Frankenstein Pumpkins? I Bet They’ll Have Universal Appeal…

Posted on October 13, 2014 by geelw

Oh, it’s a holiday today (a now controversial one to some folks), it’s gloomy out and I’m staring at a pile of stuff to do. Horrors! Anyway, between me ignoring all the big “important” gaming stories the internet is abuzz about these past few weeks (Corruption in “journalism”! TMI Sex stories! Entitled jerks wanting the impossible.. or else!) and me having way too much to do (which is why I ignore the internet), my brain is upside down and needing a rest. Trust me, I had three cups of coffee already today and it’s not even firing a spark plug upstairs.

(thanks, Movieclips Classic Trailers!)

That said, THIS story got me smiling for a bit this morning… to a point. California farmer Tony Dighera is probably going to become a very wealthy man in a short time thanks to a little ingenuity. I won’t bore you with a rewrite, just click here if you haven’t see what he’s whipped up. I just hope to heck Universal Studios or whomever owns the rights to that famous face knows this and is a good sport, or Mr. Dighera’s going to be supplying some lawyers or all of Universal Studios’ theme parks with those Pumpkins forever anda day (and a half). If they’re cool, they should pay him to make all the rest of the classic Universal monster lineup, I say. Although, at that current price point of at least $75 per pumpkin, only those set to leave the planet for Mars at some point will be able to afford one of these babies…

Random Film of the Week(end): When Worlds Collide

Posted on October 12, 2014 by geelw

You know we’re screwed as a species when the wealthy ones start talking about packing up and moving to Mars with increasing fervor while failing to mention that, oh yeah – the poor people aren’t getting up there at all with their crime and diseases and lack of money and such. While it’s a wonderful idea to pick up and leave an old house and hoof it over to a new one if you can afford it, the truth of the matter is it’s not quite that simple. EVERYTHING on any planet that’s not Earth-like will need to be paid for and shipped from air to water to food to people to get things up and running so all of those things required for living can be manufactured on that new old planet. Relying on shipments from Earth once one is on Mars is pretty much the worst idea ever (well, next to thinking a trip to Mars isn’t going to cost a lot more money, time and lives than anyone can imagine should a single thing go wrong in transit), but I don’t expect to change the minds of those committed to this expensive errand.

Instead, I’d highly recommend those people determined to go (and those of us headed for the history books) to watch Rudolph Maté’s When Worlds Collide, the classic 1951 sci-fi drama produced by George Pal and based on the book by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer that’s somewhat dated on many fronts, but still packs quite a wallop in terms of its visual effects that probably sent plenty of paranoid theater-goers home to cower under the covers for a while despite the somewhat hopeful ending (well, for SOME lucky space travelers)… Continue reading →

Random Films: Knives of the Avenger Finally Makes My Must-Watch List…

Posted on October 11, 2014 by geelw

Ever NEVER see a movie and a cheap trailer makes you want to do so as soon as possible? Yeah, these days it’s usually the opposite effect, but thanks to Sleaze-O-Rama, I now have a new cheesy classic to add to the viewing list. I’m still discovering Mario Bava’s films after all this time, but Knives of the Avenger looks as if it’ll be a TOTAL hoot from start to finish. Yeah, I know I’m asking for it, but I did ask nicely, dammit. Okay, off to track this down legally or borrow it from someone who has it. I guess it’ll be a Random Film of the week at some point as well…

How To Survive: Storm Warning Hands-on: Oh, You’ll Die Anyway (And Love Every Minute of It)…

Posted on October 11, 2014 by geelw

Okay, so I’d not played EKO Software’s How to Survive at all on the PS3 because it was a digital-only title, I was fed up with zombie games and figured missing one wouldn’t be a total loss. Boy, was I wrong on that front. When 505 Games invited me to see and play the enhanced PS4 version, How To Survive: Storm Warning Edition (along with some really stupendous mobile titles I’ll need to write about soon), I popped up with no expectations (a good way to approach any new game, folks) but came away very impressed with the brutally challenging game with the most fitting name. If you’ve played this on other platforms and love it, you know the drill and this one’s been keeping you busy for a while. If you’re new to the game and happen to have a PS4, you’ll be pleased to know this version will bring you the original release and DLC in the same download… Continue reading →

So, Whatcha Goin’ as for Halloween? Here’s an Idea for You…

Posted on October 11, 2014 by geelw

Um, yeah. Sure, you can buy one of these masks and wear it around here, pal. Just don’t wear one of these around me because I’m a native New Yorker and we don’t take to seeing over-sized pigeons and squirrels lightly at all. I’d be the one swinging the Manufacturers Hanover bank souvenir Yankee baseball bat and I’m sure some old lady would be coming at you with a can of illegal mace she keeps in her big old lady pocketbook. “Swing batta-batta-batta” POW! Actually, that old biddy would be packing some smelling salts in her bag to wake you up from the unconscious state. THEN she’d spray you like a cockroach with that mace. Yeah, you had it coming. Good thing they don’t make a rat mask. You’d get both barrels from the transit cops if that were the case…

STL Ocarina Serves Up A Double Friendly (And Mildly Undead) Reminder…

Posted on October 11, 2014 by geelw

Ah, I knew I’d forgotten something was happening this weekend besides people getting sick at (from and of) Comic-Con. Season five of AMC’s The Walking Dead kicks off on Sunday, which means I get to camp out in front of the TV and probably see that premiere episode twice if it’s really good. Yeah, I’ll have to sit through Talking Dead if I do that (okay, it’s not a bad post-show watch, but it can be if the guests are nuts), but that’s a small price to pay.

Anyway, STL Ocarina made me chuckle with this pretty neat rendition of the show’s theme. That’s reminder one. Reminder two is yeah, you probably need a nice musical gift for someone this year for the holidays or some other occasion, so you should think of STL if you’re in need of a nicely quirky yet fully awesome surprise. And hey, if you DO decide to go the ocarina route and do so before October 12, 2014, feel free to get a little discount thanks to STL’s Fall Sale! Save 15% by entering this coupon code: fall2014. As noted, this deal is only valid through 10/12/2014. Okay, that’s my plug of the day (and I only plug stuff I like!) – go do some kind of impulse shopping!

Hikari Friday Time! Skeletor and Astro Boy Looking for Good Homes!

Posted on October 10, 2014 by geelw

It’s finally Friday and you know what what means, right? Yep, the Funko freebie parade continues! This week’s giveaway consists of two more limited edition Hikari Sofubi figures you KNOW you want to try to win. And if you don’t win them, guess what? You can still buy them at one of two locations. Yeah, usually, it’s one location (your favorite Funko emporium, usually a decent comic shop or some other retailer who has a Funko section), but one of these is another Entertainment Earth exclusive that can only be obtained via pre-order or hoping it’s still in stock when it drops into that online shop for sale.

Anyway, behold the Metallic Skeletor Hikari Sofubi Figure!

Isn’t he cute? Well, actually… he’s kind of cranky because metallic fur shorts kind of chafe him (ouch!). But he’s SKELETOR, dangit! He can handle a bit of chafing! Lucky winner gets #1 of 2000! Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is Metallic Mix Astro Boy Hikari Sofubi Figure (smile, kid – you’re up!):

As noted above, he’s an Entertainment Earth exclusive limited to 1000 pieces. Well, 999 pieces because Funko is giving someone the first one off the line! Okay, you know the drill by now, right? Go to one of Funko’s social spots:

http://www.facebook.com/OriginalFunko
http://www.twitter.com/OriginalFunko
Instagram @OriginalFunko

Follow the rules and you’re all set to (possibly) be one of two lucky winners! Now that’s you’re thrilled to death, go enter NOW and keep those fingers crossed. If you lose out this week, you can buy Skeletor this month at wherever you buy your other Funko stuff and Astro Boy is available to pre-order now at Entertainment Earth for its November release. As always, if you enter this giveaway, good luck!

Dragon Age Inquisition Hands-On: All is As it Needs to Be (Which Means You’ll Be Very Busy Soon)…

Posted on October 10, 2014 by geelw

A half hour may be a long time if you’re sitting through a really bad TV show, being tortured, have a terrible toothache or are waiting for some test results, but it’s clearly not a good deal of time to sit down with a build of Dragon Age Inquisition. For me ( a fan of the series and BioWare’s RPGs in general for quite some time), the game is one that doesn’t need a huge amount of hyperbolic posts from editor-types or even PR gurus because it’s a series that’s pretty much sold itself to a fan base who wanted to see a western-developers RPG do more with the genre (and it’s succeeded for the most part despite a few bumps along the road it’s traveled). My half hour at EA’s media event a few days back was spent ogling the beautiful visuals, running around with my party picking plants for crafting and looting assorted caches while getting the hang of the deeper combat system that now adds some very welcome tweaks to the mix of real-time and “turn-based” format.

Continue reading →

After a Too-Packed Wednesday… Comes the Writening! Well, Not Just Yet…

Posted on October 9, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, there’s a bit of delay of game as I’m kind of stuck here for a bit with my slow connection and holding my breath for a package I was supposed to get maybe a week ago. Bleah. Anyway, I may take this waiting time to get in some more progress in Alien Isolation from an older save, as I made a rather interesting mistake that’s done nothing but made me curious as to what would have happened if I didn’t do what I did in that old save. PROTIP: don’t kill off ALL of the people shooting at you in one early area, as they’ll be fine Alien bait when you need to revisit that spot. Scope out the map carefully BEFORE you pick up that key item and plan a route to that exit, THEN pick up that item and make a mad dash for an upper hiding spot before working your way around to that temporary escape point.

Ehm, anyway… I’ll be posting hands-on reports for Dragon Age Inquisition (it’s fantastic, shut up and buy it), a bunch of Kabam’s incredibly addictive mobile games, and some great stuff coming from 505 Games including Ember, a mobile RPG that NEEDS to bee seen to be believed, a spiritual successor to the Puzzle Quest series by the same team, a super-cute matching monsters surprise and the updates version of How to Survive that’s going to make fans of that game run out and grab a PS4 if they haven’t already. Between that and some other stuff I’m fiddling with finishing, it’s going to be a mostly quite day in terms of posts. Hokay, let the boring begin! What’s the sound waiting makes again? Hmmmmm… I’ll ask that Alien when I see him, I guess.

F1 2014 Hockenheim Trailer: Today’s A Hot Lap For Me As Well…

Posted on October 8, 2014 by geelw

Wow, I’ve been SO busy lately that I’d almost forgotten Codemasters’ gorgeous-looking F1 2014 is coming out next week! As in October 17, 2014 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Codemasters Birmingham is cooking up a spectacular and more user-friendly installment this time out that should please F1 novices and more dedicated fans of this sport that takes real life drivers many years to master. I haven’t seen the Hockenheim track in a F1 racing game in a while, so this brings back memories of Video System’s two F1 World Grand Prix games from back in the day.

Okay, I won’t be zooming around as fast, but I have three press events today (EA, 505 Games and Kabam), maybe an event to hit later in the evening if I feel up to it, some text to check and correct for a few friends and if I can get the time in, perhaps a few posts for the site. I had a very amusing “sleep” that consisted of me popping up every few minutes for a while to close a window here or make sure a door wasn’t blowing shut, as Alien Isolation definitely seeped into my brain and every little noise was making me jumpy! That hasn’t happened in a while, so I’ll have to give The Creative Assembly some props for getting their game to do what it needed to do and all too well.

Okay, let me get set to jet out the door and get to all this stuff that needs getting to – back in a bit…