Sega’s Hell Yeah!: This Rabbit Tale Is Getting Curiouser and Curiouser…

Fun and funky visuals aside, I’m still trying to figure this game out and I can’t quite put my finger on why I like it despite it trying to be too, er…. something. Well, it’s not a bad thing that quirky still tickles my fancy and Hell No!, I’m NOT one of those mildly angry internet folk clamoring for Sega to make a Sonic game that looks something like this. As usual, some hands-on time will clarify and crush any doubty rumblings I may have, but overall, I like what I see, pushing the crazy vibe overkill and all. Go, Sega!

Laugh of the Day (Sort Of): A Patch, Reviewed


While patching console games seems to be the new black these days, it’s rare that you see reviews of that patch being used in an ad. Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever seen this and I thought it was a joke until I poked around online a bit. Somehow, this is hilarious and terrifying and annoying all at the same time. Anyway, you can grab your own copy of Persona 4 Arena HERE. Of course, you need an Xbox Live account in order to grab that patch, but you already know that, correct?

Capcom Keeps Dragon’s Dogma Going With New PS3 Demo, Content and Contest

Now this is how you make a great game even greater. In addition to the recent announcements that a sequel is in the works and the company is looking at turning the series into a franchise (I want a Vita side story!) Capcom is turning its sleeper smash action/RPG Dragon’s Dogma into even more of an “evergreen” title thanks to more cool content coming soon.  Fans can expect a new PS3 demo, an Easy Mode update for both PS3 and Xbox 360 owners and a fun contest using the game’s photo sharing feature over at the hugely popular fan community site, The Gran Soren Times.

The new PS3 demo, which features the Prologue, full character creation and a bit of play time (up to the Hydra boss battle) will also allow save data to be transferred to the full retail version. PSN users can expect to see the demo soon on the PlayStation Store starting from from August 15th in Europe and in North America on August 21st. I’ve already sunk a few hundred hours into the Xbox 360 version of the game, but now I want to dive into the PS3 version at some point, as DD is one of my favorite game experiences of 2012.  I’d say it’s going to be one of yours as well once you give the game a play.

Papo & Yo Launch Trailer: Touching A Few Key Points And Making A Point Simultaneously

What makes this trailer really unique is that it’s not the usual hype wheel stuff showing off how flashy and thrilling things will be once you get your hands on a controller. I like the deeper elements explored here and it’s nice to see a game take on this sort of subject matter in quite an interesting manner. I still think SCEA should have put this on a retail disc with some other PSN exclusives, but eh, we’ll see how the game does as a digital download, I suppose.

The Woz vs. The Cloud: Oh, He’s Nailed It Just About Perfectly…

When you get the co-founder of Apple telling you the cloud sort of stinks as a reliable storage medium, you know it’s kind of important. Of course, the man works at a cloud computing service, so perhaps he’s just doing some PR for that company and scaring up some business in the process.

Anyway, I know the carefree digital hipster rubes out there who think ease of use trumps personal security are pooh-poohing his words away as they stack more files away magically to retrieve them at some later date, but let’s play a game for a minute. Can you imagine the sheer panic when (not if, kids, WHEN) there’s another Dropbox hack or worse, some natural disaster that takes out some servers in an undisclosed location, making retrieving those files next to (or completely) impossible? I’ll be sitting back with my popcorn watching people freak out because no one thought that their precious data would go up in digital smoke.

Of course, if the hit is bad enough (say, a foreign cyber-hack done right that screws us royally), I’ll be barricading myself inside with bottled water snacks  and a wall of games from the collection as my last defense against the undead hordes who can’t get their devices to do anything at all.

“Braaaaaaiiiiins…”

The Prequel To Sacred 3 Is A Downloadable Side-Scrolling Brawler. This Could Go Two Ways…

Well, I didn’t see this coming at all, but here you go: SACRED Citadel in all its work in progress glory (complete with corny captions trying too hard for that “hip” angle).  Let the scalp scratching commence.  Naturally, haters (and people who can’t read the description of the game on the official site) are gonna hate. That said, once I got over the shock and took another look, the game does look nice enough and could be quite fun for what it is. As a longtime fan of the Sacred series and old-school side scrolling games from the 80’s until today, I give my official DAF stamp of approval. Of course, If you know me, you also know I’ll wait until the game is actually out and playable before forming a more reliable opinion. That said, I hope to hell that this shows up as part of Sacred 3’s retail edition (as in on the game disc, grrrrrr!) so those who hate digital media can actually play it. That seems to be the big mistake developers and publisher keep making with some of these cool projects, but that’s a complaint for another post. Anyway, 2013 is looking more interesting by the minute…

Incoming RPG! Unchained Blades: Xseed’s All-Star Manga/Anime Artist Dungeon Crawler

 

As a big fan of all things dungeon crawler, I’ll have to pick this one up soon. I’ve been a bit occupied with a few other games and projects, so yes, I’m a wee but behind on newer reviews. Anyway, I’m happy about Unchained Blades for the mix of famous anime/manga artists for the character design, the old school grind-fest gameplay (a la Wizardry) and the fact that the game is PSP and Vita compatible. Now I’ll have to decide which portable to play it on and when to go snap this up. It’ll most likely be downloaded at a Starbucks nearby, as I can’t access my PSN account on my terrible home connection. This digital-only stuff is making me nuts sometimes… Ah, well.

Martin Scorcese Misses An Opportunity For More Laughs With Siri…

As soon as I saw this latest iPhone ad I thought what a whole lot of others who know the director’s work did. When he asks the taxi driver to take another route, it would have been PERFECT to see Robert De Niro as the cabbie. Granted, I’m betting the actor didn’t want to step into Travis Bickle’s shoes again after so long, but still – it would have made the ad even more priceless.

And no, that doesn’t mean I want an iPhone now. Nice try though, Apple.

Why Too Much Tech Might Cause A Second Big Industry Crash… Or Not

Between a few parallels with the gaming landscape in the early 80’s and the fact that the tide can’t stay in forever in terms of the constant push toward new tech at the cost of actual meaningful innovation, I think we’re in for a bit of a bumpy fall (and sooner than some think or even want to consider). There are too many divisions in the current business model between mobile, tablet, social, console and portable games, there’s a big pissing contest going on in the industry over which will kill of what first (despite the fact that they ALL can and should thrive together) and then there’s the whole online-only thing that’s 100% useless when you can’t get online. Don’t get me started on “free” to play games (which aren’t really free), the current PC elitism bile directed at consoles and the foolish Ultrabook nonsense where some companies thought making expensive laptops would be a good idea just because Apple has rooked in billions with its overpriced tech. Then there’s the stupidity of “the uncanny valley” or photo-realism in graphics, which, by the Great Green Pickle has NOTHING to do with gameplay or story (two things that are more important at the end of the day).

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Aliens: Colonial Marines Developer Diary 2: Gearbox Wants You Playiing From Under The Couch

More fun with fast-moving Xenomorphs in this latest dev diary from Gearbox Software and Sega. You can definitely fell the love these guys have for James Cameron’s second installment in the popular film franchise, which will hopefully translate into a game for the ages that’s as scary and action-packed as everyone wants it to be.