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.

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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…

Coming Up for Air in Time for Some Vib-Ribbon News…

Posted on October 7, 2014 by geelw

Actually, I heard about this yesterday, but it was after a long day of poring over email and plotting out today’s Alien Isolation run, I was too tired and amused to post anything. Anyway, today on PSN, Sony is finally releasing the original PlayStation game Vib-Ribbon in North America, but not for that old console. This port is headed to the PS3 and Vita, with a future trip to the PS4 in the cards. I’ll let you boogie on over to the PlayStation Blog to read up on this wonderfully cool little game, which retains its ability to use music CD’s to generate random levels on the PS3. It seems that the Vita version loses this feature (unless it can work with MP3 files), but even without it, the game is still quite whimsical and still a ton of fun to play.

I still have my Japanese copy of the game and a PS1, but I’ll most likely grab this for my Vita because it’s one of those quirky little charmers that’s an excellent traveling companion. Okay, back to being scared half (plus) to death…

NowPlaying: Alien Isolation (Or: Let’s See How Long I Can Last)…

Posted on October 7, 2014 by geelw

So, yeah – here we go. let’s see now: phone off the hook? Check. Clean underwear at the ready? Check. Ear out for UPS/Fed Ex in case I get some surprise packages from a PR contact (and/or my SUPER late Think Geek order that’s almost a month old, grrrr?): Check! I think I should eat something too, but I’ll pop into the kitchen while the game is installing and make something quick. Did someone say cheese pierogi with sauteed onions? I think that’s what my stomach was screaming, so that will get taken care of (thank you, stomach!). I think I have some (*ding!*) Gold’s Horseradish left. Hmmm… let me check… (*ding!*) Yep, with beets, at that. Okay, I’m set for the day.

Oh, that flower? It’s there because it’ll probably be the nicest thing I see all day. Back in a bit – maybe later this afternoon or evening with some sort of “I’m too %#$^@! scared to move” update. Maybe.

The Evil Within Looks to Scare You Sillier Than You’d Like to Be Scared, So Get With the Program!

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

Let’s see now: one part Resident Evil, one part Silent Hill, One part F.E.A.R. and a lot of what’s inside Shinji Mikami’s head certainly go a long way in his latest game, The Evil Within. Set for an October 14, 2014 release on PC, PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One, this survival horror game marks Mikami’s return to the genre that made him a master to legions of horror game fans. I’m holding out until I play this one, but from all those trailers and behind the scenes videos that have been popping up, this one looks as if it will deliver the goods to those who can take what it throws at them. Granted, if you’re one of those jaded types scared of nothing and think this game is “dull” when you haven’t touched a controller connected to a console or PC running it, then Bethesda Softworks and Tango Game Studios more than likely have no use for your commentary on some message board where you’re all anonymous and filled with bile for some reason or another.

I’d bet they’d LOVE more constructive and useful criticism from people who may run into something that keeps the game from being what it needs to be (but that doesn’t include being a direct Resident Evil clone, I’d bet), so maybe go PLAY this before you go online and whine expecting for someone to back you up when the developer and publisher would rather see you fall off a cliff onto something sharp. Or something like that. I’m betting Bethsoft and Mikami don’t care what anyone who hasn’t played this thinks because at the end of the day, those people are wasting their time rambling on about themselves and speaking for others when they should just shut up and maybe play some of those games they hate on for no reason. Just a thought…

STYX: Master of Shadows Launch Trailer: Time to get Sneaky, Sneaky With the Ugly Shorty…

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

Okay, he’s kind of cute in that way ugly little goblins can be cute under the right light and without too much alcohol in one’s belly (never get drink around a goblin!), but yes, STYX: Master of Shadows is out tomorrow on Steam and for the PS4 and Xbox One. I’m hoping his one does well, as Cyanide Studios has put a lot of work into this game and it looks like their most polished title to date. We’ll see what the scores say, although I’m betting some reviewers “get” this game and what it’s trying to do while others don’t. I almost wish this was on the older consoles just so more people would show interest in what’s here, but hey – you can’t push those new systems as much of you drop four versions of the same game on the first day. That and the more developers who get used to the new hardware and can craft games that show off what they can do, the better for sales of those systems. Allegedly. Anyway, this one seems worth a closer look, folks…

Did Someone Say TWIN PEAKS Was Coming Back? Why, Yes it Is!

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

No wonder I woke up feeling weird and nostalgic this morning with a slight headache and a hankering for strong coffee and a slice of pie. It won’t be until 2016 (and hopefully, we all won’t be dead from ebola or nuclear bombs dropped willy-nilly across the landscape), but David Lynch is back on TV and in complete control of his baby. From the press release (read it while I do slow-dwarf dance around the room for a bit):

The groundbreaking television phenomenon, Golden Globe® and Peabody Award-winner TWIN PEAKS will return as a new limited series on SHOWTIME in 2016. Series creators and executive producers David Lynch and Mark Frost will write and produce all nine episodes of the limited series, and Lynch will direct every episode. Set in the present day, TWIN PEAKS will continue the lore of the original series, providing long-awaited answers and a satisfying conclusion for the series’ passionate fan base.

So, yeah. That’s erasing any crappiness that a Monday usually brings around. Yeah, now… about the earth still being here? Well. we’ll work on that. Showtime, you just take care of paying all involved and keeping Lynch happy in his work. I know a certain game director who just had a nice Xbox One exclusive hit is probably a very happy man. Actually, I’d LOVE to see Swery meet Lynch and perhaps collaborate on a project, but let’s get these nine episodes of the new TP out of the way first…

Monday Means Mo’ Bundles, No Problems!

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

Well, actually you’ll have SOME problems as far as finding the time to play the games in these bundles, but hey – don’t shoot the messenger, folks. He needs to be alive to play the games in his backlog! Anyway, here’s what’s what from the usual three suspects and more:

IndieGala Every Monday Bundle: Six games, $1.89, 24 hours before the price increases, so get this one FAST. I like Sanctuary in this set of games the best, but your mileage may vary:

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Random Art: It’s Back (Finally!), But Don’t Get Comfortable…

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

Hey, look! I actually found the time to do some (unfinished) art! Thanks to the wi-fi at the other Starbucks here NOT working at all (meaning I wasted a 1.2 mile walk! Thanks, Starbucks!), I got to steam myself into a hot cross bun for a bit because I didn’t get anything done all afternoon before I decided to vent that energy in a more proper direction with a little MS Paint sketch. Oh well – I’ll see if I can finish this piece up this week, but don’t count on it. I have a bunch of meetings to attend plus a few too many articles to write, so my drawing time will be even more limited.