E3 2013: Microsoft Xbox Conference: On the Surface, It’s Got Merit…

Posted on June 12, 2013 by geelw

…But things go very far south very quickly if you’re not who they want to be in on their new console. Check out this pre-order info page and if your eyeballs aren’t rolling on the floor trying to find your jaw, you’re the guy or gal they want. Also note that currently, Japan and wow, every other primarily Asian county isn’t even on the list of supported territories, but given the Xbox and Xbox 360 not doing anywhere as well there as they did elsewhere, it’s going to be extremely interesting to see what exactly does happen if and when the Xbox One rolls out in these areas. Thanks to MXE Videos for this clip, as Microsoft has yet to run the full version of this on their own YouTube channel, instead preferring to chop it into smaller segments to show off the games and their respective reveals. I think it works best as a whole meal myself…

E3 2013 Humor: Meanwhile, Back At Microsoft HQ…

Posted on June 11, 2013 by geelw

Or something like that… Well, I thought it was funny!

Yeah, how about that Xbox One and its assorted restrictions? The console is SOUND and so are some of those games. But, man… the suits failed to see that actual people aren’t all the same when it comes to how they want to play games and what they want to do with those games when they’re done with them or simply want to try something someone is playing or has played without the need to raise their hands and get a damned bathroom pass from that Kinect. Fix that (and the always online disguised as not really always online) and maybe you’ll see more happy consumers…

(thank you TigerStylus101 for the video!)

E3 2013: Earth Defense Force 2025 Air Raider Trailer: Nice, But That EU Release Date Bugs Me A Bit…

Posted on June 11, 2013 by geelw

Hmmm… I was hoping D3Publisher of America wouldn’t disappoint and in respect to getting this Japanese trailer localized and running with the full-on Solid Snake parody thing working – they nailed it. On the other hand, Namco Bandai has announced that the release date for Earth Defense Force 2025 in Europe is (eek!) February 2014 (!), so I need to bug D3Publisher of America to see if the US version of this is arriving sooner as the Japanese import hits on July 4, 2013 and like the old days of 16 and 32-bit games, that’s a long wait for some fans. Well, us crazier EDF fans import anyway AND end up buying the versions in our respective territories (that PS3 being region free is a wonderful thing, kids!), but still… I need to practice up for the impending invasion! I guess another replay of Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable it is, then…

E3 2013: Lego Marvel Super Heroes Trailer: TT Games Makes It Marvelicious!

Posted on June 11, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, it’s on, again. Eternally busy developer TT Games is really knocking it all over and out of the park with their LEGO games, and while LEGO Batman 2 was spectacular, this looks as if it will top it and yes, Marvel Comics fans are hopping up and down about this all over the place. That said, as much pure fun as these games are to play solo or co-op, I keep wondering when we’ll see TT do a SERIOUS super-hero game, as I can only imagine how cool an open world Marvel or DC game would be if it played like this and had the same amount of characters (or more) to choose from. No, some MMO doesn’t hack it for me – I’m an offline guy and an antisocial jerk, at that. Well, most of the time…

E3 2013: Star Wars Battlefront Teaser: EA Rolls the DICE And Comes Up With A Future Winner…

Posted on June 10, 2013 by geelw

This super early teaser means there’s nothing ready to show at all as far as gameplay goes. Still, I totally called this one on a game industry board a few months back to some skeptical replies even though it was SO obvious that the same developer that brings you the Battlefield series would absolutely love it if they were handed this license to work their magic on. Are you kidding me? Frostbite 3 engine, Star Wars license, chance to redeem the license AND bring gamers one really insane FPS action across multiple consoles? Nope, that’s not going to be passed up at all, folks. That said… there had better be a solo play mode like the other Star Wars Battlefront games made for less powerful consoles in the past or to paraphrase Uncle Owen “There’s going to be hell to pay!” Well, not from me, necessarily… I can see plenty of fans of those old games wanting to dive in and play Solo (ha ha)… OK, OK, I’ll quit it with the puns while I’m ahead.

Er… I am ahead, right? No? Rats…

E3 2013: Dragon Age: Inquisition – Open World And A Few Familar Faces…

Posted on June 10, 2013 by geelw

You can’t keep a good (well, so bad she’s good) witch down it seems. If that is indeed, Morrigan we’re looking at, well – the game is sold already to many Dragon Agers out there who love the character and her evil ways… The open world focus HOPEFULLY means no recycled maps (one of Dragon Age 2’s notorious downfalls) and a lot more to see and do than in previous entries and even better, it’s coming to current gen as well as next-gen consoles (but not the Wii U, oops), so it’ll be played by more when it launches next year…

E3 2013: So, There’s a Need For Speed Movie Coming? NFS Rivals Has A Rival!

Posted on June 10, 2013 by geelw

Well, EA’s upcoming racer Need for Speed Rivals (above) looks really great and that live gameplay demo at the press event was really quite cool as it went from single player to multiplayer modes seamlessly. Still, I’m not quite sold on the upcoming movie in production, as I think that money would be better spent on making the game as good as it gets and to other SKUs along with the one coming for Next-Gen consoles. Well, what do I know, right? Eh, we’ll see what’s what – the comment in the behind the scenes vid below about the film being an accurate representation of car culture is a TOTAL hoot, as it comes right before a crazy crash that probably would kill a driver in real life… oops.

Well, this should be interesting, as the game looks like it’ll keep racing fans OUT of theaters, not send them into one to catch this because they’d rather PLAY instead of watch… we shall see…

E3 2013: Ryse: Son of Rome Trailer: Crytek’s Xbox One Action Game Is No Roamin’ Holiday…

Posted on June 10, 2013 by geelw

I’m no history buff, but I figured the chiming in would start as soon as the this gameplay trailer was all done. Crytek is making a stellar-looking exclusive here, the nitpickers have been at it about thee shields not being accurate, the English-accented Roman soldiers (what, you want to read subtitles or get stabbed in the head?) the gameplay having too many QTE’s (quick time events, for the uninitiated), and this sequence basically being paced like the Omaha Beach sequence from the old PS2 game Medal of Honor Frontline (ouch!). Oh well – you’ll never please ’em all, I guess. I think it looks mighty awesome, although thanks to the Xbox One’s rather silly and restrictive always connected/online-only focus on making sure everything’s “connected”, I can’t play this at all (and neither can millions of others who may want to drop five hundred clams on that new console). Ah well… the “future” is here, right? RIGHT? Er, SPQR?

E3 2013: Sunset Overdrive – Insomniac Pokes Sony (And Themselves) In The Eye With This Xbox One Exclusive

Posted on June 10, 2013 by geelw

Ouch and double ouch. Bringing Ted Price on stage to state their new game could ONLY be done on the Xbox One was pretty a nasty shock to some longtime Sony and Insomniac fans who thought the companies were inseparable. The again, as soon as FUSE was announced initially as Overstrike, I figured that the relationship was over as far as a one-console future for the developer. Well, here you go – it looks like this one will do well based on the response, but some hate the visuals for looking “too Xbox 360” or “too cartoony!”… which is hilarious, as that’s what they wanted with FUSE when it was called Overstrike. Ha and ha ha. Well, it’s still early as far as the dev process goes, so stuff may or may not change as development continues…

E3 2013: New Dark Souls II Trailer: “Beyond Death”… You Still Get To Try Again…

Posted on June 10, 2013 by geelw

Lovely. From Software’s upcoming multi-platform game is looking very nice and yes, it’s going to be hard as hell in all the most fun ways. I think PREPARE TO DIE needs to be updated to EXPECT TO DIE, as that’s going to be the vibe hitting new players on the skull again and again until they realize this isn’t an easy hack & slash-fest.