Shenmue I & II: It’s Back, and a Must-Buy

Posted on August 23, 2018 by geelw

“Hey, man… wake up! We’re finally out again on consoles (except the Switch) and PC!”

Speaking of backs: With my poor back giving me some trouble these past few days (ow), updates have been tricky to do, but I’m grinning and grimacing through the pain just to let you all know (well, those who haven’t snapped it up yet on PS4, Xbox One, or PC) that Shenmue I & II is out for $29.99 (physical or digital). Cue the parade sound effects! I actually only got around to ordering a copy yesterday thanks to thinking it was shipping next week (oops), but it’ll arrive tomorrow, so I’m not too far out of the loop. I’d normally say that I can finally sock away my Dreamcast and original Xbox, but I still use them for other games because I am quite the nostalgic old coot. Anyway, let me get back to trying to give myself a back massage with a bunch of rolling pins (okay, not really, but it may come to that) and let you all go about your day.

Back (ow) in a bit.

(Thanks, SegaAmerica!)

Yes, Diablo III is Coming to Switch (Or: I Told You So)

Posted on August 16, 2018 by geelw

(Thanks, Nintendo!)

Yeah, I believed it was going to happen as soon as I saw that nightlight post back in March on Twitter. So, it’ll be $60, include all the DLC and there will be Switch exclusive content in the form of Gannondorf-themed armor and other goodies? Nice and SOLD. I’ll even not mind replaying the game from the beginning or not having the ability to transfer my PS3 or PS4 save files because you can blow through the campaign fairly quickly. That and Adventure Mode is where the real endless action lies and yes, I want to see what other surprises await because it would be quite foolish for Blizzard and Nintendo to not mine their respective histories in order to get loads of new players who’ll be new to the Diablo experience really interested in either pre-ordering or grabbing this game on day one.

Now, as to getting Link or maybe Zelda as playable character DLC at some point? I think it would be awesome… but I will neither hold my breath nor bug anyone about seeing this happen (although it would be interesting to see).

-GW

Review: Mary Skelter: Nightmares (PC)

Posted on August 10, 2018 by geelw

GhostLight’s wonderful port of Mary Skelter: Nightmares brings the game to PC in a flawless translation of the Vita version and yes, it’s absolutely worth a buy. Seeing and playing it on a larger screen reveals sharper enemy and background art, but you won’t be fiddling with anything other than resolution and window size settings if you really need to. In fact, the rather low system requirements makes this one of the more accessible modern dungeon crawlers out there. Even if you’re not into the anime art style and overall offbeat tone here, the game excels on the gameplay front in capturing the spirit of the classic Wizardry games.

Nope, this isn’t your Granny’s version of Snow White or any of the other gals from those old fairy tales. These girls can take care of themselves pretty well.

That’s not to say at all that the game is an entry level experience. There’s a decent enough difficulty curve and a combination of expansive maps, deadly traps and powerful bosses that will keep you on your toes. The main story involves a living tower-like dungeon called Jail looming over a city in Tokyo it has buried underground and the attempts of a squad of lovely anime ladies and one guy tasked with climbing that tower with intent on defeating the Marchen (monsters) and Nightmares (bosses) that inhabit it. The team’s main purpose is to enter the Jail’s oddball dungeons and defeat the Nightmares, which will grow the tower and allow it to reach the planet’s surface, allowing the citizens of the underground Liberated Zone their true freedom. There’s a bit more (well, a good deal more) to the story, but letting it unfold while playing is the best means of experiencing it.

Continue reading →

The Missing to be Found on Consoles and PC Later This Year

Posted on August 9, 2018 by geelw

(thanks, Arc System Works America!)

Hmmm, perhaps I should pay more attention to more stuff online, right? Hey, it’s kind of hard to do these days when you burn so much energy trying to avoid all the negativity out there, grrrr. Anyway, I actually missed out on that video above that noted Hidetaka (SWERY) Suerhiro and developer White Owls, Inc. were working on a brand new game for Arc System Works America set to be published later this year.

Well, that game is called The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories and it’s set to drop digitally onto PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch before the year is out. Excellent. I have no clue as to what sort of game it will be other than it’s an action/adventure… well, that and you get all of three screenshots below:

Yep, I’ll be picking this up as well. SWERY’s work is always intriguing and it’ll be a nice enough appetizer while we wait for more news about The Good Life as that game tiptoes along its development cycle.

-GW

Torchlight Frontiers: An Eyebrow is Raised – Hopefully, a Banner Will Follow

Posted on August 9, 2018 by geelw

This one came as a surprise because I thought the Torchlight games were dead and gone. But it seems Perfect World Entertainment, Arc, developer Ectra Inc. (which includes some of the team behind a few classic ARPGs including the Torchlight and Diablo games) are going to be dropping an all-new online centered experience in 2019. Here’s the promo trailer for Torchlight Frontiers (which isn’t gameplay, sadly):

(Thanks, Play Torchlight!)

Here’s the official word so far:

Introducing the next iteration of the award-winning Torchlight series: Torchlight Frontiers!

Set in the same beloved universe as Torchlight I and II, this shared-world action-RPG brings back many of the franchise’s signature features and mechanics that captured the hearts of ARPG fans around the world. Led by former Runic Games and Blizzard North co-founder, Max Schaefer, the team developing Torchlight Frontiers is comprised of veteran developers who were responsible for the games that defined the ARPG genre, including the original Diablo and Torchlight franchises.

Torchlight Frontiers combines the heart of the beloved Torchlight series with a shared, persistent and dynamically generated world. In true Torchlight style, players will team up with friends and devoted pets to hack and slash their way through a vibrant world, discover ancient ruins of lost civilizations and brave dungeons filled with riches and dangerous creatures. Additional details about Torchlight Frontiers will be revealed at a later date.

The good news is the pedigree along with Perfect World’s generally solid track record in the MMO scene. The shared, persistent world business means this will likely be an online only game with solo play as an option similar to what’s found in Neverwinter (a game I’m currently playing and enjoying). I’ll gather this will also be free to play with paid content, but we’ll see where that all goes. I like the art style in the trailer, although I’m hoping the game goes for a look closer to Torchlight II and/or won’t require a super-powerful PC to run. The console plans mean it should look similar across the board, which is a good thing in my book.

Torchlight Frontiers will be available on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at some point in 2019, but we’ll need to definitely get some hands-on time with a build at some point to see what’s what. Fingers crossed (and yes, cross-platform play would be keen, Sony).

-GW

Red Dead Redemption II Gameplay Trailer: The Wild Punch Lands in October

Posted on August 9, 2018 by geelw

Ladies and gentlemen, I never do this because such speculation is inherently ridiculous especially when it comes to product that’s still not released, but I’ll take the risk and call Red Dead Redemption II my Game of the Year and it’ll be yours as well. Take a look:

(Thanks, Rockstar Games!)

Of course, as I’ve noted previously, it was clear as soon as the game was officially announced that Rockstar was going to be redefining the open world game once again, so it’s a bit redundant to be heaping praise when that bar was being raised was also one set in each of the large scale games they’ve created. Anyway, I’ve got nothing left to say because this gameplay footage speaks very well enough for itself. Me? I’m going to watch this a few more times while trying to figure out a long list of excuses to not venture outside so I can spend way too much time playing this.

Worth buying a console over and pre-ordering? Absolutely, I say.

-GW

The Bard’s Tale Trilogy Returns as a Re-Remake Worth a Buy

Posted on August 7, 2018 by geelw

So, I’d been only lightly following inXile’s progress on The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep with the knowledge that the game was going to be quite impressive and when all of a sudden this trailer pops up in the inbox and waves at me. Well hello there, beautiful. Color me surprised and thrilled, ladies and germs:

(thanks, inXile!)

Nice. While it would have been great to get these in one download (or disc if it’s console bound), spreading the releases out over time means players can actually finish each game and have room left for part IV whenever it’s released. It’s always great to see Krome Studios hard at work (they’ve been one of my favorite developers since the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger days). Hmmm. Time to start carving out some spare time because it’s looking like Skara Brae might be a decent (albeit dangerous) vacation spot for a little while.

-GW

Review: Dead Cells (PS4)

Posted on August 7, 2018 by geelw

Bordeaux, France based developer Motion Twin’s absolutely superb Dead Cells ($24.99) is exactly the sort of game that belongs on a disc in a case with a manual you can whip out and peruse as you play. I’m tossing this out there because the game truly feels like one of those instant classics you want to come home from a long workday and unwind with. As in walking through your front door, kicking off your shoes, tossing your bag onto a chair and going through the whole ritual of opening a game case, popping that disc into your system (or game card if you’re a Switch owner) and settling in for a solid play session. The game blends its influences marvelously and (as much as I despise the term) is indeed one of the finest “Metroidvania” style games to date. Actually, the developer calls it a “RogueVania” which is a bit better, but whatever – this one’s a must buy no matter what you prefer calling it.

(Thanks, PlayStation!)

In a nutshell, you’re playing a rather dead but reanimated (and excellently animated) immortal character who needs to survive a treacherous trip through a sprawling series of randomly laid out themed levels. Before you get all twisted out of shape thinking of games that get this randomization wrong, this is one case where the dev team nails it. When you die (and you will die early and often), the game sends you back to the beginning of the map you bought the farm on and upon restarting, you’ll notice the layout has changed but you’ll face off against the same enemies while retaining learned skills. It’s a dash of what you’re expecting (Castlevania, Metroid, Demon’s Souls, assorted roguelikes and roguelites) with some nicely implemented dark comic touches that add some great humor to the game. No checkpoints means you’ll need to learn to survive by playing and replaying sections in order to die less (or not at all). But each death ends up meaningful for a few reasons you’ll eventually discover.

Continue reading →

INSOMNIA: The Ark: 8 Years in the Making Means a Lot of Sleepless Nights for RPG Fans

Posted on August 3, 2018 by geelw

From the inbox it came… and it looks pretty cool, I think:

(Thanks, INSOMNIA: The Ark!)

My current backlog is rather huge, but it looks as if I’ll need to carve out some quality time to check out Studio Mono’s INSOMNIA: The Ark, which is set for a September release on Steam. According to its press release (continued below the jump… suspense!):

Continue reading →

Review: The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and Its Games, Vol. 1 (A–M)

Posted on August 2, 2018 by geelw

Get it from Amazon, or get it from the author himself with a some cool freebies (US buyers only on those), but just get it period if you’re an SNES fan.

Once again, I have the pleasure to plunge into another hefty, well-written tome by Brett Weiss and once again, it’s a must buy. Published by Schiffer Books, The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and Its Games, Vol. 1 (A-M) is a solid 416 pages packed with Weiss’ personable personal reminiscences, recollections and remembrances (okay, they’re kind of the same thing, but I’m feeling a bit florid in my hyperbole today) on over 350 games for Nintendo’s stellar 16-bit console that, along with the Sega Genesis and other competitors, battled back and forth during the 1990’s for those hard-earned gamer dollars. Despite strong competition, until the Sony PlayStation’s dominance of the console space starting in 1994-95, the SNES ended up with a seven-year lifespan (the last officially licensed game was Frogger in 1998) and more than enough stellar titles to write a book about. Well, Weiss has written two SNES books (the second volume will be out at some point and I can’t wait to pore through that).

There are also brief reviews from Weiss on the games he’s played along with other reviews and impressions ranging from short to lengthy and comedic to tragic from dozens of contributors that add interesting and sometimes multiple takes on certain key to not-so-key titles in the library. I did a very short gargle-blab on one of my favorite games on the console, ALIEN³ that should have been longer in retrospect, but I think I wrote that close to the time (unbeknownst to me, surprise!) I was about to be hospitalized for about a month, so I was a bit off my game.

A fine foreword by Bill Loguidice kicks off the book and there’s a nice page on the “console wars” that’s a miniature crash course in some of the frenzy of the era with game companies going all out to try and outdo each other with varying results. An interesting piece on emulation closes the volume with writer Alex McCumbers making the case for it in a clear and concise manner. But you’re buying this because you want to check out some titles you never knew existed, knew about but never saw (Hagane WAS available at retail – I got my copy at an Electronics Boutique thanks to the kid holding onto it putting it back and getting a cheaper used game instead) or just want to check out the assorted impressions Weiss rolls out in his amiable style. Recommended.

-GW