Well, THAT was fast! Tickets for the Babycastles Summit are NOW on sale here and yes, you should go if you’re in NYC and have even the faintest interest in gaming. getting the chance to interact with one of the guys behind Katamari Damacy should be enough to get you out the door, but there will also be a few other fun things to see and do.
That is all. Off to change the banner for August, as I have no idea what to do, image wise. Too much stuff going on!
OK, so I’m not following every drop of news about this new Bond film, but that’s because I’m too busy and I really hate ruining whatever surprises are in store by knowing the entire plot, characters and whatnot. That said, this one looks like it’s going to be the most interesting of the three Daniel Craig films (unless they manage to work in the skydiving Queen from last week’s Olympic ceremony!) on a few levels. November 9 is zooming up like that train at the end of the trailer and I’m happy that the film is looking better and better with each new bunch of clips.
I hadn’t heard of this film until a few days back when someone let me know there would be a long trailer going up this week along with a teaser site. Of course, I reserved judgment on the almost six-minute trailer until I got the chance to see the entire thing, as I still have burning headaches from overexposure to Speed Racer (OK, I caught it twice on cable – once to check it out, the second time to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating) and the last two Matrix movies. Anyway, this amazingly ambitious effects-heavy flick looks like something worth watching a few times just to catch everything, meaning it may do well at the box office, but it will probably do even better as a rental or outright purchase so those who get pulled into it can view it multiple times to catch anything they missed on the first viewing.
Things seem to be humming along quite nicely over at Firaxis in terms of their XCOM game ticking off all the boxes fans expect and I’m hoping the game does well enough at retail to convince the more stubborn dopes that the other XCOM game (where it’s been too damn quiet in terms of update news) will work as well. Hopefully 2K isn’t going to cave into the entitled whiners who complain too much about stuff they won’t buy, only to turn around and snap it up when it hits the bargain bin and end up liking it a lot more than the imaginary game they had in their heads based on a few screen shots and low-res movies of a work in progress that has a ways to go before completion.
As usual, we shall see…
As works in progress go, WRC 3 is looking mighty fine to my eyes. Of course, some rally purists or overly picky types who didn’t read that disclaimer at the beginning of the video that this is indeed a game that’s NOT completed are getting a wee bit cranky at the sound effects work in the trailer. I say give it a rest and see what happens. For me, if the gameplay is solid, I’ll just fiddle with the sound options if I find the engines too buzzy.
Let’s see now, stirring score to get you all hopped up for the SRPG action and deep story? Check. Lovely character artwork by Satoshi Urushihara (of Der Langrisser fame, among other things) lending a distinctly nostalgic feel to things? Check. PSP release on UMD (yes!) set to hit stores in a mere six days? Check. Thanks, Atlus (once again)… except where the heck am I going to find TIME to actually play this gem? Eh, you can’t get everything you ask for, right? I’ll just grab the game when I see it and figure out when I’ll have time to play it afterward. You can add yourself to that list of gamers needing to figure out how this time travel stuff is supposed to work by making a beeline to your favorite brick and mortar emporium on July 31… or pre-ordering it here
I’ve been quietly following United Front’s work on this one since it was announced and yes, I’m pretty happy with how this is coming together and hope it does great when it ships out. Amusingly enough, after watching all those gameplay videos and taking in the scope of the game (it’s going to be huge), I noted to a friend that all the game needed was puzzle or hidden object game elements to appeal to the super-casual crowd. Of course, Future US and Square Enix have kicked off the official site with… you guessed it, a hidden object mini-game that, while not for the casual crowd at all, does unlock a cool new gameplay video once you find all four objects in the rather cool interactive “marketplace” complete with people and items you’ll see in the game proper. Go on, check it out (you know you want to). August 14, 2012 is the big day, by the way – so get ready….
Here’s a new look at more on Disney Epic Mickey 2’s production, this time a quick peek at what it takes to put together the game’s story elements. This one’s on course to be even better than the first game in every aspect, so I can’t wait to see how it’s turned out. Hopefully, all these videos will appear on the retail disc so people can see that it takes a great deal of work to get a game like this into out hot little hands. As i always say, it’s all about respect, people…
Hey! If you’re in the NYC area, have some spending money ready for a couple of cool new items and don’t mind a bit of queuing up, well, here you go: two events worth getting up early for (or skipping work for if you’re employed and can actually get away for a bit without getting caught by the boss). The first is at Midtown Comics’ downtown location this Thursday where author Brandon T. Snider will be signing copies of the just released (and pretty sweet goodie-packed collectible) Insight Publications book, The Dark Knight Manual.
The second event is this Saturday at the Nintendo World Store where Square Enix will unveil the newest in the popular Kingdom Hearts series of games, KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance]. Both events should be pretty hectic, but I’d say Nintendo has the edge here, as every event I’ve ever been to at the store has been packed with freebie-loving fanboys and girls ready for their close-ups. Anyway, get to both early and enjoy the day if you’re headed to either.
If you know me, then you know I love a good rally game. WRC 3, headed to the PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Vita this year (well at least outside the US), absolutely looks like something I’ll want to play. Granted, since no one bothered to release the other two current-gen WRC titles in the U.S. of A., I’m a bit annoyed about that little issue (I’ll need to import the PS3 versions when I can find them cheap enough). From my poking around online as soon as I saw this trailer, it looks as if UK gamers will see this one in October, but I’m hoping a smart US publisher can snap this up at some point. Milestone has put out some fun racers over the years, but thanks to a new graphics engine and what’s looking like more attention to detail, WRC 3 could be the best game yet in the series. At least for the current console cycle, as Evolution Studios set itself the task of making the PS2 home to aome of the best rally games on a console with its five WRC games (only ONE of which was released stateside, boo! Thank goodness I also have a Japanese PS2 here). My fingers are officially crossed for a US release (retail, PLEASE), so let’s see what happens…
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