Another week, another Wednesday and boy do we have an eclectic mix of games for you! Here’s what we’re playing this week:
Tom – Lead Writer
KID A MNESIA
- Playing on PS5
I never expected to see Radiohead cosmetics appear in Fortnite or Fall Guys, but stranger things have happened in 2021. The band has been hyping up Kid A Mnesia, a reissue of classic albums Kid A and Amnesiac, but the most impressive piece of the marketing rollout by far is the new KID A MNESIA interactive exhibition.
Stanley Donwood’s artwork has always been an integral part of the experience for Head-heads (as nobody calls us), but in KID A MNESIA his work truly comes alive. Radiohead has constructed a mind-boggling museum for its albums, a place of impossible architecture that would feel right at home in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. As you stroll through its corridors, colours and imagery throb in time to familiar fragments of music while glowing lyrics materialise on the walls.
Sequences built around songs ‘How To Disappear Completely’ and ‘You And Whose Army?’ are particularly stunning, where the construct of the exhibit falls away and impressionistic displays of dark beauty envelop you. One can only imagine how the experience might be enhanced by illicit substances; hey, I’m not your dad! Any Radiohead fan with a PS5, PC or Mac simply must give KID A MNESIA a try.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition
- Playing on PS5
The criticism around Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition has become so deafening that Rockstar Games has issued a mea culpa, pledging to fix the collection’s issues. This is the gaming equivalent of a celebrity Notes app apology, and to see the usually superconfident Rockstar grovel is a clear sign of just how broken this thing is.
I’ve been enjoying the remastered version of Grand Theft Auto 3 in spite of this new release’s problems, but they are quite glaring. Characters fall through the ground, rain effects obscure the screen, and the game crashes every 45 minutes. I’ll have a full review coming soon, but suffice to say that these classic games deserved a lot more TLC.
Joe – Editor & Lead Writer
Deathloop
- Playing on PS5
With a bit of downtime between reviews, I’ve finally picked up a copy of Deathloop, a game I’ve been stoked to play for a long time. The fact that it’s currently 50% off on the PS Store only sweetens the deal; our Lead Writer, Tom chose it as one of his favourite picks of the PlayStation Black Friday sale.
I’m only a couple of hours in but I’m already majorly impressed by its style. The island of Blackreef is a gorgeous canvas straight out of a Warhol in which you decide the brushstrokes. I may have died a dozen times but I’m always itching to jump back in to another loop and uncover more of the richly detailed world.
While the game’s numerous mechanics contribute to a bit of a steep learning curve, the sense of freedom you have in approaching each mission is undeniable. With some great writing and excellent voice acting (particularly Colt and Juliana), Deathloop really feels like a triple threat.
Ollie – Social Media Manager
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Playing on PS4
I picked up 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in the Black Friday sale last weekend and I got myself well and truly stuck in. A reboot of the popular Modern Warfare series, and featuring a couple of characters from the previous continuity, this will no doubt be a lot of fun for fans of the original.
I had heard good things before going into it, that the gameplay was smooth, the cinematics were excellent, and the story was pretty compelling. All of those things were definitely true. I’m not a solid first-person-shooter gamer, in fact I wasted no time at all in selecting Recruit (easy) mode, which is absolutely fine as Joe told us all here. So I can’t comment on how challenging the gameplay was, but from my point of view the action didn’t stop. Fighting on the streets of London, fighting on the streets of Urzikstan, this game flies you all over the fictionalised world, taking in bleak, real-world inspired warzones, and showing the harsh realities of conflict.
One other thing I had heard before playing was some controversy regarding the game’s portrayal of Russians. Accusations of Russophobia were aimed largely at a flashback mission in which, playing as an Urzikstani child, you must run around the labyrinthine carpet-maze of your family home whilst being chased by what can only be described as a giant Russian ogre. Clad in a Munch-esque gas mask and a skin tight, white-and-blue-striped telnyashka singlet, and sporting arms the size of St Basil’s Cathedral, he shouts expletives in the most comedic of accents. So, yeah. Those critics may have had a point.
That being said, on the whole I really enjoyed it. The story was great. You get to play as a mix of characters, it shows war in a very visceral and real way, whilst also criticising a lot of the politics that goes on around conflict. I only wish it were a little longer. I finished it in around 6 hours, which is, you know, fine. But I definitely could’ve gone for more.
You can get hold of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in the PlayStation Black Friday Sale right now for £30.