As we previously reported, Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II will feature three different dimensions that players can travel between and each one will feature a unique story. Today Compile Heart released a new teaser trailer for their upcoming PlayStation 4 game and this trailer happens to focus on Heart Dimension Neptunia H: Trilogy Final Into the Legend.
It is worth noting that the trailer, found below, gives us very little information on Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II but some of the words that appear on the screen include light, heart, friendship, “awaken from the nightmare,” and “center of the world.” The final message in the video reads roughly as “I will follow you anywhere if you wish for it… and then well will see the same dream.”
As you may or may not have known, Capcom is planning on releasing a high-def version of the first Resident Evil, which was already given an upgrade back in the day. As such, today Capcom posteda few new screenshots of their Resident Evil REmake, some of which are standard HD screenshots while the real eye-catchers happen to be the comparison images.
As you can see below, these screenshots show a major improvement over the original, though it is worth noting that the blurriness of some of these screenshots might be due to the way that they were taken, unless my memory of the title somehow features a blur-reducer.
Today Deep Silver announced that they are planning on releasing Escape Dead Island, the third-person single player spin-off from the main series that focuses on uncovering the origins of the zombie outbreak rather than simply escaping, will be released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on November 18th.
For those who haven’t been following the game, players take the role of Cliff Calo who heads to the island of Banoi on a stolen yacht in an effort to film the documentary of the century. To go along with this announcement a new gameplay trailer, which you can check out below, was released and it explains a bit of the story and also shows off a bit of the game’s stylized cel-shaded visuals and combat system was also released.
While Atlus USA is doing fans a major favor by offering Marie and Adachi as free DLC for one week after Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is released in North America, the company announced today that the previously detailed Margaret, “The Sadistic Stud-Keeping Secretary,” will be released as paid DLC one week after the game is released.
No pricing was announced for Margaret at this time, but the company did release a handful of new English screenshots showing Margaret in action. Currently Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is set to be released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in North America on September 30th.
Not only did EA Sports place the demo for NHL 15 up on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One but they also released a new gameplay trailer showing off how the crowd and the arena will look in the game, perhaps showing the best effort the company has made in realistically portraying each arena and crowd reaction.
The aforementioned demo allows players to either play as the New York Rangers or the LA Kings and gives players a chance to not only check out the game’s various enhancements but also sample the gameplay before the title is released on September 9th in North America.
Rapture can now be explored on your mobile and tablet! BioShock is out today for the iPad Air, iPad Mini 2, iPad 4, iPhone 5S and later iOS devices, from 2K. At an RRP of $18.99, BioShockon mobile brings the full console experience, with optimized touch controls and full Bluetooth and Made for iPhone (MFi) game controller support.
As a sweet bonus, the game also includes a new leaderboard system, in-app digital artbook (based on the original Special Edition), and new player profile function that enables players to compare stats with their friends, such as number of enemies killed, plasmids/weapons used and much more. There’s also Game Center support, as expected. Here is an official list of features for BioShock on mobile:
Explore an incredible and unique art deco world hidden deep under the ocean;
Collect an arsenal of weapons, ranging from standard firearms such as the pistol, machine gun and shotgun, to makeshift explosives such as the grenade launcher, chemical thrower, and crossbow;
Upgrade weapons at a series of one-time use Power-to-the-People stations scattered throughout the city for added capabilities, including decreased kickback, increased rate of fire, bigger clip size, or additional damage;
Augment the body with Plasmids to empower the player with dozens of super-natural abilities that range from spawning mini-tornadoes or bolts of electricity from ones hands, to igniting flammable objects, or controlling nearby security devices;
Control the city of Rapture by reprogramming enemy security bots into personal bodyguards, modifying vending machines to change item prices, and transforming machine gun security turrets into useless pieces of metal;
Make meaningful decisions as the player decides to either leave the underwater dystopian city in a rapid state of decline as part of an effort to save themselves, or risk it all to become their saviour.
In case you haven’t been keeping an eye on the PlayStation Store or, at least in North America, store shelves, then you might not have realized that Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 has been released in both North America and Europe for the PS Vita.
The title can currently be purchased both at retail stores and digitally in North America while gamers in Europe can purchase it through the PlayStation Store. Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 is a revamped version of the Neptunia game that started it all, featuring a brand new combat system, exploration system, and more. Our review for Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 recently went up and you can check it out here.
Have you ever wanted to tackle those dangerous dungeons with a friend? Well, turns out in Dragon Age: Inquisition, you’ll be able to do just that! With up to three others! EA and BioWare just announced a four player co-op multiplayer mode for the highly anticipated RPG sequel.
The quests available are completely separate to the single-player campaign. Collecting loot, salvaging items, crafting new weapons and armour, and unlocking new characters along the way (up to twelve of them across the three classes – Legionnaire, Reaver and Mage), players will enjoy the standalone multiplayer-focused experience for what it is. Aaryn Flynn, General Manager, BioWare, said of the mode;
For Dragon Age: Inquisition, a special team of veteran developers from the Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises created fun, fast-paced multiplayer gameplay that requires strategic teamwork on top of Inquisition’s party-based combat and extensive loot and crafting system. It was early in the game’s development that we realized how much fun fans of our series were having, with so many players teaming up in Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer mode. We can’t wait to give Dragon Age fans an even bigger and deeper experience.
Check out a bunch of fresh-off-the-presses multiplayer screenshots below. Dragon Age: Inquisition releases on November 20 in Australia and November 21 in New Zealand for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC via Origin.
Overview Although the original Hyperdimension Neptunia managed to garner a large enough fan base to receive sequels, spin-offs, an anime series, and even a few manga series. It accomplished this by having a memorable cast of characters, unique setting, and some of the best humor you can ask for in a JRPG. Unfortunately the first game also has aged poorly due to its gameplay mechanics so Idea Factory chose to revamp the game with not only updated gameplay but a number of other features in the form of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1. However were they successful in making the first game worth playing again?
Story The story of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 is very similar to that of the original game though there are some notable differences here and there. I cannot go into further detail as it would spoil some aspects of the story, but for the most part the beginning remains the same. The story takes place in a world called Gamindustri where the world is protected by Goddesses.
These Goddesses are called CPUs and each one governs a certain region. White Heart rules Lowee, Black Heart governs Lastation, Green Heart protects Leanbox, and Purple Heart leads Planeptune. These four Goddesses are constantly in battle with one another over the Console Wars, trying to obtain the most Shares, the amount of belief their followers have in them, in order to become the true Goddess.
The battle has been deadlocked for quite some time, until a mysterious voice suggests that the group teams up to eliminate an opponent. After doing so, a young girl named Neptune falls from the sky and crashes into the ground where she is saved by a young nurse named Compa. Once she awakens, Neptune realizes that she can only remember her own name and nothing else.
In a journey to help Neptune recover her memory, it is revealed that not only have monsters begun to spawn across the land but faith in the CPUs has been on a constant decline. In an effort to learn about her past and track down the source of these events, Neptune, Compa, and a new ally named IF must travel to each region to learn the truth, encountering new allies and enemies in the process.
Those who are familiar with the Hyperdimension Neptunia series likely know what to expect as far as the story goes, as it is an almost always light-hearted, full of gaming parodies, and jokes. Even the most dramatic moments are broken up by Neptune not taking anything seriously. Of course the amount of pleasure someone will take from Neptunia’s brand of humor depends on if they enjoy the colorful cast of characters, but those who do will have a blast. One change that can be mentioned is that there are some guest characters from the original that have been removed and instead new ones such as Tekken have been put in their place.
Gameplay Outside of the visual upgrade which we will talk about momentarily, the biggest changes to Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 come in the form of the game’s battle system and dungeons. Where the first game featured a different but overly complicated battle system, Re;Birth1 takes many of its features from Neptunia V. As players explore a dungeon, where they can now jump and search for hidden items with every character, they will encounter enemies on the field where they can be attacked ahead of time for an advantage in battle, called the “Symbol Attack” in the game.
Once players enter battle they will be limited to only three characters, but players can partner these three fighters up with allies who can be swapped in at full health at any time by sacrificing a turn. In these turn-based battles, each character will have the opportunity to move within her range of movement and also attack an enemy, preferably aiming to try and target more than one at a time.
Once the player begins attacking an enemy there are three different ways to unleash a combo. There are “Rush” attacks that do a small amount of damage but raise the player’s EXE Drive meter, Power strikes that deal large amounts of damage but are generally one hit, and Crush moves that do a medium amount of damage and serve to break through an enemy’s guard, allowing the player to deal extra damage if said guard is broken.
The aforementioned EXE Drive, once filled to a certain point, allows the player to make use of EX Combo Finishers to deal additional damage without reducing the gauge. There are also various SP skills that can be performed, uncomplicated item usage, HDD transformations for Neptune and other Goddesses, and powerful EXE Drive attacks that deal large amounts of damage with a cinematic flourish but deplete the EXE gauge.
Outside of the battles players will be spending time completing quests for the Guild and visiting the main cities on the World Map, this time without any limitations, and reading what is happening in Gamindustri. New to this version of the game are Plans that allow players to use ingredients to create items and equipment that will then be sold in store, as well as change various rules in the game to customize their experience, such as making enemies weaker/stronger etc. and the Disc Developer system that allows players to provide various buffs to characters.
One thing that players do have to be prepared to deal with is some grinding and frequent saving. There are many times where players will encounter a boss that, even with the best equipment at the time, can wreck your party. This isn’t helped by the fact that some bosses are fought twice in a row, with no recovery period forcing the player to fight back to back. This means that not only do players have to plan accordingly with recovery items, since Compa will have difficulty maintaining the team’s health on her own, but also grind levels so that they stand a chance.
Visuals & Audio Usually when a game is taken from the PlayStation 3 and put out on the Vita, the game’s graphics take a small hit, but considering when the original was released and the advances made since then, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 is a significant graphical improvement over the original. Not only do character models appear more detailed and more customizable than before, but the various enemies you encounter and environments are better detailed.
Everything looks incredibly sharp on the Vita’s screen and the various character portraits have been given a small but noticeable improvement by including small movement and more expressions. It is worth noting that there are some issues with the frame rate dropping, but this problem happens rarely enough that it is barley an issue.
Despite the shift in publishers, the English voice cast from the Hyperdimension Neptunia series has returned to reprise their roles to great effect as each character has just as much charm as they originally did. For those who wish to choose the Japanese voice track, the option is also available from the get-go. The game’s background music works well considering the nature of the title and there are some very enjoyable battle themes mixed in with the standard offering.
Overall Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 takes an old game that has fallen out of favor with fans, and probably should be avoided by newcomers, and revitalized it into a great JRPG. With improved graphics, a number of new and revamped gameplay mechanics, and a humorous storyline filled with game references and populated with a great cast of characters, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 offers a unique experience that works well on the Vita and will charm any RPG fan that has an open mind and a sense of humor.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Earlier today we received word that a brand new Pokémon arcade game is in the works for Japan and now Viz Media has announced that fans of manga will be able to get themselves a large dose of Pokémon manga soon. The company has detailed three upcoming Pokémon manga box sets, two of which is set to be released next week.
The first set to be released on September 2nd is Pokémon Adventures Ruby & Sapphire Box Set, which contains the complete Ruby & Sapphire story arc, which is volumes 15-22 of the series and it comes with a collectible color poster for the price of $59.99.
The other box set which releases on the same day is priced at $29.99 and is Pokémon Black and White Box Set 2, which comes with a collectible color poster and comes with volumes 9-14 of the Pokémon Black and White manga.
Finally the third box set announced, this one for release on October 7th, is priced at $89.99. It is Pokémon Adventures Diamond & Pearl/Platinum and it contains the entire Diamond & Pearl/Platinum story arc that unfolds through volumes 1-11 as well as a collectible poster.
