Bundle Stars’ Toxic Bundle Will Eat Away At Your Free Time For A Mere Five Bucks…

Posted on April 17, 2014 by geelw

Well, now. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is worth the five bucks alone, but this ten-game Steam bundle is packed with a bunch of other great titles to keep you glued to that mouse and keyboard for ages. Classics are part of the deal (The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour, Desperados 2 and Shadowman) as are some newer to not so newer indie titles (Xotic, Darkout, Runespell Overture, Tribloos 2 and Heroes of Annihilated Empires). Even better, if you happen to be a fan of all things S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Bundle Stars has the two other games in the series for a mere five bucks each, so you can pick up digital versions of Shadow of Chernobyl and Call of Pripyat for only five bucks each. Grab those two and that bundle for 15 dollars and even if you ONLY go on a massive S.T.A.L.K.E.R. binge, you’ll still be making out really well. I say give the rest of those game a shot at some point, as there are some true gems here from days gone by. This deal only lasts 20 days, so grab it while you can!

How Come No One Told Me There’s a Gauntlet Remake On The Way?

Posted on April 11, 2014 by geelw

Well, thanks to whomever is handling PR for WB Games these days, grrr! Anyway, the fine folks at Arrowhead Game Studios (makers of the fun Magika games) are busy bee-ing it as they whip up this digital only (and so far, PC only, boo) solo, co-op and online Gauntlet reboot that actually looks as if it will a as fun as the 1985 arcade classic. Sure, this update gets a bit squishy with the blood effects, but that classic top-down viewpoint, simple but challenging gameplay and loads of loot to grab are all intact and that’s a good thing. This one’s coming this summer via Steam (I’d bet it’s one of their big summer game releases) and I hope it does well so Arrowhead can get to porting it to consoles, as there’s no reason this shouldn’t be on anything that can run it. In other words, I’d LOVE to see a Vita and Wii U version at some point down the road…

Transistor: Supergiant’s New Game Popping Up at PAX East, May 20 On PC, PS4

Posted on April 10, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I’m not going to Pax East this year (I think Boston has banned me showing my face there since I my days as an usher in Cirque du Soleil during the Saltimbanco tour), but if I were there, the first booth I’d jet over to would be Supergiant Games just to see Transistor, which will be playable on the show floor before making it’s official debut on PC’s and PlayStation 4’s worldwide on May 20, 2014.

Yeah, yeah, other than a post or two last year I really haven’t been covering this one in detail like some other sites, but that’s thanks to SO darn many games (indie and otherwise) I’ve been following that I’m only paying the most attention to those a lot less polished than this one. It may sound backwards, but I trust Greg Kasavin and his team to deliver the goods, so they really don’t need me to hover around as they cook up a storm. Anyway, three new screenshots are below, so make sure you check them out and if you want to know more about the game, well… you know where to go, right?

LEGO The Hobbit In Stores Today: CG Plastic Playground Beats CG Movie FX Any Day of the Week…

Posted on April 8, 2014 by geelw

While I’m not a huge fan of the fantasy amusement park thrill rides that are The Hobbit films, TT Games has never let me down with their takes on the Lord of the Rings franchise and a bunch of other games they’ve done up with the full on LEGO treatment. While production values have been beefed up considerably since the first LEGO games, the same sense of silliness and all-out fun is intact, as is drop-in drop-out co-op play, loads of secrets and probably so many characters to play as that the game’s replay value is way off the charts if you’re one of those folks who wants to see it all and doesn’t care how long it takes to unlock everything. Anyway, this one’s available NOW for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS and PC, so round up the family and go grab a copy, I say…

IndieGala Every Monday Bundle: Hard To Pass Up (And Harder To Put Down)

Posted on April 7, 2014 by geelw

Let’s see now… six games for $1.89 for the next 15 hours, then the price jumps to a still insane $2.99 for the same content? SOLD, even though I already have the excellent A Valley Without Wind in my still hefty backlog of games to be played. Nice. Get this deal HERE and make sure to take a look at the assorted Happy Hour deals on other bundles and the other sales on too many titles while you’re there.

SOMA “Lambda” Trailer: Frictional’s Upcoming Game Is Drowning In Atmosphere…

Posted on April 5, 2014 by geelw

Literally and figuratively it would seem. And all this time I thought it was going to be a more landlocked futuristic experience. Oops. On the other hand, it still may be, as this long teaser doesn’t explain much other than sometime in the future we’ll see a 100 percent waterproof computer that’s probably a few generations too large. Unless, of course this whole wearable tech trend that I despise so much fails miserably like it needs to. That and the death of the “holodeck” as a potential money wasting concept only the stupidly wealthy can afford. Bleah. Just give me a good game, something to play it on and if it’s not a handheld system, a controller and I’m happy. Anyway, SOMA isn’t out for a while (2015, it’s looking like) – more updates to come as they drop.

Always Sometimes Monsters Trailer: You’re The Moral Of This Story…

Posted on April 4, 2014 by geelw

Coming in May from developer Toronto-based developer Vagabond Dog and publisher Devolver Digital, Always Sometimes Monsters looks to tackle a few of life’s more interesting challenges in playable form. That trailer has piqued my interest for a few reasons, as it seems the game isn’t starring your generic hero or heroine and in fact, it looks as if you’re allowed to create a character that expands into what they used to call “alternative lifestyles” back in the day. Okay, I’m kidding a bit. It’s always good to see games embrace all types of people and this one looks as if it’ll resonate even among non-gamers who see that trailer and get to thinking about some of their own real life choices in similar situations. Well, that’s exactly what the developer wants, so I think they’ve got the attention of some of you now, right?

Dungeon of the Endless Update: Your Multi-Almost Everything Game is Almost Ready!

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

Amplitude Studios’ upcoming multi-hybrid game is looking quite spectacular in this new trailer and updated screens combo plus the mix of genres (just watch the trailer, as the very thought of writing all that out is making my fingers hurt. Here, go ogle some new screens and make sure to read some of the amusing descriptions in the pics that have them:

Okay, let me get back to work, because I got caught up in reading some of those screens as well. You can get more info on Dungeon of the Endless HERE (official site!) and HERE (the game’s Steam page where you can sign up for early access and more!)

Risen Comes to GOG.com: Adventure (And Lots of Dying For The Impatient) Await!

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

One of my favorite adventure/RPGs of the past few years is finally DRM-free and ready (once again) for its close-up. While the Xbox 360 version of Risen suffered from a terrible downgrade in visual quality, the gameplay was intriguing and challenging enough to keep me playing. Of course, the PC version is the way to go if you can run it smoothly with all the settings up, so here you go for a measly four bucks. While the game is shorter than developer Piranha Bytes’ Gothic games, there are a ton of things to do and places to go on that deadly island your character gets shipwrecked on. The solid sense of accomplishment you get from surviving those early encounters is bolstered even further as you take down enemies that previously caused you grief (and there are many right from the beginning of the game) and your character grows into a force to be reckoned with.

Anyway, I’ll shut up now and let you get to checking this one out. It’s a really nice surprise for fans of European made open world RPGs as well as quite the sleeper that should have gotten a lot more attention. As for Risen 2? Well, we’ll talk about that one later, as I still need to finish it one of these days and can’t say whether or not I like it just yet…

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing 2 Gets Knockbacked Into May…

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

Game delays are nothing new, so this isn’t really a big surprise. Still, you have to love the press release Neocore Games sent out to announce the delay:

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II Delayed due to Monster Invasion

Slightly delayed, but no need to worry – all that extra time will be spent polishing the game. The new release date is set to May 22, 2014.

So, what happened to the April release date of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II? Well, we could blame the supernatural or the bad Vrikolak meat in the fridge, but the truth is, we want to release a superb game as polished as possible on release and that will take a little longer than we thought. We want to make sure the sequel is superior to the first game in every aspect and it keeps you nailed to your chairs all the way to the end with its engaging new story. Now the new date will also mark the anniversary of the first game’s release. So be ready to hunt down the new swarm of monstrosities when the game hits Steam on May 22, 2014.

All of you are reaping souls right now anyway, aren’t you?

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II is available for pre-order on PC. To pre-purchase the game, head to neocoregames.com/store and choose from the various supporter packages in various price ranges.

Me, I’m currently NOT reaping souls because Blizzard has ignored PS3 and Xbox 360 owners of Diablo III, but I have other stuff to keep me occupied while I wait for the man with the hat and Lady Katarina to make their second appearance in a more polished form. That, and I can also replay the beta a few more times just to see how all those other character classes do against the hordes.