Razer announced their ultra thin gaming laptop will be getting a hardware refresh. The Razer Blade will now come in two resolutions, QHD+ and Full HD. Both models now sport Intel Core i7-4270HQ quad core processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M graphic cards in a CNC’d aluminium chassis that weighs 4.47 lbs/2.03 kg or less.
The QHD+ model features a 14″ IGZO screen with multi-touch functionality and 16GB of RAM. Systems start at $2199 USD for a model packing a 128GB SSD, with prices going up for the 256 GB and 512 GB options.
A matte 1920×1080 IPS model with no touch screen will be available exclusively through the Razer Store. This model is only available with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. This is a more affordable model that will cost $1999 USD.
The full specs of both Razer Blade laptops are as follows:
Sega has announced that alongside the new release from Creative Assembly, Total War: ATTILA, players will be receiving a new social feature. This feature comes along a new website and is called Total War Chronicles.
This new feature is to offer players the ability to engage with the greater Total War community by making it easy to share details of your campaigns. Creative Assembly promises that with the click of a button, a detailed log of all events from your current campaign will be uploaded to TotalWar.comon a sub-page. Players will have to log in using their Steam ID.
This feature will upload the entire event log of a play through and create chapters. Players can upload as often as they wish and multiple times. Campaigns can made kept public or made private, and the creator of the log can add commentary for the graphical playback mode if they desire.
Total War Chronicles will go live on February 17th, releasing with Total War: ATTILA.
After the more lighthearted Season 7 involving Gohan attending high school, becoming The Great Saiyaman and the return of Goku, Dragon Ball Z Season 8 has a much more villain focused plot and introduces us to the terrifying, yet playful, Majin Buu. Season 8 also brings us some of the most well known transformations and fights that the series is known for. Featuring a huge 34 episodes, does Season 8 hold up to the quality of past release? Read on to find out.
Story
Spoilers ahead, so any new fans of Dragon Ball who haven’t seen the Buu Saga arc please move along to the visuals section. Along time ago the evil wizard Bibidi created a being of pure evil called Majin Buu who he then sealed inside a ball as he found Buu too wild to control. Eons later, his son Babidi is trying to resurrect Buu from his dormant ball by gathering energy. Thus, the third and final major villain of the Z series is born.
Majin Buu is no where near as intelligent or plotting as the former big bads and is perhaps the weakest of the villains in terms of character (definitely not strength wise), lacking any sort of back story that intertwines with the main heroes as the previous two villains did. You will either hate or love Buu’s childish personality but it plays a very interesting role towards the end of the season where we see both the destructive and innocent sides of Buu’s character, producing both heart warming and heart breaking scenes, sometimes in the same episode. Babidi is the brains of operation and helps further the plot along with his strong magical abilities while Demon King Dabura serves as some serious muscle who goes through some strange jealousy issues when Majin Buu comes along.
One thing I like is that at this point in the story, the Saiyan characters all know they are ridiculously strong. It is cool to see Goku, Vegeta and Gohan be self aware of the power creep the series has experienced as are the viewers and it is refreshing to see them have the upper hand on the enemy for a change, at least for half of the season. The characters (and fights of course) are what carries this show and the cast is very strong here apart from perhaps Supreme Kai, who is more often then not trembling in fear as opposed to being a calm guardian of the Universe which gets irritating quickly. Vegeta in particular receives some great character development that leads into events that occur towards the show’s end.
There is also a secondary story happening back at the World Tournament grounds as the Tournament is in disarray after most of the competitors have left. This is where most of the comedy comes into the arc, with Trunks and Goten posing as the fighter Mighty Mask to fight with the adults, 18 trying to get some cash and Mr. Satan trying to maintain his false representation as Earth’s strongest as well as the Announcer trying to get everything together. The lighthearted moments help break the tension between the more serious events and drama surrounding Buu and are a good laugh in their own right.
The transformations are definitely one of the strong points of the season. We get Vegeta coming under the control of Babidi in exchange for more power, Goten and Trunks performing the fusion dance to become the showboating Gotenks and of course, Goku demonstrating the infamous Super Saiyan 3 technique he learnt while training in Other World. At this point in the series many would argue that gaining a new power up to match up to an increasingly strong villain has become a little tired, but being the last arc in the series I think that plot point had just enough legs to see out the end of the show and there is no denying how epic some of these transformations are, both visually and in the changes they bring to the character’s personality.
Rivaling the transformation as the season’s strong point are the fights, which offer a good mix of epic and fun throughout the season. We get Vegeta absolutely dominating Pui Pui, an out of form Gohan taking on Dabura and then the one everyone’s been waiting for, the big rematch between Goku and Vegeta. This fight is as epic as they come, with beam clashes, fist’s flurries, big blows, characters flying into mountains and getting slammed into the ground. You also get Goku taking on Buu with his new Super Saiyan 3 form as well as a few other scuffles like Mighty Mask taking on 18 and Vegeta taking on Buu. Some cool new techniques debut in this season such as Dabura’s Stone Spit, Android 18 using Destructo Disk or Buu turning his opponent into chocolate. For those that like measures of strength, we also get some revelations such as Goku being stronger than Gohan when he fought Cell and Gohan actually being weaker than back then.
Visuals
There is no doubt the quality offered by this Blu-ray collection is margins above its old DVD counterparts. The most noticeable difference in the remaster is the sharpness which has improved three fold thanks to the high definition offered by the Blu-ray format. The Majin Buu Saga has always looked better than past sagas of the show thanks to simply being newer and that has aided in the better image quality present here with Season 8 looking the best of any release thus far. A couple of comparison screenshots are below for you to see the drastic difference in quality for yourself. The DVD image is on top, Blu-ray on the bottom.
I’ve mentioned the cropping issue in all my prior DBZ Blu-ray reviews but it is important to a lot of fans so I will mention it again here. Dragon Ball is an old anime that was first broadcasted in the old 4:3 aspect ratio. In this release, the footage has been converted to 16:9 widescreen without the option to view it in its original form, resulting in about 20% of the original image being lost. The good thing is that Funimation have selectively cropped each scene in these new Blu-ray releases instead of leaving the crop confined to one spot for the entire run of the show like they did with the older DVD release, however this still does not eradicate the problem entirely. One awkward scene comes to mind where the tall Dabura is talking but the top of his head is cut off as the much shorter Babidi is also in the scene. That being said, scenes where the crop is awkward are few and far between and I would pick this over black bars on the side of the image.
The colours, brightness and contrast here are perfect and the grain removal is spot on. The new release does not suffer from any type of over saturation like the DVD releases but colours still manage to pop on screen. Lines are sharper and cleaner, colours are not over saturated and light and shadows are visible where they previously were not, allowing for more detail on screen. Even backgrounds benefit from the remastering process as you can see with the clouds below which now look more like a water colour then just a blur.
The original box art (featured at the top of this review) showcases the events of Season 8 very well and looks great to boot. You can link this cover up with Season 7 and Season 9 to form a mural that covers the entire Majin Buu saga which is a nice touch especially for those who love their physical collections.
Audio
The audio options presented here by Funimation are excellent and should not leave anyone disappointed. The default audio is set to the Funimation English dub with the original Japanese Audio track and is presented in True HD Dolby 5.1 surround sound. All the intense battles, ki blast and yelling sound loud and clear in this release. You also have your original broadcast dub soundtrack done by Bruce Falconer and the original Japanese mono broadcast to select from as well.
The Japanese and English music track both have some great highlights here and I really recommend watching the Season twice with both soundtracks so you can hear the best of both worlds. On the dub, tracks such as Dabura’s Theme fit perfectly with his menacing presence and the fight tracks are full of energy. Also of note are the epic Super Saiyan 3 theme as well as Gohan’s theme when he pulls out the Z sword, among others. The Japanese track is no slouch though as the soundtrack always fits the action on screen and can stir just as much emotion as the Falconer track can. It also better utilizes silence as opposed to the always on Falconer dub. Where as the DVD had some ‘wonky’ parts in it’s audio, there is no such error here.
As for the voice acting, you again have the choice of the Funimation English dub or the original Japanese vocal track. The dub voices for newly seen characters such as Dabura, Babidi and Buu are all done very well. The King of the Demon World sounds like he came straight from Hell while the child like Majin Buu sounds like a kid on a rampage, fitting his personality perfectly. I’ve always loved how the voice of Gotenks is conveyed with both actors talking at the same time and that still holds up well many years later.
The old voice actors also deserve some praise here, showcasing the experience they have gained over the shows run, with Chris Sabat giving he’s all as Vegeta who has some great moments in Season 8 and Sean Schemmel also deserving of a clap for his Super Saiyan 3 transformation scene. I can’t really comment on the Japanese vocal track but I have no complaints about what I have heard of those performances. All this voice work shines through with crystal clarity thanks to the remastering process.
My only negative on audio is a very small one, and that is that the menu song isn’t as catchy as the previous two releases although it is by no means a bad menu song and fits in with the style of previous themes.
Extras
The extras in this Blu-ray release continue to impress and they are actually the first thing I watch now whenever I get my hands on the new season. This time around we get a 25 minute chat with Kyle Hebert who voices Adult Gohan, Pikkon and the Narrator among other small roles; another decent sized interview with Kara Edwards who voices Videl and Goten and lastly a look into the process Funimation goes through to bring anime and other properties to the states from Japan. These interviews are all insightful, charming and reveal some awesome information about the early days of the series. Watching Kyle Hebert get to talk about his dream job and how much he appreciates it is endearing.
The special from Funimation is particularly interesting, showing us the ‘Style Guide’ for Dragon Ball Z which involves character artwork (many of which you will recognize from different promotional material), character biographies and rules for how characters are not allowed to be represented (e.g. images can never be flipped or characters can never be cropped). You also get some interesting insight into one of the most infamous dub lines in it’s Over 9000!!! Funimation actually had to fight for two months to use the popular line on merchandising as the Japanese staff did not want any more attention drawn to the dub error. If you’re into the business side of things or just love behind the scenes stuff in general, this extra is for you.
Apart from the big extras, there is a short U.S. trailer and a text less opening and closing segment. The ‘next time on Dragon Ball Z’ segments are missing from this release, however the previous episode recaps are present. The one negative with the extras is that there is no physical episode guide such as the one featured in the old orange remastered DVD box sets but the extras here more than make up for that absence in my eyes. There is a seemingly unnoticed error in the Kyle Hebert interview where the same clip plays twice over different audio, however it is a small mistake and the clips only serve to fill time between questions anyway.
Overall
Dragon Ball Z Season 8 continues the trend of excellence of the later season Blu-ray releases. The episodes here contain some of the most epic fights and transformations in Dragon Ball Z history and there are a lot of big moments, particularly for Vegeta. The visual quality is amazing, the sound quality is amazing and the high quality extras are the icing on the cake. If you don’t mind the transition to the widescreen format, this is the definitive release of the original Dragon Ball Z so far. Bring on Season 9!
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Come along, stop on by. Hop a carpet and fly…. Late last year Disney released the first wave of Disney Originals figures for Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes, and while Aladdin was one of the characters in the mix people lamented that his beloved, Princess Jasmine was missing! Well all of that ends next week as Jasmine is reunited with the charming street rat just in time for Valentines Day.
Starting from from February 12th, Jasmine brings her trademark confidence and a certain acrobatic prowess to the game. Fans can purchase Jasmine individually for AU$17.95 or in the Aladdin Toy Box Pack (exclusive to Big W here in Australia) for AU$29.95.
The Aladdin Toy Box Pack includes:
1. Jasmine figure
1.Aladdin figure
2. Aladdin-themed Power Discs – “Jasmine’s Palace View” and “The Sands of Agrabah” (combined these two will make your Toy Box look like the vast Agrabah deserts)
Check out Jasmin’s new trailer below and make sure you add her to your collection next week. We will have our review of the new Jasmine figure in the near future, so make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for that and all the other awesome Disney Infinity news as it becomes available.
Point and click adventure publisher Phoenix Online Publishing and indie developers Red Herring Labs unveiled their latest project today.
Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock is a new science fiction themed point and click adventure starring Powell, a mercenary who has been hired to rescue the crew of the Morningstar. The merchant ship has crash landed on a mysterious alien planet and its crew murdered. It turns out the planet of Deadrock is the Bermuda Triangle of space travel, serving as a grave yard for other ships who have met similarly grisly ends. Powell now must escape the same fate and get off the Deadrock alive.
The game started its life as a free to play title running on Flash. The retail release has been upgraded with HD graphics, new puzzles, voice acting, a remastered soundtrack, and an extended plot.
Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock will launch for Mac and Windows on February 17th, 2015. The game will be available at digital retailers like Steam and the Humble Store for $9.99 USD.
With Avengers: Age of Ultron’s premiere just around the corner, the hype train is definitely picking up speed. Many people are wondering how the studio that cannot fail will top their first ensemble film. More than that though, people are dying for more info, pics and other tid-bits they can find before the movie’s April 23rd release. Thankfully, Disney and Marvel have given us just that with a bunch of new still shots from the film!
The shots, that you can check out in the gallery below show off Director Joss Whedon at work, as well as some high-res pics from the latest trailers and some new stuff thrown in there. Are you excited for Avengers: Age of Ultron? Let us know in the comments below and make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Marvel news as it becomes available.
Focus Home Interactive announced that their upcoming Warhammer game Mordheim: City of the Damned entered phase three of Early Access testing.
The new update adds the Cult of the Possessed, a group of degenerates who worship the Dark Gods of Chaos. These violent cultists have mutated into monstrous forms and wield special abilities like Terror. Additionally, the Warcamp’s functionality has been extended to allow players to manage which units will head into combat and the Marked for Death skirmish objective has been added to the game.
Mordheim: City of the Damned is a turned based tactical RPG developed by Rogue Factor. The game is available now as part of Steam’s Early Access program for Windows. To celebrate the release of Phase 3, the game’s regular $31.99 USD (BUY HERE) price has been slashed by 33% until February 6th.
Viz Media has just announced a brand-new original graphic novel in the Hello Kitty series. Hello Kitty: It’s About Time is now available for readers of all ages from Viz’s Perfect Square imprint. It has a suggested retail price of $7.99 US and $9.99 CAN.
Viz describes the book:
Let the good times roll! It’s time for beach parties, dance contests, last-minute birthday gifts and time machines! Plus, journey inside a cuckoo clock and much, much more! Past, present or future, Hello Kitty and her friends are having a blast!
Arists Jacob Chabot, Ian McGinty, Jorge Monlongo, Giovanni Castro and ‘special guest’ Erica Salcedo are behind this original, full-colour graphic novel featuring Sanrio’s iconic Hello Kitty character. These artists have brought much experience and talent with them, and a few of these artists have previously worked on titles in the Hello Kitty series.
Other Hello Kitty titles available from Perfect Square include Hello Kitty: Here We Go!, Hello Kitty: Surprise!, Hello Kitty: Delicious!, Hello Kitty: Work of Art, Hello Kitty: Just Imagine!, and the hardcover commemorative story and art anthology Hello Kitty, Hello 40.
Matt Murdoch, Daredevil, The Man With No Fear. No matter what you call him, one of Marvel’s darker characters is finally making his television debut (after 2003’s less than favorable film adaptation) via online video-streaming service; Netflix.
Since the release is so soon, Disney’s Marvel Studios have finally given us the first look at the show via a 15 second teaser trailer that went online today. Not only that, but the teaser ends with a promise of a full-lengthed trailer tomorrow!
Take a look below for the short but sweet look at the series and make sure you check back tomorrow for the full trailer! Daredevil will be released via Netflix on April 10th, so there is plenty of time to binge-watch it between then and Avengers: Age of Ultron’s release.
Dungeons and Dragons is one of the longest lasting games out there. Heck, it was responsible for the creation of the pen & paper RPG genre and is still the the game most commonly thought of when you hear the word “Nerd.” Well since the release of the new 5th edition, players have been making the most of the new rules, engaging on new quests and just having a tonne of fun. However, one very important group of DnD players were missing out on their chance to completely get in on the action: Dungeon Masters. Well now that has all changed, as the new Dungeons and Dragon’s Dungeon Master’s Guide is out, and is chock full of stuff that will help anybody create just about anything they need from new worlds, dungeons, enemies and even magical items.
I haven’t been playing Dungeons and Dragons for as long as some people out there, so my knowledge of the game and how its run is admittedly not as exhaustive as it outta be, but from the moment I picked up the new edition of the Dungeon Master’s guide I was beyond impressed. The book provides a simple, easy to follow set up that allows even the more freshman DM’s (*cough cough me cough*) to create not only dungeons and games, but entire WORLDS. Everything from how to craft fictional towns and cities through to the different planes of existence is all explained in plain English.
The game comes with a few pre-made demonstration dungeons and character types that you can slot into the game, but it also gives you the tools to make your own without treating the reader like an idiot. There’s no set “How to make…” sections in the book, so you aren’t hand-held into creating cardboard cutout characters or settings. The freedom and inspiration given means the DM can make some seriously unique and fantastic games for your party of friends. The book even details two new villainous character classes to help you along, or if your game is so inclined; to allow your party members to become. I was recently running a game that had the whole party slowly turn evil and the one paladin player in the group was annoyed that he was losing all of his abilities, then I informed him of the Oathbreaker Paladin class that fit where his character was headed perfectly.
The later sections of the book detail a tonne of pre-made magical items and artifacts that allow you to pick and choose what you would like to place into your world without having to come up with complex rules and balancing issues. However, because there are so many items it is easy to adapt and change them to suit your own purposes or use them as inspiration to complete completely new objects.
That’s what this book is really all about, giving DM’s the tools to create experiences for their players and it does it masterfully. The fact that some things are ommitted like “how to create the perfect enemy,” or “how to create your own magical item” make the reader feel empowered as the book is not treating you like fools but still providing enough examples and explanations to allow you to go out and make something.
Extras
While the book is one thing, anybody who has seen DnD being played in TV, movies or just about anywhere else will imagine the dungeon master sitting behind his folded cardboard barrier. Well you can absolutely get that very folded cardboard! The Dungeon Master’s Screen allows the D.M to keep his personal dice rolls, notes and amendments concealed from the players.
In addition to concealing the DM’s machinations from the players, the new version of the DM’s Screen also contains a selection of the game’s more common occurrences like ailments, random loot rolls and even some encounters. The quick reference guide right there on the screen means that you aren’t required to keep referencing back to the rule book or quest outline for every little thing. As I’m sure most of you know, anything that speeds up a DnD game is a great thing indeed, and this makes it about as smooth as it can be.
Unlike previous iterations, the current 5th edition of the screen is much shorter, allowing the DM to see over his barricade and keep an eye on the proceedings. To compensate for the shortness of the screen, everything is presented in a more landscape-like format so that everything is still easy to read.
Overall
The Dungeon Master’s Guide is the most important tool in a world-builder’s arsenal. It allows them to shape and sculpt an entire universe as they so choose and does it without hand-holding or being too ambiguous. The wording is plain and easy to understand, even when dealing with the most complex topics in the game, and the new evil character classes provide a lot of enjoyment as either villainous NPCs or new direction for you to take your game in.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
