Monday Means… No, Not That, It Means BUNDLES!

Posted on September 15, 2014 by geelw

It’s pretty much a given that when Monday rolls around, some of you head back under the covers, some of you think about heading for the nearest window (on a low floor or the basement, of course – you don’t REALLY want to do yourselves in, right? It’s ONLY a Monday!) and some of you just look in your inbox to see what sort of game bundles have popped up from the usual suspects. Above, this week’s Every Monday Bundle from IndieGala. Six games for under two bucks in this mostly RPG pack with a side of strategy and adventure? That’s a BUY, folks… Continue reading →

I’m Just An Idea Man, Ma’am…

Posted on September 14, 2014 by geelw

Stuff I think about while traveling around #452. I have no time, money or patience to do any of this, so I kind of bop about hoping someone asks me out of the blue for a good or weird idea. Like this one:

How come some really creative BioShock fan (and they are legion) hasn’t rewritten the lyrics to “Rapture” by Blondie and gotten together with like-minded folks to make an appropriately themed music video? I mean, the song is lying there waiting for references. “Fab 5 Freddy” can get a Big Daddy switcheroo, I’m sure one can easily work the Little Sisters in there, the assorted powers and yes, given the location of that game IS a place called Rapture, it should inspire those who know the game inside and out to get in on this one if someone decides to shoot a decent video. Of course, it has to be not for profit, as I can see the cease and desist letters dropping from the sky already…

Well, if you’re reading this and do attempt this feat of daring and potential tangled legalese, keep me posted. I need a decent bit of amusement these days and hey, you can always say you stole the idea from me when the lawyers come a-knockin’ at your door. More terrible ideas to come – stay tuned…

Good, Housekeeping!

Posted on September 14, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, dirtyworkUK!)

Well, maybe this is actually more of a generic post to say Sunday will be slow for them. Posts, that is. I’m doing some away team stuff today (playing Destiny at a friend’s place for a review using his speedy connection and PSN account) and generally keeping a low profile because it’s a busy week ahead and I want to expend as little energy as possible today. “But what about Destiny?” you ask? “Isn’t it EXCITING?!” You ask? Um… welll… it’s FUN, don’t get me wrong, folks. Oh, you’ll see in my review later this week. I do like it so far, but to quote a certain fake Harry: “A man’s got to know his limitations…” Anyway, back in a bit. Maybe I’ll even get in another post today if I get back early enough to ramble about something.

Table Top Racing Gets A Nice, Necessary Update For Us Fat-Fingered Speed Freaks…

Posted on September 13, 2014 by geelw

Excellent. While I loved the Vita version of Table Top Racing, my big complaint (and it seems the main issue a bunch of other users had) was the rear touchscreen being automatically used for a rear view angle with no means to turn it off. This made holding the Vita comfortably something of a challenge, as the merest brush of a finger on that rear screen meant you’d be looking back for a split second. Or worse if you had no idea about that screen being used, you’d start a race and be looking at the FRONT of your car until you moved your fingers into a more claw-like grip. Ouch.

Well, THAT’S no longer an issue as Playrise Digital has whipped out a patch that sets the rear view to off (you can toggle it on if you like), shows the control layout (the original download didn’t, and while the game is easy to play, some people didn’t figure out the left trigger is used for certain functions) and tweaks a few other things. The update has been out for a little while, but I just hopped back into the game last night and saw the fix was in. Anyway, go grab TTR, as it’s only $7.99, a ton of fun and if you’ve been avoiding it because you have larger hands, it’s now even more of a no-brainer buy…

IndieGala Back 2 School Bundle: Call It “Homework”, As There’s Stuff To Be Learned Here!

Posted on September 12, 2014 by geelw

You do the math: $3.99 for EIGHT games, including an arcade shooter where math is key to success? Awesome! Anyway, I’ll keep this short because you have homework to do (*snicker!*), so while you’re doing that, you can BUY these games and get your rainy weekend plans in all at once. Hey, don’t say I’ve never done anything nice for you! And yeah, do your homework FIRST, of course!

GTA V “A Picket Fence and a Dog Named Skip” Trailer: Translation: You Need A New Console (or PC), Pal!

Posted on September 12, 2014 by geelw

Well, it’s finally coming to PS4 and Xbox One on November 18, 2014 with the PC version to follow January 27, 2015, but it seems (as usual), some PC gamers think that’s too long a time to wait despite that version of the game needing to be tweaked for about a million or so different computers and every possible settings configuration, whatever mods some talented users will knock out and so forth and so on. Rockstar could simply release every GTA game on consoles only and make a fortune, but they’ve also decided to see if PC gamers will put their money where their mouths are and hope a bunch don’t simply pirate the game with the tired excuse that they want to “try it out” and then buy it later. Puh-leeeze. You KNOW what you’re getting with a Grand Theft Auto game, kids, so you’d BUY it if you liked the other games in the series. That and ANY complaints about visuals or controls on a PC version are MOOOOOT because of modders who fix the things they don’t like and spread that love around all over the internet. So, yeah… you deserve to wait a little bit longer because the world isn’t ending and hell, you get (depending on your rent money gaming rig) the “best” looking version of the game anyway. Class dismissed!/

Little Orbit Drops More Adventure Time & Falling Skies Screens!

Posted on September 12, 2014 by geelw

New screens on a nice Friday? Sure, why not?

I’m liking both these sleepers because each one is inspired by a classic or two and neither seems like a bad game because of those influences they wear proudly on their sleeves. As I’ve noted in earlier posts, I’m betting that both these games will find loyal fans who just sit down and PLAY them as opposed to trolling the internet to find jaded soapbox noise about anything that may not work flawlessly in them. That sort of practice needs to shut itself down, as all it does is stop people from actually playing games as they waste time gabbing about games they’ve yet to actually get a second of game time in. Bo-ring!

Anyway, Falling Skies: The Game is set for a release September 30th for PS3 and Xbox 360 in retail or digital versions, Wii U through the Nintendo eShop and PC via Steam and Adventure Time: Secret of the Nameless Kingdom is out in November for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo 3DS. Back soon with another update once Little Orbit shoots a transmission this way…

Alien Isolation Goes Gold, New Trailer Series To Make You Change Your Pants Revealed…

Posted on September 11, 2014 by geelw

With The Creative Assembly’s Alien Isolation finally gone gold and set to hit retail game stores and assorted download sites on October 7 for PS4/PS3, Xbox One/Xbox 360 and PC, Sega is also kicking off a nicely scary set of videos (the first of which is below) asking one simple question: “How Will You Survive?”. As you can see, our poor heroine doesn’t make it through all 55 seconds of this first teaser, but this isn’t the only way to go, from what I’ve been reading.

Well, now that you’re on the hook (Ouch. Pun intended? Maybe.), you’ll want to tune in to the next in this somewhat hypothetically fatal video series. Me, I just want the game to arrive so I can finally play it and see how it fits in with the original film. I’d gather part two will drop next week, so I’ll have that posted along with more commentary that’s guaranteed to not change your opinion on whether to buy this soon to be classic or not…

Catequesis: Your Word of the Day & Retro Survival Horror Game of the…

Posted on September 10, 2014 by geelw

Hey, I didn’t PLAN on running three horror-related posts in a row! I just go through my inbox and start typing away about stuff I see that piques my interest. Anyway, Survival Horror Story: Catequesis has been in development for over two years and has a nicely nostalgic look to it while absolutely not being for the squeamish types out there. Developers Baroque Decay and Curved Cat games are looking to wrap this up and get it out on PC, Mac and Linux sometime in 2015, so if you like your horror games somewhat pixelated and “cute”, yet unsettling enough to make you maybe want to keep that security blankie on your lap as you play, well… here you go. If that three minutes of gameplay didn’t get your spine all chilly, this teaser might work on cooling you down some:

More on this one when my inbox gets another pointy news arrow from the dev team (ouch!)- stay tuned.

VGA 101: Happy Birthday, Sega Dreamcast: “It’s Thinking”… But Probably About Better Times.

Posted on September 9, 2014 by geelw

Note: This isn’t at ALL a “complete history” of the console. It’s just more random off the top of the head wistful reminiscing!

(thanks, Wiidork!)

For one brief, shining moment (well, that moment lasted three years or so), Sega has many of us gamers on the edge of our seats and extremely happy about it. Once the US arm of the company deemed the Saturn “dead” and started peeling away support for it, there was a gap of time where we were wondering what was coming next. When whispers of a new and more powerful console code-named “Katana” started getting traction in the game press, followed up by early screenshots of works in progress, some fans were trumpeting that upcoming console as a redemption and return to form for the company and in Japan, while Saturn games were still being sold, it seemed that everywhere you went in some spots, ads popped up announcing something was coming from Sega that would be new, unusual and exciting. And oh, was it when it finally did arrive… Continue reading →