Divine Divinity Finally Drops Onto Steam (Yes, You Know What To Do)…

Posted on July 5, 2012 by geelw

It’s here, it’s a mere six bucks and you should be playing this NOW. Although, gog.com users are probably chuckling away at this news because they’ve had access to the game for a bit longer as a DRM-free download, this is great news if you’re a dedicated Steam fan who’s always wanted to give Larian’s first RPG a shot. What’s it like, you ask? Well, go see for yourself, I say. If you like gorgeous artwork, a lengthy, challenging quest and want to play a game where you can lose yourself for too many hours in. That and it’s pretty funny in a few spots and some of the hidden areas and secrets are quite cool.

Atlus Is Having A Half-Off Sale On PSN This Month. Yes, You Should Grab A Bunch Of Games While You Can.

Posted on July 4, 2012 by geelw

OK, you’ve got a few short weeks to get in on some cool games for your PS3 and PSP (and you should be able to run these downloads on your Vita), so get to it. North American gamers only on this deal, so that’s another cool Independence Day deal, I suppose. Hmmm… I may have to get Hexyz Force and Crimson Gem Saga as both are insanely tough to find cheap as UMD releases. Speaking of… Hey, Atlus! Put Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner up on PSN as well at some point, as hell, someone stole my complete copy a few years back and it’s impossible to find another one (that’s not going to cost me an arm and a leg), grrrr!

Assassin’s Creed III July 4th Trailer: A Bit of Flag-Waving From A Few Directions…

Posted on July 4, 2012 by geelw

How amusing that US ad agencies make stupid “patriotic” commercials with stuff like the founding fathers driving Detroit muscle cars into battle (Um…. oooookaaay?), while a non-US based company like Ubisoft does stirring stuff like this that manages to draw interest to both their product and a traditional American holiday in a more inspiring manner. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the holiday and please try not to blow anything off you’ll need for work (or play) later on.

Did You Grab Your Free Tall Cuppa Joe From Starbucks Yet?

Posted on July 4, 2012 by geelw

Happy Independence Day! Today, ladies and gents, you can walk into any Starbucks in the U.S. of A. and get a FREE Tall coffee with NO strings attached. So yeah, if you’re a bean freak, go for it! Of course, I got a bit of an annoying experience at my Starbucks because the free Wi-Fi wasn’t working (boo!) and I’d brought my PSP to download a game to review. Eh, whatever. I’ll try again tomorrow. At least the coffee was good.

Lost Planet 3 Hands-On: Spark Unlimited Gets Things Back To (Better) Basics

Posted on July 4, 2012 by geelw

Prequels are a risky undertaking for any developer, especially one that’s coming into a series that suffered from a bumpy second installment. While it looked absolutely incredible, Lost Planet 2 was a nightmare for solo players and even with up to four live players tackling the near completely plot-free campaign, the core gameplay had too many flaws to be fully enjoyable. Spark Unlimited (taking over from Capcom’s internal studio) has been working hard for the past 2 1/2 years on Lost Planet 3 and as a recent demo build proved, the developer is showing off their best, most polished work to date. While it’s usually impossible to gauge how the final retail code for any game will be based on a demo, after playing through it and watching others play, it’s clear that the team at Spark is cooking up a blend of excellently done cinematic storytelling and solid gameplay that so far, manages to be equal parts thrilling and extremely well paced.

Continue reading →

Random Film Of The Week: A Face In The Crowd

Posted on July 4, 2012 by geelw

While most Americans will be remembering the late, great Andy Griffith from his lengthy stints on two hugely popular CBS TV shows The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock, (both in perpetual reruns somewhere around the country) I’ll always be more fond of his much more compelling movie debut, A Face In The Crowd.

In this classic 1957 Elia Kazan film (which was Griffith’s big-screen debut), his character of Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes explodes onto the scene in a still amazing performance that makes the movie even more enthralling to watch today. What makes the film so important is how precisely it nails Rhodes’ rise from vagrant jailbird to media superstar with his own national TV show (with help from a small town news reporter played by the great Patricia Neal) and later, his fall from fame’s grace are so compelling that for me, nearly all of Griffith’s later TV work pales in comparison.

Continue reading →

Advance Screening Alert: See DREDD 3D For Free At San Diego Comic-Con!

Posted on July 4, 2012 by geelw

Hey! Are you going to San Diego Comic-Con this year? Good! Want to see DREDD 3D for FREE months before everyone else? Well, OK, then! Here’s info direct from Lionsgate on how to get in on this:

We’re excited to announce that Lionsgate is kicking off San Diego Comic Con 2012 with an Advance Screening of Dredd 3D!!

**SCREENING:

When: Wednesday, July 11th, 10:00PM

Where: Reading Cinemas Gaslamp. 701 5th Ave., San Diego

Note: Star Karl Urban will introduce the screening!

To learn more about the above, and register for the exclusive screening, visit www.JudgementIsComing.com and retweet DREDD 3D’s tweet! #JudgementIsComing

**MASTERS OF THE WEB PANEL:

When: Thursday, July 12th, 4:30PM – 5:30PM

Where: Room 24ABC

What: Masters of the Web – The annual gathering of some of the most prominent and influential film pundits on the web discuss the film industry, writing for film online, film fandom, and a whole lot more. Moderated by star of the new Lionsgate film Dredd, Karl Urban (Star Trek, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King), with special surprise cast members from the film. Panelists include Mike Sampson (ScreenCrush.com), Jen Yamato (MovieLine.com), Mali Elfman (ScreenCrave.com), Erik Davis (Movies.com), Steve “Frosty” Weintraub (Colider.com), Grae Drake (Fandango.com), Jenna Busch (Cocktails with Stan Lee), and Edward Douglas (ComingSoon.net), and hosted by John Campea (AMC Theatres). AMC is generously providing free movies passes to all attendees of the panel this year! Room 24ABC

http://www.facebook.com/dreddthemovie

Tweets by LionsgateMovies

#Dredd3D

Breaking Bad 501 “Live Free Or Die” Clip: Walt Plays It Clueless, But We Know The Real Story…

Posted on July 3, 2012 by geelw

July 15, folks, July 15…. it’s not that far away, but BB fans have been going nuts trying to guess what’s going to go down in this final season. Well, Walter White may have finally gotten rid of his nemesis, drug kingpin Gus Fring, but didn’t quite realize he’d opened up a huge can of worms by doing so. Remember, kids… Walt blew up part of a nursing home in the process and ol’ dead Gus was seen as a respected member of the community for among other things, his charitable donations to a few organizations including the local police force. Oops. Oh yeah, and Walt’s brother, Hank (who happens to be a detective) just may be onto Walt’s trail after a few seasons of misdirection. Let’s just say, after some of last season’s shocks and bumps, this one should be a nail-biter each week. Even worse, the season will be divided up into eight episodes this year and the final eight in 2013, making the pretty obvious mid-season cliffhanger one that’s bound to keep some of the show’s more hardcore fans stuck to their couches until the show returns for the last bunch of shows. 12 more days… 12 more days…

It’s Nice To See Cable Getting Wiser About The Movies They Run. Keep it Up.

Posted on July 3, 2012 by geelw

I’ve started to notice that a lot of cable movie channels are FINALLY starting to present most or all of their movies in their original screen formats. This is a damn good thing, as TV edit “pan & scan” versions or VHS-era full screen cuts are pretty lame and hell, just don’t cut it in an age where download services get it right by preserving the true aspect ratio of the films they show. For those out there who still don’t get it, Turner Classic Movies did a wonderful video explanation of “letterboxing” a few years ago featuring some top Hollywood directors that’s required viewing for those confused about those black bars on the top and bottom of their TV screens. If you don’t have or watch TCM (shame on you!), well… courtesy of Guillotinepost.com (and of course, TCM) here you go – and you’re welcome.

Driftmoon Update: New Alpha, So You Beta Go Play It!

Posted on July 3, 2012 by geelw

Ville and Anne Mönkkönen’s absolutely excellent adventure/RPG/comedy hybrid has finally gotten a really awesome new alpha build you can try out NOW. Go on, now… it won’t bite! In addition to being a well-made and fun to play game experience, it’s also one of those indie games that’s actually not flailing about and trying to be too hip or intentionally “retro” for its own good. Anyway, big new areas adding a few hours to the playtime, a nicely creepy new mist effect, some lovely character portraits by Johanna Sundström and yep, you can still make your own mods using the wonderful game editor. Even better, you can request a discount code for %20 off the price of the final version and use it when the game is complete and ready to “ship” via download from the Instant Kingdom website (I had to keep the nautical theme from the game going, sorry). What, you’re still reading this? Go download the demo already!