The Evil Within Tokyo Game Show 2014 Trailer: Run (or Roll!), Don’t Walk!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I laughed out loud when I saw this trailer because, well.. come ON now, people. Wouldn’t YOU just have jumped in one of those wheelchairs and rolled the hell away from what was chasing you? Yeah, I thought so. I know I’d be BLAAAAZING down that dimly lit hallway popping wheelies power-sliding past obstacles and generally confusing the hell out of that monster or whatever is chasing my character. Then again, I tend to look for the humorous side to any horror game or film, so if anything, I’d die laughing before anything else got to my soon to be doomed avatar. The Evil Within is out for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC on Tuesday, October 14. That gives you enough time to stock up on clean underwear and maybe a few spare controllers in case you’re prone to dropping them when you get scared…

Alien Isolation Survival Mode: You’ll Pay For That. You KNOW You Will…

Posted on September 17, 2014 by geelw

Ah, the dreaded Season Pass rears its head in another game and yep, it seems that this method of squishing extra money out of gamers isn’t going to vanish at all unless people stop pre-ordering and buying that content, but that’s a tough sell with so many rabid fans of certain games stampeding into stores the minute something’s announced and looks good enough to buy on day one after some previews. Alien Isolation, already a strong contender for horror game of the year (well, in my book), is getting MORE paid DLC in the form of at least five Survival maps to be released over the course of six months. This should provided those of you who love more competitive experiences to challenge that leaderboard and share your survival stories with other players.

Me, I’m in this one for the story, so I hope in addition to the standard and Nostromo editions, we see a “Game of the Year” edition that packs ALL the DLC onto a single disc similar to how other publishers reissue their big games. I know for a fact that there are still people on the fence about buying this game despite developer The Creative Assembly’s track record and this game looking like the best modern Alien game to date. But hey, it’s the age of soapbox skepticism ruling the day (unfortunately) and yes, Sega not having a stellar track record in publishing previous Alien games. We’ll see where this one ends up on the list soon enough, but I think it needs more love for both the attention to detail and in helping kick this franchise back to life and one worth following. Alien Isolation is out October 7, 2014 for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Oh, NOW I’m In Demand! Sort Of…

Status

Ha. My inbox, which is normally quite packed with invites to all manner of events (but not enough for my tastes) that usually require a bit of reservation time, was recently targeted by a few PR folks with some last-minute invites to events tomorrow and Friday that I may or may not make for a few reasons. I don’t mind going to any and all of them, mind you. But these days, a day or two is a wee bit too short to add, change or make plans to pop out to see something cool to write about because I tend to operate on a sort of semi schedule that I like to follow (sometimes). For short notice events, I tend to go with the musical selection below along with a coin toss:

THAT said, I’ll most likely see the Oculus Rift “transporter” setup down at the Marriott Marquis tomorrow, as I’ve been saying for well over a year or so that the Rift will get the most use outside of gaming as a consumer entertainment device that provides virtual vacations or short tours of famous places for a small fee. This event tomorrow is only a few minutes long total, but it’ll be the first time I strap on those goofy goggles and see what’s what in the company of others. I was around for VR’s first commercial go-round in the 90’s (ah, Dactyl Nightmare!), so this time I’m going in with no expectations other than to be surprised and even more immersed.

There’s another tech event later that evening I’ve already RSVP’d for a few weeks back to attend, but I’ll probably not stay for the full three hours, as there’s free booze and snacks and that’s always TOO tempting to fill up on even though I don’t drink much these days. Well, seeing new tech toys is always a plus, so that’s my main reason for showing up. I got a sudden invite to see a steering wheel peripheral for the PS3 and Xbox One and responded right away, but I’m still waiting to hear back from the PR guy who contacted me. Finally, my entrepreneurial brother is speaking at an event here in the Bronx in the evening, so we’ll see how long my driving experience lasts and if it bleeds into that time. I know pretty much what he’s going to cover, but I won’t ruin the surprise here, as it’s an idea that’s fairly simple yet quite grand if it takes off and goes where he wants it to. Anyway, let me stop here and go check my inbox again, as I just peeked at it and I saw a few more invites in there. Well, lookit – I’m popular again! Go me!