Tag Archives: 2013

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Trailers: Platinum Games Leaves Me Speechless (Almost)…

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Konami in Japan has been posting a bunch of spectacular trailers and game footage from this upcoming Kojima/Platinum collaboration and I’ve just been looking at them and shaking my head at the rather insane amount of talent these guys have. Despite their rather vocal fan base, i don’t think Platinum Games gets true recognition for their work from some pro gaming journalists and that’s too bad. Granted, if you’re a supremely jaded internet know-it-all and just look at their action games as similar to other titles based on first impressions, you’re cheating yourself immensely.  Bayonetta and Vanquish have some interesting depth and details you’ll discover only upon multiple replays and it looks like Revengeance will be their most impressive game to date.  Of course, getting some hands-on time will be the true barometer of whether or not the final product is a winner, but I’m gathering that given the combined experience of all involved, that won’t really be something to worry much about.

 

 

Pacific Rim Trailer: What It Is and What It’s Not (A Handy Guide)…

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Let’s see now, based on this rather action-packed UK trailer, Guillermo Del Toro’s PACIFIC RIM is not:

a) A reality show about a custom tire shop in sunny California.
b) Anything resembling a porn film made in sunny California. Or anywhere else, for that matter.
c) For people who don’t like movies with and about giant robots beating the snot out of giant monsters and such.

I think that’s all you need to know for now (there may be a test later)… oh yeah, Earth Defense Force fans are probably happier about this one that your average film fanatic. It’s going to be a really crazy summer next year with all these cool flick hitting theaters, that’s for sure…

The Man of Steel Trailer 2: The Pros & Cons of Being Super, Man…

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I’ll admit that the first trailer left me a bit cold, but I rather like this new one for a few reasons. Sure, it’s still going for a more emotional Superman (Oh, the humanity! Wait – how does he shave that lumberjack beard he’s got?) and yup, I still don’t like that drained out color palette (the most overused visual style in films these days), but some of the scenes were nicely done and I’ll admit to getting a little shiver when those pebbles started moving around before Supes goes airborne. I’m actually pleased that Michael Shannon is in the flick (as what looks to be a villain of sorts) as he’s got one of those interesting faces that lends itself to all sorts of roles (he’d make a GREAT Mike Hammer if someone got around to doing a film or TV series).

Anyway, with Chris Nolan behind the scenes and hopefully, director Zack Snyder getting over the disaster that was Sucker Punch (I still can’t make heads or tails of it other than as some sort of a hottie showcase reel), this could be a pretty awesome film. DC needs a nice new flick now that the Batman films have run their course, so it’s up to The Man of Steel to be the next big thing (especially with Justice League film rumors popping up). Will it beat the 1977 film as the best take on the character?  I’m no psychic, but I think both will be see as classics for their different eras when all is said and done…

After Earth Trailer: M. Night Shyamalan Rolls The Dice Yet Again…

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While this is a great looking trailer, I just KNOW there’s a collective “OK, which M. Night are we getting this time, folks?” rumbling all around the internet. Let’s see now, there’s “The clever twist you didn’t see coming!” one from his earlier works or the “Toss it all in a pot with a twist ending you don’t quite appreciate!” from a few films that some audiences didn’t “get” at all? Well, at least this upcoming film hits the right marks as far as its trailer nailing the popular sci-fi, future ruined earth and CG-packed action scenes stuff. We’ll have to see how well the father and son Smith team do here, as the trailer doesn’t make it clear whether dad is alive or dead after that horrific crash. I’m thinking that’s one twist, but as usual… we shall see…

Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 VGA Trailer: More of the Same Is Actually a Great Thing…

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From visual quality and gameplay to audio, Mercury Steam’s first Castlevania experience was the best 3D game in the series by a few thousand miles and this sequel looks to be even better. If you haven’t played the original Lords of Shadow yet, go grab it and see for yourself that the combination of 3D and Konami’s storied vampire franchise can and does work well under the right hands. Of course, a little help from Hideo Kojima doesn’t hurt at all, but the game is definitely a nice surprise. The sequel adds some new elements and characters, but I’m betting the dev team isn’t mucking much with what worked in their last game. As always, we shall see.. but I predict this one will be as good as or even better than the first one.

South Park: The Stick of Truth Trailer: THQ Bets The Farm You’ll Buy This RPG

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Ah, the eternal coin flip here: Is South Park still enough of a viable money-making franchise for THQ that enough gamers will drop full retail for it (thus making The Stick of Truth a huge smash hit from day one)? Will the talented folks at Obsidian deliver a RPG experience closer to a Neverwinter Nights 2 (quite good), a KOTOR 2 (decent, but flawed) or an Alpha Protocol (good idea, poor execution)? Will enough critics be kind to the game once they get past the gimmicky elements and dig into the RPG aspects? All these Q’s and many more will be answered soon enough.

I’ll admit now that I don’t watch South Park regularly enough to offer up anything other than an opinion that the game needs to be consistent and not rely solely on the outrageous humor the show is well-known for. That said, I’d love to see this on portable systems, but I guess that’s up to THQ (if they’re still around after the game comes out)…

The Phantom Pain VGA Trailer: Metal Gear Maybe? Probably. Maybe.

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Hideo Kojima has quite the unique sense of humor. There’s enough here from the “Moby Dick Studios” developed game to get Metal Gear Solid fans in the know figuring out what’s up and even the name is clever punning around on Kojima’s part. I’ve given up on speculation and following every rumor and screenshot around as if playing the worlds biggest hidden object game. I know for a fact that any new Metal Gear game will offer up enough entertainment and replay value that it’s futile to hop around scraping up images, movies and the often wild opining that goes along with them. Yeah, that’s right Konami – I surrender – just get me a release date and I’m a happy man. That and hell, I’m too busy to keep being faked out by Kojima at every turn. He knows he’s making games that will stand the test of time, so I guess he’s happy as well…

Of course, this could just be an all-new IP, but I kind of doubt it, particularly given Kojima’s penchant for offbeat humor and all sorts of oddball references in the trailers for previous Metal Gear titles. This one would be the strangest to date, as at first glance, you might not even know what the heck you’re looking at…

Tomb Raider “Survivor” Trailer: Thankfully, Not A Damn Thing Like That Stupid “Reality” Show…

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I’m glad to see it’s looking as if Crystal Dynamics has pretty much kept the game they wanted to do as intact as possible during its long development cycle. Some are griping about it not being an open world experience, but I say go play the original TR and TRII and see why and how following a solid narrative overrides a need to explore at one’s whim in a game like this. The goal in the new game is to discover and survive the limited environments you’re dropped into primarily at the pace of how well you play the game, NOT to think you’re getting Skyrim meets The Hunger Games with a side order of Hostel II or whatever. So, shut up and either wait for a demo or the actual game to drop, learn some respect for storytelling and the fact that just because you want every game to be the same damn thing doesn’t mean a developer is going to listen.  Hey, they’ve got my money on day one, that’s for sure…

Dark Souls II VGA Announcement Trailer: Prepare to Die (Even More)…

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Here’s that lovely VGA trailer for Dark Souls II – I love that like with the Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls openings, you really don’t find out anything about the story at all, but you DO get an eyeful of some of the horrific creatures that will kill you a few too many times during your adventures. It’s funny that some gamers still haven’t realized that FromSoftware didn’t just pop out of nowhere with Demon’s Souls and then Dark Souls. In fact, the Japanese developer has been making some of the most interesting games on consoles since 1994 starting with the deep, gloomy (and often frightening) King’s Field series. Their mech-focused Armored Core franchise allowed players to create and share some amazing custom mechs for years after PC mech games died off and other titles in the Shadow Tower, Echo Night and Tenchu series. A ton of other games ranging from the family-friendly puzzler The Adventures of Cookie and Cream to the intensely frightening (yet languidly paced) Kuon plus assorted licensed games done for the Japanese market and you’ve got a developer with a pretty solid pedigree.

Hmmm… I say These guys and gals need a retrospective or a documentary made or something in print just so people can see bits of everything they’ve done and respect their work even more. DSII is another day one buy for me and it should be for you as well.

The Last of Us Story Trailer: Happy Birthday To Me (And You, Hopefully)…

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So, Naughty Dog’s upcoming survival/adventure game comes out on my birthday (May 7, 2013).  Well, well, well now. Hmmm… now I know what I want to be doing then. Finding out how the hell I’m going to make time to play it, what with all the other games I want coming out next year. Well, at least I guess I’ll have less people to worry about when I go to buy my copy of the game if all those folks who believe the world will end THIS year do themselves in for some crazy reason. Silly rabbits, I say… why kill yourself and miss out on the fun when there are too many great games to play that include survivable doomsday scenarios? What do I believe in? Well, I believe I’ll have another drink and get back to you after the world doesn’t go to hell in a handbasket. And you can’t make a bad cup of tea unless you try really hard to do so. I believe in that, too.