Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Gets All Post-E3 Geeky This Weeky…

Posted on June 16, 2013 by geelw

CONFESSION! OK, kitties, I don’t watch Late Night except for rare occasions when I’m flipping by or I hear Jimmy is doing something video game related. He’s a huge kid about gaming and you can definitely see that natural enthusiasm show when he gets all wide-eyed, grinny and spazzy like an eight year old on Xmas buzzed on sugar cookies and hot chocolate ripping open presents as he puts assorted titles through their paces in segments that practically guarantee nice sales of whatever he’s super-thrilled about. Of course, game publishers really LOVE the guy (even when he pokes fun at their products a bit) and I’m sure his millions of fans who aren’t into gaming see and mark down potential future holiday or otherday gifts for the gamers in their lives.

It actually WOULD be nice for me as a Noo Yawkuh to be able to go see thew show live this week instead of sitting on my butt at home, but hey – those tickets are hard to some by and even though I’m probably MORE of a gaming fool than Fallon, I’d still have to send in a request and hope away that I snag tix on a night he’s actually doing something game related. With my luck, he’ll have some overexposed “celebrity” or “reality” show boob on the night I get to go and I’ll have to restrain myself along with other audience members from throwing tomatoes and shoes… woosh, POW!!!

Anyway, and if you want to try and get on the show in video form at least, ring up your mom, get a console and a camera and you can earn some Internet immortality… below the jump, you must go. Press release for the show’s week of post-E3 gaming fun are there as well…

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Oopsdate: To e, or Not to e…

Posted on June 15, 2013 by geelw

Ha. It wouldth theem thuh key of ” ”
hath seem’th to work no longer
unleth I preth ith realllly hard
my louthy proth’s not thronger

(wait…why am I thyping with a lithp all of a thudden? *smack!!* Ow. OK)…

ANYWAY, Yaaah. My ” ” key is usted on this laptop unless I jam down on it, as I just found out when typing an email out. Yuk. I just need to remember to bang (aha! it works!) a little harder when I post. I just fixed one that escaped from my Suspiria review, so that sentence missing it actually makes sense (well, hopefully). Eh, I’ll pry up that key later and see if there’s something underneath.

E3 2013: Earth Defense Force 2025 Updated Gallery/Press Release

Posted on June 15, 2013 by geelw

Sure, you more jaded gamers drooling over every “next-gen” game until your eyeballs fall out of their sockets may be peeking at these EDF 2025 screens and rolling on the carpet laughing, but here’s a laugh back for you. This game will pack in more action, awesome gear and mindlessly addictive fun AND a planet-load of replay value that will make some of those other upcoming games cry. Especially the ones chopped up in bits of pay wall content that you CAN’T return at all because they’re digital-only “you buy it you’re stuck with it and even if you delete it it still shows up that you paid for it at one point ha-ha” content that even in a “trade” situation, only your little brother would touch it but his parental units won’t let him because it’s rated above his age. And besides, they won’t buy him that console anyway, no matter how much he wants it.

So yeah, EDF 2025 will pretty much rock. Thank you, D3Publisher and Sandlot! February is a long time away, though… oh well. Press release below the jump, not edited much as I’m busy…
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Random Film of the Week(end): Suspiria

Posted on June 15, 2013 by geelw

So, very early yesterday morning I’m sitting here going through digital piles of notes from all this E3 madness and working up some sort of schedule to get everything I need to get posted when I start thinking about Dario Argento’s brilliant 1977 horror classic, Suspiria for some reason. Well, it WAS dark outside (I think it was around 3am) and raining like a cloud full of cute but incontinent cats and dogs pissing from the skies, so that MAY have had something to do with it as well.

Anyway, where was I? (looks at post title) Oh yeah… Suspiria. Creepy name. heroine looks like a wide-eyed marionette. Mean old witches in classy clothes. One that snores like a malfunctioning tea kettle. Maggot infestation. LOTS of red in the art direction. Udo Keir is in it, but isn’t Dracula. Scary as hell if you’re in the proper mood. Intentionally and unintentionally funny in spots. That TV ad above used to scare the crap out of me. OK, enough with the off the top of the head stuff. Unless you count the evil that gets wiped out at the climax (allegedly), there’s nowhere near as high a body count when compared to today’s mega-slice fests. That said, the murders are pretty nasty, creatively executed and memorable enough to linger in the brain long after the credits have rolled… Continue reading →

Attention Bat-Fans: Believe it or Not! Mezco Toyz Wants You In NYC For Something Old, Something New

Posted on June 15, 2013 by geelw

Holy “I Get To See The Original Batmobile and Maybe Pass Out On Top of (Or Next To) It!, Batman!!” Mezco Toyz is lighting up the Bat-Signal and letting all you classic to current Batman fans know they’re going to be doing something really awesome in New York City on June 25, 2013. Check it out below and get in on the fun, I say.

The hilarious thing here is as a jaded and cynical Noo Yawkuh (for life! OK, I’ve left the city and traveled plenty of times), I’ve never been to that Believe it or Not museum and in fact, scoot through 42nd street as quickly as possible whenever I’m in the area. Those crowds can be a bit annoying is all I’m saying. Still, I guess it’s a far sight better than the old nastier 70’s and 80’s where you’d want to run like hell away for other reasons (I’m old enough to tell you some mighty freaky true tales)… However, the chance to see the Batmobile of my childhood (and it better not be made of wax, grrrr… oh, wait, that’s Madame Tussaud’s down the street – another place I avoid!)? Oh hell no, that’s not getting passed up one bit. “POW!” “BIFF!!”, “SOCK!!” Er, “SPLORCH???” Hmmm… er… maybe not a “SPLORCH???”… that just sounds too wrong. Anyway, yeah, SHOW UP and bring your camera and a drool cup. Wear a bike helmet or hardhat if you’re prone to passing out from sheer nostalgia (“THUDDD!”)

So, Um… Whatcha Doin’ This Weekend? Superman’s Free For Some Quality Time…

Posted on June 15, 2013 by geelw

Well, not “FREE” free (or is it FREE “free”?)… you’ll have to go dutch or whatever and buy a ticket to see him (or play illegal mall mega-plex tippy-toe, you cheap bastard) and sadly, it’s look but don’t touch once you meet up. That said, I think you’re guaranteed some exciting times, a few laughs and maybe some tears before the break-up just over two hours later. Hey, he’s Superman, folks – he has to move faster than you.

Anyway, go see Man of Steel if you haven’t yet – it’s pretty darn good.

E3 2013: Meanwhile, at Nintendo HQ…

Posted on June 14, 2013 by geelw

Ah, Nintendo. old and reliably entertaining and yes, safe in many ways much like this classic Abbott & Costello routine. Nintendo is a rather special case, as the company seems to weather storms of negativity with an eternally sunny outlook that overlook a few pressing problems. Granted, part of the company’s issues stem from a combination of few internal and external pressures. Impatient gamers not quite realizing the company puts out games when they think they’re ready and not because they’re demanded (which takes time the content-devouring masses of today don’t seem to have) and a lineup of mostly old favorites that get rolled out seemingly at random while others sit on the sidelines until there’s a dev team free to work on them. Methinks Samus Aram is getting a little too much arm fat hanging out with that lazy Ridley as they catch up on “B” movie marathons on really lazy weekends. And don’t get me started as to what Slippy is up to in his spare time…

As a gamey old fart who truly appreciates this more “hand-crafted” approach, I love most of the company’s classic games quite a lot, as do millions of other devoted fans of all ages. That said, like a mom making the same favorite meals like clockwork each week, a little spice is probably necessary once in a while to kick things up a notch and appeal to a wider palate. Nintendo may be “safe” and a “special case” in one respect, but the other half of that coin is they’re also like that cute three-legged puppy you’ve adopted where you’ll sometimes find yourself laughing at it as well as with it as it playfully scampers about the room…

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Pacific Rim “Jaegers” Featurette: A Triple Shot of Metal Goes Down Surprisingly Smoothly…

Posted on June 14, 2013 by geelw

Jeah, jeah, I know it’s Jägermeister and NOT “Jaegermeister”, folks (oh boy, do I know the difference… but I don’t do that anymore, so perhaps I’ve thankfully forgotten?)… just roll with it, mmm’kay? Anyway, another nice and loving look at the heavy metal thunder about to roll into theaters soon in Pacific Rim. I must say that WB has a nice lineup of sci-fi/fantasy flicks this year between this, the just opened to positive press Man of Steel and the upcoming sequel The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Of course, I’ll be camped out at home with the video versions as well once all are released, as this seems to be the best way to see any new movie to get the full story and way too much behind the scenes info at one’s leisure and NO crazy people yelling at the screen like they’re on a damned talk or reality show set on a roller coaster. Bleh…

E3 2013: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Your Next Year In Gaming May Just Be Spent Here…

Posted on June 14, 2013 by geelw

Poland’s CD Projekt RED Studios is one of my favorite game developers because you can clearly see through their games that they really love what they’re doing and are determined to make everything they work on as great and immersive as humanly possible. This dedication to craft has made the first two games in The Witcher series stand out as watermarks in game design and art direction, so it’s no surprise that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is upping the ante in many significant ways on its way to being possibly one of the best modern multiplatform RPGs to date. Set for a 2014 release on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the game, while still a work in progress looks absolutely stunning in screenshots and even more incredible in action to the point that you have to wonder what magical powers keep the dev team pouring out such ridiculously perfect work.

All my overblown hyperbole aside, this is a game that’s going to let it’s powerful anti-hero Geralt of Riva go anywhere and have layered adventures in a richly detailed world (35 times larger than the one in the already epic-sized one in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings) full of danger and no doubt quite a few memorable NPC encounters that add even more choices to how the game is played. The new combat system should please old and new players alike and yes, given that the game is assured a Mature rating, Geralt will get to play “pin the tail on the monster” in battle, slicing foes into bits or using his powerful spells to take them down with relish. We’ll probably also him get in some deftly edited romantic time with a few ladies, as the game has also never shied away from the man’s desires (nor those of some of the ladies he encounters in his travels).

Of course, fans of the series buy these games for more than Geralt’s sexytime antics. The story has always been the core of every game in the series and it’s guaranteed that this one will be another memorable chapter in Geralt’s history. Expect the always super voice acting and soundtrack packed with some lovely scored tunes and I’m betting even non-gamers will want to sit and watch this played just to take in the visuals or get wrapped up in a story filled with drama, mystery, well-timed humor when necessary and occasional bursts of violence. But let’s not get too far ahead here – I’ll run updates on this one as the developer puts them out. CDPR has a system seller here, there’s no doubt in my mind about that one bit…

E3 2013: Meanwhile, At Sony HQ…

Posted on June 14, 2013 by geelw

OK, while I’m not quite sure The Nicholas Brothers AND Charlotte Greenwood would like you to buy a PlayStation 4, (well, it didn’t exist back when this film was shot), you get the idea here, right? Sony’s knockout E3 presentation and MUCH clearer consumer rights strategy for used games, which SHOULD still be standard issue for all companies, won the day along with some great upcoming first and third party titles. Still, it’s kind of pesky that this is the big thing people are talking about. Hopefully, this will lead to an actual discussion that will also affect the future of content “ownership” and keep it normal longer than some other companies and individuals who want it dissolved into a service-driven monetization scheme (bleh) just because it’s “simpler” and “easy to use”…

Memo to “future-proofing” tech companies: Leave us game, movie and other media collecting hounds alone and go make your money on other items that maybe SHOULD be seen as lease worthy, I say. Digital content is great and provided there’s access to it, convenient. However, as 100% of the people out there can’t get to it 100% of the time, companies that try too hard to play with our rights deserve a little less love (and Microsoft has dipped a bit on a few gift card lists, that’s for sure)…