Boy, try and make a new game in a hugely popular series without dragging along EVERY element from previous entries and watch the more stick in the rear fans fearful of change scream and struggle as if they’ve been tossed into a burlap sack, then the back of a moving black van. Maybe Michael Ironside was unavailable, wanted too much money or hell, wanted to move on from the character he originally voiced for a bunch of games. Maybe Ubisoft wanted someone “younger” sounding for this installment. Eh, whatever. all this reminds me of is how things often work out in Hollywood in terms of sequels. Keeping in a Tom Clancy vein, how about that Jack Ryan? Anyone?
OK, time for me to get into trouble for telling the truth. One of the worst things about gaming these days: publishers that keep going out of their way to whip developers into making games specifically to generate high professional review scores on the hugely flawed aggregate site, Metacritic. Of course, this plan is annoying for a few too many obvious reasons, but let’s add in the monkey wrench of high-profile reviewers who don’t bother to get to or even through some of the games they’re sent and that ticks me off even more. Especially when I put in a request for a game and get turned down because the PR folks handling it ran out of copies or don’t think I’m “big” enough to warrant a reviewable. Gee, thanks, but at least it will get played, I say. It may take me a while to post a review, as I prefer to finish a game before writing about it, but it”l get done.
OK, I’d be a LOT less annoyed if I was getting paid for what I do on a regular basis. But still, this stuff gets my brain boiling in my skull a bit more than it used to. Hell, I respect the medium and the people who work in it too much to be that jaded, so it would be nice to be able to contribute my two cents like any other site. OK, rant-less rant over. Back to reality for a bit…
Well, now… color me intrigued. I happen to still like my Nintendo DS quite a lot, so yes, I’ll absolutely be bugging Namco Bandai for a reviewable of this game. Hey, for me, it’ll be the 16-bit game I never got to play back on the SNES and Genesis and as you’ll see from the gallery I’ll post later tonight, the game actually looks pretty impressive. Which of course means that I need to practice my Lion-O yell to get even more psyched for the game’s September 25, 2012 release. Er, you may want to stand back a few feet, kids (and get the family pet into a closet nearby – you’ve been warned): *Ahem* Thundercats, HOO*cough!*ooooo….*ack*oooo!!!!…
Hmmmm. Clearly, practice is needed there, as I just broke my throat and a window here. Back with more later. Er, more screen shots, that is (and a lot of them)…
“We want people to experience the same terror of the walker-filled reality our characters faced in seasons one and two – and will continue to face in our third season,” said Greg Nicotero, Co-Executive Producer and Special Effects Make-up Artist for the series. “Our collaboration with Universal Studios’ creative teams is exciting as we work to truly capture the essence of the show.”
Well, now… this is getting really interesting. Hmmm… I’m betting this is a secret weight-loss plan for some of the flabbier citizens of this country where deep-fried butter and bacon-wrapped everything are a normal way of life for too many out there. Hey, you! Want to lose 20 pounds FAST? Just go to Universal Studios Hollywood or Universal Studios Orlando during Halloween Horror Nights and hit both The Walking Dead and Silent Hill attractions. Make sure you don’t eat beforehand, as the zombies at the former love the smell of digesting beef patties, artificially colored cheese and soda pop PLUS those nurses at the latter can aid in taking care of those bite marks on your flesh… by sticking a few knives and needles into them (ouch!). Stock up on adult diapers and a portable defibrillator at the souvenir shop (conveniently located smack dab in between the two attractions) and you’re good to go.
“With ‘The Walking Dead,’ we want to make fans of the series feel like they are literally walking in the footsteps of the show’s characters, experiencing all of the horrific events from the series just as they experienced them,” said John Murdy, Creative Director at Universal Studios Hollywood. “The goal is to make guests of Halloween Horror Nights feel like they are trapped in the world of ‘The Walking Dead,’ using all of the attention to detail and movie-quality production values that Halloween Horror Nights has become famous for. You’re no longer sitting on a couch, watching a show…you’re living it!”
In other words, be prepared to do a lot of running. And screaming, too. Wear comfortable shoes and maybe some football gear if you tend to knock people over on your way to the exit sign…
Speaking of Persona 4… I posted that last article and went off to make some coffee and as soon as I sit down again, *ding!* this pops up in my inbox. Nice. I now have another game I want for my Vita (and finally, a RPG getting a US retail release that’s deeper than what’s currently on the handheld!). Naturally, clicking on that link above will fly you over to the teaser site where you can go temporarily blind from the burst of color that will hit your eyeballs then upon your recovery, pre-order the game if you like (no pressure here!).
Of course, if you don’t have a Vita yet, you probably won’t be clicking away, but I’d say this is one of those JRPGs that’s worth a console purchase if you like your games ridiculously PACKED to the gills with content and replay value.
OK, I’m guilty! Although I’ve been ignoring all those character moves trailers for a while just because I’m too busy with other stuff, after finally watching this latest trailer I can safely state that Arc System Works + Atlus’ key JRPG franchise = instant classic for genre fans of all skill levels. I’m terrible at most fighting games, but I’ll give this a shot because it looks like fun and I’m a Shin Megami Tensei fan from the Super Famicom days. Granted, I still prefer Kaneko Kazuma’s more unique art style over the art in the series since Persona 3, but I’m not crazy enough to ignore a good game over something like that. Anyway, August 7 is the release date and yes, you can pre-order the game and get a nice bonus (par for the course with an Atlus release). Hmmm. perhaps Persona 5 or a future Shin Megami Tensei title will feature a fighting game engine based on this game instead of a turn-based combat system… that would be a total trip, wouldn’t it?
“Any resemblance to real events, to persons dead or living, is not accidental. It is INTENTIONAL.”
Sure, today’s political climate here in the US is damned awful to the point of it better to have the country be run by a pack of brainy hamsters with suitcases, but at least we’re not quite in Costa-Gavras territory (er, well… outside of illegal detentions, torture and secret trials, but hey, let’s skip that for the moment). “Loosely” based on actual events, his 1969 film, Zwas (and still is) a pretty powerful piece of movie history that’s essential viewing for anyone who thinks the political system here has gone too far off the rails. It has (and how, thanks to too many ill-educated, power-mad people allowed to run for, win and hold office without proper vetting), but things aren’t quite as horrific as they were in Greece around 1963. Although the film doesn’t set an exact time or place, that quote above is placed before things get rolling and if you’re a good enough student of history (or can use the Internet properly) it’s easy to figure out that this isn’t just your run of the mill thriller…
“This is not a game. This is not a movie. This is real. And guests will be tormented by horrifying creatures from an alternate dimension, including the iconic deformed nurses and the executioner. “
So, Universal Studios is adding a Silent Hill theme to its hugely popular Halloween Horror Nightsattraction at its Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood locations. That’s a good thing or a bad one, depending on how much you like being scared silly by things that go bump in the night. Personally, I’ve never really been scared at any horror house I’ve been to most likely because I have a pretty morbid sense of humor to begin with and tend to elbow anyone who tries to do a “jump out’ scare on me in the eye. I also know that at the end of the day everyone going in will come out alive (soiled shorts optional) and all those mask and makeup wearing guys and gals putting the fear of fear into the heads of those who show up are making an honest buck.
Rule number one: Never play against someone who works at the company. When I first saw the intriguingly simple-looking but definitely compelling board game Oversight at Toy Fair here in NYC a few months ago, I was soundly trounced in a few quick matches by Griddly Games‘ Angela Welch, the company’s now newly minted Head of Marketing & Operations (they probably gave her the job after she beat everyone in the office at all the games the company makes – ringer!). But I managed to eke out a victory once I got the hang of the sliding tiles and color matching. Still, memo to self: don’t play board games with anyone after two hours of sleep. It’s a good thing I’m not a betting man, is all I’m saying…
Hey, I know I’m going to get grief for this, but I already played two No More Heroes games, MadWorld, GOD HAND, Red Steel 2 and Duke Nukem Forever. Sure, Marvel’s HUGELY popular cussin’ shootin’, stabbin; fan favorite has been around for ages, but I don’t think he can hold up an entire game on his own without the project being an exercise in brain-numbing overkill after about… oh, the third or fourth stage. Now, I don’t mind brain-numbing overkill (hell, I played the new Splatterhouse and both SAW games in the same week), but here’s a case where there better be a damn good story to back up all the jokes and gore. Meh, who am I kidding? I’d bet some of the same people that will run out and buy this are some of the same people that probably don’t “get” a Suda 51 game because they try to take it too seriously. As always, we shall see.
But yeah, this one better be a keeper or I’m calling up Lobo and telling someone is stealing his schtick…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 