Hey, look at that, I'm already posting again. I can't check it directly while I'm here at work because Steam is correlated with fun, but it appears that a few publishers have gone completely insane. For today only, on Steam, you can pick up Grand Theft Auto IV for $7.49 (The game has fairly high requirements and I've heard reports of shoddy performance, though I haven't had a problem with it myself), Mirror's Edge for five bones and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow for Chernobyl for a measly, a certifiable, a totally bonkers $1.99. Madness!
There are a few other deals that will extend to January 3rd, such as Braid for a mere two-fitty and the entire Jedi Knight collection for $6.50. But it looks like they may be shifting in new, more ridiculous 24-hour deals for the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled.
-K.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Letting Off Steam
Christmas Morning Video: Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Santa Claus
So, unlike last year we've got Christmas Eve off this time, and I won't be back in the office until the new year. Though with a long vacation ahead of me and my desktop still on the fritz, with my laptop remaining as my only fully function PC gaming device, it's a perfect time for me to go back and check out any indie games I might have overlooked, so there may be a post or two during that span (Don't count on it).
Anyway, I'll leave you with another mega-post containing a full episode of MST3K. This time Mike and the bots take on Santa Claus, not the man, but the poorly made and utterly bizarre Mexican kids' movie. Enjoy!
Merry Christmas everyone, and remember to watch out for the devil.
-K.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Duke Nukem ForNever
There's a pretty great read over at Wired detailing what led to the demise of Duke Nukem Forever, pulling no punches in placing the blame squarely on 3D Realms frontman George Broussard's shoulders.
-K.
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Price is Right
Got another newsletter from the noble stewards of the past at Good Old Games that, as a Christmas gift to their customers, they are giving away a two-pack of the original Tex Murphy games, Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum, at the low, low cost of no pennies. Better hurry, though, because their generous holiday spirit only extends until December 24th.
Yes, I know some of you are allergic to singing up for things, but Good Old Games is a completely free service (Until it comes time to actually pay for a game, of course), all titles function perfectly fine in XP or Vista, no mucking about with DOSBox, and the only e-mails you'll receive are ones alerting you to any new titles added or deals they've got going. There's no reason not to take advantage of this, unless you're simply a bad person.
-K.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Thursday Morning Video: Bush Informed of 9/11 attack - Dramatizaion
This is probably only funny if you are familiar with Curb Your Enthusiasm, and even then you might think it's dumb. I love it.
-K.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
High Def Drifter
Yes, that's the best I could come up with.
There's always been dearth of Western-themed video games despite seeming rife for action-oriented titles. That isn't to say there aren't any at all, but there's a slow trickle of about one a year, and I wouldn't say any of them have achieved a classic status. Outlaws, the first-person shooter from LucasArts back when they weren't just exclusively focused on Star Wars, has always been the benchmark. I have fond memories of it, but I'd wager if I went back and played it now I might find it hasn't aged particularly well. The two Call of Juarez titles have been admirable, but ultimately mediocre stabs at the setting. The same could be said of the much more ambitious Gun, though its brief length and limited playing area for an open-world game worked against it. Now Rockstar is having a second go with Red Dead Redemption.
Red Dead Revolver was originally a Capcom title that they lost interest in developing, selling it to Rockstar who finished the game and was a respectable success. It was a mostly linear third-person shooter with some basic cover mechanics, but the fun combat, quick-draw showdowns, weapon upgrading and side missions made it a pretty enjoyable title, the main drawback being that difficulty curve ranged from challenging to murderous.
It was surprising, though, to have Rockstar announce a sequel, Red Dead Redemption, considering the original was released way back in 2004. And even though I don't have negative memories of Revolver, the early media didn't even make it a blip on my radar. But today Rockstar released what they say is the first in a series of video showing off the gameplay of Redemption, and now I'm probably looking forward to it more than anything else.
-K.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Sometime Video: Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Mitchell
Cripes, has it been this long since I last posted? There are plenty of excuses, between being sick, trying for weeks to figure out why my desktop keeps crashing seemingly at random and being just plain lazy. Despite that I've still been playing a ton of games on the 360 and PS3 (and attempting to on the PC) that I should be talking about. I'll have to get around to that. But for now, have an extended video post:
-K.