The Evil Within Doesn’t Scare Me (Yet) Because I Haven’t PLAYED It (Yet)…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

“Booooooo!” (*squeal!*). Meh, I’ve always disliked these “reaction” videos for games and movies because even if they are one hundred percent real, what scares one person won’t affect another and as I get older, some things don’t scare me any longer that made me fly off a chair and up to the ceiling in the past. Or, to quote one Mr. Ray Parker Jr. “I ain’t afraid of no “ghost!”

Now, I’m NOT that jaded that some horror films, reads and games don’t get me wanting a blankie and a hanky every so often. However, some of the scares in entertainment are often derived from other and far more frightening works. That said, I do trust Shinji Mikami and Bethesda Softworks to the point that The Evil Within just may put me on the ceiling if it does what it does right and often. Expect to be scared out of your wits (or not?) when the game hits stores October 21st in North America, October 23rd, and throughout Europe on October 24, 2014.

Sniper Elite III Hands-On: Even More On Target Than Before…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

I was on the subway headed down to see and play Sniper Elite III at a 505 Games media preview when I realized I’d forgotten my eyeglasses. Oops. You can’t be a good sniper at all if you can’t see a damn thing even with a scope, but amusingly enough, that absent-minded error on my part made the demo even more enjoyable.

Thanks to veteran developer Rebellion making the game much more flexible and thrilling than its predecessor, even a quarter blind bat like me was able to have a total blast making as many mistakes as I did. Okay, that’s not sounding like a ringing endorsement for the game, but it’s coming – keep reading. Even if I had brought my gaming spectacles along, my plan was to play the demo in as loose a manner as possible, making mistakes to see how the AI would react while seeing how expansive the level designs were this time out. In Sniper Elite V2, despite some alternate routes, most maps felt a wee bit too boxed in and linear and displacement wasn’t emphasized enough throughout the game (although the best players learned those levels and probably did some of their own shoot and scoot tactics… Continue reading →

It May Be A Holiday, But Bundles NEVER Sleep!

Posted on May 26, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I’m still kind of in holiday mode as a trial just to see how I handle time off and it’s not going well. Argh. Thankfully, the fine folks at IndieGala, Humble Indie Bundle, Indie Royale, Bundle Stars and a few other places know how to get me back on track (sort of). IndieGala’s Every Monday sale this week has six games, Today’s Humble Bundle is ALL Total War series all the time and an extra year or so because it’ll take you at least that long to go through the epic Napoleonic saga they’ve got up for sale today, Bundle Stars has more Steam games than you can shake a stick at and Indie Royale has nine games up for a really sweet price. I’d write more, but you can click away and see for yourself. Hmmmm. I need a nap now – that was hard work for a day off!

Today’s Humble Daily Bundle Will Send You To The Stars (Forever) With EVE Online!

Posted on May 24, 2014 by geelw

Yikes. I’ve only watched people play this DEEP space simulation that’s insanely hard, but has been a massive hit among its millions of loyal fans for a few years now. Anyway, today at the Humble Daily Sale you can get CCP Games’ EVE Online for a buck or so, $3.41 unlocks the Vanity Pack and if you shell out $20 or more, you get both of those and a 30-day EVE Online PLEX trial. In case you’re wondering what the heck EVE Online is, I’d say hit the Google or whatever search engine you use and see that’s it’s a pretty darn intense online experience with a steep learning curve among many other things that will EAT YOUR LIFE. Eeeek! Anyway, it’s your coin to flip today, so do that if this one’s up your alley.

GRID Autosport Discipline/Focus/Endurance Trailer: You’ll Still Get Spanked, Though…

Posted on May 23, 2014 by geelw

Oh, once again, I couldn’t help myself (*whipcrack!*). Anyway, it looks as if GRID Autosport REALLY means business when it comes to bringing racing fans some of the best action out there. While not a true simulation, the team at Codemasters is striking the balance between simple to pick up and play controls and the need to learn each track and how to survive the AI trying its best to blow your doors off when you dive into the single player part of the game. Online is of course its own crazy bird complete with the usual unpredictability of live players, especially in the longer races.

Now,I happen to like endurance race events, as there’s a fine balance of learning all the ins and outs of a race course lap after lap and your own physical condition slipping a wee bit over the hours as you fight off sleep and assorted body cramps. Granted, couch racing isn’t ANYWHERE as brutal as being in a car bouncing around and rumbling for a few hundred miles, but keeping me OUT of a real race car is probably a really good thing. GRID Autosport is out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on June 24, 2014 in North America, June 27th in Europe.

Today’s Humble Daily Bundle is All About Going Deep And Long (or Short)…

Posted on May 23, 2014 by geelw

As in DUNGEONS (and get your mind out of the gutter, please!). Three indie games for up to ten bucks or more are on the plate today. Paper Sorcerer, Legend of Grimrock and Desktop Dungeons all come VERY highly recommended from yours truly as each is a decidedly different take on one of my favorite game genres.

Pay what you want for Paper Sorcerer, go above $3.21 for that and Legend of Grimrock and ten bucks or more nets you all three games. Yes, it seems odd that Desktop Dungeons ends up being the “big” game here, but given that you can learn to play it quickly and games tend to last about ten minutes or so, the potential millions random elements here give the game infinite replay value. Anyway, if you’re not going anywhere this holiday weekend, you know you may as well buy a few games, support charity and have something else to do other than stare at the walls for three or four days. Get to it, then!

Have I Got My Goat Yet? Not Quite Yet, But Yes Indeed I Will…

Posted on May 22, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I still haven’t played Coffee Stain Studios’ awesomely busted Goat Simulator yet and I’m so ashamed. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. Here’s a game that’s right up my twisted alley and I haven’t bought it yet nor done much other than post a few videos and yak about what I’ve seen. Hey, blame it on too many games, not enough time and me wanting to do so much stuff that even my mailboxes have given up on hoping I’ll get to reading EVERY message in them. I try, but then I get to reorganizing emails by importance and everything goes to hell in a hand basket like an intentionally broken indie game that everyone wants to play but some don’t quite get too because they already have too much on their plates. Wait, we’re back at the beginning of this story again? I thought it was a RIGHT turn at the last sentence! Darn. Hmmm… let me pull over and take a nap. Back in a bit…

Update: the game is getting a patch next month? Well, it’ll still be funny and busted, but local split-screen multiplayer will be added. That’s cool if you like that sort of thing, by the way…

Watch_Dogs Launch Trailer: Your Ticket To Chicago Is Almost Ready…

Posted on May 22, 2014 by geelw

May 27 will be a pretty quiet day at some workplaces in a few places thanks to people coming down with crippling cases of Watch_Dogs flu and staying home to get some finger and wrist exercises in to keep healthy. Ubisoft Montreal is certainly doing its part to move next-gen consoles and maybe a new 3D card or two, but I think even on the older consoles the game will be a winner to those players that don’t give a hoot about their games looking about as realistic as it gets. Anyway, we’ll see what’s what next week (or later for Wii U owners still hoping for an actual release date).

Today’s Humble Daily Bundle Is All Mixed Up In A Good Way. The Weekly Bundle? Just BUY IT!

Posted on May 22, 2014 by geelw

Let’s see now, we’ve got goats escaping, a pair of retro RPGs that looks as if it was made in 1990 or so, an offbeat puzzle game with a very weird looking insect and a card battle game that’s quite addictive for almost anyone who picks it up. Yup, that’s what you get today PLUS two game soundtracks when you grab this Humble Daily Bundle. Pay what you want for the two Soulcaster games, six bucks or more gets you Escape Goat 2, but you should bump THAT up thirteen cents for Incredipede, I say. Or just pony up ten bucks or more and get everything and Ironclad Tactics, which should heel you busy for quite a spell.

As for that Humble Weekly Sale this week… Wow! Continue reading →

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II Launch Trailer: Hat’s Off (Again) To The Monster Killer!

Posted on May 22, 2014 by geelw

It’s finally all done and ready for its close up, so if you liked the first part a lot, you’ll want to just drop everything now and go out to buy a ring for Neocore Games’ The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II. The game is bigger and better in a number of key ways (you’ll see) and yes, that addictive chase & chop action is even more intense this time out. Not much else to say other than go get this on Steam NOW and have a blast. You don’t want to keep Lady Katerina waiting you know (as she’s way too good with the insults when she gets ticked off). Oh yeah, the guy with the hat and weapons could use your help, too.