Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Yes, that’s an attempt at a David Bowie reference couched in, like, five other references. Because Mars War Logs comes from a company called Spiders, you see, and Bowie’s band was called… and then I switched around the stuff to mean… and anyway. My job is really hard sometimes, everyone. But yes, Mars from the videogame studio Spiders (which I can neither confirm nor deny is from Mars) is out! It looks kinda like Mass Effect meets RAGE meets Chronicles of Riddick, which is quite a seductively sandy cocktail, if you ask me. But, at the same time, Cyanide and Spiders (truly, a winning combination) haven’t had the strongest track record in the past. Hmmm. Perhaps the launch trailer after the break will knock some of the cobwebs off my purchasing finger?

Read the rest of this entry »

An important lesson about background music can be learned from the most recent Mars: War Logs (yes, they’re sticking with “War Logs”) trailer. What should have been an overview of the promising-looking RPG turns into an ear-straining confusion as you try to pick out the voice from the strumming music and shouty game noise. Which is a bit silly of them, because it’s looking rather interesting.

Read the rest of this entry »

While Mars: War Logs prepares to lumber into view, news reaches us today that Spiders Studio are also working on a larger project, Bound By Flame, an “action/role-playing game [that] lets you play a mercenary possessed by a flame demon in an ambitious Dark Fantasy universe”. The press release doesn’t specify whether the real-time combat can be paused but the words ‘Dark Fantasy’ followed by some wittering about sidequests, companions, romance and rivalry makes me think of Dragon Age. My brain has been sorely infected by a blight from long ago, truth be told, and the rumble of dark fantasy RPGs in the distance still sets me to thinking about copious blood-spatter and Marilyn Manson.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mars: War Logs. Wars: Lar Mogs. Lars: Mor Wags. Yes, Mars: War Logs’ name may be easily transmutable into extremely silly sounding phrases (I like the last one because it makes me think of some upper-class so-and-so commanding their dog, Lars, to wag its tail better), but it actually looks quite intriguing as far as Captain Commando McSpaceBiff adventures go. In short, Lars: War Mogs tells cyberpunk-y role-playing to get its nanomachine-enhanced ass to Mars, and the result looks like a surprisingly stylish fusion of Mass Effect and RAGE. Moving pictures and moving words after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »