Yeah, you know who you are. In fact, there’s a mighty good chance you’re not even reading this because you’re already playing the game. Either that, or, you’re catching up on a few hours of much-needed sleep before you pop out of bed bright and early, call in sick for work with the “flu” or whatever, rush down to your nearest game emporium to snap up a copy of the game and take the rest of the week off.
PROTIP: Stay the hell OFF any social networking site with the bragging rights posting about how long you’ve been playing. Given that the commercials are all over the damn place, your boss KNOWS what’s up, but can’t prove anything if you stay silent and buried under the blankets on Pandora. Screw it up royally by being a braggart and watch it all come crashing down when you join the gainfully unemployed before your tweet or status update gets cold. Just a thought.
And don’t go blaming Gearbox or 2K if you get canned, cowboy – no one told you to be so stupid in this age of TMI when it’s not necessary. Enjoy the game!
Well, that’s what I’d do in this situation (or ANY situation involving the undead trying to chomp on my scalp), but I’d make a pretty lousy video game character. Capcom’s got this one all wrapped up tightly and I can see plenty of RE fans getting a good deal of replay value out of what’s going to be a pretty lengthy campaign. I’m still trying to decide whether to play during the day when I feel a lot more invincible, or wait until dark when I’ll be halfway behind a chair in the living room. I guess I’ll just flip a coin and enjoy the ride no matter how I decide to have at it. And before you even ask – yes, there’s actually still time to pre-order the game if you’re interested in doing so.
Speaking of kids and perilous situations, I love this TV spot, as it’s not only well shot and acted, it really makes me want to dive into the game and play more than the demo sections I had so much fun with. Granted, Capcom’s kitchen sink approach to creating Resident Evil 6 might not please some gamers who want ONE type of gameplay and the same old stuff as in the first four numbered games. Fortunately, I’m one of those people who got what the dev team was working at right away and saw that each segment of the game will be its own mini-epic rushing to collide with the other parts to create the biggest and possibly best new RE game this console cycle. I’ve been holding back impressions on the game because I want to dive into the entire disc and experience the stories as they’re meant to be played, so like many of you, I’m eager to see how it all meshes by the end credits. If anything, I’m betting it’s the most talked about game in the franchise’s history for all the content it’s bringing players new and old…
I recall having to review the PC version of Urban Chaos way back when it was initially released and being really surprised at how much fun the game was. At first glance, new players will note that US is highly reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto III in that you get a (mostly) open world to play around with, hand to hand combat, driving and lots of shooting action. However, the game was released two years before Rockstar’s magnum opus and despite positive reviews and being ported to two consoles soon afterward (to mixed results), the game never really got all the recognition it deserved. Developer Mucky Foot (primarily made up of members from Bullfrog Productions) cooked up an intriguing mix of action, driving and mission based gameplay that started as a straightforward cop saga and turned into a wild post-apocalyptic mash-up that’s weird and a bit creepy (well, it was at the time for me). In a way, the game was/is also a bookend to Core Design’s 2001 action/puzzle/sci-fi/horror hybrid Project Eden, another game that started out as one thing and ended up somewhere dark and bizarre.
Olivier Deriviere’s game music has been pretty memorable in my book. His work on the Alone in the Dark reboot and Obscure added mood and menace in all the right spots (even when the games themselves didn’t quite match up to the music supporting them). Based on this latest trailer for the upcoming RPG from Cyanide Studios and Spiders, it looks like another aural trip worth taking. Hopefully, we’re getting an game experience that can match the tunes pace for pace – it certainly LOOKS pretty grand in scope and content.
Even though I own all three originals, like a lot of gamers, I’ll be shelling out for Killzone Trilogy for one reason: the chance to replay the first Killzone game in HD (thank you Sony!). That said, where’s Killzone Liberation? That excellent (and under appreciated) PSP exclusive was quite a solid chunk of side story action that, despite the third-person viewpoint and bird’s eye view camera angle, still looked and felt like it belonged in the canon (which it does). I’d have added it as a free PSN download if there were somehow no way to fit it on a disc, but we’ll see if Sony decides to give the game a proper fit somewhere as part of this great collection set to land on October 23 (October 24 in Europe). Between this and the massive God of War Saga, Sony is certainly making sure its main franchises remain in the minds (and libraries) of gamers who can’t get enough of them…
OK, I’ll bite (and hard, at that) – a new Metal Gear Solid game coming from Kojima Productions? With that proprietary Fox Engine making sure the game looks even more amazing as an anniversary present for fans of the long-running series, this one’s a no-brainer even if it was a Metal Gear tsuguroku. Fortunately, it’s not, as you’ll see in this almost 11 minute jaw-dropper. I’m in all the way on this one, feet first. Hell, I’ll even post the trailer twice here (one is English subtitled) just to show my love for the series. Hey, I’m still buying Revengeance, Konami – I’m not some fair weather fan who only wants the same thing over and over. Thankfully, Hideo Kojima seems to be the same in that each Metal Gear experience has some truly excellent reasons to play through multiple times…
As for the proposed Metal Gear Solid movie everyone seems to be raving about (n one way or another)? I’m really, really on the fence here. Why? Well, young’uns… the joke goes something like this: in every Metal Gear Solid game, there’s that loooooooooooooong cut scene where unless you’re prepared for it, will go on and on (and on), forcing you to commit to playing around with camera angles with your controller just to kill time as an important plot point is explained. At some point (if you haven’t fallen asleep), you can et up and go make dinner, go to the bathroom or even go outside to check the mailbox (sometimes all of the above) before things get back to being playable.
You can’t expect a modern movie audience to be in on this at all (maybe the art house crowd will go for it, though), so hopefully, the folks writing it will go light on the exposition. On the other hand, I don’t want a stupid action flick with explosions and Meryl boobing out all over and a story that’s thinner than the edge of a katana. If this isn’t in The Dark Knight territory in terms of tone and execution, I’ll be a sad clown indeed. But let’s see what happens with this project. With a Solid Script (ha ha), perhaps Solid Snake can rake in the green with a big surprising smash of a summer flick.
That said, success or failure at the box office, I’ll still respect you in the morning Mr. Kojima!
Hmmm. I definitely needed a vacation after all this time without one, but Gearbox’s well-armed, enemy-packed planet of terror is a wee bit too “hot” for my tastes. Oh well – I think I’ll stay home and blow $#i! up from the comfort of my couch, thank you much. Anyway, start stocking up on provisions now, what with food prices jumping and all that noise. I predict it’s going to be a looooong fall of many gamers buried in this game for way too long (just like 2K Games and Gearbox want them to)…
Normally, I’d suggest running the other way at paying $40 for a game that doesn’t come in a case with a manual, but I’ll make an exception for something this wacky, challenging and fun. Especially as it’s supporting the fine folk at Xseed Games who seem to be doing quite well with their digital releases these days. Acquire’s open world sword-swinging samurai series has gotten quirkier and more intriguing with each new installment, so if you’re into the Yakuza games and their weird (and more modern) riff on all things Japanese, you’ll like what here quite a lot. WoTS 4 has ten endings, loads of stuff to do in your travels and too much Japanese humor on display that you’ll have to play through a few times just to confirm that the game was that nuts. Check out the full features list on the PlayStation Blog post or at the game’s official site
Gungrave: Overdose is also super insane and while shorter and cheaper at $9.99, the more action-packed run ‘n gun gampelay found in this PlayStation 2 sleeper (now part of the PlayStation 2 Classics lineup) from 2004 (originally published by Mastiff Games in North America) might appeal to those who aren’t quite fans of wandering samurai in feudal Japan as it moves kicking and screaming into the modern era. Granted, you may not be into anime or manga either, but I say take a chance on one or both titles if you haven’t played them before. Of course, if you’re into offbeat Japanese games, haven’t played either of these and want to support Xseed, well… here you go. Just poke around the PSN store and you’ll find these with ease.
August 24, PC owners. Prepare to Buy… then Prepare to DIE. And love every moment of it. The core word here is NEW, as in new areas, NPCs, weapon, monsters, bosses, PvP areas and MORE. Yes, as a console owner I’m temporarily annoyed (we’re getting this content later, so it’s all good), but I’m also hoping that PC gamers who’ve been whining about wanting this so badly buy it in numbers that stagger the imagination. Hopefully, the online play will be cheat and hack-free, but we’ll see what happens in the first week or two of release and then a bit afterward as those that can start mucking about with the game code. I still would LOVE a Vita version of a Souls game or a new RPG franchise from From Software at some point geared to portable players. I guess we’ll see what happens with that down the road…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 