Having already come to every console, computer, tablet, and smartphone you might own, FarSight Studios are finally bringing The Pinball Arcade to the Xbox One.
But while this is (along with the PlayStation 4 edition) the best looking version, it is otherwise the same game…for better or worse.
Over the years, some of Spider-Man’s adversaries have been accused of plagiarism by comic book fans who think, for instance, that Sandman is a bit too much like Batman’s bad guy Clayface or that The Green Goblin is a rip-off of The Joker. But one (of many) exceptions to this is Venom, since Batman never fought an alien symbiote who used to be his suit. Which makes it fitting that the new Venom pinball table — which Zen Studios have released for Pinball FX2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, WiiU, Mac), and Zen Pinball (iOS, Android, Amazon Fire) — is also pretty unique.
After the annoying goofball that was Matt Smith, the BBC could’ve hired almost anyone to play the titular character on Doctor Who and it would’ve been an improvement. But as you’ll see from watching the dozen episodes and the extras included on the Doctor Who The Complete Eighth Series Blu-ray and DVD, they didn’t just pick anyone, they picked someone whose portrayal of the good Doctor harkens back to this show’s golden years.
Released in 1981, Time Bandits is one of writer/director Terry Gilliam’s most inventive and fantastical movies…which says a lot when you consider he also made 1985’s Brazil and 1995’s 12 Monkeys. Now this thirty-three year-old classic is getting the Blu-ray it deserves, courtesy of the good people at Criterion.
When it comes to recent racing games, the two ends of the quality scale are marked by the terrific Forza Horizon 2 and the terrible DRIVECLUB. And now, bringing up the middle, is Ubisoft’s The Crew, a flawed but somewhat fun open world, always online, arcadey racer made by Ivory Tower for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.
In the pantheon of Star Wars mistakes, few rank as high as midi-chlorians and making Jar Jar such a goofball. But cancelling the Star Wars The Clone Wars cartoon, or at least not letting it finish out its last season, ranks a close third. Thankfully, we at least have some of that last season in the form of Star Wars The Clone Wars The Lost Missions, which LucasFilm and Disney Home Video have released on Blu-ray and DVD.
As we all know, next-gen remakes that only upgrade the graphics and add-in the add-ons are usually not worth buying if you’ve already played the original games. But while that’s still true for the Halo The Master Chief Collection (Xbox One) if you’re just into single-player, for those who prefer to play with other people, especially in Halo 2, this collection might be worth the double dip.
With the last three installments being set in the not-so-distant future (Modern Warfare 3), the not-so-distant future (Black Ops II), and, yes, the not-so-distant future (Ghosts), the Call Of Duty series was starting to get itself into a rut. But by setting Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC) far enough in the future to add some sci-fi into the mix, while still keeping this series’ tenets intact, designers Sledgehammer Games, High Moon Studios (who made the PS3 and 360 editions), and Raven Software (multiplayer) have injected a little but still much-needed newness into this first-person shooter series.
Continuing a tradition he began with 2002’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, director Peter Jackson has now released a longer version of his latest Tolkien adaptation. But The Hobbit The Desolation Of Smaug Extended Edition Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray doesn’t just have the definitive version of the movie, they also have some great extras you can’t get anywhere else (well, not at the moment).