Random Film of the Week(end): Emperor of the North Pole

(thanks, Carl’s Trains & Stuff!)

emperor of the north poleIf you haven’t checked out that video above, don’t let the title fool you one bit – this isn’t a family friendly movie about a bouncy, happy CGI penguin and there’s definitely no red-suited Jolly Saint Nick here to spread happy holiday tidings (but there is a fat guy who throws hammers). Nope, this 1973 film from the late, great Robert Aldrich is simultaneously big, mean, brutal and hilarious, often within a few seconds in some scenes.

Based loosely on a Jack London book and a book partially about Jack London, the film features Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine as bitter rivals battling for turf rights in the most absurd of places – a moving freight train. OK, there’s much more to this classic than that, but it pretty much boils town to a prolonged (and excellently shot) fight between two men way past middle age beating the crap out of each other with 2 x 4’s, a chain, thrown hammers and an axe. I guess a cynic would call it Thunderdome on rolling stock, but not as cheesy and much better acted, at that…

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Sony May or May Not Reveal a New Console This Month. No One Is (Too) Surprised…

 

Yay! But also *Yawn…* Look, Sony. Every gamer with an internet connection of any speed or two tin cans and a long enough string KNOWS you’re working on a fancy new console. So all this going to extremes to run possible teasers that may or may not be official reveals for more reveals as 2013 spools out is a bit silly. Well, at least I think it is. On the other hand, E3 is such a waste of time and money and has degenerated into less of a trade show and more of a fan convention with people lining up for free crap. It’s all long lines and loud, noisy bunch of annoying kids running around posing as game journalists and breaking any embargo or NDA they can sign, a few too many demos made by developers who hate making them in such a short time for the show, too many big, expensive parties, some of which are basically early funerals for developers who don’t make the Metacritic average once their expensive to produce and promote games are released to a too jaded audience that doesn’t really know what it wants because all they demand are more sequels… Continue reading

Humor: Top Hand Rodeo Trailer: “If That Kinect Works Right For 8 Seconds…”

 
 

“… then maybe this MIGHT be cool.” was the first joke I heard from a friend who saw this trailer and pointed it my way. Ouch and ha – ha. Well, it might be cool indeed… unless you’re a die-hard ro-dey-o fanatic who takes this Xbox 360 game way too seriously and start flopping around your living room like Elizabeth Berkeley in that infamous pool scene from Showgirls. Well, I’m a glass half-full guy, sooooo… at least when you fly off that invisible bull and bust you ass and/or any other important bits, once you wake up from that coma, you can end up riding a Rascal scooter with a fake bull tail stapled to the back of the seat. It HAS to be a fake tail, as who wants to be chased down the street (slowly) by some pissed off PETA members?

Those scooters only do what, 1/4 a mile an hour or something like that and if they went faster, you’d just go off a curb or bump in the sidewalk or street like Evel Knievel and land just like he did on some of his more unsuccessful motorcycle jump attempts. Hmmm… I wonder if Rascal makes a street-worthy riding bed? That way, when you come out of that second coma, you can get fake bull horns for the front to go with the replacement tail you ordered from that Cabela’s catalog.

Hmmm… perhaps there’s something to this “video games causing violence” thing after all… Yee haw.

Wallet Drain Alert! Xseed Games Brings It With Some Awesome Surprises…

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Wow and double wow. First we get the spectacular news that Pandora’s Tower is headed to North America and now Xseed is setting out to make 2013 even better for their fans (and possibly their best year to date) by announcing a VERY cool selection of new titles plus yet another classic Nihon Falcom JRPG set heading to PC gamers via Steam. Even better, everything but the Steam download is getting a retail release!  Yes, I’m typing this post with a big fat grin on my face, as I want everything here that’s coming.

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Remember Me: Behind the Music Trailer (No, This Isn’t MTV, Silly)…

 

Capcom, we love you like a long lost dog that’s been newly found in fine shape, but… you have to be a tiny bit more original with your promo video titles. That’s pretty much the sole negative thing I have to say about this look at the process of scoring the upcoming action adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment set for release in May 2013. I’m hoping we get the option of hearing both versions of the score, as it sounds pretty cool so far.  Hmmmm… Neo Paris, huh? I wonder if any Parisians not parkouring about the City of Light in 2084 are still going to get that two months paid vacation or whatever is is they enjoy.  Nice city, confusing navigating those districts if you’re easily distracted. I haven’t been there in ages, but I’ll get to take a virtual trip soon enough through this excellent looking game. Now, I want a good glass of wine, some nice Camembert and a hunk of good bread. Good Night…

Skylanders: Giants News: Ninjini Is Coming To NYC Early (And Kids, You Might Get One Free)

 

Hey kids! Go wrangle up your parental units and check this post out together, then maybe pack up a lunch for a day in the city. With Toy Fair 2013 rolling into New York City in about ten days, Activision is getting set to give Skylanders fans a huge treat next week. If you happen to be in the Times Square area on February 5th, wellll, you might just get lucky and walk away with a new Skylanders: Giants figure bound to make your friends some really jealous kitties! Check the info below the jump, show up EARLY and go home a happy camper!

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Earth Defense Force 2025 Gameplay Trailer: Big Bugs Go Boom, Big Time…

EDF 2025 is shaping up to be quite a surprise, with developer Sandlot doing their best work in this upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 game. D3Publisher says this is the largest game to date in the series, so as a longtime fan who’s sunk way too many hours into EDF games, I’m all too happy to hear this. For some idiotic reason, a few folks out there think the game looks “bad”, but I have to disagree (while swinging a billy club around the internet). Given that Sandlot is packing in more destruction in this game than in any AAA title that limits interactivity to stiff objects that rarely move and canned destruction sequences, you HAVE to give this team a hell of a lot more credit than kicking them around because the game isn’t as visually polished as certain other titles. Anyway, I like what I see quite a lot. Now, about that release date (and HOPEFULLY, a physical as well as digital release so more people can buy this one on day one)…

God of War: Ascension Super Bowl Teaser: Oh, NOW I Get It…

Heh. OK, so I’m NOT a big football fan, but I should have realized that Game Day quickie trailer was going to end up being part of SCEA’s big advertising plans for the upcoming God of War: Ascension. Still, I hope they didn’t pay a mint for that ad time, as the game REALLY doesn’t require throwing money around to let its core audience know how good it is. Of course, it might foll a few people into thinking it’s something it’s not, but I doubt it. Ascension’s new multiplayer modes might not be my cup of tea, but as far as another angry adventure with Kratos, I’ll give it a whirl just to see what’s new in terms of the plot and places he ends up in. That said, methinks it’s time that Sony puts the character in more of an open world experience next time, as the limited (but lovely to look at) environments in past GoW games is getting a bit… limited. Eh, we’ll see what happens after this game ships out and (hopefully) does even better than the last one…

Carnage Heart EXA: Yes, They Still Make PSP Games!

 

I had to do a genuine double take when I saw these videos Natsume sent my way. First of all, a new Carnage Heart game from Artdink? Wow. The original was a relatively obscure cult hit on the old PlayStation amongst those who dared to brave its unusual gameplay mechanics and high learning curve. A strategy game where you chose AI routines, placed them into a small team of mechs and let the game play out battles you didn’t control wasn’t exactly a system seller. That said, once you spent time poring over the manual and experimenting with customization, the game opened up considerably. There were three more PSOne games made with the Carnage Heart name (Carnage Heart: EZ Zapping and two with similar sounding titles: Zeus: Carnage Heart Second and Zeus II: Carnage Heart) and a PSP game from 2006 (Carnage Heart Portable), but none of those were ever localized. EXA is a 2010 PSP release that originally got both a retail and digital release in Japan, but Natsume is localizing this strictly for North American PSN users (a smart move given how much of a niche title this is). Custom color me intrigued. Natsume has yet to drop a release date on this one, but it’s coming this year and most likely sooner than later. I still have three working PSP’s here, so they’re practically giddy at this news…

 

The Bard’s Tale Unfolds on GOG.com – Ye Olde, Yet New-ish School Fun…

 
 

I’m old enough to remember the classic original trilogy (I didn’t get around to playing them until the late 1990’s) and this not quite remake/reboot from 2004 that got decent reviews (I even reviewed it for one site back in the day) and I say you should try it out even if you’re a fan of the older games who doesn’t like more action-oriented experiences. You get those three vintage games as a bonus with this newer one (so there!) and the team at inXile Entertainment actually made quite a hilarious experience to dive into. While the gameplay is purely action/RPG (in the visual and gameplay vein of the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath games), the writing is really funny for the bulk of the Bard’s adventure and there are even “follow the bouncing ball” musical numbers that may have you single along even if you thought you wouldn’t… Continue reading