The Order: 1886 Won’t Be Ready At Dawn (Or By Night-Fall), But That’s Just Fine With Me…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

Sooooo, one of Sony big first party PlayStation 4 exclusives is now dropping into 2015 and some of those who care about such things are lamenting about the delay to no end. I say “So what? (again)”, as this means more polish and a better, less buggy game experience. The deal with new consoles is always that it takes time for developers to get used to the hardware, particularly when doing things that the old console couldn’t do as well. So developer Ready At Dawn is just allowing the team some extra breathing room, which is a great thing. It also gives slow dopes like yours truly to find out more about the game. I’ll admit to that title not making my eyes and ears perk up because it sounded like it would be some sort of odd historical simulation game, a genre I’ve avoided for a number of years because I have neither the time nor patience for something that deep. Anyway, I guess I can and should keep my fingers crossed that SCEA’s invisible PR team remembers who I am after all this time and actually invites me to see this game when it’s shown in NYC at some point.

Mind Zero Update #3: A Kick In The Shin Megami Tensei Won’t Hurt (Much)…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

Ah, ha-ha (again). Okay, I kid Aksys Games here (again!), but this upcoming PlayStation Vita exclusive coming from developer Zerodiv reminds me so much of the Shin Megami Tensei games that I’m not going to even be surprised if I see a review or two that makes note of this. Hey, as long as the story is good, I don’t care much about the gameplay as long as it’s not clumsy or forced. So far, this is looking nice and simple (which is good), but probably won’t be a cakewalk as the game progresses. Anyway, we’ll see soon enough, as the game is out NOW at a retailer near you (or on PSN, if you want it faster)…

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel PAX East Gameplay: “Bounce, Breathe, Look, SHOOT!” (Rinse & Repeat)…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

Okay, so it’s the name of an old basketball primer for kids, but that’s also a fitting description of what Gearbox and 2K Australia expect a great deal of you Borderlands fans to be doing in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, the upcoming standalone game set for a fall release on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Sorry “nest-gen” fans! You’ll need to wait a bit while the game you wanted or expected NOW or sooner is being cooked up in one way or another for its eventual release whenever.

While I’m sure that Gearbox and 2K Games could make a small fortune redoing the older Borderlands games and DLC from the ground up, I’d gather they’re doing the WISER thing and creating an all-new chapter to the franchise that packs in even more of what’s expected. This will also keep owners of those shiner (or matte-r) new systems from rioting and storming assorted game company headquarters anytime soon, too (er, Ha-ha?).

The Evil Within Doesn’t Scare Me (Yet) Because I Haven’t PLAYED It (Yet)…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

“Booooooo!” (*squeal!*). Meh, I’ve always disliked these “reaction” videos for games and movies because even if they are one hundred percent real, what scares one person won’t affect another and as I get older, some things don’t scare me any longer that made me fly off a chair and up to the ceiling in the past. Or, to quote one Mr. Ray Parker Jr. “I ain’t afraid of no “ghost!”

Now, I’m NOT that jaded that some horror films, reads and games don’t get me wanting a blankie and a hanky every so often. However, some of the scares in entertainment are often derived from other and far more frightening works. That said, I do trust Shinji Mikami and Bethesda Softworks to the point that The Evil Within just may put me on the ceiling if it does what it does right and often. Expect to be scared out of your wits (or not?) when the game hits stores October 21st in North America, October 23rd, and throughout Europe on October 24, 2014.

Sniper Elite III Hands-On: Even More On Target Than Before…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

I was on the subway headed down to see and play Sniper Elite III at a 505 Games media preview when I realized I’d forgotten my eyeglasses. Oops. You can’t be a good sniper at all if you can’t see a damn thing even with a scope, but amusingly enough, that absent-minded error on my part made the demo even more enjoyable.

Thanks to veteran developer Rebellion making the game much more flexible and thrilling than its predecessor, even a quarter blind bat like me was able to have a total blast making as many mistakes as I did. Okay, that’s not sounding like a ringing endorsement for the game, but it’s coming – keep reading. Even if I had brought my gaming spectacles along, my plan was to play the demo in as loose a manner as possible, making mistakes to see how the AI would react while seeing how expansive the level designs were this time out. In Sniper Elite V2, despite some alternate routes, most maps felt a wee bit too boxed in and linear and displacement wasn’t emphasized enough throughout the game (although the best players learned those levels and probably did some of their own shoot and scoot tactics… Continue reading →

WIN FREE STUFF! R-Type Dimensions PSN Codes Up For Grabs!

Posted on May 24, 2014 by geelw

If you happen to have a PS3 and a PlayStation Network account and are sitting around staring at a wall right now just wishing you had something nicely nostalgic and hard as hell to play, I’d bet you look as if you could use something nice and free today.

I think I can oblige just a tiny bit with Tozai Games’ R-Type Dimensions, which landed on PSN a few days back. If you’re bouncing up and down in your seat right about now, okay, okay… knock it off and listen up. Two codes, both for North America (which means they won’t work anywhere else!), ONE each for two lucky winners. Just reply below (no need to put any personal info in that response) and the code is yours!

GRID Autosport Discipline/Focus/Endurance Trailer: You’ll Still Get Spanked, Though…

Posted on May 23, 2014 by geelw

Oh, once again, I couldn’t help myself (*whipcrack!*). Anyway, it looks as if GRID Autosport REALLY means business when it comes to bringing racing fans some of the best action out there. While not a true simulation, the team at Codemasters is striking the balance between simple to pick up and play controls and the need to learn each track and how to survive the AI trying its best to blow your doors off when you dive into the single player part of the game. Online is of course its own crazy bird complete with the usual unpredictability of live players, especially in the longer races.

Now,I happen to like endurance race events, as there’s a fine balance of learning all the ins and outs of a race course lap after lap and your own physical condition slipping a wee bit over the hours as you fight off sleep and assorted body cramps. Granted, couch racing isn’t ANYWHERE as brutal as being in a car bouncing around and rumbling for a few hundred miles, but keeping me OUT of a real race car is probably a really good thing. GRID Autosport is out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on June 24, 2014 in North America, June 27th in Europe.

Watch_Dogs Launch Trailer: Your Ticket To Chicago Is Almost Ready…

Posted on May 22, 2014 by geelw

May 27 will be a pretty quiet day at some workplaces in a few places thanks to people coming down with crippling cases of Watch_Dogs flu and staying home to get some finger and wrist exercises in to keep healthy. Ubisoft Montreal is certainly doing its part to move next-gen consoles and maybe a new 3D card or two, but I think even on the older consoles the game will be a winner to those players that don’t give a hoot about their games looking about as realistic as it gets. Anyway, we’ll see what’s what next week (or later for Wii U owners still hoping for an actual release date).

Sniper Elite III “Hunt The Grey Wolf” DLC: Der Fuhrer’s Days Are Numbered (Again!)…

Posted on May 20, 2014 by geelw

Sooo… I played a bit of Rebellion’s upcoming Sniper Elite III today at a 505 Games press event, but I can’t say a peep for two days about how it was thanks to a little embargo I don’t intend to break. SUSPENSE! Anyway, as you can see, like Sniper Elite V2, there’s some Gamestop only Fuhrer-themed DLC to snag if you pre-order and I’m betting it does well, given the improvements to the game engine and gameplay the main game offers up. It’s certainly a VERY lousy time to be a pro-digital Nazi fanatic, what with that new Wolfenstein game out today, The Monuments Men popping up on home video, CI Studios’ Enemy Front and now this upcoming game allowing shooter fans to spend plenty of free time whistling bullets past a few graveyards. Anyway, more (or actual) news on my hands-on with Sniper Elite III in two more days. Stay tuned…

Drakengard 3 Launch Trailer: I Thought Gals Liked Dragons? Hmmm, I Guess Not In This Game…

Posted on May 20, 2014 by geelw

It’s finally here in North America and looking more polished than its PlayStation 2 prequels, Drakengard 3 ups the action while going tonally sideways. Granted, the game still has the gloomy, doom-y feeling of the first two entries, but there’s more in the way of light comic relief as well as a decidedly more manga/anime edge to the character art. If you like what you see, zip on down to your favorite game emporium, slap $49.99 down on the counter (plus tax where applicable) and both you and your PS3 will be happy campers. If you’re eager to play but lazier or just prefer digital games, clickety-click on your PlayStation Network account and get this as a download on the PlayStation Store or the Square Enix Online Store for the same price. In an interesting twist, the physical game gets a standard retail packaging, but if you’re a digital-only drone, you can get a Digital Collector’s Edition exclusively on the PlayStation Store for $64.99. How that all works baffles me, but hey – it’s the future, so stuff is SUPPOSED to be baffling. I think.