GoldenEye: Reloaded Launch Trailer: Before We Resume With A Bang & A Boom…

Posted on October 28, 2011 by geelw

Yes, it’s ~~almost~~ finally here, so get those itchy trigger fingers all nice and limber for a super solid single player experience that’s been nicely expanded and some very cool multiplayer modes that will get you yelling at your radar-reading CHEATER friends who pick Odd Job and start throwing bowler hats at you as soon as you spawn. Eurocom has whipped up a fun game that was great on the Wii last year and looks to be even bigger on the HD consoles. Let’s hope enough folks can pull themselves away from BF3 and a few other titles in the launch window to make this one as successful as it should be (and then some)…

This Time, It’s War (In The North)…

Posted on October 28, 2011 by geelw

Guess what JUST showed up (well, around 12:30 this afternoon)? Looks like my weekend plans are shattered to heck, but in a REALLY good way. Off to get to work on a review, which should hopefully go live on ~~Monday~~, er. Tuedsay*. Now about that Batman: Arkham City I didn’t get, feh… you win some, you lose some, I guess. Anyway, I’m off to kill a bunch of Orcs and try not do die by U’ruk Hai. Back in a bit!

Yeah, yeah, I’d initially written this as MONDAY for the review, til I noticed the embargo. Oops. Tuesday it is.

Review: Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection

Posted on October 28, 2011 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 3

Developer: Team Ico/Bluepoint Studios

Publisher: Sony

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A

In certain cases, wistful nostalgia can indeed kick you around the room hard once the reality sets in that perhaps things weren’t as great as you recalled. However, both ICO and Shadow of the Colossus have withstood the test of time as two truly memorable game experiences not to be missed. Team Ico with (a solid assist from Bluepoint Games) have polished up both games to a nice HD finish, added Trophy support, optional 3D and a nice set of bonus features for one truly great package (at a mere $40) that’s an absolute must-purchase title (and yet another solid PS3 collection). For those that remember these two classics, replaying them in this collection will offer a few nice surprises along with a few old quirks. For those that have yet to experience these two masterworks (elements of which have turned up in many games over the past decade), expect to be amazed… provided you have the proper perspective.

Continue reading →

Ni No Kuni Japanese Box Art Is Pretty… Boring (But Pretty Nonetheless)

Posted on October 26, 2011 by geelw

While this watercolor image for the Japanese version of the game is indeed a truly lovely piece of art, it’s also pretty generic to a fault. At best, It looks like a greeting card for some made up holiday (Happy Festivus!) or a menu from some renaissance fair salad bar and at worst, like a roadside sign advertising a fairy farm (Come Pet Our Unicorn. Please. Thank You).

Given the lush backgrounds found in both the DS and PS3 versions, I was hoping to see a Level-5/Studio Ghibli combo cover to end all covers. Or at least art to match the beautiful images found on the official PS3 and Nintendo DS sites for each system’s respective games. Here’s a link to a recent trailer as well so you can see that the game is absolutely a LOT more gorgeous than this placeholder-looking cover image. Oh well. It’s not THAT bad. Still, I guess it’ll be up to Namco Bandai to give us a North American version with a cover image that soars. As long as they use art from the dev team or Studio Ghibli-provided assets, it should be a winner.

Syndicate Hands-On: It’s Just Like The Original… But Better.

Posted on October 25, 2011 by geelw

That’s right, I said it. And yes, Starbreeze Studios will back it up in a big way on February 21, 2012. Based on the demo version I played at EA’s Naughty or Nice event about 2 weeks ago, even the most die-hard fan with greasy smoke coming from their eyeballs and ears about this game should ABSOLUTELY play this modern reworking of Bullfrog’s isometric RTS/Action hybrid.

Five (Plus One) Very Good Reasons to commit without question are below the jump… Continue reading →

Grand Theft Auto V Is (Of Course) A Go…

Posted on October 25, 2011 by geelw

As you can see, it’s on. Expect a November surprise, courtesy of Rockstar Games. No, the game isn’t coming next month, folks (the Internet would break if that was the announcment), just what’s probably going to be a pretty cool trailer (and a Double-Wide Airflow, at that). Now, all those folks screaming madly about it can perhaps pipe down a little with the ALL CAPS rants online and maybe think about also pre-ordering Max Payne 3 when its release date is announced. Rockstar is working hard on that game as well and you SHOULD enjoy it as equally as you do any GTA game, I say…

Hideo Kojima Has Me (And Many Others) Drooling Over Metal Gear Solid. Again.

Posted on October 25, 2011 by geelw

Of course, any gamer worth his or her salt will want this as soon as it ships next month. If I’m not mistaken, it also comes with this, which is even better. Finally, this is hitting stores in 2012 (and it’s about time). Between these HD collections, what Kojima has cooking on the Vita, Metal Gear Rising and some other fun stuff, it’s going to be quite an anniversary for Solid Snake and friends…

The Lord of The Rings War in the North Pre-Order Teaser Tempts Away…

Posted on October 24, 2011 by geelw

Too many people online are out of their minds comparing every RPG to Skyrim or whatever other fantasy-themed open world experience on the way when it’s clear that Snowblind Studios is making a different type of adventure entirely. I’m definitely looking forward to this one as I’m a fan of the developer’s work and trust them to make a pretty good action RPG (as it’s something they’ve done a few times previously). We’ll see if the game defies the skeptics and becomes one of those “Hey, this is really good!” word of mouth titles pretty soon, as that November 1 release date is right around the corner. Of course, in this stupid era of games needing to sell a bazillion copies over a weekend to be considered a “success”, I truly hope that this game gets enough time to gain momentum before any judgment is placed on the potential of future installments…

Asura’s Wrath Hands-On: One Of These Days, Argus… Bang, Zoom!

Posted on October 23, 2011 by geelw

Thanks to a soundproof glass booth where attendees lined up to scream in order to win cool swag, Capcom and CyberConnect 2 had gamers literally screaming to play Asura’s Wrath, the upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 cinematic action game that’s so very hard to describe in the space of something like the entire Internet. OK, overblown hyperbole aside, the demo on the show floor was quite an experience that packed in over the top quick time events, a bit of strategic button bashing and a classical music score that made the experience quite hilarious. This is shaping up to be one of those games that has to be seen and played to be believed and even after that, you’d probably wonder what the hell just happened. Think the mighty God Hand on steroids and with a serious case of rage issues and well, that’s about a tenth of what’s coming your way next year. Continue reading →

Rayman Origins’ New Trailer Makes Me Hungry…

Posted on October 22, 2011 by geelw

Who know there was a Food Universe? Well, that aside (and my stomach now rumbling for something from the fridge), this latest Rayman Origins footage shows off a new area, one that I happened to play at New York Comic Con last week. The jumping is tricky old-school platforming goodness, but the game has a nice “revival” system in play so that it’s not a controller-bashing experience. The game is looking great with tons of color, inventive, funny gameplay and tons of things to see and do. This one deserves to be in EVERY gamer library once it ships, so do UbiSoft (and Rayman) a favor and BUY it, folks…