Wonderbook: Book of Spells Zaps Into Retail – Does J.K. Rowling Still Have The Magic?

Posted on November 13, 2012 by geelw

Hmmmm… this will be an interesting experiment for Sony, as the company is taking a big chance with a somewhat costly game experience and an audience that may not be willing to buy into it. On the other hand, Rowling’s fan base is massive enough to support the product and keep her and SCEA happy if it does well. Personally, I don’t see this selling out all over the place because new users will need to shell out for a PS3 and Move setup BEFORE buying that Wonderbook. As for the future, I’d say Sony absolutely needs to think about some sort of book/figure combo with an action or sci-fi theme in order to make the Wonderbook tech worth the money spent on cooking it up.

Imagine an Uncharted game using the Wonderbook and some relic replicas, a Star Wars game in the vein of Skylanders or some other popular franchise (think comic books and the possibilities are pretty striking) where people will want to automatically open their wallets and jump in without hesitation? That particular future is bright indeed…. but this first entry needs to sell very well in order for that to even happen…

Video Game Appreciation 101: MBA Online Learns You Some Nintendo Facts

Posted on November 13, 2012 by geelw

Damned doomsayers and mobile evangelists on industry sites aside, it’s hard to argue against Nintendo’s massive successes in reinvigorating the video games industry on a few key occasions. I’d even go as far to say that EVERY mobile games success wouldn’t even be possible if it weren’t for the company’s proven track record with handheld dominance throughout the late 80’s to today. Granted, the company has made some bone-headed mistakes every so often, but they’ve always recovered and have forged on in terms of innovation and getting their fan base some of the most purely fun game experiences.

With the Wii U shipping out this week along with a healthy lineup of what’s looking like mostly strong titles, that long chart on the left from the eternally smart and busy folks over at MBA Online (you click it, it gets bigger! Whee!) shows that despite its ups and downs, Nintendo is going to be here for quite some time.

Batman: Arkam City Armored Edition Drops Into Retailers

Posted on November 13, 2012 by geelw

For my money, it’s looks as if the Wii U has one of the more impressive launch.launch window lineups for a new console this generation (er, next generation? whatever – there are some strong titles coming between now and the end of the year). Yeah, yeah, yeah – your jaded self has already played this on the PS3, Xbox 360 or PC (or all three if you’re that obsessed), but given that this (and every other Wii U) game is made first and foremost for Nintendo-only fans who may have never laid a pinky on any previous version AND Rocksteady has gone above and beyond the call in not shoving a straightforward quick port out the door, this may be the definitive version of the game. Anyway, I say shut up and play it – if it’s good, it’ll silence the critics – if it’s bad, it’ll get them babbling doom stories about the systems like those overpaid analysts who don’t play games at all but spend too much time comparing everything to Apple’s success or claiming consoles are dead because too many people are playing mobile games or whatever.

On the other hand, if it’s BETTER than any of the previous versions, well… I say apologies are in order from the naysayers directly to WB, the developer and any gamers who were falling for the hate hype. Fair is indeed fair after all…

Random Game of the Week: Clock Tower

Posted on November 13, 2012 by geelw

Oops – Now with the RIGHT video (heh)…

I haven’t done a horror games article in a while, but it’s probably because of late I’m in the wrong mindset to dip into something that’s going to have me playing halfway under the couch and sleeping with a baseball bat propped against the bed. That said, when I dug up my copy of Clock Tower while looking for another game, something made me pop it in and see if the game still had the power to scare me silly after all these years. It most certainly does, and even though I only sunk about two or so hours in (getting one of the not so good ending in the process), it made me think about how many of the more recent (and so-called) horror games in the genre pale in comparison when it comes to being actually scary…

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DmC Gets DLC Already (But You KNEW It Was Coming, Right?)…

Posted on November 13, 2012 by geelw

Ah, poor Vergil! He gets relegated to DLC (which has pissed off the Capcom haters once again) rather than an unlockable bonus section, but hey, that sort of thing has been the law of the console land for a bit now. Unfortunately, those who can’t access the content thanks to no online accounts or willingness to pay more than the retail price for a game (for some people it’s still a poor economy) will need to hope the game sells well enough to net some sort of reissue down the road.