Max Payne 3 PC System Specs: There Goes The Rent Money!

Posted on April 27, 2012 by geelw

Oops. These specs were revealed on Monday, but thanks to a few too many articles I’m in the process of writing, I’m still a bit behind on my email reading. Anyway, if you’re not playing this on console because you can afford to spend some decent money upgrading your gaming rig, here’s what you’ll need to get Max up and running smoothly (minus any overclocking and settings tweaking you’ll probably to to boost the already outstanding visuals even further)

Max Payne 3 PC System Specifications

Operating System: Windows 7 32/64 Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 32/64 Service Pack 2, Windows XP 32/64 Service Pack 3

Processor: Intel Dual Core 2.4 GHZ – i7 3930K 6 Core x 3.06 GHZ / AMD Dual Core 2.6 GHZ – FX8150 8 Core x 3.6 GHZ

RAM: 2GB – 16GB

Video Card: NVIDIA® 8600 GT 512MB VRAM – NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680 2GB VRAM / Radeon HD 3400 512MB VRAM – Radeon HD 7970 3GB VRAM

Sound Card: 100% Direct X 9.0 compatible – Direct X 9.0 compatible supporting Dolby Digital Live

HDD Space: 35 GB

DVD Drive

Please refer to your hardware manufacturer and http://www.rockstargames.com/support for current compatibility information. Some system components such as mobile chipsets, integrated, and AGP graphics cards may be incompatible. Unlisted specifications may not be supported by publisher.

Additionally, Rockstar has also spilled the beans on the cool digital bonuses available for those who want a box-less game experience, but I’ll let you check out the official site for those details.

Bethesda Softworks & Tango Gameworks Announce New Survival Horror Game (I’m Scared Already)…

Posted on April 26, 2012 by geelw

So, that’s what Shinji Mikami has been up to lately. Besides posing for what looks like a jeans or sneakers ad (ha ha), he’s also directing a brand new survival horror game from developer Tango Gameworks that’s going to be published by Bethesda Softworks at some point in the future (as in, when it’s done).

Anyway, the game project is codenamed “Zwei” (meaning “I won’t comment on this until the game has an actual title” in German), there’s nothing yet on the story characters or gameplay and just a single image made up of environments from the work in progress (see below).

Despite the lack of info about the game, Mikami has some words of comfort for horror fans out there wondering about how scary the game will be:

“A true ‘survival horror’ game is one in which the player confronts and overcomes fear,” says Shinji Mikami, president and creative director for Tango Gameworks. “I’ve found my focus and once again I’m striving for pure survival horror. I am being very hands-on in the development of this game to ensure that the quality is there. Rest assured.”

Sounds like a plan and yes, Bethesda is on a roll again. Dishonored is coming to slap your skeptical face straight and this Tango project will hopefully be as memorable (or even more so) than the Resident Evil games Mikami is well-known for. Granted, for sheer fear, it’s going to be hard to beat Frictional Game’s masterful fright-fest Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but we’ll see how this new game progresses as more media rolls in during the development process…

Gallery: Wii Library (A Work Back In Progress!)

Posted on April 25, 2012 by geelw

I’ve actually owned and played a LOT more than I’ve kept in this photo, but I’m in the process of adding a few more games through trades and tracking down some dirt cheap titles in a few clearance bins. I actually have a few more games on the way thanks to a small trade I made recently, but I wanted to post this picture up now. I guess, I’ll update a few months from now when I have more interesting games to show.

That said, sometimes, it makes me want to (gently) sling an untethered Wii Remote at the heads of those who say the system ONLY has “kiddie” or family games or worse, slam the console without having played a single game on it because they just don’t see how motion control would work on a favorite genre. While, yes, there are a lot of not so hot games on the system, you can absolutely say that about any console from any generation. As far as the Wii (or any other system) goes, when you have a developer who gets what can be done, it works – when you have one that doesn’t quite get it right, it doesn’t. Of course, even a “bad” game can be enjoyable if you’re in the right frame of mind…

Akai Katana: Rising Star’s Retail Hope For Core Shmup Fans

Posted on April 21, 2012 by geelw

Yeah, yeah yeah, the arcade shooter genre doesn’t do well at retail, everyone plays on emulators and blah, and blah, and blah. But I happen to LIKE packaged games, crazed game historian wannabe that I am. Anyway, Rising Star Games is here to save the day with Akai Katana on the Xbox 360. While this Cave shooter won’t win any awards as the prettiest gal at the party, the intense shooter action is there in all its “bullet hell” glory and like many classics in the genre, it’s all about the replay value over merely blowing through the game once and that’s that.

By the way, Rising Star also has a few fun plans for the Nintendo DS/DSi and 3DS in terms of some cool casual titles, but I’ll save those for a new post shortly.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Enhanced Edition) Hands-On: The Best RPG I’ve Played In 2012 (So Far)…

Posted on April 10, 2012 by geelw

The first word that came to mind when I finally got my hands on The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition was Quality. Quality of content, quality in the richness of detail in the characters, environments and even the way the game’s non-playable cinemas added to the epic feeling of the living world CD Projekt RED has worked so hard on. It’s not hard to look at the screens in this article and think that the Xbox 360 can’t do some of the stuff you’re seeing, but in fact, you can expect the game to be surprising in a number of ways when you finally get your hands on it next week. I got to play an early portion of Geralt’s adventure last week when WBIE rolled into NYC (with a trio of excellent games you should keep an eyeball on) and I wanted to stay in front of that big screen for a few hours longer diving more and more into what’s looking like one of the best games of 2012.

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Mortal Kombat On The Vita: That Challenge Tower Just Got A Whole Lot Taller (And Trickier)

Posted on April 9, 2012 by geelw

I’m one of those people who hates the word “port” with a divine passion, particularly when it comes to portable versions of home console games. Hell, a LOT of hard work goes into getting everything jammed onto a handheld and in the case of games like Mortal Kombat on the Vita, the smaller system is actually getting a lot more in the way of new content. Gamers who still don’t quite get it hear that word and automatically think they’re getting nothing changed from the home version or worse, they think they’re getting a “lesser: game for their money, all squashed down and unrecognizable. Well, that’s not the case at all with this version of MK, as I found out last week when I sat down with the Producer, NetherRealm’s Hector Sanchez and he showed me around some of the new Challenge Tower events.

The Vita-specific content actually shows up in a separate tower and as you make your way up, you’ll see missions that use the Vita touch screens in some interesting ways, a few of which will be familiar to fans of certain hugely popular casual device games. Sure, slicing flying stuff while avoiding bombs or trying to keep your character balanced for ten seconds over a deadly pit using the Vita’s accelerometer might seem a wee bit too casual to some hardcore MK fans, but it works perfectly on the Vita. And besides, we’re talking about a franchise that’s had a “chess” mode and kart racing dropped in as funky bonus content in previous installments. Not to worry, though – there are plenty of gory moments in these new mini-games that should please even the most die-hard fan of the series.

As a portable game, MK still delivers the goods where it counts, controls like a dream on the Vita and with its May 1 release date screaming up pretty fast, looks as if it’s set to be as big a hit on Sony’s shiny new little wonder as it was on consoles. Of course, that “big hit” stuff all depends on YOU (and I don’t mean your skill at pulling off Fatalities, either), so don’t disappoint Hector, folks. Or Scorpion, Baraka, Stryker or any of the other fighters in the game, for that matter. You wouldn’t want them to come looking for you to ask why you’re not taking them out to play, would you?

Let’s Take A Little Stroll In The Woods, Shall We?

Posted on April 9, 2012 by geelw

Nice, quiet and lovely scenery, isn’t it? Nope, that’s not a photograph or some painting by the old masters, folks. That’s a screen shot from The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Enhanced Edition) for the Xbox 360. The folks at CD Projekt RED think it’s one of the best-looking games on the system and I absolutely agree. More on other stuff I agreed with shortly when I file my hands-on preview. April 17 is right around the corner, I know, I know. But the huge boxed 360 version of the Collector’s Edition is already sold out everywhere, so that bodes quite well for the developer, I’d say. As for the rest of you 360 owners looking for the next great epic to play, your only chance to grab this gorgeous, mature RPG with a whopping sixteen endings (!) will be the Standard Edition (also coming to PC on the same day), which for my money, SHOULD have “Best RPG of 2012” stamped on the front, back and sides in big flaming letters.

Back in a bit with more – this one’s going to be spectacular…

Review: Ninja Gaiden 3

Posted on March 31, 2012 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 3 (also on Xbox 360)

Developer: Team Ninja

Publisher: Tecmo Koei

# of Players 1 (Online 2 – 8)

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: C+ (75%)

Team Ninja set itself up with quite a paradox-shaped pickle when they set about designing Ninja Gaiden 3. The particular problem plaguing them? How to make a game for new casual players (and those who hated the supreme challenge of the older Ninja Gaiden games) and while pleasing the more hardcore fans of the franchise (some from the arcade and NES days) who wanted something brutally difficult that took a great deal of effort to master. Now, some of those more loyal hardcore Ryu Hayabusa fans would simply say “screw the noobs!” or something far less print-friendly. However, these days it’s getting much harder to sell some “core” games so far within a niche and make a decent profit. Yes, that’s pretty awful if you think about it, but broadening the base has worked well for certain other franchises and genres, right?

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Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Cover Art (What, No PSP Version?!)

Posted on March 30, 2012 by geelw

And a nice trailer for good measure (in case you haven’t seen it yet). I’m liking this sequel a lot based on the stuff I’ve seen and heard because it has actual voice acting and what’s looking like a pretty cool story. Of course, that it doesn’t look bad at all helps out quite a bit. Traveler’s Tales Is doing what looks to be its most polished work for current gen platforms, but the game is also hitting nearly every other platform (except the PSP). So, if you’ve got something to play games on that’s not a phone or tablet, you’re DEFINITELY covered.

Malevolence: The Sword of Ahkranox Update: The Great Outdoors And A New Funding Pitch…

Posted on March 25, 2012 by geelw

In case you’re not following this fantastic-looking “old-school” RPG here, the dev team is hard at work whipping up some gorgeous outdoor environments:

and has done a second IndieGoGo pitch video geared toward potential donors who haven’t yet heard of the project (you SHOULD go donate to the cause, I say):

Finally, below the jump, some borrowed video from one of the alpha testers just so you have an idea of what to come (but much more improved, obviously)…

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