Anachronox Is $2.39 On GOG.com…(!) Yes, You Should Give It A Try.

Posted on March 18, 2013 by geelw

anachronox cover To some gamers, Ion Storm’s excellent 2001 role-playing game, Anachronox hasn’t aged so well in terms of visuals (the 3D character models in particular can be quite ugly thanks to the aging, but heavily modified Quake II engine), but the story, writing, art direction and turn-based combat are all prime reasons for checking this out. As usual, GOG.com comes to the rescue with a temporary price drop on this gem that makes it well worth a test drive. The game is often very funny, there are some interesting quests and NPC’s to meet, nice nods to eastern and western RPGs and film noir in all that sci-fi shininess and yeah, it’s pretty darn long. The ending is the weakest link as the game was so huge and seemed ripe for a follow-up that never got made. Nevertheless, at the end of the day there’s a lot to love about this not quite forgotten slice of gaming history, so yes indeed… I say you should set aside time to check this out…

(*whispers* It’s kind of hard to pass up a value like this, is all I’m saying…)

Tomb Raider PC tressfx Demo: If You’re THAT Picky About Hair Animation, You Need A New Hobby…

Posted on March 5, 2013 by geelw

There’s probably a fancy salon in your town that could use your assistance with some REAL hair problems, so pack up your gaming rig and roll it on in! Yes, yes, that hair animation in the PC version of Tomb Raider is indeed spectacular… but it’s also not that important unless you have stock in AMD, are one of those PC-only diehards (that ends up using a console-like controller to play the game because keyboard controls in 3D games like this are usually not as good) or hell, you just like flowing hair even if it’s digitally created. Eh, whatever, Sassoon… the game is great on anything you can play it on, so leave the graphics folks to their overclocking polygon and frame rate count fetishes, I say…

Tomb Raider: Guide to Survival #1 (Expect Lots of Running and Jumping, For Starters)

Posted on December 18, 2012 by geelw

Lara’s new adventure/origin story looks to be one of those reboots for the ages, combining a more mature story and solid visuals with more cinematic (and mature) storytelling and even a bit of scares here and there. Hopefully, the game will surpass every expectation and get the audience it deserves, as it’s quite clear that Crystal Dynamics is pouring everything they’ve got into making what could be their best game to date. Provided the story is complete and there’s not a ton of DLC coming afterward to wreck the continuity, I’d say even the most skeptical TR fan should give this one a shot.

Hmmm… I need to carve out some time to replay the original game before this one comes out just because it used to be a yearly ritual for me for a while until I got a bit too busy. Sure, it’s ancient, but some of the more memorable levels still hold up well thanks to those puzzles and challenging jumping puzzles.

Tomb Raider “Survivor” Trailer: Thankfully, Not A Damn Thing Like That Stupid “Reality” Show…

Posted on December 10, 2012 by geelw

I’m glad to see it’s looking as if Crystal Dynamics has pretty much kept the game they wanted to do as intact as possible during its long development cycle. Some are griping about it not being an open world experience, but I say go play the original TR and TRII and see why and how following a solid narrative overrides a need to explore at one’s whim in a game like this. The goal in the new game is to discover and survive the limited environments you’re dropped into primarily at the pace of how well you play the game, NOT to think you’re getting Skyrim meets The Hunger Games with a side order of Hostel II or whatever. So, shut up and either wait for a demo or the actual game to drop, learn some respect for storytelling and the fact that just because you want every game to be the same damn thing doesn’t mean a developer is going to listen. Hey, they’ve got my money on day one, that’s for sure…

Tomb Raider: The Final Hours #2: Crystal Dynamics Gives Lara More Lift…

Posted on October 3, 2012 by geelw

Second part in the “making of” series collaboration between Crystal Dynamics games journalist Geoff Keighley and hosted Zachary Levi (one of those actor/gamer types you probably know from some TV show or movie. I don’t know him, as I’m too busy playing too many games to pay attention to Hollywood types). This time out, it’s a look at the game’s story and what went into creating it. The “survival adventure” element and new take on the character will be the draw for me (OK, the amazing visuals are nothing to sneeze at) and I hope that this “reboot” gets the appropriate praise for what it does right and the proper amount of criticism for anything it misses. Of course, if poor Lara misses those jumps too many times, it’s back down to the depths of the bargain bin, right? Then again, I’m betting this will be light years better than some of the lesser games in the series older days. Angel of Darkness, anyone?

Urban Chaos Hits GOG.com (Or: Awesome Game You Probably Never Played Alert)

Posted on September 11, 2012 by geelw

I recall having to review the PC version of Urban Chaos way back when it was initially released and being really surprised at how much fun the game was. At first glance, new players will note that US is highly reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto III in that you get a (mostly) open world to play around with, hand to hand combat, driving and lots of shooting action. However, the game was released two years before Rockstar’s magnum opus and despite positive reviews and being ported to two consoles soon afterward (to mixed results), the game never really got all the recognition it deserved. Developer Mucky Foot (primarily made up of members from Bullfrog Productions) cooked up an intriguing mix of action, driving and mission based gameplay that started as a straightforward cop saga and turned into a wild post-apocalyptic mash-up that’s weird and a bit creepy (well, it was at the time for me). In a way, the game was/is also a bookend to Core Design’s 2001 action/puzzle/sci-fi/horror hybrid Project Eden, another game that started out as one thing and ended up somewhere dark and bizarre.

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Tomb Raider’s Final Days In Development: Lara’s Makeover Is Complete

Posted on July 10, 2012 by geelw

Here’s a brief look at Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming reboot, courtesy of game journalist Geoff Keighley’s Final Hours series of ‘making of’ documentaries. It’s a great piece for those of you curious about what goes into making a game and heck, anything that gets people not into the medium to see the magic happening is all right by me…

E3 2012: Tomb Raider “Crossroads” Gameplay Trailer: Crystal Dynamics Goes For The Gold

Posted on June 2, 2012 by geelw

Now, THIS is a TR game I can get behind. Truth be told, I haven’t been much of a fan of Lara’s current-gen games despite their much better visuals and tighter gameplay than the Core-developed original series. For starters, saddling her with that crew of techies and such made things too chatty and all those gadgets turned Lara into a female James Bond more than a tough as nails solo explorer. This origin story with a survival adventure vibe just might be the best way to re-reboot the franchise, as I think we need more cool female game characters around. That said, I’d REALLY like to see Ms. Croft in some more sensible (and realistic) exploration outfits and gear should she return as an older, wiser spelunker in the future…

Retro Exploration: Dreamcast (Part 6)

Posted on January 10, 2012 by geelw

Hey, how about a little Urban Chaos? Mucky Foot’s underrated action game was pretty fun on the PC and got a decent Dreamcast port (as well as a not so hot PS1 version) that, despite a few issues, made for quite an interesting “open world” experience before Grand Theft Auto III took the gaming world by storm. UC was definitely a bit more focused on getting missions done as quickly as possible in the mix of combat, shooting and vehicle sequences plus a bizarre story (the opening cinematic is still a head-spinner) common to some Eidos games of the era (Project Eden, anyone?). Here are a dozen “hidden” screens from the DC disc – I didn’t know there were cheats for this version of the game as the screen text shows (unless they’re PC version screens that didn’t get removed for some reason). As interesting as these screens are, it would have been nicer to see character and/or environment renders as bonuses, as the game has some nice looking assets here and there.

Hitman: Absolution VGA 2011 Trailer: IO Interactive Gets (Even More) Real…

Posted on December 12, 2011 by geelw

After the amazing gameplay trailer I saw at New York Comic Con (about 17 minutes of sheer excellence), I was hoping developer IO Interactive would show off more of its upcoming Hitman: Absolution before the year ended. Well, here you go. Agent 47 is most definitely back and better than ever. Anyone that says as a publisher, Square Enix is ONLY good for Final Fantasy games needs their eyeballs wiped but good. Preferably by a bald assassin with a bar code on the back of his head and especially after Deus Ex: Human Revolution, (still one of the best games released this year) showed that great games come from all around the world…