DEVO Lives (Not That They Ever Went Away), Thanks To MVD Visual & Pledgemusic.com!

Posted on August 5, 2014 by geelw

So, less than a week after I get a copy of the excellent new DVD from MVD visual DEVO: Men Who Make The Music/Butch Devo & The Sundance Gig (review incoming later this week, but here’s a sneak peek: BUY IT), Clint from MVD shoots over this super crowdfunding project from the band and pledgemusic.com: DEVO Hardcore Live!, a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/Vinyl LP live concert recorded this June 28 at the Fox theater in Oakland, California.

You won’t be seeing this disc or LP at that local Walmart or other chain retail outlet, as it’s ONLY going to be available as a crowdfunded consumer item and the campaign is well on its way to making its target based on the response to date.

If your ears are buzzing and you’re interested, well, spuds… you know what to do. Hell, at LEAST grab the DVD of this, as that teaser trailer makes this show look pretty awesome.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: CD Projekt RED Sets The Gold Standard For Standard Editions (And Then Some)

Posted on June 5, 2014 by geelw

If I haven’t said this before (and I think I have), I absolutely LOVE CD Projekt RED. Their previous two games in The Witcher series were lovingly crafted mature experiences that brought Andrzej Sapkowski’s anti-hero Geralt of Rivia to the PC and later console gaming masses (many of whom who probably didn’t read any of the books the character comes from until after they played the first game) and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looks to get even more gamers drawn into what’s looking like one of the best experiences on those shiny new consoles. Of course, PC gamers who rock those rent money priced gaming rigs will be getting the best experience in terms of visuals, but there’s no doubt that the developer is making both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game look spectacular on those systems… Continue reading →

Gallery: Tales of Xillia 2

Posted on April 26, 2014 by geelw

The past year plus has been quite good for fans of Namco’s Tales series here in North America as we’ve been getting some nice games and more on the way in a relatively “speedy” manner. Granted, not ALL of the games in the long running franchise have made it stateside, but Hideo Baba did promise last year at the Namco event I attended that fans would see some nice surprises over time from the eternally busy Tales Studio.

Tales of Heart R is one big surprise for Vita owners and here, Tales of Xillia 2 is the other, as it coming this August exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Screens below the jump and that $129.99 Collector’s Edition is below. Yes, pre-ordering this or the plain vanilla standard edition is probably a good idea as some retail locations will only stock what their customers have actually put down some money for and Tales games have the tendency to sell out rather quickly.

August isn’t really that far away, you know…

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Conception II Hands-On (PS Vita): Raisin’ Space Babies, Beatin’ Beasts With Rabies…

Posted on March 29, 2014 by geelw

Atlus’ upcoming JRPG,Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars, is sure to get the dirtier gamer minds over-activated into the puerile zone what with it’s show and tell “Classmating” sequences, too-jiggly females, an aged priest with some intentionally pervy dialog and plenty of direct and indirect references to sexytime antics mixed in with a cosmic religion theme. But hey, it IS an M-Rated game and some of the people who are going to be playing this probably shouldn’t be. But you know how that goes, right?

Here’s a game where you play as a young man called “God’s Gift”, and yes, that means not only in terms of the terrific monster bashing powers at his disposal, but in terms of his ability for Conception with the game’s nubile young females. Did I mention that this is basically a futuristic high school setting and this is more or less a dating sim with random dungeons packed with plenty of monsters to wail on? Yeah, par for the course for the genre, I know, I know. Yet, for all the lovely visuals and solid combat there’s a decidedly cute yet creepy vibe here that may make a few players cringe as they groove on the lovely visuals and catchy tunes.

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MORE Free Stuff? OK, Win An Earth Defense Force 2025 Prize Pack (via Facebook)

Posted on March 12, 2014 by geelw

Got a facebook account? Good. Like to win free stuff? Even better! D3Publisher of America is giving YOU a chance to win a PS3 or Xbox 360 copy of their epic bug-blasting extravaganza Earth Defense Force 2025, all three DLC packs AND a bunch of EDF 2025 swag (which MAY or may not be some or all of this cool stuff) all for filling out that sweepstakes form. Uh huh, I can hear you bouncing up and down in your seat over there, so stop that before you break that chair (it’s squeaking because it’s old!) and go enter already!

Ah, The Things You Don’t Notice Unless You’re Paying Attention…

Posted on February 7, 2014 by geelw

So, I was about to recycle the box D3Publisher of America sent me when I got another big laugh. I’d not noticed this yesterday in my giddy state (and it was a bit dark in the room where I opened the box), so imagine my surprise when I went to clean out the box and saw this:

Now, ten or so years back, I’d had to have been peeled from the ceiling with the Jaws of Life, but as I went through some nice bug therapy a while back, I just roared with laughter because I didn’t even think they’d stick fake cockroaches in that box. For one thing, even the developers won’t go that far because they don’t want to freak people out (which makes me think that giant spiders must be seen as really cute in Japan!). Anyway, for some reason, I can’t upload the fuzzy close-up image I shot of me holding one of those rubber roaches, but that’s probably good for you readers who’d also hit the ceiling if you saw one (real or fake). I’ll try again later. You’ve been warned…

EDIT: it’s later! Yay! (You were warned)…

Bugs (And More) In A Box, With Love From D3Publisher of America…

Posted on February 6, 2014 by geelw

So, I got a nice package today from D3Publisher of America that had me laughing for a good half hour or so. For those curious types reading this, it’s a pre-release Valentine’s Day box full of fun Earth Defense Force 2025 goodies: A fake rose (that lights up when you press a button. It’s strobe-y!) Three sets of four Valentine cards (one for each class), Four dog tags (one for each character class), three packs of tasty looking traditional composition hearts and (wait for it…) a plastic heart with what looks to be three actual chocolate covered insects inside (Eeeeek!).

Well, the label inside that heart SAYS “Chocolate Covered Insects”, they sort of LOOK like they are as opposed to chocolate shaped insects from a mold, and I tend to believe everything I read the first time (well, sometimes). These days, small bugs don’t bug me and I DO like chocolate… so I’ll file this under “I’ll try anything once!” Anyway, I stuck the chocolate in the fridge for later, as it’s too hot in the home office. Those will go good with a cup of coffee, I’d imagine. Some of you have fainted dead away I see. Sorry about that! New experiences make me smile, that’s all.

Okay, let me go find some dinner, as I actually went out for a walk after the box arrived. If I have a bug or two for dessert, I’ll let you know. I may hang onto them for a little bit just to keep you in suspense… we’ll see.

What’s In the Box? I’m Just Saiyan You’ll Not Need To Guess…

Posted on February 4, 2014 by geelw

Mystery sol-ved! Namco Bandai very kindly sent me a copy of Dragonball Z: Battle of Z to review, so that’s going to get done soon. It’s funny that this shows up because I still feel like punching a hole in a wall over those idiots who installed that crappier shower head earlier and left me with a wobbly pipe, so this is a little stress relief for me. Okay, off to see how this one plays. It was pretty fun to see in action last year at that press preview I went to. I’m not sure where to put that rather large Super Saiyan figure, as all my available space is stocked up with games, but I’ll figure something out soon enough…

Okay, back in a bit (again) – I’ve also been going through some bins of doom and then some here and dug up some interesting stuff I need to scan and maybe sock away on a hard drive for later use. It’s not spring yet, but I’m slowly cleaning. I must be feeling masochistic today or something. Eh, it’s a living…

NIS America’s Holiday Sale is On. And Your Wallet Has Just Gone Off!

Posted on December 2, 2013 by geelw

BOOM. Yeah, you thought you were going to get away clean, huh? Nope and nope. If you’re a JRPG fanatic or an anime nut, well… the NISA Online Store wants your money and they’ll do all they can to take it from you while you smile and click away. Some stuff is already SOLD OUT, but there are plenty of cool game and DVD deals plus some other cool stuff worth your while to check out. As mother says… “Knock yourself out!” and “Don’t spend it all in one place!”

Ys: Memories of Celceta Launch Trailer: I’m Getting There, I’m Getting There…

Posted on November 29, 2013 by geelw

Thanks to Xseed Games still dropping DLC for Valhalla Knights 3 on PSN and me deciding to try out a bunch of it. I have not yet gotten around to polishing off the review I’m almost done with. Then they go an release Ys: Memories of Celceta and I’m suddenly seeing the rest of my year gone with the wind once I get around to picking this game up. THANKS, guys! No, really. It’s not like I have anything better to do than to prove that the Vita isn’t dead as some say (or hell, dead at all!), and it’s always a pleasure to play a new JRPG that’s actually an old JRPG redone with some spiffy new visuals and even more fun gameplay than the original. That said, as I keep stressing… someone REALLY needs to create a means of stopping or slowing down time so that I can enjoy more of the games I buy and play. Anyway, you should add this one to your library if you haven’t already – I’ll get out a review in a bit…