Review: MilitAnt (PC)

Posted on July 19, 2016 by geelw

Platform: PC/(PS4/Vita)

Developer/Publisher: Xibalba Studios

# of Players: 1 MSRP: $9.99

Verdict: BUY IT (but expect this bug to bite hard!)

#militant

Do you consider yourself a game master? Do classic series such as Battletoads, Contra, Mega Man, and other vintage to modern platform toughies barely make you flinch when you speed-run them blindfolded playing with that controller in between your teeth? Well, you should be pleased to know MilitAnt has your name stamped on it in big neon letters. Xibablba Studios’ new PC and PS4 game (also headed to the Vita soon) is one of the hardest games of the year and it deserves a tip of the cap and old college try by the best of the best who should appreciate the gorgeously detailed visuals and non-stop challenge right from the start. Even on the lowest difficulty setting, the whopping amount of stuff trying to kill your little ant warrior is no joke. This commendable decision gives the game longevity and plenty of replay value, but may scare of casual gamers expecting a hand-holding mobile-like experience.

You play a nameless ant warrior who’s part of a massive ant army gone to war against termites, wasps and other bugs big to small, but you’ll more than likely than not care more about surviving the levels than following the story. The game is billed as being “2.5D”, but what that really means is this is a side-scroller with a second plane enemies will attack you from every chance they get. Controls, movement and animation are solid, with an Xbox 360 or other game controller your best bet for survival. Keyboard and mouse do function extremely well, if you choose to go that route, but this is a game meant to be more fully enjoyed with a two stick analog. You can carry up to four different weapons of any type (once you unlock them) into battle, so choose wisely. The dozen weapons are excellent for the most part, but you’ll need to be careful as they all have a reload/cool down period. Knowing when to swap guns or use melee attacks is key, as enemies appear in large enough numbers to overwhelm even the most prepared player.

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Hyper Sentinel: A True Modern Retro Game Needs Your Help to Fly High

Posted on July 19, 2016 by geelw

I’ll admit to having a like/hate relationship with crowdfunding, but when I see a game like Hyper Sentinel lagging behind its target simply because gamers here in the west don’t know or appreciate the history behind it, I have to pipe up a bit. Just check out that Kickstarter page to see the sheer enthusiasm for this labor of love and the rich history and pedigree of Andrew Hewson, Rob Hewson, who along with Johnathan Port and John Ogden, are making a game that looks like an incredible amount of fun to play for retro and modern gamers alike.

Yep. This looks like a ton of fun, right? But there it sits, needing more people like YOU or your vintage gaming friends who claim they’re into these types of games, yet hold zero knowledge of gaming outside the US and Japanese consoles to toss pledges its way. Those in the know have supported this already (and I hope more can spread the word), but if you need a little kick-start of your own, here’s a little slice of game history to check out as an assist:

(Thanks, DerSchmu!)

Cool, huh? Yeah, I thought so. How go help the Hewsons and company get their game out of that hangar and onto anything that can play it. If you have an iPhone, give that demo a shot and go yell at a few friends about your experience. Dismissed!

The Lost Arcade: Here Comes A New Challenger For Game Film of the Year

Posted on July 18, 2016 by geelw

The Lost Arcade #thelostarcade

If you thought a documentary about a grimy New York City videogame arcade would be the last thing you’d ever be interested in seeing, take note: Kurt Vincent and Irene Chin’s The Lost Arcade is one of the best films I’ve seen on arcade history. Well, the history of ONE particular arcade known by its fans as a second home where skills were honed and lifelong friendships and friendly rivalries were built. Years in the making, this look at the legendary Chinatown Fair arcade is fascinating and moving because it focuses more on the people who played and worked there than on the games. That said, there’s plenty of game footage as well as gamers playing and talking about what they love here. In fact, it’s the passion on display when these people talk about why they play and how CF became so important in their lives that keeps this flowing from start to finish.

(Thanks, International Film Festival Rotterdam!)
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Fallout Shelter Lands on PC: Let’s Take a Trip to the Vault, Shall We?

Posted on July 14, 2016 by geelw

FALLOUT SHELTER LAUNCHES ON PC

Fallout Shelter has launched today for PC, bringing the action to larger screens and an even wider audience. The PC version of the game offers the full Fallout Shelter experience that fans have come to love on mobile, complete with all of the updates added over the last year – Pets, Crafting, Scrapping and Junk, additional rooms, Fallout 4 characters, and special Dweller customization options – as well as all of the new content in Update 1.6.

Dang it, Bethesda! I was avoiding Fallout Shelter because I don’t usually cover mobile games and even though I’m a HUGE fan of the series, this wasn’t on something I play regularly, so I didn’t feel bad about missing out. Well, zingity-zing. It’s now on PC and FREE as a bird. Crap. *Sigh*… off to create an account, download and try to very NOT play this until I get some room in the backlog. If you have the time, can one or more of you also get this, try it out and let me know what I’m missing? Hey, perhaps that will inspire me to work faster or something.

Those of you with Android and iOS versions, yeah – you got a great update as well:

QUESTS AND NEW COMBAT SYSTEM

Across more than 5 billion game sessions, Overseers have sent more than 715 million Dwellers into the Wasteland to explore, battle enemies, gather resources and items, and discover new recipes for crafting weapons and armor. In Update 1.6, players now have more substantive Quests to conquer and can take control of their Dwellers while they travel to abandoned buildings and decrepit Vaults, as well as locations familiar to Fallout 4 fans like the Red Rocket Fuel Stop and the Super Duper Mart. Players can assemble a group of Dwellers to take on challenges outside of the Vault, uncover legendary loot, and face off against new enemies like Radscorpions, Ghouls and powerful bosses.

While in the new Quests, Overseers can use the new combat system to gain control over Dwellers in a fight, allowing players to select opponents and direct attacks and even play a quick mini-game for a critical hit. Impatient Overseers who would like to instantly return Dwellers after a quest or complete Barbershop customizations or crafting, can now use a refreshing Nuka-Cola Quantum.

Update 1.6 can be downloaded by visiting the App Store or the Google Play store.

Happy now? I thought so.

#TBT: NES Classic Edition Headed to Retail 11/11

Posted on July 14, 2016 by geelw

Well, Nintendo can REALLY keep a secret, huh? Between the current Pokémon GO madness, blowing fans away with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at E3, STILL keeping the specs and images of its upcoming NX system offline other than a few patents found online for what looks like a pretty interesting new device, and now THIS. Holiday Gift Guide 2016 alert, that’s for sure.

What, you don’t have a facebook account? Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Fear not, I got your back. The full press release is right below the jump, if you feel like feeling old and reading a lot like you used to.

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Earth Defense Force 4.1 Stomping to Steam July 18

Posted on July 14, 2016 by geelw

Well, this wasn’t a total surprise, but it still make me do a little happy dance when it was confirmed. EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 4.1 The Shadow of New Despair July 18, on Steam. $49.99, but with a limited time 30% discount. Worth every penny even at full price. No mod support has been confirmed, but the game doesn’t need people messing with it creating content thanks to a few hundred hours worth of gameplay just in the challenge of clearing every difficulty level with every character AND getting all 800 randomly dropped weapons. PR on this has been quiet as a mouse, but I hope this gets kicked up a notch and made bigger news soon.

Assault Suit Leynos Now on PSN: Summer Just Got Much Hotter For PS4 Owners

Posted on July 12, 2016 by geelw

BEWM:

Your question and answer for the day if you’re a PS4 owner watching that trailer above and wondering “Should I get this?” Well… YES. A paltry $19.99 digitally via PSN. If you can hold out until September, want a gift for that game-collecting friend or have a gaming PC and only play on that setup, A physical disc version of the PS4 game is coming with a PC download via Steam shortly thereafter. I’ll let you go hit PSN now so you can go buy this and have it all ready to download so you can get to blasting some aliens later once you’re home from work or wherever. Over and out!

Dragon Bros Hands-On: One Small Bite Helps Make This Little Indie a Big Deal

Posted on July 11, 2016 by geelw

So, yeah. I’m buried under games even more so than usual, but when something cool and FUN like UK-based Space Lizard Studios‘ Dragon Bros pokes me in the eye (ow!) with a free demo I read can be completed in five minutes or less, I have to stop, drop and roll away from my backlog and get some quick hands-on time. That five minutes and twenty-seven seconds it took me to finish the demo build was pretty invigorating to say the least. Yes, they got my vote on Steam Greenlight and I want to see this one get done up right.

Dragon Bros is a super-charged cute run & gun very much like you’d be playing on the Sega Genesis or SNES (minus that console’s better color palette). Your little dragon with the big gun is out to rescue his mom (in solo play, the game will be solo or co-op), and those robotic dopes shooting back aren’t going to stop him. well, unless you’re lousy at these types of games. As with many old-school games, this one’s a side-scroller where you can’t back up if you’ve missed a weapon pickup or dropped coins. Still, the action is fast paced and a slider on the options screen lets you choose difficulty on the fly. There seemed to be a few secrets just out of reach easily lost when the current screen slid over to a new one. But replaying the map and paying attention to spots where one can jump up to or down from helps out a great deal.

As the game is still early, there are some obvious tweaks that need to be done. The options menu needs some character sprite love for sure. The developers note on the Greenlight page that the game is still a WIP and has a ways to go before completion, but so far, they’re well on the way to making an instant classic in my bookIm.

Go click away above, try that demo out and see for yourself what’s what. I think this team and these Bros. deserve a shot as well a space in your game library. That, and snapping up the Bros when they hit Steam means THIS can probably get made sooner. Wow.

UPDATE: Okay, I played a bit more and Got my time down a bit, but I need to slide away from this and get back to work. That backlog is staring at me and tapping its fingers waiting. Back in a bit.

Indie Quickies: The Incredible Baron (Or: Gotta Catch ’em All… For SCIENCE!)

Posted on July 7, 2016 by geelw

The Incredible Baron: Okay, this one’s a total gem. Go try the demo out and see for yourself. Black Shell Media‘s games library is simply put, FANTASTIC. The variety of genres, visual styles and just pure fun to be had makes going through their catalog a complete pleasure. FlatRedBall’s *excellent*, comical RTS/monster collecting/tower defense hybrid looks and feels like one of those great SNES games from the 90’s to the point that if it were on a cart back then, it would probably win some sort of Game of the Year award or at the very least, be on a Top 10 or so list.

Easy to pick up and play, the game also uses some fine humor to toss your way as you play through its increasingly challenging maps. While veterans of tower defense games may blow through this one fairly quickly, the colorful cartoon visuals and perfect learning curve (you can replay missions until you get the hang of things) make this a great entry level game for newbies. I’m not sure if Black Shell has console plans, but to me, this one would be a perfect fit on any digital console platform as a straight port at a decent price point. Go get this on Steam and have a blast blasting those critters and keeping the Baron out of and in trouble. Methinks this one needs a sequel at some point.

Call of the Westeros Meets Classic Response Time

Posted on July 3, 2016 by geelw

So, this season of Game of Thrones ended with a bang. Well, a few bangs if you count the graceful exit one key character made via a nearby window. The internet being what it is, one still frame ended up as a hilarious image gamers who know Ubisoft’s hugely popular Assassin’s Creed series got a laugh over:

It took me all of thirty seconds for my brain to cook up goofball responses to that scene using classic film posters, but a little longer to swipe images I’ll link to to be fair to the folks who posted them first. Traffic is cool on one’s blog when it’s least expected, I always say. Okay, here we go (click on the posters to go to their respective sites):

I’ve never seen this flick before, but I’m now Judy Canova curious. I know I’ve seen HER before in something, but I’ve not a clue as to what.

Ooh, a new site to check out! Nice place you’ve got there, Steve! Haven’t seen this one in decades, but it’s probably as funny as I recall.

A not too shabby WWII war drama/romance flick with a fine cast doing their thing for the cause. Oscar-winning special effects here, but don’t go into this looking for CG perfection.

Finally, yeah… I may as well get Fox some love as well for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie. As with any game-based film, my eyebrow is up a lot on whether it can capture the game’s more interactive elements clearly. But I absolutely LOVE being proven wrong by movies based on videogame source material. Which means I’m still skeptical even with the casting choices made. We’ll get into that later. Just go enjoy the rest of this weekend for now.