Sniper Elite III 101: “So, What Did YOU Do During The War?” (Part One)

Posted on May 18, 2014 by geelw

With PR folk from 505 Games and a few of the dev team from Rebellion rolling into NYC this week, I’ll finally get some hands-on time with Sniper Elite III on Tuesday morning and report about it here. The team has clearly listened to feedback about Sniper Elite V2 and it looks as if this third chapter addresses all the issues and makes for a more expansive and free form game experience. Sure, the extreme violence isn’t for everyone (and yep, that video is pretty graphic), but I’m not playing this one to see Nazi brains and other bits get shattered and splashed about the large levels. I’m a game design guy first who loves seeing what different developers come up with and Rebellion has been around long enough to keep surprising me. Anyway, expect an update a few days from now on my experience with this one. Sniper Elite III hits retail and download on July 1st in the US on Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360 and of course, the PC version will be a Steam release.

Dark Shadows: Army of Evil Or: With Some Games, Sometimes, You Get What You Pay For (Or Less!)…

Posted on May 13, 2014 by geelw

Note: Some of you MAY need Dramamine or something in order to continue to enjoy reading this post.

Now, I didn’t buy Dark Shadows: Army of Evil on sale at the IndieGala Store… but I almost did until I decided to poke around the game’s website (yikes!) and later, watch this way too awesome and very outstanding, hilarious “review” by Jim Sterling. Oh,before you click away, it’s kind of NSFW because Jim curses up a storm (for very good reason, as you’ll see) AND the game may make you a bit motion sick if you’re easily affected by that sort of thing. Anyway, I like some awful games, but this is one that I’d probably have regretted (even at $2.39). Now, if YOU want to buy this, I certainly won’t stop you at all. Hey, I’ll even lend you my bucket so you can toss your cookies into it if that field of view starts making you queasy. Uncle Jim gets it right in his long take on this one, is all I’ll say. Wow.

Happy Mother’s Day (Or Else)…

Posted on May 11, 2014 by geelw

Some get along with Moms they love
and gift them with that velvet glove
The other group, they’re not above
the want to find a cliff, then shove.

But whether you choose love or hate
You must admit there’s no debate
You’re here because yes, it’s your fate
(Now quiet down and clean your plate!)

Some moms are fit to raise their broods
and never seem to reach bad moods
But others haven’t got the goods
(Their kids get left out in the woods)

But even if Mom’s good or bad,
know she’s the only one you’ve had
And whether you’re now glad or sad
In most respects, you can’t be mad!

So, raise a glass, drink of your choice
and let your Mom know with your voice
just what you’re feeling, gals and boys
(But not too loud, now – noise annoys!)

(I’ll add video credits later tonight, as I had to write this in a hurry!)

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Trailer #2: Looks Can Be Deceiving…

Posted on April 24, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, to the untrained eyeball, this LOOKS like Trailer #1, but it’s not. Anyway, I liked the first film a lot, so I’ll most likely see this one as well, although I really prefer the graphic novels over any of the movies. They’re worth a read even if you don’t like comics just for Frank Miller’s dark, dark take on the crime genre and how some of these anti-heroes and heroines make themselves likable and unlikable as you get to meet and know them (for however briefly some are around). Any-way, yet another movie added to my potential hit list (“hit” being a good thing this time)…

The Raid 2: Before The Brutal Ballet Begins, A Brief Peek…

Posted on March 26, 2014 by geelw

With The Raid 2 finally hitting theaters this Friday, here’s a peek at some stills you can see without wincing or ducking down behind the back of the seat in front of you as well as a few GIFs to make your eyeballs bounce around in their sockets if you happen to like that sort of thing. I still catch the first film on cable when I have time to spare or need the sounds of bones cracking as background noise when I write. It’s actually very relaxing under the proper circumstances.

Um… well… I guess you need to be here when I’m in a good mood and can work to anything playing in the room. Here’s the film’s trailer in case you need to know what I’m babbling about:

More pictures (moving and not) below the jump…

Continue reading →

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Trailer: Miller & Rodriguez, Partners In Crime…

Posted on March 6, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, JoBlo Movie Trailers)

Oh, yeah. I loved Sin City, so this trailer for the follow up made me grin a wee bit too much. This is good even though it took so long for this to get made that some of the principals who were in the previous film look a little long in the tooth even with a bunch of prosthetic makeup and fine fancy lighting doing their thing so well. Still, it’s all good because Miller and Rodriguez are doing it up as it should be done and all is right in the world (well, in that weird way things roll in Sin City). Anyway, August 22 is when this one’s let loose like a pack of starving dogs, so make sure you’re in its path and welcoming that first bite…

The Expendabelles? Yikes. Shoot Me Now (Or At Least Hope Some Major Changes Are Made)…

Posted on February 6, 2014 by geelw

According to some sources I refuse to acknowledge because it just might happen, it looks as if there’s a female version of The Expendables in the works. Ugh, for a few reasons you’ll see if you read those links. Sure, it’s a fun idea and SURE, it’ll get ladies working in an action flick as something other than screaming eye candy or victims, but that current synopsis is awful, that fake poster tagline is WORSE and I can’t see this being anything that’s going anywhere but straight to Blu-Ray/DVD unless some of these potential cast members have a hand and foot in the rewrite room.

On the other hand, this IS a Hollywood project, so I can expect the casting to be a nightmare if this goes through, the shooting to be pure hell and the final product to be on par with the rest of this series, which is awful but campy fun as long as it’s not taken seriously. I guess the ONLY great thing here is no one is talking weekly TV series yet on either Expendables project. I’d have to head to California with a folding baseball bat in my suitcase if that ever happened…

Random Film of the Week(end): Repo Man

Posted on January 26, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, spamanator666!)

“Never broke into a car, never hot-wired a car. Never broke into a truck. ‘I shall not cause harm to any vehicle nor the personal contents thereof, nor through inaction let the personal contents thereof come to harm’ It’s what I call the Repo Code, kid!”

Even when I saw it back in 1984, I never considered Alex Cox’ outstanding first film Repo Man a purely “punk” movie. Sure, it’s got one of the best (if not the best) soundtracks of any film of that year (some say “ever”, but they’d be dead wrong) and yes, it’s got characters who play “punks” as well as enough of a vibe that makes you think it’s a dopier film than it actually is.

Then, as you’re being entertained by what’s onscreen, one of a few unexpected things happen as the film pops into different genres. As Emilio Estevez’ bored punk Otto Maddox goes from getting fired from his crappy minimum wage job stocking supermarket shelves with generic food to making bigger bucks as a repo man and characters toss out priceless lines like “The more you drive, the less intelligent you are…” or “I don’t want no commies in my car. No Christians either.”, the next thing you know you’re hooked in for the duration… Continue reading →

RAMBO: The Videogame Update: Prepare To Fly Out Of Your Seat On A Friday…

Posted on January 24, 2014 by geelw

BOOM. Reef Entertainment and developer Teyron have been quite busy it seems. This understatement of the week has been brought to you by no fewer that four videos they’ve just posted of their upcoming multiplatform RAMBO game in action that show off lots of stuff blowing up, a fairly high digital body count and overall, a game that isn’t screaming anything but pure guilty pleasure out of the gate for folks who like this sort of thing.

Continue reading →

The Raid 2 Trailer: Well, Ain’t That A Kick In The Head (And A Few Other Places)?

Posted on January 21, 2014 by geelw

Oh, the pain, the paaaain. The Raid: Redemption was one of the wilder action movies of the past decade thanks to some well shot brutal, lightning paced edge of the seat action and a twisty plot that kept audiences guessing. I won’t go over the story here at all as this is one of those movies that needs to be seen with a few friends just so you can all pick up each others’ jaws when they keep popping off and falling on the floor. The upcoming sequel (written and directed by Gareth Evans) looks to up the ante with even more creative uses of violence and wait, is that the crazy fighter MAD DOG making a return? WHAAAAAT? Hey, he was dead in the first film! Hmmmm. Unless it’s his twin ass-kicking brother or he somehow survived that fluorescent tube to the neck (OUCH!) and some other grievous injuries, there’s gonna be some ‘splanin’ to do. Oh, I think it won’t make mucg sense in the grand scheme of things, but now I have to find out what the heck he’s doing here other than making people flip out because he’s still alive…

This should be innnnnnnteresting, people, stay tuned.

EDIT: a bunch of you kind folks have chimed in to let me know that that guy who LOOKS just like Mad Dog is not Mad Dog at all, but an entirely different character named Prakoso… who just so happens to be played by the same actor. Well, that changes things up quite a lot. Let’s hope it’s not revealed that it’s really Mad Dog’s evil clone, second of a set of sextuplets or anything else too goofy that sucks the fun out of all that carnage.