Tales of Graces F Graces My Mailbox – Review Incoming…

Posted on March 2, 2012 by geelw

Well, once the embargo is lifted on 3/13, actually. There’s nothing like getting a good game to review on a rainy Friday evening, that’s for sure. I haven’t quite fired this one up just yet, as I’ve been busy with some other stuff today, but it’s absolutely on the agenda for this weekend. As with other Tales games, I expect to get pretty occupied in getting through the game once for the review, then heading back in to tackle stuff I missed out on and whatever other surprises I can find on a more exploratory play through. Alrighty, then – back in a bit with some impressions…

Sorcery: Magically Reemerging As A Much Better Game (And Yes, Still On My Radar)…

Posted on January 31, 2012 by geelw

Of all the PlayStation Move software I’ve seen since the peripheral’s introduction, Sorcery has been the main title I’ve been wanting to get my paws on. While the original demo shown was exciting, it still had a ‘tech demo’ look to it and needed a few layers of polish. It’s obvious that Sony thought so as well because the game vanished into thin air after that first showing and I hadn’t seen it at a press event until it was displayed last December. As you can see from this PlayStation Blog interview, the upcoming Action/RPG has indeed come a long way and absolutely looks like a must-buy whenever it finally hits stores (which should be sometime in “Spring 2012” the last time I checked).

NISA Online Store Reveals Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 Limited Edition

Posted on January 22, 2012 by geelw

Or: Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 Limited Edition: Gamindustri Savior Set (say THAT three times fast!) if you want the full title to take up space above your head for a few minutes before it vanishes. Anyway, as usual, NISA is pulling out all the stops to give fans a ton of cool omake goodies at a really amazing price point ($64.99!). Go pre-order yours HERE and remember, those cards offered in the Limited Edition can’t be found anywhere else!

Starhawk Comes Out The Day After My Birthday…

Posted on January 18, 2012 by geelw

Yeah, yeah, the public beta is out and plenty of fans have been playing the thing for a while at events and such, but I’m going to jump in feet first on launch day and figure stuff out on my own. Granted, I’m in it for the single player first and foremost, so there’s that. From the bits I have played and seen at Sony press events, I can tell this one’s going to be huge to the point of potentially getting a few gamers away from certain modern shooters for a bit. The team at Lightbox has really cooked up an instant classic and along with some of Sony’s other 2012 surprises, this looks to be the best year for the PS3 (and PS3 owners, of course)…

Gallery: PlayStation 3 Library

Posted on January 13, 2012 by geelw

Just like my Xbox 360 library, the amount of stuff I have here has gone up and down as I play through games and trade or sell them off. I’d say I’ve owned at least triple what’s here more or less since the console’s launch. As i noted earlier, a good deal of this generation’s titles across every platform are less appealing to me than some older games for other consoles I own. Maybe it’s too much focus on visuals over gameplay in some areas or too much DLC combined with lesser out of box experiences that seem lacking. I’m still figuring that out, as I do love seeing what different developers can do with the PS3 (or any other) hardware…

Twisted Metal Update: Back in Black On Launch Day…

Posted on December 28, 2011 by geelw

Well, well, well… looks like PS3 who snap up Twisted Metal at launch (or in a timely fashion within the launch window) will be in for a super treat. Included inside the first pressing of the game will be a PSN voucher for Twisted Metal Black, still an amazing car combat experience that holds up to this day as one of the best PS2 titles ever made. Remember the date: February 14, 2012, boys and girls. Some will be smooching their sweetie, me, I’ll be kissing my PS3 for having such a stellar year (well, ANOTHER stellar year)…

Gallery: Assorted Preview/Review Disc Library

Posted on December 24, 2011 by geelw

Yes, I’ve kept almost everything I’ve gotten to preview and review (save for stuff I’ve had to send back), so here you go, a bunch of Xbox and PS2 games (plus a paltry few PS3 and 360 ones for good measure). Some are demos or incomplete beta versions, some are complete trade demos, check discs or debug code plus some quirky stuff like that E3 2006 PSP Memory Card. Of note are some titles that were almost to completely localized and SHOULD have been released (Dinosaur Hunting, and Rent-A-Hero #1), an awesome build of Arx Fatalis (it had the infamous “chicken cheat” from the PC version that was taken out of the console game plus a weird save game with a nude barkeep) and some other fun stuff. Yup, that’s Bedlam, an unreleased Sega Saturn game in the last photo (it was a port of a PC game). I haven’t played it, as I don’t have any way to at the moment, but it does have a nice Redbook soundtrack. Despite its popularity, I’m not one for “dumping” stuff, but I’m all for legal emulation on older unsupported consoles or abandonware PC titles.

Eleven Good Reasons To Buy A PlayStation Vita (And More to Come)*…

Posted on December 14, 2011 by geelw

Nothing but game trailers here, folks. I figured why not run them all in one shot instead of padding out the blog with separate posts. Besides, I’m up too late again and need my beauty sleep before getting back into the saddle for another ride around the ol’ inbox. Anyway, enjoy the videos and go pre-order a Vita if you haven’t yet. Japanese gamers are already grabbing theirs, but apparently, it’ll be about a week before Famitsu posts the first pro reviews. I like all that I see here so far and can’t wait to see how they’ve turned out since I saw and played a few of them last.

(*Make that 12 good reasons if you add in RUIN with its wonderful cross-platform play seen in yesterday’s video)

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A Double Shot of PS Vita Trailer Love…

Posted on December 13, 2011 by geelw

Two slick trailers from Sony showing off the upcoming Vita and its many cool features. Between the games coming and the cross platform play with the PS3, it’s clear that Sony has a winner of a handheld system here. All those app-crazy types strangely betting on the Vita to fold are in for a shock, I say. Those inexpensive iOS games are way out of the quality league when compared to what’s coming and hell, some of us core gamers don’t want a damn phone in our gaming systems, period. That and I’d bet good money that Sony won’t be replacing the Vita in under a year and telling you the system you JUST bought is now obsolete.

The Last Guadian Is Indeed, The Last Team Ico Game…

Posted on December 13, 2011 by geelw

Sad news for PS3 owners, according to Eurogamer. The recent speculation about Fumento Ueda’s departure from Team Ico is indeed true. Coupled with Executive Producer Yoshifusa Hayama’s heading off to join a social gaming developer, this means PS3 owners will be seeing their final work as the last ever production from the award-winning development team (as well as any chances for a fourth game vanish into thin air like a smoke creature from Ico). Let the wild internet theories commence, but I’m going out on a limb to say it’s most likely a mixture of burnout, creative differences and the general stress of trying to make a follow up to two of the most acclaimed games of the past console generation. My review of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection is here – go buy it if you haven’t yet. It’s now a bit of a collectible and it’ll make you a bit teary-eyed fora few reasons (and a few more, if you’ve been around since the PS2 versions originally launched).

Thanks to VisoGames for the trailer link.