This week’s issue of Weekly Jump has revealed some new details for Tales of Berseria in the form of a terrible looking picture of gray-scale page for the game. The page reveals that two more characters will be joining the cast of the game and they are called Rokuro, a young swordsman that is a “daemon” who managed to keep hold of his reason and follows Velvet due to a debt to her, and Eleanor, a girl that belongs to the Taimishi group and a “Seiryou” who is friendly with anyone except those that are against the Seiryou.
You can check out the scan below. Tales of Berseria is currently set to be released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 and PC and Bandai Namco has already announced that they plan on releasing the game in the West for the PlayStation 4 and PC.
It looks like that, unlike the original release of Guilty Gear Xrd, gamers in Europe won’t have to wait forever to have a chance to play Revelator. Publisher PQube has announced that they plan on releasing Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator both at retail and as a digital download on June 10th, only three days after Aksys Games plans on releasing the title on North America.
For those who haven’t been following this version of the game, Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator adds six new playable characters to the roster, a new online lobby, additional story, a “Stylish Type” control system, and more. You can check out a new trailer for the European release below.
A new trailer for Tekken 7: Fated Retribution‘s arcade release has been released by Bandai Namco and this time around the company is highlighting the “Rage Attack” system. While Tekken 7: Fated Retribution adds a number of new characters, outfits, and features, the Rage mechanic is being overhauled to allow players to use the Rage system earlier than before.
Rage attacks add various new elements to attacks such as increasing damage, launching opponents, knocking them back, or temporarily stunning them. You can check out the video below while the game itself is still set to be released in Japanese arcades sometime later this year.
Capcom has released some new details for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 6 by revealing that the new prosecutor and rival to appear in the game is named Nayuta Sadmadhi and that he is from the Kurain Kingdom and an international prosecutor who has worked on cases around the world. When taking on a case he believes that the trial is a ritual to mourn the souls of the victims and that lawyers in his way are trying to prevent their souls from salvation and while he may speak politely, he can be ruthless against criminals and opposing attorneys.
Capcom has also confirmed through the official website that the “Mood Matrix” that appeared in Dual Destinies will be returning in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 6 and that Athena will once again be the main one using the system.
A couple of months ago Psyonix Studios announced that they were going to be bringing their incredibly popular digital game Rocket League to the Xbox One sometime in February and now the company has nailed down when fans can expect the title to be available for download.
The company will be releasing Rocket League on February 17th and will cost $19.99 when released. This Xbox One version features all of the previously released DLC for the PlayStation 4 and PC versions as well as cosmetic items, such as vehicle skins, antenna toppers, wheels, and rocket trails, from Gears of War, Halo, and more.
With the days until Street Fighter V‘s release ticking away Capcom has continued to release character trailers for the sixteen playable characters that will be available when the game is released on February 16th for the PlayStation 4 and PC.
This latest set of character introductions focus on a couple of female characters in the form of the newcomer Laura and the returning Karin as well as a male character that almost always wears a mask, until it ends up being knocked off in combat and that person is, of course, Vega. You can check out each of the character videos below.
Idea Factory International has announced that gamers can expect to see Trillion: God of Destruction to be released for the PlayStation Vita in North America on March 29th and in Europe on April 1st. They had a bit more to reveal too as the company decided to release a new set of screenshots and character details specifically focusing on one of the six overlord candidates that will join Zeabolos in his battle against Trillion.
Her name is Levia and she holds the Crest of Envy. She just so happens to be Zeabolos’ childhood friend and is so fiercely loyal to him that it borders on obsession. She may act formally in front of others but opens herself up when alone with Zeabolos, and in fitting with her crest, she becomes incredibly jealous when Zeabolos talks with anyone else.
You may remember that in the Japanese release of Valkyria Chronicles Remaster, which was released a couple days ago in Japan, would include a battle demo for the upcoming Valkyria: Azure Revolution.
Well now that the demo is in the wild Sega has decided to release a number of new screenshots from the demo as well as a couple of official gameplay videos showing off how the action in Valkyria: Azure Revolution will unfold and how things have changed from the original series. Currently Valkyria: Azure Revolution is set to be released on the PlayStation 4 sometime this winter in Japan.
Sometimes bigger does not necessarily mean better, especially when it comes to armour. The latest Battlefleet Gothic: Armadatrailer shows off the fast and heavily armed Chaos Fleet. The Chaos Fleet features ancient ships that have been twisted by the Chaos Marks from the four Gods of Chaos. Unlike their Imperium counterparts, the Chaos Fleet does not just tank hits and grind their opponents slowly into dust. Instead, the Chaos Fleet likes to ambush enemy ships with the Stasis Bomb and then deliver the finishing strike before the enemy can get their systems back online.
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a ship to ship space RTS based on Games Workshop’s tabletop game. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada will launch on PC sometime in 2016.
The original Zoolander film is one of my guilty pleasures. I’m not normally a fan of these types of American comedies, but I found that the film had some very silly and funny moments which I could get behind. With the sequel out and about, it was time to see whether Zoolander 2 could live up to the moments of its predecessor.
Story
The film opens up with the almost pornographic depiction of the violent death of Justin Bieber. The shots and editing go to great lengths to depict his death in almost fetishistic detail as he’s gunned down on the streets of Rome. Following a quick selfie; Bieber expires and the driving point of the main plot is introduced; attractive celebrities the world over are being assassinated.
At this point we catch up with the protagonists of the first film; Hansel (Owen Wilson) and Zoolander (Ben Stiller) have gone into self-imposed exile after the events of the first film. Following a horrific accident at the “Zoolander Centre for Kids who can’t Read Good and Wanna Learn to do Other Stuff Good too”, Zoolander’s wife dies and Hansel suffers a scar upon his once immaculate face. Alongside this; Zoolander’s son Derek Jr. is taken away by child services. Following a visit by Billy Zane, they’re both convinced individually to reprise their positions in the fashion world as male models in order to attempt a comeback. From there, they become embroiled in a mystery involving the highest level of the fashion industry and a significant number of the world’s celebrities.
The film’s narrative is largely a retread of the last film’s main plot points with the two protagonists bumbling their way through to solving and thwarting the evil scheme of the villains. Along the way, they’ll engage in comedic hijinks with an eclectic cast of celebrities to varying degrees of comedic success. The jokes of individual scenes feel less like cut-away sketches and instead come together in a fairly coherent narrative across the entire film. Nonetheless, there weren’t really any moments which particularly stuck out for me in terms of narrative and it was largely forgettable for me.
Stiller and Wilson do a good turn in their performances of Zoolander and Hansel respectively. My main problem with the original Zoolander was the obnoxious stupidity of the protagonist characters. In this sequel, I feel that this has been lessened and although they’re both still as dense as bricks… they’re not completely incompetent when navigating the world. This might be a side-effect of the fact that the world that they inhabit has in turn become a lot more zany and nonsensical, which allows them to play their jokes a bit straighter. My favourite running joke in the film is that Hansel is in a committed long-term relationship with an orgy group composed of members including a Maori warrior, a chimney sweep, and Kiefer Sutherland… who are all also pregnant. Penelope Cruz puts in a good performance as Melanie Valentina, a member of Interpol’s fashion police, and lands the punchline of a couple of jokes here and there… the lion’s share went to Stiller and Wilson however.
Will Ferrell returns as Jacobim Mugatu, the villain from the original film, and Kristen Wiig as Alexanya Atoz do well as the antagonists. Wiig gives an excellent performance as a heavily botoxed, eccentric, and indeterminately Eastern-European fashion designer. Ferrell brings a more manic and over-the-top Mugatu to match the more over-the-top world that the film presents. Both their performances are strong, but for whatever reason I felt that Ferrell landed more of the gags allotted to him.
Most productions relying on a celebrity supporting cast can be hit and miss when it comes to the cameo appearances. I feel that the jokes each of these celebrities had to play with varied widely in both quality and the respective ability of the performer to hit the punchlines. Overall, in this instance, I felt that there were more hits than misses and there were a couple of cameos which did make me laugh out loud. Although there are a couple of zingers which might bring back a chuckle when remember them… there isn’t anything quite as quotable as some of the dialogue from the original Zoolander.
One cause for concern for me going in was the portrayal of trans individuals as seen by trailers showcasing Benedict Cumberbatch’s role as ‘All’. The trailers paint a rather egregious picture of the interaction between the protagonists and All but I can now report that there was more to that dialogue than was shown to us which very much changed the tone. Unfortunately, trans individuals still become the butt of a joke. If this was a point of concern for you, you’re probably best off to give this film a miss.
Visuals & Audio
The direction and visual design throughout the film is largely solid but doesn’t feel particularly inspired. The film attempts to deliver its kicks more through the dialogue and performance of its actors rather than through any particularly humorous visuals. There are a couple of sight gags here and there with special effects but as I’m not particularly a fan of slapstick; I didn’t get as much of a kick out of them. The costume design is quite vibrant and eccentric to parody the more out-there designs of high concept fashion.
The Audio is similarly solid but ultimately doesn’t leave a lasting impression. The orchestral score does its job of punctuating the action but doesn’t force its way into your conscious attention all that much. There were a couple of pop songs which had an interesting placement in the scene but ultimately didn’t stand out.
Overall
This film evoked conflicting opinions within me. It has elements which are an improvement from the original Zoolander, and the zany humour present in the story does appeal to me more… but there aren’t as many quotable moments which will stick with you this time around. The celebrity cameos throughout are generally used quite well with almost everyone pulling off a quick joke with their limited screen time. The visuals and audio largely pull through on supporting the film’s story beats but are largely unremarkable otherwise. It was a film which I enjoyed, for the time that I spent watching it, but it is not one which I consider particularly memorable or worth endeavouring to see again. If you’re a fan of the original film and its style of humour, you’ll probably enjoy this film as well. If you aren’t, then I don’t believe you’ll be missing out on much.
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