The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: CD Projekt RED Sets The Gold Standard For Standard Editions (And Then Some)

Posted on June 5, 2014 by geelw

If I haven’t said this before (and I think I have), I absolutely LOVE CD Projekt RED. Their previous two games in The Witcher series were lovingly crafted mature experiences that brought Andrzej Sapkowski’s anti-hero Geralt of Rivia to the PC and later console gaming masses (many of whom who probably didn’t read any of the books the character comes from until after they played the first game) and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looks to get even more gamers drawn into what’s looking like one of the best experiences on those shiny new consoles. Of course, PC gamers who rock those rent money priced gaming rigs will be getting the best experience in terms of visuals, but there’s no doubt that the developer is making both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game look spectacular on those systems… Continue reading →

Dark Souls II “Crown of the Sunken King” Trailer: Some Buy To Die DLC To Keep You Busy…

Posted on June 4, 2014 by geelw

Oh, the places you’ll go to die a horrific death in this upcoming Dark Souls II DLC. Three new locations filled with death coming at you at some point from almost anywhere may SOUND like no vacation, but for the game’s fans, this is paradise with a free buffet on the side AND adult beverages. Anyway, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC players can get theirs on the following dates:

The Crown of the Sunken King – July 22, 2014
The Crown of the Old Iron King – August 26, 2014
The Crown of the Ivory King – September 24, 2014

Everyone else can just keep an ear to the sky and listen for the screaming and occasional victory yell…

The Desolate Hope: You’ll Respect Your Coffee Pot Even More After Playing This Game…

Posted on June 4, 2014 by geelw

A few years back, I downloaded and played a bit of a game called The Desolate Room, a sci-fi adventure/role playing game starring a sentient coffee machine (named Coffee!) with nicely surreal visuals and hybrid gameplay that made it one of the more unique games I’d played in a while. A bit later, I stumbled upon Iffermoon, another game by talented creator Scott Cawthon and I was even more impressed with his work. This week I find myself staring at his latest game, The Desolate Hope with a grin on my face because it’s probably his best game to date. More or less a remake of The Desolate Room with improvements to the visuals and RPG combat system, TDH is Part retro platformer, part turn-based RPG and all bizarre (in the best possible manner), this is one of those indie games that you’d pay top dollar for if it were on a cartridge back in the day or a disc of some sort now. At a measly five dollars of Steam, it’s one of those games where the price just seems too low for the quality of the visuals and very polished gameplay you’re getting. This isn’t a full-on review (yet), but I say go check this out and prepare to be amused and amazed by what’s here…

Homefront: The Revolution Trailer: Crytek Finishes The Fight (Maybe)…

Posted on June 2, 2014 by geelw

Warts and all, I rather liked defunct publisher THQ’s Homefront for what it was. original (and also defunct) developer KAOS Studios cooked up an interesting alternate future where some very well-armed North Korea soldiers managed to overrun America and you played as one of a group of resistance fighters trying to drive them away. It was a LOT more serious than either Red Dawn movie, but the campaign was a wee bit on the brief side thanks in part to multiplayer modes I felt took too much away from the story.

Anyway, now that new publisher Deep Silver and seasoned developer Crytek are on the case, Homefront: The Revolution is coming in 2015 to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and I guess we’ll see how the gameplay reveal is at E3 this year, as this trailer looks okay but a bit generic in its storytelling. I do believe those may be in-engine visuals, as if there’s anything Crytek is well-known and respected for, it’s making some mighty amazing looking games using their proprietary tech.

I guess we’ll see how well this plays soon enough and whether it separates itself from other shooters in such a supremely packed market full of them. My fingers are crossed for the moment…

Indiegala Wants Another Dollar (Or More) from You. You’ll Give It To Them (Again)…

Posted on June 2, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, yeah – you know the drill. 24 hours to get this deal for a buck minimum and then the price jumps up. I actually haven’t played any of these yet, but my backlog has gotten SO huge that I don’t know if I’ll e able to if I do buy this set of six games. I know that the Uncharted “homage” called Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta – Episode 1 – Gold Edition is seen by some Sony fans as a bit of a ripoff, but hey, if you’re going to steal, steal from the best, right? It HAS to be better than those three Adam’s Venture games that snuck light bible study bits into an adventure game that looked okay, but had some control issues. Anyway, as usual, spend what you like, help charity and feel good on an otherwise hot and odd Monday!

Falling Skies Landing Hard on Consoles, Mobile In Autumn From Little Orbit

Posted on June 2, 2014 by geelw

Confession time: I’ve never seen a episode of Falling Skies, so last year when I heard a game was in development, I was wondering what type of experience it would be with my fingers crossed it was going to at least be a genre I liked and not just another first or third-person action game that would be compared to superior genre entries and easily forgotten if it wasn’t good enough to grab the attention of the shows fans or gamers expecting something like what they know so well.

Today’s news that we’re getting this as a tactical strategy RPG for the Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC along with a mobile game called Falling Skies: Planetary Warfare is making me smile a bit more. Some screens to peek at from both versions (and I’ll leave it to you to guess which one is which, although it’s pretty obvious):

Granted, these work in progress screens aren’t going to blow you away if you’re expecting a superior LOOKING tactical experience. On the other hand, this particular genre is known for games that may not look the best, but deliver the goods on the gameplay front.

I did take special notice that Little Orbit mentions the Wii U version FIRST in the press release, which is a good thing to me 9and probably a bunch of other Wii U owners). If the game is good, it’ll probably (and hopefully) use the GamePad as a key part of gameplay (which is a no-brainer in my book). Anyway, we’ll see what’s what soon enough. I’m hoping Little Orbit gets this game orbiting into the hands of editors post-E3 just so the folks who aren’t attending that madness (raises hand) can get some hands-on time and spread the word if the game works as it should. Back in a bit with more on this one. Maybe it will get me to actually check out the show at some point on DVD… We’ll see!

CD Projekt RED Has Got Some Summery Surprises In Store Soon…

Posted on May 31, 2014 by geelw

Well, well… it looks as if a few more developers and publishers are stepping outside the usual confines of E3 to show what’s cooking to fans directly as opposed to having news filtered through assorted outlets. CD Projekt Red is joining the club with this upcoming June 5, 2015 conference that will no doubt be a showpiece for the PC and console versions of its eagerly awaited RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. As you can see from this teaser below, I must be psychic or overstating the obvious (or both):

I also just NOW realize from watching that video that I’ve been pronouncing gog.com incorrectly for YEARS. Oops. Oh well, I bet a lot of others have been too, so I don’t feel bad at all. I do wonder how massive that Collector’s Edition will be for TW3, as the one for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Extended Edition was pretty hefty from what I recall. Well, we’ll see in a few days, right?

Among The Sleep Launch Trailer: Baby Steps Better Be Big Ones In This Unique Horror Game…

Posted on May 31, 2014 by geelw

Krillbite Studios creepy horror game presented from the viewpoint of a two-year old, Among the Sleep is now available for purchase on Steam, gog.com and the Humble Bundle Store, so if you’re a fan of horror-themed video games and want something that’s fresh and shows off indie development at its finest, well… you know what to do. While it’s not the only game like this out there (Baby Blues has been on Desura for a while), Krillbite’s game takes a more colorfully stylized and surreal approach to its visuals and story. That talking teddy bear kind of freaks me out (even if he’s supposed to be friendly!). Naturally, you’ll want to NOT let your own two-year old anywhere near this game unless you like changing diapers three times as much as you normally do during the average day. Then again, I bet a few adults would pee or poop themselves if they played this just because they jump out of their skin at the drop of a hat…

IndieGala Asks “Got A Dollar?” As It Hits You On The Head With A Crazy Deal And Takes It Anyway…

Posted on May 31, 2014 by geelw

Okay, so maybe you missed out on some of those Monday bundles over at IndieGala or perhaps you wanted some titles and not others in certain bundles. Well, I guess today’s your lucky day (or yesterday was if you saw this deal when it went up then), as this “new” bundle is a mix of the best games from the others rolled into one fine deal.

The minimum here is ONE measly buck for six games including the unsettling psychological horror adventure hit The Cat Lady, Tobe’s Vertical Adventure, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project, Lume, Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden, Strategic War in Europe and C-RUSH. All in all, a nice mixture of games to dive into when you have the time and as this dollar deal ends in a day, you’ll need to act pretty quickly. In addition, there are only a set number of these bundles going for that buck before the price jumps, so it’s best to spring quickly here. While you’re at it, don’t forget to grab your FREE (while it lasts!) Steam code for Afterfall: Insanity Extended Edition, as they’ve giving away a bunch of them for the price of a click. You can’t beat that deal at all, kids!

Bugbear’s Next Car Game: Still On The Way, But Getting There Is Half The Fun…

Posted on May 30, 2014 by geelw

Yes indeed, Bugbear Entertainment’s Next Car Game STILL needs a proper title, but that’s not stopping it from becoming a big favorite among pretty much anyone who’s gotten the chance to try out one of the many tech demos or preview builds. The developer is still taking pre-orders for the game (which is also coming to Steam) and even offering up Kickstarter-like bonuses to those who spend a bit more loot such as getting their names in the game or allowing a set number of users to design their own custom rides for all to use. One of the coolest things anyone can grab of (if they have the money to buy and space to use it) is Fanatec’s SPECTACULAR selection of racing game seats, wheels, shifters and such that make any driving or racing game an even more realistic experience. As you can see in that video above, The setup Bugbear is using (which includes Fantec’s Universal Hub) is quite modular, allowing many steering wheel variants to be used.

Now, the only thing the game needs is a proper console version, although the original crowdfunding drive fell short of that goal. My hope is that the PC version does well enough and gets enough attention that at least ONE of the big three companies sees that as a chance to get a great destruction derby racer back on the market for their systems. Granted, both Sony and Microsoft have marquee racers and may pass on this one (and too bad for them if they do!), but Nintendo hasn’t had a GOOD first-party realistic racer for ages (although Need For Speed Most Wanted U is hands-down the best racer with actual licensed cars in YEARS on a Nintendo platform), so a big fat pipe dream is seeing them wise up and at least look into sending Bugbear a few dev kits so they can either port thew game over or come up with something new and just as fun on that hardware. Granted, that’s a slim chance, but hey – one can only hope, right?