System Shock 3: It’s About Time For A New Shodan

Posted on December 14, 2015 by geelw

Well, this is a nice surprise for a Monday (or any day, for that matter): OtherSide Entertainment is currently working on two projects I just found out about and am terminally thrilled to see come to life. System Shock 3 and Underworld Ascendant, two games that NEED to be completed before the world goes belly up. The great thing is both projects are being worked on by teams that worked on the original games and a whole lot of other classics for PC and console, meaning the dedication to quality is there and will make for two spectacular titles well worth the wait. At least to my nostalgic eyeballs and ears. Also, you can help directly fund Ultima Ascendant if you like by clicking on that link above. If you remember the first two titles well enough (warts and all), reading the game page should make your wallet magically appear in your hand before you get past 1/8 of what’s there.

More on both of these when info pops into the inbox.

Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders: Kill Some Time With Poirot in February

Posted on December 10, 2015 by geelw

French game publisher Microïds and developers Artefacts Studio are putting the final touches on what’s looking to be a fine mystery/adventure game, Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders, set for release on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Mac February 4th, 2016 in Europe and February 23 in the U.S. on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Mac. Microïds obviously knows the universal appeal of Christie’s work as the game is going to be dubbed in English and French and subtitled in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish and Russian. As you’ll see below he jump, the development team is really going above and beyond the call to make Mr. Poirot look and play excellently to a wide variety of gamers interested in the character and story (which happens to be one of Christie’s greats)… Continue reading →

Land of A Thousand Gransys III: How’s Your German?

Posted on December 5, 2015 by geelw

(Thanks, GameStar!)

While I speak not a word of German, it’s not needed at all in this GameStar video preview of the upcoming PC version of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen. I’m loving the now silky smooth frame rate and upgraded textures quite a lot and am definitely looking forward to diving into the game all over again. While some PC-only gamers may consider this “dated” by current standards, DD:DA has a fantastic sense of atmosphere that brings a solid level of realism to its graphics.

Well, if your description of realism includes a bestiary of mythical beasts trying their level best to kill your user created character dead and many times at that. Look for this one early next year, particularly if you happen to love action-heavy RPG experiences that do a few things differently and quite well at that.

Holiday Greetings From Some Not So Angry Birds

Posted on November 30, 2015 by geelw

Even the grumpiest Grinchy McScrooge, Esq. would get a chuckle or hoot out of this short promotional video cooked up to promote The Angry Birds Movie, headed to theaters in May 2016. It’s also the proper thing to do with an audio recording of kids who don’t know all the words to “Deck The Halls” trying their best to make it to the end of the song and failing miserably merrily at it. Of course, watch some overly enthusiastic Xmas supporters whine about this video not being in the proper spirit of the season or whatever when they should be chuckling at this while wearing a hideous holiday sweater and sipping a BIG cup of cocoa laced with something adult beverage-like. That bottle of peppermint schnapps Uncle Hugo game you two years back should come in handy right about now, I’d say.

The Angry Birds Movie: A Good Egg Is Getting Cooked Up For 2016

Posted on November 23, 2015 by geelw

While The Angry Birds Movie trailer met with the usual internet mix of smiles and grimaces (and the even more usual whines and moans from the haters), it really didn’t do much in the way of telling exactly what the film would be about. Cue Columbia Pictures and Sony sending out invites to assorted media folk to roll on by and see selected scenes from the still in production film presented by producer John Cohen in a fun behind the scenes “featurette” style like something you’d see on a Blu-Ray or DVD.

Invite in hand, this little piggy went for a stroll down to Sony’s midtown screening room for a spell and came up for air quite pleased and impressed by what was shown. I can’t reveal anything about the clips, but Cohen’s presentation was perfect and answered the big fat question many have had since the film was announced. That being how the heck a game with no story to speak of is getting a full on feature film. In short, a story was written specifically for the characters in the game and how they first meet. It’s the three-act structure in full effect and as Cohen showed off artwork, character models and completed to in progress clips from the film, any skepticism I may have felt about the project was a distant memory long before his presentation ended.

Okay, it was less than ten minutes in is when I felt the film would be a great way to get fans of the game as well as non-fans into theaters next May… Continue reading →

Land Of A Thousand Gransys: Today Is For The Birds

Posted on November 17, 2015 by geelw

Ouch. HOT. So, it turns out griffins absolutely hate fire. At least in the land of Gransys, that is. While Kentucky Fried Griffin may sound like a tasty meal, you may want to put down those 17 herbs and spices and pick up the phone and call for some takeout from somewhere in Gran Soren. It seems that griffin meat is pretty tough, tendon-packed and somewhat rancid before its cooked and very much like cheap supermarket fowl, is better stewed for a few (dozen) hours in lots of wine and plenty of vegetables in a gigantic kettle. Coating it in batter and frying it would just give you a nice crispy outer shell that wouldn’t taste all that good and unless you’re cooking outdoors (the smell alone would scare anything human or animal away), you’d probably set your home ablaze from the inevitable grease fire.

Yes, this is not so secretly a plug for the PC version of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, headed to PC in January 2016. It was the game that kept giving on consoles and it should do the same and more for PC gamers who dive in feet first. Anyway, I’m still working on some stuff here while dealing with a sluggish network and cranky computer, so today has been an off day as far as getting things done. Back tomorrow with some fun stuff as among other things, I got a new cookbook to read in the post and it’s quite fantastic.

Let’s Play “I’d Rather Fight A Hydra Than…”

Posted on November 14, 2015 by geelw

Let’s see now: if I small world this little game and not think of current events beyond my control, “…deal with more dopey computer issues!” is the first thing that comes to my mind. Yep, still having some issues with a few things. But not for long. While that hydra above (courtesy of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen which is finally making its way to PC in January 2016, thank you much Capcom!) is confident it will win because it’s been reading old issues of Strange Tales for those Nick Fury stories (“Hail Hydra! Cut off one head and two more will take its place!”), it’s going down for the count so one of those heads can get transported to Gran Soren as a gift for the somewhat unbalanced Duke who resides in the castle there.

I’m sure that’s a metaphor for something, but I need to pop up this post before my laptop craps out and blue screens me again. It’s down to twice a day, though… so that’s “good”. I guess. Back in a bit or sooner as my backlog is lightening somewhat, but I do need to tackle posting a bunch of stuff with my fingers crossed that it gets up without any rebooting needed.

Battlezone Trailer: Rebellion’s Newest Makes Me Feel Very Old

Posted on October 30, 2015 by geelw

As someone who spent plenty of time in the arcades and at home playing the original Battlezone and its Atari 2600 port respectively and later the pretty awesome PC game and the not so awesome looking but still enjoyable N64 version, this newest take on the classic makes my bones ache. It sure looks spectacular and fast as can be, but the more Tron-like vibe and gaudy color scheme is very mildly rubbing me the wrong way. But that’s solely because I haven’t played the game yet. Sometimes it takes getting used to a visual style choice to fully enjoy a reboot, but I’m not going to be one of those internet whiners ranting about cosmetics. I trust veteran developer Rebellion enough that I feel comfortable that once I have my paws wrapped around a controller (and VR or no VR), I’ll be grinning nostalgically and having to have someone drag me away from the game at some point.

Word has it that Rebellion may also be redoing the late 90’s PC game as well, which would be excellent if they went with a more “realistic” look to that one while adding elements from their popular Sniper Elite series. Hopefully, we’ll also see this on the Vita either as a Cross Play/Cross Buy or standalone solo and multiplayer game just because the handheld needs a bonafide smash hit. Tanks are ALWAYS awesome and there aren’t any decent portable games with them these days. Eh, we’ll see as usual. Oh, if someone at Atari isn’t looking at either Star Raiders or Space Lords as possible future reboots, they need to start doing just that. Technology has finally made making even more definitive versions of both classics possible and on multiple platforms as that. Get on it, people – call me if you need some ideas. I work cheap (but not free!).

Second Death Hands-On: Survival of the Bit-test

Posted on October 23, 2015 by geelw

It’s 1958, and Chicago cop David Harris made the tough choice to bring his mobster brother back from Cuba and deliver him to justice, but things get tougher when their home-bound plane crashes on a mysterious island. Now he must save his brother — and learn the truth behind his terrible crimes.

That mysterious island isn’t something out of a Jules Verne book at all, but a rather interesting PC, Mac, iOS and Android game called Second Death. Created by Evan Wagstaff (design, coding, script) using Game Maker Studio with a small team helping out with art, music and sounds, this retro style “noir Survival RPG” mixes early 16-bit looks, item crafting, JRPG-like combat, a barter system and two game modes (plus a tutorial) to take for a spin. While the game won’t be officially released until January 2016, the demo that’s currently available at that link above (and seems to be titled or subtitled Absolution) seems to be pretty much what the final version will look and play like. Continue reading →

How To Survive 2 Hands-On: Weekend At Learnies

Posted on October 16, 2015 by geelw

EKO Software and 505 Games have big plans for How to Survive 2 and you just might be able to help them out a bit. The game is set to hit Steam as an Early Access title this month and the feedback from that will help the dev team craft an even better experience than the original. Some hands-on time with a build at 505’s NYC event showed off a new setting (New Orleans), improved character customization, larger maps and the same blend of nail-biting action and offbeat humor that work quite well together. If you’ve ever wanted to face off against poison-spewing pelicans while fighting off a wave of zombies coming at you because you’ve set off a car alarm when you retrieved that car’s battery as part of a quest, well… this game’s got your name on it.
Continue reading →