Tag Archives: Konami

Review – Jetstream Sam DLC, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

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What’s good, everyone? Joshua Evo here (yes, I’m totally still around) with a quick review for you guys. Let me just start by reiterating that amidst some of the criticisms of rapid tonal inconsistencies,  seemingly “shalllow” game play and bizarre story in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, I still enjoyed this game, except that I felt it was a bit on the short sid.. Thankfully, this past Tuesday, April 9, 2013, Konami released a DLC add-on that traced some of the backstory of my personal favorite character in the the game, Jetstream Sam.

The add-on puts players into control of Samuel Rodrigues, dashing swordsman,administrator of justice and man of MANY monikers (Jetstream Sam and the awesome sounding “Cool Brazilian Wind). After cutting down drug cartels and other underground criminals across Latin America, he arrives in Denver at the World Marshal headquarters to  further test his skills. For me, Sam was an incredibly compelling character just based off of his appearances and role in the rest of the game, so assuming control of him in any form was a tantalizing concept, as was checking out the differences between him and Raiden. To avoid spoilers, I’ll be focusing more on the game play rather than going too into detail with the story points.

How dare you, sir! My story DEMANDS to be told!

How dare you, sir! My story DEMANDS to be told!

While a lot of the core game play mechanics like Zandatsu, parrying, Blade Mode, Ninja Run, counterattacking and stringing attacks together are all still intact, there are some pretty notable differences between the two characters. For starters, playing as Sam feels MUCH less emphatic on stealth. Raiden’s Enhanced AR is replaced by Sam’s Taunt, which serves to attract attention to himself and enrage his attackers. What does this do other than turn you into a moving bulls-eye? Well, it makes affected units take more damage and more prone to blade mode destruction. Considering that Sam is much more flashy than Raiden, his attack swings are a little bit slower and more deliberate feeling. Virtually ALL of Sam’s Hard attacks can be charged for a few seconds to unleash much stronger versions of themselves with differing effects. While some of these are stagegeringly powerful, they can leave Sam vulnerable. Luckily, he is also very maneuverable; as he has an air dash and is granted a dodge roll/somersault move to get himself out of trouble spots. 

Pictured: Trouble spot.

Pictured: Trouble spot.

While also a bit short, the add-on also includes several familiar faces and additional collectibles of its own. The interaction with LQ-84i is particularly interesting and fleshes the two characters out a bit more. The Sam-specific VR Missions are very challenging and the differences in styles between Sam and Raiden, while subtle, are enough to need to modify your approach and attack patterns to get in and do what needs to be done progress. The familiar locations look as good as they ever did and Sam is a great character to control and watching his story unfold and seeing the chain of events that lead him to his place in the main story of Revengeance is satisfying and fun. The DLC is available now on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live for $9.99. Definitely give it a look if you’re a big fan of the game, though it might seem a little steep for casual fans.

By the way, if you check out the trailer above, keep an eye out at the very end for a teaser regarding the next bit of DLC.

– Evo out.

Review – Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

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What’s good, everyone! It’s been a pretty long time since our last review but we’re back in fine style, and considering that 2013 has a very robust release lineup, we’re going to get right into it. Today, we’re going to be discussing Konami’s most recent addition to the Metal Gear saga, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. 

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As regular readers of the blog know, I’m a bit of a Konami fanboy. They’re responsible for some of the most awesome games I’ve ever played in my life, from Castlevania and Contra to Metal Gear and Zone of the Enders. Hell, I was even a Yu-Gi-Oh! player for almost a decade. So when Jessica and I got to go to the Konami Gamers Night press event last year, it goes without saying that I was pretty drooly at the prospect of playing the demos for both Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Zone of the Enders HD Collection. While ZOE is firmly established as my favorite game, I was (like many) a bit leery on the direction that MGR:R was taken in. Granted, Platinum Games has a great rep and has put out some great titles like Vanquish and Bayonetta but an established property like Metal Gear? Particularly one that’s historically very heavily stealth based? I had to see it to believe it, and when I did, all my fears were gone. After that, my hype was sufficiently built for the game’s actual release, as I had been playing the demo that was included with ZoE:HD over and over again. The prospect of owning a plasma lamp of Raiden’s sword kind of fed the hype too.

As is expected of the current-gen Metal Gear games, MGR:R offers some incredible visuals. The outdoor environments are lush while also providing a sense of warring conflict, that the player is surrounded by the feeling of trouble in paradise. Raiden himself has the “ninja-cyborg-of-doom” look down perfectly. Every little movement and facial nuance is incredibly detailed. Then again, considering how late into the current generation of gaming we are, it’s kind of hard to get good visuals wrong. Nevertheless, the sword swings, enemy movements, cinematics and accompanying audio are all extremely crisp and hampered by little to NO slow down… unless you’re going into Blade Mode in which case, the game slowing down is a core part of enjoying the experience

FUN FOR ALL AGES!

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

So, I guess I should spend some time talking about the story. Granted that this is a Metal Gear game, the assumption is that the story is a heavily convoluted mess of dismembered arms and multiple personalities. Thankfully, it’s not that terribly complicated, at least from the outset. MGR:R’s story takes place four years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and follows the exploits of that lovable scamp, Jack Raiden. Raiden’s taken a job with a PMC called Maverick Security for the purposes of supporting his family, as any white-blooded family man would do. Maverick falls into conflict with rival PMC, Desperado Enterprises and Raiden is wounded in the conflict. After getting patched up, Maverick and Raiden must figure out and put a stop to Desperado Enterprises’s dastardly scheme. For the most part, it’s not nearly as complex as the Metal Gear Solid story line, so it’s easy to get right back into the stabbin’ and slashin’… which itself is incredibly responsive, gory, and satisfying. Movement and camera controls are perfectly responsive, which is a definite plus if you’re are familiar with the frenetic pace that’s the trademark of any of Platinum Games’s other stellar titles. Of course, the game’s highlight is “Blade Mode”, which is basically just a provided reason to chop things up into the smallest pieces possible.

Huh. I never saw THIS playing on the TV's at Toys 'R Us...

Huh. I never saw THIS playing on the TV’s at Toys ‘R Us…

Aside from being ridiculously satisfying, one of the pluses of engaging Blade Mode is that if you carve your opponents up in the right way, they drop Health and Energy for Raiden’s further forays into Blade Mode. Additionally, at the beginning of the game, the support character Doktor, the PMC’s doctor (oh yeah, that happened) asks Raiden to collect the severed left hands of certain fallen cyborgs, yet another useful application for Blade Mode. Raiden also has access to newer weapons upon defeating other bosses (Mega Man style) and is able to purchase body, technique and offensive and defensive upgrades with the Battle Points he collects from mission completion and senseless murder. Raiden also has the ability to engage something called AR mode, which is akin to Detective Mode in the recent Batman games but not as detracting from the imagery, which was a complaint that many players of Arkham Asylum had. 

Unfortunately, the game is on the short side but does prove to be quite challenging, especially after beating the game the first time and unlocking “Very Hard” and “Revengeance” difficulty settings. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a highly entertaining game that while a little repetitive, never manages to overstay its welcome. My only real gripe with the game is that the commands for performing the unlocked techniques is not really clear at any point in the game, so you’ll find yourself spending your hard earned BP on new attacks that you find yourself wanting to use but unable to. All things considered, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a genuinely satisfying gaming experience.

The Sweet Runback – 2012 Retrospective

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What’s good, everyone? Joshua Evo here, with the rest of the DRE crew in tow to thank all of you for the support we received this year and to dole out thanks and shout outs where they’re most definitely deserved. Back in February of 2011, James B. Boss and I had reached such levels of hype over the upcoming releases of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Pokemon Black/White that we started writing little personal reviews on our respective Facebook pages when the games were released. After some prodding from friends and family to “do that stuff more professionally”, we started the original Disk Read Error back on Blogspot. Fast forward to now, 110+ posts later, a major move to WordPress and we’re still here and still writing. 2012 has been an explosive year for us here at DRE and I wanted to thank all of our followers, readers and contributors for all the fun we’ve had this year. So, guess what? Shout outs incoming!

First shout outs go out to my all of fellow gaming bloggers but especially LadyCroft3, cary and Brit of Linksaveszelda, Recollections of Play and BlondeNerd.com, respectively. It was a pleasure reading your blogs and working with you on various projects for DRE and I definitely look forward to working with you guys again. Extra thanks to LadyCroft3 for her work on our awesome banner as well as all the great feedback she offers and help she’s given during the year. You are an amazing lady (pun totally intended) and fantastic blogger and I wish you nothing but success in the future. Next up is the crew at thumbACTIVE for their support and seeing fit to grant us affiliate status with their site. Thanks also to the crew at The Nerdy Directive for having me as a guest on their podcast and allowing me to sit, ramble and nerd it up. I’m looking forward to doing some reviews for you guys in the future. I also have very special thanks to Konami for allowing us to be a part of Konami Gamers Night event this year and giving us a taste of that gaming media life. You guys make some of the world’s best games and here’s to hoping that we can maybe work with Konami in a more official capacity in the future? *wink wink*. My biggest thanks though go to our friends and family members who read our rantings (whether they agree, disagree or even know what we’re talking about or not) and to ANYONE who’s ever stopped by, read an article, retweeted, shared, followed, plugged or somehow supported Disk Read Error. It’s been a hell of a first year and we look forward to making 2013 even better. Thank you very much.

– Evo out.

Hey everybody, James B. Boss here to thank you all for your support. This year has been really awesome for us here with all of the huge releases and gaming news and it was our pleasure to bring it to you. With this year coming to a close and the new year just around the corner, I would like to thank you all for all the support you have given us. I personally know I haven’t been the most active member of the staff but I hope to fix that in the year to come.

– James B. Boss

Hi everyone! Megan Highwind here to thank you all for taking the time to read our blog! I appreciate all of the likes, comments, and shares that you all have been giving our site. The next year looks to be a promising one and I hope you all are as excited about the games and the new adventures to come in the next year as I am. Thanks again for sticking with us and supporting us for the past year. See you in 2013! (If the world doesn’t end of course, dun dun dun!!!!!!)

–Megan Highwind has left the party.

Hello everyone. Jessica V. here to take a look back at the crazy year that we just had. When this year started I had no idea I would be working on a blog and when I did sign on, I thought I would be doing mostly backend, behind the scenes type things. Boy, did that change. Here we are a year later and the little blog that could is still gaining momentum. We owe that all to you, our readers. So personally, I would like to thank each and everyone of you that have taken the time to read, comment or even think about our articles. At Disk Read Error, we are just a bunch of crazies with opinions and a public forum (scary combination, right?). Seriously though, thank you all for reading and being a part of this. See you all in 2013. I tip my hat to you all.

-Jessica AWAY

Review – Zone of the Enders HD Collection (Part 2)

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What’s good, guys? Joshua Evo back again with Part 2 of my Zone of the Enders HD Collection review. This time, we’re going to take a look at the second game of the series, Zone of the Enders, The 2nd Runner.

My apologies for the huge delay on Part 2, it’s been pretty busy around here as of late. Anyway, let’s get right into the review. ZoE: t2R, apart from obviously being the sequel to the original Zone of the Enders, is widely considered the better of the two games due to things like its much faster pace, wider array of enemies and refined character designs and overall look. The cutscenes had been changed from 3D CG models to a more traditional anime look and the dubbing (while still pretty comical) was improved. Particularly Nohman’s voice characterization, which was SO over the top that you almost had to admire how nutso the guy was. Much different from a voice over the radio that you never saw, like he was in the first game. This time around, the game focuses on the character of Dingo Egret, former BAHRAM soldier turned mining man, who happens to find himself (not unlike Leo Stenbuck from the first game) in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dingo, being the army-hardened-soul-hiding-a-traumatic-past, climbs into the cockpit of our old friend Jehuty and must battle his way out using the skills the combat skills he mastered in his time as one of the enemy.

As well as those mad brooding skills that round out his anime roots.

Like Zone of the Enders HD, 2nd Runner HD is simply that, an HD version of the original game. As I stated previously, aside from the Metal Gear Solid Rising: Revengeance demo, t2R is the primary reason that gamers picked up the ZOE HD collection so obviously, the HD remastering of this game was treated with heavy attention to detail… 

…one would think.

If you’re a regular and astute reader, you’d realize that this is one of the FEW reviews where I didn’t say which console version of the game I reviewed. That’s because I have such reverence for the series that I got it on both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and will be discussing both. There was a lot of talk before the release of this game that the Xbox 360 version was the superior one, as the PS3 version was said to have severe lag and frame drop issues. Upon firing up the PS3, Xbox 360 and PS2 versions, I found out that while not game-breakingly severe, the PS3 version did in fact suffer from some pretty nasty lag issues. The Xbox 360 version also has some lag but it doesn’t seem as bad. There’s also a few fairly obvious graphical issues, particularly during a main story point where Dingo visits his mentor, Lloyd.

A 1.0.1 patch has since been released and fixes some of the lag and frame rate issues. Now, I must stress, this are hardly issues that anyone would consider game-breaking, more and that the collection (Limited Edition or otherwise) definitely still warrants a purchase for anyone who was a fan of the original games or just missed out on them the first time. As touted, the version of the game included on the HD collection is the UK version of the game and does indeed have added difficulty levels and generally feels tougher than its PS2 counterpart. Some of the levels have also been lengthened with new battle sequences that do a decent job of throwing in more action for players to enjoy. The game also retains a solid amount of unlockable content which encourages multiple playthroughs and a relatively fun VS mode. As with ZOE HD, trophy support was also added to t2R and further extends the replay value of the game. All of these great gameplay elements, topped off with a very manageable price tag make the ZOE HD Collection a worthy addition to any gamer’s library.

– Evo out

Review – Zone of the Enders HD Collection (Part 1)

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What’s good, everyone. This is obviously Joshua Evo and I say that simply because of which game is up for review in today’s post. You guys have heard me gush on this game for quite some time now so I’m gonna forego the lengthy setup (no matter HOW much I really want to do it) and get right into it. Today we’re looking at Zone of the Enders HD Collection. This HD Collection is technically three separate games: Zone of the Enders, Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner and the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance demo. I’ll be covering all three of these over two parts. Ultimately, the ZoE Collection is indeed just a HD remastered version of the original games and there’s not a whole lot of brand new material so this won’t be a full-on review as much as a brief overview. 

The first game of the series, Zone of the Enders pretty hugely under appreciated when it was first released, with most people calling it “the robot game that came with the Metal Gear Solid 2 Demo”. The vast majority of the people who ended up playing the game really only did so because the MGS2 demo was fairly short, so why not try this mech combat game it came with. Those few people who did check it out and play it all the way through were met with a futuristic adventure that was much more fast-paced and action heavy than Hideo Kojima’s last hit, Metal Gear Solid. 

OK so there’s a BIT of skewing here since I can’t really call them eye-popping in any way, as it still uses the 3D animated cutscenes that the PS2 used in its very early days. The the game’s HD treatment is really only apparent during game play, as the cut scenes are rather grainy and fuzzy looking. However, the game still shines in its looks, sounds and fast-paced action and is still very fun to play and adds a great touch of nostalgia to those to played this game all those years ago as well as a fulfilling experience to new fans who may have missed the boat the first time around. As fans of the series already know, the story revolves around a young boy named Leo Stenbuck who finds himself caught in the midst of an invasion and unwittingly thrust into the middle of conflict when he seeks shelter from danger in the cockpit of the Orbital Frame Jehuty. The has a very heavy anime influence (as one might expect) but is still compelling enough to keep the player interested, albeit for only a few hours, as ZoE can be completed in about four to five hours. There were also not a lot of adjustments made to the controls with the exception of incorporating the PS Home XMB button, which is great, as ZoE’s controls were perfectly fine the first time around. Trophy support was also added, which adds a bit of replay value as well. In short, Zone of the Enders HD does an excellent job retaining all of the elements that made it great, while looking prettier than it ever has. 

So that’ll just about do it for Part 1 of the Zone of the Enders HD Collection review. Next time, I’ll cover and the Metal Gear Solid Rising: Revengeance demo and the game the most people bought the entire collection for, Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner HD ; which seems to be the source of a lot of heat right now… but more on that later. Stay tuned!

– Evo out

13 Scares of Halloween – Day 9: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

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Hey everybody, James B Boss here with day’s scary moment. Now as I’ve said in my last entry, I am quite the scaredy cat and while most horror games scare the crap out of me, today’s moment doesn’t really come from a game you’d expect a scare moment to come from. Especially since the marquee elements of this game include things like stealth and hiding from your enemies inside boxes.

More terrifying than death itself.

My moment comes from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (title just rolls off your tongue doesn’t it). While this game is not very horrifying for the most part, it does have a memorable cast of characters with a set of skills that are tailor made to take down Mr. Solid Snake-ington. One of these characters had a skill, that allowed him to communicate with the dead and his name was The Sorrow. You encounter this guy later on in the game and the fight is more or less scary, depending on your nerves. However, he does have an attack that made me jump out of my seat.

Pants moistening goodness at 4:30

Yeeeaaahhh, that scared me pretty good when I first saw it. Throughout the entire fight, you encounter all of the soldier that you’ve killed during the course of the game, so if you were just tranquilizing enemies instead of killing them, then the fight will be pretty short. If you went nuts with the bullets, then I hope you enjoy wallowing in a river of your own dastardliness! Can YOU live with that? Dunno about you but after seeing this moment in the game, I slept like a baby… a highly caffeinated baby. Well that just about does it for my moment. I’m gonna go wuss out now!

-This is James B Boss, hiding in a box.

Coverage from SF Konami Gamers Night 2012

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What’s good, everyone? Joshua Evo and Jessica Valentine here with a special news update from the Konami Gamers Night 2012 event. TGS has come and gone and with it came a whole slew of news and updates from Konami, a lot of which was recapped at this event, with just enough room for some special surprises. Additionally, there were numerous playable demos available for press and attendees to check out and we’re happy to say that Konami did not disappoint. We’re going to go through a few of the major highlights of the night and touch on as much of the facts as we can. We’ll start with one what is arguably Konami’s flagship title.

Metal Gear

President of KDE-US, Tomoyuki Tsuboi took the stage to talk about the 25th Anniversary of the Metal Gear franchise. He touched on how Konami has commemorated the milestone with the release of the Metal Gear Solid HD collection and the announcements  of Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops to be released on social gaming platforms, the Metal Gear Solid feature film, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, the prologue to Hideo Kojima’s next MGS project and the opening of a new Kojima studio based out of Southern California. 

Undoubtedly though, the biggest MGS news revolved around the upcoming joint Kojima Studios and Platinum Games release, Metal Gear Solid Rising: The presentation began with the showing of an extended trailer, complete with game play. Konami then announced the MGSR:R Collector’s Edition which includes the game, a soundtrack, special packaging and most interesting of all, a plasma lamp with a partial replica of Raiden’s signature high-frequency sword.

A playable demo was available for attendees to get their hands on. If you have played any of Platinum’s other big titles like Bayonetta or Vanquish, then MGSR:R will feel very familiar to you. It’s got the same fast-paced, over the top, quick reflex action as those games while still retaining the character of Raiden that Kojima created along with a few other familiar sights to MGS4 players.

Metal Gear Solid Rising: Revengeance is scheduled to be released on February 19, 2013. I personally am all over this game.

Zone of the Enders

OK so you all should know by now that your dear editor, is a HUGE fan of this series and Konami most definitely did NOT disappoint. Brand Manager Keith Vlaming took the stage for the ZoE presentation and began with a little bit of history of the series and confirmed that the ZoE HD collection would be released on October 30, 2012 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles at a price point of $39.99. In addition to the overhauled graphics and sound, a new opening cinematic created by Hideo Kojima was added to the game. Another interesting bit of news is that the version of ZoE: The 2nd Runner that is included on the HD Collection is NOT the previous U.S. release but rather the European released Special Edition which is said to contain “new missions, new difficulty levels and much more.” The big announcement however, was the confirmation of a ZoE: HD Collector’s Edition here in the U.S. If you all remember my previous ZoE news-round up, I speculated on what would be included in the Collector’s Edition based on comments made by Hideo Kojima on his Twitter and I turned out to be right.

Photo Credit to Konami

The ZoE: HD Collector’s Edition comes with the game, an exclusive soundtrack that includes remixed tracks of the ZoE music as well as a world exclusive, 100-page artbook which includes art from renowned artist, Yoji Shinkawa. A price point was not set announced but it’s a safe bet that it’s probably around the $50 – $60 range. Additionally, it was confirmed that every copy of the ZoE: HD Collection would come with a consumer demo of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance in the same manner that the original Zone of the Enders game came with a Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty demo almost 12 years ago. 

As with MGSR:R, ZoE HD had a playable demo on hand that I of COURSE had to check out. I’m happy to report that the game feels just as fans remember it and looks and sounds absolutely phenomenal. I look forward to picking it up and seeing the the new version of ZoE: The 2nd Runner has to offer.

Silent Hill

And on to the next! Hello everybody. As some of you may know coming up there are two additions to the Silent Hill family coming shortly. The first of which is the new Playstation Vita exclusive Silent Hill: Book of Memories releasing on October 16, 2012. This marks the first time that the franchise will come to a handheld system. I am happy to report that I did manage to get some time with the game, only about 10 minutes but just enough to get a first impression.

At first looking at Konami’s Silent Hill: Book of Memories, the game looks like what one would expect on a handheld system. Smaller sprites the graphics aren’t spectacular, etc… To me this takes away from the game as it doesn’t really bring the signature atmosphere that I feel was key to it’s console predecessors. Again smaller screen less to work with, it’s expected. However, I didn’t get to any cut-scenes and didn’t even start from the beginning of the game, so my assessment could be off.

Credit to Konami

Moving onward, there are several features that have gotten me definitely interested in the game. The first is character customization, I am a total nerd for character customization, I like changing outfits and hair, I guess this is my version of barbie dolls. But you have to admit it’s way cooler than Barbie dolls! Anyway… I also am excited for the 4-Player co-op feature. Now if only I owned a Vita and knew three other people that have one. Oh well, I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

There is one last feature that was unveiled last evening, and to be honest, is probably the feature that is making me seriously consider getting this game. That feature is…. wait for it…endless gameplay. Silent Hill: Book of Memories will generate new and unique dungeons as long as you desire to play the game. This coupled with several endings makes the replay value of this game potentially off the charts.

Konami also announced that Silent Hill would be coming to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights. Personally I love stuff like this, Halloween, Video Games, what else can a girl dream for? If I lived in Southern California or in the Orlando area of Flordia, there is no doubt in my mind that I would go to this attraction.

Speaking of Halloween….

…or near it for that matter, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, the second installment of the movie franchise hits theaters on October 26th. Adelaide Clemens, who plays “Heather Mason” was on-site to talk about her role and show a trailer to the upcoming flick. She seemed nice, though she did admit she was not a gamer.

To sum up, Silent Hill: Book of Memories for the Vita hits shelves on October 16th. Ten short days later, the new movie starring Adelaide Clemens, Sean Bean, and Kit Harington hits theaters. October is going to be one busy month.

Additional News Notes and Wrap Up

Konami also touched on the release of Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 and some new release plans for the various social gaming platforms.Specifically a U.S. Release of their successful social game Dragon Collection in the Fall of 2012. They also showed a slide that showcased several other upcoming titles including Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate for the Nintendo 3DS, scheduled for an early 2013 release. 

Konami definitely has a lot in the pipe for the remainder of 2012 and is has a very strong showing going into 2013, as this event showed. On a personal note, I had a great time meeting several media personnel and would like to extend a thanks to Konami for allowing Disk Read Error to be a part of this event. All in all, it was a blast and I’m terribly excited for what they’ve got in store for us. (SECONDED!!!!!)

– Evo out.

-Jessica “Up, Up, Down Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start” I’m Out!-

Gaming News – Zone of the Enders News Round-up

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Off the jump, I need to ask you all to please bear with my over-nerding out. It’s Zone of the Enders news, so I can’t NOT be excited.

Not too long ago, Revoltech put out some action figures of Jehuty and Anubis, the focus mecha of the always amazing Zone of the Enders series. I recently got a hold of them at Comic-Con 2012, right about the time that I found out that there’s also a Vector Cannon Jehuty that I need to get my hands on but I digress. In an earlier post, I went on about how there has been a LOT of ZOE activity ramping up recently after a very long hiatus in the form of the release of the ZOE HD collection and the conceptual art for “Enders Project” shown back in May of this year. At TGS, Hideo Kojima, Konami and Revoltech continued building the hype.

Kojima tweeted these images of what look to be Naked Jehuty and Ardjet pre-production figures from Revoltech. Both figures continue the amazing attention to detail and high articulation for which Revoltech Figures are renowned. The Ardjet model is obviously in early pre-production, as it’s missing its paint but there’s probably no doubt that the finished product will look just as high quality as its predecessors.

Source > @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN

Also, Konami confirmed via Twitter that the ZOE HD collection will be released on October 30, 2012 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, which is a good two months before most anyone predicted. It’s priced at $39.99 and you can pre-order it on Amazon now.

Source > @Konami

OK, that seems to be the all of the ZOE related news for now. Thanks for bearing with me and partaking in the hype. I don’t know about you all but for me, October 30th can’t come soon enough!

– Evo out

Gaming News – Zone of the Enders HD Collection Premium Bundle announced

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As you may or may not know, Konami and Kojima Studios announced a while back that they would be releasing a Zone of the Enders HD collection for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Kotaku is reporting Hideo Kojima has confirmed via Twitter that now there will be a premium edition bundle released in Japan in October and has also released some of the first images. If anything, it’s definitely a serious bit of collectible eye candy for fans of the series.

Source > Kotaku

The additional content that’s packaged with the bundle has yet to be confirmed but based on information from Kojima’s Twitter, it’s a safe bet that there’s most likely going to a Remixed edition of the soundtrack, as he has posted a picture of a CD and track list complete with remixing artists. 

Additionally, the cover art for the premium bundle is purported to look vastly different from the standard edition. Kojima also tweeted a CG render of what looks to be alternate cover art.  If the trend that is seen in a lot of western collector’s edition holds true in Japan, then this may be the the cover that greets players who happily unbox their ZoE: HD premiere editions. It’s also possible that this is the actual final packaging for both standard and premium editions.

The Zone of the Enders HD Collection is currently slated for a late 2012 release in the United States. No word yet as to whether the premium bundle will see a stateside release.

Source > @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN

– Evo out.

Day 28 of 31: Metal Gear Solid

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What’s happening people! It’s Memorial Day weekend and also Day 28!

 

 

Hey cool, it’s the game I got my name from, sorta. Metal Gear Solid is and always will be a great title. The reason why, is because it had everything to offer for us gamers. Challenging boss fight and obstacles, great storyline (if you can you know, understand all of it?) and memorable characters. The game starts off with you infiltrating a base known as Shadow Moses and your mission is to infiltrate and stop the antagonist from using the Metal Gear to take over the world. It may seem like a simple story, but if you play for along time, you will find that there are twists and turns to the story. The gameplay was quite unique for it’s time, because not a lot of games had you play through the entire story using stealth. There were some parts of the game where you go guns-a-blazing (especially the boss fights), so it was not all stealth, which was a nice change of pace. The boss were probably my favorite of this game, because they made you think about how you should take them down, instead of just running up to them and attack them repeatedly (I HATE YOU PSYCHO MANTIS!!!). The characters are another example of how great this game is. Seriously, if start talking about this game with a die hard fan, they will just go on and off about the games’ characters. Solid Snake is the protagonist of the series and he just b@d@$$. I have yet to see another video game character that tops his manlyness and I don’t think that will happen anytime soon. If you are looking for a game where you want to take out your opponents with steal and finesse, then Metal Gear Solid is the game to play. If you want to play this awesome title, then I suggest seek it out and definitely play the other games in the series. 

– James B. Boss

 

Admittedly, the most I ever played of this game was a short demo disc that came with my cousin’s Playstation and this was some time after the game itself had actually been released but I distinctly remember the feeling of having to adapt that I got from the game. I initially tried to run and fun my way through it and rather quickly found out that that was a pretty pointless way to try to go through MGS. I liked the feeling of having to be deliberate with every action, like how I could easily tranquilize a guard but have to worry about his unconscious @$$ drawing attention from other guards. These little touches were things I’d not seen before in a game and definitely held my attention enough to have to actually plot my my course through the demo. To this day, I’ve never finished it but I’ve watched it played by my brother numerous times and it’s just as thrilling now as it was back then.

- Evo out.