Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Review (PS5)
What in the bloody hell do you think you’re doing, Spike Chunsoft and Bandai Namco? You can’t just go into a fighting genre, change up how they work, and then go about your normal business. You can’t. Yet, you did. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero changed two things upon its release. First, it changes expectations of how anime games look, feel, and work. As my oldest (age 22) put it, “This might be the...[Read More]
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Review (Xbox Series X)
Lord. Is it review night for remasters and remakes? Feels like it. And, hey, I’m okay with it, especially if a game turns out as well as it did with Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster from publisher Square Enix. Certainly, one of my most pleasant surprises in 2024. What’s interesting about my time with Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is that I didn’t know how much I missed traditional turn-based role-playi...[Read More]
Until Dawn Remake (PS5)
On my bingo card of ‘Games that will set the Internet on fire’, I had no idea that it would be the Until Dawn remake from developer Ballistic Moon. This game seemed like a slam dunk and no-brainer when it came to release and reception, as there are plenty of people out there who enjoyed the hell out of the first release. Now, while Digital Foundry has a wonderful visual breakdown of what works and...[Read More]
AJAZZ AK820 Max HE
For over a month, I have had the pleasure of trying out the AJAZZ AK820 Max HE keyboard. It’s a mini keyboard, designed with an old school Commodore 64 structure (at least visually – and for an old person like me) that is more focused on the perfect gaming experience than it is an ideal typing stroke for Microsoft Word, although it does a comfortable job inside that application. Check out the AJAZ...[Read More]
Paramount Scares Volume 2 Review
It is certainly Halloween season because scary movies have started rearing their beautiful, gross heads. I usually celebrate this season by picking out frightful Friday films at home each week and having my yearly viewing of The Addams Family. It is a wicked way to celebrate a month of horror before we get all family-friendly holidays. Paramount feels the same way about horror films in October, as...[Read More]
Atari 50 – The Wider World of Atari
If you want to respect the video game industry, then you should always be in tune with its history. Not only will it give you perspective on what the industry has gone through, but it will also reveal a blueprint that might seem familiar in the future. That whole destined to repeat things sort of deal. History is what drives Atari 50, a large and ever-expanding love letter to Atari’s journey. The ...[Read More]
Throne and Liberty Review (PS5)
One of the toughest genres of games to review is the massive multiplayer online role-playing game. Generally, an MMORPG is built with so much content that it’s tough to pinpoint where it is safe to judge and talk about it. Do you stop at the first boss battle? Do you party and give yourself time with dungeons? Where is the point that you can safely say that you have a firm grasp of everything, and...[Read More]
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred Review (PS5)
Before we begin, let me get some disclaimers out of the way. The first is that I hadn’t played Diablo IV before this review. I had played the first, skipped the second (someone else reviewed that), and did a deep dive into Diablo III (which I enjoyed and streamed). Diablo IV has always intrigued me, doubly so after Ben Sheene’s review at its launch. Sheene is a master of words, and his review last...[Read More]
CIDOO QK61 Mechanical Keyboard Review (PC)
There is nothing in this world more satisfying than a good keyboard. When done right, a keyboard is a word piano that allows you mental verbal musical flow, as you put together a Magnus opus of a paper, review, or academic journal (because you’re dying to do one of those). In addition to flow, when the keys are going hard, there is nothing like hearing the clicky-clack of a good keyboard sound. It...[Read More]
Final Fantasy XVI Review (PC)
Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in. Let me tell you a tale, good readers. Nearly a year ago, I had just arrived in Portland, Oregon for some virtual production training for work and was looking forward to relaxing with some Balatro in the evening hours. It was a perfect and delightful plan, where I would work all day, and play an addictive video game card game at night. What in ...[Read More]
God of War: Ragnarök Review (PC)
Our own Ben Sheene declared God of War: Ragnarök on the PlayStation 5 as perfect, even if it didn’t shift or differ too far away from its predecessor. It brought a solid middle act in a trilogy while adding more depth and context to its characters. While the stakes were bigger, the exploration was certainly more sizeable than the first, in its intentions to fit nicely into place with the first gam...[Read More]
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Review (PS5)
Oh, boy. This is a blast from the past. It was the summer of 1998 (maybe 1999, tough to say – I’m old), and I remember working at Waldensoftware in Fayette Mall in Lexington, Kentucky. Someone had decided that they were going to turn in their Sega Saturn and trade in the import Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. I had a cartridge for my Saturn that would allow me to play imports, because that...[Read More]