Strike Vector EX: When Console Beats PC, Heads Explode

Posted on September 11, 2016 by geelw

RageQuit Corporation blasts out a powerful killer PS4 “port” full of needed enhancements, but will it make enough noise to get the attention it deserves?

Usually (okay, most, if not all of the time), a console port of a PC game will be deemed inferior by those nose in the air die-hard PC-ONLY flag-wavers who deem the very idea of a game console and those who use them as something best swept under a rug. Me, I don’t play that crap. I do however, play what I like on anything I like and as long as it runs fine and I’m happy? Well, that’s fine and yep, I’m happy. It’s recently come to my attention that the newly enhanced PlayStation 4 version of the PC game Strike Vector adds content not found in the original and those additions make for a better game overall game experience.

BOOM.

Yeah, I said it and other than the highly tweakable visuals and adjustable frame rate quality PC gaming offers, it’s actually true here. The PC version was/is an online-only MP focused shooter with transformable and player customized ships zipping around in some VERY solid dogfights spread across some very nicely designed maps. Unfortunately, it’s only been just over 2.5 years since it launched and the player base is very nearly dead. Strike Vector EX on PS4 ($14.99) adds a 15-mission solo campaign, AI bots for those needing to practice on opponents before hopping online, and a few other very welcome changes. Continue reading →

Free Stuff Friday: Assault Suits Leynos on Steam, Anyone?

Posted on September 9, 2016 by geelw

Hokay, Ember still isn’t up and running on Steam yet, so I’m going to plan B, thanks to the fine folks at Rising Star Games! BOOM! ONE lucky person with a Steam account will win ONE absolutely FREE code for the the hard as heck Assault Suits Leynos. Post here and I’ll pick a winner tomorrow at noon!

Rules and such below the jump.

Continue reading →

Review: Worms W.M.D All-Stars

Posted on September 9, 2016 by geelw

Team 17’s very disposable heroes are back in another great game guaranteed to never leave your playlist.

Platform: PC
Developer: Team 17
Publisher: Team 17
Release Date: Aug 23, 2016
# of Players: 1 – 4
MSRP: $29.99
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)
Official Site
Score: B+ (85%)

I never even thought I’d ebe a Worms player until back around 1997 when I got conned into joining a game a few folks were in that needed one more willing victim clueless about was was coming. I was new, but wanting to learn the (ninja) ropes and figured things would go pretty easy for my team. Nope. After some initial wriggling about, the other players proceeded to fry my poor worms up like bacon and I think it took about half a dozen or so more attempts to realize the bums I was playing with were just looking for someone less skilled to gang up on. Feh, but I was now hooked into the game and have continued to enjoy most of them since. Flash forward a bunch of years and with Worms W.M.D on the scene, Team 17 has both gone back to basics on a few fronts while expanding the game into current play trends. That very handy once mastered Ninja Rope is back, but you also get on the fly crafting that allows anyone to tinker with item drops to create game-changing goodies.

Of course, this means the more mean-spirited gamers out there will be ganging up on newbies as well as veterans to deliver some awful beat downs that aren’t exactly “tactical” in nature. However, the game packs in more than enough option tweaking and so much content that you can find a happy medium of polite players who merely want to even more politely destroy your little worm army into polite little pieces. Continue reading →

Review: Monsters & Monocles (PC)

Posted on September 6, 2016 by geelw

A smashing, jolly good time in a cartoon steampunk Victorian run ‘n gun that’s a total blast. Grab your friends or go make a few new online ones!

Platform: PC
Developer: Retro Dreamer
Publisher: Retro Dreamer
Release Date: Aug 16, 2016
# of Players: 1 – 4
MSRP: $14.99
ESRB Rating: NA
Official Site
Score: A (95%)

Yeah, yeah. Run ‘n Gun games are RAMPANT on Steam these days, but exactly how many have you playing as a tea-sipping dog in a smoking jacket named Baron von Dogface? One. SOLD! Well, in Retro Dreamer’s spectacular Monsters & Monocles, you can also play as the sharp-dressed Lady Cannonhail, mustachioed Rupert Killingsworth, or the monocle and top hat-sporting Monobot, all solid cartoony killing machines worth taking through this tough twin-sticker.

Snazzy pixel art, bouncy animation and some great tunes drive the action here, and this isn’t a cakewalk you can one-hand through with a cucumber sandwich with the crust cut off in the other. In fact, the tough difficulty makes this a great game to solo and even better with like-minded friends. Local and online co-op keep thinngs rolling along, so if you’re having trouble with a boss or some of the monster packed rooms here, just recruit a pal (well, after you extol the virtues of this gem and they buy it, of course). Fans of the Alien Shooter games and the oldie but goodie toughie Soldiers of Fortune (or The Chaos Engine, for those of you who prefer the better original name) shoul eat this one up, as it packs in the non-stop action while being quite rewarding like a great arcade run ‘n gun should.

Continue reading →

Review: Overcooked (PC)

Posted on September 5, 2016 by geelw

“There’s gonna be a hot time in the old town tonight…”

Platform: PC
Developer: Ghost Town Games Ltd.
Publisher: Team17 Digital Ltd.
Release Date: Aug 3, 2016
# of Players: 1-4
MSRP: $16.99
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Official Site
Score: A- (90%)
Just what the ~~doctor~~ chef ordered in this era of “social” videogaming being primarily online, Ghost Town Games’ brilliant, peppy Overcooked is also a great family-friendly breath of fresh air as well as a perfect party game for up to four players. The game is a fun hybrid of elements from the classic PS1 import Ore No Ryouri (or it’s Americanized “remake” Cook, Serve, Delicious!), with a dash of Diner Dash for good measure.

Everything clicks right off the bat with that humorous tutorial that teaches you the basics, to the charming, colorful and cute visual style, bouncy tunes and yes, that fast-paced gameplay. There’s a story about feeding an ultimate demon meals that will keep it from chomping the kingdom you’re in, but it’s just gravy on the tasty as heck cake here. The assorted kitchens you cook in under all sorts of hilariously hellish conditions and the rotating cast of chefs you’ll meet make this one a game that will make you laugh a lot even when things are collapsing on the cooking front.

Yep, things get pretty heated pretty quickly in this instant classic, folks…

Continue reading →

Review: REFUNCT

Posted on September 3, 2016 by geelw

Ladies and gentlemen, this is quite possibly the shortest review I’ve written about a game I like a lot, so let’s see if you can all hold a breath in and read this in one shot. Ready? GO!:

I wasn’t expecting much from REFUNCT when a code invite popped into my inbox, but I wisely looked up (and downloaded) the developer’s previous game, REFUNKTION and saw that this simple but gorgeous Unreal 4-powered sequel was a response to some saying that first game was too difficult. REFUNCT didn’t take long to complete and while incredibly easy, manages to be brilliantly conceived and executed.

No instructions needed here, just intuitive controls using k+m or a controller, some surprising jumping (that should be adopted into other first-person games) and a payoff that brought a smile to my face (and a bigger one after that when I was able to get 100% after completing the game when I tried to better the 98% I ended with). Telling more would be spoiling things, but there’s no “story” to speak of and in fact, the whole thing seems more like a lovely test for a far larger project down the road. It took about 45 minutes to complete at a leisurely pace, but I took it slow and even quit out to go have lunch at one point. Some players have made it to the end in half an hour or less, but your mileage may vary, as the saying goes.

If anything, creator Dominique Grieshofer should expand the game into an entire series of puzzles on the same map and keep the same enemy-free, death-less approach. The feeling of finally playing wall-climb sequences in a game that aren’t frustrating series of trial and error runs was exhilarating to say the least. The feeling of finally playing wall-climb sequences in a game that aren’t frustrating series of trial and error runs was exhilarating to say the least. Now, I want more. You will too. Go get this and have a blast.

REFUNCT is a mere $2.99 on Steam. REFUNKTION is free on indieDB, but it’s hard as hell in a great way. You may as well get both.

Score: A- (90%)

-GW

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Review: Laser Disco Defenders (Vita)

Posted on September 2, 2016 by geelw

And I thought Assault Suits Leynos was tough. HA!

LDD art

Platform: PlayStation Vita (PSN)
Developer: Out of Bounds Games
Publisher: Excalibur Games
# of Players: 1
MSRP: $9.99
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)
Official Site
Score: A (90%)

Don’t let the cute art style and funky tunes fool you one bit, folks. Laser Disco Defenders is a tough cookie of a shooter that will test the skills and patience of the most hardcore gamers out there. Ten bucks is a bargain for a game that takes a while to complete and will keep the best coming back for more. That trailer makes it look like a simple “pew-pew-pew!” casual bit of fluff, but make no mistake – the game will eat your lunch before you make it to the first boss and it only gets tougher as you progress. At some point the more impatient out there will possibly want to jump up and down on their poor Vitas simply because stomping on both hands will only result with some nurse feeding them applesauce for a few weeks.

That said, I love this game quite a lot. Continue reading →

Review: Assault Suit Leynos (PS4)

Posted on August 8, 2016 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 4 (via PSN)

Developer: Dracue Software

Publisher: Rising Star Games

# of Players: 1

MSRP: $19.99

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Official Site (JP)

As someone who fondly remembers Target Earth/Assault Suit Leynos on the Sega Genesis and Mega Drive, reading online about two years back that the game was being remade was quite a surprise. Dracue Software (Armored Hunter Gunhound EX) has brought the game back for the PS4 in fine form indeed, although Assault Suit Leynos isn’t without a few flaws. For fans of the classic or those gamers who want a taste of old-school gaming as an education in patience and learning how to play over more guided game experiences, this storied shooter will keep you busy from the beginning and coming back for more.

The game’s Arcade Mode expands the story of the original game, adding subtitled Japanese voice-overs and “cinematic” camera cuts to approaching danger to the mix. Even on the lowest difficulty setting, the game provides a hefty challenge. That Assault Suit is a heavy beast with an increasingly growing arsenal of weapons and while not the most nimble mech out there, it gets the job done. As in the original game, a regenerating life meter is your main buffer from an early demise, but it’s not any sort of invincibility guarantee. Enemies come at you pulling no punches in many forms from armor suited troops to gigantic spacecraft firing death from multiple weapons. The game’s levels vary in scale, but you’ll generally be attempting a few tasks from straight up blasting, escort missions, and yes, big boss battles. While unlimited continues make it possible to complete the game in a relatively short time, the true fans of this one KNOW this isn’t a game to play through ONCE and never touch again.

Continue reading →

Review: ABZÛ

Posted on August 2, 2016 by geelw

Platform: PC (Steam) / Playstation 4 (PSN)

Developer: Giant Squid Studios

Publisher: 505 Games

# of Players: 1

MSRP: $19.99

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Official Site

With so many indie games flooding the market these days worth checking out, a few of them have either dropped off my radar, are already on it but not out yet, or never landed there in the first place because keeping track of them all is a Herculean task with me as Sisyphus filling in for the duration. Giant Squid’s absolutely stunning ABZÛ fell into the first category partially thanks to me seeing who was behind it last year and thinking “Eh, it’s in good hands, so it doesn’t need me pushing it at all.”

Amusingly enough, that intentional ignorance worked out in my favor when I finally got to play the game last week when 505 Games bought it to NYC. I went in with no expectations other than thinking I’d get maybe an hour’s playtime in and enough impressions to write up a dandy hands-on post. A few hours later, I had to *force* myself to stop playing the game and make a graceful exit with my head filled with too many gorgeous images and a desire to see what the final two levels I’d left untouched held in store. Echoes of that Ecco the Dolphin on the Dreamcast and the underappreciated PS1 and PS3 Aquanaut’s Holiday games floated in my brain all the way back home, lasting until I got an email with review codes. Then, it was time to take a trip back under the sea and dream out loud again.

An incredibly beautiful, masterfully crafted and about as great as it gets game experience, ABZÛ soars to some impressive visual and aural heights as it takes you to deep places you’d never thought you’d go outside watching a nature program. You can call it a “spiritual successor” to thatgamecompany’s Journey if you like, but the single player focus and grander sense of scale makes this even more personal. This ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the “See”‘ has to me, a more grounded and pure emotional impact because of its blend of realism and fantastic elements grab you right from the start as the game takes you on a thrilling yet paradoxically mostly relaxing ride that changes in tone a few times before it ends.

As with Journey, it’s also a game that’s just great to watch someone play. Controls are simple, fluid and intuitive enough for anyone that can hold a controller (or use a keyboard and mouse on PC) can hop in and fully enjoy the entire game from start to finish. The replay value is also more than there as this is one of those games where you can hop into a map and actually have your character meditate serenely as assorted sea life does its circle of life thing all around you.

Continue reading →

Portal Knights Goes BIG So You Can Go Home

Posted on August 1, 2016 by geelw

…and stay inside playing a lot longer. 505 Games and developer Keen Games have announced a huge new update to their popular family friendly crafting/action/RPG, Portal Knights that includes many requested features such as voice and text chat for online play, remappable controls, and a ton of tweaks and fixes. The new larger islands make the overall game world even more fun to run around in, and my logging in to check out the changes also revealed the game’s visuals have gotten nicely upgraded as well.

Check out the new trailer and screenshot slideshow below.