Happy Star Wars Day! Funko Wants To “Force” Some Awesome Swag On You!

funko logo Well, I’m sure if you happen to win this particular contest you won’t be whining at ALL about the fine folks at Funko sending you a box with SUPER rare items in it, right? in fact, I’d bet you’d be dancing around the room to some Meco if you DID win this really spectacular set of swag. Anyway, here’s the details on this very cool little LIMITED time giveaway – Er, get your cameras out, folks (you’ll need them to enter):

Happy Star Wars Day!
May the 4th Be With You!

Funko loves Star Wars, so we decided to celebrate today by launching a giveaway!
We are giving away FOUR Star Wars Pop! Prototypes from the new Pop!: Star Wars series.
The winner will receive Pop! Prototypes of the following characters: The Emperor, Biker Scout, Bossk, and Luke Skywalker Hoth.

Funko SW Protos

Prototypes are early models of Pop!’s to test their concepts. Each prototype is extremely rare! Only five are made of each character!

How do you enter?
We want to see your Star Wars pride!
Take a photo of ANYTHING Star Wars related, post the photo on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the following caption:

May the 4th be with me to win a set of Star Wars Pop! Prototypes from @OriginalFunko #FunkoProto #Funko #StarWars”

Don’t forget to tag @OriginalFunko in the photo!

The giveaway will run until the Sith Lord shuts it down on May the Sith!
(May 6th)

Good luck and May the Force Be With you!

Funko Introduces Hikari Vinyl Line (& A Chance To Win BIG!)

Hikari logo 

Funko is at it again, trying for (and succeeding) your collectible dollar with yet another awesome new lineup. This time it’s Hikari (meaning ‘light’), a very limited edition set of Sofubi Vinyl Figures made in Japan, with runs of between 500 and 5000 per figure. To kick things off right, the company is also introducing Hikari Fridays where a new Hikari Japanese Vinyl Figure will be announced and ONE lucky winner will walk off with the FIRST one from the line. This week, it’s revenge on Michael Bay for his UGLY-ass take on the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as Funko wants you to say hello to the Metal Mix Leonardo Hikari Vinyl Figure, which is limited to 500 pieces:

Hikari Leonardo 1 of 500

Cute and shiny, isn’t he? Anyway, Leo officialy goes on sale in July, but if you’re wanting a chance to win this sooner, boogie on over NOW to the Funko Facebook page for details on how to win and GOOD LUCK, because I can see a LOT of people wanting this one.

Welp, VR Just Went Viral. Literally. Yuk.

RiftPeople, I’m speechless. THIS just happened and while some in the tech sector are giddy, anyone who had any thoughts about privacy using that Rift when it comes out has just gotten a “poke” to both eyes. Blech, Yuck, Argh and so forth and so on. Not to mention that people who will buy that thing and not clean it because they’re dopey about stuff like this will end up giving everyone in their homes and elsewhere some sort of eye infection or worse. Ewwww…

Now, I’m not a big VR supporter (I still recall when it was attempted with mixed results in the 90’s), but I was willing to give it a chance based on all the people I know who’ve tried both development versions of the Oculus Rift hardware. Now, I’d not touch the thing with a ten foot pole unless I was using said pole to bash those goofy goggles to bits with. Data mining through your entertainment isn’t new at all, but facebook getting it’s money gloves into EVERYTHING is getting to be extremely annoying. Let me shut up here and vent with some ice cream for a bit. Man, what a day… between this and Fed Ex jerking me around with a package they keep failing to deliver (I’m HOME you idiots!), I’m not having a good day today. Blaaaaah.

Earth Defense Force 2025 Mission Pack 3 Deployed! Go Smash Some (More) Bugs!

INCOMING TRANSMISSION!

Okay, I’ve been a bit tied up with stuff coming in to review plus a few other things (making sure I’m still breathing and surviving this stupid weather we’re stuck with – it’s REALLY cold again), but D3Publisher of America has recently released (as of 4/11) the third and final Mission Pack, Beyond Despair for Earth Defense Force 2025 on PSN and Xbox Live. A few teaser screens are below:

01_MissionPack_3 02_MissionPack_3 03_MissionPack_3 04_MissionPack_3 05_MissionPack_3 06_MissionPack_3 07_MissionPack_3 08_MissionPack_3 09_MissionPack_3 10_MissionPack_3 11_MissionPack_3 12_MissionPack_3 13_MissionPack_3 14_MissionPack_3 15_MissionPack_3 16_MissionPack_3 17_MissionPack_3 18_MissionPack_3

Joining The Earth Defense Force 2025 Special Ops Mission Pack (5 extra missions for $2.99) and the Mutant Rampage Mission Pack (20 additional missions for $8.99), this final set of 20 missions is also $8.99 and gives you more mutated bug and boss variants to play around with in some familiar maps with new elements that add much more challenge whether you play solo offline, couch co-op or go online with up to three other teammates.

If you’re still blasting through solo play and need to farm up some great weapons, these Mission Packs offer up some incredible levels of challenge and some say an “easier” opportunity to gain weapons you may be having a hard time getting in the main game’s missions. “Easier” is a relative term, as even on the easiest difficulty, the enemies are about three times as fierce and twice (or more) as numerous. You’ll be an EDF veteran after a few of these missions, GUARANTEED.

MORE Free Stuff? OK, Win An Earth Defense Force 2025 Prize Pack (via Facebook)

EDF_Prize PackGot a facebook account? Good. Like to win free stuff? Even better! D3Publisher of America is giving YOU a chance to win a PS3 or Xbox 360 copy of their epic bug-blasting extravaganza Earth Defense Force 2025, all three DLC packs AND a bunch of EDF 2025 swag (which MAY or may not be some or all of this cool stuff) all for filling out that sweepstakes form. Uh huh, I can hear you bouncing up and down in your seat over there, so stop that before you break that chair (it’s squeaking because it’s old!) and go enter already!

FREE STUFF GET!: Earth Defense Force 2025 DLC Up For Grabs!

EDF_BN 
Well, this is pretty darn cool. If you happen to be a fan of Sandlot’s upcoming Earth Defense Force 2025 and happen to have a facebook account, D3Publisher of America has some awesome free stuff for you. It’s the Special Ops Mission Pack for free on either the Xbox 360 or PS3 is all yours for watching and sharing a “Breaking News” video on that otherwise useless social networking site. It’s all spelled out on the game’s official facebook page, so boogie on over and viddy well, then share what you’ve seen with a like-minded buddy and get your DLC code (which can be redeemed on or after 2/24/2014. EDF 2025 hits retail on February 18, 2014 for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Yes, there are screens to post… but I’m on a sloooooow connection and will add them tomorrow. Back in a bit!

Proof I’m Not A (Completely) Cranky Bastard: Doki Doki Universe Is Awesome.

DDU_Screen1What, ME Worry? Not really, robot – it’s just a Monday thing, that’s all. So, HumaNature Studios new PS3/PS4/Vita game, Doki Doki Universe is actually really fun and interesting and like the gloriously inventive Tearaway, one of the better indie titles on Sony’s assorted platforms. I’ve only played the wonderful (and lengthy) demo so far, but a few friends who’ve been enjoying the full version are bugging me to get the full game. Yeah, yeah – I will once I chop down my backlog significantly.

The GREAT thing about buying this one outright it is any version you buy gets you a game that will run on the PS3, PS4, and Vita. If you’re one of those overly social butterflies, guess what? The Doki Doki Universe Mail feature can even be used on some mobile devices, meaning you can facebook like a champ using some kooky hand-drawn characters and a custom page on your console, phone or tablet. I hate the fake word “phablet” so I won’t use it in a sentence, although I just did there. Oops. OK, I’ll NEVER use that word in another sentence from now on. Better? Thanks you. Now stop reading this post and go check out this game, I say…

Game of Thrones 3:8/GoT Ascent: Bear Pit Meets Snake Pit!

Man, a week without GoT is like going cold turkey, isn’t it? Of course, the only thing to do after those final two episodes this season is to run around like a headless chicken until Season 4 is announced. OR… you could go long onto the evil nonsense that is Facebook and try out this upcoming time sink of a game. I only use Facebook for the occasional update and a few posts to friends in a few industries there, so I’m not going to be playing Game of Thrones: Ascent at all. Yeah, I did my time on Mafia Wars and Castle Quest years ago, but I’m far too busy to be mucking around with a game I’m not too interested in.

Hey, it might even be really good, but I find it comfortably de-stressing after a season of a favorite show is over to step away from it entirely and let something else take its place, albeit temporarily. So, if you try this out and like it – good for you. Feel free to let me know what the heck I’m missing, though.

Carnage Heart EXA Goes Gold, Gets Nicely Detailed Facebook Tutorial…

 

Well, Natsume kind of (and very smartly) realizes that this isn’t your garden variety “casual” game at all, so with the announcement that Artdink’s PSP exclusive,Carnage Heart EXA has gone gold and will be available for download on PSN on March 19, comes a cool link on the company’s  Facebook page that walks you through some basic “programming” skills needed to get your OKE’s up and running as they should. “What’s an OKE?” you ask? Well, dear…just go check that fb page out and see for yourself (the link should be on the right side). I’m about to run home before this stupid storm that’s about to roll through here kicks off…

Burning Questions (Ouch): So, Why Isn’t Outernauts ALSO On The Vita?

I’m just asking a pretty obvious question, as Sony really NEEDS something like this free Facebook-only game (which just so happens to be created by the folks behind some of the company’s key first-party titles since the days of the original PlayStation). The way I see it, Outernauts could be expanded onto the Vita as a budget-priced game and/or PSN perhaps as a bigger and more fleshed out version tailored to the handheld’s strengths. Between the addictive monster collecting and fun battle system PLUS the possibility for exclusive content (like character skins from certain popular Insomniac games), I’m just shocked that this project wasn’t considered as more than a “one site that’s not PSN” deal. Between this oopsie move and Ubisoft’s interesting looking Ghost Recon social game also not making an appearance on the Vita, you have to wonder what’s up with SCEA’s plans for the handheld’s future in terms of getting people to play all sorts of unique game experiences on the thing. I’m just saying that to me it’s a no-brainer that these two games (and more) should start popping up for those of us who dislike Facebook these days for any number of good reasons, is all…