George Lucas based Star Wars’ action scenes on authentic World War II footage. It’s one of Lucas’ subtler ways to make evident the story’s allegorical fascism. Fallen Order takes that further, not in the sense of its long drawn, stifling action, rather the connective narrative tissue around Order 66. In Star Wars lore, Order 66… Continue reading Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order (PS4)
Need for Speed Heat’s concept, best guess, came from an older executive who got word that EA’s primary demographic hates cops. At that moment, Need for Speed Heat’s villain became Lt. Frank Mercer, equivalent to Spider-Man’s J. Jonah Jameson in hard personality and ego. Mercer’s face is plastered on billboards across Need for Speed Heat’s… Continue reading Need for Speed Heat (PS4)
Dan Fortesque is no hero. He’s like an office employee who does nothing yet ends up promoted by accident. It’s even worse for Fortesque – he’s just a skeleton. The joy in Medievil is how the design conveys awkwardness. That’s the joke too. It’s wonky and utterly imprecise. Fortesque doesn’t attack so much as run… Continue reading Medievil (PS4)
The Outer Worlds’ ruthless anti-corporate satire goes nowhere. It’s there, written in bold and shouted through non-subtle dialog exchanges, like when rebels wish for all corporations to die. The galaxy’s signage sticks to ’40s era, war propaganda aesthetics, but rather than calling on soldiers, they instead promote employment. The worst thing to be in Outer… Continue reading The Outer Worlds (PS4)
Ninja Saviors does not specify the country being attacked. It’s described as “once great and prosperous” and now, led by a tyrant. Enemies appear decidedly western. In the background? Rows of military hardware primed to strike. On its initial release in 1994, Ninja Saviors Return came after a wave of software championing Desert Storm. Games… Continue reading Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors (PS4)
In one of Modern Warfare’s flashbacks, Urzikstan freedom fighter Farah escapes from her town when Russians launch a gas attack. Her father killed, her older brother leading, Farah dodges soldiers as they execute people nearby. Farah is near enough to hear the shots practically point blank. Crawling under a broken wall, a child’s lifeless body… Continue reading Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (PS4)
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint seems anti-conservative. Torture bad, the narrative says. In flashbacks to Iraq, the antagonist played by Jon Bernthal is stuck in the mid-2000s, projecting Bush-era aggressiveness. He’s repulsed by those who won’t abuse prisoners. Protagonist “Nomad” keeps a firm heroic posture in story sequences. Then in-game, Nomad bashes heads in with pistols to… Continue reading Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (PS4)
Borderlands is a comical realization of two things. One is an apocalypse. Two is that apocalypse leaves only people and the American dedication to capitalism behind. Slavish dedication to money created what’s left of this planet (and others nearby in Borderlands 3). People go insane worshiping entertainers and capitalists like gods; they promise the population… Continue reading Borderlands 3 (PS4)
The Hammer of Dawn satellite super weapon is Gear 5’s equivalent to the hydrogen bombds of World War II. A visit to an outsider outpost brings derision aimed at the COG military – a small child pretends to shoot them, calling them fascists as he runs away. Later, a mission involves satellite assembly, backed by… Continue reading Gears 5 (Xbox One)
There’s truth in NBA 2K20’s story this year. When a college teammate goes down with an ACL tear and loses his sports scholarship, protagonist Che protests. “All this talk about family, but we’re really just entertainment,” he says, in backlash to the exploitative NCAA business model. If there’s a wonder why NBA 2K20 doesn’t feature… Continue reading NBA 2K20 (PS4)
