Pathfinder Finds Its Path With 30 Days Remaining

Posted on February 9, 2020 by geelw

Kind of like bowling, isn’t it?

Geez, You take a few days away from things to get a clearer head and all manner of interesting stuff happens. Owlcat Games’ Kickstarter for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous not only made its target on $300,000 in a single day, the game is still raking in a load of money, with as of this writing, over $860,000 being raised and a few nifty stretch goals added with 30 days to go. Wow. Here’s some rather nice title music from the developer to celebrate and yes, they’re still taking pledges and adding some mice stretch goals.

There was a developer live stream a few days back that I missed, but here it is if you want to check it out:

So far, the game is looking pretty well-packed with things to do and see, so kudos to the team at Owlcat for all their hard work so far.

-GW

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Hands-On: You’ll Come Back, But Be Gone For A While

Posted on February 4, 2020 by geelw

Prediction: It’s going to make its target and likely much more.

A little Kickstarter action, anyone?

Developer Owlcat Games is hard at work on a follow up to the incredibly deep Pathfinder: Kingmaker, which combined gameplay inspired by classic PC role-playing games such as the Baldur’s Gate, Fallout, Fallout 2 and Arcanum with a huge kingdom building system in a massive game with a pretty loyal following worldwide. It’s not at all a simple game as it sticks closely to the tabletop experience down to complex rules that need to be learned and implemented lest failure be your primary option.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a more an even more ambitious follow up, but tailored a lot better and not a direct “sequel”, adding in a wealth of changes to the game engine, a load of new classes to play as and packing in a ton of content. Owlcat is clearly in it for the long haul. This is good, however, as the hands-on demo’s Siege at Drezen sequence was pretty thrilling and left me wanting more. Before the demo, game Director Alexander Mishulin spoke and I got a wealth of lore on new classes, Mythic Path characters such as Angel, Lich, Aeon, and Trickster, some of the overall goals in the story line and more brain-filling content. There’s a lot going on here and Mishulin noted the final version will allow for many options and choices for new as well as returning players (which means a ton of replay value, naturally).

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This is going to be as deep as it gets and then some, but it was also noted that the dev team has been listening to feedback from the first game and is tailoring this new experience to be a bit more flexible for new players as a option. that certainly doesn’t mean the game will be easy or “casual”, mind you. The depth outside of the combat will include a number of “pay attention” elements that will have players glued to their PC’s as they dive into what’s looking like an extremely comprehensive solo campaign.

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Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Coming to Kickstarter in Feburary

Posted on January 27, 2020 by geelw

Something’s cooking over at Owlcat…

If you’re fan of old-school PC classics like the Baldur’s Gate series and other Infinity Engine games, Keep an eye of this, please. Developer Owlcat Games will be launching a crowdfunding drive via Kickstarter for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, the followup to Pathfinder: Kingmaker, which by the way is on sale for about 20 hours more at Fanatical (go get it!). There’s a lot of changes on the way, but I’ll reveal a few when the Kickstarter goes live on February 4, 2020 and I can report on some hands-on time spent with a build.

You’ll also want to go sign up for info on the game on Owlcat’s website, as this will get you a stunning free 178 page artbook PDF from the first game that actually surprised me at how much it contained. A bit of info about the new title and some nice screen and art is below the jump.

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Sometimes, You Need That Head Room Cleared

Posted on June 2, 2019 by geelw

Catching up to things these days is a, what did that guy in the elevator the other day say as he walked in talking to himself? Oh, right – a big grizzly bear bitch. I don’t like being so far behind schedule, but it’s the nature of this particular beast thanks to the health stuff doing it’s thing and being really good at shifting focus which should be elsewhere to that invisible clock ticking away and some too cool for school super-agent not coming to slide in and attempt to defuse the situation.

(Thanks, imz72)

Still, we press onward despite the tick-tock stuff because it’s what keeps the collective we going. “We” meaning those parts inside the skin shell that want to cooperate and get me perambulating around and motivated to do more, which some days is less than more, which ends up being just enough, but not quite. You know that feeling, right? Anyway, I was parked on the work surface yesterday and deciding how to proceed on a few reviews and such that are in progress when my brain decided to take over and have me go draw something, which in turn made me feel a lot better, despite the end result not being good or complete.

“Gee, I’m a tree!” Oh, the pun society had disbarred me years ago, so I just do what I do, folks.

Well, it helped a bit in freeing up some clutter in the brain, which in turn has me a bit more motivated to get back to the needed grind, which isn’t really a grind because I do like what I do when it’s automatic and not baked in like a factory churning out Soylent Green or some other humdrum, generic content. Hey, I think I try to be somewhat original in what I do in terms of a few things. But yeah, I have to get faster like I was a few years back when content was flowing and my backlog was maybe a few weeks long. Anyway, I have a plan and the crankier parts of me aren’t going to like it, but it’s going into effect as we speak. So those parts are going to have to take their medicine and like it, or else.

vitameatavegamin-gif-1

Back in a bit. Or sooner. (*hic!*)

-GW

Random Film of the Week: One Good Cop

Posted on January 11, 2019 by geelw

I think it was sometime back in 1990 when I was living in a somewhat crappy apartment building on the corner of 112th Street and Manhattan Avenue in Harlem, NYC when a bunch of people rolled up in a few vehicles and started cleaning up the street directly across from me. Weeds were pulled, the basements in the two or three abandoned buildings on the corner were cleared out and if I recall correctly, there was even some exterior and interior painting done that made it seem as if those buildings were going to be fully renovated at some point. All that work also chased away some of the drug trade on the block (a good thing) and at some point I felt things were looking up for the area.

Not too long afterwards, I was going to work and saw a film crew taking up space in the area and it seemed those buildings were going to be used for a movie shoot and not fully renovated after all. Drat. It turned out that scenes for a film called One Good Cop were being shot and despite the somewhat ratty condition of the area, people started popping up to watch the filming. That was in part due to Micheal Keaton being on the set for a few days filming a key action sequence that required a rat wrangler and a whole lot of rats, a few other actors and stuntmen and a panel truck that was key to the scene’s finale.

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The Last Guardian: Finally Dated, The Wait Gets Less When-ish

Posted on June 19, 2016 by geelw

Okay. I’m back. Sort of. Got a LOT of stuff going on up this way I’ll yak about in a separate post, but let’s all just watch this gorgeous trailer for the long delayed and finally has a release date soon to be instant classic The Last Guardian. Fumeto Ueda and his team’s game will indeed be worth the wait and in my mind, it’s one of the reasons I play videogames. For me, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus were and still are two of the best game experiences from the past 20 years, and seeing this final game appear means I can stop worrying about whether or not it will be good. I trust the creator and his vision and that’s all one needs in this case.

The Last Guardian hits retail and digital October 25, 2016. Yes, that collector’s edition below looks mighty nice, doesn’t it? Yep.

READS: Star Wars Works Spectacularly As A Scrolling Infographic

Posted on May 25, 2016 by geelw

Many movie fans all know what follows this memorable opening image, but thanks to Zurich-based artist Martin Panchaud, we now have quite possibly the best illustrated retelling of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope to date. While not flawless (there are a few incorrectly translated lines), the scrolling infographic absolutely nails the storytelling beats, but from a top down perspective and using colored dots for human and alien characters. If you’re a big enough fan of the film, I’d bet you’ll be hearing that phenomenal John Williams score in your head at all the right moments. Go check it out (if this hasn’t been forwarded to your own inbox already today).

Also, someone call Guinness (no, not the ghost of Alec, silly!)- I think at 123 meters (or 403.543307 feet), it just may be the longest infographic you’ll see for a while. Anyway, go revisit a classic film from 1977 in a whole new way.

READS: Bombshell: The Pin-Up Art of John Gladman

Posted on February 6, 2016 by geelw

Bombshell_cover Thank goodness the art of the glamour pin-up book isn’t lost forever, particularly given today’s endless supply of overly raunchy and more easily accessible content the internet has to offer. The fine folks over at Schiffer Books have been putting out a nice selection of pin-up titles for some time, but this is one of the best they’ve published to date.

Award-winning photographer/artist John Gladman is one of those thankfully still carrying the artfully positioned cutie torch and in Bombshell: The Pin-Up Art of John Gladman (Schiffer Books, $34.99 – BUY IT!), there’s a whole lot to appreciate. Continue reading →

Little Orbit Wants Your Character In The New Adventure Time Game!

Posted on January 29, 2015 by geelw

Are you a BIG Adventure Time fan with an artistic bent? Well, Little Orbit wants you! Or more precisely, they want your artwork! The publisher is running a contest where one lucky winner will have his or her character design used in the next Adventure Time videogame coming to consoles and PC. When? Well, I dunno, but the contest only runs for a short time (as in NOW until February 17, 2015).

The rules are simple (and below the jump) and if you win, you’ll be able to brag all over the internet and deal with people trying to bash your dreams into powdered atoms because that’s what they do these days. Yeah, well… just avoid the deathtrap spiral that comes from commenting to every dope who wants to rain on your day and you’ll do fine. Contest info and links below the jump. Go do some finger-stretches or whatever it is artists do before drawing, read on and go win big!

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SDCC 2014: Sideshow Collectibles Wants That Girl From Drakulon To Drain Your Wallet…

Posted on July 24, 2014 by geelw

Hokay, I haven’t read a complete issue of Vampirella in years, but I can very safely say that this Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format Figure Vampirella is quite possibly the best sculpted version of the character I’ve ever seen. It’s not the “cutest” one out there (Sideshow’s Tooned Up Vampi takes that particular crown), but fans who want a more realistic figure to stick on a shelf or in a collector’s cabinet need look no further.

Amusingly enough, this sculpt also reveals how awesomely impossible that Drakulon one piece non-swimsuit is (without the strategic application of body tape and carefully choreographed movement, I can’t see any real life lady strutting around in this without something popping out for all the world to see). But I’d bet you’re not dropping $399.99 on this just to wonder about physics and pneumatic movement and such. Anyway, this over-sized monster-piece isn’t out until May 2015, but Sideshow will gladly take that money you’re throwing at the screen and send you one of these once they’re ready to ship.

This one’s going to be on display at San Diego Comic-Con and until August 5, Sideshow is still running a giveaway on their site where you can snag a Harley Quinn Premium Format Figure with a rocket-fast entry. I saw this one at a comic shop here and it’s pretty awesome. And huge. I guess it’s a good thing I have no room for these big figures and I’m saving my money for that working time machine that pops up on eBay every so often or I’d have a room full of Premium Format Figures and a sleepy security guard to watch over them…