WWE 2K22 is the definition of a mixed bag. There are clearly areas where the team at Visual Concepts made positive progress with the franchise, particularly in wrestler AI and animations. Many of the marquee talents look fantastic and there is a lot to do within the game. Sadly, most of the modes are half-baked and the series is still suffering from bugs or problems it has carried for far too long.
How much fun you’ll have in the bleak, frozen landscape depends on how much you are still smitten with mid-90s first-person shooter mechanics. Serious Sam would rather die than apologize for being what he is. Those looking for an evolution or some sort of next step in gameplay design may as well look elsewhere. All encounters in the game play out exactly the same way they have for the last thirty years. You can mix things up with weapon choices, co-op, and difficulty settings, but that’s about it. 2016’s Doom received loads of (justified) praise for finding a way to push this genre forward. Siberian Mayhem is clearly content to keep touring with the hits. While I won’t drag it for being true to itself, only devout followers of the church of Sam need apply.
Likewise, if you are burning to play a Left 4 Dead-style game but you only have a newer console, Back 4 Blood should fit the bill, though there are several more interesting options out there if you look. At the end of the day, this is an inferior version of Left 4 Dead 2 that lacks the style, charm, gore, and engaging characters it tries to reproduce. That said, there is a decent foundation here and there are worse ways you could spend a weekend with some buddies.
While The Artful Escape does a strong job with its presentation and sense of style, it still suffers the same drawbacks as most adventure games, particularly with the boring-at-best game mechanics.
I have mixed feelings from my time with Aliens: Fireteam Elite. I love the movies (well, the first two) and cooperative shooting is usually in my wheelhouse, but I could never connect with what is on offer here. The feel of the gunplay, mission design, and pacing have been a big turn-off for me, so I don’t personally see much value in endlessly repeating these missions for better attachments or cosmetics. It feels worse at conveying the spirit of the movies than the best of the preceding games adapted from the films and generic even as a modern online co-op shooter.
I am disappointed by the mixed feelings I get from Backbone. It is absolutely worth a look solely on the merits of its audiovisual presentation, but its attempt to offer commentary or insight into the topics its narrative broaches repeatedly fall flat, particularly in the latter half. EggNut clearly has the goods in the art and music departments, so I would love to see what they can do with a stronger narrative in the future. If you do choose to give Backbone a shot, make sure to get the Artifact Edition, as it includes the wonderful soundtrack.
King of Seas does lots of things well, from its visual presentation to the simplicity of its sailing mechanics. It touches base with many of the things that made classics out of the games that came prior while streamlining the experience into something that feels like a store-brand version of the thing I actually wanted. The lack of real keyboard and mouse support is a black eye on the PC version, though the foundation here is stable enough that King of Seas can have a brighter future through updates.
Ultimately, Rock of Ages 3 is an additional serving of the series in a party-sized bag.
At its best, The Fisherman leaves you amped up from an intense fight with a river monster you’ve been trying to coax out of its hole for hours. At its worst, it feels like an attempt to quickly cash-in on work done for the freemium version that came before it.
The Contra Anniversary Collection could have been so much more.
Bus Simulator 18 is not a game changer and to be honest, it's not the most rewarding experience I've ever had in front of my PC. Still, it has solid driving mechanics, some detailed buses, and a gameplay loop that is strangely relaxing. A lack of content, multiplayer bugs, and a boring campaign keep me from recommending the game to all. Bus aficionados and sim game enthusiast will find lots to like in this package. It is possible that the Steam Workshop will be able to breathe life into the game in the future, but without the content available now, the asking price is a little steep. 6/10 drug addicts passed out in the back seats
I'm not sure if Dream Daddy is just a simple visual novel or a commentary on some social issue. Is it all a fever dream? Was there some nefarious explanation for the weirdness and coincidence of the proximity to all the hot gay dads? Did I let my mixed emotions about losing touch with my college-bound daughter drive me to explore a sexual side of me that I never knew existed? Was I secretly gay beforehand and masterminded the entire move to Maple Bay to satisfy a kink?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.