This week’s Humble Weekly Bundle is a sneaky one for sure, but it’s worth every penny. Six roguelikes for eight bucks is a STEAL, even in this game of gamers devaluing hard work to the point where a buck or two for some games is deemed “too much!” by some cheapskates. Those folks are entitled to their opinions, but not to making developers choose between eating and churning out more games they can only sell for pennies because some think it’s fine to not pay for all that hard work.
Anyway, humorous “rant” over, but there’s some truth in it. These bundles do well because many pay MORE than the suggested amount because they kn ow the deal and they also like helping out the assorted charities who team up with these bundle sites. If you’re suddenly feeling a little guilty about those games you got for about seventeen pennies each, that’s not my fault. I don’t believe in “guilt” at all these days. Just playing fair when you can do so and supporting the arts in any form they come in. Not get crackin’ on that paying what stuff is actually worth part. I won’t judge you either way, but I sure as hell bet YOU feel a lot better about it.
How frightening. I’m actually old enough to remember seeing ads for Mark of the Devil in newspapers as a kid and while far too young to see it, wanting to just because of the free vomit bag handed out to viewers. I recall either a cousin or other relative seeing it and showing off their unused bag while they bragged about how violent the film was. Hey, it was after all “RATED V FOR VIOLENCE”… just not by the MPAA. That snazzy bit of marketing was courtesy Hallmark Releasing, the films distributor that packed houses for years during the 70’s and 80’s by retitling all sorts of sleazy to amazing genre movies.
Flash forward maybe a dozen or so years and I finally got to see the movie thanks to a fairly lousy quality VHS tape copy that had a few other horror flicks on it (one of which was Twitch of the Death Nerve, another Hallmark released flick). I certainly didn’t need a vomit bag, but the film’s overall tone and torture scenes did get under my skin (pun intended). Over time, I’d almost forgotten about the film thanks to only seeing it that one time, but thanks to Arrow Video and MVD, here I am back in front of a television with a superior in every way possible Blu-Ray version.
While not as relentlessly gory as more modern horror films, Michael Armstrong’s classic and controversial film is more of a “you are there” trip back in time than a traditional fright flick. Shot in and around Austria, the film’s lush outdoor landscapes are contrasted by the brutal torture segments that won’t have you tossing your cookies at all, but maybe reaching for a pillow to hide behind or stuff in your ears as you avert your eyes from some onscreen nastiness.
When UK-based Arrow Video finally decided to launch in North America this year, it picked a trio of excellent films to kick off what’s going to be a wild run of classics and desired library additions. As all three films arrived at the same time, I had to flip a coin to choose which one to review first and Tonino Valerii’s magnificent 1967 spaghetti western Day of Anger (I giorni dell’ira) won the review draw.
This was one of those genre films I’d heard about for years but have never seen until this beautifully restored (from the original 35mm Techniscope camera negative) version and it’s very highly recommended whether or not you’re a western fan. Excellent performances all around, some stirring set pieces, excellent art direction and cinematography all wrapped up with a superb Riz Ortolani score that will stick in your head for days makes this one a must-see (and must buy if you’re a collector). Continue reading →
Ha. Oddball legal issues with one of its former employees a few years back aside, Archie Comics is clearly having a great time cooking up all sorts of alternate universes for its characters to mess around in. The latest and possibly greatest thing coming down the pike is this collaboration with Dark Horse Comics, Archie vs. Predator. Yeah, it’s on the way to a comic shop near you soon (as in April 15 at a comic shop near you). Here’s the rundown on what to expect in this four issue mini-series:
HE’S IN RIVERDALE WITH A FEW DAYS TO KILL!
Archie vs. Predator #1 (of 4)
Alex de Campi (W), Fernando Ruiz (P/Cover), Rich Koslowski (I), Jason Millet (C), Eric Powell (Variant cover), and Francesco Francavilla (Variant cover)
On sale April 15
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
America’s favorite teen meets the galaxy’s fiercest hunter! Archie and friends hit Costa Rica for Spring Break, where party games and beach games are soon replaced by the Most Dangerous Game! What mysterious attraction does the gang hold for the trophy-collecting Predator, and will the kids even realize they’re in danger before it claims them all?
The wildest Archie crossover ever (and that’s saying something)!
From Alex de Campi (Grindhouse, My Little Pony)
Variant covers by Eric Powell (The Goon) and Francesco Francavilla (Afterlife with Archie)!
If you want more laughs than you can shake a stick with a head on, check out the variant covers and other fun (and feel free to pre-order the book if you’re rolling off your chair laughing) here.
EDIT! The funny thing is, I just re-read (or more precisely, completed reading) an article on this and it seems that Nintendo IS in total creative control on the developement front with their mobile lineup. DeNA is helping out with the behind the scenes backend production stuff. This bodes well for anyone concerned that Nintendo is shifting their licenses to a company that will slap a pay wall around any fun and sap wallets on a regular basis. My mistake! Oops. Well, let’s see what’s coming when it arrives, right? Right.
Yikes, what a big fat news item to wake up to. Anyway, it was pretty much a given that this sort of thing would happen (particularly if you read a few industry sites over the last year or so and started putting pieces of news together), but what does it all mean at the end of the day for longtime fans? More games to play and on platforms they never expected to see them on, most likely. Now, I’m sure Nintendo didn’t “sell out” their franchises to DeNA (or GungHo Online for that matter, see previous post). And I’m sure they’ll have final say in what gets out there. I do know that DeNA’s games, while criticized for their pay walls, happen to do well at getting people to play them and some of the more popular ones emulate gameplay elements found in Nintendo’s Pokemon series (which was created for them by GameFreak). Anyway, I’m just not going to say a peep more about this deal until I see what games are coming and how they’ll get to the fans. I know the most die-hard loyalists don’t want to see the words “free to play” attached to anything Nintendo does. But the sad thing is, this seems to be the wave of the future (yuck) and an unavoidable means of reliable revenue. Ah well…
Leave it to Nintendo to once again do something flat out awesome yet still manage to make me NUTS because they’ve once again forgotten about a slice of their loyal consumers. Sure, it’s absolutely GREAT that the ridiculously popular and profitable Japanese mobile hit Puzzle & Dragons is coming to the Nintendo 3DS soon as Puzzle & Dragons Z this May. And sure, it’s great that Nintendo has wisely realized that many US gamers probably don’t yet know P&D so they’ve had Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition cooked up just for those gamers as part of the same package. One price, two games? Yup, lovely and double yup, all that is fantastic news. What’s NOT at all fantastic is once again, Wii U owners get stiffed out of a game (or TWO games) a lot off them would probably want to play on a TV with friends, as a standalone product or hell, as something that would connect with one or both of the 3DS games in one way or another.
To me, that kind of forethought makes for a better product, but once again, Nintendo does it halfway. Again, it’s great halfway, but halfway nonetheless… Continue reading →
If you have at least $2.49 burning a hole in your pocket right now and need something fun to do with your PC or laptop, well… yup, it’s that time again. The IndieGala Every Monday Bundle is calling you. Can you hear it? Good. This week’s selection is mostly role-playing games from mostly western indie developers. Some are Japanese inspired old school goodness, some are western style old-school goodness. You’ll figure it all out soon enough because you’re good like that. Or, you just learned it all from me and aren’t as thankful as you need to be.
Whatever. As long as you’re playing more games and enjoying them, it’s all good.
SO. I got to see a fun TV taping today which took up the better part of an afternoon, thus the lack of updates on such a busy day. Eh, I’ll get back on the horse tomorrow. I needed a break, the folks doing the show needed the support and much fun was had. Although, I’d have loved to been able to let them know that I have a crazy amount of knowledge about some of the topis discussed. Oh well, perhaps they’ll ask for input next time. I don’t want to be on camera at all, mind you (my non-ego would faint dead away). But I do have the advantage of age and “wisdom” still working for me. Anyway, back in a bit – I need to dive into my email that’s overflowing onto the carpet here…
If you already own the complete 23-volume set (which I believe is out of print), you probably don’t need Astro Boy Omnibus 1 at all. If on the other hand you’re new to the manga scene or have never read the late, great Osamu Tezuka’s seminal work, Dark Horse Comics is making sure to get your full attention with this 700-page volume. For $19.99, you’re getting quite a deal that won’t take up a lot of physical space. Yeah, some of us still read and buy real books, folks.
Anyway, September isn’t all that far away when you think about it (yeah, time flies, doesn’t it?), so make sure to keep an eye peeled for this one.
Even though I don’t play online games these days, Firefly Online has had me intrigued every since I heard there was an official game underway. Oddly enough, no one from any PR firm contacted me about covering it, so I assumed that was some sort of warning sign or worse, someone not wanting to do the hard work of getting the word out on something they thought was going to be too niche for its own good. Well, I was wrong on both counts as I found out when I bit the bullet and signed up for Firefly Online Cortex, the companion pre-game app currently available on Steam, Google Play and the App Store.
There’s not much to do in Cortex other than collect digital trading cards and points playing mini-games on a map of The Verse or reading news updates. That said, the cards are cool, there’s a second series coming soon and you can also score some even better bonuses by ponying up five bucks to attain Big Damn Hero status. This status will get some some great perks for the main game when it launches this spring on Windows, Mac OS, iOS and Android OS. What kind of perks? Well, exclusive gear for your crew mates, access to items non-BDH players won’t have and some other neat stuff. Hey, they got my five clams without hesitation. I’m not here to babble about anything you can read in the FAQ here other than to add I like where this is all going and if you ever were a Firefly fan at some point in the past, you may want to think about signing up yourself.
What I like about the game based on the descriptions and video above it that it’s NOT at all forced social interactivity. You can play along with your virtual crew as you rise up in the ranks, taking your customized ship into charted and uncharted territories for fun and profit. The game is in fact, a single-player experience that just so happens to have some social elements added in like the ability to create and share quests with others. As it’s also powered by Unity, this means there’s a slim chance it may end up on other platforms (as in consoles) if it does well enough on the initial platforms it launches on (and there’s enough demand for a port in every port, of course).
Right now, my own personal choice will be what to play this on when it does ship. I’ve been eyeballing a few inexpensive tablets recently (primarily for gaming purposes) as well as dinking around on devices owned by a few friends while I decide to make up my mind. I suppose I could just run the game on the laptop just fine. However, I want to keep it freed up to write and have something else dedicated entirely to FFO. So, it may be a mobile platform after all that’s bigger than a phone and smaller than a breadbox. We shall see, but whatever I choose, Firefly Online will be played. At my own pace, of course.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 