Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen Launch Trailer: Oh, I’ll Be Here For A While, Folks…

Posted on April 23, 2013 by geelw

As I predicted, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is so far, all I could have asked for and then some. The bonuses for converting that save file over are awesome, the MASSIVE new island/underground area is capital “D” Deadly (plus tax!) and overall, I’m predicting those who aren’t whining about the budget price point because they wanted this to be CHEAPER as stand-alone DLC (even though it has a tweaked version of the original game for FREE on that disc – or second disc if you own an Xbox 360) will be having a grand old time in Gransys’ new underworld. Hopefully, I can come up for air this weekend with a review. I’ll shoot for that, but don’t hold me to it because as with th original, there are WAY too many diversions in the game world to simply blow through this one in a few days…

GRID 2 Presents: A Few From BMW To Whet Your Appetite…

Posted on April 23, 2013 by geelw

Only about a month plus to go before Codemasters’ superb sequel rolls out, so here are a few BMW’s to “Mmmmmmmmmmm…” over. I do recall the one I drove in the demo a few weeks back handling like a dream, but it was definitely on a tough track to make it around without some deft braking and proper acceleration when required. The game isn’t a sim at all, but you can’t just jam on the gas and expect to make it through a race with a decent position. Then again, you’d probably NOT want to be sitting in a real BMW or any other car with me, as I don’t drive in the real world (but skills picked up from gaming have helped me move a few vehicles over the years)…

Defiance Episode 1 Recap/Episode 3 Preview: Fun With The Past, Bugs In Your Future…

Posted on April 23, 2013 by geelw

I like how syfy is poking a little fun at their big hit show in that recap above while keeping things interesting in the more serious preview below. Of course, titling your third episode after a classic Star Trek episode kind of reeks of unoriginality, but I’m betting if there’s a decent homage paid out during that episode next week, it’ll fly right on over the heads of anyone who’s never seen the old Trek show previously. Thank goodness for the Internet, right? Well, unless you’re a classic Trek fan angrily typing out some threats in Romulan or Klingon to send to the network…

Still, it’ll be nice to see which types of Hellbugs pop up in the show on Monday, as the game has a few nasty varieties that are pretty relentless once they start chewing on you. And, nope… that can of Raid on the shelf in the kitchen is NO help at all…

Star Trek: The Video Game Launch Trailer: Some May Ask “Warp Factor Who?”

Posted on April 23, 2013 by geelw

Namco Bandai Games and developer Digital Extremes “prequel” of sorts to the upcoming Star Trek: Into Darkness has warped into stores today, but I haven’t seen much in the way of fanfare in the form of a decent TV spot. Then again, I’m not a regular TV viewer outside of some cable shows, but even when I do catch something on another channel, I haven’t seen a thing other than an ad or two for the film. Normally, this doesn’t bode well for a game, but I think that there’s the automatic assumption that Trek fans won’t need to be pressured to snap this up with big ads and too many dollars spent on hyping something many will buy without hesitation. Poking around a few message board shows that those who have the game are liking it in varying degrees, so let’s hope this one catches on as does well, as a lot of work went into it…

New Arrival: Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen Pops In To Destroy My Productivity…

Posted on April 22, 2013 by geelw

DD_DA Well, there goes the rest of the week, folks. I walk in from working on a few posts and there’s a copy of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen waiting for me. Nice. Hmmm… I see from the included Fact Sheet that loading up that old save I have will net me a cool 100,000 Rift Points, a nice set of gear and some other fun stuff, so I’m going to have to NOT pass up that chance to score all those goodies and see what this “expansion” packs on that disc. I say “expansion” because it’s a lot more than a simple add-on and nope, you don’t need the first game at all to play this one.

That’s right, folks – for a mere $39.99, you get the FULL version of the original game on the same disc and that new content doesn’t look at all as if it’s going to be a mere ten-hour romp in the caves. Back with an update (in the form of a review) probably on the weekend. I still need to get my daily post count in, so I can’t get TOO sidetracked. On the other hand, I may limit myself to five or so posts per day until I get this game tackled. We shall see…

Gallery: Dark Souls II

Posted on April 22, 2013 by geelw

As noted last week, Dark Souls II is looking quite spectacular for a work in progress. FromSoftware is toiling away like mad to give fans what they want and MORE, with the focus being on getting to the good stuff (combat and survival) faster, eliminating some of the overly tedious backtracking and beefing up the visuals, enemies and overall level of challenge to new extremes. Casual players looking for a simple hack & slash and those not wanting the thrill of barely making it past some brutal death traps, enemies and bosses will want to tread lightly here (or tread not at all), but everyone else looking for the King of Pain and willing to roll the dice here will be in gaming heaven (and more often than not, hell) when this one ships out for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 once it’s all done…

For anyone who plays, however… expect to feel DESPAIR (and frequently, if you rush around like Kratos on a caffeine jag)…

Gallery: Armored Core Verdict Day

Posted on April 22, 2013 by geelw

AC_VERDICT DAY_logo_US (Custom)

12.battle area First things first: Armored Core Verdict Day is NOT an “expansion pack” at all. You don’t NEED a copy of Armored Core V in order to play, there have been a ton of improvements and additions in key areas and in fact, this might be a more enjoyable experience for players diving in for the first time as well as returning veterans. FromSoftware is polishing up this online experience to a beautiful shine and if the recent demo on display at Namco Bandai’s Global Gamers Day was any indication, this should be one of those mech games that keeps players coming back for more once they get to take it for a spin… Continue reading →

Star Trek: The Video Game: Making of (4): That’s A REALLY Big Canon You’ve Got There…

Posted on April 21, 2013 by geelw

Hey, now… by law I’m allowed one absolutely horrific pun on a Sunday… and I don’t think that title counts, either. Anyway, developer Digital Extremes is doing it up right here, as this game actually takes place between the last Star Trek film and the upcoming sequel, Star Trek: Into Darkness. This more than makes perfect sense, as too many licensed games try to expand their stories after a film or worse, try to add elements into a film that don’t quite work out continuity-wise. As for how it all plays, let’s see what happens in a few days when the game hits stores on April 23, 2013. As long as the AI in solo play is solid, this one should be one Trek fans should be snapping up as soon as it teleports into stores.

Ride to Hell: Retribution: “No Rules” Means You’re Always The Man…

Posted on April 21, 2013 by geelw

Deep Silver’s awesome, violent “grindhouse” biker action game looks like one of those interesting Mature-rated sleepers that really doesn’t give a dead rat’s ass about some jerky politicians and parents groups whining about video games being the modern scourge of the earth, but that’s a good thing. Anyone with half a brain and no Sunday soapbox to stand on who’s actually HELD a controller knows that games don’t CAUSE violence at all and hell, if this were some TV movie or rolling up into a theater near you, you wouldn’t hear much about it save for whatever some overpaid film “critic” says. For those concerned adults running around with their hair aflame, I say just keep little Johnny and his soft, easily molded brain away from it and the world is a safer place. Anyway, June 25, 2013 seems to be the day this one hits the road with all engines burning. I’m liking what I see, so yup – I’ll be playing this for sure…

Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon: Michael Biehn Gets Back To Work…

Posted on April 20, 2013 by geelw

It’s actually pretty darn cool that Ubisoft has tapped Michael Biehn to voice lead character Rex “Power” Colt in its intentionally campy send-up of way too many dopey (but awesome in their dopiness) 80’s action flicks, but I’ve had a burning question I’ve wanted to ask the actor ever since I saw The Terminator at the movies back when it was initially released. It’s bugged the HELL out of me that fresh through that time portal, a naked Kyle Reese gets his only pair of pants off a drunken homeless guy in an alley (Yuk!) and wears them throughout the entire film (Blech!), doesn’t go near a shower like he should (Ick!) but STILL gets it on with Sarah Conner (Nooooo!). That’s always made my skin crawl more than Arnold (well, his mechanical dummy head) doing “surgery” on himself by poking his own eyeball out with an X-Acto knife in that hotel scene. I guess Sarah had some pretty low standards and no sense of smell. Then again, SHE got to bathe when they got to the Tiki Motel – all Kyle did was buy stuff to make explosives.

Hey, I’m a continuity junkie, folks… I notice stuff like this in every movie I see. Hmmm… then again, maybe I’ll take this issue up with James Cameron. What’s his number again?