PAX 2013: Capcom Makes My Day: Dungeons & Dragons AND DuckTales Are Back!

Posted on March 22, 2013 by geelw

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom and its sequel Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara have been two arcade games fans in the US have been begging Cacpom to localize for the US. For years, the only ways to play this were flying to Japan, buying an expensive Sega Saturn import or through not so legal emulation means, but now PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC owners will get to get down with some serious D&D arcade action in Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara. Iron Galaxy is handling the dev chores on the two D&D games, which will get the HD remaster treatment and more (read that link for details – I have to warm up my happy dance) with everything set to release digitally in June.

As for DuckTales? This NES classic platformer is getting the SUPER royal deluxe McDuck treatment, as its HD remake is being handled by none other than WayForward Technologies, one of the best 2D developers in the business (in my humble opinion). Expect to see this one on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U this summer. I’ll post galleries for both games later today or tomorrow, as I have a museum trip and dinner appointment calling me and I’m about to dance on over thataway, happily…

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen: Mystic Knights Mean Painful Daze For Gran Soren’s Monsters…

Posted on March 21, 2013 by geelw

A ha ha ha, I can come up with the proper funny puns now, can’t I? “NO”?!! Eh, what do YOU know anyway. Hey, as long as I make MYSELF laugh, that’s good enough for me. Foo. Anyway, another week, another cool class video from the upcoming expansion that builds on the already massive game and adds a bunch of cool new content. Getting not only this but the complete original game on a single disc (or download) for a mere $39.99 is a great deal whether you’ve played the game already or not. As usual, the big, fat elephant shaped gorilla in the room here is finding time to play this even bigger game. Someone will one day invent a time machine that works properly. The one I have just makes toast and shocks me when I try to stick a fork in to take it out. Hey, YOU try getting a slice of bread out of a temporal field while it’s still active. Not an easy thing to do, folks… Well, a wooden fork would help a lot, but that’s what I’m trying to go back in time first to get, silly…

GRID 2 Video Update Finally Uncovers Drift Mode

Posted on March 21, 2013 by geelw

You Codemasters racing fans have probably been wondering what was up with the not so revealing of every game mode in GRID 2, but there’s a plan at play here to keep you all dialed in and driving those browsers back to the company’s game and YouTube pages. In case THAT trick doesn’t work at all, it’s kind of up to people like me to get you skidding there through posting stuff like this. No, the video above, not my well-played and humorous text that doesn’t describe what’s in the video above at all. Hey, consistency is my thing here at DAF and if you’re in an always confused state while poking around here, that means my work is done. Of course, I’d be neglecting my duties by not informing you that GRID 2 hits retail in North America on May 28, 2013 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 (and 5/31 in the UK/Europe).

Retro City Rampage Is Five Bucks on Steam. You Know What That Means, Right?

Posted on March 21, 2013 by geelw

RCR_STEAM_Player

Yeah, it means that’s a sale that won’t last forever and yes, you should drop EVERYTHING (well, except whatever you’re reading this post on, as that’s a bit dumb to have your phone/tablet/laptop/home PC/converted UNIVAC you picked up for two bucks on eBay {with free shipping? What a deal!} fall to the ground and break) and BUY THIS GAME. Seriously, If you like to laugh and love retro games, you’ll probably die laughing with a controller in your hands. If you hate to laugh but like retro games, you’ll crack a smile after far too long out of practice and probably scare your cat or dog or the neighbors in the process. Usually, the only thing you see at 67% off are day-old donuts and dented cans at the supermarket, but Retro City Rampage gives you ZERO chance of food poisoning or too many cat-scented old ladies beating you in the head with their canes to get to that tin of tuna surprise (yum-o!).

Besides, you look like you could use a good bargain today as I know you spent too much on those new shoes and are feeling a bit guilty about it…

Resident Evil Revelations Story Trailer: Capcom Has A Few Things To Let You In On…

Posted on March 21, 2013 by geelw

First and foremost, Capcom knows you’re interested in Resident Evil Revelations on the PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 because you just might not be a Nintendo 3DS owner and may just have been a wee bit curious about this previously exclusive handheld-only game (that somehow skipped the Vita? Whaaaat?). Anyway, they also want you to know that no, you big silly, those aren’t up-rezzed 3DS graphics at all. The entire game has been rebuilt for home consoles and looks great throughout. They also want you to know that even though that trailer you just watched has a ton of spoilers, you still need to play the game because you’re not THAT psychic and you need to spend some more money on their products. How do I know all this? Oh, a little undead bird told me, that’s how… It also told me to not write any more bad RER poetry, so I didn’t (and you’re lucky… this time).

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX PAX East Trailer: Three Ways To Look At It…

Posted on March 21, 2013 by geelw

Oddly enough at the moment, this trailer has so far appeared on everything but the US Disney site, but it HAS to be coming out in North America or there will be riots at Square Enix HQ when rabid series fans dress up like characters from the games and storm the offices demanding a release. Check your local news if you live in the area after PAX East and see what happens. Then again, 99.7% of them will be detained at the airport for carrying giant Keyblades, so the workers at that building will merely need to deal with about fourteen raving people in homemade costumes with picket signs and cardboard swords. ANYWAY, the three things I was getting to:

PS3-only owners will be giddy and thrilled if they’re fans of the popular franchise as the HD boost looks pretty nice and there’s a cool bonus added you’ll see if you watch the trailer above. Of course, this release doesn’t have Kingdom Hearts II on the disc, which means if this sells well, Square Enix and Disney will be hitting you up for more money in a year or less with a new HD update of that game’s Final Mix and other content…

Nintendo-only home console owners will be pissed off because other than the four portable KH games (one for the Game Boy Advance, two for the Nintendo DS and one for the 3DS), there’s nothing for them on a home console to play (and probably won’t be unless the upcoming Disney Infinity adds KH toys and characters to the game down the road).

Xbox 360-only owners completely won’t give a crap, but they certainly wouldn’t mind a good Disney game that doesn’t use than damn Kinect. Fat chance of that happening, but you never know…

Hating Aliens: Colonial Marines? Well, It Could Be Better (or Worse) With A Bit of Retro Perspective…

Posted on March 21, 2013 by geelw

ACM_PS3 Given the critical drubbing that Sega’s Aliens: Colonial Marines has gotten across most of the Internet-verse, some gamers are still feeling the urge to play something that feels closer to James Cameron’s 1986 film than what ended up on store shelves. Well, allow me to assist in this matter (sort of). Track down a working Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and MSX and a copy of Electric Dreams’ 1987 game, Aliens or the rather interesting (and free) PC remake over at Derbian Games and see what was scary to gamers of that era. Continue reading →

Defiance Ark Hunter Chronicles 5: Risk Versus Reward, Indeed…

Posted on March 20, 2013 by geelw

How amusing that this week’s DEFIANCE AHC has this particular title. It also seems that’s the collective hive mind thinking of some MMO and shooter fans who somehow STILL don’t “get” this game after MONTHS of footage, previews and information that’s NOT leaked out in dribs and drabs by some “crafty” PR drone, but put up by Trion Worlds and syfy themselves. I still see posts calling this a “Halo” clone, a FPS, or asking if it has traditional MMO click and wait gameplay. Some people love the air in their bubbles, I guess. Personally, they just give me gas. Anyway, the game is fast-paced, fun and will probably surprise some of the jaded types. The only bit of confusion I see that’s a b it pesky for Trion is some think the game is offline as well when it’s not. I still think it SHOULD have an offline solo and co-op game (which would make it PERFECT for fans of Sandlot’s Earth Defense Force games), as well as get a Vita version with the same features. But perhaps we’ll see some other developer give that a go if the series takes off and there’s high interest in taking it to that level. As always… we shall see…

A Friendly 10 Minute Reminder From Sony…

Posted on March 20, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, I figured Sony would be condensing that big PS4 meeting down to a “Hey, you better remember THIS!” video at some point, so it’s good to see that they still want your almighty gaming dollars sent their way. That said, I hope to hell they’re paying VERY close attention to Electronic Arts’ recent follies and fumbles with the new Sim City game and how ANYTHING even remotely similar happening with PSN or any digital content not getting into the paws of waiting consumers in 100% working order will be taken as Sony not being ready for prime time. We want to play our games offline and private FIRST and foremost, people. Forcing patches and updates on us, “always online” nonsense or other junk, then making crap excuses for any of it won’t do well for the PS4. Get it done, do it right and make sure we can play WHEN WE WANT TO, and you’ll be able to sleep better at night. As in it’s very hard to sleep with angry people with torches (or cell phones and tablets displaying torches, as this IS the 21st century, y’know) outside your window once a system hack somewhere reveals every SCEA exec’s home address…

Review: MUD FIM Motocross World Championship (PS3)

Posted on March 20, 2013 by geelw

MUD_TPCOVERPS3_3D_Eng_Fr_10-2_011013 Platform: PS3 (also on Xbox 360, PC)

Developer: Milestone

Publisher: Namco Bandai Games

# of Players: 1 (Online 1 – 12)

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: C+ (79%)

While it’s not without its flaws, MUD FIM Motocross World Championship manages to be a fun and fairly lengthy romp through the wild world of moto-x that mixes in arcade-style controls with some light to medium simulation elements. Veteran developer Milestone, known for its SBK bike race series and some pretty solid road and rally racing games, tackles this particular motor sport with relish as well as making more of an attempt to cater to a younger X Games fed audience and the results are mixed overall. More emphasis on reality (and more top US riders for the fans here in North America) would have been a better focus, as some of the “cool” bits feel a wee bit too forced. While there’s indeed a blast to be had here offline or on, the game can’t quite straddle both arcade and sim worlds and appeal to those who may have wanted a few more (and better) options. Continue reading →