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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox One

Call Of Cthulhu Review

Call Of Cthulhu

Though he was a xenophobic racist, H.P. Lovecraft was also an inventive writer of occult horror stories that have inspired and influenced everything from the Hellboy comics and misspelled Metallica songs to episodes of South Park and, just recently, The Simpsons. And that’s not even counting all the books and comics by Alan Moore, Clive Barker, William S. Burroughs, and many, many others. And yet, attempts to translate his works into the medium of video games have largely fallen flat or just been superficial in their liberal use of tentacles. But in the new adventure game Call Of Cthulhu (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), Lovecraft’s unique aesthetics are well crafted into an interesting adventure game. Well, if you’re in the mood for observation over action.

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Music Reviews

Dexter Gordon Quartet: “Espace Cardin 1977” Review

Dexter Gordon Espace Cardin 1977

 

Most reunions tend to be nostalgia trips. Old friends reminisce, reformed rock bands play their big hits, while former classmates laugh about that time you did that thing.

But while iconic jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon held a bit of a reunion during the 1977 concert that’s now available as Espace Cardin 1977 (CD, vinyl), this album is anything but a look backwards.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox One

Heavy Fire: Red Shadow Review

Heavy Fire Red Shadow

At the risk of sounding like Homer Simpson, the term “arcade game” is thrown around a lot these days…. But while there are a lot of games that are arcade-esque, most of them wouldn’t actually work in an arcade, where you’d have to insert a quarter or two to start playing. And then there’s the turret shooter Heavy Fire: Red Shadow (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC), which really does feel like something you’d find in an arcade…and is all the better for it.

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Music Reviews

Thelonious Monk: Mønk Review

Thelonius Monk Mønk

Though they were not his most prolific quartet, jazz pianist Thelonious Monk did some of his best work when he played with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, double bassist John Orr, and drummer Frankie Dunlop. Now, fans of this fabulous foursome have reason to celebrate thanks to Mønk (CD, vinyl, digital), a newly-unearthed live recording from 1963 that sounds as good as the band playing on it.

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DVDs/Blu-rays Reviews TV

Ash Vs. Evil Dead: The Complete Collection Blu-ray, DVD Review

Ash Vs Evil Dead The Complete Collection

Like many TV shows having their entire series collected on home video, the discs included in the Ash Vs. Evil Dead: The Complete Collection Blu-ray and DVD are just the discs from the Ash Vs. Evil Dead: The Complete First Season, Complete Second Season, and Complete Third Season collections in a single package. Which, on one hand, is great, since it means that fans who own the seasonal sets won’t have to buy this as well. But it’s also a bummer because the seasonal sets were missing a few key extras that, had they been added to this collected edition, would’ve actually made it, well, complete.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox One

“Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4” Single-Player Review

Call of Duty Black Ops 4

 

For the first time since the series began fifteen years ago, the new Call Of Duty does not have a story-driven single-player campaign. And yet, the good people at Treyach who made Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) have repeatedly said that it still has something for people who prefer to play solo.

As one of those people, I decided to put their assertion to the test, and found that while you can play this on your own, it may not be for very long.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox One

Williams Pinball: Volume 1 for Pinball FX3 Review

Pinball FX3 Williams Pinball Volume 1

 

For years, the video game Pinball Arcade offered faithful recreations of real pinball tables, while Zen Studios’ Zen Pinball, Pinball FX, and their sequels featured original tables that paired realistic physics with unrealistic mechanics. But that’s no longer the case now that Zen Studios have secured the rights to tables by the iconic pinball company Williams. The first three of which — 1992’s The Getaway: High Speed II, 1996’s Junk Yard; and 1997’s Medieval Madness — are now available for Pinball FX3 (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC) as Williams Pinball: Volume 1. (A fourth, 1992’s Fish Tales, will also be available, but will be free, and wasn’t sent with the other three, hence it’s not included in this review). But while they are almost as authentic as the versions made for Pinball Arcade counterparts, there are some differences that will delight pinball fans but annoy purists.

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PC Reviews Video Games Xbox One

Forza Horizon 4 Review

Forza Horizon 4

Like every installment of this open world racing game series, Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox One, Xbox One Ultimate Edition, PC, PC Delxue Edition) has new gameplay mechanics that add depth and variety. But it’s the tweaking of an established system that changes the most about this year’s model, and not for entirely for the better.

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DVDs/Blu-rays Movies Reviews

Solo: A Star Wars Story Blu-ray, 4K Review

Solo A Star Wars Story

While Han Solo has long been one of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars saga, he’s also been one of the more mysterious, with his backstory left largely untold. But that all changed with Solo: A Star Wars Story, a biopic that showed what Han was up to a few years before he agreed to give a ride to some old guy and a cocky teenager. And while this epic sci-fi space opera works well on the new Blu-ray and 4K editions, they are missing some key extras that would’ve made them even better. (There is also a DVD version, but it seems to have no extras, and since I wasn’t sent a copy of it to review…)

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