Fox n Forests: Out of the Woods May 17th

Posted on April 24, 2018 by geelw

Who said time travel was impossible? After a super successful Kickstarter campaign and a busy development process, Munich-based Bonus Level Entertainment and publisher EuroVideo Medien GmbH have announced that their gorgeous slice of 16-bit retro gaming nostalgia, Fox n Forests is headed to consoles and PC May 17, 2018.

Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac and Linux will all be supported and yes, this is yet another game I’ve been dying to get my own paws on. Check out that teaser trailer below and yes, add it to your watch and wish lists.

Hey, it’s very likely this will be the closest some of you will get to an actual fox and you won’t need to worry about rabies at all. Well, you may get a nice blister on your thumb from playing this too much, but you’ll survive.

-GW

Figment – Music to the Ears (and Eyes) Headed to Switch

Posted on April 17, 2018 by geelw

With all that’s going on these days, stressful times call for less stressful entertainment and thankfully, we have games such as Bedtime Digital Games’ multiple award-winning indie musical adventure Figment to help lighten the daily load somewhat significantly. The formerly PC/Mac/Linus-only game is headed to Nintendo Switch on May 31, 2018 with PS4 and Xbox one versions to follow. Check out that trailer below, won’t you?

Charming, right? For some reason, the art style reminds my well-aged brain of George Herriman‘s wildly imaginative Krazy Kat, so this one is going to get looked at with a smile if the gameplay is appropriately invigorating. Keep an eye peeled for this one on the eShop and later, PSN and Xbox Live. Or hey, if you have a PC or Mac that can run it, gog.com or Steam are whispering to you as we speak. Hmmm. I’d close this post with a “‘pleasant dreams”, but it’s 11:15am and I think it’s a wee bit too early for a nap.

-GW

Review: The Alliance Alive (Nintendo 3DS)

Posted on March 29, 2018 by geelw

There’s something warm and familiar about Cattle Call’s new RPG, The Alliance Alive that really pulled me in from the beginning. While not flawless, the game has the look and feel of one of those multi-disc original PlayStation JRPGs and while not quite an “epic” experience, it’s solid enough and certainly packs in enough characters in its massive maps while hitting pretty much all the bullet points it needs to that make it an overall decently nostalgic 3DS game. I’m a big fan of much of Cattle Call’s work since the quirky PS2 sleeper Tsugunai: Atonement, so seeing the familiar color palette and simple but intriguing battle system also had me smiling throughout.

Still, it’s also a case where you sort of wish the game was on a system that was a bit to a good deal more powerful. It’s not at all hard to imagine the developer making a Switch (or heck, PS4 or even a Vita) game with higher resolution art and even more detailed characters and environments. On the 2DS or 3DS, the game’s animations and numerous cut scenes are excellently handled. However, the large overworld maps tend to be a bit bland, there’s a bit of background pop-in and if you have a poor sense of direction, it’s a bit too easy to get lost unless you choose the option to be guided to and from certain story-related areas.

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Random Film of the Week: ALIEN³

Posted on March 20, 2018 by geelw

(Thanks, THX1968!)

Alien 3_b I think it was sometime in mid-to late 1991 when I first saw the teaser trailer to ALIEN³ and had my eyeballs pop right out of my head followed by my jaw hitting the floor way too hard in the theater I saw it in. Ladies and gentlemen, do you know how hard it is to clean sticky goo off your eyeballs after they’ve rolled underneath a movie theater seat? Trust me, it ain’t easy. That and yuck-o, stale popcorn and half an old hot dog have the tendency to rather easily get into a fallen jaw if you let it sit down there for more than a minute flapping away in shock mode. Hey, I was busy trying to find my darn eyeballs, thank you much.

Needless to say, I was kind of shocked by this news that we’d get a third film in the franchise and it was coming in under a year. I wasn’t sure I liked the “On Earth, Everyone Can Hear You Scream” tagline at all and yes indeed, I thought bringing that cranky xenomorph to Earth was a bad (not a bad-ass) idea for a few key reasons. Although at that point, I was kind of screaming myself.

It seems 20th Century Fox may have agreed (or at least was pulling a fast one on us because they didn’t really have an idea about the film they were planning to make), as a few months later, this was the follow up trailer:

(Thanks, Media Graveyard!)

After gathering up my eyeballs and jaw again and handing a few people in the theater their eyeballs that rolled under and around my seat (which was quite interesting as I had to wait until the guy who picked up one of my eyeballs by mistake returned it or today I’d be the Jane Seymour version of myself or something like that), I took time to take in the trailer. Bald Ripley. Bald bad men, some bald men screaming and running, NO weapons at all and a reused music cue from the previous film had me both puzzled and really curious as to how the helllllll Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley character was going to get out of this new mess. That said, the art direction and sets looked solid and that finale bit with the Alien getting too close to Ripley had me intrigued as hell, as did my wondering who the heck was this David Fincher guy directing the film.

There were other trailers and eventually TV spots that arrived before and after the film was released, but I was sold before that point to the point that even if I didn’t like the final product, I had the feeling it would be really interesting and maybe even impressive. Let’s just say I kind of got my money’s worth more on the visual side of things and a temporary gumball substitute for an eye after I picked up the first round object that I could touch after they popped out again.

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Redbox’ March Game Week: Happy Madness Time

Posted on March 6, 2018 by geelw

If you’re a Redbox user or are interested in trying out the service, well listen up: From March 6 – 12, in-app (iOS or Android, of course) or online users can get a free game rental during the March Game Week event. This is pretty cool for new users who don’t live near a location with a Redbox machine (raises hand high) or current users looking to check out a few games on their backlogs.

That is all, commence the online stampede. Wait, let me get out of the way fir… (*RUMBLE…STOMP!) Ouch.

-GW

Switchy Business, Or: Blizzard, Just Do It.

Posted on March 3, 2018 by geelw

So, yeah. A few days ago this happened on Twitter:

Sweet dreams. pic.twitter.com/tZvCnjjzWb

— Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) February 28, 2018

Naturally, a LOT of people jumped on this (including yours truly) and thought right off the bat that this cryptic tweet was not at all cryptic and meant we’d be seeing a Switch version of Diablo III at some point. Well, Blizzard says nope, it was all just a misinterpreted tweet. Boo. That said, I think they’re at the very least planning something and that tweet was a means of teasing and testing the waters as far as responses to a Nintendo version. While I despise speculation, I’m about to speculate on what’s up while adding a few thoughts on this matter.

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Review: Aperion Cyberstorm (Nintendo Wii U)

Posted on February 19, 2018 by geelw

Yes, I know this one’s out for the Switch and STEAM, but for those of you who still only own a Wii U, you’ll be very pleased to know Aperion Cyberstorm is also available on your console of choice, it’s pretty darn good and definitely a game you’ll want to check out if you love arcade-style dual-stick action.

Featuring a solo campaign and some fun couch co-op and great versus multiplayer modes, this is a fantastic little twin-stick shooter that makes for plenty of nostalgic blasting action in campaign mode and plenty of mayhem as a “grab up to four other friends and have a total blast” manner in the mutiplayer modes. Indie developer aPriori Digital has made a very challenging and really solid experience that’s going to make quite a few Wii U owners very happy to see there are still signs of life left in the system.

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Capsule Reviews, The Third: Some RPGs

Posted on January 8, 2018 by geelw

Let’s see now. I’m trying to shoehorn a load of stuff into my schedule this year, so I’ve taken to compiling certain games and films into shorter, easier to digest capsule reviews that don’t drag on like my longer boring full meal posts. Don’t worry, those longer reviews aren’t gone at all. I’m just saving up my currently lower than usual energy stores for those more epic length posts. Anyway, let’s get cracking:

One More Dungeon (PC/PS4/PS3/Vita/Switch/Xbox One) – Not quite a RPG and more of a cross between a first-person shooter and a perma-death packed randomly generated roguelike, OMD’s in your face pixel art will seem garish to some players, but I liked it quite a lot. The game is a challenging bit of fun that will kill your character off constantly, but somehow keeps you coming back for more. Points earned via playing can be used to unlock assorted modifiers that make playing somewhat easier or a great deal harder, so how tough things get is eventually your call.

There’s a sanity level to consider and the game’s overall vibe reminded me a tiny bit of Eldritch, another retro-style FPS, although that game had a more Lovecraftian vibe going for it. OMD’s low price point and speedy gameplay keep it fun going even if you end up buying the farm a wee bit too much. This is one of those games that you’ll go back to a over and over, provided you like what you see and/or it grows on you. Developer Stately Snail and Ratalaika Games (who handled the port) deserve a tip of the cap for this one.

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Holiday Gift Guide 1: Let’s Get Physical!

Posted on December 12, 2017 by geelw

It’s been quite interesting living in an all-too digital world and seeing how gifting has changed for many folks who go that route with nearly every purchase. Me? I like giving and receiving actual product for the most part unless it’s a case where the only way to get something is via a code voucher of some sort. That said, I feel kind of bad for kids raised in this era where some parents or other tech-savvy adults seem to hate on the very idea of handing a kid something nicely wrapped that’s NOT another gift card that devalues over time if not used up for a place they’ll never visit in person. So, in the interest of getting you out of the house and offline for oh, maybe an hour or two, I’m tossing a few suggestions your way (which are also available in digital form if you like).

LEGO Worlds (PC/PS4/Xbox One/Switch)- Ever-busy developer TT Games pulls out all the stops in this great sandbox game that’s packed with content and a ton of freedom once you get past the tutorial and early story missions. This is one of those great family games that’s so much fun to play you’ll want to sneak in some time alone once that kid is asleep.

On the other hand, you’d very likely want to play this with your kid or at least have a second controller handy as the game supports up to 2 players in either online or offline modes. Hours will zip by when this is on, but at least you won’t need to worry about stepping on loose LEGO pieces or having the family pet making them disappear after they smack part of what you’ve built under the sofa.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Game & Sock Bundle Pack (PS4)- Can’t decide on getting games or socks for the holidays? Got a relative who auto-buys you socks because he or she has zero clue about games? Why not get BOTH with this bundle of completely remastered PS1 classics that include the first three games in the series lovingly reworked by Vicarious Visions with tons of new HD specific features?

Between the redone visuals, the ability to play as Coco Bandicoot in all three games and a bunch of great stuff only those true masters of unlocking will get to see (yes, the games are as challenging as ever)l you get SOCKS you’ll probably actually wear at some point. But don’t try and stuff those stockings on the box with the game, as that would make for weird gift to receive and probably stretch out one of those socks in the process.

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Review: L.A. Noire (PS4)

Posted on December 3, 2017 by geelw

Well, wow. Rockstar’s remastered crime noir drama/action game L.A. Noire comes to consoles in pretty fine form and yes, it’s worth a buy. Granted, if you’re a more jaded “gamer” who thinks even looking at an HD version of an older game will somehow make you lose your street cred (*snicker!*), you kind of need a new hobby and should skip the rest of this review. The game has not only gotten more polished looks, its gameplay has been tweaked to use the PS4’s touch pad as an option for object manipulation when poking around crime scenes. There are still a few pesky quirks left over from the PS3 version, but despite those, this is one of those games that’s great to have back and it’ll be a new experience for those who missed out on it the first time.

As Cole Phelps, you’ll rise through the ranks of the LAPD in the post-WWII era from beat cop to nattily-dressed detective using wits and fists with the occasional firearm in your case solving. For the Grand Theft Auto fans out there who are new to this one, although some gameplay elements are very similar, this isn’t a re-skin at all. You get real cars from the period, approximately 90% of the city’s streets mapped out from that era and plenty of references you may need to look up or hey, go ask an older person about. It’s certainly a great way to introduce a grandparent to gaming. And yes, you can indeed play the game in glorious black and white if you like.