OK, so Wizarbox’s upcoming hack & slash ,also known as Realms of Ancient War, might not be able to take on Diablo II toe to toe (or is it hoof to claw?) in some eyes in terms of the presentation and megabucks hype machine grinding everything under it’s hooves. Nevertheless, the game at least offers up offline single player and local co-op options and isn’t passing itself off as a MMO that requires you to always be connected while playing. Whatever – I’m too busy and smart to keep harping on Blizzard for the changes they felt necessary to make to Diablo III a game tens of thousands can’t play (but millions more will, so it balances out, right?), so I’ll wish them well as they build forts and vaults out of money to hold more money. Any-way, since I missed posting the Warrior trailer last time, it’s presented below, so enjoy!
While I love the new system dearly, my poor Vita is feeling a bit lonely these days thanks to a case of the post-launch window vacuum blues. It’s learned to play the harmonica quite well, too!. That said, every bit more of Gravity RushI see, the more I hug that portable closer. Too bad it wasn’t a launch title, but hey – good games do take more time and are always well worth the wait. Anyway, let’s hope this one comes sooner than later and not at exactly the same time as a half dozen or so other Vita games I’m really looking forward to. I’m not one to Rush through a game I really like (er, obvious pun intended)…
That said, I do wish the collective internet fan yapppers would hush it with the “Skyrim killer” talk. This game, like every other big RPG, should be seen and judged on its own merits, not point by point with some other game that’s not taking place in the same game world. That way, if it IS better than Skyrim (or at least less buggy that that game was), it will have actually earned that praise. And if it isn’t, well, those folks who kind of keep saying that but haven’t played Skyrim at all (but sure, reading negative posts about a game counts as “playing” it these days) won’t have to go into turtle mode and defend themselves from people who actually know what they’re talking about. Of course, this latest dev diary goes a long way in keeping both camps happy that they’re getting another solid RPG to take for a spin…
So, it’s on the way and soon at that, which is awesome. It’s even more awesome if you’ve been one of those folks playing the beta or were a big PS3 Warhawk player, as you’ll see in the above video. Personally, I love that LightBox is giving both single player and multiplayer fans something to look forward to. No matter which mode you choose, you can expect some of the tightest hybrid gameplay that should set the standard for this type of game for quite some time (well, until it gets copied to death by other developers). Of course, expect a few overly cranky RTS fans to whine a bit about the game making it so “easy” to blend fast-paced action with no need for insane resource management (or much in the way of micro-managing anything except trying to get shot up on foot or in/on a ride or or out of the sky when you’re flying around). SCEA has yet another mega-hit on their hands, and that’s always a good thing,,,
Ugh. Yes, I’m STILL way behind on reformatting those thousand or so 2010 to mid-2011 posts, but it’s been way too busy inside and out of my gaming life to get to all of those updates. Nevertheless, I’m going to try to do some this weekend, barring incident. Still, I think I’m doing a decent job in posting new content every day. I could do MORE actual writing with an assistant fixing those older posts up, but I hate the whole “intern” thing. Hell, I just believe good work should be PAID work, not some crappy “do stuff for free and eventually you’ll be rewarded elsewhere when you apply for a real job” nonsense that’s become the norm these days all over. Double hell, I’m trying to find more writing work and all I see are “Hey, you can write for us for free!” posts in too many places or worse, scammy, scummy “send us four to six 500 word posts and we’ll see if they fit our site!” idiocy. Feh.
Oh well, enough griping. here’s some suitable art for my bridge-burning ways. Fire In the hole!
While some of us will be wrapped up in the single player mode multiple times until we’ve done and seen everything it has to offer, Rockstar Games plans to keep fans of online play even busier. The company has announced a wealth of downloadable multiplayer content for Max Payne 3 as well as its Rockstar Pass program that allows purchasers access to this premium content. Beginning now, the Pass is up for pre-order online over PSN and Xbox Live and at retail Best Buy and GameStop locations in the US for $29.99 (or 2400 Microsoft Points, if you’re a 360 owner). Like other online pass programs, users will get first crack at new DLC as soon as it becomes available and it looks as if Rockstar is planning to roll out a hefty amount of content starting in June 2012:
Ah, this month’s (or was it last month’s?) worst kept secret finally gets an official trailer. Pretty slick stuff so far – the horseback section should be amazingly cool to play if it’s done right. The most amusing thing about the whole future weapons aspect of the trailer and the older guy narrating it was it reminded me of Metal Gear Solid 4 in terms of tone. Maybe that’s just me, but I bet a few other people will make that comparison soon enough…
Anyway, I loved the first Black Ops because even with the darker tone, it was the funniest CoD in terms of the breakneck pacing and crazy bonus content in single player (I didn’t venture online at all). That said, I’m REALLY hoping that Activision doesn’t wall away the fun though a pay system that screws me and folks like me out of an otherwise cool experience. Now, I don’t take the franchise so seriously that I bend over backward to praise everything and not think about the stuff that’s flawed. Nor do I bash the franchise (and other well-made shooters like it) for basically doing the same stuff year after year because, hell, it works. If you’re an adrenaline junkie and love big, crazy roller coaster rides with screams and explosions and splashes of blood mixed in with dead serious storytelling where need be, it’s always been fun to blast through a CoD game over a weekend or so and have a gab-fest the next week or so with friends who’ve also enjoyed what’s been served up.
That said, Hey, Activision! Where the hell is that CoD zombies game compilation? You know, the RETAIL disc one with Call of the Dead, Moon, and every other bit of Zombie content from the series? I say it would sell like hotcakes, especially if you guys rounded up the cast from Call of the Dead and made a new campaign-based game with them appearing as playable characters (single, co-op and multiplayer modes). Get on it and get back to me. No charge for the idea (as usual)!
Nice. This is a pretty cool promotion for the upcoming Eurocom-developed multi-platform game 007 Legends that allows anyone to sign up, submit a photo of themselves along with a description of their evil world dominating ways for a chance to get into the final version of the game. Of course the big catch here is it’s a popularity contest with the community voting on the best Bond baddie. I’d prefer the developers choose in order to make sure this is taken 100% seriously, but I guess I should trust that there are some reliable Bond fans out there who can come up with a few great villains for Bond to go up against. OK, I know you’re itching to dress up like Dr. Evil and snap some pictures for your chance in the spotlight (before Bond busts a cap in your cap, chap) – go to it, already!
Well, OK… they don’t drop that often (well, yet, given Warner’s penchant to release dozens of trailer variations for their upcoming films), but it’s always nice to see how well Chris Nolan’s final chapter in his Batman trilogy is coming along. I have zero idea who Warner Bros. plans to take over the franchise should there be the need for a new set of films. But, I kind of feel sorry for anyone following Nolan’s work, as they’ll definitely be benchmarks for any future Batman films. Of course, that also means we won’t be seeing the series go back to those awful post-Tim Burton Batman flicks that are hard to watch because all they show off is a bunch of overpaid stars making a mint mugging for the camera while driving the franchise into the ground.
OK, I really need to stop watching these teasers. No, I’m not worried about spoiling the film’s story at all. They just make me want to go camp out at the nearest theater, which by the way, I don’t need to do because I’m too old for that AND have too much stuff to do here. Anyway, I’m sure all involved are happy they’ll be pulling me out into the sunlight briefly so I can see their hard work up there on screen, and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed by what I see…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 