PSN Flash Sale MADNESS! Everything For A Buck? You’re Broke And You Didn’t Even Look Yet!

Posted on July 12, 2014 by geelw

WOW. Well, you thought it was going to be a QUIET weekend, huh? Nope. Sony is running an absolutely crazy FLASH SALE on PSN with a bunch of PSOne Classics, PSP and PS3 digital downloads, all for 99 cents EACH. Yaaaaaaah! I had to seriously restrain myself to only buying Wild Arms and Wild Arms 2 before caving in and picking up Legend of Dragoon because I’ve never actually owned my own copy. I have the other two games here on disc, but now that I can take them on the road on my PSP or Vita, I’m happier about not having to stay home to play them (and reconnect the PSOne to the TV, dig out a memory card with the right save files and so forth and so on). Anyway, there are a LOAD of awesome titles up for grabs, no PS Plus account necessary or any other shenanigans. Just DEALS galore this weekend for anyone smart enough to pop onto PSN or SEN and poke around. So stopp reading this and go get some games!

Dragon Age: Inquisition Will Be Your “Dive In And Enjoy The Ride” Game For October, I’d Predict…

Posted on July 12, 2014 by geelw

Hearing “Are there any questions?” after watching the Dragon Age Inquisition demo being played at EA’s media event a few days back made me laugh because after seeing the game in action, I just REALLY wanted to PLAY it myself and get any answers I needed. Clearly, BioWare was listening to player complaints about the series’ somewhat limited (albeit large) maps, so the demo was initially played on a map the size of Dragon Age Origins‘ entire game world. Additionally, while the demo was played in a set manner the two times I sat through it, I was also taking notes of all the little details such as plants and other things that could be gathered, the assorted wildlife that, save for one encounter, appeared in different numbers and places and a number of other changes small to large.

I was also thinking in terms of my own play style, how long it would take to merely get from one end of that even more massive and open map to the other. I tend to get easily distracted by off the beaten path areas, so I’m imagining taking a good deal more than a half hour to reach a simple mission objective or key story point. Thankfully, the new map and mapping system should set me straight if I ever get lost and the addition of mounts for the first time in the franchise means I can ride in and out of trouble (provided my poor horse or whatever other creature I end up with) isn’t stomped on or otherwise maimed in the process. Hmmm… that’s one question I actually SHOULD have asked. The new “be a leader” gameplay bits should be grand, as the game world will evolve according to the alliances and enemies you make. As with previous entries, everything you do will play some role in how the plot spools out, but this time the number of possible ripples outward from your actions are much greater… Continue reading →

GOG.com Wants to FILL Your Hard Drive With RPGs This Weekend!

Posted on July 12, 2014 by geelw

Yikes. I have most of these already so I most likely will skip this sale, but if you’ve ever wanted to try a bunch of classic to current popular or not so popular but worth your time and money role playing games, well… here you go. 60% off oldies but goodies such as King of Dragon Pass, Lords of Midnight, and Doomdark’s Revenge.

Or you can go all Spiderweb Software with their also classics in the Avernum, Geneforge and Avadon games. Or perhaps you’d like some more modern classics to play with? Driftmoon, Unepic, Inquisitor, Legend of Grimrock, Shadowrun Returns, the Eschalon series, Sword of the Stars: The Pit and more!

The choice is all yours, of course. Grab one, a few, or grab them all and set your time machine so that you can play through all you’ve bought at your leisure before zapping yourself back in time to the present or perhaps the day before you bought them so you can say you didn’t spend a dime, but somehow still have all those games on your hard drive. Well, that’s how it would work in the movie version, folks. Anyway, you have about 48 hours to take advantage of this sale, so get to it if you see something there that floats your boat…

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Making of Episode 1: “If You’re Going to Shoot, SHOOT. Don’t Talk!”

Posted on July 11, 2014 by geelw

Hey, Kids! Wanna know how video games are made? Well, this video doesn’t go into ALL the not so gory at all details, but it IS a fun watch if you’re intrigued. Gearbox Software seems to be a fun enough place to work, although some gamers with too much time on their hands and rickety soap boxes to stand on will give them eternal grief for at least two games they’ve worked on until the Earth rolls off its axis. Me, I just move forward and keep an eye on what they’re doing next. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel isn’t made entirely by the studio, but you know 2K Australia is using what Gearbox has created in this collaboration to whip up this spaced-out loot frenzy that happens to take place in the fun-tastic Borderlands universe.

Given that this one is only on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, I’m betting some of you are kind of ticked off that you traded in that “old” console in trade for a newer one, right? Oh well. Next time, don’t trade in or give away any system until you ONLY see budget games coming out for it. Or even better, NO games at all. That way you’re SURE there are no surprises coming down the pike…

Monday Blues? Let Indiegala Give You Too Much To Do Today!

Posted on July 7, 2014 by geelw

Hmmmm… SIX games for a buck forty nine for a mere twelve hours means “GO!” today, if you want some unusual games to make your manic Monday go down easier. I gay get this just for the insanity that is Into the Dark: Ultimate Trash Edition, a game so full of strangeness that even the bugs and glitches are fun to experience. It’s not for the kiddies at all, but hey, Mondays are generally adults only in one’s head when you find yourself cursing at the coffeemaker out loud or your boss inside your head at some point. As the old jingle goes, “You deserve a break today, so get up and get awayyyy…”. Um, of course, as these are digital games, you’re not getting up to go anywhere but to the bathroom or kitchen at some point to take a break. Anyway, make yourself happy and make Indiegala happier with that purchase why don’t you?

Review: End of Serenity

Posted on July 7, 2014 by geelw

Platform: Sony PSP/Vita

Developer: World Wide Software/Kemco

Publisher: Natsume

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 & Up)

Official Site

Score: B (80%)

Are you jonesing for some old school JRPG bliss but find yourself pressed for time? Are you one of those folks new to JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games) and want to dive in headfirst without much fuss and bother, just a fun and simple adventure to last you maybe a few days if you play on and off to and from work`? Well, Natsume has a little something for you in End of Serenity, a slightly enhanced “port” of an iOS/Android/mobile game from 2013 called End of Aspiration. No, I don’t know why the title was changed other than to guess that since “Aspiration” (which in the case of the game means “a hope or ambition of achieving something”) can also mean “the action or process of drawing breath”, some sarcastic smarty pants out there might think the title could also be read as “End of Breathing”, which isn’t a good name for a game.

Anyway, what’s here is a quite easy to get into game that can be played three ways. You can blow through the game in under nine hours total (a single sitting for those used to blocking out longer stretches of time for more epic length games), missing out on some bonus areas, items and skills. You can easily more than double that time by “farming” up fish to earn ESP (End of Serenity Points) that unlock those extra areas and goodies, or you can simply pay a few dollars more than what you just spent on PSN to buy as many ESP as you need, allowing you to access everything right from the beginning. No, this isn’t a “pay to win” game at all, as even if you’re lazy (crazy? not frugal?) enough to buy up enough ESP to bring the cost of the game up to what a JRPG would cost circa 1990 or so, you still have to play the game to see what you paid for. For my review, I decided to tackle two of the three methods at the same time, but I’ll explain that a bit more below the jump… Continue reading →

Bundle Stars & PC Gamer Magazine Want A Million Of YOU To Grab A Free Game For The Next Few Weeks!

Posted on July 2, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I missed posting the news last week thanks to CE Week overload, but for the next four weeks, Bundle Stars and PC Gamer.com are giving away FREE GAMES- woo hoo! This week, it’s the weird and wild mix of multiplayer only first-person shooting in a WWII setting and Jurassic Park gone wilder, Dino D-Day up for grabs as a Steam code.

Just look at the “cover art” poster for this digital-only game:

Yeah, that’s kind of attention grabbing, isn’t it?

“How the heck do I get one of those codes, mister?” you ask? EASY. If you clicked on that link above, you already know. If you didn’t, all you need is a free Steam account, a PC capable of running the game and time to play it. You also may as well sign up for Bundle Stars while you’re at it (this is free to do, by the way) just to stay up to date on the great deals they have on the site every day!

Oh, and if that poster didn’t sell you, this old trailer SHOULD:

So, don’t sleep on this one – who can pass up FREE (especially if it’s got well-armed dinosaurs you can play as or against!)? Anyway, three more weeks to go and three more free Steam codes on the way for a lucky million gamers!

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn Launch Trailer: History Repeats Itself Once More, But I Don’t Mind At All…

Posted on July 1, 2014 by geelw

One thing some detractors of the long-running Mobile Suit Gundam video games seem to always say is many of the games go over the same original series storyline from 1979 to the point of insanity, but these folks are missing the point, I say. Given one of the goals of the series has always been to get kids to get their parents to buy them all those tie in goodies, re-introducing the story, characters and concepts repeatedly helps keep the series alive when a new generation crops up and wants to know why daddy has a OG model RX-78-2 Gundam on a shelf somewhere he won’t let get touched. Namco Bandai and Tecmo Koei have teamed up previously for a few Dynasty Warriors Gundam games, but with Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn, they’ve brought it all back to the beginning and have recreated some of the original series’ key moments as small to larger scale battles that should get Gundam and DW fans grinning right from the start. Anyway, the game is available NOW in North America as a digital download on PSN.

Yes, the UK gets this on a disc like Japan did, but this seems to be the new reality for many game companies looking to cut costs here. It’s a forced paradox here, but by NOT supporting digital releases, the chances of getting physical product if there’s a sequel are slim to none at this stage of the game. So, do what you can to get this game, but let Namco Bandai know you’d like to have more choice in HOW you get your content. Even if they end up doing online only physical sales through their shop (based on actual pre-orders that fill a minimum disc pressing requirement), it’s a better thing for all that people who want to buy certain niche games (but can’t or won’t for a few reasons) can do so and make the company a profit in the process…

Escape Dead Island Trailer: Live Men Tell Plenty of Tales…

Posted on July 1, 2014 by geelw

Is anyone else getting a distinct Telltale Games vibe from the art in this Dead Island spin-off game headed to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall? No? Well, okay, it’s not an EXACT lift from those excellent adventure games, but I’d bet a smelly coin from a zombie’s pocket that developer Fatshark Studios was inspired by that series when they were cooking up this one. That’s not necessarily a bad thing at all, as if it’s done right, I can see Dead Island appealing to gamers in a slightly different manner than it has previously. That and I wonder if those stylized visuals also mean this one’s Vita-bound as well? That would be pretty cool at the end of the day. Anyway, we’ll see what’s what soon enough, right?

Indiegala’s Monday Sale This Week Nets Some Bad Poetry (But Hey, It’s A FREE Poem!)…

Posted on June 30, 2014 by geelw

Another Monday full of stress?
I think you need some games for less!
To Indiegala, you now must click
This bargain’s great for thin or thick!
Seven games for a great price
Some music, too (it sounds quite nice!)
All under two bucks for a day
So go get yours and then go play!

Yeah, yeah – you get a crappy and very quickly written poem because I’m buried in catching up on a few things after my lousy weekend online. Anyway, seven games and some funky music to make your ears and other parts dance. $1.49 for 24 hours. Go grab them and get busy!