Grand Theft Auto V Gameplay Trailer: Fall’s Officially A Bust For Productivity In America…

Posted on July 9, 2013 by geelw

It’s always amazing for me to see how Rockstar continues to push the envelope with each new GTA game and Grand Theft Auto V is no exception. September 17 will be a REALLY awful day for productivity across the US and a few other spots this game shows up in, so expect to not see or hear from a lot of folks you probably think aren’t gamers who suddenly disappear for a few days only to pop up for air looking tired as hell but smiling a bit too broadly. For you non-gaming readers, just watch the trailer and let that narrator guide you through why this new GTA is so impressive and important. I don’t play online, but that ending made me grin a bit more at what’s coming in the next trailer. It’s too bad all those time machine plans I see for sale online are trash, or I’d be putting one of those things together just to keep winding time backwards in order to complete the game in a day. As it is now, I’m gathering I’ll be spending a few hundred hours exploring every nook and cranny outside the story mode (as that’s where the game’s bigger secrets will most likely lie)…

Rollers of the Realm Pre-Beta Hands-On: Pinball Wizards Whip Up an Instant Classic

Posted on July 7, 2013 by geelw

I can probably tell you the long and boring story of my first pinball machine memories (1972,Gottlieb’s Batter Up, first version, but I also vaguely recall playing Central Park a few years earlier at Coney Island while standing on a rickety wooden crate), but then you’d be fast asleep and drooling in front of your computer instead of up-voting Phantom Compass’ (and friends!) innovative Rollers of the Realm on Steam Greenlight.

The team is working on what’s turning out to be a superb genre-blending mix of old and new ideas that features some excellent pinball action, decent writing and so far, what’s looking to be the makings of an instant hit that absolutely deserves to be on as many platforms as possible. I signed up to get access to a playable version as soon as I heard this was in development, that pre-beta access popped up in my inbox on Friday and after playing the first chapter a few times, I’m definitely recommending anyone even remotely interested in pinball, RPGs and puzzle games to take a nice long look at this one…

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Earth Defense Force 4 Gameplay Videos: Bigger, Better, Faster, MORE.

Posted on July 6, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, GameEmpireHD!)

My own copy of the game is in transit from Play-Asia, but there are some folks who picked up the game in Japan and are posting videos galore to show off some of the new features and the updated visuals. Here are a few from Game Empire HD that range from short to medium lengths and show a few of the classes in action. I’m a bit more methodical in how I play an EDF game, so seeing all those pickups left lying around at the end of those stages is a bit distressing. Then again, I’m gathering the person playing is trying to blast through the game as quickly as possible just to get as many videos up as possible.

That said, I did notice all of the videos posted so far are played on Normal mode. Personally, I always blaze through Easy first when playing an EDF game just to get it out of the way, earn a bunch of armor and new weapons plus whatever bonus is gained for completing the game on that difficulty level. That and it’s the best way to see what’s coming on the harder difficulties without struggling with too much dropped on my head at once. OK, I think I have about a week or so to wait, so let the countdown commence…

Review: Spelunker (Virtual Console)

Posted on July 6, 2013 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo Wii U (also on Wii, 3DS)

Developer: Tozai Games

Publisher: Tozai Games

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Official Site

Score: A- (90%)

Still going strong after 30 years, Spelunker is one of those great games that gets a lot of love and hate for what it puts you through. On one hand, it’s a challenging game packed with treasures to grab and a satisfying sense of accomplishment each time you clear a level. On the other hand, it’s a REALLY and infuriatingly challenging game thanks to “the weakest action hero in the history of gaming”, and yes, that’s a selling point of this gem, folks. If you’re no fan of trial and error, the combination of this terminally frail dude, the need for pinpoint control and collecting air supplies scattered around the levels while avoiding death from everything from a VERY short fall to the small assortment of enemies will have you screaming at your TV within seconds…
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DARK “3D Features” Trailer: Riding The Double Gimmick Wave…

Posted on July 5, 2013 by geelw

This latest trailer for RealmForge’s upcoming Xbox 360 and PC game DARK shows off both modern and “vintage” 3D visual options. I’m still one of those skeptics about that Oculus Rift being anything but a developer’s dream more than a gamer’s go-to peripheral, but that’s because I haven’t tried those damned fancy eyeball curtains and am getting tired as hell of hearing people claim that it’s such a hot deal. I’m sure I’ll get to give the Rift a go one day and be a-mazed out of my skull, but I don’t trust a product without a release date nor a price point that claims to be affordable and the best thing since sliced bread with bacon baked into it. I guess the best thing to do is dig up my ancient cardboard anaglyph 3D glasses and see how that mode hold up as I look into snapping up the more expensive version of that old tech in the future to see if it’s worth what it’ll cost (which probably won’t be as cheap as I’d like). Eh, whatever – if the game is good without the extra distraction of something on my face, it’s a better thing at the end of the day…

Earth Defense Force 4 Launch TV Spots: July 4 is Business As Usual in Japan…

Posted on July 4, 2013 by geelw

Today’s the big day for some gamers in Japan as Earth Defense Force 4 is out and getting furiously played by many. Those of us who’ve imported copies will be waiting patiently around their mailboxes like vultures for our copies to show up and it’ll be hiding away from the sun for a bit as we plow through the game and see what developer Sandlot has done with the series in the five or so years since they last worked on a home console EDF game.

From some poking around on GameFaqs, a few users who live in Japan and have the game are loving the changes so far (a good sign) and combined with the positive Famitsu scores (a 34/40 average), this one looks like a keeper.

Of course, when the game hits US shores next year, you WON’T be seeing these wacky Japanese ads for it at all, so I’m doing my civic duty as an EDF patriot and running them here.

I don’t know what D3Publisher of America’s ad plans are, as they generally don’t run a ton of ads for their games anyway, but it would be nice to see some sort of equally oddball campaign here that’s inexpensive yet equally amusing and effective.

Impressions of the import to come in a bit – I’m going to go get my vulture outfit out of storage and go hang out downstairs…

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – The Epic Making of an Epic (Part One)

Posted on July 3, 2013 by geelw

With all that live action location footage and sweeping camera shots on display in this video plus the promises from the team that this game will be their best yet, it’s impossible not to get a little excited about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as development continues on the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game. I know I want the game to be the best new RPG on any platform once it’s released, so I’d like to very emphatically suggest that CD Projekt RED keep Senior Writer Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz away from high cliff edges and live wolves, as I actually jumped a little when he was walking too close to a potential nasty fall in one shot and later, probably could have lost some fingers if that wolf he was stroking decided it wanted a finger sandwich during that part of the clip.

Then again, that shot was edited, so it may have been the wolf handler’s hand in one part and Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz’s in the other. or maybe the man has more talents than writing? I guess I’ll have to wait and see if he’s written himself into the game as a character, right? And I’d imagine if he did, that character would have a shorter last name, as twenty spaces is a lot of screen real estate to fill!

Happy Independence Day (Kind of) From Saint’s Row IV, BOOM!!

Posted on July 3, 2013 by geelw

With all the spaceships zipping around, super-powered cast and intergalactic enemies invading earth, some fans are thinking this isn’t a “true” Saint’s Row game at all. Well, other than the open world mayhem and outrageous humor being intact and looking as crazy as ever. I think the game looks like more stupid fun (in a good way), but I’d love to see Volition branch out and do something really unique on the new generation hardware. At this rate, Saint’s Row V will end up being like a Mass Effect game with interplanetary gangs of aliens, eight times the F-bombs and a more free-form combat system full of too many assorted wrestling moves and finishers. I’m not sure I’d like to see that, but I guess that sort of depends on how well this game does and if the Volition has planned out that far ahead…

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut Gets Cool PlayStation Home Content

Posted on July 3, 2013 by geelw

Rising Star Games has been keeping the Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut flame alive first with some nice DLC updates from the game’s developer and now, through this set of Home avatar extras, a Raincoat Killer outfit (I like Red Seeds Killer better, but when in Rome…) complete with axe and *woof!* a dog companion named Willie.

These goodies are now available for purchase NOW (along with the other cool virtual items in that video below:

The Walking Dead: 400 Days Trailer: Creeping Up On You Faster Than You Thought…

Posted on July 2, 2013 by geelw

…as in “BOO!” it’s on PSN (and PC and Xbox Live) right now (and at ONLY five bucks, it’s a MUST buy) waiting to lurch onto that PS3 or Vita as soon as you snap up a copy and download it. The caught me and a few other folks off guard because we thought Telltale might be saving this one up for a late summer or even fall release, but yes indeed, it’s out now and that’s awesome. Especially for me as a big Vita user (as the Vita needs all the great games it can get and although short, this one’s definitely in that Game of the Year territory based on all I’ve been reading). I guess now it’s all about finding something to cower under while playing that’s not going to roast me alive in this summer heat. Well, I guess I could play at night when it’s cooler.. but then I’d be looking over my shoulder every five seconds for any sudden movements…eeek. Eh, we’ll see, I guess… Off to find a coin to flip and decide what to do (it’s too hot to think straight today!)…