GRID 2: LiveRoutes & A Trip to Miami (A Really Fast Trip, At That)…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by geelw

Codemasters is set to shake the racing game scene up with the addition of LiveRoutes in GRID 2, set for a May 28, 2013 US launch on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. LiveRoutes alter selected courses in the game each time you play, offering up six different routes when these tracks are revisited. This should keep some expert as well as novice players from blowing through familiar courses and should make for some interesting live events in online play.

As for Miami… welcome and hey! You just got to see a gameplay video of someone driving faster there than you can do in real life thanks to all the traffic they’ve got down there. Aren’t you the lucky one! Well, unless you get carsick watching all these videos I’ve been posting… oops.

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara: The Elf – In A Class All By Herself…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by geelw

Hey, now… before you get all finger-pointy and mention that elves are a race and not a class, you should probably take note that in Dungeons and Dragons, they were initially seen as a separate class along with halflings and dwarves. Of course, elves don’t exist in real life (despite people spending too much time believing they do), so there’s a moot point here somewhere I keep misplacing. Anyway, whee – I get to try this Iron Galaxy-developed HD reboot/remake out next week when Capcom rolls into NYC with it and a few other awesome upcoming games, so expect a nice hands-on report shortly afterward. Dungeon & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara hits PC, PSN, Xbox Live and Nintendo’s eShop on July 14 – back in a bit with more on this instant classic soon.

Wolfenstein: The New Order – Meet The New Boss (Not The Same As The Old Boss)…

Posted on May 9, 2013 by geelw

WOLF_ID_type_white Well, now… B.J. Blazkowicz is coming back in a new Wolfenstein game from a team made up of some pretty talented industry vets originally from Starbreeze Studios? Count me in, especially if it’s got mechs to stomp around in or get the hell away from as they’re trying to stomp YOU.

Of course, the alternate past 1960 setup where the Germans win WWII and B.J. is back in action after too long made me laugh and think of Captain America frozen in an iceberg until he got accidentally defrosted (ah, comics science!), but I think this game will go for a less crazy plot twist and just make with the satisfying Nazi-blasting in solo and multiplayer modes. Er, well… I hope there’s a decent plot here.

Then again, I’m not too worried, as Bethesda’s had hits with Arkane Studios’ phenomenal Dishonored and it’s own Elder Scrolls games. It certainly looks like “new” developer Machine Games is on the case plus tax, as you can see from these two videos that introduces the team in a pretty funny manner. And hell, when your executive producer is named Jerk, you KNOW you’re going to get a memorable experience…

Anyway, they sure look like a bunch of fun folks, so I’ll do what I do best and leave them along until they have something playable to show off in the near future…

Resident Evil Revelations “Survive” Case File: Well, Duh!

Posted on May 8, 2013 by geelw

Can you imagine a Resident Evil game where you HAD to keep getting killed by all sorts of enemies? Good, neither can I. Of course, if you’re really bad at the game and constantly freaked out by the horrors stumbling and shuffling about on that boat from hell, well… you can always go get someone to play the game for you while you camp out on the couch and jump when something scary pops up and starts chasing your surrogate around. Then again, no one likes a back seat driver when they’re playing a game you’re to scared to play, right?

FUSE “Hired Guns” Trailer: Well, The Demo Is Free, So They’re Really Not Hired (Yet)…

Posted on May 7, 2013 by geelw

Today’s the big day for Insomniac’s FUSE in terms of the gaming public finally getting a great demo to blast through on PSN and Xbox Live. I’ve been a fan of the game since I got some hands-on time late last year, but the project has been a bit of a gripe-fest for some fans of the developer who didn’t like the visual change from its initial reveal as Overstrike and the made-up rumors that EA “made” the team change the game to a modern-looking “gritty” shooter just to sell more copies. Every game goes through a few redesigns before the final product ships, so I give Ted Price and company the first and last word on the game’s visuals and gameplay (which by the way, are both solid). Anyway, if you’ve got a PS3 or 360 humming in your home, drop everything and go give that demo a shot. Insomniac certainly won’t mind the feedback once you’re all done, that’s for sure…

Defiance Recap 103: Oops, I Missed A Spot!

Posted on May 6, 2013 by geelw

I also just realized that after each episode of Defiance, there’s a brief recap deal called “Shooting the Shtako” that goes over a few bits with someone from the cast and one of the producer types. OK, OK, I’m still more used to seeing these sorts of things after the show on the same damn screen I watched it on, not online or via a tablet or Dick Tracy watch or whatever. Hey, I like my old-fashioned ways. The keep me out of trouble and with more cash to blow on food instead of new tech every three months or so. Then again, if I were some big deal celebrity writer type, a snap of the fingers and a quick phone call or email would probably have me drowing in a sea of second, third and fourth screens. But I like my privacy a lot more than I do being chased down the street by rabid fans, sooo…

Eh, whatever – once the show makes it to home video at some point, all these features will be clogging up a few discs, that’s for sure…

If you DON’T Buy Any Games (or Other Content), That Xbox 360 Might Cost You $78…

Posted on May 6, 2013 by geelw

360 inverted I really dislike the bait and switch approach tech companies have been using to lure in the not so bright consumer who loves a bargain, but their plans seem to have worked well enough that they will continue as to grab your money how and when they can because you refuse to bring a calculator (or the part of your brain that works) to the store with you. According to this article on dealnews.com, the company may introduce a lower priced 4GB Xbox 360 this year that may retail for $99 (which ends up less than that on certain sites that run coupons or weekly specials in order to get you clicking and paying away). The catch is, that less than hundred bucks is a bad deal for a few reasons I’ll list below the jump…
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Tomb Raider Top 10 Moments: Oh, Now You’re Just Showing Off, Lara!

Posted on May 5, 2013 by geelw

OK, so I still haven’t gotten around to playing the new Tomb Raider yet other than the demo and showing a friend who bought the game how to get past one part he got stuck on (don’t ask). Anyway, I got a chuckle out of this not exactly spolier-free video from the dev team at Crystal Dynamics because it’s clear that yeah, they want you (and me) to go buy the game they worked so hard on. It did well critically and analysts aside, not too bad commercially (as in, hell, if I had the same number of hits and followers as sales this game has, I’d be quite a bit happier). Anyway, pull up a seat, check the video out and go pick up a copy of the game if yo have something to play it on…

Resident Evil Revelations “Infect” Trailer: You Are What Eats You…

Posted on May 5, 2013 by geelw

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRl5B3p_0Kw]

That hot breath on your neck isn’t that handsome hunk or hot babe who was eyeballing you at the bar the other week, that’s for sure. And hell, even if it is, he or she is all undead and stinky enough that even a box full of clothespins soaked in assorted essential oils would do nothing buy squeeze your poor nose and leave it sore and smelling nicer. Anyway, may I suggest high collars and sleeves made from chain mail and some handy lessons with a machete in case that thing chasing you gets up close and too personal. Better safe than sorry, that’s for sure. Resident Evil Revelations is coming to the PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 on May 21, 2013… prepare for a long trip at sea and plenty of creatures who don’t get seasick hot on your heels…

Review: Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

Posted on May 5, 2013 by geelw

DD_DA_PS3 Platform: PlayStation 3 (also on Xbox 360)

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: A-

My favorite fantasy game (as well as the one that got played the most) of 2012 was Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma thanks to the level of immersion it offered as a single player experience, the massive land of Gransys and its assorted dangers above and below ground, tons of hidden secrets and unique Pawn system. It was impossible for me to not spend at least two to three hours at a minimum exploring outside the main quest, poking about in areas and often running like hell from some high-level monsters just to beef up my character a few more levels and hire some more powerful pawns just to drop back in and kick that big boss and his minions around. Of course, there was that cranky, level-shifting Ur-Dragon to give me fits a few times until it was able to be defeated multiple times, coughing up some cool treasure, but that’s a book I can write some other time.

Anyway, this year, we get a wonderful expansion, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen that packs in the original game with some nice fixes and an all new massive underground dungeon and rewards geared for high-level players only. Make that high-level players with a ton of patience willing to go through hell before they reach high water, as DD:DA is even more brutal than the original, but in a good way…
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