OK, Okay, Ooooo-Kaaaay. I’ll eventually get to the mighty Grand Theft Auto V at some point this month (or next). It’s pretty much a given that Rockstar has already and is going to continue to mop up the high scores with this one and although I’ve reviewed a previous GTA game in the past fairly quickly (I actually had about 30 hours to blow through GTA III and do up a long review for a magazine I wrote for back then), this one will take some time to peel back all of those layers.
Of course, leave it to the folks over at NWA World to take it a bit too extreme in terms of describing some of the game’s content. This one’s definitely NOT for the kids and that Mature rating means Rockstar is pushing that envelope right out the window. It’ll be fun watching the heads over at a certain cable network explode as they run “news” items about the game being “marketed to kids” when that’s never been the case at all. Oh well… just shut up and play it, I say. Or don’t if you don’t like the content. It’s not a mandated game experience, you know…
Yeah, yeah – I’m laaaaate to posting again, but I’ve been busy working through a bunch of games. One of which ISN’T Volgarr the Viking (now available on gog.com). Not that I don’t want to buy and play that awesome looking old-school hard as nails 2D action platformer, mind you. I’m actually OUT of space on all three of my hard drives and every portable drive I currently own. Ugh. Actually, I need to go through those drives because part of the reason I’m out of space is I accidentally backed up a complete drive onto another a while ago when I thought I was copying a few files and I don’t need everything I duplicated. I just haven’t gotten around to clearing out the drive because I’ll need to go through a load of files and that will take most of a day. Eh, one thing at a time, I suppose. I guess I’ll delete a few games I duplicated and add Volgarr and a few other things this week. I still have a few cheap indie bundles I spent a buck or two on that need to get added to my virtual stack of games to get to.
Got two bucks handy and an iPhone or iPad? Of course you do! Like to dance? Absolutely (even though you only do it when no one is around. Yes, I do KNOW these things). Good. Go get GO DANCE, Sega’s new app that’s a pure blast of fun bound to liven up any get together with some cool dancing and plenty of competitive action.
While that budget price point means only two songs are included with the app (LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem and Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass, more tracks are available (Flo Rida’s Wild Ones and Avicii’s Levels) as in-App purchases and more are on the way. The game uses the front-facing camera on your device to scan and track your face and torso allowing for some great and realistic dance action from your customizable onscreen avatar.
Well, well, well… I haven’t played I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream in about 15 years, but it’s definitely one of those games that sticks in the corners of your brain long after it’s been explored. Based on Harlan Ellison’s 1968 Hugo Award-winning story, this is an adventure game geared for adults that’s pretty unsettling and requires quite a bit of brainpower to make it through some of the trickier bits. Ellison himself appears in the game as the voice of AM, a not so benevolent supercomputer (OK, more like a slightly too malevolent supercomputer) that decided to put the last few remaining humans through the wringer in more ways than one. Best of all, gog.com has it now for a mere $5.99 and yes indeed, you sure look as if you need to be scared half to death this weekend.
Look at the bright side, though… at least you’ll be safe at home when you’re freaked out of your skin…
With so much happening this year in the gaming universe, I almost forgot about Quantic Dream’s upcoming PS3 exclusive, set for an October 8, 2013 release. The PS3 has had a really busy year with key first party exclusive titles as well as third party games that show the console is far from dead once the PS4 hits in November. Of course, it’ll be interesting to see how well this does going into the PS4 launch so soon afterwards. I predict it will sell better than some PS4 launch titles and if it scores highly enough, may actually go up in price thanks to eBay resellers taking advantage of smaller stores running out of copies. Either way, the game is guaranteed to move in some impressive numbers even if it’s at a slower pace than the usual analyst and corporate forecasting (which is always annoyingly high to the point where even a game that sells five million copies is seen as a “failure” because the target was a bit too high)…
In other words, the inmates have taken over the asylum and yes, Bats needs to do some darknight detecting and with due diligence at that or he’s not getting out in one piece. This 3DS/2DS and Vita game (set to launch with the console and PC versions on October 25, 2013) brings things down to size in “2.5D” form, but manages to look pretty cool and should feel like a classic side-scroller with a nice Arkham twist. Sure, you can get cranky and say the Vita game should be closer to the PS3 version, but here’s a case where I’ll defer to the dev team over at Armature because they’ve done a really good job with the visuals on both handhelds.
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comic Adventure is shaping up to be a weird little game indeed in a good way, with Maxwell meeting the DC Universe and playing hero with his heroes against some classic villains. The Wii U, 3DS/2DS and PC exclusive should be in stores and online September 24, 2013 and for a limited time, will come with a free digital comic, Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure – “A Battle Most Bizarre.”
Here, I have to get clippy with the press release below the jump (and there are some new screens to ogle as well), as stupid me forgot my power brick for the laptop and my time is bleeding away by the second (eek!)…
Well, that was… educational. Every time I see footage and screen shots from this upcoming wonderful time stealing enterprise called GTA V, I have to wonder how Rockstar Games keeps pulling this off, as each title in the long running series has been setting and raising all sorts of bars in terms of interactivity and storytelling. Yeah, yeah, I know many of you buy in for the mayhem you can cause, but when you get to the story and let it play out, they’re always extremely well written (and easily beat much of what Hollywood has to offer to death) and highly enjoyable. September 17th, people – start practicing that fake cough for that telephone call you’re going to make saying you’ve a bad case of the “flu” so you can get that week off to dive in and play around… you KNOW you’re going to…
This former big deal Wii U exclusive getting delayed from launch window status to September 3 just so it could be ported to other platforms as an equally big deal release (and all launched simultaneously) seems to be well worth the wait, although it also seems that Nintendo’s console is the best way to play this one based on what I’ve heard from a few folks. Nevertheless, the combination of outstanding visuals, breakneck pacing and an amazingly wacky and varied soundtrack make this one a must buy for anyone into “old school” gaming bliss. I hear the game is also pretty challenging if you have terrible reflexes, but that’s par for the course with games such as this. Well, that’s another one for the library once I get around to getting it. That Wii U library is slowly getting better, folks…
It’s a great thing that One Piece Pirates Warriors 2 demo on display at Namco Bandai’s press event a few weeks back was timed or they’d have had to drag me away from the controller. I’m a big fan of the Dynasty Warriors/Sengoku Musou series and the games that use the same formula and/or game engine and while last year’s One Piece game was solid, it had a few flaws in the ointment that made some parts slightly annoying. OPPW2 completely nixes the quick time events from the original’s boss battles and has a more free form style in terms of how much there is to do and how you can get it all done. There’s a new leveling system where you can used earned gold to train characters and even the ability to temporarily switch characters during gameplay by building up a special meter.
Developer Omega Force is at the top of its game here, packing the huge battlefields with even more enemies, ridiculously stylized (and hilarious) special attacks and that trademark Musou gameplay that’s addictive and challenging on the higher difficulties. As with the first game, the wacky art style of the anime translates fantastically to 3D with the assorted cast members retaining their exact likenesses and expressions from the show and bringing more to the table thanks to a dev team clearly having a blast doing what they do so well. I keep wondering when Omega Force will finally do a Tekken game in this style or even better, a crazy Namco Bandai character mash-up that’s part Musou, part Super Smash Bros. (of course, some hard core Nintendo fans will want to beat me up for even suggesting this, but I can handle it).
Like the first game, North American gamers are only getting this as a download through PSN while Japan gets this as a disc game, download and as a separate Vita release. Granted, this is exactly the sort of niche title that won’t move as many units as it will in its home country, but I think Namco Bandai should bend a wee bit and reach out more directly to the fan base just to see if they’d indeed buy this as a disc if were to be made available. Even better would be both One Piece games on a single Blu-Ray if possible for a fair price, but as usual, that’s more wishful thinking on my part. Anyway, US gamers get this one soon (September 3, 2013), so keep your eyes peeled and your fingers limber. You don’t want to seize up from a bad case of “controller claw” or anything right as that boss battle gets underway…
OK, Okay, Ooooo-Kaaaay. I’ll eventually get to the mighty Grand Theft Auto V at some point this month (or next). It’s pretty much a given that Rockstar has already and is going to continue to mop up the high scores with this one and although I’ve reviewed a previous GTA game in the past fairly quickly (I actually had about 30 hours to blow through GTA III and do up a long review for a magazine I wrote for back then), this one will take some time to peel back all of those layers.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 