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.

Hyrule Warriors Trailers: Four Times The “You Need To Buy This Game!” Courtesy of Nintendo…

Posted on July 1, 2014 by geelw

As a longtime fan of the Dynasty Warriors franchise and its odd and always interesting offshoots, Hyrule Warriors is going to not only be a must buy game for me, I predict it may move a few Wii U’s if it’s got the same sort of longevity the other games based on the Musou engine have. One thing the DW franchise has done perfectly over the years is give players way too many characters and so much action that every entry is an exercise in joyous overkill some love. Granted, the repetition tends to set in after a while and yes, can get to be tedious is you’re sucked in for too many hours. On the other hand, the land of Hyrule in the hands of veteran developers Omega Force and Team Ninja will no doubt make for such a brilliant teaming that this one will be nearly impossible to dislike.

On the other hand, I may have a slight gripe with the game if it’s just a series of battles and very little plot. I’m sure we’ll get cut scenes and a general plot working away here, but I’m hoping for something that does a good job of showing why Princess Zelda finally gets to kick a bunch of butt after all these years of needing Link to get her out of harm’s way. Actually, I hope that the game does well so we can see some sort of follow up that’s less a Dynasty Warriors re-skin, but something more akin to the highly underrated PS3 exclusive Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll. Take that game, add the ability for local co-op play (and perhaps online if the frame rate can be kept stable) and you have an even more excellent game that bridges a few genres and franchises… Continue reading →

No Man’s Sky: Hello Games’ Will Be Your Favorite Developer Soon, I’ll Bet…

Posted on June 30, 2014 by geelw

As soon as I saw images and movies of No Man’s Sky, I had to add Hello Games to the top of my rather long favorite developers list. This small team of talented folk aren’t strangers to game development, having knocked out a few fun games in the Joe Danger series for iOS mobile devices, PC, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade. No Man’s Sky is a massive departure from those fun and outrageous side-scrolling stunt titles, an open space action/simulation game that’s harder to describe until you see it in motion. And even then, there’s so much innovation going on here that it’s astounding to hear how the game came about and where it’s going. Check out the video above and marvel at how Hello’s Sean Murray describes how his dream cam is coming to reality (and a PlayStation 4 near you in 2015).

Kingdom Under Fire II Trailer, Slight Return Version. Still Looking Good And Worth Keeping An Eye On…

Posted on June 24, 2014 by geelw

Here’s a slightly reedited version of the Kingdom Under Fire II trailer from E3 that Blueside put together using all in-game engine footage. As someone who’s played the two previous tactical/action based Xbox games, I’m quite pleased that the developer is following the same style of troop movement and direct character control play from previous entries while adding new elements. Some people STILL don’t “get” how the game will flow thanks to those cut scenes that break into the gameplay and the lack of menus and such, but all will be explained soon enough, I’d bet. If the new game is like the old ones, there will be a map to navigate, waypoints to set and other things to manage before and during battles to keep you occupied. What’s here is just to tease you into keeping an eyeball peeled for anything else coming down the road…

E3 2014: Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley – Not The Only Thing Natsume Showed This Year, But…

Posted on June 17, 2014 by geelw

You wouldn’t know this by looking at their North American YouTube page. Now, I’m not singling Natsume out for anything mean here at all, folks. They’re a solid but much smaller publisher than some of the bigger and busier ones who show stuff at E3 and to me, that’s precisely why they NEED more updates on their main video page. Granted, they DO have a nice social presence on facebook with a page that’s updated fairly frequently. however, not everyone has or wants a facebook account and YouTube works quite well as far as letting potential customers see what’s coming (despite the pain in the butt that is Google+ hampering some basic functionality there).

Anyway, as I’ve been trumpeting, Alphadia Genesis is also coming (a port of an iOS and Android JRPG) and I posted about the rest of their lineup before the big show. Hey, I just want to see the little guys succeed, so if I can generate some thrills and hits for Natsume and their cool lineup of upcoming and already available games, I’m doing my job here.

Not Quite “Retro” Review Rerun: Raze’s Hell

Posted on June 16, 2014 by geelw

As I noted a little while back, from time to time I’ll be re-running some of my old (and long as hell, sorry!) reviews from a few dead sites I wrote for with no updates, but corrections and edits where necessary. Here’s one for a favorite Xbox game that still holds up almost ten years later as a great (albeit somewhat gory) gem you may have missed. Enjoy!

Ah, the mentality of the American gamer. Whenever a bargain game shows up on store shelves, only the bravest of the brave (or those cheap bastards like me who’re unwilling to pay full price for a name title) pony up the pocket change for most of these cheapies and figure “Well, it’s a budget game, but I need my fix!” as they go home, close their eyes and think of England (you’ll only get that joke if you’re older than 30 or are a bit of a history buff).

It turns out that some of these games are good, some are really good, and a rare few are of the “Wait… THIS cost twenty bucks?!” caliber. Majesco‘s new release, Raze’s Hell fits snugly into the latter category, and if you’re looking for a game that’s going to grab you by the short hairs and pull hard while smacking both your funny bones, disco down to your nearest game shop and bring a few friends with you- you‘re in for a treat… Continue reading →

E3 2014: The Order: 1886 Trailer: Ready at Dawn, Making Themselves A Household Name With Certainty…

Posted on June 14, 2014 by geelw

You can very safely say that a new console REALLY doesn’t get games worth upgrading for until it’s second year as developers ease into learning the hardware and Ready at Dawn’s upcoming The Order: 1886 is shining proof of that. Amazing looking cutscenes flow into what’s looking like solid gameplay, the intriguing mix of alternate past with future tech and of course, familiar action-heavy gameplay all make this one look like a winner as well as a system mover for Sony when it’s finally released on February 20, 2015.

E3 2014: Grim Fandango is Coming BACK? Commence The Room Running Around And Joy Squealing!

Posted on June 12, 2014 by geelw

Wow. Like a good deal of old adventure game fans, I believe 1998’s Grim Fandango is one of the best games ever made in that genre. It’s been one of those most requested titles on sites that carry well-aged classic games and abandonware, but thanks to all sorts of copyright and other issues, the ONLY way to get this legally was to shell out a premium for a disc version and hope a newer PC could run it. Now, thanks to Double Fine Studios and 2 Player Productions and some wrangling with Disney on the rights front and Sony on the money front, it’s coming back as a complete remake for the PlayStation 4 and Vita with the possibility of other platforms later. Yep, this news got me yelping and spinning in my chair for a bit, so the meter has been set to “whenever it’s done!” and the wait begins for more info. This one’s a legend that I think more people have claimed to play than have actually played it (or they just never paid a dime for theirs), so it will be interesting to see how well this one does once it’s complete. I say it’ll be a big hit because everything great said about it is true and then some. I can’t wait…

E3 2014: Kingdom Under Fire II: Blueside’s RTS/MMO Hybrid Fights for Mass Appeal On The PS4

Posted on June 12, 2014 by geelw

Well, holy hell, it’s been a LONG while since I even thought of Kingdom Under Fire, so this new trailer for the upcoming PS4 game, Kingdom Under Fire II kind of knocked me back on my butt. Developer Blueside seems to be taking their PC MMO/RTS and bringing it to the PS4 with the ability to play solo (and hopefully offline, like the previous games in the series) and if they can manage a lengthy campaign and multiple characters like the other installments, genre fans will have a new best buddy for as long as it takes to play through each character’s lengthy campaign. Another one to keep an eyeball peeled on means I need a fresh bag of eyeballs… again. More on this one soon!

E3 2014: Devil’s Third: Now A Wii U Exclusive (And Not for The Kids at All!), But Needs Some Polishing Up…

Posted on June 11, 2014 by geelw

Well, this was a surprise in a day filled with surprises. The last time I’d heard anything about Devil’s Third was about two or so years back when it disappeared off PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 lists, somehow got picked up as a mobile game, but now here it is… as a Wii U exclusive. Tomonobu Itagaki and his team at Valhalla Game Studios have whipped up a SUPER violent throwback to those late 80’s and 90’s action flicks, cranked things up to 11 and added a few packs of cigarettes and a case of booze to the mix. Granted, the build shown at E3 seems a bit unpolished and definitely needs work in some areas. That said, no game shown at E3 as a demo should ever be judged as final code, so I’m willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt as work continues on the game.

There’s no release date at all for this, so I’d gather that means Valhalla will be ironing out the kinks over the next few months to whenever it’s ready to go gold. During a live demo for IGN.com, Itagaki noted to the hosts that any issues with the frame rate or other bits would be fixed, and I definitely noted some things that required tweaking. as the game progresses, I’ll be keeping an eye peeled for updates, as while rough now, this could be one of those oddball sleepers that Wii U owners treasure because only they can play it (much like Bayonetta 2 will be this September). back with more on this M-rated blast of nostalgia in a bit…