The Bard’s Tale Unfolds on GOG.com – Ye Olde, Yet New-ish School Fun…

Posted on January 30, 2013 by geelw

I’m old enough to remember the classic original trilogy (I didn’t get around to playing them until the late 1990’s) and this not quite remake/reboot from 2004 that got decent reviews (I even reviewed it for one site back in the day) and I say you should try it out even if you’re a fan of the older games who doesn’t like more action-oriented experiences. You get those three vintage games as a bonus with this newer one (so there!) and the team at inXile Entertainment actually made quite a hilarious experience to dive into. While the gameplay is purely action/RPG (in the visual and gameplay vein of the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath games), the writing is really funny for the bulk of the Bard’s adventure and there are even “follow the bouncing ball” musical numbers that may have you single along even if you thought you wouldn’t… Continue reading →

Random Indie Game of the Week: Driftmoon Hands-On Update

Posted on January 27, 2013 by geelw

It’s allllmost done, folks. Ville and Anne Mönkkönen’s refreshingly fun (and funny) blend of adventure and role-playing as gotten a ton of fixes including new skills, all sorts of little and big optimizations and is shaping up to be a great blend old and new school genre fans looking for something really unique should absolutely buy. Go play the latest demo and see for yourself. I’ll wait, but while I’m waiting, a short report on what’s new:

When we last left our hero (in a previous demo build), an important item was acquired, a relative was rescued and there was a nice air of “this is really going to be even more fun!” at the expected abrupt ending. Picking up right from that save, the game gets funnier and a bit more challenging as new enemies and plenty of nice surprises awaited with further exploration. One thing new players will NEED to learn (other than adjusting to the top-down camera angle, but there’s a potential slight options tweak being considered) is the importance of moving or activating certain objects in the game world to uncover assorted secrets. I found a new room in the old dungeon I was on the way out of by extinguishing a torch (hey!), and there were a wealth of cool items under chairs, chests, wooden boards and heavy rocks (among other places)… Continue reading →

Ni no Oopsie: Namco Bandai Sells Out of Wizard’s Edition A Wee Bit Too Early…

Posted on January 26, 2013 by geelw

Well, it’s getting stellar early reviews from the critics and fans who’ve gotten their copies on day one, but it seems that some folks who ordered the Wizard’s Edition of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch in North America had to “settle” for a refund and $20 coupon after the publisher seems to have not produced enough copies of the limited edition to go around to those who paid for it. Oops. Digital River, the distributor for the game issued the following statement:

“We apologize for the discrepancies you may have encountered with your order of Namco Bandai’s Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – Wizard’s Edition. As one of our valued customers, we want to assure you that a Digital River representative will be reaching out to you individually via email to address your specific issue. We sincerely appreciate your patience as we work through this situation”

In plain English… Oops… Continue reading →

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Is in Stores Now. If You Own a PS3, Buy It.

Posted on January 22, 2013 by geelw

Granted, if you own a PS3 and all you play is the yearly Madden, CoD or other manly-man, chest-puffing, square-jawed games that require hyphenation when describing them, welllll… perhaps you shouldn’t buy this. But then again, why the hell not, I say? I think you should take a well-deserved break from the testosterone-fueled sausage-fests and get out in the beautiful virtual outdoors only Level-5 and Studio Ghibli can bring your way, courtesy of Namco Bandai Games, of course. No matter what sort of beefy action or sports games you like, you absolutely NEED to dive into something lighter (but still challenging). Ni no Kuni offers up some absolutely beautiful visuals, a score for the ages, surprisingly tough battles and many hours of content that doesn’t require you hanging out online downloading or waiting on your stumble-bum buddies to roll out of bed or back home from whatever they were doing when they were supposed to meet up with you hours ago. Anyway, STORY matters as well (yeah, I watch stuff on AMC. So sue me), and this game will make you more emotional than the time you accidentally rubbed your eye while eating those hot wings last week while watching your team lose and not make the playoffs. Yeah, that’s right – you need a good game that will hook you in and make you care about more than some bad call a guy with bad eyesight in a striped shirt made. Anyway, I bet you know someone who’d play this game even if YOU won’t… so get up off that sofa, you slug and do the right thing… You’ll be a more rounded gamer for it, trust me…

BioShock Ultimate Rapture Edition: Now Bundled For Your Gaming Pleasure…

Posted on January 21, 2013 by geelw

In case you missed out on the original award-winning BioShock and its sequel, 2K Games has done you a huge favor and bundled the pair together as the Ultimate Rapture Edition along with every bit of download content for both games and yes, you can grab this NOW at your favorite brick & mortar or online game emporium as a retail version for the PS3 and Xbox 360. If you happen to be one of those folks who lives in a shoebox and has no space of who just wants your games digitally, methinks you are out of luck, you console hating loopy soul, you. For the record, neither game has much to do with the upcoming BioShock Infinite save for certain gameplay elements, unsettling enemy designs and a story that tosses a few moral curve balls your way as you play. I’ve got both games here, but no DLC for them, so I may just pick this up at some point. The $29.99 price tag (which includes $40 of bonus content) is certainly right on the money and I can see a few new players grabbing this up to play before 2K Games and Irrational get their new game out the door on March 26 of this year.

Champagne for everybody! Or, at least the nose-tickling bubbles part, given the underwater city setting and all those Big Daddies and Little Sisters you’ll be interacting with in both titles. If you’re one of those jaded types saying “Aw, who wants to play THOSE old games?”, well, kid – the classics never, ever die. SO shaddup and eye yer oatmeal, ya brats – I put broccoli in it with some sugar so you won’t even notice. Damn kids…

Review: Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable

Posted on January 20, 2013 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: SANDLOT

Publisher: D3Publisher of America

# of Players: 1 – 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A (95%)

Much more than a straightforward “port” of the former Xbox 360 exclusive, Earth Defense Force 3 Portable comes screaming onto the Vita as the game developer Sandlot most likely wanted to make in the first place. The return of Pale Wing and her energy-based weaponry (from EDF 2 on the PS2 and EDF 2 Portable PSP) adds a new way to experience the game while an up to four-player co-op mode, rebalanced and all-new weapon drops, new enemy types, trophies galore and seven new levels makes this an absolute must-buy for anyone with a Vita. For those who’ve played the 360 version to death, there’s definitely enough new content there to get you equally obsessed (and yes, perhaps it’s finally time to get that Vita if you’ve been on the fence). Don’t let that $39.99 price point for a download put you off one bit, as there are dozens, if not over a hundred hours of gameplay here, especially if you’re looking to grab one really hard to obtain Platinum Trophy.

Continue reading →

Pandora’s Tower (YES!) Headed to Wii This Spring (Thanks Again, Xseed!)

Posted on January 19, 2013 by geelw

Holy Cats. I hadn’t expected the last Wii RPG on the list of the final three major ones fans have been clamoring for to ever get the OK for a US localization, but Xseed Games comes through yet again thanks to the successes of Mistwalkers stunning epic, The Last Story as well as Nintendo having a hit with the very well received Monolith game Xenoblade Chronicles in 2012. Anyway, color me thrilled to see one more (and one final) Wii RPG coming out. Gambarion’s gorgeous Pandora’s Tower seems to be the fastest-paced and most action oriented of the three games with time being a factor in terms of what sort of ending players will reach. Granted, this also looks to be a game that bets on players going through it many times to see everything it has to offer (which is absolutely fine with me)…

As good as this news is, I’m hoping we get to see one final Wii game headed stateside. While it’s not a JRPG, the Sandlot-developed all-out action game Zangeki no Reginleiv is BEGGING for a US localization. Yeah, yeah, Nintendo published it in Japan and ignored an English translation so Xseed will need to convince them that the game is indeed worthy of a plane trip west. I say if they poll their fan base and get the proper response, it’s entirely possible that we get one final Wii hit. Unless Sandlot is quietly working on a Wii U update in HD (which would be even better because they can fix a few technical issues the original game has and perhaps add GamePad support so two players can have at it with or without split screen). Anyway, go pre-order PT from GameStop or Amazon (both sites list a March 26, 2013 release date, which is coming sooner than you think) if you’re dancing around the room because of the news.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory Trailer: Your Daily Dose of Too Many Anime Sweets…

Posted on January 17, 2013 by geelw

I still haven’t decided to buy this one yet thanks to me not having enough time to dive back into another lovely new JRPG that’s going to eat up too much free time and well, me just being on the outs with the super-kawaii stuff for the time being (don’t worry, my time away from the genre won’t last more than a few months). Of course, watching the trailer made me almost change my mind, so perhaps that was a bad idea (for me and a good thing for NISA’s online shop if I decide to order a copy). And nope, Ni no Kuni doesn’t count as part of this category – that one was a must buy and play from the moment I found out it was getting a US localization…

Review: Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD (PS Vita)

Posted on January 16, 2013 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: Just Add Water

Publisher: Oddworld Inhabitants

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A

Even if you’ve already bought and played the PS3 version back in 2011 or still own the original 2005 Xbox release, it’s absolutely worth picking up Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD on the Vita just to see how well the game was tweaked for the system. As with the console version, the reworked HD visuals from the Xbox game, smooth animation, newly recorded voice acting and other features translate quite nicely to Sony’s portable. It also holds up incredibly well as a stellar single-player game thanks to a great story with an excellent plot twist or two, some fine and witty dialog and a great Oddworld vibe that’s still fresh today as it was back in 2005. There are some issues with the touchpad and game camera being a wee bit too touchy, but otherwise, the game is a solid effort that’s long and often challenging if you’re trying for the least violent means of playing through the game. Continue reading →

DmC Hits Retail, Kicks Haters In The Groin Area By Actually Being Good

Posted on January 15, 2013 by geelw

See, I told you Ninja Theory could knock this out of the park. The game is getting some decent reviews all around and yes, it’s still not stopping the crazier conspiracy theorists out there who’ve been saying Capcom “paid off” people for those scores. Worse still are the folks picking apart reviews for their negative points about the game and using them as ammunition to claim the game isn’t good at all because there are issues that keep it from the “perfection” they think every game needs to meet their standards or whatever. Of course, neither Capcom nor Ninja Theory are going to pay any of these folks any mind at all because they had total confidence in the end result. That said, I did see a funny in-game cinema that seems to poke the haters in the eye for all that bile they’ve been spewing from the moment the game was announced. Eh, whatever – congratulations to the developer, publisher and any fans who respect both companies and are enjoying the hell out of DmC on the PS3 and Xbox 360. PC owners, you get your chance to dive in and beat the crap out of demons on January 25…

(And… here’s the PS3 trailer just to rub it in a little more…the game is good. Deal with it! Or maybe actually PLAY it and enjoy all the hard work NT has done!)