GAME-A-WEEK - DREAMKILLER

This week, I decided to take a look at a surreal indie first-person shooter, Dreamkiller.  Trailers for this one really caught my eye, and I really liked the concept of delving into people's dreams and combating their fears and nightmares on an ever-changing hypnagogic battlefield, inspired by each patient's individual phobias.  I just thought it was strange that I'd never really heard anything about it before...

PLANET EXPLORERS KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!

That's right folks, the Planet Explorers kickstarter is live as of today!   This is an absolutely incredible game that I've been playing for a few weeks now.  It's a huge open world voxel-based sci-fi action, crafting, building, exploring and everything under the sun kind of game.  Go check out their kickstarter for more information!

Planet Explorers Kickstarter

BREAKING FREE OF THE CONSOLE WARS

Since the dawn of home console video games, there has always been war.  Bitter rivals competing head to head for your living room space.  There were minor skirmishes early on, with Atari vs Commodore, and the NES stomped the Sega Master System into the ground.  The first real war erupted when the Super Nintendo went head-to-head with the Sega Genesis, and it was bloody.  Lines were drawn.  Friendships destroyed.  Controllers broken.  Blast processing overhyped.  In the end, the Genesis held on and fought the good fight, but the SNES eventually won.  Since then, every generation has had its console wars.  The past few years have mostly seen Sony and Microsoft in an embittered Cold War, with Nintendo ineffectually waggling its sticks around at them, menacingly. 

The problem is that we as gamers and consumers never really had options.  A console is a long term investment, a heavy chunk of change that would last you 5-7 years.  You could pick a side and become a raving fanboy (or girl), you could save up your money and buy multiple consoles, or you could just opt out, build a gaming rig, and become a PC gamer.  Either way, there was nothing in between.  There were very few alternatives to the mainstream, and those we had either flopped pathetically, or just became short-lived beloved oddities (We love you and miss you, Sega Dreamcast).  Even these oddities were an expensive investment.  We never had anything cheaper, smaller, or more convenient. 

Until now.   

GAME-A-WEEK - TOWNS

Have you ever played a game where you think to yourself, "Fuck I hate this game! Wait...why have I been hating this game for eight hours now and still can't put it down...?"

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.

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.

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.