Humor: Beaky Buzzard Has A Baaaaaad Saturday Night…

Oh, Beaky, Beaky, Beaky… you still can’t work those straps, huh? The funnier thing about this clip is what’s actually missed by some – those other sheep are going to probably be dinner, so that leggy lamb just got lucky she just lost her coat (and wool in THIS heat? Come on, now!). Hmmm. I think it would have been even more hilarious if the animators has her whacking poor Beaky over the skull with a lamb bone. Well, OK, that’s a bit too much… but it is pretty funny when you think about it…

E3 2013: DARK Trailer: A Modern Vampire Tale Minus The Tween Sparkly Crap…

While its protagonist might not be a frightening disease-bringing fiend like the one in W.F. Murnau’s asolute eternal classic Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (which is my ideal vampire tale for the ages thanks to its visually striking villain and zero camp elements), I’ll give DARK props for going against at least SOME of the grain today’s too-handsome teen/young adult vampires are cursed with. Sure, it’s more of a Deus Ex/Thief/Splinter Cell hybrid with an anti-hero who’s probably in deep doo-doo if he runs into a Hot Topic and fries up but good when he runs past all those fake silver goth crosses on display, but that’s OK with me. If the game is well-made (so far it seems so) and fun to play (so far it looks as if it will be) and keeps me hooked in with its story (that’s still to be determined), then it’ll be something that’s played and more than once around here. As usual… we shall see…

Man of Steel Walmart “See Steel First” TV Spot: Well, If It Isn’t The Red Cape Special…

 

Act-ually, I hear that the military get first dibs on a screening, so I guess that’s something of a fib Walmart is telling. Oh well – it doesn’t matter all that much anyway, as it looks as if everyone who loves movies and has an eye or two will want to see this flick. I guess if there were Walmarts located on military bases (so much for the old PX, huh?) next to those movie theaters, hearing “Attention Walmart Shoppers!” booming over the speakers ever few minutes about some sale items (“Ten-Huts are now half off!”) would have everyone on that base saluting with one hand while pushing an over-packed cart with the other…

Random Film of the Week(end), Too: Dark City

dark cityI didn’t get around to seeing The Matrix until its first sequel hit theaters, but when I did, I was surprised that it was so close thematically and visually it was to Dark City, Alex Proyas’ complex and visually stunning sci-fi film. For me, despite the lack of a more polished story, a reliance on mostly practical effects and a smaller budget, the film has a richer and more unique look than The Matrix that borrows from all over but manages to work almost perfectly.

Silent, film noir and more modern films get multiple nods, there’s a decidedly comic book aesthetic to the action scenes with “panel” compositions to some shots and everything’s wrapped into a “pay attention!” plot that makes for a film requiring multiple viewings to appreciate. Of course, other than loving the look and those freaky bald Strangers doing their thing (The teeth clicking? Scary and hilarious simultaneously), I didn’t much care for the film the first time I saw the original theatrical cut…

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Project Eden Finally Hits GOG.com: Core’s Sci-Fi Action/Puzzle Game Still Has It…

Of course, my old post about this forgotten gem probably had nothing to do with gog.com getting it added to their games library at all, but let me at LEAST get a swelled head and think so, OK? Anyway, my boxed copy still runs perfectly, so I won’t need to grab this digitally at all (yet), but don’t let that stop YOU from giving it a try. It’s actually quite well done and the non-frustrating manner in how death is handled keeps the game constantly moving. Granted, it goes from moody to creepy to weird as your party gets deeper into that Real Meat factory and the monsters come out. But by then, you’ll have gotten with the program. Anyway, it’s only six bucks and more than worth it, so give it a shot…

E3 2013: Wolfenstein: The New Order Trailer – So Wrong, It’s Reich…(The Remix!)

Hey! Quick WordPress editing tip, kids! If you open multiple Add A Post tabs in separate windows and do two different posts, one will overwrite the other when the second one is done! Whee. I just found that out after I zapped this original Wolfenstein: The New Order post with the one for Project Eden, so if you see this post twice in your feed, it’s not you going nuts… it’s me trying to save time but wasting it instead! Whee! Anyway, get me rewrite!

OK, I was interested in this sequel already, but this compelling trailer for Wolfenstein: The New Order REALLY makes me want some hands-on time just to see how it all plays out. Yes, it’s intentionally raising hackles on the back of some necks, but don’t get the wrong impression. The game is all about the return of that Nazi killing force of nature B.J. Blazkowicz and how he’s going to deal with this updated alternate future threat. The reworked imagery here is striking to the point where there’s the usual YouTube and message board debating about the wrong things (real world history) as opposed to how this game twists its of that into its narrative “What If” world (Nazis on the Moon! Yikes!) and packs a wallop with those images and finale that basically screams “PLAY ME!” So yep, I’m looking forward to doing so should Bethsoft truck on into NYC with a build… I’ll keep you posted should that indeed happen.

E3 2013: Dragon’s Crown Amazon & Wizard Trailers: The Hits Just Keep on Coming…

While VanillaWare, George Kamitani and Atlus are still taking flack from the prudes, it’s not stopping Dragon’s Crown from being the total steamroller hack & slash it’s always meant to be. I’m so glad that the game is arriving with no changes, as it probably would have been left overseas or had its playable female characters more covered up or made less pneumatic (see Mai Shurenai for example).

Of course, it’s actually simple to realize the art style is only a tiny part of what makes this one so special and I’m one of those folks who just likes a good no-nonsense fantasy-themed knock-down, drag-out every so often. OK, back to work – the mind tends to wander when left unchecked…

E3 2013: Might & Magic X Legacy: “Old School, New Rules”, Huh? OK, Does It Run In DOS?

Alright, I’m kidding, Ubisoft (sort of). Anyway, Limbic Entertainment’s plan of a partially user-aided development process for its upcoming Might & Magic “sequel”/reboot is both a great and terrible thing. Great indeed, as we’ll see some fine ideas implemented that make the game what longtime fans want to play (er, hopefully without too much fighting amongst the gamers helping out). Terrible because I’m betting the game will require a higher-end PC than what one would think should run this, the game may have modern elements that make it less than enjoyable (if too many ideas make it in that kill any challenge thanks to casual play modes)and finally, at the end of the day, it’s still a niche RPG that will be over the heads of the crowd that can’t get past the grid-based movement and lack of stuff blowing up every three seconds.

Then again, this isn’t the game for them at all and goofy cartoon trailer aside, Limbic looks as it it might be able to resurrect this franchise and make me forget all about Might & Magic IX, an under-polished mess of a game that crept into retail with way too many issues to make it playable for long. Anyway, the art I’ve seen so far looks great – as long as the results are solid (and yes, this also gets a console release at some point so more can play it), this could be a more than welcome return to form…

E3 2013: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2: Putting The Bite Back In Dracula…

I can still remember parts of the internet going nuclear when Spanish developer Mercury Steam was chosen to do a new 3D Castlevania game with Hideo Kojima doing a it of supervision. Konami, the developer and even Kojima himself got raked over a few coal beds, the game was deemed to be doomed before anything was playable and the usual crowd of “if it isn’t 2D, it sucks!” folk were there to condemn the building as the foundation was being laid . Of course, 2010’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow definitely wasn’t the train wreck many predicted and in fact, it was one of the nicer surprises in terms of aged franchises getting a chance to shine on current generation consoles.

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E3 2013: DAYLIGHT Trailer -You’ll Need a Night Light When Playing This Horror Game…

To some gamers, Zombie Studios is actually better know for its military-themed shooters, but this isn’t their first time at the scary games rodeo at all. The developer has also done the two Konami-published SAW games (which were pretty interesting to play through) and I suppose you could label their surreal 1996 game ZPC as a sort of “horror” game thanks to the twisted visual style and weird enemies. But let’s look a little it into the future, shall we?

Daylight logo

Daylight is coming for the PlayStation 4 and PC from publisher Atlus in 2014, and if this trailer is any indication, fans of jump scares and pesky ghosts rattling their cages will be all in and dying for more. The Unreal Engine 4 visuals look appropriately creepy and the procedurally generated levels will give the game almost infinite replay value (and make for yet another modern horror twist on the rogue-like RPG). Clearly, this isn’t going to be a “one time play and back to the shop it goes” experience, but it’s really going to be up to those gamers who “get” the concept and latch into it that keeps this one in play stacks. Translation: it better scare the hell out of us each time it’s played. Back with more on this one in a bit…