Abyss Odyssey Extended Dream Edition: ACE Work, Now On PS4

Posted on August 1, 2015 by geelw

ACE Team’s rogue-like brawler/RPG/adventure hybrid Abyss Odyssey was one of those uniquely gorgeous games that catered best to those who spent time mastering the intricacies of its seemingly simple combat system. The game’s lovely Art Nouveau-inspired visuals and realistic animation made it less of a button basher and more a game where practice makes perfect. Capturing enemy souls and using those enemies or the allies you’d also unlock to replay procedurally generated maps added plenty of replay value to what was a nicely challenging game experience.

Now, the PS4 finally gets what’s looking like the definitive version of the game. As you can see from those nice-looking screen shots below (which do indeed look nice, but don’t really do the game much justice at all), the game is Mucha beautiful:

In addition to some nicely enhanced visuals and smoother gameplay, there’s also a new online PvP mode for those who crave fighting against live opponents. Speaking of gameplay – here’s a short look at the launch trailer:

Se what I mean by screenshots not doing this justice? Anyway, go grab this one if your artistic and energetic sides have been activated. It’s a neat little sleeper that will keep you entertained for quite a bit.

Review: Lost Dimension (PS3/PS Vita)

Posted on July 28, 2015 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 3/PS Vita
Developer: FuRyu
Publisher: Atlus
# of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
MSRP: $39.99
Official Site
Score: B (80%)

He may be smiling outside, but he’s really going to kill you inside. The End.

Oh, how I do wish there were a Lost Dimension OVA or short-run anime series. Just so I could see the scene at the close of one episode when villain The End materializes outside that strange massive pillar he’s dropped in the middle of Tokyo to address some reporters who’ve popped up outside with their news vans and a moderately sized crowd of terrified (but terminally nosy) gawkers. In my somewhat addled brain, the English dub would go something like this:

REPORTER: Mr. The End! You’ve dropped this massive Pillar onto the city, killed over two billion people around the world and are threatening the human race with total extinction! What will you do now?!

THE END (dryly): Hmmm… I guess I’ll go to Disney World… and kill everyone there as well.

Whereupon The End would smirk, drift high up into the air and vanish as the crowd below gasps and chatters away. As that reporter is making some dopey closing commentary, the camera would pull way back as he or she is talking right before a huge chunk of rubble drops on top of everyone outside. Cut to The End looking down and grinning as we get a freeze frame shot of his face and THE END in big letters fading in before the closing credit theme kicks in.

Hey, I did say he means business, didn’t I? THE END.

Yeah, I’d pay real money to see that. But I’m a bit crazy.

Anyway, my poorly plotted final fan fiction fantasy dream aside, let’s talk about the game in question. Lost Dimension comes to you from developers FuRyu (with an Lancarse assist) and publisher Atlus as a solid, intriguing hybrid of visual novel and tactical RPG. It’s a game that takes a number of genre cliches (and the fact that JRPG fans love them) and flips them onto their heads as it asks you to kill off your team one by one in order to advance the plot. While that’s going on you also need to bond with as many of your remaining teammates as possible before the final showdown. And you need to do this twice in order to get that best ending.

I usually don’t do this, but I’m going to go and gently spoil some of the obvious stuff the game slaps you with hard just to make sure it’s understood how important it is to NOT automatically like the cast from the get-go.

Oh really? Well you’re still getting voted off the island, missy!

The game doesn’t care a whit how cute you think Himeno is or that Marco wears bangin’ headphones and has a snowman or whatever the hell that is on his outfit. In fact, going into the game with notions of “saving” characters you like is a really terrible idea. Not only will you be disappointed that someone you’re attached to is going to get theirs at your hands, you’ll end up in a frustrating loop of trying to reload saves that won’t matter at all as you try to salvage someone who needs to die anyway… Continue reading →

Lost Dimension Update: When The End Is Only The Beginning

Posted on July 15, 2015 by geelw

With Lost Dimension coming on July 28 to PS3 and Vita and yours truly almost done with his second play through for review purposes, it’s tough to keep from doing some bean spilling on what to expect from the game. Of course, you’ll have to chase me down and force a lot of real American dollars into my pockets just to get me to cough up the juicy details. I don’t carry change with me (the rustling of bills in a pocket hurts my follicles), so you’ll have to start with one hundred bucks at a minimum before I cough up some answers. But as I’ve already put a decent chunk of time into what’s here, let’s just safely say that the game has taught me how to lie very effectively. You may not get the truth out of me but you’ll at least get a convincing tale that will keep you entertained enough to believe every single word.

Of course, you just may bribe me and get nothing but dead air. Ever since I got my review code there’s been a black van outside my building with tinted windows and an ATLUS logo on the door. Methinks I’ll end up IN said black van if I talk too much.

Lost Dimension Hands-On: Brain Trust And The Tall Tower of Doom

Posted on July 4, 2015 by geelw

Don’t plan on getting too attached to your party members in Lost Dimension, developer FurYu’s new RPG headed to the PlayStation 3 and Vita on July 28 from Atlus. Among the cast of powerful teen agents of SEALED are a number of traitors aligned with spiky-haired villain The End and the game rather effectively randomizes who those traitors are on each floor of the enemy packed tower you’re ascending.

While it’s yet another game in which Japan gets partially destroyed and it’s up to a cast of youths with special skills to save the day (and the planet), there’s an added layer of tension here that builds as your party gets whittled down based on your decisions. Even worse, choosing your allies based on how you as the person playing the game feels about them can have some pretty drastic in-game consequences.

Continue reading →

Lost Dimension: Deep Vision Trailer – Getting Rid Of Traitors Is(n’t) A Cinch

Posted on June 30, 2015 by geelw

Yeah, that’s right. In Lost Dimension you need to figure out who the traitors are in your party and eliminate them as you climb a deadly tower full of enemies. Why? Well, you’re saving the earth (maybe) and you don’t want to be stabbed in the back by someone you thought you trusted, that’s why. I’ll have a hands-on preview in a couple of days but let’s just say that “Trust No One… or Else” works well enough as a potential tagline here.

Here’s a little more about the game in the form of its E3 2015 trailer:

Now that your curiosity is piqued, you should probably know that Lost Dimension is headed to the PS3 and PS Vita on July 28, 2015 along with some nice free DLC for the first two weeks of its launch window. Atlus loves you, yes they do.

There’s A Humble Nintendo Bundle? It’s About Time!

Posted on May 27, 2015 by geelw

Well, well, well. I was wondering when Nintendo of America would step up to the plate and take a swing at bundling some of its indie games up into a great deal. Rather than do it themselves directly, they’ve teamed up with the fine folks at Humble Bundle to offer a nice set of games for a budget price point. In the Humble Nindie Bundle you pay what you want (well, at least a buck) for three titles or pay ten bucks (or more) to unlock nine 3DS and Wii U games with more to come in a week or so. This deal only lasts for the next 12 days, so grab it if you own a Wii U and/or 3DS and need some cool indie titles to keep you occupied. The deal is for North America only, so European Wii U and 3DS owners are out of luck until Nintendo Europe gets whatever ducks it needs to in order.

Interestingly enough, I believe this is the first ever console bundle offered by Humble Bundle. If so, once again it’s Nintendo thinking outside the box and getting its fans some decent deals. I guess it’s your move, Sony and Microsoft.

High Strangeness: What A Way To End A Week!

Posted on May 8, 2015 by geelw

While it’s also available on PC via Steam, High Strangeness makes for a more interesting experience on the Wii U thanks to the whole “retro” vibe it gives off. Barnyard Intelligence Games‘ “12-bit” action/adventure is so far one of those games that is pretty amusing, weird as heck and fun to play. However, I’m hoping it can sustain those high notes until the ending as sometimes nifty ideas and amusing dialog can’t keep some games out of trouble in their latter portions when both run out of gas and things coast to a cliff edge. We shall see come review time next week, but for now it’s a recommended title on a console going through some ups and downs of late.

Schrödinger’s Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark: Buy It For The Title Alone, I Say

Posted on April 29, 2015 by geelw

A game with a name like Schrödinger’s Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark just SCREAMS out “Shut up and BUY me, Meow!”* and even if it’s the crappiest game with Schrödinger’s Cat in the title, it’s probably still more than worth the $14.99 asking price on Steam because it’s probably better than you’re thinking. Yeah, this logic puzzle of a post has been brought to you by Wednesday because it’s not yet Thursday and by Friday you’d have moved on to something like “Hey, what’s for dinner two weeks from next Monday?” or something like that.

Developer Italic Pig seems to have done their homework here as the game looks nice and amusing and yes, a bit of quantum physics come into play as they usually do when you have a cat who may or may not be very dead or very alive. The Particle Zoo is in chaos with Leptons, Gluons and Bosons all running amuck and only ONE cat can tackle the problem in his interestingly quark-y manner. Of course, it’s a sure bet that most people won’t appreciate the humor in this one unless they’re ready to do some reading or already know what’s up with the figgy Newton-ness of a clever developer doing it’s thing. Hmmm. I wonder if the dev team gave that cat nine lives, one or none for the entire game?

*(of course, if the cat is dead, this game doesn’t exist and renders this post completely null and void. The cat was alive when watched the trailer three times, so it’s a safe bet the game is real as well).

IndieGala Hump Day Bundle: Your Camel Will Not Work Today If It Reads This Post

Posted on April 29, 2015 by geelw

It’s probably a good thing that camels don’t play videogames for a few reasons. For one thing, that would just be too weird a sight. I’d also imagine monkeys and any other non-human animals with opposable thumbs would be REALLY pissed off. Finally, if they had any work to do today, they’d not get anything at all done because they’d all be downloading today’s IndieGala Hump Day Bundle before camping out at home to play some games. Do yourself a huge favor and keep the camels offline by buying up a bunch of these bundles and gifting them around. Pay a buck for three games or pay $2.89 for thirteen games, your choice.

There’s an odd mix of first-person puzzle games, family entertainment studio stuff, a bit of horror and even some platforming with samurai kitties and a 3D brawler tossed in for good measure. Um, you’re NOT showing this post to your camel, correct?

Anyway, stop reading and start downloading. Well, once you pay up, of course. Just send the camel to the furthest store with a big bill, tell it to buy something for itself with the change and you’re good for at least a few hours. Camels tend to get a bit confused when shopping for themselves (well, that’s what I’ve read).

Final Symphony: TBT Classics to Some, Totally New Favorites for Others

Posted on March 5, 2015 by geelw

(thanks, IGN!)

It’s been out for a few weeks now, but Final Symphony, featuring music from Final Fantasy VI, VII, and X performed by the London Symphony Orchestra is sitting in the #4 spot on the Billboard Classical Chart. Nobuo Uematsu‘s timeless music from the Final Fantasy series gets new arrangements from the master himself and is powerfully played by one of the most famous orchestras on the planet.

If you’re new to the game soundtrack thing, this digital LP may not make you want to pick up a controller and go seek out those older games (that requires a bit of work non-gamers may not want to tackle). But your ears will thank you for exposing them to something different whether it’s inside or outside of your comfort zone. Get it on iTunes (link above), Google Play or Amazon for somewhere between eight and ten dollars.