EDF 4.1 Update: Japan Gets It While We Still Wait Patiently

Posted on April 8, 2015 by geelw

Holy cats. While there still no localization news about Earth Defense Forces 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair, the game has been out in Japan since April 2 and is getting played to death over in Japan by some lucky gamers who’ve been dropping some truly incredible videos of the game in action on YouTube. Sure, it’s not packing the best visuals when unfairly compared to more polished games for these new-gen consoles or PC. But developer Sandlot clearly knows how to set the tone for some massive scale battles. Wow. Hey, it’s sure cheaper than buying a bunch of toys and wondering where to to store them all, I say. That said if there’s ever a sequel to Pacific Rim and someone wants a tie-in game, I think I know who should get the call.

Project Root: OPQAM’s Retro Inspired Shmup Reverbs The Nostalgia Meter

Posted on April 6, 2015 by geelw

Coming up on the radar from publisher Reverb Triple XP is Project Root, an arcade-style space shooter with a nicely retro vibe and shiny modern visuals. Headed to PS4, Vita and Xbox One on April 28 after landing on Steam last year, the game packs in a few fixes over the original version as well as Cross-Buy for PS4 and Vita owners.

Developer OPQAM has added a great little twist to the usual side or vertical scrolling shmup by giving players a full 360 degrees of movement, allowing them to play levels as they see fit. If you know your game history fairly well, you’ll see that this free roaming style of shooter isn’t *new* by any means if you’re old enough to remember Thunder Force II on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (or Sharp X68000 PC if you’re REALLY old school*). The chance to preview the game via a work-in progress build popped up recently and yes, when opportunity knocks, an return call must be made… Continue reading →

Ask Your Doctor: Time Also Reads Doubly If Stupid

Posted on April 5, 2015 by geelw

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Okay, okay. I was two weeks too early in that post above. Heh, sorry about that! But I think I have to blame my Doctor for that timely error. We went on a little adventure recently and when I got back, I thought it was two weeks later. In fact, I got back just in time for once. Oops. “In time for what?” Well, I guess in time to make a mistake that I’ll probably have to go on another little trip to fix so that post is a lot more accurate.

Then again, I hear you’re not supposed to muck with time or bad things will occur. Hmmm, what to do, what to do? I dunno about you, but I’m going to go back to sleep now. Zzzzzzzz…

Oh, That’s Right: Orphan Black Season 3

Posted on April 4, 2015 by geelw

Aha! I knew I was forgetting something important I had to do tonight. Well, that’s it above. Between this and Game of Thrones kicking off next Sunday, my weekends are officially booked. I wasn’t sure about those new male clones introduced last season, but I’ll give the show the benefit of the doubt until it trips over something and goes BOOM. Well, even if that happens, Tatiana Maslany will always get her part(s) right.

Some Late Bundles For Your Sleepy Saturday

Posted on April 4, 2015 by geelw

Yeah, yeah… it’s Saturday and I’m posting this IndieGala Friday Special Bundle now. I had a little computer hiccup yesterday before I could get to this deal, so it’s a bit late. Anyway, get three games for a buck or a dozen for $2.99 this time. Flip a coin and choose the latter if you need a hint. There’s a nice set of stuff here from a Match-3 puzzle game, a few adventure games and even a couple of retro platformers with some shooters tossed in for good measure.

Also, if you poke around the IndieGala Store and actually buy something there, you get a free gift just in time for Easter:

Yup, it’s a real game! You can also get another freebie just for stopping by in the form of Space Hack, a single player action/RPG set aboard a spaceship besieged by tons of bug-like aliens. It’s old, but quite addictive once you get into it.

Over at the Humble Bundle, you can scoop up six really hard games in the Humble Weekly Bundle: ARGGGHHH!! These games are hard! Bundle. I’ve only played three of them, but can confirm that you will indeed want to toss a controller or keyboard at something if you’re the impatient sort. The Humble Store has a crazy sale on Deep Silver titles all weekend, so check out that link for a nice assortment of titles from a few genres.

Finally, Bundle Stars has the awesome Vortex Bundle, a total STEAL at $2.99 just for the Alien Breed Trilogy. If you’re not into shooting xenomorphs while being scared half to death, there are a bunch of other titles in that bundle bound to please. And don’t forget to check out the Bundle Stars Store for MORE great deals on single games. Hmmmm. I think that’s it, but I’ll let you know. Oh, right – check out Indie Royale, Desuragog.com, and of course, gog.com for even MORE deals!

DomiNations: Big Huge Games, Back With A Big Huge Game You Need To Play

Posted on March 31, 2015 by geelw

If you do this writing about games stuff long enough, you tend to go into media events with low to no expectations. Not because you’re jaded, mind you. It’s more because going in blind works better at getting one’s surprise meter better tuned when something actually does blow one’s mind. That said, I knew as soon as I heard the names Big Huge Games and Tim Train, I knew I had to prepare to be surprised and thrilled at what they were going to show. DomiNations (published by Nexon) is the name of the company’s new game and it’s a free to play mobile game that just so happens to be a real-time strategy game with a light world history theme. Sure, there are plenty of mobile RTS titles out there from Clash of Clans to Game of War and so forth and so on with fantasy themes. DomiNations adds some familiar bits of PC classics Train and Brian Reynolds have worked on such as Civilization II and Rise of Nations while making sure to be entertaining enough that anyone can hop in and play within a few seconds. Continue reading →

EDF 4.1 Import Update: Better Bug Blasting, But Still No News For Western Fans

Posted on March 31, 2015 by geelw

All the small to large improvements are making Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair an absolute must for series fans worldwide, but there’s still no big news about the game outside of the Asian market. I’m hoping that this doesn’t mean this PS4 exclusive is being forgotten for a US and European release, but let’s see what happens as E3 approaches. Granted, this IS a niche title from small but very talented developer Sandlot that hasn’t blown away those gamers who expect every new title they play to be the best-looking and easiest to hop into game experience. EDF games tend to be simple on one hand, but packed with confounding quirks on the other. This new video from D3Publisher addresses some of the issues as it points out some of the changes implemented by the dev team. Changes I hope we EDF fans get to see HERE at some point. I’d guess that’s all up to Bandai Namco these days, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that whomever gets the publishing rights gets some news out sooner than later.

Mad Max: Fury Road TV Spots: Hit the Road, Jack. You’ve Got A Movie To Catch

Posted on March 29, 2015 by geelw

Ha. You know, I’d forgotten Mad Max had a last name until I saw the description to this new teaser. Anyway, Mr. Rockatansky is back in action on the wild road soon (hey, May is creeping up faster than you’d think!), so here’s a look at two of the TV ads for the film. Can George Miller pull this off as well as he did back with the first two films? Or will we need another hero to save us from the pre-summer blehs?

Eh, my money is on this being a winner as long as the jaded ones out there with their negativity and access to computers get busy slamming it with their tiny little hammers because it’s not what they wanted or expected. Yeesh. Try and make art these days and you find no one’s happy because everyone’s a self-styled “critic” these days. Feh.

SPECTRE Teaser: Gold Bond Works Hard For You

Posted on March 28, 2015 by geelw

Well, that was kind of anti-climactic, but quite intriguing. No explosions, sexy ladies or snappy quips to be found here at all. just a looming sense of a dead-serious Bond film looking to be the most memorable on of the Daniel Craig era. The continuity in the last few Bond films has been at least more or less coherent and consistent, so SPECTRE has that going for it. Of course,the gadget-loving Bondies who want the less serious JB on screen will probably wait a bit, see what the reviews say this November and still complain if they’re mostly positive. You can’t please everyone, I suppose. Anyway, let me shut up before someone SMERSHes me in the face with a Thunderball.

Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim Steam Bound: A Throwback That’s Actually A Keeper

Posted on March 26, 2015 by geelw

Xseed Games is giving PC gamers who just so happen to be fans of Nihon Falcom’s classic RPG franchise something else to smile about as the publisher is bringing an enhanced version of Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim to Steam and other digital delivery platforms sometime this spring. This won’t be a straight port of the former PlayStation 2 and PSP-only title, either. In addition to the expected higher resolution visuals and full USB controller support, the PC version of Ys VI will also feature full widescreen support, checkpoint warps, and an optional “Catastrophe Mode” in which healing items can’t be purchased or stored and are instead used automatically on pickup.

In other Xseed news, the company has also announced that it’s somewhat racy open-world brawler Akiba’s Trip: Undead and Undressed will also be PC-bound. As with Ys VI, this version will feature Steam achievements and USB controller support plus the “Visual Editor” feature from the PlayStation 4 version of the game. The latter feature makes it possible to completely alter the game’s appearance through a control panel that lets players mess around with the lighting and rendering effects. Sure, this one’s not for all tastes, but it’s one of those games that’s got a solid sense of humor about its content and is definitely geared towards a certain type of gamer (cue whatever otaku music is in your head).