Some previously Japan exclusive event Pokemon are making their way to other parts of the world and you won’t want to miss these ones. The first event is a Shiny Gengar that will come with a Gengarite so you can Mega Evolve it. While Shiny Gengar doesn’t look much different than it’s regular counterpart, however Shiny Mega Gengar is a ghoulish white colour and looks rather terrifying.
The other event Pokemon is Diancie who has not been obtainable outside of Japan until now. If you purchase Pokemon Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire and transfer this Diancie over, you will receive the item that will turn it into Mega Diancie, giving it increased stats. Mega Diancie receives the Magic Bounce ability to send status attacks right back to the Pokemon that sent them out and also gets greatly boosted speed, boosted attack and special attack stats and loses some bulk with decreased defensive stats.
In the U.S., these events will be making their way to Gamestop stores from October 13th to 26th via serial codes. In the European region, the codes will be distributed from October 15th to November 5th at Game stores. Unfortunately, no news has been released for Australia just yet, but we are willing to bet distribution dates will be similar and the codes will be distributed at EB Games stores and possibly JB Hi-Fi as well as was the case with the Magmar and Electabuzz codes earlier this year. Both these events are for the Nintendo 3DS games Pokemon X and Pokemon Y only.
These events tie in with the release of new Pokemon Trading Card Game set Phantom Forces, with Gengar EX, Mega Gengar EX and Diancie making their debut in the set. For those that reside in the UK, fans can purchase a Pokémon TCG: Gengar Spirit Link 2-Pack at selected GAME stores while stocks last beginning on October 15, 2014. Each Pokémon TCG: Gengar Spirit Link 2-Pack includes two 10-card booster packs from the Pokémon TCG: XY—Furious Fists expansion, as well as the Gengar Spirit Link Pokémon Trainer card which debuts in the Pokémon TCG: XY—Phantom Forces expansion, launching on November 5, 2014.
Sega and The Creative Assembly’s upcoming reboot of the Alien franchise on gaming platforms has gone gold. Now, the game will be sent to factories to be pressed, packaged, and shipped to stores for the worldwide October 7th, 2014 release date. To get people salivating over Alien: Isolation, Sega will be releasing a string of trailers called #HOWWILLYOUSURVIVE. The first trailer is a quick teaser of one of the many gory ways the player can die.
Alien: Isolation reimagines the iconic Alien franchise as a first person survival horror game. The game stars Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley from the original Alien film. Amanda is looking to find out what happened to her mother, while the invincible Alien stalks Amanda mercilessly.
Ultimate Ears have unveiled an extravagant new range of colours for the UE Boom – a mobile wireless speaker designed to transform the social experience of music.
John Paterson, Music Category Manager for Ultimate Ears Australia, stated “The UE BOOM is all about self expression, and sharing your love for music with the world. In addition to its 360-degree sound and incredibly robust design that is built to survive anything you do, with these new vibrant colours, now you have even more options to help express your personal style.”
The exciting selection of colours for the UE Boom will be available next month, for a suggested retail price of $199.
Blue Steel -midnight blue acoustic skin, with a gray strap and red accents
Superhero -royal blue acoustic skin, with a vibrant red strap and black accents
Citrus – fluorescent yellow acoustic skin, with a white strap and green accents
Orchid – lavender acoustic skin, with a white strap and red accents
In addition, the wireless speaker now features a five-band equaliser for sound customisation, that is available through the free UE Boom app on iOS and Android devices. Tell us what you think of the new variety of colours in the comments section below.
Are you ready to don the cape and cowl and once again step into the dirty and grimy streets of Gotham City? Well you should be because Warner Bros. have finally given us a release date for the upcoming conclusion to the epic Batman: Arkham series of games. After originally being set for release this year but then getting pushed back, we now know that you will be able to get your hands on Batman: Arkham Knight on June 2nd, 2015. Not only do we have an official release date, but we can also share with you the fact that there will be two different collector’s editions and that they come with some SWEET Batman loot.
Here is what you will get in the smaller, Limited Edition:
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But if you are a TRUE Bat-fan, then you will want to get your hands on the super sexy Batmobile Edition, which includes:
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Wow. That Batmobile statue looks absolutely amazing! Will you be slamming down a pre-order on any of these editions? Let us know in the comments below, and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Batman news as it becomes available.
Today Viz Media has announced that they will be implementing a new initiative into their Weekly Shonen Jump digital magazine. Starting today, they will be using their new “Jump Start” initiative to help get new series out to fans.
This initiative will take the first three chapters, one chapter a week, from any and every new series that debuts in the Japanese Weekly Shonen Jump on the same day that the issue is released to the public in Japan.
This means that any new series that debuts in Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump, of which there are many, will be given three English chapters and the first series to be given this treatment is the high impact martial arts series called Judos from Shinsuke Kondo.
This also includes the English language premiere of new series such as the science fiction crime thriller Hi-Fi Cluster which begins on September 15th and Sporting Salt, a sports medicine manga, which will debut on September 23rd.
Today MangaGamer has announced that another one of their PC visual novels will be heading to Steam and this time it happens to be an All Ages version of Chou Dengeki Stryker. The company will be releasing the game on Steam on September 19th where it will be priced at $34.99 and feature the same experience that was offered in the original version from MangaGamer.
It is worth noting that all of the people who purchased either the 18+ Adults Only version of Chou Dengeki Stryker or the All Ages version will be given a free Steam Key and do not need to purchase the game a second time.
Overview Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc was released earlier this year and received high praise from various critics including myself. While popular titles generally are given sequels, English speaking audiences were able to benefit from the fact that both the first game and its sequel were already available in Japan at the time, and now seven months later Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair has been released for fans to enjoy. Does this sequel manage to be unique enough to set itself apart from its predecessor while also maintaining the same level of quality? That is the question.
Story Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair starts eerily similar to the way that the first game did, with sixteen “Ultimate” students being invited to Hope’s Peak Academy only for all sixteen of them to pass out once they enter the school grounds. However when they awaken, it is revealed that all of them have been transported to a tropical island chain known as Jabberwock Island where they are greeted by a white rabbit named Usami who informs them that they aren’t in danger but the only way to get off the island is to become great friends with one another by collecting Hope Fragments.
Despite sounding like the polar opposite of a Danganronpa game, it isn’t long before the sinister black and white bear Monokuma appears, silences Usami and changes the rules of the island. Now the only way for someone to escape the island is to escape one of their fellow students and manage to deceive everyone through a class trial and escaping while leaving everyone else to be punished.
While everyone remains hesitant at first, thanks to Monokuma’s fourth wall breaking revelations are enough to put everyone on edge. With the sadistic Monokuma at the helm, the questionable motives of their old guard Usami who has now turned into a punching bag for Monokuma, the students begin to fear for their lives even while denying that anyone will die. Now although the killing game and the basic premise sounds almost the exact same from the first game, outside of a location change, and seems like retreading old ground, it only takes a bit of time to find out that Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair takes the premise and owns it.
Like the last game, the characters that are on Jabberwock Island are all “Ultimates” meaning that they are the best of the best in their certain field. However being an ultimate comes with quite a few personality quirks as players will find that the new cast of characters all have a brand new feel to them and while humorous at the onset, their eccentric personalities make the despair of the plot more interesting as they react to each situation.
As you interact with these characters in the returning ‘Free Time’ you can learn more about their past and grow a bit closer to them and reveal why they may act the way that they do. Considering the nature of the story, you never know who might be murdered or punished next so be prepared for your favorite character to potentially die at any point. It also helps that the setting of Jabberwock Island gives players a bit more free reign than the limitations of the school, allowing for more odd and interesting things to occur.
Thankfully Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair retains its great sense of humor with sadistic jokes and dark comedy spread around normal comedic moments, fourth wall breaking jokes, and the humorous nature of the Ultimates. With numerous plot twists and surprising revelations interlaced amongst an improved set of murders that will keep players guessing, Danganronpa 2 continues to impress.
Gameplay Like the previous game, players will spend their time exploring, talking to other characters in Free Time, investigating murder scenes, and then completing the class trials. While this all sounds the same, each activity has been changed up a bit. Unlike the first game, players will spend most of their time exploring the islands on a 2D plane where they walk around the island visiting various spots on each island before entering it and examining the area through the touch screen or basic examination, with only a couple of areas make use of the first person perspective that the first game always used.
Travel has been sped up as well, since players can now either speed walk around the island to each location or simply quick travel to set markers. However there is motivation to walk around and look at everything, since players can now Level Up by doing so, allowing them to equip more skills in trials, and there is a miniature Tamagotchi style game where player steps raise a digital pet that will reward you with extra Monocoins and presents for characters.
The free time system plays very similar to the last game, with the player finding characters they wish to talk to and learn more about. They can give these characters presents and also earn Hope Fragments at the same time, which are used to purchase the skills for trials. As mentioned before, the cast is very different from the old batch of characters so it is incredibly interesting to learn about them. Also, the fact that players can now unlock skills at will (though some of the best still require a maxed relationship) rather than learning set skills by interacting with characters is a nice modification.
Once a murder does happen, players will begin investigating any pertinent areas to the case. These investigations can be tense at times as you try to put together your own guesses, but the game holds your hand throughout the investigation, telling you where to go next, when you have investigated everything in an area, or where you might be missing something.
After the investigation ends, the class trial begins and here is where many of the revisions have been placed. There are Non Stop Debates where players will make use of “Truth Bullets” using facts found from investigation must be used to shut down arguments, or actually agree with something someone else is saying. Now your fellow classmates can also disagree with what you are saying, triggering a new game called Rebuttal Showdown, which is a fast paced mini-game requiring the player to swipe or cut down your opponents statements to push back what they are saying before using a “Truth Blade” to cut through their rebuttal.
Hangman’s Gambit returns and is as convoluted and unnecessary as ever. It has been modified slightly but it still remains one of the worst and slowest mini-games of the class trials. Another new mini-game comes in the form of a Logic Dive, which is a snowboarding mini-game within the player’s mind where you must navigate along a pipeline to answer a string of questions. The Bullet Time Battles have been replaced with the very similar Panic Talk Action except now players need to combine a certain phrase at the end of the mini-game.
Closing Arguments also remain similar in structure, but have been improved thanks to the inclusion of little hints that will now label missing panels, helping the player figure out what piece goes where to complete the comic book style conclusions. One thing that is incredible in this one, unlike the last game, Danganronpa 2 actually managed to throw me for a loop quite a few times, making me believe that I had realized who the killer was only to be proven wrong once the trial continued on, which is a major accomplishment for a mystery game.
Visuals & Audio The stylized art style of the first title returns in Dangaronpa 2 with a slew of new character designs and twisted punishments. The characters portraits express a wide range of emotions, ranging from subtle to outlandishly over the top. The island itself has a proper tropical feel with a large variety of places to explore and look at and the 2D exploration is a nice compliment to the somewhat clunky first person exploration that was used throughout the first game.
As for the voice work, NIS America is offering both an English voice track as well as a Japanese voice track, with the only nagging issue being the fact that the only way to change between the voice tracks is to go back to the main menu. The English voice cast does a superb job with the game, with most of the areas in the game being voiced or at least featuring characters giving brief exclamations to go along with the text. While some may choose the Japanese voice track, the English dub works in the player’s favor when it comes to the Class Trials as every line of dialogue is dubbed in these trials and many of the fast paced sequences work best in English.
The sound track used in Danganronpa 2 makes use of some of the background themes from the first game which may be a bit disappointing for some, but considering how amazing the music was in the first game, this doesn’t prove to be a real problem. Especially since there are a number of new tracks fitted into the game that fit the scenes well, or purposefully clash with the scenes in order to provide a sort of twisted humor.
Overall Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair could easily have been something simple, a sequel that simply capitalizes on the first game’s popularity. Instead I believe that 2014 will feature an original game and its sequel directly competing with one another for best PS Vita game of the year. While a few small problems continue to persist and the Hangman’s Gambit remains an annoying drag, the new characters and setting of Dangaronpa 2 create an amazing and worthwhile experience featuring an astounding plot, though it is one that will require the player to have knowledge of the first game to truly experience.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Australian anime distributors Madman and Siren Visual have joined forces to offer more content for users of the streaming website AnimeLab. The move offers some much-needed exposure to Siren Visual’s discreet yet quality lineup of anime.
Starting with the hilarious The Devil is a Part-Timer which is now screening in both subbed and dubbed iterations, Siren’s catalogue will be added to Madman’s streaming site, already packed with shows licenced by its own parent company.
“AnimeLab has opened doors for Siren in terms of exposure to a new audience and is set to be the one-stop anime hub for VOD streaming and simulcast of exciting new anime programming in Australia,” said Siren.
AnimeLab is a recent endeavour by Madman to tap into the anime streaming business by screening their own extensive catalogue. So far it seems to be a success with anime being offered in HD and free of charge to Australian and New Zealand users.
One of the coolest additions to Nintendo’s E3 this year was the constant live streaming of the Nintendo Treehouse, where Nintendo staff would sit down with developers and play the game while sharing a variety of comments and information. Nintendo have just announced plans for September 12th (U.S. date) to showcase the final retail version of Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS in an event that is likely to hold some surprise announcements including some new character reveals.
The Treehouse presentation will run for a total of 8 hours (Yes, 8) and so the dedicated viewers don’t get burnt out on Smash Bros. news, Nintendo has said they will also be discussing a number of other upcoming titles during the show. A start time or mention of what those other titles would be were absent from the announcement but we will update this article when we know the details. To tide you over until the 12th, enjoy this new Japanese commercial for Super Smash Bros. 3DS featuring the cast taking on Mii’s resembling members of a popular Japanese girl group. Maybe the English trailer will feature Arianna Grande alongside Nicki Minaj and Jessie J?
UPDATE: The time for the presentation will be 10 am PT, which translates to 3:00 am Saturday morning for Australia.
Looking to bring a little terror in your life? Snag this week’s Every Monday Bundle #24 from Indie Gala and Capsule Computers. This week’s bundle features six indie titles.
Stonerid – A platformer featuring two parallel worlds that players will need to explore to conquer all 32 levels.
Memories of a Vagabond– A RPG inspired by SNES JRPs like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III,Memories of a Vagabond features a unique class system that allows players to die and reincarnate themselves as a new class.
Five Nights at Freddy’s – A point and click adventure horror set at a pizza shop full of possessed animatronic creatures.
Eschalon – Book I– An old school RPG adventure inspired by games like Ultima, Might & Magic, and Wizardry.
Me and PostApocalypse 2: Scraping – A first person survival zombie shooter starring as gun toting scientist looking to destroy the droid that sparked the zombie outbreak.
For the first 24 hours of the sale, the Every Monday Bundle is only $1.89. The price will rise after that, so be sure to grab your copy at Indie Gala.
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