Toukiden: Age of Demons Launch Trailer: A Little Late To The Party, Hmmm?

Posted on February 11, 2014 by geelw

Okay, Tecmo Koei… I’ll cut you a tiny break today. I thought you guys would post that Toukiden: The Age of Demons launch trailer FIRST, but it was a gameplay basics trailer you ran instead. That made me jump the gun earlier and figure you were all playing your own game so much today that you’d not have time to run more trailers (or anything else for that matter). Oops. Oh well, but it’s GOOD for you because I get to do TWO posts about this really fun game you’ve published. Which is at the end of the day, good for you as well as Omega Force, correct?

Yup, I thought so.

2K Games and Bethesda Team Up For Legendary Reissues

Posted on February 11, 2014 by geelw

And by “Legendary”, I mean you’ll be lost for hours in these digital worlds these two new collections have packed onto those discs. The first bundle features the multimillion selling titles The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and BioShock Infinite and the second bundle features everyone’s favorite FPS/RPG hybrids Borderlands 2 and Dishonored. I’d highly recommend these to new players who’ve yet to play these four modern classics, but collectors may also want to snap these up as it’s a pretty good value for the content you’re getting. Granted, the cheapskates out there who always buy stuff on sale may disagree, but 2K and Bethsoft aren’t targeting you anyway (nyah!). Ah, so many, mnay games… so little time to play them!

Toukiden: The Age of Demons Basics: It’s a Bit More Work Than Just Pressing “Start”…

Posted on February 11, 2014 by geelw

Okay, the town and pre-mission setup portions of Omega Force’s rather demon heavy new action game aren’t all that complex, but it’s important to know what to to and who to see both before and after those easy to super challenging missions you’ll ruin around in either solo or with friends. Choosing your look is important, of course. Will you play as a male or female? What kind of hairstyle will you wear and how will you sound? Choose wisely! As for the base gameplay in town, should you sell off some of those monstrous materials you’ve collected, turn them into better gear that will help out you and your team or just foolishly discard stuff (which you had to do in the demo, as the inventory was VERY limited)? I say the second option is the best bet, as the difference between a starter weapon and one that’s enhanced is pretty significant.

Anyway, Toukiden: The Age of Demons is out NOW for PS3 and Vita, so yes indeed… you know what to do.

Preview: The Witcher – Geralt of Riva Rides the Dark Horse…

Posted on February 11, 2014 by geelw

I’d forgotten Dark Horse Comics was doing a book based on this book and game series, so this was a nice surprise. Paul Tobin (writer) and Joe Querio (art) are on the case here and so far, the preview is not bad at all. It’s hard to step from the realism of CD Projekt RED’s lush and lovely game world to the printed page, but that’s the power of that team’s work that makes such a huge impression on those of us who like Geralt of Riva and his rather interesting adventures. Anyway, everyone’s favorite antihero/monster hunter/ladies man/ is coming to your favorite comic emporium on March 19, 2014 – feel free to bug your retailer or just place an order online at the usual suspects (Things from Another World or Dark Horse Digital).

A few pages and the cover to Issue 2 are below the jump – enjoy!

Continue reading →

Murasaki Baby Trailer: Little Creepy Girl Lost (Look In Your Pocket!)…

Posted on February 10, 2014 by geelw

The Vita has a nice set of cool indie titles already out, so here’s another for your perusal. Murasaki Baby has a nice visual style and makes or a nice counterpoint to the similarly visually striking Vita sleeper from 2013, Dokuro. Quirky little games such as this float my boat, so I’ll need to check this one out at some point. I suppose someone out there will be making a plush figure, as it’s hard to pass up the chance to want to put a hug on that little girl with the mouth on top of her head. I hope she doesn’t bite if squeezed too hard, though… that would be unfortunate (ouch!)…

VGA 101: If Monday’s Still Kicking You Around, It Could Be Worse…

Posted on February 10, 2014 by geelw

You could be some poor guard in or under Garuda Compound in Valhalla Knights 3. These poor saps never get a break at all, as you can see in these screens. Hell, no matter what day of the week it is, they’re going down hard and fast if your party is properly leveled and you’re in no mood to be trifled with.

Ouch. But wait, there’s more… Continue reading →

Oh, Yeah: The Walking Dead Is Back (In A Few Places)…

Posted on February 8, 2014 by geelw

I still haven’t gotten around to playing Season Two of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, but I’ve been a bit busy/crazy lately. Now I’ll have even LESS time to get to it thanks to the second half of Season Four of the hit show popping up tomorrow. Thankfully, it’s not a long half-season, but on the other hand, I’d love it if shows didn’t split into halves where you wait around staring at a wall for months between episodes. I don’t like binge watching too much at all (I save it for shows that are dead and gone), but I do like regularity. I say feed prunes to the writing staff, cast and directors on all these shows so they can grasp the concept of a season starting up and not being over until we get a week to week set of shows without minding the gap.

Yeah, I’m talking to YOU, Mad Men (already shot and done as a series, but keeping us waiting what, a year more for those final shows? Yeesh. I don’t even think I’ll be interested when it kicks off again)…

Ah, The Things You Don’t Notice Unless You’re Paying Attention…

Posted on February 7, 2014 by geelw

So, I was about to recycle the box D3Publisher of America sent me when I got another big laugh. I’d not noticed this yesterday in my giddy state (and it was a bit dark in the room where I opened the box), so imagine my surprise when I went to clean out the box and saw this:

Now, ten or so years back, I’d had to have been peeled from the ceiling with the Jaws of Life, but as I went through some nice bug therapy a while back, I just roared with laughter because I didn’t even think they’d stick fake cockroaches in that box. For one thing, even the developers won’t go that far because they don’t want to freak people out (which makes me think that giant spiders must be seen as really cute in Japan!). Anyway, for some reason, I can’t upload the fuzzy close-up image I shot of me holding one of those rubber roaches, but that’s probably good for you readers who’d also hit the ceiling if you saw one (real or fake). I’ll try again later. You’ve been warned…

EDIT: it’s later! Yay! (You were warned)…

Capcom’s Beautiful『deep down』 Depresses Me Because It’s Doomed To Impermanence…

Posted on February 6, 2014 by geelw

As a closet game historian and collector, every time I see Capcom’s 『deep down』, I shed a tiny tear because this amazing-looking in progress PS4 exclusive is going to be online ONLY, and lose a lot of potential sales from people like me who prefer the option to play offline and enjoy all that hard work without worrying about the usual crap ALL online games suffer from. Once interest wanes down the road or worse, sales don’t impress the shareholders (which shouldn’t determine ANYTHING, I say), those servers will slowly shut down and that game you paid good money for as a keeper becomes a bunch of beautiful and USELESS data that fades from memory.

This sort of thing is pure nonsense, I say. Game making shouldn’t consist of developers working in mist settled on a bathroom mirror or making paintings with clouds thinking they’ll still be around for all to see in the future. I’m hoping Capcom wises up and gets this one playable offline at some point (as with its incredible Dragon’s Dogma), because it’s looking so gorgeous that I want MORE people to experience it and not a select few hundred thousand or more with the proper and perfect setups. Art should have SOME permanence, specifically if it’s interactive and made to be enjoyed with others as a mandate.

Bugs (And More) In A Box, With Love From D3Publisher of America…

Posted on February 6, 2014 by geelw

So, I got a nice package today from D3Publisher of America that had me laughing for a good half hour or so. For those curious types reading this, it’s a pre-release Valentine’s Day box full of fun Earth Defense Force 2025 goodies: A fake rose (that lights up when you press a button. It’s strobe-y!) Three sets of four Valentine cards (one for each class), Four dog tags (one for each character class), three packs of tasty looking traditional composition hearts and (wait for it…) a plastic heart with what looks to be three actual chocolate covered insects inside (Eeeeek!).

Well, the label inside that heart SAYS “Chocolate Covered Insects”, they sort of LOOK like they are as opposed to chocolate shaped insects from a mold, and I tend to believe everything I read the first time (well, sometimes). These days, small bugs don’t bug me and I DO like chocolate… so I’ll file this under “I’ll try anything once!” Anyway, I stuck the chocolate in the fridge for later, as it’s too hot in the home office. Those will go good with a cup of coffee, I’d imagine. Some of you have fainted dead away I see. Sorry about that! New experiences make me smile, that’s all.

Okay, let me go find some dinner, as I actually went out for a walk after the box arrived. If I have a bug or two for dessert, I’ll let you know. I may hang onto them for a little bit just to keep you in suspense… we’ll see.