faeez_rizwan

It's done well, for the most part. The writing harkens back to Diablo's original two outings; a gothic, low fantasy miasma of hopelessness and intrigue. Most impressively, this version of Diablo's world feels, well, like a world again; a place with history and tension, rather than a collection of maps strung together to facilitate dungeon delving.

Diablo 4 adopts a muted aesthetic and a slow-burn narrative that seems desperate to mimic Game of Thrones or Sony's God of War reboot, but it's constantly in tension with how massively unsubtle the series' worldbuilding has always been. "It was probably demons," would have been an exceptionally useful dialogue choice to have for every person who asked me if I could investigate what happened to their loved ones. And, I'm sorry, I can't take it seriously when a sad quest where I end the life of a tortured man tied to a tree ends by giving me the spear I used as a temporary weapon upgrade.

So far, nothing has convinced me the endgame is so brilliant that it's worth stripping everything out of the initial leveling process. The thin storytelling doesn't help either-thankfully you can skip it on subsequent characters. Diablo 4 is a live service game that puts an insulting amount of effort into trying to convince you it's not. It's backwards; trying to build up to the most robust part of itself instead of starting with it. The moment entering a fresh dungeon feels more like a chore than a ride is the moment Diablo loses me, and I've been worryingly close to that feeling in my time with it so far.

Diablo IV went from a drudge completed only in service to my professional responsibilities to a pleasure I sought. There's something in Diablo IV that will appeal to you, if you know enough about yourself to find it. I don't know what that is yet, but in the coming weeks, I hope to find out and share it with you.

After years of waiting, Street Fighter is finally back and stepping onto the latest consoles with Street Fighter 6, and while it doesn't necessarily shout about its newness visually, there are some huge changes under the hood.

With a significantly beefed-up singleplayer section of the game providing better on-ramps than ever, and a new control scheme that could completely rip up established assumptions about skill levels, it feels a bit like a fresh start for the fighting game giant.

This is amazing for learners and newcomers, making the most intimidating part of any fighting game way more trivial until you know enough to kick off the training wheels and take more control.

Street Fighter 6 retains the same basic gameplay seen in Street Fighter V and Street Fighter IV. Characters have a noticeable weight to them compared to older 2D installments, which makes their attacks feel more visceral and impactful. I've been playing these games for three decades so it was easy for me to acclimate to the controls in seconds. Capcom didn't mess with what works, which is great.

The hip-hop-inspired soundtrack is very reminiscent of Street Fighter III. Though I'm more partial to the rock-inspired tracks from older Street Fighter games like Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter 6's music fits well with the visuals and gets you pumped during battles.

It takes a lot to reinvent a 30-plus-year-old franchise while keeping step with tradition, but Capcom has succeeded admirably. This is a rare game where losing is still fun, because it all feeds the drive to improve, to find your warrior's path and maybe rack up some sweet wins along the way.

Even those unfamiliar with the hugely popular Japanese tv, comic book or gaming series will find much to enjoy in the buccaneering adventure, One Piece: Stampede. The relentless action is well choreographed with enough threat to keep tweens on the edge of the couch but not hiding behind it. The camaraderie between the Straw Hats and Luffy - their well-rounded and likable leader -- remains genuine and warm.

The fact that this is a story that's both outside the canon and one that celebrates the legacy of One Piece is leaned into enormously throughout the film and that's what makes it such an intensely fun romp from beginning to end. What has kept One Piece so endearing to its audience is that it's a '90s shonen anime that has remained so faithfully '90s.

Rather than just being a movie about the Straw Hats and a group of enemies, this is a movie about many characters from across the whole series: the entire Worst Generation, the Shichibukai, the Marines, the Revolutionaries, the Cipher Pol and many more; the movie brings in many beloved stars from across the series in one big action-packed thrill ride.

Yet one of my favorite aspects was the third tier of characters, being the easter egg and cameo characters. One Piece details are my life and seeing all these references is incredibly exciting for me.

This movie is a celebration of the legacy of One Piece. It reminds us how far Luffy and the Straw Hat crew have come. Having experienced this movie, above all else, made me feel so glad to be a One Piece fan. And that's what makes it so special.