Humble Weekly Bundle Features Some Great Rising Stars

Posted on August 28, 2015 by geelw

How’s this for a “don’t miss it!” deal? Seven of Rising Star Games‘ best indies for a mere eight dollars (or more if you choose)? yeah, I heard your jaw drop from here, pal. Every single RSG indie up for less than a song. Anyway, what’s in the digital box? Look in the box below and go get your bundle before time expires on this fantastic deal:

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut is worth it for it’s supremely bizarre take on the horror and open world game genres, but everything here is worth your time if you’re one of those open-minded gamers who loves variety and plenty of replay value. Ha – I see that you’re all busy buying and downloading now, so I’ll just silently sneak away and let you get to it.

Mad Max TV Spot: And You Thought YOUR Commute Was Hell

Posted on August 27, 2015 by geelw

Only a few more days to go until its September 1st launch on PC, PS4 and Xbox One and it sure looks as if WB Games and Avalanche Studios may have another hit on its hands. If Mad Max captures the insanity of the film and even half of the action from Avalanche’s Just Cause series, it’ll be a big winner this year. The longer “Stronghold” trailer from earlier this month certainly does an excellent job at conveying the post-apocalyptic setting and a few of the characters Max will meet in the game while also showing the game isn’t for the kiddies at all. That said, I don’t expect those prone to road rage will want to be playing this for extended periods of time as it may give them ideas on how to make their own commutes a lot more “interactive” in a not so productive manner.

Dark Souls III Hands-On: Reliable And Improved, Yet Death’s Still Got The Edge

Posted on August 26, 2015 by geelw

The nice list of changes and improvements to Dark Souls III may fool some players into believing the series has gone soft in its third installment. However, FromSoftware and the assorted AI enemies out for your digital scalp will be laughing at those who take this upcoming PC, PS4 and Xbox one game lightly. While the game adds new charge attack and block-breaking moves to the already fine repertoire, all that really means is expert Souls players will have some new skills to make shorter work of certain enemies and new players will need to learn this isn’t a straight-up hack and slash game at all. The demo shown at Bandai Namco’s NYC event was thrilling and a ton of deadly fun to play.
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Bard’s Gold: Throw Down The Gauntlet (And Your Controller) In This Instant Classic

Posted on August 25, 2015 by geelw

If you remember way back when games didn’t hold your hand at all or you’re a newer gamer who wants a game that’s going to test your skills while teaching you some patience, welcome to Pixel Lantern’s Bard’s Gold. Available NOW on Steam, this retro platformer is neither another “Metroidvania” retread nor some speed-runner’s dream frenzy of the week. The game is a deliberately slower-paced side-scroller with an extreme difficulty that the developer (or at least the PR guy working for them) claims it’s the “hardest game on Steam”.

Now, I can’t say whether or not this is true, but that trailer below sure doesn’t make it look anything close to “casual” at all.

Anyway, color me sold on this one. A request for a Steam code has been made, so we’ll see how tough this one is. Given the comments I’ve scanned so far, I’m expecting to be needing a new controller at some point.

RymdResa: Retro Rockets In Random Space Hit Steam

Posted on August 20, 2015 by geelw

Well, the eyes aren’t really lying at all. Morgondag’s stellar space rogue-like exploration game RymdResa is out now on Steam at a temporary 10% discount off its $11.99 price tag ($10.79). The game is a beautiful blend of retro visuals, languid pacing and slyly terrifying moments where your ship is about to run low on resources often at the wrong moment. Toss in a disembodied voice spouting seemingly random poetic musings along with a gorgeous ambient score and you get an instant classic with wide appeal.

I’ll have a review up over the weekend, but if the demo I’ve been playing on and off between other things (a demo that’s been taking time away from other games and stuff, mind you) is any indication, this one’s a keeper or a sleeper. The good thing is the developer is getting their great little game onto a few other platforms (Xbox One, Wii U, iPad and Linux), so some of you out there using those will soon be able to experience the same cold space and give your zen-like reflexes a total workout.

Back with a review shortly.

A Few Bundles To Mix Up Your Monday

Posted on August 17, 2015 by geelw

This Monday’s bundles of joy include some really nice games in a few genres for not a lot of scratch at all. I’d grab them all if not for my already burgeoning backlog and need for a newer computer (which will be taken care of next month at some point). Anyway, the usual suspects score with some nice stuff as always. IndieGala’s Every Monday Bundle featured six games for $1.99, including Viktor, a side-scrolling action/platform game that should please fans of games like Castlevania and other retro classics:

Meanwhile, Bundle Stars has the Stay Alive Bundle, which you should get just for Sunside’s Crow, a port of a mobile game that looks pretty unique:

And finally, over at The Humble Bundle, there’s no Monday deal… but there IS last week’s The Return of Space Boy Bundle which has ROCKETSROCKETSROCKETS in it. That’s a game were you fly rockets that shoot rockets at other rockets, which is simple enough to grasp for anyone who can hold a controller:

As usual, your money gets some charities very happy and in turn, you get very busy making up excuses to run on home so you can game in peace. Anyway, go check out those links and make a few people happy, I say.

Mad Max “Choose Your Path” Trailer: Make Your Monday A Bit More Action-Packed

Posted on August 17, 2015 by geelw

So, you’re terminally bored already at work and it’s not even lunchtime? Good. Mr. Rockatansky is here to whip you into shape with a little clicking exercise guaranteed to stimulate your eyeballs and get some adrenaline going to keep you pumped up for the remainder of your Monday. Here’s a little distraction for your courtesy WBIE and Avalanche Studios. You’ll want to choose all the paths of course just to check out the non-stop mayhem coming your way in Mad Max, set to hit PC, PS4 and Xbox One on September 1, 2015.

Of course, if your boss happens to stroll by and make that face that says “Hey… shouldn’t you be working?”, don’t do anything you see in that video as a possible response to that query. I’m quite sure your Monday doesn’t need THAT much excitement added to it and if it does, you’re really in the wrong line of work.

Whispering Willows: A Haunting You Will Go (On Even More Platforms)

Posted on August 15, 2015 by geelw

Abstraction Games and Night Light Interactive have a nice and spooky surprise coming soon for Xbox One, Wii U, iOS and Android owners. Although the game is already out for a few platforms (PC, PS4, Vita and OUYA), I’d actually never heard of Whispering Willows until an email about the latest version popped up in my inbox. Initially set for an August 12 launch at $9.99, Xbox One owners will be seeing the game as part of Microsoft’s Deals With Gold promotion starting Friday, August 28th at 30% off ($6.99) for two weeks only (through Friday, September 11).

iOS and Android versions will also be available on the 28th with the Wii U version following shortly thereafter. The horror-themed puzzle adventure has you playing as Elena, a young girl with the ability to use astral projection. The talent comes to good use thanks to her father going missing in a creepy mansion and yes, Elena heads into that haunted palace set on finding out just where he is and what’s happened to him. I’d say more, but I’ll need to play the game and get back to you on how it turned out. I’d gather all those plaudits on the official site mean the game is worth the price and more. A half dozen screens to ogle are below.

Humble Bandai Namco Bundle: The Good, The Dark and The (Very Little) Money

Posted on August 4, 2015 by geelw

Here’s a deal that’s hard to pass up, particularly if you’ve always been curious about the Souls series, have never touched the games and have a decent gaming PC set up. Sure, you can go for the minimum purchase and NOT get Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition. But for a measly tenner you get that and six other games with MORE dropping into your Steam library next week for FREE. Yeah, I can hear your eyes popping and ears perking up from here. keep it down and go BUY this bundle. Save the Children gets some of that money you’ll spend as well, so be generous if you roll that way. Bandai Namco will certainly appreciate it and you’ll appreciate the cool games you’re getting even more I bet.

Stay Strong With More Heroic Bundles From Bundle Stars

Posted on July 31, 2015 by geelw

Bundle Stars wraps up five days of heroic game deals with a trio of collections under three bucks for a limited time. Everything’s good in this digital buffet, so help yourself to a backlog-worthy set from one, two, or all three deals before they disappear. Just click on those banners above and prepare to be transported to each sale page where you can check out each deal and see what’s what. I won’t tell you which one to buy, but 24 games for about nine bucks is a solid deal any day of the seek (so you should get all three deals and perhaps the other two while you’re at it. But I didn’t tell you that).