It’s Tuesday, Right? Time To Take A Little DETOUR…

Posted on June 18, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, you had a bad day at work, right? You look like you could use a break from that grumbling and mumbling about chasing your boss around the office with a blunt object as well as a little lesson in karma. Here’s probably the best cure for your troubles in one of the most amazing film noir gems you’ll ever hit your eyeballs with. I think I did a Random Film of the Week on Detour previously, but I’m too tired to check.

EDIT! Nope, I did NOT do one – this will be rectified soon!)

Anyway, pull up a seat, Pete and feast your eyeballs on this dusty jewel that still packs quite a punch. Watch out for Ann Savage as Vera here – she’ll cut you if you don’t watch your back… or worse… maybe.

Attention Bat-Fans: Believe it or Not! Mezco Toyz Wants You In NYC For Something Old, Something New

Posted on June 15, 2013 by geelw

Holy “I Get To See The Original Batmobile and Maybe Pass Out On Top of (Or Next To) It!, Batman!!” Mezco Toyz is lighting up the Bat-Signal and letting all you classic to current Batman fans know they’re going to be doing something really awesome in New York City on June 25, 2013. Check it out below and get in on the fun, I say.

The hilarious thing here is as a jaded and cynical Noo Yawkuh (for life! OK, I’ve left the city and traveled plenty of times), I’ve never been to that Believe it or Not museum and in fact, scoot through 42nd street as quickly as possible whenever I’m in the area. Those crowds can be a bit annoying is all I’m saying. Still, I guess it’s a far sight better than the old nastier 70’s and 80’s where you’d want to run like hell away for other reasons (I’m old enough to tell you some mighty freaky true tales)… However, the chance to see the Batmobile of my childhood (and it better not be made of wax, grrrr… oh, wait, that’s Madame Tussaud’s down the street – another place I avoid!)? Oh hell no, that’s not getting passed up one bit. “POW!” “BIFF!!”, “SOCK!!” Er, “SPLORCH???” Hmmm… er… maybe not a “SPLORCH???”… that just sounds too wrong. Anyway, yeah, SHOW UP and bring your camera and a drool cup. Wear a bike helmet or hardhat if you’re prone to passing out from sheer nostalgia (“THUDDD!”)

Two More Reasons To Grab Message From Space On DVD…

Posted on April 18, 2013 by geelw

Sure, it’s not the best sci-fi flick out there, but there’s a certain crazy exuberance in these clips that makes Message From Space pretty hilarious in its own right. Yeah, I like bad films as well as great ones, so sue me. or at least watch this one and some of the others I recommend from time to time. You’ll get an education on cinema and not have to pay too much to some silly film school where all you’ll learn is you’ve gone into debt and no one will hire you to work on a feature film because you spent too much time in class listening to some old guy telling you there’s nothing better than Citizen Kane. Which is true in some respects, but there are a LOT of great (and not so great) movies in other genres worth seeing…

Random Film of the Week: Message From Space FINALLY Gets A DVD Release!

Posted on April 15, 2013 by geelw

Way back in 1978, if you somehow STILL didn’t see Star Wars even when the film got its big re-release (or was still running in some theaters), this was another one of those “replacement” flicks you may have gotten taken to instead (or had to settle for if it was running at a theater nearby the one where Star Wars was playing). Famed Japanese director Kinji Fukusaku (Battle Royale) whipped up a first-rate “B” movie that yes, takes a lot of inspiration from George Lucas’ space opera, but also adds bits from anime and Japanese samurai flicks plus a few other things and the result is an instant cult classic (well, in my book). The effects team did some pretty amazing things in the model shots that give many of them a more kinetic look than what ILM did earlier, but the tradeoff is the acting in the latter film sticks to everyone mugging it up for the camera in their own ways… Continue reading →

Mystic Chronicles: Meet The Heroes (1): Four On The Floor, Ready For Action…

Posted on April 12, 2013 by geelw

With Kemco’s “old-school” JRPG Mystic Chronicles coming to the PSP this summer from Natsume, the company is dropping a few names and giving players a chance to meet the cast and learn a little bit about them. Say hello to them below and check out the screenshot gallery I posted back in February for some images of the gameplay. All we need now are some videos of this in action and that particular triangle is completed…

Anyway, here they are:

Lux

Lux is the main character of Mystic Chronicles, and the player will control him for the majority of the game. This young man may seem like a simple village boy, but he’s surrounded by a mysterious past that may come back to haunt him. He’s very close to his sister, Fina…

Fina is a nun who players will meet early in the story. Strangely, this woman of the cloth looks a lot like Lux’s sister, Fina. Is there some sort of connection between the two ladies? Lux is determined to find out…

Ray

Ray is a mysterious member of the ancientDarkClan – and whether that connection will be blessed or cursed remains to be seen…

Alberto has known Lux since he was a child. A mentor to the youth and a captain in the Holos Guild, Alberto’s guidance will become pivotal in some of the difficult decisions Lux’s journey will lead him to make.

Hmmm… My nostalgia sense is REALLY tingling now… all we need is a release date. Natsume won’t disappoint on that end, but you’ll need to wait a bit because that’s how they roll. Back with more on Mystic Chronicles as news arrives – stay tuned…

OK, OK, Telltale Games’ Poker Night 2 Wins The BEST April Fool’s Game Gag of 2013…

Posted on April 1, 2013 by geelw

Why? Because I bet they NAILED the fan reactions to this one when they thought it up. Some of the ones posted on their YouTube page are from a bunch who now want to hope against all hope that this is real despite it being too damned crazy to exist as an actual product. The comments are almost funnier than the video to me because it’s something like 90% desperate Ash from Evil Dead fans ranting like madmen and the rest drooling about a game that will never, EVER be released (even under the most perfect of circumstances of the right people being paid for their vocal talents). Still, it’s a hoot to watch and wonder about. Touché, Telltale, touché!

Oh, wait. It’s a REAL GAME. Bleh. Well, I don’t play poker at all, so I don’t care. Well, it’ll sell like hotcakes among those who are into that, I suppose. Me, I prefer a good strategy game over losing my virtual shirt to a bunch of digital cheaters…

VGA 101: More Collection Madness, Badly Shot (For Now)…

Posted on March 17, 2013 by geelw

Nope, I’m not QUITE taking today off, folks. I was just catching up on some games I need to review (the results of which you’ll read shortly). Anyway, to keep you “entertained”, I thought I’d grab my crappy camera and quickly zoom through some stuff in the library (which NEEDS a big reorganization and/or a makeover I can’t afford yet, boo!). Er, you may want to take some Dramamine before viewing this, as it’s probably really fuzzy and moving faster than a caterpillar who’s had a pot of strong coffee. Or like a rat. Made out of a LOT of video games. Squeak, squeak! Eek, eek!

VGA 101: On Kenji Eno (2): Something Old Brings In Something New(-ish)…

Posted on March 14, 2013 by geelw

Lumines ES2 So, as I posted last week, I finally got around to sending back that formerly long-lost Kenji Eno autographed copy of D2 about a week or so ago and got this nice surprise as a return response. A copy of Lumines: Electric Symphony autographed by the game’s producer and one of Eno’s close friends. Nice. Amusingly enough, I hadn’t played this Vita game previously, so now I get to do so and having done something nice for someone in the process. Yeah, I’m a nice guy under all that cranky. MOST of the time. Not get the hell off my lawn, you kids. Scoot! I have some games to play and no time for you whippersnappers. Git!

VGA 101: On Kenji Eno: A Loss Isn’t A Complete Loss If Something Is Gained In the Process…

Posted on March 3, 2013 by geelw

One of my favorite game creators, Kenji Eno, passed away on February 20th and I’d planned to write up something memorial-esque last week, but couldn’t for a few reasons. The main one was it’s actually quite hard to write something brief about what playing through some of the games he and his studio WARP created during their brief run meant to me without actually going through the library here and taking time to do so. That’s going to get done in about a month or so, barring incident. The other was I wanted to read what some of his close friends wrote about him in order to get a better insight on the man and his work. There was also a little bit of unfinished business to take care of in getting a certain something back to a certain someone, so that had to come first… Continue reading →

Gallery: Mystic Chronicles (Or: Natsume Keeps The PSP Flame Burning Into The Summer Months)

Posted on February 23, 2013 by geelw

Well, well, well… I didn’t even know Japanese developer/publisher Kemco was still around these days, but thanks to Natsume deciding to localize the company’s iOS RPG Fantasy Chronicle for North America as Mystic Chronicles for a summer 2013 release, I’m a bit happier to see the developer still cranking out fun games that more genre fans here in the US will get to enjoy. Tile-based 16-bit visuals straight out of the SNES and Genesis days? Check. First-person field and dungeon combat (and turn-based at that)? Check. Cute anime/manga art all over the place (like it or not – I happen to like it a lot in this type of game). Check.

All I need to know now is when it’s coming out and how much I need to spend to get my grubby paws on it (retail is preferred, but I’ll take a PSN code to get my fix). Hey, I have three PSP’s here, at least one of which gets regular usage (Earth Defense Force 2 Portable has been on constant play here since I got it from Play-Asia), so I won’t be needing to go nuts digging through the Bins of Doom here looking for them.

Anyway, onwards to the gallery with you! Watch your step and duck, as it’s below the jump… Continue reading →