New Addition: Pandora’s Tower Arrives!

rainfall trio

So, I ended up getting all three of these seemingly final US version Wii RPGs and I’m very pleased that I did this when they were their normal prices and not overinflated eBay purchases. I fired up Pandora’s Tower for just over an hour today and it’s pretty interesting so far. It’s a mix of elements from Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, Castlevania and a few other games with a nice JRPG look (some pretty visuals and an appropriately unique color palette). On the audio front, the UK dub is solid and the soundtrack so far is excellent with its bombastic classical and choral elements driving the action and some cinemas. So far, it’s not really “innovative” in any major ways, but developer Ganbarion has done a solid job in taking the hack & slash and having a bit of fun with it. OK, now I need to get a few more posts done so I can get back to playing this one…

Bethesda Reveals The Evil Within (Well, A Live-Action Trailer, At Least)…

In case you were wondering just what Shinji Mikami has been up to… well, here you go. Bethesda Softworks has revealed a live-action trailer to his and Tango Gameworks’ upcoming single player psychological/survival horror game, The Evil Within. Nothing has been revealed yet about the characters, story or gameplay, but IGN (hey, why not me?) has a big first look popping up on Monday that’s sure to get them traffic and attention. The game is set to come out in 2014 for PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and “next generation consoles”. Hmmmm… My take on that last part is I personally think they’re spreading this new SKU a wee bit too thin, as I think it would be best on ONE generation of systems and PC. If this gets over-hyped and expected to meet a certain target, but fails to do do, it will hit Bethsoft a bit hard on a few fronts. Granted, they could have another Dishonored here in the form of a hit that turns a genre on its ear-hole, so I’m at least optimistic on that front. Now, it’s all about some hands-on time to see what’s what… Bethsoft, you know how to reach me…

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Goes Gold, Pre-order Bonuses Split Personalities…

Espresso_Suit_Pack_US  Field_Ops_Suit_Pack_US

It’s almost here, folks… Now you have to make a BIG choice here if you pre-order this upcoming PS3 exclusive – do you get yourself a tactical advantage with that Field-Ops Suit Pack DLC from Amazon OR are you going to energize your game with the Espresso Suit Pack DLC from GameStop? Decisions, decisions… enough to make you a bit schizophrenic, I’d say. I usually dislike DLC like this from different retailers, as it’s an annoying ploy to make you miss something and/or choose sides as if this loyalty to a particular retailer was a good thing.

That said, it’ll be interesting to see which DLC wins out here and if possible, if ALL who buy the game will have the chance to get both packs and that bonus DLC noted below down the road as free or paid content through PSN. That’s the most fair way to go, I say – especially with the cult following this game has and some players wanting everything that can get out of it including these two outfits.

New Features for Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut:

New Scenario – Surprising new scenario from the game’s director, Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro that will please new and hardcore fans alike
HD graphics – complete graphic overhaul with new HD textures
Improved Controls – reworked control system and mappable controls allow for an even better combat experience
Downloadable content – Expand the mystery beyond the original game and let Agent York (and Zach) live it up in Greenvale – *PROFILING START*

DP_Preorder

The Lords of Salem “Beasts” Clip: You Can Run, But… You Know The Rest.

I happen to like Rob Zombie’s horror films and more particularly, how he’s grown as a director since House of 1000 Corpses, which blended horror and black humor in the style of a bunch of 1970’s genre flicks. The Devil’s Rejects worked even better as a sequel thanks to his darkening the characters and comic relief even more in favor of a relentless sense of dread and some truly shocking violence. The soundtrack was also amazing for its use of classic 1970’s radio songs that drove some key scenes (the ending of the film is particularly brilliant). His takes on the Halloween films were really cool because he gave Michael Myers a back story that made you actually feel for the disturbed kid who’d become the unstoppable killer of your worst nightmares. I keep meaning to see The Haunted World of El Super Beasto on cable, but I keep missing that animated feature or finding it on somewhere in the middle and I want to see it from the beginning. Anyway, The Lords of Salem looks pretty creepy based on the clips and trailer I’ve seen, so I just may have to check this out at some point. Of course, I’m so busy that it’ll probably be on cable late at night with me half hiding under a blanket…