MOVE OR DIE: Friendship Destroyer, Inbound

Posted on January 7, 2016 by geelw

On the other hand, a game like MOVE OR DIE is 100% made for playing with folks you know or don’t know anywhere in the world at any time. As you can see from that trailer below, indie developer Those Awesome Guys have cooked up a fun, devious, and genius plan to destroy as many friendships as possible in a single game experience via local multiplayer or online play. You’re a cute icon trapped with a few buddies in a room where the rules and games change every 20 seconds and you need to stay in motion or explode (eek!). Add in all sorts of challenges and the pure panic they provide and yeah, it’s an instant classic of the digital download variety:

While the game is currently Steam-bound on January 21, it would be awesome of Those Awesome Guys to get their baby onto consoles and handhelds in record time. I guess I should try this out and destroy a few friendships of my own, but I’m already at that point where I’ve streamlined my contact list to supermodel skinny. So I guess I can hit the park and train some squirrels to fiddle with controllers and figure out the game mechanics at some point. I can take that show on the road and make MILLIONS from the rubes and with those MILLIONS, run for elected office because here in the U.S. of A., anyone can run and if Deez Nuts can (my squirrels will rip him to pieces in the race!), so can I, grrrr!

Er, where was i again? Oh, right – MOVE OR DIE wants YOU.

The Deadly Tower of Monsters: ACE Team’s Got Another Weird Winner Up Its Sleeve

Posted on January 4, 2016 by geelw

If you’re a fan of old sci-fi “B” movies from days gone by, ACE Team is going to get you grinning with their upcoming PC and PS4-bound game The Deadly Tower of Monsters. The Santiago, Chile-based developer with its small library of visually gorgeous and reliably weird games is making this one a special slice of must-buy entertainment on a few fronts. The game seems to be a mix of classic beat ’em up and action/RPG with a decidedly retro vibe and some very pretty visuals. As a big “B” flick fan, I like the offbeat influences from films such as Forbidden Planet, Invaders From Mars, King Kong and many more. Sure, the younger gamers might be clueless and not aware of all the in-jokes and homages to too many things to count. But the end result should hook them in with what’s looking like fast-paced gameplay and those aforementioned pretty visuals.

From the videos above and below, the game sure looks as if it’ll be fun enough to warrant plenty of sales, a few replays and hopefully more console ports at some point down the road. Of course, that’s mostly up to how the game does on those two initial platforms and any legal stuff keeping it locked down on two platforms. I don’t mind exclusives at all, ladies and germs. But it’s nice to have more options over less when there’s a title as fun-looking as this one on the way.

Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen Gallery (PS3): Not Pixel-Proof, But Perfected on PC

Posted on January 4, 2016 by geelw

Dragon's Dogma_ Dark Arisen Screenshot_48

Before (well, 1280 x 720 looks a LOT better on a HD set in 1080i)…

After! PC version, *much* prettier PNG image.

Ah, the terrible JPG format and how it degrades over the shortest periods of time. Foo. I’d wanted to post a bunch of screens from the PlayStation 3 version of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen over the last few weeks up to the game’s PC release on Steam shortly (January 15), but when I finally got around to looking at the over 300 screenshots I’d taken over time, they all looked terrible. Normally, I go back and save jpeg images as .png files, but I got busy with too many things just didn’t have the time. Yet another reason to hate digital art, I guess. Still, a promise is a promise, but instead of a daily gallery of ugly imagery, you’re getting most of the shots I liked in one easy to peruse (but hard on the eyeballs) set of screens below the jump.

That said, before I commence with the eye torture, ogle that lovely trailer above and then go read this post, as here are more screens from the PC version along with more info about what the updated version of the game will have in store for those picking it up again or for the first time. There’s a lot of info there (thanks, Capcom!), but it’s all worth checking out because I know it’ll get got by fantasy RPG fans looking for a nicely-sized game world and plenty of pissed off mythical beasts coming at them with now even more gleaming teeth and claws. By the way, pre-ordering the game on Steam gets you its soundtrack and a digital art book. So there’s some incentive for those who want it.

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Super Fighter Team Kicks Off 2016 With New & Old Releases

Posted on January 2, 2016 by geelw

Fans of Super Fighter Team are more than likely pretty pleased and having a Happy New Year plying some nostalgic fun as the two Mega Drive/Genesis titles Magic Girl and Cascade announced early in 2015 have finally shipped out to buyers and the return of Beggar Prince, Legend of Wukong and Star Odyssey means those most asked for titles will finally be re(or re-re)-released at some point this year.

As usual, HUGE Props to Super Fighter Team head honcho Brandon Cobb for fighting the good fight and getting these games out his way in this day and age of plenty of beauty pack reissues of the not so legal sort getting snapped up by collectors in record time. SFT’s small but solid library of console titles make for perfect entry level collector purchases as well as great gifts for your favorite classic gamer.

If your budget is lower but you still want to surprise someone (or give yourself a gift), you can drop $20 on the cool RPG Trifecta Pack and get three of those games digitally for your PC and save a chunk of cash. Isn’t freedom a wonderful thing? Yeah, I thought so.

Capsule Reviews 2: A Few More Games? Okay, Let’s Go

Posted on December 31, 2015 by geelw

More bite-sized review bits? Sure, why not?

Onechanbara ZII Chaos (PS4, $49.99) – Budget game developer Tamsoft gets its sexy ladies onto the PS4 in a game that’s going to be loved and hated by gamers for a few reasons. While it has a super smooth 60fps frame rate, the cheesy music rocks somewhat firecely and the action is nearly non-stop (and supremely gory), it’s easy to see the easily ticked off whiny westerners losing their minds over the skimpy costumes and all-out fan service on display. Bikini, schoolgirl outfit and other fantasy femme tropes get trotted out (and that optional Banana Split pack bonus costume is too racy to show here), but the ladies are far from the helpless princess stereotype at all. Aya, Saki and the rest of the crew have been zombie killing for about a decade since their introduction on the PlayStation 2 and later Xbox 360 and Wii Onechanbara titles, so this one’s just their best looking adventure to date. While the game seems a tad on the short side, the reply value comes from unlocking outfits and having at stages again so you can better your score jut like arcade games of old. Then again, every Onechanbara game is pretty much the same: kill plenty of zombies before they kill your gal of choice and have a BIG grin on your face while doing so. Score: B (80%)

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Capsule Reviews 1: Some Games You May Have Missed (Me Yak About)

Posted on December 30, 2015 by geelw

Well, 2015 zipped by too quickly (he typed, knowing that the year isn’t quite over but hey, everyone else seems to be doing year-end articles) and I while didn’t get to write as many reviews as I’d have liked to, I took a ton of notes on things so I could sit down and catch up a some point. The best laid plans of mice and men (and Bemis!) often go wildly astray, so instead of long form full reviews, I’m going to do a bunch of capsule commentary on games, films and books over the next few days just so you have a little something to read when you pop by. Anyway, some quickie game impressions to get started:

Tales of Zestiria (PS4/PS3/PC, $59.99/$49.99 respectively) – Namco’s Tales Studio pulls out all the stops in this latest installment in the long running JRPG franchise (15 Tales to date!) with a game that’s part throwback and homage to the first Tales (of Phantasia) back on the Super Famicom while bringing in an all-new cast, storyline and for the first time, an open world map to explore. Although PS4 owners get the better visual end of the deal on console, the PC version should more than please those fans who pick it up looking for something to play and show off to friends. The game is consistently entertaining from the fast-paced combat to the usual humor found in character interaction and dialog choices. Yes, the use of classic literary references, myth and other tropes is piled on thicker than your mom ever spread mayonnaise, but it works well enough to keep the game fun. I’m actually still playing this one because there’s an extraordinary amount of things to do, stuff to collect and some 93 hours in, I’m close to the endgame but will probably dive in again at some point to revisit a few save files. There are enough divergent paths and interesting encounters (make friends with the Normin you meet!) to keep this one in the play stack for a while. Score: A- (90%)

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Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen PC Trailer: So Much For a Quiet January

Posted on December 17, 2015 by geelw

Here’s a first look at the official trailer to Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for PC, set for a January 15, 2016 release date on PC. With 4K support and 60 frames per second gameplay plus every bit of DLC from the console versions, this is clearly going to be the best version of the game to date.

While Capcom has yet to announce whether a PS4 or Xbox One version of the game will be released, it would be exceptionally nice to get the game out on at least one of those platforms. That and you know those who only game on current consoles will want to see what the fuss is all about. Hopefully the folks at Capcom have done a little forward thinking on this, but as usual… we shall see. Mark that date down and set aside some quality time to play this one, as it’s pretty lengthy, quite challenging and definitely rewarding if you’re a fan of this sort of action/RPG.

Waves²: Everybody Into the Pool For Some Serious Splash Damage

Posted on December 16, 2015 by geelw

Okay, I somehow missed out on the original Waves back in 2011, but I’d heard an seen enough about it over time to end up adding it to my backlog want list (which is longer than your arm, especially if you have long arms). Now, Rob Hale (aka Squid in a Box) is back with the Early Access sequel Waves², which you can play now for $9.99 and submit feedback important to that game’s future development. I usually approach Early Access games with an arched eyebrow, but this one’s got a nice retro/modern look to it and yes an appropriately catchy soundtrack to match. The game also has a few more months o development time to go before it’s ready to go, so that’s where you and your free time come in. I say pay the ten bucks and play it to death just so you can get in on the dev process by submitting some well thought out commentary that’s more than “This game rocks!” or something similarly simplistic.

But I shall leave your feedbacking ways to you. Go have a blast and yeah, yeah – help a Squid make some Waves, too.

HIDEit: Get Your Gear In Order But Good

Posted on December 16, 2015 by geelw

I have to go fishing through my spam folder at least once a month because it sometimes catches email that demands to be read and passed on. Case in point: the one I got from HIDEit Mounts a company that makes a number of really awesome storage solutions for gamers, computer owners or anyone else who has to deal with assorted tech with wires that tend to tangle. I actually laughed out loud as I was reading the email and looking at the photos attached because yes, I suffer from the horrible affliction of owning a ton of consoles (at least 25!) and having all those wires dangling in front of, behind, and to the side of my jury-rigged entertainment center. Yeah, it’s pretty bad, folks. Actually, I only keep six systems around my 32″ HDTV at a time while the rest take naps in assorted storage bins until I need to dig the up for research

As you can see (or can’t see because they’re so well hidden) HIDEit makes simple but highly functional wall mounts for current gaming consoles, small form factor PC’s and Macs, cable boxes and more. They also have controller mounts and even an optional theft deterrent solution in case you want that extra security. If you’ve got sturdy walls and a TV mounted on one or more of them, you’re an easy HIDEit customer in the making.

The great thing is installation won’t take a year of carpentry classes or calling up that creepy-looking “handyman” who slid a misspelled flyer under your door as you were opening it to take out the trash last week. Each mount comes complete with hardware = all you need is a good drill and appropriate bits or a good screwdriver. A level and elbow grease are also beneficial for best results, so some of you scrawny-armed types may need an extra strong arm to shift stuff around. Prices range from $11.99 to $59.99 and I’d bet you a hot nickel that your holiday gift list includes at least ONE person (not including YOU) who needs one or more of these mounts.

Okay, you’re up to speed on the HIDEit front, correct? Good. Me, I could use a bunch of them, but I’m in the process of entirely redoing my game cave so I’m still in the “being in awe because I have a ton of games and systems in such a small space and don’t know where to begin” stage. But now that I see what HIDEit can accomplish, it’s a product on my list of things to get once I get myself in gear to tackle a pretty massive project.

System Shock 3: It’s About Time For A New Shodan

Posted on December 14, 2015 by geelw

Well, this is a nice surprise for a Monday (or any day, for that matter): OtherSide Entertainment is currently working on two projects I just found out about and am terminally thrilled to see come to life. System Shock 3 and Underworld Ascendant, two games that NEED to be completed before the world goes belly up. The great thing is both projects are being worked on by teams that worked on the original games and a whole lot of other classics for PC and console, meaning the dedication to quality is there and will make for two spectacular titles well worth the wait. At least to my nostalgic eyeballs and ears. Also, you can help directly fund Ultima Ascendant if you like by clicking on that link above. If you remember the first two titles well enough (warts and all), reading the game page should make your wallet magically appear in your hand before you get past 1/8 of what’s there.

More on both of these when info pops into the inbox.