About Love, Hate and the other ones: Black Pants’ Mobile Puzzler Arrives on Steam

Posted on December 12, 2014 by geelw

Black Pants Game Studios‘ formerly mobile-only title About Love, hate and the other ones is now on Steam for $6.99 and I’d say you should buy it for the title alone. I just completed downloading it but haven’t had the chance to play, but that title made me smile because I immediately thought of the great Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter delivering that classic speech:

(Thanks, TheOdusseus!)

However, the game has nothing to do with that should have been a classic when it was first released Charles Laughton film, folks. The press release and that video below should give you a better idea of what to expect:

Description

About Love, Hate and the other ones is a puzzle game, in which you influence your surroundings by the force of Hate and the power of Love. They shouldn’t have pushed the button! Life on the hill was just perfect for Love and Hate before that shiny red device appeared. Suddenly, they are trapped in a dark and spooky cave, far away from home. Now it is up to you to control the opposing forces of Love and Hate. They will soon meet a lot of Other Ones, wondering how they might react when Loved, or when Hated. Find a way through caves and ice, castles and factories, all by the might of your puzzling! If you ever return to that hill, life will be sweet again…

The game was developed by Tobias Bilgeri based on a short film series he did during university studies. Positive feedback on the game had him teaming up with indie developer brush&bear (two students at the University of Kassel) for the iPhone version, published by Black Pants on the App Store. A few screenshots for you? Of course!

The quirky visual style and initially simple gameplay should appeal to you puzzle fans out there, but I also like the interesting love-hate dynamic. Now, to shut up, post this and try to get in a some game time at some point today. Back in a bit…

Funko Makes Hikari Friday Twice as Marvel-ous!

Posted on December 12, 2014 by geelw

So, Funko is back to a double giveaway week and let’s see now… it’s an all-Marvel freebie festival this time. Well, okay, it’s only two figures, but you know you want them and would have a little festival if you did indeed win. Or one, actually. Anyway, here’s what’s up for grabs this Friday: You can walk away with #1 of 1500 of this Classic Deadpool Premium Hikari Sofubi Figure:

Or #1 of 1000 of this Entertainment Earth exclusive: Planet X Groot Premium Hikari Sofubi Figure:

As usual, entering is simple, as is winning should your entry be chosen. Just hit one of Funko’s social sites:

Facebook!
Twitter!
Instagram!

Follow the instructions and that’s that. Winners are contacted the following Thursday, so patience is a virtue. If you don’t win and still want, you can buy Deadpool starting in March 2015 at a Funko retailer near you while Entertainment Earth will be shipping out Groot in January. As always, good luck and have a great weekend!

Elegy for a Dead World Out Now: Creative, Genius.

Posted on December 11, 2014 by geelw

As I noted last week before I even got a review code, Dejobaan Games’ Elegy for a Dead World is probably a game that will get non-gamers to play it. After firing up the game last night and taking it for a brief spin, let’s just say that it’s everything I thought and then some. I’ll save the longer words and high praise for the full review, but this may be the surest cure for a case of “writer’s block” you’ll ever see. Just for kicks, here’s a list of the first writing prompts I saw when I chose a world to explore:

The Proud History of a Dead World
Freeform Writing
Grammar Workshop 101
Ozmandias by Percy Shelly
The Destroyer of Worlds
I Thought ___ But You ___
Ten Rhyming Couplets
Bad Poetry You Wrote on the Bus
The Diary of a Young Girl

Other than Freeform Writing, each prompt has a brief description of what’s required. I did a world and at the end, was prompted to edit or share my work. I chose not to share it, but was surprised to see a story from someone else to read waiting for me on a new screen. Nice. The game not only encourages you to write, but to read and rate other works submitted by players. Things are really going to get interesting now. I just hope I have time to read what’s looking like a growing library of short stories, poems and other writing exercises…

Back in a bit with a full review.

Final Fantasy VII on PS4: Calling Out For a Troll Free Number…

Posted on December 11, 2014 by geelw

Yikes. You know, there’s a very good reason I don’t follow and post every sliver of game news, nor do I care about some off the “news” that stirs certain areas of the internet up into a frenzy. At the PlayStation Experience in Las Vegas last weekend, one of the “big” announcements was the legendary JRPG Final Fantasy VII coming to the PlayStation 4 in 2015. At the time of its release back in 1997, it was not only a system seller for Sony’s original PlayStation, but one that bought millions of new players into CD-based gaming on a console, as previous games in the series has only appeared on cartridge-based systems. There was a PC version released back in 1998, but other than a recent re-release for modern PC’s, some excellent and jaw-dropping fan-made modifications and a beautiful remake of the game’s opening movie as an early demonstration of the PlayStation 3’s power, Square Enix has pretty much moved on from the very idea of a proper remake of this classic… Continue reading →

Mad Max: Fury Road Trailer: Hardy to the End!

Posted on December 10, 2014 by geelw

If you somehow thought director George Miller lost his knack for making wildly kinetic action flicks, this new trailer for the upcoming Mad Mad: Fury Road should spin your head around a few times. Granted, it’s only a trailer and yes, trailers tend to be not much like the actual film at all or worse, show all the good parts and leave some viewers wanting their money back once those end credit roll.

That said, let’s give Miller the benefit of the doubt and hope this film is closer to the magnificence of The Road Warrior and not the oddball-ness of Beyond Thunderdome. As usual, we shall see. If the film stinks (and I think it won’t), I’ll just get my pair of toecutters and get George on the horn. Or just catch it when it hits cable for the repeat play thing…

Holiday Gift Guide 2014: DuneCraft – Plant Life!

Posted on December 10, 2014 by geelw

If you’ve got a green thumb, know someone who does or want to sharpen up your plant-raising skills past simple watering, there’s nothing like getting something fun to grow as a gift. Any time of the year is great to receive something potted or packaged, but you know you’re here because you’re looking for something seasonally gift-worthy.

Personally, I love growing and experimenting with assorted plants from cacti to whatever peppers I can raise in the sunny windows here during spring to early fall. So the idea of getting or giving something I’ve raised from seed or a small plant has always been something I like doing. Of course, not everyone has the patience or sunlight to appreciate gardening indoors or out. But if you’re one of those people who do or love learning to, here are a few suggestions you may find appealing…

Continue reading →

Kitchen Nightmares IV: Now, I Need to Get Plastered!

Posted on December 9, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, WilliamClaudeFields!)

So, between the driving rain outside driving me batty and the insanely awful job the plasterers did in the kitchen. Photos to come, but as a call was placed to bitch about the work, I’m holding out for a redo before I rant about the job here and elsewhere. In a nutshell, the trim around the kitchen ceiling was ripped out during the asbestos abatement, but the plasterers didn’t bother to fill in the gaps around about 3/4 of the kitchen, so there’s a noticeable gap AND some hideous exposed wood even a blind man could see. Not to mention assorted small holes that were missed, a LARGE chunk of the wall under the sink that was knocked out during phase one that no one bothered to fix and a small spot under a cabinet where there’s now a loose piece of plaster mice can pop into. It’s like a little doggie door in my damn wall! Yaaaaaaah.

All I ask for is people who know how to do a job and do it well. What do I get? More stress I really don’t need. Well, that won’t stand, folks. Back in a bit once I get something to eat and perhaps a nap or two. It’s been a loooooong day and I despise incompetence.

Suikoden II on PSN: Millions Rejoice They Don’t Need to Spend Millions…

Posted on December 8, 2014 by geelw

Well, okay. A copy of Suikoden II doesn’t cost “millions” these days, but it’s not cheap at all. Some have paid close to $100 for the game disc alone, while mint condition to sealed copies can cost many times more. Of course, Konami hasn’t made a patina coated penny in profits from those sales. But starting tomorrow, all that changes when the game finally arrives on PSN as a PSOne Classic. It won’t cost much (hopefully under $20) and is still one of those deeper than it looks on the surface games that’s been generating desire since it went out of print.

Granted, it seems that it only got a single production run and until this point in time never got a western re-release. Now, (well, tomorrow) it’ll be in the hands of PS Vita and PS3/PS4 owners who can finally play what’s been called one of the greatest JRPGs ever made. Hmmmm… of course, now the BIG question remains will saves from this game also work with the Suikoden III, the PlayStation 2 follow-up that used the previous game’s files to grant players bonus content. Methinks Sony will need to tweak that Content Manager software the PS3, PS4 and Vita use to share that data when the time comes. I still have my physical copy of the third game, but I sold off my SII earlier this year because I needed the money. I bet the farm on Sony and Konami finally making things right and thankfully, that’s seemed to have paid off. Whee.

The Witcher 3 Update: Too Damn Good, Delayed Until May 2015

Posted on December 8, 2014 by geelw

Game delays aren’t great news at all and CD Projekt RED’s upcoming open-world RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has already be hit with one big delay that pushed the game into 2015 from 2014. Well, that wait has just gotten about twelve weeks longer. CDPR has issued an open letter to its fans explaining the (rather obvious) reasons for the delay: the game is just too damn big and good to be completed at its current pace. Well, that’s what I distilled from this note:

Dear Gamers,

Ever since we started working on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we knew it would be an ambitious game. We wanted, and still aim, to give you an incredible experience, an epic adventure in a vast, completely open fantasy universe.

The sheer size and complexity of The Witcher, key features of the title, have had a decisive impact on production. Now, nearing the end of our work, we see many details that need to be corrected. When we release the most important game in our studio’s history, we must be absolutely sure that we did everything we could to limit any bugs to a level that will allow you to enjoy the game thoroughly.

With this in mind, we took another look at current workloads and what they mean for the team. Even though everyone is working at full speed, we concluded that we need another 12 weeks, so we are shifting the release date of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to May 19th, 2015.

We owe you an apology. We set the release date too hastily. It’s a hard lesson, one to take to heart for the future. We know what we want to do to make Wild Hunt one of the best RPGs you will ever play. And we continue to work hard to achieve just that. So, we apologize and ask for your trust.

Thank you for the all support you show us on a daily basis. We truly do appreciate it. It has fueled us in our passion since the start and will continue to do so.

The Board of CD PROJEKT SA

Amusingly enough, news came around the time this new trailer dropped online, but it just made me want to wait as long as it takes for the team to get it done:

Now, you could yell at CD Projekt RED to stop playing their own game so much and just get it out, but that would be a mistake. No game ships 100% bug free and this one is especially tricky. That extra three months should be enough for the dev team to tighten things up and make sure the launch goes as smoothly as possible. Remember, in addition to a digital version, the company is also making physical retail discs for two consoles and all of these have to run as smoothly as possible. Whatever issues are keeping CDPR busy are most likely affecting all three versions (or two, if you’re a PC diehard and console hater), but those of us who respect the developer know they’ll make it all work.

A Few Words on Ralph Baer…

Posted on December 8, 2014 by geelw

I was already in a lousy mood yesterday, but waking up to the news that Ralph Baer died pretty much kept me inside for the bulk of the day ruminating. I was eight years old when the Magnavox Odyssey launched, but my family didn’t buy one because we had assorted hobbies that kept us occupied. In fact, although I’d been to the arcade down at Coney Island back when I was six or seven, I was more impressed with the pinball machines I played (or tried to play). However, finding out a cousin had an Odyssey in his closet AND a color TV in his living room got me curious enough to see what was in that big box (a lot of stuff!) and what happened when it was all wired up to that big TV set… Continue reading →