Gravity Ghost: Your Soothingly Joyous Game Of The Month Is Almost Here…

Posted on June 25, 2014 by geelw

If it weren’t for a search mistake a few days back, I’d most likely have never stumbled across Gravity Ghost, the upcoming game from Ivy Games (also known as Erin Robinson). I’d also not have seen the other games on the site, all of which look like they’d be pretty fun to take for a spin. Anyway, GG is touted as a non-violent alternative where, according to the official site description:

“Gravity Ghost is a game to soothe your senses. There’s no killing. No dying. No way to fail. Just hours of blissing out to buttery-smooth gravity goodness…”

…which made me smile because all are things more games need in this era of run & shoot titles galore and plenty of players who no nothing but those. Games like GG are important because they open up the hobby to different types of gamers who may not desire to be head-shot kings and killer queens… Continue reading →

Kingdom Under Fire II Trailer, Slight Return Version. Still Looking Good And Worth Keeping An Eye On…

Posted on June 24, 2014 by geelw

Here’s a slightly reedited version of the Kingdom Under Fire II trailer from E3 that Blueside put together using all in-game engine footage. As someone who’s played the two previous tactical/action based Xbox games, I’m quite pleased that the developer is following the same style of troop movement and direct character control play from previous entries while adding new elements. Some people STILL don’t “get” how the game will flow thanks to those cut scenes that break into the gameplay and the lack of menus and such, but all will be explained soon enough, I’d bet. If the new game is like the old ones, there will be a map to navigate, waypoints to set and other things to manage before and during battles to keep you occupied. What’s here is just to tease you into keeping an eyeball peeled for anything else coming down the road…

Gallery: Lumino City – State of Play’s Handmade Game Is Really Pretty Stuff…

Posted on June 21, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I’d not heard of indie developer State of Play Games or their games until someone sent me a link to their site a while back and I was charmed by the look of Lume, a puzzle/adventure game (currently on sale on the Steam store) with sets made out of paper and cardboard with hand animated characters filmed against and around those lovely locations. While the game was short and some reviewers knocked it for this, the outstanding visual style and fact that everything was handmade made this one quite special. That and the game’s ending seemed to point to a potential follow up at some point.

Well, that follow up is coming and it’s called Lumino City. As you can see above and below, it’s a work in progress and looks gorgeous. The developers promise “a wondrous sprawling puzzle adventure game” and it looks as if they’re going to exceed expectations on a few fronts. Hopefully, those critics and players that beat up on Lume for its brevity will see the craft here and really appreciate all the work that is going into this new adventure. I know I’m eager to give it a go when it’s ready for some play time. It would also be cool to see this on consoles at some point, but I guess that’s up to the developer’s time and if someone gets them a few dev kits…

Lumino City – Teaser from State of Play on Vimeo.

E3 2014: Pavilion Extended Gameplay Trailer: Beautiful Iso-lation Incoming For PS4 and Vita

Posted on June 21, 2014 by geelw

I can’t explain why I happen to love isometric viewpoint games other than to blame BioWare and their Infinity Engine role-playing games (plus others made with the engine by assorted developers), Troika’s flawed by deep Temple of Elemental Evil, Blizzard’s Diablo, a bunch of really well made adventure games like DreamForge’s Sanitarium and RA Images Daemonica among others. Anyway, Pavilion is right up my alley and developer Visiontrick Media has cooked up a pretty sharp looking potential time eater I need to take for a spin. There’s still no release date for this one, but I’m keeping an eye peeled. I’d have an ear to the ground, but whenever I do that, someone trips over my head (ouch)…

Review: SPINTIRES

Posted on June 18, 2014 by geelw

Developer: Oovee Game Studios

Publisher: IMGN.PRO

# of Players: 1-4 (co-op)

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Official Site

Score: A- (90%)

Not that this will happen any time soon, but if someone ever decides to make a video game based on Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1953 masterpiece The Wages of Fear, they’d better ring up UK-based developer Oovee and beg them to do the driving portions. I’m saying that while SPINTIRES is paused below this tab and I’m writing up this review of the PC game. While I generally love to complete a game before sitting down to type up impressions, After a few days of playing this indie gem, I can very safely say it’s one of the nicer surprises of the year and well worth the $29.99 price point. I’ll defend that price point in detail below, but in short, why pay the same (or more) for a game that’s going to be JUST like the games you’ve played to death when here you’ll get something you’ll very likely enjoy MORE because it’s fresh and actually more challenging than you’re used to?

Yeah, I thought so. Read on for more reasons you at least need to take this for a spin… Continue reading →

It’s BAAAACK! The Humble RPG Maker Bundle Returns!

Posted on June 14, 2014 by geelw

Sure, it’s now set at a minimum of $25 (or more if you want to give more to charity), but this Humble Weekly Bundle is still a really impressive set of game making programs, add-ons and even more free games that you can shake a stick at. If you missed out on this before, don’t let the fact that it costs more deter you, ya cheapskate. This is about $370 worth of stuff if you buy it normally, so the price here is MORE than fair. I’d gather (and hope) this particular bundle stays on the Humble site for a while as a perpetual deal that pops in and out every so often, but that’s up to the folks behind the program who also probably need to sell this stuff at closer to a profit making level in order so they can stay in business. Anyway, go get yours if you haven’t already and go make that next “retro” classic RPG you’ve always wanted to!

SPINTIRES: Your “Hey, This Is REALLY Cool!” Sleeper of the Month…

Posted on June 14, 2014 by geelw

Just look at that trailer and let your mind expand a bit. When I first heard of SPINTIRES, I thought it was yet another racing game clogging up an already crowded field and yep, I’d planned to skip it. But that was before I saw it in action and realized it’s one of those weird indie simulation games that would wrap me up for hours because it does a LOT of things RIGHT. Low system requirements, supports K/M play or an Xbox 360 controller, has some innovative and realistic terrain deformation you rarely see in off-road vehicle games and it’s got those wonderfully boxy, beautiful Russian trucks that look like something out of a sci-fi film because Russians think of the future all the time (but in the weirdest places). Anyway, this one’s on Steam now or you can snap it up from the official site AND get a free Steam Key as well! I just downloaded this, so it’s off to play for a bit in the mud and get a review posted sometime next week.

IndieGala Friday Bundle: ACTIVATE Adventure Plus Mode!

Posted on June 13, 2014 by geelw

Okay, there’s a nice mix of weird but interesting stuff in this particular bundle, but for the low price of $1.49 (the minimum you can pay, but feel free to shell out more, as the money goes to charity), you’re getting weird, but good in terms of what you’re spending. If anything, the trailer alone for Cult of the Wind will make you laugh a lot if you’re in the proper frame of mind. It looks mighty silly, yes – but if you’ve ever pretended you were a fighter jet, it’s right up your alley, I bet. Go get your IndieGala Friday Bundle HERE and enjoy!

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Ink Hunt DLC Interrupts My Review! But That’s Fine With Me.

Posted on June 13, 2014 by geelw

So, I’m in the middle of writing a review for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II (here’s a hint: BUY IT. It’s got some issues, but is fun once you get) when my inbox falls on my foot and out pops and email from NeoCore Games that they’ve JUST released a new patch AND some DLC along with it.

Sure enough, I check my Steam account and it’s downloading away in the background as it should. Well, so much for my review as it currently stands. I’d noted some issues that the patch looks as if it takes care of, so there goes THAT part on my very short list of tiny gripes. Granted, I haven’t played the game since the patch/DLC download, but I’ll get to it later tonight and see what’s what. I’m also in the midst of puttering away on some E3 articles, a review I needed to get up a day or so back and some columns for a few upcoming blogathons I need to yak about so some of you can join up and contribute to. Hokay, back to the grind for a bit before it’s back to the grind later, I guess…

Back in a bit. It’s Friday the 13th AND a full moon tonight. I’m NOT superstitious, but it seems that a lot of off-kilter people are out and about today. Yeesh…

E3 2014: MilitAnt Trailer: Prepare to Bug Out in 2015 With Xibalba’s Upcoming PC/PSN Shooter

Posted on June 13, 2014 by geelw

Sure, you can say Indie games are a dime a dozen these days, but more often than not, keeping your ear to the ground will reveal cool stuff like this PC, PS3/PS4/Vita bound game, MilitAnt from Xibalba Studios. As I tend to love “old-school” stuff like this, I’m all in and wanting to see more.

Thankfully, the game’s site has a bunch of screens and art to show off, so some of that stuff is here. This one’s not due until 2015, so there’s plenty of time for Xilbalba to make it even better and hopefully (waaaaaait for it…) as bug-free as possible (A ha and ha-ha). Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on this one as more info and images creep out. You aren’t afraid of ants, right? I sure hope not!