FREE Vol 4 Issue 4 * Gaming Articles, Monthly Editorials & Remarkable Stories
Celebrating Over 2 Years in Publication!!!
April 2010
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Other Credits Contributing Authors
Contributing Websites
Icv2.com
Other Supporters
James Henry - MidOhioCon midohiocon.com YO! Games yogamesonline.com
Gamerscircle.net
The D20 Girls Project d20girls.com
Gamingreport.com Gamepolitics.com
Main Street Comics and Games mainstcomicsandgames.com Nekoblitz Furry Social Community
Reuters.com
Nekoblitz.com
destructoid.com Many Other Online source were used, if we forgot one. Please inform us and we will make sure to correct it in a future edition. GAMERS Newspaper is published 13 times per year. Manufactured and Published in the United States of America, the Editor welcomes submissions from all sources. Such Submissions should be addressed to: Editor, GAMERS Newspaper is a Copyright of OGO Publications. Products named in these pages are trade names, or trademarks of their respective companies. The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of the advertisement. The publishers liability for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is limited to republication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement.
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Warners Acquires the Rights to 'Bleach' Warner Bros. is “in the process” of acquiring live action rights to create a film based on Tite Kubo’s Bleach manga. Viz Media has published 30 volumes of Kubo’s ongoing Bleach manga here in the U.S. (Volume 31 is due out in June) and is also releasing the Bleach anime, which is produced by Studio Pierrot, here in the States. The Bleach manga has reached 43 volumes in Japan, while the ongoing anime series includes more that 260 episodes so far. The Bleach manga has been a constant presence on ICv2's "Top 10 Manga Properties" list for years and the Bleach anime is currently running in a prime spot on Saturday night on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Peter Segal, who directed Get Smart and 50 First Dates, is in negotiations to produce the adaptation along with Viz Media through Segal’s Callahan Filmworks. Warner Bros. has also acquired the rights to create a live action filmg based on Katushiro Otomo’s Akira (see “Hughes Brothers Helming Akira”). Bleach is the story of a teenage boy, Ichigo, who can see spirits and who meets a female shinigami (Soul Reaper) named Rukia. During a desperate struggle with an evil spirit known as a “hollow,” she transfers her power to Ichigo. Having lost her supernatural powers she is stranded in the human world, while Ichigo must undertake her duties escorting souls to the afterlife.
It seems last month that we accidently printed a review for BioShock 2 in the place that was meant for a Final Fantasy 13 review. We apologize to our readers for this accidental oversight & are taking steps to make sure this never happens again. From personal experience FF13 is an amazing game and to get a truly in depth review on the game, please visit DESTRUCTOID.COM G.A.M.E.R.S.
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The Conduit 2 Confirmed High Voltage's not-totally-successful Wii shooter The Conduit is getting sequel, as confirmed by Nintendo Power. While specific gameplay details were not shared, the magazine still managed eight pages of content on the thing, and was able to squeeze a few crucial facts. A whole new selection of game modes, including returning modes like Bounty Hunter, are on the cards, alongside a whole new character class system. Classes will feature upgrades such as robotic legs, that allow for faster sprinting. Players will be able to customize their characters quite extensively, adding upgrades to their suits and creating a unique online warrior. Also, four-player split screen is confirmed. As well as competitive multiplayer, a co-op Invasion mode for up to four players has also been announced. Specific details have not been revealed, but it sounds like it will be some kind of "Horde" game type. You know what? That actually sounds ... exciting. Yes, The Conduit 2 actually sounds frigging exciting. With Red Steel 2 using MotionPlus to really make an FPS work on the Wii, hopefully High Voltage will be able to take some examples and make a truly console-worthy shooter on the Wii. I hope so. Having a top notch online shooter on the Wii is inconceivable, but kind of awesome.
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Review of 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel' Graphic it is, in the form of ultra-violence against the living dead. The story is a bizarre pastiche of Austen’s original novel with the more modern concept of zombies overrunning the world. The blend sounds like a ghastly concept, and it is, which is what makes it interesting. The idea that part of the world is trying to live very normal upper-class lives while the rest is busy fighting zombies is strange, surreal and oddly powerful. The story makes no pretense of explaining the zombie plague. The reader will have to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. For some readers, the Jane Austen characters will be equally inexplicable. A few anachronisms must also be ignored, mostly involving China and Japan. There are also a few errors... for example, you simply cannot fire two quick shots from a single-shot, muzzle-loading musket, as happens in a k e y s c e n e . Tony Lee has a lot of experience doing adaptations, and has done a good job with this. Cliff Richards, former Buffy artist, has a knack for blending beauty and horror. The blending of Jane Austen dialogue with Buffy-style z o m b i e - f i g h t i n g i s o d d l y r i v e t i n g . The graphic nature of the violence will limit this to adults and older teens, but younger readers would find the non-zombie parts of the story boring anyway.
'Small World' for iPad Days of Wonder released its iPad app based on its hit Small World game this weekend, using the tablet surface as the boardgame field of play. The app provides for touch control of the game elements, allowing users to move their forces across the board, as the app automatically enforces movement rules and the strengths and weaknesses unique to each troop. “For the first time, two players can sit across a table from each other and share a magical moment of gaming with a face-to-face playing experience that has had no previous equivalent in the digital world,� DoW CEO Eric Hautemont said. The Small World app for iPad is $4.99. In-game add-ons, including new races and special powers, will be released and sold separately. Days of Wonder has sold over 57,000 copies of its boxed board game Small World since the launch in April of 2009, along with over 32,000 expansions. 6
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REVIEW: Cave Story (WiiWare) Cave Story starts with no explanations and no promises. You control man in a cave, who, like the player, doesn't know who he is, where he is, or what he's supposed to do. From there, the game's world gradually unfurls before you, revealing a place not quite like anywhere else. Some of the game's narrative points have been seen before. The man vs. nature stuff was recently used in a similar way (but to a lesser effect) by Hollywood darling Avatar. Despite those similarities, the game feels unique. The way it fuses gameplay and storytelling under a unified style of subtlety and surrealism is hard to define. In terms of the kinds of feelings Cave Story evokes, the only things I can compare it to are some Studio Ghibli films like My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke, but even there, the correlation is far from perfect. "There is a surprise around every corner" may be a tired clichĂŠ, but in this instance, it's totally true. These surprises come in many forms. In terms of storyline, the initially cute-and-sweet story frequently dips into surprising, truly dramatic, sometimes disturbing places. Permanent character death isn't uncommon, though its frequency doesn't lessen its power. You'll care about these characters, and when they die, you'll feel it. Boss fights are also particularly evocative. Not all of them are key to the game's story, but even the more random battles can have a way of blowing your mind, particularly when they come as an ambush. There is no place in Cave Story that lacks cuteness or danger, and that juxtaposition works to keep the player constantly unsure of what will happen next. You'll learn early on in the game that even the most peaceful cabin or innocent-looking office can suddenly be invaded by huge, ass-kicking bosses. Many of these bosses will kill you, and they may kill you many, many times. Don't let that intimidate you, though, as Cave Story is a game that stays compelling even when it gets tough. Cave Story uses its charming visuals and infectious soundtrack to keep the player engaged even after hours of regular deaths. The last section of the game is particularly treacherous, filled with powerful, hardto-hit enemies and instant-kill hazards. It's an area that has already become infamous among fans of the game for being so punishing, yet so fair, and more than anything, so compelling. There are plenty of weapons, enemies, and environments to explore, and it's rare that you'll be fighting the same types of enemies for long. The game isn't afraid to toss a weird new enemy at you once (I'm looking at you, knife-wielding frog) and only once. On the other hand, every weapon you get will remain useful for the full length of the game. On that note, the game will take you quite a while to complete. I clocked about ten hours on my first try, and another ten on my second run for the better ending. Though the first three-quarters of the game did get easier the second time through, playing for the best ending opens up more levels, all of which are much more difficult. For collection-crazed gamers, there are also tons of optional weapons to grab, some of which are goddamn brilliant in design. There are also plenty of non-essential items and other cute details added to the game just for the fun of it. This all adds to a level of replayability rarely found in even full-priced retail games. Speaking of price, just about everything I've described can be experienced in the free version of Cave Story, already available on the PC. So, what does this new WiiWare port do to justify its $12 price tag? Well, for starters, the game now runs at 60 frames per second, so everything is silky smooth from start to finish. The graphics have also received a total overhaul, bringing 480p definition and added character to the already charming sprite work. Even if you were a fan of the way Cave Story was before, chances are high that you'll prefer the game's new look. It retains all the charm of the original, while adding just enough to make everything more evocative and beautiful. It's one of the most loyal yet most improved visual upgrades a game has ever received. All in all, Cave Story is an incredible game that I'm sure I will be playing again and again for the rest of my life. It succeeds at telling a great story, providing fantastic run-and-gun gameplay, and a huge world to explore, and it does so with a style and technique all its own. For a new 2D action/exploration game to come along now, more than twenty years after the genre's creation, and still be this fresh, is an achievement in and of itself. As someone who had the PC version of the game for years, but never finished it, due in part to a preference towards the console experience, Cave Story on WiiWare is a godsend. The new modes, graphics, and sound, plus the ability to play with a NES-style controller on an HDTV, makes the experience feel totally deluxe. If the original Cave Story was a like VHS roughcut bootleg, this WiiWare port is the special edition DVD -- an indispensable purchase for any fans of the genre.
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20 years of history lay in the ashes that were once known as Neovention, for the past 2 years, we have attempted to raise this once grand event. However it is not to be. We sought out an awesome venue, and had secured several sources of funding, however due to the downfall of the economy & things with the stock market that are beyond my understanding, the funding to pay for the hotel fell through. This coupled with the recent success of the d20 girls project, this newspaper, our other events, and our soon to debut new D20 girls magazine, left little time for members of this staff to focus their full attention on Neovention. So, instead of dragging it out trying to plan a convention that we could no longer waste valuable resources on, or half-ass the attempt to put on a good show, we have decided to drop this venture from our current list of projects. Now we know that there are certain individuals out there that will probably hop on their little MySpace blogs & start up with all sorts of speculations about us having bad management, or “incapable of tying shoes”. All we can say to those people is at least we tried, have you? We have built a rather successful corporation that spans nationwide, with staff in Florida, Texas, New York, Washington, and 50% of the rest of the USA. We have a number of successful events also that deserve more of our attention at this point. Instead of blogging speculation, why not contact us directly & ask us what is really going on? Our contact info is on the inside front cover. We will probably attempt to run our own convention again in a few years, but for now… it’s just not in the cards, will it be Neovention we attempt to run? No. This is no longer our interest. When we do, it will be unlike anything that has been seen before. Just like everything else OGO Publications & The D20 Girls Project does.
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