Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch: Meet Joe Hisaishi, The Final Piece of a Perfect Puzzle…

Posted on January 9, 2013 by geelw

As you’ll see here (and hear here, ha ha), Joe Hisaishi’s stirring score for the Level-5/Studio Ghibli collaboration Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch fits the game wonderfully well. It’s definitely one of those cases where every element of the game’s development flowed together into what’s looking to be a truly spectacular and memorable experience for JRPG fans. North American PS3 owners only have about two weeks more to wait before the game hits retail, but it’s absolutely going to be one of those games that was not only worth the wait, but worth every penny spent on whatever edition you end up owning. Namco Bandai has a big hit here, I say – hopefully, it’ll do as well as the company and all involved in the project hope, as these sorts of expensive epics may be going the way of the dinosaur thanks to too many publishers focusing on quickie casual, social and mobile titles more and more for faster revenue generation.

VGA 101 Personals: Hardcore Game Nut Seeking Reliable PS3 Controller For Good Times…

Posted on January 8, 2013 by geelw

Seriously. For some reason, I have NO luck with PlayStation 3 controllers. I’ve gone through no fewer than ten controllers in the past five or six years and it’s not because I’m some hulking ham-fisted beast-man or mean-eating Amazon snapping spines like twigs like Tura Satana in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (whee, a Russ Meyer reference!). I’ve only gone through two Xbox 360 pads in about six years, but I do tend to gravitate to the PS3 a bit more. That said, I don’t think it’s the controller’s construction at all because that total includes a few third-party pads that have died from a broken analog stick here or a rechargeable battery that wouldn’t charge there (the most common issue). My last controller was an otherwise excellent Power A pad that looked like an Xbox 360 controller and it worked beautifully until a few days ago when it flashed a few read lights around the ring in the center before pooping out completely. Boo. Hiss. Continue reading →

EDF 2017 Portable Hits PSN – Buy It & Bug Out!

Posted on January 8, 2013 by geelw

Sandlot’s niche bug blasting epic rolls onto the PlayStation Vita today and even if you’ve played the Xbox 360 version to death, this is a MUST buy. Seven new stages, new enemies, new weapon drops, the return of Pale Wing from EDF 2, new 4-player co-op and versus modes and more all await. After a shaky 2012, the Vita needs support with “smaller” titles like these and while $40 seems pricey for a download-only release, the sheer amount of content here and the fact that it will take a while to unlock everything if you’re into Trophies makes this one of the key releases for Sony’s portable this month. If you’re a fan of Japanese monster flicks, old 50’s sci-fi, high-action games with a wicked difficulty curve (Think you’re hot gamer stuff? Beat Mission 1 on Inferno with the default weapons and let me know how that goes) and hell, love supporting the underdog, the EDF wants YOU!

That and hey – the game just may help you overcome that needless fear of spiders you have… er, or it’ll just turn you into a total catatonic mess after that first stage they appear in. Hitting your Vita rapidly with a plastic flip-flop is not a very good idea, particularly in public. It’s winter here and what the heck are you doing wearing plastic flip-flops in the snow, silly? And a can of Raid, too? Hmmm… I think you have some issues to deal with that aren’t gaming related…

Corpse Party: Book of Shadows Proves The PSP Isn’t Quite Dead…

Posted on January 8, 2013 by geelw

And you thought you’d seen the last PSP game ages ago, huh? Well, there are a handful of releases still popping up such as Xseed Games’ Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, set to hit PSN on January 15 for $19.99. If you’re into horror-themed games with a twisted sense of humor and a flair for the dramatic (as in creeping you out in all the right places), well, you can either unearth your old PSP from its dusty grave or whip out that Vita, as the game will indeed run perfectly fine on that newer handheld. And yes, you should probably play the original Corpse Party (also available on PSN), as this game focuses on eight in-between stories from events in the first game. Stylish visuals, a nice amount of M-rated content and a pretty creepy soundtrack are all lurking in the corner waiting to jump out and bite your brain… so what are you waiting for?

Capcom Delivers a Late Gift With Remember Me’s “Kid Xmas” Trailer

Posted on January 8, 2013 by geelw

And here I was thinking I was the King of Procrastination. Oh well, it’s nice to see more of this upcoming game from Dontnod Studios in France as well as Capcom testing the waters big time with such a promising new IP that looks to add a memorable character and story-driven gameplay experience to a very crowded market. I’ve got my eye on you Nilin! That May 2013 release won’t be forgotten, that’s for sure…

Random Film of the Week (Double Feature II): The Mysterians & Destroy All Monsters!

Posted on January 7, 2013 by geelw

Yep, two more films that influenced Japanese developer Sandlot in their creation of the fan favorite Earth Defense Force series. The former flick can be seem as the main jumping off point for the series, as the Japanese title, Chikyu Boueigun literally translates as “Earth Defense Force”, although there aren’t any giant insects to be found here. Those came primarily from yesterday’s double feature. The aliens do happen to have plenty of advanced weaponry and a giant mole-like robot called Mogera to shake things up for a bit. The film was actually the first part of a trilogy of sci-fi flicks with Battle in Outer Space and Gorath making up the other two parts. I haven’t seen either of those two in decades, so I’ll have to track them down one of these days to check out.

As for Destroy All Monsters! (or Kaijū Sōshingeki), it was probably every kid of the 60’s or early 70’s favorite sci-fi flick of the pre Star Wars era thanks to plenty of TV airings at assorted times of the day. Packing in nearly every Toho kaiju monster (it’s more than a simple Godzilla picture, that’s for sure), loads of action and an epic plot, the film is memorable for its wall to wall special effects and not a dull moment from start to finish. I need to dig this one up on DVD one of these days as it’s also been quite a while since I’ve seen it. And yes, it’s part of the inspiration for the name of this little site, but that whole story is a longer and funnier one I’ll get around to telling one of these days. Anyway, go check these films out and prepare to take a step back into some incredible (and campy by today’s standards) sci-fi films that may be ancient, but still pack a punch in terms of being pure nostalgic enjoyment…

Random Film of the Week (Double Feature Edition): THEM! & Tarantula

Posted on January 6, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, Tobar!)

With Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable rolling out on the PlayStation Vita on Tuesday, I figured I’d write up a short column about two of the many “They don’t make ’em like they used to!” sci-fi films that most assuredly influenced Japanese developer Sandlot when they created their cult favorite game series that got its start as a pair of budget PlayStation 2 games (The Simple 2000 Vol. 31: The Chikyuu Boueigun and The Simple 2000 Vol. 81: The Chikyuu Boueigun 2) and a more visually polished Xbox 360 sequel which has been nicely expanded and enhanced for Sony’s portable system. Both flicks are “B” movie classics worth watching if you’ve never seen either previously, with the former film being surprisingly tense and well-acted considering the subject matter and the latter film using some pretty well done matte work to convincing effect in a few scenes.

Yeah, yeah, there’s no fancy CGI here and some implausible moments in both flicks can be eyeball-rolling if you start applying any rules of reality to what you’re viewing. Nevertheless, if you’re in the right mood, you’ll be hooked into both films from the memorable beginnings of each one and stick around to their bitter endings…

Continue reading →

MLB 13 The Show Preview Trailer: Wait, It’s Baseball Season Already?

Posted on January 5, 2013 by geelw

I actually don’t play sports games these days nor do I watch a lot of sports save for the occasional X Games or interesting looking auto race if I happen to be flipping by the Speed Channel. Too much stuff to do here and I’ve learned not to grow attached to a bunch of talented yet flawed folks tossing balls or whatever around and getting paid way too much money to do so before being traded to a new team for no other reason that they were making too much money where they were last year. Of course, hockey doesn’t count this year unless you bought EA’s video game and made up your own season (but I wonder if players in that sport are collecting checks for being on strike?). Eh, whatever – no matter how much I kid here, sports fans are going to stick by their favorite teams no matter what and at least Sony is making what I hear is such a pretty spectacular fake baseball game that if it had commercial breaks and a bit more commentary, would pretty much be like watching a game on TV. You do just that – me, I’ll be over in the other corner playing some RPG or watching a really terrible film or something. Oh yeah – if you ARE a baseball fan, feel free to go vote for the cover guy for this year’s game HERE.

VGA 101: New Additions (One Joker, One Ace)…

Posted on January 3, 2013 by geelw

Stop! Blurry photo time! OK, I really couldn’t pass up Golden Sun: Dark Dawn brand new for five bucks (I guess the game didn’t sell all that well, huh?), so that’s another RPG for my Nintendo DS, which needs to be replaced as it’s finally on its last legs, er hinge. The right side hinge had a tiny crack in it for a while and that crack developed into a split and eventually, a chunk came out of the hinge which led to the piece of plastic inside falling out a few days ago. Rats. It’s a good thing that top screen is connected in the left side. Yeah, I’m a TOTAL cheapskate, kids. I don’t toss anything aside that still works, making me a spokesperson for console longevity over yearly replacements (one reason I’ll never own another Apple product).

As for The Simple 2000 Vol. 32: The Sensha, this PS2 import as also inexpensive and has a bunch of tanks in it. Woo hoo. I happen to like tank-based games (well, tanks in general are kinda cute, but don’t tell anyone I said that), so it was a no-brainer purchase. Granted, if I liked GOOD tank games I’d not have bought this one at all, but it has a few redeeming points that make it worth playing through. It’s a bit sparse visually and it’s definitely NOT an arcade game along the lines of TANK! TANK! TANK!, but it’s a nice counterpoint conversation piece. I’d still prefer someone do whip up a new version of the Dreamcast sleeper Panzer Front (still one of the more impressive console simulations I’ve played), but the chances of that are pretty much zero these days…

I’m Doing A Bit of Doomsday Prepping of My Own… EDF Style!

Posted on January 2, 2013 by geelw

So, Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable is coming out in a few days (1/8/2013) and I’ve been doing a bit of preparing over the last few weeks by playing a few import and US games either developed by Sandlot or similar to games they’ve worked on. Yeah, yeah, I already reviewed the import version of the game, but I think the US build fixes a few minor things and I really don’t mind playing a game that fun again (in English this time). Especially if it’s an EDF game. Do you think I have a problem here or something? I don’t think I do. Hell, thanks to too much time playing these games, I’m long cured of any fear of insects, that’s for damn sure.