About fifteen years ago, Tecmo’s Deception became a cult classic on the original PlayStation and eventually spawned three sort of sequels (two on the PlayStation and one on the PlayStation 2). Eight years after the last game, Tecmo Koei is bringing the action/strategy (and formerly RPG at least for the first game) series back with Deception IV: Blood Ties, headed for the Vita and PS3 on March 25 (March 28 in Europe). This new game adds more playable characters and thematically, seems to go back to the first game’s more demonic themes. Granted, while the developers allow you to have fun creating and using traps to kill of a wide range of poor saps, there’s a very good bet that the series tradition of making you feel lousy for dispatching some of the people trying to hunt you down. On the other hand, the focus shift from somewhat timid and reluctant leads forced to do bad things seems to have changed to the “Bad Girls Go To Hell” version of Deception, so we’ll see how players take this shift. If anything, the grim humor the game is also know for will be intact (some of the kills here are pretty darn silly). We’ll see where this goes, but color me intrigued…
Tag Archives: VGA 101
BUY THIS GAME! Unepic Sneaks Onto Nintendo eShop
Reply
Hey, you beleaguered Nintendo Wii U owners starved for original content, take heart. The indies are coming! The indies are coming! Sure, it’s been edited for content (gone are the profanity and more “adult” references), but Unepic is a wonderful and funny blend of old-school “Metroidvania” style action/RPG gameplay, a very funny story chock full of in-jokes and classic gaming references, and yes indeed, plenty of replay value. New exclusive to Wii U features and some great voice acting are all aboard and even if you have the PC version, this comes very highly recommended. And below (*ahem*), aquí tenéis el trailer oficial en castellano de Unepic para Wii U. Um, so buy it already! Ten years of Spanish waaaay back in school and a bunch of Spanish friends from all over the place and I’ve never used it (*sigh*). So I may as well pretend I can get by. Whee!
Share this:
The Indie Gala January Bundle Gets Deadly… And You’ll Get A Premonition When You Buy It…
Ha! ANY chance to write more about one of my favorite games is a good thing, so here you go. Over at the Indie Gala site, their January bundle just got even more interesting, going from a must buy pack to “If you DON’T buy this bundle, you’re nuts!” deal. $5.19 got you seven games up until today when Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut was added to the deal and three more Steam games are coming soon. Nice.
The Steam version of DPTDC adds a ton of bonus content, Steam-specific achievements and (Xbox 360) controller support (sure you CAN play with a mouse and keyboard, but this is ONLY recommended if you already do so and are GREAT at it). As for the game proper, it’s a surprising throwback that won’t win any awards for visuals, but has a story that’s quite interesting on a few emotional layers. In addition, the game is a homage to all sorts of cool stuff and packs in movie trivia like a boss (just drive around and listen to the banter for some fun knowledge dropping). Sure, it won’t look amazing at all on that 50″ or three screen monitor setup and the game isn’t going to task your overclocked gaming rig at all. But good, quirky games like this don’t need fancy system defying visuals to be awesome, I say.
That, and the rest of the games in the bundle are all pretty unique in their own right. You’ll see soon enough. Now go spend a few spare bucks (part of it will be going to charity, so it’s okay!) and have a great(er) weekend!
Share this:
Toukiden: The Age Of Demons Stomps Exclusively Onto Vita In February
As someone mad in lust with much of Omega Force’s output over the years, I’m more than pleased that the veteran developer has whipped up this great-looking PlayStation Vita exclusive and it’s making its way to North America (February 11) and Europe (February 14) soon. I like the separate anime and CG promotional videos for this, the gameplay looks thrilling and while some are making Dynasty Warriors and Monster Hunter comparisons (yes, there are some similar elements), I see more of a Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll influence here:
(Thanks, FrankNStein!)
THAT game was one of my favorites from 2010 and if Toukiden manages to iron out the issues it had while providing even more action, it’ll be a must-buy title for Vita owners. I’m going to grab it no matter what because I trust Omega Force to keep me entertained until the wee hours bumping off assorted demons and avoiding doom every step of the way. Anyway, I’ll hold of writing more on Toukiden until I get some hands-on time. I don’t think a demo will drop on PSN for this, so I may just buy the game outright if I don’t get a review code. I wont’ note here that the Japanese version of the game is cross play with the PSP version of Toukiden (!!!) simply because the chances of that coming out here are slim to none. Boo, but I’d gather it wouldn’t sell in the numbers it needs to break even. That said, I have three PSP’s here, so I’d buy this game once for both handhelds.
Anyone saying the Vita is “dead’ needs to actually own one and look at the current library (yes, outside your comfort zone there are some GREAT game experiences) as well as the ridiculous value PlayStation Plus adds to the handheld that makes it a keeper. And don’t even get me going about the ability to play PS4 games on the thing…
Share this:
Concursion Trailer: The Act Of Running Together Is Working Quite Well For Puuba Games
Oh, Puuba Games… You intrigue me so. Your first game, Concursion looks pretty darn cool with all that genre switching on the fly, colorful mix of visual styles and and promise of many hours of play and replay value. That said, I tend to be cautiously optimistic about stuff like this because no game is “perfect” and in fact, it’s often the case that a game’s flaws can actually make the overall experience better for some players who can exploit them to the fullest. Granted, the only flaws I see is that dance the main character does at the end of that trailer above (it’s so… 1991!) and some generic-looking sprites. But I know this isn’t the final product at all and I’m not some internet troll with an already dull as hell axe to grind.
Anyway, I’ve got my eyeball on you kids. Get this one polished up and DONE and don’t screw it up. I want people to fall over themselves to get this one when it’s finally done and I also want to see it pop up on consoles at some point down the road because I’m a multi-platform kinda guy…
Share this:
Review: Diablo III
Platform: PlayStation 3 (also on Xbox 360)
Developer: Blizzard
Publisher: Activision/Blizzard
# of Players 1-4
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Score: A (95%)
My experience with Diablo III on PC was an ab-Normal Hell Nightmare of an Inferno thanks to the always online requirements, Error 37 woes and a raft of other issues that have finally been patched up over time by Blizzard, but not quickly enough to get me playing again once I finished up my initial review. When the console version of the game was announced, I was one of those people jumping for joy at the news because I know that the game would soar as an untethered from the internet solo or co-op experience because other chase ‘n chop dungeon crawlers were plenty of fun without the online ball and chain. On the PS3 however, the game is not only superior to the PC version in nearly every respect (save for visuals, but it’s not a bad looker at all), it makes for both a great entry level and hardcore experience that’s a must-buy.
While the story isn’t what you’d call “deep”, Blizzard keeps things rolling along through some fine CG cinemas and a few nifty (if not too unexpected) twists before things are wrapped up (sort of) in this sequel. You don’t need to have played Diablo II (or even the first Diablo) to get off and running into the fray at all. But it helps if you’re a continuity freak or someone looking for references to previous installments. Of course, the chances of Blizzard getting those two older games onto any console is slim to none, but it’s something to dream about since this super-enhanced “port” that’s not a port turned out so well… Continue reading
Share this:
Dark Souls II “CURSED” Trailer: More Like “CURSING” Once You Play This One…
Dark Souls II is going to be the toughest thing many gamers will touch all this year and love. And hate, as the game’s relentless enemies and crushing difficulty will chew up and spit out all comers from seasoned veterans to new players who THINK they can survive unscathed. Nah, not gonna happen, people. You will die (well, your character will die) and you’ll be glaring at your controller with malicious intent when you should be holding up a mirror and heavy breathing into your fogged up reflection. Hey, what did you expect from a game with the tagline “Prepare to Die”, hmmmmm? On the other hand, to the victor go the spoils… but most of those spoils happen to be of the “Holy crap, I survived THIS long before I got stepped on/skewered/roasted/run over, et cetera…”
This one’s going to be a killer, people. Watch the skies for flying controllers and keep an ear out for banshee-like howls from above, I say…
Share this:
From The Vaults, Slowly They Come (#1 of Who Knows How Many)…
Thanks to years of writing for a few places, I have a LOT of press stuff here socked away in a few bins (I tend to keep just about everything I’ve gotten of importance). When I’m not doing my usual headless chicken thing, I keep plotting and planning to post a few galleries of the assorted discs and other material I’ve held on to, but I just haven’t had the time to pore through that mountain of materials. Anyway, thanks to these two press kits popping out of a box while I was digging up some old games someone wants to buy from me, I guess this is now one part of a many-part project I’ve launched. That’s one of the Sly 2: Band of Thieves press kit on the left and Killzone on the right. They’re about the size of a 12″ vinyl LP, by the way. I don’t think I have any more records here or I’d have done a size comparison. Or If I do have any records left around here they’re probably hiding out in a different bin I haven’t cracked open in a few years. Eek.
I’m not sure when another update is coming from the press vaults, as it’s a daunting task to dive in and not get lost going through things for hours and reminiscing. All that does is leave me with stacks of stuff to repack and no place to sleep if I don’t. Of course, a helper monkey who can make lists and take pictures would be a total help, but they don’t exist yet and any robot I want to think of buying can only vacuum my floor or dance (but not both? Come on technology, get with it already!). Ah well… I guess I’ll get this thing taken care of when I can…
Share this:
Men Aren’t Useless #103: Behold, The BRIEFCASE ARCADE!
Hey, last week I heard some loud ladies on the street say that “Men are useless!” and while I do indeed agree we are on some fronts, sometimes we knock it out of the park big time. Er, at least as far as making cool as hell stuff goes. Well, cool stuff that doesn’t involve actual explosives, booze or some sort of automatic magazine pin-up dispenser as an all-in-one solution to multiple non-problems.
I don’t even know who Travis Reynolds is, but he’s my *new* best friend because he has created the (ta-dah!) Briefcase Arcade or Businesscade or Briefcade. Some call it the “Arcase”, but that sounds kinda lame (to me at least). Oh, it’s not built completely from scratch, mind you – that would be TOO genius and make him automatic King of the Known Universe… Continue reading
Share this:
Alien Isolation “Transmission” and “Origins”: Puzzle Pieces Falling Where They Need To…
Hmmmm… As predicted, with The Creative Assembly on the case this time out, Sega’s upcoming Alien Isolation is looking pretty impressive in this introductory teaser and developer diary. Hopefully, the story will work as intended, as I can see some folks not being all aboard the playing as Ellen Ripley’s daughter thing. Me, I’m a wait and see guy myself because I trust The CA to do their best and they’ve always done just that when they make their games. I do like that it’s turning out to be NOT a stupid shoot everything that moves experience and seems to be focusing on story and characters first and foremost.
The only major sticking point to some will be the lack of a Wii U version as the gameplay seems perfect for that GamePad, but such is life in this generation of consoles I suppose. Someone HAS to get a suitable Alien game out on that system one of these days, I say. I’m not sure who, but it would be nice to see one at some point…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 