Hitman: Absolution VO Interviews: Marsha Thomason

Posted on February 21, 2012 by geelw

Here’s a excellent interview with one of the voice talent behind IO Interactive’s upcoming game. Actress Marsha Thomason lets you in on a few cool things about her character, Diana Burnwood as well as what goes into performance capturing for the game. It’s been far too long since Agent 47 has appeared on the scene, but from what I’ve seen so far, everyone’s favorite bald (and bar-coded) assassin is coming back in fine form indeed in a game that looks spectacular. I’d say Square Enix has another hit on their hands as a publisher…

Max Payne 3 Trailer # 2: I’ll Have a Shot Of That…

Posted on February 17, 2012 by geelw

Delay of game aside, the new May 15 launch date also gives me time to recuperate from my birthday a week earlier. Given that I’ll most likely be spending it buried in some new game, I get a few extra days to finish whatever I’m playing before Max makes his appearance. Perhaps Rockstar was thinking of me after all? Well, maybe not, but a guy can hope, right? That new trailer is up on the other blog if you’re curious, George…

Syndicate Hands-On Update: A Fresh Perspective That’s Just Right (Again)

Posted on February 16, 2012 by geelw

With the release of Syndicate less than a week away, here’s a quick (and mostly spoiler-free) update on what to expect from Starbreeze Studios’ reboot of the PC classic. I had the chance to play through the game’s first two missions plus a tough co-op map with a few fellow journalist types at the Spotlight EA event last week and as I’ve been saying, the game absolutely nails the feel of the original game in many areas, improving on things by dropping the camera to first person and putting you into the shoes of cyber-enhanced corporate agent, Miles Kilo. Those of you out there still skeptically on your internet forum soapboxes need to step down and pick up a controller at some point, as any bit of quality time spent with the game will prove that it’s a winner that improves on many elements the original pioneered.

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Mass Effect 3 “Take Earth Back” Teaser – Stellar Storytelling (Short Version)

Posted on February 15, 2012 by geelw

I saw the full-length version of this last week at the Spotlight EA event and it’s pretty spectacular, stirring stuff by time the dramatic ending rolls around. Not that Mass Effect 3 needs the hard sell at all. Hell, BioWare has pulled out all the stops with the upcoming PS3/Xbox 360/PC game an you’ll see many improvements plus a super 4-player co-op mode that ties into the main single player storyline. It’s almost like the developer (and whomever did the CG work) is showing off how well their game is going to yank players all across the emotional spectrum and leave them in sobbing, yet defiant heaps of Shepard-ness right before they hop back in to finish the fight. Wait, wrong game franchise! Oh, you know what I mean. If you STILL haven’t played the other two (or Mass Effect 2, if you’re only a PS3 owner), you should pick them up ASAP, as they’re cheap and will get you even more revved up for this finale. Also, the demo is out NOW, so give it a whirl – the single player is about 2 hours or so and you’ve got some co-op fun added as well.

Why is I Am Alive NOT On A Retail Disc?*

Posted on February 8, 2012 by geelw

*Or: Hey, Ubisoft, Here’s How To Market A Game To EVERYONE Who Wants To Play It…

Sure, I Am Alive looks amazing and yes, the idea of a realistic survival adventure set in a destroyed city has garnered tons of praise everywhere anyone has seen or played it. But Ubisoft is doing themselves no favors by only releasing this on Xbox Live Arcade in March and perhaps later on PSN,… oops SEN (sorry, Sony! Give me another week or so to get used to that change). Memo from the front: despite your current successful digital business model, there are STILL a large amount of gamers who can’t get that content dying for something different that’s NOT another FPS, zombie game, franchise update or yes, I’ll say it, ANOTHER damn digital-ONLY release that should have been disc-based.

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Official Max Payne 3 Website Alive & Kicking…

Posted on February 3, 2012 by geelw

The new weapons trailer is posted on the other blog if you haven’t seen it already. While you’re waiting for that coffee or tea this morning (and in case the link aboveis busted thanks to Blogger’s crappy way of handling embed codes), you may as well boogie on over to the official site and see what Rockstar’s been up to with Max and his latest adventure. Well, “adventure” as in he gets to shoot up a lot of bad men while you make sure he doesn’t play catch with too many bullets.

Skyrim Creation Kit Out Now For PC – Console Owners Take An Arrow To The Knee

Posted on February 2, 2012 by geelw

No, I couldn’t resist the obvious joke that’s become the one thing even people who haven’t played Skyrim have seen, read or heard. Anyway, yes, if you’re a lucky PC player of Skyrim and have a ton of time on your hands, you too can create content of your own to share with other like-minded fans. Expect to see plenty of Star Wars, Legend of Zelda, assorted comic book and movie mods and more coming soon. I’m sure there’s going to be a complete conversion of the game into some older Elder Scrolls titles as well from some of the more hardcore users out there, so we’ll have to poke around at some point and peek at mods even though we’ve only played the console versions because we’ve got a crappy computer. Hey, why am I writing as a collective “we” all of a sudden. It’s late and I’m seeing double, probably…

Syndicate TV Spot: The Corporate Wars Are Getting Closer…

Posted on February 1, 2012 by geelw

Nice. I’m sincerely hoping Starbreeze Studios and EA have their collective fingers in their ears and (their bulletproof vests on) when it comes to the silly trolling their baby is getting in some online circles. As noted on the other blog, once you try out the Syndicate demo and things start clicking into place, you’re hooked in and set to roll with whatever the final version packs. Me, I’ve been aboard since last year when I played the demo, so I know the game proper will be outstanding. To those still making Deus Ex: Human Revolution comparisons… well, you’ll just have to see for yourselves that while yes, there are some visual similarities, it’s not even close in terms of a few other key points. Well, there’s not too much longer to wait, so you’ll get the chance to see what’s up shortly… provided you can uncross your arms and look down at a controller instead of sticking your noses in the air…

Dragon’s Dogma Coming In May (With A Resident Evil 6 Demo Along For The Ride…)

Posted on January 31, 2012 by geelw

Well, well, well… we have a release date! Capcom as announced that Dragon’s Dogma will hit retail in the North America on May 22, 2012 and will include a playable Resident Evil 6 demo (excellent) which will HOPEFULLY be on the disc and NOT some download-only nonsense that’s used to track new copies of DD or something like that. I’m actually happy to see a demo actually come out before the game, as it’s been an unfortunate trend over the last few years to ship out a demo too close to the release date (or well after in some cases). Then again, a lot of developers dislike making demos for a number of reasons (as you’ll find out if you get a chance to talk to a few every so often). Of course, I’m already reading about the usual skeptics who think Capcom is sticking a RE demo on DD to automatically sell a ton of copies of a game that might not be that great. But I’ll be the first to go after those naysayers with a rolled up newspaper if they said that without laying a finger on the actual game.

Anyway, another one for the radar – Thanks, Capcom!

Dragon’s Dogma Story Trailer Teaser

Posted on January 28, 2012 by geelw

Capcom’s been cooking this one up for a while and while the full version of this trailer won’t be revealed until 1/31, they’re releasing this short tease to get you all worked up (and rightly so). I’m also gathering they’ve been tightening up the gameplay significantly from the demo versions I played last year, as there were a few issues that needed ironing out. Then again, a demo is just that, and in no way signifies the quality of the final build. PS3 and Xbox 360 owners will get to see that for themselves as Capcom is promising a “flood of Dragon’s Dogma info on the way!”

Well, that means I’ll be posting it when it splashes around in my inbox…