New Young Justice Legacy Trailer: This Hit’s Really Going to Hurt…

Posted on May 26, 2013 by geelw

Little Orbit and Freedom Factory’s upcoming action/RPG might not help being the fan-favorite show back, but it’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun to play for many out there who want more of these heroes in a more interactive form. Sure, it’s not packing the most amazing visuals, but there’s a ton of fun to be had busting heads and solving some straightforward puzzles as the game progresses. I got a bit of hands-on time with an earlier version of the game not too long ago, so I’m really hoping the final product adds even more polish and does well at retail. This sort of non-MMO hero-packed game used to be a bit more popular a few years back, but it would be nice to see this do well enough that this sub-genre makes a welcome return.

GRID 2: Only A Few More Days to Hit The Road…

Posted on May 24, 2013 by geelw

I just saw a TV commercial for GRID 2 and it caught me off guard because I was changing channels when I passed it and quickly flipped back to see the rest. The game certainly looks beautiful (even more so once you have a controller in your hot little hands, as I can attest from my two hands-on experiences), it’s fast as hell and Codemasters is introducing some fine innovations to the racing genre that should keep this one a hot item for some time.

I’m actually kicking myself because I’d traded my copy of the first game to a friend for two other racers and I actually miss it. Well, it looks as if I’ll have this sequel to drool over and keep, as I’ll be hanging onto this until I see everything it has to offer. Hmm… I’m out of coffee, too. I think I’ll need to grab some before this hits stores, as I don’t think I’ll be leaving the house for a while…

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara Hands-On: The Eye of the Beholder Sees An Instant Classic Return…

Posted on May 23, 2013 by geelw

After a bit of hands-on time with a build of Capcom’s upcoming PC, PSN, Xbox Live and Wii U eShop arcade game Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, let’s just get this out of the way and say it’s probably going to be one of the bigger hits of the usually dry summer game season. With solo or drop-in/drop-out play, gorgeous high-definition 2D visuals (that can be displayed in a few fun resolutions) plenty of challenging gameplay and a wealth of bonus content, this game defines “arcade” and just might be seen as the way to port over an arcade classic. Developer Iron Galaxy has gone a few extra miles and packed the game with content without mucking with the original games’ visuals and yes, that Dungeons & Dragons license gets put to really good use here. If you were a Sega Saturn owner lucky enough to buy the expensive import version double pack, you can finally put that one back up on the shelf, as what’s here is a superb replacement…
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DESTINY “The Law of the Jungle” Trailer: Bungie’s Jumping Into This Action/MMO Both Feet First…

Posted on May 23, 2013 by geelw

Well, all in is all good and well if you’re a Bungie fan and yes indeed, this live action and CG trailer looks absolutely gorgeous. However, my only caveat is this is exactly the type of game I’m not interested in as it has no offline single player mode and seems to be a fancier version of a AAA shooter and MMO hybrid. Yes, it will sell incredibly well, but I’m more concerned about longevity and what happens when people burn through content too quickly or grow tired of this sci-fi shooter sub-genre. Granted, it’s going to be a few years before that happens, but I’m glad as hell I don’t have to be the one putting all my eggs into one basket and dropping it into a pack of internet wolves hoping it’ll keep them happy. I’ll keep an eyeball on this one anyway, as anything Bungie does seems to turn out really interesting when all is said and done…

Lost Planet 3 Updated Hands-On: Payton’s Place Is On Channel E.D.N. III…

Posted on May 22, 2013 by geelw

I’ve been a supporter of Lost Planet 3 ever since I played the demo last year simply because I completely “got” the direction Capcom and developer Spark Unlimited set for the upcoming prequel. While that first demo was put together to show off certain areas in the game and how well-designed and acted the cinematic sequences were, the version I played last week here in NYC was the first area of the game that showed off a solid story and gameplay progression that made the 45 or so minutes fly by too quickly.

Those folks unfairly criticizing the game for nonsense reasons will hopefully not affect the sales one bit should they actually get their hands around a controller and have their minds changed. Of course, you can’t care what some less informed people say on the internet, right? That said, my more informed powers of “I played it and see where it’s going” trump anyone with a bile covered keyboard who still thinks this is a “sequel” and not going to cover elements in the other LP games…

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Now Playing: Resident Evil Revelations – Jill Valentine’s In Ship Shape, That’s For Sure…

Posted on May 21, 2013 by geelw

I got a review copy of Resident Evil Revelations on Friday evening, but just got around to firing it up on Sunday night thanks to me needing to get my Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut review up and some other stuff. Anyway, so far, so good – Capcom has done a great job with this (DO NOT call it a simple “port”, as that cheapens the effort that went into this game) and it’s really fun to play, as they kept the short maps from the 3DS game, meaning you can dive in for 15 to 30 or so minute chunks, hop out to do something else and come back to the game without having to figure out where you left off. OK, shutting up and going back home to play more – expect a review later in the week…

Quantum Break Trailer: Remedy’s Xbox One Mystery Trailer Leaves A Lot Hanging…

Posted on May 21, 2013 by geelw

Xbox One

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more “meh…” gaming press conference than the one Microsoft had for the new Xbox One console. Sure, they did the ABSOLUTE smartest thing of all three major game companies by ACTUALLY showing their console (+110 points!), but every reveal after that was either predictable (EA Sports is making their games and DLC exclusive to the One first, we’re getting all new game engines for their core sports titles, there was no actual gameplay footage shown… -40 points!) or underwhelming (Forza Motorsport 5 looks like the last Forza unless you slow it waaaay down and see stuff you’d expect like better lighting and more textures in a game series that already looks fine, thank you. – 15 points!).

Not to mention the first 25 or so minutes being saddled down by talk about too many features core gamers could care less about (well, the more servers thing adds 20 points because without them, Xbox Live would turn into rush hour traffic on the L.I.E. every day. Hmmm… making me sleepy and not care about the new Kinect functions that SHOULD have worked like that in the first model? Yeah, that’s a nope. (and -30 points!). Oh, and Call of Duty: Ghosts getting a new graphics overahaul is a no-branier (but only worth +5 because it has a dog in the game who’s an active squad member {woof!} and the fish in the water move out of your way… but you’ll be too busy to notice that, I bet). As for the interactivity and character customization now possible in Ghosts’ multiplayer? Um… Whee? Other non-FPS games have done both for a while, but whatever (annnd that’s a -10 for trying to pass off those new features as innovations)…

(Trailer from HDPLAYR)

The only highlight for me was the announcement of a new Remedy game, Quantum Break (+20 points!), but the trailer was disappointing because it used live-action footage that switched unconvincingly to in-game visuals that, while impressive, really didn’t show off much other than the game has a big sea tanker smash into a bridge and cause a hell of a lot of chaos. Um, OK? I guess E3 will be the big reveal for the actual games they want to show off, because what they DID show at this reveal wasn’t very revealing for actual gamers that I know… Well, with that “later this year” release “date,” we’ll all see soon enough, right?

Xbox One? So Far… Eh, I’m Not (Too) Impressed…

Status

Well, the Xbox One DOES turn on when you ask it to thanks to the new Kinect sensor integration (that seems to be REALLY fluid), but that just means that mute gamers can save their money. And yes, it responds to arm waving commands as well, so yeah, if you’re a gamer who can’t wave both arms around, you get to buy another console as well. I also HATE the not so subtle privacy violating going on here as the expectation that EVERY gamer wants to be “connected” is the biggest lie in plenty of cases.

Xbox One

Eh, this conference is practically nothing to me until I see some GAMES… 27 minutes in and it’s all about features. Oh, and it’s cloud-based, which screws anyone in a low-bandwidth area… Boo to enforcing “evolution” in this manner. Between this and the need for a smartphone in order to use some features (bleh), this will appeal to those who can afford all the services out of the gate and those who want all the fancy functions PURE gamers like me hate. Oh well… I’ll hold out for the rest of this conference just to see what first-party content is coming. I have the feeling that this may be the first new console I don’t buy…

Gallery: Batman Arkham Origins

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

This recently announced prequel to the hugely successful Arkham series looks quite nice in that CG trailer and really gorgeous screens below, but I see that some fans are concerned that no Rocksteady at the wheel means the game won’t have the same quality. I say give this one a shot, as it’s from the same WB Games Montreal team that converted Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition to the Wii U (and did a stellar job, at that) and I seriously doubt that they’ll deviate much from what made the first two games work so well.

In fact, I’ll predict a few tweaks and improvements to the formula that make Origins an equal or better game (as it should be), simply because going backwards is NOT an option at all. Anyway, BAO is set to launch Oct. 25, 2013 for PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 along with Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate for Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita. Nope, I don’t have screens or video on that just yet – WB Games just sent one batarang through my window with these images and trailer for the console game, so I guess the other one will come crashing through as soon as I get the window replaced.

Oh, by the way… Deathstroke IS indeed going to be playable in the game’s Challenge Mode and fans who pre-order the game for PS3, Xbox 360 or PC version of Batman Arkham Origins will receive exclusive early access to the Deathstroke pack (sorry, Wii U owners… unless you get yours some other way that hasn’t been revealed yet).

Well, I guess it’s better than getting a strange box from the Joker with who knows what sort of surprise inside, right?

Orc Attack Gets Slightly Retitled (In Fact, It’s A Gas)…

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

OrcAttack_BoxArt This actually cracks me up more than a little because I remember the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Game from Interplay called Boogerman that actually had censored text in the manual and actual game (“Frrt”) because the use of the word “Fart” was deemed offensive or something silly like that. My, how times have changed (and juvenile humor just hasn’t, right?).

As you can see (and probably smell)m above, the newly rechristened Orc Attack: Flatulent Rebellion, set to hit PC, PSN and XBLA later this year. I’ll keep an eyeball peeled for this one, as it looks like fun, but I want a gas mask before I play it (and maybe some earplugs so those assorted gassy noises don’t distract me)…

Oh, you may as well meet playable character Friar Krap since you’ve read this far. Er, enjoy? Amusingly enough, I was planning on cooking up some cabbage or sauteed broccoli with garlic to go with my chicken soup for dinner later this evening, but these videos have made me change my dining plans a bit. Maybe I’ll stick to the water and water on the rocks tonight…