DARK Skills Trailer: Vampires Do Make Some Pretty Good Sneaky Characters…

This newest slice of gameplay from DARK, developed by Realmforge and set to be published by Kalypso Media, is looking like quite a surprise sleeper in my book. Vampire-themed games aren’t exactly a dime a dozen these days, so it’s great to see a dev team tackle one and make it look and based on the trailers I’ve seen, play so well. As I noted previously, I’m REALLY hoping it does well enough on PC and Xbox live that it can also appear on other platforms, as this is just the sort of indie game that deserves a wider and more appreciative audience. As always, we shall see…

Bethesda Reveals The Evil Within (Well, A Live-Action Trailer, At Least)…

In case you were wondering just what Shinji Mikami has been up to… well, here you go. Bethesda Softworks has revealed a live-action trailer to his and Tango Gameworks’ upcoming single player psychological/survival horror game, The Evil Within. Nothing has been revealed yet about the characters, story or gameplay, but IGN (hey, why not me?) has a big first look popping up on Monday that’s sure to get them traffic and attention. The game is set to come out in 2014 for PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and “next generation consoles”. Hmmmm… My take on that last part is I personally think they’re spreading this new SKU a wee bit too thin, as I think it would be best on ONE generation of systems and PC. If this gets over-hyped and expected to meet a certain target, but fails to do do, it will hit Bethsoft a bit hard on a few fronts. Granted, they could have another Dishonored here in the form of a hit that turns a genre on its ear-hole, so I’m at least optimistic on that front. Now, it’s all about some hands-on time to see what’s what… Bethsoft, you know how to reach me…

Star Trek: The Video Game – Making of (3): Voice Acting Is Not About Good Looks…

OK, OK, so Chris Pine isn’t exactly Bummy McBumenstein with that 45 o’clock shadow he’s got stuck to his face, but this video shows that you can completely be in character and NOT need to dress the part nor call in the makeup team. The upcoming game is getting star power with what looking like quality work from some core cast members as well as music from the film. Oddly enough, this wasn’t show at Namco Bandai’s recent press event, but I’m not worried at all, as the bulk of games shown (save for some indie downlables and the fun surprise that was Young Justice Legacy) there were from Japanese developers. In any event, Star Trek hits stores on April 23, 2013 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. I’ll be diving in solo, as I’m a lonely guy with no friends (waah!), but I guess I can take a trip to a friend’s to see how the co-op plays…

GTA V “Cash & Carry” Artwork: More Teasing From Rockstar…

Cash and Carry by Land

Oh, I really have nothing to say here but enjoy the artwork. I love how Rockstar’s artists tell these little stories in every image and while open to interpretation, you KNOW that somewhere in that massive fictional version of California, someone is looking at a recently emptied safe formerly full of ill-gotten games and yelling for the cops or their “boys” to go on the hunt for the thieves. Well, good luck with that. September 17, 2013 is the release date, by the way…

Cash and Carry by Sea

Defiance: Brave New World With Some Familiar Themes (Take Two!)

OOPS. I actually accidentally “wallpapered” this post (as in posted OVER it!) by accident when I got booted offline with a couple of posts in progress open in separate windows, then mixed up when restoring and fixing things. So, here we go again – but completely rewritten, as nothing got saved and I HATE redoing articles because I can’t recapture the same tone – yaaaah!)

SO, Defiance seems to have survived not only its first episode with the biggest audience ever for syfy, it also survived an assault by a rather large enemy force thanks to a bit of Deus ex machina that was for me, a rather humorous homage to the first Star Wars movie. That or it was some fine lazy writing by the team that needed to wrap things up and had to fall back on their big action scene to satisfy the fans who wanted their big battle. Still, it was a fine pilot overall, even with way too many characters to keep track of. This of course, will settle out as more episodes air and we get to know who’s who and where their alliances lie. OK, OK, fo those of you who didn’t get it, I’ll get into the Star Wars moment(s) below the jump… Continue reading

Telltale Game’s Poker Night At The Inventory 2: The Joke(r)’s On Me…

Yeah, yeah – I was SO wrong about this one and yes, I did go break out that last crow pie from the freezer. Eh, no big deal though, as I don’t play poker at all and will probably not buy this one even at the measly five bucks it’s going to cost. Hey, but don’t let me stop you from tossing that digital fin into Telltale’s coffers. It sure looks like fun and yes, those pop cultchah characters from certain games and movies are making the fans drool and moon like teenage boys peeking over the fence at their hot next door neighbor’s sunbathing routine. Ewww… this post went south quicker than usual, huh? OK, but if you’re THAT hardcore a poker player, you’ve probably seen a few boobs from all those years playing. And some of them even had the nerve to try and bluff when you knew they weren’t holding anything close to a good hand. See what I did there? SAVE! OK, I’m outta here… well, for THIS post…

GRID 2 Multiplayer Redefined Trailer: Yes, Indeed It Is…

It was actually really funny to be the first and only person at the early appointment to see the innovative multiplayer mode in GRID 2 and get some great hands-on time, as I could tell the assembled team was itching to let people coming in play the game and see what was what. Still, I had to go through the entire team’s rehearsed presentation before my hands-on time, which was cool to hear, but I’m that sort of guy who “gets” stuff without the boxcar pitch games get. Of course, I’m not complaining one bit, folks – once you play this one, it’s going to keep you busy for some time, especially if you go full-on into the RaceNet functionality. May 28 is rushing up really quickly and for once, I’m not so ticked off at time zipping by…

Microsoft Gets (Yet Another) Lesson In The Reality Of Online Only Hiccups…

RROFI don’t use Xbox Live anymore, but some folks who do had a little issue over the weekend… Hmmm. And according to Microsoft, this was “only” due to “routine maintenance”… Uh Huh. Well, that next console is rumored to require an always online connection even for single player offline games and of course, Microsoft isn’t doing the right nor smart thing by totally or even partially denying this. Despite the fact that squashing the rumblings on the internet EARLY goes a long way in assuring they get more people interested in the new system because it will work when THEY want it to… (the plot thickens)Continue reading

More Defiance Character Profiles? Sure, Why Not?

Meet Kenya, Irisa, Nolan, Datak, Stahma Tarr and a few more guys and gals you’ll want to see more of once this new show gets its hooks into you. I’ll check out the entire first season to see if I like what’s going on, but based on all the pre-production videos, teasers, clips and yes, all those gameplay videos, a play session and a few other things, I’ll say this is one worth checking out.

That and hell, it sure beats the crap out of another Sharktopus movie, that’s for damn sure… Continue reading

Defiance Ark Hunter Chronicles “Director’s Cut”: Turning The Pages Before A New Chapter Begins…

Of course, with two days to go, the Defiance YouTube page is absolutely *exploding!* with all sorts of neat character profiles from the show and more, which I’ll run in a bit. But I wanted to finish up this digital comic mini-series by running the “Director’s Cut” version. I’m usually not much of a fan of this style of animation (hey, I grew up watching those awful Marvel cartoons from the 60’s, so seeing not much has changed other than the talent is a lot better is kind of grimly depressing. Or really funny – I can’t decide). Anyway, Defiance premieres on Monday, April 15 at 9PM EST of syfy.