Soul Sacrifice Update: More Aural Fixation (Or: There’s An Orchestra in Your Vita)…

 

Here’s a tiny bit of Wataru Hokoyama’s stirring score for the upcoming (and eagerly anticipated) PS Vita action/RPG exclusive plus some interview time for your listening pleasure. Hey, we’re cultured around here despite the name of the site. Hang around here long enough and that’s me drinking a cold beer with my pinky out in the corner. Anyway, Soul Sacrifice will be out soon, so keep an eyeball peeled for it. Of course, if you’re REALLY cultured, you’d have someone peel your eyeball for you, painful as it may be – it’s the classy way to do things…

Urban Trial Freestyle Trailer: Trials of A Man on The Iron Horse…

Now available on PSN for the PS3 and Vita, this slick-looking moto game from Tate Multimedia might LOOK verrrry similar to Red Lynx’ worldwide hit, but the gameplay shakes things up a chunk by making stunts a huge part of the fun. I’ll have a review up sometime next week, as I’m just getting around to downloading my copy and there’s an embargo until the 19th. OK, I’m off to check my insurance and go grab a helmet and pads. I’m not as spry as I used to be, so I’m taking extra precautions!

Nintendo Direct 2.14.2013: A Whole Lotta Love Coming Your Way…

If you don’t get a little thrilled and amused from these Nintendo Direct videos (who can resist Mr. Iwata and his smile, dashing green cap and freshly pressed suit?), you have no heart. Well, maybe you still need some convincing that the company’s direction (they tend to follow their own path rather than go with the flow) is sound and solid. Yes, they’ve had some bumps in the past few years, but their fan base is loyal, broad and by every metric I’ve seen, growing. Some things will take time (Wii U sales are OK, but not Hollywood blockbuster weekend huge), but the company knows that seeds don’t NEED to all sprout and bloom at the same time. Anyway, sit and have a look – then go cuddle up with your 3DS, Wii or Wii U knowing they’re getting a whole lotta first and third-party love (and more to come)…

Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army: February 28 Is Now D-Day For The Undead…

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Three words used together that will either make you laugh like a lunatic, run screaming for the hills (or dive under the couch) or let out an “Oh Yeah!” are Nazi Zombie Army and it seems that developer Rebellion has not only figured this out, they’ve cooked up a new standalone co-op themed Sniper Elite V2 expansion for PC that’s coming out at the end of the month. I like the story idea the guys thought up, as tossing together four soldiers from a few sides of the conflict who’d probably be trying to kill each other and having them work together after things get a wee bit too supernatural thanks to a certain infamous would be great dictator and his final push to win the war in Europe.

Check out the rather gory trailer if you dare here, boogie on over to Steam to pre-order it for $14.99 and if you’re a PS3, 360 or Wii U owner, hope this comes out on consoles at some point at a similar budget price point. Yeah, it’s not for everyone, but i can’t think of too many folks who actually like Nazis or Zombies, especially in armies coming at you with intent to chomp on your brains. Don’t blame those bath salts, either…

Capcom Wishes You a Happy (Jill) Valentine’s Day!

Hmmm. When I was growing up, it was Karen Valentine who the boys (and some of the girls) wanted to hug. These days, it’s all about a “Jill Sandwich” (which was thankfully avoided way back in 1996 thanks to the late Barry Burton) and other squishy bits (usually plenty of zombie parts) fans of the Resident Evil franchise are mooning over. Still, she’s a gal with staying power who’s never been a stereotypical female game character and in fact, her popularity has lasted longer than some game gals who’ve needed a CG reboot every few years. You go, girl! Of course, she’s not real, kids – but strong gals who can save your skin while putting a boot on some undead ass are more than welcome these days…

Star Wars Pinball: The Empire Strikes Back Rolls Onto PSN, XBLA

  

Star_Wars_Pinball_logoZen Studios does it again, dropping a new, cool pinball table onto PSN and XBLA for Zen Pinball fans. This one will have special appeal to Star Wars fans, as it’s Episode V themed and as you can see above, packs in plenty of detail and familiar characters from the film and fun cinematic stuff to make you lose a few balls over as you’re ogling them instead of paying attention to the rest of the amazing play field when these sequences end. Of course, pinball is easy to pick up for anyone who can hold a controller, so this one has wide appeal to all ages (E10+ rating aside). Zen also has a Boba Fett table coming and will reveal more next week, so pop back in to see what’s up (and yes, you can expect a certain line from Return of the Jedi used as a joke title for that post or somewhere in that post…).

Toy Fair 2013: Those Rabbids Are Everywhere (No) Thanks To McFarlane Toys…

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McF_Rabbids 1McFarlane Toys has been invaded by Ubisoft’s kooky Rabbids and after a fierce battle, this seems to be le result: a bunch of goofy Rabbids toys you probably don’t want around your home because they’ll come to life while you’re asleep and wreck your stuff up good. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but if you do decide to buy these homely (but nefariously stupid and crafty) critters, lock them up in a glass case like the one you see in these pics. That’s recommended by the rep at the booth, by the way – I heard he had one in the hotel room he was staying at the first night of the show and the entire mini-bar was gone when he woke up! Evil, I say… eeeeeeeeevil!

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Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen Enemies Trailer: Treasure Hunting Just Got A Lot Tougher…

 
 

Capcom is making sure Dragon’s Dogma fans will be coming back for more and staying put in the land of Gransys for even longer, primarily trying to survive some of these new enemy types. Fire breathing lizards, A gigantic reaper who needs to get his sheet suit cleaned, a few giants, and probably worst of all, monsters in some treasure chests. Talk about a jerk-in-the-box! All you wanted was a nice sack of gold or a new sword or something nice… but, nooooo. You get a mutant thing popping out of that chest and chewing on your head instead of that shiny prize. Well, it’ll sure keep many DD players on their toes, that’s for sure. April 23rd (April 26th in Europe) isn’t really that far away if you think about it. That’s plenty of time to go through the original game before this expansion OR you can wait and pick up Dark Arisen at retail which will have the complete game and expansion on a single disc for a mere $39.99… It’s coin flip time, I guess, but the good thing is if you have a save file from the original game you can transfer it over and not have to replay from the beginning (unless you REALLY want to and have that kind of free time on your hands).

Star Trek: The Game “Salvation” Trailer: Kirk & Spock, In Trouble (Again)…

  

Star_Trek_PS3OK, so Namco Bandai has re-posted the Gamescom trailer from last year, but that’s fine with me, as that probably means the game is close to completion and this is a gentle reminder of what’s on the way for Trek fans. Yeah, yeah, I was going to use the word “Tribble” in place of “Trouble” in that title, but I didn’t want to get your hopes up (or down, depending on how you feel about that original series episode). That and I didn’t want Namco Bandai chasing me around the galaxy like Khan if he survived his Ahab style demise, got rescued by the Doomsday Machine and is riding on the back on a tiny space saddle. At this point, I’m either making your head spin or I’m putting you to sleep, so I’ll shut up and let you watch that trailer in peace. There’s definitely a lot more stuff blowing up here, so the game seems as if it’s going to be closer to the new movie (and yes, appeal to that core gamer crowd who wants less talk in their games). We’ll see if that adds up to an overall worthy experience soon enough. Veteran developer Digital Extremes has been to this rodeo previously and knows their way around a decent action game, so let’s hope this is their best work to date…

Yomega’s Star Wars Yo-Yo’s: You Wanted Pics With That, Right?

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Yomega SW Pending (Custom)And here you go: still pending approval (which will give Lucas something to instead of reediting the original trilogy one more time, ha ha), but both will be really fun collectibles for Star Wars fans as well as dedicated yo-yo enthusiasts, as they offer more than just good looks and familiar faces to play with. You get a solid yo-yo with a figure body that acts as a stand and a head that pops in to replace the yo-yo when in use. I think you’ll also be able to use the head as a string winder as well, but we’ll see. I ended up also getting a nice Yomega Toy Fair 2013 yo-yo to practice with, which is a good thing, as I haven’t touched a yo-yo in years and I’m SUPER rusty.  I think as long as I remove anything breakable from the living room, I’ll be fine. Well, the furniture will be. I may need some padding and a helmet. Does Yomega even make yo-yo pads and helmets? Hmmm… I need to drop by the booth again and check. Back later…