New Japanese Dragon’s Crown Trailer Is Anything But Vanilla…

Posted on February 18, 2013 by geelw

A ha ha. I’ll take “MORE puns you don’t get if you’re not a gamer” for a thousand, Alex. Anyway, Atlus has dropped this nice new slice of lovely 2D gaming bliss into the Japanese PS Vita web event and yes indeed, I want to see this get as much love as possible. George Kamitani and his talented team at Vanillaware are making sure the side-scrolling flame is kept alive and well, and thanks to the gorgeous art style and chaotic gameplay crafted for solo and multiplayer action, this one’s a guaranteed winner on both the PS3 and Vita. Release dates for North America are TBA, but I’m hoping we see this soon, as both systems need all the cool exclusives they can handle and then some.

Video Game Appreciation 101: Evolution of PlayStation: It’s Portable Time!

Posted on February 18, 2013 by geelw

Hmmm. There’s a day to go before the big PlayStation event but we’re already out of systems to cover. I guess that tomorrow’s video will be all about the PlayStation Network or something I’m not thinking of right now because I’m full of coffee and need to pee, but I can’t do that just yet because I’m typing this while sitting in a Starbucks and I have a few too many windows open and need to save stuff (or finish typing like mad), close all those windows, pack up the PC and do a fast trot to the loo. OR… I could type the previous sentence and hope it transfers the sudden urge to pee to you folks reading this, thus lightening my bladder’s brain considerably. Hey, it’s working! OK, now that YOUR eyeballs are floating, hopefully you’re closer to a working toilet than I am. Hmmm, now that I don’t have to go, I just HAVE to go so I don’t get caught off guard on the walk back home.

Back in a bit…

Game of Thrones Season 3: Chaos Is Ready For Its Closeup…

Posted on February 18, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, yeah… a bit late to posting this, but hey, I’m a busy one-man army here. Anyway, I’m tempted to go snap up the first two seasons on video, but HBO on Demand has been running them for a while, so I’ve more than gotten my fix of the series. I’ll probably wait until the entire run has ended and the inevitable box set drops to buy in, a I’m expecting a load of behind the scenes features we haven’t yet seen. Anyway, I’m not even going to speculate about what’s going to happen and who’s going to get it this season, as that sort of thinking always makes any show less enjoyable in my book. I like to just sit down, shut up and take it all in. No laptop, phone or other device going. Hell, I can’t see HOW people sit there in front of a TV and concentrate on any show while being “social” and yakking away on Facebook or Twitter or wherever while there’s more than enough onscreen to hold one’s attention…

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Video Game Appreciation 101: Evolution of PlayStation (US/Japanese): Where We Are Today (Until Wednesday, At Least)…

Posted on February 17, 2013 by geelw

And so… here we are and you KNOW there’s going to be a fourth part to this series, right? It starts on Wednesday (Sshhh! Keep it a secret!), so hopefully Sony can do what they’ve done previously in getting those of us who like what they do (well, most of it) as thrilled as we were back in 1995. As always, we shall see…

Soul Sacrifice Update: More Aural Fixation (Or: There’s An Orchestra in Your Vita)…

Posted on February 15, 2013 by geelw

Here’s a tiny bit of Wataru Hokoyama’s stirring score for the upcoming (and eagerly anticipated) PS Vita action/RPG exclusive plus some interview time for your listening pleasure. Hey, we’re cultured around here despite the name of the site. Hang around here long enough and that’s me drinking a cold beer with my pinky out in the corner. Anyway, Soul Sacrifice will be out soon, so keep an eyeball peeled for it. Of course, if you’re REALLY cultured, you’d have someone peel your eyeball for you, painful as it may be – it’s the classy way to do things…

Wallet Drain Alert! Xseed Games Brings It With Some Awesome Surprises…

Posted on February 2, 2013 by geelw

Wow and double wow. First we get the spectacular news that Pandora’s Tower is headed to North America and now Xseed is setting out to make 2013 even better for their fans (and possibly their best year to date) by announcing a VERY cool selection of new titles plus yet another classic Nihon Falcom JRPG set heading to PC gamers via Steam. Even better, everything but the Steam download is getting a retail release! Yes, I’m typing this post with a big fat grin on my face, as I want everything here that’s coming.

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God of War: Ascension Super Bowl Teaser: Oh, NOW I Get It…

Posted on January 31, 2013 by geelw

Heh. OK, so I’m NOT a big football fan, but I should have realized that Game Day quickie trailer was going to end up being part of SCEA’s big advertising plans for the upcoming God of War: Ascension. Still, I hope they didn’t pay a mint for that ad time, as the game REALLY doesn’t require throwing money around to let its core audience know how good it is. Of course, it might foll a few people into thinking it’s something it’s not, but I doubt it. Ascension’s new multiplayer modes might not be my cup of tea, but as far as another angry adventure with Kratos, I’ll give it a whirl just to see what’s new in terms of the plot and places he ends up in. That said, methinks it’s time that Sony puts the character in more of an open world experience next time, as the limited (but lovely to look at) environments in past GoW games is getting a bit… limited. Eh, we’ll see what happens after this game ships out and (hopefully) does even better than the last one…

Carnage Heart EXA: Yes, They Still Make PSP Games!

Posted on January 30, 2013 by geelw

I had to do a genuine double take when I saw these videos Natsume sent my way. First of all, a new Carnage Heart game from Artdink? Wow. The original was a relatively obscure cult hit on the old PlayStation amongst those who dared to brave its unusual gameplay mechanics and high learning curve. A strategy game where you chose AI routines, placed them into a small team of mechs and let the game play out battles you didn’t control wasn’t exactly a system seller. That said, once you spent time poring over the manual and experimenting with customization, the game opened up considerably. There were three more PSOne games made with the Carnage Heart name (Carnage Heart: EZ Zapping and two with similar sounding titles: Zeus: Carnage Heart Second and Zeus II: Carnage Heart) and a PSP game from 2006 (Carnage Heart Portable), but none of those were ever localized. EXA is a 2010 PSP release that originally got both a retail and digital release in Japan, but Natsume is localizing this strictly for North American PSN users (a smart move given how much of a niche title this is). Custom color me intrigued. Natsume has yet to drop a release date on this one, but it’s coming this year and most likely sooner than later. I still have three working PSP’s here, so they’re practically giddy at this news…

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Short: I’d Buy That For a Dollar!

Posted on January 30, 2013 by geelw

OK, so it’s not old and classy like Boomerang when they rock those old Hanna Barbera and MGM ‘toons I grew up glued to the tube on, but if there were ever a Sly Cooper animated series made, I’d probably shell out for a DVD or Blu-Ray after the season was over (yeah, that’s right – I like to own discs over downloads any day of the week). Granted, it would need to be better written than say, an average episode of Secret Squirrel or Tom and Jerry, but there’s a gold mine of heist flicks to steal story ideas from. Topkapi, The Great Train Robbery, The Lavender Hill Mob and so forth and so on. So, Sony… find a fine writing team with good transforming skills (who won’t be sued for plagiarism because they got too lazy) and some old-fashioned 2D animators who know their stuff and get that ball rolling – you’ve got a few customers waiting outside the gaming space…

Sony “Game Day 2013” Trailer: Hey, That’s Not A Cheerleader!

Posted on January 29, 2013 by geelw

Ah ha ha. OK, for those scratching their heads, GameDay USED to be the name of Sony’s first-party NFL game before Electronic Arts wrapped up the license for their very own. While most of the original PlayStation GameDays were quite good, things slipped a bit when the series hit the PS2. Usually, you’d ONLY buy a GameDay game when the other bunch of football games were sold out, you were really drunk or didn’t know any better (according to a friend I asked about the series, as I haven’t played a football game in ages). ANYWAY, I think this teaser with the pretty lady is for the upcoming (and eagerly awaited) God of War: Ascension, as the costume gives it away from the beginning of this too short clip. I guess we’ll see what’s what soon enough, correct? As in February 1, 2013… stay tuned.