Random Film of the Day*: First Men in the Moon

Posted on May 24, 2013 by geelw

*For the next few days, I’m going to add a random film the great Ray Harryhausen worked on. The legendary special effects MASTER passed away on May 7, 2013 at age 92 in London and yes, the film world has lost a true giant as well as a fine and talented gentleman…

First Men in the Moon It’s actually pretty fun to watch early 50’s to mid-60’s sci-fi films for their historical as well as entertainment value because the space race was in full blast and Hollywood was finding out fast that NASA was making most of what they were doing obsolete. Granted, other than the opening few minutes, Nathan Juran’s excellent First Men in the Moon doesn’t need to juggle much in the way of realism other than making sure its 1964 astronauts (made up of members of UN countries!) making that moon landing were wearing gear that at least looked up to date.

Once that’s out of the way, the film lets the imaginations of H.G. Wells and Ray Harryhausen (interpreting the author’s words into Dynamation) take over as the story shifts back in time to 1899 and tells the tale of man’s “real” first trip to the moon. Juran’s direction and his solid cast provide the proper Victorian tone and Harryhausen’s great effects add the perfect amount of rustic charm that propel the films wildly fanciful “science” into the plane of believability…
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Bundle Stars’ Outlaws Bundle Wants To Permanently “Borrow” A Buck From You…

Posted on May 24, 2013 by geelw

Blast you again, Bundle Stars! These dollar deals are TOO outrageous to pass up for budget-minded gamers looking to score a great deal AND do some charity work without so much as lifting an arm to help a puppy filled basket-carrying granny across the street (you lazy gits, you). Anyway, this week’s awesome deal is The Outlaws Bundle – SIX games from Steam’s huge digital closet from publisher Meridian 4: PAM (Post-Apocalyptic Mayhem), Robin Hood – The Legend of Sherwood, Pacific Storm and all three games in the RIP Trilogy. That’s two strategy games, a car combat game and three arcade style run ‘n gunners for your slightly adjusted to UK rates dollar. As the kids say (well, the kids from 1985 or so), you can’t be that with a baseball bat.

…Well, you CAN beat that with a baseball bat, but if by “that” you’re referring to your PC or laptop… er, that’s kind of a a bad idea because you’ll have nothing to play those games you just paid a dollar and a few cents for. So go beat a couch cushion with a chopstick instead. AFTER you do your good deed for the day and by these games…

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara Hands-On: The Eye of the Beholder Sees An Instant Classic Return…

Posted on May 23, 2013 by geelw

After a bit of hands-on time with a build of Capcom’s upcoming PC, PSN, Xbox Live and Wii U eShop arcade game Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, let’s just get this out of the way and say it’s probably going to be one of the bigger hits of the usually dry summer game season. With solo or drop-in/drop-out play, gorgeous high-definition 2D visuals (that can be displayed in a few fun resolutions) plenty of challenging gameplay and a wealth of bonus content, this game defines “arcade” and just might be seen as the way to port over an arcade classic. Developer Iron Galaxy has gone a few extra miles and packed the game with content without mucking with the original games’ visuals and yes, that Dungeons & Dragons license gets put to really good use here. If you were a Sega Saturn owner lucky enough to buy the expensive import version double pack, you can finally put that one back up on the shelf, as what’s here is a superb replacement…
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DESTINY “The Law of the Jungle” Trailer: Bungie’s Jumping Into This Action/MMO Both Feet First…

Posted on May 23, 2013 by geelw

Well, all in is all good and well if you’re a Bungie fan and yes indeed, this live action and CG trailer looks absolutely gorgeous. However, my only caveat is this is exactly the type of game I’m not interested in as it has no offline single player mode and seems to be a fancier version of a AAA shooter and MMO hybrid. Yes, it will sell incredibly well, but I’m more concerned about longevity and what happens when people burn through content too quickly or grow tired of this sci-fi shooter sub-genre. Granted, it’s going to be a few years before that happens, but I’m glad as hell I don’t have to be the one putting all my eggs into one basket and dropping it into a pack of internet wolves hoping it’ll keep them happy. I’ll keep an eyeball on this one anyway, as anything Bungie does seems to turn out really interesting when all is said and done…

VG 101: Wizardry 6, 7 & 8 Hit GOG.com – Your “Homework” for the Year Is Here!

Posted on May 23, 2013 by geelw

In the words of the great philosophers… FINALLY! One of the most requested classic PC games on gog.com has been the Wizardry series and today, the company has dropped some big news by releasing digital versions of the final three chapters at a great price point. I’m gathering the first five parts (which don’t need to be played to enjoy these three games) will be coming soon, but for now, a few hundred hours of gameplay should tide you over for a while (and you automatically pass the class here if you finish these before the end of the year). Feel free to dance to that disco music in the video above – I know I was when I got this news. OK, before you keel over from those flashing lights and colors above, here’s some Wizardry 8 gameplay (sans disco effects):

Anyway, Wizardry 6 & 7 are ONLY $5.99, and Wizardry 8 is $9.99 – Grab them all and I’ll see you in a few weeks or so. Or months. I won’t mind if you don’t drop by so much because I know where you’ll be…

Pacific Rim “Drift Space” Featurette: “Can I Have A Giant Robot Too, Ma?”

Posted on May 22, 2013 by geelw

You know, if we DID have big ol’ clanky fight-bots stomping around like in Pacific Rim, you know you’d see far too many kids dolling themselves up with cardboard boxes, paint and tinfoil so they could look like their favorite heavy metal heroes. Of course, these days, it’s a bunch of middle-aged men and aging hipsters with access to 3D printers and far too much time on their hands trying to relive those Gigantor fantasies. Of course, Guillermo Del Toro gets a major pass because he can afford to build a real robot if he wanted to.. or at least have a CG effects team make it LOOK as if he’s kicking station wagons around in that mall parking lot making room so he can pick up a quart of organic goat milk. Yeah, I laugh at them (and quite a lot)… but that’s because I’m just too darn busy to make my own big cardboard robot suit. One day… one day…

“Oh My!” mimoco’s Mr. Sulu MIMOBOT Has My Phasers Set To Stumped…

Posted on May 22, 2013 by geelw

Captain’s Log, Stardate 90994.46

Um… OK, kids… I got nuthin’ today. I was going to to a chuckle-filled double (or tribble)-entendre packed post about this cool new Mr. Sulu MIMIBOT USB Drive (available in 8 to 128GB sizes and chock full of awesome Star Trek content), but I think every possible GOOD joke has been thought up already by George Takei and I’d like to stay on his good side. Hey! you don’t need me to be funny to know that this is a really cool bit (well, a whole lot of gigabits, har har) of Trek collectible that’s useful and ready to save your red-shirted behind from mortal data dangers.

Yeah, you know you want one, but you need to beam your up NOW as there are only 1000 of these and I bet George has at least one on his shelf already. I know, I know… just don’t get all “That Which Survives” around that MIMOBOT (or George, for that matter). That’s kinda creepy…

Lost Planet 3 Updated Hands-On: Payton’s Place Is On Channel E.D.N. III…

Posted on May 22, 2013 by geelw

I’ve been a supporter of Lost Planet 3 ever since I played the demo last year simply because I completely “got” the direction Capcom and developer Spark Unlimited set for the upcoming prequel. While that first demo was put together to show off certain areas in the game and how well-designed and acted the cinematic sequences were, the version I played last week here in NYC was the first area of the game that showed off a solid story and gameplay progression that made the 45 or so minutes fly by too quickly.

Those folks unfairly criticizing the game for nonsense reasons will hopefully not affect the sales one bit should they actually get their hands around a controller and have their minds changed. Of course, you can’t care what some less informed people say on the internet, right? That said, my more informed powers of “I played it and see where it’s going” trump anyone with a bile covered keyboard who still thinks this is a “sequel” and not going to cover elements in the other LP games…

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Random Indie Game of the Week: The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Storms Onto Steam…

Posted on May 22, 2013 by geelw

No game is perfect, but the only thing I can see here that I don’t like is the title of NeoCore Games’ great-looking Action/RPG. Call me crazy (please do!), but The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing sounds like a Saturday morning cartoon series that pops up too early to catch on a regular basis. Anyway, snark aside, that video above and screens below show that this one looks pretty awesome. I just need to carve some time into my schedule to play this one and let you know how cool it all is. What? You’re STILL not convinced? OK, OK… here’s another video, you cranky skeptic, you:

Yeah, I thought so – now keep it down back there and check out these screenshots:

Even better, the game has launched today on Steam and is available at a 10% discount ($13.49 instead of $14.99), so I say take advantage of this launch day deal and snap up a copy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to grab a good knife and go find my cuckoo clock. It was on the wall, but seems to have scampered off somewhere (I think I’ve gone after it a few too many times with sharp objects in an attempt to make more hours in a day)…

Random Film of the Day*: Sinbad and The Eye of The Tiger

Posted on May 21, 2013 by geelw

Sinbad & The Eye of the Tiger When I was much younger, I wondered why Ray Harryhausen didn’t make more films until I found out how long it took him to design all those characters from drawing and painting some outstanding concept art to the construction and creation the visual effects. Let’s just say the man gained all the respect I had after that. That said, 1977’s Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is an example of what happens when a movie studio decides to rush things a bit too quickly, as it’s not his best work of the decade on display.

Yes, there are some major showpiece moments, but between some awful matte shots and a few creatures missing Harryhausen’s trademark expressionism, the film suffers a bit from a “by the numbers” look that’s noticeable to the point of distraction. Then again, that the film arrived in theaters a few months after Star Wars opened and was still generating a huge amount of money. I’m sure to many viewers blown away by George Lucas’ epic, Sinbad seemed almost like a relic from another decade…
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