Bill McNally

Care and craftsmanship. After tearfully saying goodbye to this game at the end because I never wanted to leave it, that was my main takeaway. The people who made this game cared deeply for the subject and the player, and brought the craftsmanship to bear to make their vision a reality. In an entertainment landscape littered with awkward fan service and shoddy writing, this game has neither. The player in immersed in the world of Indiana Jones *as* Indiana Jones, adventurer/archaeologist in the turbulent 1930s. Voiced by Troy Baker, who has to consider this the magnum opus of his career, one really feels as though they are the guiding force behind how Indy interacts with his world. Every setting and puzzle is meticulously crafted to be challenging, but not impossible. My only problem with the game was how much the boss fights interrupted the flow and were a bit tedious. It's the only "mark" against an otherwise perfect gaming experience. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

It's entirely possible this film suffered from the hype before my viewing. That's why it's getting three stars and not fewer. The characters failed to hook me. Elphaba's plight wasn't exactly original, but was sympathetic. I found Ariana Grande's acting to be uninvolving, at best, and I still don't understand Prince Flyero's role in the story. There were, at most, two songs that made me sit forward in my chair. In the end, I felt there was something I was supposed to be cheering but darned if I could tell you what. The film is chock full of moments where I was made to feel as though I should be cheering but I didn't know what. The production, however, is fantastic, and the cinematography is very, very good. It is a visually stunning film, undeniably. It's just a pity the same ability to arrest the audience could not be extracted from the script and the story.

Steam PC user. The dead zone for mouse and keyboard and the flight stick I use is way too big to pilot effectively in multiplayer, which is the bread and butter of this game. The long tutorial that is the campaign cannot be completed due to a known bug that causes an endless load between missions 8 and 9. The audio for the cutscenes does not sync with the video. Many have said this is a vSync problem. I've tried adjusting vSync both in the game and on my PC. It is not a vSync problem. Control identification in the user interface is a mess. The buttons referenced rarely exist. I found later if I roll the mouse wheel, I get keyboard commands. Even then, proper identification is inconsistent. If none of these things bother you, feel free to waste $40. Otherwise, save your money until these specific problems are patched.

One of the gems of 2019. Eddie Murphy finally found his spirit guide in this one, playing Blaxploitation star Rudy Ray Moore, with extremely strong performances from Wesley Snipes and Da'Vine Joy Randolph. A must-see for anyone who is a fan of cinema.