The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: CD Projekt RED Sets The Gold Standard For Standard Editions (And Then Some)

If I haven’t said this before (and I think I have), I absolutely LOVE CD Projekt RED. Their previous two games in The Witcher series were lovingly crafted mature experiences that brought Andrzej Sapkowski’s anti-hero Geralt of Rivia to the PC and later console gaming masses (many of whom who probably didn’t read any of the books the character comes from until after they played the first game) and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looks to get even more gamers drawn into what’s looking like one of the best experiences on those shiny new consoles. Of course, PC gamers who rock those rent money priced gaming rigs will be getting the best experience in terms of visuals, but there’s no doubt that the developer is making both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game look spectacular on those systems… Continue reading

GRID Autosport Open Wheel Trailer: The Beatings Continue (And You Still Come Back For More)…

 
I see you’re here again, checking out the straps and leather in preparation for your hard ride. GRID Autosport will do you up right as rain as it puts you through your paces in a few racing disciplines where you’ll probably lose a lot until you learn the ropes and can keep your eyes on the road where they belong. Oh, you’ll be spanked and whipped and otherwise punished before you figure out which way is up, but you’ll love every minute of it whether you play along or with others. Figure out that safe word and get your rear in gear down to your nearest game emporium and place that pre-order. That big and special Black Edition isn’t going to buy itself, you know…

Dark Souls II “Crown of the Sunken King” Trailer: Some Buy To Die DLC To Keep You Busy…

DLC 1_Crown of the Sunken King DLC 2_Crown of the Old Iron King DLC 3_Crown of the Ivory King

 
Oh, the places you’ll go to die a horrific death in this upcoming Dark Souls II DLC. Three new locations filled with death coming at you at some point from almost anywhere may SOUND like no vacation, but for the game’s fans, this is paradise with a free buffet on the side AND adult beverages. Anyway, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC players can get theirs on the following dates:

The Crown of the Sunken King – July 22, 2014
The Crown of the Old Iron King – August 26, 2014
The Crown of the Ivory King – September 24, 2014

Everyone else can just keep an ear to the sky and listen for the screaming and occasional victory yell…

The Walking Dead Pinball? Believe It Or Else, I’m On Board With This One…

Yeah, soooo… this is a thing that’s actually happening, but as that post title says, I’m completely okay with it. Thankfully, it’s coming from Telltale Games, Skybound and the digital pinball geniuses at Zen Studios, so it’ll at least be familiar and faithful to fans of the episodic game series. The funny thing is I believe this is the only Walking Dead game to NOT get a Mature rating. Pinball isn’t inherently “violent” at all… unless you’re the type to get into fist fights over who gets to go first. Er, anyway… Press release below the jump – the game ships out his summer, but will be shown at E3 this year if you happen to be attending and need something a wee bit different and unusual to play around with.
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The Desolate Hope: You’ll Respect Your Coffee Pot Even More After Playing This Game…

A few years back, I downloaded and played a bit of a game called The Desolate Room, a sci-fi adventure/role playing game starring a sentient coffee machine (named Coffee!) with nicely surreal visuals and hybrid gameplay that made it one of the more unique games I’d played in a while. A bit later, I stumbled upon Iffermoon, another game by talented creator Scott Cawthon and I was even more impressed with his work. This week I find myself staring at his latest game, The Desolate Hope with a grin on my face because it’s probably his best game to date. More or less a remake of The Desolate Room with improvements to the visuals and RPG combat system, TDH is Part retro platformer, part turn-based RPG and all bizarre (in the best possible manner), this is one of those indie games that you’d pay top dollar for if it were on a cartridge back in the day or a disc of some sort now. At a measly five dollars of Steam, it’s one of those games where the price just seems too low for the quality of the visuals and very polished gameplay you’re getting. This isn’t a full-on review (yet), but I say go check this out and prepare to be amused and amazed by what’s here…

Batman Arkham Knight Batmobile Battle Mode Revealed (Along With A Little Delay!)

 
If you thought you were going to get your hands on Batman Arkham Knight in 2014, well… unless you’re attending E3, a post E3 media event or the game pops up at some fan packed convention, that’s a NOPE, there folks. The game has been pushed into 2015 most likely so developer Rocksteady can get it running as perfectly as possible without the need for (too) many post-launch patches. I’d imagine this Battle Mode may be multiplayer, so that’s always something that needs to be as perfect as possible in terms of zero lag and everything working as it needs to. Me, I only care about the story mode, so anything resembling online play (if that’s what this is) interest me not a whit. Anyway, we’ll see what’s what during E3 week…

Back with more in a bit…

Game of Thrones 4:8 Recap: Mountain Always Beats Melon!


Yeah, well… that was an innnnnnteresting fight while it lasted. Of course, even though I didn’t read that far into the books, I knew from the moment all those fancy moves were being displayed and the non-stop banter that sounded half out a medieval Spider-Man comic was droning on that the fight was going to go a particular way. Ouch and double ouch. Still, as noted by a few people, it WAS a tie at the end, so perhaps the Imp can get away on a technicality or something. Hey, with two episodes to go, things are certainly getting really interesting… Continue reading

Taking A Tuesday Off Is A Tricky Proposition…

creature from the dance lagoon 

Hmmm. I woke up feeling a tad unwell, but my mailbox is PACKED with too much stuff, so I decided to hoof it outside and see if the warm air would do me good. it did, save for the fact that every since the great replanting around here where they dropped hundreds of plants from trees to flowering shrubbery into the ground, the pollen count has shot up to MASSIVE levels. As in you can see it “snowing” at times, there are clumps of it mixed together piling up in the streets and at a few points during the day, I’m finding it hard to see or breathe thanks to allergies I didn’t know I had getting activated. Blech! Anyway, updates today will be brief – maybe three posts total or so depending on how I feel later on and if I can get a decent signal from home. I wish I could hit the beach like the Creature here, but I don’t swim very well and I’d probably melt in that hot rubber outfit. I still wouldn’t mind the costume at all, as I’d wear it in the winter as a snazzy and sensible ensemble…

Homefront: The Revolution Trailer: Crytek Finishes The Fight (Maybe)…

Homefront_TR_logoWarts and all, I rather liked defunct publisher THQ’s Homefront for what it was. original (and also defunct) developer KAOS Studios cooked up an interesting alternate future where some very well-armed North Korea soldiers managed to overrun America and you played as one of a group of resistance fighters trying to drive them away. It was a LOT more serious than either Red Dawn movie, but the campaign was a wee bit on the brief side thanks in part to multiplayer modes I felt took too much away from the story.

Anyway, now that new publisher Deep Silver and seasoned developer Crytek are on the case, Homefront: The Revolution is coming in 2015 to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and I guess we’ll see how the gameplay reveal is at E3 this year, as this trailer looks okay but a bit generic in its storytelling. I do believe those may be in-engine visuals, as if there’s anything Crytek is well-known and respected for, it’s making some mighty amazing looking games using their proprietary tech.

I guess we’ll see how well this plays soon enough and whether it separates itself from other shooters in such a supremely packed market full of them. My fingers are crossed for the moment…

The Green Inferno: Eli Roth Lets The “Save The Planet” Crowd Have Both Barrels…

green_inferno_xlgSo, what’s up in the jungle, Jim? Not much but lots of death and leftovers! Anyway, here’s the plot of this upcoming horror flick, suitable for no one under the age of slashenteen without a cast iron stomach:

A group of college students take their humanitarian protest from New York to the Amazon jungle only to get kidnapped by the native tribe they came to save. A tribe that still practices the ancient tribal rite of cannibalism, with a healthy appetite for intruders.

(thanks, Movieclips Trailers!) 
Well, there goes my plans to visit even the nearest sunny park around here at this point. Guaranteed to cause all sorts of outrage when it’s released (mostly among people who won’t see it under any circumstances, I’d bet), The Green Inferno is a throwback to the gory glory days of exploitation horror films and nope, I’m not planning on seeing this in a theater at all.

If I do decide to commit to this flick and it’s NOT a media screening with relatively normal people in attendance squealing and hiding under the seats, it’ll be in the comfort of my own home where I can shut it off and find something else to do if I’m feeling queasy. I’m gathering the home video and/or cable versions will have more footage and on disc, I’d hope there’s a nice behind the scenes documentary that gets into how this was made. I didn’t make it through Cannibal Holocaust (this film’s inspiration) in one sitting, but I think I can handle this… I think… (cue creepy music that gets me wanting to go watch a Caillou box set instead on a permanent loop)…