Tag Archives: 2012

WRC 3 The Game Trailers: No Love For Rally Fans In The US, But Maybe Something Steamy?

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Milestone has been around for a while making racing games, but despite all their work on assorted road, rally and motorcycle games, has never really made a name for themselves outside Europe. This will hopefully change up a bit as WRC 3 slides into stores there and a few folks import the game here and sing its praises. Hell, we AL:L could use a decent rally game that’s not an advertisement for a specific car, driver and race style that’s not rallying. I’m still hoping Evolution Studios gets back in the game one of these days or perhaps some of the folks at Warthog who brought the annoyingly tough to master (but eventually rewarding)  Richard Burns Rally to consoles and PC’s a while back. Granted, Burns is no longer with us, so it would need to be called something else (or the term “ghost car” would have a new meaning -O o -).

Hmmm… well, it IS PS3 and Vita bound and those versions shouldn’t be region-locked, so… it looks as if I’ll be importing this at some point to get my fix of tiny cars flying around slippery corners with nothing but the wind (and some good driving) keeping them from sailing off the edge. Yeah, yeah, Milestone wants to get this on Steam Greenlight as a worldwide release, but I don’t have a super fast PC to play this on should it get accepted. Besides, I like a bit of distance from the screen when I play a game like this… and a retail package I can put a disc in when I’m not glued to the TV.

 

XCOM: Enemy Unknown Launch Trailer: “Our Last Hope” Keeps Those Aliens’ Days Numbered…

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2K Games and Firaxis are about to make a ton of gamers happy campers indeed with this upcoming reboot of the turn-based strategy classic and this should be one of those games that becomes highly regarded among new and old genre fans. Sadly and not so amusingly enough, rumors have it that the highly stylized FPS origin story (which has vanished off the radar for far too long), has been whined and focus-grouped dined into a watered down (and probably DLC-only) version of the turn-based game above with squad-based third-person gameplay. Talk about a developer not being able to do the game they set out to do in the first place. Great. Score another “victory!” for those who want to piss on creativity because they think one genre is “inferior” to another or ONLY caters to ONE type of player. System Shock, Thief, Half-Life, Arx Fatalis, Anvil of Dawn and other excellent POV titles are more that solid examples of smart “shooters” that were classics of their times is all I’ll say…

Anyway, I hope we at LEAST get something like a demo pr something PLAYABLE made available of the old version of this game before it got sent to development hell. Granted, it probably would have been dead at launch only to be rediscovered as one more “Hey! This game isn’t bad at all!” bargain bin special, but I guess 2K doesn’t want to deal with that factor (even after so much has already been spent on development). Feh. Sometimes, fans aren’t the smartest sticks in the shed because they hate things that may actually work well in a certain context they can’t wrap their heads around until they actually PLAY it. Same old hamburger and fries again? Sure!

Of Orcs & Men “Buddy” Trailer: On the Road to Sleeper Hitsville? We shall see…

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With about a week to go before launch, I really haven’t seen much about this one. That may or may not be a good thing depending on who you ask. While it’s going to be buried in the juggernaut of more hyped launches this month and next, i think that if the game is good, it will no doubt find an audience over time (the way many of these RPGs do with fans who like seeing fantasy games that try to do things differently). If, on the other hand, the game is being skipped into stores like an assassin’s blade through the ribs of some unsuspecting target because it’s rough around the edges, then it’s a quick trip to the bargain bin or worse, a slow death as yet another fine game that took a lot of people a long time to do goes under appreciated. Hopefully, Focus Home Interactive’s PR folk here will be willing to let some of us interested types see what’s what and let you know, but I have no qualms about shelling out full price for a game that’s interesting enough to keep my interest for longer than some FPS or overblown titles with bigger budgets and less to do at the end of the day…

Silent Hill: Book of Memories Launch Trailer: Another WayForward, Fearlessly (And With Hope)…

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Speaking of Silent Hill, I’d actually forgotten this new Vita game was coming out on October 16 oops), so now I’ll need to see how veteran developer WayForward Technologies did with this decidedly different take on the horror anthology franchise. My guess is given that Silent Hill is supposed to be made up of all types of stories, we’d see how things go when you end up with a bunch of people who aren’t all running from their fears or dealing with the usual personal issues made into freakish flesh. I trust WayForward enough to know they can make some mighty fine game experiences, so I’m not hating on them at all for changing things up here.  Of course, if the game is “bad” I’ll pick on them where it counts with some constructive criticism. That’s how I roll, folks…

Silent Hill Revelation 3D TV Spot: There Goes The Neighborhood (Again)…

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Well-made though it was, I actually didn’t care much at all for the first Silent Hill movie. Replacing the game’s Harry Mason character with a female lead and reworking some plot points made me think that the film’s writers and director had zero confidence in what Konami’s team came up with originally. Even though Rahda Mitchell’s performance was superb and the film had a few nice scares, to me, it didn’t have the impact the first two games did. That said, this “sequel” definitely piles on the game-related elements to such an extreme that the home video versions should do spectacularly well with those who want special features or some sort of extended cut, as it looks like we’re getting everything, the kitchen sink AND Pyramid Head. The good thing is, Silent Hill 3 is still such a great game that even if the film tanks (and it won’t, I’d bet), the original work will be a great backup plan for the disappointed.

The Lone Ranger Trailer: Hi Yo, Silver! Let’s Go Rake In Some Gold!

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OK, nice trailer and all, but I probably won’t catch this in theaters because I’m old and remember the reruns of the TV western too much to muss up my nostalgia with big explosions and sweeping CG vistas galore. But hey, if this is your thing, go on ahead. Still, Johnny Depp in anything is worth viewing because he’s guaranteed NOT to be dull and definitely has the chops to make whomever he’s playing the most interesting thing about a movie.  Oh, by the way, who the hell is that guy wearing the Lone Ranger mask? I saw that name I didn’t recognize at all and IMMEDIATELY thought of Klinton Spilsbury reincarnated. Yeah, I’m that old. Back in 1981, I paid to see that klunker and yeesh, was that a waste of time. This new guy better knock it out of the park (or whatever it is you can do up against Depp’s performance and a ton of special effects)…

Hmmm… maybe being the Lone Ranger is the Madden Curse of movie roles or something?  Let’s hope not for Bruckheimer’s sake…

3DS XL TV Spots: Nintendo Still Doesn’t Feel My Pain, But They’ll Get My Money…

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I actually love the new 3DS XL because I’m old as the hills and need something I can actually see, so yep, I’ll be getting one of these in a bit. My problem is the same as the one many who still play Game Boy Advance or other older Game Boy games have had since the DSi XL launched a while back. We STILL need to keep an older model small screen DS around (or have a dedicated GBA SP) when we want to play something that has yet to go up in the eShop. Yes, I still have my Game Boy Player attached to my GameCube, but you certainly can’t take that setup on the train.

Granted, the chances of seeing some of the more obscure GBA games I have here pop up as legal downloads are slim to none (and I refuse to be a pirate, arrr!), but hey, I’m in the minority at the end of the day. Compared to the masses who don’t give a hoot because they’re not interested in game history, treat it as easily disposable and move onto new things at a rapid pace, I’m an absolute dinosaur to Nintendo.  Hell, I still say some of us old farts NEED to keep all types of gaming alive for as long as we can…

 

Tomb Raider: The Final Hours #2: Crystal Dynamics Gives Lara More Lift…

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Second part in the “making of” series collaboration between Crystal Dynamics games journalist Geoff Keighley and hosted Zachary Levi (one of those actor/gamer types you probably know from some TV show or movie. I don’t know him, as I’m too busy playing too many games to pay attention to Hollywood types). This time out, it’s a look at the game’s story and what went into creating it. The “survival adventure” element and new take on the character will be the draw for me (OK, the amazing visuals are nothing to sneeze at) and I hope that this “reboot” gets the appropriate praise for what it does right and the proper amount of criticism for anything it misses. Of course, if poor Lara misses those jumps too many times, it’s back down to the depths of the bargain bin, right? Then again, I’m betting this will be light years better than some of the lesser games in the series older days. Angel of Darkness, anyone?

 

Gallery: Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons

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OK, a mere six early screenshots isn’t much, but the gorgeous teaser video above for Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons makes up for that, I’d say. After a long time away doing quality shooters set in gritty modern and futuristic locations, Uppsala, Sweden-based developer Starbreeze Studios is headed back into the more fantasy-themed worlds they started out making. Granted, their very first game, Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade (PC, Xbox, PS2 and Game Cube) took place in a gritty medieval setting, but their second game, Enclave (Xbox) was set in some a pretty interesting (and yes, gritty) locations. This new game, set to hit PSN, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam in 2013 has a richer, more stylized look to it that recalls a tiny bit of the Fable series but with more of Starbreeze’s technical polish. Unreal-powered loveliness aside,  I’ll need to get my grubby (or is that gritty?) paws on a build for some hands-on time. 505 Games has been good about letting me know when they’re in the city (playing a demo of Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise was a highlight of last month for me), so I’m expecting a little bird at my window when they’re ready to show off their new baby.  I can’t wait…

Edit: I had a R.J. McReady monent there, heh (+5 points if you get that joke)- Starbreeze isn’t Finnish, but they’re based out of Sweden. Oops!

Buy It! Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy Hits Steam

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One of the best blends of JRPG, humor and genuine challenge for the unwary player, Half Minute Hero finally hits the PC in a nicely buffed up version that rounds up all the content from the PSP while adding a really interesting cartoon art style (check out the YouTube video channel here) and of course, retaining the same lightning-paced gameplay from the portable games intact. BUY this game, I say, as it will make you laugh at the familiar tropes it pokes fun at while you’re getting creamed by some pretty pesky enemies. You need to pay attention, plan ahead and fight for time here as you try to make that 30 seconds count. Don’t play this on a laptop while traveling, however – people will think you’ve gone nuts when you start yelling at your screen and yep, the men in the white coats will follow soon afterward.