System Shock 2. Magicka. S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky. Deponia. To the Moon. Mount & Blade: With Fire And Sword. Prime World: Defenders. Tropico 4. In case you missed out on these past to current PC game classics, Bundle Stars is bringing you the chance to grab eight great games for a mere $1.99 in the All Stars Bundle. This is one of those those no-brainer bundle deals that would make a perfect gift for someone getting started in PC gaming as each game has something different to offer. It’s also a great way for gamers who’ve yet to try some of these gems get to do so without busting their wallets.
Once again, the folks at Bundle Stars do it up right and as usual, your wallet will thank you for not emptying it while your backlog will growl at you for adding more stuff to it that requires a working time machine in order to fully enjoy. Hey, perfection is overrated these days, I say. Go get some games, support charity and never have the old excuse “I have nothing to do with my free time!” ever again.
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure hits Steam next week (March 30) and publisher Mastiff is dropping all sorts of cool arty freebies for Nihon Falcom fans interested in doing a bit of digital wallpapering on their assorted devices. Click on over to this site for some PC-friendly free stuff and this site for some mobile-friendly freebies. As for the game proper, here’s what to expect next week:
Non-linear game play in over 30 stages set in a variety of environments
24 non-player characters, 48 unique enemies, and more than 90 items to collect
11 costumes to unlock, and 15 equippable headgear to level up
Challenging boss battles, puzzles, and traps
Mini-games galore
Hidden characters, alternate gameplay modes, and other secrets
Beautifully updated graphics with full HD support
Soundtrack available on iTunes
Over 50 in-game achievements to unlock
Um, I think that’s it. Well, until next week when the game lands and Falcom fans worldwide get to check it out. We’re a small and loyal bunch of folks, but we do support our favorite developers when they get out the games we want to play.
Happy Anniversary IndieGala! One year of Every Monday Bundle sales and the hits keep on coming. This week’s deal is a nice set of eight indie anime/manga-inspired games for you lovers of that art style. Pay a measly $1.89 within the next 24 hours and get a gorgeous mix that includes the awesome Freedom Planet, which you NEED to check out if you’re into retro-style platformers:
Yes, it’s a MUST buy and as part of today’s bundle, it’s a no-brainer purchase, I say. Oh and I guess this is some sort of anniversary for me as well, as this is my 5200th post. Yikes. Well, that’s not a lot of posts to me, as I need to do more just to keep up with what’s in my assorted inboxes. Where’s my helper money and fast typing robot coffeemaker when I need them? It’s supposed to be the FUTURE, right? Grrrrr!
“Why so seriously delayed (again!)?” Actually, at this point the game looks so phenomenal that it’ll get snapped up even if it slips into the holiday season. I’m gathering this latest wait is due to the developer making sure the game will run as smoothly as possible out of the gate without the dreaded day one patching issues many games slap players in the face with. I’m wondering just how much better things would be if this was a completely single-player game with no online play, but such is the modern videogame development cycle that allows for DLC, season passes and other stuff that needs to work right out of the box or it’s unhappy campers complaining all over the internet. Well okay, it’s not THAT much longer a wait, but I can see a few Bat-fans leaping around and huffing and puffing in their hockey pads.
It’s been a long and hard week for some of you, I know, I know. What you need is something calming and stress relieving to do that’s not too taxing, so why not try a few games out bound to get you calmer? Bundle Stars just happens to want to chill you out a bit with The Zen Bundle, a collection of ten great games for a mere $2.49. Yes, twenty-five cents per game experience! The cool thing is what’s here ranges from short and thought-provoking to quirky and compelling. There’s fun to be had here in all these games, even the oddball “bullet hell” of Danmaku Unlimited 2. I have some of these games already, but I’d get this for Mountain:
and probably give another copy of the slyly sexy Luxuria Superbia as a random gift to someone who needs a game to play with that special person in their life. Hey, I’m good like that when it comes to digital delivery surprises:
As usual, you get a bunch of cool indie games for your backlog, some of your money goes to charity and everyone’s happy! Sure, it’s spring and you can run around in the melting snow all day, but if you’re not quite ready to have hungry squirrels jumping on your head in the park while you run in circles screaming, why not stay in for a bit and RELAX?
Six days to go and I wish I had about a half million bucks to throw at this Kickstarter project just so it could get onto the Wii U as a stretch goal. Still, with just about $70,000 left to go before it’s fully funded as a PC, Mac and Linux game, it’s worth helping get ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove made if you remember the original Sega Genesis/Mega Drive game and its somewhat under appreciated sequel, Panic on Funkotron. Here’s a peek at an early version of Back in the Groove from the game’s KIckstarter page:
In terms of the art style of the new game, I like it quite a lot, but the more colorful and distinct look Panic on Funkotron had made such a strong impression on me that I’m slightly sad to see it not make a complete comeback. That said, those “stacked” levels are awesome to see in that early footage. Also great is the return to the roguelike play of the original that featured randomized levels, enemies and presents. Couch co-op is back, but with four players instead of two and online play is on board for those friendless types who need to reach out and touch someone. Just kidding on that last sentence, but TJ & E was (and is, as I still have my Genesis copy that gets whipped out from time to time) a game that worked best with a buddy next to you on the couch to work with. Or elbow in the ribs at when they weren’t doing what they needed to do.
Anyway, if you like what you see, do what you need to do and tell some friends about this one. They need some old-school retro rap roguelike love in their lives too you know…
This week’s Humble Weekly Bundle is a sneaky one for sure, but it’s worth every penny. Six roguelikes for eight bucks is a STEAL, even in this game of gamers devaluing hard work to the point where a buck or two for some games is deemed “too much!” by some cheapskates. Those folks are entitled to their opinions, but not to making developers choose between eating and churning out more games they can only sell for pennies because some think it’s fine to not pay for all that hard work.
Anyway, humorous “rant” over, but there’s some truth in it. These bundles do well because many pay MORE than the suggested amount because they kn ow the deal and they also like helping out the assorted charities who team up with these bundle sites. If you’re suddenly feeling a little guilty about those games you got for about seventeen pennies each, that’s not my fault. I don’t believe in “guilt” at all these days. Just playing fair when you can do so and supporting the arts in any form they come in. Not get crackin’ on that paying what stuff is actually worth part. I won’t judge you either way, but I sure as hell bet YOU feel a lot better about it.
If you have at least $2.49 burning a hole in your pocket right now and need something fun to do with your PC or laptop, well… yup, it’s that time again. The IndieGala Every Monday Bundle is calling you. Can you hear it? Good. This week’s selection is mostly role-playing games from mostly western indie developers. Some are Japanese inspired old school goodness, some are western style old-school goodness. You’ll figure it all out soon enough because you’re good like that. Or, you just learned it all from me and aren’t as thankful as you need to be.
Whatever. As long as you’re playing more games and enjoying them, it’s all good.
Even though I don’t play online games these days, Firefly Online has had me intrigued every since I heard there was an official game underway. Oddly enough, no one from any PR firm contacted me about covering it, so I assumed that was some sort of warning sign or worse, someone not wanting to do the hard work of getting the word out on something they thought was going to be too niche for its own good. Well, I was wrong on both counts as I found out when I bit the bullet and signed up for Firefly Online Cortex, the companion pre-game app currently available on Steam, Google Play and the App Store.
There’s not much to do in Cortex other than collect digital trading cards and points playing mini-games on a map of The Verse or reading news updates. That said, the cards are cool, there’s a second series coming soon and you can also score some even better bonuses by ponying up five bucks to attain Big Damn Hero status. This status will get some some great perks for the main game when it launches this spring on Windows, Mac OS, iOS and Android OS. What kind of perks? Well, exclusive gear for your crew mates, access to items non-BDH players won’t have and some other neat stuff. Hey, they got my five clams without hesitation. I’m not here to babble about anything you can read in the FAQ here other than to add I like where this is all going and if you ever were a Firefly fan at some point in the past, you may want to think about signing up yourself.
What I like about the game based on the descriptions and video above it that it’s NOT at all forced social interactivity. You can play along with your virtual crew as you rise up in the ranks, taking your customized ship into charted and uncharted territories for fun and profit. The game is in fact, a single-player experience that just so happens to have some social elements added in like the ability to create and share quests with others. As it’s also powered by Unity, this means there’s a slim chance it may end up on other platforms (as in consoles) if it does well enough on the initial platforms it launches on (and there’s enough demand for a port in every port, of course).
Right now, my own personal choice will be what to play this on when it does ship. I’ve been eyeballing a few inexpensive tablets recently (primarily for gaming purposes) as well as dinking around on devices owned by a few friends while I decide to make up my mind. I suppose I could just run the game on the laptop just fine. However, I want to keep it freed up to write and have something else dedicated entirely to FFO. So, it may be a mobile platform after all that’s bigger than a phone and smaller than a breadbox. We shall see, but whatever I choose, Firefly Online will be played. At my own pace, of course.
While this latest delay may seem like “bad” news, developer Slightly Mad Studios is letting gamers know that the game is pretty much done (99.9% is certainly “pretty much done” to me!) and just needs that extra QA love so it ships across all platforms ready to run out of the gate:
“Despite our long heritage and pedigree in making critically-acclaimed racing games, Project CARS is by far the grandest and most intricately detailed of them all. Despite therefore the game being 99.9% complete, the remaining 0.1% attending to small issues and bugs has been tricky to anticipate. We’re absolutely dedicated to delivering a ground-breaking experience and by targeting mid-May fans can be assured that’s what they’ll receive” said Ian Bell, Head of Studio at Slightly Mad Studios. “Again, we want to thank our fans for their support and patience on this matter. There’s a high expectancy from racing fans around the world that Project CARS is going to be an exciting new contender in the simulation racing space and we firmly believe gamers deserve it to be in its most complete and polished state when they come to play it on day one. And since the gaming community is our primary focus and has always been at the heart of the project during development, we would like to offer some free content to all players as compensation for this short delay and as acknowledgement of how grateful we are. This gift, that we’re sure is going to excite fans, will be available from day one and revealed shortly. Keep an eye on our website for more info.”
To me, this reads “We want the console versions to ship out with hopefully zero need for day one patching, particularly the Wii U version.”, which is a good thing at the end of the day. Given the release of certain other high profile racers plagued with bugs (notably Sony’s DriveClub and UbiSoft’s The Crew), seeing Slightly Mad take the extra time to add that bit of extra polish their game up is a good thing. I’m holding out the Wii U version will get some love and respect, as Nintendo just can’t seem to get a break when it comes to good marquee racers that aren’t Mario Kart 8. Yeah, yeah, it’s lightning fast, looks phenomenal and most of all is FUN to play. But at my age, I tend to like my racers a bit more grounded in reality.
Okay, back to holding my breath for a bit longer, which is tough to to with a sore throat, mind you…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 