New Grand Theft Auto V Screenshots: A More Complete Vacation Package Deal…

Posted on March 28, 2013 by geelw

GTA_V_Packs

V-76-1280 It may LOOK as if I’m not following Grand Theft Auto V around like a very talented stalker dear reader… but that’s quite misleading. I just haven’t written a lot about it because I just KNOW that it’s going to be one of those games that doesn’t require a ton of words written before its actually PLAYED in order to enjoy everything it will offer. Given Rockstar Games‘ dedication to each new installment of the series, it’s been clear from the first reveal that GTA V will be the deepest and best game in the long-running franchise. Anyway, a few more screens to get YOU talking are below. Me, I’m just smiling and thinking about how I’m going to manage my time when I fire this game up for the first of many times. The series is well known for sucking all too many hours from the day once you get in, start peeling back its layers and finding hidden secrets galore. Skydiving AND Scuba in the same game? And a few types of flying machines to go with the ton of cars, bikes and other fine rides? September 17 will be a perfect day for a good chunk of the country to call in sick, I predict.

Of course, if you’re REALLY smart, midnight crush launches aren’t your thing and you’d have already pre-ordered the game directly from the always awesome Rockstar Warehouse online shop, which has a cool GTA V-themed bonus T-Shirt you won’t see elsewhere. Hmmm… someone give these guys the James Bond license and let’s see what happens if they make a wholly original product, I say…

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Random Screenshot of the Day: More Road Rules…

Posted on March 28, 2013 by geelw

Paying attention to the road while driving may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised just how easily distracted most people get when behind the wheel. Case in point, this particular road trip in that not so fancy but fast Sheriff’s car, currently driven by one Francis York Morgan. Given that he’s got two passengers with him, he should be concentrating on the road and doing his best to drive safely. However, just LOOK at that speedometer! 73 MPH is not exactly following the Greenvale speed limit, it’s not an emergency (this time), and lack of traffic or not, he should keep an eye out for pedestrians. I’d say something about that “Talk” button onscreen, but I guess it’s OK, as talking while driving is something everyone seems to do. Granted, York will probably Talk to “himself” rather than his passengers (which is distracting enough), so perhaps he’s not too bad behind the wheel after all?

Of course, you’ll get to find this out for yourself and more on April 30, 2013 when Rising Star Games’ Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut hits retail exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Featuring updated visuals, improved controls, all-new content PlayStation Move and 3D TV support and more, this is one of those games guaranteed to get you out driving safely to your favorite game shop and back home even if you’re a block away. Hey, practice makes perfect, right? And if you don’t drive, no worries – that walk will do you good, as you’ll probably be getting a wee bit less exercise once you pick up the game and start playing. Your heart will be racing quite a lot, though…

Another reason you should buy this game is you’ll be keeping Game Director Swery65 a busy man. Getting him back in the office in Japan making more games is a good thing, as if he’s not making games, he’s getting into mischief with people like this other creatively named game-creating reprobate (and all-around nice guy if you get to meet him in person), Suda 51 (both seen here in a local drinking establishment somewhere on Planet Earth. So, yeah – you know what to do, right. Buy at LEAST two copies of this game so Swery gets back to making another one. Or at least thinks about a Vita version, as there’s nothing like being able to be scared out of one’s wits while on the road (er, except when one is behind the wheel – that’s NEVER a good thing)…

Making of Defiance: Tarrs vs McCawleys (Or: Meanwhile, Back @ The Space Ranch)…

Posted on March 27, 2013 by geelw

Saddle up, pardners and get ready to hit the trail! (or something like that). OK, so syfy’s upcoming show/video game extravaganza DEFIANCE has that whole space western thing going for it, but this is actually a good thing at the end of the day. It should get the show some appeal to those sci-fi fans who prefer their shows a bit tumbleweedy and familiar and cranky old goats like me who have the occasional Bonanza or original Battlestar Galactica flashback (or Battlestar Ponderosa, if I recall what Harlan Ellison rightly called the show back in the day).

Snark aside, I really like what they’ve done with the show so far and will give it a season to do its thing on the parts of my brain that click with the genre. Hopefully, the show and game will do well in this still stupid economy and current ratings format that see shows get axed if viewership only dips a TINY amount after the usually highly watched pilot episode. That’s a stupidly expensive way to do business, particularly with fickle audiences that often come BACK to a show later on in the first season to catch up. As always, we shall see…

Watch_Dogs: Threat Monitoring Report: Beware The Launch Day Stampede.

Posted on March 27, 2013 by geelw

I’m one of those people dying to play this upcoming soon to be classic… but I’m smartly also NOT following every single thing written about it all around the Internet because that’s the fast road to mental hell. A million “what if” posts and too much over-speculation ALWAYS leads to disappointment or over/underblown expectations and other dopiness that can derail an otherwise excellent game experience. I’ve just been ignoring everything until I hear the game is PLAYABLE and coming to NYC on a press tour where I can wrap my grubby paws around a controller to see what’s what and let YOU know about it. Of course, that all revolves around someone at Ubisoft’s PR team actually contacting me (which hasn’t happened for a while, ha ha – maybe they’re watching ME to see what I do?), but as always, we shall see. Hey, I’m a nice enough guy and don’t bite unless you ask politely (*Woof!*)…

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Random Screenshot of the Day: Sleeping on the Job…

Posted on March 27, 2013 by geelw

In general, people in the U.S. just don’t get enough sleep. Whether it’s due to overwork, too much TV/computer time or doing too many things at night other than sleeping, it’s a national epidemic that can be the root cause of a few bigger problems. As you can see above, York stepping in to Greenvale’s police station SHOULD have that guy at the desk alert and facing the opposite direction. But he didn’t get enough sleep last night and doesn’t drink that strong coffee the A&G Diner sells at all so he’s a bit lax in his attitude. Before you ask, they don’t sell that multi-hour energy drink crap in town because it’s been banned (it makes hooded killers do their job a wee bit too efficiently, I’ve heard). Anyway, if York were a hooded killer, this poor sap would be on the floor with his face missing within a few seconds. But he’s only a detective on the prowl, so Officer Sleepy here will just get a damn good scare (and maybe wet his pants a little) and maybe a stern talking to he won’t soon forget.

Of course, you’ll probably be joining him soon enough if you’ve pre-ordered or plan to pick up Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut, coming exclusively to the PlayStation 3 on April 30, 2013. Those updated HD visuals, quirky humor, PlayStation Move and 3D TV support, new content, Trophies and more will keep you up so late (and yes, half-scared out of your wits) that you’ll need to call in dead to work the next day. Or show up and pay the consequences. Just don’t be that one guy who doesn’t get enough rest and pops in to work at the VERY moment that heavy bottle of water in the water cooler needs changing. You ever drop one of those things on your foot in front of that cute secretary you’ve been secretly ogling? It’s not a good thing when that happens, folks.

I haven’t had the chance to ask him yet, but I’d bet a whole dollar that Game Director Swery65 (arriving a bit tired-looking at GDC 2013) has NEVER had an embarrassing incident like this happen to him. Of course, he’s seemingly always on a plane headed somewhere or working on something you’ll probably want to be playing at some point in the future, but I’ll have to remember not to forget to ask him about this one of these days…

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Trailer: FOX on the Run (And It’s Looking Mighty Fine)…

Posted on March 27, 2013 by geelw

MGSV_PP Oh, brother. Raise those hands now… WHO didn’t know that this was going to be a new Metal Gear Solid game? Or that Hideo Kojima and his team weren’t going to (once again) push visuals to the edge in a console game. I can still remember that feeling I had when watching that first long form Metal Gear Solid trailer, a non-playable masterpiece from a Spring Special Demo Disc back in er, 1997 or ’98 and every MGS game since has dome something meaningful with its proprietary graphics engine. This new MGS V trailer, however, basically yanks you right into its world (which is open and non-linear this time out) from the moment Snake is on that operating table through some pretty outstanding dramatic sequences… Continue reading →

Random Art: It’s Hard to Play Video Games, But Easy to Draw With a Cold (Go Figure)…

Posted on March 26, 2013 by geelw

going home

OK, so it was the SUPREMELY challenging, yet even more rewarding new PSP game Carnage Heart EXA from Natsume I was trying to play while feeling under the weather yesterday and part of today that had my head spinning around a wee bit too much. It’s actually a game NOT for the short attention spanners out there or those looking for some sort of JRPG-lite with nonsense squeal-voiced characters. Anyway, I took a break after about a dozen tutorials (yes, the game is THAT complex), sat down and sort of hashed out a new MS Paint sketch, which isn’t so good, but made me feel a lot better and a bit less mushy upstairs. Well, my cold has gotten a lot less lively after chicken soup, aspirin, water and orange applications during the day, so it’s probably back to regular posting tomorrow. Whee! Hell, I may even hit 200 posts this month (which would make me pretty pleased)…

Defiance Launch Trailer & Ark Hunter Chronicles 6: A New Era Is Just Around the Bend…

Posted on March 26, 2013 by geelw

OK, I’ve got a tiny cold today, so my ten or so posts I wanted to do have been cut down a bit by common sense (as in I decided to stay home and not exacerbate my condition by hanging out in a public place with other germy folk). Anyway, I’m doing better, so here’s one more update: I’m a little worried about DEFIANCE doing as well as it should at least on consoles. I’ve read elsewhere today (and had this figured for a while) that Blizzard and Sony have done research that reveals many PS3s are never connected to the Internet. And I’d bet good money that the ones that ARE play mostly the same games or types of games. That said, DC Universe Online seems to have done well and certain franchise shooters seem to grab players as soon as they ship. On the other hand, Defiance breaks much new ground in the MMO space, but does absolutely NOTHING for those who want an offline experience. I think this is a mistake, as more people playing your game is ALWAYS a better thing than LESS and every MMO will shut down that last server at some point.

Hopefully, all three versions of the game will sell like gangbusters and Trion Worlds will also hear from solo play fans who want either a stand alone game they can call their own. Or something for the Vita (which has suddenly become an indie game darling). Or both…

Defiance “Changed World” TV Spot: Reinventing A Few Landscapes…

Posted on March 26, 2013 by geelw

So, if that 14 minutes or so of first episode footage shown on syfy’s site is any indication, DEFIANCE will be a pretty decent new show after all. This bodes well for the online-only game coming to Windows PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 April 2 and yes, the show, which premieres on April 13. I need to now actually look up that darn channel’s schedule, as I haven’t paid attention to it for a while except when there’s a Twilight Zone marathon running and I swing by for a half-hour or so fix. The game is definitely solid from what I’ve played, but I do have an issue with it I’ll kick around (again) in the next post…

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Behind the Scenes: A Fantasy Trip for Today…

Posted on March 26, 2013 by geelw

Hey! Wouldn’t you like to be on a nice vacation right about now? OK, let’s go! Let’s say, hmmm… we’re now in Sweden with Josef Fares at Starbreeze Studios talking a little more about their unique game collaboration, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons coming to Windows PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 courtesy of publisher 505 Games? OK, OK… sitting in another room that’s different from the room you’re in now may not be much of a holiday at first glance, but think outside the box (or outside the building, in this case) and you’re on the way to your new destination with a fresh outlook. Um, Har en fantastisk semester – inte äta för mycket korv!