There’s a fine line between repetition and redundancy, especially where video games are concerned. But while the time loop conceit of the third-person sci-fi shooter Returnal (PlayStation 5) may have goal-oriented gamers thinking they should take a pass, this game’s lather-rinse-repeat motif actually works to its advantage.
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.
It used to be that developers would make games you could play solo or co-op. But lately what we get are always online co-op-centric games that can be played solo…I guess…but we’re not going to make it easy…or let you pause. What’s worse is that when you play them, you quickly realize that there’s no reason they should be primarily co-op. But while the third-person, sci-fi shooter Outriders (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC) is one such game, it still manages to be an exceptional and inventive shooter, even if you go it alone.
In the hands of people who are truly skilled or creative, the same ingredients can yield very different results. Just ask anyone who’s eaten Mexican food. Or Italian food. Or…well, you get the idea. It’s something I thought of after listening to The Purity Of Desire (CD), the new album by saxophonist Ivo Perelman, oud player Gordon Grdina, and percussionist Hamin Honari, during which I realized their music was similar but not the same as someone else whose music uses similar instrumentation.
It’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into. It’s why I never expect frozen pizza to taste like a slice from Famous Ray’s in New York City. It’s also why I was initially thrown by sci-fi first-person, open world action / adventure game Cyberpunk 2077 (Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, Stadia), which I expected to be a gun-based action-packed role-playing game like Borderlands 3, The Outer Worlds, and especially Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, but enjoyed much more when I realized it was actually a futuristic Grand Theft Auto V.
Mel Brooks once said that sex was like pizza, even when it’s bad it’s good. Or maybe it was Sharon Stone. Whoever it was, though, they were wrong. I’ve had some truly terrible pizza, and I’ve watched enough Law & Order: SVU to know there’s plenty of bad sex. In fact, the only things that are good even when they’re bad are old sci-fi movies and third-person, hack & slash, action-oriented role-playing games that are blatant clones of Diablo III. Which brings me to Warhammer: Chaosbane: Slayer Edition, the Xbox Series X / S and PlayStation 5 version of a Diablo III clone that came out last year on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. While it’s not as good as Diablo III, and has a lot of problems, it still manages to be mindless fun if you enjoy button mashing your way to victory.
In May of 1967, jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins went to Holland to do a show, record some tunes, and play live on TV. All of which was lost to time…”was” being the operative word there. All three performances were recently unearthed, and are now are available as Rollins In Holland (CD, vinyl), a two-disc set that thankfully preserves these no longer “long lost” recordings.
While fans of first-person shooters, survival horror games, and even sci-fi racing games have all gotten to play new versions of old favorites lately, the same hasn’t been true for people who want to virtually race real-world cars on realistic streets or race tracks. Which seems like a real oversight, if Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is any indication. Remade for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC, this new version of the 2010 classic is as much fun as the original, even if it does lack some of the depth of modern racing games.
As someone who was a socially- and politically-aware teenager in the 1980s, I can tell you that living during The Cold War wasn’t always fun. Just ask me about night I thought New York had been nuked. But shooting people in the first-person shooter Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC) — that’s a lot of fun. And in no small part because of the game’s ’80s timeframe.