After a long and grueling competition, it seems that the ultimate Playstation Ultimate All-Star challenge to find the biggest fan of the game has concluded. This competition saw competitors competing against each other in a tournament over the course of many days in the multiplayer component of the Playstation All-Stars Battle Royal game thing (I’m not the Playstation guy).
The winner of this tournament was none other than Joshua Whittington from NSW, Australia. Congratulations Josh! On the victory Joshua had this to say –
“It’s so great to be named the PlayStation All-Stars number one fan, ever since I was a little kid I’ve been playing PlayStation games so to be a part of something like this is really cool,” said Joshua.
He continued, “It’s been a gruelling couple of weeks with a lot of work and strategy going into this competition, but now I’m number one and it’s a great feeling! Thank you to PlayStation Australia for hosting this competition and to everyone else for making this such a fun experience.”
It’s great seeing gaming publishers host tournaments such as these as it appeases the competitive edge of so many gamers. I would love to see more support from the industry competitively.
Earlier today Eidos and Square Enix announced the upcoming DLC for Hitman Absolution taken from the Deus Ex universe. This DLC is called Hitman Absolution: Deus Ex and it adds a new costume for Agent 47 as well as an iconic weapon taken from the future.
Each item in this DLC set will cost the player 80MSP on the X360, or roughly $1.00 on the PSN and PC platforms. Along with this reveal is a pretty cool trailer, but I have to admit that Adam Jensen does the look a whole lot better than our notorious assassin.
Some of you may recall that in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Aksys Games began a fundraiser linked to their recently released Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward title where the company would sell off the highly sought after watches for $19.99 and all proceeds from these sales would be donated to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts.
Well today Aksys Games announced that their fundraiser managed to reach nearly $13K and have donated $12,920.00 to the American Red Cross. In fact the outpouring of support for their fans, and perhaps need for the watches, resulted in the watches selling out in 24 hours.
Ever wanted to dance around your living room to Carly Rae Jepsen’s song “Call Me Maybe” and actually earn points for it? Well now you can! This time tommorrow, players will be able to download the hit song for Dance Central 3 from either the in-game store or the Xbox Live Marketplace. Featuring dance moves choreographed by Spikey Soria, “Call Me Maybe” has sold over 10 million copies in regular digital download, making it one of the best selling digital singles of all time.
Players can get their hands (or dance shoes) on the new song tomorrow for just 240 Microsoft Points. Only time will tell however whether or not this song will be able to outsell the game’s previous DLC, PSY’s “Gangnam Style” which still holds a top place on today’s dancing charts.
Toei have revealed the plot outline of the upcoming and hotly anticipated Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods movie through their official website. The story section reads as follows:
“The story is set several years after the battle with Majin Buu. Bills, the god of destruction who has maintained the balance of the universe, has awakened from a long slumber. Hearing rumors of a Saiyan who defeated Freeza, Bills comes looking for Goku.
Excited that a powerful opponent has appeared after so long, Goku ignores King Kai’s advce and challenges Bills in a battle. However, Goku is no match for Bill’s overwhelming god-like power and is easily defeated. Bills leaves after uttering an ominous message, “Is there anyone on Earth more worthy to destroy?” Will Goku and the others really be able to stop the God of Destruction?!”
It’s certainly an interesting plot for a Dragon Ball Z film and the main antagonist Bills is shaping up to be quite a tough opponent for the Z Warriors.
Let us know your thoughts on the storyline of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods in the comments section below.
Players looking to pre-order their copy of the game in Australia might want to look at two new pre-order bonuses released by developer Visceral Games. The EG-900 SMG and the Tesla Enervator were revealed today with the SMG being an EB Games exclusive and the Enervator (whatever that is) for JB Hi-Fi and Mighty Ape. These new weapons will surely come in good use when players are battling horrific Necromorhps on the frosty, hostile planet of Tau Volantis.
Dead Space 3 unites original main character Isaac Clarke with unlikely hero and military man John Carver in a fully fleshed out drop-in drop-out co-op story that sees players attempting to end the Marker threat once and for all. With the ability to craft weapons and the skill to use them, players will be able to seek out and destroy the many terrors that lie hidden amongst the ice. Dead Space 3 is set for release on a multitude of dates, including February 5th, 7th and 8th for North America, Australia and Europe respectively. Details on the EG-900 SMG can be found in the video down below.
Samurai Jack Complete Series Studio:Cartoon Network Publisher:Madman Entertainment Format:DVD Release Date:October 3, 2012 Price:$39.95 – Available Here
Overview:
For a long time American cartoons and Japanese anime stood in stark contrast with one another. Cartoons had a much larger focus on comedy, usually with stand alone stories with episodes never really bleeding into one another in any significant way. Anime on the other hand did everything that live-action TV could do, only it didn’t have any real limitations due to being animated. It would show ongoing story-lines that would play out over a number of episodes like normal serialized TV over a broad range of genres something American cartoons struggled with. While there were several attempts by Americans to adapt a similar style of story-telling and art as employed by the Japanese, none really blurred the line between both mediums quite like the cult-classic Samurai Jack.
Samurai Jack is a series that is undoubtedly far ahead of it’s time. If it were to premiere in today’s cartoon landscape, it would be a smash hit, instead it ultimately ended up becoming a low-rated series albeit with a rabid fan-base. It was eclectic and radical for it’s time, not at all like what was the norm for the medium and that is what makes Samurai Jack so great. It did something no one else dared to do at the time – be different.
Story:
Samurai Jack features an ongoing story-line revolving around the titular Samurai named Jack as he is flung into a future ruled by his arch nemesis the Master of Darkness and bringer of unspeakable evil, Aku. It’s a relatively simple fish out of water plot but there is so much drive and momentum behind it all that even when it’s going through the motions it is incredibly intriguing and engaging on multiple levels.
The future world in which Jack finds himself stuck in is one of the most inventive post-apocalypic future worlds ever seen. There is all walks of life living under Aku’s rule in this dystopian future earth. Talking dogs, flying cars, aliens of all sorts, giant apes, shadow minions all reside in this curious world and while Jack may be interested in getting back to the past, the show takes its time to explore it’s setting and characters before addressing that main plot line. Which is the right way to go with a series like this.
One thing that is quite unusual but also resonant about Samurai Jack is that a lot of episode features extended periods without a word of dialogue. Something that is very abnormal especially since this is supposed to be a show for children. But despite that Samurai Jack opts for a more subtle brand of humour and story-telling. Instead of having characters throw dialogue at one another, Jack more often than not says nothing.
Jack’s relative silence is interesting and makes him somewhat of an enigma. While it may seem that his character development would suffer because of this, it’s in fact the opposite. Jack speaks the fewest lines of all the characters in this series yet we come to know him best. He is a man tortured by memories of his past and overcome with hate for the man who exiled him to this dark future, Aku. It is easy to feel for him and understand his quest to return home and through this Samurai Jack really comes to be an emotional powerhouse of a cartoon series. Viewers will easily become invested in this character and that is what makes Samurai Jack resonate so strongly with viewers, the stoic hero that can’t help but help.
This is just such an intelligent and well crafted series that is is hard not to become swept up by it all. It is utterly compelling in every possible regard and this is undoubtedly the most definitive release of this radical and massively influential cartoon series.
Visuals and Audio:
Aesthetically Samurai Jack feels like a mash up of both American and Japanese styles, there is clearly an anime influence throughout the series that makes for much more detailed animation than the norm. On top of that the way this series is framed is utterly beautiful. There is a spectacular cinematic feel to it’s proceedings that you just don’t get from cartoons. In particular there is an episode very early on, a now infamous scene of Jack taking on thousands of robot bugs single-handed. It’s a pulse-pounding sequence that just keeps going with all the force of a hurricane and volcano combined. It just doesn’t stop and it get’s more intense as it goes. There are many moments like this throughout the series that really make it stand out and go against the grain. It has such a grand-scale feel that you’d be hard pressed to see replicated in any fashion.
The series soundtrack is equally brilliant. The incidental music is masterfully composed and feels very distinctive. Timing is precise and there never feels like a track is out of place. The best track of course is the unforgettable theme song that is simply infectious. It will travel through your nervous system and set up camp in your head where it will be stuck there for days. In terms of voice acting, it’s hard to get any better than this. Jack is superbly portrayed by Phil LaMarr who conveys a broad range of emotion for a character that speaks very little.
Extras:
Madman have done a brilliant job with this release, for the price alone you are getting far more episodes than you normally would. This release compiles the entirety of the Samurai Jack TV series (all 52 episodes) and on that basis alone deserves a place on any fans shelf. What makes this release even better is the fact that there is a number of episode commentaries to listen to that will undoubtedly excited long-time fans of this cult series. Outside of the episode commentaries there is also the standard trailers that Madman packs onto all their releases. There is so much content here and the price I can honestly say it’s an absolute steal.
Overall:
Samurai Jack is an amazing cartoon series there is no doubt about it. It is smart, artistic and compelling TV that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It’s a story that we all know quite well, a person being placed into a world far different from their own, do they sink or do they swim? Jack’s desire to simply return home is something that almost anyone can relate to and it’s through that that Samurai Jack becomes such an unforgettable and landmark cartoon series. The emotional and narrative depth is unprecedented and it still stands up today as one of Cartoon Networks best. This release covers all 52 episodes for the price of roughly 40 dollars, you couldn’t do any better than that for a quality series such as this. It simply leaves nothing left to be desired, it’s the closest thing to a perfect release you can find. Do yourself a favour and buy this release of Samurai Jack, it will enrich your life in more ways than you can possibly imagine.
Today Telltale Games announced that the retail version of their amazing journey in The Walking Dead universe wouldn’t be makign its December 4th release date and has been pushed back one week. Now both the standard and collector’s edition versions of the game will be released on December 11th.
For those who don’t know, the standard edition will include all five episodes of the game on-disc for $30 at most retail locations while the Collector’s Edition will be exclusive to GameStop and cost $70. This Collector’s Edition will include the game itself, a special collector’s box and the first 48 issues of the comic in a special edition of The Walking Dead Compendium One.
Today Sony of Japan revealed that they are planning on releasing Soul Sacrifice on the PlayStation Vita in Japan on March 7th next year. The company also revealed that they will be giving this dark action-RPG a special Premium edition which will come with a gorgeous Cosmic Red colored Vita, a 4GB memory card, a strap, cleaning cloth and a pouch featuring the Soul Sacrifice title, all of which can be seen above and will cost ¥29,980.
While this release date doesn’t really pertain to the West, it does give gamers a better release window for the title since Sony has not provided a release date for the game in North America or Europe yet.
CosmicBreak is getting ready for its second closed beta for Europe coming up this week. Starting on Wednesday, Dec. 5th at noon CET, players will be able to get access to the new animesque third person shooter, but as it is closed it will only be for those that sign up at their website HERE.
Featuring PvP battles with up to 60 people, all with the ability to edit their own robot with a total of over 300 weapons and parts to use. Players get even more control over how they look by having a skin editor to paint it however they like and for some parts players can even use a Polygon Editor.
For the closed beta test players will get a selection of 32 robots, that they will be able to choose 6 from. With those 6 they can mix and match the parts to build their own customized robot to use. With their robots players can fight in PvP battles or in against the Chaos. During the beta test their will also be multiplier events, login prizes, and GM events to earn and take part of.
Toei have revealed the plot outline of the upcoming and hotly anticipated Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods movie through their official website. The story section reads as follows:
