Today Koei Tecmo has released an early demo for Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess onto the PlayStation Network. This demo is quite a hefty one as it not only allows players to access the first two chapters of the game’s story mode, where a detailed tutorial that goes over the various trap designs players can use and how to use them is featured, but also a sample of the brand new Quest mode is also included.
In Quest mode players will be able to step into the heels of the brand new character Velguirie as they take on 12 quests with a variety of high level unlockable skills already made available to the player, such as Velguirie’s ability to kick her victims into traps as well as the ability to create a massive seven trap long combo sequence. It is worth noting that any progress the player makes in the demo will not be carried over to the core game when Deception IV: The Nightmare Princessis released on July 14th.
Overview Despite the PlayStation 3 and more recently the PlayStation Vita being the go-to platforms for JRPGs, Western JRPG fans have been left sitting in the cold when it comes to JRPGs on the PlayStation 4. Although the console has already been on the market for over a year, fans have been waiting for developers to bring new JRPGs to the system and now Compile Heart’s Omega Quintet is the first game out of the gate. With Omega Quintet being a bit different from Compile Heart’s flagship Hyperdimension Neptunia series, is the title worth picking up?
Story The world of Omega Quintet is on the brink of destruction due to creatures called Blare that began appearing year’s prior and nearly eliminated mankind. With standard attacks being largely ineffective against these creatures, all hope seemed lost until powerful ladies capable of wielding special abilities came forth with the power to eliminate the Blare.
These women were called Verse Maidens and for years they have been seen as idols to the public they protect. As time passed only one of the original Verse Maiden’s Momoka managed to hold onto her powers despite her age, however it was becoming increasingly apparent that her retirement was approaching and that a new generation of Voice Maidens are needed.
Enter the Momoka idolizing Otoha and her childhood friend Takuto, nicknamed Takt, who often tries to keep her in check despite not being overly interested in Verse Maidens himself. After an incident occurs during the latest Blare attack Otoha finds herself accepted as a new Verse Maiden, joining Nene and Kanadeko, two other Verse Maidens, who have barely spent any time out in the field. The party starts rather small, players find themselves joined by the rest of the main cast in short order as the girls try to push back any Blare attacks while defending the populace.
It is interesting to note that while there are a few jabs at the industry here and there; Omega Quintet plays the idol role of the characters almost completely straight. Despite not making fun of the idol industry’s practices, other than pestering the retiring Momoka about her actual age, there is still quite a bit of comedy found within the story but this mostly comes from the characters as they interact with one another as each girl is a perfect fit for an idol group trope, with Otoha being the cheerful but ditzy leader, Kanadeko appearing as a tomboy, Nene serving as the soft-spoken and timid girl with a penchant for violence, Kyouka as the serious but easily flustered girl, and Aria as the oft monotone member with a mysterious aura.
Despite being fairly predictable as far as character developments and interactions go, Omega Quintet’s delivers a decent storyline with quite a few challenges to overcome if you wish to aim for the “True Ending” to the storyline. One of the required challenges is to develop Takuto’s relationship with each of the characters by serving as their bodyguard and manager during battle and interacting with them when certain scenes are unlocked. These sequences generally are comedic with a dose of fan-service but do give players a different look at each character’s personality, though it does feel as if Takuto’s inclusion in the story could have been handled better overall.
Gameplay Omega Quintet may be a turn based RPG with dungeon exploration where enemies roam the field and can be either avoided or attacked early for a turn advantage in battle, but it is a far different experience than those who are familiar with their key franchise will be familiar with. This is entirely due to the complex battle system that features a number of different mechanics as well as a few idol related side-activities that fans can easily lose hours of time in if they wish to get technical.
Once players enter battle they will find themselves lined up against a certain number of enemies. Depending on what weapons your Verse Maidens are using, each character will have a certain range of effectiveness. Unlike most games that don’t allow movement on the field, players will need to plan accordingly when it comes to attacking certain enemies as distance does play a factor into how effective a blow will be and their chances of actually landing the skill. The range of effectiveness is displayed via a colorful chart for every attack and even shows how the percentages change which is useful considering how long some of the boss battles can go on for.
It is interesting to note that players can also slide their party members around the field before entering battle to better make use of their weaponry. For example, if a character is using a rifle then the majority of their skills will be more effective at a longer range and should be placed accordingly via party set up. That being said, it is also worth noting that every character can use any type of weapon in the game, though considering each character has different weapon proficiencies (allowing for multiple attacks and increased damage at higher levels) it is better to keep it as is. If you do happen to change things up then you’ll also be able to take advantage of the many skills and abilities that players will unlock for their Verse Maidens using a leveling grid that features unlockable nodes with stat boosts, skills, magic, and even finishing attacks.
Making the battle system a little bit more detailed are “Flash Effects” which randomly occur during certain turns. These effects range from boosts to debuffs and even status effects so players will need to keep an eye on that while also managing how many attacks and skills they should use at any given time. You see, while a single attack may only move a character’s turn order back a short amount, unleashing a barrage of skills will delay their next turn quite a bit and potentially leave them open for a beating by the enemy.
Thankfully, since players can pair Takt with one Verse Maiden, allowing Takt to jump in and attack often pushes back the targeted enemy’s turn which is useful considering the various gauges that play a factor in the game’s special “Live Mode” system. Entering a live mode by utilizing the voltage gauge, filled by defeating enemies, allows players to often perform consecutive attacks that result in long combo chains and high levels of damage allowing for the devastation of an opponent who may have been dangerous.
This makes the combat system in Omega Quintet far deeper than it initially appears as it will require quite a bit of mastery to tackle certain opponents if you don’t wish to grind away at levels to simply overcome them by pure force. As for the actual areas players will be exploring, they are impressively though a large amount of the maps are initially gated off by roadblocks that can only be overcome by leveling up a character’s exploration abilities which can be tedious and potentially lock a player out of a side-quest if they haven’t properly unlocked the ability.
As far as side content goes, the side-missions are unfortunately extremely dull with very little variation available. Thankfully the Promotional Video System (PVS) is something I can see idol fans sinking quite a lot of time into. In the PVS players will be able to completely choreograph and tweak an entire song performance. There is a surprising level of detail here as players can change what moves every single character will perform, who will be singing what part, and where the camera will be focusing. To add to this, players can also create various outfits, including underwear, for the girls to wear into battle as well as onto the stage, creating a lot of potential that fans will want to sink their teeth into.
Visuals & Audio While Omega Quintet may be the first JRPG in the West for the PlayStation 4, it appears that the simple move to the latest console generation hasn’t added a lot to the game. While the 2D character portraits are quite detailed and have a wide range of expressions, most of the enemy models and the environments, despite being large, are rather bland. That being said there are a number of nice touches here and there that prove the move to the PS4 was a wise choice.
The key touch is that unlike many of their past titles, Omega Quintet does not suffer from any slowdown issues that tend to plague Compile Heart’s titles. The character models are also rather nice looking with a variety of (destructible) outfits the Verse Maidens can wear and that players can create, though it is disappointing that their faces are all extremely similar looking. As for PVS, the amount of detail and interactivity that players can put into the mode really shines thanks to the character models and various stage effect players can utilize.
Players will have the option of choosing between the original Japanese voice track as well as an English voice track if they so choose. The English cast has done a good job handling the different personalities of the characters and thankfully Idea Factory International has chosen to present all of the songs in the game with vocals, usually found in the PVS mode, with the original Japanese voice actresses singing the lyrics rather than trying to re-dub the songs.
Overall Omega Quintet may not harness much of the power that the PlayStation 4 and it is a bit of a strange title, but a decent on in the end. With a decent storyline featuring a likable enough cast of characters, though only those who have seen idol anime or have knowledge of the industry will likely enjoy them as much as I happened to, combined with an intricate and highly enjoyable battle system; Omega Quintet is a solid start to Compile Heart’s efforts this generation.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Razer’s Chroma line up of multi-coloured LED peripherals is now represented in every product category Razer carries with the announcement of the Razer Tartarus Chroma. The gaming keypad joins a variety of multi-coloured keyboards, mice, headsets, and even a mouse mat.
The gaming keypad maintains many of the old Razer Tartarus’ features, including 25 programmable rubber-domed keys, an eight-way directional thumb pad, and eight possible key keymaps per profile. Using Razer Synapse 2.0, unlimited number of game profiles can be stored for use, which can store macros as long as you can possibly make them. No two hands are exactly alike, so the wrist rest’s angle is adjustable.
As part of the Chroma’s line up, the Razer Tartarus Chroma can be controlled by the Razer Synapse 2.0 to adjust lighting colour and lighting effects. The LEDs are capable of displaying 16.8 million different colours and can pulse, wave, and more.
The Razer Tartarus Chroma is available now at the RazerStore and at BestBuy in USA and Canada. It is priced at $79.99 USD.
If you weren’t lucky enough to go to E3 2015 last week, you can still catch Shadow Warrior 2. Devolver Digital and Flying Wild Hog released the 15 minutes of gameplay they demoed at E3 to the public today. The First few minutes start out a little quiet, but Lo Wang soon bumps into some demons and plenty of firefights soon follow.
Gamers can get the first look at some of the new features in the video. Most obvious is the new RPG like touches, such as the dropped loot and damage markers that pop up as Lo Wang shoots and slashes his way through the hell spawn. About five minutes in, a co-op player drops into the game to help out Lo Wang. We also get a look at some of the new weapons, including a long bow and dual wielded wakizashi short swords. It appears that a stealth element has been added, allowing Lo Wang to sneak behind enemies and deal a surprise attack for massive damage.
Shadow Warrior 2will launch in 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
It’s here! In just under a few hours, many of you out there (myself included) will be booting up Batman: Arkham Knight and playing through the end of Rocksteady’s epic Batman saga. With only a few hours till release, we thought it would be best to get the excitement flowing by showing off Warner Bros’ newly released launch trailer. Keep in mind that the trailer (which we have attached below) really gives a sense of the tone and feel of the game, so if you’re looking to go in blind then click the “back” button on your browser now. Otherwise, check out the video and prepare to become vengeance, the knight, the goddamn Batman!
Earlier this month we posted a story about the formerly Japanese only Nintendo 3DS Dragon Ball title Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden being rated by the Australian Classification Board and now we can confirm the game is due for a worldwide release. The game retains it’s Japanese name of Extreme Butoden and will even include the Super NES title Super Butoden 2, as was expected after a number of teases by the Dragon Ball Z Facebook page. The game will launch in Europe and Australasia on the 16th of October and the Americas on the 20th of October.
Extreme Butoden is a 2D fighter and is being developed by Arc System Works, the studio responsible for the Supersonic Warriors games for the GBA and DS as well as the Blazblue games, so you can expect really solid 2D sprites and classic gameplay. It is unsure if the game will have English audio at this point or if we will be receiving the demo which allowed those in Japan to unlock additional support characters. The game features 20 playable characters and over 100 support characters known as Z-assist.
Dragon Ball Z is seeing a great revival as of late. With the success of Dragon Ball Xenoverse, the new Resurrection ‘F’ movie and even an all new series which is releasing in just a few weeks! Will you be picking up this latest Dragon Ball title? Let us know in the comments below.
Sentai Filmworks has just announced its acquisition of the 12-episode anime series The World Is Still Beautiful (Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii). The series will be available on home video soon.
Studio Pierrot provided the animation production for the adaptation, which is based on the original manga series by Dai Shiina. Hajimi Kamegaki, director of such anime titles as Air Gear, Fushigi Yugi and Naruto Shippuden the Movie, directed the series. Shinzo Fujita, a screenplay writer for Parasyte -the maxim-, provided the series composition. Ichiro Uno adapted the character designs. Music composition was handled by Shinya Yamada, known for his work on Hunter X Hunter and Chihayafuru. The series aired in Japan on NTV from April to June 2014.
About three and a half months ago, Japanese video game paraphernalia designer Cyber Gadget revealed their Retrofreak retro video game console system. Previously translated details can be found here and here. Just this week, Cyber Gadget revealed that the system is planned for release this October, and the variations of the console, which will be detailed below, are now available for pre-order.
There are two variations. Retrofreak Model CY – RF – A will come with an adapter for 11 types of cartridges, a standard controller, a HDMI Cable and an AC adapter. This model will sell for 20,000 yen plus tax. Retrofreak Model CY – RF – B will include a controller adapter that will allow players to use their Family Computer, Mega Drive, PC Engine and Super Famicom controllers and to use their Family Computer Expansion Connectors when playing their games. This model will sell for 23,000 yen plus tax.
Discotek Media will be releasing a complete DVD collection of Chi’s New Address on June 30. Additionally, today is the official release date for their Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of Lupin the Third: Castle of Cagliostro. The full details of this release can be found here. The collection of Chi’s New Address contains all 104 episodes with English subtitles. This series is described as follows:
The Yamada family’s newest addition, a cute kitty named Chi, isn’t welcome by their landlady. Having searched all over for a new owner, eventually the Yamadas decide they can’t just abandon a part of the family, and they move into a brand new home that allows them to keep Chi. Skeptical at first, Chi doesn’t know what to make of the new home, but eventually she comes to realize that a new place just means new adventures! There are so many new things to see and do, and so many new friends to meet, how will Chi ever find the time to play with them all?
A kitten’s work is never done. Of course, when Chi gets too wrapped up in her playing, she just might find that the new territory is even more unfamiliar than she first realized! Will Chi be able to make it back to her new home?
A complete collection of Chi’s Sweet Home was released by Discotek earlier this year on March 31. A region 4 release of this collection is available from Siren Visual.
So E3 is over, but that doesn’t mean the news mill has taken a day off. Activision recently released a trailer for Treyarch’s latest Call of Duty, spanning nearly fourteen minutes and focusing on two different topics. The first of course is the brand new co-op campaign. The second is the Cyber Core tutorial, taking players further into the experience and displaying whats new with the combat this time around.
Check out the description and trailer down below, and you can expect Black Ops III to be in stores this November.
Take a deep dive into the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 cooperative campaign with the Cyber Core tutorial and an extended cut from “Ramses Station” as seen exclusively at the Sony PlayStation E3 booth. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is a dark, gritty future where a new breed of Black Ops soldier emerges and the lines are blurred between our own humanity and the cutting-edge military technology that define the future of combat.
Designed for four-player online co-op or solo play, players will encounter epic cinematic moments and open-area gameplay, allowing players to approach the game with a different strategy each time they play. And now your campaign character is completely customisable: from weapons and loadouts, to abilities and outfits, all with full progression systems and a personalised armoury to show off accomplishments. With these and many more exciting new features, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 aims to deliver a constantly-evolving campaign experience.
