PHIL ON FILM: "The Personal Life of David Copperfield"

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PHIL ON FILM: 5 Shows to Stream in September 2020

 

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"PGA Tour 2K21" Review

Golf gamers can rest assured that their sport is in capable hands.

After eons in the hands of EA, which rode the "Tiger Woods" name into the ground, then awkwardly swapped it out with Rory McIlroy before letting the series go dormant for the last half decade, the PGA license falls to 2K. 

The initial effort is a decidedly nuts-and-bolts affair, with developer HB Studios Multimedia doing its best not to end up in the bunker and two-putt its way to par. It helps that sim golf fans have gone so long since they've been able to take to the virtual links. The need for a new game is so strong, that just about anything with licensed courses and athletes could sate the urge.

Like cover star Justin Thomas, the game is fundamentally sound and pulsing with makes-it-look-easy excellence, if also a little bland and wallflowerish.

The lineup of modes and customization options is thoroughly satisfying, if unspectacular. Resisting the urge to plug in a trendy, half-hearted narrative, it's just plain golf here, with the playoff-driven FedEx Cup taking the place of the traditional majors.

The course design feature is robust and easy to use, allowing you to dream up and execute your duffer visions in minutes.

MyPlayer builds efficiently off the 2K brand established in its NBA entries, letting you upgrade your duffer's equipment and attributes, with nearly everything you do online and off contributing to your virtual currency pile. Thankfully, there is little to no pay-to-win mechanic at play.

The effort to infuse rivalries with other players seems a little stiff and forced, but does add some welcome edge to the prim, proper sport.

Online Societies, akin to virtual country clubs, let you group up with like-minded players for casual or cut-throat matches.

While more courses and players would have deepened the game's authenticity factor, what matters most is that the structure is in place for a series built to last. If 2K develops the series into an annual release format, the best is no doubt yet to come. But even if this entry stands alone for years, there is plenty here to keep fans satisfied.

Publisher provided review code.

PHIL ON FILM: Movies leaving Netflix in September 2020

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PHIL ON FILM: "Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story"

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"Bite the Bullet" Review

If "Pac-Man" evolved into RPG territory, it would be something like "Bite the Bullet."

A run-and-gunner with "Kirby" and "Mega Man"-style influences, "Bite the Bullet" asks you to eat your enemies and assume their abilities.

The old phrase "you are what you eat" comes into play, with a dizzying arsenal and array of power-ups always just a chomp away. You can also devour walls and transform into hyperpowered forms that make you the hunter rather than the hunted.

The roguelite from developer Mega Cat Studios keeps the tone light and airy, tantalizing you with yet another slate of upgrades and enhancements always on the horizon.

Co-op play adds another dimension to the proceedings, with you and a buddy competing against each other for the best stuff as you work together in a fragile alliance to advance.

Working better in short bursts than it does in marathon sessions, "Bite the Bullet" is a simple, freewheeling way to slap a smile on your hungry face during the pandemic. If you are feeling the chomp or be-chomped flow, you'll want to take a bite out of this one.

Publisher provided review code.

"Destroy All Humans!" Review

 A sense of hedonistic anarchy courses through "Destroy All Humans!" You play an egotistical, comically overpowered alien who lays wanton waste to an unsuspecting Earth, subjugating man and beast alike to your control.

Originally released in 2005 on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, the gameplay holds up two generations later thanks to an impassioned overhaul by developer Black Forest Games. Few of the nagging anachronistic issues from the previous release remain. If you didn't realize this was a remake, you would have a hard time telling it isn't a new game.

Ample boosts in visuals and framerate give the game a modern feel. This is the template that developers should use with remasters going forward. By staying true to the spirit of the original without staying devoted to its shortcomings, Black Forest achieves something memorable.

While the game is a linear story at heart, its sense of open-world destruction grants you feelings of freedom. You can attack objectives in a number of different ways, or just simply mess around while procrastinating your objectives.

Bolstered with witty writing and a sense of humor that sends up 1950s sci-fi flicks, "Destroy All Humans!" is a welcome blast from the past that easily becomes the definitive way to play the cult classic. If you feel its tractor beam tugging at you, resistance is futile.

Publisher provided review code.

"Yakuza Kiwami 2" Review

After lurking on the fringes for the last couple years, "Yakuza Kiwami 2" is ready for its Xbox One spotlight.

Newly released on the console and PC following a 2018 PS4 release, the game is ready to stretch out to new audiences.

Those gamers are in for a treat. Over the past few years, Sega has demonstrated an uncanny ability to produce sweeping, open-world sagas under the "Yakuza" banner with impressive regularity. Part of the reason for the prolific release schedule is the regular inclusion of remakes.

Like "Yakuza Kiwami," which dropped in 2016 and was a remake of the original PS2 game "Yakuza" (2005), the "Kuwami" sequel is a redux of the PS2's "Yakuza 2" (2006). Rebuilt from the ground up to treat the story from the original as though it were a new game using the "Yakuza 6: The Song of Life" engine, the remake lifts the original well past the trappings of the PS2 original.

Not only are myriad quality-of-life updates in place -- gone are the days of tedious memory card save points -- but countless details of the production have also improved several degrees. From combat, to the menu system, the visuals, sound and story pacing, "Yakuza Kiwami 2" lifts the source material to heights it could never approached on the original hardware.

The Golf Bingo, Virtual-On and Cabaret minigames flesh out the open world as you work your way through the seedy underworld. You shape your character's personality along with his skills and attributes. The side touches round out the character and make you feel as though you're inhabiting a genuine person rather than an archetype.

Adjustments to the main story integrate the beloved Goro Majima character more directly into the mix, making the dagger-wielding thug a playable character. Following Majima through various developments, he fits into the franchise's first two games more naturally.

A story told with depth and passion, the mob opera that "Yakuza Kiwami 2" sings a haunting and resonant song of antiheroes jockeying ruthlessly for power, money and influence. By returning to its roots, the series continues to thrive as it ages.

Publisher provided a review code.

BOOK REPORT: "The Martian Chronicles"

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Bradbury's sci-fi opus stands as a landmark challenged and inspired developing writers to dream of far-off futurescapes.

That said, it holds up poorly and gets more anachronistic and backward as the decades pass. In 2020, it's a decidedly rough read that often resembles tales told by a drunken great uncle.

Burdened by clunky, unlikely visions of dystopian angst and even more alarming spurts of casual racism, this is a book you may remember fondly from your youth that you'll regret to re-encounter as an adult.

What stands out to me in revisiting the classic is the choppiness of the storytelling. Bradbury excelled at vision and spectacle but faltered in the nuts and bolts of delivering story arcs and crafting memorable characters.

Mark Boyett's narration in the Audible version is whimsical and steady, matching the rhythms of Bradbury's tale-spinning to help cast the spell of a narrative.

Bizarre and thought-provoking in both positive and negative ways, this is an absurd peek into a past vision of the future that is best regarded at a safe distance. 

Publisher provided review code.

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"We Should Talk" Review

"We Should Talk" is a dialogue tree game that you can knock out in 15 minutes. Then you'll find yourself diving back in to replay it again and again, choosing different paths to see where you wind up.

The premise: You're a woman whose relationship with your girlfriend is on the rocks, and you find yourself at your favorite bar to mull things over. You respond to texts from her as you run into friends and strangers, making choices that could destroy or firm up your romance.

As you make your choices, you shape your character's motivation, goals, background and hangups. You base your responses on mix-and-match sentence fragments that determine your tone and delivery.

Developer Insatiable Cycle added an impressive amount of depth to the short-form premise, providing reason to come back again and again. There truly is no wrong way to play it. You can be callous and indifferent, soothing and loving, or -- like most people -- a complex, ever-shifting mishmash of inconsistency.

It's a hectic and comical joy to juggle exes, friends with benefits and creeps as you work out your home life. The levels of intelligence and heart make the writing sing with authenticity.

While the game may seem slim and inconsequential, it's a refreshing chance of pace to those who are looking for something fresh and intellectual. The psychological net the game casts dwarfs most other narratives in terms of scope, providing a fascinating dive into the motivations and demeanor in the dating scene.

Publisher provided review code.

"Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire" Review

Bullet hell shooter fans are accustomed to guiding ships through torrents of twisted metal through space. With "Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire," developer Alpha System shakes up the formula by swapping out ships for buxom bodies.

A vertical-scrolling shooter, the premise casts five high-powered sisters as they compete for the hand of the angel Yashin. 

Multipliers and power-ups abound, with endless chances to up your scores and unleash screen-melting waves of firepower upon your enemies.

While the gameplay is on the slim side, and the visuals pander to base tastes, "Sisters Royale" adds enough twists to the genre to become relevant.

Publisher provided review code.

BOOK REPORT: "The Man Who Was Thursday"

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A surreal journey into the realm of the absurd, Chesterton's novel is filled with compelling dialogue, intriguing twists and thought-provoking themes.

A gathering of European anarchists who seemingly scheme to tear society asunder -- with each of the leaders assuming a day of the week as a moniker -- evolves into a mishmash of distrust, backstabbing and subterfuge. All the while, parallel developments call the entire premise into question,

While some of the ideas seem less than fully developed, I appreciated the craftsmanship it took to build the rickety path.


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PHIL ON FILM: Movies and Shows Leaving Netflix in August 2020

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"Rez Plz" Review

As the old saying goes, wizard brothers who slay together stay together.

The puzzle platformer "Rez Plz" centers around a pair of codependent heroes who help each other solve environmental puzzles, take down tricky enemies and work their way through levels pulsing with whimsical designs.

Seemingly built from the ground up for co-op, the gameplay thrives on cooperation and communication. Much is lost in the translation to single-player, which forces you to switch characters often, stalling your momentum whenever it begins to ramp up.

Developer Long Neck Games makes regular, grizzly deaths a part of the dynamic, since the characters are blessed with the oft-used ability to resurrect one another.

As you roll through the game and you gather new powers, the tedium dies off and the puzzles grow more complex.

The comedic throughline is how ineffective the brothers are at wielding those powers. The lighthearted demeanor helps explain away what could be perceived as design flaws, but also make the characters more endearing and their cause more noble.

While there may not be enduring appeal to keep you coming back, the draw of taking on the game with a friend would make the experience far more worthwhile. The magic, it seems, comes mostly in the company "Rez Plz" draws.

Publisher provided review code.

"Ultracore" Review

The run-and-gun side-scroller "Ultracore" is an adoring throwback to 1990s arcade shooters. With inventive weaponry, vintage cheesiness and a throbbing soundtrack, the game transports you to a bygone era.

You'll need to rely on your "Contra"-style trigger finger to blast, leap and swing your way past throngs of strategically-place menaces. The feeling of power at your fingertips is palpable, but death is always the pixel of a misjudged hit box away from breathing down your neck.

Developer Strictly Limited Games has the Metroidvania formula down, crafting sprawling maps that stretch in all directions, with an emphasis on verticality.

Hidden loot and secret avenues abound, giving you plenty of reason to scour suspicious nooks and crannies to unlock the goods.

A game meant to be powered through, then replayed ad nauseam to re-experience or track down bits of 90s flair you may have missed the first time, "Ultracore" is a welcome blast from the past that ratchets up your adrenaline and never lets its flashy momentum die down.

Publisher provided review code.

Book Report: "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World"

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jack Weatherford takes a fresh, sympathetic look at the greatest conqueror the world has ever known. His history argues that Genghis Khan's ruthless takeover of Eurasia planted the seeds for the interconnected global culture that began.

By preserving culture and promoting commerce, the Mongol Empire broke down barriers and set the stage for the global melting pot.

While not completely convincing, there are so many engaging details and such satisfying storytelling in vignettes that the book is captivating even when its reach exceeds its grasp.

Blending independent research along with the watershed translations of Khan's own Secret History, which is still being translated, broken down and debated, what emerges is as complete a portrait of the historical figure and his mentality and methods than could ever before have been crafted.

The Jonathan Davis narration drives the Audible version to greater heights. His enthusiasm for the material bleeds through in his storytelling.

Khan emerges as a clever tactician and man far ahead of his time, driven by ego but satiated by a yearning for justice and fairness. The book's most valuable purpose is to shed the centuries of systemic racism that have belittled and minimized the empire set in motion by Khan and his descendants. The book is a conqueror of hearts and minds in the manner of its subject.

Publisher provided review copy.

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"Star Wars Episode I: Racer" Switch Review

When "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" came out in 1999, it was accompanied by a frontal assault of spin-offs from the then-long dormant franchise. Most of them were as divisive and underwhelming as the movie, but the pod racer game carved out a soft spot in many a young gamer's heart.

Old racing games -- even the old "Mario Kart" titles -- tend not to hold up as well as rose-tinted rear-view mirrors, and "Star Wars Episode I: Racer" is no exception. While still enjoyable for its loads of fan-service, short bursts of whimsical competition and old-school charm, there isn't quite enough there in this port to rekindle the N64-era flame.

Whether you're dodging attacks from Tusken Raiders, jumping lava lakes or swerving to avoid opponents, there's never a dull moment on the 21 tracks provided in the game. With nearly two dozen racers to choose from, there is also plenty of variety.

The problem is, the experience is just as one-dimensional every time around the horn. While Switch motion controls add a new dimension -- albeit a frustrating hindrance rather than a steadfast enhancement -- you're left with a flashy yet uninspired "F-Zero" wannabe.

Had the dev team put some effort into some remastered graphics, added online multiplayer and lessened the annoyance of the rubber band AI, they might have had something worthy of making a hyperdrive-style jump. As it stands, this is strictly a time capsule, and one that makes you recognize that racers of 1999 may be best left to the past.

Publisher provided review code.

PHIL ON FILM: 5 Shows to Binge in July 2020

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"Destrobots" Review

Access to all levels of gamers is the gameplan in "Destrobots." With the goal seemingly in mind to jostle for the attention of party game-minded Switch players, the pick-up-and-play antics are geared to allow just about anyone to slip into the flow intuitively.

The multiplayer-friendly top-down shooter lets you hunt down power-ups, line up explosive kills and romp through deceptively cheerful and bright levels.

Developer 7Levels studio sacrifices nuance and depth in the name of accessibility, but "Destrobots" makes up for the simplicity with a kinetic flair that echoes the likes of single-screen 1980s arcade games.

You can either slug it out with as many as three other opponents, or team up for a survive-and-advance Horde mode. It's a continually appealing challenge to double back in an effort to top your high scores and seek vengeance against friends who humiliated you in the last game.

While "Destrobots" may not do enough to stand out from the pack of similar Switch games, those who give it a try will find it tough to put down. Its combination of adorable and vengeful has charm and vigor to spare.

Publisher provided review code.