Pokémon XY is adapted from the video games by Hidenori Kusaka with art by Satoshi Yamamoto. It follows a different plot that was inspired by the original games. Other video games in the Pokémon series, including some spin-offs, have been adapted into single-volume or multiple-volume series, for example the Black & White manga release listed above is just one of many adaptations of the games. Although it is is not stated in the listing for any of the releases, some alterations have been made in the past to the Pokémon manga, so it is not clear whether or not any of the particular releases listed above are unedited, outside of the known changes to names of both human and Pokémon characters.
NetherRealm Studios has slowly been revealing the roster of Mortal Kombat X and so far many fan favorites have already been revealed including the most recent reveal of Reptile. Well now the company has revealed that Ermac will once again be entering the fray when Mortal Kombat X is released or the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC on April 14th.
Below you will see just how different Ermac will look in Mortal Kombat X as well as a glance at a few of his abilities, revealing that many of his telekinetic moves and fatalities will remain part of his moveset.
MangaGamer has recently released their latest English translated visual novel eden* and eden* Plus Mosaic on Steam and their own website. Now Steam only has the standard eden* while MangaGamer is selling both versions, with eden* Plus Mosaic being the 18+ version of the game.
It is worth noting that eden* Plus Mosaic does cost a bit more, as its standard price is $24.95 compared to eden*’s selling price of $19.95 but it is also worth mentioning that for the next week both titles will be on sale, with eden* Plus Mosaic now priced at $14.97 at MangaGamer’s Adult Storeand eden* at $9.97 through MangaGamerand $9.99 through Steam. It is worth noting that every purchase of eden* will also go towards funding minori’s other PC visual novel Supipara and more details about that project can be found on the official website here.
Also for those who are more interested in Yaoi (Boys Love) then you will be happy to hear that MangaGamer has also opened up pre-orders for their very first yaoi title No, Thank You!!! which will go on sale on February 27th. Those who pre-order the game early will be able to own the title at a 10% discount from the standard $39.95 selling price. Those interested in pre-ordering can do so here. (18+)
Dying Light is the third zombie FPS from Techland, the developers behind Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide. Dying Light takes the melee zombie FPS gameplay from Techland’s previous titles and mixes it with a new free running mechanic. The game is set in the fictional city of Harran, Turkey. The city is under quarantine after a virus triggers a zombie outbreak in the middle of an international athletics competition. Kyle Crane parachutes into the city in hopes of recovering a vital document in the hands of a rogue element.
Story
After the city of Harran is put under quarantine, the Global Relief Effort (GRE) begins organizing aid for the survivors of the zombie outbreak. Kadir Sulaiman is in possession of important documents that the GRE is eager to recover. Kyle Crane is hired to parachute into the city, recover the documents, and get out cleanly. His plans are quickly derailed when he is ambushed and infected with the zombie virus. Crane soon becomes attached to his rescuers who are currently in a battle of survival against the thuggish dictator Rais. Crane’s mission quickly goes awry as he is no longer able to balance his original mission goals and his loyalty to his rescuers.
Techland has crafted a good story with Dying Light. The twists and turns are a bit predictable, but are not enough to detract from the story. The characters are interesting and there are some really memorable minor characters that gave me a good laugh. I believe Rais is a bit of a shallow villain that deserves some a little more character development. The ending of the game provided more character development for Rais in five minutes than the previous five hours. Even with the few hiccups, Dying Light provides an entertaining story that keeps the game moving.
Gameplay
Parkour and free running mechanics have been experimented with in first person shooters for some time now. There are plenty of examples of games that have fallen flat on its face and others who have elevated the mechanic to new heights. Dying Light has provided one of the best implementations of free running from a first person view so far. The control scheme is simple enough to feel intuitive and movement flows well. Running across the rooftops, climbing stomach turning heights, and leaping from ledge to ledge happens as smoothly as running from point A to point B on the ground in most first person shooters.
The great parkour mechanics is complimented with Dying Light’s level design. There are two visually distinct areas in the game. The slums are filled with shacks, cheap buildings, and industrial sectors that provide an urban jungle gym to explore. The old town, on the other hand, is a towering city inspired by The Renaissance. There are probably hundreds of possible routes through areas both on and off the ground. Some ideal routes are subtly hinted out with red cables, spray painted arrows, and ramps to run off, but players are encouraged to choose their own path through the obstacles.
Dead Island veterans will be at home, as Dying Light’s DNA has Dead Island written all over it. The multitude of melee weapons, crafting blueprints, and rarity system make their return, but Techland has made some excellent tweaks to the system. Each weapon has a limited number of repair slots that will allow the wielder restore the weapon’s durability. These slots are limited by the weapon’s rarity. Player skills can slow the durability decay or randomly not consume a repair slot. Weapons have two sets of upgrades. Blueprint modification will add damage along with some elemental effects. Weapon mods can be found scattered around Harran and add a stat boost. Special combat abilities can be purchased with combat skill points.
Dying Light’s combat is a bloody good time. The game is full of zombie dismemberment and plenty of gore. It encourages players to be agile and engage in melee combat as much as possible. There is ample ammunition in the game and plenty of opportunity to get into gun fights with Rais’ thugs, but gunfire will draw the attention of more powerful zombies. This can quickly worsen the situation, especially at night when volatiles roam around. There is a good mix of special zombies that are slowly introduced, which build a more challenging experience as the game progresses.
The levelling system uses three separate experience points for the three skill trees. Delivering supplies, completing missions, and helping survivors will provide players with utility oriented abilities. Players will also earn agility and combat levels from simply free running around and getting into fights. Agility levels will give players both dextrous combat abilities and new ways to traverse the terrain. Combat levels will provide new abilities and an extra bump in toughness for the player. I really like how agility levels and combat levels are separated from survivor levels. It feels like a more natural way of improving the Kyle’s abilities, as Kyle becomes a better traceur by practicing those skills instead of completing missions.
Dying Light is probably at its best at night. While the players rule the day, the night is owned by aggressive, fast, and powerful zombies called volatiles. It is possible to win a fight against a few of these powerful zombies with a few well prepared friends, but these battles almost always end with a heart pounding sprint through the city once the number of volatiles become overwhelming. Exploring at night is a risky experience, but players are rewarded with double agility and combat experience plus bonus survivor and agility points for surviving the evening and escaping pursuers.
Multiplayer comes in two flavours in Dying Light. The base experience is four player co-op. The co-operative element is interspersed with optional competitions based on the players’ current area. Players interested in participating can opt into the competition, with the winner being awarded with extra experience points. These competitions can range from killing as many zombies as possible to collecting the most valuable loot in a short period of time. The most fun competitions are races that challenge player’s free running abilities, hands down, as the large variety of routes through an area provide a pure skill challenge.
The final element of Dying Light’s multiplayer is the Be the Zombie mode. Originally a pre-order bonus and paid DLC, Be the Zombie mode is now available to all owners. Players can allow player controlled zombie invasions in their multiplayer game settings, allowing a competing player to control the Night Hunter. The Night Hunter is a quick but fragile monster that is capable of zipping around with its tendrils and pouncing on unsuspecting players. Like the volatiles, the Night Hunter is vulnerable to UV light. Take a blast of UV light and the Night Hunter’s energy bar drops, preventing it from pouncing on more players and eventually locking out the tendrils. I initially started playing with the expectation that the Night Hunter would be balanced against the player, but a couple of rounds of playing the Night Hunter, I soon realized how utterly wrong I was. A competent player on his own has a fighting chance against the fragile Night Hunter. Be the Zombie mode serves as a challenging distraction from the main game.
Visuals
Dying Light looks great. There are plenty of different zombie models and two visually distinct areas. Techland has paid a lot of attention to small details. I really liked seeing how weapons are visually different after repairs. Blades are held together with nuts, bolts, and strips of metal. Broken wooden handles are repaired with strips of metal and tape. Modifications look a little ridiculous, but still provide a distinct, cobbled together look
On the PC hardware side, Dying Light is a solid port. The initial release has been a little rocky with frame rate drops and crashes, but a series of post release patches has solved most of the problems. Dying Light needs a serious computer, as the minimum requirements are hefty. The game demands a powerful CPU with strong per core performance and a lot of VRAM. On the flip side, there are plenty of options to tweak the game, including the motion-sickness preventing FOV options.
Audio
Dying Light provides a strong audio experience. The sound effects are well done and the voice acting is top notch for most of the game. There are a wide variety of accents scattered across Haran, reflecting the varied population that was trapped in the city during the international athletics competition. The zombies have a creepy humanity to them, with almost audible syllables and screams that cut through the usual undead moans. The scoring is tense and always fits the mood.
Overall
Dying Light sets the new standard for first person parkour titles and easily ranks as one of the best zombie FPS games on the market. The audio/visual experience is top notch. The game’s combat is fulfilling and the fluid movement system is a pleasure to use. The night makes Dying Light a thrilling experience. Good night, indeed.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Madman Entertainment has just revealed their list of anime releases scheduled for April 15, 2015. Here is the list in its entirety:
Ben-To series collection – on DVD and Blu-ray with dual audio
Dog & Scissors series collection – on DVD with dual audio
KILL la KILL volume four – on DVD and Blu-ray with dual audio
Log Horizon part two – on DVD and Blu-ray with dual audio
Sailor Moon season one part one – on DVD with dual audio
Sankarea: Undying Love complete collection – on DVD and Blu-ray with dual audio
Spirited Away – on Blu-ray with DTS-MA 5.1 surround Japanese and English audio
The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki – on DVD and Blu-ray with dual audio
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya – on DVD and Blu-ray with dual audio
Madman has not yet confirmed if they will go through with their plan to release Sailor Moon on Blu-ray. The home-video release of Sankarea: Undying Love was delayed back in 2013. This was due to the discovery that FUNimation, the North American licensor and dubber of the anime, was given the censored television broadcast version instead of the unedited version released on home video in Japan. Initially, a replacement program was going to be made available for any customers who purchased the censored version. However, the home video release has been delayed for one-and-a-half years and only just been re-announced.
FUNimation also delayed the home video release of Ben-To due to discovering “inconsistencies associated with the materials used to create the release”. Initially set to be released several months ago, both FUNimation and Madman have delayed their releases of the series until now.
Crunchyroll has acquired many shows for the summer 2015 simulcast season, and all shows in the following list are available for viewers in Australia. Here is the list of both new and old series now added or being added to the Crunchyroll library:
All 43 episodes of GTO the Animation are available for premium subscribers, with 12 episodes being made available weekly for non-subscribers. Currently, the first 24 episodes are available for all viewers in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America (including the Caribbean), Europe (excluding France, Italy, and the Netherlands), Africa and the Middle East.
For those unfamiliar with Tomo Toons, it is a new system of animation which involves taking frames and dialogue from a manga and transforming it with CG animation. Unlike with real books or e-books, viewers cannot change the page as the story continues independently of the viewer. The idea of taking manga and turning them into videos with limited animation has already been realised with the Manga 2.5 system.
Cowboy Bebop is one of those seminal works which occasionally find themselves elevated to the position of classic. No doubt most anime fans have seen at least one or two episodes, if not the entire series multiple times. The shows asks watcher what is your goal and purpose when you’ve been used up and washed out by the universe. For a show released in 1998, it’s remarkable that a show about some bounty hunters adrift in a used future has had such staying power. 1998 seems to have been a magical year for anime, giving us Cardcaptor Sakura, Trigun, Outlaw Star, and Initial D, but the wandering drifters of Cowboy Bebop hold a special place above the rest.
Story
From Venus to the Jovian moons, warp-gates link the solar system in a setting of crime and weak governments. Bounty hunting has returned to try to aid law enforcement in stopping rampant criminal activity from the dregs of society. Drug deals, Mafia criminals, scientific monstrosities on the loose, all are waiting for our intrepid bounty hunters to stumble into and try to capture. The somewhat loosely connected episodes don’t seem to be all that special until the overarching plots and aching backstories of our protagonists come to light. The pain and loss of Spike Spiegal, the darkness in Jet’s past, Faye’s lost history, and Ed’s abandonment all ring powerfully in later episodes.
But I won’t ruin the story here. It’s worth watching the crew of the Bebop struggling to get by in a universe where they really don’t fit in. The story is a timeless example of the struggle and anxiety people find themselves in when they don’t know what to do with their lives. The setting is the only difference and I myself am a huge fan of used future in narrative. While Mars is a fairly nice settled place, Earth is effectively a ruined backwater due to events which caused the destruction of the moon to rain debris upon the planet. The Jovian moons are on the fringe, the asteroid belt full of sulking criminals, and more, there is just so much character in the universe that we see in Cowboy Bebop.
What makes Cowboy Bebop special is the connection we feel to the characters. Through every episode and mystery there is a real human presence to all of it’s characters, their struggles and problems. There is no perfection in this universe and the characters match. We see antagonists all with different motivations and reasons for their criminal activity, but even then there is pathos and pity for some. The universe here works in shades of grey though many of the antagonists skew towards the darker end.
There is a reason that this show with it’s setting similar to Outlaw Star and Trigun stands tall above those pieces, elevated to the status of classic. It is not unique on it’s cover, but to judge it so lacks the manner of which everything is portrayed. The overarching story is a masterpiece and the shorter contained stories with few exceptions meet the same criteria. Some are better and some are worse, but all bring the same flavor and presence that makes this show something special.
Visuals
The remaster of Cowboy Bebop has been excellently handled, and the Blu-ray’s have a very clear polish to them. The visual aesthetic of the show was always good, even fifteen years ago viewed on an old television, and with the shine and polish brought from the remaster, it’s almost like watching a new show. The animation quality is superb and fluid, and while there is some graininess to the remaster, this is almost expected. After all, the show was done with cels and backgrounds, far from the clean polished digital animation we find in anime today. Do note that the anime is in a 4:3 ratio, as widescreen was not common for anime from this time period. It will be letterboxed and I do not find this a flaw, since that is the original method of filming for the anime.
The fact is, this show was ahead of it’s time, and the animation proudly displays this well. The only parts of the release which let down, visually, are some of the extras and the CG. Unfortunately the CG isn’t quite as crisp in resolution as the rest of the animation, due to the time in which it was made. The DVD release of the same version is also a well done remastering, though obviously it’s not as nice as the Blu-rays. However, it’s perfectly acceptable for watching on a laptop or if you don’t happen to have a Blu-ray player of any sort. It lacks some of the crisp definition, but it’s still just as beautiful a show.
Notice the lower quality CG
As I said above, the used future appeals to me greatly. Everything in the show is beat up and worn down, from the titular Bebop itself, to the examples of old technology we find (I still can’t believe a beta cassette player found it’s way into the show), to the character’s themselves. And it’s just that which helps to make the show so great; who can believe the the future will look perfect? Look around any major city today, from London to Sydney to Beijing to Seattle. There’s grit and wear and tear even in the brighter parts of the city center, much less the seedier parts of town. This dirtiness, especially with the film grain effect which is the result of how the show was originally filmed, gives Cowboy Bebop a feel which matches the tone of the show.
Audio
The audio of the show has been remastered as well. Anime is rarely released in 5.1 Dolby, but both the Japanese and English channels are 5.1. Unfortunately for some strange reason Funimation didn’t release a 2.1 track for either Japanese or English. While I did not find this to be a problem when I checked the show in stereo, downscaling 5.1 to 2.1 can downgrade the audio quality for watchers. I’m not an audiophile, so to me it didn’t make a difference. The audio sounds even better than it did when I used to watch the show on TV, as a remaster should.
Of note is the excellent soundtrack by Yoko Kanno. No review of Cowboy Bebop can be complete without mentioning the outstanding soundtrack brought to bear by Kanno. With the remaster, it sounds excellent, clean and crisp, bringing a jazzy vibe to the whole series. It can be argued without the motifs and music brought to the show by Kanno’s music, Cowboy Bebop would not have been anywhere near as good as it was. The series is strongly dominated by it’s musical themes, and the presence of this sound in it’s remastered state drives me to want to listen to it even more.
Extras
This version of the release does not come with any physical extras, unfortunately. While Funimation and Amazon both released special limited edition versions, this is the basic edition which comes with just the discs. The discs themselves are quite nice, designed to appear as old vinyl records, fitting with the musical themes in the show.
The real meat and potatoes of the extras come in the form of the wide variety which have been provided. As is standard, Funimation has given us textless openings and closings, as well of original openings and closings (the Japanese credit versions). They have also provided the same for the alternate openings and closings for episodes 13 and 26.
Some episodes for the show also come with commentaries. Episodes 5 and 10 come with English commentary from voice actor Wendee Lee (Faye) and the ADR Producer Yutaka Maseba. Episodes 1, 17, and 24 come with commentaries from some of the Japanese cast and crew, subtitled. Unfortunately the backing track for those episodes is Japanese without subtitles, so it’s more for just listening to the various cast. Episode 1 has Spike & Jet’s VA’s, Koichi Yamadera and Unshou Ishizuka respectively. Episode 17 has the director Shinichiro Watanabe and Yoko Kanno, while Episode 24 features Megumi Hayashibara and Aoi Tada, Faye and Ed respectively.
As if this wasn’t enough, we also receive interviews with Wendee Lee and Sean Akins, the producer for Cartoon Network (who aired the show in the US to great success). There is also a documentary style look back at the show from the dub cast, which is an excellent hour and a half look at the dubbing of the series.The US trailer, Japanese PV “Session 0”, and Tank! music clips are also featured.
From The Dub Sessions Remembered
The extras aren’t all in HD, but they’re an excellent inclusion for the landmark series, and I enjoyed watching them personally. They offer a good look at the background of the series both in Japan and in the US dubbing process.
Overall
Whether or not you own a copy of Cowboy Bebop it’s hard to not recommend picking up the Blu-Rays. In fact, whether or not you’ve seen the show I recommend picking these up. This is Bebop in it’s best ever version, and for such a landmark work as this show is, I highly recommend this copy. Even with the minor flaws, it’s a perfect version of the show to own, and it’s unlikely Funimation and Sunrise will come up with a better release. My only further suggestion would be to perhaps pick up one of the limited edition versions, but this series is a must-own, especially this release. The prior two-part Blu-ray release for Australia was very well done as well.
This is a show everyone needs to watch, and the story will grab any fan of a good science fiction show. If you have a friend who likes Firefly, they should see it. If you have a friend who likes sci-fi or westerns, again, it’s excellent in both categories. Cowboy Bebop: The Complete Series is a must-have, and I hope that you will all enjoy it just as much as I have. With that…See You, Space Cowboy.
FUNimation recently revealed the English dub cast for Nobunagun. The dub premiered at Ohayocon on the weekend, ahead of its release on DVD and Blu-ray in 2015. The dub cast is as follows:
Sio – Jad Saxton
Nobunaga – Kent Williams
Jack – Jason Liebrecht
Gandhi – Christopher Bevins
Newton – Caitlin Glass
Christopher Bevins is also the ADR Director for the dub, and Kenneth Thompson is the ADR Engineer. For those that missed the series when it first aired, it can still be viewed on FUNimation’s streaming service with English subtitles. More information about the home video release will be made available at some point in the future.
Today was the big game, the grand daddy, the Super Bowl! As anyone knows, Super Bowl is almost as famous for its advertisements than it is for its actuall football! Well, Paramount Pictures have joined in on the fun with a new short-spot for the upcoming Terminator: Genisys. Check out the video below that while short, shows off a little bit of new footage:
In addition to the new TV-spot, we also have a brand new poster that shows Arnie in all his robotic glory. Check it out below and let us know in the comments what you thought of the new footage seen in the new trailer. As always, make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Terminator news as it becomes available.
Ahh the first of February, you know what that means? Less than a month of scorching summer heat! What? Oh, I’m also being told that it is a great time for Xbox Newsbeat! So I guess it is time to sit back, relax and enjoy this week’s hottest news straight out of Microsoft HQ!
Great Deals with February Games with Gold
It’s the first of the month and you know what that means! It is time for brand new Games with Gold to be available! If you aren’t aware, Games with Gold is Microsoft’s little reward for Xbox Live Gold subscribers that gives access to a few free games each month. So make sure you download these while they are available:
#IDARB: Available from Feb. 1 – 28 on Xbox One
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons: Available from Feb. 1 – 15 on Xbox 360
Sniper Elite V2: Available from Feb. 16 – 28 on Xbox 360
Once you download these games you will have them forever so make sure you don’t miss out.
Go Behind the Scenes with Forza Motorsport 6 and the Ford GT
Very recently, Forza Motorsport 6 was announced, and along with it the brand new Ford GT was unveiled to the world. I have heard that the two have created quite a commotion in the automotive world. Well now you can join in all the excitement with this brand new video that takes you behind the scenes of the all-new Ford GT. You’ll hear from the Ford designers and engineers as they discuss the inspirations for the new car. The Ford GT will be featured heavily in the promotion for Forza Motorsport 6, so it is pretty cool to see what all the fuss is about:
Xbox on Windows Feature Summary for the January build of the Windows 10 Technical Preview
While still a ways away, Microsoft are hard at work at the Windows 10 operating system that is set for launch later this year. In the meantime, we have a little look at some of the Xbox specific features that you can expect:
Your Profile –provides you quick access to your Xbox profile and recent activity and achievements. With the initial preview build, you can see your Gamerscore, recent Activity, Achievements, Following lists and Game Clips.
Activity – provides detailed information on your last game played and also allows you to post updates to your Activity Feed.
Achievements – allows you to browse all of the games you have recently played across all platforms and see how you are doing on Achievements.
Following – displays your Friends and also enables you to see games that you are following. You can “Follow” a game by clicking on the Follow button on the game details page.
Game Clips – provides you access to your recorded game clips
Home – the Xbox app home page will provide you quick access to your Recently Played games, your friends and their online status and an Activity Feed of recent events, game clips, etc.
Recently Played – you can see your recently played games, along with your gamer score and achievements earned across all platforms, you can also filter this list down to Xbox One and eventually other devices. When you click on a game, you bring up the Game Hub– where you can see your Gamerscore, Achievement status, Time played and Game clips for a particular game. Additionally, this is where you can choose to “Follow” a game.
Friends –you can see your friends across devices and search and find new friends. Additionally, you can go the profile page for your friends and followers and view their recent activity, achievements, friends, games they follow and game clips.
People you might know –the new Xbox app on Windows 10 provides you with a list of people that you might want to add to your Friends list, for example people that are Following you.
VIPs on Xbox – You can now also choose to follow key gamers and content creators across the Xbox Live community, such as Clip Creators and Popular Broadcasters.
Activity Feed – you can view your activity feed and post text, like and comment on your friends’ recent achievements and Game clips. In this version of preview build, the sharing functionality is not yet enabled.
Messages –Users can view messages from other users and system messages / notifications.
Settings – Within settings, you can see the current Version number of the Xbox on Windows app, and choose to Sign out from the app. Additionally, you can turn on/off the following items:
Live tile – choose to display # of friends online, unread messages and activity alerts on the Xbox app tile on the Windows 10 Start menu
Notifications – for the following items:
Favourite online – Notify me when my favourite friends are online
Twitch broadcast started – Notify me when my favourite friends start broadcasting
Message – Notify me when I get a new message
So there’s another exciting Newsbeat update. Did any of this week’s three headlines manage to grab your attention? Let us know in the comments below and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Microsoft news as it becomes available.
