The Evil Within Tokyo Game Show 2014 Trailer: Run (or Roll!), Don’t Walk!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I laughed out loud when I saw this trailer because, well.. come ON now, people. Wouldn’t YOU just have jumped in one of those wheelchairs and rolled the hell away from what was chasing you? Yeah, I thought so. I know I’d be BLAAAAZING down that dimly lit hallway popping wheelies power-sliding past obstacles and generally confusing the hell out of that monster or whatever is chasing my character. Then again, I tend to look for the humorous side to any horror game or film, so if anything, I’d die laughing before anything else got to my soon to be doomed avatar. The Evil Within is out for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC on Tuesday, October 14. That gives you enough time to stock up on clean underwear and maybe a few spare controllers in case you’re prone to dropping them when you get scared…

Catequesis: Your Word of the Day & Retro Survival Horror Game of the…

Posted on September 10, 2014 by geelw

Hey, I didn’t PLAN on running three horror-related posts in a row! I just go through my inbox and start typing away about stuff I see that piques my interest. Anyway, Survival Horror Story: Catequesis has been in development for over two years and has a nicely nostalgic look to it while absolutely not being for the squeamish types out there. Developers Baroque Decay and Curved Cat games are looking to wrap this up and get it out on PC, Mac and Linux sometime in 2015, so if you like your horror games somewhat pixelated and “cute”, yet unsettling enough to make you maybe want to keep that security blankie on your lap as you play, well… here you go. If that three minutes of gameplay didn’t get your spine all chilly, this teaser might work on cooling you down some:

More on this one when my inbox gets another pointy news arrow from the dev team (ouch!)- stay tuned.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 Goes The Episodic Game Route. This Is A Good Thing.

Posted on September 10, 2014 by geelw

Excellent. I was wondering when Capcom would take a page from Telltale Games and start releasing episodic versions of its Resident Evil franchise, but I guess I can wonder no longer. Set for an early 2015 launch, the upcoming multi-platform game Resident Evil Revelations 2 is going to be divided into four digital chapters and like Telltale’s chapter-based game experiences, there will be the option to buy a retail disc version that compiles all the chapters plus any additional content Capcom plans to add to the package. I’m a physical media guy myself, so this is a great thing to see even if it means waiting until all four weekly episodes are out and people are spoiling the story all over the internet. With a game such as this (and Telltale’s The Walking Dead series), I tend to tune out those annoying blabbers who spill the beans anyway. So I won’t have a thing spoiled and I won’t have to go to gamer prison for beating someone senseless with an old controller for ruining any surprises Capcom has in store.

RER2 is currently in development for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. Nice work in progress screens up there, huh? Anyway, back with more on this one soon…

Batman Arkham Knight Is Now A June Bride. It’s Worth The Wait For That Wedding…

Posted on September 8, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, I’m sure fans all around the internet are raaaaaging about having to wait even longer to get this game, but I say let them. I don’t mind at all that developer Rocksteady needs more time to make this one the best Batman game it can be and yep, I’m sure while WBIE would love to see this one ship earlier just for the financials and such, it’s clear that the game needs to cook longer. GOOD, I say. I hate this age of massive day one patches, games that don’t run properly out of the box or worse, games that DO run, but end up not pleasing reviewers who sink it with low scores before it can get a patch. I’m thinking both developer and publisher want NONE of that noise, so the delay is on and I coudn’t be happier. Well, I could be happier if I could actually see this in person and play it at some media event here in NYC before it ships out next year, but that’s up to WBIE’s PR team, I suppose.

Oh, if you’re drooling at those collector’s editions, let me let you in on what’s in the box in case your fingers are trembling too much to click on either image and see them full size (they’re MASSIVE):

Batman: Arkham Knight Limited Edition will include:

· Custom Art Book – 80 Page, Full Color Art Book Showcasing the concept art of Batman Arkham Knight

· Limited Edition SteelBook™ – Unique SteelBook™ case and game disc

· Comic Book – Limited Edition DC Comics Batman: Arkham Knight #0 Comic Book

· Exclusive Character Skin Pack – Three Unique Skins from DC Comics – The New 52

· Batman Memorial Statue – Imposing statue commemorating Gotham’s Protector, the Dark Knight

· SRP:

o Console – $99.99 / 119.99 € / 89.99£

o PC – 99.99€ / 74.99£

Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobile Edition will include:

· Custom Art Book – 80 Page, Full Colour Art Book Showcasing the concept art of Batman Arkham Knight

· Limited Edition SteelBook™ – Unique SteelBook™ case and game disc

· Comic Book – Limited Edition DC Comics Batman: Arkham Knight #0 Comic Book

· Exclusive Character Skin Pack – Three Unique Skins from DC Comics – The New 52

· Transforming Batmobile Statue – Fully transformable Batmobile statue realised in exquisite detail by TriForce

· SRP: $199.99 / 199.99€ / 169.99£ (Console only)

Hmmmm.. it would seem North America doesn’t get a PC edition with all that swag, but these games sell better on home systems anyway. Granted, those running beefy rigs will be griping a lot about this, but most people who don’t have a computer that costs as much as a decent car part won’t care because they’ll be playing this on their PS4 or Xbox One with hopefully no trouble. Anyway, with this game now nine months away, you can concentrate of completing some of the other blockbusters rolling out from this year to next June, right? RIGHT. Now stop jamming out your whining on some message board and get back to doing something more interesting with your time, I say…

Falling Skies: The Game Teaser #2: Angry Aliens Asking For It Are Landing Sooner Than You Think…

Posted on September 4, 2014 by geelw

September 30th is peeking around the corner and Little Orbit’s upcoming Falling Skies: The Game keeps popping up on my radar as a game that needs to be played. Sure, it’s swiping its style from the classic X-Com series, but as I’ve noted earlier that’s all good with me if they swipe the best parts and make it fit with what works in the popular TNT TV series. It may not be the prettiest nor the most hyped game of the year at all, but I’m betting it finds its niche among strategy-starved gamers who want a new title to keep their interest for as long as it takes to complete (and be replayed a few times). Keep an eyeball peeled on this one, folks…

Rollers of the Realm Priced (YES!) and Dated (Sort Of): Get Ready To Roll This November!

Posted on September 4, 2014 by geelw

A mere penny under ten bucks for this Pinball/RPG hybrid AND it’s cross-buy/cross-save on the Vita and PS4? Yep, I’m in day one and you should be too. I’m all over this one and have been since I heard about it early in development because I’m a pinball maniac with no room for an actual machine in my place (boo!) and a love for developers who keep the silver ball flame going by every means necessary. I also love RPGs, so developer Phantom Compass had me from day one. Atlus picking this up to publish also made me grin a wee bit too much because this means it’s going to get that extra push and pedigree their best games get and hopefully score some point among the fans who’d normally avoid a western-produced game for some oddball reason.

Anyway, I’m betting on Rollers of the Realm being a total no-brainer buy when it finally hits PSN in November. Heck, even if you avoid digital games like the plague, I’d day lift your “nope” restrictions, drop the ten bucks on this PSN download and play a game that will surprise your socks off at how good and FUN it is.

To Some Gamers, Dragon Quest Heroes Says: BUY A PS4 ALREADY!

Posted on September 3, 2014 by geelw

Well, holy wow. I knew veteran developer Omega Force was tinkering away on some next-gen, er, CURRENT gen stuff, but yikes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. To SOME of you folks, this is yet another Dynasty Warriors “re-skin”, but to me, it’s another way for Sony and Square Enix to rip money out of my wallet. I know some DQ fans more used to the turn-based or not at all action heavy role-playing games in the series are probably tearing assorted hairs out in assorted places on their bodies that this isn’t a “normal” RPG. But me, I love this sort of mash-up because it brings new gamers into the fold while also catering to the more open-minded fans of this classic series without compromising on the familiar elements that make it so popular. And besides, it looks as if Square Enix is calling this a RPG, so it looks like it’ll be more of one than those other Musou-mixers that have come previously. Okay, and the game looks INCREDIBLE, to boot .

That, and it’s just a fun and funny as hell trailer as it goes on. Yeah, I guess I finally need to save up to buy my own PS4 and stop using one that’s getting not as much use as it should.

Salt & Sanctuary: What You Do After Dishwashing, Coming to PS4 & Vita…

Posted on August 29, 2014 by geelw

Well, oooh. Indie developer Ska Studios (of The Dishwasher fame) is cooking up a very cool looking side-scrolling action/RPG for the PS4 and Vita called Salt & Sanctuary that also marks their debut on a Sony system as a timed exclusive. Yeah, yeah, it still stinks to see PS4/PS Vita in a game description and not see the PS3 still get some love even if a game WILL run on it. Of course, Sony needs to gently nudge gamers who have yet to make the move to make that move, so it’s only natural that many of these indie and other games would only run on their new hardware and that still needs more love and sales handheld. I’ll be keeping an eyeball on this one for sure, as I’d absolutely love taking this on the road with me or playing curled up in bed when I’m supposed to be sleeping and cooking up ideas for this site while dreaming.

Oh well, day-dreaming just might be my new inspiration, methinks. Salt & Sanctuary is out in 2015. More on this one when Ska drops new info – stay tuned…

Lords of the Fallen “World” Trailer: Not Quite 100 Places To See Before You Die (In Them)…

Posted on August 28, 2014 by geelw

My own hands-on time with a build of Lords of the Fallen reveals it’s a pretty damn hard game in the Dark Souls vein and developers CI Games and Deck 13 have cooked up a nasty little next-gen gem that’s going to test the best players to defeat some pretty crafty creatures. Like the Souls series, monsters lurk in both plain sight as well as in choice hidden spots, they’ll hunt you down once they spot you and are pretty relentless overall. Of course, you can use the environments to your advantage, knocking away some boards to create a death drop pit you can lure what was chasing you into or using magic for ranged attacks as a wee or over-sized beastie is closing in for the kill. And yes, blocking and dodging are skills you need to master, as these monsters aren’t playing at all.

The game is coming to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 28, 2014 and looks to be the first next-gen (or is it now current-gen?) chase & chop of the more cerebral kind. I only saw ONE person get close to defeating the demo Bandai Namco had on display and that guy was using every once of skill he had. Looks as if this one’s going to be one of those sleeper keepers for those who can play it. I predict a few broken controllers among those who may have missed out on FromSoftware’s series and have CI to blame (and their own lack of skills) for those formerly functioning chunks of plastic and components. be brave and fight onward, I say. You only have the fate of some fantasy world on your chosen customizable character’s shoulders…

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Belated Update: Some Evil, Some Good and How It’s All Done…

Posted on August 27, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, yeah, I’ve been behind a bit on this upcoming game from WBIE and developer Monolith Productions, but that’s because I’m confident it’s going to be a worthy Middle-earth experience no matter what it’s played on. I think I’ve said that already but it bears repeating. Respecting a developer and enjoying whatever they’re working on goes a longer way than nit-picking that work apart for not being 100% accurate to the original works. Particularly if that game does something out of the ordinary yet seems familiar at the end of the day. Pity the last-gen versions aren’t getting all the AI bells and whistles as the current (or next, if you’ve yet to update) gen new systems, but that’s the way the ball bounces. You get more power to use and you use it wisely. Hmmm… isn’t that one of the lessons Tolkien was trying to get across in his books? Well, well, well… I’m already up to speed, then.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is out September 30, 2014 for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Yeah, pre-order madness exists in the form of different “exclusive” DLC from different retailers (boo), so do what you need to do if you want that extra perk. or maybe just buy the game outright when it’s in a store and hope WBIE decides to release ALL those bonuses once a few weeks or so have passed. Or they’re available as in-game unlocks once you’ve played long enough…