Phil Villarreal's Blog, page 66

"Where the Water Tastes Like Wine" Switch Review

"Where the Water Tastes Like Wine" speaks to a sense of cultural fabric that makes up Americana, the joy of road trips and the historical texture that blends together to coalesce into culture.

Less a video game than a branching-paths graphic novel, the narrated text-heavy journey provides a barebones narrative structure to a succession of short stories. You travel an overworld, meeting eccentric characters along the way who spill their yarns, which you collect and deploy in the manner that you would currency and items in a traditional RPG.

After releasing on PC in February, the adventure game makes its way to Switch, where it's a natural fit for handheld mode. You can practically feel the dog-eared pages yellowing in the virtual paperback, and can just about taste the dust kicking up from the trail, as well as the pleasant sting of sunshine as you meander along your rocky paths.

Developer Serenity Forge takes an eccentric concept and plays it out to the defiant extreme, caring little about pacing or a cohesive plot. The threadbare narrative hook places you on the losing end of a poker game to a diabolical yet sagely wolf figure, who commands you to collect yarns from the road in order to redeem your freedom.

The joys of the game come not in advancing the storyline, but from bathing in the eclectic tales the game is stuffed with. A short story showcase disguised as a game, "Where the Water Tastes Like Wine" is every bit as poetic and obtuse as its title.

I crave offbeat experiences such as this, and if the premise intrigues you, you'll no doubt find yourself just as entranced by the strange marvels the game offers. Just a few sips will work up a fine buzz that will only have you craving more.

Publisher provided review code.

PHIL ON FILM: 5 Shows to Binge in December 2019

For my full post, click here.

"Strange Telephone" Review

Since the telegraph introduced the prospect of long-distance communication, humanity has wrestled with the juxtaposition of isolation and instant connectivity.

The advent of the telephone and internet brought different media into the equation, further muddying the landscape, and presenting opportunities for romance, exploration and horror.

Developer HZ3 Software's "Strange Telephone" uses the awkward communication conundrum and mines it for its branching storytelling potential. A port of the 2D adventure game released on PC in January, the oddly entrancing "Strange Telephone' dials up the Switch.

Taking on the role of Jill, you are trapped in darkness. Her one outlet to the outside is Graham, a sentient digital assistant and telephone she uses to solve, cause and ruminate on all her problems.

You use Graham to enter various realms, each of which contains puzzles that unlock items you can use to unlock new passageways. With the end goal of finding your way through the dark labyrinth to make your way home, you sink into the increasingly murky cross-dimensional catacombs.

While the puzzle difficulty ranges from insultingly simplistic to find-me-a-walkthrough-right-now impenetrable, the storytelling remains consistent enough to keep pulling you along.

Appealingly offbeat, the one-note tale leans on its intrigue to draw you back for multiple playthroughs to see where different choices take you. A slim, spirited package, "Strange Telephone" keeps you guessing as you meander your way through its sprawling telephonic web.

Publisher provided review code.

"FIFA 20" Review

Racking up more club and player licenses than rival PES, "FIFA 20" continues its steady march forward. "FIFA 20" may not reinvent the series, but does manage to push it forward in many significant ways.

Chief among the advancements is a mode that has nothing to do with the soccer game proper.

Street soccer takes a step to the forefront in the form of Volta, a side mode that encourages stylish, wild play. Whether you're knocking passes off the walls, pulling off ludicrous spin moves or slamming balls into the goal from the area around your own goal slot, Volta provides fast-paced fun that allows players' personalities to shine.

Player Carer mode, which plays it straight, marks the franchise's continuing direction away from story-heavy narratives of the past. The upside is you get more freedom to select your team, rather than play through a preset, cheesily-written story with fewer variables.

FIFA Ultimate Team continues to be EA's cash cow, as well as an addictive obsession for virtual card collectors. Patching your squad together from a bare-bones roster, scoring major upgrades along the way with big players and savvy chemistry upgrades until you can dominate both in offline challenges and online play is a rewarding enterprise. Those who prefer to avoid being bombarded by pay-to-win microtransactions, though, could be turned off.

The base game provides the smooth, entrancing brand of soccer that EA has had down pat for the past decade. With convincing physics, top-notch presentation and fluid strategy-shifting adjustment capabilities that put you in full control of your offensive and defensive philosophies, "FIFA 20" continues to replicate the beauty of the beautiful game.

While franchise mode could use more of a touch-up in next year's edition, and even more player likenesses would continue to drive home the sense of realism, "FIFA 20" offers up a package that's tough to beat. There's a reason the series continues to dominate the mindshare of video game soccer fans year in and year out.

Publisher provided review code.

Book Report: "Journey to the Center of the Earth"

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the pioneers of sci-fi, Jules Verne blended the state of scientific research in the mid-19th century along with what then seemed like plausible leaps in order to extrapolate dizzying tales of daring and exploration.

A visionary who was far ahead of his time, Verne's powers are at their peak in "Journey to the Center of the Earth." It helps that the core protagonists generate a strong emotional core. A flighty, duty-before-reason professor leads his skeptical nephew and a hired hand to do the grunt work. Using a hidden volcanic passageway, they hurl themselves headlong into parts unknown, discovering hidden oceans and continents beneath the surface, and tangle with prehistoric beasts sheltered within.

Verne keeps the pace forging ahead with the urgency of the journey itself, while always taking care to keep the flights of fancy grounded with in the realm of feasibility. The trio's struggles with nourishment and exhaustion makes up much of the tension, and their sense of possible doom always looms over the voyage.

An excellent read for all ages, the Verne classic has lost nothing over the past century and change.

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PHIL ON FILM: "Knives Out"

For my full review, click here.

"Need for Speed: Heat" Review

"Need for Speed" is at its best when it lets you roll with abandon through wild city streets, trading paint with opponents and cops alike. "Need for Speed: Heat" is a welcome return to the origins of a series that, as a whole, may have lost its fresh-on-the-lot luster but still has plenty of gas -- and nox -- left in the tank.

There's little doubt that "Need for Speed" would be served by scaling back from its near-annual release schedule. There's only so much you can say and do artistically with the series year after year, and since it rarely goes away, gamers don't get the chance to miss it. But "Heat" seems like something more than a perfunctory fulfillment of a corporate mandate. With a new set of tires, a fresh coat of paint, a thorough detailing and a new car smell air freshener, this is a ride you can cruise the hood with in style.

Developer Ghost Games does the "Need for Speed" name proud by blending arcade-friendly race mechanics with subtle sim elements, including customization, car builds and damage.

The seamless integration with online play catches the series up with the likes of "Forza Motorsport," and the gritty, exuberant street racing can match anything you'll find in, say, "Grand Theft Auto Online."

"Heat" is just as much fun under the hood, with loads of options that let you tinker with your ride by adding enhancements and tweaking with its tuning. Just about all the mayhem you cause on the streets results in reputation and financial buffs that arm you with more options to tweak your car in the garage.

The story may still have shades of a half-baked "Fast & Furious" ripoff, but the unabashed dorkiness of the characters and dialogue takes away nothing from the gameplay.

"Need for Speed: Heat" gets your adrenaline pumping with the intensity of singed rubber. To play is to visit a fantasyland free of traffic jams, consequences or mandatory sentences. This is just the sort of game that reminds you why the "Need for Speed" engine first started humming.

Publisher provided review code.

"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition" Switch Review

With the Netflix series set to launch, there's no better time to sink your teeth into "The Witcher" saga than now. The Switch may not be the ideal platform to take in the grand, sweeping adventures of Geralt of Rivia, but it's certainly the most accessible.

Those who don't have the time or discipline to hunker down in front of the TV for an adventure spanning 200 hours may more feasibly find time to chip away at "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" saga in quick bursts on commutes, in waiting rooms and in spare moments seized unwinding in bed to blow off steam during the holiday season.

The crown jewel of CD Projekt RED's repertoire, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" works as an excellent entry point for those unfamiliar with Geralt's previous anithero misadventures, as well as those who have been there for every battle, spell and seduction. The 2015 game, which grew with a pair of monumental expansions, comes to Nintendo's console with all previously released DLC included.

A winding story bursting with hidden layers, branching paths and flourishing beauty, the game pushes the Switch's technological capabilities to its limits and then some. As long as you take precaution to save early and often in order to lose significant progress during crashes.

Playing "Switcher" in portable mode is an ethereal thrill, and a showpiece for those who are unconvinced in the console's magic. The game is an outright stunner, and gains something in the intimacy of up-close portable play that it lacks even on large TVs with surround sound.

Maybe the way to get the most out of the game graphically is to play it on a souped-up PC, but I wouldn't trade this "Switcher" experience for any other setup. The hunt is wild indeed, and it's liberating to be able to join the chase either on the go or at home.

Publisher provided review code.

"Creepy Brawlers" Review

When a spectral hand reaches out from the great beyond and pulls you into a world of monster pugilists slugging it out in an underground boxing circuit, you've got no choice but to lace up your gloves and sock it to them.

"Creepy Brawlers" lifts the ropes and saunters into the Switch ring with panache. To survive, you need to observe the attack patterns of your opponents, then dodge and counter accordingly.

It's all about timing and rhythm, with the increasingly complex patterns and shrinking reaction windows significantly ramping up the difficulty as you climb through the ranks.

Developer Mega Cat Studios takes what is basically a reskinned NES "Punch-Out!!" and applies horror sensibilities. The feel and flow of the original game, which was tweaked in subsequent SNES and Wii follow-ups, remains intact. Certain enemies even seem to follow the design philosophies of "Punch-Out!!" counterparts, laying in wait as Easter eggs for superfans.

Although the gameplay may be one-dimensional, "Creepy Brawlers" makes for a captivating "fail and try, try again" obsession. It's satisfying to suffer endless beatdowns from the same archenemy, only to incrementally forumlate a strategy for success, then finally achieve dominance in the ring.

The concept may be absurd, but that doesn't dampen the fun. Those looking for an NES "Punch-Out!!" remake can jump and raise their fists in triumph.

Publisher provided review code.

PHIL ON FILM: "Frozen II"

For my full review, click here.