Sacred 3 Launch Trailer: Faster, Hackier and Slashier It Is. But Is That A Good Thing?

Posted on August 1, 2014 by geelw

I really liked the first two Sacred games for their massive open worlds, lengthy main quests and plenty of side quests, so this more action-heavy and multiplayer focus Sacred 3 has is a bit jarring. Granted, developer keen games has made a nice-looking game here and it will be played for sure. I’m just hoping the game can be enjoyed as a decent RPG experience and isn’t just a kill/loot/rinse & repeat thing that some will despise and doom to the bargain bin before the year is out. That and Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is on the way and will probably consign this game to a “play it later” fate for some DIII fans who only have time for ONE deep dungeon crawling experience. Anyway, this is out now in Europe and a few other spots – the North American version should hit retail and download channels on August 5th. I’ll give it a fair shake just to see how it stacks up to previous entries while also gauging it on its own merits. The game certainly looks as if it’ll be fun at the end of the day…

Guardians of the Galaxy Clip Joint: What You See Isn’t Even Close To What You’ll Get…

Posted on July 24, 2014 by geelw

So, some early reviews are in and all are stating this is not only one of the best movies this summer, but quite possibly the best Marvel movie to date. I figured all of those end credits scenes were adding up to something and from what I’ve read (and heard from someone who was at a screening), fans will be knocked off their feet a few times and then some.

One thing I figured that would work from the start with these films was having different directors with different styles working on different franchises similar to how different writers and artists work on the different comics. While there’s a certain uniformity to elements of the look and continuity across each of the films since the first Iron Man, it’s been fun to watch most of these movies and see how a particular director’s vision works within the (Disney) Marvel Universe.

James Gunn seemed like the oddest choice to direct GotG at first, but his own offbeat sense of humor and musical tastes have spilled over into the film and works well to the point where he’s probably going to be the go-to guy for the next film with this team… Continue reading →

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Making of Episode 1: “If You’re Going to Shoot, SHOOT. Don’t Talk!”

Posted on July 11, 2014 by geelw

Hey, Kids! Wanna know how video games are made? Well, this video doesn’t go into ALL the not so gory at all details, but it IS a fun watch if you’re intrigued. Gearbox Software seems to be a fun enough place to work, although some gamers with too much time on their hands and rickety soap boxes to stand on will give them eternal grief for at least two games they’ve worked on until the Earth rolls off its axis. Me, I just move forward and keep an eye on what they’re doing next. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel isn’t made entirely by the studio, but you know 2K Australia is using what Gearbox has created in this collaboration to whip up this spaced-out loot frenzy that happens to take place in the fun-tastic Borderlands universe.

Given that this one is only on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, I’m betting some of you are kind of ticked off that you traded in that “old” console in trade for a newer one, right? Oh well. Next time, don’t trade in or give away any system until you ONLY see budget games coming out for it. Or even better, NO games at all. That way you’re SURE there are no surprises coming down the pike…

Guardians of the Galaxy Featurette 2/TV Spot 5: Settling In For The Long Haul (And Reliable Predictability)…

Posted on July 11, 2014 by geelw

I’d say right about now that Guardians of the Galaxy will indeed be comfortably predictable on a few fronts. I usually go in to these movies with zero expectations, but I suppose I have to accept the fact that Marvel wants fans to know they’re getting the full meal deal here: LOADS of in-jokes, some serious stuff in between the jokes, plenty of last-minute escapes and plot twist or four and some fun use of music if you happen to be well-aged and savvy about such things or just happen to “get” the musical stuff the film drops into your ears when it does.

And yes, you HAVE to stick around until the credits roll because there’s going to be a surprise reveal that ties into previous and upcoming Marvel movies that some fans will be wanting to drop that ticket and merchandise money on. All that is a given at this point because messing with the formula (as formulaic and formic as it can be) is a recipe for confusion among some folks. But it’s something that works well for what it’s worth, so I’m not complaining much (if at all)…

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Clip #1: Now, THAT’S What I Call A “Lifestyle Lift!”

Posted on July 3, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, Movieclips Trailers!)

Well, you’re certainly NOT going to tell a lady she can’t cut her own hair, right? RIGHT? I thought so. Anyway, this Sin City “sequel” looks pretty cool, although as a friend noted a few weeks back when he saw the trailers: “Everyone’s looking a wee bit long in the tooth even WITH all that makeup!” Of course, I laughed along with him because we’re no spring chickens either. But hey, neither of us is up there on the big screen chewing up the scenery for a well-earned paycheck. Hmmm… maybe we should consider a career move? I think he can play Marv without all that rubber goo on his face. Me, I guess I can be anything in a script like a table, wall or tree. I think I’m a bit wooden when it comes to the acting stuff, so playing an inanimate object is probably a better start…

Gallery: New Raven’s Cry Screenshots + A Little Shanty To Spice Up Your Monday (Arrrr!)

Posted on June 30, 2014 by geelw

Ahoy! My Monday’s running a wee bit late, but at least some things are working better than they were yesterday (and how!). The laptop isn’t rattling, there’s a nice strong wi-fi signal today (this past weekend was lousy!) and the fine folks at TopWare Interactive shot over a cannonball with four new Raven’s Cry screens that missed me by a mile, but there’s now a nice cannonball-shaped hole in the wall here. And you know what? I’m not even mad about that because I happen to think porthole windows are cool!

I just need to see if Home Depot has any in stock about the size of a ten-pound cannonball hole. I suppose I should let Dean over at Topware know that if he plans to shoot a review copy of the game over to aim for the roof, as I don’t think I need another hole in a wall here (or worse, through the porthole window I just installed.

Say, do ye fancy a shanty that’s not for the wee ones? Good! Topware has also dropped a second adults-only sea shanty called “Hangin’ Wille” that will make some of you laugh and others cringe accordingly. Like the other NSFW shanty “Sail With the Devil”, it’s got some VERY salty language that would make even a dead pirate blush. I’d post both videos here, but I’d probably get a second and better-aimed cannonball from the ladies out there. Hey, the life of a pirate wasn’t all TV series fodder and booze commercials, you know! Anyway, Raven’s Cry will be sailing into stores for PC/Mac, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 on October 14, 2014.

Back with more on this one soon – I should probably invest in a cannonball catcher or something…

Dracula Untold Trailer: I’ve Got The Overbite Rewritten Blues…

Posted on June 27, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, CBM Trailers!)

Hmmm… suspicions confirmed. Dracula gets retold, so it’s officially “Dracula Untold” now, thus the need for a reboot of this magnitude. Big, loud, full of CG effects and hey, why not let’s get that hot singer du jour Lorde to do the theme song you’ll more than very likely hear as part of the end credits and want to download at some point? *Sigh*… Oh well. The young ones will eat it up, the weekly movie-goers will pay their money as usual, the older curmudgeonly critics will lament the lack of Lugosi’s accented mumbling sexy style, while others trumpet it as “sexier than Twilight” in those tween magazines and online haunts for the Emo chicky/Hot Topic crowd. Everyone wins… well, not really, but so goes the modern vampire movie – into the past with lots of the present 9and too much for my more mundane horror tastes). Eh, October isn’t so far away, so perhaps my mind will be changed? We shall see (as usual)…

E3 2014: Focus Home Interactive Wants You To Focus On These Two Upcoming Games…

Posted on June 27, 2014 by geelw

Focus Home Interactive has two big games coming for PC and next-generation consoles and if this fourteen minutes of gameplay from the upcoming game STYX: Master of Shadows isn’t getting you grinning at the possibilities of just how cool it is to play that nasty little goblin assassin, I have not a clue what will get your interest piqued. This one’s coming later this summer and it’s great to see third party games like this and others filling up the PS4 and Xbox One library until the big first-party games roll out around the holidays and beyond.

On the even more intense front, fans of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 will be more than thrilled to see Space Hulk finally making a welcome return as a first-person shooter in the upcoming Space Hulk: Deathwing, coming from developer Streum On Studio. While all you get here is some in engine footage and not actual first-person gameplay with whatever HUD will (or won’t) be onscreen, Epic’s Unreal 4 engine is certainly making what you do see look pretty incredible and Streum On definitely has some talent Check out the handful of screenshots below for more of what to expect and keep an eye on both of these games, I say…

SIn City’s Marv Gets The Eric So Treatment (And Is Still Quite A Scary Guy)…

Posted on June 26, 2014 by geelw

WANTED!
Dark Horse Comics and toy design master Eric So want YOU to grab this very limited edition (950 pieces) and very cool stylized Marv vinyl figure, which is set for a September 10 release, not long after the August 22 premiere of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For at a theater near you. Each Marv is 13 inches tall, individually hand painted, has a removable cross and chain and in a neat touch, you get a bunch of sticky bandages you can apply to his handsome mug. Well, I think he’s handsome… in that his mother dropped him off a roof too many times but he never stopped breathing kind of way.

Anyway, go bug your comics shop guy or gal if you want one of these. You better find a nice place to put it, too. Nobody puts Marv in the corner. For long…

Gravity Ghost: Your Soothingly Joyous Game Of The Month Is Almost Here…

Posted on June 25, 2014 by geelw

If it weren’t for a search mistake a few days back, I’d most likely have never stumbled across Gravity Ghost, the upcoming game from Ivy Games (also known as Erin Robinson). I’d also not have seen the other games on the site, all of which look like they’d be pretty fun to take for a spin. Anyway, GG is touted as a non-violent alternative where, according to the official site description:

“Gravity Ghost is a game to soothe your senses. There’s no killing. No dying. No way to fail. Just hours of blissing out to buttery-smooth gravity goodness…”

…which made me smile because all are things more games need in this era of run & shoot titles galore and plenty of players who no nothing but those. Games like GG are important because they open up the hobby to different types of gamers who may not desire to be head-shot kings and killer queens… Continue reading →