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PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games

“Detroit: Become Human” Video Game Review

 

Science fiction has a long history of covertly (and not so covertly) tackling sensitive subjects of a social and political nature. Issues of race and racism, for instance, have been explored in everything from the original Star Trek and the movie District 9 to such novels as Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Rivers Solomon’s An Unkindness Of Ghosts. And now it’s the driving force behind thethird-person cyberpunk video game Detroit: Become Human (PlayStation 4), the newest interactive movie from Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls developer Quantic Dream. It’s just too bad the game isn’t as fun as it is thoughtful.

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PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games

God Of War (2018) Review

In The Godfather III, Michael Corleone lamented, “Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in!” But while that’s also the situation that Kratos finds himself in at the beginning of the new God Of War (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Collector’s Edition), the game’s seamless mix of updated and classic mechanics into an epic and effortless third-person action extravaganza won’t have you making any similar complaints.

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PC PlayStation 4 Video Games

Exclusive Interview: What Remains Of Edith Finch Creative Director Ian Dallas

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.

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PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games

Horizon Zero Dawn Review

 

Given that one of the best games of 2015 was the third-person action game Rise Of The Tomb Raider, and that one of the best games of 2016 was the prehistoric open world action/adventure game Far Cry Primal, you’d expect big things from Horizon Zero Dawn (PlayStation 4), which basically combines them. But it’s actually the adding of post-apocalyptic sci-fi elements, as well as bits of gameplay from some other great games, that helps make Horizon Zero Dawn one of the best games of 2017.

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PlayStation 4 Video Games

Exclusive Interview: 3on3 Freestyle Executive Producer Chan Hyun Kim

 

While I’ve long been someone who doesn’t enjoy sports — playing them, watching them, seeing them on my TV when The Simpsons should be on instead — I’ve also long been someone who doesn’t enjoy sports video games. Unless, of course, the game takes a less serious, arcade-ish approach. Such is the case with 3on3 Freestyle, a PlayStation 4-exclusive street basketball from Joycity, who previously made the street ball games Freestyle and Freestyle2 for PC. Though to figure out if I’d actually like it as much as enjoyed such similar games as One On One: Dr. J Vs Larry Bird and NBA Jam, I spoke to Chan Hyun Kim, the game’s executive producer to get the lowdown on this free-to-play game.

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PC PlayStation 4 Reviews Video Games Xbox One

Moto Racer 4 Review

While fans of arcade-style racing games have always gotten to drive dirt bikes on off-road courses, there haven’t been many lately where they’ve gotten to take motorcycles on to city streets or designated tracks. But while the on- and off-road arcade motorcycle racing game Moto Racer 4 (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC) aims to fulfil that need, it’s somewhat undermined by a badly executed difficulty system and a generally cheap feel.

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PC PlayStation 4 Video Games Xbox 360 Xbox One

Best Games Of 2016

While 2016 wasn’t the best year for video games, there were a bunch that I had a lot of fun playing.

Here now, in no particular order, are the best games I played in 2016.

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PC PlayStation 4 Video Games

Exclusive Interview: Abzu Composer Austin Wintory

The third-person, underwater exploration game Abzu (PlayStation 4, PC) was one of 2016’s more interesting and immersive games. And one element that made it so effective was the music, which really made you feel like you were scuba diving in a serene, fish-filled sea. With the score for Abzu now available on CD and digitally, I spoke to its composer, Austin Wintory, about how he came to make the music for this game and what he did to his score to make it work as an album.

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iOS PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation Vita Video Games

Exclusive Interview: Lara Croft GO The Mirror Of Spirits Developers

Earlier this year, Square Enix brought the turn-based, mobile stealth puzzle game Hitman GO to the PlayStation 4 and Vita. Now they’ve repeated that move with the turn-based, action puzzle game Lara Croft GO, which is out now for PlayStation 4, Vita, and PC after being available on iOS, Android, Amazon, and Windows Phones for a year. Except that lady Lara is packing a little something extra, as the PlayStation 4, Vita, PC, and Mac versions of Lara Croft GO are also getting an expansion called Lara Croft GO The Mirror Of Spirits, which won’t be available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phones until March.

To find out what Lara Croft GO The Mirror Of Spirits is all about, I sat down with Square Enix Montreal’s Antoine Routon, the Co-Creator of the original Lara Croft GO, as well as Design Director Bronson Zgeb and Studio Director Saleem Dabbous from Ko-Op, who designed this add-on.