Capcom Digital Collection Coming To Xbox 360 (On a Retail Disc!)

Posted on January 14, 2012 by geelw

How’s this for Kismet-ic energy? Last month, I poked fun at Sega for releasing Sonic CD as a digital-only game, and now Capcom comes up and drops this cooler news in my lap. Eight of the company’s HD remakes formerly only available as digital-only Xbox Live Arcade exclusives are coming to retail on a game disc. Eight games for a mere $39.99 is a solid deal indeed, although in my humble indie opinion, this set would be even better (where applicable) if it had the arcade originals on the disc and a bit of history on the original games as bonuses. Of course, I tend to over-think any disc based release these days as something that should be filled to the brim with content just to please those of us who really don’t mind paying more for a physical product over straight digital-only content.

As to what’s on the disc, I’m posting the title cards and logos below:

and a nicely-sized screenshot gallery below the jump. It’s up to you to guess which screens go with which titles (although it’s not hard to figure out at all)…

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Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz Trailer Is Slightly Nostalgic (Sort Of…)

Posted on January 14, 2012 by geelw

…Only because I’m ancient enough to immediately think of The Banana Splits (wait, they have an OFFICIAL web site? yikes!) and not the upcoming PS Vita exclusive. Still this is a pretty funny bit of CG, right? Of course, Sega wins in the end here, as just about any SMB game would be a lot better than a game based on a really kooky kids television show that’s older than most people who read this blog. Of course, Cartoon Network might prove me wrong one day (but I hope not!)…

A Colder Look For January…

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Since Silent Hill HD Collection has been pushed back until March, I decided to change the header to something with a bit more of a winter theme. Fortunately, I have some SSX screenshots here, so there you go, Kaori flying over the content below. I’ll need to post the rest of those screens and some more videos soon, as the game is coming out next month (and is turning out to be really good, folks)…

Random Film Of The Week: A Matter Of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven)

Posted on January 13, 2012 by geelw

(thanks, littleiceage!)

I’d heard about this classic 1946 British film from a few people over the years (it was released in the US as “Stairway to Heaven”, a title disliked by the directors), but thanks to TCM, last night I finally got the chance to see this Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger gem and it’s about as perfect a movie as I can recommend to anyone. This isn’t a review at all, but more of a quick recommendation.

Check out the great sequence above and track down a copy somewhere, add it to your Netflix or other (LEGAL) film download queues and give it a look as soon as possible, I say. As with Powell and Pressburger’s other films for The Archers, the visual style, use of color (the amazing Technicolor work and scene transitions from color to black & white are flawless) and of course, the story and acting are all on point. Additionally, the stunning cinematography by Jack Cardiff makes for some memorable artistic moments where it counts.

(BTW, Powell’s The Red Shoes also comes highly recommended if you’ve never seen it and makes a stellar companion piece to Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, as both contain similar thematic elements)

F1 2011 Races Onto 3DS

Posted on January 13, 2012 by geelw

Nintendo 3DS owners looking for a quality racer that’s NOT packed with cartoon colors and flying go-karts now have Codemasters to thank for this super looking portable game. I like the overall look of what’s here and sure, while it’s not running on a more powerful platform, it’s hard to deny the dev team’s skills at getting some great detail AND solid 3D effects from the system. As solid as this looks, I can’t wait to see the Vita version in action as well as how the home console versions are coming along…

Gallery: PlayStation 3 Library

Posted on January 13, 2012 by geelw

Just like my Xbox 360 library, the amount of stuff I have here has gone up and down as I play through games and trade or sell them off. I’d say I’ve owned at least triple what’s here more or less since the console’s launch. As i noted earlier, a good deal of this generation’s titles across every platform are less appealing to me than some older games for other consoles I own. Maybe it’s too much focus on visuals over gameplay in some areas or too much DLC combined with lesser out of box experiences that seem lacking. I’m still figuring that out, as I do love seeing what different developers can do with the PS3 (or any other) hardware…

Gallery Update: Asura’s Wrath

Posted on January 12, 2012 by geelw

Whoops. I forgot to run these screens with the trailer the other day, so here you go. The demo is out now, so go play it and groove on the weirdness and crazy action taking place. The funny thing about the demo is thanks to the score in one section, you can tell if someone’s playing it if they’re blasting their TV too loud. As I said already, I really HOPE people “get” what CyberConnect2 is doing here in terms of presentation, as the game breaks a few rules and sets up a few new ones that work for the story it’s telling…

Time Machine Stalled ‘Til The Weekend, Details At 11…

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OK, I’m only up to June 2010 in terms of reformatting the entire blog (boo!), so please be patient, folks. I’ll be jumping back in feet first this weekend with some more fixes on those older posts while also working on a review or two I need to complete. I’ll also get around to posting my current PlayStation 3 library, as I finally got around to taking a few photos last night. That is all – you may resume you regularly scheduled programming…

Retro Exploration: Dreamcast (Part 8: PSO!)

Posted on January 12, 2012 by geelw

Phantasy Star Online & Phantasy Star Online Version 2 are for a lot of Dreamcast fans, the crown jewel on the late console, even eclipsing Yu Suzuki’s flawed epic, Shenmue. Combining a solid, lengthy (and addictive) single player campaign with an innovative (and even more addictive) online mode, excellent visuals and plenty of loot to collect made the game an instant hit worldwide. While the superior Game Cube version polished up elements and added some new content, the Xbox version cut off solo offline play for those without Xbox Live accounts ( a VERY foolish move by either Sega, Microsoft or both companies that hurt the game’s sales). Anyway, here are omake wallpapers from the Dreamcast PSO (above) and PSO II (below) discs. I love the artwork in these wallpapers and almost wish Sonic Team had decided to make both titles with a ‘cel-shaded’ look instead of what we ended up with.

The good news about PSO is it’s going to live again soon enough as Phantasy Star Online 2, currently in development with a 2012 release date. However, it looks as if this one will be Windows PC only (grrrr…) and there’s no concrete news to date of a definite release outside Japan. SEGAAAAAAA!!! Don’t neglect your dedicated PSO fan base on other platforms (and other countries) so much!

Sonic, Meet Flo. Flo, Meet Sonic…

Posted on January 12, 2012 by geelw

I think I’m the ONLY one I know who hasn’t seen this new Progressive ad on TV just yet, so after hearing so much about it, I’m glad it’s as cute as I’ve been hearing. In a way, it reminded me of those Japanese PlayStation TV spots with Crash Bandicoot that were all over TV and even ended up as bonuses on a few demo discs there… Go Sonic!