About the author: Scott Ellison II
- Profile
- Scott is a disabled Marine veteran, married to his wife Nicole and has three kids. Scott also has a full-time job with Fastly as the Manager of Tier 3 - CSE. Scott is most well-known for founding, and writing for Saving Content, but you can find his other work on G4@Syfygames (defunct) and GameCritics.com (active).
Posts by Scott:
Company of Heroes 3 Review
Feb 20, 2023
Relic Entertainment has re-imagined and dominated the real-time strategy genre for twenty-five years now. Company of Heroes 3 is another great example of this innovation, as Relic gives the third entry of their RTS series with a whole new direction and drive. With the introduction of a dynamic campaign map where every decision and strategic element is left up to you, and the establishment of tactical pausing, there’s a deep and rewarding game that awaits you. Company of Heroes 3 is full of bright colors and dark tones, and Relic really pushes the series forward in several meaningful ways that is wholly exciting.
Pharaoh: A New Era Review
Feb 15, 2023
A full remake of 1999’s Pharaoh and its expansion in 4K would not be on my bingo card of any E3. But here we are with Pharaoh: A New Era , from publisher Dotemu and developer Triskell Interactive. Far and away the improvements into the playability of the game are easily apparent, through playing it the two major improvements it makes over the original is guidance, and speed. It does such a great job of introducing you to the mechanics clearly and progressively. This is a great introduction to the series if you missed two decades ago, and if you’re playing it again, it feels completely new. Pharaoh: A New Era is a deep and engrossing city-builder with a unique structure for its time, but I ultimately couldn’t shake that something felt off the entire time I was playing it.
WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD (2TB) for PS5 Review
Feb 13, 2023
This is painfully obvious to PlayStation 5 owners, but Sony’s latest console does not offer a lot of storage from the moment you boot it up. And it doesn’t take long before every download feels like the internal storage is drawing its last breaths as the final gigabytes of data gets consumed. Thankfully, Sony knew of this limitation and offers extended storage via USB drives, also for inserting an additional SSD in an available M.2 slot. That’s where our story begins for WD_BLACK’s SSD offering. Depending on the chosen size, the cost may come at a premium, but it’s a necessary and worthwhile purchase all the same. As it stands, the WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD is top-tier quality, and wicked fast.
Dead Space (2023) Review
Feb 01, 2023
EA once told IGN in an interview from 2015 that they “don’t know where we find the time to do remakes”. Well a lot has happened since then, and it’s good that the leadership at Electronic Arts has changed their mind on this. The remake of Dead Space from Motive is a familiar yet surprisingly foreign trek through the acclaimed survival horror game set in space. Everything you remember about the 2008 original has been completely remade, expanded, or even rearranged. It transforms the places you explored into more believable atmospheric environments that are unsettling. Dead Space remains my favorite survival horror game, and is the definitive way to play it.
Mavix M4 Gaming Chair Review
Jan 27, 2023
The Mavix M4 Gaming Chair; maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe you haven’t, though you’re likely here because you want to know more about it one way or another. Truth is, it’s really good, and only has a few downsides. This is a gaming chair that looks like an office chair that feels like we’ve turned a corner on what gaming chairs should be. It’s an accomplished hybrid of two ideals that’s not new, but it is catching on. Mavix are already mavens in this field, and the M4 makes a great first impression that turns into a long-lasting one to validate the purchase.
Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flightstick Review
Jan 20, 2023
Turtle Beach has been investing heavily into simulation hardware, and the result is some high-quality gear. Turtle Beach said the VelocityOne Flightstick is “built for flight sims and space games” in their trailer, and it’s true as it feels like a composite of flight and space technology. This flightstick is a standalone, yet all-in-one stick that’s the most expensive of its kind, yet the most impressive in its class. This highly compatible stick is not a stepping stone to something better, it is the start and endgame with the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flightstick.
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider Review
Jan 11, 2023
JoyMasher takes great care in creating new experiences out of retro game design, and does so wonderfully. Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is the next 16-bit mash-up from this small studio, and delivers big. This is a challenging game full of memorable bosses, hazardous levels, and a customizable character that matches your play style. JoyMasher cuts to the core of what makes these games so great, and Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is one to remember.
LONE RUIN Review
Jan 11, 2023
Cuddle Monster Games is back with another action roguelike bullet hell shooter, but instead of it being a platformer, it’s arena-style combat from the top-down perspective. LONE RUIN stands out visually, as the developers chose voxels over sprites, and has a striking and vivid art style that really compliments it all. Leaderboards play a vital role in its replayability, creating incentive to start another run to do better and achieve that top spot. Cuddle Monster Games makes highly replayable games with simple concepts, but LONE RUIN just needed a little bit more to keep me for the long term.
Scott Ellison II’s Top 10 Games of 2022
Dec 31, 2022
All of us at Saving Content fully support the people of Ukraine 🇺🇦. We are in constant awe of the resilience and perseverance they all show, and will continue to support them during and after this time of war. If you’d like to help, consider donating to United24, founded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In all the years of doing these end of year lists, I follow a certain set of rules that only apply to me: All games had to be released in 2022 in order to be considered for the list, and the game has to be fully released (it can’t be in Early Access). These are in place mainly due to the fact that I play a lot of games, mostly ones to review that often results in a growing backlog. This year alone, I reviewed over 50 games, which made the selection process incredibly tricky. And trimming this list to a “Top 10” is always hard, though this year has been the hardest it’s ever been, though I think there’s a solid mix of expected placements to hidden gems here.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns Review
Dec 16, 2022
Relationships are important to have and maintain. They take a lot of work from all parties for it to be successful, whether it’s between friends or something romantic. Which is the exact reason I don’t want to have to cultivate and juggle all of them in Marvel’s Midnight Suns in order to maximize party potency. It’s a game that I wholeheartedly enjoy the combat for, but everything that exists outside of it feels like a chore. Firaxis is back with Marvel’s Midnight Suns, a turn-based tactics game where they can flex different muscles that isn’t about aliens and permadeath. It’s a surprisingly deep, complex, and varied game that is part RPG, part deck-builder, part tactics, and part relationship sim. The confluence of all these parts is actually what makes Marvel’s Midnight Suns so great, it’s a brilliant and fully realized game that goes beyond anything else in the genre.
High On Life Review
Dec 12, 2022
Comedy legend John Cleese has said “Sense of humor is so much more subjective than anyone believes”, and High On Life had me laughing for what has to equate to hours. I’m not caught up on Rick and Morty, but the brand of humor that comes Justin Roiland just results in hearty chortles. This is a game I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced, and it didn’t disappoint from the moment I picked up a talking gun with a face on it. HIgh On Life is a first-person intergalactic comedy with unique shooting, exciting traversal, and ejaculation jokes to be the perfect end-cap for the year.
The Callisto Protocol Review
Dec 09, 2022
The Callisto Protocol comes from Striking Distance Studios, formed from key people who worked on the Dead Space games. You’d think that given the pedigree of the people involved, and the caliber of those games, that this would be a slam dunk. I wish I could say that it were true, but, it misses the mark on being as impactful as Dead Space was, and only feels like a lesser imitation. That said, the game’s production quality and incredible design are on another level to be lauded. The Callisto Protocol has all the makings of something great, but the focus on melee combat exposes its weaknesses.
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