PHIL ON FILM: "Ad Astra"

For my full review, click here.

"The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series" Review

The fall and rise of the seminal Telltale Games adventure series "The Walking Dead" resembles that of one of its undead minions. Following the sudden, unceremonious closure of the studio a year ago, the core team reassembled to finish the final season.

As a result, the seven-year, genre-defining legacy established by the ill-fated yet influential developer got a second life. Now developer Skybound Games, sticking to the spirit established by Telltale, wraps up all the mainline series with all four seasons, as well as the "400 Days" and Michonne-focused spinoffs, into a grand, epic package.

All told, there are 50 hours of gameplay spread out across 23 episodes. Also added are 10 hours of developer commentary, background featurettes, a making-of documentary and soundtrack.

Through point-and-click, mild puzzle-solving and dialogue trees, you make choices that affect whether characters live or die, as well as the direction of the plot and the moral makeup of your protagonists.

At its core, "The Walking Dead" is the transcendent journey of a heroine, Clementine, from defenseless little girl to full-grown, destiny-controlling badass. The fourth season dovetails magnificently with the themes and plot points of the opening frame, creating a staggering, resonant journey that wouldn't have the same impact in any other medium.

Although the work of some other developers may have surpassed Telltale's work over the years, there's no denying the lasting influence and continuing relevance of this magnificent take on "The Walking Dead." As popular as the TV and comic series are, the games will always hold a place as the purest, most emotionally impactful franchise's stories.

"The Walking Dead" has risen from oblivion, and it's doubtful we'll ever see anything quite like it again.

Even more impressively, choices chain from one episode to the next, leading to distinct experiences on different playthroughs that drastically redefine the themes and storylines you experience.



Publisher provided review code.

PHIL ON FILM: "Shows Leaving Netflix October 2019"

For the full list, click here.

Book Report: “Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator”

Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator by Oleg V. Khlevniuk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oleg V. Khlevniuk writes with passion and purpose in unearthing the festering corpse of one of his country's most notorious tyrants. From the outset, and especially with his watershed conclusion, he makes it obvious that he fears that Russia is drifting toward the blindly despotic cult of personality in the Putin era that it found itself sucked into in the mid-20th century.

With strong-armed rule, senseless violence and a self-serving, humanity-devoid obsession with stature and optics over practical benefits, Stalin engineered and steered the Soviet apparatus toward his twisted vision of glory.

A burning obsession with dominance and ruthless authoritarianism flew at the top of Stalin's figurative freight train. An obsessive student of history and analyst of processes, personnel and procedures, Stalin was the consummate overthinker, envisioning threats where there were none. In a paranoid effort to snuff out all challenges before they could arise, he stoked a culture of surveillance, nudging informers to expose their neighbors.

Stalin ferreted out his trumped-up threats through sadistic purges that cost the lives of millions and destroyed the livelihoods of countless others. Those who weren't snuffed out were often relocated or ruined. Only a life of strict adherence to the party line held a chance of success, and even then only by the grace of happenstance. A venom-soaked jealous whisper from a rival could trump up preventative punishment in a society that presumed guilt.

Narrator Peter Ganim recites the prose of the Audible version with a steady, professorial authority blended with a storyteller's enthusiasm. With excellent pacing and poignant pauses, he marches through the smoldering anecdotes with gripping urgency.

Exhaustively researched and graced with effective context, this Stalin biography is a fascinating display of applicable history. A chilling reminder of the past is a sobering portent of the present, as well as its near-future implications.

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"eFootball PES 2020" Review

For the past decade, Konami has exercised as much of a stranglehold on soccer superiority as Virtual Concepts has with its "NBA 2K" series. Although "PES" has always trailed in team licenses and player likenesses, its on-field action has managed to maintain its lead without being content to park the bus and wait for EA to catch up.

With such impressive advancements in areas such as its career and franchise mode in recent editions, the main challenge for "PES" was to evolve its public profile and establish a foothold in the realms of streaming and competitions. And that's just what the team at Konami has targeted as it starts a fresh decade at the top of the table.

Konami figuratively shifted its midfield and defenders forward in an all-out assault on the goal of becoming the premier esports destination for soccer gamers. Exhaustive efforts were given to balancing, server integrity, accurate physics and minimized perfunctory animations to strip the game of happenstance and place the emphasis on skill, tactics and reaction time to determine success.

Also benefitting from a boost in pomp, presentation and replay integration, "PES 2020" might have risked danger of losing its sense of fist-pumping fun on the pitch. From the first kickoff, though, any worries that the game would lean in too mechanical a direction are dashed. This is still very much a game designed, broken down and rebuilt by a team obsessed with the thrills, absurdities and goofiness of the game. As a result, the on-field action plays with a brisk, set piece-emphasizing vigor that retains the adrenaline of schoolyard and pickup matches.

While legacy AI hiccups linger, this is easily the smoothest and most logical match flow anyone has managed to craft to this point. Strategizing against the computer continues to evolve into a game of overreactive cat and mouse, with creativity and craftsmanship rewarded over monotonous spamming of safe, basic routines.

The next realm Konami can set out to conquer is online mode innovation. If esports continues to be part of the modus operandi, it will be important to craft minigames and overall progression that make online soccer as vital a part of a gamer's agenda as the likes of "Call of Duty" or "Fortnite." A three-on-three mode, skills competition or micro-challenge subcategory could fit the bill, and no doubt the squad behind the generation's most complete soccer game is hard at work envisioning the future.

For now, this fresh and vital edition of eFootball is more than enough to keep the soccer-obsessed enthralled.

Publisher provided review code.

"Borderlands 3" Review

Boasting an embarrassingly rich loadout of weapons, ammo, characters and personality, "Borderlands 3" feels like the missing puzzle piece to the modern gaming repertoire that had been missing for far too long. From the opening screen, every move the game makes feels effortlessly spot-on.

That's a testament to 2K's refusal to accede to gamers' demands and crank out current-gen "Borderlands" sequels on the regular. Taking a route that other stalwart franchises would be wise to follow, the brain trust didn't release a third "Borderlands" until it was good and ready.

Developer Gearbox Software took its time in bringing its storied franchise to current-gen consoles, generating excitement with "The Handsome Collection" in 2015 but not a whisper since.

The time spent tinkering in the garage has paid off. "Borderlands 3" resurrects the best of the franchise while also joyriding along the edge of current technology. With seamless multiplayer integration, gorgeous stylized visuals, a compelling loot-dripping economy and an abundance of diverse missions, the game is a wild, raucous sandbox.

There are a thousand ways to approach every objective, with creativity, nuance and happenstance making no two throwdowns seem similar.

Most satisfying of all, there is no punishing penalty for experimentation and failure -- and nor is there a reward for mindless grinding. When you fall, you find yourself injected back into the action before your blood car reach a steady boil, with various opportunities bubbling in front of you, tempting you to adjust your tactics in the pursuit of sweet victory.

While the true test of the game's longevity will come from Gearbox's resolve to support it as an ongoing service -- and some players have griped about some early systemic hiccups -- it's tough to fathom a more impressive blast of exhilaration and promise out of the gate.

With a dearth of first-party blockbusters on the docket this holiday season, and only a couple cross-platform rainmakers in the offing, it's easy to see that "Borderlands 3" will have the shooter community's prime attention well into 2020. If that's the case, then players are in for some glitzy, wild times delving into this project's myriad treasures.

Publisher provided review code.

PHIL ON FILM: "Hustlers"

For my full review, click here.

"The Sinking City" Switch Review

A brooding and gripping horror tale, "The Sinking City" is the latest in a wave of H.P. Lovecraft-inspired games that have hung issues such as mental health, hallucinations and vague morality in the balance.

The dev team at Frogwares doesn't shy away from the more embarrassing, outdated aspects of Lovecraft's perspective. The world of "The Sinking City" exists in a prejudiced perspective untouched by evolved political correctness. The game makes its move to the Switch after a June debut on other consoles.

Set in the partially sunken city of Oakmont, you play as a private investigator who seeks to unravel the mystery of a supernatural entity that has wrapped its tentacles around the city.

Gameplay elements mix sleuthing with occasional survival horror aspects. The mix is a somewhat jarring combination, with the writing momentum sometimes stalling when shoved up against frustrating game flow bottlenecks.

For a game that thrives on tension and atmosphere, the disruptions are nagging and frustrating. I rarely advocate for walkthroughs on first playthroughs, but this is a game in which I'd make an exception. It would be a shame to let rough, obtuse moments stop you from enjoying the dark tale.

Though decidedly a mixed bag, the game benefits from a steady hand and authoritative interpretation of the source fiction. A mature, nuanced take on horror, "The Sinking City" manages to inflict a sense of dread that few other games or films manage to even approach. There's something to be said for the captivating story halfway buried in the clunky morass.

Publisher provided review code.