NAtURAL DOCtRINE Trailer: Or, An Easy Pick For RPG Fans This Fall…

Posted on May 17, 2014 by geelw

While Kadokawa Games’ NAtURAL DOCtRINE garnered decent enough scores from Famitsu (31/40 for the console versions and 30/40 for the Vita), it didn’t exactly sell like hotcakes in its native land. Still, here in the west, the hunger for decent JRPGs needs to be sated, so thanks to the fine folks at Nippon Ichi Software America, we’ll be seeing (and playing) this one soon. I’m going to get this because I’m interested in that PS3/PS4/Vita play and how the game will look across the three platforms.

Granted, I’m NOT the graphics whore type who gets cranky that an game isn’t mapping every bump nor using all of a console’s power at all. I’m just curious as to why MORE games aren’t compatible across the three platforms other than Sony wanting people to buy more PS4s as opposed to hanging onto that older PS3 (or buying a new one). I’m seeing a bunch of games that are only PS4 and Vita compatible and that seems odd because some of them can CLEARLY run on the PS3 with no hassles. Anyway, mini-gripe over. More on NAtURAL DOCtRINE soon – stay tuned…

Wolfenstein ‘House of The Rising Sun’ Launch Trailer: Doing Up NSFW The Right Way

Posted on May 16, 2014 by geelw

While the first-person shooter variants of Wolfenstein haven’t ever been geared towards kids, it’s been quite clear that Machine Games’ reboot of the series was going for a mature audience right from the moment that first teaser trailer popped up online. I want to play this just because the writing has been pretty adult and amusing in each video I’ve seen and while the game pulls no punches in its dialogue or extreme violence, both work in favor of the material because there’s enough humor here to keep one playing through the blood and bits you’ll see above and in the gloriously gory Stealth vs. Mayhem trailer from a few weeks back I missed. Yeah, it’s clearly not for the squeamish types, but I’d prefer a game that goes this far and makes me want to keep playing than one that’s just mean and stupid just to be so. May 20th on on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC, folks. “Be there, Aloha!”

Transistor Launch Trailer: Four More Days Until The Fix Is In…

Posted on May 16, 2014 by geelw

And here it is (well, almost). Transistor pops up on Steam and PSN May 20th, and Supergiant Games’ new trailer makes it even more intriguing and one of those games that’s a must play. And isn’t that music in the trailer great? Yes, Supergiant is selling the soundtrack as well in their online shop along with some other cool stuff.

I’m quite surprised that they didn’t cast the development net wider so PS3 owners could give this one a buy, as there are currently a lot MORE of them than PS4 owners. Of course, thinking ahead to PC and PS4 means the developer can concentrate on getting games out on platforms where they don’t have to compromise (although I’d bet the game would run fine on a PS3 or Vita if the latter version had scalable type so text could be more easily read). However, Xbox One owners aren’t getting the game (yet) because of some goofy Microsoft policies, but if you have that console in your home just keep your fingers and toes crossed that this can get to you at some point. Minor griping aside, if you CAN play this one, you SHOULD play this one.

Mind Zero Update #2: Persona-lly, I Like What I See Here…

Posted on May 15, 2014 by geelw

As some of you gamers with good memories may be thinking, Aksys Games’ upcoming first-person dungeon crawler Mind Zero has a certain aesthetic working for it that makes it seem VERY familiar to a certain Shin Megami Tensei series of games. As in “Hey, this ALMOST looks like Persona or Persona 2“, slightly weaker character art aside.

Hey, I have to ALWAYS give it up for Kaneko Kazuma’s outstanding and bizarre art style that defined many of the SMT games in the past). To swipe a quote from some old gaming magazine only a handful of people still remember, “RESPECT!”

I don’t mind the similarities at all, as those were (and still are) some pretty stellar game experiences and this gae does do a bunch of things differently. Still, if this one can capture a fraction of what made those game so memorable, I’d bet a nickel that Aksys and developer Zerodiv will have a new sleeper hit on their hands. The game is set to hit the Vita on May 27, 2014, so make sure to keep an eye out if this one strikes your fancy…

Bombshell Alert: 3D Realms & Interceptor Games Are Bringing The Pain In 2015

Posted on May 15, 2014 by geelw

While this Bombshell reveal trailer isn’t revealing a stitch of gameplay (just a nicely scarred under-clad gal with a punk haircut and metal arm who seems to like her whiskey, watching cable news, firearms and motorcycle riding), fortunately, the game’s official site has screenshots to ogle and yep, they’re below.

I happen to like isometric games (and isometric action or turn-based RPGs in particular), so my interest has been piqued. I’ll also give huge credit to the dev team for not making yet another first-person shooter and instead going with a viewpoint and genre that may actually help draw in players who prefer this type of game experience.

While the game isn’t coming until Q1 2015, it’ll be interesting to see it in motion on the PS4 or PC. I wish this Unreal-powered game was also landing on the Vita, but I guess this is one of those games where a bigger screen means you appreciate the work that’s gone into it a whole lot more. Anyway, color me intrigued. More on Shelly’s big adventure soon. Here’s a brief interview with two of the people working on the game and an intro to the character to close things out:

GRID Autosport Update: When Discipline Isn’t Punishment, It’s Pure Bliss…

Posted on May 13, 2014 by geelw

I’ve heard auto racing compared to fighting before, but when the comment pops up in this video, you can see what that means pretty clearly. I tend to like European Touring Car racing a lot better than the mostly oval, turn left and draft stuff that’s popular here, so Codemasters has had me since the TOCA days on the original PlayStation. GRID Autosport looks incredible in this trailer (and the other two that have been released) and I love how user feedback has make the game’s Black Edition a much more palatable product to pre-order thanks to everyone getting that same content and no spitting up DLC based on certain retailers and such.

That’s lame and other publishers need to listen up and quit that nonsense as it means people who like to complete a game can actually complete it and not need to shell out for multiple copies just to get every drip of content. Go, Codemasters!

Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition Coming August 19 to Consoles (Yep, PS3 and 360, Too)

Posted on May 13, 2014 by geelw

When the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls expansion was announced for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, many fans of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions on a few message boards thought they were going to be left out of the loop. I also initially thought so for a hot minute, but didn’t think Blizzard was nuts enough to NOT bring that expansion to the consoles where MORE of that version sold (and continues to sell). Fortunately, console owners from last and this generation (well, save for Wii U owners) will be reaping the rewards come August 19 when Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition rolls out on PS3,PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Yes, that sound you heard is me screeching like a happy Harpy and dancing around the room.

Now before I break a hip, hear below the jump and read what else I wrote about this excellent news… Continue reading →

Some Silly Stuff I Have Discovered This Week…

Posted on May 10, 2014 by geelw

1. Yeah, it’s a fuzzy picture of a cinnamon raisin mini bagel with two raisins that look like eyes and a big grin. Amusing and kind of creepy if you can imagine it suddenly talking or singing or something. This made me laugh because it wasn’t the ONLY one in that bag of bagels either. I think I saw three more, meaning someone at the factory was having a clever day and wanted to share, there’s a bagel-making robot that’s creating not so sentient life in an effort to try and start some sort of revolution, or there’s REALLY something funky going into those bagels that turns them ALIVE before they’re bagged. Well,I never did find out if the darn thing could speak, as I ate it before it could do anything funny.

2. Yep, that’s a copy of Rez for the Japanese PlayStation 2 and yep, that’s the infamous Trance Vibrator peripheral next to it. While I’ve played the game numerous times to completion, I’d actually never used that Trance Vibrator until earlier today when I decided to crack open the box and plug it into my Japanese PS2 to see what all the fuss was about. In a word. Oh. In another word. My. Yeah, I can see why it was marketed as and written up as just what some of you think it is. Shocking! Well, not in the least, because we could all use some good vibrations every now and then, right? Throbbing! Yeah, that’s more like it.

3. Uhhhh.I forgot what number 3 was and I blame number 2 for that. Back in a bit…

R-Type Dimensions Trailer: Bydo Empire Returns, Hard As Ever To Take Down One More Time…

Posted on May 9, 2014 by geelw

Ah, R-Type and R-Type II. I have many fond and not so fond memories of trying to beat you both way back in the day in the arcades and at home on a few consoles and you always getting the better of me until that one day when everything clicked, the sun was in the right spot in the sky and I had enough adrenaline to survive those pesky enemies and out-blast those bosses to a few victories. Well, I’m older and slower and don’t play many arcade shooters these days, but I see you’re BACK for revenge, this time in R-Type Dimensions on PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 on May 20 in North America (and May 21 across supported European territories). I also see that not only are you bringing the pain with the original arcade versions, you’re also packing heat with a remade high-resolution 3D visuals and an all new soundtrack to go with those spiffy looks.

My fingers are now tingling and my brain is percolating up remembrances of tactics past. Yeah, that’s right… I’m coming back to get you damn Bydo Empire jerks and blast you into alien scrap a few times too many. Well, once I do maybe ten thousand push-ups and go through my collection of Irem shmups with a side slide into some Toaplan titles. Practice, practice, practice! You’re going DOWN, you two… AGAIN, grrrrr!

Alien Isolation “Creating the Cast” Trailer: Who’s Who Before All That Screaming And Dying Starts…

Posted on May 8, 2014 by geelw

Once again, it’s fantastic to see all the hard work going into making Alien Isolation a game worth watching. In case it hasn’t been made clear yet, this isn’t a run ‘n gun shooter or one more generic jump scare-filled horror game at all, but a project that’s hopefully going to be seen by fans of the series to fit like a glove in between the first and second films. Sure, that Colonial Marines game may be infamous on a few fronts, but AI will hopefully erase all those negative memories by being a completely different experience in every way. The game is coming to PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One on October 7, 2014, so keep an eye peeled if you’re liking what you see in all these behind the scenes trailers…