Toukiden: The Age of Demons Basics: It’s a Bit More Work Than Just Pressing “Start”…

 
Okay, the town and pre-mission setup portions of Omega Force’s rather demon heavy new action game aren’t all that complex, but it’s important to know what to to and who to see both before and after those easy to super challenging missions you’ll ruin around in either solo or with friends. Choosing your look is important, of course. Will you play as a male or female? What kind of hairstyle will you wear and how will you sound? Choose wisely! As for the base gameplay in town, should you sell off some of those monstrous materials you’ve collected, turn them into better gear that will help out you and your team or just foolishly discard stuff (which you had to do in the demo, as the inventory was VERY limited)? I say the second option is the best bet, as the difference between a starter weapon and one that’s enhanced is pretty significant.

Anyway, Toukiden: The Age of Demons is out NOW for PS3 and Vita, so yes indeed… you know what to do.

Preview: The Witcher – Geralt of Riva Rides the Dark Horse…

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I’d forgotten Dark Horse Comics was doing a book based on this book and game series, so this was a nice surprise. Paul Tobin (writer) and Joe Querio (art) are on the case here and so far, the preview is not bad at all. It’s hard to step from the realism of CD Projekt RED’s lush and lovely game world to the printed page, but that’s the power of that team’s work that makes such a huge impression on those of us who like Geralt of Riva and his rather interesting adventures. Anyway, everyone’s favorite antihero/monster hunter/ladies man/ is coming to your favorite comic emporium on March 19, 2014 – feel free to bug your retailer or just place an order online at the usual suspects (Things from Another World or Dark Horse Digital).

A few pages and the cover to Issue 2 are below the jump – enjoy!

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Zombeer, Anyone? Moonbite’s Undead Boozer/Shooter Hits PSN Today

 
Okay, it’s Tuesday and I’ve been listening to weather reports saying we’re going to get some more snow dumped on us up here tomorrow night into Thursday morning or so. Wonderful. Just what I needed to hear, especially since there are still mountains of dirty ice that haven’t been tackled yet by the folks who need to do that stuff. So, what’s a guy to do now that there’s going to be a day of being trapped indoors? Well, YOU’LL probably be snuggling with your sweetie… or a box of tissues and some hot soup if you’re already sick. Me, I’ll probably be taking a peek at Moonbite’s goofy Zombeer because it looks like something that would keep me much more interested than MORE stupid snow.

Let’s see now, made in sunny Barcelona (Okay, it’s probably NOT sunny at night there) , features lots of zombies, lots more beer (digital beer – you can get drunk on whatever is in your house on your own time), sexy Zombabes galore (Woo!), silly M-rated gore and probably too many in-jokes to count if that trailer above is any indication. Anyway, Zombeer is on PSN right about NOW, so go grab it, I say!

Murasaki Baby Trailer: Little Creepy Girl Lost (Look In Your Pocket!)…

murasaki_babyThe Vita has a nice set of cool indie titles already out, so here’s another for your perusal. Murasaki Baby has a nice visual style and makes or a nice counterpoint to the similarly visually striking Vita sleeper from 2013, Dokuro. Quirky little games such as this float my boat, so I’ll need to check this one out at some point. I suppose someone out there will be making a plush figure, as it’s hard to pass up the chance to want to put a hug on that little girl with the mouth on top of her head. I hope she doesn’t bite if squeezed too hard, though… that would be unfortunate (ouch!)…

VGA 101: If Monday’s Still Kicking You Around, It Could Be Worse…

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You could be some poor guard in or under Garuda Compound in Valhalla Knights 3. These poor saps never get a break at all, as you can see in these screens. Hell, no matter what day of the week it is, they’re going down hard and fast if your party is properly leveled and you’re in no mood to be trifled with.

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Ouch. But wait, there’s more… Continue reading

Pac-Man Museum: Namco Bandai’s Fast Moving Fossil Still Rules.

 
I can’t recall a year since 1980 that Pac-Man wasn’t playable on something so it’s good to see Namco Bandai keeping things rolling along with this latest collection that focuses exclusively on everyone’s favorite power pellet chomping, ghost chasing (or avoiding) round yellow hero. PSN, Xbox Live Arcade (February 25) and PC via Steam (February 26). You know you want to play even if you’re not a gamer. Hey, EVERYONE is lousy at Pac-Man until they suddenly get really good at it from playing too much. And if you don’t think that will happen, a ha ha ha… you’ll see. You’ll be dreaming of colorful ghosts and those oddball sound effects soon enough.

Oh, Yeah: The Walking Dead Is Back (In A Few Places)…

 
I still haven’t gotten around to playing Season Two of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, but I’ve been a bit busy/crazy lately. Now I’ll have even LESS time to get to it thanks to the second half of Season Four of the hit show popping up tomorrow. Thankfully, it’s not a long half-season, but on the other hand, I’d love it if shows didn’t split into halves where you wait around staring at a wall for months between episodes. I don’t like binge watching too much at all (I save it for shows that are dead and gone), but I do like regularity. I say feed prunes to the writing staff, cast and directors on all these shows so they can grasp the concept of a season starting up and not being over until we get a week to week set of shows without minding the gap.

Yeah, I’m talking to YOU, Mad Men (already shot and done as a series, but keeping us waiting what, a year more for those final shows? Yeesh. I don’t even think I’ll be interested when it kicks off again)…

Crow Pie Chronicles (Or I’m Glad To Be Wrong About): The Lego Movie

 
YUM! I said I’d eat a crow pie if I was wrong about The Lego Movie not sucking and yep, I’m a man of my word, although I had to substitute some of my not yet world famous chicken for “crow” and a few slices of whole grain bread for “pie”. Anyway, it’s good to see this one netting nice notices so now I need to see it at some point and make sure all those critics weren’t sucking in the happy gas WB pumped into those free screenings I didn’t get an invite to (boo!). Since I’ve been ignoring the film for the most part, I’m going in blind other than what I’ve seen on those TV spots popping up all over the place every few seconds. I still think it’ll be well over the heads of anyone over ten years old who won’t get all the references and in-jokes, but that’s probably me underestimating the kids of the hipsters and boomers taking them to see this.

 
And wait, wha-whaaaat? There’s a video game based on the film as well? I did predict this last year or earlier, but I’m actually surprised that there was one made because that’s just TOO meta at the end of the day. Anyway, you KNOW a movie is going to be worth seeing when Fox News has a shit fit about it for all the wrong reasons. They seem to believe that a movie made to get people to run out and spend money to see it (and the tie in toys AND the game that’s made for the same purpose) is somehow teaching kids to be “anti-capitalist” (wha-whaaaat?)… despite the OBVIOUS hundreds of millions this will rake in for a few big corporations. As the kids say, DERP.

Yeah, they’re quite stupid over there and I wish they’d stop it. But it’s interesting watching them hang themselves by their own rope every day they keep the blood pressure of their viewership headed through the roof over trifling nonsense. Perhaps they all need to chill for a bit and actually go see some of the stuff they bitch and moan about as bad for Amurrrrica? That would be my prescription…

Capcom’s Beautiful『deep down』 Depresses Me Because It’s Doomed To Impermanence…

 
As a closet game historian and collector, every time I see Capcom’s 『deep down』, I shed a tiny tear because this amazing-looking in progress PS4 exclusive is going to be online ONLY, and lose a lot of potential sales from people like me who prefer the option to play offline and enjoy all that hard work without worrying about the usual crap ALL online games suffer from. Once interest wanes down the road or worse, sales don’t impress the shareholders (which shouldn’t determine ANYTHING, I say), those servers will slowly shut down and that game you paid good money for as a keeper becomes a bunch of beautiful and USELESS data that fades from memory.

This sort of thing is pure nonsense, I say. Game making shouldn’t consist of developers working in mist settled on a bathroom mirror or making paintings with clouds thinking they’ll still be around for all to see in the future. I’m hoping Capcom wises up and gets this one playable offline at some point (as with its incredible Dragon’s Dogma), because it’s looking so gorgeous that I want MORE people to experience it and not a select few hundred thousand or more with the proper and perfect setups. Art should have SOME permanence, specifically if it’s interactive and made to be enjoyed with others as a mandate.

Double Dragon Neon Now On Steam: Get Yer 80’s Fix On (With A Bit of A Paradox)

DD_NeonDouble Dragon Neon is a throwback game for sure. It’s going to appeal to your backwards baseball cap, neon sunglasses wearing faux punk side while sporting nicely updated visuals, an awesome soundtrack and yes, won’t work on any computer rockin’ an OS older than Windows 7 (oops, an opportunity lost there, I say!). WayForward Technologies (again!) did a stellar job on this one on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade, so it’s a total no-brainer that today’s newly released the Steam version is as good or better in a few respects.

In a way, it’s also too bad this never got a retail release in some “retro” packaging from Midnight City (Majesco’s digital indie label), as it’s exactly the sort of game that could benefit from (and sell a few limited edition copies because of) some sort of box with a funky 80’s cover painting. Ah well. Anyway, if your nostalgia meter is tingling away, you know what to do, right? I’ll let you get to it then…