Better Call Saul Digital Comic: Read The Fine Print, Please

Posted on April 4, 2015 by geelw

Okay, I had no idea there was a digital comic book based on AMC’s hit show Better Call Saul, but that’s because I waste less time online these days and spend more time trying to do stuff. That said, it’s actually a pretty good read if you’re into the show and the bonus “Super Saul” stories are hilarious send-ups of assorted superhero comic conventions with more of a legal bent.

If you’ve yet to see the show and wonder if it’s good (or as good as Breaking Bad was), fear not. Vince Gilligan and company are doing some excellent work and if you’re needing to catch up, AMC has a few suggestions. For starters, there’s a marathon of the first season running this Monday, April 6 at 12:15PM (11:15 Central) that leads directly into the premiere of the Season 1 Finale at 10/9c.

Yes, you should take Monday off and spend it in front of the TV because I said so. Hey, my lawyer said I can do this and not face any sort of legal retribution if you decide to do so and lose your job or whatever. Who’s my legal eagle of choice? Well, he’s got a very successful TV show that’s ending its first season on Monday night if you need a clue…

GTA V PC: Beyond The Almost Uncanny Valley of the Dolls

Posted on April 3, 2015 by geelw

Oh the places you’ll go next week when Grand Theft Auto V finally hits PC. Well, those of you who have systems capable of running the game, that is. The two high-end system trailers that show off the main game and Online Heists multiplayer mode look spectacular enough to almost fool the eye. This should be the definitive version of the game, which means those who can play it will have some fine bragging rights and fun videos to post as they play through the game they’ve been waiting for for quite some time. As long as there are no crippling launch issues and day one patching woes, I’d gather there are going to be a great deal of happy campers spending all their free time with this one.

“Book ’em, Danno!”: Wednesday’s Read’s A Memory Maker

Posted on April 1, 2015 by geelw

Hey, if you invite me to an event and I just so happen to like what you do, I tend to show up. Which was a good thing for me as I found a nice new book shop to poke my head and feet into and got to meet the world famous maybe should be in some sorta documentary about her long walk author Andra Watkins who talked about her new book Not Without My Father: One Woman’s 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace, which you should go out and buy and READ. Well, after you read her other novel, To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis.

That first book was inspired by this one, which I haven’t yet read, but realized I’d heard of and know someone who has a copy and has yet to read it. A borrower I shall be, it would seem. Anyway, the main purpose of her book tour is to get readers to make a memory with someone they know and soon. We all tend to get busy-busy and otherwise occupied with life and too often, overlook making real connections with those we know (or should know better). For all the “social” aspects of modern internet use, you really aren’t making a human connection if you live out your entire existence online. Continue reading →

DomiNations: Big Huge Games, Back With A Big Huge Game You Need To Play

Posted on March 31, 2015 by geelw

If you do this writing about games stuff long enough, you tend to go into media events with low to no expectations. Not because you’re jaded, mind you. It’s more because going in blind works better at getting one’s surprise meter better tuned when something actually does blow one’s mind. That said, I knew as soon as I heard the names Big Huge Games and Tim Train, I knew I had to prepare to be surprised and thrilled at what they were going to show. DomiNations (published by Nexon) is the name of the company’s new game and it’s a free to play mobile game that just so happens to be a real-time strategy game with a light world history theme. Sure, there are plenty of mobile RTS titles out there from Clash of Clans to Game of War and so forth and so on with fantasy themes. DomiNations adds some familiar bits of PC classics Train and Brian Reynolds have worked on such as Civilization II and Rise of Nations while making sure to be entertaining enough that anyone can hop in and play within a few seconds. Continue reading →

Marvel Mighty Heroes: DeNA’s Latest F2P Soon To Be Smash

Posted on March 31, 2015 by geelw

Excelsior, True Believers! here comes DeNA with yet another addictive F2P game guaranteed to kill your free time deader than Deadpool with a sack full of grenades and too much coffee in his system. Marvel Mighty Heroes is a fun-looking isometric co-op brawler for iOS and Android devices that’s a step up for action fans who want more action than some of the hugely popular card battle games on the mobile market. The kid-friendly art style and fast-paced play are sure to draw in the younger crowd. But expect this to also be a big hit among Marvel fans of any age who try it out and get drawn in by the fast-paced gameplay.

While some criticize most free to play games for their monetizing shenanigans, there’s an EASY way to avoid paying money for most of these games if you spread out how often you play them. You don’t NEED to spend hours every day “grinding” for good stuff at all. Just play until you’re prompted for a payment option and quit for the day. Rinse and repeat for about two weeks or so and if the game has daily rewards for continued play, you end up raking in digital coins or whatever currency the game offers up frequent players and you’ll be shocked to find you haven’t spent a dime and have credits to buy stuff in the online shop.

Or you could just go half to full super-fan and pay up front for a bunch of goodies or whatever starter packs you like. The beauty of GOOD free to play is having that option in the games you play and knowing it’s up to YOU to be in charge of what you spend if anything. That and you can always go read a book or step out for fresh air when that payment option pops up. There’s much more to life than gaming, you know. But when you DO get some game time in, make sure you enjoy 100 percent of that time.

Humble Indie Bundle 14: Your “Shut Up and BUY IT!” Deal of the Week

Posted on March 31, 2015 by geelw

Wow. If you consider yourself a gamer and someone who appreciates a damn great deal when it’s seen and DON’T pick this latest Humble Indie Bundle up for yourself, you’re either nuts, have all these games already (even the to be announced freebies?) or just don’t know how incredible a bargain this is. Seriously. Torchlight II is worth the $5.60 minimum (which gets you that game and five others PLUS whatever else drops into the bundle in a few days). Pay $10 and you get the Shadow Warrior reboot added to the pack. Pony up $40 and you get all the games, a cool limited edition T-shirt, patch and even a red bandanna you can do whatever you want with. Form a gang of cheapskate gamers? Sure! Get all fancy and make a laptop cover out of that bandanna? Okay! Grab a fallen tree branch from the nearest park and run away with all those free games? Er… yeah, whatever! Just BUY the dang bundle already and play some of those great games in it, I say. Now, git!

EDF 4.1 Import Update: Better Bug Blasting, But Still No News For Western Fans

Posted on March 31, 2015 by geelw

All the small to large improvements are making Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair an absolute must for series fans worldwide, but there’s still no big news about the game outside of the Asian market. I’m hoping that this doesn’t mean this PS4 exclusive is being forgotten for a US and European release, but let’s see what happens as E3 approaches. Granted, this IS a niche title from small but very talented developer Sandlot that hasn’t blown away those gamers who expect every new title they play to be the best-looking and easiest to hop into game experience. EDF games tend to be simple on one hand, but packed with confounding quirks on the other. This new video from D3Publisher addresses some of the issues as it points out some of the changes implemented by the dev team. Changes I hope we EDF fans get to see HERE at some point. I’d guess that’s all up to Bandai Namco these days, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that whomever gets the publishing rights gets some news out sooner than later.

Monday Deals: The Early Bird Gets a Bundle of Worms

Posted on March 30, 2015 by geelw

Got three bucks and need a bunch of games on a moody Monday? Hang up that “Gone Fishin’!” sign and take the rest of the month off (yeah, all of one more day plus a few hours), folks. Bundle Stars is getting you a nicely wormy selection of developer Team 17’s classic series in a few forms at that. Here’s what’s waiting for you in the Worms Bundle:

· Worms

· Worms Blast

· Worms Crazy Golf

· Worms Pinball

· Worms Reloaded Game of the Year Edition (includes 7 DLC)

· Worms Ultimate Mayhem Deluxe Edition (includes 3 DLC)

Yes, that’s a LOT more than a day and a half worth of gaming in this great deal. But you know the drill by now. Buy the bundle, add stuff to the backlog, play when you can. Of course, once you start playing nearly any Worms game, there goes the rest of your day. You’ll see son enough…

Mad Max: Fury Road TV Spots: Hit the Road, Jack. You’ve Got A Movie To Catch

Posted on March 29, 2015 by geelw

Ha. You know, I’d forgotten Mad Max had a last name until I saw the description to this new teaser. Anyway, Mr. Rockatansky is back in action on the wild road soon (hey, May is creeping up faster than you’d think!), so here’s a look at two of the TV ads for the film. Can George Miller pull this off as well as he did back with the first two films? Or will we need another hero to save us from the pre-summer blehs?

Eh, my money is on this being a winner as long as the jaded ones out there with their negativity and access to computers get busy slamming it with their tiny little hammers because it’s not what they wanted or expected. Yeesh. Try and make art these days and you find no one’s happy because everyone’s a self-styled “critic” these days. Feh.

SPECTRE Teaser: Gold Bond Works Hard For You

Posted on March 28, 2015 by geelw

Well, that was kind of anti-climactic, but quite intriguing. No explosions, sexy ladies or snappy quips to be found here at all. just a looming sense of a dead-serious Bond film looking to be the most memorable on of the Daniel Craig era. The continuity in the last few Bond films has been at least more or less coherent and consistent, so SPECTRE has that going for it. Of course,the gadget-loving Bondies who want the less serious JB on screen will probably wait a bit, see what the reviews say this November and still complain if they’re mostly positive. You can’t please everyone, I suppose. Anyway, let me shut up before someone SMERSHes me in the face with a Thunderball.