The Order: 1886 Won’t Be Ready At Dawn (Or By Night-Fall), But That’s Just Fine With Me…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

Sooooo, one of Sony big first party PlayStation 4 exclusives is now dropping into 2015 and some of those who care about such things are lamenting about the delay to no end. I say “So what? (again)”, as this means more polish and a better, less buggy game experience. The deal with new consoles is always that it takes time for developers to get used to the hardware, particularly when doing things that the old console couldn’t do as well. So developer Ready At Dawn is just allowing the team some extra breathing room, which is a great thing. It also gives slow dopes like yours truly to find out more about the game. I’ll admit to that title not making my eyes and ears perk up because it sounded like it would be some sort of odd historical simulation game, a genre I’ve avoided for a number of years because I have neither the time nor patience for something that deep. Anyway, I guess I can and should keep my fingers crossed that SCEA’s invisible PR team remembers who I am after all this time and actually invites me to see this game when it’s shown in NYC at some point.

Mind Zero Update #3: A Kick In The Shin Megami Tensei Won’t Hurt (Much)…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

Ah, ha-ha (again). Okay, I kid Aksys Games here (again!), but this upcoming PlayStation Vita exclusive coming from developer Zerodiv reminds me so much of the Shin Megami Tensei games that I’m not going to even be surprised if I see a review or two that makes note of this. Hey, as long as the story is good, I don’t care much about the gameplay as long as it’s not clumsy or forced. So far, this is looking nice and simple (which is good), but probably won’t be a cakewalk as the game progresses. Anyway, we’ll see soon enough, as the game is out NOW at a retailer near you (or on PSN, if you want it faster)…

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel PAX East Gameplay: “Bounce, Breathe, Look, SHOOT!” (Rinse & Repeat)…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

Okay, so it’s the name of an old basketball primer for kids, but that’s also a fitting description of what Gearbox and 2K Australia expect a great deal of you Borderlands fans to be doing in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, the upcoming standalone game set for a fall release on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Sorry “nest-gen” fans! You’ll need to wait a bit while the game you wanted or expected NOW or sooner is being cooked up in one way or another for its eventual release whenever.

While I’m sure that Gearbox and 2K Games could make a small fortune redoing the older Borderlands games and DLC from the ground up, I’d gather they’re doing the WISER thing and creating an all-new chapter to the franchise that packs in even more of what’s expected. This will also keep owners of those shiner (or matte-r) new systems from rioting and storming assorted game company headquarters anytime soon, too (er, Ha-ha?).

The Evil Within Doesn’t Scare Me (Yet) Because I Haven’t PLAYED It (Yet)…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

“Booooooo!” (*squeal!*). Meh, I’ve always disliked these “reaction” videos for games and movies because even if they are one hundred percent real, what scares one person won’t affect another and as I get older, some things don’t scare me any longer that made me fly off a chair and up to the ceiling in the past. Or, to quote one Mr. Ray Parker Jr. “I ain’t afraid of no “ghost!”

Now, I’m NOT that jaded that some horror films, reads and games don’t get me wanting a blankie and a hanky every so often. However, some of the scares in entertainment are often derived from other and far more frightening works. That said, I do trust Shinji Mikami and Bethesda Softworks to the point that The Evil Within just may put me on the ceiling if it does what it does right and often. Expect to be scared out of your wits (or not?) when the game hits stores October 21st in North America, October 23rd, and throughout Europe on October 24, 2014.

Sniper Elite III Hands-On: Even More On Target Than Before…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

I was on the subway headed down to see and play Sniper Elite III at a 505 Games media preview when I realized I’d forgotten my eyeglasses. Oops. You can’t be a good sniper at all if you can’t see a damn thing even with a scope, but amusingly enough, that absent-minded error on my part made the demo even more enjoyable.

Thanks to veteran developer Rebellion making the game much more flexible and thrilling than its predecessor, even a quarter blind bat like me was able to have a total blast making as many mistakes as I did. Okay, that’s not sounding like a ringing endorsement for the game, but it’s coming – keep reading. Even if I had brought my gaming spectacles along, my plan was to play the demo in as loose a manner as possible, making mistakes to see how the AI would react while seeing how expansive the level designs were this time out. In Sniper Elite V2, despite some alternate routes, most maps felt a wee bit too boxed in and linear and displacement wasn’t emphasized enough throughout the game (although the best players learned those levels and probably did some of their own shoot and scoot tactics… Continue reading →

“Regrets, I’ve Had A Few…”

Status

Heh. Up too late writing posts again, I was (er, am). Hitting “Publish” instead of “Save Draft?” Yes, I did. Fixed post a few times fast because it wasn’t supposed to go up for maybe two days? Oh, yes and yes. To bed for my restless self to get more done in a few hours? That would be me. Now, good night (before I make another mistake). I’m doing it my way, but when one is half away, it looks like a lot of monkeys with typewriters are doing it THEIR way. Damn monkeys. Back in a bit, Zzzzzzz.

Random Film of the Week: The Ipcress File

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, Classic British Film!)

As far as movie openings go, Sidney J. Furie’s 1965 spy drama The Ipcress File was and still is an attention grabber. There are no studio logos or bombastic fanfares to kick things off here – the film just begins with a pre-credit sequence that has two men walking to a car somewhere in London and you’re hooked in like a greedy trout. A leading British scientist being taken to a train station is mysteriously kidnapped and his escort killed by unseen assailants.

As you’re taking this in (head spinning slightly) the scene shifts to one Harry Palmer (Michael Caine), a myopic former soldier and petty criminal turned British government agent slowly rolling out of bed to start his workday as John Barry’s excellent main title theme buzzes your eardrums. Right from the beginning, this is one of those great ‘pay attention’ movies guaranteed to hold you in its grasp thanks to a cast and crew dedicated to their work… Continue reading →