DARK Skills Trailer: Vampires Do Make Some Pretty Good Sneaky Characters…

Posted on April 19, 2013 by geelw

This newest slice of gameplay from DARK, developed by Realmforge and set to be published by Kalypso Media, is looking like quite a surprise sleeper in my book. Vampire-themed games aren’t exactly a dime a dozen these days, so it’s great to see a dev team tackle one and make it look and based on the trailers I’ve seen, play so well. As I noted previously, I’m REALLY hoping it does well enough on PC and Xbox live that it can also appear on other platforms, as this is just the sort of indie game that deserves a wider and more appreciative audience. As always, we shall see…

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Gets A Beta – Give It A Shot, I Say…

Posted on April 19, 2013 by geelw

NeoCore Games’ upcoming action RPG, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, is headed into its beta stage as a pre-order product the developer has set up as a crowdfunded work in progress that allows interested players to pony up a fee for access that will net them a final copy when the game is completed and released in May. For a minimum payment of $15, you’ll get to play that beta version on Steam (and comment on it, no doubt) and there are payment tiers all the way up to $1000 (which gets you four copies of the game, your name in the credits and portrait in a secret boss level).

Telltale Game’s Poker Night At The Inventory 2: The Joke(r)’s On Me…

Posted on April 17, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, yeah – I was SO wrong about this one and yes, I did go break out that last crow pie from the freezer. Eh, no big deal though, as I don’t play poker at all and will probably not buy this one even at the measly five bucks it’s going to cost. Hey, but don’t let me stop you from tossing that digital fin into Telltale’s coffers. It sure looks like fun and yes, those pop cultchah characters from certain games and movies are making the fans drool and moon like teenage boys peeking over the fence at their hot next door neighbor’s sunbathing routine. Ewww… this post went south quicker than usual, huh? OK, but if you’re THAT hardcore a poker player, you’ve probably seen a few boobs from all those years playing. And some of them even had the nerve to try and bluff when you knew they weren’t holding anything close to a good hand. See what I did there? SAVE! OK, I’m outta here… well, for THIS post…

I’m Not Worried About Divinity: Original Sin One Bit…

Posted on April 14, 2013 by geelw

Seriously. I know Larian Studios has got this all sewn up nice and tight, so I haven’t even bothered to run any of their Kickstarter updates here after posting a little while back about Original Sin going the crowdfunding route. It’s pretty much a no-brainer that a new game is going to be great when it’s the same studio and staff that’s been with the series from the beginning toiling away like mad wizards. I’m just hoping that this gets a console version at some point, as I hate having to keep upgrading a PC like it’s a can that needs a new engine every time one of these epics roll out. More people playing their games is always a better thing at the end of the day, I say…

Rollers of the Realm: Pinball, Puzzle & RPG? Three Tastes That Taste Great Together!

Posted on April 13, 2013 by geelw

I’ll admit my eyebrow went flying up into the air for a second when I heard about Rollers of the Realm, but after a look around at the video above and the official site, I’m all in. Yeah, developer Phantom Compass (and friends) currently only has this set to hit PC and certain phone and tablet-shaped portable devices, but I think this one could be the new Puzzle Quest if it hits consoles as well at some point down the road. Sure, it’ll cost more to buy if it’s on the PS3 and Vita va PSN, Wii U and 3DS eShop or the Xbox 360 through XBLA. But hey, we console gamers are USED to paying more for some games because we know it generally costs more to bring them over with new features. Granted, I’d prefer this on a disc or game card, but that’s not going to happen at all, I’d bet. So a nice and shiny HD download is perfectly fine by me. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one, that’s for sure…

GOG.com Gets Slender…Wake Me When It’s Over…

Posted on April 10, 2013 by geelw

Oh, look… another Slender game. OK, this is supposed to be the best… or at least the one from the guy who cooked up this modern campfire tale that seems to primarily scare people younger than I who are still freaked out in the dark or something. Well, gog.com IS also an indie showcase these days as well as a place where you can score much more in the way of DRM-free classics to current PC, Mac and Linux games, so it was only a matter of time before one or more of these Slender games popped up. They do nothing for me and the mythos is a bit dopey. Basically the guy popping up and not quite chasing you in these short scare-fests is Freddy Krueger in a snazzy suit or something. There’s a nice atmosphere going on here and some jump scares galore, if that’s your thing. And then you make a mistake and die. Not my idea of horror, but if that floats your boat – go on ahead.

Edge of Space Teaser: Fall In And Float With This Indie Sleeper…

Posted on April 9, 2013 by geelw

EoS2

Well, well… what do you know? Edge of Space actually looks pretty cool, but for some reason (well, OK… I normally don’t play online games) I’ve been ignoring it a wee bit too much. Still, I’m now tempted to sit in on an hour-long play session tomorrow so I can recommend it to you readers out there looking for a super cool retro inspired side-scrolling game that’s inspired by a few things from Minecraft to a sack full of 8 and 16-bit classics to bits and pieces of sci-fi themed RTS games. Anyway, I’ll get the what’s what tomorrow and let you know how much fun this is. Crafting, crates, jet packs, hungry aliens galore and funky sharks in space gear (!). Actually, the funky sharks did it for me and I didn’t even need to play this… but I’ll do so anyway just to be sure. In the meantime, feel free to give this a shot through Steam or Desura – just click that banner below to buy EoS and you’re halfway there…

Something Old, Something New (Or, One GOOD Thing About Digital Games)…

Posted on April 8, 2013 by geelw

Well, well, well. Digital games are good for something after all. I’d purchased an inexpensive boxed copy of Torchlight off eBay a few years back from an overseas seller and it actually arrived quickly and ran just fine. It wasn’t until after playing it for a week and coming across some text in another language that I had the thought it wasn’t a legal version (despite the official looking Microsoft hologram on the slipcase) and I wanted to support Runic Games and all their hard work. Shortly afterward, I ended up buying Torchlight again, this time directly from the Runic site. However, I wasn’t able to download it thanks to my crap home connection (the reason why I sought out a physical copy in the first place). Of course, after that, Encore put out a disc version in the US and yep, I bought one of those as well. Amusingly enough, I ended up gifting that one to a friend for his birthday as he wanted to play the game but also had a crap internet connection.

Yeah, I’m a nice guy when I want to be… Continue reading →

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: The Title Sucks. The Game Certainly Doesn’t.

Posted on April 8, 2013 by geelw

Van_H_banner

So far, so good for this upcoming vampire-killing chase & chop, I say. Well, the title is still kind of dopey (it sounds like a very wrong Saturday Morning cartoon), but I’m really liking what’s happening with this NeoCoreGames-developed action/RPG. If they can pull off everything they’re planning, this one will be a hit (dorky-sounding name and all). Hey, I’m just saying that a better name will keep some skeptics from their snickering, especially with everything looking so great on the presentation side. I don’t mind the HUGE damage numbers at all, as they add a nice touch of humor to things. That said, being able to toggle them off would be a good idea.

Of course, with everyone comparing every isometric action game to the Diablo series (although Torchlight is more enjoyable to some extent if you add Diablo III to the mix), that’s another hurdle to overcome. Not for me, however – I love these types of games and will definitely play this one to death. Or Van Helsing’s death, as I’d be hiding in the broom closet if there were any real-life vampires and werewolves coming after me. Anyway, a PC version is coming this Spring with an Xbox 360 version via Xbox Live on the way later this year. Hmmm… someone get these guys PS3 and Vita dev kits, I say. And what the hell, a Wii U one as well, as all those systems could use a few more great looking hardcore vampire slaying games (that aren’t called Castlevania)…

Torchlight II Gets GUTS, Goes on Sale Temporarily…

Posted on April 6, 2013 by geelw

Runic Games’ hit action RPG (and Diablo III killer to some out there), Torchlight II has finally gotten its GUTS level editor up and running for public use and to celebrate this, the game is now a mere $9.99 (!), making it an even better deal. Hell, even at its normal $20 price point, it’s an incredible value, but half-off means more people jumping in to see what the fuss is all about, and yep – you should dive in as well. And you’d better act FAST, as that 50% off deal ONLY lasts until April 08, 2013 at 10am PDT.

What, you’re still here? GO get downloading and make with the monster slaying for fun and profit already! And if you’re feeling creative and have some GUTS, why not show off your skills and make up a mod of your own to share?