E3 2013: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2: Putting The Bite Back In Dracula…

Posted on June 8, 2013 by geelw

I can still remember parts of the internet going nuclear when Spanish developer Mercury Steam was chosen to do a new 3D Castlevania game with Hideo Kojima doing a it of supervision. Konami, the developer and even Kojima himself got raked over a few coal beds, the game was deemed to be doomed before anything was playable and the usual crowd of “if it isn’t 2D, it sucks!” folk were there to condemn the building as the foundation was being laid . Of course, 2010’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow definitely wasn’t the train wreck many predicted and in fact, it was one of the nicer surprises in terms of aged franchises getting a chance to shine on current generation consoles.

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E3 2013: DAYLIGHT Trailer -You’ll Need a Night Light When Playing This Horror Game…

Posted on June 8, 2013 by geelw

To some gamers, Zombie Studios is actually better know for its military-themed shooters, but this isn’t their first time at the scary games rodeo at all. The developer has also done the two Konami-published SAW games (which were pretty interesting to play through) and I suppose you could label their surreal 1996 game ZPC as a sort of “horror” game thanks to the twisted visual style and weird enemies. But let’s look a little it into the future, shall we?

Daylight is coming for the PlayStation 4 and PC from publisher Atlus in 2014, and if this trailer is any indication, fans of jump scares and pesky ghosts rattling their cages will be all in and dying for more. The Unreal Engine 4 visuals look appropriately creepy and the procedurally generated levels will give the game almost infinite replay value (and make for yet another modern horror twist on the rogue-like RPG). Clearly, this isn’t going to be a “one time play and back to the shop it goes” experience, but it’s really going to be up to those gamers who “get” the concept and latch into it that keeps this one in play stacks. Translation: it better scare the hell out of us each time it’s played. Back with more on this one in a bit…

E3 2013: Dying Light Trailer: Seems Those Undead Will Live Forever…

Posted on June 7, 2013 by geelw

OK, it’s officially official: zombies are finally played out in games. But at least they’re getting used in desperately fun and funky ways as fodder in some new hybrid titles. Techland’s upcoming PlayStation 4 and PC title, Dying Light pits your supremely agile character against packs of fast-moving undead in what’s looking like a pretty thrilling “open world” action game that’s part Mirror’s Edge, part Left 4 Dead. This one’s not coming out until 2014, but it’s on my radar as I like a lot of what Techland has done. Hopefully, it will look and play good as well as not disappoint – it’s tough to judge from a CG trailer, but as usual, some hands on time is the best and ONLY way to gauge any game’s potential success of failure.

EDF 4 Web Shop Treats: And That’s Why We Love You, D3Publisher!

Posted on June 7, 2013 by geelw

With Earth Defense Force 4 less than a month away in Japan, D3Publisher is keeping fans up to date with a little web shop weirdness that really needs to be part of the game’s US localization. Yeah, yeah, explaining inflatable cuties in maid outfits is going to be an eyebrow lifter for some gamers, but just roll with it – they’re actually really useful in the game against the hordes of giants bugs and other pesky enemies you’ll face. July 4, 2013 is when this hits overseas, meaning those of you importers who pre-ordered won’t be getting your copies until after that holiday even if you paid for more expensive shipping. Anyone else, well – D3Publisher of America hasn’t dropped that release date just yet, but E3 is in a few days so expect some info soon…

E3 2013: DuckTales Remastered: Launchpad Lands in the Amazon and Transylvania…

Posted on June 6, 2013 by geelw

Woo-ooooo! Yeah, I played the Transylvania demo level already at the Capcom event last month (it’s quite amazing how WayForward recaptured the feeling of the original and has enhanced it even more), but seeing it once more makes me smile. That Amazon level looks as tough as ever, but with some nice twists. I’m allowing this happy-happy joy-joy stuff take over instead of the news that all my (and your) emails and other online conversations have been (and are) pored over by the federales for security reasons. Bleh. Well, I should be a LOT more annoyed, but I guess I’ll leave that to the bloggers who do better at focusing on politics. Me, I just want to toss them all onto a slow boat to the sun, Wooo-oooooo!

Class of Heroes II Out Now – There Goes Your Summer (Part 1)…

Posted on June 5, 2013 by geelw

I was going to start this post with a supremely pompous sounding “From the ashes of Working Designs…” or something like that (I had music picked out, wine, cheese and everything all set, too!), but there’s a darn good chance the the people who want this (and have already paid for it) know that company’s history to the letter (or don’t care because they’re getting a new PSP game) and the ones who don’t know that history (or care at all for JRPGs) aren’t going to give a hoot in hell about the whos and whats of WD. Anyway, thanks to Gaijinworks, MonkeyPaw Games, Acquire and of course, developer Zerodiv for baking this one up. Anyway, that old PSP you’ve got under your socks and underwear in the drawer (and I hope to Hephaestus that those holy garments are clean, eww) is still getting games, so yeah – buy this and watch the hours melt away (but not the pounds if you totally veg out and never see sunlight, silly)…

Play Responsibly – that’s my new sign off for these time crushing epics… at least for the rest of the evening…

E3 2013: Puppeteer Trailer: Another “Little” Treasure on the PS3…

Posted on June 5, 2013 by geelw

I don’t know about you, fellow ancient gamers out there, but Sony’s upcoming PS3 exclusive, Puppeteer actually reminds me of something that legendary developer Treasure would have done back in the day as a 2D game on a 16 or 32-bit console or a 3D game on a later platform. That’s not a negative, by the way.

The game’s new trailers certainly bring back fond memories of Treasure hits and near-hits such as Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Mischief Makers and a few other classics not named Mario this or that, but with a more modern level of visual polish not found in those older titles.

Even better, it’s coming to retail (yes!) at a very reasonable $39.99, so you get that quality game experience of old (as in a cute platformer that would cost twenty bucks more on a cartridge) with the budget-minded pricing of a company that knows gamers want to spend less on much of what they’re interested in. Sure, I’m betting there’s some “Well, it doesn’t LOOK like a AAA game!” nonsense going on in some heads out there, but if it’s fun, has some decent replay value and gets noticed as a stellar experience by the jaded critics out there, it’s worth more than it’s selling for, I say…

Bethesda Gets You Cultured (Sort of): Welcome to Uppsala, Sweden!

Posted on June 5, 2013 by geelw

While Machine Games toils away on its new game, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Bethesda (and YOU) get a little more cultured in this latest update that actually features no game footage at all (whee!). OK, OK… stop panicking, people. You see soon enough that the game is definitely in good hands (I’ll post a gallery after E3 is over and done). Think of it this way: the lighthearted travelogue and studio tour going on above and below is just fluff to keep your eyes and ears in shape for the upcoming shooter.

In plain English: giving you too much candy now will just ruin your appetite for dinner, you know… that’s your free lesson of the day.

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara – Meet The Thief (Your Wallet Will Be Lighter, But You Won’t Mind)

Posted on June 5, 2013 by geelw

Another week, another class from Capcom’s upcoming arcade classic set to hit PC, PSN, XBLA and Nintendo’s eShop later this month. As I noted in my hands-on preview last week or thereabouts (hey, it’s close to E3 and I’m up to my newly clipped nose hairs in press releases and such!), the game is coming along fantastically and will be packed to the gills with content and game modes that should make it highly replayable.

Hopefully, this will do well enough that we also see portable versions hit as well as a new sequel or all-new D&D game starring the same characters plus a few more classes for good measure. All that’s up to you (well… partly, as I’m not sure how “easy” it is to get the license for a new game from whomever owns it these days), so make sure you make yourself happy and Capcom happier by snapping this up.

UPDATE! Release dates from Capcom incoming: Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara is due out this June on PSN (NA: 6/18; EU: 6/19), Xbox LIVE (NA: 6/19; EU: 6/19), Wii U e-Shop (TBC – more info coming soon!), and PC (NA: 6/18; EU: 6/18) for $14.99.

Now Playing: Remember Me (and Other Stuff)…

Posted on June 4, 2013 by geelw

Of course, I had to run out early on Friday evening and zoomed past the UPS truck a block away that I SHOULD have hung around a few minutes to bug the driver about any packages that were mine on board, but, oh well. Anyway, Remember Me popped up again yesterday and I’ve been playing it since (which is why there weren’t a load of posts happening, folks). Anyway, it’s quite a blast and yep, a review is incoming probably tomorrow. So far, it’s quite original, somewhat linear, but very gorgeous in a “this is the game you make when your studio is in Paris!” kind of way.

Back in a bit – spoiler: the score will be good unless the game falls apart in what looks like the last few areas I’ll be getting back to soon enough. As for “Other Stuff”, that’s not a game – it’s just my queue stacked up with a bunch of games I’ll try to get to before the E3 crunch steamrolls me…