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'Life is Strange 2' prelude proves superpowers aren't just for girls
In The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, the latest installment in the Life is Strange series, developer Dontnod once again taps into a deep and pervasive human emotion: The desire to have superpowers. However, where the first season approaches this feeling from the perspective of a confused teenage girl with the fate of an entire town in her hands, Captain Spirit puts players in the basketball-spotted socks of a 9-year-old boy playing pretend. Though the protagonist, Chris, is younger than the star of the original series, his problems are just as mature: His mother recently died in a car wreck, and in the aftermath, his dad is having a rough time creating a stable home life. Meanwhile, Chris attempts to escape his new reality by becoming the superpowered Captain Spirit -- in his imagination and possibly in the real world, too.
'Wolfenstein II' is definitely not 'Doom'
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is experiencing a serious case of opportune timing. It's a game all about shooting Nazis, but that's not new for the franchise -- what's new, this time around, is the social climate in the US. Nazis are in the news and marching with tiki torches on the streets. Members of the Ku Klux Klan are donning their cloaks in broad daylight. The president has invited white nationalists into the White House. Wolfenstein II's goose-stepping villains and its themes of a complacent, Nazi-ruled America are shockingly relevant in 2017. But how does the game actually play? Wolfenstein is, at its heart, an action-heavy first-person shooter packed with all manner of ridiculous weapons and abilities. Shooting is its main focus -- and, in the following discussion, it's also ours.
Setting fire to teenage souls in 'Life Is Strange: Before the Storm'
There are plenty of reasons to be wary of Life Is Strange: Before the Storm -- it's the prequel to a highly successful, influential series, but it isn't being handled by the same development team. This time around, Deck Nine is in charge of a three-episode arc featuring two of the most mysterious characters from the full series. Even the voice actor for Chloe, the game's main foil, has been swapped out for someone new. The circumstances are ripe for Before the Storm to become a flimsy parody of Life Is Strange, full of shallow awkwardness and referential quasi-humor. Luckily, that's not what happened. Before the Storm slides into the Life Is Strange library like butter, opening up storylines that were only hinted at in the full game. Part of this insight surely comes from Chloe's original voice actor, (the Emmy-winning) Ashly Burch, who stayed on as a writing consultant for the prequel. But just because Before the Storm isn't an embarrassment to the Life Is Strange brand doesn't mean it's perfect. Engadget associate writer Timothy J. Seppala and senior reporter Jessica Conditt found different delights and drags in the first episode of Before the Storm, largely influenced by their own experiences as teenagers. Spoilers for the entire Life is Strange series, including Before the Storm, reside below; you've been warned.
One weekend with the 'Destiny 2' beta
It's easy to think of the original Destiny as a large-scale, highly polished test run for Bungie's vision of the future of video games. When Destiny came out in September 2014, it was unclear whether an MMO-style first-person shooter could even work on consoles, and it wasn't guaranteed players would be able to reliably connect to the servers over the game's lifetime. We're talking about an online-focused game that landed on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 alongside current-generation consoles, back before Rocket League, Smite or Overwatch invaded the living room. Back when the industry knew something like Destiny was possible but not whether it would be popular or profitable. Bungie has tweaked Destiny over the game's lifetime, incorporating fan feedback into add-ons like The Taken King and Rise of Iron, and players have stuck around for the ride. Last week, fans got their hands on Destiny 2 for the first time in an open beta across Xbox One and PlayStation 4 -- and though the test was supposed to end over the weekend, it was extended through July 25th. Now that Bungie has proved Destiny's success, the sequel is a chance to truly push the medium forward and leverage a new ecosystem of connected consoles. So, what's new in Destiny 2? Engadget associate editor Timothy J. Seppala and senior reporter Jessica Conditt dive in and report back.
What we love and hate about 'Mass Effect: Andromeda'
A veteran Mass Effect player and a complete novice walk into a bar. This isn't the beginning of a terrible joke: Instead, it's the premise of a conversation between Engadget associate editor Timothy J. Seppala and senior reporter Jessica Conditt, both of whom have been playing the latest Mass Effect game, Andromeda, over the past few weeks. Tim has devoured and adored the Mass Effect series for almost a decade while Jessica has never touched the games before. How does Andromeda compare to previous Mass Effect games? Does it stand on its own as a worthy addition to the sci-fi genre? Are the animations always this messed up? In the following conversation, Tim and Jessica discuss Andromeda's highs and lows from two vastly different perspectives -- and somehow, they end up with similar conclusions. Spoilers for the entire Mass Effect series reside below; you've been warned.
