PC Review: Portal Knights

Posted on March 5, 2016 by geelw

Platform: PC

Developer: Keen Games
Publisher: 505 Games
# of Players: 1 – ?
MSRP: $14.99
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)
Official Site
Score: A- 90%

Even though it’s still in Early Access on Steam, Portal Knights has become something of a phenomenon among its growing user base. According to 505 Games, to date players have:

– Looted more than 232 million items

– Mined more than 103 million blocks

– Killed more than 23 million enemies

– Crafted more than 19 million items

and yes indeed, I’m one of those players having a blast with the title. While it does start out a wee bit slowly, some literal digging around in that first (and later, every) area will have you soon seeing that there’s a great deal under the pretty surface that really goes a long way in making things even more entertaining. While geared towards younger players (note that E10+ rating above), the RPG elements, often challenging combat, crafting and exploration elements have a very wide appeal for novices as well as hardcore gamers looking for the next big deal.

Things kick of simply enough with a character creation screen where you choose your gender and select one of three classes (Warrior, Archer, Mage) before warping into the first randomly generated world. There’s a set of basic tutorial pop-ups that cover a few things and Minecraft fans will probably get wise to what to do a wee bit faster than anyone who’s not played that game. That said, there are enough differences from that game (and the side-scrolling Terraria) that set it apart. For one thing, other than the simplistic character faces and baggy starter outfits, the visuals (which run at a zippy 60fps) are much more appealing and lively here. Rich colors and nifty visual effects abound in each area, making exploration always fun when you make it to new worlds. Monster types are nicely varied as well, changing at night to deadlier varieties once you unlock your first portal. Continue reading →

READS: Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion

Posted on March 3, 2016 by geelw

Yeah, you know you want it NOW. But you’ll need to wait until February 24 to get your sweaty little palms on it. Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion (MSRP $69.99) is a gorgeous limited edition hardcover tome that’s 246 pages thick and chock full of big and little words about cult film, its history, stars, and why the sub-genre is so beloved and necessary. You could probably beat someone who disagrees with your entertainment choices quite senseless with this book (which measures about 8.5 x 11 inches). But that’s really not a good idea as you probably also can’t take it to jail with you to catch up on your required reading. That and if you watch enough cult films you KNOW the warden’s going to be a real jerk and a half (plus tax).

Featuring the writing of: Robin Bougie, Michael Brooke, Paul Corupe, David Del Valle, David Flint, Cullen Gallagher, Kevin Gilvear, Joel Harley, David Hayles, Pasquale Iannone, Alan Jones, Tim Lucas, Michael Mackenzie, Maitland McDonagh, Tom Mes, John Kenneth Muir, Kim Newman, James Oliver, Vic Pratt, Jasper Sharp, Kenneth J. Souza, Mike Sutton, Stephen Thrower, Caelum Vatnsdal, and Doug Weir, there’s enough here to start (or close) several cinematic conversations. I’m still poring through a PDF review copy, but so far I’m significantly entertained enough to say it’s a must-buy, especially if you’ve been building up your collection of Arrow Video Blu-Ray/DVD sets since the North American kickoff through MVD Entertainment Group.

March Already? Safari Ltd. Has You Covered (As Usual)

Posted on March 2, 2016 by geelw

While it’s a hugely unfair real life animal battle, March is supposed to swing in breezy and bold like a lion and prance out like a lamb with the promise of better weather ahead.

Oddly enough, you’d think a cute as all get-out lamb would mean itchy wool sweaters that are still worn by many when March begins SHOULD be how the month begins. However that would mean a reversal to March going out like a lion that pounced on that poor lamb for its din-din (*yikes!*) and a lot of traditionalists getting somewhat upset at that change from formula.

Anyway, you can get that Lion ($6.99) and Bleating Lamb ($2.99) above from the fine folks at Safari Ltd. along with a bunch of other great animal mineral and vegetable figures of assorted size and all high-quality, to boot. Back in a bit with a bit more.

The Count Lucanor Wants To Haunt Your PC Soon

Posted on February 29, 2016 by geelw

Funny that I come back from the almost but not quite dead just in time for The Count Lucanor to want to kill my remaining free time.Why is that poor pixelated piggy getting whacked on the butt on the left? My curiosity is piqued and I’m suddenly feeling guilty about having a bacon craving a few hours back that went away a few seconds later.

Coming to Steam March 3, 2016 from indie developer Baroque Decay caught my attention a while back with its dark theme and pretty pixel art style which has since expanded to include some nice animated cut scenes that seem almost Ghibli-like:

But there’s a more grim tale at work under all that cuteness, of course. How grim? I do intend to find out and let you all know, ladies and gents. Hey, when a press release or game page notes comparisons to The Legend of Zelda and Silent Hill, that game NEEDS to be played. Back in a bit with some sort of update.

One Thing I Won’t Be Doing Today…

Posted on February 28, 2016 by geelw

Oof. So… I’ve been waylaid by some sort of disgusting bug that’s had me coughing up assorted colored fluids of various viscosity for about the past week and a half. It’s finally in the fading out phase as of this morning, but that just means I’m even more behind in caching up to a load of work. Whee. Anyway, as I’m finally getting back on my feet (and believe me, being in bed too long isn’t all it’s cracked up to be), here’s a short list of things I won’t be doing today because I’m a bit busy.

Well, it’s ONE thing because, yeah – I’m too busy to make a longer list:

(Thanks, Baka o Mestre de Obras!)

1: Watching the Oscars! No surprise there as I haven’t really cared about the Academy Awards for some time (but paradoxically, would probably make a good member because I’d actually watch EVERY damn screener I got in the mail). I haven’t cared for the overblown spectacle for ages thanks to too many good films getting overlooked in every category and the show focusing on too many hours of pre-awards silliness (old Hollywood glamour is dead and these new “stars” trying too hard to recapture it is somewhat strange to my eyeballs). This year’s controversy doesn’t affect my choice either as I believe films and performances in them shouldn’t be made solely to win awards (despite decades of actors making specific films just to win awards).

I guess it’s the Marlon Brando meets George C. Scott mentality for me these days, but back when I was a kid, the family would gather ’round the tube and watch the show every year just for the spectacle. Over the last 20 years or so, I’ve tuned out slowly and backed away from the festivities with no ill effects, so this new tradition continues with the added element of me not even going to watch out of curiosity. So, yeah. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ with it. Now watch me end up doing something one of these days that has me win one of those things. I’ll be a crow-eating sap if there ever was one.

Dark Souls III “True Colors” Trailer: Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun

Posted on February 24, 2016 by geelw

So, yep. Using the Cyndi Lauper version would have made this bleak gameplay video a wee less gloomy, but this new-ish version works beautifully. It’s great to see Bandai Namco and veteran developer FromSoftware not only making sure Dark Souls III is the best entry in the series to date, but making sure veteran players know that the new game isn’t going to make it any easier on those stepping into its deadly world for the first time. All that dying badly does come with the reward of finally figuring out how to clear areas without taking much damage as you lay low foes that previously gave you problems.

Of course, clearing one area out just means those new enemies with completely different challenges await. But hey – one set of problems at a time, right? Once you dive into Dark Souls III, you’re not coming up for air any time soon. Unless you try and escape in order to go try and do something else. The game won’t like that one bit, by the way.

My Brain Wants to Play, But One Side Says “Nay”

Posted on February 21, 2016 by geelw

(Source: lifesuxx)

Oh, bother. I’ve been somewhat good for a while, trying to not explode into a sarcastic ball of caffeinated noise bouncing around the room ranting about all sorts of stuff. It’s hard to write about entertainment you like when the real world is becoming a lot less entertaining and a lot more unlikable. We may be in the process of having Max Shreck voted into office by a bunch of goggle-eyed TV-raised rubes who believe that well-clothed celebrity charlatan with the failed businesses who also took money from people who paid to attend a “university” with his name on it (just because it had his name on it) is someone who can “get the job done” and who just might get the job done. Well, if that “job” in question is traveling backwards in time to a few lousy places in history.

Ugh. Yep, here comes the Howling Man…

(Thanks, N0stril!)

Anyway, all that and more have been rattling around in my busy little head of late and that rattling is getting louder. While I deal with that noise, I’m going to be nice and stick to writing more about stuff I like primarily as a means of keeping me distracted while I deal with what’s turning into a weirder year than even I expected. Back in a bit – I have a ton of notes and press kits that I’ve been going over this past week to keep me busy, but I could use a nice adult beverage and an ear to bend.

Sword Coast Legends: Drop A d20 On This DM-Ready D&D Adventure Headed to Consoles Soon

Posted on February 20, 2016 by geelw

Okay, I had no idea Sword Coast Legends had come out on PC last fall (oops!). Thankfully, the new Dungeons & Dragons game is also headed to PS4 and Xbox One this spring as a digital download at the must-have price point of $19.99. This includes all the content from the PC version and additions such as the Drow as a new playable sub-race, additional character skill trees, hundreds of new placeable objects for DMs, new areas, new visual effects, hardcore gameplay options, and much more. While it can be played solo, SCL seems tailor made for co-op play and Dungeon Master (DM) created custom adventures that extend the game’s life cycle even more.

Speaking of more… Continue reading →

PC Review: Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders

Posted on February 20, 2016 by geelw

Platform: PC (also on PS4, Xbox One)
Developer: Artefacts Studios
Publisher: Microids
#of Players: 1
MSRP: $29.99
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Official Site
Score: B+ 85%

In Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders, you play Hercule Poirot, the dapper detective with the well-trimmed mustache whose “little grey cells” got him through plenty of crime solving tales made famous by the author and represented in books, on stage, screen and yes, videogames. Developer Artefacts’ decision to make their Poirot so close to the source leaves exactly no room for intentional player error or many non-Poirot like affectations to mess with the formula. While this results in a game that’s impossible to “lose” because you’ve made a serious error in judgment or otherwise, it does deliver the proper feeling of the man at work as a series of not so random alphabet-related murders unfold.

Part of what makes the story and game so intriguing is the killer’s choice of Poirot as the person to mail clues to each crime to before he commits them. The killer’s confidence in taunting and tasking Poirot to track him (or her) down means there’s a certain sort of methodical insanity at work that’s somewhat fascinating. In this modern information age where under some circumstances, electronically sending death threats like that would (or should) lead to a suspect most likely being caught before they got too far into the alphabet, the 1935 setting means those mailed letters give the killer time to plot and Poirot time to think. The unfortunate side effect is a new crime scene and recently killed body to pore over for evidence, but as they say, nothing is indeed perfect, mes amis… Continue reading →

Can Dark Horse Comics See The Future? I Kind of Hope Not

Posted on February 17, 2016 by geelw

Ha and double ha, Dark Horse Comics! Getting Volume 1 of PANIC ($49.99) out in this rather panicky election year that’s giving plenty of people the heebie-jeebies for any number of reasons. Yeah, yeah – it wasn’t planned to happen this way, but it’s still funny (to me at least). I’d only seen a few very ratty issues of the mag at a comic convention way back in the 80’s, so finally getting to read through the first six issues in a sturdy hardcover tome was a great exercise.

It’s interesting to see everything intact from the nicely recolored art to the editorial pages that note the climate of the time that was VERY anti-comics at the expense of killing of companies left and right that couldn’t or wouldn’t conform to the crazies. Great satire and parody hold up to even the most pointed of criticism, so despite some very dated references, there are still plenty of laughs to be had. So, remove that stick from where it’s lodged, have a nice seat with your feet up and prepare to exercise those smile muscles that of late have probably turned into a near-permanent scowl. Oh, and one more thing: consider a good moisturizer before reading as Dark Horse is not responsible for cracked faces from perusing what’s here.