Ys: Memories of Celceta Launch Trailer: I’m Getting There, I’m Getting There…

Posted on November 29, 2013 by geelw

Thanks to Xseed Games still dropping DLC for Valhalla Knights 3 on PSN and me deciding to try out a bunch of it. I have not yet gotten around to polishing off the review I’m almost done with. Then they go an release Ys: Memories of Celceta and I’m suddenly seeing the rest of my year gone with the wind once I get around to picking this game up. THANKS, guys! No, really. It’s not like I have anything better to do than to prove that the Vita isn’t dead as some say (or hell, dead at all!), and it’s always a pleasure to play a new JRPG that’s actually an old JRPG redone with some spiffy new visuals and even more fun gameplay than the original. That said, as I keep stressing… someone REALLY needs to create a means of stopping or slowing down time so that I can enjoy more of the games I buy and play. Anyway, you should add this one to your library if you haven’t already – I’ll get out a review in a bit…

Ys: Memories of Celceta: The Vita Nets Another RPG Winner From Xseed Games

Posted on November 8, 2013 by geelw

Ha. Just as I’m starting up my Valhalla Knights 3 review (which I’m hoping will be a definitive one as it’s not filled with wrongheaded references to incorrect thought processes gone wild), my inbox is buzzing away and telling me that not only is there DLC for that game I need to download NOW, Xseed is also going to be shipping out Ys: Memories of Celceta for the PlayStation Vita on November 26, 2013.

For the uninitiated, the game is a very heavily reworked/remade retelling of Ys IV (one of the few games in the popular Nihon Falcom RPG series not yet released in English until now) and features an enhanced party battle system from Ys SEVEN, along with the insanity of Boss Rush mode. Are your fingers prepared? They’d most surely better be is all I’ll say…

As usual, this one is getting the triple threat treatment of a physical retail and PlayStation Network digital release for $39.99 as well as a special Ys: Memories of Celceta Silver Anniversary Edition for $59.99. According to the press release, it’s definitely omake time for Ys fans with this one:

This Limited Edition contains a 3-CD collection of original and arranged music spanning the entire history of the franchise, a cloth map detailing the lands of Celceta, a logo-emblazoned compass, and ‘Adol’s Travel Journal’ containing 130 pages of adventuring strategies and artwork, all within an exclusive commemorative package.

Of course, that compass won’t help you navigate the game world on your Vita, but I think you’ll do just fine without it. Besides, you need TWO hands to use your Vita and if you wanted to be distracted by a second screen you’d be playing another system entirely, correct? Now, about Ys V and Ys V EXPERT… I’ll be definitely holding out hope that those get the remake treatment one fine day…

NYCC 2013: IDW’s 2014 Lineup: Kirby, Steranko, Gibbons. Your Wallet’s Gone (And They’re Not Done Yet)…

Posted on October 12, 2013 by geelw

Every time I get a press release from IDW Comics, I fear opening it just because I just KNOW that it’s going to be for one of their spectacular new classic comic collections and I’ll want to add it to my already too long want list. Nevertheless, I forge ahead, click and drool away, knowing I can’t afford any of them, but hoping I’ll actually get to get my grubby paws on a copy someone I know buys when they see it here on the site. Anyway, the company’s 2014 lineup is rolling out in the form of a few press releases (below the jump), so ogle those covers above for as long as you like and then pawn off a kidney (preferably not yours). These books will be in the usual limited run actual art size editions IDW is well known for. OK, put on your reading shoes – you’ve got some press releases to pore over!

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IDW’s Woodwork: If You Only Buy ONE Comic Collection This Year, Well Here You Go…

Posted on August 28, 2013 by geelw

Granted, with only 175 (or 150, depending on where you look on the order page) of these SUPER deluxe $125.00 tomes made, they’re most likely all gone by the time you’re reading this post. That said, IDW Publishing’s latest classic comic art collection and hardcover must-buy Woodwork: Wallace Wood 1927-1981 is an absolutely magnificent gathering of some of the best of Woody’s work (and a bunch of cool extras) and comes highly recommended. The man could do it all and did it all in terms of his comics work. Kid-friendly strips and parodies to classic EC Comics of all types to superhero books and far racier content for much more mature audiences, yep, Woody was there and ready to get it done.

As this one’s going to go fast (or is already gone), I figure I may as well run a few images from the official site below, as the chances of many of you seeing this one up close and personal are slim to zero. If anything, Woody’s work deserves to be scrutinized by more of today’s younger artists for a few really good reasons, as the man’s imagination and sense of wonder were seemingly limitless (although with such a massive output, not everything was as brilliant as the collected works here). He’s one of many influences on some of my older work, but I didn’t copy his style directly, instead thinking “What would Woody do?” when tackling certain projects.

God of War Ascension: Sony Bets There’s a Three Way In Your Future…

Posted on February 26, 2013 by geelw

No, no… not THAT type of three way (and you’ll only get that joke anyway if you’ve played the other games in the series) As in, there are three ways to get the game, you perverts (get those eyebrows at least ABOVE the gutter. This is a family show!). As the latest trailer just dropped earlier today and interest in the game is soaring thanks to some of the other footage from this upcoming action epic, this could indeed be the best game in the franchise to date. That said, methinks it’s time for Kratos to either call it a day after this game or go the open-world RPG route, as I personally feel he’s too confined to linear pathways and puzzles when he needs to bust through those invisible walls, QTE’s and cinematic camera angles and get into doing what he does best (which is whatever the hell he wants to, usually). We shall see, I suppose, but I think the big lug NEEDS the space to breathe and Sony Santa Monica can help him out quite nicely indeed while expanding upon the multiplayer mode they’ve cooked up.