VGA 101: On Kenji Eno: A Loss Isn’t A Complete Loss If Something Is Gained In the Process…

Posted on March 3, 2013 by geelw

One of my favorite game creators, Kenji Eno, passed away on February 20th and I’d planned to write up something memorial-esque last week, but couldn’t for a few reasons. The main one was it’s actually quite hard to write something brief about what playing through some of the games he and his studio WARP created during their brief run meant to me without actually going through the library here and taking time to do so. That’s going to get done in about a month or so, barring incident. The other was I wanted to read what some of his close friends wrote about him in order to get a better insight on the man and his work. There was also a little bit of unfinished business to take care of in getting a certain something back to a certain someone, so that had to come first… Continue reading →

Soul Sacrifice Japanese TV Spots: April’s Real Fools Will Miss This Gem…

Posted on February 24, 2013 by geelw

Nope, I’m not taking ALL of today off, folks. Here are a trio of nice ads for Sony’s upcoming Vita exclusive which is headed stateside soon enough (oh, alright… I’ll be nice – it’s headed to PSN and HOPEFULLY retail in North America on April 30, 2013).

Granted, non-Vita owners hoping for the portable to slide into oblivion while they diddle away playing Fruit Ninja or whatever are more likely than not shrugging away or not taking much notice as they’re rubbing their fingerprints off on some tablet or phone. On the other hand, The core Vita fans who support the handheld know this is a key release coming in a pretty hectic year for the system.

Hmm. My long list of stuff to play has now officially reached “Too many games!” status. But according to experts in the field of “Hey, you have waaaaay too many games!” it’s been that way for a while.

Random Film of the Week(end): Rubber

Posted on February 24, 2013 by geelw

I absolutely love that some horror fans HATE Quentin Dupiex’ Rubber (or as it’s called in France, Rubber) for a few reasons. I’m betting he knew that’s just what would happen when the jaded but none too bright gore fanatics out there rolled into theaters or caught this on cable thinking they’d be getting a relentlessly violent and gory flick that just so happened to be non-stop hilarious. Well, it IS indeed gory and often quite funny… but it’s also a one or two gag film that works it hard by going in many directions (often at once) as well as one of the more absurdly meta movies you’ll ever see. You know you’re in for a weird time when a movie starts off with two characters on a desert road talking about how things happen for “no reason” before an audience in the distance waiting around is handed binoculars in order to watch what happens next. That’s probably the most normal thing you’ll see for the next 80+ minutes, by the way…

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Gallery: Mystic Chronicles (Or: Natsume Keeps The PSP Flame Burning Into The Summer Months)

Posted on February 23, 2013 by geelw

Well, well, well… I didn’t even know Japanese developer/publisher Kemco was still around these days, but thanks to Natsume deciding to localize the company’s iOS RPG Fantasy Chronicle for North America as Mystic Chronicles for a summer 2013 release, I’m a bit happier to see the developer still cranking out fun games that more genre fans here in the US will get to enjoy. Tile-based 16-bit visuals straight out of the SNES and Genesis days? Check. First-person field and dungeon combat (and turn-based at that)? Check. Cute anime/manga art all over the place (like it or not – I happen to like it a lot in this type of game). Check.

All I need to know now is when it’s coming out and how much I need to spend to get my grubby paws on it (retail is preferred, but I’ll take a PSN code to get my fix). Hey, I have three PSP’s here, at least one of which gets regular usage (Earth Defense Force 2 Portable has been on constant play here since I got it from Play-Asia), so I won’t be needing to go nuts digging through the Bins of Doom here looking for them.

Anyway, onwards to the gallery with you! Watch your step and duck, as it’s below the jump… Continue reading →

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance: Platinum Scores Big, Slices Skeptics Up Good…

Posted on February 19, 2013 by geelw

There’s nothing like a good game to shut up the naysayers out there, so it’s fantastic to see Konami, Platinum Games and yes, Hideo Kojima get a lovely bit of sweet Revengeance on the usual internet troll posses and their stale bile. Kojima has even made an amazing trailer for the game that shows off Platinum’s hard work quite well, spoils a few things and is pretty much not for those squeamish types, as there’s a lot of fake blood and lots of objects getting a good slicing on display. Of course, the game is SO far out there that much of this is pretty funny (in a weird way like most of Kojima’s work when he goes for the quirky). Hmmm – looks like that’s another game I need to get around to buying at some point. Also, the Japanese TV spots are slightly similar in tone (people having not so hot days at work and such), but funnier (and stranger) than the one US ad I’ve seen – see above and below the jump…

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New Japanese Dragon’s Crown Trailer Is Anything But Vanilla…

Posted on February 18, 2013 by geelw

A ha ha. I’ll take “MORE puns you don’t get if you’re not a gamer” for a thousand, Alex. Anyway, Atlus has dropped this nice new slice of lovely 2D gaming bliss into the Japanese PS Vita web event and yes indeed, I want to see this get as much love as possible. George Kamitani and his talented team at Vanillaware are making sure the side-scrolling flame is kept alive and well, and thanks to the gorgeous art style and chaotic gameplay crafted for solo and multiplayer action, this one’s a guaranteed winner on both the PS3 and Vita. Release dates for North America are TBA, but I’m hoping we see this soon, as both systems need all the cool exclusives they can handle and then some.

Earth Defense Force 4 Cover (Japan): FOUR Motherships? Alright, It’s Officially ON…

Posted on February 16, 2013 by geelw

If this is indeed the final cover art for the upcoming import version of EDF 4/EDF 2025 (set to land in Japan in June), it’s kind of amazing for a few reasons, the main one being the FOUR huge motherships heading for the earth. The last game had one and that did a load of damage (OK, so it was way too easy to take down on every level except Inferno if you had the right weapons and didn’t cheat), but if Sandlot has packed in three more along with the new enemies seen in those recently posted Gematsu screens, this will indeed be the mother of all battles (well, in terms of EDF games, that is). Hmmm. I think I may need a few new controllers after all…

Video Game Appreciation 101: PlayStation Evolution Part 2 (US/Japanese): The Plot Thickens!

Posted on February 16, 2013 by geelw

OK, I’m too busy to comment on this cool bit of educational game history, so you get a bad poem instead – er, enjoy?

Well, part two means a clue to the future, it’s clear.
A new Sony console – no news when or where.
I’m betting not ’til mid-next year at best
as it gives time to put PS3 to rest.

We’ll find out on Wednesday, I’d say that’s for sure,
but I’ll guess not all is revealed or pure.
Hopefully, games will be shown at the event
and any new system won’t cost two month’s rent.

A price cut for the PS3 might drop too,
but I doubt that, as there’s still titles new
first party, third party, all for this year
So much going on (there’s no time for beer!)

(Hey, I never said I was good at this poetry stuff!)

Gallery: Earth Defense Force 4 Update: 116 More Reasons To Buy In to This Bug-Out!

Posted on February 14, 2013 by geelw

Holy Cats. Gematsu has posted 116 NEW screens from Sandlot’s upcoming bug blast-fest as well as news of a June release in Japan. This is super news and combined with the recently subtitled trailer that D3Publisher of America posted on YouTube about a week ago, I’d bet a dime that an English localization for the script is well underway and we’ll see the game in North America around the fall. Hopefully, this won’t be a download only release, as it needs to get out to as many non-PSN and XBLA users as possible, not just be restricted to those who have console accounts and high-speed connections. So far, no import retailers have announced pre-order info, but my eyes are on Play-Asia taking my money sometime from late March to sometime in May. Check out the bugs and ‘bots in action HERE and note that Wing Diver has WHEELS on her boots. If she’s skating when on the ground, I’m definitely playing as her first. Go, Sandlot! I’m going to download a few of those and make myself a few new wallpaper choices for my laptop, that’s for sure…

Now (Re)Playing: Wizardry 8 (Which Needs More Respect!)

Posted on February 3, 2013 by geelw

Ha. So, you thought I was taking the day off? Ha! Actually, I had some fun stuff to take care of with a friend, but now I’m back. Anyway, I was talking with some folks recently about the classic Wizardry series and it turns out a few too many people who don’t play a lot of PC games seem to think that series is from Japan. Eek. Granted, there’s hasn’t been a North American-made game since Sir-Tech Canada flamed out after the final “official” game in the series, Wizardry 8. Now, I’m not some flag-waving jingoist starting trouble, kids – I own a bunch of import Wizardry titles including a few Japan-only games and nearly all the ports and remakes of the original seven Sir-Tech releases. W8 was only released in limited qualities around the world and despite positive reviews, it didn’t exactly gain as huge a following as it should have and to date, has never been re-released or remade. Yep, I think that needs to be changed… Continue reading →