Wow. Every game has unused content from early concept art to trailers and other elements that never see the light of day unless properly preserved. Today’s unearthing of two pieces of Lara Croft memorabilia (digital department), come from Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix in time for the Tomb Raider franchise’s 20th anniversary. It’s hard to believe that much time has passed since Lara swung onto the gaming scene and became a worldwide smash, digital sex symbol (for better or worse), and even a role model of sorts to super-fans inspired by the character.
She’s survived some great and not-so-great games in the series, many, many deaths the introduction of the now forgotten by fans who know how to move on Kurtis Trent, two movies that weren’t so hot, but got butts into theater seats, and a two-time revival back into her former glory thanks to newer console tech and current developers Crystal Dynamics. Lara may have had some ups and downs over the years, but to those of us who dip a toe into the pool and replay her games from old to new, she’ll always be our golden girl.
So join me for a drink boys
We’re gonna make a big noise
So don’t worry about tomorrow
Take it today
Forget about the check
We’ll get hell to pay
According to a few sources including the director himself, William Friedkin fired blanks off-camera into the air in order to get an actor to react with fright during a key moment in The Exorcist. I’m betting the 1936 penny sitting mysteriously atop my too-small entertainment center (seriously, it just appeared one day and I have NO clue as to how it got there!) that Friedkin maybe shot a computing device of some sort when he found out Fox as making a series based (kind of?) on the classic horror film that freaked out millions back in 1973 and is still influential to this very day.
Me? I had NO idea this was a thing until the always on point Written in Blood pointed out that trailer above. The power of crap compelled my jaw to drop because WHY? There’s really no use or need for a modern take on The Exorcist because the film did what it did so well and is still an effective horror film to this day. Like the upcoming Lethal Weapon TV series (yeah, WHY?), this trend to dig up otherwise fine and dandy entertainment and drag it kicking and screaming into this decade’s short attention span theater audience that will drop a new show they don’t like like a hot rock after one or two episodes. My reaction to that trailer above was somewhat NSFW, and went something like this:
Don’t believe me? Well, how’s that Rush Hour TV series doing, ladies and gents? Uh-huh. Sure, there are a bunch of devil shows on the air already and Fox does have a “hit” with Lucifer, which I’ve yet to see because I’m not at all interested in it. But I just can’t see The Exorcistbeing a series with legs once the story the film tells (now rewritten for TV) plays itself out. Well, unless it turns into some sort of possession anthology series with a demon of the week (ugh), which would kill off the scare factor faster than a vampire eating a loaf of garlic bread as the sun rose.
Meh, maybe I’m too cranky and wrong on this… but I don’t think so. If this show ends up being a surprise hit like Bates Motel and goes on for a few seasons, I’ll look into making my own deal with the devil. Oh, don’t worry about me, folks… I know how to trick Old Scratch into letting me keep my soul:
Hmm. Memo to the loud guy I passed on the way home yelling about the (and I quote) “bitch who won’t make me eggs after noon”: Ugh. Learn to cook, you ignorant jerk and make your own damn eggs ANY TIME YOU WANT. Keep it up with that overly cranky attitude and those aren’t the only eggs you’ll never have anything to do with ever again.
That, and it’s no joke to get hit upside the head with a cast iron fry pan while one is snoozing. Anyway, let me be nice and give you a recipe you can learn and perfect, provided you’re not un-jamming a pan from your gaping maw: Continue reading →
With indie and AAA horror games being a dime a dozen these days, it’s going to take something really different to get some gamers jumping out of their seats and diving under their beds. Unfold Games has taken up the scare you halfway to death challenge with DARQ, their upcoming PC/Mac/Linux game that as you can see, certainly seems to have it going on in terms of delivering the frights.
So, what’s this stylistic and creepy psychological horror game about, you ask? Well, here’s what the official site says:
DARQ tells the story of Lloyd, a boy who becomes aware of the fact that he is dreaming. To Lloyd’s misfortune, the dream quickly turns into a nightmare and all attempts to wake up end in failure. While exploring the darkest corners of his subconscious, Lloyd learns how to survive the nightmare by bending the laws of physics and manipulating the fluid fabric of the dream world.
In DARQ, sound plays a very important role. There are sections of the game that take place in absolute darkness and in order to navigate the environment, Lloyd has to rely on the location of sounds.
Yep. If you’ve ever had those nightmares where you know you’re sleeping, but wake up all sweaty looking around the room only to have something bizarre take place as you realize you’re having a nightmare inside that nightmare, DARQ will be right up that dark alley you don’t want to travel through. Of course, you’ll be going thataway because that thing chasing you is keeping you from going backward. Oops.
Some imagery to keep you awake nights. As if that trailer didn’t get all crawly under your skin enough:
While the game is still in development and doesn’t yet have a set release date other than TBA 2016, it sure is worth keeping an eyeballed peeled for. Let that image stick with you for the day (eww!). I’d say “have a good night”, but it’s early on a Friday morning. Still, you have to go home and sleep at some point, correct? My work here is done, then.
Yep. You’d pay good money to see Helen Mirren and Judi Dench in a period piece with those outfits, too. They could be a 40’s er Holmes and Watson, an older Thelma and Louise (having not stomped on the gas in that flick), two ladies out shopping or anything else a writer’s room could bust out in a few weeks that still manages to read like drunken fan fiction. My ticket would be bought and so would yours. Don’t lie, either. Hell, you’d be pushing me out of the line just to get in first, grrrr. Anyway, my brain is still fuzzy after today’s… er, YESTERDAY’S busyness. Go write up your own plot for that photo above. See you later today at some point.
Just mushrooms and cheese on top of my non-patented “special” sauce. This got five more minutes in the oven, but eaten before I got to taking the updated photo. Darn guests, and their impatience to be poisoned!
Yep. I’ve been a bit too busy these days with a few things, but a guy’s gotta eat, right? In an attempt to save money, I’ve taken up part-time pizza making just for fun and to feed the occasional friend who drops by when I’m conducting my horrific experiments. In previous attempts, I’d used a few dough recipes “borrowed” off the internet, but my one major issue with all of them is my kitchen isn’t made for pizza (or any) dough manufacturing.
Between the moving around of stuff to make a work space, my big old ceramic bowl breaking (I’m on the hunt for a proper replacement), pre and post-crust cleanup, and not enough freezer space for a month’s worth of dough, it was a pain in the neck to spend more time making dough than making edible results with said dough. While poking around for pre-made options, it’s been a circus of lousy ingredient reads and stuff that’s too complex for its own good on the “easy” prep front. Continue reading →
So, I usually have no faith in videogame movie adaptations (okay, I’ve NEVER had any), particularly when certain fans roll in with the “It doesn’t look that bad!” commentary simply to defend their favorite franchise against any form of criticism. My own opinion on games to film is more of a rule: an interactive medium works BEST as interactive medium, PERIOD. Yes, non-gamers who want to see what the fuss is about can enjoy a game movie just fine. But the more hardcore fans who dislike games made into blockbusters for the simple reason that the films deviate from the source materials enough that it’s an almost completely different bird once all those feathers have been plucked. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, anyone? While a well-made film, it wasn’t at all what fans expected or wanted. I can name a bunch of others, but I’ll let you discuss that among yourselves.
Anyway, well… 20th Century Fox and Ubisoft may have changed my mind:
Other than the atrocious choice of a Kanye West song (Seriously? It doesn’t fit at ALL and in fact, something a great deal less modern would have made the trailer almost perfect), that trailer got me curious as to how the film will tackle the reality and virtual reality flipping done throughout the AC franchise. I did have a non-gamer friend ring me up and ask about the games and whether he needed to have played them to fully enjoy the film, whereupon I had to admit I hadn’t played an Assassin’s Creed game in a few years. Hey, I got bored with them after AC III, although I’ve been thinking about picking up the last couple after playing the Vita game (and the sole one with a female lead). So, thanks, Fox. You may get my grumpy butt in a theater seat after all. Continue reading →
Well, I had a few minutes of free time this year. Emphasis on the HAD part. Then Capcom teamed up with Humble Bundle for a new version of their sale last year that swaps out some titles for some other cool stuff and slaps such a stupidly cheap price tag on all that stuff that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to pass up. Seriously.
Even if you didn’t play Remember Me (it’s fantastic), missed out on Lost Planet 3 (it’s MUCH better than the “my friend hated it” crowd says), Strider (also really good), or DmC (which some REALLY hated, but is still a blast if you go with it and just cut loose), paying a measly $15 for TEN games PLUS a few more FREE games next week, PLUS discount coupons on two more titles (one of them being the outstanding Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen)? That’s the definition of “no-brainer”. Which leads me to a Resident Evil joke I thought up this afternoon, but forgot by the time I got home because I was busy thinking of how to figure out when the heck I’d be able to play all these games.
But hey, that’s what backlogs are for, right? Riiiiight… *sigh*. SOLD.
2016 is turning into quite a packed year of indie game bliss for those looking for alternatives to AAA madness and yearly franchise games trying to recapture old glories long since past. One of my personal favorite indies is Whalebox Studios’ survival/action/RPG, Goliath (out on Steam tomorrow). A bit of time with the demo reveals its an intriguing, vastly fun to play mix of gameplay that should please fans of everything from Minecraft, Armored Core, Pacific Rim and a bunch of other influences that popped into my pointy head as I played. There’s a nicely cartoon aesthetic to the visuals that may initially fool you into thinking the game is a casual sort of fluff game. But my, isn’t it funny how visuals aren’t the big selling point when gameplay is tight and challenging, kids? Yeah, I thought you’d agree.
Anyway, the game’s focus on building and maintaining your Goliath is obviously key to the game, so it’s a benefit that it doesn’t take long before you get your first one built. You play as the a human survivor of a plane crash who ends up in a strange world where different factions are vying for some sort of superiority (as usual). However, with gigantic monsters stomping around in the wilds, let’s just say it’s not safe out there. Your character initially is stuck in the middle of nowhere after the plane wreck, but a radio call from a fellow survivor spurs him on to stay alive and find a means of making it out of that procedurally generated forest map. Your first (but not last) Goliath is a wooden one, but it’s no mere faux Tobanga you’ll be piloting. Nope, your modular mahogany mech is pretty sturdy and can take a bit of a whacking up to a point. As long as you’re near a source of wood or have the materials in your inventory, repairs are a cinch. Continue reading →
While the character animation could be more fluid and that environment draw-in during the 3D horse riding sequences needs a bit of cloud cover, the nostalgic look and overall atmosphere found in Goex Games’ (Roberto Montesano) still in-development Cursed West looks interesting and old school enough to warrant a closer inspection. My eye is set on this project that’s currently up on indiegogo for about the next two months with a somewhat modest goal of $3500. It’ll only cost less than a small lunch to get yourself a code or a bunch of lunches if you want a more personalized experience. The game also has a Steam Greenlight concept page as well as a a facebook page that could use a few more fans and perhaps a seasoned game developer popping in to let Roberto know he’s on the right track.
For a first game, this looks quite promising and it’ll be interesting to see or even play an in-progress build as it comes together and report on it at some point. Hopefully this indie western (straight out of San Luis, Argentina) would be tightened up to a fine shine and laid out on a few console platforms in addition to the already planned PC and Android releases. But we’ll see what happens as the game heads closer down the long road to completion. Hmmm… I wonder if Ennio Morricone is not too busy these days and if not, would he do an indie game soundtrack for not a ton of money? Now, THAT would be a pretty cool stretch goal, I’d say.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 