Friday, August 26, 2011

Twisted Metal Gets February 14, 2012 Release Date (Oh, Say Hello To Dollface!)




Excellent. Dropping TM in stores on this date will no doubt tick off some guys and gals expecting all lovey-dovey stuff for 25 hours straight, but what says "I Love You" more than some side by side car combat with lots of red stuff gushing all over. Awwwwww! Smooch! Well, that's what's going on in MY house, as I'll be playing single player alone before testing the waters (or getting shot the hell up) in multiplayer. Thank you Eat Sleep Play!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Dark Souls "Bartholemew" Trailer Rocks (Well, The Music Does - The Game is Still Brutal)




I'll admit, this trailer made me laugh because of the music. Don't get me wrong - it's a great track... but anyone who's played Demon's Souls knows that the intensely dramatic (and frightening) main theme in that game set the tone for what was to come. This trailer made me think more of a music video from back in the days when MTV actually played them. That said, it certainly doesn't lessen the impact of what's looking to be one of the hardest games to date this console cycle. The video below is the fantastically creepy Prologue which sets up the action even better - take a look and judge for yourself.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Gamescom 2011: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (MGS3 Walkthrough)



Excellent gameplay footage from HD version of MGS3: Snake Eater, headed to the PS3 and Xbox 360 (!) with Metal Gear Solid 2 and MGS Peace Walker (plus a few bonuses). While you're wrapping your head around ANOTHER PS2 to Xbox 360 port, some other folks are missing the point of these collections entirely. They're NOT supposed to be total HD "remakes" at all, but they do give gamers the opportunity to pick up a few older games that have been remastered to run in a gorgeous higher resolution (which looks far better than the older PS3 upscaling effect). Xbox 360 owners who aren't big Sony fans finally get to play games they've missed out on (while perhaps convincing them that they need a PS3 for MGS 4 or some other exclusives worth buying). I predict that this set will be a huge smash on both consoles (duh), as Sold Snake seems to be irresistible no matter which platform he appears on. I'm a tad ticked off that Japanese gamers get Metal Gear Solid on their collections, but I won't miss it much (as I still own a copy of MGS: Twin Snakes for the GameCube, the best-looking version of that classic) .

Gamescom 2011: Silent Hill HD Collection Trailer




More overblown "fan" bile is hitting Konami about this Silent Hill set, but I think I have a simple solution for those bitching non-stop over a few things. If you don't want to buy the collection because it's missing SH4: The Room and there are re-recorded voices (thanks to some sort of money dispute), just go play the older games on the PS2. If you own an Xbox 360 and have never played Silent Hill 2 or 3 because you've never owned a PS2 (I'm sure there are a few out there), you won't care one bit, right? I'll probably pick this up just to play the games on the 360 or PS3 in HD, but I still have all the older games in the series to go back to if I'm disappointed (which I don;t think i will be)...

Silent Hill: Book of Memories - WayForward, Do Your Thing!



Here we go again with the lunacy and faux outrage over something that should be celebrated by cooler heads as well as the core gamers out there who crave innovation. A developer with a proven track record and some incredible talent gets the green light to do an all-new game in a long-running successful franchise on a new system. Early footage of the game drops and a few too many rabid fanboys blaze up the internet with more hatred than a Tea Party gathering. Talk about NO respect. Personally, I love what's in the trailer above and if anything, WayForward Technologies has more than proven themselves to ALL gamers ever since Shantae back on the Game Boy Color. Getting a Silent Hill experience on the Vita is a no-brainer to me, and getting one that shakes up the familiar gameplay intrigues me more than enough to want to see it succeed just as well as any console version, old or new.

Hell, their Contra game on the DS is still one of the best side-scrolling action games on that system, but try telling that to people who can't properly spell their way through a rant-filled argument and only respond to reason with more bile. Memo to Konami and WayForward: Keep going, don't let the bastards wear you down and hell, make a game so damn fantastic that it shuts some of these skeptics up for good. These guys need to realize that opinions are fine and dandy, but when they're wrong, it's time to sit down, shut up and learn something. Even if it's only about something as trivial as a video game they haven't yet played but seem to know all about. WayForward, I got your back, grrrr...

Gamescom 2011: Silent Hill Downpour Trailer (Yes, Prison Is Scary, Too)




Nicely creepy preview of the new SH game above plus a video interview below with one of the key team members working on the game. Konami is rolling out a few cool Silent Hill projects for this year and next, but as usual some fans aren't happy with some of the decisions made. To those folks, I say play the old games if you have them and live with those memories and let those of us who want to try the new games have our say once the new games are completed. I have all of the originals as well, but I'm still intrigued by the upcoming HD collection and Book of Memories just to see the two titles buffed up to a nice HD shine (fog and all) and a different take on the "anthology" style of horror game the series has created.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Gamescom 2011: Dark Souls Press and Show Floor Gameplay Videos



Two fantastic looks at FromSoftware's hardcore action RPG just because I love the game so much. It's going to be hard as hard gets and many newbies will go through a few controllers or give up completely because the game won't stop trying to kill their characters in as many ways as possible. Still, I predict this one will be Namco Bandai's big hit for 2011 as well as From's biggest selling game for the PS3 and Xbox 360. I'm already mapping out October so I can TRY to finish the game at least once before Skyrim comes out. I have the feeling I'll end up playing DS for longer than I expected, though...

Friday, August 19, 2011

Gamescom 2011: Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection Trailers




Yes, this new DLC pack has zombies galore, yes, you end up on the Moon at some point and YES, it'll sell like hotcakes just like the other content has. However, I STILL want Treyarch and Activision to slap ALL the Zombie DLC onto a disc and release it as well as whip up an entire game based on the Call of The Dead content. It's practically an instant hit given the massive fan base the franchise has and hell, zombies are still a hot property in games, so what's the downside here?


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Gamescom 2011: Borderlands 2 Teaser Trailer: Gearbox Tops Itself Big Time



2K Games and Gearbox are rolling out the big guns (and many more millions of them this time) in this eagerly awaited sequel to their superb smash hit. here's a peek at a teaser trailer. More to come, as screens will roll out on Wednesday - I'll run those on the regular blog once I get them. If this sequel is half as good as the original, I don't expect to be coming up for air for a good long while...