The Holidays come early to OffWorld DesignsHoliday promotions, products and more announced!
Sandwich, IL-December 6, 2013) Geek t-shirt mavens OffWorld Designs announced Holiday products, free shipping promotions and a new t-shirt design to wow customers. A return of fan favorites Santa Cthulhu http://www.offworlddesigns.com/santa-cthulhu-t-shirt/ and Christmas Dragon http://www.offworlddesigns.com/christmas-dragon-on-green-tshirt/ add a special geeky spice to the gift giving season. Want something non holiday related? Check out the new t-shirt based on the best-selling license Pathfinder Card Game!http://www.offworlddesigns.com/pathfinder-card-game-t-shirt/. Free shipping is now available for all orders over $100 and all international customers will receive a shipping discount with coupon code “International Discount” used at checkout. Order by December 16th to ensure delivery by Christmas via UPS Ground shipping or USPS Priority Mail. Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving for many Jewish families. OffWorld wanted to make sure even late shoppers had something for all households and did so with the Menorah Dragon shirt http://www.offworlddesigns.com/menorah-dragon-t-shirt/ . CEO Barb VanTilburg commented “That shirt is flat out adorable. So cute we couldn't take it down just because technically the date of the holiday has passed!”
About OffWorld Designs:Founded in 1990, OffWorld Designs is a family owned and operated business of geek love and pride. The designs of in house artist Raymond VanTilburg helped launch the company and OffWorld's line has grown to include some of the best artists in multiple genres including science fiction, comics, gaming, anime and more. OffWorld also offers an extensive line of services that include custom printing and embroidery along with Convention Souvenirs. With over 40 conventions attended each year, our products can be found on the finest geek enthusiasts the world over. For more information, visit offworlddesigns.com.
Monte M. Moore is announcing the Kickstarter Campaign to produce his 7th "Art of Monte Moore" art book entitled MISCHIEF, which includes art from the last 10 years of his career in the PIN-UP, GAMING, COMICS and ENTERTAINMENT industries.
For those not familiar with Kickstarter, it is an AMAZON backed fundraising platform for Creatives to launch new projects. In essence you are pre-ordering the Mischief art book and this helps the creator cover expenses for the publishing and shipping of the book, and allows said creator not to have to go through a Publisher who reaps most of the benefits of the artist's efforts.
This campaign includes GREAT rewards like custom sketches, signed prints, games, and private commissions for drawings and paintings (including the FRONT and BACK covers of the book!)
Monte Moore now asks if you would like to aid him in producing the next Art of Monte Moore book and enjoy the images for yourself, or as a gift for someone you know.
Please visit the page and pledge your support.
For those not interested in Fantasy Art Books, there are also those who pledge their financial support to the project to help the artists meet their goals, and ask for no reward/item in return, but know they have done a good thing in supporting the Arts.
If you would like to learn more about the project and watch the video Michael Moore has created, see the rewards and goals and images from the book, then please visit this link:http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2044665875/mischief-the-art-of-monte-m-moore
HARBINGER WARS: BATTLE FOR LAS VEGAS Hits iOS and Android for Free on May 2nd!
Valiant is proud to announce that its much anticipated free 8-bit mobile game, Harbinger Wars: Battle for Las Vegas, will be hitting iOS and Android devices everywhere on May 2nd!
Available as a free app via the App Store and Android Marketplace, Valiant's action-packed, retro-styled sidescroller gives users the ability to control Bloodshot or Harbinger's Peter Stanchek as they fight their way out of a classified Project Rising Spirit compound and directly into the crosshairs of an epic superhuman showdown on the Vegas Strip!
Out of the pages of Valiant's smash-hit summer crossover event and onto your favorite mobile device, Harbinger Wars: Battle for Las Vegas is a first-of-its-kind gaming experience that mirrors the events of the ongoing Valiant comic book storyline by Joshua Dysart, Duane Swierczynski and Clayton Henry. Developed in concert with Storm City Entertainment and Gameshastra, Valiant's first mobile game comes complete with an all-original 8-bit soundtrack, a wide array of Easter eggs for longtime gamers and Valiant fans, and gameplay that emulates some of the most well-remembered console classics of the 1980s.
"With Harbinger Wars: Battle for Las Vegas, we were very much trying to create a throwback to the greatest games of the late 80s and early 90s, and our partners at Storm City and Gameshastra have managed to strike the perfect balance between nostalgia and cutting-edge mobile utility," said Russell A. Brown, Valiant's President of Consumer Products, Promotions and Ad Sales. "A cross-promotion like this has never before been attempted by a major comics publisher, and it's our hope that it gets fans and retailers all the more excited for the exciting storytelling that Valiant has in the offing with Harbinger Wars."
"Everything that we do starts with producing the best, most accessible comics we can and Harbinger Wars: Battle for Las Vegas is an extension of that philosophy," said Valiant CEO and Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani. "This free mobile game will let fans engage with the story behind Harbinger Wars firsthand, and we've already seen new readers get excited about the game and jump on board the comics."
A 12-issue crossover event from an all-star cast of visionary talent, the defining Valiant Universe storyline of the year continues on May 1st in Harbinger Wars #2 (of 4). Jump on board the series that IGN calls "one hell of a ride" right here, then get a sneak peek at things to come this Free Comic Book Day with the Valiant 2013: Harbinger Wars FCBD Special– available in participating comic shops everywhere thisMay 4th!
For more information on Harbinger Wars, Harbinger, Bloodshot and the rest of the Valiant Universe, visit Valiant on Facebook, on Twitter and at ValiantUniverse.com.
About Valiant Entertainment
Valiant is a leading character-based entertainment company with a library of over 1,500 characters, including X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Shadowman, Harbinger, Eternal Warrior, and many more. Established in 1989, Valiant has sold over 80 million comic books, and today its characters continue to be forged in publishing, licensing, film, video games, and beyond. In 2012, Valiant was named Publisher of the Year by numerous press and industry sources, including Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc.
In this episode Mike "Birdman" Dodd from thisweekingeek.net joins fighters xaos and 16 Bit Jeff. The Shades and Terry Bogard (aka Master Ange) also dropped by for the epic times and we all discussed the Duke Nukem Forever con... er... PAX Prime.
This summer, Valiant's Harbinger Wars crossover event will be delivering 8-bits of awesome to iOS and Android devices everywhere!
Kotaku today debuted the first look at Harbinger Wars: Battle for Las Vegas – an 8-bit side-scrolling video game tracing the events of Valiant's upcoming summer crossover! Following the release of Harbinger Wars #1 (of 4) on April 3rd, the game's first level – colliding the casts of the Bloodshot and Harbinger ongoing series against one another – will be available as a free download via the iOS App Store and Google Play in mid-April.
Developed by Storm City Entertainment, Harbinger Wars: Battle for Las Vegas offers fans the chance to follow nanite-enhanced commando Bloodshot or teenage telekinetic Peter Stanchek as they fight their way out of a classified Project Rising Spirit compound and into a psiot-occupied casino on the Vegas strip. Following the release of each of Harbinger Wars' four issues, fans will be offered the opportunity to download new levels, each based around plot developments and settings presented in the Valiant mini-series by writers Joshua Dysart and Duane Swierczynski and artist Clayton Henry. In-app purchases will also allow users to acquire a variety of new weapons and characters as the game progresses, including Toyo Harada, newly introduced members of the H.A.R.D. Corps, and more.
"Following on the heels of our partnership with USA Luge, this is just the latest in a series of programs we have in the works to strengthen the Valiant brand in comics and beyond," said Russell A. Brown, Valiant's President of Consumer Products, Promotions and Ad Sales. "Our characters have a history in the gaming community and this is the start of a brand new chapter for the Valiant Universe."
"We are extremely excited to be working with Valiant Entertainment on their first foray in mobile gaming. Valiant's creative staff is incredibly keen to combine the print and digital mediums, and bringing the events of the Harbinger Wars mini-series to mobile is a unique opportunity to do precisely that," said Storm City President Steve Newton.
"With Harbinger Wars: Battle for Las Vegas, we're striving to achieve the perfect synergy of gameplay and story," said Valiant Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani. "The events of the Harbinger Wars series will be reflected monthly in the game itself and we'll also be paying homage to the 8-bit style with a line of non-incentive 8-bit covers for our June comic releases. This has been a tremendously fun initiative to work on, and one that we think fans and retailers will respond to as well."
To mark the game's release across the rest of Valiant's publishing line, Valiant is also offering 8-bit variant shelf covers by artist Matthew Waite for each of its ongoing titles this June – X-O Manowar #14, Harbinger #13, Bloodshot #12, Archer & Armstrong #10 and Shadowman #7.
Look for Valiant's 8-bit variants in finer comic shops everywhere this June – and jump into the Harbinger Wars this April with three new standalone entry points into the Valiant Universe in Harbinger Wars #1 (of 4) on April 3rd, Harbinger #11 on April 10th, and Bloodshot #10 on April 17th!
The Ikaricast crew xaos and 16 Bit Jeff are joined by
EZ Rider and Jew Wario to discuss import gaming. Questions, comments,
music samples you want us to use? e-mail us at ikaricast@reviewtopia.net
For the Playstation 4 announcement the Ikaricast crew teamed up with Dollow and Neo of Gundamn to bring you the news and our thoughts and analysis after the press conference that unveiled the Playstation 4.
Here's one of my earlier work before Ace Gamer I might upload them daily until all of my stuff is completely archived
(PLEASE NOTE: I will not try to go back to the Ace Reviewer bit like I was before. I dunno I was thinking. I feel like I was doing that as a character. I might bring back that bit sooner for Ace Gamer, right now I need to re-brand myself before bringing back that character)
Good morning, afternoon, evening and night Gamers. Big Cheese here and I am presenting to you my VERY first TDM match online with Call of Duty Black Ops II. Check It Out! More videos to come! Until then. K.I.T.! Peace!
Greetings. I am Brian. I am a Z-List personality and host of the series The Game Anthropologist. I've been invited onto this blogging site to bring you tidings of great gaming goodness, but mostly an education.
First up, my pilot episode of The Game Anthropologist dealing with the anger gamers have when playing video games.
Publisher(s):
Capcom Distributor(s)-Special
Edition: Ubisoft (PC), EU CentreSoft (PS2) Platform(s):
PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows Release
date(s): PlayStation
2 March 1, 2005 Special
Edition January 24, 2006 Microsoft
Windows October 16, 2006 Genre(s):
Action, Hack, Slash Rating:
Mature
Despite the success of Devil May Cry 2,
fans remained disappointed by the game’s features and, overall, Dante’s lack of
charisma. The Devil Hunter remained almost mute throughout the game and showed
no signs of his cynical charm as he did in the first game. The open world
exploration was another downer for DMC fans as was the ending which presumed to
be the end of the Son of Sparda. As mentioned in my previous installment, the
enemies were set too far apart to build any good combos and the challenge was
more than lacking. After listening to the grumbles of disappointment from fans,
it was back to the drawing board for Tsuyoshi Tanaka and Capcom. It was decided
to develop Devil May Cry 3 in the same manner as the series’ first entry.
Once again, Dante’s character design was
changed, reflecting a young version of the Son of Sparda who is just starting
out as a hunter for hire. This incarnation is cockier and more arrogant than in
previous games, depicting a reckless youth. Devil May Cry 3 was given an
overhaul from the first two entries. The new combat system allowed players to
control the weapons in new and “stylish” ways. This included different fighting
styles for Dante which are upgradable through experience. The more you use
these “styles”, the more experience the “style” gains. Four styles are
available initially. You gain two more as the game progresses for a total of
six. The inclusion of these new abilities made Dante more versatile than in
DMC2. The “action button” used in the second game activates these new
abilities. Trickster style gave Dante more mobility, allowing him to dodge
attacks via a dash maneuver. He still has his regular dodge from the first game.
Couple this with the dash maneuver of Trickster to weave your way through
multiple enemy attacks. Swordmaster focused on melee, giving Dante more
versatility in his attacks with his weapons. However, melee wasn’t limited to
the ground. Dante can use High Time to launch an enemy into the air and
continue the combo in mid-air with the Swordmaster style ability Aerial Rave.
Remember how shooting in two directions
was only available when an enemy was sneaking up on Dante? Yeah, I thought it’d
be cool to shoot in two directions anytime at that time too. Well, Gunslinger
style gave the ability to shoot both Ebony and Ivory in different directions
without special conditions and what was really cool is that you were able to
control which directions the guns were fired. But the crème of the crop was the
versatility given to the shotgun. Before, it was just used for stopping power
but in DMC3 in Gunslinger style, Dante twirls the shotgun around his body,
firing it in all directions. In Gunslinger’s later levels, he can perform the
Stinger move with the shotgun. Now, we all know how touching enemies in the
series warrants no penalty. However, there were instances where Dante couldn’t
attack them. Remember the Fetish puppets from the first game that blocked your
attacks? In the third game, Dante was given the chance to return the favor
thanks to the Royal Guard style. This style minimized damage dealt to Dante.
Time it right and you can keep a combo going. Two more styles are acquired by
defeating certain enemies. Geyron bestowed upon Dante Quicksilver, which has
the same time-altering abilities as the Bangle of Time from the first game.
Doppleganger style was awarded after the demise of the Shadow Devil.
The new styles and weapons were received
well by fans and truly showed Dante’s versatility, which was a huge step up
from the previous titles. However, the real big hit with fans was that Devil
May Cry 3 was brought back to the claustrophobic mayhem that made the first
game a success. The enclosed combat was what truly made DMC a survival horror
game. The feeling of fighting tight area was what was lacking from the second
entry and the focus point of many fans disapproval of that game. Another thorn
was the lack of difficulty. DMC2 was easily passable even on “Must Die” mode.
According to Tanaka, the difficulty in DMC2 was toned down to reach a wider
audience in Japan; unfortunately, this move ran the risk of losing fans on the
larger market. Learning from this mistake, Devil May Cry 3 was released with a
lower difficulty in Japan while rest of the world enjoyed the game with same
craziness and difficult challenge that fans have come to love from the series.
A Special Edition of the game was released which allowed players to take on the
role of Vergil. Unlike his twin, Vergil only had one style type—Darkslayer,
which feature attributes from the Trickster and Swordmaster styles. At higher
levels, Darkslayer grants Vergil more evasive maneuvers as well as more moves
with his swords. He’s not as flashy as his brother but Vergil makes up for it
with stronger attacks.
As with the two previous titles, Devil
May Cry 3 introduces a new female counterpart for Dante in the form Lady. Like
Trish, Lady attempts to kill Dante with a shot to the head. She immediately
discovers that Dante is part demon when he survives the injury and things don’t
go so well between them. They later form a mutual partnership which doesn’t
last long as Lady’s job is to exterminate all demons including Dante. Unlike
the two previous ladies in the series Trish and Lucia, Lady is not playable
though fans wanted this to happen. Plus, she served as a boss in the game.
Still, it would’ve been really cool to have her as a playable character.
Ubisoft published a PC version of the game
developed by SourceNext. The European PC version was the first to come out,
even before the Special Edition was released for the PlayStation 2 in that
region, being released on June 28, 2006. The North American version was
released on October 16, 2006. The game was published in Japan on June 30, 2006.
Tsuyoshi Tanaka redeemed himself and the
series by putting it back on a track where it’s supposed to be—loaded with all
the craziness, over-the-top action and challenging gameplay that has made
gamers fall in love with the Son of Sparda. With the series placed back on its
pedestal in the action game genre, the time would to bid the world of Devil May
Cry farewell…supposedly.
With the latest technology, video games have come a long way since their early days. Statistics state that the average household has at least two video game systems. Sounds great doesn’t it? But did you know that what has become common place entertainment almost was on the verge of ruin? In 1983, console game sales hit an all-time low, threatening to put an end to the industry. The slump ended in 1985 with the release of Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System, a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. For those of us old enough to remember, in the previous game Mario was stuck in a sewer full of enemies. Super Mario Bros. took Mario and his brother Luigi out of the seemingly endless stages of Mario Bros. and placed them in the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist Bowser.
The game was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, both of whom belonged to Nintendo's former Creative Department at the time.
Originally, the game was based around a shooting mechanic with very different controls, but a desire to focus on jumping and the mapping of the mechanic to the A button resulted in its being dropped. Mario’s ability to change size was based on the level design being centered on a smaller version of Mario. It was later decided to give him this ability as a power-up via picking up a red mushroom. Collecting green mushrooms granted Mario extra lives. This concept of using mushrooms came from folklore in which people wander into the forest and eat magical mushrooms, thus the world was given the name “Mushroom Kingdom”. Development was aimed at keeping things simple, in order to have a new game available for the end-of-year shopping season. Originally an idea for a shoot-'em-up stage in which Mario would jump onto a cloud and fire at enemies was to be included; however, this was dropped to maintain the game's focus on jumping action, but the sky-based bonus stages still remained.
When it was released in the holiday season of 1985 in North America, the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES, was available as a both a single system and a bundle package that came with Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka’s creation. It was an instant hit in Japan and North America despite lackluster sales outside these two countries. Soon Mario’s mustached face was more recognizable than Mickey Mouse by children at that time. Since then, Super Mario Bros. has sold 40.24 million copies. This number excludes Game Boy Advance and Virtual Consoles sales. The game further popularized the side scrolling genre of video games and led to many sequels in the series that built upon the same basic premise. Super Mario Bros. has spawned many successors: Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (named Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan), Super Mario Bros. 2 (released in Japan as Super Mario USA), Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World (which had the working title of Super Mario Bros. 4) for the Super NES, Super Mario 64 (for Nintendo 64), Super Mario Sunshine (for GameCube), New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS, and Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Wii. The brothers were recently rebooted with new powers along with age old favorites for New Super Mario Bros. and a sequel, both of which were released for the Nintendo 3DS.
In the late 1980’s and through the mid 1990’s, the brothers Mario have made a staple in pop culture. They had their own TV show, “The Super Mario Bros. Super Show”, which debuted in 1989. The brothers were portrayed by “Captain” Lou Albano and Danny Wells. A live-action movie was released in 1993 but bombed at the box-office despite the game’s huge popularity from the releases of Super Mario Bros. 3 in 1990 and Super Mario World in 1991. The faces of Mario and Luigi were seen everywhere from T-shirts to lunch boxes and even a breakfast cereal.
For over two decades, Super Mario Bros. was the best-selling video game of all time (before being outsold by Nintendo's own Wii Sports in 2009). It was largely responsible for the initial success of the Nintendo Entertainment System. As one of Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka's most influential early successes, it has inspired many clones, sequels, and spin-offs. The game's theme music by Koji Kondo is recognized worldwide, even by those who have not played the game, and has been considered a representation for video game music in general. A lot of today’s platform games can thank Super Mario Bros. for their inspiration, even games that feature platform elements such as Tomb Raider, God of War, and, most notably, Prince of Persia. Super Mario Bros. is still popular even 25 years after its release. It ranked first in Electronic Gaming Monthly's "greatest 200 games of their time" list and was named in IGN's top 100 games of all-time list twice (in 2005 and 2007). Game Informer ranked it second on their greatest games list behind the Legend of Zelda in 2009, saying that it "Remains a monument to brilliant design and fun game play".
So the next time you pick up a new game or play a current one, just remember, holding that controller in your hand was made possible by two Italian plumbers from Brooklyn.
Until then, see you on the next level,
Brian Misher
With Ninja Theory’s reboot of the Capcom series due out in half a year, let’s take a look back at just how Devil May Cry and its sword-swinging, gun-toting, demon hunting Devil Hunter got started. Devil May Cry was born from the Resident Evil series. After the completion of Resident Evil 2, preliminary work began in 1998 on a title for the Playstation 2. Hideki Kamiya headed the project under the name “Team Little Devil” after series creator Shinji Mikami handed it over. The intention was for Kamiya to begin work on Resident Evil 4 but during the development stage Mikami noticed that the game was moving out of the Resident Evil mold. Rather than scrap the project, he decided to develop a new series and asked Kamiya to redesign the game from scratch and change it to a new franchise. Hideki Kamiya didn’t bite at first, but after some coaxing from Mikami he relented and agreed. And one of the most popular franchises in gaming came into the light.
The character Dante was modeled after the main protagonist in the Japanese manga “Space Adventure Cobra” who was known for always being cool under pressure not matter how dangerous the situation was. Given the direction Devil May Cry was going, this seemed to be the perfect fit for Dante. One has to have a ‘no fear’ attitude when hunting demons. When we think of Devil May Cry and Dante, automatically you think red trench coat, which has become his prominent feature more so than his white hair or the massive sword on his back. But early on in his design, Dante was outfitted with a tight-fitting vest. His signature coat was not added until the very end of the development process. If you take at Dante while playing, you can see that the back of his coat is a couple shades darker than the sleeves.
Though it became a stand-alone series, Devil May Cry did not stray too far from its Resident Evil roots. It retained the puzzle solving and exploration of its survival horror origins; however, these are downplayed with the emphasis placed on action. Hideki Kamiya removed the puzzles that can interfere with the action and instead uses them to aid progression through the game. One example of this was when Dante collected the Trident after defeating Phantom and used it to active a mechanism that allowed him to travel outside the castle. Another item found later would allow him back inside. While on the subject, remember the Coliseum and how you had to search for a set of items to gain access inside. This was a pure example of how puzzle solving was set aside from the action. Yes, there were enemies to fight; however, finding the items did not cross with fighting the devils. You took out the devils and you continued on to get your items.
Another aspect that set Devil May Cry apart from Resident Evil, mainly for me, was the elimination of the need to reload your gun or keep bullets in reserve. This took away from the action in RE. You had to pause the game and manually reload your gun. If you allow the character to auto-reload, they were vulnerable to attack which was sometimes costly. Playing RE, this can be a nuisance. Devil May Cry took care of that, giving players access to endless gunfire and the added bonus of maneuverability while firing your weapons. Here’s something that couldn’t be done with Leon or Jill—shooting while jumping. Taking a page from Tomb Raider, Dante was given the ability to fire his handguns and shotgun while airborne. Devil May Cry’s other innovation was a Style Meter and ranking system that encouraged players to attack more often. However, the best feature in the game is definitely the Devil Trigger. Once activated, Dante gained more power and speed, and he recovered vitality, thus eliminating the need to, once again, pause the game and use healing herbs (hoping you have them, otherwise, you were screwed) to treat your injuries. Now Dante does has the Vitality Star to heal, but if you use Devil Trigger with the added fact that enemies oftentimes drop Green Orbs upon defeat then there really would not be a need to access your inventory except maybe during a boss battle.
The battles in Devil May Cry were intense and frenzied at times. The Marionette demons overwhelmed Dante with sheer numbers while other devils, such as Shadow or Frost, use their speed and maneuverability. Squaring off against the King of the Underworld’s demon generals was something I never experienced before in a game. Looking back at the first time I battled Phantom in the Cathedral, I remembered how difficult it was because it’s not an open area. There are the structures of this place that, at times, obscured your view of your target and you had to maneuver around to get a clear shot him. The battles with Nightmare gave you the sense claustrophobia because of the tight confines you face it in. And the battles with Griffin and Nelo Angelo were just intense.
Well I hope you all enjoyed this little trip down memory lane, experienced players. For you new gamers, consider this a look in the past at one of many games that have revolutionized the action genre of gaming. However, player, this is not the end. In the meantime, share your DMC experiences or experiences with another title. Who knows? I just might have something to say about it. Until then…
See you on the next level!
Sandwich, IL-December 6, 2013) Geek t-shirt mavens OffWorld Designs announced Holiday products, free shipping promotions and a new t-shirt design to wow customers. A return of fan favorites Santa Cthulhu http://www.offworlddesigns.
Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving for many Jewish families. OffWorld wanted to make sure even late shoppers had something for all households and did so with the Menorah Dragon shirt http://www.offworlddesigns.
