Bundle Stars’ Latest Deal Is The Conquest Of Your Free Time!

Posted on April 22, 2014 by geelw

Conquest Bundle Banner
Holy cats. AGAIN. A dozen Steam digital games in a bunch of genres for a mere five bucks with part of the proceeds going to charity? Crazy! My own backlog and need to clear out some hard drive space means I’m eyeballing a few games in my backlog and considering deleting them temporarily just to snap up this set of titles. Granted, I’m not a big RTS fan, so those historical sims may not be touched unless I have a LOT of free time and want to do some supplemental reading. On the other hand, most everything else here floats my boat to some extent and saving $110 is always a good thing. Hmmm… time for a coin flip (again!)…

Anyway, if your own eyeballs have grown to saucer size when you clicked on that link above you know what to do, right? Also check out the other bundles on the site PLUS those awesome store deals for up to 80% off a really nice bunch of games in a few genres. I may have a nice surprise for two lucky readers later this week, so stick around for an update…

Dragon Age: Inquisition Gameplay Trailer: October Will Be A Nice Month To Take Off, I’d Say…

Posted on April 22, 2014 by geelw

Well, now. BioWare and EA want you to know that you probably should take October off. Well, not ALL of October nor ALL of you reading this post, mind you. However, if you own a decent gaming PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 Xbox 360 or Xbox One and happen to also be a fan of epic-length role-playing games… yeah, start making plans, people. Dragon Age Inquisition rolls out in North America on October 7 and in Europe on October 10, meaning you have a week during the beginning of the month to get your things in order and prepare yourself for whatever script you’re going to run on your boss to get out of that job for as long as possible (while still collecting a paycheck, of course). Or you could just move whatever vacation time to October in order to spend that time (and a lot less money) buried in all that wonderful hard work on your system of choice.

Naturally, there will be standard and collector’s editions of this one and of course, the inescapable pre-order bonuses and DLC that add to the experience (and help beef up the games sales figures early on for some guaranteed big numbers). I still prefer walking into a game shop to buy physical product, so I wish there were a way to get that DLC, as I happen to have a crappy online connection and other than the Wii U (which has a screen on its GamePad), no home console is built to lug around to a wi-fi hotspot to get games, game content and updates, which is too bad. Of course, this game isn’t appearing on Nintendo’s beleaguered console at all, which is also too bad. Anyway, if this gameplay trailer is any indication, DA:I will be a pretty spectacular experience (to put it mildly!)…

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II Update: New Screens, Beta Gets a Big Boost!

Posted on April 18, 2014 by geelw

Nice. Neocore Games has released four new screens from The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II and added some new areas to the closed beta (which is automatically updating via Steam as I type). Excellent.

I was wondering what that other game was Steam was adding content to as I knew The Wolf Among Us was going to drop in Chapter Three as soon as I logged on. Of course, by the time I got to the email from Neocore announcing the beta update, it was about 70% done and I realized that’s what was up. Yeah, I think sideways from time to time, what of it? Anyway, May 22, 2014 is the new release date for VHII. Remember, you can pre-order the game directly from the developer or through Steam. I’ll have an updated hands-on shortly (most likely after the weekend)…

Gallery: STYX: Master of Shadows Is Looking Sneaky And Pretty…

Posted on April 17, 2014 by geelw

Cyanide Studio’s upcoming stealth action/RPG is looking mighty fine indeed in these eight screens just posted by publisher Focus Home Interactive. That old Unreal tech still has it going on in the right hands, so let’s hope this one’s also console bound at some point as well as a better stealth game than a recent one that didn’t perform so well (I can’t mention the name because Garrett will try to sneak into my home, club me with his head-knocker and steal my treasure chest of gold coins that are actually foil-wrapped chocolates in a cardboard box. Of course, if anyone touches my chocolate, they’re dead meat on or off a stick, so we’ll see what happens to that Thief, grrrrr!. Um, anyway… Styx: Master of Shadows is still in development, so keep poking back here for updates as to when and where it will be done and released.

Bundle Stars’ Toxic Bundle Will Eat Away At Your Free Time For A Mere Five Bucks…

Posted on April 17, 2014 by geelw

Well, now. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is worth the five bucks alone, but this ten-game Steam bundle is packed with a bunch of other great titles to keep you glued to that mouse and keyboard for ages. Classics are part of the deal (The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour, Desperados 2 and Shadowman) as are some newer to not so newer indie titles (Xotic, Darkout, Runespell Overture, Tribloos 2 and Heroes of Annihilated Empires). Even better, if you happen to be a fan of all things S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Bundle Stars has the two other games in the series for a mere five bucks each, so you can pick up digital versions of Shadow of Chernobyl and Call of Pripyat for only five bucks each. Grab those two and that bundle for 15 dollars and even if you ONLY go on a massive S.T.A.L.K.E.R. binge, you’ll still be making out really well. I say give the rest of those game a shot at some point, as there are some true gems here from days gone by. This deal only lasts 20 days, so grab it while you can!

New IndieGala Sale Won’t Be Your Wallet’s Last Dream – 12 Games For Under 4 Bucks!

Posted on April 14, 2014 by geelw

This new IndieGala sale is so tough to pass up, I bet some of you punched yourselves in the head when you tried to leave the page once you clicked on it. A a dozen games for $3.89 if you buy NOW (the price jumps to $5.19 tomorrow). Well, ten games now and two to be announced soon. It’s always something to see one’s Steam account bursting at the virtual seams when these bundles pop up and this one is pretty darn eclectic, that’s for sure. Retro indies, classic scary point and click adventuring, early access stuff and more, more more! As usual, I have some of these already (well, two), but my fingers are itching to click away and buy this one just for a few titles I’d like to take for a spin. Hmm… time for a coin flip, it seems…

The rest of you, you know what to do, right?

Tech Review: Color Cables

Posted on April 12, 2014 by geelw

Welcome to the easiest review I’ve ever done: Color Cables are AWESOME (The End!). Okay, there’s a bit more to write about, but the direct and simple nature of this cool, colorful luminous charge and sync cable makes this one a no-brainer replacement for any OEM charge cables thanks to a few fine features. Available in seven colors with 30-Pin, Lightning and Micro USB options with two length choices (3 or 6 feet, $15 and $20 respectively), Your iOS, Android or Windows phone or device gets a superior cable that’s well worth the price point.

As the cables are flat and extremely well made, they don’t tangle up while in your bag of choice and solid connections on both ends mean you’re not likely to see any splitting or fraying form general wear. The cool factor comes from the distinctive luminosity on display and yes, it’s pretty nifty to let your cable sit in the sun or under a light for a bit during the day and have them giving of that soft glow in the evening or night. If you grew up with stars on your walls and ceiling or had some toys that gave off that familiar greenish color, you’ll get a grin going every time you use your cable.

Sure, there are similar colored cables out there for less that don’t have that funky glow thing going for them, but the smarter of you out there know you get what you pay for and often “cheap” refers to both price and quality. Color Cables are a nicer (and still affordable) solution that take care of a few problems as well as making for a great gift for that phone or device user you know who wants something to stand out from the crowd when they need a recharge at home or away.

– Greg Wilcox

How Come No One Told Me There’s a Gauntlet Remake On The Way?

Posted on April 11, 2014 by geelw

Well, thanks to whomever is handling PR for WB Games these days, grrr! Anyway, the fine folks at Arrowhead Game Studios (makers of the fun Magika games) are busy bee-ing it as they whip up this digital only (and so far, PC only, boo) solo, co-op and online Gauntlet reboot that actually looks as if it will a as fun as the 1985 arcade classic. Sure, this update gets a bit squishy with the blood effects, but that classic top-down viewpoint, simple but challenging gameplay and loads of loot to grab are all intact and that’s a good thing. This one’s coming this summer via Steam (I’d bet it’s one of their big summer game releases) and I hope it does well so Arrowhead can get to porting it to consoles, as there’s no reason this shouldn’t be on anything that can run it. In other words, I’d LOVE to see a Vita and Wii U version at some point down the road…

Load up on Atari & Kalypso PC Games On gog.com The Weekend!

Posted on April 11, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, N0irceuil!)

Yeah, yeah, I know spring has sprung and all that good stuff, but somewhere in the world, it’s going to be a rainy mess of a weekend or there will be some other weather event that forces you to hang around at home or some other spot with nothing thrilling to do. To that I say 60% off is quite a deal for these classics, so whether you’ve played them ages ago or are just getting around to discovering how spectacular Master of Magic, Powerslide, or Independence War (and a bunch of the other titles on that list) are, you’re sure to find a great deal for you or someone else.

Transistor: Supergiant’s New Game Popping Up at PAX East, May 20 On PC, PS4

Posted on April 10, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I’m not going to Pax East this year (I think Boston has banned me showing my face there since I my days as an usher in Cirque du Soleil during the Saltimbanco tour), but if I were there, the first booth I’d jet over to would be Supergiant Games just to see Transistor, which will be playable on the show floor before making it’s official debut on PC’s and PlayStation 4’s worldwide on May 20, 2014.

Yeah, yeah, other than a post or two last year I really haven’t been covering this one in detail like some other sites, but that’s thanks to SO darn many games (indie and otherwise) I’ve been following that I’m only paying the most attention to those a lot less polished than this one. It may sound backwards, but I trust Greg Kasavin and his team to deliver the goods, so they really don’t need me to hover around as they cook up a storm. Anyway, three new screenshots are below, so make sure you check them out and if you want to know more about the game, well… you know where to go, right?