Toy Fair 2013: Peavey Gets DC Ready to Rock With Themed Guitars & More…

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Yeah, you know you want one (or all of these) even if you’re lousy at playing the guitar. Peavey Electronics and Warner Bros. Consumer Products are rolling out a cool line of DC Comics superhero-themed guitars and accessories starting this summer with a half-size Peavey acoustic guitar featuring a number of popular DC Comics Super Heroes, followed by a three-quarter size Peavey electric guitar and a full-size Peavey Rockmaster® electric guitar. Peavey will also release guitar picks and straps featuring DC Comics Super Heroes and villains such as Aquaman and The Joker (pictured below), as well as Watchmen and other fan favorites. Hmmm… even though it’s in “fat chance” territory, I think a Swamp Thing guitar would be a pretty wild addition to this lineup. Anyway, here’s a look at three cool electrics from the upcoming lineup – flip a coin like Two-Face or buy them all (like you knew you were going to as soon as you clicked on each image).

Peavey DC Comics Superman Rockmaster Peavey DC Comics Batman Rockmaster Peavey DC Comics Joker Rockmaster

Hmmmm.. given The Joker’s tendencies for oddball gags at inopportune moments, I have to wonder if that Rockmaster is loaded with a little something extra you’ll only discover by playing notes in a certain order? Well, there’s one way to find out – as in buy this for a friend and see what happens when he or she plays it… Just make sure you’re oh, about 30 feet away have have a good umbrella handy…

Review: Driftmoon

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driftmoon_boxshot2Platform: PC

Developer: Instant Kingdom (Ville/Anne Mönkkönen)

Publisher: Instant Kingdom

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: N/A

Official Site

Score: A (95%)

Do you own a decent cap or hat, dear reader? If you do, go get it now, put it on and tip that cap or hat in the general direction of Finland (Jyväskylä, to be a bit more precise). If you don’t have a good cap or hat, what’s wrong with you? It’s cold outside! Anyway, what’s with all the polite haberdashery tilting? Well, dear reader, it’s a hats off to Ville and Anne Mönkkönen for the seven years of work that went into one of the best games of this year. Driftmoon is an instant classic you’ll want to dive into and explore at your own pace just to experience great game design in action. Solid writing, great visuals and the excellent hybrid adventure/RPG/puzzle gameplay make a visit to Driftmoon well worth the price. As great as the game is, the included easy to use editor gives this one endless possibilities for users to craft their own potential classics…

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Capcom Arcade Cabinet Livestream: It’s Like Friday Night Again (With Much Cooler Friends)…

 

Hey, now – don’t get (too) offended there. Some people had cool friends back in the day, some didn’t. I had both cool and uncool buddies, so I can speak for each side of that particularly pesky coin. That said, Capcom Arcade Cabinet is out now and if those first three titles are any indication, this series will indeed be quite a winner. 1943, Avengers and Black Tiger are the first trio in a nice collection of games headed to PSN and Xbox Live Arcade (and sooner than you think). I’m hoping this lot gets onto the Vita and Wii U, as those remastered visuals are screaming for some portable and GamePad love. Or even better for those who don’t use download services, if this eventually makes it out on a disc at some point. More served means millions served, I always say…

Toy Fair 2013: Griddly Games’ Show Me the Kwan: Word War Three Begins Soon…

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KwanAs usual, Griddly Games‘ Angela Welch is a total ringer. Here I was minding my business strolling around the show floor at Toy Fair when my path sent me past the GG both where their upcoming word game Show Me the Kwan (or Kwan) was on display and once I was lured into a match, well… like last year’s fun puzzle/strategy game Oversight, I went down faster than a Canadian Goose dipped in kerosene taking a detour through a flaming hoop. That actually means the game is really good and not much sleep before strolling the show floor means a discarded soda can could have beaten me…

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Soul Sacrifice Japanese TV Spots: April’s Real Fools Will Miss This Gem…

 

Nope, I’m not taking ALL of today off, folks. Here are a trio of nice ads for Sony’s upcoming Vita exclusive which is headed stateside soon enough (oh, alright… I’ll be nice – it’s headed to PSN and HOPEFULLY retail in North America on April 30, 2013).

 

 

Granted, non-Vita owners hoping for the portable to slide into oblivion while they diddle away playing Fruit Ninja or whatever are more likely than not shrugging away or not taking much notice as they’re rubbing their fingerprints off on some tablet or phone. On the other hand, The core Vita fans who support the handheld know this is a key release coming in a pretty hectic year for the system.

 

 

Hmm. My long list of stuff to play has now officially reached “Too many games!” status. But according to experts in the field of “Hey, you have waaaaay too many games!” it’s been that way for a while.

Random Film of the Week(end): Rubber

 

I absolutely love that some horror fans HATE Quentin Dupiex’ Rubber (or as it’s called in France, Rubber) for a few reasons. I’m betting he knew that’s just what would happen when the jaded but none too bright gore fanatics out there rolled into theaters or caught this on cable thinking they’d be getting a relentlessly violent and gory flick that just so happened to be non-stop hilarious. Well, it IS indeed gory and often quite funny… but it’s also a one or two gag film that works it hard by going in many directions (often at once) as well as one of the more absurdly meta movies you’ll ever see. You know you’re in for a weird time when a movie starts off with two characters on a desert road talking about how things happen for “no reason” before an audience in the distance waiting around is handed binoculars in order to watch what happens next. That’s probably the most normal thing you’ll see for the next 80+ minutes, by the way…

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Hey Lukewarm Games! You’re Lucky I Like Dinosaurs…

As I noted last week, this whole Harlem Shake thing is SO played out, but toss in a couple of dinosaurs and I get all “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in…” about this dopey fad. Well, it works with THESE dinosaurs. Hell, if it were Barney or any other purple dinosaur out there, I’d be beating my laptop with a baseball bat and suing someone so I can buy a new one. Anyway, OK – I laughed… but this is the last time I’m going to watch one of these videos. Maybe…

Hey, Lukewarm! Maybe think a tiny bit about getting your nifty-looking multiplayer-centric game Primal Carnage onto consoles and the Vita with a solo play campaign so I can finally play this game. It looks like a ton of fun, but I don’t do online gaming much (crap connection and I prefer games with stories to keep me interested more than running around shooting stuff)…

Gallery: Mystic Chronicles (Or: Natsume Keeps The PSP Flame Burning Into The Summer Months)

MC_screen (1)Well, well, well… I didn’t even know Japanese developer/publisher Kemco was still around these days, but thanks to Natsume deciding to localize the company’s iOS RPG Fantasy Chronicle for North America as Mystic Chronicles for a summer 2013 release, I’m a bit happier to see the developer still cranking out fun games that more genre fans here in the US will get to enjoy. Tile-based 16-bit visuals straight out of the SNES and Genesis days? Check. First-person field and dungeon combat (and turn-based at that)? Check. Cute anime/manga art all over the place (like it or not – I happen to like it a lot in this type of game). Check.

All I need to know now is when it’s coming out and how much I need to spend to get my grubby paws on it (retail is preferred, but I’ll take a PSN code to get my fix). Hey, I have three PSP’s here, at least one of which gets regular usage (Earth Defense Force 2 Portable has been on constant play here since I got it from Play-Asia), so I won’t be needing to go nuts digging through the Bins of Doom here looking for them.

Anyway, onwards to the gallery with you! Watch your step and duck, as it’s below the jump… Continue reading

Review: Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (Vita)

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Platform: PlayStation Vita (via PSN)
Developer/Publisher: Ratloop Asia
# of Players: 1 (online 2 – 4)
ESRB: Rating: M (Mature)
Official Site
Score: A- (90%)

icon0 Before you even ask, nope, Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken has absolutely NOTHING to do with Angry Birds. Zero. Zilch. So, please clear that Jenga with a slingshot game out of your heads before reading further (I’ll wait)… and if you happen to have grown up playing classic NES side-scrollers, a few too many platform-based puzzle games and maybe a few oddball arcade flight shooters, well… this game’s got your name on it somewhere. Ratloop Asia (sorry, but that studio name makes me want to avoid eating Chinese food for a few days) has cooked up a tasty bird buffet that’s a tad spicy for the kids thanks to a bit of foul (or is that fowl?) language, blood and lots of stabby and shooty violence. But for those of you Vita owners with a sense of humor and a few bucks in your pocket, it’s a guaranteed fun time while it lasts. A few new Vita-exclusive elements added makes this the most complete version out there and yes, it’s a definite must-buy if you’re looking for a solid adventure that, while not the longest game out there, is going to get a few replays and perhaps even stay on that memory card long after you’re all done.

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Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (1): A Few Minions For Your Approval…

Action Figure Stuart Action Figure Phil Action Figure Dave

Meet Minions Stuart, Phil and Dave,
(of them I’ll post this little rave)

They’re three fun guys full of surprise
and just a few bucks each.
They’ll fit in pocket, purse or bag,
(I think they’d like the beach)

Thinkway has made them all just right
they’ll make you smile a lot
That said, I’d keep mine at home
so mischief happens not!

Pictured, three Collectible Figures from the upcoming Despicable Me 2 toy line (2”-3.5”), Age: 4+; Approximate Retail Price: $4.99 – Available starting in May at a retailer near you.