All Otaku Magazine Issue 1 by All Otaku Magazine

Issue 1 October 2011

ALL OTAKU Magazine The Anime Lifestyle

UN-GO

Science Explains Animeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sex Appeal

Batman: Arkham City The Dark Knight returns. And Robin?

Vocaloid

Super stars from the Future

Hottest Expo 2011

Contents 3

Editors Note

How to be an Otaku

This weeks Top 5

7 Un-Go

rAge 2011

Pokemon: the Biggest Grossing Anime in the World

Vocaloid: Super Stars From The Future

rAge Expo 2011:Home of The South African Geek

12 Why we find Anime so Attractive. What Science says.

From Up on Poppy Hill Studio Ghibli’s New Release.

Fan News

Mimiru’s Art Class

Gamers corner

The Anime Fix

22-23 Posters of the week

Features

Studio Ghibli Beats Pokemon at the box office. And Un-Go 2

Editors Letter

Hello there and Welcome to the First EVER edition of ALL OTAKU. We at our underground Head-quarters would like to say well done for taking the time to download this e-mag and have a look through it. This week we will be looking at Studio Ghibli and their latest release that beat both Pokémon movies at the box office this year. We will also be talking about the new Pokémon movies and the history behind the Pokémon rage. We take a look at what is airing in Japan this month and review this week’s top 5 Anime series. Then it’s off to Rage to learn how to survive in the wild world of Gaming. This week’s featured series Un-Go, super detective meets Anime, has us wanting more. And finally, why we think Anime is so attractive, the science of Anime. And this weeks wall paper. Our version of a paper back poster. Download it and set it as a desktop. Also this week we will be asking our viewers to send in suggestions for pages we can add to the magazine and what you would like us to review. Any and all suggestions are helpful so let us know what you want

“I went outside once. The Graphics weren’t that great.”

As an Otaku myself I have had discussions with many people about what it is that makes you Otaku. A lot of monamine fans say that just by being into Anime you are a nerd but to truly be otaku I believe there is more to it. That’s not to say that you need to try really hard and know everything there is to know about Anime but you have to have passion.

What does it mean Step one The first thing you want to do when it comes to becoming an Otaku is get to know your Anime. To do this you will have to watch, read, or play a lot of Anime, manga and/or related games. My advice is take it slow... just like a good woman Anime needs to be treated with care before you jump right in. Don’t look for everything and anything you can get your hands on. Because 1) there is WAY more out there than you realise and 2) if you jump at anything that comes along you may just stumble along some really bad stuff that can turn you off of Anime all together. So like Jack White says steady as she goes. My advice, start with some of the classics, like Chrono Crusades, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun or Love Hina.

Step Two Once you have found the Anime or Manga series you are looking for, learn it. There is nothing worse than talking to another Otaku and getting things mixed up. And trust me it can be even harder when you are learning something that came from another culture that is so different to yours.

Step Three Be passionate!! If there is one thing that most Otaku hate it’s someone who gets into Anime to try and impress others. So if you do start watching Anime or reading Manga and you don’t enjoy it don’t force it. Anime is the type of thing you either love or you hate.

Step Four Branch out. There is so much more to Anime and manga than just watching it. For example there are Anime societies where people can get together and discuss Anime or game. Cosplay is also important in the Anime culture. While we don’t have many cosplay events, South Africa does host a few. For example rAge holds a cosplay event, this year they are having a competition, and UPCON and ICON are both Anime conventions. So take the time to look for events. Gaming again is a part of being Anime fan. While OTAKU, gamers and techies can all be placed in their own categories you do find people who are into all three.

Step Five

OTAKU-Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another’s house or family (お宅, otaku), which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun. In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku is most often equivalent to “geek”. However, it can relate to a fan of any particular theme, topic, hobby or any form of entertainment ANIME-In Japan this is known as all and any animation but to most of us it is known as a specific style of animation originating from Japan. MANGA-This is the comic book version of Anime. Both having the same or similar drawing styles. SHOUJO-An Anime or manga created primarily for girls, they focus on romantic stories but may have other elements. JOSEI-These too are romantic in nature but they are aimed at teenage girls and young women and involve romance between adult couples. SHOUNEN-The boy equivalent of SHOUJO where in these story lines are centred around fighting and action. SEINEN-This type of Anime or manga targets people who are into sports and sport related stories. This tends to be a less violent genre than SHOUNEN. YAOI or SLASH-In this genre The focus is on male relationships, be it sexual or otherwise. This too is aimed at women but many men also read it. Often it contains pornographic images, which is why the target markets are adults and teens. ECCHI or HENTAI-Known but many as Anime porn. There are very many types of ECCHI or HENTAI out there and quite often it is violent. This type of Anime is aimed at adults and older teens. NEKO- Or ‘cat’ Anime. This has become quite popular over the years because of it cute and sometimes sexual attraction. The subject is depicted as having cat ears and a tail. LOLICON-From the words Lolita Complex this is ones love of really young Anime girls or boys. CHIBI- An extremely cute stylized version of Anime. O.V.A-Original Video Animation MOE CHARACTER-most common features include youthfulness as a physical trait (younger age or pigtails) or as an emotional trait (naive or innocent outlook) and some obvious sympathetic weakness the character works hard to correct (extreme clumsiness or a life-threatening disease) but never really succeeds to get rid of. KEMONOMIMI CHARACTER-anime and manga terminology describing humanoid characters that possess animal-like features. Nekomimi (cat), usagimimi (rabbit), inumimi (dog), kitsunemimi (fox), torimimi (bird), sarumimi (monkey).

Our last step is to wish you good luck! May you go forth and be one with the Anime force.

http://simplicityanime.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/otaku-the-good-the-bad-and-the-bishoujos/

Level 1 : Watch Anime on TV Level 2 : Stream Anime on Internet Level 3 : Start Purchasing DVD Level 4 : Collecting Anime Stuff like Figurines Level 5 : Start Cosplaying Favorite Anime Character

Anime

Steins Gate The story of Steins;Gate takes place in Akihabara, about a group of friends who turn their microwave into a device that can send text messages to the past. As the group decide to experiment with their new invention, they gain the attention of an organization named SERN who try and track them down. Now the characters have to find a way to avoid being captured by them. Steins;Gate is praised for its intertwining storyline and the voice acting of each character as well as brilliant art work for both the games and series. A manga adaptation of the story illustrated by Sarachi Yomi began serialization in Media Factory’s Monthly Comic Alive magazine on September 26, 2009. A second manga series illustrated by Kenji Mizuta began serialization in Mag Garden’s Monthly Comic Blade on December 28, 2009. The anime adaptation aired in Japan this year on April 6, 2011 and ended September 14, 2011, with a movie adaptation in the making. The movie will be showcasing new footage and not just recycling previous scenes. A sequel game titled Steins;Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling was released June 16, 2011. A second sequel game titled Steins;Gate 8bit is set to be released on November 28, 2011.

ALL OTAKU’S TOP 5 Nisemonogatari

The novel is the latest by Nisi Oisin to be made an anime. It will be a collaboration between Kodansha, Aniplex, and anime studio SHAFT. The announcement was made during the NisiOisin Anime Project live stream event on NicoNico Douga and is due to air in January 2012. The story is set in the early 21st century as a sequel to another NisiOisin story, Bakemonogatari, which was centred around Koyomi Araragi, a third year high school student who has recently survived a vampire attack, and finds himself mixed up with all kinds of apparitions; gods, ghosts, mythological beasts, and spirits. An anime adaptation by Shaft started airing on July 3, 2009 and went through a total of 15 episodes. This new release centres around the “Fire Sisters” Tsukihi and Karen Araragi. While not much has been published on the actual movie yet the animation style looks great and the story line has potential.

CODE BREAKER

Riding the bus one day, Sakura Sakurakouji looks out the window to see people being burned alive with a blue fire as a boy her age remains unharmed watching. When she goes back to the site the next day, there is no evidence of any kind of murder, just a small fire. Going to class, Sakura discovers that the new transfer student turns out to be the same boy she saw the day before. Sakura soon learns that he is Rei Oogami, the sixth “Code: Breaker,” a special type of assassin with a strange ability hired by a secret organization, EDEN, in service of the government.

The manga series currently has 15 volumes to date – with the first volume debuting on October 10th, 2008. It began serialization in Weekly Shounen Magazine of the same year. According to the magazine, an Anime adaptation of Kamijyo Akimine’s action-comedy manga series, CØDE:BREAKER, has been okayed for production

“Rurouni Kenshin” – New 2-part OVA Series

s announced in April, the new ‘Rurouni Kenshin’ Anime project will be a two-part OVA series. The first episode, entitled, “Shin Kyoto Hen” (New Kyoto Arc), will premiere in Japanese theatres in December — a home video release will follow after. It is reported to be an ample remake of the battle against Makoto Shishio from Misao’s point of view. Studio DEEN and director, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, both of whom worked on the original Anime series will be working on the new series, as well as the original series voice cast, save for the late Hirotaka Suzuoki, who voiced Saito Hajime. Ken Narita will be voicing Saito in the remake. However the Kyoto Arc will not be the only Kenshin feature to see a release in the near future, a live action Rurouni Kenshin film is being produced by Warner Bros and is set for airing in Japan in 2012. The film will be directed and star Satoh Takeru as Kenshin, who will be will be accompanied by Takei Emi as Kaoru. Below you’ll find a shot of them on the set. It is said that Watsuki-san himself insisted his manga is filmed by the natives. More details can be gleaned over at the Anime News Network and Siliconera. As part of the Rurouni Kenshin 15th anniversary celebration, a new Anime project is also in the works, although no details on this project have been announced yet.

A Dark Rabbit has Seven Lives Personally one of my favourite reviews this week, Taito Kurogane is your average school student with a twist. As a kid he makes a promise to a vampire girl who cast a spell on him to bind them in life and death. But having forgotten this, he goes about his life normally until he is hit by a truck and sets this vampire free. Now he must defend her from evil monsters while being forced to become a slave to the school’s Student Council President, and magician, Kurenai Gekkou. The group, Taito, Himea (the vampire girl), Gekkou and his strange magical student, Mirai, have to fight to keep the world from being overrun by demons from other dimensions.

Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi Publisher: DEEN Type: OVA movie

The animation is a little stiff but the character art is beautiful and the story is easy to follow. This series is a great one to have in your collection and you can find all the latest episodes on Crunchyroll.com Subtitles: English (US) Publisher: kadokawapictures Type: TV series

Review of the month

The FMA team of Seiji Mizushima, Shou Aikawa and BONES reunite! This time, they tackle the mystery genre. Synopsis

Based from Sakaguchi Ango’s novel “Meiji Kaika Ango Torimonocho”. Meiji-era story about a detective named Yuki Shinjuro, who solves various incidents that happen in his circle of friends. The adaptation will utilize an original story set in the near future, revolving around the detective and a boy named Inga, who continually encounter mysterious cases.

BONES creates detective genius

Type: TV series. Episodes: 11. Airing: Oct 14 2011. Producers: Bones. Genres: Mystery.

“However, calling me in means that some crime is going to occur. And a major crime at that.” It is the comic version based on the movie “UN-GO episode:0 INGARON”. The Movie “UN-GO episode: 0 INGARON” will be out in theatres in Japan for 2 weeks only starting Saturday, November 19th, 2011.

• “UN-GO” is a fullfledged detective story about a detective and his partner who tackle the world’s most difficult crimes together for reasons of their own. The profession of private detective fell out of favour long ago, and yet, that’s how the young man, Shinjurou Yuuki identifies himself. The detectives are a duo, Shinjurou Yuuki, known as “the Last Great Detective”, and his partner, Inga. But contrary to Inga’s cute looks, he’s a sharp, arrogant rogue. Why Inga sticks with Shinjurou is as yet unknown. The setting of the story is a post-war, future Tokyo that still bears the scars of war. Ruling the land is Media King Rinroku Kaishou, who through politics and industry has the communications infrastructure under his thumb. But Kaishou often uses Shinjurou Yuuki, “the Last Great Detective”, to uncovered “the truth” in most cases. However, the public doesn’t know this and thus refers to Shinjurou as the “Defeated Detective”. Still, Shinjurou, together with Inga, can’t help but search for the truth. A story boldly adapted from Ango Sakaguchi’s Ango Torimonochou (Ango Detective Stories) with character designs

by pako and Yun Kouga, this series is a must see for Otaku this year. Directed by Seiji Mizushima, and written by Shou Aikawa , UN-GO looks like it will be hit this year at the box office. BONES recently released a statement saying that the film will be airing in Japan for two weeks starting on Saturday the 19th of November. Another thing worthy of note are the character designs, helmed by illustrators pako (Scared Rider Xechs) and Yun Kouga (Mobile Suit Gundam 00). On the visual side, the designs by these two infuse the work with a fresh charm.

[http://www.un-go.com/08movie/index.html]

The Biggest Money Maker in Anime History

Pokemon Empire

1998:

Apr: The Pokémon Centre Company is established in Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. (Capital: 60 million yen) Apr: The Pokémon Center Tokyo is established in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. Nov: The Pokémon Center Osaka is established in Umeda, Osaka. 1999: Sep: Capital is increased to ¥240 million. 2000: Oct: Company name changes to The Pokémon Company. Game-related business begins. Dec: License-related business begins. 2001: Feb: Overseas affiliate Pokémon USA, Inc. (Now The Pokémon Company International) is established in Delaware, U.S.A. Feb: Capital is increased to ¥360 million. May: Capital is increased to ¥361.8 million. Jun: Capital is increased to ¥365.4 million. 2002: Jul: Mobile phone website Pokémon Hiroba is launched. Oct: The Pokémon Center Nagoya is established in Sakae, Nagoya. Nov: The Official Pokémon website is launched. 2003: Mar: Representative office is established in London, England. Nov: The Pokémon Center Fukuoka is established in Hakata, Fukuoka. 2004: Jan: The Pokémon Daisuki Club is launched. 2005: Mar: The Pokémon Center Yokohama is established in Minato Mirai, Yokohama. 2006: Aug: Overseas affiliate Pokémon Korea, Inc., is established in Seoul, Korea. 2007: Jul: The Pokémon Center Tokyo is remodelled and reopened. 2009: Mar: The Pokémon Center Sapporo is established in Sapporo, Hokkaido. 2010: Apr: The Pokémon Communications Company, an affiliate, is established. Nov: The Pokémon Center Osaka is remodelled and reopened in Umeda, Osaka.

For those of us who have been OTAKU for most of our lives, and even if you who weren’t, you will remember the big hype that Pokémon created when it hit the worlds markets. Whether it was those who played and collected the cards or games, or those who screamed devil worship at the steps of the Vatican, people of all ages and all walks of life were eventually sucked into the chaos that was pokemon. Sites and information had flooded the net and societies were formed, Pokemon had become our generations Magic the Gathering. But with this year’s release of the two Pokémon Black and White movies we decided that we wanted to see how much the Pokémon Empire was worth. Pokemon, or earlier known in Japan as Pocket Monsters (Poketto Monsutā), was created in 1996 by Satoshi Tajiri, then to be bought and published by the game company Nintendo. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, the Pokémon franchise has since become the world’s most profitable video game related cartoon next to the Mario Franchise, and the world’s most profitable video game related Anime in the entire world. Their two latest movies grossed US$53,387,786 combined in Japan this year, marking their fifteenth year in the industry. It was two years after Nintendo contracted Tajiri that The Pokémon Company was started on April 23. The Pokémon Company was established through joint investment by the three businesses holding the copyright on Pokémon: Nintendo Co., Ltd., Creatures Inc., and GAME FREAK Inc. The business started out with a capital of 60 million yen and is worth over 365.4 million yen today, and as of 28 May 2010, cumulative sales of the video games (including home console versions, such as the “Pikachu” Nintendo 64) have reached more than 200 million copies. That’s not to mention the fourteen seasons of Pokémon series, 12 movies, 649 Pokémon species and their corresponding cards, and of cause all of that great merchandise we all love to spend our life savings on.

POKEMON FANS SAY:

“I feel like the fad is faaaaar from dead. The cards are still being played at tons of tournaments, toys are still sold, and the games are selling now more than ever. Though I’m not a huge fan of the show, I’m waiting to see the new art style for the new season, so I’m sure the same will go for the movie. I also felt that the movies had slightly more mature themes than the show so I will definitely give this movie a shot.”

“It’s rare to find a franchise with such worldwide appeal and dedicated fans as Pokémon.” Said Laurent Fischer, Managing Director Marketing and PR, Nintendo of Europe.

Vocaloid NEXT-GEN SUPER-STARS

For most of us the word Vocaloid (or Bōkaroido in Japanese) brings up images of the every popular internet sensation Hatsune Miku. But what many of us don’t know is that Vocaloid is the singing synthesizer application that they use to create Hatsune’s voice. The program is the brain child of Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and Japan’s Yamaha Corporation, who backed the development financially—and later developed the software into the commercial product “Vocaloid”. The program allows users to synthesize singing by typing in the lyrics they want along with music. It uses synthesizing technology with specially recorded vocals of voice actors or singers. To compose songs the users must utilise a piano roll type interface to input the melody and the lyrics onto each note. The software can change the stress of the pronunciations, add effects such as vibrato, or change the dynamics and tone of the voice. The program was originally only in English and Japanese but as of Vocaloid 3 Spanish, Chinese and Korean will be added to the pack. These vocal enhancement packs have been sold on the market since 2004 and from then until now have grown into a world wide Phenomenon.

But what does this have to do with the characters we see on the web and in the media. Well each Vocaloid is sold as “a singer in a box” designed to act as a replacement for an actual singer. There are many different vocaloids, such as Kaito, Hatsune Miku, Kamui Gakupo and SF-A2 miki who sing in Japanese or vocaloids like Lola, Big Al and Miriam who sing in English and even opera like Tonio. The first Vocaloids, Leon and Lola, however were released by Zero-G on March 3rd of 2004, both of which were sold as a “Virtual Soul Vocalist”. Leon and Lola made their first appearance at the NAMM Show on January 15, 2004. Leon and Lola were also demonstrated at the Zero-G Limited booth at Wired Nextfest and won the 2005 Electronic Musician Editor’s Choice Award. Shortly after Zero-G released Miriam, her voice provided by Miriam Stockley, in July 2004. Later that same year, Crypton Future Media released their first Vocaloid, Meiko. Though Leon, Lola, Miriam and Meiko experienced good sales, Kaito was the only one who initially failed commercially.

The latest in the series of Vocaloid characters is Vocaloid 3-Aoki Lapis( See above). She is the ‘mascot’ for the latest Vocaloid software to be released on the 21st of next month, nearly a full month later than originally expected. But the Vocaloid culture has become so big that a Vocaloid no longer has to be a character that sings or is mixed on the Vocaloid programs. In fact there are many types of Vocaloid character. Original Vocaloid Characters (called OC Vocaloids) are fan made vocaloids who do not have a business origination point, and are independent characters. They are usually created for storytelling purposes, and may or may not interact with other official or fan made vocaloids. Some of them may go on to become UTAUloids. UTAUloids were originally considered Vocaloids as well because of Teto, the pioneer (if not the first UTAUloid), being attempted to pass off as a real Vocaloid. The reason for segregating them is to differentiate them from Fan made Vocaloids that use existing voices and run on Yamaha’s Vocaloid and Vocaloid2 platform, or those supplied with actual singing voices. Because UTAU has the ability to manually import voice sounds from WAV files, it is quite easy to create “our own” UTAUloids- which has resulted in a large boom of voice banks from all over the world. The only restriction in making an UTAUloid is using voice data unwillingly recorded Only a small amount of OC Vocaloids sing, the majority of them do not sing at all. Many of these are found in DeviantArt, though there are Japanese-made OCs. Rainbow Vocaloids are based on the colours of the rainbow. They were not designed for singing, but some users have decided to give them a life of their own.

Hatsune Miku Hatsune Miku is the first Japanese Vocaloid2 in the Vocaloid2 Character Series created by Crypton Future Media. She is considered the most popular and well known Vocaloid in the world, being the first to become a pop icon. The name of the title and the character of the software was chosen by combining Hatsu (first), Ne (sound), and Miku (future) thus meaning “the first sound from the future.” The data for the voice was created by sampling the voice of Saki Fujita (Fujita Saki). Hatsune was release Miku as “an android

diva in the near-future where songs are lost.” and when they started designing her visually the illustrator, KEI, was asked to draw Miku as an android and use a color scheme based on YAMAHA synthesizer’s signature terquoize. Crypton gave KEI a detailed concept of Miku, but Crypton says it was not easy to explain what a “Vocaloid” was to him. KEI claims he could not create an image of “singing computer” at first, as he did not even know what a “synthesizer” was. But after a month of designing and re-designing they had the new pop-star down to a tee. The digital design on Miku’s skirt and

boots are based on synthesizer program colours and the bars represent the bars within the program. Miku was originally intended suit a different hairstyle, but after KEI tried pigtails they stuck. The initial sales of Hatsune Miku were so high that Crypton could not keep up with the demand. In the first 12 days of sale, nearly 3,000 sales were made. This was around one sale in 250 in the music software industry, quoted as “an impossible number” by Wataru Sasaki. On September 12, 2007 Sales for Hatsune Miku totaled 57,500,001 yen, making her the number one selling software of that time. It was confirmed in her first year alone, Miku sold 40,000+ units.

Dates 30 Sep - 2 Oct 2011 Times Fri: 10h00-18h00 | Sat: 09h00 -18h00 | Sunday: 10h00-16h00 Tickets Day ticket - R50.00 per person Weekend Ticket - R80.00 per person Family Ticket - R160 (two adults and two chil dren) Kids under 6 - free NAG LAN ticket - Tickets available at Computicket or at the door Venue- The Coca-Cola Dome | Corner Northumberland Road & Olieven hout Avenue | Northgate, North Riding http://www.thedome.co.za

“rAge 2011 is primed to improve and expand on this impressive growth with a predicted attendance of more than 23,000 visitors.”

So here it is!!! Once again it is that time of year when Gamers, Techies and Otaku of all types come out of the wholes they hide in and begin the migration to Johannesburg for what has become the years main event. rAge, sponsered by Samsung, is here once again.

What is rAge? What better way to tell you what rAge is than to let the creators speak for themselves. This is from the rAge webpage directly to you. “Best known as South Africa’s premier computer, gaming and technology expo, rAge brings together the most popular and cutting-edge games, technology, gadgets and gaming-related products under one dome. The expo allows visitors to get hands-on experience with the groundbreaking developments in this dynamic sector. The expo has enjoyed exponential year-on-year growth in both attendance and exhibitors, in line with international trends. Based on the tremendous success of rAge 2010, rAge 2011 is primed to improve and expand on this impressive growth with a predicted attendance of more than 23,000 visitors. Perfectly positioned to leverage pre-Christmas sales and marketing campaigns, rAge has a lingering effect well into the December buying frenzy.” So who all will be attending this extraordinary event this year? Well, simply put. EVERYBODY!! Any one from casual and pro gamers, computer enthusiasts and techno geeks to tech newbies, technophobes and even entire families looking for a good day out among the latest in the technological world. Regardless of age, race gender or

platform you can bet that people from all walks of life will be there this week “ “We’re definitely seeing more families come to rAge over the weekend, and when they get there they’re always surprised by how many other families are there,” said James. The rAge expo appeals to anyone who’s into the fun side of technology.” Since it’s birth in 2002, rAge expo has seen exponential growth in both its visitors and exhibitors, exposing them to the experience of a life time in the form of the latest technological developments, new and pre-released games, the hottest consoles, creative arts learning opportunities, product launches, competitions and giveaways, exclusive presentations by international game developers, and much more. It also continues popular subculture favourites like the NAG LAN and the Artists Alley. “ “Thanks to the support of our exhibitors and the gaming community as a whole, we have not only met the needs of the growing gaming culture but have become an institution within it,” stated James.” Primary product categories include PC and console gaming, computer hardware and software, over clocking, gaming peripherals, gaming apparel and accessories, local game development studios, media and creative arts colleges, convention artists, graphic art signings, comics, Anime, role-playing, collectible card games, digital lifestyle gear, and much more. Do you need any more reason to go?

This years Sponsors

What is the NAG LAN? rAge will again feature the sleep-depriving three day NAG LAN @ rAge event. This is a wired melting pot of adrenalin-filled gaming in the form of a 53-hour BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) NAG LAN. The NAG LAN @ rAge is the biggest gaming LAN in South Africa, with a minimum of 2,100 gamers connected to the same network for a weekend of pure gaming. The entire event translates into a gaming fanatic’s ultimate experience. Tickets for the NAG LAN go on sale at Computicket on 1 August 2011 and are expected to be sold out within days. The LAN opens at 09h00 on Friday [30 September 2011] and closes 15h00 on Sunday [2 October 2011]

Contact Details For more detailed information or to book your presence at rAge please contact: Michael James Senior Project Manager rage@nag.co.za | +27 11 704-2679 Jacqui Jacobs Marketing and Promotions Manager jacqui@nag.co.za | + 27 11 7042679 Cheryl Bassett Sales Executive cheryl@nag.co.za | + 27 11 7042679 Fax: +27 11 704-4120 Postal Address: P O Box 237 Olivedale 2158

rAge 2011 HAS EVERYTHING EXCEPT MIDGETS. rAge fans will be lining up on the 30th of September to enter the Coca-Cola Dome and experience the rAge expo. rAge will be open until the 2nd of October, that’s a full weekend of gaming awesomeness! Thousands of rAger’s will be there to experience the latest games, check out what’s new in the world of gaming gadgets and consoles as well as “beasting” their machines with the latest cutting-edge computer hardware and peripherals . This year visitors to rAge will be among the first South Africans to experience the year’s most anticipated game releases. Various exhibitors including Megarom, EA, Ubisoft, Nintendo, Xbox, Sony and more, will be releasing playable code on games such as Battlefield 3, Dead Rising 2, Streetfighter vs. Tekken, Assassins Creed Revelations, Mass Effect 3, Final Fantasy XIII-2, FIFA11 and Batman: Arkham City. Don’t miss Rocksteady Studios’ Dax Ginn, the developer of Batman: Arkham City, at the NuMetro Entertainment stand on Friday and Saturday to get the low down on the sequel to Arkham Asylum. As for gaming platforms, Nintendo are going big with their handheld 3DS marrying 3D and portable gaming . Check out the Wii U Tablet which only releases commercially overseas in December, and Sony PlayStation’s new portable device, the PS Vita is also expected to create a stir at this year’s rAge Expo. The Indie game development scene in SA will be show cased at rAge 2011 as Learn 3D, a local tertiary institution specialising in 3D animation, will be presenting the “Home Grown” competition. Games produced by Learn 3D students will be put to the test as rAge visitors game-off for top honours and some awesome prizes throughout the show. For the more technically inclined rAgegoers, Frontosa will be pushing the limits of various PC components, particularly the latest and greatest processors on the market. As PC drag racers know, when the

safeguard on these components is by-passed to increase the voltage and see what they can really do, temperatures soar. So to ensure the processor isn’t blown in the first five seconds, the experienced Frontosa team will use copious amounts of Liquid Nitrogen to cool the components; approximately 10 litres per day for the duration of the expo. The team at NAG are levelling up their stand at rAge this year. Teaming up with The Verge, their stand is going to be nothing short of awesome – but that’s all we’re going to say. As always, there are loads of great prizes, giveaways and specials! If you have a thing for virtual racing – or are just downright good at it – get to Kaspersky Lab’s interactive stand to test your hand-eye with the Ferrari Virtual Academy and you could be the lucky winner of two VIP tickets to the Formula 1 in Sao.

Paulo in November! rAge regulars add their usual alternative flavour. Renowned for recreating our favourite anime and gaming characters, this year the funky creatives at Legion Ink are making it official with a Cosplay Competition. A definite must see!

Other conventions for the common Otaku *UPCON (usually first weekend in April) held at the University of Pretoria, Pretoria *ICON (usually first weekend in July, but the dates sometimes change) held at the Jabula Recreational centre, Johannesburg *rAge (usually first weekend in October) held at the Coca Cola Dome, Johannesburg

W hy do we find Anime attractive? Having to browse the net a lot lately I have come across this question quite a few times. Why do I find anime attractive? Is it normal? Do others have the same feelings? So I decided that I would look into it and maybe shed some light on the subject. There seem to be two sides to this answer. The first is explained by science in the form of the Divine Proportion. This is the idea that beauty can be measured by symmetry. You see the more symmetrical the face the more beautiful it is to us naturally, we can prove this by testing it on children. Humans have this beauty sensor built into them from birth and by showing babies and children a range of faces with a lot of symmetry and ones without we can see that the children will choose the more symmetrical faces every time. But what does this have to do with Anime? We a lot of anime artists already know this, it is something that they are taught as students, and so they use it in their art. Anime is also often commended for its character’s perfect skin; this can be one of nature’s greatest visual attractions for humans. That is why we find children to be so perfect. The skin is in essence another kidney, it excretes toxins from the body in the form of sweat,

According to a University of Louisville study, when shown pictures of different individuals, Asians, Latinos, and whites from 13 different countries all had the same general preferences when rating others as attractive -- that is those that are the most symmetric

Some reasons included by bloggers: “Jelly boobs- The way only anime girls boobs can bounce.” “Gravity defying hair.” “The beautiful eyes.” “The cute voices.” “Always cheerful disposition.” “Gravity defying fight scenes.” “PANTY SHOTS. Lol”

and when the skin is not clear it indicates illness or unbalance. With anime not only do they have perfect skin but they always have a rosy complexion which donates good health. This brings me to another of societies requirements for beauty, Youth. As we all know youth is something that many of us consider the key to beauty and in Anime the characters are designed with the proportions of teenagers or really young adults. Here, however, is an idea I never thought about in my research but stumbled upon on a forum a while ago. Anime Characters have no excess qualities. Every human has qualities that make their appearance stand apart. Sometimes it makes people more attractive, but usually less attractive. Anime characters lack detail, and therefore have less bringing down their appearance. Another thing is that their personalities are exceedingly unusual. While we understand that the Japanese have a different culture to us and they see things differently they show us a side of humanity that is new to us. And generally new and different is attractive. The anime writers also try to create characters that are perfect in their personality. Even when most characters do something evil it is for a good reason. So all in all what makes anime so attractive? Perfection. Or as close to it as we can get. Everything from their finely drawn hair down to their toes is created to suit our fantasies. Anime is created by people to be attractive.

By: Joannah Stewart

From Up On Poppy Hill This year’s Studio Ghibli release From Up on Poppy Hill (Kokuriko-Zaka Kara), has been praised for its victory over the two Pokemon Movies at the box office last month. The film adapted from Chizuru Takahashi and Tetsurō Sayama’s Shoujo coming-of-age manga opened at #3, one below the Pokémon films also released on the 16th of July. However, as of September 11, From Up on Poppy Hill grossed the equivalent to US$53,799,452, making it the highest earning domestic Japanese film of 2011. The film was seen 445,269 times on 457 theatres in its first three days, and was seen about 3,300,000 times by September 14. The film crossed the 3 billion yen gross mark during the weekend of 2122 August 2011. And due to its growing popularity in theatres, From Up on Poppy Hill will continue to play on 300 screens in Japan begin-

ning in October. The film was directed by Goro Miyazaki; this is has second film to be released, his last film was 2005 Anime hit “Tales from Earthsea; and written for screen by his father Hayao Miyazaki. Production of the film was handled by Toshio Suzuki, cofounder of Studio Ghibli, and is being distributed domestically by TOHO productions.

Aoi Teshima, who sang the theme song for the film Tales from Earthsea, provided the theme song vocals for this film. Plot

The story follows Umi Matsuzaka, A 16 year-old girl and eldest in a close-knit family of five, raises a pair of signal flags

every day at her seaside house in Yokohama Bay without fail in anticipation of the return of her father, who went missing in action during the Korean War. In preparation for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, people are destroying the old and believe only in the magnificence of the new. In that time, at a high school in Yokohama, a small struggle occurs and Umi finds herself involved in a student movement seeking to prevent the demolition of an old club house. In the process, she falls in love with the newspaper club president Jun Kazama. Gradually the pair are drawn to each other but they are faced with a sudden trial. They may be siblings. Even so, they keep going without running from reality. Then, in the middle of the battle and the aftermath, they come to know how their parents met, loved and lived.

An online survey revealed that the ratio of female audience to male audience members was 57% to 43%. 34.8% of the audience were in their twenties, 18.9% of them were aged between 16 and 19 years old, and people who were aged over 30 made up 32.6% of the audience.

The film was announced as one of the Japanese films being showcased at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, which will be held from 8 to 18 September 2011. It was also revealed that the film was showcased in the “Japan International Premiere” section, which is part of the “Contemporary World Cinema” event in the festival. The film has been described as a “pure-hearted, melodramatic youth film” and “it’s wealth of period detail brings the era to nostalgic/realistic life”. But while the film may be a little unusual coming from the company known for marrying the fantastical with the emotional, it still explores some of the more common themes of Studio Ghibli’s work, in particular, children being forced to grow up fast due to the absence of a parent.

Yet despite the movies wins it still has a somewhat reduced status among critics and viewers. The reason is this, firstly this is a simpler story than we are used to from Ghibi. There are no big action set pieces or hints of fantasy at all. It is a very simple story about a girl and a boy finding each other while they try to sort out the problems of their past. But no matter how well told From Up on Poppy Hill is it will not make us feel the same inspiration as Nausica or Spirited away did. Secondly, the film seems to be split in two. As if two different stories are being told here, and they don’t mesh well. Weaknesses aside, Goro has made a significant leap as a director and in finding his own style. And frankly we can all agree that anything out of Studio Ghibli, no matter how small is better than the top releases from most other studios.

Well Crunchyroll is one of my favourite web sites in the anime business so I thought I would let them explain who they are: Crunchyroll is an online video service and community that offers full-length episodes and movies of the very best in Japanese anime and Asian entertainment. Crunchyroll’s content is provided by Asian media leaders like TV TOKYO, Shueisha, Fuji Creative Corporation, Pony Canyon, Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, Toei Animation, Gonzo, Munhwa Broadcasting of America, and many others. Crunchyroll, Inc. was founded in June 2006 and has offices in San Francisco and Tokyo. Crunchyroll is a pioneer and innovator in the Japanese anime industry and the only video service in the world to offer hit programs like Naruto Shippuden, Gintama, and many others online to its subscribers within one hour of its Japanese broadcast. Crunchyroll is a member of the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) and the Licensing International Merchandisers Association (LIMA). Crunchyroll is funded by angel investors, Venrock, and TV TOKYO. Its mission is to bring professional content to a worldwide audience and to build a fun, thriving community around this content. To achieve these goals, Crunchyroll actively partners with content providers around the world, while developing social media tools to support this content. It has partnered with over 30 major Asiabased publishers to provide hundreds of titles to its audience. It has created a vibrant active community of over four million users through its social networking platform. Crunchyroll is free and easy to use. Videos are supported with advertisements and do not require special installations to watch. A premium subscription service is available for added benefits like High Definition videos, no advertisements, and early access to allnew episodes.

The studio will also be publishing an official art book of their latest feature, Kokuriko-Zaka Kara (From Up On Poppy Hill.) So for those of you who have the entire Studio Ghibli collection here is yet another piece to add to it, especially if you’re not willing to wait another year for the film to arrive in SA. If you want a copy you will have to get hold of Viz Publishers. They are America’s Studio Ghibli publishing connection.

Animeworx or AWX is probably SA’s biggest supplier of all things anime and gaming. Anything from Video Gaming products, Anime, Comics, Collectable Figurines and related merchandise. And if you know anything about the anime or gaming world chances are that you have heard of them or been to their site, www. awx.co.za. They offer a wide selection of video games and accessories at competitive prices, and their in-store membership system allows for further savings, as well as the option to trade in second hand games. AnimeWorX also stocks all the latest Anime and Manga titles, along with a variety of Comic Books. They also carry a large selection of Collectable Figurines and Toys based on comics, anime, gaming, movies, music icons and original sculpts.

Their web site has an added retail division for customers to browse their catalogue and place orders on-line. Be sure to visit them on-line at www.awx.co.za Mon-Thurs:: 9am-5:30pm Friday: 9am-6pm Saturday: 9am-5pm Sunday: 9:30am-3pm Public Holidays: 9am-3pm

Crunchyroll is also available on devices like the iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones, and TVs.

What's News A journey through the world of manga and anime

MANILA, Philippines - Ever wondered what Japanese cartoons and comics were popular in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s? There’s Astro Boy, Ultraman, Chibi Maruko Chan, Pokemon and Hello Kitty, but if you want to know more, a recently opened exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Manila at Roxas Boulevard can give you all the answers. “Japan: Kingdom of Characters,” a project of the Japan Foundation in Manila and the Embassy of Japan, has almost all wellknown characters in the history of manga and Anime, even those “found on bank passbooks and train passes, in supermarkets and vending machines.” It was opened to the public on July 8 and will run until August 20 at the museum’s Tall Galleries. The exhibit has 3 sections, each having a different theme. The first and second parts feature anime and manga trends that have emerged in each decade and Japan’s bond with the characters, respectively. The final section, called “The Future of Characters,” examines how advanced computer software and the Internet play a vital role in developing manga and anime. “We hope that through this exhibition, the viewer might come to better understand the close and extremely futuristic relationship that the Japanese people have with characters,” Aihara Hiroyuki, president of Japan’s Character Research Institute Co. Ltd., said in a statement. “Japan: Kingdom of Characters” is part of the celebration of the Philippines-Japan Friendship Month this July.

Dengeki Maoh Mag Revamped with 1,000+ Pages in Next Issue

X-MEN for anime

The G4 television network has announced plans to begin broadcasting Marvel Comics’ and Madhouse’s X-Men anime television series on Friday, October 21, at 11:00 pm ET. Actor Scott Porter (Caprica, Friday Night Lights) will provide the English dubbed voice of lead character Cyclops. The 12 episode X-Men anime series aired on Japanese television earlier this year. G4 will air Japan’s currently wrapping up Blade anime series this winter.

The December issue of Dengeki Maoh magazine, which launched October 27, will be over 1,000 pages long-about double the magazine’s normal length. The logo of the monthly seinen manga magazine will also change in this issue to mark its sixth anniversary this year. In addition to continuing serialization of existing titles, the December issue of Dengeki Maoh will launch three new manga. This issue will also announce that Ikumi Katagiri (Are You Alice?, Saiyuki Reload) will draw a new manga based on the action-adventure games God Eater Burst and God Eater 2 (working title) for Dengeki Maoh’s February issue. The December issue of Dengeki Maoh will include special items featuring characters from The IDOLM@STER 2 and Persona 4 manga.

Nolan North Breaks Uncharted Ground in Anime! If you’ve been playing some of the biggest video games of the past few years. The odds are good that you’ve heard the voice of Nolan North. He’s been the voice of Desmond in Assassin’s Creed, Nathan Drake in Uncharted, and the Prince in the Prince of Persia reboot. If you threw a rock into the Giant Bomb database, you’d have a 70% chance of hitting a game he’s voiced in. When it comes to comics, he’s voiced characters from Deadpool to Hal Jordan when animated. I could go into his movie/ TV credits, but you get the point. He’s a popular guy. When I got curious if he’s ever voiced a character for anime. I saw his credits were slim. Only one listing, but it’s a big one. He isn’t taking his first steps into anime as some random filler character or short term villain. He’s taking on the part of the grand puppet master of the entire Naruto series, Madara Uchiha. While he’s already voiced Madara in the game Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 it isn’t a guaranty he’ll take the role on for the English dub of the anime.

15 What’s new in the anime world

Clamp Festival to Get DVD with Event Anime Short

The oganizers of the “CLAMP Festival Tokyo 2011” event announced on Saturday that they will be release a 180 minute DVD in late December, The DVD will include all daytime performances and a compilation of the evening performances from the event. The DVD bonus extras will include “Shiritsu Horitsuba Gakuen Bangaihen: Tenkōsei ni Dokkidoki” — the short anime film supervised director Keiichi Satou and live voiceacted at the festival. It also features footage from the “Clamp School Festival” event, the original edition of the opening and rehearsals. The DVD will bundle a music CD with an original medley remix of five Card Captor Sakura songs by Sakura Tange and Junko Iwao. Other bundled goods include a reduced-size replica of the dialogue recording script for the “Shiritsu Horitsuba Gakuen Bangai-hen: Tenkōsei ni Dokkidoki” short and a postcard with all of the Festival’s characters (as illustrated by CLAMP).

A postcard included in Thursday’s release of Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes: Ao no Kiseki role-playing game is revealing that a full-voice version of The Legend of Heroes Zero no Kiseki RPG will planned for the PlayStation Vita portable platform next spring. The Legend of Heroes Zero no Kiseki originally shipped for the PSP last year.

Squid Girl Invades Namjatown with Desserts

Marking the September 26 debut of Squid Girl Season 2, Tokyo’s Namco Namja Town will host a campaign that features seven desserts and entrees with Squid Girl themes from October 7 to November 13. Namja Town is a indoor theme park in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro ward. In addition to the new dishes, the park will host an exhibition featuring panels from each scene of the anime during the campaign.

Guest Line-up Announced For Anime Festival Asia

Singapore’s Anime Festival Asia has announced its guest lineup for this year’s event taking place on November 11-13. Nine musical acts who have worked on anime will perform at the festival’s weekend-long concert “I Love Anisong.” November 11 sees virtual idol Hatsune Miku performing on stage. On November 12, LiSA (Fate/Zero, Angel Beats!), FLOW (Code Geass, Eureka Seven, Naruto), Sea☆A (Cardfight!! Vanguard), and Ichiro Mizuki (Mazinger Z, Voltus 5) are scheduled to perform. November 13 will see performances from May’n (Macross Frontier, Shangri-La), Kalafina (Black Butler, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sound of the Sky), Kanako Itou with Shikura Chiyomaru (Steins;Gate), and Milky Holmes, the group made up of the four voice actresses from the Tantei Opera Milky Holmes anime: Suzuko Mimori, Sora Tokui, Mikoi Sasaki, and Izumi Kitta.The convention also announced Sea☆A’s “Dream Shooter” will be the event’s official theme song. Special guests at the event include producer Gou Nakanishi (Fafner, Heroic Age, Negima!?), cosplayer KANAME☆, and blogger-turnedanime producer Danny Choo. The festival will also feature the Singapore premiere of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn episode 4, which will be shown on the same day as the episode is released in Japan.

Vocaloid Sings to sell Chicken.

The LAWSON convenience store chain is holding a contest for lyrics to a new song for its new Vocaloid mascot “Akikoroidchan” to sing for the store’s Kara-agekun, which is battered and deep-fried chicken. The contest is being held in honour of the store’s 25th birthday. Yasuharu Konishi (One Piece, Sugar Sugar Rune) created the tune for the song, and popular Nico Nico Douga dancer COCO (pronounced “Shioshio”) handled Akikoroid-chan’s choreography for the video. Contestants can share their video ideas on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and mixi, and can also download their submitted song. LAWSON will combine the lyrics from the top six entries, as voted for by visitors to the site, to create the official song. The winners will receive a yearly supply of the fried chicken and a “Fried Chicken’s Song” original CD. Entries will ne accepted until October 24. It’s reported Akiko-chan received a synthesized Vocaloid voice makeover earlier this month to become Akikoroid-chan. She acts as a navigator for LAWSON’s new Nico Nico Douga channel, as well as company’s spokesperson on more than 10 different social media services including Twitter and Facebook.

https://www1.lwp.jp/krgsong/

16 What’s new in the anime world

MImiruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art Class This week I thought that we would take it slow and start with some thing simple. Chibi characters are the easiest thing to draw, they are very basic and you can do just about anything with them. And in Keeping with the Pokemon theme, we are going to draw and Typhlosion

How to Draw Chibi a Typhlosion. STEP 1. Start the first step by making a single circle and then draw a face guide too. STEP 2. Now you will begin drawing out the actual shape of the chibi Pokemonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head, and also include the mouth as well with the same lining. Next and lastly, draw out the pointed ears, and move to step three. STEP 3. Now that the head is already taken care of, we can focus on getting the body drawn in. Start with behind the head and make the neck line. With the same swoosh, you will also draw out the arm and right hand. Add he left hand and some more of the body which includes the legs, feet and bottom belly line. STEP 4. Draw the explosive like back spikes, and inside of them draw some guides or trim.

STEP 5. For the final drawing step, all you guys have to do is draw out the large slanted eye, and then draw in the eye ball. Next add the marking line on the snout, and across the forehead and down the neck. Draw in a nose line, and tooth. STEP 6. After you clean up the drawing you should end up with a sketch just like the one you see here

The Gamer Corner

While many other MMO games can boast intricate character details and awesome weapons and spells that you get to use on foes, this game was made for one thing and one thing alone. Savage combat. You might also be interested that the creators of this game were Nexon. It’s a huge change from the cute, cartoony games the publisher usually puts out. There are three classes to choose from, with the possibility of more in the near future. You can play as the dualwielding Lann,a rogue fighter with massive strike force. Fiona, the swordand shield handling knight, with her parries and defensive abilities. Evie is the newest addition since beta, she uses powerful offensive spells and has healing abilities. The idea is simple, with little time needed to introduce you to the basic mechanics, and more time kicking demon ass. Colhen is the central point from which you pick up tasks, buy and sell items, learn skills, and socialize with other players. From the Pier, players can summon boats and travel to dungeons or join others in tackling missions.

Dungeon Fighter Online brings the Arcade Fighter style back to life DFO allows you five classes to choose from: Fighter, Mage, Slayer, Priest and Gunner. Each class also has four subclasses (Priest has three), each with their own story presented as a animestyle cutscene in the beginning.The players are tasked with ridding their land, Arad, of otherworldly monsters. The game has all the bark of an MMOSkills to level up, parties to join, enemies to fight and special abilities. But it also has the bite of an arcade fighter. While you still have a panthion of quests set out for you, they are more “Get out there and kill shit” rather than “Go and fetch my dog” types.This mix of beat-em-up action and MMO are a good mix that will have you gaming for hours. While Players can customise both their boards and mouses to suit their attack style, the game also supports gamepads, adding to the arcade authenticity.

It’s important to note that later dungeons will require tokens to enter. In that case you can either wait for them to regenerate every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, or (for more impatient players) buy them from the game company. Like Brags in Fable you can take an Oath of Honour which will in turn yield extra battle and ability points. Combat is what defines this game. What makes it one of a kind (for now). Ignore everything you know about MMO combat. Vindictus pushes MMO boundaries with its combo attacks and grabs, allowing you to Bash enemies into walls or brake their spines. It’s this epic brutality that makes Vindictus an new breed of MMO. The games graphic aspects and overall-playablility are stunning. From the detail in the armour to details in the city make it all come to life. The same cannot always be said of the dungeons, but it’s not a deal breaker, Vindictus is truly a huge advancement in free-to-play MMOs.

Dead Island Makes It To The Box Office Unsurprisingly, Dead Island has been snatched up by a film studio for movie production. Lionsgate has announced that the film is already in “early development stages with producers attached”. Press Release: September 27, 2011– LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), today announced that it has optioned film rights from Deep Silver to develop a feature inspired by Dead Island, which became a viral media sensation when its haunting, artful trailer launched in February 2011. The announcement was made by Lionsgate’s coCOO and Motion Picture Group President Joe Drake.

“This is exactly the type of property we’re looking to adapt at Lionsgate – it’s sophisticated, edgy, and a true elevation of a genre that we know and love.” It also has built in brand recognition around the world, and franchise potential.” Sean Daniel (The Mummy, Tombstone, Dazed and Confused) –will spearhead production along with Stefan Sonnenfeld. No date has been suggested for the film’s release though, but to be honest there were a lot of us who

Players can also compete in the PVP arenas. Matches range from one-onone, up to four-on-four and free for all battles. PVP can yield some good rewards, but the imbalance between long-range shooters and close-range fighters ensures that quests remain top

saw it coming. The game will be a platform to create a unique visual brand with directors including J.J Abrams, Michael Bay and Gore Verbinski. Jason Brown of The Sean Daniel Company and Missy Papageorge for Sonnenfeld’s Sunny Field Productions are executive producing, with Sarah Perlman of Sunny Field Productions serving as co-producer. Alli Shearmur, Lionsgate’s President of Motion Picture Production and Development is overseeing the project at the studio, with Jim Miller, SVP of Production and Development.

priority. Many of you may be turned off by the pixelated graphics, but it keeps to the look of a ‘90s arcade games. Also there are no initial character customizations. You are only allowed to change your avatar once you make enough money (or use real money) to purchase items. And although you will pick up a lot of moola along the way,equipping free lot does not change your appearance. However it doesn’t take away from the overall experience, there are always players to fight against and the games maps never tire as you get to new levels.

Ubisoft Release NCIS game Bulletstorm

The gaming company Ubisoft has released a statement saying that they will be launching a game based on the TV crime drama hit - NCIS in the near future. It will feature four NCIS episodes written by the writers of the original series and gamers will apparently play as characters from the series using their individual skill sets to solve four interconnected cases by collecting and analysing clues, performing autopsies and interrogating suspects. The game will be set in an area spanning over Atlantic City and Dubai. Gamers will be able to switch between team members allowing them to perform various tasks according to the character you play. Like performing autopsies as Dr Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard, utilising satellite tracking resources as techie McGee, performing forensic analysis as the Awesome Abby, breaking suspects in the interrogation room as Gibbs, and investigate crime scenes as Tony and Ziva. Gamespot report that we will see the game on the Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and Wii. To be launched on October 27, 2011.

Battlefield 3 starts the worlds first Cybor War Along with the eagerly anticipated release of Battlefield 3, Electronic Arts and Virgin Gaming are putting together a Battlefield 3 Worldwide Conquest Tournament in honour of the game’s October launch. The largest console video game competition in gaming history will have players from around the world competing online in Battlefield 3. The online tournament begins in early 2012, where the players with the best Battlefield skills will walk away with a share of the $1.6 million prize pool.

“We’re always looking to raise the bar for our members, to give them truly epic gaming experiences they won’t find anywhere else and Battlefield 3 hits the mark,” said Zachary Zeldin, Co-Founder of Virgin Gaming. This Competition is a great way to celebrate the gameplay and a reward for the fans.

To be honest when I first saw my boyfriend playing this I thought that it was the game version of Charlie Sheen, crass, invasive and truly obnoxious. At face value Bulletstorm is bold but once I sat myself down to play it I was intrigued to find that it wasn’t half bad. In fact it has a certain charm that I really enjoyed. Sure it’s brash but it gets the blood pumping with its awesome action screens, tons of violence and epic toilet humour that makes you feel like you can take on any enemy that comes your way. Not to mention the ridiculous ways in which you get to skewer, maim, blow up and utterly destroy your opponents. The game is set in a space exploring future around one Grayson Hunt, a former Confederate Operative gone rogue. He and his crew, Dead Echo, take on a mission against the confederacy and end up being marooned on a planet called Stygia. Soon enough though, Greyson gets his hands on a Leash and the bloody, enemy bashing attempt to flee the planet ensues. The game’s AI has been designed to evaluate combat performance – it rewards balls-out combat bravado in the form of points that can be redeemed at Confederate resupply pods scattered around the planet. In the beginning the idea is to survive but as you collect upgrades and reach different levels the idea is to achieve kill combos that make Rambo look like a sissy, which in the end has you screaming “DIE, ALIEN BITCHES!!!” at your screen. While the game is an exciting experience it is rather short and can tend to be a little repetitive sometimes especially towards the end. But the graphics behind the game are amazing. I was surprised when I first installed it as the backgrounds are so detailed and so well sewn together. The lighting and tone are set perfectly and I couldn’t help look around at things as I played. The gameplay to I had no problem with, the movement was fluid and I liked that you could move enough to take a look around. All in all a great game.

From the creators of the original Alice comes a new breed of Madness.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND: The madness returns For those of you who love the macabre and twisted corners of American Magee’s minds this is your game. Having spent a reasonable amount of time smashing my way through black goo with doll faces and dicing henchmen cards to pieces I can report that the game was a pleasure to play. The combat is smooth, reactions and movement are fantastic with no glitches and dodging is fast, making Alice seem like a trained killer. And while your choice of weapons are limited to three, the fluidity of the game makes it easy to use a multitude of different combos against your enemies. Alice’s mad acrobatic skills are also a lot of fun to apply. Navigating Wonderland via jumps, double-jumps and triple-jumps, floating, and shrinking to reveal hidden path ways makes things all the more interesting. All gaming pro’s aside the visual impact of Wonderland is purely stunning. From the word go, as Alice stepped off of the gloomy streets of London and into the vibrant ever-changing world of Wonderland, you get the feeling that nothing is what it seems. “Alice: Madness Returns’ Wonderland is enormous, beautiful, and imaginative.” But while I may be all praise about this game Wonderland does have its flaws. Mostly graphically, you may notice seams here and there as you play in the world’s background imagery and the pixelated explosions of pig snouts. While the character performances are beautifully twisted ones, we find that Alice has a rather jaded reaction to them, mundane. And the music can grow tiresome at times but sets a great emotional tie to the game the rest of the time. The story is set around Alice after she is let out of the asylum. While her madness is still prominent she decides that she needs to find out who started the fire that killed her whole family. Now she must traverse Wonderland finding clues to unlock this secret, all the while trying to stop the train that is destroying wonderland and ultimately her mind.

BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

Latest Game Releases

Game developement finishes on Assault Horizon.

You may be surprised that our main image for this article is a rather stark one of Robin, but according to lead narrative designer Paul Crocker, the vision for Rocksteady’s latest Batman game was to introduce Robin as more of an equal to the games main players.

Set inside the walls of a sprawling mad man district in the heart of Gotham City, Arkham City introduces a brand-new story that brings together an all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience.

“Our goal from day one was to make him cool, forget everything you’ve seen in the films,” said Crocker. “We wanted to make the fighting with Robin cool. We wanted to make you think, ‘I would rather play as Robin than as Batman,” Crocker continued.

Both Robin and Catwoman will have a new arsenal of tools and abilities at their disposal. Catwomen’s includes a whip that lets her swing across rooftops and her own version of Batman’s cowl, called Thief Vision. A new scoring system will come into play too, rewarding players for agility and sneakiness.

With this goal in mind the studio gave Robin has his own unique set of moves, his own set of weapons and you can play every map as Robin. Interestingly Crocker revealed that Robin’s is even a bit faster than our beloved Batman. Crocker concluded his statement saying that Rocksteady want gamers to go: “This guy is fucking awesome!” The Tim Drake Robin pack will be available, at least initially, exclusively through Best Buy pre-orders, and will include two additional challenge maps — “Black Mask Hideout” and “Freight Train Escape.” Like its predecessor, Batman Arkham Asylum, this game will be an action/ stealth cross breed. The story continues a year after the events of Arkhan Asylum. The asylum inmates have all been relocated to the new Arkham City where they have begun to fight for control. In the ensuing violence Batman decides to get involved and enters the city to stop the controversial Catwoman. Arkham City is developed by Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros, Interactive and DC Entertainment, and it is going to be available for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The release date for South Africa is October 21st

The Catwoman missions are said to take up approximately ten per cent of the total game, though players are also able to switch between Batman and Catwoman while exploring the city to reach new areas.

http://www.batmanarkhamcity.org/category/news/

“NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe announced the news that the team at Project Aces has completed development on ACE COMBAT™ ASSAULT HORIZON.” Says the official Assualt Horizon webpage. The next generation air combat game is scheduled for release across Europe on October 14th 2011 for Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3. Fans who pre-order the game at participating retailers will receive three free multiplayer skills on launch day to enhance the online combating. Gamers will also be able to download the fantastic winning entry to the recent Facebook Skin Design Contest, Death Rider by Chi-Chun Liu, as a playable skin for the F15-C fighter. For a taste of what this incredable aerial shooter has in store, the single player demo of ACE COMBAT™ ASSAULT HORIZON is available now for free download via PlayStation®Network and Xbox Live®. The demo will feature two complete missions, one being a dogfight over Miami and the other a helicopter rescue mission for the Delta Force. As for the game itself combat has been taken to a completely new level with realistic aircraft crashes that spew oil and create debris across the sky. You will be able to play over real world locations, dodging sky-scrapers and turning enemies into fiery hunks of metal. The developers are now hard at work on the game’s downloadable content, including brand new fictional aircraft like the ASF-X Shinden II and CFA-44 Nosferatu, alongside the real-world Su37 Terminator, Tornado GR.4, AV-8B Harrier II Plus, YF-23 Black Widow II, F-15S/MTD and Ka-50 Hokum. I must say that even I am excited about this new release and I am not one for flight fighter games.

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