Aliens: Colonial Marines TV Spot: Gearbox Going 2 For 2? Seems Likely…

Posted on January 14, 2013 by geelw

Borderlands 2 was a very huge hit in 2012 for Gearbox, but yeah, I’ve been keeping an eyeball on you too, new game. It’s pretty clear that Randy Pitchford and company love the James Cameron film to the utmost degree and this looks to bring fans of the franchise that sequel they didn’t quite get with Alien 3 (I actually like David Fincher’s debut, warts and all, especially the longer Assembly Cut). I’ll be playing this primarily for the campaign mode, as I’m not a huge multiplayer guy and yes, I’m looking forward to seeing how well Gearbox translated the assorted sets and gear into game form. I’ve only seen Aliens a few dozen times, so I can be as picky and precise as a developer head over heels for the source material. So far, I’m not complaining at all.

February 12 is sneaking up fairly quickly… now, I just need to decide what I want to play this on. I’m leaning towards the Wii U just to see how that GamePad gets used, but I want the PS3 version as well…

Call of Duty MW3 TV Spot: It’s Guy Ritchie’s Turn To Show He’s A Gamer Too…

Posted on October 29, 2012 by geelw

‘Ey! What’s all this now with popular directors tackling video game ads? First it’s David Fincher producing a wild and intriguing Halo 4 ad and now Guy Ritchie on this CoD MW3 commercial… hmmmmm. Well, I guess people need to work and hey, it’s always great to find out some quality movie talent are gamers, right? So it’s all good in the end. It’s also good that we’re not seeing these guys tackle adaptations of the games they’re doing ads for as full-fledged movies. I know I said in an earlier post that it would be a good idea to see longer form works from great directors based on games, but given that you’d end up with 21 writers trying to fit too much into a two-hour flick and the creative control disasters that would result from this sort of collaboration, TV spots and quick trailers are a better thing in the end foe gamers concerned about quality and continuity. OK, someone dial up Ridley Scott – I’d love to see him tackle some upcoming title (if he’s got an interest in gaming at all, that is)…

3DS XL TV Spots: Nintendo Still Doesn’t Feel My Pain, But They’ll Get My Money…

Posted on October 3, 2012 by geelw

I actually love the new 3DS XL because I’m old as the hills and need something I can actually see, so yep, I’ll be getting one of these in a bit. My problem is the same as the one many who still play Game Boy Advance or other older Game Boy games have had since the DSi XL launched a while back. We STILL need to keep an older model small screen DS around (or have a dedicated GBA SP) when we want to play something that has yet to go up in the eShop. Yes, I still have my Game Boy Player attached to my GameCube, but you certainly can’t take that setup on the train.

Granted, the chances of seeing some of the more obscure GBA games I have here pop up as legal downloads are slim to none (and I refuse to be a pirate, arrr!), but hey, I’m in the minority at the end of the day. Compared to the masses who don’t give a hoot because they’re not interested in game history, treat it as easily disposable and move onto new things at a rapid pace, I’m an absolute dinosaur to Nintendo. Hell, I still say some of us old farts NEED to keep all types of gaming alive for as long as we can…

Dishonored TV Commercial: An Instant Classic Not Going Quietly Into That Dark Night…

Posted on September 27, 2012 by geelw

Arkane Studios’ newest and most impressive game is all done and ready for its close up quite soon. I’m psyched because I just KNOW there will be a few brainy gamers out there who see the game world and all the hard work the team has put into it and “click” into it all multiple times, as the game demands you try everything you can at all times when tackling missions. My only major decision in the end is which version to buy. I’m leaning towards PS3, as my two 360’s are dead and my PC too aged to run anything this new. OK, let me poke around and see if I can find some game screens to turn into an October banner for the site…

New Super Mario Bros. 2 3DS TV Spot: Nintendo Does It Again (Again)

Posted on August 7, 2012 by geelw

To me, it’s simply amazing that Nintendo can crank out a new Mario game that’s basically an old Mario game with some funky tweaks plus a few innovations every so often and make a mint every single time. Any other publisher that does this gets called all kinds of names and sand kicked in their faces by the more jaded critics and gamers alike out there. But Nintendo seems to have a pretty solid lock on what their fans want to see, so thanks are in order somewhere, I suppose. Of course, if you hate Mario games, your thumbs went into your eyes before you read this, right?

Sleeping Dogs Official Site Goes Live With A Bit Of Hidden Object Fun

Posted on July 26, 2012 by geelw

I’ve been quietly following United Front’s work on this one since it was announced and yes, I’m pretty happy with how this is coming together and hope it does great when it ships out. Amusingly enough, after watching all those gameplay videos and taking in the scope of the game (it’s going to be huge), I noted to a friend that all the game needed was puzzle or hidden object game elements to appeal to the super-casual crowd. Of course, Future US and Square Enix have kicked off the official site with… you guessed it, a hidden object mini-game that, while not for the casual crowd at all, does unlock a cool new gameplay video once you find all four objects in the rather cool interactive “marketplace” complete with people and items you’ll see in the game proper. Go on, check it out (you know you want to). August 14, 2012 is the big day, by the way – so get ready….

Assassin’s Creed III July 4th Trailer: A Bit of Flag-Waving From A Few Directions…

Posted on July 4, 2012 by geelw

How amusing that US ad agencies make stupid “patriotic” commercials with stuff like the founding fathers driving Detroit muscle cars into battle (Um…. oooookaaay?), while a non-US based company like Ubisoft does stirring stuff like this that manages to draw interest to both their product and a traditional American holiday in a more inspiring manner. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the holiday and please try not to blow anything off you’ll need for work (or play) later on.

E3 2012: As A Game, Defiance Proves Me Wrong, But The Show Still Needs To Be Worth Watching…

Posted on June 8, 2012 by geelw

OK, I’ll admit it. I wasn’t at ALL keen on Defiance from the moment I heard about it. Sure, Trion Worlds is known for some solid MMO experiences, but the fact that the game would be based on a show from the network that brings us crappy camp like Sharktopus and Jersey Shore Shark Attack! didn’t exactly make me comfortably assured about reliable quality control in regards to the upcoming TV series. Sure, the Battlestar Galactica reboot was groundbreaking and great from the start , but as the song goes, “What Have You Done For Me Lately?”

Then I saw some gameplay and well, I had to eat my hat…

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E3 2012: Spec Ops: The Line TV Spot: I’ll Have a Shot Of Yager, Please…

Posted on June 3, 2012 by geelw

2K Games and developer Yager really have a hit here, what with all that amazing sand technology and the source material (Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness) being perfect for the game they’re presenting. Here’s yet another example of a genre game defying the usual conventions and stepping outside of the box to do it differently. Like a few other titles pushing the envelope, I’m hoping gamers can free up a few extra brain cells to actually appreciate the hard work that went into this one without complaining about the experience NOT being what they “expected.” Hell, sometimes, it’s NICE to be surprised about a game, I say…

Lollipop Chainsaw TV Ad: Just About All You Can See During Primetime…

Posted on May 16, 2012 by geelw

I really like that WBIE didn’t fall over themselves trying to whip up a tame and unremarkable commercial for Grasshopper’s upcoming game. Yes, if you’ve been ogling the trailers before, you’ve seen most or all of this footage already. But this spot isn’t for YOU, silly rabbits. It’s for those folks who haven’t pre-ordered on heard of the game for some reason and are seeing all that weirdness for the first time. Hell, I’d buy this if I saw this ad and didn’t know a thing about the game just for the comedy bits alone. I predict a nice summer for Juliet if the game does well (and everyone involved will be happy as well)…