Nintendo Plans For NYCC Blowout

Posted on October 8, 2011 by geelw

Ups and downs aside, you can always count on Nintendo to give gamers what they want when it comes to showing off key first and third-party titles. At next week’s New York Comic Con, the company is rolling out the big guns and as usual, their booth will be jammed from the minute fans step inside the Javits Center. In addition, there’s a Professor Layton anime premiere at the show as well as the Pokemon Gaming Lounge located near the convention center, so there’s definitely more than enough to do if you’re a huge Nintendo fanatic. Titles they’re showing include: Continue reading →

The Lord of The Rings War In The North Boss Battle Vignette

Posted on October 8, 2011 by geelw

I like the quote in the email that prefaces this trailer, so here it is:

“The enemy knows you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone.”
Celeborn, The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings

Snowblind Studios is really going all out with this one and I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s all turned out. I think fans of the books should be pleased as the game doesn’t shy away from the violent elements found in the books and it’s looking as if it will let you venture to a few areas chopped from the movie trilogy. Granted, the M-rating might be a initial turn-off for those expecting one of the simpler hack & slash movie games geared toward the entire family. However, I say let’s see what happens as people play the game and share it with friends in co-op. I’ll bet any hesitance over a purchase based on the amount of blood in the game disappears once folks see how much fun it all is.

SSX “Defy Reality” Trailer (Things To Come, And Soon)

Posted on October 8, 2011 by geelw

Nice new trailer, guys. I’ll have the chance to play three stages from EA’s upcoming extreme snowboarding reboot in a few days at their Naughty or Nice press event. Patagonia, Siberia and the Himalayas are on the agenda at the event, so expect a hands-on shortly afterward. Given that New York Comic Con is the day after, I don’t expect to have a preview up until the weekend, but I may skip the final day of the convention just to make sure I’m home for The Walking Dead Season 2 premiere (which means yes, I’ll be reviewing this season’s episodes as well).

Kill Screen & Capcom Present Fright Club

Posted on October 7, 2011 by geelw

Got plans for October 11? If you happen to be in the NYC area (a few days early for New York Comic Con, perhaps?), Kill Screen Magazine and Capcom are whipping up a nice event for fans of the Dead Rising and Resident Evil franchises. Here’s the when and where:

Santos Party House
96 Lafayette St.
New York, NY 11013

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM (ET)

It’s a super-busy week for me, but I just might show up to see and play for a bit as all three titles are on my radar…

Spiderweb Software Is Having An Eternal Sale. Get Some Great RPG’s Anytime You Like…

Posted on October 7, 2011 by geelw

Want to try out (and then buy) some of the deepest and most intricate RPGs out there for PC and Mac (and in at least one case, iPad)? Well, Spiderweb Software, which usually runs an October sale has lowered their prices even more permanently! While getting 20% (or more) off is awesome, buying one of their PC or Mac games this month will give you an EXTRA 10% off, making anything they have an even nicer deal. Hmmmm… at these prices, I may just have to take my own advice here for a change…

Yakuza: Dead Souls US/Europe Bound in 2012

Posted on October 7, 2011 by geelw

Thanks again, Sega! Known as Ryū ga Gotoku OF THE END in Japan, this offbeat (and more action-oriented) side story to the long-running franchise known as Yakuza in the west will be hitting the PS3 in March 2012. The game uses the same engine and locations found in the PS3 Yakuza games, adds plenty of zombies to the mix and lets players take on the roles of four characters as they try and put an end to the undead plague. No doubt Sega of America will get this out with as few changes as possible, as the US version of Yakuza 4 was a more solid game than the thanks to the wise decision to NOT chop out some of the more, shall we say, “controversial” content. I’m guessing this may show up at a press event at some point. If it does, I’ll get a hands-on preview up.

Minor Update (The Remix)

Status

1. Bill Gates, R.I.P. – I found out while I was coming back home from an event and also heard one of the more interesting reactions to his passing from a total stranger (who’s not a user of anything Apple-branded). More on that comment once I think about how to present it so I don’t get beat up.

2. Namco Bandai was in NYC yesterday and had some terribly FUN games I need to write stuff about. That’s on the plate as soon as I can get to it (this weekend).

2a. Xseed Games now has an online store! Free shipping over $20 (CA residents have to pay sales tax on any purchases, though), a small, but NICE selection of games and cool T-shirts and what looks like another great place to get quality titles without dealing with certain retail chains.

3. YES, I’ll still be fixing up those older posts. Thanks to a few folks for emailing me to note there are some chopped off posts here. I’m just tackling the restoration as I get to them. The oldest posts from 2009 and I think some of 2010 are intact thanks to me originally posting them as single column articles with no breaks. When I started to continue posts with links is where the problem started.

4. YES, I’ll also be fixing the galleries. Since I can’t re-size the blog template, I need to manually rescale each image so they fit better on the page. It’s a pain in the butt, but it has to be done but by bit, takes time and I hate it, but oh well…

5. NYCC is coming up next weekend and my mailbox is STUFFED with event invites. I’m going through these now and trying to decide what to cover. So far, some nice games are coming to the show, so I’m going to be getting some hands-on time with a few of 2012’s big releases as well as a few of this year’s crop of too many cool games.

That is all for now, I think. I need to get to bed, as I have a longer day tomorrow. Oh, wait – it’s already tomorrow? Crap. Off to get about 5 hours of sleep, then!

Aliens: Colonial Marines Gameplay Footage (Link)

Posted on October 3, 2011 by geelw

I’d posted this Aliens: Colonial Marines E3 gameplay demo trailer over on the other DAF blog on Saturday, but forgot to link to it from here (oops). I need an assistant to keep track of this stuff, that’s for sure. The clone I’m looking at costs way too much and is out of my time zone by about 80 years. Feh. Anyway, Go Gearbox! Go Sega!

Sega Offers FREE Rise of Nightmares Comic Download

Posted on October 1, 2011 by geelw

Sega’s campy/scary Kinect horror game Rise of Nightmares is generating a decent amount of interest among gamers (warts and all) and now there’s even a comic book tie-in to pore over. You can download it HERE if you’re interested in the game ad want a bit of cool back story.

Writer Al Ewing and artist Marc Olivent’s “The Lost Tapes of Roland Childs” tells the tale of the private detective whose tapes and experiences players can collect as they explore the world in the game. As I don’t currently own a Kinect, I’ll have to hope Sega brings the game over to the Move at some point. I kind of need a bit more room in my place for a Kinect as well as that Nyko Zoom add-on so I can actually play some of those games and not knock all the air out of the room in the process.

Please note: This comic contains adult language and scenes. Reader discretion is advised.

Sonic Generations Dreamcast Era Trailer Brings Back Memories…

Posted on October 1, 2011 by geelw

I remember seeing screenshots of Sonic Adventure and being blown away by how great the game looked. Sega’s upcoming console had definitely opened the door for developers to start creating console games that actually looked closer to CG trailers of the period and the DC was home to quite a few spectacular-looking titles, a few of which still stand out as solid genre classics. My review copy of Sonic Generations is on the way, so I’ll be taking time out from reworking the blog to post my impressions. Stay tuned…