Let’s Take A Little Stroll In The Woods, Shall We?

Posted on April 9, 2012 by geelw

Nice, quiet and lovely scenery, isn’t it? Nope, that’s not a photograph or some painting by the old masters, folks. That’s a screen shot from The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Enhanced Edition) for the Xbox 360. The folks at CD Projekt RED think it’s one of the best-looking games on the system and I absolutely agree. More on other stuff I agreed with shortly when I file my hands-on preview. April 17 is right around the corner, I know, I know. But the huge boxed 360 version of the Collector’s Edition is already sold out everywhere, so that bodes quite well for the developer, I’d say. As for the rest of you 360 owners looking for the next great epic to play, your only chance to grab this gorgeous, mature RPG with a whopping sixteen endings (!) will be the Standard Edition (also coming to PC on the same day), which for my money, SHOULD have “Best RPG of 2012” stamped on the front, back and sides in big flaming letters.

Back in a bit with more – this one’s going to be spectacular…

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Cover Art (What, No PSP Version?!)

Posted on March 30, 2012 by geelw

And a nice trailer for good measure (in case you haven’t seen it yet). I’m liking this sequel a lot based on the stuff I’ve seen and heard because it has actual voice acting and what’s looking like a pretty cool story. Of course, that it doesn’t look bad at all helps out quite a bit. Traveler’s Tales Is doing what looks to be its most polished work for current gen platforms, but the game is also hitting nearly every other platform (except the PSP). So, if you’ve got something to play games on that’s not a phone or tablet, you’re DEFINITELY covered.

You Won’t Need A Sweet Tooth To Ride The Lollipop Chainsaw Schoolbus…

Posted on March 27, 2012 by geelw

Wait, that sounds kind of perverted in a way, but whatever. I’m just thrilled that I finally get to see and play the game next week, as it’s coming to NYC with a few other WBIE-published titles I’ve been really looking forward to. I’ll post impressions of everything once any embargoes are lifted, so pop back in from time to time (or just watch your email if you’re a subscriber) and see what’s what with Juliet. I don’t think that magic school bus in the video will be along for the tour, but if it is, I’ll snap a few pics and post them here. Maybe I’ll even throw myself under that bus (while it’s not moving, thank you much) for added oomph…

Young Justice: Legacy Announced for PS3/360/Wii/DS in 2013

Posted on February 21, 2012 by geelw

Well, well… someone realizes that a LOT of gamers still play Nintendo DS games (he said, not at all facetiously). Little Orbit is teaming up with WBIE to bring a video game version of the popular cartoon series to current generation consoles in 2013. The game is an action/RPG with an online/offline multiplayer focus (which wisely means a kids in a family can play together on the couch if need be). More details and screens to come as they fly into the inbox here. In the meantime, check out the official site and Facebook page, which are both up and running, although the official site is slim pickings for a good reason – not all those character boxes? Reveals, folks.. reveals. With a dozen playable characters, a ton of guest star cameos and a dozen villains, this is going to be fun in terms of seeing who’s going to be in the game.

Mortal Kombat Vita Bound This Spring

Posted on January 22, 2012 by geelw

“The NetherRealm team is committed to making sure that we follow up the success of 2011’s Mortal Kombat with an equally compelling experience on the PlayStation Vita,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “The original game content and new features we developed for the PlayStation Vita will provide gamers with the best fighting game experience available on the new mobile platform.”

NetherRealm’s brutal battle ballet is back, this time arriving on the Vita sometime this spring. As with the PlayStation 3 version, the game will feature fan favorite Kratos as a playable fighter plus a number of new yet to be announced enhancements and features that should help it rocket to some pretty impressive sales. While I wait for more news and some screenshots from the upcoming game, it looks as if this version will start making appearances at a Vita Hill Social Club event near you at some point in the near future. Stay tuned for updates as we get them

Review: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Posted on November 1, 2011 by geelw

Platform: PS3 (also on Xbox 360, PC)

Developer: Snowblind Studios

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE)

# of Players 1 – 3 (online 1 – 3)

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: A-

Attempting to expand upon a revered and well-established canon such as J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth saga is indeed tricky business, particularly in the case of The Lord of the Rings trology. Get it wrong and it’s a trip into the bowels of Mount Doom as some poor development team and publisher face the wrath and ruin of legions of longtime fans. Fortunately, The Lord of The Rings: War in the North delivers an epic (and Mature-rated) tale that ties in nicely with the trilogy as well as an addictive hack & slash that’s challenging and highly replayable. It also marks Snowblind Studios’ first current generation title (finally!) and yes, they’ve done a very solid job here. The visual presentation is grand and fitting, the music is perfect and the familiar gameplay is brutal, simple and about as fun as can be for a game of this type. The game is not without its flaws, however. Some chinks in the armor show up in the form of a a weird sound bug in one area, occasional AI stumbles plus a wee bit too much repetition of quest-related dialog. Nevertheless, this is one journey well worth taking whether or not you’re a fan of the books and films. Continue reading →

This Time, It’s War (In The North)…

Posted on October 28, 2011 by geelw

Guess what JUST showed up (well, around 12:30 this afternoon)? Looks like my weekend plans are shattered to heck, but in a REALLY good way. Off to get to work on a review, which should hopefully go live on ~~Monday~~, er. Tuedsay*. Now about that Batman: Arkham City I didn’t get, feh… you win some, you lose some, I guess. Anyway, I’m off to kill a bunch of Orcs and try not do die by U’ruk Hai. Back in a bit!

Yeah, yeah, I’d initially written this as MONDAY for the review, til I noticed the embargo. Oops. Tuesday it is.

The Lord of The Rings War in the North Pre-Order Teaser Tempts Away…

Posted on October 24, 2011 by geelw

Too many people online are out of their minds comparing every RPG to Skyrim or whatever other fantasy-themed open world experience on the way when it’s clear that Snowblind Studios is making a different type of adventure entirely. I’m definitely looking forward to this one as I’m a fan of the developer’s work and trust them to make a pretty good action RPG (as it’s something they’ve done a few times previously). We’ll see if the game defies the skeptics and becomes one of those “Hey, this is really good!” word of mouth titles pretty soon, as that November 1 release date is right around the corner. Of course, in this stupid era of games needing to sell a bazillion copies over a weekend to be considered a “success”, I truly hope that this game gets enough time to gain momentum before any judgment is placed on the potential of future installments…

The Lord of The Rings War In The North Boss Battle Vignette

Posted on October 8, 2011 by geelw

I like the quote in the email that prefaces this trailer, so here it is:

“The enemy knows you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone.”
Celeborn, The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings

Snowblind Studios is really going all out with this one and I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s all turned out. I think fans of the books should be pleased as the game doesn’t shy away from the violent elements found in the books and it’s looking as if it will let you venture to a few areas chopped from the movie trilogy. Granted, the M-rating might be a initial turn-off for those expecting one of the simpler hack & slash movie games geared toward the entire family. However, I say let’s see what happens as people play the game and share it with friends in co-op. I’ll bet any hesitance over a purchase based on the amount of blood in the game disappears once folks see how much fun it all is.

Gamescom 2011: Batman: Arkham City Mr. Freeze Trailer

Posted on August 20, 2011 by geelw

Finally, some chilling (ha ha) gameplay footage from the upcoming game that washes the vestiges of that awful Batman & Robin movie from the last century out of my brain for good. Rocksteady is definitely on course to deliver an even better experience than the first game, that’s for sure. I’m glad that there’s a separation between this and Chris Nolan’s films simply because it’s great to see what a developer can do when NOT tied to following or trying to capture a movie experience properly in game form. That’s hit or miss, especially with games based on films based on comic books. Yes, I’ll run the previous gameplay trailers within the next few days (thanks for asking)…