Top Releases:

• MotoGP 25 (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Apr. 30^th
• Forza Horizon 5 (PS5) – Releases Apr. 29^th
• KIBORG (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Apr. 30^th
• Despelote (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases May 1^st

This is a great week for fans of racing games, everyone else…eh, do you like indie titles? Our top new release is MotoGP 25, the latest entry in the long running game series. While the series has had releases (almost) annually since 2000, this is only the 12th from developer Milestone S.r.l., who must be doing something right if they keep getting to pump these things out year after year.

MotoGP 25 (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Apr. 30^th

Developed by: Milestone S.r.l
Published by: Milestone S.r.l

Our other big racing game of the week is the PS5 port of Forza Horizon 5 which, I mean, just feels so weird, right? While I wouldn’t say Forza is Microsoft’s most iconic property (that would probably be Halo), this almost feels like when Sega first put a Sonic game on a Nintendo console. At the end of the day, a really good game is coming to an even wider audience, and I think that’s good for everybody.

Forza Horizon 5 (PS5) – Releases Apr. 29^th

Developed by: Playground Games
Published by: Xbox Game Studios

Rounding out the top releases, KIBORG is a third person beat ’em up game from Russian developer Sobaka Studio. Their games have been flying under the radar for nearly a decade, with two of their previous titles, Redeemer and 9 Monkeys of Shaolin, receiving “Very Positive” reviews on Steam. KIBORG looks pretty cool, if you’re into these sorts of games.

Last up is a unique title, Despelote, a narrative adventure that is also a soccer game. Set in the city of Quito, Ecuador in the year 2001, Despelote tells the story of an eight year-old boy as he kicks his soccer ball around his neighborhood. Along the way, players will interact with other characters, take part in a few mini-games, and experience the vibrant sounds and atmosphere of Quito, where the developers used photographs and audio recorded on the streets to give players an immersive feeling.

KIBORG (PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Apr. 30^th

Developed by: Sobaka Studio
Published by: Sobaka Studio

Despelote (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases May 1^st

Developed by: Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena
Published by: Panic

Everything else:

• Many Nights a Whisper (PC) – Releases Apr. 29^th
• Spellslayer (PC) – Releases Apr. 29^th
• SubwaySim 2 (PC/PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Apr. 29^th
• Reel it! Fishing (PC/Switch) – Releases May 1^st

Notable Releases from 10, 20, and 30 (and sometimes 40) years ago:

Welcome, everybody, to Notable Releases! Sit back, grab a Coke, and look back fondly (or not so fondly) on some of the biggest video games, movies, and music to release in the last 40 years.

Games:

First up, from 2015, we’ve got the game Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, the second game in the series to be developed by MachineGames, and is a prequel to their previous effort, 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order. Initially, The Old Blood started out as two DLC packs for The New Order but was later merged into one, single release to, I don’t know, make more money?

A bit campier than New Order, Old Blood took on an art style that was reminiscent of “B movies”, leaning into the ridiculous a bit more than its predecessor. Despite the shorter run time and origins as DLS, critics were more than happy to report that Old Blood was well worth the full price that publisher Bethesda was charging for it. They found that the scope and size of the levels and missions were sufficiently, idk, cromulent; can I use that word here?

From 2005, we’ve got the movie tie-in game Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith which, as you might remember, was NOT the first video game to contain Episode III content, that honor went to Lego Star Wars. It was, however, the first time players got to see scenes from the film at home (aside from trailers and commercials), with a whopping twelve minutes of footage spliced into the game; amazing!

Revenge of the Sith is a standard, third person action/adventure game with players taking on the roles of both Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, as they move through various scenes from the (at the time) unreleased film. Again, I must say, this is so bizarre to me, that they would give away the entire plot just weeks before the film’s release. Can you imagine someone making an Avengers game that spoiled the entire plot before people saw the film; crazy!

In any case, the developers also added an secret, alternate ending, where Obi-Wan’s “high ground” advantage fails, with Anakin able to avoid having his legs cut off, leading to the death of Obi-Wan. Anakin is then transformed into Darth Vader, given the iconic red lightsaber and, fully corrupted, murders the Darth Sidious (the Emperor) and rules the galaxy on his own. Oh, there were also handheld versions of the game released, as well, for the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS. These were 2D beat ’em up’s, reminiscent of classic Konami arcade titles like X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; fun!

From 1995, we’ve got Mortal Kombat 3, the third entry in the fighting game franchise that, by 1995, was starting to wear a bit thin, if I’m being honest. That isn’t to say that the game and franchise weren’t still successful, it was a huge hit in arcades, being named one of the highest grossing cabinets of the year. Heck, we were even just a few months away from the Mortal Kombat film, making the series even bigger than it was. Still, though, this game felt like the beginning of the end.

Two years later, 1997’s Mortal Kombat 4 would transition the series to 3D, losing much of its humor and charm. That same year, the sequel film, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation would also release to a poor box office performance. Subsequent releases over the next few years the Mortal Kombat series would flounder, with only ill-fated attempts at single player, console titles releasing.

After Midway dropped out of the arcade market, 2002’s Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance would put the series back into the fighting game genre, earning the best reviews the franchise had seen in almost a decade. Today, the Mortal Kombat series has seen a resurgence in popularity, one that I hope continues to flourish.

Out last notable game is 1985’s Commando, a vertical scrolling shooter from Capcom. While you might think it was a tie-in to the 1985 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, it wasn’t. That was just a happy coincidence (probably). While there had been a few vertically scrolling, military shooters to come out, Commando was by far the most popular of its time. Raking in tons of money, Commando was among the highest grossing arcade cabinets of 1985. More than that, though, Commando was a critical success as well

With superb graphics and thrilling game play, Commando stood out amongst many of its contemporaries. At the Arkies, Commando would take home the award for Coin-Op Game of the Year, beating out two other classic titles, Paperboy and Marble Madness. The success of Commando and Ghosts ‘n Goblins (which we’ll discuss in September) are what turned Capcom from a bit player into one of the most successful video game companies of all time.

The influence of Commando was felt throughout the rest of the 1980’s, both in the arcades and on home consoles/PC’s (where ports of Commando were just as popular). Titles like Ikari Warriors, Rambo, and Rush’n Attack. Capcom would release two sequels, 1989’s Mercs, and 2008’s Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3, while in the U.S., Capcom USA marketed Bionic Commando as another sequel. In the 2009 reboot of Bionic Commando, the player character is named “Super Joe”, real name Joseph Gibson, the main character of Commando.

If you’re shocked that Commando was such a huge hit, I was too. I have no memory of playing the game as a child and nobody I knew talked about it in my gaming circles. History can be kind or cruel, depending on how the information gets to you.

Movies:

In notable films, 2015 saw the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, which introduced the characters of Scarlet Witch, Vision, and the MCU’s version of Quicksilver who, spoiler alert, dies. Despite less enthusiastic reviews from critics in comparison to the first film, Age of Ultron was a huge box office success, becoming, at the time, the 5th highest grossing film of all-time (it now sits in the #17 spot). It did fail to reach the same level of financial success as The Avengers, perhaps that, coupled with Marvel executives not really getting the whole Hawkeye farmhouse and Thor dream sequence scenes, this would be Whedon’s last foray into the MCU.

From 2005, we’ve got the film Crash which, controversially, won the Academy Award for Best Picture, beating out four amazing films, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck, and Munich. The film is an Altman-esque tale of racism in Los Angeles, featuring an all-star cast doing their best impressions of angry white women, angry white men, angry black men, angry black women, and angry Latinos.

Directed by Paul Haggis, Crash’s win at the Academy Awards was conspiratorially thought to have been rigged by the Church of Scientology, of which he was a member at the time (he is no longer a member and has since been accused of and arrested multiple times for sexual assault). In my eyes, there was not conspiracy, it was due to the fact that Crash was the least explosive/controversial film of the bunch.

Two films dealt heavily with homosexuality (Brokeback Mountain, Capote), one film was about McCarthyism (Good Night, and Good Luck), and the other dealt with terrorism & Judaism (Munich). At the end of the day, the voting bloc in the Academy were predominantly old, straight, white men, who got cold feet. I will one day be an old, straight, (mostly) white man, and I really hope I don’t suck.

From 1995, we’ve got another film that deals with race relations, though in a more even keeled tone, My Family (Mi Familia). Also set in Los Angeles, My Family tells the story of three generations of the same Mexican family, from the journey to America by patriarch Jose Sanchez, to meeting his wife Maria, to the birth of their children, Paco, Irene, Chucho, Toni, Guillermo, and Jimmy, to the birth of Jimmy’s son, Carlitos.

While it can sometimes come across as hokey, especially trying to see Jimmy Smits play a badass cholo, there is something pure about My Family. I love this movie, perhaps because of my upbringing in Southern California, or because of my own Latino heritage; I’m 1/4th Mexican, still love Morrissey – this will only make sense to three people, and two of them will never read this; who did I write this for?

Despite critical acclaim, the film would only be nominated in the Best Makeup category at the Academy Awards (losing to Braveheart), though it would receive two acting nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards, Jimmy Smits for Best Male Lead (losing to Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking) and Jennifer Lopez for Best Supporting Female (losing to Mare Winningham in Georgia). In 2024, My Family was added to the National Film Registry, ensuring it will be preserved for generations to come (we hope).

In 1985, we got the film Rambo: First Blood Part II, the sequel to, of course, First Blood. Now, while First Blood was a slow, methodical look into the mental health of the American veteran after living the horrors of the Vietnam war, with some occasional action, Rambo chucks all of that shit out the window and is a balls to the wall action film. Yeah, John Rambo might have some PTSD from his time in Vietnam, but who gives a fuck, now he’s blowing away different dudes in Vietnam, and he’s totally cool with it now, in order to save some POW’s.

The film was kind of a mess, writing wise, for most of its pre-production. Initially written by a guy named Kevin Jarre, he farted out an idea of Rambo going back to Vietnam to save some POW’s (a plot very similar to a 1983 film called Uncommon Valor). The script was then given to James Cameron who, at the time, was not a big Hollywood name. Cameron claims that he was writing the script for Rambo, The Terminator, and Aliens all at once. He clearly gave more time to two of those.

With Cameron’s re-write, Stallone himself would jump in and re-write a bunch of it, adding in the political angle, with the villains in Washington being right-wing conservatives, and Rambo being neutral when it comes to politics. Apparently, there was a lot of contention between Cameron and Stallone about who wrote what. In the end, none of it really mattered, because Rambo was a mega-hit.

Grossing $300 million worldwide, which is almost $900 million today, Rambo was a blockbuster for the ages. The film made the already famous Sylvester Stallone an even bigger star, and gave James Cameron the clout he needed to get The Terminator made. While critics lambasted the film, audiences didn’t seem to give a shit that the tone was completely different from the first film. It would, however, receive one Academy Award nomination, Best Sound Editing (losing to Back to the Future), and would receive seven Razzie nominations, winning Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Original Song, performed by, you guessed it, Frank Stallone.

Albums:

In notable albums, 2015 saw the release of Painted Shut by the indie rock band Hop Along. Produced by John Agnello, who also worked with Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth, Painted Shut was well received by critics. The staff at Pitchfork were particularly impressed, saying that the album contained a joyful, “aww shucks” vibe that reminded them of Midwestern emo god Bright Eyes, and the Midwestern sound of Los Angeles band Rilo Kiley. Pitchfork also said that Painted Shut contained the kind of “raw energy” that you could only hear from punk rock bands, giving middle aged white dudes massive music boners.

Other MAWD music boner bait included critics saying it was “guitar driven”, had a “punk-spirited indie rock” vibe, contained “pop-oriented melodies”, that “the bass & drum have a distinct rhythm”, the songwriting was “highly technical”, it had “acoustic songs”, and there were “twinges of Americana”. Ah, yes, I can see pudgy white dudes in bicycle shorts, stroking their beards as they thought about the radical sounds of this uniquely white guy album. When Vice said it was the 8th best album of the year, the simultaneous “BOI-OI-OI-OI-OING!!!!!” from white dudes with curly mustaches in the U.S. could be heard across the Atlantic.

Moving on, from 2005 we have the album From Under the Cork Tree from pop-punk (rock?) band Fall Out Boy. This guitar driven, sonically layered album from the Midwestern emo group had the raw energy of punk rock, mixed in with pop-oriented vocal harmonies. It was the perfect album for young white dudes and their friend’s girlfriend’s. The single “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” was a massive hit, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, leading the album to debut in 9th place on the Billboard Top 200.

The album’s second single, “Dance Dance”, was only slightly less successful, peaking at #9 on the Hot 100, but helped solidify Fall Out Boy as one of the premier rock bands of the 2000’s. The success of From Under the Cork Tree got Fall Out Boy their first Grammy nomination in the Best New Artist category, beside Ciara, Keane, Sugarland, and winner John Legend.

From 1995 we have the highly technical, guitar driven, indie rock album Electr-O-Pura from the band Yo La Tengo. This was the seventh album from the legendary band and, while not a massive commercial success, it was a big hit with critics, who used well worn, white guy friendly descriptions like “homespun charm”, “critical sophistication”, and “flat-out weird”.

One single was released, “Tom Courtenay”, though it failed to chart. In fact, the band wouldn’t hit the Billboard Top 200 until the year 2000, and wouldn’t get in the top 20 until 2013, hitting a peak of #13. While we often get wrapped up in success and celebrating commercial victories, bands like Yo La Tengo were able to eke out a career by having a solid fan base, a record label that believed in them, and an artistic integrity that made them create the songs they wanted to create and say to hell with everyone else. There’s your punk rock energy.

Closing things out this week, we have one of the biggest albums of the 1980’s, Dire Strait’s Brothers in Arms, which contained one of the decade’s biggest hits, “Money For Nothing”. It was of course, a guitar driven, sonically layered album that featured intricate songwriting that had a twinge of American and punk rock; you know, white guy stuff!

The album was a huge commercial success, sitting at the #1 spot on the Billboard Top 200 for nine weeks, and was an even bigger success in the UK (the band’s home) where it spent 14 weeks at #1 on their music charts, with ten of those being consecutive. The commercial success of the album made it one of the best selling of all-time, moving over 30 million copies worldwide. Brothers in Arms was also one of the first albums made directly for the compact disc format, being recorded entirely digitally. This led to the album being the first to sell over one million copies on CD.

While the album had its share of successful singles, like “Walk of Life”, “So Far Away”, and “Your Latest Trick”, it was the song “Money For Nothing” that captured the attention of the entire country, and the world, sitting in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. It’s haunting, opening line, “I want my MTV“, sung by the musician Sting, is an iconic, culturally defining moment that will resonate heavily with anyone who was alive when it first came out.

It’s music video, while archaic by today’s standards, was an mind blowing feat of computer technology, featuring some of the earliest instances of digital animation. At the time of the album’s release, however, Dire Straits front man Mark Knopfler was not a fan of MTV or music videos in general. He pure “artist”, Knopfler felt that music videos distracted from the songwriting and he didn’t want his art basterdized. However, MTV was insistent that a video be made, a real video, not just some bullshit like Knopfler standing in front of a camera, playing the song.

The “Money For Nothing” music video was unlike anything the public had seen before. In 1985, the idea of a computer generated image was like something out of a science fiction film. The impact it had on the public was incredible, and it was a feat that wouldn’t necessarily be replicated en masse for at least 5 or 6 more years when CGI became a staple in the movie industry.

The commercial and critical success of Brothers in Arms led to five Grammy nominations, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, with wins on the category Best Engineered Album, and Best Rock Performance (for “Money For Nothing”). At the age of four, when I saw the video for “Money For Nothing” I thought I was looking into the future. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and it made Dire Straits one of my favorite bands at the time.

I have a distinct memory of sitting on a train, listening to the album on my mom’s Walkman, singing “Money for nothing and the chips for free“. When my mom and this lady sitting next to us heard me, they started laughing, asking me what I said about chips. I told them that the guy is singing about getting free money and free potato chips. They had to explain to me that he was saying “chicks for free“, and that “chicks” meant women. I was so confused, why would he get free women? Women aren’t for sale, and that made them laugh even more. There you have it, folks; I’ve been woke since ’85. Oh, and, uh, there’s an entire chorus where Knopfler says the other f-word 4 or 5 times; but he was just reciting the words that the guy in the electronics store said! That’s where he got the lyrics, guh!!

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PC/PS4/Xbox One) – Released May 5^th, 2015

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (PS2/Xbox) – Released May 5^th, 2005

Mortal Kombat 3 (Arcade) – Released Apr. 1995

Commando (Arcade) – Released May 1985

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