Alien Isolation Launch Trailer: At Home, Everyone Will Hear You Scream…

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

It’s almost here and yours truly will be popping up at a certain retailer bright and early to snap up my copy and trot back home so I can dive in feet first and come up for air with knuckles and hair all white from fear. Yay, fear! Hmmmm. I should e dreading this experience a bit more because I’ve not been really freaked out by any horror game in a while.

On the other hand, I’m knowing I’m going to enjoying seeing what The Creative Assembly has cooked up for people like me who’ve been following this from the shadows who want to go in cold and not have spoilers hitting us on the head because we hung out on the right message boards and want our “fun” spoiled. Of course, I’m less expecting this to be “fun” and more expecting it to be “Holy $#!+, I can’t take another step because I’m TOO damn scared, but that damn Alien is somewhere in the room, Gyaaaaaah!”…

Or something like that. (sings) The sun will come out, tomorrow… Hmmmm. I wonder if they sell cork panels at the K-Mart across from the game shop? I may need a bunch to line the living room with so my neighbors don’t keep calling the cops on me. “GYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

Did Someone Say TWIN PEAKS Was Coming Back? Why, Yes it Is!

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

No wonder I woke up feeling weird and nostalgic this morning with a slight headache and a hankering for strong coffee and a slice of pie. It won’t be until 2016 (and hopefully, we all won’t be dead from ebola or nuclear bombs dropped willy-nilly across the landscape), but David Lynch is back on TV and in complete control of his baby. From the press release (read it while I do slow-dwarf dance around the room for a bit):

The groundbreaking television phenomenon, Golden Globe® and Peabody Award-winner TWIN PEAKS will return as a new limited series on SHOWTIME in 2016. Series creators and executive producers David Lynch and Mark Frost will write and produce all nine episodes of the limited series, and Lynch will direct every episode. Set in the present day, TWIN PEAKS will continue the lore of the original series, providing long-awaited answers and a satisfying conclusion for the series’ passionate fan base.

So, yeah. That’s erasing any crappiness that a Monday usually brings around. Yeah, now… about the earth still being here? Well. we’ll work on that. Showtime, you just take care of paying all involved and keeping Lynch happy in his work. I know a certain game director who just had a nice Xbox One exclusive hit is probably a very happy man. Actually, I’d LOVE to see Swery meet Lynch and perhaps collaborate on a project, but let’s get these nine episodes of the new TP out of the way first…

Monday Means Mo’ Bundles, No Problems!

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

Well, actually you’ll have SOME problems as far as finding the time to play the games in these bundles, but hey – don’t shoot the messenger, folks. He needs to be alive to play the games in his backlog! Anyway, here’s what’s what from the usual three suspects and more:

IndieGala Every Monday Bundle: Six games, $1.89, 24 hours before the price increases, so get this one FAST. I like Sanctuary in this set of games the best, but your mileage may vary:

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Random Art: It’s Back (Finally!), But Don’t Get Comfortable…

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

Hey, look! I actually found the time to do some (unfinished) art! Thanks to the wi-fi at the other Starbucks here NOT working at all (meaning I wasted a 1.2 mile walk! Thanks, Starbucks!), I got to steam myself into a hot cross bun for a bit because I didn’t get anything done all afternoon before I decided to vent that energy in a more proper direction with a little MS Paint sketch. Oh well – I’ll see if I can finish this piece up this week, but don’t count on it. I have a bunch of meetings to attend plus a few too many articles to write, so my drawing time will be even more limited.

ALIEN 35th Anniversary Blu-Ray/DVD: If You’re NEW to This Flick, It’s A Must-Buy…

Posted on October 5, 2014 by geelw

Hmmmm. I’m not sure I need another version of ALIEN for my library, but this 35th anniversary limited edition features a a reprint of the excellent Alien: The Illustrated Story comic and all-new, collectible art cards along with the 1979 original cut and 2001 director’s cut of the film. As this is one of my favorite films of any genre, I’ll probably cave in and pick this up at some point once there’s a price drop just to add it to the other sets I have here.

Yeah, Fox is pretty much jabbing us in the wallet with this one, but the price isn’t bad if you shop around and at least the new extras are different and worth checking out if you have to have EVERY bit of memorabilia. Between this and Alien Isolation arriving on the same day, I have the feeling that a whole new set of fans will be made for this absolute classic sci-fi/horror hybrid. The cranky older fans who think this one’s a double dip with a few bonuses surely won’t be buying this re-re-re-re-release, if my poking around on a few film boards is any indication. Those geezers are just too smug to see that somewhere in the world, someone STILL hasn’t seen ALIEN and yeah, they might be wanting to get this because it’ll be their first time experiencing this still near-perfect film…

TRI Hands-On: Rat King Games Wants You to Go After the Fox…

Posted on October 5, 2014 by geelw

Okay, my preview for TRI is a bit late (the game drops onto Steam this Tuesday), but this is one of those wonderful indie gems that NEEDS to be played and enjoyed. Developer Rat King Games has made a fun and very challenging first-person puzzle/platformer that’s got influences from Portal and Okami to even a teeny-tiny bit of Minecraft. The build I spent some time with offered up some fine and challenging large levels that grew progressively trickier and from that simple tutorial, opened up into a game that’s going to surprise fans of quirky visuals and complex gameplay that keeps you hooked in. Come meet the Odd Gods and stay for a while – you’ve got a fox to catch (if you can)…

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D4 Needs Me, But I Don’t Have That Xbox One Yet…

Posted on October 5, 2014 by geelw

Despite some solid reviews from folks that appreciate its weirdness, I’ve heard that the episodic adventure experience known as D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die doesn’t seem to be selling in decent enough numbers… yet. Granted, so far it’s only the first two chapters of what’s going to be a multi-part story and I’m betting that some Xbox One owners are holding out for some sort of complete disc or download version so they can play the entire game from start to finish. On the other hand, I also know that there are a good deal of people who yes, don’t want to play this game on anything but the hardware they own and I can respect that side of the argument to some extent. Between them and the crowd that ignores odd and innovative games like this because they refuse to step outside their comfort zone, that’s probably a lot of gamers missing out on what seems to be quite an interesting adventure… Continue reading →

Mythos: The Beginning – Dark Gaia Studios Back In Action With This Horror/RPG Must-Buy!

Posted on October 5, 2014 by geelw

Say, do you love horror-themed games and trying new titlesVideo that should scare you up good and right? Well, you need to go slap down six bucks for Mythos: The Beginning NOW (or later today, if it’s too bloody early in the morning for you. Hey, I couldn’t sleep, so here’s a post for you). What? You’re a skeptic, are you? Well, go download the demo and try out a portion of the game and don’t be surprised if you wake up later with six bucks missing from your wallet and the game’s title screen glaring at you from your monitor. For me, it’s the 1930’s setting, the creepy atmosphere, the RPG Maker visuals that give the game a nice 16-bit look and yep, D. Robert Grixti’s writing style that gets under your skin and sticks there for a bit. Ooooooh, I’m getting cold now… wait, I left the window open (oops!).

(Thanks, Genocider Rina!)

No, seriously, it’s a great and creepy game with a nice Lovecraftian vibe and the fact that you create your own character and play as him or her investigating a not so right asylum adds a nice personal touch to the proceedings. Okay, I’ll shut up and let you go try this one out. And BUY it. Or else. Hey, one to one support for indie developers like Dark Gaia Studios means they get more money without their work getting forever lost on some big mega-site before they have a chance to shine, so go make DRG happy!

What’s My Motivation on a Soggy, Snoozy Saturday?

Status

Oh, I’m up and about, but man, it is LOUSY out. Gray, rainy, a bit windy at times… yuck. I stepped out earlier for a short walk, but it wasn’t work related, just walk related (ha and ha). Anyway, depending on my mood later on, this may be either the only post you’ll see to-day OR I’ll be all motivated later and blast out a small army of reading material to keep your eyes and a few brain cells occupied. If you’re into cool exploration games with some innovative twists and funky colorful art, keep an eyeball peeled for Rat King Games’ wonderful TRI next week on Steam. My hands-on preview is going up this weekend at some point. Yeah, yeah, it’s a bit late, but I’m finally playing through the preview code I got and it’s a really amazing surprise that would probably get a lot more attention as a console game than it will as a PC game, but we’ll see soon enough.

I’ve also got a few book reviews to knock out, so fans of classic games from the 70’s and 80’s and/or creepy collectible dolls will want to pop back in after a bit. Okay, off to dive back into a few things. Back in a bit…

Eh, You May As Well FAKE Scare Yourself to Death This Weekend…

Posted on October 3, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, Sleaze-O-Rama!)

Let’s see now… this week, no, most of the last few months have been absolutely annoying and in you sit in front of the TV news for more than five minutes, terrifying. Woo hoo. Anyway, not that ignorance is bliss or anything, but sometimes it’s just good to drop everything and chill (your spine) out with something fake, stupid and scary to counteract something real, stupid and scary. Or you can go serious and scary – it’s your move. I’m probably going to watch ALIEN again at some point just to prepare for Alien Isolation on Tuesday. I was thinking about watching more disease-related stuff like Outbreak, Contagion, The Andromeda Strain, Scream and Scream Again or Coma, but a friend’s mother just went through some surgery today and I didn’t want my choice to see out of place for any reason.

Well, fake panic is always a good diversion, right? Sooooo… PANIC!

(Thanks, Horror Theater Video!)

There’s also some stupid ongoing game industry nonsense kicked up by fools for no other reason than a weird political agenda that’s seeped into things and has boiled over into weirdness and ugly stuff, but I’ve only wasted about a half hour of my life reading up on the basics and it’s pretty much garbage and fake outrage that’s gone way overboard because of a select, vocal class of internet idiot. Blech, and make mine a double, bartender. Anyway, go catch something primal scary or extremely silly this weekend, say away from the news (or internet if need be) and just ENJOY the hell out of this weekend, folks.