First up is their acquisition of Kosuke Fujishima’s new manga series Paradise Residence. It will be published in an oversized format and will start being released in March 2016.
They also announced exclusive special edition packages for volumes 16 and 17 of the Attack on Titan manga. The special edition release of volume 16 will feature original art by Tony Moore (co-creator of The Walking Dead) and a set of 54 premium playing cards, all of which will be in colour. Both this and the regular edition will be released on August 25, 2015. They also announced that the special edition of volume 17 will come with an exclusive DVD featuring the OVA episode “Ilse’s Notebook”. It will be released on December 1, 2015. Previously, this OVA was only available with the limited edition package of volume 12 in Japan.
Kodansha Comics announced three new mangaacquisitions at their Anime Expo panel. The expo was held in Los Angeles earlier this month.
Kodansha will begin releasing Akiko Higashimura’s manga series Princess Jellyfish in February 2016. It will be published in deluxe, large-format 2-in-1 editions. Each volume will contain over 400 pages, some of which will be in colour, and special features.
Next up is the license of Hoshino Taguchi’s manga series Magatsuki. It will start being released from February 2016.
Finally, Kodansha will begin releasing the manga series Real Account starting in March 2016. It features art by Shizumu Watanabe and a story by Okushou.
Kodansha also announced that they will be changing their release schedule for Noragami. Starting with volume 7 in October 2015, new volumes will be released monthly instead of bimonthly.
Overview Adapting a video game into an anime series can be seen as something of a balancing act. Should the team try and please fans of the games or should they try to make the anime as appealing as possible to newcomers to try and bring more people into the fold. This is especially true when you have an adaptation of a fairly popular title such as Devil Survivor 2 which was recently given an enhanced 3DS release in the West. So with Devil Survivor 2: The Animation now available on Blu-ray, is the series worth picking up?
Story On an average Sunday afternoon Hibiki Kuze and his friend Daichi Shijima are getting ready to travel back to their homes. While killing some time before heading back Daichi installs a new app called Dead Face onto his phone. Death Face allows friends to create videos showing off their other friends being killed in various manners. Despite the macabre idea, it seems innocent enough until both of their phones immediately update showing a video of both of them being crushed beneath a derailed subway car.
Believing the video is simply a joke, they continue to head home only to find that they everything about their subway station matches the video perfectly. Before the two can act, the train car begins tearing through the station and appears to crush not only the two boys but also one of their fellow students named Nitta who was also in the station. Despite his apparent death, the Death Face app prompts Hibiki if he wishes to continue living and after selecting yes, he awakens with no injuries.
Not only has Hibiki managed to survive, but his friend Daichi and Nitta have also managed to survive the wreck. Unfortunately their relief is brief as strange demons have already begun feasting on the bodies of the deceased and when suddenly Nitta’s phone summons a demon out of thin air to defend them, the three manage to escape the situation only to find above ground that the entire city has suffered massive damage from an unknown event.
The three are quickly picked up by the mysterious JPs government battle force where they learn what is really happening to the world. It turns out that mysterious creatures called the Septentriones have begun appearing and are systematically beginning to wipe out the human race and it is up to “Summoners” who have been gifted with the ability to call demons into reality to put a stop to it. With Hibiki able to call upon one of the strongest demons to start with, he joins with the JP to try and put a stop to things, only things are far more complicated than they first appear as rebel organizations appear, questions about the leader’s motivations arise, and the body count rises due to questionable decisions.
Devil Survivor 2: The Animation is an adaptation that has taken and tried to put its own twist on the original story which means that fans of the game will likely be more frustrated than anything else. Even newcomers will find that this adaptation has very little going for it due to poor writing and the way that despite having some nice ideas, everything begins to fall apart as the series progresses into a rushed mess of development and poorly explained ideologies. It also doesn’t help that the arbitrary distribution of demons with little explanation and the sudden appearance of demon fusion leaves those who know nothing of the source material (and therefore able to enjoy the series for what it is) in the dark.
The death of an introduced character comes off as shocking initially but then becomes something that viewers almost come to expect due to the nature in which they are handled. This may fit the darker theme that Devil Survivor 2: The Animation wanted to go with but without proper character development or feeling like there was actual meaning to their deaths, killing characters off for shock value quickly loses its luster.
Devil Survivor 2: The Animation feels like it wished to be so much more and maybe if given a full twenty four episodes it could have done something with that. Instead what it became is a mildly entertaining series with plenty of interesting concepts and content from the game to please most fans only for it to eventually become a standard “battle against the end of the world” type of series with a well-known franchise attached to it.
Visuals Something that fans of the Shin Megami Tensei series will notice throughout the title is that the animation studio paid quite a bit attention to detail when it came to drawing and animating the various demons that players can summon in the game. Since many characters obtain demons ranging from common to legendary types fans will quickly remember them. The same thing can be said about the characters as the designs of the cast are quite fitting considering they were adapted from what was a DS title.
Those who haven’t tried the games before will still appreciate the variety of demons that appear, the flashiness of some of the special techniques, and how decent most of the fight scenes appear, though quite a few filler scenes are used throughout some of the longer battle sequences.
Audio It is worth noting that despite Devil Survivor 2: The Animation being released on Blu-ray, the original English release came before the English release of the enhanced version of the original title, meaning that unfortunately the English voice actors that Sentai Filmworks recruited for the series are not the same as those found in the game. This isn’t too much of an issue however as most of the characters are handled well enough in the dub, though Hibiki’s voice actor doesn’t feel like the best fit, and the Japanese voice track is also included for those who would rather choose that option.
One thing this title does take advantage of is the great soundtrack that accompanied the game it originated from. Many times throughout the series do memorable tracks begin playing, including some that do a great job enhancing the emotions of particularly striking scenes. As far as the opening and ending themes go, the opening “Take your Way” by Livetune is a fitting opening for a series such as this but one must take special note of the ending theme. Not only is the song, “Be,” by Song Riders a beautiful fit for Devil Survivor 2: The Animation, it is also accompanied by an ending animation that really starts to hit home once the viewer notices that as the series progresses, the animation begins to grow rather barren.
Extras Sentai Filmworks has given the Blu-ray release of Devil Survivor 2: The Animation most of the standard bonus features found with their releases, including a clean version of the opening and ending theme and disc credits, though they have also released the series with a neat slipcase featuring alternate artwork from what is found on the case.
Overall Devil Survivor 2: The Animation is the type of anime adaptation that tried to do something different with the source material and ultimately becomes a series without any lasting impact. Although fairly interesting throughout and initially shocking when the first casualty appears, the series is best enjoyed at face-value with little knowledge of the original games as those who have experienced the source material will simply be left wondering what the studio was thinking.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
ACTIVISION PUBLISHING, INC. RELEASES PROTOTYPE®AND PROTOTYPE® 2 ON PLAYSTATION®4 AND XBOX ONE
The PROTOTYPE® BIOHAZARD BUNDLE brings the complete PROTOTYPE® experience to new consoles for one great price
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – July 14, 2015 – Today Activision Publishing, Inc. launched the PROTOTYPE® BIOHAZARD BUNDLE, a collection containing the breakout third-person action-adventure games PROTOTYPE and PROTOTYPE 2. It is now available for $49.99 as a digital download on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system via the PlayStation®Store and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, through the Xbox Games Store. This title is rated M (Mature) by the ESRB.
The PROTOTYPE saga follows the intertwined stories of Alex Mercer and Sergeant James Heller, each given shapeshifting powers and superhuman strength by a deadly virus that has devastated New York City. PROTOTYPE and its sequel specialize in giving players unstoppable abilities of destruction and deception, then setting them loose in a dynamic open-world playground to unleash carnage on the shadowy forces behind the outbreak.
Each game in the PROTOTYPE BIOHAZARD BUNDLE includes exciting content and features for fans and newcomers to the series alike. Both titles have been updated for a new generation of hardware with Full HD rendering, improved framerate, and higher-resolution textures and effects. Moreover, PROTOTYPE 2 contains all of the DLC that came with the original RADNET Edition of the game, as well as the majority of in-game content previously offered through retailer pre-orders.
Both PROTOTYPE and PROTOTYPE 2 will be available to purchase individually on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One through the PlayStation®Store and Xbox Games Store, respectively, on August 11 in North America. The original PROTOTYPE will be $29.99; its sequel will be $39.99.
For the latest news and updates from the PROTOTYPE universe, please visit www.prototypegame.com.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, http://www.activision.com or by following @Activision.
THE KING OF THE MONSTERS IS BACK AS GODZILLA BECOMES AVAILABLE FOR FANS IN THE AMERICAS
Godzilla Returns to Destroy Cities and Vanquish Classic Enemies on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3
SAN JOSE, Calif., (July 14, 2015) – Leading interactive entertainment company BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today announced that GODZILLA has emerged from his long slumber to once again deliver massive destruction to cities and vanquish classic enemies on both the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system (digital only).
Developed by Japanese videogame studio NATSUME ATARI INC., GODZILLA gives players control of one of the most famous and destructive Kaiju (special effects monsters) in entertainment history. As Godzilla, players will have the power to trample and lay waste to cities. Players will also have to collect G-Energy which can be used to power-up Godzilla, increasing his physical size as well as his offensive and defensive skills. Exclusively on the PlayStation®4 system, users can play as any Kaiju in the game, in any mode in the game! Collect G-Energy to max out your favorite Kaiju’s stats and destroy opponents online with your Kaiju in the battle style of your choice. Select from over 20 different Kaiju, including classics like Anguirus and Rodan, as well as more recent Kaiju like Type-3 Kiryu. There are many different iterations of Godzilla in the game as well, from Godzilla as seen in 1964’s “Mothra vs. Godzilla” to Godzilla as seen in the latest 2014 movie (“Hollywood Godzilla”).
GODZILLA will also enable players to recreate the thrill of watching the classic and modern films by utilizing a dynamic movie-style camera angle system. This system delivers the most epic camera angles, giving players the best view from which to destroy both a multitude of locations as well as classic enemies such as Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla.
“For over 60 years Godzilla has sparked the imaginations of millions of fans and has been one of Japan’s most famous and favorite pop culture exports to the West.” said Eric Hartness, Vice President of Marketing at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “With the GODZILLA videogame we’re writing an exciting new chapter in Godzilla’s history, enabling his fans to play as their favorite monster and truly experience his incredible strength and destructive power.”
GODZILLA features multiple game modes including; Destruction Mode where players can deal massive amounts of mayhem and lay waste to more than 20 different stages. Diorama Mode enables players to place models of Godzilla and the other Kaiju in different settings to capture epic photos through the use of the SHARE function on the PlayStation®4 system. Players can also enjoy the King of Kaiju Mode where Godzilla fights his way through a gauntlet of the franchise’s most famous monster enemies to reach the top of the Kaiju hierarchy and reign supreme on the throne as the true King of the Monsters. PlayStation®4 system players can use any Kaiju in any mode, including an Online Multiplayer Mode that enables for up to three players at once fighting in all-out mayhem.
Rated “T” for TEEN by the ESRB, GODZILLA is available now at videogame retailers in North America and Latin America in packaged form for the PlayStation®4 system and in digital form exclusively on the PlayStation®Store for the PlayStation®3 system. GODZILLA launches in Brazil on July 17, 2015.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive content — including all major video game consoles, iOS, mobile and online. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises, including PAC-MAN®, TEKKEN®, SOULCALIBUR®, NARUTO™, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, Dragon Ball®, GALAGA®, RIDGE RACER® and ACE COMBAT®. More information about the company and its products can be found at www.bandainamcoent.com or www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS.
Halfbrick releases official “Hollywood Game Night” mobile game
Digital adaptation of hit NBC TV show now available on iOS & Android
ADDENDUM: Halfbrick advises that our previous press release, dated July 9, 2015, is being re-issued with additional information regarding the launch platforms for “Hollywood Game Night”. Halfbrick is excited to announce that “Hollywood Game Night” is now also available on Amazon Appstore for Android, in addition to Google Play and the App Store.
AUSTRALIA, Brisbane – July 14, 2015 – Halfbrick (Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride) and Universal Partnerships & Licensing have joined forces to bring the huge laughs and wild fun of “Hollywood Game Night” to smartphones and tablets around the world.
The digital game adaptation of NBC’s hit TV show is now available for $0.99 USD on the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore for Android, giving partygoers everything they need to turn an evening with friends into the ultimate game night experience.
The outrageous social game allows up to eight players to participate in a series of laughter-inducing mini games, including fan-favorites like “How Do you Doo?”, “Take the Hint”, “Smash the Buzzer” and “I Love a Charade”. There are seven games in total.
Each game – made popular by celebrities – requires players to sing, mime or test their knowledge across a wide range of topics including music, movies, celebrities and sports.
The mobile game places a heavy emphasis on pop culture trivia and fast-paced gameplay, and is the perfect way for players to replicate all the excitement and spontaneity of the game show experience.
“Halfbrick is thrilled to partner with Universal Partnerships & Licensing to take the fun and games of ‘Hollywood Game Night’ from the living room television to the palm of your hand,” said Sara Fonseca, marketing coordinator at Halfbrick. “‘Hollywood Game Night’ is a perfect smartphone and tablet game — fostering spontaneous bouts of hilarious party games with friends all around the world.”
“Hollywood Game Night” airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC. Halfbrick’s mobile game is available on the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore for Android as a paid download with optional premium in-app purchases. Official Website:halfbrick.com/our-games/hollywood-game-night
Hollywood Game Night is a trademark and copyright of Universal Television LLC. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLC 2015. All rights reserved.
About Hollywood Game Night
“Hollywood Game Night” transports contestants from their everyday lives to a once-in-a-lifetime night of fun and celebration as they step beyond the velvet rope and rub shoulders with some of their favorite celebrities to compete for the chance to win up to $25,000. Hosted by Emmy Award and Golden Globe winner Jane Lynch, “Hollywood Game Night” is produced by Hazy Mills Productions (“Grimm,” “Hot in Cleveland”), Mission Control Media (Syfy’s “Face Off”) and Universal Television. Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, Michael Agbabian and Dwight D. Smith are executive producers.
About Halfbrick
Halfbrick is a professional game development studio based in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 2001, it has developed many popular games across mobile and digital platforms including Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride and Fish Out Of Water. For further information, please visit halfbrick.com and follow on Twitter, YouTube or Facebook.
About Universal Partnerships & Licensing
Universal Partnerships & Licensing (UP&L) oversees NBCUniversal’s consumer product and digital licensing for Universal Pictures, NBC Television, Focus Features and Sprout Channel. This dedicated division is also responsible for film, home entertainment and television promotions. UP&L is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
Guild of Dungeoneering Launches to Aspiring Dungeon Masters Everywhere!
Distinctive Indie Developed Role-playing Game Now Available for PC and MAC
DUBLIN, Ireland – July 14, 2015 – Independent developer Gambrinous, in partnership with indie publishing powerhouse Versus Evil, has announced the release of their newest role-playing game (RPG) Guild of Dungeoneering for PC and Mac. The innovative and entertaining new card driven dungeon-crawler combines dungeon building, exploration and combat mechanics with nostalgic ‘hand drawn’ style graphics on graph paper and is now available to buy on Steam and GoG.com for $14.99.
Guild of Dungeoneering turns traditional dungeon crawling on its head by putting a new spin on classic game play – rather than controlling a dungeoneer, players build their dungeon around him (or indeed her). Using a random deck of cards, players can expand the dungeon and strategically place loot and monsters to lure their dungeoneer in the direction they want him to go. When their dungeoneer confronts a monster (either willingly or not), battle lines are drawn and the victor will be decided on how cunning a player is with the hand that’s been dealt to them.
“We’re incredibly excited to share Guild of Dungeoneering with the world,” said Colm Larkin of Gambrinous. “What started as a weekend project has blossomed and become something beautiful. I think the game taps into a pretty unique blend of tabletop and role playing nostalgia. I’m really proud of what we’ve made and can’t wait to see what everyone thinks.”
Over time, as players collect enough gold and gain more experience, they will be able to build out their own Guild by adding rooms to attract more-powerful adventurers and unlock better weapons and special cards for their Guild deck all in the name of fame and fortune.
“Guild of Dungeoneering brings to life the dungeon crawler in such a unique, fun way through cards that ooze character,” said General Manager Steve Escalante. “Through its nostalgic, hand drawn look, its clever use of music and deep adventures, Guild of Dungeoneering has captured the TCG and Roleplaying gamers in the Versus Evil team. We are so excited you can now all play this wonderful indie title.”
For more information about Guild of Dungeoneering, visit www.guildofdungeoneering.com.
Gambrinous is an independent studio based primarily in Dublin, Ireland. Initially a kind of one-man-band run by founder Colm Larkin, it has now grown to a hefty five people as they work on their first commercial release, Guild of Dungeoneering.
About Versus Evil
Versus Evil, LLC is a US based independent video game publisher. The company was founded on the principles of helping independent game developers be financially and creatively successful in the highly competitive video games market. Led by group of AAA games industry veterans, Versus Evil’s services include the full suite of publishing support including brand marketing, community, social, PR, creative, production, QA, legal, distribution and other general business support. As a global publisher, the Versus Evil team is strategically placed around the world with presences in California, Texas, Maryland, New York, and London and works with indie studios in North America, South America, and Europe.
Hertfordshire, 14 July 2015- KOEI TECMO EUROPE is pleased to announce the release of DECEPTION IV: the Nightmare Princess on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, and digitally on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the PlayStation®Vita handheld system this Friday, 17th July 2015.
This will be the debut for the Deception series on the PlayStation®4, and it includes the entire content of Deception IV: Blood Ties plus a new Quest Mode involving a brand new character, Velguirie, and her rise to power through one hundred missions and three new stages.
In addition to Laegrinna (the protagonist of ‘Blood Ties’) and Velguirie, there will be appearances from the protagonists of previous titles in the Deception series. The three other princesses are:
Millennia, the Clockwork Princess, who has more stamina than the other characters and the power to use traps in rapid succession;
Allura, the Branded Princess, who can automatically recover her stamina and use defensive abilities such as Recovery and Shock Wave;
and Reina, the Tragic Princess, who has the unique ability to slow time and dodge enemy attacks;
Although they initially appear as enemies, they can be defeated in such a way that will allow the player to add them to the list of playable characters and use their unique powers to create even more entertaining scenarios!
For those who would like an early taste of what this highly entertaining trap action title has to offer, there is a downloadable Demo available on the PlayStation®Network Store free of charge, including the first two chapters of the Story Mode (with a detailed tutorial designed to teach new players how to manoeuvre their character, and set and activate traps) and 12 brand new Quests. To better illustrate what the gameplay would be like on higher levels, some features have been unlocked early. These include the ability to create 7-trap-long combo sequences, as well as some of Velguirie’s unique powers (Kick and Dash). Due to the fact that the Demo is tweaked to showcase a leveled up character in the initial Quests, save data from the Demo will not be transferable to the final game upon release. However, for those that would like to show off their combos, PS4 Share functionality will be enabled!
Lastly, pre-orders will be running until launch on Friday 17th July, offering a DLC selection of unique traps! GAME pre-orders come with a ‘Grill’ trap- essentially a fire-walking pit that will cause enemies to quickly tip toe across (that is, if they land on it feet first). Independent retailers (through Centresoft) will offer a ‘Kick-Off’ trap- a mechanical apparatus that kicks high speed footballs in the direction of the player’s adversaries. The PlayStation®Network will offer a ‘Golden Horse’ trap which takes its victims on an agonising and humiliating ride they will never forget. And finally, pre-order through ShopTo.net is lavishly accompanied by a ‘Golden Toilet’ – a trap that shows up from the floor under the unsuspecting victim’s legs, only to catapult them in the air with a jet of water!
KOEI TECMO EUROPE LTD. is a publisher of interactive entertainment software for current generation consoles, handhelds and digital download content based in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, UK. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of KOEI TECMO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. TECMO is best known for the Dead or Alive® and Ninja Gaiden®series. KOEI is best known for its Dynasty Warriors® and Samurai Warriors® franchises. On April 1, 2009, KOEI TECMO HOLDINGS CO., LTD was established as a result of the TECMO, LTD. and KOEI Co., Ltd. merger. More information about KOEI TECMO EUROPE LTD and its products can be found at www.koeitecmoeurope.com
As part of this year’s Comic-Con festivities, Warner Bros. and TT Games took to the stage to share some new screenshots for their upcoming Lego Marvel’s Avengers video game. The game, which is coming to pretty much every platform later this year will recap the entire Marvel Cinematic universe in that unique Lego style. However it wont be a 1 for 1 recreation and as the newly released screenshots show, there is plenty of characters and story influences from the comics that will be present.
You can check out the new screenshots below, and remember to make sure that you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Lego and Marvel news as we get closer to the game’s release this summer.
English dubbed shows have played a big part in introducing anime to us as kids, we were all exposed to it and most of the time enjoyed it, but have you ever wondered what those shows were like in their original form? Thanks to an announcement made by 4K Media, we can now do so with uncut, English subtitled episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters on Crunchyroll.
From the pyramid puzzle necklace to the three headed blue eyes white dragon, this is the first time the series will be available in Japanese outside of Japan. Crunchyroll currently has the first five episodes of the original series up for streaming with more episodes being added monthly, fans will also be happy to know that Crunchyroll is also streaming Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D and GX with English subtitles too. Let us know what you think about this by leaving a comment down below.
