Friday, April 3, 2009

Pre-Order Update - BlazBlue 360 / PS3 - 6/25/09

Our Price: $69.99 (PS3 / 360)
Release Date: 6/25/2009
UPC: 4510772090063 - 360
UPC: 4510772090056 - PS3
Genre: Fighting
Company: Arc System Works
Version: Japan
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is a two-dimensional fighting arcade game by Arc System Works, the staff behind the Guilty Gear series. It was released on November 19, 2008 in Japan and November 20, 2008 in the United States. It will later be released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 6/25/09. It is a spiritual successor to Guilty Gear. A playable demo was presented at AOU 2008. The game is currently released for the Taito Type X2 arcade system board, with a 16:9 ratio and 768p resolution.

  • The game uses an 8-directional joystick, common to most fighting games, and 4 attack buttons: Light (A), Middle (B), Heavy (C), and Drive (D), the latter of which activates unique special abilities for each character. Throw and Throw Escape are performed by pressing B and C at the same time. In addition to basic dashing and jumping, there are also double jumps, high jumps and air dashes.

  • Guard Libra: When guarding or forcing your opponent to guard, this gauge will shift. When it fills up completely to one side, the guarding player will undergo a Barrier Crush and will be stunned temporarily.
  • Barrier Gauge: A gauge that regenerates over time, used for Barrier Guard. The defense capability of a character is lowered for a set period of time when this gauge reaches zero.
  • Barrier Guard: Pushes back the opponent and prevents the Guard Libra from shifting. Performed by pressing A and B at the same time while guarding.
  • Barrier Burst: Pushes the opponent away, even when guarding or receiving damage, thus canceling the enemy's combo in the latter case. If used offensively and guarded by the opponent, they will undergo a Barrier Crush. Uses 100% of the Barrier Gauge and leaves it to zero for the remainder of the round. Performed by pressing all four buttons at the same time.
  • Heat Gauge: An energy gauge needed to perform Distortion Drives and Rapid Cancels.
  • Counter Assault: Counters an opponent's attack while guarding. Consumes 50% of the Heat Gauge. Performed by pressing forward, A and B at the same time while guarding.
  • Rapid Cancel: Cancels the recovery time of an attack. Consumes 50% of the Heat Gauge. Performed by pressing A, B and C at the same time while attacking.
  • Distortion Drive: Special attacks unique to each character. Consumes 50% of the Heat Gauge. Performed with some arrow motions plus the Drive button.
  • Astral Heat: Special attacks unique to each character. Consumes 100% of the Heat Gauge. The conditions for using Astral Heats are simple: the player has to be fighting in the last round of each match, and his/her opponent has to have 20% of their health left. The player can then input the buttons needed for the Astral Heat. Astral Heats can be considered similar to Guilty Gear's Instant Kills.

Pre-Order Update - Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete [First Print w/ Final Fantasy XIII Trial Version] - 4/16/09

Price - $69.99
Release Date:
4/15/2009
UPC: 4988601461399
Genre: Blu-Ray Movie + Demo
Company: Square Enix
Version: Japan (Fully Compatible with Any PS3)
Update: We should be receiving these on time from 4-14 to 4-16. It doesn't seem like supply is short on these just yet; we will be receiving a fair amount to fulfill all backorders. We expect to receive the advent children bundle around the same time.

This Week's Arrival - Gyakuten Kenji DS - 5/29/09

Our Price: $59.99
Release Date: 05/28/2009
UPC: 4976219029131
Genre: Action
Company: Capcom
Version: Japan
-from wikipedia-
Gyakuten Kenji is an adventure video game to be released for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console by Capcom in Japan. It is a spin-off of the Ace Attorney video game series. The game began development under the name "NEW Gyakuten NOT Saiban", reflecting that while it would involve similar characters, the gameplay would be different from the other games in the Ace Attorney series, or maybe just that the game's title would include "Gyakuten", but "Kenji" instead of "Saiban". In late March 2009, Capcom registered a United States trademark for Ace Attorney Investigations. This is thought to be the game's English name.
  • Capcom has confirmed the starring characters to be Miles Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe. The game is said, according to Capcom, to take place near the time of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations, and will contain other characters from the series. A new female character also appears in the trailer, whose name was recently revealed to be Mikumo Ichijō. The gameplay revealed in the video shows that the game is similar to "point and click" adventure games, requiring the player to direct Edgeworth around crime scenes to collect evidence. The developers have stated that they have taken care to capture the animations correctly, for example making sure that Edgeworth's running animations were "graceful, while exerting effort".
  • Unlike the previous Gyakuten Saiban/Ace Attorney games, this game will not be directed by Shu Takumi, but instead by Tsuyoshi Yamazaki. As of mid-April 2008, Capcom announced the game was approximately 40% complete.
  • Full details of Gyakuten Kenji's gameplay are not yet known. Unlike the previous games in the series which are visual novels with adventure game elements, this game is closer to a standard "point and click" adventure, with the player controlling Edgeworth's movements and what he interacts with. For each case, the goal is to collect evidence to determine who the perpetrator is, how the crime was committed and their motive.
  • During the investigation, for movement, players can either touch a small image representing the place on the touch screen, or use the D-Pad. When the player collides with an examinable object or an NPC, they can either touch a "Talk"/"Check" button or press the "A" button. Touching the "Partner Button" or pressing the "Y" button will take to an interface similar to the "Talk" interface in the Gyakuten Saiban series, where they can talk with Edgeworth's actual partner. Touching the "Logic" button or pressing the "L" button will lead the player to the "Logic Mode" interface. And touching the "Investigation Log" button or pressing the "R" button will lead to the "Investigation Log" tab, where evidence and profiles are filed, replacing the well-known "Court Record" from the Gyakuten Saiban series.
  • From what is known, cases is divided in three parts, or phases:
  • -Investigation Phase: Consists in collecting evidence from the crime scene and examining it, also examining the crime scene itself. Evidence is filed, as always, in the Court Record, and information on the crime scene is then examined in the second phase, Logic Phase.
  • -Logic Mode: This mode consists in examining and linking of the important or curious clues found in the crime scene in the form of a visual equation, in order to answer questions that appeared during Investigation Phase. For example, the player may be asked to determine why a crime was committed in a particular room, and will point to clues about the nature of the room and the crime scene to establish this fact. If the player tries to incorrectly link two unrelated factors, he/she takes damage from a life bar (similar to the one in the Gyakuten Saiban series). If this bar reaches zero, it's game over. The information retrieved in this mode is then discussed with certain characters in the Confrontation Phase.
  • -Confrontation Phase: Similar to the Cross-Examination part in the Gyakuten Saiban series, this phase consists in discussing the results of both Investigation and Logic phases with key characters to the plot's development. This "confrontations" may lead to new information being revealed, or even a confession from the murderer.[16] As Confrontation is the Gyakuten Kenji equivalent to Cross-Examinations, it's equivalent for Witness' Testimony, as shown in the game's demo version, is the confrontated character's Deduction.
  • On January 27, 2009, a Famitsu scan revealed a new gameplay system: the Crime Scene Reproduction Gadget. This new system consists of reproducing an image of the crime scene with a handheld device of Mikumo's, basing it on current information. When new information is input, or the actual information is proven wrong with evidence, the output projection is altered to reflect the new facts. It is yet unknown when the player will be able to use this feature.
  • It's unknown what the general plot of the game is, but, according to scans, there are at least 4 crime scenes (Edgeworth's Office, an airplane's elevator, a "Mirror House"-like building and a back alley close to the Wright and Co. Law Offices), and two suspicious-looking locations, a water park and a music concert venue.
  • To date, two episodes have been revealed:
  • -Episode 1: Turnabout Visitor. Shinji Nakamato's corpse appears in Edgeworth's office, and he decides to investigate it. Prosecutor Makoto Yūki appears, and accuses Gumshoe of murdering Shinji Nakamado. Maggey Byrde will make an appearance. According to scans, one of Episode 1's Confrontations will have Yūki as the target.
  • -Episode 2: Turnabout Airline. In the middle of a flight, Edgeworth and flight attendant Ichiru Konomichi discover a dead body in the plane's elevator, and Edgeworth is treated as the culprit. Zinc White, Franziska von Karma and Mikumo Ichijō appear for the first time in this episode, along with Konomichi.

Pre-Order Update - Gyakuten Kenji [Premium Edition] W/ Game DSi - 5/28/09

Our Price: $299.99
Release Date: 5/28/2009
Genre: Hardware
Company: Nintendo
Version: Japan
aka. Miles Edgeworth: Perfect Prosecutor
Includes a copy of Gyakuten Kenji
Special Graphic on System
-from wikipedia-
Gyakuten Kenji is an adventure video game to be released for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console by Capcom in Japan. It is a spin-off of the Ace Attorney video game series. The game began development under the name "NEW Gyakuten NOT Saiban", reflecting that while it would involve similar characters, the gameplay would be different from the other games in the Ace Attorney series, or maybe just that the game's title would include "Gyakuten", but "Kenji" instead of "Saiban". In late March 2009, Capcom registered a United States trademark for Ace Attorney Investigations. This is thought to be the game's English name.

Receiving Update - DSi Matte Black - Arriving 4/7/09

Price - $189.99
Release Date:
4/5/2009
UPC: 045496718749
Genre: Hardware
Company: Nintendo
Version: US
We should be receiving a better priced version of the dsi next tuesday, many vendors have received it slightly early, but have increased prices to near impossible retail selling levels. We expect to receive them by noon next tuesday.

Receiving Update - DSi Matte Blue - Arriving 4/7/09

Price - $189.99
Release Date: 4/5/2009
Receive Date: 4/7/2009
UPC: 045496718763
Genre: Hardware
Company: Nintendo
Version: US
We should be receiving a better priced version of the dsi next tuesday, many vendors have received it slightly early, but have increased prices to near impossible retail selling levels. We expect to receive them by noon next tuesday.