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)
This year’s edition of the NFL’s carefully controlled videogame product focuses on QB1, a thin story concerning a college player pushed into a starting spot in his senior year – one game before the National Championship. Then, into the NFL, of course. It’s sports fantasy drivel, thinly formed but allowing people to live vicariously through… Continue reading Madden NFL 20 (Xbox One)
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)
Two percent of college football players make it to the NFL. High school? 0.09%. Google “NFL dreams” and up come a litany of stories of kids and adults refusing to quit. The NFL relies on a dream for recruitment. One day, that dreamer will escape poverty, play for the Dallas Cowboys, make millions in shoe… Continue reading Madden NFL 19 (PS4)
Ignoring the motorcycles – for which this situation is unavoidable – Burnout Paradise involves no people. Watch the wrecks as the camera pans the melee of crunching steel – no drivers. Sidewalks lay empty. Buildings appear abandoned. It’s questionable that a depiction of interactive paradise involves no humans and a bonanza of jubilant violence. It’s… Continue reading Burnout Paradise: Remastered (PS4)
EA Sports UFC 3 is rated T. That’s low. The extended reality of UFC 3 isn’t comparable to a giant hit in Madden; those happen inconsistently. With the added reality of physics and grimacing faces, UFC 3 offers a grisly reality, more than the hoary splatter of Mortal Kombat. The sensationalized realism of UFC… Continue reading EA Sports UFC 3 (PS4)
When George Lucas signed the first Star Wars contracts, he did so with foresight. Fox got the box office, Lucas got the multi-billion dollar, long-lasting tail end – the merchandising. People bought Star Wars everything. They continue to do so. Battlefront II then is the ultimate Star Wars videogame, representing, in totality, the business side of… Continue reading Star Wars Battlefront II (Xbox One)
NBA Live 18 begins on the streets. With lavish video production, EA’s development team takes a steady cam to iconic streetball locations. They shoot the rim against a sunset backdrop or sweep the court, narration praising the site’s influence to the community. It’s beautiful insofar as showing what basketball can do (and does) for lower… Continue reading NBA Live 18 (PS4)
Tyler Morgan is not a hero, although Need for Speed: Payback is convinced otherwise. Street racing games often lean on “heroes” like Payback’s protagonist Morgan, privileged 20-somethings putting people in harm’s way to beat their opponents. In the fictional Fortune Valley (clearly Las Vegas) no pedestrians walk on the streets. That’s probably Morgan’s fault. He’s… Continue reading Need for Speed: Payback (PS4)
