The Humble Daily Bundle Goes Kind Of Oprah Today…

Posted on May 18, 2014 by geelw

So, it’s all YOU get a Hammerwatch! And YOU get a Hammerwatch! And YOU get a Hammerwatch! And guess what? YOU get a Hammerwatch! Hey, people! There’s just ONE game in the Humble Daily Bundle today, folks…. um, guess what it is? Anyway, pay under $7.76 and you get the great Two Feathers soundtrack to this awesomely addictive Gauntlet-inspired hack & slash AND a great art pack! $7.76 even gets you one code for the game… but spend twenty four cents more and you get THREE extra copies to give away to whomever you please. Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Give them all a code! Friends are good to have when playing this game, as it can get tough in those dungeons with everything that’s not nailed down trying to kill your character dead. Lovely and colorful retro graphics, loads of challenge and loot galore await, so what are you waiting for? It’s Hammer(watch) time!

Enemy Front Gallery: “So, What Did YOU Do During The War? (Part Two)

Posted on May 18, 2014 by geelw

I’ve been trying to figure out how to pin down CI Games’ upcoming story-driven first-person shooter Enemy Front without getting too worried about how the game will be received when it lands in stores on June 10, 2014. While it looks on the surface to be one more entry in the recent comeback of the WWII shooter, the rather nice looking CRYENGINE powered game uses the Warsaw Uprising as one of the destructible locations playable character American war correspondent Robert Hawkins ends up in and that’s probably guaranteed to get some historians and other people a bit ticked off for a few reasons.

Granted, the game isn’t supposed to be “realistic” or an accurate simulation at all and yes, it’ll be far too easy for some to pick it apart for any elements they see as inaccurate. But CI seems to want to bridge the game between the old Medal of Honor and Call of Duty games, while referencing Sniper Elite and its own Sniper games. There’s freedom to tackle missions in what’s being called “a richly interactive combat sandbox gameplay experience”, meaning the game should be nowhere as linear as the yearly Call of Duty action-packed guided tour thrill ride, which is a good thing for those players looking for a bit more variety and replay value… Continue reading →

Sniper Elite III 101: “So, What Did YOU Do During The War?” (Part One)

Posted on May 18, 2014 by geelw

With PR folk from 505 Games and a few of the dev team from Rebellion rolling into NYC this week, I’ll finally get some hands-on time with Sniper Elite III on Tuesday morning and report about it here. The team has clearly listened to feedback about Sniper Elite V2 and it looks as if this third chapter addresses all the issues and makes for a more expansive and free form game experience. Sure, the extreme violence isn’t for everyone (and yep, that video is pretty graphic), but I’m not playing this one to see Nazi brains and other bits get shattered and splashed about the large levels. I’m a game design guy first who loves seeing what different developers come up with and Rebellion has been around long enough to keep surprising me. Anyway, expect an update a few days from now on my experience with this one. Sniper Elite III hits retail and download on July 1st in the US on Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360 and of course, the PC version will be a Steam release.

Godzilla “Calling” TV Spot: And You’d Better Answer Or Else!

Posted on May 18, 2014 by geelw

Soooo, what did you do this weekend? Well. it’s STILL the weekend, so what WILL you be doing at some point before this weekend is over? As noted previously, I’d have seen Godzilla already if there was a local theater to see it at, but the last one in this area is being turned into a store we don’t need, sooo… I’m just lurking about doing stuff like posting early on a Sunday morning. Anyway, mixed reviews aside, I’d say the film is going to be a hit with most fans and there will probably be a sequel at some point. Of course, the true test is the overseas box office (as in Japan, where that big lizard was created back in 1954), so I guess Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures will be keeping an eyeball on the reception there as well.

Orphan Black Episode 6 Preview: Helena Takes A Trip & Gets A Grip (Plus, Mrs. S Is Back)…

Posted on May 18, 2014 by geelw

Well, I did say Helena was my favorite close and last week’s (well, last night’s) episode showed a few reasons why. As for the rest of that episode, well… the plot thickens, doesn’t it? Yikes. Nothing like a bit of suspense, sex and near death to keep a Saturday night exciting, right? Well, as long as it’s on TV and not for real, of course. No one needs all that happening on what should be a halfway decent weekend, I say. Anyway, next week’s show looks even more interesting for the clones (road trip!) and Mrs. S is back and probably getting in deeper than even she wants to be. We’ll see…

Ah, The Numbers Game And How It Plays These Days…

Posted on May 17, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, LostInSpace1997!)

Although I really should, I don’t pay much attention to how many people actually read this site other than to check whatever reports WordPress sends my way or if someone who wants to send me something to review asks for stats just to know I’ve at least the minimum amount of traffic they require (I do, by the way). That’s thanks to the numbers going up and down over time and the general unreliability of the internet in gauging whether or not someone is a real person, someone pretending to be someone else, or a well-tuned spambot just doing its thing. I actually “lost” about 100 or so followers from my old site when it was on Blogger thanks to a facebook hiccup that I’ve never been able to figure out and me not wanting to personally shoot out emails to each and everyone of those people to see what was up. I know some were probably spambots or folks who ran crappy get rich quick scam sites full of links no one needed to see, so good riddance to them. On the other hand, I do wonder about the rest of the folks who didn’t transfer over from Blogger, as I still see them on the old site when I swing by to change the banner there once a month.

Any-waaaay, I’ve been hovering around 666 followers for a few days now, as if no one wants to take the plunge and get “unlucky”. Actually, I’d need 667 followers to hit that number, as I don’t count myself as a subscriber even though I clicked that box by accident once day and got annoyed because I’d be getting emails about posts I just made as I made them and was trying to get LESS email and not more. Oh well. That said, I don’t really care who subscribes as long as they read and enjoy what’s here. I’m not about to pull a facebook here and sneakily force you to speak up when you don’t want to. “Like” it or not, as long as you’re reading, I’ll keep writing…

Guardians of the Galaxy Teaser Trailer #2: Okay, We Get It (But We’ll Be Back Tomorrow Anyway!)…

Posted on May 17, 2014 by geelw

I find it hi-larious that some are complaining endlessly about these teaser trailers for actual trailers when the practice has been ongoing for a while. Yes, it gets annoying if you’re interested in seeing MORE about a movie and not under twenty seconds of flashy wonder. But hate the game, not the players, as this is Short Attention Span Theater 101. Even the jerkiest comment about how this is a stupid thing means that that person who commented WATCHED THAT TEASER. That’s an ass in a seat when the movie comes out to Marvel and Disney and whomever else is hoping this one busts a few blocks in November.

Now, if ONLY I had a damn movie theater to see this at NEARBY, I’d be happier. I like walking to the theater, not paying to sit on a subway with people coughing and wheezing and sneezing in my direction for almost an hour before stepping into a freezing maxi-plex with a bunch of folks who don’t appreciate the place yakking it up all through the movie to no end. Eh, as with most of the filsm I end up seeing, I may wait for a quiet weekday when crowds are minimal and I can actually hear the dialogue with out wanting to strangle the entire row in front or in back of me.

In To-day’s Humble Daily Bundle, The Early Bird Gets The Worm…

Posted on May 17, 2014 by geelw

Please tell me you read that title above in your best Alfred Hitchcock voice and I’ll be your friend forever. Anyway, to keep those of you who read this site semi-regularly confused, a mild bit of culture today in the form of a poem (that I didn’t write, so it’s actually GOOD):

The Worm (by Ralph Bergengren)

When the earth is turned in spring
The worms are fat as anything.

And birds come flying all around
To eat the worms right off the ground.

They like the worms just as much as I
Like bread and milk and apple pie.

And once, when I was very young,
I put a worm right on my tongue.

I didn’t like the taste a bit,
And so I didn’t swallow it.

But oh, it makes my Mother squirm
Because she thinks I ate that worm!

Anyway, today’s Humble Daily Bundle is a (mostly) all WORMS deal plus some other fine Team 17 games that you probably need to play. If you know WORMS, you know you’ll be gathering a few friends to plop down in front of that monitor and kicking them out a few hours later because they just don’t want to leave. get five games for whatever you feel comfortable paying, six bucks gets you all those and WORMS: Armageddon, more than ten bucks nets you FIVE more games including the excellent (and tough as nails) Alien Breed trilogy. Sounds like a plan and nope, I’d never heard of Superfrog until today either! Did I mention you also get soundtracks? No? Well, you DO! Okay, get to the buying and playing and listening stuff. Both the Child’s Play and American Red Cross charities will be thanking you once all is said and done, of course…

Random Film of the Week(end): The Horror of Party Beach

Posted on May 17, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, Tommy Retro’s Blast From The Past!)

As it’s almost (but not quite) beach season (unless it’s summer when you’re actually reading this, then BEWARE!) here’s a cautionary tale for you hep cats and hip chicks looking for some fun in the soon to be summer sun: DON’T DO IT! Hell, I mean between the assorted oil and chemical spills and their assorted hasty to long term cleanups that just add MORE nasty chemicals to the waters around everywhere, you’re only bound to run into something monstrous coming out of the water (or heck, just IN the water) that wants to EAT. YOUR. FLESH! (Mua-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!, but somewhat true! Eeeek!).

Anyway, 1964’s Horror on Party Beach kind of predicted this modern age of old-school waste making hasty retreats for beaches everywhere, but the film was SO bad that no one listened because they were busy laughing their bottoms off as this bottom of the fish barrel “Z”-grade spook-tacular stunk up a theater near them… Continue reading →

Guardians of the Galaxy Teaser Trailer: In Space, Everyone Can See You Tease…

Posted on May 16, 2014 by geelw

Well, I’ve changed my tune on this flick since I first heard it was being made, but yet… I worry a tiny bit about its future. I’m betting the fans will ABSOLUTELY eat it up and make it a box office champ for a bit, but I know the more curmudgeonly critics will not get this all that much. There will be whining about everything from the stunt casting, the snarky late 20th century jokes, maybe a knock on any visual effects they dislike, and yes, probably some complaints about James Gunn’s direction when stacked up to the other recent Marvel movies. Eh, whatever, I say.

Of course, I could be wrong (again!), but based on a few Godzilla reviews from folks who didn’t get that film, I’d say Guardians of the Galaxy is in for a rough ride in the mainstream newspapers and websites. Anyway, the real noise drops on Monday, so this teaser is just that. I hate these teasers for actual trailers, by the way… but it’s so common that there’s no way this practice will go away anytime soon because of all the interest each microsecond of new footage draws to movies that do this. Well, it seems to work, as I know I’ll be back here on Monday with another update on THAT trailer. Oh, and yes, that’s the new poster for the film. Nice, huh?