AUTOMATA: Will This Rise of the Robots Flick Be Any Good (or is My Post Title the Tell*)?

automata_xlg 


 
automata_ver2_xlgSure, it’s got that distressed Neil Blomkamp look going for it, a shaved head on Antonio Banderas (along with what looks like an inflatable trenchcoat, ha and ha) and that trailer above looks interesting yet derivative in a few ways. But I’m guessing that October 10 limited US release of AUTOMATA will be the true fortune teller. My own sensors detect a bit of Blade Runner (good), I Robot (bad) and a bunch of other films (which could get ugly if critics and sci-fi fans get picky). Eh, always trust the director, I say. Granted, I’d not heard of Gabe Ibáñez until today when someone asked if I’d seen the trailer, so I don’t know much about him a few seconds on a good search engine would cure. The again, I didn’t know who Alejandro Jodorowsky, Alfonso Cuarón, or Guillermo Del Toro were until I saw films they’d directed.

Still, as usual, I’ll more than save that ticket money and very likely wait around a bit and perhaps see this on cable in oh, about seven or eight months if it disappears from theaters in a hurry. Sometimes you get a hidden and under-appreciated gem in these types of films and sometimes it’s just an expensive clunker. But once in a while it’s a middle ground film that should have gotten more love but rolled over at the box office because of a film or films that were better and more widely advertised. Then again, after being burned by other sci-fi flicks too big for their britches, I prefer to roll the dice at home these days than be stuck in a theater wishing I could change the channel…

*(feel free to Google or whatever Rise of the Robots if you haven’t a clue as to what I meant. Oh wait, I did that for you – you’re welcome)…

Silent Hills: No Scare-City of Screams In This Soon to Be Horror Hit…


 
Now that a possible few million people have been scared half to death or so from that P.T. demo which has since been revealed as a teaser for the latest Silent Hill game, I’d say Konami, Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro have got the attention of horror fans as well as curious folks who just so happened to be handed a controller just to see what happens.


 
Naturally, the reaction videos here are priceless, but Konami proves it’s not sexist at all because below you get to see a bunch of guys and gals at this year’s Gamescom nearly peeing themselves while trying to play that demo. Yeah, I wasn’t there, but I did play it at a friend’s place and yup, it gets pretty effective at times. Of course, part of the scare factor is the looping around the same map that changes so randomly I’ve yet to hear of two people having the exact same experience.


 
With all that looping around, crazy changes to the area and yes, those incredibly realistic visuals that play with your fears (if you hate cockroaches, darkness, messed up ghostly faces filling your screen and a few other things, break out the adult diapers), it’s clear that Sony and Konami have got a pile of money coming their way once this game is released… Continue reading

Final Fantasy XV TGS 2014 Trailer: Doing That Double Take For Reasons Right & Otherwise…


 
Okay, we’re finally seeing a FF on console that looks exactly like those spectacular CG opening and story movies the series in known for, but man, what a cast of heroes this time out. What the what? Seriously. As great as this in-progress game looks, I really have no interest in playing as a too-long car (it looks like a Mercedes hearse convertible) full of big-haired bar band rejects. It’s not Social Distortion, it’s Antisocial Ripple in the Pond! Okay, it was a lot funnier when it popped into my head as I was typing. On paper, it’s a bust. *Le Sigh*…

(Thanks, GamesHQ Media!) 

Hey, I love Tetsuya Nomura’s art and character designs (most of the time), but I dunno about this cast. Of course, it’s probably Square/Enix’ response to those FF X-2 games with its all female cast of heroines (and nope, I didn’t like those games much). Maybe I’ve finally outgrown this franchise after all, as I missed the XIII entirely, had no interest in any of the online only games and just grew weary of poking around message boards only to find people still whining about no official FFVII remake, FF games that only got a Japanese release not coming out here and other rolling over the keyboard nonsense that’s kept me away from most game boards for quite some time.

Eh, we’ll see, as usual. I remember when a new FF game was a system seller to some people. I’m not sure this newest one will be as big a mover in this more jaded age of gamers spending too much time gabbing about what they hate and less time actually playing stuff. But I may be wrong…

Jupiter Ascending Trailer #3: Keeping Those Flames Burning For The Fans…


 
At this point, I think anyone who’s committed to seeing Jupiter Ascending is in on this one like a free breakfast buffet at the Waldorf. Meanwhile, on the internet… it’s the usual online yappers and their complaints about everything from the casting to too much makeup on the characters. Good thing it’s a sci-fi flick and not a documentary, right? Anyway, this one has me curious despite some genre staples rearing their heads and a seemingly simple plot that from the trailers doesn’t seem all that complex. I’m gathering the Wachowskis have a few aces up their sleeves (as usual) and I’d bet a few of those griping may actually come around and be pleasantly surprised (or unpleasantly surprised) once all is said and done. It’s hard to say how the film will do once it’s released, but I don’t pay attention to box office anyway anymore. Popularity never really means a “good” film at all in my book. It’s more a barometer of what certain audiences automatically sheep out to see during those first two or three big weeks. Sometimes the smarter and stranger flicks don’t draw in crowds at all or at least until an audience sifts through (or pays no attention to) the reviews and finds them. As usual, we shall see what the future holds once it actually arrives…

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Unboxing: Poor Teddie’s Gonna Get Bopped Quite A Lot. It’s in the Cards!


 
Hmmm. It seems that Atlus USA has a lot of headless people working for it. Okay, that’s just PR guy John Hardin showing off the game and bonus items in that video and not the Headless Non-Horseman doing some part-time work. Anyway, half a set of tarot cards and a inflatable Teddie Bop Bag may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but both will get some usage by fans of the Megaten games who need a break from this rather awesome fighting game. As noted in that title above, poor Teddie’s gonna get beat up pretty badly, but just follow the instructional portion of this video and don’t go all NFL player on the poor vinyl bear-thing. Besides, he’ll probably haunt your dreams and beat up on YOU in them if you play too rough…

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is out on September 30 for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Crimes & Punishments (Sherlock Holmes) Launch Trailer: Elementary? Not So Fast, You Armchair Sleuths…


 
Oh, the rather droll and humorous closing exchange between Holmes and Watson is probably worth buying the game outright, but I think Focus Home Interactive and developer Frogwares want players to get more than just a moderate chuckle when the snap up this latest Sherlock Holmes game. It’s out on September 30 for PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One and PC and looks like it’s going to be a pretty solid game. I’m actually behind in the series, but I may grab this one and work backwards just because it’s not really a franchise where you need to dive into each game in a particular order at all. You just have to love the man and his work. Still, I wonder what’s for dessert on that menu and whether or not the detecting duo actually attend that soiree they’ve been kindly invited to? A good mystery always deserves better clues, I suppose…

STM Wants To Keep Your iPhone 6 Non-Bendy – Let Them, I Say…

STM Harbour 

Eh, you’d figure Apple would give a nice sturdy case away for free with that new expensive phone they sell, but we’ve been “trained” to pay out the nose for something protective that SHOULD come in that box. Yeah, yeah, I know people like to have variety in their first or third-party phone protection solutions, and in the words of one Apple-head I know who lemmings up for each new model “They’d probably just give you something cheap you’d want to throw away” (ouch!). But if you have to buy a case for that new every-phone, let me be the first to say STM will never steer you wrong. Their new Harbour case for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has a hardshell frame and soft rubberized lining along with a hinged base that doubles as a handy stand, allowing for easy removal. At a mere $24.99, it’s a must if you like your tech less bendy when it’s not supposed to budge. Yeah, you know what to do, right? I thought so.

Neverending Nightmares Out Now For Steam & OUYA (!): Welcome to a True Horror Game, Folks…


 
Sometimes, I’ll see a comment about a horror game or film where someone states that the creator(s) must be “mentally ill” or words to that effect for coming up with such visions that put audiences under or behind their seats (or both). Well, Infinitap Games’ President and creator of Neverending Nightmares, Matt Gilgenbach has struggled with OCD and depression for years and made this honest and outright frightening game in order to share the wealth in terms of showing how powerful battling an invisible enemy can be. From the game description:

Neverending Nightmares is a psychological horror game inspired by the developer’s actual battle with mental illness. In the game, you take on the role of Thomas who awakens from a terrible nightmare only to find that he is still dreaming. As he descends deeper through the layers of hellish dreamscapes, he must hide from horrifying apparitions and outrun his inner demons. He must discover which of the horrors he encounters are a manifestation of his own psychological state and figure out what reality will be when he finally wakes up.


 
As hellish as this looks, I absolutely have to give props to Gilgenbach for showing that people dealing with these conditions can actually be creative and necessary to this industry while creating content that’s deeper than it seems. Okay, for some of you the REALLY scary thing is this game is also on the OUYA because you most likely thought that micro console was DEAD and it’s clearly not going away just yet. Mua-ha-ha-haaaaa! Hmmm… perhaps Matt should have done a Wii U version as well just to cover the other console some people think is both feet in the grave. Anyway, get this game NOW for PC via Steam or if you have an OUYA, yeah, it’s a buy for that as well.

Must Be An Internet Holiday or Something…

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geelw's avatar

Hmmm. So, here I sit with a sloooooooooooooooooow wi-fi connection, a just-dead wireless mouse, a full inbox and a nice hard table I can bang my head against, except I’m in a public place and I think the other people around me would want to go first with that head-banging stuff. If it’s because there are too many people using the signal here, I’d like to vote the wannabe “model” with the stack of fashion magazines in front of her “studying” how to get her dream job, the really funny guy who shows up daily with a HUGE stack of lottery tickets to fill out based on some numerical formula (it seems he’s trying every possible combination as it seems he fills in at least 100 cards a day) and the kids using library PC’s for gaming or facebook (when they shouldn’t be doing either during school hours) right off the island so I can get some work done.

(Thanks, DeSilvatron!)
 
Grrrr… back in a bit. That I’m even getting THIS post up (it’s got no images, so it’s easy-peasy) is a good thing, but I’d actually like to run something more… substantial.

Godzilla Set to Stomp All Over PS3’s In December (Only In Japan, Of Course!)

BIG Godzilla 


 
Godzilla PS3Well, this was a bit of a surprise to see earlier today. And of course, despite having the new Godzilla from the US-made film as a DLC character… this isn’t even going to get an English localization release outside Asian territories, so it looks as if I’ll be helping this sell out of at least one production run at some point. Thanks to Play-Asia for popping this news into my inbox and making both my tired eyeballs pop open this morning.

After I recovered them from under my chair and washed them off, I pretty much realized the chances of this game coming out here in the west was zero multiplied by a few hundred zeroes. Not that we don’t need a new Godzilla game, mind you. It’s just that there hasn’t been one in a few years and while plenty of kaiju fans would buy this outright on a disc or as a download, I’m not sure that “plenty” is enough to justify the localization costs.

As you can clearly see from those videos and the game’s official site, this one sure looks pretty spectacular for a Godzilla game, so here’s hoping it’s not only as good as it looks, but VERY import friendly for those who want to snap up this region-free game and haven’t a clue about the language barrier thing most imports hit newbies with right out of the gate. If Bandai Namco’s US arm somehow decides to get this one out here, I’ll be the first one to let out a roar even if it’s only as a digital download. As usual, we shall see… but don’t hold your radioactive breath, folks…