Month: August 2019

Enlarge / This is what it looks (and feels) like to play the telekinetic insanity of Remedy Entertainment's latest game, Control. (credit: Remedy Entertainment)

Gamers of a certain age and persuasion have been waiting years for this: a video game from Remedy Studios that feels like a worthy successor to the studio's 2001 breakout Max Payne. The Finnish studio has been trying for years to pull this off, albeit with less emphasis on MP's Matrix-like bullet-time combat and more emphasis on dimension-shifting battles, memorable characters, and serious intrigue.

If you've appreciated the developer's attempts for the past decade-plus, including Alan Wake and Quantum Break—or even if you found those attempts close-but-not-quite—Control should land on your must-play list before year's end. Consider its status on our end-of-the-year list a given, in spite of some imperfections and fumbles.

And if you paid for one of the newest Nvidia graphics cards on PC, complete with a dedicated ray tracing chip, fast forward that must-play recommendation to "ASAP." Control is exactly the showcase graphical achievement that will ease any buyer's remorse.

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  This is the poster for The Rise of Skywalker, which opens on December 20th. If you want to avoid any possible spoilers, then don't click through this gallery. [credit: Disney ]

It's been a busy few days for Star Wars fans thanks to Disney's D23 expo. First, we saw the trailer for The Mandalorian, an original series for the new Disney+ streaming service, which begins in November. That was followed with news that Ewan McGregor will return to the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in another new series for Disney+, but it didn't stop there. At D23 we also got our best look yet at episode nine—The Rise of Skywalker—which opens in December, and on Monday morning Disney posted that footage to YouTube.

First we see a montage of scenes from the original trilogy, then more recent Star Wars films, set to a haunting variation on John Williams' score. We hear a tired-sounding Luke Skywalker telling someone that "this is your fight," then the horns begin to swell. What follows over the next 30 or so seconds is new.

Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewie, and C-3PO are on a desert planet. Tatooine, Jakku, or somewhere new? Who knows, but there's a bustling settlement. Then a brief shot of Leia before the setup to what may well be an enormous space battle. The resistance better have something up their collective sleeve because I don't think I've ever seen so many Star Destroyers in one frame before.