Call of Duty Advanced Warfare “Power Changes Everything” Trailer: Let’s You And Him Fight! Again.

Posted on September 24, 2014 by geelw

Ah, if only real world conflicts could be solved by some simple gaming away for a few hours until one side “loses.” Yeah, I’d be ALL for that instead of this stop and start unsteady war footing we keep finding ourselves mixed up in. Sure, the real world is indeed a complicated place, but you’d THINK that after centuries of either getting it all wrong or not learning from past mistakes, we’d figure out an easier (or at least more efficient) means of dealing with people we don’t like who do things we really don’t like. Of course, the more recent Call of Duty games have been a bit timely in asking a few of these questions in between bullets and bomb blasts, but I’d gather that the bulk of the millions who buy and play these games year after year might not care much about hot geopolitical topics interrupting their online gunplay and kill streaks galore. Granted, the games do get better and better from a production standpoint and it’s clear that Sledgehammer Games is doing this year’s installment up right for PS4 and Xbox One owners expecting the best visual quality.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare hits retail outlets and digital delivery systems for PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One and PC on October 3, 2014.

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2: More Of Lots And More Of That Lots…

Posted on September 20, 2014 by geelw

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 producer extraordinaire Kunito Kimori has a great sense of humor and clearly enjoys his work. As he showed off a few levels of the upcoming game at a recent Bandai Namco event, he pointed out fun additions to the gameplay that weren’t in the original, checking with a glance between playing to see if I was grinning as much as he was. He needn’t have worried, as between the on-rails sky surfing shooting section and the intentionally silly boss battle between a skyscraper-sized Pac and an equally large missile shooting metal meanie, I was more than happy to see everyone’s favorite dot-munching pal back in action… Continue reading →

A (Not So) Gentle Reminder: Pirates Do Whatever The Heck They Want, Arrrr!

Posted on September 20, 2014 by geelw

So (Ouch!). Yesterday was International Talk Like A Pirate Day and for a while I’ve always managed to more or less avoid “celebrating” that non-holiday that’s become one too many people take seriously (Ouch!). Anyway, I thought I’d make it clean through the day and not HAVE to post a single eyepatch, booty, or “Arrrrr” reference and actually did so, going to bed around 2am or so with a clean conscience.

That didn’t last long thanks to something resembling a pair of plastic hammers thumping me on the head until I woke up (Ouch!).

It turns out those Skylanders toys from the hugely popular game series? Yeah, they’re REAL. And tend to get really annoyed when they get ignored (Ouch). So, here’s a nice, belated post to go do something piratey yesterday(Ouch!) or ALL the time, not just on that designated day. Why? Well, because (and in case you didn’t read the title of this post)… pirates do whatever the heck they want! (Ouch!)… “Arrrrr!” Hey, Activision? Can you come and get this little guy out of my house? Those plastic hammers may be tiny (and plastic), but they do leave little dents in everything he hits. Hey, (Ouch!) I’ll trade him back for a PS3 or Wii U copy of Skylanders Trap Team (coming to PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One, Nintendo Wii/Wii U, Nintendo 3DS/2DS and Apple, Samsung, Amazon and Google tablets on October 5, 2014. Okay, is that enough? OUCH! Okay, okay… I’ll post the other video, too:

There, HAPPY now? (Ouch!) Okay, okay! AND I’ll buy the game too! (Great, now I’ll have that goofy song looping in me head allll dayyyyy, arrrrr!)

Alien Isolation #HowWillYouSurvive Trailers 2-4: #JustBarelyIfAtAll (If You Need To Know)…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Nope…

and Nope…

annnnnnnnd, make mine a triple, bartender. Or, “No more for me, thanks, I’m dyin’!”

Yeah, it looks as if there are quite a few ways to expire in Alien Isolation and I’m betting some of you won’t need a rocket to ride through space when this game launches on October 7, 2014 for PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One and PC. Hopefully Sega and developer The Creative Assembly have been shutting out the trolls and paying attention to those of us who want to experience the game on any platform to see if it’s a worthy follow up to the 1979 film as intended and those expecting some run of the mill FPS with the license stamped on realize it’s not all about what they want and all about what the CA is bringing to the table in the horror/sci-fi genre. Respect is a simple enough word for this one and I’m in for the long haul as far as spreading the word if this one’s a winner.

Falling Skies: The Game Enemies Trailer: Tactical Advice (Or A Good Look At What’s Going To Do You In)…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Another Falling Skies: The Game update? Sure, I’ll take it. I really like the strong X-Com vibe the game gives off, the straightforward visual style and what looks to be solid and challenging gameplay in this latest video.

As I get what’s here and intend to play this one from beginning to end, there’s really not much else to say about this save for it’s coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 at retail or download, Wii U via the eShop and PC via Steam on September 30, 2014. If it’s as solid as the games it’s based on, Little Orbit will have a surefire sleeper hit that just needs a proper and appreciative audience playing it from day one.

Pathologic Update: 17 Days To Go. Getting To Its Goal, Body By Body…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Slowly but surely, this remake of the 2005 sleeper PC game Pathologic is getting funded via Kickstarter, so hop in and splash around those plague-riddled ponds if you want to see this come to fruition. I love the unsettling vibe this gives off, that slow-loading pistol (and if you didn’t squeak a tiny bit when the camera dipped up and that bird-suited thing was standing there, you’re a better person than I am) and the overall air of gloom that makes this one special. Then again, if this real life ebola thing gets into the country, we’ll all be doing that dance those quirky rejects from Mummenschanz are soon enough. Man, I hate it when reality intrudes on my gaming life. Hopefully this gets funded and finished before the planet goes all 12 Monkeys, ha and ha… *gulp!*

D4: Access Games + Swery 65 + Xbox One = Hmmm, Commitment Time!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Grrrrr… Access Games’ new adventure game D4 is out and earlier than I thought because until a few days ago when I saw that facebook post by game director Hidetaka Suehiro, I thought this one wasn’t coming until the holidays or early next year. Well, I suppose I can hold my breath for a bit and hope to hell this doesn’t stay as an Microsoft exclusive, but if in case it is, D4 (Dark Dreams Don’t Die) will give me another reason to pick up an Xbox One. I’m actually more thrilled by this quirky episodic title than bigger releases getting more ad dollars, but I’m also smart and plan to hold out that Micrsoft is smart enough to release a retail disc that has all the episodes on it and any extra content if the game gets any DLC just so those folks who can’t download large game files can give this one a shot.

Forza Horizon 2: Stop, Look and Crash!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Amusingly enough, although this is a dig at some famous track-bound racing game franchises, I’d actually PLAY a good slot car racing game if some smart developer and publisher teamed up to make one on nearly any home or portable platform. Anyway, while this commercial for <strong>Forza Horizon 2 is magnificent and funny, I have to question WHY it’s partially shot in live action with real cars (with a good deal of expensive CG enhancing) when the actual game looks so gorgeous:

Then again, I don’t work at Microsoft and heck, they know their own games better than anyone, right? Anyway, I’m still an Xbox One holdout, but if I were to grab one of those, this would be one of the games I’d grab with that system. If this is as open world and free range pure driving as it looks, it’ll be something I get lost in for hours and that’s just driving around all by myself checking out all the hard work that went into making the game engine sing so darn well. I’d be the one pulling over every few miles to check out the scenery, even in the middle of a race, so I can’t imagine being the poor AI driver behind me trying to pass as I slide to the left or right and perhaps dent up my ride because I’m trying to ogle a pretty sky or sunset. Anyway, September 30, 2014 is the due date for this baby which is predicted to do VERY well on the console…

F1 2014: A Little Heat For A Slow, Cool Friday…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

You’re looking a wee bit tired on this slightly chilly Friday, friend. How about a hot lap around Sochi to perk things up a bit? Based on user feedback, Codemasters Racing Studio is making F1 2014 an even more accessible game this year with a few changes to the formula including a new driver evaluation system to adjust the game to your level, shorter career options and a new Very Easy mode. While I know some purists will complain about these inclusions, it opens up the game (and the actual sport) to an even larger user base with the hope that those newbies learn the ropes, dial up the difficulty at some point and enjoy the sport as it’s meant to be. Unforgiving and heavily reliant on one’s skill as a driver, not just jamming on the accelerator and knocking AI cars around in an all-out bumper car match. This one’s out on October 17, 2017 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Yes, Codemasters is working on an all-new F1 game for PS4 and Xbox One, so you next-gen owners will need to hold that breath for a bit until 2015 rolls around…

The Evil Within Tokyo Game Show 2014 Trailer: Run (or Roll!), Don’t Walk!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I laughed out loud when I saw this trailer because, well.. come ON now, people. Wouldn’t YOU just have jumped in one of those wheelchairs and rolled the hell away from what was chasing you? Yeah, I thought so. I know I’d be BLAAAAZING down that dimly lit hallway popping wheelies power-sliding past obstacles and generally confusing the hell out of that monster or whatever is chasing my character. Then again, I tend to look for the humorous side to any horror game or film, so if anything, I’d die laughing before anything else got to my soon to be doomed avatar. The Evil Within is out for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC on Tuesday, October 14. That gives you enough time to stock up on clean underwear and maybe a few spare controllers in case you’re prone to dropping them when you get scared…