Today Nintendo released the first gameplay footage for Fatal Frame: The Black Haired Shrine Maiden and with this trailer the company shows how Koei Tecmo will be making use of the Wii U’s Gamepad in order to not only capture hidden objects on photo, but also as a tool to fend off aggressive spirits by taking pictures of them.
Fatal Frame: The Black Haired Shrine Maiden is currently set to be released in Japan on September 27th and the story of the game so far follows Yuri Kozukata, a girl with the special ability to see people and objects that have been taken to another realm as well as touch others to see their memories and secrets. She ventures into the cursed mountain of Hikayama in order to find the owner of the cafe she works at who has vanished.
As many people unfortunately would expect, Microsoft and Insomniac Games have announced that they will be releasing a season pass for Sunset Overdrive which will be priced at $19.99. This season pass includes access to the game’s first three pieces of DLC, which include two campaign add-ons that add on new areas to explore, stories to experience, and bosses to fight against.
With these new pieces of DLC come new weapons, new Amps, a new Trap, and new outfits. Also included in the season pass are bonus character outfits and Amps as well as four deadly weapons. Currently Sunset Overdrive is set to be released as an Xbox One exclusive on October 28th in North America and on October 30th in Europe.
Japanese magazine Coro Coro generally discusses the latest announced Pokemon games every month and this month’s issue was no exception with three new Mega Pokemon being revealed. The first one is Mega Camerupt. Sporting increased stats in all areas except speed which suffers a decrease (not really an issue as it’s base speed was already pitifully low), Mega Camerupt looks to be much more bulky and offensive than it’s regular form, a theory further supported by its ability becoming Sheer Force, which increases damage from attacks at the expense of getting rid of the attacks secondary effect such as having a chance to flinch or poison.
Second is Mega Sharpedo. Looking even more fierce than before, Mega Sharpedo will get increased stats across the board and a new ability in Strong Jaw, which boosts the power of attacks that involve biting such as Crunch or Fire Fang. Lastly, Mega Gallade was revealed but no details regarding stat boosts or ability changes are known as of yet.
A few more details were also revealed about Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon. They will also get new abilities when they go through Primal Reversion, receiving the Sea of Beginnings and Land of Endings abilities respectively. These summon Strong Rain and Strong Sun weather affects, which we are guessing work the same as the current rain and sun weather but last forever as opposed to only for 5 turns, but perhaps they also have some additional affects. Groudon and Kyogre will also be receiving a new unique attack. Let us know what you think about the three new mega’s in the comments below, we always love to hear our reader’s opinions. Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire release in Australia on the 21st of November for the Nintendo 3DS.
UPDATE: Mega Gallade’s ability confirmed to be Inner Focus (meaning it will not flinch) and it also gets a large speed and attack boost making it even more deadly.
Ubisoft’s Alexandre Amancio, Creative Director of Assassin’s Creed Unity, demoed a co-op heist mission along with providing some developer commentary in a new trailer. The mission is set in Paris’ oldest hospital and will challenge players to sneak past the guards to relieve them of their treasures. The video contains almost five minutes of gameplay.
Assassin’s Creed Unitytakes the long running franchise to the French Revolution. Arno Dorian is the new starring Assassin, son of an Assassin and adopted son of the Templar Grandmaster. Arno is caught in the middle of a radical ideological shift in the Templar Order in the midst of one of the bloodiest uprisings in history.
Capcom has announced that they will be offering a Collector’s Edition of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate when it is released in North America. This collector’s edition will come with a price tag of $59.99 but it also includes a number of physical bonuses, including a mini figure. The full collector’s edition can be seen above while the details of the items are as follows:
A copy of the game
Supply item box with magnetic lid
An exclusive translucent 3.5″ Goro Magala figure
Felyne wearing Gore Magala armor pin
Monster icon lanyard
Microfiber cleaning cloth (artwork might change)
Currently Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is set to be released in North America as a 3DS exclusive sometime in early 2015.
Egmont Publishing released new details for their upcoming book on the hit indie game Minecraft. The book will feature a hexagonal shape, allowing the cover to mimic a grass block from Minecraft. Entitled Blockopedia, the book will serve as an encyclopedia of information about the game, trivia, advice, and ideas. The book is written by Alex Wiltshire in cooperation with Mojang. Sarah Bates of Egmont Publishing said:
“With 312 pages and featuring 112 blocks plus their variant forms, this is a truly authoritative and informative companion to Minecraft that has been meticulously designed and beautifully illustrated with bespoke Chunky renders. The high quality paper and matt cover-finish that features embossed squares to bring out the texture of the grass block give it a truly 3D feel. The book is also presented in a stylish matt black gift box, making this a very special product.”
Blockopedia will be released on December 4th, 2014 at all major book retailers. The book will carry a MSRP of $59.95 AUD.
I hope you Ranma 1/2 fans had some money set aside. Today Viz Media has announced that they are planning on releasing the third set of the Ranma 1/2 anime series in North America next week on September 16th. Ranma 1/2 Set 3 will be available both in its new high-def limited edition Blu-ray format as well as a standard DVD set.
While the above screenshot is from Set 2, the full review of which can be read here, Set 3 includes episodes 47-69 and the limited edition that comes with a chipboard art box with gold foil stamping, a thirty two page booklet, and a collectible art card will be priced at $54.97 while the standard DVD version that includes none of what was mentioned earlier will cost $44.82.
If you wish to see what the full limited edition of Set 3 looks like you can check it out below.
Overview Usually when a manga is started with what can be seen as a self-contained story, it can be seen as a one-shot with the author hoping the series is picked up by a publisher. However in the case of Terra Formars, the entire first volume of the series told a story that not only introduced the current plight of Earth but also brutally portrayed what is standing in humanity’s way. While Terra Formars Volume 1 may be hard to follow, how does the story continue in Volume 2?
Story Before I continue it is worth noting that although the first volume does contain its own self-contained arc, there will be spoilers for the events that take place in that volume in this review.
With Earth facing a population crisis, scientists planned to transform the planet Mars into a suitable planet for humanity to colonize. To do this they sent moss and cockroaches to the planet in order to terraform it, allowing the cockroaches to eat the moss, multiply, and die while the moss would use the corpses of the cockroaches to spread across the planet and create an ecosystem that would support life.
Five hundred years passed and in an effort to try and establish a base on Mars, Bugs 1 was sent to see how things have been progressing. When contact was lost, a crew of genetically modified humans was put together to form the crew of Bugs 2 to find out what had happened. With no knowledge of what they were getting into, Bugs 2’s crew found themselves overwhelmed by mutated humanoid cockroaches that towered over the humans and saw them as nothing more than pests that needed to be slaughtered.
With only two members of the Bugs 2 managing to escape the planet, twenty years have passed since the failed mission to Mars. Two members of U-NASA, one of whom is a survivor from the mission, are traveling to Thailand in order to find a special human who was born after the procedure. The reason for this is because humanity is planning another trip to Mars, and this time they are doing it not only with a larger team but to try and put a stop to a virus that is beginning to spread across the world with a hundred percent fatality rate.
Where the first volume of Terra Formars was dedicated to giving us a brief background on the plan for Mars as well as introduce the terrifying power of the mutated cockroaches and the abilities the crew are capable of wielding after the procedure, this second volume serves mostly as a way to introduce the new cast of characters. While one returning character remains at the center of the story, we are introduced to Akari Hizamaru as well as his sad backstory alongside a few of other youths who volunteer to join the crew of Annex 1 which already features ninety other members, five officers from various countries, with our returning lead as the commander, to return to Mars.
Very little action actually occurs throughout this volume; in fact the insect transformations that the procedure gives to those who survive it are barely presented, which means the little factoids are also no longer present. Instead Volume 2 is mostly an intermediary volume that connects what readers already know with the new cast since almost all of the events take place on Earth with only the final chapter actually focusing on space, which will disappoint many who enjoyed the action and mystery of the first volume.
That being said, while it is disappointing that the focus shifts to slower paced character establishment this time around, readers will appreciate learning about the cast, even though the fatality rate of your average character in the series so far is around 85%. It also helps establish the fact that humans are beginning to grow desperate as the world continues to become overpopulated and bleak for those who aren’t well off.
With the final chapter serving as a kick-off platform for the next story arc as well as a major mystery already, albeit one that seems rather ludicrous, readers will be eager to see how things will continue on Volume 3, especially since we have actually had some time to learn about some of the characters this time around.
Artwork As with the first volume, Terra Formars Volume 2 is being printed in a larger format than average Viz Media releases which helps benefit the detailed artwork that is spread throughout the volume. While the action is limited in this volume, the actual amount of gore when violence does occur is still remarkably high. Whether it is a scene involving a monstrous animal fighting against a human in a steel cage or a first-hand experience at what happens to unprepared humans when the cockroaches appear, the detailed gore is still very brutal to see.
Since this is the first volume we actually learn about characters, it is nice to see a wide range of detailed facial expressions at work from Ken-Ichi Tachibana on these characters since we have more reasons to care about their survival and what they are experiencing other than fear or anger. The various backgrounds throughout the volume are nicely detailed when they are used to portray a new area; unfortunately a large number of the panels are either left with blank backgrounds or low detailed backgrounds. That being said, Viz Media has done a good job translating the series without damaging any of the art as the text is laid over the artwork nicely when it needs to be and considering the number of two-page spreads in this volume, the effort is appreciated.
Extra Content The only piece of extra content included in Terra Formars Volume 2 comes mid-way through the volume where one page has been used for the “U-NASA Preliminary File I – Cockroaches” page. This page contains various tidbits about average cockroach anatomy and behavior, one of which is actually referenced later in the volume if you keep an eye out for it.
Overall
While Terra Formars Volume 2 takes a break from the blood and gore of Mars to gather together a new cast of characters from Earth, the series still continues to work well as it lays out the ground work for the next major arc. Although the action takes a back seat, the details we learn about some of the new cast as well as the new plight Earth faces serves as a good starting point for the next part of the story, even if it doesn’t make for the same action packed “fight for your life” experience of the first volume.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
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.
