Playing With The Girls: Carrie Poster Makeover Adds Back A Little Suspense…

Posted on June 10, 2013 by geelw

OK, I was bored last night poking around the internet for E3 news and such, so when I happened to see this new Carrie poster, I had to chuckle a bit because it was a case of a little too much TMI in having the tagline AND title on the same ad. So, a quick MS Paint edit and voila! – you get at least a tiny bit of suspense back in a film that pretty much gives it all away in the poster and trailer anyway (just like the original did).

Hey, it only took me about 30 seconds to do this, so it’s not like I really did anything amazing… OK, back to actual work!

E3 2013: Watch_Dogs – Exposed Trailer: Your First Case of Carpetjaw Today…

Posted on June 10, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, yeah – it actually leaked last night on Vimeo and a few other places (and I was up when I noticed it, but decided not to post because it wasn’t the best quality AND hell, it’s not like waiting for an official trailer would kill anyone), but here you go in case you haven’t seen it yet. Of course, this is some mind-blowing CG work mixed in with actual gameplay (at least until we find out otherwise), so as amazing as this looks, grain of salt and watch out it doesn’t end up in your eye – just aim for that mouth saying “Oooooh!” Back in a bit…

E3 2013: DARK Trailer: A Modern Vampire Tale Minus The Tween Sparkly Crap…

Posted on June 8, 2013 by geelw

While its protagonist might not be a frightening disease-bringing fiend like the one in W.F. Murnau’s asolute eternal classic Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (which is my ideal vampire tale for the ages thanks to its visually striking villain and zero camp elements), I’ll give DARK props for going against at least SOME of the grain today’s too-handsome teen/young adult vampires are cursed with. Sure, it’s more of a Deus Ex/Thief/Splinter Cell hybrid with an anti-hero who’s probably in deep doo-doo if he runs into a Hot Topic and fries up but good when he runs past all those fake silver goth crosses on display, but that’s OK with me. If the game is well-made (so far it seems so) and fun to play (so far it looks as if it will be) and keeps me hooked in with its story (that’s still to be determined), then it’ll be something that’s played and more than once around here. As usual… we shall see…

E3 2013: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2: Putting The Bite Back In Dracula…

Posted on June 8, 2013 by geelw

I can still remember parts of the internet going nuclear when Spanish developer Mercury Steam was chosen to do a new 3D Castlevania game with Hideo Kojima doing a it of supervision. Konami, the developer and even Kojima himself got raked over a few coal beds, the game was deemed to be doomed before anything was playable and the usual crowd of “if it isn’t 2D, it sucks!” folk were there to condemn the building as the foundation was being laid . Of course, 2010’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow definitely wasn’t the train wreck many predicted and in fact, it was one of the nicer surprises in terms of aged franchises getting a chance to shine on current generation consoles.

Continue reading →

E3 2013: Dying Light Trailer: Seems Those Undead Will Live Forever…

Posted on June 7, 2013 by geelw

OK, it’s officially official: zombies are finally played out in games. But at least they’re getting used in desperately fun and funky ways as fodder in some new hybrid titles. Techland’s upcoming PlayStation 4 and PC title, Dying Light pits your supremely agile character against packs of fast-moving undead in what’s looking like a pretty thrilling “open world” action game that’s part Mirror’s Edge, part Left 4 Dead. This one’s not coming out until 2014, but it’s on my radar as I like a lot of what Techland has done. Hopefully, it will look and play good as well as not disappoint – it’s tough to judge from a CG trailer, but as usual, some hands on time is the best and ONLY way to gauge any game’s potential success of failure.

E3 2013: Konami Pre-Show Event: A Little of This, A Lot of That, Shake Well. BOOM.

Posted on June 6, 2013 by geelw

The most interesting bit out of this is 24 actor Kiefer Sutherland being chosen as the new voice and face of Solid Snake (!) in the upcoming multiplatform release, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. That was quite head spinning and amusing enough to make me think it was a gag for a minute or two. But it wasn’t, so I guess this is farewell to the original voice of Snake! Well, I know the David Hayter fan base is livid (and I’m sure Hayter’s recent comments about being in the game will be dissected to really mean he’s playing a different character or not actually in it at all – oops), but I say let’s see what happens.

Amusingly enough… even though the official position is Konami wanted an older, more mature guy to play the now 49-year old Snake, it’s a bit of a bizarre rationale to my ears. For those in the know, Hayter provided the voice of a much older Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, so one can only imagine his reaction to this news. Well, he did issue a tweet saying the game would sell about “as well as New Coke!”, so I’m gathering he’s not that pleased with the spiked boot he’s been handed to the butt…

Bundle Stars 8: 12 Games. 5 Bucks. Any Questions?

Posted on June 5, 2013 by geelw

Bundle Stars does it again! OK, maybe they’re not all “great” games, but the variety here is important (and impressive). Besides, I’m betting some of you will play all of these and smile like a pet getting it’s tummy rubbed. Hell, at under fifty cents a pop (!), this is yet another ridiculous deal that makes your wallet happy and your brain happier (but maybe not so happy because you’ll be using it to think up excuses to get out of doing important stuff just so you can get some more game time in!). I was going to say something else, but I looked up and the room has cleared out. Blast you, Bundle Stars! Stealing my readers with another sale, grrrrrr…

Game of Thrones 3:9 Aftermath: I Hear Red Wedding Planners Get Paid Less…

Posted on June 4, 2013 by geelw

Amusingly enough, I used to work in a small indie game shop and there was a customer who was a big fan of the GoT books who came in one day in a lousy mood about the original version of that “Red Wedding” sequence (which I found out after some poking around yesterday) was actually much worse in the books (as well as a bit more visually twisted).

Anyway, it’s been really interesting to hear and see people who didn’t read the books go totally bat-crap crazy over the episode, as it’s been known all along that no one is really safe from an untimely demise. Sure, it was definitely shocking (and how!), but that ticking clock for the characters probably has a few more stops to make before all is said and done…

That said, this is probably one of the few episodes I won’t watch multiple times, as I usually end up catching them again On Demand when I’ve got a free hour or so to spare.

Now Playing: Remember Me (and Other Stuff)…

Posted on June 4, 2013 by geelw

Of course, I had to run out early on Friday evening and zoomed past the UPS truck a block away that I SHOULD have hung around a few minutes to bug the driver about any packages that were mine on board, but, oh well. Anyway, Remember Me popped up again yesterday and I’ve been playing it since (which is why there weren’t a load of posts happening, folks). Anyway, it’s quite a blast and yep, a review is incoming probably tomorrow. So far, it’s quite original, somewhat linear, but very gorgeous in a “this is the game you make when your studio is in Paris!” kind of way.

Back in a bit – spoiler: the score will be good unless the game falls apart in what looks like the last few areas I’ll be getting back to soon enough. As for “Other Stuff”, that’s not a game – it’s just my queue stacked up with a bunch of games I’ll try to get to before the E3 crunch steamrolls me…

Game of Thrones 3:10 Preview: Real Party Poopers and More Deep S#!t…

Posted on June 3, 2013 by geelw

Well… jeez. I had a bunch of Wedding Crashers jokes prepared when that banquet sequence began, but those went to The Honeymoon Killers jokes in rapid succession and then no jokes by the time things were done. That was rough. Hey, any episode of a show with no music during the end credits is a bad sign. Well, they DID say this season was going to have a lot of characters killed off, but wow, unemployment checks for a good chunk of the Starks? Well, raise a cup for a few “ghost” appearances, I say (you’re supposed to laugh, as it’s a pun on “guest” appearances. Ha and ha…)- Episode 10 should be even more of a knock to the skull, I bet. Still, it has to be noted that Ned Stark lost his head before the finale and we’re all still watching. Hell, at this rate, Arya’s going to be one pretty pissed off teenager with a long, long list of people to kill… if she’s even around by the time Season 4 kicks in.