Review - BUD SPENCER & TERENCE HILL - SLAPS AND BEANS - Mamma mia, the nostalgia!

Sheesh, if there's one comical duo I never expected to see in video games, it's Bud Spencer and Terence Hill!
And especially in such an incredibly well done package!🤤

If somebody told me a game would come out featuring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, I would have expected something half-baked, badly broken and ugly...
So many games inspired by movies were butchered in the history of games...
Well, the amount of work they invested in this game is astonishing.😍

Party Hard 2 new trailer looks promising!

Now this is interesting... Party Hard 2 developers have decided to remake one of the best(and also hardest) levels of Party Hard 1, "Vegas Party"!
"Now with more aliens and chickens."

E3 2018 Teaser - Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass takes place in France?

In development for several years, the new explosive adventure of Serious Sam is scheduled to be released sometime in 2018, and Croteam finally delivered us their first teaser!  
I was starting to worry! Remember Croteam's April Fools' about the game being cancelled?😅

Review - DOOM - Castlevania Simon's Destiny MOD - The first Castlevania FPS ever made is great!

Batandy did it again! After The Golden Souls, now he made another great mod called Castlevania - Simon's Destiny! It's creepy, atmospheric, hard as nails, and although it's based on the first ever made Castlevania(1986) on Nes, it feels much more like playing Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo, 1991) in a first person view!

There is a little problem though... Can we call this a mod, since it doesn't use ANY of the Doom assets?
I mean, this time, you don't even need to own the original Doom ".pk3" files to run it, it's a completely stand alone high-quality fangame!😁👍

A new Neo-Geo console soon?

The project is still very mysterious, but SNK has posted a mysterious tweet recently, showing "something" under a sheet stamped Neo Geo.
And a Japanese message saying  "a new game console compiling the popular titles of the Neo-Geo will make its appearance, to express our gratitude to all our fans ".😍

Eat corpses, sell limbs, bury people alive... The everyday's life of a medieval Graveyard Keeper!

The creators of Punch Club, Lazy Bear Games, make a U-turn and let us be a cemetary manager in the upcoming - historically inaccurate - "Graveyard Keeper"!
My first question is "wait, why in medieval times AGAIN?"
Yeah, why not in the 80s instead? Oh well, you know... Everything's was cooler in the 80s, even partying with friends in graveyards. Oh well, maybe that's just me.

Review - DOOM + THE GOLDEN SOULS v1.4 - Plumber with a shotgun

After decades of jumping over your enemies, haven't you ever wanted to explore the Mario levels in a first person view, annihilating your enemies with deadly weapons? Well, look no further, as The Golden Souls (made by Batandy) has been made just for YOU! 

Today, we'll review the "Even More Definitive Edition v1.4" of Golden Souls!

Sega re-releases Shenmue 1 & 2 on PC and consoles!

Cult open-world adventure games adulated by a horde of nostalgic Dreamcast fans, Shenmue 1 & 2(1999-2001) are going to be re-issued by SEGA, bundled together on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

For those who haven't known that golden era, the Shenmue games were some of the best action-adventure games you could find at that time, and they were ONLY on Dreamcast, the only true "next-gen" console in the late 90s.
Many people bought the console only to be able to play these gems. 

It's a long revenge story taking place across two decades.
The main character, Ryo Hazuki, is out to avenge his father’s murder, which will force him to leave his boring diligent student life into a world of deadly martial arts. 
You'll explore an open world with day/night cycles and realistic weather(at the time), and especially revolutionary at the time in a 3D game, a population of NPC who all have their own lives and schedules. 

Shenmue is one of the first games ever made to deliver a large real-time and functioning, living world. 

No wonder the creator was the prodigy Yu Suzuki, Sega superstar to whom we owe the classic Out Run, Space Harrier, Hang On, or the Virtua Fighter series!

Shenmue II, which took place mainly in China. For some reason, I never liked it as much as the first one.

I'm skeptical about their success though, as the gameplay has aged a bit.
I think that the graphics are perfectly enjoyable as they are and anyway, late 90s blocky 3D graphics always had lots of charm, in my opinion.  
The problems come more from the countless QTE (quick time events), and clunky controls.
The narration is still okay, although it was considered way ahead of its time back then.
I just hope it won't lower people's expectations of a third installment.
Still though, I have to say I'm IMMENSELY pleased to see a certain number of Dreamcast games being re-released on PC since a few years. (like Grandia 2!)

All I know is that Popeye is a lonely sailor. No wonder he has such big forearms...

Until now, it was difficult, if not impossible, to replay legally Shenmue in good conditions.
Emulation isn't that bad but frankly, it never convinced me.
I haven't tried it the latest emulators updates but I got tired of flickering textures, huge slowdowns, etc.
What's the best Dreamcast emulator at the moment? Reicast? Demul?
Last time I tried them, I couldn't even launch the game.
No HD textures or anything remotely close to a remaster, apparently.

But this reissue benefits from some serious improvements: user interface overhaul, HD 16/9 resolutions support,  choice between modern or classic control schemes, possibility to switch between Japanese and English dubs...

REQUEST: Please release it on GOG!🤗

Gee, I forgot it looked that good. Maybe my CRT screen back then was butchering those nice textures! (and no, it's not sarcasm. Remember this was in 1999-2001!)

Wikipedia: "The original Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever developed at the time, with an estimated production and marketing cost of US$47 to $70 million, though some of the development also covered Shenmue II."

I wonder if this isn't part of what caused Sega's demise shortly after Shenmue II release.
(The Dreamcast was Sega's last console, whose production halted in 2001. The funny part is that hardcore fans have been making great games(especially shmups) this whole time, like The Ghost Blade, released in 2015! You can get it on Amazon!) 

Too bad it's possible we'll never see a Sega console ever again.
Even if it wouldn't be economically viable on the long term, I still dream of Sega making a 2D-only console, a la SNK's Neo-Geo, like in the 90s. 
Beat-em up, sports, rpgs, you name it!
And NOT using damn CDs, or anything remotely similar that makes noise and isn't solid like a good old Megadrive cartridge! 😝
my old Megadrive from 1991 still work perfectly. My Saturn doesn't.)

ABOUT SHENMUE III

I know that Shenmue III is in the works but I have difficulties to believe in it.
I'm a fan of Shenmue since the first game and I saw SO many "demos"(remember Shenmue Online?) since almost 20 years now, that I just don't trust any promises about a potential Shenmue III anymore now.
Anyway, it's on Kickstarter for now, already managed to collect millions of $$$, so I assume that this time is more serious than ever.

Well, in the case it gets cancelled, you can always play the GTA-like Sleeping Dogs for now!
Lots of street fights, lots of npc interaction, mini-games, all wrapped in a strong narrative adventure, this is the closest to Shenmue you can get on PC!!  
Other than that, how about Yakuza 0?

Terraria Otherworld gets cancelled!

It is with bitter disappointment that I have to announce you that Terraria: Otherworld has been cancelled by the developer Re-Logic. 
Terraria might be my #1 favorite indie game ever, so I really expected a lot from this one.
On the other hand, it's not so surprising, when you see the chaotic development since the last 3 years.

The game looked great though, and was supposed to be more adventure or even rpg-oriented than the original crafting/platforming sandbox formula successfully used in Terraria. 

Unfortunately, Re-Logic considers that this project takes way too much time and money to accomplish.
Also, I'm glad that they regret outsourcing the project (twas definitely a bad idea), and they intend to focus on their own people in the future.
Makes sense to me.
You don't entrust your best franchise to outsiders!
Imagine if George Lucas let somebody else make Star Wars movies! ha ha! ......

Anyway, the "good" news is that Re-logic retains ownership of everything which has been created for the Otherworld project, source code, art assets, etc, and that all of these likely be used in future games.
Personally, I really liked what they did with the artstyle and I think it would be a waste to throw it away.

Not necessarily as cute as the first Terraria, but more atmospheric if you ask me, and I even prefer it to Starbound!

On a side note, I can't believe that the original Terraria is still in development.
They're working on v1.3.6 now, and make it sound like something big is in the works...
I think they've done everything they could do with it though, and I'd prefer if they finally focused on a true sequel.

Review - BINDING OF ISAAC: REBIRTH (+ Afterbirth DLC) - Unpopular Opinion: it stinks!

Remember Full Metal Jacket? "I AM in a world of shit!" Oh well, let's sing! Poop-poop-pee-doo!

Ahhh The Binding of Isaac! Supposedly the best roguelite ever made!
Millions of people quit their job to start playing it 24/7, it gets around 101% of positive reviews, some even say it cured cancer and might eventually bring peace on earth, and usually, people who dare criticizing it are burned alive in public places.
Well, call me Jeanne d'Arc, as I'm going to destroy this game. 😅🔥

Today, we're playing the "ultimate" Rebirth version, which is a remake of the first release, with the Afterbirth+ DLC, offering 100+ new items, new room layouts, bosses, etc!

Review - BROFORCE - If you want to live, hasta la vista!

Now I have a machine gun...AND I'm ridin' a wild pig. Ho ho ho! (there'll be lots of 80s/90s movies references in this review! Can you find them all?)

All right, you primitive screw-heads, listen up! See this? This is Broforce, and playing it will make you a goddamned sexual Tyrannosaurus, just like me!

Review - ROGUE LEGACY - The most addictive roguelite ever made?

"oh, another bullet hell game, right?"... NOPE. It's just Rogue Legacy, a roguelite game which does become a bit hardcore when you reach NG+... and wait until you reach NG+10... lol

The past few years have been fabulous in the indie scene, with the resurrection of the old roguelike genre, adopting a simpler real-time action-oriented form called by hardcore fans "roguelite".

Rogue Legacy is the epitome of this new genre, combining old-school platformer and Metroidvania elements, and became an instant classic which will be passed down many generations.

Review - THE MUMMY DEMASTERED - A great Controidvania!

The Mummy Demastered has some of the best pixel art you've ever seen.

I'm not sure I ever saw a movie successfully ported to a video game.
(I'm not talking about successful cartoon and anime ports, which are legion!)
The first that comes to my mind is Die Hard Trilogy(summer 1996), and it was still kinda average.
This game is the opposite.
The Mummy was a very subpar movie, and yet this - arbitrarily adapted - game version is great!
I hope you're a hardcore gamer though...😅
(P.S: can you tell me about other movies which got nice ports?)