Well, I didn’t see this coming at all, but here you go: SACRED Citadel in all its work in progress glory (complete with corny captions trying too hard for that “hip” angle). Let the scalp scratching commence. Naturally, haters (and people who can’t read the description of the game on the official site) are gonna hate. That said, once I got over the shock and took another look, the game does look nice enough and could be quite fun for what it is. As a longtime fan of the Sacred series and old-school side scrolling games from the 80’s until today, I give my official DAF stamp of approval. Of course, If you know me, you also know I’ll wait until the game is actually out and playable before forming a more reliable opinion. That said, I hope to hell that this shows up as part of Sacred 3’s retail edition (as in on the game disc, grrrrrr!) so those who hate digital media can actually play it. That seems to be the big mistake developers and publisher keep making with some of these cool projects, but that’s a complaint for another post. Anyway, 2013 is looking more interesting by the minute…
As a big fan of all things dungeon crawler, I’ll have to pick this one up soon. I’ve been a bit occupied with a few other games and projects, so yes, I’m a wee but behind on newer reviews. Anyway, I’m happy about Unchained Blades for the mix of famous anime/manga artists for the character design, the old school grind-fest gameplay (a la Wizardry) and the fact that the game is PSP and Vita compatible. Now I’ll have to decide which portable to play it on and when to go snap this up. It’ll most likely be downloaded at a Starbucks nearby, as I can’t access my PSN account on my terrible home connection. This digital-only stuff is making me nuts sometimes… Ah, well.
As soon as I saw this latest iPhone ad I thought what a whole lot of others who know the director’s work did. When he asks the taxi driver to take another route, it would have been PERFECT to see Robert De Niro as the cabbie. Granted, I’m betting the actor didn’t want to step into Travis Bickle’s shoes again after so long, but still – it would have made the ad even more priceless.
And no, that doesn’t mean I want an iPhone now. Nice try though, Apple.
Between a few parallels with the gaming landscape in the early 80’s and the fact that the tide can’t stay in forever in terms of the constant push toward new tech at the cost of actual meaningful innovation, I think we’re in for a bit of a bumpy fall (and sooner than some think or even want to consider). There are too many divisions in the current business model between mobile, tablet, social, console and portable games, there’s a big pissing contest going on in the industry over which will kill of what first (despite the fact that they ALL can and should thrive together) and then there’s the whole online-only thing that’s 100% useless when you can’t get online. Don’t get me started on “free” to play games (which aren’t really free), the current PC elitism bile directed at consoles and the foolish Ultrabook nonsense where some companies thought making expensive laptops would be a good idea just because Apple has rooked in billions with its overpriced tech. Then there’s the stupidity of “the uncanny valley” or photo-realism in graphics, which, by the Great Green Pickle has NOTHING to do with gameplay or story (two things that are more important at the end of the day).
More fun with fast-moving Xenomorphs in this latest dev diary from Gearbox Software and Sega. You can definitely fell the love these guys have for James Cameron’s second installment in the popular film franchise, which will hopefully translate into a game for the ages that’s as scary and action-packed as everyone wants it to be.
To me, it’s simply amazing that Nintendo can crank out a new Mario game that’s basically an old Mario game with some funky tweaks plus a few innovations every so often and make a mint every single time. Any other publisher that does this gets called all kinds of names and sand kicked in their faces by the more jaded critics and gamers alike out there. But Nintendo seems to have a pretty solid lock on what their fans want to see, so thanks are in order somewhere, I suppose. Of course, if you hate Mario games, your thumbs went into your eyes before you read this, right?
I was moving some games last week and this one fell on my head, so I had to see if my memory still works by recalling what it’s about. Well, other than being a collaboration between the generically named Game Studio with ToysPress and May Music, Airs Adventure for the Sega Saturn is pretty dated if you judge it by today’s standards. Granted, it was probably dated by 1996 standards because the game isn’t all that complicated or challenging save for some wandering about necessary mid-game to solve a puzzle. Despite the language barrier It was one of the first imports I was able to complete it twice without understanding any Japanese thanks to the simple combat system, only two party members to deal with and for the most part, fairly linear progression.
I think they’re trying to scare us all silly, but hey, if it keeps you comfortable and you like your graphic novel (or other reading material) inspired nightmares, go for it. That said, there’s something about turning actual pages that can’t be beat. Besides, falling asleep with your too toasty device in your lap might be bad for your babymaker, I hear…
Yeah, that title is as generic as they come, and it needs a bit more work, but don’t let that stop you from trying out this cool little free game. What’s cool about it is how developer Liberty has tweaked the extremely familiar anime/manga style RPGMaker 2003 visuals to a simpler top-down viewpoint while limiting the cute stuff down to some well-written dialog sections between characters.There’s also a lengthy intro sequence that’s well done, pulling you into the story and game world, making you eager to jump in and experience the challenge ahead.
Gameplay isn’t quite what you’d expect from a game called Dungeon Crawl, but that’s a good thing. Rather than being combat focused, success in the game relies on careful exploration, avoiding traps and using resources you find wisely. You’ll also need to deal with a few other adventurers in the dungeon, some of whom will try to take advantage of you. You can choose to be nice and help them out, or be a total jerk and blow up that bridge you just made or refuse to aid someone who needs a helping hand. Everything you do affects one of (currently) ten different planned endings and each of the three classes plays slightly differently. The save system is a bit quirky, but manageable once you understand you can’t save wherever you’d like and may need to retry some areas if you run out of health. For a rainy day or if you’ve got a few spare hours to burn, this one’s a charmer that sneaks up on you and keeps you playing longer than you’d probably expect.
Amusingly enough, that movie poster on the left calls Rocketship X-M a story about man’s “conquest of space”, but spoiler alert: it’s not quite that triumphant a voyage at all. Yeah, man makes it into space in that fancy silver craft, but if there’s a conquest here, it’s presented in a pretty stark manner that’s not conducive to anything resembling a “happy” ending. That said, this one’s yet another highly recommended classic that’s worth a look if you’ve never seen it before and yes indeed, it’s worth grabbing a few sci-fi loving friends to take along for the ride. Pack that space ice cream, some popcorn and maybe a clean hanky, but leave your thinking cap on that bedpost, buddy…
While the actual “science” in this low-budget 1950 sci-fi flick isn’t exactly realistic and indeed, laughable (hey, we didn’t send a man into space until over a decade later), this is still a pretty powerful film that manages to be memorable for a few reasons. Granted, it was rushed to theaters to beat out the superior (in every technical aspect, at least) Destination Moon, but the anti-nuke/anti-war message presented makes this gem resonate a bit more than George Pal’s classic (which can be seen as the 2001: A Space Odyssey of its time thanks to all that attention to detail). What works in this little film (shot over 18 days for under $100,000) is the script (from an uncredited Dalton Trumbo – look him up if you don’t know who he is) that adds an interesting layer of sentimentality to the characters. Oh, and the acting is first-rate as well all around.
Of course, you’ll probably be too busy rooting for the crew of the X-M to get out of the rather crappy situation they’ve found themselves in after their moon rocket ends up going WAY off course (as in not scientifically possible) rather than look to deeply for hidden messages. Then again, that excellent Ferde Grofe score plus the decent acting are compelling enough reason to sit down and enjoy this one for what it is. In other words, flush the insulting (but yes, quite amusing) Mystery Science Theater 3000 version and watch the original movie instead. Some films deserve to be better remembered for what they were back when they were released and not someone’s bastardized joke-book version that pays no respect to something that tried to bring a certain er, gravity to a formerly not so serious genre.
Yeah, it’s a short review, but this is one of those films that just needs to be seen more and talked about afterward. Enjoy the trip and as the old saying goes: be nice to the people you meet on the way up – you’re going to meet (most of) the same ones on the way back down…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 