It’s finally out and MasterAbbott is happy to officially un-box the Duke Nukem Forever BALLS OF STEEL Edition. This collectors edition of Duke Nukem Forever is JAM PACKED with Duke Goodness !! This is what you get when grab those BALLS OF STEEL by the BALLS!
Duke Nukem Bust
100-Page hardcover book: History, Legacy & Legend: Duke Nukem Forever Art from the Vault.
Duke Nukem Forever postcard series
Duke Nukem Forever radioactive emblem sticker
An amazing looking Duke nukem collectible comic book
A very cool Duke Nukem foldable paper craft
Duke Nukem poker chips
Duke Nukem mini-card deck
Duke Nukem radio active casino dice
AND a certificate of authenticity signed by the man himself DUKE NUKEM !!!
Check it out below, let us know what you think of it. Is it worth it the $150 AU price tag ? For all the hardcore Duke Nukem fans out there I believe it is. It’s certainly jam packed with a heap load of Duke Nukem goodies. Let us know what you think, leave a comment below. If you haven’t already done so check out our review for Duke Nukem Forever here.
This year at Activision’s booth, all eyes were on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. As the final title in the Modern Warfare series, the game is sure to have a following of both veteran COD fans and new players who want to finally try their hands at one of the most popular FPS of our time.
Modern Warfare 3’s campaign stages are set all around the world after Russia has begun invading the US, and Activision obviously wanted to give both new and old COD fans a little refresher on the plot up to this point. Logically, the best time to do this is at their booth at E3 2011…and they most certainly delivered. Activision provided gamers with a timeline presentation of the Modern Warfare plot up until this point.
The presentation showcases the different locations from around the world that players will be fighting in. It begins with a Manhattan skyline rife with destruction and chaos, before flashing to England, France, and Germany’s equally devastating circumstances. The presentation was actually a great reminder of the series, and means all of us will be waiting with even more anticipation for Activision’s latest COD game. Have a peek at the presentation below.
Modern Warfare 3 is scheduled for release on November 8, 2011.
So you are in Hornsby and you are early for your movie so what do you do? Well of course you head to the arcade just opposite the cinemas for tons of fun.
I love time zone so much and even if I’m not waiting for a movie, I do love just to go there and play a few games.
One Piece Collection 9 Tag Line: Deadly Desert Showdown! Produced by: Toei Animation Run time: 325 minutes in 13 episodes Language: English, Japanese Genre: Action, Adventure, Shounen, Comedy Available for purchase at Madman Online Store ($49.95)
Overview:
One Piece is the name of the treasure that will grant the person to find it the title King of the Pirates. But there is more to the name of this series than that. Underneath all of it, everyone is searching for one piece. Whether it be the treasure itself or there own dream. One Piece is more than just a treasure at the end of the grand line. One Piece is the world, and everyone wants a piece of it. Everyone wants something and it’s out there waiting for them, everyone has their place and their piece. This is what this anime embodies, heart and soul.
This particular collection of One Piece takes place during the Alabasta arc as did the previous collection I reviewed. This collection details the revelation of Crocodiles plans and the Straw-Hats going to battle to stop Baroque Works from taking control of the country and causing the deaths of millions. However that is just on the surface. This collection is about one thing: The struggle to protect and fight for what is your one piece.
One Piece is dreams, one piece is hope, one piece is a place where you belong, one piece is resolute. That is what this fight is about. But who will get their piece of the world? Whose piece is it?
Story:
The story of this collection follows the continued campaign of the Straw-Hats in Alabasta Kingdom. All the pieces fall into place and the war is on between the Rebels and the Royals not so far a reflection from the Rebellious Straw-Hats and the aspiring Royals Baroque Works also in the heat of battle.
We have some amazing plot development here which doesn’t for one second drag or linger, it is too busy masterfully weaving this epic tale to stop. With moments such as Usopp’s speech and Sanji’s clever game of deceit with Crocodile, this is an unforgettable collection of the series.
The stand-out moment was Usopp’s speech about dreams. That one moment justifies Usopp’s place in the Straw-Hat pirates and solidifies what this series is all about. He is near death, but will not stand for his Captains dreams to be mocked. Because really who has the right to mock anyone’s dreams? To the characters of One Piece, you are your dream. Making light of that, is cardinal sin.
The collection ends with a promise of more fights to come and the conclusion to this grand story arc, with Crocodile appearing from a haze of sand to prevent Vivi from destroying her own Palace (which she believes would lead the Rebels to believe they have won and thus end this pointless war).
Characters:
The colourful cast of characters were all on their A game this collection. We had brilliant moments from Usopp, Sanji, Luffy and even Chopper. Not to say the others didn’t have their moments but I think as we dive into their battles next collection we will see them shine brighter.
Luffy finally had his encounter with Crocodile in the middle of the Sandora desert in which he finally met his match. Luffy does all he can, but alas nothing can take down this sandman and Luffy falls. But after help from an unexpected savior, will he be able to make it in time to help stop this war? I’m certain he will, but that will have to wait until next collection.
Overall their was great character development all around, I am tempted to talk more about Usopp and his speech but it is best you watch it yourself for it to have the same effect.
Artwork:
The art and animation was superb this collection, with the battles all wonderfully animated and the explosion effects were indeed a sight to behold. I am a big fan of fluid animation and this collection’s fights had plenty of it, whether it be Luffy vs. Crocodile or the flurry of kicks between Sanji and Mr. 2, there was some great animation work all around.
Audio:
What a great collection for the audio department. We have amazing voice work, particularly stand-out work from Sonny Strait as Usopp and Eric Vale as Sanji. Both of whom absolutely pulled out all the stops. I’ll say this once more, please get this collection just to see Sonny Strait deliver Usopp’s speech. I even heard that the Japanese voice actor praised Strait for that one.
The music was brilliant as well, with a new opening theme in the last episode, Hikari E, sung by the great Vic Mignogna here, who does a great job with the song originally in japanese by The Babystars.
We also say goodbye to the previous opening theme, Believe. It had a good run and was the theme of several great arcs. But moving forward Hikari E is a good replacement.
Special Features:
We got a great release from Madman here, with a reversible cover-art of the Straw-Hats and Baroque Works, a great episode 114 commentary with Sonny Strait (Usopp) and Wendy Powell (Miss Merry Christmas) and Jason Grundy (ADR Director) as well as Madman’s usual trailers and textless opening and endings.
The commentary itself is particularly humorous as both voice actors comment on how all the voices for this series are voice killers. We also get some detail upon how they went about dubbing the series itself and in particular this episode.
Conclusion:
One Piece is a series where the name says it all, but in the most subtle way possible. It’s all done so masterfully, that I am convinced that Eiichiro Oda (the creator) is a genius. If you are looking for adventure, action, emotion or a series that will resonate with you. This is the series you should be watching. There is so much to see here, it is crazy.
There isn’t a single bad thing about this collection of One Piece, it caused me to feel so many emotions and really think deeply about both the series and my own life. It’s that extra level of depth and resonance that makes One Piece a modern day classic.
Miyamoto recently confirmed in an interview with news.com.au that the Nintendo’s new console, Wii U, will currently be limited to only allowing 1 new Wii U controller interfacing with the console, alongside 4 previous gen Wii controllers.
As Miyamoto says, this is only at the current stage in Wii U’s development. However there isn’t any clarity over whether this will change by release date. If this doesn’t change it could perhaps be the stray bullet to take down the hype juggernaut Nintendo has created over the past week from their E3 2011 announcement.
Only time will be able to tell whether the console will allow for multiple new controllers instead of relying on the older generation controllers. This is a new generation for Nintendo after-all and I for one will have my fingers crossed that they correct this misstep.
Helen Mirren seems to be every man’s “older woman” crush, and this new film Brighton Rock is yet another perfect excuse for all the guys out there to check out the dame yet again.
Helen Mirren…you’ve done it again.
Brighton Rock is an adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel of the same title. The film is set in Brighton in 1964, when a young gangster, Pinkie Brown, comes to tries to ‘claim’ the town. However, one of his rivalries turns into violence and a waitress, Rose, holds the evidence to enable Pinkie to be sentenced to death. In his own efforts to keep her quiet, he tries to romance her but Rose’s employer Ida (or as we like to know her, Helen Mirren) begins to become suspicious of Pinkie’s motives.
What in-? Dead or Alive banned? In yet another case of particularly stupid political correctness influencing Australia’s backwards video game rating and classification systems, the popular 3DS title “Dead or Alive Dimensions” has been removed from sale in Australia, AFTER it’s initial classification and release. This action follows the similar ban of the popular fighting game series in Sweden for not adhereing to their strict content laws regarding pornographic material. In a move that has left many in the Australian gaming community dumbfounded, the OLFC reviewed the “PG” classification, and had the game’s rating completely revoked, thereby banning it’s sale in Australia for content that media outlets have bastardised as “child pornographic”. The reasoning behind this decision was that the game’s theatre and display modes provided players the opportunity to look up the skirts of the various female fighters.
The “pornographic” content being addressed is questionable at very best. Having played the game, its clear that this is just another case of critics not knowing what the heck they’re talking about. At worst, the game shows a slight amount of thigh and waist and the occasional show of Kasumi’s undergarments, but nothing explicit beyond that. The argument made in question is a weak one at best, as the “child” part of this stems from a claim that the in game characters are under the age of 18. While some of the characters of the universe were previously listed as under 18 years of age, this particular game omitted their ages entirely from the content, thereby not establishing an actual age of the characters in question (namely Kasumi and Ayane, who were listed in DOA 4 as 17). Being about 5 years between games, and constucting a new “annual” DOA tournament in-game, one would assume that the next year in an “annual” event would have them listed as at an age of at least 18 now, if the DOA tournament in Dimensions is assumed to happen a year after DOA4. Logically, this is the case, but as the OLFC and classification systems have proved so many times in the past, logic is hardly an option. -_-
My response to this report is mixed, in both positive and negative terms.
On the one hand, it proves that the OLFC screwed up the first time around. As such, a review of their investigative process and the entire classification system needs to happen. This is, by and large, a good thing for the promotion of the R18+ rating in Australia. However, the donwside to all of this is that for the first time in a while, a game has been pulled from shelves AFTER its initial release and classification. The implication of this is that, in future if the R18+ rating is stalled AGAIN, then game previously passed as acceptable by the classification board may be later revoked if enough insolent or misinfored critics kick up enough of a stink. What really grinds my gears is how these people are in the minority, but seem to garner all of the political power and attention.
What is also kind of perplexing is that the decision to have the game reviewed came from the Federal Home Affairs Minister Mr Brendan O’Connor, a renowned supporter of the R18+ debate. At present, Mr O’Connor has put it to the State Attorney Generals to reach a consensus on the R18+ issue by next month. While it’s a little odd that the supporter of the new ratings system would make such a decision without fully researching the content in question, it does highlight how determind he is to have the Australian ratings system fixed and to have the appropriate rating applied to the appropriate titles.
And link to the coverage of this story can be found HERE
Don’t let the headline of the story fool you however. Calling this an issue of “Child Pornography” is highly misleading. Personally, I do agree that perhaps the PG rating may have been a little inappropriate, given that most previous DOA games garnered an “M” rating. And of course, anyone promoting content regarding children should not be tolerated, but I think a distinction really has to be drawn here. There’s a difference between standing up for what is morally acceptable, and just bastardising the gaming industry, as critics, the media and politicans seem to be so fond of. It’s just unfortunate that a series like DOA has had to find itself on this ledge. A simple addition of a single year to Kasumi’s and Ayane’s character ages could have averted this.
One of the “offending” picutres…
While this has left many scrathing their heads as to what the heck this means for the classification system, the good news is that DOA: Dimensions has a good chance of being re-accepted into Australia by tweaking the classification to an “M” rating instead of “PG”. The ball is currently in Ninentdo’s court now to see if they wish to re-submit the game for an “M” rating review. Although why the OLFC didn’t simply alter the rating at the time of scrutiny is anyone’s guess.
It has been a long time since I have even heard of the movie Top Gun, but it certainly was a film that made it’s mark during the 80’s. Those who are familiar with the franchise of sorts will be pleased to know that 505 Games have announced “Top Gun: Hard Lock”. This title will put players right back in the “danger zone” in a modern version of the blockbuster film. This aerial combat adventure is being developed by Headstrong and will be released for the Xbox 360, PS3, & PC.
505 Games have released this statement of what players can expect in this brand new adaptation:
In development under license from Paramount Digital Entertainment, Top Gun: Hard Lock is aerial dog-fighting at jet speeds and tailgating MiGs at Mach 2, while offering a unique “Hard lock” mode where players perform air combat maneuvers that deliver an explosively satisfying visual payoff that brings them right into the action. Featuring the legendary F-14 Tomcat fighter jet and a number of additional licensed planes and weapons, and more than enough enemy MIGs to turn into smoldering rubble, the game is carefully mixed with just enough nostalgic references to remain true to its action movie roots.
“Top Gun: Hard Lock pays tribute to the brand’s heritage but will deliver the fierce action and intense aerial combat that today’s gamers expect.” commented Ian Howe, Managing Director at 505 Games.
Top Gun: Hard Lock is looking to be a nostalgic blast from the past and anyone who have been craving to tear it up in the skies should mark their calenders, as this title is scheduled to release Spring of 2012.
From a new deal with the NBA to publish a new game to the news of the continuation of the very successful “Cooking Mama” franchise, Majesco have been expanding quite rapidly as of late, and that growth looks to continue. The company recently announced that they have “acquired certain key operating assets as well as the Quick Hit development team” to further move into the social gaming network. You may have heard of Quick Hit from the popular “QuickHit NFL Football”. As part of this Acquisition, Jeffrey Anderson (who helped make Dungeons & Dragons Online and The Lord of the Rings Online successes) will join the Majesco team as its Senior Vice President of Social Games. Anderson will be responsible for Majesco’s current and future online titles, including Cooking Mama Friends’ Café, Parking Wars 2 and Bananagrams, as well as several unannounced social and mobile products currently in development.
“Social gaming is an exploding sector and our acquisition of Quick Hit allows us to take a leadership role in developing top free-to-play titles,” said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco Entertainment. “We’ve always felt that having our own development team was critical to building the know-how needed to succeed in the social games market. I am ecstatic that we were able to land a group of this caliber and a seasoned executive in Jeff Anderson in such a competitive marketplace.”
“Majesco’s social games plan is exciting and their past experience identifying and bringing major brands to gaming fits well with our collective vision of the free-to-play space,” said Anderson. “We are looking forward to leading Majesco’s online and mobile strategy into the future.”
Very exciting news for both companies. This of course means the hugely popular Cooking Mama Friends’ Café has is now just the start of Majesco’s upcoming online resume, and we are sure to see many more social gaming releases in the coming future. Zynga, be prepared as Majesco are aiming to take your once safe throne.
Tecmo Koei have confirmed that Dynasty Warriors (working title) will be coming to Sony’s PS Vita.
The PS Vita instalment of the long-standing franchise will provide familiar circumstances, seeing you take down armies of the Three Kingdoms in the classic 1 vs 100 gameplay which has you outnumbered. Fortunately, you are extremely powerful and can kill 20 enemies with one swipe of your sword.
The PlayStationVita version will let players use the system’s touch panel, the rear touch pad and the gyro sensors to experience a new way to play the series, while still retaining what has gained the series a following. Coupled with a wide range of network and communication features, Tecmo Koei hopes Dynasty Warriors will utilize PlayStationVita’s potential to a full extent.
