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Kojima Posts More Photos of ThreeA's Metal Gear RAY Battroborg fan Hideo Kojima has shared a couple more photos of ThreeA's gigantic Metal Gear RAY prototype on his Twitter. Metal Gear artist and designer Yoji Shinkawa is once again holding the child-sized RAY and it seriously looks like it's half the size of him. It's a bit more gray than we've previously seen it, so the work on it seems to be coming along. According to Kojima, the toes are currently made of rubber and in the second photo we can see RAY's mouth open. I'm not sure if we'll actually see this released this year, because the paint for REX seemed to take a long time to get finalized. Eventually we'll see this beast out to go along with our REX, though, most likely with some slick LEDs. Also, check out Yoji's awesome shoes.
Continue reading Kojima Posts More Photos of ThreeA's Metal Gear RAY... - Shawn - 5/21/13 ThreeA's Atlas and P-body Welcome You to Science (Updated) ThreeA has posted some new official ad shots of the their 1/6 action figure masterpieces of Portal 2's Atlas and P-body, which will be available for pre-order sometime this month. These two are fully articulated, fully featured, and fully awesome. Each figure has a light-up optical sensor and a light-up Portal device. P-body's torso can even be removed from its chassis.
Continue reading ThreeA's Atlas and P-body Welcome You to Science... for the Update... - Shawn - 5/11/13 DoDonPachi Saidaioujou is Region Free It's the news that bullet-hell shooter fans have been waiting for; Cave announced via Twitter that DoDonPachi Saidaioujou will be region free. The game will be out on May 30th, those that were holding out on ordering until this announcement can now get their orders in. Those that speculated and took a chance at ordering early, or those that have a Japanese Xbox 360, and who were lucky enough to order the now sold out Super Limited Edition or Limited Edition, the region free-ness is almost like an additional bonus. Since it's region free this probably means that the game won't see an actual localized release in North America, which may mean that Cave couldn't close it's deal with whatever publisher they were previously talking to about bring it overseas. That's too bad, but at least everyone can actually play it when it's released on May 30th.
Cave has also posted a video showing off the Xbox 360 mode for DoDonPachi Saidaioujou with the new Xbox 360 character, the pink-haired Saya. Continue reading DoDonPachi Saidaioujou is Region Free... - Shawn - 5/10/13 Atlas and P-body Light-up Eye Video by ThreeA Portal 2's Atlas and P-body are not real robots, but ThreeA's action figures of the duo will be the next best thing. ThreeA posted a video showing off the light-up eye sequence for both P-Body and Atlas... and it's mind-blowingly awesome. I had decided to not get these and just settle for the smaller, yet still cool NECA versions, but those eye sequences are too awesome. If you've been on the fence about these, this video may push you to the buy side. These will be very difficult to not pre-order when they go up sometime this month.
Continue reading Atlas and P-body Light-up Eye Video by ThreeA... - Shawn - 5/7/13 Fear the Songbird Plushie BioShock Infinite's Songbird is the most feared thing in Columbia, compete with a nursery rhyme meant to terrify children into being good little boys and girls. However, it also has a softer side as some stores in Columbia sell Songbird plushies to its patrons. When I first saw the Songbird plushie in the game, I immediately wanted a real life version. Well, NECA is making an actual plush Songbird at 7" tall with a 14" wingspan. It looks just like the in-game model... except that it's darker for some reason. It's looks like more of a brown leathery fabric in the game, so I'm not sure why the plushie is all black. It looks even more terrifying in black.
Continue reading Fear the Songbird Plushie... - Shawn - 5/7/13 Boba Fett with Han in Carbonite Black Boxed for SDCC '13 The Star Wars Black Series will begin with an SDCC 2013 exclusive Boba Fett with Han Solo in Carbonite in a big black box. Aside from the Han in Carbonite this also includes Fett's blaster rifle, disintegrator pistol, and jetpack. It's all a very slick exclusive. Well, the exclusive parts of this set will be the Han in Carbonite, the big black Boba box it all comes in, and possibly the pistol. Boba Fett will be released on his own in the Black Series, so if you don't need a 6" scale Han in Carbonite, then you don't have to worry about this. However, a 6" scale Han in Carbonite is really cool.
Continue reading Boba Fett with Han in Carbonite Black Boxed for SDCC '13... - Shawn - 5/4/13 Atari Asteroids Beach Bomb SDCC '13 Exclusive Next up in Mattel's space-themed Hot Wheels exclusives for SDCC 2013 is a surfboard hauling Beach Bomb pickup with Atari logos and Asteroids art. This will apparently be one of the last hand polished Chrome Spectraflame Hot Wheels cars ever offered, which probably means something to the hardcore Hot Wheels collectors out there. Aside from the two surfboards on the back, the pickup also has Real Riders tires, you know those rubber ones. The Beach Bomb is cool, but the real kicker on this is that it comes in a Asteroids arcade cabinet packaging. I never thought I'd ever be trying to get a Hot Wheels product at SDCC, but with this and the the two Battlestar Galactica ships, there are three.
Continue reading Atari Asteroids Beach Bomb SDCC '13 Exclusive... - Shawn - 5/1/13 Shiny Colonial Viper SDCC '13 Exclusive Hot on the six of the SDCC '13 exclusive Cylon Raider is an exclusive Hot Wheels Colonial Viper. Like the Raider, this Colonial Viper from the original Battlestar Galactica is also a 1:64 die-cast with a shiny VUM finish packed in the vintage style 1978 packaging. What I want to know is, why isn't Mattel packaging the Raider and Viper together? A two-pack containing both exclusives would make sense because what if one sells out faster than the other? That would be a terrible thing. Hopefully everyone who buys these purchases them evenly.
Continue reading Shiny Colonial Viper SDCC '13 Exclusive... - Shawn - 4/30/13 Cylon Raider Shines by Your Command at SDCC '13 Mattel started to reveal their SDCC 2013 exclusives, with one of the first goodies being a Hot Wheels Cylon Raider. Mattel is making Hot Wheels Battlestar Galactica ships? That's cool. This is a classic Cylon Raider from the original Battlestar Galactica, not from the newer and amazing BSG, although it does make me wonder if Mattel also has the license for the newer show. The die-cast Cylon Raider will be 1:64 scale, which I don't know how big that actually makes it inch wise. the cylones really spent extra sprucing up this Raider because it will also have an extra shiny VUM finish. The Raider will will be packaged on a vintage style Battlestar Galactica packaging from 1978.
Continue reading Cylon Raider Shines by Your Command at SDCC '13... - Shawn - 4/29/13 NECA's SDCC '13 Exclusive Albino Predator NECA previously hinted that their Predator exclusive for SDCC 2013 might be from the Batman: Dead End fan film, the same place the incredible Big Red Predator came from, and it is. The Albino Predator, revealed as a part of Action Figure Insider's 8th Anniversary week, has a very unique color scheme and brand new shoulder armor. It's crazy how NECA is making official Predator figures from a fan film, especially considering that Big Red and Albino only got a few seconds of screen time. While this guy isn't nearly as bas-ass as Big Red, I do like the look of it because it's so unique among the other Predators. There's still plenty of time to reveal more for the figure before SDCC so I hope it includes an accessory of some sort. Based off NECA's $25 price tag for exclusive last SDCC, I suspect the Albino Pred will run the same.
- Shawn - 4/27/13 Direct link: NECA's SDCC '13 Exclusive Albino Predator Turian Cruiser Replica Cruising In Dark Horse continues their line of Mass Effect replicas with the Turian Cruiser. Hmm, maybe Dark Horse really will eventually make all the in-game model ships Shepard can buy to spruce up her/his quarters on the Normandy. This is a cool looking ship, but I wish all these replicas were more in-scale. The Turian Cruiser will be approximately 6" long and have a sculpted base, so the base in the photo probably isn't the final one. It also includes a DLC code, which will probably be a random piece of DLC equipment for the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer. The Turian Cruiser is currently up for pre-order at the BioWare Store for a November release.
- Shawn - 4/27/13 Direct link: Turian Cruiser Replica Cruising In DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Opening Anime Cave has posted the opening anime for the home release of DoDonPachi Saidaioujou, full of new animated shots of the ships flying and shooting, the enemies, and what looks to be the big Angry Head Bee itself. It all looks completely awesome. There are also more scenes of Element Dolls doing random stuff. The previous opening video must have been a work in progress or a slick trailer using some of the opening anime elements. Apparently the song is sung by voice actress and J-Pop star Aya Hirano, so that's cool.
Continue reading DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Opening Anime... - Shawn - 4/22/13 Enjoy Evangelion with a 9-Patty Burger, Spear Fork, and Life-Size Rei To celebrate the Blu-ray release of Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo, Japanese fast food chain Lotteria will have a nine Patty burger that comes with a cool original Spear of Longinus fork. This 9x9 burger monstrosity has nine patties and nine pieces of cheese and one way to an easy heart attack. What does a burger have to do with Evangelion? Nothing, but the burger is kind of a pun on the Japanese title of the movie, Evangelion Shin Gekijō-ban Q, because the number 9 in Japanese is pronounced "kyū," kind of like "Q." I would totally get one of these burgers just for that awesome "Fork of Longinus." I doubt we'll see anything like this when the Blu-ray is released in the U.S.
Lotteria is also having a drawing for a life-size Rei figure. Yes, a LIFE-SIZE REI. Rei stands 5 feet 2 inches tall and is fully articulated. Continue reading Enjoy Evangelion with a 9-Patty Burger, Spear Fork, and Life-Size Rei... - Shawn - 4/21/13 The Monkey's News Box: 4/21/13 Merch
Games
TV / Movies
- Shawn - 4/21/13 Direct link: The Monkey's News Box: 4/21/13 NECA's Motorized Patriot for the Patriotic Nothing says patriotism quite like BioShock Infinite's freaky George Washington automaton with a Pepper-Mill gatling gun. First seen at Toy Fair '13, NECA has released an official image of the fearless Motorized Patriot action figure, now with the two flags attached to its back. The Patriot features a Pepper-Mill gatling gun, two flags, and an alternate head. The figure stands over 9" tall and has over twenty points of articulation. The Motorized Patriot should be out in August. Hopefully NECA has some of the other Motorized Patriots planned. We also need to see a Booker figure to battle it.
- Shawn - 4/21/13 Direct link: NECA's Motorized Patriot for the Patriotic Super7 Reveals Photos & Details of Alien ReAction Figures and Glassware Last year at SDCC, Super7 announced that they were making Kenner's lost Alien 3¾" figures from 1979. This year at WonderCon Anaheim, lucky attendees got to see the finished figures at the Super7 booth. Now, Super7 has posted photos of the figures for the rest of us to see. There are only photos of the Alien, Ripley, Ash, and Kane, though, as Dallas is mysteriously absent. They look fantastic with their full five points of articulation. For accessories, Ripley and Dallas each include a flamethrower, Ash has a motion detector, and Kane has a removable space helmet. The Alien has an extendable jaw and even has a glow-in-the-dark head!
The five figures will be available for pre-order at SDCC 2013. I'm hoping that Super7 is planning on opening pre-orders on their web store, because if pre-orders sell out at SDCC a lot of fans will be plenty furious. Each figure will be $19.99, which may seem like a lot for a 3¾" figure, but since these will most likely be limited and are figures that no one ever thought would get made in the first place... then the $20 isn't too bad. Continue reading Super7 Reveals Photos & Details of Alien ReAction Figures and Glassware... - Shawn - 4/20/13 Caladrius Has a Playable Caladrius Moss has revealed that bullet hell shooter Caladrius actually has fourth playable character; a giant Caladrius. Although, it's more like a flaming Phoenix than a snow white Caladrius. The flaming Caladrius has a unique homing fire shot that streams through all the enemies on screen. It's a cool looking character for a shooter and I like most of what I'm seeing in the game. Caladrius will actually be out next week on April 25th. After that, we'll have to wait and see if any publisher brings it to North America.
- Shawn - 4/16/13 Direct link: Caladrius Has a Playable Caladrius Mega Man 25th Anniversary Statue Obtains Upgrades The Mega Man 25th Anniversary statue has been upgraded since it first busted onto the scene. Capcom-Unity has posted updated photos of the Mega Man 25th Anniversary statue with a new metallic finish, intensified LEDs, an on/off switch, and a slightly revised face. The display base is also updated and now says "Mega Man" instead of "Capcom." What's really cool is that the statue will be packed inside a big E-Tank package.
The new metallic finish looks nice, but it isn't swaying me enough to order one just yet. The biggest issue fans are having is with the eyes. Continue reading Mega Man 25th Anniversary Statue Obtains Upgrades... - Shawn - 4/15/13 ThunderCats Minimates Get a Ho! Box Diamond Select Toys announced the ThunderCats Ho! Minimates Box Set, based on the "ThunderCats Ho!" TV movie/episodes that introduced Pumyra, Lynx-O, and Bengali. As the fourth set has been mentioned, but not yet officially announced, this would be the fifth ThunderCats Minimates set. Sculpted by Art Asylum once again, the Ho! set contains Pumyra, Lynx-O, Bengali, Ratar-O, and Ro-Bear Bert. The ThunderCats Minimates have become my favorite Minimates, even surpassing the awesome Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and Street Fighter X Tekken sets. These set are really rounding out the entire cast. Maybe we'll see some Lunatacs or other supporting characters arrive in future sets.
Continue reading ThunderCats Minimates Get a Ho! Box... - Shawn - 4/14/13 Sonic & Mega Man: Worlds Collide Crossover Trailer Today begins Archie Comics' Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog Worlds Collide crossover event. It's so epic that it needed its own trailer. The trailer gives the gist of the crossover, with Doctors Wily and Robotnik becoming best buds, and the crazy things that Mega Man and Sonic will have to face. The trailer teases some of the awesome stuff to come from Worlds Collide and has limited motion comic type animation set to some sweet Mega Man tunes.
Robot Masters of Sonic's friends? Super Mega Man? Awesome! This twelve issue story arc begins with Mega Man #24, at comic shops today, and busts into Sonic Universe, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Mega Man comics from now through August. You know, Mega Man and Sonic would never have met if they both didn't have comics from Archie, so this is a dream come true for many gamers. Of course I read the first issue already and I have to say that (minor spoiler) Bass punching Tails in the face is already at the top of the list of best things from this event. - Shawn - 4/10/13 Direct link: Sonic & Mega Man: Worlds Collide Crossover Trailer ThreeA Braves Lost Planet Figures If you missed it, ThreeA teased a collaboration with Capcom back at San Diego Comic-Con 2012. With Capcom's rich catalog of IPs, it could have been nearly anything. Then, very quietly, it was revealed to be Lost Planet in a forum post in December. Now, at the Beast Kingdom Toys show in Taiwan, we get our first look at the ThreeA's Lost Planet goods. Personally, I was hoping for one of Capcom's other properties to get the ThreeA treatment, mainly Mega Man or maybe even Street Fighter, but ThreeA's Lost Planet figures will certainly be cool, regardless how many people actually love the series.
ThreeA is making a Drio mech with pilot, and a 1/6 scale figure. The unpainted prototype Drio looks like it could be in the 16" range. Continue reading ThreeA Braves Lost Planet Figures... - Shawn - 4/7/13 BioShock Infinite Descends from the Sky to the Tabletop BioShock Infinite fans who bought the Songbird Edition or the Premium Edition received a small Handyman miniature, a preview of Plaid Hat Games' BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia board game. Now that the videogame came out, Plaid Hat Games could reveal what they have been working on. The Siege of Columbia puts 2 or 4 players on the sides of the Founders and the Vox Populi, battling for control of Columbia during the events of the videogame while Booker and Elizabeth tear through the city.
The full rule book hasn't been posted yet, but players will use cards to try to control territories, build an army, accomplish other goals, fight their opponents, fight Booker, and influence Elizabeth. Booker and Elizabeth are the "unpredictable" elements of the game and could force players to alter their strategies. Continue reading BioShock Infinite Descends from the Sky to the Tabletop... - Shawn - 4/6/13 Caladrius Video Trio Shreds a few Bullet Hell Bosses Moss has released a trio of new videos for their bullet hell shooter Caladrius. The videos have a solid chunk of gameplay of the three playable characters, Alex, Maria, and Kei, showing their abilities and facing off against three of the bosses. The shredding epic metal score is fantastic and the videos feature a lot of voiceover from the characters. With the extended look at gameplay and the better look at the bosses, these videos actually make me more interested in the game than the other trailers/videos that have been released so far.
Continue Caladrius Video Trio Shreds a few Bullet Hell Bosses... - Shawn - 4/1/13 The Monkey's News Box: 3/31/13 Games
TV / Movies
- Shawn - 3/31/13 Direct link: The Monkey's News Box: 3/31/13 Mega Man Mega-Bustin' at SDCC '13 (Updated) Capcom continues to celebrate Mega Man's 25th anniversary with an exclusive Mega Man statue for SDCC 2013. Like many other awesome Capcom things, this was announced at PAX East over the weekend. Made by Multiverse Studio, Mega Man proudly stands with his Mega Buster fully charged for action. The statue is 10" tall with a 6" base. It sports some slick LEDs that light up the helmet, the energy bar on his Mega-Buster, and four LED spotlights on the base that shine up on the whole statue. It's a cool looking piece, especially with the LEDs fully lit, but one thing seems al little odd; his right hand is kind of obscuring his face. It's a little strange to obscure the face of such popular character, but Mega Man is so iconic that you don't need to see his face to know who it is. No price has been announced yet and the statue will debut at SDCC, with any remainder likely showing up on the Capcom Store. Each statue will also be individually numbered. The final number of statues hasn't been decided, but it will be under 2000. I think 1987 would be the perfect number. Update: The Mega Man statue is up for pre-order on the Capcom Store right now. The price is $99.95, but the final number of statues still hasn't been revealed. Pre-orders will be open until April 25th and any remainder will be available at SDCC.
Continue reading Mega Man Mega-Bustin' at SDCC '13... - Shawn - 3/26/13 Borderlands 2 Diamond Plate Loot Chest Discovered Did you miss out on the Borderlands 2 Ultimate Loot Chest? A lot of fans did, but Gearbox has finally come through for them. Announced at PAX East, Gearbox has teamed with ThinkGeek for the Diamond Plate Loot Chest. The second Loot Chest is still red, but has "diamond" accents to set it apart. This doesn't include the game, since just about every Borderlands fan already has it, but it does include other swag. There is a wearable replica Goliath mask for you and your in-game characters, 20 cards that unlock in-game legendary items, a Vault Hunters wanted poster, window decals, and a certificate of authenticity. I know a lot of fans will be happy to finally get a real Loot Chest.
Continue reading Borderlands 2 Diamond Plate Loot Chest Discovered... - Shawn - 3/25/13 The Monkey's News Box: 3/24/13 Games
Merch
TV / Movies
- Shawn - 3/24/13 Direct link: The Monkey's News Box: 3/24/13 DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Opening has Elements Dolls, Bullet Hell, and a Teddy Bear... ...oh my. Now this is how a shooter opening movie should be done. Just a few days after Moss posted the opening movie for Caladrius, Cave uploaded the opening movie for the Xbox 360 version of DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Kan, possibly to show everyone exactly what a shooter opening should look like. Not only does the movie show off the main characters, but there's animation, ships zooming and shooting, gameplay, and it has a better song. Watching this gets me pumped to play a bullet hell shooter, which is exactly what the opening movie should do. This also gives us a good look at the new Element Doll added to the game.
Continue reading DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Opening has Elements Dolls, Bullet Hell, and a Teddy Bear... - Shawn - 3/23/13 Caladrius Opening Movie Lacks Shooting Moss posted the opening movie for their gothic horror shooter Caladrius, but if I didn't already know that Caladrius was a shooter, this opening movie sure wouldn't give me the idea that it was. I would guess maybe a strategy RPG. Anyway, the opening movie just has character stills with their names against backgrounds with text scrolling by, while cherry blossoms and feathers fall from the sky. There is a purple cyclone and a possessed book or something, but no ships, no shooting, no sexy damage time, nothing. Overall it's rather boring. Watch the trailer instead. I don't actually mind the lack of shooting or excitement because I've seen lots of different opening movies for shooters over the years, but the opening could have had at least one ship flying by at some point; that way I'd get more of an idea what this game might be about if I was ill-informed. I'm sure the game is going to be lots of fun, regardless, so I won't judge it based on this. The end of the video has a small look at the limited edition, too, so that's cool.
- Shawn - 3/20/13 Direct link: Caladrius Opening Movie Lacks Shooting The Monkey's News Box: 3/17/13 TV / Movies
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Games
- Shawn - 3/17/13 Direct link: The Monkey's News Box: 3/17/13 Jakobs Claptrap Represents NECA's next Claptrap figure will be the awesome Jakobs Representative Claptrap. This bad-ass Claptrap has the distinguishable look of wood paneling with brass decor, and the Jakobs logo, of course. First seen in Borderlands' The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned DLC, this Claptrap gives you some "special" missions on behalf of the Jakobs corporation and murders Dr. Ned's Claptrap. Jakobs Claptrap will be out in June with retailer pre-orders beginning next week.
I love this Claptrap and seeing the figure has opened the bigger possibility of us getting the rest of the more uniquely painted Claptraps. - Shawn - 3/15/13 Direct link: Jakobs Claptrap Represents NECA Dips into the Aliens Expanded Universe NECA will be dipping into the Aliens expanded universe early on in their Aliens figure releases with the Genocide two-pack. Based off the four-issue Dark Horse comic from 1991-92, it includes black and red Alien Warriors. I haven't read the comic, or even knew there were red Aliens in the Aliens universe, but now I'm very intrigued. I'll have to hunt down these comics. Sure, they're just repaints, but unlike other properties, Aliens don't need to be physically different from each other. The figures feature over 30 points of articulation and bendy tails. The black Alien is a classic, but that red one looks rad-ass. It's almost on the verge of being a ridiculously awesome old Kenner Alien, but is actually just a normal Alien that is red.
Due out in June, this is just the first two-pack NECA has coming out this year. Continue reading NECA Dips into the Aliens Expanded Universe... - Shawn - 3/14/13 Caladrius Shoots Its Pants Off Even though all the characters of Moss' upcoming shooter Caladrius are comfortably inside ships, mechs, or some kind of Goth machine, and none of the characters' bodies are actually exposed to bullet hell bullets, the game will have a clothing damage system. Yes, the bullet hell action in Caladrius is so intense that even the characters' clothes will take damage. Hmmm, I don't remember seeing this in the trailer.
Apparently, during boss battles, if you fulfill some conditions there will be a quick cut-in animation of the boss's clothes being torn and ripped. Continue reading Caladrius Shoots Its Pants Off... - Shawn - 3/11/13 Revoltech Vic Viper Arrives in May Previously revealed by Hideo Kojima in January, online import retailers are now posting official photos and opening pre-orders for the long-awaited Revoltech Zone of the Enders Vic Viper. Vic Viper is scheduled for May 2013, just a scant two months away. The photos show it's quite poseable and probably transformable. The accessories include alternate arm parts, hand effects, high speed mode waist part, container, and display stand. I am very excited for this one because this is the Z.O.E. Revoltech I've been anticipating the most. Check out more photos of this awesomeness and/or pre-order at Hobby Link Japan and AmiAmi.
Continue reading Revoltech Vic Viper Arrives in May... - Shawn - 3/5/13 The Monkey's News Box: 3/3/13 Merch
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TV
- Shawn - 3/3/13 Direct link: The Monkey's News Box: 3/3/13 Shooting Gameside Vol. 6 Rocks the Dragon Shooting Gameside, the one and only awesome magazine dedicated to shooters, just blasted out its sixth powered-up volume, featuring the 25th Anniversary of Dragon Spirit. Their Dragon Spirit spread covers the arcade, home versions, the manga, and character illustrations. There are also articles about two Namco music collections along with the Xevious 30th Anniversary music collection, which is actually on iTunes right now if you want some rad shooter tunes. Among those larger features are tons of other articles about iOS shooters and an interview with the developers of Ginga Force. Get it from NCSX.
- Shawn - 2/27/13 Direct link: Shooting Gameside Vol. 6 Rocks the Dragon Normandy Replica Gets a Mass Upgrade Dark Horse's Mass Effect Normandy replica, in all its variations, is a nice piece, but for the Commander Shepards that feel their 6" Normandy is too small, there's the upcoming 18" replica. First shown at Toy Fair '13, the 18" Normandy SR-2 is a beast. It includes a custom base, similar to the ones included in the silver and bronze versions, but bigger. The 18" size allows for more detail and accuracy for the replica, but it's also a much more massive price at $300. I'd rather have that 18" Reaper if I had an extra $300 to spare on Mass Effect goodies. The big-ass Normandy is available for pre-order at the BioWare Store and Big Bad Toy Store and has an estimated ship date of August/September 2013.
- Shawn - 2/24/13 Direct link: Normandy Replica Gets a Mass Upgrade First Trailer for Caladrius Moss has released the first trailer for their upcoming gothic horror shooter Caladrius, introducing the three playable characters against misty backgrounds and gameplay while they chatter on. Kei, Maria, and Alex (designed by Durarara and Devil Survivor artist Suzuhito Yasuda) take to the skies to battle with ships in a gothic horror world with technology. The trailer gives us glimpses of the first and second level bosses, and maybe a couple of the others. That dragon boss thing looks like a cool battle, but it probably isn't that tough since its only the second level boss. Check out more goodies on the Caladrius site. There's been no announcement of any region-free-ness just yet, but Caladrius is out on 4/25/13 for the Xbox 360 in Japan.
- Shawn - 2/20/13 Direct link: First Trailer for Caladrius Mortal Kombat: Legacy Season II Trailer Mortal Kombat: Legacy is returning for a second season and bringing the original movie Shang Tsung back into the realm of Kombat. Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa is reprising his role as Shang Tsung, which already makes this season a must-watch. He even says the line, "It has begun," again. Despite Tagawa returning, movie Shang Tsung and Legacy Shang Tsung probably won't be connected in any way. Not all of the same cast members from the first season are returning for the second season, so there will be some new faces for familiar characters. Casper Van Dien is playing Johnny Cage, because what else does he have to do... and he has a goatee. Johnny Cage with facial hair is going to take some getting used to. Raiden, Stryker, and Mileena also have new actors. Some staple MK Characters not in season one, like Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Ermac, and Kenshi, all of whom you can see in the trailer.
The first season was far from perfect, but it had some cool moments and I enjoyed its trying-to-be-serious-campiness. It would be cool if there was one episode of director Kevin Tancharoen's original vision, like the Raiden episode from season 1, but so far the trailer shows us that this season will focus on the tournament to give us more of that traditional MK feel. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Season II will be begin airing sometime this year. - Shawn - 2/19/13 Direct link: Mortal Kombat: Legacy Season II Trailer Toy Fair 2013 Thoughts: Square Enix DC, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, Tekken, Dead Space, Halo, Resident Evil, and Metal Gear Square Enix continues to make bunches of videogame figures and is expanding their DC lineup. Here are but a few select Play Arts Kai figures that caught my eye. DC Apparently Square Enix will be making make more DC characters who aren't just from some kind of Batman title, but not just that; Square Enix is making original versions of DC characters. They have a Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Flash, and Green Lantern coming out. The Wonder Woman looks fantastic. It's hard to tell if the Batgirl will be good, since she's still an unpainted prototype. I'm not sure about the Flash yet. The paint apps could save it or kill it. That Green Lantern on the other hand, is absolutely terrible and one of the worst things I've seen come out of Toy Fair '13. As for Batman figures, there are a ton of Batmen and Dark Knight characters, along with Arkham Asylum Poison Ivy and Arkham City Harley Quinn. Poison Ivy is rocking some nice vines and a deadly flower accessory. Of course Harley looks good. I wonder if Square Enix will ever do the larger characters from the Arkham games, like Bane or Killer Croc. If they did they'd probably cost twice as much, but they'd be super cool.
Continue reading Toy Fair 2013 Thoughts: Square Enix... - Shawn - 2/16/13 Toy Fair '13 Thoughts: McFarlane Toys Halo, Assassin's Creed, Rabbids, and The Walking Dead Halo McFarlane Toys isn't done with Halo yet and had Halo 4 Series 2 on display with the kinds of figures we've come to expect. New figures and variants are the Didact with an alternate unmasked head, blue-ish (cobalt?) Elite Ranger, Storm Jackal, purple Spartan CIO, orange Spartan Scout, and yet another Halo 4 version of Master Chief for some reason. The Didact looks great and it's very cool that it includes an alternate head. The GameStop exclusive red & black Spartan was also at the show and is actually a part of Series 2 (it says so on the packaging). Photos of the rest of Series 2 are at the end of this article. Disappointingly, there were not any new Micro Ops on display. I loved the line and hope McFarlane Toys isn't done with the Micro Ops. I really want at least one of each vehicle all in-scale, especially an in-scale Elephant so I can store the rest of the vehicles. Maybe there's still more to come?
Continue reading Toy Fair '13 Thoughts: McFarlane Toys... - Shawn - 2/15/13 Toy Fair '13 Thoughts: NECA Predator, Aliens, RoboCop, BioShock Infinite, Gears of War, Pacific Rim, Portal, and Hello Kitty NECA has a ton of great stuff coming out. Here's a bunch of figures that tickle my collecting bone. Predator NECA is bringing out a Trophy Room diorama for the Predator skulls that were included with a few of the Predator figures. This is awesome and gives me a place to put the skulls instead of just setting them somewhere. NECA is also making updated figures of the old ridiculous Kenner Predators. Lava Planet, Nightstorm, and Laser Shot are each being re-made with NECA's standards. The Nightstorm Predator even has a removable mask! It's about time, NECA. I love that NECA is remaking the old Pred figures. The packaging is even a throwback to the original line. This hits my nostalgia bone in a good way.
Continue reading Toy Fair '13 Thoughts: NECA... - Shawn - 2/13/13 Toy Fair '13 Thoughts: Hasbro Transformers, G.I. Joe, Star Wars, and Marvel Hasbro showed off a ton of stuff at Toy Fair this year, but here are a select few items that may find a spot on my collector radar. Transformers Metroplex. Holy frak. Hasbro will be releasing the 24" tall Masterpiece Metroplex with paint apps based on his look in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. I didn't think we would see Metroplex released in the U.S. until at least 2014 or ever, but he's on his way. Metroplex here can transform into robot, city, and vehicle-ish mode. he has all the features like light up eyes with articulated pupils, sounds, talking phrases, firing canons, repairs bays, landing strips... did I mention it's two feet tall?
Continue reading Toy Fair '13 Thoughts: Hasbro... - Shawn - 2/12/13 Warning! SGH Reboot Taito SP is Approaching Fast The Shooting Game Historica Reboot Taito SP collection looms closer to its release as the T-A.R.T.S. blog has posted a photo of the window box packaging for the series. The window boxes look great and are a much improved upgrade from the previous capsules and blind boxes the series was originally in. They're also sitting in front of a Wii U and Toshiba TV, so there's that. T-A.R.T.S. also posted a new photo of the Silver Hawk Next, just because. A few lucky fans will be able to score the three SGHR ships over a month early as Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. will have a very limited number to sell at their booth at Winter Wonder Festival. The rest of us shooter fans will have to wait until the SGHR Taito SP collection mass releases in late March.
Continue reading Warning! SGH Reboot Taito SP is Approaching Fast... - Shawn - 2/9/13 Kojima Announces New Metal Gear Figures Before Toy Fair Action figure hero Hideo Kojima has announced two new Play Arts Kai Metal Gear figures, three additional Raiden repaints, and teased a secret figure on his Twitter, all before the New York Toy Fair 2013 gets underway. First off, Kojima teased a figure hiding underneath a Metal Gear 25th Anniversary box. Is it a Play Arts Kai? Some fans are speculating that this is actually a Revoltech figure. If that's the case, then fans can expect another line of cool Metal Gear figures to collect. Maybe we'll see who's under the box in a few days at Toy Fair or Winter Wonder Festival.
Continue reading Kojima Announces New Metal Gear Figures Before Toy Fair... - Shawn - 2/6/13 Hideo Kojima is Now a Metal Gear Action Figure Metal Gear big cheese Hideo Kojima has been posting shots of Play Arts Kai Metal Gear figures on his Twitter for a while, essentially announcing new figures himself and sometimes showing us the figures throughout their development process. Well, Kojima has now become a Play Arts Kai Metal Gear figure himself.
Square Enix sent Kojima a one-of-a-kind figure of Kojima's head on Raiden's body from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, or what Kojima has named Hideo Raiden, or Black Hideo. Continue reading Hideo Kojima is Now a Metal Gear Action Figure... - Shawn - 2/4/13 DoDonPachi Saidaioujou and Under Defeat HD Double Shot A double shot-o-shooter news for two awesome shooters. -DoDonPachi Saidaioujou will hit Japanese Xbox 360s on May 30th. The home version will feature an Xbox 360 mode with a new playable character and boss, and an HD mode with smoother HD visuals. Cave's Makoto Asada had previously stated that they want a simultaneous release for the West, so hopefully will we actually see it in the U.S. and Europe near the same date.
Continue reading DoDonPachi Saidaioujou and Under Defeat HD Double Shot... - Shawn - 2/3/13 Exclusive Halo 4 Spartan Appears at Power Up Rewards McFarlane Toys has given GameStop's Power Up Rewards program another exclusive Halo figure with a red & black Spartan Warrior from the Halo 4 line. There is a regular red Spartan Warrior in the normal Halo 4 Series 1, but the paint apps style on the PUR exclusive looks a lot cooler. The Power Up Rewards exclusive Halo Reach Elite from 2011 had a very cool metallic blue armor, so their second exclusive figure also had to look fantastic. If this Spartan is as limited as the metallic blue Elite, then there would be a total of 3,000 of these. I don't know the exact number or when the Spartan Warrior went up on Power Up Rewards site since Spawn.com never mentioned the figure. It must have just been posted very recently because there are no eBay listings just yet. Right now, the figure is 18,400 points, so if you're a Halo collector who needs this, you better get to earning those points.
- Shawn - 2/2/13 Direct link: Exclusive Halo 4 Spartan Appears at Power Up Rewards Caladrius Shoots up Some Gothic Horror Moss is bringing out Caladrius, a new original shooter set in a gothic horror world. Well, it's probably as gothic horror as it can get with having sleek space fighters and billions of brightly colored bullets. The screenshots show off a giant knight dude, a dragon thing, lots of bullets, and a few Goth-ish characters. Durarara and Devil Survivor artist Suzuhito Yasuda designed the characters and Basiscape did all the music for the game. Caladrius will have full voice acting in it story and the ship can be customized with the Elemental Shot System.
Continue reading Caladrius Shoots up Some Gothic Horror... - Shawn - 2/2/13 Street Fighter Comics return with Super Hardcovers Out training and meditating for the past 18 months, Udon's Street Fighter comic series has returned with Super Street Fighter: New Generation. This time, however, Udon is skipping the individual comics and releasing these straight as over-sized hardcover graphic novels. Volume One is out right now and is 144 pages of new stories and a gallery with sketches and original art. Udon has actually posted previews at Comics Alliance and Kotaku to get everyone pumped for the series big return. The book is out at comic shops now and will hit online retailers within a week or so. It's listed at a $34.95 price, but it can be found for much cheaper. I'm a big fan of Udon's Street Fighter series and have been eagerly awaiting this. It will probably more than a month until volume two hits, but at least these are already in Udon's awesome over-sized hardcover format.
- Shawn - 1/31/13 Direct link: Street Fighter Comics return with Super Hardcovers SGH Reboot Taito SP Collection 1 Photos Burst Up Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. revealed Shooting Game Historica Reboot last month and have now shot out photos of the three Taito ships in the first collection. These are looking absolutely incredible for their small 2" - 3" size. The Silver Hawk Legend, Silver Hawk Next, and Black Fly each have a shiny paint sheen, burst parts/booster add-on, and a slick black display stand. I love the direction Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. is going with this line and I can't wait to see what other ships they have coming up after these.
Continue reading SGH Reboot Taito SP Collection 1 Photos Burst Up... - Shawn - 1/30/13 The Monkey's News Box: 1/27/13 Merch
Games
Movies
- Shawn - 1/27/13 Direct link: The Monkey's News Box: 1/27/13 Death Deals The Art of DarkSiders II Hardcover After the big THQ asset auction, it was sad to see that absolutely no one bid on DarkSiders or Vigil Games. Seriously, Homefront got bought but not DarkSiders? What the hell?! I'm sure Crytek can do something cool with Homefront, so this is no knock against Crytek. It's just maddening knowing that an IP with a largely mediocre or worse game was bought over an amazing franchise with two fantastic games under it belt. There is still a chance someone could get DarkSiders in the secondary THQ sell-off, possibly by Platinum, so there could be hope. For those that do love DarkSiders, because there are a lot of fans, Udon has announced and released a limited edition hardcover version of their DarkSiders II art book. It's 226 pages of awesome art and production from Joe Madureira and Vigil and is exclusive to the Udon Store. Strangely, Udon did not share the number of copies that the book is limited to. The first DarkSiders art book was limited to 500, so I'm guessing this could be the same. If nobody picks up DarkSiders during THQ's second asset sale, this could be one of the last pieces of DarkSiders merchandise. Let's hope that a good studio buys it and the series continues.
- Shawn - 1/26/13 Direct link: Death Deals The Art of DarkSiders II Hardcover Kojima Shoots the Core to Reveal Revoltech Vic Viper Hideo Kojima revealed the Revoltech Vic Viper on his Twitter, just before attending a pizza party. This is the Zone of the Enders Revoltech figure I've been waiting for since the first Jehuty figure appeared and it's now on the horizon. Kojima only posted one photo of it since he had to grab some pizza, but so far it looks good. Kojima mentioned that you can change the parts, which could mean a couple things; either we'll be able to change it by transforming it, or it will include extra parts to switch out to make the space fighter Vic Viper. It would seem strange to actually switch out the parts to change it, and Revoltech has had transforming robots before, so hopefully it means actual transforming. We'll find out once the Vic Viper is shown off by Kaiyodo themselves, but either way I'm happy that the Revoltech Zone of the Enders Vic Viper is finally being made.
- Shawn - 1/21/13 Direct link: Kojima Shoots the Core to Reveal Revoltech Vic Viper The Monkey's News Box: 1/20/13 Games
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Movies
- Shawn - 1/20/13 Direct link: The Monkey's News Box: 1/20/13 Revoltech Ardjet Busts out of Her Coffin Ardjet, the robo-geisha-in-a-coffin Orbital Frame from Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, is almost ready for her Revoltech debut. We last saw the Revoltech Ardjet as an unpainted prototype back at last year's Tokyo Game Show, but now it's all up in the pre-order sphere with tons of new photos. It's a bizarrely cool looking mecha and just like in the game, Ardjet's cape can cover her like a coffin. It's an awesome thing.
Continue reading Revoltech Ardjet Busts out of Her Coffin... - Shawn - 1/16/13 Toyota Allies with Zeon to Bring us Char's Car Last year, Toyota unveiled a concept Auris specially made for notorious Gundam character Char Aznable, but now Toyota plans to actually sell the car to the public. The MS-186H-CA Auris hatchback is painted matte red, with detailing and labels inspired by Char's signature red Zaku. Even the logo is a combination of Toyota's and Zeon's. It looks awesome for a hatchback. To make this car a reality, Toyota has allied itself with Zeonic, the fictional Zeon manufacturer that makes the mobile suits for Zeon. Zeonic Toyota, the combined named of these two manufacturing titans, has an official website for Char's car, aiming to release the car for sale later this year.
Despite the fact that Toyota has allied itself with what is largely seen as a fictional villainous organization, this car is going to sell incredibly well. Continue reading Toyota Allies with Zeon to Bring us Char's Car... - Shawn - 1/15/13 The Monkey's News Box: 1/13/13 Games
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Movies
- Shawn - 1/13/13 Direct link: The Monkey's News Box: 1/13/13 Kojima Shows Off Metal Gear REX's Little Snake Spaghetti and film addict Hideo Kojima received the production version of the ThreeA's Bambaland exclusive Metal Gear REX and showed it off on his Twitter. ThreeA & Metal Gear fans have been waiting nearly a year for this version of REX and this is proof that they are finally shipping, or will be soon, at least. The big highlight here is that this is our first look at the pilot Snake figure that can sit inside REX's cockpit. I was expecting the "younger" Solid Snake, or maybe even Liquid Snake, but apparently the figure is Old Snake. That's cool, but I like Snake more when he was more Solid than Old.
Continue reading Kojima Shows Off Metal Gear REX's Little Snake... - Shawn - 1/7/13 Border Down Antares Resin Kit G. Rev's Dreamcast-era side-scrolling shooter Border Down is getting a slick resin kit from R.C. Berg. Border Down's Antares is a unique and awesome looking ship. The huge booster unit is detachable it includes a super sweet SDF display base. The Antares measures a little over 6" long and will cost a 12,600 Yen. As with the Power Dolls resin kit, the Antares will be available at Winter Wonder Festival 2013 on February 10th.
Continue reading Border Down Antares Resin Kit... - Shawn - 1/5/13 ThreeA's Atlas and P-body Painted Prototypes ThreeA's versions of Portal 2's Atlas and P-body made an appearance in ThreeA's booth at ACG 2012, fully painted and with their own Portal Gun for some hot co-op puzzle solving action. This is the first look we get of the two painted prototypes since we last saw them earlier in 2012, all naked and gray. Both these figures look amazing and are incredibly detailed and realistic. According to the ThreeA forum, they will actually have the eye animation sequence, too, which just adds to the realism. The figures look to be about 12" or so in height when compared to the figures in the third photo. As usual with prototype ThreeA figures, these don't yet have a release date, price, nor do know whether these will be sold singly or as a pair, but they should be available sometime in 2013. You can check out a ton more photos of ThreeA's other goodies at the ThreeA blog.
Continue reading ThreeA's Atlas and P-body Painted Prototypes... - Shawn - 1/1/13 R.C. Berg Detaches a Power Dolls Model R.C Berg is making a Power Dolls model kit based from the newest game in the series, Web Power Dolls. I had no idea that the series was still alive, but apparently Web Power Dolls is a browser-based Power Dolls strategy game that came out not too long ago in Japan. The Power Loader XL-11 model is approximately 7" tall, and like R.C. Berg's other kits, is cast in color resin. The price is a powerful 21,000 Yen and will be available at Winter Wonder Festival on February 2nd, 2013. If only R.C. Berg would make non-limited kits, these would be easier to get and much cheaper. Check out more photos at R.C. Berg.
- Shawn - 1/1/13 Direct link: R.C. Berg Detaches a Power Dolls Model
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