Assault Suit Leynos To Get PS4 Remake (Or: Target WORTH!)

Posted on March 8, 2014 by geelw

Well, alright! I’ve never heard of Japanese developer Dracue Software, but they certainly made a name for themselves at this year’s BitSummit in Japan by announcing they’re working on a remake of the classic Sega Mega Drive game Assault Suit Leynos. The game, known in the US as Target Earth, will be a PlayStation 4 exclusive (at least for now, but I hope a Vita version is in the pipeline). The only thing up media-wise other than the game site is this teaser trailer that’s all footage from the original with the reveal that the new game is PS4-bound:

Yep, it’s a buy whenever it’s done and hopefully won’t be either a download-only game that gets buried on PSN with little fanfare outside its home country or worse, play like the Assault Suits Valken “remake” for the Japanese PS2. THAT game was based on the Super Nintendo-only sequel to Leynos (called Cybernator here in the States) and the PS2 version was just a chore to play effectively thanks to cumbersome controls and pretty accurate enemy shooting. My hopes are for the best, as Leynos was and is a great game to play through multiple times. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the soundtrack stays the same as the original game or isn’t remixed and/or fiddled with too much. Eh, we’ll see… I have faith in Dracue to not screw this one up…

Strider Returns! My Hiryu Is Your Hiryu Now, Too…

Posted on February 19, 2014 by geelw

Eeek. To add to this silly and busy week, Capcom has released an reboot of Strider, the classic arcade game many of my gaming dollars went into back in the day. This new version is from developer Double Helix and looks pretty nifty and quite challenging. I’ll probably not get to this until the weekend, but I think I’m ready to have my ass handed to me a few times before I get through this one. We’ll see. It’s too bad this can’t be played on the Vita OR Wii U , but oh well (I still say why aren’t these on MORE platforms? Both the Vita and Wii U could use a fun and tricky retro platformer like this) Hmmm… I also see Dustforce also came out and I missed that launch last week (oops!). I need to check my inbox for a review code, I guess. Hey, I’ve been a bit busy here, people!

GOG.com Shows EA How Free-To-Play SHOULD Work With Dungeon Keeper…

Posted on February 14, 2014 by geelw

Okay, so it’s probably being done with EA’s approval partly to appease fans of the original and new players ticked off at the recently released mobile/tablet remake that’s been seen by some as a wallet draining arrow to the heart, but hey, gog.com is doing it up right.

You can boogie on over to gog.com NOW and get the original Dungeon Keeper Gold (which contains the Deeper Dungeons expansion pack) for FREE this weekend. In addition, you can grab Dungeon Keeper 2 for a paltry 1.49 (!), making this quite a sweet deal on Valentine’s Day. Amusingly enough, I snapped up this as soon as I saw it earlier this morning and got the following message:

BIG SUCCESS MY MINION! You’ll get your game soon! Minion, due to high demand, we will tell you when your free copy of Dungeon Keeper is ready via email in a little bit.

So, yeah… like the remake that has you wait HOURS if you choose not to pay your way into the game, it seems that it’ll take a bit of time before I can see the fruits of my clicky labors. Still, at least I’m getting an entire game and expansion for nothing here and not a grumpy face because some pay wall popped up and wants my credit card number. I guess this also shows that the classics never die (which is always a great thing) Thanks, gog.com!

Oh, there’s also a VERY nice sale happening, but you’ll see when you hit that front page…

2K Games and Bethesda Team Up For Legendary Reissues

Posted on February 11, 2014 by geelw

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!

Pac-Man Museum: Namco Bandai’s Fast Moving Fossil Still Rules.

Posted on February 9, 2014 by geelw

I can’t recall a year since 1980 that Pac-Man wasn’t playable on something so it’s good to see Namco Bandai keeping things rolling along with this latest collection that focuses exclusively on everyone’s favorite power pellet chomping, ghost chasing (or avoiding) round yellow hero. PSN, Xbox Live Arcade (February 25) and PC via Steam (February 26). You know you want to play even if you’re not a gamer. Hey, EVERYONE is lousy at Pac-Man until they suddenly get really good at it from playing too much. And if you don’t think that will happen, a ha ha ha… you’ll see. You’ll be dreaming of colorful ghosts and those oddball sound effects soon enough.

Double Dragon Neon Now On Steam: Get Yer 80’s Fix On (With A Bit of A Paradox)

Posted on February 6, 2014 by geelw

Double Dragon Neon is a throwback game for sure. It’s going to appeal to your backwards baseball cap, neon sunglasses wearing faux punk side while sporting nicely updated visuals, an awesome soundtrack and yes, won’t work on any computer rockin’ an OS older than Windows 7 (oops, an opportunity lost there, I say!). WayForward Technologies (again!) did a stellar job on this one on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade, so it’s a total no-brainer that today’s newly released the Steam version is as good or better in a few respects.

In a way, it’s also too bad this never got a retail release in some “retro” packaging from Midnight City (Majesco’s digital indie label), as it’s exactly the sort of game that could benefit from (and sell a few limited edition copies because of) some sort of box with a funky 80’s cover painting. Ah well. Anyway, if your nostalgia meter is tingling away, you know what to do, right? I’ll let you get to it then…

UPGRADE GET! Retro City Rampage DX Out Now For Nintendo 3DS

Posted on February 5, 2014 by geelw

Assuming you don’t own a Nintendo 3DS XL yet, here’s the one game that demands that larger screen real estate. Retro City Rampage DX is out now in the US via the eShop (2/20 in Europe) and adds a few fun things you’ll see in that video above (or at the game’s official site) Although it looks fine on the standard model, the extra size does make a huge difference. I’ve played this game on PC, PS3 and Vita (and it’s also out on WiiWare and Xbox LIVE Arcade), but it looks as if I’ll be diving in once more at some point just to get a few more nostalgic chuckles going. But not for a while, though. I’m doing the headless chicken thing at Toy Fair soon and am in the midst of poking through my inbox and setting up meetings. I need a secretary/helper monkey/game organizing librarian or something.

Ah well – I’m off to a late start today thanks to the stupid storm this morning. Back in a bit with more once I get out of the house…

VGA 101: Running the Gauntlet to Get Gauntlet IV Running…

Posted on February 4, 2014 by geelw

Sometimes, the simplest things can take way too long but the payoff is well worth it. I was recently in the mood to dig up a classic and had Gauntlet on the brain. Not just ANY Gauntlet, mind you, but Gauntlet IV on the Sega Genesis. That version of the game is not only four players, but has a few game modes not in the original arcade hit including a story-based RPG mode with a bunch of element themed levels and an ending that’s a total corker. Imagine my surprise when I went to my bookshelf full of Genesis and Mega Drive games and… there was no copy of Gauntlet to be found.

Eeek. Just when my eyebrow was shooting up over my forehead, I recalled that I’d traded my cardboard box version of the game for a second manual-less copy of Shadowrun (which I still need a manual for) and something else I needed a cart of that I had a box and manual for. Oops. So, I now needed a replacement and thanks to a bit of quick hunting around, I found a plastic-boxed version in really nice shape for $16 shipped. NOW, I could get playing…

Or not, as I soon found out… Continue reading →

Gog.com Makes Time Travel REAL With Their Latest Sale!

Posted on January 28, 2014 by geelw

A-ha, I KNEW IT! Of course, it wold be gog.com that discovered how to make time travel work, as they’re the KINGS of bringing us Good Old Games from the era before all this nasty DRM. Anyway, they’re doing you PC gamers a favor deluxe with their latest promotion, a DRM-Free Time Machine Sale that lets YOU choose how long a game stays up for sale (eek!) as the day creeps onward by adding or subtracting one second from each sale’s time limit. I’d actually prefer a straight up sale page over a gimmick like this, but it’s actually interesting because sod old farts like me will want certain games up longer than others so more of you kids can try them out. Anyway, go poke around on that page and check out a deal or five, I say. With classic PC games from 1983 and up going for as little as 59 cents, you may find yourself hanging out a bit longer than you thought.

Men Aren’t Useless #103: Behold, The BRIEFCASE ARCADE!

Posted on January 11, 2014 by geelw

Hey, last week I heard some loud ladies on the street say that “Men are useless!” and while I do indeed agree we are on some fronts, sometimes we knock it out of the park big time. Er, at least as far as making cool as hell stuff goes. Well, cool stuff that doesn’t involve actual explosives, booze or some sort of automatic magazine pin-up dispenser as an all-in-one solution to multiple non-problems.

I don’t even know who Travis Reynolds is, but he’s my *new* best friend because he has created the (ta-dah!) Briefcase Arcade or Businesscade or Briefcade. Some call it the “Arcase”, but that sounds kinda lame (to me at least). Oh, it’s not built completely from scratch, mind you – that would be TOO genius and make him automatic King of the Known Universe… Continue reading →