Review: Gas Guzzlers Extreme

Posted on November 27, 2013 by geelw

Platform: PC

Developer: Gamempires

Publisher: Iceberg Interactive

# of Players: 1 – 8

ESRB Rating:

Score: A- (90%)

If Gas Guzzlers Extreme was running on a console or three about a year or two ago, it would probably be getting a great deal of playtime and raves for its pick up and play car combat action, extensive customization elements, decent visuals and sense of speed, 50 tracks and more. But on PC with plenty of fickle rig-building gamers demanding every game be a graphics showpiece for whatever configuration every single person can build, this one’s not getting the respect it truly deserves. GGE is a great throwback to the days of Twisted Metal, Interstate ’76/Vigilante 8, FlatOut and other destruction-heavy games where all sense of realism flies out the window in favor of all-out car carnage with a side of tinkering. This one’s a keeper whether you play it solo or online with up to eight friends who will soon be enemies on the wild roadways this game lets you have at it on… Continue reading →

Your Doctor Who Infographic Of The Moment Is A Very Handy Doozy…

Posted on November 27, 2013 by geelw

Well, now – this is pretty darn cool. Thanks to the folks over at HalloweenCostumes.com for putting together an awesome infographic that you can use to get that person who’s not a Doctor Who fan either into the show and up to speed on a few fronts or at least understanding what keeps YOU watching year after year. You can check the whole thing out below the jump, as it’s really too long to post without taking up the entire page!
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Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Gets Patched Up But Good* on Steam…

Posted on November 27, 2013 by geelw

EDIT! Guess what, kids? The game is now part of the big, big Steam Autumn Sale and is a WHOPPING 50% OFF unitl December 3, 2013! That’s right, a measly $12.49 gets you the game all patched up and ready to go! Woo-hoo!

Hoo-ray! I think I’m the ONLY one that doesn’t mind the game’s non-adjustable resolution (*the main thing some still want to whine about who may not think the patch fixes EVERYTHING), but as someone who plays primarily console titles (well, there’s about a 70-30 mix), no controller support was a big pain in the wrists and lower for me. Anyway, the list of changes is HERE, so if you’ve been on the fence about this one, it should at least be easier to control if you’re coming from a console background. NOTE: You’ll need an official wired Xbox 360 controller for best results. I guess a wireless pad will also work, but I used my wired controller so I don’t need to recharge or replace any batteries. Also, this is currently only for the Steam version, but I’d gather a gog.com patch is also incoming.

ELYSIUM Headed to Blu-Ray/DVD December 17. You Forgot ALL About This One, Right?

Posted on November 26, 2013 by geelw

Okay, okay… so I almost did, thanks to the huge flood of movies rolling into theaters this year and some other distractions major and minor (alright… it was too many games, mostly). Anyway, at least Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi epic took longer to hit home video than other flicks that came out, disappeared faster and sprung up on discs sooner. Yeah, I liked District 9 a lot and Blomkamp’s visual stule, so I’ll be snapping this up at some point. I rarely take the reviews of others into consideration because I’m old and cranky enough to know some people who review films and games approach them from a completely incorrect perspective, but you can’t stop them from presenting their opinions no matter how wrong-headed they are. Anyway, I’m looking forward to finally checking this out without any hootin’ and a’hollerin’ from the peanut gallery as well as seeing what this very talented director has up his sleeves for a next project…

Dark Horse Comics Breaks Out Laser Kitty So You’ll Drop Dollars Their Way Come Cyber Monday…

Posted on November 26, 2013 by geelw

And who DOESN’T like a sale? Dark Horse Digital is going to be running a BIG one come Cyber Monday and yes, both you and your money are invited. Two people walk in, one person leave (that is, if your money were a person, but you get the drift). Take a whopping 50% off your order, sir or madam? “YES, PLEASE” is your response, you get to roll away with another instant library (well, I bet you lose an hour or so choosing from the virtual pile of books there) and everyone’s happy. Except maybe for Laser Kitty who had to have those contacts put in. Everyone hates those contacts. Fortunately I hear he got a hunk of fresh tuna later for his troubles. So yeah, set your time machine for Monday, boogie on over to the Dark Horse site, redeem that 50% discount with the coupon code dhdcyber2013 and fill up whatever your reading device of choice is with some choice comics! By the way, this offer is good for 24 hours beginning at midnight (PST) on Monday, December 2 with a $20 cart minimum, but you KNOW you’ll blow through that roof pretty quickly once you start clicking around.

Yes, Virginia, There Will Be A New Deadly Premonition Game. Eventually…

Posted on November 26, 2013 by geelw

Oh, Frabulous Joy Or Whatever, Department: Can I get an “FK in the Coffee!” in the house (to go, light and sweet)?!! According to the fine folks at GamingBolt, Swery 65 says he was working on a sequel to Deadly Premonition during the time he was coming up with what’s turned into the Xbox One exclusive, D4. Granted, this is only noted at the end of a sentence, there’s no HUGE reveal of info about how far along that work went and the interview is 99.9% about D4 (and a good read), so don’t look too much at that 2014 calendar and start rubbing your hands for a release date on that DP follow-up.

The interview also COMFIRMS that D4 is an Xbox One exclusive (argh!), not a DP sequel or related in any way and will contain a load of “Easter Eggs” and other elements to give it more replay value. So now that that’s settled, I guess some Swery fans will be dropping five large to get an Xbox One JUST to play this game. I’m a huge fan of the man’s body of work, but I may be passing this game up entirely unless there’s a price drop on that console and that game comes complete on a disc at some point in the future. To date, it’s the ONLY reason I’m remotely interested in Microsoft’s new ~~service~~ console, as I don’t play online “bro” shooters, have ZERO interest in sports and have plenty of movies that I can watch on cable in a MUCH better quality than any streamed content. Your own mileage may vary, of course…

Persona 5: One REALLY Great Reason to Keep That PlayStation 3 Around…

Posted on November 25, 2013 by geelw

Winter 2014 in this case probably doesn’t mean between January and March of next year, folks. If anything, Atlus is smart as hell for getting the team working on this to do so on the old hardware simply because they know it so well and can make this the best-looking Persona game to date if they choose to go all out on the visuals.

And speaking of visuals, that image from the Japanese website (currently the sole piece of art available) is pretty striking, isn’t it? That said, I’m not going to be stupid here and speculate what it means other than to say that given the previous games were about high-school age kids discovering they’re endowed with special powers and need to save the world before it ends in some insanely dramatic manner while also going through the motions of daily life, classwork and homework should still present a major story point throughout the game.

Eh, we’ll see what’s what over the next year – there’s plenty of time for Atlus to drop loads of updates before the game is ready to ship out…

Now, about those OTHER Persona games… read on for my take, if you dare…
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That’s Right. Popeye Was A “Time Lord” Before The Good Doctor!

Posted on November 25, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, cartunes1000!)

And he had a kind of cooler and stranger time machine, too! Yeah, you learn something new every day, kids. Granted, that’s also what you call “VERY desperately running out of ideas” in Cartoonland speak, so although this episode is hilarious (you HAVE to love how that “time machine” works), it’s clear that Elzie Crisler Segar was spinning in his grave when this 1960 cartoon popped up on the tube wherever he ended up when he passed on in 1934. Anyway, enjoy and yeah… you KNOW you want that Picasso/Dali-esque clock thing in YOUR living room.

It’s Evacuation Day! What The Heck Are YOU Doing At Work, America?

Posted on November 25, 2013 by geelw

(thanks DestructionMode!)
Okay, so only a handful of states actually celebrate this now obscure holiday, but I find it amusing that more states and workers aren’t using this to get that one more day off in a week where pretty much nothing gets done save for people gear up to get the hell out of Dodge and go driving tens to hundreds of miles just to stuff themselves full of food that will make them sleepy before they get back IN those vehicles to head out and spend all their money shopping for a lot of people they really don’t like all that much (i.e. family members). OK, so I’m a little and intentionally cynical during this time of the year up to THAT time of the year. But that’s because it’s when you see what I like to call “hypocrisy inaction” where people rant about the old ways being trampled while they themselves can’t force themselves to pass up on that nineteen dollar boombox or two buck sandwich maker that will burn up anything that’s placed between it.

There are a few other things that bug me about this time of year, but I won’t “rant” about them here because I think nearly everyone has their own holiday horrors or knows people that become a bit TOO cheery to be around as if they’re in some Bizarro world where teddy bears, lousy sweaters, fruit cakes and happy-happy joy-joy greetings 24-7 are their marching orders. And. They. Just. Won’t. STOP. Hmmm… that’s practically a Doctor Who episode if it hasn’t been done already. Alright, shutting up now – just ignore me and get back to buying that Butterball and reading up on the pre-pre-pre Black Friday deals you’ll be pissed off at because as soon as you buy something, the price drops elsewhere and you feel like a sucker. Again…

Living on the EDGE Isn’t Easy… But You Can Do It Now On Your Wii U (And Soon, 3DS)

Posted on November 24, 2013 by geelw

Hey people, it’s time to hit the blocks! I’d never heard of EDGE until a few months back while poking around the internet, but with my backlog, I’d never gotten around to snapping this cool-looking indie game up for anything it was previously released on. I saw some guy playing the Steam version on his laptop (yeah, he’s one of THOSE people) the subway and it was hilarious because three fellow commuters on either side of him had their heads turned his way and it was like a comedy routine watching them watch him play. I was standing above and in front of him, so I got a few smiles checking out the game and the audience on his level. So simple looking, but pretty darn cool, I’d say. Anyway, now that YOU’RE hooked, if you own a Wii U, you can drop two digital bucks down at the eShop and get your blocky platform/puzzle action going on.

Wii U Screens:

2DS/3DS Screens:

Still not convinced? Man, you’re a hard-ass! OK, here’s the arm-twisting press release rubdown action. Lie down and feel the tensions melt awaaaaaay…

EDGE has a massive amount of levels, including the free EDGE Extended DLC and Bonus levels from the Steam version and it runs in glorious 1080p with anti-aliasing at 60 frames per second.

Features:
– Retro styled platformer
– Classic 8-bit inspired soundtrack
– Includes EDGE Extended DLC
– Off-TV play
– 1080p at 60 frames per second gameplay
– Only $ 1.99 / € 1.99!

By the way, Xbox One games can’t run at 1080p, but many can do 60fps. Just thought I’d mention that to the folks who like to think the Wii U is a Wii with a U at the end. It’s not. So there.