Trailblazers – The Future Comes At You Fast on PC, PS4, & Xbox One

Posted on May 1, 2018 by geelw

Futuristic racers are starting to repopulate the gaming landscape once again as a welcome subgenre, but developer Supergonk’s Trailblazers has a few fun things going for it that may set it ahead of the pack. Take a little F-Zero, a dash of WipEout, a splash of Splatoon and shake well, then release onto PC, PS4 (May 8) and Xbox One (May 9). The game’s got a more colorful look all over the place (it’s nice to see some of these newer games not go the industrial drab route) and those rides rock a solid retro sci-fi design with appropriately quirky drivers to boot.

Painting the track as you blaze along allows your tide to gain a speed boost when you drive on your own color. Naturally, you can paint over your opponent’s color (and yes, they can paint over yours), but you’ll very likely be doing your best to win at all costs when you’ve got friends over elbowing each other in the ribs because your couch is too small. Family friendly seems the way this one’s going (a great thing) and the game is set to pack in 10 tracks set over 3 wolds, couch co-op play (split screen is in!) and yes, online modes are also on board.

While it indeed looks like Supergonk and Publisher Rising Star do indeed have a solid hit here, that’s actually up to you folks to hop in and take this one for a spin. Go on, kick those tires and do the test drive thing. You know you want to. Heck, I certainly want to zip around a funky, colorful race course laying down bright colors and hoping for a supreme booth that blasts me past the opposition to a clean finish. Or a not so clean one – a win is a win (as long as you’re not cheating, right?).

-GW

The Good Life: Holy Cats (and Dogs), We Need this Game!

Posted on April 30, 2018 by geelw

Click that banner and the demo is all yours!

If I had a few hundred thousand dollars lying around (I just checked under the mattress and sadly, I don’t), I’d be the first one to up my pledge to The Good Life, the new PC and PS4 game co-developed by SWERY (Deadly Premonition) and Yukio Futatsugi (Panzer Dragoon, Phantom Dust), along with their development teams at White Owls and G-rounding. The Kickstarter has less than three days to go and it’s about $122,000 short of its goal. There’s an excellent short Protptype Demo you can and should try if you’re curious, and while it’s merely an unfinished slice of a game still in the development, you’ll really get the sense that something unique and intriguing is shaping up over in Osaka.

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Bud Spencer & Terence Hill – Slaps and Beans Knows You Want It, Folks

Posted on April 23, 2018 by geelw

Well, okay. A CERTAIN segment of folks want this, me being one of that segment. It’s on Steam now and is 20% off if you’re interested. Know that it’s not going to be a 30-hour epic RPG at all. You’re getting an homage to arcade beat ’em ups in which the replay value is like those classics. If you like or love what you’re playing, you’ll be coming back for more. I’m gathering the chances of this hitting consoles is slim to none, so figure on this being the sole version you’ll see until something else is announced. Thanks to Trinity Team for getting their dream game all done. It’s a niche title for sure, but I’d bet most fans of the duo are grinning about this one.

-GW

Delays of Games: No Penalty, Just Breathing Room

Posted on April 21, 2018 by geelw

Yes, it happens to the best of them, folks. While disappointing, game delays aren’t the end of the world other than setting one’s expectations for playing what one wants to back a bit. In almost every case, it’s a case where developers want more time to tighten things up and apply a final (well, pre-patch) coat of polish to products so they’re even better when they finally make it to market. This isn’t only a AAA thing, as you’ll see from these three examples.

Red Dead Redemption II has slipped into October (10/26/2018), but I’m not at all concerned because it’s Rockstar Games we’re talking about here and they’ve very rarely steered gamers wrong when a product slides past an initial launch date (or second or third, for that matter!). Hell, if anything, the new date will keep a lot of people safe at home on Halloween and quire possibly all the way through the holiday season. I’m only half joking, by the way. I know I’ll be camped out in front of my TV until actual tumbleweeds roll past my bleary eyes.

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The Thin Silence: Aware Adventuring PC Bound Soon

Posted on April 18, 2018 by geelw

(courtesy Nkidu Games)

More proof games can do more than poke at one’s adrenaline deposits like a blind bear slapping at a hornet’s nest. Go put this on your STEAM watch/want lists after you peruse the press release below the jump. And yes, there are twitter pages for the game, developer, TwoPM and publisher Nkidu if you want to follow the game a bit more socially.

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Figment – Music to the Ears (and Eyes) Headed to Switch

Posted on April 17, 2018 by geelw

With all that’s going on these days, stressful times call for less stressful entertainment and thankfully, we have games such as Bedtime Digital Games’ multiple award-winning indie musical adventure Figment to help lighten the daily load somewhat significantly. The formerly PC/Mac/Linus-only game is headed to Nintendo Switch on May 31, 2018 with PS4 and Xbox one versions to follow. Check out that trailer below, won’t you?

Charming, right? For some reason, the art style reminds my well-aged brain of George Herriman‘s wildly imaginative Krazy Kat, so this one is going to get looked at with a smile if the gameplay is appropriately invigorating. Keep an eye peeled for this one on the eShop and later, PSN and Xbox Live. Or hey, if you have a PC or Mac that can run it, gog.com or Steam are whispering to you as we speak. Hmmm. I’d close this post with a “‘pleasant dreams”, but it’s 11:15am and I think it’s a wee bit too early for a nap.

-GW

Random Film of the Week: Hard to be a God

Posted on April 11, 2018 by geelw

(Thanks, kinolorber!)

Hard to be a God MP Imagine an episode of Game of Thrones as performed by the cast of Peter Weiss’ Marat/Sade minus the fantasy elements and with an even more staggering attention to medieval detail and you’ll maybe grasp a small potion of the late Aleksei German’s outstanding, brutal (yet beautiful) Hard to be a a God. This 2013 film (the director’s last) isn’t for the easily disturbed but if you’re willing to sit through the almost three hour running time, you’ll likely find yourself glued to the screen from beginning to end.

While it may not look like a sci-fi film, right from the start you’ll see subtitles that note the story takes place on an earth-like planet going through its medieval phase about 800 years after ours. A group of scientists have been send there to observe the planet and gently nudge it forward without using technology or politics as it goes through what should be a renaissance phase. Unfortunately, things kind of get a bit out if hand when intellectuals of all types become targets for murder by a tyrant’s roaming militia intent on keeping the people uneducated and (mostly) harmless. Actually, about 28 minutes in, you get a reminder that you’re on another world thanks to a quick shot of something mechanical making itself known. But even then, the illusion of an incessantly nasty age isn’t at all broken.

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Ni No Kuni II Demands Your Desire

Posted on March 23, 2018 by geelw

Even with the up, down and sideways health issues happening, I’m still intent on diving into a bunch of games this spring. Right at the top of things to get to is Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, out NOW on the PS4 and PC. As a fan of developer Level-5’s games since the two Dark Cloud games, it’s been fantastic to see each new experience grow more and more polished. As you can see here and below, this game is absolutely packed with things to do including all-new kingdom building and RTS elements that seem very much like whole games in themselves.

While Studio Ghibli wasn’t part of the sequel, on board are former Ghibli character designer Yoshiyuki Momose and music composer Joe Hisaishi, both returning from the wonderful first game. Keeping that unique anime look and lovely sound is key to the experience and yep, this game nails it perfectly. In any event, get it digitally or get it physically (a walk to the game store counts as EXERCISE, folks!) – just get it and prepare to spend way too much time thinking about it when you’re not playing (well, that’s what I fully expect to happen to me given my past experience with Level-5’s other great RPGs).

-GW

Bacon Man? Your Goose Is Cooked!

Posted on March 18, 2018 by geelw

Bacon Man Stuff

Hey! Look at what popped up in the inbox that made me a bit curious (and kind of hungry). Yep, it’s Bacon Man: An Adventure, now on Steam and coming soon to Xbox One. What, no PS4 or Switch versions? C’mon Skymap – just go beat on Sony and Nintendo’s doors (or the noggins of people there (gently!) until they get you a few dev kits to mess around with, I say. This one’s weird and probably harder than you think, but that’s all good in my book.

Bacon Man 01

There’s a nice Earthworm Jim on assorted pharmaceuticals vibe here that’s probably going to please fans of those games (well, two out of three of them, although I kind of liked the craziness in the third installment, but I’m a bit nuts myself). I’ll actually need to play this one at some point (well, once I unchain myself from the backlog here), but I do think I’ll like it a lot despite what looks like a pretty punishing level of difficulty.

It’s a good thing couch co-op is onboard, as this seems to be just the sort of game that needs it (look down, please. No, not that far down, you. Here:)

Anyway, I’m giving this a thumbs up based on the trailer alone because it made me laugh and humor is harder to pull off in games than some of you think. So yeah, go check this one out and see what you think.

-GW

Indies of Note (Part Two Billion!)

Posted on February 8, 2018 by geelw

I can’t even begin to tell you how many small publishers contact me asking to check out their games in assorted forms of completion. No complaints at all on this as one thing I love is seeing how games come together. That said, I’m a wee bit backed up in codes thanks to all the medical stuff I’ve got going on, but I’ve been playing and compiling lists over the last few months on a few games you may want to take for a spin if you’ve a Steam or console account. Some of these are also on gog.com, gamejolt or itch.io, three of many other very awesome spots to get indie games you absolutely should check out even if you want to browse and be amazed at the variety on display. Actually, you can and should support indie games outright by at least playing demos where applicable and/or buying titles you like outright.

Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition (PS4/PS3/Vita, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – Merry, merry, quite Contra-ry, what do we have here? A pretty damn awesome side-scrolling run ‘n gun from Montreal based independent game studio Tribute Games (Flinthook, Curses ‘N Chaos). Actually, it’s more like Metal Slug with a hefty crafting system and a more diverse cast of characters.

If you’ve played this previously, you’ll find the Reloaded edition adds a bunch of improvements that make this a great deal more accessible without lowering the difficulty. In addition to the stellar pixel art and animation, Tribute’s packed this one with tons of fun and challenge throughout, making a game that’s highly replayable and an excellent arcade experience that’s a must-buy no matter what you play it on. Now, if only Tribute would get Wizorb out on PS4, Vita and Switch, I’d be an even happier guy.

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