Feature: Nerdy Aprons!

I love seeing people's creativity, so I jumped at the chance of featuring DarlingArmy.

The brains behind DarlingArmy is Amanda Marin, who creates custom-made aprons for a whole host of nerd-dom, gaming being a large proportion of it. On her Etsy store and deviantART page, she shows off her creations, those inspired by Zelda, Pokemon and Portal to name a few.

When I asked Amanda these two questions, she replied with these answers:

What inspired you to create these aprons?
I've actually been creating femme cosplay designs for my best friend and myself for several years. We're both a little tan and therefore can't always cosplay for authenticity, so why not cute it up? Afterall, I don't wear pants in real life, why should I when I cosplay?

Anywho, the aprons came about when I was strapped for cash while I was student teaching full time and still going to school full time. When Christmas came around and I had no cash, I had to use scrap fabric to make my friends geeky aprons.

From there I decided to sell them. Instead of offering dresses, I decided pinafores were much more versatile and accessible for all women since they can be worn fifty different ways instead of just one way like a dress <3

What has been your favourite design so far?
Gaaaaaaah. Such a hard question. I would say...probably my design for Matt Smith's new costume for the newest season of Doctor Who. When I found the leaked photos from the filming of the new episodes, I instantly fell in love with the deep colours!

Amanda's current favourite design!

Check out a few of her gaming designs below.

This has to be my favourite!

Check out more of DarlingArmy's work here:
Etsy- http://www.etsy.com/shop/darlingarmy
deviantART- http://darlingarmy.deviantart.com/

Old School vs. New School

Old School vs. New School. Who should win? Well, regardless of whether you agree with who won (the invaders-retro games) or the protectors (modern day), this is a great video a friend linked me to earlier!

Give it a watch, and see how many gaming characters you recognise!

Assassin's Creed: Renaissance

The Assassins Creed games are well known for their deep and intricate conspiracy plots and intrigue.  Assassins Creed: Renaissance, is the first in a series of novels that feature the protagonist of the games Ezio Auditore.  The book is rather large at just over 500 pages in length.  Whilst this may draw people to the book, bigger is not always better.  The novel is by no means terrible but it does suffer from over padding and it could have been a lot shorter, about 200 words shorter.  The book is fun and Ezio is just as awesome and likeable as he is in the games and it was these two elements that kept me reading it.

Bowden's novel draws from a large array of Renaissance Italy, much like the novels counterpart.  The plot and setting are ideal, however this was all put into place by Ubisoft before Bowden began writing.  The novel ties in well with the game and Italian history well, and while there are some inaccuracies (much like in the game series) they can be overlooked, as the novel suspends disbelief. 

The book has been created it seems to fill in the blanks or improve upon aspects that are slight in the game.  Throughout the novel we learn a great deal about Ezio's back story, his love for Cristina and builds a lot of depth into his character.  It is important to point out as well that Ezio is the main character of this book, Desmond does not feature in the book or the Animus, the whole story is set in Ezio's world.

Being quite fast paced the novel spans over a rather large section of Ezio's life, it starts when he is eighteen and ends when he is forty-four.  The jumps in-between can be a tad confusing at times, forcing you to really pay attention, as Ezio jumps from on location in Italy to another.

While the book does pad out Ezio's background as a character he doesn't really develop.  From the age of eighteen to the end of the book he is very much the same person he was to begin with.  He may have gained skills in weaponry and his assassination abilities, knowledge and allies but he is still the same rogue his was beforehand.  This is also the same for all of the other characters in the story.  There is no extensive development of anyone and people remain as they were, despite the trails and experiences they get put through.

In short, the games are far more in depth and better in terms of both character development and plot, however the book is an easy light read and is worth the time if you are a fan of the series.  It is by no means a fantasy epic, or as deep and intricate as the games.  Assassin Creed: Renaissance is an easygoing, fun and relaxing read that follows the life of Ezio, nothing more.

Assassins Creed 3 Coming This October

In perhaps some of the most unsurprising news of the day, Ubisoft have announced that there will be a next Assassin's Creed title.


Currently known as Assassin's Creed 3, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot confirmed a 30th October 2012 release date, and stated that Assassins Creed 3 will be the "biggest launch in Ubisoft history."


Details are sparse at the moment, and the only information that is currently known is that Assassin's Creed 3 is likely to feature a new leading character. Ubisoft will be releasing some more details soon. 

>Gamefreaks

Soul Calibur V Demo and Q&A

On the 29th October, I was one of the writers that covered the Mcm Expo for MCM BUZZ. Of course, this meant a lot of gaming related things to attend and write about.

I saw in on a Soul Calibur V demo and Q&A session that was being held on the Gamespot stage. The demo demonstrated Ezio's guest character slot in action, and we were also treated to the Ezio (from the Assassins Creed series) announcement trailer, a fan tournament, and a Q&A session.

You can read my complete post right here: Soul Calibur V Demo and Q&A

Soul Calibur V Collectors Edition Photo

As reported yesterday in one of two exciting pieces of Assassins Creed news, the series' regular protagonist shall be joining a host of fighters in the upcoming Soul Calibur V. 


Along with this announcement, Soul Calibur V's developers, Namco Bandai released the first details for the Soul Calibur V Collectors Edition, which can be seen in the photo below this post.


Soul Calibur V Collectors Edition will be packed in what appears to be an imitation leather book, which will come packaged with a CD copy of the original soundtrack, a parchment signed by the development team at Project Soul, an art book, a making of DVD, and two sets of armour for the character creation mode.


Soul Calibur V Collectors Edition will be available to purchase on either the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3. 

Assassins Creed Film & Ezio in Soul Calibur!

Today is a great day in news terms for Assassins Creed fans. 


Assassins Creed: The Movie?

The popular series, which sees fans playing as either assassins Altair or Ezio has constantly been met with plenty of critical praise. Sales have been high on each format the games have been released to, so it was only a matter of time before an Assassins Creed film was in the works.


Xbox360 Achievements reported that Sony Pictures have acquired the rights to create films based upon Ubisoft's Assassins Creed series. Thankfully, Ubisoft have decided to create the film themselves, with Sony Pictures only handling the production and distribution on Assassins Creed.


A Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell film are also reportedly in the making, under the helm of Ubisoft once again. No more details have been confirmed on the film as of yet, but this announcement proves for exciting news nonetheless. Let's just hope it does not fall into the trap of becoming a bad video game to film adaptation, like so many before it.

Ezio Confirmed in Soul Calibur V


It may have been rumoured a few days ago, but Namco Bandai and Ubisoft have officially confirmed that Ezio, the protagonist from Assassins Creed II onwards will be making a guest appearance in the upcoming Soul Calibur V.


Fans will be able to see Ezio weld his famous hidden blade, Roman Longsword, Stiletto, crossbow and hidden gun in combat against a whole host of Soul Calibur characters. 


 "The entrance of Assassins Creed into the Soul Calibur universe is a historic meeting of two of the most revered and influential game series," says Olivier Comte, Senior VP at Namco Bandai (via Xbox360 Achievements).

Via Xbox360 Achievements.org

A trailer announcing Ezio's appearance has been released, which you can watch below.

Soul Calibur V will be released in Europe on the 3rd February 2012.