Ridge Racer Rolls Onto The Vita: A Bit Of A Bumpy, But Budget Ride

Posted on March 14, 2012 by geelw

Another old standby from the original PlayStation days finally skids onto the Vita, and at first glance, it’s pretty much what you’d expect as a RR fan. However, even with the included DLC, there are only a handful of tracks (six) and cars (ten). Sure, you also get lots of speed and that familiar sideways skidding, but in the end, the lack of a focused single player offline mode plus the odd “leveling” system for cars hurt the game significantly.

Even as an arcade racer (this time aiming for the “connected” gamer), There’s just not enough meat on this one for those raised in the Gran Turismo or Forza eras. The $30 price tag, while inexpensive for a Vita game, still feels like five bucks too much. Granted, if you love nostalgia and aren’t too picky about the lack of innovation, you’ll like what’s here. On the other hand, you’d also hope that Namco would have spent a lot more time adding features and content to make the game a LOT more impressive as a launch window title and not hold back what made the first few Ridge Racer games on the PSOne great in the first place.

Ah well, if the game sells well because of the RR name, there’s always more DLC that can be whipped up, I guess…

Games You Just NEED To Play: Yakuza: Dead Souls

Posted on March 13, 2012 by geelw

Sure, it’s all about Mass Effect 3 for many out there, but for total goofballs like me, Sega’s just-released wild Tokyo nightmare is going to be more fitting for a few reasons. The mix of horror and humor makes for a wacky bit of balancing, but the game isn’t trying to be “serious” at all (zombies versus Japanese gangsters would make a great Takashi Miike flick, I say!). Those weird Yakuza 4 geisha club mini-games are back (enough said there) and hell, it’s just cool to support Sega and the supremely talented Yakuza team again this year, as Binary Domain was also a really nice surprise that’s worth a buy. Don’t get me wrong, though – I’m not skipping out on BioWare’s latest at all, folks. It’s just that it’ll always be around to dive into on multiple platforms (and will no doubt get some sort of reissue down the road) while this one’s a PS3 exclusive that’s only going to get a limited release and that’s that… unless there’s a Yakuza BOX on the way (note to Sega: hint, hint, hint…)

Crowdfunding Goes Classic (Again!): Wasteland 2 Gets The Kickstarter Treatment

Posted on March 13, 2012 by geelw

Wasteland 2 Kickstarter

“I have waited a long time to make this game, and I now have my dream team put together to help make it a reality,” said Brian Fargo of inXile Entertainment. “I had the main storyline created by Jason Anderson, the co-creator of Fallout™. We have Mike Stackpole and Alan Pavlish aboard who were the main designers of the original Wasteland™. Mark Morgan is doing the music and he composed the score for Fallout™1 and 2. And we have the fantastic talent of Andree Wallin helping with the concept art.”

Excellent. Now, inXile is in on the Kickstarter funding bandwagon and this time, it’s the official sequel to one of the greatest RPGs ever created, so you know it’s going to get funded pretty quickly. With a million dollar budget (Brian Fargo says he’ll chip in that final100K if at least 900K gets pledged), the chance to score a big box copy of the game for a $50 and even get in the game (as anything from a NPC, Weapon, location or commemorative statue), this one’s as exciting as the Double Fine Adventure project that generated a record-shattering amount of pledges in a single day. Given the original Wasteland’s influence on the RPG genre (it inspired the Fallout series and many other post-apocalyptic games since) and the fine folks behind it, this one’s a clear winner in my book.

OK, you know what to do, folks.Give ’til it hurts (or just get someone else to if you’re broke from giving Double Fine all your money earlier). As for me, I need to have a Kickstarter project going just to help me pay for these games, grrrrr. Hmmm… it might be time to eBay a few old games again. Now, all someone needs to do is get an Anvil of Dawn PC reboot/remake going. I’d be all over that in a heartbeat, whether it was to create character or environment art or help plan out the storyline.

Gallery Update: Steel Battalion Heavy Armor

Posted on March 13, 2012 by geelw

From Software and Capcom are getting set to release what’s looking like the next big Kinect game as well as what’s looking like the first that’s going to have appeal across a few genres. Fans of the niche original will be all over this one (and won’t have to break out that table-sized 40+ button controller the original had), military tank sim fans should be intrigued enough to take the plunge and I can even see FPS players looking for a more emotional (and cerebral) experience wanting to give this one a shot. Of course, the naysayers are going on about the Kinect’s price point just for ONE game, but that’s when I smack them (gently) on the back of the neck while suggesting a few other titles they may want to play that won’t make them look like marionettes in an asylum puppet show put on by unsupervised inmates

More on this one as new info becomes available…

Woorijip: Well, A Guy’s Also Gotta Eat, Right?

Posted on March 13, 2012 by geelw

Yeah, yeah, I’m supposed to write about games here and nothing else, I know, I know. But, sometimes you just HAVE to blab to anyone within shouting distance about something else that knocks your socks off from the first time you experience it. Finding cheap, good food in New York City isn’t impossible unless you’re determined to make your trip here as pricey as can be because you think it’s SUPPOSED to be expensive. Silly rabbit – avoid that trap and poke around for all sorts of deals, I say. Woorijip appeals to me for a few reasons: it’s got a nicely priced selection of hot and cold Korean meals, you can get some decent alcohol to go with your meal (if you like) and the noodle bar in the back whips mean and spicy bowls of soup for an ridiculously cheap price while you wait…

Continue reading →

Tales of Graces f Launch Trailer: Namco Bandai’s Got Quite A Story To Tell, That’s For Sure…

Posted on March 12, 2012 by geelw

I’ve been playing this on and off for the past few days (my review copy arrived last week) and it’s quite spectacular in an old-school meets modern JRPG way. Sure, it’s packed to the gills with familiar thematic elements (an enigmatic amnesiac, two brothers separated by differing opinions and life choices, the formerly sick girl now a powerful party member, et cetera), but the fast-paced battles, tons of titles to earn for each character and the usual Tales features keep the hours peeling away. If you’re a PS3 owner and JRPG fan looking for the next big game to dive into, this one’s for you. Oh yeah, the game also lets you play with up to four friends through much of the adventure (but expect them to be spectators for a bit in some areas where the party is thinned out for plot purposes).

My full review will go up later this week (probably Friday at this point)…

Digital Press Issue 72 Now Available!

Posted on March 12, 2012 by geelw

Probably the best fanzine about video games and gaming culture still in print today (and I’m not saying this because I happen to have a column in the current issue), this all-new issue of DP is packed with fun articles about portable systems through the ages from the likes of Rob O’Hara, Rob Faraldi, Rob Strangman (that’s a lotta Robs, but they’re all different dudes, trust me!), Sarah Szefer, Steve Jacobs, Ian Baranofsky and more! You can get DP sent to YOUR mailbox for a paltry ten bucks a year (four issues) by clicking on over HERE and signing up. Tell them I sent you and you’ll get no big deal discount at all, but the satisfaction of knowing I sent you somewhere and you actually listened to me. Er, wait… that’s what I get. YOU just get four awesome issues of DP, but that’s a fair enough trade-off, right?

Journey Launch Trailer: An Instant Classic Not To Be Missed (The Game, Not The Trailer, Silly)…

Posted on March 11, 2012 by geelw

It’s officially out on the 13th through PSN and yes, I’m urging you to give it a shot even if you’re automatically conditioned against indie games, downloadable games or quirky stuff you think you wouldn’t like based on some bias blocking your thought process and sense of wonder. Trust me when i say you’ll be awed and thrilled once you see what thatgamecompany has crafted. Journey is a game that feels ‘handmade” with its gorgously stylized visuals, simple, compelling gameplay and innovative online mode that actually makes it the safest online game to date (which should be good news to those with kids in the house who are wary about letting them play any online games). Anyway, tgc and Sony need to get this on out on the Vita and on a Blu-Ray so more PS3 owners can play it, but again, that’s all up to them. Personally, I’d spend the time and money on production of a retail version, get the word out on how great it is and see what happens..

Another Happy Dance Thing: Phantasy Star Online 2 Is Coming To The Vita With Cross-Platform PC Play

Posted on March 11, 2012 by geelw

I’ve been seeing this rather cool news in a few places for days now, so I may as well make it something worth noting, as I like sharing bouncy happy game news. It turns out that Sega’s formerly PC-only Phantasy Star Online 2 will be coming to the PS Vita sometime in 2013. Even better, characters created in the PC version will be playable on the Vita and vice-versa, which begs the question: “Where’s the PS3 version of the game?” I’d imagine we’ll all get an definitive answer to that at some point soon, but from what I’ve read so far, there are no plans to do a console “port” at this point. I’d be the first to say it’s a no-brainer that PSO 2 should be on every platform, but of course, Sega has the final word on where their baby ends up…

Deadly Premonition FINALLY Hitting PS3 (At Some Point)…

Posted on March 10, 2012 by geelw

Awesome. Access Games’ outstandingly weird and polarizing horror adventure game will at some point, be headed to the PS3 in North America, according to comments made by Yasuhiro Wada at a GDC 2012 panel. In case you missed it, the US version of Red Seeds Profile (made for the PS3 and Xbox 360 overseas), was only released here as Deadly Premonition on the Xbox 360 back in 2010 to a mix of really positive or really negative reviews that marked some sort of odd tipping point to some in how games are judged.

While not the best-looking or controlling game of this generation, the offbeat characters and bizarre storyline with even weirder imagery made the game a favorite of many folks (including yours truly) that loved the off-kilter craziness on display. While Ignition Entertainment (now UTV Ignition) published the game as a budget release on the 360, no news of a US publisher has yet been announced, but you can bet that we’ll be keeping an eyeball on every publisher’s E3 lineups to see who will be bringing this one stateside. Hopefully, the low price point will be similar and the game won’t be yet another PSN-only release that those who don’t have, want or use the service will miss out on…