Some things are inevitable. Death. Taxes. And me hoping that a new PlayStation will herald the return of WipEout, the futuristic racing series that helped launch the Sony’s first game console in 1995, but has appeared only sporadically on subsequent systems. Well, now it’s finally the new one’s turn with WipEout Omega Collection (PlayStation 4), which presents 2008’s WipEout HD, that game’s 2009 expansion WipEout Fury, and 2012’s WipEout 2048.
Nearly two years after being released on PCs and Mac, the Diablo III-esque dungeon crawler Victor Vran has finally come to consoles as Victor Vran Overkill Edition (PlayStation 4, Xbox One), which also includes the game’s two major add-ons, an expanded edition that’s also available on PC. But while this adventure game is decidedly Diablo-esque, it manages to distinguish itself by employing some different, and fundamental, mechanics.
When the original Shadow Warrior came out in 1997, it was dismissed by some, and embraced by others, for being yet another Doom-like first-person shooter. A sentiment that was echoed when the remake was released in 2013. But while Shadow Warrior 2 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) is thankfully more of the same, it’s also unfortunately just more of the same.
Funko have announced that they’ll release a series of POP! toys inspired by the video game Destiny this August.
With special powers, first-person gunplay, and a damaged art-deco setting, some have wondered if the sci-fi shooter Prey (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC) was going to be like BioShock in space. And in many ways, it is. But thanks to a lot of little things that collectively numbed my enthusiasm, this action game just never grabbed me as much as BioShock.
Some people really don’t like it when you compare one game to another, even if they’re remarkably similar and are released around the same time. And that goes double if the comparison isn’t entirely favorable. Such will inevitably be the case with Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), a sneaky first-person shooter that has a lot in common with the stealthy, third-person gun game Sniper Elite 4 that came out just two months prior. But while Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 isn’t as good as Sniper Elite 4, it’s still a solid game in its own right for those who enjoy shooting virtual people from far, far away.
As the critical and commercial success of last year’s Doom showed, fans of sci-fi first-person shooters still enjoy gun games that don’t take themselves too seriously. It is to those people that I’d like to introduce Bulletstorm Full Clip Edition (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), a uniquely over-the-top sci-fi first-person shooter. Well, assuming they didn’t already meet this game when it originally came out in 2011. But while this version doesn’t add enough to make it worth buying if you’ve played it already, those who missed the original are in luck because this is one ridiculous and ridiculously fun shooter.
It could be argued that it a sequel should be judged on its own, and not against previous installments in that series. And that assertion carries extra weight with such games as Mass Effect Andromeda (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC), a third-person sci-fi adventure that’s a sequel to a self-contained trilogy. It’s too bad the world, and my critical lizard brain, doesn’t work that way because while Mass Effect Andromeda is a solid adventure, it’s no Mass Effect.
Video games can make you feel like you’re a soldier, a racecar driver, even a limber archeologist. But in the upcoming game What Remains Of Edith Finch, which will be out April 25th for PlayStation 4 and PC, the developers are trying to make you feel like you’re both reading a sad book, and the subject of the sad book. How exactly does that work? To find out, I played a small part of the game while peppering Giant Sparrow’s Ian Dallas, the game’s Creative Director, with some questions great and small.