Incase teamed up with Shpard Fairey, the man behind the 1989 art and graphic campaign OBEY GIANT. Incase is releasing the Shepard Fairey Coated Canvas Portfolio for the New iPad and the iPad 2. The case features coated canvas, cotton twill lining and a zipper closure. The Canvas Portfolio quickly converts into a workstation that provides two angels for viewing and typing. The iPad installs quickly with a snap-in attachment and the case sports an internal divider to protect the iPad screen while being able to store documents in three internal slip pockets. There are four different artworks to choose from, a black case with a white lotus, a case with a zen pattern available in grey or red, and a red and gold case featuring an elephant and a dove. The Shepard Fairey Coated Canvas Portfolio costs $99.95 and can be purchased at Incase’s website.
EA Mobile and Firemint is making three of Firemint’s biggest hits free for a limited time. SPY Mouse and SPY Mouse HD for iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad is a action adventure game that stars Agent Squeak on a mission to retrieve cheese. Armed with power ups, gadgets, and stealth, Agent Sqeak will defeat the dastardly cats. Flight Control Rocket is also free. Flight Control Rocket is the follow up to the mega hit game Flight Control and stars a cast of quirky robots. The game boasts a retro soundtrack and animations. No word on exactly how long these deals will last, so be sure to scoop up these three games now. Get SPY Mouse here, SPY Mouse HD here, and Flight Control Rocket here.
LUXA2 announced the addition of three new products to their catalogue. The iPhone 4/4s are getting two new cases. The first case is the Icicle iPhone 4/4s case. These are semi translucent cases available in a multitude of colours. The Icicle iPhone 4/4s cases are flexible and slim cases that are only 1mm thick and are available in pink, yellow, green, and orange. The Diamond iPhone 4/4s case is made with the same material and design as the Icicle case, but instead of a chevron pattern on the case, the case has a diamond pattern and is available in a white smoke and brown.
The last product is the Color Aluminium Home Button Sticker. The sticker uses 3M adhesive to stick to your home button. The sticker is made from high grade aluminium and is available in blue, orange, red, black, silver, blue, and two shades of purple. These stickers come in three packs and helps prevent the home button from wearing out. These products will soon hit your local retailers shelves. No prices have been announced.
Indie Royale is back with the June Bug Bundle. A pay what you want bundle with a moving minimum price, Indie Royale has bundled a Steam key for Independent Games Festival nominee PixelJunk Eden, a platformer from Q Games, a Desura key for the puzzle platformer Escape Goat, a Steam and Desura key Cipher Prime’s musical puzzler Auditorium, and a Desura and Steam key for Noitu Love 2: Devolution. PixelJunk Eden was originally released on the Playstation 3 and Escape Goat for the PC is exclusive only to Indie Royale. Previously, Escape Goat was only available on Xbox Live’s Indie Games. Those who pay $7.00 or more will also get a copy of 8 Bit Weapon’s Bits with Byte chiptune album.
Drox Operative the action RPG from Soldak Entertainment is now available for pre-order on both Mac and Windows PC. As an added incentive pre-ordering now not only gives a reduced price of $14.99, but the ability to get in on the latest beta build and help give feedback.
The game lets players take on the role of a Drox Operative, a super elite captain trained to do the impossible, but instead of fighting for the Drox the game is set when the Drox is long since extinct save for Operatives. Now the only goal is to take whatever jobs pay the best and stick with the winning side, as empires rise and war around you.
The game sounds pretty interesting with the only true goal being to forward yourself and your ship outside of the space empires. Plus with co-op multiplayer, it’d be fun to completely upset empires through missions with your friends. Players interested can pre-order Drox Operative HERE.
Developed by Beeline and Published by Capcom, Shrek’s Fairytale Kingdom is an iOS game based on the hit Shrek movie franchise by DreamWorks Animation. Players will be able to relive their favourite moments from the films as well as create new memories with all their favourite characters in Shrek’s Fairytale Kingdom. On this hilarious adventure you will be able to build your kingdom, protect it and go on epic quests as well as play exciting mini-games and share every moment with friends via social networking features.
Shrek’s Fairytale Kingdom will be available in the app store next week on June 21st. For more, check out the awesome trailer below!
The Dark Knight Rises isn’t just coming to theatres, it’s coming to mobile devices now as well!
Gameloft has announced they are developing a mobile game for iOS and Android devices based on the highly anticipated film The Dark Knight Rises. Gameplay appears to be much like a sandbox enviroment, which is nothing new to Gameloft who are masters of the genre on mobile platforms. Music also sounds very reminiscent of the Christopher Nolan films alongside the presentation style, so judging by the trailer gamers can expect an authentic experience. But don’t take my word for it, check out the trailer below!
No official release date has been revealed yet, but The Dark Knight Rises – The Mobile Game is expected to launch around the same time as the film that hits theatres July 20.
After briefly showing off a demo at E3 2012, Capcom has now officially confirmed Street Fighter x Tekken will be coming to iOS devices this summer.
According to Capcom, the entire game has been completely redesigned to make it more similar to Street Fighter IV: Volt, but now with added juggling and tag mechanics, although a “new take” approach will be utilized for tagging this time around…whatever that means. Regardless, Street Fighter IV: Volt played really well so I think it’s safe to say we can expect big things from this title!
The first official screenshots have been revealed and can be seen below. Street Fighter x Tekken will be compatible with iOS 5 or higher, so get ready for when it launches this summer!
Namco and The Iron Fist Tournament are showing Australian and New Zealand fans some love!
If your a fighting fan from Australia or New Zealand, your in for a treat. Namco Bandai has just announced Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ANZ Edition, which includes a special edition casing and DLC content through select retailers on September 13, 2012.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ANZ Edition will be exclusively available through EB Games and JB HIFI Australia. Gamers who pre-order through these retailers will not only get the highly anticipated Tekken Tag Tournament 2 in a high quality limited edition metal casing and the super awesome Snoop Dogg arena stage, but also four DLC fighters: Michelle Chang, Angel, Kunimitsu and Ancient Ogre. How awesome is that?
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ANZ Edition will be available September 13, 2012, but you can pre-order it NOW through JB HI FI and EB Games.
Can’t wait until then? Check out the casing featured above and the Snoop Dogg Stage below!
Arrietty Studio: Studio Ghibli Publisher: Madman Release Date: 23/05/2012 Price:$29.95Available Here / Special Edition $34.95Available Here
Overview:
The Borrowers was a series of classic children fairy tale books written by famous English author, Mary Norton, and with books being published during the 1950s, 1960s, and the 1980s. These books tell the story of some rather interesting creatures called Borrowers, that are very much like humans and even live, dress, and behave a lot like them, except that they’re about as tiny as insects and live out of the sight of humans. The original series of books focused on the lives of these tiny people, living inside the homes of humans but always staying hidden from them. They survive by borrowing things without anyone noticing, things like a small sugar cube or a fallen pin.
Arrietty is an animated feature film that draws heavily upon the The Borrowers, with the main protagonist, Arietty, being based on a character of the same name in the novels. This animated movie is created by the legendary Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli, known for classics such as Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Laputa.
While borrowing many ideas and even character names from The Borrows (see what I did there), Arietty tells a unique tale of its own that is inspired by its source material, rather than being an adaptation of it.
Story:
Arrietty tells the story about a young boy named Sho, who spends a week at his mother’s peaceful childhood home with his relatives. It’s a beautiful summer, but unfortunately for Sho the trip isn’t for a holiday, but due to circumstances. Sho suffers from a heart disease and has no choice to spend a week at his relatives when his own parents are too busy with their careers. While he is greeted warmly and looked after by his relatives, he still feels very alone. That is until he catches a glimpse of a tiny person, by the name of Arrietty.
Arrietty is a high spirited 14 year old girl who lives with her loving parents, in their miniature home located just underneath the residence of Sho’s relatives. Arrietty loves to explore the world around her, and seems to enjoy spending time in the garden and teasing the cat. The movie focuses on Arrietty’s first venture into the human household with her father, a journey that was filled with awe and wonder for her, until she accidentally gets spotted clearly by Sho, which complicates things for Arrietty and her family.
It is a story about discovery, as it focuses on Arrietty’s interaction with the human world and in particular, Sho. She was raised to believe that humans were a threat to her kind, and that being spotted by them would bring danger to her family. However, in her interactions she learns much about the nature of human beings, and she and her family face some challenges that force them to make some life changing decisions.
It’s a lovely and charming story presented in a most fairy tale like manner, and the way it tries to portray lessons and morals is akin to the story telling conventions of classic Walt Disney animations that were based on fairy tales. It’s an adorable and touching story, with really likeable and well developed characters. The movie will make you smile, laugh, but at the same time present some emotional and tear jerking moments. It’s nicely paced, and it reels you into its world seamlessly.
Arrietty is easily among the best of Studio Ghibli, one that is actually a lot more laid back, subtle, and simple in its delivery and portrayal. Most Studio Ghibli movies tend to be very dense, layered, abstract, and over the top, and can be a bit too much to digest in one viewing. Arrietty keeps things nice and simple, which ultimately makes it a very enjoyable and heartwarming viewing experience.
Visuals and Audio:
Arrietty looks absolutely marvelous, amazing use of colours and set pieces to create a stunning animated world. The character designs and animations are of the same unique style and exceptional quality that you’ve come to expect from Studio Ghibli. As simple as the character designs are, they really make a lasting impression. The main character, Arrietty, in particular is just so very adorable, energetic, and likeable in terms of her design. Overall, it’s a brilliant work of animation, easily among the hallmarks of Japanese animations.
The soundtrack of Arrietty is an unforgettable masterpiece, filled with a mix of mellow and uplifting tracks that tend to be very Celtic in nature. The soundtrack also features some chilling and beautiful vocal performances, and the English dub of these songs sound are just as good, if not better, than the Japanese counterparts.
Speaking of English dub, Arrietty features a brilliant English dub, one that is done very professionally and delivered in a compelling manner as it portrays the right emotion and mood. It really feels like watching a well-produced and well-acted Walt Disney movie.
Extras:
Arrietty comes with a few extras, and apart from the usual trailers it allows you to watch the entire movie with just the storyboard angles. While the English dub is excellent, you can still watch the film in its original Japanese audio, although you will find that the English dub is actually more fitting.
Overall:
Arrietty is a marvelous movie in just about every regard, one that is characterised by sheer simplicity and pure innocence. It’s a great example of how you can create something so unique and refreshing even after borrowing from something else, as Arrietty provides a refreshing take on Mary Norton’s The Borrowers. Arrietty simply must be experienced by fans of Studio Ghibli’s past work, and anyone looking for an enchanting work of animation.
