Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Update: A Little Night Music For You…

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make…”

Another game I’m really looking forward to is this final MercurySteam-developed Castlevania game that looks to wrap everything up nice and neat and perhaps raise the bar on a few fronts in terms of how a 3D version of this storied franchise should be done. Whoever is taking the reins from this point on will be under a great deal of pressure to do something just as impressive without falling back on repeating what’s come before. Given the talent pool of developers out there who probably want to be the ones Konami calls in for that next phase of this series’ life, I’m not too worried at all. As long as what’s coming next is playable on more platforms, it’s a good thing to see Dracula and a Belmont somewhere battling it out in that eternal struggle they’ve pretty much committed to ages past…

February’s Game of the Month: Earth Defense Force 2025

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, it’s not even out until the 18th of the month, but I’ve owned the Japanese version of the game since it came out last July and it’s pretty amazing and VERY replayable, a great thing in this age of games you can blow through in less time that it takes to make a crock pot dish. EDF 2025’s four distinct classes, 780 weapons, over 90 levels (with more coming through three DLC expansions) and both couch co-op and online multiplayer modes means this one will be in some play stacks for a good long while. There’s even a versus mode here if you like hunting around for each other in some too huge maps…

Sure, it’s not the “best” looking game you’ll ever see and yes, developer Sandlot isn’t whipping out visuals that are going to compete with the greatest-looking games of last generation. That said, the sheer scale of the maps plus the level of destruction here is remarkable, and combined with the seemingly simple gameplay that grows deeper as the game gets more challenging, makes this one a keeper even after you’ve beaten it. Which, by the way will take weeks or more you’re going for every bit of content and every single Achievement or Trophy.

So yeah, BUY THIS GAME. It’s coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 only (Sandlot doesn’t make PC Games, sorry!).

Headaches, Near Misses and Sticky Situations Gone Wrong…

Status

Hmmm. Today is being a near total pain in the neck, so updates will be minimal other than a background and banner swap and when I can get to it, one or two posts (or more if I have time). Between the almost (but not really) fatal Gorilla Glue incident earlier, me not realizing I’d run out of aspirin and some other mildly annoying stuff, it’s been a pretty freaky Friday here. Eh, I’ll live. At least this crap happened at the end of the month and not the beginning. Okay, off to do some work!

Random Film of the Week: A Mighty Wind

Posted on January 30, 2014 by geelw

As a comedic take on the folk music scene, reunion concerts, one-hit wonder “where are they now” musicians and a few other choice targets, A Mighty Wind works on every level provided you have at least some small interest in the subject matter. Granted, most of the jokes and songs score because they’re so darn well written and delivered by a great cast, but I’ve seen this film with some people who don’t quite get or appreciate all the subtleties of some of the films funnier moments.

Christopher Guest’s great under-appreciated 2003 “mockumentary” features plenty of comic talent on display showing off their singing skills as well as pulling off some great bits that make this one constantly amusing and even laugh out loud hilarious at times… Continue reading →

PlayStation Plus February Lineup: Free Is Good. REALLY Good…

Posted on January 30, 2014 by geelw

PlayStation Plus is continuing to be the best deal in gaming these days save for the whole “pay to play online” thing, which makes less sense as time goes on. That said, the amount of free games you get each month for signing up at $50 a year is NUTS. How nuts? Well, it’s clear that Sony wants the PS4, PS3 and Vita to be the ONLY systems you touch, as that library of gratis games per month is enough to keep the hardcore player busy and the casual player wondering when the hell they’ll find time to play all those games that pop up on the first of the month automatically. Heck, even if you didn’t buy a single game from retail or PSN, you’re getting more than enough titles to keep you occupied. as long as you keep that account, you keep every free game you’ve gotten, which isn’t a bad deal at all. Sony will be rolling out more surprises this year, so it will be interesting to see if PS Plus stays a great deal or if that fee goes up a bit over time. I don’t think it will, but I do wonder how they turn a profit by giving away the store to a few million happy users a dozen times a year…

Earth Defense Force 2025 Multiplayer Hands-On: Extermination Agenda, Done Up Right.

Posted on January 30, 2014 by geelw

As a fan of the Earth Defense Force series since its debut in 2003 as part of the Simple 2000 series on the Japanese PlayStation 2, I’ve seen the series grow from a quick 25-level budget run and gun experience to the mighty, soon to be released solo, couch co-op and online play of EDF 2025, coming in less than a month to the PS3 and Xbox 360. D3Publisher of America rolled into town with a complete Xbox 360 version that had everything unlocked (all 780 weapons!) and allowed for non-stop fun for a few hours for some cold-braving editor types who dropped into the Ace Hotel for a spell.

While couch co-op play was the focus when D3PoA was here last year, this time it was the hectic online multiplayer mode for two to four players put to the test. Gameplay is rock solid and depends on teamwork between your squad-mates in order for success. Unlike other shooting games, you can’t bump off your team just to hog the glory and goodies for yourself because not only will it be rude, on the higher difficulty levels, you’ll be chomped, blasted, roasted and spiked to death (for starters) by swarms of pissed off bugs, robots, dragons and other menaces… Continue reading →

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Developer Diary #2: On Getting It Gothic…

Posted on January 29, 2014 by geelw

Almost… alllllmost. The wait is creeping to a close (February 25, 2014) and Spanish developer MercurySteam is doing their final Castlevania game up more than right. A handful of fans of the older games in the series are a bit grumpy for some reason that the game isn’t just like those older games, but for those of us who respect new and old styles of visuals and gameplay, it’s clear Konami picked the right team for this part of the series. I tend to play games like this for the stories more than the action, so it’s great to see the team has done their homework in linking this to the series canon while adding in plenty of new and intriguing story elements that should make this one memorable to watch as well as play.

BAD WORDS: Bateman’s “Bee” Movie Will Make Your Ears B-U-R-N

Posted on January 29, 2014 by geelw

It’s great to see Justin Bateman branch out and direct his first film and his upcoming comedy BAD WORDS looks like one of those “so wrong it’s hilarious” non-PC films that might make for a fun watch. Granted, him playing against the sort of clueless and too nice guy stereotype he’s been known for since the Arrested Development days might not convince a handful of fans this is some sort of breakout role, but I’ll give him the benefit of your doubt.

Hey, my doubts are non-existent. I don’t doubt the man’s talent at all and he’s certainly not looking so clueless here. And yeah, kudos to that kid (Rohan Chand of Homeland) and some deft editing that make this look a lot more shocking than it probably was to film. Will I see this? At a screening if one comes to NYC, sure (and definitely when it pops up on cable whenever that happens).

300: Rise of an Empire TV Spots 2 and 3: Don’t Know Much About History (But I’m Not As Bad As Some)…

Posted on January 28, 2014 by geelw

Look, as much as I love Frank Miller’s incredible graphic novel 300 and its amazing (and historically inaccurate) take on the 300 Spartans and the Battle of Thermopylae, both it and this sequel (which seems to be based on Miller’s yet to be released follow up, Xerxes) are turning some younger people into ill-informed dopes. I actually overheard a conversation a few weeks back between some kids who tried to use the film and comic to write up a report a history class and yes, they all failed. One kid tried to blame the history teacher because “He’s old and he never even read the comic OR saw the movie!” which made me dash away to laugh myself silly. Ah, you kids… always trying to find the easy way out of some hard work.

That said, has those meddling kids gone and watched 1962’s The 300 Spartans, they might have failed with a higher grade as their teacher was probably around to see that flick. Or maybe they should have cracked the assigned books and checked out this video instead? Hmmmm. Well, lesson learned, I hope. Yeesh – some of these kids better wise the hell up before history forgets all about them one day…

PF Flyers Won’t Make Me Faster, But I Do Feel A Lot Less Old…

Posted on January 28, 2014 by geelw

So, new sneakers today. Yeah, they’re SUPER retro (but not actual vintage) PF Flyers I stumbled across on eBay and as I hadn’t seen a pair of these since the 70’s, they were sold before I even got around to changing my mind. Hey, for $20 shipped I’d have gotten a few pair but I want to try these out first and see if I survive a long day on my feet (which, as luck has it… will be tomorrow).

Anyway, these are a dark blue (I thought they were black in the picture online, but no worries, blue was my second choice), made like the originals (but yes, in China) and amusingly enough, there was a tiny green cloth fortune under the left insole! It reads: ‘Sometimes A Closed Door Is The Sincerest Invitation’ and has a Chinese character underneath I should probably have translated. I guess that’s a good fortune to have (unless I’m a vampire), but I’ll see how that closed door policy works out. If I like these kicks, I’ll have to get another pair just to see if the fortune is different.

Hmmmm… this could get bad if I end up hooked on cheap sneakers with cryptic cloth fortunes that are open to interpretation. Back in a bit. I’m going for a short walk…