Capcom Wishes You A Merry Mega Man Xmas (Don’t Forget To Get Your Gift)


And here I am, thinking he’s all about knocking off cute but dangerous enemies and bosses with silly names and powers. Some would probably prefer a less annoying Mega man experience where ladders and bridges would replace those jumps they keep missing, while others might want a less violent Mega Man without his blasters and such. If I had to choose something with less violence, I’d make the blue bomber a sly negotiator who doesn’t fire a shot, but makes enemies fight each other. Of course, there goes that cool Rockman versus Paper Man versus Scissor Man boss battle (ha ha), but that new monocle, smoking jacket and fake pipe are nice accessories Capcom could add to the character with that new attitude and see what’s what?  Anyway, enough of my lousy attempts at humor – go download Street Fighter X Mega Man if you haven’t already. I’m a damn cheapskate, but I know where the good free gifts are and how to share them…

A Friendly Reminder From Black Pants Game Studios…

 

No, not that the world is ending in a few hours (well, for some people out there)… there’s a NEW demo for Tiny & Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers available on Steam! Go get it, play it and laugh yourself silly while things go to heck in a handbasket or something. Look at it this way, if you love the demo enough and the earth doesn’t blow up, you can actually go BUY the game and play the whole thing. Even better, the game is 50% off until doomsday (I’d gather that’s later today), so get while it’s hot. Or before you burn up when Melancholia hits. Or something like that. The talented gentlemen at Black Pants will thank you kindly, and I’ll have done my good deed for the day because I’ve turned you on to a really cool (and really funny) game experience. OK, I’m off to watch some cartoons now… Good Night!

Larian Studios Brings Some Holiday Cheer to The Year of the Dragon…

 

I got a few holiday-themed digital cards and videos in my packed inbox, but I like this one the best because it’s amusing, has real people in it along with a bit of game stuff and yes, you can sing along (as long as you keep it down and don’t wake the neighbors). Oh, yeah – you should probably buy one or two of Larian’s find RPGs for yourself or as a gift for a gamer you know. I’m just saying… it IS the holiday season and all. That and you don’t want some huffy dragon hanging out on your porch or windowsill glaring at you until you do so…

A Few Minutes of BioShock Infinite: Starting Off on the Right Foot (and Way Up In the Sky)…

 

Just in case you were wondering how the heck Booker gets all the way up to that fancy, falling apart steampunk sky city called Columbia, Irrational Games presents about five and a half minutes of gameplay from the beginning of their upcoming game. If you’ve played the first BioShock, you’ll note a few parallels to how things get rolling, but this new game certainly takes things in its own direction, that’s for sure. I’ll stop writing right about now, as that trip up to the clouds has made me a bit queasy. I do hate flying, especially when it’s more or less straight up with a few too many twists. More in a bit. 2013 is going to be quite interesting to say the least…

Tomb Raider: Guide to Survival #1 (Expect Lots of Running and Jumping, For Starters)

 

Lara’s new adventure/origin story looks to be one of those reboots for the ages, combining a more mature story and solid visuals with more cinematic (and mature) storytelling and even a bit of scares here and there. Hopefully, the game will surpass every expectation and get the audience it deserves, as it’s quite clear that Crystal Dynamics is pouring everything they’ve got into making what could be their best game to date. Provided the story is complete and there’s not a ton of DLC coming afterward to wreck the continuity, I’d say even the most skeptical TR fan should give this one a shot.

Hmmm… I need to carve out some time to replay the original game before this one comes out just because it used to be a yearly ritual for me for a while until I got a bit too busy. Sure, it’s ancient, but some of the more memorable levels still hold up well thanks to those puzzles and challenging jumping puzzles.

 

Street Fighter X Mega Man Out Now, More Blue Bomber Birthday Stuff In 2013…

MM_25Thanks to so much happening today, I almost for got all about this FREE download from Capcom (currently PC only and a mere 34MB at that). The company is also planning to give Mega man fans and even bigger treat by releasing all six classic Mega Man games on the Nintendo 3DS as digital-only downloads through Nintendo’s eShop starting December 27, 2012 and continuing on a staggered schedule into 2013. Hmmm. In addition, Capcom is planning to release some cool new Mega Man T-shirts some MM-themed Xbox 360 avatars and a few other items from now and into next year, but they’re keeping a few things under wraps to keep us all in suspense.

Hmmm… will my dreams of eventually being able to replay the Mega Man Legends series finally see some sort of reality? I guess I’ll need to keep my fingers crossed. Double Hmmm… Perhaps I should cross my toes instead, as I can’t play many games very well with doubled digits…

Street Fighter X Mega Man: Capcom Reveals All (Well, Some of All)…

 

Amusingly enough, I was talking to someone yesterday about fan-made indie games and this one came up, as it’s now some sort of standard in terms of a big game company like Capcom actually approving of a project like this before making sure it gets done right. Of course, the bigger story will be how well the game does with the fans once it’s let loose on December 17 as a free PC download. I say it will do well, but I’d also expect other creative fans have been flooding Capcom and other publishers with even more ideas and suggestions than they usually do. I wonder how many people come up with exactly the same ideas, write them up (and maybe do up some nice art to go with their projects) and send them off thinking they’ve struck a gold mine. Live and learn, yes indeed… but wise up at some point and create your own original content at the end of the day. Sometimes, it’s better to make a little money from all that hard work than to just keep giving away the farm for free, I say. Hey, Han Solo didn’t walk away from a cargo hold full of Rebellion credits in Star Wars (AND he later got a Princess out of it to boot)…

Dead Island Riptide Trailer: Death Takes A Holiday (Again)…

 
 

It figures. The first Dead Island got a surprisingly emotional CG trailer that drew acclaim and major attention to the game, which turned out to be OK, albeit a bit buggy in spots. I actually held out for the recently released Game of the Year retail version after playing about an hour of the original because I knew Deep Silver and developer Techland would fix things up (and add all that DLC content I couldn’t get).  Anyway, this new trailer for the sequel is another superb two-hanky CG masterwork which also makes me never want to go anywhere on vacation ever again. Damn undead and their people-chomping ways mucking up everything like that. Imagine that last postcard from the doomed couple in the video: “Having a blast on our trip – Wish you were here!”  BOOM. 

Hmm… then again, I actually don’t actually believe in zombies at all (thank you science education!), so my ass is safe as the breeze wherever I go.  You can hole up with a shotgun, machete and a few thousand cans of beans if you like when the so-called zombie apocalypse hits. Me, I’ll just see some cranky-looking people stumbling around because all the Starbucks in the world will be closed. I’ll just carry a pocketful of coffee beans to toss at them and be able to get away while they’re rolling on the ground fighting each other for that fix.

FREE STUFF: GOG.com Plays Santa With Free Duke Nukem 3D For All…

 

Ho, Ho, Ho!  Once again, the fine folks at gog.com bust out something awesome and FREE for gamers everywhere this crazy holiday season. This isn’t the normal Duke, mind you, but Duke Nukem: Atomic Edition, which packs in the original game and a megaton of bonus content. In case you’re new to Duke Nukem, it’s the seminal politically incorrect first-person shooter that’s also a master class in game design, outrageous humor and tons of hidden goodies.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll kiss the hours goodbye and even better, you’re not paying a cent. Hell, if that fat man flying around in his sleigh wasn’t busy doing that, he’d be sitting at home in front of his own computer blasting baddies and peeling off digital dollar bills to check out some jingle bells. Just don’t tell Mrs. Claus!

Continue reading

The Walking Dead Now Available At Retail (Yes, on a Disc!): Thank You, Telltale Games!

Excellent. I’m glad I (as well as the others who couldn’t download this as a per-episode experience) I can FINALLY get to play The Walking Dead, given all the stellar things I’ve heard about the writing and amazing amount of choice available that drive the story in a number of interesting directions. I’m actually surprised that in addition to a standard version (and a great budget price point of $29.99), there’s a super deluxe Gamestop-only version (that’s sold out from what I’ve seen) for about $40 more that packs in The Walking Dead Compendium: One (a thick volume containing 48 issues of the award-winning comic). I still haven’t touched the comic other than the first issue and skimming through a few others, so that Gamestop bundle would indeed be peachy to own. However, it’s already commanding some crazy prices online (one of the stupid perils of exclusives), so I’ll stick with the standard edition and pick up one of those collections in the future. Hell, I have a ton of stuff to read already, so those Walkers can wait a bit longer…

Now, it WOULD have also be very cool to see a Vita version, but hey – I guess we’ll need to see what Telltale plans for the future, as there’s going to be a second “season” of the game coming at some point…