After two series in Capcom’s adventure style, Resident Evil and Dino Crisis (picked from America’s horror film litter), Onimusha took the formula to a more personal history. It’s a samurai tale, a hero rescuing a princess. But, it’s stocked with eastern depictions of demons and ghouls while set in a feudal era that re-imagines Japan’s… Continue reading Onimusha: Warlords (PS4)
With their own police force rarely active because of limited crime (and little to no gun violence), Japanese developers of Resident Evil 2 look toward the heightened violence of western cops. It’s surreal to see American police through Eastern eyes. The fictional Racoon City police station is a towering, imposing, gothic structure. In the basement… Continue reading Resident Evil 2 (PS4)
Although placed in a fictional world of Ace Combat’s own making, this seventh numbered entry depicts a surreal, even bizarre neo-future World War II interpretation. The small Eursea (Japan) kingdom sends an unannounced force to the military-powered, world policing Osean (USA) forces at Osean’s seaside base. In the end, a national alliance leads to prosperity… Continue reading Ace Combat 7 (PS4)
Hero Rico Rodriguez drops into Just Cause’s fourth South American country, and the fourth run by a cruel dictatorship. Going by Just Cause’s suggestion, no one lives free in the southern end of the continent. Those who do live in ramshackle towns, seemingly held together only by their poverty. For Rico then, it’s an effort… Continue reading Just Cause 4 (PS4)
It’s in Senua’s eyes. A blankness. Her stare, her searching for reality. But there’s nothing, except anger maybe. Anger at her past, her birth into violence, and her grief. That’s the only thing real to Senua. Uncanny valley is frequently dissected, that point where a robot or computerized image becomes so real, it’s indistinguishable from… Continue reading Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (PS4)
Two things highlight the apocalypse of Darksiders III. One is the four horsemen member Fury (who leads this Darksiders chapter) continually making snide observations about the human race. While freshman philosophy in terms of depth, the spiteful barbs regarding war and planet-destroying indifference create a character cold, even distant to her cause. That makes an… Continue reading Darksiders III (PS4)
Battlefield V tells three independent stories, linked only by their existence as part of World War II. There’s a sarcastic British prisoner, a Norwegian resistance fighter, and a determined French fighter. Of these three, only the last features any reasonable sense of scale. In the others, Battlefield V’s lone soldiers tag German troops, blow things… Continue reading Battlefield V (PS4)
