The Critical Corner

Another year has come and gone, and with it comes one of my favorite times of the year: Game of the Year.  2021 for games was certainly an interesting one. As the first full year after the launch of the new generation of consoles with the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S, no one can make the argument 2021 is gonna be fondly remembered as this high watermark for the generation we are about to see unfold (from recent memory, you can look at 2014 and 2019 as similar kind of transitional years). However, even with the lack of that defining game or games that stand as the thing that defined the year overall, I found 2021 to be a haven of variety. As someone that has decried in recent times (particularly in The X Button Podcast) about my recent disenchantment with the AAA scene being so dominated by the open world genre, I feel 2021 was a year where different kinds of experiences were allowed to stand out more thanks to the lack of that one game everyone froths at the mouth about (think

You would think that a game that shares the license of what's currently the hottest thing in pop culture right now would be a sure fire win, but that's not the reality "Marvel's Avengers" enjoyed when it released back in 2020. The game by Square Enix and "Tomb Raider" developer Crystal Dynamics was a hodgepodge of a game that mixed the third person bonafides Crystal Dynamics was known for with a solid combat engine and well realized character kits, all to be massively undone by what was clearly an undercooked "live service/loot driven" element that cast a pall on what was a relatively well-made game. Whatever good merit the game could garner with its well realized cast of characters and surprisingly engaging story campaign, could easily be forgotten by the relative broken nature of its live service component. In other words, par for the course for any first time comers to this genre.  If you have ever played a game in the "live service/loo

    I'm not going to mince words: 2016's "Suicide Squad" is bar none one of the worst movies I have ever seen based on a comic book property. Here was a film with so much potential (an interesting choice of director, a great premise for the comic book genre and a killer cast) completely, utterly wasted due to massive corporate mangling after the negative reception for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". To me, it massively damaged the idea of this ecclectic property from DC Comics ever resonating in film after such a high profile, confused disaster.  Enter James Gunn.  Fresh off the heels from his unfortunate ouster from Disney following the unearthing of some old, unsavory tweets, Warner Bros. absolutely struck gold by immediately bringing in James Gunn and giving him carte blance to do anything he wanted with any DC property. Considering Gunn absolutely cemented his reputation with handling a band of misfits with the "Guardians of the Galaxy" m