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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Otaku Expo Reload


Otaku Expo Reload
October 8-10, 2010
Megatrade Hall 1, SM Megamall


Activities/Contests:
  • Battle of the Bands.
  • Karaoke Singing Competition.
  • Individual and Group Cosplay Competition.
  • K-Pop Dance Competition.
  • Art Contests.
  • Photo Shoot Contest.
For more details visit the Otakuzine Facebook page

Sunday, September 26, 2010

AME Track 10

AME (Anime Manga Enthusiasts) Track 10
November 6 (Saturday) 2010
Hall 2, SMX Convention Center

Activities:
Cosplay Competition
AMV Contest
AME Cafe
J-Music Concert
Fanart Contest
Fair Booths
Karaoke Contest
and many more

Tickets at P120. Pre-sale tickets at P100


Saturday, September 25, 2010

Happy 25th Anniversary Mario!

If it wasn't for the Italian plumber, video gaming wouldn't evolve to sheer greatness, and after 25 years, video gaming is still getting better than ever. So to honor the most iconic gaming character, a Japanese studio made a tribute video for Mario, happy 25th anniversary Mario!!




You can also check the official 25th anniversary site (warning: All Japanese text website):

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Event Aftermath: Best of Anime 2010

Last September 19, 2010, Primetrade Asia Inc. held The Best of Anime 2010 at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia, where the event showcased the best in anime, gaming and cosplay.


The said event was held in conjunction with the 31st Manila International Book Fair (which was also presented by Primetrade Asia). The event has lots of anime booths selling merchandises like figurines, accessories like keychains and even t-shirts.




Aside from animes, there are also the usual cosplayers participating in cosplay competitions or simply just costripping (don't get confused with costripping and stripping as they are not the same XD) There's also band performance from popular local anime bands.



Also there are gaming booths for gaming enthusiasts to enjoy, from Rock Bands to Tekken and Street Fighter IV battles, they can also watch some game trailers from upcoming new titles.


There are contest such as a beef bowl eating competition, dubbing and cosplaying contest, winners are awarded with trophies and cash prizes.

More pics from event on this slideshow. Until the next convention....

Sunday, September 19, 2010

And Here Comes More Characters

At the Tokyo Game Show 2010, Capcom unveiled yet two more characters for their much anticipated fighting game Marvel vs Capcom 3.

And they are Tron Bonne of Megaman Legends for Capcom and X-23 of X-Men: Evolution for Marvel. Both have character trailers being shown at the Tokyo Game Show.


Tron Bonne

X-23 Trailer

and as of right now, another 2 more additions have been announced, one returnee and one newcomer, and they are....

Spider-Man (Marvel) and Albert Wesker of Resident Evil (Capcom), now that's an awesome combination

Spider-Man

Albert Wesker


And as an added bonus, I'll add two new trailers of MvC3. Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 will hit the stores on Spring 2011


Saturday, September 18, 2010

Rise of the Sequels

All games once become a hit to the players, a sequel is always set to be launch. But sometimes sequels can make or break a game franchise, making it a big hit to the industry, or just a one hit wonder, flopping the entire franchise.

But still players will always eager to wait for sequels and see if it will go well or not.
From direct sequels to franchise reboots to special editions, and some might only be Japan exclusive, but we will find out if it's exclusive in the future.
Let's take a look on the upcoming sequels coming this year and early 2011:


Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)

Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity (PSP)

Devil May Cry (PS3, Xbox 360)

Dissidia Duodecim (PSP)

Torchlight II (PC)

Final Fantasy XIV Online (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Okamiden (DS)

Rock Band 3 (DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

Metal Gear Solid: Rising (PS3, Xbox 360)

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (PS3, Xbox 360)

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 (PS3, Xbox 360)

Monster Hunter Portable 3 (PSP)

Guild Wars 2 (PC)

Dragon Age 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Persona 3 Portable Review

Atlus has released the portable version of their 2007 hit RPG Persona 3, now entitled Persona 3 Portable. Will this game become a toned-down budget version of the original, or will it even surpass the original version itself?




The setting is still the same as with the original; it takes place on modern day Japan where you take control of a high school student who's part of a secret organization called the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES) where the student involved in the group has the ability to summon the manifestation of their inner self which is called a Persona, they can summon their Persona by shooting a gun-like device called the Evoker into their heads. the SEES investigates the Dark Hour, a time which occurs only during midnight where beings called Shadows appear along with the giant tower called Tartarus where the Shadows reside.

The new addition in P3P is the introduction of a Female protagonist, on the original version, you only control a Male protagonist, now in P3P you get to choose between the two. Choosing the Female protagonist can alter some aspects of the storyline, such as having a different assistant in the Velvet Room and getting different Social Links.

Navigating to the world is now simplified with the exception on the dungeons, players now guide a cursor on the screen to navigate and interact with characters and areas, although this makes moving on different maps and interacting with characters much simpler and faster, it also lessens the feeling of experiencing the whole Persona world. Real-time cutscenes are now replaced with illustrations and character portraits, but they still retain the voice overs during the cutscenes.


The Battle system is still the same with some additions that were borrowed from Persona 3: FES and Persona 4. Gameplay is turn-based, in the original version, only the Protagonist is playable while the other party members are controlled by AI but they can be guided by using the Tactics command, now in the P3P version all members are playable. You can get an extra turn if you managed to land a critical hit or even exploit a weakness on the Shadows, knocking them down, if the whole opposition was knocked down, you can perform an All Out Attack; a special move where all of the party members will attack simultaneously, causing a ton of damage against your enemies.



Social Links is one of the best sellers of the game, during the day, you can interact with characters and make friends with them, creating a Social Link with them, continue interacting with them and your Social Link rank increases, with high ranked Social Links , you'll be able to create stronger Personas.


And then during at night, at the time of the Dark Hour, you get to explore the giant tower Tartarus, which spans more than 200 floors and is separated with different sections. The maps in every floor of Tartarus are randomly generated, so every time you revisit the same floor, you'll always encounter a different map.


Another good part in the game is that you have to balance between fighting Shadows and doing every school life and increasing Social Link Ranks, giving you options on which to prioritize first, focus more on dungeon crawling and you might flunk in school; focus only in day time activities and you'll get a hard time defeating shadows and bosses, so you have to plan ahead on what you have to focus first. Also, every time you perform an activity, times passes on the game, so you only have limited time, but this doesn't force you to rush on your grinding, as you can still enjoy a casual time despite having a time limitation.


The music in P3P is quite good, it has that funky beat with some mix of hip hop and Jpop, even the battle theme has vocals in it, and new soundtracks was added for the Female Protagonist story. Voice acting is also quite impressive, it makes you feel like you are actually watching an Anime series.



Overall the transition of Persona 3 to the portable console is quite good, it may not be a perfect transition, but it still retains the feel of the game. You can still enjoy a lengthy game even if you're on a go. Newcomers to the game will still enjoy the game even if it was toned down just to fit it on the portable console, and old timers will still feel nostalgic on this one as it has new additions for more game time.

Game Rating: 9 out of 10
Persona 3 Portable was developed and published by Atlus.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Cosplay Mania X



October 2-3, 2010
Function Room 5, SMX Convention Center, Pasay City


Cosplay Event

Friday, September 3, 2010

Giant Gundam made of Leftovers

Have you ever wonder on what to do on those leftover runners (plastic grids that is connected on the plastic model kit parts) after you assembled your favorite Gundam model kits? Some would probably throw it away while others just keep it along with the boxes. But one group of hobbyist did something a bit different.

Well these guys instead assembled one giant Gundam with their leftover runners. It took them around 250 hours to complete the 10-foot RG (Recycle Grade) RX-78 Gundam, and of course, it was built from leftover runners from smaller Gundam model kits.

The giant Gundam is one work of art, and the good part is that they use leftover parts for this masterpiece.

They even put it on display on the Chara Hobby show at the Dengeki Hobby booth.

You can check their blog here.