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

“Call Of Duty: Vanguard” Review

 

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: I love shooting Nazis in the face from the first-person perspective. And with all the shit going on in the world — people shouting “Jews will not replace us”; people wearing sweatshirts with Nazi symbols to keep warm while committing treason — my trigger finger is especially itchy these days. Thankfully, shooting Nazis is exactly what you get, and more, from the World War II first-person shooter Call Of Duty: Vanguard (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC). But what makes this installment really satisfying is how, across the board, the good people at Sledgehammer Games have added interesting new mechanics while keeping, and bringing back, what made this shooter series so great in the first place.

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

“Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy” Video Game Review

 

It doesn’t matter what you put on a pizza; if the cheese, sauce, and crust aren’t good, the pizza won’t be good, no matter what you pile on top. The same is true for combative action games. If the combat is bad, the game is bad, no matter what other mechanics there might be. Which is the problem with Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC), a story-driven, sci-fi, third-person shooter whose problematic combat and other rather basic problems somewhat undermine an otherwise entertaining space adventure.

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

“Back 4 Blood” Single-Player Review

 

Like their previous games Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, and Evolve, Turtle Rock Studios’ Back 4 Blood (Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC) is a first-person shooter that’s meant to be played co-op. But unlike those games, Blood is also clearly made for people who’d like to play solo. Not to the same point a Call Of Duty sequel or Halogame, where there’s a dedicated story-driven campaign, but certainly enough that you can still have a good time even if you don’t play well with others.

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

“Quake (2021 Enhanced Re-Release Version)” Review

 

I’ve been very open about the fact that if you remake a classic game, you need to update it to modern standards (my reviews of the Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 remakes speak for themselves). But I’ve apparently found the exception with the 2021 Enhanced Re-Release version of the sci-fi first-person shooter Quake (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, PC), which is mostly just a better looking version of an old game, but adds something new (maybe two) that makes it worth buying…especially at this game’s low price.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Switch Video Games

Earth Defense Force: World Brothers review

 

The entertainment industry is just that: an industry. And the objective of any industry is to make money. Which is why entertainment people sometimes make cutesy versions of adult or all-ages things in hopes of expanding their (paying) audience to include children. We’ve seen it with The Muppets and Muppet Babies, with the Loony Tunes and Tiny Tunes, and now we’re seeing it with Earth Defense Force: World Brothers (PlayStation 4, Switch, PC), a cartoony take on the titular third-person sci-fi shooter series. But by doing more than just making it LEGO-fied, the good people at Yuke’s who made this goofy gun game have managed to make something that’s as fun as the previous ones, regardless of your age.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox One

Biomutant Review

 

Let’s cut to the chase: the sci-fi, third-person, open world, action-packed role-playing game Biomutant (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC) is epic, effortlessly engaging, and entirely worth your time. But man, I wish it had gotten to the point as quickly as I just did because this sure takes its sweet time getting good.

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Exclusive Interview: “Aliens: Infiltrator” Author Weston Ochse

 

Though inspired by and connected to the Aliens movies, the science fiction space opera horror novel Aliens: Infiltrator (paperback, Kindle, audiobook) is better qualified as a direct prequel to the upcoming video game Aliens: Fireteam (out later this year for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC). But as its writer Weston Ochse explains in the following email interview, it’s also got connections to a certain sitcom.

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

Resident Evil Village Review

 

Given how 2017’s Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was called a “return to form,” it should come as no surprise that the sequel would try to follow in its footsteps. But rather than rest on their laurels, and spend their time sipping Mai Tais as the money rolls in, the good people at Capcom have instead decided to progress once again by making Resident Evil Village (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, Stadia) essentially Resident Evil 7 crossed with Resident Evil 4 for a game that — yeah, you know — goes up to 11.

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PlayStation 4 Reviews Switch Video Games

“Star Wars: Republic Commando” (2021 Remake) Review

 

As the recent Resident Evil remakes have shown so clearly, bringing an old game to new systems really only works when you update them as well. One has only to play the excellent revamps of Resident Evil 2 or Resident Evil 3, and then the faithful failure that is Resident Evil (HD Remaster) to see what to do, and what not to do, when bringing back an old favorite. Which makes the new version of 2005’s Star Wars: Republic Commando (PlayStation 4, Switch) such an odd duck, as this sci-fi first-person shooter has gotten an upgrade…just not enough of one.