The best robot adversary in Mega Man 11 is a small welder bot. He seems genuinely innocent, passing back and forth, heating pieces of metal as programmed. His eyes droop in indifference. Clearly, he’s tired of all of this, the scientific back-and-forth between two lab coat-wearing rivals, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily. Imagine being around… Continue reading Mega Man 11 (PS4)
An interactive pantomime of a real world pantomime, Fire Pro Wrestling miniaturizes the sport, down to its movement essentials. In an era of polygons, Fire Pro retains sprites, choppily animated, but with heightened impact. There’s a speed and a grace to Fire Pro, even without the pop of fireworks, lightshows, or entrance music. This is… Continue reading Fire Pro Wrestling World (PS4)
J. Jonah Jameson is right. Speaking on his Alex Jones-like radio show as Spider-Man webs through the city, Jameson bemoans the surveillance state of New York Police. He should. Across the city, corporately donated towers track private conversations and ping potential crimes without anyone being aware. Seems questionable. Were Spider-Man mature rather than merely… Continue reading Spider-Man (PS4)
This side story takes Planet of the Apes and turns the franchise into a set of crucial decisions. The only input is pressing left or right to make a selection. Occasionally, X performs an action. Instead of merging film and videogames into a potentially derivative action shooter, Last Frontier attempts something different. Where a sweeping… Continue reading Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier
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)
The nostalgia Dragon’s Crown intends, even though it’s only five years old at the time of this remaster, is for a fantasy melee. Instead, it’s Gamergate. The percolation of Gamergate anyway. On Dragon Crown’s initial release, critics called out the pulpy, distorted female forms for their sexism. Things didn’t go well in terms of the… Continue reading Dragon’s Crown Pro (PS4)
Before the Storm removes Life is Strange’s time travel safety valve. No longer do sci-fi trappings assist in the decision making. Before the Storm deals exclusively with emotionally resonant drama in telling its story. Protagonist Chloe Price is a brash, arrogant, deflective high school student. Millions of Chloe Prices exist at any time. Price’s shrugging… Continue reading Life is Strange: Before the Storm (PS4)
The cover art – and even the loading screen – of Dynasty Warriors 9 seen above depicts a warrior on horseback, spear held high, leaping from a cliff into an encirclement of enemies. It’s a spectacular image. It also represents what Dynasty Warriors is, a fluent, wild, exotic story of military history, flush with flamboyant… Continue reading Dynasty Warriors 9 (PS4)
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