Shadow of Mordor Story Trailer: The Bright Lord’s Kind Of An OK Guy, Huh?

Posted on July 27, 2014 by geelw

“And there will be no joy in Mordor… Mighty Crazy has struck out!” Well, okay, my feeble attempt at humor is based on me having a loooooong and boring day here fiddling with my PCs and clearing out stuff from some hard drives. But it had to be done and done it has been. Except for one computer here I’m wanting to beat with a baseball bat because it finally needs replacing after many years of service. But that’s neither here nor there, folks. This Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor update is brought to you from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, home of fine video games in the LEGO, Batman and Lord of the Rings franchises (among others). Hey, I’m not getting a dime for this post from them at all, folks – I’m just writing what’s rolling off the top of my head because my eyes are half closed right about now. Oh, I’ll be alright after a decent night’s rest. See you all tomorrow!

Bundle Stars Says You Need A Little Magika In Your Life!

Posted on July 24, 2014 by geelw

Bundle Stars does it again! A measly five dollars for the base game and 21 downloadable content packs? Amazing! If you’re into isometric action/RPG experiences and have yet to play Magicka? What are you waiting for? The game is a more humorous and yes, magically focused take on the fantasy genre and it’s a great deal of fun whether you’re new to the genre or a more jaded veteran player. Yeah, yeah.. I just KNOW some of you are all “Whaaaaaat? I can’t play a TANK class like I usually do? Hell Nope!”, but trust me, this game is fun because it makes you think a bit about how you tackle enemies, not just wade in swinging a hefty axe or whatever and coming up for air only after a pile of corpses litter the landscape.

Anyway, this deal was up on the site for a bit, but slow and busy ol’ me finally got around to noticing it and now there are only less than 48 hours to snap this huge content pack up. Don’t even bother flipping a coin on this – just BUY IT and get busy with the magical comedy gold and massive entertainment value you’ll be getting.

Alien Isolation: “Crew Expendable”? Not In This Video, Folks!

Posted on July 24, 2014 by geelw

While the internet still rages on about whether or not the adding the cast of the original ALIEN to this new game as paid DLC currently only available as a pre-order bonus, it’s good to see the old(er) cast here reminiscing for a bit about things old and new. I like how Harry Dean Stanton didn’t realize that 35 years had passed since the film was released (hey, sometimes an actor who’s appeared in so many films tends to not recall every single role he’s done and when he did them) and it’s clearly sounding like the dev team didn’t go the lazy route and just take voice samples from the first movie and drop them in where needed. The again, as Tom Skerritt notes: “It’s what you don’t see…”, meaning these missions add to the original film’s story, filling in a few gaps. Hopefully, fans of the film will more likely be a lot more pleased whether or not they like the idea of pre-paying for that DLC and Sega will decide to release both missions as a single download not too long after the game ships out so we all can enjoy them.

Bethsoft’s Quakecon Steam Sale Is Pretty Killer Stuff…

Posted on July 18, 2014 by geelw

Nope, I’m not at QuakeCon this year either, but that’s probably a good thing. While the thousands of fans there are drooling over new stuff and old, I can be tucking into some of these great deals Bethesda has put on sale on Steam now until the show closes. In addition, these other deals are going up during the remainder of the weekend:

· Friday: Wolfenstein: The New Order and DOOM Sale at 50-75% off

· Saturday: Fallout 3: Game of the Year, Fallout: New Vegas, and all Fallout: Classic Collection at 50-75% off

· Sunday: The Elder Scrolls Sale, with Elder Scrolls titles selling for 50-75% off

Of course, I have some of these titles already and a few too many in my backlog, so I most likely won’t buy a thing (this year, at least). On the other hand, as I always say – I’m not stopping YOU from diving into this pool of great games and coming up for air with less hard drive space and more games than you can finish in a comfortable amount of time…

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Behind the Scenes #1: On Performance and Polish.

Posted on July 13, 2014 by geelw

Initially, I’d thought this was going to be one of those online only games or an expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online, so it got sent to the bottom of my list of games I was interested in this year. Well, as this years E3 revealed, I need to pay a lot more attention. Monolith Studios is making what looks to be a really cool action game using the Rings license for current and next-generation platforms that’s worth taking a longer look at, so here you go – the first of a few making of videos. Enjoy!

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 →

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…

Alien Isolation Pre-Order Trailer: It’s “Oh, You Want Some, Too?!” Before That Line Existed In The Franchise…

Posted on July 10, 2014 by geelw

Well, I guess there’s a pre-order in my future after all, but as noted yesterday, I really hope that Sega and developer The Creative Assembly decide to make BOTH of those DLC packs permanent and available to everyone who wants them at some point. I just can’t see them vanishing into the ether forever a year or less down the road like the content in that last Aliens game a lot of people seemed to dislike too much. Anyway, this is a completely different game and a completely different dev team, so I’m one of those smarter people not rolling in the mud and predicting this game will be anything but as solid as a developer that’s never failed me previously can make. As far as what platform to play it on? I’m still flipping a coin…

ALIEN: Isolation Nostromo Edition DLC Packs Bring Back The Cast From The Past (But There’s An Pesky Modern Catch).

Posted on July 9, 2014 by geelw

Okay, the BEST gaming news I’ve heard all day also happens to kick me in the tender bits (ouchie!) because it’s a blast of sci-fi nostalgia mixed with the modern retailer insanity many gamers despise that shuts them out of bonus content. Anyway, the good., no, GREAT news is the announcement on the official site (and over on IGN, which ran a brief video announcing the news) of some incredible DLC for Alien Isolation that bumps the standard edition up to the Nostromo Edition and allows for players to dive into an enhanced mission based on the first film.

Even better, this mission has the voices and faces of all but one of the actors from the original film. Sigourney Weaver (Ellen Ripley), Tom Skerritt (Dallas), Veronica Cartwright (Lambert), Harry Dean Stanton (Brett), and Yaphet Kotto (Parker) are all on board in the “Crew Expendable” DLC, with Ian Holm’s Ash being portrayed by a sound-alike.

So far, so good, right? But of course, here comes the claw to the throat… Continue reading →

DESTINY Collector’s Editions: Get That Ghost (Or Whatever Else You Want) Soon!

Posted on July 7, 2014 by geelw

While I’m not sure how supremely high interest is in Bungie’s first new project since the blockbuster Halo days (that’s a bit on an in-joke, kids – people seem to want this all-new IP quite a lot), the hype around Destiny is certainly huge enough that the game is getting a few collector’s editions as you can see and read below:

That’s the Limited Edition above and there’s the Ghost Edition below:

And of course, DLC is along for the ride in this online-only experience. Here’s what’s coming down the early part of that long road Bungie and Activision have planned for the future:

Now, I’m not big on the whole Expansion Pass thing, but it’s one of those accepted practices that should work here quite well should the game have legs and Bungie wants to give its fans more as they burn through all the content in the main game. I just KNOW there will be some really enterprising players who team up to blow through the game world and its story content as quickly as possible, so I’m hoping the developer can at least keep up with those people and address any “complaints” they have. Granted, you’re not “supposed” to stay up for what, 20 hours straight (or however long it takes to see everything) playing ANY game. but try and stop someone with too much time on his or her hands and prepare to get slapped when they get a free hand.