Odd that WWE Battlegrounds is more authentic to the WWE than other prior licensed wrestling games. McMahon exists in the story’s background, taking credit for success, while keeping profits high by stuffing talent onto cramped buses as they move across the country. Unlocking new wrestlers means cycling through a menu where talent is encased in… Continue reading WWE 2K Battlegrounds (PS4)
Five years after the Avengers were forcibly disbanded, a government-supported, rogue military group (AIM) begins rounding up “inhumans,” putting them in cages, and biased network news cheers them on. To get these obvious parables now leaves one to wonder what future Trumpian parables hold. Captain America draws a direct line to AIM and the Nazis.… Continue reading Marvel’s Avengers (PS4)
Life is Strange 2’s first antagonist is a cop, recklessly drawing a gun, leading to tragedy. Then come the racists, the bigoted conservatives, cultish Evangelical Christians, and finally, the border wall. Life is Strange 2 follows two Mexican boys – orphaned by police violence – as they road trip through Donald Trump’s America. It’s obvious… Continue reading Life is Strange 2 (PS4)
Now under the 2K banner (and a new name), The Golf Club becomes official, and with it, loses its often pompous, stuffy vibe. Donning a t-shit and jeans during an actual PGA event isn’t authentic, but freeing. Even rebellious, in the most nominal way. It’s also a series relenting, allowing greater accessibility in difficulty tuning,… Continue reading PGA Tour 2K21 (PS4)
Fast & Furious: Crossroads doesn’t count how many die during its story. A lot, probably. Driving through suburban neighborhoods and public expressways, cars shatter when hit. There’s no penalty levied against the “heroes.” The explosions look cool, anyway. Besides, this is an important mission – Peter Stormare is out to destroy America’s spy network. Some… Continue reading Fast & Furious: Crossroads (PS4)
Brushing a pine tree while riding a horse, Ellie makes the branches’ accumulated snow fall. Look toward the ground and the horse’s steps realistically imprint on a few inches of frozen precipitation. Sometimes, it’s the little things; Last of Us: Part II has a lot of little things. A character removes their shirt – perfectly,… Continue reading The Last of Us: Part II (PS4)
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)
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)
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)
