15 years ago I saw Tron: Legacy in theaters. It was fun, popcorn theater experience that I forgot about a week later. Ares looks to be about the same. It looks to be a movie that will look and sound cool but as to why it exists, I can’t really say except money. I can’t really see a reason otherwise why Tron has returned nor do I know anyone who asked for it. Maybe I’ll be wrong but given what I’ve seen, I think we’re getting another helping of disposable eye candy. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Category: Uncategorized
Fantastic 4: First Steps
The 1960’s have been defined by 4 heroes who have fought villains, shaped the world, and made it a better place not only for themselves and the people around them, but the newest bundle of joy joining their family. They are no strangers to danger…until a new threat emerges from the stars, announcing the imminent death of the planet- the coming of Galactus. When faced with an impossible threat, an impossible choice, can the Fantastic 4 pull off the impossible?
I’ve been through the ringer of Fantastic 4 (1994) , Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer , and the abomination known as Fant4stic so I was scared. I’m proud to say we actually got not only a great Fantastic 4 movie, but one of the best Marvel movies in years. There was a ton of love given to the comics as well as the visual aesthetic. The movie harkens back to classic 50’s/60’s sci fi and golden age comic books. I loved the actors all around. The 4 have great chemistry and true to the characters. The Silver Surfer was awesome. The true standout was Galactus which, my god, was absolutely terrifying. The movie is well-balanced between drama, comedy, sci-fi action; I’m so happy it stands on its own and doesn’t rely on the greater MCU for its characters and story. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of the MCU end credit scene, most of us knew it was coming. In the end, I was greatly surprised and I highly recommend the MCU debut of Marvel’s First Family. May the Galactus bring you…glory? Yanno.
Mortal Kombat 2 trailer
Ok, no joke I lost when this trailer finally dropped. I enjoyed the first movie but it wasn’t perfect. Everything I see for the sequel looks like a MK fan’s wet dream. Karl Urban seems like a perfect fit for Johnny Cage. Shao Khan looks intimidating as hell. Of course the highlight is the showdown between Scorpion and Noob Saibot in hell. I’m insanely pumped for this movie and have seen the trailer a bunch of times. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Superman (2025)
Superman- we all know the man and his origin. We know what he stands for. We know that he is a symbol of hope in a troubled, complicated world. What if we didn’t, though? Superman can thwart kaijus, hang with the Justice Gang, and put a stop to political bloodshed, and we love him for it…until a secret raises a question: can humanity trust our lives to an unstoppable alien?
Superman is the first movie in James Gunn’s revamped DCU, and like many, I was really curious how it’d go. First, Gunn did a much better job of establishing a DC universe in this one film than the old DCEU did- no contest. Nothing feels overly forced. I don’t feel like this movie exists as an advert for other projects to come. Gunn clearly respects the material and it shows. The cast is great all around but Corenswet and Hoult are the highlights as Superman and Luthor. Corenswet brings a humble, gentle quality we haven’t seen to Supes since Christopher Reeves, while making him feel more human than I think we ever have. Hoult as Lex Luthor is a straight-up, ruthless, grimy, petulant bastard and perfectly captures Superman’s nemesis.
The movie, while excelling at a lot, does fumble hard in places. It does do too much. There are characters that feel shoved in. There’s jokes that either don’t land or break decently built dramatic scenes. Ultraman’s identity pissed me off a bit. The politics- they are a lot of real world politics in this movie- feel real heavy handed at times, bordering on preachy. There’s a bit with social media too I thought was eye rolling too if I’ll be honest. The effects range from great to questionable.
Overall, Superman was a good, solid foundation I want to see more of. Because of how much politics plays a role in the film, I can’t really recommend it as a clear yes or no. I will say this: I wanted a Superman movie that felt like a Superman movie. I got it. In many ways this movie is the polar opposite of Man of Steel and a refreshing palate cleanser to the host of evil Superman archetypes that have sprung up over the last few years. I enjoyed the movie and I think it deserves a chance. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
What makes a JRPG,A JRPG?
There is always plenty of debate on the topic, is a Japanese role playing game a specific style of game or,it is it any role playing game made by a Japanese company? Let’s take a look at both sides of this for a moment.
One side thinks that since it is called a JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) that any RPG game made by a Japanese company would qualify. This means that games made by From Software, such as Bloodborne or Elden Ring would be JRPGs. Now this definition doesn’t exclude games like Final Fantasy of course as they also fit the definition because of who makes them.
From here we move on to the other side of the argument, that who makes the game doesn’t matter so much as the style of it. Typically speaking these had an in depth story to them and a leveling system for the characters. The early ones had a turn based system or an active time battle system. Over time they moved to a full real time action system but the idea pretty much stayed the same of a strong story and leveling system. This still wouldn’t necessarily keep games like Bloodborne out as it does contain all of that.
The issue with this debate becomes when you try to argue they HAVE to be made in Japan or by a Japanese company. You end up with amazing games like the recent Claire Obscure. A great turned based RPG, that is made by a French company. It has every single criteria to be a JRPG. A fantastic story, great turn based combat combined with a counter system.
To me,Pizza is an Italian food. It doesn’t matter if it is made by the two Mexican guys at my local mall in Pennsylvania. Nobody argues that when my Hamburger is made by Puerto Rican ex-wife it is now Spanish food. So why do we continue to debate that a JRPG is anything other than a style of game that can be made by anyone?
This is of course just one man’s opinion. Best wishes,and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Resident Evil 9 overview
So if you wanted a lil extra to go with the pretty awesome reveal we got, here we get a bit of a dive into it with the people actually making it. While we don’t get anything super new or groundbreaking, it’s still cool having the devs set the stage and talk about why Leon isn’t the MC as well as give us an idea of what we can look forward to. I love that you can switch between 1st and 3rd person at will. I’m ultra pumped still. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Dead Relives release date trailer
It’s fairly rare when I see a trailer for a horror game that makes me wonder what the hell is actually going on. This is a pretty good example of one. The visuals are interesting and definitely eye-catching. The trailer keeps its story close to the chest, making me pretty intrigued about what’s actually going on. I’ll be keeping an eye out for it in the future. May the gaming god’s bring you glory.
Cronos: The New Dawn gameplay overview
Lately I’ve been keeping a special eye on Cronos, which looks to satisfy my craving for survival horror games in the vane of Dead Space and Resident Evil. It was cool to get a lil bit of clarity on what the game’s going to be like firsthand. What sold me is how the monster’s will rebuild themselves off of the corpses of there own kind. I’m excited to see what Bloober Team has in store for us. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Medieval Supermarket Shop Simulator
Medieval Supermarket Shop Simulator on PS5, developed by CGI LAB SRL, is an absolutely horrible game. If you played any of the TCG Card Shop Simulator (Steam Review) copies out there, you might be expecting a passable game that is fun to mess around with. This is not it. Everything, however, about this game is pretty atrocious. The controls are pretty unresponsive, they go unexplained at pretty much every turn as well as don’t even make much sense.
You can only really set prices by moving them up or down from market value by 10% in either direction. This may not seem like a big deal, but it does limit your options for controlling what you can do. Restocking the store is also a hassle because you have to run a decent distance to the guy selling merchandise to buy things, then pick up the boxes and run back to your store. If this wasn’t bad enough, you don’t seem to be able to put boxes down once you pick them up. I may be wrong on this, and I just never figured it out, as I said, the controls are very poorly explained, and it is pretty much just trial and error.
I spent less than $3 on this game while it was on sale, and I kind of want my money and the 2 hours I spent playing it back. To make matters worse, the platinum trophy is very achievable simply by playing the game. It wouldn’t need a big time sink to get it, but it sits at a huge .3% or so.
If you are considering picking this game up, don’t. Please don’t make the same mistake as I and encourage these types of games any more than we already have. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Alan Wake 2
13 years since we last joined writer Alan Wake and his battle against the otherworldly Dark Presence. 13 years since he went missing in Cauldron Lake, a new threat has emerged in Bright Falls. Violent rituals being perpetrated by a cult seemingly inspired by Wake’s works have attracted FBI attention. Agent Saga Anderson and her partner Alex Casey are on the case- quickly realizing nothing is how it seems and Bright Falls has more than a murder cult and a cast of strange characters to contend with. Reality is being rewritten and the Dark Presence is returning, this time under the guise of the malevolent Mr. Scratch. As Saga’s history comes crashing down, the mystery of all mysteries is what happened to Alan Wake?
Alan Wake remastered was a solid action experience with a great story and some really irritating parts. Wake 2 is a modern horror masterpiece. The story is absolutely fascinating with plenty of twists and character development. Visually, the game is incredible, blending animation and live action flawlessly. The gameplay is improved but overall the game is more difficult; full disclosure, I sucked at this game because I’m the worst pathfinder in existence and I rushed through many of the goodies that would have helped a lot for the endgame. I was impressed how genuinely errie and tense the game gets, especially in the second half. Poets of the Fall return with new bangers as the Old Gods of Asgard, including a great live performance with the cast. What gripes I have are pretty small- I wasn’t a fan of the upgrade system for weapons, the reality shifts as Wake himself get confusing, and the game requires a learning curve for Saga’s mind place and Alan’s writing room but they don’t really subtract from the game for me. I will warn you, the real ending appears after the second playthrough on the Final Draft, but both endings are damn good. In the end, I highly recommend this if you love old sci-fi, classic David Lynch and Stephen King, or want a different kind of horror game. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Savior Gaming 