Divinity: Original Sin Update – Hey, At Least Larian Studios Is Working Today…

Posted on November 7, 2012 by geelw

This latest in-progress video shows the team at Larian is toiling away merrily on their new baby and at this point we can leave then alone because everything is looking great. Still, I think the developer should consider getting all the Divinity games out on PSN or XBLA at some point in the future because all are worth playing if you happen to be a RPG fan or happen to like well-written stories that have a decent amount of humor sprinkled throughout (sort of like that perfect raisin bagel). Granted, that would take a lot of time, a lot more money and perhaps a studio stepping in to help out with the crazy porting process. Nevertheless, I think it’s worth all that effort at the end of the day because MORE people would be playing these great games.

I still have Divine Divinity installed on my PC here and every time I see a new update from Larian, I have the urge to play it. I think it would be mighty fine If I could indeed play it on my Vita or PS3 or 360 (perhaps with a few Trophies/Achievements HD tweaks for those who crave that stuff). Hey, I’d even accept a Wii U version of any of the games as Nintendo’s new console can run them just fine if you go by specs alone. OK, let me stop procrastinating and get back to some reviews…

Random Indie Game of the Week: The Cartographer

Posted on November 5, 2012 by geelw

Even though the RPG Maker software has evolved over time, many XP, VX and VX Ace games I play leave me cold when it comes to the stock RTP visuals. Sure, the character line art and sprites are much more slick and detailed than the ones found in RPG Maker 2000 and 2003, but there’s often a really generic, SUPER clean look to these games that makes me want to skip them in favor of something a bit more… classic. On the other hand, a bit of custom fiddling and good writing has made many XP and above games truly wonderful, memorable games to play (Garden, Aetherion, Manifest, Exit Fate, Last Scenario and so forth and so on), which brings me to The Cartographer. Here’s a game that works wonderfully thanks to blending a great story, excellent use of music and some fine mapping work by developer Avedan that altogether make for a short but sweet RPG worth your time.

The game tells the tale of a young innkeeper named Rueben who finds himself thrust into the role of hero as he takes on his late father’s former position as Dragon Slayer. Toss in a Alina, a beautiful black mage (introduced in a musically flawless manner) Rueben falls head over heels for and Arcturus, an adventurer who needs the assistance of a Dragon Slayer (not an innkeeper) to complete a certain task, and it’s off to the races. While the game can be beaten in about five or so hours, it’s definitely something you’ll remember and probably go back to for the scriptwriting, humor and very likable characters. As for the mapping here, if you play a lot of RPG Maker games, you know that straight RTP maps tend to look very much alike game to game. Avedan has literally done some corner-cutting here, making maps that are far less blocky and almost organic in some spots. Of course, new players won’t notice this at all, but folks who play or make games using the software will find a lot to like here.

One cool thing about the game is all the work can be taken apart to see how it was done, enabling other users of VX to perhaps make maps just like (or better than) the ones here. Anyway, go check this one out and get ready to do a lot of smiling as soon as you start playing as there’s a lot here to love. There’s supposed to be a sequel in the works, but I’ll report more on that in the future once I get through the pile of games I have here…

Random Indie Game of the Week: GOBLET GROTTO

Posted on October 28, 2012 by geelw

Yep, it’s Catamites (or catmitts) at the wheel again. His offbeat RPG Space Funeral was of the most unusual and incredibly awesome indie games I’ve played this year, but Catamites has most certainly been a busy guy since then, cooking up a bunch of newer titles to make anyone who downloads them appreciate his take on familiar game genres and gameplay conventions. Goblet Grotto is a strange, addictive third-person exploration adventure game where you… collect goblets. Well, there’s a lot more going on under the hood, but revealing it would spoil the fun. Hell, you SHOULDN’T even watch that speed run video above (too late, huh? Oh, OK…) as it’s a fast way through the game and you need to really boogie around the game world to see and interact with as much as possible. What’s cool here is there’s a very functional game world and characters here and all those bizarre sounds and strange hieroglyphs onscreen have some meaning as does every action button on the console.

The fun part in all this (next to collecting goblets) is interacting with characters and objects in the environment. Just going around jamming on the spacebar (which makes a “KILL!” sound each time you tap it) isn’t the best solution (but it does get rid of wolves and other creatures that attack) and yes, you’ll die a lot (unless you cheated by watching that video above). However, the game grabs you, sucks you in and has you hooked in because of the offbeat visuals and eccentric sound design. Anyway, blah and blah and blah – go get this NOW, I say. It runs on PC and Macs, so you Apple-heads don’t need to sit there pouting about not being able to play a decent game. No matter what you play it on, you’ll get a few laughs, scratch your head and maybe even say “WTF???” a few times. I think that’s what Catamites wants, so please do oblige him. Oh yeah, check out his other games as well at Harmony Zone – all are worth trying out (and hell, they’re all **FREE**, so there’s no commitment other than the time it takes to download and play them).

Even More Malevolence Gameplay (And A Beta On The Way)…

Posted on October 27, 2012 by geelw

Here’s a longer look at Malevolence: Sword of Ahkranox along with some good news from the game’s blog. It looks as if we’ll be seeing a beta announcement pretty soon (once some kinks are worked out), which means I can hopefully play a small chunk of this game in preparation for the final build. It’s amazing how fast time flies under regular circumstances, but somehow it seems to be crawling along when it comes to this game winding down the development process and being as done as done can be. Then again, I’d bet that time is probably rushing by for the folks working hard on making this one of the better indie RPGs on the way. Oh yeah, the official game site is also supposed to get a redesign, so it looks as if the game is coming on schedule for that December 21 launch…

Tiny Troopers Zombie PC/Mac Patch Adds Hordes of Undead, New Weapons

Posted on October 27, 2012 by geelw

For those of you with retail or digital copies of Tiny Troopers, Iceberg Interactive and Kukouri Mobile Entertainment have gifted you with a lovely Halloween surprise in the form of some cool zombie-related DLC. This 46MB content pack for PC and Mac players adds a Survival mode, special weapon crate drops, the ability ti use your favorite troopers from the main game and yes, LOTS of undead to blast with all those wonderful toys. Go grab this FREE add-on from one of the four sites hosting the file, update your game and enjoy the extra fun!

OK, Kukouri – get crackin’ on that Vita version of TT and I’ll be even happier!

HAWKEN Basic Training Videos: Maintenance, Plus Making Sure You’ll Have No Control Issues

Posted on October 27, 2012 by geelw

Adhesive Games and Meteor Games continue to impress with their amazing-looking mech combat game, finally coming as a free to play experience at the end of the year. Of course, personally I think that with a good writer and some nice reworking, a solid story mode would help the game even more, but that’s not my choice to make. I just hope that the game does well enough that it doesn’t get buried under all those other F2P titles flooding the market. Of course, if it does do well, I can expect to see some smart developer make a more story driven game that has single player AND multiplayer content. As always, we shall see… in the meantime, feel free to sign up for the beta, play a chunk of cool modes and help make a great game much greater.

Max Team’s Monster World RPG: Taking A Sega Classic To The Next Level

Posted on October 12, 2012 by geelw

While I do play a LOT of fan-made games paying homage to classics of the 8 and 16-bit eras, Max Team’s Monster World RPG project is one of the better works in progress I’ve seen to date. Initially released as a simple RPG Maker 2003 passion project back in 2005, the game has since been reworked into a much more polished game worthy of being put onto a Sega Genesis cartridge. Even though it’s far from the flashiest game made with the ancient game creation software, the dedication to replicating the specific look of the MW games while turning it into a turn-based RPG with an active time battle system out of the Final Fantasy games is on point and the nostalgic vibe works perfectly. The two hard working guys behind this free RPG, Massimo and Fernando, met up about a year after Massimo completed the first version of the game and needed help in expanding the game further. Continue reading →

Random Game Art (Not Mine): Another World Poster

Posted on October 12, 2012 by geelw

OK, I’m stupidly busy playing a bunch of games in my to-do queue (including of of the biggest surprises of the year, VBlank’ Games’ spectacular and hilarious Retro City Rampage for the Vita & PS3, coming soon to more platforms – BUY IT! ) and getting some Holiday Gift Guide products reviewed, but I may as well give you something to look at, so here you go: A lovely piece of art done for the classic PC game Another World (or Out of This World if you live in North America). For some reason, this game popped into my head (probably due to reading p a few too many posts about adventure games making a comeback this year when they never really disappeared in the first place) and I did a quick search to see if there was a site still up for this classic. Turns out there is and if you’re running WIndows XP, you can get a nice demo of that version to try out. It’s one of the all-time great (and hard!) adventure games that still brings back some find memories for me. OK, enough wistful nostalgia – back to the salt mines. Lots of updates to come this weekend!

Divinity Anthology Collector’s Edition: Sheer Heaven For RPG Fans

Posted on October 9, 2012 by geelw

Larian Studios has a keen sense of humor as you can see above, but this is one serious collection you may want to grab from the Larian Vault before it’s sold out completely. A measly thirty bucks gets you three great RPGs and a ton of bonus content, meaning you’ll be trapped inside your home this fall and winter, calling in sick from work or something similar. All the best excuses are taken, by the way – just tell the truth and maybe get your boss hooked on these games as well, I say. Even though I own all three games on disc (and I have both versions of Divinity II on the Xbox 360), I’m sorely tempted to grab one of these CE packs before they vanish forever…

Anyway, click HERE to check out the complete listing of fun, fun stuff in this SIGNED retail (YES!) package that’s also available digitally (and unsigned) for those of you who like to pretend you have a game collection. Yeah, that’s right, I said it – you can take your Minority Report grabbing at air and pulling invisible files and stick that nonsense in the trash folder. Me, I want something that will fall on my hard head if I put it on the shelf wrong. Then again, I take care of my games, so fat chance of that happening…

October 16, people – get to the clicking and buying, already. Larian needs a new boat or car or string of polo ponies or something.