Enter The Gungeon: Take Your Best Shots Soon In This Pixel Perfect Dungeon Crawler

Posted on February 4, 2016 by geelw

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So, I’m hitting myself in the cranium with a day old baguette (ow!) because I’ve been ignoring Devolver Digital and all those great games they’ve been putting out for some time. Let’s see if we can remedy that with a nice post on Enter the Gungeon, which is set to land on Steam and (so far, one) selected console at some point this year. “April” seems like logical time frame if you watch the entirety of that rather amusing gameplay video below. PC, PS4, Mac, SteamOS, and Linux (sorry other platforms, although a Vita version would have been REALLY appreciated. By me, at least).

Anyway, the game takes the lovely pixel graphic dungeon crawler I’m a huge fan of, adds 2000% more guns, couch co-op fun and so far, looks like yet another crowd pleaser from those guys I should have bugged a while ago about getting preview code (bats eyelashes at Devolver Digital). Developer Dodge Roll Games (or is it Dodgeroll Games? It’s hard to tell on the internet how things are properly spelled, isn’t it?) has got a winner here that’s guaranteed to eat up even more of your free time and yep, you probably need this game in your library just because it will keep you indoors and out of trouble.

Of course, if you’re getting into THAT kind of trouble, you probably shouldn’t be playing many video games. The other kind of trouble? That’s okay. Another one for the want list? Yes indeed.

Blu-Ray Review: Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 1

Posted on February 3, 2016 by geelw

Bringing three great Japanese films to collectors in fine form, Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 1 comes highly recommended thanks to all three films being worth a watch for more reasons than the trio of actors featured on that cover art.While not flawless, seeing more Japanese cinema from the 50’s is an excellent thing if you in to expanding your cinematic horizons.

As all three of these flicks were new to me, it was quite pleasing to come away from this collection wanting to see more of what the directors and stars did over time. Longtime fans of the country’s movies will see some familiar faces in all three films, so the collection also works in that “spot the character actor” game we all play when we see a new film for the first time.

Seijun Suzuki’s 1958 mystery drama Voice Without A Shadow kicks things of with a noir-ish tale of Asako, a former newspaper phone operator who quit her job shortly after accidentally ringing up a killer in the middle of his dirty work. Three years later, Asako’s husband has a few work pals over for dinner and Asako recognizes one man’s voice as that of the killer. Talk about awkward dinner conversation! She has a minor breakdown, but things get worse when the killer turns up dead himself and Asako’s husband seems to be the prime suspect. In the middle of all this comes Ishikawa (Hideki Nitani), a reporter for that aforementioned newspaper. He had a crush on Asako back when she worked at the paper, but stepped aside when he discovered she was spoken for. Is his interest in the unsolved murders a new play for Asako’s intentions or is there some sort of actual journalistic integrity at work that will bring the killer of the killer to justice? Continue reading →

Path of Exile: Ascendancy: So Much For Anything Resembling Free Time

Posted on February 3, 2016 by geelw

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After years of ignoring it because of it’s lack of an offline mode (which is still a sticking point for me, but hey – I’m flexible), I’m finally giving the award-winning (and time chomping) action/RPG Path of Exile a try. This ends up being somewhat amusing because my inbox tells me (thanks Michael!) that a new expansion is coming March 4th, 2016 in the form of Path of Exile: Ascendancy. Which also means given the reviews I’ve seen from players who’ve sunk (*eep!*) thousands of hours into the original game, yours truly may never even see that newer content given the short amount of time per session I’ve mapped out for myself. Yes, I’m conducting another goofball experiment, folks. This time it’s playing a game that’s made to be a time-eater in small sessions and seeing how that goes. I predict it won’t go well given my love for these sorts of games. On the other hand, I’m limited by time and bandwidth so my 30 minutes per session is going to have to be adhered to or else this site is toast because I’ll never get anything done on the posting front.

That trailer above with it’s many ACME brand traps (that actually work!) gives me an idea of what to expect. but as noted above, I’m not going to be seeing this stuff for quite some time. I think Grinding Gear Games won’t mind my slow boat trek through their game, given that their already massive user base is keeping them busy with these updates and I’m just a small fish in a bigger ocean. That said, I bet a shiny new penny that getting their game ported to consoles at some point would be an instant smash, particularly if it went the Diablo III route and features offline play and/or even some means of couch co-op. You know, for those cases where the internet is all colicky or gets mucked up by some black-hatters looking to prove a point.

Anyway, the experiment begins this week at some point. This should be interesting to say the least given how addictive these games can be and my current workload.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Arrives on PS4, Vita

Posted on February 2, 2016 by geelw

Bandai Namco’s Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (now available on PS4 and PS Vita) should do well among North American fans of the Digimon games who’ve been starved for content for a few years. The game is a quite decent mix of action-based “dungeon” crawling and yes, features plenty of creatures to digivolve. The game skews older than previous entries with more mature looking main characters and a darker overall tone. But it’s still a pretty family friendly game at heart, so no worries about picking this one up for the kids if they ask.

My eye is set on the Vita version as it’s supposed to have bonus pre-order content if you buy it this month. That and this seems like the perfect game to take on the road to kill a few hours when traveling. I’ll probably play it most at home, however. Anyway, enough babbling on this end – you have a city to save (and Tokyo always seems to be in trouble in games like this, right?)

And remember, folks: You can peek over Bandai Namco’s digital shoulder anytime you like. Just follow Bandai Namco Entertainment at one or more of the links below. They won’t mind, really!

Er, unless it’s after work hours and you’re trying to follow them home:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bandainamcous/
Tumblr: http://bandainamcous.tumblr.com/
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/bandainamcous

Disgaea PC: You’ll Never See Sunlight Again (Unless It’s In This Game), Dood!

Posted on February 2, 2016 by geelw

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dpc_3d So, Nippon Ichi Software has decided to bring the legendary SRPG Disgaea to PC on February 24. Well, for those of you curious about the game, you can watch that trailer above and add about a million or so variations to any questions you’ll have.

As noted in that trailer, the game allows for some *insane* play that’s completely up to each player as to how he or she wants to complete a mission. It takes a tiny bit of time and a few fun tutorials to get to that point where you’re stacking up allies and tossing them to reach enemies or treasure, using Geo panels to win seemingly impossible maps in one turn, or raising item/equipment levels to ridiculous amounts by entering the items and beating the monsters inside of them. But it’s all worth it and with a level cap of 9999 for each character, you’ll be hooked in and not even caring that all you do once you get home from work or wherever is sink a few more “Just one more map!” hours into your new passion.

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You can (and should, dood!) pre-order Disgaea PC digitally on Steam for $19.99 or go all in and get a nice Disgaea PC: Deluxe Dood Edition from Nippon Ichi America’s online store for $29.99. That extra loot sent nets you a Steam code for the game, digital art book and soundtrack… PLUS you get a physical 44-page art book, a physical soundtrack CD and a beautiful collector’s box to keep it all in sent to you in the mail. Santa comes in February bringing one of the most addictive and time-chomping games ever made? Wait, that’s NOT Santa… I was a few letters off in the spelling, heh. Note: you’ll REALLY need to dust off that collector’s box regularly or else Etna might get pissed off and come for you while you’re sleeping with a couple of exploding Prinnies. “Who’s Etna?” you ask? Oh, you’ll find out soon enough once you fire up the game proper.

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir: Plain Vanillaware Is Awesome, Omake Makes It Even Tastier

Posted on February 1, 2016 by geelw

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I don’t believe in magic at all, but whatever George Kamitani and Vanillaware are using for creative energy, it needs to be packaged and sold at cost just so more game developers can reap the rewards. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, the upcoming HD reworking of the PlayStation 2 classic looks as if it will introduce a new and larger legion of fans to the game when it ships out for PS4, PS3 and Vita on June 7, 2016. While North Amrican PS4 owners looking to collect the most omake luck out big time with the limited Storybook Edition at $79.99, PS4, PS3, and Vita-only owners in NA who pre-order can score a softcover version of that hardcover 64-page art book in the Storybook Edition. Continue reading →