Today Lionhead Studios has announcedthat Fable Anniversary has gone gold and that they are beginning to print copies for release exclusively for the Xbox 360 on February 4th. As such, they went on to say that there will be three pre-order bonuses available for the game from select retailers, though they didn’t specify which retailer would have which pack:
Peiratēs Pre Order Pack
Peiratēs Outfit – Peiratēs was a famous plunderer, known for traveling uncharted waters to take entire cargo ships hostage for their most expensive items. He was also known by the name “Pete” in less formal circles.
Peiratēs Cutlass – A weapon used at sea needs to be both practical and effective. Peiratēs spent years refining this weapon so that the hook could be used to catch fish, the tip could be used to eat fish, and the blade could be used to slit a man’s throat.
Snowspire Pre Order Pack
Snowspire Guard Outfit – Made from genuine horse hair, this outfit is said to calm even the most vocal of criminals.
The Jackarse – An age-old popular pastime was run by a chap named Jack, who used to slap people around the face with a dead fish until they fell onto their arse. The rest, as they say, is history…
Apollo’s Pre Order Pack
Apollo’s Outfit – Apollo is the pseudonym for the leader of The Grey Company, the man responsible for monitoring Lady Grey’s financial investments. As fearsome as that may sound, he had a reputation for being incredibly nice, often using his own money to bail out any villager that couldn’t afford that months rent.
Apollo’s Crossbow – Based on a centuries old concept, Apollo wanted to create a modern crossbow with the feel of a relic from the past – and thus this crossbow was born. Dependable in combat, but also pretty tasty to look at.
Ace of Diamond Episode 13 – You’re in the First String
What does it mean to win? What sacrifices come with the cost of victory? Well a wise man once said “Nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you’re hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”And you know I think that just about sums up the entire series of Ace of Diamond. No matter how hard you get hit, no matter how many curves balls life throws your way, you just keep on dragging that tyre, because whether you win or lose, at the end of the day you took the hit and kept on fighting.
I think this ideology is one that embodies a vast majority of sports anime and stories in general. The idea of fighting on through adversity is something that is analogous with life itself. Anyone who has ever struggled through life knows what it means to take a hit and Ace of Diamond taps into that to great effect. Be it in the story of Chris or in the rise of Eijun.
Back when I first started my Ace of Diamond impressions, I remarked that this didn’t seem to be your average sports anime. Boy oh boy was I right. I noted that the series looked to focus on the concept of sacrifice and the things that make it worth it. Over the course of this excellent first cour, Ace of Diamond has explored this at length. Why do we sacrifice? Why do we fight on through pain, blood, sweat and tears? Well as we have seen over the course of these 13 episodes, everyone has their own reason to fight and just as much have their own reason to sacrifice.
In this episode we see Chris at the end of his tether fighting to the end, his injury coming into play once again. But his belief in Eijun is rewarded when he finally taps into that inner ace and unleashes the perfect pitch. In that very moment, all of the sacrifice and pain Chris suffered was justified, it wasn’t in vain. Through the adversity he suffered he was able to pass on his knowledge and help take this diamond in the rough and shine him up into a diamond.
The crushing moment of course comes when Coach Kataoka announces his selections for the first-string. As expected Eijun and Haruichi get called up. As Eijun quickly realizes, this leaves Chris out. Heartbroken that he has surpassed his mentor, desperately wishing to play just one more game with him, Eijun gets a hard hit of reality from Miyuki. “We don’t get to complain or be upset, we have to fight for those who can’t.” The realization sets in for Eijun here. He must fight on for Chris, to make all of his sacrifice worth something in the end.
On top of all that, we get some major pay-off in regards to Coach Kataoka. The man who has been conveyed as a hardass from day one, shows his true colours in a moment alone with the third-years that didn’t make the cut. “Don’t you ever stop making me so proud.” We knew that there was more to Kataoka, but now we see it. He views these boys like a father would to a son and the sacrifice they have each been through and the effort they have all put in was appreciated. Kataoka respects each and every one of them and wishes them the best in their future.
Chris reflects upon his career thus far and ultimately concludes that all of it was worth it for that one final pitch from Eijun. He calls it the greatest pitch he ever caught. It was the proudest moment of his career and validates everything he has fought for from the start.
All in all, Ace of Diamond is an absolute triumph of the sports anime genre. It is at its core an exploration of the very forces that drive people to play sport and the sacrifices that come with it. With this episode I end my coverage of Ace of Diamond after one hell of an impressive innings from this sadly under-rated series. I’ll definitely continue to follow Seidou and Eijun on their journey to Nationals and I hope you all do too.
To Ace of Diamond, thanks for reminding us that sometimes life can hit you hard and sometimes it can knock you down, but you can always stand back up and keep fighting on. After all there is a fighting ace in all of us, right Crazy Boy?
Today State of Decay developer Undead Labs has revealed that they have signed a multi-year, multi-title agreement with Microsoft to extend their development relationship. Since launching the game back on the XBLA on June 5th and releasing the latest piece of DLC for the game, Breakdown, our review of which can be found here, the company has seen quite a lot of success.
Undead Labs’ founder Jeff Strain also went on to say that there are “big things going on with State of Decay” and that details will be shared “later this year” but for now they are going to keep things on the down low and work on the game before they reveal anything else.
Today Nintendo revealed a new member of the Super Smash Bros. roster, well new being a relative term in this case, as it just so happens to be Kirby’s usual foe King Dedede. To go along with the announcement the company released a number of screenshots showing him in action in the Wii U version of the game and even tossed 3DS owners a bone with one image featuring Dedede with Peach and Zelda.
From the looks of things, King Dedede will continue to use his signature hammer and his facial expressions have certainly been reworked to make him more expressive.
Daisuki have just made some major announcements for their Winter 2014anime streaming line-up. They have officially confirmed that they have acquired the license to stream Buddy Complex, Nisekoi and World Conquest Zvezda Plot.
Buddy Complex is a mecha series from Sunrise, the creators of Gundam and more recently Valvrave. The series will be available for streaming world-wide on Daisuki except for Japan.
Nisekoi is a romantic comedy based upon the popular Shonen Jump manga of the same name. Daisuki will be streaming Nisekoi in US, Canada, South Africa and South America only.
World Conquest Zvezda Plot comes from the man behind Darker Than Black an the studio that brought us Sword Art Online. Zvezda will be streaming in US, Canada, South America, Africa (except Tunisia & Algeria), Europe (except Ireland, UK, France/German speaking areas), India, Russia and Middle East (all countries).
Nisekoi and World Conquest Zvezda Plot will launch on January 11th, 2014 a few hours after they air in Japan. Buddy Complex however will begin airing on January 13th, 2014.
One of Xbox Arcade’s biggest sellers has been available on Steam through the Early Access program for some time now. FortressCraft Evolved has been releasing a steady stream of updates to improve the scope of the game since its initial release in early December. Based on popular demand, the developers have bumped up the release schedule and added survival mode to the game early. Players will need to battle hypothermia to stay alive. FortressCraft Evolved’s large variety of sci-fi machinery will help ward off the cold as players explore the depths of the world for much needed resources.
Although the game is still in alpha testing, FortressCraft Evolved is available now on Steam for $5.99. The game currently runs on Windows PCs only.
While we learned that Nintendo was planning on releasing the new Yoshi game sometime in the Spring last month, we now know the exact date that it is going to be hitting shelves in North America. Today the company announced that Yoshi’s New Island will be released on March 14th and it will be available at retail as well as through the eShop as a digital download.
The game has Takashi Tezuka, the original creative director for the series, on the staff and many of Yoshi’s skills will be returning in the title as well as some new actions that have been introduced in Yoshi’s New Island.
EA Mobile, Speedhunters (a division of EA), and TRA Kyoto are teaming up to release a brand new body kit for the Toyota 86. The kit was announced today at the Tokyo Auto Salon. The man behind the design is the founder of TRA Kyoto, Kei Miura. He is a major name in the car modding scene. His design has been dubbed “Kei Miura for Speedhunters” or “KM4SH.” The body kit can be purchased from Speedhunters later this year.
Gamers who are looking to get in on the action, but lack a Toyota 86 to modify can check out the body kit in the mobile racing game Need for Speed Most Wanted. The game is available for free on iTunes and Google Play.
Great news for all you WWE wrestling fans out there, the Animal Batista will be making his in ring return to the WWE on Monday Night Raw on the 20th of January 2014 after signing a two year contract with the WWE. Rumor has it that the four time World Heavyweight and two time WWE Champion Batista will start off feuding against Mexico’s greatest export, Alberto Del Rio. Can we expect the Animal to go all the way to top of the WWE mountain once again? Only time will tell.
In other WWE news OR rumours, the WWE have offered Bill Goldberg one million dollars to make an appearance at this years’ Wrestlemania XXX (30). As shown below, Goldberg has shot down this rumour by responding on his official twitter @goldberg that it’s not true. Certainly a shame for wrestling fans as a match against current WWE super star Ryback, who is constantly mocked “Goldberg” by the fans each time he wrestles in the ring, would of been a great match to see.
Still wondering where the "1 million $" for Wrestlemania rumor came from…….
What do you think will happen? Will Batista Bastista Bomb his way to the top? Will Ryback face off against Goldberg at Wrestlemania XXX? Let us know what you think in the comments section below Brotha!
LOS ANGELES, CA- January 10, 2013- GAMEVIL has today announced that social network RPG Monster Warlord passed 10M installs worldwide. The news comes shortly after GAMEVIL’s acquisition of the game’s developing studio, Everple.
Since first launching more than 18 months ago, Monster Warlord has become a global hit, ranking top-10, top-grossing overall in 29 countries’ Google Play and 23 countries’ App Store. The game’s success is attributed to live services and events, with support across 11 different languages: English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Russian, and Indonesian.
Through GAMEVIL’s global services, Monster Warlord recorded more than 2 billion KRW ($1.9 million USD) in sales last month.
With hundreds of different monsters to collect, Monster Warlord provides the “collect them all” experience on mobile for users around the world. By questing and upgrading monsters in endless combinations, players can build the ultimate team of rare and powerful monsters. Players can then put their lineups to the test by facing World Bosses, conquering Dungeons, and battling others in Global PvP.
Monster Warlord is available for free on Google Play for Android devices and on App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
About GAMEVIL
GAMEVIL®, with over 330 million game downloads and experience publishing hundreds of games on multiple platforms, is one of the most active and innovative mobile game companies in the world. Established in 2000 and with offices in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul, GAMEVIL is an experienced global mobile game publisher working with more than 70 top studios around the world.
With deep industry and regional knowledge, GAMEVIL has been able to craft numerous award winners through a diverse portfolio of games. Backed by unparalleled expertise in mobile, GAMEVIL continues to lead the sector with a commitment in establishing mobile gaming as a way of life.
GAMEVIL is currently listed on the KOSDAQ Market (Ticker: 063080, Bloomberg: 063080:KS, Reuters: 063080.KQ)
