Late to the Party: Sonic Orgins

orgive the clichéd sentiment, but even after 31 years of blazing across all manner of screens, SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog does show any sign of slowing down. Riding the hype train of the recent film’s success at the Box-Office in the same year the little guy turns 31, the folks at SEGA and Sonic Team in collaboration with the talented folks at HeadCannon took to the task of releasing yet another Classic Sonic Collection, Sonic Origins. The collection features Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, and the first re-release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles in over a decade; each one optimized with the same Retro Engine Sonic Mania ran on, enhancing these cult-favorite titles with a sizable HD upgrade for the current generation of gaming.

Despite the number of times some of these titles have been re-released, Sonic Team and company have boasted that this new arrangement will come loaded with more passion and fandom than we’ve seen from the likes of Sonic Jam or Sonic Mega Collection. While some of those claims are founded, I can’t quite help but feel like Sonic Origins struggles to live up to the potential it had, let alone the hype going into the whole thing.

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QCF: Guilty Gear Strive

can remember the energy and excitement in person at EVO 2019 when we first saw the reveal trailer for Guilty Gear Strive, and how everyone in attendance was mesmerized by its incredible graphics and potential for the fighting game scene. Even then at first glance I knew that Arc System Works had something special, and I am happy to report after a few delays and several rounds of beta play, the game that we now have in our hands is better than could has been imagined on that summer evening during the EVO tournament.

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QCF: Oddworld: SoulStorm

egardless of how obscure it may be in the milieu of video gaming, Oddworld has always been a name that’s commanded a dedicated following, with titles that strive to deliver a unique gameplay experience under a presentation that’s teeming with a special kind of cinematic spectacle that plays out like a Steven Spielberg meets Jim Henson passion project.

Where Oddworld Inhabitants have remained consistent with this goal, their last remake, Oddworld: New ‘n Tasty, managed to improve everything good about the original it remakes while introducing a slew of other upgrades to the overall experience, and proved that there was plenty of potential left for Abe’s adventure in the modern era of gaming.

Stepping a few feet away from the familiar absurdity of its fart-fueled roots this time around, Oddworld: SoulStorm leans a little heavier into the real themes the series had previously broached like capitalism, civil rights, racism, gentrification, and predestination.

The end-result makes for one of the most memorable titles this generation has seen in recent memory.

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PPR 128

t’s about to get real come November, the long awaited arrivals of the Sony PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X and Series S will finally launch to the public. Sony and Microsoft have finally unveiled the major details for their next generation hardware after months of speculation and brevity, and well, the hole killer pandemic thing that’s still going on (wear a fucking mask y’all.)

Color us unprepared too because not only is George too broke to steadily invest into both; Andrew STILL doesn’t have a 4K, and Ser is laughing at us in 720p—that doesn’t mean that  don’t have some words to share though!

Join us as we break down prices, specs, launch titles, controller designs, overall value, and more here on this short-but-sweet episode of Press Pause Radio.

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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