Orphan Black 2:7 Recap/2:8 Preview: From Grins To Grimaces At The Drop Of A Hat…

I don’t think I’ve laughed more WITH a serious sci-fi show than I have during this season of Orphan Black. Last Saturday’s episode gave poor Vic both barrels, Sarah and Allison didn’t escape without making me chuckle and Donnie? Yeah, he’s even MORE clueless than even I realized. Given the rather surprising end to that episode, he’s in even MORE trouble than I’d have imagined, so we’ll need to see where that bit of story takes him. That said, next week’s show looks to get the dramatic elements to the forefront again now that the other big clone-related reveal has borne some rather unique blossoms.

Oh yeah… it looks as if there’s going to be quite a bit of drama kicking around in next week’s show…

Bugbear’s Next Car Game: Still On The Way, But Getting There Is Half The Fun…

Yes indeed, Bugbear Entertainment’s Next Car Game STILL needs a proper title, but that’s not stopping it from becoming a big favorite among pretty much anyone who’s gotten the chance to try out one of the many tech demos or preview builds. The developer is still taking pre-orders for the game (which is also coming to Steam) and even offering up Kickstarter-like bonuses to those who spend a bit more loot such as getting their names in the game or allowing a set number of users to design their own custom rides for all to use. One of the coolest things anyone can grab of (if they have the money to buy and space to use it) is Fanatec’s SPECTACULAR selection of racing game seats, wheels, shifters and such that make any driving or racing game an even more realistic experience. As you can see in that video above, The setup Bugbear is using (which includes Fantec’s Universal Hub) is quite modular, allowing many steering wheel variants to be used.

Now, the only thing the game needs is a proper console version, although the original crowdfunding drive fell short of that goal. My hope is that the PC version does well enough and gets enough attention that at least ONE of the big three companies sees that as a chance to get a great destruction derby racer back on the market for their systems. Granted, both Sony and Microsoft have marquee racers and may pass on this one (and too bad for them if they do!), but Nintendo hasn’t had a GOOD first-party realistic racer for ages (although Need For Speed Most Wanted U is hands-down the best racer with actual licensed cars in YEARS on a Nintendo platform), so a big fat pipe dream is seeing them wise up and at least look into sending Bugbear a few dev kits so they can either port thew game over or come up with something new and just as fun on that hardware. Granted, that’s a slim chance, but hey – one can only hope, right?

Sacred 3 Coming To PC & Consoles August 5 (Or: There Goes My Late Summer)

 
As a fan of the Sacred series for about nine or so years since that Sacred Gold box fell on my foot at a GameStop, I turned it over, saw it was an action/RPG and bought it on the spot, I’m completely psyched for Sacred 3. Coming to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (yet again, the newest consoles are shut out thanks to the game being developed for what was available at the time), I’m expecting more open world fantasy madness, plenty of quests and side quests, intentionally campy voice acting, LOADS of hidden goodies, and of course, excellent replay value. Screenshots don’t quite do these games justice thanks to the isometric view (although zooming in will likely be in the game, it makes the game much harder), but here you go just for fun:

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Personally, I’m a gameplay video guy myself, so I like this better as an example of what’s to come:

 
I’m trying to figure this one into my schedule so I at least have one or two characters completing their story arcs just in time for that Diablo III expansion to hit the PS3 and I segue from one high quality dungeon crawler to another. Well, in THEORY, that’s what’s supposed to happen. We’ll see soon enough, though. Ancaria

The Evil Within Doesn’t Scare Me (Yet) Because I Haven’t PLAYED It (Yet)…

Asylum_Reborn_forSite“Booooooo!” (*squeal!*). Meh, I’ve always disliked these “reaction” videos for games and movies because even if they are one hundred percent real, what scares one person won’t affect another and as I get older, some things don’t scare me any longer that made me fly off a chair and up to the ceiling in the past. Or, to quote one Mr. Ray Parker Jr. “I ain’t afraid of no “ghost!”

Now, I’m NOT that jaded that some horror films, reads and games don’t get me wanting a blankie and a hanky every so often. However, some of the scares in entertainment are often derived from other and far more frightening works. That said, I do trust Shinji Mikami and Bethesda Softworks to the point that The Evil Within just may put me on the ceiling if it does what it does right and often. Expect to be scared out of your wits (or not?) when the game hits stores October 21st in North America, October 23rd, and throughout Europe on October 24, 2014.

Sniper Elite III Hands-On: Even More On Target Than Before…

Sniper Elite III_PS3I was on the subway headed down to see and play Sniper Elite III at a 505 Games media preview when I realized I’d forgotten my eyeglasses. Oops. You can’t be a good sniper at all if you can’t see a damn thing even with a scope, but amusingly enough, that absent-minded error on my part made the demo even more enjoyable.

Thanks to veteran developer Rebellion making the game much more flexible and thrilling than its predecessor, even a quarter blind bat like me was able to have a total blast making as many mistakes as I did. Okay, that’s not sounding like a ringing endorsement for the game, but it’s coming – keep reading. Even if I had brought my gaming spectacles along, my plan was to play the demo in as loose a manner as possible, making mistakes to see how the AI would react while seeing how expansive the level designs were this time out. In Sniper Elite V2, despite some alternate routes, most maps felt a wee bit too boxed in and linear and displacement wasn’t emphasized enough throughout the game (although the best players learned those levels and probably did some of their own shoot and scoot tactics… Continue reading

Orphan Black Episode 7 Trailer: Sticks And Clones May Break Your Bones…

 
Well, now… is almost everyone from each clone’s past turning into a monitor? It would seem so, but this is making Orphan Black even more interesting as the plot thickens this season. I actually need to watch some of the last episode again, as I was working on something during commercials while watching the show and missed about five minutes because I got sucked in past those ads and didn’t look up. I’m a crappy multi-tasker, people. Anyway, I need to get back to that work I was doing now, so it’ll be me catching what I missed On demand before next week’s episode where my FULL attention will be held. Now, good night (well, for you – I’ll be up for about two or so more hours)…

Doctor Who Peter Capaldi Teaser: The Shadow Knows… And We Sure Don’t. Yet.

 
Well. THAT was… annoying but necessary, as now the Whovians are chattering away. But it did get me wanting August to roll around a bit faster. Of course, if it were a thirty second teaser, that would be TOO long and if it were sixty seconds? You’d see people online raaaaaging that it was too long and gave away too much stuff. Oh well. I expect both thirty and sixty second teasers to indeed pop up within a few weeks, so I may the the only one NOT shocked to see them, spoilers or not.

Have I Got My Goat Yet? Not Quite Yet, But Yes Indeed I Will…

 
Okay, I still haven’t played Coffee Stain Studios’ awesomely busted Goat Simulator yet and I’m so ashamed. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. Here’s a game that’s right up my twisted alley and I haven’t bought it yet nor done much other than post a few videos and yak about what I’ve seen. Hey, blame it on too many games, not enough time and me wanting to do so much stuff that even my mailboxes have given up on hoping I’ll get to reading EVERY message in them. I try, but then I get to reorganizing emails by importance and everything goes to hell in a hand basket like an intentionally broken indie game that everyone wants to play but some don’t quite get too because they already have too much on their plates. Wait, we’re back at the beginning of this story again? I thought it was a RIGHT turn at the last sentence! Darn. Hmmm… let me pull over and take a nap. Back in a bit…

Update: the game is getting a patch next month? Well, it’ll still be funny and busted, but local split-screen multiplayer will be added. That’s cool if you like that sort of thing, by the way…

Watch_Dogs Launch Trailer: Your Ticket To Chicago Is Almost Ready…

 
May 27 will be a pretty quiet day at some workplaces in a few places thanks to people coming down with crippling cases of Watch_Dogs flu and staying home to get some finger and wrist exercises in to keep healthy. Ubisoft Montreal is certainly doing its part to move next-gen consoles and maybe a new 3D card or two, but I think even on the older consoles the game will be a winner to those players that don’t give a hoot about their games looking about as realistic as it gets. Anyway, we’ll see what’s what next week (or later for Wii U owners still hoping for an actual release date).

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II Launch Trailer: Hat’s Off (Again) To The Monster Killer!

 
It’s finally all done and ready for its close up, so if you liked the first part a lot, you’ll want to just drop everything now and go out to buy a ring for Neocore Games’ The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II. The game is bigger and better in a number of key ways (you’ll see) and yes, that addictive chase & chop action is even more intense this time out. Not much else to say other than go get this on Steam NOW and have a blast. You don’t want to keep Lady Katerina waiting you know (as she’s way too good with the insults when she gets ticked off). Oh yeah, the guy with the hat and weapons could use your help, too.