Gamescom 2013: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Trailer: Blood, Right.

Posted on August 21, 2013 by geelw

Every time I see more of this game, I have to run to the nearest closet, get a hat, put it on and tip it in the general direction of developer MercurySteam’s offices. These guys and gals are knocking it out of the park and onto another planet with this sequel to the first LoS and February 2014 can’t come soon enough. What’s all the more amazing is the game is looking so great on what’s considered “old” hardware by many, but that’s been the Spanish developers very strong point since their first game. As noted previously, this is their final chapter as far as their run on the Castlevania series goes, so anyone else taking over in the future will have a hell of an act to follow, that’s for sure. Of course, the diehard fans of the classic 2D Castlevanias who didn’t like any of the 3D games in the franchise are most likely going to miss out on this one as well, but I don’t think Konami needs their approval these days unless they have something more constructive to offer other than hating the LoS games for their success.

October’s Dark Souls II Live Beta Will Test the Best (and Kill the Rest)…

Posted on August 21, 2013 by geelw

If you’re a big Dark Souls fan, you’d better pay very close attention to the game’s facebook page. Namco Bandai is going to be running an exclusive closed Beta for the PlayStation 3 version of the game over Sony’s PlayStation Network starting October 5, 2013 for players in North America and Europe. From the press release, it sure looks as if developer FromSoftware is going to be showing off an all-new area packed with death in every corner, but don’t take it from me – get a load of this snippet:

The depth of the DARK SOULS II Closed-Beta experience will truly test players’ skill, intestinal fortitude, and their sheer will to survive. The DARK SOULS II Closed-Beta will delve into one of the most treacherous areas of the DARK SOULS II world; players will not only get an opportunity to explore an entirely new area of the game, but also experience overwhelming enemy encounters, diabolical challenges, and the unrelenting difficultly that only the developers at FromSoftware can deliver.

Yeah, that sounds like a double-dog dare with a side of fries and cheese (the cheese coming from the game’s notoriously vicious and crafty enemy AI – trust me, it’s BRUTAL on the unprepared player!), so you know what to do if you accept that challenge (and you’ve survived being slapped upside the head with that metal gauntlet you just got served up fresh and hot). “Prepare to Suffer” needs to be the slogan for that Beta, I say…

Gamescom 2013: Microsoft Keeps Trying, But I’m Not Buying (Don’t Let Me Stop YOU, However)…

Posted on August 21, 2013 by geelw

As I noted yesterday, Microsoft also stormed Gamescom with a bunch of new titles, but I can’t even look at anything the company is doing with its Xbox One thanks to the seriously mixed messages they’ve been sending. Sure, that new console looks pretty awesome, but between the enforced evolution thing they wanted to dump onto their user base, then the backtracking and in between, insulting anyone who didn’t have the proper connection to be always online or didn’t want to use that new Kinect or maybe wanted to sell or lend the games they owned to anyone at any time (and so forth and so on), it’s been a nightmare they need to wake up from soon.

Sure, some of you out there have VERY short attention spans and tend to forgive anyone for even the most blankety blanket of minor apologies. But there’s been a nice swell of pissed off gamers kicking Microsoft around who have little interest in the system, which seems to be forcing the company to do some insane stuff like give Europe a free (digital) copy of the FIFA game while stiffing US buyers because we’re dumb enough to pay full price for Madden every year (well, I don’t anymore).

So, the abusive relationship will continue between Microsoft and its die-hard fans with some great games on the new system, less draconian mandates (for now… but they’re coming back bit by bit, mark my words) and All sorts of exclusive content. Hopefully, that new system will be a LOT less prone to dying randomly like the Xbox 360 (I went through FIVE, dammit!) and people aren’t griping about not being able to access some stuff because they don’t want to turn on that new Kinect and it’ll be mandatory for some games or services we’re not yet informed about. I’d have to say this is the FIRST time I’m not excited for a new console cycle since I started gaming back in 1972. I’ll probably pick up an Xbox One eventually… but I certainly won’t miss it this year at all…

Gamescom 2013: US PlayStation 4 Arrives November 15, Vita Gets Price Drop Now…

Posted on August 20, 2013 by geelw

I’ve been saying this for a few years, but here we go again: E3 has lost pretty much any relevance it’s had because Gamescom and later, TGS always have more exciting news stories and even better game reveals. Sony, coming off a pretty successful year for revealing new products (in its game division, at least) has dropped info on the worldwide launch dates for its eagerly anticipated PlayStation 4 console. North American consumers get their on November 15 and European consumers can plan on a November 29 launch. Sony also revealed that at least one million PS4 pre-orders have been taken, which means that’s a lot of folks who will be taking sudden early Thanksgiving vacations here in the US so they can snap up their systems and camp out at home with one of the many launch titles…

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Bundle Stars Wants You To Think Strategically, Win or Lose…

Posted on August 19, 2013 by geelw

Four games for four bucks might not seem like a stellar deal to some of you used to Bundle Stars‘ usual crazier deals, but three of the four here are nearly endless in what they have to offer and the fourth is an interesting take on a famous historical character. This new deal, dubbed Strategy Classics, nets you Capitalism, Seven Kingdoms II: The Fryhtan Wars, Warlords: Battlecry III and Wars & Warriors: Joan of Arc.

As noted Joan’s game isn’t as deep or “classic” as the others, but if you like Koei’s long-running Dynasty Warriors franchise with a bit of RTS action thrown in, it’s not that bad. Granted, Koei’s later Bladestorm: The 100 Years War did this much better, but for a dollar you get an interesting (and yes, visually dated by today’s standards) 3D action game that’s a funk and funky solo play diversion.

The Walking Dead Lives Again on PlayStation Vita (Buy It. Or Buy It Again!)

Posted on August 19, 2013 by geelw

Well, tomorrow the game is up and kicking on the PSN Store and yes indeed, if you’re a Vita owner looking for a nice and superbly scary as well as excellently written horror adventure, well, here you go. Even if you’ve played this already on any of the other platforms it’s been on, it’s worth a buy just to support Telltale Games (and scare the crap out of some poor soul sitting next to you on the train or bus on the way to work). This one’s going on the top of the queue, although at the moment that just means it’ll be played within the next month or so (yeah, the backlog is THAT big here, but progress has been made! You’ll see…). Of course, in a perfect world we’d see MORE of Telltale’s past games popping up on the Vita, but I guess that depends on a few things (such as this one doing well enough and fans beating down the company’s doors like a pack of starving undead)…

Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! Teaser: Oh, I Certainly DO Know!

Posted on August 19, 2013 by geelw

Yup, I’ll be diving into these cartoon dungeons because… TRY AND STOP ME! I happen to like dungeon crawlers, comic or not, so this one will get a workout here at the home base. With the fine folks at WayForward Technologies on the case, it’s a guaranteed great time for fans of the show and tourists who happen to be passing by and own a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U or 3DS. Hmmm… if I had to choose a platform, I’d have to go for the Wii U version just because that’s a system that needs more good games and yes indeed, I want to see what WayForward does with that GamePad (don’t disappoint me, guys!).

November 12, 2013 is the day, so mark those calendars. Wait a minute, now… FIRST, go take down LAST YEAR’S calendar, go to the nearest supermarket, barbershop or bank, get a NEW calendar and mark that one. Yeah, I know you forgot (again), but you need to be more on top of things!

Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst: The Return of TOO Much Content!

Posted on August 19, 2013 by geelw

If there’s one thing eternally busy developer CyberConnect2 knows how to do, it’s pack their Naruto games so full of content that trying to pin the tail on how many hours it takes to complete is a futile proposition. Despite that timer showing how long you’ve been at it for the last few weeks or whatever, you really don’t want to know how many hours you’re sinking into a game with a ton of playable characters and customization options unless you’re going for some sort of bragging rights someone can easily match by firing up the same game and letting it sit on a status screen while they do the Rip Van Winkle for a month or so.

For those of you who’ve blown through, are still playing, or missed out on and plan to purchase Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, you may want to hold onto something or just have a seat. Namco Bandai and CC2 are about to drop an even better game on your heads in the form of Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst, set for a PS3 and Xbox 360 release on October 22 and followed later by a PC release through Steam. Full Burst packs in the original game with reworked cinemas, all the DLC content and some all-new and insanely tough challenges that will test the best players with some truly brutal battles. A build of the new game was up and running at Namco Bandai’s press event a few weeks back and just listening to the staggering number of changes was exhausting yet showed that CC2 really loves its fans and wants them to have the best game possible…

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The Bureau: XCOM Declassified Launch Trailer: On Loving (or Hating) the Alien…

Posted on August 19, 2013 by geelw

After a complete shift in development from a tactical first-person game (that drew instant and completely unwarranted hatred from die-hard fans of the original PC game) to a third-person squad-based tactical shooter, 2K’s XCOM origin story rolls out on August 20. I actually liked the more stylized visuals and perspective in the original concept, but I’ll still play this as a fan of the series who happens to have a more open mind. Now, I don’t have a review copy incoming as far as I know, but I’m betting this drops in price quickly thanks to some obstinate embargo breakers at another site that ran a negative review already (which seems to have been taken down – I guess 2K put the kibosh on that kibosher). Oh well – I rarely pay attention to other reviews anyway, as it’s never a good thing to rely on the opinions of others when they go in expecting something entirely different than what’s on the plate. As usual… we shall see…

Diablo III Console TV Ad: What the Hell, Indeed (But In A Better Way Than Some Think)…

Posted on August 17, 2013 by geelw

I don’t know if Activision knows this yet, but this hilarious ad is a nice twist on the two Japanese TV spots from 1995 for the PlayStation port of Wizardry VII where a guy playing the game is suddenly visited by characters from the game (actors in costume) who grab him and take into into the game world. I’ll need to figure out how to get those clips from the import demo discs I have here and maybe post them (with fingers crossed that YouTube doesn’t get all jerky about it). Anyway, I’m certainly looking forward to this one a HELL (ha!) of a lot more than a chunk of the nasty naysayers commenting on this over the internet. It kind of sucks to be them and so unappreciative of Blizzard doing a console port that looks as good as the PC game in many respects while being more accessible to all sorts of players, but what can you do. Some folks made up their minds to hate this game as soon as it was announced and that’s just too bad…