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)

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 →

DmC Hits Retail, Kicks Haters In The Groin Area By Actually Being Good

Posted on January 15, 2013 by geelw

See, I told you Ninja Theory could knock this out of the park. The game is getting some decent reviews all around and yes, it’s still not stopping the crazier conspiracy theorists out there who’ve been saying Capcom “paid off” people for those scores. Worse still are the folks picking apart reviews for their negative points about the game and using them as ammunition to claim the game isn’t good at all because there are issues that keep it from the “perfection” they think every game needs to meet their standards or whatever. Of course, neither Capcom nor Ninja Theory are going to pay any of these folks any mind at all because they had total confidence in the end result. That said, I did see a funny in-game cinema that seems to poke the haters in the eye for all that bile they’ve been spewing from the moment the game was announced. Eh, whatever – congratulations to the developer, publisher and any fans who respect both companies and are enjoying the hell out of DmC on the PS3 and Xbox 360. PC owners, you get your chance to dive in and beat the crap out of demons on January 25…

(And… here’s the PS3 trailer just to rub it in a little more…the game is good. Deal with it! Or maybe actually PLAY it and enjoy all the hard work NT has done!)

Aliens: Colonial Marines TV Spot: Gearbox Going 2 For 2? Seems Likely…

Posted on January 14, 2013 by geelw

Borderlands 2 was a very huge hit in 2012 for Gearbox, but yeah, I’ve been keeping an eyeball on you too, new game. It’s pretty clear that Randy Pitchford and company love the James Cameron film to the utmost degree and this looks to bring fans of the franchise that sequel they didn’t quite get with Alien 3 (I actually like David Fincher’s debut, warts and all, especially the longer Assembly Cut). I’ll be playing this primarily for the campaign mode, as I’m not a huge multiplayer guy and yes, I’m looking forward to seeing how well Gearbox translated the assorted sets and gear into game form. I’ve only seen Aliens a few dozen times, so I can be as picky and precise as a developer head over heels for the source material. So far, I’m not complaining at all.

February 12 is sneaking up fairly quickly… now, I just need to decide what I want to play this on. I’m leaning towards the Wii U just to see how that GamePad gets used, but I want the PS3 version as well…

Warm Bodies: Undead, Rise Up And Take Back Your Lives! Er, Wait…

Posted on January 13, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, yeah, it’s based on a reeeeaaaaalllly popular book or whatever and yep, it’s geared to that teen crowd who needs their latest faux horror entertainment fix or whatever. But, bleh. Trailer above, first four minutes below. OK, I’m not THAT much of a cranky jerk – I’m just disappointed at what passes for a decent mainstream horror flick these days. I’ll admit it IS funny, but when I see zombies, I usually see ZERO laughs. Or at least laughs that are dark and completely cringe-worthy because you know it’s funny but you shouldn’t be laughing when you look at the big picture. Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, anyone?

That said, the original 1968 version of Night of the Living Dead? That’s the gold standard for my old ass (and it should be for yours if you’ve never seen it). If it’s on cable and I’m awake and not watching anything important, I’ll catch that flick again and again because it works on a ton of levels these teen films miss entirely. That goes for today’s “vampire” flicks too, which need a SERIOUS revamping (no pun intended) OK, save for a few minutes and that ending, I liked that Fright Night remake a lot because it was actually funny, had a few good scares and an excellent performance from Colin Farrell (who makes a pretty creepy vampire). Let’s not even talk about the curse of Twilight, as billions of dollars in box office or not, those sparkly things aren’t even close to being a Nosferatu, Blacula or even a Count Yorga (yeah, I went there just to get you Googling)…

Fools and Your Money Are Soon Parted: Game Industry Heading For Cliff, Crazy Blogger Warns…

Posted on January 13, 2013 by geelw

So, let’s get this straight: There are industry analysts, small to large game studios, publishers and even some casual to core gamers who think the console model is dead or close to death because retail games are too expensive (yes, they are), consoles aren’t as powerful as they should be (that’s a matter of opinion and a more importantly, a developer’s skills), and a few other things I keep hearing over and over online. Yet they almost all seem willing to buy into this new set of Android-based controllers that turn a phone into a handheld system, all-in-one PC-like boxes and other inexpensive to costly under the set tech (which seem to be hated by those who build their own custom gaming rigs) that will play games already running on mobile phones and tablets. No thanks, boys – I’d rather sit on a hot stove while reading Ulysses in its entirety… twice. Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): Mars Attacks!

Posted on January 13, 2013 by geelw

As I’m still in full-on Earth Defense 2017 Portable mode this weekend, I figured I’d take a break and catch a movie while charging my Vita. Amusingly enough, Tim Burton’s underrated 1996 sci-fi black comedy was just starting up on one of the Cinemax channels, so I sat and caught one of my favorite end of the world films of the 90’s. Granted, back when it was released, it seems way too many parents were thinking they’d be getting a second Independence Day to take their kids to, so I remember the theater I saw this at on opening day being packed with parents and children (including some on a class trip). Let’s just say that when that flaming herd of cows came running past the camera before the brilliant main title sequence, about a third of the theater emptied out pretty quickly, leaving most of us true Tim Burton fans to our PG-13 rated treat…

Continue reading →

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Gameplay: Your Wallet Was Stolen While You Were Reading This…

Posted on January 12, 2013 by geelw

2013 is shaping up to be a pretty darn good year for the troubled Vita, what with the excellent Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath closing 2012, Earth Defense Force 2017 hitting this past week and a few other key niche to “A” quality games on the way. Sanzaru’s upcoming PS3 and Vita-bound Sly Cooper game looks to bring home and portable Sony fans one more reason to shell out a premium for games they can’t get elsewhere. Dedicated consoles will never die out as long as there are gamers loyal to the cause. Granted, a price drop on that hardware and those expensive memory cards would help the Vita do even better, as it seems that it’s the only thing holding some off from committing to the system.

Side Effects May Include Me Wishing This Was A Different Sort of Movie…

Posted on January 11, 2013 by geelw

OK, it may be a great new flick when all is said and done (that trailer is quite tantalizing, that’s for sure), but as soon as I head the title a few months back, I actually thought Hollywood finally caught up to me and my bright ideas. I’d always imagined something called Side Effects being a David Cronenberg or David Fincher film about some pharmaceuticals gone haywire years after they were tested on people not realizing they were part of some massive and illegal field study. Oh well, my idea is safe as long as I don’t do something REALLY stupid like post it on the internet!

Oh, wait… $#!t. Eh, whatever. Not like anyone is going to do ANYTHING like that anytime soon, right? Oh, wait… $#!t.

Marvel Finally Gets The LEGO Treatment Later This Year

Posted on January 9, 2013 by geelw

TT Games is back at work on another new licensed LEGO game, but this time it’s an all Marvel title set to hit no fewer than seven consoles (PC, PS3, Vita, Xbox 360, Wii U, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS) by the end of the year. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes will be set initially in a stylized Lego New York City before spreading out into other locations familiar to comics fans and according to the press release, “offers an original storyline in which Nick Fury calls upon Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine and other heroes spanning the Marvel Universe to save Earth from such threats as the vengeance of Loki and the hunger of Galactus, Devourer of the Worlds.”

Right now, that’s the sole image for the game above, but that’s going to change soon enough, folks. Expect this family-friendly superhero fun blast sometime in Fall 2013.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch: Meet Joe Hisaishi, The Final Piece of a Perfect Puzzle…

Posted on January 9, 2013 by geelw

As you’ll see here (and hear here, ha ha), Joe Hisaishi’s stirring score for the Level-5/Studio Ghibli collaboration Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch fits the game wonderfully well. It’s definitely one of those cases where every element of the game’s development flowed together into what’s looking to be a truly spectacular and memorable experience for JRPG fans. North American PS3 owners only have about two weeks more to wait before the game hits retail, but it’s absolutely going to be one of those games that was not only worth the wait, but worth every penny spent on whatever edition you end up owning. Namco Bandai has a big hit here, I say – hopefully, it’ll do as well as the company and all involved in the project hope, as these sorts of expensive epics may be going the way of the dinosaur thanks to too many publishers focusing on quickie casual, social and mobile titles more and more for faster revenue generation.