Defiance 1:4 Recap/1:5 Preview: Renewal Means More Life Ahead For Many…

Posted on May 11, 2013 by geelw

The great news is syfy has renewed Defiance for a second season, so that means the ratings are decent enough that we’ll get more of this fancy futuristic western and hopefully more airtime for certain characters. The tie-in action/shooter MMORPG also seems to be doing well as its user base has hit the million mark and seems to be growing after some of the usual online gaming issues that plague new releases. Thanks to the rather deep back story to the show (and game) world and the assorted races, there’s a lot of unexplored territory that should keep this train rolling for as long as content can be created. Of course, all this depends on the show keeping those ratings as high as possible and the game getting rid of a few bugs that still keep it from perfection.

Given the dedication to both products from all working on them, it’s a no-brainer (to me, at least) that things can only get better in the future (even if the future is a pretty busted up planet we’re going to live on)…

The Last of Us TV Spot #2: A Month or So Isn’t That Long To Wait…

Posted on May 11, 2013 by geelw

As I’ve said before, Sony’s not going to let the PS3 fade into the usual “old” console obscurity as they’ve got a few more great first-party games that show off some developers at the top of their game. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us looks to combine solid storytelling and intense action in an exclusive that looks to be one of the best games made for the console. The recently released Dark Horse Comics prequel has sold out (well, as far a physical copies go), so it looks like plenty of gamers who picked the book up (and happen to own PS3’s) will be zipping on down to their favorite game shop (or lurking by their mailboxes) when the game’s June 14, 2013 release date rolls up.

Bethesda Underground Mother’s Day Surprise: Oh Yeah, And He Broke That Lamp, Too…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by geelw

Awwww! Here’s a pretty cool and amusing video from Bethsoft with Arkane Studios producer Seth Shain and his mom having a fun little discussion about what he does for a living. Hmmmm… I guess he needs to go buy her a console and a copy of Dishonored for Mother’s Day, huh? Well, that’s what I’d do after telling her I was a doctor all these years. OK, he didn’t, but let this be a lesson to all you lazy sons and daughters out there who get through life wanting to stab your own mom with a cold spoon for not letting you have the car that one time or reading you the riot act for staying out too late and forgetting to tell her where you were going or which one of the soon to be jailbirds you were out with. Little things mean a lot, so get to it this weekend, I say. That’s my good deed for the month, mind you – after this, it’s back to open season on the rubes, so watch it…

Resident Evil Revelations “Shock and Panic” Trailer (No, Not About The Wii U Features)…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by geelw

Ah ha ha… I had to get that little joke in because I read some message board posts a week or so ago that were blasting the Wii U version for being “for kids” or something silly like that when clearly, the Wii U Gamepad features in that video below aren’t necessarily “for kids” at all because the main game certainly isn’t. I mean, if you shot or beat a zombie or other creature to death here and CANDY came out or maybe BUBBLES and RAINBOWS, maybe I’d be on your side. Or maybe not, as I generally don’t take sides in these debates at all – I just play the games and let you know that I like them and yes, you should spend your money accordingly.

That and hell, you just KNOW that there’s going to be a lot of otherwise “mature” gamers running around drawing naughty bits every chance they get and smirking like straight-jacketed hyenas when they see their handiwork show up on some website as part of some review or news item. Trolls like these breed when they need to feed, I say. Resident Evil Revelations hits PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 on May 21, 2013 – Some hands-on time is coming up next week, so expect some words from and to the wise about this one shortly…

GRID 2: LiveRoutes & A Trip to Miami (A Really Fast Trip, At That)…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by geelw

Codemasters is set to shake the racing game scene up with the addition of LiveRoutes in GRID 2, set for a May 28, 2013 US launch on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. LiveRoutes alter selected courses in the game each time you play, offering up six different routes when these tracks are revisited. This should keep some expert as well as novice players from blowing through familiar courses and should make for some interesting live events in online play.

As for Miami… welcome and hey! You just got to see a gameplay video of someone driving faster there than you can do in real life thanks to all the traffic they’ve got down there. Aren’t you the lucky one! Well, unless you get carsick watching all these videos I’ve been posting… oops.

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara: The Elf – In A Class All By Herself…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by geelw

Hey, now… before you get all finger-pointy and mention that elves are a race and not a class, you should probably take note that in Dungeons and Dragons, they were initially seen as a separate class along with halflings and dwarves. Of course, elves don’t exist in real life (despite people spending too much time believing they do), so there’s a moot point here somewhere I keep misplacing. Anyway, whee – I get to try this Iron Galaxy-developed HD reboot/remake out next week when Capcom rolls into NYC with it and a few other awesome upcoming games, so expect a nice hands-on report shortly afterward. Dungeon & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara hits PC, PSN, Xbox Live and Nintendo’s eShop on July 14 – back in a bit with more on this instant classic soon.

Dragon’s Crown Cover Art, Artbook Revealed: Preselling A Not-So-Hard Sell…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by geelw

DC_Artworks_Glam

Lovely… and it can soon be all yours, at that. Dragon’s Crown finally gets some VERY pretty cover art for its retail versions as well as a really cool pre-order bonus in the form of a 64-page softcover art book that’s absolutely going to be snapped up by fans of George Kamitani’s work. I’d go as far as to predict the art book selling for more than the game does down thee road among those who miss out and want to pay through the pores on eBay or some other site, but that’s not Atlus’ concern what you do with that bonus item as they see not a red cent from secondhand sales of their cool goods. Anyway, check out the official site if you haven’t already for character profiles, more of Kamitani’s lush artwork and more.

Dragon’s Crown will hit retail and PSN on August 6, 2013. Be there or be square, I say…

Wolfenstein: The New Order – Meet The New Boss (Not The Same As The Old Boss)…

Posted on May 9, 2013 by geelw

WOLF_ID_type_white Well, now… B.J. Blazkowicz is coming back in a new Wolfenstein game from a team made up of some pretty talented industry vets originally from Starbreeze Studios? Count me in, especially if it’s got mechs to stomp around in or get the hell away from as they’re trying to stomp YOU.

Of course, the alternate past 1960 setup where the Germans win WWII and B.J. is back in action after too long made me laugh and think of Captain America frozen in an iceberg until he got accidentally defrosted (ah, comics science!), but I think this game will go for a less crazy plot twist and just make with the satisfying Nazi-blasting in solo and multiplayer modes. Er, well… I hope there’s a decent plot here.

Then again, I’m not too worried, as Bethesda’s had hits with Arkane Studios’ phenomenal Dishonored and it’s own Elder Scrolls games. It certainly looks like “new” developer Machine Games is on the case plus tax, as you can see from these two videos that introduces the team in a pretty funny manner. And hell, when your executive producer is named Jerk, you KNOW you’re going to get a memorable experience…

Anyway, they sure look like a bunch of fun folks, so I’ll do what I do best and leave them along until they have something playable to show off in the near future…

Resident Evil Revelations “Survive” Case File: Well, Duh!

Posted on May 8, 2013 by geelw

Can you imagine a Resident Evil game where you HAD to keep getting killed by all sorts of enemies? Good, neither can I. Of course, if you’re really bad at the game and constantly freaked out by the horrors stumbling and shuffling about on that boat from hell, well… you can always go get someone to play the game for you while you camp out on the couch and jump when something scary pops up and starts chasing your surrogate around. Then again, no one likes a back seat driver when they’re playing a game you’re to scared to play, right?

Class of Heroes 2 Pre-Sales Now Live (Via Amazon ONLY, Unfortunately!)…

Posted on May 7, 2013 by geelw

COH2_small While it’s absolutely great to see Gaijinworks finally get this game out in a GREAT physical/digital pack for a measly $36.99 (with shipping!), the SOLE payment option (Amazon, via credit card ONLY, no Amazon credits, sorry!) means folks like me who don’t use credit cards are going to be holding out longer for the digital-only (boo!) PSN version to ship before we can actually buy this one.

Sure, I get that it’s much easier for the company to set up and deal with than multiple payment types (and those assorted fees they’d need to pay, plus PayPal’s stupid in general manner of doing business), but it also means they’re not going to see those pre-sales sell as fast as they should at the end of the day. So yeah… so much for that convenient Paypal option for those of us stuck with money burning a hole in our accounts or anyone with Amazon credit looking to polish that off.

Griping aside, a poke around the forums reveals that the game seems to be pre-selling well enough that Vic Ireland isn’t sweating the loss of a few cranky jerks like me who want to throw him our money but can’t – yet. Still, I hope to hell that we see some way we can get the game without paying a shit-mint on eBay for. And of course, there are people already “selling” the game there when it hasn’t even been produced yet. Well, a fool and his money are sooner parted than later, right? Anyway, looks as if I’ll have to “settle” for a digital version when the game is released.