Up late talking games & writing? You're...

I've got a whole bunch of stuff to talk about tonight. Too much, really... since so much is backed up, I decided to announce the winner of the Code Zero giveaway tomorrow instead of tonight, so you've got one more day to enter if you haven't already. Go ahead and give it a whack if you're so inclined, your odds will be pretty darn good.

By the way, PAX Prize Pack #2 was won by Adam, who has not contacted me yet. Adam, if you are still interested in collecting your prize, please get in touch with me ASAP. If I don't hear from you by Wednesday or so, I’ll have to give your prize away to someone else. Get in touch, yo!


Now, for some PR stuff…


Games: If you are in or around the Chicago area, Capcom will be hosting a night with Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The event takes place on September 22nd from 8pm – 11pm and is located at 437 N Wolcott Ave. Apparently the first 300 people will get goodies of some sort, but the first 100 people in line will get some kind of mega-swag. If you end up making it to the event, drop me a line and let me know how it was.



Games: The latest in the recent series of videos promoting Two Worlds II is now out. Episode 4 can be found HERE. I love that SouthPeak isn't afraid to poke fun at themselves after the chilly reception the first Two Worlds received. Rather than try to spin it, they took the other direction and produced this string of spots starring series villain Gandohar. Funny stuff.



Games: The good people over at Mommy’s Best Games are at it again. If you follow this blog with any regularity, then you know that I loved Weapon of Choice and Shoot1UP, both on XBLIndie. The latest creation from mad genius Nathan Fouts will be hitting the same service within a week or so, and it's called Explosionade. From the official press release:

* INFILTRATE subterranean strongholds manned by cunning bipedal aliens and their mind-blasting hellions!
* Recharging MegaNades and an earth-shaking machine gun rip DESTRUCTIBLE environments to hand-drawn bits!
* Tons of CHALLENGE-ROOM style gameplay with a zoom function that lets in you close or zooms out to see all the action!
* 2-PLAYER COOP so you can share the alien-stomping, grenade tossing joy!* ONLINE High Scores to show off your skills!
* Hand-drawn, silky-smooth effect animations just like Mom used to make! (If your mom was SNK)

I don't have much more info at the moment, but considering that MBG’s last two efforts are a couple of the best things available on XBLI overall, I think it's pretty safe to say that this one will be worth looking into.


Enough PR, here's the chatter...

Games: I don't know a thing about the upcoming Legend of the Guardians: the Owls of Ga’Hoole except that it has owls, and it's got a terrible title. However, a demo for the licensed game is available on XBL and I gave it a spin a day or two ago.


Strangely enough, I thought it was pretty good... I have a weak spot for games that substitute animals for vehicles (don't ask) and after the brief bit available here, LotG struck me a bit like Ace Combat, except... with owls. I have no intentions of seeing the film, but I'll certainly make an effort to at least give the game a try. After tossing hot coals at tower emplacements and swooping down on enemy owls with outstretched claws, how could I not want to see more?


Games: The other demo I spent time with this week was Quantum Theory, from Tecmo. Besides the animals and vehicles things I just mentioned, I also have a sick fascination with any game where the player is asked to either progress up or down a tower. (Again, don't ask.)

QT seems like a lower-rent version of Gears of War set in a tower, with one of the hooks being that the AI partner who adventures along with you is a stereotypical "hot chick" in armor who can be tossed towards an enemy like a weapon. Not quite sure what that concept means for feminism, but at the very least, it was something that isn't found in GoW.


Honestly speaking, I think this game has a pretty tough row to hoe. The combat didn't feel quite as smooth or as polished as the competition, and the visuals left something to be desired, both artistically and in terms of production. I hate to say it, but there's not a lot of room for second-stringers in its genre, and it struck me (at best) as one of those “buy it at $20” weekend-killing titles that you pick up three months after its release. I could be wrong, but...