Realms, Swords & Magic: “Tell Me A Story”? How About You Play One Yourself, Kid?

Screenshot01While I still despise facebook with a passion (yeah, yeah, I have an account there, but it’s more for work purposes that anything else), sometimes something unsolicited pops up on my page that’s actually worth a second look. Benoît Prézeau and the game he’s working on, Realms, Swords & Magic both got my attention because the man is either really talented or a mad genius or both. He’s making a text-driven role-playing game that plays out like a choose your own adventure book, but with what’s looking like a great deal more depth. All of this is still VERY early, but the opening text from the game’s web site got my brain percolating:

Realms, Swords & Magic is a text and illustrations based CRPG for Windows with a story spanning an entire lifetime and gameplay more focused on character interactions, than combat.

Yeah, that sounds pretty cool, folks. Go poke around Prézeau’s site and see what he’s up to, won’t you? He’s planning to do some sort of crowdfunding, and I say he SHOULD be supported, as a good story is better than some damn potato salad any day of the week, grrrr!

Monster World RPG Update: Not QUITE Ready, But You Get An Ending, Anyway!

 

And I say HAH! To Max Team for “spoiling” their game for all of you. Well, not really. There’s a good ending in here as well, but I’m not going to spoil that for you at all. Actually, I got a note from the guys (or was it ONE of them? Hmmm. How come you NEVER see Fernando OR Massimo at the SAME time in the same place? Hmmmm?) saying that the game is still being bug tested, but should be done at some point. Hey, it’s a FREE download, so I say take your time, boys. Take your time. If it’s as good as it looks, I don’t mind the wait one bit.

Gamescom 2014: The Witcher 3 Leaves Yet Another Winning Impression…

 

Well, this almost 16 minutes of gameplay footage is sure going to be helping sell The Witcher 3 to PC, PS4 and Xbox One owners (or make one buy a new console or upgrade a PC to run this gorgeous open world RPG… but, wait… what’s this? The Xbox One collector’s edition is getting (noooo!) extra stuff NOT in the other editions? Ruh-roh. Hmmmm… well, it’s just physical versions of the “Gwent” card decks so you can play that game (which is in ALL versions of the game) outside of the game space with like-minded friends and a cloth map of the game world.

 

Hmmm… I should be upset at this, but I know the internet fanboys will take care of that for me. It doesn’t affect the main game at all, so it’s not that big a deal. However, I can see some of the people cheering CDPR for stating that every version of the game would get the same content taking that a wee bit too literally and asking for Gwent decks for every version of the game. Of course, the company can just sell those decks separately at some point (and should if Gwent becomes popular enough to warrant making a lot more real decks).

 

Edit: I see that the whiners are in full rage on YouTube and a few message boards already! The developer did promise that TWC’s content on the game disc or via download would be the same, but it seems that didn’t extend to physical goodies at all, which as noted above, I really don’t have an issue with at all. I’m gathering they’ll stick to their guns despite the cranky types online saying they’ll cancel their pre-orders and I hope they do, but also reiterate that the ACTUAL game EVERY person is buying will be 100% the same across all platforms. Those cards and that map seem to be a bonus wrangled out by Microsoft, which seems to be looking to buy gamer love these days by getting them things they pay a lot for…

WHAT Summer Drought? This Week’s LOADED With RPG Madness!

 

Yikes. Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed is out (PS3 and PS Vita! BUY IT!), as is Disgaea 4: A Promised Revisited (PS Vita, BUY IT). Next week (all arriving on the 19th!), it’s Tales of Xillia 2 (PS3, BUY IT!), Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment (PS Vita, BUY IT!) and the summer/fall/winter/forever eating madness that is Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition (PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One, BUY IT!).

 

Finally, the close of the month (well, August 26) brings in DLC for Dark Souls II in the form of the Crown of the Old Iron King content (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, BUY IT!) and Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (PS Vita – the jury is out, but it does look cute!). If you like your RPGs a bit more (well, a LOT more) European, Risen 3: Titan Lords (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) and Sacred 3 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) are out NOW, and while the reviews aren’t “stellar” for either game, I’m gathering both will find their niche among more open-minded RPG fans.

 

Well, now that your wallet is gasping for air and you’re curled up in a fetal position wishing you had more time to PLAY all those games, I’ll consider my work here done as I bid you adieu (for now)…

WIN FREE STUFF! Want An Orbital Gear Steam Code? Act FAST!

 

ORBITAL GEARSooooo… I happen to have three download codes for Orbital Gear, a new fast-paced multiplayer only arcade run ‘n gun game by indie developer Night Node Software that’s available via Steam. All you need to to to get ONE code is leave a reply below. I’ll know who you are and where to send it because I have spies everywhere! Anyway, get to it, as once these are gone, they’re gone for good. One code per person, of course. Sure you can ring up a friend you want to play with and have him or her reply as well. I can always use the additional traffic!

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What, you’re still ogling screenshots? Go hit me up for a code, already!

Dead Island 2 “Sunshine & Slaughter” Trailer: Not For The Squeamish (Unless Gore Makes You Giddy)…

Hey, I did warn you up there in the title, right. Last chance to hold out for a less violent post in 3… 2… (oops):

I kind of slipped and fell in a pool of blood (not my own, thankfully), but didn’t crack my own skull open because I fell on top of a freshly decapitated zombie. Ewww. Um… anyone know how to get some rather stinky blood and brains out of a pair of jeans and a T-shirt? Well, the shirt IS black, so I guess I can get away with tossing it in the laundry pile. As for the jeans? Well, they USED to be jet black many years ago, but have faded to a comfortable black/grey blend. I guess a new dye job is in the works for them once I put them through the wash with that T, huh? Anyway, Dead Island 2 is going to be a “lock up the kids!” game for sure, so you can get a head start on that NOW by finding a nice closet space for the little ones (make sure to measure them and add a few inches, as they’ll most likely grow a bit before the game is released).

Oddly enough, now I’m a bit hungry and even more interesting is I’m having gnocchi with a nice red wine/meat sauce for dinner. What can I say? I made that sauce last night and had no idea I’d be reminded of it while watching a bunch of undead get mutilated in a game trailer. Two more hours ’til dinner… shut up, stomach with that growling!

An Eclectic (& Inexpensive For A Day) Mix In This Week’s IndieGala Every Monday Bundle…

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A paltry $1.89 for this week’s set of Steam code delivered indies is a great deal especially when you take into consideration the assortment you’re getting. A bit of space strategy and combat, some retro action games and a funky little game about some poor guy waiting for his late date to arrive as he contemplates life and such:

I’d like to think that Dinner Date is worth that under two clams alone, but I know some you will disagree on that front. I guess it’s a good thing there are six other games in this deal, huh? To wit: Famaze! (it sure looks like fun!):

Anyway, you know what to do – your backlog needs to be bigger than mine so I can feel better about not getting to EVERY game I’d like to this year. Boo, but that’s how it goes in this digital age. Out of sight is NEVER out of mind. Just out of hard drive space (ha and ha)…

Project CARS Hands-On: Simple Sample Reveals Miles Of Depth…

ProjectCARS_PC_USA_f ProjectCARS_PS4_USA_f ProjectCARS_XONE_USA_fSure, it was a single course (Brands Hatch) and car to drive on that course, but the Project CARS demo running at Bandai Namco’s recent NYC event floored me on a few fronts.

ka01This super-popular initially thought headed for high-end PC-only racer is coming to next-gen consoles in November and (surprise!) is actually set for a Wii U appearance sometime in 2015. More on that later, as overhearing that news from Marketing Director Brian Hong hit me like a ton of bricks as someone was filming me play the demo for their website and I probably skidded off the track and hit something from the shock of that news… Continue reading

STYX: Master of Shadows Summer Trailer: Sneaking Up Soon, Wanting To Steal Your Wallet…

Styx and StonesCyanide Studios’ upcoming stealth/action game, STYX: Master of Shadows is looking pretty slick and I’d bet that one doesn’t need to have played the developer’s previous game Of Orcs & Men in order to hop into Styx’s boots and feel right at home. It’s too bad this one’s only for “next-gen” consoles and PC, as I know more people would have the chance to play it if it were kicking it “old school” on the PS3 and Xbox 360. But hey, that’s one way to get people to finally make the move, I suppose.

In any event, this certainly looks like Cyanide’s best work to date and I hope even the most jaded gamer out there gives this one some respect, as it’s too easy to fall into the “I never heard of it before, so it must be crap” trap I see scribbled about games all over the internet. Yuck. Styx needs to get stabby-stabby on those folks, I say. We’ll see what happens in November when the little guy sneaks into store shelves or a download queue near you…

Shadowgate Hands-On: You’ll Be Dying To Play This Game Soon Enough…

SG_towerI had to stop playing Shadowgate after about the first ten minutes because my face was hurting. No, I didn’t get blasted by a real fireball coming from my monitor or anything like that. It’s because I was grinning so much that I think I was exercising more muscles than I’ve used in a while. Anyway, it was obvious from that short stretch of time and later on after about another hour of play that developer Zojoi Games has nailed the game they created back in 1987 as a perfect reboot on a few fronts.

The game manages to retain the same gameplay as the original while adding plenty of new content in an absolutely beautiful (yet suitably grim where required) art style as well as a grand, redone score by Rich Douglas that’s as stirring as the visuals… Continue reading