Page 3608 – Capsule Computers

Home Blog Page 3608

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call Review

October 16, 2014

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: September 16, 2014
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here $59.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview
The Final Fantasy series has been widely regarded for its amazing soundtrack throughout the years and even when certain games might have rubbed fans the wrong way, at least the music remained superb. As such, when the original Theatrhythm Final Fantasy was released a couple of years ago, it was a Final Fantasy fan’s dream. Now with Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call offering nearly three times the amount of songs as the original and a number of other enhancements, is it worth picking up again?

Gameplay
It is worth noting that although Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call does sport some semblance of a storyline, it is basically there as a premise to set the stage for the game where players must gather Rythmia in order to put an end to the Chaos that is about to send the world into darkness. To do this, players must take their party of four characters, chosen from a small pool to begin with, and play through songs from every type of Final Fantasy game imaginable.

The basic setup for Curtain Call remains the same as the past game, where there are three types of notes as well as three different song types. Notes come in flavors that are simple taps, swipes in a certain direction, and pressing and releasing at certain points in order to hit each note, occasionally combining a few of these tactics to give us a bit more variety. In addition, special critical notes have been added into the game that offer various bonuses when properly hit depending on the song type.

Players can make use of either the 3DS’ touch screen for these sequences or the face buttons and circle pad. Choosing between these two is really up to the player, though tapping the screen does provide the best feedback, even though the game continues to have issues detecting proper swiping motions, causing missed swipe notes far too often. It doesn’t help that even using the circle pad this problem continues to persist.

As for the song types, we have Battle Music Stages, Field Music Stages, and Event Music Stages, all offering us specific categories. As one would expect, the name of the stage represents the type of music one can expect from that game where the event music ranges from theme songs to opening numbers. Battle Stages see players taking to the field against some of the series’ iconic monsters where successfully tapped notes deal damage to enemies, while the Field Stages see your party leader traversing a straight path and running according to how successful you are with the music notes, with the added difficulty of having to trace the lines for held notes.

As for the Event Music, these always occur while there is a video from the original game playing in the background as you hit the notes appearing in a certain pattern. Although you may wish to watch the videos while playing the song, it can be a bit distracting so it is good that once you complete them the videos are viewable in the game’s museum.

While playing with your initial party of characters, you can unlock other characters from the Final Fantasy world to play in your party and level up. Characters in the game level up and gain various skills that sometimes help eliminate enemies faster, make you run quicker on the field, or heal lost health from missing notes. As you play through the game you will also obtain one use items to assist in stages and even collect cards that can raise character stats.

That being said, unless you are playing on the hardest song difficulty or the new Quest Medley mode, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call is an extremely easy title to play through and the chances of failure are incredibly low. This means that although these mini RPG elements are a nice inclusion, you don’t have to worry about devoting too much time to them if you do not wish to.

Outside of the standard single song mode, there is the new Quest Medley that allows the player to take part in lengthy quests that gives players a chance to choose various paths through an area, acquire new items, unlock characters, and face off against bosses at the end of each quest. Unfortunately despite the fact that it does provide a bit of structure to the songs you will be playing through, they ultimately remain the same and unlocking characters and songs is a very simple task.

Outside of these single player modes anew versus mode has been implemented that allows players to face off against other players either online or locally, as well as against AI opponents. This latter option is a blessing especially since not only does it give you an extra challenge, but makes the mode viable regardless of where you are. In Versus Mode players will try to outscore their opponent making use of mostly the same tactics as standard songs, except now EX bursts play a factor. You see, once you obtain a certain score it is possible to unleash a special attack that can have a devastating effect on your opponent by affecting the notes on their screen, adding a much needed competitive flair to the game.

Visuals & Audio
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call makes use of the same chibi looking character designs from the first game. The design style is inoffensive and is rather charming considering it puts characters from the first few games on the same design level of those in FFXIV. As for the videos that play during event stages, they have successfully been shrunk down to the 3DS’ screen level without damaging the look of the videos.

As for the music in the game, well you have some of the best songs from the series in the franchise. From unreleased titles like Final Fantasy Type-0, older themes from Final Fantasy V, and songs from movies and spin-off games, if you are a fan of the Final Fantasy series’ music then this is the best way to carry around nearly an entire compilation in your pocket.

Overall
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call expands on its single player offerings while adding a massive number of songs to its playlist, making it an easy recommendation for fans of the series’ music. On the other hand, many of the elements of the game are copied right from the first game and a few of the new additions seem superfluous at best. Offering 221 songs, this easy but expansive rhythm game is not without its faults, but it makes up with them by presenting fans of the series something that no fan of Final Fantasy should pass up.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Magic: The Gathering Comes to PAX Aus

Andrew Day

October 15, 2014

Magic: The Gathering has become an important part of nerddom and pop culture, so it is no surprise that the world’s largest TCG and strategy game is making its way down under for PAX Aus 2014. This year, the guys at Wizards are bringing some awesome news, previews and events for everyone whether you are a two-decade veteran of the game, or you have only heard about the game and have been meaning to give it a try.

11am on Sunday November 2 – Aaron Forsythe (Director of R&D for Magic: The Gathering) showcases upcoming products, events and even a preview or two. Not only that but, if you’ve got any burning questions about Magic you’ve always wanted to ask, you’ll have an opportunity in what is sure to be a lively Q&A session!

2pm Sunday November 2, there will be a world-exclusive preview of Commander 2014. Hosted by Aaron Forsythe, this 5-player free-for-all multiplayer Commander 2014 event will allow some lucky fans to participate in this special preview!

Not only that, but fans are invited to earn a collectable Magic: The Gathering “Pinny Arcade” Pin by participating in any three on-stand activities. These activities include Magic 2015:Duels of the Planeswalkers on iPad, Learn to Play for those new to the game, Intro Pack Duelling, Spellslinging and a ‘Hunt Bigger Game’ photo booth.

So if you are a Magic: The Gathering Geek or looking to get into the game, make sure you check out this year’s PAX Aus, which is running in Melbourne from Friday 31st October – November 2nd.

Mortal Kombat X Comic Book Series Debuting in January

Zac Elawar

October 15, 2014

I was so close to typing “Komic” in the title…just like with Injustice: Gods Among Us – the comic book series for which is now in “Year Three” – DC Entertainment has announced during New York Comic Con’s “DC DIGITAL: DOWNLOAD THIS!” panel that Mortal Kombat X will be receiving its own weekly comic book series, starting in January.

The series is being written by Shawn Kittelsen with interior art by Dexter Soy and covers by Ivan Reis. They will serve as a prequel to the game, and will feature characters from the entire Mortal Kombat timeline; little restrictions have been placed on the creators, meaning that the inclusion of Liu Kang and others who died at the end of Mortal Kombat (2011) isn’t necessarily being ruled out. That being said, a large part of the focus will certainly be placed on the new characters and establishing the story for Netherrealm‘s Mortal Kombat X.

Check out the first official artwork from the series below!

The Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Final Countdown Begins

Zac Elawar

October 15, 2014

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is just two days away from international release for PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 3, PS Vita and Xbox 360, and, to celebrate, 2K have released the launch trailer for the highly anticipated title. Check it out embedded at the bottom of this article.

Discover the untold story set between the original Borderlands and Borderlands 2 as you play as four new bad-ass character classes in your quest to defeat the evil Dahl forces stationed on Pandora’s moon Elpis, who are under the leadership of the either charmingly or arrogantly named (depending on your interpretation) Handsome Jack. Check out our impressions of the game from EB Expo 2014 earlier this month.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Review

Jamie Laike Tsui

October 15, 2014

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows (Reviewed)
Release Date: 30 September 2014
Price: $49.99 USD – Available Here / $79.95-99.95 AUD Available Here

Overview

Using existing licenses is risky business. Most gamers can count on one hand how many successful video games are made using an existing IP. Almost all of those games probably include either children’s brick toys or a dark-caped super hero. So understandably, creating yet another game based on the venerable Lord of the Rings franchise is a risky proposition that has a high chance of disappointment. Enter Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, a game rightfully looking to fight for a place in that small club.

Story

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor takes the series in a new direction by spinning a new story. The game stars Talion, a ranger of Gondor who is posted at the Black Gate of Mordor. After the Black Gate is attacked, Talion, his wife, and son become the unwilling participants of a blood sacrifice. Unfortunately for Talion, death brings him no rest. Instead of joining his wife and son in death, Talion becomes banished from eternal rest and is bound to a wraith who is unaware of his own identity. Now Talion is blazing a path of vengeance in an attempt to free himself from the curse and discover the true identity of his ghostly companion.

Before I go any further, I must make a confession. I am not a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings series. I could not get through the books and never bothered to watch the films, so I approach Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor with just some vague knowledge of the series. Even as unfamiliar to the overall lore as I am, I enjoyed the plot. It is well fleshed out, with tons of information in the appendices to fill in gaps of knowledge. It will probably serve as a excellent introduction to the rest of the franchise for many people.

The writing is spectacular. The pacing is spot on and strikes the right balance of tense dialogue and comedic relief. It seems the writers have taken great care with the entire game, as even the idle conversations the Uruk have with each other are done well, which contribute to the feeling that the world is alive.

Gameplay

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is an open world third person action game with some stealth elements. It should not surprise you that the gameplay is strikingly similar to the Arkham series of Batman games, another one of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’ successful uses of an existing license. Talion’s combat abilities break down to melee, ranged, and stealth attacks, augmented by his wraith abilities. Players will have access two separate trees. The first is a skill tree that is further split between Talion’s combat skills and wraith abilities. As players progress through story missions and defeat officers of Sauron’s army, new tiers of abilities will be unlocked for purchase. The second tree is dedicated to Talion’s health, focus, and weapons. These are purchased with currency earned from side missions, bonus objectives, and collectibles littered across Mordor. The extensive set up gives players a good bit of control to build Talion to best suit they play style rather early on.

Combat is extremely smooth and responsive. The melee skill bar is pretty low, with buttons for attack, stun, dodge, and counters. However, the game rewards skilled players who can maintain long hit combos with special abilities. Furthermore, those who take the critical strike ability are able to dish extra damage by correctly damaging their strikes. The stealth gameplay is similar to the modern stealth genre, where the player is the demonic killer that strikes fear from the shadows versus the fragile assassin in the darkness. Mixed with the excellent freerunning mechanics, it is completely viable to play the game almost exclusively as a stealth title.

The real gem of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor’s open world is the Nemesis System. Sauron’s Uruk army is filled with powerful officers that Talion will target. As he knocks down officers, new ones will rise to fill their ranks over time. If Talion is killed by a regular Uruk, that Uruk will rise to join the officers, if the Uruk is already an officer, he will become more powerful from the encounter and possibly rise in rank if there is an open slot. These Uruk will become Talion’s nemesis, remembering their previous encounters and reacting accordingly. Some will go as far as hunting down Talion in search for revenge. Intelligence can be gathered on these officers that will reveal their name, location, strengths, and weaknesses. The Nemesis System makes dying fun, or at least it takes the sting out of it. Along with helping build a vibrant and living world that responds to player’s behaviour, the hunt to take down a nemesis that previously made you eat dirt is is possibly one of the most satisfying moments in the game.

The main missions are fun, with a good variety of goals and activities. The side missions however tend to be a little more repetitive. They boil down into skill based pursuits, rescuing slaves, and hunting down officers. The most repetitive tends to be the skill based and slave rescuing missions. It would have been nice to see another mission type or two to break things up.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor’s controls are nearly impeccable. They are responsive and simple to grasp. It struggles ever so slightly with freerunning at times, with Talion getting stuck on a corner or having trouble jumping to ledges behind him.

Visuals

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is an excellent looking game. The animations and textures are top notch. There is a great deal of variety in the environments of Mordor and enough variation between the officers to make them stand out from each other and their peers. The UI is simple and elegant, which lets players enjoy more of Mordor.

The PC performance scales well to a variety of computers. Monolith has provided a downloadable texture pack containing the uncompressed textures for those with cutting edge graphic cards with extensive memory. However, the general consensus seems to be the difference between the Ultra textures and uncompressed textures is minimal. Whether you want to chalk it up to poor optimization or simply taxing visual requirements, running the game on highest settings will require an extremely beefy computer. However, using the automatically selected recommended settings, I was able to get a solid 60 FPS, with quieter sections shooting up to 80-90 FPS.

Audio

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor features a solid audio experience. The voice acting is brilliant, with Troy Baker and Alastair Duncan providing a fantastic performance as Talion and Celebrimbor respectively. The sound effects are excellent, but the real gem is the music. Garry Schyman and Nathan Grigg have composed an epic soundtrack that hits all the right notes at all the right times. I really appreciated how they used such simple techniques like a plucked string instrument to build tension at the right time. The soundtrack is definitely worth a purchase for video game music fans.

Overall

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is easily in the running for 2014’s game of the year. Although it is up against stiff competition, it’s living world, excellent combat, varied gameplay strategies, strong plot, and fantastic audio makes it worth having in every gamer’s library. This is a step in the right direction for the Lord of the Rings video game franchise.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

New Trailer & Details for Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Nathan Farrugia

October 15, 2014

A brand new trailer has been released for Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire has been released ahead of the upcoming demo. The new trailer showcases two new Mega Evolutions for some fan favourites but two more were discovered in the demo that some people already have access to. The new Mega Evolutions are listed below alongside a little competitive insider info on just how strong these new Megas might turn out to be.

Mega Pidgeot – Gains a ‘great’ boost in special attack according to the official site and the No Guard ability. This is a double edged sword as while it can use the very powerful Hurricane attack without worrying about accuracy, those low accuracy rock moves like stone edge and rock slide will always hit you as well.

Mega Beedrill – Gains ‘extreme’ boost in attack and speed according to the official site and the Adaptability ability. This is sure to get Beedrill some more competitive use as it’s attack will be sky high however it should be noted Poison and Bug attacks don’t have very good coverage, only hitting fairy, grass, dark and psychic for super effective damage but having a lot of resistances. Steel types will still have no problem dealing with Mega Beedrill.

Mega Glalie – Receives a boost in speed and a ‘significant raise’ in both attack and special attack. Remains pure ice type and gains the Refrigerate ability, turning all normal type moves into ice type moves. This will really boost Glalie’s attacking options and I wouldn’t want to face an ice type Explosion from this thing. Glalie can also learn the one hit KO move sheer cold now, but unless you’re a gambler I don’t recommend using it with only 30% accuracy. This is the best OHKO move in the game though.

Mega Steelix – Similar to Mega Aggron, Mega Steelix receives a pretty good boost to its already huge defense stat along with a much needed boost to its special defense stat. It gains the Sand Force ability, increasing it’s rock, ground and steel type moves in a sandstorm by 33% which will make Steelix an offensive threat as well as a defensive threat with it’s mega attack boost. Steelix will be quite formidable in a sandstorm if given the right support.

Apart from the Mega Evolutions tons of other details were also divulged in the trailer. Pokemon Omega Ruby owners will be able to encounter Latios while Alpha Sapphire owners will find Latias. Both can Mega Evolve into Mega Latios and Mega Latias respectively, even though they look identical apart from eye colour. We have known about the mega forms of these Pokemon for a very long time now so it’s great to see finally become playable. It seems you won’t have to battle them but just talk to them to get you to join them.

One awesome new feature is the ability to fly on Mega Latios and Mega Latias. That’s right, you can literally fly over the Hoenn region. That’s not all, you will sometimes encounter Pokemon whilst in the clouds and will even come across ‘Mirage Spots’ that will contain some of the rarest legendaries from the previous games including Reshiram, Zekrom, Ho-oh, Lugia, Dialga and Palkia.

Trainers will be happy to know that all the great innovations from Pokemon X & Y will be returning here including Pokemon Amie, Super Training and the PSS that let you connect with friends, the GTS and wonder trade. These features are all being incorporated into the new Pokenav Plus which also contains a myriad of other functions. The Dexnav allows you to locate hidden Pokemon in the grass and learn more about them. The Areanav shows the map and the Buzznav brings special news report that seems to report on rare Pokemon sightings or possibly high horde encounter locations.

Unfortunately some negative news was also discovered today in some recent interviews. Trainer customisation will not be making a return from Pokemon X & Y and those games will also not be getting a patch to accommodate for all the new Mega Pokemon, meaning if you want to play as them you will have to pick up the newer titles. The two games are compatible however and you can trade most things between the two and presumably battle each other as long as you are not using any of the new Mega Evolutions.

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will be available on November 21st exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS. Demo codes for Australians and Europeans are apparently being sent out from now so check your emails if you are a Club Nintendo member and you might have a code waiting for you. Other regions will be able to receive codes from the big Game chains such as Gamestop in the near future. Don’t forget to check out the trailer below as well as some newly released screenshots for the game.

Astro Gaming A50 and A40 + MixAmp M80 Announced for Xbox One

Jamie Laike Tsui

October 15, 2014

Astro Gaming A50 and A40 + MixAmp M80 Announced for Xbox One

Astro Gaming announced two new headphones for Xbox One today. The Astro Gaming A50 Wireless System for Xbox One will bring the same features from the classic A50, such as 5.8GHz Wireless Technology and Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound, to Xbox One users in an officially licensed product. The headset comes in either black or white colour schemes with Xbox Green highlights. The new Astro A50 Wireless Gaming System for Xbox One is available at the Astro website for $300.

The Astro A40 + MixAmp M80 takes the classic Astro A40 headset and mates it with a MixAmp designed to work exclusively with the Xbox One controller. Here, players can control game-to-voice balancing,volume, mute, and EQ modes. The cable features a Media Controller cable that features an in-line microphone, mute switch, a toggle for in-line and boom mics, a volume control wheel, and a multi-use button. The Astro A40 + MixAmp M80 combo is available at the Astro website for $200.

A Whole Load of Far Cry 4 Gameplay Footage Released

Jamie Laike Tsui

October 15, 2014

Avery lucky person was able to go to Ubisoft Paris and film almost a half a days worth of Far Cry 4 gameplay footage on the PlayStation 4. The new videos highlight a whole range of gameplay, including the open world of Kyrat, campaign and side missions, the co-op gameplay, the arena, and the entire Shangri La mission featuring a magical pet tiger. The result is almost two hours of gameplay footage for your viewing pleasure on YouTube. (Editor’s Note: It appears that the hour long gameplay footage has been taken down)

Additionally, Ubisoft launched a new teaser trailer for the game. The teaser features many of the animals that will pose a threat to both Ajay Ghale and the NPCs that populate Kyrat. Far Cry 4 will launch on November 18th, 2014.

Far Cry 4 – Co-op Gameplay (PS4)

Far Cry 4 – Shangri La Full Mission Gameplay (Magical Tiger) (PS4)

Far Cry 4 – The Arena Gameplay (PS4)

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Sees Stars… The Famous Kind

Andrew Day

October 14, 2014

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Sees Stars… The Famous Kind

New York Comic Con is known for releasing new information and sneak peaks at upcoming pop culture products. While Marvel was busy showing off the new Daredevil TV Series and The Avengers: Age of Ultron teasers, DC was taking the opportunity to talk about Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.

After news of Adam West joining in the upcoming Brick-based Batman game, and then following news that the star of CW’s Arrow: Stephen Amell would also be joining in, now Warner Bros have confirmed a few new Hollywood big-shots joining in on the action. Legendary Bat-fan Kevin Smith and talk show host Conan O’Brien will be playing themselves in what will surely result in a bunch of meta and self-aware jokes.

Smith and O’Brien join a literal encyclopedia of Bat-characters old and new like the Music Meister, Deathstroke, Man-Bat and more. For a look behind the scenes at the casting and voice recording side of the game, check out the video below and remember to check out our hands-on preview of Lego Batman 3 from this year’s EB Games Expo. Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is set for release on November 26th, so make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the awesome Batman news as it becomes available.

John Cena & Wiz Khalifa Tag-Team New WWE 2K15 Soundtrack

Andrew Day

October 14, 2014

WWE 2K15 is just around the corner, and publisher 2K have announced an awesome companion soundtrack that has been crafted and curated by none other than WWE Super Star; John Cena. Cena has helped personally select a few tracks from new and upcoming musical talents that really help the game come alove. In addition, Cena has once again jumped into the recording booth alongside R&B star Wiz Khalifa (who recently recorded the theme song for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film) for a few new tracks.

The WWE 2K15 companion soundtrack album is comprised of:

Wiz Khalifa & John Cena – “All Day”**
B.o.B – “Ready” (Feat. Future)
Rudimental – “Free” (Feat. Emeli Sandé & Nas)
Wiz Khalifa – “We Dem Boyz”
Flo Rida – “Wild Ones” (Feat. Sia) [WrestleMania 28 Version]
Knife Party – “Bonfire”
Big Smo – “Workin’” (Feat. Alexander King)
Mystery Skulls – “Ghost”
Royal Blood – “Come On Over”
Wiz Khalifa & John Cena – “Breaks”**

** Companion soundtrack exclusive

Additionally, the WWE 2K15 in-game soundtrack includes:

Avenged Sevenfold – “This Means War”
Dizzee Rascal – “Heart Of A Warrior” (Feat. Teddy Sky)
Florida Georgia Line – “This Is How We Roll” (Feat. Luke Bryan)
Rise Against – “Zero Visibility”

WWE 2K15 will be on store shelves from October 28th, but you will be able to grab the soundtrack through iTunes a full week earlier on October 21st. Will you be stepping into the ring with Khalifa and Cena in the coming weeks, or do the duo make you want to tap out before you even begin? Let us know in the comments below and check out our hands-on coverage of WWE 2K15 here. Also, be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the WWE news as it becomes available.

1...3,6073,6083,609...6,761 Page 3,608 of 6,761