Gravity “Now Playing” Spots 1 & 2: What Are You Doing At Home Reading This?

Posted on October 4, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, YOU. get out there and go see this one before somebody you know does and blabs out the ending or whatever. Amusingly enough, I can’t even see it if I wanted to in a non-3D version as the movie theater near me closed down (!) with no notice. Which stinks as there used to be three or four within walking distance many years back and they’re all something else now. BOO. If I want to go to the movies now, it’s a few miles walk or a bus trip (but I’m a cheap bastard and I’d probably hoof it on a nice day). So go see this and if you run into me on the way to the movies, don’t tell me a damn thing, grrr…

Sniper Elite 3 Trailer: Rebellion’s Up for Another Shot. Are You?

Posted on October 4, 2013 by geelw

Talk about going out with a bang. 505 Games and UK developer Rebellion are following up their successful Sniper Elite V2 and Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army with a new game that leaves a destroyed Berlin for the hot and dusty sands of Africa (or that’s what I’m gathering from this trailer). Granted, blasting holes in assorted Nazis may not be your cup of tea and nope, this isn’t a historical recreation at all, folks. But there’s always that odd satisfaction one gets from this series of tinkering with old history one bullet at a time for all the right reasons, of course…

Your Friday Evening Slight Freakout, Courtesy Frictional Games

Posted on October 4, 2013 by geelw

Hmmm. It looks as if Frictional Games is working on a new horror game and as this slow burner of a live action teaser shows, it will have a sci-fi angle. I’m a huge fan of the developer’s three Penumbra games and Amnesia: The Dark Descent and while I’ve yet to play their latest, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs (developed by The Chinese Room), the mixed reactions I’ve seen and heard make me more intrigued because it seems some were expecting one thing and got something else entirely that stands up on its own for the most part. Anyway, the new game (which seems to be titled SOMA) already has a teaser site up that’s intentionally designed to look a bit glitchy, so don’t freak out if you click on that link and see some garbage on your screen for a spell.

As for gameplay and screens? Well, I guess I’ll keep an egg peeled on my inbox and see what pops up in there. Back in a bit with more on this one once that happens…

Thief “The Bank Job” Pre-Order Bonus Has Me Thinking Stolen Thoughts…

Posted on October 2, 2013 by geelw

…As in I’ve seen plenty of annoying comments from people who think this game will be awful because Looking Glass Studies isn’t working on it, the color palette is too blue and black, the “stealth” seems easier and so forth and so on. All of this by looking at movies and screens from a game that’s not even done. Wow, the psychic prowess on internet trolls is REMARKABLE sometimes (well, ALL the time), isn’t it? I say shut up and wait for that knock on the door that will be followed by a conk to the noggin if you were silly enough to fling that door wide open without checking first. It’ll be Garrett reminding you that this reboot is probably going to have some stuff you haven’t yet seen and might actually be fun if you pipe down and hold out for a demo and/or maybe some ratings (although, if you rely on those solely to buy games, there’s something mildly to moderately wrong with you). Opinions are only worth the time to read these days if the person is at least INFORMED, not speculating to the point of draining the brainpower of anyone who reads their scribblings about how little they know about everything and how that lack of fact makes them an “expert” because the scream the loudest and their soapbox has spinning rims or whatever…

Gravity “Experience the Third Dimension” Featurette: Your Wallet Will Be Lighter, That’s For Sure…

Posted on October 2, 2013 by geelw

Ooh, look! it’s future home video commentary (I’ll bet you a whole dollar on that, dear readers). While the film is getting some VERY solid scores across the board so far from early screenings, I still can’t justify paying close to $30 for a movie ticket, transportation and food to see this ONE time. It’s definitely the first 3D film I’ve been interested in seeing, but IMAX seems to be the way to go based on the gushing reviews. I’m not that guy who follows mandates like this, so I’m hoping the upcoming Blu-Ray/DVD looks great projected on the wall in the DAF living room. That or my pal George Clooney spots me some ticket money. Hell, I’ll even chase Sandra Bullock around like a nicer paparazzi without a camera if she’ll get me in to see this. Hmmm. perhaps an IMAX “Lite” theater needs to be created for us cheap bastards that aren’t into “experiences” and more into movies for their stories and acting. Of course, where I live, that Lite theater would be a couple of guys with sledgehammers knocking a hole in the wall of whatever IMAX theater is closer and charging less for a ticket, but MORE for a pair of used 3D specs. Ugh.

Valhalla Knights, Free Ahead of Vallhalla Knights 3? THANKS, Xseed Games!

Posted on October 1, 2013 by geelw

Well, now… this is really cool news on an otherwise crappy shutdown filled day. TO celebrate the October 15 launch of Valhalla Knights 3, Xseed Games is giving fans a REAL treat in the form of a 100% FREE download of the first game in the series. Valhalla Knights is now available on PSN for nothing at all until October 21, 2013. In other words, if you’ve a PSP or Vita handy (it’ll work on either handheld) and a PlayStation Network account you can get downloading NOW and check out where it all began.And nope, you DON’T need a PlayStation Plus account to take advantage of this awesome freebie!

I’ve already played this one a few years ago, but it was the UK version and those saves aren’t compatible with the North American version. That comes into play here as I recently scored a bunch of used Memory Stick Duo cards and one card had a VK save file I couldn’t access. Now I can hop into those old saves and see if the former owner had a decent party setup (before overwriting them with my own saves, of course)…

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Main Trailer: The Little People, Back At Work Again…

Posted on October 1, 2013 by geelw

Er, NO… that’s not what the idiots who look down on us from D.C. will be thinking once they come to some of their senses and stop scaring the hell out of half the country with their needless grade school tantrum antics. It’s the official trailer to the second part of Peter Jackson’s latest Middle-Earth saga. I still need to see the first one (and thankfully, cable will be taking care of that soon enough), and I don’t plan to pay to see this one in a theater at all, but I’ll shoot over to a screening if I can get a pass. Speaking of getting a pass, I’m kind of burned out on these literary epics anyway, but I’d LOVE it if someone were to challenge making a great film our of something like Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination, Stanislaw Lem’s Eden, something from an Asimov or Bradbury WITHOUT messing it up with stupid action scenes and terrifically inappropriate casting decisions. Hell, make a serious animated flick for the cost of some overpaid superstar and I’m a happy camper.

Granted, SELLING that sort of creative film project to an challenged audience who wants to see those star faces and CG explosions is the real rub to deal with…

Gravity TV Spot 6: “And Now I’m Mad About Space Junk”

Posted on September 30, 2013 by geelw

I actually had a crazy dream the other night that the end credits to Gravity were going to be Devo’s 1978 tune “Space Junk”, but we know that’s not going to happen (although it would be a pretty darn amusing joke… well, to me at least. Can you believe DEVO has been around for 40 years? Well, their first LP was release in 1978, but the group first got together in 1972/73! Of course, if you have to ask “Who’s DEVO?”, you need a proper conversion. No need to do anything, dears… it’s all been arranged. Just step outside during the next full moon and look up to the northwest. Things will happen and you’ll be converted. Um, take a good umbrella or even better, a hardhat and remember to not forget to close those peepers. It may sting a little…

More Endings! Doctor Who Reminds You It’s Soon Time For A Big Change…

Posted on September 29, 2013 by geelw

OK, so this teaser is ten seconds of “just you wait and see what’s coming”, but oh well. That holiday show should be a doozy, as each new Doctor means we lose an old one and it’ll probably be in some not too amusing manner given the path this past season has taken. I wonder who, if anyone from this arc will be around with the next Doctor, but on the other hand… change is good in this series if the proper cast is round up. Alrighty then… 33 minutes to Breaking Bad (and hell if I’m going to be online while that’s on).

Gravity TV Spots 4 & 5: Heavy Rotation and Airtime Thoughts…

Posted on September 28, 2013 by geelw

OK, I missed an update thanks to me not watching “normal” TV for a few days last week, but here you go. Everything I’m hearing about this is good, which is kind of rare in that there’s usually at least one or two detractors about any sci-fi film. On the other hand, this is supposed to be a “hard” Sf flick and the buzz on the realism is (so far) also positive. Granted, I can’t think of any time in the past when an event such as this happened, but I’ll let the science geeks have at it once they see the film and decide to pick it apart for things their bigger brains note as incorrect. Although… how would they know unless *gasp!*… they’re frequent space travelers themselves… or aliens.