E3 2014: Star Wars Battlefront: DICE Is Still Working Away On A Guaranteed Winner…

Posted on June 9, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, that classic John Williams music got me as well, as did all the work in progress footage that’s way too early, but looks fantastic. Every gamer drooling over this one seems to be holding out for 60fps, but I’m not sure that’s possible with the multiplayer modes in this one. I’ll take a rock-solid 30 with no pop-in or other annoyances, the best visuals the developer can bring to the table, a solo offline mode and whatever multiplayer madness they can add to the mix, thank you much. Of course, I’m a patient guy, so that nebulous Spring 2015 teased at the end can creep up on me and I won’t bat an eyelash. I suppose I could just get myself frozen in carbonite until then, but then someone would forget to thaw me out and I’d miss more than this game when it finally ships…

Rollers of the Realm Update: Atlus Snaps Up This Pinball Winner!

Posted on June 7, 2014 by geelw

I was wondering what happened to Phantom Compass’ REALLY awesome RPG/pinball hybrid since I last played and wrote about my experience with a pre-beta build, but thanks to publisher Atlus, that mystery is solved. Rollers of the Realm is coming this holiday season not only to PC, but PlayStation 4 and Vita, making it FLY to the top of my want list of must-play titles.

More on this one after the show. I predict it’ll be quite the sleeper hit…

Oddworld New ‘n’ Tasty E3 2014 Trailer: Escaping The Food Chain, Now Greatly Enhanced!

Posted on June 5, 2014 by geelw

Sure, New ‘n’ Tasty is a remake, but it’s definitely not looking exactly the same as the older version of Abe’s Oddysee. Oddworld Inhabitants and developer Just Add Water (JAW) have put a lot of work into this game and as you can see in the trailer, it looks spectacular. Granted, players who’ve played the original to death may think this one isn’t worth their time, but I’d disagree completely. Oddworld: Strangers Wrath was excellent on the original Xbox, but even better on the PS3 and Vita as a very enhanced remake, so I’m expecting New ‘n’ Tasty to be equally or even more of a pleasant surprise when all is said and done. We’ll see soon enough, of course. The Vita version is calling out to me because mine needs more games that will make me happier I bought the handheld and get so much use from it…

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: CD Projekt RED Sets The Gold Standard For Standard Editions (And Then Some)

Posted on June 5, 2014 by geelw

If I haven’t said this before (and I think I have), I absolutely LOVE CD Projekt RED. Their previous two games in The Witcher series were lovingly crafted mature experiences that brought Andrzej Sapkowski’s anti-hero Geralt of Rivia to the PC and later console gaming masses (many of whom who probably didn’t read any of the books the character comes from until after they played the first game) and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looks to get even more gamers drawn into what’s looking like one of the best experiences on those shiny new consoles. Of course, PC gamers who rock those rent money priced gaming rigs will be getting the best experience in terms of visuals, but there’s no doubt that the developer is making both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game look spectacular on those systems… Continue reading →

Batman Arkham Knight Batmobile Battle Mode Revealed (Along With A Little Delay!)

Posted on June 3, 2014 by geelw

If you thought you were going to get your hands on Batman Arkham Knight in 2014, well… unless you’re attending E3, a post E3 media event or the game pops up at some fan packed convention, that’s a NOPE, there folks. The game has been pushed into 2015 most likely so developer Rocksteady can get it running as perfectly as possible without the need for (too) many post-launch patches. I’d imagine this Battle Mode may be multiplayer, so that’s always something that needs to be as perfect as possible in terms of zero lag and everything working as it needs to. Me, I only care about the story mode, so anything resembling online play (if that’s what this is) interest me not a whit. Anyway, we’ll see what’s what during E3 week…

Back with more in a bit…

Homefront: The Revolution Trailer: Crytek Finishes The Fight (Maybe)…

Posted on June 2, 2014 by geelw

Warts and all, I rather liked defunct publisher THQ’s Homefront for what it was. original (and also defunct) developer KAOS Studios cooked up an interesting alternate future where some very well-armed North Korea soldiers managed to overrun America and you played as one of a group of resistance fighters trying to drive them away. It was a LOT more serious than either Red Dawn movie, but the campaign was a wee bit on the brief side thanks in part to multiplayer modes I felt took too much away from the story.

Anyway, now that new publisher Deep Silver and seasoned developer Crytek are on the case, Homefront: The Revolution is coming in 2015 to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and I guess we’ll see how the gameplay reveal is at E3 this year, as this trailer looks okay but a bit generic in its storytelling. I do believe those may be in-engine visuals, as if there’s anything Crytek is well-known and respected for, it’s making some mighty amazing looking games using their proprietary tech.

I guess we’ll see how well this plays soon enough and whether it separates itself from other shooters in such a supremely packed market full of them. My fingers are crossed for the moment…

CD Projekt RED Has Got Some Summery Surprises In Store Soon…

Posted on May 31, 2014 by geelw

Well, well… it looks as if a few more developers and publishers are stepping outside the usual confines of E3 to show what’s cooking to fans directly as opposed to having news filtered through assorted outlets. CD Projekt Red is joining the club with this upcoming June 5, 2015 conference that will no doubt be a showpiece for the PC and console versions of its eagerly awaited RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. As you can see from this teaser below, I must be psychic or overstating the obvious (or both):

I also just NOW realize from watching that video that I’ve been pronouncing gog.com incorrectly for YEARS. Oops. Oh well, I bet a lot of others have been too, so I don’t feel bad at all. I do wonder how massive that Collector’s Edition will be for TW3, as the one for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Extended Edition was pretty hefty from what I recall. Well, we’ll see in a few days, right?

The Order: 1886 Update: The Narration & Revolution Will Be Televised…

Posted on May 30, 2014 by geelw

Hey, look! An new behind the scenes video on Ready At Dawn’s PS4 exclusive, The Order: 1886. If I were a total idiot, I’d say this video arrived so quickly because someone at SCEA read my last post on the game and decided to help me out in covering this game, recently pushed forward into 2015. But I’m not that silly and know Sony is only getting more information out on this because they’ll have even more when E3 rolls around as well as a ton of other news and such on many other first and third party releases. I’ve been doing this long enough not to be so gullible – now, I just need to PLAY the game at some point at an actual media preview…

Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare Popping Up On PS3 & PS4 In August

Posted on May 29, 2014 by geelw

Ah, so the trickle-down effect IS fruitful after all! Well, it’s more like a sideways-creeping vine effect as PopCap’s Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare finally makes its way to the PS3 and PS4 as an August 19, 2014 release. The game will also be playable on the Vita via Remote Play, although currently, there’s no direct Vita version you can stroll into a shop and buy or download from PSN.

I’ve not yet played this thanks to my pair of dead Xbox 360’s and my not having committed to buying an Xbox One (yet), but now I have no excuse not to play this one and perhaps drag a few friends along for the ride. I like that it’s not a straight port and Sony fans are getting some exclusive content for pre-ordering as well as in the actual game. Granted, it would be cooler if everyone got the same goodies in that came case or download no matter when they buy the game. But that’s something I’ll grouse about in a future feature. I’m just soaking in the happy rays of this news and can’t wait to give this one a go.

Company line press release below the jump for those of you who feel the need for (more) read… Continue reading →

The Order: 1886 Won’t Be Ready At Dawn (Or By Night-Fall), But That’s Just Fine With Me…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

Sooooo, one of Sony big first party PlayStation 4 exclusives is now dropping into 2015 and some of those who care about such things are lamenting about the delay to no end. I say “So what? (again)”, as this means more polish and a better, less buggy game experience. The deal with new consoles is always that it takes time for developers to get used to the hardware, particularly when doing things that the old console couldn’t do as well. So developer Ready At Dawn is just allowing the team some extra breathing room, which is a great thing. It also gives slow dopes like yours truly to find out more about the game. I’ll admit to that title not making my eyes and ears perk up because it sounded like it would be some sort of odd historical simulation game, a genre I’ve avoided for a number of years because I have neither the time nor patience for something that deep. Anyway, I guess I can and should keep my fingers crossed that SCEA’s invisible PR team remembers who I am after all this time and actually invites me to see this game when it’s shown in NYC at some point.