Razer announced that the Razer Blackwidow Ultimate keyboard will be gettinga refresh this year. Dubbed the 2016 Edition, the Razer Blackwidow Ultimate has been upgraded with new lighting effects brought in from the Chroma line of Razer products. The new keyboard’s Razer green LEDs now have lighting settings that can react to key presses with Reactive, have random keys can light up like twinkling stars, and more. The keyboard case has been improved, with the top cover being more smudge resistant and the overall size being shrunk down.
Razer is continuing to use their version of the Cherry MX style switches on the new Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2016. The switches have a lifespan of 60 million presses, 10 million longer than traditional Cherry MX switches. The clicky Razer Green switches will be available in all stores, while the silent Razer Orange are normally Razer Store exclusives.
The Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2016 keyboard has an MSRP of $109.99 USD and is available now.
Ever since Pokemon X & Y were data mined way back in the day we knew of three event Pokemon, Diancie, Hoopa and Volcanion. While Diancie has since been released as an event and Volcanion has still yet to be mentioned in any official capacity, it seems players outside of Japan will now be able to get their hands on the mythical Pokemon Hoopa through means of a physical event.
Hoopa will be available across the UK in GAME stores between October 23rd and November 5th. Players will be able to receive a code which they can then put into the Mystery Gift option to claim their new event Hoopa from any Pokemon Center. While other methods for picking up Hoopa in other countries are still yet known, it is confirmed Hoopa will be available in North America and most likely in many other countries in the coming months.
Hoopa can be downloaded into the 3DS games Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire as well as Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, but it can only transform into it’s Unbound form in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. To transform Hoopa in those games, simply receive the Prison Bottle by having Hoopa in your party and enter any Poke Mart. Talk to the new clerk who is not normally there and he will give you the Prison Bottle. You can then use the Prison Bottle like any other Key Item, which will transform Hoopa into it’s Unbound Form for 72 hours.
In it’s normal, Confined Form, Hoopa is a Psychic/Ghost type with the Magician ability, which allows it to steal it’s opponents hold item if it doesn’t have a held item itself and the item can be stolen (unfortunately Mega Stones can’t be stolen which would make for a great strategy.) It retains this ability in it’s Unbound Form however turn’s into a Psychic/Dark type along with a significant attack boost and smaller boosts in special attack and speed.
UPDATE: Hoopa will be available in Austraila and New Zealand from January 18 through January 29 via a special code distribution at select retailers in Australia and New Zealand. These include EB Games, JB Hi-Fi and Big W. No purchase is necessary to claim a code.
TGIF, and if you’re in Canada, hello Thanksgiving long weekend! Indie Gala’sFriday Special Bundle #22 is packed with 12 great indie games that will keep you gaming all weekend.
For a minimum purchase of $1.00, buyers will get:
Stranded In Time – A point and click adventure game starring Olivia and a mysterious old church in the middle of the woods.
Blaster Shooter GunGuy! – A 2D action platformer that will test your skills across 56 levels.
Hidden Mysteries: Civil War – Can you solve the mystery of a secret society from the Civil War and discover their caches of riches?
For a minimum purchase price of $2.89 for the first 24 hours of the sale, gamers will nab:
Collisions – An atmospheric puzzle game that will challenge not only your logic skills but also your dexterity.
HyperRogue – A rogue-like that mixes action RPG, M.C. Escher, and mathematics.
Ferrum’s Secrets: Where Is Grandpa? – Can you rescue your inventor grandfather and solve the mystery that has enveloped Ferrum City in a thick fog?
Gun Rocket – A 2D physics puzzler that challenges players to get through levels with the most efficient movement.
Super Hipster Lumberjack – A love letter to the difficult flash platformers the developer played.
Micron – A stylish mix of puzzle and rhythm games.
Survivalist – After a year of hiding in a survival bunker, Joe Wheeler emerges to experience the post-apocalyptic world.
I guess most of you may not remember Chibi-Robo or his awesome little Gamecube adventure that turned him into a star of sorts. Most might also forget about how the Wal-Mart exclusive sequel was also charming on the Nintendo DS, but didn’t do so hot either. Well, the gameplay was always excellent with this series, and the little robot is back for a new adventure in Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash on the 3DS.
Yes, this is a platformer which is a bit away from the normal oddness of Chibi-Robo, but it looks solid and to be the most ambitious release yet as the package even comes with an Amiibo.
There are a hardcore few who look up to this little robot. I love the games so I guess I will associate with that, but I cannot stress enough to support this franchise if you want it to thrive as this release may be the last opportunity to do so. Check out the lovely art and screens down below and download or pick up the game in stores today.
Overview
I remember picking up the first Afro Samurai in a bargain bin, playing it for a bit, and forgetting about it sometime later. I did not hate it, I just kind of got lost in other titles and never returned to it. I have done this with a lot of titles that I didn’t have to review or commit to as I enjoy sampling and then returning to gems that are out there. I guess the first title did have a following as does the brand, but the appeal didn’t catch me. Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma Volume One could have been one of those sequels like Mass Effect however, so good that it brought me back into the first game just to get another taste of the world. Well, that didn’t happen. I think I am done with this poofy-haired Samurai and his series, and the reason is a sequel that doesn’t work. Why do I say that? Well, join me on a ride through this sequel that misses its mark.
Story
Oh wait, there was a story section to start off with? Well, normally I spend a bit of time speaking about the story of any game before breaking down the gameplay. Its kind of a structure here. For Samurai 2 however, its both cringeworthy and nonsensical. You play as Kuma who (SPOILERS?!) died in the first title and is looking for revenge. Yes, you are not really an Afro Samurai, who mostly cameos in this title, but a weak, tired nemesis of the past that is almost impossible to get behind. Maybe if they spent more time focusing on narrative or simply further background I would have been into this story more, but I found it boring and stale from the start due to the lack of direction and focus. I did appreciate some of the references to modern pop culture mixed into this title, but why? Why even bother telling me about another form of entertainment when you seem lost in your own world?
Gameplay
The story maybe a bit off, but this is where Revenge of Kuma sinks. The gameplay is sort of a timed masher, where the player will be asked to connect combos to enemies. The end result sometimes sees amazing action and pretty cool sequences as a whole. Other times it feels dull and broken. I know, the combat of the first title was not exactly tight, but its hard to understand why things in this game exist. Like, why have a defense, or a counter system if you are better off mowing through a target. The general feel is clunky and unpolished, as if the entire game was made in a month or two and walked out the door before testing. Let me get one thing straight, there is a good product buried in here, but it never shows its face. Ever.
General movement and other gameplay sections are questionable at best. I bitch a lot in reviews about games holding your hand until the end. I guess since I am older I miss the days where we got to learn in an organic fashion. No, no. This title does not do that right here either as Afro Samurai 2 is all about throwing you almost no help with no explanation of what to do before a sequence. I knew I was in for a treat whenever the first section, and I do mean first required me to run from a laser up a mountain. In theory, this acrobatic-lead activity should have been fun and exciting. Instead I died trying to get to a platform that was spaced very far from the actual climb. The game feels extremely one-note and slapped together, as if the developers were trying to just play it from one perspective without asking themselves about how ACTUAL HUMANS may interact with the environment.
Lets also talk about the little quick time events. Have you ever stuck your finger in peanut butter? When you pull it out the gloppiness of the peanut butter makes it come out slow and messy. That is how these play out. Instead of having the character jump into action, the now very common events take the wind and excitement out of any story you might actually be thinking about and just make the game trudge again, feeling sticky, messy, and downright insulting to the person behind the controller. Kuma is terrible to play as it is, and the lack of any cohesive element makes me think that there was simply no thought put into the pacing of the experience. I’m not even going to get into the skill tree as while there is one, there is no point or change that I noticed from it even existing.
Visuals
I guess this title looks ok most of the time as I didn’t experience too many glitches with model animation. That being said, this is not a pretty game by any means and looks dated. The cutscenes are laughable as well. I guess it would be a nice, unique move to show what seems to be storyboard art to tell a story, but even that isn’t consistent and the game seems to never know when to play these bits at the right time. Its a visually boring title that seemed to make me frown more than pull me in.
Audio
Well, the soundtrack i didn’t hate. It didn’t fit and occasionally would play over the vocal dialogue way too loud, but eh, it was ok I suppose. The voice acting is “ok” as well, but you can tell this is a project where the voice actors probably recorded in their homes and sent in tapes as the performances did not connect as the emotion in these voices felt out of place and disconnected.
Overall
Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma Volume One is a bad game in a generation that is needing more hidden gems. I cannot believe this is just Part One as everything is so sloppy it feels as if Versus Evil were rushed by their developer to meet a deadline when they just started, so they picked up all the pieces and threw them in a box without taping anything together. This franchise and namesake deserves better than this. Some bad games are fun to play as they still are laced with the intended entertainment value that the loving developers applied. Afro Samurai 2 vomits on the player, making you feel dirty and gross until you cleanse your memory from ever turning the game on. Note to future developers: Finish your products before you sell them.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
GRAVITY FALLS: LEGEND OF THE GNOME GEMULETS TO LAUNCH ON OCTOBER 23
London, UK — October 9, 2015 — Today, Ubisoft® and Disney Interactive announced that action-adventure platformer Gravity Falls: Legend of the Gnome Gemulets will launch on October 23rd in the UK, exclusively on Nintendo 3DS handheld systems.
Gravity Falls: Legend of the Gnome Gemulets is adapted from Disney XD’s hit animated series whose latest season premiered to record viewership for the network*. In collaboration with the show’s creator, Alex Hirsch, a brand-new and original adventure was created for the game, which places players in a mysterious adventure to help Jeff the Gnome retrieve the ancient Gnome Gemulets and restore magic to the Gnome forest.
Players will play as both Mabel and Dipper Pines in dual-character gameplay, switching between characters at any time to use unique powers and abilities given through the power of Gnome magic. Dipper is bestowed with Gnome Battle Cuffs, which deliver powerful punches at close range, and keeps his trusty flashlight by his side to shed light on the many mysteries in Gravity Falls. Mabel wields the Fleece of Bedazzlement that lets her whip her sweater sleeves to attack monsters from afar, and her grappling hook is at the ready to help access areas otherwise out of reach. Dipper and Mabel will complement one another as they will unravel a mystery to learn more about the inhabitants of Gravity Falls and unlock secrets of the town’s past.
Gravity Falls: Legend of the Gnome Gemulets is powered by the UbiArt Framework game engine, allowing players to experience lush backgrounds and beautiful graphics. Players will explore their favourite places from the show, such as the Mystery Shack and the Gnome Forest, like never before.
Disney Interactive is the digital entertainment part of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). As one of the world’s largest creators of high-quality digital experiences, Disney Interactive produces interactive entertainment for the whole family, including multi-platform video games, online short form video, mobile and social games and digital destinations across all current and emerging media platforms. Entertaining guests of all ages, Disney Interactive’s key products include the video game platform Disney Infinity, top virtual world for kids Club Penguin, popular mobile franchises like Frozen Free Fall and LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum, top online destinations for kids, parents and fans including Disney.com, Oh My Disney, and Babble.com and the Disney social network reaching more than 1.5 billion guests on Facebook.
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s video game series, Rayman, Far Cry and Watch Dogs. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2014–15 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,464 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.
Today marked the beginning of the Grand Prix Sydney 2015, the greatest of Magic Gatherings for players across the Asia-Pacific, to compete for the championship title. Magic enthusiasts of the strategy game joined in the first day of side-event tournaments at Sydney Olympic Park Showground, competing in Last-Chance GP Trials and Warm-up Sealed Deck events to practice with the latest set, Battle for Zendikar, for the GP this weekend.
The side-events provided an opportunity for Magic the Gathering players to claim awesome prizes, including playmats, boosters, single-foil cards and more. Most importantly though, winners of the side-events today secured themselves an upgrade to VIP and 2 byes for the Grand Prix tournament.
While entries have closed for the two-day main event, magic players can still participate in all of the side-events on Saturday and Sunday – check out the schedule here. Don’t miss out on the magic this weekend!
Stay tuned with Capsule Computers for more coverage on Grand Prix Sydney 2015.
Overview Pro wrestling has had its highs and lows over the last few decades, with entire companies either dominating an entire scene while others fall into obscurity or a number of smaller organizations managing to thrive all at once. Although female pro wrestling has been mostly disregarded in the North American wrestling industry until recently, it has become something of a thriving industry in Japan. As such, an anime adaptation focusing on female pro wrestlers isn’t too much of a stretch. That being said, is Wanna Be the Strongest in the World! worth your time?
Story The pop idol group Sweet Diva is sweeping the nation of Japan and its top two members, Sakura and Elena’s, fans are constantly battling it out on the popularity polls to select who will be the center of the group with Sakura always being elected for the center position. As is common in the idol industry, these girls who are well known for their singing and dancing also take part in various other activities.
In order to help promote the group and with female pro wrestling being a hot topic; their producer selects Sakura and Elena to compete in a cross-promotion event with the Berserk wrestling organization. Angered by the idol that idols are stepping into the ring with them, Rio, one of Berserk’s top wrestlers soundly defeats Elena in a humiliating manner. In an attempt to prove that idols still work hard and to step up for her friend, Sakura challenges Rio to a rematch but unknowingly accepts stipulations that, upon her loss, result in the removal of most of her hair.
Not one to simply walk away in defeat, Sakura stands back up and states that she will become a wrestler worthy of fighting against Rio and that she will beat her, leading to a story of an idols road through the female pro wrestling industry where her road is paved with defeats before eventually starting to learn how to actually win matches after quite a lot of focus spent on her lousing in humiliating fashion.
Now before we go into talking about the series, it is worth noting that the style of wrestling used in Japan is usually quite different from that in North America and Wanna Be the Strongest in the World! is going to be rather strange seeming due to these differences. While various striking, high-flying moves are still utilized and various slams are implemented in styles for effect, the majority of the moves happen to be submission holds in some form. This also leads to a ridiculous amount of cries of pain and anguish as the girl in the hold is twisted into a position. Despite looking into these match styles a bit, the amount of cries and pained moans is extremely exaggerated in this series to the point that well… you wouldn’t want to watch this series with anyone else in the area or they may mistake it for something else.
Another aspect abandoned in Wanna Be the Strongest in the World! are the concepts of teamwork that takes place inside of a ring between competitors. While most other sports anime will loosely adapt the rules of a sport to fit in various special powers or simply play it as realistic as possible, Wanna Be the Strongest in the World! sticks solidly to kayfabe and treats all the action in the ring as if the girls are actively trying to beat each other down, even going so far as to actively injure an opponent for a length of time.
As far as the storyline goes, the central focus is of course on the wrestling aspects of things since the story follows Sakura’s arduous journey through match after match where she is embarrassingly defeated by the Boston Crab submission over sixty times in a row, pushing the believability of her abilities to an extreme as she never once tries to counter until forced to do so during practice, months after losing fifty times already. Where she then goes on to not only come up with her own special finishing move, and face off against other wrestlers from the industry. The actual idol aspect plays a minimal role though the relationship between Sakura and Elena, with Elena feeling unsatisfied that she now is the Center due to Sakura’s role in the wrestling world, being the main side-story though other aspects as relationships between other characters in the past does rise up from time to time only to quietly be pushed aside.
This does leave something to be desired as far as the writing is concerned, which also plays a factor in the ending, as Wanna Be the Strongest in the World! is an adaptation from a manga series that wrapped up shortly after the anime finished. With various threads left untouched and the less than satisfactory ending leaving more to be desired due to the revelation that occurs during the climactic final match. That being said, Wanna Be the Strongest in the World! does still feel like a fairly standard sports anime as Sakura powers through hardship and begins to slowly succeed over time, only this one happens to feature women in skin-tight attires being stretched into painful holds.
Visuals This is the type of series that is built around fan service shots. While some members of the cast wear some unique outfits, these are all side-characters and all of the prominent female wrestlers in this series sport tight wrestling outfits that are designed perfectly for the camera to aim right at the crotch of these girls anytime they are put into a submission hold of any kind or slammed down. This does have some element of showing how tight a hold may be locked in but it is prominently so viewers get as close up of a shot as possible. Of course for actual nudity there is still some found in shower sequences as well as the OVAs that will be mentioned in a bit.
This unfortunately doesn’t translate to most other wrestling moves used in the series as the majority of moves are either handled through cutaway shortcuts that do not show a move actually being executed, only the grab and landing, and even then there are very few moves even used throughout the series. The minimal amount of idol performances are handled quite well thankfully and the crowd in these scenes are well handled, though the same cannot be said during wrestling sequences as the crowd usually appears incredibly cheap looking.
Audio With the release of Wanna Be the Strongest in the World! FUNimation has opted to include an English dub for the series to accompany the original Japanese voice track. As mentioned before, due to the series’ enthusiastic love for pained moans and cries, this isn’t a series you’ll want to listen to loudly but for the most part the English voice work is handled very well while most of the song performances by Sweet Diva and the rest of the cast are still presented in their original Japanese format.
The soundtrack for the series is fairly standard, with a few of the girls given special opening themes that are extremely brief and relatively rare while the insert songs are enjoyable. The opening theme “Beautiful Dreamer” by the Japanese voice actress for Misaki is fitting for the series but ultimately forgettable while “Fan! Fanfare!” by the Sweet Diva voice actresses serves as an energetic closer accompanied by fitting animation.
Extras The bonus content for Wanna Be the Strongest in the World! comes with two episode commentaries, clean versions of the opening and ending theme, the US trailer for the series, and a collection of six English dubbed OVA shorts, half of which focus on placing the female wrestlers in heavy fan service moments such as oil wrestling and more featuring plenty of nipples and grinding while the other half does spend some time on the actual wrestling side of things serving as a decent balance.
The commentary tracks are for episode 1 and episode 7 with the first commentary featuring Joel McDonald, Elizabeth Lewis, and Martha Harms in a fairly humorous commentary while the commentary for the seventh episode sees the return of Joel McDonald joined by Leah Clarke and Lydia Mackey.
Overall Hidden beneath the camera angles zoomed in on a girl writhing and crying in pain in the Boston Crab and heavy fan-service element there is still something of a worthwhile series here in Wanna Be the Strongest in the World!. Although the vocal pain may be something that would drive most away, those who do stick with the series will find a guilty pleasure of sorts with a sports anime unlike any other with a few different twists tossed in near the end to try and wrap things up.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview After the first season turned out to be rather successful for a series of web shorts, Puchim@s! Petit Idolm@ster returned for a second season a year later and in similar fashion FUNimation has released this second season alongside the first. With the first season turning out to be a cute comedy series that was great for fans, how does season two turn out?
Story Unlike most other series, Puchim@s! 2 doesn’t necessarily require viewers to purchase both the first and second season since over the course of this season the various Puchidols and their various unique abilities are re-introduced though it still is worth noting that the series does rely heavily on fan knowledge of the core Idolm@ster series.
The lives of the idols and workers at 765 Productions haven’t changed too much since the Puchis arrived on the scene. They still have various odd-jobs that they must undertake from time to time, such as radio shows, cooking shows, and random trips to complete a job here and there. The upswing is now they have these cute caricature versions of the staff accompanying them, making even the simplest activity all the more ridiculous since some of the Puchis have the ability to teleport, shoot large laser beams from their foreheads, multiply by touching water, or simply sprout bamboo shoots from the top of their head.
Since the first season of Puchim@s! focused on introducing most of the Puchis to the cast and then spending plenty of time mixing them up with the normal idols as they went around to different areas and took part in various other slice of life activities, Puchim@s! 2 does very little to change up that formula and instead focuses heavily on the cuteness of the Puchidols and the character reactions to various situations they wind up in during everyday life.
Similar to the first season, Puchim@s! 2 has combined numerous episodes of the net animation into longer “Director’s Cut” versions of episodes and in order to keep things feeling fresh there are occasionally some moments that actually last a few episodes. This includes a sequence where the Puchis must collect various items scattered around the usual uninhabited island in order to rescue the actual idols.
In fact, this second season has more of a heavy focus on the Puchis than the first as there are numerous episodes where only the Puchis will be on screen talking in their usual manner. While this does give viewers more examples and expands on some of the Puchis abilities, such as Io’s laser beam, it also means that the comedy that comes from the characters fans are familiar with being placed in outrageous situations does take a bit of a hit.
Of course this doesn’t damage the show a whole lot due to the fact that many of the gags are kept fresh enough to be enjoyable for this second season and the addition of various Puchi abilities, placing the girls in new areas, and focusing on providing some humorous birthday moments gives Puchim@s! 2 strong enough legs that this season can still pull through as a cute spin-off comedy that fans will enjoy, though perhaps not quite as much as the first season.
Visuals Although made a year later, Puchim@s! 2 retains the same exact art style from the first season and this works well considering the series still remains incredibly light-hearted with plenty of bright coloration and simple representations of the core cast, though it does appear there are plenty of new costume changes this time around, while the Puchidols remain cute chibi representations of their larger selves. A lot of the humor relies on visual gags and thankfully those are well-represented through the cute artwork which occasionally changes to being slightly more detailed for emphasis on a character’s reaction.
It is also worth noting that this season adds a lot more of floating dialogue and text that needs various insert translations due to the higher focus on Puchispeak than before and, similar to the various pieces sound effects and signs in the background, have been translated effectively by FUNimation.
Audio Puchim@s! 2 is similar to the first season in the way that it only features the Japanese voice track and no English dub work. This remains a suitable way to enjoy the series however as fans of the Idolm@ster franchise are familiar with how these characters already sound and the various lines of Puchi dialogue (which mimic the mini-phrases their base idol is known for) wouldn’t work as well in English.
The background music remains simplistic at best as the narrator usually spends most of the time describing various events for comedic effect instead but there are a number of humorous insert songs included throughout the season, including one from the Producer. There are also three different ending themes used throughout the season, all of which feature a certain number of the 765 Pro idols singing an enjoyable mini-song.
Extras Puchim@s! 2 includes a promo video for the series, a collection of the various commercials that were created prior to the series’ airing, clean versions of all three ending songs: “Good Morning Sunshine,” “Hello Lunchtime,” and “Good Night Stars,” and finally the last three OVA episodes that tie into the OVAs found in the first season and close out that storyline.
Overall Although there is a smaller focus on the idols than before due to more episodes being spent focusing exclusively on the Puchidols, Puchim@s! 2 remains as entertaining as before. The series still never attempts to be more than a fluffy comedy series with even the simple drama moments being played for laughs but this creates a fun little series that fans of the Idolm@ster series will enjoy and even those who simply like colorful slice of life series may want to check out if they have any prior knowledge of the core materal.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Bethesda has announced some release information concerning Fallout 4. First of all, any digital versions of the game that are pre-loaded will become playable at 12:01AM on November 10th and on consoles the title will take up roughly 28-35 GB of storage space depending on your territory. Those who are looking to pick up a retail copy of the game will find all launch copies including a special Perk Poster showcasing all of the perks available in the game and is shown below.
For PC players, Bethesda also announced the various requirements to run Fallout 4 and you can read them below:
Minimum
Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
Intel Core i5-2300 2.8 GHz/AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz or equivalent
8 GB RAM
30 GB free HDD space
NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalent
