If you happen to have a PlayStation Vita and haven’t picked up La-Mulana EX yet, you’re missing out on a few things:
Your character dying while getting attacked from all sides by cheap enemies.
Your character dying during a boss fight with something over ten times your his size.
Your character dying after you missed a pinpoint jump because you panicked and jumped again to certain doom (oops!).
Your character dying because you’re really not that good at these retro action/platform games but keep playing them anyway.
Get the picture? Okay, I’m only partially kidding. This game is hard as heck AND I’m not as fast on those buttons as I used to be. Pygmy Studios’ handheld port of this excellent throwback to the MSX days is out now and I have a spare code to give away. If you want it, just post in the comments below and I’ll RANDOMLY pick ONE winner. You need a Vita as well as access to the North American PSN shop, as that’s where the code needs to be redeemed. I guess that’s US and Canada entries only. Unless there’s a secret Canadian PSN shop I don’t know about. Let’s see now… it’s Wednesday, correct? Let’s shoot for a contest close of 11:59PM on Friday. I’ll pick one of you guys or gals at random and shoot you over your code. Get it? Got it? GOOD> Now, go enter already! No need to post an essay or reason you want to win at all, folks. Just an “I’m in!” gets you a chance. Good Luck!
It’s pretty cool to see a film you grew up watching a few times in the late 70’s and early 80’s pop up again thanks to it now being in the public domain and completely uncensored. That said, it’s too bad the low-budget cheapie known as The Twisted Brain on TV and Horror High when it was in theaters hasn’t been restored to a more fitting print. The version I have on one of the Mill Creek Entertainment box sets is in such ratty condition that it looks as if were clawed up by the transformed teenage monster out for revenge.
Still, even in that messed up print found on the DVD*, Larry N. Stouffer’s 1974 film still makes for some hilarious, bloody good fun. You’re not getting anything resembling a “best” genre film here at all. It’s just a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde variant meets I Was a Teenage Werewolf and that’s that. Continue reading →
Like a shambling dead thing encased in a suit of the strongest armor, the zombie in popular culture is pretty unstoppable even at this point of over-saturation. That said, it’s a fine day indeed when someone comes up with a new angle on the undead while making a crowd pleasing viewing experience worth running out and catching in a theater or owning on a disc down the road. Welcome to WYRMWOOD: Road of the Dead, director Kiah Roache-Turner’s first (and hopefully not last) film that deserves a place in horror fan’s still beating hearts.
As that poster to the left states, what you’re getting is more or less Mad Max meets Dawn of the Dead, but the film is a lot more than that handy to memorize tagline suggests. Co-writers Tristan Roache-Turner, Kiah Roache-Turner have cooked up a fast-paced action flick that blends biting wit and dramatic bits just about perfectly. A cast of likable thrust into their post-zombie apocalyptic heroics characters, some truly nasty villains and yes, hordes of zombies keep things pumping and the film never wears out its welcome even when it deftly ventures into cliche territory. Continue reading →
Just when you think the modern Hollywood horror film has been all tapped out, along comes one of those movies that keeps you guessing even if you think you know what’s coming. Director/co-writer David Rountree tosses some tasty ideas into his chunky horror stew that will keep you hooked in and guessing right up until the double (or is it triple?) back-flip ending. It’s tricky to discuss the film in detail without spoiling a few of its twists and turns, but if you’re paying attention you may see a few of the surprises coming.
That said, if you go in with expectations of yet another slasher film, it’s a good sign that the movie shoots you down a few predictable paths before whipping the red carpet from underneath you much more than you’d think. Rountree also stars in the film as Travis Simon, an employee of a film equipment rental shop who works with Lane (David Banks), an ex-con with a rather nasty disposition and a particularly unsettling hobby. When Travis decides to make a low-budget horror film with Lane’s help, let’s just say things go predictably awry and downhill fast. A little accidental death during the making of their film doesn’t deter the pair from continuing their project and in fact, spurs Lane on as he starts taking things a bit too seriously. Continue reading →
Back in the mid-80’s and up to about 1994 or so, I was OBSESSED with Gasahpon and Shogukan figures thanks to a few shops in Chinatown that stocked them and the prices being so inexpensive. I partially blame Cracker Jacks for exposing me to fun toys in a box of candy when I was a kid, then over time getting rid of those toys in favor of lousy paper goodies far less expensive to produce. I guess I was unconsciously looking for a substitute one fine summer day when, while waiting at a checkout line at a large Asian market I saw that colorful anime art on those small boxes and picked up four or five of them at under a dollar each.
Soon thereafter, a friend told me about a shop in the area that had what seemed like hundreds of figures for sale from too many manga and anime and I was introduced to higher end, higher quality figures from Bandai and Banpresto. The combination of low to reasonably acceptable price points and the variety of different types of figures lured me in deeper and soon, I was snapping up anywhere between five to ten Shogukan figures a week or every other week. Continue reading →
Four years in the making, Ossian Studios‘ first mobile RPG, The Shadow Sun, brings the look and feel of classic PC fantasy role playing games to iOS and Android devices along with a few quirks common to mobile games. It’s a solid enough adventure of a decent length (about 15-20 hours or so if you seek out everything) and for a mere $4.99, it’s a fantastic deal.
While the game is indeed engaging and quite challenging in terms of its combat, it’s also a patch away from being even better than it currently is. You’re certainly getting a heck of a lot more than five dollars worth of gaming here and while in-app purchases are available, none are needed to beat the game.
Okay, the only reason I’m giving this remake the time of day is because I like Sam Rockwell in anything he’s done. That said, I’m not sure Poltergeist needed a remake at all, given the original still holds up to a good extent as a classic horror film. Granted, with Sam Raimi producing and Gil Kenan (Monster House, City of Ember) behind the lens, this remake is bound to do a few really interesting things with the concept. At least we know there will be plenty of CG effects, some of which look like practical ones.
The main problem I see with the new film is what happens afterward. I’m gathering this is more a reboot that pretends the original film never existed as opposed to a remake that hints at the old film. Opinion time: the other films in the original series weren’t all that good and the TV series went way off into weird-land (although it did have and has a rather loyal fan base). If this does well at the box office (and it should), expect the inevitable sequel train to roll onwards. If there are sequels, I’d bet you a nickel that Rockwell won’t come back for seconds and has to be replaced by a new actor. Unless he’s needing a new house, boat or train (or all three) and can be easily nabbed to return for a bigger paycheck, of course. Of course, I can see Fox deciding to take this ghost train on the road and greenlight a sequel or sequels that follow other angry ghosts across America trying to get the point across that you don’t build your new housing on top of their old dead heads.
Eh, we’ll see what’s what soon enough. Color me tentatively intrigued for now.
Unless you’re the sort of person who’s been around gaming for a while, maybe follows a bit of industry news and happens to read game credits all the way to the end, you may not know who Rod Humble is. Hopefully you’ve clicked that link and did some fast reading, because through his new company, multimedia studio Chaphat he’s got a new game coming soon that’s going to most likely get a lot of people talking and hopefully playing solo or against each other in once they give it a try.
Cults & Daggers is “a sprawling and complex strategy game set in the Hellenistic era between the death of Buddha and the birth of Christ.” If that wasn’t intriguing enough, the press release continues: “As the Old Gods plot to destroy a planet they can no longer rule, players are tasked with creating their own religion to fight a secret war for the soul of the world.” Reading that made me think of a little Lovecraftian undercurrent at play. But as I still need to try out a demo, I’ll hold out on any over-speculation as to exactly where the game goes.
As your head is spinning around that heady description and the screenshot gallery below is piquing your curiosity, the power of “cripes” compels you to read on for more info. On one hand, Cults & Daggers is a turn-based strategy game that’s decidedly very old school in terms of presentation and gameplay modes. but this is exactly the sort of game that will appeal to a wide range of players young and old who like the challenge found here. As you can see, this isn’t a graphics card showpiece at all, but more of a designer’s dream project. The board game-like layout, simple menus, creative use of artwork and plenty of lovely fonts all show off a game you won’t mistake for something else on the market.
Granted, bringing up religion in almost any context that may be seen as “negative” by its more core followers is a tricky thing to do. That said, Cults & Daggers appeals to the imagination in a “What if?” and looks to spin its web around your curious side as it hooks you into its world. The best historical strategy games are those where you can hop in for hours immersed in the gameplay and this one looks like it’s going to be up there with the classics of the genre.
Here’s what to expect in the final version of the game:
Features
Secretly manipulate the rise and fall of great cities throughout 400 years of history
Gain influence by building temples, performing sacrifices, preaching, recruiting noble families, etc.
Weaken opponents through blasphemy, assassination, robbery and subversion
Destroy evil places of power to thwart the Old Gods and earn grand rewards
Disciple skills include teaching, killing, hiding, performing spells & curses, preaching and more!
Carefully manage your religion’s Faith and Hope levels in order to gain power and influence
Spend Faith and Occult to cast spells, and bring curses and miracles to the world
Extensive Single player with procedurally generated disciples and city data
Multiplayer for up to 4 via Multiplayer Hot Seat and Play-By-E-Mail (PBEM)
Procedurally generated technology tree and adventure system
In-depth modeled spying system allows for deep subterfuge
Game includes free Cults & Daggers ambient music album
With all that in store for those who hop on the Cults & Daggers bandwagon, it’s clear that Humble and Chaphat want this game to be one of those “evergreen” titles that people can pick up and play for years without ever growing tired of it. The deep complexity and lack of flashy visuals will most likely keep this off of anything but home computers or laptops. On the other hand, who knows that will happen if this one takes off and gets a cult following (pun intended). As usual, we shall see.
So, here’s how MY Saturday night went. I’m sitting in the living room watching “The Price of Fear” marathon on This TV (which seems to be an offshoot of WPIX here in NYC that shows better movies, albeit edited for network standards) and during a commercial break in The Pit and the Pendulum (I know, I know – but I can’t pass up those Vincent Price/Roger Corman films anywhere they’re aired), I heard some loud music booming outside from someone going deaf in his or her car.
A few seconds later I end up nearly falling off the couch laughing because the song playing with its bumpy bass hanging out the window is none other than Tone Loc’s ode to lousy overpriced wine, Funky Cold Medina. Bwah and ha. Suddenly, my Saturday night got a great deal more interesting…
Packing an encyclopedic knowledge of the land of Hyrule and a passion for sharing it freely with others can be a bad thing if you’re wearing a baggy Tingle costume in public while ranting on a street corner to passersby giving you a wide berth. If that’s you, well… here comes the banana truck right… about… now. On the other hand, if you’re a more creative person like Jessica “Allaweh” Brown, you get cracking on a fan-made game that adds to the Legend of Zelda lore and feels quite like a professionally made product for classic game console. Zelda: Sword of Moria is set two years after the events in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, but plays much closer to the original game than its sequel. Brown has been releasing updated demo builds as she tinkers away on her project and once completed, the game will be free to anyone to play.
The game will require the Zelda Classic Launcher to run and should work fine on pretty much any PC. Once you’re all set to play, that recently created intro sequence kicks in and it’s off to the races. Sword of Moria actually begins with Link not having a sword (or any weapon at all) and a slight bit of hoofing it around to a new town to get his hands on one. This lets you see Brown’s nice level layouts as well as the tried and true Zelda gameplay where you’re unarmed for a short bit as you learn some navigation basics and see a few enemies you’ll want to avoid. Once that sword is acquired, get set to chop bushes and cut grass for Rupees and hearts as well as some enemies that previously had you scampering away before they drew a bead on poor Link.
The demo features an open world like the classic first game, but Brown’s braininess about Hyrule has allowed her to fill in some geographic gaps in the world map, making for a sensible and surprising journey while it lasts. In this latest demo build (2.0), you’ll be able to explore, fight off monsters, solve puzzles and find treasure in the Town of Saria, Northern Death Mountain, Calta Canyon and Eastern Calatia. Two smaller dungeons and one Major dungeon plus a few villages are also open for exploration. As this is an unfinished game, there are a small handful of areas that shouldn’t be ventured into lest you accidentally get Link bumped off. But the bulk of the demo looks and feels as if it’s a professionally made first-party game circa 1987 or so.
There’s still a good deal of work to go, but from the time spent with Zelda: Sword of Moira, it’s clear that this is going to be one of those great fan-made games that’s not just another remake or not quite “right” pseudo-sequel that goes off a few rails at different points. Her sticking to lore and dedication to making a game as close to feeling like the original and sequel make Ms. Brown someone to watch. And with work on a few sites, a regular podcast, YouTube and Twitch channel, she won’t mind you watching her, by the way.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 