Review: Obscure: The Aftermath

Posted on October 1, 2009 by geelw

Platform: PSP/PSPgo

Developer: Hydrovision

Publisher: Playlogic

# of Players 1 (Wi-Fi: 1-2)

Rating: M (Mature)

Even if you’ve never played the original Obscure on the PC, PS2 or Xbox, Obscure: The Aftermath makes for a great slice of survival horror now available in portable form on the PSP. This scary single or co-op experience puts you in the shoes of a handful of college-age jock, loner and babe types who set to put an end to a deadly plague of sorts brought on by ingestion of some rather nasty black flowers. There’s a lot more to the plot than that, but this is one of those games where telling too much kills a few key plot twists. Despite a few visual bumps in the code, the game both looks and plays great on the handheld and overall, it’s a hellish ride well worth taking… provided you don’t mind the “B” movie silliness some of the dialog provides.

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Left 4 Dead Crash Course DLC Now Available (And Of Course, Valve Is Giving You Something A Little Extry)…

Posted on September 29, 2009 by geelw

Let’s say you don’t already own a copy of L4D for the PC but you want to buy it NOW. Well then, pardner, boogie on over to Steam, sign up today and you can get L4D for 50% off of the retail price. You’ll be wiping out hordes of zombies within minutes and “Cha-ching!”, you just saved some money in the process! Of course, this is a LIMITED time deal, hoss – it expires October 1, 2009. SO get cookin’, chief.

As to that new DLC mentioned in the header – read on for details (links below as well):

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Today: Live Dead Space Extraction Demo/Dev Commentary/Q & A!

Posted on September 29, 2009 by geelw

How’s this for fan service? Just in time for today’s launch of the Wii-exclusive Dead Space Extraction, Visceral Games is hosting an hour-long live webcast featuring gameplay demos of the cinematic sci-fi horror/action hybrid along with a Q & A session with members of the game’s development team that you (yes, you) can be a part of. The fun begins at 12 noon, PST (that’s 3pm Eastern Time if you’re in New York), so click away on that link above and enjoy the show.

We’ll have a full review of Dead Space Extraction after our review copy arrives.

Now Shipping: Twice the Horror (or Obscure, Meet Dead Space)…

Posted on September 25, 2009 by geelw

Two horror-themed titles have shipped for next week’s big release hoedown doozy of a game avalanche. There are also a ton of cool games in other different genres coming as well next Tuesday (and onward), so here’s a quick heads-up for you on some of what I’m looking forward to:

Dead Space Extraction (Wii) and Obscure: the Aftermath (PSP)are headed to retail on September 29th (as are Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga (Wii) and a bunch of other stuff I’ll post once I find time to compile the listing). Anyway, here’s a bit more on both titles (and a nice trailer for the Obscure sequel)…

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Left 4 Dead 2 Ratings Update (UK, Australian and NZ Versions)

Posted on September 25, 2009 by geelw

G’day to all my UK, Aussie and NZ readers! In case you’re wondering about the status of Left 4 Dead 2’s ratings, here you go – news directly from Valve. Let’s all hope cooler heads prevail thanks to a dose of simple common sense. Note to ratings boards around the world: It’s a GAME, folks – there are no real-life zombies and this isn’t going to inspire someone to run around looking for them with a squirrel gun.

Of course, if there’s someone out there that’s THAT far off the rails, well… there’s a pill for that, I hear. Or therapy… Anyway, off the soapbox and on with the news…

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Preview: Dead Space Extraction – Bringing Cinematic Sci-Fi/Horror to the Wii

Posted on September 22, 2009 by geelw

Visceral Games in on a two-part mission with its upcoming Dead Space Extraction and it’s an important one. The first part is done: they’ve gone and created a great-looking, dynamically frightening console game designed to scare you right under the couch (while also laying the groundwork for future Dead Space titles). The second part is a bit tricky, meaning it’s all up to YOU to assist by buying the game and experiencing all that hard work put into the project for yourself.

I had the great opportunity to sit in on a live (and informative) Q & A session with a few members of the dev team, who all spoke passionately about the game while dropping a few interesting facts about developing it as a Wii exclusive.

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Review: WET

Posted on September 21, 2009 by geelw

Platform: PS3/Xbox 360

Developer: Artificial Mind & Movement (A2M)

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

# of Players: 1

Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: B

The best way to enjoy Bethesda’s new action game, WET is with tongue planted firmly in cheek, controller planted firmly in hand and butt planted firmly on couch. The game is a fun, funky mash-up of cinematic influences – Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, John Woo and more than a few others all get riffed on here and for the most part, it works perfectly. Despite the metric tonnage of “grindhouse” gimmickry, the game manages to click from the moment you press START and the fireworks begin. With its over-saturated color palette layered with an intentionally scratchy graphics filter, actual old movie intermission reel clips and outrageous, bloody arcade-style action throughout, the visual overkill outdoes itself over and again as the levels fly past.

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Agetec & UFO Announce Way of the Samurai 3 for PS3 and 360

Posted on September 19, 2009 by geelw

In a unique co-publishing agreement, Way of the Samurai 3 is set to hit stores on October 13, 2009 thanks to the fine folks at Agetec (PS3 version) and UFO (Xbox 360 version).

According to the press release, Acquire’s latest entry in the ongoing swordplay saga is an all-new Action/RPG that promises a “completely new, highly refined style of gameplay, a rich weapon crafting system, beautifully detailed graphics and a deep branching storyline that that will unfold multiple endings based upon player’s actions.”

With that in mind, here’s a look at the game’s story (click the pic to enlarge and read) and characters (ditto) as well as a nice set of screenshots and a pair of CG stills from what looks like the intro movie. In addition, an exclusive iPhone/iPod Touch app has also been announced – see below the jump for all the details…

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Obscure: The Aftermath Hands-On

Posted on September 17, 2009 by geelw

Way back in 2004, a scary little survival horror/adventure game called Obscure crept onto the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC, receiving mixed reviews before disappearing from the scene and becoming something of an eBay collectible. The game still sold in well enough numbers that a sequel, Obscure: The Aftermath (or Obscure II, depending on where you’re reading this) was released in 2007 for the PS2 and Wii. Thanks to Playlogic and developer Hydrovision, that sequel is headed for the PSP on September 29 and thanks to their PR department, I’m writing up this hands-on of a preview build. Featuring disturbingly detailed visuals, plenty of “teen slasher flick” ambiance and wireless drop-in/drop out co-op play, this is one game horror fans looking for a wild ride won’t want to miss.

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Fairytale Fights Pre-Order T-Shirt Gets The DAF Seal of Approval…

Posted on September 15, 2009 by geelw

Ah, my ladies in action! Remember, I DID say this one wasn’t for the kiddies…

Gamestop also has an exclusive trailer on the pre-order page (link below), so take a peek that way if you still haven’t seen the game running yet – it’s pretty spectacular stuff.

The GameStop Fairytale Fights pre-order program is available now through October 26, 2009 at GameStop. Please visit your local GameStop for more information and incentive details. Incentive items will be available at the retailer at time of pick-up starting October 27, 2009.

Fairytale Fights will be released on October 27, 2009 in North America and October 23, 2009 in Europe on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Fairytale Fights will be made available on PC in 2010.