Rustler: Get Medieval in This Hilarious GTA-Inspired Game

Posted on February 1, 2020 by geelw

Yep. This needs to be played for this reference alone.

First of all, when I went to install the Rustler Alpha demo on Steam, I was greeted with Grand Theft Horse as a title on the game installer, which was magnificent. Indie developer Justus Games knows which side of the bread their butter in on. Second of all, for an alpha, the game is coming together pretty well. It’s just up on Kickstarter now and is there waiting for you to pledge or the drunken sot with the sword in the banner above may come for you. He’ll be right up your alley if you’re not right up his, as it were. That alley will be dark ad have a few rodents in it, most likely.

Gameplay is much the original Grand Theft Auto and GTA 2 isometric top down stuff but rendered in a nicer game engine with some lusher environments. As with the aforementioned games, there’s humor in all the mayhem you cause and yes, the old ultra-violence means it’s not a child’s game for sure. But there’s that nifty cathartic thing going on here that just works because you get immediate results from your attempts at criminal behavior (or, assorted guards and villagers don’t just stand by while you crime away), so expect to fight as you run run or ride a swiped horse away from trouble, or cause more pain for as long as you can. It’s your choice, but the lead’s character’s seemingly perpetually drunken state can cause him to fall off a horse or otherwise be dismounted.

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It’s Back: R-Type Final 2 Gets a 2nd Funding Run

Posted on September 30, 2019 by geelw

Click me for more info. You know you want to.

It’s baaaaaack… (which is a good thing, folks).

Here we go again, because the original Kickstarter only ran for a week and left a few folks out of the loop. Now you have a second chance to get in on this crowdfunding action thanks to a new push to get in those folks who felt left out. Head below the jump for the press release and a few more screens.

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Solasta: Crown of the Magister Has My Attention

Posted on September 25, 2019 by geelw

Prepare to think about monsters appearing at all angles and prepare to chuckle at the funny writing on display.

I’ve been silently following Solasta: Crown of the Magister for a while and this gorgeous looking turn-based and packed with nice lighting and physics tactical RPG has been so far, shaping up to be a fine entry in the genre. The recent addition of official Wizards of the Coast-approved Dungeons and Dragons rules more than seals the deal for me even though the game was already looking and playing fine (a demo can be downloaded for PC users here). It’s certainly a load of steps above the sometimes wacky goings-on in the online-only Neverwinter in terms of accuracy is all I’ll say.

Anyway, I finally took a tiny plunge and supported the Kickstarter because it’s so close to being funded with about a week to go and that demo is fun stuff indeed. You can (and should) pot a few bucks down on this if you’re a fan of what you see (and play). While PC-only, one would hope we’ll eventually see a console port, even though it’s kind of a niche game when all is said and done.

Do drop in and say “Hi!”. You can choose to attack enemies from above, or take the fight right to them.

Yep. This one looks like a winner to me.

-GW

There’s a Dreadful Bond Tech Demo. Go Take it For a Spin, Please

Posted on April 19, 2019 by geelw

DB_Splash

With its Kickstarter in its final week, developer Clod Studio has released a gorgeously gloomy tech demo for Dario Argento’s Dreadful Bond which makes for an excellent look at the game’s environments as well as some impressive audio design in the form of a haunting piano tune and some appropriately unsettling sound effects. There’s no “action” here to speak of, but I’m betting some of you easily frightened types will feel more than a little creeped out by the strikingly realistic visuals and those assorted ambient sound effects that will have you stop moving your mouse around because it feels as if… well, as if something is watching your every move or worse, is lurking in the same space you are just over your shoulder.

Wait, that’s just me – I was hungry, poked around in your fridge and made myself a sandwich while I was waiting for you all to download that demo. Er, I hope you don’t mind? Anyway, I’m going to exit, stage left. Go check out that tech demo for Dreadful Bond and pledge towards its completion, I say. Also, you need a new loaf of bread and maybe some Colman’s English Mustard because that boring bright yellow stuff is kinda tame. Okay, Okay, I’m going!

-GW

Dario Argento’s “For Bridget” is Just The Thing to Coax A Kickstarter Pledge

Posted on April 4, 2019 by geelw

So, Dario Argento’s Deadly Bond now has a nicely unsettling Unreal Engine 4-powered short film attached to it and at just over six minutes long, it’s also a nifty means of getting people to pledge to its Kickstarter. It’s a bit of a slow burner of a short, but has a nice payoff and will likely make a few of you want to see more in a playable form.

I’m waiting for a payment to come through for some work I did elsewhere so I can toss a few coins into that particular fountain, but you (yes, YOU) can go on ahead of me with your wallet out if you’re into the man’s work as well as all the effort Clod Studio has put into both the game and short film.Uh, mind the steps leading to that basement, as they’re a bit loose… oops, um… well, that looked painful, ouch.

While you’re recuperating, I think you could use a little movie to watch… Here you go:

Sometime in 2020, you’ll want to set aside time for a little bit of dread, I’ll bet…

-GW

Dario Argento’s Dreadful Bond: When Supporting a Nightmare is a Good Thing

Posted on April 1, 2019 by geelw

Oh, it’s real, alright.

Normally, this would likely classify as an April Fool’s gag of the highest order… save for I got this announcement yesterday and it wholly checks out as legitimate. Yep, Dario Argento has given his blessing to and is the Artistic Director for what’s shaping up to be a rather impressive looking Unreal 4-powered psychological horror game that just so happens to be up on Kickstarter as we speak. Let’s go take a look at the work in question as a work in progress, shall we?

The project is far enough in its progression to be worth a look when the game is eventually released next year and I definitely want this to succeed just to see how well the dev team translates Argento’s visions into playable form. Yes, it would also be totally cool if the PS4 goal tier is met and surpassed just to play this on my system of choice. Granted, the PS5 is very likely to be a thing Sony either teases or announces outright within the next year, but I think developer Clod Studio is well on the way to making something quite artful and memorable no matter where it eventually ends up.

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Now, I just need to decide on my pledge: funding a simple name in the credits, or a digital download version of the final g\build, as those are my current budget limitations. There’s also a little something extra coming from Clod, but we’ll discuss that project once I get the clearance to do so.

-GW

Deadly Premonition: The Board Game Update (Surprise Swery Edition)

Posted on May 9, 2017 by geelw

Well, oops. I was wrong. But that’s okay this time.

It turns out Swery does indeed have a hand in this particular pie after all. Excellent. So far, Deadly Premonition: The Board Game is still in production, so we’ll have to find out later if it’ll be partially crowdfunded or a fully-funded Rising Star Games project (EDIT: see below!). Either way, much of the game’s fan base is very likely going to be pleased while the rest will need to go make some friends in the real world as opposed to living vicariously through others online unless this board game gets some sort of digital treatment.

More updates to come as news lands in the inbox.

-GW

Well, ooh – news has landed in the inbox, so here’s an update: THE GAME IS NOW LIVE ON KICKSTARTER! Three bucks gets you a Steam code for the bizarre horror/mystery action/adventure adventure Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut, while $30 gets you the board game and that Steam Key mentioned above. The game will come in Standard and Special Edition versions and yes, stretch goals are in the works should the game push way past its initial funding goals.

Press release below the jump – the funding is already over the halfway point ($32K funded with a goal of $50K!)
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Be Chairman of the Board This Cyber Monday With A Few Cool Card Games

Posted on November 28, 2016 by geelw

So. Need a few gift ideas today but you don’t want to move too many muscles treading over the bones of last week’s defeated? I guess that’s why they call this Cyber Monday, huh? Anyway, if you like board and card games or maybe both mashed together, well, good:

Just click on that lovely art above, buy what you like, sit back and wait until your box of stuff arrives, then wrap and place under tree or in back of closet or wherever if you aren’t an indoor tree-hugger.

If on the other hand, you’re feeling REALLY creative, have a great color printer and are very, very good with cutting things carefully and maybe even using a glue stick and a load of acid-free board to mount stuff on, the extremely aptly titled and incredibly fun 5-Minute Dungeon has a hugely successful Kickstarter with a budget reward for those of you who can’t wait ’til 2017 to play this great family game.

While you can (and should!) get a retail copy of the game (set to ship in 2017), a $5 pledge will get you a print-and-play copy of the game in December. That’s where your printing and cutting skills will come in handy. Of course, if you’re terminally lazy, have no scissors or sharp crafting blades and own a crappy dot matrix printer or a Rexograph machine, this reward will be as useful as a whistle on a plow. In that case, just go pay for the big deal boxed version and go take a nap until next May.

-GW

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Crowdfunding of Note 1: November Brings a Number Of Early Winners

Posted on November 1, 2016 by geelw

For those of you fans of crowdfunding, this month has some pretty awesome products you can pledge towards and add to your future gift list even if you’re investing solely for that gift for yourself. Here are some surefire picks from yours truly you should look into:

The Spontaneous Pop-Up Display (SPUD): Alex Wesley is a genius, period. His invention, currently on Kickstarter has blown past its funding target on the first day and still has 44 days to go. SPUD is about to shake up the the words “portable entertainment” in such a big way that Wesley is pretty much assured a place on a few tech award lists for coming up with a portable multi-purpose screen solution. I only saw this a few days ago in a Skype presentation and was absolutely floored that it worked so well.

A 24″ screen that weighs less than two pounds and folds down to book size to fit in a backpack or carry-on bag with a screen made of material that not only provides a sharp image, it doesn’t wrinkle up like you’d expect AND is useful for way too many applications? SOLD. Set to ship next summer, I’m predicting SPUD shows up in a few interesting places as a must-have product including TV and a few movies because it’s a perfect representation of the future as NOW (or sooner than you think).

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5-Minute Dungeon: Success Is In The Cards For This Great Hybrid Game

Posted on October 28, 2016 by geelw

Get ready for one of the most fun games you’ll ever play, folks…

You know a card or board game is going to be a big hit when the only non-gamer who shows up to play wants it as a prize for being the one who “had the MOST fun”. That was one of the hilarious results of my evening with Connor Reid’s wonderfully fun 5-Minute Dungeon, an upcoming Kickstarter project from Ontario, Canada-based game company and two-time Mensa Award winner Wiggles3D scheduled to launch November 1st.

If you’re into any sort of RPG, board games, card games, family fun, and/or friendly all-out mayhem happening on game night (or any night and hey, who said you HAVE to play at night?), keep an eye peeled for this and yep, go drop some cash on your own copy.

Made for 2-5 players and yes, you can (and NEED to) complete a match in five minutes, 5MD can get pretty frantic as players cooperate to blaze though a dungeon to defeat enemies and take down a boss before time expires. No waiting for turns means each match is a speed-run of attempted coordination as enemies and obstacles are taken down on the way to that big, bad boss waiting at the end.

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