Harmonix™ and Tilting Point® Reveal Beat Sports™ for the New Apple TV
Music & Sports Meet in Original New Game Designed Exclusively for Apple TV
SAN FRANCISCO – Sept. 9, 2015 – Rock Band™ creators Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. and publishing partner Tilting Point have revealed Beat Sports, an original game for the new Apple TV. Demonstrated on stage at the Apple Event, Beat Sports is a collection of music-infused mini-games based loosely on familiar sports like tennis, volleyball, and golf. Designed and developed exclusively for the new Apple TV, Beat Sports is controlled using the brand-new remote.
“I’m thrilled to announce Beat Sports on this amazing new platform,” said Jon Carter, creative lead at Harmonix. “Apple TV is the perfect home for this unique mixture of music, sports, and wacky fun. The new remote offers limitless possibilities for brand-new gameplay, and Beat Sports‘ controls will have the whole family swinging, spiking, and scoring to the beat!”
“We’re delighted to reveal Beat Sports today as the first game from our partnership with Harmonix,” said Dan Sherman, co-founder and president of Tilting Point. “Harmonix embodies the creative spirit and cutting-edge innovation of a truly great independent developer. It’s an honor to work with them to debut Beat Sports on Apple’s amazing new platform.”
“At Harmonix, we have a long history of using new technology to bring innovative musical experiences to living rooms around the world with games like Rock Band,” said Matt Boch, product manager at Harmonix. “We immediately saw the potential for new ways to play that the Apple TV opens up, and couldn’t wait to start designing an all-new experience for this exciting new technology. We can’t wait to see how this revolutionary gaming platform changes the entertainment landscape.”
Follow @beatsportsgame on Twitter and Beat Sports on Facebook as more details on Beat Sports’ mini-games and soundtrack will be revealed in the coming weeks. Beat Sports will be available exclusively on the new Apple TV on day one. For more information and a press kit, visit: www.beatsportsgame.com.
About Harmonix Music Systems
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., based in Boston, MA, and established in 1995, is the leading developer of groundbreaking music-oriented videogames. Harmonix was founded to invent new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music and has pioneered music and rhythm gaming in the US. For more information please visit www.harmonixmusic.com.
About Tilting Point
Tilting Point is a new-generation games partner for top independent development studios. Tilting Point empowers developers with expert resources, services, and operational support to give carefully selected games mainstream success. The company adheres to a core philosophy of putting development talent first, advancing industry-leading analytics, and overcoming discoverability hurdles with aggressive, best-in-class marketing. www.tiltingpoint.com
NEW DEVELOPMENT STUDIO, POUND SAND, FORMED BY GAME INDUSTRY VETERANS FROM MEDAL OF HONOR, BATTLEFIELD AND CALL OF DUTY FRANCHISES
Studio’s First Game, Third-Person Shooter Fantastic Plastic Squad, Debuted Today at Apple Press Conference EL SEGUNDO, CA (SEPT 9, 2015) — A group of veteran video game developers, with credits that include some of the biggest franchises in the industry, such as Medal of Honor®, Battlefield ®, Call of Duty® and God of War®, have joined forces to found a new development studio, Pound Sand™, in El Segundo, CA. The studio’s first game, Fantastic Plastic Squad™, a free-to-play third-person shooter in which 1980s action figures come to life, was revealed today at the Apple press conference running on the new Apple hardware.
The game will be published by DropForge Games, a mobile publishing arm of Wargaming.net and will release on iOS first, followed by Android, with additional platforms planned.
Led by CEO Greg Goodrich, whose credits include Medal of Honor®, Return to Castle Wolfenstein®, Spyro the Dragon® and The Simpsons®, and partnered with entertainment media moguls Billy and Fernando Rovzar, Pound Sand brings together experienced leaders from the action/shooter category across all disciplines, including design, technology, art, and production.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work alongside some amazing people on some really great franchises, and I’m humbled by the level of talent we’ve been able to assemble at Pound Sand,” said Greg Goodrich, CEO of Pound Sand. “We founded the studio with the mindset to give passionate game developers the creative freedom to do what they do best without having to ask anyone for permission. Having our very first game, Fantastic Plastic Squad, chosen to help show off Apple’s new hardware is a great validation of both our team and game.”
Joining Goodrich at Pound Sand are some of the industry’s most experienced action/shooter game development veterans, including:
Paul Ohanian, Founder and Technical Director, credits include Battlefield 4, and Medal of Honor;
Andy Cheren, Founder and Director of Business Development, founder of Digital Artist Management and Production Road;
Torin Kampa, Lead Programmer, credits include Battlefield 4 and Medal of Honor;
Leon Brazil, Animation Director, credits include Medal of Honor, Battlefield and Harry Potter;
Greg Farren, Design Director, credits include Medal of Honor, Star Wars Battlefront I and II and God of War;
James H. Dargie, Art/Creative Director, credits include Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare3, Final Fantasy, Metroid Prime, and The Matrix movies.
“Fantastic Plastic Squad is a shooter for the ages” said David Bluhm, CEO of DropForge. “Imagine the fun and speed of Call of Duty, but fighting with your 1980s collection of plastic action heroes.”
ABOUT FANTASTIC PLASTIC SQUAD
Pound Sand’s first title is Fantastic Plastic Squad, a free-to-play, fast-paced third-person shooter in which players collect and control dozens of 1980s-style five-inch-tall action figures that have come-to-life to battle against their enemies for control of a house. Each figure is customizable with weapons and accessories, allowing for millions of possible combinations to create truly unique heroes that can be brought into battle or shared with friends.
Fantastic Plastic Squad includes epic single-player missions as well as an exciting and fully featured asynchronous player-versus-player multiplayer mode that will offer advanced competitive features like clan support, tournaments, leaderboards and replays.
Fantastic Plastic Squad will be available later this year for mobile devices with additional platforms in the future. Fans can learn more about Fantastic Plastic Squad on the game’s Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/fantasticplasticsquad) and keep up with Pound Sand at the official web site at www.PoundSand.com and on Twitter (@poundsandgames).
ABOUT POUND SAND
Based in Los Angeles, Pound Sand is comprised of veteran video game developers with proven expertise in the Action/Shooter category, responsible for developing multi-billion dollar franchises including Medal of Honor, Battlefield, Call of Duty, God of War and more. The studio’s first game, Fantastic Plastic Squad, is a fast-pace third person shooter that brings 1980s-style action figures to life in an epic battle for control of the house. Visit the website at www.PoundSand.com
BANDAI NAMCO’s Motorcycle Racing Simulator RIDE Hits Streets on October 6
Developer Milestone’s Intense Moto Racer Hits Stores October 6 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Available Late 2015 On PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3
SAN JOSE, Calif., (September 9, 2015) – BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. and developer Milestone s.r.l., will be launching RIDE, the complete motorcycle racing simulator, in the Americas on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 for PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. RIDE is rated “E” for Everyone and will also be available as a digital download on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC (Steam) later in the year.
From the grease of the garage to the burning rubber on the racetrack, RIDE offers motorcycle enthusiasts and gamers alike a complete racing experience as players take on a total of more than 100 Superbikes, Supersports, Naked, and Historical bikes across four different categories of racing. The title offers extensive vehicle and rider customization, presenting gamers with a vast array of options to keep gameplay fresh and exhilarating through a huge selection of circuits that range from city, country, and historic tracks from the world of motorcycling.
About BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. 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
The Antagonist is back and ready to yet again spread destruction, but this time he’s not alone. The new free ‘Survival’ DLC planned to be released on September 10th, will allow you to send one of his 3 followers for a killing spree, roaming new maps and improving your skills in the new arcade gameplay mode. Those who have already mastered the game will also be able to challenge themselves in a ‘Story’ and ‘Insane’ difficulty modes and those who until now, were only considering the purchase, can hesitate no more, as starting tomorrow the game will be 35% off.
Watch the DLC announcement trailerHEREand buy the game either from Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/341940/ or directly from the developer’s website: http://buy.hatredgame.com/ You may especially want to do that if you happen to be from Australia or Germany (hint, hint). Also along with the DLC launch the price drop for the game will start. You will be able to purchase Hatred for only 10.83 EUR. That’s 35% off! Make it quick though as the promo lasts only from September 10th until September 17th.
Already own Hatred? Great! On September 10th you’ll be able to download the DLC for free and enjoy all the cool features it has to offer:
3 custom maps available only in ‘Survival’ mode.
3 new playable characters with various combat stats.
Rank systems that include: unlockable perks, specials, weapons and items of mass destruction.
New leaderboards and achievements.
That’s not everything. This new update also brings you:
Cheats (unlimited ammo, ‘God mode’, access to all weapons).
New ‘Story’ and ‘Insane’ difficulty modes.
Additional minor quests for certain levels.
Steam Cards.
Bugs fixes and overall performance improvement.
Hatred is an isometric twin-stick shooter where the player takes the role of a cold-blooded Antagonist, who is full of hatred for humanity.
Femme Focused Fighter Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! to be released on Steam on September 29!!!!!
Arc System Works Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce, Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!!, the third fighting game from Arc System Works’ catalog to make its way to the Steam (PC) platform after Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R and Battle Fantasia Revised Edition.
Developed by Examu and Arc System Works, Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! is the latest iteration of the 2D fighting game featuring an all-female cast of 23 fighters, that includes rebalanced gameplay and several new game modes to choose from. Select between 23 adorable anime characters with new attacks, defense skills and newly rendered 3D environments. Mix and match each character with powerful Arcanas (celestial beings) to customize your play style while creating new deadly custom combos! View the Trailer Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! Features
Pair any of the 23 fighters in the game with one of the many unique Arcanas (A total of 529 possible combinations.)!
A plethora of game modes including Story, After Story, Survival Score Attack, Trial, Time Attack, Versus mode, Training, Replay Theater and Gallery.
Unlock “Memories” as you progress in the After Story and other game modes that let you view the heroines’ daily lives and various other scenarios.
Fight against your friends locally or online!
The Steam version comes with a digital download “Link Anime Drafts Collection” (PDF) that includes 144 pages of information on the in-game characters
Available for $29.99 with a one week 10% launch discount
Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1
Processor: Intel Core2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: nVidia GeForce 7900 GT or better / AMD Radeon X1900 / nVidia GeForce GT 620 (Windows 8.1)
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 8 GB available space
Sound Card: Direct Sound
Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1
Processor: Intel Core i5 / i7
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: nVidia GeForce 8800 GT or better / AMD Radeon HD3700 / nVidia GeForce GT 650 (Windows 8.1)
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 8 GB available space
Sound Card: Direct Sound
About Arc System Works
Arc System Works is a developer and fighting game specialist from Japan—best known for the Guilty Gear series of games and, more recently, the BlazBlue series—that has garnered international critical acclaim for its innovative fighting system and spectacular 2D artwork. For more information, please visit the official website at www.arcsystemworksu.com
ESA Foundation and Extra Life Partner to Raise Funds for Children’s Hospitals
Grant opportunity, video game marathon to benefit Children’s Hospitals
September 9, 2015 – Washington, D.C. – A campaign benefitting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals was launched today by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Foundation and Extra Life. The ESA Foundation Extra Life Challenge encourages gamers’ fundraising efforts during the annual Extra Life 24-hour gaming marathon, and will provide $30,000 grants to the hospital whose players raise the most money and to the hospital with the highest per capita fundraising total. Since 2008, Extra Life has raised more than $14 million to help provide outstanding pediatric health care to every child in need, regardless of their family’s ability to pay.
“Video games have a tremendous ability to entertain, heal and bring us together. It is only natural that we leverage this power – and the gamer community’s generosity – to help raise funds for children’s hospitals,” said Rich Taylor, senior vice president of the ESA, the trade association that represents the U.S. video game industry. “ESA Foundation is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of our nation’s youth, and we are proud to continue our partnership with Extra Life to support local communities across North America.”
“We’re thrilled to be working with the ESA Foundation again this year to bring this amazing challenge to the Extra Life Community. By combining our passion of playing games and helping sick and injured kids get better, we’re on pace to make 2015 our biggest and largest year yet,” said Mike Kinney, senior manager of Extra Life.
While gamers can sign up and start fundraising any time during the calendar year, Extra Life will host their official 2015 Game Day on Saturday, November 7. Those interested in participating can register on Extra Life’s website.
Created by the American entertainment software industry, the ESA Foundation works to make a positive difference in the lives of America’s youth. ESA Foundation creates educational opportunities by providing scholarships to the next generation of industry innovators and supporting organizations that leverage entertainment software and technology. The proceeds from a signature annual fundraiser, Nite to Unite – for Kids and other charitable initiatives support this mission. For more information, visit the ESA Foundation’s website or follow us on Twitter: @ESA Foundation. For more information on the ESA Foundation’s Extra Life Challenge, watch the ESA Foundation Grantee Spotlight video.
Extra Life is a Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® fundraising program within the gaming community. Participants fundraise year-round and pledge to game for 24 hours with one goal: to save and improve the lives of sick and injured kids. Funds raised stay local to help pediatric patients at 170 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across North America. Since 2008, Extra Life has raised more than $14 million for member hospitals. The movement, formed by gamers bonded by passion, is committed to saving and improving the lives of local kids. Play games, heal kids and join the community today at www.extra-life.org.
Love Rockets Onto Xbox One and Steam Courtesy of Indie Devs Asteroid Base
Toronto – September 9, 2015 – It’s time to leave the capsule if you dare and take on robotic space enemies in independent video game developer Asteroid Base’s 1-2 player action co-op game Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. Launching today for $14.99 on Xbox One via the ID@Xbox self-publishing program and Steam (Windows PC, Mac and Linux), Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime features frenzied action that forces friends, family members and loved ones to work together while switching back-and-forth between manning the spaceship’s controls, weapons and defenses against monstrous robots. Those looking to take on Lovers’ dangerous campaigns alone can do so with a trusty space-pet by their side to aid in efforts.
Set in a colorful universe, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime has players use an array of weapons to battle enemies while avoiding galactic forces of nature to rescue kidnapped space bunnies from the evil forces of Anti-Love. Don’t be fooled by the cute themes, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime features challenging gameplay and 36 power-up combinations to turn the spacecraft into a warship of destruction.
“Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is all about the relationship between two players,” said Jamie Tucker, Co-Founder of Asteroid Base. “At Asteroid Base, we like to call it a relationship simulator because Lovers tests people’s communication and teamwork skills by having players prioritize with the chaos that’s going on around them. Just like in life, talking is key in bringing love to the universe.”
For more information on Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime please visit the game’s website, or Asteroid Base’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Formed in Toronto, Asteroid Base is an independent video game studio founded by three friends – an illustrator, an animator and a particle physicist. Asteroid Base has experience developing on various platforms, and the studio’s latest title, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, is now available
TOAST ANNOUNCES MOBILE ACTION HORROR GAME KILL ME AGAIN — COMING SOON TO iOS AND ANDROID
Put Your Reflexes to the Test to Shoot Down the Zombie Horde and Creatures from the Darkest Corners of the Mind
Santa Monica, CA – September 9, 2015 – NHN Entertainment, under the publishing brand TOAST, announced today its all new action horror/puzzle/RPG game, Kill Me Again, is coming soon to iOS and Android. Combining match three elements with real-time zombie-slaying gameplay, Kill Me Again will be available on Thursday, September 24 as a free download.
Download the all new Kill Me Again screenshots HERE
“Kill Me Again expands well beyond highly popular match three games by combining action, horror, and RPG elements to deliver a brutally addictive experience,” said Alex Fleming, Associate Product Manager, NHN Entertainment. “Gamers will blast through hordes of undead mutants in this fast-paced game as every match made deals damage to the creatures. As we head into Fall, Kill Me Again is the perfect game for the Halloween season.”
Kill Me Again offers one-of-a-kind gameplay that will challenge gamers to perform cascading combos and chain skills in this free-form puzzle gameplay while destroying the toxic beasts that crawl out of the darkness. Listen to the inhuman sounds of bones cracking against shotgun shells as any one of the three distinct character classes – the Hit Woman, Advanced Soldier or Researcher. Get your heart-pumping as you blast the zombies away and save the survivors who are too paralyzed with fear to run.
Kill Me Again Features:
Free puzzle block movement enables player to execute several matches in one move – providing for a much more in-depth matching system than players have seen before.
There are no set turns when battling swarms of the undead. Be quick and plan your attacks in real-time or you’ll soon be overwhelmed!
Listen to the barrage of gunfire from the mercs on the barricades and the swelling cacophony of groans and screams in this terrifying thriller.
RPG elements allow players to craft hundreds of hardcore weaponry with runic and scientific enhancements, designed to disable and destroy the mutant monsters.
Kill Me Again will be available for free on the App®Store and Google Play Thursday, September 24. For more information on Kill Me Again, visit the website, like them on Facebook and Twitter.
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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER NHN PIXELCUBE CORP.
NHN PixelCube Corp is a subdivision of NHN Entertainment founded in February 2014 that specializes in game development and maintenance. As an in-house development studio, they have created famous smartphone casual games such as Fish Island and Fish Friends. Fish Island and Fish Friends are beautiful RPGs with rhythm mechanics, and it was the implementation of training, upgrades, and customization that has turned these games into one of the most successful fishing games to date. They also contributed to the famous global messenger LINE by creating mobile puzzle games such as Line Pop and Line Pop 2. They were able to achieve great success in the Japanese mobile game market, and these games are now considered as the best puzzle games in Japan.
1337 & Senri and Tilting Point® Launch Leo’s Fortune® – HD Edition on PlayStation®4, PC and Mac®
Award-Winning Adventure Platformer Arrives on Xbox One on Sept. 11
NEW YORK – Sept. 9, 2015 – 1337 & Senri and publishing partner Tilting Point have released the acclaimed adventure platformer Leo’s Fortune – HD Edition for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Windows® PC and Mac® computers. The game is available now as a digital title through the PlayStation®Store and Steam™ for $6.99. It will come to Xbox One via the Xbox Games Store on Sept. 11 for the same price.
Originally launched on iOS and Android devices, Leo’s Fortune is an Apple® Design Award-winning side-scrolling platformer about a mustached furball – Leopold – whose wealth is inexplicably stolen. Players must cross enormous obstacles, solve clever physics-based puzzles, and escape deadly traps to find the culprit and reclaim Leo’s treasure. Along the way, Leopold will navigate treacherous landscapes and encounter the suspicious members of his enigmatic family in a fully voice-acted mystery adventure.
Leo’s Fortune features 24 richly detailed, handcrafted levels. Each stage is one enormous panoramic image, created from scratch with no repeating tiles. Even the game’s engine was built from scratch. Leo’s Fortune – HD Edition has been remastered in full 1080p HD for consoles and PC by BlitWorks. It features full support for gamepads and keyboards on PC and Mac.
Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, 1337 & Senri is a joint development venture between three independent game developers: Anders Hejdenberg, Johan Knutzen and Shahrouz Zolfaghari. In 2014 the team released Leo’s Fortune, an award-winning mobile platformer. Prior to this joint venture, the team is best known for creating the critically acclaimed Dark Nebula 1 & 2 and Devil’s Attorney. With each of their games, 1337 & Senri apply their unique, handcrafted art style to a new game genre.
About Tilting Point
Tilting Point is a new-generation games partner for top independent development studios. Tilting Point empowers developers with expert resources, services, and operational support to give carefully selected games mainstream success. The company adheres to a core philosophy of putting development talent first, advancing industry-leading analytics, and overcoming discoverability hurdles with aggressive, best-in-class marketing. www.tiltingpoint.com
Tilting Point is a trademark and/or registered trademark of Tilting Point Media LLC in the U.S. and other territories. Leo’s Fortune is a trademark and/or registered trademark of 1337 & Senri LLC in the U.S. and other territories. All other names and products referenced herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Overview NIS America surprised many anime fans when they began releasing anime series in North America five years ago and just last year the company began experimenting with English dubbing their anime releases with Toradora!. Now a little over a year later, the company has now released a series right off the bat with an English voice track included in the form of A Lull in the Sea (previously known as Nagi no Asukara). While their first release may have been of a popular anime series they had released prior, was A Lull in the Sea worth the risk?
Story Sometime long ago all of humanity lived comfortably under the sea where they are protected by Ena that allows them to breath and live underwater with no problems. However after some time humanity wished to venture onto the land and after doing so they lost their ability to return to the ocean due to the loss of their Ena, creating a distinct separation from land dwelling humans and those who live in the sea. Though this division has caused many issues between the two groups, they generally have learned to coexist.
Due to the slow population growth of the sea village of Shioshishio the school that four middle school students were attending was forced to shut down and as such, these four students must now attend a school on the surface. Thanks to their Ena, the sea people can still travel onto land for a period of time before having to be refreshed with sea water but this is far from the worst problem that arises in these fourteen year old students.
The most outspoken and easy to anger member of the four, Hikari Sakishima, is completely against the idea of having to transfer to the surface while the more outgoing Kaname Isaki and subdued Chisaki Hiradaira don’t raise too much of a fuss about the transfer. Beyond the prejudices between the two groups causing Hikari’s resentment is the fact that the indecisive Manaka Mukaido, who he clearly has feelings for, is always in need of some type of help and on the first day of school ends up getting caught up in a fishing net, resulting in something of a fateful meeting between her and a surface dwelling boy in their class named Tsumugu Kihara.
A Lull in the Sea could have simply tried to be a story where two groups of people try to forego past prejudices as a younger generation began to grow up in a world filled with those who continue to try and stick to tradition as proclaimed by the voice of the Sea God but it does far better than that.
Perhaps thanks in part to its twenty-six episode length, this series manages to not only pull off the aforementioned adaptation of the rules of society by having the children deal with the types of issues that arise between the people of the sea and the people of the land, such as how relationships are handled between the groups, but even goes so far as to make viewers care about what happens to the core cast and even the side characters, such as Hikari’s older sister, as well by providing many of these characters engaging moments and side-stories that you can’t help but become emotionally invested in.
Of course this all would fall apart if the core cast wasn’t as strong as it is and what helps hold that together is the way that these characters develop over the course of the series and a (for once) properly used time-skip that advances the ages and maturity for a certain section of the cast while keeping many of the characters the same age as before, allowing a number of changes to occur naturally that likely would have felt forced due to the age of the group at the start of the series or simply wrong. Instead it creates a fresh feeling for the second half of the series by breathing new life into certain characters and also providing extra layers to an already highly enjoyable storyline with plenty of relationship developments occurring that you may never have guessed.
You see, as mentioned earlier Hikari is the character with the most obvious crush at the beginning but throughout the series we see relationships begin to shift as the characters develop emotional attachments with one another and watching these characters interact in such a way throughout the course of the series is a real treat, though it must be said that the of number of slice of life moments do feel like they slow down the pace of the story a bit too much in an effort to try and draw the series’ length out even if most of these sequences also provide some of the best comedic sequences of the series.
Visuals For the most part P.A. Works has been known for producing some rather amazing looking anime series in the past with the likes of Hanasaku Iroha and Angel Beats! being some of their better series and thankfully they have managed to bring that same level of quality to A Lull in the Sea. There is a distinct different established between the styles of the cities on land and the sea city of Shioshishio. One must really compliment the way the environment looks especially during the underwater sequences as fish swim through scenes like it is entirely normal while being set against some highly detailed background scenery.
The characters themselves do feature some fairly standard character designs but they have a few standout details that help set them apart from the standard fair. It also helps of course that the entire series is saturated with vivid coloration (that looks amazing on this Blu-ray release) to help bring the world to life and breathe some extra life into the characters.
Audio This marks the second time that NIS America is attempting to deliver an anime series with an English dub and I must say that they have managed to nail the casting once again. The English voice cast does a superb job fitting the characters’ personality, even helping make a certain perverted authority figure seem more likable as opposed to his Japanese voice actor. Of course the Japanese voice track is included for those who would prefer to listen to the series in that way though it does feel like those doing so would be missing out.
The soundtrack for the series features a number of great sounding tracks mixed in with the series that help bring out the emotional impact of some scenes, though you can mostly only appreciate some of these songs with the accompanying soundtrack CD. As for the opening and ending theme, the series features two different themes split down the middle with each song fitting the nature of the series quite well though unfortunately not being very memorable.
Extras Over the years we’ve seen NIS America’s premium editions change from overly large chipboard cases containing a large artbook accompanied by two slimpak DVD sized cases to the more recent standard DVD sized chipboard cases and in the case of A Lull in the Sea this is for the series’ benefit as they have done an exquisite job with the packaging here. The chipboard case features colorful artwork of the cast on both sides of the case while the top and side feature sparkling embossed aquatic designs.
Contained within this case are three DVD sized cases containing artwork inside plus the Blu-ray discs for the series as well as a similar sized case containing the aforementioned two disc soundtrack. This soundtrack features almost all of the songs from the series though unfortunately only the TV size versions of the opening and ending themes and many of the insert songs are not included on the soundtrack though a slip containing the English translations of the lyrics is included here.
Finally we have the full color art book that features far more detail than many of NIS America’s past art book release as this release features over twenty pages of character designs and extra details followed by the standard episode discussion that is now accompanied by commentary from the original staff about each of the episodes where they provide insight into various decisions made during production. The art book concludes with sketches and final designs for various props and vehicles well as multiple pages featuring the detailed backgrounds shown throughout the series.
Overall A Lull in the Sea is the type of series that a viewer can get lost in as they watch the characters progress through their lives in a well-written world that you may become so engaged in that it’ll be hard to step away. NIS America has managed to succeed in providing a great sounding English dub to go along with the series and those who may have skipped out on watching A Lull in the Sea in the past would be doing themselves a disservice to pass it up now.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
