Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier was one of the first games I ever reviewed. Seven years have passed since then. I’ve watched the sea change of various franchises as they’ve transitioned between generational shifts of consoles. Methods of storytelling have changed, familiar characters have undergone drastic makeovers. Worlds have grown to expansive size. Developers have s...[Read More]
The Surge 2
The Surge 2, like many sequels, is burdened with having to justify its existence. Tantamount is taking the core of the previous game and building on it to make a more cohesive, improved experience. Developers may trim the fat of what didn’t work in the first place or inject more attention and care into what was previously neglected. Or, possibly, you tweak all the great things and maintain t...[Read More]
Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 is the game where players open the door of a dilapidated wooden outhouse and a wad of cash ejects from the bowl with a brown squelch. Borderlands 3 is also the game where a glowing purple pistol is strapped to the door of that same outhouse; a pistol whose bullets will magically bounce off a critical hit and fly into the nearest secondary target. Borderlands 3 is a madcap game of end...[Read More]
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece
When I was growing up, educational games were about as well-intentioned and underwhelming as clothes for a Christmas present. Being on a healthy diet of Nintendo I was able to recognize the shortcomings in school offerings like Math Blaster. Solving math problems using the simplest of mechanics was elevated by the sole fact that I got to play a game during school hours. Mario is Missing! was one o...[Read More]
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint: Hands-on Preview
Minutes into Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, the tonal shift from its predecessor, Wildlands, is apparent. A small fleet of helicopters carrying 32 other Ghosts have been dispatched to the Auroa archipelago to investigate the mysterious sinking of the USS Seay. In an instant, Operation Greenstone commences. In an instant it is doomed. The helicopters are attacked and you, as Nomad, lead...[Read More]
The Blackout Club
The Blackout Club‘s prologue is a tantalizing appetizer. Once players begin to chew on this 30-minute morsel, they are introduced to a neighborhood-gone-wrong scenario that culls from the Hardy Boys, Stranger Things, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Lovecraftian sentiment. Our world is established in minutes. The town of Redacre is an island unto itself, there’s no cellular signal to t...[Read More]
They Are Billions (PS4)
They Are Billions is the type of game that thrives off the infinite permutations of random, chaotic moments. Those unexpected periods of time where the player is left surprised, gleeful, in awe, or hopelessly defeated make for the best and most relatable stories. They pique interest and incentivize experimentation. “Well I was so busy scouting out a ravaged town for materials that I failed t...[Read More]
Growtopia
For the better part of a decade, mobile devices have become an intrinsic part of modern parenting. Is little Johnny crying? Pull up YouTube on your phone and let him become absorbed in a video at full volume much to the ire of everyone in proximity who has to hear it too. I’ve seen kids beg for tablets and phones so they can plop down and poke at a screen and play mostly mindless games flood...[Read More]
Warhammer: Chaosbane
Before attending my first E3 I had virtually no knowledge of the Warhammer universe. Back in college, I was walking around a city in France with a friend and we passed by a comic book store next to a cathedral–you know, as one does. We looked inside and he was surprised at the amount of Warhammer merchandise inside, commenting that it must be a pretty big deal there. Over the years I’v...[Read More]
My Friend Pedro (PC)
My Friend Pedro exists in the microcosm of Devolver Digital’s warm embrace. Anyone familiar with the publisher’s catalog would see gameplay of DeadToast Entertainment’s John Woo-like shooting acrobatics and immediately recognize the familiar stamp of frenetic style, just without the barrage of doves. Like many, I first latched onto this particular brand of batshit insanity with H...[Read More]
PixARK
The fever pitch surrounding the final season of Game of Thrones often served as a barometer for how insufferable a person’s opinion can be. Twitter was a swamp of those claiming to have never seen the show, proclaiming it from the mountaintops like a point of pride. Somehow, being detached from the show made you cooler and edgier and everyone needed to know. Through multiple faults of my own...[Read More]
A Plague Tale: Innocence
In the days since wrapping up the final chapter of A Plague Tale: Innocence, I’ve been left wondering one thing: Why is this fun? The Black Death was responsible for wiping out over half of Europe’s population in the 14th century. One of the world’s most infamous pandemics is a dark period of time mainly left to the history books. We read about the horrific suffering and disease ...[Read More]