I thought I was done with listening to Rob Zombie’s “Dragula” after hearing it so much in a few too many games back in the PS1 era, but after seeing this spectacular new HD trailer for the upcoming reboot of Twisted Metal, I’m all ready to bounce up and down on the couch like a hyperactive kangaroo with a controller in my hands. “Dig through the ditches, And burn through the witches, I slam in the back of my Dragulaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” (CRASH! BOOM!!!). Whoops. Er, February 14, 2012. Be there. I probably won’t be the only one singling out loud (or way off key), I bet…
Category Archives: Updates
Humor (Of Sorts): TOS-ing Cookies, Mandatory Update Version
I’ve noticed loads of complaints regarding privacy and other pesky issues with mobile data carriers, movie and game content services and anything that requires a lengthy Terms Of Service (TOS) agreement to be read before a consumer gives his or her OK. Given that almost no one actually seems to read through these things before or after they’ve clicked that “OK” button only to go ballistic later on when they find out they’ve lost another basic civil right, I propose a fail-safe solution that will take care of the problem. And as I’m all about job creation these days, this solution will also get a few people employed in the process.
Here’s the dead: get a bunch of Hollywood actor-types to shoot a video/record audio where they read through a TOS contract and stick it on the next update as a mandatory viewing or listening experience. It’ll be just like a TV ad for medications, but read so that you can actually hear every word. Yeah, the entire user base of every device on the market will rant their asses off online (I can see the fires lighting as I type this out). But hell, at least they can’t say that they didn’t know what they were in for in terms of the next invasion of a tiny bit more of their privacy, right?
Sumioni: Demon Arts Coming To Vita From Xseed Spring 2012
As someone who’s into Japanese art of all types, I love it when developers are inspired by old woodblock prints, Sumi-e and textile art from the past when creating new games. While some less savvy gamers will see this Sumioni trailer and immediately think of the late Clover Studios’ wondrous Okami, in Acquire’s upcoming Vita exclusive, I see yet another in a long list of Japanese games that takes from the past and presents itself to modern gamers with an eye toward a bit of education under all that fun. Well, that’s how a bit of MY mind works, folks… Er, anyway: GO, Xseed!
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Has A Versus Mode, After All…
A-ha… So that’s what Slant Six Games has been up to. I was wondering what else they had planned for multiplayer in REORC, and well, here you go. I normally don’t go for the usual running around and shooting each other in the face MP modes, but I like the heroes vs villains vibe here. Of course, this will be one of those games where the hardcore RE fans go at it in teams to see which of their favorite characters is the best. Sort of like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but with more a lot more guns, zombies and room to run around in, ha ha.
UNEpic: This Will Be Yor New Favorite Indie Game.
Here I was, all set on whipping out an article on the best games I’ve played this year when someone sends me a link to Francisco Téllez de Meneses’ amazing UNEpic, which managed to knock my socks off and keep me away from actual work for most of today. I’ll have a review up in a bit, but for now, I say drop everything and BUY this game. Or hell, at least try the demo out and see what I’m raving about. The cross between classic side-scrolling platformer and RPG elements plus an excellent (and really funny) script (thanks for keeping the language real and raw rather than go for the typical cleaned up dialog found in most games) makes this one of the best surprises in a huge year for indie games. I’d love to see Francisco get his game onto PSN or XBLA or at least wider recognition, as the game manages to feel nostalgic, yet fresh at the same time. Anyway, I’ll shut up here and let you check it out for yourselves.
Syndicate Trailer Twofer: Agent Tech/Agent Tools
Two more excellent trailers from Starbreeze’s upcoming reboot of the PC classic, set for a February 21, 2012 release on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. I actually broke out the 3DO version earlier this week for a bit of nostalgia and as noted in my preview, both the old and new game feel like very close relatives, but from a different perspective. I kind of like the whole not worrying much about how the game plays part and hope some of the more stubborn folks out there decide to PLAY this rather than criticize the game unfairly because it’s not the same genre (when in fact, it slyly IS)…
OPINION: Why MMO’s Need Offline Modes (Hint: It’s A Jobs Creation Program)
With the recent announcement of Lego Universe going under as of January 2012 and the resulting (and unfortunate) staff layoffs, there’s a lot of blame floating around about just what went “wrong”. Obviously, the lack of enough subscribers (despite a recent move to a “free to play” based business model) is a core reason the MMO met its demise.However, I think a few other factors didn’t help the game one bit and in fact, the project was doomed to failure from the start. Why do I say this with such certainty? Simple. The lack of ANY way to play offline in any form makes EVERY single MMO (no matter how popular), a dead game once the amount of online players drops significantly, making a game too expensive to keep going and a waste of resources that could otherwise keep a dev team at least partially employed… Continue reading
Gallery: PC Games Library (Most Of It)
More stuff from the collection – these are actually posted on my Facebook page, but it’s only accessible to friends and folks on my contact lists. These pics were taken earlier this year, so a few (well, a bunch of) new arrivals are missing as are a few games I loaned out (as I’m such a nice guy). That, and the photos obviously don’t include all the stuff currently on my hard drive and a few portable drives.
I actually have a dead HDD here that had a ton of games and game saves on it that I didn’t want to destroy in hopes of one day recovering everything. But I’ve replaced a chunk of what was on it already, as it was mostly indie stuff and a bunch of free games and demos I downloaded years back. Yup, I’ve played all of these games. Nope, I’ve not completed every single one, but I can definitely spin a few stories about the too many hours spent with a lot of what’s here (if prompted and properly soused, ha and ha-ha).
-GW
Eleven Good Reasons To Buy A PlayStation Vita (And More to Come)*…
Nothing but game trailers here, folks. I figured why not run them all in one shot instead of padding out the blog with separate posts. Besides, I’m up too late again and need my beauty sleep before getting back into the saddle for another ride around the ol’ inbox. Anyway, enjoy the videos and go pre-order a Vita if you haven’t yet. Japanese gamers are already grabbing theirs, but apparently, it’ll be about a week before Famitsu posts the first pro reviews. I like all that I see here so far and can’t wait to see how they’ve turned out since I saw and played a few of them last.
(*Make that 12 good reasons if you add in RUIN with its wonderful cross-platform play seen in yesterday’s video)
Sonic CD Lands Pretty Much Everywhere (Except On An Actual CD)
Let’s see now, Xbox LIVE Arcade, Android and iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch today and tomorrow, PSN on the 20th, Windows Phones sometime early in 2012. How funny is it that a game with “CD” in the title DOESN’T get an actual disc release? Oh well. Heck, I was hoping this would have been a bonus in the otherwise superb Sonic Generations, but nope. I guess I’ll have to hold out for a Vita release at some point. Anyway, if you’ve one of these fancy de-vices listed above and want to experience a classic platformer that will plant a grin across your mug, definitely check out what Sega has cooking. Now about getting ALL the 16-bit up to to Sega Saturn Sonic games all in one place…









