Man of Steel TV Spot 6: Zods and Ends…

OK, bad pun, pad pun! Eh, I figured that since this new Superman film is dumping the now supremely corny camp humor found in the five Reeve films and the original TV series for a more serious tone, I may as well get in as many bad jokes as possible before it hits theaters. Of course, I don’t think The Man of Steel will lack humor ENTIRELY, folks… I just think it’ll be minimized so the story is more enjoyable with less eye-rolling moments when a one-liner pops up and the audience groans because it ruins an otherwise good scene.. Save that stuff for flicks where jokes are part of the game plan (like Kick-Ass 2), I say.

Oh, by the way – give that funky Man of Steel Glyph Creator a whirl if you’re curious about what your family name would look like on your own super-suit. Don’t go getting any ideas, though – you won’t be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, bend steel in your bare hands or anything else (unless you’re already doing that stuff as part of a freak show act in a carnival somewhere)…

Random Art: Waiting…

Waiting2...As in I was waiting for it to stop raining so hard yesterday so I could hoof it down to the library, but it didn’t, which meant I ended up killing some time by starting a few reviews and doing this MS Paint piece. It took a while because I had no idea what I wanted to do when I began and between going back and forth to writing and taking a break or three, I finally stopped just so I’d be more productive on the writing and and less on the art end. Anyway, here you go.

Today’s weather is really awful here as well, but I’m working on finishing up the stuff I started last night to post later this evening or tomorrow. This gloomy rain and unusual chill for late May REALLY stinks… but I’m glad I’m not one of those automatic holiday folks who drives to the beach for Memorial Day every year like clockwork, damn every single weather report suggesting a stay close to (or hell, AT) home…

GOG.com Ends A Crazy Week With A 50% Off FPS Fire Sale…

It’s been a hell of a good week for fans of classic PC games who happen to have gog.com accounts. Between UnEpic, Wizardry 6, 7 and 8 and the newly announced Xbox One making some people never want to go near a Microsoft console again (heh – little joke there), the team at gog has done it up right (again). Of course, all you want to hear about is what’s on sale this weekend, so… BOOM! here you go. Nothing but shoot-tastic firt-person classics (and not so classics) this weekend, so if you’re into wild action, over the top humor and packing too much heat as you take down alien bastards who stole your ride, crazed undead, assorted futuristic scum and lots of Nazi soldiers, well… it’s your move… but only for the weekend folks, so get busy – your trigger finger needs something to do.

GRID 2: Only A Few More Days to Hit The Road…

I just saw a TV commercial for GRID 2 and it caught me off guard because I was changing channels when I passed it and quickly flipped back to see the rest. The game certainly looks beautiful (even more so once you have a controller in your hot little hands, as I can attest from my two hands-on experiences), it’s fast as hell and Codemasters is introducing some fine innovations to the racing genre that should keep this one a hot item for some time.

I’m actually kicking myself because I’d traded my copy of the first game to a friend for two other racers and I actually miss it. Well, it looks as if I’ll have this sequel to drool over and keep, as I’ll be hanging onto this until I see everything it has to offer. Hmm… I’m out of coffee, too. I think I’ll need to grab some before this hits stores, as I don’t think I’ll be leaving the house for a while…

Dragon’s Crown Elf & Dwarf Trailers: It’s Not A Toss Up At All…

… In terms of which of these or the other characters to pick because you’re going to go through Dragon’s Crown with ALL of them I bet. The game is crafted so that each hero or heroine is going to be played from start to finish, as each one is powerful warrior in his or nher own right. No matter who picks up a controller to dive in and enjoy what Vanillaware has cooked up, expect to be floored by the lovely 2D visuals and more tight gameplay than you can shake a stick holding goblin at.Before you slam it into its evil buddies and blast them with a spell or knock them silly with a blunt object.

Prepare to get a workout (and give our PS3 or Vita a workout as well) when Dragon’s Crown hits retail and PSN on August 6, 2013. And nope, don’t even try to toss that Dwarf – his incredible beard alone looks as if it will beat you up pretty badly…

VGA 101: Drakan: Order of the Flame – The Old Girl’s Still Got It…

Drakan 15

Well, it runs like a dream and while not exactly sporting current generation visuals, I still like the look of this old classic from Surreal Software. Of course, I’m still using Windows XP, so I can’t vouch for more a current OS and nope, that 10th anniversary mod really doesn’t help the visuals at all because it’s still a bit wonky and makes the cut scenes look quite hideous (well, more so than they did in the original game). I guess if someone came up with new HD character models for Rynn, Arokh and the different enemies in the game plus a new texture pack for the levels, I’d try that out just for kicks. But for now, running this with all the effects up works just fine for me…

Drakan 7 Drakan 16 Drakan 32

Random Film of the Day*: First Men in the Moon

*For the next few days, 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 has lost a true giant as well as a fine and talented gentleman…

First Men in the MoonIt’s actually pretty fun to watch early 50’s to mid-60’s sci-fi films for their historical as well as entertainment value because the space race was in full blast and Hollywood was finding out fast that NASA was making most of what they were doing obsolete. Granted, other than the opening few minutes, Nathan Juran’s excellent First Men in the Moon doesn’t need to juggle much in the way of realism other than making sure its 1964 astronauts (made up of members of UN countries!) making that moon landing were wearing gear that at least looked up to date.

Once that’s out of the way, the film lets the imaginations of H.G. Wells and Ray Harryhausen (interpreting the author’s words into Dynamation) take over as the story shifts back in time to 1899 and tells the tale of man’s “real” first trip to the moon. Juran’s direction and his solid cast provide the proper Victorian tone and Harryhausen’s great effects add the perfect amount of rustic charm that propel the films wildly fanciful “science” into the plane of believability…
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Bundle Stars’ Outlaws Bundle Wants To Permanently “Borrow” A Buck From You…

Blast you again, Bundle Stars! These dollar deals are TOO outrageous to pass up for budget-minded gamers looking to score a great deal AND do some charity work without so much as lifting an arm to help a puppy filled basket-carrying granny across the street (you lazy gits, you). Anyway, this week’s awesome deal is The Outlaws Bundle – SIX games from Steam’s huge digital closet from publisher Meridian 4: PAM (Post-Apocalyptic Mayhem), Robin Hood – The Legend of Sherwood, Pacific Storm and all three games in the RIP Trilogy. That’s two strategy games, a car combat game and three arcade style run ‘n gunners for your slightly adjusted to UK rates dollar. As the kids say (well, the kids from 1985 or so), you can’t be that with a baseball bat.

…Well, you CAN beat that with a baseball bat, but if by “that” you’re referring to your PC or laptop… er, that’s kind of a a bad idea because you’ll have nothing to play those games you just paid a dollar and a few cents for. So go beat a couch cushion with a chopstick instead. AFTER you do your good deed for the day and by these games…

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara Hands-On: The Eye of the Beholder Sees An Instant Classic Return…

After a bit of hands-on time with a build of Capcom’s upcoming PC, PSN, Xbox Live and Wii U eShop arcade game Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, let’s just get this out of the way and say it’s probably going to be one of the bigger hits of the usually dry summer game season. With solo or drop-in/drop-out play, gorgeous high-definition 2D visuals (that can be displayed in a few fun resolutions) plenty of challenging gameplay and a wealth of bonus content, this game defines “arcade” and just might be seen as the way to port over an arcade classic. Developer Iron Galaxy has gone a few extra miles and packed the game with content without mucking with the original games’ visuals and yes, that Dungeons & Dragons license gets put to really good use here. If you were a Sega Saturn owner lucky enough to buy the expensive import version double pack, you can finally put that one back up on the shelf, as what’s here is a superb replacement…
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DESTINY “The Law of the Jungle” Trailer: Bungie’s Jumping Into This Action/MMO Both Feet First…

Well, all in is all good and well if you’re a Bungie fan and yes indeed, this live action and CG trailer looks absolutely gorgeous. However, my only caveat is this is exactly the type of game I’m not interested in as it has no offline single player mode and seems to be a fancier version of a AAA shooter and MMO hybrid. Yes, it will sell incredibly well, but I’m more concerned about longevity and what happens when people burn through content too quickly or grow tired of this sci-fi shooter sub-genre. Granted, it’s going to be a few years before that happens, but I’m glad as hell I don’t have to be the one putting all my eggs into one basket and dropping it into a pack of internet wolves hoping it’ll keep them happy. I’ll keep an eyeball on this one anyway, as anything Bungie does seems to turn out really interesting when all is said and done…