Dark Souls II “Aching Bones” Trailer: Yeah (Ouch!) That Collector’s Edition Weighs A Ton…

Posted on September 18, 2013 by geelw

Innnnteresting. When Dark Souls came out last year, publisher Namco Bandai made the very cool decision to charge the same $60 price tag for the standard and collector’s edition of the game and yes, that steel-boxed version with the art book sold quite well while the standard edition seems to have done quite fine (not everyone likes that extra swag). This time out, Dark Souls II seems to be getting three different editions: a standard retail version (which will probably pop up as a digital release as well), a Black Armor Edition and a Collector’s Edition details of both are below, of course). Some may say Namco Bandai is being a bit overconfident here, but I think if they can get the fan base that LOVES this game to pay a little more while packing in some more swag (and cool swag, at that!), then more power to them.

Besides, you can always scream into that metal case or at that Warrior Knight perched atop your tee vee when the game keeps killing your avatar off when the going gets tough. Of course, since you hard~~-headed~~ core PC gamers love your downloads, I believe you don’t get Jack other than the game (even if you find it on a disc at your favorite brick & mortar game emporium), so I guess that’s a win for us poor slobs who prefer our consoles for what they bring us (again!). Of course, PC-heads get fans who can fix stuff developer From Software doesn’t right away, so there’s that tradeoff…

EDIT: Oops. As you can see by those newly updated images, I was quite wrong! One crow pie out of the freezer and into the oven for me! PC gamers get the swag too. Nice. Now stop that online petition stuff!

*Black Armor Edition Pre-Order Bonus*
The Dark Souls II Pre-Order Bonus comes with a FREE Collectible Metal Case, Game & Original Game Soundtrack – while supplies last. The collectible case has the unique Warrior Knight box art that will only be found on the Black Armor Edition. The Original Game Soundtrack is composed by Motoi Sakuraba, who composed the full score for the 2011 hit Dark Souls as well.

*Collector’s Edition*
The Dark Souls II Collector’s Edition comes with a gorgeous premium quality 12 inch tall Warrior Knight figurine, made from solid PVC weighing nearly 16 full ounces packed inside a custom printed display box with transparent window. Fans will also be treated to an exclusive hardbound artbook filled with never-seen-before images from the game developer, as well as a sizable full-color microfiber game map perfect for mounting onto your wall. The Black Armor Edition metal case will house both the game disc as well as the Original Game Soundtrack.

Hmmmm… It’s coin tossing time, I guess…

Valhalla Knights 3 Update: Story And Races, To the Finish!

Posted on September 18, 2013 by geelw

Short and sweet, this new Valhalla Knights 3 trailer shows off a bit of story introduction that should keep fans (and Vita owners looking for a fun action/RPG) hopping with anticipation for the game’s October release. Not so short (but a necessary read) are the character class descriptions for this one. I still need to pick up VK: Battle Stance on the PSP at some point, but I happen to like this quirky series as it’s gone through a few hoops and changes since the first installment. Anyway, head on below the jump for more info of all those playable races and carve out some free time this October…

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Orc Attack Double Blast: This Was My Stomach Earlier Today!

Posted on September 18, 2013 by geelw

OK, I know, I know… “eww!” and TMI, am I right? Anyway, I was supposed to pop in to a big TV/Entertainment conference this morning, but something I ate last night put me out of commission for the better part of today. Lots of water and rest later after Mr. Toad’s Wilder ride (yes, my toilet has a new pet name), I’m up and much better, but as usual, a bit behind in my work. Oh well, but these new Orc Attack: Flatulent Rebellion trailers made my day go, er… smoother by giving me some laugh power (which is ALWAYS great for any sort of pain). So, now you know… and knowing is half the battle! The other half is too yucky to talk about, but use your imagination.

Anyway, now that you’re all turning green, I guess I can inform you that Orc Attack is launching this fall on XBLA, PSN, and PC. More to come on this “hack ‘n gas” game soon…

U55- END OF THE LINE: Lovecraft-Inspired PC Game Kickstarter Needs Some Love (It’s Already Got the Craft Part Down)…

Posted on September 16, 2013 by geelw

Hmmm… there are only a few days left to get this one funded (the campaign ends on 9/19), and it’s a bit far from its goal. I thought people LOVED horror games? Unless they’re all free version of Slenderman-playing posers, of course (none of those games is actually “scary” – I find them annoying and one-note jump scare-fests for the most part). Anyway, if you have some spare loot burning a hole in your jeans, take off those jeans before you get a bad case of hot ass and pledge a few of those dollars, dinars, Euros or whatever to these fine guys from Germany HERE. If anything, at least READ the pitch page for the testimonials, some of which are pretty interesting. Kurtis Blow is still around AND a gamer? Wild!

The Backlog Continues (“Oops” Edition), Plus a Viking Wants Some of My Money…

Posted on September 15, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, yeah – I’m laaaaate to posting again, but I’ve been busy working through a bunch of games. One of which ISN’T Volgarr the Viking (now available on gog.com). Not that I don’t want to buy and play that awesome looking old-school hard as nails 2D action platformer, mind you. I’m actually OUT of space on all three of my hard drives and every portable drive I currently own. Ugh. Actually, I need to go through those drives because part of the reason I’m out of space is I accidentally backed up a complete drive onto another a while ago when I thought I was copying a few files and I don’t need everything I duplicated. I just haven’t gotten around to clearing out the drive because I’ll need to go through a load of files and that will take most of a day. Eh, one thing at a time, I suppose. I guess I’ll delete a few games I duplicated and add Volgarr and a few other things this week. I still have a few cheap indie bundles I spent a buck or two on that need to get added to my virtual stack of games to get to.

New Rollers of the Realm Trailer: “We’ve Got The Biggest Balls of Them All!”

Posted on September 13, 2013 by geelw

Okay, I really couldn’t think of anything pinball related, thanks to a slight cold coming on and my head being a little fuzzier than usual. “Thankfully” that old AC/DC tune happened to pop into my head and here you go. Anyway, Rollers of the Realm looks even more polished in this trailer and thanks to all the folks voting for it on Steam Greenlight, the game is becoming even more eagerly anticipated. Phantom Compass (and friends) expect to have this one ready to go before the year is out and as a longtime Pinball fanatic, I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

BUY!: The Elder Scrolls Anthology Out Now, Dishonored GOTY Coming in October

Posted on September 12, 2013 by geelw

As noted in my earlier post, Bethsoft is making sure you KNOW The Elder Scrolls series is a force to be reckoned with (or they at least want you to stay home a LOT more that you normally do). Their awesome $79.99 box set, The Elder Scrolls Anthology stormed into retail on the 10th (here in North America, $89.99 in Canada, European territories this Friday for €59.99 / £49.99 / $89.99 AUD) and YES, you need to buy this just for the hundreds of hours of adventuring plus the chance to make some of your own content if you so desire.

There’s a ton of stuff in that box to discover, so make this one your big gift to that favorite RPG fan (or for yourself if you want to become one).

In other Bethsoft news, October 8 marks the release date of Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition (whee!), which means I need to pick this one up as well:

As for what’s in THIS box, well, read on (below the jump!):

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Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Kickstarter Update: Now Vita & Vita tv Bound!

Posted on September 9, 2013 by geelw

NICE and thank you, SCEJ! Since that PS Vita tv announcement in Japan is quite the big deal. Wayforward Technologies has decided to add the game to its list of things to do. Excellent and yes indeed, the more, the merrier. 3DS owners, sorry, but you’re getting a completely separate new game to play, as your system isn’t powerful enough to handle what’s coming (just a fact!). Still, this means Vita-only fans aren’t left out of the Shantae loop this time, so Huzzah and all that.

Pre-TGS News: SCEJ Drops Plenty of Vita Bombshells Plus a Late PS4 Release In Japan…

Posted on September 9, 2013 by geelw

Weird, wild stuff going on overseas, as Sony is surprisingly bringing out a redesigned, less expensive Vita in different colors with 1GB of on board memory, an even more inexpensive Vita TV device that will let users play Vita and other PlayStation titles, watch movies and more plus a whole load of so far Japanese-only info including the release date of the PlayStation 4 in the territory. The big surprise on that end is the PS4 is shipping out AFTER the North American and European launch, which is something of a first for a Sony gaming console if I’m not mistaken.

Back to the Vita for a second – Sony has also announced a new 64MB Memory Card as well as price drops on its other proprietary memory cards for the handheld. The 64GB card will retail in Japan for 9,980 yen (about $100) and the new pricing on the currently available cards is as follows: the 4GB card drops to to 1,480 yen (about $15), the 8GB card to 1,980 yen (about $20), the 16GB card to 3,780 yen (about $38) and the 32GB model to 6,480 yen (about $65). Meanwhile, as noted above, North American and European gamers will get their PlayStation 4’s a few months earlier than Japan, as a February 2014 launch window was revealed. According to a few news sites, the reason seems to be Sony having issues meeting high demand for the console worldwide and probably targeting more units for the US and Europe first thanks to greater demand in those countries.

Finally, the launch title lineup for Japan was revealed as well, but we’ll take a peek at some of those titles in another post shortly. My fingers are of course, crossed that these price drops and new products pop up here in the US, but as always… we shall see…

New Puppeteer Trailer Makes Your Friday Night Surreal (or Something Worse)…

Posted on September 6, 2013 by geelw

OK, I laughed at this trailer, but I bet some of you out there get freaked out my over-sized masks and goofy costumes like others flip out over circus (or other) clowns. If that’s you, I’m sorry to have exposed you to this on an otherwise fine and rather cool Friday night (sleep with the windows open – there’s a nice breeze blowing!). On the other hand, if you’re having a gloomy Friday night, this just may cheer you up. If that doesn’t work… well, go watch the rest of the kooky live-action clips Sony put together, take an aspirin or two and get some sleep. Anyway, Sony’s PlayStation 3 exclusive, Puppeteer is out now in some spots, so if you’re a PS3 owner looking for pure platforming bliss, well… you know what to do, right?