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Reviews
Skate It Micro-Review: Skate…Or Die?!
Sometimes video games make the leap from consoles to the iPhone/iPod Touch brilliantly. Sometimes the landing isn’t as smooth, but still satisfying. And sometimes the end result is simply horrible. EA brings its Wii and DS title Skate It to the iPhone/iPod touch. Featuring robust customization and a bevy of levels, the game has players…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
Costco Pizza, So Good
To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Where Did Everybody Go? Went to Costco this morning to buy paper towels, Downy and some other stuff (I forget!). But for lunch, we have Costco pizza. Costco pizza is American-style pizza, which is quite different from Japanese pizza. Japanese pizza usually has mayo on it and often corn. Yes,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
You Won’t Believe How Much Detail GT5 Has
Oh, no. You really won’t. Well, maybe you will. Dunno! Earlier this month, Kotaku posted screens of the racing simulator from the Nürburgring tracks. Those screens look detailed, but website PlayStation University points out just how detailed. Look at the reflection in the car’s side mirror. Amazing. But is it done yet? Eh… GT5’s Attention…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
Rock Band Getting Japanese Groups?
According to website JRock Revolution, the site has apparently partnered with Rock Band developer Harmonix to poll its readers about which J-Rock acts it would like to see in Rock Band. In 2008, Harmonix and MTV joined forces with Tokyo-based developer Q Entertainment, the studio behind Lumines, to make a Japanese version of Rock Band.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
Report: Red Dead Redemption Apparently Cost… [UPDATE 2]
The last big Rockstar game, Grand Theft Auto IV, cost roughly US$100 million. Update 2: Daily Mail was just guessing? The most expensive game (well, before Grand Theft Auto IV) was SEGA’s Shenmue, which came in at a cool $70 million to develop. But in 2008, Rockstar producer Leslie Benzies guestimated that GTAIV cost about…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
Square Enix And Yahoo! Japan To “Change Japanese History”
Japanese history is voluminous. And there have been huge changes. Just look at the past century! But domestic game company Square Enix and Yahoo! claim it will change Japanese history. The gall! A teaser site on Yahoo! Japan reads: “On May 21, we’ll change Japanese history.” So when you buy a Japanese history book in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
Bow Before Your Lord, Mario
An oldie, but goodie. As seen by はちま起稿
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
Red Dead Redemption PS3 Versus Red Dead Redemption Xbox 360
The great thing about multi-platform games is that owners of different consoles get to play the same game. But what about when the game isn’t exactly the same? As it has been pointed out (via website CVG), the Xbox 360 version of cowboy game Red Dead Redemption runs at 720p, while the PS3 version runs…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
Dragon Quest IX Enters The Guinness Book of World Records
And it’s not for sales, but for something else entirely. Dragon Quest IX has a “Chance Encounter” mode that allows players to share data with players they bump into in the real world via Nintendo WiFi. In dense Japanese cities, there’s a good chance of bumping into another person with Dragon Quest IX in their…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
How’s Final Fantasy XIV Coming Along?
Not bad, not bad at all. Upcoming massively multiplayer role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV won’t be out until later this year, but here’s a look at in-game city-state Limsa Lominsa and it’s landmarks: self-descriptive Fishermann’s Bottom, culinary capital the Bismarck and armory Coral Tower. The game has been penciled in for the PS3 and is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
It’s Like God of War Meets Bayonetta…
…meets a big ugly dude with white hair. Say “hello” to Knights Contract. Slated for release in 2011, this is the upcoming hack-and-slash action game from game company Bandai Namco. It’s multi-platform — getting released on the PS3 and the Xbox 360. The game features a scythe-slinging knight named Heinrich and spell casting witch named…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
The Scientists Who Made A Zombie Game
Life is funny. You can set out to become a human genome researcher or study bioinformatics and end up making a zombie iPhone game. Just ask Matthias and Thomas Hoechsmann. That’s exactly what happened to them. It was summer 2009, and Matthias was doing post-doc work at the University of California at Santa Cruz studying…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010 -
Phew
To: Crecente From: Bashcraft Phew! Just…phew! Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeew. What you missed last night Yes, We Have A Winner Multi-Platform Final Fantasy Versus XIII Remarks Cleared Up Red Dead Redemption’s Truly, Truly Dastardly Achievement Another Countdown Clock Sorta Ruined! But Hey, Virtual-On! The New Call of Duty: Black Ops Trailer: ‘Everything You Know Is Wrong’
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010 -
This Schoolgirl Is Good At Drumming
Senri Kawaguchi (in the pink shirt) is a 13-year-old junior high school student. But that’s not all. She’s also a drumming whiz. She’s been drumming since she was a kid (I know, she’s still a kid), and most of her vids on her site are of her doing the drumming parts for songs from schoolgirl…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010 -
Yes, We Have A Winner
In 2008, Anthony Le set out to do something very important: Build a suit from Iron Man. The 25-year-old fitness consultant has been a life-long Iron Man fan, and his first attempt was more of a costume. His second? His second is a US$4,000 dollar suit held together by high-impact urethane and, according to Popular…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010 -
Mario Is Good At Spanish, Really Good
From first grade until college, I studied Spanish…and since I moved to Japan, I have forgotten it all. Kaput, gone, bye-bye. But not Mario voice actor Charles Martinet. He totally remembers it. At a recent presentation, Martinet not only showed his Mario voice acting skills, but his mastery of the Spanish language. Since Mario speaks…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010 -
Watch Pac-Man Gobble Up The Minutes
Another chic Pac-Man product for the heap. We’ve got leather wallets, a zippo and wine glasses This limited edition stainless steel Pac-Man watch is priced at ¥18,500 (US$201). Pre-orders start this summer with the watch being released this October. So wakka wakka. Yeah. What Pac-Man goods does the future hold? Pac-Man Watch [lalabit market]
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010 -
Multi-Platform Final Fantasy Versus XIII Remarks Cleared Up
At a Tokyo investors meeting, Square Enix president Yoichi “Imperial Hot” Wada stated that the company was “looking into” bringing PS3 exclusive Final Fantasy Versus XIII to the Xbox 360. As previously posted, publisher may consider a multi-platform release. But there’s some “looking into it” to be done, so don’t expect an announcement of that…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010 -
Red Dead Redemption’s Truly, Truly Dastardly Achievement
Take a cowboy, a damsel in distress and one speeding train. What do you get? Red Dead Redemption is from Rockstar, the folks behind the Grand Theft Auto series — so don’t be too surprised. Though, we are certain this poor lady would get caught in the train’s cow catcher It’s there to clear obstacles…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010 -
Gundam, In Cell Phone Form
This year is the 30th anniversary of Gundam plastic models (aka “Gunpla”). So, Gundam is getting a cafe, a large plastic figure and a life-sized counterpart (again). You know what this calls for? Yes, a Japanese cell phone. Japanese cell phone carrier Softbank will be releasing a Sharp 12.1 mega-pix OLED “Gunpla” cell phone this…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010
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