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PC Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

4 Things I Applaud “Starfield” For Including (And 1 I Wish They Had)

 

There’s an old saying: The devil’s in the details. But when you’re making a massive game like the sci-fi space opera action role-playing game Starfield — which is out now for Xbox Series X/S and PC, and is easily one of the best games of the year — sometimes it’s the little details that get lost in the shuffle, especially when you have so many big details to worry about. But in playing Starfield, I noticed a couple little things that I wanted to applaud the good people at Bethesda Game Studios for including, things that won’t make a big difference to a lot of people, but things I noticed and appreciated.

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

“Immortals Of Aveum” Review

 

Many of us aspire to greatness…and many of us fail. But sometimes, in failing, we still manage to do something good. It’s something I thought about while playing the ambitious but underwhelming and yet still engaging fantasy first-person shooter Immortals Of Aveum (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC). While it falls short of what would seem to be its lofty goals, what Aveum does offer is exciting combat in interesting places against competent enemies, and that’s enough to make it kind of fun.

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PC PlayStation 5 Video Games

“Crossfire: Sierra Squad” Hands-On Preview

 

While the modern military first-person shooter CrossfireX was an unmitigated disaster (hence its prominent place on my Worst Video Games Of 2022 list), the good people at Smilegate are not giving up on this series. After all, the original Crossfire is still big, especially in China and South Korea. Maybe that’s why Smilegate are bringing the series to VR with Crossfire: Sierra Squad, which will be released for PlayStation VR2 on August 29th, and later for Oculus and SteamVR.

And it’s because of the game’s impending release that, this week, some of those good people at Smilegate — who, for the record, are the not the people who made CrossfireX — came to Los Angeles to let game journalists have some hands-on time with the PSVR2 version of the game.

Note: The screenshots in this preview were provided by Smilegate, and not from my playthrough of the game.

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PC PlayStation 5 Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

Summer Game Fest 2023 Hands-On Preview: “Mortal Kombat 1”

 

At this year’s Summer Game Fest, which was held at City Market Social House in downtown Los Angeles on June 9th and 10th, the good people from NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Games gave journalists — present company included — some hands-on time with the upcoming fighting game Mortal Kombat 1, which will be out September 19th for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC, and Switch.

What follows are my limited impressions of the game.

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PC PlayStation 5 Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

Summer Game Fest 2023 Hands-Off Preview: “Alan Wake II”

 

Two weeks after unveiling an impressive new trailer for their upcoming third-person survival horror shooter Alan Wake II, the fine folk from Remedy Games gave journalists a deeper look at this scary shooter behind closed doors at this year’s Summer Game Fest, which was held June 9th and 10th at Los Angeles’ City Market Social House. And while we didn’t get to take the game for a test drive, the live demo did make this attendee even more excited for this scary game, which will be released October 17th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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

“Diablo IV” Review

 

Expectations can be tough, especially when a lot of time has passed. Just ask George Lucas about The Phantom Menace. Or Axl Rose about Chinese Democracy. Or George R.R. Martin — no, don’t bother him.

Or, you could just ask the good people at Blizzard who made Diablo IV (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC), which comes eleven long years after 2012’s Diablo III (and, well, a year after the wrongly convicted Diablo Immortal). Especially since Diablo IV is not a huge jump forward the way Diablo III was over 2000’s Diablo II.

But while Diablo IV may be more of a refinement than a reinvention when it comes to this series’ third-person hack & slash / bow & arrow / magic spell action, it still ends up being as effortlessly addictive as the most recent installment. And Diablo III.

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PC Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Redfall” Single-Player Review

 

Like other game developers who’ve made co-op games in the vein of Left4Dead — including the people who made it and its spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood — the good people at Arkane Austin who made the vampiric first-person shooter Redfall (Xbox Series X/S, PC) assured us that we could play their game solo. So, as someone who doesn’t play well with others, I decided to test this theory, and found that while it has some issues, I actually had a lot of fun playing this supernatural shooter on my own.

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

“The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum” Review

 

Of all the questions I had after reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, not once did I ever wonder what Gollum was up to in the years between them. Mostly because I just assumed he’d spent them in his cave, eating sushi, listening to Led Zeppelin, and lamenting the loss of his precious. But having played the deeply flawed third-person stealth action game The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC), which covers this time period, but is a complete fabrication and not based on anything Tolkien wrote, I find myself even less interested in Gollum’s sad little life.

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

“Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” Review

 

In the third-person hack & slash action game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, former Padawan Cal Kestis had to relearn all the Jedi skills he’d forgotten while trying to survive in a post-Order 66 universe.

But as Jedi Master Albert Einstein said, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”

Which is why, despite now being a Jedi, Cal still has a lot to learn in his new adventure, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC). Good thing Jedi’s learn by doing…