N3II Promo Posters 1 & 2

Posted on April 28, 2010 by geelw

Two very cool promotional posters for the upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights II show off a nicely grim aesthetic I’m hoping the game manages to pull off a bit more than the original (well, a LOT more, actually).

Konami has the publishing rights this time out, but I’m guessing they more than likely had not much at all to do with the development on the sequel. I’ve got my fingers crossed anyway that the game will be at least equal to the first one in terms of massive waves of enemies and very tough bosses. We shall see, I suppose…

Gallery: Hunted: The Demon’s Forge

Posted on April 18, 2010 by geelw

InXile Entertainment is baaaaack… and this time, they’re putting together an even more action-focused RPG than their fun console and PC remake of The Bard’s Tale from a few years back. Hunted: The Demon’s Forge looks like it’ll be a blast to play through thanks to a co-op focused online mode and combat that’s a mix of hack & slash with a bit of cover-based ranged weapons work “borrowed” from games such as Gears of War. Granted, I’m hoping the game will support single-player grinding as well (my personal favorite style of play), but with Bethesda handling the publishing duties, it’ll also be really intriguing to see just how deep the game gets when it comes to story.

All I know for sure is we’ve a lovely, deadly magic user and a mean-looking tattooed dude that can swing his sword quite well as the main characters. Well, actually… I know a bit more than that (and you can too once you read the press release and check out the screens below the jump) …
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Sherlock Holmes vs Jack The Ripper To Stalk 360 in April

Posted on March 14, 2010 by geelw

Looks as if the adventure game on home consoles isn’t quite dead after all. Thanks to Dreamcatcher and The Adventure Company, Xbox 360 owners will get their hands on Frogware’s Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper on April 20, 2010 for a mere $29.99.

The game is a port of the 2009 PC version (which garnered pretty decent reviews overall) and features first and switchable first and third-person perspectives, detailed environments based on actual locations around London and more investigating than you can shake a walking stick at. Here’s a quick peek at a few screens as well as a little bit of info on what to expect in the final version:

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Gallery: Clash of the Titans

Posted on February 27, 2010 by geelw

Here’s a nice batch of screens from the upcoming Namco Bandai licensed movie tie-in action game currently in development by Game Republic. I’m intrigued out of sheer curiosity, even though the depth of field in some of these images is a wee bit over the top for my tastes.

Confession: as a kid, I hated the 1981 film (except for Ray Harryhausen’s creepy, effective Medusa sequence), but the remake looks slightly more intriguing (at least from a technical perspective). Besides, with ancient Greece in play in a few games (notably God of War III) and a few other recent titles targeting the GOW style of gameplay (Dante’s Inferno, anyone?), it’ll definitely be interesting to see where this particular game lands on its own merits.

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Gallery Update: 3D Dot Game Heroes

Posted on February 27, 2010 by geelw

Lock up your daughters (well, unless they’re kidnapped princesses that need rescuing)! Atlus USA is letting loose a few more screens from its upcoming PS3 exclusive 3D Dot Game Heroes. Before you take a peek down there, you need to ask yourself a few important questions.

Do you like HUGE swords? Er, in a non-threatening, but increasingly screen-filling manner, that is? Well, take a gander at these big’uns, read the descriptions and try not to lose an eye in the process…

Yeah, this game is going to be a total blast (er, try not to take that the wrong way, folks).

Ancient Sword: The sword of the legendary hero, left in the Sacred Woods should evil arise again.

Claymore: A massive blade that cuts down your foes!

Excalibur: A sword of legend that will require you to gain favor with King Block to obtain it.

Holy Sword: A sword forged in sacred water.

Katana: A sharp, thin blade from the east!

Rare Fish: …? Really?

Gallery Update: Splatterhouse

Posted on February 25, 2010 by geelw

Well, well, well… Namco Bandai’s upcoming relaunch of their seminal horror/action franchise is looking mighty tasty lately and very much improved over those screens from a few months back. Look at all that ketchup – yum! Rick is looking beefy, the monsters are meaty and the red stuff most certainly paints the floors, walls and pretty much everything else.

“This time, we didn’t forget the gravy…” indeed. Q3 2010 can’t come soon enough for me, that’s for sure.

Now, if only NamBan remembers the hardcore fans and actually sticks the arcade version on the game disc somewhere as well as make the great Sega Genesis sequels available as DLC (or heck, on the disc… pretty pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?), this one just might be near perfect… or as good as it gets for us Splatterhouse junkies.

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Preview: 3D Dot Game Heroes – Atlus Gets Retro, Yet Modern With A Sweet Zelda Vibe

Posted on February 19, 2010 by geelw

Thanks to the power of WebEx (craaaak-BOOM!) and the ridiculously fun folks at Atlus USA, 3D Dot Game Heroes has jumped to the front of my must-play list for early 2010 releases. I’ve been interested in this PlayStation 3 exclusive ever since seeing screens from Japan last year and upon hearing Atlus wisely snapped up the US publishing rights, I was more than a little ecstatic at the localization possibilities. Based on the hour-long web demo/presentation, the guys and gals out in sunny Irvine, California have done another super job of bringing US gamers one more surefire hit. From the excellently stylized 3D “block art” to the head-boppingly nostalgic soundtrack and simple yet challenging Action/RPG gameplay, this could be one of those cool “sleepers” that hopefully wakes up a few jaded gamers from their usual purchasing patterns.

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Review: Zaku

Posted on January 12, 2010 by geelw

Platform: Atari Lynx

Developer: PenguiNet

Publisher: SuperFighter Team

Players: 1

Rating: E (Everyone)

Official Site

Score: A+

Dust off that Atari Lynx* and get ready for some hardcore shmup action – Zaku is finally here and it’s an instant classic that you don’t want to miss. SuperFighter Team and developer PengiNet have cooked up a solid and spectacularly tough 4 Meg chunk of horizontal arcade shooting set in 16 stages set over five worlds packed with big-eyed cartoon enemies and wacky screen-filling bosses that will give you candy-colored nightmares on each of its difficulty levels. The game is a near-perfect throwback to the days of classic 8 and 16-bit shooters and every level, every second of the game oozes quality, if not sheer programming genius. How this is running on the Lynx and looking as great as it does is a wonder, but it truly shows just how powerful (and under appreciated) the hardware was (and is).

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Review: Need For Speed NITRO (DS)

Posted on November 20, 2009 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo DS/DSi

Developer: Firebrand Games

Publisher: Electronic Arts

# of Players: 1 (2 – 4 Single Card/Wi-Fi)

Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Official Site

Score: A

If you’re a fan of racing games on the DS, you can absolutely rely on Firebrand Games to cook up something really cool and incredibly fun to play that also allows you to tap into your creative side. Need For Speed NITRO is another superb racer from the team that nicely translates much of what made the Wii version so cool while adding a few DS-exclusive elements such as Single and Multi-card play for up to four players. While the game doesn’t have exactly the same deep paint scheme editor found in its console brother, there is a mostly great color and decal creator that will keep the arty gamer quite occupied as he or she blazes through the game’s wild courses.

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Warren Spector’s Disney Epic Mickey Headed to Wii in 2010

Posted on October 28, 2009 by geelw

Deus Ex creator Warren Spector’s Junction Point Studios has been working on a top secret game project for Disney Interactive Studios for a while now and it’s been on my radar for as long as JP has been working away quietly on it. Now, the first official huge chunk of information and assets have now become available. Here you go: the complete press release and a nice set of images including a dev team photo, character renders and a few pieces of concept art.