Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls Makes My Day (Or is it Months?)

Posted on January 7, 2020 by geelw

So, a Steam review code arrived about 20 or so minutes ago and I’m dying to play it, but I need to post a few articles before I get to the game as I won’t get to posting if I start playing first. Yes, even though I went through this one on the PS3, I’m more than happy to fire it up again after a few years away because it’s like the security blanket of games for me and I want to see if I can get through it with no walkthroughs in sight. Granted, the turn-based nature of the game means I don’t need to worry about failing because I’m old and slow these days, and I recall a lot of the floors here by heart.

The traps, however? Hmmm… not so much, although the rather random nature of the encounters will make the game a perfect storm if I get overwhelmed. It feels good to revisit this again, so come back around for impressions at some point.

-GW

Some Trailers, “Hmm…” Version

Posted on January 7, 2020 by geelw

Okay, my “don’t watch any more trailers!” phase lasted about two whole months or so before I started getting bugged by a few folks to, you know, go watch some trailers. I really didn’t want to because in my mind, they make me less likely to want to see a film thanks to too many of them being more or less edited in such a similar fashion that they tend to blend into “CG… or not CG” affairs with performance a secondary consideration. But that’s just my more jaded take. That and hey, I find seeing films totally cold makes them a lot more enjoyable.

In any event, I finally sat down and caught a few trailers for upcoming or already released films and as predicted, liked a few and didn’t like others. Here are a few I liked:

Underwater:

Okay, I’ve liked seeing Kristen Stewart really getting into some roles where you forget she was in all those Twilight films, so this not quite new (it was supposed to be released in 2017) 20th Century Fox release has my interest piqued. There’s an ALIEN vibe here that I like but the film seems to touch a few bases I hope get tackled well. It certainly seems to be more action-oriented than Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, though. But then again, modern trailers tend to make everything in a genre look like it’s going to pack in endless action scenes. I’m hopeful this one explores more than expected and can stand alone without a need for sequels galore. We shall see, of course.

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Terminator: Resistance (Finally) Arrives on PS4 Digitally

Posted on January 7, 2020 by geelw

This is actually pretty funny, as Terminator: Resistance has been out on PC for a few months and on PS4 in other territories as a physical release, so it’s like a time gate effect here in the US to see this trailer. Even funnier, I ended up playing about an hour of the PC version at a friend’s place not too long ago and can safely say publisher Reef Entertainment and veteran developer Teyon have really knocked it out of the park in terms of the overall atmosphere.

Translation, it really feels like it’s set in the Terminator universe ‘Future War’ setting and all, and the music is absolutely brilliant. It’s got a few pesky areas, but from my time spent with the PC version, I really liked what I played. Enough to order the game from a UK retailer where the PS4 physical version was cheaper that the digital one by almost half. Anyway, this will be a fun review when it arrives in a few days, that’s for sure. Before you ask, PS4 games will run in any territory, but I may need to set up a UK account if there’s any downloadable content, but that’s not a big deal to do at all.

Here’s when you say “Ladies first!” when asked to tackle a tough mission. You might get a kick to the head, though…

-GW

Random Film of the Week Quickie: The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)

Posted on January 6, 2020 by geelw

It’s too hot for meatballs, but it’s going to get hotter, Tor.

I first saw this really awful and brilliantly bad sci-fi flick very late at night some years ago and again recently after overhearing someone in a diner hilariously recast the Avengers movies as period pieces set in the early 60’s. Yes, Tor Johnson was The Hulk in that person’s version. While you roll that around in your noggin, be warned that The Beast of Yucca Flats is a pretty horrible movie with only three redeeming factors:

1. It’s only 54 minutes or so long. Okay, it’s a long 54 minutes, so there’s that.

2. If you’re in a foul mood, you very likely won’t be in 54 minutes or so*.

3. It almost makes Plan 9 from Outer Space or Robot Monster look like Star Wars movies (which ones are up to you).

(Thanks, Alistair Knight!)

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Starlink, Here We Go…

Posted on January 4, 2020 by geelw

In 2019, Ubisoft released Starlink: Battle for Atlas (PS4, Xbox One and Switch. with PC coming later), which was designed to bring the “Toys to Life” sub-genre started in games like the old PS1 import ZXE-D: Legend of Plasmatlite (I have a complete box set here with un-assembled robots. I really need to photograph it one day!) and the Skylanders series raring back to life. While it was a really good game, there seemed to be an assumption that players needed to start collecting a bunch of pricey toys in order to play and yep, the game didn’t move units as it should have.

Given that Ubisoft Toronto explicitly made the game to be played as either a physical disc or game card as well as in digital formats, it seems gamers failed to notice this and retailers who thought this would be the next big thing were stuck with who knows how many thousands of copies. You could say it was Disney Infinity all over again, but Ubisoft only released six Starship Packs, four Weapon Packs, and four Pilot Packs outside of the Starter Packs and killed support for the toy line in Spring 2019. Those packs, by the way? They cost more than the game does if you ever need to get them new.

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Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls PC Is Right Around The Corner

Posted on January 3, 2020 by geelw

Yes, I’m thrilled even though I played this on the PS3. Here’s the trailer (and yes. this will be played again on PC):

Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls is coming to Windows PC on January 15, 2020 via Steam and the Humble Store by Humble Bundle for $14.99, €14.99, and £12.99 with a 10% launch week discount! Go get it, I say.

-GW

Preview: The House In The Hollow (PC)

Posted on January 2, 2020 by geelw

Well, this looks innnntersting, department (Volume 1174): While it’s not complete yet, PSINE Studios in progress title The House In The Hollow caught my eye as a game to watch for 2020 or whenever it’s released. Take a gander at the trailer above and below and go wishlist this on Steam if it floats your boat. This looks right up my dark alley, as these days I’m older and slower (creak, groan), but still like adventure games as long as they don’t require lightning fast reflexes. The Unreal 4-powered visuals are the icing on the cake here, so it’s good to-see even with some early alpha testing, it looks really fantastic.

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I’ll flit back in at some point to post a follow up on this. I do like these sort of games, so let’s hope it all comes together and maybe gets some sort of console port in the future.

-GW

Random Film of The Week: Starship Troopers

Posted on January 1, 2020 by geelw

“This soldier threw a knife that from twenty feet away that somehow landed in his own hand. That’s a damn PASSING GRADE for sheer ingenuity!”

Someone call up Guinness, please, because I can very likely tell you of the world’s shortest class trip that doesn’t involve anything dangerous happening. Back in 1997, I went to see Starship Troopers on its release day, opting not to take the subway to what I thought would be a crowded city theater, but supporting a local theater here in the Bronx. I got my ticket early for the first showing at the formerly wonderful Loews American, sadly, now a Marshall’s (Boooo, but at least they kept the beautiful ’40’s era statues on the rear of the theater intact), and waited for the film to begin.

I noticed as the lights dimmed that there were two rows of seats on the right side that were empty, but there was one guy who looked like he was from the theater waiting for someone, as he kept looking back as the exit from a seat behind the empty rows. I recall shrugging, then getting glued to the screen as the film began. The theater wasn’t quite full, but those rows stood out. The movie started and during the boot camp scenes, a group of kids guided by two teachers and and an aide marched into the theater, and took their seats. Those kids were I’m guessing, based on height and dress, were about nine or ten years old.

Some kids are scarred for life and they never even saw a an alien bug rip someone in half.

As soon as the co-ed shower scene kicked in about two minutes later, yep, those kids were rather rapidly lined up and shuffled out so fast that it was like a Benny Hill sketch, Yakety Sax and all. Some in the audience let smattering applause and few quick and mean comments were tossed at the exiting teachers who thought this was a good idea before we all went back to concentrating on the screen. I shook my head because I guessed that somewhere a few weeks or months earlier, some adult in that school likely saw an ad or trailer this was coming out, decided they wanted to take those kids along because “Pew-Pew, it’s gonna be like Star Wars!”, never read any Robert Heinlein, went and got the trip approved, getting clueless parents to sign permission slips that allowed their kids entry to an R-rated film.

This trailer, by the way, is excellent… but misses a few important points (and how!):

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE?

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Bayonetta and Vanquish Come to PS4? Sign Me Up!

Posted on December 31, 2019 by geelw

I did a double take at first because I hadn’t seen the trailer when I found this out and thought for a second this was a new game with both characters in it. Nope, but it’s still thrilling news here for PS4 fans who didn’t pick these games up when they came to PC or when they debuted earlier on certain consoles. To be frank (Hi, frank!), I know I’m going to prefer the new console versions over playing on PC if the frame rate is stable and I don’t need to sit there and tweak settings to get something acceptable. That said, I may need a PS4Pro at this point just for the performance upgrade alone, *sigh*.

Ah well, we’ll see what happens with that particular wallet fight. In the meantime, PlatinumGames, you keep on what you’re doing – I’ll see you in February.

Talk about a certified Platinum hit…

-GW

Review: Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Posted on December 31, 2019 by geelw

One of these folks has not has his coffee yet. One has had too much.

While I’ll confess I’m more of a Monster Rancher person (ah, memories of popping in random or specific CD’s to generate monsters!), I did dabble in a tiny bit of Pokémon starting back in the ’90’s, playing bit of the Red version and a few other titles, eventually tapping out because it wasn’t for me. In he 2000’s. I did eventually play a few of the free games from the franchise though. Both Pokémon Rumble and Pokémon Shuffle were decent, simple time killers on the 3DS for a while. But I wouldn’t say I was devoted to catching them all and nope, I couldn’t tell some evolved types apart even if you handed me a cheat sheet.

That said, I do know Pikachu is a species of Pokémon, so only seeing ONE of them in Pokémon Detective Pikachu was having my well-aged eyebrow creak up a little. Granted, it’s very likely that some younger kids would be a bit confused seeing more than one, so there’s that to consider. That said, I’ve had random conversations with super diehard fans over the years where from kid to adult, they can go on about Pokémon for a while as if they’re real creatures and you can learn everything about them, even if you’re afraid to ask. Try getting stuck in an elevator with a few restless Pokémon fans for about an hour, and someone’s practically guaranteed to whip out their Pokédex notes (NOTE: this has happened three times over a few years, so I must be either lucky… or I need to take the stairs more).

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. Detective Pikachu is quite a decent enough film, hitting all the right technical notes (the assorted Pokémon are all perfectly brought to life courtesy of some spectacular CG) and falling back on the usual formulaic three-act structure you’d expect from a movie like this. It’s also likely the best live action videogame to film translation to date, I’d say, Especially after sitting through a few cash-in films over the years that were lacking in a few areas. For anyone new to this sort of thing, it might be a bit overwhelming what with all the visual information presented onscreen (or: this is one very busy film). But for the most part, director Rob Letterman keeps things interesting and for a film partially based on a game of the same name, it’s pretty solid.

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