Image via Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- One of the biggest games of the year, God of War, is coming next week. Today reviews are out, so we get a chance to see what critics think. So far, the game is doing excellent. As of writing, Metacritic has the game at a 94, IGN and Polygon both scored the game a 10/10, and Gamespot rated the game a 9/10. The general consensus is that the game is beautiful, fun gameplay, and tells an emotional and compelling story. “It’s a game in which Kratos, a previously one-note character, becomes a complex father, warrior, and monster, embattled both on the field and within his own heart about how to treat his son; one in which the world opens up and shifts, offering rewards in both gameplay and knowledge of its lore that I treasured with each accomplishment,” writes IGN. Their only complaint was the framerate is locked at 30fps. Gamespot had little to no complaints to with their biggest critique being the last boss battle not being that great but noted there are plenty of epic boss battles throughout the game. God of War is shaping up to be one of the best games of the year. It releases next Friday on PS4, and you can expect a review from me as soon as possible.
- Taylor Lumley from the metal band Beartooth has announced his departure from the band. He writes on Twitter, “I quit Beartooth today to focus more on my life and my art. I love all the dudes in our band and crew like family, and there was no ill will at all.” Taylor was backup vocals and the band’s lead guitarist since 2013. There has not been any news about what his future plans are in music, but it sounds like there will be a continuation of his musical career.
- Joss Whedon left the Batgirl project a few months ago. Now we are getting news that the project is still on. Currently Christina Hodson, who is working on the script for the Transformers spinoff movie based on the character Bumblebee. Not much is known about the film, but expectations are high from the success of Wonder Woman and the struggles that DC has had, it would be great to see another good movie from their catalog.
- Take-Two Interactive has had its fair share of lawsuits because of Rockstar’s GTA V. Now one of those has been dismissed. Ex-Rockstar North president Leslie Benzines sued the company for $150 million in royalties. After taking a year and a half sabbatical, Leslie claims that the company forced him to leave after the hiatus. This stems from a contract signed in 2010 which would grant him equal pay as co-founders Dan and Sam Houser. The court recently has dismissed the case because the agreement does not explicitly say that the payments must be equal.
- More news on GTA V. If you followed the game at all, then you know it is making a ridiculous amount of money for Rockstar and parent company Take-Two Interactive. According to analysists, GTA V is the biggest entertainment product of all time. The game not only made a billion dollars on its third day of release back in 2013 but with the microtransactions that have reportedly earned $700 million a year has rocketed the profits sky-high. After 90 million units sold, making it the third best selling game of all time makes the game this profitable. It has been estimated that GTA V has made $6 billion in its lifetime. Since Rockstar has not stated when they will stop supporting the game, we can expect that this amount will increase until it is time for Rockstar to move on.
Tristan Zelden 