Ace Combat has never really needed to reinvent itself to deliver an enjoyable flight-combat experience, and Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve understands that better than most sequels. The formula is still recognisably the same: pick a fighter, take to the skies, lock onto targets and turn seemingly impossible aerial manoeuvres into spectacular missile kills. What makes this eighth numbered entry stand out is how much more attention has been paid to everything surrounding those dogfights. The result is a campaign that feels more ambitious narratively, while the actual flying has been refined to the point where simply taking control of a fighter remains one of the game’s biggest pleasures. Continue reading “Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve review (PS5)”
Firefighters Code Red preview (Gamescom)
Firefighters Code Red is looking to make firefighting simulation more dangerous, unpredictable and visually convincing, putting players in the middle of emergencies where smoke, heat and spreading flames can quickly turn a seemingly manageable situation into a crisis. Developed by Chronos North and Smart Ambition and published by Aerosoft, the game builds on the developers’ experience with Firefighting Simulator – The Squad while shifting its focus towards a distinctly North American emergency-response setting. With solo play and cross-platform co-op, it is clearly aiming to make both individual decision-making and coordinated teamwork central to the experience. Continue reading “Firefighters Code Red preview (Gamescom)”
PEPPERED: an existential platformer review (PS5)
PEPPERED: an existential platformer is the sort of game that seems determined to undermine the assumptions players bring with them. At first glance, it looks like a fairly traditional 2D platformer, complete with pixel-art visuals, jumping challenges and a protagonist who spends plenty of time trying not to die. Then it starts making failure part of the narrative, turns seemingly harmless decisions into permanent branches and occasionally asks players to solve a problem in a way that makes absolutely no conventional sense. The result is an unusually inventive indie game that can be funny, frustrating, surprisingly thoughtful and occasionally all three at once. Continue reading “PEPPERED: an existential platformer review (PS5)”
Dead as Disco preview (Gamescom)
Dead as Disco is the kind of game that makes its pitch clear within seconds: put on some music, step into a neon-soaked world of larger-than-life performers and beat the living daylights out of anyone standing in the way. Brain Jar Games’ rhythm-driven beat ’em up combines free-flowing combat with musical timing, while wrapping it all in a bizarre story about fame, betrayal, death and a band that refuses to stay buried. Having now spent some time with the PC Early Access version, it is already clear that the game’s biggest strength is also its most intriguing question: just how far can this combination of music and combat go? Continue reading “Dead as Disco preview (Gamescom)”
Disclosure Day review (4K)
Steven Spielberg returning to science fiction was always going to invite comparisons with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Disclosure Day does little to discourage them. Yet rather than making the alien encounter itself the centrepiece, Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp build their film around the far more human question of what happens when the existence of extraterrestrial life can no longer be kept secret. Cybersecurity specialist Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) discovers evidence that the government and the mysterious Wardex organisation have been hiding the truth, prompting him to go on the run with Jane (Eve Hewson). At the same time, meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) begins experiencing inexplicable phenomena that draw her into Daniel’s increasingly dangerous mission. Colin Firth makes for an imposing adversary as Wardex chief Noah Scanlon, while Colman Domingo brings an intriguing ambiguity to the role of Hugo Wakefield. The premise gives Spielberg plenty of room to explore questions of faith, trust, empathy and humanity’s ability to deal with information that could fundamentally alter its understanding of the world. Continue reading “Disclosure Day review (4K)”