Today Square Enix and Io Interactive have chosen to release the launch trailer for Hitman: Absolution which should be expected considering the game itself is meant to be released worldwide next Tuesday on November 20th on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
The launch trailer can be found below and in it viewers will be introduced to a little bit about the game’s storyline as well as plenty of scenes of Agent 47 doing what he does best by taking out various guards and even the nun assassins make a return appearance. However the trailer certainly does pose an interesting questions. Just how many lives would you take to save one life?
Compile Heart revealed today that their unique PlayStation Vita game Monster Monpiece would be hitting stores in Japan on January 24th next year, which is quite a bit earlier than the game’s previous release window of Spring 2013.
Now the reason I call the game unique is because the title is a card game where various monsters have been re-imagined and re-drawn as “moe” monster girls. To go along with this announcement a large number of of images of the monster girls were revealed byDengeki PlayStation, including the game’s special mechanic that allows the user to expose weak points with the Vita’s touch screen, were revealed and the game’s opening video can also be seen below.
It is worth noting that no Western information for this title has been released but since the Vita is region free, a physical version of Monster Monpiece will work on Western PlayStation Vitas.
Nippon Ichi Software is continuing their tradition of offering fans a chance to name a few weapons for their upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive Disgaea D2. This time around the company is asking for the names of six different weapons which are a sword, lance, bow and arrow, gun glove, axe, and a staff. As for what these weapons look like you can see images of them below.
For those who don’t know, Disgaea D2 is the first direct-sequel to a Disgaea title in the franchise’s history and follows the story of the Disgaea’s most iconic characters, Laharl, Etna and Flonne. If you happen to think up a few names for these weapons, you can enter them here. If you have difficulty navigating the page, then take note that the first box is for your name while the following boxes are names for the weapons in left to right order. These name submissions will be accepted until November 30th and the selected names will be revealed two weeks later on December 14th.
With Black Friday a week away, Sony has decided to detail their console bundles that will be on sale through multiple retailers at a discounted price. In fact, both the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Vita will be sold in bundles that will only cost $199 compared to the usual price point.
The Ultimate PS3 Value Bundle will include the Uncharted Dual Pack which contains Drake’s Fortune and Among Thieves, the inFamous Collection anda 30 day PS Plus trial membership. It is worth noting that the PS3 in this bundle is the super slim 250GB model.
As for the VIta there will be three separate bundles available for purchase depending on which retailer you go to. Best Buy will be selling a Black Ops Declassified bundle with a Black Vita and a 4GB memory card while Target gets the LEGO Batman 2 bundle, also with a black Vita but no free memory card. Amazon and Gamestop have the Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation bundle, which comes with a white S PS Vita, the game and a 4GB memory card.
Today Activision announced that Call of Duty Black Ops 2 managed to make $500 million during its first day on sale, breaking the franchise’s previously set record of $400 million which was set last year by the release of Modern Warfare 3. While Activision did not announce how many copes were sold, last year’s number saw 6.5 million copies sold in the US and UK so it is easy to see that a larger number were sold this time around.
We’ve seen plenty of information alluding to Call of Duty Black Ops 2 becoming one of the best selling games ever as GameStop has already reported that over 1 million copies were sold at their chain alone while Amazon revealed that the game was their most pre-ordered title ever.
Oreimo Season 1 Collection Studio:AIC Build Publisher:Madman Entertainment Format:DVD (Subtitles Only) Release Date:September 5, 2012 Price:$59.95 – Available Here
Overview:
Oreimo is a series that based simply upon premise alone pidgeon-holes itself to a very specific audience. For those without the benefit of understanding of the Japanese language, the full title of this anime which is Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai translates into something somewhat perculiar in English, that being ‘My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute!’ Immediately that title right there will give you an idea of whether or not this series is for you. It says everything about the series but at the same time says very little about it. Underneath the somewhat embarrassing premise is actually a truly enjoyable anime series that will have you laughing so much you’ll soon forget this is about a guy developing strange feelings towards his little sister.
Story:
The fulcrum of Oreimo is of course the relationship between Kyousuke and his little sister Kirino. Their relationship is the focal point of the entire series and as such most of the tension and conversely the humor relies upon the chemistry between these two characters being believable. Thankfully it is exactly that. One of the things that stands out so much about this series is the interactions between it’s two main characters, they truly do feel like family and the comic tension between the two is electric.
The plot revolves around these two characters and as previously mentioned focuses on their relationship with one another, which does indeed feature some underlying incestual tension. But in the end despite it’s name feels ultimately secondary to the rest of the craziness in this series.
It’s very clear from the outset that this series understands it’s target audience and it is very willing to let them in on that fact. There is so much here that is aimed for the hardcore otaku, whether it’s character-types, scenarios of references, it’s hard to find a more otaku-targeted series than Oreimo. Unfortunately due to this a lot of the humour will fall flat on it’s face for casual viewers should they manage to wind up watching this. While the situational humour may still hit the sweet spot for casual anime fans, the more specific and nuanced material will simply leave them puzzled.
This first season is relatively consistent throughout although it hits a significant road bump it’s third act when things take a strange turn. Thankfully it redeems itself in it’s powerhouse final hour where it ends in brilliant fashion, albeit still leaving the lingering desire for more Oreimo fun even with the OVA episodes in tow (a desire which of course was satisfied with the second season, which hopefully Madman will also release). Admittedly the story and characters would connect better with a hardcore anime fan, there is still a lot that even the most casual anime viewer could draw enjoyment from.
Visuals and Audio:
Aesthetically and aurally Oreimo is very appealing. It never reaches anything resembling beauty, but for a comedy series the art is solid enough to get a pass. In terms of quality the animation is fluid and the palette is quite vibrant and lively echoing the tone of the series as a whole.
The character designs are well conceived and very memorable. There are a lot of cute female characters which each get a lot of attention to their finer details, however on the opposite side of the spectrum the male character designs are relatively bog standard and don’t do much we haven’t seen before. The girls are really the stars of this anime when it comes to conception.
Audio-wise Oreimo feels like the entire soundtrack was composed by Reel Big Fish. I don’t really know why but so much of this sounds like cheesy 90s ska rock was only just now discovered by the Japanese and they decided to throw it onto this anime, but it actually surprisingly works very well. Don’t believe me? Just check out this anime’s opening theme and tell me differently. It’s a strange pairing that somehow manages to go hand in hand.
When it comes to voice-acting there isn’t much to say really. This is a subtitle only release and as such features a Japanese audio track only, which in itself isn’t bad as this is one of the better examples of Japanese voice acting out there. The comedic timing of these actors and actresses is great and the chemistry is evident. It is a shame though that there was no English dub for this.
Extras:
This collection of Oreimo does suffer for it’s lack of an English dub but it more than makes up for it with it’s plethora of special features it’s got supporting it. First of all the bonus OVA episodes are a real treat and make for a very welcome inclusion to this release. That is 4 entire episodes extra than your standard release and on top of that they serve as somewhat of an alternative ending to the season. That honestly would’ve been enough, but Madman wasn’t done there. They included textless opening and endings for each episode and on top of that threw in a Japanese cover art gallery as the icing on the cake.
I must say this is easily one of Madman’s best efforts yet in bonus content. They have not only provided a quality release throughout but they have gone the extra mile and made this a release that fans can cherish. This is how you do things, Anime industry.
Overall:
Oreimo is an anime that you more of less can make up your mind about from the get-go. It’s a series that knows it’s audience and strives to be the best in can be for that particular viewership. Does it suffer for it? Sometimes, but only because it’s almost too clever for it’s own good at times. This isn’t for everyone, but can be enjoyed by almost anyone. While being a relatively simple affair, Oreimo makes for an incredibly nuanced and intelligent comedy anime that has a strong sense of identity and purpose, a rare gem indeed.
In the near future, players will be able to take on the Cthulhu mythos as it was envisioned by the author H.P. Lovecraft. The games setting is this the year 2050 where the Magtech corporation holds a massive tournament where the player and a bunch of other contestants must compete against each other with the use of a magnetic kind of glove.
Essentially players skills and reflexes are put to the test as they solve magnetic puzzles with the use of the Magtech glove, a device capable of manipulating the kind of charge an object holds. This means that players will be making objects attract and repel in an effort to complete the tournament.
What makes this interesting is that throughout the story, you will slowly uncover the truth behind the Magtech corporation and their ties to the Cthulhu mythology. It is in an alternative kind of realm where players true skills will be put to the test.
Magrunner will be released on the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 devices in the future.
With the holiday season coming up Bethesda released a new video for their previously released game Dishonored. Why would you want to check out a trailer for a game released a month ago? Well because this trailer contains some of the best kills that fans of Dishonored have had over the past month.
As you can see in the video below there are a ton of clever ways to kill off your opponent and many of them are surprisingly creative. Just think of all the different possibilities you will have now that you’ve seen all the ways that people can die in this game.
Today Bethesda released some of the first official details and also a number of screenshots for the next piece of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim DLC: “Dragonborn.” This DLC will allow the player to venture out of Skyrim and into the coast of Morrowind where they will be able to explore the island of Solstheim.
Solstheim will contain a number of new towns, dungeons, quests and players can even found a number of new shouts that can do things such as “bend the will of your enemies and even tame dragons.” The player’s main enemy will be the first ever Dragonborn and players can take him on on December 4th for the Xbox 360 at a price of 1600 MSP. Check out the screenshots below.
In the latest video from Guardians of Middle-Earth developer Monolith Productions, we get to see the game being played at a competitive level at PAX 2012. One team of “Pros” play against any amateur team put together on the day with big prizes up for the winners! This competition is a great way to gain publicity for the game by getting everyone’s competitive juices flowing; as classes and skills are changed on the fly to create the best tactic for annihilating the opposition. While the “Pro” team was successful in the first few rounds it was ultimately one amateur team, “RAR” who walked away with the grand prize and the respect of the Developers.
This video highlights how easy the game is to pick-up-and-play for beginners as well as long-time players, meaning that the skill gap between each gamer will never be too wide a barrier to cross. Guardians of Middle-Earth will become available for Playstation 3 (in retail and digital form) and the Xbox 360 (digital form only) on December 4th 2012.
Compile Heart revealed today that their unique PlayStation Vita game Monster Monpiece would be hitting stores in Japan on January 24th next year, which is quite a bit earlier than the game’s previous release window of Spring 2013.
