Taking a break on figures and game related post for a moment for this article needs to be shown to the public.

Dog’s are labeled as man’s best friend. Tested by time, their faith on us humans are uncanny to the point that they are willing to sacrifice themselves for our own benefit. This is another case of that story that will be remembered by many.

Story: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/147865/pet-dog-saves-2-girls-but-loses-her-face

TO: Philippine Animwal Welfare Society and other animal organizations, please aid our heroic friend. She aided humans without second thought. Knowing the danger and price she will pay for such act, she still did it for the sake of saving others from harm. Not many of us would do such act that I know for sure. That said, it’s our turn to do so as well.

Bioware and LucasArts has announced that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ will finally launch officially in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore on March 1st 2012!

Fans of the said region who are currently playing the game will be allowed to migrate their characters/accounts to their respective jurisdiction for a set time only. Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ will be available in both Standard and Digital Deluxe.

Standard Edition:

• $79.99 AUD
• $89.99 NZD
• $389.00 HKD
• $64.00 SGD

Digital Deluxe Edition:

• $89.99 AUD
• $99.99 NZD
• $465.00 HKD
• $76.90 SGD

30 Days of Game Time is included in both versions of the game. Once the 30-Day period expires, players who wish to continue playing may pay the rates as follows:

60-Day Prepaid Card

• $32.99 AUS
• $42.99 NZD
• $249.00 HKD
• $39.90 SGD

For those who wish not to be bothered by putting in prepaid codes. Here’s another way for you to avail the subscription of the game.

• 1 Month Subscription (automatically billed every 30 days): $14.99 USD per month
• 3 Month Subscription (automatically billed every 90 days): $13.99 USD per month (one-time charge of $41.97 USD)
• 6 Month Subscription (automatically billed every 180 days): $12.99 USD per month (one-time charge of $77.94 USD)

In the press release announcing the Asia Pacific launch date, General Manager of the BioWare Label’s MMO Business Unit and Co-Founder of BioWare Dr. Greg Zeschuk expressed appreciation for the patience of fans in the region:

” Our biggest priority for The Old Republic has always been to deliver a high quality product and high quality service and we are pleased with our results in North America and Europe. We appreciate that our fans in these countries have been patient and we are excited to deliver this same great customer experience to players this March. “

This should lessen the lag that is polluting the servers every now and then. Question however is that, how many players would shift their account to their respective servers.

You think its already over? Here’s for those who are into Garage Kits figures!

More by visiting Dengeki’s Wonfest Garage Kit Album

I would like to thank the following sources for keeping us up-to-date for the upcoming figure releases throughout the year.

Mikatan Twitpic

http://twitpic.com/photos/gsc_mikatan

Amiblo

AmiAmi Twitpic

https://twitter.com/#!/amiami_figure/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2FcbACbSPU

Akibahobby

http://akibahobby.net/2012/02/wf2012w_live.html

HMVAnime Twitpic

http://twitpic.com/photos/HMV_Anime

Its time for Wonfest 2012!!! Here are the upcoming figures that will rip the hell out of our wallets!

This is the Scale Figure Batch (Kotobukiya, Alter, Megahouse, Orchid Seed etc) .

Click to view slideshow.

Its time for Wonfest 2012!!! Here are the upcoming figures that will rip the hell out of our wallets!

This is the [ Max Factory ] Figma Batch.

Its time for Wonfest 2012!!! Here are the upcoming figures that will rip the hell out of our wallets!

This is the Nendoroid Batch.

PSVITA’s release is just a few days away from happening. That said, Sony has released a a roster of over 275 PSP game titles raging from PSP Games to PSP MINIS that will be available for PSVITA on the release day. Read up to view the complete list!

There are two ways to get them loaded inside your PSVITA.

• Purchase PSP games from PS Vita’s PlayStation Store and download via WiFi directly to your system. If you’ve already purchased a game via PSN from the list below, you can redownload it from the Download List.

• If you’ve already got one of these games sitting on your PS3 XMB (or have purchased from the PS3’s PlayStation Store), you can connect your PS Vita to the PS3 via the included USB cable, and transfer the game via PS Vita’s on-board Content Manager.

Below is the complete list of available games for the PSVITA that were originally for the PSP. Use the CTRL+F key to check if your favorite title is on the list.

[ PSP TITLES ]

• 101-in-1 Megamix
• 300: March To Glory
• The 3rd Birthday
• Ace Combat: Joint Assault
• Adventures To Go!
• Alpha Mission II
• Archer Maclean’s Mercury
• Armored Core 3 Portable
• Armored Core: Last Raven Portable
• Armored Core: Silent Line Portable
• Art of Fighting
• Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines
• Baseball Stars Professional
• Blade Dancer Lineage of Light
• BlazBlue Portable: Calamity Trigger
• BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II
• Blazing Souls Accelate
• Bomberman
• Bomberman ’94
• Bomberman Land
• Bomberman Legacy
• Chameleon
• ClaDun x2
• Cladun: This is an RPG!
• Class of Heroes
• Corpse Party
• Creature Defense
• Crimson Gem Saga
• Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
• Daxter
• Dead or Alive Paradise
• Dirt 2
• Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days
• Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
• Disgaea: Infinite
• Dissidia 012 [Duodecim] Prologus: Final Fantasy
• Dissidia 012 [Duodecim]: Final Fantasy
• Dissidia: Final Fantasy
• DJ Max Portable 3
• Dragon’s Lair
• Dragoneer’s Aria
• Dungeon Explorer
• Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts
• Dungeon Maker Hunting Ground
• Dynasty Warriors
• Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2
• Dynasty Warriors: Strike Force
• Eye of Judgment Legends
• Fading Shadows
• Fatal Fury
• Fate/Extra
• Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
• Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
• Gladiator Begins
• God of War: Chains of Olympus
• God of War: Ghost of Sparta
• Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus
• Half-Minute Hero
• Harvest Moon: Boy and Girl
• Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley
• Hoard
• Hot Brain
• IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
• Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon
• Jikandia: The Timeless Land
• Justice League Heroes
• Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
• The King of Fighters ’94
• The King of Fighters ’95
• Knights in the Nightmare
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
• League Bowling
• Legend of Heroes, The: Trails in the Sky
• LEGO Batman: The Videogame
• LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean
• Lord of Arcana
• Lord of the Rings, The: Aragorn’s Quest
• Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
• Magician Lord
• Major League Baseball 2K11
• Mana Khemia: Student Alliance
• Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X
• Metal Slug
• Metal Slug 2
• Metal Slug Anthology
• Metal Slug XX
• Military History: Commander: Europe at War
• Mimana Iyar Chronicle
• Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
• MX vs. ATV: Reflex
• NBA 2K10
• NBA 2K11
• NBA 2K12
• NeoGeo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting
• Neutopia
• New Adventure Island
• No Heroes Allowed!
• Patapon 2
• Petz Dogz Family
• Petz Hamsterz Bunch
• Petz Saddle Club
• Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle
• Pool Hall Pro
• Power Stone Collection
• Prince of Persia: Revelations
• Prince of Persia: Rival Swords
• Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
• Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood!
• Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?
• Puzzle Guzzle
• Ridge Racer
• Riviera: The Promised Land
• Samurai Shodown
• Samurai Shodown Anthology
• Samurai Warriors: State of War
• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2: Innocent Sin
• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable
• Shock Troopers
• SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1
• SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Tactical Strike
• Soldier Blade
• Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny
• Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max
• Super Sidekicks
• Super Star Soldier
• Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow
• Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
• Tekken 6
• TNT Racers
• Tokobot
• Tom Clancy’s Endwar
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Predator
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Essentials
• Tron: Evolution: The Video Game
• UFC Undisputed 2010
• Ultimate Board Game Collection
• Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins
• Valhalla Knights
• Vertigo
• Victory Run
• Warriors of the Lost Empire
• Warriors Orochi
• Warriors Orochi 2
• What Did I do to Deserve This My Lord?
• What Did I do to Deserve This My Lord? 2
• Wild Arms XF
• World Heroes
• World Sports Competition
• Worms: Battle Islands
• WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2011
• Yggdra Union
• Ys Seven
• Ys: The Oath in Felghana
• Z. H. P.: Unlosing Ranger Vs. Darkdeath Evilman

[ PSP MINIS ]

• 3, 2, 1…SuperCrash!
• 4×4 Jam
• 5 in 1 Arcade Hits
• Ace Armstrong Vs. The Alien Scumbags!
• Actual Crimes: Jack The Ripper
• Aero Racer
• Age of Hammer Wars
• Age of Zombies
• Alien Havoc
• Alien Zombie Death
• Alpha Mission
• Ancient Game Treasures: Mill
• Apache Overkill
• Aquattack!
• Arcade Darts
• Arcade Essentials
• Arcade Essentials Evolution
• Archibald’s Adventures
• Arctic Adventures
• Athena
• Babel: The King of the Blocks
• Bashi Blocks
• Beam ‘Em Up
• Blast Off
• Blimp: The Flying Adventures
• Block Cascade Fusion
• Boom Beats
• BreakQuest
• Brick Breaker
• Bubble Trubble
• Bunny Dodge
• Burnin’ Rubber
• Busy Sweets Factory
• Car Jack Streets
• Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter
• Caterpillar
• Charge! Tank Squad!
• Circles
• Coconut Dodge
• Cubixx
• D-Cube Planet
• Deflector
• Digi-Tiles
• Doodle Fit
• Dr. MiniGames
• Dynogems
• Earthshield
• Echoes
• Express Raider
• Flick Fishing
• Flying Hamster
• Fort Commander II: Counterattack
• Fort Commander: King’s Gambit
• Fortix
• Freekscape: Escape From Hell
• Funky Punch
• Gold Fever
• Hello Flowerz
• Heracles Chariot Racing
• HISTORY: Egypt Engineering an Empire
• HISTORY: Ice Road Truckers
• Hot Shots Shorties: Blue Pack
• Hot Shots Shorties: Green Pack
• Hot Shots Shorties: Red Pack
• Hot Shots Shorties: Yellow Pack
• Hysteria Project
• I Must Run!
• Influence
• Jane’s Hotel
• JellyCar 2
• Jewel Keepers: Easter Islands
• Kahoots
• Legend of Kunoichi
• Let’s Golf
• Lock ‘n’ Chase
• Love Cupid
• Mahjong Solitaire
• Me Monster: Hear Me Roar!
• Mighty Flip Champs! DX
• MiniSquadron
• Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess
• N.O.V.A.
• Normal Tanks
• One Two Boat Racing
• Pallurikio
• Panda Craze
• Pinball Dreams
• Pinball Fantasies
• Quiz Animania
• Ramen Heaven
• Reef Aquarium
• Retro Cave Flyer
• Robin Hood: The Return of Richard
• Rocks N’ Rockets
• Route 66
• Shapo
• Sheep Defense
• Shogi
• Smash Break
• Space Shooter for 2 Bucks!, A
• Spaceball: Revolution
• Spot the Differences!
• Stellar Attack
• Sweet Reversi
• Tehra: Dark Warrior
• Telegraph Crosswords
• Telegraph Sudoku & Kakuro
• Urbanix
• Vempire
• Vibes
• VT Tennis
• Who’s That Flying?!
• Widget’s Odyssey 2
• Widgets Odyssey
• Young Thor
• Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam
• Zenonia
• Zombie Tycoon

Source: Playstation Blog

A small announcement for Playstation 3 owners. Sony has released the PS3 v4.10 Update. So before you go and start playing your SoulCalibur V or go adventuring with Serrah and Noel in Final Fantasy XIII-2, make sure to drop by the System Update and take time to update your console.

For those who don’t have a fast internet connection, you may click on the link below and download the update and store it inside your USB Flashdrive.

PlayStation®3 System Software Update
[ Update using a PC ]

Required items

• PlayStation®3 system
• A wireless controller
• A USB cable
• A PC with Internet access
• Storage media (Memory Stick™, SD Memory Card, CompactFlash®)* or a USB Mass Storage device such as a USB flash drive
  (At least 168 MB of free space required)
  * An appropriate USB adaptor (not included) is required to use storage media with some models.

Make sure that your flash drive is set to FAT32 and not NTFS. Second, after downloading make the following folders.

Folder 1 : PS3
Folder 2 : UPDATE

Place the update folder inside the PS3 folder. The folder names should be all in uppercase. Not doing so would render the file inaccessible for the PS3.

Do not change the filename of the download file. Once finished and saved in your USB Flashdrive / memory card. Plug in your USB Flashdrive to the PS3 and access the System Update and select “Update via Storage Device”

Download :  Playstation 3 v4.10 Update

The updates for the v4.10 are as follows:

> With this system software update (v4.10), we’ll also be updating the PS3 Internet Browser with improved display speed.

> Changes to our Terms of Service. In an effort for more unity between PlayStation Network (PSN) and other Sony Entertainment Network services, your “PSN Account” will now be named “Sony Entertainment Network Account.” Please note that this change is one in name only and will not change the PSN that you know and love. You’ll still play games online, still have access to the latest downloadable games and add-ons, and still experience a wide variety of movies, sports and music across PSN.

SoulCalibur has been a long running franchise of NAMCO and by far the game has traversed many changes. With the sixth installment, does the game have what it takes to entice its enthusiasts or will the tale finally reach its conclusion?

SoulCalibur V has been one of those titles that one should get if you have either an Xbox360 or a Playstation 3. The game has been running for a long time now and the previous story-line wherein Siegfried, wielder of the Soul Calibur finally ends the battle between him and the Azure Knight, Nightmare who wields the Soul Edge. 17 years has passed and the two swords along with the turmoil has begun to weave the threads of fate once again. The game introduces the players to the a new roster of characters. Along with the introduction of the new blood came with the extinction of the old ones such as Setsuka, Natsu and even Cassandra. To much of everyone’s demise, one popular character named “Amy Sorell” is no longer available and was perhaps replaced by “Viola” who shares the same voice actress as of Amy. The rest of the roster includes Dampierre as a DLC while the others are just plain empty souls who can take up random skill set at every round. The rest of the new blood are also disciples or daughter/son of the previous characters that are no longer in the roster. Its good to see such improvement but seeing the old ones would still be nice.

The story-line is both amazing and disappointing as well. On the early part of the story we have the character Patroklos who is just too full of himself that becomes a somewhat pacifist and aimed to redeem himself as his sister Pirrah goes on a killing spree wherein she insists she is just protecting herself. Its hard to imagine though that he’d be quick enough to turn around and repent for the sins he cause but for some awkward reason he did. The story animation could have also been better instead of watching artworks and hearing voices in the background. They got some animation scenes along the way which as impressive but you are still left with artwork most of the time.

With the introduction of the new roster came a re-balance of the fighting stance, the battle system and even better chaining of attacks. The OTG effect was also corrected for back in SoulCalibur 4, one can actually dribble someone to almost 50% of their life bar which is a huge nuisance and annoyance to majority of its fans. The Critical Finish was changed to a much better extent but requires users to do more button and directional key movement before one can accomplish it. Its a pain but the reward for the flashy effects once the skill is timed right is redeeming.

The character customization though is rather tough with as you start out with a small set of clothing where you can’t even do a good mix. This then requires the players to explore the game with its Quick Matches, Arcade Match to name a few. The game is interesting though after a few hours one may simply just change the disc and play another title. Countless hours of matches though are pretty rewarding as one may even bring out a character straight out from an anime series.

The network gameplay is amazing! The introduction of better game and room lobby is remarkable as they even allow players to view ongoing matches as they await their turn. Unlike the previous title, the online matches are easier to find and matches begin almost instantly but that is if you have a fast connection and also installed the game inside your console. Installing the game help decrease the loading time greatly! Fans of the game would notice long delays after selecting the desired match which can bring down the adrenaline rush that one might feel after a match. Combo that with a slow connection then you’d have yourself a good tea time before you can start one match.

The most amazing thing for this installment would be the addition of replay data recording for online matches. This is very important to gamers and fans alike. A record of a match and they can show their skill through the whole world after uploading it to their desired video streaming site. The video render is not that impressive but its better than having nothing at all.

Overall, SoulCalibur V is refreshing with a few irks on the side. If you plan to wait up for the upcoming titles and wish not to participate in the RPG genre, you might as well pick this up and start racking up some titles and achievements as you wait for high octane games this March.

Rating:

Gameplay : 4/5
Story: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Design: 4/5
Total: 3.8/5