Dragon Age Inquisition Hands-On: All is As it Needs to Be (Which Means You’ll Be Very Busy Soon)…

Posted on October 10, 2014 by geelw

A half hour may be a long time if you’re sitting through a really bad TV show, being tortured, have a terrible toothache or are waiting for some test results, but it’s clearly not a good deal of time to sit down with a build of Dragon Age Inquisition. For me ( a fan of the series and BioWare’s RPGs in general for quite some time), the game is one that doesn’t need a huge amount of hyperbolic posts from editor-types or even PR gurus because it’s a series that’s pretty much sold itself to a fan base who wanted to see a western-developers RPG do more with the genre (and it’s succeeded for the most part despite a few bumps along the road it’s traveled). My half hour at EA’s media event a few days back was spent ogling the beautiful visuals, running around with my party picking plants for crafting and looting assorted caches while getting the hang of the deeper combat system that now adds some very welcome tweaks to the mix of real-time and “turn-based” format.

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F1 2014 Hockenheim Trailer: Today’s A Hot Lap For Me As Well…

Posted on October 8, 2014 by geelw

Wow, I’ve been SO busy lately that I’d almost forgotten Codemasters’ gorgeous-looking F1 2014 is coming out next week! As in October 17, 2014 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Codemasters Birmingham is cooking up a spectacular and more user-friendly installment this time out that should please F1 novices and more dedicated fans of this sport that takes real life drivers many years to master. I haven’t seen the Hockenheim track in a F1 racing game in a while, so this brings back memories of Video System’s two F1 World Grand Prix games from back in the day.

Okay, I won’t be zooming around as fast, but I have three press events today (EA, 505 Games and Kabam), maybe an event to hit later in the evening if I feel up to it, some text to check and correct for a few friends and if I can get the time in, perhaps a few posts for the site. I had a very amusing “sleep” that consisted of me popping up every few minutes for a while to close a window here or make sure a door wasn’t blowing shut, as Alien Isolation definitely seeped into my brain and every little noise was making me jumpy! That hasn’t happened in a while, so I’ll have to give The Creative Assembly some props for getting their game to do what it needed to do and all too well.

Okay, let me get set to jet out the door and get to all this stuff that needs getting to – back in a bit…

Coming Up for Air in Time for Some Vib-Ribbon News…

Posted on October 7, 2014 by geelw

Actually, I heard about this yesterday, but it was after a long day of poring over email and plotting out today’s Alien Isolation run, I was too tired and amused to post anything. Anyway, today on PSN, Sony is finally releasing the original PlayStation game Vib-Ribbon in North America, but not for that old console. This port is headed to the PS3 and Vita, with a future trip to the PS4 in the cards. I’ll let you boogie on over to the PlayStation Blog to read up on this wonderfully cool little game, which retains its ability to use music CD’s to generate random levels on the PS3. It seems that the Vita version loses this feature (unless it can work with MP3 files), but even without it, the game is still quite whimsical and still a ton of fun to play.

I still have my Japanese copy of the game and a PS1, but I’ll most likely grab this for my Vita because it’s one of those quirky little charmers that’s an excellent traveling companion. Okay, back to being scared half (plus) to death…

STYX: Master of Shadows Launch Trailer: Time to get Sneaky, Sneaky With the Ugly Shorty…

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

Okay, he’s kind of cute in that way ugly little goblins can be cute under the right light and without too much alcohol in one’s belly (never get drink around a goblin!), but yes, STYX: Master of Shadows is out tomorrow on Steam and for the PS4 and Xbox One. I’m hoping his one does well, as Cyanide Studios has put a lot of work into this game and it looks like their most polished title to date. We’ll see what the scores say, although I’m betting some reviewers “get” this game and what it’s trying to do while others don’t. I almost wish this was on the older consoles just so more people would show interest in what’s here, but hey – you can’t push those new systems as much of you drop four versions of the same game on the first day. That and the more developers who get used to the new hardware and can craft games that show off what they can do, the better for sales of those systems. Allegedly. Anyway, this one seems worth a closer look, folks…

Monday Means Mo’ Bundles, No Problems!

Posted on October 6, 2014 by geelw

Well, actually you’ll have SOME problems as far as finding the time to play the games in these bundles, but hey – don’t shoot the messenger, folks. He needs to be alive to play the games in his backlog! Anyway, here’s what’s what from the usual three suspects and more:

IndieGala Every Monday Bundle: Six games, $1.89, 24 hours before the price increases, so get this one FAST. I like Sanctuary in this set of games the best, but your mileage may vary:

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TRI Hands-On: Rat King Games Wants You to Go After the Fox…

Posted on October 5, 2014 by geelw

Okay, my preview for TRI is a bit late (the game drops onto Steam this Tuesday), but this is one of those wonderful indie gems that NEEDS to be played and enjoyed. Developer Rat King Games has made a fun and very challenging first-person puzzle/platformer that’s got influences from Portal and Okami to even a teeny-tiny bit of Minecraft. The build I spent some time with offered up some fine and challenging large levels that grew progressively trickier and from that simple tutorial, opened up into a game that’s going to surprise fans of quirky visuals and complex gameplay that keeps you hooked in. Come meet the Odd Gods and stay for a while – you’ve got a fox to catch (if you can)…

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Jet Car Stunts Launch Trailer: Get a Grip With This Speedy Arcade Racer Next Tuesday on PS3 & Vita

Posted on October 3, 2014 by geelw

Welly, well-well. I’ve actually never played Grip Games‘ rhater awesome looking Jet Car Stunts, but after seeing this trailer, I really want to see if I can survive some of those treacherous track designs. While this is already out (as of October 1) on mobile and Xbox Live, I rarely play mobile games all of my Xbox 360’s are dead and I want to play this on the Vita and PS3 anyway just because I still use those systems the most and despite what some editor-types are saying, neither one is quite “dead” just yet. Flying cars may not be a reality again for a while, but this could be the next best thing. Well, provided you have no fear of heights, falling, bright cartoon colors and what look like Hot Wheels cars with pop up aerodynamic handling. I’m in on all this, so next week will be a fun one. Hell, I’ll need SOMETHING bright and cheery to take me away from Alien Isolation and its relentless horror, so this may be the game I grab when I need a break.

Falling Skies: The Game Lands at Retail for PS3/Xbox 360, Digital for PC, Wii U

Posted on September 30, 2014 by geelw

This month went by WAY too quickly, ladies and gents! Anyway, one of the games I’m looking forward to playing has arrived, so I’m cracking my knuckles and getting ready for it (by whipping through a few recent titles and whipping out impressions over the next few days). Actually, you’ll probably be playing Falling Skies: The Game before I will, as review codes are going out later this week. You can zap yourself on down to any game retailer and get this for you PS3 or Xbox 360 or if you have a gaming PC or Wii U, hit up Steam or the Nintendo eShop respectively.

Oh, go on and buy it, already. You need a surprising tactical sleeper in the XCOM vein between the AAA blockbusters out now or waiting to drop in October and beyond and hey, those Espheni aren’t going to shoot themselves, right? I thought so! Get to it, pal!

Let’s See Now. It’s Monday… So That Means BUNDLES!

Posted on September 29, 2014 by geelw

Another short day for posts? Yeah, well. Pepcom calls and I just HAVE to answer. That trip downtown to tech-land will reveal some goodies to scribble about for my holiday gift guide, so getting all dolled up for that event been taking up my time today. Anyway, you want cheap games, you got ’em! That IndieGala Every Monday Bundle above features six indie games for $1.99 and yes, all are worth much more than that. I particular like Pretentious for its simple story and visuals along with the wordplay:

Meanwhile, this week’s Humble Flash Sale is all about 11Bit Studios and some of their cool titles. Get $50 worth of games and game soundtracks for between $6 and $10 or pick less games and pay what you want. Of course, more is always better, right? Some of you will want this set of games for all that Anomaly: Warzone content, but I say get this deal for the non-stop hilarity that is Funky Smugglers:

As usual, you’re supporting charity when you make a purchase of either deal, so go knock yourselves out and knock a hole in your calendar while you’re at it…

FUND THIS! Graal Seeker: The Battle of Britain For A Shiny Cup o’ Miracles, Indie Style!

Posted on September 27, 2014 by geelw

And who doesn’t want a retro-inspired turn-based strategy RPG with procedurally generated maps set in medieval Britain and thereabouts or as it’s noted by the developer, “a 2D narrative RPG with roguelike elements & tactical battles”? Welcome to Graal Seeker, a work in progress and Indiegogo campaign from Lugludum Game Studio. 26 days to go, about 1200 of 10,000 Euros raised and it’s also on Steam Greenlight for those who want to vote it in.

I’m liking the mix of stylized 2D art and 3D animated characters in those battles, the modding possible (you can create and share your own adventures!) and the fact that the dev team is showing this off in quite well in an early but polished enough state to get noticed by little guys like me who love promoting games they see and like (like being the imperative word here – I don’t write much if at all about stuff that doesn’t float my boat). That permadeath means the game should also appeal to fans of Nintendo’s Fire Emblem series or other games were dead characters don’t pop back up after they expire on the battlefield.

Of course, whether or not this one makes its target is all up to YOU, so I guess now that you’re feeling guilty, you HAVE to go check this out and maybe make a pledge. Hey, the rewards are sure worth it. Spend as little as five euros to get your name in the credit or go all out and spend 1000 Euro and become a Knight of the Round Table (round table not included, but you’ll be a quite the hero to Lugludum Game Studios!). Now, I wonder who’s the first modder to do a Monty Python and the Holy Grail expansion or total conversion. You just KNOW one is coming and yep, that killer rabbit better be pretty much unbeatable.

Back in a bit with an update once the campaign is a few more weeks in…