Kid Icarus: Uprising How To Play (Part 2): Multiplayer Massiveness

Posted on March 23, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm…. I’m not a huge multiplayer fan, especially in a game such as KI: U where the story should be the big focal point (after all this time away from the gaming scene, it should be grand and thrilling, right?). However, the temptation of hundreds of weapons (loot!) is something that may have some solo players out there handing out Friend Codes like water in the desert. Or buying a 3DS at some point if they don’t own one yet so they can play this game. I’d also imagine those who fall into the latter category will also want to check out a few other games, as buying a system just for ONE title is a bit goofy (especially as the 3DS library has a number of fine games for nearly any type of gamer)…

The Walking Dead Debut Trailer: Proof That Good Zombie Games Aren’t Dead (Yet)…

Posted on March 23, 2012 by geelw

The whole “add zombies to anything” style of game making is finally playing itself shuffle by shuffle after much success, but Telltale Games is definitely doing it up right in their upcoming episodic series based on the award winning comic. Actually, Based AROUND that award-winning comic would be a better description, as the game looks to introduce a whole new set of characters and situations rather than do the “expected” thing and let players dink around with what’s already in the comic (and on the TV show). Of course, some internet ranters aren’t hip to this and are giving the company both barrels on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else they can set up a soapbox and bleat away mindlessly. Obviously, “Braaaaaaaaiiinnnns!” aren’t doing too well working, so even if Telltale and Kirkman sent a barn full of walkers out to get the haters, they’d all come back more pissed off because half those heads they chewed on were empty already (or filled to the brim with bile, yuk).

Personally, I rather like that the game isn’t trying to expand the older stories because there are absolutely a ton of other tales that can be told about other survivors, so you won’t be hearing any complaints from this direction. As for those excellent “making of” videos that have also been posted by Telltale, I’ll be dropping those into the other blog later this afternoon or so, as I’m about to go to bed. I’ve a long day later on – got a 7am wake-up call inbound, so I’ll be the one at the train station looking like a zombie, eek!

Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad Launch Trailer: Fast, Cheap And Out Of Control (In The Best Possible Way)…

Posted on March 22, 2012 by geelw

Based on this gamplay footage and info from the press release, 2XL’s new off-road racer is looking like pretty slick stuff. It also looks as if D3Publisher of America has a hot little hit on their hands here for PSN and XBLA. It’s too bad this wasn’t tossed on a disc as a budget game under a US “Simple 2000” series or something like that, as I could see this being the PERFECT impulse item at a Wal-Mart or some other retailer where you’d see a beefy pickup or three towing some ATV’s or dirt bikes in the parking lot. This is just that sort of game you’d like to have handy while on the road traveling between race events when you’re in the back of the camper and there’s nothing to do but play a fun game because you’re in an area with crappy internet service.

Ridge Racer Unbounded’s City Editor Should Settle The Rumbles On The Street Down A Tad…

Posted on March 22, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm. Here in the US, Namco Bandai seems to be tiptoeing on eggshells when it comes to hyping Bugbear’s upcoming game and that’s too bad. I’m gathering the jaded types that have been slamming them since the game was announced is flummoxing their PR team here as they try and get the good word out over the drone of haters who want nothing but the same old Ridge Racer with very few changes (or more of the same with a few modern tweaks). I see it like this: when you have a developer that’s already done some excellent racing games working on a spin-off of a world famous franchise, you should be more than confident that the game coming is going to be worthy of the name. That said, this City Editor trailer from the UK should go a long way in quelling the stream of leaky gas fumes coming from some out there who just seem to have nothing good to say about a game they haven’t even played yet. As I’ve said before, at the end of the day, it’s all about respect (and actually spending quality time with what you’re criticizing so much)…

Warriors Orochi 3 Has Over 120 Playable Characters. You’ll Need A Few New Controllers Before It’s Done, I’d Bet…

Posted on March 22, 2012 by geelw

Of all the Dynasty Warriors-inspired games out there, only Koei’s assorted development teams (primarily Omega Force) have really nailed them perfectly. They not only invented the sub-genre of beat ’em up the games fall into, they’ve also been doing them for so darn long that even the ones that aren’t so hot are still incredibly addictive to play. Warriors Orochi 3 is looking as if it will the ultimate in fan service hack ‘n slash greatness as it packs in characters from nearly every Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors game ever made (except the DW Gundam series, no doubt for licensing reasons and the fact that it would be deadly stupid to have life-sized heroes fighting 30-foot mecha). That and you get playable characters from other Koei games such as Ninja Gaiden, Warriors: Legends of Troy, Bladestorm, Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll and Dead or Alive. Yikes.

Sure, the 120+ roster isn’t as nuts as the 210 playable fighters found in Squaresoft’s still amazing Tobal 2 by a long shot. Then again, I’d rather play as Areus, Ryu Hayabusa or Joan of Arc than the bottom head of a totem pole, a pile driver or an over-sized polygon star any day of the week. Yeah, I want this one, but I hope I’ll actually have the time to finish the game with a few favorite characters, as I know doing it with all 120 will take a bit longer than one should camp out in front of the TV. Crazy me will probably do this, but obviously, I won’t get to ALL 120 characters for a review. I’d need a time machine and a box of Dual Shock 3’s for that…

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: Not Only Badass, But Bad For Actual History, Too…

Posted on March 21, 2012 by geelw

When I first heard about this flick, I very seriously thought it was a total joke. But nope, it’s real and coming sooner than some history buffs would prefer. OK, I’m not up on EVERY oddball comic or popular novel that gets turned into a major (or minor) motion picture, but hey, I’m too busy playing games and writing about them in some form to absorb a bigger pop cultchah fix like I used to. Speaking of pop culture fixes… I’m really not sure why The Hunger Games is getting all this hype when the incredible Battle Royale did it better and more brutally (as in content that was clearly NOT for teens in a nationwide school reading program). Hell, I’d even take a mean and disturbing film version of the ancient Stephen King story The Long Walk over Games’ over-sauced promotional campaign that puts too much emphasis on the wrong elements instead of where it counts.

Yeah, yeah, I’m a total buzz-killer, aren’t I? But hear me out for a bit as I plant my tongue firmly in cheek and “rant” on a bit. You just KNOW that ten to twenty years from now, this damn film will be seen as actual FACT by those short attention span theater kids raised way too dumb to crack open a REAL book. Hell, you won’t even be able to argue a point in favor of the truth because they’ll even have cinematic proof of their own thanks to a few other “documentaries” about past US presidents doing double duty as supernatural slayers. You DID know that FDR got polio from a werewolf and JFK gave Elvis an assist in killing off some evil mummy, right? Laugh now, but If you’ve got young kids at home, I bet they’ll be learning this crap straight from the cloud through through their iPad XXXII implants… OK, let me get my creaky old ass to bed before I get depressed and head for the nearest window instead…

Resistance: Burning Skies Story Trailer: The Life of Riley Is No Honeymoon, That’s For Sure…

Posted on March 21, 2012 by geelw

What? You were expecting a HAPPY new Resistance game or something? Super-busy developer Nihilistic is looking to bring those nasty Chimera onto the Vita with a great-looking shooter that shows off how well the system can handle a top drawer FPS. First party power in the house (again!) and so far, so good from what I’ve seen. I’m also hoping we see a reboot of the original Killzone at some point just because that game deserves an update with certain things fixed and fiddled with. Anyway, that’s something for the future. For the moment, let’s get back to aliens invading New Jersey and wiping out most of the population there. I blame Snooki and the usual suspects down at the Shore. That brain-rotting show must have been what set the Chimera off once they started getting episodes sent back through time or something. Anyway, I gotta run… The Situation looks pretty grim from here…

Prometheus Update Double Shot: Wondercon 2012 Trailer + TV Spot

Posted on March 20, 2012 by geelw

More glorious sneak peeks at the upcoming Ridley Scott film plus a link to what looks like the official website. Lovely and a lot of Hmmm, here: It seems that some folks dinking about on the internet still don’t get that this isn’t an Alien “remake” at all or a “direct prequel” to the 1979 film, but I’ll worry less about that crowd unless they stupidly decide that Ridley isn’t worth their idea of “respect” because he’s doing something they can’t easily digest thanks to their own ignorance. And so it goes, I guess (but I really, REALLY wish people were smarter these days. or at least didn’t waste so much time being wrong)…

Sleeping Dogs’ “Undercover: Hong Kong” Trailer: Square Enix Is Pitching Woo, Big Time

Posted on March 20, 2012 by geelw

Clearly, the team at United Front Games has a lot to live up to, but it looks as if gamers fond of the True Crime series (warts and all), will have a completely new game experience from a different publisher and developer that just may make them forget about that series (or at least, make them stop comparing it to this new IP). Hey, as long as I don’t have to worry about having a rapper as an unlockable character or anything overtly silly like that, I’m a happy camper. As I say again and again, We. Shall. See… (but I DO think Square Enix is on quite the publishing roll these days)…

It’s A Reality With a Name: NeoGeo X Coming To North America in Q2 2012

Posted on March 20, 2012 by geelw

Well, that was quick. I’d imagine the rivers of drool and pools of fan sweat have convinced some smart folks at distributors Tommo, Inc. here in the US and Blaze overseas to get to it and get the newly christened NeoGeo X to gamers sometime within the next few months. While no price point has been officially announced*, the 20 games packed into the handheld have been:

ART OF FIGHTING
BASEBALL STARS
CYBER LIP
FATAL FURY
FATAL FURY SPECIAL
FOOTBALL FRENZY
KING OF THE MONSTERS
LAST RESORT
LEAGUE BOWLING
MAGICIAN LORD
METAL SLUG
MUTATION NATION
NAM 1975
SAMURAI SHODOWN
SENGOKU
SUPER SIDEKICKS
THE KING OF FIGHTERS’94
THE ULTIMATE 11
TOP PLAYERS GOLF
WORLD HEROES

*Note: I’ve seen posts on some sites that note Blaze quoting a ridiculous £500 (currently US$785) price tag (!), but I’m hoping that’s the worst typo I’ll see this week or even better, that figure was incorrectly derived on those sites where editor-types who tend to misread important stuff just jumped the gun without getting the FACTS straight. Hell, even the most die-hard NeoGeo collector would balk at the price of a dedicated device that costs more than the home version of the original console…

Back with an update soon (and hopefully, an actual retail price point)…