Random Unfinished Indie Game of the Week: DOOM RPG: Evil Unleashed

Posted on October 7, 2012 by geelw

Even if you’re not a fan of turn-based RPGs, DOOM RPG: Evil Unleashed should be on your list of games to play before you’re worm food. Why? Well, between the intentionally retro visuals, great use of music (from a few sources) and reworked art assets from the original game and a solid level of difficulty, the game is a pretty nice surprise that will eat up your free time. Created by thespazztikone in the nicely versatile open-source game engine O.H.R.RPG.C.E. (Official Hamster Republic Role Playing Game Construction Engine!) and hopefully going to get polished up a bit more and updated with more episodes, the game hooks you in right away with a surprising amount of voice acting and a nice, slow buildup to the actual gameplay. Once you get into the combat and hear that familiar level end tune when you’re victorious, expect a grin to spread as the hours fly by.

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XCOM: Enemy Unknown Launch Trailer: “Our Last Hope” Keeps Those Aliens’ Days Numbered…

Posted on October 5, 2012 by geelw

2K Games and Firaxis are about to make a ton of gamers happy campers indeed with this upcoming reboot of the turn-based strategy classic and this should be one of those games that becomes highly regarded among new and old genre fans. Sadly and not so amusingly enough, rumors have it that the highly stylized FPS origin story (which has vanished off the radar for far too long), has been whined and focus-grouped dined into a watered down (and probably DLC-only) version of the turn-based game above with squad-based third-person gameplay. Talk about a developer not being able to do the game they set out to do in the first place. Great. Score another “victory!” for those who want to piss on creativity because they think one genre is “inferior” to another or ONLY caters to ONE type of player. System Shock, Thief, Half-Life, Arx Fatalis, Anvil of Dawn and other excellent POV titles are more that solid examples of smart “shooters” that were classics of their times is all I’ll say…

Anyway, I hope we at LEAST get something like a demo pr something PLAYABLE made available of the old version of this game before it got sent to development hell. Granted, it probably would have been dead at launch only to be rediscovered as one more “Hey! This game isn’t bad at all!” bargain bin special, but I guess 2K doesn’t want to deal with that factor (even after so much has already been spent on development). Feh. Sometimes, fans aren’t the smartest sticks in the shed because they hate things that may actually work well in a certain context they can’t wrap their heads around until they actually PLAY it. Same old hamburger and fries again? Sure!

Of Orcs & Men “Buddy” Trailer: On the Road to Sleeper Hitsville? We shall see…

Posted on October 5, 2012 by geelw

With about a week to go before launch, I really haven’t seen much about this one. That may or may not be a good thing depending on who you ask. While it’s going to be buried in the juggernaut of more hyped launches this month and next, i think that if the game is good, it will no doubt find an audience over time (the way many of these RPGs do with fans who like seeing fantasy games that try to do things differently). If, on the other hand, the game is being skipped into stores like an assassin’s blade through the ribs of some unsuspecting target because it’s rough around the edges, then it’s a quick trip to the bargain bin or worse, a slow death as yet another fine game that took a lot of people a long time to do goes under appreciated. Hopefully, Focus Home Interactive’s PR folk here will be willing to let some of us interested types see what’s what and let you know, but I have no qualms about shelling out full price for a game that’s interesting enough to keep my interest for longer than some FPS or overblown titles with bigger budgets and less to do at the end of the day…

Tomb Raider: The Final Hours #2: Crystal Dynamics Gives Lara More Lift…

Posted on October 3, 2012 by geelw

Second part in the “making of” series collaboration between Crystal Dynamics games journalist Geoff Keighley and hosted Zachary Levi (one of those actor/gamer types you probably know from some TV show or movie. I don’t know him, as I’m too busy playing too many games to pay attention to Hollywood types). This time out, it’s a look at the game’s story and what went into creating it. The “survival adventure” element and new take on the character will be the draw for me (OK, the amazing visuals are nothing to sneeze at) and I hope that this “reboot” gets the appropriate praise for what it does right and the proper amount of criticism for anything it misses. Of course, if poor Lara misses those jumps too many times, it’s back down to the depths of the bargain bin, right? Then again, I’m betting this will be light years better than some of the lesser games in the series older days. Angel of Darkness, anyone?

Gallery: Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons

Posted on October 2, 2012 by geelw

OK, a mere six early screenshots isn’t much, but the gorgeous teaser video above for Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons makes up for that, I’d say. After a long time away doing quality shooters set in gritty modern and futuristic locations, Uppsala, Sweden-based developer Starbreeze Studios is headed back into the more fantasy-themed worlds they started out making. Granted, their very first game, Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade (PC, Xbox, PS2 and Game Cube) took place in a gritty medieval setting, but their second game, Enclave (Xbox) was set in some a pretty interesting (and yes, gritty) locations. This new game, set to hit PSN, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam in 2013 has a richer, more stylized look to it that recalls a tiny bit of the Fable series but with more of Starbreeze’s technical polish. Unreal-powered loveliness aside, I’ll need to get my grubby (or is that gritty?) paws on a build for some hands-on time. 505 Games has been good about letting me know when they’re in the city (playing a demo of Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise was a highlight of last month for me), so I’m expecting a little bird at my window when they’re ready to show off their new baby. I can’t wait…

Edit: I had a R.J. McReady monent there, heh (+5 points if you get that joke)- Starbreeze isn’t Finnish, but they’re based out of Sweden. Oops!

Buy It! Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy Hits Steam

Posted on October 2, 2012 by geelw

One of the best blends of JRPG, humor and genuine challenge for the unwary player, Half Minute Hero finally hits the PC in a nicely buffed up version that rounds up all the content from the PSP while adding a really interesting cartoon art style (check out the YouTube video channel here) and of course, retaining the same lightning-paced gameplay from the portable games intact. BUY this game, I say, as it will make you laugh at the familiar tropes it pokes fun at while you’re getting creamed by some pretty pesky enemies. You need to pay attention, plan ahead and fight for time here as you try to make that 30 seconds count. Don’t play this on a laptop while traveling, however – people will think you’ve gone nuts when you start yelling at your screen and yep, the men in the white coats will follow soon afterward.

Random Indie Game of the Week: Knights of the Chalice

Posted on September 30, 2012 by geelw

OK, another case of me being late to the party, but even so, here’s another RPG you’ll probably fall head over heels for. Knights of the Chalice comes highly recommended if you’re a fan of old-school top-down RPG bliss, anything Dungeons & Dragons related and well crafted, severely challenging games in general. While it’s not a free game, you can download the wickedly cool (and hard) demo and decide if it’s worth the £14.95 (approximately $24.15 US) – I’d say it is and then some, but I’m still playing the demo! Actually, I’ll probably pick this up once I whittle down the pile of games I have to review. I don’t want to buy it now and be tempted to start up another game that’s going to eat up what’s left of my free time…

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GRID 2 Pre-Alpha Footage: It’s A Gas (With Many Miles To Go)…

Posted on September 30, 2012 by geelw

Nice (and EARLY, as in pre-alpha gameplay) work in progress showing off Codemasters’ attention to detail and what looks like another great racer. There’s still a great deal of work to be done, but I’m one of those gamers that can look at an early build and see how things will fall into place. If this sequel builds on the ground laid by the first GRID and adds all the proper bells and whistles, it’s going to be one of the better racers in a too-crowded genre. Fingers crossed and foot on the pedal, I’ll be waiting for updates…

Resident Evil 6 TGS Trailer: The Final Fear Is Almost Here…

Posted on September 29, 2012 by geelw

Well, OK… it’s a great bet that Resident Evil 6 probably won’t be the LAST numbered game in Capcom’s ongoing undead saga, but it’s absolutely the most ambitious to date, packing in a huge globe-spanning campaign and the most interesting set of playable old and new characters right out of the gate. From what I’ve played at press events and through the recent demos, this kitchen sink approach to development is working on many fronts with a game that is at turns, action packed when it counts, scary and intentionally slow-paced where it needs to be (but not intensely so) and full of plot twists, new enemy types and some of the most satisfying gameplay in the franchise’s history. I have the feeling that good or bad, this will be the most discussed RE game for quite some time after its October 2, 2012 release.

Carmageddon Max Pack Skids onto GOG.com!

Posted on September 29, 2012 by geelw

Yeah, yeah, you COULD sit in L.A. traffic and face what they consider “Carmageddon” but that’s not the real deal, folks. Just avoid that vehicular nonsense, stay home and download Carmageddon Max Pack for a measly ten bucks HERE. Hell, it’s a weekend and you don’t really need to drive anywhere anyway, right? And if you’re not in L.A. and don’t get the reference, it’s not important and you should get the game anyway because I said so (nicely). Besides, it’s MUCH safer than getting in a weekend wreck with some fool who was texting while behind the wheel.