Konata and Kane

March 16. Retail launch of Command and Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight in Singapore along with several countries worldwide. The finale of the Tiberium saga. Have you gotten your copy already ?

What you get in the disc package

I am not sure if different regions will be getting different stuff but for players in Singapore, the disc package is Made in Singapore with the dvd case in a box along with a “hologram card”. Along with that, you get a Command and Conquer 4 t-shirt and a totee bag.

The game is retailing at $69.90 off from the shelf (prices may vary), if you have pre-ordered and gotten yourself a discount coupon, you will have $15 off, making your game “cheaper”

zzz

My impression of the game in terms of campaign is still vague although multiplayer is pretty much the same with the beta. You can check out my beta multiplayer impression here.

Graphics of the game is acceptable and I have set every visual setting to the max with Level 1 anti aliasing and framerates were smooth. In case you are wondering, I am only running on my Core 2 Duo e6600, 4GB DDR2-800 ram and using Radeon 4870 512MB.

testing out a skirmish on ultra high setting

It is definitely not your usual Command and Conquer experience as before, some players were “complaining” online about how different it is. As much I will say, take it as a different experience and try it out. For the die-hard traditionalists, nothing much can help you.

The only thing I couldn’t really get used to is how you implore such gameplay on the campaign itself, it was pretty hard getting used to it.

Now, I shall get on the game and give another proper post once I completed the campaign itself proper.

What do you think of Command and Conquer 4 ? Have your purchased it ? ^^

a quick look at the visual settings available.

]]> http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/articles/ooga/command-and-conquer-4-pre-impression/feed/ 0 http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/articles/tanaka-kun/hatsune-miku-racing-ver/ http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/articles/tanaka-kun/hatsune-miku-racing-ver/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:20:09 +0000 Tanaka-kun http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/?p=12816

GSC made a new Hatsune Miku Nendoroid. It looks so good, but this product is not for normal retail but for individual sponsor’s benefit only. GSC participates in Super GT racing as the team of GOODSMILERACING with COX. You can get that figure and goods(towel, cap, bag, jacket) to support it 7,000yen, 10,000yen, 30,000yen, or 50,000yen. Each price have its own goods sets

グッドスマイルカンパニーが新しいねんどろいど、レーシング初音ミクを発表した。
しかし、この製品は一般販売ではなく、個人スポンサー特典だという。GSC社はGOODSMILERACING with COXとしてSuperGTに参加しており、そのチームを支援することでこれらのグッズを手に入れられるのだという。個人スポンサーには7000円、10000円、30000円、50000円コースがあり、それぞれのコースにそれぞれのセット内容となっている。

Source:GOODSMILERACING with COX

Talk about interesting house architecture, this particular house is so narrow that 2 people with their hands outstretched can almost fit the width of the unit.

Check out this video as 2 Japanese speaking foreigners visit the house’s owners. A family of 4.

You will be shocked that the interior is quite cramped but it is pretty well designed and “7 floors” high.

and the daughter of the family is cute too ^^

Credits to iganustanaka for the video

PV No. 8 for Angel Beats! have been launched, featuring seiyuu’s voice in the anime itself and a preview of the song. Check out the youtube video embed below for the trailer. Angel Beats! is slated to air in April this year, a production by Jun Maeda. Production by Aniplex and Key/Visual Arts.

<3

Images © Visual Art’s/Key © Visual Art’s/Key/Angel Beats! Project

Finally caught a short break in between assignments to catch up on reviewing my loots that I got recently.

So for this post we have Takamachi Nanoha, The Movie 1st Ver. (what a damn long name. They should just stick to “loli Nanoha”)

FINALLY, a figma for the loli Nanoha.

Considering that in the MSLN series, Nanoha is 66% of the time loli, you’d think they would release her sooner. I am aware that there’s also a figma School uniform Nanoha around but I’m not able to get that so both that Nanoha and Fate are not on my get list. =/

You can see the larger versions of all the pics in this post by clicking on them.

So uber adorable :3

To be honest, I have not seen the movie. =/

I’m not like one of those crazy nuts (even though my nickname is “NUTcase23″) that flew to Japan just to catch the movie but I do know that there has been a few changes to Nanoha’s Barrier Jacket and most notably, Raising Heart.

Just like the rest of the figmas in the MSLN series, the box is uber big. But that’s just because she’s awesome. XD

It’s been too many years since I’ve seen the show so I can’t really say what exactly is different beyond her broach and the cuffs of her sleeves.

Raising Heart gets a makeover, now spouting blue along with its usual pink, white and gold colour scheme.

I guess it does look cooler, figuratively and literally (get it? blue? ah never mind >_>)

A nice little prop that comes with Nanoha is Yuno in his ferret form, or more affectionately known as “Ferret-boy”.

I understand there’s alot of hate against him for being the only guy to sleep in the same room with loli Nanoha, albeit in ferret form.

He even had Nanoha thinking he was just a talking FERRET. OH THE SNEAKY BASTARD. (lol otaku rage)

I’d have to say, Raising Heart in Divine Buster mode looks GAR.

Actually, it reminds me of Erio’s Strada somewhat.

I’m going to spam a few shots now.

Something new about Raising Heart’s Divine Buster mode is that it now has a hand trigger.

Nothing says gay hax weapon like a staff with a hand trigger.

Naturally, I cannot take shots of loli Nanoha without her older counterpart.

Now if only I can get the loli version of Hayate as well (I already know I can get Fate :3)

Eat your heart out Zh3us XDD

Clash of the timelines!!!

What came as a surprise (and I almost missed it) was that the cardboard that serves as the background packaging actually came perforated.

On further inspection, the shape turned out to be something figma collectors would be familiar with…

A nifty little custom di stage cover though you are going to have to poke a hole in it to be able to slot in your figma stand.

Either that or use the di stage extension set (which did not cross my mind when I took the photo).

Credits to whoever drew the image at the back.

All in all, another lovely piece to add to my collection.

I seriously need more display space. And I still have Fate Movie Ver. coming in too. XD

Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising is an expansion set to the original Dawn of War II, featuring the treacherous Chaos faction and a new campaign that pits the Space Marines from the previous Dawn of War II into the new story. You can also start as a new game instead of importing from your previous Dawn of War 2 save game although it might be a lil challenging in terms of difficulty.

Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising is now available on retail for the PC and also on Steam. Are you brave enough to face the forces of Chaos and its daemons.

Story: 8.5/10
Multiplayer Gameplay: 7.5/10
Characters: 8/10
Music: 7.5/10
Visuals: 8/10
Seiyuu: 8/10
Re-playability: 8.5/10

“You cannot escape me…You belong to me !” – Chaos Lord

Story

Chaos Rising, the sequel to the original Dawn of War II. Its story set place about a year after the story of the original series, with the tryanid forces defeated and the rest of the enemies scattered. However, planet Aurelia, once a lush planet to the humans that was lost to the Warp storm have resurfaced, encased in ice. Its surface, bleak and deserted…or is it ?

As I have purchased the game not long ago, it is hard for me to give my personal rating to the game. The starting is pretty good and I hope it will stay on this way. It is an expansion set so I wont expect much from it.

Update:

Completed the campaign for Chaos Rising, as usual the ending tells a tale that the story will continue and in much more excitement to come. Overall, the campaign is pretty short but hey it is an expansion set. The treacherous Chaos forces were pretty well portrayed in the flow of the story although I wish there more in-depth details more on the Chaos. As for “side quests” in this expansion set, I was pretty disappointed that there wasn’t many.

PS: The librarian hero is good in the campaign, proper micro management could make a viable asset to your team. ^^

Chaos Rising units features

Gameplay

A massive patch was launched to existing Dawn of War II owners which allows them to play with Chaos Rising owners. With that said, it means all the balance changes and new units are synchronized  for both users. The only feature that is not accessible to Dawn of War II users is the Chaos Rising campaign, use of  Chaos Race in multiplayer and skirmish (you can still set AI as Chaos) and of course the Tyranid and Chaos hero in The Last Stand.

The RTS gameplay in Dawn of War II remains the same apart from the new units and balancing. Carnifex for Tyranid is now standardized as 1 unit which allows you to upgrade it to a melee heavyweight or a ranged monster. Chaos units have the advantage to get the blessing from one of the Chaos gods and its upgrade will apply accordingly. I am pretty much “in love” with Tzeentch since it gives the Chaos Predator tank the “pew pew” ability. ^^. In its entirety, multiplayer gameplay retains its originality but featuring an addition of Chaos faction and more balanced gameplay.

The campaign have also increased the level cap to 30 with new items and also the introduction to the “Corruption” System. Indeed, your very own space marines will face the possibility of being swayed to the forces of Chaos or stand firm with its moral and values for the Emperor. An action, weapon or even certain events will affect your Space Marines.

I am not sure if it is me but it seems like Chaos Rising is giving me an audio problem  (bursting static) that happens when I set the audio to Ultra and there lots of fighting going on. Also, vocals switch between center channel to L/R during campaign speech (i am using 5.1 here). Hope a fix will come soon.

Characters & Seiyuu

The original cast of Space Marines remains and I simply love how they portray what a Space Marine should. Introduction of Chaos gives our characters more flavor as they battle their tainted mortal brothers. I wont mention much of the characters since I have just started.

Voice Acting in Dawn of War II… “Your slavery to the False Emperor ends today”  -Awesome Chaos Lord ^^

Mission 1 Gameplay video

Music

The original soundtrack of Dawn of War II have been impressive and it remains as it is. There are a few new tracks in Chaos Rising. Nothing much of a big deal, unless there are new tracks later on in the campaign.

Visuals

Nothing new in Chaos Rising, everything remain as it is but the introduction of the icy planet of Aurelia does give a new blend of icy terrain. Not bad if I will say but not impressive.

Re-playability

Brand new wargear, multiple endings and different choices in-game definitely allows replayability.

You may want to remember to backup your save game too as it might come handy if you wipeout your hard disk and decide to import the save game to the next expansion set.

]]> http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/articles/ooga/dawn-of-war-2-chaos-rising-review/feed/ 0 http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/articles/ooga/sony-unveils-disney-styled-s-series-walkman/ http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/articles/ooga/sony-unveils-disney-styled-s-series-walkman/#comments Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:17:52 +0000 oOgA http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/?p=12769

Sony Japan have announced its next lineup of S series Walkman players with lovely Disney characters – Mickey and Minnie. There are three designs available – Mickey only, Minnie only and the couple . Sony Japan has also released two original accessories, a case (1,680 yen) and Mickey Phone stand (2, 680 yen).

The Walkman players itself will be available in various models, each with 8 and 16GB versions and the price will range from 13,800 yen to 18,800 yen and is available in Japan.

Sony Style Japan

For those of you who didn’t manage to get Tsumugi the first time round, here’s another chance for you to grab her at Hobby Search.

The K-ON figmas are really hot. Too hot.

I can’t even get hold of mine without jumping a few hoops. And I’m still missing Yui >_>

Really love the detail on the electric piano.

Comes with yuri tendencies.

So what are you waiting for? Get your pickled radish now!

By now, you should be aware of the Hatsune Miku concert that was held in Zepp Tokyo music hall, Sega revealed plans for a downloadable expansion of Project DIVA which will allow the user to play the game on their PS3 console.

Great news huh

It is official and it will be known as Dreamy Theater. The graphics will match with Project DIVA Arcade and will be a downloadable expansion which is also a PSP to PS3 connectivity add-on. Release date and price unconfirmed.

So one more reason to get a PS3 if you are into Miku.. ^^

Source

Date: 27 March 2010
Venue: West Coast Plaza
Time: 1.00pm – 5.00pm

Seems like the organisers are pulling off something big this year by organising the World Cosplay Summit Singapore Selection rounds 1. Along with the actual event on 27th March, there are also some other sub events held between 22-28 March and also the Anime Musical Live!

Quoting from one of the commitee members who posted on SGcafe.com

Rules of entry

1) Only cosplays from Japanese Anime, Manga and Game is eligible.
As this is a special collaboration between WCS Singapore and WCS Korea,
Korean animation, comics and game characters are also permitted.

2) Only pair entries are eligible for this selection rounds

3) The pair must come from the same series

4) Please send all entries to wcs2010@cosfest.com
Please include the following details of both members in the pair
-Full Name(as in IC)
-Passport Number
-Mobile Number
-Msn
-Home Address
-Series
-Characters you want to cosplay
-Reference photos

Closing date is 21st March 2010.

Sony have announced “Playstation Move”, its official name for the motion controller in GDC with various lineup of games supporting the controller. One of them, Socom 4. The controller will connect wirelessly to the console via Bluetooth and features a lil vibration. Check out the trailer below

PS Move trailer

More at Joystiq

]]> http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/articles/ooga/playstation-move-unveiled/feed/ 1 http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/articles/nutcase23/saber-mato-sakura-beach-queens-ver-by-wave/ http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/articles/nutcase23/saber-mato-sakura-beach-queens-ver-by-wave/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:32:29 +0000 nutcase23 http://www.thebanzaieffect.com/?p=12738

It’s more beach fun as Wave brings out Saber and Sakura from fate/hollow ataraxia as part of their Beach Queens lineup.

I didn’t play the game so i can’t say much about it.

But I do know who Saber is. XD

And she looks hawt. :3

Certainly something for the Saber fans out there.

Very shapely ^^

Saber also comes with a let-down version of her hair.

Certainly not something I’m used to seeing.

Also up for pre-order is Sakura.

Thought to be honest, I don’t have much to say about her. =P

She seems abit more plain compared to Saber. =/

Can now pre-order Saber and Sakura at Hobby Search.

JLPT3 getto!

Now to begin training for next level up. :3

Can’t decide to try out for N3 or N2 with the new testing system =/

For those of you who took the test, i hope you did well. ^^

Mac owners rejoice! Valve have confirmed in its latest press release that the its Steam game distribution service and Source engine will be made available on Mac and it is pretty soon.

April 2010.

For a start, Valve’s existing line-up of games (including the Half-Life and Left 4 Dead series) will be available to Mac users in April, while Portal 2 will be made as a simultaneous release for PC and Mac later this year.

Steamworks for Mac will also include a few feature known as Steam Play which will let you buy a game once and, for instance, start playing it on a PC at work and then pick up where you left off on your Mac at home.

But then again….at work? lol

Good news people. Good news.

Source

FIFA World Cup 2010 for South Africa is coming soon in June and EA Sports will be launching its 2010 FIFA World Cup: South Africa across various platforms – PC, PS3, PSP, Xbox360 and Wii.

The game will launch some time in April 2010.Check out one of the recent trailers as above.

Will you be getting this game ?

March 8th, a day observed by many countries as Women’s Day which is celebrated annually. Its focus of the celebrations are usually targeted towards the celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women. It can also be represented towards a celebration for women’s economic, political and social achievements.

Time to give some appreciation to the ladies around you, show them the love and don’t boss around like a male chauvinist. Of course, it doesn’t apply just for today, right? ^^

Regardless, this year, on occasion of 2010 International Women’s Day the International Committee of the Red Cross is drawing attention to the hardship that displaced women endure. It relates mainly to the displacement due to the modern armed conflicts.

Quoting from Wiki,

Women displaced by armed conflict – often living alone with their children – are frequently exposed to sexual violence, discrimination and intimidation. Many face poverty and social exclusion as well. International humanitarian law therefore includes specific provisions protecting women, for example when they are pregnant or as mothers of young children

So ladies, do you “celebrate” this day ? :3

Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer made a talk in the university of Washington and it looks like somewhere during the Q&A, he made a statement relating large-screen televisions and Microsoft’s related hardware strategy:

For that big screen device … there’s no diversity. You get exactly the Xboxes that we build for you. We may have more form factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it’s going to [be] important.

Of course, there is no direct hint of any Xbox360 slim but given the statement he mentioned, there “may” be more form factors with various prices.

Now comes the question, would you like a Xbox 360 “slim” ? Are you happy with the current Xbox360 model and its bulky power adaptor ?? I am hoping adaptors will be smaller in size as technology advance.. :/

Source

The 4th Seiyuu Awards held in UDX Theater of Tokyo Anime Center have concluded with the following award winners that won the following awards.

Best Lead Actor Award
Daisuke Ono

Best Lead Actress Award
Miyuki Sawashiro

Best Supporting Actor Awards
Daisuke Namikawa
Shinichiro Miki

Best Supporting Actress Awards

Kikuko Inoue
Yui Horie

Special Merit Award
Kazue Takahashi (1929-1999)

Merit Awards
Tesshô Genda
81 Produce
Kazuko Sugiyama
Aoni Production
Nobuo Tanaka
Tokyo Actor’s Consumer’s Cooperative Society (Haikyo)
Kei Tomiyama Award
Nana Mizuki
Sigma Seven
Kids/Family Award
Wasabi Mizuta
Aoni Production

Synergy Award
Mobile Suit Gundam
Tohru Furuya (Amuro Ray), Shuuichi Ikeda (Char Aznable)
Overseas Fan Award
Mitsuki Saiga

Best Singing Award
Aki Toyosaki
Yōko Hikasa
Satomi Satou
Minako Kotobuki
Ayana Taketatsu

Best Personality Award
Masaya Onosaka

Best New Actor Awards
Atsushi Abe
Tomoaki Maeno

Best New Actress Awards
Kanae Itō
Aki Toyosaki

Source, Source 2

Just came back from Orchard and I happened to chance upon this event, Anime Showdown Fair and went in to have a look.  Well, like the post done by oOgA, it is located at Ngee Ann City, at the Basement 1 (Talking Hall) of Takashimaya S.C.. The area is quite small but packed with a lot of goodies. Besides, I heard that first 100 cosplayers to attend that event will receive some goodies bag. However, I did not see a lot of cosplayers. Maybe I was too early. lol.

Anyway, I have some pictures to share. So don’t say NPNT. But, pardon me for these bad (and blurry) quality pictures as I was shooting with 1 hand (the other hand was occupied with some goodies) and using a compact camera.

Enjoy! ‘~’

Domo-kuns welcome you!

Lots of Evangelion goodies.

“Talk to my HAND!!!!” Eva 01 roared.

Some Dragonball displays

Gunpla is a must at any Anime fair.

Cospa has a booth there. Selling lots of Anime apparels.

Cospa has invited some cosplayers to introduce its products to the customers.

Cospa’s Cosplayer #1

Cospa’s Cosplayer #2. Oh my, Mio is here.

Cospa showcasing it’s dolls.

Lovely Tamaki.

Bushiroad also has a booth.

Some lovely posters. :)

Konata: “Go forth and realize your Otaku spirits!!!”

A daddy trying to nurture the Otaku spirit within his child.

Chuangyi’s Manga Corner.

Domo-kuns for sale.

LOLWUT!?!? Anyone wants a Loli-licious Shana pillow???

That’s all folks. Please remember that the Anime Showdown fair is happening from 5th Mar to 17th Mar 2010 at Takashimaya Shopping Centre. Be sure to check it out!

Inferno signing off.

Summer Wars have won the Animation of the Year award at the 33th Japan Academy Prize on Friday. Competing with the awards were strong competitors such as Hideaki Anno and Khara’s Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha), Kôzô Kusuba and Shinei Animation’s Doraemon: Shin Nobita no Uchū Kaitakushi, Shinsuke Sato and Production I.G’s Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror.

Mamoru Hosoda, the director have also posted a photo of his award on his twitter. Check it out here

Source