Gallery: Game Library Odds & Ends (Mostly Odds)…

Odds n Ends PS Version
Hokay, I have some ‘splainin’ to do here:

I’ve played both Kane & Lynch Dead Men and Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, but I’ve never actually owned the first game until a few weeks back when I saw this in a stack of games some guy was selling at a sidewalk sale. Two bucks? No problem. As for the much maligned Aliens: Colonial Marines? I never played the demo and didn’t see that footage everyone says was mocked up and not representative of the final product, so the whole controversy went over my scalp. That said, I nabbed this sealed with ALMOST all the collector’s edition goodies (no Power Loader) for ten bucks, which may seem like too much based on the acid spewed upon the game worldwide. I’ve only played about an hour and while it’s far from great, as a FPS, it’s got some fun bits here and there. My money is on Alien Isolation being a more compelling experience and provided the dopes lurking and jerking on message boards REALIZE that the new game is from a C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E-L-Y different development team known for all of their games being solid experiences through and through.

Remember Me? Yes, Nilin… I do, my dear. I played the PC version (thanks, Capcom!) and loved it for the most part. Capcom also kindly sent me the Xbox 360 version, but I couldn’t play it when I got it thanks to my two busted 360’s collecting dust here. So, I gifted it to a friend so he’d crack it open (and let me review it at his place, of course) and ended up picking up the PS3 version recently for about five times less than what it retailed for last year. As for Silent Hill: Book of Memories? I love Wayforward’s games and the demo of this Vita exclusive was interesting in a “Hey, it’s like Diablo, but NOT!” manner. A few levels in, and I read that the game is pretty much the same thing from beginning to end, but has a level cap and some other stuff that makes it a bit tedious. I haven’t reached that point yet, but thanks for the forewarning, Internet… Continue reading

God of War Collection On Vita: Kratos May Be Smaller, But He’s Still Killing It Big Time…

GOW_Collection_VitaIt’s not surprising to finally see the two PlayStation 2 God of War games coming to the Vita, but what is surprising is the delivery method. In addition to the usual PSN download, this new double pack (available NOW!) is getting a retail release with both games on a Vita memory stick.

Yes, both will be HD remastered and yes, Trophies are added to both games, meaning you folks who love them will be hunting down every one even if you’ve played both games to death and beyond many times. Now, all we need is a Vita exclusive GoW game or some even more massive set that packs the PSP, PS3 and oddball mobile game from a few years back onto a disc or memory stick and the collectors out there will keel over backwards because it’ll be one more thing to snap up.

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This. May. Not. Be. Sparta (!!!!), but it’s an action-packed romp twice over that’s not for the kiddies and has a great, bleak story for those who like their heroes anti and of the non-stop angry variety. Kratos has his reasons for being so terminally pissed off, but I’ll leave those for you new to the games to find out what those are…

Axiom Verge: Kicking It Old School. Punching Your TV And Throwing Your Controller Or Vita? Optional.

BannerMediumSome of what it says on the PlayStation YouTube page:

inspired by such classics as Rygar, Contra, Bionic Commando, Blaster Master, and, of course, Metroid. But it also gives you power over glitches like those found in classic games, allowing you to scramble enemies, corrupt environments, and enter hidden areas.

Hmmmm… Okay, I’m IN. PC, PlayStation 4 and Vita bound soon, Axiom Verge may look like yet another of those endless numbers of retro homage games that crowd the indie space these days, but everything I just saw about in in that trailer above set my nostalgia meter into the red zone where it’ll be stuck until I finally play the game proper.

To me, it looks spectacular, capturing that old-school 8-bit vibe through its sprite and tile-based visuals while adding a few wicked visual effects you probably didn’t see back then on home consoles. Even better, it’s being made by ONE guy, Tom Happ, who has worked on a number of “triple-A” games for both PC and consoles (End of Nations, Tiger Woods, and NFL Street, to name a few), meaning he knows what he’s doing (but I’ll bet his wife thinks he’s crazy sometimes for tacking such a killer project like this!).

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Even more awesome, in addition to the screenshots above featuring his great pixel art, Happ has also made some excellent GIFs of the game in motion so you can see all that hard work he’s doing. The screens are above and the GIFs below the jump because they’re of varying sizes. Enjoy! Expect updates as more news comes in and if you’re a fan of this style of game, you KNOW you need to get this on something its coming to. I’m all over this one, but I know the folks who hate having their butts handed to them by digitized alien scum will be pooh-poohing this before they even pick up a controller. It’s their loss, of course… Continue reading

PlayStation Plus Brings May Showers Of FREE Games!

 
Yeah, the pay for online multiplayer access thing is still here and silly, but PlayStation Plus is still the best deals in console gaming in terms of what you’re getting otherwise for that $50 a year. Next month’s pile of stuff you’ll need a working time machine to play is quite awesome (as you’ll see above) and overall, you make that cost back each month and then some if you also own a Vita in addition to your PS3 and/or PS4. I keep wondering what will happen when Sony runs out of stuff to give away, but given the large library of old first and third party titles people are clamoring for from the PS1 and PS2 era plus the amount of indie titles currently on PSN, I’m gathering this won’t be an issue they’ll need to deal with for quite some time…

Telltale’s The Walking Dead Is Nearly Everywhere You Look. Go Get Caught Up In This One, I Say…

 
Between the Complete First season being released on Google Play and Season Two dropping onto the Vita, Telltale Games’ stellar The Walking Dead series is taking over just about everything that can play this multiple award winning series and letting an even wider audience experience the horror. Telltale’s games are more accessible than your typical action-heavy PC or console games thanks to a simpler to use interface, story-focused dialog trees that require reasonably fast (but not insane) timing and choices that truly affect the outcome of each chapter. This also makes TWD highly replayable because of how your decisions stack up as the chapters flow onward.

So, your interest is piqued, no? Well, go whip out that favorite device and go get some Walkers into your now more entertaining life, I say.

The Making of Mind Zero #1: Aksys Games, All Is Forgiven!

 
Or: Yeah, I paid full price for Magus and Yeah, I laughed more than I thought I was going to. That wasn’t a good thing, by the way. Anyway, it looks as if Aksys will redeem itself with this upcoming Vita exclusive, Mind Zero. Thankfully, it happens to be a dungeon crawler that actually looks pretty decent and I still have enough respect for Aksys to give them another chance. Of course, this could be another Beyond the Abyss (eek!), but I don’t think so, as it has more the look and tone of a Shin Megami Tensei game if anything. Well, we shall see soon, as this one ships out digitally and to retail May 28, 2014.

Tales of Hearts R: Your Vita Will Want You To Get This (Or Else)…

 
Now, I haven’t yet heard of any cases where someone’s Vita attempted to do them bodily harm, but I’d gather if anyone who does own one of Sony’s handhelds who considers him or herself a JRPG fan somehow doesn’t pick Tales of Hearts R up, there’s going to be trouble on the home front. If you don’t pre-order this or snap it up on launch day (or within the first week or so), you’ll be in the bath or shower and hear a noise close by… it’ll be your Vita trying to leap into the tub to literally give you the shock of your life. Hey, it COULD happen, you know.

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Granted, Hideo Baba and Tales Studio wouldn’t make a game that’s deliberately going to harm someone, but you know your Vita has a mind of its own sometimes. That would explain the games you buy on a few occasions, I’d gather… anyway, this winter, you’d best remember to get some Tales action up in the house or else…

Demon Gaze Out Now: My Vita Is Glaring At My Wallet (And It Has A Studded Club)…

Demon Gaze Out Now Hokay, let’s keep this SIMPLE. Got a Vita? GOOD. Go click on that picture and BUY THIS GAME. I’m keeping this short because you need as much time to play Demon Gaze as possible and less of me telly you why. Get it? Got it? GOOD. Now, go dive in for a spell and pop back in to thank me later…

Surprise! Tales of Heart R Vita-Bound This Winter!

 
Well, now. This is great news for Vita owners, fans of Namco Bandai’s long-running Tales series and anyone who just wants a great JRPG to take on the go. Having met Hideo Baba, Producer on the Tales series a few times over the years, I can safely report that he’s just as happy, proud and easygoing about his work as he is in that video above. It’s cool to see a guy who knows his fans and wants to get them the games he makes whenever possible (and it’s certainly not easy to do at all in terms of “just translate and ship it!” like some fans think). So anyway, yeah – a new Tales game and the first one exclusively for the Vita in North America coming this winter and that’s one more reason for my cold-hating butt to stay the heck indoors!

Random Art: Making Your Monday Better Since, Oh About 3:37pm…

the right angle 

Hiding Place IIFEH. So, I log onto PSN to download the games I bought this weekend (two bucks well spent) and WHAMMO! Yep, PSN is down for maintenance. In the middle of the afternoon. On a Monday. Bleah. I did get some good news in the mail in the form of my FruitChia bar shipment arriving, but as there’s a replacement mail carrier while my regular guy is on vacation, the package was shoved and squeezed into my mailbox instead of hand delivered to my hot little hands. I didn’t see her woman-handling my goods, but I happened to drop downstairs as she finished up and was closing the mailboxes so I know who to give a glare to the next time I have to perform surgery on something packed into my mailbox in order to get the darn thing out. Anyway, whee- more trees to ogle, this time more or less complete. Hey, someone has to have a good day on this otherwise goofball Monday, right?