Ember: N-Fusion & 505 Games Bring a High-Quality RPG to the Mobile Masses

Posted on November 3, 2014 by geelw

New Jersey-based N-Fusion Games’ Ember is probably the best looking and most ambitious mobile RPG to date, period. But is the phone and tablet market truly ready for what will be a visually rich and potentially battery draining game experience such as this? That’s one of the questions that went swirling through my brain as I saw the upcoming game in action at a recent 505 Games event. Sure, there are a digital ton of JRPGs, action, puzzle, card battle and other hybrid role playing games out there. But Ember’s scope is more of the Baldur’s Gate meets Ultima meets Morrowind school of storytelling and gameplay. This will be a massive, deep, and detailed world where anything and everything can change based not only on what each player does, but how the AI interacts with itself as you play… Continue reading →

Grand Theft Auto V Limited Edition Soundtrack Box Sets Coming in December

Posted on November 3, 2014 by geelw

You want proof that CD’s and vinyl LPs aren’t “dead”, folks? Well, come December 9, a mere 5000 each of these Grand Theft Auto V Limited Edition Soundtrack Box Sets will go on sale at selected music online and physical retailers worldwide and I’m betting they sell out completely AND become hot collectibles before the year is out. Hell, if I’d not sold off my record collection and player a while back, I’d be drooling all over that vinyl set more than I am already.

These two limited editions are coming to retail from Rockstar Games and Mass Appeal in celebration of the soon-to be released PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Grand Theft Auto V (set to land at a game shop and download site near you November 18). PC gamers need to wait until January 27, 2015 for their version of the game, but I guess a few of them will want this set as well to keep them grooving during the delay… Continue reading →

Convoy: Top-Down Tactical Vehicle Combat? Yes, You NEED This Game!

Posted on November 3, 2014 by geelw

Sometimes stuff lands in one of the inboxes here that makes me laugh for a few reasons from good to bad to “Ruh-Roh!”. Convoy Games’ Kickstarter project, Convoy falls squarely in the former hearty chuckle category. That was thanks to playing a demo build linked with that email that made me laugh because the gameplay was something I’d not seen previously and everything clicked right away. I happen to love when developers decide to tackle familiar genres in unique ways and Convoy does just that. Sure, it’s basically the space combat from games like FTL and other sci-fi classics translated to top-down rogue-like road action out of the Mad Max movies. But so far, it all feels just right and while in need of more tweaking, it’s clear the dev team is on the right path.

Anyway, go check out the project video above, click on over to that KS page and whip out that wallet. A mere $13 gets you the final version of the game when it’s all done and ready to go in February 2015. Currently, the game is just under a third funded with 25 days to go, but it needs to get more love. Um, financial love, people. Don’t go proposing to Convoy or anything silly like that, now. I’m not sure the dev team wants to let go of their game before they’re all done with it. It’s a great Monday when you see an indie game that’s more exciting than a bunch of AAA titles screaming for your attention, that’s for sure…

READS: The Art of Living Dead Dolls

Posted on November 3, 2014 by geelw

The first thing that struck me about Mezco Press’ The Art of Living Dead Dolls ($20.00) was that the great Basil Gogos is still among the living. The 78-page magazine-sized trade paperback has an energetic intro from the master monster painter himself to kick things off before the parade of awesome pro and fan art to follow. Granted, it would have been really great to see a Gogos version of a Living Dead Doll here. But just knowing the man is still around made me smile and reminisce about some of his stellar horror covers for Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine back in the 60’s.

The assorted art ranges from surprisingly cute to genuinely disturbing and you’ll see pieces from illustrators such as Joshua Hoffine, Angus Oblong, Dan Brereton, Yuki Abiko, Emily Yishizawa, Michael Pasquale, Rotten Orange, Stephen Blickenstaff, Shelby Vogal, and others. The different interpretations of dolls from the Guinness Book of World Records-holding lineup shows how they’ve inspired each artist in creating their memorable works. My personal favorite doll is knife-wielding Sadie, with her odd eyes and simple black dress. She’s very well represented here in a number of nice drawings and paintings, but I’m betting fans will find their favorites here among the pages of this coffee table tome. Or is that coffin table? Mua-ha-ha-haaaaa!

After the eyeful that is the pro gallery, there’s a few pages of nice fan art, again in many different styles. The book closes out with some great tattoo work fans have photographed and sent in to be immortalized in print forever like the images on their skin. As this is more of an artistic celebration, the book isn’t exactly text-heavy brain food at all. Those who want an entire history of the doll line will want to also pop on over to the official Living Dead Dolls site to discover more about these creepy collectibles and see how the lineup has changed over the years. Longtime to recent LDD fans will eat this book up and yes, it makes a great gift if you’re giving someone one of the dolls this year (or whenever) and need a nice bonus to add to that horror-themed holiday/birthday/other occassion gift box.