Lumo: Brilliant Iso Platformer’s One of The Year’s Best Surprises

Posted on May 25, 2016 by geelw

Lumo is out now on Steam, gog.com, the Humble Store (PC/Mac/Linux), and PlayStation 4 now and that $20 price tag may actually be too little for such a gorgeous and brain-twisting platform/adventure game hybrid. Created by Triple Eh! (Gareth Noyce) and published by Rising Star Games, there’s so much packed into this isometric wonder that most gamers under a certain age with no sense of game history outside their own short memories will spin themselves silly trying to keep up with the seemingly endless references to games they’ve never seen or played. North American gamers with some experience will note the Solstice and Equinox homages along with nods to Donkey Kong, Marble Madness, and a few other classic arcade and console games while they jump through around and in many cases, OVER levels to locate some very-well hidden secrets.

This isn’t a proper “review” (yet) as I’m basing my wordy noise here on the preview code I received and finally got around to this past weekend. Think of this as a fine and dandy heads-up if you’re on the hunt for a lengthy, challenging blend of old and new schools that’s cute enough to be a kid’s game, but tricky enough to get the most seasoned player checking out every nook and cranny for hidden stuff. As you play, you’ll discover Noyce is indeed a very, very talented guy with an elephantine memory and deep knowledge about his favorite games and a willingness to share that with anyone who picks up a controller. 400 rooms in a beautifully rendered Easter Egg farm where fast movement is necessary, yet paying attention to visual cues makes for truly rewarding play sessions. The sense of discovery in Lumo is fairly remarkable because you’ll be doing things both inside and outside the box. See some crates stacked by a wall or what looks like a curious means of reaching the top of a wall? With a bit of effort poking around in nearby room or a bit of backtracking to other curious spots, you’ll be up and over those walls and into new territory. Continue reading →

What’s Cookin’: Greens, Eggs, and Ham? Make Them Yourself, Man!

Posted on May 21, 2016 by geelw

Hmm. Memo to the loud guy I passed on the way home yelling about the (and I quote) “bitch who won’t make me eggs after noon”: Ugh. Learn to cook, you ignorant jerk and make your own damn eggs ANY TIME YOU WANT. Keep it up with that overly cranky attitude and those aren’t the only eggs you’ll never have anything to do with ever again.

That, and it’s no joke to get hit upside the head with a cast iron fry pan while one is snoozing. Anyway, let me be nice and give you a recipe you can learn and perfect, provided you’re not un-jamming a pan from your gaping maw: Continue reading →

Gallery: DARQ

Posted on May 20, 2016 by geelw

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

With indie and AAA horror games being a dime a dozen these days, it’s going to take something really different to get some gamers jumping out of their seats and diving under their beds. Unfold Games has taken up the scare you halfway to death challenge with DARQ, their upcoming PC/Mac/Linux game that as you can see, certainly seems to have it going on in terms of delivering the frights.

So, what’s this stylistic and creepy psychological horror game about, you ask? Well, here’s what the official site says:

DARQ tells the story of Lloyd, a boy who becomes aware of the fact that he is dreaming. To Lloyd’s misfortune, the dream quickly turns into a nightmare and all attempts to wake up end in failure. While exploring the darkest corners of his subconscious, Lloyd learns how to survive the nightmare by bending the laws of physics and manipulating the fluid fabric of the dream world.

In DARQ, sound plays a very important role. There are sections of the game that take place in absolute darkness and in order to navigate the environment, Lloyd has to rely on the location of sounds.

Yep. If you’ve ever had those nightmares where you know you’re sleeping, but wake up all sweaty looking around the room only to have something bizarre take place as you realize you’re having a nightmare inside that nightmare, DARQ will be right up that dark alley you don’t want to travel through. Of course, you’ll be going thataway because that thing chasing you is keeping you from going backward. Oops.

Some imagery to keep you awake nights. As if that trailer didn’t get all crawly under your skin enough:

While the game is still in development and doesn’t yet have a set release date other than TBA 2016, it sure is worth keeping an eyeballed peeled for. Let that image stick with you for the day (eww!). I’d say “have a good night”, but it’s early on a Friday morning. Still, you have to go home and sleep at some point, correct? My work here is done, then.

What’s Cookin’? Pizza for Practice Purposes Pleases People

Posted on May 16, 2016 by geelw

Just mushrooms and cheese on top of my non-patented “special” sauce. This got five more minutes in the oven, but eaten before I got to taking the updated photo. Darn guests, and their impatience to be poisoned!

Yep. I’ve been a bit too busy these days with a few things, but a guy’s gotta eat, right? In an attempt to save money, I’ve taken up part-time pizza making just for fun and to feed the occasional friend who drops by when I’m conducting my horrific experiments. In previous attempts, I’d used a few dough recipes “borrowed” off the internet, but my one major issue with all of them is my kitchen isn’t made for pizza (or any) dough manufacturing.

Between the moving around of stuff to make a work space, my big old ceramic bowl breaking (I’m on the hunt for a proper replacement), pre and post-crust cleanup, and not enough freezer space for a month’s worth of dough, it was a pain in the neck to spend more time making dough than making edible results with said dough. While poking around for pre-made options, it’s been a circus of lousy ingredient reads and stuff that’s too complex for its own good on the “easy” prep front. Continue reading →

Assassin’s Creed Trailer: A Killer at the Box Office Not So Silently Approaches

Posted on May 13, 2016 by geelw

So, I usually have no faith in videogame movie adaptations (okay, I’ve NEVER had any), particularly when certain fans roll in with the “It doesn’t look that bad!” commentary simply to defend their favorite franchise against any form of criticism. My own opinion on games to film is more of a rule: an interactive medium works BEST as interactive medium, PERIOD. Yes, non-gamers who want to see what the fuss is about can enjoy a game movie just fine. But the more hardcore fans who dislike games made into blockbusters for the simple reason that the films deviate from the source materials enough that it’s an almost completely different bird once all those feathers have been plucked. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, anyone? While a well-made film, it wasn’t at all what fans expected or wanted. I can name a bunch of others, but I’ll let you discuss that among yourselves.

Anyway, well… 20th Century Fox and Ubisoft may have changed my mind:

Other than the atrocious choice of a Kanye West song (Seriously? It doesn’t fit at ALL and in fact, something a great deal less modern would have made the trailer almost perfect), that trailer got me curious as to how the film will tackle the reality and virtual reality flipping done throughout the AC franchise. I did have a non-gamer friend ring me up and ask about the games and whether he needed to have played them to fully enjoy the film, whereupon I had to admit I hadn’t played an Assassin’s Creed game in a few years. Hey, I got bored with them after AC III, although I’ve been thinking about picking up the last couple after playing the Vita game (and the sole one with a female lead). So, thanks, Fox. You may get my grumpy butt in a theater seat after all. Continue reading →

Cursed West: Arcade Western Looks to Corral Some OK Funding

Posted on May 10, 2016 by geelw

While the character animation could be more fluid and that environment draw-in during the 3D horse riding sequences needs a bit of cloud cover, the nostalgic look and overall atmosphere found in Goex Games’ (Roberto Montesano) still in-development Cursed West looks interesting and old school enough to warrant a closer inspection. My eye is set on this project that’s currently up on indiegogo for about the next two months with a somewhat modest goal of $3500. It’ll only cost less than a small lunch to get yourself a code or a bunch of lunches if you want a more personalized experience. The game also has a Steam Greenlight concept page as well as a a facebook page that could use a few more fans and perhaps a seasoned game developer popping in to let Roberto know he’s on the right track.

For a first game, this looks quite promising and it’ll be interesting to see or even play an in-progress build as it comes together and report on it at some point. Hopefully this indie western (straight out of San Luis, Argentina) would be tightened up to a fine shine and laid out on a few console platforms in addition to the already planned PC and Android releases. But we’ll see what happens as the game heads closer down the long road to completion. Hmmm… I wonder if Ennio Morricone is not too busy these days and if not, would he do an indie game soundtrack for not a ton of money? Now, THAT would be a pretty cool stretch goal, I’d say.

MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies: Time To Kill (Some Kind of Cute Undead)

Posted on May 10, 2016 by geelw

Well, in the North American territories, that is. You gamers overseas in Europe and the UK need to hold on for a few days longer, but you’ll get what’s coming to you soon. Or more precisely, those nasty zombies will get what’s coming to them from YOU (POW!). MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies hits the Vita running, all cute gals slapping the slime out of zombies in colorful, fast-paced action. I hear a voice saying “Get it, or get HIT!”, but that’s my brain calling forth demons or an old slogan I saw somewhere something. Still, this one looks as if it’ll be portable thrills galore guaranteed to make you miss your bus or train stop.

Hey, don’t blame ME for that, now. I play most of my games at home so the only stop I miss is when I forget to stop playing. Yes, I probably have a problem. But that’s not your problem, right?

The trailer, in case you need a friendly reminder to nab this one soon (as in NOW!):

Tower of Samsara on Kickstarter: Get This Unique Platformer Well-Funded

Posted on May 10, 2016 by geelw

Welcome to Tower of Samsara

The wheel of life runs indefinitely. Just like the path that you’ll take through the planets of our solar system living your adventure and making your choices so you can build yourself to reach nirvana.

So many Kickstarters, so little time (and money)! That said, Martelo Nero’s interesting-looking indie game Tower of Samsara has enough going for it that I shot a few dollars its way as soon as the funding went live. It’s been a few days since and guess what? A Vita version has been announced as a stretch goal. Hmmm. Time up up my pledge, it would seem. The stylized visuals and karmic elements of the gameplay noted on the KS page are what lured me in, and with time to go before pledges are all taken and a 2018 release date, it’s a hopeful sign that ToS is climbing its own tower to its goal.

This DOOM Trailer is a Feat of Clay

Posted on May 8, 2016 by geelw

So, yeah. DOOM comes out on May 13th and this 4th game can also be seen as a modern reboot of the seminal FPS franchise as well as a love letter by id Software to itself. While the official game trailer itself is quite NSFW, the very talented Claycat (or Lee Hardcastle) has whipped up a hilariously cartoon gory (and not for the kiddies) claymation version of one of the early trailers that’s a must-watch.

Er… Hey, that’s NOT blood, kids… it’s um, jelly! Take a look:

Yep, awesome, innit? Here’s the yuckier (content-wise) official trailer:

DOOM hits retail and digital on May 13, 2016. As the song says, “go to hell and see how you like it!”

ELSTREE 1976: This Is The Documentary You’re Looking For

Posted on May 4, 2016 by geelw

I thought I was done with Star Wars references for the day, but my inbox has other ideas in the form of this new documentary I now NEED to see. Ellstree 1976 will start a US theatrical run on May 6th in select cities including Los Angeles and New York City (a full list of theaters and ticket information are here). My inner 14-year old self just popped out and recalled all those magazines and newspaper clippings I’d collected back then. Everything Star Wars! Anyway, here’s some info on the film as well as its trailer:

ELSTREE 1976 explores the lives of the actors and extras behind one of the most celebrated Science Fiction films in cinematic history, Star Wars.

From the man behind film’s most iconic villain, to the actor whose character was completely cut from the final film, the documentary delves into the eccentric community these individuals have formed and how the Star Wars franchise – which spans five decades from A New Hope to The Force Awakens – continues to impact their lives decades later.

Many of the minor characters were merely part of the set design, but eventually gained recognition as the Star Wars universe expanded into books, comics, etc. Fans learned the history of masked characters like Boba Fett and Greedo, but the sci-fi blockbuster also had a lasting impact on the people inside the costumes.

And if you can’t make it to that theater near or not so near you, guess what? MVD Entertainment Group will be getting the doc out on DVD June 28th via MVD Entertainment’s online shop as well as Amazon. SOLD!

All I need to do is step into this carbonite chamber I got cheap on eBay and freeze myself for just over a month and I’m set. What? Not a good idea? The guy who sold it said it was only used once and worked REALLY well.