So at the end of the summer, fans of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi can finally complete the entire SOS Brigade of Figma characters (plus you can pose them like you see them on the Hare Hare Yukai dance). However, for those who want to collect all the Figma figures for the series, Good Smile and Max Factory are going to release Ryoko and Tsuruya figma figures this fall!

Not only can you create the SOS Brigade but you can also re-create memorable scenes like the battle between Ryoko and Yuki and even comedic scenes with Tsuruya. Ryoko will be released in October 2008 while Tsuruya will be released in November 2008. Both will retail for 2500 yen each. Good Smile and Max Factory have to slowdown the production of new Figma figures because I’m slowly going broke!

-Stephen

As we got to the field, it was like a sea of red and a lot of chanting from one of the corners. The atmosphere was amazing…the crowd was constantly cheering and many were always on their feet to cheer on the Home team. It took some time, but I was able to distinguish some of the cheers like “This is our house!” and people singing to “When the Reds (Saints) go marching in”. What I found rather hilarious was all the heckling that was going on against the other team. Some examples include throwing streamers at the opponent when performing corner kicks and booing and chanting “Dig a hole, bury him” when an opposing player was injured. I was definitely shocked that the police and officials would allow such behaviour.

When the game was over, it was a 1-1 tie with the team from Montreal. However, it was later announced that Toronto needed to beat Montreal in order to represent Canada in an international tournament. Since it was a tie, Montreal will represent Canada…that caused a huge amount of boos and jeers amongst the Toronto crowd. I never really thought that Toronto would be so passionate about soccer…I guess I was wrong! =) Anyhow, after the experience, I gotta say I had a good time…I never heard such enthusiasm and excitement in a sporting event before…and hopefully I’ll get the chance to watch another TFC game in the future (I really need to get myself a jersey and a scarf so I can fit in with the crowd!)..=)

-Stephen

After watching the end of the series on Saturday with the 4 part episode entitled, Sozin’s Comet, it was definitely a phenomenal end to a phenomenal series. Though there are still a few questions left to be answered (like where is Zuko’s mother, Ursa?) and the supposed “Deus-Ex Machina” of what Aang did during his battle with Ozai, it was an overall success. It’s unfortunate that the series creators (Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko) decided not to extend the series further despite seeing huge success and Nickelodeon wanting to contract them for a rumoured three additional seasons. I can definitely understand that the creators had originally intended the series to be three seasons from the beginning and did not want to dilute the storyline and adding fillers. Sometimes, series drag on for too long and then fans can definitely notice that it becomes less about the integrity of the storyline, but rather milking of the franchise…and so I definitely respect the creators for sticking to their original vision.

But Avatar fans need not worry…there seems to be plans for another series which could possibly be set in the same world but in a different time period (a whole new cast of characters). Also, there are plans set for a trilogy of live-action films to be directed by renowned author and director, M. Night Shyamalan. Well, it’s been a great ride for the last 3 seasons and if you haven’t had the chance to watch this great series, check it out!

-Stephen

Recently at the E3 convention, two of the three games (Rockband 2 and Rock Revolution) were available for people to demo and get a feel for the games, while GHWT was previewed at a press conference in Los Angeles. Take a look at videos of each game in action:

Rockband 2:

Rock Revolution:

Guitar Hero World Tour:

So after checking out the the different videos and features of each game, I think my choice is between Guitar Hero World Tour and Rockband 2 simply because Rock Revolution doesn’t have a singing component and it didn’t seem to “excite” me as much as the other two games. I guess I’ll have to watch out to see which of the two will come out on top.

-Stephen

So it was recently announced that one of the most critically acclaimed comic books ever written, was finally getting a movie adaptation. On Friday, the Watchmen trailer was shown during the previews for the Dark Knight movie (another highly anticipated film). All I can say is…WOW. The Watchmen is a complex, multi-faceted mystery adventure which takes place in an alternate America in 1985. Directed by Zach Synder, who is also known for directing the other comicbook movie, 300, has a lot of expectations placed upon him since Watchmen fans would settle for nothing less than perfection.

Anyhow, if the actual movie can evoke much excitement and anticipation as the preview, many comicbook fans will be extemely happy. That long wait till March 6th, 2009 will be excruciating.

-Stephen

An example of that is the upcoming Star Wars game from THQ. Entitled, Star Wars: Force Unleashed, you play as Darth Vader’s apprentice and you utilize the touch screen to deflect shots with your lightsaber or even use “the Force” to move objects. Check it out the video:

Though it won’t be officially released until September 16th, it’s really exciting that game developers are making these new and exciting apps for the iPhone.

-Stephen

So it’s been a couple of months that Macross Frontier has been on the air and must say that I’m really enjoying it. The battles, the animation, the story, the characters and most importantly the music! I’ve been pretty enthralled with Macross Frontier that I anticipate each episode every week. What I’ve also been searching for is merchandise for this amazing anime…I guess since it’s still fairly new, not much has been made available lately.

Seeing the Macross Quarter and the Valkyrie Fighters do bring back memories of the past series and recently I found a picture of the upcoming VF-25 model, which is piloted by the main character, Alto Saotome. It definitely looks awesome and I can’t wait order one for myself. Pre-orders don’t seem to be available just yet, but it looks as though it’ll be released on September 2008 and have a retail price of 4725 Yen (about $45 USD).

-Stephen

Though no actual gameplay or plotline has actually been revealed, it was definitely exciting to finally see Kratos in high definition. For those of you who have played GOW II on the PS2, will expect the next title to be a direction continuation of the events that happened at the end of the last installment (it was a cliffhanger too!). I won’t reveal any details and spoil it for others, but it sounds as though you’ll get to once again battle Zeus and the Olympians as Kratos, the ghost of Sparta.

Since no release date has been announced, it’s probably best to assume that the game won’t be out for awhile…but hopefully Sony will give us more videos and previews of the game as they become available.

-Stephen

Recently, Nintendo introduced a new attachment to the Wiimote which may change things. Called the “Wii MotionPlus”, the attachment will connect to the bottom of the Wiimote and will “redefine game control by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space”. This will translate to more realistic control never before seen in a console system. Apparently, the Wii MotionPlus is sensitive enough to even detect slight movements of the wrist and arm and will be translated into the gameplay.

Though I’m happy that Nintendo is finally considering 1:1 control, I definitely think that this should’ve been available on the Wiimotes from the very beginning. Right now, it makes it seem like Nintendo is going for a cash grab by releasing all these peripherals separately and taking more money from families. I definitely hope that Nintendo will release the Wii MotionPlus prior to the release of Star Wars: Force Unleashed because what better way to showcase 1:1 control than a lightsaber game? Anyhow, we’ll probably hear more about the Wii MotionPlus throughout E3.

-Stephen

Though I’m sure many PS3 fanboys will be upset by the news, I for one welcome the idea that many games are multi-platformed. Not only does it expose the games to a wider audience, but it helps to drive revenues for the developer and hopefully encourage them to create more quality titles for the future. Anyhow, check out the new E3 Final Fantasy XIII trailer below:

If the game is going to look this gorgeous, I can hardly wait! =)

-Stephen