Gallery: PlayStation 3 Library

Posted on January 13, 2012 by geelw

Just like my Xbox 360 library, the amount of stuff I have here has gone up and down as I play through games and trade or sell them off. I’d say I’ve owned at least triple what’s here more or less since the console’s launch. As i noted earlier, a good deal of this generation’s titles across every platform are less appealing to me than some older games for other consoles I own. Maybe it’s too much focus on visuals over gameplay in some areas or too much DLC combined with lesser out of box experiences that seem lacking. I’m still figuring that out, as I do love seeing what different developers can do with the PS3 (or any other) hardware…

Gallery Update: Asura’s Wrath

Posted on January 12, 2012 by geelw

Whoops. I forgot to run these screens with the trailer the other day, so here you go. The demo is out now, so go play it and groove on the weirdness and crazy action taking place. The funny thing about the demo is thanks to the score in one section, you can tell if someone’s playing it if they’re blasting their TV too loud. As I said already, I really HOPE people “get” what CyberConnect2 is doing here in terms of presentation, as the game breaks a few rules and sets up a few new ones that work for the story it’s telling…

Retro Exploration: Dreamcast (Part 8: PSO!)

Posted on January 12, 2012 by geelw

Phantasy Star Online & Phantasy Star Online Version 2 are for a lot of Dreamcast fans, the crown jewel on the late console, even eclipsing Yu Suzuki’s flawed epic, Shenmue. Combining a solid, lengthy (and addictive) single player campaign with an innovative (and even more addictive) online mode, excellent visuals and plenty of loot to collect made the game an instant hit worldwide. While the superior Game Cube version polished up elements and added some new content, the Xbox version cut off solo offline play for those without Xbox Live accounts ( a VERY foolish move by either Sega, Microsoft or both companies that hurt the game’s sales). Anyway, here are omake wallpapers from the Dreamcast PSO (above) and PSO II (below) discs. I love the artwork in these wallpapers and almost wish Sonic Team had decided to make both titles with a ‘cel-shaded’ look instead of what we ended up with.

The good news about PSO is it’s going to live again soon enough as Phantasy Star Online 2, currently in development with a 2012 release date. However, it looks as if this one will be Windows PC only (grrrr…) and there’s no concrete news to date of a definite release outside Japan. SEGAAAAAAA!!! Don’t neglect your dedicated PSO fan base on other platforms (and other countries) so much!

Gallery Update: Game Of Thrones

Posted on January 11, 2012 by geelw

Focus Home Interactive and developer Cyanide Studios are making me a bit more thrilled about their upcoming game in each new set of screens. The upcoming action RPG is looking nice and dark in tone here, which matches much of the show’s look. Still, my kingdom for a torch or two to lighten the mood! Atlus is bringing this one out stateside sometime this spring for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, making this a super addition to their lineup if the game is anywhere near the quality of the books and HBO series. More screens to some as the roll out – stay tuned…

Retro Exploration: Dreamcast (Part 7)

Posted on January 11, 2012 by geelw

Here’s a ton of fun bonus images from Red Dog, the superb drive ‘n shoot game from the late Argonaut Studios. You get a few background artworks from loading screens, enemy render, unused logos and some more oddball stuff below the jump I remember this one from all the crazy four-player matches that were a huge part of the workday at the indie shop I worked at for a few years. No matter how crappy the day was, a few MP sessions would kick things into a cooler place. Of course, the single player mode was a ton of fun as well with all those challenging levels and tough boss battles. I haven’t played the game in ages, but I’ll absolutely give it a whirl when I get some more free time just to see if my reflexes are still as good as they used to be…

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Asura’s Wrath Demo Is Alive & Kicking (and Punching) Over PSN/Xbox Live

Posted on January 11, 2012 by geelw

POW! With its February 21, 2012 release right around the corner, CyberConnect2’s paradigm-changing cinematic action game finally gets a playable demo and it’s purely insane earth-shaking stuff of the gods. And it’s funny as hell, too. Go play it and enjoy the crazy ride it takes you on. Capcom’s got a mega hit here that deserves a wide audience, so hopefully folks who think games like GOD HAND are the best thing since sliced bread will be all over this and tell as many friends as possible how cool it all is. What, you’re still reading this post? Don’t you have a demo to download? Go on, shoo!

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.

Retro Exploration: Dreamcast (Part 5)

Posted on January 10, 2012 by geelw

Above: three simple but nice wallpapers from Sega’s hilarious and fun Action/RPG/Beat ’em up Rent-A-Hero #1, which WAS actually localized for the original Xbox and set to be released by AIA Games (who bought us Illbleed on the Dreamcast) here in the US. I even got to review the English version of the game for Digital Press before the game was set to ship. Alas, it got canned a few weeks before the release for some reason, but I still have my debug code here and a console to play it on, so there’s that. YOU, dear reader, unfortunately got chunks of the game presented in a more watered down form as Virtua Quest, a kid’s game for the PS2 and Game Cube… so there’s that. Hey, SEGA!!! Wake up and do RAH some justice with a proper remake!

More images below the jump…

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Retro Exploration: Dreamcast (Part 4)

Posted on January 9, 2012 by geelw

I-Spy with my little eye… omake images from NEC’s quirky Sega Dreamcast real-time spy simulation (known as Espion-Agents in Japan). Although the game didn’t do so well back in the day as a solo play experience, I think it would be pretty cool as a multi-player focused reboot one of these days. Not that this is going to happen any time soon, but I’m sure someone can take the idea behind the game and turn it into something super…

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Retro Exploration: Dreamcast (Part 3, Swimsuit Edition!)

Posted on January 8, 2012 by geelw

Tecmo added different sets of omake images on the Japanese and US versions of Dead or Alive 2. Tina to the left there and the seven pics below the jump are from the US version of the game and the next five are taken from the Japanese Limited Edition release. I’ll need to see if the Japanese standard edition of the game has the same bikini shots as the US version, but I actually prefer the art from the LE disc a lot more.