If you haven’t heard of CRUSH3D before, then the title of this game is probably a bit puzzling. That’s all well and good, because that’s generally the idea. An inventive dimension squashing puzzler from SEGA, CRUSH3D sees players help Danny find his marbles by ‘crushing’ between 2D and 3D worlds. If the idea is familiar then you’re probably remembering the PSP title Crush, which worked with the same gameplay concept but had a much darker tone thanks to it’s insomnia suffering teenage protagonist.
To mark CRUSH3D’s launch on the Nintendo 3DS SEGA have just released a new trailer for the game which you can catch below, so make sure and have a look to see some of that ‘crushing’ in action.
Here’s a mildly terrifying fact for you -Super Monkey Ball has been around for over ten years! First debuting on the Nintendo Gamecube all the way back in 2001, SEGA’s primate franchise will be heading to the PS Vita for it’s latest entry in summer 2012.
Subtitled Banana Splitz, the game has just received it’s first trailer. There isn’t any actual gameplay on show here, just a quick look at all the familiar faces and some groundwork for the time travel set up.
The game will feature over 100 stages and comes compete with an online Wi-Fi enabled multiplayer mode. Creative types will be able to create their own levels using the Vita’s camera, with several control options available that take advantage of all the Vita’s input tech.
Check out the attached trailer below for your daily dose of monkey business.
The Slayers Revolution-R Studio: J.C. Staff Publisher: FUNimation Format: Blu-ray/DVD (reviewed) Combo Pack Release Date: December 26, 2011 Price: $69.98 – Available Here
Overview:
Whenever an anime has multiple seasons, usually those seasons are produced at most, a year or two apart from one another to help keep fans interested and continue the momentum of the series. However while this may be true for most series, The Slayers has broken that standard formula and is back again from FUNimation with the final two seasons of The Slayers combined into one final package.
While FUNimation may have released Slayers Revolution and Slayers Evolution-R separately back in 2010, this is the first time the two have been bundled together for simple and easy purchase. Now fans of The Slayers may remember that the last time we saw a full Slayers series released in North America back at the turn of the millennia. Does this continuation of The Slayers story keep the same fantasy action we all know and love?
Story:
Despite being gone for so many years, Slayers Revolution picks up a story without taking a single backstep. We join the pair of Lina and Gourry as they sail across the ocean seas, because after making bandits on the land an endangered species it only makes sense that the pair take to hunting pirates instead.
While in the midst of a battle against a group of pirates, two familiar faces appear as Princess Amelia and Zelgadis blow the pirate ship (and Lina) to pieces with their superior vessels. Once the group lands at the nearest port it turns out that the reason Amelia and Zelgadis are there is because they have someone with them who is looking for Lina. The only problem is this man is Inspector Wizer who is only looking for Lina so he can arrest her for the crime of simply being Lina Inverse.
Now while this may sound like extreme measures, it turns out that even her friends have trouble believing her innocence. Still, the group quickly goes on the lookout for a culprit who has been destroying the county’s recently developed magical tanks by using Lina’s signature spell the Dragon Slave. However upon doing so they encounter a much deeper plot where not only is Lina’s good name at risk, but the entire world as new enemies appear, foes from the past and even a demon capable of destroying the world.
After being gone for so many years the whole cast comes back as great as we remember them. All of their various antics, whether it be Lina’s overkill abilities and anger over her flat chest, Gourry’s sword breaking all the time, Zelgadis’ calm exterior broken by references to his form or Amelia’s sense of justice are just as funny and charming as they were many years ago. There are a handful of new characters introduced this time around, including the diminutive Pokota who drives the story forward and serves as a perfect match against Lina in an insult battle.
Being that there are two anime seasons combined here for this package, The Slayers Revolution and The Slayers Evolution-R the series flows together perfectly with very little time passage between the two series. In fact the average viewer will barely notice the change between the two seasons minus the different opening and ending sessions.
As a whole The Slayers Revolution continues the humorous and enjoyable adventure of The Slayers. The story may not stray far from the same format used by all the past Slayers seasons but it is certainly one of the best adventure anime you will ever find. The story brings itself to a satisfying close which leaves plenty of availability for a sequel, despite there being no sign of such a continuation.
Visuals:
The Slayers series has quite a pedigree for itself, with multiple seasons over the course of many years. However one negative about this is that those series are nearly all from pre-2000 which means quite a lot of the design will still follow those old standards. Despite that however the standards are still quite good and remain consistent throughout, although there are a number of areas where characters may look a little odd in the face or body department.
As far as the animation and coloration go however, this is probably the best way you could ever watch a Slayers anime as a number of improvements have greatly improved the series from what it was so many years ago. The artwork is nearly always crisp, the environments are very detailed and the magical effects and explosions are a treat for the eyes. While this is a high-point for the series as a whole, it still does not really make its way to today’s standard expectations for art style.
Audio:
When some viewers begin watching the English dub of The Slayers Revolution they may be a bit put off by Lisa Ortiz’s performance of Lina Inverse. However one quick switch to the Japanese dub will reveal that the voice of the Japanese voice actress is extremely similar in both pitch and style which means that Lisa Ortiz actually has adapted a difficult character in the best way possible. You may remember Lisa from her past works as Lina Inverse and it is true with much of the entire supporting cast from past seasons as nearly all of the English voice actors have returned to reprise their roles in the show and deliver probably the best dub a Slayers series has seen over its many releases.
On the musical side of things, the background music is not the greatest and doesn’t venture far from your standard fantasy adventure audio theme but the music does shine whenever the Opening and the Ending song rolls. The Opening and Ending for both The Slayers seasons in this set are sung by the Japanese voice actress for Lina Inverse, Hayashibara Megumi.
The Slayers Revolution opening is named “Plenty of Grit” and is not only enjoyable to listen to it also happens to work perfectly for the animation and the series as a whole. This is similar with the ending “Revolution” though the song could have also worked for a satisfying opening accompaniment rather than an ending. Slayers Evolution-R’s opening “Front Breaking” and “Sunadokei” follow a similar format however they do not surpass the initial songs in terms of quality.
Extras:
Unfortunately, despite the last two seasons of The Slayers anime, Slayers Revolution and Slayers Evolution-R being bundled together in this release there are no extra bonuses included in this package.
Both the Blu-ray and DVD boxes contain a clean textless opening and ending for both Slayers Revolution and Slayers Evolution-R which are nice to watch as the opening and ending animations for both seasons is visually pleasing so the loss of text is a nice plus. Besides that there are also trailers for both upcoming and past FUNimation releases and that is all. This is quite a disappointment as some extra special features would certainly have benefitted this collection.
Overall:
The Slayers have been MIA for quite a long time but they have come back with a vengeance. The two season pack of The Slayers Revolution and The Slayers Evolution-R is the best way for a long time fan to come back and re-join the adventures of Lina and the gang. However it does suffer from not only having no real extra content to speak of, but the series is also not very welcoming to newcomers as very little is reintroduced and a number of enemies and characters return from the past seasons with little to no explanation.
Despite all of this, The Slayers Revolution-R is still an amazing adventure anime and would be truly a loss for any fan of the genre to miss out on. Some of the best action and showdowns of the entire series happen within these two disks and although it may not be very welcoming, newcomers will still love the adventure for what it is. A hilarious good time full of magic, swords and explosions.
While NIS America may have announced that they would be bringing the third and final game of the Arland trilogy, Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland to North America, fans were left wondering roughly how long they would need to wait to take another journey through the land of Arland once more. It appears not very long at all.
In fact, NIS America revealed today that they are currently aiming to have Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland set for release in May of this year for both North America and Europe. This announcement also revealed that the official website for Atelier Meruru has been launchedwhich has only a little information at the moment but will be updated in the coming weeks.
Players take the role of Princess Meruru this time around who finds herself entranced by the art of alchemy and sets her goal on becoming Totori Helmold’s apprentice. A few new features have been added to Atelier Meruru such as a new development system that will let players develop new areas and facilities that can change the in-game world’s appearance and even the way the story progresses. Also revealed today was the below prologue trailer which gives a quick glance at the story players will be treated to.
THQ have released a trailer highlighting the huge 150 fighter roster which will be featured in UFC Undisputed 3. Included in the 150 fighters is the recently added Dutch heavyweight sensation Alistair Overeem.
Overeem will only be available for a limited time through the UFC facebook page by “liking” the page and sharing it with two friends. The offer is running from now until January 20th so you better get liking if you haven’t done so already.
“The Reem” recently defeated Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 with a 1st round TKO and what is also apparently Lesnar’s final bout in the octagon.
Check out the roster trailer down below and click here to see a simulated version of the Overeem vs. Lesnar fight.
UFC Undisputed 3 will be out in exactly one month today on the 14th of February.
EA Games and Funcom have released a new teaser trailer for The Secret World shedding light on one of the three playable factions in the massive-multiplayer game, the Illuminati.
The Illuminati faction focuses on controlling the world through financial means and advancing their agenda in spite of the newfound, supernatural horrors appearing across the planet. And if the trailer is anything to go by, they all have killer British accents; be sure to check it out below.
In the year 1993, an unstoppable force hit videogaming. This force would go on to become a space shooter trilogy. A trilogy that would grow to include both Raystorm and Raycrisis. I am talking about none other than Rayforce. As of today, the classic arcade game is available for iPhone and iPod touch at the price of $11.99 worldwide. While it may seem a little steep, Taito Corporation have specially enhanced the title for iPhone. This includes intuitive smartphone controls that allow players to guide their X-Lay fighter with simple sliding gestures. There have also been a number of customisable features allowing players to change the game to suit their individual play styles. Players have the option to choose between original arcade aspect ratio, and a full-screen zoomed mode – with also manual weapons for experienced shooters. With Game Center support and stage specific global rankings, Rayforce includes the complete iPhone experience. Still not convinced? Watch the trailer below to get an idea of the force behind Rayforce. Click here to purchase Rayforce for both iPhone and iPod touch.
Media Blasters have announced that they will be releasing the first season of 17 year old anime series, Fushigi Yugi this April on DVD. This news follows their recent laying off of 60% of their staff, leaving them with a mere 5 regular staff members.
It’s a sad case when a once great anime company, is now reduced to grasping for any form of relevancy by license rescuing a series that is long past it’s point of pertinence.
Media Blasters need to either do something that will make major waves in the industry or to simply bow out and save themselves the embarrassment of pathetic acts of desperation. We know that the state of the economy is causing a lot of people a lot of problems, but licensing a 17 year old anime series is not going to turn things around for Media Blasters.
They need to make waves in the industry. How can they do that? By licensing more new titles. Media Blasters can’t afford to be putting their time into releasing old series that were never very popular to begin with. They are in such a poor state that Australian company Madman Entertainment is releasing Media Blasters version of Squid Girl a whole month before they even do.
Are Media Blasters still relevant? No. But they still can be. They just need to bring fans the titles that they actually want.
It’s not every day that an anime series potentially saves someone’s life. But that’s exactly what happened when Sydney resident Jake Terrey, stumped upon an intruder who had broken into his apartment.
Terrey, a fan of the manga series Bleach used a replica sword from the series to protect himself from the home invasion. Terrey initially confronted the intruder which led to a scuffle between the pair.
Fearing the possibility of another second unseen intruder in the apartment, Terrey reached out and got a hold of the 1.5m sword. The intruder quickly fled the scene, leaving empty handed with Terrey continuing to chase him down the street – sword in hand.
The unusual spectacle was witnessed and photographed by a nearby construction worker, whose photos later lead to the alleged intruder’s arrest by police later that day.
So all in all thanks to Bleach and the ridiculously oversized swords of anime/manga, a man’s life has been potentially saved.
Hidden Objects: Gardens of Time, the number 1 hidden object game from Facebook, has made the transition to the iPad, taking the puzzle to a whole new level! Although, it doesn’t connect to your Facebook game, it is a new game unfortunately.
There are 36 hidden object scenes for you to explore and puzzle over, spending your time scanning over places with a fine tooth comb as you search for that crucial clue to solving the mystery! Over 16 million players are currently playing Gardens of Time, and with that many you’re guaranteed to have a good time playing this one.
You play as the latest recruit to the Time Society, a mysterious organization created in the early 20th Century to guard the secrets of time travel and preserve the flow of history. Explore time and space, find some hidden objects, and save the flow of time! Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.
With OpenFeint, GameCenter and Facebook connectability, you can race against your friends or strangers to see who the true master of time and space is!
Hidden Objects: Gardens of Time is available NOW for FREE on the iPad – Get it HERE
