Page 3678 – Capsule Computers

Xbox Newsbeat: Aug 9 – Aug 15 2014

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August 17, 2014

Step right up folks for another installment in the one, the only Xbox Newsbeat! Newsbeat is your all-access pass to all the latest and greatest news coming straight from Microsoft HQ. Since we just went through a jam-packed Gamescom, we have a big instalment this week with no fewer than FIVE delicious headlines for you to sink your teeth into, pretty much all of which are dedicated to the Xbox One (Even after Gamescom there is no news for you Windows Phone). So since it is such a big issue, lets not waste anytime and get this show on the road!

Xbox One System Update: More Social Features and New Ways to Watch TV Available for Preview Members

As we mentioned during our last instalment of Newsbeat, Microsoft were rolling out some sweet new social features for the Xbox One. Well, now that update is available for users who are previewing the new digs (with wider access coming in the next few months). As a quick refresher, here are the new features:

“Xbox On” in New Markets – Adding support for additional markets to use the “Xbox On” Kinect voice command to power on consoles: Australia, Canada (French), Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Brazil – a top used feature.
New Friends Section – The new Friends section has been available for a few early access preview members and we’re expanding it to additional participants enrolled in the preview program. The new Friends section enables you to see at a glance what’s going on with your friends. You can stay up-to-date with your current activities, the most popular games your friends are playing, and a Gamerscore leaderboard to see who has improved their Gamerscore the most over the last 30 days. We’ll continue to roll this feature out to all participants in the coming updates.
Media Player – A new app will be available soon that enables you to play media files from either an attached USB device or from a network connected home media server that supports DLNA protocols. The preview version of the Media Player app will initially only support USB devices, with DLNA support coming soon. Xbox One will support more formats than Xbox 360, including support for dozens of new file formats like mpeg 2 TS, animated gifs and mkv which will be added by the end of the year. See below for additional file formats.
Parties – The Party App has been re-organized, so you can now see what activities everyone in your party is doing and tell more clearly who is playing in the same game with you. You can also more quickly perform common actions like muting, joining, or sending game invites. Also, Parties now have a Party Leader. This person can change whether the party requires invitations, and she/he can remove others from the party.

This update looks to turn the Xbox One into the all-in-one gaming and entertainment system that we deserve, AND need right now.

Three New Xbox One Bundles Put the Biggest Blockbusters in Your Hands

The holiday season is almost upon us, and you know that what means: New console bundles! To ensure that Xbox One consoles are in the hands of as many people as possible, Microsoft have announced three slick new bundles :

Xbox One Limited Edition Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Bundle (RRP$599)

What does the future of warfare look like? Activision and Sledgehammer Games’ Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare imagines a high-tech, war-torn future for the acclaimed first-person shooter saga. This bundle launches at select retailers on November 3, and includes a digital Day Zero Edition copy of the game (featuring early access and double XP on November 3), a special Xbox One console and wireless controller featuring unique Advanced Warfare artwork, a chat headset, a 1TB hard drive, special in-game sound effects, and additional in-game content.

Xbox One Special Edition Sunset Overdrive Bundle (RRP$499)

You’d better believe that Insomniac Games’ Sunset Overdrive will be one of the biggest Xbox One-exclusive blockbusters of the year – and this bundle features everything you need to fight back against the evil forces of the colourful-yet-dystopian Sunset City. The Xbox One Special Edition Sunset Overdrive Bundle includes a white console and wireless controller. A digital copy of Sunset Overdrive, and all of the Day One Edition bonus weapons and items. It launches alongside the game on October 28.

Xbox One FIFA 15 Bundle (RRP$529)

Last – but certainly not least – is the Xbox One FIFA 15 Bundle, which includes an Xbox One console, a wireless controller, a chat headset, a 14-day Xbox Live trial subscription, a digital copy of FIFA 15 and an Ultimate Team Legends Gold Pack. The Xbox One FIFA 15Bundle launches on September 25 and is only available in Europe. This follows the recently announced Xbox One Madden 15 Bundle that will be released in the U.S. on August 26. No matter which side of the Atlantic you live on, you’ll get to enjoy the latest and greatest EA Sports title as part of an Xbox One bundle.

Create, Pilot and Destroy the Ride of Your Life in ScreamRide

Microsoft have just announced an upcoming action/creation mashup game: ScreamRide. ScreamRide puts players in the architect’s chair as they create the most insane roller coasters they could imagine, then pilots them with precision controls before destroying their creation with an impressive physics engine. There will be more info coming about ScreamRide in the near future so make sure you stay tuned.

343 Industries Gives a Fans a Sneak Peek at the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta + Introducing the Halo Channel, Your New Home for All Things Halo

So Halo 5: Guardians is still a ways away, but 343 industries are not letting that stop them from releasing a multiplayer beta for the game. Those who purchase the Halo: Master Chief Collection will gain access from Dec. 29, 2014 through Jan. 18, 2015. The beta will focus on just one small area of the gameplay; the 4v4 arena battles that are sure to be a massive hit with the fans. It is good to see such a strong focus on multiplayer even so early in the game’s development, as that is where the majority of players will spend their time.
Ahead of the Halo: Master Chief Collection and Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta later this year, Microsoft have announced a brand new social media hub for the franchise that will keep players connected at all times. The Halo Channel will offer the following features for players:

Live and Timely Content – Along with a library of original programming and entertainment, access timely Halo news and live events including eSports broadcasts via the Halo Channel. Through robust Twitch integration viewers can watch Halo broadcasts, follow their favourite players and launch into the game with the press of a button. In addition, the Halo Channel can display stats and data during matches, allowing you to monitor players in real-time.
Interactive and Sharable – Interact with Halo content with a personalized viewing experience, social sharing, Halo Encyclopaedia integration and a best-in-class video platform. Instantly connect with the Halo community and your friends through social media, sharing your favourite Halo moments and content. Pull up the Halo Encyclopaedia and learn more about the scene you’re watching, including characters, weapons, vehicles, locations and more.
Rewarding – Unlock a variety of exclusive in-game content for upcoming Halo titles – including Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5: Guardians – by watching original Halo programming and entertainment, participating in some of the interactive community polls or trying your hand at trivia that will test your knowledge of the Halo universe.
Multiplatform Access – Sync your Windows 8.1 device to your Xbox One, and use it as a controller or a second screen where you can access the Halo Channel. At any time, you can begin your viewing experience on one screen and seamlessly continue it on another.

ID@Xbox Unleashes Slew of Exclusive Games Coming to Xbox One

At this week’s Gamescom, the ID@Xbox program was all the talk as is unveiled a bunch of games that are no doubt going to be mainstays of the console for its entire lifespan. Some of the announced games werefan favourite SMITE, as well as new, soon to be Xbox One staples Space Engineers, SUPERHOT, Ghost of a Tale and The Escapist. With more than 500 developers with development kits, the portfolio on Xbox One continues to grow. Not only that but Microsoft ensure us that there are 100s of independently developed games making their way to Xbox One for the foreseeable future, along with a tonne of AAA titles.

So there we have it, another instalment in the one, the only Xbox Newsbeat. Which of this week’s headlines grabbed your attention the most? Let us know in the comments below and remember to check back same time next week for all the awesome Xbox news as it becomes available

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leaves Wiz Khalifa “Shell Shocked”

Zac Elawar

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August 16, 2014

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leaves Wiz Khalifa “Shell Shocked”

I’m sure if Wiz Khalifa could go back and tell his child-self that he’d get to work on music for both Mortal Kombat and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the future, his child-self would suffer an extremely rare early-age cardiac arrest. That got morbid real quick…

My point being that Wiz is seemingly living out some dreams as of late and having fun with his music. Vanilla Ice may not like it, but Wiz Khalifa’s ‘Shell Shocked’ is the official theme song for Paramount Pictures‘ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And embedded below is a behind-the-scenes video on the making of the track. Check it out! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles releases nationwide on September 11.

Indie Gala Friday Special Bundle #5 Now Available

Jamie Laike Tsui

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August 16, 2014

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Capping off the week that brought us the 20th iteration of the Every Monday Bundle is Indie Gala and Capsule Computer’s Friday Special Bundle #5. This bundle is jammed pack with twelve indie games for Steam and Desura. For one price, buyers will receive:

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken – A 2d platformer featuring some tough as shells chickens fighting against a totalitarian penguin regime.

LogiGun – June is in a tower filled with puzzles, armed only with a variety of tools that can create platforms, grab onto objects, and more. She’s on a quest to the top of the tower, but someone is looking to stop her.

Ravaged Zombie Apocalypse – A mix of fast paced vehicular combat and on foot killing, Ravaged features both intense PvP action and brutal PvE zombie survival shooting.

Hamilton’s Great Adventure – An isometric puzzle adventure starring Hamilton and Sasha, two adventures looking to solve an ancient mystery.

Gateways – The winner of Dream Build Play 2012, Gateways is a puzzle platformer that revolves around the Gateway gun, a powerful tool capable of time travel, teleportation, and more.

Home Sheep Home 2 – The sequel to the BAFTA-nominated game Shaun the Sheep brings more puzzles and more puns to games from the legendary Aardman Animations.

Restaurant Empire II – Build a restaurant empire from a little bit of cash all the way to the top of the culinary world.

Hero of the Kingdom – A casual RPG adventure that will take players on an adventure to rescue your father and fight back the darkness overtaking your world.

InFlux – A beautiful puzzle game that mixes exploring a mysterious island and solving mind bending glasshouses containing mysterious puzzles.

Wooden Floor – A horror game that traps players in a maze of a house that is ever changing. Be sure to vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.

Pahelika: Revelations – A casual adventure game focusing on exploration and puzzles. Vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.

Luna – Shattered Hearts Episode 1 – A platforming RPG about unlikely an unlikely pair of heroes Lithien and Dez. The pay are self-centred and can barely think about anyone but themselves. Now, they must embark on a journey that may very well change their very being. Be sure to vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.

For the first 24 hours of the sale, all 12 games can be purchased for only $2.99 at Indie Gala. Be sure to snag the bundle before the price goes up!

Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie Canadian screenings added

Travis Bruno

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August 15, 2014

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Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie Canadian screenings added

Today Viz Media and Eleven Arts have announced that they will be adding screenings of Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie to more than 35 cities in Canada starting in September. The screenings will feature the dubbed version of the show and while the U.S. theatrical screenings will begin on August 29th, the Canadian screenings will take place on September 7th and September 11th.

Some of the cities in Canada that will have these screenings include Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, and more. Full details on where each theater will be located, both in the U.S. and Canada, and when and where the screening will be held, including the option to buy tickets ahead of time, can be found here.

This is the sixth feature film from the Naruto Shippuden series and features a situation where Naruto and his friends are able to drive away an infamous Akatsuki member who seemed to have returned from the dead only for Naruto to return to his home and come face to face with the masked shinobi responsible for his parents’ death.

Queen’s Blade: Beautiful Warriors licensed for release by Sentai Filmworks

Travis Bruno

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August 15, 2014

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Sentai Filmworks had a bit of a surprising announcement to make today when they revealed that they had acquired the rights to Queen’s Blade: Beautiful Warriors. While this is not the first Queen’s Blade license that Sentai Filmworks owns now, and this OVA does serve as a prequel to the season they do have the rights to, it is worth noting that Beautiful Warriors is a six part OVA series based on the original two season set which is currently licensed by the nearly defunct Media Blasters.

Anyways, with this announcement the company plans to give the series a digital release as well as a home video release some time in the future, though no details were given as to whether or not an English dub will accompany the home video release. For those who are interested in what these OVAs might be about, the company provided their own story synopsis which can be found below:

The tournament may be over, but the paths of your favorite characters of the Queen’s Blade competition continue on in preparation for a new age! Leina’s absence in Gainos sparks a war that reaches all the way to the steps of the castle, even as a new but familiar threat appears before her eyes. Alleyne and Nowa become travel buddies as they roam the land, but run into the many hands of a sea monster while they relax at the beach.
The Swamp Witch Trio returns to cause havoc one last time, giving Airi and Melona the dubious task of retrieving Menace from her homeland. Nanael, tired of the heavenly life, decides to build a harem to call her own. And in the darkest reaches of Hinomoto, a group of women prepare themselves for the ultimate sacrifice in order to revive an ancient evil to the land of the living. The air is always still before the start of rebellion, but the battling beauties of the Queen’s Blade competition you know and love still have their stories to tell in Queen’s Blade: Beautiful Warriors!

NBA 2K15 to be released on the PC; first in-game screenshot released

Travis Bruno

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August 15, 2014

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We have some good news for basketball fans that prefer to play their favorite video games on the PC. Today 2K announced that they are planning on not only releasing NBA 2K15 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One but they will also be releasing it on the PC with the PC version offering “even more graphical fidelity.”

To celebrate this announcement the company released the first in-game NBA 2K15 screenshot, found above, which features this year’s cover athlete, Kevin Durant. Those looking to pick up NBA 2K15 will be able to do so on October 7th in North America while gamers in Australia and New Zealand have two wait two days longer to pick the title up on October 9th.

From the New World Collection 2 Review

Travis Bruno

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August 15, 2014

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From the New World Collection 2
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Publisher: Sentai Filmworks
Format: DVD, Blu-ray (Reviewed)
Release Date: August 12, 2014
Price: $69.98 – Available Here

Overview
Adapting a novel into an anime can be a rather difficult task. While light novels adaptations are very common nowadays, actual novel adaptations can be difficult simply because of the amount of detail that your average novel contains can be difficult to cram into even a 25 episode anime series. However, outside of some questionable time-skips, From the New World told a successful story in Collection One. The question is, will this story continue successfully in Collection Two?

Story
It should go without saying that for those who have not watched the first thirteen episodes found in From the New World Collection One, that this review will contain spoilers from the first half of the series. That being said, the story picks up immediately where it left off with Saki, Satoru, Mamoru, and Maria outside of the village after tracking down the runaway Mamoru who fled the village fearing for his life.

Unable to convince Mamoru or Maria to return to the village due to some of the dark truths the group has learned over the course of the story, Saki and Satoru return alone, only to be forced back into searching for their friends in order to save them from being assigned for death by the Board of Education. Despite returning to where they left them, neither Maria or Mamoru can be found but Saki and Satoru do come across a familiar Monster Rat colony that is now being led by Squealer.

After spending time with Squealer’s Robber Fly colony, the two realize that Squealer’s colony has made drastic technological advancements in such a short time and have completely changed the way that they rule themselves. With the help of Squealer and his soldiers, Saki learns that Maria and Mamoru have left them with no intention of ever returning to the village and disappeared into the wilderness. Accepting the loss of their friends, time moves forward several years to the point that Saki is now in her twenties and has taken up an administrative position within the village.

Where the first half of the series focused mostly on building the world and establishing the character base, it is only a sample of what occurs in the second half. While everything up to this point has given viewers glimpses and hints at the darkness that has led up to the way society is in From the New World, this time skip marks the point where the story takes its darkest turn yet, placing everything that Saki had learned and humanity at the risk of annihilation.

The running themes throughout From the New World all deal with morality being a gray issue. The series poses questions such as how humanity is currently at peace, are the means that are forced upon the villagers worth doing so at the sake of their freedom? What does humanity truly mean and to what ends would someone go to in an effort to better their lot in life, even if it means throwing away everything to do so?

To describe what happens further would due this series and anyone waiting to watch it a disservice as the events that take place, the various twists that occur, and the moral quandaries that arise make From the New World Collection 2 a satisfying end to the series, especially in regards to a shocking truth that is revealed in the final episode and the terrible journey that Saki had to go through simply to survive in a journey where even victory means returning to a world fraught with darkness.

Visuals
Unlike the first half of the series where a certain episode contains unique looking character designs, all of Collection 2 retains the same standard look found through the rest of the series. The environments that the characters traverse are still very impressive looking with a lot of attention to detail while the characters themselves are presented the same. It is worth noting that in the second half of the series, I noticed that the quality of the character artwork actually dipped a number of times throughout the release, which is disappointing as it did not occur nearly as much throughout the first half.

As far as the Monster Rats are concerned, their artwork and designs actually improved over the course of the series, though this is likely intentional due to their role in the story. It is also worth noting that From the New World is not a series to shy away from blood and death and although the level of actual gore is low, the amount of twisted bodies and exploding silhouetted heads is quite high.

Audio
As with the first release of the series, Collection 2 comes with both the English and Japanese voice track with the English cast retaining their roles. One thing that really caught my attention is how each of the voice actors for the children managed to properly age their voices to match the current age of their character in the English dub. Considering how many time skips are used in the series, especially in this release, the aging of the voices in the English dub fit far better than voice actor changes used in the Japanese dub.

The sound effects and background music used throughout much of From the New World helps provide a dark atmosphere that is essential to many parts of the storyline. As far as themes go, there is no opening theme used for the second half as this time is instead used to continue the story while the ending theme “Yuki ni Saku Hana” is introduced partway through this release and is performed by the Japanese voice actress for Maria, Kana Hanazawa.

Extras
From the New World Collection 2 comes with the bare minimum amount of bonus features. There is only a clean closing animation and Japanese promotional material alongside trailers for other Sentai Filmworks anime and the disc credits.

Overall
From the New World tells a complex story full of mystery and dark thought provoking ideas that will leave a haunting impression on the viewer. There are very few storylines that are capable of evoking such a powerful storyline while also raising questions about society as a whole. With Collection 2 bringing the series to a close with a chilling revelation that many may have feared, From the New World offers a compelling and enjoyable viewing experience that will be remembered for quite some time.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Here Are all the New Disney Infinity 2.0 Features

Andrew Day

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August 15, 2014

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Ahead of the inaugural Disney Infinity Toy Box Summit, the guys over at Disney and Avalanche Software have released the a full list of the new features that will be available for players in the brand new Toy Box Mode for Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes. These new tools and toys not only add a lot to the game, but also make it easier to build amazing worlds and games. We recently went hands-on with Disney Infinity 2.0 and got to see some of these new features in-action, but now you can check them out in all their glory:

Toy Box Tools – Procedural generation of content can now be accessed and harnessed through two primary systems:
- Creators – Tools that the player can place into the world in real-time, and a themed arrangement will procedurally build that world within minutes.
- Builders – Non-player characters (NPCs) that a player can drop into their Toy Box to build out detailed worlds.
Templates – Players can use these pre-built Toy Box Games ranging from battle arenas to race tracks and customise them using the items saved in their personal Toy Boxes.

Toy Box Games – The Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes Starter Pack will feature Toy Box Game discs, which players can use to access standalone game modes including Tower Defence and Dungeon Crawler games that any character from across the Disney Infinity universe can play.

INteriors –Players can now create their own interior levels where they can build rooms and theme them to their favourite characters. Unlock hundreds of furniture pieces and decorations based on iconic Disney and Marvel properties.
New Toys – New toys allow players to make more detailed games with beginnings, endings, winners, losers, result screens and virtually any type of game including races, battles, collection-based games, defence games or exploration adventures.
- Challenge Maker – Allows players to create any type of game, including structured games within the Toy Box.
- Toy Box Game Maker – Allows creators to restrict core actions typically available in the Toy Box, such as the use of the magic wand.
- Text Creator – Allows builders to write their own text bubbles in the Toy Box. All text is filtered through a safe chat server for friendly writing.
- Creativi-Toys – More than 75 new Creativi-Toys allow players to customize their Toy Boxes even further.
Improved On-Boarding – The introductory Toy Box will now be filled with Game Play Hosts who are available to assign missions and answer questions, as needed. Players are free to learn and explore on their own, but can ask a host for help and they’ll even be rewarded with extra goodies once missions are completed.
Updated Online Services – A Newsfeed screen has been added to the main menu, giving the user an overview of the new online services:
- Increased Storage – Storage for locally saved Toy Boxes in a player’s private cloud has increased from 100 to 300 Toy Boxes. Support for downloadable published Toy Boxes has increased from 100 to 100,000 Toy Boxes.
- Like and Search User-Generated Toy Boxes – Players can “like” their favourite published Toy Boxes and find others that are well received. Quickly search through the published Toy Boxes using categories (developer picks, most liked, most downloaded, newest, trending, all Toy Boxes and Disney 1.0), and further refine the search with filters (genre, character required, ability required and Toy Box Games).
- Sharing with Friends – Share Toy Boxes with friends directly using cloud storage.

All of these new toys and features combined with the mechanics of the original game will surely result in endless possibilities and unlimited fun. We have attached a short trailer below that shows off some of these new additions. Check it out below and let us know in the comments what excites you most about Disney Infinity 2.0

Assassin’s Creed: Unity Gamescom Demo Shows 11 Minutes of Gameplay

Zac Elawar

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August 15, 2014

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Ubisoft has had an extremely busy Gamescom 2014, showcasing first gameplay for Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, getting people hands-on with Far Cry 4, and giving us an extended look at Assassin’s Creed: Unity.

The commented solo demo below shows an early story mission, tasking player protagonist Arno with assassinating a Templar with strong economic connections named Sivert. Demonstrated is the open approach to mission design that the development team at Ubisoft Montreal has taken with this instalment, as the player is given the freedom to tackle their objective in any way they see fit. The video also highlights the beautifully recreated Notre-Dame cathedral, built to scale.

Assassin’s Creed Unity Gamescom 2014 Commented Solo Demo

Assassin’s Creed Unity releases worldwide on October 28 for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Here is a Sneak Peak at the Upcoming TMNT “Turtle Power” Documentary

Andrew Day

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August 14, 2014

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2014 must be the year of the turtle! (yes I know it is actually the year of the horse). Not only is Paramount Pictures’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set to release next month, but a week later on September 17th fans will be able to buy a brand new documentary: Turtle Power, that details the history of the franchise.

We have a little snippet of the documentary below that shows some of the key players in the creation of the Turtle’s franchise discuss their role in the worldwide phenomenon. Check out the video and let us know in the comments below whether or not you are going to be picking this one up. As always, make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the TMNT news as it becomes available.