Hmmmm… As predicted, with The Creative Assembly on the case this time out, Sega’s upcoming Alien Isolation is looking pretty impressive in this introductory teaser and developer diary. Hopefully, the story will work as intended, as I can see some folks not being all aboard the playing as Ellen Ripley’s daughter thing. Me, I’m a wait and see guy myself because I trust The CA to do their best and they’ve always done just that when they make their games. I do like that it’s turning out to be NOT a stupid shoot everything that moves experience and seems to be focusing on story and characters first and foremost.
The only major sticking point to some will be the lack of a Wii U version as the gameplay seems perfect for that GamePad, but such is life in this generation of consoles I suppose. Someone HAS to get a suitable Alien game out on that system one of these days, I say. I’m not sure who, but it would be nice to see one at some point…
Holy “Nope!”, Sports Fans! According to the big man of the week at CES (GamerFitNation’s all-around Superman, Antwand Pearman), The bigger man he interviewed this week at CES 2014, Shaquille O’Neal says there’s the possibility of a NEW Shaq Fu in the works. Yikes. No way. Yikes. In case you’re wondering, the original Shaq Fu was a weird as hell (and some would say terrible, but I’m not one of those some. I think it’s only just bad and campy!) fighting game featuring Mr. O’Neal as a martial arts master fighter and yes it’s as absurdly brilliant and silly as it sounds. I think nearly everyone I knew with a Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo in their house had this game at some point and even if they hated it, it was PLAYED to death because of the absurd plot, funky fighting mechanics and fact that yeah, it’s a hell of a curiosity piece.
I’d write more on this, but my brain in some form of suspended animation shock. Here, go read about this right from the horse’s mouth. I need to go find a copy of that first game and see if it still holds up. I think Shaq is pulling some legs here, but no one lies to Antwand and gets away with it for too long. Or so I’ve heard. He’s a really nice guy, but don’t make him angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry…
Yes, it’s ONLY a teaser trailer and yes, it’s a bit on the “too much grey” for my tastes, but considering I was a bit of a pesky Land Snark a few days earlier when I saw screenshots of the up until then title-less game being worked on by developer The Farm 51, it’s gone and made me cut a small slice of crow pie and heat it up for later tonight. Now, this doesn’t mean I’m giving this upcoming PC shooter a hook-less release at all. Those graffiti-covered walls do indeed look fantastic and all, and the premise and promise of solo and multiplayer action being intertwined is intriguing. Hopefully this can be pulled off and done up right so that I can start a review out with a “Finally, someone gets this FPS thing RIGHT.” or something similarly pompous-sounding. Oh wait, that would most likely require me to buy a new PC, as both the desktop and laptop I use are still rockin’ Windows XP (hey, my hundreds of older games LOVE it and my experiences with Windows 8 and 8.1 have been… how do you say, “eeeeennnnteresting”.
Eh, we’ll get to something more modern soon enough. This game’s still in the oven for a while yet and I’m gathering some hands-on time at a press event will help make me more of a decision maker. Of course, that’s usually a bad idea, me making decisions. Last week, I decided to print my own currency and no one would take any G-Bucks. Crap. That’s what I get for NOT deciding to invest in that Bitcoin deal some guy hit me over the head with out of the blue in a Starbucks. “It’s a SCAM!” I thought. “A fool and his money and all that rot” Yeah, a good hundred buck investment to a total stranger (friendly and chatty as he was) seemed like a REALLY lousy idea (He said, crying on his keyboard)… Ah well. Perhaps I’ll get lucky and find I have a skill people will pay real money to utilize… what-ever could that be, I imagine?
Mine were scared off a little and if this trailer is any indication, some of you out where will also be scared out of, jump out of or simply pee your own pants (or worse) when playing this PC and PlayStation 4 exclusive upcoming horror fest with the randomly generated maps. Expect THRILLS! at every turn when something jumps at you from the shadows! Feel those CHILLS! as yous spine tightens then freezes as you’re too afraid to… Take. Another. Step! And prepare for SPILLS! when your poor bladder decides it’s constantly had enough of your foolish attempts to not be afraid and tells your brain it will keep peeing until your kidneys spit up sand! Ouch. Okay, perhaps this one isn’t THAT scary or painful at all, but I think the fine folks at Atlus have a nifty little sleeper on the way thanks to veteran developer Zombie Studios and Epic’s Unreal 4 engine.
That procedural level generation should keep the game replayable for some time in the vein of familiar rogue-like role playing games and more recently, Ubisoft’s excellently frightening ZombiU on the Wii U, making this a must-play game for horror game fans. That said, I so, SO want Zombie to include a very special Easter Egg in here in the form of a ONE ROOM level where it’s just you starting out in one corner and a quick run to the exit to conclude the stage… before it drops you into a second smaller room with you and a thing that’s about to eat your face right in front of you. Yeah, pants will be jumped out of, scared off, peed and pooped on all at the same time. That would make those now tired and CHEESY and many obviously faked for view clicks “Oooh, lookit me, I’m scared playing this SCARY new game!” videos have some actual meaning for sure. Of course, some of you are wondering if this will get the sales of adult diapers booming if indeed the game is THAT scary.. to which I offer a snazzy “Well,… that Depends!”
As usual, I win again!
DAYLIGHT will be popping up shortly… Keep and eye peeled over your shoulder for more updates…
So, here we go folks – once more into the breach with Sega and the somehow tougher to make it work right as a video game Alien license. Can you name a decent game made this century with the license that’s not only on PC? I thought not.
While its last two attempts were decidedly of the “mixed results” and “missed opportunities” trains, this time out it’s veteran developer The Creative Assembly at the wheel and Alien Isolation is looking pretty darned scary where it counts (as you’ll see in Three… Two.. One.):
Of course, the boo-bird naysayers are out in force on this thanks to the critical mass that was Aliens: Colonial Marines, so Sega has a lot to live up to and live down even if Isolation is indeed the best game using the license to date.
I trust this team quite a lot as in addition to the incredible Total War franchise on PC, they’ve also had fun making more action-heavy game experiences such as the excellent Spartan: Total Warrior (which is being remade as a PlayStation 4 exclusive!) and the solid Viking: Battle For Asgard (which could use a nice remake or sequel one of these days). So an Alien game from these guys and gals should be (wait for it…) a “walk in the park” to some extent.
Of course, we shall see what the future brings and of course, I’m hoping that people aren’t all screaming into space for all the wrong reasons again. But again, I trust The CA to not go where man has gone before and deliver an Alien experience that’s truly memorable and frightening for all the RIGHT reasons. More on this as it develops…
I was in an odd mood today until I saw these two videos and now, I’m grinning like a squirrel that’s come across a crashed semi full of mixed nuts. CUPHEAD is a (currently) PC-only side-scrolling platformer from Studio MDHR with, well YES,a main character with a darn teacup for a head. Yeah, that was enough to get me grinning, but those gameplay teasers actually got me to laugh out loud because this is one of those oddball mash-ups that some developers have tried before with mixed results, but haven’t quite nailed.
If everything comes together and this delivers what its promising, I’m betting platformer fans make a beeline for this game on anything it eventually pops up on. That said, I don’t expect any actual cartoon or ton of licensed goodies to start dropping from the heavens at all (as I’d rather see any profits go into making more and better games in the future), but I think this dev team is off the a fine start. Keep and eye on this one, I say…
Well, well, well… I actually haven’t played a Tex Murphy game since 1994’s Under a Killing Moon, so I’ve been way out of the loop on the noir/tech detective and his adventures for (eek) almost twenty years now (eek!). Anyway, Atlus (which is generally not known for publishing these types of games) is producing and publishing the long awaited PC follow up to the 1996 PC game Tex Murphy: Overseer and developer Big Finish Games is, as you can see, making a FMV (Full-Motion Video) game for the ages.
I actually loved these types of adventure games back in the 90’s, grainy video quality and all, so it’s fantastic to see this style of game get a nice boost thanks to better technology that allows for crystal clear FMV scenery in the cinemas as well as in-game environments and effects work that’s not embarrassingly cheesy for a change. I also love the idea of a film noir-ish detective in a post World War III San Francisco, which is sort of like Blade Runner without the pompous ego crisis and Philip K. Dick pedigree, ha ha. Heh, I may need to hire a Blade Runner of my own to protect my from the legions of fans of that classic film, but I think I can take my chances and survive. I’ll take on the all of the Pris impersonators first, though. I think my feeble brain could really use the vigorous thigh massage (Ouch! I was kidding, ladies, Don’t hit! Don’t hit!!!)…
Anyway, my eyeball is now fixed on one more great game that’s going to roll up in 2014 and get a lot of people buzzing about it for a few reasons. Anyway, all this gabbing and I still haven’t officially* linked you to the game’s official site where you (yes, YOU) can check out the assorted screens and a few FMV movies that will let you know what some are bouncing up and down in their favorite chairs about. I’d be doing the same, but I’m in the library here, these damn chairs are as hard as a rock and I’d rather not have to be hospitalized for being giddy. At least for this particular reason.
*”Officially, as in if you didn’t click on those other links already, you haven’t seen the site yet, of course)…
When I first heard of Zombeer, I laughed quite long and loudly at the idea of boozing it up in order to fight zombies as a gameplay mechanic. talk about becoming an easy target! Later, as screens started appearing, I warmed up to the stylized comic look of the game and my arched eyebrow sunk down to its normal position.Of course, as soon as I found out the game’s mechanic of drinking a certain type of beer in order to keep from becoming a zombie as you rushed to save the love of your life from a similar fate, I had to keep an eyeball peeled (eww) on this one as the months crept onward…
Now, this new kind of NSFW music video shows off an even more intentionally campy tone that makes me want to play this boozed out gorefest just to see if it lives up to the crazy tune cooked up for this clip. Spanish developer Moonbite Studios is making what could be a cult hit for PS3, PC and Mac gamers that, while not exactly screaming visual perfection, just might be fun and funny enough to outstrip any criticism. Besides, the color palette alone is just too awesome to ignore as you’ll see in these new screens:
And remember gang… YOU can even (sort of) be IN the game! Check out this link for the gory details – it’s easy to register and should make a nice surprise gift for someone who’s not expecting it.
I actually wasn’t expecting all that much from this new Nintendo Direct video, as it clocks in at just over 33 minutes and the last live reveal the company did outside their straight to the consumer YouTube series was underwhelming at best (or: I don’t give a rat’s banana about Cranky Kong!). That said, there were some nice surprises here in the form of NES Remix a cool mash-up mini-game series available today on the eShop and for me, Hyrule Warriors is going to be a go-to game for a while whenever it actually hits retail. Seeing a Legend of Zelda take on the supremely addictive long running “mindless” hack and slash Dynasty Warriors franchise (done by the folks who make those games, of course) made me a wee bit too giddy. I say this one should have been a launch or launch window game for the Wii U just because it’s one of those series that like it or not, anyone who can hold a controller can dive into and play without a single tutorial or hand-holding moment… Continue reading →
Endless Space was (and still is) a pretty amazing 4X strategy game that still draws in players thanks to a ton of depth and replay value plus a very healthy modding community. So, as one of a few follow up titles, developer Amplitude Studios is making… a dungeon crawler set in the same universe? Yes, this is Dungeon of the Endless, currently in development and coming soon to PC via Steam.
Well, that actually works very well for me, as I love that genre more than poking about amount the stars and hoping all my ships aren’t blown into space dust because I got lazy and forgot to do something twenty hours before that’s coming back to bite me in the butt. As you can see above in that teaser trailer, the game will feature randomly generated maps, loads of space beasties to dispatch or be dispatched by and is pretty much guaranteed to suck many, many hours of free time away from stuff you SHOULD be getting done except you were too busy being up too late at night not doing things like sleeping and dreaming of more productive endeavors…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 