It’s June! Or: E3 Is Here, But The Future Isn’t Exactly So Bright….

Posted on May 31, 2012 by geelw

OK, I’m kind of annoyed. Don’t get me wrong, folks – I’m THRILLED about the Wii U, new Vita and 3DS games, all the new console games coming, fun stuff like Torchlight II, Dishonored, Sleeping Dogs and even the new Steel Battalion stealing my free time even more than Dragon’s Dogma, The Witcher II: Assassins of Kings – Enhanced Edition and a few other games I’ve been buried in this past month. But something shifty is going on under all the flashy lights at this year’s show that’s a tad unsettling. Despite the huge amount of new games coming, a number of key publishers are skipping the event this year and there has even been criticism coming from a few well-known names about the show not being relevant any longer. In addition, there’s still a worldwide recession going on (worse in some spots than others) and layoffs happening all over the industry, yet it forges on ahead with the plan to make us all lazier than we need to be, which is a really bad thing if you think about it… Continue reading →

Metro: Last Light ‘Enter The Metro’ Trailer: Why Single Player Is Still Important

Posted on May 30, 2012 by geelw

4A Games’ upcoming post-apocalytic FPS isn’t a multiplayer game, and that’s a REALLY good thing. By focusing on storytelling, characters and driving home the feeling of being in a deadly and frightening destroyed Moscow where what’s left of humanity there is fighting for survival while assorted mutated beasts whittle them down bit by bit, this could be one of the bigger “sleepers” out there when it hits the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC sometime in 2013. The prequel, Metro 2033 was (and is) one of the best story-driven shooters that, despite some hitches here and there, was a truly memorable experience. This one looks even more polished and hopefully, will get the audience it deserves.

Prometheus Clip Mini-Bonanza: The Clock Is Ticking…

Posted on May 30, 2012 by geelw

Yup, the Prometheus trailer and clip free for all continues on the internet. Even after seeing all these clips plus the HBO and Showtime features covering the making of the film, it’s still all a big fat mystery to me as far as what exactly happens in the film. Sure, I’ve got the basic story down pat and as noted previously, there won’t be that same alien from the other films running about and bumping off crew members (a good thing in my book). But when Ridley Scott says he’s “going to scare the $#!t out of you,” I have to take him at his word.

So, yeah… June 8 is rolling up next week and I can see that theater filled with folks expecting one thing and getting something entirely different. But in a really good way. I know I’ll be going home and watching Alien again just to check out the links made in the new film and how well they all fit. One cool thing I’ve liked about the trailers and commercials by the way: they use that weird sound effect from the original Alien trailers to excellent effect…

Resistance: Burning Skies Launch Trailer: Console Quality FPS Experience, Anyone?

Posted on May 30, 2012 by geelw

OK, it looks like the mild drought of retail releases is over for the time being… as long as you like shooters. Still, it’ll be fun to actually play a FPS on a handheld with two analog sticks instead of being forced to used a D-Pad for movement. Granted, I’ve played loads of old PS1 and some PS2 shooters with this older form of control, but it’s a LOT different when the screen and controller are in your hands at the same time. It looks as if the team at Nihilistic has nailed it up tight in terms of the look and feel of the PS3 Resistance games, so it also looks as if this one’s a buy for me…

My Tuesday Was A Bit Bumpy. Et Tu?

Posted on May 29, 2012 by geelw

Bleh. I actually lost an entire review post I was in the process of editing thanks to a storm blowing through here, so I’m rewriting from a previous auto save. Well, who said life was easy? Also, I got a copy of Game of Thrones and the nice hardcover art book. So far, I only put an hour or so into the game and it’s definitely much more text heavy and old school in some ways. A lot of work went into the game, though, so when I get done, I’ll score it fairly. Back in a bit…

Happy Birthday, Morrowind!

Posted on May 28, 2012 by geelw

I remember being so excited to review The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for the Xbox (I didn’t have a decent gaming PC at the time) that I bought a copy of the game as soon as the shop I was working at got it, not knowing my request for a review copy from Bethesda had gone through or that I could have gotten the game cheaper with my employee discount. Of course, I ended up with two copies of the game, one of which I gave to a friend who was new to RPGs and wanted “something really good” to try out. At the time, nearly everything about the game thrilled me, from the lovely water effects, the sheer size of the game world, the fact that monsters could chase you into towns (where you could have thee guards dispatch them, provided they didn’t all die in the process) and so forth and so on… Continue reading →

The Devil IS In The Details. You Just Need To Pay Attention To The Little Things…

Status

So, I’m working on my Diablo III review and I had to stop to vent some of the steam coming from my ears here, so as not to spoil the review with too many complaints. I’m giving the game what I feel is a solid score based on ignoring a few things, as in despite the problems, there’s a great little game here. On the other hand, speaking for those who want to play the game by can’t. I can’t just slap the blinders on like a few other reviewers who have that perfect online setup and/or are of the “get over it” mentality that’s going to more or less kill gaming at some point when crap really goes bad (e.g., servers go down like the Hindenburg for an extended period and no one can even play the game).

Oh, I don’t hate Blizzard at all, folks. I’m just wondering how they didn’t see the launch day server crush coming. In addition to selling the game at retail and online, they gave DIII away for free to many World of Warcraft players, who happily took them up on the offer. As I’ve said elsewhere, an offline solo play mode (and LAN functionality for those that wanted it) would have been smart options for such a huge release, no matter what the company line is. Hell, I’d bet real money that the amount of day one bitching would have been about 90% less if people had something to play after waiting so long (either that 12 years of calendar time or those few hours on line at the midnight launches)… Continue reading →

Malevolence Makes Its Kickstarter Target With Time To Spare (But You Can Still Pledge!)

Posted on May 26, 2012 by geelw

Sure, it’s not the Dr. Non-Evil millions that Double Fine or some of those other studios raked in for their projects (even though the team deserves a big chink of cash for all the work they’re doing here), but $7,365 for a 6K target and still two weeks left is not bad at all. The game is looking quite lovely so far and will definitely get better as that launch date approaches. I just saw on the Kickstarter page that an expansion is already in the works, but it will be based on where the donations head next. There are a few tiers based on 8K and 10K milestones, but a modest 20K plus is my wish for these guys and gals so they can do everything that they’ve planned and make lots of people happy.

P.T. Anderson’s ‘The Master” Trailer: Phoenix Rising

Posted on May 25, 2012 by geelw

It’s hard to believe that the self-taught director Anderson has, including this upcoming film, a mere five movies under his belt and all of them are amazing to spend time with when they pop up on cable. His latest work, set for an October release, is a story about a a man (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) who starts up his own cult-like “religion” in the 1950’s with ex-Navy sailor (played by Joaquim Phoenix) ending up as his personal assistant, most likely after the events this creepy trailer hints at. Interestingly enough, Hoffman isn’t in the trailer at all – it’s all Phoenix here, and while the clip is cryptic, it also hints at a bit of madness and violence in the character he’s playing. I predict another film in the vein of There Will Be Blood, Anderson’s epic-length character study that netted Daniel Day-Lewis an Academy Award (and everyone else the right to make “I drink your milkshake!” jokes, even if they never saw the film). This is really turning into a pretty cool year for movie lovers, that’s for sure…

Dragon’s Dogma Addiction Update: Still Going…

Posted on May 24, 2012 by geelw

OK< more progress made, still more to go! The game is a LOT deeper than those rushed-out reviews are making it sound. There's a LOT to love here, especially if you're a fan of dungeon crawlers that allow you a ton of freedom. DD also has features that would make other games jealous (if other games were sentient things and wished they had rooftop travel, the ability to craft anytime/anywhere, a combat system that got better thanks to class changes and new skills and so forth and so on.). I'm still shooting for the weekend for my review, but if you're on the fence, I'll tell you now that your money will be well spent if you're looking for something that's going to keep you occupied for a long time….