Always Sometimes Monsters Trailer: You’re The Moral Of This Story…

Posted on April 4, 2014 by geelw

Coming in May from developer Toronto-based developer Vagabond Dog and publisher Devolver Digital, Always Sometimes Monsters looks to tackle a few of life’s more interesting challenges in playable form. That trailer has piqued my interest for a few reasons, as it seems the game isn’t starring your generic hero or heroine and in fact, it looks as if you’re allowed to create a character that expands into what they used to call “alternative lifestyles” back in the day. Okay, I’m kidding a bit. It’s always good to see games embrace all types of people and this one looks as if it’ll resonate even among non-gamers who see that trailer and get to thinking about some of their own real life choices in similar situations. Well, that’s exactly what the developer wants, so I think they’ve got the attention of some of you now, right?

Alien Isolation Update: The Sounds Of Nostalgia Recreated For Your Screaming Pleasure…

Posted on April 4, 2014 by geelw

What’s looking like the best Alien game to date is getting even better thanks to the development team’s focus on getting every element right as rain. Jerry Goldsmith‘s score to Alien was and in not only one of his best works, it’s one of the best genre soundtracks ever created (even though the original film drops a chunk of it in favor of cues from Goldsmith’s score to Freud and some classical tracks). I could write an entire post on the score alone, but I’ll wax poetic on it at some point in the future, as I’m kind of otherwise occupied with a living pile of work shuffling around the room here and making a nuisance of itself. Anyway, as you can see and hear here, Alien Isolation will get an additional layer of creepy thanks to the sound design and as a huge fan of the original film, I couldn’t be happier.

Alien Isolation lands on PC and PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One on October 7, 2014. back with more once Sega hits the inbox with an update…

New Mario Kart 8 Gameplay Trailer: HD Does Make A Difference, Doesn’t It?

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

While a few previews I’ve perused say it’s more or less the same old Mario Kart in terms of gameplay, on the visual front at least, Nintendo has a killer game here. Now, I’m not a big fan of this series because I prefer more realistic looking racers and have been karted out for years thanks to too many sessions with older entries in this franchise. But it’s hard to ignore those shiny (finally) CG-quality visuals doing their thing (and how!). Granted, the Wii U needs more than one game to push its sales numbers up and this one will indeed sell to fans of the games and maybe even move a few folks to finally commit to purchasing the console. On the other hand, at the rate new first-party games are dropping on the console, Nintendo will need to hope this one blows the doors off anything else released in May just so sales are steady or at least massive within the first month. As always, we shall see, but I predict yet another “evergreen” for the company that sells for as long as they continue to make games for the console.

Dungeon of the Endless Update: Your Multi-Almost Everything Game is Almost Ready!

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

Amplitude Studios’ upcoming multi-hybrid game is looking quite spectacular in this new trailer and updated screens combo plus the mix of genres (just watch the trailer, as the very thought of writing all that out is making my fingers hurt. Here, go ogle some new screens and make sure to read some of the amusing descriptions in the pics that have them:

Okay, let me get back to work, because I got caught up in reading some of those screens as well. You can get more info on Dungeon of the Endless HERE (official site!) and HERE (the game’s Steam page where you can sign up for early access and more!)

Godzilla “Whatever It Takes” Tv Spot: Okay, Now You’re Just Showing Off…

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

Alright, you big radioactive lizard, that’s it. We’re ONLY at what, the THIRD new TV ad and it’s already a “nothing stops it, not even the bomb!” moment? Well, okay then. I guess that’s a good thing, right? Although I’d have personally preferred a gag clip insert of Slim Pickens riding that H-bomb down to glory from Dr. Strangelove to no effect (this time) just to get people who remember that film chuckling and those who’ve never seen it (but need to) wondering where the hell that scene came from. Yaaaa-hooooo! Anyway, Godzilla opens here in the US on May 16, 2014.

Alien Abduction: (So Far) This One’s Not For The Birds…

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, Joblomovienetwork!)
Hmmm. Usually, these modern sci-fi/horror flicks don’t phase me one bit because it’s all the same thing they try for and often fail at miserably on a few fronts. I do like what I see here so far from Alien Abduction, although I may be the only one who finds films about alien abductions pretty dull in general (sorry, Barney and Betty Hill!). That said, this is one to watch for me when it suddenly pops up on cable a few months from now. The sci-fi/horror genre certainly needs a good kick to the pants, so here’s to hoping this one delivers the goods and then some…

Risen Comes to GOG.com: Adventure (And Lots of Dying For The Impatient) Await!

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

One of my favorite adventure/RPGs of the past few years is finally DRM-free and ready (once again) for its close-up. While the Xbox 360 version of Risen suffered from a terrible downgrade in visual quality, the gameplay was intriguing and challenging enough to keep me playing. Of course, the PC version is the way to go if you can run it smoothly with all the settings up, so here you go for a measly four bucks. While the game is shorter than developer Piranha Bytes’ Gothic games, there are a ton of things to do and places to go on that deadly island your character gets shipwrecked on. The solid sense of accomplishment you get from surviving those early encounters is bolstered even further as you take down enemies that previously caused you grief (and there are many right from the beginning of the game) and your character grows into a force to be reckoned with.

Anyway, I’ll shut up now and let you get to checking this one out. It’s a really nice surprise for fans of European made open world RPGs as well as quite the sleeper that should have gotten a lot more attention. As for Risen 2? Well, we’ll talk about that one later, as I still need to finish it one of these days and can’t say whether or not I like it just yet…

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing 2 Gets Knockbacked Into May…

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

Game delays are nothing new, so this isn’t really a big surprise. Still, you have to love the press release Neocore Games sent out to announce the delay:

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II Delayed due to Monster Invasion

Slightly delayed, but no need to worry – all that extra time will be spent polishing the game. The new release date is set to May 22, 2014.

So, what happened to the April release date of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II? Well, we could blame the supernatural or the bad Vrikolak meat in the fridge, but the truth is, we want to release a superb game as polished as possible on release and that will take a little longer than we thought. We want to make sure the sequel is superior to the first game in every aspect and it keeps you nailed to your chairs all the way to the end with its engaging new story. Now the new date will also mark the anniversary of the first game’s release. So be ready to hunt down the new swarm of monstrosities when the game hits Steam on May 22, 2014.

All of you are reaping souls right now anyway, aren’t you?

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II is available for pre-order on PC. To pre-purchase the game, head to neocoregames.com/store and choose from the various supporter packages in various price ranges.

Me, I’m currently NOT reaping souls because Blizzard has ignored PS3 and Xbox 360 owners of Diablo III, but I have other stuff to keep me occupied while I wait for the man with the hat and Lady Katarina to make their second appearance in a more polished form. That, and I can also replay the beta a few more times just to see how all those other character classes do against the hordes.

Godzilla “I Can’t Believe This Is Happening” TV Spot: Well, Start Running Anyway!

Posted on April 2, 2014 by geelw

Of course, the ultimate in-joke is being IN a theater watching Godzilla when there’s a Godzilla-like event that suddenly happens outside (eek). What with all these natural and man-made disasters taking place on a seemingly regular scale, I think I may hold out on seeing this in a theater after all. I’d probably be the first one out the door to run screaming down the street into a manhole or newly opened fault line break anyway (which would make it into the inevitable Hollywood movie that pops up about whatever event takes place because SOME people never believe the news or what’s in a work of non-fiction until they see it recreated with actors they “know”. Now, hmmmm… who’s going to play me in that disaster flick? I’ll take some ideas now in case I’m not around to see the profits from the movie…

Amazon Fire TV: An Interesting Must-Buy For Some. Just Not For Me, Though…

Posted on April 2, 2014 by geelw

Say “Hello” to the Amazon Fire! Sure, it’s only $99 and does that newfangled streaming thing everyone with a proper connection loves (despite some silly issues), but that extra $40 for a controller to play games? Bleah. Amazon could have subsidized that or at least made it cheaper, as I can see multiplayer gaming for families in the same room getting expensive with a few controllers (which this thing hopefully supports). Anyway, If I were to get one of these, I’d only use it for gaming, as the movies I like tend to not be on a streaming service at all or show up, but then disappear after a while, making it tough to have an actual “library” one could call one’s own.

I have a few other issues with this box (and any other “streaming” box out there), but I know most of you are drooling and whipping out that credit card. Well, if you DO grab this, make sure to shell out for that controller and ABSOLUTELY buy Telltale Games’ wonderful, well-written and frightening as hell The Walking Dead game. It’s quite playable even if you’ve never picked up a controller before and if you’re a fan of the comic and/or TV show, it’s a MUST because it introduces a whole new set of characters and situations that will have you hooked in right from the start.