Review: Dokuro

Posted on October 31, 2012 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: Game Arts/PonKotz Troops

Publisher: GungHo Online Entertainment

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Score: A (95%)

Combining a cool storybook visual style and a compelling mix of puzzle, platforming and combat elements, Dokuro comes to PS Vita owners at a crucial time for Sony’s handheld. The Vita absolutely needs some key titles to prop it up as it finds its user base and GungHo Online Entertainment’s first of two games for the system (both from veteran Japanese developer Game Arts) ends up as a must-by for fans of old-school gameplay (and new school game delivery systems). This PSN game manages to be compelling right from the start thanks to the likable (and very dead, but cute) “hero”, the solid controls and how the surprisingly emotional story unfolds as you play.

Continue reading →

Divinity II: Developer’s Cut Set To Steam Up PC’s Today

Posted on October 30, 2012 by geelw

OK, If you haven’t played this rather excellent game yet, go do yourself a favor and give it a shot. Larian Studios’ well-crafted (and quite lovely) action/RPG is fast-paced and challenging enough that even non-RPG fans can get into it with ease, the story is well done (and often quite funny), there are secrets GALORE and yes, plenty of loot to collect. I’ve played this one three times (the original PC and both Xbox 360 versions) and if I had the time, I’d play it again. All that and you get NEW content in this version. And hey – you also get to transform into a dragon in this game, and that’s always cool. Unless you REALLY hate dragons. Then you’d probably want to be playing something else. But everyone thinks dragons are cool, so you’re good with this game.

The Pinball Arcade Gets Elvira & The Party Monsters Out For Halloween!

Posted on October 29, 2012 by geelw

Ah, nothing like a little hurricane action to keep you indoors and annoyed (but slightly productive). Anyway, one more post for the day, then I’m off to catch up on some gaming. While Zen Studios is king of the modern digital pinball game these days, the fine folks at Farsight Studios have been making the best recreations of classic pinball tables for consoles and other devices. The newest addition to the ongoing Pinball Arcade series (exclusively for PS3 and PS Vita) will include the legendary Elvira and the Party Monsters table, which last appeared on the Atari Lynx if I’m not mistaken. It’s good to be a PS3 and Vita owner these days, that’s for sure. Anyway, go ogle the video above – I’m off to play a few games and watch stuff blow by my window seven floors up. Sandy, you’re not slowing ME down one bit, grrrrr!

Call of Duty MW3 TV Spot: It’s Guy Ritchie’s Turn To Show He’s A Gamer Too…

Posted on October 29, 2012 by geelw

‘Ey! What’s all this now with popular directors tackling video game ads? First it’s David Fincher producing a wild and intriguing Halo 4 ad and now Guy Ritchie on this CoD MW3 commercial… hmmmmm. Well, I guess people need to work and hey, it’s always great to find out some quality movie talent are gamers, right? So it’s all good in the end. It’s also good that we’re not seeing these guys tackle adaptations of the games they’re doing ads for as full-fledged movies. I know I said in an earlier post that it would be a good idea to see longer form works from great directors based on games, but given that you’d end up with 21 writers trying to fit too much into a two-hour flick and the creative control disasters that would result from this sort of collaboration, TV spots and quick trailers are a better thing in the end foe gamers concerned about quality and continuity. OK, someone dial up Ridley Scott – I’d love to see him tackle some upcoming title (if he’s got an interest in gaming at all, that is)…

Ragnarok Odyssey: A Few Hours Into Xseed’s Vita MMORPG Time Eater…

Posted on October 28, 2012 by geelw

Well alrighty then – after a chunk of time spent downloading thanks to a sloooooow connection and a bit of a false start when booting up the first time (I got a black screen for ages and had to reboot my Vita twice before the game woke up and decided to start), I’m finally playing Ragnarok Odyssey – well, the single player mode so far. So far, it’s quite fun – easy to get into in terms of setting up and creating your character, but not the grind-fest I thought it would be. You actually don’t gain levels by killing monsters (although you can repeat quests to gain extra items, weapons and other drops plus more Zeny to buy supplies and upgrade gear with). Your rank goes up as you complete chapters that advance the overall story.

Continue reading →

Okami HD Video: 5 Awesome Things In The First Hour (No White Rabbit Needed)…

Posted on October 27, 2012 by geelw

And all five things can be done before breakfast if you get the game when it hits PSN exclusively on October 30th and wait until early the next morning to play it. Well, that’s not going to happen, as Okami is more of a game you’ll stay up ALL night playing. With spiffy HD visuals, PlayStation Move support, many, many hours of gameplay (yes, there’s loads of replay value here as well) and more, chalk this up as yet another winner from Capcom.

Tiny Troopers Zombie PC/Mac Patch Adds Hordes of Undead, New Weapons

Posted on October 27, 2012 by geelw

For those of you with retail or digital copies of Tiny Troopers, Iceberg Interactive and Kukouri Mobile Entertainment have gifted you with a lovely Halloween surprise in the form of some cool zombie-related DLC. This 46MB content pack for PC and Mac players adds a Survival mode, special weapon crate drops, the ability ti use your favorite troopers from the main game and yes, LOTS of undead to blast with all those wonderful toys. Go grab this FREE add-on from one of the four sites hosting the file, update your game and enjoy the extra fun!

OK, Kukouri – get crackin’ on that Vita version of TT and I’ll be even happier!

Naughty Bear:PiP Update Adds Familar (And Furry) Horror Faces…

Posted on October 25, 2012 by geelw

Nothing like a bit more parody added to an already fun (and funny) game. Xbox 360 owners of Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise can now grab the Teddy Krubear outfit for a mere 240 Microsoft Points through Xbox Live. Next week, there’s a Friday the 13th inspired Jason Pawhees costume coming to XBL and PSN (240 MS Points or 99 cents, respectively) and on November 14, expect to see Pennybear the Clown (based on Pennywise from Stephen King’s IT, in case you’re scratching your head wondering) pop up out of the digital closet for the same low price point. Hey! Where’s Teddy Krubear for PS3-only owners? I guess he’ll show up in your dreams or something. Night-night (for what it’s worth… cue creepy music)…

TIny Troopers To Get 100% More DLC Zombies This Week

Posted on October 22, 2012 by geelw

Nice – Hot on the heels of the recent Steam patch that added some nice tweaks to the gameplay and control layout, Iceberg Interactive and Kukouri Mobile Entertainment are adding zombies to the PC/Mac version via a DLC update to be released for both retail and download versions.

Per the press release, Tiny Troopers new Zombie mode features will include:
• Face endless waves of brain-munching zombies, including undead chickens!
• Utilize air dropped crates of special weapons to lay devastation on the zombie hordzs!
• Use all your favorite Special Forces troopers to take down the undead.
• Survive as long as you can against unending waves of normal and special zombies!

Yep, “hordz” is Iceberg’s spelling not mine – Hey, it made me laugh, so I left it as is. Anyway, I’ll post an update when this new update goes live. Hey Kukouri! How about a PS Vita version of this game? It’s pretty cool as it is, but on that Vita widescreen, it would be even better, I say…

Sega Model 2 Collection: Virtua Everything (Now, Let’s Get This Stateside!)

Posted on October 21, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm… looks like Sega is finally going to unleash more of its arcade history on gamers soon (well, in Japan, at least). Hopefully, Sega of America and Sega of Europe are on the case in getting these out over PSN and XBLA. Personally, I’d prefer to see these all pop up on a single disc so I don’t have to worry about any online issues and heck, these NEED to be Vita and Wiiware bound at some point just because gamers who haven’t heard of these hits should absolutely be playing them. I’m betting Sega Rally is coming up next, as are some other Model 2 games not in this initial batch… it’s going to be fun seeing these roll out, that’s for sure…