Veteran developer Techland has been making some phenomenal-looking games for a number of years for consoles and PC, but Dying Light looks to be their best work to date. This mere 40 seconds of a recent tech demo shows off some pretty stellar lighting effects, a bit of a zombie problem and hopefully some nice hiding spots as I understand that when the sun drops from the sky, those undead get fierce and harder to put down. Which is why I’ll prefer to stay home and play the game as opposed to popping my head and body out the door to pick up a quart of 2% and some cat food, only to get jumped by some undead in the process. Heck, I don’t even own a cat! “Good Night Good Luck”, indeed… MY slogan would be “Hide and Sleep”…
Hmmm… I never got around to playing The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing when it was initially released on Steam, but it looks like me not getting that review code I asked for was a good thing. A fre friends I recommended this one based on the screens and movies dug it quite a bit, so my job was done on that front. I guess I need to go crack open the piggy bank now as NeoCore Games has been toiling away on making their baby an even more complete action/RPG experience. Got that Steam account warming up in the background? Good – let’s see what’s in the digital box now, shall we? Lift up that coffin lid, please and peek below the jump… Continue reading →
It’s the brilliant writing, folks… but the excellent stylized visuals (done in the style of the award winning comic) aren’t bad at all. 2012’s best game by many accounts is coming back from the undead as a complete package with the 400 Days DLC and some nice bonuses and yes indeed, although I have the disc version AND the PSN downloads, I’ll be picking this GOTY edition up simply out of habit (well, that and I haven’t yet gotten the 400 Days content update since my PS3 currently isn’t connected to PSN). Trust me, if you haven’t played this yet and know someone with a PC, PS3 or Xbox 360 who doesn’t yet have this one, get it for them (well, make sure they’re 18 or over first!) and stick around to watch them play. Bet you’re sucked in right from the opening moments and you stick around to see what happens and who makes it through those chapters in one piece (or close to one piece)…
Little in-joke there, but yeah! Spirit Young is BACK with the sequel to his ridiculously amusing RPG parody/satire/whatever he wants to call it that got improved with an update he did later, Epic Elf, a RPG Maker 2003 game that I liked because it made me laugh a wee bit too much. I’ve only put about a half hour into EE2, but it gets the grins going early (specifically if you’re a fan of old school JRPGs) and it looks as if they’ll keep coming for as long as the game is. Oh yeah, the PlayStation 4 came out today. I don’t have one (yet), but it’ll get here eventually. Heck, if SCEA puts in a RPGMaker.net channel on PSN, I’ll get one sooner than later. Anyway, check this game out if you recall the days of 8 and 16-bit RPGs eating up your weekends and free time like a termite nest taking out a cheap Ikea table.
Of course, I knew the team at Bugbear was going to be going all out with this new demolition racer and for pre-alpha footage, this is really impressive. Yes, that car is purposely indestructible and YES, it’s that way to show off the game’s physics and all those lovely bits flying around when stuff is struck. Anyway, the game’s Kickstarter has 16 days to go and still needs a lot of pledges to make that $350,000 target, so if you’ve got a few spare bucks you need to unload and want to support a fine developer who loves making crazy racing experiences, give a little and get a lot back, I say. Hell, I want this to succeed only so the team can maybe make another Glimmerati game for a few platforms…
Super Fighter Team has been quite quietly busy these days, what with Nightmare Busters getting ready to ship out for the Super Nintendo soon (and yes, it’s simultaneously awesome and hilarious in the best possible manner to be typing this in 2013), but there are also some nice surprises you can grab for free that should greatly interest fans of classic 2D arcade fighting games.
Super Fighter Special Edition, a VERY nicely reworked version of the ancient PC fighter and Sango Fighter 2 are up and downloadable now, so if you’re into fighters, LOVE big, colorful animated sprites and wonderful pixel art backgrounds, yup, you’re already clicking away and getting yours I bet. Additionally, you can check out some music from Super Fighter HERE – it’s another pretty cool bonus that will get your ears grinning while you’re waxing nostalgic over either game’s old-school charms…
The first Castlevania: Lords of Shadow game was a pretty solid mash up of old and new school elements that while not perfect, made for a pretty thrilling game with some very lovely visuals. Developer extraordinaire MercurySteam is pulling out all the stops with this sequel and as this seems to be their final Castlevania game, the team is making sure they go out on a high note. Yeah, yeah, the Igarishi-only and 3D-only wails from the rear of the room are loud in some spots, but that’s only when I leave the window open too long. I don’t care who makes a game as long as it’s GOOD at the end of the day and it’s also important to broaden one’s horizons every once in a while (and DAILY, if possible). MercurySteam’s expertise with current gen hardware is pretty phenomenal in my book, so I can’t wait to see what they’re working on for the newer consoles (or heck, any other platform)…
And yeah… that music is spectacular, isn’t it? February 27, 2014, people. You do know you can pre-order the game if you like, correct?
So, the fine folks at Bugbear Entertainment are running a Kickstarter campaign for its tentatively titled Next Car Game and like some other creators out there, has reached into its vaults and unearthed an ancient prototype of some interest to people like me who LOVE to see works in progress no matter how ancient and half-playable. Some of you will recognize this build as what eventually ended up as the fun demolition derby racer FlatOut, still one of the more thrilling physics experiments to dive back into if you still have a copy in your own game library.
Granted, this download will ONLY confuse people who think it’s what or close to what the new game will look like while people like me who absolutely groove on early builds from any era will be getting all giddy and grinny as we play through the bits that can be played with a nostalgic glow around our heads. But it’s all good in the end, as Bugbear is just sharing their love of making racing games that’s been a core part of their history since they got started. Here’s some early fun with car damage testing from the new game:
I guess it’s good I’m walking distance from home, as I’m not getting into a car after watching that! Anyway, go check out that free old demo build above and absolutely toss them a few dollars if you want to see what and how that much newer game they’re working on will get you glued to a monitor (and hopefully one day, new console!)…
Frankly speaking, I completely despise the term “Metroidvania”, as it smacks of laziness on the part of people who’ve adopted it to mean ANY side-scrolling platformer with gameplay and/or visuals that are common and familiar to those who might not even like either of those two storied franchises. Granted, it also confuses those who’ve NEVER played either game, as I once heard some kid in a GameStop seriously ask a clerk for a copy of Metroidvania (eek!). But I digress (as usual). Indie developer Endless Fluff has a rather fun-looking game out now for PC called Valdis Story Abyssal City and yes indeed, if you’re a fan of those old 8 and 16-bit classics (yes, such as Castlevania and Metroid) and happen to remember a seemingly now forgotten series called Valis, with a dash of Ys and a few other old games from back in the day, you’ve stopped reading this post already and are on the game’s gog.com page and buying it. And good for you, this is, as the game is on sale for $11.99 ($3 off its original price).
And hey! What do you mean “That’s TOO much!” you big cheapskate? Back in my day, we had to pay fifty bucks or more for a game like this and WALK to the damn game store UPHILL. BOTH WAYS. Darn kids and your “Why can’t everything be free or a dollar, but free first!” mentality. Good hard work deserves to be PAID for, I say. You’ll figure this out once you get to work on something awesome (or not so awesome) and no one wants to pay you for doing anything other than giving you a pat on the head or a hearty hand clasp (and not both because you work for a cheap-ass who thinks “intern” means “SUCKER” in big neon letters). If you don’t support indie games, you’ll be playing and paying through the nose on your phone and not any wiser about that wallet draining scheme…
Hmmmm. Cover an eyeball and stick a finger in one ear if you’re partly squeamish and hate the sounds of stuff blowing up. Amusingly enough, I only find two of the four Rambo pictures watchable from start to finish, so I’m quite surprised that I’m liking what I see in this licensed game more than I thought. First Blood was excellent for its surprising take on the action genre in making its Vietnam vet antihero John Rambo a more sympathetic character who gets pushed around in that small town he’s passing through until he’s had enough. The last Rambo film was a fun but gory contradiction because of Stallone’s political stance on what was going on in Burma and how the film turned Rambo from a “peaceful” tour guide back to an even more efficient killing machine with a cause. And yes… I thought Rambo II and III were bigger, dumber 80’s movies with lots of screaming and explosions and nothing worth writing home about plot-wise, but I know SOME of you will be all up in my face about my opinion on that pair of cinematic jokers.
Granted, this won’t be a Game of the Year candidate when it’s finally released in early 2014, but I think some fans of the franchise will be grinning like maniacs as they relive their favorite bits from the movies with a bit more artistic license in some cases…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 