OK, back by not so popular demand: another awful video of the library! I woke up a wee bit too early after not enough sleep, grabbed the camera and here you go: a longer look at some of the MN/Genesis stuff to go with the photos I took a while ago HERE. Sega CD stuff is HERE with the US Saturn games I have left and Mega-CD games? Well, poke around HERE if you’re that curious… Back with more shaky movies in a bit.
Nope, I’m not QUITE taking today off, folks. I was just catching up on some games I need to review (the results of which you’ll read shortly). Anyway, to keep you “entertained”, I thought I’d grab my crappy camera and quickly zoom through some stuff in the library (which NEEDS a big reorganization and/or a makeover I can’t afford yet, boo!). Er, you may want to take some Dramamine before viewing this, as it’s probably really fuzzy and moving faster than a caterpillar who’s had a pot of strong coffee. Or like a rat. Made out of a LOT of video games. Squeak, squeak! Eek, eek!
OK, I have TOO much stuff. Actually, it would look a GREAT deal less cluttered here if I could afford the room/office design I have in my head but not enough in the wallet to even think of. The obvious running joke here is “sell your games so you can afford to get more space!”… which (ha ha) would leave me with money to buy some nice shelves and such but nothing to put on them.
Ah well… I guess it could be worse. I could be keeping rabbits here in the apartment. Or running a mushroom farm from the closets here. Hmmm… that might work for some good cash after all. Where can I find good truffles around here to raise? And a dog that hates expensive fungus?
(Note: pigs are allegedly illegal to keep here in NYC as pets despite some people owning them in a few spots)…
One of the most unique-looking and fun indie adventure/puzzle games from a few years back is finally Vita-bound for an excellent price later this month. Amanita Design’s Machinarium is coming on March 26, 2013 for a paltry $6.99 and it’s actually greatly enhanced over the previously released PSN version. A reworked control scheme allows analog sticks or touchscreen movement, a new zoom function allows you to see things a bit closer (the artwork is so intricately detailed that this is a necessity), and PSn leaderboards have been added so you can check your times and mini-game scores against players from all over. Another must-buy indie game for Sony’s handheld? Sure, I’ll take it if it’s one as good as this…
So, as I posted last week, I finally got around to sending back that formerly long-lost Kenji Eno autographed copy of D2 about a week or so ago and got this nice surprise as a return response. A copy of Lumines: Electric Symphony autographed by the game’s producer and one of Eno’s close friends. Nice. Amusingly enough, I hadn’t played this Vita game previously, so now I get to do so and having done something nice for someone in the process. Yeah, I’m a nice guy under all that cranky. MOST of the time. Not get the hell off my lawn, you kids. Scoot! I have some games to play and no time for you whippersnappers. Git!
I actually hadn’t heard of Lone Survivor until a friend raved about the PC version a little while back. But I’ve just been way to busy to get to the ton of indie games I already have and pushed this one to the back burner. Now, I have a reason to give it a try, as the game is headed to the PS3 and Vita this summer courtesy of superflat games (which is Jasper Byrne) with an assist from London-based studio, Curve (which is a few more people). The game is a retro-looking but decidedly modern survival horror game that can be played in almost any way a player chooses. You can complete the game without firing a shot or go all out and try to dispatch every undead thing you come across. However, your character’s mental state is a bit off (possibly from hunger, thirst and/or lack of rest) and not everything is as it seems. Innnnnteresting, to say the least and given Byrne’s complete love for Sony’s console and handheld, PS3 and Vita owners can expect some nice changes to the game that include Trophies, Cross-Buy and Cross-Play support plus MORE. What’s MORE you ask? Ha! That trick NEVER works here, kids. You’ll see if you click on this PlayStation Blog post…
OK, even a total cheapasskate like me couldn’t pass this sale up. I just snagged five games for a paltry $15 and saved $45 in the process. What did I get? The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, Inquisitor, Tiny & Big in Grandpa’s Leftovers, King’s Bounty: Crossworlds Game of the Year Edition and Legend of Grimrock. That’s a few hundred hours of gameplay on the 4 RPGs alone and Tiny & Big is a modern classic full of innovative gameplay super-fun stylized visuals and all-out goofy but non in a slapstick manner humor. Anyway, stop reading this post NOW, click here (er, STOP reading after you read this post or you’ll have no clue what I’m raving about) and get your five of 20 games for a song you’ll be singing as your eyes pop over the deals here. You’ve only got until March 19, 2013 to grab your own five, by the way…
Of course, now I need to find time to PLAY all of these, but so it goes, I guess. Hey, SCIENCE?! Get with the time machine inventing and stuff, grrrr!
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
# of Players: 1 – 2+
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) to T (Teen)
Official Site
Score: A
Capcom’s little experiment in reworking some of its many arcade games back into the minds and hands of gamers around the globe is definitely working, folks. Capcom Arcade Cabinet (so far in its second wave of three games) is not only a must-buy collection whether you do it now or in May when the entire set of 15 titles becomes available as a single purchase, it’s probably going to be the way to go should other companies decide to get HD versions of their classics out onto consoles (*cough* Konami! Sega! Tecmo! *ahem* for starters). Sure, there’s no Wii U, Vita or 3DS version on the way as far as I know (a bit of a sticking point for those Nintendo-only gamers or Sony fans who’d LOVE to take some or all of these on the road), but for sheer nostalgia value, this trip down memory lane will have your fingers and brain merrily tapping and plotting away as you take on some oldies that still pack a mean punch. Continue reading
As in “put up or shut up, Darkstalkers fans!” Yeah, you’ve been whining and wanting for years to see these characters again, but Capcom is smarter than you are. So, instead of an expensive to produce *NEW* game starring these guys and gals, they HD-gussied up the old ones for PSN and XBLA users to download at a great price and are probably going to be counting those purchases and review scores verrrry carefully. Sure, I’d LOVE a new game in the vein of the Street Fighter IV reboot (and I think we’ll see one at some point). But I’m betting this reissue is an interest gauge disguised as an impulse purchase, so those “fans” still complaining now about the game or Capcom in general who don’t buy this will be shooting themselves in the foot if they don’t shell out the shekels.
Xseed Games is getting what’s probably the final great Wii exclusive, Pandora’s Tower out soon (April 16, 2013, according to Amazon.com), and the publisher has just released a trailer that introduces Elena, the cursed singer your hero, Aeron needs to bump off a bunch of bosses in order to save. I’d absolutely suggest pre-ordering this one, as it will more than likely pull in some pretty high prices once the limited amount of copies runs dry. Recently, used copies of Xenoblade Chronicles are fetching upwards of $80 (and some have gone for well over $100) and while Xseed’s own The Last Story is still in stock at their online shop and some retailers at its original price points, it looks to join that game and this one as a rare bird indeed…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 