Interstellar Trailer: Nolan’s Next Will Be Even More Of A Trip…

Posted on May 16, 2014 by geelw

When I first heard that Chris Nolan was making an honest to goodness science fiction picture, I knew it would be packed with a fine cast and at the very least worth a look for its visual effects, I didn’t expect to be as impressed as I was with this first actual trailer. Interstellar poses some interesting questions that look as if they’re going to be answered in a few ways before those credits roll. That, or it’ll be one of those great and very re-watchable “debate” movies as to what it all means.

Interestingly enough, Matthew McConaughey was also in another sci-fi flick that posed some deep questions that got answered, Robert Zemeckis’ Contact, released in 1997 by Warner Bros. to primarily positive reviews. Nolan seems to be looking to go deeper in his film, but we’ll see how it all turns out on November 7, 2014.

Funko’s Hikari Friday Giveaway Continues (This Time, It’s A Double Shot Of Turtles!)

Posted on May 16, 2014 by geelw

Funko is upping the chances to win one of their Hikari Japanese Vinyl figures this week with TWO Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vinyls up for grabs.

As you probably know (or in case you didn’t), Leonardo was the first figure they gave away two weeks back, so it only makes sense that Raphael and Donatello get gifted at some point, each to ONE lucky random winner. Remember, there will only be 500 of these made and you could win the first off the line for that collection of yours.

Yeah, yeah, there’s one more Turtle to go, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Anyway, to enter, just hit up one of Funko’s facebook page and look for those grimacing Turtles glaring back at you, enter and keep those fingers crossed. A winner could be YOU! Or me, if I luck out. I don’t ask for much these days now, do I? Hmmm.. maybe they should give Michael Bay one of these so he knows what a Ninja Turtle SHOULD look like!

Today’s Humble Daily Bundle Says: “Stop, Banner Time!” While The Weekly Bundle Gets You Hopping!

Posted on May 15, 2014 by geelw

Ah-ha-ha, my corny puns will make you wither! Anyway, The Banner Saga is a sprawling epic strategy game from Stoic that’s won some big awards and garnered plenty of praise for its story and lovely stylized visuals. You can (and SHOULD) grab this one before this Humble Daily Sale‘s over, I say. Meanwhile, the Humble Weekly Sale is all about indie platforms of recent vintage, all solid and fun as heck to play through multiple times. Get it too and watch those two charities (Child’s Play and the American Red Cross) make bundles from those bundles! Yeah, you know you want to grab both deals and I can’t stop you at all…

GOG.com Predicts Robots In Your Future (As In Right Now)…

Posted on May 15, 2014 by geelw

So, Bionic Dues ($4.99) and CLARC ($5.99) are two nifty-looking games now up on gog.com and I say you should buy one or both. Why? ROBOTS, that’s why! BD is a strategy-based rogue-like game with you going up against a bunch of functioning and malfunctioning robots, while CLARC is a puzzle game that allegedly features drunken robots (which are most likely malfunctioning thanks to inebriation).

You know you need one or more of these games in your life because that Roomba you bought or got as a gift last Christmas is boring you to tears because it doesn’t so anything other than clean (and not too well, at that). Now, you COULD try and reverse engineer it to have some sort of beer can delivery abilities or perhaps a death ray of some sort (the ULTIMATE bug zapper). But that would likely mean you blowing yourself when you poke that screwdriver into the wrong hole and that robot gets its revenge. don’t so that – play a game instead!

Mind Zero Update #2: Persona-lly, I Like What I See Here…

Posted on May 15, 2014 by geelw

As some of you gamers with good memories may be thinking, Aksys Games’ upcoming first-person dungeon crawler Mind Zero has a certain aesthetic working for it that makes it seem VERY familiar to a certain Shin Megami Tensei series of games. As in “Hey, this ALMOST looks like Persona or Persona 2“, slightly weaker character art aside.

Hey, I have to ALWAYS give it up for Kaneko Kazuma’s outstanding and bizarre art style that defined many of the SMT games in the past). To swipe a quote from some old gaming magazine only a handful of people still remember, “RESPECT!”

I don’t mind the similarities at all, as those were (and still are) some pretty stellar game experiences and this gae does do a bunch of things differently. Still, if this one can capture a fraction of what made those game so memorable, I’d bet a nickel that Aksys and developer Zerodiv will have a new sleeper hit on their hands. The game is set to hit the Vita on May 27, 2014, so make sure to keep an eye out if this one strikes your fancy…

Bombshell Alert: 3D Realms & Interceptor Games Are Bringing The Pain In 2015

Posted on May 15, 2014 by geelw

While this Bombshell reveal trailer isn’t revealing a stitch of gameplay (just a nicely scarred under-clad gal with a punk haircut and metal arm who seems to like her whiskey, watching cable news, firearms and motorcycle riding), fortunately, the game’s official site has screenshots to ogle and yep, they’re below.

I happen to like isometric games (and isometric action or turn-based RPGs in particular), so my interest has been piqued. I’ll also give huge credit to the dev team for not making yet another first-person shooter and instead going with a viewpoint and genre that may actually help draw in players who prefer this type of game experience.

While the game isn’t coming until Q1 2015, it’ll be interesting to see it in motion on the PS4 or PC. I wish this Unreal-powered game was also landing on the Vita, but I guess this is one of those games where a bigger screen means you appreciate the work that’s gone into it a whole lot more. Anyway, color me intrigued. More on Shelly’s big adventure soon. Here’s a brief interview with two of the people working on the game and an intro to the character to close things out:

Not A Slow Day, But A Busy One…

Posted on May 14, 2014 by geelw

Don’t think the lack of updates today means I’m snoozing. I was up and about most of the day looking at stuff including the best bicycles I’ve ever seen and an upcoming machine that changes air into drinking water (SCIENCE!). More on those later.

And yeah, yeah, I do KNOW that Microsoft dropped the price of the Xbox One by $100 by dropping Kinect, but it’s a weird and bad thing to do. First of all, they spent SO much time last year telling everyone multiple times how important Kinect was to their console/entertainment center/surveillance device/space heater, but all of a sudden, it’s NOT so important as to now be an option? Weird. I still don’t want one unless I never need to connect online and can play EVERY game off a disc. But I guess at this point, all I need to do is ask nicely or act cranky and get mad on a message board and the company will bend over backwards to give me a custom console experience like no other. Yeah, surrrrrre.

Back in a bit. As in tomorrow.

Humble Daily Bundle #2: It’s All About Space Today!

Posted on May 14, 2014 by geelw

While today’s Humble Daily Bundle deal is a mere three games, each one looks like it’ll be deeper than it looks and well worth checking out. I’ve yet to play X3 Terran Conflict, I’ve played the other games in this deep space simulation lite series and while they’re not perfect, there’s a LOT to do and plenty to see as you planet-hop. I’ve never played the other two games in this bundle, but the two words Universe and Sandbox mean nothing but a HUGE game. Or at least it SOUNDS like one. Heck, it BETTER be after all that build up, huh? Anyway, Kinetic Void is an Early Access game, so it’s a work in progress… but a great looking one and yes, also looks quite peachy.

Now, you may NEVER get your ass to Mars or anywhere higher than your average airliner flies, but for ten bucks, these three are worth the trip. Well, whatever the distance from your mouse to monitor is, as these are digital games. Anyway, check these out on the Humble site and do your thing with the wallet or purse if you like what you see.

Appleseed Alpha Trailer: Slick CG + Skrillex = You Probably Need This Blu-Ray/DVD…

Posted on May 14, 2014 by geelw

Well, now. I was surprised I actually liked that first Appleseed CG movie, so imagine my surprise when I see that (whee!), there’s a sequel and it’s looking like another winner in my book. Granted, I liked what I saw in the anime way back in the day, so I guess it’s a no-brainer that I wasn’t (and am not) turned off by the movies. As for that Skrillex soundtrack? Well, it’s fine, although I tend to appreciate orchestral scores over what the kids and hipsters call “cool” these days. Yeah, I can take or leave Daft Punk, too. I don’t need some “robots” to tell me what to like, that’s for sure. Anyway, you can grab Appleseed Alpha pretty much anywhere you buy movies from these days. Yeah,I’m talking about an actual DISC, you crazy kids.

Cavia Lives! Sort Of. Xseed Returns Bullet Witch To The Xbox 360 Via Games On Demand

Posted on May 13, 2014 by geelw

Ah, my dear, dear Alicia… I missed you and your “witchy” ways, but it’s too bad this brief and non-physical reunion we’re having is just courtesy of a reissue and not an all NEW adventure.

Some people hated the now shuttered Japanese developer Cavia’s Bullet Witch when Atari brought it to the US for the Xbox 360, but I liked it (warts and all) thanks to the difficulty that required players PAY ATTENTION to enemies in the environments (snipers in that game were paid very well, let’s just say), learn patterns and take advantage of assorted strategies while trying to find that perfect pace to move at so poor Alicia didn’t get swarmed.

While PlatinumGames’ Bayonetta became a much more popular (and faster moving) heroine three years after this game came and went, I’ll always remember Alicia being there first with her big gun and wild spells. One day, she needs a proper comeback in a better (and multi-platform) game, I say. Continue reading →