to be. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is familiar to a fault in that it certainly does feel like a game you would’ve played 10 or so years ago, for better or worse. Parkour still feels weighty and clumsy at times despite the swiftness the assassins boast with Basim continually running up ledgeless walls or taking accidental leaps off of precipices. Animations for stealth kills similarly feel dated in Mirage whether from above or below or anything in between. Ironically enough, the best combat animations come from using the swords and parrying daggers your acquire through quests and exploration which is the very combat method the game tries so hard to steer you away from despite arming you to the teeth should you ever want Basim to be a glass cannon.

Fast-paced, loud combat still works in Mirage, but only to a degree, and not in a fulfilling way. Enemies flash red when a heavy attack is coming that must be dodged and flash yellow when an attack can be parried. For many of the usual grunts, one parry is enough to crack their defenses and lead to an instakill, though that’s not the case with elite enemies and the like. Still, the windows of both defensive moves are so forgiving that getting caught out is more likely to make you want to reload out of being frustrated you were discovered as opposed to knowing a hard fight awaits. If you cast off the roleplaying element of Mirage and don’t fret about wanted levels or hoards of enemies, Mirage is pretty easy.

But when you do lean into the playstyle Mirage asks of you, the one that longtime Assassin’s Creed fans have been pining for, you start to see some of the initial appeal of the series. Upon investigating suspected members of the Order by unearthing clues via infiltration and assassination, you work your way towards the climax of taking down one of those big bads yourself. This usually entails a heavily guarded compound with multiple options presented to players: bribe these people to temporarily support your efforts, instigate a quarrel between some hotheaded NPCs to cause a commotion, or pick your way through locked rooms till you know who you’re looking for. Like other stealth-focused games, these sequences are dreams come true for perfectionists. With the option to save your game (seemingly) disabled whenever you’re in a restricted area in Mirage, these more involved escapades are playgrounds for self-imposed rules and opportunities to beat personal bests.

Even if some of the fetch quests and searches for countless chests do feel a bit monotonous outside of the slow-paced stealth segments, Baghdad really is a wonderful setting for an Assassin’s Creed game. The music, architecture, and bustling spaces will make you want to walk amongst the people as much as you do atop roofs and stretches of rope. Basim makes for an excellent protagonist as well in the sense that he truly feels like a man of the people at times, someone who has others’ best interests in mind with a background to show for it. In a game that’s all about killing, Basim provides an honest and thoughtful perspective on events without sounding overly virtuous and inspirational for the sake of standing apart.

Perhaps it comes from being tainted by the RPG-style Assassin’s Creed games, but even when tallying Mirage’s successes, the thought creeps in that the game doesn’t always have quite enough to keep players engaged in a fulfilling way. Because of that, Mirage may not be the course correction that many were hoping for – it certainly doesn’t feel like the solution to Assassin’s Creed’s identity crisis, but it could be a start or at least an indication that both styles of the series can coexist with one another instead of only getting one or the other.

Score: 3.5/5

Assassin’s Creed Mirage was reviewed primarily on the PC platform with a code provided by the publisher.

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EA Sports FC 24 was supposed to be an evolution of the series. Electronic Arts finally split from the FIFA license, saying that it would open them up to be more innovative with EA FC 24. The Ultimate Team developers even introduced the concept of Evolutions to the card-collecting mode. Don’t be tricked by that shiny new name on the front of the box, though. Unless you’re a hardcore player, this is the same game you’ve been playing for the last several seasons.

That’s likely not a surprise for most. After all, players love to call yearly sports games a “roster update.” And that’s largely true for EA Sports FC 24 unless you’re deep into the weeds on how the game functions. For example, Manager Career has added the ability to drill down into your team’s tactics, even letting you hire assistant coaches for specific positions to improve your team’s training. It’s not as robust as Football Manager, but it’s a solid addition for players looking to immerse themselves as the manager of their favorite club.

At the end of the day, I would bet the majority of players barely interact with that system. Sure, your team won’t be quite as good without proper training, but you don’t have to do it. Most players want to build a team through transfers and win titles. They don’t really care that Becky Hightower will get their mid-field coaching an extra boost over George Stanfield. Player Career is similar in that you now have an Agent giving you objectives to get your next contract, but they’re all things you’d be doing anyway. Sure, for the players that do care, these are neat systems, but they’re far from an evolution of the game.

PlayStyles Are The Only Real “Evolution” in EAFC 24

The closest thing to a proper step forward for EA Sports FC 24 is the new PlayStyles system. While the gameplay is mostly similar to the previous year (dribbling and passing do feel a bit better at launch), the PlayStyles let the best players separate themselves from the pack. Think of these as upgraded Traits from FIFA 23. 

There are 34 total PlayStyles available and they all also have an upgraded PlayStyle+. Importantly, when a PlayStyle activates, you’ll see a small icon pop up on your screen showing you that it’s working. This teaches when and how they work in-game, giving you the information you need to best deploy them. I was quickly able to start noticing the difference in how players performed when they had different traits. For example, Chelsea’s Thiago Silva comes with the Anticipate PlayStyle and after seeing that raccoon icon pop up several times in a match, I learned that I could trust Silva to break up just about anything my opponent could throw at me.

What will be very interesting to pay attention to over the coming weeks and months is how PlayStyles evolve. Especially if you’re an Ultimate Team player, you know that EA is also dropping new cards into the game. When we get to Team of the Year time, are we going to see demi-gods that boast several PlayStyles+ traits? Like Thanos, will Team of the Season Kylian Mbappe become an impossible-to-stop titan of the gridiron? We see it happen in other sports games like NBA 2K24 by the end of the year, and we may see it hit EA Sports FC 24.

Ultimate Team’s New Flourishes Don’t Make Up For Bad Servers

Speaking of Ultimate Team, that’s the mode everyone cares about, and it’s received some upgrades. Personally, I love the new menu system, but I know many players don’t agree with me. Evolutions have the potential to be very cool for anyone playing on a budget, though there’s just as much of a chance EA monetizes them in several ridiculous ways. We already have our first paid Evolution at launch, so any worries are certainly warranted. It’s also been fun to see so many players embrace EAFC having both men and women on the pitch at the same time. Being able to run an attack that includes Erling Haaland and Trinity Rodman has been a blast. There are plenty of other things to talk about, but they largely don’t matter because the glaring problems with the mode remain the same.

EA Sports has long had server issues with its FIFA series, and that’s no different this year. Not only have I been knocked out of games even in early access but I’ve straight-up lost Objective progress at times. There’s nothing more annoying than hopping on to play a game or two and complete your dailies only for them not to count. Maybe I wouldn’t be that upset about it if this were a smaller game, but EA Sports FC 24 is massive, and EA is making money hand over foot. The fact that we can have $30 untradeable packs in the store during early access, but we still don’t have good servers is becoming laughable. 

I suppose that’s the crux of my review of EA Sports FC 24. Is it a fine representation of the sport with tons of stuff to do? Sure. Does it feel like EA is investing its money in good gameplay, modes, and servers? Absolutely not. Look, EA has long made it clear that the way it’s going to make a soccer game players want to play is by buying licenses. Good gameplay and compelling modes matter to some degree, but EA’s tactic is to get all the real-world players you care about and lock them away from competitors as much as it can. Everything else is fighting for scraps financially outside of the Ultimate Team card art department. And it’s working. 

That continues to be disappointing as someone who loves soccer and wants a game that’s consistently fun to play. EA FC 24 is great in spurts, but everything feels so by the numbers that it’s impossible to recommend if you’ve been sticking with the series through the FIFA years. Like most sports games these days, I’d recommend buying every three or four entries and maybe putting on some parental locks in Ultimate Team so you don’t waste your money. Trust me, you can compete with the rest of us weekend warriors without dropping hundreds of dollars. And who knows, maybe next year EAFC will finally go from okay to great again.

Score: 3/5

EA Sports FC 24 was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 console courtesy of a review copy provided by the publisher. The game was released on September 22 across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms.     

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Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and the free Update 2.0, have made me really like a game that I previously hated – something I suspect will happen to a lot of other people in the coming weeks. Phantom Liberty takes us back to Night City and places us back in the middle of Cyberpunk 2077‘s core story. V’s Relic is still killing him and Johnny Silverhand is once again along to provide some fun color commentary. This time, however, you’re not getting up to any criminal hijinks. A ship carrying the President of the New United States has been hacked and forced to crash land in Night City’s slums, a district known as Dogtown. V is then contacted by a secret agent working with the President and is told to rescue her from the crash and keep her safe if V wants to live, all while Dogtown’s warlord leader Kurt Hansen begins a manhunt for the President.

Despite the fact I had issues with the original Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red almost always delivers on its story and characters, and Phantom Liberty is no exception. It’s a pretty high-stakes story, and one that opens with a bang. CD Projekt Red wastes no time in flexing its showmanship with a bombastic set piece that feels like it belongs in a Modern Warfare 2 campaign mission. From there, you’re plunged into a world of espionage as you become involved in a larger FIA (Federal Intelligence Agency) operation which is a sharp contrast to the criminal escapades you’re more familiar with. You quickly realize that this is a job that requires you to be cold, unemotional, and logical in order to succeed as things like empathy are a weakness.

Mission Impossible

The first third of Phantom Liberty is explosive and has the vibe of something akin to a Bourne film which makes for a really strong impression. By priming the story with so much energy out the gate, it felt much more engaging than the vast majority of Cyberpunk 2077‘s main story. However, I was surprised how quickly that changed. The President plotline is resolved way faster than I expected and it happens off-screen. The story continues to unravel other plotlines established early on, but it comes at the cost of killing the momentum of the story. The main quest slows down too much and takes a while before it picks itself back up. If Phantom Liberty didn’t have such a big, loud opening, it probably would’ve been easier to handle, but it ended giving me some whiplash. It also doesn’t help that the game instructs you to go do three side missions in order to progress the main quest around this time which seems to largely be for padding the length. Once it regains its footing, however, it becomes one of CD Projekt Red’s expansions to date.

In the last half, you are properly enveloped into the world of spies and get to experience all of the tropes that genre contains with a Cyberpunk twist. You’re going to big extravagant, dangerous parties while undercover, pulling off heists, utilizing disguises, and more. It’s a blend of classic James Bond and Mission: Impossible moments, even letting you lightly flirt with people you need to get information from. Spy stories aren’t just about the big action or the gadgets – and Phantom Liberty does have all of that – it’s also about those tense dialogue scenes that feel like verbal minefields. Any wrong thing you say could blow your cover and destroy the entire operation, making a simple conversation feel as dangerous as any gun fight you’ll get into.

One of the best quests in Phantom Liberty has you donning a Mission: Impossible-esque mask of another person’s face. Before you go in, you’re given a file on the person you’re posing as and are told to remember specific details from the dossier (i.e. they don’t indulge in substance abuse). As you put on this act, you’ll have to sustain the facade by remembering these micro details so you don’t seem too out of the ordinary to those who know the real person.

New Friends

You’ll be working with the likes of Reed (played by Idris Elba), Alex, and Songbird in order to complete your elusive operation. All of these characters continue to highlight CD Projekt Red’s strong writing skills as they’re all very different from each other, despite the fact that they’re close colleagues. Each one comes with their own baggage, ulterior motives, and it’s pretty likely you’ll never fully trust any of them. They are veteran spies, after all. All three of these characters are haunted by what their job has asked of them, the consequences of carrying out those commands, and the thankless nature of it all. For some characters that may not return after Phantom Liberty, they’re extraordinarily fleshed out, and you’re given multiple moments to connect with them and understand them. 

Given Cyberpunk 2077 is filled with so much action and pizzaz , it’s really impressive that CDPR has the awareness to slow things down sometimes and allow you to have a heart-to-heart with a character on a couch or at a bar counter. Everyone from Johnny to Songbird gets a moment like this, and they’re all increasingly thoughtful and meditative moments that also makes you feel very conflicted about some of the choices you’re going to have to inevitably make. There are several conversations about soldiers being abandoned by their country after risking their life and the price of war on its survivors. None of it comes across as overly preachy either; it all feels nuanced and puts you in the headspace of your layered companions.

Illusion of Choice

An element that divided fans about Cyberpunk 2077 was how linear it could feel. For an RPG, players expect the ability to guide the story in different ways based on their decisions. However, the base game really only had a few paths and a lot of the branching stops once you finish act 1 of the game. Phantom Liberty feels kind of the same in that sense; it’s pretty linear up to a point. There appears to be two major branching paths which will change your story quite a bit and the game makes it glaringly obvious when that decision is going to be made, but it doesn’t feel like you’re given a ton of choices that significantly alter the story. There are smaller choices to be made, but nothing that will probably make an impact that makes you think “Wow, I wonder how different things would have been had I done X instead.”

However, just like the base game, the side quests do allow you to utilize more choice. There are a plethora of side quests in Phantom Liberty, and they are once again best in class. As you’d hope, they shine a light on some of the wackiest characters in Night City (particularly Dogtown) and let you decide their fates. One of the more bizarre side stories I stumbled upon was a man who was convinced their Braindance had become reality. Unfortunately, instead of this being something really cool, they became convinced that they were a pop star. It’s on you to help them break free of this or you can help the entranced man’s partner make contact with the real pop star for a collab, allowing everyone to make some money in an unethical way.

Cyberpunk 2077 Redeemed

A good expansion should show you a new side of a world you’re already familiar with as opposed to just giving you more of the same. Phantom Liberty does that with exceedingly flying colors. By marrying the spy genre with Cyberpunk’s world, CD Projekt Red gets to offer players a fun detour that also layers this universe with rich new characters and stories.

While some of Cyberpunk 2077‘s issues still linger, and the new content isn’t without its own flaws, CD Projekt Red has done a commendable job at making me like a game I previously had disdain for. Phantom Liberty continues to prove CD Projekt Red has a deft hand for high-quality storytelling and has now shown it can provide strong RPG gameplay to match. As CD Projekt Red moves on to the next Cyberpunk game, it has a strong foundation to build off of which should hopefully result in a noticeably improved sequel should all the right lessons continue to be learned.

Score: 4 out of 5

A review copy of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty was provided by the publisher for this review. The review was conducted on PC.

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Mortal Kombat is a franchise that’s no stranger to reinvention, and in fact NetherRealm revived the franchise in massive way with a reboot in both idea and practice. Ever since Mortal Kombat (2011) reintroduced the bloody fighter to the modern era, the series has been finding ways to surprise fans more with each new entry. That title also introduced the idea of rebooting within its own story’s timeline, and has since rebooted its own story a couple of more times since. Mortal Kombat 1 is yet another reboot following the events of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, and it’s the freshest take on Mortal Kombat overall that fans new and old will be able to experience. 

Mortal Kombat 1 is not entirely starting from square one, however, as it’s taken lessons from the way the older titles progressed and improved on them to make for one of the best fighters in the franchise yet. “Klassic” characters have been reinvented, fighting has been tuned up, and there’s a cool new story at the center of it all that rewards fans who have been following closely since the 2011 entry without turning away new players. In many ways, Mortal Kombat 1 is the perfect title to jump in with if it’s been a while since you’ve used a Fatality. In many others, it’s also catering to those who dedicate themselves to sticking around for the long haul. 

Mortal Kombat 1 starts over, but doesn’t reinvent the wheel. NetherRealm has made sure to deliver the kinds of mainstay experiences fans of the recent Mortal Kombat titles have come to expect, and excels in these classic features. There’s a cinematic story mode once again, and it’s honestly the best the story has been in the series in a long time. Improvements in visual fidelity in both character and environment design make for an incredible cinematic experience. Lasting for a few hours and allowing new players to get a feel for much of the roster throughout, the story picks up from when Fire God Liu Kang took control of time and reset the timeline into a version of the universe he saw fit.

Liu Kang has since become the new protector of Earthrealm, and recruits champions to take on Outworld in a new tournament that’s far different from the “Mortal Kombat” that he had experienced in his previous timelines. This results in brand new takes on all of the returning characters. Those potentially disappointed in the lack of brand new characters in the starting roster (bolstering an impressive spread of 22 playable fighters right from the jump) will appreciate that each of these returning characters feels fresh and new thanks to that rebooted timeline. The story has allowed NetherRealm to rework the roster with new tricks of the trade, and their new origins lead to more compelling characters overall. 

For example the Tarkatans are no longer beings from another realm, but instead people of Outworld who suffer from the “Tarkat” disease. It’s made characters like Baraka and Mileena not only more compelling in the story, but changes some of their tricks in the gameplay as well. Mileena now sprouts the same Tarkatan spikes from her wrists in some of her moves, and Baraka’s combos feel steadier and more precise rather than the brutally wild swings he had before. Each character has changed in significant ways, but the core of their previous appearances and gameplay are still intact.

As for the way it plays itself, Mortal Kombat 1 is brutal as the franchise ever was. Attacks land hard, but dash speed and distance has been slowed a bit. This makes dealing with projectiles tough, but thankfully that’s likely not going to be too much of an issue this time around like other NetherRealm titles. Mortal Kombat 1 is built with close quarters combat in mind. Combo strings are easier to pull off that ever before, and the timing for follow up button presses feels more forgiving than ever. It passes the button masher test where even someone with less experience can soon find themselves chaining together special moves with ease. 

It’s the kind of system that can be a bit unforgiving in more high octane play as you might find yourself on the receiving end on a very long, damaging combo, but it’s a high-risk yet high-reward system where you could be dealing those combos as well. Thankfully there is a lengthy tutorial available that eases fans into the more intricate systems. The big difference for Mortal Kombat 1′s fighting, however, is the addition of Kameo Fighters. Mortal Kombat 11 had this Konsumable system where you could temporarily call out an ally for a quick attack to help, and the Kameo Fighters seem to be an evolved version of this idea. 

Along with picking your character, you’ll need to choose a Kameo Fighter (who each come with their own Fatalities and unlockable palette swaps) to fight by your side but it’s not like a tagging system where you control both. Working under a special meter, pressing the trigger (R1 in the PlayStation 5’s case) calls out your Kameo to assist you with a move. There are varied button presses to change up a particular assist, and the other player can even interrupt their attack by hitting them before they complete their chosen attack. Kameos open up fighting to all sorts of possibilities, and this will be where a ton of the fun from now on will be. 

Players will want to experiment with as many combinations as they can get their hands on, and when combining with the easier combos to pull off, the Kameos are the funnest introduction to the franchise in some time. Everything’s been streamlined to focus on the pugilistic gameplay, so there are no interactibles to throw either. There’s also a wealth of customization and unlockable elements to strive for as well. Gear is all cosmetic (as of this writing), and unlocks at random intervals when playing each mode but focusing on a particular fighter will help you unlock their various goodies faster. 

Simply playing the game will unlock things as there’s an overall Profile Mastery to level up which leads to new elements such as more Kameo Fighters (who can also unlock their own additional colors the more you use them and increase Mastery), gear and more. Then there’s a specific Mastery for each character that will then unlock more palettes, Brutalities, and more gameplay specific additions. It feels less random than it has been in the past, and thankfully carries through to no matter what mode you decide to play. And there are quite a few. 

Along with the Klassic Towers (which is the standard arcade mode), online offerings that include Ranked and Kasual (which will really be put to the test over the coming weeks), the main draw for single players outside of the story is the new Invasions mode. Unlike the random Challenge Towers in the past (and replacing The Krypt seen in previous titles), Invasions is a fully expanded, role-playing game kind of experience. Refreshing every 50 days or so for each seasonal offering, Invasions features its own story and tasks players with moving across a board game kind of set up. Advancing through the areas (known as Mesas) tasks players with taking on various fights. 

The switch up here, however, is that you are free to select any character at any time. Characters have certain elemental traits that can deal more damage to others, or take more damage from them. Winning fights levels up your overall Invasions level (which levels up every character at the same time), and earn skill points to buff up for more additional health, attack, and more. The chaos of fights seen in past Challenge Towers is here in full too, so each fight will vary. There is quite a grind, however, as each Mesa seems to rotate the same few fighters. This grind feeling kicks in even harder when you unlock the same kind of Secret Fights throughout too. 

At one point in Invasions I was trying to work through a four fight arcade ladder (which featured the same four fighters I had been clearing out through the rest of this particular Mesa), and it unlocked a Secret Fight against the same Havik each time. So the seemingly four fight task quickly turned into seven fight task where I fought the same characters over and over. While the grind will be lasting for longer in this mode than in previous titles (as dedicated players could pretty much grind the Krypt relatively quickly), the prolonged experience isn’t always better. 

Mortal Kombat 1 is a fun start to an exciting new era for the long running franchise. There are some sticking points that will likely need to be ironed out in future entries, however. The combo heavy fighting style is very satisfying to play when you’re dishing it out, but will definitely make it less appealing to newcomers who could be on the receiving end. Invasions mode is great for playing alone, but that grind feeling will likely sink in sooner rather than later. Kameo Fighters are a fantastic addition, but customization for them isn’t as deep yet. 

With all of that being said, Mortal Kombat 1 is still very much a bloody and brutal good time with tons of rewards for digging deep into it. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Mortal Kombat 1 is now available on Early Access for those who have the Premium or Kollector’s Edition, and releases on September 19th for those with the Standard Edition on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X/S. A review copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

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NBA 2K24 is a very hard game to give a single review score to. Like many sports games, there are several different modes to play, all of which have their fans, but the 2K series feels like the game where all of those modes are so different from each other that putting them all in the same bucket is nearly impossible. An NBA 2K24 review simply can’t be all things to all people, so I think it’s important to explain what I look for from the series before digging into the review. If you want the same things as me, this review will probably be very helpful. And if you want to know how to become a Park dribble god, you’re better off looking somewhere else.

I put in around 1,200 hours into NBA 2K23. The bulk of that time was spent in either MyTeam or MyGM. I did play through about a season of MyCareer, but 2K’s player-locked modes don’t really appeal to what I like about basketball. I want to play as the full team, not just sit in the corner waiting for my chance to brick a three in The City. 

NBA 2K24‘s Gameplay Improvements Are Welcome

Before we get into modes though, it makes sense to talk about the actual on-court gameplay. Things will likely change over the next few weeks as 2K updates the game with patches (another reason sports game reviews can only help your purchasing decision so much), but I quite like what I’ve been playing so far.

Sure, there’s nothing game-changing in NBA 2K24, but the addition of Pro Play has led to less “floaty” gameplay. Because 2K is taking animations directly from real-world NBA games, I haven’t seen nearly as many players sliding into position so far this year. On top of that, shooting is much more forgiving. Even on Superstar difficulty, I was routinely draining shots I probably would’ve missed last year. 

This goes the opposite way too though. If you search for clips on Reddit or Twitter, you’ll see players routinely drilling half-court shots if they have the Limitless Range badge in Park. 2K may nerf that a bit in the coming days as “in the gym” range really isn’t supposed to mean you can hit shots from halfcourt at a 50% or higher success rate. 2K24 is supposed to be fun, but that’s getting a little ridiculous. 

All of that said, the differences between 2K24‘s gameplay and 2K23 are pretty small. For example, the AI guards Triangle cuts more effectively, but most casual players are barely going to notice. If you’re looking for 2K24 to take a big step forward on the court, this isn’t the year.

MyCareer Gets You into Games Faster But at a Steeper Cost

While I’ve tried out every mode in NBA 2K24, I wouldn’t put too much stock into my opinions on MyCareer or The City. Simply said, I don’t play either enough to be able to explain to you the intricacies that make the modes what they are. That said, I do think 2K has done a good job in cutting out a lot of the fluff in MyCareer to get you into NBA games quickly. You’re no longer running around The City between games completing quests. You can do that if you want, but if you just want to hoop, you can.

Of course, one of MyCareer and The City’s biggest problems remains how full of microtransactions it is. I think the issue is far more egregious in other modes, which I’ll speak about below, but to get my character from 60 OVR to 85 would cost me around $50. Maxing him would likely cost $100 or more for a single build. You can earn the Virtual Currency needed to boost your player by playing NBA 2K24, but it’s going to take a long time before you’re competitive without spending extra money. In a $70 game, it continues to feel very close to a scam.

On top of that, the mode can feel unpolished at times, particularly in regards to the “story” you’re crafting in MyCareer. As you play through NBA games, you’ll often be sent videos from other players and celebrities commenting on the game you just played. After each of my first three games, Mark Cuban sent me a video saying how incredible my debut game was. It’s like they prepped three videos based on whether you completed separate objectives, and because I completed them all in the first game, they just kept sending me Cuban videos. It’s a small thing, but stuff like that added up to a product that feels like developer Visual Concepts did enough to say they changed things while still getting your money.

Microtransactions Are King in NBA 2K24 MyTeam

That feels even more true in MyTeam where microtransactions are king. The mode is supposed to let you build your own dream team of NBA stars from the past and present, but if you aren’t paying hundreds of dollars, your team is going to look more like the United States 2004 Olympics team instead. 

Whether or not that’s a bad thing is largely up to what you like to do. Because of my, at times, spotty internet connection and need to pause games without ruining someone else’s day, I spend the bulk of my time offline in MyTeam. Even without spending money, I’m dominating Superstar and Hall of Fame AI relatively easily, but the second I hop online against players who are spending money, I’m going to get creamed.

Personally, that doesn’t really bug me. The way I play means I don’t feel like I need to spend money to win games, though it’s perfectly valid to feel that way if you’re an online player. NBA 2K24 has also gotten rid of the Auction House in favor of a 2K-controlled Player Market, and anyone trying to compete on a budget is going to struggle unless they’re very good at the game. MyTeam is still fun to play, but it could quickly come off the rails as we progress through the year and players become more expensive. If you’re a MyTeam player, I would definitely suggest hopping in now and getting your fill before you’re priced out of the competition.

NBA 2K24‘s Secondary Modes Have Room to Grow

The last two modes most players are interested in are Mamba Moments and MyGM. The Kobe Bryant-centric mode is fun to go through once, but there’s no reason to dive back in. At best, you’re looking at a few hours where you get to play through the Mamba’s illustrious career. Like the Jordan Challenge, it’s neat to see 2K incorporate history into the mode, and the Mamba Moments has several exclusive animations that really bring the story to life. 

On the MyGM side, there aren’t too many changes worth mentioning. Having the option to play MyGM Lite and take out a lot of intricacies of the NBA’s complex trade and contract rules is great for more casual players, but it really does feel like 2K is missing out on the chance to blow out the mode from a historical context. Being able to jump back into the league’s history and relive the 80s, 90s, 00s, and 10s is incredible, but Visual Concepts only added one new era this year. I would love to see them dig even deeper and let players check out the 60s and 70s. After all, who doesn’t want to add Steph Curry to the 1975 Warriors and see how he performs without a three-point line? Or drop Victor Wembenyama back in the 60s to see how he stacks up against Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell? Last year, the mode felt so refreshing, but now we need 2K to give us even more to play with.

And that’s the thing with NBA 2K24 as a whole. I really like the on-court action and think most of the modes have cool ideas, but everything is being brought down by an abundance of microtransactions. Sure, they’ve been there for years, but this year something feels different. I’m not saying you should skip NBA 2K24, just go in with your eyes fully open. If you’re someone who can’t control their purchasing decisions, 2K will use every trick in the book to tempt you. For me, that’s not really an issue, and I’m a fan of 2K24 because of it, but it’s absolutely something everyone needs to ask themselves before diving in.

Grade: 3 out of 5

NBA 2K24 was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 console courtesy of a review copy provided by the publisher. The game was released on September 8 across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms.     

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There is a saying about farming sims: for plenty of fans, it seems if you have played one such game then you’ve played them all. The genre has been around for decades, and Harvest Moon set the standard with its lovely graphics and various quests. The explosion of cozy sims has only made it harder for games in the genre to stand out though titles like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley stand out. Now, Fae Farm has launched with hopes to join those games’ rank, but we’re sad to say the fantastical title misses the mark.

Now don’t get me wrong. Phoenix Lab put its noses to the ground while making Fae Farm. The charming game has everything you’d expect from a cozy farming sim. Players find their cute character washed up on a magical fairy island, and they’re tasked with bringing it back to life. From fishing to farming and raising livestock, Fae Farm has all the essentials needed in a farming sim. The problem with Fae Farm isn’t in the features it has but in what it lacks.

To be blunt, the appeal of Fae Farm for me was rooted in its fantasy lens. There are cute nods to magic as you can scour dungeon-lite areas with a magic wand, and you can craft magical furniture for yourself that gives you buffs in game. However, I wanted more from Fae Farm‘s fantasy world. As the main player, your character is not a fairy, and it takes quite some time to unlock any inherent magical boosts for yourself. Asides from scattered tools in the wild, Fae Farm didn’t utilize its fantasy setting to its fullest, and that letdown was hard to face.

It almost must be said that Fae Farm doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to farming sims. Its mechanics are extraordinarily easy, so longtime players of sims may get bored. While its fantasy world is worth exploring thoroughly, there is little to keep fans coming back for more in terms of challenge. Even its quest routes are fairly straightforward, but for gamers who prefer mellow farming sims, Fae Farm fits the bill.

Though unambitious, Fae Farm is still a very enjoyable farming sim. It does miss the mark with its fantasy elements, but the game nails its core mission. Players are invited to revive a downtrodden world just like we’ve seen in previous sim legends. With a distinct art style in town, Fae Farm has a robust system in place for farming, gathering, and decorating. What its NPCs lack in variety is made up for in crop types. It is a solid investment for cozy sim fiends in need of a new time sink. But if you’re looking for novel farming sim for your collection, Fae Farm is not the title you’re looking for.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Want to know more about Fae Farm? The game is available now on the Nintendo Switch. Got questions about the fantasy farming simulator? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. 

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It’s hard to dispute that a game and/or game series is popular when it is able to spawn its own genre. Such is undoubtedly the case with FromSoftware’s “Soulsborne” games, which includes Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. Lies of P doesn’t hide the fact that it takes heavy influence from these entries, placing the puppet protagonist into a bleak scenario meant to cause players headaches in its overall difficulty. Luckily, Neowiz Games and Round8 Studio clearly brought their A-game when it came to this dark masterpiece, weaving a tale that stands toe-to-toe with the From entries it was based on. 

The city of Krat was once a steampunk utopia, populated with a mixture of human citizens and the mechanical servants that served them. Due to mysterious circumstances, the puppets have turned on their masters and have unleashed a torrent of death and destruction. Stepping into the shoes of a very new take on Pinocchio, players are asked to navigate their way through what remains of Krat, experiencing horrors and colorful characters that line the city streets. 

To start, Lies of P is absolutely dripping with atmosphere. Krat is a beautiful environment to explore, despite its horrific condition. While it’s clear that this new “Soulsborne-like” entry is taking several pages from Bloodborne, the game is able to differentiate itself more often than not across the board. Instead of relying on the werewolves, Eldritch horrors, and countless supernatural threats of Yharnam, Krat drops disjointed puppets along P’s path and is able to show just how creepy these robots gone awry can be. From its boss fights to its more mundane regular enemies, each design works fantastically to set the stage and show just how terrifying this world’s predicament is. Facing down former puppets dressed as butlers who have oil leaking from every orifice or giant mechanical monstrosities wandering a sewer is more than enough to make any player tread with caution.

Of course, like so many other Soulsborne games, Lies of P is a difficult endeavor wherein players will routinely face down a boss and need to learn their pattern to deliver a finishing blow. Luckily, players have more than enough upgrade options, weapon choices, “P Organs,” and gameplay variety to surmount any challenge. At the start of the game, you are given the option of three standard weapons, but later, you are able to discover weapons that are blessed with elemental statuses while finding numerous materials to upgrade your arsenal. You are also able to mix and match handles and blades to accommodate your play style in the face of the robotic hordes to the tune of a hundred options, allowing you to craft the puppet of your choosing.  

The secret sauce of the FromSoftware games is rewarding your due diligence in learning an environment, learning more about your opponents’ attacks, and preparing your play style and arsenal accordingly. Such is true with Lies of P as I never found myself facing down a threat that I knew I couldn’t beat by taking a different approach and forming the proper strategy. You will die A LOT in this game, but those are deaths well-earned, and the reward for defeating a mechanical behemoth feels all the better for it. The game also allows you to add “Spectres” to your boss battles, a.k.a. unearthly figures that are able to lend you a hand if a boss is giving you too much trouble. 

Lies of P’s map layouts and environments are some of the game’s best highlights, weaving in progression organically to your journey. Whether it be through the discovery of a secret elevator, connecting pipes to create a makeshift bridge, and/or stumbling upon ladders to cut down on your path, it’s an ingenious way to progress. Luckily the aesthetic of the game and taking in the sights means you’ll be dying to explore the nooks and crannies that are a part of Krat, never feeling as though retreading an old path is a chore.

Unfortunately, you don’t have the ability to customize your Pinocchio’s full appearance, though you have a fair share of outfits and masks to choose from. Whereas you can create your own avatar in the Souls series, here, your puppet will have a standard appearance with a Timothee Chalamet-style. It’s a minor quibble in the face of a masterpiece. 

The biggest weakness of Lies of P is also one of its biggest strengths in that it perhaps is too much like Bloodborne. If you had told me this was a sequel to the hunters’ story of Yharnam, I would have believed you. The story of this Pinocchio feels like the spiritual successor of Bloodborne and claims the crown for the best Soulsborne-like game that I’ve played to date. If you’re not a fan of FromSoftware’s catalog of punishing entries, Lies of P is not the game you’re looking for. Where Pinocchio’s game perhaps differs the most is that the story is straightforward in its plot points, and while there are mysteries to solve, there isn’t that same sense of ambiguity that you’ll find in the likes of Dark Souls and Elden Ring, for example. 

In a year that is fit to bursting with Game of the Year contenders, Lies of P grabs you by the throat and demands that you place it on the list. This feels like the spiritual successor to Bloodborne, and if you had sold this as a sequel to the FromSoftware story, you could get away with it. If you’re a fan of Soulsborne and want to add a spice of rewarding difficulty to your gaming career, you must check out Lies of P.

Score: 4.5/5

Lies of P will release on September 19th and will be available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.A PlayStation 5 digital copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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During my time with Starfield, I’ve gotten lost in caves and abandoned research facilities for no real reason at all, only to come out much richer with off-the-books “quests” completed and a more fleshed-out world to show for it. I’ve also gone up against more bullet sponges than I care to recall, with some enemies floating away comically in a low-gravity environment after a single smack while others soaked up shotgun shells like their spacesuits were as alien as some of the lifeforms you’ll come across. Across those journeys, I’ve experienced the highs and lows of companionship, such as finding the perfect crewmate only for them to end up abandoned when they returned home bugged and unable to speak. Suffice it to say, Bethesda is definitely back.

Back, sure, but is Starfield better than what’s come before it? Is it better than The Elder Scrolls or Fallout, to the point that it needs to be its own series? It doesn’t have to be better to be successful, and it’s still the compelling Bethesda RPG people have been waiting for, but it ultimately doesn’t make any great strides to advance Bethesda’s already-strong legacy.

Wide-Open Spaces

I haven’t beaten Starfield’s main story yet, but then again, games like Starfield and Skyrim and Fallout 3 aren’t really made to be “beaten” anyway. They’re meant to get lost in, to be played for hundreds of hours over time, and to find something new in every playthrough that wasn’t present in the last. So, in favor of the main narrative, I ventured out on my own as soon as possible, just as many players will, to see what Starfield’s hyped-up planets had in store.

The first one I landed on may as well not even have had a name because of how little there was on it. Surveying for flora, fauna, and other resources with a hand scanner kept me busy between points of interest that consisted of caves, natural structures built up over who knows how many years, and an occasional scuffle with pirates who’d holed up in abandoned buildings. A relatively lukewarm experience overall, but one where the freedom to do that at any point I wanted was appreciated.

After getting too antsy to bring 100% of the planet’s survey (by Starfield’s metrics of surveying a planet, not traveling it all on foot), I set off to a neighboring planet to see what it boasted. It was much of the same. A passive creature battling with a more aggressive one, minerals to stash in a cargo hold, and a settlement that needed my help.

After seeing those, it made sense why Bethesda tempered expectations for the 1,000s of planets in Starfield by reminding players that life isn’t all that prevalent out in the big unknown. That’s understandable, but what was disappointing about the exploration was finding exact repeats of points of interest on planets with nothing to do upon visiting them except to check a location off your list and grab some medium-tier loot for your troubles. Imagine the irony of looking through three caves empty of all life only to find some semi-rare minerals and a literal dung pile that had some odd loot in it.

Following the Stars

So, that exploration tactic didn’t work too well, but what did work was following a loosely guided tour of the cosmos by choosing sidequests that took you to one or two specific planets or mega-cities and branching out from there like a starry spiderweb. It kept me more tethered in my explorations with a hub area to return to and offload my treasures and kept me from feeling like the next planet I threw a dart at would be a bust as well.

To Bethesda’s credit, its cities have always been high points of its games, and the same was true for Starfield. Neon was a favorite of mine, a planet that I gravitated towards right from the start after picking a background trait that made it so that my character called Neon home. A gritty mix of Cyberpunk 2077 and Fallout where gangs vie for control of the city, megacorps compete for your money, and bounty hunters solemnly survey the streets is a roleplayer’s paradise and was a hub I found myself returning to again and again for repeat quests and commerce. Annoyingly enough, Starfield’s local maps aren’t very helpful at all, but the streets and vendors of Neon and other notable settlements like the Old West-style Akila City quickly became committed to memory.

The journey to these planets is another story entirely. Starfield’s balance between fantasy and realism means that traveling from one planet to the next takes a really, really, really long time to the point that no reasonable person would choose to do that for a playthrough unless it was a self-imposed challenge, so fast-traveling is the way to go. Unfortunately, that very quickly leads you to a pitfall that other series like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls could avoid by making players travel on foot for the most part. Starfield rapidly ends up being a game of fast-traveling from one point to the next, a tactic that’s hard to ignore when “show on map” takes you to your destination in a few seconds flat. The vastness of Starfield certainly allows for plenty of options, but in doing so, it struggles to make the world feel interconnected in a way beyond visiting one spaceport after another.

The Future of Combat

Where combat’s concerned, Starfield again finds itself torn between the fantasy of exploring space and grounding itself in what’s known and what’s assumed. I went into Starfield with hopes of crafting a melee-oriented build outfitted with a futuristic whopping-stick that’d put Fallout’s Super Sledges to shame and found only excruciatingly boring melee weapons. Swords, knives, and other bladed armaments made up the bulk of my finds – scrolling through vendors’ inventories often ended in a sigh after finding nothing to benefit my build. To make things worse, Starfield has no melee mods – only random modifiers found on melee weapons out in the wild, but nothing you can control yourself.

Guns are a different story, to a degree. There are particle-beam weapons and electromagnetic blasters and mods where you can set your weapon to be non-lethal for some creative combat options, but I ironically found myself gravitating towards the “Old Earth” weapons like shotguns and hunting rifles, again leaning into the roleplaying aspect of Starfield. Some of those weapons just felt right to me while others who invest more heavily in the scientific weaponry skills will find the pew-pews are more their speed, and that’s something that Starfield supports throughout. Some weapons do more damage while in space versus while you’re on a planet, some do more against humans than aliens and vice versa, and others deal random elemental damage. Starfield’s got options for pretty much every build as long as you’re not leaning toward melee. Jetpacks only enhance those builds – there’s not been one moment in Starfield’s combat that wasn’t improved with a jetpack.

As for the space combat, there’s unfortunately not much to speak of. It’s perfectly fine but has no wow factor, and aside from the dizzying options when building a ship, it’s perfectly serviceable considering how this is something people would never typically associate with Bethesda. Like many parts of Starfield, it’s clunky and slow in the beginning, but after investing a few points in the techier side of your build, you’ll be obliterating enemy ships in no time. Despite not being terribly innovative compared to other games that have had far more experience in this area, the space combat of Starfield was something I continually looked forward to and sought out for easy experience and loot. Jumping from one star system to the next in hopes that my “Wanted” background trait would invite an encounter with a bounty hunter, only for me to disable their engines, board their ship, and take it for my own was a high point of Starfield no matter what level I was.

Parts Unknown

My opinion of Starfield is overall high despite what the many criticisms outlined here might suggest. It’s a Bethesda RPG, and even Bethesda’s middling options blow competitors out of the water when it comes to choice and freedom, so Starfield was always going to be a success. Whether it’s enough of a success to uplift Xbox and make someone buy a new console is another discussion, but Starfield itself is perfectly competent and – dare I say it – fun, and even the most frustrating moments were unable to deter me from wanting more.

Starfield itself is something totally new for Bethesda, since it’s the first new universe the company’s worked on in decades, and it’ll lean on the successes of the past to build another winning formula. A new encumberment system that penalizes your health and not your speed is an example of this evolution, but when you hear lines from medical vendors that sound, at times, identical to the phrases you’d hear nearly eight years ago in Fallout 4, it’s difficult sometimes to not feel like you’re playing a heavily modded Fallout.

If it seems like I’m being hard on the game, it’s because I (and others) expect a lot from Bethesda by now, and not all of those expectations were met. Despite all that, I still look forward to playing Starfield again. I considered starting over numerous times, not out of frustration, but because of that itch in the back of your mind that entices you to explore other builds and paths, so I look forward to seeing what those experiences look like from myself and others once more of Starfield’s mysteries are unraveled. 

Score: 4/5

A review copy of Starfield was provided by the publisher, and the game was reviewed on the PC platform.

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Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon continues to highlight all of the biggest strengths of FromSoftware as a studio. In the time since Armored Core last saw a major release back in 2013, FromSoftware has become one of the most well-known developers in the world, primarily thanks to its work on games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring. With its return to Armored Core, the studio is making quite a large departure from its most recent games. Thankfully, FromSoftware hasn’t missed a beat with AC6 and has delivered one of the best action games of 2023. 

In typical Armored Core fashion, most of the enjoyment of Fires of Rubicon relies entirely on its relatively straightforward gameplay loop. Players are tasked with creating their own mech, which they can choose to kit out in a variety of different ways. Everything from the limbs, body, head, and weapons that can be equipped on the bot can be swapped out, making for limitless permutations. Once settled on the design that you like, you’ll then embark on more bite-sized missions that usually only take about five to ten minutes to complete. 

It’s this high level of mech customization in Armored Core 6 that is one of the game’s best components. The customization system is one that seems daunting at first, but once you begin to understand what each stat category in the game does, it starts to become incredibly satisfying to create builds that specialize in various areas. Throwing together a certain mech and then taking it into a mission to see how it performs is something that I never grew tired of in my time with AC6. And even when a certain design didn’t work out as well as I hoped, it was easy to switch things around to find something that did benefit me. 

Even though I love this process of testing out various mech builds, one of the big drawbacks of Armored Core 6 I found is that certain setups seem to be far more effective than others. Fires of Rubicon encourages players to build their own mech around various parts that typically fit into a light or heavy category. If you fully index into heavy parts, you’ll create a mech that is essentially a tank. Lightweight builds, on the other hand, will turn you into a glass canon; you might be able to hit fast and hard, but taking incoming damage will lead to quick deaths. Upon reaching certain levels of Armored Core 6, though, it seemed clear to me that some specific designs didn’t work well in given situations no matter how much I tried. 

For example, one boss fight at the end of Chapter 2 in Armored Core 6 proved to give me fits for quite a long time. Even though I was content with the mech I had created up until this point, this fight quickly showed me that my character wasn’t as good as I previously thought. Even after fine-tuning some elements of this mech design, I still wasn’t able to clear the boss with the weapons and general setup that I had preferred until this mission. Eventually, I used a completely different loadout which led to me easily surpassing the boss. Still, I was a bit disappointed to see that this battle seemed to heavily encourage one playstyle over the others that AC6 offers. 

It also perhaps goes without saying, but Armored Core 6 is quite difficult, which has come to be an expectation from FromSoftware titles. Even though I didn’t find Fires of Rubicon to be as troublesome as other projects by the developer, this is a game that isn’t going to be kind to you, to say the least. There’s a lot of trial and error involved, which is something that I find enjoyable. It makes the moment in which you finally get past a major hurdle that much more rewarding. I definitely had more than one moment while playing AC6 where I screamed at my TV in jubilation after clearing a fight that had been giving me struggles. 

Above all else, the element of Armored Core 6 where I think the game truly shines is in its mech vs. mech battles. These engagements occur quite a bit over the course of the Fires of Rubicon story mode, but there’s also a dedicated “Arena” mode that will have you climbing a ladder and fighting off competing pilots one on one. These bouts were excellent not only because of how fast-paced they are, but they gave me different ideas for how I could assemble mechs of my own. Getting a look at designs you wouldn’t have previously thought of continued to foster more creativity of my own the next time I went back to my mech’s Assembly menu. 

Despite having so much praise for the gameplay mechanics of Armored Core 6, I personally didn’t jive with its story. Compared to the environmental storytelling seen throughout FromSoftware’s Soulslike games, Armored Core 6 tells a more direct narrative that features consistent dialogue. My major problem with what’s seen in Fires of Rubicon, though, is that all of the characters you “meet” are simply disembodied voices. Missions begin in AC6 with the protagonist receiving mission orders from a given handler. Afterward, this same handler debriefs the character before it’s on to the next mission. The voice acting in Armored Core 6 is quite strong, which makes its throughline story at least a bit more compelling. Still, I felt like the narrative was more often than not told at arm’s length, which led to me simply not caring as much. 

As someone who had no prior exposure to Armored Core ahead of Fires of Rubicon, I am both surprised and delighted by how much I have enjoyed this game. Even when shifting to a slightly different genre, FromSoftware has once again asserted that it has a firm grasp on what it takes to make a thrilling and mechanically engaging action experience through and through. This might not be my own favorite FromSoftware game to date, but it’s without a doubt worth checking out, regardless of how familiar you might be with Armored Core. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is available now across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. A digital copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. 

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As I stated in my review in progress, Madden NFL 24 feels bloated even if the actual content on offer isn’t much more expansive than last year’s version. Instead, it feels like the real-world NFL product that become increasingly stuffed with commercials, making it a much less watchable product. Sure, the on-field action is maybe the most exciting it’s ever been, but when you’re waiting for minutes between each play, it becomes too easy to check out and start looking at your phone. Madden NFL 24 feels the same, except in this case, it’s not commercials you’re looking at. It’s loading screens.

Look, I’m the type of player who spends time stopping down after each play to watch how my slot receiver blocked the nickel corner. I’ll pause the game and go to slow-mo to see if the middle linebacker’s arms actually wrap in a natural way when he goes for a big wrap tackle. In short, all of the changes to foundational football were essentially made for someone like me. And, for the most part, I think this part of Madden NFL 24 is better than it’s been in years. Is it perfect? Not even close! Would I even say it’s good? Probably not, but as the only football game on the market it is serviceable.

You’re not getting a product that simulates football particularly well, but it does play Madden decently. What I mean by that is that if you’re already into Madden, this edition is fine. If you’ve been checked out for years, expect to see most of the things that you hated previously. I’m talking about players not blocking for seemingly no reason (though blocking in general, is better), quarterbacks who can’t throw a proper fade, and AI on both sides of the ball that makes questionable decisions far too often. Yes, things like route running and pass break-ups feel much more natural, but even then, I started to notice weird warping the more I played. 

I hate to assume, but if my previous experience with the franchise tells me anything, that last part will only get worse the more I play. That’s traditionally the case with Madden. The more you play, the more you start to notice the weird inconsistencies in gameplay. Effectively, if you’re a power user, your experience is almost always going to be worse than a more casual player who isn’t paying nearly as much attention and just wants to have some fun with their friends.

All of that said, I really love the direction the on-field action is going. Again, it’s good at its best, but far from what I’m personally looking for in a football sim. But the fact is that Madden is fun to play if you don’t dig too deep into the intricacies of the game. Which is why what I said at the top is so disappointing. 

If Madden NFL 24 played as poorly as it did in the last few years, it wouldn’t really matter much that everything around it is broken because I wouldn’t care. Unfortunately, I do want to keep playing, but Madden 24 doesn’t seem to want me to. Let’s just begin with Madden Ultimate Team, the game’s main money-maker. I don’t even have to tell you that it’s loaded with problematic microtransactions because it doesn’t matter. MUT has even bigger problems that need fixing before you’d ever bother looking at the MUT Points screen. The menus in the mode are so broken, that I can’t imagine why you would want to stick around. Navigating to the objective menu takes so long and is so obtuse that I immediately bounced off. Keep in mind that I’m the kind of power user who often spends a significant amount of money in Ultimate Team modes. But Madden 24‘s version of the mode feels so bad to navigate that I have no interest in even trying to continue.

Things don’t get much better in other modes. This year, the team brought back Superstar Mode, but it’s been neutered quite a bit from its golden era. For one, you’re restricted to only being able to play as a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, middle linebacker, and cornerback. That likely satisfies most players, but as someone who played defensive end in high school, it was disappointing to not be able to relive my very limited glory days.

Taking things a step further is how shallow the mode feels. I’m not expecting a full story mode like we got with Longshot, but the limited narrative is essentially pointless. I was also unable to find an option for changing my off-field gear, which seems weird given how much time EA spent creating in-game gear for your Superstar to spend real-world money on. It’s not a deal-breaker, but all of this adds up to a mode that feels like a sideshow that’s not worth your time unless you’re just really into being position-locked.

Similarly, Superstar Showdown, the updated version of The Yard, continues to feel mostly pointless. I found it a bit more fun than The Yard because you get more one-on-one matchups across the field, but if EA wants to make arcade fans happy, they just need to do a full remake of NFL Street. This half-measure has never been satisfying for anyone and it’s hard to see why EA keeps trying.

Franchise mode, for its part, feels like most of the same to me, though it’s important to note that I’m not someone who spends a ton of time playing it year-to-year. That said, I think the changes to the draft are neat and give you more interesting classes. I also like being able to immediately relocate a team to my home state and finally give Oklahoma a pro football team, but that’s a minimal positive in a sea of strange decisions.

Here’s the thing though, I know that this review is coming off very harshly and I think Madden NFL 24 deserves it. However, if all you want to do is load up a game and play some football, this is the best the game has been in a bit. The on-field product is far from perfect, but it’s fun. That’s much more than I can say about most Maddens over the last decade. 

Rating: 2 out of 5

Madden NFL 24 was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 console courtesy of a review copy provided by the publisher. The game was released on August 15 across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms.   

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