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Terra Formars Volume 5 Review

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April 13, 2015

Terra Formars Volume 5
Author: Yu Sasuga
Artist: Ken-ichi Tachibana
Publisher: Viz Media
Release Date: March 17, 2015
Price: $12.99 – Available Here

Overview
With Annex I crash landing on Mars and the crew members forced to split into six different squads, things have only grown worse for the surviving members as members of each group have been slain by the cockroaches. Scattered across the unforgiving landscape of Mars, Squads 2 and 3 have managed to stay alive with minimal casualties despite encountering unusual cockroaches that share the same powers as those who died on the BUGS 2 twenty years prior. With volume 4 of Terra Formars leaving things off with Adolf and the rest of Squad 5 under attack by a massive force of cockroaches, how do things progress in volume 5?

Story
Terra Formars Volume 5 picks up at the start of Adolf and Squad 5’s battle against the horde of cockroaches and extremely bulky cockroach that they were facing off against at the end of the last volume. Unfortunately, as is the case with Terra Formars, one of the highest M.A.R.S. Ranking fighters is instantly defeated in one blow to provide a shocking death right at the start of the volume before turning back to Adolf Reinhard.

In a bit of a departure from the standard way the story has been told so far, Yu Sasuga reveals Adolf’s history as he continues to use his electric powers to take down as many cockroaches as he can and thanks to this we learn just how hard of a life he has had, making him one of the most heartbreaking characters in the series so far due to the loss of his parents at a young age to the M.O. Operation and the experimentation Germany put him through as a child.

This only gets worse as it reveals that the one light in his life was darkened due to the nature of humanity making what happens to him the most tragic feeling part of the series so far. It is hard to say, especially with the amount of dead bodies that have piled up over the course of the series so far, but what happens to Adolf as well as the rest of his team is the hardest hitting series of casualties that the author has put together so far. This is in part due to his backstory being revealed but also due to the lengths that he went to in order to protect his Squad only to fall in combat, triggering a device he knew nothing about and was implemented by those who used him for their own means as a final tool.

Now I’m speaking a lot about Adolf here because the rest of Terra Formars Volume 5 provides a few panels of vague mysteries, including the location of the strongest member of Annex I on his own, and then transitions into the next sequence of battles pitting Komachi, Marcos, and the now center focus Keiji and Kanako against the unique cockroaches and horde attacking the rest of Squad 1.

This of course means that the volume is still heavy on the fast paced action with a few scientific details about newly revealed base organisms used for the M.O. Operations of characters taking the stage this volume. On the other hand, there is very little story development other than the death of more characters which is disappointing for those who were hoping that some more progress would be made but great for those wanting to see what a few of the not yet shown members of Squad 1 are capable of. As mentioned before, the standout moment comes from Adolf’s stand against the roaches as well as the way that Yu Sasuga chose to insert bible verses from the plagues of Egypt to describe the devastating powers Adolf was wielding.

Artwork
Once again Terra Formars benefits from the larger than average size of the Viz Signature releases as it allows for the detailed artwork to really pop out. With the high level of combat throughout volume 5 there is plenty of gore to be seen with the highly detailed artwork giving every attack look extremely vicious. There are also a number of transformations that the series is known for as Adolf pushes past the normal limits for a human and a few new character transformations also take the stage.

Extra Content
Similar to the last volume, Terra Formars Volume 5 only contains two pages containing brief profiles for four of the members of the Annex project though this time all four are currently on Mars at least. Their profiles give readers a few extra details about their lives which is a nice little inclusion, especially since two are for characters that were barely given any time to shine.

Overall
Terra Formars Volume 5 continues the brutal combat between the survivors of Annex I and the cockroaches that are constantly pulling new tricks out to put down any advantage the Squads have. This means that there really isn’t much story advancement but plenty of fast paced action. Those looking for highly detailed artwork and impressive combat sequences punctuated by an early emotional event involving one of the greatest departures of the series so far will be pleased with the way things unfold in volume 5 and will likely continue to occur throughout volume 6.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Tales from the Borderlands: Atlus Mugged Review

Travis Bruno

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April 13, 2015

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Tales from the Borderlands: Atlus Mugged Review

Tales from the Borderlands: Atlus Mugged
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One (Reviewed)
Release Date: March 18, 2015
Price: $4.99 – Available Here

Overview
The idea of creating an episodic adventure game from a series best known for its humor and wide variety of strange situations punctuated with heavy firepower from a variety of weapons seemed like a daunting but interesting task and Telltale Games proved they were up to the challenge when they released the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands. Then the let the single episode stew for four months leaving fans eager for news about when the story would continue and now that it has in Tales from the Borderlands: Atlas Mugged, how are the nefarious duo fairing?

Story
Now it should go without saying but those who have yet to play Tales from the Borderlands: Zer0 Sum should do so before reading on since we will avoid spoiling critical events from this episode; events that took place in the previous episode will be mentioned. Anyways, Tales from the Borderlands: Atlas Mugged immediately makes a joke about how long of a wait there was between episodes which is a plus and then resumes the story from where we left off.

Rhys, a Hyperion executive looking for a chance to screw over his new boss and make a name for himself, and Fiona, a con artist from Pandora trying to make money to get her little sister and herself off the dangerous planet, had just survived a ridiculously danger encounter with bandits and Zer0 and have stumbled upon a piece of unknown but extremely valuable seeming Atlus technology. Of course at the same time, Handsome Jack, the likable antagonist from Borderlands 2 appears before Rhys like an AI hologram.

Throughout Tales from the Borderlands: Atlas Mugged we continue to see a story told by Fiona and Rhys as they narrate their own parts of the story as they talk to an unknown person holding the two prisoner and thanks to this, players are able to see every element of the story even when the two protagonists and their respective partners are separated and then reunited once again before the episode ends. This kind of set up is fairly predictable but works extremely well as it allows players to not only see how these characters interact when they are apart from the flimsy partnership that Rhys and Fiona have and how they end up interacting when everyone is together.

This means that players can make everything seem like things are fine between the pair by selecting various dialogue choices, including an important choice that is described so heavily that it breaks the fourth wall, though whether this type of loyalty will end up meaning anything in the end between these two is yet to be seen. What is seen however are a number of simple choices, including a new elemental upgrade to Fiona’s single-shot derringer featuring corrosive, shock, and incendiary elements that appear to only have one use, meaning which element you choose to shoot may play a factor in later parts of the game, especially with how important certain elements are depending on the situation.

While the actual choices and the results of said choices, except for on who to trust at a certain point, don’t seem to have much of a role at this point, what Tales from the Borderlands continues to exhibit is incredible comedic writing. Anyone who is a fan of the Borderlands brand of humor will continue to find more enjoyable moments throughout Atlus Mugged and many of these laughs come from situations that are completely unpredictable.

The character that does end up stealing the show, at least whenever he appears, is Handsome Jack as his holographic style form, dialogue, and interactions with Rhys are a major highlight and with plenty of secrets still up in the air, a returning character from Pre-Sequel in the form of Athena hot on the Rhys and Fiona’s tails, it will be interesting to see where Telltale will go from here as Tales from the Borderlands: Atlas Mugged is an assurance that the company has a solid hold on what makes the series so enjoyable.

Gameplay
As far as the gameplay aspect of this episode is concerned; fans of Telltale Games should continue to expect the same type of elements that usual titles have, walking around a few areas while examining objects and talking to characters, selecting dialogue choices, and completing small quick time events during action sequences. An extremely basic puzzle is included with this episode though it is as easy as they come.

Most of what was available in the first episode returns in Atlus Mugged as players will continue to have the use of Rhys’ Echo Eye, which has now been slightly enhanced, to read humorous factoids when it is available and Fiona’s ever growing bundle of cash can be used for various purposes, though this episode only seems to allow players to use money for a very basic reason that appears to have no effect at the moment and while this does help establish some differences between the two characters, money continues to play an extremely basic role.

Visuals & Audio
Telltale continues to take the bright colors and interesting designs from Borderlands and make them their own in Atlus Mugged with the comic style looking characters providing a perfect backdrop to most of the darker humor and action packed sequences found throughout the episode. The newly introduced characters have fitting appearances while the returning characters of Athena and a familiar vendor blend well with Telltale’s signature style.

As for the soundtrack, the developers have made excellent use of music throughout the game, especially shortly into the episode and as the credits run. The voice actors also play a major role in making sure that all of the jokes are delivered on point and thanks to their performances and skillful writing it comes together flawlessly.

Overall
Despite having a strong start, there was lingering doubt that a series like Borderlands would transfer well into Telltale’s game style but Tales from the Borderlands: Atlas Mugged can put those doubts to rest. While many decisions at this point are made with no clear consequences or knowledge, Atlus Mugged’s continues Tales from the Borderlands’ engaging and humorous storyline in a successful manner that fans should definitely pick up. Let’s just hope that we won’t have to wait so long to see what will happen next.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Saint Seiya – soul of gold – to be Streamed on Daisuke in 220 Countries and Regions

Travis Bruno

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April 13, 2015

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Saint Seiya – soul of gold – to be Streamed on Daisuke in 220 Countries and Regions

It has been announced that when Saint Seiya – soul of gold – premieres on April 11th in Japan, the new season will be streamed on Daisuki where it will be available in a massive 220 countries and regions. There will be multi-language subtitles available with the following languages currently announced: English, traditional Chinese, Spanish (Europe), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Latin America), Arabic, Italian, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Tagalog and Korean.

After Saint Seiya – soul of gold –, produced by Toei Animation, premieres on the 11th a new episode will be added to Daisuki every other Saturday with a total of 13 episodes currently announced for this season. A description of the anime series can be found below:

During the battle with Hades, in the underworld, the twelve Gold Saints sacrificed their lives, destroying the Wailing Wall to open Seiya’s breach! However, Aiolia and the other Gold Saints, who should have been annihilated, are resurrected in a beautiful world, overflowing with light! Just why have these men, who should have been destroyed, been reborn? Aiolia becomes embroiled in a battle with this large mystery remaining. When he raises his Cosmo to the limit… Leo’s Cloth transforms!

New Trailer for Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

Nathan Farrugia

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April 13, 2015

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A brand new trailer for Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 has been released showing off gameplay of the reunited Team 7 and Naruto’s summon Gamakichi as he tries to take down a huge amount of Ten Tail clones. Just as intense as you’d expect from the Storm series, the footage shows summons, combination jutsus, assists and more. This final battle against the ten tails looks like it will be the most epic giant boss battle yet, backed up by beautiful graphics thanks to the more powerful consoles.

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 will be hitting the PS4, Xbox One and Steam this year in the U.S. fall. The game seems to be the ultimate mix of elements from past games, bringing back many core gameplay mechanics and even long time missing features such as wall running from the first game. For the first time ever in the series you will also be change your lead character from your team on the fly, allowing you to essentially play as three people at once!

Renault Sport Joins Project CARS

Andrew Day

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April 12, 2015

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After a few delays, the multiplatform racing sim; Project CARS is only a few weeks away from hitting store shelves, and Namco Bandai and Slightly Mad Studios are hard at work bringing some of the sexiest and most well know cars to the game. After the recent announcement of the Lykan Hypersport being added to the roster, now the devs have announced a partnership with Renault Sport that will put players behind the wheel of the sexy Megane R.S. 265.

Project CARS is set for release next month on just about every platform imaginable, so if you’re a racing fanatic make sure you check it out. In the mean time, make sure you check out the Renault Sport trailer below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Opening Cinematic from Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward [Spoilers]

Nick Boisson

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April 12, 2015

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Opening Cinematic from Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward [Spoilers]

For those who have finished Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, you are most likely waiting in anticipation for the first expansion pack, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. Well, Square Enix knows and has offered up a little taste from the upcoming expansion in the full opening cinematic from the game.

FAIR WARNING: If you have not yet completed A Realm Reborn, you may want to finish it before watching the video. There are scenes from the end of A Realm Reborn and we would not want you to be upset with yourself. So, before you watch, we’ll give you a little time think going forward.

Okay, now here’s the opening cinematic from Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward:

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensword will be released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC on June 23, 2015. No word yet on the Mac version’s release date, but visit Square Enix for prices, pre-order bonuses, and system requirements.

Xbox Newsbeat: April 11th, 2015

Andrew Day

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April 11, 2015

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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to the amazing, the wonderful, the eternal, Xbox Newsbeat! Newsbeat is your one stop shot for all of the week’s hottest Microsoft news. This week we’ve got a few Xbox One articles for you to feast your eyes on, so sit back, relax and feel the beat.

Game on as Foxtel Play comes to Xbox One

Are you enjoying watching streaming videos through Netflix on Xbox One? What if you could have Netflix and Foxtel in the same place at the same time? Well now you can, because Foxtel have bought their hit Foxtel Play app (which was hugely successful on the Xbox 360) to their all-in-one gaming and media system. You can download the app and sign up to the service which will give you access to a tonne of great TV channels.

Also, is it a coincidence that Foxtel Play makes its way to Xbox One the week before Game of Thrones series 5 is set to air? Probably, but its convenient right!

Eight Incredible Cars Coming to Forza Horizon 2 with Furious 7 Car Pack for Xbox One

To celebrate the launch of Furious 7 (or is it Fast & Furious 7?), Turn 10 have released a brand new car pack for their hit racer; Forza Horizon 2. This of course is separate to the stand-alone Furious 7 expansion for Forza Horizon 2. For $6.65, players will get access to 8 awesome cars that are features in the movie, like the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and shift into third gear!

Xbox One April System Update: Game Hub Links and More Now Available

To round off this week’s Newsbeat, we have a brief rundown on the latest system update for Xbox One. Here are the new features your console will have:

Party chat improvements – Over the past few months, Microsoft have added additional icons and notifications within the party chat experience to help players understand their connection and microphone status. This month, party chat is being improved with troubleshooting guidance for Xbox One owners. The party app will help you get your microphone enabled and show you when privacy settings or networking issues are blocking communication with particular party members.
Game hub links – In February, Xbox introduced game hubs where you can be the first to get news on upcoming updates, featured game clips, behind the scenes content and more. With this update, you can more easily discover game hub content from activity feed items. You’ll see activity feed items when any of your friends follow a game, and you’ll also be able to get back to a game’s hub from activity feed posts related to the game – including feed items about the game’s achievements, game clips and screenshots. Finally, Xbox has added a link to game hubs from the game’s page in the achievements app.
Achievement notifications – Achievement notifications now display the achievement name and the gamerscore you just earned. With this update, you’ll also see the achievement’s description in the notification so you know what you did to earn this achievement without having to open the achievements app. Based on feedback from preview program members, Microsoft increased the time that an achievement notification is displayed also made some performance improvements to make loading the achievements app from a notification faster.

Another short but oh so sweet installment of Xbox Newsbeat. As always I hope it was as good for you as it was for me! Make sure you guys all check back next week for all the sweet Microsoft news as it becomes available.

First Few Minutes of Conker’s Bad Fur Day in Project Spark

Nick Boisson

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April 11, 2015

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First Few Minutes of Conker’s Bad Fur Day in Project Spark

When Team Dakota and Microsoft announced they would be bringing Conker back in the Conker’s Big Reunion DLC pack for Project Spark, it got many excited to once again play everyone’s favorite sex-crazed, cigar-smoking, alcoholic squirrel once again. After all, we haven’t seen him since 2005’s Conker: Live & Reloaded on the original Xbox.

We still have a couple weeks before we’ll get to jump into the pseudo-sequel to Conker’s Bad Fur Day, but that doesn’t mean Team Dakota can’t whet our appetites a bit while we wait. The developer took to their Twitch channel last night for a quick stream to show off some work done by the Lead Environment Artist on Conker’s Big Reunion, Matt Lucas. In 48 hours, Lucas recreated the first few minutes of Conker’s Bad Fur Day in Project Spark. He plays through it in the video below:

That is Conker’s Bad Fur Day in glorious high-definition. The attention to detail taken by the developers here is staggering. My main concern when this was announced was whether the game will play like a Conker title or pale in comparison. We won’t truly know until we play it, but considering it was designed all within Project Spark and in just two days, this is a great showcase of what can be done in Spark. Heck, if this all goes well, maybe we will see Rare get a chance to make a true sequel to the game.

The first episode of Conker’s Bad Reunion will be released in Project Spark on Xbox One and Windows 8 PC on April 23 for $4.99 US.

Until then, you can just keep re-watching the new trailer after the jump.

Fox Ends The Simpsons on DVD/Blu-ray

Nick Boisson

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April 11, 2015

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Despite some of us feeling the need to collect and display Blu-ray and video game display boxes on shelves, physical media’s days are numbered. With Netflix now streaming films and television shows in 4K, standalone on-demand services like Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, and Vudu, as well as video-on- demand services included with most cable/satellite subscriptions, Blu-ray and DVD sales continue to decline. And, just in case you thought the best examples of the format would be immune, Al Jean of The Simpsons has some news for you.

The Simpsons‘ executive producer/showrunner took to Twitter to let us know that everything is not coming up Milhouse:

.@thesimpsons #EverySimpsonsEver I personally am v sorry to see DVDs discontinued We did them purely for the love of hearing ourselves talk
— Al Jean (@AlJean) April 8, 2015

Yes, 20th Century Fox has ceased production on all DVD and Blu-ray releases of The Simpsons. For those unaware of just how exemplary The Simpsons was handled on DVD and Blu-ray, each and every disc was loaded with special features and every episode had commentary from writers, producers, and cast members. The Simpsons die-hards have been collecting each set since they began production in 2001, with the last set — Season 17 — released last December.

But what about commentaries for digital releases? Al Jean has not written the idea off and even sees a master physical release in the series’ future, tweeting to a concerned fan that they “will do commentaries for all downloads and possibly a master DVD when (if) show ever goes off air.” It should also be noted that Jean continued to respond and thank fans on Twitter following his announcement.

With digital releases, the Simpsons World website (still available only in the US with a paid cable subscription), and the FX Now app (same availability), The Simpsons will still have a place in any fan’s entertainment unit. Not to mention that US fans with cable can watch reruns on television on FXX. Sure, it will be different. But hey, we still have each other…

Call of Duty: Blacks Ops III Announced with New Teaser Trailer

Jamie Laike Tsui

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April 11, 2015

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There are a few guarantees in life: death, taxes, and a new Call of Duty game every year. It is Treyarch’s turn at bat this year. They have opted to continue the Black Ops story arc.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III was announced with a teaser trailer that makes references to some of the plot points in Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The trailer caps off with the question “how far are we willing to go?”

The game will get it’s full world reveal on April 26, 2015. It is safe to assume that the game will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows during the 2015 holiday season, but time will tell if this will be the first next-gen exclusive Call of Duty title.