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OpinionFight, Magic, Item: The Comfort Of Simple RPGs
The last two games I played on my Switch were the original Dragon Quest and Breath of Fire, two early examples of the Japanese role-playing game. Today, they might seem overly simplistic: grind for levels, brute-force through a boss, repeat. These two games are, if anything, even more simplistic than their peers. And right now,…
By Chris Kohler -
OpinionImpressionsThe Sims 4 Unexpectedly Captures The Best Part Of New Year’s Eve
I have a fondness for New Year’s Eve that I find hard to explain. When I drank, the appeal was absolutely the drinking, which makes sense. After experiencing my first non-drinking New Year’s Eve last December, though, I realized there’s something more to the night before the calendar rolls over than just partying. It’s about…
By Gita Jackson -
OpinionImpressionsMy Boyfriend Keeps Pranking Me With The Theme From Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
There is no greater pleasure than owning one’s significant other. Here’s how Assassin’s Creed Odyssey helped me do that this holiday season. My dad, an extremely normal guy, got himself an Echo Show this Christmas. Last night as my Jewish boyfriend and I were making latkes, we started fooling around with it—mostly screaming at it…
By Gita Jackson -
OpinionImpressionsThe X-Men Update Adds Friendly Competition To Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
Rise of the Phoenix, the second installment of paid downloadable content for Switch exclusive Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, is now live. The level cap has been upped to 200; Iceman, Phoenix, Cable, and Gambit join the fray; and the new Danger Room mode gives players a cool new way to team up and compete. As…
By Mike Fahey -
OpinionImpressionsGet Kills Or Go Kaboom In Modern Warfare’s New ‘Cranked’ Mode
Modern Warfare’s newest mode is a return to the fast-paced, addictive multiplayer we expect from Call of Duty. It forces players to move around for kills, or else go kaboom. This week’s update for Modern Warfare added new Special Operation missions and more multiplayer maps, but the new mode, called Cranked, was by far the…
By S.E. Doster -
OpinionImpressionsLego’s New Apple Arcade Game Is A Quiet, Thoughtful Puzzler
Lego Builder’s Journey, out today on Apple Arcade, is a far cry from the usual lighthearted and playful Lego video games. It’s a quiet, thoughtful puzzle game that wordlessly tells the tale of a father and son discovering the importance of play. It’s an incredibly nuanced toy commercial that hits me right in the dad…
By Mike Fahey -
OpinionImpressionsBorderlands 3‘s First Major Expansion Reminds Me How Much I Missed Handsome Jack
Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, the first of four major DLC expansions planned for Borderlands 3, is an odd duck with regard to the way it’s made me reconsider the game’s main campaign. While I very much enjoyed Borderlands 3 and believe this is a fun and necessary continuation of its looter-shooter adventure, the…
By Ian Walker -
OpinionImpressionsNo Man’s Sky Now Lets Players Make Music And It’s Wild
No Man’s Sky players have been using the newly added ByteBeat machine to make their own tunes, some of which truly whip ass. Who knew what No Man’s Sky needed to get people’s creative juices flowing was a sophisticated synthesizer? The ByteBeat machine is a fun little holiday present from Hello Games to No Man’s…
By Gita Jackson -
OpinionBorderlands 3’s Quest Cycling Option Is Amazing
I’m getting pretty sick of opening up menus in games, so when I realized I could just toggle through quests at any time in Borderlands 3, I was overjoyed In previous Borderlands games you could highlight a limited number of quests to pursue at one time. The latest game effectively lets you track all of…
By Ethan Gach -
OpinionImpressionsI Feel Ready For The Future Of Video Game Streaming On Xbox One With This $15 Piece Of Plastic
Power A’s new mobile gaming clip looks like the sort of accessory I might have bought for my Game Boy Color back in the 90s. It’s a mess of black plastic that makes weird clicking noises and, to the untrained eye, looks like garbage. But it’s made my Xbox One controller into an excellent portable…
By Ethan Gach -
OpinionImpressionsForza‘s Battle Royale Is Only As Cutthroat As You Want It To Be
A round of Eliminator, Forza Horizon 4’s new battle royale multiplayer mode, begins the same as one of my casual online driving sessions. It’s me in a car, bouncing and rolling across the countryside, trying to avoid other players. The main difference is that my choice of vehicles is extremely limited, and eluding human contact…
By Mike Fahey -
OpinionImpressionsWattam Is Complete Nonsense And I Love It
At the beginning of Wattam, the latest PC and PlayStation 4 game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi, I control a green cube with a face and a bowler cap, sad and alone in a dark world. Then I make friends with a small rock. Then a large rock. I tip my hat to my…
By Mike Fahey -
OpinionImpressionsControl’s New Combat-Focused Update Is Fun Even When It’s Destroying Me
When I first heard about Control’s new Expeditions mode, timed events based around combat that went live last night during the Game Awards, I was skeptical. Control is an atmospheric thriller, and while I think it handles third-person action combat well, it’s not the reason I’d recommend the game (which I definitely would). But here…
By Ethan Gach -
OpinionImpressionsSeason Of Dawn Is A Nice Break From The Destiny 2 Power Grind
Destiny 2’s latest season features Saint-14, a legendary Titan whom players have been eager to meet. The only catch is that they’ll have to spend a lot of time doing boring stuff before they get to learn more about him. Season of Dawn, which went live on December 10, begins with the return of Osiris,…
By Ethan Gach -
OpinionImpressionsBlack Desert Mobile Is Out Globally Today, And It’s Good
Black Desert, the fantasy online role-playing game with the character creator we wouldn’t shut up about a few years back, started on PC, then jumped to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Last year, developer Pearl Abyss released a free-to-play mobile version in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Starting today, everybody can play the tablet-taxing MMO on…
By Mike Fahey -
OpinionImpressionsThe Avengers Game Has A Tie-In Comic About How The Team’s Troubles Started
Square Enix’s upcoming Avengers video game begins with a tragic mission that tears the superhero team apart. In issue one of Marvel’s Avengers: Iron Man, the first official tie-in comic book for the game, we learn that the team’s falling out starts long before the game begins. Written by Jim Zub with art by Paco…
By Mike Fahey -
OpinionRedBox Is Ending Its Video Game Rentals, And I’ll Miss Them A Lot
There’s a small stall that occupies approximately 10 square feet of the sprawling, glass-roofed warehouse where I buy my groceries. Inside are a handful of discs—a rotating shortlist of the most popular console blockbusters—that I can take home, try, and return for only a few bucks. Redbox, you’ve burned me in the past, but damn…
By Ethan Gach -
OpinionImpressionsRazer’s Keycap Upgrade Kits Are An Easy Way To Make A Keyboard Pretty
Swapping out keycaps is the simplest way to personalize and beautify your mechanical keyboard, but finding affordable keycaps in the right profile can be a real pain. Razer’s new keycap upgrade sets are a pretty good solution, covering an entire standard keyboard in one of four different colors—green, pink, white, or black—for just $30. You…
By Mike Fahey
