I’m up WAY too early this Monday (at 6:31, I popped up and couldn’t close my eyes, sooo), but at least I can kick off this busy day with some good news. Coilworks‘ first game Cloudbuilt is allllllmost here (ignore my hasty facebook post from earlier!). Hmmm. Memo for a Monday: Make sure you’re FULLY awake before you do that posting. Ah well. Okay, let me get that coffee going! Back in a few…
Platform: PlayStation 3
Developer: Black Tower Studios/Aksys Games
Publisher: Aksys Games
# of Players:1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Score: D+
While playing through the comically wretched (in)excess that is Magus, I kept having flashbacks to the time the late, lamented 3DO’s internal studios were churning out games like Warriors of Might and Magic, Crusaders of Might and Magic, Shifters and most importantly, Godai: Elemental Force (one of the most laughably busted games ever made for the PS2). Magus reminded me of those games and more recent ones where any good intentions were waylaid by questionable execution that ended up sapping anything decent out of them, leaving a residue of fun smothered in layers of glaring badness.
Now, I love my bad games to death, but Magus gets a special place in my library for making me laugh out of confusion and unintentional humor at the same time. If Black Tower were trying for some sort of genre-bending parody they’ve succeeded royally. On the other hand, if this was a serious idea gone south for the duration that couldn’t be salvaged, it’s a bit head-shaking how this game got made this late in the PS3’s life cycle… Continue reading
Ha. The folks overseas at gog.com must think Saint Patrick’s Day is a federal holiday here or something (as in a day where people don’t have to go to work at all). How else would you explain this insane sale? Up to 90% off a BUNCH of games and there’s even a random Pot of Gold picker button that has some invisible leprechaun pick random games for you. Cool! Unless you get a copy of Elf Bowling or something. But I don’t think that’s going to happen at all. Maybe. Anyway, take a chance at two bucks a pop or just use that nice ling list of picks to choose your game(s). Calling into work on Monday sick is up to you, but if your boss happens to also have a gog.com account and reads your braggy posting in the forums there about the deal(s) you got there, well… it’s your move I guess. If you get fired, look at the bright side – you’ll now have time to play all those games you just bought!
Seriously, that was WAY too short, but it gets the job done. Coilworks‘ gorgeous looking and tough as nails free-runner/shooter/platformer Cloudbuilt arrives on Steam in a week, so go check out the official site and the Steam store page to see what all the fast-paced fuss is about. Fast trailer gets a quickie post – there, I’m done!
So, that’s how it’s done, hmmmm. Okay, now we need to see the underwear factory churning out adult-sized diapers with the Alien Isolation logo on them that will be packed in that Collector’s Edition of the game along with a pocket defibrillator and smelling salts. The folks at The Creative Assembly seem to be making the Alien game to end all Alien games because it’s closer to the first Alien film than a few of the more action-packed sequels ever were. Granted, there’s something to be said for those awesome Rebellion-made Alien vs. Predator PC games and yes, a few of the other games in this long running franchise have been quite well done and thrilling. But this may be the first game that feels frightening thanks to it looking to capture what made the original work all too well. Pre-alpha footage means there’s a long way to go before this one’s all wrapped up, folks. I’m betting it’s a big fat face-huggy surprise when it’s all done.
As usual, we’ll see…
Well, now… I know SOME Sega fans who will want in on this deal for sure. For the next week, The Humble Weekly Sale is giving you the chance to grab a NICE load a Sega games for a song starting at only a buck for these four titles:
Alpha Protocol
Company of Heroes
Rome: Total War
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
Now, if you pay $5.99 or more, added to those are the following:
The Typing of The Dead: Overkill
Binary Domain
Renegade Ops
10 Classic SEGA Genesis Games (Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Crack Down, Ecco the Dolphin, Gain Ground, Golden Axe, Golden Axe 2, Golden Axe 3, Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, Vectorman).
Medieval II: Total War
Feel like a “big” spender? Well, then – $14.99 gets you ALL those games and Total War: SHOGUN 2 (which is worth that $14.99 and then some on its own). Yeah, that’s pretty awesome, huh? As usual, you get to choose how much of your money goes to the publisher (SEGA!) and/or how much goes to the following charities, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Special Effect, GamesAid, Whale & Dolphin Conservation and Willow Foundation. Give a little, give a lot – just GIVE, grrrr! You get great games, Sega makes some scratch and a few fine charities also get some funds. That works for me.
INCOMING TRANSMISSION!
Okay, I’ve been a bit tied up with stuff coming in to review plus a few other things (making sure I’m still breathing and surviving this stupid weather we’re stuck with – it’s REALLY cold again), but D3Publisher of America has recently released (as of 4/11) the third and final Mission Pack, Beyond Despair for Earth Defense Force 2025 on PSN and Xbox Live. A few teaser screens are below:
Joining The Earth Defense Force 2025 Special Ops Mission Pack (5 extra missions for $2.99) and the Mutant Rampage Mission Pack (20 additional missions for $8.99), this final set of 20 missions is also $8.99 and gives you more mutated bug and boss variants to play around with in some familiar maps with new elements that add much more challenge whether you play solo offline, couch co-op or go online with up to three other teammates.
If you’re still blasting through solo play and need to farm up some great weapons, these Mission Packs offer up some incredible levels of challenge and some say an “easier” opportunity to gain weapons you may be having a hard time getting in the main game’s missions. “Easier” is a relative term, as even on the easiest difficulty, the enemies are about three times as fierce and twice (or more) as numerous. You’ll be an EDF veteran after a few of these missions, GUARANTEED.
Nice. As a longtime fan of classic PC RPGs such as Wizardry, Dungeon Master, Might & Magic and many (MANY) others, it’s always great to see this style of game making a comeback on consoles as well. Demon Gaze is headed exclusively to the PlayStation Vita stateside on April 22, 2014 and here’s the US teaser trailer (above) and the opening minutes of gameplay (below, thanks to YouTuber Dorarnae). I know some of you more stubborn CRPG players who like a specific (as in non-anime/manga) art style are hating the character designs here and nothing will ever change your minds on that front. Too bad, I say, as publisher Kadokawa games and developer Experience Inc. have done a neat thing with the opening sequence that made me grin because it’s not the usual thing you see when you fire up a game.
The game’s official website has gone live and has basic information on the game world, character creation, gameplay and a few other topics. This one’s on my list of April games to play, as I can see way too many hours spent grinding away with a perfect parry. Or a party that WILL be perfect once I stopped getting stomped by some boss somewhere. I’ve got my eye on you, Demon Gaze (staaaaaarrrrrrre)…
Got a facebook account? Good. Like to win free stuff? Even better! D3Publisher of America is giving YOU a chance to win a PS3 or Xbox 360 copy of their epic bug-blasting extravaganza Earth Defense Force 2025, all three DLC packs AND a bunch of EDF 2025 swag (which MAY or may not be some or all of this cool stuff) all for filling out that sweepstakes form. Uh huh, I can hear you bouncing up and down in your seat over there, so stop that before you break that chair (it’s squeaking because it’s old!) and go enter already!
Thanks to the awesome Orsolya Toth over at Neocore Games, I have TWO Steam codes for their excellent Action/RPG The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing to give away to TWO lucky winners! NOTE: This is the original version of the game, NOT the Complete Pack (but you can upgrade to that if you like via Steam by buying that additional content if you like the game!) and yes, the game is PC and Macintosh compatible. How do you enter? Well, just FOLLOW the site if you haven’t yet and leave a comment below. I’ll randomly pick two of you and shoot over your codes within 24 hours. No need to leave your email, as we have ways of knowing who you are… (mua-ha-ha-haaa!)
And whether you win or not, you SHOULD support the sequel, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II over at Necore’s online store. There are some great premiums for folks with funds to spare (you can be in the game!) and the sequel’s MUCH bigger than the original, but costs exactly the same! I’ll be giving the beta of VHII a shot shortly and let you know what’s what with that soon. Stay tuned…
System requirements for the game and official rules for the giveaway are below the jump… Continue reading
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 