Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Trailer: FOX on the Run (And It’s Looking Mighty Fine)…

Posted on March 27, 2013 by geelw

MGSV_PP Oh, brother. Raise those hands now… WHO didn’t know that this was going to be a new Metal Gear Solid game? Or that Hideo Kojima and his team weren’t going to (once again) push visuals to the edge in a console game. I can still remember that feeling I had when watching that first long form Metal Gear Solid trailer, a non-playable masterpiece from a Spring Special Demo Disc back in er, 1997 or ’98 and every MGS game since has dome something meaningful with its proprietary graphics engine. This new MGS V trailer, however, basically yanks you right into its world (which is open and non-linear this time out) from the moment Snake is on that operating table through some pretty outstanding dramatic sequences… Continue reading →

Transistor: Supergiant Games’ Next WIP (PLUS, Buy Bastion Cheap If You Haven’t Yet!)

Posted on March 20, 2013 by geelw

Transistor_Wallpaper_1920x1080

Transistor_19-mar-2013_01 Meet Red, heroine of Supergiant Games‘ currently in development action/RPG, Transistor. That’s a mighty big sword she’s swinging, isn’t it? Turns out that weapon is integral to the plot, as it was previously used in an attempt to kill the poor gal, but she survived and is out to find out who wanted her dead and why they used such a damn big butter knife when an accidentally dropped piano would have done the job. OK, so THAT piano stuff is probably not part of the plot (I hope), but those of you who played Supergiant’s amazing Bastion on any platform it ended up on know that Transistor will be a spectacular and memorable experience. Keep an eye on this one, folks – it’s going to be one for the ages, I predict…

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Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter: inXile Gets That Planescape “Sequel” Underway…

Posted on March 6, 2013 by geelw

Well, now… That’s going exactly as predicted, ladies and gentlemen. As in it’s ALMOST funded on the first day (and probably FULLY funded by the time or very shortly after I complete this brief post). Torment: Tides of Numenera is an upcoming PC RPG game that will take place in the world of Monte Cook’s new tabletop RPG setting (called Numenera of course), and as you can see if you poke around both the Kickstarter and Numenera pages, it all looks quite spectacular indeed.

As with other projects this huge, Digital and physical versions will be made available for backers (whee!) and I hope this actually makes it into retail at some point, as the original game is one of those classics for the ages and this one (being cooked up by some that were involved in that epic) is looking mighty amazing as well. Getting more people to play a game like this outside of those lots of throwing money at it for strictly personal reasons (hell, If I had a few thousand bucks lying around, I’d want to be an in-game NPC too!) is a pretty good way for gaming to gain a bit more respect among some who overly criticize the hobby based on what they see in the media… Continue reading →

Thief 4: As Long As It Doesn’t Stab Me In The Back When It Takes My Money, I’m Good…

Posted on March 5, 2013 by geelw

Ah… this is fine news indeed. It seems that there’s a new Thief game (which just SO happens to be called Thief 4 because it’s the fourth game in the series) in the works for PC and next-generation consoles. Nice. I’ll do a happier dance when I see some gameplay, but to the initiated, the Thief series is one of those seminal works that’s pretty deep and always challenging to dive into. Eidos Montreal is handling the development chores, Square Enix will be publishing and if the game is anything like Deus Ex: Human Revolution in terms of scope (but with much more interaction), it’s guaranteed some solid ratings as well as a loyal fan base.

Granted, I’m betting ANY inclusion of “casual” play modes will be met with all sorts of internet-driven derision and division, but that’s how it goes in an era where more people seem to want to try more types of games (before giving up before they’ve learned the damned controls in the tutorial). As always, we shall see. I’ll be sneaking carefully behind this one and keeping tabs, that’s for sure…

PS4 Reveal Event (Full Version)

Posted on February 21, 2013 by geelw

Put on a pot of whatever and pull up a seat. Here’s the full press event I didn’t get to see live, so whee, we get to watch it together! Hey, it’s NOT a rerun if you’ve never seen it, right? Hmmm. this brings back memories, though. I need to interview Mark Cerny at some point, as he’s been missed for a while on the gaming scene. KNACK looks like a classic PSOne platformer remade with amazing physics and I can’t wait to see more. Amusingly enough, I haven’t seen Dave Perry in years (he’s something like seven feet tall in person), but I remember a chat we had about Shiny’s development on The Matrix: Path of Neo and some other fun stuff a few years back at a loud Atari event. Enjoy the ride, folks… Sony’s just getting started.

Below the jump is the official press release (I fixed a silly spelling error I caught), as I’m too busy to edit the darn thing down, you get to pore over every official word and hold Sony to the fire if they don’t deliver the goods…

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: Geralt’s Final Tale Goes Open World

Posted on February 5, 2013 by geelw

CD Projekt RED is indeed currently making the final game in The Witcher series (well, the last Geralt of Riva story, as least), but they’re going out at the top of their game by releasing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on high-end PC’s and consoles (which most likely means whatever new is coming from Microsoft and Sony, not current generation hardware). For those new to the series, the developer is also offering the chance to pick up the first two games at an incredible value. There’s a 72-hour sale on The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings – Enhanced Edition for PC on gog.com (both games) and Steam (The Witcher 2: AoKEE) right now and if you happen to be a console owner, the fantastic Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings – Enhanced Edition has been permanently price-dropped to must-buy price points worldwide (USD/EUR 29.99 USD/EUR or GBP 19,99). If you’re looking for a dark, truly mature and thrilling RPG experience, these come VERY highly recommended (provided you have the hardware to run the games on).

Random Film of the Week: Deadlier Than The Male

Posted on March 17, 2012 by geelw

(thanks, ohwhatamindblast!)

OK, I know I haven’t been keeping you guys and gals up to date in terms of this feature, but that’s what happens when one tries the world domination thing – you end up with too much stuff on your plate and some things get dropped. Speaking of world domination and dropping things, this fun to watch James Bond pastiche from 1967 happened to pop into my head as a film I haven’t seen in ages that’s worth tracking down. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s great for a laugh or three and some excellent set pieces keep things quite cool. Even better, in terms of all the Bond spoofs on that landed in theaters during the period, it’s one of the more polished efforts.

Granted, Hugh “Bulldog” Drummond is NOT a spy, but an updated version of the classic British detective for the swingin’ 60’s set and thus, sure as heck looks and feels like a fun Bond knockoff. Richard Johnson ably plays Drummond as a Bond not so lite tough guy insurance investigator (that’s longhand for detective for hire) who’s good with his fists, pistols, a snappy quip or two and the ladies (not necessarily in that order). He’s put on the case of a dead oil company executive and soon finds out that there are some sexy female assassins (the drop-dead gorgeous Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina) and a mastermind behind the whole thing to deal with in his particular (albeit Bond-like) manner…

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