The Bard’s Tale Unfolds on GOG.com – Ye Olde, Yet New-ish School Fun…

 
 

I’m old enough to remember the classic original trilogy (I didn’t get around to playing them until the late 1990’s) and this not quite remake/reboot from 2004 that got decent reviews (I even reviewed it for one site back in the day) and I say you should try it out even if you’re a fan of the older games who doesn’t like more action-oriented experiences. You get those three vintage games as a bonus with this newer one (so there!) and the team at inXile Entertainment actually made quite a hilarious experience to dive into. While the gameplay is purely action/RPG (in the visual and gameplay vein of the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath games), the writing is really funny for the bulk of the Bard’s adventure and there are even “follow the bouncing ball” musical numbers that may have you single along even if you thought you wouldn’t… Continue reading

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Short: I’d Buy That For a Dollar!

 

OK, so it’s not old and classy like Boomerang when they rock those old Hanna Barbera and MGM ‘toons I grew up glued to the tube on, but if there were ever a Sly Cooper animated series made, I’d probably shell out for a DVD or Blu-Ray after the season was over (yeah, that’s right – I like to own discs over downloads any day of the week). Granted, it would need to be better written than say, an average episode of Secret Squirrel or Tom and Jerry, but there’s a gold mine of heist flicks to steal story ideas from. Topkapi, The Great Train Robbery, The Lavender Hill Mob and so forth and so on. So, Sony… find a fine writing team with good transforming skills (who won’t be sued for plagiarism because they got too lazy) and some old-fashioned 2D animators who know their stuff and get that ball rolling – you’ve got a few customers waiting outside the gaming space…

Sony “Game Day 2013” Trailer: Hey, That’s Not A Cheerleader!

Ah ha ha. OK, for those scratching their heads, GameDay USED to be the name of Sony’s first-party NFL game before Electronic Arts wrapped up the license for their very own. While most of the original PlayStation GameDays were quite good, things slipped a bit when the series hit the PS2. Usually, you’d ONLY buy a GameDay game when the other bunch of football games were sold out, you were really drunk or didn’t know any better (according to a friend I asked about the series, as I haven’t played a football game in ages). ANYWAY, I think this teaser with the pretty lady is for the upcoming (and eagerly awaited) God of War: Ascension, as the costume gives it away from the beginning of this too short clip. I guess we’ll see what’s what soon enough, correct? As in February 1, 2013… stay tuned.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen Trailer: Once More (But in Japanese)…

Hey, I can do this all day, Capcom. You run a trailer for a Dragon’s Dogma game and yep, it’ll get watched and maybe posted here or elsewhere. That what you get for making a game so much fun to play, scary as hell in spots and quite challenging for almost anyone (save for some hard-case blowhards who consider it “too easy” because they’re going at it and chewing through content like a hungry pet being fed a nice big chicken dinner. Anyway, I’ve got my new PS3 controller coming and I’m doing a few extra sit-ups (like that will help against that Ur-Dragon), so yeah, bring it…

BioShock Infinite “Columbia is Icarus” Trailer: If So… Get Off That Floating City!


Funny, you’d think that comparing an fake alternate past colonial steampunk-inspired floating mega-metropolis being compared to that mythological dope who made himself a nice set of wings for flying to the sun that weren’t heatproof would be a dead giveaway that Columbia would be a pretty awful place to visit. But, nope… we’re all headed there as gamers in BioShock Infinite and both 2K Games and Irrational Games are going to be counting stacks of bills and probably trying to make wings out of them as well. Hopefully, they won’t use the same adhesive as poor Iccy did. Then again, I say let them. Just as long as I get a flight schedule and a big ass butterfly net. I’m not saving any lives from a fall at that height, folks – I just want to scoop me up some of that free money when it comes raining down…

Random Indie Game of the Week: Driftmoon Hands-On Update

 

It’s allllmost done, folks. Ville and Anne Mönkkönen’s refreshingly fun (and funny) blend of adventure and role-playing as gotten a ton of fixes including new skills, all sorts of little and big optimizations and is shaping up to be a great blend old and new school genre fans looking for something really unique should absolutely buy. Go play the latest demo and see for yourself. I’ll wait, but while I’m waiting, a short report on what’s new:

When we last left our hero (in a previous demo build), an important item was acquired, a relative was rescued and there was a nice air of “this is really going to be even more fun!” at the expected abrupt ending. Picking up right from that save, the game gets funnier and a bit more challenging as new enemies and plenty of nice surprises awaited with further exploration. One thing new players will NEED to learn (other than adjusting to the top-down camera angle, but there’s a potential slight options tweak being considered) is the importance of moving or activating certain objects in the game world to uncover assorted secrets. I found a new room in the old dungeon I was on the way out of by extinguishing a torch (hey!), and there were a wealth of cool items under chairs, chests, wooden boards and heavy rocks (among other places)… Continue reading

Ni no Oopsie: Namco Bandai Sells Out of Wizard’s Edition A Wee Bit Too Early…

Well, it’s getting stellar early reviews from the critics and fans who’ve gotten their copies on day one, but it seems that some folks who ordered the Wizard’s Edition of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch in North America had to “settle” for a refund and $20 coupon after the publisher seems to have not produced enough copies of the limited edition to go around to those who paid for it. Oops. Digital River, the distributor for the game issued the following statement:

“We apologize for the discrepancies you may have encountered with your order of Namco Bandai’s Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – Wizard’s Edition. As one of our valued customers, we want to assure you that a Digital River representative will be reaching out to you individually via email to address your specific issue. We sincerely appreciate your patience as we work through this situation”

In plain English… Oops… Continue reading

Retro City Rampage Was Actually Even Funnier As a Work in Progress…

 

As awesome and non-stop hilarious as Retro City Rampage is, the game was looking even more amusing in its pre-alpha stages. I’m thinking Brian Provinciano chopped some of this stuff down because anyone he got to test the game at that early stage was dropping dead from laughing too much. There are rules against killing off your testers even if they’re happy with what they’re playing. Anyway, you should grab this if you haven’t. I’m just wondering what the heck sort of follow-up Vblank Entertainment has planned. I don’t think we’ll see a sequel, but it wouldn’t shock me at all what with all the in-jokes and homages that made it into RCR. Hey, with game older some companies vaporizing into the ether and being broken up into little IP bits, it’s nice to see game creators keeping the true retro spirit alive and in fine form…

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen May Need a 12-Step Program Expansion…

 

April 28, huh? Retail and digital download available (so MORE people can play this from day one)? The addiction begins anew, it would seem. Count me in and I’m hoping to be taking a few of you with me. In case you missed out on the original game, fear not, potential Arisen candidates! You can hang out near your favorite game emporium and pick up this “expansion” that features a huge new area, quests, monsters to pee yourself over and more. By the way, kids… that MORE just so happens to include the original game as a “bonus” that makes perfect sense. As you’ll see (or already know), the land of Granysys is one massive place to explore and Capcom should get a hearty hand-clasp and a pat of the back for doing this up right. Of course, the usual unwashed internet fools who can’t seem to read are thinking this is all DLC or something, but by now, Capcom knows not to listen to those folks too much. I’m buying this just to see how the new area fits in with the old. Will I replay the game from the beginning once more or use an old save file? We shall see, I guess… I’m tempted to do so, but time (as always) is the big factor…

Nintendo’s Got Lots (More) in Store (Retail and Digital) For Wii U Owners This Year…

Apparently, that rather large launch lineup wasn’t enough for some gamers (and overpaid industry analysts who don’t game, but LOVE to over-speculate), so here you go, news of new Wii U releases coming in 2013. Sure, some stuff here is delayed from its initial announcements, but that’s no big deal as it SHOULD get some Wii U owners to try a game or three they may have ignored because they don’t play title in a particular genre. That said, what’s coming is definitely worth waiting for, as there are some nice games for every niche from casual, family-friendly stuff to more mature content (ah, Bayonetta 2 – and exclusive to the system at that!). It’s going to be a pretty big year for the new console, but 3DS owners aren’t being left out of the fun at all as you’ll see above.