Cobra wins as GI Joe: Operation Blackout begins. They attack an aircraft carrier, knocking out all power to the US, and in the next scene, the White House is draped in red banners. Maybe it’s a Trump thing, but not really. It’s more a vague militaristic slant, that even when top levels of government dissolve, a few men and women in the American armed forces will overtake said evil, no matter their commander.

That’s in-line with GI Joe in general, existing as a profitable extension of American military might, generous in developing identifiable personalities to sell action figures as much an ideal. In that, Operation Blackout succeeds. Also, in dredging up nostalgia for the cartoon, Operation Blackout throws back to the PlayStation 2 era with endless, confined shooting arenas that quickly thin in their appeal. It’s fine, competent too, but ultimately for-the-kids gun fetishism where those sporting American flags cannot lose. And in videogames, that can be found anywhere.

2/5