The Last of Us: American Dreams #1 (Another Dark Horse From Dark Horse Comics)

TLOS_AD_CoverDark Horse Comics gets its tie-in mini-series rolling into stores and if the first issue is any indication, the remaining three issues should be essential reading before the game hits retail in North America on June 14, 2013. Co-writer and artist Faith Erin Hicks has a style that’s very Harvey Kurtzman influenced (always a good thing) with a touch of David Mazzucchelli (another good thing) and there’s a nicely gritty feel to her brushwork that’s a great counterpoint to the video game’s hyper-realistic graphics.

The Last of Us art director and lead writer Neil Druckmann is also on the case, co-writing with Hicks a nicely paced tale that’s got some intriguing characters whose fates aren’t all clear nor tied into the upcoming game experience. Verdict: absolutely check this out if you’re a PS3 owner and comics fan looking forward to Naughty Dog’s survival adventure game – it’s out now at a comics shop near you.

Dragon’s Crown Gameplay Trailer: Not Your Typical Storybook Fantasy Memories…


 
DC display packsAs you can probably guess from that video above, Vanillaware sure isn’t making Dragon’s Crown for the little kiddies… well, other than that happy dancing mouse that cracked me up because *BOOM!* it’s just THERE for a second or two in the middle of things before the next visual hits your eyeballs. Yeah, this gorgeous 2D side-scrolling fantasy chase ‘n chop is destined to get the fans raving about the lush art and maybe a few raging about the generously-endowed ladies (hey, that’s George Kamitani’s style at work and working well), but it’s all good.

I’d say that Atlus most certainly has a hit here for the PS3 and Vita, so set your sundials accordingly and maybe even think about pre-ordering this one, as I can see it going out of print fast as a physical copy when the otaku snap it up on day one. Yeah, yeah, digital is the big deal, but some of us like hugging our software a bit tighter whenever we can and for as long as possible…

Puppeteer Story Trailer: Press the Button, Pull The Strings – This PS3 Game’s Got Some Wings…


 

Another fine (and original) PS3 exclusive, SCE Japan’s super stylish adventure platformer Puppeteer, should hook in those core gamers (and yes, Sony fans) who crave nicely rendered (and slightly dark) fantasy worlds and characters to play with. This one tickles me because it’s doing the storybook come to life thing in a fun way without screaming “FAMILY GAME!” in huge neon letters. You really have to appreciate that Sony’s not letting the PS3 die off slowly (or quickly) with a bunch of crap budget titles and third-parry shovelware to remember it by, but I hope there are more exclusives like this to come. Frankly speaking, the PS4 absolutely needs to hit the ground rolling into 2014 with as few duds as possible from both first and third party developers who want their work to have long shelf lives and gameplay that’s more than the usual suspects doing the usual things.

As always, folks… we shall see…

Capcom Arcade Cabinet 1985-II Trailer: Three More To Make You Feel Young (Or Old)…


 

OK, my poor twitch reflexes are tingling, but that’s either good or bad depending on the game that needs playing. It’s good if it’s a slow jammer I can play half asleep, but not so good if it’s these three latest downloads for Capcom Arcade Cabinet on the PS3 (via PSN) and Xbox 360 (via XBLA), which you should be able to snap up right about now. Savage Bees, The Speed Rumbler and Commando are this week’s quarter-munchers, so grab them and prepare to see how the old folks got it done. Hey, wait… I’m ONE of those old folks, so perhaps I should show myself some more respect. Or maybe not, as that would be a bit too pompous – I kind of wasn’t so good at some of these games back in the day. But practice makes almost perfect, right? Off to get some training in before I fire this one up. 50 push-ups should do. If I survive that part, I’ll be back…

KILLER IS DEAD English Dub Trailer #2: Mondo Zappa’s Badass Adventure Continues…


 
XSEED CONTRACTLovely. There’s really not all that much to say here except Kadokawa Games, grasshopper manufacture and of course, Suda 51 are all on point and of course, Xseed Games NEEDS to be profusely knuckle-smooched for localizing this beautiful mess of a must-buy. Like the rest of Suda’s games I’ve played, I’m looking forward to that off-kilter style and humor that works so well when your head is in the right places. Some fans over-analyze his work so much that I wonder how they can enjoy it. Then I see that they don’t enjoy it as much as they SHOULD because they’re wasting time with all that analyzing. Key to a grasshopper/Suda game? Jump in feet first, controller in hands and enjoy the ride from beginning to end. You wouldn’t get off a moving roller coaster or bungie cord mid-fall to point out every spot where you think those could have been more fun, right? Well, I sure hope not, Superman…

Defiance Launch Trailer: A “New Age” Begins (Crazy Cat Ladies Holding Mice To Come)…


 

It’s here and launch day bumpiness aside when you get too many people playing your MMO at the same time, it seems that DEFIANCE is taking the MMO world by storm as far as a triple platform launch goes. I’m still seeing a bit of confusion from a few people who expected this online-only game to have an offline mode, but it’s good that they’re at least asking about it FIRST and not plunking down sixty bucks because they liked the TV commercials. Of course, having an offline more would have meant MORE people would be playing this on day one, but as I’ve noted previously, that’s up to Trion Worlds if this MMO takes off and users want more of the new world they’ve created (and not as a stupid simple mobile phone or device app). As always, we shall see, but so far, day one looks like the start of something big for both Trion and syfy. 13 days until the show premieres…

Grand Theft Auto V Cover: Meet The New Neighbors (You’ll Be Seeing A Lot Of Them Soon)…

GTA_V_CoverAnd here you go, your time-eater for the month of September (and beyond for some). September 17, 2013 is the big day, so expect some “sick” people at home with the GTA flu (TM) for a few days. Hilariously, there’s actually been some needless ire out there in Internet-land that Rockstar Games’ last two GTA games have been “too serious” when despite the open world shenanigans that can be pretty funny (well, in a slapstick-y gory way) that deeper, story driven narrative has been part of the franchise since the first games back on the PC and older consoles.

Granted, the games were more intentionally cartoon like in their character designs, but the evolution in visuals has been a natural thing thanks to Rockstar wanting to go in that direction as means to pull off more mature storytelling. THAT said, the game, like GTV IV, should be hilariously funny in terms of the assorted in jokes in everything from car names to radio spots that pop up as you’re driving around. The more of a “sophisticated” gamer you are, the more of these amusing references you’ll appreciate, I say. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go polish my pipe and air out my smoking jacket. With my pinky out.

The Last of Us Redband Trailer: Now With 100% More “Ewww, I Get It…”

TLOS_survival editionI’ve always found the concept of the Redband (or Red Band) trailer a bit stupid when all is said and done. YES, I understand that this stuff isn’t for the wee bairns, lest their dainty eyelash hairs catch fire from the heinous evil that they see, but hell. I mean, you can easily see this stuff on YouTube and so can little kids who can search for violent stuff like this, but whatever. For some reason, the ESRB keeps an iron fist on this type of content despite broadcast TV being much MORE violent. Oh – click on that pic of the Survival Edition to see the video. I don’t want the ESRB to come by and break my legs…

Speeeeeaking of breaking legs… (this just in!):  As for ACTUAL violence and nasty gore NO one should see, er… how about some nice and gory NCAA basketball action, hmmm? I didn’t see that shocking video, but I certainly couldn’t get away from people talking about it all damn day.  Double hmmmm. Maybe that sort of thing, nasty as it is, should go into the next EA Sports hoops game, so fans of that sport know it’s not all slick tattoos, hottie cheerleaders and fatty signing bonuses that net you an automatic sneaker contract that turns you into a multimillionaire a blown knee or worse away from no career before you’re 30 or so. Anyway, Naughty Dog’s new masterpiece, The Last of Us, which has NOTHING to do with sports or real violence hits retail on June 14, 2013. Get it and be prepared to hole up for a while.

New Thief 4 Trailer: Hmmm, Now You Need A New Logo, Too…


 

He’s baaaaack… and before you know it, you’re waking up with a headache, your purse full of gold is long gone and if he needed a disguise and you were the right size, so are your pantaloons. Poor (and now poorer you). That wasn’t some April Fool who clubbed you and cut your purse either. No news on exactly WHEN this one will be all done, but I’d bet that’s the way the man himself wants it. Hell, would YOU tell your mark you were good and ready to swipe their stuff? Then again, a good thief loves a challenge, right? This could get interesting, folks… stay tuned…

EDF 4 3rd Trailer: It Just Got “Classier” In A Big Guy In A Metal Suit Kind of Way…


Earth-Defense-Force-2025_2013_03-28-13_043Holy Cats. That, friends, is the new FENCER class in action here and if this video is any indication, Earth Defense Force fans worldwide will be in for a real treat using this new class. Three more screenshots of this beefy guy are below and below the jump is a big gallery of the fun pre-order DLC bonuses Japanese gamers will get from a few locations the game can be purchased from. If you want to zone out completely on a HUGE gallery of hundreds of EDF images, check out Gematsu’s big, honkin’ page of screens.

Earth-Defense-Force-2025_2013_03-28-13_099 Earth-Defense-Force-2025_2013_03-28-13_002 Earth-Defense-Force-2025_2013_03-28-13_020

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