Dungeon of the Endless: Deceptive Depth and Plenty of Death Lie in Wait in This Upcoming Hybrid…


 

DotE_BannerCombine the random thrills of a rogue-like RPG experience and a tower defense game and what do you get? Well, a hell of a mess if it’s done wrong, but Amplitude Studios’ Dungeon of the Endless looks to me as if the developer not only nailed this cross-breed about as good as it can get, they’ve pretty much kicked off a new sub-genre for some folks.

Between the beautiful visuals (those sprite graphics with modern lighting look spectacular)and the supremely challenging gameplay in solo or up to four player co-operative modes, this one looks like it’ll be a favorite of those who like thus mega-mix and the very populated little universe Amplitude has created with its other Endless games (Endless Space and Endless Legend). This one’s on PC October 27, but is also Xbox One bound at some point. That short movie-like trailer above should give you a very good idea of what to expect, so keep an eye peeled or just shell out for a pre-order if this one perks you up a bit.

Wait, There’s a Legend of Grimrock II? I Still Haven’t Completed the FIRST One!


 
Gyaaaah. My backlog is a pain in the behind, people. Staring, glaring and leering at me from two hard drives and some USB sticks, knowing full well by the time I finally get to it I’ll be older and grayer and slower and more games will have crept in to fill what little void there is left in that hole they spawn from. Or something like that. Anyway… Hey, Almost Human Games? It’s probably a very good thing whomever is doing your PR hasn’t bugged me about playing this game at all because I’d probably faint dead away knowing there was an amazing looking sequel out NOW and I’m still only about three hours into the first game. Yeah, I suck. Okay, not really – the helper monkey I ordered ran off with a squirrel and I still haven’t recovered all the work it was “organizing” for me, grrrrr!

Actually, I had so many games to play and other things to do that by the time I finally go around to buying and installing the game last year, it didn’t get played as much as I wanted to. Ah, the need for more time to do this is a powerful one. Maybe if I got off the internet and ignored trivial stuff, I’d have more time for these excellent indie dungeon crawlers. Heck, as it is, I’m about a dozen games behind in reviews (which is about to change shortly). Anyway, the game is now live on Steam gog.com and The Humble Store with a limited time 10% discount. Interested? Well, you can check to see if it will run on your own computer using this compatibility test installer and if it does? Well, you probably need a nice adventure/puzzle/dungeon crawler to eat away at your more free time than I have currently. GET IT.

F1 2014 Launch Trailer: A Jump Start to Next Week’s Big Retail Race Day…


 
Next week, Codemasters wants to take over your living vroom (heh) for a bit with F1 2014 and its customizable difficulty that will give novices and core fans of the sport more than enough challenge to get them through the season and more the game offers up. PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 owners will be getting what looks like the best game in the series to date for their respective platforms and Codemasters Racing studio is working on a 2015 game for you F1 fans who’ve upgraded and didn’t hold onto those well-aged systems. Sometimes, it’s good to be a holdout when there are still quality titles coming down the road for those systems that still have massive installed bases. Anyway, F1 2014 rolls out October 21, 2014 in North America for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

How To Survive: Storm Warning Hands-on: Oh, You’ll Die Anyway (And Love Every Minute of It)…


 
Okay, so I’d not played EKO Software’s How to Survive at all on the PS3 because it was a digital-only title, I was fed up with zombie games and figured missing one wouldn’t be a total loss. Boy, was I wrong on that front. When 505 Games invited me to see and play the enhanced PS4 version, How To Survive: Storm Warning Edition (along with some really stupendous mobile titles I’ll need to write about soon), I popped up with no expectations (a good way to approach any new game, folks) but came away very impressed with the brutally challenging game with the most fitting name. If you’ve played this on other platforms and love it, you know the drill and this one’s been keeping you busy for a while. If you’re new to the game and happen to have a PS4, you’ll be pleased to know this version will bring you the original release and DLC in the same download… Continue reading

F1 2014 Hockenheim Trailer: Today’s A Hot Lap For Me As Well…


 
Wow, I’ve been SO busy lately that I’d almost forgotten Codemasters’ gorgeous-looking F1 2014 is coming out next week! As in October 17, 2014 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Codemasters Birmingham is cooking up a spectacular and more user-friendly installment this time out that should please F1 novices and more dedicated fans of this sport that takes real life drivers many years to master. I haven’t seen the Hockenheim track in a F1 racing game in a while, so this brings back memories of Video System’s two F1 World Grand Prix games from back in the day.

Okay, I won’t be zooming around as fast, but I have three press events today (EA, 505 Games and Kabam), maybe an event to hit later in the evening if I feel up to it, some text to check and correct for a few friends and if I can get the time in, perhaps a few posts for the site. I had a very amusing “sleep” that consisted of me popping up every few minutes for a while to close a window here or make sure a door wasn’t blowing shut, as Alien Isolation definitely seeped into my brain and every little noise was making me jumpy! That hasn’t happened in a while, so I’ll have to give The Creative Assembly some props for getting their game to do what it needed to do and all too well.

Okay, let me get set to jet out the door and get to all this stuff that needs getting to – back in a bit…

Monday Means Mo’ Bundles, No Problems!

Well, actually you’ll have SOME problems as far as finding the time to play the games in these bundles, but hey – don’t shoot the messenger, folks. He needs to be alive to play the games in his backlog! Anyway, here’s what’s what from the usual three suspects and more:

Every Monday 1062014
 
IndieGala Every Monday Bundle: Six games, $1.89, 24 hours before the price increases, so get this one FAST. I like Sanctuary in this set of games the best, but your mileage may vary:


 

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TRI Hands-On: Rat King Games Wants You to Go After the Fox…

TRIAllLevels 

Okay, my preview for TRI is a bit late (the game drops onto Steam this Tuesday), but this is one of those wonderful indie gems that NEEDS to be played and enjoyed. Developer Rat King Games has made a fun and very challenging first-person puzzle/platformer that’s got influences from Portal and Okami to even a teeny-tiny bit of Minecraft. The build I spent some time with offered up some fine and challenging large levels that grew progressively trickier and from that simple tutorial, opened up into a game that’s going to surprise fans of quirky visuals and complex gameplay that keeps you hooked in. Come meet the Odd Gods and stay for a while – you’ve got a fox to catch (if you can)…

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D4 Needs Me, But I Don’t Have That Xbox One Yet…


 
Despite some solid reviews from folks that appreciate its weirdness, I’ve heard that the episodic adventure experience known as D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die doesn’t seem to be selling in decent enough numbers… yet. Granted, so far it’s only the first two chapters of what’s going to be a multi-part story and I’m betting that some Xbox One owners are holding out for some sort of complete disc or download version so they can play the entire game from start to finish. On the other hand, I also know that there are a good deal of people who yes, don’t want to play this game on anything but the hardware they own and I can respect that side of the argument to some extent. Between them and the crowd that ignores odd and innovative games like this because they refuse to step outside their comfort zone, that’s probably a lot of gamers missing out on what seems to be quite an interesting adventure… Continue reading

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward Kickstarter: Senscape Making This One for the Love of Craft…


 
Ha and ha-ha. I had to get in ONE cheap pun because H.P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward hasn’t got very much at all in the way of “amusing” content in it. It’s a nice and unsettling short novel and a neat read that sinks into your bones as its mysteries unravel. Anyway, veteran adventure game developer Senscape is making a PC game based on the book and like a lot of cool game ideas in progress, they’re reaching out via crowdfunding and hope people like you and I will kindly spare some coin (or more than a few coins) to get their project on the way to digital and physical life. Senscape has done a few successful PC adventure games in the past (Scratches, Serena, Asylum), so it’s quite clear they know what they’re doing with Lovecraft’s work and are certain to make this one a memorable and unsettling experience.

Charles Dexter Ward Anyway, enough rambling from me. Run, don’t walk like mister Dexter is doing above over to the game’s Kickstarter page, read up and pledge! Be lucky it’s not a Cthulhu game, as I’d imagine cash wouldn’t be accepted at all, but blood and souls and stuff like that? Yeah, they’d come for you even if you clicked on that page and didn’t contribute. ESPECIALLY if you didn’t contribute. *Gulp!*

Hmmm. Now, I won’t sleep at all tonight… Yaaaaah.

Jet Car Stunts Launch Trailer: Get a Grip With This Speedy Arcade Racer Next Tuesday on PS3 & Vita


 
Welly, well-well. I’ve actually never played Grip Games‘ rhater awesome looking Jet Car Stunts, but after seeing this trailer, I really want to see if I can survive some of those treacherous track designs. While this is already out (as of October 1) on mobile and Xbox Live, I rarely play mobile games all of my Xbox 360’s are dead and I want to play this on the Vita and PS3 anyway just because I still use those systems the most and despite what some editor-types are saying, neither one is quite “dead” just yet. Flying cars may not be a reality again for a while, but this could be the next best thing. Well, provided you have no fear of heights, falling, bright cartoon colors and what look like Hot Wheels cars with pop up aerodynamic handling. I’m in on all this, so next week will be a fun one. Hell, I’ll need SOMETHING bright and cheery to take me away from Alien Isolation and its relentless horror, so this may be the game I grab when I need a break.