Dragon’s Crown PS3, Vita Bound This Summer – It’s Worth Every Crown, I Say…

Title Logo
 
DC display packsVanillaware’s latest and absolutely gorgeous-looking 2D side-scrolling action RPG, Dragon’s Crown is finally US-bound this summer for both the PS3 and Vita (yup, you can pre-order it HERE) and yes, it’s going to arrive at a premium RETAIL price point for both the PlayStation 3 and Vita. Sure, $49.99 (PS3) and $39.99 (Vita) will seem pricey to the entitled trolls who bitch about game prices in the same posts they seem to cut and paste around the web (usually followed by “When is this going on SALE?” or something similarly cheap-sounding), but this isn’t some dumb mobile nickel and dimer we’re talking about here. George Kamitani and his team at Vanillaware make their art into gaming form and fans of the company’s other releases such as Odin Sphere, Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Princess Crown (which NEEDS a HD remake one of these days!) KNOW these games are well worth the money for the artwork and lovely character designs alone.

Por ejemplo…

04 06 05001

Of course, the addictive gameplay will be a big draw as well and this one’s got drop-in multiplayer on PlayStation 3 or via adhoc network on PlayStation Vita. No Cross Play functionality might be a sore spot for some, but I say pick one version (or both) and enjoy either ride solo or with like minded friends who also love Vanillaware’s games for their always awesome art and stylish hack & slash action. Chalk up another winner for Atlus, I say!

DC background art

Humor: So, iNetvideo.com Is Having A Sale…

BIG Bunny

 

NotL_long posterBut you could really care less about what iNetvideo.com is selling because you’re looking at the picture above they posted earlier this afternoon on their Facebook page and thinking something along the lines of “MAN, THAT’S A BIG FU@#ING BUNNY!” So let me get you back on track here. Yeah, that’s pretty damn massive lagomorph. Like Night of the Lepus massive. Which just so happens to be on sale at the site as we speak. Wait, now you’re hungry? Oh, you’ve seen that picture above, aren’t vegan at all and ran so fast into the kitchen to measure that turkey pan that you ran over one or more kids and the family pet in the process? Oh, they’ll heal up nicely – just let them cry it out. Besides, that smelly old bottle of Bactine is still in the medicine cabinet behind the big pills you take every morning. “It still stings, so it still works!”, as Grandma says.Or USED to say before she went off the The Big Sky all those years back. Ah, Grandma (*sniff*)…

 

 

Later on, the kids and pet are all snoozy and healed up, things are quiet and you’re absolutely stuffed full of rabbit photo. All is right in the world… until you realize that it’s NOT Bactine at all you sprayed everyone with, but some of Gammy Gam-Gam’s SPECIAL medicine she made in the bathtub from some old potatoes and onions, eleven garlic bulbs, a can of Sterno and some grain alcohol she gets from the guys down the hall. Yeah, the ones who wear overalls and long johns all summer. Er, a little of that goes a long way and yeah, you’ll end up calling a mere sip The Time Machine because you always wake up afterwards and it’s another day that’s passed you’ve forgotten all about. Horror Express, indeed…

BioShock Infinite Launch Trailer: 2K & Irrational Games Get To Say “See? Told You So!”

So, it’s out and getting high marks overall, but what else did you expect? Sure, the Internet did its thing last year when a few post-E3 looks revealed the game wasn’t quite done and ready to ship and there was a delay while it seemed things were being further tweaked. But I’ve always trusted Ken Levine and Irrational Games to get this one as polished up as possible before unleashing it onto the public. Will I run out and BUY it right away since it seems I’m not getting a review copy? Probably not this week or next, but it’ll get added to the “to-do” list at some point. I’m in no rush to jet out a review before anyone else, but it’s good to know that when I actually DO get to play this, I’ll be having quite a blast…

rain Gameplay: Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful…

 

Here’s a look at SCE Japan Studio’s rather interesting adventure/puzzle/horror game, rain in action on the PS3. This one’s coming soon as a PSN download (but for some reason won’t be on the Vita, grrrr!). Sony is really doing a nice solid for indies on the PS3, but it would be nicer if we could get these compiled onto a disc much like that Journey: Collector’s Edition from last year. I’m betting a dollar that there are an awful lot of PS3 owners that either don’t know about these games or (eek) don’t care because SCEA isn’t bothering to ask them if they’d buy them if they put about 4 – 6 of these (relatively) short games onto a Blu-Ray, priced them reasonably, stuck a few extra demos on for good measure and saw what happened at retail. Hey, not every PS system owner has access to broadband, Sony. Work on getting those gamers some of these great-looking games and perhaps you’ll see even more love from your large user base in the future…

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Gameplay Reveal: Pirates’ (Raking In More) Gold…

 

Now, I really COULD (and should) litter this post with plenty of pirate and numerous nautically-themed puns (enough to make your eyes and ears cower in fear), but I won’t (consider yourselves lucky. THIS time). But instead, I’ll just state the obvious and say that Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag looks really amazing and yes, all that sea battle stuff from the last game seems to be what Ubisoft was going to end up making nearly an entire game around. Granted, it might have been really spectacular to see this game show up as an all NEW franchise, as the stand alone pirate game has been sorely missed. Now, we’ll get to sit through those long-winded online rants from fans of the original AC games who think going so far away from the Templar stuff is a terrible thing. I always thought it was kind of pompous and that futuristic Desmond plot unnecessary, but that’s just me. Oh well, this one will sell a million or two based on the “Yo Ho Ho” factor alone. Just you watch…

Iron Man 3 TV Spot 1: Not Too Early, Never Too Late, Right?

 

IM3_posterSure, May 3 isn’t exactly THAT far away… then again, it’s not exactly close, is it? Still, this seems to be the sweet spot for these blockbusters where a month or so in advance, the TV commercials start dropping in many varieties. Of course you can expect 30 and 60-second spots, clips scattered around cable and online, the early screening buzz (where the more fortunate press get to show up and blab about positively or otherwise on their sites) and finally, a few premieres of the star-studded variety.

Of course, for most films I eventually choose to see, I just flip a coin and decide whether I catch in a theater with a bunch of annoying people around me and sit through 20 minutes of trailers for stuff I probably won’t see or wait a few more months until it pops up on video. Tick, tick, tick, tick…

Game of Thrones Season 3: Outside The Show, The Show Goes On…

 

I’m not one for this fancy red carpet stuff at all, as I prefer to imagine these actors in the realm of the show (whatever show they’re in) and not outside of it where they’re all preened up and look too pretty instead of gritty, but so it goes on the promotional train. Then again, I haven’t been what you’d call “starstruck” in decades, as I tend to treat everyone I meet the same way (unless they’re trying to run me over with some sort of vehicle for whatever reason).

 

 

And hey, look! Emilia Clarke is in Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Broadway! Go read the book if you’ve never, as it outclasses the film by quite a bit in terms of content. Still, I think the new version needs more DRAGONS or something, and I know you do too. Anywya, the show kicks off next week, so I can stop kicking my TV when I come home and keep seeing Al Pacino in that damned scary Bozo wig… Yeesh, my heart…

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Random Screenshot of the Day: Waiting…

DPTDCLOGO

img0094

So, it’s Monday in Greenvale and here’s Emily Wyatt, still waiting patiently from last week. Uh oh. She doesn’t look very happy at all for a few important reasons. One: you’re late. Never keep a lady waiting, PERIOD. Especially on a Monday. Two: you forgot to being her a hot cup of coffee after keeping her waiting. I mean, you came from the A&G Diner, right? ALWAYS buy a lady you’ve kept waiting a hot cup of coffee. Three, her hand still hurts from that punch she threw at you on Saturday night. YOU may have forgotten all about that incident, but she didn’t. And even if she did, her hand would still hurt. Anyway, your moral for today is the following. Never keep a lady waiting, always buy her a hot cup off coffee if you do keep her waiting and ABSOLUTELY do not mention what happened on the weekend at any point. Unless she brings it up, whereupon you’re to shift nervously in your seat and mumble an apology (which should probably e a sincere one).  Emily might not be in the best of moods today, but she’s a good kid and can forgive one or two mistakes like that.

DP_PreorderJust don’t let it happen again. In fact, you can probably be a bit more proactive in the future if you simply pre-order and play Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut, exclusively for the PS3 and landing in stores on April 30, 2013. Groove on the improved visuals, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support, new content, Trophies and more and if you play your cards right, you’ll be able to have a better Monday at some point down the road. You may even get a nod, a smile and a sunny “Hi!” from Emily, but remember, that doesn’t mean she’s anything but a professional.

IMG_2148If you’re still desperate, Dr. Swery’s radio advice show may still be on the air. Hmmmm. If I recall correctly, it used to run from midnight to 7AM daily on that radio station you get in the hotel better than anywhere else in Greenvale, but I haven’t heard a thing since those strange killings started. I hope he’s alright, as that was a really good program. Hmmm… now that you mention it, there’s been a few other odd things going on since he’s been gone. I sure hope he’s OK. Maybe I should call up a detective or something? Oh, wait – there’s one in town, I hear. Now where the hell was he? Probably working a big case or something…

(to be continued…)

Diablo III on PS3: Blizzard’s Showing Off The Goods (And Positively Pissing Off Some PC Gamers in the Process)…

 

DIII New TristramI’m really happy to see that not only has Blizzard reworked the controls to be direct and yes, Dual Shock 3 friendly, the game also looks great and should get MORE people playing who’ve been wondering what the hell a Diablo game is and why there’s so much bile spilling out over the Internet from a certain bunch of folks who seem to be either jealous or wishing fiery doom, (DOOM, I say!) upon the developer and anyone with a console and not a cutting-edge PC that cost more than some used cars who wants to play this game. Eh, whatever. I’m BUYING Diablo III because my PC couldn’t run it (the always online crap from that version has been replaced with a solo play mode I’m behind 100%) and I wasn’t at all interested in the real money auction house nonsense forced upon PC players. Of course, there’s the matter of the PS4 version of the game not being compatible with the PS3 version, but at the end of the day, I’m gathering that other than visuals and controls, both versions will otherwise be the same and compatible with their specific consoles (which should have user bases large enough to support online play amongst those users who end up going that route).

 

 

DIII Black Canyon Mines DIII Bridge DIII Caldeum DIII Evasive Fire DIII Fiendish DIII Inventory DIII Mob 1 DIII Realm of Terror DIII waypoint

Riddick Teaser Trailer: Reasonable Follow Up, Or A Riddick-ulous Dim Weasel Production?

 

Hmmmm… I guess this is good news, but I personally don’t know anyone who was dying to see a new Riddick flick. Granted, the best thing to come out of the films was the 2004 Xbox exclusive game from Starbreeze, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (which is NOT a traditional “licensed” game per se, as it’s an entirely original story that links into the narrative about the character’s history rather than tie into a specific film) and yes, Pitch Black was and is pretty cool after all these years. But that last film was kind of overblown to some degree and I’ve never been able to sit through it again after seeing it once. Eh, well perhaps the third time’s the charm, as it’s an interesting anti-hero and yes, some actors do get better as they mature. I’m just not holding my breath for greatness nor lining up early at this point, especially in this fast countdown to the home video release every new movie is on these days…

(or as usual, We Shall See…)