September 30th is peeking around the corner and Little Orbit’s upcoming Falling Skies: The Game keeps popping up on my radar as a game that needs to be played. Sure, it’s swiping its style from the classic X-Com series, but as I’ve noted earlier that’s all good with me if they swipe the best parts and make it fit with what works in the popular TNT TV series. It may not be the prettiest nor the most hyped game of the year at all, but I’m betting it finds its niche among strategy-starved gamers who want a new title to keep their interest for as long as it takes to complete (and be replayed a few times). Keep an eyeball peeled on this one, folks…
A mere penny under ten bucks for this Pinball/RPG hybrid AND it’s cross-buy/cross-save on the Vita and PS4? Yep, I’m in day one and you should be too. I’m all over this one and have been since I heard about it early in development because I’m a pinball maniac with no room for an actual machine in my place (boo!) and a love for developers who keep the silver ball flame going by every means necessary. I also love RPGs, so developer Phantom Compass had me from day one. Atlus picking this up to publish also made me grin a wee bit too much because this means it’s going to get that extra push and pedigree their best games get and hopefully score some point among the fans who’d normally avoid a western-produced game for some oddball reason.
Anyway, I’m betting on Rollers of the Realm being a total no-brainer buy when it finally hits PSN in November. Heck, even if you avoid digital games like the plague, I’d day lift your “nope” restrictions, drop the ten bucks on this PSN download and play a game that will surprise your socks off at how good and FUN it is.
While it had its share of problems, 2005’s first-person adventure/role-playing hybrid Pathologic was one of those “creep under your skin” game experiences that made quite an impression. Sure the graphics weren’t exactly “state of the art” for the time, but the surreal nature of the art style, interesting map layouts and unique character designs helped carry developer Ice-Pick Lodge’s vision of a strange world in the grasp of a deadly plague. While the game didn’t do all that well outside its native Russia, enough of a loyal fan base picked it up over the years to gain it a cult following and of course, these days that means there HAS to be a remake or sequel. Thankfully, I-PL has decided to reboot their original game idea and expand greatly upon it to include content planned for the original that was scrapped as well as create all-new content that’s guaranteed to get the game a second life as a more richly rewarding experience… Continue reading →
Well, holy wow. I knew veteran developer Omega Force was tinkering away on some next-gen, er, CURRENT gen stuff, but yikes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. To SOME of you folks, this is yet another Dynasty Warriors “re-skin”, but to me, it’s another way for Sony and Square Enix to rip money out of my wallet. I know some DQ fans more used to the turn-based or not at all action heavy role-playing games in the series are probably tearing assorted hairs out in assorted places on their bodies that this isn’t a “normal” RPG. But me, I love this sort of mash-up because it brings new gamers into the fold while also catering to the more open-minded fans of this classic series without compromising on the familiar elements that make it so popular. And besides, it looks as if Square Enix is calling this a RPG, so it looks like it’ll be more of one than those other Musou-mixers that have come previously. Okay, and the game looks INCREDIBLE, to boot .
That, and it’s just a fun and funny as hell trailer as it goes on. Yeah, I guess I finally need to save up to buy my own PS4 and stop using one that’s getting not as much use as it should.
Wow. If I was working in Capcom PR and had a thin skin (which, by the way is a LOUSY thing for anyone working in PR to have), I’d be chugging Pepto all day and taking an aspirin ever four hours for my heart. You’d think that the company was out running a steamroller over baskets of puppies or something if you read some of the many inane comments on YouTube and plenty of websites about both the HD remaster of the former GameCube-only Resident Evil remake from 2002 and the concept video for (as in too EARLY to have actual gameplay footage from) Resident Evil Revelations 2. I, for one will be getting both games upon their respective releases because I know that the former hasn’t been on any other console platform to date and it’s a truly great game. As for RER 2, I liked the first one quite a bit, so this one’s going to be added to the “watch and BUY!’ list.
It’s THAT simple for me. I’m not silly enough to yell and scream about unrelated games, DLC from unrelated games, and so forth and so on. These announcements are about the games in question and Capcom just wants to show them off and know what you think about them, not listen to bitch-fest central about Monster Hunter, Mega Man, Street Fighter or worse, INCORRECT comments about this HD version Resident Evil being the same as the 1996 original or just a straightforward “port” of the GameCube game.
Eh, I shouldn’t be surprised at all at this reaction, as the company seems to attract some of the more passionate but woefully ignorant fans in gaming. Sure, they’ve made mistakes over the years, but some people need to just grow up and not continue to slam them on EVERY call they make these days.
Well, oooh. Indie developer Ska Studios (of The Dishwasher fame) is cooking up a very cool looking side-scrolling action/RPG for the PS4 and Vita called Salt & Sanctuary that also marks their debut on a Sony system as a timed exclusive. Yeah, yeah, it still stinks to see PS4/PS Vita in a game description and not see the PS3 still get some love even if a game WILL run on it. Of course, Sony needs to gently nudge gamers who have yet to make the move to make that move, so it’s only natural that many of these indie and other games would only run on their new hardware and that still needs more love and sales handheld. I’ll be keeping an eyeball on this one for sure, as I’d absolutely love taking this on the road with me or playing curled up in bed when I’m supposed to be sleeping and cooking up ideas for this site while dreaming.
Oh well, day-dreaming just might be my new inspiration, methinks. Salt & Sanctuary is out in 2015. More on this one when Ska drops new info – stay tuned…
My own hands-on time with a build of Lords of the Fallen reveals it’s a pretty damn hard game in the Dark Souls vein and developers CI Games and Deck 13 have cooked up a nasty little next-gen gem that’s going to test the best players to defeat some pretty crafty creatures. Like the Souls series, monsters lurk in both plain sight as well as in choice hidden spots, they’ll hunt you down once they spot you and are pretty relentless overall. Of course, you can use the environments to your advantage, knocking away some boards to create a death drop pit you can lure what was chasing you into or using magic for ranged attacks as a wee or over-sized beastie is closing in for the kill. And yes, blocking and dodging are skills you need to master, as these monsters aren’t playing at all.
The game is coming to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 28, 2014 and looks to be the first next-gen (or is it now current-gen?) chase & chop of the more cerebral kind. I only saw ONE person get close to defeating the demo Bandai Namco had on display and that guy was using every once of skill he had. Looks as if this one’s going to be one of those sleeper keepers for those who can play it. I predict a few broken controllers among those who may have missed out on FromSoftware’s series and have CI to blame (and their own lack of skills) for those formerly functioning chunks of plastic and components. be brave and fight onward, I say. You only have the fate of some fantasy world on your chosen customizable character’s shoulders…
Yeah, yeah, I’ve been behind a bit on this upcoming game from WBIE and developer Monolith Productions, but that’s because I’m confident it’s going to be a worthy Middle-earth experience no matter what it’s played on. I think I’ve said that already but it bears repeating. Respecting a developer and enjoying whatever they’re working on goes a longer way than nit-picking that work apart for not being 100% accurate to the original works. Particularly if that game does something out of the ordinary yet seems familiar at the end of the day. Pity the last-gen versions aren’t getting all the AI bells and whistles as the current (or next, if you’ve yet to update) gen new systems, but that’s the way the ball bounces. You get more power to use and you use it wisely. Hmmm… isn’t that one of the lessons Tolkien was trying to get across in his books? Well, well, well… I’m already up to speed, then.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is out September 30, 2014 for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Yeah, pre-order madness exists in the form of different “exclusive” DLC from different retailers (boo), so do what you need to do if you want that extra perk. or maybe just buy the game outright when it’s in a store and hope WBIE decides to release ALL those bonuses once a few weeks or so have passed. Or they’re available as in-game unlocks once you’ve played long enough…
Sure, you can hold out for the download-only North American release of Resident Evil HD Remaster, but I’m seeing the more hardcore fans of the long-running franchise and a few gaming friends running for the Eastern border and snapping up pre-orders for the Japanese or Asian versions of Biohazard HD Remaster instead. Why? Well, for starters, the game comes on a physical disc with a manual and as you know (or should know), PS3 games are region free, so the game should run on any console anywhere in the world. Both the Japanese and less expensive Asian version (which is for Chinese gamers and should come with an English manual or instruction sheet fold-out common to that region’s software) will have dual-language support (English and Japanese voice and text based on the console settings), so jumping back into this classic experience will be a breeze for anyone.
From what I see, that much more expensive E-Capcom Complete Edition is sold out in a few import shops, so folks who want that pack for all the goodies it contains will need to hold out and see if Capcom plans to get that out over here. Anyway, go take a gander at some comparison screenshots so you can see what you’re in for. We won’t be seeing this remaster in the US until early 2015 at the earliest, but as the import ships out this November, I have the feeling that a bunch of people will be grooving on this game before that and posting their impressions left and right in the usual spots. Will I be one of those people? Hmmm… we shall see…
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is coming to PlayStation 3/PlayStation 4/PS Vita, Xbox One/Xbox 360, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and PC on November 11, 2014. That’s pretty much all you need to know as TT Games and WBIE have absolutely MASTERED the art of whipping out a LEGO game to mostly rave notices and delivering the goods with a family-friendly set of titles that have infinite replay value and make for instant “BUY ME!” purchases whether as gifts for oneself or a bunch of lucky kids.
Seriously, all you need are a couple of controllers and anyone can have a total blast. for the longest time, the LEGO series has been a “pick up and play” festival and with each installment, TT Games has been adding neat stuff like fully voiced characters, bigger maps to explore and loads of additional costumes, characters and plenty of hidden secrets for those willing to play until they fine everything. Oh, and here’s a word from Braniac and a few pals in case you’re showing any form of disinterest in this one:
Yeah, soooo… don’t let the Joker put the earth in his pants (ewww!)… BUY THIS GAME when it comes out and knock some sense into that ever-grinning nut-job, I say!
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 