As I’ve said before, Sony’s not going to let the PS3 fade into the usual “old” console obscurity as they’ve got a few more great first-party games that show off some developers at the top of their game. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us looks to combine solid storytelling and intense action in an exclusive that looks to be one of the best games made for the console. The recently released Dark Horse Comics prequel has sold out (well, as far a physical copies go), so it looks like plenty of gamers who picked the book up (and happen to own PS3’s) will be zipping on down to their favorite game shop (or lurking by their mailboxes) when the game’s June 14, 2013 release date rolls up.
Tag Archives: Video Game Appreciation 101
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara: The Elf – In A Class All By Herself…
Hey, now… before you get all finger-pointy and mention that elves are a race and not a class, you should probably take note that in Dungeons and Dragons, they were initially seen as a separate class along with halflings and dwarves. Of course, elves don’t exist in real life (despite people spending too much time believing they do), so there’s a moot point here somewhere I keep misplacing. Anyway, whee – I get to try this Iron Galaxy-developed HD reboot/remake out next week when Capcom rolls into NYC with it and a few other awesome upcoming games, so expect a nice hands-on report shortly afterward. Dungeon & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara hits PC, PSN, Xbox Live and Nintendo’s eShop on July 14 – back in a bit with more on this instant classic soon.
Dragon’s Crown Cover Art, Artbook Revealed: Preselling A Not-So-Hard Sell…

Lovely… and it can soon be all yours, at that. Dragon’s Crown finally gets some VERY pretty cover art for its retail versions as well as a really cool pre-order bonus in the form of a 64-page softcover art book that’s absolutely going to be snapped up by fans of George Kamitani’s work. I’d go as far as to predict the art book selling for more than the game does down thee road among those who miss out and want to pay through the pores on eBay or some other site, but that’s not Atlus’ concern what you do with that bonus item as they see not a red cent from secondhand sales of their cool goods. Anyway, check out the official site if you haven’t already for character profiles, more of Kamitani’s lush artwork and more.

Dragon’s Crown will hit retail and PSN on August 6, 2013. Be there or be square, I say…
GOG.com Wants YOU To Go Adventuring This Weekend (So, Get Lost Already!)…
Say… do you like a good story? Are you a cheapskate who likes good stories and has a decent PC and doesn’t mind camping out with the digital equivalent of a good book? Well, here you go: gog.com is having another cool weekend sale and this time, it’s all about adventure games past and present. From the fantastic classic The Longest Journey and it’s great sequel Dreamfall, to the chilling slow burner Scratches: The Director’s Cut or the brilliant survival game Miasmata to flawless gems such as Resonance, Botanicula and Machinarium: Collector’s Edition, there’s something for anyone looking to curl up with a warm PC or laptop. Prices range from $3.99 to $5.99 for each game, or you can snap up all twelve for $53.88 (which is a bargain considering the dozens of hours of gameplay here).
No frantic button bashing or much skill (other than reading and using a mouse to point and click or keyboard to move a character around) is needed and there’s sure to be something that catches your fancy at a nice enough price. OK, you know what to do next, so I’ll let you get to it…
Wolfenstein: The New Order – Meet The New Boss (Not The Same As The Old Boss)…
Well, now… B.J. Blazkowicz is coming back in a new Wolfenstein game from a team made up of some pretty talented industry vets originally from Starbreeze Studios? Count me in, especially if it’s got mechs to stomp around in or get the hell away from as they’re trying to stomp YOU.
Of course, the alternate past 1960 setup where the Germans win WWII and B.J. is back in action after too long made me laugh and think of Captain America frozen in an iceberg until he got accidentally defrosted (ah, comics science!), but I think this game will go for a less crazy plot twist and just make with the satisfying Nazi-blasting in solo and multiplayer modes. Er, well… I hope there’s a decent plot here.
Then again, I’m not too worried, as Bethesda’s had hits with Arkane Studios’ phenomenal Dishonored and it’s own Elder Scrolls games. It certainly looks like “new” developer Machine Games is on the case plus tax, as you can see from these two videos that introduces the team in a pretty funny manner. And hell, when your executive producer is named Jerk, you KNOW you’re going to get a memorable experience…
Anyway, they sure look like a bunch of fun folks, so I’ll do what I do best and leave them along until they have something playable to show off in the near future…
The Double Fine Humble Bundle: Today’s “Must Buy” Deal!

Hey, it’s my birthday today, so you know what you can do for me? No? Well, get YOURSELF some of the best damn games you’ll ever play and thank me later, that’s what! Yeah, I don’t ask for much, but you can’t go wrong with this latest Humble Indie Bundle because it’s ALL about Double Fine Studios and their great games. Ok, you don’t need to do this TODAY, as this awesome offer expires in 13 days, 21 hours and 25 minutes as I type this out. Anyway, what’s in the digital box you ask? A jump below the jump reveals all… Continue reading
Dinking Around With DOSBOX: Anvil of Dawn Lives!
I’d been tempted to muck around with replaying some old DOS games for a long time, but I’ve been so busy that I kept putting it off until a few days ago when I dug out DreamForge Infotainment and New World Computing’s ancient classic Anvil of Dawn to see if it would still work. Of course, even on Windows XP (Vista, 7 and 8 are quite awful for my classic gaming needs), thanks to some automatic upgrades, the old disc will install, but not run properly (no sound and a major error in that no onscreen text pops up in dialog boxes, meaning it’s impossible to talk to NPCs, making the game unplayable because you can enter, but not exit conversations). Anyway, I’ve used DOSBOX and one or two other programs in the past, but not on my laptop, so it was time to give it go… Continue reading
Metal Gear Solid The Legacy Collection: Order The Import, and Snake’s On A Plane…
Well, you know you’re probably going to sell the cat (who will be glad to get out of the house finally) and half a kidney (because you just can’t let go of the whole thing) for this if it never comes out here, but fortunately, you don’t need to, as it’s headed to North America as well (but minus the 100-page artbook Japanese and Asian territory gamers will get, boo!).
That said, it certainly looks as if this one will be in huge demand as an import as well as a US version, as it’s probably the least expensive way to get to play all of these games on a single console. Granted, some of us old-timers actually own a working MSX, PlayStation 1, PS2 and PS3, but man, are some of those older Metal Gear games expensive if you’re looking for complete versions and not digital downloads.
Oh, and sorry about the pun in the title – I couldn’t resist throwing some freshly shucked corn your way on an otherwise manic Monday…
The Last of Us: “Meet the Infected” Trailer: Er, Let’s Not, And Say We Did…
Hmmm… somehow that trip to Devil’s Island on the Titanic via Bermuda Triangle route seems like a really much better idea than hanging out with developer Naughty Dog’s creepy-looking non-zombies. Some people have been getting a wee bit confused about The Last of Us in thinking it’s borrowing from Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise, but I’d bet this is another case of getting to actually PLAY a game and seeing you were completely wrong from the beginning. If I were a smarter man, I’d go around making bets with all those skeptics, but then again, it’s not a smart thing to bet against or with a ton of strangers you’ll have a really tough time collecting a dime from. That and my antisocial side won’t let me interact with people who only piss me off too much because they’re ALWAYS wrong and even if they are and know it, they still feel the need to express an ill-formed opinion or three. It’s like having an argument with a child who doesn’t quite understand that that lie they keep telling doesn’t work anymore (which, amusingly enough, can be said about most politicians!).
Anyway, The Last of Us hits stores and PSN on June 12, 2013.
If you DON’T Buy Any Games (or Other Content), That Xbox 360 Might Cost You $78…
I really dislike the bait and switch approach tech companies have been using to lure in the not so bright consumer who loves a bargain, but their plans seem to have worked well enough that they will continue as to grab your money how and when they can because you refuse to bring a calculator (or the part of your brain that works) to the store with you. According to this article on dealnews.com, the company may introduce a lower priced 4GB Xbox 360 this year that may retail for $99 (which ends up less than that on certain sites that run coupons or weekly specials in order to get you clicking and paying away). The catch is, that less than hundred bucks is a bad deal for a few reasons I’ll list below the jump…
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