Review: Rolling Gunner (Switch)

Posted on June 24, 2019 by geelw

Holy hell, mebius.’ Rolling Gunner ($19.99, buy it!) is completely NUTS, but in the best possible manner. Its very high level of accessibility and four difficulty modes mean you don’t even need to love or be somewhat decent at arcade shooters in order to get the most enjoyment from it.

In fact, the game is programmed to teach you how to play and as a friend who popped by to borrow some movies who also ended watching me play noted, “It’s really hypnotic to watch all that craziness!”, which had me cracking up as I completed the game (on Novice mode with a somewhat low 17,419,459 points) and restarted it as I handed him a controller and let him have a crack at the Training mode. Let’s just say he rather liked the chaos even that short stages offered, but he doesn’t yet own a Switch. Which is okay for now (his kid wants one for his birthday coming up in July, though, so I’m compiling a list of games for his dad).

Anyway, there’s a story here about a big corporation discovering a new element at the bottom of the sea, that element used to create a few initially helpful items and as usual, those items being used for some not so helpful things. Yadda, yadda, yadda, it’s now March 18, 2061 and you’re tasked with rolling out in one of three trusty STORK class warships to destroy the enemy fortress and a few thousand enemy ships, tanks and other robotic doom-throwers along the way. The game of course, notes the following in its helpful digital manual: “This story is fictional. The people, groups, and names that appear are fictional, and have no basis in reality.”

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Funded, Plus: R-Type Final 2 Hits Its Target

Posted on June 6, 2019 by geelw

There’s certainly a boom in things going BOOM, as the arcade shooter market has made quite a comeback over the years. In reality, it really never went away as plenty of smaller indie developed and fan-made games can be found as digital and physical retail titles with a little bit of online legwork. That said, R-Type holds its legendary status to this day simply because it’s pure brilliance from start to finish. Granzella’s strategy for a super-short Kickstarter for R-Type 2 Final has paid off big time with as of this writing, some 543K has been pledged to bring this final Final to life and with under four days ti go, you could say the sky’s the limit if that funding hits some of the stretch goals noted on the Kickstarter page.

Personally, I’m hoping the game gets up to that goal where Granzella can recreate levels from previous R-Type games just so this stage from R-Type Final gets redone in glorious HD. Hell, drop a bag of money on my head (ow) and I’ll throw it at Granzella just for this stage alone.

-GW

Review: Golem Gates (PS4)

Posted on June 5, 2019 by geelw

Riffing with Glyph-ing: choose your cards wisely, or else suffer the fate of the unprepared.

Laser Guided games mostly excellent Golem Gates ($24.99) made me wish attract screens were still a thing in modern games. While it’s a solid and enjoyable take on the Real-Time Strategy (RTS), card collection and MOBA genres and translates well enough from its keyboard and mouse-centric PC origins to a game controller, it’s also the sort of game where a rolling demonstration mode would just be a cool thing to have happen when the game is booted up if only to get a few more people on the fence about it wanting to give it a shot. If you’re super-old school and need a sort of reference point, imagine Herzog Zwei, StarCraft and DoTA having a baby and getting it onto PC and now, consoles and you’ve got an idea od what to expect.

Granted, if you’re buying this game for yourself, you know exactly what you’re getting into and likely don’t need any persuasion. Conversely, if a friend drops over and is itching to know what the big deal is, you’ll just have to have them plop down on the couch or wherever and play as they watch, or pick up a controller and join the fun if they’re more than a little curious. Thankfully, other than the rather dry main screen that greets you along with Dalvan King’s stellar music, the gameplay hooks you right in if you’re a fan of this sort of play. Kicking off with a tutorial that explains the basics, your Harbinger uses cards (called Glyphs here) to summon up a small variety of troops and useful goodies to assist in dealing with assorted enemies as you attempt to take out the enemy Harbinger. In Campaign mode, that list of Glyphs gets larger as do the enemy types that need crushing, and yes, decks can be created and customized to your liking as new Glyphs appear.

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R-Type Final 2 Kickstarter: Welcome to the Buy-Do Empire!

Posted on June 3, 2019 by geelw

Well, It looks as if Granzella’s gambit is paying off so far. Only a day in and the R-Type Final 2 Kickstarter is over halfway to its initial target funding goal. That’s quite good news, folks. I’ll admit to being a tad skeptical about that seven-day time frame to put in a pledge, but I see that Granzella thought this through a bit and is relying on the most die-hard fans of the genre to pony up their pledges and get fellow shmup fanatics to hop on in and play in the same intergalactic pool.

Excellent. Yes, I’m going to pledge a few bucks myself before the campaign concludes. I just need to figure out what I can afford and what sort of extra I get for my pledge.

-GW

R-Type Final 2 Kickstarter: Live Worldwide Soon

Posted on June 1, 2019 by geelw

Urgent subspace communication received, despite the efforts of the Bydo Empire:

May 31, 2019 Granzella Inc.

Help Us Spread the Word:

“R-TYPE FINAL 2” Crowdfunding Campaign Launch

With the permission of IREM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INC., Granzella is now developing the latest title of the side-scrolling shooter “R-Type” series to bring it out to the world. However, we are just a small, powerless studio so we decided to launch a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to accomplish the project.

In order to make our crowdfunding campaign a success, we need your cooperation. Please lend us a helping hand to spread the word about the R-Type Final 2 as well as the Kickstarter campaign on your website and through social media.

Hmmm. It looks as if IREM and developer Granzella really need your help in stopping the Bydo Empire but good. Kicking off worldwide on June 3, the campaign is for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam versions of the game. There will be a number of digital and physical options and backer rewards to choose from depending on the amount pledged.

The Kickstarter campaign starts at the same time around the world. The estimated launch times for each world time zones are as follows:

Japan Standard Time (JST) At Midnight on Tuesday, June 4 (at 24:00 on
Monday, June 3), 2019
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) At 3 P. M. on Monday, June 3, 2019 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) At 11 A. M. on Monday, June 3, 2019 Pacific Daylight Time（PDT） At 8 A. M. on Monday, June 3, 2019
* The campaign will last for about a week.
* The end date will be announced on the first day of the Kickstarter campaign.

UPDATE: We’ve just received images from the ongoing conflict along with a brief video that reveals only a hint of the struggle at hand.

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It looks like it’s time to suit up and prepare for takeoff, folks. Rewards await the brave souls who step up and strap in for the hard fight ahead. Expect an update once the campaign goes live, of course.

-GW

198X: Hit-Bit Looks to Score Big With Its Nostalgic Retro Game Hybrid

Posted on May 28, 2019 by geelw

Headed to PC and PS4 on June 20, and with Xbox One and Switch versions set to follow, Stockholm-based Hit-Bit Studios’ 198X is an incredible looking game that mashes up five types of arcade games and bundles them up in a young person’s coming of age storyline. That trailer is pretty impressive and yes indeed, my old arcade denizen days kind of popped into my head while watching it. I’m going to keep an eye peeled for the PS4 version, as it’s the console of choice these days (the Switch is a close second), but I have the feeling that this is going to be one of those games that will do quite well on anything it appears on.

Here are a few more screens for you – go poke at the official website and keep an eye peeled for this modern time capsule on a platform near you soon.

-GW

Qubic Games’ Anniversary Gets Gamers Great Gifts

Posted on May 24, 2019 by geelw

So, Qubic Games is 15 years old and to celebrate, it’s been doing some cool things such as dropping prices dramatically (80 to 94%!) on some of its Nintendo Switch lineup as well as giving lovely discounts on new releases to those who own some of their Switch back catalog.

Have a peep at this trailer for four upcoming games and do please sign up for their newsletter if you’re a Switch owner, as they just may give you something nice and free in exchange. Of course, you can sign up even if you’re not a Switch owner, which is a good thing to do if you’re thinking about picking one up, right?

-GW

Gallery: Golem Gates

Posted on May 23, 2019 by geelw

Golem Gates art

Well, this looks quite nice and grim, doesn’t it? This is Golem Gates, coming (very) soon for PC and consoles from developer Laser Guided Games and ever-busy publisher Digerati. The latest trailer is below, the game’s press release and some gorgeous multi-platform screens are below the jump. Enjoy!

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Review: Golf Peaks (Nintendo Switch)

Posted on May 23, 2019 by geelw

The great thing about Golf Peaks ($4.99) is you don’t have to even like golf or miniature golf to enjoy this game immensely. Indie dev Afterburn Games has taken the popular sport, melded it with a card-based putting system and wrapped it all up neatly in an art style that recalls Marble Madness, a teeny bit of M.C. Escher, and an isometric perspective that has (a much more colorful) De Stijil vibe. Oh, and the pleasant music from Rafal Samborski is as appropriately stress-free as it gets. Eh, don’t worry too much about my brain making those references you may or may not get – the more important thing is how much fun this one is to play.

What’s great about the game is its deceptive initial simplicity from dipping a toe into those initial levels where you’ll learn basic shots and make par without fail until the game slides a tricky level or three under your nose that requires some creative thought in your shot decisions. On each map you get a set of cards that have a number or series of numbers and an arrow or arrows that denote the direction(s) the ball will travel when the card is used. As the maps get more complex, you’ll need to think outside the box and pull off a few shots that might seem impossible because you haven’t figured out that sometimes an obvious looking shot is an incorrect one.

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Review: Elli (Switch)

Posted on May 20, 2019 by geelw

BandanaKid’s Elli ($19.99) is a fun, family-friendly game that focuses on precision platforming and simple to moderate puzzle solving over the standard combat-focused action that’s a staple of the genre. This ends up being a good thing for those looking for something a bit different than the usual mascot-themed, enemy-packed games where variations on the butt-bounce and besting big, bad bosses are core gameplay elements. On the other hand, those looking for a deep and direct comparison to certain AAA or other indie games of this type may find what’s here a bit lacking in a few areas.

For example, while the lovely, mostly isometric visuals are lovely to admire, there’s enough of a Breath of the Wild vibe here to prod one into thinking it’s some sort of spin-off gaiden featuring some lesser known NPC’s. Granted there’s a plot here about Elli, a 600-year young elf trying to celebrate her birthday only to have those Crystals of Time she’s guardian of swiped by the not so friendly Ghasti, whereupon it’s off to the races to retrieve them. That’s pretty much all you need to know and the game doesn’t throw any major world-building at you in an attempt to try and make you think it’s any deeper than that.

That by the way, turns out to be a mostly good thing, as the gameplay’s simpler focus is on getting from Point A to Point B and dealing with assorted obstacles just works well without the baggage of perusing copious amounts of whys and hows via lengthy text or cut scenes. On the other hand, between the mostly silent NPCs and Elli’s own somewhat quiet approach, the game at times feels a bit empty outside her general motivation to catch that nasty Ghasti.

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