Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Random Screenshot of the Day: Not A Clue…

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

I actually had to get out of Greenvale after over a month there doing daily posts about FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan (just call him York!) and the big case he was handling out that way. I would have stayed a day or two longer, but I got an urgent message that some important package I was expecting had finally arrived. I left a note for York and another for Emily just in case she turns up at some point. Thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with George’s cranky nonsense on the way out of town, as he turned out to be quite a jerk when all is said and done. I actually have NO clue how far York has gotten into solving his case, but he seems too be a really thorough investigator who seems to have two brains at times (well, that’s what I kept hearing around the A&G Diner and Swery 65 Bar when I asked around about him) and he’s also got a pretty decent amount of knowledge about some good and not so good movies (most of which I’ve seen)… Well, hopefully York will drop me a note when he’s got the time. It would be cool to have an FBI agent as a friend for a few reasons (but you probably don’t need to know why, correct?)…

I’d say that based on that screenshot above, in a few seconds York will see that Emily is not that shadow that’s going to turn around and attack him. Of course, if your were playing Rising Star Games’ PS3 exclusive Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut, which should be in stores as you’re reading this. Well, the “official” release date is April 30th, but I’ve heard a few people talking about playing the game already thanks to getting their hands on the game thanks to a favorite game store selling them a copy a day or so early. Hopefully, the reworked HD visuals, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support, over 100 changes to the original game and MORE will keep you and the York you’re playing fixated on getting to the bottom of this case in record time. Yes, that’s my copy in that photo to the left and above. I got home not too long ago and *ding!*, there it was, waiting for me on the table by the door. Nice! Now I can help York get that damn killer!

Hmmm… I think Game director Swery 65 is going to be in Greenvale for a day or so longer, as he’s tying up a few loose ends of his own. People have been bugging him day and night with compliments, questions, comments and even a few jokes about all the hard work he and his team at Access games has done, so I suppose he’s entitled to a good night’s rest before his long plane trip back to Japan. You’d think the guy would prefer to live in the town he helped create and run, but there are just too many things back home you can’t get out in the middle of nowhere…

GRID 2 Uncovered: Paris, Here We Come (Plus A Few More Gameplay Modes)…

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

Hey there! Go pull up a seat (without a steering wheel attached, please) or stretch out on the couch and check out these two new GRID 2 videos from Codemasters. Before you ask, NO you can’t stop the car during the race you’re part of in that beautifully rendered Paris street course to go get a croque-monsieur and café au lait. You’d lose the race before your coffee was even poured and hell, probably throw up in the car later because it’s not a good idea to go 150 MPH right after that lunch you just had. No madelines, either… and nope, no smoking in the car while I’m trying to drive (there’s no ashtray, silly!), so toss that pack of Gauloises into the crowd on the next turn, grrr… Man, I can take you anywhere anymore! Hmph – this car needs an ejection seat, methinks…

FUSE Unboxing Video: This One Is At Least Intentionally Funny…

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

In case you didn’t know, I really dislike unboxing videos. For me, it’s a waste of time, white cotton gloves when the person making the video is wearing them (and looking like a game usher!) and basically, the majority of the ones I’ve seen are just smug “look what I got” videos or just show off one big reason the industry is having issues with some AAA games that seemingly get overpriced Collector’s Editions for no really good reason but to be in someone’s unboxing video. Thankfully, Insomniac Games has read my mind and come up with the *ULTIMATE* in unboxing videos for their new PS3 and Xbox 360 game FUSE, set for release on May 28 (in the US) and May 31 (In Europe). I say just get me the game and I’ll play and enjoy it – no statues, comic books, CD soundtrack, artbook or other goodie necessary, as they won’t fit into my consoles anyway…

Metro: Last Light Ranger Survival Guide Trailer: McGuyver’s Got Nothing On Artyom…

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

MLL_Logo

I actually recently (and FINALLY) completed the absolutely tense and brilliant Metro 2033 on a borrowed Xbox 360 (as the ones I own are dead as doornails, dammit) and it’s still one of the best and most frightening first-person games I’ve ever played. Between the destroyed Moscow landscape, the ruined tunnels survivors make do in and those dreadful mutations they fight against, there’s a great deal of details in that game and this follow-up, Deep Silver’s Metro: Last Light that make it a must-play experience. The fact that the game isn’t a straight up shooter and has elements of adventure and role-playing games while feeling downright frightening and depressing as your avatar, Artyom and his beat up survival gear barely make it through the radioactive hell makes it a keeper I’ll go back to again and again.

As I’ve said before, this game and a few others where so much thought and work has gone into crafting a world and characters you want to live with for a while are all the same to me like great novels are to someone who collects books. I’ve actually never read anything by Russian sci-fi author Dmitry Glukhovsky has written, but based on the near-flawless atmosphere these two games have, I just may be adding a new book or two to my already packed list. Thankfully, 4A Games is absolutely committed to making this a story-driven solo experience, so we won’t be saddled with mindless multiplayer modes of running around shooting each other in the face for no good reason than collecting XP and yelling obscenities over headset microphones. Besides, in this version of the future, you’re better off saving any ammo you can find and settling your differences with a a blunt or sharp object you can repair or replace afterwards…

Metro: Last Light hits PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 14, 2013, so if you’re looking for a bleak, purely terrifying slice of post-nuclear survival action, this is probably going to be your best bet for a good long while…

Iron Man 3 Clip 3: Flying The Unfriendly Skies (But You’ll Get A Snack At Least)…

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

The funny thing about this clip is there’s always going to be that ONE guy in the theater when Iron Man 3 hits on May 3 with a slide rule and calculator taking measurements and tapping in numbers just so he can let out a mighty “A-HA!” afterwards and say that the scene was impossible because of the air to mass ratio times the advent of steam or something annoyingly dopey like that. People who do this at films where the goal is to sit down and let your brain enjoy the show for two hours drive me nuts. Applying arbitrary rules of reality to a genre flick such as this should get one immediately bounce ejected from a theater with a big box of Jujubes thrown at the back of that person’s head as they go sailing onto the pavement on a fresh bed of that nasty butter-flavored popcorn that’s sold at the concession stand. Yeah, it’s called a concession stand for a reason – you trade in your hard-earned bucks and in concession, you get some overly salty popcorn swimming in enough chemically laced oil to clog a whale heart. Yuck. Someone call up Tony Stark and ask him to invent a repulsor-powered organic only popcorn machine…

Game of Thrones Season 3:5 – Recap Time, Secrets Spilled (Well, Not So Much)…

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

It’s actually pretty hilarious that we got a nice sharp shock at the end of that last episode and a nice low-key one-two punch this week. Hmmm… I can see a few weird weddings in the not too distant future… or perhaps not, given the tendency for things to go all sorts of wrong in Westeros these days. On the other hand, a certain house with the upper hand will no doubt be none to pleased that some of its members have been a wee bit incapacitated (well, permanently in two cases) by some not so nice folks. I can smell the scenery chewing from here and nope, I’d not want to be standing in the way of a certain ruler when he gets wind of what’s happened…

Meanwhile, there’s a dragon-led army stomping into either the last two or three episodes (or worse, Season 4), although I’m thinking that Dragonborn will need a few more troops, as a mere eight thousand might not cut it. Oh, we’ll see, we’ll see… I’m just playing devil’s advocate here, that’s all…

Pacific Rim WonderCon Trailer: Guillermo’s ‘Gundams’ Going Gold Gathering…

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

I’d almost (but not quite) forgotten about this flick because it hasn’t has a dozen or thirty trailers and teasers that have been plastered all over the internet like clockwork. But here you go and it does look pretty insane. I’d bet Michael Bay is going to be seeing this one a few times, although Del Toro is sometimes known for endings that aren’t quite as cool as the effects he uses. That said, I’m not even going to pass an actual judgment on this giant robots versus giant monsters flick until I see it. Hopefully, the studio lets the director have final cut and doesn’t try to chop this down to something that makes you buy or rent the home video version just to see the stuff you should ave gotten when you bought that ticket. Well, as long as one of those sea creatures doesn’t bust out a giant can opener at some point, this one should be a winner…

Gallery: Lost Planet 3

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

It may be spring outside, but looking at these Lost Planet 3 screens makes me feel as if I’ve got my face stuck in the freezer and there’s no ice cream left – just a mean-looking alien with glowy bits and very sharp claws an teeth staring back (eek). Veteran developer Spark Unlimited is doing its best work to date, using the Unreal engine and some great motion captured actors to create a solidly stylized vision of the cold, bleak ball of ice covered rock that is E.D.N. III.

Working class hero Jim Payton isn’t the usual lantern-jawed hero with a hefty arsenal, bulletproof shorts and an ego as big as the planet he’s on at all. He’s just a regular guy who’s trying hard to make a living in a frozen hellhole with Akrid and perhaps a few pesky space pirates ruing his workday. I’ve been hooked in since I played a demo last year and with the first two multiplayer modes finally being revealed last week, it looks as if all the pieces are falling into place for a sleeper hit that will hopefully catch the skeptics by surprise.

Capcom’s Lost Planet 3 hits PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on August 27, 2013. Poke around below the jump for some more nice screens and artwork.

Oh, and put a hat and gloves on, dears – it’s COLD out there in space…

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Watch_Dogs “Out Of Control” Trailer: Still Off The Charts, Yet On Everyone’s Lists…

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

By now you know that Ubisoft has a definite system seller and absolutely killer app with its upcoming multiplatform release Watch_Dogs (set for a November 19, 2013 launch), although I’m predicting a little “problem” of sorts coming when the game does ship out. I can see a segment of potential players of the eye candy diabetic variety NOT buying the PS3 or Xbox 360 versions at all because they’re getting a newer console and want to show off that new game on the best system possible. Of course, PC owners will be pooh-poohing THOSE gamers as losers because they’ll be upgrading THEIR gaming rigs with new cards that can run the game at 200 frames per second with all the latest shaders and effects up full blast. Me, I don’t care how I play this other than I’d prefer not to patch anything and get up and running no less than five or ten minutes after installing the game to my (flips coin) PS3’s hard drive. As I have the feeling that this is a game that requires a few play-throughs in order to experience everything, I don’t mind at all playing it one one console and then another.

Random FIlm of the Week: Love and Death

Posted on April 29, 2013 by geelw

Love and Death poster Probably the most amusing thing about Woody Allen’s 1975 film Love and Death is how well it works despite practically hitting you over the head with how literate you need to be to get some of the best (and funniest) jokes. On the other hand, you don’t need to be a student of Russian literature or philosophy at all to nearly die laughing when Woody’s character, Boris, is trapped inside a gigantic lit cannon that rolls downhill during the big battle scene and fires him into a tent full of French officers, making him a temporary war hero of sorts.

There are a few other big laughs as well, but the bulk of the film’s humor springs from the one-two punch of Allen’s writing and flawless direction as he captures the moods of his put-upon characters as they go through their dramatically (and intentionally) dreary lives in 19th Century Russia. As bleak as that last sentence sounds, it’s one of Allen’s best comedies because it skewers its subject matter (and subjects) so well that you can’t help but laugh even when the worst is happening…
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