GAME-A-WEEK - SIMCITY 4

In the wake of EA's huge debacle with the newest SimCity game, I thought it'd be a good idea to boot up the last official iteration (we're not counting SimCity Societies), which was 2003's SimCity 4.  For all of the complaints about the new game's always-on DRM, awful server issues, and small build areas, I thought it would be refreshing to go back and see where the series peaked.  In doing so, I learned one very valuable lesson:

I am fucking terrible at these games.  

I DIDN'T FORGET THE FRIDAY VIDEO!

I know I said I'd be doing a video on Fridays, and I haven't forgotten!  I've just been doing several videos.  I've fallen madly in love with Planet Explorers, the indie game that I did a video highlight of earlier this week, so in order to drum up some awareness, I've elected to do a Let's Play of the game.  I'm up to Part 3 as of this writing, and I'm not stopping anytime soon!

GAME-A-WEEK - SYSTEM SHOCK 2

Okay so, I kind of cheated.  This one is NOT on the List Of Unplayed Games like the GAW reviews are supposed to be.  However I have been dying to play this game for years, and it's finally been released in a playable build on GOG.com, so I couldn't resist. 

GAME-A-WEEK - CONTAINMENT: THE ZOMBIE PUZZLER

Zombies.   Puzzle games.  If I had to pick the two genres least likely to mesh together, I think those might be it.  I've never played Tetris and thought about the undead horde.  Bejeweled never made me think the green gems might eat my brains.   However, apparently someone at Bootsnake Games thought it could be done, and set out to make it a reality.  So, do these genres band together for survival, or does this game need a headshot to put it down?   This week, I sat down to find out.

GAME-A-WEEK - VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE - BLOODLINES

I'm not just cranky.  I'm also old and, as you may have deduced, I'm a gamer.  But what you may not know is that it hasn't always been just video games.  All through high school and into my early 20s, I was an avid pen-and-paper gamer.  I did some D&D here, a little Shadowrun there, even experimented with GURPS and Palladium games.

My heart, however, belonged to White Wolf.  Vampire: the Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Mage: the Ascension, and occasionally even Changeling: The Dreaming.  These were my gaming bread and butter.  My purple Crown Royal bag overfloweth with 10-sided dice.  With all of the hours spent poring over sourcebooks and character sheets, I always wondered, how would our adventures in the World Of Darkness translate to a PC game?

GAME-A-WEEK - RECETTEAR, AN ITEM SHOP'S TALE

So, after the relentless brutality and unsettling violence of last week's Hotline Miami review, I decided to play something a little lighter and fluffier.  I chose Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale.

What the fuck was I thinking?

GAME-A-WEEK - HOTLINE MIAMI

This week, I will be taking a look at one of the more controversial titles out there right now, Hotline Miami.  It's a hyper-violent action game that the creators proudly admit is heavily inspired by the movie Drive.  The game is being called a "murder simulator" by critics.  I have to admit, I wasn't really interested in playing this game, as much as I was curious to see what all the hype was about.

THE CRANKY OLD GAMER EPISODE 2 - 10000000

Hey kids, it's your ol' Uncle Cranky here with a new video for the Youtube channel! This week I am giving you a brief overview of a new indie title on Steam (also available on iTunes for Apple devices), called 10000000.

Fair warning, I've also started fiddling around with Windows Movie Maker, so enjoy some "professional" video effects at the beginning! Having header art and a logo gave me a taste, and now I'm hooked on making things look neater. Next thing you know, I'll actually have THEME MUSIC! Maybe. Someday.

Anyway, enjoy!

EDIT:   I stand corrected. In this review, I stated "I don't know that I would really play this much on the PC".   I was wrong.  I was so very, very wrong.  This game is like fucking heroin, and I have been completely unable to put it down all week.  I bought it on my iPhone and play it at work, or while I'm on the couch watching a movie.  It's addictive as hell, and I've absolutely fallen in love with it.

GAME-A-WEEK - KINGDOMS OF AMALUR: RECKONING

When it was announced that Big Huge Games and 38 Studios were pairing together bestselling fantasy author R.A. Salvatore and toy designer and Spawn comics creator Todd McFarlane to make an epic fantasy RPG, the buzz was huge.  But a turbulent dev cycle, a massive change in scope from a MMO to a single player experience, and the hugely publicized collapse of Studo 38 after the game's release have put a pall over the game's reputation.  But once you push those factors away, how does Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning stand on its own merits?

GAME-A-WEEK - BULLETSTORM

This week I had the joy of kicking off the new year with a new game, selected by one of my readers.  She chose Bulletstorm, the controversial hyper-violent sci-fi shooter from Epic Games and People Can Fly.  I have to admit, I had my reservations on this one; reviews were not kind to it when it came out in 2011.  I mean really, how many dick jokes can you make in one game?  So after a week of playing through, how was it?

THE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION, PART DEUX

Wanna help control the content of this site, and keep me on my toes?   Here's how!

2013 - A NEW APPROACH

So I'd be shocked if anyone's reading this anymore.  My life has become a rollercoaster of chaos, as has Ryan's (my cohort with the North-South Geek Show).  We keep promising "This isn't dead!" and then not following through.  It's not for lack of trying, and not for lack of wanting to, we just can't make our schedules mesh due to the complications of Real Life.  When I'm free, he's working, and vice versa.  

So for now I am focusing on this blog, something I haven't done much of lately.   I have made a commitment to myself.   Like many PC gamers who have Steam, I have a terrible habit of buying a bunch of games when they are discounted, and then never playing them.   I have well over 200 games on my list, and have only actually played maybe 1/4th of them.   So each week, most likely on a Monday, I will play a new game, and I will do a preliminary review of it on Tuesday, and a follow-up review along with the next game on the following Tuesday.

These won't all be hot new games, or AAA titles.  Some might be much older games.  Some could be indie titles.  Some could be AAA titles a few months late.  I'm kind of broke, so realistically the only way I can do AAA titles right away would be if it was something I was really chomping at the bit to play (like the upcoming Bioshock: Infinite or GTA V).  There could be some console games in there, but to be perfectly honest, I'm like 90% a PC gamer.  

Either way, a weekly schedule will keep me going on this blog, and it'll give me an excuse to chew through all of those unplayed games I paid hard-earned money for!

IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME, RETRO CITY RAMPAGE!

So finally, after months of mini-hype and delay,  VBlank Entertainment's send up of everything 1980s, Retro City Rampage, has been released.   If I recall correctly, it was supposed to come out in May, then pushed to June, then July, then just "TBA".   Almost out of nowhere, it was dropped onto the world on Oct 9th.

So how is it?  Does it live up to the hype?  Was it worth the wait?   Eh, kinda.

BORDERLANDS 2

Holy crap, I love this fucking game.

That could ALMOST be the whole review right there.  Almost.  

INDIE SPOTLIGHT: DEAR ESTHER

Have you ever seen an art film or independent film where you're pretty sure no one actually likes it, they just pretend to in order to sound smart?   Honestly that's the only reason I can think of to explain the host of glowing reviews that Dear Esther has received since being released on Steam back in February.   While I would not say that Dear Esther is bad, or that I regret my experience playing it, I definitely would not shower it with praise like many reviewers seem to have.