Getting warmer in here, isn’t it? Not because it’s spring, mind you (hell, next week we’re supposed to get a little late surprise from winter’s dying grasp, it seems), but because it’s alllllmost time for Season 4 of Game of Thrones to kick off. I’m still avoiding spoilers, but man was I ticked off to hear that a bunch of fans got to see the season premiere this week (boo!) and blab all about how lucky they were. Gee thanks, HBO. Oh well. One day they’ll take notice of me and send me an invite (name of my blog aside that SCREAMS that I might not be interested, har har)…
Like many of you out there, I love Turner Classic Movies quite a lot, although the popular classic movie site isn’t without its issues. I’m still waiting to see more imports (where are Cul De Sac, {The Mad Adventures of} Rabbi Jacob, The Tall Blonde Man With One Black Shoe and other intriguing foreign films that deserve a wider American audience?) and a more stable Underground (I can be the host, as I have a LOAD of ideas to make it better and more accessible to new viewers to the weird and strange!), but overall I’m happy with most of what they do. That said, they’re finally using YouTube a lot more effectively, posting videos for current programming for the day during the week, which goes a long way towards making folks like me see what’s coming on during the day without having to check the cable guide or just turn the channel on when we crawl home and hope we’ll see something we haven’t yet. Yeah, the frequent rebroadcasts need to be worked on a bit, but for now, I have one LESS thing to gripe about…
Oh sure, there’s loads of work to do and yep, yep – I need to snap to it like two days ago. But I’ve been busy with a few things like playing some betas of games upcoming (*cough!* The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II *cough!*), and working on a few sets of interview questions for assorted people on assorted topics. Anyway, whee – it’s the second day of spring, but still a bit chilly out (not bad, but you still need a coat!). Anyway, here’s some art to ogle to keep you distracted. I’ll be back in a bit…
I was certainly surprised that I’d like a mobile game as much as Crytek’s The Collectables (as I’m not a fan of touchy-tappy gaming at all) when I saw it a few months back, but thanks to the combination of fantastic visuals and easy to get into gameplay (Okay, and stuff blowing up every few seconds), I can say this one’s worth a try. There’s also an addictive card collecting element (thus the game’s title) and some more fun to be had here, but this isn’t a review and I’m keeping it short because I think you should take this for a spin and see what you think. So, yeah- go do just that, I say…
Yeah, yeah – it’s a rerun, but hey – this one’s worth the double vision. Coilworks’ awesome and super challenging Cloudbuilt is now LIVE on Steam and already there’s an update out that addresses some issues a few players have been having. While I’ll need to go play this this weekend at a friend’s place who has Windows 7 still running fine on his PC (all of mine here use XP and proudly, grrr!), my time with the demo (also at his place) revealed that the developer is onto something with this insane, fast-paced run/shoot/parkour hybrid that’s brilliant, tough as hell and extremely rewarding when you find that perfect line and start smashing records (and progress-killing enemies in your path). This NEEDS to be on a few consoles so more people can dive in and see what all the fuss is about.
Meh, I’ve been a bit busy working on some stuff and riding out these last miserable days of winter, but here you go. This didn’t take me too long to do at all and in fact, like most of my trees, isn’t really “complete.” I just stop when I think I’m about to destroy something with another few lines and that’s that. Well, that’s it for this week. I may get another sketch up sooner. Or later. Depending on work I need to get done versus time I have to sketch up something.
I think I only fooled two people with half that headline, but that’s fine by me. Anyway, this July, IDW Games will be getting fans of the show a new BIG box board game based on the first three (and some would say the best) seasons thanks to Pandasaurus Games, designer Kevin Wilson (Arkham Horror, Descent, Civilization) and comic book artist menton3 (Memory Collectors, The X-Files: Season 10).
That box art is sure mighty pretty (and pretty simple) and if the game INSIDE the box is like that art, it’ll keep anyone with even a passing interest in the show back in deep where they should be. Of course, chain smoking as you play like that Cigarette Smoking Man isn’t required, but if you DO get that far into character, make sure you ask your tabletop buddies if it’s OK. No one likes to get kicked out their friend’s place (or even their own home) even if they bought the game with them.
Ubisoft is making game making an even more “magical” process these days thanks to its UbiArt Framework tech that allows for artists to see their work come to brilliant life while remaining unchanged from how it was created. The upcoming multiplatform role-playing game, Child of Light (April 30, 2014) presents the gorgeous storybook world of Lemuria and allows players to dive in and explore it using some tried and true gameplay along with some nice new features sure to bring on the raves from an audience hungry for new original properties and not more of the same old same old.
Given that the game is set ti launch on PC, PS3/PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Wii U (so far!), it looks as if anyone with a home console or decent enough gaming setup will be seeing what the fuss is all about soon enough. Yeah, I know you Mac and Linux users are all cranky right about now, but I guess there will be a version of this for you folks at some point down the road. In the meantime, I guess you could always make friends with someone who has one of the systems the CAN play on when it launches next month…
As I happen to love isometric views in my games (not for everything, mind you) and am no stranger to the action or turn-based role playing game experience, Sacred 3 is going to be right up my alley. Of course, I loved the first two games quite a lot for their large open maps, ridiculous amount of side quests to take and and surprises to stumble upon. Some would say the games are far too open and allow for wandering into death traps off the beaten path, but those people would be wrong, as no one asked them to get nosy and follow that trail of bones or gold coins into that pack of much higher leveled enemies or dark place with the nasty surprise or way too large and powerful dragon (and so forth and so on)…
Anyway, Sacred 3 hits PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this summer. If it’s too quiet around here during that time, you know where I’ll be.
So, it’s here and even though it’s been known for a while it was going to be what amounts to nothing but a brief demo with a $30 price tag (and similar to Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in its cost versus brevity factor), some critics have been punching away hard on poor Big Boss/Solid Snake. As I’m not made of money, I’m going to wait for a used copy or trade from a friend to pop up, but I really want to play this just to see that Fox Engine in action, how Kiefer Sutherland works as the voice for Snake (taking over from David Hayter) and the ability to tackle that single (and large) map as many ways as possible. Granted, the one to two hours maximum play time I’m hearing about IS a bit pesky, but I’m gathering most reviewers played through just to complete their posts and aren’t fully appreciating that demo for all its worth. On the other hand, this is a Hideo Kojima game, so perhaps that and the Metal Gear name are carrying that price point into “Hmmmmm…” territory for some writers and players.
That said, the full game (Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain) is still underway as far as development goes, so I do hope the cost of this slice is offset in some manner, be it some exclusive content available to those with save files (on-disc and not DLC so EVERYONE who bought in can see/play it) or something else Kojima and publisher Konami can think up to keep the angrier folks down off their soapboxes. Eh, we’ll see, I suppose. I’m just glad to see a new MGS on a home console after all this time…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 