Yeah. You NEED this download NOW. Your gamer side will squeeze you hard and your music side will grin as its head bops up and down to these pleasing bloops and bleeps from the not terrible at all trio of virt (Jake Kaufman), Freaky DNA (Leonard J. Paul) and Norrin Radd (Michael Creamer). 35 tracks, available on Bandcamp as a digital download or CD. That very limited edition 23-track Vinyl LP (Holy K-Tel, Batman!) is all sold out online (booo!). But I’ll bet you a nickel if you poke around your nearest or farthest hipster record shoppe that still does mail order (or is within traveling distance), you MAY be able to score a platter for not a king’s ransom. Unless Prince buys that last copy… then it’s going to cost you more…
OK, where’s my CAKE? You can’t have a par-tay without cake and screw that Portal nonsense about the cake being a lie. I’ve got over 40 birthdays that say otherwise, grrrr! Anyway, yes, Brian Provinciano’s awesome mash-up of pure 2D bliss, Retro City Rampage, is a whole year old today and to celebrate, you get that video above and a BIG sale below. OK, not below… just click HERE, have that wallet (and a smile) ready and you’re all good to go. And if you already own the game, good! Get it for someone else or even yourself if you pre-ordered the PC version and happen to own a PS3 or Vita. Whee! Can you tell I just LOVE sales. And cake. WHERE’S MY CAAAAAAKE! Seriously, I have none here and really want a slice. And some ice cream. And a cuppa coffee. And a pony…
I actually haven’t played Hitbox Team’s Dustforce yet thanks to my Steam Library being already packed with stuff I haven’t gotten to yet and the fact that I simply do not live on Steam like a lot of folks who swear by the service do. I’ve got a good 30 or so other consoles here and believe it or else, I play a few of them every month when I get the time, so digital games are generally low on the totem pole unless they’re highly recommended or I get a review code popping up in my inbox. That said, this looks pretty fun, quite amusing and right up my nostalgic alley on a few fronts. It’s also going to be a game I’ll recommend to cranky adults who say games are DIRECTLY responsible for all sorts of behavior. If that’s true, then I say forcing your kids to play this until they plotz will make them the cleanest kids EVER. You won’t even need to ask them to do the dishes, sweep up or clean that mucky oven out. You’ll open your mouth to speak, but *Poof!*, it’ll get DONE before a letter leaves your lips!
Dustforce arrives on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita this January. Oh yeah – don’t get mad at Capcom that this isn’t on the Wii U, kids. They’re only PUBLISHING the game. If you want to fire off a missive of cranky “importance” go bug the folks at Hitbox Team for not having a Wii U dev kit or whatever.
Capcom and developer Double Helix are counting on a combination of classic old school hard gameplay and a fan base who actually remembers the arcade classic or other versions of Strider to make this reboot a big hit and I think they’re on the right track. So far, the combination of lush 2D and 3D visuals, familiar gameplay with some nice twists and what I’m hearing is a high level of challenge should propel this to some decent scores and sales on anything it’s released on. Sadly, there’s no Wii U version (yet), but hopefully this error will be rectified sooner than later. Those Wii U owners tend to get mighty cranky when they feel they’re being screwed over, that’s for sure…
…with so much fast-paced fighting action, you’ll hope they’ve tied their laces!
OK, that’s enough crappy poetry from me, ladies and gents. Kung Fu Factory’s new Mature-rated females-only fighter looks pretty darn cool, although I will say after too many years of playing video games, some of those character costumes look a wee bit familiar. That said, my interest is piqued and I wish to heck this game was on a darn disc and not just a download game. I have SO many digital games on a few hard drives that it’s a heck of a chore keeping up with what’s on which drive. I was planning to hire a helper monkey to sort through all my accounts and compile a list of stuff I have yet to play (or need to get back to because I started, got halfway or less in and had to move on to something else), but what usually happens in those cases is that monkey ends up playing too many games and not working as expected, grrr. Or worse, they’ll get to Girl Fight, get better than I will ever get and proceed to beat me senseless until they start getting paid. Ouch.
Speaking of “ouch”, the ladies would definitley like it if you looked at them in action above and in the screens below. NO ogling, leering and/or drooling , though… they’ll get pissed and poke you in the eye with a spiked heel (Ouch!)…
OK, I know, I know… “eww!” and TMI, am I right? Anyway, I was supposed to pop in to a big TV/Entertainment conference this morning, but something I ate last night put me out of commission for the better part of today. Lots of water and rest later after Mr. Toad’s Wilder ride (yes, my toilet has a new pet name), I’m up and much better, but as usual, a bit behind in my work. Oh well, but these new Orc Attack: Flatulent Rebellion trailers made my day go, er… smoother by giving me some laugh power (which is ALWAYS great for any sort of pain). So, now you know… and knowing is half the battle! The other half is too yucky to talk about, but use your imagination.
Anyway, now that you’re all turning green, I guess I can inform you that Orc Attack is launching this fall on XBLA, PSN, and PC. More to come on this “hack ‘n gas” game soon…
After a pretty crappy early part of the day… now I actually feel like dancing around the room (but I’m in the library today and that’s not a really good idea). Anyway, WayForward Technologies is indeed working on a new Shantae game for anything that can play it (consoles and PC are the main targets) and YES, you should drop a few bucks to fund it for the stretch goals to make it even better. Here’s a peek at the pitch:
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is the name of the game and it’s already set for a release on a few platforms (it’s already confirmed for Wii U, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Windows PC via Steam), but WayForward wants to make the game even bigger and is offering up some awesome bonuses as well as cool stretch goals if they fly way over their target. You know the drill: You have a month to pledge (well, 29 days and counting down) and this one’s worth your time to check out just because you’re a fan of the company’s work or you’ve never played a cute as hell platformer with a genie (or half-genie) before and Shantae’s shimmy has you intrigued.
I used to work in a game shop years back and I actually passed up the chance to buy a copy of the original Shantae, which was a DUMB move on my part as that old Game Boy Color title fetches a few hundred bucks thanks to a low production run (and the fact that the game is really fantastic). I’ve missed out on the sequels thanks to them being digital only (boo!), but I’m backing this new game because it’s coming out on a few platforms I can actually get it for (I’ll probably get a Wii U version just to use that GamePad more than I currently do). Anyway, I’m off to that screening I noted in the above post – go make WayForward happier and pledge towards this instant classic, I say…
As I noted yesterday, Microsoft also stormed Gamescom with a bunch of new titles, but I can’t even look at anything the company is doing with its Xbox One thanks to the seriously mixed messages they’ve been sending. Sure, that new console looks pretty awesome, but between the enforced evolution thing they wanted to dump onto their user base, then the backtracking and in between, insulting anyone who didn’t have the proper connection to be always online or didn’t want to use that new Kinect or maybe wanted to sell or lend the games they owned to anyone at any time (and so forth and so on), it’s been a nightmare they need to wake up from soon.
Sure, some of you out there have VERY short attention spans and tend to forgive anyone for even the most blankety blanket of minor apologies. But there’s been a nice swell of pissed off gamers kicking Microsoft around who have little interest in the system, which seems to be forcing the company to do some insane stuff like give Europe a free (digital) copy of the FIFA game while stiffing US buyers because we’re dumb enough to pay full price for Madden every year (well, I don’t anymore).
So, the abusive relationship will continue between Microsoft and its die-hard fans with some great games on the new system, less draconian mandates (for now… but they’re coming back bit by bit, mark my words) and All sorts of exclusive content. Hopefully, that new system will be a LOT less prone to dying randomly like the Xbox 360 (I went through FIVE, dammit!) and people aren’t griping about not being able to access some stuff because they don’t want to turn on that new Kinect and it’ll be mandatory for some games or services we’re not yet informed about. I’d have to say this is the FIRST time I’m not excited for a new console cycle since I started gaming back in 1972. I’ll probably pick up an Xbox One eventually… but I certainly won’t miss it this year at all…
OK, it’s finally here and it’s a really rainy day outside (well, at least it is here, bleh!). So… you know what to do, folks. PROTIP: Play on Easy first. This way, you get to learn the levels and be prepared, as the game gets pretty darn old-school tough on the harder difficulties. That’s not my review, though – that will go up around the weekend. Shutting up now, as I have some piles of gold to collect for my bank vault/swimming pool…
As an old fogey, I can’t recall a year not going by since 1980 without playing a Pac-Man game. Granted, I’m sure a lot of other people can say that, but it’s pretty incredible that the dot-munching, ghost avoiding/chasing character has held up for over 30 years. Of course, next to the arcade classic, the best ways to play a good game of Pac-Man these days is by hopping online and getting in some quality time with the excellently addictive Pac-Man Championship Edition on the Xbox 360, which is finally getting a content upgrade soon in the form of Pac-Man Championship Edition DX. The original game was an Xbox 360 exclusive, while DX made its Windows 8 debut earlier this year. Pac-fans old and new will LOVE this one for its spin on the classic game, the funky HD neon visuals and the lighting fast pace of the game that’s bound to keep you playing ’til the wee hours…
Yeah. You NEED this download NOW. Your gamer side will squeeze you hard and your music side will grin as its head bops up and down to these pleasing bloops and bleeps from the not terrible at all trio of virt (Jake Kaufman), Freaky DNA (Leonard J. Paul) and Norrin Radd (Michael Creamer). 35 tracks, available on Bandcamp as a digital download or CD. That very limited edition 23-track Vinyl LP (Holy K-Tel, Batman!) is all sold out online (booo!). But I’ll bet you a nickel if you poke around your nearest or farthest hipster record shoppe that still does mail order (or is within traveling distance), you MAY be able to score a platter for not a king’s ransom. Unless Prince buys that last copy… then it’s going to cost you more…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 