Dead Space 3 Hands-On: Two Players Makes For A Far Freakier Experience…

Posted on January 28, 2013 by geelw

When I heard that Dead Space 3 would have an all-new co-op mode included, I was a tiny bit skeptical (not as crazed as some on the internet raging madly about it, however). Still, I trusted that Visceral Studios would not only deliver something memorable in terms of the scares and gore fans expect, the developer would also bring a bit of innovation to the gameplay simply because standard co-op play would have been too generic for a series known for giving the horror genre a nice kick in the pants. It turns out that my initial skepticism wasn’t even necessary as from what I played, players on either end of that Xbox Live or PSN connection are in for a total mind trip that’s different for both players.

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Review: Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD (PS Vita)

Posted on January 16, 2013 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: Just Add Water

Publisher: Oddworld Inhabitants

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A

Even if you’ve already bought and played the PS3 version back in 2011 or still own the original 2005 Xbox release, it’s absolutely worth picking up Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD on the Vita just to see how well the game was tweaked for the system. As with the console version, the reworked HD visuals from the Xbox game, smooth animation, newly recorded voice acting and other features translate quite nicely to Sony’s portable. It also holds up incredibly well as a stellar single-player game thanks to a great story with an excellent plot twist or two, some fine and witty dialog and a great Oddworld vibe that’s still fresh today as it was back in 2005. There are some issues with the touchpad and game camera being a wee bit too touchy, but otherwise, the game is a solid effort that’s long and often challenging if you’re trying for the least violent means of playing through the game. Continue reading →

VGA 101: Twinkle Knights – Not Inexpensive, But Reeks of Cheapness

Posted on January 6, 2013 by geelw

(Whee, another fun reprint from the old blog because I’m busy working on something goofy here – back with a new post later today.)

While it’s rare and probably still fairly expensive once found, Intarus’ Twinkle Knights has far too many problems keeping it from being anything other than a cool prize for hardcore 3DO fanatics, collectors of Japanese strip games (of which there are plenty, according to one friend who seems to have dozens for all sorts of systems) or those folks heavily into Kusoge (“shit” games).

As an actual game experience, it’s far too short and quite easy to beat, yet can be infuriating at times when the CPU decides to put a stop to your progress. As “adult” entertainment, it’s pretty poor (OK, it’s beyond terrible) and of course, if you’re still one of those people that thinks imports like these are packed with all sorts of hidden salacious content, you’ll be very sorely disappointed in a WYSIWYG manner. Besides, there are far better ways to get that sort of er, “sexy interactive excitement” on a shiny disc you can pop in a player of some sort.

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DAF Never Official Off the Top of the Head Game of the Year Picks (Part One)…

Posted on January 4, 2013 by geelw

I hate “best-of” lists in general because they revolve around too many people who haven’t really seen, read or played “everything” released in a year (it’s impossible for to do so with so much content released across multiple platforms), so they end up being incredibly biased. As proof of that, I’ve decided to toss out a few titles I liked too much in 2012 just to show what happens when you play too much stuff and force yourself to narrow that down to games you just played too much of rather than games that were all around stellar. Or something like that. Anyway, not in any type of order at all and kind of incomplete because I’m still playing a few things, but here we go: Continue reading →

VGA 101: New Additions (One Joker, One Ace)…

Posted on January 3, 2013 by geelw

Stop! Blurry photo time! OK, I really couldn’t pass up Golden Sun: Dark Dawn brand new for five bucks (I guess the game didn’t sell all that well, huh?), so that’s another RPG for my Nintendo DS, which needs to be replaced as it’s finally on its last legs, er hinge. The right side hinge had a tiny crack in it for a while and that crack developed into a split and eventually, a chunk came out of the hinge which led to the piece of plastic inside falling out a few days ago. Rats. It’s a good thing that top screen is connected in the left side. Yeah, I’m a TOTAL cheapskate, kids. I don’t toss anything aside that still works, making me a spokesperson for console longevity over yearly replacements (one reason I’ll never own another Apple product).

As for The Simple 2000 Vol. 32: The Sensha, this PS2 import as also inexpensive and has a bunch of tanks in it. Woo hoo. I happen to like tank-based games (well, tanks in general are kinda cute, but don’t tell anyone I said that), so it was a no-brainer purchase. Granted, if I liked GOOD tank games I’d not have bought this one at all, but it has a few redeeming points that make it worth playing through. It’s a bit sparse visually and it’s definitely NOT an arcade game along the lines of TANK! TANK! TANK!, but it’s a nice counterpoint conversation piece. I’d still prefer someone do whip up a new version of the Dreamcast sleeper Panzer Front (still one of the more impressive console simulations I’ve played), but the chances of that are pretty much zero these days…

Earth Defense Force 2025 2nd Trailer: Five Minutes of Everything You Wanted to See (and Then Some)…

Posted on December 31, 2012 by geelw

More vehicles (at least two types of tanks and a heli that allows three players to blast bugs AND motorbikes now? Nice!) and what’s looking like a larger scope to things means Sandlot isn’t screwing around, ladies and gents. EDF 2025 is going to be their best game to date and features a ton of changes and improvements that look to make it as great a multiplayer game is it already is for solo and co-op play. The new classes get some nice introductions and there’s even some humor here as the video ends on a pretty hilarious bad-ass note borrowed straight from too many action flicks. Anyway, yep, I’m importing this once news of a Japanese release date come out and hopefully, D3Publisher will get the word that fans want to see this game as a DISC release in addition to a download on the PS Store.

VGA 101: The Music of Soul Sacrifice: No Moms Complained About The Noise From Downstairs…

Posted on December 30, 2012 by geelw

Ha! And I bet you thought most video game music was done up by some bespectacled guy in his mother’s basement with a bunch of old Casio keyboards and a beat up old multi-track recorder picked up at a yard sale. OK, even if you didn’t, it’s just nice to see how some game music not composed in someones’ (mom’s) basement gets done up for certain higher profile projects. Respect! Anyway, Soul Sacrifice isn’t out until March 13, 2013, but I have my eyeball on it (I’d have TWO eyeballs on it, but I need one in my head to see what I’m putting into my mouth) and it likes what it sees so far. That music sounds nicely appropriate as well, so I’m betting I won’t be disappointed in the gameplay. As always (repeat after me, class), we shall see…

VGA 101: Dennou Taisen DroneZ – Another Grail For the Library (Hopefully Holy, Not Hellish)…

Posted on December 29, 2012 by geelw

Like the almost amazing Dinosaur Hunting, another Metro 3D published Xbox game that was supposed to get a US launch (simply titled DroneZ here), Zetha GameZ’ Dennou Taisen DroneZ is a game I’ve been in search of for a while now. There’s a PC version that pops up on eBay every so often, but I’ve never been able to find a complete one – just disc only in a sleeve or generic case. The good thing about finally having this import is I don’t need to worry about PC installation hassles or patches. My old debug Xbox is a little wonky these days, but still plays everything I toss at it just fine. I’ll get to trying this one out in the next week or so and maybe post some impressions.

I know the PC and Xbox versions didn’t get great reviews, but that’s part of the fun of exploring these not so ancient “gems”. Sometimes there are surprises under the ashes and sometimes you end up saying (to quote Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park) “that is one big pile of $#!t…”. Then again, if this another Muzzle Flash, Conspiracy: Weapons of Mass Destruction or one of the other Penny Dreadful imports I’ve picked up and been majorly disappointed with, well… that’s life, I suppose. Well, I do like my crappy games like the special children they are, on the other hand. So this just may be a cool little classic in that particular corner of the collection.

With Some “True” Stories, There’s Always a Hitch…

Posted on December 28, 2012 by geelw

I finally sat down to catch HBO’s “The Girl” and sat through it twice because I didn’t like it the first time and wanted to be sure it was the film and not me. A second viewing didn’t change much, but it really had nothing much to do with what the director or actors did “wrong” at all. Sure, I knew of Hitchcock’s blonde ambitions and particularly peculiar proclivities from books and magazines I’d read, so that didn’t bother me one bit. I think it’s the general shorthand of the biopic or more precisely, those “based on (or worse, “inspired by”) a true story” films that condense certain elements of a person’s life to easily digestible cookies baked up from a Cliff Notes recipe that leaves the barest aroma of truth and the aftertaste of too many artificial ingredients and cooks in the kitchen…

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VGA 101 Gallery/Review: NEOGEO X Gold – 90’s Nostalgia Reimagined Almost Flawlessly

Posted on December 28, 2012 by geelw

A few days later than expected, but yes indeed, my NGX Gold has arrived. I also got a few other games as you can see in photo 1. Journey: Collector’s Edition (which is a great set of games non-gamers out there need to check out), my other copy of The Walking Dead (Best Buy screwed up and sent me the standard edition and not the BB version with the poster) alongside the Telltale version with the sticker on the case. Eh, whatever. It was the same price and I have no room here for anything on the walls but games) and The Glory of Heracles, which I couldn’t pass up for five dollars new. It didn’t get knockout reviews, but I played it for about half an hour and found it pretty amusing. I have a Heracles no Eikou game for the Super Famicom here in the library, so it’s nice to see that old series continue in the present day. OK, let’s get even more nostalgic and take a look as what’s in the box…