This gallery contains 16 photos.
All I know is there had BETTER be a line in Little Orbit’s upcoming Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations where someone says to Jake (and that someone should be Finn) “Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown…”. Okay, I’ll still … Continue reading
As a longtime fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series since the mid-1990’s, I’ll admit to getting a glorious case of the heebie-jeebies about Persona 4: Dancing All Night as soon as I heard it was in the works. However, as Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax showed after I dragged myself kicking and screaming into both games and loving them, a little funky is a LOT of fun.
When the opportunity arose to check out a review code for P4: DAN, on went my finest disco wear with the hope that I didn’t look too foolish on that digital dance floor. Thankfully, the game doesn’t disappoint where it counts and even the most jaded non-music game fan of the franchise will want to slide somewhat electrically into their favorite game emporium on September 29, Vita in hand to snap this one up.
If you’re a Mega Man fan who’s cranky that Kenji Inafune’s “homage” Mighty No. 9 has been delayed until next year, you might want to poke your mouse over to Steam pronto and check out 20XX, the upcoming 2D side-scrolling rogue-like platformer from Batterystaple Games currently in Early Access on Steam. That alpha version will soon be getting boosted up to beta status next Tuesday, but what’s here is very playable and well on the way to being an instant classic any MM fan would love. 20XX is a mash-up of familiar gameplay with rogue-like randomness to the levels and lots of loot to collect. It’s also old-school tough, great looking and a ton of fun to play.
Some crowd-funded game projects tend to be hit or miss affairs when it comes to getting backers. Get enough (or too much) buzz for a silly little meme game that’s got an much depth as a broken pencil point and you can rake in money like as if the wind is blowing it fiercely through your front door.
On the other hand, work hard at a bigger but not hugely promoted game in a familiar but quite packed genre and you get a slight breeze of contributors that drift in at not a quick enough pace to make that funding target.
Newcastle upon Tyne-based Elyn Studios is hard at work on a pretty cool game called OMNIS – The Erias Line, and you should probably go check out the demo over on Indie DB because while still a work in progress (there’s a fair amount of placeholder art), the game is coming along really nicely.
And sooner than you think, although paradoxically a wee bit late for some who wanted it to arrive last year. Anyway, Dragon’s Dogma on PS3 and Xbox 360 was a great surprise hit for Capcom back in 2012, and less than a year later the Dark Arisen expansion added all-new content on a disc or as DLC that also changed up the main game with a few fixes. PC gamers have been screaming to the skies for Capcom to get this one-two punch of fantasy action/RPG greatness out on Windows and those wishes will be granted come January 2016.
Continue reading
Platform: PlayStation Vita
Developer: Aquaplus
Publisher: Atlus
# of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
MSRP: $39.99 (Retail/Digital)
Score: A- (90%)
Fans of Mature-rated fan service galore will absolutely be in deep grin mode with Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & the Monster Seal, which also happens to be an excellently designed and lengthy dungeon crawler. for the record, developer Aquaplus doesn’t reinvent the wheel at all here. But the gameplay is solid and challenging enough that fans of old-school Wizardry games and more recent riffs on it (Etrian Odyssey, Elminage Original) will find the game an excellent time eater.
In addition to some pleasing visuals, smooth dungeon movement and plenty of quick turn-based random battles against enemies that aren’t pure pushovers keep things rolling merrily along. The rather heavy fan service (in the form of plenty of under-dressed character art ranging from mild to somewhat creepy) will indeed be a sticking point for prudes and anyone else determined to dislike the game for the one thing it’ll sell for to some players who like this sort of content. Interestingly enough, the game somehow balances that out thematically by adding a religious subplot and characters to the mix. It doesn’t make up for everything, but it’s amusing, surprisingly well written (for a game such as this) and intelligently implemented. Continue reading
Yet another stellar Arrow Video release through MVD Visual, Robert Hossein’s 1969 western Cemetery Without Crosses is a great, grim and gloomy slow-burner of a revenge tale that’s short on dialog but delivers its message almost flawlessly.
Hossein (who also stars in the film and co-wrote it with Claude DeSailly) makes his take on the spaghetti western a memorable one with some excellent set pieces and a mean set of twists that make the film worth repeat viewing. This is one of those films with no real “likable” characters to root for – you’re dropped into a little spot in their personal hell as an audience and get to see what happens as things play out. Par for the course, Arrow also delivers the goods when it comes to a quality HD transfer and some fine special features. Continue reading
The first time I saw it in the mid-1980’s on a borrowed VHS tape that had a few other films crammed onto it, I never made it through Last House on the Left. And neither did the tape it was recorded on. During the agonizing scene where poor Phyllis is rendered gutless, the tape broke, ending my torture but making me insanely curious as to how the rest of the film would lay out. Amusingly enough, while I didn’t plan on finding out in a hurry, time has a way of speeding some things up. Not too long afterwards (okay, about four or five years later) I saw Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring and realized Wes Craven was more than a bit influenced by that classic film.
That made me go locate a beat up VHS tape another friend owned and watch it from start to finish, appreciating it far more by the finale than I did when I first saw it. Amusingly enough, I didn’t seek out Craven’s other films at all. I always seemed to be in the middle of something else when one would turn up on cable or in the case of a few others, I just decided to go to the movies and one of his films happened to be playing nearby. Some of his flicks worked better than others and a few didn’t strike me at all as all that frightening until seen again where I could dissect scenes without a chatty fraidy-cat audience screaming and talking over the better parts of the work. Continue reading
If you got rid of your PS3 when you got your PS4, you may want it back for at least one more exclusive of note. General Director Toshihiro Nagoshi and Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama are back with two more in-depth “making of” videos for Sega’s upcoming western release of Yakuza 5. Despite its age (the Japanese version shipped back in 2012), the game looks quite spectacular on the aging PS3 hardware and is finally coming to North America later this year as a digital only PSN release.
While the game may be well-aged to some out there, according to the press release it’s looking to be the most feature-packed English version of any in the series:
Yakuza 5 features more mini-games than previous titles, a modified battle system as well as enhanced customizations and interactions in the signature hostess bars of the franchise. In addition to these features, Yakuza 5 also introduces “Another Drama” which is a series of side stories that focus on each protagonist in-depth and are separate from the main story of the game.
In addition, Sega is making a tempting offer to those who pre-order the game with a 15% discount off the $39.99 price plus the free Yakuza 5 XMB theme below:
You’d think Nagoshi and Yokoyama should be singing “We Built This City” at this point, but instead they just happily chat more about the game and what players can expect:
It’s great to see Sega keeping the Yakuza flame going despite the lengthy wait between releases. Hopefully fans will be on board with the digital-only version and snap it up once it’s released.
(thanks, zbencz2!)
Not to put too fine a point on it, but for my money, Deadly Premonition: the Director’s Cut was and is one of the most beautifully bizarre and unique horror game experiences to date. Its bat-crap crazy elements and deadly serious story bits combined with the intentionally dated visual style and many hours of open-world gameplay to provide a highly replayable game experience once you got over and used to its many quirks. Given that I’ve probably written more kooky articles about the game than anyone else (well, that’s what I’ve heard), I’m telling you PlayStation 3 owners who happen to also be horror game fans who’ve yet to give this game a try that now you NEED a copy even more than before.
Yes, you absolutely NEED this, Zach!
Thankfully for you, the NISA Online Store is taking pre-orders for this ultimate edition of the PS3 version of the game. In case you still haven’t clicked and whipped out your wallet, here’s what’s in the box:
Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut physical copy for the PlayStation® 3
Classified Edition DLC Voucher containing all DLC for the game (It’s all in the details)
Hardcover Art Book 6.75 in x 5.25 in (A book with some unique images inside)
Official Soundtrack 25 tracks with jewel case (Not available before on compact disc)
Deck of 54 Custom Playing Cards (York’s favorite)
Collector’s Box (A good way to keep everything safely tucked away, out of the light)
Given that I’ve played through the game at least five times already (not counting the Xbox 360 version), finding time to do so again won’t be tough. But I can’t let myself become too obsessed, Zach. Actually, I’m much more interested in all that bonus content, particularly the art book and soundtrack. It’s too bad the box doesn’t have a somewhat hard to locate these days Deadly Premonition coffee mug as an extra special bonus. But I’d gather that would add to the cost and there’s the issue of careless delivery persons tripping on that ONE spot on your walkway when walking up to your front door. Well, you can always make your own coffee and find out what the FK is going on when you pour a bit of milk into it.
Anyway, Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut – Classified Edition is available for pre-order NOW (you’ve already clicked one of those links above, Zach? I know you did!) for $49.99 and will be headed your way on November 24, 2015.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 