Gunfights, fistfights, bar fights. Horses and stables. Bandits, jails, and sheriffs. The flair and mystique of the west. Or, the bastardization of reality. West of Loathing uses it all, but unlike the silent cinema it takes after, there’s no allusion to the romanticized west. Where once the written dialog of say, 1923’s The Covered Wagon… Continue reading West of Loathing (Switch)
The first kill comes quick in Far Cry: New Dawn. As things go in numerous contemporary videogames, it’s a crouch, wait, pounce sequence. Doing so brings up an animation in which the victim is spun around, punched in the stomach, put in a headlock, then stabbed in the eye by scissors. Far Cry: New Dawn… Continue reading Far Cry: New Dawn (PS4)
A radio signal fights through airwave static, calling out for protagonist Artyom. He won’t answer. Artyom doesn’t speak. He grunts and screams, but never engages in conversations. It’s bizarre why anyone asks him to respond over comms. Metro Exodus needs him to speak. The number of awkwardly silent, emotional moments bomb without a reasonable response.… Continue reading Metro Exodus (PS4)
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)
