Virtuix Omni: Space Invaders For The New VR Horsey Set…

Posted on December 7, 2013 by geelw

With all the fuss and happy-happy fury about virtual reality gaming seemingly becoming an ACTUAL reality sooner than later (again, but in a few smaller, lighter and thankfully less expensive formats), you know someone had to take things to an even more intensive level of immersion. Enter the folks at Virtuix Omni and their rather innnnterersting peripheral that’s going to get your ass up of its ass and make you play those 3D games in a whole new way. Unlike some of those first VR terminals of the 1990’s where you stood and basically turned in place with your arm out, the Omni Natural Motion Interface will get you a workout you can’t believe and probably will get hooked on once your body heals from the first few days of wondering why the hell you’re REALLY running when you usually sit down to play that favorite shooter, action game or open-world RPG… Continue reading →

The Lego Movie Videogame Trailer: Meta Enough For You? My Mind Left An Hour Ago…

Posted on December 7, 2013 by geelw

Okay. It’s a video game based on a movie about toys including many that have been the subject of entire video games. Well, at least TT Games (the folks who’ve made all those successful LEGO video games for the last few years) is on the case and what’s here will no doubt LOOK and PLAY fantastically. I’m just still not at all sold on the need for a LEGO movie, period. Yeah, yeah – it’s going to be chock full of in jokes and references up the wazoo and sure, I did chuckle a bit when watching this trailer.

However, given that LEGO fans have made more interesting (and less celebrity-filled) movies for less money (a whole lot less money that what this is costing not counting the marketing), my inner cynic has been activated for close to a year ever since I got wind of the film being made. Oh, I’m SURE this will make its money back quickly worldwide, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be a hollow shell of an experience if it’s missing even what amounts to a plastic heart at the center no matter how many writers try to slap in some sappy moments to make you tear up a wee bit. In any event, the game should either do fine or really confuse the easily confused with too many game systems, as it’s being released on no fewer than EIGHT platforms (what, NO Wii version?!). Seriously. The funniest part of the trailer for me was seeing all those game packages at the end. Collectors alert, indeed!

Eh, we’ll see what happens – maybe I just need a hug or something…

Monster World RPG Update: Bug Zappers Working Overtime…

Posted on December 5, 2013 by geelw

Max Team is still hard at work ironing out any problems in their upcoming Monster World RPG. Fans of Monster World IV will get a grin going at this video in particular because it’s based on that a very familiar level in that great little game that never got a US release. Anyway, enjoy the clip, those of you who like what you’re seeing. Everyone else who just doesn’t get it… that’s alright. You’re still cool in my book even if you think we’re all weird or something like that. Hey, everyone needs a hobby, right?

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Trailer: Busier Than Times Square At New Year’s Isn’t The Best Thing Ever…

Posted on December 5, 2013 by geelw

Sure, it looks thrilling and all, but I’m not on board with the secret life of Peter’s dad, Andrew Garfield’s massive head with that massive pompadour (or whatever hair shape that is on his head) and a few other pesky things. The Rhino is a Transformer? Oh well – better than than Paul Giamatti in a smelly fake rhino hide suit, I’d gather. The film looks even more like a video game in those action scenes and while that MAY be a good thing to some of you out there, the fact is there’s a game in the works and the movie doesn’t need to go that route to keep my attention. But, hey… it’s what the people want and what they’re going to get no matter what grumpy guys like me grouse on about. Well, for all the stuff flying around and Spidey in peril shots, the only saving grace here is you can’t tell what the heck is going on with the story at all. Then again, this may simply mean this sequel is even more plot-laden than the reboot was (which is not a good thing at all). Oh well – as long as there’s no disco dancing in this one and Peter somehow loses the skateboard and attitude between now and the release date, maybe there’s something here to salvage into whatever the third film will eventually be.

Dark Souls II Update: 18 New Screens, Same Old Waiting For That Release Date To Roll Around…

Posted on December 5, 2013 by geelw

Behold, adventurers! Or something like that. Okay, I got lazy and didn’t convert the LAST set of Dark Souls II screens from bitmap to JPEG (WordPress HATES bitmaps, it seems!), but thankfully, Denny Chiu at Namco Bandai still likes me (Hi, Denny!). Thanks to him, my inbox was blessed with these new screens I will more than verily happily share with you below:

There, that was simple enough, right? I’ll get those other screens up soon as well with an appropriately goofy post about why it took so damn long. I blame a faulty TARDIS circuit, a rogue dinosaur and a bag of shrimp chips past its sell date, but that excuse may change…

HUMOR: Arnold Has His Own Tank. YOU Try Telling Him He’s A Hypocrite…

Posted on December 4, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, GovSchwarzenegger!)

Yeah, that’s your big advice from the big man today. I say you zip it and do what he says lest you want him to turn that turret around and point his big gun your way. You just got around to fixing that train hole in your wall from my earlier post, right? I thought so. And put those darn thumb tacks away, silly. Tanks don’t have tires you can pop like in some old cartoon. The only way to stop a tank from moving (other than blow it up) is to disable its treads, and for that you’ll need a sticky bomb. What, you don’t have a field manual handy there? Just clear out your sock drawer of orphans and go look under the sink for that old Composition B you stocked up on when you went to Costco last year and bought in bulk because it was 99 cents for 20 pounds and you thought it was some sort of all-purpose cleaner. Yeah, we’ll show Arnold a thing or three. Oh, you’ll want socks WITHOUT holes in the heels, as that would be a bit self-defeating (and how!)…

Raven’s Cry Update: Sneaky Pirates On The Horizon Set To Land Next May

Posted on December 4, 2013 by geelw

Aha! I didn’t forget about YOU, Raven’s Cry. This long awaited Topware Interactive published game has shifted development over from Octane Studios to veteran Polish developer Reality Pump Studios and has added even more pirate-y goodness in the process. Arrrrr! (sorry – I’ve had this stone in my shoe all day! Ahhhh, that’s better)…

No templars in this mix as far as I can tell, just the same seafaring tale of one man’s vengeance on those that did him wrong as a wee lad and set him to his life of crime on the high seas. Four new screenshots were recently set adrift by Topware PR, so here you go. Sorry for the delay in posting these, folks. Do you know how long it takes to air-dry screenshots? Longer that you’d think! Anyway, look up. Look down. PIRATES wherever (I tell) you (to) look!

As for a release date, well Happy Birthday to me, people! The game should be available May 7, 2014 at least on PC as far as I can tell. I know I’ve reported this earlier as a multi-platform release, but that’s because I had mock-ups of the cover art. I see now that no console logos are on the official site, so I’m gathering PC will come first and anything else may pop up later. But don’t hold me to that.

Back on Track! Mostly! Maybe!

Posted on December 4, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, DukeBoy01)

OK, in case you missed it, in yesterday’s episode I thought it was Wednesday and almost messed up an appointment I had today (the ACTUAL Wednesday) and tomorrow (the day after today, actually). SUSPENSE! Actually, I wasn’t entirely at fault, as the lady on the radio news station said it was Wednesday at one point, I got an email about an appointment that said tomorrow (today!) was Wednesday and that stupid dream I had after I fell asleep too late early Tuesday morning made it seem as if I’d gotten stuff done all day, gone home and went to sleep. So, yeah – I was more than shocked to find out around 7PM or so yesterday that my time traveling wasn’t real after all and nope, none of the work I’d done in my sleep carried over to the real world. Crap. I need to fix that one of these days. Or maybe not sleep at all whenever possible. Er, sorry about that train sized hole in your wall, folks. I was looking for something cool to catch your eye in this boring post and that was the first thing to come to mind…

Anyway, we now resume out regular broadcast, already in progress… (or: Man, I have a LOT of catching up to do!)

300: Rise of an Empire Trailer 2: Is It Miller Time Again? I Need A Beer…

Posted on December 4, 2013 by geelw

The funny thing about this trailer (at least to me) is the formerly innovative filming technique used so well by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez in Sin City, then Zach Snyder in 300 has been run so far into the ground that it’s a parody of itself to people like me who’ve seen it used and overused to assorted degrees of success and failure by a few too many directors who should know better (or just don’t). Now, as Snyder is only writing and producing this sequel, it’s all up to newcomer Noam Murro to direct himself out of the corner this comic-frame technique has placed anyone who’s used it since 2005 into. Granted, this one should be a total blockbuster because we seem to love this sort of stylized violence and all.

Nevertheless, in my case… as soon as I see or hear of a release date my home video watch clock starts a-tickin’ away with the counting down stuff and I get to take a half-assed (but sometimes reliable) guess on how long it will take before that big deal over-hyped AAA flick ends up coming to a store near you at a decent day-one discount if you pre-order…

Random Film of the Week: The Big Heat

Posted on December 4, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, MJmichand!)

Sergeant Dave Bannion has absolutely ZERO luck with attractive women in Fritz Lang’s absolute classic 1953 noir The Big Heat. Granted, our initially 100% by-the-book cop (ably portrayed by Glenn Ford) IS a married man with a young daughter, so he doesn’t need to be around the ladies he ends up getting into trouble at all. Unfortunately, in one way or another they’re part of the case he’s working on, so he’s like a black cat in a suit here. Nearly every lady he comes across in this film goes through some sort of hell when and after he’s around that makes him some sort of magnet for bad luck and worse outcomes.

It’s a wonder he makes it through the film in one piece at all despite the efforts of some bad men to keep him off their cases and yes, far away from those doomed dames. For its time, the amount of violence and even some language was probably considered shocking by some viewers, and in at least one respect the film still packs a wallop. That wallop being Gloria Grahame’s portrayal of Debby Marsh, girlfriend of Lee Marvin’s overly brutal gangster-type, Vince Stone. But Stone is the least of Bannion’s problems when he investigates the suicide of a fellow police officer and gets wrapped up in some other things a wee bit over his head… Continue reading →