FREE STUFF GET!: Earth Defense Force 2025 DLC Up For Grabs!

Posted on February 11, 2014 by geelw

Well, this is pretty darn cool. If you happen to be a fan of Sandlot’s upcoming Earth Defense Force 2025 and happen to have a facebook account, D3Publisher of America has some awesome free stuff for you. It’s the Special Ops Mission Pack for free on either the Xbox 360 or PS3 is all yours for watching and sharing a “Breaking News” video on that otherwise useless social networking site. It’s all spelled out on the game’s official facebook page, so boogie on over and viddy well, then share what you’ve seen with a like-minded buddy and get your DLC code (which can be redeemed on or after 2/24/2014. EDF 2025 hits retail on February 18, 2014 for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Yes, there are screens to post… but I’m on a sloooooow connection and will add them tomorrow. Back in a bit!

Pac-Man Museum: Namco Bandai’s Fast Moving Fossil Still Rules.

Posted on February 9, 2014 by geelw

I can’t recall a year since 1980 that Pac-Man wasn’t playable on something so it’s good to see Namco Bandai keeping things rolling along with this latest collection that focuses exclusively on everyone’s favorite power pellet chomping, ghost chasing (or avoiding) round yellow hero. PSN, Xbox Live Arcade (February 25) and PC via Steam (February 26). You know you want to play even if you’re not a gamer. Hey, EVERYONE is lousy at Pac-Man until they suddenly get really good at it from playing too much. And if you don’t think that will happen, a ha ha ha… you’ll see. You’ll be dreaming of colorful ghosts and those oddball sound effects soon enough.

Oh, Yeah: The Walking Dead Is Back (In A Few Places)…

Posted on February 8, 2014 by geelw

I still haven’t gotten around to playing Season Two of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, but I’ve been a bit busy/crazy lately. Now I’ll have even LESS time to get to it thanks to the second half of Season Four of the hit show popping up tomorrow. Thankfully, it’s not a long half-season, but on the other hand, I’d love it if shows didn’t split into halves where you wait around staring at a wall for months between episodes. I don’t like binge watching too much at all (I save it for shows that are dead and gone), but I do like regularity. I say feed prunes to the writing staff, cast and directors on all these shows so they can grasp the concept of a season starting up and not being over until we get a week to week set of shows without minding the gap.

Yeah, I’m talking to YOU, Mad Men (already shot and done as a series, but keeping us waiting what, a year more for those final shows? Yeesh. I don’t even think I’ll be interested when it kicks off again)…

Crow Pie Chronicles (Or I’m Glad To Be Wrong About): The Lego Movie

Posted on February 7, 2014 by geelw

YUM! I said I’d eat a crow pie if I was wrong about The Lego Movie not sucking and yep, I’m a man of my word, although I had to substitute some of my not yet world famous chicken for “crow” and a few slices of whole grain bread for “pie”. Anyway, it’s good to see this one netting nice notices so now I need to see it at some point and make sure all those critics weren’t sucking in the happy gas WB pumped into those free screenings I didn’t get an invite to (boo!). Since I’ve been ignoring the film for the most part, I’m going in blind other than what I’ve seen on those TV spots popping up all over the place every few seconds. I still think it’ll be well over the heads of anyone over ten years old who won’t get all the references and in-jokes, but that’s probably me underestimating the kids of the hipsters and boomers taking them to see this.

And wait, wha-whaaaat? There’s a video game based on the film as well? I did predict this last year or earlier, but I’m actually surprised that there was one made because that’s just TOO meta at the end of the day. Anyway, you KNOW a movie is going to be worth seeing when Fox News has a shit fit about it for all the wrong reasons. They seem to believe that a movie made to get people to run out and spend money to see it (and the tie in toys AND the game that’s made for the same purpose) is somehow teaching kids to be “anti-capitalist” (wha-whaaaat?)… despite the OBVIOUS hundreds of millions this will rake in for a few big corporations. As the kids say, DERP.

Yeah, they’re quite stupid over there and I wish they’d stop it. But it’s interesting watching them hang themselves by their own rope every day they keep the blood pressure of their viewership headed through the roof over trifling nonsense. Perhaps they all need to chill for a bit and actually go see some of the stuff they bitch and moan about as bad for Amurrrrica? That would be my prescription…

Ah, The Things You Don’t Notice Unless You’re Paying Attention…

Posted on February 7, 2014 by geelw

So, I was about to recycle the box D3Publisher of America sent me when I got another big laugh. I’d not noticed this yesterday in my giddy state (and it was a bit dark in the room where I opened the box), so imagine my surprise when I went to clean out the box and saw this:

Now, ten or so years back, I’d had to have been peeled from the ceiling with the Jaws of Life, but as I went through some nice bug therapy a while back, I just roared with laughter because I didn’t even think they’d stick fake cockroaches in that box. For one thing, even the developers won’t go that far because they don’t want to freak people out (which makes me think that giant spiders must be seen as really cute in Japan!). Anyway, for some reason, I can’t upload the fuzzy close-up image I shot of me holding one of those rubber roaches, but that’s probably good for you readers who’d also hit the ceiling if you saw one (real or fake). I’ll try again later. You’ve been warned…

EDIT: it’s later! Yay! (You were warned)…

Bugs (And More) In A Box, With Love From D3Publisher of America…

Posted on February 6, 2014 by geelw

So, I got a nice package today from D3Publisher of America that had me laughing for a good half hour or so. For those curious types reading this, it’s a pre-release Valentine’s Day box full of fun Earth Defense Force 2025 goodies: A fake rose (that lights up when you press a button. It’s strobe-y!) Three sets of four Valentine cards (one for each class), Four dog tags (one for each character class), three packs of tasty looking traditional composition hearts and (wait for it…) a plastic heart with what looks to be three actual chocolate covered insects inside (Eeeeek!).

Well, the label inside that heart SAYS “Chocolate Covered Insects”, they sort of LOOK like they are as opposed to chocolate shaped insects from a mold, and I tend to believe everything I read the first time (well, sometimes). These days, small bugs don’t bug me and I DO like chocolate… so I’ll file this under “I’ll try anything once!” Anyway, I stuck the chocolate in the fridge for later, as it’s too hot in the home office. Those will go good with a cup of coffee, I’d imagine. Some of you have fainted dead away I see. Sorry about that! New experiences make me smile, that’s all.

Okay, let me go find some dinner, as I actually went out for a walk after the box arrived. If I have a bug or two for dessert, I’ll let you know. I may hang onto them for a little bit just to keep you in suspense… we’ll see.

Double Dragon Neon Now On Steam: Get Yer 80’s Fix On (With A Bit of A Paradox)

Posted on February 6, 2014 by geelw

Double Dragon Neon is a throwback game for sure. It’s going to appeal to your backwards baseball cap, neon sunglasses wearing faux punk side while sporting nicely updated visuals, an awesome soundtrack and yes, won’t work on any computer rockin’ an OS older than Windows 7 (oops, an opportunity lost there, I say!). WayForward Technologies (again!) did a stellar job on this one on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade, so it’s a total no-brainer that today’s newly released the Steam version is as good or better in a few respects.

In a way, it’s also too bad this never got a retail release in some “retro” packaging from Midnight City (Majesco’s digital indie label), as it’s exactly the sort of game that could benefit from (and sell a few limited edition copies because of) some sort of box with a funky 80’s cover painting. Ah well. Anyway, if your nostalgia meter is tingling away, you know what to do, right? I’ll let you get to it then…

Crimes & Punishments: Sherlock Holmes Trailer: Punch Drugged Love…

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

Once again, developer Frogwares is cooking up an interesting looking multi-case Sherlock Holmes game for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC-owning adventure game fans out there and this time, it seems to be going for a few types of gameplay as well as flashier visuals to lure in gamers from other genres. There’s some nice use of the aging Unreal 3 engine here as well as what looks like some tweaking to the investigation system and even a bit of fisticuffs thrown in for good measure. As long as the game stays away from the dopey camp of the Guy Ritchie version of Holmes and Watson, I think it’ll do well among its target audience. Granted, the fans of that newer BBC Sherlock and other shows that reinvent the character to different extents may or may not come aboard for this more classic-looking (and more traditional) Holmes, but it would be nice to see some of those younger folk realize their favorite flavor was around a LOT longer than they were.

Focus Home Interactive is publishing this one and it’s got a Q2 2014 release set. More on this game (and an actual release date) soon. Here’s a bunch of nice screens below – enjoy!

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Update: A Little Night Music For You…

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make…”

Another game I’m really looking forward to is this final MercurySteam-developed Castlevania game that looks to wrap everything up nice and neat and perhaps raise the bar on a few fronts in terms of how a 3D version of this storied franchise should be done. Whoever is taking the reins from this point on will be under a great deal of pressure to do something just as impressive without falling back on repeating what’s come before. Given the talent pool of developers out there who probably want to be the ones Konami calls in for that next phase of this series’ life, I’m not too worried at all. As long as what’s coming next is playable on more platforms, it’s a good thing to see Dracula and a Belmont somewhere battling it out in that eternal struggle they’ve pretty much committed to ages past…

February’s Game of the Month: Earth Defense Force 2025

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, it’s not even out until the 18th of the month, but I’ve owned the Japanese version of the game since it came out last July and it’s pretty amazing and VERY replayable, a great thing in this age of games you can blow through in less time that it takes to make a crock pot dish. EDF 2025’s four distinct classes, 780 weapons, over 90 levels (with more coming through three DLC expansions) and both couch co-op and online multiplayer modes means this one will be in some play stacks for a good long while. There’s even a versus mode here if you like hunting around for each other in some too huge maps…

Sure, it’s not the “best” looking game you’ll ever see and yes, developer Sandlot isn’t whipping out visuals that are going to compete with the greatest-looking games of last generation. That said, the sheer scale of the maps plus the level of destruction here is remarkable, and combined with the seemingly simple gameplay that grows deeper as the game gets more challenging, makes this one a keeper even after you’ve beaten it. Which, by the way will take weeks or more you’re going for every bit of content and every single Achievement or Trophy.

So yeah, BUY THIS GAME. It’s coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 only (Sandlot doesn’t make PC Games, sorry!).