Vicky & Viking Boat Model Kit

Children and adults in Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan have been entertained by Vicky the Viking and his escapes since the 70s when Runer Jonsson's children's book was adapted for television. Vicky is a young Viking lad with blonde locks who's neither strong nor especially seaworthy but he's an invaluable asset to his Viking cohorts thanks to his quick mind and snappy ideas.

Japanese manufacturer Aoshima has started preorders for a Vicky figure set (8 characters total) and a Viking Boat model kit. Please note that assembly is required to put the boat together. The set is limited to only 500 pieces in Japan and pricing is set at JPY6000 or US$58 from NCS. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late October 2007.

Friday Hiatus and Crisis Core Bundle

Friday Hiatus Due to a scheduled inventory management system upgrade and stock removal that's ongoing this week, please note that NCS will not be open for business on Friday (September 7, 2007). Orders submitted on Thursday evening after 6PM through Sunday will ship on Monday (September 10). Apologies for the inconvenience that this will cause but our operations will return to normal by next Monday. Email support will be available on Friday morning and through the coming weekend.

Final Fantasy Crisis Core PSP Bundle Our shipments of the Crisis Core PSP Limited Edition bundle are scheduled to arrive on Thursday of next week. Due to the volume of orders for the bundle and the relatively high transaction values, please be advised that we will begin processing and charging preorders on Tuesday (September 11) of next week. As long as all of our shipments clear U.S. Customs expeditiously and make it in on time, NCS expects to ship all preorders on September 13.

Japanese Import Outlook

NDS	Kidou Gekidan Haro Ichiza Gundam Mahjong	Bandai
	Theta (Θ)	Nintendo
PS2	Another Century's Episode 3 The Final	Banpresto
	Will O' Wisp	IFactory
PS3	Pachislot Sengoku Musou [Delayed to 10/11]	Yamasa
Wii	Shin Chuuka Taisen Michael to Meimei no Bouken	Starfish
X36	Fatal Inertia	Koei

USA Release Outlook

RE: The Essentials contains CODE: Veronica X, Outbreak, and RE4.
NDS	Worms: Open Warfare 2	THQ
PS2	Resident Evil: The Essentials	Capcom
	Naruto Uzumaki Chronicles 2	Bandai
PSP	Worms: Open Warfare 2	THQ
X36	Medal of Honor: Airborne	Koei

Famitsu Wave DVD [Oct 2007]

The October 2007 issue of Famitsu Wave DVD features print and video coverage of the following software titles and events:

» PS3 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
» Metal Gear 20th Anniversary Party
» PS3 Soul Calibur IV
» PS2/PC Phantasy Star Universe
» Wii Takarajima Z
» ARC Sengoku Basara X
» PS3/X360 Assassin's Creed
» PS2 Shiju Hachi
» ALL Need for Speed Pro Street

There's also general interest features, interviews, and a segment where the editors clown with an Intellivison that's in remarkably good condition.

Oni Zero Sengoku Ransei Hyakkaryouran

The world of medieval Japan is the focus in Oni Zero where sixteen unique and colorful characters explore and engage each other in an interactive adventure game. Depending on the character that is chosen as your onscreen protagonist, the other cast members will have either affinity or enmity towards your hero. In the end however, everyone in the game is out for himself or herself in a bid to win a tournament.
In addition to the interactive drama, there's a battle system in the game where the stylus is used to touch markers on the screen within a set amount of time to trigger an attack. As a character levels up, new battle techniques may also be learned which require different stylus swishing action to enact exotic attacks.

Simple 2000 Vol. 119: The Survival Game 2

The first The Survival Game (Simple 2000 Series Vol. 56) was met with scorn and ridicule... which is par for the course in the world of dodgy Simple 2000 software. The developers went back to the drawing board to tweak the game engine and perhaps improve it a tad. Three years later, D3 Publisher releases the sequel to the Survival Game and we're saddened to report that the scorn and ridicule continues.

Players take on the role of an air gun assailant who assembles a team and then invades the Tokyo Marui BB Sports Field to take on other teams of air gun agents. At the outset of the main game, five heroes are selected and then two are chosen to go into the battlefield. The action runs at a clumsy pace although the controls aren't bad. The spray from the airsoft guns is somewhat accurate and the visuals are pedestrian but get the job done. Where the game falls flat on its face is the poor quality of the enemy AI. There were times when members of the computer-controlled team stood facing a wall instead of actively roaming the field hunting for targets. Hunting and shooting is sort of the point of the war games that The Survival Game attempts to simulate. Despite its failings, NCS still invested about an hour in the game. We're suckers for the Simple 2000 Series....

General Updates

Hitman on Tuesday Due to a later release in Japan, our shipments of PS2 Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! Dream Hyper Battle have been rescheduled to Tuesday of next week.

Playstation Network Tickets ... are back in stock as of yesterday. New orders are welcome.

Views from our office building A sampling of the views from our office.

Labor Day Holiday NCS will be closed for business on Monday (Sept. 3, 2007).