Earth Defense Force 2025 2nd Trailer: Five Minutes of Everything You Wanted to See (and Then Some)…

More vehicles (at least two types of tanks and a heli that allows three players to blast bugs AND motorbikes now? Nice!) and what’s looking like a larger scope to things means Sandlot isn’t screwing around, ladies and gents. EDF 2025 is going to be their best game to date and features a ton of changes and improvements that look to make it as great a multiplayer game is it already is for solo and co-op play. The new classes get some nice introductions and there’s even some humor here as the video ends on a pretty hilarious bad-ass note borrowed straight from too many action flicks. Anyway, yep, I’m importing this once news of a Japanese release date come out and hopefully, D3Publisher will get the word that fans want to see this game as a DISC release in addition to a download on the PS Store.

Texas Chainsaw 3D: Nope, Screaming Won’t Help At All…

 

Hey, maybe… just MAYBE, this will actually be good. But I’m an old, old cranky guy about stuff like this, so I doubt it. The fact that they reference the 1974 original in the trailer and TV spot is a bit irksome to an old fart like me because I know that it’s rare that a horror flick gets a well done remake or sequel. Not impossible, mind you – just rare. All (lousy) puns intended there, by the way. Still, I’ll give this a look without the 3D gimmickry at all once it’s cable bound. Hey kids! A good horror film is maybe 90% mood anyway (or more if it’s made before the late 50’s) and this one seems to be doing a wee bit too much plot jiggering and trying to tie in exactly to Tobe Hooper’s classic (still a fairly relentless viewing experience that’s a lot less bloody than you’d think if you’ve never seen it before). Well, good, bad or otherwise forgettable, if you DO get scared during this reboot… “just keep saying to yourself: It’s only a MOVIE, It’s only a MOVIE, It’s only a MOVIE…”

 

 

VGA 101: The Music of Soul Sacrifice: No Moms Complained About The Noise From Downstairs…

 

Ha! And I bet you thought most video game music was done up by some bespectacled guy in his mother’s basement with a bunch of old Casio keyboards and a beat up old multi-track recorder picked up at a yard sale. OK, even if you didn’t, it’s just nice to see how some game music not composed in someones’ (mom’s) basement gets done up for certain higher profile projects. Respect! Anyway, Soul Sacrifice isn’t out until March 13, 2013, but I have my eyeball on it (I’d have TWO eyeballs on it, but I need one in my head to see what I’m putting into my mouth) and it likes what it sees so far. That music sounds nicely appropriate as well, so I’m betting I won’t be disappointed in the gameplay. As always (repeat after me, class), we shall see…

VGA 101: Dennou Taisen DroneZ – Another Grail For the Library (Hopefully Holy, Not Hellish)…

Dronez_XboxLike the almost amazing Dinosaur Hunting, another Metro 3D published Xbox game that was supposed to get a US launch (simply titled DroneZ here), Zetha GameZ’ Dennou Taisen DroneZ is a game I’ve been in search of for a while now. There’s a PC version that pops up on eBay every so often, but I’ve never been able to find a complete one – just disc only in a sleeve or generic case. The good thing about finally having this import is I don’t need to worry about PC installation hassles or patches. My old debug Xbox is a little wonky these days, but still plays everything I toss at it just fine. I’ll get to trying this one out in the next week or so and maybe post some impressions.

I know the PC and Xbox versions didn’t get great reviews, but that’s part of the fun of exploring these not so ancient “gems”. Sometimes there are surprises under the ashes and sometimes you end up saying (to quote Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park) “that is one big pile of $#!t…”. Then again, if this another Muzzle Flash, Conspiracy: Weapons of Mass Destruction or one of the other Penny Dreadful imports I’ve picked up and been majorly disappointed with, well… that’s life, I suppose. Well, I do like my crappy games like the special children they are, on the other hand. So this just may be a cool little classic in that particular corner of the collection.

Thunderbirds Are Gone – Gerry Anderson (1929 – 2012)

 

If you were a kid or young adult in the United Kingdom, America and a few other lucky locations during the 1960’s and 70’s and had a TV in the house, you more likely than not saw something Gerry Anderson produced and fell head over heels for before the opening credits were done. I happened to grow up watching Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons, Thunderbirds, UFO and Space: 1999 all of which burned their share of memorable images into my brain and are still fondly remembered today. Sure, much of his output might not hold up to the scrutiny of the legions of jaded sci-fi fans that go for flashier effects, more outrageous characters and overall classier writing. Anderson’s shows were primarily geared to young boys (although his wife Sylvia certainly softened things considerably with her unique fashion sense), but there were more women in his series as time progressed, some of whom ended up a more than eye candy thanks to some fine writing and acting.

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With Some “True” Stories, There’s Always a Hitch…

 

I finally sat down to catch HBO’s “The Girl” and sat through it twice because I didn’t like it the first time and wanted to be sure it was the film and not me.  A second viewing didn’t change much, but it really had nothing much to do with what the director or actors did “wrong” at all. Sure, I knew of Hitchcock’s blonde ambitions and particularly peculiar proclivities from books and magazines I’d read, so that didn’t bother me one bit. I think it’s the general shorthand of the biopic or more precisely, those “based on (or worse, “inspired by”) a true story” films that condense certain elements of a person’s life to easily digestible cookies baked up from a Cliff Notes recipe that leaves the barest aroma of truth and the aftertaste of too many artificial ingredients and cooks in the kitchen…

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VGA 101 Gallery/Review: NEOGEO X Gold – 90’s Nostalgia Reimagined Almost Flawlessly

NGXG_LE_LogoA few days later than expected, but yes indeed, my NGX Gold has arrived. I also got a few other games as you can see in photo 1. Journey: Collector’s Edition (which is a great set of games non-gamers out there need to check out), my other copy of The Walking Dead (Best Buy screwed up and sent me the standard edition and not the BB version with the poster) alongside the Telltale version with the sticker on the case. Eh, whatever. It was the same price and I have no room here for anything on the walls but games) and The Glory of Heracles, which I couldn’t pass up for five dollars new. It didn’t get knockout reviews, but I played it for about half an hour and found it pretty amusing. I have a Heracles no Eikou game for the Super Famicom here in the library, so it’s nice to see that old series continue in the present day. OK, let’s get even more nostalgic and take a look as what’s in the box…

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I Want Candy: When Language Adds Even More Taste…

Brazilian ChocolatesSo, there’s a box of Brazilian chocolates here from a holiday gift basket and even if they happen to be the worst chocolates in the world (I’m betting they’re not at all), the language barrier makes me want to try them all out. Hell, who wouldn’t want to eat a peanut butter Surreal before bedtime with the hope of having a Dali-esque dream?  Maybe a Seranata de Amor in the morning for you and your sweetie to perk up things before breakfast (if you know what I mean). A Mundy on a Monday makes it less mundane and if you’re in a situation when someone ever asks “What Coco?”… well, whip an It Coco at them and you’re their new best friend (well, until you run out of candy).

Of course, some of the names are harder to sell, with Torrone maybe being too macho a name for a dainty chocolate (it sounds like a movie action hero) and Amendoim having a name reminiscent of a prescription drug (“side effects may include passing out on the couch from overeating…”). Finally, Milk and Mel reminds me of a sitcom that gets canceled after three episodes because no one gets it, but that’s usually because it’s too sophisticated for an audience used to less complex flavors. Update: well, I haven’t tasted anything yet (I think that big slice of cake and cup of coffee earlier is keeping me from temptation), but there was a whole box of Serenata Mix in the bottom of the endless basket. Cocoa coma, here I come… well, perhaps later after I’ve had a long nap.

Bwaaaah! Ubisoft Puts the End of the World Into Perspective With Some Crazy Rabbids…

 

OK, I initially ignored the first Rabbids Preppers video because I thought it was yet ANOTHER game in production featuring those wacky alien lagomorphs and I figured I may as well wait for some actual gameplay footage before commenting. Then this second video pops up in my inbox and I decide to check it out. Well, that was definitely a good thing (and even better because we’re all around to watch it, right?). I suppose those who STILL believe in some sort of doomsday won’t be amused at all, but I think it’s time for less paranoia and more enjoying of life whenever possible. Ha – even when they’re being perfectly silly, Ubisoft still manages to make me think slightly more profoundly.

 

Peter Parker Buys The Farm, But Spider-Man Lives On (Ah, Comics)…

Spider-Man_700As I haven’t read a Spider-Man book in ages but have been around the comics block on and off for decades, I’m not too surprised that Marvel has decided to phase Peter Parker out of the Marvel Universe and replace him (thanks to a mind and body swap) with Doctor Octupus, who will now star in the new Superior Spider-Man comic (“Superior?” What, they couldn’t find better word than that?). Can I get an “Eh, whatever” here?  Let’s see now, Superman died, he came back. Same with Supergirl. Batman got his back broken – he got better. Robin died, he was replaced with a new one or something (I forget, as it’s been a while since I read a Batman comic too). The list goes on and on and every time some fans go out of their way to be as unpleasant about these changes as possible.  Sometimes, a little dying can be good for a character, but it’s up to the writer to lure you in and surprise you every so often…

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