SEGA have just confirmed the release dates for two of their most anticipated upcoming titles for the Nintendo 3DS-Shinobi which hits the market in late 2011 and CRUSHED 3D which shall arrive early 2012.
In Action-Adventure Hack and Slash title Shinobi, gamers play as Jiro Musashi, the father of Joe Musashi from the original 1989 release. Shinobi will contain a vast story mode, showing us more of the Musashi family history, as well as taking advantage of the 3DS’ StreetPass, in an innovative, yet to be announced mode. The release date for Shinobi will be 11th November 2011.
In the Puzzle/Platform game CRUSH3D, players jump into the shoes of Danny, who while testing out his mate’s new invention C.R.U.S.H, finds that the C.R.U.S.H machine has developed a crush on Danny! Danny is a little more than shy and decides to leg it from the machine that has fallen in love with him, and must escape the machine’s clutches by running through a variety of puzzles that use a mix 2D and 3D elements. The release date for CRUSH3D will be 17th February 2012.
Both titles are by video game veterans SEGA, so you know they’ve got to be at least worth checking out!
The kombatant Rain was released as downloadable content for Mortal Kombat on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 today and is taking the gaming kommunity by storm! Inspired by his appearance in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Rain joins the previously released downloadable kombatants Skarlet and Kenshi as the third of the four fighters available for downloadable content these holidays. Also available today is another free compatibility pack featuring Jade and Kitana’s klassic skins, inspired by their appearances in Mortal Kombat 2. Check out this official artwork for Rain above, it looks beautiful! The fourth mystery DLC fighter will be revealed this Thursday at the Neatherrealm Studios Comic Con Panel. I wonder who it could be?
Want to check out Rain’s fatalities? Check them out below thanks to TRMK!
Retro fans have been rejoicing over the NEOGEO Station, SNK Playmore’s recent attempt that aims at releasing classic NEOGEO titles released after 1990 to the Playstation 3 and PSP exclusively. It’s first downloadable pack delivered a whopping 10 titles including Metal Slug, Samurai Showdown, and The King of Fighters ’94. Today SNK Playmore have launched it’s second downloadable pack,containing 2 more titles brining the list of games to 12: The King of Fighters ’95 and Baseball Stars 2.
King of Fighters ’95 was a monumental title in the King of Fighters franchise, as it featured protagonist Kyo Kusanagi battling his sworn enemy Iori Yagami for the first time, beginning the memorable Orochi Saga. Baseball Stars 2 comes to the NEOGEO Station with it’s exaggerated animation and brawls in true SNK fashion. It contains multiple modes including Auto Operation Mode Power Bat Mode and Special Players Mode.
It’s really nice to see SNK Playmore bringing these titles to modern gamers and old school fans. They also plan on releasing additional NEOGEO classics, so keep an eye out for them as well!
We first heard about the upcoming 3DS eShop title, Pokémon Rumble Blast at E3, and rather quietly I might add. Aside from a trailer, nothing else was really shown for the title, but now Nintendo have shed light on what players can expect when it hits the download service this fall. Much like it’s WiiWare predecessor, Pokémon Rumble Blast will let players collect and battle wind-up toy versions of the full Pokémon roster, and this time with the newly added Black & White selection added in.
If you have never played the WiiWare version, players take control of their Pokémon team and do battle in which types and stats effect the outcome, much like the battles from the main series. Pokémon Rumble Blast will offer up opportunities to take on dozens of monsters at a time, with large bosses also in tow that require further effort to conquer. After battles, players can then “befriend” Pokémon to add them to their roster to further strategies and add a bit of personal flavor to each experience.
Also available is the cooperative play mode that allows two players to work together and battle through levels to better befriend defeated Toy Pokémon. A StreetPass feature has also been added, allowing those who cross paths to challenge other users as well as view the rival players’ Mii characters in the game.
I honestly can’t think of a better fit for the now continuing Pokémon Rumble series than the 3DS, and with over 600 Pokémon, this first official Pokémon title on the eShop looks to be quite a substantial one. Pokémon Rumble Blast launches October 24th for the 3DS eShop. For even more information, check out the official website at http://www.pokemon.com/us/games/videogame-pokemon-rumble-blast/.
Sooo I’m going to be different this time and I’m actually going to talk about an event. One of the best events for the anime lovers just like me, Smash! I love Smash ever since I first went to it and I plan to go to it till I’m like way too old to cosplay or something. Why do I love Smash so much well… that’s what I’m here to talk about.
Today I’m specifically looking at the Smash which just happened, Smash 2011.
Here is some helpful information:
What: SMASH!
Where: Convention centre in the Sydney City
All that was rememberable:
• The great cosplay such as:
o Zero Suit Samus
o Agito and Akito
o Sebastian
o Grell
o Ciel
o A predator
o Zero (lelouch)
o The girls from K-On!
o A Scyther
o Lots of Hatsune Mikus
o Ok there’s no way I can name them all
• The art stalls that sold lots of:
o Posters
o Badges
o Art
o Comics
o Commissions
• The stalls that sold:
o DVDs
o Comics
o Models
o Pillows
o Manga
o Contacts
• The events that included:
o Ball-jointed dolls
o Fanfic competition
o Karaoke
o Maid cafe
o Trivia
o Bandai Model Kit World Cup
o BJD Competitions
o Cosplay Chess
o Cosplay Competition
o Mario Kart Competition
o Street Fighter Competition
o Mascot Music Madness
o Makeup Panel
o Pattern-making & Sewing Panel
o Photography Panel
• Guests that included:
o Shinichi Watanabe
o Little Kuriboh
o Kenji Ito
o Hiroki Kikuta
o Eminence artists and Mario Yoshida
So if you haven’t gone this year, I seriously advise for you to get next year as I personally can’t wait!
For those of you keeping up, the highly anticipated Call of Juarez: The Cartel is finally available as of today. Now for those who have been living under a rock since the game was announced earlier this year, this latest Call of Juarez title puts players into the roles of three unlikely heroes as they try to take down a cartel across the southwest. One of these protagonists is none other than Ben McCall, the descendant of Ray McCall from the original Call of Juarez.
I am still a bit on the fence with this one as the story honestly looks rather interesting and kind of like a modern day Mod Squad, but from what we have seen of the gameplay, there hasn’t truly been an element that stood out aside from it’s multiplayer. Hopefully there will be a lot more answered in that area now that the game is out, so stay tuned as we will bringing you a review soon. For now though, you can watch the trailer for Call of Juarez: The Cartel below and let us know what your initial impressions are in the comment section below.
One of the most memorable moment’s of last year’s SMASH! was when cosplayer/preformer Alex Ngai took the stage and preformed his highly popular dance preformance sketch, taken from the Xbox 360 game Idol M@ster, where even the judges joined in! Check it out here. This year Alex Ngai returns from Japan to preform yet another a dance, this time from the sequal Idol M@ster 2, infront of a much larger audience, at SMASH! 2011! His preformance was extremely accurate, and completly in sync with the video above him. Its clear to see a LOT of practice went into this, and it paid off! His preformance was amazing! Check out the pictures we took below, as well as the video we snapped as well!
Ubisoft has recently announced it’s latest online service for gamers, UPlay Passport. The Passport is designed as a delivery method for gaming content, such as bonuses and DLC, as well as Multiplayer. The Passport works in conjunction with UPlay and is set to be implemented in a few months.
Each UPlay game that is released will hold a physical code that must be entered in order to gain access to the UPlay features of that game. You will know if a game is UPlay compatible by checking for a logo on the back of a games packaging. Pre-owned players will still be able to access the UPlay content by paying a charge of $9.99US.
In Dallas, TX on the 4th – 7th of August comes QUAKECON, the woodstock of gaming, and with it comes a slew of tournaments. These tournaments are freaking awesome (especially to me as a HUGE QuakeLive fan and player), and feature both QuakeLive and their latest game Brink.
There are three different tournaments in play that weekend. The first being a duel sponsored by Intel, the second being team deathmatch and the final being an open tournament in the upcoming Brink. Each tournament has it’s own winnings, which are listed below.
The Intel® QUAKE LIVE Duel Invitational Masters
The Intel QUAKE LIVE Duel Invitational Masters will feature known professionals and top QUAKE LIVE competitors in their own exclusive tournament. Sixteen (16) of the world’s best QUAKE LIVE players, hand selected by tournament staff from the open online registration, will face-off in the 1 vs.1 duel for more than $14,000 USD in a single elimination bracket, with each match played in a best-of-three-games format. With two competitors remaining, thousands will gather to watch as these two best-of-the-best survivors go head-to-head in a single elimination, best-of-five-games throw-down with an $8,000 USD cheque written to the champion. Matches will feature a pool of five arenas.
The QUAKE LIVE Team Deathmatch Invitational Masters
The Team Deathmatch Invitational Masters will feature 4 vs. 4 competitions for eight (8) teams battling it out in a single elimination bracket and best-of three-games format using five arenas. Players who come out on top will share prizes of $28,000 USD, including $16,000 USD for the team of champions. Matches in the tournament will feature five arenas.
The Brink Open Tournament
Available for up to sixteen (16) teams of amateurs with five players per team, the brink Open will offer up-and-coming competitors a taste of the excitement and pressure of professional gaming. Battling for prizes ranging from top of the line video cards to autographed copies of Brink, players will compete in a stopwatch single elimination bracket. Matches for the Brink Open Tournament will feature Aquarium, Resort, and Terminal.
Make sure you register between July 15th and July 31st to secure your position in a prospective tournament. And to all prospective competitors, GLHF 😀
How good are clubs? They’re full of stuff like people and… clubs. Seriously, they’re great. A lot of us SMASH! people used to be in clubs and look what happened to us!-SMASH! Official Website
Amoungst all the various vendors and booths at SMASH!, a few were occupied by various clubs and groups. I spoke to a member named William of a club parramatta-based group of University students called ParraNOIA, who aims at spreading anime awareness. Coming from the western suburbs of Sydney myself, I was particularly interested and spoke to him about what they do. You can see the breif interview ebedded below, and you can vist their website, their Facebook group here, and access their forums here. My fellow editor did a few written interviews with various booths from the artist circle which you can check out here.
The also did interviews with some other clubs which you can see here.
