Alien Isolation: The Creative Assembly Plays The Role Of Redeemer Quite Well Indeed…

Posted on January 7, 2014 by geelw

So, here we go folks – once more into the breach with Sega and the somehow tougher to make it work right as a video game Alien license. Can you name a decent game made this century with the license that’s not only on PC? I thought not.

While its last two attempts were decidedly of the “mixed results” and “missed opportunities” trains, this time out it’s veteran developer The Creative Assembly at the wheel and Alien Isolation is looking pretty darned scary where it counts (as you’ll see in Three… Two.. One.):

Of course, the boo-bird naysayers are out in force on this thanks to the critical mass that was Aliens: Colonial Marines, so Sega has a lot to live up to and live down even if Isolation is indeed the best game using the license to date.

I trust this team quite a lot as in addition to the incredible Total War franchise on PC, they’ve also had fun making more action-heavy game experiences such as the excellent Spartan: Total Warrior (which is being remade as a PlayStation 4 exclusive!) and the solid Viking: Battle For Asgard (which could use a nice remake or sequel one of these days). So an Alien game from these guys and gals should be (wait for it…) a “walk in the park” to some extent.

Of course, we shall see what the future brings and of course, I’m hoping that people aren’t all screaming into space for all the wrong reasons again. But again, I trust The CA to not go where man has gone before and deliver an Alien experience that’s truly memorable and frightening for all the RIGHT reasons. More on this as it develops…

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt VGX Trailer: Oy, Geralt!

Posted on December 9, 2013 by geelw

Wow. Well, you certainly can’t say CD Projekt RED is slacking off one bit, as every little update and scrap of footage that rolls out from the Polish developer is more and more incredible. I’ve only watched this twice and I’m already thinking about selling off unused body parts to afford something to play this on. Unfortunately, I need all of my parts just in case, so I’m accepting volunteers to donate to the cause. Cash or parts, I can find a use for either, a ha ha. (Sings):“Gonna make me a monsterrrrrrr… gotta stitch and sewwww…” Okay, not REALLY, as my sewing skills stink and my freezer is a bit too small to fit in my own head, much less YOURS. Besides, you need that head to read this site and at least ONE hand to click around, correct? You’re safe, dear reader… you’re safe… for now (Dun, dun DUNNNNNNNNN!).

Yeah, it’s been a long day here, kids…

The Lego Movie Videogame Trailer: Meta Enough For You? My Mind Left An Hour Ago…

Posted on December 7, 2013 by geelw

Okay. It’s a video game based on a movie about toys including many that have been the subject of entire video games. Well, at least TT Games (the folks who’ve made all those successful LEGO video games for the last few years) is on the case and what’s here will no doubt LOOK and PLAY fantastically. I’m just still not at all sold on the need for a LEGO movie, period. Yeah, yeah – it’s going to be chock full of in jokes and references up the wazoo and sure, I did chuckle a bit when watching this trailer.

However, given that LEGO fans have made more interesting (and less celebrity-filled) movies for less money (a whole lot less money that what this is costing not counting the marketing), my inner cynic has been activated for close to a year ever since I got wind of the film being made. Oh, I’m SURE this will make its money back quickly worldwide, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be a hollow shell of an experience if it’s missing even what amounts to a plastic heart at the center no matter how many writers try to slap in some sappy moments to make you tear up a wee bit. In any event, the game should either do fine or really confuse the easily confused with too many game systems, as it’s being released on no fewer than EIGHT platforms (what, NO Wii version?!). Seriously. The funniest part of the trailer for me was seeing all those game packages at the end. Collectors alert, indeed!

Eh, we’ll see what happens – maybe I just need a hug or something…

Yes, Virginia, There Will Be A New Deadly Premonition Game. Eventually…

Posted on November 26, 2013 by geelw

Oh, Frabulous Joy Or Whatever, Department: Can I get an “FK in the Coffee!” in the house (to go, light and sweet)?!! According to the fine folks at GamingBolt, Swery 65 says he was working on a sequel to Deadly Premonition during the time he was coming up with what’s turned into the Xbox One exclusive, D4. Granted, this is only noted at the end of a sentence, there’s no HUGE reveal of info about how far along that work went and the interview is 99.9% about D4 (and a good read), so don’t look too much at that 2014 calendar and start rubbing your hands for a release date on that DP follow-up.

The interview also COMFIRMS that D4 is an Xbox One exclusive (argh!), not a DP sequel or related in any way and will contain a load of “Easter Eggs” and other elements to give it more replay value. So now that that’s settled, I guess some Swery fans will be dropping five large to get an Xbox One JUST to play this game. I’m a huge fan of the man’s body of work, but I may be passing this game up entirely unless there’s a price drop on that console and that game comes complete on a disc at some point in the future. To date, it’s the ONLY reason I’m remotely interested in Microsoft’s new ~~service~~ console, as I don’t play online “bro” shooters, have ZERO interest in sports and have plenty of movies that I can watch on cable in a MUCH better quality than any streamed content. Your own mileage may vary, of course…

VGA 101: Fighting Games I’d Rather Be Playing Other Than Killer Instinct…

Posted on November 22, 2013 by geelw

Hmm. So, a friend who snapped up his Xbox One at midnight called me over today to play some games and Killer Instinct was one of them. I was not impressed. Granted, I’ve never liked KI all that much for a few reasons, but I respect anyone who can put up with its quirks on the SNES and even more of its quirks as a launch title for Microsoft’s $500 ego-center deluxe. Paying for characters piecemeal in a fighter may be the hot new thing, but while I was combo-ing away like a chump and winning a few rounds against my pal (he still kicked my butt around the room after about 20 minutes of us both fiddling with those yuck-worthy triggers on that new controller which work BEAUTIFULLY in Forza 5 but not for a fighting game), I kept thinking of the somewhat lousy pay to unlock “deal” going on here.

After about two hours of next-gen thrills, I hoofed it home thinking of something to write about and ended up walking in the door, yanking a few fighting games (or fighting game hybrids) I’d rather have played down from the PlayStation section of the library, snapped a few pictures and here you go. As many characters as you can stand all on discs and not stacked with fees or “coming soon” features. Granted, you cool kids who don’t mind the enforced evolution of mandatory DLC and playing games that aren’t exactly finished because you’ll be buying in for as long as you can stand it (or longer as you get lured into the pay schemes here and on the way) will be all over this one like bees on a bear trying to steal their honey. Me, I’m a plug an play guy for life and it seems some of these new consoles and me won’t get along like best buddies anytime soon. But if this sort of thing floats your particular boat, knock yourself right on out and pay (and then pay again)…

Jimmy Fallon vs. Xbox One: The “Who”, “What” or “Where” Show Returns…

Posted on November 21, 2013 by geelw

Yes, it’s usually pretty crazy on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, but just what the heck was this confusing mess of a live demo? Yeah, the Xbox One has SO many things packed into that black box that it was hard to tell what was going on. I did note that Kinect wasn’t used for the menu navigation (as it seems to have issues with more than a few people in a room according to some early press), Forza 5 got a few seconds of play (not by Jimmy) that showed off some lovely visuals before things switched to the camera scanning Jimmy earlier (and making an awful likeness) and there was some playing of that new Kinect Sports game with Will Forte. Ugh. Meanwhile, that Microsoft rep was no Ron Popeil at all, trying to cram too much talk into a handful of minutes.

Look, if you’re trying to sell an all-in-one living room dominator/media center/juicer to the non gaming public and it indeed does WAY too much for a mere under five minute demo… you need a longer sales pitch. I don’t think that sloppy mess last night was selling any consoles to anyone who wasn’t already buying one because other than Jimmy drooling about the new controller too long, it really didn’t show off much other than pretty visuals and a lot of “wait, what was that?” before it ended. Eh, whatever – we’ll see what happens when the system rolls out later today. Or: yet another midnight launch I won’t be going to cover because it’s all hype and the REAL proof is a few months down the road plus when the post launch titles start dropping into stores…

Need For Speed Rivals Launch Trailer: Fasten Your Seatbelts (And Wear Well-Padded Pants)…

Posted on November 14, 2013 by geelw

If any studio is going to master this new hardware first, my money is on Criterion and Ghost Games and their Need For Speed games. Granted, Need For Speed Rivals is a purely arcade-like game experience and racing fans who want more in the way of total car customization and more racing viewpoints will gripe a bit about the game as they usually do with other racers. Me, I’ll just be jamming on the gas, sliding through turns and causing all sorts of mayhem while enjoying the scenery and trying to wreck as little as possible. This one’s on current and next-gen consoles (not the Wii U, though – sorry!), so pick one and GO, I say. Online or off, it’s bound to be a blast.

Diablo III On PS4: Sizzling Indeed (And Has Some PC Fans Hot Under The Collar)…

Posted on November 8, 2013 by geelw

Hey, as a longtime fan of games and someone who appreciates a job very well done, I’m one of those smart folks who absolutely loves what Blizzard has done with their baby on consoles. As I keep saying, the main purpose of ANY port from PC to console isn’t to piss off those with computers at all, children. It’s to broaden the user base for that formerly “exclusive” game you who buy or build those big beefy gaming rigs thought you’d have all to yourselves. That AND these “ports” are here to make the developers and publishers some additional money when they DO succeed in delivering the goods. I say Blizzard deserves every damn penny because once you try it out with an open mind, you’ll be surprised at… How. Well. It. Works. Me, I’d rather give Blizzard (and any other developers who do it up right for gamers) money and keep them cranking out hits for as many platforms as possible if and when they please… Continue reading →

Need For Speed Rivals Gameplay: PS4 Versus Xbox One, Round 1…

Posted on November 8, 2013 by geelw

SO, it seems that resolution is the BIG thing for many gamers and journalists out there rolling around on the ground fighting with each other and it seems that the PS4 has an advantage on SOME titles over the Xbox One, which is the reverse of how it was on many third party titles throughout this past generation. While those folks fight it out in clouds of dust and misspelled diatribes, I’ll just post these two trailers from Criterion’s upcoming racer and let you decide which looks best. The BEST way to see these videos is at their highest resolution (1080p), so hopefully you know how to do that with YouTube videos.

Anyway, Here’s the PlayStation 4 version below:

Annnnd below, here’s Rivals on the Xbox One. Oh wait, look at your HAIR! Ha! Next time close the window and fasten that seat belt. Sorry, I forgot to warn you we were going to go FAST. Anyway, ready? Good:

Did you notice anything different? Do you even care? Are you wearing socks right nor or are they stuck to the wall on the other side of the room after being blown clean off (and if so, I’m SO sorry if you were wearing expensive panty hose!)? I guess the sales figures will tell at the end of the day, but system bias will rear its head even more as both consoles roll onto shelves and the knives come out once again. Hell, they’re ALREADY out and have been since before each new system was announced. No one wins in that war, by the way… but sitting on the sidelines with a load of popcorn makes for some fine entertainment for me before I get bored and go back to playing some of those games everyone else is nitpicking over because of a few flaws or whatever that some won’t even notice because they only have one console at home and just don’t care what the competition is up to…

Hmm… I’m Seeing Ghosts All of a Sudden Thanks to Activision…

Posted on November 5, 2013 by geelw

I actually wasn’t expecting to get a copy of Call of Duty: Ghosts for a bit after launch for my Wii U, but surprise! Activision shot over a PS3 copy of the game this morning, so into the queue it goes. Actually, progress has been made on more reviews, so I’ll be popping this one into my old system (still going strong after what, almost seven years?) later this evening.

I’m about to run out the door here in about 15 minutes to go to some press events or I’d be playing this now. OK, back in a bit to see what all the fuss is about. I’m a campaign guy first and foremost, so I’m gathering if this one’s like the last couple of installments it will be pretty intense and dramatic (to say the least) with a few unexpected surprises. Alrighty then – off to the races with me. Now, I’ll be thinking of controllable army dogs and some sort of high-speed vehicle chase until I get back home, woof!