‘Twas Shakespeare who wrote “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” (Henry IV, Part 2 Act 3, scene 1, line 31), but I’m betting Factory Entertainment is laying odds that more stability will be found from Game of Thrones fans with bulging wallets. In addition to its line of licensed plush Dire Wolves, Dragons, throw pillows and other collectibles from the show, that great looking replica Royal Crown of the Houses Baratheon and Lannister above is in search of a few good homes.
Limited to 1500 pieces, Joffrey’s crown is cast from metal (unlike the one on the show, which was made from lightweight material that looked like metal but wasn’t), weighs about 13 ounces and comes with a sturdy 3-pound pedestal. Nope, I wasn’t even about to attempt to put that crown on my big head at Toy Fair, folks. Not because I didn’t want to, mind you. It’s just that I’ve seen the show and read some of the books and know wearing that crown is a really bad idea. Of course, I suggested to the guys at Factory to run some sort of photo contest among the lucky future owners of this collectible to see who was the most hard-core GoT fan out there. But we agreed that unless there was some sort of disclaimer that said something along the lines of “Please don’t ACTUALLY bump off the person in the photo!”, there could be trouble. You know how some fans get – always striving for accuracy in their recreations.
Anyway, that crown goes on sale this spring. Keep an eye peeled for it… or someone may peel that eye for you.
Back in the mid-80’s and up to about 1994 or so, I was OBSESSED with Gasahpon and Shogukan figures thanks to a few shops in Chinatown that stocked them and the prices being so inexpensive. I partially blame Cracker Jacks for exposing me to fun toys in a box of candy when I was a kid, then over time getting rid of those toys in favor of lousy paper goodies far less expensive to produce. I guess I was unconsciously looking for a substitute one fine summer day when, while waiting at a checkout line at a large Asian market I saw that colorful anime art on those small boxes and picked up four or five of them at under a dollar each.
Soon thereafter, a friend told me about a shop in the area that had what seemed like hundreds of figures for sale from too many manga and anime and I was introduced to higher end, higher quality figures from Bandai and Banpresto. The combination of low to reasonably acceptable price points and the variety of different types of figures lured me in deeper and soon, I was snapping up anywhere between five to ten Shogukan figures a week or every other week. Continue reading →
So, Mezco Toyz has this rather massive Bugs Bunny figure coming this year:
and I couldn’t be happier. Not because I have the room for a two-foot tall cartoon rabbit in the collection (I don’t). Its because they got the license to the RIGHT Bugs from the era he was his funniest. it also (probably) means well see the more insane (yer perfect) versions of Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and Porky Pig with the possibility of more on the way. Excellent. On the other hand, I could just be jumping the gun here with my guessing who else the company has licensed. I don’t think so, as those guys BELONG together. I’ll bet you all a baby carrot, too. Okay, I just want a boxed set of smaller figures because that big wabbit that’s going to go on sale later this year wont fit anywhere in my place.
Expect to see a LOT of Jurassic World merchandise coming for the upcoming film. Yes, Universal ran the same old trailer fans have already seen, but there’s a nice amount of new toys on the way that were unseen until the event earlier today. Dinosaurs everywhere would be a problem in real life for sure. But it looks like the licensing agreements on this film will bring kids (and adults) into those walking future fossil fuel sources will get plenty of folks into the stores before and after they hit the theaters.
As for those Minions, well, my bad poetry databank has been reactivated, so expect to read some ear curling stuff about that toy line shortly. That long trailer was pretty funny and it looks as if the third go-round with the little yellow guys may be the best yet. As for the merchandise, some items are returning from Despicable Me 2, but in updated form, there are new items that will make the kids (and parents) crack up, and yes, expect your disposable income to become a lot more disposable once the film hits.
More on both toy lines shortly. I’ve a lot of ground to cover over the next few weeks and two more days at the show in this stupidly lousy cold weather we’ve been socked with. It’s worth it, though…
Oh, yeah. As someone who grew up in the VHS era and had a rather huge collection of films (long sold off, sadly), seeing a book like this coming in May from Schiffer Publishing gets me all giddy. VHS: Video Cover Art by Thomas “The Dude Designs” Hodge (and yes, that nickname sounds straight outta the eighties) is a 9″ x 12″ hardcover, will feature 264 pages, 570 color photos (and an index, of course) and cost $34.99, a pittance for the sheer amount of nostalgia guaranteed to be on display.
For me, this one is a “shut up and buy it” book if there ever was one. I’ve looked over the first 24 pages and had a huge grin on my face that’s still lingering. This one’s going to do well amongst the collectors out there and any movie fan looking for an excellent gift will want to keep an eye peeled for when this drops into stores in a few months. Color me excited, folks. Between this and those Mill Creek collections I’ve been picking up for dirt cheap lately, my teenage years are coming back full force. Er, without the awkwardness around the ladies and doing stupid stuff for fun part…
This week’s giveaway from Funko is a biggie. If you love Spider-Man, HUGE vinyl figures and the prospect of owning one that looks as if it’s made of gold, well… this one’s for you. Er, only if you’re the lucky winner, that is. Take a gander at all 10 inches of 24k Gold Spider-Man Hikari Premium Sofubi Figure:
Again, he’s not REALLY made of 24k gold, but he is kind of rare. WIN and you get #1 of 750 off the line. Enter by going to one of Funko’s social sites:
Follow the rules and BOOM, you’re in. If you win, you get a note and later a big ol’ box. If you lose and still want this, it’s now available at your favorite Funko retailer. As always, GOOD LUCK, and check back in next week for another giveaway!
Okay, the only reason I’m giving this remake the time of day is because I like Sam Rockwell in anything he’s done. That said, I’m not sure Poltergeist needed a remake at all, given the original still holds up to a good extent as a classic horror film. Granted, with Sam Raimi producing and Gil Kenan (Monster House, City of Ember) behind the lens, this remake is bound to do a few really interesting things with the concept. At least we know there will be plenty of CG effects, some of which look like practical ones.
The main problem I see with the new film is what happens afterward. I’m gathering this is more a reboot that pretends the original film never existed as opposed to a remake that hints at the old film. Opinion time: the other films in the original series weren’t all that good and the TV series went way off into weird-land (although it did have and has a rather loyal fan base). If this does well at the box office (and it should), expect the inevitable sequel train to roll onwards. If there are sequels, I’d bet you a nickel that Rockwell won’t come back for seconds and has to be replaced by a new actor. Unless he’s needing a new house, boat or train (or all three) and can be easily nabbed to return for a bigger paycheck, of course. Of course, I can see Fox deciding to take this ghost train on the road and greenlight a sequel or sequels that follow other angry ghosts across America trying to get the point across that you don’t build your new housing on top of their old dead heads.
Eh, we’ll see what’s what soon enough. Color me tentatively intrigued for now.
Unless you’re the sort of person who’s been around gaming for a while, maybe follows a bit of industry news and happens to read game credits all the way to the end, you may not know who Rod Humble is. Hopefully you’ve clicked that link and did some fast reading, because through his new company, multimedia studio Chaphat he’s got a new game coming soon that’s going to most likely get a lot of people talking and hopefully playing solo or against each other in once they give it a try.
Cults & Daggers is “a sprawling and complex strategy game set in the Hellenistic era between the death of Buddha and the birth of Christ.” If that wasn’t intriguing enough, the press release continues: “As the Old Gods plot to destroy a planet they can no longer rule, players are tasked with creating their own religion to fight a secret war for the soul of the world.” Reading that made me think of a little Lovecraftian undercurrent at play. But as I still need to try out a demo, I’ll hold out on any over-speculation as to exactly where the game goes.
As your head is spinning around that heady description and the screenshot gallery below is piquing your curiosity, the power of “cripes” compels you to read on for more info. On one hand, Cults & Daggers is a turn-based strategy game that’s decidedly very old school in terms of presentation and gameplay modes. but this is exactly the sort of game that will appeal to a wide range of players young and old who like the challenge found here. As you can see, this isn’t a graphics card showpiece at all, but more of a designer’s dream project. The board game-like layout, simple menus, creative use of artwork and plenty of lovely fonts all show off a game you won’t mistake for something else on the market.
Granted, bringing up religion in almost any context that may be seen as “negative” by its more core followers is a tricky thing to do. That said, Cults & Daggers appeals to the imagination in a “What if?” and looks to spin its web around your curious side as it hooks you into its world. The best historical strategy games are those where you can hop in for hours immersed in the gameplay and this one looks like it’s going to be up there with the classics of the genre.
Here’s what to expect in the final version of the game:
Features
Secretly manipulate the rise and fall of great cities throughout 400 years of history
Gain influence by building temples, performing sacrifices, preaching, recruiting noble families, etc.
Weaken opponents through blasphemy, assassination, robbery and subversion
Destroy evil places of power to thwart the Old Gods and earn grand rewards
Disciple skills include teaching, killing, hiding, performing spells & curses, preaching and more!
Carefully manage your religion’s Faith and Hope levels in order to gain power and influence
Spend Faith and Occult to cast spells, and bring curses and miracles to the world
Extensive Single player with procedurally generated disciples and city data
Multiplayer for up to 4 via Multiplayer Hot Seat and Play-By-E-Mail (PBEM)
Procedurally generated technology tree and adventure system
In-depth modeled spying system allows for deep subterfuge
Game includes free Cults & Daggers ambient music album
With all that in store for those who hop on the Cults & Daggers bandwagon, it’s clear that Humble and Chaphat want this game to be one of those “evergreen” titles that people can pick up and play for years without ever growing tired of it. The deep complexity and lack of flashy visuals will most likely keep this off of anything but home computers or laptops. On the other hand, who knows that will happen if this one takes off and gets a cult following (pun intended). As usual, we shall see.
Coming to PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on April 7, 2015, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin will bring FromSoftware’s hard as hell-made nails game to those new consoles with a number of changes and improvements over the original release. For those rolling their eyes about the prospect of repurchasing the game just for spiffier visuals and every bit of DLC content included for free, fear not. Enemy placement throughout the game is vastly different and their AI has been dialed up even further.
Additionally, the number of enemy mobs has been increased, making the already challenging game much more so. All that and it seems that both offline and online players will have to now worry about a super-tough new foe that can invade their games with intent to do them in. Online fans looking for a fight will love the now 6-player PvP, although “love” is kind of a subjective term here. There’s nothing quite like being invaded mid-game by a bunch of people who you don’t know who may or may not be wanting to help you adventure.
Finally, that subtitle refers to an all-new NPC who’s chock full of information and meeting up with him will no doubt lead to new areas and content in the game. As you can see here, the official Dark Souls II website has announced a new patch for current owners of the original game that adds a ton of new features and content that will prepare players for the April release of Scholar of the First Sin. The great thing about all this is this reworked version of Dark Souls II is not only geared for veteran players who’ve mastered the game, but new players who want to see what all the fuss is about.
Yes, From has also added new NPC’s who can assist new players with the ins and outs of survival in such an unforgiving world. But don’t expect casual hand-holding or an assist if you bite off more that you can chew. The latter is what the assorted not so wee beasties are supposed to to and I’m betting plenty of players old and new will become meals off wheels when Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin arrives in about two months.
While Mezco Toyz has previously sold a cool 9-inch Creature From the Black Lagoon collectible figure in its Universal Monsters line, this upcoming Living Dead Doll version of the Creature blows that one out of the water. I’m betting a new penny this new doll sells out faster than the Universal Monsters one just because it’s cute and creepy perfection. Just look at it:
Featuring an all new body and face sculpt, this iconic scaled terror from the deep stands a full 10” tall and captures the intricate detail of the pre-historic gill-man; from his mysterious yellow eyes, to his claw tipped webbed hands. With nine points of articulation he is the most articulated Living Dead Doll ever, he’ll be able to take out any scientist who dares to come between him and his true love. He comes packaged in a full color, collector friendly window box.
This upcoming Creature From the Black Lagoon Living Dead Doll will cost $32 and ship out in July. Pre-ordering is highly recommended, as I can see LDD fans worldwide making room in a cabinet or on a shelf just for this new arrival. Yeah, that Gill-man will still slay you, man. But he’ll kill you with cuteness first before getting you with those fishy claws of his. “Dawwwww!” and “Gyaaaaaaah!” at the same time? I can do that.
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