This Humble Weekly Bundle Night Dives Into The Past With Some Great Classics

Wow. Three great epic role-playing games, four horror-themed adventures (including one based on a great, gloomy Harlan Ellison story), a sci-fi/horror hybrid first-person shooter still seen as one of the best games ever made and while not quite a classic, a dark and disturbing action/shooter that’s worth a play just to see how bizarre it gets? Sounds like a buy if you ask me. Anyway, Wizardry 6, 7 and 8 plus System Shock 2 are more than worth the price it takes to unlock them and everything else is just the gravy on that cake. I actually liking this bundle because of Harvester, a supremely twisted point & click adventure game that doesn’t shy away from the David Lynch-like weirdness and some mildly to pretty shocking gore effects (which are cheap looking even by 1996 standards, but still effective):

Amusingly enough, the charities this bundle supports are Child’s Play and The American Red Cross (ha and ha, ha). Anyway, this one’s only available for a limited time (6 days, 19 hours as I type this), so GRAB IT before it’s gone!

Gallery: Game Library Odds & Ends (Mostly Odds)…

Odds n Ends PS Version
Hokay, I have some ‘splainin’ to do here:

I’ve played both Kane & Lynch Dead Men and Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, but I’ve never actually owned the first game until a few weeks back when I saw this in a stack of games some guy was selling at a sidewalk sale. Two bucks? No problem. As for the much maligned Aliens: Colonial Marines? I never played the demo and didn’t see that footage everyone says was mocked up and not representative of the final product, so the whole controversy went over my scalp. That said, I nabbed this sealed with ALMOST all the collector’s edition goodies (no Power Loader) for ten bucks, which may seem like too much based on the acid spewed upon the game worldwide. I’ve only played about an hour and while it’s far from great, as a FPS, it’s got some fun bits here and there. My money is on Alien Isolation being a more compelling experience and provided the dopes lurking and jerking on message boards REALIZE that the new game is from a C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E-L-Y different development team known for all of their games being solid experiences through and through.

Remember Me? Yes, Nilin… I do, my dear. I played the PC version (thanks, Capcom!) and loved it for the most part. Capcom also kindly sent me the Xbox 360 version, but I couldn’t play it when I got it thanks to my two busted 360’s collecting dust here. So, I gifted it to a friend so he’d crack it open (and let me review it at his place, of course) and ended up picking up the PS3 version recently for about five times less than what it retailed for last year. As for Silent Hill: Book of Memories? I love Wayforward’s games and the demo of this Vita exclusive was interesting in a “Hey, it’s like Diablo, but NOT!” manner. A few levels in, and I read that the game is pretty much the same thing from beginning to end, but has a level cap and some other stuff that makes it a bit tedious. I haven’t reached that point yet, but thanks for the forewarning, Internet… Continue reading

Shadowgate is Back? Welcome To Your (Highly Enjoyable) Doom!

Shadowgate Logo (Custom)

adventureOkay, I’m kind of terminally slow on the crowdfunding front because I have neither the time to look at EVERY project that clogs my inbox nor all the money I’d LOVE to donate to all those cool looking games and products I do look at.

In other words, I had NO idea the original developer was remaking this well aged absolute classic adventure game for current computers (and yes, Macs, iOS and Android devices  as well). Based on the art and screens here plus that lovely pre-order trailer, I’m betting fans of this old chestnut are grinning madly as the game’s release looms closer and closer…

“The last thing that you remember is standing before the wizard Lakmir as he gestured wildly and chanted in an archaic tongue. Now you find yourself staring at an entryway which lies at the edge of a forest.”

So begins the classic anew, this time relaunched with many new features and as developer Zojoi states clearly, this isn’t a simple port at all, but a whole new take on the original that expands the adventure in every aspect. As you can see below, the classic adventure game retains the use of static art screens to tell its tale, but Shadowgate has never, ever looked this spectacular because these even more gorgeous screens add motion to the story.

A game overview, screenshots and concept art are all below the jump, as I don’t want to keep you from pre-ordering this ASAP. ogling them can wait a minute or two… Continue reading

God of War Collection On Vita: Kratos May Be Smaller, But He’s Still Killing It Big Time…

GOW_Collection_VitaIt’s not surprising to finally see the two PlayStation 2 God of War games coming to the Vita, but what is surprising is the delivery method. In addition to the usual PSN download, this new double pack (available NOW!) is getting a retail release with both games on a Vita memory stick.

Yes, both will be HD remastered and yes, Trophies are added to both games, meaning you folks who love them will be hunting down every one even if you’ve played both games to death and beyond many times. Now, all we need is a Vita exclusive GoW game or some even more massive set that packs the PSP, PS3 and oddball mobile game from a few years back onto a disc or memory stick and the collectors out there will keel over backwards because it’ll be one more thing to snap up.

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This. May. Not. Be. Sparta (!!!!), but it’s an action-packed romp twice over that’s not for the kiddies and has a great, bleak story for those who like their heroes anti and of the non-stop angry variety. Kratos has his reasons for being so terminally pissed off, but I’ll leave those for you new to the games to find out what those are…

Bound By Flame Launch Trailer: There’ll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town This Friday…

 
Spiders’ next game is (almost) here and I’m actually quite eager to give it a play through, as they’re a developer that’s done a number of great looking games with interesting play mechanics that while not flawless, showed a ton of promise with each project. Bound By Flame looks like a labor of love and the next step for the developer, as it’s their first “next-gen” game for the PlayStation 4 as well as being on PS3 and Xbox 360. Of course, PC gamers will say they’re getting the “best” version (and they’d be right in terms of visuals), but for me, at the end of the day, it’s gameplay that makes the game, not running the game with all the settings maxed and showing off what that graphics card you have can do. The visuals look nice on anything I’ve seen this on, the music (by Olivier Derivière) and voice acting are excellent and the combat looks like an interesting mix of a few games. Of course, videos are one thing, but there’s nothing like some controller time to see how it’s all come together. Well, May 9th is the day, so I guess I’ll see what’s up with this one then…

Gallery: Monstrum – Junkfish Wants To Make You Seasick of Monsters Trying To Kill You…

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So, Monstrum, huh? Let’s see now: You’re a passenger on an abandoned ship with only a flashlight and maybe some flares and there’s a second “passenger” on board that happens to be a bit of a monster who you don’t want to run into. You need to find a way off the ship or die trying and if you DO die, it’s for good and the next game starts you out all over again with a fresh layout to get lost in? Did I mention there are assorted traps and dangerous stuff scattered about to beware of? Well, there are! Anyway, count me in and I’ll be the first to pat the team at Junkfish on the collective back for cooking up yet another horror game I want to dive into for a spell. Granted, I won’t be able to play it on anything but my current aging PC (for now), but the team is making the game compatible with the upcoming Oculus Rift virtual reality peripheral, a process that’s making for some really interesting blog posts.

Anyway, creepy and noisy video above – five alpha screens below. The game is due out in the fall, I believe. As the Rift isn’t (ha ha), I’d imagine it will be playable without it. I should ask for a demo to try out, shouldn’t I? Oh, I don’t know why I do this to myself, as I always get freaked out and end up sleeping in the kitchen sink or on top of the refrigerator…

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This IndieGala Bundle Will Drive You Around And Up A Wall. This Is Actually A Good Thing.

Every Monday Bundle 5-5-2014 
It’s time to hit the road with this week’s Every Monday Bundle from IndieGala. Every game here has some sort of vehicle as your means of locomotion, so expect some realistic racing at its finest, some future flying taxi action, kart racing with allegedly cute characters and even a bit of blowing up stuff in a tank. You know the drill here: pay a LOW price for the first day, then the price jumps up a bit to a STILL affordable (but higher) point. Two bucks for six games is insane, especially as the aforementioned realistic racer (Race Injection) gives you three games and three expansions worth a heck of a LOT more than two bucks and is a pretty decent simulation racer if you happen to swing that way. Okay, let me shut up and let you get to the buying and playing and worrying about when you’ll get to playing everything you just bought. “Everything in moderation, nothing in excess” doesn’t exactly work with a big backlog, that’s for sure…

Alien Isolation “Lo-Fi Sci-Fi” Trailer: The Future? Same Problems As The Past (You Need Four Hands For Everything!)…

Eeek. I actually MISSED posting the Alien Isolation update from April. Oops. Hey, it happens with all these games coming out, kids. Anyway, how fitting that this video is about the low-tech equipment used in the game and the lower tech methods developer The Creative Assembly used to get parts of the game looking quite analog. I love this behind the scenes stuff and you have to appreciate that old techniques work as well as (or even better in this case) than just doing everything on a computer to FAKE video footage that looks garbled and yep, “lo-fi”. October 7, 2014, folks. Carve out some time for this one – it’s turning out really special…

DreadOut Launch Trailer: You’re Now Under The Table Without A Single Drink, Right?

On May 15, a bunch of you will be sitting in darkened rooms, headphones on and hunched over playing Digital Happiness’ scary new game, DreadOut. I’m gathering there will be some squealing and flat out screaming involved on that day, particularly among those of you who do something dumb like play with the door to your room open and your back to that door. You KNOW that’s not a good ting, especially when someone else in your house or that pet running around decides to pop in and check up on you. Yeah, I’d expect those headphones to pop right off when you leave your seat and hit the ceiling, unless they’re wireless headphones. in which case you’ll want to have a pair with a NICE padded top, as ceilings can be quite hard when you fly up to them too quickly. Ouch. Turn off that ceiling fan while you’re at it, as it’ll keep your head from hitting the floor before the rest of you comes down. The police will have a hard time figuring out what happened until some deft detective sits down in front of that monitor, puts those headphones on and the scenario is repeated… Ouch.

Indiegala’s Tiny Mix Bundle: Not So Tiny (Just The Price!), But Oh, It’s Quite a Mix…

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Yet another great IndieGala sale for charity? Cool! This time up, it’s a mix of JRPG-inspired goodness, a crazy (not for the kiddies!) shooter some will find oddly… comforting if they have lousy jobs and twisted revenge on their minds but aren’t the violent type, some puzzle games to keep you playing ’til the wee, wee hours and even a few tough as nails (or “old-school”) style action platformers. As usual, the price is a total STEAL (well, in a “I took your stuff, but left you what I thought was cool kind of way), you need a working Steam account and probably a time machine once you grab this deal so you can actually PLAY all these games at some point. Yeah, you know you want it, so go get it!