Payday 2 Updates: “What Is” (Or: Living Large As A Lowlife)…

Posted on August 7, 2013 by geelw

And in the not too distant future, there will be many Monday morning work conversations that go something like this: “Er, Soooo… what did YOU do this weekend…” followed by a smirk and maybe a knowing nod or three from a few others hanging around that coffeemaker after being up way too late the night before playing too much Payday 2. Sure, it’s not a game for everyone, but if you’re looking for something more like a modern day cops & robbers deal and not another military shooter with a guaranteed few million sales on day one (and super crowded lobbies to boot).

The original Payday was a blast, but this sequel adds so much more cool stuff that it feels like a reinvention in some respects. 505 Games and Overkill Software have a hit here for you would be digital bank robbers, so do them a favor and pay actual dollars to snap this one up, I say…

The Elder Scrolls Anthology: More Proof Physical Product Isn’t Dead Yet…

Posted on August 2, 2013 by geelw

BOOM. Nine game discs, five maps, hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of gameplay, a custom package to die for and something hard to hit the digital-only detractors upside their harder heads with, Bethesda Softworks upcoming must-buy The Elder Scrolls Anthology has officially and instantly made it to my Holiday Gift Guide 2013 list, gaming division. While it’s missing the LONG out of print standalone TES: Battlespire and Redguard side-story adventures (which I say NEED to get re-released one of these days), $80 for the entire main Tamriel saga (including expansions AND the Morrowind Construction Set!) is an absolute BARGAIN when you consider some of the games here are still a bit expensive when bought in either their original or Game of the Year formats as individual packaged products…

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Dark Souls II Hands On: Home Again For the Hardcore…

Posted on August 1, 2013 by geelw

As I noted earlier, if there was any doubt that From Software was making Dark Souls II “easier”, all one had to do was play the demo build that’s making the rounds (it was a huge hit at this year’s E3 as well as the more recent San Diego Comic-Con) to be shown the error of misreading that quote from one of the game’s directors a few months back. The game isn’t “easy” at all, but more accessible in terms of getting you into the action quicker, getting rid of backtracking yet upping the scale of the maps to an impressive degree. As to the demo, it’s brutal but beatable and although I didn’t make it to the gigantic knight boss, I did stick around for a bit to watch a few fellow editor types step up to the plate, swing and miss wildly, their chosen characters dying in a few not so pretty ways…

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KILLER IS DEAD Import Walkthroughs: Game Empire HD Does It Again…

Posted on July 31, 2013 by geelw

I hadn’t realized that this had shipped out in Japan (well, it’s officially out tomorrow there… wait, it’s tomorrow there already, right? Oh, my head hurts…) until I poked around in my inbox and spotted these Game Empire HD play through videos. There are four so far, but I’ll only run two here so as to not ruin too much of the fun. I absolutely LOVE that the menus are in English, which means I can import this and play it (but I’ll hold out for the US version just to support Xseed Games here) and it certainly looks as if Suda 51 and grasshopper manufacture had a blast making this one, so strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. Er, this isn’t for the kiddies, kids – so break out the blindfolds or go put them in the broom closet with a flashlight, a box of Popsicles and a funny hat or two.

Rise of the Triad Remake Pokes Fun At A Certain Long-Toothed FPS Franchise

Posted on July 27, 2013 by geelw

Woof! Yes, gog.com, Interceptor Entertainment and Apogee Software (wow, they’re STILL around?) all want you to pre-order Rise of The Triad (and get a bunch of other games for free in the process) and they’re not above (or is it below?) sticking a fork in the butt of a certain super-high profile game series that pops up in yearly installments. I’m sort of tired of this genre, but at least RoTT is supposed to be as funny as it is violent and isn’t trying at all to be the “best” looking game out there. I’m tempted… but we’ll see what a few friends who’ve pre-ordered this one say…

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Finally) Crawls Onto GOG.com. Steady That Spine!

Posted on July 25, 2013 by geelw

If you’re a fan of horror but not a gamer, you might not initially be interested in Amnesia: The Dark Descent because it’s a video game and you’ll probably have preconceived notions of running around with a gun and shooting up zombies or whatever until your brain walks out of your left ear in protest. On the other hand, all you need to do is watch that trailer above, smile (and perhaps shiver a little) before boogieing over to gog.com to check if your computer can indeed run this supremely scary gem from the fine folks at Frictional Games. System requirements are pretty low, so I think some of you folks without beefy gaming rigs but a recent to decent 3D card can get this going and spend the next few days under the bed after you’ve played. Or tried to play but got too damn freaked out and couldn’t take another step.

Yeah, the game is THAT creepy. To me, at least… I think it will scare the crap out of you as well – give it a go and let me know what you think…

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Steam Bound!

Posted on July 25, 2013 by geelw

While a small but vocal bunch of PlayStation 3 owners have been ranting away for Rising Star Games to contract Access Games to stop working on their upcoming Xbox One exclusive D4 to do some fixes for Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut, that’s not going to happen any time soon. On the other, stranger hand… the game was recently surprised-dropped onto Steam Greenlight for a potential PC release with even MORE content and wonder of wonders… it was approved in what seems to be record time. Wow. Now, I’ll be the first to say I’m shocked and thrilled at this news, but I’m not expecting the PC version to be “perfect” by any stretch of the imagination. Even higher resolutions and tweaked controls aside, the game will still look intentionally cheesy and probably have the same driving setup for the cars as the PS3 version did (which is much better than the original Xbox 360 game from a few years back). Anyway, this is indeed great news and soon, you horror game fans looking for something TRULY weird and memorable will all get a little FK in your own coffee when DP:TDC is finally let loose for PC. Once I get an actual release date, I’ll let you know…

Payday 2: Everyone Wins With That Upgrade to Collector’s Edition Status…

Posted on July 15, 2013 by geelw

Overkill and Starbreeze’s upcoming co-op centric crime game sequel, Payday 2 has gone from a digital download to a physical package to a nice $59.99 retail game that’s packed to the rafters with goodies and content. Usually, these Limited or Collector’s Editions manage to tick me off for a few reasons, but I actually like this set of goodies in the package:

505 Games looks as if they have a huge sleeper hit here, as the original was very well received and this sequel adds a RPG-like element to the gameplay and customization that should boost its sales even further among veteran players as well as new potential virtual robber types. As long as you’re locked in at home playing this, you can’t be on the street pulling off any real crimes, right?

Of course, that’s a little joke there, but I know some will watch that trailer above and have a mild to moderate seizure over the cops ‘n robbers stuff going on. Breathe, I say… breeeeeaaaaaathe. No, that’s hyperventilating, and doesn’t count – you can keep that up, though… you’ll pass out in a few seconds.

Oldboy Red Band Trailer: Spike Hammers it Home…

Posted on July 11, 2013 by geelw

Ouch. Well, this looks pretty intriguing, that’s for sure. If you’ve NEVER seen the original film… YES, you should do so soon (as in if anyone asks “Whatcha doin’ this weekend?”, you’ll say “Watching OLDBOY!” and mean it!). I’ll admit to still wondering why Spike felt the urging need to remake a film that really didn’t need it, but hey, this remake thing worked for Scorcese with his multiple award winning The Departed, so perhaps Mr. Lee is onto something. Granted, Oldboy has got some meaner twists and turns than Internal Affairs did and the resetting of the story to a more Americanized setting may ruffle a few feathers… but again, it worked very well for Scorcese. I’m gathering Samuel L. Jackson doesn’t mind playing a total creep (and getting killed for that) again, as his intensity sure makes anything he’s been in lately pretty interesting. Well, except for that iPhone commercial… that made me hate gazpacho and measuring cups. And Siri (it’s a good thing I don’t own an iPhone)…

Rambo: The Videogame Reveal Trailer: Gore Patrol, Reporting For Duty!

Posted on July 10, 2013 by geelw

OK, I wasn’t expecting this game to be anything close to “great”, but I did get a chuckle that Reef Entertainment and developer Teyon have basically taken the extreme violence from 2008’s Rambo and transplanted it into the older films. Of course, if you go back and watch First Blood, you’ll see that John Rambo didn’t actually kill a single person during the film.

The one death he “caused” was actually the fault of the idiot in that helicopter who didn’t think for a second that hanging too far out from that chopper trying to put a bullet into our harried hero was a good idea. Yeah, a lot of people get themselves hurt in that film, but they did pretty much ask for it. Granted, the rest of the series did amp up the body count considerably, so I’ll have to see where this game takes those chapters.

Yeah, I stuck the trailer below the jump, as it’s a bit icky with some gory neck stabbery and an exploding body. Nothing like a little of the old ultra-violence to get your eyeballs wide awake, huh?

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