Touch My Katamari (PS Vita)

PS Vita has been a bit of an elephant in the corner. There system has some exclusives but they are just watered down remakes of the bigger brother versions found on the PS3.  Luckily, the King of All Cosmos has messed up again and it’s your job to set the universe straight… Again.

Anything in the Katamari Damacy series is pretty much identical from game to game/system to system.  You start with just you bare Katamari and roll up all the junk strewn about Japan.  Make the ball as big as possible/fulfill the round requirements and it you get jerky praise from the King, at best.

So why is this one getting praise more than most of the other Vita titles out there?  Because of the gimmick of the system itself.  The odd touchpad found on the bottom of the handheld allows you to pinch and squish your Katamari ball into a tall or wide shape.  Amazingly, this doesn’t hurt the dynamic of the game’s playability at all.  Actually a few times in the game I was saying to myself, “I wish I could do this in the older versions!”  You can get to other areas in many of the familiar levels where you could never grab items because of your size.  Sometimes you say you are going to go back and grab that thing before you get too big and then the scale gets too large and you can’t fit in between places anymore.  Not so much anymore!

With the new game dynamics added by the touchpad, you are in for a whole new way to play Katamari Damacy.  Don’t miss this one if you have a Vita!

Remco Phantom Of The Opera

Just a random picture of a figure I have had for a short while now that I want to originally show to a friend of mine yesterday but decided to share it here on the Cosmic Ark today as well….

Remco’s Phantom Of The Opera action figure is based off the classic Lon Chaney 1925 silent film version of the character and just looks great!

I actually have a whole set of these Remco Mini-Monster figures that I showed all together along with there carrying case playset last year on the blog but it is fun to revisit these figures individually.

Released in the very late 70s and they were something that i always wanted but never had until last year allowing me to attain one of my toy “Holy Grails”.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

Mister Good And Evil

Ok I know I said I wasn’t going to be collecting Lego Mini-Figures anymore but my friend Brad surprised me today with one of the series 9 ones as a little gift and I had to share it here on the Cosmic Ark with everyone….

Mister Good And Evil aka Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde was a nice surprise today to be handed to me by a good friend and will fit in nicely with my other Lego Monster Mini-Figures….

The Cosmic Ark Monster Squad? Maybe if I can get that Monster Fighters Swamp Creature to go with this crew of creepy creatures.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

Ultimate Game Sale On XBox Live!

Don’t miss out on a really amazing sale happening on XBox Live, right now!  Headlining the sale is almost all of Assassin’s Creed. Much of it for $9.99!  There are 3 panels worth gaming goodness. Don’t want to log in? It’s OK… Here is the list, so far:

• Panel 1
  • Assassin’s Creed 1 – $9.99
  • Assassin’s Creed 2 – $9.99
  • Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – $9.99
  • Assassin’s Creed Revelations – $9.99
• Panel 2
  • Call of Juarez – $4.99
  • Rayman Raving Rabbids – $2.99
  • Tom Clancy’s HAWX – $4.99
  • Tom Clancy’s GRAW – $4.99
  • Tom Clancy’s GRAW 2 – $4.99
  • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas – $4.99
  • Might and Magic: Elements – $2.99
• Panel 3
  • Dirt2 – $4.99
  • Grid – $4.99
  • Virtua Fighter 5 – $4.99
  • BioShock – $4.99
  • Tomb Raider: Legend – $4.99
  • The Darkness – $4.99
  • Kane & Lynch: Dead Men – $4.99
  • El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron  – $2.99

Personally, I’ve been looking for El Shaddai. Though I would rather have a physical copy, I can’t really turn down the game for $2.99!

G.I. Joe Cobra Range Viper V2

This past Christmas I was lucky to have gotten as gifts from my wife and family a nice amount of G.I. Joe action figures which I have been sharing with all of you here on my blog.

Several of those have been “DTC” or “Direct To Consumer” which means they were sold as online exclusives(in some cases they would eventually show up at places like Toys R’ Us for sale).

Today I have another one of these and it has become one of my favorites…..Version 2 of Cobra’s Wilderness Trooper, The Range Viper.

Once I got this action figure aboard the Cosmic Ark I was just so taken with it and I have now told myself I want to buy more of them to build up a small army.

Never owned one of the original released ones so this really turned into a treat for me because these guys just look so cool with there skull helmets and weapons.

The “DTC” version here was released 2005 and is part of series 21 of the G.I. Joe waves and really was just a nice surprise for me so I really must thank the wife and family for it once again for getting this for me.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

G.I. Joe Sgt. Stalker V10

This version of Stalker am showing today is only my second ever action figure of this character. My first one was the original released one back in the 80s with me now owing this one thanks to a trade I did with my good friend Chad(I do own a 3rd one now too which I will show a another time here on the Ark).

Now with his rank shown(I had never paid attention to this before) Sgt.Stalker here is a 2008 DVD Battle Pack release and is the 10th version of this character ever made.

I love the fact they included a “Jump” Jetpack with him and he really does look great and I have to wonder why he never got used much on the original cartoon series?(I know he appeared often in the Marvel Comics).

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

G.I. Joe Retaliation Sneak Attack Storm Shadow

When my wife bought this figure home for me and I took it out of the package for the first time I really wasn’t wowed by it because of it’s plastic vest and how it’s removable hood sat on it’s head.

But once I removed the vest and started to play around with it some more with me looking at it sitting on my desk I turned the corner and now I think it’s a cool action figure that bares a likeness of the second ever released version of Storm Shadow from way back in 1988.

It’s mold seems to be that of one of the Rise Of Cobra versions but I could be wrong with this but it does look a lot like one of those which I missed out when they were in stores so it’s good I have this now for my “Cosmic Ark” army.

You get the standard weapons you would find with “Stormy” plus a the gimmick of a zip line/pulley which is aimed more for the younger kids than us older fans/collectors so I just tossed into my plastic storage bin of Joes.

One interesting thing of note here too is on the back of the package there is a little write up that says the following….”Sneak Attack Storm Shadow shares a violent history with G.I. Joe ninja Snake Eyes that will lead them into an unknown future where foes may become friends”.

So is this a spoiler for the upcoming movie or something that is mirroring some of the classic story lines from the comic book or cartoons? I don’t know but I thought it was worth mentioning.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

G.I. Joe Retaliation Ninja Combat Cruiser

As I always like to quote my good friend Chad on things here is the comment he made about the G.I. Joe Retaliation Ninja Combat Cruiser when I sent him a picture of it…” Well that’s not very Ninja-Like”.

And to be honest it isn’t and I do feel as much as i am excited about the latest wave of Joe toys a lot of it is very “Ninja Heavy” which can be a good thing and or a bad thing I guess.

Anyway regardless I do really like this vehicle and it will make for a nice way to finally get a few more of my Joes out and on display aboard the Cosmic Ark and I really have been wanting to add more things like this to my collection so it’s a win all-around.

Like with the Cobra Crimson H.I.S.S. Tank I showed on the blog a short while ago I decided to take a few extra pictures to share and as you can see it has those dreaded decals I hate but the assembly of it was super easy and simple.

If I were to have one thing I could say I don’t like with this is the included action figure Night Fox who is little more than disappointing to me because of it’s limited articulation and lack of more colors.

I know he is supposed to be more of a Stealth Ops type of character but come on they could of not gave him some red color in his goggles or something? I think I would rather of seen a new version of Low-Light be the included figure here.

But beyond my Night Fox and decals gripes this really is a very nice addition to my G.I. Joe collection which as I stated will be used as a chance to get a few of my Joes out on display.

And will I be buying more vehicles for my “Cosmic Ark Army” ? I want to with me taking some heavy looks into more of the classics like the “Tiger Force”(which I just love) sets and am sure there will be a few modern bits too( Blue H.I.S.S. Tank and if I can find one the V.A.M.P. MK-II).

Looks like the Joe Team is off on another mission and will be riding in style in the Ninja Cruiser now which sure beats taking the bus which I hear Flint hates riding on because he always forgets his bus pass and never has the right amount of change on him for his fare….Yo Joe!

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

How Do I Know My Wife Loves Me?

Because despite the fact she hates my toy collecting hobby she keeps buying me things to fuel it like these items below she picked up for me yesterday….

Yup more G.I. Joe but I have a feeling I won’t be getting much more for the Cosmic Ark until after my birthday in April and on into May when my yearly “Guy’s Flea Marketing Road Trip” is planned for.

I normally like to have a bit of extra cash handy for that all-day event because some great vintage/classic toy items can be found and is really something I look forward to.

Sorry to say you guys are going to have to suffer through some more of my “G.I. Joe Madness” until then.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

PS4

Yesterday Sony unveiled their next generation console, The Playstation 4, during a press conference in New York. Sony streamed the conference so gamers from all over could find out about the much anticipated system. However, the timing was a little off for me. It was all happening while I was at work and when I finally got home and logged onto a stream it was just wrapping up. 

After reading about it I have to say… I am really looking forward to some of the new features that will be coming out. I am most looking forward to the ability to share and broadcast your game or screenshots with friends and social networks. I love watching live streams of games on Twitch TV and having the ability to do this so easily (seemingly) through the PS4 is very exciting. I know not everyone is happy with Sony introducing the social aspects into the new gaming console but I think without it they would be left behind in the next generation. 

It was also shared that Sony would be dumping the DualShock 3 controller for the new and improved DualShock 4 with a touchpad. They stayed pretty close to their standard design, which I find to be pretty comfortable. 

There’s not much that I can add that is not already surfacing around the internet but I wanted to make sure everyone here knew I was keeping up with the news and I’ll admit I am ready to hand my money over this holiday season!