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…

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Gives Me The Hots For The PS4…

Posted on January 7, 2014 by geelw

Ah, Diablo III. Other than the PC version, you haven’t failed me yet. Yeah, I’m an offline solo guy who had to deal with the original game being a total pain in the neck to get up and running, so I more than welcomed the PS3 version which I gladly paid for. Having blazed through two difficulty modes (so far), it pleases me to no end that the PS4 is getting this expansion and yes indeed, I can transfer my save files over when I finally get that PS4 in a bit. Hell may be other people (and how), but I like my personal hell packed with demons I can decimate on my own time and walk away happy and sane afterwards. Granted, Inferno mode awaits and I know I’ll be in for a fight against that lord of darkness and his many, many minions (and how, according to some folks who’ve survived the blitz of beefed up baddies raining hell down on them in solo play). But the game is supposed to be HARD. Hell, Normal mode is basically training for the others. You may not think so, you uber-core players who seem to LIKE your avatar dying endlessly until you get your skills together. Me, I prefer to have a fighting chance and enough room to run away when needed on those randomly generated maps.

Okay, Max Team… Now You’re Just Messing With Me…

Posted on January 6, 2014 by geelw

Ha and ha, ha. Massimo and Fernando over at MAX TEAM must really hate me. The just ran a fun new reworked intro to their upcoming Monster World RPG the other day and now here comes a big, fat SPOILER video with the game’s bad ending that they tell you NOT to watch if you don’t want to see it. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I still haven’t seen it and I know YOU won’t click that play button either, right? RIGHT? Yeah, I thought so. In fact, I say let’s give them the pleasure of NOT clicking that video and making it become the least popular one they’ve made to date. That should teach them not to go and do stuff like this ever again. YEAH. We showed YOU two what’s what. The fans have spoken! Or have NOT spoken and NOT clicked on your video! So there.

(Okay, so it’s actually a goofy joke that happens about a minute into the game, so it’s not an actual “spoiler” at all, so you can click away at your leisure and not actually “spoil” anything!)

Review: Paper Sorcerer

Posted on January 6, 2014 by geelw

Platform: PC/MAC

Developer: Ultra Runaway Games

Publisher: Ultra Runaway Games

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: N/A

Official Site

Score: A- (90%)

Five bucks used to not buy so much as far as games went until the indie scene exploded and small developers started churning out way too many games either as free labors of love or inexpensive alternatives to big dollar major label releases. Paper Sorcerer is one of those cool budget-priced games that comes recommended because you’re getting a lot of game for that fiver and fans of classic computer RPG adventures as well as anyone looking for something a wee bit familiar yet a wee bit different will probably find plenty to love here. The striking black and white art style may be the bigger draw than the intriguing story to a few of you out there, but there are some nice plot twists and the ending is a total hoot. A few kinks in the armor keep this one from perfection, but with some player input the game is going through a few updates now that it’s been voted into the Steam Greenlight program… Continue reading →

Stupid Weather Makes Me Not So Smart At Continuity…

Posted on January 5, 2014 by geelw

Ugh. So, a few days ago we got a nice snowfall and today we got temperatures up a bit and a nasty rain for a good part of the day. Of course, it wasn’t enough to melt the snow and it was slippery and gray and suicidal walking weather the rest of the day. Looking outside now, the sky is an awful yellowy gray and the forecast has temperatures dropping way past freezing (as in close to zero or so in some areas). Which means ALL that yucky gray slush will turn to super slippery and super lumpy ice to skate and dance on badly by Tuesday. Wonderful. If I don’t break my head or bust my ass on the way to the library this week, I may post some fun stuff.

The ONLY good thing is I don’t have to worry about freezing my behind or other parts off because I know THE secret to not being cold when it’s very cold out. NO it’s not booze. Booze makes you drunk and colder and dead if you’re tipsy and slipsy on the icy pavement and fallsy on your head or slidesy under a moving bus skidding towards the bus stop sideways on the bumpy, lumpy ice that was slush and a few days before that, snow… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end), Too: THE HAND

Posted on January 4, 2014 by geelw

For the record, I hated THE HAND when I first saw it and don’t like it much more today. Not because it’s not scary at all (its one or two jump scare moments and the nutty ending work for me), and not because Michael Caine isn’t “givin’ it ‘is awl” (heh) as a strip cartoonist who loses his drawing hand in a freak accident, gets a prosthetic replacement and soon has a bit of a psychological breakdown afterwards that involves a few dips into murder. Nope, Caine is fine and creepy here as Jon Lansdale and in fact, the other actors do a mostly fine job with Stone’s script (based on the Marc Brandel novel “The Lizard’s Tail”).

My big beef with the movie is how very, very little of Barry Smith’s outstanding comic art (created specifically for the film, mind you) is seen once the main credits have finished rolling. It’s a shame because the films isn’t quite the horror film it needs to be despite trying very hard to bridge the gap between low budget indie and major studio first effort (it was Stone’s first time behind the camera on a feature film). Granted, this isn’t supposed to be a Smith biopic or anything like that and I eventually saw a chunk of the art in an interview Smith did around when the film was released or so (and it’s some beautiful work). But for all the story’s emphasis on Lansdale’s Mandro character being so important (hell, no hand, bro means NO Mandro!), we never see that much of the artwork up close or find out much about Mandro other than the art looks like Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian when Smith’s art really matured near the end of his run on the book… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): LIFEFORCE

Posted on January 4, 2014 by geelw

If you were a big sci-fi flick fan around in 1985 and of a certain age, you probably went and saw LIFEFORCE for one of two reasons. You were either a horny guy or gal looking for cheap thrills or you were the girlfriend, husband or wife of that horny guy or gal elbowing your man/woman in the ribs and hissing at him every time Mathilda May appeared on screen, naked as a jaybird or not. Of course, there were most likely couples who saw this and grinned together at her wondrous curves, but let’s not turn this into a more saucy post than it’s intended to be.

Granted, at least a jaybird had feathers and it’s a damn good thing women back in that era weren’t overly obsessed with strategic downstairs depilatory action or this film might not have been as fun to watch as there would need to be some even more strategic editing than what’s here. Based on Colin Wilson’s 1976 novel, The Space Vampires with a screenplay by Dan O’Bannon, directed by Tobe Hooper and chock full of some wild practical effects,lots of blood and some gore, scenery chewing performances from most of the cast and an ending that’s still a bit baffling on a few fronts, this is one of those films that you’ll either love outright for its craziness or hate because after all is said and done, it doesn’t do anything grand with its space vampires at all other than show off how nude they are… Continue reading →

Monster World RPG Update (It’s Creeping Closer)…

Posted on January 4, 2014 by geelw

Massimo and Fernando (aka MAX TEAM) are still debugging their baby so it arrives all ready to download and play, but Monster World RPG just may be the big (and FREE) ticket Sega fans are looking for when it comes to fan-made JRPG experiences. So much work and love has gone into this project that the game truly looks as if it’s a never released Genesis game. Granted, I’ve only played a few demos over the past year or two, but I’m confident that the end result will be well worth the long wait. I think there’s a month or so to go before this lands, but I say take your time, guys… take your time. I want this one to be perfect when I sit down and lose too many hours in it…

It’s Friday Night! Time To Get Dancing, People!

Posted on January 3, 2014 by geelw

Well, you’re still here and I’m still busy. Hmmm… what to do, what to do? Ah, this should keep you entertained for a hot minute (take it away, Gene!):

Now, THAT’S what I call ACTUAL reality TV, folks! I do miss the late, great Chuck Barris and all his bizarrely awesome programming that more or less changed the landscape of entertainment telly as we know it (yeah, for better and worse). Yeah, I know loads of substances were involved in the making of these shows back then, but there’s a certain insane purity to this stuff that’s FAR more honest than anything claiming to be “real” on TV today. Go dig up some old clips of the man’s huge body of work and see for yourself, I say…

How My Brain Works (Sometimes): Wie sauber schnee von den Stiefeln (mit musikalischer Begleitung)

Posted on January 3, 2014 by geelw

So, it snowed a lot last night and part of this morning in a few too many places. Yeah, winter sucks. Anyway, as I was going outside into the stupidly cold air and saw that deeper than it looked but already mostly shoveled snowy white world, some guy comes into the building and starts stomping his feet, one at a time in a beat that made me chuckle because I watch too many movies and retain certain scenes in my head for future use. Why I do this I have zero idea, but I think it’s because it makes me laugh a lot when I see scenes from real life that remind me of made up movie bits.

Anyway, this is probably the ONLY proper comedic use of this interesting musical clip from The Battle of the Bulge. Toss in some crappy bing-translated German above (it’s supposed to say “How to clean snow from your boots (with musical accompaniment)”, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) and ta-da! That’s how the magic happens around here. Yeah, magic. “Hey, Rocky? Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!”
:

(Thanks, GunOfNeverone!)

Or maybe I just need another cup of coffee. I think I only got about five or so hours of sleep between last night and this morning. Anyway, stay warm and stay the heck inside if you don’t need to be out in this mess. The things I do for you folks…