Humble Weekly Bundle: 15 Spiderweb Software RPGs. No-Brainer Buy of the Week? Absolutely!

Eyes Bigger Than the Head and Now REALLY Needs a Time Machine Department: Holy Cats. Spiderweb Software teams up with the Humble Bundle folks to provide ALL of their currently available hand-crafted fantasy RPGs in a “pay what you want” bundle that’s a MUST buy if you’re looking for some of the deepest and most unique role-playing experiences out there. Jeff Vogel and his tiny team of talented tricksters have been slowly turning out some really cool isometric games since 1994 and this spectacular sale features a whopping 15 games (faint, *THUD!*) which can be all yours for as little as a few dollars.

Yes, some of that coin you pay will indeed go to some great causes (the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child’s Play Charity), so feel free to feel guilty and pay more than the average or even give more money to Vogel and his merry men and women if you like. OK, I’m babbling on here, but I’m just thrilled about this offer because it gives some of you the chance to play some really fun and challenging old-school epics. Oh, in case youe sense of humor is too new school or just slow on the uptake, Jeff is making a funny in that video when he calls himself a “living legend”. Some folks on YouTube don’t seem to understand this. Damn kids…

The Walking Dead: 400 Days Trailer: Creeping Up On You Faster Than You Thought…

…as in “BOO!” it’s on PSN (and PC and Xbox Live) right now (and at ONLY five bucks, it’s a MUST buy) waiting to lurch onto that PS3 or Vita as soon as you snap up a copy and download it. The caught me and a few other folks off guard because we thought Telltale might be saving this one up for a late summer or even fall release, but yes indeed, it’s out now and that’s awesome. Especially for me as a big Vita user (as the Vita needs all the great games it can get and although short, this one’s definitely in that Game of the Year territory based on all I’ve been reading). I guess now it’s all about finding something to cower under while playing that’s not going to roast me alive in this summer heat. Well, I guess I could play at night when it’s cooler.. but then I’d be looking over my shoulder every five seconds for any sudden movements…eeek. Eh, we’ll see, I guess… Off to find a coin to flip and decide what to do (it’s too hot to think straight today!)…

GOG.com’s Summer Sale Is ON: FREE Torchlight For All! More Games @ HUGE Discounts!


 
OK, this is just great (plus tax, which still makes this deal FREE, by the way). Scoot on over to gog.com and check out their Summer Sale for up to 85% (!) off select DRM-free games and a FREE digital copy of Runic’s awesomely addictive dungeon crawler, Torchlight waiting for your hot little hands to snap it up. Torchlight is a Diablo-style hack & slash RPG with a lovely cartoon style (it sort of looks like a mildly angry Disney cartoon), additively simple gameplay, and loads of loot to collect. Sure, it’s a solo-only focus, but the game has a way of hooking you in and keeping you occupied that’s hard to explain. Poke around the internet for some mods that add levels, items, new character skins and more to the experience and you end up with a game that’s bigger than it seems. Even if you don’t buy anything else, a free game any day of the week is a fantastic deal, I say. Act fast, though – Torchlight goes back to being a paid product on June 20. Oh, look at that… the room cleared out faster than if a gassy cow exploded in a corner… people just love those deals!

Amusingly enough, I’d get this…but I have three copies of Torchlight here already. er, no… FOUR (2 physical discs, one on each computer here). Yes, I do love my Torchlight. It’s like a digital blanket of demons and loot… ahhhh…

E3 2013: The Walking Dead – 400 Days Trailer: Telltale Returns To More Gory Adventure Glory


 

Last year’s release of Telltale Games’ superb adventure game, The Walking Dead showed that there’s more life to the adventure genre than some critics and jaded gamers thought. The episodic horror hit garnered a number of Game of the Year nods and awards from all over the map and for its compelling narrative and its multiple path-driven gameplay and despite some gore and violence (that served the story, mind you) it seems many people who weren’t into gaming per se wanted to play this for the plot. Anyway, the game did well enough that of course, a new set of downloadable stories on the way and based on this trailer (and the pile of “Best of Show” awards the game has gotten, The Walking Dead – 400 Days looks to be more of the same great and frightening descent into a world gone completely insane. The key in both the last series and this one is it’s less about the zombies and more about those still living affected by them and those who may or may not die based upon the player’s actions.

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In an interesting move, developer Skybound Entertainment is giving players five stories in one DLC episode this time out and the game is also set to hit multiple platforms (PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and Xbox Live Arcade), meaning more will be playing it at the same time if the release date for all of those systems lines up. All those positive press vibes will be great for the developer and publisher as well as fans of the comic and TV series who want more (and GOOD) licensed content that stays true to the source material. I’m already practicing my reflexes, as those conversation-based timed events and action scenes can indeed be as scary as the story making your spine rattle. Back with more on this one soon…

BUY THIS! Super Fighter Team Goes Digital With The RPG Trifecta Pack

RPG TF PackUsually, I save my biggest double-takes and jaw-drops for this time of year because of E3’s more surprising reveals, and yes there were a few doozies that put me in some poses most publicly shameful (or as shameful as one can look while watching a company dismantle its competition with a single internet video that crushes that competitor’s master plans). However, In the middle of all this E3 news and it’s talk of “interactively aggregate competitive materials” (Thank you, Corporate B.S. Generator!), thank goodness Super Fighter Team is on the case to keep me sane (but still picking up my jaw and eyeballs off the carpet)… Continue reading

Humble Weekly Sale/Humble Bundle 8: MORE Games To Die For, But Act Fast…

OK, I’d almost missed this incredible Humble Weekly Sale thanks to some emails getting eaten by my spam folder, but wow. Some of Telltale Games’ biggest hits, including the critically acclaimed episodic series The Walking Dead, is up for grabs for a stupidly LOW price for the next 20 or so hours. If you love adventure games and great stories well told with a few puzzles thrown at your brain for good measure, you NEED this bundle, period.

Oh, did I mention that Humble Bundle 8 has made over $2 million for charity? I didn’t? Well, I just did a sentence ago, silly. Anyway, THAT one’s on sale for a bit longer (6 days) AND now has eleven games and ten soundtracks for under $6!

Anyway, the clock, she is ticking, no? So stop reading here and go HERE to get what’s coming to you. Or else. “Or else, what?” you say? Or else you’ll be kicking yourself in the pants for not getting these games at a great price AND be stuck reading Fifty Shades of What’s Left in the Freezer again this weekend, silly. Seriously – The Walking Dead alone is THAT good a game that slapping down a measly five bucks or more will net you Steam keys for all five episodes

Random Indie Game of the Week: DreadOut

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DreadOutAmusingly and ironically enough, one of the scariest work-in progress games I’ve played this year comes from a developer named Digital Happiness. Based out of Indonesia, this small studio is in the process of polishing up their first game, DreadOut, a nicely frightening homage to Tecmo’s criminally neglected Fatal Frame series with a modern (and optionally social) twist.

DH is using the extremely versatile Unity game engine, a wonder tool for a number of small to large studios that can pump out some fantastic visuals the can be scaled to run an a wide range of computers and devices. The speed at which this has come together combined with the quality of the work is pretty astonishing. I believe Digital Happiness happens to be in the CG animation business or something, and you can see this in the character art, animation and general pleasingly realistic style of the visuals.
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Humble Indie Bundle 8: Too Much For Almost Nothing At All (And More If You’re Not Cheap!)

How the heck do they do it, I keep wondering. Games like these cost a chunk of time and money to make, but here we go once more – your chance to help out charity by paying what you want to grab some great indie games and awesome bonuses. A buck (cheapskate!) gets you FIVE great games and a nice set of soundtracks, but if you beat the average price and pony up a few dollars more, you unlock two more really cool games (and feel better about yourself, right?). As with most Humble Bundles, this one’s up for two weeks and after that, it’s gone for good. Pop on over to the Humble Bundle site, poke around and see what’s what, then give ’til it doesn’t hurt. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child’s Play Charity will thank you kindly and you’ll walk away with a steal and a happier hard drive full of cool stuff to play.

Random Indie Game of The Week: One Late Night

OK, not so chilling the tagline on the game’s site, “Experience the horror of working at an office” made me laugh as I thought of all the crappy office jobs I’ve held over the years since the 80’s, but Black Curtain Studios managed to make its short horror game One Late Night work on a few levels that make it worth a play. Yes, you past to present office drones will feel the chills this one presents more than those who just want another jump-scare game in the Slenderman vein who haven’t worked an honest day in their lives. Of course, this means some of those slackers won’t jump as much as some of us former cubicle dwellers, but, hey. If you’ve paid your dues long enough at that desk making copies and drinking bad company coffee into the night and you’ll maybe squeal like a schoolgirl once or twice while playing this gem. It’s free, so get it and prepare to relive the horror (or experience it for the first time with the realization that it usually takes about a year to start hallucinating like that in a real office situation).

Yeah, it’s over pretty quickly (unlike the average day at the office where watching the clock actually slows down time), but you get a couple of endings and there’s some nice use of lighting here. Make sure you pay attention to that note about keeping a light handy, as it certainly helps out quite a bit (he said, overstating the obvious). Anyway, bonus points if you download and play this while at the office on a day where you’re not getting out until it’s past midnight. If that’s your situation today, I’m hoping that you’re going to have a few hiding places (and at least one from the real-life boss prowling the halls and looking for someone to haunt with more work-filled folders)…

The Double Fine Humble Bundle: Today’s “Must Buy” Deal!

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Hey, it’s my birthday today, so you know what you can do for me? No? Well, get YOURSELF some of the best damn games you’ll ever play and thank me later, that’s what! Yeah, I don’t ask for much, but you can’t go wrong with this latest Humble Indie Bundle because it’s ALL about Double Fine Studios and their great games. Ok, you don’t need to do this TODAY, as this awesome offer expires in 13 days, 21 hours and 25 minutes as I type this out. Anyway, what’s in the digital box you ask? A jump below the jump reveals all… Continue reading