From November 10-28, Pokémon X and Y playerscan acquire a special distribution code at select retailers for the mythical Pokémon Diancie. Once they have received the Pokémon in-game, and own a copy of either Pokémon Omega Rubyor Alpha Sapphire, they can then transfer Diancie into the newest instalment in Nintendo‘s DS family juggernaut.
The Diancite Mega Stone can be obtained in the new titles, releasing in Australia and New Zealand on November 21, allowing players to then mega evolve Diancie. And, to commemorate the release of Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, Hoyts Cinemas across the two countries mentioned will be giving out said distribution codes at screenings on the 8th and 9th of November. At the same select retailers, however – EB Games, JB Hi-Fi, Big W and Target in Australia and only the former two in New Zealand – gamers are reminded to walk on in for a special Shiny Gengar holding a Gengarite Mega Stone; this promotion lasts until November 5.
For all the latest on all things Pokémon, keep an eye on Capsule Computers.
Roccat’s latest mouse is a multi-button behemoth. The Roccat Tyon is armed with 16 buttons that can be programmed with the Roccat drivers. The German gaming peripheral company is looking to differentiate the Tyon with the addition of two fin type buttons. The mouse is rounded off with an 8200 DPI laser sensor, two illumination zones, and Easy-Shift[+] support to double the number of available macros on one mouse.
The Roccat Tyon is packed in a standard Roccat-style box with a matte black and blue theme. Inside, the mouse is snugly packed with a small quick start guide. The mouse is on the light side at only 126g, with the cord itself probably adding a few extra grams. The cord is a braided USB cable with a sturdily built USB 2.0 connector. The plug is not gold plated.
The mouse’s shell comes in black or white. Unfortunately for left handed population, the Roccat Tyon is only for right handed gamers. The top of the mouse is smooth with a slight rubbery texture. The rubbery texture has just enough stickiness to get a sure grip, without being so sticky that it is impossible to comfortably slide a finger over to one of the many buttons on the Tyon. The sides of the mouse uses a pebbled plastic texture for both the thumb rest and the buttons.
On the top of the Tyon are four side buttons, the two standard mouse buttons, the middle mouse wheel, and what Roccat calls the Dorsal Fin-Switch. The Fin-Switch does not depress like most buttons, but rather is pushed either left or right. In practice, I found it easier to hit compared to the traditional two buttons that are usually found in the same position on most gaming mice. However, the Dorsal Fin-Switch is still pretty awkward to use. The four side buttons are much better placed for most people. Though Roccat brags they spent months of “design, research, and testing” on the positioning, it is pretty clear people with smaller hands, like females and Asians, were completely forgotten about. As a person who wears men’s size small to extra small gloves, only the bottom of the four top buttons were actually within reach for me. The top two buttons were completely unusable without shifting my mouse grip completely to use. I suspect those with larger hands will have less issues with the mouse button positioning.
The thumb side of the Roccat Tyon is probably the best design I have come across. There are three buttons and the X-celerator analog paddle on the right hand side. On the top is the X-celerator analog paddle that is by default bound to a joystick axis input. The idea is that the paddle can be used to control the rotation of tank turrets or the thrust of a plane. Outside of games, I use the paddle to scroll through long documents for the ultimate act of laziness. It is less movement and quicker to use the paddle than the middle mouse button. The paddle is solidly built and has just enough tension to be controllable while easy to use. Located below the X-celerator analog paddle are two standard thumb buttons. I found the top button to be a little hard to push in the smaller area. The bottom button does not seem to have the same issue. The top button will probably only be an issue with smaller handed people like me, as the top thumb button was only just slightly out of reach.
Although the X-celerator analog paddle is the feature most hailed by Roccat’s marketing team, the real winner is actually the bottom most thumb button. Instead of pushing inwards towards the pinkie like most thumb buttons, it is designed to be pressed downwards towards the mouse pad. The exact thought that crossed my mind the first time I used the button was “geez, why hasn’t anyone thought of this until now?!” The button is extremely comfortable to use. Although by default, it triggers the Easy-Shift[+] button, it is a perfect easy aim/sniper mode button. Most sniper mode buttons require some sort of rightward force to trigger, which makes fine aim adjustments especially in the left and right directions a bit more difficult. By pressing downwards on the mouse, I found my forearm stayed looser and the force needed to move the mouse in any direction was about the same.
The Roccat Tyon comes armed with two separately lighting zones. The mouse wheel has two bands of light sandwiching it. The bottom rim of the mouse has a band of light wrapping the entire mouse. The LEDs are capable of 16.8 million different colours. In the firmware, users can change the two zones independently with several different lighting effects. The light can be set to a single colour using RGB colour values or the mouse can scroll through all the colours. I would recommend against using the fully lighted mode when using the scrolling colour effect. The LEDs cannot transition between colours smoothly, resulting in a very annoying “popping” effect. Using one of the lighting effects that temporarily turn off the lights at given intervals is a good way to hide the popping effect.
My relationship with Roccat’s drivers is a troubled one. On one hand, I love how much control Roccat provides its users. The macro editor is powerful and users can really tune the mouse to respond exactly as they wish. On the other hand, getting it installed can be a bit confusing. Each Roccat device has its own firmware suite that seems to communicate to each other through the Roccat Talk drivers. Initially, I installed the Roccat Tyon drivers and could not get into the Tyon mouse settings. It wasn’t until I installed the Talk driver could I actually get into the Roccat Tyon’s settings. I would really like to see Roccat switch to a single driver install that covers all their devices.
I love the Roccat Tyon, but it isn’t a mouse I can use well. The button layout is possibly my favourite of all the gaming mice I have reviewed. However, a few of the buttons are just out of comfortable reach for me. If you do have smaller hands, I highly recommend going to your local computer store to give the Roccat Tyon a test drive. Though the drivers can be a little bit of a pain to install, Roccat provides the user a lot of options to tweak their mouse. At $99.99 USD list price, it is definitely one of the more expensive wired options out there, but heavy macro users will love the Tyon.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview While a great personality may make the character; there are plenty of aesthetic features that anime viewers will be on the lookout for when it comes to picking their favorite character. One of these features happens to be whether the character wear’s glasses and now with the rise of shows such as Free! it should come as no surprise that an anime focused on boys wearing glasses, or megane, was produced. So now that Meganebu! has been released in North America, is it worth picking up?
Story Meganebu! revolves around a group of high school students who have formed the Glasses Club. Not only do the members of this club all wear glasses, most because they need to, one just because he wants to be in the group, but they are obsessive fans of everything to do with the eye-wear. So much in fact that nearly everyone who doesn’t wear glasses is beneath the club president Akira Souma’s notice, humorously represented by their no detail designs.
While the club was created in order to gather the eclectic glasses loving members of the student body into one group where they talk about everything glasses related, from trivia about old glasses to testing the strength of their lenses and frames, they have another goal. You see, despite attending an all-boys school, the club dreams of constructing a set of X-Ray glasses in order to see through clothing, with their first target being a nurse who was supposed to be giving them vision checks.
After their initial failure, the group continues to make various prototypes in order to make a real pair of X-ray glasses, resulting in a number of pairs that have alternate functions, while also sharing their love of glasses with one another, exploring a bit of their pasts, and taking part in ridiculously stupid events. This is far from the only series that has created a club with a strange goal and populated it with stranger characters, but without a likable cast of characters or decent enough interactions between these characters, Meganebu! ends up being a disappointment.
Despite having a decent amount of humor going for it at the onset, the narrow focus of the series is its undoing. There is only so much one can take of the glasses aspect and it is run into the ground long before the series reaches its end. Sure the silliness of it all may make you laugh every so often, usually when the focus is shifted off of glasses humor onto something else, but ultimately far too many of the punch lines fall short of the mark.
There are a few moments that do stand out through the series as memorable. This includes a number of actually funny such as a pair of prototype X-ray glasses that reveal the existence of a ghost possessing an old pair of sunglasses the group found and his relation to someone they know who is still alive. Unfortunately moments like this are few and far between in Meganebu! as nothing of consequence actually happens throughout the series.
Unfortunately these few rare moments are few and far between as the show relies far too much on silliness and style to try and keep viewers interested when halfway through most people will simply want to turn away. This is especially when you consider that those who stick around will be left with an ending that, despite changing things up and actually adding a two episode story arc, really doesn’t change anything and sticks with the same pattern that has unfolded throughout the rest of the season.
Visuals There is one thing that Meganebu! has going for it and it happens to be the art style the studio used. The level of detail on all of the background environments is very impressive while all of the male characters are designed with plenty of detail and are designed to really give female viewers a little extra to look at. These designs all benefit from an extremely vivid color palette that practically glows as it comes off the screen, especially on Blu-ray like this release.
It is interesting to note that a running joke throughout the series is the fact that, people who don’t wear glasses are beneath the main characters’ notice and as such, any non-glasses wearing characters, minus the members of the student council, are portrayed in an extremely simplistic manner, usually as a basic stick figure, in order to show how little the characters think of them and also to probably save a bit of budget. It is also worth noting that there are a large number of signs and Japanese text present in the release which is properly subtitled, however thanks to how quickly things flash by there may be points you’ll have to pause to see what a specific sign might have said.
Audio It is worth noting that this release of Sentai Filmworks comes with only the Japanese voice track with English subtitles. The Japanese voice actors do a great job given the material they are working with and fit the roles nicely, especially in regards to the number of soft spoken male characters that populate the series as well as a certain character that is a bit too attached to the club president.
The background music throughout Meganebu! is actually quite impressive as there are a number of catchy little tunes that play for a short period of time in a number of episodes. The same can be said for the series’ opening theme “World’s End” by MUCC which is a nice mix of pop and rock. As for the series’ ending theme, the song “Colorful World” by Tomohisa Sako, is mellower than the opening theme but is still quite fitting, especially with it being set against the ending sequence that features real images of glasses in artistic scenes.
Extras Unfortunately Meganebu! comes with only the bare minimum as far as special features are concerned. This means that the release only contains a clean version of the opening and ending theme, trailers for other Sentai Filmworks releases, and disc credits.
Overall Meganebu! is a series that is trying to appeal to a niche within a niche and manages to fail at presenting anything with real substance. This is especially disappointing because Meganebu!, has the looks of a great series featuring vibrant colors and detailed character designs and backgrounds. Sadly it ends up being little more than eye candy with a decent sense of humor that falls flat long before the final episode.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Time to shake your tailfeathers folks, as Disney and Harmonix’s brand new music and motion game – Fantasia: Music Evolved is now on store shelves for Xbox One and Xbox 360. Drawing inspiration from the beloved Fantasia musical, Music Evolved turns players into the Sorcerer’s new apprentice, and exploring remarkable worlds and unlocking the magic of music and dance.
Fantasia: Music Evolved is available now on Xbox consoles and brings with it a bunch of new and contemporary pop hits for you to work it and twerk it to. You can get the game for Xbox One for a RRP of $69.95 and for an RRP of $59.95 for 360 (players will also need a Kinect Sensor for their chosen console). You can check out the game’s launch trailer below, and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the cool Disney news as it becomes available.
Overview
Sleeping Dogs was a true surprise when it launched in 2012, bringing with it an unforgettable open-world experience. Two years since, and we are ankle-deep in a new generation of games that haven’t yet stood out or made an impact yet. That as in issue isn’t really a problem, as due to it being so early, many companies are feeding their fans seconds with “complete” versions of hits from the last generation. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition has arrived in style, and wants to be a console owner’s “just because” purchase, as it offers a great value with all DLC included – along with upgraded visuals. The question is, is Sleeping Dogs worthy of this upgrade, or is it yet another questionable release for a generation starving for something to play? Let’s find out.
Story
Sleeping Dogs stars a main protagonist by the name of Wei Shen and is set in Hong Kong. Shen is a highly skilled former cop, trying to prove himself to amongst several gang leaders, while still trying to keep the integrity that his badge holds. Sure, we have seen this same storyline in countless movies and even a few video games, but that really isn’t a problem as while the story is a bit dried up, the rich characters and dialogue make this little plot very enjoyable from beginning to end. As Wei Shen progresses on his mission, morality comes into play that could cost him everything, so the player gets to watch his struggle as backstabbing friends and dirty cops try to sway our lead into a path of darkness.
Being a mission based game much like Grand Theft Auto, I expected to find moments of boredom during my time cruising the streets of China, but alas, I actually bypassed a good number of fodder quests just to get back to the main storyline. Its easy to get immersed in this work that United Front created two years ago, and while I wouldn’t expect to see a lot of age, I can say the strength of the writing has still stood the small test of time, making progression rewarding and entertaining. Even the random NPCs tell a small story of their own, performing odd jobs such as mascots and vendors who are just trying to get ahead amongst a tough financial climate. Sure, there are a couple of dull moments, but it isn’t hard at all to quickly find something to invest in within this large city booming with a new culture to explore.
Gameplay
I would be elated to say that the combat, driving, and other mechanics have brand new upgrades to incorporate the Playstation 4’s touchpad or the Xbox One’s other features, but this this Definitive Edition is just that, and does nothing to redefine or even polish the original experience. That is not a bad thing at all though, as Sleeping Dogs was and still is an already brilliantly polished title, featuring a unique, tight combat system in a limited- but still open world. Instead of gunplay – which is sparse in these Hong Kong streets, Wei Shen must rely on melee combat such as fierce punches and kicks, with plenty of martial arts flavoring added in. There is a bit of an RPG element as well, as players can upgrade their maneuvers as they play, adding more to keep this combat from becoming stale. Sure, it isn’t too advanced, but its simple and effective at keeping the game fresh throughout.
The combat doesn’t miss a beat for the most part, as every kick you nail to an opponent’s temple is responsive, and then environment takes it up a notch, allowing the player to interact with the world to devastate foes quickly. There really is no morality system within this title as well, as punching a random civilian usually comes with no repercussions, but abusing the system can have consequences as cops do still respond to too much crime, and will be quick to arrest repetitive wrong-doers with great haste. The driving was one of the most fluid mechanics of Sleeping Dogs, to be honest. When I play GTA, I can easily say that driving feels fine, but the roads are often so cluttered and intrusive that a standard car chase is like solving a puzzle to pull off without failure. Sleeping Dogs however doesn’t really suffer from this issue. Sure, you will ram vehicles unintentionally, but there is less traffic and fauna to run into, making these sequences feel exhilarating and exciting, where you are able to focus on your mission rather than all of the obstacles in-between.
The missions themselves are also varied, with the main story missions offering a broad range of variation of delivery quests, encounters, busts, and so on. Players can also take on a sub-plot that allows Wei Shen to dress up in uniform and save the world if need be, battling against thugs and stopping small crimes on the street. Its hard to find an open-world title that does not re-use the same tricks over and over (Just Cause 2, I am looking at you here), but Sleeping Dogs is a bit different as it has far more focus. Sure, some might do comparisons with other titles in the genre and complain that there isn’t as much to explore within Hong Kong as compared to San Andreas, but there doesn’t really need to be. Sleeping Dogs has a smaller world, but makes the most of it by stitching everything closer together so the player is constantly focused and more importantly – entertained.
The DLC offerings are also all available, and even though there are over twenty add-ons, most are simply new outfits, cars, and minor additions that don’t really warrant a second look. That said, the two story missions are quite expansive with the likes of Nightmare in North Point offering a horror-themed vampiric arc, and the Zodiac Tournament add-on – which brings an appropriately themed fighting tournament into the mix with a brand new location to check out. There is also “The Year of the Snake” adding six more missions, but these are over quite quickly and if this pack was available separately, I don’t quite think I would pull the trigger. As a whole though, it is great to see the mass amount of content that the original title already had jammed in with the expansions, as it will take most players nearly thirty hours to do everything and try to hit that 100% mark, so re-playability shouldn’t be too much of an issue for those looking to stay in this exotic world.
Visuals
I suppose since this is an upgraded release, I should spend a lot of time speaking of the visuals. That is a bit hard to do. For starters, those who have played Sleeping Dogs will not find too much change. The neon-lit nightlife captures an amazingly open atmosphere, and all of the NPCs fall right into place to make this world come to life and feel busy. There are a few bland textures in some areas, but that is something the original had as well, so nothing will seem too different on that front. As far as what the upgraded graphical engine holds, it really comes down to minor tweaks in lighting, animation, and clothing. Yeah, I know that doesn’t sound like much, but as disappointing as it is, this is a port that feels like a port. Sure, you can tell the difference, but seeing a side-by-side comparison isn’t enough to make one raise an eyebrow as all of the smoothness added comes off as minor and in some places, barely noticeable. What I did notice were animations that were down-right terrible, though. Imagine you just win a fighting against a thuggish boss, and while you are delivering that final blow, he folds up like Elmer Fudd in a Bugs Bunny short. Wei Shin also seems to just drop in awkward positions as well when knocked down, and ragdoll physics run a muck quite often, taking a good bit of realism out of the main experience.
Audio
With an all-star voice cast, I can easily say that the audio is much better than the visuals within Sleeping Dogs. This cast seemed to get it. Each character’s passion comes through in their dialogue, as the voicework makes this story believable and engrossing. The soundtrack is also fantastic as well, with Chinese pop, rock, and so on mixed into every radio station. Sure, it isn’t as varied as a lot of the bigger franchises, but its certainly a nice change of pace from the norm if you have been stuck in Los Santos for hours on end.
Overall
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition isn’t really definitive. While the original may be one of the finest titles of the last generation, I feel that this re-release is simply available for a quick cash-grab off desperate console owners who are waiting for the next big thing. That being said, if you have yet to play Sleeping Dogs and want to dive into a fantastic experience, you are in the right place as no title offers more cultural education than this little gem from just a couple of years ago. I get it – we are going to see a lot of Definitive Editions this generation of older titles due to the lack of backwards compatibility. There are a lot of politics tied up in the industry with these ports and that topic is for a completely different conversation, but when it comes to Sleeping Dogs, I feel like a pass is warranted. New players have a ton of content fresh for the taking within this package, and while it isn’t perfect, you certainly will be getting the right amount of kick, punch, and general bang for your buck here.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
It is a sunny Saturday morning, there are kids playing in the street, birds singing, and a little blinking notification light on my phone – that must mean its time for Xbox Newsbeat! Are you ready to get hand-serveed all of the latest and greatest news straight from Microsoft HQ ‘Cause that’s what we’re all about here soldier, so sit down, relax and enjoy these three awesome Xbox One themed headlines before heading off to Saturday morning brunch!
Sunset Overdrive Launch Trailer and “Week of Explosions” Ignite the Awesomepocalypse
BOOM! Insomniac Games’ upcoming shooter; Sunset Overdrive is about to unleash the Awesomepocalypse unto the world, and to celebrate the guys have not only released a nice little launch trailer, but have also concocted a brilliant idea in the form of “Week of Explosions.”
Xbox and Insomniac have teamed with some of the awesome video content creators over on YouTube for the Week of Explosions, which aims to blow up as many Sunset Overdrive themed items as possible
Halo Nightfall trailer and HaloFest Livestream, November 8-11
November 11th is a big one for you Halo fans out there. Not only does the Halo: Master Chief Collection drop on Xbox One, but the date will be shared with the premiere of the live-action series; Halo: Nightfall. As we get closer to what I am dubbing as Halo Day, Microsoft and 343 Industries invite fans to join the celebration as they broadcast special sneak peeks, interviews and exclusive gameplay to the world on Xbox Live, Xbox.com and Twitch – including the first look at the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta and the world premiere of the first episode of Halo: Nightfall.
So head over to the Xbox Twitch Page, from 3p.m. AEST Tuesday 11th November for HaloFest, which will show off:
Xbox One November System Update: Personalisation and SmartGlass Features Now in Preview
I think we spoke just last week about the latest Xbox One system update, and already we are getting even more! That’s right, rolling out in November (and currently in preview for certain lucky players) are a slew of new updates that let you take a bit more control over your console. Check out the new features making their way to your console:
Show Who You Are –Some of the most requested features being released this month include the ability to customize your Xbox One background and showcase and share some of your favourite achievements and game clips.
Custom Backgrounds – The #1 fan-requested feature is making its initial debut for preview members. For the first time, each account on your Xbox One can have a customized background. You can choose a custom colour or achievement art as your background on Xbox One, with more customization options coming down the road.
Gamer Profile – You can now share your location and bio as part of your profile. You can set these options on your Xbox One console and use Xbox One SmartGlass to browse to other people’s profiles and check out their showcase items. Additionally, you can now select a set of showcase items that are displayed when other gamers look at your profile on an Xbox One console. You can use Xbox One SmartGlass or Xbox One console to add or remove up to six game clips or achievements that will be displayed in a carousel format.
Tweet about your Favourite Game Clips – You can now share your favourite Xbox One game clips with your followers on Twitter. Use the Share button on any game clip you have created and select Twitter to compose the Tweet.
There we go! Another week of killer headlines for your viewing enjoyment. So which of this week’s news snippets grabbed your attention the most? Let us know in the comments below and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the awesome Microsoft news as it becomes available.
Jason Reitman’s upcoming comedy drama, Men, Women & Children has created quite the stir with the release of a teaser scene ‘The Dangers of Selfies’. The controversial film touches on the sexual frustrations of teenagers and their parents and the influence of the internet in changing their relationships, communication, self-image and love lives.
The exclusive clip ‘The Dangers of Selfies’ shows Patricia (Jennifer Garner) explaining the laws of selfies to Donna (Judy Greer), a concerned parent who suspects that her daughter is posting risqué photos of herself online for her partner.
Paramount Pictures will release Men, Women & Children in Australia on November 27. Check out the trailer below and stay tuned with Capsule Computers for more information about the film.
Koei Tecmo has announced that Dead or Alive 5: Last Round will be released in North America on February 17th and in Europe on February 20th. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game will be sold at $39.99 and will be available at retail and as a digital download while past-gen versions will cost $29.99 and will only be available as a digital download.
Now that the official release date has been announced, pre-order bonuses have been revealed. Those who pre-order Dead or Alive 5: Last Round from Gamestop will be given “Ninja” (for Ayane , Hayabusa, Hayate and Kasumi), and Aloha (for Ayane, Hitomi, Kasumi and Mila ) costume sets while those who pre-order from Amazon and Best Buy will be given the “Showstopper” (for Christie, Helena, Lisa and Tina) and “Beach Party” (for Kokoro, Leifang, Momiji and Rachel) costume sets.
The company also announced that the Core Fighters version of Last Round, which includes Ayane, Hayate, Kasumi and Ryu Hayabusa, will also be released for free on the PlayStation 4 as well as the Xbox One, though it is worth noting that the Xbox One version is classified as a demo and can not be expanded upon without first purchasing it for $4.99 and unlocking Hitomi, Tina, Jann Lee, and Bass.
Overview Long running series tend to have issues generating interesting content at a steady pace. Usually these series either drag out a very long story arc or begin to use single story episodes to try and find something that fans will enjoy. Many of these series have a big enough fanbase that they can get away with this technique without too much of a problem as fans generally are more interested in the characters and their interactions at this point. With Ranma ½ Set 3 bringing episodes forty seven through sixty nine out in one collection, will the series continue going strong?
Story At this point in the series Ranma ½ begins to feel like it has settled into a coasting pace with a focus centered on comedy and strange situations more than anything else. Whereas the last set saw not only the introduction of more cursed characters in Mousse and the reveal that Shampoo is also cursed by the Jusenkyo springs, it also introduced Shampoo’s grandmother Cologne who served as not only an opponent for Ranma to conquer but also as a teacher, a new girl in his life in the form of Ukyo, and the perverted master Happosai to constantly cause trouble.
Unlike Set 2, this set instead focuses more on simple one-off episodes that generally revolve around the Tendo Dojo and the various characters already introduced. While this change does give some reoccurring characters a bit more time in the spotlight, the characters that are highlighted are unfortunately the ones we’ve seen plenty of at this point.
Despite being the most recent character to be added into the series in this set of episodes, Ukyo is barely present in Set 3 and only one episode is actually focused on expanding her character. This is disappointing and is also something of a running trend in some of the episodes found in Set 3 as a number of recently introduced characters are side-lined for episodes at a time in an effort to introduce more random one-off characters.
On the other hand, the antics of Happosai begin to run rampant throughout Set 3 as not only are many episodes spent focused on Ranma and the group trying to put a stop to Happosai’s latest perverted schemes, nearly every episode includes his perverse nature in some form, whether it is stealing underwear, assaulting Ranma’s female form, or something similar. While many of the characters in Ranma ½ can be considered one-note, Happosai’s tendencies are more annoying than they are amusing.
Although Happosai tends to drag the series down more than he elevates it, there are still a number of great episodes found within Set 3 and even the introduction of at least one new character in the form of the Furinkan High School’s Principle. After returning from Hawaii, the Principle injects some extra life into the series by becoming a new enemy for Ranma and the rest of the school thanks to his draconian policies regarding student hair styles. It also helps that the final few episodes in this set include a three episode story-arc involving Ranma being weakened to the point that even opponents he’s brushed off in the past can overpower him and watching him try to overcome this limitation with the help of his friends is one of the best parts of the set.
Despite being all over the place, Ranma ½ Set 3 still manages to deliver a somewhat satisfying experience thanks to the constant flow of humor and strange situations that Ranma and the group find themselves in. Whether it involves the Jusenkyo security force pursuing them thanks to misuse of their transformation powers, love pills on a beach, Ranma embracing his feminine side, a battle over soap, and even time traveling mirrors, there is plenty to still enjoy here. Unfortunately thanks to the way things are handled, it just doesn’t blend together quite as well as the past sets.
Visuals As I mentioned earlier, longer series tend to hit a certain groove with their story telling and the same can be said about the studio animating the series. Unfortunately thanks to this being a fair bit into the series at this point, it is clear that the animators started to fall into a rut of some sort as the drawing quality has noticeably dropped over the course of Set 3. While this isn’t an issue with Viz’s handling of the series, there are numerous shortcuts used to produce some of these episodes.
Everything from strange proportions to unintentionally odd shaped character faces that have long been established become issues as the episodes role by. There are even a few notable issues where even the main characters are drawn even worse than simple background characters. That being said, the quality does seem to fluctuate back to normal every so often and look spectacular at times, but this only seems to occur during episodes that focus on developing a character or advancing the story in some way.
Audio In the first set of Ranma ½ the female Ranma saw a change of voice actress within the first few episodes and now in Set 3 we have a change in the male form Ranma’s voice actor. In episode 64 of the series male Ranma’s voice actor changes from Sarah Strange to Ian Cox, who performs the character almost exactly like he does Inuyasha. This change is very noticeable at first due to how different the two voice actors sound from one another, but viewers will likely get used to it. Though it is worth noting that thanks to the way that the original episodes were released, the episode 69 in this set actually reverts back to Sarah Strange as it originally was placed earlier in the series.
The background music throughout Ranma ½ remains strong as it makes use of various instrumental themes that have been used over the course of the series to satisfying effect. As for the opening and ending themes, this set features two different themes in the forms of “Omoide ga Ippai” by CoCo and “No Way! Part 2” by Yoshi Hayasaka as the opening themes while the ending themes “Lambada Ranma” and for the first time in the English dub, “Present” by Tokyo Shounen is used.
Extras This DVD release of Ranma ½ Set 3 comes in a slipcase while the on-disc special features are very basic, offering only a clean version of both opening and both ending themes featured in these episodes as well as trailers for other Viz Media releases.
Overall While Ramna ½ may start to struggle with some of the issues that plague longer series, it still manages to pull itself together to offer an enjoyable experience in Set 3. Although the art quality drops quite often and the one-off episodes can be off-putting, the humor and likability of most of the cast makes even the simplest episodes alright and many of them quite enjoyable. Despite stumbling a bit this time around, Ranma ½ Set 3 continues to successfully give fans of the series what they want, plenty of strange action and humor centered on Ranma and those close to him.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
After the fiasco that was my first encounter with the Pro Evolution Soccersports game series at EB Expo I felt eager to give the game a second chance. When the time came around and I was given the chance, I put my hand up eagerly to give the new Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 another go at its preview event in Sydney. I moseyed on down to Cheers bar over on George Street and saddled up to have my backside handed to me once more at the PES 2015 preview event. I was pleasantly surprised by the entire experience.
The first time I played the game, I had only 15 minutes and no tutorial or tutor to teach me how to play the game with any proficiency. This time however, I had some of the game’s die-hard fans to teach me, and contrary to the impression you might receive from the comments on my previous article; they’re actually quite pleasant people to be around. With the help of these awesome chaps, I was able to finally experience how PES 2015 should be played.
Firstly; my initial sentiments that this was a difficult game to master have been reinforced. Even with veterans of the series, I was still having trouble mastering the controls and the figuring out the gameplay. Another first time player of PES had similar difficulty learning the game and they were apparently an ardent player of the competing FIFA series… so I’m not just speaking from my own ineptitude. This game is one which requires time and effort to master… time and effort which I did not have. After I was given a crash course in the controls, I was paired up with a similarly newb-ish player and told to have at it.
I feel that this time I was able to hold my own in the game. There are few feelings which can compare to playing a game in which you and your opponent are evenly matched. We each played a game which focused on different styles. I was quite proficient at passing the ball up the pitch quickly (like a game of pinball) with the AI largely moving my team mates into position quite capably. My opponent preferred to avoid passing and dribble the ball up the line as quickly as possible. Numerous times we both came within striking distance. Numerous times our shots flew wide/got intercepted/were prevented by the liberal use of slide tackles. I generally felt that playing defence was not as fun as playing attack but that may have been because I haven’t quite gotten the hang of it. Ultimately the match ended up as a nail-biting draw as neither one of us could get the upper hand on the other.
Flushed with my glory from my non-defeat, I grabbed some booze and chatted to the fans about their thoughts on the game. All of them had played the demo and were excited to have a look at the full game. Talking to them, I got the impression that these guys were reveling in the highly detailed nature of the game. For them, the strength of the PES series came from the fact that the game incorporated details such as deep simulation of headering the ball and advanced motion capture being used to more accurately portray the movements of a goalie (I kid you not). For these players, the intense simulation which the game provides as opposed to a more accessible, arcade game experience is what gives them its appeal.
They regaled me with their opinions on what they thought on the new additions to the game with various features earning their adoration and their ire. They were unified however, by a shared a love of this game which is based upon the ‘Beautiful Game’. I can’t offer an opinion on whether these changes in this installment are any better or worse than the previous version, but I can say that Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 is a fun game and that it’s passionate fanbase is one of the most accommodating to newcomers (at least in Sydney, Australia).
The Diancite Mega Stone can be obtained in the new titles, releasing in Australia and New Zealand on November 21, allowing players to then mega evolve Diancie. And, to commemorate the release of Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, Hoyts Cinemas across the two countries mentioned will be giving out said distribution codes at screenings on the 8th and 9th of November. At the same select retailers, however – EB Games, JB Hi-Fi, Big W and Target in Australia and only the former two in New Zealand – gamers are reminded to walk on in for a special Shiny Gengar holding a Gengarite Mega Stone; this promotion lasts until November 5.
