Random Indie Game of The Week: One Late Night

OK, not so chilling the tagline on the game’s site, “Experience the horror of working at an office” made me laugh as I thought of all the crappy office jobs I’ve held over the years since the 80′s, but Black Curtain Studios managed to make its short horror game One Late Night work on a few levels that make it worth a play. Yes, you past to present office drones will feel the chills this one presents more than those who just want another jump-scare game in the Slenderman vein who haven’t worked an honest day in their lives. Of course, this means some of those slackers won’t jump as much as some of us former cubicle dwellers, but, hey. If you’ve paid your dues long enough at that desk making copies and drinking bad company coffee into the night and you’ll maybe squeal like a schoolgirl once or twice while playing this gem. It’s free, so get it and prepare to relive the horror (or experience it for the first time with the realization that it usually takes about a year to start hallucinating like that in a real office situation).

Yeah, it’s over pretty quickly (unlike the average day at the office where watching the clock actually slows down time), but you get a couple of endings and there’s some nice use of lighting here. Make sure you pay attention to that note about keeping a light handy, as it certainly helps out quite a bit (he said, overstating the obvious). Anyway, bonus points if you download and play this while at the office on a day where you’re not getting out until it’s past midnight. If that’s your situation today, I’m hoping that you’re going to have a few hiding places (and at least one from the real-life boss prowling the halls and looking for someone to haunt with more work-filled folders)…

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Bethesda Underground Mother’s Day Surprise: Oh Yeah, And He Broke That Lamp, Too…

Awwww! Here’s a pretty cool and amusing video from Bethsoft with Arkane Studios producer Seth Shain and his mom having a fun little discussion about what he does for a living. Hmmmm… I guess he needs to go buy her a console and a copy of Dishonored for Mother’s Day, huh? Well, that’s what I’d do after telling her I was a doctor all these years. OK, he didn’t, but let this be a lesson to all you lazy sons and daughters out there who get through life wanting to stab your own mom with a cold spoon for not letting you have the car that one time or reading you the riot act for staying out too late and forgetting to tell her where you were going or which one of the soon to be jailbirds you were out with. Little things mean a lot, so get to it this weekend, I say. That’s my good deed for the month, mind you – after this, it’s back to open season on the rubes, so watch it…

The Last of Us “Wasteland Beautiful” Behind the Scenes: Art Class Is In Session…

A quick lesson in art direction and how Naughty Dog created the destroyed but stunningly gorgeous game world from their upcoming PS3 exclusive, set to hit retail and PSN on June 14, 2013. As I’ve said previously, Sony’s not leaving this generation with a bunch of shovelware to remember the system by, so fans should be more than pleased the the console is still getting a number of key releases at least for the rest of this year and possibly into 2014.

Game of Thrones Season 2 DVD/Blu-Ray: In Case You Missed It, Don’t Duck This Time…


 

Thankfully, the fine folks at HBO who get these season sets out KNOW that not everyone likes streaming (or CAN stream) shows they missed, has a DVR or hell, just doesn’t have HBO at home for whatever reason. So yes indeed, if that’s YOU and you’re not watching Season 3 just yet, here you go. Granted, everyone else is laughing at you at this moment, but not too loudly. You’ve seen Season 1 already and KNOW where the pointy end goes… Poke, poke. *Ouch!* Poke, poke, poke… *Ouch, ouch!!*… OK, OK – I wasn’t laughing!

The Making of DEFIANCE (1 – 5): Nope, No Sharktopus Here, Folks…

 

I figure I may as well run these now, as I’ve finally watched them all and can safely say that this might indeed be a VERY cool show and even better than I was thinking. I still HATE the illiterate “syfy” re-branding (and NO, it’s not the “same” as sci-fi, which as I noted a while back, was reviled when the late Forrest J. Ackerman thought up that abbreviation), but I’m gathering no one but me is bitching about it these days…

 

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EDF 4 Gameplay Footage: 4Gamer.net? I Love You And Hate You (But Mostly Love You)…

 

Well, wow and double wow. Japanese game site 4Gamer.net posted this hands-on last year (!!!) and I’m just NOW getting around to seeing it thanks to some poking around online for something entirely different. Eh, it figures. I’m just thrilled because even though it’s a WIP version, I get to ogle more of the gameplay than the bits I’ve seen from the official trailers D3Publisher in Japan has been posting. OK, off to the home base now, as they’re about to shove me out the door here at Starbucks. Back in a bit…

NEOGEO X Classics Coming In April With Another Cool Bonus

NeoGeo_X

And so it begins (or continues, actually). In case you were wondering when and how SNK/Playmore was going to be getting new NEOGEO X games out, well the mystery has been solved. In late April, selected game retailers will stock the upcoming 3-game card NEOGEO X Classics: Volume I, which is the first of five three-game card compilations on the way. This next series of game cards will feature the following arcade hits from the company’s huge library:

ART OF FIGHTING 3
BLAZING STAR
BREAKERS REVENGE
FATAL FURY: MARK OF THE WOLVES
KIZUNA ENCOUNTER
THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’96
THE LAST BLADE 2
METAL SLUG 2
SAMURAI SHODOWN 3
SAVAGE REIGN
SENGOKU
SHOCK TROOPERS
SUPER SIDEKICKS 3 – THE NEXT GLORY
TOP HUNTER
WORLD HEROES JET

In addition, each card will ship with the “ROCKET” High-speed Data Transfer and Charging Travel Cable, at no additional cost. There’s also a system update on the way as well as a travel case for the handheld. More details will drop soon, so stay tuned for more. I’m quite happy with my X, so seeing it get more support is making me a happy camper indeed…

Update! A4Tech G11 Wireless Mouse: From Simple to Super (With a Click of a Mouse)…

Oops. Since I was so crazy last year with suddenly having to move the site to a new host between November and December, I had a bunch of posts cooking that didn’t run in all that chaos and ended up saving about 15 completed and incomplete ones as drafts on a USB drive that I misplaced (I thought I’d left it at the library or a Starbucks nearby). Once I’d gotten word that I didn’t need to leave WordPress (whee!), I had to redo a bunch of those old posts, but with too much other new stuff flying in, I missed out on a few including this one (Oops). 

G11MouseAs noted in my earlier mini-review, I’m pretty pleased with the A4Tech G11-570HX  overall for general usage, art (yes, I draw with a mouse sometimes – so sue me) and gaming purposes (primarily RPGs, if you have to ask). While the G11 looks pretty simple when compared to more expensive mice out there, it’s comfortable to use for hours at a stretch and quite a surprisingly versatile peripheral once you download and install the Office Shuttle Software that turns what looks like a plain ol’ wireless mouse to Super Wireless Mouse, adding a wealth of functions that definitely justify the price point.

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Dead Space 3 Hands-On: Two Players Makes For A Far Freakier Experience…

DS3LEWhen I heard that Dead Space 3 would have an all-new co-op mode included, I was a tiny bit skeptical (not as crazed as some on the internet raging madly about it, however). Still, I trusted that Visceral Studios would not only deliver something memorable in terms of the scares and gore fans expect, the developer would also bring a bit of innovation to the gameplay simply because standard co-op play would have been too generic for a series known for giving the horror genre a nice kick in the pants. It turns out that my initial skepticism wasn’t even necessary as from what I played, players on either end of that Xbox Live or PSN connection are in for a total mind trip that’s different for both players.

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Review: Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD (PS Vita)

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: Just Add Water

Publisher: Oddworld Inhabitants

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A

 

 

Even if you’ve already bought and played the PS3 version back in 2011 or still own the original 2005 Xbox release, it’s absolutely worth picking up Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD on the Vita just to see how well the game was tweaked for the system. As with the console version, the reworked HD visuals from the Xbox game, smooth animation, newly recorded voice acting and other features translate quite nicely to Sony’s portable. It also holds up incredibly well as a stellar single-player game thanks to a great story with an excellent plot twist or two, some fine and witty dialog and a great Oddworld vibe that’s still fresh today as it was back in 2005. There are some issues with the touchpad and game camera being a wee bit too touchy, but otherwise, the game is a solid effort that’s long and often challenging if you’re trying for the least violent means of playing through the game. Continue reading