Rollers of the Realm Teaser Trailer: Pinball & Wizards Combine In This Soon To Be Sleeper Hit…

Posted on August 5, 2014 by geelw

I’ve been looking forward to Rollers of the Realm ever since it was a PC-only game from Phantom Compass (“and friends”), but now that’s it’s been snapped up by Atlus for a winter release, I’m eager to see how a larger gaming audience responds to it. Granted, I’m old and wise enough to know this isn’t the FIRST pinball-themed RPG at all, but it’s the one I’m betting more people will be talking about once they play it. I still have an early demo of the game from last year on my hard drive and go back to it often just so I can stave off my need to want the full version sooner than its release date.

Personally, I’m super thrilled to see this on the Vita, as it’s most likely going to be one of those niche titles that gets bought because it’s so unlike anything on the handheld and even the purer pinball sims out there need to bow down a tiny bit at this blending of genres and how it all works so well. Anyway, back to waiting for some smoke signals or whatever Atlus will send up as far as preview or review code. I can wait a while, but I also don’t want to see this gem buried in the holiday crunch of AAA titles everyone always falls for…

Abyss Odyssey Asks You To Beat Time (and Plenty of Bad People) On PC, PS3 & Xbox 360

Posted on July 9, 2014 by geelw

ACE Team’s games have ranged from the extremely strange (Zeno Clash, Zeno Clash 2) to the somewhat stranger (Rock of Ages), so it’s a fine thing indeed to see them making a more straightforward game in Abyss Odyssey, set to hit PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on June 15 for $14.99 (or 9.99 if you pre-order the game on Steam, you lucky PC owners you!).

According to Atlus, the game is “a new side-scrolling action adventure game featuring a complex fighting engine in procedurally generated levels”, which means no two players should see the exact same levels as they play. Gameplay will seem familiar to fans of Dragon’s Crown on the PS3 and Vita, but like that VanillaWare instant classic, AO owes a lot to gaming’s past on a few fronts.

As you can see above, the art style here is certainly gorgeous, as is most of the animation, going for a mix of realism in the character models and lush fantasy elements in those lovely environments and enemies. Additionally, making a female one of the playable characters from the outset is a smart move, as a game such as this will have a wider appeal with the addition of a lady who can hold her own with the tough guys here.

That said, it’s too bad this isn’t on a disc, as I know a few folks who aren’t fond of digital all that much who’d LOVE this game to death. Oh well – I suppose one day Atlus will gather all of ACE’s games up and stick them onto a Blu-Ray for a limited retail release at some point. Or at least realize that not everyone prefers the “convenience” of not owning a physical product you can lend to someone without having to rely on the internet to make that loan or trade possible. Anyway, this one looks like an instant BUY in my book.

Rollers of the Realm Update: Atlus Snaps Up This Pinball Winner!

Posted on June 7, 2014 by geelw

I was wondering what happened to Phantom Compass’ REALLY awesome RPG/pinball hybrid since I last played and wrote about my experience with a pre-beta build, but thanks to publisher Atlus, that mystery is solved. Rollers of the Realm is coming this holiday season not only to PC, but PlayStation 4 and Vita, making it FLY to the top of my want list of must-play titles.

More on this one after the show. I predict it’ll be quite the sleeper hit…

Conception II Hands-On (PS Vita): Raisin’ Space Babies, Beatin’ Beasts With Rabies…

Posted on March 29, 2014 by geelw

Atlus’ upcoming JRPG,Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars, is sure to get the dirtier gamer minds over-activated into the puerile zone what with it’s show and tell “Classmating” sequences, too-jiggly females, an aged priest with some intentionally pervy dialog and plenty of direct and indirect references to sexytime antics mixed in with a cosmic religion theme. But hey, it IS an M-Rated game and some of the people who are going to be playing this probably shouldn’t be. But you know how that goes, right?

Here’s a game where you play as a young man called “God’s Gift”, and yes, that means not only in terms of the terrific monster bashing powers at his disposal, but in terms of his ability for Conception with the game’s nubile young females. Did I mention that this is basically a futuristic high school setting and this is more or less a dating sim with random dungeons packed with plenty of monsters to wail on? Yeah, par for the course for the genre, I know, I know. Yet, for all the lovely visuals and solid combat there’s a decidedly cute yet creepy vibe here that may make a few players cringe as they groove on the lovely visuals and catchy tunes.

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Persona 5: One REALLY Great Reason to Keep That PlayStation 3 Around…

Posted on November 25, 2013 by geelw

Winter 2014 in this case probably doesn’t mean between January and March of next year, folks. If anything, Atlus is smart as hell for getting the team working on this to do so on the old hardware simply because they know it so well and can make this the best-looking Persona game to date if they choose to go all out on the visuals.

And speaking of visuals, that image from the Japanese website (currently the sole piece of art available) is pretty striking, isn’t it? That said, I’m not going to be stupid here and speculate what it means other than to say that given the previous games were about high-school age kids discovering they’re endowed with special powers and need to save the world before it ends in some insanely dramatic manner while also going through the motions of daily life, classwork and homework should still present a major story point throughout the game.

Eh, we’ll see what’s what over the next year – there’s plenty of time for Atlus to drop loads of updates before the game is ready to ship out…

Now, about those OTHER Persona games… read on for my take, if you dare…
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Games of Summer: Dragon’s Crown

Posted on July 30, 2013 by geelw

Atlus may be struggling with its recent financial woes in Japan, but the company is still swinging for the fences hard and knocking it out of the park with some great titles on assorted platforms. Case in point, Dragon’s Crown, already a hit in Japan and headed to the PS3 and Vita in North America on August 6. George Kamitani and his team at Vanillaware have created an absolutely, outrageously gorgeous game that’s a throwback to classic side-scrolling arcade hits as well as a mighty challenging solo and online play experience. I know a few folks with the import and yes indeed, they’re very pleased with the game (and the AMAZING deluxe art book that came with it). Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on both versions, as I hear they’re different in a few key ways. Of course, I still want a proper Princess Crown remake or sequel one of these days, but at this point, Kamitani and company can make paper bag puppets and I’ll throw money their way…

E3 2013: Dragon’s Crown Trailer: Pow Wow (and How!)

Posted on June 12, 2013 by geelw

Here’s a much more detailed peek at VanillaWare’s upcoming instant classic that’s getting plenty of interest for it’s art style and insanely pneumatic under-dressed ladies and overly burly men. Personally, I love George Kamitani’s singular art style and the fact that it looks so fantastic in motion. That and you can’t hate a game that has the best random cartoon mouse appearance since Steamboat Willie. Too bad that super cute rodent isn’t a playable fighter in the game (but I could be wrong…)

Dragon’s Crown Elf & Dwarf Trailers: It’s Not A Toss Up At All…

Posted on May 24, 2013 by geelw

… In terms of which of these or the other characters to pick because you’re going to go through Dragon’s Crown with ALL of them I bet. The game is crafted so that each hero or heroine is going to be played from start to finish, as each one is powerful warrior in his or nher own right. No matter who picks up a controller to dive in and enjoy what Vanillaware has cooked up, expect to be floored by the lovely 2D visuals and more tight gameplay than you can shake a stick holding goblin at.Before you slam it into its evil buddies and blast them with a spell or knock them silly with a blunt object.

Prepare to get a workout (and give our PS3 or Vita a workout as well) when Dragon’s Crown hits retail and PSN on August 6, 2013. And nope, don’t even try to toss that Dwarf – his incredible beard alone looks as if it will beat you up pretty badly…

Dragon’s Crown Cover Art, Artbook Revealed: Preselling A Not-So-Hard Sell…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by geelw

DC_Artworks_Glam

Lovely… and it can soon be all yours, at that. Dragon’s Crown finally gets some VERY pretty cover art for its retail versions as well as a really cool pre-order bonus in the form of a 64-page softcover art book that’s absolutely going to be snapped up by fans of George Kamitani’s work. I’d go as far as to predict the art book selling for more than the game does down thee road among those who miss out and want to pay through the pores on eBay or some other site, but that’s not Atlus’ concern what you do with that bonus item as they see not a red cent from secondhand sales of their cool goods. Anyway, check out the official site if you haven’t already for character profiles, more of Kamitani’s lush artwork and more.

Dragon’s Crown will hit retail and PSN on August 6, 2013. Be there or be square, I say…

New Dragon’s Crown Trailers: Something New For The Guys And Gals (And Any Other Art Fans)…

Posted on May 2, 2013 by geelw

Hey, it’s ladies first today (well, as always!):

Sure that Fighter below may have a lot more protection, but that’s because he NEEDS it. He’s not as powerful a spellcaster as the Sorceress is (as in NOWHERE near her skills), so he has to clank around in his horned can while dealing out massive damage to any and all who step in front of his blade (ouch!). That Sorceress has it going on in a few ways, so don’t underestimate her good looks and generous assets. Fools who get distracted and start in with the eyeballing get roasted, frozen, shocked or otherwise pained to death. I’d certainly say THAT counts as “Girl Power”… or “Woman Power” if you want to get picky about my choice of language…