VOODOO: Stepping Into Man’s Past To Create A Great MMO For The Future

Posted on October 25, 2016 by geelw

Italy-based developer Brain in a Box is on a mission to create an online world you’ve never seen, but will be strangely familiar. Welcome to VOODOO:

The game’s official site notes:

Voodoo is a Survival game set in a primal Africa, where godly and earthly are not yet clearly defined, and humankind is on the brink of civilization. Build your village with your friends or other people that you will find around the island, by gathering resources and crafting.

And, when the time is right, you will have to vanish your primal fears by fighting giant Izimus scattered around the map, that will make your little civilization advance by discovering new technologies. But Izimus aren’t your only enemy, you will find wild animals from the prehistoric era and other villages, because with civilization comes the lust for power.

Will you bring your village to power by being a fearsome warrior, a relentless farmer, or a powerful shaman?

Well, challenge accepted! Guess who signed up for the closed beta? No, not that guy over there, you! grrrr. Me! The game does look intriguing and while I’m not usually into MMO’s, the chance to poke around in a work in progress and offer feedback into making the experience better for all is a challenging endeavor as well as a fine adventure to tackle. Well, as a “relentless farmer” for me. AGGRESSIVE CROPPING WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED! Grrrr!

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Switch-Eroos Make Waiting Until March Trial By Ire

Posted on October 22, 2016 by geelw

I’ll just leave this here:

You smarter gamers with a load of patience avoiding the babbly noise rumor mill sites know who it’s for. But it’s also for anyone else in the “news gathering” trade who dabbles too deeply in third-hand gossip just for attention’s sake and huge traffic rather than do the actual legwork legitimate journalism takes.

Opinions (mine included) and improper speculative analysis aren’t facts, and some sources are only “trusted” because their skin in this game is any attention they can get for themselves so they stay “relevant.” So they yak away daily, knowing full well that the mill wheel often grinds out a few nasty things as it turns on that 24/7 schedule when you hit a slow news day every so often but need to have a story to tell just to get your name in lights somewhere. Boo.

Back in a bit.

-GW

Gunnihilation: Yeah, It’s A Blast

Posted on October 21, 2016 by geelw

The ONLY thing “wrong” with Robo Pixel Games‘ brilliant bullet hell on steroids Gunnihilation is there’s no online play, and this is coming from a guy who dislikes online play in most of his games. The “shut up and play it!” Early Access game is so much fun as a local co-op experience that it BEGS to be shared with as many friends as possible, which in this era of “friends” meaning “many people you and I solely know through social circles” is a bit impossible. But that also leads me to believe Robo Pixel is smarter than I am because that simply means MORE of you who should play this need to just buy it ASAP.

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Busload of Horror III: Laugh ‘Til You Bleed (And Vice Versa)

Posted on October 20, 2016 by geelw

Oooh, I missed yesterday’s posting thanks to stuff going kablooie elsewhere, but here you go. The better news is I found a few more games to add to this list while poking around a hard drive, so consider this scary mission extended a bit starting with tomorrow’s installment where I add FOUR titles instead of three. Or perhaps FIVE if I’m feeling generous? We shall see. Anyway, let’s get cracking with the cracking up over assorted head cracking in these three today:

Tom vs. The Armies of Hell: From Darkmire Entertainment (or Sean Burgoon) comes this hilarious spin on Diablo, Army of Darkness, a dash of Office Space and maybe a teeny-tiny bit of Half-Life (if you squint while hitting yourself in the head with a hammer at just the riiiiight spot) that’s going to tickle your funny bone as it tests your skills. You’re Tom, a low on the totem pole software engineer having the worst day at work ever (outside of Gordon Freeman’s of course) after all Hell figuratively (or is that literally?) breaks loose and you need to stop things from going further south.

The isometric view and chase ‘n chop gameplay will be familiar to Diablo or similar ARPG fans, although the game takes a bit more finesse in using skills-based attacks and drawing energy from dead demon spirits to power your weapon. Enemies tend to be fast and cheap, bosses are room-sized and cheaper, but all are bested by the best who remain calm under pressure. The game is still pretty tough on the easiest setting (or was until the last patch that lightened the difficulty up a bit), but it’s a challenge worth accepting if you like your games funny and sliding in winks and nods to all sorts of cool stuff.

As admirable and fun as the game is, even more so is Burgoon’s tweaking and fixing up bugs when players come across them. If only every developer was so responsive and self deprecating as this guy. $12.99 gets you this one on Steam and it’s worth it. I have not a single clue what Darkmire has up it’s collective one-man sleeves as an encore, But if it’s more tongue-in-cheek goofiness such as this, I’m in and smiling already.

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Radical Heroes: Crimson City Crisis Hands-On: Punch-Drunk Love Fest

Posted on October 20, 2016 by geelw

POW! Fans of Downtown Nekketsu/River City Ransom and other beat ’em up classics have a new game to kick sand in their faces in the form of Radical Heroes: Crimson City Crisis, currently in Early Access on Steam and worth every dime. Brought to you by Mad Unicorn Games (aka, the VERY talented Moses and Noah Doyle) and Apogee Software (yeah, THAT Apogee!), the game takes the old sprite-packed beat ’em up into the 21st century with dazzling, colorful pixel art that makes for environments that pop off the screen.

The enemies you deliver beat downs to pop off the screen as well, but that’s because you’ll be the one sending them onto that parking orbit with your avatar’s fists and feet. POW!

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Red Dead Redemption 2 Trailer: Tumbleweed Tease, But I’m Still A Betting Man

Posted on October 20, 2016 by geelw

Beautiful, and had you inquired of me a few days ago, I’d have noted with a smile, exactly what I expected from Rockstar Games. Those with short attention spans whining all over the internet about this being more of a teaser than an actual full-on gameplay trailer packed with juicy plot spillage need to sloooowly slide away from the keyboards and step out for some air. It’s far too early to start dropping lengthy gameplay videos that will only be digested, incorrectly dissected and over-speculated on in every aspect by the usual suspects. My own preferences are to go in as cold as possible so the new game warms me up and is as spoiler-free as possible. Yeah, that’s how I roll and yes, it makes a game intensely more enjoyable when you don’t fire it up and know everything about what’s SUPPOSED to be a surprising *new* experience.

Where was I again? Oh, right? When has the company dumped out a long-form gameplay trailer for a game that’s about to over a year away? More importantly, when have they let you down with one of their major releases? Yeah, PC-only gamers will gripe about that question in regards to the first 2.5 Red Dead games (Revolver, Redemption, and Undead Nightmare). But that’s their own fault from suffering from system bias, I say.

That and, hell… if GTA V PC is any indication, you over-clockers and console blockers will get yours at some point, gloating about its superiority as soon as the system specs and first screenshots are revealed at the exact same “some point.”

So, get over it. Please.

Er, just not before us console owners loyal to the cause since the DMA Design days and prepping for a game destined to become an instant classic when it’s released for PS4 and Xbox One in 2017.

P.S.: Sneaky, Rockstar… SNEAKY. Getting Red Dead Revolver out on PSN almost a week ago and not telling me. Well, that goes on the want list, too. I just have the Xbox version in the game library at the moment, but hate setting up that system just for one game.

Hide and Shriek Gameplay Trailer: The Polite Heart Attack Maker, Almost Here

Posted on October 19, 2016 by geelw

So, Funcom wants to pair up like-minded folks and get them to merrily jump scare each other to death’s doorstep while sitting at separate computers miles (or less) apart? Cool. Ringu-round the caller, is a noose that’s not so loose, right? Anyway, here’s a press release below to peruse, as I’m in the middle of a sudden freelance gig with a pointy deadline poking me in the behind (OW!):

Scare or be scared in this fun Halloween multiplayer game full of high jinks and mischief! Set traps, cast spells, and scare the living hell out of your opponent to win!

Hide and Shriek is a one vs. one multiplayer romp played out in ten minute matches. Your objective is simple: be a mischievous little rascal and scare your opponent half to death before time runs out! If there is no clear winner when the timer stops, the player with the most points wins the game. Points can be acquired by scaring your opponent, luring them into traps, or performing an ancient ritual.

There is just one catch: you are both invisible!

You will need to use cunning traps and potent spells to reveal your opponent. Once you spot them, sneak up on them and give them a good scare! Just remember they are looking for you too, and if you`re not careful you might be the one jumping in your seat!

AVAILABLE OCTOBER 25th, 2016!

So, yeah. If you happen to be in my area and swing by on Halloween and I don’t answer the door, I’m probably curled up on the carpet clutching my own Telltale Heart. Thanks, Funcom!

-GW

Busload of Horror II: Time to Kill? Sure, Why Not?

Posted on October 18, 2016 by geelw

Back for more, are we? Well, then. Let’s amp things up a notch with some scary stuff that has you killing or being killed in gratuitous or thoughtfully gratuitous means. Or something like that. I guess what’s here is kinda NSFW unless you work at some place like your friendly neighborhood abbatoir, morgue, or cemetery and/or have a morbid sense of humor, hee-ho!

UNLOVED: Yikes. So, you want to run around in the dark (perhaps with up to three others) equipped with a handgun and flashlight looking for better weapons, armor, and colored keys while trying not to to get keelhauled by some fast-moving, ugly as sin monsters? Good. This game’s got your name, number and full address stamped all over it.

Nope, it’s not 1993 all over again, but UNLOVED sure rocks it like it is. Paul Schneider took his original Doom II mod and completely remade it using Unreal 4 to great, gory effect. As a solo or multiplayer experience, the game is wickedly fast, controls as expected (yes you can have at it with k+m or a controller if you like) and definitely not for the squeamish or easily startled. Or perhaps it IS, as it’ll surely prepare you for anything jumping out at you in the real world.

There’s an interesting rewards system at play as well where you can sell off gathered trinkets for assorted useful goodies. That said, a bit more character customization would be nice, as other than outfit color, EVERY player model is some generic white guy with sunglasses, making playing with others look like a Falco video with assorted guns set in a carnival horror house. But even if you just come for the scares and enjoy the ride (and dying a lot), this is quite a rush worth the $14.99 cost.

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Review: MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death

Posted on October 18, 2016 by geelw

While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, MeiQ has a few surprises for those thinking it’s just another fan service packed JRPG. Lengthy and packing in some cool ideas, it’s a solid genre entry worth picking up.

Platform: PlayStation Vita
Developer: Idea Factory/Compile Heart
Publisher: Idea Factory International
# of Players: 1
Release Date: 9/13/2016
MSRP: $39.99
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Official Site
Score: B (80%) BUY IT!

At first glance (and second… and third), MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death looks like many other fan-service JRPGs packed with gals bursting out of their too-skimpy outfits ripe for waifu fantasies from those eager fans into that sort of thing. Fortunately, a mighty good game lurks past that booby trap facade and this is one Labyrinth worth a full inspection and yes, another Iffy game you’ll want to have in your library. Once you get over the costume designs, there’s a long and challenging game here to conquer with a fine combat system, albeit one that doesn’t change all that much once you sink a few hours in.

The plot is pretty basic stuff with four towers that need to be conquered in order to beat the evil so-and so trying to rule and ruin the land. Adding mechs each gal can pilot to the mix is a great touch, as it allows for some interesting pairings as well as gives you a squishy backup plan should a mech fall in battle. That’s right, your gals and whatever skills they’ve learned are your last resource if their metallic rides go down in flames. Initially, it’s a lousy thing as the gals aren’t exactly powerful and it takes time to gain a full party anyway. But, after a chunk of time, they’ll improve and all gain some nice, useful skills that can do decent damage. You’ll still want those mechs in good shape, though.

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Mordheim: City of the Damned Lands on PS4, Xbox One

Posted on October 18, 2016 by geelw

“Well, this one looks neat!” said the brain, both halves actually agreeing for a rare change. Focus Home Interactive’s busy year of interesting games I want to play continues with developer Rogue Factor‘s Mordheim: City of the Damned, a really nice-looking tactical RPG based on the classic Games Workshop out of print board game from 1999. Four separate campaigns (a full campaign for each of the four Warbands: The Human Mercenaries, the Sisters of Sigmar, the Skaven of Clan Eshin, and the Cult of the Possessed), online play if you want to compete with like-minded gamers, snazzy visuals, all that good stuff.

While not a “horror” game per se, I do love the visual style chosen quite a lot and hell, imagine wanting to whip up a Halloween outfit based on some of the wilder looking characters? Yep, that would be fun, right down to the people running away from you and into nearby trees or lampposts. Ouch.