Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! Hands-On: Knowing Is Half the Battle (But You Still Need To Fight!)

Posted on September 23, 2013 by geelw

FACT: D3Publisher of America’s new publicist, Edith Yang is a total hoot, sitting there cheerily playing and promoting Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! clearly knowing it’s got “Sleeper Hit” stamped on it in big red invisible neon ink letters. I have special glasses, so I can see that on the big banner off to one side with the game logo on it. I say nothing about these glasses as I’m not wearing any and don’t want to sound completely insane by stating the opposite. But I digress…

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BUY!: The Elder Scrolls Anthology Out Now, Dishonored GOTY Coming in October

Posted on September 12, 2013 by geelw

As noted in my earlier post, Bethsoft is making sure you KNOW The Elder Scrolls series is a force to be reckoned with (or they at least want you to stay home a LOT more that you normally do). Their awesome $79.99 box set, The Elder Scrolls Anthology stormed into retail on the 10th (here in North America, $89.99 in Canada, European territories this Friday for €59.99 / £49.99 / $89.99 AUD) and YES, you need to buy this just for the hundreds of hours of adventuring plus the chance to make some of your own content if you so desire.

There’s a ton of stuff in that box to discover, so make this one your big gift to that favorite RPG fan (or for yourself if you want to become one).

In other Bethsoft news, October 8 marks the release date of Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition (whee!), which means I need to pick this one up as well:

As for what’s in THIS box, well, read on (below the jump!):

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INTERVIEW: Half of Twenty Questions With Lost Planet 3’s William Watterson

Posted on August 22, 2013 by geelw

With Capcom and Spark Unlimited’s PS3, Xbox 360 and PC sci-fi action game Lost Planet 3 finally headed into stores August 27 here in the US (August 30 in Europe and Australia), I had the great opportunity to shoot a few questions over to WIlliam “Bill” Watterson, voice and motion capture actor for lead character Jim Payton (who by the way isn’t related to THAT Bill Watterson, which is why he’s called William here). You can probably call him Bill if you run into him in person (just don’t ask him to draw you a picture of Calvin or Hobbes).

Anyway, below the jump he discusses voice acting (with a few tips for you thespians out there), music, LP3’s western influences, booze and how to get social with the man himself in a few places online…

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Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! Teaser: Oh, I Certainly DO Know!

Posted on August 19, 2013 by geelw

Yup, I’ll be diving into these cartoon dungeons because… TRY AND STOP ME! I happen to like dungeon crawlers, comic or not, so this one will get a workout here at the home base. With the fine folks at WayForward Technologies on the case, it’s a guaranteed great time for fans of the show and tourists who happen to be passing by and own a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U or 3DS. Hmmm… if I had to choose a platform, I’d have to go for the Wii U version just because that’s a system that needs more good games and yes indeed, I want to see what WayForward does with that GamePad (don’t disappoint me, guys!).

November 12, 2013 is the day, so mark those calendars. Wait a minute, now… FIRST, go take down LAST YEAR’S calendar, go to the nearest supermarket, barbershop or bank, get a NEW calendar and mark that one. Yeah, I know you forgot (again), but you need to be more on top of things!

Payday 2 Updates: “What Is” (Or: Living Large As A Lowlife)…

Posted on August 7, 2013 by geelw

And in the not too distant future, there will be many Monday morning work conversations that go something like this: “Er, Soooo… what did YOU do this weekend…” followed by a smirk and maybe a knowing nod or three from a few others hanging around that coffeemaker after being up way too late the night before playing too much Payday 2. Sure, it’s not a game for everyone, but if you’re looking for something more like a modern day cops & robbers deal and not another military shooter with a guaranteed few million sales on day one (and super crowded lobbies to boot).

The original Payday was a blast, but this sequel adds so much more cool stuff that it feels like a reinvention in some respects. 505 Games and Overkill Software have a hit here for you would be digital bank robbers, so do them a favor and pay actual dollars to snap this one up, I say…

The Elder Scrolls Anthology: More Proof Physical Product Isn’t Dead Yet…

Posted on August 2, 2013 by geelw

BOOM. Nine game discs, five maps, hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of gameplay, a custom package to die for and something hard to hit the digital-only detractors upside their harder heads with, Bethesda Softworks upcoming must-buy The Elder Scrolls Anthology has officially and instantly made it to my Holiday Gift Guide 2013 list, gaming division. While it’s missing the LONG out of print standalone TES: Battlespire and Redguard side-story adventures (which I say NEED to get re-released one of these days), $80 for the entire main Tamriel saga (including expansions AND the Morrowind Construction Set!) is an absolute BARGAIN when you consider some of the games here are still a bit expensive when bought in either their original or Game of the Year formats as individual packaged products…

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Payday 2: Everyone Wins With That Upgrade to Collector’s Edition Status…

Posted on July 15, 2013 by geelw

Overkill and Starbreeze’s upcoming co-op centric crime game sequel, Payday 2 has gone from a digital download to a physical package to a nice $59.99 retail game that’s packed to the rafters with goodies and content. Usually, these Limited or Collector’s Editions manage to tick me off for a few reasons, but I actually like this set of goodies in the package:

505 Games looks as if they have a huge sleeper hit here, as the original was very well received and this sequel adds a RPG-like element to the gameplay and customization that should boost its sales even further among veteran players as well as new potential virtual robber types. As long as you’re locked in at home playing this, you can’t be on the street pulling off any real crimes, right?

Of course, that’s a little joke there, but I know some will watch that trailer above and have a mild to moderate seizure over the cops ‘n robbers stuff going on. Breathe, I say… breeeeeaaaaaathe. No, that’s hyperventilating, and doesn’t count – you can keep that up, though… you’ll pass out in a few seconds.

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Gets Cool PlayStation Home Content

Posted on July 3, 2013 by geelw

Rising Star Games has been keeping the Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut flame alive first with some nice DLC updates from the game’s developer and now, through this set of Home avatar extras, a Raincoat Killer outfit (I like Red Seeds Killer better, but when in Rome…) complete with axe and *woof!* a dog companion named Willie.

These goodies are now available for purchase NOW (along with the other cool virtual items in that video below:

Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection – I Did My “Snake’s on a Plane” Joke Already…

Posted on June 27, 2013 by geelw

Konami and Hideo Kojima can squeeze money from fans of the Metal Gear Solid franchise any time they want to and given the huge amount of interest in this upcoming collection, it looks as if fans worldwide aren’t minding one bit. The great thing is, the PS3 is region free, so anyone anywhere can pick this set of classics up and get it shipped to them. Granted, that airmail shipping isn’t cheap to many locations, but as I said, the harder core fans of the series probably don’t give a hoot. I have most of these titles here in the library but yes, I still want this pricey box set. Well, it’s not THAT expensive considering what’s inside… but I’m not made of money like that guy in those Geico ads who I wish would zip around the block here on that motorbike of his…

NEOGEO X Mega Pack 1 & Classics 1-5: Fifteen More Hits, Served Two Ways…

Posted on June 24, 2013 by geelw

The wait for more NEOGEO X games is finally over as SNK/Playmore is giving you two ways to get this new set of arcade classics along with an update that allows save games and a bonus charging cable. NEOGEO X Mega Pack 1 features 15 titles, a firmware update and that Rocket transfer cable all for a mere $79.99. Now don’t get nuts about that price point, folks. Given the NEOGEO X Gold comes with 20 games installed, this should give you all a good idea of the value that was when it launched. That and a numbebr of actual NEOGEO games for the home console back in the day cost more (a lot more) when they were initially released and some command top dollar to this day…

Includes in the pack are Art of Fighting 3, Blazing Star, Blue’s Journey, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, The King Of Fighters ’96, Kizuna Encounter, The Last Blade, Metal Slug 2, Samurai Shodown III, Savage Reign, Sengoku, Shock Troopers, Super Sidekicks 3, Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy, and World Heroes 2 Jet. The games in this collection will also be available in three-game NEOGEO X Classics Volumes (1 – 5), retailing for $24.99 with each package containing that firmware update on the game card and that Rocket transfer cable.

Obviously, the Mega Pack is the best deal here for NGX fans, but it’s great that SNK/Playmore is giving fans the opportunity to purchase this new set of 15 as three-packs. Granted, the hardcore collector might be ticked off at having to flip a coin, but I’ll bet some of them will end up with that Mega Pack and all the Classics (plus a bunch of extra Rocket transfer cales)…