Treachery in Beatdown City doesn’t hide its raw, multi-targeted anger. Dialog satirizes inequality, capitalism, racism, gentrification, police brutality, white privilege, social media, sexism, gig economies, EULAs, protests, and more. It’s… a lot. Not that it’s wrong – any of it – but the satirical net is cast so wide, Beatdown City doesn’t land a specific… Continue reading Treachery in Beatdown City (Switch)
Retro Bowl understands Tecmo Bowl’s enduring appeal – it’s more than pixelated pro football. What matters is how the sport is distilled to its essentials, and the great moments implied through the simplicity. A bobbled catch by 8×8 pixel men doesn’t convey real world thrills, yet slight imagination turns that play into a highlight reel… Continue reading Retro Bowl (iOS)
Red Wings relies on the mythlogized aerial acrobatics of WWI – think Snoopy on his dog house, gunning down foes. It’s a notable comparison as Snoopy offers some characterization; Red Wings does not. For a war so tense, Red Wings is unusually lean, leisurely, and low stress. The moment-to-moment shooting gallery fares fine, with a… Continue reading Red Wings: Aces of the Sky (Switch)
Teams in Super Mega Baseball 3 don’t have home cities, at least in their names. Much is suggested in the stadiums though. Some squads base their operations in lower rent districts – that’s evident by the advertisers lining the warning track. Say, a lawyer service called “Bogus Docs: Creative Bookkeeping” for fields in working class… Continue reading Super Mega Baseball 3 (Xbox One)
Gears of War debuted with muscular, broad shouldered, gruff men fearlessly carrying chainsaw guns into combat. The militaristic bravado and arrogant sense of invincibility exuded American military pride, concealed (hardly) in sci-fi lore. Something happened to Gears of War though. Although conscious of loss in its first trilogy, the narrative shifted under a new development… Continue reading Gears Tactics (PC)
When brawling through Wood Oak City’s prison and police station, the level’s end comes in the commissioners office. In anger, the corrupt leader smashes his desk, revealing a hidden briefcase full of cash. Things changed for Streets of Rage. The series began with Axel, Adam, Blaze – all detectives – fighting against the criminally-infested, rotting… Continue reading Streets of Rage 4 (Xbox One)
It’s possible to see Final Fantasy VII as a Japanese cultural study. From outside, the city of Midgar, isolated on all sides, mirrors Japan’s post-war, industrial boom. The dominate color is green, the only change from winding pipe systems and smokestacks that once defined the country’s polluted skylines. At the core though is something entirely… Continue reading Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)
There’s a breathlessness to Resident Evil 3, a genuine urgency to cure Raccoon City of its corporately-induced infection (released by the ludicrously unethical Umbrella Corp.). Everything about Resident Evil 3 surges, desperately pushing toward the solution – a vaccine. It’s nigh impossible to imagine a game more “in the moment” than this, right now. In… Continue reading Resident Evil 3 (2020, Xbox One)
Luck isn’t the right word in context, but fluke fits HyperParasite. As the world endures a pandemic in real life, developer Troglobyte Games launches their game about an alien goo infecting New Yorkers, as healthy citizens do their best to fight back. HyperParasite doesn’t take place in the now, choosing instead the worn ’80s aesthetic.… Continue reading HyperParasite (PS4)
A continent-sized pentagram is charred onto America when Doom Eternal begins. More than Satanic in Doom’s context, it’s symbolic of capitalist aspirations finally conquering us all. Much happened between Doom and Doom Eternal. That story is lost in book-length text logs hidden around levels. Evil won though, and that evil is corporate fealty. While Earth… Continue reading Doom Eternal (Xbox One)
