Fans of the Sword Art Online series won’t have to worry about whether or not Bandai Namco will continue to be releasing the video game’s made from the light novel series as the company has announced that they plan on releasing Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization in North America and Europe in 2016. This is a bit surprising considering Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, which is set for release on the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, doesn’t even have a solid release date in Japan at the time of this writing.
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization will be released with Japanese voice work and support English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish subtitles. The game itself takes place during an event that is completely original and has been overseen by the author of the series Reiki Kawahara. Kirito and other familiar characters will find themselves in the world of “Sword Art Online” from the very beginning is a new game called “Sword Art Origin.”
Full details about the game‘s storyline as well as screenshots for the title can be found below:
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization takes place in one of the stages set within the original Sword Art Online and will give fans the chance to experience the “Sword Art Online” world from the very beginning. Taking on the role of Kirito, players enter a new VRMMORPG world called “Sword Art Origin”, which was created on the game’s original sever, giving players flashbacks of memories from past events. Players will enter the early period within the “Sword Art Origin” world and must find a way to win the game one more time.
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization features a plethora of beloved characters from the Sword Art Online anime series including Kirito, Leafa, and Asuna. Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization will also feature the debut of an exclusive new virtual character only to be found in the game; joining players on this new VRMMORPG adventure.
Although Sony and Naughty Dog were initially aiming to release Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End on March 18th the companies have recently announced that that will no longer be the case. Sony has announced that they now plan on releasing Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End on April 26 in North America, April 27th in Europe, and April 29th in the United Kingdom.
Creative director Neil Druckmann and game director Bruce Straley statedthat the “team has been working incredibly hard to meet the challenge of closing out the game’s development in a timely manner” but with time running low, they realized that a number of key moments required some extra touches and after considering the options they opted to delay the game despite it not being “an easy choice.”
Following the events of the Phantom Blood arc, Speedwagon is now an oil tycoon in North America and Straizo has succeeded Tonpetty as the master of Hamon. Excavators from the Speedwagon Foundation have uncovered something disturbing in Mexico. Speedwagon and Straizo meet up and travel to the location of the discovery in order to find out exactly what it is that must remain unknown to the public. Meanwhile, Joseph Joestar, the grandson of Jonathan Joestar, is in New York with his grandmother Erina.
Story
The plot of Battle Tendency is a continuation of the events from 49 years earlier in the story, but it stands up well on its own. Time skips are not always handled carefully in manga or any kind of Japanese fiction. However, Hirohiko Araki has already proven himself as a skilled storyteller in the first arc, and he has once again proven that he knows what he is doing with the plot. His skill is not only evidenced by his depictions of physical locations but also of historical settings. Araki depicts a realistic New York, using elements such as car designs and direct or parodic references to real-life commercial products to make it look like a snapshot of what things might have been like in those days. His specific choice of time period was also carefully made; setting the story in 1938 gave Araki the opportunity to explore political topics and contemporary discussions involving race. JoJo’s sidekick is an African-American person named Smokey. He stole JoJo’s wallet, and the scene that follows is a reference to a particular scene in Phantom Blood in which Lord Joestar, Jonathan Joestar’s father, makes an incredibly kind gesture towards someone who does not seem to deserve it.
Joseph may look similar to his grandfather Jonathan, but the two are entirely different characters. Jonathan was a typical Victorian gentleman, while Joseph is a reckless adventurer who enjoys messing with people who he thinks deserve it. He is also rather destructive and does not seem to have any qualms about causing major damage to the property of others, but this serves to distinguish him from his grandfather more than anything else. He also has a curious ability that allows him to predict what his opponent’s next move will be and what they will say next. Smokey goes through a small amount of character development, but like Erina, he is not an important part of the action or the story. Speedwagon is about the same as ever, but he does take a significantly more proactive role in this story arc than he did in Phantom Blood.
Those who are familiar with twentieth century history will observe that 1938, the year in which this plot arc is set, is just one year prior to the beginning of World War II. The precursor to this major global event is cleverly tied into the plot that follows on from Phantom Blood. It is now publicly known that the Nazis conducted horrific experiments on humans, and Araki utilises this fact in order to place his story in a believable real world context. The Speedwagon Foundation discovered a being known as a ‘Pillar Man’ in Mexico, and a nearby Nazi outpost is intent on conducting experiments on the Pillar Man in a secret underground facility. The Nazi scientists do not understand what they are up against, but they actually do acknowledge that fact after a while, although it is clear by this point that Araki prefers to deviate from the historical truth in some cases.
Artwork
Fans who have been following the series since the beginning will be familiar with Araki’s tendency to draw muscular protagonists and grotesque antagonists. Given the title of this story arc, it comes as no surprise that this volume manages to feature even more brutal violence than before. The Pillar Men are able to absorb the cells of other organisms, which in other words means that this volume features disturbing cannibalism reminiscent of scenes from Ryohgo Narita’s Baccano!. That is as bad as it gets, but as with the previous arc, Battle Tendency is not aimed at those with an aversion to blood and gore.
In previous volumes, every panel and every page has been filled almost solely with highly detailed and intense artwork. In this volume, Araki began to include specific details about the characters’ strength. Additionally, he also included a character profile for the new JoJo on the opening page of chapter 10, “The Pillar Man, Santviento Part 1”. This profile includes his date of birth, height, weight and personal information about his life and his interests. The panels can become overcrowded with action at times, so much so that it can be hard to work out exactly what is going on, so these minor interruptions provide a helpful respite from the intense action.
Extra Content
As with Viz Media’s previous releases of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga, two pages of bonus content are featured at the end of this volume. The first of those pages features the biological information about Joseph Joestar, while the second features another discussion with Hirohiko Araki. On this page, Araki gives a detailed description of the process of creating the new JoJo character and reflects on the creation of Joseph from the perspective of having written several story arcs within the series in the decades since.
Overall
Presenting a story that is both familiar and new, the first volume of Battle Tendency is a well-written and well-researched plot that is engaging right from the very first page. Comedy has never been the main attraction of this series, but there is even a bit of goofy humour present in the earlier chapters of this volume. Characters both familiar and unfamiliar appear throughout its 18 chapters, making the story so far a great addition to the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series and a great reward for any fans who were left with unanswered questions following the conclusion of Phantom Blood. Unfortunately, some of the plot points are predictable based on the knowledge gained from the three volumes of the first arc. Nonetheless, even if the fights are prolonged for a long time, it is hard to put this book down. The wait for the release of the next volume is sure to be worth it.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
A little bit prior to everyone getting some time off for the holidays Bandai Namco delivered RPG fans a gift by announcing that God Eater: Resurrection and God Eater 2: Rage Burst will both be released in the West sometime in summer 2016 for the PlayStation 4, PS Vita, and PC.
Now while many are pleased to hear that God Eater: Resurrection and God Eater 2: Rage Burst will be released in English, a minority may want to know that producer Yuzuke Tomizawa has stated, in an interview with PlayStation LifeStyle, that the title will only support English voice work and not contain the original Japanese voice track as he simply responded saying “It’s just going to be pure English.”
Overview When a visual novel is announced for official English release, many of these titles start out fairly unknown by the fan base with only a few exceptions that were given anime adaptations or held such a high reputation that Western audiences had already heard about them. In the case of eroge titles, the list of well-known visual novels grows smaller but it is also here that many fans of the genre are also widely familiar with particular names. One of these happens to be euphoria, a nukige style visual novel with a hardcore reputation. Now that euphoria has been released, does it live up to that reputation?
Story The visual novel begins with the main protagonist, Keisuke Takatou, waking up in a sterile looking white room. Still in his school uniform, Keisuke has no memories of how he ended up in his situation but shortly after waking up he finds that a strange collar has been placed around his neck and that he is there with six other women, all of which also attended his school.
After trying to find a way out, these seven people find that they are trapped within a strange facility with every door locked to them. It is then that an automated voice informs them that they are to play a game that, if completed properly, will allow them to escape from the facility. There are five locked doors that will be unlocked after certain “conditions” are meant involving an unlocker and a keyhole and with only five total stages available, one failure can lead to being trapped forever.
Or at least that would be the worst of it. You see, the conditions laid out in this game find the women labeled as keyholes while Keisuke, the only male, is deemed the unlocker. At every stage Keisuke must select a keyhole and perform a sexual or degrading act with them until the completion of parameters that will change every time. Those who fail to obey any rules or commit the acts required will be “punished” and euphoria is quick on laying out exactly what it means here and just how rough things can be in this game.
Keisuke and many of the trapped girls are shocked by the announcement but only one of the females immediately takes a stance against the game and openly refuses to ever participate. After making such a claim, the characters are given a horrific taste of what these game operators are capable of. The room darkens for what appears to be a blink of an eye and the girl vanishes, only to be found being executed with an electric chair.
euphoria takes this death as a chance to show just how brutal and, literally shocking, the title can be. What one would think should be a relatively fast way to be executed turns into one of the lengthiest sequences in the game as numerous details about the execution are described in agonizing detail, showing just what players may be in for if they find themselves on a bad route. I’m not kidding in this regard, as the scene features small amounts of gore, scat, and urine. Some elements of this can be visually toggled off, but more on that later.
Those who are able to take this initial presentation will find that the scene is something of a gatekeeper, either scaring those off who weren’t prepared for just how brutal things can become in the game and how graphic some elements are or allowing those who are able to bypass it a chance to see just what else lies further along, which surprisingly is fairly tame more often than not, compared to what is shown here.
Forced to watch the execution of one of their own, the cast agree to obey but it is the player character, Keisuke, that finds himself in the most unique situation. Not only is he the only male character, but he has a rather dark secret hidden away. Rather than being scared off by such sadistic methods of torture and death, Keisuke enjoys seeing such acts. Unfortunately for him, his secret is soon discovered by one of the girls, a mysterious beauty named Nemu who is as cunning as they come.
While the rest of the girls all fit into a fairly typical role, with Keisuke’s childhood friend Kanae, the one year younger Rika Makiba who acts childish to get her way, the stoic Rinne from a separate class, and the popular English teacher Natsuki, are all trying to cope and know nothing of Keisuke’s darker desires, Nemu’s discovery places him in a difficult situation. Not only does she appear unfazed by their new situation, but she takes advantage of Keisuke’s arousal, tempting him to unleash the beast that he is keeping hidden away for an unknown agenda.
From then on players are given a fairly predictable choice pattern that primarily consist of simply selecting a girl for the game. While they may appear simple at first, each girl begins to come into her own through some rather surprisingly, for the most part, well-written dialogue that takes place before and after completing their task. These girls end up opening up far more than one would expect as Keisuke continues to select them. Unfortunately, due to certain twists and the outcomes of routes a few of these routes feel overly simplistic with very little detail actually being put into the storyline. While these routes are optional routes separate from the main route, there are numerous poorly explained twists with a few of these girls as well as some hanging plot threads that never really get tied up even in the core story.
That being said, the real story here mostly follows Keisuke, who is trying to keep himself from embracing his fetishes despite being forced to perform these same acts he has fantasized about on the girls that are unable to refuse. He simply wishes to return back to a normal life once they escape, but if he exposes what he really feels, the acts of debauchery will haunt him far beyond the locked doors, but on the other hand, he also feels at times that this wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Or at least that is what happens for a while until the game rather abruptly opts to abandon this internal struggle. For the most part, the various routes do explore Keisuke’s desires and his struggle, but after certain points in a few of the side-routes the game appears to forget about his internal issues.
Of course the other main issue happens to be the mystery of just what exactly is going on. Who is running this game and why are the captives being forced to partake in such an immoral game. This mystery serves as the core plot point and also one that serves as euphoria’s spiral into something of a twisted mess that completely changes the way players will look at the game and certain characters.
While it may be something of a spoiler, once the characters do manage to make an escape they only find themselves in a world where things are completely different from what they may have expected. Not only do certain characters completely appear to change their personalities but a number of new themes and mysteries are quickly introduced to players. Thanks to the massive amount of mysteries and twists thrown at players, the various routes they go down will vary wildly at this point as the story either reaches a separate conclusion that may leave certain threads hanging or aim towards the real truth.
This does mean however that the plot of the game can be described as fairly convoluted at times, especially with how things are handled in the second half. In many ways euphoria may have been known for how sadistic some of the sexual content has been shown in the past, but the way that the storyline also messes with the player’s view of the game’s world is also quite a feat, and one that does come with a fairly satisfying conclusion once the true ending is found.
Gameplay As mentioned, euphoria is a game that offers certain levels of customization regarding what is actually shown to the player. While scenes will still be presented and given the same narration as before, players have the option of disabling any feces or gore that would normally be present in these scenes, removing such themes from the CG work and making certain visuals a bit more palatable for those who don’t exactly enjoy those types of fetishes.
This is a game that caters to such a wide range of fetishes that include bondage, electrocution, tickle torture, drugging, and more, that there is something for pretty much everyone here and thankfully the title also supports standard skip functions, allowing players to fast forward past events that may make them uncomfortable but I must say that, despite the game’s reputation, euphoria’s sexual content leans heavily on hardcore rape, humiliation, and torture sequences but does contain tamer scenes that are bordering on vanilla, albeit vanilla that is still a bit rough.
As standard, once players complete a route in Euphoria the game’s Bonus section opens up, allowing for the viewing of previously scene CG and the ability to replay the various sex scenes that have been unlocked. A rather interesting inclusion here is the addition of a Staff Comments, including comments from voice actors for the game, as they talk about certain experiences with the title in a fairly brief manner. Another pair of fairly interesting additions to the game is a possible countdown timer for the in-game ejaculation as well as the ability for players to do more than simply hide the text window like usual visual novels. Instead Euphoria allows players to zoom in on the CGs during events.
Visuals & Audio The character art isn’t extremely detailed here but it does feature some down to earth character designs that present the girls as beautiful and mostly innocent despite the horrors that await them. With this release MangaGamer has presented Clock Up’s euphoria with uncensored sexual content. This means that everything is presented as raw as possible with players given the option of preventing certain visual elements from being presented. The background for the game is extremely simplistic most of the time as the majority of the game takes place in white tiled rooms where absolutely no detail is presented. This is disappointing since orders are given to the characters via red text that is never actually shown, but this also serves as a method to surprise players with what situation will be unfolding in the room and just how unsettling the whole setting is.
The background music in euphoria does an excellent job providing a feeling of dread during tense sequences as well as serve as a great support for the more action oriented events that unfold. The voice actors in this game are also rather adept at handling their roles here as they never sound like they are breaking character despite how painful it had to be to make some of the noises that the characters make in this game.
Overall MangaGamer delighted many and shocked others with the idea that they would be bringing euphoria, a game with such a firmly established reputation of being as hardcore as they come, out to English audiences. Moving past its reputation, euphoria does prove to be an extreme sexual game with a massive amount of sex scenes and routes to play through but it also contains a rather enthralling storyline that, while rather convoluted and a bit of a mess with certain endings, will keep a hold of the player as they try to discover the truth behind the game.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the little-known sequel that hasn’t really been on anybody’s radar… Wow could you imagine if that was true? No, in reality this film is probably one of the most highly anticipated sequels to ever be produced, and since its release it has been shattering records left right and centre. Bringing back the Star Wars universe to the silver screen after the largely disappointing prequel trilogy is no lean feat however and one has to wonder; does this new movie use the Force for good, or does it succumb to the Dark Side?
Story
SPOILER ALERT: I will be delving into some plot and character spoilers so if you haven’t seen the movie yet then I would suggest driving down to your local cinema right now and doing so and then come back and keep reading.
From the very first title crawl, you can tell that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has learned from its past demons and will come out stronger. There are no mentions of trade disputes or intergalactic senates. Instead we get told that Luke Skywalker is missing and that both the Resistance and the First Order are looking for him. That is all we need to jump into the story and that is all we are given.
One thing I noticed when watching the movie was that it followed a very similar plot structure to A New Hope. In fact the first act is almost a beat for beat adaptation of the ’77 original movie. Opening with the rebel fighter putting secret plans in a droid, while being subsequently captured. Then the droid finds a lonely orphan on a desert planet who has a greater destiny in front of them. Even boarding the Millennium Falcon to avoid the troopers that are hunting them, the entire first third of the movie is something we have seen before.
This trend follows throughout the rest of the movie, with Han Solo even commenting in a very meta/tongue-in-cheek manner that the First Order’s Starkiller Base is “another Death Star.” This sense of familiarity and the plot mirroring that of A New Hope is a bit of a double-edged sword in that in some ways it offers little new for long-time fans (at least in the beginning sections of the movie) but at the same time the fresh, new take creates a strong sense of connection to the previous films and offers a little nostalgia trip while showcasing the whole “everything that was old is new again” mentality. I personally loved being able to tie the plot back to A New Hope because to me it just made the whole thing feel like the beginning of a new Star Wars story, and it was done so sublimely that I am excited and eager to see where they take it from here (although, if later instalments feature more moon or planet sized space stations that are capable of blowing up planets or star systems then I will probably change my tone a little bit).
As with most movies, the story hinges on a few select characters. Since this is a Star Wars movie, the cast is a mixture of returning veterans and newcomers to the series. Thankfully, while the returning characters all have their roles to play, especially Harrison Ford who gives his best performance in years as the weary, but still lovable scoundrel Han Solo, the story is really about the new group of characters; Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaacs), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and BB-8.
Rey and Finn have incredible on-screen chemisty and have both so embodied their characters that it is hard not to love them. Rey manages to steal the show as our orphan with a greater destiny, while Finn is the comic relief character – a Storm Trooper who has realised that the First Order may not be the beacons of good will that he had originally hoped. The best part of these two characters is the emotional depth that they being to the film. Finn is just trying to do good even though he is in way over his head and Rey is struggling to find herself and her place in life after being abandoned on the desert planed of Jakku as an infant.
Standing opposite our heroes is the film’s villain – Kylo Ren. Kylo is perhaps one of the most unique, original and multi-faceted characters we have ever seen in a Star Wars film. While we have seen film heroes Annakin and Luke be tempted to the Dark Side (with varying degrees of success), Kylo is almost the exact opposite. He has already succumbed to the darkness when he killed all of Luke’s new Jedi apprentices, but in his own words keeps feeling “the pull towards the light.” This conflict even comes into play several times through the course of the movie and provides a really good dynamic for the character, especially during the climactic scene where Kylo and Han are face to face inside the Starkiller Base. Kylo admits that he is struggling between the two sides of the force, and makes the decision to slay his father in order to solidify himself as evil. This scene is gut-wrenching and powerful, giving a real sense of inner turmoil to the character and leading us to what will no doubt be a huge plot arc in the future instalments.
One last point about Ren is that he is almost two characters. Whenever he is in his mask and robe, he is this imposing, fearful warrior, but whenever he takes it off you see that it is all a charade and that he is hiding what is in reality a sad, insolent, pouty child. I loved the duality of the character and cannot wait to see how it plays out in the future.
Visuals
Visually, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is incredible. From the different planets, to the mixture of live action and CGI, everything just looks fantastic. Everything has that traditional Star Wars look to it, but seems to be covered in this sheen of freshness. Costuming, props, character design, it is all amazing and not only helps build this universe but feels so distinctly Star Wars that it is hard to not smile at every shot.
One of the most impressive scenes in the film was the confrontation between Kylo Ren and Han Solo. While Ren is telling his father that he is conflicted, he is bathed in both blue and red light, but as he succumbs to the Dark Side more and more, the blue is replaced. The awesome visual metaphor coinciding with the action on screen was incredible and heightened an already emotionally charged scene.
While it is an amazing visual spectacle, some aspects left me scratching my head. Firstly, the whole Star Wars universe just seems so small and compact. When the Starkiller Base fires and wipes out a Star System, people lightyears away can see it happening in the sky as if it was a meteor shower happening right above their heads. Coupled with the fact that we never really get any sense of time or length of travel when using the Starships and you have a Galaxy that feels no bigger than your local suburb.
As you might expect, this film is chock a block full of tiny easter eggs and tidbits designed to hook fans. Sometimes in movies or games these can get a little over the top, but for the most part I found that J.J and crew really used these to enhance the storyline. The best example is when Rey first finds Annakin’s/Luke’s Lightsaber, and you can hear the voices of Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi (in an awesome little splice up of old Alec Guinness dialogue and new audio recorded by Ewan McGregor) in the background talking to Rey through the force. Cool little things like that are strewn throughout the movie and really make some scenes pop.
Overall
While it isn’t perfect, and can feel like it is retreading old ground, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is an experience like none other. It accomplishes two things to perfection; firstly, it feels like a Star Wars movie and secondly it evokes this sense of childlike wonder while you are watching it. Looking around at the people in the cinema and seeing everyone from ages 4 to 70 sitting there wide eyed and silent is a beautiful sight, and one that not many films can pull off. Sure I would have liked J.J to make the universe feel a bit bigger, and some of the plot points may get tiresome if they are reused again in later movies, but without question The Force Awakens is the most fun I have had watching a movie this year.
Sentai Filmworks has announced four new anime license acquisitions over the last few days. All of the following titles will be released on home video in North America.
Firstly, Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle is joining Sentai Filmwork’s library. The series will premiere in Japan in January 2016. Sentai Filmworks provided a description of the series:
Based off the original light novel by Senri Akatsuki and illustrated by Kasuga Ayumu, this series follows a young man named Lux, the former prince of Arcadia. After an accident in the bathing area lands Lux in hot water with the kingdom’s new princess, Liseshart, he finds himself forced into a duel that pits mechanical weapons against each other. Little does he know what else lies in wait when he has to join the school that trains the wielders of these ancient weapons.
Next, the 2013-2014 anime series Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories has been picked up for a home video release. The series began airing in 2013. Its second season, airing in 2014, featured several guest directors known for their skill in the horror genre.
Third is the upcoming anime adaptation Norn9. This series is also scheduled to premiere in Japan in January 2016. Sentai Filmworks provided a description of this series: “Based on the visual novel of the same name, the story follows a 12-year-old boy named Sorata Suzuhara who finds himself transported to an alternate time, and possibly a different world. Aboard the Norn, a giant spherical ship that acts as a miniature city, Sorata joins three girls and nine young men on a journey toward an unknown destination…”
Finally is the upcoming anime adaptation Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation. The series will begin broadcast in Japan in January 2016. Sentai Filmworks provided a brief description of this series: “Based on the hit MMORPG, this action-adventure series follows Itsuki Tachibana, a player of Phantasy Star Online 2, and the challenges he faces both in and outside of the game.”
The DVD and Blu-ray release of Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories is currently scheduled for April 19, 2016. The other titles are not likely to be released on home video in North America until 2017.
Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition Comes to Mac, Linux, and SteamOS
Why should Windows-users have all the fun? Larian Studios’ seminal RPG,Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition, is out now for Mac, Linux, and SteamOS, and of course Windows PC with a 33% discount during the ongoing Steam sale.
Expanding upon Larian Studios’ modern classic, which has won over 150 ‘game of the year’ awards and nominations, Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition offers new and revised content, more game modes, additional spells and weapon styles, full voiceovers, as well as controller support and split-screen multiplayer for couch co-op.
As a Source Hunter your job is to rid the world of those who use the foulest of magics. Embarking on what should have been a routine murder investigation, you find yourself in the middle of a plot that threatens to destroy the very fabric of time.
Create your path through an epic story with class-free character progression, turn-based combat, and no-strings-attached co-op, Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Editions offers a true roleplaying experience with the freedom of a pen-and-paper game.
P.S. We are truly thankful to everyone who has supported us and helped make this journey possible. Whether you’re an old-timer or a new fan, we couldn’t have done it without you, and wish you only the best during this holiday season!
– Larian Studios
About the Game
Released to overwhelming critical acclaim, a million copies sold and winning over 150 game of the year awards and nominations, Larian Studios’ RPG Divinity: Original Sin r eturns with a host of new and enhanced content in Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition.
Larian Studios’ succinctly cooperative adventure receives a make-over with a new intuitive user-interface and dynamic split-screen for co-op, as well as a plethora of new content; quests, combat-styles, locations, changes to the crafting systemand story situations breathe new life into the already expansive world of Rivellon.
Easing a new generation into the world of cRPGs, Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition features isometric, party-based gameplay, turn-based combat, and hours of fully voiced and remastered dialogue in a story that will have you embroiled in a fantasy world of free exploration thanks to a new split-screen-friendly UI.
Sneak, stab, trip, poison or explode your way through Rivellon in this extended and enhanced version of the multi award winning RPG.
Key Features
· Adventure through an extended and enhanced version of Original Sin’s vast and expansive world with over 80 hours of content.
· Play in co-op multiplayer online or in local split-screen to engage in co-op dialogues and shape relationships with your partner that will influence the game.
· Gripping party and turn-based combat allows you to manipulate the environment and use skill & spell combos, including new styles and a plethora of skills unique to the Enhanced Edition.
· Unravel a deep and epic story set in the early days of Rivellon. Taking place well before Divine Divinity and The Dragon Knight Saga, Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition presents players with a familiar world in another era.
· Enjoy a newly implemented 360 degree camera and upgraded visuals and effects for the most vivid depiction of Rivellon yet!
About Larian Studios
Larian Studios is an independent game developer located in Gent, Belgium. Lonely Planet puts Gent in its top 10 of cities to visit, so we’re working in a pretty cool place. Gent has a nice castle, and lots of nice towers. Here are some pictures.
We make all kinds of games for all kinds of platforms that are played by millions of people. Our most famous games are the Divinity series and the games we made for kid broadcasters. But we want more. Our evil master plan is to make the “Very Big RPG That Will Dwarf Them All”. We’re working on it.
If you want to learn more about Larian Studios, you can learn all kinds of stuff about us on our official website: http://www.larian.com
I have always hated microtransations. I really do hate them. I also hate car dealers who beg me to buy something I can’t afford. I am however clueless of why I find that rabbit so oddly endearing in Nintendo Badge Arcade, who offers free plays, but mainly wants your cash to be used so you can customize your menu with little badges.
I will not lie, I have spent $20 at least. I had to have every Kirby badge and it they fit my theme with “Gourmet Race” perfectly. Anyway, Nintendo of Japan are now pasting the little persuasive mascot on their eShop cards. Its like getting your check and already writing which store you will be offering it to ahead of time, but still a good idea so kids can know that this type of money can be used to decorate their 3DS. I will say I would love the idea more if we got like an NES game or something of the sort as a treat for collecting a set, but alas – Nintendo are going this direction and since there is no gun to anyone’s head and is completely up to the player, I guess I will call it fine. Well, back to the practice claw I go.
