Aw, man. I wanted to see some gameplay that would make me jump under the table, but nope. Just a GREAT teaser for the still in production DOOM reboot with some nicely familiar sound effects that made me smile rather broadly. Oh well. No, I’m NOT going to Quakecon this year, but I’ll be prowling around online during the show to post whatever new trailer and gameplay footage pops up at that event on the company’s YouTube channel or Bethblog. Okay, Bethsoft – make me cower in fear next time or else… I’ll just wait around until you do. Hey, I’m easy to please…
“Booooooo!” (*squeal!*). Meh, I’ve always disliked these “reaction” videos for games and movies because even if they are one hundred percent real, what scares one person won’t affect another and as I get older, some things don’t scare me any longer that made me fly off a chair and up to the ceiling in the past. Or, to quote one Mr. Ray Parker Jr. “I ain’t afraid of no “ghost!”
Now, I’m NOT that jaded that some horror films, reads and games don’t get me wanting a blankie and a hanky every so often. However, some of the scares in entertainment are often derived from other and far more frightening works. That said, I do trust Shinji Mikami and Bethesda Softworks to the point that The Evil Within just may put me on the ceiling if it does what it does right and often. Expect to be scared out of your wits (or not?) when the game hits stores October 21st in North America, October 23rd, and throughout Europe on October 24, 2014.
Well, then. Here’s a look at the game in action before the big launch tomorrow. If it’s as solid as the other previews I’ve seen around the internet over the past few weeks, I predict a hit for developer Machine Games and publisher Bethesda Softworks, provided the multiplayer zombies realizes this isn’t THAT sort of game at all. Oh, by the way parental units wondering about the content here? Heck NOPE, in no way, shape or form is this game for kids! Personally, I like Machine’s updated take on the character of B.J. Blazkowicz, the pull no punches coarse language and all that icky blood and gore – whee! Okay, getting (slightly) serious for a hot second, that this one’s single player makes me happy as well, because multiplayer shooters are a dime a dozen these days (but usually cost AAA prices) and this is a game where you can tell the the development team spent lots of time designing the game around the story they’ve created.
Yeah, yeah, you want to run around and shoot each other in the face for endless hours in the same old map types and game variants. Well, go buy this game tomorrow on PC and sign up for the DOOM beta and get NEW map types and maybe some other surprises tossed your way. This one’s for those of us who like a good story and game wrapped together and I can’t wait to see how it’s turned out.
While the first-person shooter variants of Wolfenstein haven’t ever been geared towards kids, it’s been quite clear that Machine Games’ reboot of the series was going for a mature audience right from the moment that first teaser trailer popped up online. I want to play this just because the writing has been pretty adult and amusing in each video I’ve seen and while the game pulls no punches in its dialogue or extreme violence, both work in favor of the material because there’s enough humor here to keep one playing through the blood and bits you’ll see above and in the gloriously gory Stealth vs. Mayhem trailer from a few weeks back I missed. Yeah, it’s clearly not for the squeamish types, but I’d prefer a game that goes this far and makes me want to keep playing than one that’s just mean and stupid just to be so. May 20th on on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC, folks. “Be there, Aloha!”
Although I’m quite bored with the FPS genre, I’m keeping an eye on these Wolfenstein: The New Order updates because the story is pretty intriguing and Machine Games seems to have made series hero B.J. Blazkowicz into more of a character with an actual personality instead of just a one man army and part time bullet sponge, tossed him into a world that’s actually an interesting place (well, an interesting place full of Nazis in an alternate future where they WON World War II) and has you trying to put a stop to the menace using (what else) extreme prejudice. So Blazkowicz isn’t going to be getting the Nobel Peace Prize at all, but he will be taking out a LOT of trash by feeding it a lead and other ordinance diet until he’s whittled things down to the more manageable size of zero (or something close to it depending on whether or not this one’s got a sequel idea brewing).
Okay, the one man army thing is still in effect, but at least it’s well done so far. Wolfenstein: The New Order, will be available on May 20, 2014 (and in Europe on May 23) on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Pre-ordering gets you into the upcoming DOOM beta test, so slap down a deposit on this one and prepare to see another classic shooter get the reboot treatment…
Well, now. So much for a peaceful train ride through a rather unique version of post WWII Germany, hmmmmm? This in-engine scene from Machine Games’ upcoming Wolfenstein: The New Order made me want a cup of strong coffee, but not the headache that comes later on from caffeine withdrawal. It doesn’t quite feel like a big mech stomping on my head, but I’d rather have a headache from one over the other. If I’m not mistaken, Tommy Tordsson Björk (see below!) wrote the dialog in this scene. That Frau Engel is a real witch (with a capital “B”) isn’t she? Granted, I’m all for strong female characters in games, folks… it’s the Nazi part that kind of bends my straw a bit. But hey, the best villains are the ones you love to hate, so she’s added to the my list of characters to keep an eye on.
Remember, Wolfenstein: The New Order, will be available on May 20, 2014 (and in Europe on May 23) on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. As an added bonus, pre-ordering the game gets you invited to access the DOOM beta
And by “Legendary”, I mean you’ll be lost for hours in these digital worlds these two new collections have packed onto those discs. The first bundle features the multimillion selling titles The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and BioShock Infinite and the second bundle features everyone’s favorite FPS/RPG hybrids Borderlands 2 and Dishonored. I’d highly recommend these to new players who’ve yet to play these four modern classics, but collectors may also want to snap these up as it’s a pretty good value for the content you’re getting. Granted, the cheapskates out there who always buy stuff on sale may disagree, but 2K and Bethsoft aren’t targeting you anyway (nyah!). Ah, so many, mnay games… so little time to play them!
File this under “Now, I’ve REALLY seen Everything!”: OK, so it’s NOT Hell Paris again, but hell… someone made a piano that plays DOOM. Yeah, I want one now (and am kicking myself that I gave up on lessons as a kid), but I’ll need to steal a cargo plane, hire some some assistants and fly all the way to London’s Virgin Media Game Space in order to get this one of a kind hybrid machine/instrument. Of course, I’ll get arrested, tried and convicted and need to serve some hard time (boo, but I want to keep the film rights!), but at least I’ll have a story to tell at parties after I get out that will top the usual “I saw so-and-so coming out of a Starbucks drunk!” stuff you hear all the time, right? Hmmm… I wonder if Carmack, Romero or even Bethesda will ask for one of these to be made for them at some point. Hey, I say if anything, you can buy off that devil with a gift he’ll really flip over! You DO know he plays EVERY instrument, right? I got him a harmonica last year and he’s quite the expert at it!
As noted in my earlier post, Bethsoft is making sure you KNOW The Elder Scrolls series is a force to be reckoned with (or they at least want you to stay home a LOT more that you normally do). Their awesome $79.99 box set, The Elder Scrolls Anthology stormed into retail on the 10th (here in North America, $89.99 in Canada, European territories this Friday for €59.99 / £49.99 / $89.99 AUD) and YES, you need to buy this just for the hundreds of hours of adventuring plus the chance to make some of your own content if you so desire.
There’s a ton of stuff in that box to discover, so make this one your big gift to that favorite RPG fan (or for yourself if you want to become one).
In other Bethsoft news, October 8 marks the release date of Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition (whee!), which means I need to pick this one up as well:
As for what’s in THIS box, well, read on (below the jump!):
DOOM! Amusingly enough, today seems to be doomsday in terms of my posts. Anyway, aren’t these little demons Cute? Yes? No? maybe you just peed a little imagining one or both rolling out from under your bed or off a shelf in the dark to come after you for not cuddling them right out of the box? Yeah, well… next time you’ll know. Those ball lightning and fireball burns will only be first degree at best although I won’t help you come up with an excuse for those bite marks and scratches. “It was the dog/cat” only works once or twice. Hell is other people MOST of the time, but thanks to the Bethsoft online store, it can be small and fuzzy other demons. $15 each and yup, you need to buy both so if they happen to start fighting, you can hop out of bed and go sleep in the bathtub. Don’t forget to lock that door…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 