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So, That Happened…(Part One)Or: Brain Trust
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Delay Of Game: EDF6 Becomes a Summer 2024 Baby!
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The only other game I’ve preordered this year gets a slight shift in its release date window, as developer SANDLOT and D3Publisher’s upcoming title has moved from a Spring to Summer 2024 release.
“D3Publisher Inc., a leading Japanese games publisher, has announced that Earth Defense Force 6, the latest entry in the popular action-shooter series, will now be released for PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, and PC via Steam in summer 2024 for Western audiences. Previously announced for a spring launch window, developer SANDLOT and publisher D3PUBLISHER have decided to extend the launch window to add finishing touches and finalize preparations for its Western launch.“
As a long time fan of the series since 2003, I don’t mind the date shift at all if it gives the game a bit more of what it’s well-known for: chaotic solo or co-op action, mass destruction on a huge scale, the offbeat humor of the AI squadmates and the storyline that gets increasingly more dramatic and doom-filled as things get worse for humanity. It took me close to a year to complete the last installment, (EDF5), a game I still revisit every so often when I need that fix. The rather huge amount of weapons for each character makes for plenty of on the fly strategy as each level requires learning the ins and outs of your chosen loadouts.
This will be the first time I’m not picking up the import version first because the game’s DLC won’t be compatible on PS4 or PS5, but I love going into things cold.
YouTuber cenorexia even put together a really great English translation of the first mission/tutorial that’s well worth checking out:
-GW
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Win Free Stuff (Or Else!)
Alrighty, I haven’t done a giveaway in a LONG while, but I was going through a huge pile of movies here and found a stack of sealed duplicates that I picked up from a Severin Films sale last year when they were clearing out their DVD section, so I ended up with a dozen or so extras. Anyway, I like surprising people at random, so yep, I’m going to gift ONE lucky reader with these discs and that person has to do nothing but wait for the box to arrive. Of course, there’s a catch or two:
One, you have to be a subscriber to the blog. Two, you need to be a US resident. Sorry about that last part, but it’s far easier and a lot less expensive to just ship a box of movies almost anywhere in the US than to deal with customs forms and the package being delayed, opened and inspected by overzealous types out there.
SO, what IS inside the box, you ask? Well, let’s just say it’s a mix of genres and leave it at that. I think there’s one kid friendly film on the mix, a few horror films, a trailer collection and other strange stuff. Everything seems to be out of production from the distributor or rights have changed hands, so jump into the pool, if you’re able to. I’ll randomly pick someone off my subscriber list and shoot an email out to that person asking if they want the movies (say yes, please) and I’ll ship out your box around the end of the week. OR, you can reply in the comments without giving out personal info and if you’re chosen, we can work out the details via email. NO, I won’t sell your info to some shady company or send you those Sea Monkeys you ordered back when you were a kid. I guess it’s just me trying to be more human than “social” or something. An experiment, if you will. Humor me and be rewarded in the process. Good luck!
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Early to Bed…
So, my post for the blogathon below is all done and scheduled, but WordPress weirdness mucked up the header I wanted to use and you all just have to wait until the end of the week so I can yell at the sky and attempt to re-edit the piece. (Some of you know how this goes, I hope.)- I’m taking a few days off to sort out some health issues, but I’ll pop in and throw a few sentences together just to liven the place up a bit. Have a great week or just a good one, for that matter.
-GW
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It’s A Bullhorn, Butthorn! (& Other Possible Probabilities)
Oh, Hi.
No, this isn’t written from the great beyond (note the date, please). I’ve just been a bit (way, no, really, WAAAAAAAAAY) too occupied, is all. I’m sure you all know the drill these days. Life, being the completely unlicensed steamroller driver it is, runs you over, then backs it up, flashing lights and all, to finish the job. Which it then repeats, no matter which street you’ve decided to cross the next day. I’ve learned to mentally carry a few hastily scribbled cartoon sound effects around for such emergencies, but it seems if if every day. SOMETHING is happening to SOMEONE and it’s less likely to be good (or even good-adjacent) news.
To add to that, all that extra baggage can (and will, trust me) lead one to be all that more under-prepared for those times when the mental load needs a required respite from the other 23.9 hours of lousy news one receives when using “social” media these days. “Socially diseased” is more like it (zing!). On one hand, all one supposes is that all one needs to do is constantly “think positively” and/or just be around to angelically post endless inspirational/motivational platitudes to combat all that negativity. Which more than likely on the other hand, just won’t work realistically with most people living online in their separate, but still shared with too many who desire you stay as miserable as they are individuals and groups. Cue segue, please? (taps fast forward button).
I remember quite a long while back, my mother rolling out some sage commentary that went as follows: “Just because something is popular, doesn’t mean it’s good”. Now, if I recall, she was talking about one of my favorite TV shows at the time and I was feeling a little bit personally insulted by this at the time, as you can imagine. But I soon realized this was a healthy discourse and the internet wasn’t around to convince me otherwise. No moral here, other than wisely take a little break from things before they get too far out of hand and outside of your control. No one will miss you (much) and you get to return when you like and feel somewhat more refreshed. OK. maybe some rinsing and repeating in involved, but as they say, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Back later with more but less moralizing on this end- I almost forgot I even had a blog for a minute until the renewal notice popped up via my inbox!
-GW
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Coffee Talk 2: Valhalla, Here I Come!
Long story short: This stuff is quite good. Keep reading.
Coffee memory #162 (collect ’em all!):
“I like my coffee like I like my women… HOT!“
I think it was about 1991 or ’92. Had I walked into that diner and sat down a minute earlier, I’d have very likely done a spit take with a mouthful of freshly poured ice cold water as soon as I heard that cheesy line. Fortunately, it happened just as I sat down next to the grinning woman at the end of the counter who said it, then turned to me and asked if I liked a good cup of coffee. I recall answering something along the lines of “Uh, sure?” as an exceptionally cheery waiter appeared on cue with a sunny “Hello, what can I get you, love?” I recall she had an accent that made her sound quite like Joan Greenwood, which made me almost forget what I wanted to order because I just wanted to sit there and listen to her recite the entire menu.
“The coffee’s good” the voice to my right noted, so I tipped my head in her direction and replied “I’ll have what she’s having…” which made both women laugh and a few customers to my left at the counter turn and look to see what the joke was. I didn’t turn around to check out the other tables behind me, but I’d have guess that some of them close enough also looked up for a hot second before going back to their breakfasts. I’m guessing the two ladies took that as a When Harry Met Sally reference, but it was mostly automatic on my part.
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Monday’s Hot Blahs Deserve Some Bundles To Beat Them Away
July is here, the weather is depressingly muggy and the mood is grim in some circles for assorted reasons. All the better for getting some gaming in before the world collapses, yes? I thought so. Anyway, Bundle Stars wants you to have at it with a few friends thanks to its Co-Op Bundle deal featuring eight games for $1.99. That price lasts for a day and goes up on Tuesday, so get this one while it’s hot and cheap.
Meanwhile, over at IndieGala, the Every Monday Bundle is a puzzling one because it’s a nice set of puzzle and adventure games today. $1.99 gets you six cool indies to play with for as long as you like. “Once you buy a prize, it’s yours to keep” and all that, you know.
If you just need ONE game to play that will get you in a nicely nostalgic mood as it attempts to kill your character but good multiple times while making your brain do some extra thinking, Zojoi Games’ wonderful remake of Shadowgate is on sale on Steam for the low, low price of $2.99. It’s worth more than that so yes, you should get it or else a dragon will roast you when you open the next door you walk up to. You can also get the more content-packed Special Edition of the game for $6.24, but I’ll let you poke around on the game’s page to see what that all entails.
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Tales of Zestiria Trailer: Your October Surprise (Plus Tales Tax)
Bandai Namco Games is rolling out not one, but two Tales games between this year and next, one new and one old but new for PC gamers who may be interested in one of the earlier entries in the long-running franchise. Tales of Zestiria is coming to PS3, PS4 and PC on October 20, 2015. PC Gamers who hop on board the Steam pre-order train will have the opportunity to nab the upcoming HD port of Tales of Symphonia for FREE as a bonus tier item. This great deal may not convince some who only collect physical media to grab the game, but for those of you PS4 owners looking for a ton of swag, there’s as nice Collector’s Edition packed with the following:
TALES OF ZESTIRIA game for the PlayStation 4 system
Serialized premium box packaging
Exclusive SteelBook case
Chibi Kyun Chara figure set
DLC pack
TALES OF ZESTIRIA hardcover art book
Three TALES OF ZESTIRIA pixel-styled character key chains
TALES OF ZESTIRIA 40 minute “Dawn of the Shepherd” OVA anime Blu-ray disc
That’s a nice chunk of shelf space, I bet. I’ll post some pics of the set once I’m at a place with a better connection speed. Or you can just check out all the info on the official Tales Blog.
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@E3, Sometimes The Treehouse Hides All The Cool Stuff
If you had the time and bandwidth this week you could have spend the better part of a few days watching Nintendo employees play a bunch of upcoming games at E3 that were part of their big puppet show press event. You also could have gotten to see at least one game not part of that family-friendly briefing that NEEDED to be given some mention outside the Treehouse Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is coming this year, but you’d never know this if you only watched the main event. Anyway, the trailer is above and some 25 minutes of gameplay from the Treehouse trio is below. Listen for the warnings about the game’s content and prepare to chuckle a bit as the gameplay is a bit over-described yet is still unsettling. “Wetness Gauge” and all the uses of the word “creepy” made me crack up, but the game looks nice and scary where it counts and it’s absolutely not for the kids.
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Bravo for IDW! Alex Toth’s Classic Gets A Collection Worth Owning
File this under “It’s about time!” and “Thanks again, IDW Publishing!” as Alex Toth’s excellent Bravo For Adventure finally gets a solid-looking complete edition absolutely worth a buy. Toth’s work as a cartoonist and character designer is legendary, but his illustrated stories are for a number of fans, some of the most visually outstanding and memorable.
Headed to a comic shop or online book retailer in July, this 100-page 9.5″ x 13″ hardcover contains the original 48-page story from 1975 along with two other stories featuring Toth’s handsomely heroic creation Jesse Bravo, a slew of never before seen sketches and even color samples from the Bravo tale that was to originally be published back in 1975. The man was and is called “The Genius” by his loyal fans for good reason. Whether looking at a single panel or entire story he worked on, there’s a sense or realism and stylization blended together with a phenomenal use of black and white and a solid sense of storytelling. Anyway, keep an eye peeled for this one when the summer sun is strong, as it’s a great read from one of the best classic comic illustrators ever.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 