Top Releases:

• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 10^th
• Missile Command Delta (PC/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 8^th
• EA Sports College Football 26 (PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 10^th
• Patapon 1+2 Replay (PC/PS5/Switch) – Releases Jul. 10^th

Yes, folks, after releasing in 2001 & 2002, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 are back and on modern consoles! Rebuilt from the ground up, THPS 3+4 features all new graphics, controls, skaters, and songs, while keeping just enough of the original content to satisfy your nostalgic itch. 2020’s remake of THPS 1+2 was very well received when it came out and I have no doubt that 3+4 will garner just as much praise.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 (PC/PS4/PS5/Switch/Switch 2/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 10^th

Developed by: Iron Galaxy
Published by: Activision

That’s pretty much it, in terms of big, new releases for the week. Atari is continuing to squeeze every last drop out of their classic content, putting out Missile Command Delta, a first person, tactical strategy game in which you must still try and defend your base from enemy missiles, but must ALSO try and unravel some kind of crazy conspiracy. Probably some shit about how the government is bad or something. You know, real big brain stuff.

For all you sportz nutz out there, EA Sports College Football 26 is coming out this week, giving colleges and universities yet another chance to exploit their student athletes. Well, at least the players can get paid now, which is nice. I was at a local retro game store today looking for NCAA Football 2007 because it has San Diego native Reggie Bush on the cover. I couldn’t find it, but I will. Oh yes, I will.

Missile Command Delta (PC/PS5/Switch/Xbox One/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 8^th

Developed by: 13AM Games/Mighty Yell
Published by: Atari

EA Sports College Football 26 (PS5/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 10^th

Developed by: EA Orlando
Published by: EA Sports

Closing out the Top Releases, we’ve got two more classic games being re-released for modern consoles, the formerly PSP exclusives Patapon 1+2 Replay. For those who missed out on these titles, Patapon puts players in the role of a god-like being who is worshipped by little eyeball creatures named Patapons. The player-god must help the Patapons defeat their sworn enemies, the Zigotons, by deploying troops in battle. By tapping the face buttons on the controller, like drums, in rhythm to the music, the player will grant the Patapons attack bonuses in order to lead them to victory. Well received by critics when it first came out in 2008 & 2009, Patapon 1+2 Replay is a game you really need to keep on your radar.

Patapon 1+2 Replay (PC/PS5/Switch) – Releases Jul. 10^th

Developed by: SAS CO., LTD.
Published by: Bandai Namco

Everything else:

Everdeep Aurora looks so good, OMG.

• Shuruka Boxing (PC) – Releases Jul. 8^th
• Dread Flats (PC) – Releases Jul. 10^th
• Everdeep Aurora (PC/Switch) – Releases Jul. 10^th
• Gyre (PC) – Releases Jul. 10^th
• Islanders: New Shores (PC/PS5/Switch/Series X|S) – Releases Jul. 10^th
• Occlude (PC) – Releases Jul. 10^th
• Bullet: Surge (PC) – Releases Jul. 11^th
• Dogwalk (PC) – Releases Jul. 11^th
• Epoch Makers (PC) – Releases Jul. 11^th
• Poker Adventurers (PC) – Releases Jul. 11^th

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

A slow week means we have more time to talk about old stuff, right? Here’s what we were playing, watching, and listening to in 2015, 2005, 1995, and 1985!

Games:

Kicking things off, from 2015, we’ve got the game Godzilla for the PS3 and PS4. Originally released in Japan in December of 2014, Godzilla came to North America a few months later, containing new content for the game’s various modes. The game’s mainline mode as known as “God of Destruction”, in which players must decimate entire areas in an effort to destroy G-Energy Generators. Players will have to contend with the military and, every so often, a boss monster.

The next mode is “King of the Monsters”, which has players fighting classic Godzilla movie monsters through six stages. In “Evolution Mode”, players can apply unlockable cosmetics and other things as they play through “God of Destruction”, while the last mode “Diorama” lets players pose their favorite monsters in various settings.

While Godzilla is obviously a well known property, that didn’t stop people from absolutely tearing the game apart. Godzilla was a mess, according to critics, with many of them calling it the worst game of 2015. Critics felt like the game was from a different era, with stiff, outdated controls & visuals, horrible level design, repetitive gameplay, and the look & feel of a budget title. To critics, there was just nothing there to enjoy about Godzilla, in any way.

Why, then, are we even talking about it? Well, that’s because it is, typically, the most expensive PS4 game on the retro market, going for as high a $400 in some eBay listings. If Godzilla is such dog shit, why are people willing to pay so much money for it? Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, the game had a low initial print run, with poor sales meaning it wouldn’t get any reprints. The second is that, in 2017, the game was delisted from the PlayStation Network, making physical copies the only way to “enjoy” this title. Having never played it myself, and unwilling to shell out hundreds of dollars for something that sucks, I can’t tell you if Godzilla is bad. I guess we’ll just have to believe the critics on this one.

From 2005, we’ve got the game FlatOut, from Finnish developer Bugbear Entertainment. Having cut their teeth on a couple of traditional racing games for PC, 2001’s Rally Trophy and 2003’s Tough Trucks, Bugbear went a more destructive route for the console debut, making FlatOut not just a racing game, but a demolition derby. Set in open environments or race tracks, players attempt to be the first to cross the finish line…by any means necessary. Slam into other drivers, knock them off the road, force them to take high jumps off ramps, do anything to make sure they don’t make it to the checkered flag.

While FlatOut strived for something close to realism for its driving mechanics and physics engine, it went, pardon the term, flat out wild when it came to how it treated the drivers of the cars. One of FlatOut’s biggest modes allowed players to crash their cars at an extremely high speed, launching the driver out the windshield and into various objects; targets, piles of wood, etc. in an effort to score points or reach various heights & distances.

Critically speaking, FlatOut received mixed reviews. While critics were mostly in agreement when it came to the game’s driving controls, there wasn’t as much of a consensus on the game’s totally bonkers human dartboard antics & demolition derby races. Perhaps the biggest thing that critics complained about was the price of the game. At $50 bucks, FlatOut just didn’t deliver the amount of content that most PS2 & Xbox players were used to at this point in the console generation. FlatOut had the feeling of a budget title that was four or five years too late.

Still, it sold relatively well and launched a franchise for Bugbear that saw four mainline titles, a PSP version, a Wii version, a mobile version, and even an upcoming VR version. Bugbear was still releasing content for the PC version of FlatOut as late as 2024, and the company has created a spiritual successor, Wreckfest, which released in 2018, followed by a second entry in 2025 (through Steam early access). Never underestimate gamer’s desire to launch a ragdoll physics dummy through the air and watch it crash into piles of flaming garbage.

From 1995, we’ve got the point & click adventure game Space Quest 6: The Spinal Frontier from legendary developer/publisher Sierra On-Line. The final game in the long running series, Space Quest 6 finds the intrepid Roger Wilco, now demoted to second-class janitor, working on the SCS DeepShip 86, contemplating life. The main crux of Space Quest 6 has Roger trying to stay alive as he is pursued by an elderly passenger that wants to use his body as a way to extend her own life.

The ensuing game would continue the series’ penchant for silly puns and sci-fi parody (or as my daughter used to say it, parry-or-a-dee), such as the ending scenario where Roger is shrunk down to a microscopic size and must navigate a human body, like in the 1987 film Innerspace. In fact, the game was almost subtitled “Where in Corpsman Santiago is Roger Wilco”, but Sierra backed off when they learned that Broderbund would likely sue the company over the name being to close to their Carmen Sandiego title.

Space Quest 6 was designed by Sierra veteran Josh Mandel, and was the first game in the series not to have the involvement of creators Mark Crowe & Scott Murphy. This didn’t seem to matter much to the end product, as most critics felt that Space Quest 6 felt just like all the other games in the series. Perhaps, too much, as most of the game’s criticism came from the fact that it didn’t differentiate itself too much from its predecessors.

A sequel, which would have been titled Space Quest VII: The Return to Roman Numerals, was in development at Sierra and was even hinted at in 1996’s The Space Quest Collection. However, the failure of LucasArt’s Grim Fandango, and the general consensus that adventure games had run their course, prompted Sierra’s new parent company, Vivendi, to cancel the game. Despite various attempts to relaunch the franchise, several fan remakes, and even a spiritual successor from the original creators, Space Quest has been lost to time, being yet another franchise tossed into the garbage heap of forgotten video games. How fitting for a game about an unlucky janitor.

Going all the way back to 1985, we’ve got the arcade game City Connection, though in North America it was released under the name Crusin’, but we’re just gonna call it City Connection, okay? Okay (also, do not confuse it with MLB’s City Connect jersey’s). The goal of City Connection is to drive over elevated platforms, turning their color from white to green. As the players attempt to do this, in their cute little Honda City hatchback, driven by the equally cute Clarice, police cars will attempt to stop them. I guess painting the roads green is frowned upon across the world.

Each stage represents a different world city, with players going from New York to London, to Beijing, and places in-between, ending in Colorado’s Monument Valley. Developed by Jaleco, City Connection was the company’s first big hit and, to this day, has a strong and loyal following in Japan (at least according to Wikipedia), with the Famicom/NES port being considered an all-time classic in the country. In fact, the company that currently owns all of Jaleco’s video games properties is called City Connection.

On the technical side, City Connection was one of the first video games to feature different songs for every stage. Before this, most arcade games would loop the same song over and over, across every level (that’s if it even had music). City Connection is also credited with being one of the first video games to have a female protagonist and, due to the game’s popularity in Japan, she even appeared in a few of Jaleco’s later titles. While City Connection isn’t as beloved in North America as it is in Japan, you can still find it in various arcade collections and as a stand-alone release. Check out City Connection if you’ve never played it, I think you’ll have a good time.

Movies:

In notable films, 2015 gave us Sean Baker’s breakthrough film, Tangerine. While this was not his first feature, nor the first to be recognized come awards season, Tangerine was the first film to gain major attention from mainstream audiences. Set during a single day in Los Angeles, Tangerine’s focus is on three characters, two trans prostitutes named Sin-Dee Rella & Alexandra, as well as a cab driver named Razmik. Sin-Dee, having just been released from jail, learns that her boyfriend had cheated on her while she was locked up. The film then follows Sin-Dee on a quest to find the woman, wreaking havoc along the way.

While the film’s focus is on Sin-Dee’s quest for revenge, the real moments, and strongest parts of the film (in my opinion) come from the side stories involving Alex and Razmik. Alex spends the film trying to reign Sin-Dee in while at the same time trying to promote her upcoming singing gig at a local club. Razmik’s story is all about his struggle with his desire to have sex with the trans prostitutes while hiding it from his wife and mother-in-law. Tangerine is a powerful, hilarious, and poignant film, and should feel very familiar to fans of Baker’s most previous works, The Florida Project and Anora.

Tangerine was an awards darling at the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards, being nominated in four categories and winning one, Best Supporting Female for Mya Taylor, the actress who played Alexandra. An awards campaign was launched in favor of the two lead actresses, making this the first time that a film’s producers advocated for openly transgender actresses to be nominated at the Oscars. While neither would receive nods, it certainly opened doors for later nominees. Oh, and for all of you that don’t think you can make a movie because it’s too expensive & cumbersome, Tangerine was fully shot on an iPhone 5S. There is no excuse; make your art.

From 2005, we’ve got the comedy Wedding Crashers, starring “frat pack” favorite Vince Vaughn and “frat pack” adjacent actor, Owen Wilson (along with a scene stealing cameo from another “frat pack” legend, Will Ferrell…MA! THE MEATLOAF!!). For those who haven’t seen it, Wedding Crashers is about two douche bags (Vaughn & Wilson) who crash weddings, pretending to be guests, in order to pick up chicks. They like to live carefree, non-committal lives until, at one wedding, Wilson’s character becomes infatuated with a woman played by Rachel McAdams.

While Vaugh’s character hooks up with the woman’s sister, played by Isla Fisher, she becomes too clingy and weird, but that doesn’t stop Wilson from accepting an invitation from McAdams to attend a weekend gathering at her parents lavish home in some rich white people town like Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard, or some shit. As you can imagine, hijinks ensure, hearts are broken, people learn lessons and, in the end, true love wins.

There was concern among the filmmakers and the studio that an R-rated comedy might not perform well, especially since Wedding Crashers had a $40 million dollar budget, which was considered high for a raunchy comedy. On opening weekend, Wedding Crashers came in second, behind Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but its $33 million dollar opening outperformed expectations. Wedding Crashers would go on to become a huge hit, grossing $285 million at the global box office and becoming the first R-rated comedy to earn over $200 million. A little over a month later, The 40-Year-Old Virgin would come out, helping to usher in a new era of R-rated comedies and help proliferate the already burgeoning “Unrated DVD” market.

In 1995, we had the Frank Oz film The Indian in the Cupboard, which was based on the popular children’s novel by Lynn Reid Banks. In the film (and novel) a nine year old boy named Omri is given three unique gifts for his birthday, a wooden cupboard, a plastic Indian, and a “magic” key. Not really knowing what to do with them, Omri places the Indian in the cupboard, locks it, and then goes about his day. A few moments later, he hears a tapping from the cupboard and, upon opening it, discovers that the plastic Indian has come to life. From here, Omri learns life lessons from his new friend, both endearing and painful.

Despite being based on a beloved book (or perhaps because of), The Indian in the Cupboard was a box office bomb, opening in 6th place and failing to recoup its production costs. While the film boasted an impressive director in Oz, a script by E.T. writer Melissa Mathison, and a producer credit from Kathleen Kennedy & Frank Marshall, people just did not seem to give a shit about this movie. Heck, even showing Darth Vader and Robocop fighting a T-Rex from Jurassic Park in the trailer wasn’t enough to pique anyone’s interest.

Critics were mixed in their reception, both praising and deriding the saccharine sweet message of the film. The Indian in the Cupboard felt pretentious and over bearing in its messaging, with some critics even wishing that it contained a little more “90’s edge”. Native American groups have famously campaigned against the novel (and its sequels) since they were first published, though I can’t seem to find any information on how they viewed the film (negatively, I’m assuming) and I’m curious if that had anything to do with the poor box office results. In any case, I remember this movie fondly, watching it at my grandma’s house when I was a teenager. It’s a little boring, but that’s to be expected when you’re learning a lesson and not spending an hour and a half watching Darth Vader fight a dinosaur.

Jumping to 1985, we’ve got the film St. Elmo’s Fire, a flick that generated the term “Brat Pack”, a derogatory name for a suite of young actors in Hollywood, particularly the seven leads in St. Elmo’s Fire. Directed by Joel Schumacher, St. Elmo’s Fire follows a group of recent college graduates who are attempting to enter “adult life” for the first time, grappling with the responsibilities that come with growing up. Dubbed by some critics as “The Little Chill”, in reference to the 1983 film The Big Chill, with the idea that St. Elmo’s Fire would shine a spotlight on the neuroses and anxiety that twenty something’s were feeling in the same way that The Big Chill did for thirty something’s (who were also all, you know, white).

Critics eviscerated the film, calling it vapid and self indulgent, with Schumacher being described as “brutally untalented” by The New Yorker critic David Denby. St. Elmo’s Fire was seen as yet another Hollywood film that catered to a new breed of affluent moviegoer, the American teenager, who spent their parents money without consequence and held little regard for the artistry of “real” filmmaking. These critics, likely in their 30’s and 40’s, felt that St. Elmo’s Fire wanted to have its cake and eat it to, with beautiful, affluent, white characters getting everything they wanted but also learning lessons.

However, the real reason many of us even know the film St. Elmo’s Fire (aside from it being a box office hit), comes down to two things; the Brat Pack article and the theme song by John Parr. In the lead up to the film’s release, star Emilio Estevez was being profiled by New York magazine writer David Blum. He spent q lot of time with Estevez, going to bars and clubs, and they would frequently meet up with actors Rob Lowe and Judd Nelson. To Blum, these three guys were likely what we’d refer to as “bro’s”, young, dumb, and full of cum. They drank, they partied, and they took advantage of their star power & success.

Feeling kind of gross about the time he spent with them, Blum cooked up the term “Brat Pack” to describe Estevez and his ilk. The fallout was pretty quick, with Estevez feeling particularly betrayed as he felt that Blum was having just as good a time as the rest of them, accusing the writer of being jealous of their lifestyle. It didn’t help that many critics already hated most of these teen actors and their films and, for better of worse, the “Brat Pack” name became an albatross around the neck of many young actors from the 1980’s, leading to smaller roles, extreme typecasting, and ostracization from Hollywood altogether.

John Parr’s theme song “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)”, while cheesy and lame, was a massive hit around the country, matching the film’s success. It sat at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in a row, and propelled the album to a peak position of #21 on the Billboard Top 200. While the song takes its name from the film and the bar the characters hang out at, the song is actually about a Canadian athlete named Rick Hansen who had a spinal injury. Hansen was in the midst of a speaking tour called “Man in Motion”, where he detailed how his injury did not deter his passion for living life. Parr felt that Hansen’s story echoed the feeling young people have when they step out into the world. He would later rework the song into an anthem about football player Tim Tebow called, of course, “Tim Tebow’s Fire”.

The ensuing years have not really improved the reputation of St. Elmo’s Fire, it’s still seen as a poorly directed, self-indulgent portrait of 1980’s Yuppies, but sympathy for its cast has changed over the years. In 2024, actor Andrew McCarthy directed a documentary called Brats, chronicling the rise and fall of the “Brat Pack”. It’s not the greatest documentary of all-time or anything, but it does help put the lives of these actors into perspective. Funny enough, the success of the documentary has led to a proposed sequel that would catch up on the characters who would all now be in their mid 60’s. I’m sure somebody will watch it.

Albums:

In notable album, 2015 saw the release of Coma Ecliptic, the seventh studio album from the progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. Like previous BTBAM releases, Coma Ecliptic is a concept album, with the story being that of a man in a coma who is experiencing his past lives. This man must decide if he wants to stay living in his current life or risk moving on to something that may be better than what he already has.

Reception to the album was mixed. Most critics enjoyed Coma Ecliptic, praising sprawling, rock opera-like stylings, while others, particularly those in the metal sphere, felt that the album strayed too far from what BTBAM originally were. What do I think? I couldn’t care either way; this is not my thing.

From 2005 we’ve got another album that is certainly not “my thing”, R. Kelly’s TP.3 Reloaded, which I assume is short for “Toilet Paper 3 Reloaded” since I want to wipe my ass with it. I’m probably the only person who hates this album, though, as it debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 (his fifth to do so) and sold over 1 million copies in the first three months. For critics, TP.3 was a “return to form” for the adored R&B singer who, at this point, had been filmed urinating on an underage girl and been caught with multiple videos of himself having sex with girls under the age of 18.

Why, then, do I bring this album up? Well, that’s because this is when he gave the world Trapped in the Closet, the sprawling, soap opera-esque song collection about a cheating man who is trapped in a closet after the woman’s husband comes home. This cheesy, absolutely stupid “hip-hopera” was just enough of a distraction that America kind of forgot about all of the gross things R. Kelly had done. Trapped in the Closet became a cultural phenomenon, even getting the parody treatment from South Park that turned into one of their most critically acclaimed episodes of all-time. Otherwise, fuck R. Kelly. May he rot.

1995 gave us the album 311 from the band, well, 311 (duh), and proved to be their breakthrough success. That success, however, wasn’t quick, as initial sales proved to be a bit lackluster, if not comparable to their previous efforts. The first single “Don’t Stay Home” was a moderate hit, reaching #29 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, but it was their second single, “Down”, released over a year later, that catapulted the band into the stratosphere, reaching #1 on the Modern Rock chart, followed by “All Mixed Up”, which also hit #1.

Peaking at #12 on the Billboard Top 200, 311 were here to move the “youths” away from the depressing grunge era into a more lively rap-rock era, where white dudes with dreadlocks could finally let loose on an unsuspecting nation. I blame Bill Clinton, leading us to a time of financial prosperity and good vibes by balancing the budget and staying (relatively) peaceful around the world.

Closing things out this week, from 1985, we have the album Ain’t Love Grand!, from punk band X. This was the first X album not produced by former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek, the last to feature original guitarist Billy Zoom for 25 years, and led to X getting a spot on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, their largest TV audience to date, as well as a spot on Farm Aid. The success of the album was powered by the single “Burning House of Love”, which peaked at #27 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Ain’t Love Grand! was the most mainstream and accessible album put out by X in their early discography. It was a conscious effort by the band and its record label to try and push X into the world of pop radio. Manzarek was the first casualty, replaced with Michael Wagner, a producer that critics scoffed at due to his association with the Christian heavy metal band Stryper. Ain’t Love Grand! peaked at #89 on the Billboard Top 200 and spent an impressive 14 weeks on the chart.

Critics were quick to point out that, despite the efforts of the band and the label, X wasn’t going to convert suburbanite teens into punkers, and X just didn’t have enough pop sensibilities to maintain a mainstream career. Well, X put out their ninth album in 2024, so something went right for them. Suck it, critics.

Godzilla (PS3/PS4) – Released Jul. 14^th, 2015

FlatOut (PC/PS2/Xbox) – Released Jul. 12^th, 2005

Space Quest 6: Roger Wilco in The Spinal Frontier (PC) – Released Jul. 1995

City Connection (Arcade) – Released Jul. 1985

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