Ratchet & Clank PS4: Insomniac’s Got A Killer Game, But…


 

Well, now. I wasn’t at all a fan of the idea of a CG movie featuring these characters so the tagline “The Game Based On The Movie Based On The Game” made me cringe before I finished reading it. Nevertheless, all it took was one look at that trailer and later, the gameplay video below to change my mind. Mostly. Granted, Rainmaker Animation is certainly a talented group of folks and based on that E3 trailer from last year, they’ve certainly captured the spirit of the characters. Interestingly enough, pre-orders for the game are already being taken on a few sites despite not even the developer knowing what the price point will be.


 

That said, the big question is do we really need a movie at all? Insomniac Games is doing its best work on the PS4 to date with this remake/reboot, so there’s no question that will sell like hotcakes next year. But I don’t think the non-interactive movie will be as interesting to some gamers who don’t like sitting on their cans for an hour forty five or whatever NOT holding a controller in their hot little hands. Hell, people complain about cut scenes in games if they run over two minutes long. So having what amounts to an extended advertisement for the new game (and the PS4) may be seen as overkill to a bunch of folks who might skip paying for a ticket in favor of not so legally viewing the film once someone puts it online.

Eh, we’ll see what happens. I’m betting the critics who aren’t into games at all won’t get this much other than to lay praise on Rainmaker’s animation and storytelling. But what do I know? I’m the nut who wants a full on Disruptor remake. For the Vita. Yikes!

Japan Gets All The Cool Stuff: Remote Controlled R2-D2 Fridge


 

Okay, I want one of these just so I can see if it’s keeping those cold drinks cold because it’s using Carbonite and not deadly freon gas. I’d imagine Carbonite is somewhat non-toxic given that Han Solo went into the deep freeze long sleep encased in that stuff. On the other hand, it’s probably going to be really hard to open whatever beverage you pop into R2 if it comes out encased in a solid block of cold blackness. Hmmm… maybe this is an Empire plot, folks:

(thanks, love meme!
 

Anyway, this cool fridge is currently only coming out in Japan at some point this year from Haier’s Japanese branch, but I’d imagine demand for R2 will be high enough that some will end up being imported by those hardcore Star Wars collectors who want EVERYTHING, damn the shipping fees (which will probably cost more than the unit itself).

And hey! Just for fun, here’s a nifty and informative Star Wars infographic that popped into my inbox as this post was being typed. Thanks, Morphsuits!

Star Wars Infographic

Preview: The Deadly Tower of Monsters Looks Like A Nice Place to Visit


 

Atlus and developer ACE team are going to make some of us well-aged “B” movie fans really happy soon. The Deadly Tower of Monsters is coming to PC and PlayStation 4 soon and it looks like a total camp classic that captures the weird spirit of plenty of well-aged flicks that made for some fun weekends in front of the tube way back when. I’m gathering the humor will be lost on the more jaded gamers of today or those expecting new games to all look the same with super-shiny realism all over the place.

screen3_f
 

Nope, you’re not getting that here at all. TDToM seems to be presented from a mostly isometric perspective so comparisons to something like Diablo III or Gauntlet will no doubt be made by some. I’m liking the wires on that rocket above, the intentionally choppy stop-motion dinosaur and the super-colorful graphics while hoping there’s an optional black and white mode in the mix somewhere.

screen2_f screen4_f screen5_f screen6_f screen7_f screen1_f

 

As I won’t be at E3 this year, I’m not going to be getting any hands-on time with the game (boo!). But I’ll keep an ear to the ground and keep an eye peeled for videos of gameplay because this one sure looks like something I’d play to death and beyond. Now, if only it was coming to more consoles. But I guess we’ll see what happens if it does well enough to expand onto more systems. As usual… we shall see.

screen8_f

A Few Too Few Words About Christopher Lee…


 

Another light goes out and if you knew the man’s rather astounding body of work it was one of the brightest lights you’d ever seen. While he was known primarily for his work in the horror genre, the late Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was so much more than a one-note performer. Whether or not you liked some of the films he appeared in, he always gave his best even in the worst “B” flicks (Castle of Fu Manchu, anyone?). Some of us recall his films made with the late, great Peter Cushing (I’m partial to Horror Express) while younger viewers will know him from his work in The Lord of the Rings and a few Star Wars films.

I’d pick The Wicker Man (above) as my favorite Lee film because it’s a great flick that challenges viewers who come in expecting a standard horror tale. It’s a surprisingly intelligent genre film that works on a few levels and seeps into your bones for about a week or so after viewing. Go track it down (and don’t bother at all with the horrible remake) along with a few other Lee classics. I’m sure Turner Classic Movies will be running a marathon of his work shortly. But if you’re a film fan with room in your library you should think about adding a few of the man’s always re-watchable works to your collection.

Review: High Strangeness (Wii U)

High Strangeness Start ScreenPlatform: Wii U (also on PC)
Developer: Barnyard Intelligence Games/Crystal Labs
Publisher: Midnight City/Majesco
# of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Official Site
Score: B+ (85%)
 

HS 12-bit technology
 

While “short” by whatever “today’s standards” for game length is, High Strangeness is actually about as long as many of the 8 and 16-bit games it’s inspired by. A few too many gamers today are a wee bit spoiled by the still baffling comparison of game length somehow equaling overall quality so it’s great to play a new “retro” game that doesn’t wear you down with too many gimmicks before the ride is over. What’s here is a pretty cool throwback that bridges the game between the two eras with a “12-bit” approach that allows players to travel back and forth between two distinct visual styles. There’s also a mix of sci-fi and light horror vibes going on here with creepy-looking enemies, a big mystery and even a sentient cat to keep you dialed in from start to finish.

high strangeness 3 

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Random Art, Madness & Watching No Paint Dry Division

one for the road
 

Gyaaah. So, it looks as if the roof repair project is going to take a few more days, there’s now some more water damage from that pipe behind a wall here, there still needs to be a floow-up inspection and I’m still figuring out where to store a bunch of stuff for the upcoming wall takedown/repair job. On the stupider front, I’m finding out that one reason repairs seem to be so damned slow here is this apartment has been in the family since 1976 or ’77 and it seems that the management is deliberately having the maintenance folks do crappy work as a means to make me crazy enough to leave. Why? Well, I’m certainly not paying market rate rent for this nice place, that’s why. Of course, the entire system for repairs here is SO damned ancient that I’m not going to be at all surprised when some newer tenants in buildings here take it on the lam after they deal with those inept dolts in the office and all that (waste of) paperwork that comes for even the smallest repair job.

Eh, I drew a tree yesterday after getting knocked out of bed early by some knocking on the roof. Enjoy it vicarously for me, as I was thinking of dropping a real tree on some people a few blocks up the street who need to get out of that office and see the awful work that’s been done up here. Boo on people who don’t see how the other half live because they just don’t give a crap.

Some More Arrows To Make Me Quiver

New Arrows 002 (Custom) 

Well, now. Here’s how to make an icky Monday a far better one without doing much at all. My mailbox was stuffed with some nice upcoming release screeners from Arrow Video and MVD so I’ll be socked away checking out some stuff I’ve not seen before as well as revisiting some old friends. Spider Baby actually came earlier than the others, but it’s here just to even out the photo. Anyway, back to the screening room for me. So much for being anything resembling “productive” today.

Xseed’s E3 Lineup: Bugs, Babes, Brains, and Booms

XSEED E3 2015
 

We are excited to announce a wide breadth of titles that will be showcased at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2015.

Newly revealed games include The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel for PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®Vita, Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair for PlayStation®4, SENRAN KAGURA ESTIVAL VERSUS for PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita, and Return to PopoloCrois: A STORY OF SEASONS Fairytale for the Nintendo 3DS™.

We will also showcase the previously announced titles SENRAN KAGURA 2: Deep Crimson for Nintendo 3DS™, Onechanbara Z2: Chaos for PlayStation®4, Corpse Party: Blood Drive for PlayStation®Vita, and Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space for PlayStation®Vita.

Well, it sure looks as if Xseed Games is going for the early (but entirely made up by me) award of “Most Stupidly Cool Japanese Games coming to the West Sooner Than You’d Think” as they reveal their excellent E3 lineup. My brain is busy calculating how much time I’ll be spending in those EDF games (which deceptively hide hundreds of hours of play time in their initially simple run & shoot gameplay). Xseed really loves you so it seems most of these will be getting physical retail releases as well as digital. Excellent. I like my library handy so I can show off cover art or rap someone on the forehead with that plastic case if they make fun of what I play.

Anyway, color me giddy (again) and thanks (again) Xseed. You guys all rock (again!)

Stuff You Miss When You’re Not Paying Attention #214

Pac-Egg 006 (Custom)
 

Um, Happy Belated Birthday, Pac-Man! As I’ve been busy with some stuff here, I missed the big day for this classic arcade character. But my breakfast a few days back reminded me to check and yup, he’s a year older. Anyway, YES the photo is upside down because I just noticed that it looks as if that eggy-veggie thing I made has got an eye and eyebrow when it’s flipped that way. Okay, so I never said I was perfect. Well, at least ol’ Pac won’t come after me because I forgot to get him a card or bake a cake. He’s cool about that (or so I hear).

(Not So) Random Film of the Week: Humanoids From The Deep

Humanoids From the Deep MPIt’s pretty much a 60’s “B” flick dipped in the not for the kiddies gore and nudity of early 80’s slasher flicks. But on that level Humanoids of the Deep works. You’re pretty much getting The Horror of Party Beach and Creature From the Black Lagoon with a bit of actual horror, but the film is more notorious for its added in post-production scenes of icky, horny sea creatures molesting a few young actresses after whipping their bathing suits off. That caused a bit of a stir back when I saw this in 1980 with a few friends and I also recall a handful of people screaming and doing an exit dash at the film’s somewhat ALIEN-inspired final scene.

Back then I didn’t like the film all that much because of its extremes and that it felt like two different films crunched together at the expense of the better one. But over time it’s become something of a mash-up of intentional and unintentional comedy, eyeball-rolling “shock” scenes and yes, well-known cast members who didn’t realize they’d be starring in a rather mean-spirited exploitation moneymaker that would garner a loyal fan base. For me it’s more of a great guilty pleasure when I look at it now. Albeit with a big blood red caution buoy in the water if you’re squeamish or easily annoyed by gore and gratuitous nudity in a “roughie” manner.

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