Sony has announced that they will be dropping a demo for the Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection onto the PlayStation Store later this month on September 29th. This demo will allow players to play the “Warzone” chapter taken from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
To go alongside this announcement Sony has also released an eleven minute gameplay video showing off the developers’ favorite scenes from the first game in the series, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, on the PlayStation 4. You can check out the footage below and as for the collection, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, which contains the single-player stories of all three of the original games, is set to be released on the PlayStation 4 on October 9th in North America and October 7th in Europe.
With Halo 5: Guardians set to be released in about a month and a half Microsoft has released two new trailers for the game, one of which is called a “Cinema First Look” that not only gives us a glimpse at various elements of the game but also a behind the scenes look at 343 Industries as the team talks about certain parts of the game.
The second video, called “Swords of Sanghelios,” is a four and a half minute gameplay trailer highlighting a solo part of a campaign mission. Check out the trailers below and keep an eye out for this Xbox One exclusive when it is released next month on October 27th.
If a Twitter exchange between the Danganronpa account in charge of the series’ goods and the series’ producer Yoshinori Terasawa is to be believed, it appears that we may be hearing a Danganronpa related announcement tomorrow during Sony’s Tokyo Game Show press conference. It is worth noting that Danganronpa 3 was confirmed for being in the very early stages of development earlier this year.
As for the exchange, when the Danganronpa account mentionedhow the press conference and a separate Danganronpa themed event were occurring in the same week, Yoshinori repliedasked about the streaming nature of the conference and if it would be bad if it was missed. The Danganronpa account then respondedthat the conference shouldn’t be missed and if you do miss it, you’ll regret it. Of course until the end of the conference tomorrow, this is merely a hopeful rumor.
This Monday’s release of Weekly Shonen Jump from Viz Media has revealed that they will be running a couple of new features soon alongside the debut of a new Jump Start for the manga series Mononofu, a manga that appears to follow a house of shogi players.. First they have revealed that there will be a two-chapter Bakuman. prequel called Bakuman. age 13 that will begin running on September 21st.
As for the other announcement, the company announced that as part of their “Jump Start” initiative they will be releasing the first three chapters of the new series Samon the Summoner by Shun Numa and just like the Bakuman. prequel, it will begin running next week where it will be debuting in not only the English release of the magazine, but also in the original Japanese release.
As described by Viz, Samon the Summoner will be a “demon-like unusual comedy” manga that will focus on a high school student named Samon that also is able to summon demons.
As you may know, when Rodea the Sky Soldier is released by NIS America in November the retail release of the Wii U version of the game will include the original, never released, Wii version of the game.
As such earlier today NIS America released a trailer showing off how the Wii version of Rodea the Sky Soldier will play as it features a number of different power-ups, motion controls, bonus stages, multiplayer, and some unique level designs that won’t be found in the Wii U version. You can check out the trailer below and as for the game itself, Rodea the Sky Soldier will be released in North America on November 10th and in Europe on November 13th.
Did you know in World War II, the Swedes used the number 77 as a password because only a native Swedish speaker can say the number perfectly! The Indie GalaEvery Monday Bundle #77 isn’t nearly as tricky, but it is jammed with seven great indie games.
The Oil Blue – The world is desperate for oil and now you are being sent on a dangerous journey to drill oil from abandoned islands.
The Apotheosis Project – A retro styled point and click adventure about a mysterious project that is changing the DNA of its human test subjects.
Wonky Pigeon! – A game that really lives up to its name. Players will control a pigeon whose sole mission is to bomb unsuspecting people with poop.
Two Steps Back – A visual novel starring Therese, a girl trapped in a cathedral she can’t escape, and Eldin, a mysterious boy who claims to know her.
Heart of Ember CH1 – The kingdom of Ember is being attacked by the Titans, will Kara and Paul become the heroes Ember needs?
DungeonRift – A top down action RPG that has the dungeon and its inhabitants levelling up as you progress deeper into its belly.
Pirates Deck – A multiplayer shooter that pits players in a deadly race for three trophies scattered across the map.
For the first 24 hours of the sale, all seven games only costs $1.99. Grab your bundle at Indie Gala before the price goes up.
Overview The Atelier video game franchise has been around for over ten years with a new title being produced nearly every year since it began. As such it came as something of a surprise when an anime adaptation of Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky was announced. This is largely due to the fact that the anime would be adapting material that happened to be the second game in a trilogy, skipping out on details from the first title Atelier Ayesha. Despite being a strange title to choose as the series’ first foray into anime, is Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky worth it?
Story The world in Atelier Escha & Logy has been decaying for unknown reasons with very few places remaining inhabitable. The young alchemist Escha Malier is has lived her entire life in the small town of Colset on the fringe of the uninhabited land. She has always remained optimistic and believes in her abilities as an alchemist which she learned from her dearly departed mother. Despite the fact that she has lived alone most of her life, with only an automaton named Clone helping raise her, Escha has kept her dreams of working for the towns R&D division and visiting the floating ruins above the town alive.
Thankfully one of her dreams comes true at the start of the series as Escha is hired as a fresh alchemist for the R&D division where she is paired up with another alchemist who just arrived in town. His name is Logix Fiscario, nicknamed Logy, and he has spent his time working in Central where many elements of civilization still thrive and many advances have taken place.
Logy is far more familiar with using more modern alchemy techniques and almost always having supplies so the concept of having to gather ingredients from the wild and use a cauldron to synthesize an item appears strange to him at first and with his straightforward attitude initially meaning that he is simply there to do the job and nothing else, it appears that he be a poor fit to work alongside Escha.
That however is not the case as he quickly shifts towards wanting to help in the same way that Escha does, even if it means going the extra mile and finding out why a village’s water source is being contaminated rather than simply cleaning up the water and leaving. This is pretty much the entire Atelier Escha & Logy anime adaptation summed up in a sentence. In an effort to cram the game’s content down into a twelve episode series we are mostly treated to seeing Escha and Logy completing various tasks that are assigned to them by the R&D division or interacting with other characters that they have met.
These characters are the same of course that one would meet over the course of the game before becoming party members and since they all decide to linger around the town after Escha comes across them, they play small roles as the story progresses with cute little side plots such as taking part in a dessert contest or visiting a hot spring. There are some small developments for the side cast here, such as Linca who is given a bit of development, but for the most part viewers will learn very little about most of the side characters.
In fact this becomes an issue with the main characters as well. While the games may have saw players being able to play as either Escha or Logy with each character having certain storylines unique to their side, the anime almost focuses mostly on Escha with very little of Logy’s backstory explored though the reason he has chosen to leave Central is revealed at least.
It also doesn’t help that there are a number of references, elements to the story, and a number of characters that return to the series from Atelier Ayesha that are given only the slightest introduction. Sentai Filmworks does their best to provide a bit of summarization with notes for these characters however it barely does these characters justice. What saves the cast of characters from being simple is how charming they were written in the original source material rubbing off onto their characters here. Sure we learn very little about most of them but the charm still exists in how they act, resulting in a cast that is still enjoyable but lacks delivery.
The main storyline barely kicks into place during the last few episodes as the group attempts to reach the ruins in the sky. This means that while the story does wrap itself up at the end, it does a rather poor job actually explaining certain events and even building up the nature of what the cast is actually doing. The end result feels like something that fans may be able to enjoy if they wish to see these characters once more in a different style but ultimately spoils some elements of the game in an effort to wrap things up, albeit in a manner that will leave fans hoping for any elements of romance disappointed.
Visuals One element that did manage to transition well into anime form is how great the artwork for Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is. The character designs remain as lovely looking as before with plenty of details going into keeping the cast looking as fans would expect and a lot of attention paid to keeping Escha’s tail in motion at practically all times.
The background art is given the same level of detail though the actual enemy designs do stand out quite a bit as CG work was done to place some of the larger enemies into the game, making them something of a poor fit compared to the designs of everything around them. The animation on the other hand is poorly handled with most of the fight sequences simply being finished with a few skills and various tricks used to take shortcuts in animating character motion resulting in a number of lackluster looking scenes.
Audio It is worth noting that Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky’s anime release does not contain an English dub but the animation studio was able to retain the original Japanese voice actors for the cast which is a nice touch considering many fans may have played with that track active and thankfully these voice actors know how to handle these characters already and do an excellent job here.
The soundtrack is enjoyable but lacks many of the outstanding tracks found in the source material. This is by no means a terrible thing, as the background music is quite fitting, it just could have been better. The opening theme “Asuiro” is performed by Escha’s voice actress Rie Murakawa and ending theme “Fuyumidori” by Haruka Shimotsuki are fitting considering the theme of the series but aren’t memorable.
Extras Sentai Filmworks’ release of Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky only features a clean version of the opening and ending animation accompanied by trailers for other anime series released by the company.
Overall Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky seemed like a strange fit for an anime adaptation but it could have worked well considering the fan base behind the series and the lore it can draw from, however with poor pacing and only sparse character elements used throughout the storyline it can feel lackluster at times. There are some shining elements of the series thanks to the cast remaining as charming and ever and enough of the core storyline remaining in place to give viewers a unique viewing experience, albeit one that could have been handled far better.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview The mecha genre is one of the oldest anime genres around and for good reason. Many of the most popular series that people still talk about years later happen to be mecha anime, but thanks to this success numerous other series have tried to gain that same level of popularity. This means that nowadays, a mecha anime must really set itself apart in some way to be memorable and now that the first half of Captain Earth has been released in Collection 1, is the series worth picking up?
Story Daichi Manatsu may be nearing the end of his time in high school but he has very little ambition. With the loss of his astronaut father ten years ago to an apparent accident, Daichi has lived with uncle and despite having a number of friends, spends most of his time playing video games and shutting himself away in his room. That all changes when he sees a mysterious ringed rainbow on a television broadcast, awakening lost memories of a similar rainbow he saw as a child.
After venturing to the area where he previously saw the rainbow, he finds himself thrust into the middle of a war for humanity. An alien race called the Kill-T-Gang has managed to reach near immortality by surviving on various planets’ “libido” (also called Orgone Energy.) The group has spent countless years waiting for humanity to mature to the point that they will provide the best harvest and this all started ten years prior when the group made their first appearance.
Suddenly able to call forth a Livlaster, a gun capable of activating the giant robot Earth Engine Impacter, Daichi is thrust into the fight against an approaching member of the Kill-T-Gang and with the help of the forces at Globe, an organization created specifically to fight against these aliens, he manages to repel them. Learning that his father was also a member of Globe, Daichi is soon reunited with a number of friends from his past and forms the Midsummer’s Knights in order to prevent humanity from falling to the enemy.
With the Kill-T-Gang able to take on the guise of human form, they begin building their forces up by awakening “Designer’s Children” that have been living amongst humanity for years in order to take down the members of Daichi’s group the Midsummer’s Knights. With Daichi and his friends doing their best to stop this from occurring, numerous organizations and factions on Earth begin to move to put their own plans into motion.
Despite the interesting sounding premise filled with plenty of technobabble, Captain Earth fails miserably when it comes to delivering anything worthwhile for a large portion of the thirteen episodes that make up this release. Until the last couple of episodes where some the exploration of a Designer Child’s past is brought to light and delivers some interesting storytelling, the series can simply be described as uninspired and incredibly predictable from start to finish, especially in regards to most of the core characters’ background stories.
Perhaps it is due to the fact that Captain Earth was created as a twenty five episode series, but keeping the audience engaged throughout the first half of the storyline is a must and unfortunately that happens to be where things begin to fall apart. With the exception of the rather hilarious standout character of Akari, all of the core cast members are unlikable, making it difficult for viewers to want to stick around and watch, but the aforementioned predictable nature of the series results in numerous clichés piling on top of one another where you can’t help but laugh at how various events unfold.
If the ending of the final episode of Captain Earth: Collection 1 is anything to go by, perhaps the series will start to deliver in a big way past this point. The series is certainly capable of it with a handful of memorable sequences standing out amongst the generic feeling of everything else. That being said when you have to try numerous times to make it through a few episodes that are laughably bad, perhaps that pay off just won’t be worth it.
Visuals A major plus for Captain Earth is the amount of effort that Bones has put into creating some amazingly detailed looking mech designs and combination sequences that translate well into the few action sequences that take place in the first half of the series. With some very detailed looking backdrops these action scenes tend to be very enjoyable, though those looking forward to melee bouts will be disappointed as most of the action that takes place is through long rage combat.
The designs for the cast of characters outside of the mechs features a nice level of variety to keep things interesting though I must say that the attention to detail in these simpler sequences drops quite a bit. It is worth noting that there are some very minor moments of fan-service, however nothing is shown and these sequences are played for jokes to get a rise out of Daichi and little else.
Audio Sentai Filmworks has opted to release Captain Earth with only the original Japanese voice track. Despite most of the characters being rather dull thankfully the original Japanese voice cast does what they can to try and bring life to their characters.
The background music throughout the series is fairly standard during the slice of life moments though there are a number of outstanding insert songs scattered throughout the release and a number of tracks that are played during action sequences are quite exceptional. The opening theme for this first half is the energetic but generic sounding “Believer’s High” by flumpool and the ending theme happens to be an enjoyable song called “Amethyst” by Ai Kyano.
Extras Captain Earth: Collection 1 contains only a clean version of the opening theme, clean version of the ending theme, and trailers for other Sentai Filmworks releases.
Overall If the stunning presentation and amount of detail that has been put into creating Captain Earth’s various mech sequences and the interesting character designs was mirrored onto the quality of the writing then Captain Earth would be off to an amazing start since build-up for events in a series such as this is important. Unfortunately that is far from the case as the first thirteen episodes found in Captain Earth: Collection 1 presents an interesting sounding premise that is slowly squandered with only a few brief moments of intrigue shining through in an effort to entice viewers to continue on with the series.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
While Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator has been available for Japanese arcade players for a few months now, Arc System Works has now announced when fans of the game on console can roughly expect this enhanced version of the original game, which adds a handful of new playable characters to the roster, to be released on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.
The company has announcedthat they will be releasing the console version of Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator in Japan in spring 2016. That wasn’t all they announced though, as the company also stated that they will be giving away free character color DLC to celebrate the sales of the original game and they will be made free from October 7th to January 5, 2016.
Members of the gaming industry and gamers around the world where shaken up to hear the sad news of Satoru Iwata passing away on July 11th and now two months later Nintendo has chosen to announce who will be the new president and representative director for the company.
The man chosen to fill these large shoes is Tatsumi Kimishima, who worked for The Pokemon Company in 2000 before moving to Nintendo of America in 2002 and eventually becoming the director of that branch in 2006. This isn’t the only position being filled and while full details on the list of changes can be found here, as Nintendo announced that Genyo Takedo will now be acting as the company’s “Technology Fellow” while Shigeru Miyamoto is know the company’s “Creative Fellow.”
