Ember Update: N-Fusion’s Late Baby Gets Bigger and Better

Posted on March 13, 2015 by geelw

Yes, Ember was supposed to be out last fall, but as CEO and creative director Jeff Birns explained at 505 Games recent NYC event, the team at N-Fusion has been a bit busy making things even better. The game looked fantastic when I first saw it, but it’s even more gorgeously detailed and as noted in my previous article, the best-looking isometric RPG on any device. Many new areas have been added, older areas have gotten changes and parts that needed work have indeed been worked on. Ten years of work and a proprietary engine that won’t quit go a long way in realizing a dream, is all I’ll say about the art and vast, carefully detailed open world players will get to explore.

I’ll even go out on a limb to say it definitely gives some PC role-playing games of any era a run for their money. Apple clearly has an exclusive to be proud of (the Steam version will most likely be released at some point after the iOS version), but how do you market such an amazing game on a device where most of its games really haven’t been marketed to the masses like AAA console games are?

Continue reading →

Toy Fair Sunday Musings, Too: May The Force Be With Few!

Posted on February 15, 2015 by geelw

Thank you, Imperial Toy! One, for having one of the more surprisingly cool licensed items at the show (a huge Star Wars bubble machine shaped like R2-D2 that does exactly what it’s supposed to do and makes everyone in the vicinity stop what they’re doing and walk over to check it out). Its also surprisingly affordable. I’ll post pics of R2 tomorrow, as I shot photos with another camera and (duh!) can’t seem to find the USB cable (duh!)

Oh, and two, for giving me the nice silver-colored bubble lightsaber just for stopping by their booth to check out R2. Apparently, its one of only a thousand made for the show. Nice. Id love to have a blue one as well, but I don’t mind waiting for the normal white sabers to hit retail and add one of those to the collection.

Hikari Friday: Steel Yourself For Platinum Frankenstein!

Posted on January 23, 2015 by geelw

Yeah, I know, I know – that was a putrid pun. But I couldn’t help myself you know… just couldn’t Karl it off, heh. Anyway, this weeks Funko giveaway is a limited edition Platinum Frankenstein, #1 of 750, at that. Check him out below in all his glory:

Yes, he can be all yours if you’re the lucky winner of this week’s giveway. All you need to do is click it on over to one of Funko’s social media sites:

Facebook!
Twitter
Instagram

Follow the rules and you’re good to go! If you win, you get a nice note saying so from Funko and shortly after that, your cold-eyed swag staring back at you from the confines of its packaging. If you’re a loser (and aren’t we all from time to time?), you can just boogie on down to your nearest Funko retailer and buy one of these limited run Frankies for your own. Hey, wasn’t one of your New Year’s resolutions to get more exercise? Well, there you go, mister or miss(us). One more reason to get off the couch and take a stroll in the cool winter air. In other words, if you win, you WIN… if you lose, you still WIN!. Good luck in any event!

Persona 5: Last Gasp on the PS3/First Breath on the PS4…

Posted on December 31, 2014 by geelw

Atlus’ long running Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series of games has always been a reliably sturdy franchise for fans, surviving a few major artistic and gameplay changes some dislike while providing deep and generally well written plots as well as some interesting characters. The company has been teasing Persona 5 for a little while now as the game is still in development in Japan, and as this latest teaser shows, some of the familiar elements are back. Expect high-school age kids finding out they’ve got hidden powers called Personas, Japan at the brink of some sort of apocalyptic destruction, and dozens of hours of gameplay not counting plenty of side-quests. Demon fusion, teen angst, maybe a bit of romance options and a number of returning good, evil and neutral NPC’s to chat with will no doubt also be par for the course.

This second teaser trailer reveals not much at all other than some of the new cast of characters and their names. Additionally, as this will be the first Persona game for next-gen (or current gen if you’ve already made the switch), it will be interesting to see the differences between the PS3 and PS4 versions of the game. I’d imagine the more powerful PS4 will run the game at a steady frame rate and probably feature ore detailed environments. But outside that fighting game, the series has never been about super flashy visuals or lightning paced action. We’ll keep an ear to ground for more on this one, but let’s just say a chunk of time is being carved out in order to dive deep into this one and play it at length.

Hikari Friday: Win Spider-Man or Astro Boy This Week From Funko!

Posted on December 19, 2014 by geelw

This week in Funko-land, you can win big if you’re the one of the lucky two chosen to get one each of these cool figures. Check out the Distressed Spider-Man Hikari Sofubi Figure below. At a whopping 8 inches tall, he’s nicely over-sized, folks:

And below Spidey, here’s another Gemini Collectibles exclusive, the Infrared Astro Boy Hikari Sofubi Figure. Take a look, people:

Each one is #1 of a limited 750 piece run, so if you do win, you’ll get giddy that you’ve got the first one off the line for not a dime. As usual, you can enter simply by heading to one of Funko’s social network spots:

Facebook!
Twitter
Instagram

follow the dirt simple instructions (usually a follow and post of some sort is required) and you’re all set. Of course, if you luck out and don’t score some swag for FREE, you can always pony up some of that hard earned dough of yours. That Distressed Spider-Man will be at your nearest Funko retailer in January, while the Infrared Astro Boy pops up on Gemini Collectibles’ site at the end of this month. Winners are usually announced on Thursdays, but as next Thursday is Christmas, I’m betting Funko will drop the news a day sooner or a day later. Hey, don’t try and pin me down for a better answer – you’re lucky you get an update on this site every so often with all I have going on! Anyway, good luck and definitely have a stupidly super weekend!

Funko Makes Hikari Friday Twice as Marvel-ous!

Posted on December 12, 2014 by geelw

So, Funko is back to a double giveaway week and let’s see now… it’s an all-Marvel freebie festival this time. Well, okay, it’s only two figures, but you know you want them and would have a little festival if you did indeed win. Or one, actually. Anyway, here’s what’s up for grabs this Friday: You can walk away with #1 of 1500 of this Classic Deadpool Premium Hikari Sofubi Figure:

Or #1 of 1000 of this Entertainment Earth exclusive: Planet X Groot Premium Hikari Sofubi Figure:

As usual, entering is simple, as is winning should your entry be chosen. Just hit one of Funko’s social sites:

Facebook!
Twitter!
Instagram!

Follow the instructions and that’s that. Winners are contacted the following Thursday, so patience is a virtue. If you don’t win and still want, you can buy Deadpool starting in March 2015 at a Funko retailer near you while Entertainment Earth will be shipping out Groot in January. As always, good luck and have a great weekend!

That New Zelda Smell Is a Wonderful Thing Indeed…

Posted on December 6, 2014 by geelw

So, I’m not watching (or, didn’t watch, to be a good deal more precise) The Game Awards because I’d rather play games that actually deserve praise that aren’t getting it than watch awards shows about the ones that almost automatically do. Anyway, I missed out on some cool reveals such as the VERY wow-worthy Metal Gear Online (which I loved looking at and won’t play because I hate being “social” in games and prefer single player story-driven experiences) and a few other upcoming games coming to the new consoles.

Of course, I’d almost forgotten about the still in development new Legend of Zelda title for the Wii U, but here comes legendary creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Zelda director Eiji Aonuma with a nice-looking demo that makes me glad I’ve owned a Wii U since its launch. That new Zelda is still on track for a 2015 release, a good thing, as it will arrive in a year where every first and third party release on the console is important. I’m liking what I see so far and it seems that the game is going to find a wide appeal among both longtime and new fans. Okay, NOW I’m officially going to bed. I was only up because I’d forgotten to take pictures of the kitchen here it’s still a mess, but some work has been done) and decided to poke around in my inbox to see if anything interesting was in there. Yes, indeed there was…

Hikari Friday: Funko Gives You A Ghost of a Chance This Week!

Posted on December 5, 2014 by geelw

Only ONE Funko Hikari Sofubi Vinyl figure up for this week’s giveaway, but there’s also the announcement of a limited edition figure you can run out and buy from Hot Topic, of all places. The freebie chance first: It’s #1 of 1500 this time and it’s a ghost you’d not want to bust at all because you’d be covered head to toe in icky marshmallow goop that’s probably a wee bit too hot to be sitting on your tender skin. Say hello to Ice Stay Puft Premium Hikari Sofubi Figure:

Yes, you should be nice to him or he’ll get mad and grow on you! Well, that would be a good thing under non-ghostly un-possessed marshmallow man conditions. But you know the drill if you’ve seen Ghostbusters, right? Anyway, if you want a chance to win this one, hit up one of Funko’s social media sites:

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

Follow the rules there and hold you breath for a week. Well, don’t REALLY hold your breath for that long, now. Otherwise, you’ll be dead and with some real ghosts only to find out there’s NO Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, only lonely moans and dirges playing every damned day and night. BOOooooooOOOOooooo! ALso, if you don’t win this time, you ca always buy that big guy at your favorite Funko retailer.

As for that other Hikari Vinyl? Attention Hot Topic shoppers! Be on the lookout for Retro Pastels Stay Puft Hikari Premium Sofubi Figure coming soon to a HT near you and online at HotTopic.com. Check him out and feel the rainbow love:

Obvious jokes about marshmallows on mushrooms aside, I can see this one becoming a hot topic of conversation as only 500 will be made before the mold is melted. Keep and eyeball peeled and get yours soon!

Earth Defense Forces 2 Portable V2 Vita Update: Yes, This NEEDS To Be US Bound.

Posted on December 2, 2014 by geelw

Another “enlistment” video from D3Pulisher in Japan for Sandlot’s upcoming Earth Defense Forces 2 Portable V2 on the Vita has more than sold me on this game. As a longtime EDF fan, I’ve known that EDF 2 was and is the best game in the series in terms of content and the developer really pushing the PS2 past its limits back when that version was initially released. The enemy variety was and still is the best in the series, the night maps with those spiders hopping about with glowing eyes were terrifying and those damned rolling pill bugs drove me up a wall figuring out how to get rid of them before they steamrolled poor Storm 1. All that and the game has one of the funniest levels in the series with a MASSIVE beast showing up as a surprise boss after its two rather large offspring get taken down while on a rampage.

This updated version takes content from the original version and the PSP update (which was great despite the sluggish frame rate), adds what’s looking like improved multiplayer and much cleaner visuals. It looks as if the controls will be the same and Pale Wing’s goofy running animation is intact. Well, at least she can fly and has the best weapons in the game. I do hope her experience growth is the same as in the other versions of EDF 2 and not the insanely low numbers she gets in EDF 4. My one major gripe about that game was how unfair it handled character leveling. Anyway, I’m hoping D3Publisher of America or some other smart publisher is looking to localize this and get it out at some point. I’ll import if I must, but I’d really LOVE to see a push to get this one out and done in North America just so Vita owners can have another must-buy title…

Hikari Black Friday! Free Spidey and Frankie For Two Lucky Winners!

Posted on November 28, 2014 by geelw

While some of you are out there shopping away and getting sore all over, smarty-smarts out there are doing it all online and hoping the also score big in the process. Funko wants to help you today by giving away two more awesome Hikari Sofubi figures, one standard and the other premium.

Metal Mix Spider-Man Premium Hikari Sofubi Figure is the first figure up for grabs. This one’s Premium and over eight inches tall (!) and #1 of 500. Remember, if you don’t win, still want one and don’t mind paying for it, you can hit up your favorite Funko retailer and bug them until they sell it to you. Trust me, it won’t take long for money to exchange hands.

The second figure is Gemini Collectibles Exclusive Metallic Frankenstein Hikari Sofubi Figure. Yeah, he’s a cutie, isn’t he? Okay, the gold eyes are creepy, but that metallic finish on his clothes make it look as if he’s wearing a sharkskin suit! Well, if you like Frankenstein’s Monster as depicted in the Universal Movies, that is. This one’s limited to 750 pieces (you’ll get #1 off the line) and if you miss out, you can grab your own over at the Gemini Collectibles website.

Those in the know know how to go about entering and potentially being the big winners. But once more with feeling for those new to all this stuff: Boogie on over to one of these social sites using your clicky-clicky hand skills:

Facebook!

Twitter!

Instagram @OriginalFunko

Enter and hope luck is on your side! You look as if you could use a little more luck today, I think.