Review: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Posted on December 11, 2011 by geelw

Platform: Xbox 360 (also on PlayStation 3)

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

# of Players 1 – 2 (Online 2 – Eight)

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Score: A-

Featuring a dozen new characters, eight new stages and a number of excellent balancing fixes, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 makes one of the year’s best fighters even better. Capcom’s creatively insane development team has pulled out all the stops here and yes, this one’s a must-buy even if you’ve already sunk time into mastering the original. Although this super-enhanced update is as good as it gets, the exclusion of he original’s DLC characters is a tiny bit of a cheap move that may disappoint some hardcore players. That and a few other missing features that would have made this deal even better keep the game from a perfect score. However, warts aside, there’s more than enough here for fighting fanatics of any skill level to get their thrills in offline or online play. Continue reading →

The Last of Us VGA Trailer: Survival. Instinct.

Posted on December 11, 2011 by geelw

Naughty Dog’s been busy it seems (and what else is new?) and I, for one an actually really pleased that they’re not doing a Jak & Daxter reboot or showing off Uncharted 4 (just yet). Instead, the developer has moved into a more survival horror vibe with its latest PS3 exclusive. The Last of Us is looking pretty intriguing based on this brief peek and given the developer’s pedigree, it’ll be a sure-fire hit when it’s released. Radar has been activated, now I just need to wait for SCEA to shoot an invite over so I can see this up close and personal…

Holiday Wishes (Mine, That Is. Or: Selfish, Aren’t I?)…

Posted on December 11, 2011 by geelw

Hey Santa, you bum! Where the hell are those shelves I asked so nicely for about what, five years ago? You keep eating all the cookies and drinking the booze-spiked eggnog I leave out and I always get socks and underwear that don’t fit. Anyway, the jig is up, fat man. Make good with the wood or I’m putting a little surprise in YOUR stocking! That is all… Now, go get those elves sawing away. Good U.S. of A. wood, too, not some splinter-packed plywood or that laminated particle board crap that wouldn’t make a decent diner table, either.

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock Coming to PS3/PS Vita

Posted on December 10, 2011 by geelw

According to a posting on the PlayStation Blog by Simon Harris, Executive Producer for BBC Worldwide, Supermassive Games is working on a new Doctor Who game for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita. No info was released as to what genre the game will be, although in the past two years, there have been two previous games featuring The Doctor made for the Nintendo Wii and DS that weren’t received too well. This new game looks to turn the tide as it’s being developed by a different studio and while no gameplay info or footage has been revealed, I’d imagine it’s going to be a mix of adventure and puzzle elements while being light on the action (given the good Doctor’s penchant for non-violent actions). We’ll keep an eyeball peeled for screens and updates as they become available. Fingers crossed that this one’s solid, as I’d actually love to see Torchwood get the video game treatment at some point on a console. Oh yeah… let’s HOPE this one comes out in an actual retail package, as too many digital-only games just get buried after a short time on PSN even with decent review scores.

Still Re-Editing! Only A Thousand Posts To Go (Ha, Ha)…

Status

Or something like that. Yes, I’m still updating content from the old blog to the new one, but I’m ONLY down to about 1000 posts to go over (er, whee?). I’ll probably buckle down with them over the Xmas holidays and see how many I can get done. I’ve forced things a bit in some new reviews by referencing older posts, which had me then fix those posts to where they’re entirely readable instead of just the first paragraph. In the end, the text isn’t the real problem – it’s the galleries that take the most work to bring over. I also found a bunch of lost stuff and some drafts I’ve been meaning to complete, but those will get some love after the holidays.

Hyperdimension Neptunia* Mk2 Trailer: Fan Service, Plus Tax (Where Applicable)

Posted on December 10, 2011 by geelw

Yikes, Nippon Ichi is doing it again (and doing it again sooner than you think). Yup, the beloved (and mildly insane) Hyperdimension Neptunia is getting a sequel and yup, it’s looking like another otaku dream game come true. OK, I bought the first game and it baffled me mightily (I must be getting too old for certain things, eek!), but I just might give this sequel a chance just because the promised improvements look, well, promising!

As usual, NISA is pulling out the stops with a slick Limited Edition Premium Box at an excellent price direct from their Online Store (The best place to buy any Nippon Ichi games, I say). Yup, it’s NOW available for pre-order (as is the standard edition). Did I mention the NISA Online Store has FREE domestic shipping? No? well, it does! Hmmm. I bet February 2012 can’t get here fast enough for some more of you, right?

*And yup, it SHOULD be Neptuniaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa *cough!* aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!, but NISA probably hates when I do that…

Review: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Posted on December 9, 2011 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 3 (also on Xbox 360, PC)

Developer: Bethesda Softworks

Publisher: Bethesda Softwroks

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: A

At some point, if you happen to know someone who’s also playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, you WILL get a phone call, email or text with some variation of the following: “Hey, can you help me out on this quest?” It’ll most likely be something you’ve already done and maybe bragged or shared a tale of woe about to your buddy, but you’ll find the results in their case may be slightly to very different. Sure, some of the basics will be familiar, but after that, it’s up in the air. Perhaps they got challenged to a drinking contest, woke up in a temple in a faraway city, had to help clean up the place (or not) and now have a big mystery to solve that sends them to a new town they’d never even seen before. Or maybe it’s the odd Argonian woman who desperately wants you to take that strange item off her hands, and now your friend has a creepy cube that looks like something from a Hellraiser film stuck in their inventory. Or maybe it’s about that strange note handed to them by a cryptic courier asking them to visit an unusual museum in a most unexpected place where a darker mission lurks. Or the paid assassins that assaulted them while traveling and after killing the thugs and looting their possessions, an odd letter is revealed that only brings up more questions than answers. And so forth and so on… Continue reading →

Gallery: PC-Engine/Turbo Grafx/Duo Library

Posted on December 9, 2011 by geelw

More stuff from the collection. All the import shooters and some key platformers and RPG’s are gone thanks to selling them off, but there’ still a nice selection of games here including a number of titles that would have given both the SNES and Genesis some decent competition had NEC and TTI had the time and money to localized them. Given that these folks had the first CD-based home console out in Japan before the Sega CD (and more than enough games to support it), I wonder every now and them how the system wars of the early 80’s would have turned out had the T-16, Duo and Turbo Express gotten the proper respect.

Trine 2: FrozenByte’s Instant Platform/Puzzle Classic

Posted on December 8, 2011 by geelw

The original Trine was a blast of fresh air, mixing action, platform jumping, puzzle solving and fantasy elements almost flawlessly in a solid, engaging PC (and later console) experience. The sequel, Trine 2, has just hit PC and Mac courtesy of Atlus and is a must buy game whether or not you’ve played the original. Just take a look at the trailer above and try not to reach for that wallet… See? Me, I’m holding out for a retail release like the first game that doesn’t tie me to a download service, as I’m not a big fan of losing that much privacy. Anyway, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are coming soon via PSN and XBLA, so keep an eye peeled for those soon!

Classic Gaming Expo 2012 Update: Vegas, Baby!

Posted on December 8, 2011 by geelw

And here you go: the first official update on next year’s CGE! I’d only been to the show once when it was at the Riviera a few years back, but I see the renovated Plaza Hotel seems to be the place to be next year. More news to come as it becomes available!