The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing 2 Gets Knockbacked Into May…

Posted on April 3, 2014 by geelw

Game delays are nothing new, so this isn’t really a big surprise. Still, you have to love the press release Neocore Games sent out to announce the delay:

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II Delayed due to Monster Invasion

Slightly delayed, but no need to worry – all that extra time will be spent polishing the game. The new release date is set to May 22, 2014.

So, what happened to the April release date of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II? Well, we could blame the supernatural or the bad Vrikolak meat in the fridge, but the truth is, we want to release a superb game as polished as possible on release and that will take a little longer than we thought. We want to make sure the sequel is superior to the first game in every aspect and it keeps you nailed to your chairs all the way to the end with its engaging new story. Now the new date will also mark the anniversary of the first game’s release. So be ready to hunt down the new swarm of monstrosities when the game hits Steam on May 22, 2014.

All of you are reaping souls right now anyway, aren’t you?

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II is available for pre-order on PC. To pre-purchase the game, head to neocoregames.com/store and choose from the various supporter packages in various price ranges.

Me, I’m currently NOT reaping souls because Blizzard has ignored PS3 and Xbox 360 owners of Diablo III, but I have other stuff to keep me occupied while I wait for the man with the hat and Lady Katarina to make their second appearance in a more polished form. That, and I can also replay the beta a few more times just to see how all those other character classes do against the hordes.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II Beta Hands-On: It’s The Reckoning For That Hunter…

Posted on March 31, 2014 by geelw

Thanks to the fine folks at Neocore Games, I had the opportunity to take a beta version of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II for a spin and am happy to report it’s looking like a bigger, badder, meaner and harder game than the first one, especially if you’re hopping into it with your saved hero from the original. I hadn’t played the first game save for some hours with the demo, but Neocore also sent me a code for the Complete Pack, which got a marathon playthrough over the past week or so (and me a nicely maxed out Level 30 Hunter by that cliffhanger ending).

The new game starts off with a rather massive siege on a factory by many enemies being airdropped in capsules and a large army of civilian soldiers assisting Van Helsing and Katarina, his ghostly (and snarky) AI companion. Granted, one could play the beta using a few default high level characters in a few classes, but after trying out a few of these overpowered guys, I decided to take the longer, tougher (yet highly enjoyable and rewarding) route and go through the first game just to have a more personalized experience… Continue reading →

MORE Free Stuff? OK, Win An Earth Defense Force 2025 Prize Pack (via Facebook)

Posted on March 12, 2014 by geelw

Got a facebook account? Good. Like to win free stuff? Even better! D3Publisher of America is giving YOU a chance to win a PS3 or Xbox 360 copy of their epic bug-blasting extravaganza Earth Defense Force 2025, all three DLC packs AND a bunch of EDF 2025 swag (which MAY or may not be some or all of this cool stuff) all for filling out that sweepstakes form. Uh huh, I can hear you bouncing up and down in your seat over there, so stop that before you break that chair (it’s squeaking because it’s old!) and go enter already!

WIN FREE STUFF! The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Steam Codes!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by geelw

Thanks to the awesome Orsolya Toth over at Neocore Games, I have TWO Steam codes for their excellent Action/RPG The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing to give away to TWO lucky winners! NOTE: This is the original version of the game, NOT the Complete Pack (but you can upgrade to that if you like via Steam by buying that additional content if you like the game!) and yes, the game is PC and Macintosh compatible. How do you enter? Well, just FOLLOW the site if you haven’t yet and leave a comment below. I’ll randomly pick two of you and shoot over your codes within 24 hours. No need to leave your email, as we have ways of knowing who you are… (mua-ha-ha-haaa!)

And whether you win or not, you SHOULD support the sequel, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II over at Necore’s online store. There are some great premiums for folks with funds to spare (you can be in the game!) and the sequel’s MUCH bigger than the original, but costs exactly the same! I’ll be giving the beta of VHII a shot shortly and let you know what’s what with that soon. Stay tuned…

System requirements for the game and official rules for the giveaway are below the jump… Continue reading →

I Hate Flying, But Perhaps Nintendo Wants Me To Think Of Doing It More…

Posted on November 27, 2013 by geelw

Some VERY lucky Southwest Airlines passengers recently received a VERY cool treat courtesy of Nintendo of America in the form of a voucher for a FREE Wii U, and as you can see above, yes indeed that made plenty of people really pleased that they now have one big gift crossed off their holiday lists. Granted, as awesome as this promotional stunt was, the company NEEDS all those people and more to actually BUY Wii U games and not just stick with that pack-in game. But I guess a bit of word of mouth will go a long way if these people love what they got gratis for what they discover once they need to see what else is out there to play. My more cynical brain sees this as a slickly played desperation move on the part of Nintendo because Wii U sales seem to be lower than expected according to every industry site I read.

That said, Nintendo has always followed its own drumbeat and despite the analysts and naysayers tossing doom around over the company’s head, that’s not going to happen thanks to their deep pockets and the fact that every other game company seems to copy things they do to varying degrees of success. The Wii U may not move as many units and the competition, but Nintendo’s longer range plans are always out of sight of those who want huge numbers by the minute and don’t see the longer view to the horizon…

Skylanders: Giants News: Ninjini Is Coming To NYC Early (And Kids, You Might Get One Free)

Posted on February 1, 2013 by geelw

Hey kids! Go wrangle up your parental units and check this post out together, then maybe pack up a lunch for a day in the city. With Toy Fair 2013 rolling into New York City in about ten days, Activision is getting set to give Skylanders fans a huge treat next week. If you happen to be in the Times Square area on February 5th, wellll, you might just get lucky and walk away with a new Skylanders: Giants figure bound to make your friends some really jealous kitties! Check the info below the jump, show up EARLY and go home a happy camper!

Continue reading →

GOG.com Gives Away Two Ultima Games (There Goes My Schedule Out The Window)…

Posted on June 19, 2012 by geelw

Oh, they’re doing it again…. this time, it’s two really spectacular spin-offs from a seminal PC role-playing game franchise. Just clicky-click away here and here to get both games for nothing at all, as even a gog.com account is FREE. While you’re at it, you may as well check out the site to see what other inexpensive (not free, but amazingly cheap) DRM-free classic to current games they have (the library is ridiculously impressive and growing). Finally, don’t forget to vote in their daily Battle of the Games promo where YOU (yes, you!) decide which of the two games fighting it out gets a bigger discount. If you pop in today to vote, you’ll see Quantic Dream’s excellent adventure/action game Fahrenheit has a massive advantage over the poor (yet classic) Alone in the Dark collection (historically, that’s a big boo-boo, but in terms of production values and the “coolness” factor, David Cage and his team win).