Concursion Trailer: The Act Of Running Together Is Working Quite Well For Puuba Games

Posted on January 16, 2014 by geelw

Oh, Puuba Games… You intrigue me so. Your first game, Concursion looks pretty darn cool with all that genre switching on the fly, colorful mix of visual styles and and promise of many hours of play and replay value. That said, I tend to be cautiously optimistic about stuff like this because no game is “perfect” and in fact, it’s often the case that a game’s flaws can actually make the overall experience better for some players who can exploit them to the fullest. Granted, the only flaws I see is that dance the main character does at the end of that trailer above (it’s so… 1991!) and some generic-looking sprites. But I know this isn’t the final product at all and I’m not some internet troll with an already dull as hell axe to grind.

Anyway, I’ve got my eyeball on you kids. Get this one polished up and DONE and don’t screw it up. I want people to fall over themselves to get this one when it’s finally done and I also want to see it pop up on consoles at some point down the road because I’m a multi-platform kinda guy…

Review: The Wolf Among Us (Episode One – Faith)

Posted on January 8, 2014 by geelw

Platform: PC/Mac

Developer: Telltale Games

Publisher: Telltale Games

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: A

Since my comics reading has dropped of considerably over the past decade plus, I’d not even heard of Vertigo’s Fables series (so shoot me, but not until I finish this review) until a few people in my circles started buzzing about this game and now that I’ve finally reached and competed the first chapter in my stupidly long backlog (it’s stretching into 2015 at this point, no thanks to irresistable Steam, Desura, gog.com and assorted cheap indie bundle sales), I want to go read everything I’ve missed out on. Well, that or get this time travel stuff sorted out so I can play at my leisure and post reviews before games even come out.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah . Once again, Telltale Games swings for the fences and knocks it out of the park with an adventure game fans will be more than pleased with and those new to the experience will groove on for its great, funny and mature plot, excellent visuals and gameplay that combines text-based and quick time sequences almost seamlessly. Even if you don’t like comics for any reason, The Wolf Among Us and its blend of film noir styling in a fantasy New York City populated by humans and fairytale characters is a hard pull to ignore…
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Okay, Max Team… Now You’re Just Messing With Me…

Posted on January 6, 2014 by geelw

Ha and ha, ha. Massimo and Fernando over at MAX TEAM must really hate me. The just ran a fun new reworked intro to their upcoming Monster World RPG the other day and now here comes a big, fat SPOILER video with the game’s bad ending that they tell you NOT to watch if you don’t want to see it. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I still haven’t seen it and I know YOU won’t click that play button either, right? RIGHT? Yeah, I thought so. In fact, I say let’s give them the pleasure of NOT clicking that video and making it become the least popular one they’ve made to date. That should teach them not to go and do stuff like this ever again. YEAH. We showed YOU two what’s what. The fans have spoken! Or have NOT spoken and NOT clicked on your video! So there.

(Okay, so it’s actually a goofy joke that happens about a minute into the game, so it’s not an actual “spoiler” at all, so you can click away at your leisure and not actually “spoil” anything!)

Review: Paper Sorcerer

Posted on January 6, 2014 by geelw

Platform: PC/MAC

Developer: Ultra Runaway Games

Publisher: Ultra Runaway Games

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: N/A

Official Site

Score: A- (90%)

Five bucks used to not buy so much as far as games went until the indie scene exploded and small developers started churning out way too many games either as free labors of love or inexpensive alternatives to big dollar major label releases. Paper Sorcerer is one of those cool budget-priced games that comes recommended because you’re getting a lot of game for that fiver and fans of classic computer RPG adventures as well as anyone looking for something a wee bit familiar yet a wee bit different will probably find plenty to love here. The striking black and white art style may be the bigger draw than the intriguing story to a few of you out there, but there are some nice plot twists and the ending is a total hoot. A few kinks in the armor keep this one from perfection, but with some player input the game is going through a few updates now that it’s been voted into the Steam Greenlight program… Continue reading →

Monster World RPG Update (It’s Creeping Closer)…

Posted on January 4, 2014 by geelw

Massimo and Fernando (aka MAX TEAM) are still debugging their baby so it arrives all ready to download and play, but Monster World RPG just may be the big (and FREE) ticket Sega fans are looking for when it comes to fan-made JRPG experiences. So much work and love has gone into this project that the game truly looks as if it’s a never released Genesis game. Granted, I’ve only played a few demos over the past year or two, but I’m confident that the end result will be well worth the long wait. I think there’s a month or so to go before this lands, but I say take your time, guys… take your time. I want this one to be perfect when I sit down and lose too many hours in it…

Bundle Stars Wants You To Win BIG (As In $500 Worth of Steam Games BIG)…

Posted on January 3, 2014 by geelw

Wow. Simple entry procedure? CHECK, super prize for ten lucky winners? CHECK. All you need is a PC with enough hard drive space and the appropriate OS and 3D card and you’re good to go. Even if you don’t win a darn thing, you’ll now have a new site to ogle when you’re looking for great game deals where some of the proceeds go to charity. This bundle stuff seems to be the way things are going for many to snap up games of all types at great prices, so get used to it, folks. And if you DO win because you found out about this contest here, remember to put me in your will or something. Or even better, enjoy all those games and say goodbye to being bored for quite some time! And if you’re not a gamer, just pass this post along to someone who is and watch them do something resembling a back flip. Um, if they don’t stick that landing, it’s not my fault… but at least they tried, right?

Okay, CUPHEAD Is On My Game of the Year List (And It’s Not Even Done Yet)…

Posted on January 2, 2014 by geelw

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…

Tex Murphy Is Coming Back? I Need To Pay More Attention To Stuff Like This…

Posted on December 23, 2013 by geelw

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)…

Zombeer Update: Oh, NOW It Makes (Some Awesome) Sense!

Posted on December 19, 2013 by geelw

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.

Dungeon of the Endless Trailer: The Final Frontier Is Only About FOREVER Long…

Posted on December 13, 2013 by geelw

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…

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