NowPlaying: Alien Isolation (Or: Let’s See How Long I Can Last)…

Posted on October 7, 2014 by geelw

So, yeah – here we go. let’s see now: phone off the hook? Check. Clean underwear at the ready? Check. Ear out for UPS/Fed Ex in case I get some surprise packages from a PR contact (and/or my SUPER late Think Geek order that’s almost a month old, grrrr?): Check! I think I should eat something too, but I’ll pop into the kitchen while the game is installing and make something quick. Did someone say cheese pierogi with sauteed onions? I think that’s what my stomach was screaming, so that will get taken care of (thank you, stomach!). I think I have some (*ding!*) Gold’s Horseradish left. Hmmm… let me check… (*ding!*) Yep, with beets, at that. Okay, I’m set for the day.

Oh, that flower? It’s there because it’ll probably be the nicest thing I see all day. Back in a bit – maybe later this afternoon or evening with some sort of “I’m too %#$^@! scared to move” update. Maybe.

STYX: Master of Shadows Launch Trailer: Time to get Sneaky, Sneaky With the Ugly Shorty…

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

Okay, he’s kind of cute in that way ugly little goblins can be cute under the right light and without too much alcohol in one’s belly (never get drink around a goblin!), but yes, STYX: Master of Shadows is out tomorrow on Steam and for the PS4 and Xbox One. I’m hoping his one does well, as Cyanide Studios has put a lot of work into this game and it looks like their most polished title to date. We’ll see what the scores say, although I’m betting some reviewers “get” this game and what it’s trying to do while others don’t. I almost wish this was on the older consoles just so more people would show interest in what’s here, but hey – you can’t push those new systems as much of you drop four versions of the same game on the first day. That and the more developers who get used to the new hardware and can craft games that show off what they can do, the better for sales of those systems. Allegedly. Anyway, this one seems worth a closer look, folks…

Alien Isolation Launch Trailer: At Home, Everyone Will Hear You Scream…

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

It’s almost here and yours truly will be popping up at a certain retailer bright and early to snap up my copy and trot back home so I can dive in feet first and come up for air with knuckles and hair all white from fear. Yay, fear! Hmmmm. I should e dreading this experience a bit more because I’ve not been really freaked out by any horror game in a while.

On the other hand, I’m knowing I’m going to enjoying seeing what The Creative Assembly has cooked up for people like me who’ve been following this from the shadows who want to go in cold and not have spoilers hitting us on the head because we hung out on the right message boards and want our “fun” spoiled. Of course, I’m less expecting this to be “fun” and more expecting it to be “Holy $#!+, I can’t take another step because I’m TOO damn scared, but that damn Alien is somewhere in the room, Gyaaaaaah!”…

Or something like that. (sings) The sun will come out, tomorrow… Hmmmm. I wonder if they sell cork panels at the K-Mart across from the game shop? I may need a bunch to line the living room with so my neighbors don’t keep calling the cops on me. “GYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

TRI Hands-On: Rat King Games Wants You to Go After the Fox…

Posted on October 5, 2014 by geelw

Okay, my preview for TRI is a bit late (the game drops onto Steam this Tuesday), but this is one of those wonderful indie gems that NEEDS to be played and enjoyed. Developer Rat King Games has made a fun and very challenging first-person puzzle/platformer that’s got influences from Portal and Okami to even a teeny-tiny bit of Minecraft. The build I spent some time with offered up some fine and challenging large levels that grew progressively trickier and from that simple tutorial, opened up into a game that’s going to surprise fans of quirky visuals and complex gameplay that keeps you hooked in. Come meet the Odd Gods and stay for a while – you’ve got a fox to catch (if you can)…

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D4 Needs Me, But I Don’t Have That Xbox One Yet…

Posted on October 5, 2014 by geelw

Despite some solid reviews from folks that appreciate its weirdness, I’ve heard that the episodic adventure experience known as D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die doesn’t seem to be selling in decent enough numbers… yet. Granted, so far it’s only the first two chapters of what’s going to be a multi-part story and I’m betting that some Xbox One owners are holding out for some sort of complete disc or download version so they can play the entire game from start to finish. On the other hand, I also know that there are a good deal of people who yes, don’t want to play this game on anything but the hardware they own and I can respect that side of the argument to some extent. Between them and the crowd that ignores odd and innovative games like this because they refuse to step outside their comfort zone, that’s probably a lot of gamers missing out on what seems to be quite an interesting adventure… Continue reading →

Mythos: The Beginning – Dark Gaia Studios Back In Action With This Horror/RPG Must-Buy!

Posted on October 5, 2014 by geelw

Say, do you love horror-themed games and trying new titlesVideo that should scare you up good and right? Well, you need to go slap down six bucks for Mythos: The Beginning NOW (or later today, if it’s too bloody early in the morning for you. Hey, I couldn’t sleep, so here’s a post for you). What? You’re a skeptic, are you? Well, go download the demo and try out a portion of the game and don’t be surprised if you wake up later with six bucks missing from your wallet and the game’s title screen glaring at you from your monitor. For me, it’s the 1930’s setting, the creepy atmosphere, the RPG Maker visuals that give the game a nice 16-bit look and yep, D. Robert Grixti’s writing style that gets under your skin and sticks there for a bit. Ooooooh, I’m getting cold now… wait, I left the window open (oops!).

(Thanks, Genocider Rina!)

No, seriously, it’s a great and creepy game with a nice Lovecraftian vibe and the fact that you create your own character and play as him or her investigating a not so right asylum adds a nice personal touch to the proceedings. Okay, I’ll shut up and let you go try this one out. And BUY it. Or else. Hey, one to one support for indie developers like Dark Gaia Studios means they get more money without their work getting forever lost on some big mega-site before they have a chance to shine, so go make DRG happy!

New Rollers of the Realm Trailer: Some Puzzles With Your Pinball/RPG? Sure, Why Not?

Posted on October 3, 2014 by geelw

Rollers of the Realm is getting better and better, isn’t it? Phantom Compass’ upcoming hybrid game set to be published by Atlus in November is certainly looking even more polished (like a gigantic shiny new pinball) in this new trailer and I’m betting PS4 and Vita owners will be more than pleased with the plot, puzzles and play in this game when they finally get their hands on it. I’m still going back to that super aged preview build I have for PC just to get a whiff of what to expect and it’s so clear that the game’s going to exceed expectations on a few key fronts. I’m not sure Atlus needs to run another trailer until the November release, but I won’t complain at all if they do. That’s just one more opportunity to reach out and get a few more sales from potential pinballers who might not have gotten the good word already.

Back with more if more is on the way, as usual…

Alien Isolation #HowWillYouSurvive Final Update: Last Chance to Stomp Down to the Store, But Have an Egg First!

Posted on October 3, 2014 by geelw

So, some early reviews are in and it seems that the reviewers that got it REALLY got it good and that’s a good thing. The ones that didn’t? Well, they came in looking for the wrong game and yep, boy were they surprised at the game not being what THEY wanted and what the developer intended. You have to love that sort of misguided missile writing, ladies and gents.

Anyway, as Sega seems to not like me, I’ll still be buying this one on Tuesday and reviewing it a bit later than the madding crowd that already has. But that’s just fine by me because I don’t plan on rushing this through at all. Nor one bit. Nope.

As for that eggy breakfast, Well… I’d like one of these, please. It can fit in the living room in place of that stupid recliner or the other chair that just dropped its lousy, crumbling cloth underside on the carpet like a misbehaving pet. Yuck. Anyway, I should probably catch up on some sleep over the weekend, as I’m betting Alien Isolation will be keeping me awake and creeping into my sleeping time for a while…

Jet Car Stunts Launch Trailer: Get a Grip With This Speedy Arcade Racer Next Tuesday on PS3 & Vita

Posted on October 3, 2014 by geelw

Welly, well-well. I’ve actually never played Grip Games‘ rhater awesome looking Jet Car Stunts, but after seeing this trailer, I really want to see if I can survive some of those treacherous track designs. While this is already out (as of October 1) on mobile and Xbox Live, I rarely play mobile games all of my Xbox 360’s are dead and I want to play this on the Vita and PS3 anyway just because I still use those systems the most and despite what some editor-types are saying, neither one is quite “dead” just yet. Flying cars may not be a reality again for a while, but this could be the next best thing. Well, provided you have no fear of heights, falling, bright cartoon colors and what look like Hot Wheels cars with pop up aerodynamic handling. I’m in on all this, so next week will be a fun one. Hell, I’ll need SOMETHING bright and cheery to take me away from Alien Isolation and its relentless horror, so this may be the game I grab when I need a break.

Kromaia Hands-On: Blasting Cool Looking Stuff Four Ways ’til Sunday (Well, Any Day of the Week)…

Posted on October 1, 2014 by geelw

Kraken Empire’s upcoming space shooter Kromaia is going to be one of those games genre fans will be more than pleased to see thanks to the stellar visuals and intuitive control scheme (provided you use a keyboard/mouse or decent game controller). Rising Star Games has wisely snapped this one up for a Q4 2014 release and I recently got my paws on some preview code to take for a spin. And spin I did, as the ships in the game are all kinds of maneuverable thanks to the six degrees of movement through the game’s enemy and obstacle-packed levels..

The preview build had four different levels and four types of ships to play around with, each linked to one of the stages. While I could sit here and make comparisons to Star Fox, Panzer Dragoon, Rez and other excellent sci-fi or fantasy shooters where you’re set on a path without much deviation, Kromaia outdoes those games by allowing you to go anywhere you point that ship you’re flying. There are clear goals in each map, but you can choose to go off what you thought was a predetermined path and zip around at your leisure while trying not to get blown into plenty of pixels by the nicely aggressive enemy AI…

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