There is probably nothing better to help you get through hump day like a brand new indie bundle. Indie Gala’s Hump Day Bundle #2 is now available with 12 indie games. For a minimum purchase of $1.00, gamers will snag:
Velvet Assassin– Inspired by the events of real life spy Violette Szabo, Velvet Assassin is a stealth shooter that will take players deep into Nazi territory.
Sinister City– John is on a mission to rescue his fiance, who has been kidnapped by the vampires of Sinister City.
Legendary– A FPS set after Pandora’s Box is opened up, unleashing mythical creatures on the world.
For a minimum purchase of $2.89, buyers will get an additional nine games.
The Detail– A visually stunning crime noir adventure featuring moral dilemmas and the consequence of action.
Real Boxing– Fight your way to the top of the rankings through training and customizing your very own boxer and then sending him to the ring for brutal hand to hand combat.
Cargo Commander– The job sounds simple: rescue lost cargo, get paid. Of course, what they didn’t tell you was that thousands of others tried and died, but it’s ok, they won’t need that equipment on their body anymore.
Crayon Chronicles– A short, but highly replayable action RPG fusing 3D and 2D graphics.
Damnation City of Death– Monsters are not your only enemy. Death can come from simple things like starvation, dehydration, and hypothermia in this open world survival game.
Home– A creepy horror that changes based on the player.
Stronghold 3 Gold– Build your castle and the town surrounding it, while protecting your people from the blood thirsty man named the Wolf.
Survivor Squad– Players will arm four survivors and send them into the zombie apocalypse to collect materials, find weapons, and thin the horde in a highly randomized world.
For the first 24 hours of the sale, all 12 games can be purchased for a minimum price of $2.89, so grab your bundle at Indie Gala before the price rises.
Hammerfall Publishing announced their Warhammer 40,000strategy game will hit Steam Early Access in the coming weeks. Warhammer 40,000: Regicide Collector’s Edition has been available for pre-order in the last two months. The Steam Early Access edition will be priced at $14.99 USD.
It isn’t clear exactly which modes will be available during the early access phase, but Hammerfall is working on two modes for the final game: Regicide and Classic. Regicide is a new take on the long running franchise’s combat, while Classic mode stays true to the tabletop’s gameplay.
Warhammer 40,000: Regicide bonuses are available for those who have been participating at the official forums, but no details have been provided as of yet.
Madman Entertainment has announced several new anime license acquisitions for Australia. All of the following titles will be streamed on AnimeLab with a home video release to follow at a later date.
From animation studio Doga Kobo (Yuruyuri) comes Mikagura School Suite. Madman describes it as follows:
Like most awkward teens, formerly reclusive gamer Eruna Ichinomiya struggles to find her place at Mikagura High School. But her experience is far from ordinary, as the mischief-making members of the school’s manga, calligraphy, drama, and other cultural clubs vie for total school domination in a rather extreme way—ULTIMATE ATTACKS.
From animation studio Bones, known for producing many popular series such as Space Dandy, comes Blood Blockade Battlefront. Madman provided a synopsis of the series:
When a breach between Earth and the netherworlds opened up over New York, its citizens were trapped along with creatures from other dimensions under an impenetrable bubble. They’ve lived together now for years, in a world of crazy crime and sci-fi sensibilities. But someone is threatening to sever the bubble, and a group of stylish superhumans have formed to keep this from happening.
From animation studio Xebec, known for harem series such as Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, comes Triage X:
Mochizuki General Hospital boasts some of the most well-trained (and well-endowed) nurses in town. Although these ladies spend much of their day battling sickness, their after-hours are spent fighting a very different sort of disease… Under the leadership of the hospital chairman, a handful of staff members and local teenagers form a group of mercenary assassins, targeting the ‘cancers’ of society and excising those individuals before their wickedness spreads.
From animation studio Satelight, known for sci-fi works such as Bodacious Space Pirates, comes The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, adapted from Puyo’s manga series which is a spin-off of the ‘Disappearance arc’ of the popular series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Madman gave a synopsis for this series:
In an alternate universe, shy and awkward Yuki Nagato attempts to court her crush, Kyon, with the help of her best friend and neighbour, the perky and indomitable Ryoko Asakura. Together, the trio defend their high school literature club from extermination… and themselves from the pestering of their over-the-top classmates Tsuruya and her friend and minion Mikuru.
From animation studio TNK comes High School DxD BorN, the third season in the popular harem series High School DxD. Madman describes the season:
The babes and boys of the Occult Research Club are back! Lovable loser (and bust buff) Issei and his clan of bewitching beauties return for a new season of supernatural tussles and sexy shenanigans – featuring old friends and new enemies.
Now that all the girls live in Issei’s home, life seems like nothing but fun and scantily-clad lounging… for now.
Join Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Asia, Xenovia, Gasper, and everyone’s favourite Harem King, Issei, as they fight, fumble, and fondle their way through their demonic high school lives.
Show by Rock, another series produced by Bones, has also been licensed. It is described as follows:
Set in the glamorous metropolis Tokyo Midi City, where music and the dream of superstardom is everything. Here, the ‘battle of the bands’ is more than just a bit of teen rivalry, where dozens of ensembles compete for the honour of playing atop the city’s highest tower.
When a Gothic Lolita-clad ‘catgirl’ cutie named Cyan stumbles into the music world, she too is swept up by the dream of fame. After joining forces with three other colourful characters – ‘bunnygirl’ honour student Chuchu, shy ‘doggirl’ Retoree, and adorable ‘sheepgirl’ Moa—the quartet becomes Plasmagica, the freshest band on the scene. Armed with special instruments, the girls face off with other bands striving for stardom, like the cool and passionate Visual Kei band Shingan Crimsonz, and the handsome pop idols, Trichronika. Will the band find celebrity? Or are they doomed to be one-hit-wonders…
From animation studio Trigger, known for their original series Kill la Kill, comes Ninja Slayer. It is described as follows:
The dystopian cyber underworld of Neo-Saitama is ruled from the shadows by an intricate web of drugs, yakuza gangs, and evil syndicate ninjas wielding fearsome ‘karate’. In a sea of the blood of his enemies, a lone maverick stands.
Ninja Slayer is a ninja who kills other ninjas in the name of ninja vengeance. A former salaryman whose family was killed by evil ninjas, Ninja Slayer cheats death and casts away his past to embrace the dark, mystical ‘Ninja Soul’, a mysterious spirit that grants him great power in his quest for revenge. But will this bloodthirsty spirit consume Ninja Slayer before his enemies are all “dead on departure”? Doumo. I’m Ninja Slayer.
From A-1 Pictures, a subsidiary of Aniplex known for such series as Nanana’s Buried Treasure, comes Gunslinger Stratos. Madman provided a synopsis for the series:
A.D. 2115 – the island nation once called Japan is now known as the 17th Far East Imperial City Management District.
The citizens were promised a life of peace in exchange for some of the comfort they were used to having. People believed their lives would never change and tomorrow will be the same as today. No one suspected the impending doom which their society was about to face… ‘Degradation’- a rare disease which led to the total disintegration of the human body to a mere pile of sand was slowly but surely spreading throughout the world.
Ordinary student, Tohru Kazasumi, becomes embroiled in a multi universal battle between his world and the parallel world of Frontier S (Stratos). This means that Toru must fight himself from an alternate world. Their futures collide as their paths cross. Will both worlds ever find peace?
From animation studio Shaft, known for their work on many series such as Arakawa Under the Bridge, comes the second season of Nisekoi. The first ten episodes of season one will be available on DVD in Australia on June 10, with the second half of the first season set for release on July 1. Madman describes the second season as follows: “Raku and the girls are back! The hunt for the key to his heart and locket continues in the second season of this fan favorite anime series”.
Finally, from animation studio feel., comes My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too. Madman provided a synopsis for this series:
With his unique thought processes, Hikigaya Hachiman seemed to be glorifying the life of a loner until his guidance counsellor, Hiratsuka Shizuka, talked him into joining the Service Club. Together with the other members, the breathtaking, flawless Yukinoshita Yukino and the cute, popular Yuigahama Yui, he spent his days solving all kinds of problems for his classmates, from relationship worries to running the cultural festival committee. The seasons have given way to fall, and now Hachiman, Yukino, and Yui are preparing for a field trip to Kyoto. What request has been brought to the Service Club this time?
Recently Nintendo and Level-5 announced that Nintendo would be releasing Yo-Kai Watch in the West sometime in the future and now Viz Media is also getting in on the action. The company has announced that they have licensed the Yo-kai Watch manga series and will begin releasing the series in North America starting in September. The title is being printed under their Perfect Square imprint and will be released bi-monthly after the first volume hits shelves.
Yo-kai Watch‘s manga is written and drawn by Noriyuki Konishi under the guidance of the developers themselves. As for the series itself, it many of the creatures in the game/manga are inspired by yokai from Japanese folklore.
A story synopsis from Viz Media can be found below:
Nathan Adams is just an average kid until the mysterious Whisper gives him a device that allows him to see what others cannot, Yo-kai of all shapes and forms! Now, armed with the Yo-kai Watch, Nathan, Whisper and their new invisible friends embark on an all new supernatural adventure!
Despite being released in Japan back in 2013 and being extremely popular, Level-5’s unique Yo-Kai Watch has never been given a chance in the West until now. Nintendo has announced that they will be releasing the first Yo-Kai Watch game in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Korea.
Currently Nintendo is planning on releasing Yo-Kai Watch sometime in 2016 for the Nintendo 3DS and at the moment it seems like the only major change to the title has been the re-naming of the protagonist from Keita Amano to Nathan Adams. For those who are unaware of the game, Yo-Kai Watch follows a boy who obtains a special watch that allows him to befriend Yo-Kai that will join him to fight against other Yo-Kai while also overcoming various challenges.
Overview Marhawa Academy has long been seen as the most prestigious school in Asia and under the tutelage of Mother Gracia and her teachers, the remote campus has seemed to thrive. That is until a student turns into a zombie and Gracia calls in Doug Wright to come investigate the case and put an end to it quietly. As things continued to go out of control and the mystery deepened, Doug’s nephew Ricky was left facing off against a cloaked abomination at the end of volume 2. Now that Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3 has been released where does the story go from here?
Story Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3 picks up immediately where the second volume ended, with Ricky’s uncle Doug severely wounded and one of the school’s security members nearly dead. Things quickly turn from bad to worse as the deadly tentacle creature resembling the long thought dead Nanan stops her one-sided attack on the three and flees, but not before forcing a type of mist down the wounded security guard’s mouth and forcing him to transform into a zombie.
After Ricky finishes off the guard and, with the help of Gracia and the rest of the staff, bring Doug back into the school for medical treatment. With Gracia finally realizing that this is something the school cannot handle on their own, Ricky heads off to find Bindi only for one of the biggest mysteries in the manga series so far to be revealed.
For the most part, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire has been a fairly evenly paced story that has balanced action with answers slow to come despite the mysteries building up around the cast but in volume 3 things shift a bit as the story slows to a crawl during the first half of the book but also manages to answer numerous questions about what is happening. The key focus in this part is Bindi and how she has had to deal with Mother Gracia’s attempts to cover everything up, including the bullying that happened to her friend Nanan and the fateful events that led up to her death.
All of this is told through an overly long flashback that fleshes out Bindi’s reasoning while painting a dark picture of the lengths that Gracia would go to in order to keep the academy’s image pristine. However at this point readers already know what Gracia is capable of hiding and this leaves the following events a bit rushed as all hell breaks loose in the second half of the volume.
With the cat out of the bag, Bindi’s plan goes into motion as a batch of students are instantly transformed into zombies due to Nanan’s mist and begin attacking the rest of the students. With Ricky being the only capable person with a firearm, havoc reigns throughout the school as students are slaughtered by people they once knew. Many resort to suicide or betrayal in order to escape but their reprieves are short lived as the body count continues to mount page by page.
This means that there is plenty of action to be found, but it also is one-sided as few students are even trying to fight back and unfortunately the one character that does try and stand out lasts less than a chapter with her death driving Ricky even further into despair. The issue with this not only means that there are very few survivors left and Mother Gracia is never given a chance for redemption or growth as the author makes wipes the cast almost completely clean in order to shine the spotlight on the more familiar faces that appear at the end of the volume.
Artwork Those who have been following the manga series so far should know that Naoki Serizawa’s art is rather excellent when it comes to showing off the gore and transformations of zombies. In this volume we see a pair of new creatures take the stage featuring detailed looking limbs and muscles that are used to tear through humans. That being said, it does seem that the gore is a bit scaled back this time around as there is far more blood splatter to be seen than anything else as the zombies tear through the academy. This is also thanks to fairly limited resistance of the student body giving readers very few zombie kills though the ending of this volume does allude to that being a major factor in the next volume.
Extra Content Similar to the last volume, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3 begins with three color pages, two of which are used for a two-page spread of one of the more bloody injuries in the volume. This is then followed by a four page summary describing the events that have occurred in the first two volumes featuring colors mimicking the cover.
Overall Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 3 stumbles a bit as it shifts the focus from revealing mysteries to unleashing chaos on the unprepared students of the doomed academy. While a key mystery is solved, there is still more to be revealed, especially since Bindi’s actual source is still missing all while unfortunately eliminating most of the development that could have come from the already introduced cast. With high quality artwork and plenty of focus on nasty death and violence, Volume 3 is still a worthy read despite the way the cast has been diminished in favor of introducing a long-awaited familiar face to the action.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview Zombies are some of the easiest enemies to include in a video game and gamers have delighted in slaying hundreds of thousands of them in numerous ways throughout the years. Then things were taken a step further by making Nazi Zombies an enemy that everyone wanted to take out. As such when Sniper Elite V2 was released, Rebellion released a couple of standalone Nazi Zombie games based off of V2’s mechanics. Now they have released both of those pieces of DLC as well as a brand new third entry in the Zombie Army Trilogy for current-gen platforms. Is the title worth taking on the undead Nazi hordes once more?
Story As one would expect, the story doesn’t get too complicated in Zombie Army Trilogy though there are different elements that players will have to deal with depending on which entry in the trilogy you are working on. The base storyline is however that once Hitler realized that the Nazis were losing the war and were nearly defeated, that he authorized the use of a project that would bring back the dead to do his bidding.
With the undead swarming across Germany the Allied forces found themselves being pushed back and now it is up to the player and up to three other friends to take and put these undead back in the ground. It is worth noting that alongside the four original characters a batch of four new female characters have been added to bring the total roster up to eight which is a nice touch but doesn’t really add too much to the simplistic story.
Gameplay Since the core of these games are based off of Sniper Elite V2, players will know roughly what to expect in the game as far as equipment goes. They will have to face off against the undead using dated weaponry from WWII which means you’ll be using plenty of single-shot rifles and less than accurate machine guns to try and stay alive. That being said, it does feel like that despite the amount of weapons at your disposal, the fact that even the most basic zombies absorb a large amount of damage and can best be put down with a shot to the head means that a large swathe of the offered weapons tend to be useless against the hordes or only used as a last resort when running low on everything else.
Every stage features various objectives the player, or players as the game offers extremely fun four player co-op online, must complete to advance and there are numerous checkpoints that are activated throughout these levels in order to allow players to keep their progress even if they happen to fall to the hordes. This is an essential element as the hordes you’ll be facing off against are anything but easy to kill at times. You see, while players can complete objectives and find various safe houses that allow them to re-equip, the sheer number of enemies you’ll be facing will put the players at constant risk. This means that although solo play is certainly possible and the game does scale down for single players, tackling these missions are best enjoyed with a friend or two.
Utilizing explosives such as grenades, mines, and tripwire-traps are useful for clearing large groups or securing a position while trying to snipe away at the zombies approaching you but while many of the zombies you come across are rather slow moving to start with, that quickly changes as explosive enemies and armored zombies appear to test the players’ mettle. Trying to kick away enemies is a useful move but one that only serves as a delaying tactic as the zombies in Zombie Army Trilogy are very resilient and this can cause ammo to run real low at times even though players can carry a main weapon, a sidearm, and a secondary weapon along with plenty of explosives.
This leads to many extremely enjoyable online sessions of players having to work together to try and stay alive while watching one another’s backs. While taking on the story campaign is rather enjoyable on its own, an extra Horde mode where players must survive against waves of zombies that grow stronger has also been included. This feels a bit like a tacked on mode but will provide plenty of fun for those who simply want to kill off some zombies with their friends without worrying about specific objectives.
Visuals & Audio Although the Zombie Army Trilogy is built using a rather outdated engine that causes some enemy movements as well as character movements to look a bit awkward at times, there is a noticeable improvement to the graphics in these releases and it does wonders for the atmospheric nature of the game.
Players will have to navigate through numerous areas, a few of which will look familiar to longtime fans of the series, that have all been transformed into hellish landscapes full of fire and death and they will have to constantly be on the lookout for zombies and worse that come looking for the players blood. As you fight against the hordes the player’s weapons will sound realistic while the shrieks and cries of the undead will provide a chilling feeling to those who are starting to find themselves backed into a corner against what can easily become a challenging situation.
While many times players kill a zombie or another creature they simply go down, there are plenty of times they are treated to the gorgeous looking X-Ray kill cams that, just like in the core games, show the path of a bullet as it rips through a zombie’s skull and puts it down for good. There are many great looking moments that come simply from the amount of enemies you’ll be facing as some shots will go through one zombie’s skull and bury themselves into the eye-socket of another, delivering a satisfyingly gory double kill. Of course if you want to see even more of these, the option to feature kill-cams for somewhat less impressive shot is always there even if many of these shots tend to leave the undead coming back for more.
Overall Now despite how fun Zombie Army Trilogy is, it really doesn’t do anything too special to stand out from your average zombie killing title. The fun of slaying zombies together with friends online is one of the title’s best features but there isn’t much replay value to the game once it is completed and it feels like the developers played it safe by doing very little different from most other zombie games. That being said, the actual gunplay and challenging difficulty mixed in with Sniper Elite’s mechanics makes for a satisfyingly engaging game that is best played with friends but still provides a solid experience for solo players.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Robert Whittaker represents Australia in the Ultimate Fighting Championship as our brightest MMA prospect. In less than five weeks, on May 10th, live at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Whittaker will be co-main eventing UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs Hunt against #15 ranked middleweight Brad Tavares. So…why wouldn’t I take him on in a fight, right? Not a real fight, don’t be silly…in Mortal Kombat X!
I was brought in specifically as Rob’s virtual training partner, an integral part of his training camp for May 10 (grand delusions). In all seriousness, Rob is a legitimate gamer, and proved it multiple times throughout the session. His Ninjutsu Scorpion is brutal – whom he claims is overpowered mister Ed Boon et al – but his main is good ol’ Sub-Zero. Claiming no one had beaten him yet when he chooses Subby, I stepped up to the task, defeating him with the Lin Kuei master’s prior mentioned arch-rival. We went on to trade victories, although he came out on top more than not, I’ll be honest. That damn teleporting, katana wielding wraith…ahem, I’m not bitter. Not at all.
You’d also think trash-talking a mixed martial artist 20kgs heavier than you is a bad idea, but I escaped unscathed. It was a fun gaming session in which we shared some laughs, some intense, nail-biting moments and, of course, fatalities galore. Thanks to Warner Bros. Games Australia for facilitating it. Rob is a genuine, Aussie-raised bloke and we wish him all the best in his upcoming fight. You best believe he will be tearing it up online once Mortal Kombat Xlaunches for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, nationwide, on April 15. Who says fight camps have to be all work and no play? Keep an eye out for our review of MKX in the coming week or so, and check out the recently released launch trailer, edited by System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian to a new cut of “Chop Suey!”
Earlier, we had a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of the Mortal Kombat X launch trailer, and now it is here in all its gory glory. Hashtag that!#GoryGlory.NetherRealm Studios‘ MKXlaunches for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC in a mere week’s time, but watch the launch trailer below to whet your appetite.
Directed by System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian, against the musical background of a freshly edited “Chop Suey!”, the trailer is very Story Mode-heavy, showcasing many cutscenes, but at the same time not giving away too much. Of note, in regards to actual gameplay, we get to see Jax and his daughter Jacqueline in action for practically the first time, as well as Liu Kang‘s first fatality…we knew he’d get his revenge on Raiden someday. No, it’s not canon, so relax everyone.
For those who still swear by true 5.1 headphones and a high quality sound card will be able to check out the RoccatKave XTD 5.1 Analog at their local computer store. The headset is available now in Europe and an American launch will follow in the next week or two.
The headset uses two 40mm drivers and a 30mm vibration unit in each ear cup to deliver true 5.1 surround sound. The remote can be clipped on clothing or onto a desktop stand. For those who can never remember to unmute their mic, Roccat has added a small LED on the boom mic that lights up when the microphone is muted.
The Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog still shares the same light and comfortable design as the other Kaves. The XTD 5.1 Analog weighs in at 335g and has more of that really light cushioning I really enjoyed from the XTD Stereo version.
The Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog is available now in Europe for €119,99 and will be in the US around mid April for $119.99 USD.
