Neverwinter Nights Comes to Consoles (And Why You May Never Go Outside Again)

Posted on December 3, 2019 by geelw

If you only get one game this holiday… you’ll likely still be playing it a year later.

Oh, good gravy, I forgot this was coming out (and guess who’s really happy about that?)

Firmly camped in the “Now, this brings back memories” and “Well, there goes another 180 or so hours!” departments, I have the feeling the console version of Neverwinter Nights ($49.99, PS4, Switch, Xbox One) will be a Game of the Year contender simply for the sheer amount of content it delivers. The press release below the jump will get you grinning if you’re a fan who remembers spending too many hours in these worlds, but I bet a copper that a new generation of players will want to dive into this in single player and co-multiplayer modes.

New, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go move some time around and figure out when I’m going to play this and you need to go read a press release. For the record, I’ve been storing excess time in the closet, but it keeps disappearing, grrrrrr. Must be the monsters in there eating it, I think…

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Games I Need to Play 2: Beamdog’s Classics Come to Consoles

Posted on October 21, 2019 by geelw

Good gravy, Skybound and Beamdog, you’re going to kill me thanks to my withering away indoors with your ports of the two Baldur’s Gate games, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment games. One definitely can’t gripe about the cost, as each game and their expansions (plus new content that was missing in the PC versions) cram in more that enough play and replay value to justify the price ($49.99 each). Pretty much, each one ~~may~~ will take a few weeks or months to play and hell, you can’t say that about many games outside the genre that don’t require an online connection or double-dip you (or more) with fees and micro-transactions.

As I noted in my preview a few months ago, there goes my free time forever. Amusingly, I’ve not requested a review code yet because from experience, games like these games are professional time eaters (I’ve played them all before on PC years back), and well, as I sand, my free time (and hell, all of my work time) would necessitate a format change to an all-Beamdog, all the time blog. That, and yeah, I’ll likely support both companies with a purchase because I have the feeling some wags out there will feel these enhanced ports won’t be worth full price because of the dated looks and other biases against things like the length and maybe the mobile ports (which cost less, but the console versions have a number of changes that make then worth playing and then some).

(Thanks, Warner Bros.!)

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to figure out when I’ll play these and work on my time machine so I can play them. At least Neverwinter Nights isn’t out until December on consoles, so that gives me time to play the other games.

-GW

Skybound Games Has Me Talking to Myself (Again)

Posted on July 2, 2019 by geelw

“And it goes like this.”

Me: Uh, hey, man.
Me: What?
Me: I need $200. Plus shipping, I think.
Me: For what?
Me: This (look down):

Me: HOLY $#!+!
Me: Well, SOLD, huh?
Me: Um, hold on a sec.
Me: Awwwww, come onnnn…
Me: Look, we made a deal, remember? We’ve no more room for those big collector’s editions. That, and we DO have a big backlog of other games…
Me: (pouts, gives me the sad puppy dog eyes)..
Me: Oh, that’s SO not going to work, pal. We’re also on a budget, remember?
Me: Well. you COULD sell off some of those older games you aren’t playing like you did that one time…
Me: Yeah, right. That was kind of an emergency and this, well… it’s really damn cool and all, but it’s not super-urgent.
Me: Booooooo!
Me: Okay, knock it off. I need to get a post up and get back to those other reviews in progress.
Me:
Me: Oh, don’t get cranky with me, buddy…

Me: Grrrrrrrr! (thinks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQnToZYGAoY)

Me: Um, I know what you’re thinking, you know.
Me: Hmph. Well IF you did, then you’d also know that big ol’ box ends up costing not too much more than the regular editions IF you think about it…
Me: Be that as it may, the chances of me buying that set are like the chances Skybound will send me one to review.
Me: Well. it COULD happen!
Me: Yeah, sure. Well, I’ll let you go handle that and see what the results are. Good luck, pal.
Me: Well, first, let me go make some wall space for that bo setx…
Me: What?
Me: (pulls out big ACME rubber sledgehammer):Hey, you DID say we needed more wall space once, so I’m gonna go make some…
Me: Wait a minute!
Me: Too late! (swings hammer at wall, whereupon is bounces off and knocks me out cold.
Me: Well, that’ll learn ya. Again. Good thing that store only sells rubber hammers.

And so it goes…

-GW

Beamdog and Skybound To Bring D&D Classics to Consoles This Year

Posted on February 13, 2019 by geelw

This somewhat astounding news popped up a few days back, but I’ve been a bit busy and just got around to picking my jaw up from the floor after it bounced under the bed. I really need to vacuum more under there, yuck. Say, did you know that Baldur’s Gate was in the works for the original PlayStation? Well, go peek at this for proof and get ready for a nicer thrill coming your way soon.

A little press release action is below the jump, but here’s a peek at the PC version trailer to one of those upcoming D&D classics for your perusal:

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Sword Coast Legends: Drop A d20 On This DM-Ready D&D Adventure Headed to Consoles Soon

Posted on February 20, 2016 by geelw

Okay, I had no idea Sword Coast Legends had come out on PC last fall (oops!). Thankfully, the new Dungeons & Dragons game is also headed to PS4 and Xbox One this spring as a digital download at the must-have price point of $19.99. This includes all the content from the PC version and additions such as the Drow as a new playable sub-race, additional character skill trees, hundreds of new placeable objects for DMs, new areas, new visual effects, hardcore gameplay options, and much more. While it can be played solo, SCL seems tailor made for co-op play and Dungeon Master (DM) created custom adventures that extend the game’s life cycle even more.

Speaking of more… Continue reading →

GOG.com Wants You to Return to the Dungeons (and Yes, There Be Dragons Inside)…

Posted on August 15, 2013 by geelw

Back in April, gog.com had a very cool sale on an assortment of Dungeons and Dragons PC games and I think I was lamenting (with a really tiny violin solo in the background playing away) about not having enough time to play the games I already had in that lovely set to buy any more D&D titles. Well, I get a second chance (and so do YOU) as the sale is back with ten mostly massive role-playing experiences for a mere $26.40. The cool thing is if you already own any of these titles thanks to a gog.com purchase, you actually get a discount applied to your total. Nice.

Of course, given that the potential of a few hundred (if not THOUSAND plus) hours of gameplay lie in wait for you once you click that BUY NOW tab, you may want to invest in a few emergency rations and start e-mailing people you know to tell them you won’t be around for a while. If you really want to get them buzzing, tell them you’ve been summoned to a dungeon or something similarly vague yet eye-popping before you stop answering calls and emails. That should get them thinking about your extracurricular lifestyle activities, right? And by the way, I still have no time to buy any new epic until I clear through a few I’ve started already. I really need a TARDIS, people…

GOG.com’s Dungeons & Dragons Dynamo Will Steal Your Time (But Not Eat Your Wallet)…

Posted on April 5, 2013 by geelw

Holy Cats 1: Want about a thousand or so plus hours of DRM-FREE games for a measly US $21.10? Love a bit of Dungeons & Dragons (or want to start loving it)? Well, boogie on over to gog.com and take advantage of their D & D Dynamo Sale that gives you up to 80% off (!) the more games you buy. If you happen to have any of these classics on your gog.com account, guess what? Order the ones you don’t and you STILL get that discount! While I break out the smelling salts for those in the back row, the rest of you can do that clicky-clicky thing and get some great games to keep you indoors and a healthy pale tone instead of sucking sunblock loaded with chemicals through your skin. If I didn’t have all of these (well, except one) already, I’d be joining you in the sunless shadows for a while…