New Oneechanbara Z2 Chaos Trailer: Aya and Company Are In Double (Plus) Trouble This Time Out…


 

While there’s still NO news of this game coming to North America, I’d be the first one signing a petition and/or bugging my contacts at D3Publisher of America to consider getting this silly sleeper localized. Even if they kept the Japanese voices and just subtitled the whole thing, I’d be happy. Speaking of localization work… Hey D3PoA! I’ll even do the proofreading job on the translated text if you need the assistance and pay me for my work. Yeah, I’m that nuts about Aya and the gang, so hit me up and let’s make this happen. Yeah, yeah, the game won’t sell a single PS4 in this country, but it’ll most likely do well enough worldwide to maybe get the girls a follow-up later on. I hope. Of course, the trick is getting the fickle gamers out there to fall for Tamsoft’s visual style and the simple yet complex gameplay the series offers. That’s going to take some marketing genius and perhaps even some money spent on showing the game off at some live events like a comic convention or other show where the public and press can step up and hop into things for a taste.

Eh, we’ll see what happens, I guess. One has to dream big with a game like this, folks. Oh and yeah, things get kind of… fruity at the end of that video. Ah, Japan. I love you, but MAN… you’re weird sometimes most ALL of the time!

Yeah, I Want To Get Into Ditko’s Shorts, Too!

Ditko's Shorts Cover

Yeah, I want IN, dammit. Some of Steve Ditko’s horror work used to scare the crap out of me as a kid, so getting the chance to see a bunch of it (along with other genre quickies) in one collection is a great thing for me. And YOU, if you’re also a fan of the man’s work. No, I’m NOT scared of it now, but it’s that brushwork I want to ogle until my eyeballs pop out.

Thanks to Yoe! Books and IDW Publishing, you can grab your own copy of Ditko’s Shorts soon online or from your favorite comics emporium. Buy a second copy and surprise someone with it why don’tcha? Yeah, it’s a SHORT post, too. Ha!

Hive Jump, Huh? Hmmm… Color Me Highly Interested!

Twang Bar KingNope, despite that idyllic GIF above (twang, twang!), Graphite Lab’s upcoming PC/Mac/Linux and Wii U (yay!) game Hive Jump isn’t about some space cowboys sittin’ around a blazing campfire strumming a gitbox and singing bean-related songs (although that might make a fun mini-game now that I think about it). In fact, this in progress Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight game is the exact opposite of low key and gassy. One to four player alien blasting action reminiscent of X-Com, a bit of Slime World, Spelunky and Contra is the name of the game here (EDIT: Hey! I thought this was called Hive Jump?!) and based on that Kickstarter video, thing certainly look pretty thrilling.

Dark2-wide

See? Now THAT’S more like it, huh?

However, with a mere 931 backers and only $27,030 pledged of their $50,000 goal and ONLY 11 days to go (Eeek!), it seems this game needs MORE people hopping on the bandwagon. Granted, I bet some of those non-pledgers own a Sony or Microsoft console and are wondering why Nintendo is getting the love and they aren’t. But hey, I love it when a developer picks the more under-appreciated console and gives it the old college try. The Wii U needs games like this to stand out, and if it does well across the board, who’s to say Sony and Microsoft won’t be calling them up and getting a few dev kits out via some speedy shipping method? As much as I’m wanting to grab this download on the Wii U next year, I’d actually LOVE to play this on the Vita just so I can take it on the road to show it off and convert a few skeptics into new fans.

I'd say there are a lot of bugs in this game (and that's a compliment.)

I’d say there are a lot of bugs in this game (and that’s a compliment.)

Anyway, internet? Go do what you do so well (no, not THAT complain about meaningless crap in the wrong places!) and FUND THIS GAME! I’m broke after paying a few bills, so I’ll be one of those picking it up once it’s all done. It sure looks like it’ll be a total winner no matter what it appears on. Anyway, stop throwing money AT the screen, as all that does is crack you monitor. You need to do a bit more than that (or: give ’til it hurts or you get hurt) if you want to see this one live to fight another day (and perhaps on other consoles?). You go do just that – I’ll be here, awaiting your progress report!

ALL THAT JAZZ & All That Jazz You Need To See, Thanks To The Criterion Collection!

Bob Fosse’s 1979 semi-autobiographical musical masterpiece finally gets the Criterion treatment and if you’ve not see it yet (or have and it’s been a while), NOW is, as they say… the TIME. This is one of those one of a kind films that while not exactly an autobiography, is about the director’s own struggles, vices and other issues, cutting very close to the truth of his wild life on many levels. Compare this to the formulaic pap most Hollywood biopics have turned into over the decades and it’s no wonder this one makes plenty of lists of people’s favorite films. Of course, it also made me never want to do more than five things at ones, kept me away from drugs and smoking, so it’s also kicking it as a cautionary tale. Yeah, I’ll get to writing up a Random Film of the Week on this one in a bit – I actually want to see this new transfer to check out how good a job was done on it first. To the backlog you go, Gideon!

Sunday Schooling Keeps My Post Count Low…

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geelw's avatar

Heh. Between the internet here getting chuggy with it and me playing a couple of games that were beating me around the room for the better part of the day, this is all you’re getting from me today. Okay, I’ll apologize for being distracted a wee bit too much by trying to survive Shadowgate and Sword Art Online. But reviews need to get done, so die I must. Well, not me PERSONALLY, but my assorted avatars going through the eternal struggle. All that and I have still have some wrapping up of Tales of Xillia 2 to do.

Alrighty, then… let me boogie on over to the kitchen- I could use a cup of tea… see you all tomorrow. I may be giving away some Steam codes for games I have duplicates of at some point this week, so stay tuned…

Random Film of the Week: Once Upon A Time In America

Once Upon A Time In America MPThe first time I saw Once Upon A Time In America, I hated it. Not because it was a “bad” film at all, mind you. Hell, I was a mere 20 years old and not much of the older, wiser appreciator of film I’ve become (along with possibly being a little bit of a pompous ass about it), so going in at that age and “getting” all that director Sergio Leone intended was going to be way above my head. Actually, I’d read that the film was very heavily edited by the studio and that made me dislike what I saw more than any issues I had with Leone’s craft. Which was none, by the way.

That initial 139-minute release was so butchered as to render whole scenes meaningless or confusing upon my initial viewing, but there was no denying the compelling performances from the entire cast, Tonino Delli Colli’s absolutely gorgeous cinematography, Ennio Morricone’s epic, near-operatic score and Leone’s assured yet polarizing directorial choices that confused some in the theater I saw the film with who were expecting the third coming of The Godfather (a film Leone was picked to direct at one point). Yes, I “hated” the film, but I knew I had to see it again because there was enough there… no, more than enough that made it a truly great film that was chopped up and placed in what the studio felt was a proper order. I’d gather the powers that be assumed audiences weren’t patient enough to get into a film that was intentionally going to flip the crime genre on its head by being more than just a crime drama.

Flash forward thirty years and all the pieces (well, most of them) are in place, the film is back in my life (and more widely available thanks to a recent Blu-Ray version) in nearly its full glory and celebrated as a masterpiece. And yet, it’s still a properly vexing viewing experience if you go into it expecting what it’s not… Continue reading

It’s Hikari Friday Time! Funko Wants You To WIN One of Two Transformers!

Hikari logo Not just ANY Transformers, though – This week, you’ve the chance to win one of two different Grey Skull variants (no relation to Castle Greyskull, I bet!) through the usual means of hitting up one of Funko’s social networks, entering and then dropping to your knees and hoping you’re the lucky one of two picked to WIN one of these cool Hikari Sofubi Vinyl figures. Here’s Grey Skull Optimus Prime:

Grey Skull Optimus Prime Hikari Sofubi Figure  and here’s Grey Skull Bumblebee:

Grey Skull Bumblebee Hikari Sofubi FigureBoogie on over to one of the spots below and enter away for your chance to win:

http://www.facebook.com/OriginalFunko
http://www.twitter.com/OriginalFunko
Instagram @OriginalFunko

As always, each of the two lucky winners get the first off the line of one of these figures (#1 of 1000 this time out). Remember, If you’re an unlucky loser, you can still grab one or both of these at your favorite Funko retailer in September. Good Luck and remember: “Knowing is half the battle!” I have NO idea what the other half is, by the way…

NIS America Makes NAtURAL DOCtRINE Look Insanely Hard, But That Won’t Keep Me Away…

Wow. Lots of dead adventurers in this rather amusing and slightly gamer grim trailer for the PS3/PS4/PS Vita game NAtURAL DOCtRINE, set for a September release. Kadokawa Games’ upcoming tactical RPG looks to test the skills of the best of the best and leave the bones of the rest to feed the vultures. Hey, maybe I should write copy for the backs of game packages or something? I sometimes have a way with words, I think. Or so people tell me from time to time. Hmmmm… wait. Lots of games aren’t coming in packages these days, so I guess I should stick to writing about games and keep my amusing talent to myself. Anyway, this one looks like a keeper AND a sleeper, so keep an eyeball peeled for it soon…

Oh Yeah, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition Is Out. Buy It.

 

No, I didn’t forget about this one. Between the low drama of other game issues and crappy connection speeds everywhere, I know all those games dropping into retail this week were overlooked here. It’s funny that with the PS4 version of RoS, Blizzard, Sony and plenty of gamers aren’t even talking about the “last-gen” versions anymore even though MORE people still own and play games on the PS3 and Xbox 360 than their shinier replacements. Hell, I’m buying this expansion on the PS3 because I’m the stubbornest of old goats as well as a total cheapskate. Anyway, as noted earlier, I won’t touch this game at all until I finish up some stuff I need to get done or it WILL NOT GET DONE at all. Diablo does that to productivity…

Things We Learned To-day*…

not ice cream1. If it’s called “Dairy Dessert” it sure isn’t ice cream. Not by a long shot. Yeah, it’s cold and sweet (TOO sweet), but that’s about it. AVOID it at all costs (especially if it costs $2.49 for so much. You DO get what you pay for, folks. Yuck). Bonomo Turkish Taffy may have “tasted” like ice cream back in the day, but I’m not five years old anymore and this stuff is just a frozen fructose bomb with cancer color added for bad measure.

2. For some reason, lower bandwidth has gotten me a game demo faster than a connection four times as fast. I may write an article about this, but I’m too busy right now to get to it. Maybe once the weekend is over? We shall see. Oh, that demo was for the twin stick shooter Crimsonland on the Vita. Sword Art Online is still in the process of being downloaded, though. I only had about two hours to get it done but it’s FINALLY past the halfway point and I think I can get the rest of the game tomorrow in about the same time as it took today to get half loaded up. yeah, digital-only gaming sucks in some cases, especially when you’re in an area where the service is overpriced AND subject to sloth-like “speed”…

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