Category: Video Games

Categories
iOS Reviews Video Games

“Mighty Doom” Review

 

Under normal circumstances, there’s no reason to read a review of a free game (and thus no reason to write one). Reviews are supposed to tell you whether you should spend your money on something. If a game is free, you can just try it for yourself.

But along with advising you to buy something that’s good, or warning you not to buy something that’s bad, reviews are also supposed to expose you to good things you might not know about. Which is why I wrote this review of Mighty Doom (iOS, Android). After the debacle that was Diablo Immortal — by which I mean the way people overreacted to its monetary aspects, not the game itself, the game was good — I worry that some people view think this arcade shooter, which is also a mobile version of a console / PC game, is just as a cash grab, and thus miss out on all of its gun-ny goodness.

Continue reading ““Mighty Doom” Review”
Categories
PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Resident Evil 4” (2023 Remake) Review

 

Usually if a remake of a classic game doesn’t modernize its controls and make other improvements or additions, it’s not worth getting. Just compare the faithful but dated-feeling remake of Resident Evil compared to the updated and upgraded Resident Evil 2. But leave it to this new version of Resident Evil 4 (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PC) to buck that trend by being a lot like the original that came out for the GameCube in 2005, and yet still be a must-have for fans of this classic horror shooter. And, well, for people who’ve never had the pleasure.

Continue reading ““Resident Evil 4” (2023 Remake) Review”
Categories
PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition” Review

 

Originally released in 2019, the first-person action-oriented role-playing game The Outer Worlds was like the recent Fallout games if that series had better real-time combat, was even snarkier, and was more influenced by such space operas as Firefly than such ’50s sci-fi movies as Forbidden Planet.

While a sequel is on the way, people who missed the original — and who own a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X or S — can now enjoy an enhanced and more complete version of the game with The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition. Which, no surprise, is just as good as the original, and may even be worth getting if you played some but not all of the original version.

Continue reading ““The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition” Review”
Categories
PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Atomic Heart” Review

 

Sometimes, when you first start to play a video game, you notice that something doesn’t feel quite right, and no matter how small or insignificant it may be, it still taints the experience. That, unfortunately, is what happened when I started playing Atomic Heart (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC), a first-person sci-fi action / adventure game that could’ve been unique, exciting, and interesting…had they not made one simple mistake.

Continue reading ““Atomic Heart” Review”
Categories
PC PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Dead Space” 2023 Remake Review

 

Though it spawned two sequels, a couple side games, a mobile game, a pair of novels, two animated movies, some graphic novels, and a bunch of toys, t-shirts, and collectibles, the 2008 survival horror game Dead Space is often just considered a cult classic.

Which made it rather surprising when Electronic Arts announced a remake of the game for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (and just a few years after Glen Schofield, one of the original Space creators, announced a spiritual successor, the recently released Callisto Protocol).

But a lot can happen in fifteen years, especially in video games, something I kept in mind as I stepped once more into the breach.

Continue reading ““Dead Space” 2023 Remake Review”
Categories
PC Video Games Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

Can You Play The Rhythm Game “Hi-Fi Rush” With The Music Off?

 

Sometimes it sucks to be a gamer who’s picky about music. Not only do you frequently feel compelled to turn a game’s music off — which can lead to weird moments, like when you go into the bar in Mass Effect and see people dancing to silence — but it can make rhythm games extra annoying unless they have the word “Metallica” in the title. Oddly, though, some rhythm games don’t actually need you to listen to the music. Metal: Hellsinger was like that; it worked just as well (or, in my case, even better) when I turned the music off.

It was with this in mind that I started playing the rhythmic third-person hack & slash action game Hi-Fi Rush (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC), initially with the music cranked up, but later with it turned off, to see if it was even playable, let alone fun, without the tunes…and, of course, if it was fun in the first place.

Continue reading “Can You Play The Rhythm Game “Hi-Fi Rush” With The Music Off?”
Categories
Books Video Games

Exclusive Interview: “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Dragonfire” Author James Swallow

 

While it may be a while before we get to take control of Splinter Cell hero Sam Fisher, the iconic video game hero isn’t just sitting around the house, watching TV. In the following email interview, writer James Swallow discusses Sam’s latest outing in novel form, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Dragonfire (paperback, Kindle, audiobook).

Continue reading “Exclusive Interview: “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Dragonfire” Author James Swallow”
Categories
PC PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games

“Forspoken” Review

Forspoken_20230113212040

 

A video game is often only as good as its weakest parts. But sometimes a game manages to overcome its obvious flaws. And while the results are never great, they can be good. Or at least halfway decent. Which is where we find Forspoken (PlayStation 5, PC), an open world, fantasy, third-person action / adventure game that manages to get fun despite its glaring flaws.

Well, to a point.

Continue reading ““Forspoken” Review”
Categories
Books Video Games

Exclusive Interview: “Tom Clancy’s The Division: Compromised” Author Thomas Parrott

 

While it’s been nearly four years since the most recent game came out, and there’s no word on when the next one will be released, fans of The Division series haven’t had to go cold turkey where pandemic-related post-apocalyptic shooters are concerned. Not so long as writer Thomas Parrott is still working the keyboard. In the following email interview, Parrott discusses his new novel, Tom Clancy’s The Division: Compromised (paperback, Kindle, audiobook), his sequel to 2022’s The Division: Recruited.

Continue reading “Exclusive Interview: “Tom Clancy’s The Division: Compromised” Author Thomas Parrott”