New Trailer Illustrates How the Wii Remote Lights the Way through this Bone-Chilling Experience
If you’re still in the mood for a scare as we leave the most frightening holiday on the calendar, you’re in for a devilishly horrifying treat. Blue Isle Studios announced that Slender: The Arrival is now available for the Wii U system in North America, and Europe as of last Thursday, October 29.
With the Wii U version, Slender: The Arrival becomes even more gripping and immersive with the use of the Wii Remote, which serves as your in-game flashlight. By moving the Wii Remote players can shine the weak light onto the dark, haunting world of Slender Man in a search for clues in this mystery.
The nightmarish Slender Man is described by eye witnesses as a thin, unnaturally tall man dressed in a black suit with a blank, featureless face. Slender: The Arrival brings extended levels and a unique story to the world of Slender Man that continues to unfold the terrifying mythos. Players are enveloped in a world of sensory deprivation filled with haunting visions and audio cues that create a healthy dose of tension and paranoia.
In The Arrival‘s storyline, Lauren is in search of her friend Kate, who recently has become increasingly obsessed with the folklore of Slender Man. Was Kate’s disappearance the work of Slender Man? Use Kate’s forgotten flashlight with the Wii Remote to explore abandoned houses, creepy mines and dark forests to unravel the mystery – all while being stalked by the menacing presence of Slender Man.
Developed in collaboration with Eric “Victor Surge” Knudson, creator of the paranormal phenomenon, and written by the creative team behind the YouTube Marble Hornets series, Slender: The Arrival is rated ‘T’ for Teen (Blood, Violence).
Follow @BlueIsleStudios and like the game on Facebook! I’m scared as hell, but this might be super fun!!! Have you guys checked it out, yet?
Leia Calderon
Editor
@ladyvader99
REVIEW | Salt and Sanctuary
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
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When things are cute I want to squish them. Usually the amount of squishing is directly proportionate to how cute I find the thing. For instance: I started watching Supernatural recently (yeah I know) and season one Sammy is so squishable that if I got my hands on his face it would probably leave bruises.
That all being said. Squids Odyssey is so damn cute that if I ever put my Wii U gamepad down to stop playing, I will squish it until there’s nothing left. Squids Odyssey is so cute and so fun that it was three hours of playing before I even checked the time. It reminds me an awful lot of The Legendary Starfy, except cuter, more complex, and way more addictive.
You start playing as the little squid Steev, who is helping his mentor defeat the infectious ooze and its minions who have returned to the good squids’ land. As the game unfolds you unlock more and more adorable squiddy companions, each with special skills on their own and as part of the team. The battle mechanics are fairly standard–squids are either shooters, troopers, scouts or healers–and the items can upgrade health, stamina, attack, defense, and “special”. If this were all introduced at the very beginning, it would have been overwhelming. However, Squids Odyssey paces things out perfectly, which makes the learning curve just steep enough to marathon through level after level.
(Sidebar: I just picked up the game again to check something, and got distracted for 40 minutes easy. If nothing else about this review convinces you to download Squids Odyssey, keep in mind how long it’s taking me to write this simply by virtue of how distracting the game has become.)
Each level introduces more obstacles, different baddies, or a more complicated map. Wave currents, sea urchins, and the edges of coral reefs all pose delightfully varied challenges. You collect pearls by defeating enemies and cracking open treasure chests and clam shells, among other little surprises. The pearls are then used to buy items, upgrade squids, and purchase unlocked gear.
Squids Odyssey is a best case scenario downloadable game. It’s fully-functional. It’s fully customizable, from the members of your party to the silly hats they wear. No two levels play the same, and with so much to customize the levels have tons of replay value. In fact, I went back and played a couple levels with different party members just to see if the options make a difference; and when they did I went back to the very beginning and aimed to 100% each world. I’m still working on it.
The ONLY complaint I have is that the storyline was not greatly important to the gameplay. There’s a little bit of story-based reasoning behind the shakeup of the party members. Each new party member gives us a little of their backstory, but it all sort of blends together after a while. It doesn’t stall my enjoyment of this near perfect surprise of a game, but a little more story would have plumped that enjoyment up to eleven.
I would say more, but there are Squids that need my attention.
Squids Odyssey can be downloaded in the eShop, and I recommend you make some time for cute little squid squishing.
REVIEW | Salt and Sanctuary
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
REVIEW | Spider-Man PS4
Review | Re-Exploring No Man’s Sky Next
REVIEW | Downward Spiral: Horus Station
Every year my inner gamer just about yodels during this 3-day industry show. Rumors are either brought to fruition or are laid to rest (for another year anyway), and I can plan my gaming budget for the future.
Day one and two had some major reveals, some really intense teasers, and I wanted to share with you guys what games I am personally most excited for. Let’s break this down by conference!!
Microsoft
*Evolve
First up for me is Turtle Rock/2K’s Monster Hunter look-a-like Evolve.
I love games where you can cooperatively take down a massive creature, so pair that with insane gameplay and graphics, and I’m basically sold. They had a huge presence at PAX, and I’ve been following it for a few months, so it’s definitely high on my list.
*Dragon Age: Inquisition
I’ve been a sucker for the Dragon Age games, and Dragon Age: Inquisition looks even more jaw dropping. This installment looks a lot more haunting, a lot more scary (which might just be me), but the DRAGONS. Character design has always been pretty, but just the details on the armor is kinda breathtaking!!
*Ori and the Blind Forest
This is one that kinda caught me off guard, and finishes my Microsoft list. It’s absolutely gorgeous looking, and while not too much of the story is really hinted at, I kinda wanna play on the sole fact that it is beautiful. It’s called Ori and the Blind Forest and it’s from Moon Studios. The only problem is, I am terrified of owls, so we shall see how it goes, ha ha ha.
EA
*Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront. I don’t even know what to say, cause I’m fucking rendered speechless, and in tears. You get to FIGHT on different PLANETS on the side of the Rebellion, or the Empire WITH BETTER GRAPHICS!!!! YOU GUYS!!!!
Ubisoft
I could care less. Maybe Colby has something for ya, cause I’m the only person apparently not hyped for any of the titles, which include Valiant Hearts, Rainbow Six Siege , and I forgot what else…Mirror’s Edge 2? You know how you can get my interest, Ubisoft? How about making your main protagonist in Assassin’s Creed: Unity a woman? Like….Charlotte Corday instead of Scruffy White Guy #5.
Sony
*The Order: 1886
I love Action/Adventure platformers, and this one pits an alternate London band of “knights” against supernatural creatures. It was teased at last year’s E3, and seeing a full length trailer basically made me need a fresh pair of underwear. It’s a PS4 exclusive, and definitely one at the top of my list, thanks to the sort of Resident Evil vibe this trailer gives off!
*Bloodborne
Project Beast was revealed to be Bloodborne, a horrific, squelching sounding tease of a game, but oh my goodness, I cannot wait to slice open weird things!! I didn’t hear quite as much buzz about it, but maybe that’s because people were still reeling from other announcements?
*Abzu
80% of my hype for this game is due to the fact you can apparently swim alongside whales. Seriously. Aside from aforementioned whales, the graphics could definitely look a bit better, but it’s just a trailer, and I highly doubt the makers of Journey (which, if you have not played, PLAY IT) would disappoint.
*Batman: Arkham Knight
I’m not sure if I’m more turned on by the new Batmobile or Kevin Conroy’s dulcet voice just flowing over the body like a tub of dark chocolate…The newest Batman game is set to surpass Batman: Arkham City, and Rocksteady is setting the bar higher and higher. I loved how the developer described the surprise cameo as a realization of their (and I suppose ours if we were mid-fight) worst fear. Check the trailer to see what I mean!
Nintendo
*Legend of Zelda Wii U
Confession: I am not the biggest LoZ fan, more of a casual observer/player of the franchise, but this…this made me want to cry from how pretty it is! Couple with that with the rumors floating around that this is Zelda we will be playing as instead of Link, and color me intrigued. Oh yeah, and this game is apparently open world, which is a giant step away from standard linear gameplay, Wind Waker aside.
So there you have it! I’m incredibly stoked for a lot of the titles out in 2015 and 2016, but I want to know what made YOU excited!!! Tell me, or tweet them to me @ladyvader99!! LET’S ARGUE OR SQUEAL OVER VIDEO GAMES!
REVIEW | Salt and Sanctuary
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
REVIEW | Spider-Man PS4
Review | Re-Exploring No Man’s Sky Next
REVIEW | Downward Spiral: Horus Station
San Diego Comic Con was full of some highly anticipated, upcoming games. Check out this preview of these titles:
Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
Bayonetta 2
Ace Attorney 5
Octodad
Ryse: Son of Rome
Knack
Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns
Yoshi’s New Island
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.REVIEW | Salt and Sanctuary
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
REVIEW | Spider-Man PS4
Review | Re-Exploring No Man’s Sky Next
REVIEW | Downward Spiral: Horus Station
As a young lad I used to hang out at my grandmother’s very large, very creepy house and play video games with my older, cooler cousins. Mortal Kombat, Suikoden, and Doom. Back then I would sit around starry-eyed and listen as they talked about the “next-gen” of video-games. I would ask stupid questions like, “Can I throw my sword into the ceiling, climb up on it, wait for an enemy to come around the corner and then drop on them?”. They would chuckle and say something along the lines of, “No, not yet.”
Fast forward seventeen years and Final Fantasy XV has given me my dream. Finally (pun totally intended). Not only did they give me my dream, but they added some extra special sauce on top. I can throw my sword hundreds of yards and then teleport to my sword, dangling from it in insanely cinematic situations.
With the main game and story being developed by Tetsuya Nomura (one of the main character designers of Final Fantasy VII fame and also the director of Kingdom Hearts), the combat system being developed by the Kingdom Hearts 2 team, and the cut scenes being handled by the Advent Children team we are in for one hell of a game. Don’t take my word for it though. Watch these two videos and have your mind melted. The first video has a good chunk of cut scene during the first half, but then it kicks into actual gameplay.
I’m not sure exactly what the story is yet, but it looks to me like a combination of Gangs of New York and Romeo and Juliet (specifically the struggle between the Capulet’s and Montague’s). Works for me.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.And this video is solely gameplay footage. I think It’s interesting how your other party members interact with you in a completely organic way.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.Fulfilling a fantasy that I never knew I had is the Xbox One exclusive Titanfall. This new dream of mine is to eject from a mech on the verge of fiery explosion, rocket into the sky, land on the roof of the opposing mech, and unload a full clip into its skull, sentencing it to the same death it attempted against me.
The Call of Duty influence is obvious as the game is being made by Respawn Studios, the company founded by Jason West and Vince Zampella (the co-founders of Infinity Ward who took most of their team with them when they were fired for “insubordination”). Luckily, they have chosen to not simply retread the same foot-steps the Call of Duty franchise has been burning out and instead took a fresh approach.
This game is it is a combination of giant robot fighting, Call of Duty, and Mirror’s Edge parkour. Oh, and rocket packs like in Vanquish. Yep. I’m buying it.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.And then came Bayonetta 2. If you haven’t played and beaten Bayonetta 1 I implore you, nay… I beg thee to do so. There’s an anime by the name of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan where with every episode the show grows more and more over the top until the end where they are literally throwing solar systems at each as ninja stars. Bayonetta embraces this sort of audacity and revels in the set pieces that will have you simeoutaneously saying, “WTF HAHA!” and, “YESSSS!!!”.
The trailer for Bayonetta 2 shows off the heroines cute new hair style and then starts off at 100% over-the-top. This game. Is going to be. In-sane.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
Colorado Anime Fest Wrap Up
A Quick Run Down of Free Comic Book Day
September’s Twitch Giveaway!
The E3 Experience: Never too Late to Talk Hype
PAX has become a sort of mecca for gamers—as much a pilgrimage as it is a spectacle. When the first one was announced, gamers went ballistic. What? You mean I can go to a gaming convention where big name titles will be showed off? A convention that devs take seriously? Count me in! Since its inception, PAX has now spawned four separate conventions. Last week, I packed my bags and went to snowy Boston to brave the 50,000 some-odd people to go to my first PAX East. Was it all I had hoped for or should I have stayed at home and skipped all the Dunkin Donuts?
The devs came out in droves, from the megahuge (technical term) Bethesda to the two-man Zeboyd team, and they did not disappoint. Here’s the rundown of the biggest/best games at PAX East 2013.
Watch_Dogs
The trailer we saw at the PS4 reveal was pretty much identical to the video Ubisoft showed off on the expo hall floor. Alex stealing someone’s bank account info, stopping a potential murder, catching the offender, and running away from the police. The video shown off at PAX East, however, was from the perspective of the ctOS, the city-wide operating system controlling all public functions, with narration by presumably some sort of law enforcement figure. The change in viewpoint also yielded some new information about what exactly Alex is hacking to get all this done. It’s a combination of hacking the ctOS and a beta police program to identify potential victims before crimes happen. So now we know Alex has access to at least what the police have access too, making him even more dangerous a character.
The trailer also revealed a sorta-new character. If you hadn’t already picked up on it, someone besides law enforcement is watching Alex through ctOS. The developers have also mentioned you could watch the game from any device, so maybe this is how they wrote in a third, all-seeing eye to monitor Alex, but the implications of someone other than Alex having access to as much as he does is interesting as well. We may not have learned much, but Watch_Dogs remains near the top of my watch list.
Release Date: Q4 2013
Platforms: PC, Wii U, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Admittedly, I haven’t been very excited about Assassin’s Creed IV since it was announced. If you would have asked me after Revelations if having a lead character who was a pirate assassin who commands his own ship, I would have screamed my vocal chords to shreds in excitement. However, it seems like they’re moving further and further away from stealth, a component I feel used to be at the heart of the AC franchise. ACIII saw the biggest departure from this, after making straight-up murdering people so much easier, de-emphasizing sneaking in missions and adding ship fights. You can’t really sneak around in a ship. Or maybe you can and I was just doing it wrong.
Assassin’s Creed IV seems like an even larger departure, showing our new protagonist Edward Kenway as a ruthless cutthroat. He inspires loyalty in his men, a crew you must manage within the game. You get into ship battles, sail to different islands to explore them, and of course, murder some Templars along the way. Though one of the developers in the video said stealth would be more emphasized, I don’t see how that could be true when so much of the game is non-stealth. I suppose we’ll see later this year, but at the moment, the only thing I’m excited about is potential bug fixes to the ACIII engine.
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Platforms: PC, Wii U, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360
Saints Row IV
It’s crazy, it’s over the top, and it’s coming back at you. I was so taken aback by this game I wrote about it the night after seeing the video. You can read what I thought here. Spoilers: it seems like insanity drowned in madness.
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Last of Us
The line was long, I couldn’t get in. My bad. I wanted to play it as much as you wanted to read about it, probably more. Here’s some impressions from someone who did get in.
Release Date: June 14, 2013
REVIEW | Salt and Sanctuary
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
REVIEW | Spider-Man PS4
Review | Re-Exploring No Man’s Sky Next
