Making Halo 4: First Look Documentary: 343 Takes It To A New Beginning

Posted on March 6, 2012 by geelw

With the latest entry in Microsoft’s seminal console FPS franchise headed to the Xbox 360 later this year from a “new” dev team, it’s nice NOT to see so much secrecy now that things are well under way. Then again, it’s pretty obvious that 343 has a great deal to live up to and wants to show that they KNOW what they’re doing now that Bungie’s no longer at the helm. From what I can see, I’d say even the most diehard fan has nothing pressing to worry about, but that won’t convince the non-Halo fans or others who should know better. Me, I just want a longer yet supremely written and paced campaign so that running around shooting other live players in the requisite multiplayer modes isn’t the ONLY thing the game gets noticed for (*yawn*). Let’s hope we see MORE of these “making of” videos for the game as Halo 4 gets further along in development…

Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor Gets a Heavy Date (Finally)…

Posted on March 5, 2012 by geelw

That date would be a release date: June 19 in North America and June 22 across European territories. Rats. Now, I’ll just HAVE to buy a Kinect it seems. No more slacking off and hanging out at a friend’s place just because he’s not using his as much as I think he should. Oh well.. but I guess I’ll be a happier camper in the end. Nope, I’m not going near a dancing or exercise game (other than Double Fine Happy Action Theater, as you’ll find yourself dancing, exercising and playing in lava before you know what hit you), nor do I want to get all “pew-pew” with a shooter that works fine with a decent controller. I missed out on the original Steel Battalion thanks to the expense and not enough space here for that ridiculously awesome custom controller setup, but this time, it looks like Capcom will get me. Now, if they’d only sell enough copies of the new game to fund a proper HD remake of the original just so those who’ve missed it can see what was (and still is) a pretty unique game experience. That, folks, would be even more spectacular…

Jet Set Radio Trailer: What’s Old Is New(s) Again…

Posted on March 5, 2012 by geelw

Yeah, I missed running this short trailer update a few days back, but amusingly enough, a few weeks ago, I had the Dreamcast here plugged in and yup, got in some time with the original. Sega’s on the right track here, although in a perfect world, they’d just get a bunch of classic DC games out on a disc format so more people could play them. One game at a time may get the internet cheering (when it’s the RIGHT game), but I think the better thing to do would be to let more people see just what the Dreamcast era was all about with a bit of healthy budget-priced overkill….

Clan of Champions Isn’t What You Think It Is (And That’s Probably A Good Thing)…

Posted on March 5, 2012 by geelw

This spring, NISA will be publishing Acquire’s upcoming downloadable PS3, Xbox 360 and PC fantasy action game (for up to six players), Gladiator VS under a name that makes it sound exactly like either a RPG or a League of Legends pastiche. This of course, could work for or against the game as I can see JRPG fans wanting to snap it up automatically because of the Nippon Ichi connection and overly protective LoL fans thinking it’s a shoddy rip-off of some sort. Yours truly falls under the happy medium label, as I want to see the game succeed on its own merits and not just some accidental honors blessed upon the game by those who automatically support ANYTHING certain companies put out just to add another notch to their gaming belts. Of course, i don’t want it to fail miserably because it gets bad word of mouth from too many people who haven’t a clue (and nope, uninformed opinions based on NOT touching the game don’t count). In English: personally, I like what Acquire has done here (and with previous entries in the series) and want to see how it’s all turned out, no matter who publishes it and under what name.

Granted, if it were titled “Mr. Pablum’s Peanut Butter Palace” or something similarly silly, I’d wonder who the hell was thinking up these game names and how the hell I could get a piece of THAT particular pie. I can think up dopey names all day, so I should at least be able to collect a paycheck for that…

Assassin’s Creed III Cover Makes Some See Red(coats)…

Posted on March 5, 2012 by geelw

As for me, after the last couple of installments doing their best to milk things dry, I like the new location the series is headed to. The choice of a Revolutionary War setting shows that Ubisoft is interested in taking the series in a different direction that just may shake up the gameplay in a few core areas. I always get a chuckle out of poking around message boards and seeing the bile flow from the folks that don’t get the fact that the AC series isn’t “their” game. Like it or not, at the end of the day, Ubisoft dictates what goes on in the series and as long as the games continue to sell, you can expect them to keep being made. As for those who were expecting the series to stay overseas as far as settings go… lighten up, already. Sure, it may seem jarring to have things leap from the vast and lovely architecturally dense cities to pre-1800 America and its fight for independence, but let’s just see where this one goes as more info (and some ACTUAL gameplay) are released, hmmmm?

Hell, I’ll only complain if I see the exact same game mechanics and animations (and maybe some Dodge cars being driven during a big battle sequence like in that stupidly overblown commercial from last year)…

Dragon’s Dogma Class Skills Video Updates: Six More Short Strong Ones…

Posted on March 5, 2012 by geelw

And here you go: six additional super short to short videos of more skill usage from Capcom’s upcoming action/RPG. Just when you think you’ll be sticking with a melee or archer class, along comes some cool mage spells to cast and there goes your game plan straight out the window. As much fun as these are to watch, I’d actually prefer all these DD clips be combined into one longer video or ones longer than a few seconds each, but hey… it’s Capcom’s world and we’re just living in it. Or we all will be when the game hits retail in May…

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The Ghoster, The Immortal & The Road Wolf Star In Ridge Racer Unbounded Update

Posted on March 3, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm. That trio of names above sound like a bunch of Mad Max drivers (they must be personal friends of The Toecutter and Humongous). OK, I’m guilty of missing posting this trailer from about two weeks ago, but that’s because I was buried in Toy Fair stuff, so there (nyah!). Anyway, Bugbear’s hard work is paying off in my book, as the game is looking better each time I see it. Sure, it may not be the most original arcade-style racer out there. But if the parts that work as well as they’re supposed to all click into place, Namco Bandai is going to have quite a sleeper here…

Mass Effect 3 Launch Trailer: Are You Throwing Money At Your Screen Yet?

Posted on March 3, 2012 by geelw

So, it’s come to this has it? Actually, it’s no big deal that we’re seeing launch trailers land online before a game ships, but of course, some out there are over-speculating (as usual) when they should just knock it off and get their grins on that BioWare and EA are getting the final part of Shepard’s story into their hands. Well, issues with DLC aside (for those who can’t access it more than the ones who CAN but still want to complain all day about the cost and availability schedule), I’d say the game is going to be huge (duh) and neither the developer nor publisher should let those pooh-pooh bears rain on their parade.

Dragon’s Dogma Demo Day Definitely Doable, Says Capcom

Posted on March 2, 2012 by geelw

Capcom has revealed that a Dragon’s Dogma demo will indeed be made available over PSN and Xbox Live. Back in January, the company issued a press release stating the upcoming game’s release date (May 22, 2012 for North America) and the awesome news that it will come with a Resident Evil 6 demo. The demo will feature two classes (the melee-based Fighter and bow-wielding Strider) and two different areas, each with a huge boss to defeat. Additionally, players will get to check out the party AI system with three allies (Pawns) fighting alongside them. Based on my experiences with last year’s demo, those Pawns are quite necessary, as the bosses are quite mighty (and mighty cheap).

This updated news about the DD demo should please those who haven’t yet had the chance to try the game out at any of the conventions it’s appeared at. More on the game as soon as new news drops into the inbox here. I see that I have some cool DmC news from Capcom, but I’ll post that later today, as I’m about to head out the door…

Sega’s Hell Yeah!: A Downloadable “What The?!” Curiosity Worth A Shot

Posted on March 1, 2012 by geelw

Well, well, well… new IP is always a good thing in my book (and killer rabbits are hilarious to me for some reason), but I know the hardcore Sega fanatics are all doubled over backwards asking “Where’s Shenmue III?!!!” or whatever. I’m interested in seeing what’s up with this one as it gets further along in development and yup, I want to see some actual gameplay next time, guys. OK, radar activated, eyeball peeled, watch list checked. Thanks, Sega! Next!