Um, Happy Belated Birthday, Pac-Man! As I’ve been busy with some stuff here, I missed the big day for this classic arcade character. But my breakfast a few days back reminded me to check and yup, he’s a year older. Anyway, YES the photo is upside down because I just noticed that it looks as if that eggy-veggie thing I made has got an eye and eyebrow when it’s flipped that way. Okay, so I never said I was perfect. Well, at least ol’ Pac won’t come after me because I forgot to get him a card or bake a cake. He’s cool about that (or so I hear).
Well, I knew Bethesda was working on it for a while so I may be one of the few people who didn’t lose his or her mind when that Fallout 4 trailer dropped. More will be revealed at E3 and that most likely means there will be live gameplay to see and screens to pore over. I like that our hero (or heroine if you choose to play as a female) may have an actual voice this time out and I hope there are a few voice options in that character creation screen. While the trailer is made up of in-game footage trying to even guess anything about the story through the trailer is a fool’s errand. Naturally, the internet is going ga-ga over over-speculation about everything in that video. I prefer to keep what remains of my sanity and stay quiet until my paws are wrapped around a controller.
I’m gathering the release date will be a shocker, as there are placeholder pre-order and retailer tabs on the official site already that will probably go live during or after E3. I’m betting Bethsoft wants to get as many people who want this as possible to grab their wallets and get with the early spending spree. Given that their press conference is quite long and has the return of former G4TV stars Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb as hosts, I’d say a lot of gamer wallet (and other bits) draining will be happening once all is said and done. That said, I don’t think an new single player entry in The Elder Scrolls series will be announced this year. Why? Because that’s too much to take for some folks (myself included) and time travel hasn’t been invented just yet so we can play all these games and go back to normal without missing a beat.
Besides, Bethesda REALLY wants you to be playing The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited. Zenimax did work a hell of a long time on it and I hear it’s not bad at all for an always online game experience.
It’s pretty much a 60’s “B” flick dipped in the not for the kiddies gore and nudity of early 80’s slasher flicks. But on that level Humanoids of the Deep works. You’re pretty much getting The Horror of Party Beach and Creature From the Black Lagoon with a bit of actual horror, but the film is more notorious for its added in post-production scenes of icky, horny sea creatures molesting a few young actresses after whipping their bathing suits off. That caused a bit of a stir back when I saw this in 1980 with a few friends and I also recall a handful of people screaming and doing an exit dash at the film’s somewhat ALIEN-inspired final scene.
Back then I didn’t like the film all that much because of its extremes and that it felt like two different films crunched together at the expense of the better one. But over time it’s become something of a mash-up of intentional and unintentional comedy, eyeball-rolling “shock” scenes and yes, well-known cast members who didn’t realize they’d be starring in a rather mean-spirited exploitation moneymaker that would garner a loyal fan base. For me it’s more of a great guilty pleasure when I look at it now. Albeit with a big blood red caution buoy in the water if you’re squeamish or easily annoyed by gore and gratuitous nudity in a “roughie” manner.
More scary and mystery-themed indies games incoming from Bundle Stars? Awesome. Particularly with titles such as Tale of Tales wonderful re-imagining of Red Riding Hood, The Path, the chilling first person horror game Betrayer and more, all at the ridiculously low price of $2.49 with this deal expiring on June 16, 2015. Here’s what else in in this Nightmare Bundle:
1HEART – RRP $9.99 Betrayer – RRP $9.99 Guns n Zombies – RRP $7.99 Kraven Manor – RRP $5.99 Montague’s Mount – RRP $9.99 The Moon Sliver – RRP $2.99 The Path – RRP $9.99 The Samaritan Paradox – RRP $9.99
96% off is indeed a scary great price. You know you’re tempted to slip into something uncomfortable and cheap and this deal is the safest way to do that without any harm coming to your person. Unless it’s a bout of wrist and finger cramping from all that mouse clicking you’ll soon be doing. Get to it, then. This deal isn’t going to last forever, but those nightmares you may have after some of these games? Well, that’s all up to you.
“Attention carbon units/what would you do/if you had to save the earth/from something attacking you…”
Well, you’d probably want to at least be decked out looking somewhat Enterprising for the occasion, particularly if you know where that quote above has been transported from. Anyway, with San Diego Comic Con rolling up, thanks to The Coop and Entertainment Earth you Trekkies and Trekkers are getting some really cool stuff to send some of that disposable income on. Of course, you don’t need any sort of convention to snap up anything in this post if you’re a fan who wants to show off your love for all things Trek. Continue reading →
The more I see of SOMA, the more I want to play it and hear about others playing it. This slow-burner of a sci-fi horror game from Frictional Games looks fantastic and as you can see, has atmosphere to burn in spades. I do love that the game builds up to what’s in this 12+ minute video and will most likely leave viewers interested in the game wanting to grab it just to see how everything falls into place. It seems that players will be in for an excellent blend of adventure game search and use, environmental hazards and one pretty oddball opinionated machine. Iie arigato, Mr. Roboto! Yikes. Anyway, SOMA is out September 22 on PC and PS4.
Here’s one way to end a crappy month plus: some EXCELLENT news from XSEED Games. They’re localizing Sandlot’s Earth Defense Forces 2 Portable V2 for the US and retitling it Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space. Okay, the title is somewhat (and intentionally) cheesy, recalling the 50’s aci-fi flicks that inspired the Japanese development team. But for those of us who’ve been fans of the EDF series since its 2003 debut, seeing the game finally arrive in English means many things.
For one, no more begging non-Japanese action game fans to “give it a try” because they’re fearful of any text they can’t read or navigate the controls without worrying. Granted, the games are dirt simple to play and anyone who can hold a Vita can dive right in. But between the radio chatter, menus, weapon and mission descriptions I’ve had to tell a few friends not to fret over, I can recommend the US version as an instant BUY. Second, while the story isn’t anything “special”, the fact that EDF 2 has a London map (where the game starts and has a few missions) before proceeding to Japan has made me want to see a complete script localization to see how the aliens ended up there first. Also, as things get bleaker for humanity as the locations get more destroyed, some of that radio chatter seems to be pretty bleak. In previous EDF games, there’s been a doom-like tone as the final dregs of soldiers take their last stands and say some farewells. You can’t make that campy… or CAN you?
Anyway, this one isn’t out until the fall, but I’ll be keeping an eyeball on it for sure.
Let’s see now. Not counting the usual outside world lousy news that will absolutely drive one bonkers if one pays attention to all of it, my life is in a bit of a bumpy phase. No, you’re not getting any juicy details other than things are about as complex as Ernest Hemingway’s hamburger recipe right about now. And nowhere near as tasty. Okay, I haven’t tried that recipe yet, but it sure sounds as if it packs in a ton of flavor. But I digress. Let’s talk mostly in music because it makes things easier and funnier when all is said and done.
What’s Up With the Roof? Well, it’s still being repaired and it seems that June 5th deadline may or may not be met thanks to some rainy and windy days where not much took place. They’re doing a bunch of the buildings here at the same time so it looks like Scaffold City in some spots. Given the amount of drilling and pounding going on, it seems that the intent is to make this fix a bit more “permanent” than previous jobs. That were also supposed to be “permanent”. Yes, “permanent” is in quotes because maintenance such as this is never really going to be “permanent” (which is why it’s called MAINTENANCE, correct?). Which leads me to the apartment (eek):
The place got one a few months back before the roof repair but needs a new inspection after it to see if anything’s been shaken loose from all the pounding from above. A different set of inspectors came in and checked the ceilings in every room to see if they needed any repairs. Of course, nearly every room in the apartment now has red marks on the ceilings were some work needs to take place. Wonderful. Even more annoying is the wall that was completely replaced twice over the past twenty years thanks to the drainpipe behind it that more than likely should have been replaced during the first wall job. My brain boils every time I recall assorted inspectors and workmen saying variations on “Well, that pipe really needs to be fixed, but it’s too much work because the whole line needs to come out” meant all of the current issues really didn’t need to happen.
That and while terribly inconvenient for the tenants along the line below me, had the work been done back when it needed to be, it would have cost less and probably been done with far better materials. Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. The wall in the home office was last “fixed” last October and painted but a month later was showing signs of (that’s right) minor water damage. By the time the inspector popped back around to check something else out, I had to show off the now more cracked and damaged wall to him just to get a reaction. Yep, he actually asked me when was the last time it was repaired. Le sigh. Le annoy! I also need to figure out where to move over 1000 games, a bunch of systems and other stuff as I’d planned to use the formerly empty back room here that’s now occupied by a relative who’s moved back in.
Eh, I’ll figure that out. It may involve a screwdriver, hex wrenches and disassembling some furniture to make room, a few drop cloths and a LOT of tape. Ugh. Well, at least I have some masks in the closet so I can hang out and get all dusty with the workers here while I keep an eye on my stuff. It looks as if the rest of June past the 5th or so will mostly consist of me packing stuff up, moving it around and unpacking it later. Yep, I’m moving in my own apartment but keeping stuff in the same room. Whee. Science? Or just insanity.
What’s Cookin? And nope, the kitchen still isn’t at 100 percent thanks to a combo of the assorted workers not putting things back together completely. I have two sink legs under the sink that need to be reattached, some trim that needs painting (well, once they actually finish making and adding the rest of the trim around the kitchen ceiling) and there’s a small hole in a wall that was somehow missed during all that earlier kitchen nonsense that I just spotted when moving the refrigerator back to its original spot. “If I had a hammer…” I’d probably be doing 2-5 for some sort of Three Stooges meets Screwy Squirrel assault.
Feh. Add all that up and the fact that I need to make some money fast (and legally, of course!) and things are a bit stress inducing of late. If I can make it through June without Hulking out, it’ll be a good month. My poor head is stuffed with stuff I need to do, but concentration isn’t an easy thing to concentrate on with so much crap in the synapse.
Back in a bit. How’s YOUR month (or hell, just this Friday) going?
*Yeah, I know that Bruce Cockburn song is used way out of context. But so is every other video in this post.
Well, well, well. I was wondering when Nintendo of America would step up to the plate and take a swing at bundling some of its indie games up into a great deal. Rather than do it themselves directly, they’ve teamed up with the fine folks at Humble Bundle to offer a nice set of games for a budget price point. In the Humble Nindie Bundle you pay what you want (well, at least a buck) for three titles or pay ten bucks (or more) to unlock nine 3DS and Wii U games with more to come in a week or so. This deal only lasts for the next 12 days, so grab it if you own a Wii U and/or 3DS and need some cool indie titles to keep you occupied. The deal is for North America only, so European Wii U and 3DS owners are out of luck until Nintendo Europe gets whatever ducks it needs to in order.
Interestingly enough, I believe this is the first ever console bundle offered by Humble Bundle. If so, once again it’s Nintendo thinking outside the box and getting its fans some decent deals. I guess it’s your move, Sony and Microsoft.
For those of you who’ve served, thank you for your service. For those of you who remember the late, great Bob Hope doing his part for those who’ve served or want to know what some of the fuss was about, courtesy of MVD Visual here’s a Memorial Day buy that’s not some condescending mattress, car, food or other product not worthy of the holiday. Back tomorrow with some updates.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 