Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time: The PSP Is Going Out Fighting, That’s For Sure…

Posted on April 27, 2012 by geelw

Atlus is one of those smart publishers keeping the PSP alive and kicking and PACKED with stellar import RPG/SRPG experiences like this one. I’m not a huge anime fan, but I’ve always loved Satoshi Urushihara’s lovely game artwork since the Langrisser and Assault Suits Valken days (two more favorite games of mine). Anyway, GWoT is set for a “Summer 2012” release, so I say start saving up those pennies if you still have a PSP around the house and want a pretty cool strategy game experience that packs a hefty amount of content and challenge.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale: It’ll Be A Super Smash, Brother!

Posted on April 27, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm. I guess you can file this one under “OK, now I’ve seen everything (again)”. Yes, it’s a blatant Super Smash Bros. clone with a ton of popular Sony franchise characters and maps in place of Mario and company (in lovely HD, unlike Nintendo’s mega-hit). And yes, it’ll probably be the same addictive and competitive party game fun, provided you’re not some fanboy rolling on the ground laughing ’til you pee yourself and drown in it or get so pissed off that you can’t see straight (and that usually misspelled weekly online rant/petition you’re re-drafting to Sony instead of Nintendo or whatever other game company you hated last week is actually spelled correctly because of it). I say deal with it by playing or not playing the game and move on. If it’s fun, it’ll be fun. If it stinks, well, see you at the discount bin. One big saving grace here is Sony can one-up Nintendo by making a Vita version that’s either a standalone experience with online multiplayer (good!) or connects with the PS3 version in some way (better!).

My take? Well, I’m not sure I completely approve of SCEA trying to be “family hip” and “fan hip” in the same product (it always turns out forced and stale when game companies do this wrong), but I really need to pipe down and HOPE someone at SCEA’s PR division doesn’t forget to invite me to another press event so I can play this upcoming game. C’mon guys, Help me do my job here!

Max Payne 3 PC System Specs: There Goes The Rent Money!

Posted on April 27, 2012 by geelw

Oops. These specs were revealed on Monday, but thanks to a few too many articles I’m in the process of writing, I’m still a bit behind on my email reading. Anyway, if you’re not playing this on console because you can afford to spend some decent money upgrading your gaming rig, here’s what you’ll need to get Max up and running smoothly (minus any overclocking and settings tweaking you’ll probably to to boost the already outstanding visuals even further)

Max Payne 3 PC System Specifications

Operating System: Windows 7 32/64 Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 32/64 Service Pack 2, Windows XP 32/64 Service Pack 3

Processor: Intel Dual Core 2.4 GHZ – i7 3930K 6 Core x 3.06 GHZ / AMD Dual Core 2.6 GHZ – FX8150 8 Core x 3.6 GHZ

RAM: 2GB – 16GB

Video Card: NVIDIA® 8600 GT 512MB VRAM – NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680 2GB VRAM / Radeon HD 3400 512MB VRAM – Radeon HD 7970 3GB VRAM

Sound Card: 100% Direct X 9.0 compatible – Direct X 9.0 compatible supporting Dolby Digital Live

HDD Space: 35 GB

DVD Drive

Please refer to your hardware manufacturer and http://www.rockstargames.com/support for current compatibility information. Some system components such as mobile chipsets, integrated, and AGP graphics cards may be incompatible. Unlisted specifications may not be supported by publisher.

Additionally, Rockstar has also spilled the beans on the cool digital bonuses available for those who want a box-less game experience, but I’ll let you check out the official site for those details.

Bethesda Softworks & Tango Gameworks Announce New Survival Horror Game (I’m Scared Already)…

Posted on April 26, 2012 by geelw

So, that’s what Shinji Mikami has been up to lately. Besides posing for what looks like a jeans or sneakers ad (ha ha), he’s also directing a brand new survival horror game from developer Tango Gameworks that’s going to be published by Bethesda Softworks at some point in the future (as in, when it’s done).

Anyway, the game project is codenamed “Zwei” (meaning “I won’t comment on this until the game has an actual title” in German), there’s nothing yet on the story characters or gameplay and just a single image made up of environments from the work in progress (see below).

Despite the lack of info about the game, Mikami has some words of comfort for horror fans out there wondering about how scary the game will be:

“A true ‘survival horror’ game is one in which the player confronts and overcomes fear,” says Shinji Mikami, president and creative director for Tango Gameworks. “I’ve found my focus and once again I’m striving for pure survival horror. I am being very hands-on in the development of this game to ensure that the quality is there. Rest assured.”

Sounds like a plan and yes, Bethesda is on a roll again. Dishonored is coming to slap your skeptical face straight and this Tango project will hopefully be as memorable (or even more so) than the Resident Evil games Mikami is well-known for. Granted, for sheer fear, it’s going to be hard to beat Frictional Game’s masterful fright-fest Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but we’ll see how this new game progresses as more media rolls in during the development process…

Prometheus “The Adventure Begins” Featurette: Yes, Indeed It Does (Now Where’s My Ticket?)

Posted on April 26, 2012 by geelw

You know the year is moving too fast when that film you’re eagerly awaiting is dropping sooner that you think and you’re holding your breath because you hope it’s as good or even better than the commercials and trailers you’ve been seeing. I think Prometheus will indeed be one of those films because, frankly, too many movie commercials and trailers just stink or worse, you can tell the entire plot of the film by the end of the ad. With This movie, you can only guess what’s going on, it leaves many questions unanswered AND it looks completely spectacular. Fortunately, I live in an area with a cheap (but decent and recently renovated) local theater, so even if the film is somehow not so hot, I won’t be forking an arm and leg out to be disappointed. Not that I plan to be, mind you…

Dragon’s Dogma Developer Diary 1: Capcom Spills The Beans (And Some Blood)…

Posted on April 26, 2012 by geelw

With Dragon’s Dogma a mere few weeks away from going gold, here’s a look at some cool “making of” videos that spell out what it takes to bring the game to life on your PS3 or Xbox 360. IT certainly looks as if anyone expecting to have an easy go at it will be in for a royal surprise when they find out that these beasties in the game all bite back hard. As to all the “better than Skyrim” stuff I’m reading about from the usual suspects, I just snicker and smile, as that’s a totally different beast, particularly if you’re a PC gamer with a solid rig and some of the better mods for that game. Still, Capcom does have the makings of a hardcore hit here with their baby…

Random Art: “Ask Mister Owl…”

Posted on April 25, 2012 by geelw

Sometimes, inspiration comes from the weirdest places. I was on the subway a few weeks back and there was some overly inquisitive kid bugging the crap out of his parents with questions about all sorts of things probably best discussed at home or at least not in a train car packed with people. Anyway, after about the sixth question, the kid’s mom is trying to hand off the next question to the father, but he just does a facepalm and mutters “Ask Mister Owl” under his breath. Of course, the kid didn’t get the joke at all (look it up if you’re younger than oh, 40 and don’t know your TV commercials or candy history) and yes, asked “Who’s Mister Owl?” Which pretty much cracked anyone sitting nearby (including me) up.

The idea for the MS Paint art above came to me just the other day based on that subway trip, so now you know where I get most of my inspiration. Well sometimes…

Gallery: Wii Library (A Work Back In Progress!)

Posted on April 25, 2012 by geelw

I’ve actually owned and played a LOT more than I’ve kept in this photo, but I’m in the process of adding a few more games through trades and tracking down some dirt cheap titles in a few clearance bins. I actually have a few more games on the way thanks to a small trade I made recently, but I wanted to post this picture up now. I guess, I’ll update a few months from now when I have more interesting games to show.

That said, sometimes, it makes me want to (gently) sling an untethered Wii Remote at the heads of those who say the system ONLY has “kiddie” or family games or worse, slam the console without having played a single game on it because they just don’t see how motion control would work on a favorite genre. While, yes, there are a lot of not so hot games on the system, you can absolutely say that about any console from any generation. As far as the Wii (or any other system) goes, when you have a developer who gets what can be done, it works – when you have one that doesn’t quite get it right, it doesn’t. Of course, even a “bad” game can be enjoyable if you’re in the right frame of mind…

Sorcery Story Trailer: I Did Say It Takes Time To Make A Good Game, Didn’t I?

Posted on April 24, 2012 by geelw

When Sorcery dropped off the radar for a bit too long, I initially thought it was canned or worse, being changed around into a standard Dual Shock game. However, it looks as if the game just went into the shop for some nice tuning and based on this gorgeous trailer, it’s going to be worth dusting off that Move wand and Navigation controller for. I’m also betting it’s going to be a lot more intuitive than Kinect Star Wars (sorry, Terminal Reality! I love you guys, but…). Anyway, I’m psyched for this just because I won’t mind flailing away at my TV for once and at least the 1:1 controls the Move brings to the table means a lot less actual flailing. Nice…

Prototype 2 Covent Garden Live Ad: Anarchy In The UK. Or Something Like That.

Posted on April 24, 2012 by geelw

OK, this made me crack up quite a bit, as I can see some unsuspecting non-gamers strolling through Covent Garden, coming across this bizarre live advertisement for Radical Entertainment’s sequel and wondering what the hell is going on. Well, it’s certainly an attention grabber, that’s for sure. The game should be rolling into stores all over the place at some point today, but here in the US, we’ll just have to settle for bigger-budgeted live action and CG TV commercials and no faux real-life rumbles in a big case in a public place. Here in NYC, this would just be performance art, anyway…