Archives 2024

From arcade to remaster, Lunar Lander Beyond is the latest Atari title to recreated from the ground up by Dreams Uncorporated!

Lunar Lander Beyond is the latest game to get the remastered, re-energized, polished treatment from Atari, with the help of Dreams Uncorporated. The Beyond moniker is similar to the Recharged titles, but has gone even further. It’s like playing a brand new game with the same base mechanics instead of just improving the graphics. We are even given a fully animatic cinematic experience with the gameplay, adding to the world beyond any of the previous reborn titles from Atari. Seriously, this looks and feels like it was designed from the ground up.

Sometimes you play a game and swear up and down you were playing a different title. I have memories of watching my father play Lunar Lander on our Atari back in the 80’s and him kicking my ass at it too. Looking at pictures of games from that time it’s clear that my memories have been of Gravitar after all. Memory can be a funny thing. Again, looking at the pictures it’s clear I have no memory of playing the original, despite my original claim in our review video about the game. Thankfully some followers straightened me out on that and I apologize to anyone that I confused or unintentionally misled there. Compared to the title I thought I had played, this game felt exactly like my memories of that but this time I’m at least more skilled than I was about 40 years ago. The original title was released only in arcades in 1979 and never (at least as far as my research can confirm) released on the Atari itself.

The cinematic visuals are absolutely stunning and feel like you’re watching a cyberpunk-themed anime. Game play is difficult if you are heavy handed like myself and require a lot of finesse. I typically hate games that require a gentle touch but found myself having a lot of fun. The production quality definitely helped with that.

Warner Brothers have released their latest action film, The Beekeeper, staring Jason Statham, Jeremy Irons and Josh Hutcherson.

The Beekeeper is the latest action film from Warner Brothers with Jason Statham as the lead and dominating nearly every scene he is in. The film starts with him retired from his years of service and now as a Beekeeper, literally. He helps his neighbor by removing a wasp nest and is more than happy to do so as they are a threat to his hives. Shortly after he leaves, the neighbor receives an alarming message on her computer and is coerced into giving her financial data to a group of scam artists who empty all of her accounts including a charity she works for. Seeing no way to recover the funds she ends her life. Later Adam, Statham’s character, returns with a jar of honey and finds her dead. He starts a one man rampage targeting the group that caused her to end her life, first by burning the building they worked out of to the ground.

The group he worked for was also known as the Beekeepers. Their creation was to protect the society, or hive, as a whole and were given the training to complete their mission how they saw fit. In an actual hive there are designated bees that are known as the Queen Killer with the sole purpose of eliminating a queen that spawned inadequate offspring. That’s basically him. This is important for the story later on.

When I saw trailers for the film I thought it was going to be a mindless action flick without much in the way of story and really was more of a story for the sake of violence. Like most actions films these days. I was not expecting a film of this depth, looking at society as a whole, an officer having to look at their own roles and coming to terms with discovering which is more important- their own desires or their service to the job. Honestly, there are even more layers of depth to the film but I’m not going into all of the aspects. Even when on his rampage, Adam focuses on the people that are really the problem and not those that are having to work for them. Overall I thought the film was fantastic and quite impressed how well they were able to film the violence in a believable way without making it unnecessarily gory. Even when a guy had his fingers sawed off there was virtually no blood. This could be viewed as a detractor from realism but it really aided the story in allowing you to focus more on the story and action than on the blood splatter that tends to draw your attention away. I had an absolute blast watching the film and look forward to seeing what else this team is capable of.

The Departed is the latest film from Warner Brothers to get a rerelease in 4K HD and this time with an accompanying Steelbook case!

The folks at Warner Brothers have shared another classic film that I’ve been told is a must watch. This time they are doing it in style with a Steelbook case for The Departed. The film follows an Organized Crime boss, Costello, and the two officers tasked with bringing him down. One is a rat and the other is undercover to infiltrate the organization. It becomes a race to uncover who the other is while Costello works to expand his empire.

For anyone that still hasn’t seen the film, NOW is the time to do it. The only thing I knew about the film was the sound track, specifically Shipping Up to Boston from The Dropkick Murphys. The first time I had even heard of this film was while watching the music video from TDM. Watching the film I was surprised how many big names were attached. Seeing that it was done by Martin Scorsese made it make more sense. Start to finish the cast, the acting, the writing, direction, ALL OF IT, was beyond fantastic. No wonder it won FOUR Academy Awards and over a dozen other awards. This film is one of the few instances where the hype truly does not do it justice. Highly recommend watching, I’m already planning my NEXT viewing.

Warner Brothers have come back with the second volume of their animated event, Justice League Crisis of Infinite Earths.

The previous Crisis film focused most of the story on Barry Allen as the Flash and him assisting in the construction of a series of towers. These towers would protect various Earths from an Anti-matter wave that seemed to be trying to erase the entirety of reality. Part Two of Crisis of Infinite Earths from Warner Brothers is a direct continuation of the story but this time follows Psycho Pirate. Psycho Pirate is tasked with making each hero confident and to minimize the panic on each world. Being the true villain he is, he betrays the trust placed in him and starts working for the Anti-Monitor. The Anti-Monitor promises Pirate that he will essentially be a god in the new reality and he enthusiastically agrees.

Anytime I watch an animate DC film, if it features Batman, I want him to be voiced by the late Kevin Conroy. Obviously, after his passing that will no longer be an option without the help of AI. Let’s not even get into that can of worms. Jensen Ackles taking over the role sounds like a perfect successor. Troy Baker, while good as the Joker, still doesn’t hold a candle to Mark Hamill. Basically if the original Batman The Animated Series is the gold standard in DC voice acting then this film is a strong Silver. Overall the cast did a fantastic job, it’s just hard to beat the best.

Having never read the original comic story, or seen any of the previous tellings of the story, I went in mostly blind. However I did read the novel close to two decades ago. I remember the novel being great and there being an emphasis on the Flash but not much else. I had forgotten almost the entire story by the time I watched both parts One and Two. Both parts of the story have been great. From what I’ve read, there will only be three parts I cannot wait for the finale. I also hope we see more of these classic comic events getting the animated treatment, especially if they follow this level of quality.

Orion Haste from Ratalaika Games is their latest sidescroller shooter that has definite Contra vibes but with a Doom Guy cosplay.

The folks at Ratalaika Games shared another nostalgic filled title with us, this time with Orion Haste. OH is a run and gun side-scroller that pits you against an alien invasion with an array of weapons with unlimited ammo. That’s right! UNLIMITED AMMO! You play as a soldier, who remarkably looks like Doom Guy, who is tasked with ending the alien menace. Along the way you will find extra lives or health and the four weapons. Each stage starts you with having to find the weapons once again and I must say the electric beam is the best option for nearly EVERY fight. It is a never ending beam of destruction. It is great to wield. The only problem with the weapons is aiming. You are limited to up, down, left, right and the left and right upper diagonals. With using a controller with sticks for aiming I hoped for better control. This in turn limits your options when dodging the enemies.

Gameplay looks and feels like the classic Contra games in nearly every way. Even the level of difficulty felt the same. Besides the limited options for shooting the controls are quite fluid. I loved Contra and this hit me in the feels in all the right ways. I had a blast with this one. Thanks to the team at Ratalaika and PR Hound for sharing another nostalgia gem with us!

Outer Terror from Ratalaika Games is an isometric horror title that looks and feels like a twin stick shooter without a trigger.

Ratalaika Games has provided us with a code for their latest horror title, Outer Terror. The game looks and behaves like a twin-stick shooter. Only real difference is you don’t control your shots, they never stop shooting. Your focus, as far as controls are concerned, is on moving and triggering different abilities. As you level up you pick among three cards that will either heal you or power you up further. As each stage begins you get an introductory story clip with artwork that is very reminiscent of Charlie Adlard from The Walking Dead. Adlard is one of my favorite comic artists so I am absolutely here for these intros.

When you start the game there are four chapters and based on the achievement list there are others that will unlock later. As you complete chapters you collect money and can use these funds to pay for upgrades. The more you play, the more you’ll earn. The game is full of dodging and as a tip, the more money you pick up, the faster you’ll level up and that means the more upgrades you’ll unlock. By the time I finished episode 1 I had all upgrades finished within the level.

The gameplay art was a bit of a disappointment. As with most RG titles, the graphics look like it was developed for the Super Nintendo and I love them for that. However, with the fantastic intro art I was disappointed that the sprites weren’t rendered in the same style, by the same hands. Gameplay itself is smooth though and once you learn to read the map you can make quick work of some of the episodes. Overall I had a great time and look forward to seeing more of this great art as I play more episodes.

Code supplied on behalf of Ratalaika Games by PR Hound.

Xatrom Command is a twin stick shooter from the team at Ratalaika Games where you must stop the alien threat.

Aliens have invaded and it is up to you to stop them in Xatrom Command from Ratalaika Games. XC is a twin-stick shooter with blocky graphics where your objective is to kill everything alien you see. Many of these aliens a similar to animals and bugs from Earth, except some of the bosses. As with any twin-stick shooter, it is quite easy to get overwhelmed. Movement is key and NEVER stop shooting. The primary targets are tiny spider-looking things and some sort of four-legged green and purple creature. I thought it was also a bug at first but couldn’t figure out which kind. Later on you fight scorpions, snakes and tarantulas. Not to mention a boss every ten rooms or map squares.

The game is actually quite simple, not just in appearance but in controls. You have one stick to move, one to aim your gun and the right trigger to fire. Again, movement is key. Don’t let the bugs overwhelm you because you will lose health quickly. The good news is the green things that look like bushes regularly drop ammo and health.

At first glance I assumed the game would be just TOO simplistic. Between the graphics and controls there wasn’t much to it. I was wrong. Despite the simplicity I had a great time, so much so that in a single sitting I completed thirty five of the levels and every achievement in the game. Doing so took almost an hour to do total so this is a great one for achievement hunters too!

Dungeon Drafters is a Zelda-like dungeon crawl where you have unlimited lives and a classic SNES look and feel.

Dangen Entertainment provided us a code for their latest title, Dungeon Drafters and it is an experience that quite surprisingly felt both new and nostalgic. How can it be both? I know. it feels weird. Visually the game looks like some of the classic JRPG titles you would play on the Super Nintendo or even the Genesis, with an isometric dungeon crawl. This is most like some of the original Final Fantasy titles. That covers the nostalgia part of it, now on to the NEW. The combat mechanics are a blend of turn based combat, like a tactics game, and merges it with card abilities from a randomized deck. This cards perform actions like rappelling from one end of the map to the other or a flaming sword strike.

As you dungeon crawl through the various stages you will confront monsters and people to save. Sometimes the monsters will attack each other as well. The way to tell the difference is the color of the health bar. If it’s red, then you kill it with extreme prejudiced. If it’s gold however, you need to save them as quick as possible. If this part was explained somewhere I completely missed it. Each chamber of the map seems to get more difficult as time progresses so playing cautiously is important as you rarely get chances to heal. Most enemies can move or act two times per turn where the character I chose had three. Knowing this makes planning your moves even more important because you can force some enemies to lineup to make fighting them easier.

I plan on a minimum of one hour of gameplay prior to writing our reviews.  This game sucked me in and somehow I lost almost three hours and had no idea, I was just having fun while slashing my way through the Glacial Library. Some dungeons are harder than others and I think choosing the library was a mistake this early in my gameplay because I didn’t even complete a single floor before getting killed. Interacting with NPCs leads me to believe we will unlock additional characters in our party through the story which will make stages like this one easier to traverse. Not only did I have a great time with this one but my son who was watching me play enjoyed it as well and even helped me understand some of the ability cards I was using better.

In a cyberpunk world where corporations control everything you play as Jenet in Cybertrash STATYX from Sometimes You.

You begin Cybertrash Statyx as Jenet, waking up in a facility that is testing your body against numerous stressors. Things like being forced to run an obstacle course during the middle of the night when you should be sleeping. It’s obvious this corporation is EVIL because they are intentionally ruining your sleep. That is sacred. For that, they must pay! You are tested in challenge after challenge while the scientists and corporate bosses watch on.

The game is a two dimensional side scroller from Sometimes You and Uncle Frost Team where your goal is to survive this corporate run world by using their own tools and enhancements against them. Maybe you’ll even uncover a greater conspiracy while you’re at it?

The game looks like a classic title from the days of the Super Nintendo with solid combat mechanics. However where the game really fails is the movement controls. They can be quite sticky at times, especially when trying to jump and move forward at the same time. This has caused me to die more times than any failed reaction by falling short and running into an enemy. Being able to see cinematics and dialogue featuring the heads of the evil corporation make the story more engaging. This in turn makes the events around Jenet make more sense as well as she is fed only the most basic information. The poor movement mechanics do detract from the gameplay but the combat mechanics were surprisingly solid. Being able to switch weapons from item points allows you to better control the combat and made the game enjoyable.

The team at Ratalaika Games have returned along with Stately Snail to release the sequel One More Dungeon 2.

Our friends of Ratalaika Games shared one of their latest titles, One More Dungeon 2, with us and we recently had the chance to sit down and give it a play. We had never heard of the franchise prior to the announcement of this sequel but based on images alone we were excited to dive right in. In both titles you play an unnamed adventurer. I don’t know much of the original storyline but in OMD2 you are held captive by a kingdom of snails, or are they snails and slugs? Either way, they are green and slimy looking, but in a cute way. To earn your freedom, you must run through the dungeons and remove the evil denizens there to keep them from raiding the snail-king’s domain. More than enough justification for me to explore these dangerous spaces.

As I mentioned, the slugs are pretty damn cute and the enemies themselves are rendered in a chunky art style that reminds me of the Super-Hero Squad line that Hasbro released over a decade ago. The stages are randomly generated with each expedition but are hampered by the controls. Most games with a poor controller setup have a chance to make up for this by having easier gameplay, an engaging story or stellar graphics. The controls for this game are obscenely sticky, making aiming with ranged weapons quite difficult. They were so bad that they turned what would have been a great game into one that is only okay. The difficulty (when set higher) was much higher than I expected and provided a great challenge that was made more frustrating by these same controller issues. Overall we enjoyed the game but, without the necessary controls making it nearly impossible at times, it fell short of its potential.