Level-5 are at it again and bringing yet another follow-up to a much loved series. After selling seven million units worldwide, Inazuma Eleven is back with not just one – but two entries. Inazuma Eleven Go has been broken into two pieces, much like Pokemon, which are dubbed Inazuma Eleven Go: Light and Inazuma Eleven Go: Shadow.
Of course the features will be a bit different with each entry, tying one complete story together. Take a first look at the new details released by Level-5 today:
The storyline of Inazuma Eleven GO: Light and Inazuma Eleven GO: Shadow kick off with the tale of the young but talented Arion Sherwind as he begins his football career during hard times for Raimon Junior High. While Sherwind’s initial goal is simply to break into a formidable first team captained by the virtuoso player, Riccardo Di Rigo, bigger problems soon come to pass when the whole team is threatened with closure on the orders of Fifth Sector, a shadowy football governing body intent on controlling the ‘beautiful game’.
Offering a unique formula of RPG elements combined with football-based action, encounter over 1000 players to recruit for your starting line-up and discover over 100 in-game special moves to unleash, with certain characters and special moves exclusive to each version of the game. As well as presenting intriguing alternative storylines, each game offers exclusive Fighting Spirits which can be used by key characters, enabling players such as Arion Sherwind to summon a powerful force that can provide a skill boost or unique new Special Move.
As the story progresses, while new players can join your roster after victories on the field, players can also be recruited using PalPack cards, which can be obtained in-game and allow certain characters to be unlocked once specific conditions in-game are met. Alternatively, new characters, special moves and Fighting Spirits will also be available to receive via the internet from launch. With further game features such as Local Play functionality allowing up to four players to compete together, and StreetPass Challenges which allow fellow players to exchange information and take on each other’s teams, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to get to know your strongest line-up!
Check out the new screens down below and you can pick up both Light and Shadow for the 3DS on July 18th!
I think all Nintendo fans of recent years are very familiar with the Art Academy franchise. While there have been several releases, Nintendo does not seem to be unhappy with this series at all and are inspiring their fans to keep on creating with a brand new entry on the Wii U dubbed Art Academy: Atelier.
Like the games before it, this title will provide all of the tools you need to make some works of arts, along with new lessons that range in complexity as you progress. Sharing is also a big option this time around, as Nintendo have enabled Youtube uploads so players can share time-lapse creations via the web. I imagine this is all due to the SD Card within the Wii U and not an actual partnership, so do keep in mind that a small bit of card switching will be required. You can check out the first batch of screenshots below and look for Art Academy: Atelier to drop on July 4th.
For any one who hasn’t played the game yet don’t worry this review contains no spoilers. Episode 2 of Life is Strange (full review here) capitalised on everything that made the first game great and ended on a very memorable and tense set piece. So far, the narrative’s ability to focus on real life problems while incorporating a supernatural element has worked incredibly well, as has having a likable and relatable protagonist and a wonderfully detailed world. Now the centerpiece of this five part series has been released in Life is Strange Episode 3: Chaos Theory. Does this newest episode continue building on the momentum set by the first two? Read on to find out.
Story
Personally Episode 3 felt like the weakest episode we have received so far, especially in terms of advancement of the plot, but all that changed after I played through the final arc where the episode makes a strong case for itself to become one of the more memorable moments in gaming history (I’ll talk more about the ending later). The majority of this episode is focused on the disappearance of Rachael Amber, however while you learn more about this mysterious women in this chapter, you don’t really learn anymore about what happened to her at all. That’s not to say this is a bad chapter by any means, it just feels like a lot of old ground was retread. There’s more Chloe rebelling, more crazy Nathan Prescott, more sleazy Frank. All things we already knew about from the last two chapters.
Chloe and SuperMax make a great detective team.
It’s not all old ground though. One of the big highlights of this episode was Arcadia Bay’s reaction to the big event at the end of the last game and I honestly felt like the game would have played out much differently if I had ended that event the other way. Graffiti is different, the way people approach you seems different and while the central person of that event is conveniently not present for the entirety of the episode, you still felt like your part in the event played a huge role in shaping Arcadia Bay in this chapter. A lot of other small things also come up based on your past behavior, from small dialogues referencing past events to things like plants dying because you didn’t water them. It all adds up to create a world you feel like you have real impact in and fits in nicely with the whole butterfly effect theme of the game.
Episode 3 continues on with some of the best traits from the past two episodes. This world is again so full and lovingly crafted and really feels lived in, a very important aspect of this game to help ground it and make the world feel believable. Arcadia Bay is littered with intractable objects that all come accompanied by Max’s inner thoughts, giving the player insight in to how Max thinks and interprets the world in her head. Max is a deep, likable and relatable character which largely comes from these world interactions and her interactions with others. Even text messages received from her parents and friends help add further realism and uniqueness to Max’s character.
Believe it or not, even this cereal box gives some back story on Max.
Another highlight carried over is the return of Max’s diary that contains text messages, diary entries, character biographies and more. The game does a great job at providing you with the necessary information to understand the main story upfront, but for those who are interested in really delving into character histories, past events and Max’s thoughts on everything you can do just that. The diary also holds heaps of fun pop culture references, I even found a reference to The Wizards of Waverly Place Disney show which I couldn’t believe. Combine all the narrative contained within this diary alongside everything learnt in this chapter and the slight advancement of some sub plots and there is a heap of story to be digested in Chapter 3.
Now about that ending. Dontnod have taken it upon themselves to expand Max’s powers yet again in another very fun and ingenious way. I obviously can’t say much due to spoilers but the developers really took a risk here and the ending had me feeling all tingly inside, a classic sign of a good, impactful story in my book. It will be very interesting to see where this twist leads us as we head into Episode 4, the penultimate chapter in this series. Saying that, I can’t help but feel that a large choice was taken away from the player in the final scenes. Unfortunately that is common place in games like this where not limiting the number of branches the narrative takes will lead to an amount of endings the developer could never hope to create, but I feel Dontnod just wanted players to see their intended ending too much to leave that choice in as it seems like the story could have carried on just fine if Max didn’t interfere.
Gameplay is very similar to the last two episodes as Max walks around looking for the next prompt to advance the story, investigating the area and taking the odd photo whilst doing so. A lot of the time you will have a choice in your actions or dialogue which will effect the story in a minor or major way depending on the gravitas of the situation. The options you have in these conversations often change depending on past actions and you can often rewind them if you are not happy with your answer. Once again your decisions feel important and thanks to Max’s time powers you can always watch out the immediate consequences of one action and then rewind to view the other, allowing you to make a more informed choice before you pick permanently.
Not every decision is life and death.
Max’s time bending powers are also used to solve puzzles that are well implemented into the story and help break it up, but the puzzles in Episode 3 are a bit hit and miss. Some of the challenges presented here I found myself stuck on a lot longer the in the past episodes. It was nice to see the challenge stepped up even though it might have just been me over thinking the solution, but that is to the game’s credit for misleading me with red herrings. The multiple solutions to some of the puzzles should also be applauded. I watched a let’s play of the final mission and the solution used was completely different from my own and showcased many things I had missed. Non-linear gameplay and logical thinking is always appreciated in games and it was a highlight here.
For all the positives in gameplay there are some negatives. While I loved the challenges that made me think or put me in a tense situation, I wasn’t so fond of the ones that had me just running around trying to find the right ingredient or searching for a password. These tasks offer no challenge, bring the story to a halt and are really just boring. Luckily these tasks aren’t too common and don’t take too long to complete.
Gathering items is definitely one of the more slow paced moments in Life is Strange.
Another problem that again doesn’t come up too much but is annoying when it does; how Dontnod deal with your access to Max’s powers. It’s hard to explain without spoiling anything but there is a scene at the end where your rewind abilities are available to you but inexplicably unavailable to be used by you the player. I didn’t like having that taken away from me only for the powers to be restored moments later. I don’t see how having the powers at that point would have interfered with any story telling or gameplay, so removing them just felt like an unnecessary restriction.
I also had an unfortunate glitch in the diner that got me stuck in an infinite rewind, forcing me to restart the chapter and sit through a lot of conversations again. This was only a one-off and hopefully doesn’t affect too many peoples experience. Dontnod have been pretty good with patches so I expect this problem to be rectified in the future.
I don’t think caravans and ninja’s have ever really existed in the same space.
Visuals
The visuals in this game are kind of like a 3D water colour painting with lots of soft tones and visible brush strokes. It looks great and details on characters and the environment are impressive for an art style that appears simplistic on the surface. Environments are incredibly detailed and have just as much personality as the characters within them. The PC version has plenty of options for visual settings and my version suffered no performance issues with my time in the game. I felt that for some reason or another Episode 3 looked slightly worse than past episodes, particularly in relation to facial animation but it was only a minor downgrade if that.
The interface is very clean and intuitive. Hand drawn lines pop up to represent objects you can interact with and also when the game is saving or you have made a consequential decision. When you perform a rewind the visual effects used are really powerful, user friendly and aren’t slow or clumsy. The freedom of the camera movement is fun to play with and allows you to set up cool screenshots in lieu of a proper photo mode.
The rewind effect looks great and gives a great visual of your powers.
One big negative that is not easy to overlook however is the lip syncing. It sucks and you can tell that no time at all was put into trying to get it to sync up and the best you can hope for is some coincidental matching mouth flaps. This is a cheaper title sure but it is just not up to today’s higher standards.
Audio
The game doesn’t have a big soundtrack however the licensed tracks used in the game are perfectly melded to the visuals. The soundtrack takes a really indie vibe with obvious inspiration from films like Juno and it really does compliment the world nicely especially during the game’s ending scene.
That’s a beautiful sunset, even more beautiful when complemented with the great soundtrack.
The voice acting is really good for the most part, with lines delivered well and character’s voices matching their personality from the shy Max to the hard working diner mum. No sound effects are out of place and complete the wonderfully detailed world.
Overall
Episode 3 may retread on a lot of old territory but its bold ending more than makes up for it and has us eagerly anticipating Episode 4. The choices made thus far are really building up to a climax and that began to be on display here. Once again beautiful hand painted graphics and detailed set pieces make Arcadia Bay feel like a believable, lived in town and the soundtrack again hits all the right notes at the right time. Some minor dialogue issues, horrible lip syncing and a couple technical issues do take away a little from the experience, but as a whole Life of Strange contains a fantastic narrative and some fun puzzles to allow the player to overlook the flaws. If you liked the first two episodes, there is no reason to stop now.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 back in late April and while fans in the West are still waiting for the extremely likely localization announcement from Idea Factory International, there will be a little something to tide these waiting fans over.
According to Japanese website GamesTalk Compile Heart will be releasing a demo for Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II on the PlayStation Store next week on May 28th, allowing players to play through the initial area of the game and take part in a giant battle. It is worth noting that while this demo is exclusively being released in Japan, Western gamers with an easy to create Japanese account can still access the store and download the Japanese demo.
As you may have heard, Aquaplus is working on a brand new Utawarerurmono strategy RPG called Utawarerurmono: False Mask that they are planning on releasing in Japan on September 24th for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.
Few details about Utawarerurmono: False Mask are currently known other than that players will take on the role of Haku, a man with no memory who is rescued from a bug-like monster by a beautiful girl named Kuon with animal ears and a tail.
Despite the limited details, Aquplus has released the debut trailer, found below, for Utawarerurmono: False Mask revealing that this visual novel RPG hybrid has been given a 3D gameplay perspective.
You may remember that Techland has been working on a dark fantasy game called Hellraid that placed players in a first-person perspective as they fought against skeletons and other fantasy creatures. Originally announced back in 2013 for last gen consoles, delayed to 2014 and announced for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, then canceled for last gen, the company has been quiet about the game for a little over a year.
The reason for that has now been made clear as Techland has posted on their Facebookthat Hellraid‘s development has been “put on hold” and that it was not meeting expectations. Due to this, the game has went “back to the drawing board” and will be “reinvented anew” while the company focuses on Dying Light.
The full statement from the company can be found below:
Dear Hellraid fans,
We would like to officially announce that our dark fantasy FPP game Hellraid will not be released this year as previously planned, and the development of the game has been put on hold.
In the recent months we conducted an internal analysis and came to the conclusion that Hellraid, in its current shape and form, is not meeting our own expectations for this project. Therefore, we decided the best course of action would be to send it back to the drawing board and invent our dark fantasy title anew.
In the meantime, we will consolidate our development resources and focus on further expansion of our Dying Light franchise.
We wish to thank all our fans for your support – you’re the best!
Fans of the popular Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, which saw the Pokemon franchise mix in with the Dungeon Crawler genre, will be happy to know a new game is on the way for the Nintendo 3DS. The last Mystery Dungeon game to be released was Gates to Infinity which was also on 3DS. Apparently players can look forward to even greater, randomly created dungeons that will change each time they enter. Legendary and Mythical Pokemon will battle alongside you and it is also said you will be saving the world in a sweeping tale of adventure and mystery.
Sadly that is about all we know. The game will called Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, it will be on 3DS, it will release in early 2016 and seems to be more of what we have come to expect from the series only better. The Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series has sold over 13 million copies worldwide.
With over 10.5 million Amiibo figurines being sold worldwide it’s no surprise companies are capitalising with accessories for them. We’ve seen a few custom made cases and more mass produced efforts, but this is perhaps one of the most unique takes on the Amiibo storage design. In September Bluemouth Interactive will release a Super Mario Bros.-inspired Amiibo stand that mimics the classic end game look of a Super Mario Bros. level, flag and all.
The figure stands at 15 inches tall and can hold up to six Amiibo, a nice resting space for the Super Mario Bros. collection. The top blocks will feature holes for your Amiibo to be nicely placed into. The Amiibo display stand will launch in September for a recommended price of AU$44.95. The product is not officially endorsed by Nintendo. No word on exact release dates or how to buy one have been released at this time.
Idea Factory International has announced that they will be releasing the PlayStation Vita version of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation at retail and digitally in North America on June 30th with Europe getting the title at retail on July 3rd and digitally on July 8th. As for the PC release date, it is still currently set for this fall.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation is a remake of the original PlayStation 3 Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory but features more story content, additional scenarios, and extra “fourth-wall-breaking” comedy. The game will support dual-audio but the Japanese voice track will be released as free DLC post-launch.
Telltale Games has revealed that the fourth episode of their Game of Thrones series. Titled Sons of Winter, this episode will be released next week over the period of three days for various consoles beginning on May 26th for PC, Mac, PS4, and PS3 with May 27th being the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and iOS release date before the final release date of May 28th for Android devices.
Over the past three episodes things have been going from bad to worse for the members of House Forrester but from the look of this trailer, things may begin to turn in their favor. In Game of Thrones: Sons of Winter Rodrik will be given a new opportunity to free Ironrath from Whitehill’s stranglehold while Gared must venture beyond the Wall to search for the North Grove but in doing so puts himself in great danger.
Far away from these two, Asher infiltrates Meereen under orders from Daenerys Targaryen while Mira must tread carefully around the increasingly dangerous political landscape of King’s Landing.
