What You Should Be Doing This Week…

Posted on May 21, 2012 by geelw

Playing Dragon’s Dogma, of course. Capcom has cooked up a slow burning yet surprisingly addictive and fun open world dungeon crawler that’s guaranteed to make even the most skeptical “Japanese developers can’t make western games” message board denizen stand up and take notice. Sure, it’s got some flaws here and there, but the mix of open-world exploration (and it’s a HUGE world), tough monsters (if you’re not prepared, you’ll die early and often) and a great Pawn system (something I’ve wanted to see in a RPG for years) makes this a pretty solid RPGs. Granted, it takes a while to get off the ground in terms of story, but I understand there’s a hell of a finale and unlike some sites, I’m not about to post impressions until I get there.

OK, I need to stop typing and play some more. I’m guessing my review will go up by the end of the week, as I’m taking my time and exploring as much as possible. Also, for the record, I haven’t installed the game on my 360 (My HDD is out of room thanks to too may other games I’m playing), but I’m not seeing any major frame rate issues at all. Just some screen tearing and pop-in on stuff, but that’s a common thing that’s not going to affect my scoring…

Back in a bit…

Dragon’s Dogma Arrives To Take Me Away From Hell For A Bit…

Posted on May 18, 2012 by geelw

Nice. I wasn’t expecting this to show up this evening, but well, here you go. First impressions: I can’t say, as the reviews are embargoed until MONDAY, but the title music cracked me up (let the first one play out and wait for the second, nicer theme). I’ve only put less than an hour in and yes, the game is quite a bit of fun and packed with detail and hidden loot. It’s a COMPLETELY different vibe than what some of you are probably thinking, but again – that’s content for the review.

OK, let me shut up and get back to it for a bit. I’ll be writing about something else in the next few posts so I don’t spoil any more…

Dragon’s Dogma “Pawns Unleashed” Trailer: And Hardcore Pawns, At That…

Posted on May 16, 2012 by geelw

A ha ha ha, I’ll be here all week, folks – two dollar cover, two drink minimum…. Anyway, the game ships out soon and it looks as if it’ll be successful despite the crankypants-ing about the paid DLC being on the disc to be unlocked at a later date. Hey, I don’t care as long as the main game is long enough to keep me not griping about having to pay for more. Capcom just needs to say “Hey, it’s basically the way things are done today”, or “we’re not the only ones doing it,” or “it’s an “expansion pack” that’s not on a separate disc”… and so forth and so on. Or maybe it’s time for a shift to more transparency throughout the entire industry, as they’re far from the ONLY publisher doing this. Of course, if the game does well enough, I expect to see a Game of the Year edition with everything unlocked. Right Capcom?

Max Payne 3 Launch Trailer: Watch It Now, As Next Week You’ll Be Too Busy Playing…

Posted on May 11, 2012 by geelw

It’s up and yes, it’s fantastic. Amusingly enough, for a very short period of time, I was worried that Rockstar wasn’t doing enough to get the word out on all the hard work the dev team was doing on this one. Ha! I should have figured the all-out blitz would kick in closer to the release date. I’m looking forward to the story more than the MP modes, but I like how they tie together and would love to see more games tackle this in a similar fashion (without stealing the idea cold, of course)….

Dragon’s Dogma Developer Diary #3: Now, With A Launch Trailer For Dessert!

Posted on May 11, 2012 by geelw

Here’s one more dev diary from Capcom, and with the game’s launch rolling up pretty soon, I may as well post the launch trailer as well:

Now, I’ll need to figure out when I’ll get to actually play this one, as I just started The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition on the 360 yesterday and I definitely don’t want to rush that. Granted, the two games are light years apart in tone and tale, so I’m not even going to compare the two side by side. Or mention Skyrim when talking about DD. For me, every RPG is a different beast and some do things better than others. At the end of the day, if Capcom has created a game I can lose a few too many hours in and NOT find comparisons because what the team has done is so impressive that I’m not counting off influences, then I’m a happier gamer for it. As are you.

Assassin’s Creed III Gameplay Trailer: Er, Its Not Historically Accurate (But You Don’t Care, Right?)

Posted on May 11, 2012 by geelw

Ah ha ha. I made the mistake of reading a few too many message board posts elsewhere about this trailer (well, I got caught up in cracking up at some pretty lousy arguments that make no sense because this IS just a game at the end of the day), but no matter what’s been said about it, one thing is crystal clear: Ubisoft knows what they’re doing. I haven’t enjoyed the series all that much, but I do like the new setting and time period. Still, I can’t help but imagine some school teaching a course in history as seen through video games like this and others that take actual fact and twist them into a rich game world along with a few historical figures along for the ride. Eh, whatever – as long as this one’s better than the last and well-cooked enough to rate a few replays, I’m all aboard for this ride…

Dragon’s Dogma Developer Diary #2: Pawn Stars (Wait, Did I Use That Pun Already?)

Posted on May 9, 2012 by geelw

OK, I’ve been a bit scattered lately, so forgive me if there’s a sense of deja vu going on here. Anyway, here’s the latest DD dev diary, this time tackling the interesting Pawn system and how it works in the game. Capcom is definitely generating a great deal of interest in this game as it heads for gold status and eventually retail release, so pay attention and get your money (and a decent controller) ready, I say.

Sniper Elite V2 Arrives: So Far, It’s Fire and Not Forget…

Posted on May 8, 2012 by geelw

My review copy of Sniper Elite V2 popped up yesterday and I was hooked in from the tutorial, which I set to On even though I’m a huge fan of the first game. I love what Rebellion has done so far and have no major complaints. YES, for veteran players the game does skew a tiny bit too easy, but only if you turn all the aids on and play on the simplest difficulty level. To get rid of that issue, go at it using the Custom Game setting or just choose one of the two higher difficulties (Sniper Elite mode needs to be unlocked) and yup, you’re in for a more hefty challenge. Back later in the week with a full review.

Dragon’s Dogma Story Trailer: Hey (Ouch!), Watch Where You Stick That Thing!

Posted on May 6, 2012 by geelw

Capcom’s not so quiet not so sleeper is almost here and waiting to take over a chunk of your free time. Here’s a look at some fine work in this story trailer that features a poky dragon giving the finger to some poor guy (and how!) and more questions left unanswered that should make this game worth a few playthroughs amongst those it successfully casts its spell on. This one should be tons of fun, i say…

It’s Free Comic Book Day (Part Two). So, Here’s One For You From Rockstar!

Posted on May 5, 2012 by geelw

Hey, it’s still Free Comic Book Day today, which means you can walk into ANY comic shop and walk out with a free comic (or comics, if you’re lucky) and NOT get arrested. That said, Rockstar Games is also getting in on the fun with an assist from Marvel thanks to the first issue of Max Payne 3: After The Fall , which is landing online as a digital read you can check out on your PC, laptop (and probably device if you like squinting at that nicely gritty art) OR PDF download before the game shoots into stores on May 15. Rockstar is also offering a VERY limited edition physical copy of the book to selected Rockstar Games Social Club members, so if you’re not one and want one, sign up at that link above and keep those fingers crossed. That particular offer is ONLY good until June, so get crackin’ if you want to snag a copy!