D4: Access Games + Swery 65 + Xbox One = Hmmm, Commitment Time!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Grrrrr… Access Games’ new adventure game D4 is out and earlier than I thought because until a few days ago when I saw that facebook post by game director Hidetaka Suehiro, I thought this one wasn’t coming until the holidays or early next year. Well, I suppose I can hold my breath for a bit and hope to hell this doesn’t stay as an Microsoft exclusive, but if in case it is, D4 (Dark Dreams Don’t Die) will give me another reason to pick up an Xbox One. I’m actually more thrilled by this quirky episodic title than bigger releases getting more ad dollars, but I’m also smart and plan to hold out that Micrsoft is smart enough to release a retail disc that has all the episodes on it and any extra content if the game gets any DLC just so those folks who can’t download large game files can give this one a shot.

Forza Horizon 2: Stop, Look and Crash!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Amusingly enough, although this is a dig at some famous track-bound racing game franchises, I’d actually PLAY a good slot car racing game if some smart developer and publisher teamed up to make one on nearly any home or portable platform. Anyway, while this commercial for <strong>Forza Horizon 2 is magnificent and funny, I have to question WHY it’s partially shot in live action with real cars (with a good deal of expensive CG enhancing) when the actual game looks so gorgeous:

Then again, I don’t work at Microsoft and heck, they know their own games better than anyone, right? Anyway, I’m still an Xbox One holdout, but if I were to grab one of those, this would be one of the games I’d grab with that system. If this is as open world and free range pure driving as it looks, it’ll be something I get lost in for hours and that’s just driving around all by myself checking out all the hard work that went into making the game engine sing so darn well. I’d be the one pulling over every few miles to check out the scenery, even in the middle of a race, so I can’t imagine being the poor AI driver behind me trying to pass as I slide to the left or right and perhaps dent up my ride because I’m trying to ogle a pretty sky or sunset. Anyway, September 30, 2014 is the due date for this baby which is predicted to do VERY well on the console…

F1 2014: A Little Heat For A Slow, Cool Friday…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

You’re looking a wee bit tired on this slightly chilly Friday, friend. How about a hot lap around Sochi to perk things up a bit? Based on user feedback, Codemasters Racing Studio is making F1 2014 an even more accessible game this year with a few changes to the formula including a new driver evaluation system to adjust the game to your level, shorter career options and a new Very Easy mode. While I know some purists will complain about these inclusions, it opens up the game (and the actual sport) to an even larger user base with the hope that those newbies learn the ropes, dial up the difficulty at some point and enjoy the sport as it’s meant to be. Unforgiving and heavily reliant on one’s skill as a driver, not just jamming on the accelerator and knocking AI cars around in an all-out bumper car match. This one’s out on October 17, 2017 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Yes, Codemasters is working on an all-new F1 game for PS4 and Xbox One, so you next-gen owners will need to hold that breath for a bit until 2015 rolls around…

The Evil Within Tokyo Game Show 2014 Trailer: Run (or Roll!), Don’t Walk!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I laughed out loud when I saw this trailer because, well.. come ON now, people. Wouldn’t YOU just have jumped in one of those wheelchairs and rolled the hell away from what was chasing you? Yeah, I thought so. I know I’d be BLAAAAZING down that dimly lit hallway popping wheelies power-sliding past obstacles and generally confusing the hell out of that monster or whatever is chasing my character. Then again, I tend to look for the humorous side to any horror game or film, so if anything, I’d die laughing before anything else got to my soon to be doomed avatar. The Evil Within is out for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC on Tuesday, October 14. That gives you enough time to stock up on clean underwear and maybe a few spare controllers in case you’re prone to dropping them when you get scared…

Alien Isolation Survival Mode: You’ll Pay For That. You KNOW You Will…

Posted on September 17, 2014 by geelw

Ah, the dreaded Season Pass rears its head in another game and yep, it seems that this method of squishing extra money out of gamers isn’t going to vanish at all unless people stop pre-ordering and buying that content, but that’s a tough sell with so many rabid fans of certain games stampeding into stores the minute something’s announced and looks good enough to buy on day one after some previews. Alien Isolation, already a strong contender for horror game of the year (well, in my book), is getting MORE paid DLC in the form of at least five Survival maps to be released over the course of six months. This should provided those of you who love more competitive experiences to challenge that leaderboard and share your survival stories with other players.

Me, I’m in this one for the story, so I hope in addition to the standard and Nostromo editions, we see a “Game of the Year” edition that packs ALL the DLC onto a single disc similar to how other publishers reissue their big games. I know for a fact that there are still people on the fence about buying this game despite developer The Creative Assembly’s track record and this game looking like the best modern Alien game to date. But hey, it’s the age of soapbox skepticism ruling the day (unfortunately) and yes, Sega not having a stellar track record in publishing previous Alien games. We’ll see where this one ends up on the list soon enough, but I think it needs more love for both the attention to detail and in helping kick this franchise back to life and one worth following. Alien Isolation is out October 7, 2014 for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Hyrule Warriors: Nintendo Knows They’re Getting Some of Us To Spend More Money On This One…

Posted on September 15, 2014 by geelw

With just over a week to go before Hyrule Warriors storms store shelves, here’s a look at the TV commercial and uh-oh, trailers for DLC outfits. Yes indeed, the DLC for this game will grab you by the nostalgic hairs and yank hard on your wallet. Granted, I’d bet just about anyone who buys the game is buying at least ONE of these outfits or not buying them at all, but jamming up the eShop downloading them for free if that’s what they go for.

Oh, wait… they’re PRE-ORDER outfits and retailer specific, at that. Blech. Come on, Nintendo! Just let EVERYONE have what they want if they want it, as you KNOW the completion freaks out there who want everything but can only buy ONE copy of the game will be giving you grief deluxe. Oh well… perhaps these are timed DLC items and we’ll ALL be able to buy what we want directly from Nintendo at some point. One can only hope…

Okay, I was jesting a tiny bit. Nintendo IS smarter than the average internet troll who only skims the video before posting. They will indeed release ALL the DLC at some point via the eShop, so you don’t have to fret about missing out on anything. Like the company would pass up the chance to make some ABSOLUTE loot on those costumes in a few ways? Ha! Yeah, they’re on top of this one (for once). Yes, that’s tough love from me, ALWAYS for Nintendo!

Hyrule Warriors is out for the Wii U on September 26, 2014. Yes, it’s a must-buy game, folks.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax: Your Incoming Funky Fist & Foot to Face Fighter Of The Month (Or Year)…

Posted on September 15, 2014 by geelw

Okay, the very idea of a fighting game set in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona universe made me choke on some water about two years back, but the first game was actually really good and fun stuff, adding a new layer of lore to the storied JRPG franchise. This latest installment looks to better that original game something fierce and comes highly recommended even if you hate fighting games. This one’s set for a September 30, 2014 launch on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (digital and physical, so you now have no excuse not to buy this), so feel free to haunt your nearest game emporium if your boat has been floated. Heck, at the very lest, check out the videos in this post just to get a gander at the story above and that excellent character animation in the gameplay clips below:

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to stock up on spare controllers. I’m not the best at fighting games and analog sticks tend to get bruised up when I play games like this. NO, not from controller tossing madness on my part, folks. I just have ham-hands!

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 →

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!/

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…