Guardians of the Galaxy is a kick-ass third person squad action game that sort of flew under the radar last year despite being developed by Eidos Montreal, who are responsible for the newer Deus Ex games. It's a well-written game that preserves the bickering personalities of the Guardians and makes the player feel as though he or she is an active participant in a Marvel movie. Although they're not voiced by their movie counter-parts, all the voice actors do an excellent job. Drax is unintentionally hilarious because he doesn't understand metaphors; Star-lord is a smarmy doofus; Rocket is an emotionally unstable jerk, etc. You play as Star-lord, but you can direct the other Guardians during battle by tapping into their unlockable special moves. Star-lord is a ranged DPS; during certain points, he'll unlock different elemental firing modes for his blasters, which are useful for various enemy types as well as for solving the odd environmental puzzle. Drax is your tank, Groot specializes in entangling enemies, Gamora is your heavy damage-dealer, and Rocket is your ranged heavy. Combat is pretty fun and a decent challenge, although enemy variety could've been better. You'll mostly fight brain-washed soldiers and a few monsters that aren't particularly memorable. A late-game boss battle with Fin Fang Foom is an exception, and one of the few times that the game wowed me with a set-piece. The banter is what you're here for, and it's fun watching the Guardians eventually overcome their various shortcomings to become the galactic super-team they started out cosplaying as. My only real complaint is that the game has way too many quicktime events where you'll have to mash a button or direct both thumbsticks in a particular direction, lest you be threatened with repeating a cutscene. Graphically, the game is pretty. I played it on my Series S with the framerate unlocked, and it seemed to fluctuate between 45 and 60 fps. A locked 30 fps is available, so it's interesting to note that Microsoft's 1440p 60 fps advertising for the cheaper next-gen console is turning out to be bollocks (Guardians also runs at 1080p on the Series S). Still, it's available on Game Pass, and it'll take you about 18 hours or so to beat it. It's not quite at the same level as the other two games I've finished this year (Cyberpunk and God of War), but it's a cool title that I hope gets a sequel.
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