Aliens: Fireteam Elite was one of the video games of all time. No, that last sentence wasn’t a typo. It was a alright experience with some cool moments but even as a fanboy of the Alien series, I wasn’t really blown away by it like I was Alien: Isolation nor was it the hilarious trainwreck of Aliens: Colonial Marines .
As for the sequel, I’m getting much the same vibe. We see some new Xeno types that barely resemble the iconic monster. I’m sure me and Savior would get some level of enjoyment out of it but I highly doubt it’ll be full or even half price worth. I did laugh seeing the queen at the end- remembering the travesty of the finale of the previous game. In the end, I’m pretty meh but with friends I’m sure it’ll be fine but if you want a epic horde shooter, there’s always Left 4 Dead or the surprisingly awesome John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
We love us some Evil Dead here at Saviorgaming. Whether its the classic, the absurd goofball epic of Army of Darkness, or even the incredible piece of theater: Evil Dead: The Musical . Burn is the 6th movie in this confusing and purely insane saga, with Evil Dead: Wrath also in the works.
Burn appears to be a dark family drama at its rotted deadite heart. Their are two trailers, both with different footage; Youtube kept censoring the first, more gruesome trailer, so we’re off to a good start. I miss the uncanny sight of the claymation deadites of old, but the modern ones are slowly growing on me. As always, I’ll always miss the legend that is Bruce Campbell as Ash but Burn looks promising. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
In the years before Doom and Doom: Eternal , the Doom Slayer was a slave to the Kreed Makyr. Dispatched to a world overrun by the demon scourge, the Doom Slayer must band together with a kingdom to make a stand against the endless armies of hell.
Ok guys, real talk time: there’s A Lot of story in this particular entry. No longer is the story stuffed into notes or audio logs most of us didn’t pay a lick of attention to. It’s Doom. Most of us come for the brutal demon slaughter with badass weapons to loud, unrelenting metal music. Thankfully we get plenty of that. I love the aesthetic of this game. The weapons are a mix of medieval and sci fi, with giant robots, biomechanical dragons, and a certain special horror figure tossed in. The shield is the biggest gameplay change. You can whip it around like Captain America, sawing through fodder hoards and stunning bigger enemies, as well as parrying critical attacks. The parrying mechanic is fine but I felt like it was overused to living hell. Instead frantic combat that made you think on a microsecond’s notice like Eternal, most of this game comes down to the shield. It made the game stale in a way the previous entries weren’t for me.
The game takes a grander, more open approach than any other Doom has. I found it mostly fun to explore and gather loot to upgrade my abilities. The enemies are your pretty standard Doom fare, with a couple new enemies that can murder you real quick if you don’t learn to parry. The weapons themselves range from great to meh- the Super Shotgun, the Ravager, the Accelerator, Rocket Launcher, and Chainshot were my personal go-tos. Some weapons I felt were cool in theory but I nevr found much use for a lot of the options I was given all around. The epic set pieces were a huge win for me, fighting giant kaiju demons in a robot mech and flying around on my badass dragon were a long time metal nerd’s dream come true.
The game leans heavy on it’s story but sadly I wasn’t really invested. There’s long cutscenes that while beautiful feel like they belong in another game. A lot of the game is basically generic fantasy game dialogue and hyping the Slayer up as if he wasn’t already a absolute legend. As I said, while I appreciate the effort, the story didn’t really do anything for me.
In the end, I found Dark Ages to be the weak point of the trilogy but far from terrible. It’s a damn fun, truly epic experience at times that just leans too heavy on the shield parry and a meh story for me but still well worth grabbing. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
So Savior and I are a bit befuddled with Zach Cregger’s work. I admire the man’s style and creativity- you’re never getting a straight slasher, possession, or monster romp with him. I appreciate that. He’s also, for better or worse, a director that likes making WTF movies. That’s all well and good but I was skeptical finding out out he was doing a Resident Evil movie.
On it’s own, the movie looks solid. It has a nice atmosphere and intrigue I’d come to expect from Cregger’s work. However, looks nothing like Resident Evil. At all. It’s been widely known this movie is outside the game’s canon, and vaguely happens around the Raccoon City outbreak. I know a lot of the fanbase is pretty pissed how distant it is from the games- even I’m not too happy about it myself- but considering what Netflix gave us, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City , and the Milla Jojovich movies, least this looks competent. I’ curious to know more and I do want to see it, regardless. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Holy crap, talk about surprised. I didn’t have much hope for the Clayface solo movie. This teaser admittedly looks incredible. I love that it’s heavily inspired by Feats of Clay, an incredible 2 part episode from Batman: the animated series . The body horror looks fantastic. My hype went through the roof instantly just from this tiny peak. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
For years I was a pretty fan of Youtuber Chris Stuckmann and his movie reviews. As his style changed, I fell out of touch with his stuff but I was pretty happy when I learned the guy got to fulfill his dream of making a major studio film. So how did his debut horror movie turn out?
Riley Brennan, host of a famous, early, paranormal Youtube channel disappeared in 2008 with her friends. Her friends were all discovered brutally killed, but there’s no sign of Riley, her last video recorded in the abandoned town of Shelby Oaks. Riley’ sister, Mia, refuses to give up home. Twelve years later, a man commits suicide on Mia’s doorstep, and in his hand is a tape named after the town where Riley disappeared. Setting off, Mia must answer what happened in Shelby Oaks.
This was a weird bag for me. The movie looks really damn good and the acting is solid all around. However the story kills the potential this movie has. The opening is solid, almost strong, but breaks apart as it goes on. I feel like the characters and backstories weren’t really developed and the story needed more connective tissue between events so the movie wouldn’t feel like a series of random events strung together. The finale could’ve been good if I understood what was really going on. Admittedly, I’m sorry to say I laughed at the very end. What saves the movie is some tense atmosphere and really good camera work. I feel like I’ve been overly negative in this review but honestly, Stuckmann’s debut isn’t bad, just not great either. It’s worth checking out if you got Hulu and I do think the guy has talent and I’d gladly check out his next project. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Resident Evil has never been bigger with the overwhelming success of Resident Evil Requiem as well as the remakes and the hype buzzing around Zach Cregger’s new film reboot. So what happens when you try to be faithful to the games that started it all on a shoestring budget and a even more half-ass understanding of the source material then the Paul W.S. Anderson movies that came before?
Claire Redfield has returned to Raccoon City in search for her estranged brother Chris. Raccoon City is a near dead town overseen by the Umbrella Corporation. Chris, a member of the police’s S.T.A.R.S team is sent to investigate trouble in the Spencer Mansion in the Arklay Mountains while trouble begins in town. A sickness is spreading and Claire’s only companion is bumbling rookie cop, Leon Kennedy. Zombies, monsters, secrets-what is really going on in Raccoon City?
This movie frustratingly tries biting off more than it can chew by combining the stories of the first two RE games into one and fails pretty miserably at it. There are names and easter eggs galore from the games but none of it is implemented well. Chris is a smarmy pro Umbrella crybaby, Leon is a dumbass who only was only a cop because his daddy pulled strings, Wesker is a chilled out bro, and Lisa Trevors is a friendly ghoul secretly living in the orphanage. The shoestring budget is pretty apparent. The zombies, what very little their are, don’t even look like zombies, the monsters except for the licker look like they were ripped off of the sci-fi channel, and the city itself looks like a small town instead of a bustling city. There are a few great sets like the mansion and the police station that made me happy but feel really out of place. What makes this movie entertaining unfortunately is how unintentionally hilarious the movie comes across. There’s one scene Savior and I watched on repeat for almost twenty minutes because we couldn’t stop laughing- just watch the flaming zombie scene and thank us later. In the end, if you’re a die hard RE fan avoid this movie like the plague. If you want something to rip on with your friends and few beers, this is for you. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
I admit I’m not a huge Street Fighter fan but I do enjoy playing here and there. I figured with the success of Mortal Kombat 2021 , this movie was certainly going to happen. Honestly, I liked what I saw more than I thought I would. The movie looks fun and the over the top. Even as a casual fan, I give the movie major props for trying to capture the look of the games. There’s a heavy 90’s vibe I honestly dig. In the end, I really like this first trailer and I hope it’ll be a rare good video game movie. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Everything I’ve seen about BND felt too much. So far we’re getting Punisher, Hulk, Tarantula, Boomerang, Scorpion, Tombstone, the Hand, and maybe Jean Grey (?) plus other cameos and it looks very much like they’re doing the Man-Spider arc. I’ve seen many statements that they wanted to do a more street level spidey movie- cool. The Man-Spider stuff could also be really cool for a movie. Together I can’t help but feel its too much. The movie doesn’t look bad but after Thor: Love and Thunder and Captain America: Brave New World I’m really, really nervous about 4th MCU installments. I’m praying for Spidey. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Five years has passed since Cal Kestis resumed the Jedi path and began fighting against the Empire. He’s become a valued part of the resistance, but no matter what, the Empire is always one step ahead. Everything changes when he hears of the fabled planet of Tanalorr- a force sensitive planet thought untouchable, unreachable, the perfect haven for the Jedi. Unfortunately, Cal awakens a long dormant High Republic jedi obsessed with the world, who’s willing to do anything to find it. Can Cal reunite his friends and beat the odds while avoiding the dark side?
Survivor is a sequel in every sense, good and bad. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was one of my favorite games of the last console gen, almost a masterpiece. Survivor goes bigger, deeper, but not always for the best. Essentially the game feels like 2 different stories pressed together. Dagan Gera’s story in the first half didn’t really do much for me; I felt Dagan lacked the emotional depth of Trilla in the previous game. The later half, delivers a darker, more compelling story with a villain who not only challenges Cal on a combative level but a personal level, leading to pretty impactful finale (no spoilers on this villain’s identity). I seriously wished the rest of the game was just as powerful as the mid to endgame.
Gameplay is mixed. There’s more force powers which great expand combat in some fun was that are really epic. There are 5 lightsaber stances instead of 2, which vary gameplay style but I feel like dual wield and double bladed are the most OP options; if you max out dual wield, you can virtually become untouchable. I had to use the Kylo Ren crossgard saber for the biggest challenge on my first run. You can do partner attacks at certain points but I rarely used this feature, forgetting they were even there a lot of the time.
Rather than multiple worlds like the first game, we get less that are bigger and more open, including a hub world that unfolds like a typical souls map. I wasn’t a fan of this approach. The worlds of survivor mostly aren’t very interesting or memorable, except for a a few set pieces here and there. I hope you like desert biomes. The platforming feels less Prince of Persia and more cheap Zelda with a bunch of puzzle heavy temples that offer piss to no loot. Oh loot plays a big part of this game, but none of it really adds to much except skins. This big hub world is full of side quests that are predominately stale, generic fetch quests. I felt myself giving up on side missions pretty quickly every playthrough.
Sadly, I do have to say my experience wasn’t as flawless as Fallen Order’s. The previous game was a silky smooth ride. Survivor had some pretty hilarious bugs on my first playthrough, including a rock yeeting me into the sky. There’s also a fair amount of hard crashes I had that set me back a few times. Later play throughs were cleaner but still noticeable like playing with a invisible lightsaber for a while and falling through solid objects.
In the end, Survivor, despite my various complaints, is a solid game that could’ve been great. I feel like if it cooked another year, and dialed some things back it would’ve been much better. If you loved the first game and find it on sale, it’s worth checking out but keep your excitement in check. May the force be with you all.
Savior Gaming 