Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen Enemies Trailer: Treasure Hunting Just Got A Lot Tougher…

Posted on February 12, 2013 by geelw

Capcom is making sure Dragon’s Dogma fans will be coming back for more and staying put in the land of Gransys for even longer, primarily trying to survive some of these new enemy types. Fire breathing lizards, A gigantic reaper who needs to get his sheet suit cleaned, a few giants, and probably worst of all, monsters in some treasure chests. Talk about a jerk-in-the-box! All you wanted was a nice sack of gold or a new sword or something nice… but, nooooo. You get a mutant thing popping out of that chest and chewing on your head instead of that shiny prize. Well, it’ll sure keep many DD players on their toes, that’s for sure. April 23rd (April 26th in Europe) isn’t really that far away if you think about it. That’s plenty of time to go through the original game before this expansion OR you can wait and pick up Dark Arisen at retail which will have the complete game and expansion on a single disc for a mere $39.99… It’s coin flip time, I guess, but the good thing is if you have a save file from the original game you can transfer it over and not have to replay from the beginning (unless you REALLY want to and have that kind of free time on your hands).

Star Trek: The Game “Salvation” Trailer: Kirk & Spock, In Trouble (Again)…

Posted on February 12, 2013 by geelw

OK, so Namco Bandai has re-posted the Gamescom trailer from last year, but that’s fine with me, as that probably means the game is close to completion and this is a gentle reminder of what’s on the way for Trek fans. Yeah, yeah, I was going to use the word “Tribble” in place of “Trouble” in that title, but I didn’t want to get your hopes up (or down, depending on how you feel about that original series episode). That and I didn’t want Namco Bandai chasing me around the galaxy like Khan if he survived his Ahab style demise, got rescued by the Doomsday Machine and is riding on the back on a tiny space saddle. At this point, I’m either making your head spin or I’m putting you to sleep, so I’ll shut up and let you watch that trailer in peace. There’s definitely a lot more stuff blowing up here, so the game seems as if it’s going to be closer to the new movie (and yes, appeal to that core gamer crowd who wants less talk in their games). We’ll see if that adds up to an overall worthy experience soon enough. Veteran developer Digital Extremes has been to this rodeo previously and knows their way around a decent action game, so let’s hope this is their best work to date…

Yomega’s Star Wars Yo-Yo’s: You Wanted Pics With That, Right?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by geelw

And here you go: still pending approval (which will give Lucas something to instead of reediting the original trilogy one more time, ha ha), but both will be really fun collectibles for Star Wars fans as well as dedicated yo-yo enthusiasts, as they offer more than just good looks and familiar faces to play with. You get a solid yo-yo with a figure body that acts as a stand and a head that pops in to replace the yo-yo when in use. I think you’ll also be able to use the head as a string winder as well, but we’ll see. I ended up also getting a nice Yomega Toy Fair 2013 yo-yo to practice with, which is a good thing, as I haven’t touched a yo-yo in years and I’m SUPER rusty. I think as long as I remove anything breakable from the living room, I’ll be fine. Well, the furniture will be. I may need some padding and a helmet. Does Yomega even make yo-yo pads and helmets? Hmmm… I need to drop by the booth again and check. Back later…

Toy Fair 2013: Carrera’s Mario Kart RC and Race Sets Speeding To Retail This Year

Posted on February 11, 2013 by geelw

There are a ton of Mario-themed goodies here at Toy Fair, but a few of the coolest have to be some of Carrera’s upcoming lineup such as this 1:16 scale RC car (it’s HUGE) and this awesome Mario Kart 7 race set. Both are coming later this year and both would be perfect for that Nintendo fanatic who absolutely loves everything Mario Kart. The company has a few other nice Mario Kart racers, but I’ll post those a bit later from the asset disc I received. Start saving those pennies, folks…

Toy Fair 2013 Classifieds: Formerly Hot Iron Seeks Permanent Pressing Engagement…

Posted on February 11, 2013 by geelw

Photo: AP

Man, it absolutely sucks to be seen as a token sexist tool by the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, but Hasbro asked, the fans decided and the trusty old Iron got the axe. I guess it evens things out a bit, as ol’ Mr. Monopoly cut loose that Howitzer a while back (“too violent!” the rabble voted), and the Purse (“out of style!”), Lantern (“what’s a lantern?”), Locomotive (“who rides trains anymore?”), Rocking Horse (“too dangerous for the kids!”), Man on Horseback (“ladies ride too!”) and oddly enough, Sack of Money (well, that last Wall Street crash probably did that piece in). Such is life in the crazy world of board games. And you though video games were too competitive! Continue reading →

The Walking Dead Survival Instinct Gameplay Trailer: TR & Activision Get Stalked By Biters (Again)…

Posted on February 11, 2013 by geelw

Man, this game is swimming in such irate bile by the usual suspects. Here’s the trailer to check out – I think it looks fine so far and close to the bleak, grimy tone of the show. That said, a few facts for the intentionally ignorant:

Activision isn’t “making” the game at all – they’re a PUBLISHER, not a DEVELOPER. Lewisville, Texas-based veteran developer Terminal Reality is cooking this one up and yes, while they haven’t had a “perfect” track record, they’ve more than earned the respect of folks like me who play too many games, but don’t lump them all up into one big FPS-centric ball. I also like how it ties into the show, as new we all know that Merle and Daryl are back together in this half of the season (a nice touch that seems planned to fit the game into the show’s continuity). I hate speculation, but I’d bet a nickel that neither character buys the farm at the end, as they’ll be more useful alive for future episodes, we’ve already “lost” Merle once before and hell, there would be riots in the streets if Daryl bought it at the end (especially among non-gamers out there who’d be wondering what was up and how a major character vanished without them knowing a thing).

Telltale’s TWD game was fantastic thanks to its writing, stylized visuals and intense pacing thanks to the choice system gameplay, but wasn’t the big action-based experience some of the shooter fanatics wanted to play. This new game will appeal to them and as long as the story is tight, I can see fans of the adventure game hopping aboard for the ride. Let’s hope it’s a wild one full of surprises. And hey, look at this way, chums – if the game is better than you’re thinking, once you do get to try it out, you can still storm Activision’s offices (with apologies and yummy crow pies for all)…

Wait, Wasn’t The Last Exorcism Supposed to Be The. LAST. Exorcism?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by geelw

Hey, I know, I know… I’m just sayin’. The again, I didn’t see the first Last, so who am I to judge? This actually might be scary (or scarier than the trailer… which as usual, probably gives away a wee bit too much to those folks who want too much information about what they see before they get all upset after they pay their twelve bucks that the film didn’t surprise them much if at all). That said, in my part of the universe, when you say something’s “the last” anything (cookie, pair of socks, bottle of booze), there’s no more coming unless someone’s hiding something or is willing to boogie on down to the store for a fast purchase in the middle of the night.

Wait a sec… I just now figured out how some movie sequels get made… can I get a job in Hollywood now?

Mezco Toyz Wants YOU To Save The Zombified Animals…

Posted on February 10, 2013 by geelw

Hmmm… those log TV ads with the tear-jerker tunes and too many sad, lonely animals are kind of ripe for parody, but being the sensitive type, I don’t go there… I let people the fine folks at Mezco do it for me. “Won’t you save these 12″ Creepy Critters from more harm?…” Yeah, I want both, as they’d look great hanging out in the living room not stinking up the place like a real cat or bear (until Mezco cooks up a *NEW* “dead scent” series, ewww)… Wait, who keeps a LIVE bear IN their home? Oh, it’s America, right. So that means there are probably a few people out there with wilder pets or animal fetishes. Hey, I knew a guy with a custom built exotic snake pen that wrapped around the walls of his living room and there’s always some nut who wants to hop into the tiger pen at the Bronx Zoo up here, soooo…

Toy Fair 2013: Peavey Electronics Reminds Me The Walking Dead Is On Tonight…

Posted on February 10, 2013 by geelw

With all the TF2013 madness plus that stupid Nemo hitting the city hard, I actually ALMOST forgot the rest of the season kicks off later today (oops!) and I don’t have a DVR at home. Thanks to Peavey Electronics rolling out a cool line of new licensed guitars and such at the show including this really spiffy The Walking Dead Predator electric with Charlie Adlard’s artwork on it, I can safely scoot off the show floor in time for a nice subway ride home, grab some food and catch the show without having to stay up late to catch the second showing (which would be a bad idea, as I have a bunch of TF appointments on Monday). Hmmm… I haven’t picked up a guitar in YEARS (and I’m no Twang Bar King at all), but I’ll have to check this one out in a few hours. Yeah, yeah, I’m SUPPOSED to be sleeping, but I can never rest before these big trade shows, so I’m up double checking my email and yup, adding a post or two…

New Jack The Giant Slayer TV Spot: The Answer Is Obvious…

Posted on February 9, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, it’s Ray Harryhausen with a baseball bat who’s behind you. Um… Duck, You Sucker! Too late… Bonk! That said, I’d imagine Ray would have liked to go after the folks who animated the original, as they certainly mucked it up with some lousy-looking models and super cheesy “magic” effects work that were terrible back than and haven’t held up well at all today. I’d say the best thing here will be Bryan Singer’s direction, as he’s quite good at doing comic book flicks and yeah, yeah, The Usual Suspects is one of those films that keeps you hooked in right from the start.