NVIDIA was very busy at GDC 2015 with a lengthy presentation featuring a rebooted NVIDIA SHIELD. The presentation included new snippets of gameplay from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Metal Gear Solid V, and Resident Evil: Revelations 2 all running on the new device.
The service includes a new SHIELD device that is an Android TV set top supporting up to 4K resolutions. In addition to standard Android apps, the the box can stream PC games powered by cloud computing through the NVIDIA GRID service.
The new NVIDIA SHIELD will launch in May 2015 for $199 USD and will include both the set top and an controller. The console is armed with the new Tegra X1 processor and a Maxwell-based GPU.
NVIDIA GRID will launch with more than 50 games, mixing AAA titles with indie darlings. SHIELD owners will be able to subscribe to the GRID service or purchase games separately.
Learn more about the NVIDIA SHIELD at the official site.
It looks like Right Stuf had a bit of information to reveal before NIS America could make an announcement themselves. The company has recently posted their first digital catalog of the year and with it comes news that NIS America is going to be releasing the 2012 anime series My Little Monster, also known as Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, in North America sometime in Spring 2015.
This listing shows that the series will be released on Blu-ray and DVD combo pack, will cost $59.98, and will be given NIS America’s premium edition treatment. It is worth noting that NIS America has not officially announced this license acquisition as of yet but considering the premium edition shown above, we can expect an announcement sometime soon.
Overview With the rising popularity of Japanese visual novels in the West, it has led to a number of unique titles being released in English. While many of these may be eroge with a story to establish the world or simply nukige, a number of titles with a focus on story have been released in English. The most recent of these is MangaGamer’s release of eden*PLUS+MOSAIC. Featuring the original eden* story plus the adult content released separately in PLUS+MOSAIC from the original game, is eden*PLUS+MOSAIC worth your time?
Story The world is nearly at the end of its life. Nearly one hundred years prior to the starts of eden* a red star appeared in the sky. Despite humanity having little knowledge of what this star was, the findings of a lone scientist proclaiming that it meant that the Earth was going to die a hundred years from then drove humanity to try and unite. You see, thanks to the events prior to this finding humanity had nearly been wiped off the face of the Earth due to constant warfare and with an already diminished population, the “Earth Unified Government” was created in order to prioritize humanity’s survival above everything else.
To do this, the nations joined as one and anyone who resisted was put down through might. With only a hundred years left, a lone woman named Sion came up with the plans to transport all of humanity to space in order to find a new home. Over the past hundred years humanity and Sion have worked to reach this dream. The reason Sion has managed to live so long is because she is a “Felix,” a genetically engineered human with an extended lifespan, eternal youth, and intelligence surpassing any living human and Sion is the smartest of them all.
Ryou Haruna has spent most of his life on a battlefield. After the disappearance of his parents and meeting a mysterious woman before she too was taken away from him, Ryou swore at a tender age to try and find this woman he called his sister once again. Because of this he has seen nearly everything on the battlefield and even became a decorated special forces member. Now with Earth at peace and nearly everyone evacuated, Ryou is assigned a new task… guarding the woman who made the designs of the spaceships that saved humanity a possibility until the last ship leaves behind the dying planet within a year.
From here we see Ryou, who has experienced a difficult life and thinks of himself as nothing more than an attack dog meant to be given orders with no purpose in life, meet with the odd but energetic maid Elica and the enigmatic Sion. Surrounded by military personnel and hidden away on a secluded island, Sion has known nothing but confinement since the moment she was born and while she still labors away at making sure everything involving the Earth evacuation plan goes smoothly, we see that she has never experienced freedom.
It is worth noting that eden* is a kinectic novel meaning that there is only one story to be told here and it is quite an emotional one that not only dredges up Ryou’s past and chance meetings but also crafts a love story with no happy ending in sight. Thanks to the nature of the world ending and the seemingly endless youth of a Felix coming with an abrupt expiration date, those who wish to experience an emotional story will find eden* pulling at their heart strings as Ryou and Sion grow closer to one another throughout the course of the visual novel, following them from the middle of a military base until they are the last two on the planet.
That being said, thanks to the focus of the game being mostly on Sion and Ryou, the rest of the side-characters introduced, such as the maid Elica, Lavie (Ryou’s partner in guarding Sion), the commanding officer Inaba, and a reporter named Maya. Their characters are explored slightly and there are plenty of hints as to what may have been (and is partially explored in the PLUS+MOSAIC scenes), but unfortunately they are given only the smallest bits of closure.
The same can be said in regards to the actual process of Earth’s evacuation and what is happening to the planet. Despite plenty of details being revealed concerning the way that the Earth became the way it is, including the wars that were fought and how humanity sees Sion almost as a goddess, the real cause of Earth’s impending demise isn’t explained and the actual details of the evacuation are only mentioned briefly despite the government’s persistence in making sure every member of humanity leaves Earth before the end.
Now, eden*’s story is completely self-contained while PLUS+MOSAIC is contained as a bonus. There are four scenes in total here, some of which are “what if” styled scenes that give players a few extra details concerning the side characters in the story as well as some comedic moments thanks to each bonus involving a decent amount of dialogue before the actual adult scenes take place.
Gameplay As mentioned earlier, eden* is a kinetic novel meaning that there are no choices to be made nor are there any endings other than the main one. As such those who wish to experience the game will be able to do so once and see the entire story, though it is quite a good one. This can be disappointing for some who may have wished to see more elements explored in the story.
It is worth noting that the four eroge scenes in PLUS+MOSAIC are locked away until the player finishes the main story which is for the best. This way all of the player’s focus is spent reading a poignant story without interruption.
Visuals & Audio eden*PLUS+MOSAIC is rather surprising visually as, rather than use static sprites that appear against various backdrops like most games, almost every scene in the game is designed to look unique. This is thanks in part to Ryou being a fully realized character with a face and personality who will be seen standing or interacting with other characters during dialogue. Another nice touch comes in the form of full lip-synching being done on the characters so that their mouths move as they speak while also blinking their eyes. As for the actual sex scenes that take place in PLUS+MOSAIC, each of the four scenes still feature mosaic censorship on both male and female genitalia but every scene features a number of CGs and some decent variation.
The background music found throughout the game is quite soothing and fitting for the theme of eden*, especially in regards to a certain character’s fondness for a song. As for the characters, every character, including Ryou, is voiced which is surprising considering the male role generally goes unvoiced in games such as this but it makes for a nice plus as the full voice work continues into the sex scenes as well.
Overall eden*PLUS+MOSAIC is an emotional journey that has a few flaws in world-building and handling side characters but focuses all of its effort in creating a memorable drama involving Ryou and Sion. Watching these two as they change throughout the course of the visual novel and begin to develop a deep connection on a dying world leaves a lasting emotional impression that will make eden* hard to forget and a visual novel to not pass up.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Paramount has recently released a number of teasers online to promote Top Five, their new comedy directed by Chris Rock. The most recent one aims to showcase the cameo appearance of Whoopi Goldberg. Goldberg is famous for her many roles in a wide variety of productions ranging from The Lion King and The Rugrats Movie to The Colour Purple and Star Trek.The film will be drawing a lot of star power and purports that Goldberg will not be the only cameo by a celebrity.
The film itself follows the life of fictional world-famous comic Andre Allen as he does press for his upcoming film release and marriage to a reality tv star. The film engages with ideas of politics, race, and the entertainment industry in America.
The film will be released on March 12. Stay tuned for our review of the film.
Overview There are many types of the game in the industry ranging from simple visual novels that have a few choices here and there, to adventure games that involve puzzle solving, to incredibly fast paced action games. There are many times that a game will try to find itself a new untapped niche or try and do something that will surprise consumers. With The Order: 1886 recently released by Sony and Ready at Dawn, the intent seems to have been something different than your standard third-person shooter, but is it a successful enough to be worth purchasing?
Story In an alternate history humanity has been battling against half-breed humans. The battle has been a losing one for humanity but with King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table still being an established order and the discovery of a substance called Black Water that not only provides the knights with the ability to heal almost any wound quickly but also extend their lifespans beyond normal human capabilities. Still, as these knights have passed their titles are transferred to their successors.
In a misty London setting set around the time of Jack the Ripper players step into the shoes of Sir Galahad, also known as Grayson. Due to the advancements of the Industrial Revolution humanity has taken a large technological step forward and in this alternate history engineers are way ahead of their time. With the legends of Arthur, possible monstrosities to fight, and even meeting Nikola Tesla helping out with some unique inventions The Order: 1886 feels like a fully realized world with intricate details and plenty of little tidbits to examine such as newspapers and photographs that can be picked up and examined in the world like you were actually reading them.
Unfortunately while the world is one that we would love to be able to explore and learn more about, that isn’t the case in The Order: 1886. The actual storyline that players will spend all six to seven hours playing through on even the most difficult level is bland and uninteresting. While the struggle of The Order is an interesting one, players spend most of the game fighting against human rebels who are generic as they come while the actual half-breeds show up as enemies roughly five times throughout the entire story.
It doesn’t help that the characters players are presented with are as simple as they come which means you’ll be struggling to even remember anything unique about them once you finish the title. The developments throughout the game are quite predictable and even when it comes to The Order: 1886’s ending it feels like Ready at Dawn either didn’t have enough time to properly wrap up the story or intentionally left a ton of details hanging in the hopes of creating a sequel simply by leaving so much unsaid.
Gameplay
As far as the actual gameplay is concerned, players familiar with the standard third-person shooter set-up will know exactly what to expect here as The Order: 1886 doesn’t try anything new. It makes use of a snap based cover system, two weapon slots that involve a main weapon and a side-arm, melee attacks, and either standard shooting, cover shooting, or blind-firing out of cover.
Despite the fact that Tesla is on your side and you are battling in a steampunk styled world, the actual armaments that you’ll be using throughout the game are as mundane as it comes. Players will have access to grenades and your run of the mill World War II style armaments though it is worth mentioning that an Arc Gun that shoots lightning bolts that home in on enemies, even those behind cover, and a Thermite Rifle that shoots out clouds of thermite that can be burst into explosive flame by shooting a flare out of the gun’s secondary fire option do spice things up a bit. Unfortunately due to the chapters in The Order: 1886, these guns are regularly taken away from the player so if you happen to be saving them for a special occasion or difficult area, chances are they’ll be stripped from you before then.
Earlier I mentioned that you’ll be fighting plenty of humans and unfortunately there is also little variety in that regard. The rebels that players will be fighting with come in three different flavors that range from normal enemies to those who are complete bullet sponges and will simply charge the player’s position without any regard for their own safety. Speaking of that, the enemy AI is incredibly simplistic in the way that they will either charge out in the open, stand fully exposed, or stay behind compromised cover. When you do face off against the half-breeds, expect the same generic AI that repeats the same motions again and again making these situations almost impossible to fail. Then again, the same can be said in regards to the ally AI as all of your team mates are incredibly useless on the battlefield and will do nothing to assist you.
On the rare occasions you aren’t shooting standard enemies, players will either be partaking in simple walking missions as they travel through an area looking at the sights, navigating through forced instant-fail stealth missions, taking part in hacking mini-games, and lock-picking doors. There is something to be said when a game that is already incredibly short and features a limited amount of playtime during that actual running length that the developers chose to implement so many padding mini-games and stealth areas in an effort to extend the gameplay since there are very few side-paths bother exploring in this linear title.
It should also be worth noting that this is a title packed with quick time events. There are numerous times throughout the game that you’ll have to take part in excessive QTEs that once again are nothing more but padding, though I must say that the contextual takedowns in combat are a nice touch. That being said, the way that the bosses are handled in the game, once again through QTEs, is disappointing especially since the final boss of the game is nothing more than a ripped off fight from earlier in the game that goes through the exact same motions as before.
Visuals & Audio While The Order: 1886’s gameplay is generally forgettable; it is easily one of the best looking games I have ever played on a console. The dirty rainy streets of London are incredibly detailed and there are many times that you will want to stop and take it all in as there are so many little details to observe that the world truly does feel alive. This is especially true thanks to the amount of effort put into creating effective lighting and environmental effects that react to player movement and action.
Even the character models are gorgeous looking and as mentioned before it is perhaps a good thing that there are moments where you will simply be walking through an area as seeing The Order: 1886’s version of London is spectacular. Combine this with the fact that there are seamless transitions between cut scenes and gameplay that can go unnoticed due to there being no drop in quality whatsoever and you know that The Order: 1886 is just that good looking.
The same can be said in regards to the voice work and audio throughout the game as, despite the characters being rather forgettable, the voice acting does fit the tone and the setting of the game. The sound effects are quite stunning making combat and the exploration all the more enjoyable as it seems that Ready at Dawn put a lot of effort into crafting a living world. Put this together with an outstanding soundtrack and you’ll be in for quite a aural treat to go along with such gorgeous visuals.
Overall The Order: 1886 feels like a game that prioritized looking great over everything else. Either time was short and Ready at Dawn had to force a conclusion in there or simply chose to present players with a ‘cinematic experience’ more than a fully fleshed out game as everything about The Order: 1886 outside of the outstanding graphics and amazing soundtrack are as substandard or forgettable as it comes. Featuring uninspired gameplay and a story that borders on boring compared to the setting it is based against, The Order: 1886 is a gorgeous game but unfortunately that is all it really has going for it.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview Although there have been novel adaptations written based on the Resident Evil games and even some original stories in the early 2000s, it was questionable whether or not a series that focuses on zombie action and survival would be able to make a successful transition into manga format. Thankfully that question was answered by the first volume of Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire introducing us to a believable, albeit too convenient, setting with a fresh set of faces fighting against the beginnings of an outbreak. Will the series continue to find a nice balance between action and storytelling in volume 2?
Story Before continuing it is worth noting that there will be spoilers concerning the first volume of Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire discussed in this review and those looking to not be spoiled should go and check out the first volume before continuing. That being said, the story resumes immediately from the end of volume one, with Professor Doug Wright and his nephew Ricky Tozawa, along with two members of Mother Gracia’s trusted employees about to enter an area infested with five zombies that need to be disposed of.
Before entering the maintenance area to take care of the zombies, the group is stopped by Student Council President Bindi who wishes to go with them in order to do what she can to help prevent this biohazard from harming her fellow students. Once they do venture into the area it quickly becomes clear that there is something different about this outbreak than what Professor Wright has seen before in Raccoon City as not only are these zombies capable of moving incredibly fast, despite appearing as zombies classic zombies and not like the Plaga capable of speech.
To make things even stranger, despite being attacked and once again bitten, not only does Ricky continue to show no signs of infection but neither does another member of their party. Mysteries compound one after another when the group discovers that the source of the outbreak appears to be a young cloaked woman only for Bindi to see this woman and believe it is her friend Nanan. While Doug Wright and Ricky remain at Marhawa Academy trying to not only survive but find the source of the biohazard, Chris Redfield and the rest of his B.S.A.A. team continue to try and track them down by arriving at the university and trying to find out where they vanished off to.
Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 2 spends quite a bit of time focusing on action as almost the entire first half of the volume is spent on zombie slaying while the second half is all about divulging some of the secrets that have been kept within the walls of the secluded academy, including why Mother Gracia is acting as she is, though the reason is quite thin. Tension continues to be high as the drama ramps up throughout the second half as even the few answers that are given do little to combat the questions swirling around the origin of the outbreak and who the mastermind could actually be.
Artwork The character designs remain as impressive as ever, though this time the focus is spent almost entirely on the characters at Marhawa Academy so we see very little of Chris’ team. I must say that Naoki Serazawa has a way with detail. Between the amounts of gore present in the action sequences, which has been ramped up this time, as the group battles against zombies utilizing not only sledgehammers and swords, but also a crossbow and the various small details such as the changing designs on the back of Ricky’s clothing there is a lot to be seen in this volume. As such it is a big plus due to the way that Viz’s Signature label means that every volume is printed in a larger format that allows for this detail to be seen better.
Extra Content Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 2 begins with three color pages that focus on the group about to enter the maintenance area and face off against the zombie threat. Oddly enough, this is then followed by a four page summary describing the events that happened in the last volume presented via white text on black and blue pages featuring small black and white panels to show off the characters introduced to the story so far.
Overall With the plot thickening in Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 2 it will be interesting to see what will happen next. The focus on action throughout this volume does lead to a bit of a pacing issue, especially in the second half as the abrupt jump from a revealing piece of information to another battle against a monstrous creature feels like the writer had to rush things at a breakneck speed to end on a cliffhanger. Thankfully due to the numerous unanswered questions and the quality of the artwork, this is more than enough to keep readers invested in the fate of Ricky and the rest of the academy.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Australian e-sports team Dire Wolves announced their new sponsor will be Roccat. The German gaming peripherals manufacturer will give Dire Wolves access to Roccat’s resources, including gaming peripherals for all of Dire Wolves’ teams.
Dire Wolves has made a quick rise in the e-sports world since their formation in August 2014. Their League of Legends team current ranks second in the Oceanic Pro League. The Counter Strike: Global Offensive team has been a little less succesful in the Cybergamer Premiere League, with two wins and two losses.
Dire Wolves currently has only a League of Legends and Counter Strike: Global Offensive team, but they are looking to expand rapidly in hopes of dominating the Oceanic professional sports scene. Follow the Dire Wolves at their official site.
New details has emerged about the inevitable season pass for Battlefield Hardline.
Battlefield Hardline Premium will give members four major content drops containing new maps, gameplay modes, vehicles, and in game content; a new content drop launches every quarter. Each pack is inspired by a story based theme. In between the major content packs, players will also get new masks, a gun bench, access to competitive play features, and legendary status.
Battlefield Hardline Premium will cost $59.99 AUD, with packs being available separately.
Battlefield Hardline is the first entry to the long running FPS franchise by Dead Space developers Visceral Games. The game will launch on March 19th, 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows.
The long awaited winter update for the popular FPS Battlefield 4 (reviewed here), has been released today for all platforms, designed to improve the multiplayer gaming experience for all players. Details have been released on the official website by a DICE member of staff.
Firstly, a large number of improvements have been made to the netcode designed for a smoother online connection experience. Notable adjustments include network prioritisation (health and damage are prioritised above everything else), collision improvements between vehicles and better long range target acquisition due to a larger range cone being implemented. Due to the high frequency update players with slower connections will notice a significant improvement in their experience as the bandwidth required for online play has been effectively halved.
A new game mode has also been introduced called Squad Obliteration. Two teams composed of five squad members will race to destroy two out of three bases to win the round. There are no parachutes or vehicles available to players in this mode.
Finally, Quickmatch has been changed slightly. Separate servers will be available to players under the rank of 10, so that players who are new to the game will play members of a similar level. Premium playlists are also now accessible using a combination of maps from DLC expansions and the base game.
Frozenbyte Games has announced that their action-platformer series will be receiving a third installment. Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power has been announced to be in production for a release this year.
The new title looks to be following the same gameplay formula as it’s predecessors. In Trine 3 the player will be able to switch between three different characters at will. This is necessary in order to use their different abilities to solve various puzzles.
Few details have been announced for Trine 3 besides a vague release date of sometimes in 2015 and that it will be coming to PC. If it’s anything like previous titles then Trine 3 will be released on other systems. Look for more details for this sequel following the GDC.
