It feels like it has been a long time coming but that time is nearly here. Today XSEED Games announced that one of their most anticipated JRPGs, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky SC, now has a release date of October 29th where it will be available as a digital download both on the PC as well as on the PSP. At release the title will be $29.99 and it is worth noting that the PSP version in Europe will be coming out soon after the North American release but no set date has been revealed at the moment.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky SC will pick up only a few hours after the events that took place at the end of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, with Estelle traveling across Liberl in search of Joshua. Her journey involves more than seeking loved ones, however, as the Bracer Guild also tasks her with unraveling the mysteries behind the newly unveiled Society of Ouroboros.
Overview When FUNimation announced that they had acquired all of the dormant .hack anime series licenses that were abandoned after the closure of Bandai Entertainment many fans were excited to see that at least .hack//Sign would be getting re-released. Though with that grouping also came the different feeling .hack//Legend of the Twilight, the prequel to the G.U. games .hack//Roots, and rounding out the licenses we have the .hack//G.U. Trilogy Movie. Attempting to combine the trilogy of .hack//G.U. games into an hour and a half movie would be quite a feat but does this film manage to at least be partially successful?
Story Before going into this review it is worth noting that .hack//G.U. Trilogy relies almost entirely on the fact that viewers have knowledge of, at the very least, certain parts of The World’s lore and at least have seen Roots if you haven’t touched the G.U. PS2 games. I say this because the story immediately kicks off with Haseo, a member of the Twilight Brigade and a skilled player with the unique Adept Rogue character class, witnessing his friend Shino being PK (player killed) by a Kite looking character called Tri-Edge.
As is standard fashion with the .hack series, when Shino is killed in the game by Tri-Edge she falls into a coma in real life. In the six months that have passed since Shino fell into her coma Haseo has been running rampantly through The World, killing any player killer he comes across and earning the name of “The Terror of Death.” With even seasoned PKers fearing this PKK, Haseo receives a message from an old friend named Ovan, who also has been missing for six months, that Tri-Edge would be appearing again.
Despite advancing to the highest stages of his class, Haseo is mercilessly defeated by Tri-Edge and is data drained down to level 1. After his defeat he learns that Tri-Edge is just one issue plaguing The World and that thanks to a unique power hidden in his character, the Epitaph, he may be able to defeat Tri-Edge and fend off AIDA . While trying to regain his lost strength Haseo is approached by a female player named Atoli who uses the same styled avatar as Shino and despite his constant reluctant and aggravating behavior towards her, Atoli continually tries to help Haseo have fun with the game again.
Then when she is struck down by the AIDA and begins to transform, Haseo must do everything he can to now save his new friend, even if it means facing off against an enemy with as strong as motivations as Haseo’s own. If that sounds like a bit of a mess than you are more than prepared for the .hack//G.U. Trilogy movie.
With such little time to actually focus on character development, proper pacing, elements of the story, and everything else while trying to cram in the beginning of the story, the first climactic battle, and their own rushed ending .hack//G.U. Trilogy ends up becoming an absolute mess that reserves itself for only the most hardcore fans of the series as practically nothing is explained in any detail and the vast majority of the side characters, even fan favorites such as Alkaid, are barely introduced or given any central purpose as the story roots itself in focusing on Haseo and Atoli.
Thanks to this focus we do have some central character development for Haseo though even this is handled sporadically at best since the film loves to jump around and considering the initial way that Haseo treats Atoli it will likely come as something of a surprise that she is even the central focus of the story. Through some clever acting by her voice actress, Atoli’s character does come off as sympathetic and helps drive the relationship forward to a believable level though a few of the sappier scenes that do occur feel a bit rough thanks to Haseo barely given enough development to be likable here.
Visuals Originally produced back in late 2007, the same year the final G.U. game was released, the .hack//G.U. Trilogy Movie features the unique quality of being completely CG in nature. This means that the characters are far more like their original game designs here which is a unique touch that makes the fast paced action sequences quite a sight to behold, especially due to Haseo’s style of fast-paced ever changing combat style and a number of other certain events.
That being said, the CG does date the series quite a bit, making some scenes look like slightly touched-up versions of cinematics originally used in the PS2 titles. The environments are still fairly well detailed here, especially when the characters tend to appear in a hub world as it feels filled with life as various NPCs wander around the background, helping give the title the MMO feel it should have.
Audio It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to hear that FUNimation has chosen not to find an English dub cast for this movie and have opted to release it featuring only the original Japanese voice track. This is likely for the best since, as mentioned before, Atoli’s voice actress Ayako Kawasumi really helps drive the emotional aspect of the film home and without her performance it would have easily fallen flat.
The soundtrack isn’t quite as inspiring as many of the .hack anime series are known for but it does contain a number of enjoyable background tracks as well as a few emotional insert songs that work wonderfully given the scene it is used during.
Extras The .hack//G.U. Trilogy Movie release comes with quite a few special features on the disc as it contains a six minute long video containing various scenes that have been heavily modified to include humorous dialogue and situations that are actually very funny and provides a bit of extra content for fans of the franchise.
Following this we have a collection of promotional videos, an image board gallery featuring artwork from the film, a twenty three minute long “Making of” feature including interviews with members of the staff from the film as well as some background information on the games, and trailers for other FUNimation releases.
Overall .hack//G.U. Trilogy Movie provides the bare minimum level of details to enjoy the basic story of what was offered in the original video game alongside plenty of flashy action sequences . That being said, the unique and often quite fancy looking in action CG feels dated more often than not and the fact that so much of the original story is left by the wayside in order to cut down the content here, this is something that only the most hardcore .hack fans will enjoy. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Activision and Treyarch released a new trailer teasing the zombies bonus map “The Giant” for Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The map comes bundled for free with Collector’s Editions of the game or with the Season Pass.
“The Giant” is the latest remake of the classic map “Der Riese,” originally found in Call of Duty: World at War. Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richthofen are guest starring in “The Giant,” which is set in an old World War II era research facility and continues the story from Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s “Origins.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops III launches for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC on November 6, 2015.
Overview Many original English visual novels have been released lately, with some companies pumping out four or five basic stories to be released on Steam in under a year. However despite the rising popularity of these original visual novels, only a few of them have attempted to try their hand at creating an adult visual novel with sexual content. That is where The Menagerie comes in as it happens to be one of the few original English visual novels to contain sexual content as well as its developer, Lupiesoft’s, first attempt at one. Now was this attempt successful? Let’s find out.
Story The city of Alabast has served as a glowing jewel in the desert as it has long served as a hub for both less fortunate citizens to gather in the “lower city” and those gifted with fortune and privilege who reside within the looming Sail that rises above the city. Although The Sail serves as a residence for those who are rich, below the sands resides a different type of secret where only those who are willing to pay the price will find unique treasures that are rarely found in the rest of the world.
You see, below The Sail lies the menagerie, a luxurious underground area where many different races have found themselves contracted to serve a client’s every need. With many nobles willing to part with their coin in order to taste the exotic fruits contained within The Menagerie, the place has thrived for many years, with some of its residents knowing nothing of the outside world and only knowing life within the menagerie, more than happy to be cared for in service of others.
One such resident is Roa-Ji, a drachene that was hatched from her egg within the walls of The Menagerie and knows nothing else of the outside world. Despite her circumstances, Roa-Ji has rarely thought of why she is used for sexual work and has always found herself eager to please the one who raised her, Sabei, and any noble who comes knocking on her door. This changes however when a Sabei returns from her latest outing with not only a fresh faced dark elf named Aisha, but also encounters an interesting spice merchant, and even is tasked with training a rebellious girl named Key to learn the ways of the menagerie.
As one would expect, The Menagerie offers quite a large number of choices as players make their way through the story and it is through these choices that players will be forming Roa-Ji’s personality. Unlike your average erotic visual novel, The Menagerie features only a minimalistic common route as player choices will quickly find themselves setting themselves down one of the routes as they follow Roa-Ji down their chosen path. Be careful however, as the title has a rather bad habit of featuring a choice here or there that will instantly force players into an incredibly vague bad end that boots the player back to the menu screen.
In fact, this is a persisting issue with The Menagerie as a whole. By going through the various routes players will learn various tidbits about the rest of the servants that live within the brothel and in fact a number of their stories are extremely interesting. Various kinds of themes are explored depending on the route chosen, with ideas of friendship and love mean to those who find themselves in the menagerie and what home means to these girls.
Groundwork is established for players to learn far more about not only Roa-Ji’s origins as well as some of the backstory about the girls but it never really manages to deliver on anything that is built up as most of it is cut short simply by awkwardly ending a scene as abruptly as possible. There may be times of conflict that see a few characters growing angry, but more often than not this usually features a choice that will then shut down a certain side and predominantly lock players down with a certain subset of characters and barely interact with any of the rest of the characters found in the game.
To make matters worse, there are numerous hints to certain aspects regarding Roa-Ji and the world, even going so far as to describe certain areas in the world, that never play out or are suddenly ended as the story skips far too often with even the endings feeling rushed as no hints are given at all throughout the title that certain events are taking place above the menagerie, making the rushed endings lose some of their luster. These routes do provide some emotional connection with those you chose to follow, depending on your ending of course since only the true endings for these routes will offer any sense of proper completion but even then they feel barebones in nature with only one serving as a satisfying ending for Roa-Ji, even if it does lack most of the information that she would receive through other routes that feel more open ended.
Gameplay As one would expect, The Menagerie plays like your average visual novel here but it is worth noting off the bat that there are no scene replays. This means that if you wish to save a certain sexual encounter then you will need to take advantage of the game’s generous save slots. The same can be said in regard to the choices made since, as mentioned earlier, some selections can abruptly force players to the main menu with a vague conclusion.
It is also worth noting that while The Menagerie does sport a gallery where players can view previously seen CGs, there is no way to actually tell if you have unlocked all of a character’s specific sequences since simply selecting a character portrait (of which two are locked as apparent placeholders) will show you all CGs containing that character, even if this means repeats between portraits, in a format where players will need to click to move on, not actually seeing a list of shown images that may still need to be tracked down.
As for the actual sexual content, it feels a bit strange to write this but most of the scenes felt particularly uninspired. Despite the fact that Roa-Ji is a futanari (called fiore in the game) various aspects regarding her anatomy are barely explored with only certain scenes briefly mentioning her tail and other aspects coming into play since most sequences simply involve vanilla sex between Roa-Ji and another girl (with a few girls only having one or two brief scenes), a bit of yuri action, and the occasional threesome. There are of course a few snippets of tentacle play and a sequence that is briefly forced on Roa-Ji as well as a number of S&M sequences which do explore a bit of rough bondage but nothing overly extreme as Roa-Ji never is pushed beyond what she feels comfortable with during these sequences.
There are also numerous implied sexual events that take place that either aren’t given CG sequences in any form or are displayed with only the original CG with no changes between positions which makes some of the sex scenes appear far shorter than they actually are, as the writing does still manage to deliver some quality content, especially for those who are looking into something with a bit of S&M play as the game does explore the feelings of both the dominatrix as well as her “pets” and how those who submit themselves have the real hold over the relationship.
Visuals & Audio The designs present in The Menagerie are rather pleasing to the eye and feature their own standout artistic style. It certainly helps that the characters are unique in nature, with many being a bit more monster themed, such as an aquatic girl requiring constant hydration, a dark elf with her own little secret, a handful of other elves with unique features (including one who always is sprinkled with gold flecks), and of course Roa-Ji who sports a subtle chest but a rather monstrous “lizard” in her pants. The basic character portraits have a decent amount of variety here and seeing a character blush is always a nice touch considering the different flesh tones at play here and this same level of detail transfers well into the sex CGs that are entirely uncensored thanks to the title being developed outside of Japan.
Though as mentioned before there appear to be far too few CGs for the amount of content that is actually written. The quality of said writing is rather enjoyable, but a bit rough around the edges as there are a number of misspellings scattered through the dialogue and a couple of times the text didn’t quite match the content being shown. It is also worth noting that a handful of times, regardless of whether viewed in windowed or full screen, text would overflow out the bottom of the dialogue box during one of the routes, and while still legible, it is a rather odd thing to see.
It is interesting to note that although The Menagerie does support on option for voice volume, this title does not currently contain any voice work at the current moment. That being said what it does feature is some great sounding background music that fits the desert harem setting of the series perfectly, with a number of exotic tracks providing a unique feeling to the title set in a fantasy realm such as this.
Overall The feeling I had after completing The Menagerie is that Lupiesoft may have wanted to do far more with The Menagerie than they eventually had to put out as this title shows a lot of promise despite its flaws. The various characters are extremely interesting and I would have loved to learn more about certain aspects that are only briefly touched upon, especially regarding Asumamiya, and while this is of course an erotic visual novel that does contain a number of enjoyable sex scenes that scratch a certain itch that few other titles touch, it feels like building more of a relationship with these girls and exploring the highly interesting world that the writers managed to craft around Alabast would have made the title far better as it simply feels like it could have been much more than what was delivered. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Avalanche Studios released a new app for iOS and Android devices that gives player a 360 degree view of Medici, the setting for Just Cause 3. Just Cause 3: WingSuit Experience lets players select one of several starting spots across the island and take a guided tour, complete with background information on important spots along the way. The app even supports virtual reality with the help of Google Cardboard. All video from Just Case 3: WingSuit Tour is made with in-engine footage from Just Cause 3.
Avalanche Studios and Square Enix has released a YouTube trailer with a small teaser supporting 360 degree viewing to give viewers a taste of the app. Just Cause 3: WingSuit Experience is available now on Google Play and on iTunes App Store. Just Cause 3 launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on December 1, 2015.
Yen Press has just announced via Twitter that they will begin publishing the Re:Dollars arc of the Durarara!!manga in English in North America in May 2016.
Yen Press began releasing Ryougo Narita’s original light novel series in North America earlier this year on July 21. The second volume is due out on November 17 and the third is due out on March 22, 2016. Yen Press also released the four volumes of Akiyo Satorigi’s manga adaptations of the first arc, the three volumes of the Saika arc and the three volumes of the Yellow Scarves arc in North America from January 2012 to the July of this year.
This week’s Xbox Newsbeat brings news of the upcoming Xbox Elite Wireless Controller, Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and more.
Listen to the Entire Halo 5: Guardians Soundtrack Right Now
343 Industries is streaming the new Halo 5: Guardians soundtrack for free for an entire week on Soundcloud. Composed by Kazuma Jinnouchi, the soundtrack will be available for purchase starting October 30th. Gamers can check out Season 2 Episode 4 “Showtime” and Season 3 Episode 1 “Composer” of The Sprint to get a behind the scenes look at Kazuma Jinnouchi at work. The Sprint follows 343 Industries in the final days of Halo 5: Guardians’ development.
Rise of the Tomb Raider dev diary series “Woman vs. Wild” Kicks Off
Crystal Dynamics will be releasing a new three part web series called Woman vs. Wild. The series provides an in depth look at Rise of the Tomb Raider and Lara Croft. The first episode is entitled “Harsh Environments” and covers the survival mechanics available to Lara. The remaining two episodes will launch weekly ahead of the November 10, 2015 launch.
The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller is Just Around the Corner
Announced at last years E3, the final details for the upcoming Xbox Elite Wireless Controller is finally coming out. The controller is available now for pre-order ahead of a October 27th release date. Most units have already been pre-ordered and Microsoft is attempting to manufacture more as quickly as possible. The controller is approved for both ESL and MLG events. The remappable controller will ship with several pre-configured settings for major Microsoft titles like Halo 5: Guardians and Forza Motorsport 6.
Halo 5: Guardians Lands This Week on Minecraft for Xbox
Halo 5: Guardians is invading Minecraft this week as part of the lead up to the Halo 5: Guardians launch. Players will be able to play as Master Chief, the Blue Team, Fireteam Osiris, and more on Minecraft: Xbox One Edition and Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition starting October 23rd. The update will be absolutely free and is crafted by 4J Studios.
Prepare for Scares with the Halloween Mashup Pack for Minecraft: Console Editions
4J Studios has been hard at work, creating a giant Halloween themed mash-up pack for Minecraft on the consoles. The pack will come with classic monsters like the Grim Reaper, the Wicked Witch, and Swamp Monster. The pack will be available for free.
Windows 10 and ID@Xbox Hits Joining Xbox at PAX Australia 2015
Microsoft will be bringing Windows 10 to PAX 2015 this year. PSY Technology, Mwave Australia, PLE Computers, and Scorptec Computers will be competing in a content for the “Windows 10 Australian Gamer’s Choice PC” award. PAX 2015 attendees will be able to vote for a winner for a chance to win one of the custom PCs.
Additionally, the Windows 10 booth will be showing off some of the games that are participating in the ID@Xbox program, such as Below, Superhot, and The Long Dark.
I remember when I was little I saw a random cover for a movie with kids in it. I remember renting it, and watching the little toy-like specimens snotting all over the place and for some reason sewing clothes (I might be wrong on that, but this is what I recall)? I also remember I loved every second of it. Maybe age has changed my opinion of The Garbage Pail Kids, but this is still a great gem to own on Blu-ray. Scream Factory (or SHOUT!, if you will) are releasing a collector’s edition of the classic, with a good lot of special features that are as follows:
Special Features:
NEW The Effects of the Garbage Pail Kids Movie – interviews with special makeup effects creator John Carl Buechler and makeup effects artist Gino Crognale
NEW On the Set – an interview with first assistant director Thomas A. Irvine
NEW The Artful Dodger – an interview with actor Mackenzie Astin
NEW The Kids Aren’t All Right – interviews with Garbage Pail Kids actors Arturo Gil (Windy Winston) and Kevin Thompson (Ali Gator)
Theatrical Trailer
It looks fantastic and the timing is great with the nostalgia wave in full force. You can pre-order from this little link (or Amazon – if you prefer) and enjoy a great but not-so-great to watch with popcorn flick on December 8th.
XSEED GAMES ANNOUNCES RELEASE DATE FOR THE LEGEND OF HEROES: TRAILS IN THE SKY SC
Long-awaited Second Chapter of Critically-acclaimed RPG Series to Make English Debut on PlayStation™Store in North America and on PC Worldwide Next Week on October 29th
Torrance, Calif. – (October 23, 2015) – XSEED Games, the independent-minded console publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., is excited to confirm that the eagerly anticipated RPG title The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The SkySCwill be made available for download via the PSP (PlayStation®Portable) system in North America and for Windows PC worldwide next week on October 29, 2015. The game will retail for $29.99 in the US on the PlayStation™Store and PC digital platforms GOG.com and Steam. The PSP® system release is compatible with the PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system. A release on the European PS®Store will follow closely behind this North American debut, with more details to be shared shortly.
Developed by legendary RPG specialists Nihon Falcom, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky SCpicks up mere hours after the conclusion to The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, with Estelle traveling across Liberl in search of Joshua. Her journey involves more than seeking loved ones, however, as the Bracer Guild also tasks her with unraveling the mysteries behind the newly unveiled Society of Ouroboros.
In The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky SC,Falcom’s celebrated Sound Team jdk returns with a massive and highly lauded score that perfectly complements the tumultuous resolution to one of the most moving and expansive JRPGs ever created. The series’ staple strategic turn-based system with unmatchable customization has been taken even further with all new arts, crafts, upgraded orbments, and combo attacks. The meticulously detailed land of Liberl awaits the player’s return with new quests, mini-games and collectibles to offer, along with a host of both new and familiar locations that are populated with hundreds of unique NPCs, each featuring his or her own story to tell.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky SC was developed by Nihon Falcom and will be published on the North American PS Store and Windows PC worldwide by XSEED Games on October 29, 2015. The PSP® system version has been rated “T for Teen” by the ESRB. The Windows PC version is not rated by the ESRB.
To celebrate this long-awaited announcement, XSEED Games is sharing a loaded package of assets including a brand new trailer and screenshots. Additional information about the game can be found at its newly launched website: http://www.trailsinthesky.com/sc/.
The bonus is Mario Tennis 64 for the Virtual Console. There. Spoilers. I hate clickbait articles but you can only fit so much in a title, so there is the answer for that question right up front. Back on track, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is headed to the Wii U and looks pretty sharp thus far. The game features use of just about every controller and will bring back some of Nintendo’s most famous reps as well as amiibo support.
Here are a list of features:
Knockout Challenge: Tense tiebreak matches against increasingly difficult computer-controlled opponents await in this single-player mode. If the going gets too tough, you can call in a supported amiibo as your doubles partner.
Mega Battle: Your character grows to gigantic proportions after grabbing a Mega Mushroom, dominating the court with their increased power and range. When rivals on both sides of the net are giant-sized, anything can happen!
Classic Tennis: For those who prefer their tennis a little more traditional, Classic Tennis offers two variations: Standard mode features Chance Shots and Jump Shots but no Mega Mushrooms, while Simple puts competitors between the tramlines with no Chance Shots or power-ups – a real test of tennis prowess.
Online multiplayer: Go up against distant adversaries from all over the world in competitive ranked play in either Mega Battle or Classic Tennis modes, or quickly jump into more casual matches. Two players on the same console can team up to take on all-comers, or a supported amiibo can join you on as your doubles partner on the online courts.
So there you go. Get the game, get the classic, and enjoy some Mario Tennis on the Wii U! Check out these art selections and screenshots as well down below. You will also notice two very nice, themed Wiimotes.
