Thank your own personal deity—possibly the Elden Beast—it’s Friday! Even better, it’s the start of a school holiday period, which means you’re going to want a ton of cheap games to either keep yourself (or your kids) occupied for hours. My continuing Steam Summer Sale picks ought to handle that function pretty well, plus I’m always on the hunt for discount Amazon / digital store wares worth scooping. So stay tuned, stay safe, save often, and see you Monday!

In retro news, I’m celebrating the 17th birthday of Resident Evil 4 on Wii, one of the most surprising ports I’ve ever played. While there were a ton of first-party Wii games at the time worth adoring, third-party publishers seemed to have trouble (or not much interest in) leveraging the unique Wiimote + nunchuk control scheme for mature titles. Resi 4 had the obvious benefits of already being a best-in-genre beast, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t elevated even higher by 1:1, light-gun-esque gunplay. The waggle-tastic quicktime events can still go to hell, obviously.

This Day in Gaming

Aussie birthdays for notable games.

– Resident Evil 4 (Wii) 2007.

– Metal Gear Solid HD Col. (PSV) 2012.

– Pokémon Art Academy (3DS) 2014.