Nope, I didn’t forget about you, Project CARS. I’m still holding out hope that the Wii U version is as wonderful to play as it’s promising to be and makes those who only own that console and not an overpriced gaming PC at least happy to have a decent licensed racer. While other consoles and PC have gotten some stellar realistic racers, the amount on Nintendo’s home consoles is embarrassingly low. Well, the amount of GOOD licensed racers, to be precise. Yeah, yeah, I’ll check this out on the PC, and PS4 at some point. But my Wii U needs this game just to shut down the haters who don’t own one who still think it’s “underpowered”. So, Bandai Namco Games… let’s do this! March 2015 is rolling up sooner than you think…
I’ll have a full review up something this coming week, but Eden Industries’ indie RPG Citizens of Earth is so far, pretty awesome. They’ve captured the wackiness of certain 90’s Japanese RPGs (some familiar, some not so familiar) perfectly with a fun and amusing game that’s easy to hop into but challenging if you’re willing to crank up the difficulty. Anyway, that’s all for now,as I don’t want to spoil anything. The game may not have made its crowdfunding target, but Atlus picking it up and getting it out on a bunch of platforms (PC, PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii U) via digital distribution was a pretty smart move on their part.
Granted, if you despise digital games, you’ll be missing out on some grand fun. Hopefully, some of the die-hard physical-only/mostly collectors will break that ban and give this game some love. Back in a few with that review…
I was going to use the word “Brandish” twice in that title, but my brain is all fried up from today’s rather mind-boggling “finale” to the kitchen repair job that still has me reeling. They’re done… but NOT done. I give up! Well, not quite yet, but man… am I wiped out from all this nonsense.
Anyway, next week (January 13) sees Nihon Falcom’s remake of its classic Super Nintendo RPG Brandish land on PSN for the PSP and Vita rechristened as Brandish: The Dark Renevant. I need something nostalgic like this to keep me sane, so it looks as if it’s going in the queue. Xseed Games deserves props one more for keeping the PSP alive after all these years,but as noted, the game will also run perfectly on the Vita as well as PlayStation TV if you’ve committed some money to that newer device/service. $19.99 is the MSRP and the game promises some old school challenge just like the original (but harder!).
As for what the game is all about, a peek below the jump should satisfy your curiosity… Continue reading →
Oh, I kill me with these puns, don’t I? Um, don’t answer that. Anyway, both Capcom and the supremely talented development team at Ninja Theory took a tremendous deal of grief and worse from some gamers when DmC was announced and that very different Dante graced that mockup mugshot poster. While the fanboy ire raged and internet fires blazed up on message boards, the game’s development continued as developer and publisher pretty much ignored the haters as they made the game they wanted to make. For the most part, the new game was solid, fun to play and like every other game out there, not without its flaws. Still, it must have moved enough copies to warrant a major upgrade to new consoles as PS4 and Xbox One owners are soon going to see DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition smash onto those consoles in March.
For some gamers who’ve already played this one on the older consoles, the idea of shelling out $39.99 to play it again may seem like a not so hot idea. However, Ninja Theory and Capcom intend to deliver to old and new players buying in a game that’s vastly improved over the previous version… Continue reading →
Poor Sony has been through the wringer this year. Between “hackers” hitting a few of the company’s entertainment divisions and among other things, knocking PSN offline for a bit over the last holiday weekend and a truly crazy class action lawsuit allowed to proceed, all of 2014’s successes seem so very far in the past. Nevertheless, PlayStation Plus subscribers will still be getting a bunch of free games as usual. January’s list of freebies is a nice one indeed, but at this point, it’s all up to whether or not PSN will be running properly so gamers can actually get all of that content. The privileges of membership, indeed…
Grip Games is at it again with a cool enhanced update to one of its popular titles. Unmechanical Extended Edition is coming in 2015 for PS3,PS4, Xbox One courtesy of Grip and developers Teotl Studios and Talawa Games. Given that the original game was a critical success on multiple mobile platforms and PC, a console version with a bit more content was pretty much a no-brainer. Exclusive to the console versions is a new chapter that allows playing of the puzzle/adventure/platormer hybrid as a new character. Grip has also announced the Vita version of the game has been canceled, at least for the time being. The press release notes this, however:
While it is possible that this version will eventually be released, it definitely won’t be simultaneously with other versions.
Ouch. If speculation must be made, I’d imagine that getting Unreal to play nice on the Vita is probably trickier than expected. That or there are other issues keeping this one from its Vita debut. In any event, if Grip and company manage to work things out and get the game up and running, an update will be posted as soon as any news arrives in the inbox here. In the meantime, here are five screens to check out.
Right now, sometime in January 2015 looks like when we’ll see Unmechanical Extended Edition land safely on home consoles. Stay tuned for more on this one…
You could say that there are two types of turn-based strategy game fans out there: those who’ve played XCOM and those who yet haven’t. Falling Skies: The Game works better for those in the latter category as well as those XCOM fans who won’t bash this too harshly for its intentional lifting of much of that game’s mechanics. While it’s a well-made game and plays just fine with only some pesky camera issues in tight spots, a few gameplay flaws knock it down from being a great entry in the genre. However, if you’re a big enough fan of the show, the game will probably warrant a buy right off the bat. Just don’t expect anything revelatory in the plot or handful of familiar characters you’ve come to know and love and you’ll more than likely have a fine time over a rainy weekend… Continue reading →
Well, okay. A copy of Suikoden II doesn’t cost “millions” these days, but it’s not cheap at all. Some have paid close to $100 for the game disc alone, while mint condition to sealed copies can cost many times more. Of course, Konami hasn’t made a patina coated penny in profits from those sales. But starting tomorrow, all that changes when the game finally arrives on PSN as a PSOne Classic. It won’t cost much (hopefully under $20) and is still one of those deeper than it looks on the surface games that’s been generating desire since it went out of print.
Granted, it seems that it only got a single production run and until this point in time never got a western re-release. Now, (well, tomorrow) it’ll be in the hands of PS Vita and PS3/PS4 owners who can finally play what’s been called one of the greatest JRPGs ever made. Hmmmm… of course, now the BIG question remains will saves from this game also work with the Suikoden III, the PlayStation 2 follow-up that used the previous game’s files to grant players bonus content. Methinks Sony will need to tweak that Content Manager software the PS3, PS4 and Vita use to share that data when the time comes. I still have my physical copy of the third game, but I sold off my SII earlier this year because I needed the money. I bet the farm on Sony and Konami finally making things right and thankfully, that’s seemed to have paid off. Whee.
Game delays aren’t great news at all and CD Projekt RED’s upcoming open-world RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has already be hit with one big delay that pushed the game into 2015 from 2014. Well, that wait has just gotten about twelve weeks longer. CDPR has issued an open letter to its fans explaining the (rather obvious) reasons for the delay: the game is just too damn big and good to be completed at its current pace. Well, that’s what I distilled from this note:
Dear Gamers,
Ever since we started working on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we knew it would be an ambitious game. We wanted, and still aim, to give you an incredible experience, an epic adventure in a vast, completely open fantasy universe.
The sheer size and complexity of The Witcher, key features of the title, have had a decisive impact on production. Now, nearing the end of our work, we see many details that need to be corrected. When we release the most important game in our studio’s history, we must be absolutely sure that we did everything we could to limit any bugs to a level that will allow you to enjoy the game thoroughly.
With this in mind, we took another look at current workloads and what they mean for the team. Even though everyone is working at full speed, we concluded that we need another 12 weeks, so we are shifting the release date of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to May 19th, 2015.
We owe you an apology. We set the release date too hastily. It’s a hard lesson, one to take to heart for the future. We know what we want to do to make Wild Hunt one of the best RPGs you will ever play. And we continue to work hard to achieve just that. So, we apologize and ask for your trust.
Thank you for the all support you show us on a daily basis. We truly do appreciate it. It has fueled us in our passion since the start and will continue to do so.
The Board of CD PROJEKT SA
Amusingly enough, news came around the time this new trailer dropped online, but it just made me want to wait as long as it takes for the team to get it done:
Now, you could yell at CD Projekt RED to stop playing their own game so much and just get it out, but that would be a mistake. No game ships 100% bug free and this one is especially tricky. That extra three months should be enough for the dev team to tighten things up and make sure the launch goes as smoothly as possible. Remember, in addition to a digital version, the company is also making physical retail discs for two consoles and all of these have to run as smoothly as possible. Whatever issues are keeping CDPR busy are most likely affecting all three versions (or two, if you’re a PC diehard and console hater), but those of us who respect the developer know they’ll make it all work.
I should have figured that Sony would be going back to basics for their 20th anniversary, but seeing that familiar shade of grey on a new model PS4 made me chuckle a bit. I bet it’s not backward compatible at all, meaning some younger folks who buy it, might want one to add to their collection or just hate that color aren’t seeing the complete picture. I still have three of those old grey models here and they get trotted out from time to time, too. 20 years is a long time and I can still recall the initial skepticism some had about Sony jumping into the game console business with the PlayStation after a deal with Nintendo to co-create a game console fell through. How the gaming landscape would been had that arrangement not fallen through is anybody’s guess. Like them or not, you have to give Sony credit for making good on their initial promise to shake things up and continue doing it for so long despite some ups and downs over the years.
Anyway, Happy Anniversary, Sony – you’ve certainly earned a place in millions of lives since 1994. Here’s to (at least) 20 more years (provided we’re all still around)…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 