Popzara Podcast

Article: Gunnar Assassin’s Creed: Mirage Edition Glasses

While I didn’t become a true fan of the Assassin’s Creed games until Origins came about, I’m all on board with the series and couldn’t wait to play the latest entry, Assassin's Creed Mirage that takes the franchise back to its roots with a bigger focus on stealth and finding multiple ways to take out a target. Famed glasses maker Gunnar Optiks are on board with the newest game too with one of their latest products, the Gunnar Assassin's Creed: Mirage Edition Glasses.

Article: Dakar Desert Rally

I remember reading about the Dakar Desert Rally game series some time ago and always wanted to give it a try. Saber Interactive’s latest debuted October last year to a good but very rough start, and now they’re back with extensive updates, bug fixes, and some new vehicles in tow to give rally racers a new, desert racing experience.

Article: Saltburn (2023)

It’s often said that obsession can be a double-edged sword, capable of both driving greatness and fueling destruction. Saltburn, writer/director Emerald Fennell's followup to her 2020 breakthrough Promising Young Woman, explores the dark side of obsession, delving into a world where class, privilege, and unchecked desires intertwine with devastating consequences.

Article: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III

The Internet, particularly in the gaming sphere, has always had a sort of unwritten code of opinions you're required to have to participate in "polite society." There was a brief period where you weren't allowed to like JRPGs, for instance, and one later on where you weren't allowed to criticize Kickstarter; we're talking about that kind of thing.

Article: The Mysteries (2023)

It’s been almost 30 years since cartoonist Bill Watterson stepped away from producing Calvin and Hobbes, and the world still doesn’t seem to be over it. With the exception of the occasional interview or cartooning themed fundraising effort, he’s become the most famous artistic recluse since J.

Article: Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Happy 70th anniversary to Godzilla! It’s been quite a ride - smooth, bumpy, and otherwise - but the King of Monsters remains a cultural juggernaut to this day that shows no signs of slowing down. Naturally, this milestone is being celebrated with a brand new film that looks back to the franchise’s humble beginnings.

Article: Farscape: The Complete Series - 25th Anniversary Edition

Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since Farscape came on the scene and took over TV with one of the best science fiction shows ever produced. While there’s been many DVD and Blu-ray releases since the show ended in 2003, none of them were truly complete as they never included the follow-up series “The Peacekeeper Wars”.

Article: The Marvels (2023)

For what it’s worth, I actually liked the film and Disney+ shows that directly precede The Marvels. 2019’s Captain Marvel isn’t perfect but had some interesting plot twists and a ‘90s setting that defied the ultra-modern feel of the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Article: Super Mario RPG

Remakes are awful, except when they're not! See, if a game we like gets remade, that's great. We're bringing back gaming history and it's a nostalgic joyride through the best moments of our younger selves best moments.

Article: Irem Collection Volume 1

As you probably guessed by the name, Irem Collection Volume 1 is the first of five planned volumes of re-released titles from the iconic Japanese developer behind beloved classics like R-Type, Ninja Spirit, and Vigilante. It’s a catalog that skews more to the hardcore set, with a distinctive art style and penchant for, shall we say, extreme difficulties that border on abuse.

Article: Things Are Looking Up (2023)

Last year’s You Need This Book Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle helped celebrate 30 years of the undersea hi-jinks that is Jim Toomey’s Sherman’s Lagoon, a comic strip that still manages to feel fresh long after many of its contemporaries have sunk into the abyss. But it looks like there's still more chuckles and guffaws to go around because Things Are Looking Up, the 28th collection of sharktastic daily and Sunday strips, is here in one easily buyable, lovable paper package.

Article: Howl

As we've mentioned a few times, not every game has to be the pinnacle of innovation or offer hundreds of hours of gameplay to be good. Let's not get it twisted, we're not encouraging offering players less value for their money, but there's something to be said for inexpensive titles with a limited scope that effectively do what they're aiming to do.

Article: Star Ocean: The Second Story R

We're trapped in an endless cycle of remakes and remasters and that's bad for the industry for some reason! Despair! Okay, now that you're done despairing, let's think about this in a more rational way - sometimes it's just fine to take a classic game and spice it up for a contemporary landscape. Something like Square Enix's Live A Live is a great example of exactly this.

Article: Cobalt Core

For all the talk about innovation, it's not always the uninhibited good it's made out to be. Sure, sometimes it's great to do something new! The Internet is a wonderful example of this.

Article: Sanabi

For all the talk about how we've decided that video games are art, the actual gameplay aspect of games remains lightning that can be difficult to capture in a bottle. It's been decades since we've seen the industry take off, but it remains tough to really nail down what makes a game enjoyable to interact with rather than just being a movie by another name.