Diablo III PS3/PS4: It’s Not Wizardry At All… It’s Just Damn Good Coding At Work.

Posted on May 16, 2013 by geelw

If there’s one game I really want to play as soon as it launches on either the PS3 or PS4, it’s probably Diablo III. Not because it’s the greatest game on the planet, mind you (it’s not), but because I want to see how well Blizzard got it up and running in single player mode with direct control and no always online nonsense to keep solo play fans from enjoying the ride thanks to a crappy Internet connection or a few other reasons. Of course, I’m more of a Torchlight 2 guy these days, but I love my isometric dungeon crawlers on anything (but a touch screen) as long as they’re done right. DIII looks as if it will draw in a load of new fans as well as some older ones who got shut out of the PC version. It should also silence those who think this type of game “can’t” be done on a console (despite years of proof from other iso RPGs running on Sony as well as other systems). I’m hoping this gets an official demo at some point before release just so Blizzard can show off all that hard work to the cranky crowd, but as always… we shall see…

Pacific Rim Official Trailer: Rise of the Robots, Too…

Posted on May 16, 2013 by geelw

OK, I’m tired from only getting about three hours of sleep before the Capcom event I came from not too long ago, so my I left my Giant Robot Pun Drive (Model 2.5!) in the freezer next to some ground bison. Oops. Anyway, Guiilermo Del Toro’s upcoming sci-fi flick, Pacific Rim is making fans of some anime robots cranky because his live action and CGI blend is making them want to see their favorite shows get this treatment. Granted, the director is paying homage to all those old to recent shows while carving his own path in giant robot history, so I say take this in and enjoy it on its merits as opposed to knocking it for “copying” other works. I think some of the naysayers will be surprised and impressed at this one once they clam up and enjoy the ride…

Random Indie Game of The Week: One Late Night

Posted on May 16, 2013 by geelw

OK, not so chilling the tagline on the game’s site, “Experience the horror of working at an office” made me laugh as I thought of all the crappy office jobs I’ve held over the years since the 80’s, but Black Curtain Studios managed to make its short horror game One Late Night work on a few levels that make it worth a play. Yes, you past to present office drones will feel the chills this one presents more than those who just want another jump-scare game in the Slenderman vein who haven’t worked an honest day in their lives. Of course, this means some of those slackers won’t jump as much as some of us former cubicle dwellers, but, hey. If you’ve paid your dues long enough at that desk making copies and drinking bad company coffee into the night and you’ll maybe squeal like a schoolgirl once or twice while playing this gem. It’s free, so get it and prepare to relive the horror (or experience it for the first time with the realization that it usually takes about a year to start hallucinating like that in a real office situation).

Yeah, it’s over pretty quickly (unlike the average day at the office where watching the clock actually slows down time), but you get a couple of endings and there’s some nice use of lighting here. Make sure you pay attention to that note about keeping a light handy, as it certainly helps out quite a bit (he said, overstating the obvious). Anyway, bonus points if you download and play this while at the office on a day where you’re not getting out until it’s past midnight. If that’s your situation today, I’m hoping that you’re going to have a few hiding places (and at least one from the real-life boss prowling the halls and looking for someone to haunt with more work-filled folders)…

Random Film of the Day*: Mysterious Island

Posted on May 15, 2013 by geelw

(Thanks, bttfportugal!)
*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 has lost a true giant as well as a fine and talented gentleman…

Mysterious Island Poster Yet another Charles H. Schneer/Ray Harryhausen production featuring a brilliant Bernard Herrmann soundtrack, 1961’s Mysterious Island is another classic fans of the master stop motion animator cite as some of his best work of the decade as well as a pretty solid genre entry. It’s certainly got a nicely varied cast of creatures going for it from a giant crab, an very angry and huge prehistoric bird, a few huge bees in their cliffside hive and a majorly over-sized cephalopod near the end. You also get a nice balloon escape at the beginning that gets most of the cast to that titular island, a few ladies tossed into the mix courtesy of a shipwreck and a surprise appearance by Captain Nemo that adds another layer of the fantastic to the film…
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The Burning [Collector’s Edition]: Once Again, Shout Factory Mutates Into Scream Factory…

Posted on May 15, 2013 by geelw

the burning blu-ray_dvd Man, I haven’t seen The Burning in YEARS, but thankfully, Shout Factory’s Scream Factory arm is bringing it back to life, and on a bonus-filled Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack at that. If you’ve never seen this 1981 cult classic, carve out a space under or behind the couch, pop in this flick and get prepared to lose a lung screaming as the horrifically disfigured camp caretaker Cropsy gets revenge on the teens who accidentally set him ablaze in a prank gone wrong.

Yeah, it’s got some minor to moderate similarities to Friday the 13th (which, along with its sequel lifts some of its bloody murders directly from Mario Bava’s awesome gore classic Twitch of the Death Nerve), but hey, at that time, these horror flicks were being churned out pretty quickly and a little gleeful borrowing here and there wasn’t a crime at all. That and hell, Tom Savini doing the effects on both this and Friday meant you were getting the best Hollywood gore for that ticket money. That and hell, Holly Hunter and Jason Alexander are in this one! Do they survive? Mwah-ha-ha-haaaa… you’ll need to watch and find out!

Anyway, you modern gore fans (aka “Meddling kids!”) who want to see something old farts like me were into back in the day should definitely check this “moldy oldie” from the 80’s out. And yeah, yeah you aged sticklers for gory detail, the original poster art for the film is on the reverse of that new, more colorful cover art. You think Shout Factory’s going to leave you hanging? As always, they’re killing you with kindness…

VGA 101: uDraw Tablet (PS3): THQ’s Folly Makes For A Really Cool Budget Artist Buy…

Posted on May 15, 2013 by geelw

uDraw PS3a uDraw PS3b

When the uDraw was first released for the Nintendo Wii, it sold well enough that THQ decided to bring the tablet peripheral to both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but took a little too long to get it to market as more functional tablet devices became hot sellers. You could say that the company greatly overestimated a few things, most importantly, the selling power of the uDraw to an a PS3 and 360 audience made up of more hardcore gamers who had little to no use for a new peripheral they wouldn’t go near with a ten foot pole (unless they were using that pole to smash the thing to bits). Needless to say, uDraw on the PS3 and 360 didn’t do well at all and plenty of retailers and probably a few distributors were left sitting on plenty unsold stock… Continue reading →

Payday: The Heist 2 Gets A Cross-Platform Retail Release: Smart Move (And A Steal, At That)…

Posted on May 15, 2013 by geelw

payday2_logo_black

Other than trying the game out at a friend’s place for about an hour or so, I didn’t get to play Payday: The Heist because I can’t access PSN or Xbox Live at home. Of course, with its fast-paced but more tactical gameplay that your garden variety FPS and ability to play out different heists, the game did well enough as a PS3 and PC download that a sequel was a no-brainer. Overkill Software has been in the kitchen cooking up Payday 2 for a bit and publisher 505 Games has announced that not only is the sequel coming soon (as in this August), it’s making the jump to Xbox 360 AND getting a nice retail release this time out.

pd2_usa_ps3 pd2_usa_360

As you can see from the screens below, the fine folks at Overkill (which is an offshoot of Starbreeze Studios) certainly know their way around a graphics engine and if you hate clowns, you’re already hiding behind a couch cushion thanks to those freaky masks. Of course, the proof is all in the playing, so I guess this one gets added to my already crowded list of games to get to once they’re out. Those of you looking for a little virtual cops & robbers action should probably be on the lookout for this one as well…

What’s The State of Dead State? Funny You Should Ask…

Posted on May 15, 2013 by geelw

Hot of the presses (well, not really, but it’s from today!) comes this neat interview with members of DoubleBear Productions, the dev team behind the upcoming indie zombie-themed RPG, Dead State. It’s pretty cool to see the game coming together despite the team being in separate locations. I like how the game is shaping up so far as a more serious exploration of the survival theme as opposed to a simple mindless shooter (we’ve enough of those to last a few lifetimes) or comedy-packed take on its theme. Of course, I’m holding out for some hands-on time, so my eyeball is fixed on the progress this makes as it winds its way towards completion…

Random Film of the Day*: Mighty Joe Young

Posted on May 14, 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 has lost a true giant as well as a fine and talented gentleman…

Mighty Joe Young poster With Ernest B. Schoedsack’s 1949 film Mighty Joe Young, stop motion animation fans saw the torch passed from the past master of the technique, Willis O’Brien to his willing, eager and more than able apprentice (and future master), Ray Harryhausen. Where 1925’s startling The Lost World and 1933’s epic King Kong helped pioneer stop motion (and its more comedic sequel, Son of Kong added a neat dinosaur chase scene to the list of O’Brien’s classic scenes), Mighty Joe Young was pretty much Harryhausen’s film from start to finish.

O’Brien hired Ray as an assistant animator, but based on different accounts, ended up letting the young man handle the bulk of the actual animation while he supervised the technical aspect of the special effects. While the film’s story was provided by King Kong co-writer/co-creator Merian C. Cooper and has some direct thematic resemblances to that earlier film (to the point were some less astute viewers think it’s an actual Kong sequel), Joe’s smaller size, demeanor and human-like qualities were greatly enhanced by stellar animation, some fantastic action scenes and a really great use of humor throughout that makes it nowhere as dark as Kong, nor as silly as its rushed into theaters sequel…
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UGLYDOLL & the Ave Venice Team Up For Some Cool Custom Chucks…

Posted on May 14, 2013 by geelw

Usually, someone telling you you’ve got ugly shoes is a not so good thing to hear and can sometimes lead to minor to moderately serious medical issues when that shoe needs to be removed from assorted orifices post-negative unsolicited commentary.

Thankfully for those of you who’ve been on the receiving end of remarks about your footwear (or who’ve planted a boot up someone’s behind for making bad noises about your kicks) can get satisfaction (and a lot less problems sitting down for a week or so) thanks to UGLYDOLL, the Ave Venice and Converse. Check out their four brand new printed Chuck Taylor styles up for grabs for $90 each on the Ave’s website: meet Ninja Batty (above), OX, Ice-Bat and the too-cute to call ugly (unless you just HATE cute things with your permanent bad mood self) UGLYDOLL Flower Pattern (below), all waiting to wrap themselves around your feet for compliments galore.

Well, perhaps you’ll still have your shoes called UGLY, but at least that’s what they’re supposed to be called (halfway – but it’s a step up!) and yeah, the person saying that will me smiling instead of smirking, which means you’re being hit on and won’t need to let loose with the *boot!* action (well, unless that pest gets too persistent with the moon eyes and compliments on your feet)…