It’s been awhile, but ‘Tis Weak to Fridays, the weekly-recurring Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen livestream session, is back. Tune into Twitch today at 4pm PT as we delve even deeper into the gloomy reaches of Bitterblack Isle.
#SharkWeek is coming to a close so by now you should know all about real life sharks; let’s put that knowledge to the test and take a quick look at how these apex predators inspired the creation of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’s brand new shark monster: the Zamtrios!
We’ve received some TOP SECRET sketches and early design files from the development team in Japan for this special occasion; here they are side-by-side with pictures of some very real sharks that inspired the designs:
One of the key features of the Zamtrios is its ability to secrete a special liquid that coats its body with an icy armor when it becomes enraged. This was inspired by dermal denticles, or placoid scales, very hard and sharp scales present in actual sharks. In real life, these tiny scales reduce underwater drag, helping sharks move faster, but they are also hard enough to work as armor.
Zamtrios concept art (left) – Dermal denticles illustration (right)
Another source of inspiration for the Zamtrios was the second largest shark in the world: the Basking Shark. The final design kept some of this shark’s traits, but here’s a very early sketch that looks a lot closer to the existing fish:
Early Zamtrios concept art (left) – Basking shark (right)
Now moving on to a piece closer to the final monster design, here is a close-up on a Frilled Shark’s head. See the similarities? Also note frilled sharks are very common in the seas surrounding Japan, but you have to dive deep to find one of these.
Zamtrios concept art (left) – Frilled shark (right)
The more you know, am I right? You can hunt the Zamtrios early next year when Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate arrives on the Nintendo 3DS.
UPDATE: The Twitter giveaway has come to a close and a winner has been selected.
In the meantime, we have a Twitter giveaway for you; all you have to do is follow @MonsterHunter and ReTweet this tweet for a chance to win a miniature Plesioth, another monster inspired by real sharks!
Mini Plesioth figure; Twitter giveaway ends at 12pm PT (8pm GMT)
This week’s MM release (part of ” Megaugust ” y’know) is Battle Chip Challenge, a Battle Network side-story that sees our heroes join the Battle Chip Grand Prix. Surely this well-meaning, friendly competition will be relatively uneventful? And the likelihood of some sinister plot unfolding has to be pretty low, right?
Mayl’s ready – are you?
If you’re not, please, by all means take your time. The Wii U eShop won’t run out of copies, so don’t toss your hat into the ring until you’re ready. Let’s not rush into things.
We’re in a tight spot! Another Thursday is upon us, and that means it’s time to stream an old game!
Tune into Twitch at 4pm PT for more Killer 7, the Suda 51 arthouse classic on PlayStation 2. We streamed this once before , but I’ve since progressed further on my own, and I’ll be picking it up today somewhere in the middle. See ya there!
Sometimes when we say “soon,” we mean “next week.” Last week was one of those times, meaning Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies is available NOW for iOS. Look for it on the iTunes Store.
The game is available chapter-by-chapter or as a bundle. The first chapter is free for everyone! Subsequent chapters are $4.99 each, OR $14.99 for the whole game (Chapters 2-5). It’s also worth noting that, of course, the iOS version supports HD resolution for those snazzy Retina displays. This one is a great fit for iOS, so pick it up!
Protect your families, guys. Get chipped. But before that, make sure to tune into Twitch for our weekly livestream of Dead Rising 3 on the PC, coming out on September 5th! As indicated in the header image, the stream will take place today at 4pm PT, the usual time.
Oh, and word of warning: It will probably be pretty violent.
I’m sure many of us have, at some point, wondered what a Pokemon might look like in the Monster Hunter universe (or vice versa). Welp, this amazing series from artist arvalis fulfulls our unfocused musings with realistic mashups that expertly blend both worlds together.
There’s also a HUGE assortment of realistic Pokemon that, while not necessarily MH inspired, do remind me of some of the MH cast.
While there are no Pokemon in MH at this time, at least we can play as Link !
The Devil May Cry HD Collection is now on sale on PSN, so pick it up if for some terrible reason you haven’t already. It’s the best thing.
$29.99 | $15.00 | $12.00(PS+)
To celebrate the recent announcement of Resident Evil coming to new platforms in 2015, the fine folks at residentevil.net have put some RE1-inspired items up on the site…
To access these items, visit residentevil.net and input these present codes:
We’ll never forget you, Richard: Raider (Lv 46, Slot 3)
Present code: richard
It’s not RE without a magnum!: Serpent (Lv 10, Slot 4)
Present code: aiken
And then further spice up your Raid Mode grinds with these custom part codes:
String ’em up: Piercing I
Any Agent worth their salt likes to line up enemies, unlock with [mansion].
Speed is power!: Fire rate III
It’s all about the DPS, unlock with [incident].
The hunter becomes the hunted: Hunting gear III
You’ll have nothing to fear from non-human enemies again, unlock with [yawn].
These items are available from now ’til Monday August 18!
Kick off your Monday with a rippin’ rendition of the classic “X vs Zero” song from Mega Man X5.
I found this through our Mega Man forums – thanks for the link!
This is also a great opportunity to remind folks of the MM25: Mega Man Rocks” album we put together last year with acts like The Protomen, The Megas and more. It includes an X vs Zero cover by the X Hunters, ya know!
Awwww yeaaah, that ain’t no hallucination–the Capcom Unity Official Podcast is BACK after a two-year rest. Download the new episode HERE . In the spirit of this podcast’s auspicious revival, along with the recent announcement of the return of the classic Resident Evil remake, we had revivals on the mind, and indeed that is the theme of this episode.
Share your own thoughts on IP revivals in the extremely official episode discussion thread.
Some of you savvy Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney fans will have noticed that the fifth main Ace Attorney installment, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, has gone live on the Japanese iOS app store. What the?! That game’s on iOS in Japan?!
Well never fear! That app is headed for western shores (North America and Europe) very soon, complete with all the thrills, spills, mood matrices, and—oOOoo—HD resolution! I can’t give an exact release date right now, but rest assured it will be quite soon, so for now let’s just enjoy this fleeting moment in time where we know something great is on the way. Take that!
