Wrath of the Titans “Oblivion” Trailer: CGI Overload, I Want My Harryhausen Back!

Posted on February 24, 2012 by geelw

Well, it’s darker, grittier and more action-packed than the recent remake (which was pretty dark, gritty and action-packed to begin with) and yup, folks who loved the first will be all over this one like cats at a sushi bar. Still, for all the awesomely bombastic CGI effects, I still miss that more human touch Ray Harryhausen had with his work on the original (plus his other work from the era). Well, minor complaining aside, it’s nice to see this franchise expanding with a followup flick… although as I noted last year, the third movie’s title is going to be a pain in the neck to come up with. I say go with “War of the Titans” and call it a night…

Jet Set Radio Finally Returns (This Time On PSN/XBLA)

Posted on February 24, 2012 by geelw

Excellent, but I have mixed feeling about this one. How funny that a very physical game based on the physical acts of graffiti and trick skating is coming back as a digital-only title. Well, kudos to Sega for FINALLY getting this one out there to the masses, but still. I recall that Jet Set Radio Future on the Xbox had some killer PR goodies such as a set of awesome headphones and a CD soundtrack and yes, a NEW disc version would have been cool just for a documentary on the original JSR and the sequel how they changed gaming. I still remember the first time I saw those ‘cel-shaded’ graphics running on the Dreamcast and thought they were the best thing to hit gaming in a while. Hopefully, all those folks that have never played either game will be as awed as I was back in the day. We shall see…

Is the DLC Backlash A Permanent Thing, Or Just More Whining From The Back Seat?

Posted on February 24, 2012 by geelw

I’m getting a chuckle from all these complaints about paid DLC on day one of a game release as well as other bile-packed grumblings from folks who don’t like the “deal” that’s been forced on gamers during this console cycle in regards to digital content. I’ve been saying for years that even though the concept of additional content for a console game is a fantastic idea, you can’t MAKE people buy that content if they don’t have access to a broadband connection and you refuse to get it to them ON a disc (even in a re-release down the road). Sure, the amount of gamers with high speed connections has increased greatly over the past decade, but not everyone is able to make the move thanks to numerous factors. Game companies have been rushing too fast into digital without making sure they’re taking as many of the less fortunate consumers along with them.

Even worse, day one DLC hits this crowd the hardest, as even if they wanted to PAY for it (which would be good for both the publisher and developer bottom lines), they’re needlessly shut out unless someone decides to put out a Game of the Year or other retail version (way after the game’s release window has shut) that allows access to all that content they’ve missed out on. As for the whys of day one DLC, some of you complainers aren’t paying much attention to industry news, so let me defend the practice a little bit before poking a few holes in the ego balloon I’ve blown up…

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Asura’s Wrath: Wow. I Bet Jack Kirby Would Have LOVED This Game…

Posted on February 24, 2012 by geelw

As far as I know, the late, great comic art legend (and creator/co-creator of far too many important characters to count for Marvel, DC and a few other publishers) never did any video game design work. Nevertheless, a lot of game creators around the world have clearly been inspired by Kirby’s work and it’s always fun to play something that manages to nail certain elements in his art perfectly. It’s great to see a game like CyberConnect2’s latest on store shelves that pays homage to The King’s wilder Silver Age art along with his epic “Fourth World” saga, so go support Capcom and give the game a shot, I say.

Sure, it’s easy to think the game is ONLY anime-influenced if you ONLY follow anime and have no sense of comics history. On the other hand, as an ancient comics fan from the late 60’s and beyond playing the game, I’m seeing a bit of New Gods here, some of the Galactus saga there along with the massive scope and scale of the outrageous battles and characters that remind me of Jack’s work. Yup, I’m loving Asura’s Wrath so far – My full review will go up over the weekend.

Arcane Worlds Will Make You Kill Too Much Time (And It’s Only A Tech Demo)…

Posted on February 23, 2012 by geelw

So, Ranmantaru Games (that would be Alexey Volynskov) is working on something really cool called Arcane Worlds. It’s going to be an homage to the classic 1994 PC game from Bullfrog, Magic Carpet. The actual “game” is a ways off, but the tech demo is available to play around with. Once you download it (it’s a mere 1.4MB file) and get to fooling around, you’ll find yourself forgetting to do other important stuff like working on articles you should be working on and maybe getting an extra two hours of sleep. I “created” the images above with a few keyboard presses and mouse clicks (instant wallpaper!), but I had to stop at only two before I ended up staying awake all night making worlds, eroding terrain and dropping water all over everything before changing the sun’s position (which changes the world from day to night). I’m not sure when Alexey will be finished with his game, but I say keep an eye on it. I’d keep both eyes on it, but I need to finish all that writing I’ve started…

Also, the LEVEL UP! demo is priceless (well, the demo is free, but definitely pay the five bucks for the Alpha version!). It’s super early, but pure fun to blast through those voxel walls and the idea is brilliant stuff. Enjoy!

Touch My Katamari Trailer: Hey, Go Touch Your OWN (But Buy A Vita First)!

Posted on February 23, 2012 by geelw

Remember kids: There’s no sin in pleasure… er, at least when it comes to gaming. Namco Bandai’s double shot of Vita launch games (the Shinobido 2 trailer is here) gets off to a rolling start with what’s looking like some pretty decent titles. I’ll need to get my paws on a review copy to see if the latest in the junk-rolling up series has what it takes to be a touchy-feely funny classic or one for the dust bin. Given the Vita’s funky dual touchscreen that adds a lot to some games, I’m rolling toward some positive impressions…

Borderlands 2 “Doomsday” Trailer: You’ll Want To Make Friends Just To Play This One…

Posted on February 22, 2012 by geelw

Gearbox and 2K Games are knocking it out of the park with this upcoming sequel and here’s the proof. If you’re not dancing around like a fool with your wallet in hand screaming “TAKE MY MONEY!” at your monitor (please don’t watch this trailer on a mobile device, as you’ll be arrested for solicitation when you scream those words on the subway or bus), well, you’re either not much of a gamer or just don’t see the beauty of 87 bazillion guns. That and hey, a robot doing the Robot? Claptrap is back and probably up to no good (again). September 18 is going to be a pretty sleepless day here and in other parts of the US, is all I’ll say…

Xseed Games Bringing The Last Story To Wii (And You’d BETTER Buy It, Grrrr!)

Posted on February 22, 2012 by geelw

Fans of many Japanese games (in particular, JRPGs) can be a persistently prickly bunch often to the point of working themselves up into a frenzy if they feel slighted in the slightest bit by a publisher they feel isn’t working hard or fast enough at localizing certain Japanese games (no matter how niche). However, that’s actually a good thing when we all benefit from a publisher like Xseed that can make the magic happen. One example of this is today’s surprising news that Xseed has picked up the publishing rights to Hironubu Sakagushi’s The Last Story, one of the best current-gen games on the console that has a lot of people very excited. You can ogle some more video info on the Mistwalker-developed title over at the Nintendo Direct channel (just skip ahead to 10:11 in the video and prepare to be awed).

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IDW’s Wally Wood EC Stories Artist’s Edition: Stellar Stuff From A True Master.

Posted on February 22, 2012 by geelw

The late Wally Wood’s work was one of many inspirations that got me interested in comic art and thankfully, there’s a large enough selection of his originals still around so anyone who wants to see some of the greatest panel art ever (and can afford to drop a few hundred bucks on a top quality hardcover book) can check it out thanks to IDW Publishing.

This collection in the fantastic Artist’s Edition series presents some of Wood’s classic EC Comics tales as ACTUAL SIZE (15 x 22) pages, complete with editing marks and assorted aging you don’t get in digital comic art. There’s just something incredible about seeing how hard Woody worked on all that meticulous detail and how much of his work has held up over time. This massive new book (which could double as a small card table if you opened it and put legs on the covers).

UPDATE! According to some poking about around the internet as well as a note from IDW’s PR guy the book is COMPLETELY sold out on the publisher’s web site. However, you CAN (and should) call up or stalk your nearest comic store, as they should have copies of the book in stock!

Er, I Forgot To Add The Hitman: Absolution Diana Burnwood ICA File Video (Oops)…

Posted on February 22, 2012 by geelw

Eh, it happens every so often, but I’ll get over it if you will. Here’s the supplemental video to the Marsha Thomason interview I posted earlier (er, yesterday as of an hour or two ago so you can see a bit more about the character (as well as some nice comic art by Ben Oliver). Um, that is all. I’ll try and make less mistakes (well, after I finally get some sleep)…