Aliens: Colonial Marines Developer Diary 1: Bug Hunting (In More Ways Than One)…

Posted on August 2, 2012 by geelw

2012 is going to be a REALLY good year for Gearbox Software, what with Borderlands 2 looking to outstrip the original in every way (and how). But let’s not forget the thrilling xenomorph-packed surprise they have coming up in 2013. Granted, I’m someone who liked Alien 3 when I first saw it (and like it even more today thanks to that Assembly Cut version), so I’m not one of those folks who thinks what’s here is replacing that film at all. Of course, if Fox decides to go on ahead and make a movie out of this new game, the crazy paradox time shift that will happen when some poor developer that’s not Gearbox tries to make a movie based off a game based off a film series… well, that just might cause the planet to collapse in on itself in confusion.

The Man of Steel Teaser Trailers: Snyder Does Malick. Or Something Like That…

Posted on July 24, 2012 by geelw

I’m gathering Zack Snyder has been listening hard to criticisms leveled against his films and some elements of his directorial style certain vocal fans dislike. Either that or he’s been watching Terence Malick’s exquisitely mind-blowing The Tree of Life one too many times while eating bowl after bowl of Corn Flakes and reading a Ralph Lauren catalog shot by Bruce Weber. Anyway, these new Man of Steel teasers manages to be vague, impressive and inspiring all without coughing up a single spoiler or explosion. That said, I’m hoping the final film has a wee bit more color in it, as this sort of bleached out look in movies is fading fast (har har). With plenty of time to go before the Summer 2013 release, here’s to more revealing and intriguing future trailers that don’t give away a thing while managing to be equally thrilling.

EDF 4: It’s The Little Things In Life That Keep Me Happy…

Posted on July 19, 2012 by geelw

Well, this is cool. Yes, it’s only a teaser site for now, but Sandlot has been very, very busy this year (and that’s very, very good). I’m betting we’ll see more about this one come this year’s TGS, but even if it’s a total no-show and that show, I can wait.

That and hey – D3Publisher of America should be making sure 2013 is a big, bug-packed (in a good way) EDF year for gamers. With enough time to generate the proper hype, I’d bet we’ll be seeing a sleeper steamroll some of the games that cost more to promote than what EDF 4 is costing to make…

Pacific Rim and Godzilla Bring Giant Monsters Back, Big(ger) Time!

Posted on July 15, 2012 by geelw

Well, well, well… Not only are we getting a new Godzilla film (that, based on fan reaction to a brief clip shown at SDCC, is going to be a must-see), Guillermo Del Toro’s next film is looking like the ultimate kaiju-style action flick that will be talked about long after its theatrical run. In poring over some stills and the teaser poser above, I really think Del Toro is the perfect candidate to do an Earth Defense Force film if some studio ever decides to take that challenge, but then again, Sandlot’s EDF games are practically epic films of their own in terms of the all out chaos they provide. Anyway, next year will be a pretty amazing one for genre fans if both flicks are worth all the time and money spent on making them. I’ll be keeping an eyeball peeled for the plethora of upcoming trailers that will no doubt be rolling out as each film gets closer to its release.

Beyond: Two Souls SDCC 2012 Panel Highlights: Cage & Page Are All The Rage On Stage…

Posted on July 14, 2012 by geelw

Quantic Dream is making yet another PS3 exclusive that’s bound to be recognized as one of the truly great games for the system (and heck, any platform) and if the fan reaction is any indication, it’s going to do well when it finally hits sometime next year. To the dopes that think Ellen Page was hired for the gig only because she was a “big” star and Quantic Dream had a bunch of money to toss at her, that’s not quite correct (duh). She’s a damn fine actress, Cage wrote the story with her in mind (I’d gather she was his muse for the project) and fortunately, she was wise enough to take on the challenge of a completely different medium than she’s tackled before. It’s all coming together quite nicely and it’s yet another reason to be a happy PS3 owner these days…

Oz The Great And Powerful Trailer: Every Great Tale Needs A Beginning…

Posted on July 14, 2012 by geelw

I’d been on the fence about this Sam Raimi film until I saw the trailer and picked out a few fun bits that pay homage to the 1939 film (which, classic status aside, was vastly different from the book it was based on, by the way) as well as a few of L. Frank Baum’s fourteen Oz books. SO, yup… it’s on my list of stuff to see at some point. Man, is James Franco in every other film and TV show these days or what? Of course, he’s great at what he does, so I have zero complaints about his acting skills. March 2013 is when it’s coming out, so I have time to maybe catch up on some reading. Maybe I’ll watch Return to Oz again at some point if it pops up on cable. I never really liked it much when I first saw it during its original theatrical release, but perhaps it’s aged better since then. We shall see…

Should You Go OUYA? Probably So, As It’s Looking Like A Winner For Gamers…

Posted on July 11, 2012 by geelw

I’ll admit, I was pretty skeptical about this Kickstarter project I kept hearing and reading about elsewhere to create a sub-$100 games console for Android-based games AND game development, but I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong. Hey, I had every right to have that raised eyebrow, as I once sat in a room with a guy behind the Phantom console for about half an hour or so and he had me convinced the thing was coming out sooner than it never did. Anyway, The team behind the stylish-looking OUYA console not only made their $950,000 target in about eight hours, they still have close to a month to go before the funding closes. After poking about on their Kickstarter page, it looks as if they’ve got the right people at the right time and hell, there are plenty of indie games out there to go around…

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Phantasy Star Online 2 Headed Westward (Hopefully, With Some Sort Of Offline Mode)

Posted on July 9, 2012 by geelw

As happy and grateful as I am that Sega is wisely getting PSO 2 to North America next year, it WOULD be really nice to have some sort of offline mode for those of us who don’t give a hoot about MMOs, live in areas with no or spotty broadband connections or hell, just like to play our games solo with no intrusive DRM and data mining going on behind the scenes. Of course, no one listens to an old coot like me anymore, so I guess I won’t offer any more suggestions about this sort of thing. THAT said, the Phantasy Star legacy demands that there be a game that’s playable for us lone wolf types. Hopefully, someone at Sega somewhere in the world has realized the same thing and does something to honor the series long history instead of just shoving yet another lovely-looking MMO out the door and hoping we all jump on board with nostalgic blinders on.

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.

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E3 2012: Watch_Dogs Gameplay: Ubisoft Also Hits A Few Nerves Outside Of The Gaming Life…

Posted on June 10, 2012 by geelw

Like nearly everyone else who saw it, I was floored when Ubisoft dropped Watch_Dogs into our collective consciousness at the end of its E3 press conference. Not only did they completely surprise people, they did so in the way things USED to be done in this industry. Win NO in house PR-generated “leaks” or overly annoying viral nonsense that keeps people who need to be more productive trolling around the Internet looking at teaser sites or playing with devices in useless mini-games that hint at what’s to come. Although amusingly enough, that’s probably one big way to market the game now that the beans have been spilled. Still, as great as the game looks and as amazing as the idea behind it is, something bugged the hell out of me when the demo was over…

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