NEOGEO X Gold Update: Limited Editon Pre-Orders Nab Ninja Master’s For Free

Posted on October 23, 2012 by geelw

SNK Playmore’s handheld wonder is getting some nifty pre-order love over at online retailers Amazon and GameStop. Consumers who pre-order the Limited Edition (which comes packed with some nice bonuses that turn the handheld into a home console) will get a FREE game card (the 1996 beat ’em up, NINJA MASTER’S*) with their order when the new portable ships out on December 6, 2012. As I’ve been saying for months now, for a dedicated console with a fairly large library of classics (more of which will be made available after the system launches), that $199.99 isn’t a lot at all considering you also get 20 free classic NEOGEO titles you can play on the road using the X as a dedicated portable or at home with the dock included in the LE box.

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Hey Sony! You’re Missing a HUGE Opportunity With Wonderbook…

Posted on October 22, 2012 by geelw

Here’s the second developer diary from SCEE about Wonderbook, but let’s forget about that for a minute. Four little words, Sony, just four little words:

Fifty Shades of Grey.

Grab the rights to this NOW. I’m just saying… that stupid book and its two sequels have sold in the millions and you have an untapped (pun not intended) source of potential female PS3 owners (that thinner cuter model you just introduced, y’know) who’d LOVE to have an interactive version of the book they can surprise their significant (or insignificant) others (or other selves) with. Sure, the kid books will do OK, but get a dev team to whip out (no pun intended) a version of the first book with some nice PS Move bells and whistles, get it in a limited edition package with a coupon from Trojan Vibrations and BOOM – watch the money rollllllllllllll in.

I’m just saying – tap that market fast before the movie hits and the fad wears out. No charge for this idea – you can thank me later.

TIny Troopers To Get 100% More DLC Zombies This Week

Posted on October 22, 2012 by geelw

Nice – Hot on the heels of the recent Steam patch that added some nice tweaks to the gameplay and control layout, Iceberg Interactive and Kukouri Mobile Entertainment are adding zombies to the PC/Mac version via a DLC update to be released for both retail and download versions.

Per the press release, Tiny Troopers new Zombie mode features will include:
• Face endless waves of brain-munching zombies, including undead chickens!
• Utilize air dropped crates of special weapons to lay devastation on the zombie hordzs!
• Use all your favorite Special Forces troopers to take down the undead.
• Survive as long as you can against unending waves of normal and special zombies!

Yep, “hordz” is Iceberg’s spelling not mine – Hey, it made me laugh, so I left it as is. Anyway, I’ll post an update when this new update goes live. Hey Kukouri! How about a PS Vita version of this game? It’s pretty cool as it is, but on that Vita widescreen, it would be even better, I say…

Sega Model 2 Collection: Virtua Everything (Now, Let’s Get This Stateside!)

Posted on October 21, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm… looks like Sega is finally going to unleash more of its arcade history on gamers soon (well, in Japan, at least). Hopefully, Sega of America and Sega of Europe are on the case in getting these out over PSN and XBLA. Personally, I’d prefer to see these all pop up on a single disc so I don’t have to worry about any online issues and heck, these NEED to be Vita and Wiiware bound at some point just because gamers who haven’t heard of these hits should absolutely be playing them. I’m betting Sega Rally is coming up next, as are some other Model 2 games not in this initial batch… it’s going to be fun seeing these roll out, that’s for sure…

Review: Naughty Bear: Panic In Paradise

Posted on October 21, 2012 by geelw

Platform: PS3 (also on Xbox 360)

Developer: Behaviour Interactive

Publisher: 505 Games

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 & Up)

Official Site

Score: B (80%)

A much more improved update to the original Naughty Bear (one of the great guilty pleasures for me this console cycle), Naughty Bear: Panic In Paradise adds more of everything fans asked for plus whatever wackiness developer Behaviour Interactive (formerly Artificial Mind & Movement) cooked up to make this a bigger and better game experience. While the visual style is the same (deceptively plain for the most part), the amount of content here is staggering, particularly if you’re a gamer who has to unlock every single piece of gear and uncover every secret. Add in a budget price point and you’re getting a ton of game here for not a lot of loot, always a good thing in this day and age.

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Random Film of the Week: Race With the Devil

Posted on October 20, 2012 by geelw

Amazingly enough, other than an announcement back in 2005 that seems to have never happened, no one has thought of remaking this rather cool 1975 horror flick that had some really interesting casting and a few genuinely scary bits.

Two couples on a road trip through Texas in their new RV accidentally come across a coven of devil worshipers performing a human sacrifice. They’re seen, but manage to escape with some effort, making their way to a small town where they let the local lawman in on what they’ve seen. Of course, the shady sheriff turns out to be one of the satanists (eek!), and the four end up high-tailing it away, but not before swiping some evidence to present to the police in a larger, more populated city.

This leads to a much longer and more action-packed chase (that camper sure takes a beating here) that may have influenced Mad Max series director George Miller to some extent (at least, to my pointy head). Anyway, I won’t spoil the ending at all here, but let’s just say it’s a nice jolt and in a way, fitting. At a brisk 88 minutes, the solid direction, tight editing and nicely realistic performances from the leads (Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit and Lara Parker) makes this a memorable popcorn flick, especially if teamed up with a similarly-themed flick such as Steven Speilberg’s influential TV movie, Duel (look for the longer European release for that one).

Need For Speed Most Wanted Live Action Trailer: Adrenaline Drive, Indeed…

Posted on October 19, 2012 by geelw

Here’s yet another cool look at Criterion’s upcoming open-world racer, this time it’s a fun live action ad that’s kind of like Carfight as the OK Corral. Well, in an urban setting, of course. I love the editing here and how the focus is on a handful of the many types of licensed rides awaiting players in the final version. I played another nice chunk of this at EA’s Naughty or Nice event last week and it’s just as fun as the first time I picked up a controller. The mobile versions I got to try were equally spectacular, so keep an eyeball peeled for those if you’re looking for one of the best portable racers out there.

Halo 4 “Scanned” Trailer: Get Fincher on the Speed Dial!

Posted on October 19, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm… perhaps David Fincher should have been tapped to direct that Halo movie? OK, he only produced this trailer, but still – it’s pretty impressive and actually makes me want to see something a bit longer form. Eh, whatever – the game will still sell millions of copies, great trailers or not. I’m wondering why Microsoft even bothers to spend all this scratch promoting a game that really doesn’t need all sorts of excesses spent on marketing. The hardcore fans will eat it up and spread the word, the pro reviewers who aren’t jaded and tired of Master Chief yet will go on and on about feature after feature that they approve of and overall, Microsoft will be sitting on more piles of cash. Hell, even if critics hate the game for some reason (and other than the stupid shoutcasting in multiplayer, it’s hard to see why, given that 343 has poured a ton of effort into what’s looking like the biggest Halo to date), it’ll still sell like hotcakes.

Defiance Hands-On: Welcome to the Resistance – It’s Going To Be Really Awesome

Posted on October 19, 2012 by geelw

I may have been initially skeptical about Defiance based on mistakenly hearing it was going to be a licensed game (in fact, it’s a tie in set at the same time as the upcoming show), but I knew that if Trion Worlds was involved in it, it would be a game worth playing. After ogling movies and screens on and off these past few months, I finally got some hands-on time with the upcoming third-person Action MMO and yes indeed, it’s absolutely amazing. If the demo I and everyone else I saw walking away from with big grins on their faces is any indication, Defiance will indeed be a genre pushing game changer upon its April 2013 launch on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

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Stuff that Needs To Be Kickstarted (Part 1)

Posted on October 18, 2012 by geelw

Hmm. Sinnce I’m up way too early, I may as well post something now, as I’ll be a bit busy later doing the airport thing. Here’s a random list of games or game projects that NEED to be crowd-funded. Of course, there are those who want everything for free and can or already have all the games they can play and then some. But for those gamers who aren’t fond of emulation or hell, just want to support a few cool projects, someone has to get on these just from a pure preservation perspective, I say:

Atari Lynx Collection (PC/Mac/Consoles/Handhelds): The Lynx was and is one of the most underrated gaming devices EVER. Despite being more powerful than the hugely popular GameBoy, less popular Game Gear and never as popular as it should have been TurboExpress, there were a number of great games made for the system from arcade ports to original titles worth playing for a few reasons. Granted, something like Gauntlet III would need to be reworked to play in a widescreen format, but then again, it’s perfect for tablets or phones. Slap in Achievements for those who want them and I think this would do well among those who’ve never played or heard of the Lynx previously.

SPACE LORDS (ditto): One game that to date hasn’t been successfully emulated is Atari’s quite spectacular multiplayer space combat arcade game. Yeah, yeah, you’ve never heard of it and it’s never been ported to anything as far as I know since it had its brief run in arcades almost 20 years ago. But it’s exactly the sort of game that once it’s played, will be one you’ll keep going back to just because you’ve had so much fun blasting aliens into space dust (with a little help from your online or offline friends).

I was going to post a bit more, but I’ve a bit of laundry to tackle – back in a bit with a few more ideas (yeah, I’ll try and make a case for a Jaguar collection, although it’s the total longshot of all my bad ideas)…