Metal Wolf Chaos XD: August 6 is Boom Time on Consoles and PC

Posted on July 4, 2019 by geelw

Who’da thunk a game made way back in 2004 would be so damn… timely?

Hooooo, boy. Some people at Devolver Digital and very likely famed Japanese developer FromSoftware have quite the wry sense of humor. Metal Wolf Chaos XD is finally arriving for PS4, Xbox One, and PC (via gog.com and STEAM) for $24.99 on August 6, 2019 and I’ll let the more history-oriented types get the eye-pop on that date’s significance. Pre-orders are open now and each version has a nifty little bonus exclusive to them (which will frustrate some completist types, but so it goes).

Nope, this photo is NOT from the future. I didn’t realize the date was incorrect on my camera until I uploaded this pic. Oops.

Anyway, this remastered gem also seems to be a digital-only release, which is a shame for those who prefer physical over digital games. That said, although I still have my original modded Xbox as well as a Japanese Xbox and an import copy of the game, I’ll still be more than happy to jump on this updated version of the 2004 classic, which was (and still is) pretty outrageous as well as so intentionally jingoistic that some players who don’t get the humor on display may not get the joke. Then again, you can’t take at all seriously the premise of a mech-suited President of the United States of America taking on his rogue (and also mech-suited) Vice-President after a coup attempt leaves the country at war. Well a few places at war, actually.

Here’s the latest trailer:

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Skybound Games Has Me Talking to Myself (Again)

Posted on July 2, 2019 by geelw

“And it goes like this.”

Me: Uh, hey, man.
Me: What?
Me: I need $200. Plus shipping, I think.
Me: For what?
Me: This (look down):

Me: HOLY $#!+!
Me: Well, SOLD, huh?
Me: Um, hold on a sec.
Me: Awwwww, come onnnn…
Me: Look, we made a deal, remember? We’ve no more room for those big collector’s editions. That, and we DO have a big backlog of other games…
Me: (pouts, gives me the sad puppy dog eyes)..
Me: Oh, that’s SO not going to work, pal. We’re also on a budget, remember?
Me: Well. you COULD sell off some of those older games you aren’t playing like you did that one time…
Me: Yeah, right. That was kind of an emergency and this, well… it’s really damn cool and all, but it’s not super-urgent.
Me: Booooooo!
Me: Okay, knock it off. I need to get a post up and get back to those other reviews in progress.
Me:
Me: Oh, don’t get cranky with me, buddy…

Me: Grrrrrrrr! (thinks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQnToZYGAoY)

Me: Um, I know what you’re thinking, you know.
Me: Hmph. Well IF you did, then you’d also know that big ol’ box ends up costing not too much more than the regular editions IF you think about it…
Me: Be that as it may, the chances of me buying that set are like the chances Skybound will send me one to review.
Me: Well. it COULD happen!
Me: Yeah, sure. Well, I’ll let you go handle that and see what the results are. Good luck, pal.
Me: Well, first, let me go make some wall space for that bo setx…
Me: What?
Me: (pulls out big ACME rubber sledgehammer):Hey, you DID say we needed more wall space once, so I’m gonna go make some…
Me: Wait a minute!
Me: Too late! (swings hammer at wall, whereupon is bounces off and knocks me out cold.
Me: Well, that’ll learn ya. Again. Good thing that store only sells rubber hammers.

And so it goes…

-GW

Remothered: Tormented Fathers Makes the Switch (A More Frightening Place)

Posted on July 2, 2019 by geelw

No weapons here, just lots of staying alive by your wits… or else. Oh, and the story’s killer, too.

The story unwinds around Rosemary Reed, a determined 35 year-old woman who arrives at the dilapidated Felton house to investigate on the disappearance of a little girl some years before. When the hosts realize the woman’s true intentions, a terrifying ordeal begins.

Thanks to a ridiculously large backlog, I finally got around to buying and playing a chunk of Darril Arts and Stormind Games’ quite intense Remothered: Tormented Fathers on the PS4 and yes indeed, it’s quite the scary slice of horror game genre fans need to play. Fortunately, Nintendo Switch owners will be finally getting the chance to dive into this modern classic thanks to collaboration with the Japanese publisher DICO Co. Ltd. Comparisons to the now defunct Human Entertainment’s brilliantly executed (heh) albeit dated-looking Clock Tower are interesting and inevitable, although, I’d say creator Chris Darril’s influences also include Italian horror flicks of the 70’s, a weapon-less Alone in the Dark and a few other things.

As with other Unreal Engine Switch ports, it’ll be really interesting to see how it turns out in terms of performance and visual fidelity when stacked up to the other console and PC versions. It’ll definitely be scary as hell as a game experience, so it’s got that going for it right out of the gate.

Remothered-home-desktop-switch-launch-date

That’s the release date, folks. Have your time carved out and play this in the dark with some decent headphones for maximum results.

Additionally, fans of the first game will want to keep an eye on the prequel/sequel, Remothered: Going Porcelain, which is currently set for a 2020 release on PC and consoles. So much fear… so little time, right?

-GW

Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets Trailer: Ticks, and Flees

Posted on July 2, 2019 by geelw

Well, this sure looks like a ton of fuzzy/scaly/puzzle-y fun. Indie developer BeautiFun Games’ upcoming Professor Lupo and his Terrible Pets is set to land on Nintendo Switch and Steam July 11. There’s a free demo on both the eShop and Steam to try out and even better for Switch owners. pre-orders for that version are currently 15% off until the game’s release date. Here’s a trailer to ogle and maybe pet (be gentle!):

As the Professor’s personal Intern, players are set to deal with the ferocity of his collection of so-called horrible pets: deceiving alien creatures with a double nature, looking adorable while unbothered, but turning into hungry monsters when they sense their prey. When a series of catastrophes cause them to run amok across the Aurora Space Station, it’s every Intern for themselves.

Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets is an adventure game with 100 levels that delivers clever puzzle gameplay mechanics, a heavy dose of humor in a suspenseful plot, and original art with traditional 2D animations. Embracing the Nintendo Switch philosophy, the game supports every configuration the console provides, including portable, tabletop and TV modes. Players can use the Joy-Cons, gamepads, and touch screen to play through the story however and wherever they want. On Steam, players can choose between point and click mode, keyboard controls or the Steam controller, which the game is fully compatible with.

Sounds like a plan for puzzle fans, I’d say. Since I happen to be one, I’ll take that review code I got for a spin and report back if my character survives the experience. That space rabies is no joke, I hear.

Back in a bit.

Random Film of the Week: Waterworld

Posted on June 28, 2019 by geelw

Uh, hey pal… you’re not gonna DRINK that, are you?

Movie memory #1764 (or so): sitting in a packed theater back in 1995 watching the opening sequence to Waterworld as Kevin Costner’s Mariner character urinates into a plastic container, then pours that pee into a dicey-looking filtration system and drinks the results. You’d best believe the bulk of the audience let out a collective “EWWWWWW!” and yes, there was one guy sitting somewhere in the back of the darkened theater who yelled out something about how ice cubes would have made that recycled beverage go down better.

“EWWWWWW!”

Flash forward to me watching the three (!!!) versions of the film in Arrow Video’s packed to the gills (heh) with bonus features triple-disc set and I kind of want one of those funky filter devices just so I don’t need to take breaks when I’m going through my film backlog. For all its expensive sets, Costner’s dedicated performance, some amazing stunt work and a completely and perfectly bonkers performance by Dennis Hopper as its main villain, the film is still flawed in that, “Where’s the beef?” manner when it comes to a few key plot elements. Granted, its ecology past peril theme is a bit more relevant it today’s climate (and yes, that’s a double pun, kids). But there’s no real “science” here if you’re looking for it. Hell, if the Earth does lose its major land masses underwater as shown here, an overblown big-budget sci-fi action flick isn’t exactly where we’re headed in that watery future, glub, glub.

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Super Neptunia RPG: Cool Canadians Bakin’ Up A Hot JRPG? Yep, Nep!

Posted on June 24, 2019 by geelw

Out on PC via Steam last week and coming to PS2 and Switch June 25 in North America (the 28th in EU territories), Super Neptunia RPG is coming from an interesting combination of forces. Japan’s Idea Factory and Compile Heart worked with Canada’s Artisan Studios to bring Nep fans an all-new game in the long-running series and the very first side-scrolling entry, to boot. As a fan of the series since the PS3 days, I’m quite intrigued by this one and the opening movie has sealed the deal that this *must* be played:

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Review: Rolling Gunner (Switch)

Posted on June 24, 2019 by geelw

Holy hell, mebius.’ Rolling Gunner ($19.99, buy it!) is completely NUTS, but in the best possible manner. Its very high level of accessibility and four difficulty modes mean you don’t even need to love or be somewhat decent at arcade shooters in order to get the most enjoyment from it.

In fact, the game is programmed to teach you how to play and as a friend who popped by to borrow some movies who also ended watching me play noted, “It’s really hypnotic to watch all that craziness!”, which had me cracking up as I completed the game (on Novice mode with a somewhat low 17,419,459 points) and restarted it as I handed him a controller and let him have a crack at the Training mode. Let’s just say he rather liked the chaos even that short stages offered, but he doesn’t yet own a Switch. Which is okay for now (his kid wants one for his birthday coming up in July, though, so I’m compiling a list of games for his dad).

Anyway, there’s a story here about a big corporation discovering a new element at the bottom of the sea, that element used to create a few initially helpful items and as usual, those items being used for some not so helpful things. Yadda, yadda, yadda, it’s now March 18, 2061 and you’re tasked with rolling out in one of three trusty STORK class warships to destroy the enemy fortress and a few thousand enemy ships, tanks and other robotic doom-throwers along the way. The game of course, notes the following in its helpful digital manual: “This story is fictional. The people, groups, and names that appear are fictional, and have no basis in reality.”

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Good Gravy, Going Bad

Posted on June 12, 2019 by geelw

Hokay, I’d normally be up to my nose hairs in post-E3 news and getting some lovely trailers up, but I took a short freelance job that killed my sleep schedule and did a number on a few parts that could use a bit more TLC. Anyway, I’m going to fall into a heap somewhere (fear not, I’m home how) and try to resurrect myself tomorrow in a better mood. Granted, I do have a medical appointment fiesta then, so I’m crossing my fingers that all is well…, er, WELL (or at least not moving any more or faster in a downward direction). We shall see, but have a tree while you’re waiting for new posts.

Outside the Lines

-GW

Riverbond: A Little Big E3 Surprise For You

Posted on June 9, 2019 by geelw

Brand new games dropping as surprise releases during E3 isn’t anything new, but Cococucumber’s immediately charming Riverbond ($24.99, PS4/PC/Xbox One – OUT NOW!) made me smile a lot and post that trailer on Twitter with the words CUTE. and WANT because it just jumped right out and bit me on the knee with what looks like a really fun dungeon crawler with nifty voxel-based visuals, destuctible environments, and what sounds like a killer soundtrack. Oh, and it has Raz from Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2 in it as a character skin (along with a few other indie fan fave guest stars), so there’s that to consider. Guess who’s not at E3 this year (but still has a busy week ahead) and would just love to get his paws on this game? No, not that person over there (Hwy, put your hand down, pal!). ME.

Well a request has been put in and we shall see what happens. This sure looks like a ton of fun, right? Back in a bit – Yeah, yeah, there’s a LOT of news coming out of LA about cool games, but I’m rolling stuff out as I see fit because my stress level is already bubbling up about other (non-game) things.

-GW

Funded, Plus: R-Type Final 2 Hits Its Target

Posted on June 6, 2019 by geelw

There’s certainly a boom in things going BOOM, as the arcade shooter market has made quite a comeback over the years. In reality, it really never went away as plenty of smaller indie developed and fan-made games can be found as digital and physical retail titles with a little bit of online legwork. That said, R-Type holds its legendary status to this day simply because it’s pure brilliance from start to finish. Granzella’s strategy for a super-short Kickstarter for R-Type 2 Final has paid off big time with as of this writing, some 543K has been pledged to bring this final Final to life and with under four days ti go, you could say the sky’s the limit if that funding hits some of the stretch goals noted on the Kickstarter page.

Personally, I’m hoping the game gets up to that goal where Granzella can recreate levels from previous R-Type games just so this stage from R-Type Final gets redone in glorious HD. Hell, drop a bag of money on my head (ow) and I’ll throw it at Granzella just for this stage alone.

-GW