Gallery: New Raven’s Cry Screenshots + A Little Shanty To Spice Up Your Monday (Arrrr!)

Posted on June 30, 2014 by geelw

Ahoy! My Monday’s running a wee bit late, but at least some things are working better than they were yesterday (and how!). The laptop isn’t rattling, there’s a nice strong wi-fi signal today (this past weekend was lousy!) and the fine folks at TopWare Interactive shot over a cannonball with four new Raven’s Cry screens that missed me by a mile, but there’s now a nice cannonball-shaped hole in the wall here. And you know what? I’m not even mad about that because I happen to think porthole windows are cool!

I just need to see if Home Depot has any in stock about the size of a ten-pound cannonball hole. I suppose I should let Dean over at Topware know that if he plans to shoot a review copy of the game over to aim for the roof, as I don’t think I need another hole in a wall here (or worse, through the porthole window I just installed.

Say, do ye fancy a shanty that’s not for the wee ones? Good! Topware has also dropped a second adults-only sea shanty called “Hangin’ Wille” that will make some of you laugh and others cringe accordingly. Like the other NSFW shanty “Sail With the Devil”, it’s got some VERY salty language that would make even a dead pirate blush. I’d post both videos here, but I’d probably get a second and better-aimed cannonball from the ladies out there. Hey, the life of a pirate wasn’t all TV series fodder and booze commercials, you know! Anyway, Raven’s Cry will be sailing into stores for PC/Mac, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 on October 14, 2014.

Back with more on this one soon – I should probably invest in a cannonball catcher or something…

Hey, Internet? Get on Up, Already!

Posted on June 29, 2014 by geelw

Amusingly enough, the dial-up connection I’m using now is FASTER than all the wi-fi spots I’ve visited today. At least for posting stuff, that is. I’ll still need to do a bunch of downloading tomorrow, so it’ll probably be a long day of updating, getting a new banner and background up and so forth and so on. You’d THINK being in a major metropolitan area would mean you have better service than some tiny hamlet out in the boonies, but nope. Anyway, this TV spot for the upcoming James Brown biopic (which I probably won’t like outside of the music) is keeping me slightly happier at the moment, as are a few games I’ve had queued up for this weekend. Eh, I guess I shouldn’t complain too much – at least I can work from almost anywhere provided the internet can keep up with me, grrrr…

Dracula Untold Trailer: I’ve Got The Overbite Rewritten Blues…

Posted on June 27, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, CBM Trailers!)

Hmmm… suspicions confirmed. Dracula gets retold, so it’s officially “Dracula Untold” now, thus the need for a reboot of this magnitude. Big, loud, full of CG effects and hey, why not let’s get that hot singer du jour Lorde to do the theme song you’ll more than very likely hear as part of the end credits and want to download at some point? *Sigh*… Oh well. The young ones will eat it up, the weekly movie-goers will pay their money as usual, the older curmudgeonly critics will lament the lack of Lugosi’s accented mumbling sexy style, while others trumpet it as “sexier than Twilight” in those tween magazines and online haunts for the Emo chicky/Hot Topic crowd. Everyone wins… well, not really, but so goes the modern vampire movie – into the past with lots of the present 9and too much for my more mundane horror tastes). Eh, October isn’t so far away, so perhaps my mind will be changed? We shall see (as usual)…

Sniper Elite III Launch Trailer: I’d Say If Mr. Fairburne Is Early… You’re Going To Be Quite Late.

Posted on June 26, 2014 by geelw

Rebellion’s newest installment in their Sniper Elite series smashes into stores tomorrow in Europe and July 1 here in North America and if my earlier preview impressions hold up in the final build, the game is guaranteed to be a bigger hit than the previous installments. Improvements all around to the visuals, map design and both solo and online gameplay mean this one’s going to eat up a chunk of time among genre fans looking for something new to keep them occupied for a bit. I’ll be lurking close to my mailbox to get the jump on the delivery guy so I can grab my copy of the game from him before he knows it’s gone. Or perhaps I should just let him do his job, as I don’t want to get into trouble for my over-excitement…

Orphan Black 2:10 Recap: A Few Less Sisters, A Few More Surprises…

Posted on June 23, 2014 by geelw

Well, it’s a wrap on Season 2 of Orphan Black and as with the first season, more questions than answers crop up, but thee also seem to be a few things that got resolved in one way or another. Still, some things were a bit odd to me. A few of the important characters from the first season ended up dying (in oddball manners, at that), although I’m thinking one may make a return as we only saw her somewhat gravely injured and not actually “dead.” Shades of Helena’s “demise” in the first season, I guess. speaking of Helena, her arc was pretty interesting up to the point that she somehow got snatched near the close of the show, meaning so much for the happy reunion/dance party that cheered up the proceedings for a bit.

Poor Cosima looked as she wasn’t going to make it through the entire episode at all, but thankfully, she was still hanging on at the end. That said, she still needs to be cured of what she’s got, but thanks to another dead character, it seems that cure might be one for the books (or IN the books, if you saw the show and smiled at a certain scene). I got a bit confused at one point, so I’ll need to watch the episode again thanks to me looking down at something I was writing for about thirty seconds and missing something important. Oops.

Still, the end reveal made me see that Season 3 will be a bit packed in terms of plot twists and even more surprises. I kind of figured there was more than one clone type out there, but who it turned out to be was an interesting bit of business, that’s for sure. Oh well… here’s to waiting for the announcement of when Season 3’s shooting gets underway. Hopefully, BBC America will keep the first two seasons On Demand and not split them up to a “pay more to see this!” service like certain other dopey networks have done with their programming…

Gallery: End of Serenity

Posted on June 19, 2014 by geelw

Just when I was lamenting Natsume not updating its YouTube page, I get a load of screenshots and art from its E3 lineup to run here, so I’ll do just that over the next couple of days. first up is Edge of Serenity, the PSP exclusive (I’ll gather it’s Vita compatible but won’t confirm that until I hear it from someone out west) coming on June 24, 2014. As you can see this is all old-school JRPG goodness packed with classic 2D sprite art, turn-based battles and probably a very MIDI-esque music score to keep things nice and nostalgic.

Character profiles have also been revealed for the principals, so let’s meet the cast, shall we?

Yute is a tough young merchant with a strong sense of wrong and right; the dangers of the road have sharpened his sword skills despite his tender age. He can’t bear to turn away when he sees injustice.

Eril, also known as the Azure Sorceress, is set on exposing the Underworld’s nefarious plans. Using an Atomigem-powered weapon known as an Accelerator, her cold demeanor hides a heart bruised by her upraising in a small orphanage that she strives desperately now to save.

Kat, with her jingling bells and cat-like ears, may look like a teen, but she insists she is in fact over 100 years old! Only when she opens up her heart and reveals her secret will she ever truly be understood.

Earon is an undisputed master of martial arts. With his snow white hair, it’s no surprise this trainer was thinking about retirement…that is, before he discovered that one of his former pupils might be involved in the Underworld, and has set off to discover the truth.

Kaede is a pupil trained by Earon, accompanying him on his critical mission. Rumors swirl that she is actually the last of a village of ninjas; only Kaede knows the truth, but she’s not exactly talking…

20 new screens are below the jump – make sure to grab End of Serenity next week when it arrives on PSN!

Continue reading →

Speaking of Sniper Elite III: This New Trailer Lets You Play Along (And See What’s Coming)…

Posted on June 19, 2014 by geelw

And of course, as soon as I post that last article, I see this trailer in my inbox. Oops. Well, as it’s a fun little interactive video, I figured I’d give a few of you something to do while you’re waiting for the game to drop next week. Anyway, this is a tiny bit gory and NSFW, so don’t let the kids go clicking around here. Or the family pet. That dog or cat might get some not so good ideas from watching this and you’ll be sleeping with a light on and your bedroom door locked tight so Scooby or Felix won’t do you in while you’re dozing…

Sniper Elite 3 Limited Special Edition: PC Gamers Get A One In A Thousand Shot for This Awesome CE

Posted on June 19, 2014 by geelw

While collector’s editions of PC games aren’t exactly uncommon these days, digital delivery means more and more die-hards seem to prefer that non-disc means of getting their content. Rebellion is smart enough to know that there’s still a market for big metal tins full of cool stuff outside the console space where CE’s are all to common these days, so here you go: the Sniper Elite III Limited Special Edition (cue explosions and fancy sniper music or whatever you need to get you even more excited). Wow. This huge lot of goodies is limited to a mere 1000 copies worldwide, is ONLY available at the Rebellion web shop, costs 149.99 and is packed to the gills with stuff you can hold in your hot little hands. What sort of stuff, you ask? Well, just look below:

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LIMITED SPECIAL EDITION INCLUDES:

Sniper Elite 3 PC game supplied on 2 DVDs
Access to ALL current and future Sniper Elite 3 PC DLC packs
Bespoke game tin protected by an individually numbered card sleeve
Wax-sealed secret dossier including: tank & weapon schematics, maps of North Africa, spotter’s guides and more!
A5 card hand-signed by members of the Sniper Elite 3 development team
Limited edition t-shirt
Hand-illustrated playing cards representing American, British, Italian and German forces
A2 firing range poster
6 x original Sniper Elite 3 postcards
Woven Sniper Elite 3 badge with heat activated adhesive backing
Printed instruction manual

Note: All printed box contents for the Limited Special Edition are in English only.

As I said above, WOW. I see from Rebellion’s facebook page for the game that some PS3 and Xbox 360 owners are jealously bugging them about console versions, but I’m gathering the team doesn’t want to spend the next week or two autographing a few thousand more of those A5 size cards, so I guess there will be a thousand REALLY lucky PC owners who get the ultimate version of what’s looking to be the developer’s best game to date. Given that the release date is right around the corner (June 27, 2014, to be exact), I’d bet this one sells out fast.

Orphan Black 2:9 Trailer: Those Ties That Bind Are Also Good For Wrapping Things Up…

Posted on June 14, 2014 by geelw

So, was anyone else slightly freaked out by Tony last week? It was weird in a fun way to watch Tatiana Maslany play a guy and that guy (who might be a girl, as what’s up with the testosterone shots he’s taking?) not knowing he’s part of the whole clone thing for a good chunk of the show, so it looks as if season 3 might have a new character to deal with provided he survives the remaining two episodes. On the other hand, I’d say he needs to be written a bit better if he does return, as jamming in so much of him into last week’s show and still having him feel like a late addition to the plot definitely showed. Ah well, here’s what’s happening tonight (lots of trouble for the gang, Helena’s back and cranky again and is this the last of Cosima? We’ll seeeeeeeee…:

Game of Thrones 4:9 Recap: A Bit Late, But I’m Still Recovering…

Posted on June 14, 2014 by geelw

Hey, this week was so packed with stuff that I didn’t get a chance to post a post-show impressions post. That’s too many posts in that last sentence, but I’ll let you forgive me while I ramble on a bit. So, the Wall did not fall, but plenty of good and bad men did thanks to everything from unhappy accidents, being in the wrong place and general last man standing stuff… Continue reading →