Legionwood 2: Volume One Gets Officially Site-d

Posted on January 25, 2014 by geelw

I actually didn’t know (but should have guessed) until a few months ago that the guy behind the Legionwood games, D. Robert Grixti, is a published author and is working on his second novel (among many other things).

Anyway, he’s also Dark Gaia Studios and has just put up a site dedicated to Legionwood 2: Chapter One that you may want to check out. You can download the demo to try out for free or buy the first chapter (which is set for a February 28, 2014 release) outright for a measly five dollars. According to the author, Chapter One will offer:

15+ hours of classic RPG gameplay.
Dozens of minigames and sidequests to discover.
Hundreds of different character configurations.
Over 80 intelligent and dangerous foes.
Non-linear game that makes your choices count.
Multiple endings.

In addition, the first Legionwood as well as Dark Gaia’s other games can be found HERE (and they’re all free!). Pop on by and take a peek at the man’s work, I say – he’s got some talent to spare, that’s for sure…

This Week’s Humble Weekly Sale: Roguelikes Like Rogues Like Me…

Posted on January 23, 2014 by geelw

Gyaaah. Here I am, JUST writing about a fine and dandy new(ish) RPG I’m in love with (see previous post) and what happens? The folks at Humble Bundle read my mind and come up with an EVIL PLAN to take more money from me, grrr. And for a six buck minimum, I’m going to let them. As my backlog is so stupidly massive, I’ve only played a few demos of some of these and wanted to pick them up when I had the time (and yes, when there was an appropriate sale or something). Well, I guess the time is ripe for me to go ba-na-nas on this deal and add MORE games to the digital warehouse of stuff I need to get to as I free up time. Wah! Anyway, six games and five complete soundtracks all for the taking.

Oh well. Such is the life I lead. Click. Buy. BOUGHT. *Sob*, oh, my poor backlog…

Heroes of a Broken Land Hands-On: No School Like The Old School (Again)…

Posted on January 23, 2014 by geelw

The ONLY reason I didn’t slap down that fifteen bucks for Heroes of a Broken Land right away after I saw that trailer the other day was there was a demo to try out and I love demos. Needless to say, it got downloaded and played for a bit and yes indeed, the game is quite fantastic on a few levels. For starters, it looks and plays exactly like a hybrid of Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder and one of those great Dreamforge RPGs with dashes of Wizardry and even a little Heroes of Might and Magic tossed into the pot for good measure. If all those names and titles baffle you and you’re looking at that trailer and thinking “But it’s so ugly!”, feel free to turn right around and point your body towards the door (a little more to the left… Okay!), then lean forward slightly so my foot lands in the right spot. *Boot!*

Everyone else, there’s a fresh kettle on and tea cups a plenty in the kitchen. Oh, and some cookies are on the counter… Continue reading →

Toukiden Demo Drops Onto PSN Today, Demons Everywhere Somewhat Distressed…

Posted on January 22, 2014 by geelw

Well, that’s a relief. Tecmo Koei’s recently announced demo for Toukiden: The Age of Demons has made its appearance know on PSN today without that usual “where is it” fuss that happens when SCEA takes its time to update the store. According to my Vita, I have about 38 minutes to go before I can jump in and see what’s what… but that 38 minutes was 11 minutes when the download started about seven minutes ago.

Yeah, it’s not really a huge thing to gripe about in the grand scheme of things. But this is one reason why a nice segment of us poor gamers without access to the best connections will be screwed if there’s an always online presence required when it’s beyond clear that not every spot in this land of plenty is ready, willing or able to handle so many people trying to access content at or around the same times. Ah well, this demo should be fun, but I won’t actually get to PLAY it until I get home in a few hours.

Back with some words on the experience later.

Earth Defense Force 2025 Update: Game Goes Gold, Gets Mission Pack DLC

Posted on January 21, 2014 by geelw

Closer and closer it creeps, folks. Sandlot’s straight up giant bug and robot run and gun spectacular, Earth Defense Force 2025 has gone gold and is on track to land at your favorite game emporium on February 18, 2014. In addition to the 85 massive stages (94 if you play the game online), D3Publisher has announced three mission packs coming, one on launch day and one each within two weeks of launch. Before you get all cranky about this DLC, know ye this: beating EDF 2025 with all four classes will take even the most seasoned gamers some time (as in a few weeks at best), as the game can get pretty hectic if one goes it alone (like a true EDF maniac). That said, the mission packs offer up even MORE challenging enemy variants and are geared towards players who like it rough.

According to the press release, these Mission Packs will be available separately on the dates below and later on as a bundle:

Special Ops – Will feature 5 new missions for $2.99 and be available on February 18.
Mutant Rampage – Will feature 20 new missions for $8.99 and be available on February 25.
Beyond Despair – Will feature 20 new missions for $8.99 and be available on March 11.

Color me psyched, as the import was a big time eater for me last year and I can’t wait to see what’s been tweaked in the time since that version shipped out. Anyway, the days are ticking away and my PS3 is winking at me and blowing kisses for some reason. On the other hand, I do need a new controller, as there’s a button starting to stick and an EDF game DEMANDS you have a controller that’s in working perfect working order. Off to check the funds and take care of that…

Heroes of a Broken Land: This Throwback RPG Is Quite A Keeper…

Posted on January 21, 2014 by geelw

Hey, Winged Pixel? You just made my too-snowy Tuesday a great deal more tolerable. Heroes of a Broken Land is a classic style role playing game with a lovely Dungeon Master/Eye of the Beholder/Wizardry vibe (and a few other classics), procedurally generated maps, a hex-based over world map just to get me tingly and even some simulation aspects as you restore fragmented landscapes to their original forms.

That demo is calling me even as we speak, so it’s off to download and give this one a try. The full version of the game is also available for a mere $14.99 from the Winged Pixel site, Desura, or Gamersgate and if it gets voted in through the Greenlight program, expect this to also land on Steam at some point. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some dungeons to delve into…

Bundle Stars’ New Math Gets You Too Much For Too Little (Again!)…

Posted on January 20, 2014 by geelw

These charity game bundles are driving me nuts, but it’s all good. Paying a mere three dollars for all these games is a super steal (if bought individually elsewhere you’d pay $65) , but as always the drawback is finding time to PLAY them. My own newly adjusted backlog of completing all the games I’ve paid so little for from Steam, gog.com, Desura, Indie Gala, Humble Indie Bundle and yes, Bundle Stars is currently hovering somewhere around 2015, but that doesn’t include other games, movies and important stuff like breathing, so methinks I’ll need to re-crunch those numbers at some point soon.

Anyway, the latest BS deal (The Kingdoms Bundle) is no BS at all, offering you 95% off of six games with four of those six being deep historical and military simulations and the other pair a fantasy action/RPG hybrid and a streamlined yet complex space strategy game. Not everyone’s cup of tea, I’ll admit. But for those with the time and patience or those who want to try something different, these come recommended.

Deception IV: Blood Ties Teaser: Tricks, Treats and Traps Make A Comeback!

Posted on January 19, 2014 by geelw

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…

BUY THIS GAME! Unepic Sneaks Onto Nintendo eShop

Posted on January 18, 2014 by geelw

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!

The Indie Gala January Bundle Gets Deadly… And You’ll Get A Premonition When You Buy It…

Posted on January 17, 2014 by geelw

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!