Assault Suit Leynos To Get PS4 Remake (Or: Target WORTH!)

Posted on March 8, 2014 by geelw

Well, alright! I’ve never heard of Japanese developer Dracue Software, but they certainly made a name for themselves at this year’s BitSummit in Japan by announcing they’re working on a remake of the classic Sega Mega Drive game Assault Suit Leynos. The game, known in the US as Target Earth, will be a PlayStation 4 exclusive (at least for now, but I hope a Vita version is in the pipeline). The only thing up media-wise other than the game site is this teaser trailer that’s all footage from the original with the reveal that the new game is PS4-bound:

Yep, it’s a buy whenever it’s done and hopefully won’t be either a download-only game that gets buried on PSN with little fanfare outside its home country or worse, play like the Assault Suits Valken “remake” for the Japanese PS2. THAT game was based on the Super Nintendo-only sequel to Leynos (called Cybernator here in the States) and the PS2 version was just a chore to play effectively thanks to cumbersome controls and pretty accurate enemy shooting. My hopes are for the best, as Leynos was and is a great game to play through multiple times. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the soundtrack stays the same as the original game or isn’t remixed and/or fiddled with too much. Eh, we’ll see… I have faith in Dracue to not screw this one up…

Dragon Age Inquisition Update: Oh, The Places You’ll Go (And Stare At For Far Too Long)…

Posted on March 7, 2014 by geelw

Lovely. While I wasn’t enamored with Dragon Age II‘s overuse of environments and SUPER truncated finale, that first game was quite spectacular through and through. The third game looks pretty mighty to behold in these trailers, but I’m hoping we see more open environments that beg to be explored like a real world spot where you want to stop and smell the virtual roses (without getting jumped by a pack of monsters or highwaymen). We’ll see soon enough, but I’m going to go out on a limb and trust BioWare has learned from keeping an ear to the ground for fan feedback by now that more is always better thing when it comes to freedom in how one plays their RPGs…

SOMA Update: Theta of the Absurd, Getting Creepier By The Second…

Posted on March 5, 2014 by geelw

Okay, my pun-like reflexes are a bit sad and lonely today, but that’s what happens when you just finish hanging a bunch of laundry and haven’t had that second cup of joe yet. Anyway, Frictional Games’ upcoming PS4 and PC exclusive, SOMA is looking quite nice in this latest clip and while the game won’t be done for a while, it’s looking like one to watch as it progresses. I still want Frictional to give the world a FIEND update, as that scary little top-down horror gem deserves a nice modern update at some point. Although, not that I think about it… I’m not sure if I’d prefer a first-person viewpoint, as you could see all those damned deadly holes you could avoid falling to your death into with the bird’s eye view. Eh, we’ll see what happens in the future when we arrive. SOMA’s the game to concentrate on for the moment…

Batman Arkham Knight Reveal Trailer: Rocksteady Is Back With A Killer Finale…

Posted on March 4, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, yeah… it’s JUST a CG trailer and not gameplay, but this year’s E3 will probably feature a bigger reveal of that which everyone wants to see. Only two things bugged me about this otherwise drool-worthy teaser. One: A voice mail message from Thomas Wayne? Hmmm… TOO convenient and somewhat corny in a way, but I’ll forgive the team if they twist that up into a villain being behind that ruse or something like that. Two: Catwoman. Where is she? I think she NEEDS her own game to play around in just to wash the residue of that gawdawful Halle Berry flick and even worse video game from about a decade ago or so. I still cringe when I think of how lousy both were (sorry, Halle!).

Anyway, I do hope we see Cats in her own game at some point, as she could be a more empowering character (and not a cara-cat-ure, ha!) than even Lara Croft is if done right. Other than that, a Batmobile we can drive in this one is fantastic and makes me thing Knight will have a more GTA-like open map to get around in, something the series has been needing since Arkham City. Given that Lego Batman 2 did the open world thing quite well (albeit in a campier manner), Rocksteady is on the right track with what’s looking like a game with even more replay value. Back with more on this biggie soon…

Strider Returns! My Hiryu Is Your Hiryu Now, Too…

Posted on February 19, 2014 by geelw

Eeek. To add to this silly and busy week, Capcom has released an reboot of Strider, the classic arcade game many of my gaming dollars went into back in the day. This new version is from developer Double Helix and looks pretty nifty and quite challenging. I’ll probably not get to this until the weekend, but I think I’m ready to have my ass handed to me a few times before I get through this one. We’ll see. It’s too bad this can’t be played on the Vita OR Wii U , but oh well (I still say why aren’t these on MORE platforms? Both the Vita and Wii U could use a fun and tricky retro platformer like this) Hmmm… I also see Dustforce also came out and I missed that launch last week (oops!). I need to check my inbox for a review code, I guess. Hey, I’ve been a bit busy here, people!

BOUND BY FLAME: Spiders’ New RPG Seems Quite Witcher-iffic. This Is A Good Thing.

Posted on February 14, 2014 by geelw

A-ha. I was wondering just what developer Spiders was up to, as they last teamed up with Cyanide Studios for Of Orcs and Men and Cyanide is now busy with the follow-up, STYX: Master of Shadows. Spiders is working on BOUND BY FLAME, an upcoming fantasy action/RPG set to hit PC, PS4 and “last” gen consoles later this year (although there seems to be no Xbox One version? Hmmmm…). Casting such a wide SKU net usually means a drop in quality somewhere unless you have a developer who knows their stuff, and I think Spiders can pull this off if they’ve learned from proper criticism of previous games. I like the visual style here (although the faces on the characters look a bit… “off”) and the gameplay and mature time seems similar enough to CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher games that the game may find an audience among those who like European-style RPGs as much as they like the games made here and elsewhere. That crafting system looks pretty fun as well and I hope it’s as flexible as noted in the trailer above.

Like Focus Home Interactive other RPGs, I’ll be keeping an eyeball on this one. I still get use out of my PS3, so I may go that route for the final just because I don’t need to connect it online in order to play stuff. We shall see, as usual…

Evolve: 2K Games and Turtle Rock Give The Multiplayer Shooter Genre A Monster Kick…

Posted on February 12, 2014 by geelw

I’ll admit to not being thrilled when I heard of Evolve because, futuristic weapons and cast of four hunters aside it’s yet another multiplayer focused shooter I can’t play because it probably doesn’t have an offline mode. But after seeing a bit of gameplay and getting that it’s a four against one game with that one playing a hunted beast that can evolve into a massive near-kaiju style beast, my interest went up a bit. Now, the ability to play as a monster isn’t a “new” thing in games at all, but developer Turtle Rock Studios is making this the core of the gameplay which requires the four players going after that monster to work together in order to take the player-controlled beastie down as quickly as possible.

Given Turtle Rock’s pioneering work on the Left 4 Dead games, it’s a no brainer that the team would take what they learned from that experience and up the ante considerably. Granted, the AI on that monster isn’t Director controlled and random, but I’m betting that creatures that the monster needs to feed on may be smart buggers who will hopefully spell trouble for the human hunters as they run and plan. I’m gathering that cutting off the food supply will keep that monster from noshing away and getting bigger, but I’ll probably need to ask that question at some point (among others) if and when I get some actual hands on time with this at a press event. Yeah, I may not play this at home, but I’ll certainly play it at a meeting and let you all know if it’s everything it’s cracked up to be. It sure looks like it shall be…

Preview: The Witcher – Geralt of Riva Rides the Dark Horse…

Posted on February 11, 2014 by geelw

I’d forgotten Dark Horse Comics was doing a book based on this book and game series, so this was a nice surprise. Paul Tobin (writer) and Joe Querio (art) are on the case here and so far, the preview is not bad at all. It’s hard to step from the realism of CD Projekt RED’s lush and lovely game world to the printed page, but that’s the power of that team’s work that makes such a huge impression on those of us who like Geralt of Riva and his rather interesting adventures. Anyway, everyone’s favorite antihero/monster hunter/ladies man/ is coming to your favorite comic emporium on March 19, 2014 – feel free to bug your retailer or just place an order online at the usual suspects (Things from Another World or Dark Horse Digital).

A few pages and the cover to Issue 2 are below the jump – enjoy!

Continue reading →

Crow Pie Chronicles (Or I’m Glad To Be Wrong About): The Lego Movie

Posted on February 7, 2014 by geelw

YUM! I said I’d eat a crow pie if I was wrong about The Lego Movie not sucking and yep, I’m a man of my word, although I had to substitute some of my not yet world famous chicken for “crow” and a few slices of whole grain bread for “pie”. Anyway, it’s good to see this one netting nice notices so now I need to see it at some point and make sure all those critics weren’t sucking in the happy gas WB pumped into those free screenings I didn’t get an invite to (boo!). Since I’ve been ignoring the film for the most part, I’m going in blind other than what I’ve seen on those TV spots popping up all over the place every few seconds. I still think it’ll be well over the heads of anyone over ten years old who won’t get all the references and in-jokes, but that’s probably me underestimating the kids of the hipsters and boomers taking them to see this.

And wait, wha-whaaaat? There’s a video game based on the film as well? I did predict this last year or earlier, but I’m actually surprised that there was one made because that’s just TOO meta at the end of the day. Anyway, you KNOW a movie is going to be worth seeing when Fox News has a shit fit about it for all the wrong reasons. They seem to believe that a movie made to get people to run out and spend money to see it (and the tie in toys AND the game that’s made for the same purpose) is somehow teaching kids to be “anti-capitalist” (wha-whaaaat?)… despite the OBVIOUS hundreds of millions this will rake in for a few big corporations. As the kids say, DERP.

Yeah, they’re quite stupid over there and I wish they’d stop it. But it’s interesting watching them hang themselves by their own rope every day they keep the blood pressure of their viewership headed through the roof over trifling nonsense. Perhaps they all need to chill for a bit and actually go see some of the stuff they bitch and moan about as bad for Amurrrrica? That would be my prescription…

Capcom’s Beautiful『deep down』 Depresses Me Because It’s Doomed To Impermanence…

Posted on February 6, 2014 by geelw

As a closet game historian and collector, every time I see Capcom’s 『deep down』, I shed a tiny tear because this amazing-looking in progress PS4 exclusive is going to be online ONLY, and lose a lot of potential sales from people like me who prefer the option to play offline and enjoy all that hard work without worrying about the usual crap ALL online games suffer from. Once interest wanes down the road or worse, sales don’t impress the shareholders (which shouldn’t determine ANYTHING, I say), those servers will slowly shut down and that game you paid good money for as a keeper becomes a bunch of beautiful and USELESS data that fades from memory.

This sort of thing is pure nonsense, I say. Game making shouldn’t consist of developers working in mist settled on a bathroom mirror or making paintings with clouds thinking they’ll still be around for all to see in the future. I’m hoping Capcom wises up and gets this one playable offline at some point (as with its incredible Dragon’s Dogma), because it’s looking so gorgeous that I want MORE people to experience it and not a select few hundred thousand or more with the proper and perfect setups. Art should have SOME permanence, specifically if it’s interactive and made to be enjoyed with others as a mandate.