It looks like NIS America will be handling most of the limited edition collections for Koei Tecmo from now on, as it has been announced that NIS America will be releasing the limited edition for Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea and will be selling it exclusively through their NIS America online store as well as their European online store.
The package will cost $64.99 and will be available alongside the standard version of the game which is set to be released on March 10th in North America and March 13th in Europe. The limited edition includes:
Limited Edition collector’s box (side loader)
Atelier Shallie – Alchemists of the Dusk Sea for PS3
Full-color hardcover art book (48 pages)
Atelier Shallie original soundtrack CD with jewel case
Square Enix has announced that there will be a special collector’s edition version of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD released alongside the standard version. This collector’s edition costs $99 and if you pre-order directly from Square Enix website, you will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes to win some prizes that include a Final Fantasy Type-0 HD themed PlayStation 4 or Xbox One and much more.
Golden SteelBook Case: Featuring illustrations by world-renowned artist Yoshitaka Amano, this premium case holds both the game and soundtrack CD.
Composer’s Selections Soundtrack: Includes 15 tracks hand-picked by the game’s composer, Takeharu Ishimoto.
Final Fantasy Type-0 Manga: A complete 200 page manga comic establishing the world and characters of the game.
80-Page Art Book: Dive into the war-torn land of Orience through its illustrations and art renders.
Ace’s Cards: Five life-size replicas of the iconic cards held by Class Zero’s Ace.
Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae Demo: Every copy of the Collector’s Edition includes a code for the Final Fantasy XV playable demo. Be among the first to play the game with your order of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
The company also stated that the Final Fantasy XV demo will only be included in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD first print copies and will never be released as a standalone download. This means that if you really want to get the demo, pre-ordering a copy of Type-0 HD is probably your best bet.
You may remember that The Evil Within had a $19.99 season pass released alongside the title a couple of months ago and it seems that the first piece of DLC that will be included in that pass will be dropping early next year. This three part story DLC will start with “The Assignment” which follows Juli Kidman, Castellanos’ partner through the events in The Evil Within. It is worth noting that she will also be the main focus in the second piece of DLC, The Consequence, though at the moment no release window has been given for this second piece of DLC.
It seems that this DLC may just have some of the answers fans were left with after The Evil Within wrapped up, as Tango Gameworks’ John Johanas stated in a Q&A with Bethesda that “we shed a lot of light on the lore of Rubik, STEM, and the characters while asking (and answering) a whole new set of questions regarding Juli and her mission.”
Overview What happens when you take a romcom harem and mix in some self-aware humor, references to everything from other Japanese anime to Western television and video games, and Lovecraft mythos? You get Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! is what. Over the course of the first season viewers were introduced to a colorful and hilarious cast of characters in a series that hardly took itself serious. Now we are here with Nyaruko: Crawling With Love!’s second season, previously dubbed Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W. The question is, does the series manage to retain its charms throughout this second season?
Story As previously mentioned, Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! digs into the Lovecraft stories to bring forth many of the main characters and even enemies that are encountered in the series. While our lead character Mahiro may be a human with a certain special trait, the other three main characters happen to be aliens with the leading lady being Nyaruko, a Nyarlathotep, and her two tag alongs, Kuko, a Cthugha, and Hasuta, a Hastur.
All three of these aliens have moved in with Mahiro and while their mission is to protect him from other alien attacks as well as the Earth after a previous event left Earth’s deities vulnerable, they are far more content doing everything they can to stick to Mahiro’s side. From attending classes to returning an overdue book to a library on the other side of the galaxy, this series kicks things off as if we never left it.
Things do begin to change slightly when Kuko’s cousin Kune shows up and reminds us that Nyarlahoteps and and Chtugians are mortal enemies. It also helps that thanks to Kune’s romantic obsession with Kuko, we finally see a bit of character progression as Kuko convinces Mahiro to act like her lover in order to thwart her cousin’s marriage attempts. This is only the beginning of what seems to be a relatively large shift in focus for the series which previously only saw Kuko as a side character.
A fourth wall breaking joke about how more character routes tend to open up later in a game is a good way to describe how Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! Season 2 handles Kuko. While Hasuta is only given some very minimal development and a couple of the side characters, including Shanta surprisingly, are focused on slightly, Kuko becomes one of the main highlights of the series thanks in part to her humorous reactions to events and how she develops over the course of the series and starts to analyze her feelings about Mahiro and Nyaruko more.
Then again, considering her plans for their potential children, it is clear that the series is willing to make a joke about anything possible. This also means however that there is very little development for the titular character Nyaruko. While she does struggle with her emotions during Kuko and Mahiro’s lovers act, she quickly reverts back to her normal overly energetic self once the arc ends. This is a bit of a disappointment as she is even being coached on relationship building and although we’ve seen how her calmer attempts at expressing herself have affected Mahiro, a calm approach is far from fitting with the all-over-the-place style of the series which places comedy above all else.
Now although the story of Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! is far from complex, in fact the Lovecraftian origins of many of the characters are simply played for laughs, this series has a very high barrier of entry. You see, not only is this a second season which means that to understand most of the interactions, viewers will have to have seen the first season and also because the entire series is packed full of referential humor. Many of these references are of older anime series, but everything from Super Sentai to various manga and light novel series pop up all over the place.
As such, most of the humor from these references and the reliance on slapstick comedy may be hit or miss for some while I found it to be consistently hilarious. There is also a certain point, thanks mostly to the introduction of Kuko’s cousin Kune to the story, that the sexual humor starts to become heavily relied upon whereas before it was usually only present when Nyaruko was flirting with Mahiro or Kuko’s attempts to get closer to Nyaruko.
It is worth noting that compared to the last season; this one does not contain nearly as many action sequences. Instead the series focuses more on the numerous random and hilariously foreshadowed events that can take place in a world where Aliens believe Earth’s entertainment, especially otaku goods, to be a high value commodity. This may be a disappointment to some, however thanks to the other ways that these confrontations are explored; mostly every situation in this series feels fresh which is necessary in the case of a second season with little overall development.
Visuals
Xebec returns to continue animating the second season of Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! and it appears that this time around they had a larger budget to work with as not only are the colors just as vibrant as before, but the characters are also given a larger variety of costumes throughout the series and even their facial expressions are more varied this time around, especially in Nyaruko’s case where her “ahoge” often forms shapes to go along with her mood.
This also helps with the humor factor since many of the jokes are either slapstick or reactionary based, requiring decent character designs to pull off correctly.The backgrounds this time around are still nicely varied, especially whenever the gang travels to a warped alien environment. That being said, as mentioned earlier with the sexual humor, the fan service level remains rather tame as nothing is explicitly shown but there are plenty of very obvious references and situations that appear throughout the series, usually with Kuko and Kune being the cause of it, as well as a number of lewder outfits that Nyaruko wears to tempt Mahiro.
Audio It is worth noting that similar to the first release, Nyaruko: Crawling With Love!’s second season has only been released with the Japanese voice track and English subtitles. While an English dub may be preferable for some, in the case of this series this is for the best thanks to the series being jam packed with references that likely wouldn’t have translated well into English. It also helps that the Japanese dub cast is not only very fitting but also features some rather well known voice actresses.
One thing that really shines in the second season is how many different ending themes are used over the course of the series. While there is only one opening theme “Koi wa Chaos no Shimobenari” it is an extremely energetic opening fitting of the series and full of references of its own, there are six different ending themes spread across this season. Occasionally these ending themes will focus on which characters were highlighted in that episode, such as the songs for Tamao or Kune and Kuko, but they change from episode to episode. Another nice touch is that each of these songs are also sung by members of the Japanese voice cast which is something I’ve always preferred whenever possible.
Extras With the release of Nyaruko: Crawling With Love!’s second season NIS America has given the series their classic premium edition treatment. Now it is worth noting that this release does not contain the OVA that was released in Japan earlier this year and instead the only actual on-disc features are a clean version of the opening theme and a clean version of the ending theme songs.
The two Blu-ray discs are packed in slimpak cases featuring artwork of most of the main characters but specifically highlighting Nyaruko, Mahiro, Kuko, and Kune. As far as the physical bonuses are concerned, the release also comes with a hardcover art book and NIS America’s long box slipcase.
Overall Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! Second Season feels like a series that has changed very little ever since the first episode aired. When you consider how most of the humor comes from Nyaruko’s personality and the way that these characters interact with one another that may be for the best. The shifting focus from Nyaruko to Kuko is also an interesting touch that keeps things fresh.
Though because of this and the often simple and comedic ways most situations are handled, the story does suffer from some stagnation as it feels like very little has actually changed once the credits role on the final episode. Of course, fans from the first season will still find plenty to enjoy here thanks to the energetic humor constantly on display alongside a cast of characters.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
It appears that gamers in Europe will have to wait a little bit longer to play Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation than they were expecting as today Idea Factory International has announced that the title has been delayed one week from its previously announced January 28th release date in Europe.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation will now be released for the PS Vita at retail in Europe on February 6th while the digital version will launch on February 11th. It is worth noting that this delay does not affect the North American release date of the title as it is still set to be released both digitally and at retail on January 27th.
If you happen to be a fan of Naoki Urasawa‘s other manga works, such as 20th Century Boys and Monster, then you will be delighted to hear that Viz Media is planning on bringing over a series never before released in English that Urasawa also created. This series happens to take place in a tense post-Cold War world and it is called Master Keaton.
You may remember that the company announced their initial licensing of the series earlier this year and now they have nailed down the release plans for the first volume of the series. The first volume of Master Keaton will be released published in English on December 16th for $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN and it will feature not only a deluxe treatment but also contain eighteen pages of full-color artwork.
After this volume is published, the twelve volume manga series will be published quarterly under the company’s Viz Signature imprint. As for the story of Master Keaton, Viz Media has provided the below story description:
Master Keaton introduces Taichi Hiraga Keaton, an archeology professor and part-time insurance investigator known for his successful and unorthodox methods of investigation. The son of a Japanese zoologist and an English noblewoman, educated in archaeology at Oxford and a former member of the SAS, Master Keaton uses his knowledge and combat training to uncover buried secrets, thwart would-be villains, and pursue the truth.
WWE has announced that they will be teaming up with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Mortal Kombat’s developers NetherRealm Studios to make a free-to-play mobile game called WWE Immortals. Currently very few details about the actual game, such as what type of gameplay features will be offered or pretty much anything really, have been revealed at the moment but they are planning to unveil more closer to the game’s launch on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices in 2015.
Given the track record NetherRealm Studios has, there is a pretty good chance that WWE Immortals will be a fighting game of some sort, though how well this will actually work is currently unknown.
Overview The PlayStation family of consoles has always been home to some of the wackiest games from Japan. While hundreds of titles remain within the Land of the Rising Sun, some, inexplicably, manage to make it across the Pacific to our store shelves. Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed is one such title. In fact, it was released earlier on the older PS3 and PS Vita consoles and was deemed successful enough in the West to warrant a PS4 port. Is this shiny new release worth picking up for Sony’s latest machine?
Story
Let’s get this out of the way first. The story is absolutely ridiculous. You play as an otaku who has accepted a random job offer promising a payment in rare anime figures. Unfortunately for you, your would-be employer straps you to a table and turns you into a vampiric “Synthister”, making you susceptible to sunlight and needed life energy from other people.
You escape with the help of a mysterious, umbrella-wielding girl named Shizuku who is your quiet-but-super-strong archetype with a sense of a dry humour. Before long you’re back with your friends, a vigilante organisation called the Freedom Fighters of Akiba. This mismatch of otaku has tasked itself to protect the streets of Tokyo’s famous electronic geek district.
Except this time the streets are threatened by other Synthisters who are incapable of controlling their urge to attack innocent people. You must use your powers, along with Shizuku’s unnatural strength, to counter the vampires who blend into society. The plot progresses via plenty of dialogue and sophisticated character portraits while you do side missions and story missions. The mouths actually move, which is rare in these kinds of games.
Like a lot of haphazard Japanese games, humour is the biggest draw here. Humour and pop culture references. If you’re interested in this game then chances are you’re an otaku yourself, so you’ll recognise not only the hub of Akihabara but plenty of witty references to major franchises and Japanese memes. The localisation is almost as good as it could be, with none of the original intonations lost in translation.
Don’t go expecting Final Fantasy levels of story though, as everything is presented at surface level only. Character development is limited in simply raising affection levels with the four heroines of the game rather than any real emotional progression. The plot does pick up, however lacking, and there is replay value to be found thanks to the affection level component.
Gameplay Akiba’s Trip plays a little like Yakuza during combat and exploration, albeit cut down. Players level up and equip stronger clothes and weapons. Once you’re set upon by a group of ordinary-looking Synthisters, the aim of the game is to whittle down the enemy’s clothing until it can be stripped off. Once their headgear, shirt or pants are damaged enough they flash purple indicating that the time is ripe for a strip. Once all their clothes, or your clothes, are stripped to underwear the game is over as the sun is too strong for your vampiric bodies.
Strips can be chained together, allowing you take out multiple opponents at once via quick time events. Blocking is essential as it’s easy to get overwhelmed on the higher difficulties and you can also “straighten up” your clothes to restore its durability mid-fight. It’s all very simple, even a little dodgy, but rambunctious fun at the same time.
Players walk around the fairly limited streets of Akiba. Some stores can be approached to purchase gear but you rarely enter and explore indoor locations other than your home base. Each section of the map is split into alleys or main streets with plenty of loading screens in between. NPCs offer little more than a few unvoiced lines of dialogue and most of them serve as filler where you just bump into them.
There are loads of little side quests though, clever in their execution. For instance buying expensive pieces of clothing for your dear little sister or defeating rabid fans and stalkers. The main storyline is fairly short and doesn’t offer a great deal of narrative, so these side quests are probably the main attraction for otaku gamers who can relate to the tasks.
Surprisingly, the PS4 version does have a couple of extra features including a Visual Editor that lets players customise how the city looks like and an interesting chat command system while you live stream the game, allowing spectators to mess around with your game as you play.
Visuals Akiba’s Trip falls into the increasingly-common realm of sub-par Japanese game graphics. The city of Akiba is awesomely replicated, make no mistake, with authentic shop fronts, buildings and streets and the CG art is crisp, vibrant and fun especially on a HD TV. But the game’s engine has more shortcomings than what should be acceptable on the PlayStation 4.
Unfortunately the game is a direct port of the PS3 and PS Vita versions, with known bugs and issues still present on the PS4 code. Unnecessary loading screens around every corner, aliased character models despite being low quality and, shockingly, low frame rates especially when you pan the camera plague what is an otherwise very cool-looking game.
Audio XSEED included both English and Japanese audio for the game. While the English is more than acceptable (other than the little sister), most players playing a game set in a Japanese city about Japanese pop culture would probably stick to the latter option. The music is catchy while the sound effects are probably the weakest aspect of the audio since there is little variety. You do get realistic crowd and street noise though.
I’ve had a lot of sound issues and glitches in my playthrough. At one point all voices and music cut out and wouldn’t return until I deleted and downloaded the game all over again.
Overall Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed is a unique little game. It’s a package of love for the hardcore otaku, the ones familiar with Akihabara and for those who know their dakimakura from their eroge. It can be a boatload of fun at times but like I mentioned, it is a little lacklustre in the quality department. It’s even a little depressing that nothing has been done to make the PS4 version better than the previous iterations, making it seem like a rushed cash grab. It’s still glitchy, a little laggy and the game’s code simply isn’t designed for the PS4 in mind.
If you’re a fan of dialogue-centric Japanese games like visual novels, anime and Eastern pop culture then this is a special homage for you. But if you can find the game a little cheaper on PS3 or PS Vita then go for those versions as the PS4 version has very little extra to offer when you consider the broad scope of options Acquire had with the new hardware.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Stardock Games released the third beta update for it’s genre-defining 4x game, Galactic Civilizations III. The update brings new content to the beta release of the game, bringing much more depth to players. The beat is currently available on Steam Early Access, and is at available for the duration of the beta at 10% off. You can find the game on Steam here.
New content coming to the influential game includes a fan-favorite race known as the Yor. The Yor are a synthetic race, which have a racial trait that allows them to ignore population growth rules in-game. This marks eight available races for players to choose from in the game, which will no doubt be added to with the modder community.
The new beta also adds a new animation feature, pass on ship fire, allowing the player to see their ships trading fire in the main view. Damage to ships is another new feature, which will leave ships looking battle-worn and destroyed after combat Additionally, cutscenes have been added to the game, for various vignettes in order to increase the depth and attachment players have to their civilizations.
The game can only be run on 64-bit systems, so be sure that your system is compatible before purchase. This limitation allows for much large games and maps, but it is something that potential buyers should look out for. Galactic Civilizations III is due to have it’s full release in Spring 2015 for PC.
Serious Sam developer Croteam has just released their philosophical puzzle game The Talos Principle on Steam. The game is written by Tom Jubert (FTL, The Swapper) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Sea Will Claim Everything). Players will find themselves in a bizzare, contradictory world of ancient ruins and advanced technology where you must solve a series of increasingly complex puzzles while trying to decide what to do about your situation. Do you just accept what is going on or do you ask just who are you, and what is your purpose here?
Features of the game include:
Overcome more than 120 immersive puzzles in a stunning world.
Divert drones, manipulate laser beams and even replicate time to prove your worth – or to find a way out.
Explore a story about humanity, technology and civilization. Uncover clues, devise theories, and make up your own mind.
Choose your own path through the game’s non-linear world, solving puzzles your way.
But remember: choices have consequences and somebody’s always watching you.
The game is now available on Windows, Mac and Linux for a suggested retail price of $39.99 USD on Steam. It is available for purchase here. The game is currently on sale for $35.99 USD and will be available next year on PS4 and Android systems.
A prequel to the game, Sigils of Elohim, is available for free on Steam. A trailer of the game is available below, and a free demo of the game, is also available on Steam for anyone interested in seeing what the game is like.
