Review: High Strangeness (Wii U)

Posted on June 10, 2015 by geelw

Platform: Wii U (also on PC)
Developer: Barnyard Intelligence Games/Crystal Labs
Publisher: Midnight City/Majesco
# of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Official Site
Score: B+ (85%)

While “short” by whatever “today’s standards” for game length is, High Strangeness is actually about as long as many of the 8 and 16-bit games it’s inspired by. A few too many gamers today are a wee bit spoiled by the still baffling comparison of game length somehow equaling overall quality so it’s great to play a new “retro” game that doesn’t wear you down with too many gimmicks before the ride is over. What’s here is a pretty cool throwback that bridges the game between the two eras with a “12-bit” approach that allows players to travel back and forth between two distinct visual styles. There’s also a mix of sci-fi and light horror vibes going on here with creepy-looking enemies, a big mystery and even a sentient cat to keep you dialed in from start to finish.

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Midnight City Gets Two (More) Big Indies to Publish…

Posted on March 10, 2014 by geelw

Okay, since my stupid spam filter was eating their emails until recently, I’ve missed Midnight City‘s fun press releases and videos for the indie titles they’ve published (and a few review opportunities as well, boo!). Anyway, with that little problem now solved, here’s what’s up from these guys this week. Costume Quest 2 is coming! Hoo-ray! Double Fine’s sequel to its Halloween-centric, candy filled role-playing game is indeed getting a release on PC as well as consoles (yes!). As you can see below, even Double Fine’s Grand Poobah, Tim Schaefer is in on the fun in this goofy Midnight City team promo video below the jump… Continue reading →

Double Dragon Neon Now On Steam: Get Yer 80’s Fix On (With A Bit of A Paradox)

Posted on February 6, 2014 by geelw

Double Dragon Neon is a throwback game for sure. It’s going to appeal to your backwards baseball cap, neon sunglasses wearing faux punk side while sporting nicely updated visuals, an awesome soundtrack and yes, won’t work on any computer rockin’ an OS older than Windows 7 (oops, an opportunity lost there, I say!). WayForward Technologies (again!) did a stellar job on this one on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade, so it’s a total no-brainer that today’s newly released the Steam version is as good or better in a few respects.

In a way, it’s also too bad this never got a retail release in some “retro” packaging from Midnight City (Majesco’s digital indie label), as it’s exactly the sort of game that could benefit from (and sell a few limited edition copies because of) some sort of box with a funky 80’s cover painting. Ah well. Anyway, if your nostalgia meter is tingling away, you know what to do, right? I’ll let you get to it then…