Work Those Zen-Like Reflexes in This Bundle Stars Deal

Posted on March 21, 2015 by geelw

It’s been a long and hard week for some of you, I know, I know. What you need is something calming and stress relieving to do that’s not too taxing, so why not try a few games out bound to get you calmer? Bundle Stars just happens to want to chill you out a bit with The Zen Bundle, a collection of ten great games for a mere $2.49. Yes, twenty-five cents per game experience! The cool thing is what’s here ranges from short and thought-provoking to quirky and compelling. There’s fun to be had here in all these games, even the oddball “bullet hell” of Danmaku Unlimited 2. I have some of these games already, but I’d get this for Mountain:

and probably give another copy of the slyly sexy Luxuria Superbia as a random gift to someone who needs a game to play with that special person in their life. Hey, I’m good like that when it comes to digital delivery surprises:

As usual, you get a bunch of cool indie games for your backlog, some of your money goes to charity and everyone’s happy! Sure, it’s spring and you can run around in the melting snow all day, but if you’re not quite ready to have hungry squirrels jumping on your head in the park while you run in circles screaming, why not stay in for a bit and RELAX?

Going Roguelike In This Week’s Humble Bundle!

Posted on March 19, 2015 by geelw

This week’s Humble Weekly Bundle is a sneaky one for sure, but it’s worth every penny. Six roguelikes for eight bucks is a STEAL, even in this game of gamers devaluing hard work to the point where a buck or two for some games is deemed “too much!” by some cheapskates. Those folks are entitled to their opinions, but not to making developers choose between eating and churning out more games they can only sell for pennies because some think it’s fine to not pay for all that hard work.

Anyway, humorous “rant” over, but there’s some truth in it. These bundles do well because many pay MORE than the suggested amount because they kn ow the deal and they also like helping out the assorted charities who team up with these bundle sites. If you’re suddenly feeling a little guilty about those games you got for about seventeen pennies each, that’s not my fault. I don’t believe in “guilt” at all these days. Just playing fair when you can do so and supporting the arts in any form they come in. Not get crackin’ on that paying what stuff is actually worth part. I won’t judge you either way, but I sure as hell bet YOU feel a lot better about it.

IndieGala Has A Happy Monday Deal For You Bargain Hunters

Posted on March 16, 2015 by geelw

If you have at least $2.49 burning a hole in your pocket right now and need something fun to do with your PC or laptop, well… yup, it’s that time again. The IndieGala Every Monday Bundle is calling you. Can you hear it? Good. This week’s selection is mostly role-playing games from mostly western indie developers. Some are Japanese inspired old school goodness, some are western style old-school goodness. You’ll figure it all out soon enough because you’re good like that. Or, you just learned it all from me and aren’t as thankful as you need to be.

Whatever. As long as you’re playing more games and enjoying them, it’s all good.

Project CARS Skids Off-Road Into May

Posted on March 12, 2015 by geelw

While this latest delay may seem like “bad” news, developer Slightly Mad Studios is letting gamers know that the game is pretty much done (99.9% is certainly “pretty much done” to me!) and just needs that extra QA love so it ships across all platforms ready to run out of the gate:

“Despite our long heritage and pedigree in making critically-acclaimed racing games, Project CARS is by far the grandest and most intricately detailed of them all. Despite therefore the game being 99.9% complete, the remaining 0.1% attending to small issues and bugs has been tricky to anticipate. We’re absolutely dedicated to delivering a ground-breaking experience and by targeting mid-May fans can be assured that’s what they’ll receive” said Ian Bell, Head of Studio at Slightly Mad Studios. “Again, we want to thank our fans for their support and patience on this matter. There’s a high expectancy from racing fans around the world that Project CARS is going to be an exciting new contender in the simulation racing space and we firmly believe gamers deserve it to be in its most complete and polished state when they come to play it on day one. And since the gaming community is our primary focus and has always been at the heart of the project during development, we would like to offer some free content to all players as compensation for this short delay and as acknowledgement of how grateful we are. This gift, that we’re sure is going to excite fans, will be available from day one and revealed shortly. Keep an eye on our website for more info.”

To me, this reads “We want the console versions to ship out with hopefully zero need for day one patching, particularly the Wii U version.”, which is a good thing at the end of the day. Given the release of certain other high profile racers plagued with bugs (notably Sony’s DriveClub and UbiSoft’s The Crew), seeing Slightly Mad take the extra time to add that bit of extra polish their game up is a good thing. I’m holding out the Wii U version will get some love and respect, as Nintendo just can’t seem to get a break when it comes to good marquee racers that aren’t Mario Kart 8. Yeah, yeah, it’s lightning fast, looks phenomenal and most of all is FUN to play. But at my age, I tend to like my racers a bit more grounded in reality.

Okay, back to holding my breath for a bit longer, which is tough to to with a sore throat, mind you…

ADR1FT Hands-On

Posted on March 11, 2015 by geelw

Do this writing about games stuff for a long enough period of time and you learn to go into every media event with no expectations. This time-built wisdom will pay off when you’re completely surprised by a game you’ve heard about in bits and pieces that’s shaping up to be a must-play title. ADR1FT was one of those games I’d heard about since its inception, but held off on writing a single word about until I was able to spend time with a demo. That happened yesterday thanks to 505 Games giving it a big screen premiere in two separate events for Boston and New York City games media. The Unreal 4 powered game headed to PS4, Xbox One, Steam (and yes, whatever rigs Oculus will run on) is one of those first games that leaves you breathless for a few reasons.

“SURVIVOR DETECTED”

The game’s story is a straightforward and simple tale of survival. You’re an astronaut who wakes up stuck in a damaged EVA suit on a heavily damaged space station orbiting Earth. Gameplay revolves around locating air supplies, repairing your suit and finding out just what happened that left you the only survivor. Part mystery, part survival game and all stunning to look at, it’s clear that ADR1FT has a mission in changing some perceptions about modern gaming. Sure, that sounds like an overly lofty goal. But again, it’s a case where if you see and play this one, you’ll “get” why it’s such an important release for its developer and publisher… Continue reading →

Mix it Up on Monday With IndieGala!

Posted on March 9, 2015 by geelw

While I rest up my golden throat and silver eyeballs for tomorrow’s meeting with 505 Games, you can go buy some cool indie games over at the IndieGala Every Monday Sale. This week’s bundle features eight games for $2.49, and a nice mix of titles at that. Adventure games, a digital board game for up to four players, classic arcade shooting and more, all for a song. Thankfully, you don’t need to sing in order to get this deal. On the other hand, for that little money you may just be singing so happily that the neighbors will think something’s wrong with you.

Okay, stop it with all that wide-grinning and humming too loud and go play some games, I say.

It’s All Black & White in This Humble Weekly Bundle Must-Buy

Posted on March 5, 2015 by geelw

They may look kind of “vintage” to some of you, but that’s how these indie games roll in this week’s Humble Weekly Bundle. It’s all about black and white games (with splashes of color in a few cases) and some interesting genre choices that run the gamut from claymation adventure to an intentionally seriously disturbing look at mental illness. Seven games for a ten dollar minimum is dirt cheap, particularly for the creativity and passion that went into all these titles. I’ll say no more save for your purchase helps support charity and it’s a given that you’ll enjoy everything here if you’re the open-minded gamer who likes to mix things up a bit. Forget about Fifty Shades of Whatever, folks- sometimes, back to basics are what works the best.

Six For Your Pocket Change in Today’s IndieGala Monday Bundle

Posted on March 2, 2015 by geelw

It’s March already? Yikes. Well, no matter how fast the year moves, IndieGala is there like clockwork with its Every Monday Bundle. This week, get six Steam games for $1.99, including the cool, creepy first-person sci-fi adventure Master Reboot:

I’ve yet to play it, but I’ve heard some nice things about it from a few friends who have. At the price of about 33 1/6 cents, it’s probably worth picking this deal up. I do have Depths of Peril on disc already, but it’s been loaned out and isn’t currently installed on any of the hard drives here. Hmmmm… what to do? Yeah, like it’s that much of a deep though coin toss. SOLD.

Get Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut for FREE From IndieGala!*

Posted on February 27, 2015 by geelw

*Well, you have to spend ten measly bucks in the IndieGala store to get Access Games’ sleeper hit gratis. But that’s probably going to be the easiest ten measly bucks you’ll ever spend, I’d bet. Heck, buy ME a game or two and keep Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut (a $24.99 value) all for yourself. My coin flip says you’re buying me Ziggurat. Well? I’m waaaaaaiiiiting…

Okay, okay. You really don’t need to get me anything at all, actually. But passing up on the chance to score a quirky horror game that bends and breaks a few rules while getting a few fine games in the process? That’s not going to do you any good at all.

And nope, buying that awesome Dragon Bundle or any other bundles don’t count towards that ten bucks. Hit up the IndieGala Store and see what you can score, as a load of stuff is on sale and you can probably grab three or more games for under a ten-spot and get Francis York Morgan (and friends) in a murder mystery mash-up for the digital ages. Okay, less talking, MORE buying and playing, I say! Get going, people!

RPG Maker Super Sale at Bundle Stars – Go Make Yourself Something Special

Posted on February 25, 2015 by geelw

If I’m not mistaken, every time Bundle Stars has run some sort of RPG Maker deal, they get a great deal of traffic and plenty of purchases. This time out, it’s not a bundle up for grabs, but a digital ton of game creation software, DLC content and even some excellent games you can buy up in whatever package you see fit. All you need is the basic RPG Maker VX Ace software and after that, you can add whatever DLC you like at an additional cost. If you’ve ever wanted to experiment with making your own JRPG-style games in just about any genre, here you go. If you just want to play games made by some really creative folks who’ve used the software, well, you get served as well with some fine titles to choose from. Buy what you like, save a bunch of money and support charity all in one shot? Sounds like a plan, man or ma’am, so get to it!