Review: The Tiny Bang Story (Switch)

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“Ma’am, could you tell me where you keep the puzzle pieces, please?”

Tiny BangWant a teased brain and some very pleasant and relaxing tunes to chill out to? Do you like puzzles and hidden object games? Well, here’s a game for you, then. Colibri Games’ The Tiny Bang Story ($9.99) finally comes to Switch and while it’s quite lovely to look at, some older gamers  (raises hand) might want to play it docked thanks to some very intricately detailed environments that make playing in portable mode a little tricky.

That’s not to say it’s unplayable undocked, mind you. This is a game where a larger TV screen not only shows off the great art to its fullest, some of the tiny details are harder to spot if you can’t see them (and there are a lot of tiny details here). I did make it through a hour or so through in portable mode before going docked and not looking back, but your own mileage may vary.

That and the onscreen pointer is super small, which helps seeing things, but also hinders things a bit because it’s so minuscule and you need to do a bit of hunting and pecking here. This is really the only “bad” thing about the game. Some of the search bits are yes, a lot of trial and error searching or tapping, but that’s par for the course in this sort of game. The puzzle portions are set up and balanced overall between those that make you think and a few where you might pull a few hairs figuring them out, but that’s also part of the deal you get with these games.

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Review: Black Sunday/Mask of the Demon (Blu-Ray)

(Thanks, FulciLives!)

Layout 1Say, did I ever tell you all the story of the time a few decades ago back in the 80’s when I learned how to brine a chicken thanks to a pair of very helpful Satanists looking for Kosher salt at a grocery store? No? Well, that’s not why we’re here, so I won’t go into it other than to say I didn’t know they were into that stuff, and hell, I’m an atheist anyway. The chicken? It was excellent by the way. Still is, whenever it’s made.

Uh, speaking of “anyway”, Let’s move on.

Still scary and somewhat phenomenally timeless, Mario Bava’s classic “first” film La Maschera Del Demonio/The Mask of Satan (aka Black Sunday in the US) starts off unsettling and keeps the frights coming until the end. Bava’s direction and art direction here are generally superb, although yes, there are a few plot holes you can drive a rattly (or rat-filled) old Fiat through if you follow the story too closely. But taken as a whole, it’s still a work of brilliance that many films have paid homage to over the decades since its release.

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“Where the hell is my coffee? I just woke up after 200 years!”

Very loosely based on The Viy, Nikolai Gogol’s horror tale from 1835, the film revels in its high Gothic style, early use of gore effects and the stunning Barbara Steele who plays both the evil Asa Vajda and 200 years after her demise, her relative, Katia Vajda. It’s a revenge story of sorts, as that witch and her soulless-mate Igor Javutich (Arturo Dominici) are separated and then executed in a most bloody fashion for their crimes and yes, there’s a bit of a promise of defiant revenge from the witch. 200 years later, it’s young Katya who’s target of a newly revived Asa’s demonic ways and in tandem with the revived Javutich, things get ugly for a few people after that curse literally comes to life. Wait, or is it figuratively? I forget.

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Vincent Price wants his stage wig back when you’re done, pal.

Interestingly, the film links Satanism and witchcraft to devil worship as the same thing, which is about the sole flaw that sticks out (well, I’d guess it was seen as the same in the 1630’s, but I’m a terrible time traveler, getting too sick from the trips to pay attention and all that).

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The Tiny Bang Story Makes the Switch

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Time to be royally puzzled!

Russian developer Colibri Games and publisher Ellada Games have a neat puzzler for Switch owners with The Tiny Bang Story, a game that’s had some solid success on mobile. As I don’t play mobile games these days (I play way to many console and PC games and have quite the backlog here), it’s the first I’ve heard of this. But it sure looks mighty impressive and yes indeed, my Switch is humming for the chance to play this.

 

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The hand drawn artwork style is lovely here and the games wordless accessibility means just about anyone can enjoy what’s here. I’m into this, that’s for sure.

Here’s a trailer to tempt you with:

A review is in the cards, so check back for that, please.

-GW

Save 10% Off iNetvideo.com’s Scary Flicks (Or Else)

Ooh, this is a nice deal on some frightening flicks for Halloween or for someone who likes the scary stuff any time of year:

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Hop on over here and take a peek at many horrors old and new to pick up. You have 114 pages of films to peruse and choose, so get to it!

-GW

A Knight’s Quest Trailer: This Looks Like Fun Stuff, Indeed

From Canadian developer Sky9 Games and publisher Curve Digital comes A Knight’s Quest which definitely wears its 1990’s platform/RPG influences somewhat proudly on its sleeves for all to see.  It’s coming soon to Epic Games store, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and has already arrived for Xbox One. Fun fact: the game seems derived and definitely different from the quest-filled 2D adventure game by the developer from a few years back.

Check out the PS4 trailer below and get set for its October 10th release on the platforms that don’t yet have it:

I just got a PS4 review code yesterday and an pretty pleased to report that so far, it’s quite good stuff. Familiar intentionally to some classics you may recall, but absolutely very fun stuff, indeed. You’ll have to wait a touch for the full review, but I’m really having a blast with this one. Who’d have thought a clumsy main character would be so fun to play as?

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-GW

Reventure: 100 Endings? Well, Lets Go See Some, Shall We?

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With its retro looks, Reventure ($9.99) may not be the first game off the shelf for some gamers out there, but this player certainly wants to give it a go soon. Hey, 100 endings are what, something 99% of games don’t have and hell, I just want to play this for the blocky visual style because I sometimes like to see what can be done with the fewest pixels possible. Here are the trailer and some screens for your viewing enjoyment:

Malaga, Spain-based indie dev Pixelatto is onto something cool here, I think. In addition to the Switch version that’s right around the corner, there’s a PC version that’s been out for a few months on Steam that’s packing loads of positive reviews. Check it out here.

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We’ll be back in a few with a few of those endings.

-GW
 

Preview- Daymare: 1998 Keeps The Old School Zombie Thing Alive

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So yeah, I’ve been playing Invader Studios’ (with aid from Destructive Creations and All In! Games) fun and scary Daymere: 1998 on STEAM for a short while and it’s pretty darn good (and thankfully, also coming to PS4 and Xbox One gamers at some point), although the story and character models could use a little polishing up. The game is so far, a decent enough mimic/response to Capcom’s much praised classic Resident Evil 2 so much so that it looks and feels at times like a newer entry, but intentionally filled with a certain old-school style that make it feel purposely nostalgic.

Here’s a game trailer to peruse:

While the human character models need a bit of work, the assorted undead are all appropriately creepy and the scares are timed to make you jump out of your skin when you’re caught off guard. There’s some method to the madness on display, as the game certainly gets the feelings of fright going on a few fronts. Granted, yes, it does start off initially slow as you get your bearings and yes, the UI could be a lot more intuitive. The game also has a few intentionally draggy moments in spots. But when you’re least expecting it (or because you will be), the tension is definitely there in the quietest of spaces when you think you can take a breather. Overall, it all blends into a horror-fest that’s pretty enjoyable, warts and all.

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The hammy voice acting is well done (funny how that works, right?) and I liked that some animations are a bit clunky, but these elements both fit the era in question. In it’s current form, it’s good, but a few patches away from greatness, I think. That and the game is in need of critical response that appreciates what’s going on here rather than attempting to bash the game for its particular weaknesses where an homage is clearly intended. As a fan of some horror games, this one’s not a bad way to whittle away a few hours on a rainy weekend with. Hey, I like this one a lot, stuff that needs work and all. The overall spirit is what’s important in a project like this and that’s going on in spades here.

-GW

Arrow Brings a Few Juicy Pumpkins for an October Surprise

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Yum! Here are next months Arrow and Arrow Academy releases to ogle. Expect some really nice surprises to add to your libraries. as usual:

KILLER NUN[Blu-ray] (10/15)
THE DEAD CENTER [Blu-ray and DVD] (10/22)
RINGU [Blu-ray] (10/29)
RINGU COLLECTION [Blu-ray] (10/29)
MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES [Blu-ray] (10/29)
Oh, yes indeed, it’s guaranteed to be a scare-packed Halloween with this lineup.
-GW

WRC 8: Rallying for A Chance at Besting DiRT Is a Good Thing For the Series

 

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Reflex check: “100, Easy right, care rocks inside – don’t cut” Or something like that. You’ll know what to do as that turn comes up.

As a longtime fan of the World Rally Championship series since the PlayStation 2 days when developer Evolution Studios created five of that system’s best rally games, it’s been a series of up and down yumps as the franchise has changed hands over the years. The team at KT Racing (aka Kylotonn ) has held the WRC game license since 2015 and have improved the overall quality with each release, offering rally fans on PC and consoles the opportunity to test their skills on a wide variety of courses with a wide range of world-class rally cars.  The upcoming WRC 8, published by Bigben Interactive certainly looks to be the best game in the series to date, as the dev team is looking to reach fans who crave even more realism to the virtual version of the sport.

As impressive as that trailer is, the game’s Career Mode is going the extra mile in terms of delivering the goods on a few fronts. Check out the details in the video below:

Want more? Okay, then – there are a few pre-order incentives below the yump (ha and ha, but yeah, go look at them).

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Criterion’s Upcoming Godzilla Box May Make Me Sell an Organ

Holy Crap

My exact expression when I found out Criterion was making a dream box set of mine come true.

Wow. My wallet just jumped out the window when I saw that Criterion is issuing its 1000th set in glorious style with Godzilla: The Showa Era Films (1954-1975). The funny thing is, last month, all these flicks popped up on a cable channel and I caught most of them while wondering at one point if they were going to be fully remastered and *BOOM* – along comes this news and my wallet taking a dive onto the pavement.  *Sigh*… it looks as if it’s time for another DAF game collection fire sale, as this one’s bound to sell out fast on the pre-order front and nope, I’m neither paying some ebay scalper way too much money nor holding out for the cheap knockoffs that will pack that site and fool a few folks thinking they scored a deal from some “clueless” reseller from overseas.

Color me and me inner eight-year old thrilled. Yours too, I’d bet.

Marty and the boys

“Hey, Marty! Whatcha doin’ tonight?”

-GW