Staff Profile
- Username
- gbanas92
- First Article
- News/Features
- 183
- Reviews
- 174
- Avg. Review Score
- 6.8
- Article Comments
- 4,549
- Total Articles
- 357
Mini Review Quake (PS4) - New Coat of Paint for Legendary FPS
You got the nails
Quake is one of the shooters. Part of id’s holy trinity alongside Wolfenstein and DOOM, Quake is the newest of the bunch and, depending on who you ask, the best. This newest delivers the experience you remember, with a whole lot of added value. This is quite the bundle, packing in five campaigns – including both Machine...
News NHL 22 Shows First Proper Look at Gameplay with New Trailer
It definitely looks like a hockey game
After NHL 22’s reveal trailer last week, it was only a matter of time before we got a proper look at how the frozen sports next-gen debut would play. Today, we get our first real glimpse at the game, with a pretty extensive gameplay trailer with commentary that highlights the new features coming to this...
Mini Review I Expect You to Die 2: The Spy and the Liar (PSVR) - Escape Room Is a Corker
You only die twice
The first I Expect You to Die was a pretty great escape room/spy mashup, so it’s really great to see Schell Games return to the well and provide another opportunity to save the world from impending doom. Despite being locked down in one position, the game does an incredible job of making a lot from a little, with brilliantly...
News NHL 22 Reveal Trailer Shows Off a New Look for the Franchise on PS5, PS4
NHL joins the Frostbite family in October
Things are certainly shaping up nicely for NHL 22, aren't they? While normally a generational transition for a sports title is something to be feared — we still haven't forgotten NHL 15 — NHL 22 seems poised to buck that trend. The last of EA's sports franchises to make the leap to the Frostbite engine,...
Mini Review Fracked (PSVR) - A Fun VR Shooter with Oh-So Much Style
Frack and roll all nite
What is the appropriate venue to discuss the morally questionable practice of fracking? Well, with an irreverent shooter about eco-terrorism, of course. While Fracked may side-step saying anything meaningful about fracking, it does not sidestep crafting a fun PSVR experience. Touting a movement system hand-crafted to work...
Mini Review Synth Riders (PSVR) – A VR Rhythm Game with a Different Sound
Ride the rails
We have espoused the virtues of VR rhythm games before, and now we have a new title to add to the mix: Synth Riders. While mechanically similar to Beat Saber on the surface, Synth Riders has some notable exceptions that allow it to stand out. Our favorite of these features are “rails”, in which you keep your hand balanced on a...
Mini Review Winds & Leaves (PSVR) – A Silviculturists Dream in Virtual Reality
Planting the seed
Post-apocalyptic games are dime a dozen, but you’ve never played one like this. In Winds & Leaves, rather than punch or shoot your way to safety, you are tasked with re-planting the once vibrant forests of a distant land. You accomplish this by picking fruit from freshly grown trees and then placing them right back into the...
Mini Review Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
Time to leave the metro
4A Games is one of the most talented teams in the industry, but the PS4 version of Metro: Exodus – as noted in our original review – severely outpaced the technology of its time, even on the more powerful PS4 Pro. This next-gen version – available as a free PS4 to PS5 upgrade – feels like the experience that was...
Mini Review Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5) - A Marginal Upgrade on Backwards Compatibility
At least it’s a free upgrade
The latest in a long line of free next-gen upgrades, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order plays things pretty straight. The native PS5 version of the experience is more or less the version you could play through backwards compatibility, with a few extra bells and whistles. The most obvious change is the game’s resolution,...
Mini Review Gadgeteer (PS4) - A Fulfilling VR Physics Puzzler
Go, go gadget Rube Goldberg machine
Virtual reality is a fantastic arena with which to explore puzzles – especially when the idea is such a fun and refreshing one. Gadgeteer sees you designing amazing Rube Goldberg contraptions by placing all the missing pieces to complete the machines, while progressing through an abode’s various rooms. What...
Mini Review Exodemon (PS5) – A Fun By-the-Numbers Throwback Shooter
Jump on it
Retro shooters have a well-trodden formula these days, so anytime a game sets out to tweak that, the results vacillate between clever and calamitous. Exodemon happens to come down on the side of cleverness, tweaking the process in just the right ways to cleverly mask a small development team while making the experience a fun one. Whereas...
Movie Review Mortal Kombat (2021) – An Uneven, But Ultimately Enjoyable Film
Flawed victory
The list of game movie adaptations grows ever longer. While the vast majority of them are calamitous misfires, the last couple years have shown that game adaptations can be at least mediocre. Between the latest Tomb Raider, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Detective Pikachu, game movies have finally reached a place where watching them isn’t...
Interview Talking Game Music With Composer Phill Boucher
It certainly rings a bell
Recently, we had the opportunity to chat with game composer Phill Boucher, a prolific composer across many mediums, including work on the Pirates of the Caribbean films, the brilliant DuckTales TV reboot, as well as some pretty noteworthy games like Civilization VI, XCOM: Chimera Squad, and oh yeah, a little game called...
Feature Best PlayStation Music of March 2021
Earth angel
What’s a new month mean? That’s right! A new month means a new music recap! The PlayStation 5’s been out for a number of months now, and some people have even been able to get them. So what better way to demonstrate that than with a handful of great soundtracks that you can… also experience on a PS4? Maquette: Graceful...
Mini Review DOOM 3: VR Edition (PS4) – An Improved Version of a Solid Game
Go to hell
Games not designed with VR first have a tendency to be rather hit-or-miss, but the PSVR adaptation of DOOM 3 – the black sheep of the esteemed shooter franchise – is most definitely a hit. A shooter lives and dies by how the gunplay is, and DOOM 3 VR’s shooting is spectacular. While using the PSVR Aim Controller is definitely the...
News Star Wars Republic Commando Is Back, and Here's The Launch Trailer
Engage tactical visor
After announcing back in February that Star Wars Republic Commando would be the latest title resurrected on the PlayStation 4 by Aspyr, the day to actually play it is upon us. You can check out the launch trailer above. The tactical FPS about a squad of clone commandos originally released all the way back in 2005, on Xbox and...
Mini Review Star Wars Republic Commando - One of Star Wars’ All-Time Classics Has Still Got It
Initiate radical restructuring, commando
When Star Wars Republic Commando launched in 2005, it was ahead of its time. It found a perfect balance between the tactical, detail-intensive gameplay of shooters like Rainbow Six and the cinematic bombast of Call of Duty. It nailed this so well, that now, 16 years later, the game holds up shockingly well...
Mini Review Root Film (PS4) - An Enjoyable, If Standard, Visual Novel
Lights! Camera! Inaction!
While it might not be as compelling as its predecessor, Root Letter, Kadokawa Games’ follow-up visual novel Root Film is still worthy of your time. You’ll visit a bevy of locations and witness the culture of Shimane Prefecture while trying to solve an ever-increasing number of murders. As the title of the game suggests,...
Back from the dead
At its most basic level, Stubbs the Zombie is a relatively simple game. You play the titular monster, and you need to eat your way through the art deco utopia of Punchbowl. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, after the first couple of levels, you’ve been introduced to all the abilities and powers that Stubbs has at his disposal...
Mini Review Hunting Simulator 2 (PS5) – An Unexpectedly Tranquil Excursion
A walk in the woods
While the title may suggest violence and shooting, Hunting Simulator 2 is a surprisingly meditative game. Sure, on the most basic level, it’s a shooter – but you’ll pull the trigger so rarely that it barely qualifies, despite the large number of weapons and gear at your disposal. Ultimately, it serves a better role as an...
News Feast Your Eyes on the Launch Trailer for Stubbs the Zombie
Dig in
Aspyr's latest classic port is lurching ever closer into view, as Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse comes crawling onto the PlayStation 4. A frankly bizarre third-person action game with a bit of a cult following, Stubbs was originally released all the way back in 2005 on the original Xbox, but this newest incarnation will actually...
Feature Best PlayStation Music of February 2021
Taking the month off?
Sure, no month is going to go by without a couple of noteworthy games, but this February was very much on the lighter end. Where’s all the awesome new music, you might be asking. Well, there just wasn’t very much of it, really. February was... let’s just say it was thin. Not to say there was nothing at all, but don’t be...
Interview How Astro's Playroom Composer Kenny Young Built a Soundtrack on PlayStation's Legacy
I'm your GPU
Shortly after PlayStation 5’s launch, we had the amazing opportunity to talk with Kenny Young, composer on the absolutely brilliant Astro’s Playroom (as well as Astro’s previous adventure, Astro Bot Rescue Mission). Join us as we talk about navigating the legacy of PlayStation and its music, the design process behind the catchiest...
Interview Getting Frightened by The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope with Composer Jason Graves
O' ye, of Little Hope
We recently had the chance to again have a chat with composer Jason Graves, this time regarding his work scoring the latest entry in the Dark Pictures Anthology series, titled Little Hope. While certainly a departure from our topic of discussion with Jason last time — the adorable PlayStation VR title Moss — Little Hop
