OKAM Studios are in the final days of their Kickstarter project, The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizzaboy, which closes on November 8. Inspired by the critically acclaimed comic book by Filipe Melo, Juan Cavia and Santiago R. Villa, OKAM’s new point n’ click adventure title is the first video game adaption of the graphic novel.
The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizzaboy invites players to team up with a hard boiled Werewolf-Detective, a sixty thousand year old demon trapped in the body of a little girl and a loony Gargoyle’s head and explore up to thirty handmade, chill-inducing locations of the supernatural underworld with deranged puzzles, eerie characters and Easter-eggs. OKAM have stayed true to the twisted, bizarre and offbeat sense of humour that the comic is praised for.
OKAM Studios hope to release the game on PC, Mac and Linux, with the promise that backers of the Kickstarter project will get a 100% DRM-free version and Steam key. Check out the demo on the Kickstarter page and show your support for The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizzaboy in reaching their goal of $30, 000.
Skyshine Games successfully Kickstarted their upcoming turned based RPG/strategy game BEDLAM. They beat their goal of $130,000 by more than $36,000. Not only will the game be developed, BEDLAM will receive a larger soundtrack; improved audio; more dungeons, weapons, upgrades, and crew members; an A.I. Dozer; and a BEDLAM boss battle.
“We were overwhelmed by the support we got from our peers in the industry and gaming fans alike and we’re ecstatic to hit over 128% of our initial funding goal,” commented John Mueller, Art Director at Skyshine. “This additional funding allowed us to confirm several of our stretch goal features including better audio and music, epic dungeon crawls and a Bedlam Boss Battle! Our focus now is to start development on the game while continuing to drive funding to reach the larger stretch goals to make this an even more epic game experience”.
Skyshine Games will be continuing their crowfunding campaign on their website for those who missed out on the Kickstarter. Gamers can pre-order their copy of BEDLAM starting at $14.99 for the base game.
A few months ago we learned that EA was going to let Battlefield Hardline cook for a bit longer before releasing it as it was delayed from this holiday season to sometime in 2015. Well today thanks to EA’s latest financial report we have learned that Battlefield Hardline will be released in North America on March 17th, in Europe and Australia on March 19th, and finally New Zealand on March 20th.
After the debacle that was the launch of Battlefield 4 this delay of Battlefield Hardline is hopefully a good sign for the title that will see players fighting as both the police as well as criminals as they war against each other in large cities.
With Senran Kagura Bon Appétit set to be released in a little under two weeks, a new trailer for the naughty cooking rhythm game has been released, this time from Marvelous Europe who is handling the game’s release in European regions. This latest trailer focuses on a cooking showdown between Hibari and Yagyu, with both characters wearing different costumes than the norm and Hibari sporting a different hairstyle.
You can check out the video below and be sure to keep an eye out for Senran Kagura Bon Appétit when the first half containing Hanzo Academy and Crimson Squad is released for the PS Vita in Europe on November 12th and in North America on November 11th.
Logitech have just revealed the Logitech Keys-To-Go Bluetooth keyboard, able to attach to any iPad model. Additionally, their existing line-up of iPad cases with integrated keyboards – in particular, the Logitech Type+ and the Logitech Ultrathin – have been updated for compatibility with the new iPad Air 2 (all Logitech keyboards feature a row of iOS-specific shortcuts as well). John Paterson, Mobility Category Manager for Logitech ANZ, stated;
People use their iPads everywhere and the Logitech® Keys-To-Go was specifically designed to effortlessly support people’s active lifestyles. We have introduced the Logitech® Keys-To-Go and updated our existing award-winning lineup of iPad® keyboards for the new iPad® Air 2 to offer a suite of products that perfectly complement the mobility of the iPad®. So, whether you’re a mother or father taking your iPad® from the kids to type a quick note, or a traveling executive catching up on email, you can have easy access to typing when you need to say more.
The Logitech Keys-To-Go is ultra-portable; thin, light and durable at just 6.1 mm and 180 grams. Keys give tactile feedback to the user, but are fused into a water-repellant FabricSkin covering that helps protect the keyboard from spills and dirt. The rechargeable battery lasts up to three months on a complete charge and the keyboard is compatible with all generations of the iPad and iPad mini. It will be available this December in three colours – black, red and teal – for a suggested retail price of AU$79.95.
The Logitech Type+ is an all-in-one keyboard case for the iPad Air 2, leveraging the popular thin and light, two-sided protective case from its predecessor. When in the typing position, the iPad screen magnetically attaches directly above the keyboard, which has been recently optimised. The Logitech Type+ keyboard also has an automatic On/Off feature so that, when the iPad is positioned upright, the Logitech Type+ keyboard automatically turns on, and when you lay it flat, it automatically turns the keyboard off. In addition, the auto-wake and auto-sleep feature turns your iPad off when you close the case and wakes it when you open the case. The Logitech Type+ will be at the end of November, in Black, Dark Blue, Bright Red, Electric Blue or Violet for a suggested retail price of AU$119.95.
The Logitech Ultrathin is a thin and light magnetic clip-on keyboard cover for your iPad Air 2. The cover is constructed from high-grade aluminium material that perfectly matches the iPad Air 2 and protects the screen of your tablet when you’re on the go. The keyboard’s battery life lasts up to two years, with the batteries being easily replaceable when needed. The adjustable magnetic slot lets you tilt your iPad similar to a laptop screen for the perfect typing angle. The Logitech Ultrathin for iPad Air 2 will also be available in December, in Black and White, for a suggested retail price of AU$119.95.
Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes recently launched, and we here at Capsule Computers absolutely loved it. Well a few weeks have passed and now it is time to grab your Infinity Bases once again and get ready to play with a whole slew of new characters with the release of the Disney Infinity 2.0: Disney Originals range. Starting from November 6th, players will be able to grab some of Disney’s classic characters like Stitch, Merida, Tinker Bell and a few newcomers like Hiro and Baymax (from the upcoming Big Hero 6 feature film).
To celebrate the launch of the Disney Originals characters, we have teamed up with Disney to provide one lucky Capsule Computers reader with an incredible Disney Infinity 2.0 prize pack. What kind of prize pack, you ask? Well check it out:
1 x Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes Starter Pack (for your choice of console)
1 x Disney Originals Merida Figure
1 x Disney Originals blind pack of Power Discs
1 x Marvel blind pack of Power Discs
1 x Disney Infinity 2.0 Prima Guide
That is literally every thing you would need to get started with Disney Infinity 2.0. So now we know WHAT you are winning, now lets talk about HOW. To enter our awesome little comp here, all you need to do is take a creative photo with your favourite Disney Infinity 1.0 figure, or anything related to Marvel super heroes and post it to our official Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #CapsuleInfinity
The competition is open from now until 11:59pm November 5th, with the winner being announced soon after. Also, since we are giving away a Merida figure, we thought we would point you to the brand new Merida + Maleficent trailer that shows off the feisty red-head in action. You can check out the trailer below!
So what are you waiting for!? Get out there and take those pictures!
Overview Before Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord was announced for Western release, the Tears to Tiara name was likely known to only a few niche circles. Originally an SRPG eroge on the PC in 2002, Tears to Tiara was never officially released in English, even when an all-ages version was released years later for the PS3.
In fact, outside of an anime adaptation for the first game and guest appearances in Aquapazza, both of which have been released in the West, many people will be uncertain about picking up Tears to Tiara II. You can rest easy however, as not only does this game tell a separate story, the story it has to tell is a massive one.
Story Seven years prior to the start of Tears to Tiara II, the Divine Empire invaded the land of Hispania after its ruler, Hasdrubal Barca, attempted to revolt against the Empire and was crushed. Due to his actions, the people of Hispania have spent the last seven years under the iron fist of the Empire, dealing with brutal taxation, rampant corruption, slavery, and worse.
The last member of the Barca bloodline, Hamilcar Barca, survived the death of his father but appears to everyone as an incompetent boy who follows the orders of the Empire without question. Weak, cowardly, unreliable, Hamil does everything he can to try and keep his people safe from the Empire’s harsh punishments. That all changes when a woman named Tarte enters his life and sees through his façade.
As he spends time with Tarte, the Empire continues with their plans to bring Hispania to its knees, revealing in horrible fashion that they are going to destroy everything the citizens hold dear and force them into complete unwavering servitude or death. Faced with this ultimatum, Hamil sheds his old personality and unleashes seven years’ worth of boiling hatred in a massive show of power that leads the people of Hispania into open rebellion against the Empire.
Despite the power of a Goddess on their side, Hamil, his elite unit, and the rest of the forces of Hispania are facing a powerful opponent willing to use any means necessary to rule the land and stamp out this nuisance. Where the majority of JRPGs tend to focus on stories with fluffy themes and minimal drama, Tears to Tiara II is more of a throwback as it features not only numerous serious themes at times but also a focused storyline that makes intelligent use of unpredictable twists and world development to create an enthralling story.
To top that off, thanks to the length of the story and the tighter focus on a core cast of characters, we are able to watch most of the cast grow over the course of the game. While a few standard and predictable stereotypes do surface from time to time, these moments are few and far between as Aquaplus has managed to craft a world where players will become invested in seeing how everything unfolds.
Gameplay It is a very good thing that the story in Tears to Tiara II is everything that fans of the genre would want, as the title is more visual novel than SRPG. In fact there are times where you will easily go over an hour or two before entering the next battle as you watch the story progress through character interactions. One thing that is problematic about this design however is the fact that the save system was not designed like a standard visual novel where players can save at any time.
Instead players will need to save at specific intervals throughout the story, which can be problematic at times, especially during some of the excessively lengthy event sequences. That being said, outside of events players will have the opportunity to save the game at any time at their home base or before the beginning of every battle, which is expected but a nice change from the way it is handled in the story.
As for the battle system, Tears to Tiara II is an SRPG that follows some very standard rules that don’t really break the mold outside of a few unique systems. All combat takes place via turn based combat on a grid battlefield. At the beginning of battle you select as many characters as the battle allows to enter into the fight, though wounded fighters can return to the “Quadriga” which is a chariot and in here they will not only be healed but other units can be deployed in their stead.
Every action in combat gives players experience points, including opening chests, using items, healing allies, and of course attacking and defeating opponents. This makes Tears to Tiara II a game that is less punishing title that allows players to level weaker characters without risking defeat, but it is still one that requires quite a bit of grinding. As for being defeated, it is entirely possible to lose battles if you do not pay attention to a number of Tears to Tiara II’s somewhat unique mechanics as the AI can be quite punishing on harder difficulties.
Being a grid based game, the direction of player attacks matter as rear attacks will deal more damage and considering every melee attack results in a counter of some sort, proper planning is necessary for dealing with large threats. This is where chain stocks, the elemental cycle, and the ability to threaten enemies comes into play. Chain Stocks increase whenever players take action or receive damage and whenever one bar is filled, players can either increase the power of a magic skill or attack more than once per turn.
As for the elemental cycle, every character in the game is given an element of some sort and each element is strong and weak against others. Picking fighters with an advantage over their opponents allows for the player do deal extra damage and takes less in turn, but be careful as every turn the element gauge will rotate and give certain elements a boost in strength making proper planning a necessity. The same can be said about threatening opposing units. Because magic users and distance fighters are weak to melee attacks, players can position other fighters in-between enemies and these squishier allies, forcing these enemies to stop and deal with the melee fighter before advancing on.
There is also a “Rewind” system that allows players to return back to previous turns and try to change how things unfolded. It is worth noting that although you can rewind turns, the same actions will result in the same results, meaning a missed attack will continue to be a missed attack unless you change something. This makes the system far less punishing than it could be as players can rewind from the brink of defeat and try a completely different strategy. Add that onto the fact that players can also choose to play on a tame easy difficulty, or swap before battle to easy if they ever come across a battle they are struggling with, and you’ll find that Tears to Tiara II can be relatively easy for those who would rather enjoy the story without struggling, or as hard as you want it to be for those who want a challenge.
Visuals When it comes to the artwork of Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord, the game is mixed. The character portraits displayed in dialogue sequences not only feature a nice amount of detail but also a number of different poses to keep things fresh throughout the lengthy events. It also is nice that many of these events are interlaced gorgeous CG event screens to help spice things up and display important moments.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the actual character models and environments in the game. This is due to the characters all being designed to have chibi bodies and equipment with lower detail. Add this to the fact that even strong skills are rather lackluster looking and the battlefields are all rather predictable looking and poorly detailed and you’ll find that many battle sequences are sadly disappointing.
Audio With Tears to Tiara II being such a massive game with a heavy focus on dialogue, it is a bit disappointing that Atlus chose not to give the title an English dub. This decision does make sense though when you consider the untested nature of the property in the West and the sheer size of the game’s voice work. It also helps that those who are familiar with anime will find that the main heroine, Tarte, is voiced by Rie Kugimiya who sports an extremely familiar and likable voice. In fact many of the characters in the game feature voice actors with a long list of anime series in their repertoire, making the Japanese dub quite a treat for anime fans.
The soundtrack in Tears to Tiara II has an impressive range. There are inspiring orchestral, soft piano music, heavy rock sequences, and more types all designed to properly fit the tone at the time and every single one of these tracks fit the style and theme of the game perfectly without a single one feeling out of place.
Overall Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord shines its brightest during the visual novel sequences as players will be treated to a well-rounded and developed cast of characters taking part in a stellar storyline that is expertly told. That being said, the length that some of these dialogue sequences can run without intermission can be daunting at times. This leaves the familiar combat system as something of an afterthought at times, meaning this game may not be for everyone; however those that are looking for an expansive storyline should look no further than Tears to Tiara II.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Activision have released details of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare‘s ‘Season Pass’ with a trailer. Embedded at the bottom of this article, the trailer takes you through the four DLC packs, bonus weapons and Atlas Gorge, an additional multiplayer map available at launch.
The four DLC packs are titled as follows: Havoc, Ascendance, Supremacy and Reckoning (in order of release). Havoc will be available come January, 2015. All of this for the “low price” of AU$64.95, which is including a $10 saving compared to purchasing the various DLC separately. I think we and Activision have different definitions of the term “low price”. Regardless, to learn more, click here. And for those who simply have no patience to speak of, pre-order the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition now for up to 24 hours early access.
The Dodo seaplane: It may take a little firepower to get your hands on this highly versatile GTA classic.
Rockstar are going about the “remastering” process the right way. The developer is not just adding a fresh coat of paint to Grand Theft Auto V, but is adding content. We’ve known for a while that returning players would received additional incentives and in-game bonuses, and now we are privy to those. Read on below for Rockstar’s breakdown of what original PS3 and Xbox 360 players can expect, exclusively for their dedicated souls:
New Events & Rewards – Encounter new events happening all across the world, and complete the challenges they present to unlock exclusive new vehicles like the menacing Imponte Duke O’Death and that veritable GTA classic bird of flight, the Dodo seaplane. The Imponte Duke O’Death: As you might expect, when you first stumble upon this near-indestructible mayhem machine, trouble will follow. Deal with it judiciously and this beauty’s all yours.
Murder Mystery – As Michael, follow a trail of cryptic clues to unravel a grisly murder mystery. Put the clues together and you’ll unlock two Noir Style Filters, which will give your Story Mode gameplay and Snapmatic photos the feel of a gritty old school crime classic. Get to the bottom of a murder mystery that strikes right at the heart of Los Santos’ most cherished industry.
Weapons: The Rail Gun & Hatchet – Obliterate your adversaries with the high-powered, high-velocity Rail Gun. This piece of experimental military technology also has its own set of Shooting Range Challenges at your local Ammu-Nation shooting range. Or hack and slash foes up close and personal with the brutal Hatchet melee weapon. The futuristic new Rail Gun unloads powerful rounds of explosive ammunition upon foes.
Wildlife Photography Challenge – There are new species of animals across Los Santos and Blaine County, and the LS Tourist Board needs someone to document them. As Franklin, catalog unique animal species scattered across the map to unlock the special Kraken Sub. Completing the Wildlife Photography Challenge will unlock the Kraken Sub.
Stock Car Races – Win a series of new Stock Car Races to earn unique custom Muscle Cars adorned with logos from some of the companies that made this country great. Finish first in the new Stock Car Races to earn new Muscle Cars.
Monkey Mosaics – A mysterious street artist is tagging walls all across town with his simian-inspired silhouettes. Track down and photograph them all to earn new monkey outfits (available to all players) and a special Go Go Monkey Blista exclusively for returning players. Take to the skies in the faster and more maneuverable Xero Blimp.
New Vehicles – Grind up the Los Santos freeways (and over anybody in your path) with the Cheval Marshall monster truck and take to the skies in a faster and more maneuverable Blimp, compliments of Xero Gas.
There will also be a bounty of content for all players, new and returning, to discover – including a fleet of classic GTA vehicles and a few more surprises we’ve got planned that you’ll have to discover for yourself come game day. Few objects are an obstacle for the intimidating Cheval Marshall.
Finally, as previously announced, GTA Online characters and progression will be transferable across generations of console, and it doesn’t matter if you played GTA V on the Xbox 360 and want to purchase it on the PS4, as long as you use the same Rockstar Social Club membership in signing in and transferring your data. And anyone who pre-orders the new version will receive GTA$1M ($500k for Story Mode and $500k for use in Grand Theft Auto Online) as an extra thank you.
Check out the poster below for a visual summary of the content listed above. Grand Theft Auto V will release for the PS4 and Xbox One November 18, with the PC version dropping on January 27.
With more and more devices streaming audio through Bluetooth, Razer has created a new speaker system. The Razer Leviathan Sound Bar is a two piece audio solution featuring a sound bar and a subwoofer unit. The sound bar can provide virtual 5.1 surround sound using Dolby Virtual Speakers technology paired with two 2.5 inch full range drives and two 0.74 inch tweeters. A 5.25″ downward firing subwoofer rounds out the combo.
The Razer Leviathan Sound Bar is designed to work with televisions and computer set ups using three different tilt angles. It accepts optical, analog, and Bluetooth connections. Razer has added aptX codec support for better quality audio on supported devices. Three preset equalizers are included with the sound bar, which are designed for gaming, music, and movies respectively.
“The opportunity to produce a precision-engineered surround sound solution for high-performance gaming, movie watching and music listening, and make it versatile to use in any setting, was a very exciting proposition for us,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. “The Razer Leviathan delivers what music aficionados, movie buffs and gamers alike are looking for to improve their entertainment setup.”
The Razer Leviathan Sound Bar will be released worldwide in November 2014 for an MSRP of $199.99 USD/$279.95 AUD. Pre-orders can be made at the official Razer store.
