Late Night Game Week, Day 3: Jimmy (Almost) Survives Watch_Dogs And Aisha Tyler

Posted on June 20, 2013 by geelw

The problem with five minutes of one game (or two and a half minutes give or take of two games) is it’s IMPOSSIBLE to grasp what the hell some games are about. That said, in the case of Ubisoft’s stellar-looking upcoming action/adventure game Watch_Dogs, five minutes on a crazy and funny talk/variety show with a giddy host is excellent yet somewhat less than perfect for a game so huge. Don’t get me wrong, kids – I’d invite Jimmy Fallon over to the home office and show off some wacky games he’s most likely never heard of at the drop of a hat, BOOM, I’m there… er, he’s here (oh, you know what I mean). Thankfully, Aisha Tyler (also a HUGE gamer and comic as well as Ubisoft’s go-to celebrity as she also happens to be a character in the game) did a great job of explaining the concept and some of the open world gameplay before Jimmy took over and failed a mission (*sigh*). Well, he got further than I thought, but still. I’d actually love to see the guy host an ALL gaming show one day, not just one with funny segments and a few stars popping up to plug their assorted projects.

Of course, that would be a different show entirely, but a NEEDED one for gamers and G4 is no more (although, like a zombie with a steel-plated skull, the damn channel is STILL on the air pumping out movies and reruns of old shows including X-Play and Spike TV is too damn dumb to watch unless GTTV is on, as it’s just macho crap and blood beat-fests all day and then some. Yuk). I suppose internet “TV” shows are a good source, but not if one has a crap connection or hell, prefers gaming news from eight feet away and doesn’t own a damn Smart TV or whatever it is that basically means you’re online watching Honey Boo Boo when you COULD be learning a new language or something else more interesting…

Jimmy Fallon Versus The PS4: Jimmy Gets the Knack!

Posted on June 19, 2013 by geelw

While the Xbox One got two games crammed into five minutes, Sony’s new PS4 showcased one game, the family friendly platformer, Knack was the showcase title on this second day of Late Night’s Game Week. Game Director Mark Cerny was on hand to show off the new console and controller, noting that it’s been redesigned for shooter fans, most likely to let them know they’re not forgotten despite the somewhat cute game on display Jimmy was about to dive into. He also got in a quick shot at Microsoft by noting that used games could be played on the PS4 and (yes!) the console can indeed be used offline. Microsoft takes another knock there, thanks to it’s spotty PR performance not doing the best job at explaining things. As for Knack, Cerny showed off a quick cut scene and played for a quick bit (the game looks great, but Jimmy was easily distracted by some amazing looking water for a split second) before turning over control.

Fallon played a cool ice level that showed off some great-looking Pixar-like visuals and a familiar mix of 3D platforming and combat. Knack can smash and absorb bits of the environment in order to grow and take on the characteristics of whatever he’s busted apart. It’s sort of like a Metal Men comic meets Crash Bandicoot with the aforementioned Pixar visual style and it looks pretty incredible. That said, I’m gathering Knack was shown for a few other important reasons. Fallon’s viewer base covers a wide age range, so Sony wants to get the console buying adults on board with a non-violent game they can immediately buy with that PS4. The game is a first-party title and Sony’s first party studios are responsible for a good deal of the system’s hits, so as a launch title, Knack needs to show it can be as good as the best games of its type on the new hardware. Finally, I think the game may be a hard sell to some of the shooter fans (thus the earlier shout-out by Cerny), so I think Sony wants them to know their games are indeed coming (and on launch day, at that). Then again, those shooter fans DID get a great demo of Killzone: Shadow Fall three months ago.

Oh yeah, Jimmy didn’t suck too much at Knack, but he’s still like a box of puppies bouncing in the back of a moving truck when it comes to getting all giddy about stuff. You have to love the man for his sense of wonder other TV hosts fail to activate in anything like a realistic manner, so I’ll give him that much…

E3 2013: Sony’s “Greatness Awaits” Trailer: Welcome to Easter Egg Island!

Posted on June 17, 2013 by geelw

Throwing all their press conference antics aside, you have to admits that this new ad is pretty amusing and amazing because it throws a nice amount of overkill at you and makes your gamer eye start poking about for references to current or upcoming titles. Sony says there are a few here, so get your thinking cap on (or bug your favorite Sony fan). I haven’t had time to watch this more than twice, so don’t even get around to shooting me an email or post asking for assistance…

E3 2013: The Dark Sorcerer: Tech Demo, Yes. But Quantic Dream Makes It Most Memorable.

Posted on June 17, 2013 by geelw

Most new console and PC tech demos I’ve seen are frankly speaking, boring as hell once you get past the usual showoff effects and buzzword flashiness tossed around. Ooh, look at those thousands of boxes falling! The particle effects in that explosion look so REAL! My, that’s a lot of rubber duckies in that bathtub! That water ripples so realistically that I want to lick my screen (wipe off the dust first, please – a tongue full of yuk isn’t a good thing). On the other hand, there’s Quantic Dream and their story-based demos that manage to impress the eyes as well as the sense of wonder because you get something memorable on a few more important fronts all meshing in a way that makes you see where the future is headed when a developer who can follow up with more that pretty images is at the wheel.

Also, as you can see here, BEYOND: Two Souls is looking more and more remarkable with each reveal. David Cage and his team are making AAA games that matter in this era of bloated game development and game advertising budgets that disguise too many “mee-too” sequels. BEYOND is definitely unique on a few technical as well as gameplay fronts, so I’m hoping this one’s sold to and played by those who appreciate all the hard work that’s gone into making it.

E3 2013: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Your Next Year In Gaming May Just Be Spent Here…

Posted on June 14, 2013 by geelw

Poland’s CD Projekt RED Studios is one of my favorite game developers because you can clearly see through their games that they really love what they’re doing and are determined to make everything they work on as great and immersive as humanly possible. This dedication to craft has made the first two games in The Witcher series stand out as watermarks in game design and art direction, so it’s no surprise that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is upping the ante in many significant ways on its way to being possibly one of the best modern multiplatform RPGs to date. Set for a 2014 release on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the game, while still a work in progress looks absolutely stunning in screenshots and even more incredible in action to the point that you have to wonder what magical powers keep the dev team pouring out such ridiculously perfect work.

All my overblown hyperbole aside, this is a game that’s going to let it’s powerful anti-hero Geralt of Riva go anywhere and have layered adventures in a richly detailed world (35 times larger than the one in the already epic-sized one in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings) full of danger and no doubt quite a few memorable NPC encounters that add even more choices to how the game is played. The new combat system should please old and new players alike and yes, given that the game is assured a Mature rating, Geralt will get to play “pin the tail on the monster” in battle, slicing foes into bits or using his powerful spells to take them down with relish. We’ll probably also him get in some deftly edited romantic time with a few ladies, as the game has also never shied away from the man’s desires (nor those of some of the ladies he encounters in his travels).

Of course, fans of the series buy these games for more than Geralt’s sexytime antics. The story has always been the core of every game in the series and it’s guaranteed that this one will be another memorable chapter in Geralt’s history. Expect the always super voice acting and soundtrack packed with some lovely scored tunes and I’m betting even non-gamers will want to sit and watch this played just to take in the visuals or get wrapped up in a story filled with drama, mystery, well-timed humor when necessary and occasional bursts of violence. But let’s not get too far ahead here – I’ll run updates on this one as the developer puts them out. CDPR has a system seller here, there’s no doubt in my mind about that one bit…

E3 2013: Meanwhile, At Sony HQ…

Posted on June 14, 2013 by geelw

OK, while I’m not quite sure The Nicholas Brothers AND Charlotte Greenwood would like you to buy a PlayStation 4, (well, it didn’t exist back when this film was shot), you get the idea here, right? Sony’s knockout E3 presentation and MUCH clearer consumer rights strategy for used games, which SHOULD still be standard issue for all companies, won the day along with some great upcoming first and third party titles. Still, it’s kind of pesky that this is the big thing people are talking about. Hopefully, this will lead to an actual discussion that will also affect the future of content “ownership” and keep it normal longer than some other companies and individuals who want it dissolved into a service-driven monetization scheme (bleh) just because it’s “simpler” and “easy to use”…

Memo to “future-proofing” tech companies: Leave us game, movie and other media collecting hounds alone and go make your money on other items that maybe SHOULD be seen as lease worthy, I say. Digital content is great and provided there’s access to it, convenient. However, as 100% of the people out there can’t get to it 100% of the time, companies that try too hard to play with our rights deserve a little less love (and Microsoft has dipped a bit on a few gift card lists, that’s for sure)…

E3 2013: PlayStation 4 Reveal: A Rerun Worth Repeating, As It’s A REALLY Good One…

Posted on June 11, 2013 by geelw

I’ll most likely run trailers of all the games shown here at some point, but you look more tired than I do, so it’s break time! Grab a sammich and a drink, pull up a seat and catch this rebroadcast of Sony’s E3 press conference where they basically slowly drop kick Microsoft’s otherwise master plans for living room dominance in the hind quarters. Granted, talk is cheap… but compared to Microsoft’s attitude towards consumers over time and particularly during the Xbox One reveals, this one’s worth being a bit smug over if you’re a longtime Sony fan. I like games, PERIOD, so I really have no preference. However, I also like to be able to PLAY my games and not have anyone tell me how, where or when to, so Sony’s at least understood that and a few other important things…

E3 2013: Diablo III Trailer: No One Fights Alone (But Me)…

Posted on June 11, 2013 by geelw

Yes, I know Diablo III is built for multiplayer action (as noted in the trailer), but I’m a HUGE solo offline guy and as with Diablo II on PC, the PS3 version of DIII supports that 100 percent. Which means I’m in for the long haul as well as the many changes made to the game to get it up and running on Sony’s console. I’m not quite sure why this isn’t being hyped more by Blizzard and Sony, as it looks spectacular and I’m betting it does really well on the PS3 and PS4 when that version is ready. Well, I suppose we’ll see a few ads on TV and more online, as it’s tough to give the Devil his due without offending SOMEONE out there…

E3 2013: Mad Max Trailer: No Gameplay Makes Me A Road Worrier (For The Moment)…

Posted on June 11, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, yeah… CG trailers are fine and dandy, but I hate them so far into this generation where game engines can do this stuff and look better overall. Oh well – as long as the actual game itself is fun to play and gets the look and feel of the Mad Max movies right (well, I don’t mean that last one so much), it’ll be a hit. If it’s not a hit… well, I still have my copies of Outlander for the Super Nintendo and Genesis here to replay. Then again, this IS being done by Avalanche Studios (Just Cause, Just Cause 2), so it’s bound to be impressive and quite awesome as an open-world experience should they go that route.

E3 2013: On Used Games, Yeah, Sony Twists That Knife In Microsoft’s Gut…

Posted on June 11, 2013 by geelw

Well… Sony and their newly revealed PlayStation 4 pretty much made a mockery of Microsoft’s press conference, turning it into the video game equivalent of Game of Thrones’ gory Red Wedding sequence and making the folks in Redmond probably wonder what the hell just happened during that last 20 or so minutes when everything they offered in TWO press conferences was peeled away point by point in favor of core gamers and consumer in general. The video will go down in gaming history as THE moment for many where loyalties changed and the big rectangular egg on the wall over Redmond way collapsed to the pavement. It’s going to be an innnnteresting holiday season, that’s for damn sure…