Tales of Graces f Launch Trailer: Namco Bandai’s Got Quite A Story To Tell, That’s For Sure…

Posted on March 12, 2012 by geelw

I’ve been playing this on and off for the past few days (my review copy arrived last week) and it’s quite spectacular in an old-school meets modern JRPG way. Sure, it’s packed to the gills with familiar thematic elements (an enigmatic amnesiac, two brothers separated by differing opinions and life choices, the formerly sick girl now a powerful party member, et cetera), but the fast-paced battles, tons of titles to earn for each character and the usual Tales features keep the hours peeling away. If you’re a PS3 owner and JRPG fan looking for the next big game to dive into, this one’s for you. Oh yeah, the game also lets you play with up to four friends through much of the adventure (but expect them to be spectators for a bit in some areas where the party is thinned out for plot purposes).

My full review will go up later this week (probably Friday at this point)…

Journey Launch Trailer: An Instant Classic Not To Be Missed (The Game, Not The Trailer, Silly)…

Posted on March 11, 2012 by geelw

It’s officially out on the 13th through PSN and yes, I’m urging you to give it a shot even if you’re automatically conditioned against indie games, downloadable games or quirky stuff you think you wouldn’t like based on some bias blocking your thought process and sense of wonder. Trust me when i say you’ll be awed and thrilled once you see what thatgamecompany has crafted. Journey is a game that feels ‘handmade” with its gorgously stylized visuals, simple, compelling gameplay and innovative online mode that actually makes it the safest online game to date (which should be good news to those with kids in the house who are wary about letting them play any online games). Anyway, tgc and Sony need to get this on out on the Vita and on a Blu-Ray so more PS3 owners can play it, but again, that’s all up to them. Personally, I’d spend the time and money on production of a retail version, get the word out on how great it is and see what happens..

Deadly Premonition FINALLY Hitting PS3 (At Some Point)…

Posted on March 10, 2012 by geelw

Awesome. Access Games’ outstandingly weird and polarizing horror adventure game will at some point, be headed to the PS3 in North America, according to comments made by Yasuhiro Wada at a GDC 2012 panel. In case you missed it, the US version of Red Seeds Profile (made for the PS3 and Xbox 360 overseas), was only released here as Deadly Premonition on the Xbox 360 back in 2010 to a mix of really positive or really negative reviews that marked some sort of odd tipping point to some in how games are judged.

While not the best-looking or controlling game of this generation, the offbeat characters and bizarre storyline with even weirder imagery made the game a favorite of many folks (including yours truly) that loved the off-kilter craziness on display. While Ignition Entertainment (now UTV Ignition) published the game as a budget release on the 360, no news of a US publisher has yet been announced, but you can bet that we’ll be keeping an eyeball on every publisher’s E3 lineups to see who will be bringing this one stateside. Hopefully, the low price point will be similar and the game won’t be yet another PSN-only release that those who don’t have, want or use the service will miss out on…

Journey “Reaching The Summit” Developer Diary: thatgamecompany At Its Pinnacle

Posted on March 9, 2012 by geelw

If Journey isn’t nominated and doesn’t win a few awards from respectable peers (and not sites that automatically fall over themselves to give the big shooters and AAA releases you’d expect to win even more praise, there’s just NO justice in this world. OK, that’s a bit overly serious, but once you see the game in motion (or even better, PLAY IT), you’ll want to run out to any shop that sells any kind of trophy, buy them out and get them all engraved with the names of everyone who works at tgc, the folks who deliver the mail and even the janitor if they have one. I still want a Vita version or even better, a Blu-Ray with ALL of tgc’s games on it plus some music, art and “making of” documentaries for good measure. Who’s with me on this?

Armored Core V Gameplay: Steel Yourselves For Some Heavy Metal Hits…

Posted on March 8, 2012 by geelw

Courtesy of the PlayStation Blog, here’s a look at some more ACV gameplay. This one looks like it’ll be fun for those who love a ton of pre-battle preparations and tweaking (par for the course in the Armored Core franchise). It’ll be interesting to see how well this stacks up against the other titles in the long AC history, but I have the feeling that From Software will be pleased with the response from fans old and new once the game ships out on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Oh, Kara! What Quantic Dream’s Been Up To These Days Is Pretty Awesome Indeed…

Posted on March 8, 2012 by geelw

Sure, it’s just a tech demo (and a beautiful one at that) running on the PS3 hardware and not an actual game project, but wow. I’m actually hoping we see this show up as either a new PS3 game OR we’ll see parts of this in a new project for the Vita or whatever new console Sony has planned down the road. Hmmm… perhaps there’s an Omikron remake or sequel on the way? That would be fun to see, especially if it’s got a decent and lengthy single player portion plus co-op and online play for those who want to adventure together… We shall see, i suppose.

Papo & Yo Update: Another Unconventional Sleeper On the PS3 That’s A Must-Buy…

Posted on March 7, 2012 by geelw

Minority Media Inc. is a new developer to watch closely and in my opinion, Papo & Yo is shaping up to be one of the best hidden gems of the year. This PS3 exclusive PSN download combines fantasy, puzzle-solving and non-violent action platforming elements with colorful, favela inspired environments and a great main character to play as. You can practically feel your sense of wonder activate and buzz around the room as this latest trailer shows off improvements from last year’s demo version. I’d absolutely love to see this game on the Vita as well as bundled with other PSH hits on a disc, as it’s something that’s too well-made and heartfelt to be limited to a mere digital download. No release date has been set for this one other than sometime this year, but I’ll be keeping an eyeball peeled and letting you guys know what’s what. For now, just watch that trailer and let your mind drift into the game world. That’s an order, by the way…

PANEKIT Update: A Buck? Sure, Why Not?

Posted on March 5, 2012 by geelw

Of course, I wasn’t actively looking for one, but you know how this one goes. Just by chance, I found a copy of this gem on eBay last week with a dollar starting bid from a seller in Japan. Given that it’s gone for a lot more previously but demand seems to have leveled off, I figured I’d take a chance while hoping not to get sniped on the last minute (like I did with the last copy I bid on last year).

Long story short: the auction ended where it started, so I scored the game for a dollar (plus eight more for airmail shipping). Another update to come (and maybe a photo or two) once it arrives and I play around with it a bit…

Clan of Champions Isn’t What You Think It Is (And That’s Probably A Good Thing)…

Posted on March 5, 2012 by geelw

This spring, NISA will be publishing Acquire’s upcoming downloadable PS3, Xbox 360 and PC fantasy action game (for up to six players), Gladiator VS under a name that makes it sound exactly like either a RPG or a League of Legends pastiche. This of course, could work for or against the game as I can see JRPG fans wanting to snap it up automatically because of the Nippon Ichi connection and overly protective LoL fans thinking it’s a shoddy rip-off of some sort. Yours truly falls under the happy medium label, as I want to see the game succeed on its own merits and not just some accidental honors blessed upon the game by those who automatically support ANYTHING certain companies put out just to add another notch to their gaming belts. Of course, i don’t want it to fail miserably because it gets bad word of mouth from too many people who haven’t a clue (and nope, uninformed opinions based on NOT touching the game don’t count). In English: personally, I like what Acquire has done here (and with previous entries in the series) and want to see how it’s all turned out, no matter who publishes it and under what name.

Granted, if it were titled “Mr. Pablum’s Peanut Butter Palace” or something similarly silly, I’d wonder who the hell was thinking up these game names and how the hell I could get a piece of THAT particular pie. I can think up dopey names all day, so I should at least be able to collect a paycheck for that…

Starhawk “Build To Kill” Trailer: The Sky Is Falling!

Posted on March 3, 2012 by geelw

I’m always happy to see more Starhawk in action and hope the game does spectacularly well enough that we see more by LightBox Interactive that keeps the series going (and maybe even a Vita game at some point). Of course, I’ll be all about covering every bit of the single player campaign simply because heck, the team has worked on it for so long and I love to see games that don’t forget those of us who crave a bit of story more than merely hopping online and shooting up the competition. Conversely, the beta seems to be huge success with PS3 owners who want to do just that as well as those new to this style of RTS/shooter gameplay. Now, let’s hope anyone else who eventually picks up the game will get what’s here and be able to keep up with the blazing fast pace it offers when compared to other action/shooters.