Archive for September, 2007
By: Ivan 'Nahu' Lozano - On Sunday 30 September 2007 @ 3:37 pm
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A couple of months ago we posted about the Evangelion Longinus Spear replica which would be up for auction in Japan later that month. Well reports from ANN say that the thing sold for 13.7 million Yen, which is about $120,000 USD. That’s a lot of cash to blow on a replica, even if the scary lady holding it was included. To whoever bought that, I swear I’ve got a stain on my wall that kinda looks like Rei Ayanami if you look at it at an angle… while drunk, I’m willing to sell it for 10 grand, cheap!
[ANN]
Let’s see who we got on this scarf. We’ve got our Koopas, our Goombas… Our Bullet Bills and Piranha Plants. We have our Bloopers, our Buzzy Beetle and our Spiny… Ooh, some Lakitu’s and… wait, no Chomp Chomp?!
For you scarf hobbyist, here’s a link to the forum that has this scarf.
And then you wonder why we get no respect.
There hasn’t been an Otaku Music Bit for awhile, so I’m high-jacking this week’s OMB for the time-being. At least until Nahu deletes this post when Luminous Path wants his feature back. For now, enter the Chang!
For those of you who are familiar with them, yes I am aware that this is old news to you. But I am also aware that there are some people out there who aren’t familiar with them, so fuck you. That’s right, I said it. Anywho…
A yes, the Polysics - influenced by the B-52’s, Brian Eno, Neu!, Sparks, Nirvana, David Bowie, and - of course - Devo, they’re a band that I’ve come to love. Their quirky performances are obviously reminiscent of a time when Devo was still popular amongst our young’uns and their level of vivacity can only be met with a coked-up child with ADHD. Or Craig Nicholls from The Vines. Half of the time you can expect the to speak Japanese, but the other half it ends up being some kind of gibberish. Their video, I My Me Mine (the one above), is a great example of their use of this “Space Language” - as they would call it - and their energetic songs. Their “sequel,” Electric Surfin’ Go Go, is just as fun - if not twice as much!
I’m going to have to warn some of you folks. Most of these songs are cheery, energetic, peppy, electronic songs that are meant for people to rock out to. If you are the sort to avoid those kind of songs, avoid clicking that play button.
By: Jonathan_Leo - On Saturday 29 September 2007 @ 11:57 pm
Hey, at least you start outside in a forest this time. Guess there can only be one Library, huh?
After all the bullcrap and the launch party at New York, videos of people throwing duffel bags through a window, and the oodles of “memorial” ads littering game sites, I get to play Bungie’s final game of the trilogy which is synonymous to that thing you see on Jesus and angels. So how fares Halo 3, you wonder?
Continue Reading »
Halo 3: Same Fucking Fight?
Well, this caught my eye whilst searching online and I thought it would be good to share with our viewers. That’s right, Soy Sauce flavored Pringles. I’m a whore for the Barbecue and Salt & Vinegar flavors, but Soy Sauce? If I can get my hands on some, I’d be a slave to it. Unfortunately, it’s only available in Japan. Even moreso, the commercial for it is… well… look.
By: Pootie Chang - On Thursday 27 September 2007 @ 10:01 pm
Well, slap my ass and call me Charlie (actually, don’t). This is one of the most innovative uses of an N64 controller I’ve seen in a long time (aside from actually using it to play an N64). And I haven’t seen much. Now, we’re not encouraging everybody and anybody reading this to hollow out their controller’s and start making bongs out of them; we know half you are just too lazy to do it. However, this sure as hell beats all those DIY projects I’ve been posting up based off the old Nintendo Controller.
It’s undeniable, Pokémon has become too much of a phenomenon. There have been too many movies, too many episodes, and too many games based off this franchise. Hell, even organized religions have seen Pokémon as a threat, and I don’t blame them. They have frickin’ Boeing 747-400 based off it. And a theme park! Let’s not forget the fans, most especially - more than ten years of Pokémon and it’s still going strong in Japan. And one of these fans thought it would be a good idea to re-make all 150 original Pokémon as female chibis. Check out the clip - and even if some of you have grown out of Pokémon, this video is still worth the click.
[Kotaku]
I have a confession to make… I disconnect from online games. I was playing Mario Strikers Charged online the other night and I got pitted against some cheap bastard of a player. He kept doing this shit that I was unable to do anything against and it guaranteed him goals. So I waited until there were only 5 seconds left until the match ended and then I switched off the Wii and disconnected. I know this is wrong to do, but I just have a problem when players online are cheap and exploit flaws in the game constantly. I don’t have a problem losing to somebody who plays fair. But when playing a cheap player, I think to myself - ’If my opponent is going to cheat me out of a fair game, then I should cheat them of a victory’.
Many have voiced their disgust over people like me and have called Nintendo out to come up with with a system which penalizes gamers from disconnecting and I agree they should. You do get gamers who only disconnect simply because they’re losing and this isn’t fair. But I also think it’s unfair that measures aren’t taken to ensure gamers don’t exploit flaws in games. If Nintendo gave the Wii a hard drive they could at least patch the game so certain tactics and special abilities couldn’t be exploited. An option to turn certain features of the game off for ranked matches would also help make things a bit more balanced.
Disconnected is wrong, but so is being a cheap f**ker. If you’re not going to play fair against J online, then expect to have some message about a connection error come up on your screen.
Have any of you ever disconnected from an online game over something similar? Don’t worry. We don’t hate or judge folk here at Dark Diamond. *pulls out the hating hat and judgement spectacles*
Ahh. . .Konami. Always giving us excellent games; great franchises like Metal Gear, Dance Dance Revolution, Contra, and other great ones that, sadly tend to shine less than others. Axelay is a good example; a vertical/horizontal shooter for the SNES using an unorthodox weapon selection style, great graphics, and very fitting music.
Released in 1992 on the USA, the game went into what I’d like to call an underground game. A game that didn’t even appear on the lowest shelf of your local Toys’R'Us. Hell, I bet it would’ve been an more difficult feat to even see one at your even more local videogame shop (which tend to have a bunch of very underrated games [and obviously, before the Game$top plague]). I’m sorry to say that these gems of Video gaming are that: Gems; one must literally mine through mountains and mountains of old videogames, some of them good, the other lot awfully bad, but I assure you, getting a game this way, the reward seems brighter.
User TheMogX shows us a run of the bosses of the game on Hard mode. Impressive indeed.
Pretty neat, huh? This game gives me so many memories. . .Thank you, thank you, Konami.
By: Jonathan_Leo - On Tuesday 25 September 2007 @ 11:34 am
Those who appreciate the wonderful-if-slightly-repetitive beat-em-up RPG Odin Sphere will be pleased to know that developer Vanillaware released footage of their new RPG with the working title “Oboro Muramasa Youtoden” for the Nintendo Wii. From the looks of it, it’s yet another beat-em-up RPG, only it’s set in Ancient Japan entrenched with a heap of Japanese folklore. Vanillaware’s trademark “big 2D sprites meant for showing off” is apparent: just look at the size of the spider and one-eyed dude at 1:17. So far, there’s no release date set, so don’t expect to play this anytime soon. I say that with the deepest of regrets.
Since people love salivating over pictures of games they’ve yet to play, here’s a couple courtesy of [Siliconera.]
By: Jonathan_Leo - On Tuesday 25 September 2007 @ 11:15 am
Here’s something I would like to throw out in the blue: When’s the last time you’ve seen a World War 2 tactical turn-based strategy game where werewolves, zombies and vampires were involved in the army and time period? Thought so. Apart from that faux Grindhouse trailer done by Rob Zombie, that concept has not been used as often as it should. Thank god for Operation Darkness showing up in TGS; this game definitely made skeptical journalists go “huh” in a good way.
Published and possibly developed by Success (an offshoot company of Sega), the game is reminiscent of tactical strategy RPGs like Silent Storm, Jagged Alliance and X-Com. Only instead of aliens and disgruntled mercenaries, there are werewolves, soldiers who transform into werewolves, vampires and zombies. Holding bazookas. Shooting down “Godzilla-size” monsters. While dead Nazis rise up as zombies to kill you.
I think I just wet my pants. All that’s missing is Nick Cage as Fu Man Chu.[IGN]
By: Ivan 'Nahu' Lozano - On Monday 24 September 2007 @ 7:00 pm
The week in review is a feature here on Dark Diamond where we writers and readers share what we did this past week, what anime did you see, what game did you play and even what fictional character did you fantasize about at night.
Jon Leo’s week in review:
I’ve definitely been busy with Atlus’ gem of the year: Persona 3. High school drama, dating the spectacled cutie from the Student Council, killing demons left and right in a psychedelic jumble of a tower: all in a day’s work of a student. Also got started with Wild Arms 5, which retained its Cyber-Western motif after the last installment’s shake-up. Still loving that country-esque town music.
In honor of the anime version of Top Cow’s most exploited franchise (the Witchblade series), I pay tribute to a recent addition to an elite group known as “MILFs of Anime”:
Screw the Witchblade henshin and the actual show, Masane can mother me any way she wants.
J’s week in review:
Pretty boring on the J front. Not much gaming going on at my end, which is probably down to living in the UK and having to wait 6 months for good games after they release in North America. Thankfully my gaming needs have been satisfied by Streets of rage 2. I was adamant that I would not spend a single penny on Virtual console games because they’re too overpriced. But I had to give up and see sense that some games are worth every penny and Streets of rage 2 is one of those games. It’s as addictive and as fun as ever and also cements the fact that Blaze was the finest female character Sega ever created. Way hotter than that brain dead Sarah bitch from Virtua Fighter. I’ve also been listening to a fair bit of J-Pop. I bought Hikaru Utada’s fourth studio album “Ultra blue” last year, but never really listened to it properly and thought it was pretty boring aside from 3 tracks. I had this sudden urge to listen to it over the weekend and found myself falling in love with it. Why did it take me a whole year to realize this album was actually really good?! The lesson to be learned here? Old stuff rocks. *shrugs* Or something like that.
tskiller’s week in review:
Well, unfortunately I did not get to much of my gaming/anime this week due to my western music history exam. What I DID get to was a bit of halo 3 and Eternal Sonata. Eternal sonata looks beautiful, but the beginning is a bit….slow for my taste so I didn’t play as much as i would have liked. I did get manage to beat halo 3, and it was a solid gaming experience. Not the end all be all game that every major review site seems to claim it is, but I’m glad I was able to play it. Thank goodness for broken street dates! As for anime, im currently finishing up Diebuster, and enjoying every minute, every second of Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann. I can’t remember a show I have had as much fun watching as this one. Everyone must drop what they are doing and watch it, it is that good.
Nahu’s week in review:
I finally got around to watching Gurren Lagann and I must agree with tskiller, this is one of the most manly and awesome series in a long time. Sure its a shonen series, predictable and whatnot but its still a series that will fan the ol’ flame in the heart. Besides that I finally managed to play Mechwarrior 4 with tskiller, managed to block many of his shots and generally make co-op lousy for him, fun times.
There are plans to start playing loligolf (pangya season 3, Albatross 18 s3) with my old guild. Pangya is always a fun game even when you suck. Also have been working on some behind-the-scenes stuff for you guys which I sincerely hope you will enjoy once its done.
So tell us, how was your week? We’d love to know, cya in the comments!
By: Ivan 'Nahu' Lozano - On Monday 24 September 2007 @ 5:40 pm
Meido Taxi is a new service in Tokyo which, much akin maid cafe’s, lets you enjoy the company of a pretty girl dressed as a maid while a taxi drives you around town. The taxi is equipped with a nice LCD screen and a PS3, you can even play Ridge Racer against your maid in it! There is also a couple of other non-video games including a card game which you have to pay a small fee to play but if you beat the maid you get to keep one of her precious “objects”. This last statement is so ambiguous on their website that our collective perverted minds wander.
The taxi is fully equipped to handle wheelchairs, its unclear if this is to actually target the otaku-on-wheels market or the niche wheelchair fetish group. The tours are quite varied and your maid will visit shops and landmarks with you, she will even go to a fancy dinner with you at the end of the day, for a price.
I wonder, if you take her to a maid cafe, does she get jealous?
[Maido Taxi / Via Tokyomango]
Of all the GTA mods this combination is one of the craziest ones I’ve seen so far, controlling the Lucky Star girls, shooting UZIs akimbo style, fighting armed Pikachu left and right and just when things start getting heavy in comes Doraemon riding on top of Metal Gear. The madness has just begun.
Oh yeah and some nice F-zero music at the end, to keep things interesting.
Thanks Blanc!
com.JPG "Only the finnest in flash animation for your entertainment")
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