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PC PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Welcome To ParadiZe” Review

 

As you’ve probably noticed, most zombie survival games take a serious approach to making you survive the undead apocalypse.

But by striking a different tone — and a slightly different viewpoint — the third-person single-player / co-op Welcome To ParadiZe (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) manages to put a different spin on the genre. Not a better one; not a worse one; but one that’s certainly different, which, in turn, makes it rather fun.

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Music Reviews

Ivo Perelman, Mark Helias, Tom Rainey: “Truth Seeker” Review

 

When it comes to music, we don’t always know what we’re going to get, even when we know the players.

But occasionally, you can get a good idea.

Case in point: On April 5th, 2024, jazz saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp will release their latest in a long line of collaborations, Water Music, a quartet recording that also features bassist Mark Helias and drummer Tom Rainey.

But right now, you can get a sense of how well Perelman, Helias, and Rainey work together courtesy of their new trio album, Truth Seeker (digital). And given that Shipp has collaborated with Perelman frequently, and with Helias a couple times (Pathways, The New Syntax), well…

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PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Reviews Switch Video Games Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“System Shock Pinball” for “Pinball M” And “Pinball FX” Review

 

Released in 1994, the cyberpunk sci-fi first-person shooter System Shock has since become one of the most influential games of the last thirty years. Not only did it inspire numerous spiritual successors (BioShock, Thief) and other sci-fi shooters (Half-Life, Deus Ex), but also third-person games in the stealth action (Metal Gear Solid) and survival horror genres (Resident Evil).

And yet, it is considered more a cult curiosity than a known classic among many gamers, especially those who didn’t play it when it came out…or weren’t alive at the time.

Which makes it all the more curious, and a pleasant surprise, that System Shock is being honored by the good people at Zen Studios with the release of System Shock Pinball, an add-on for their games Pinball M and Pinball FX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Switch, PC).

Doubly so since the table is as ’90s as the original game.

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PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Reviews Switch Video Games Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown” Review

 

As a fan of acrobatic action games, I’ve been waiting 14 years for Ubisoft to make another Prince Of Persia in the vein of 2010’s The Forgotten Sands.

But as someone who goes back with this series to the days of old, when it was a side-scrolling hack & slash action game, I’ve also been waiting 21 years for Ubisoft to make a Prince Of Persia that brings me back to when I used to play the original and 1993’s Prince Of Persia 2: The Shadow And The Flame.

Well, twenty-five year old me can now rest easy, as Ubisoft have given us Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC), which is not only the best Prince Of Persia game since Sands, but the best side-scrolling one since Flame.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League” Review

 

Video games have been around since the 1970s, and in all that time, there’s been one underlying rule: the controls must be good. If your controls are bad, your game is bad.

And yet, somehow, the good people at Rocksteady who made the open world, third-person superhero action game Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) managed to get it from the drawing board to digital stores without ever asking anyone, “Are these controls good?” Because they’re not, and it’s that — among other things — which ruins what could’ve been an interesting game.

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PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Reviews Switch Video Games Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

The Worst Video Games Of 2023

 

Sure, 2023 wasn’t as good a year for video games as 2022 (few years are, especially lately). But there were a bunch of really fun games, as you can see from my  “Best Video Games Of 2023” list.

But it was just as bad, as you can see from the following list of my least favorite games of the year (which I present in the order I played them).

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PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Reviews Switch Video Games Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

The Best Video Games Of 2023

 

Though not as good as the year before (few years are), 2023 was still a really good year for video games. Or at least for the kind of games I like to play.

Here, in the order I played them, are my favorite games of 2023.

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PC PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

Will People Who Dislike The “Avatar” Movies Enjoy “Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora”?

 

Over the years, there’s been a lot of great games based on movies…and a lot of terrible ones, too. But while most require you to be a fan of the movie to enjoy, there’s been some exceptions, including 1997’s GoldenEye 007, 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and 2019’s Zombieland: Double Tap: Road Trip.

Which is why I was hopeful, and curious, about Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora (Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC), a first-person action / adventure game based on, set during, and cannon to James Cameron’s Avatar movies…movies I do not like.

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PC PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Pinball FX: Pinball M” Review

 

Halloween may be over, but the scary season doesn’t have to end if you don’t want it to. Or if you really hate your relatives.

Either way, it’s a good time for Zen Studios to release Pinball M, a new collection of horror-inspired pinball tables for Pinball FX, which are available individually or together as the Death Save Bundle.

And while one of the tables doesn’t really fit the horror theme — unless you’re super scared of pig people — all five are fun in their own ways.