From this week’s special 20th anniversary PlayStation edition of Dengeki PlayStation, a number of quotes from various developers were included in the publication. One such quote happened to from the creator of Drakengard and Neir, Taro Yoko. Since finishing Drakengard 3 for the PlayStation 3 he has been working as a freelance developer and now he has stated that he is working on a new title.
As for what game he is working on, he couldn’t go into detail as he said “If I talk about the new title now, I’ll get killed by all kinds of people, so let’s just keep it a secret for now.” Considering the quote is in Dengeki PlayStation, it will likely be for a Sony platform but of course at this moment all we can do is wait for more info to be revealed in the future.
The first piece of story-based DLC for Sunset Overdrive has been revealed by Microsoft and Insomniac Games and it happens to take place on a “floating playground” called the Mooil Rig. This rig is stationed just off the shores of Sunset City and when a distress signal comes from the rig, the player must go and investigate only to find themselves stuck in the middle of a violent turf war between the well-armed workers on the rig and the aquatic mutants rampaging throughout the area.
This DLC not only adds a number of new missions, quests, challenges, weapons, traps, amps, and Chaos Squad objects but it will also include two new travel methods. Water Dive, the ability to dive underwater, and Water Slam Bounce, an ability that allows players to smash into the water and then fly up into the air.
This DLC will be released on December 23rd where it can be purchased for either $9.99 or it will be included in the Season Pass that can be purchased for $19.99 where it will come with additional DLC in the future and previously released weapon packs.
Siren Visual has just announced a release date for their DVD release of Queen’s Blade: Beautiful Warriors. The six-episode OVA series, taking place chronologically between the first and second seasons, will be released on February 20, 2015. The set will contain the textless opening and closing animation and feature dual audio. A Blu-ray release for the series has not yet been announced.
Siren Visual provided a synopsis of the OVAs:
The Queen’s Blade tournament may be over, but the stories of the contestants have barely begun. Unaware that fate is already conspiring to pit many of them against each other in the arena of war, the sword maidens scatter across the lands in search of fame, fortune, and adventure.
For some that comes sooner than expected, as Leina finds herself drawn to aid her sister, Elina, who’s been captured by Echidna. Tortured by the Swamp Witch, Melona focuses her anger on the absent Airi and plots an insidious revenge. But when confronted with their common enemies, how long can it be until they both seek to reunite with Menace?
And if that’s not enough trouble to be forming on the horizon, Nanael manages to get herself banished from Heaven and her goal of forming a harem of servants for herself proves to be anything but angelic.
Finally, to provide the beasts to go along with the beauties, both Alleyene and Nowa and Tomoe and Aldra each find their separate journeys marred by encounters with different forms of tentacled monsters!
Time to stop grinding and head back into the wild frontier that is outer space. Bungie and Activision have proudly announced the release of The Dark Below, the first of presumably many major content expansions for their hit MMO/FPS Destiny. Destiny: The Dark Below adds new content to just about every facet of the Destiny experience, including:
New Loot – Earn new weapons, armour, and gear, including new Legendary and Exotic items.
Level Increase – Raise your Light Level to 32
New Story Missions and Quests – Journey through new Hive-themed story missions and quests where you are tasked with stopping the resurrection of an ancient god, Crota
New cooperative Strike – The Will of Crota, pits you and your Fireteam against Omnigul as she works to expand the Hive army at the command of her master, Crota
New six-player Raid – Assemble your six-player Fireteam to attempt Crota’s End, set deep within the depths of the Hellmouth with all-new gameplay mechanics and enemy bosses
New competitive multiplayer arenas:
Pantheon – Set in an ancient Vex temple inside the Black Garden that features Vex-designed landscapes and tight corridors
Skyshock – An old interplanetary defense array that offers engagements for both vehicle and infantry
The Cauldron – An abandoned Hive ritual site that offers close-quarter combat
New EV-30 Tumbler Sparrow – Players that purchase and redeem the Destiny Expansion Pass or Destiny Expansion I: The Dark Below by January 15, 2015 will receive the EV-30 Tumbler Sparrow, enabling its riders to drive fast, take flight, and perform a set of mid-air tricks
PlayStation Exclusive Content – PlayStation players will also get access to an exclusive cooperative Strike, TheUndying Mind, and exclusive exotic weapon, The 4th Horseman shotgun
So that is a TONNE of content. Players can grab The Dark Below content for $24.95, or as part of the Destiny Expansion Pass which will include the next expansion, for a discounted $39.95. Will you be playing through all of the new Destiny content? Let us know in the comments below and make sure you check out our review of the base game if you haven’t already.
Warner Bros. and Techland’s upcoming epic first person zombie horror game, Dying Light is a little over a month from release and last week we got a new trailer that introduced us to the game’s story. Well it looks like the creators don’t think that they’ve got enough zombie killing awesomeness and have now released the full intro cinematic from the game. The admittedly short video gives you a rundown on what you will expect when you pick up the game on January 27th. The trailer paints a picture of despair and runs through the events that lead up to the game.
You can check out the intro trailer below and make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Dying Light news as it becomes available.
Overview Despite being a developer that mostly produces anime style fighting games, a fair number of Examu’s titles have been released in the West. The first Arcana Heart was localized back in 2008 and although the second title was skipped, Arcana Heart 3 was released overseas in 2011. Since then Examu’s Aquapazza has even been released in the West and now three years later, an enhanced version of the third game in the Arcana Heart series has been released under the name Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!!. With a number of improvements, is this enhanced release worth picking up?
Story While the game’s storyline is far from stellar and continuity can generally be ignored in this case, it is unfortunate that Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! picks up after the events that took place in the unlocalized second title. As such some of the new characters and events will obviously be out of place even if you played the first game in the series.
That being said, things are rather nonsensical in the first place. Each of the twenty three girls on the roster have a unique storyline that will be told over the course of a handful of fights, though the base story that runs through all of them involves a dangerous machine that, once activated, will annihilate Japan until your chosen fighter can put a stop to it.
The way that the story mode handles the fights is a little bit interesting as some battles can be chosen by the player, allowing you to see different tidbits of dialogue as your character speaks with her opponent before and after a fight. The personalities of these girls are pretty commonplace and there are already some established rivalries in place such as the one between the dog-eared Konoha and the Inuwaka clan on who should protect their master.
Sadly thanks to the base storyline, the actual story modes are very thin and unless you really like a specific character, there is unfortunately little quality here as the company went for quantity instead. There is a notable addition called “After Story” which is a short visual novel for each girl that gives players a little extra time with the cast with one or two fights mixed in, but even here these short tidbits do not give players much to really go on other than what character fits their preferences.
Gameplay One thing great about Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! is how large and varied the roster is. There are twenty three fighters to choose from and each of these characters not only has a unique fighting style complete with different special moves and extra gauges to keep an eye on (many characters have unique traits that accompany their fighting style and potentially limit or strengthen moves), they can be accented with Arcanas. You see, while each girl may have a set Arcana that fits her personality, the player can choose to use whichever one they want to.
The Arcanas not only provide the player with some extra special attacks but also numerous normal attacks as well. This can be used to help cover a character’s weaker side, such as having a short reach. Of course given the fact that players can always keep the pace of the game moving quickly thanks to homing glides and attacks plus the option to use “Simple” controls that allow inexperienced fighters to use special moves and finishing attacks without too much trouble, and you’ll find one of the faster fighters out there.
Players will be able to take these fun fighting mechanics into Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!!’s plethora of modes as not only does this title offer your standard Versus, Training, and aforementioned Story Mode, there are also options to take on Trials during fights, take part in Survival Score Attacks and Time Attacks, plus an option to fight other players online where you can take advantage of a relatively smooth netcode if you can find an opponent actually online to fight against.
Visuals Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! harkens back to the days of sprite based fighters where the detail of the characters was a bit lower and the stages weren’t the best looking. This is likely due to the low budget that Examu had to work with at the time but despite these limitations, they have actually produced a colorful game that flows smoothly even when the battles pick up the pace and special moves fly around the stage causing explosions and other special effects.
It is also worth noting that the twenty three character roster is going to likely be a big hit with anime fans as their absurd but cutesy designs are right up that alley. From a vampire girl on roller blades and a school-swimsuit clad girl riding in a blob to shrine maidens and mysterious fighters, this title tries to fire every possible trope out there into the world.
There is one thing that I found delightful but some may not, and that is the way the side-bars work. Due to the SD nature of the game, these side-bars help keep the action contained and although players can choose to shut off the movements on these bars, they will display the current fighting characters. You see, as the fight progresses these characters will make various motions along the side of the screen if they are taking damage or using special moves, adding a nice piece of aesthetic to an already colorful title. It is worth noting that, as you can see, these side-bars can be removed however it does affect the perspective of certain attacks, making these side-bars something that is generally necessary to properly utilize every technique the game can offer.
Audio As one would expect, Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! has been released with only the Japanese voice track and this is good enough as many of the voice actors are quite fitting given the nature of the characters they are playing. One thing that is unfortunate however is how little of the text has actually been translated. Only the visual novel dialogue sequences before and after battles has been translated, leaving everything else, including loading screen dialogue, untranslated which simply feels lazy.
There are a number of different pieces of background music used throughout the title but sadly none of them really stand out in any special way. In fact even the opening theme is simply a standard musical number with nothing extra added, not even vocals.
Overall Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! is a fun and nicely paced fighting game that sports a large roster of fighters that are both varied in style and fun to use. Unfortunately the game’s storyline still finds itself rather lacking and the old-school visuals have begun to reach the limit of their usefulness without having some sort of touch up. Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! will be a fighting game that anime fans will likely get the most out of thanks to the designs and personalities of its characters but even those simply looking for a new 2D fighter to try out will find a solid experience here.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Ubisoft has announced that they will be re-releasing Heroes of Might & Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia in HD. The turn-based strategy game will be returning not only to PC, but making it’s first appearance on Android and iOS platforms. Heroes of Might & Magic has had several popular sequelsover the years, but this edition has had enduring popularity.
Heroes of Might & Magic III HD is being faithfully recreated with updated graphics, including widescreen support, on all systems. The game will ship with seven campaign scenarios, 48 different skirmish maps, and local multiplayer; PC versions will have a Steamworks multiplayer lobby for online interaction. In addition, the PC version will come with a map editor.
Check out screenshots of the new HD textures below. The game will be released on all of the above systems on January 29th, 2015.
Daedalic Entertainment released their second feature video for Blackguards 2 today, this time discussing new gameplay additions. The game will continue to use The Dark Eye rule system for it’s strategic RPG combat. One of the biggest new features is the addition of an open world map, allowing the player to choose what battles they fight, with different paths offering different rewards.
Additionally, players will be able to recruit mercenaries for their armies, who come in a variety of classes. There will also be a hub where players can do a multitude of things, from interrogating prisoners to purchasing new items. The enemy AI will also be able to attack areas that the player conquers, forcing the player into a new, defensive, battle type. This defensive battle type will also allow players to trap the field against the enemy.
Combat has made more streamlined and dynamic, though hopefully it hasn’t been simplified too much away from it’s roots. The user interface has also been cleaned up, helping to reduce the complexity on-screen for the player. Melee players have also been given a new stat, Endurance, in order to limit special moves and force the player to think more strategically.
The new game looks to be more accessible than the original Blackguards, although Daedalic promises that the game will remain a complex strategic game. You can read our review of the original Blackguards here, and you can watch today’s new gameplay trailer as well as November’s new character & faction trailer below.
SEGA has just released the first batch of DLC for Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd. The skins are available for free for 39 days. The following Christmas themed Costume Modules are available for purchase individually or in a bundle:
Hatsune Miku Christmas
Kagamine Rin Christmas
Kagamine Len Christmas
Megurine Luka Christmas
Kaito Christmas
Meiko Christmas
On December 16, 2014, the next batch of DLC will be released, including the Rhythm Game song “Look This Way, Baby!” by Ryo as well as six more costume modules. The modules include:
Miku’s Bunny Ears Hoodie
Rin’s Alparka Hoodie R
Len’s Alparka Hoodie L
Luka’s Kitty Ears Hoodie
Kaito’s Fishy Overalls
Meiko’s Wooly Wear
For fans who want to own all upcoming DLC, the Costume Club and Song Club offer savings of more than 25% and are both available now on the PSN. All DLC is cross-buy enabled, so fans who own both versions of the game can simply purchase the DLC on one system and transfer it to the other system.
This year has been pretty busy for Babymetal, they performed 14 concerts in six different counties as part of their world tour and also came back to the US and UK for two special performances last month. Next year they will be coming back to the US to perform in the Rock of the Range music festival, tickets are already on sale for the weekend long event which will take place in May.
The Jpop/metal trio have already had festival experience this year from their performances at Sonisphere in the UK and the Heavy Montreal Festival in Canada.
During these gigs they have shared stage time with The Offspring, Iron Maiden and Metallica, next year they are on the same line up list with Linkin Park, Marilyn Manson and the strangest of all… Slipknot. Although they won’t be performing alongside these bands and musicians, the thought of Slipknot collaborating with Babymetal (wearing their wolf masks) is a sight that can only be hoped for. You can find out more about Rock on the Range by going to their official website.
