Game of Thrones 3:7 Recap/3: Preview: Grim And Bear It…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

Well, now… episode 7 was certainly interesting and packed to the rafters with too much going on all over the place. At least it was a lot more clear that the last episode in settling a few things (temporarily) while also adding more questions into the mix. That bear fight had me cracking up, though – I guess the only way to get rid of one of the strongest female characters this season is to take her out of her armor, put her into a dress and drop her into a pit with a wooden sword to fight a really big and really pissed off ursine.

Well, it’s a good thing that didn’t quite work out, but those claw marks looked pretty nasty (and remember, at least one major character did drop dead as the results of wounds received during battle). Eh, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here – only three more episodes to go and the questions I need answers to haven’t even been touched on (gah!)…

I should be a little worried by now, but I’m not at all because I know those last three shows will knock me around the room with a few revelations and probably a bunch of demises I wasn’t expecting to see (or not see)…

Bundle Stars’ Dollar Deal Means Alien & Zombie Hunting Seasons Are Open…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

bundlestars_logo I’ve been a fan of Sigma Team’s “mindless” shooters for a few years going back to the original Alien Shooter, so this latest Bundle Stars deal is not only a must-buy for me at this stupidly insane price, YOU should pick it up because you probably need some practice for the upcoming fake Zombie Apocalypse that too many people seem to think is coming. Really. As in freakin’ AMAZON HAS A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE STORE THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY BUY SURVIVAL SUPPLIES FROM! Yeah, we’re that paranoid (and stupid) these days, but at least we’re well prepared, right? But I digress… One dollar (adjusted into UK currency, so it’s actually 65p there you”re paying), four full version games, loads of zombies and aliens to kill. All that and it’s only Monday? Count me in!

Even better, Bundle Stars has also re-listed its super-selling Indie Jam deal (TEN titles for a paltry $6.40!) and Indie Jam #2 is still live for nine more days (NINE titles for an even more paltry $5.04!). Check your system requirements to make sure you can run these, Grab them all (and a free STEAM account if you don’t have one yet) and figure out later how the hell you’re going to find time to PLAY all the games you just bought for less than you paid for a day’s meals. You’ll be hitting up Google looking for time machine plans that actually work, I bet…

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified – “Origin Declassified” Trailer: Agent Carter, I’m On YOUR Side…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

From the bits of gameplay shown, this origin story looks like a re-skinned version of last-year’s XCOM reboot, so you’d think it would shut the naysayers up a bit more. Nope. 2K Games is still getting not too much respect from those folks, but I say the company doesn’t need these people at all at this point. Let others who want to play the game do so and enjoy it while you keep your opinions to yourselves and sleep better clutching that old boxed copy of the Microprose classic you hold so dearly as the “best game ever” to your chests. Eh, whatever – I love that original game myself, but I’m at least more open-minded and can respect a new developer who wants (or WANTED, as far as the original design went) to do something outside the box. As always, we’ll see how the new game turns out when it hit s retail on August 20, 2013. Unless he and his team are complete klutzes, Agent Carter’s got nothing to worry about from me…

Indie Royale’s Mayhem Bundle: Spend A Little, Get A Lot of Bodies Dropping…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

MAYHEM_bundle This latest budget bundle from Indie Royale should give that crappy Monday you’re having a nice boot out the nearest window. Six great games are up for grabs and all look like a blast in one way or another. I’ve played Alien Shooter 2: Conscription a while back and it’s a great little shooter/RPG hybrid. The similar looking (but co-op/multiplayer focused) Primal Fears actually looks like one of the Hunter: The Reckoning games from a few years back and Burn Zombie Burn? Well, that title would make me buy it on general principal. Of the other games, Droplitz is a no-brainer for puzzle fanatics, Plain Sight looks pretty cool (despite your ninja/robot avatar needing to blow itself up for points all the time) and Lucius actually looks like someone took the original 1976 film The Omen and based the game around it (which means it’ll be nice and gory as you guide the little devil around and wipe out that mansion full of unfortunates).

Of course, the latter probably isn’t the game you want the babysitter to play at all, as it’ll give him or her nightmares and he or she’ll never drop by ever again. But, hey – what you do with your newly acquired cheap games is all up to you, right?

AMC’s The Killing Season 3: Getting Your Attention With Intention To Keep It Held…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

Let’s see now: a serial killer on the loose (meaning a higher body count this season) with the series’ focus on this one case and how it affects everyone on all sides should make for an intriguing story arc provided the show sticks to what made it work in the first place and doesn’t fall into the trap other crime shows have become victims of (changing too much to appeal to a certain base of short attention span viewers for rating’s sake). As with the first two seasons, I’ll be going in expecting nothing so I can actually be surprised when the writers and cast hit me over the head and toss me in a trunk…

Well, you know what I mean, right? I actually don’t advocate hitting anyone over the head and tossing them into a trunk unless they’re trying to do that to you and you manage to beat them to it…

CD Projekt RED Wants You To Make Your Own RPG Using Their Tools

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

REDKit_Mod_Screen In case you’ve never played it, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a really spectacular adult RPG with some great writing, visuals and gameplay. Developer CD Projekt RED has been cooking up a nice treat for the more creative fans of their work to play around with and the results are pretty damn impressive. Granted, you just can’t grab their REDKit beta and whip out a game in a day or two (and yes, you need to BUY a legal copy of The Witcher 2, which isn’t a bad thing to do at all, as the game is really inexpensive now and is a good way to spend about 60 to 80 hours or so), but as you can see above and on the official site, the results can be amazing.

Of course, given the game’s system requirements and what are bound to be some really complex mods, I’m gathering you’ll need a fairly powerful PC to run anything created using this toolkit. But for those gamers or artistic types with the time to play around with their own ideas in the world of The Witcher, this one’s a no-brainer to at least try out to see if it’s something you can use…

Random Film of the Day*: The Valley of Gwangi

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

*For the next week or so, I’m going to add a random film the great Ray Harryhausen worked on. The legendary special effects MASTER passed away on May 7, 2013 at age 92 in London and yes, the film world owes him more than they can ever repay…

Gwangi 1969’s The Valley of Gwangi is a bit of a bittersweet classic for many fans of Harryhausen’s work. By this time, stop motion animated fantasy films weren’t drawing the audiences they did ten years earlier, so this film didn’t get the promotion it deserved. It wasn’t the first cowboy meets dinosaur flick at all – that honor goes to 1956’s The Beast of Hollow Mountain, produced by Harryhausen’s mentor, Willis O’Brien.

While that older film’s effects weren’t done by O’Brien (and despite a few cool scenes, it showed), Harryhausen’s vision for the project (which O’Brien had wanted to do for decades) links the two masters together thanks to some incredible animation that ended up being the final dinosaur film he worked on in his career…
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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Promo: Seems Highly Interesting, Everything Looks Dynamic…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

Forget the first ten seconds of tease above, as I’m betting we don’t see any of the first-stringers from the Marvel movies on the show at all during Season One. This frees them up for the money-grabbing they’ll do in feature films and also helps lessen any potential continuity errors in future films. That said, a cameo or two would be cool from a certain group of Four Fantastic folks who should be getting a re-reboot attempt at a film soon enough. of course, I could be all wrong and we’ll see a hero of the week popping in just to get the fans glued to the TV for every episode in droves, but I think Joss Whedon can get it done without all the super-powered assistance. As usual, We. Shall. See. I’m still flipping a coin and deciding whether or not to watch the show or wait for the INEVITABLE home video version that packs in more features and less stupid pop-up ads for other shows, live feedback crawls or whatever other junk ABC and Marvel pack onto the screen that distracts from the action and storytelling…

As Long As YOUR Mother’s Day Wasn’t Like This, It Was An OK One…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

Hey, a little Bugs Bunny goes a long, loooooong way, folks. Of course, the next time you’re at your mother’s place or she’s with you and someone orders coffee or tea, I’m hoping this clip pops into your head at some point. She’ll understand perfectly if she remembers this old gem, but if not… well, you sure have some fast explaining to do, right?

Man of Steel TV Spot #4: Space Pilgrim vs. The World…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

So far, Warner Bros. has been considerably tame with these super-looking Man of Steel clips and trailers, but it looks as if that bubbling enthusiasm is slowing but surely going to be ramping up significantly as the weeks go by. As far as the film goes to some initially skeptical fans (yours truly included), we’re now at the color coded “This had better be REALLY good… or else, grrrr!” stage, but I think Snyder can handle any criticism at this point, as can the cast.

Hmmm.. Let’s see now, there’s going to be something like what, fifteen to twenty TV spots to go? Well, as long as the “less is more” approach is taken, I think we’ll see just enough to tempt us into theaters…