Big Eyes: Tim Burton Gets Back To The Really Scary Stuff – Reality!

Posted on September 20, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, Retina Br & Yahoo Movies!)

Okay, clowns of the circus and makeup-wearing movie serial killer variety don’t scare me at all. Those stupid Troll dolls with their wild hair sticking up? Nah, I just laugh at their hideous mugs when I see them. But those Keane paintings? Yeesh. They were SO popular and ubiquitous that as a kid it seemed to me someone was going around and hanging them in every other home or shop window to keep people OUT. Anyway, Tim Burton’s new project takes a look at the rather wild court battle between Walter and Margaret Keane after the mister claimed he did all those famous paintings when in fact, his shy missus did all the brushwork.

While this doesn’t sound like Burton material, the man is actually a keen collector of Keanes, so it’s clear that this one’s a labor of love made for about $10 million (a bargain by Hollywood standards). Still, for some of us, this will be a horror movie. It’s those damn haunting gigantic eyeballs that will seep into your soul and probably age you by a few years before this film is over. Either that, or you won’t sleep right for a week because of those damned BIG EYES burning holes into your miiiiiiiind. Yaaaaaah! Well, if it’s a return to form for the director, I’ll be pleased to see this. I’ll just have to remember to keep repeating to myself “It’s only a movie…It’s only a movie…It’s only a movie…” Yaaaaaaah! Anyway, Big Eyes opens at a theater near you on December 25, 2014.

A (Not So) Gentle Reminder: Pirates Do Whatever The Heck They Want, Arrrr!

Posted on September 20, 2014 by geelw

So (Ouch!). Yesterday was International Talk Like A Pirate Day and for a while I’ve always managed to more or less avoid “celebrating” that non-holiday that’s become one too many people take seriously (Ouch!). Anyway, I thought I’d make it clean through the day and not HAVE to post a single eyepatch, booty, or “Arrrrr” reference and actually did so, going to bed around 2am or so with a clean conscience.

That didn’t last long thanks to something resembling a pair of plastic hammers thumping me on the head until I woke up (Ouch!).

It turns out those Skylanders toys from the hugely popular game series? Yeah, they’re REAL. And tend to get really annoyed when they get ignored (Ouch). So, here’s a nice, belated post to go do something piratey yesterday(Ouch!) or ALL the time, not just on that designated day. Why? Well, because (and in case you didn’t read the title of this post)… pirates do whatever the heck they want! (Ouch!)… “Arrrrr!” Hey, Activision? Can you come and get this little guy out of my house? Those plastic hammers may be tiny (and plastic), but they do leave little dents in everything he hits. Hey, (Ouch!) I’ll trade him back for a PS3 or Wii U copy of Skylanders Trap Team (coming to PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One, Nintendo Wii/Wii U, Nintendo 3DS/2DS and Apple, Samsung, Amazon and Google tablets on October 5, 2014. Okay, is that enough? OUCH! Okay, okay… I’ll post the other video, too:

There, HAPPY now? (Ouch!) Okay, okay! AND I’ll buy the game too! (Great, now I’ll have that goofy song looping in me head allll dayyyyy, arrrrr!)

FREE STUFF: 250,000 Space Hack Steam Codes From Bundle Stars? GET!

Posted on September 20, 2014 by geelw

For the record, the ONLY reason Mr. Hack up there looks like a cross between Elvis and Captain Morgan in that art above is he’s been digitally tricked out for International Talk Like A Pirate Day (which was yesterday, but that didn’t stop the next post from happening. You’ll see soon enough), but he’s not decked out like that at all in this cool freebie from Meridian 4 and Bundle Stars. Anyway, click HERE (or on Hack’s scowling mug above) and get Space Hack for free on Steam and yes, go PLAY IT. It’s a fun “old school” isometric sci-fi action RPG in the Diablo vein that’s quite lengthy (well over 60 hours if you want to see everything) is pretty simple to play but nicely challenging as the aliens increase in number and strength… Continue reading →

Alien Isolation #HowWillYouSurvive Trailers 2-4: #JustBarelyIfAtAll (If You Need To Know)…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Nope…

and Nope…

annnnnnnnd, make mine a triple, bartender. Or, “No more for me, thanks, I’m dyin’!”

Yeah, it looks as if there are quite a few ways to expire in Alien Isolation and I’m betting some of you won’t need a rocket to ride through space when this game launches on October 7, 2014 for PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One and PC. Hopefully Sega and developer The Creative Assembly have been shutting out the trolls and paying attention to those of us who want to experience the game on any platform to see if it’s a worthy follow up to the 1979 film as intended and those expecting some run of the mill FPS with the license stamped on realize it’s not all about what they want and all about what the CA is bringing to the table in the horror/sci-fi genre. Respect is a simple enough word for this one and I’m in for the long haul as far as spreading the word if this one’s a winner.

HTR+: The Vita Gets A Fun-Looking Slot Car Racer (But Try Convincing The Trolls)…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Sure, if you were or are silly enough to ONLY buy a home or portable game system purely for visuals and how many AAA titles you can stuff in your shorts to show off to friends, a game like this enhanced port of HTR+ may look as if it’s not up your alley at all. On the other hand, if you’re like me and grew up with HO-scale racing sets (I was an AFX kid), this game is something that NEEDS to be played on the Vita. If you’re coming from a simulation or arcade racer background and have never tried any sort of slot car game (or actual slot car racing), you’ll need to get used to the controls and how they differ from what you’re more accustomed to.

“But those cars and tracks look like plastic toys!” Yeah, so what? They’re SUPPOSED to. “Oh nooooo! Another mobile game!” Which means you never played the mobile version to see if it was any good and didn’t realize that the Vita version isn’t a straight lazy port job. “I bought a Vita for THIS?” Obviously not, as you’re not getting a gun pointed at your head and forced to buy anything you dump on without playing it. And so forth and so on come the usual internet trollers who bash stuff when they should be expanding their horizons. That stuff got old and started collecting a pension five years ago and I’m gathering there’s no developer who wants to hear unsolicited comments from folks who seem to play LESS games and spend MORE time complaining about them. Anyway, I’ll look into getting a review code and seeing how this one plays, as that trailer set my nostalgia meter off big time…

D4: Access Games + Swery 65 + Xbox One = Hmmm, Commitment Time!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Grrrrr… Access Games’ new adventure game D4 is out and earlier than I thought because until a few days ago when I saw that facebook post by game director Hidetaka Suehiro, I thought this one wasn’t coming until the holidays or early next year. Well, I suppose I can hold my breath for a bit and hope to hell this doesn’t stay as an Microsoft exclusive, but if in case it is, D4 (Dark Dreams Don’t Die) will give me another reason to pick up an Xbox One. I’m actually more thrilled by this quirky episodic title than bigger releases getting more ad dollars, but I’m also smart and plan to hold out that Micrsoft is smart enough to release a retail disc that has all the episodes on it and any extra content if the game gets any DLC just so those folks who can’t download large game files can give this one a shot.

Forza Horizon 2: Stop, Look and Crash!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

Amusingly enough, although this is a dig at some famous track-bound racing game franchises, I’d actually PLAY a good slot car racing game if some smart developer and publisher teamed up to make one on nearly any home or portable platform. Anyway, while this commercial for <strong>Forza Horizon 2 is magnificent and funny, I have to question WHY it’s partially shot in live action with real cars (with a good deal of expensive CG enhancing) when the actual game looks so gorgeous:

Then again, I don’t work at Microsoft and heck, they know their own games better than anyone, right? Anyway, I’m still an Xbox One holdout, but if I were to grab one of those, this would be one of the games I’d grab with that system. If this is as open world and free range pure driving as it looks, it’ll be something I get lost in for hours and that’s just driving around all by myself checking out all the hard work that went into making the game engine sing so darn well. I’d be the one pulling over every few miles to check out the scenery, even in the middle of a race, so I can’t imagine being the poor AI driver behind me trying to pass as I slide to the left or right and perhaps dent up my ride because I’m trying to ogle a pretty sky or sunset. Anyway, September 30, 2014 is the due date for this baby which is predicted to do VERY well on the console…

Mezco Toys’ All Treat-No Trick Mystery Box: 310 Cheap Chances To Score Big!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, CentralMarkup!)

“What’s in the box?… WHAT’S IN THE BOX?!“ Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Mezco Toyz isn’t telling because they want you to BUY one or a couple of these $20 steal deals and I’m not telling because hell, I have NO idea other than you’ll get at LEAST $40 worth of goodies for that money. All I can say is it’ll be one or more items from the company’s popular Universal Monsters, Chucky, The Living Dead Dolls, Sons Of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Mez-Itz, Axe Cop, or other product lines. Yeah, you know you’re curious, yellow. Or blue because you want more of these than you can afford (“let’s see now, 310 times $20 is…”). So goes the wild life of the American consumer, right? Anyway, get your own box before they’re all gone!

F1 2014: A Little Heat For A Slow, Cool Friday…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by geelw

You’re looking a wee bit tired on this slightly chilly Friday, friend. How about a hot lap around Sochi to perk things up a bit? Based on user feedback, Codemasters Racing Studio is making F1 2014 an even more accessible game this year with a few changes to the formula including a new driver evaluation system to adjust the game to your level, shorter career options and a new Very Easy mode. While I know some purists will complain about these inclusions, it opens up the game (and the actual sport) to an even larger user base with the hope that those newbies learn the ropes, dial up the difficulty at some point and enjoy the sport as it’s meant to be. Unforgiving and heavily reliant on one’s skill as a driver, not just jamming on the accelerator and knocking AI cars around in an all-out bumper car match. This one’s out on October 17, 2017 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Yes, Codemasters is working on an all-new F1 game for PS4 and Xbox One, so you next-gen owners will need to hold that breath for a bit until 2015 rolls around…

The Evil Within Tokyo Game Show 2014 Trailer: Run (or Roll!), Don’t Walk!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I laughed out loud when I saw this trailer because, well.. come ON now, people. Wouldn’t YOU just have jumped in one of those wheelchairs and rolled the hell away from what was chasing you? Yeah, I thought so. I know I’d be BLAAAAZING down that dimly lit hallway popping wheelies power-sliding past obstacles and generally confusing the hell out of that monster or whatever is chasing my character. Then again, I tend to look for the humorous side to any horror game or film, so if anything, I’d die laughing before anything else got to my soon to be doomed avatar. The Evil Within is out for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC on Tuesday, October 14. That gives you enough time to stock up on clean underwear and maybe a few spare controllers in case you’re prone to dropping them when you get scared…