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Unboxing Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi

So, as many of you have probably heard (and are beyond excited for, I'm sure), Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will be seeing an English release sometime early next year. Well, unfortunately, the Nintendo DS version of Ni no Kuni will not probably be as lucky – it's been out for just about a year now in Japan and no word as surfaced as to a potential localization.

I've been lamenting on how difficult it is to obtain a copy of said game (it's available online, but generally runs around $80+), and have been coveting it for a long time due to the famous book it comes with. From what I'd read, the book is an integral part of the game, and that's probably a big part of the reason why Level 5 (or whoever is in charge of localizations) decided not to bring the game over to the US.

Well, thanks to my great Twitter friend Zolbrod who lives in Japan, I've now got myself a complete copy of Ni no Kuni DS! It was used, but it only set me back about $25. Well, shipping was killer due to the size of the book, but it still ended up being about half what I would've paid online! Thanks again, Zolbrod!

I haven't gotten a chance to play the game yet, but rest assured, I will be making a full report soon! For now, here are some sample pictures of the set and a few excerpts from the gorgeous book.

The box that holds the book and game.
When they say book, they mean book!

There are so many gorgeous illustrations!

The book contains full lists of spells, weapons, and a bestiary –  there are so many cute enemies. It looks like they each have 4 forms, one for each element. 

Why's there a tire in the bottom right?

The book also contains a number of maps, as well as detailed history and other lore. 

And, of course, game itself.


I can't wait to sink my teeth into this game! Expect a full report in the next few weeks.

Afterfall InSanity










Afterfall InSanity - 1DVD

It is 2032 - 20 years after the end of World War III. To survive the nuclear holocaust, humankind fled from the contaminated surface to find safety in vast bunkers, cities created deep underground. Decaying shelters and hideaways set the stage in mankind's struggle for survival where they battle horrible mutants, bloodthirsty mercenaries and other threats.

In Afterfall: InSanity you won't only face the aftermath of the nuclear fallout, but also the dark shadows of the past in the role of the mysterious psychologist Albert. As Albert, the player will be part of a team of medical scientists in charge of monitoring the fugitives' mental stability. If Albert does not confront his greatest weaknesses and deepest fears, he will not survive the claustrophobic depths of the underground from which there is no escape and where the darkness hides more secrets than simply the growing madness of its inhabitants. Defy everything that's in your way to solve the horrible secrets that exists in the dark.

Features:
Detailed and extensive environments set in post-apocalyptic versions of
real-world locations
Expansive levels with giant cities, tunnels, bunkers and deep mines
An exciting and rich story with unexpected twists and turns in the dark
world of Afterfall
Extensive weapons arsenal with myriad types of opponents for thrilling
cinematic close and long-range combat
Dramatic soundtrack further enhancing the dark atmosphere sure to evoke
goose bumps and enhancing the tension
State-of-the-art effects thanks to the newest Unreal-Engine 3

System requirements:
- Operating system: Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows 7
- Processor: Inter Core 2 Duo 2 GHz
- Memory: 2 GB (XP) / 3 GB (Vista / 7)
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT with 256 MB memory, with support for Pixel Shader 3.0
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible
- Free space on your hard disk: 4.4 GB

Anno 2070









Anno 2070 - 2DVD

2070. Our world has changed. The rising level of the ocean has harmed the coastal cities and climate change has made large stretches of land inhospitable. The latest in the award-winning strategy series, Anno 2070™ offers a new world full of challenges, where you will need to master resources, diplomacy, and trade in the most comprehensive economic management system in the Anno series.
Build your society of the future, colonize islands, and create sprawling megacities with multitudes of buildings, vehicles, and resources to manage. Engineer production chains such as Robot Factories, Oil Refineries, and Diamond Mines,and trade with a variety of goods and commodities.

Game Features:
- The game takes place in 2070. As with the entire line of Anno, this game – simulator manager, you want to build brick by brick, a huge city with its complicated infrastructure and production, planned to increase their population, to listen to the needs of ordinary people and trade / war with its neighbors.

- From the title Anno 2070 clearly shows that the lift on his feet the whole metropolis we are in 2070, the year. As usual, the future of humanity is prepared to test Mother Nature. The gradual change in the Earth’s climate will lead to a massive increase in sea level and cause the masses of people to adapt to rapidly changing conditions of life.

- It refers to rulers who are building their empire – they have to get along with environmental and climate problems, because as the construction of cities world Anno 2070 will also vary in their own jealously respond to all that a player will do with the few scraps of land suitable for of life. During the construction we will be able to adhere to the two doctrines – the industrial, which is typical of the faction “magnates» (Tycoons) and is very effective for rapid development, and environmental more friendly to nature and is a fundamental principle of the other faction, called “Environmentalists» (Ecos). The choice of hand depends on the way to change the world in Anno 2070.

- In addition to the single-player campaign that promises a lot of trials and the “plot turns”, in Anno 2070 there are popular among the people “infinite” mode of the game, which essentially amounts to the creation of the highest possible civilization, and multiplayer with a cloud of “innovative” ideas. Great graphics and an updated engine in the list of promises also appear.

System Requirements:
OS: Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows 7
Processor: 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2 or better
Memory: 2 GB (4 GB recommended)
Graphics: 512 MB DirectX 9.0c-compatible with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)* DirectX: 9.0c
Hard Drive: 5 GB
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compliant
Peripherals: Windows-compatible mouse and keyboard
Internet Connection: Temporary broadband connection for product registration, permanent broadband connection for multiplayer. *Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
ATI Radeon X1000/HD 2000/3000/4000/5000/6000 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7/8/9/100/200/300/400/500 series

Assasins Creed Revelations








Assasins Creed Revelations - 2DVD

When a man has won all his battles and defeated his enemies what is left for him to achieve? Ezio Auditore must leave his life behind in search of answers, In search of the truth.
In Assassin's Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of the legendary mentor Altair, on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path  one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilise the region.
In addition to Ezio's award-winning story, a refined and expanded online multiplayer experience returns with new and additional modes, maps and characters, allowing you to test your assassin skills against others from around the world.

Features:
BECOME DEADLIER THAN EVER - Take on the lethal skills of a wiser, more efficient and deadlier Ezio. Swiftly eliminate your adversaries by deploying a new arsenal of weapons and abilities, such as enhanced free-running and hook blade combat. Experience new levels of gameplay customisation with bomb crafting, and use heightened Eagle Vision to overcome your enemies and the environment.
TEST YOUR SKILLS AGAINST THE BEST - A critically acclaimed multiplayer experience gets even better, with all-new team modes and unlimited replay value.
EXPERIENCE REVOLUTIONARY GAMEPLAY - Explore the farthest reaches of the Animus as you uncover the mysteries of Desmond's past while gaining insight into what the future might hold.

Minimum System Requirements
* OS: Windows® XP SP3 / Windows Vista® SP2 /Windows 7® SP1
* CPU: Intel Core®2 Duo E4300 @ 1.8 Ghz or AMD Athlon64 X2 4600+ @ 2.4GHZ
* RAM: 1.5 GB Windows XP / 2 GB Windows Vista – Windows 7
* HDD space: 12 GB
* Graphics: 256 MB with Shader Model 3.0 or highe
* DirectX: 9
Recommended System Requirements
* OS: Windows® XP SP3 / Windows Vista® SP2 /Windows 7® SP1
* CPU: Intel Core®2 Duo E6700 @ 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon64 X2 6000+ @ 3.0Ghz or better
* RAM: 2 GB
* HDD space: 12 GB
* Graphics: 512 MB with Shader Model 5.0 or higher
* DirectX: 9.0
Supported Graphics Cards:
Supported Video Cards at Time of Release: AMD® Radeon HD2000/3000/4000/5000/6000 desktop series
nVidia GeForce 8/9/GT200/GT400/GT500 desktop series

Stroke of Fate Operation Valkyrie







Stroke of Fate Operation Valkyrie - 1DVD

Operation Valkyrie is a famous plan of the German Resistance to overthrow the tyrannical Nazi government. Standartenfuhrer Gerhard Mayer, a patriot who works in Reich Security Head Office learns that Gestapo has tracked down the conspirators. He does everything possible to make the investigation assigned to him and tries to mislead Gestapo in order to help the Resistance to overthrow the Nazi regime and stop the war.

Features
* Detective adventure game in historical surroundings.
* Photorealistic high-definition graphics.
* Full immersion into historical atmosphere, with an option to play in black and white movie style.
* Wonderfully detailed locations, dozens of characters, spy mini-game

System Requirements

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Pentium IV / Athlon 2 GHz
Memory: 1024 MB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 2.5 GB
Video Card: 256 MB 3D video card (Geforce 4 / Radeon 9500, resolution 1280x1024 or higher)
DirectX®: 9.0

Ruminating on Corpse Party

Japanese cover for the game. Full title: Corpse Party: Blood Covered... Repeated Fear
If you've seen my tweets over the past week or so, you know I've been gushing over Corpse Party pretty much nonstop. But what is Corpse Party, and why should you care about it? As I'm in the midst of writing my review, which probably won't go up for a day or two due to some server transitions happening over at Video Game Writers, I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk a bit about the game here.

Believe it or not, Corpse Party is one of the few games in recent months that got me really excited in anticipation of its release. Even stranger is the fact that I really am not a horror connoisseur by any means, and generally don't go out of my way to consume any sort of horror-related media. So what is it about Corpse Party that grabbed my attention so throughly?

First of all, Corpse Party is a game I would have never thought would see the light of day in English. In fact, I hadn't even heard of it before XSEED announced that they would be localizing it. The game they localized actually is a port/remake of the original indie PC game, made with the help of RPG Maker. The original creators got quite a bit of publicity for such an indie title, eventually spurring the remake, multiple manga series, and even a sequel. But what makes people so enamored with Corpse Party?

Just because they're pixilated doesn't make the blood splatters any less creepy. 
The game starts off innocuously enough: A group of high school students are saying farewell to one of their classmates, who is transferring to another school the next day. One of them suggests they perform a special charm so that they will always stay friends, to which they all agree. They preform the ritual, but immediately afterwards an earthquake suddenly erupts, transporting them to Heavenly Host Elementary School, a school rife with murder and disappearances that was torn down many years before.

Keeping the story relatively vague, as the story is really the heart and soul of the game, I found that the first hour or so was terribly generic and cliche. After the initial introduction, there is even a break in the game to allow you to read each of the nine charaters' profiles! At first glance, many might be turned off by the seemingly stereotypical characters and premise, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the game developed.

After the initial sequences, your characters are split up into groups, and the overall goal is to guide them to their peers and out of the horrible predicament they've found themselves in. There is a lot of character development, and as you play as the different parties, you slowly begin to understand their relationships and histories, which makes it all the more distressing when you find out that anyone can die. That's right – in Corpse Party, no one is safe from a gruesome and horrible death, either at the mercy of a vengeful ghost or the hands of their own peers. Though some of the characters remained a tad too stereotypical/fanservice-y for my tastes (you've got your token panty shots and lesbian who's in love with her best friend), overall, the story developments and character interactions were extremely enthralling, and were what ultimately made me love the game as much as I did.

I'm not one for fanservice, and unfortunately panty shots like these totally took me out of the moment. 
Many people are confused about what kind of game Corpse Party is. The game features decidedly retro graphics, a la RPG Maker, with anime-style character illustrations and the occasional CG cutscene. Described by XSEED as an adventure game, I'd probably most liken it to Sweet Home meets 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. There are no battles, however, and the bulk of the game is spent exploring the haunted school, looking for clues to advance the story. You'll talk to the occasional ghost, but for the most part the only characters you'll find are the ones in your party at the time. Decision-making is extremely important, and what you choose will often dictate whether or not you'll bear witness to one of the game's decidedly gristly "wrong ends."

For each of the game's five chapters, there is one "true end," which will advance you to the next chapter, and any number of wrong ends. The wrong ends are some of the most disturbing things I have ever seen, but nothing that kept me awake late at night. Even so, I was terribly enthralled by them – the sound direction is amazing in both the music and the sound effects, and every gruesome squish and squelch there, accompanied by the horrified screams of teenage girls (I could've done without some of the latter, though). Something about the game made me actually want to go out of my way to view the wrong ends I missed, though I'm not sure what that says about me. Rather than just being mindless gore, by getting players to connect with the characters, every bloody scene is all the more jarring. Perhaps one of the most horrifying moments for me in the game was finding out the identity of the person splattered all over the hallway you've been passing by the last 3 hours, and one of the other character's own reaction to that realization.

I'll briefly touch on what I didn't like about the game. In all honestly, Corpse Party is not a great game, but rather a great experience. There are a number of times where the game gives you absolutely no guidance and it's up to you to wander the halls of the school, investigating everything until you hit the jackpot and are able to advance the game. Some of the puzzles are reduced down to simply mashing x on anything and everything, which isn't all that fun when you've got a ghost on your tail and a drawn-out wrong end awaiting you if you run into them by mistake. The game also does not have a text skip feature for when you have to reply segments over and over again because you keep dying, which means you're going to be skipping through a lot of death scenes you've seen before. Since the game shares a lot of similarities with visual novels, it really would've benefitted from some kind of fast-forward button like there is in 999.

All in all, I'd say that if you're at all interested in the horror genre and experiencing truly unique game experiences, then you owe it to yourself to give Corpse Party a shot (this is really starting to sound like a review!). Even if you generally don't like scary stories, I'd still suggest the game, though it isn't for the faint of heart. It's only available on the Playstation Network for the PSP due to the fact that its such a niche title, but if you can spare the $20 and the download, I highly recommend it. If you're interested in hearing more about the game, I'll be posting my full review on Video Game Writers in the very near future. I really hope more people are exposed to this game so that XSEED will be able to release its sequel in the future!

Race Injection








Race Injection - 2DVD

RACE Injection enhances the smash hit formula of RACE 07 by combining the most requested content from five separate expansions – Formula RaceRoom, WTCC 2010, STCC The Game 2, GT Power and the Retro expansion – into one new retail pack.

With the new additions of 23 unique cars and 9 tracks, the complete RACE Injection now features a massive 83 individual car models in 43 separate car classes, customisable with over 450 highly detailed skins.
The powerful cars can be raced on more than 40 tracks from around the world with over 60 different track configurations.
Cars, classes and tracks can be endlessly mixed and matched to create unique and thrilling championships and events.

System requirements:
• Operating System: XP, Vista, 7
• Processor: Intel Pentium IV / Intel Core / AMD Athlon 1,4 GHz (XP) / 2 GHz (Vista / Windows 7)
• Memory: 1 GB (Windows XP) / 2GB (Windows Vista / 7)
• Hard disk space: 8.25 GB
• Video: NVIDIA FX 5900 Ultra / ATI Radeon 9800/Intel 82915G/82910GL or better with 128 MB
• Important: Before installing disable Anti-Virus and Firewall

Jurassic Park The Game









Jurassic Park The Game - 1DVD

Description:
Quest is an extension of the famous movie "Jurassic Park". The plot continues the events of the first part, with the game, as befits a project Telltale, will be divided into five episodes. The game will unfold in a familiar fans of Foggy Island, and the writers promise to develop those storylines that were left over: for example, we finally learn what happened to the embryos that are lost programmer Dennis Nedri.

System requirements:
CPU: 1.8 GHz Pentium 4 or equivalent
RAM: 2 GB RAM
VGA: ATI or NVidia card w / 256 MB RAM
DX: Direct X 9.0c
OS: XP Service Pack 3 / Vista / Windows 7
HDD: 3 GB Space Free
Sound: Direct X 8.1 sound device