Since its inception, the Halo series has always made incremental but significant changes to its sci-fi first-person shooter tenets. But while the ones in Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox One) are a bit more fundamental, this ends up being just another Halo game…albeit with all the usual good times that implies.
Some good movies get bad Blu-rays, and some bad movies get good Blu-rays. So it’s kind of nice that the Jurassic World Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, and DVD for Jurassic World would be on the same level of the movie….or rather, it would be, if the movie hadn’t been disappointing and flawed.
Since its release in 2012, FarSight Studio’s Pinball Arcade (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, iOS, Android, PC, Mac) has consistently added new recreations of classic pinball tables from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and even the ’00s.
Here’s a critical look at the ten tables they’ve released for Season Four.
While he’s considered one of the better jazz piano players around these days, Matthew Shipp is mostly thought of as being one of the best free jazz musicians in New York City’s avant-garde scene. But on The Conduct Of Jazz (CD, digital), he pulls back a bit for a more conventional but still edgy-adjacent collection.
For me, Sunday evening’s TV used to be all about watching the cartoons on Fox: The Simpsons, Family Guy, and so on. But while the network may have neutered the night by adding such non-animated shows as Brooklyn 99 and Last Man On Earth to the schedule, Zen Studios are bringing “Animation Domination” back with the Ball Of Glory pack for Zen Pinball 2 and Pinball FX 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, Vita, iOS, Android, Amazon), which features tables inspired by Archer, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, and American Dad. Though after playing all four, it’s clear you’ll want to play them more than one night a week.
Given that it’s just an add-on to Disney Infinity 3.0, you might expect the arcadey racing game Toy Box Speedway (all systems) to be somewhat shallow. But it not only has more depth and options than you might expect, but thanks to its tight controls and twisty tracks, it’s a really fun Sunday drive.
As a resident of Los Angeles who visits San Francisco fairly regularly, I live in constant fear of being squished by an earthquake. And yet I also find movies in which earthquakes decimate Los Angeles, San Francisco, or even the whole world to be entirely engaging, even when the shaking is surrounded by a rote story or shallow characters. Which is what you get from San Andreas (Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD): a rather exciting disaster.
If it’s true that imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, then a lot of game developers should be flattered by Bedlam (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), a first-person shooter that pays homage to classic games by recreating both their fun and their flaws. Though you’ll decidedly enjoy this more if you’re familiar with the classic games being honored.
For the last couple years, the Transformers games have mostly been third-person shooters. But by switching the combat to a hack & slash motif, Transformers Devastation (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC) feels like a welcome change. It’s just too bad it sometimes feels like a redundant one as well.