Some movies work better in theaters. Some games work better on bleeding-edge hardware. The stars have aligned and a premium Crysis experience is available for the masses. There's never been a better time to put on the NanoSuit than right now. 8/10 8K roach shaders
While I have issues with a few parts of the game, mainly the lower-quality skill tree stuff and gripes related to rogue-lites and old shooters in general, the total package on offer is really strong. At the time of release, the game is only available for PC, which I think could be the biggest negative here. It’s clearly capable of running on less-capable hardware, but I worry that it may go unnoticed unless the team at Blazing Bit Games can find a way to make console ports work financially. If you are already smitten with boomer shooters or rogue-lites, this one is an easy recommendation.
Madden NFL 19 is a mixed bag.
I feel that GRIP will draw lots of strong opinions on either side of the spectrum and that the diehards will stick with it for the foreseeable future. It’s not likely to set the world on fire and will appeal mostly to the nostalgia of older PC gamers, but does enough to be more than a pretty paint job on top of old ideas.
I can definitely recommend MXGP 19 to newcomers who are intrigued by the sport or are looking for a different kind of racing fix. It’s not the best racing I’ve done this year, but I found myself enjoying the time I spent working through the season mode (even if its structure was boring) and all the noodling around in Playground mode was entertaining.
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts launches with a budget-friendly price but still feels undercooked.
For those who don’t have access to a PS4, Super Mega Baseball 3 still offers a solid overall package and will not disappoint anyone looking for a good time.
Equal parts fever dream and time-waster, Fight Crab may find a way to sidestep into your library.
ScourgeBringer manages to work on the strength of its controls and the overall smoothness of its combat.
Sumo Digital has done a wonderful job bringing the visual aesthetic of the LittleBigPlanet franchise into a 3D platforming world. The levels are a delight to look at and shine brightly when paired with a top-shelf display. The various outfits and visual customizations that can be sewn onto Sackboy also look fantastic. I ended up using a Yak outfit I bought early in the game for the rest of my playthrough as I simply couldn’t get enough of how delightfully stupid it looked. When it comes to gameplay and story, it is fair to say that we’ve seen it all before, and usually done better. The main appeal here is to rehash old material with a 4K, leather-and-corduroy-upholstered refresh. If that sounds like a good time, Sackboy is sure to please, but it will leave other PS5 owners wondering when next-gen will actually show up. 7/10 yak outfits
Freakpocalypse moves the Cyanide & Happiness universe into the gaming sphere much more effectively than its predecessor. Its main story arc of finding a prom date for its hero Coop works well as a narrative thread to hold together all manner of tasteless nonsense. The game is being advertised as the first of a trilogy and has enough to see and interact with to satisfy its core audience. The relatively low price and time investment of around ten hours are inviting, but I suspect the subject matter and confounding frustrations brought on by genre design tropes will put off the general gaming audience at large.
WRC 10 FIA World Rally Championship is a solid all-around experience built on a reliable foundation.
When I take a step back from Lost Judgment and look at all the individual parts, it feels more like a self-serve buffet rather than a specific meal that a chef made for me. There is a time and place for tossing everything you have at the wall and seeing what sticks, and there are also times when using restraint would be a better option. I am sure that my lack of experience in Japanese culture works against how I perceive many of the sequences in Lost Judgment and I’m sure series fanatics will eat it up. Sega is clearly capable of making a compelling mystery game that could stand in league with the work we see out of studios like Naughty Dog, but that will require a more focused, better-paced approach that Lost Judgement seems eager to avoid.
Resurrected could end up becoming a much better value down the road as the development team begins introducing updates and upgrades, but as of right now, you should avoid this package unless you are happy with straight-up Diablo 2. That being said, there are many reasons to be thrilled to revisit the game, particularly for the timeless soundtrack and to get a glance at the spiffy new paint job. Just make sure to set your expectations accordingly.
Space action junkies will eat this one up and those with next-gen consoles that are new-game-thirsty could do much worse than this interstellar tale of redemption.
The Gunk never really falters at any point during its decidedly short runtime, but also fails to do anything to push itself above a crowded group of peers in the action-platformer genre. The pro-environmental themes are laid on real thick here, but it all works reasonably well within the confines of the story and action. As with many new games released recently, The Gunk is eligible for Xbox Game Pass on Day 1. While it may not offer a memorable experience, it is difficult to argue against giving it a try for the price, especially if you are smitten with most action platformers.
The minute-to-minute action is downright delightful, even if the boss encounters maintain the series’ streak of being underwhelming. The shooting, movement, and killing are every bit as good as recent Doom games, even if the whole thing feels derivative.
Last season, I was disappointed with the PS5/Series X versions of The Show as I was hoping for a step into the next console generation of visuals, animations, and physics. Expansion into the Xbox ecosystem and logistical issues due to COVID-19 necessitated a shorter and likely less-involved upgrade to the game. To get nearly the same experience for the second-straight year is a legit bummer. This is still the best professional sports sim you can get on any hardware and if you are a baseball fan that hasn’t played The Show in recent years, this is an experience to look out for. For others who have been waiting years for something new, this one sadly isn’t it.
Objectively, Forza Motorsport 7 is an excellent game. It has the looks, the sounds, and the feel of a champion. In my opinion, it does not look as good as Forza Horizon 3 in many areas, but I can overlook that due to how it is structured and how well it performs. I don't believe it is as good a game as Forza Horizon 3, despite having much better tracks, but would not hesitate to recommend the console version to any driving game fan. Had I not experienced the aforementioned performance issues, I would be inclined to give Forza Motorsport 7 my highest recommendation for PC players. As things stand now, I cannot give it any higher than a 6/10. If a patch arrives in a timely fashion (the 8 months it took to fix Horizon 3 is unacceptable) that addresses the performance problems, I would have no issues with a 9/10.
Castellanos pushes through the twisted world in the hunt for Lily, encountering new faces, old faces, disgusting nightmare faces, and a semen monster. By the end of it all, I couldn't remember half of what happened and had no desire to explore STEM for a second time on a higher difficulty. Reducing the amount of bullets is not going to make the experience more compelling.