Thursday, May 21, 2009

Ore ga Omae wo Mamoru - New Japanese Import

«©NCSX» Romance games in Japan are generally interactive in nature with little if any joypad action. That all changes with Idea Factory's Ore ga Omae wo Mamoru for the Nintendo DS. Geared toward players of the fairer sex, the game features 2D side scrolling action where the white-haired and highly androgynous male hero Len hacks and slashes beasts in deep dungeons. From afar, the hero looks similar to Soma Cruz of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow but Len is far more androgynous. The story takes place in Edenvale which was once paradise but is now ruined and in disrepair. It's up to a pair of heroes to delve deep into the dungeons of Edenvale and recover a "Demon Stone" which can potentially revive Eden's grandeur. The top NDS screen shows the platform action whilst the touch screen depicts a map of the overall area and allows for menu navigation. The first printing of the game will include a bonus Drama CD in 100% ratio.

Sloan to MacHale Nazo no Monogatari - New JPN Import

«©NCSX» Paul Sloane and Des MacHale have collaborated on a number of "lateral thinking puzzle books" including Outside-the-Box Lateral Thinking Puzzles which was released on paperback earlier this month. Lateral thinking puzzles are situation puzzles which are roughly a paragraph long. The puzzle presents a scenario and asks a question. Your job is to think about the situation and come up with a solution.

The debut release in Level-5's "Atamania" casual gaming brand is based on Sloane and MacHale's published works but presents them with more panache than a book could ever do. There's stylized illustrations, narration, music, and sound effects to accompany each puzzle. What you'll need to bring to the table are your reasoning skills, ability to use your imagination, and the wherewithal to think the puzzle through to its logical conclusion.

Takt of Magic - New Japanese Import

«©NCSX» A lad named Orwell and his childhood companion Charlotte are patrolling the woods when they see smoke billowing above the tree line in the direction of their village. They race home to find the entire town under assault by enemy forces. Fireballs rain down on the houses and everything's aflame. Furthermore, the King has been assassinated and the enemy forces now turn their attention to Orwell and Charlotte...

Takt of Magic is a real-time strategy game where the Remote is used to move the player's party across battlefields to engage enemy forces. There's no conventional attacks on the part of the protagonist Orwell and his offensive moves are entirely magical in nature. To activate spells, some simple maneuvers through the Nunchuk and Wii Remote are performed to shoot fireballs, set up barriers, blow out wind attacks, and even heal party members. Later in the game, traps may be set to trigger when enemies step upon them. A rune/sigil system is used to activate magical effects which requires that the Remote be moved in the shape of such as a reverse "Z" (barrier), a crescent (conical magic blast) or an upward pointing arrow (arcing fireball). A total of eight runes are available and two runes may be doodled in sequence to create new and powerful magical effects. The most difficult rune to draw looks like a pretzel... «More details and spoilers»

Final Fantasy Versus XIII Tumbler Noctis - New Import

«©NCSX» Last week, NCS stocked two gloomy Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Tumblers which featured Cloud Strife and Sephiroth in very depressing scenes. The FFXIII Tumbler featuring Noctis Lucis Caelum is also gloomy but at least the hero of FFXIII looks up and appears vigilant. The artwork is from Square's official Fabula Nova Crystallis -> FFVSXIII website and enterprising tumbler creators can probably make their own by printing out a high quality scan and wrapping it around a cup.

Each tumbler holds 457ml or 16 ounces of liquid and is made of shatter-resistant plastic. Notice that we didn't describe the tumbler as "shatter-proof" because we had a couple that arrived damaged due to poor handling by our courier. New orders are welcome to ship today. Please note NCS' pricing reflects the special arrangements required to import the tumblers into the United States from Square's online shop.

SaGa Series 20th Anniversary OST Premium - Preorder

«©NCSX» The very first "SaGa" game was Makai Toushi SaGa which was released on the original Gameboy in December 1989. Square followed up with two sequels on the GB and eventually expanded the franchise with three Romancing Saga games on the Super Famicom and the Saga Frontier/Unlimited Saga/Minstrel titles on the Playstation consoles. That's a lot of games and a lot of music was created for those games. A single CD nor even a quadruple CD package could hold all those tunes. There's so much music that Square's 20th Anniversary SaGa OST contains 20 CDs which hold over 500 music tracks for your listening pleasure. In addition to the CDs, Square's also throwing in a Creator's Interview DVD and a special 20th Anniversary Commemorative illustration. Preorders ship on Aug 26, 2009.

inFAMOUS - inSTOCK, Ships TODAY

«©NCSX» Sony's inFAMOUS will be in stock later today and orders placed this afternoon will ship today before 5PM EST. If you reside in the USA and order the game with USPS Express Mail, you will receive the game on Friday.

From the Publisher
A massive explosion rips through six square blocks of Empire City, leveling everything and killing everyone in its path... everyone, except you! From the creators of the award-winning Sly Cooper series, Sucker Punch brings you inFAMOUS, an open-world action-adventure title exclusively for the PLAYSTATION 3 system. Players will feel what it's like to be granted incredible powers... how you use them is up to you. The consequences of your actions will affect you, the citizens, and the city around you. You'll develop and grow your powers, and eventually uncover the purpose of it all. Feel what it's like to wield extraordinary electrical-based powers; and grasp the responsibility that comes with it. Battle against powerful iconic villains and uncover your true purpose.