Here’s the concept of The Crew 2: A bunch of rebellious motor geeks set up unsanctioned races across the United States in order to gain personal online infamy. Street racing? Plausible, complete with civilians fleeing in terror as cars drift along sidewalks. Power boat racing on the Vegas strip? Probably not. There’s tone deaf and… Continue reading The Crew 2 (PS4)
Mario Tennis Aces has the feverish energy of typical Nintendo games. It’s less about tennis than the shine. Every racket-meets-ball moment explodes with a blistering highlight. That builds meters and bars, also throbbing with light. Executing the super strike the latter builds toward is a blinding fantasy – more sparks, in other words, along with… Continue reading Mario Tennis Aces (Switch)
Hovering over a dinosaur island theme park, a Tyrannosaurus roars. It’s that iconic Jurassic Park sound, nearly deafening audiences in theaters. Nearby, Velociraptors screech. Their recent live kill made them celebratory. The aura of Jurassic Park fills Jurassic World: Evolution. John Williams’ wondrous theme over the main menu? That’s cause for genuine chills. Jurassic World:… Continue reading Jurassic World: Evolution (PC)
Shaq comes from a town named “Hunglow.” His mortal enemy in Yen Lo-Wang. That’s the high point of Shaq-Fu’s humor. The rest is acidic, painful, and disgraceful. It’s homophobic, with hundreds of marching muscle men walking with a stereotypical gait. It’s racist, with both boa-wearing pimps and grape soda-spewing black men. Never even mind the… Continue reading Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn (PS4)
The developers of Cat Quest didn’t get the memo: Dogs now rule over cats in online adorableness. That aside, maybe Cat Quest is the beginning of the feline resurgence. It’s delightful. While little more than a collection of RPG (Purr-PG?) tropes, Cat Quest delights in its world and charm. A hero kitty marches with a… Continue reading Cat Quest (PS4)
The androids of Detroit exist to serve their human masters. In case the racial allegory wasn’t clear, director David Cage makes androids sit at the back of city buses. Robots march down the streets in protest for equal rights. They speak on television, pleading with people to understand their plight. Detroit is not subtle. Detroit… Continue reading Detroit: Become Human (PS4)
“Just Spend Money” says a satirical Nike-themed ad lining the boards in Super Mega Baseball 2’s stadiums. It’s part of a classic baseball satire, the likes of which Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball, Baseball Stars 2, and The Bigs understood so well. Classics, the lot of them. So too is Super Mega Baseball 2. Batters sport… Continue reading Super Mega Baseball 2 (Xbox One)
