The more I see of SOMA, the more I want to play it and hear about others playing it. This slow-burner of a sci-fi horror game from Frictional Games looks fantastic and as you can see, has atmosphere to burn in spades. I do love that the game builds up to what’s in this 12+ minute video and will most likely leave viewers interested in the game wanting to grab it just to see how everything falls into place. It seems that players will be in for an excellent blend of adventure game search and use, environmental hazards and one pretty oddball opinionated machine. Iie arigato, Mr. Roboto! Yikes. Anyway, SOMA is out September 22 on PC and PS4.
Here’s one way to end a crappy month plus: some EXCELLENT news from XSEED Games. They’re localizing Sandlot’s Earth Defense Forces 2 Portable V2 for the US and retitling it Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space. Okay, the title is somewhat (and intentionally) cheesy, recalling the 50’s aci-fi flicks that inspired the Japanese development team. But for those of us who’ve been fans of the EDF series since its 2003 debut, seeing the game finally arrive in English means many things.
For one, no more begging non-Japanese action game fans to “give it a try” because they’re fearful of any text they can’t read or navigate the controls without worrying. Granted, the games are dirt simple to play and anyone who can hold a Vita can dive right in. But between the radio chatter, menus, weapon and mission descriptions I’ve had to tell a few friends not to fret over, I can recommend the US version as an instant BUY. Second, while the story isn’t anything “special”, the fact that EDF 2 has a London map (where the game starts and has a few missions) before proceeding to Japan has made me want to see a complete script localization to see how the aliens ended up there first. Also, as things get bleaker for humanity as the locations get more destroyed, some of that radio chatter seems to be pretty bleak. In previous EDF games, there’s been a doom-like tone as the final dregs of soldiers take their last stands and say some farewells. You can’t make that campy… or CAN you?
Anyway, this one isn’t out until the fall, but I’ll be keeping an eyeball on it for sure.
Let’s see now. Not counting the usual outside world lousy news that will absolutely drive one bonkers if one pays attention to all of it, my life is in a bit of a bumpy phase. No, you’re not getting any juicy details other than things are about as complex as Ernest Hemingway’s hamburger recipe right about now. And nowhere near as tasty. Okay, I haven’t tried that recipe yet, but it sure sounds as if it packs in a ton of flavor. But I digress. Let’s talk mostly in music because it makes things easier and funnier when all is said and done.
What’s Up With the Roof? Well, it’s still being repaired and it seems that June 5th deadline may or may not be met thanks to some rainy and windy days where not much took place. They’re doing a bunch of the buildings here at the same time so it looks like Scaffold City in some spots. Given the amount of drilling and pounding going on, it seems that the intent is to make this fix a bit more “permanent” than previous jobs. That were also supposed to be “permanent”. Yes, “permanent” is in quotes because maintenance such as this is never really going to be “permanent” (which is why it’s called MAINTENANCE, correct?). Which leads me to the apartment (eek):
The place got one a few months back before the roof repair but needs a new inspection after it to see if anything’s been shaken loose from all the pounding from above. A different set of inspectors came in and checked the ceilings in every room to see if they needed any repairs. Of course, nearly every room in the apartment now has red marks on the ceilings were some work needs to take place. Wonderful. Even more annoying is the wall that was completely replaced twice over the past twenty years thanks to the drainpipe behind it that more than likely should have been replaced during the first wall job. My brain boils every time I recall assorted inspectors and workmen saying variations on “Well, that pipe really needs to be fixed, but it’s too much work because the whole line needs to come out” meant all of the current issues really didn’t need to happen.
That and while terribly inconvenient for the tenants along the line below me, had the work been done back when it needed to be, it would have cost less and probably been done with far better materials. Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. The wall in the home office was last “fixed” last October and painted but a month later was showing signs of (that’s right) minor water damage. By the time the inspector popped back around to check something else out, I had to show off the now more cracked and damaged wall to him just to get a reaction. Yep, he actually asked me when was the last time it was repaired. Le sigh. Le annoy! I also need to figure out where to move over 1000 games, a bunch of systems and other stuff as I’d planned to use the formerly empty back room here that’s now occupied by a relative who’s moved back in.
Eh, I’ll figure that out. It may involve a screwdriver, hex wrenches and disassembling some furniture to make room, a few drop cloths and a LOT of tape. Ugh. Well, at least I have some masks in the closet so I can hang out and get all dusty with the workers here while I keep an eye on my stuff. It looks as if the rest of June past the 5th or so will mostly consist of me packing stuff up, moving it around and unpacking it later. Yep, I’m moving in my own apartment but keeping stuff in the same room. Whee. Science? Or just insanity.
What’s Cookin? And nope, the kitchen still isn’t at 100 percent thanks to a combo of the assorted workers not putting things back together completely. I have two sink legs under the sink that need to be reattached, some trim that needs painting (well, once they actually finish making and adding the rest of the trim around the kitchen ceiling) and there’s a small hole in a wall that was somehow missed during all that earlier kitchen nonsense that I just spotted when moving the refrigerator back to its original spot. “If I had a hammer…” I’d probably be doing 2-5 for some sort of Three Stooges meets Screwy Squirrel assault.
Feh. Add all that up and the fact that I need to make some money fast (and legally, of course!) and things are a bit stress inducing of late. If I can make it through June without Hulking out, it’ll be a good month. My poor head is stuffed with stuff I need to do, but concentration isn’t an easy thing to concentrate on with so much crap in the synapse.
Back in a bit. How’s YOUR month (or hell, just this Friday) going?
*Yeah, I know that Bruce Cockburn song is used way out of context. But so is every other video in this post.
Amusingly enough, Arrow and MVD have more than three new releases for June through August, but I’ll get the rest in a separate post as today is a bit haywire. Pit Stop, La Grande Bouffe, and Blood Rage all come to Blu-Ray in outstanding newly restored prints all ready for your viewing and collecting purposes. I’m actually thrilled about seeing Pit Stop make it to Blu-Ray as it’s a film I’d only seen once before on a beat up VHS copy of questionable quality. I haven’t seen La Grande Bouffe in years and I don’t think I recall Blood Rage unless I saw it under one of its other titles back in the 80’s. Well, catching up with these old film friends will be fun for sure.
Well, well, well. I was wondering when Nintendo of America would step up to the plate and take a swing at bundling some of its indie games up into a great deal. Rather than do it themselves directly, they’ve teamed up with the fine folks at Humble Bundle to offer a nice set of games for a budget price point. In the Humble Nindie Bundle you pay what you want (well, at least a buck) for three titles or pay ten bucks (or more) to unlock nine 3DS and Wii U games with more to come in a week or so. This deal only lasts for the next 12 days, so grab it if you own a Wii U and/or 3DS and need some cool indie titles to keep you occupied. The deal is for North America only, so European Wii U and 3DS owners are out of luck until Nintendo Europe gets whatever ducks it needs to in order.
Interestingly enough, I believe this is the first ever console bundle offered by Humble Bundle. If so, once again it’s Nintendo thinking outside the box and getting its fans some decent deals. I guess it’s your move, Sony and Microsoft.
For those of you who’ve served, thank you for your service. For those of you who remember the late, great Bob Hope doing his part for those who’ve served or want to know what some of the fuss was about, courtesy of MVD Visual here’s a Memorial Day buy that’s not some condescending mattress, car, food or other product not worthy of the holiday. Back tomorrow with some updates.
So. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is out and yes, you SHOULD buy and play it if you like action/RPG’s with a sense of humor (and optional gore), loads of random loot drops and probably closure as NeoCore Games finishes up its trilogy. That said… oh, for the days of the retail review disc arriving in the mail! While 20GB may not seem like a huge file to download in this era of “everyone” having a high speed connection, the best I can do around here is roughly 11 to 36 mbps. And that’s WITH connections dropping out from time to time adding more time to the download. 11 hours to download a game (which would be closer to 5 or 6 if the speed is consistent and there aren’t any connection drops) is way too long for me and while I’m not impatient, I have no idea how people put up with this sort of thing with larger game files.
Yeah, yeah, it’s something we’ve “gotten used to” as the digital age has beat retail over the head senselessly as a “superior” option. But for folks like me who fail to see the speed difference when having a disc means you get into those games you want FASTER and with only any day one (or later) patches to download, this digital divide is more “haves” versus “have nots” stuff I see some game companies no longer addressing. Boo. But hell, I won’t take this minor annoyance out on NeoCore games and all their hard work at all. Although it WOULD be cool to see them get their trilogy out on consoles at some point so even MORE people could enjoy it. Eh, we’ll see. In between the ongoing strife here I need to fit my Sunday around getting this game onto a hard drive here, so it’s an early night for this old fart. Back in a bit.
One of those wild Japanese films packed with striking imagery and offbeat performances, Teruo Ishii’s 1970 hybrid Blind Woman’s Curse makes for another excellent Blu-Ray release from Arrow Video. It wraps up action and revenge flick aesthetics with a creepy tone, loads of late 60’s era sexiness and violence with a solid performance from beautiful Meiko Kaji. She plays Akemi, the head of a yakuza clan sometime during the 1920’s who’s been released from prison only to find there’s a pretty efficient pair of assassins as well as other folks after her and what remains of her loyal gang.
The main assassin (Hoki Tokuda) happens to be the sister of a rival boss out for her own revenge. Akemi accidentally blinded her during the fierce and beautifully shot sword battle that opens up the film and she now she’s somewhat hard to stop as she whittles down Akemi’s gang. Her assistant, a muttering and really creepy killer with wild hair (Tatsumi Hijikata) is one of those characters who gets under your skin and remains there from the moment you see him. Both he and the black cat that appears during the film lend a supernatural tone to the proceedings that lend the film a nice horror vibe. That said, if you pay close attention, you’ll see that the film tends to toss a lot at you with expectations that you’ll keep up.
Hmmm. So, here’s a random nonsense post courtesy of the Emergency Postcast System. If you’re reading this it’s because it’s a nonsense post experiment running in case of emergency. Now, what constitutes an “emergency” will vary from person to person, but let’s just say that I’m taking some much needed time off to handle things and that’s that. I have a few posts in reserve that will run (well, once I set some dates up) and will check back in to drop in stuff when I can. I hate the way the internet works these days because it’s expected that nosy people need to know too much and anything less than that is considered “not sharing”, “rude” or whatever. Nonsense. Anyway, dinner’s ready! Come and get it before that cannibal chicken has her fill.
Back in a bit. I’ll be around… just not “around” if you catch my drift. If you don’t, don’t worry. All won’t be explained when things get back to resembling “normal” around here. And that’s exactly as it needs to be.
Yeah, yeah. Posting press releases verbatim is LAZY and should be avoided at all costs (even though it costs no sense to do). But once in a while you get one that cracks you up and requires sharing because the product being shilled was fun enough to inspire a PR person to just do something so obvious that it works despite being awfully corny.
Of course, if you call a cat “corny” it will either ignore you and go take a nap or climb your leg like a lumberjack escaping from a starving bear up a very tall and sturdy tree. Anyway, video to roll and press release to read below, meow.
And yes indeed you need this game just because your cat will knock you out of bed if you don’t buy it and let it play or watch you play while it naps. Cats can see in their sleep. Or so I’ve heard. On the other paw, If you own a dog you know it could care less about this game because it’s trying to figure out how to start up the car, drive to the store and buy some steaks with your credit card. Like that old Talking Heads song goes “Animals think… they’re pretty smart…”
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 