You're going to love the new LovePlus+ 3DS XL sets that will launch next spring from Konami

This is one of those rare "male gamers only" titles that are released once in a blue moon, but still owes its popularity by the simple fact that it's just so darn cool. LovePlus is a name usually only familiar in Japan, but after its initial launch back in 2009 on the DS, it sold at least 180,000 in only 6 months. Since then it spawned a second release with even more features and girls than before. What is this about? For those of you who are scratching your heads, LovePlus is a girlfriend simulator. Yeah, sounds like something a lonely and nerdy guy would have. But let's take a look at the latest release, one of which will also be launching with three different types of 3DS XL cases.

The top photo below is the New Love Plus+ Manaka Deluxe set, which comes complete with an A4 size 40 page "Manaka no Himitsu" (Manaka's Secrets) booklet, along with a 10 minute audio CD called "Mimimoto Love Plus 2 Manaka,", an illustrated box, and four different illustration designs of the main character, along with the Manaka Deluxe 3DS LL design itself.

The second set is called the New Love Plus+ Rinko Deluxe, which has the Rinko 3DS LL design case, another A4 sized 40 page A4-size "Rinko no Himitsu" (Rinko's Secrets) booklet, a 10 minute audio CD entitled "Mimimoto Love Plus 2 Rinko" along with four illustration designs of the character.

Third and certainly not least, is the New Love Plus+ Nene Deluxe set, containing the Nene Deluxe 3DS LL style case, "Nene no Himitsu" (Nene Secrets) booklet, yet another 10 minute audio CD entitled "Mimimoto Love Plus 2 Nene", along with four illustration designs of the character.

Eace set also comes with a specially illustrated box, while the booklets themselves contain visual arts & production designs created by Mino Tarōo. Starring roles are star Saori Hayami as Manaka Takane, Sakura Tange as Rinko Kobayakawa, and Yuko Minaguchi as Nene Anegasaki. Senior producer is Akari Uchida, while Mino Tarōo is once again handling the character designs and such. New LovePlus+ is stated to an "evolved" version of LovePlus.

As with the first in the series, LovePlus contains girls with their own individual personalities. Some being harder to win over than others, but then again, that's part of the challenge of a girlfriend simulator right? The deluxe set will be selling in Japan for 32,000 yen, which is roughly US$320, while you can also get the game by itself for a much cheaper 5,700 yen, or $57. A download version will also be available for 5,200 yen, or $52. All versions will be released next Spring. A sample of the last release video for the dating and minigame is below.

Hideo Ueda would be proud of this fine Sparkster artwork, done by KohakuKun19 who sent it in to DeviantArt for others to enjoy

The Super Nintendo / Super Famicom was known for many awesome action games, one of which I remember well. Back in 1994, Konami had released a game called Sparkster, which was also released as another version called "Rocket Knight Adventures" (and part 2) for the Mega Drive (Genesis) system, which was somewhat different from the SNES version. The famous opossum knight character that starred in it was the directed handy work of Hideo Ueda, who also had a hand in the great shooter Axelay, another personal favorite of mine.

To pay homage to the classic side scrolling platformer, a lady by the name of KohakuKun19 took the time to create a great likeness of Sparkster which was posted on DeviantArt a short while back. The images below are basically a three stage creation process, the first starting out as a pencil sketch, the second an ink fill in, and the third of course is the final product. Her name is Amber Johnson, and guess what? She wants to draw for you!. Yes, Amber currently has a job helping the Crippled and the Elderly, a noble job indeed. But since it doesn't pay all that well, Amber would enjoy making some extra money on the side, and she loves to draw. So what a better way than to ask her to do some drawings for you. Here is a draft price list she made.

Characters/Concepts: per concept (one to a page.)
Line Art: $3
Colored: $5

Concept Bundle: (5 concepts)
Line Art: $10
Colored: $15

Landscapes: (varies based on complexity)
line art: $5-$10
Colored: $10-$20

Scenes: i.e. fight scenes, romantic scenes, etc. (also based on complexity)
Line Art: $5-$10
Colored: $10-$20

Title Cards:
$25

Amber has also founded a page that is dedicated to petition Konami to bring back Rocket Knight Adventures to the present day gaming scene. She has my vote, that's for sure. Why don't you check out both of her pages in the links below, and if you like, ask her to draw something for you after taking a look at the list above to see what you fancy. Meanwhile, check out her Sparkster art below, and for those of you who have never played the game, check out a video below. Good luck with both quests Amber!

Amber Johnson Sparkster page
Amber's petition page for Rocket Knight Adventures

These guys show off their massive Metal Gear collections, which are more than you and I will ever have

As a former collector, I can honestly say that even though I have personally had a number of mint condition Metal Gear games in my collection, it would never come close to a fraction of what these two pictures show. In the top, you can see this one has practically ever MG game ever made! He even has the MSX version of the original Metal Gear, which by the way was superior to the NES version in more ways than one. Various versions of Solid Snake, a Revolver Ocelot figure, and even a Raiden figure or two to boot are in there. I think this guy is running out of shelf space, and might want to build another one. Great job in your collection CrackerMc, as yours is the biggest I've seen so far.

The second one below isn't too far behind either. Die hard fans of Metal Gear like these have likely been around since the beginning. Last year the franchise just celebrated its 25th anniversary, and what a better way than to bring out a Metal Gear Collection set on both accounts. In terms of collectibles, and the collection set of games unleashed by Konami last summer.

Group shot of Hideo Kojima along with other staff members from the Los Angeles and Tokyo divisons

Always enjoying tweets like this one from Hideo Kojima. It gives you and I a better insight into the inner sanctum of Konami and what the crew and setting looks like. Here you can see in the first picture which is of Kojima in the front row, followed by a combination of staff from the Los Angeles division of Konami that just opened up a short while back to do work on Metal Gear games, along with others from the Tokyo department. The second is taken within Yoji's booth, one of Kojima's big helping hands in the Metal Gear Solid art department, among other things. Yoji's handy work extends back years with MG, and earlier this year had an art contest to see who can draw the best!

The third is another meeting setting. Kojima moves around a lot, and is constantly taking pictures of his travels, where he goes, what he is currently doing, and even sometimes what he's eating? Talk about dedication to Tweeting! You can follow Kojima to keep up with his events and what is currently going on with the latest Metal Gear game. Ground Zeroes is the current topic as usual, but it won't be long until The Phantom Pain, which is the big daddy to GZ is the main topic. You can follow his English account, or his Japanese account depending on your needs.

Casino League now playable on Facebook, play Texas Hold 'Em anytime and anywhere you like

Whether you are a gambling person or not, this might grow on you. Konami recently launched Casino League, a game that can test your skills in solo mode, or you can join a league and go against some of the best of the best. Now on Facebook, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, you can play the classic Texas Hold 'Em anytime and anywhere you choose. You will compete against real players from across the world. Collect gems and increase your rank status in order to get to the top tiers of the league.

Want your own club?, then build it while teaming up with your friends to compete against other club owners to accomplish guild rewards and earn some bragging rights while your at it. Play it now on Facebook, or use the option there to send it to your mobile platform! Check out a 5 minute video below to show you ropes on how the game plays, then get in on the action today!

Now that the PS4 and Xbox One are out in stores, what games are you looking forward to getting?

So many choices, and a lot less time. That's what kind of world you live in if you're a die hard gamer. Sure you have your MMORPG fans, Steam fans, and those who only stick to console gaming. Now that the two most anticipated gaming systems have graced our living rooms, it's all about the games right? With Ground Zeroes looming in the horizon, there are so many other titles people are looking to seeing land on their new consoles. A new Suikoden 6 game would be nice for those folks, while Silent Hill fans are waiting on a new one of theirs to hit the scene, hopefully backed by the Fox Engine.

Me personally, my needs are pretty straightforward, Lords of Shadow 2, Ground Zeroes, followed by The Phantom Pain. I certainly hope Konami sees fit to start production on new Suikoden game in 2014. Will that happen?, one can only hope as it's been far too long since the series has basically died without a serious second notice from the powers that be upstairs. Now that the PS3 and Xbox One are officially out, (at least in North America) what new titles are you looking forward to seeing land on your local store shelf? I'd like to hear some of your feedback below in the comment section.

Contra 3: The Alien Wars (Super Probotector: Alien Rebels) will be landing on the Wii-U Virtual Console this month

Japanese owners of a Wii-U can fall back to the days of the Super Famicom, as Contra 3: The Alien Wars blasts its way on to the Wii-U Virtual Console on November 27th. Also known as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels in the European community, this classic gem that launched back in 1992 took the Contra series to a new level like never before. Introducing mode 7 scaling effects that the Super Nintendo was known for, The Alien Wars delivered a challenge in the series that made the first two look like a cakewalk.

The other thing Contra III was known for was its awesome soundtrack, as the SNES utilized an orchestral soundboard which boasted some of the best music the series has ever known. The only actual drawback in C3 was a bit of slowdown every now and then due to the Super Nintendo's 3.58mhz processor. It was something that was adjusted to later on in future games with accelerator chips. You can notice this somewhat when you encounter the first boss, as it bounces up and down while explosions and fire fight fills the screen. Aside from that, it's always nice to take a trip back to the SNES days and relive this classic gem for what it truly is, a hit Konami game not to be forgotten.

Konami's top 10 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow secrets you may or may not know, so here is your trivia

The Castlevania realm has been around for over 25 years now. That's a long time to build up an army of knowledge for those of you dedicated to the series. Well let's see how far your Castlevania learning has come since then, with a trivia that Konami (or rather MercurySteam) has released which is based on Lords of Shadow. On second thought, there are a number of factors and "Vania" games this trivia is based on. Simon's Quest, Dracula's Curse, characters of the past and so on. So let's test your knowledge with a list of 10 things you may or may not know. Here it is.

1. The design of Gabriel's costume in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was based on the cover of the NES game "Simon's Quest".

2. We considered various actors for the role of Dracula including Gerard Butler and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, both of whom have played Dracula.

3. Mercury Engine 2 was designed for next gen systems and was built from scratch.

4. Almost every single enemy and character has appeared in previous Castlevania games.

5. The work of Guillermo Del Toro has been a big influence on the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow       series.

6. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 uses a combination of orchestral and electronic music. This was done to highlight the past and present aspects of the game.

7. Zobek is an amalgamation of the Dark Priest Shaf and Death from earlier Castlevania games.

8. In Dracula Curse for the NES, if players completed the game as Trevor Belmont, during the end cut scene Trevor married Sypha Belnades. In Mirror of Fate Trevor is married to Sypha Belnades.

9. Hideo Kojima played the character of Chupacabras in the Japanese version of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

10. Hoko Kuwashima, Carmilla's Japanese voice actress, also voiced Shanoa in Order of Ecclesia.

The Mercury Engine 2 was designed for next generation systems eh? You know what that could mean don't you? You just might see a version of Lords of Shadow 2 launched for PS4 and Xbox One. Perhaps. The Castlevania Collection is currently out in stores, while Mirror of Fate HD is also available with it and on Playstation Network and Xbox Live. A PC version of MOF has been considered by MercurySteam, something I would like to see myself.

Remote play might be a possibility on the PSVita, in which Konami is running tests on Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain

If you're trying to make one of the most anticipated games ever created, then you're going to want to squeeze out as much options as you possibly can. The same holds true for Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain, as Hideo Kojima has confirmed that his team is *running tests* to see if the PSVita is a viable platform to run remote play. Much like the Wii-U, the PSVita has a number of games that support remote play, such as Diablo 3 which Blizzard stated that Reaper of Souls will have PSVita remote support.

In a recent interview with Playstation Blog, Hideo Kojima confirmed a few things for GZ and TPP.

"We’re still trying to put together how much we can fit into the next game. We’re running tests, and Remote Play is impressive and I like it. So we’re running tests and still working on the game."

In the interview, Kojima was asked the question of why he chose to release Ground Zeroes separate from The Phantom Pain. He answered by stating that TPP is a very massive scale game, and development is taking a lot longer. Also adding that playing Ground Zeroes now will give the players an opportunity to be introduced to not only how the story line is unfolding, but also how the game itself plays and feels. He also added that an eagerly awaiting fan base for Metal Gear games wants to get in on the action now, so releasing GZ long before TPP will give them a good taste and keep them occupied until The Phantom Pain finishes development. Good call.

When also asked about taking advantage of the PS4's Duel Shock 4 capabilities, Kojima stated that he does want to make good use of it, but not to the point of having too different of an experience compared to the PS3 version.

"We are trying to take advantage of as many things as we can, but we also want to focus on keeping the experience as close as possible on both platforms, between PS3 and PS4." More than that, I would recommend that people who are looking forward to the next generation having a tablet next to them, taking advantage of those capabilities. I think there are things that people will enjoy there."

By the way, if  you haven't done so yet, check out the updated 12 minute narrated English video below for the special mission in GZ below. It will help explain a few of those things you might have been pondering about for a while now. 

You can look forward to some elite Solid Snake action with Ground Zeroes this coming spring. Spring what? Just spring, as no exact date for GZ has been given yet, but it will be launched for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Interview with Kojima

Konami has updated their site to include a detailed story line and plot for Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zereos and Deja Vu classic Solid Snake

The year is 1975, the war in Vietnam is coming to a close. A lone wolf figure by the name of Snake was leading a small faction that basically had no place or nation to call home. Eventually they had attained nuclear capability, which startled some in certain parts of the world. Snake receives word that a spy by the name of Paz, was captured and being held in a U.S. Naval base in Cuba.

That is just the tip of the ice burg for those of you wondering about the plot and story line to all of those great trailers and images we've all seen so far. So many questions, and yet little answers. Well, Konami has taken upon themselves to finally answer those questions by putting up a section on their site that explains a great many things with Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. It's about time too, as people left and right have been debating what everything is about, when it takes place, and who plays what part and where in the new title.

That's not the end of it either. Remember the special "Deja Vu" mission with the classic Solid Snake from the first Metal Gear Solid game? That gets a heads up explanation too, as the site also details a bit that the mission will take the old outdated looking PS1 title and bring it up to Ground Zeroes standards. This will be limited to the PS3 and PS4 as exclusive content only. No Xbox versions for that precious gem of additional content. Check out both of those links above and be enlightened.

Now that Konami has obtained the rights to Hudson Soft IPs, what titles are worthy of making a comeback?

Konami might have its hands full with the Castlevania and Metal Gear franchise, but I believe there is still room for those past games we grew up with to make a full comeback. Last year when Hudson Soft finally went belly up after suffering some downfalls, Konami being the major holder of the company decided to buy them out, thereby obtaining the IPs to so many games that seriously need a second look. As a classic gamer that started out in about 1980 with the Atari 2600, I've been through more games than I have time to count, including such hits like Bomberman, Bonk's Adventure, Far East of Eden, Adventure Island, and Star Soldier.

All of these fun titles had one thing in common, the Hudson bee attached to them, and now that Konami has the IPs for them, which ones are worthy of making a true comeback? The answer depends on what the masses really want as always. I personally want to see Far East of Eden get resurrected, but then again that's just me. Does the gaming scene have far too many shooters for Star Soldier to get noticed once again? I believe there is room for that one as well. Hudson started to shine on the NES, but if you were lucky enough to own a TurboGrafX-16, you would've seen much more of their handy work in that realm.

But what about those of you who might be new to these past hits? I invite you to get a few of these and try them for yourself, and then hop aboard the comeback bandwagon and perhaps Konami will get the nudge they need to take a second and serious look at some of the fine past gems below. Who knows, it's likely that if they do we could see a few of them make it to the Playstation Network, Xbox Live, or some other secondary format. Or they might even end up as a full production game for next generation consoles. Here is hoping.

Limited Edition bundles of MGS5 Ground Zeroes in Japan detailed with some listed prices for Kai Metallic and Revoltech Solid Snake figures

All one can do is look at these marvelous bundles sets of Ground Zeroes and just wish you lived in Japan. As stated in the last post, there are various sets for GZ that you will be able to purchase upon release. Some will have the Solid Snake figure from Peace Walker and Revoltech Snake, which is the premium bundle. At a cost of 8,480 yen ($85), the figures will come with assault rifle, knife, iDroid, scope, etc.

Another bundled set comes with Play arts Kai Metallic Snake with similar accessories, running at a cost of 13,270 yen ($134). This is the most pricey one of all sets.

Oh, and let's not forget that really cool watch that would look great on your wrist! It's not the digital watch from The Phantom Pain, but it is still a bit of a treat to see. Check below, and for more about these bundled sets, be sure to visit the official page for Konami Japan. Amazon Japan currently has the bundled sets listed supposedly. These sets will be for Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, but NOT Xbox One it seems.

Japan has its pick of multiple bundle packs of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes to choose from

So lucky to live in Japan, and who knows if these gems will even make it to other parts of the world. But nevertheless, they are awesome just to even look at. All of the different bundle packs of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes below each come with either the game only, or Solid Snake action figure and booklet. You have different versions for both PS3, PS4, and Xbox 360. I guess the Xbox One didn't make the grade in Japan this time. Perhaps due to a lack of demand, since even 360 titles don't see nearly as good as their PS3 versions have done in the past.

Besides seeing these great looking photos below, you can also take a closer look at the Solid Snake action figures at the official Konami of Japan site, where there are story lines, videos, and other items of interest there. So far there is no word if any or all of these bundle sets will even make it outside of Japan. There is also a limited edition watch being sold separately, which should be a nice addition to any one's existing Metal Gear arsenal. Just looking at it makes me want one badly, how about you?

Check out more information here.

For you gamblers, Contra 3D delivers a pachislot machine with HD graphics and everything you've known from the series

Contra has been around a long time, over 25 years now. But gambling has certainly been around much longer. Since then, companies like Konami thought it would be a good idea to combine the two for fans of both gaming and gambling. Both Suikoden and Castlevania managed to land their own pachislot machine, so why not a Contra 3D machine? Recently they did just that, and launched a machine with all of the elements you've come to known and love from the series. This even includes music you should be familiar with. Even thought you might not be able to read Japanese, you can still check out an official page for the new gambling title here.

There are various pages there, some for showing you what the 3D graphics look like, along with characters, story mode, samples of music to listen to, and so fourth. Let me know what you think of it in the comment section below.

For those of you who are participating in Operation Blinking Mirror, here is the address and information you will need

Any of you who might be participating in Operation Blinking Mirror, here is the information you'll need below to send in your Suikoden material. If you don't know what Operation Blinking Mirror even is, it is an attempt to get Konami of Japan to notice their fan base and to bring Suikoden 1 and 2 to other formats such as Xbox Live, PSN, iOS, Android and other formats that need good ports. Development of a new Suikoden 6 game would be a nice addition too. So without further delay, here is a post I received from Dan on Facebook.


Suikoden Revival Movement 1:42pm Nov 12

"Many of you have been wondering what address we'll be using for this campaign. After leveraging several options, we've finally arrived at the following:

Fumiaki Tanaka
Konami Digital Entertainment
9-7-2, Akasaka
Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-8324 Japan

That's right, we'll be targeting Fumiaki Tanaka, President of Konami Digital Entertainment, himself!

On a related note, only twenty-seven days remain until Operation Blinking Mirror is set to begin. Start getting those submissions ready!"

Dan

So there you have it, we now have less than one month, as the time frame is set between December 10th-12th for you to send in your material, being fan letters, cosplay performances, self made CDS and so fourth. Also join us on Facebook and make some new friends!