Yes, it’s a few more Grand Theft Auto V screens below and below the jump, info on the game’s Special and Collectors Edition extras some of you Standard Edition buyers will want to shake your fists at before canceling your old pre-order to upgrade to either the Special or CE version for all the goodies they’ll has. Or if you’re feeling particularly self-generous (or are naturally that way) you can just buy all THREE versions of the game and make Rockstar even happier, right? RIGHT?
Oh, you should have seen the face on the nosy guy in the library today as I was watching this trailer. He was behind me looking at the DVD section and I guess at some point he turned around and saw the title of this trailer and promptly lost his mind. Well, it was already gone because he says to me “Wait, is that true?” As if I knew what “true” was in his brain. Of course, I said, “Yep, it’s coming to the Wii U”, which confused him even more. Well, the next two or three minutes were spent telling him about Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut and how it’s a specially enhanced Wii U version of the (that’s coming to other platforms later because Square Enix probably won’t make a huge profit on the Wii U game), which flustered him even more. I think he thought he was watching a movie (and probably a documentary, at that).
He finally leans in to hiss “No, I mean the FEMA camps, man!” as if they’re real places and not some talk radio claptrap cooked up to make people like him crazier. I had to slowly tell him “This is a video game”, whisch seemed to work for a few seconds until he says … “But it’s about FEMA camps!”, which made my brain face palm itself inside my skull. He went away shaking his head (and will probably be calling whatever show he listens to on the radio tonight or tomorrow to report what he’s seen). Hoo. Boy. I hope that man has NO children at home.
So, um… yeah… good job, Square Enix and Eidos Montreal (plus whomever handled the port) – you’ve made someone more paranoid about the future who wasn’t even a gamer. Now I really have to buy this when it launches later this year.
Buried under all that PS4 news yesterday was the really nice “surprise” that there’s a portable version of one of the best games of 2012 in development and set for a 2014 release. This is a great thing for anyone who has yet to play Borderlands 2 as well as an even better thing for those who loved (and still love) the game for all its crazy fun and loot drops galore. 2K Games has only sent out this teaser image (boo!), but we’ll definitely be keeping a collective eyeball peeled for more on this one.
Actually, it’s a good thing it’s coming out next year, as my calendar of games to play is quite full (and then some!)…
Every time I see more of this game, I have to run to the nearest closet, get a hat, put it on and tip it in the general direction of developer MercurySteam’s offices. These guys and gals are knocking it out of the park and onto another planet with this sequel to the first LoS and February 2014 can’t come soon enough. What’s all the more amazing is the game is looking so great on what’s considered “old” hardware by many, but that’s been the Spanish developers very strong point since their first game. As noted previously, this is their final chapter as far as their run on the Castlevania series goes, so anyone else taking over in the future will have a hell of an act to follow, that’s for sure. Of course, the diehard fans of the classic 2D Castlevanias who didn’t like any of the 3D games in the franchise are most likely going to miss out on this one as well, but I don’t think Konami needs their approval these days unless they have something more constructive to offer other than hating the LoS games for their success.
If you’re a big Dark Souls fan, you’d better pay very close attention to the game’s facebook page. Namco Bandai is going to be running an exclusive closed Beta for the PlayStation 3 version of the game over Sony’s PlayStation Network starting October 5, 2013 for players in North America and Europe. From the press release, it sure looks as if developer FromSoftware is going to be showing off an all-new area packed with death in every corner, but don’t take it from me – get a load of this snippet:
The depth of the DARK SOULS II Closed-Beta experience will truly test players’ skill, intestinal fortitude, and their sheer will to survive. The DARK SOULS II Closed-Beta will delve into one of the most treacherous areas of the DARK SOULS II world; players will not only get an opportunity to explore an entirely new area of the game, but also experience overwhelming enemy encounters, diabolical challenges, and the unrelenting difficultly that only the developers at FromSoftware can deliver.
Yeah, that sounds like a double-dog dare with a side of fries and cheese (the cheese coming from the game’s notoriously vicious and crafty enemy AI – trust me, it’s BRUTAL on the unprepared player!), so you know what to do if you accept that challenge (and you’ve survived being slapped upside the head with that metal gauntlet you just got served up fresh and hot). “Prepare to Suffer” needs to be the slogan for that Beta, I say…
As I noted yesterday, Microsoft also stormed Gamescom with a bunch of new titles, but I can’t even look at anything the company is doing with its Xbox One thanks to the seriously mixed messages they’ve been sending. Sure, that new console looks pretty awesome, but between the enforced evolution thing they wanted to dump onto their user base, then the backtracking and in between, insulting anyone who didn’t have the proper connection to be always online or didn’t want to use that new Kinect or maybe wanted to sell or lend the games they owned to anyone at any time (and so forth and so on), it’s been a nightmare they need to wake up from soon.
Sure, some of you out there have VERY short attention spans and tend to forgive anyone for even the most blankety blanket of minor apologies. But there’s been a nice swell of pissed off gamers kicking Microsoft around who have little interest in the system, which seems to be forcing the company to do some insane stuff like give Europe a free (digital) copy of the FIFA game while stiffing US buyers because we’re dumb enough to pay full price for Madden every year (well, I don’t anymore).
So, the abusive relationship will continue between Microsoft and its die-hard fans with some great games on the new system, less draconian mandates (for now… but they’re coming back bit by bit, mark my words) and All sorts of exclusive content. Hopefully, that new system will be a LOT less prone to dying randomly like the Xbox 360 (I went through FIVE, dammit!) and people aren’t griping about not being able to access some stuff because they don’t want to turn on that new Kinect and it’ll be mandatory for some games or services we’re not yet informed about. I’d have to say this is the FIRST time I’m not excited for a new console cycle since I started gaming back in 1972. I’ll probably pick up an Xbox One eventually… but I certainly won’t miss it this year at all…
Well, tomorrow the game is up and kicking on the PSN Store and yes indeed, if you’re a Vita owner looking for a nice and superbly scary as well as excellently written horror adventure, well, here you go. Even if you’ve played this already on any of the other platforms it’s been on, it’s worth a buy just to support Telltale Games (and scare the crap out of some poor soul sitting next to you on the train or bus on the way to work). This one’s going on the top of the queue, although at the moment that just means it’ll be played within the next month or so (yeah, the backlog is THAT big here, but progress has been made! You’ll see…). Of course, in a perfect world we’d see MORE of Telltale’s past games popping up on the Vita, but I guess that depends on a few things (such as this one doing well enough and fans beating down the company’s doors like a pack of starving undead)…
After a complete shift in development from a tactical first-person game (that drew instant and completely unwarranted hatred from die-hard fans of the original PC game) to a third-person squad-based tactical shooter, 2K’s XCOM origin story rolls out on August 20. I actually liked the more stylized visuals and perspective in the original concept, but I’ll still play this as a fan of the series who happens to have a more open mind. Now, I don’t have a review copy incoming as far as I know, but I’m betting this drops in price quickly thanks to some obstinate embargo breakers at another site that ran a negative review already (which seems to have been taken down – I guess 2K put the kibosh on that kibosher). Oh well – I rarely pay attention to other reviews anyway, as it’s never a good thing to rely on the opinions of others when they go in expecting something entirely different than what’s on the plate. As usual… we shall see…
Trying to explain Eastbound & Down to someone who’s never seen it is quite an interesting exercise. Granted, you don’t need to explain much before you have them plop down with all the previous seasons either on disc or HBO on Demand, but expect a few funny looks and perhaps the occasional query if your victim isn’t ready to be exposed to Kenny Powers and his rather… er, twisted take on things. I love that the show has no moral center at all, but Kenny tends to figure some things out as he torpedoes every ship in the port and then sets the docks on fire for good measure. The man’s a bridge burner SUPREME, but he still manages to be so dumb to the point you think he’s faking it. Fortunately, he’s not and similar to Larry David’s classic Curb Your Enthusiasm, the ensuing chaos is where the bulk of the so not PC laughs come from.
Anyway, Season 4 of Eastbound & Down premieres on September 29th, only on HBO (of course!).
I don’t know if Activision knows this yet, but this hilarious ad is a nice twist on the two Japanese TV spots from 1995 for the PlayStation port of Wizardry VII where a guy playing the game is suddenly visited by characters from the game (actors in costume) who grab him and take into into the game world. I’ll need to figure out how to get those clips from the import demo discs I have here and maybe post them (with fingers crossed that YouTube doesn’t get all jerky about it). Anyway, I’m certainly looking forward to this one a HELL (ha!) of a lot more than a chunk of the nasty naysayers commenting on this over the internet. It kind of sucks to be them and so unappreciative of Blizzard doing a console port that looks as good as the PC game in many respects while being more accessible to all sorts of players, but what can you do. Some folks made up their minds to hate this game as soon as it was announced and that’s just too bad…
Yes, it’s a few more Grand Theft Auto V screens below and below the jump, info on the game’s Special and Collectors Edition extras some of you Standard Edition buyers will want to shake your fists at before canceling your old pre-order to upgrade to either the Special or CE version for all the goodies they’ll has. Or if you’re feeling particularly self-generous (or are naturally that way) you can just buy all THREE versions of the game and make Rockstar even happier, right? RIGHT?
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 