Drakengard 3 Trailer: Access Games Doing Its Thing, Dragon Style…

Posted on February 5, 2014 by geelw

The Drakengard series isn’t exactly known for it’s spectacular presentation or stories that make a whole lot of sense (multiple endings aside), but there’s something compelling about them that’s given the first two games a fairly loyal fan base. With original developer Cavia dissolved into the ashes of history, Access Games (Deadly Premonition) steps up to the plate for this prequel to the first game that, while not visually outstanding, offers up plenty of quirky charm and what looks like a slightly lighter tone than previous entries. Then again, one pee joke and some annoying voice acting on some of the characters aside (the game needs a dual language option), I think this one’s got the makings of a sleeper hit provided it gets enough love from Square Enix on the promotion front. As usual, we’ll see. May 20th is a few months away, so there’s enough time for the company to make more noise about this one…

Toukiden: The Age of Demons Battle Action Trailer: Omega Force To The Rescue (Again)…

Posted on February 5, 2014 by geelw

With Toukiden: The Age of Demons dropping into stores and onto PSN on February 11, here’s a final look at the game in action. As usual, veteran developer Omega Force is at the top of their game here with another impressive action game for the Vita (and yes, PS3). It’s also important to know that while we’re not getting the incredible-looking PSP version of Toukiden in North America, the fact that they were able to get the same game and what looks like the same story content done for that “old” handheld in Japan is somewhat remarkable. Anyway, based on the demo alone, this one looks like it’s going to be a great home as well as handheld game with offline and online play that should keep those who pick it up quite busy dispatching plenty of demons from minor minions to supreme, hard to take down bosses that require time and tactics to take down.

I do hope the game does as well as it did in Japan, but that’s all up to Vita owners here to get off their butts and give the demo a whirl, then go buy the game as soon as they can rather than wait too long and let this one languish in relative obscurity. We’ll see, as usual…

UPGRADE GET! Retro City Rampage DX Out Now For Nintendo 3DS

Posted on February 5, 2014 by geelw

Assuming you don’t own a Nintendo 3DS XL yet, here’s the one game that demands that larger screen real estate. Retro City Rampage DX is out now in the US via the eShop (2/20 in Europe) and adds a few fun things you’ll see in that video above (or at the game’s official site) Although it looks fine on the standard model, the extra size does make a huge difference. I’ve played this game on PC, PS3 and Vita (and it’s also out on WiiWare and Xbox LIVE Arcade), but it looks as if I’ll be diving in once more at some point just to get a few more nostalgic chuckles going. But not for a while, though. I’m doing the headless chicken thing at Toy Fair soon and am in the midst of poking through my inbox and setting up meetings. I need a secretary/helper monkey/game organizing librarian or something.

Ah well – I’m off to a late start today thanks to the stupid storm this morning. Back in a bit with more once I get out of the house…

Crimes & Punishments: Sherlock Holmes Trailer: Punch Drugged Love…

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

Once again, developer Frogwares is cooking up an interesting looking multi-case Sherlock Holmes game for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC-owning adventure game fans out there and this time, it seems to be going for a few types of gameplay as well as flashier visuals to lure in gamers from other genres. There’s some nice use of the aging Unreal 3 engine here as well as what looks like some tweaking to the investigation system and even a bit of fisticuffs thrown in for good measure. As long as the game stays away from the dopey camp of the Guy Ritchie version of Holmes and Watson, I think it’ll do well among its target audience. Granted, the fans of that newer BBC Sherlock and other shows that reinvent the character to different extents may or may not come aboard for this more classic-looking (and more traditional) Holmes, but it would be nice to see some of those younger folk realize their favorite flavor was around a LOT longer than they were.

Focus Home Interactive is publishing this one and it’s got a Q2 2014 release set. More on this game (and an actual release date) soon. Here’s a bunch of nice screens below – enjoy!

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Update: A Little Night Music For You…

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make…”

Another game I’m really looking forward to is this final MercurySteam-developed Castlevania game that looks to wrap everything up nice and neat and perhaps raise the bar on a few fronts in terms of how a 3D version of this storied franchise should be done. Whoever is taking the reins from this point on will be under a great deal of pressure to do something just as impressive without falling back on repeating what’s come before. Given the talent pool of developers out there who probably want to be the ones Konami calls in for that next phase of this series’ life, I’m not too worried at all. As long as what’s coming next is playable on more platforms, it’s a good thing to see Dracula and a Belmont somewhere battling it out in that eternal struggle they’ve pretty much committed to ages past…

February’s Game of the Month: Earth Defense Force 2025

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, it’s not even out until the 18th of the month, but I’ve owned the Japanese version of the game since it came out last July and it’s pretty amazing and VERY replayable, a great thing in this age of games you can blow through in less time that it takes to make a crock pot dish. EDF 2025’s four distinct classes, 780 weapons, over 90 levels (with more coming through three DLC expansions) and both couch co-op and online multiplayer modes means this one will be in some play stacks for a good long while. There’s even a versus mode here if you like hunting around for each other in some too huge maps…

Sure, it’s not the “best” looking game you’ll ever see and yes, developer Sandlot isn’t whipping out visuals that are going to compete with the greatest-looking games of last generation. That said, the sheer scale of the maps plus the level of destruction here is remarkable, and combined with the seemingly simple gameplay that grows deeper as the game gets more challenging, makes this one a keeper even after you’ve beaten it. Which, by the way will take weeks or more you’re going for every bit of content and every single Achievement or Trophy.

So yeah, BUY THIS GAME. It’s coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 only (Sandlot doesn’t make PC Games, sorry!).

Earth Defense Force 2025 Multiplayer Hands-On: Extermination Agenda, Done Up Right.

Posted on January 30, 2014 by geelw

As a fan of the Earth Defense Force series since its debut in 2003 as part of the Simple 2000 series on the Japanese PlayStation 2, I’ve seen the series grow from a quick 25-level budget run and gun experience to the mighty, soon to be released solo, couch co-op and online play of EDF 2025, coming in less than a month to the PS3 and Xbox 360. D3Publisher of America rolled into town with a complete Xbox 360 version that had everything unlocked (all 780 weapons!) and allowed for non-stop fun for a few hours for some cold-braving editor types who dropped into the Ace Hotel for a spell.

While couch co-op play was the focus when D3PoA was here last year, this time it was the hectic online multiplayer mode for two to four players put to the test. Gameplay is rock solid and depends on teamwork between your squad-mates in order for success. Unlike other shooting games, you can’t bump off your team just to hog the glory and goodies for yourself because not only will it be rude, on the higher difficulty levels, you’ll be chomped, blasted, roasted and spiked to death (for starters) by swarms of pissed off bugs, robots, dragons and other menaces… Continue reading →

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Developer Diary #2: On Getting It Gothic…

Posted on January 29, 2014 by geelw

Almost… alllllmost. The wait is creeping to a close (February 25, 2014) and Spanish developer MercurySteam is doing their final Castlevania game up more than right. A handful of fans of the older games in the series are a bit grumpy for some reason that the game isn’t just like those older games, but for those of us who respect new and old styles of visuals and gameplay, it’s clear Konami picked the right team for this part of the series. I tend to play games like this for the stories more than the action, so it’s great to see the team has done their homework in linking this to the series canon while adding in plenty of new and intriguing story elements that should make this one memorable to watch as well as play.

Gog.com Makes Time Travel REAL With Their Latest Sale!

Posted on January 28, 2014 by geelw

A-ha, I KNEW IT! Of course, it wold be gog.com that discovered how to make time travel work, as they’re the KINGS of bringing us Good Old Games from the era before all this nasty DRM. Anyway, they’re doing you PC gamers a favor deluxe with their latest promotion, a DRM-Free Time Machine Sale that lets YOU choose how long a game stays up for sale (eek!) as the day creeps onward by adding or subtracting one second from each sale’s time limit. I’d actually prefer a straight up sale page over a gimmick like this, but it’s actually interesting because sod old farts like me will want certain games up longer than others so more of you kids can try them out. Anyway, go poke around on that page and check out a deal or five, I say. With classic PC games from 1983 and up going for as little as 59 cents, you may find yourself hanging out a bit longer than you thought.

Gallery Update: Dark Souls II

Posted on January 27, 2014 by geelw

I have the distinct feeling that my list of ‘must play’ games will be shorter than I think thanks to a handful of upcoming titles eating up way too much of my time. In addition to EDF 2025, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Toukiden: Age of Demons and a bunch of indie to AAA games for assorted platforms I’ve been keeping my eye on as 2014 rolls onward, Dark Souls II looks as if it’s going to consume a rater huge chunk of a few months on and off. Every time I see new screens for this game I get a few chills in all the proper places as well as a sense of dread because from my play time with that demo, I know this one’s going to be rougher than using a huge sheet of the coarsest waterproof sandpaper as a towel after a too hot shower. Or, OUCH!.

But hey, we Souls maniacs like it hard and Producer Takeshi Miyazoe along with the dedicated team at developer FromSoftware are more than willing to please as from what I’m seeing and hearing from folks in that beta test, the game is going to be even harder than Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls combined.

Eeep.

More screens below the jump… Continue reading →