Onechanbara Z2 Chaos Now On Sale: Let’s Get Physical (But Digital Is Okay, Too)

Posted on July 21, 2015 by geelw

Let’s get this out of the way. You’re NOT buying Onechanbara Z2 Chaos because it’s anything close to AAA quality “Game of the Year” material. Nope, you’re buying because you’re a guy or gal who really like SUPER offbeat action games from Japan featuring under-dressed but overpowered ladies slicing and dicing hordes of undead creatures and creeps. That and the game is also pretty darn hilarious because it’s so intentionally over the top while being extremely accessible to about anyone who picks up a controller and wants to take it for a spin. XSEED Games has two versions of the game out today; a digital download for $39.99 that includes the game and rather sassy “Strawberries and Banana” DLC “costumes”.

Hey, both fruit are quite tasty and VERY good for you! Lots of vitamins and minerals and other good stuff like that there. So that LE has some nutritional and educational value. Get two!

If you want something to touch and show off (fear not, Aya, Saki and the other gals won’t chop your sweaty hands off), run like the wind to your nearest game emporium with $49.99 and get the yummy limited “Banana Split” edition shown above. That set nets you a soundtrack CD packed with almost 80 minutes of music from both this game and its Japan-only predecessor Onechanbara Z: Kagura, an 80-page softcover “Behind the Bikini” book loaded with artwork and back story from both games, and a code to download that aforementioned “Strawberries & Banana” premium DLC costume. Let’s see now: so far, Onechanbara Z2 Chaos is (according to me) nutritious, educational, “sassy”, and a few other things. That sounds like a buy to me. And probably XSEED Games as well.

Random Art: Lost Weekend Or Future Gold Mine? It’s Your Move, Hollywood

Posted on July 20, 2015 by geelw

A few years back I was sitting in a diner listening to some folks at a nearby table debating some recent Hollywood remakes that were terrible (what else is new?) because they were basically updated version of the original films with more modern jokes. One of the guys at that table made the point that it would be better to remake a film that kept the title for familiarity but yanked the concept into new territory. A light bulb went off in my nosy little head and later at home I whipped up a poster idea for an old film I hated, Weekend at Bernie’s, re-imagining it as a dead serious zombie film of some sort with some of the same cast just to mess with the minds of those who recall it as a comedy.

For some reason, this idea keeps popping in and out of my head every few months or so. Recently, thanks to more remakes that don’t need to be made at all getting some funky not so fresh trailers (like this one. Seriously? WHY?) But I’m not about to suggest any budding to veteran screenwriter tackle this for real. Well, unless you’re willing to deal with those who somehow hold this stinker “sacred” lining up at your doorstep (or on some message boards) to take you to task for desecrating their nostalgic memories of this flick.

Anyway, that first piece above is my latest revision of the idea, the one below that has a font I like better, the third is an old piece I just added some lettering to and this link goes to my horrible-looking original poster concept. I even worked up a plot outline at that time, but it didn’t have much of an ending. Or a middle for that matter. Hey, I just come up with ideas, ladies and germs. Someone toss me a sack of money and yeah, I’ll come up with the rest of that movie in a heartbeat. Inspiration comes from the strangest of places. Like a sudden sack of money, for example.

Tembo The Badass Elephant Says: “Don’t Forget Me… OR ELSE!”

Posted on July 20, 2015 by geelw

Is this new Sega-published game out tomorrow equal parts Rambo, Dumbo and Sonic the Hedgehog? Nope, not really… but it’s pretty darn close. But you probably want to buy Tembo the Badass Elephant because if you don’t, Tembo might get mad. And you don’t want to get Tembo mad at you because elephants don’t forget. Ever. Hey, I don’t know about YOU, but I don’t want to be in the shower or walking down the street on an other wise fine and dandy day when all of a sudden I hear a trumpety bellow and a wall comes crashing down on me that Tembo just burst through like a pissed off Kool-Aid Man. Seven and a half tons of fun on my head (not counting the rubble from building that just got crashed through)? Nope, not happening.

Anyway, the game in question SHOULD be bought and played not because of any unveiled threats, but because it’s from the geniuses at Game Freak, who brought Pokemon to the world for Nintendo consoles, a little VERY under-appreciated gem called Pulseman to the Sega Mega Drive back in the 90’s. So, YES. You need a little Tembo in your gaming life tomorrow. Or else you get a LOT of Tembo coming your way when you least expect it. PC, PS4 and Xbox One only. Wii U and handheld system owners? Well, I guess you’ll be getting a little big visit from some very angry elephant soon. And he won’t be playable. Carry a sack of peanuts and a live mouse with you at all times so you can distract him as you make good your escape.

Random Film of the Week(end): Bloody Birthday

Posted on July 19, 2015 by geelw

If you’ve never had children and are thinking of bearing your own brood, watching a film like 1981’s Bloody Birthday just might put you off the idea for a while. Like forever. This sort of obscure horror flick isn’t anywhere near as gory as many of the more familiar 80’s “B” movies at all. But the overall tone is more than a tiny bit disturbing as the film is more or less an unfiltered version of The Bad Seed without the tacked-on Hollywood ending.

The funny thing is from the opening moments you’d think the film was going to be somewhat supernatural in nature. But it’s not at all (which turns out to be a really good thing). In 1970, three babies are born to three different mothers at the same hospital during a solar eclipse and ten years later, all three end up as evil pre-teen murder machines. Who just so happen to live on the same block or at least within walking distance of each others homes. Yikes. The kids, Debbie (Elizabeth Hoy), Curtis (Billy Jayne), and Steven (Andy Freeman) manage to whittle down the population of Meadowvale, California while remaining undetected because who’d see such innocent little darrrrrrlings as a trio of mini-Manson family members? Well, perhaps Debbie’s dad, who happens to be the town sheriff? Nope. He’s more clueless than a headless Sherlock Holmes. Faster than you can say “There goes the neighborhood!”, well… you know the rest of that one, right?

Continue reading →

The Martian Trailer: Reading Is Fundamental. The Internet is NOT.

Posted on July 18, 2015 by geelw

While this gorgeous trailer for Ridley Scott’s upcoming film based Andy Weir’s bestselling novel The Martian looks fantastic, it seems that there’s some internet outrage over the trailer spoiling the entire film by looking as if it plays out the entire plot in three minutes. It doesn’t. I haven’t even read the book yet but have talked to two people who have and as they’re they types who don’t go online and babble about what’s not in that trailer, I’m told that there’s a good deal you don’t see. Which makes perfect sense, mind you. Yes, movie trailers tend to be a bit too dumbed down in many cases and yes, there are films where you see pretty much everything you need to well before it hits theaters.

The “problem” with The Martian trailer is all that pent up anger about other film’s spoiler packed teases seems to have spilled over at just the wrong time. The easy way to avoid ANY spoilers to films you may be interested in is not to watch them, period. Of course, if you want NO spoilers at all, don’t even read the book the film is based on and go in cold as Mars after sunset. I bet you’ll enjoy the hell out of that film and want to go buy the book after you leave the theater. Also, stay OFF message boards and other sites where people waste time opining away based on their lack of information, unwillingness to learn any new information and tendency to argue to the death the most ill-informed and idiotic points easily quashed by actual facts. Your sanity will thank you kindly and you’ll be able to go about your day with less stress.

Case closed and you’re welcome.

PSN Flash Sale: Sci-Fi Games and Flicks Up For Grabs

Posted on July 18, 2015 by geelw

So. Say you’re sitting around doing not too much this weekend, happen to have a PSN account and need something (or a few things) entertaining to do with your time. If you’re willing to spend a little money (or more than a little if you let yourself get too caught up in the bargains), yep, there’s another PSN Flash Sale going on. Expect to see plenty off excellent deals as listed on this PlayStation Blog post… and look, your wallet is already hopping out of that pocket or purse and is running away from you! Go get it!

See, this is why you NEED to always vacuum under the bed, folks.

Hmmm. Fortunately, wallets love playing with dust bunnies so they’re easy to catch. I’ll leave you to it, then. The Sci-Fi Deals Flash Sale ends Monday, July 20 at 9am Pacific Time, so get moving if you want to score some nice deals.

Listening Room: I’ve Got PIXELS In My Ears

Posted on July 17, 2015 by geelw

So, I’m sitting here typing this post as the soundtrack to Chris Columbus‘ upcoming PIXELS is playing through a nice set of headphones and the score is doing a decent job of transporting me back to the 80’s on a few fronts. Composer Henry Jackman (Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6, X-Men: First Class) has whipped up a really fine original score that I think intentionally tips its cap a bit to the works of John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith from around that time period when both were doing some of their best work. There’s also a really nice trip down memory lane in one track that has some arcade-y sound effects and synth keyboard work that fit the era quite well.

As for the film itself, I’ve been peeking at trailers and clips and it certainly looks like fun in a Ghostbusters meets Wreck-It Ralph manner:

Granted, it’s also going to be one of those movies some parents who grew up playing all those classics may need to drag their more jaded kids to as they try and explain how awesome those ancient games were back in the day. But if the box office tallies from Wreck-It Ralph are any indication ($471 million worldwide), this one might be a bigger hit than expected. As usual, we shall see. At least the soundtrack holds up quite well in delivering the aural goods. PIXELS rolls into theaters on July 24, 2015. Varèse Sarabande will release the PIXELS – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally and on CD simultaneously with the film.

Godzilla’s Here. You Can Run And Scream Now.

Posted on July 16, 2015 by geelw

(Thanks, Bandai Namco Entertainment America!)

If you heard some very loud roaring and thunderous stomping noises this week around Tuesday or so, nope, that wasn’t Godzilla outside paying your town a visit. I was probable a bunch of kaiju fans tromping down to their nearest game emporium to pick up Godzilla for the PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4. While the game comes highly recommended no matter which platform you own, PS4 users get the big fat bonus of playing as any monster in the game in any mode right from the start. Nice. Of course, if all that Sturm und Drang was actually weather related and you were stuck indoors watching lightning bolts fighting each other for scare-space, well aren’t you lucky you don’t like in a copper house?

Anyway, yep. This one needs to be played. One more for the backlog!

Music To Die For: Song of the New Wine

Posted on July 15, 2015 by geelw

(thanks, LesbianVampireLover!)

Not to make today any extra gloomy (it’s not, but I know some of you are sensitive like that with some subjects), but we all have to go sometime. Although we can’t always pick the manner of our demise (er, under “normal” circumstances), it’s nice to have the time to really plan out everything one can in regards to how our friends and families celebrate our time spent here. Of course, this is just an excuse to play this clip from 1943’s awesome Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man which just so happens to be awesome thanks to that clip above. That said, I hope someone plays this at my funeral or at least hums it before things get all sappy. Everybody sing, now!

Lost Dimension Update: When The End Is Only The Beginning

Posted on July 15, 2015 by geelw

With Lost Dimension coming on July 28 to PS3 and Vita and yours truly almost done with his second play through for review purposes, it’s tough to keep from doing some bean spilling on what to expect from the game. Of course, you’ll have to chase me down and force a lot of real American dollars into my pockets just to get me to cough up the juicy details. I don’t carry change with me (the rustling of bills in a pocket hurts my follicles), so you’ll have to start with one hundred bucks at a minimum before I cough up some answers. But as I’ve already put a decent chunk of time into what’s here, let’s just safely say that the game has taught me how to lie very effectively. You may not get the truth out of me but you’ll at least get a convincing tale that will keep you entertained enough to believe every single word.

Of course, you just may bribe me and get nothing but dead air. Ever since I got my review code there’s been a black van outside my building with tinted windows and an ATLUS logo on the door. Methinks I’ll end up IN said black van if I talk too much.