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Artist of The Week - Axeto

Sorry for the lack of posting recently, I've been away so it couldn't be helped. Now that I'm back, expect the pace to be picked back up!

This is the next weekly installment of my Artist of the Week Segment!! Every week I will be showcasing some artwork that I have stumbled across, from a range of different artists from many different countries.
Axeto
Age: 17
Location: Denmark
Years Drawing: 1 1/2 Years
Favorite Anime: Death Note

You can find her deviant art account here.
Thanks again Axeto, check her out!

Devil May Cry 5 - Black Haired Dante Making An Appearance

Devil May Cry. Devil. May. Cry. If I was to get cryptic up in here, Devil is bad, May is a month and crying is stupid. This therefore translates into the following sentence; Bad month, stupid. Well who ever utters this sentence is deadly wrong because along with this wonderful month of August (home to my birthday) comes Gamescom and ultimately, this Devil May Cry 5 trailer. I am not stupid either! I managed to get into university, just. But I'm getting a little of topic here, my bad, now onto the trailer.  Along with its dramatic cuts to darkness, fast tempo backing track and freaking awesome gameplay snippets, it has instilled a kind of fever within me, lets call it: I'mDefinetlyGoingToGetMyHandsOnThisGame-Itis. After playing earlier games in the series, it's just common knowledge that its the common that are the bread and butter of this title and with the footage I've seen, it looks like they are keeping in line with this feature. Hell yeah. There seems to be a fanboy uproar though due to new look of Dante, he new costume and black hair seems to have the proverbial uberfans flat out refusing to except the change, even with the flash of the white haired and red coat clearly visible within the trailer. The main reason for the character change is due to the fact its a younger Dante, it's an origin story, deal with it. With the Unreal Engine 3 this title look slick as ever, and I'm sure that the English Ninja Theory developers will not disappoint. Expect its release in 2012.

Artist of The Week - Bleached-Horizon

This is the next weekly installment of my Artist of the Week Segment!! Every week I will be showcasing some artwork that I have stumbled across, from a range of different artists from many different countries.
Bleached-Horizon
Age: 15
Location: USA
Years Drawing: 4-5 years
Favorite Anime: Shugo Chara

You can find her deviant art account here.
Thanks again Bleached-Horizon, check her out!

Lollipop Chainsaw - Cheerleader. Chainsaw. Zombies.

Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolly lolly lolly, lollipop. The title Lollipop Chainsaw comes from the dark and twisted imagination of Suda 51, the man behind the No More Heroes series, and more recently Shadows of the Damned, and I can honestly say it looks absolutely badass. Think cuteness and rainbows meets Dead Rising and you may have an idea of what this title is going to have to offer. You will take the role of star cheerleader, Juliet starling to take on hoards of zombies in now the zombie infested San Romero high school. You main weapon of choice seems to be your trusty blood thirsty chainsaw, which also has a severed head attached to it ..... which is also your boyfriend. Strange. Cut down zombie, earn upgrades and attempt to take on the zombie rock and roll lords. You can get your hands on the stylish action of Lollipop Chainsaw sometime in 2012, get your Poms Poms at the ready.

Borderlands 2 - Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions

The next effort from 2K Games and Gearbox Software in the Borderlands franchise, has now been officially released in the form of Borderlands 2. With the first title, Borderlands, selling over 4.5 Million units worldwide, there will be a mass fan base already eagerly waiting with controllers in one hand and a wad of money in the other to tackle the next role playing shooter installment. Not too much information has been released so far, but there seems to be a whole new cast of characters with ones from the previous title possibly making an appearance as NPCs. Borderlands 2 also boasts all new skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment. Get ready to venture across Pandora with the dual wielding maniac of a lead character that is shown within the trailer in sometime in 2012.

You can Pre Order the game here.

Artist of The Week - ParanoidNoodle

This is the next weekly installment of my Artist of the Week Segment!! Every week I will be showcasing some artwork that I have stumbled across, from a range of different artists from many different countries.
ParanoidNoodle
Age: 18
Years drawing: About 8 years
Location: Switzerland
Favorite Anime: Blade of the Immortal, Übel Blatt

You can find her deviant art account here.
Thanks again ParanoidNoodle, check her out!

London Riots Spread - Country Full of Sheep

England is in an absolute state right now. I always thought as a country on the whole, even with its downsides like bad weather (why so much rain!) and the occasional drunken idiot hanging about here or there, that we were decent. With scenes that have been going up and down the country, it kind of makes me sick of tired of people who just ruin our reputation. We already have the stigma attached to us when we Brits go abroad that we are loud, beer guzzling, and plain stupid yobs. This view is only going to worsen as news spreads around the world about the anarchy allot of people are bring to our streets and town centres. I was clinging on to a shred of hope that at least we Mancunians (people from Manchester for you who don't now) will not copy cat behaviour like those in Birmingham and Liverpool. That shred of hope was set on fire and turned to ash much like 'Miss Selfridge' and the 'Salford Precinct' was earlier today.

Seriously, what is wrong with society today? One catalyst in the form of the shooting of a black male by police in Tottenham, and the riot that then ensued by people protesting over said death, have given idiots across the country to riot and loot just because they can. Do you know what the majority of these people can't do? Contribute to society in anyway shape or form, they instead to choose destruction. What also sickens me is the age range of these looters, High School kids kicking in shop windows, attacking police and setting cars alight even with some of their parents egging them on. What great role models some people's parents are in this country. It's sad that the amounts of morals they have are probably the same amount of GCSE's they have. It seems thug behaviour is hereditary nowadays with thugs becoming parents and their children coming out exactly the same, it’s an endless cycle.

People may say society doesn't do enough for these people who feel so hard done by the 'system' that they must loot goods to make themselves feel better. Yes we are in an economic climate where jobs are harder to come by, buts that is no excuse for laziness and resorting to the dole without out any intent in find work. I honestly can't comprehend what must be going through these rioter's heads. How can you destroy and burn your own town to cinders? Independent businesses are going to suffer immensely from all the destruction, how is that fair? They pay taxes, which I bet most of these rioters don't, which are going to pay for the damage that has been caused throughout the country.

I saw one video where a young lad was slumped on the floor with blood pouring from his nose. My hope in humanity was slightly restored as two males went to help him up. Then they started to casually root through his bag that was on his back and take the contents. All I could think is 'Are you KIDDING me!?' People honestly make me sick, and one thing that I can say is that there is going to be a backlash on the Black community. After going through countless videos, a common theme was expressed in the comments throughout, how it only seemed to be BLACK people looting and rioting and how all of this was a BLACK man's fault. Seeing people divided by race is inevitable, and in some footage there were black people, but also many people of other races.

Racial profiling is going to be ever more present in society in the near future. All this has done is given racists and ignorant elitists the opportunity to have more hate towards blacks and Asians. Being a mixed race male (white and black Caribbean) I've not got allot of stick for my colour, I hang around with the right people and don't go near trouble, but I have had it when I used to play Sunday league football. On one occasion, with there being a few black males on my team, we were called 'monkeys' and monkey noises were made at us. Trust me that would get you mad, but do I hate a whole race for it? No, I'm not an idiot. I don't group together a whole race of people and have a set assumption of them. I get heckled every now and then, manly due to the fact that I have an afro, which in my opinion is absolutely ridiculous, if more prejudice comes the way of the black community because of a select amount of thugs and idiots, its going to make racial segregation more prominent and will breed more hate.

Why are these kids who think they are 'men' out torching and looting? Where are their parents? Why are they seemingly being aloud to do this? These are some of the question I and many over people we have. Well, David Cameron cut his holiday short, must have been an inconvenience to him, let’s see what he can do about it. My guess? Very little. The police should have it under control soon enough, but it’s too late for Manchester Arndale. They looted Foot Asylum understandably for shoes, but why did they have to touch Dawson and Afflecks? Idiots.

Black God, Volume 1 - Everyone's Three of a Kind

I got this title as a gift a while back, and seriously, I was more than grateful. Black God is a manga series written by Korean Dall-Young Lim and drawn by Korean Sung-Woo Park. With the whole team also being Korean, they show a humorous side towards the fact that none of them can speak Japanese in the omake sections towards the end of the manga. Along with the glossy cover depicting main character Kuro and her dog, and the 4 pages of full colour in the opening, these little touches just help the reading experience. First impressions mean allot, and this group of Korean Mangakas have got it down to a T, making it a definite attention grabber among the manga pile.

The four page, full colour opening proclaim the ignorance and foolishness of humans in an almost chant like manner in the dialog and their natural enemy is proclaimed in the form of the 'Mototsumitama!', as the main character Kuro strolls down a well drawn (well referenced) Tokyo City street. A daunting tag line accompanies the next page, 'Puny humans, accept the fate you are given' as an unfortunate meeting results in death.

The plot begins and we are introduced to programmer Keita Ibuki, who is referred to immediately as an otaku by childhood friend and current financer Akane Sano. Later that day, high on life and alcohol, he stumbles across the stray Kuro as he sits down to his addiction, a bowl of ramen at a ramen stand. Little does he know after giving his bowl to the cute vagabond Kuro, his is about to be missing a limb and introduced into the world of Doppeliners (Doppelgangers to you and me) and the Mototsumitama. After waking up from a women filled dream turned nightmare, with arm intact, Keita confronts the stray attacking the lettuce in his fridge and we get to see his personality. He is pretty brutal. He begins launching whatever he can get is hands on at Kuro-Kun, only to be stopped when Akane appears in his apartment. I mean, c'mon, see just saved your life! Even if she technically endangered him in the first place, by being near him ... never the less, she meant well. Blinded by anger, Keita fails to notice Akane's feelings for him, shown by her excitement by the possibility to stay over in his room to help keep an eye on the powerful, but somewhat sweetly innocent Kuro.

After an explanation of her powers, Dopeliners and how she switched her arm with Keita's making it vital that they stay close to one another so that it can fully fuse, Kuro with a murderous intensity not seen before, declares that she is here to kill the strongest Motosumitama. I don't, there's always a confrontation when food is involved, as Kuro and Akane are ambushed by members of the Shishigami on route to grabbing a bite to eat. Just let the poor girl have some food! A brawl breaks out and with the power of her and Keita's synchronization; she destroys the underlings and faces of against the head of the family in the main event. It's his invisible exceed against Kuro and her unusual boxing style. With people to protect, there can only be one winner in the end.

After the page heavy fight scene (Which I love!), and a panel of some eye candy in the form of Akane, the story delves into a sub plot of Kuro's past, where she learns how to box by an ex pro, Ginji, who marks her clothing taste as 'something an exhibitionist would wear'. Kuro first spotted Ginji at his job, almost a side show act, where people pay for 5 minutes for 'Best stress relief!! Please punch me with all you got!!' as his sign states. Along with a sick sister needing money for hospital bills, you can’t help but feel for down on his look Ginji, especially when the arrogant and cocky boxer Iwata makes an appearance at Ginji's 'job'. With Iwata putting a massive amount of Yen up for grabs, Ginji cant lose, and with an acquaintance like Kuro that dream is made a reality as she steps in to take the place of a battered and bruised Ginji.

One thing that I loved about this volume is the fight scenes! They plot is developed so well, in a short amount of time that allows for a major amount of fight scenes taking up the pages, which when they are drawn so well, can only lead to good things. Everything is drawn so god damn well, from shading to design, everything seems to pop and is quite frankly flawless. The team behind Black God really did their Tokyo related research, with all settings and locations feeling authentic. Along with the stunningly designed character that is Kuro, the Korean tag team have brought an amazing title into my grasp and I can't wait till I get hold of the other volumes.

ThisCastleCanMove Rating:



Bleach: Hell Chapter - Let The Gates of Hell Open

The fourth installment in the Bleach movie franchise sees the gates of hell rise from the fiery depths and appear in Karakura Town. Whenever strange things go down in Karakura town, we all know, Ichigo 'Stawberry' Kurosaki will be involved somehow and this time it's personal. As the escapees of hell known as 'Unforgiven' and lead by Shuren abduct Ichigo's sister Yuzu, you'd expect him to get involved, right?

The early saviour comes in the form of Kokutō, the 'Unoforgiven' that saves Karin from abduction. Now, that was nice of him. The ever persuasive Kokutō then convinces the soul reaper crew to a showdown in the fiery pits of hell. Along with death, deception and betrayal this title will surely hit a high note among Bleach fans, and general animation fans (Movies are always nicely animated).

One of over 10 trailers released for this title can be viewed above, with the movie already shown to Japanese cinema audiences in December last year, and its dvd released due August 25th, 2011. No news about a UK release date yet, watch this space.

Phineas and Ferb: The Second Dimension Gelatin World Trailer

There's 104 days of summer vacation, and school comes along just to end it, and the annual problem for our generation, is finding a good way to spend it!! C'mon who doesn't love Phineas and Ferb? Bowling For Soup, eh, not some much. Never the less, the Disney Channel hit show Phineas and Ferb, is now invading consoles with this PS3 and Wii title, The Second Dimension Gelatin World. It has a kinda of Simpson's Hit and Run feel to it, mixed in with Agent P and catchy ass songs which will have you hooked. They wont leave my head, seriously. You will find yourself in an alternate dimension where the Tri-State area has been taken over by gelatin and you will be attacked by gelatin monsters. Well, that's what Major Monogram told me anyway. Oh, and there will also be a sprinkle of Doofenshmirtz evil along with some Normbots. Nice. You can get your hands on this Disney Interactive title, well, two days ago. Go now!! He's a platypus. They don't do much. Or do they....

NBA 2K12 - Say Hello to the Legends

The king of basketball games (lets face it, the NBA Live series got blown out of the water) is back with its latest yearly reincarnation, NBA 2K12. Get ready to take to the court with some of the legends of the NBA such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Julius Erving just to name a few; and be prepared to face off against the current superstars of the franchise to decide who is the king of the hardwood, the past or the present. I'm a big fan of sports games and Basketball, along with the impending doom that is a lockout causing a huge doubt in a NBA season this year, 2K12 will go on to fill that void in the form of a well polished, innovative title from developers Visual Concepts and publishers 2K Sports. There also will be three different covers giving you the choice to pick between the hall of famers, Michael Jorda, Larry Bird and Magic Johnsoon. Get ready to hit the court this October 4th.

Artist of The Week - Double Segment! Junchai & Sheli1008

This is the next weekly installment of my Artist of the Week Segment!! Every week I will be showcasing some artwork that I have stumbled across, from a range of different artists from many different countries.
Junchai
Age: 16
Years Drawing: 2 years
Location: Thailand
Favorite Anime: D-gray man

You can find her deviant art here.


Sheli1008

Age: 16
Years Drawing: 3 years on the tablet And 5 years in traditional art
Location: Israel
Favorite Anime: Kuroshitsuji♥♥♥

You can find her deviant art here.
Thanks again to both Junchai and Sheli1008, check them out!

Ao no Exorcist - My Thoughts (Season 1, Volume 1 Ep. 1 - 12)

Ao no Exorcist, also referred to as Blue Exorcist is a Manga series turned Anime series, written  and illustrated by Mangaka Kazue Kato. The Manga began releasing chapters since April 2009 with the Anime series beginning in April of this year. The first episode was astounding, when of the best series openers I've seen in a while. We are introduced to the seemingly ordinary fifteen year old Middle School graduate, Rin Okumura, who currently is in and out of jobs, much to the displeasure of his guardian, Father Fujimoto. It starts of slow placed as Rin finds a job at a supermarket, promptly getting fired, and being to ashamed to return home to his fraternal twin, Yukio's leaving part, and face his guardians disappointment back at the monastery.

All the while, bubbling and boiling behind the scenes, much like Rin's temperament at times, a great power is about to awaken within him as the seal on his demonic blade is about to be broken and he is about to be hit with some new knowledge that's going to send his world crashing down in blue flames. As the casual storyline hits the accelerator, a barrage of demons thirsty for Rin's blood, it's inevitably going to lead to a loss of live, which it unfortunately does. After not being able to protect the one that he loved in vain, he vows to become stronger and through the excentric Mephisto Pheles, a friend of Father Fujimoto, enrolls at True Cross Academy to become an exorcist and wants the death of the Devil carried out by his own hands. He continues to be hit by another barrage of kept secrets as he come to learn that his brother is already a fully qualified exorcist and will become one of his teachers as he attends a Cram Class with other pupils with the same goals as himself.

Life at True Cross Academy so far seems to of hit Rin hard, especially since he has to never show his demon self, which include hiding his tail and keeping his sword sheathed. Never the one for school, much unlike his brother, he's not what you would call the model pupil. This doesn't go unnoticed by his other classmates which leads to constant clashed with Bo, who hails from the Cursed Temple in Kyoto, location of the Blue Night massacre. In a errand run with his brother, Rin strikes up a friendship with Shiemi Moriyama which leads her to join the ranks at the Academy. Along with Shiemi, as the plot continues he begins to connect with a whole host of characters and we get to see their true colours.

In this first volume the story is not driven by in your face action at every turn, which in my opinion is a nice change of pace to the likes of Animes Deadman Wonderland and Claymore. The story and the plot is instead driven through by setting up relationships and bonds not only between the characters, but most importantly the characters and the viewers. You will come to learn of protagonist Rin's hot headed attitude, but I suppose that comes with the territory of becoming part demon and no matter how abrasive he becomes, he is always lovable at the same time. Ocassionally flashback galore, the beginnings of a love interest, a somewhat unnecessary episode, smoothly animated fight scenes, light hearted comedy moments that will bring a smile to your face and a Volume opening theme provided by Anime Opening heavyweights Uverworld, Ao no Exorcist has set its self up perfectly and I for one cannot wait for the plot to progress forward. Just wait for the last episode here, you'll get some serious eye candy.

The first 12 episodes of season 1 volume 1 can be watched, online, for free, here.
Support the official release when it becomes available in your region!

Ao no Exorcist Opening 1

Tekken 6 - Kick! Punch! Crazy Combo!!

Developer: Namco Bandai
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Platform: Arcade, PS3, Xbox 360, PSP, Java ME
EU Release: October 30, 2009

Its been a while since I've had a Tekken game in my grasp. Man, have I been missing out. After finally picking up Tekken 6 yesterday, I've fallen back in love with one of the video game series that accompanied me through my childhood days, everybody knew I was the King of the Iron Fist Tournament! This title is the 8th installment in the Tekken fighting game franchise, and I can say without a doubt, its the best so far, and well worth the two year wait I had to endure.

Tekken 6's storyline follows on from Tekken 5, telling the tale of a power struggle within the Mishima family line and Grandfather, Father and Son are all fighting for control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, and control of each other. They also seem to like throwing each other off cliffs and into volcanoes, pretty messed up family, right? The game has three key game modes, Scenario Campaign, Online Mode and Offline Mode, with each mode having its own sub mode. What does that mean, you may be asking? It means, bags of content! Thank you very much, Namco Bandai. Scenario Campaign gives you two choices; go it all alone like the lone wolf you are, or team up with a friend or a player from around the world to take on the story. Scenario mode starts of with a black and white sketchy animation of events that took place in games 1 through 5. Nice little way to refresh your memory if you've played the others, or to give you a bit of background information if you haven't. I must say though, thank God  for the option to skip. While the CGI animated cut scenes are exquisitely designed and generally nice to look at, there are a lot of them, and if you have a short attention span, you will find yourself hitting start constantly just to get into the action. 

Scenario Mode, while being a great way to earn money and items for the extensive character roster that the game boasts, it kinda grated on me after a while. Being a side on fighter, that's how all the combo works, side on. With the different view and angles that come along with Scenario Mode, it can be frustrating to try and pull of moves and can leave you being overwhelmed by some enemies. The movement of your characters can be quite strange as well, at times it wasn't as fluid as I wanted it to be. Never the less, Scenario mode on the whole is a great way to spend hours delving into the Tekken story, where Lars is trying to recover after a bout of amnesia, after an explosion as he led his rebel team during a operation . You also get a sidekick in the form of Alisa Bosconovitch. She's cute, pink haired and has built in chainsaws and a jet pack, what's not to like?

Online Mode will have you fighting players from across the world in the form of ranked matches and player matches. As ranked matches implies, you win a fight, you gain experience and your character will rank up, start of at beginner and grind your way to the top, that being Tekken God. Simple. Well, it can be at times. Lag plays a big part in Online fights, so much so that it can sometimes just fall down to luck rather than skill. The fact that you can't level up past '1ST Dan' in Offline Mode was quite irritating, especially being that a solid Internet connection isn't my strong point at times. In player matches rank isn't affected, so you can fight safely in the knowledge that it's just for fun. Unless you lose, then you will most likely rage. You can also view leaderboards and download other people ghost data and replays, which is always fun.

The most in depth content lies within Offline Mode, where you can go old school and try out Arcade Battle, test your stamina as you take on endless opponents in Ghost Battle, hold on for dear life with one health bar in Survival, team up with up to eight players in Team Battle, see how fast you can be in Time Attack, fight the guy next to you in VS Battle and hone your skills in Practise. Now that's a lot of battling to sink your teeth into. Battling aside, there is a huge amount of character customisation available at your combo bruised finger tips, with each character having 2 costumes, (some even have 3) that are fully customisable right down skimpy hot pants. Clothing can be bought with fight money earned through battling or can be picked up across you playing time in Scenario Mode. Everybody loves free stuff!

Graphics wise, Tekken is full of extremely well polished, amazingly designed characters, character animation and battle locations. Seriously, the design team have out done themselves with a graphics engine that runs at 60 frames per second, with the idea to make the game look good in motion, rather when it's static. With inside game graphics as close of possible to the stunning CGI cut scenes, it just makes the gameplay experience that much more realistic, that much more visually captivating, which providers the player with that much more entertainment. The ever present soundtrack follows you throughout the game, not as an annoying creepy stalker, but as an upbeat confidence boost to get your in the right frame of mind, whether that be to battle as the narrator recites 'Ready? Fight!', or when you browsing the main menu and there lies a hauntingly catchy yodel tune (set hidden retreat as your background), the songs do change depending on what you stage you have as your main menu background though.

Along with breakable fight arenas, so much content to keep you brawling for a very long time, and a roster featuring over 30 Tekken favourite and newbies, I can say without out a doubt that Tekken 6 is one the best fighting games that I have played in a long time, and I lie in wait for the title that is surely going to dazzle. That's a extremely hard thing to achieve these days, what with Capcom spooling out fighting game titles like there's no tomorrow and the odd Soul Calibur hanging around as temptation. If you haven't picked up this title yet, and consider yourself a fighting game connoisseur, run to your closest game store now, you will not be disappointed! I picked up my copy for £15 pound, preowned. Even though I had to say farewell to Darksiders and Bayonetta and the feeling in my fingers for a  while, all I can say is these three words. So. Worth. It.

Arrietty Trailer - Ghibli Do it Again



The next animated master piece from the wonderful Studio Ghilbi, headed by Hayao Miyazaki, comes in the form of this title, Arrietty. Based on the English novel by Mary Norton, The Borrowers, Arrietty had a budget of a massive $23 Million and won the 'Animation of the Year' award at the 34th Japan Academy Prize, following in the footsteps of Ghibli film 'Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea' which won the award in 2009.

Arrietty follows the story of the borrowers, a group of tiny people who live under floorboards, unbeknown to the humans that live there. Main character Arrietty, behind her mother and father's backs, strikes up a friendship with a boy who lives in the house, Sho. Once she is fouind out, her father, pod, deciedes its best fo r the whole family to move.

Its then up to Arrietty and Sho to save her family, as the maid of the house, Haru, unearth the Borrowers home, and calls for a pest removal company to help towards the extinction of the Borrowers race... This title is a must see, with it recently being released over here in the UK. Expect a full review of 'Arrietty the Borrower' very soon.

Artist of The Week - Nassau0105

This is the next weekly installment of my Artist of the Week Segment!! Every week I will be showcasing some artwork that I have stumbled across, from a range of different artists from many different countries.

Nassau0105
Age: 17
Years Drawing: 4 - 5
Location: Hungary
Favourite Anime: Bleach

You can find his deviant art acount here.
Thanks again Nassau0105, check him out!

Madden 12 - Go Long!!

It's getting around that time of year again, sports game season, a season that I actually look forward to. That being said, I usually stray to the likes of Fifa and NBA 2K titles these days, it's been awhile since I've picked up the to play some virtual American Football. With the title 'Back To Football', its a shining beacon of happiness to NFL fans as it reiterates the fact that they are out of the Lockout and their season in back on track, while NBA fans like myself remain discontented and quite annoyed while our season looks extremely doubtful. Seriously annoyed. Throughout the trailer, the players state how much they can't wait to get out there for the fans. Wasn't the Lockout cause by the fact that you didn't want to take a minor pay cut from your already wopping yearly salary to help support the buisness that is the NFL? Hypocrites and overpaid athletes aside, the trailer showcases crunching tackles and long down field passes which you can be a part of come August 30th, 2011 . One a side note, College Basketball anyone?

Tekken Hybrid - 2x The Tekken, One Disc

Can't get enough of Tekken? Own a PS3? Well, your in luck! Tekken Hybrid will include a remastered HD version of Tekken Tag Tornament and the 3D movie Tekken: Blood. Boss. Oh, how I love Tag Tournament! If you have the same fondness of the Tekken franchise as I do, and own a 360 console, you wont be able to get your hands on this 2 in one Blue Ray disc. I do happen to have a PS3 in my household, but its not in a particularly prime time playing spot, the living room is usually inhabited by others most hours of the day; so I'm going to go without this PS3 exclusive Unfortunately. It sucks! You PS3 owners out there can get your hands on this Tekken treasure trove this November. Xbox 360 owners, well you better dust of your PS2 and find your copy of Tag Tournament, it's better than nothing, right?

Batman Arkham City Penguin Trailer - Welcome to Hell!

Yes, Batman brings his next video game offering in the form of Arkham City, sequel to the critically acclaimed Arkham Asylum which was released in 2009. As the hype continues to build for this title, Arkham City, all I can seem to think is, so what? I'm a big fan of the films and have a number of batman related comics stashed away in the never regions of my loft, but Arkham Asylum just didnt do it for me. The first half hour of gameplay that I played before turning my Xbox off, didn't have me begging for more batman. That being said, Arkham City, being developed by Rocksteady Studios, does look absolutely stunning thanks to the Unreal Engine, there's no question about that, but will it personally catch my eye and have me reaching for my wallet when I walk past it in a game store come October? Well, its a possibility I suppose, but there are other titles that will far out way this one when it comes to spending my hard earned cash and time. All you Arkham City lovers can purchase the game October 18th - 21st depending on location, on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and Microsoft Windows. Enjoy the trailer featuring Penguin!



Soulcalibur V - You and I Will Live Forever!?

The seventh title in the Namco's Soul series, Soulcalibur V, will be hitting Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles in 2012. The trailer gives us a glimmer of all 8 of the currently released characters, 4 present in previous titles and 4 that are completely brand new, including the main protagonist Patroklos Alexandra, who is the son  Sophitia, first seen in Soul Edge. If Soulcalibur IV is anything to go from, I'm sure this game, being 17 years after the events of IV, will go above and beyond its predecessor in terms of further improving already solid gameplay mechanics. Oh, the amount of hours I spent in character customization (I created so many anime characters!) and grinding to learn Yoshimitsu's combos. I'll be sure doing the same when Soulcalibur V hits shelves in January 2012.

Deadman Wonderland - My Thoughts

After sitting down to watch the first 12 episodes of Jinsei Kataoka's Deadman Wonderland, I found myself only able to utter one word. Wow. By going into this, not knowing any background on the story, I presumed it was going to be another Anime that emphasizes friendship, which it does at times. That being said, friends seem to come and go in the life of lead character Ganta Igarashi, as in the prison 'Deadman Wonderland' everyone around you can be slaughtered in a pool of cold blood and any moment, in a a quite gruesome way. Awesome! Deadman Wonderland is definitely not for those of weak dispositions, as death and slaughter is an occurring theme in each episode, basically if your looking for a cutesy Anime, go some place else. Just run.

The plot follows Ganta Igarashi aka 'Woodpecker' as he witnesses the mass murder of his entire class by the one known as the Wretched Egg, who plants a mysterious red shard in his chest. With him being the sole survivor, he awakes to find out that the whole thing has been pinned on him, and is sent to death row in Japan's only privately only prison/amusement park, built on ground zero after a earthquake that destroyed Tokyo. The falsely accused fourteen year old gets an eye full of prison brutality as soon as he arrives, with an fellow inmate being sliced across the chest. Yeah, prison isn't a nice place. When Ganta is face with falling debris that could spell the end of him and new acquaintance Shiro, he uses a power same as the Wretched Egg and turns his own blood into a destructive force, saving himself but crushing over prisoner around him. Believe me, they had it coming.

With mass massacres, all out crazy individuals, and the Deadman inhabitants of Block G who literally fight for their life, where losing can result in your losing a limb, Deadman Wonderland is an extremely promising Anime and I cant wait until the plot thickens as more blood continues to run red.

The first 12 episodes can be watched, online, for free, here.
Support the official release when it becomes avaliable in your region!

Deadman Wonderland Opening

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded - Dust of the Golden Gun

Ive never really sniffed at a James Bond related game since GoldenEye on the N64, but now you, along with myself can take a stab at playing as the 'Shaken not stirred' gun toting agent 007 once again, as he takes on new missions. 007: Reloaded  will be a remastered version of the Wii game 'GoldenEye 007', for both the Xbox 360 and the PS3. This title boasts high definition graphics and Playstation move connectability. The trailer flows with all the suave and sophistication that 007 is known for, with the sleek 007 lettering animation that would be right at home in a trailer for a Bond film. The graphics and gameplay mechanics that are shown also seem quite promising, with this being early days. With this being a reveal trailer, expect more in depth info in the future, watch this space.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Link's Back, Baby

The Nintendo big money heavy weight Link is back for another adventure on the Wii. This prequel to the Ocarina of Time will have you eventually looking for Zelda as the plot progresses. This time round though the princess that we all know and love appears not as a princess, but as a childhood friend of link. With revised gameplay mechanics, you as Link, will discover the Skyward Sword and travel to a previously unknown world that is ruled by evil forces. In the trailer, Link and Zelda's hometown of Skyloft is shown, and appears to be currently hosting a festival of some sort, sadly, I wasn't given an invite. Also shown are both Zelda's and Link's pet birds, one red and one blue, as they soar in the sky and then suddenly fall into the darkness, as Zelda is kidnapped by Demon Lord Ghirahim. Get ready to don the green hat, shirt and pick up your sword and shield to charge into battle this later this year.

Darksiders - Ride Horseman, Ride

Developer: Vigil Games
Publisher: THQ
Platform: PS3, XBOX 360, PC
EU Release: January 5, 2011

Control the wrath of war as you make you way through this hack and slash adventure game as you slice through enemies with brute strength and use your wits and resources to complete puzzles. Sounds easy right, not so much. With three levels of difficulty, your skill will be tested as you seek out the one who called you to the earth to bring balance prematurely, and thus, got you in the dog house with the charred council. Not a fun place to be, believe me.

As implied above, you will begin as War is called to the earth to bring balance between the feuding heaven and hell as Armageddon is taking place on earth, why can't they ever get along!? As he is summoned, he realises he is the only one of his horseman brethren who has attending this royal rumble-Esq shindig. Soon you will witness the death of Abaddon (general of the heavens army) at the hands of Straga, a powerful demon fight for the underworld. You as war will then proceed to battle Straga, with access to the chaos form, but unfortunately lose. This won't be the last you see of Abaddon as the once revered angel will fall from grace .... and you are spared death as you are sent to face the council.

War demands a chance to find the one who summoned him and the council agrees, but first they seal away your power (losing your chaos form!!!) and tie the rather irritating 'babysitter with a knife to your back' The Watcher to you, to keep an eye on you through your quest. The following events that ensue include meeting the once powerful demon Samael who sends you on a quest to kill and retrieve the hearts of the chosen four who protect the black tower, the demon lord The Destroyer's place of residence, I heard it's nice in the summer. The Destroyer led the forces of hell to victory in the Armageddon battle on earth, and became displeased with the demon Samael and imprisoned him. He needs to the hearts of the chosen to regain his power, and along the way he helps you get your own power back in return. You scratch his back, he'll scratch yours. After the 'Big Four' you'll will make your way to charge the black tower and take on the The Destroyer face to face.

When I first picked up this game, it wasn't high on my play list and went a while without playing it, that was incredibly stupid of me. Incredibly. The first weapon you start of with is the Chaoseater, a fitting blade to be in the two-handed grasp of the Horseman War, and will help you to spill gallons upon gallons of demon blood as you play through the game. As you progress you can also unlock the scythe (weapon of death who will be featured in darksiders 2), the Crossblade, Earthcaller, Mercy (magnum pistol) and the Tremor Gauntlet. All weapons have some form of upgrade, excluding the Earthcaller, all of which can be purchase through the games merchant, Vulgrim, Through the games currency of souls. Souls can be harvested through killing enemies, opening certain chests and destroying parts of the environment. Along with these weapons, War can use of range of magic based attack to both attack and defend that are used when you have one full gauge of wrath. Things such as Wrath and Health will increase in total as you progress through the game and collect Health and Wrath shards.

And you also get a Horse!! Ruin is a badass steed, a loyal flame maned companion and can be summoned at any time (LB + RB/ L2+ L2), to gallop across the many locations in game. Blisteringly deadly combos and gruesome quick time event finishing moves will have you hunting for more and more demon blood for the thrill it provides, it literally had me singing every time I ripped apart a boss, yes, I'm that strange at times. The only thing that left me feeling annoyed were the puzzles and dodging system the game employs. Some of the harder puzzles had me resulting to walkthroughs, I'm in summer mode, thinking can be strenuous at times, maybe thats just me. Also with the dodging system, when facing mass amounts of enemies which is commonplace in the game, I found myself being overwhelmed when I'd target one enemy and speed dodge into the path of anothers lunging attack.

Graphics wise, the game is quite visually pleasing. From the batlle action to dialog cutscenes, the graphics are smooth and help enhance the gameplay. On the soundtrack side of things, its not really all that present other than than the general ambient sounds and sounds of weapons clinging and clanging in battle. In a way it helps complement the game, without an attention drawing soundtrack, it helps suck you into the game's gameplay and story line, leading to consecutive hours of gameplay time. If you have an eye for collecting, you can have your fill by hunting around for Abyssal Armor pieces, ten in total, and Artifacts that can be exchanged for souls. If you still haven't got round to playing this game, why not!! With it being so far after its release, the title can be picked up in a 2 for £30 bundle from most video game retailers. An absolute bargain. Keep an eye out for Darksiders 2.

Artist of The Week - Fantezzyy

This is the start of my Artist of The Week section! Every week I will be showcasing some artwork that I have stumbled across, from a range of different artists from many different countries.

Fantezzyy
Age: 19
Years Drawing: 2
Location: Italy
Favourite Anime: Naruto

You can find his deviantart account here and his youtube account here.
Thanks again Fantezzy, check him out!

Street Fighter X Tekken - Fight! Fight! Fight!

With the debut trailer being shown at last years Comic Con, we are now treated with not only a 2011 trailer which I've linked above, but also a heap of others showcasing "Team Tekken", "Team Street Fighter" and gameplay. I guess Capcom like to get a lot done. From what I've seen from this crossover fighting game so far, and considering the fact the game is being published  capcom, the gameplay, overall feel and look will be based on the 2D mechanics of the Street Fighter series. This may have you divided, with me personally being more of a tekken fan, (Tag tournament was one of my favourtite PS2 games!) I am going to miss the playing as Tekken characters without it really being Tekken. That being said I'm sure the game will be worth a place on my games shelve, as come March 2011 you will be able to play as King, Hugo, Hwoarang and Ryu. Hollowood Undead as trailer soundtrack? Boss.

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi - Get Super Saiyan-ed up Brahhh

Yeah, thats right, ANOTHER Dragon Ball Z title. When will Bandai realize a DBZ game hasnt been up to scratch since Tenkaichi 3, and that was a LONG time ago. C'mon, Burst Limit? That was just pitiful, with a terrible story mode and nothing new. What. So. Ever. With this latest offering, the prince of Saiyans Vegeta and everybody's favourite hero Kakarot (Goku) are showcased throughout the trailer, which has become the norm in trailers over the past through years. The dedicated manga style animation could draw fans of the series in, but I remain sceptical. Unless I'm proven otherwise, I think ill pass, we'll see. I want Dragon Ball done right, is that too much to ask!?

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - HADOOOUUUKENN!!!

The second follow up to Street Fighter III, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition is being re-released for download for the Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Networks. Capcon are adding to their comprehensive collection of Street Fighter titles with this release, it's one of many, along with the Street Fighter X Tekken who's release date is TBA. With a whole host of features such as improved graphics, video sharing and live match streaming it could be worth a purchase. Button mashers and combo kings can get their hands on the game on August 23rd (PSN) or 24th (Xbox Live).

Pokemon Black and White - Catching Them all, The Arduous Task

Developer: Gamefreak
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo DS
EU Release: March 4, 2011

New Region. New criminal organization. New season cycles. New Pokemon. With the new 5th generation of Pokemon the new Unova region is a land filled with both the old and the new. With the region being so far away from the likes of Johto and Hoen, other generations of Pokemon aren't seen until the Elite four is beaten the first time around. The Gamefreak role playing game will have you reminiscing about your childhood, while at the same time bringing you an updated game in terms of story and looks, and there's not a hint of Ash Ketchum anywhere, thank god.

The game will have you starting off like the rest, being welcomed by the new professor (Juniper) and being introduced to not only the Pokemon that you will set off with on your journey to becoming a Pokemon master, but also your two rivals, Bianca and Cherin. The starter Pokemon follow the same trend as the previous games. There are three, one fire type, one water type and one grass type. This time round though, I already had my choice picked out waay before the games release. Going for the strategy of "always picking the coolest because it will be the strongest" is just great logic, right? And from this bunch of starters I had myself saying, Mijumaru (Japanese Name) I choose you! well, not outloud at least, I'd get weird stares. Gone are the days of Team Rocket in the game and in this outing we are faced with a new antagonist, Team Plazma and N. Its the same ol' song and dance, catching a legendary Pokemon to bring about a new world, with everything happening in a linear pre determined series of events. This all includes defeating the 8 gym leaders, stop Team Plazma, defeating the Pokemon League and attempting to catch many of the over 600 Pokemon that can be seen, to throw numerous Pokeballs at and accompany you on your journey.

With the limited but simple button layout of the DS, any Pokemon newbie can instantly pick up the game and not find it too taxing to grasp the controls. D-pad movement is responsive and fluid, not too many jarring motions that seemed to plague early DS games, which is always good. Pokemon games for me, personally, have always had that fun factor. One of my best earliest memory's is having Pokemon Yellow for my green gameboy colour and never being off it. At that young age, you could go an adventure with companions that grow as you grow through playing the game, that evolve as you get older day by day. I found great satisfaction in building my team and beating gym leaders and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Even now, I still get a little jolt of excitement when a Pokemon evolves, or it flattens an opponent. It's the game of my childhood, its bound too.

Heart Gold and Soul Silver lead to a new revamp of the Pokemon series with the introduction of 3D. Black and White continued with this trend and I can say I am extremely happy with the results. Each town and city that you go to has its own charm and distinct style that make it memorable, which must have been the design team's thought process. With bridges, skyscrapers, forests and caves, there is an abundance of well designed locations, that shows the steps that Gamefreak are taking to enhance the experience of the journey they take you on. Bright, well designed locations make this game a stand out among the older games in the series, with not too much changing graphics wise from the Johto remakes.

Pokemon games would be lost without their area changing soundtrack. The score created by Junichi Masuda, gets stuck in your head, and doesn't want to leave. After hours of gameplay, you will find yourself unexpectedly humming to jaunty tunes that are featured throughout. Along with the ever present "dundundudnudnundundundund" as you find a battle in a patch of grass, or the strange unique noises every different Pokemon makes, the sound adds to the charm of the game, and would be surely missed if they weren't present. It's a game you don't mute!!

As commonplace in the series, there are version differences in black and white, in the form of legendaries, other Pokemon and locations. Those of you who want to master Pokemon Black will have access to Black City post Pokemon league, and those of you who choose White will gain White forest. Both areas are completely diffent with white forest containing Pokemon and Pick up items, with Black Forest housing a heap of trainers and a shop where items can be bought. All Pokemon games follow the same pattern, so endings can be pretty much figured out. Good prevails over evil, remember that kids! Along with a revamped battle animation, new battle types in the form of triple and rotaion battles, Black and white is a well made game and will have fans purchasing it no matter what. That being said, if you are new to the series and want a DS title, I would go for the Johto remakes, Heart gold and Soul Silver instead. I found myself completing Black and White quickly, so much so that I found myself asking, is that it? The Johto games boast more playtime and features such as the pokewalker that may take your fancy. If money is an object head to Johto and leave Unova exploration for another time in the near future.

Black and WhiteRatings: