PC Review: ADR1FT

Posted on April 12, 2016 by geelw

Platform: PC

Developer: three one zero LLC

Publisher: 505 Games

# of Players: 1

MSRP: $19.99

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Score: A (90%)
If you’re one who normally plays games on a smaller screen laptop or monitor, ADR1FT is most likely going to make you want a bigger screen as soon as possible. Of course, I’m saying this as someone whose first introduction to the experience was back when it was running on another engine and 505 Games premiered an early console and PC VR demo in a movie theater where on the big screen the scope was quite impressive indeed. That scale is far more thrilling with the complete overhaul/upgrade to the Unreal 4 Engine, but it works best on the biggest display you can get even if it means popping over to a friend’s place to show off the finished product.

Forget the “walking simulator” labels the game is getting from the limited vocabulary crowd, throw out your science degrees or overly critical eye for complete accuracy (it’s a videogame, NOT a NASA sim), strap yourself in and prepare for a quietly wild ride. ADR1FT is less of a straight adventure game and more of a deliberately paced and tension filled trip into space where survival is key if only to discover how it all ends. The game works as both a visual treat for the eyes as well as a great example of the promise of virtual reality as a viable entertainment option (provided you currently own or plan to buy one of the VR headsets being hard marketed this year).

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Gallery: DUELYST – It’s In The Cards This One Will Be A Hit

Posted on April 7, 2016 by geelw

While I’m not at all a “competitive” gamer or a huge fan of online-only gaming, every one in a while I’ll get something cool to peruse in my inbox that makes me stop and click away on a few links. Counterplay Games’ DUELYST not only got me to click away on a few links, I actually signed up to check out the beta of this free to play card battle/strategy game and came away pretty impressed. Given that lack of time is a big factor in getting me to even look a most online games, DUELYST grabbed me right away with its gorgeous pixel art style and short matches that take around 5 to 10 minutes to play.

Once you create an account, the game recommends you dive into a three stage tutorial in order to learn the basics. This is great advice to follow as the game takes off the training wheels should you choose to hop into it feet first. As with any good turn-based strategy game with card battles, positioning is crucial as is having the proper cards. Early solo play pits you against each faction and defeating them unlocks them and their cards. This gets you a nice starter deck as well as lets you choose which group to join. That said, the AI is pretty fierce. Expect to have your rear end passed back to you a few times when the AI outplays you or you run out of good cards because you haven’t built up a nicer deck.
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Goliath: Expect Big Things From This Mech-Building ARPG

Posted on April 5, 2016 by geelw

Octopus Tree is a brand new publisher with a couple of really impressive looking upcoming titles. The one that jumped out and bit me the hardest (ouch!) was Whalebox Studio’s Goliath, an action/adventure RPG coming to Steam on May 12 for $19.99 where you build robots and take them out for some quality time in order to meet other like-minded robots and other big beasts with the intention of nicely or not so nicely knocking the stuffing out of them.

But don’t let me let you think I’m pulling your leg here. I don’t know you all THAT well and heck, I’d ASK first before I pulled anything on you even if you wanted me to (but I avoid fingers for obvious reasons). Ahem. Any-way… just watch that trailer above then go click below the jump and peek at part of the press release. Hey, I’m trying to finish up another writing gig here and I’ve a meeting in about ten minutes, so our “me” time today is somewhat limited… Continue reading →

Soda Drinker Pro Burps Onto PC, Xbox One Soon

Posted on April 5, 2016 by geelw

If your day wasn’t or isn’t weird enough…it’s surely about to get its daily dose of the truly bizarre. Note: this video may cause you to want to go have a drink… of SODA!

Admittedly, I initially had no idea what to make of the infamous Soda Drinker Pro other than to say I played it about a year and a half or so ago for about two hours and I had no idea how to write about it. Was it a commentary on the indie game scene and how any idea that could get made got made? Was it a genuine attempt by a novice developer to get his offbeat game some free media coverage in this age of everyone online being some sort of critic just because they have opinions and easy computer access? Was it a bad dream after too much cold pizza and stale coffee?

After playing that two hours, I’ll admit that my brain was out of things to say back then. So nothing was said and the game seemingly vanished for a while. Actually, it didn’t “vanish” at all. It got tweaked with Oculus Rift support(!) and you can buy a DRM-free download code for the PC version for $4.99 from the official site if you’re brave and curious with five bucks in your hand you want to pass through your monitor to developer Will Brierly.

As you’ve more than likely guessed from that title… Soda Drinker Pro is BACK. As in it’s coming to XBox One and PC on April 14th with the rather intriguing and somehow far weirder platform game Vivian Clark as a bonus. As you can see, that game looks as if Salvador Dali moved into Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and had lots of babies with a spaceship full of willing extraterrestrials:

Or in proper English, I think I may need to play this at some point. You may need to as well if your eyes and brain survived up to this point. Just keep an eye peeled wherever games appear in your area in about a week or so.

Gallery: MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies

Posted on April 4, 2016 by geelw

Idea Factory, Compile Heart and seemingly ever busy Onechanbara developer Tamsoft team up once again to bring you what’s looking like another fun chase & chop experience set in the multi-game Hyperdimension Neptunia universe. Now, I missed out on Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed last year thanks to a stupidly busy backlog and me not paying attention to a bunch of games I should have played. But there’s no way I’m going to pass up this *new* guaranteed guilty pleasure called MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies.

Set to hit the Vita April 26 (North America) and April 29 (Europe), the game will feature 1-4 player action, a cast of cute gals versus not so cute undead and plenty of unlockable customization options. Continue reading →

PS Vita Review: Trillion: God of Destruction

Posted on April 4, 2016 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation Vita/PS TV

Developer: Compile Heart

Publisher: Idea Factory

# of Players: 1

MSRP: $39.99 (retail/PSN)

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: B+ (85%)

While it’s not perfect, fans of Compile Heart’s offbeat and often gal-filled JRPGs should find Trillion: God of Destruction right up their respective alleys. Actually, you’ll probably need to travel through at least one of those alleys and hope there’s a game shop located somewhere at the end of that trip so you can pick up a retail copy if digital isn’t your thing. The game feels like a hybrid that mixes Princess Maker-style mini-games, nice art that looks quite like a Disgaea spinoff (former team members from that series worked on the game), and core gameplay that’s akin to a Mystery Dungeon game meets Vandal Hearts 2 but with a more awkward camera that will mildly to moderately mess with your mojo.

After the titular titan Trillion bumps off Zeabolos, the Supreme Overlord of the Underworld, his brother and about a million minions, it’s up to his female Overlords to get revenge on that massive one plus a dozen zeroes HP creeping terror before it lays waste to their home. Poor Zeab is revived and reconstructed to the best of her ability by a lady with an appropriately Faustian name (Faust) who makes him an offer he can’t refuse. She creates a single ring that the Overlords can wear that will boost their powers considerably provided they also train while Trillion sleeps parked near the gates to the Underworld. Of course, Faust’s deal comes at the cost of Zeab’s soul once the big baddie goes beddie-bye for good. But whomever defeats Trillion instantly becomes his successor and new Overlord of the Underworld with all the riches, sweets and other treats that entails. Continue reading →

Jalopy Hands-On: Slow Riding a Lemon Is Actually Fun Times

Posted on April 1, 2016 by geelw

Of all the different games from Excalibur Publishing I’ve sampled over the past two months, Jalopy is out and out the best one to date. Created by Minskworks, which is Greg Pryjmachuk, a former game developer who worked on on the legendary Formula 1 franchise, Jalopy is both a visual throwback to the 1990’s and a solid, challenging car simulation for the modern age that’s more fun to play than certain AAA driving games. Set during the fall of Communism in the Eastern Bloc, players are tasked with owning and maintaining a beat up but lovable Laika 601 as they drive it around the GDR’s highways and countryside. Continue reading →

The Only April Fool’s Day Joke That Made Me Laugh Today

Posted on April 1, 2016 by geelw

Thank you, CD Projekt RED for *magically* getting water to shoot out my nose earlier today. It’s a definite April Fool’s gag, but I’d more than gladly pay that five bucks for talking horse DLC just for the chance to have an option to have Roach talk in a Mr. Ed voice. Okay, back to work here – I’m up to my wet nostril hairs in stuff to do.

RymdResa on Sale: Half-Off (So You Can Go Get Spaced Out Cheaper)

Posted on March 28, 2016 by geelw

Relaxing yet somehow terrifying, Morgondag‘s RymdResa is one of those great game experiences open to all who give it a shot. The atmospheric space exploration game where no combat is s key feature is also one of the more compelling games you’ll ever play and at $5.99 for the next week, an even better bargain. If you stopped reading this here and went to check the game out, my work here is done. Everyone else, keep reading.

Gameplay is both zen-like and creep upon you intense as monitoring dwindling resources and shields while trying to survive everything from asteroid collisions to ominously massive space creatures of assorted origin trying to stop your travels cold makes for a great means of killing a few hours at a time. The game is also great for shorter play sessions as well, given that one can level up relatively quickly (within a few minutes), save, quit and pick up later on with no trouble.

Also, Morgondag is working on a new game called Imprint-X, a cosmic-themes puzzler where players need to solve what’s on screen in as few moves as possible. It looks pretty neat and yes you should go sign up on the game’s page when you can.

ADR1FT Floats Onto Steam – VR, Consoles to Follow

Posted on March 28, 2016 by geelw

“Here am I floating round my tin can. Far above the Moon. Planet Earth is blue. And there’s nothing I can do…”

While PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and VR-enabled PC and PS4 versions of threeonezero’s ADR1FT are still in the works, PC gamers with Steam accounts and rigs with decent specs can now purchase the game for $19.99. Even without the added virtual reality functionality 505 Games has a hit here that should go along way in convincing even the most ardent skeptic about the viability of VR for certain gaming and entertainment purposes.

Of course, getting past the new breed of hard-core internet skeptics who dub these sort of first-person experiences “walking simulators” (Bleh. There’s no “walking” here, as you play an astronaut stranded on a partially destroyed space station who needs to figure out what happened) will be the game’s biggest hurdle with the second issue for some being the estimated 4-6 hours it takes to complete the game. Length really isn’t something to whine about here as the game has enough elements to make it replayable as well as a conversation piece to show off for the outstanding Unreal 4-powered visuals.

And if you really want to show off something even more physical, you can boogie on over to iam8bit.com to check out their cool online shop and snag one of those cool ADR1FT Collector’s Edition boxes for $54.95. That price nets you two digital codes for the game (PC and Oculus Rift VR versions), one of two different 756 piece jigsaw puzzles, a nice embroidered HAN-1V patch and a pack of “tasty” astronaut ice cream, all in a big box for safekeeping (but probably not guaranteed to survive being sent into actual space).