Spike TV’s American Diggers: The Curse Of The Dummy’s Boom…

Posted on February 26, 2012 by geelw

Yikes. So are we as a nation THAT hard up for cash that we’d ring up a company run by an ex-pro wrestler turned “artifact recovery expert” to carefully (allegedly) dig and scrape out our land for any historical relics that, even though they SHOULD go into a museum, we can pawn for much-needed cash? Minus whatever fee (and cut of the loot) the company gets and whatever rights we sign away to be on the show? Apparently so. Wait, what? They’ve been around since 2005 and even have a magazine as well? Who reads magazines about this stuff these days (and are there Goldline ads in them)?

My head hurts now. Of course, I’ll be doing what I usually do with “reality” TV – give it a wide berth and let those who want to dig it, do so. Nevertheless, I’d not be surprised at all to see an ad for the show that starts off with some rockin’ theme and a beefy voice saying “Where my Diggers at?!”

Feh, where’s Indiana Jones when you nee… No, wait… er, Where’s Lara Croft when y.. Um… er… aha! Where’s Arne Saknussemm when you need him? (I had to pick SOMEONE that you guys had to look up who hasn’t been turned into a pop culture icon yet… in this century, at least)…

DiRT Showdown “What Goes On Tour” Video Takes You For A Ride…

Posted on February 25, 2012 by geelw

Codemasters’ powerful Ego engine is pretty spectacular for whatever they use it on and I’d say this upcoming all-purpose rally/destruction racer is really pushing it as far as it can go. I’m loving all the modes I’ve seen as now I probably don’t need to keep digging out so many different types of racers in order to get a few different road fixes taken care of. Granted, I really STILL want a solid, PURE rally game from the team down the road that’s even better than what’s here. But I’m certainly not complaining about how much fun I’ll be having when the game is finally out sometime in May 2012 (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC).

Toy Fair 2012: Vinyl (& Plush) Appreciation Society (Part 1): Mezco Toyz

Posted on February 25, 2012 by geelw

There were literally a ton of action figures on display at Toy Fair, so picking just one favorite booth was a losing proposition. However, despite the big guns (Mattel, Hasbro, Lego, et cetera) rolling out some truly impressive new licensed goodies you’ll be snapping up like hotcakes, there were a number of smaller studios that had more interesting and in some cases, more impressive licensed items coming your way in 2012 and beyond. Here’s a peek at a few of my show favorites…

Continue reading →

Double Fine Adventure Update: Fun WIth Ron & Tim

Posted on February 25, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm. It’s way too early in the morning, but I’m up, so here’s a post to read and a long as heck video to watch that’s pretty funny. I made the mistake of watching Mars Needs Moms last night, so this 35-plus minutes actually negated a chunk of that awful film from my memory. Man, was it lousy (it did have some nice animation work, though). Anyway, next time I can’t sleep, I’ll go play a game instead (like Double Fine Adventure, perhaps?)

Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II “Reunion” Trailer: Change Is Good (Unless You’re A Nitpicker Who Thinks It’s Not)…

Posted on February 24, 2012 by geelw

While I’d still prefer Sega just get all the parts done and release this on a DISC with all the other Genesis/Saturn/Dreamcast Sonic games ever made (they’ll fit on a single Blu-Ray comfortably, I’d bet), we’ll have to “settle” for installments. The good thing is, the dev team is addressing the complaints about Part 1 and it looks as if the animation is fixed up quite nicely. Of course, SOME people out there are going on and on about how the game doesn’t PERFECTLY replicate the Genesis version to a T in terms of every single animation or how some parts seem to take control away from the player and so forth and so on. I say knock it ff and wait for the game (or at least a demo) to drop before swallowing that foot.

Wrath of the Titans “Oblivion” Trailer: CGI Overload, I Want My Harryhausen Back!

Posted on February 24, 2012 by geelw

Well, it’s darker, grittier and more action-packed than the recent remake (which was pretty dark, gritty and action-packed to begin with) and yup, folks who loved the first will be all over this one like cats at a sushi bar. Still, for all the awesomely bombastic CGI effects, I still miss that more human touch Ray Harryhausen had with his work on the original (plus his other work from the era). Well, minor complaining aside, it’s nice to see this franchise expanding with a followup flick… although as I noted last year, the third movie’s title is going to be a pain in the neck to come up with. I say go with “War of the Titans” and call it a night…

Jet Set Radio Finally Returns (This Time On PSN/XBLA)

Posted on February 24, 2012 by geelw

Excellent, but I have mixed feeling about this one. How funny that a very physical game based on the physical acts of graffiti and trick skating is coming back as a digital-only title. Well, kudos to Sega for FINALLY getting this one out there to the masses, but still. I recall that Jet Set Radio Future on the Xbox had some killer PR goodies such as a set of awesome headphones and a CD soundtrack and yes, a NEW disc version would have been cool just for a documentary on the original JSR and the sequel how they changed gaming. I still remember the first time I saw those ‘cel-shaded’ graphics running on the Dreamcast and thought they were the best thing to hit gaming in a while. Hopefully, all those folks that have never played either game will be as awed as I was back in the day. We shall see…

Borderlands 2 “Doomsday” Trailer: You’ll Want To Make Friends Just To Play This One…

Posted on February 22, 2012 by geelw

Gearbox and 2K Games are knocking it out of the park with this upcoming sequel and here’s the proof. If you’re not dancing around like a fool with your wallet in hand screaming “TAKE MY MONEY!” at your monitor (please don’t watch this trailer on a mobile device, as you’ll be arrested for solicitation when you scream those words on the subway or bus), well, you’re either not much of a gamer or just don’t see the beauty of 87 bazillion guns. That and hey, a robot doing the Robot? Claptrap is back and probably up to no good (again). September 18 is going to be a pretty sleepless day here and in other parts of the US, is all I’ll say…

Er, I Forgot To Add The Hitman: Absolution Diana Burnwood ICA File Video (Oops)…

Posted on February 22, 2012 by geelw

Eh, it happens every so often, but I’ll get over it if you will. Here’s the supplemental video to the Marsha Thomason interview I posted earlier (er, yesterday as of an hour or two ago so you can see a bit more about the character (as well as some nice comic art by Ben Oliver). Um, that is all. I’ll try and make less mistakes (well, after I finally get some sleep)…

Hitman: Absolution VO Interviews: Marsha Thomason

Posted on February 21, 2012 by geelw

Here’s a excellent interview with one of the voice talent behind IO Interactive’s upcoming game. Actress Marsha Thomason lets you in on a few cool things about her character, Diana Burnwood as well as what goes into performance capturing for the game. It’s been far too long since Agent 47 has appeared on the scene, but from what I’ve seen so far, everyone’s favorite bald (and bar-coded) assassin is coming back in fine form indeed in a game that looks spectacular. I’d say Square Enix has another hit on their hands as a publisher…