Steel Battalion Captivate 2012 Footage: Time To Get Kinected, I Suppose.

Posted on April 16, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm. Not only does it look as if I’ll be hopping on the Kinect bandwagon for this game (OK, and the new Fable and maybe some other stuff that doesn’t involve dancing around in front of the TV), I’ll also have to do a Game Appreciation 101 class on artistic stylization choices made by game developers, as way too many people don’t “get” that the game is SUPPOSED to look a bit rustic and aged and not all Unreal-y and shiny up the wazoo. It’s amazing to me that those who don’t get this, but hey… I guess here to educate and it’s a long, hard process for sure. Don’t worry, Capcom and From – I got your back.

Hitman Absolution Pre-Order Bonuses: Agent 47 Hides Guns Everywhere, It Seems…

Posted on April 15, 2012 by geelw

I’m not a huge fan of the way game bonus content gets diced up into selected bits and turned into multiple retailer exclusives (and I just KNOW a lot of fellow gamers as well as more than a few developers hate this as well), but this is something you just can’t get away from these days with many AAA releases.

Still, IO Interactive and Square Enix made me laugh with these pre-order weapons from the upcoming Hitman: Absolution. That thick Professional Edition in the top photo is tempting enough, but Amazon (well, one of their many crate-filled warehouses), Best Buy, GameStop and Walmart are all looking like places Agent 47 can pop into when he needs a new gun. Which means that clerks and shelf-stockers at these places had better watch their backs, as they might get KO’d and dragged into a closet when a certain bald guy in a black suit steps into their workplace…

Prototype 2 “The Power of Revenge” TV Ad: If The Game Is This Memorable…

Posted on April 14, 2012 by geelw

…then it indeed more than justifies the cost of making this excellent short film. Like a few other big 2011 and 2012 titles, publishers are going all out with the CG and live-action advertising and not simply showing off actual gameplay, which sometimes backfires when the ad is better than the actual game. Fortunately, Prototype 2 is managing to be even better than the original, based what I got to see and play last year (at NY Comic-Con), so fans of the first game needn’t be concerned at all about this sequel. Activision and Radical Entertainment are on the right track for the most part, so prepare to strap yourself in for a wild ride. Say, that April 24 release date is coming up fast, isn’t it?

Lollipop Chainsaw: The Happiest Zombie Killing Game You’ll Ever Play

Posted on April 13, 2012 by geelw

Over the past few years, Grasshopper Manufacture’s creative genius Goichi Suda (or Suda 51) and some of his games have been called “insane”, “crazy” and “weird” (among other things) by journalists who cover his work (and who very much need new thesauruses). But to me, they’ve all been wildly incorrect in their assessments. In fact (and from first impression), Suda is one of the nicest game creators you’ll ever meet as well as a really fun guy to chat with. But don’t let him know I said that – he’s got a reputation to uphold amongst some fans out there who still consider him an unpredictably mad genius flying around Japan in a wrestling mask or something.

That said, Lollipop Chainsaw, a collaborative effort between Suda, James Gunn (Super, one of the best indie films of 2010) and the team at Grasshopper (working the Unreal engine again to excellent effect) is a game that’s going to be called insane, crazy, weird and more by gamers and critics alike. And they’d be absolutely right – particularly those who quickly clue in on how great the game is by accepting all the offbeat content it doles out at a nonstop pace…

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Lost Planet 3 Trailer: Good Things Seem To Come In Threes…

Posted on April 13, 2012 by geelw

I love how Capcom isn’t relying on simply whipping up an exact template of the last game and shoving it out the door to guaranteed sales (but boring replay value). The new stuff shakes things up nicely while making me want to go back and replay the two previous installments to poke at the things I didn’t like so much. I still think that the game should have the flying rig from Dark Void added in as an Easter Egg of some sort, as well as a Dino Crisis 3 reference just for old times sake. Hey, making fun of misfires always works for my own life, so I say go for it, guys!

Dragon Ball Z On The Kinect: “Kamehameha” Means “Heart Attack” In What Language Again?

Posted on April 12, 2012 by geelw

Well, “Holy Hmm…,” Batman, the rumors are true. There’s actually a Dragon Ball Z game hitting the Kinect in October, so make some room in the living room and pad the walls for those screaming sessions you’ll be having in front of your TV. All I’ll say is this had better be fun as hell or else Namco Bandai’s formerly impenetrable HQ will be stormed by angry DBZ fans wearing bright gold wigs and costumes they made in their basements (some with the assistance of a parent or very understanding significant other!). This could get ugly and fast. I can see the newsflash now: Angry Dragon Ballers Raging At Game Publisher’s Offices! Details at 11…

What? Don’t get offended, now. They’re NOT going to show up in person or post those angry rants on the internet while sipping a snifter of brandy and thoughtfully stroking their beards, if that’s the other direction you want me to go here. Eh, whatever. With a franchise like this, there’s sort of no middle ground unless you don’t take the series seriously enough to be upset about the Kinect getting a DBZ game. For me, there are more urgent things to be pissed off about (like the fact that I need to get a Kinect at some point, but I’ll probably need to punch a hole in a wall so I have enough space to use the damn thing)…

Sniper Elite V2 Demo Goes Live. Give It A Shot.

Posted on April 10, 2012 by geelw

Even if you’re still somehow on the fence about this one (why? It’s NO CoD clone or anything even close to what you’re probably thinking if you ONLY play FPS after FPS), you can now PLAY the PSN or Xbox Live demo and see for yourself what I’m psyched for. Rebellion’s done its best work to date with this one, so take it for a spin and then go pre-order the game, already. As for you PC owners and your tricked out rigs… well, you have to sit it out for a bit longer until that demo is ready, so keep your shirts on, OK? Maybe you can go hang out at a friend’s place even though playing games on a console is “beneath” your graphical and keyboard-mouse control expectations (*yawn*… whatever!), you’ll see what you’re in for shortly.

Hell, All those German V2 scientists aren’t going to shoot themselves, you know…

Nine More Gameplay Videos? Capcom REALLY Wants You To Buy Dragon’s Dogma…

Posted on April 9, 2012 by geelw

Capcom is absolutely going all out with all these too short clips featuring the game’s assorted classes, aren’t they? Don’t get me wrong, folks – I’m definitely excited about the game and can’t wait to see how it’s all turned out. I’d just prefer ONE longer video to post instead of so many smaller ones, but hey – the more, the merrier, right? Still, all of these these too-brief blasts are getting many fans even happier about the upcoming action/RPG (and that included Resident Evil 6 demo is also getting fans of that particular franchise bouncing up and down in their chairs). OK, Capcom – all I need it the actual game to prance around and knock off a few beasties in for a huge chunk of time and I’m all good…

More Dragon’s Dogma clips after the jump…

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There Are More Fighters In The New Naruto Game Than Letters In This Title.

Posted on April 6, 2012 by geelw

Between the massive roster, the all-new Studio Pierrot animation created for the game and the endless hours of fun that will have you and your Naruto-loving friends up (for endless hours, I say!) I think it’s about time to stock up on a few extra controllers. Just in case stuff happens. “WHAT stuff?” you ask? Well, you know… stuff. Now, you don’t HAVE to buy those extra gamepads because I said so, but don’t cell me up at 2AM when you bust your stick and want to borrow one of mine. Go poke around on Newegg.com or something, snap up a few inexpensive Nyko wired controllers and leave me alone, I’m trying to sleep. Good Night!

Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor Tutorial: From Software Shows How To Make The Kinect WORK

Posted on April 4, 2012 by geelw

One of the near-constant gripes I hear about Kinect from some “core” gamers who hate it is that they feel it’s not for the games THEY want or like (or want TO like, for that matter). Well, thanks to From Software and Capcom, a few of those already made up minds may change a bit. The upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor will be on display at PAX 2012 this weekend and will be playable, so I’m expecting a few folks to be hopping on board for this one once they get their hands on it. No, it doesn’t use the Kinect as the sole means of control – From has integrated both a stock 360 controller and Kinect controls together to make one of the most immersive game experiences using the peripheral to date. Hell, I’d MUCH rather be buying a Steel Battalion Kinect Bundle than that Star Wars deal that’s just a cash cow for Microsoft with a not so hot game strapped into the cockpit. Ah well, in a perfect world, this one would get more hype… Go From! Go Capcom!