Just how impressive is that artwork from Fire Emblem: Awakening cover artist Yusuke Kozaki! Yesterday we featured an article on the Super Smash Bros. new character reveal trailer that was being released, heavily indicating that Shulk, the main character from Xenoblade Chronicles would be playable. Well sometimes it’s good to be wrong as game director Masahiro Sakurai has suprised us all with the reveal that Robin and Lucina from Fire Emblem: Awakening will be playable characters! Not only that, but fan favourite Captain Falcon will also be making his triumphant return.
For those who didn’t play Fire Emblem: Awakening for the 3DS or aren’t up to date with the whole Fire Emblem Universe, Robin was the default name for the main characters Avatar who was customisable and played a heavy role both in the story and gameplay as a normal character who could take the battlefield just like any of his/her comrades. The customisable Avatar could be either a male or female and that is also represented in Super Smash Bros. as you can choose either of the gender versions. They will play in an identical fashion but have different voices and will most likely have some unique alternate outfits, just like how Villager has severeal different looks. In a nice change of pace for the Fire Emblem characters, Robin will use pwoerful magic attacks that appear to have limited uses. So far we have seen fire, lighting, wind and darkness elemental attacks. Once he/she has used up all their tomes, they will have to rely on the Levin Sword to deal damage to their enemies. Chrom, the main character from Fire Emblem: Awakening was unfortunately confirmed to not be a playable character, but will make an appearance in Robin’s final smash, holding his opponent in place while Robin rains down on them with magic.
The other new Fire Emblem character joining the fray is Lucina. In Fire Emblem: Awakening she was revealed to be the future daughter of Chrom and also imitated the ‘Hero King’, the name given in legends to Marth. Judging from the reveal trailer, Lucina will play very similarly to Marth, having a near identical moveset from what we’ve seen. That being said, characters have appeared in the series before with very similar movests albeit with different properites such as different damage or speed so it is likely that’s the treatment Lucina will receive. We are guessing she will have an alternate costume to mimic her masked appearance, with a mask even appearing in one of the screenshots.
Finally Captain Falcon made a grand return, going toe to toe with Lucina in the reveal trailer. We assume he will play near identically to how he did in Brawl with the trailer showing off some of his classic attacks like the Falcon Punch. His Final Smash attack, where he gets in his F-Zero vehicle the Blue Falcon and rams his opponents off the track is also returning.
So there it is, all the big Smash Bros. news from today. You can watch the awesome reveal trailer below and check out all of our Super Smash Bros. related news to see if you have missed out on anything. Let us know in the comments what you think about these latest character additions!
So exciting news first: Mega Metagross is on its way! As if he wasn’t strong enough, Metagross is getting a Mega Evolution that changes its ability to Tough Claws, which increases the power of attacks that make physical contact. Mega Metagross also has a greatly increased Speed stat, with additional increases in its Attack, Defence, Sp. Atk, and Sp. Def. I am fairly certain that competitive Pokemon battlers are both cringing and cring with joy at the same time! Metagross will be joining the other new Mega-Evolutions; Sableye, Swampert, Dianci and Sceptile.
Pokemon Amie will be another returning feature for Alpha and Omega, but this time will allow you to create a special Cosplay Pikachu. Now you can don the Pokemon mascot in a variety of outfits like doctor, rock-star and even a masked wrestler. Not much is known about just what you will do with Cosplay Pikachu (aside from play with it in Pokemon Amie) but more information is set to be released this August.
So which game will you be picking up on November 21st? Let us know if you are the Alpha or the Omega in the comments below and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Pokemon news as it becomes available.
Magic: The Gathering is one of the biggest game franchises in the world, and the Duels of the Planeswalkers series has allowed players to experience a sampling of what the games have to offer for the past few years. Each game brings enhancements and updates to the predecessor, and Magic 2015: Duels of the Planeswalkers is no different. With a cleaner and more fluid UI, combined with a coherent and enjoyable story make this a great addition to the franchise. However, with all the good it does, Duels 2015 manages to make some choices that will undoubtedly ostracise and upset long-time fans of the series.
Story
The story of Magic 2015 takes places after Garruk Wildspeaker has been cursed by Liliana Vess during the game’s Innistrad block. Losing his grip with nature, the most fearsome hunter in the multiverse has set his sights on a new form of quary; Planeswalekrs. His thirst for destruction takes him around the multiverse, slaying Planeswalkers (including the player character from magic 2014). You, a nameless Planeswalker have taken up arms to stop Garruk and with the assistance of Jace Beleren will do just that.
It is good to see coherent story in the Duels of the Planeswalkers games, and in the Magic Core Sets in general. Traveling the multiverse isa a great way to revisit some of Magic’s past sets and bring us new forms of characters that we haven’t seen in a long time. It is all tied up nicely too, with the resolution easily hinting at the future of the series. All in all the story is a short but enjoyable romp that any Magic player, be they rookie or veteran will enjoy.
Gameplay
Duels of the Planeswalkers has always been a series that has managed to not only introduce new players to the world and rules of Magic: The Gathering, but also allowed old players of the game to enjoy its bit-sized sample of the game at large. Magic 2015 keeps this alive by giving players access to hours of the world-beloved trading card game. This year’s sampling managed to bring in some new mechanics like free-form deck building, and a coherent story that spans Magic’s multiverse. However, it should be noted that these enhancements are not without a few caveats.
Firstly lets talk about the UI which has been given a massive overhaul from previous years. Now we get battlegrounds that feature the same stark black and white stylised art style as the M15 Core Set. Aside from being a marked visual improvement on last year’s iteration, Magic 2015’s UI is a lot slicker and responsive than ever before. Gone are the clunky controls and huge wait times between actions, and the gameplay feels a lot smoother and more enjoyable this time around.
The most important new addition to the game is the free-form deck building. Unlike previous Duels games, players now have the freedom to completely dismantle their deck and build one from scratch from their acquired collection. With over 300 cards available for use in-game, there are a LOT of things you can do. However, the game is not as free-form as you might think. You are limited to the number of cards of each rarity that you can put into your deck. You can have 4 of a single common in the deck (similar to the paper game), then 3 of each uncommon, 2 of each rare and one of each mythic. So while you can still do a LOT with these decks, you wont be able to make them into the extreme powerhouses that you might think.
The cards themselves are pretty varied, including adding Guildgates (the first time a player has been able to use dual-lands in the series) but they are nothing compared to what you will be facing. The opponents have access to cards and abilities that not only do you not have access to, but that players in the REAL world scarely see. During a match with Kiora she played a Tropical Island, which hasn’t seen print since Revised in 1994 and is one of the more sought-after land cards in the game. When playing, I found myself really wishing that I had access to some of the amazing cards (and even some of the less than stellar ones). I so badly wanted to build my Maze’s End deck!
The game itself is broken into chapters, and each of these chapters take place on one of Magic’s various planes (universes). You start off in Innistrad, a plane based around horror mythos, and after you have proven your worth to Avacyn, the guardian angel you are able to unlock additional chapters on your way to find and cure Garruk. The planes themselves all have 4-5 decks that you have to face in order to progress and these are really quite difficult. The only way to make them easier is by making your own deck stronger and to do this you must “Explore the plane.”
Exploring basically triggers a random encounter against a challenge deck, and once you have defeated that deck you will be able to earn a booster pack and add some cards to your collection. Boosters start off at only a couple of cards, but as you progress you will earn more and more. Cards are also specific to the plane that you are on, so if you really want that sweet Brimaz, King of Oreskos for your white deck, then you will need to explore a LOT of Theros.
Multiplayer is back but sad to say does not feature the 2-Headed Giant format that players have come to love. Instead you can now have up to four players engaged in a free for all duel. Players can use any of the cards they have gained access to and any of the decks they choose. Hopefully 2-Headed Giant will be added in a later update, but I wouldn’t hold our breath.
It should also be noted that although the client is free to download, the game is not free to play. You will only get access to the Innistrad plane with your free download, and everything after that costs extra. To unlock the remaining planes, you will need to shell out $12.99 (or if you buy them individually they are $3.79 each). This isn’t too bad as it puts the price on par with Magic 2014. Unfortunately, even if you buy all of the planes, (or the $25 complete bundle that is supposed to unlock every chapter and collectible card in the game) there are still 14 booster packs worth of cards that cannot be gotten during regular gameplay and have to be purchased as “Premium Booster Packs. Each premium pack will set you back $2.49, which means that to unlock every chapter and every card you will be set back $47.85 (or you can skip the middle man and buy the whole shebang for the discounted price of $43.99).
I don’t have an inherent problem with micro-transactions, but I feel that they are a very quick way to ostracise your fan-base. This is especially true in a game like this where you need to purchase the game before you can even play. 13% of the game’s playable cards are hidden behind a pay-wall, and while you obviously don’t need them to play or to win, not being able to attain them in any way without paying is more than a little rough.
Visuals & Audio
The visuals of Magic 2015 are simply beautiful. The physical card game and the DotP game both use a highly stylised, minimalist black/white colour scheme with splashes of colour. This works surprisingly well for a video game, and creates a battlefield that remains unobtrusive during the battle but is still by no means ugly. When you attack with your creatures, a red bar appears across the screen so you can quickly and easily see who is attacking and who is blocking, then the battlefield collapses at the end of combat and goes back to its off-white texture.
The cards themselves all look great, and have the newly introduced border around them to help new players to the game see what they will look like when they crack open real-world booster packs from M15 onwards. Lastly, the game’s few cut-scenes are all done in greyscale with little highlights of colour that really make it pop. Things like Garruk’s eyes or Jace’s magic really stand out from the rest of the world and are quite enjoyable to watch.
The audio is very low-key here, with only a small amount of music and even less sound effects. The sounds all represent different facets of the game like combat, drawing a card or casting a spell and are quick and quiet so as to let you stay in the zone of the game.
The game’s cinematic sequences are largely unvoiced, with the exception of Jace Beleren (who out there didn’t see THAT coming) who instructs the player on where they have to go next. Despite the lack of voice acting, the scenes themselves are all filled with music and sounds ominous enough to legitimately fear what Garruk will do to the multiverse if he isn’t cured.
Overall
Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalkers was the game that got me back into Magic: The Gathering after an extended hiatus, and while it had it had its problems, it was still a pretty good showcase of the world’s largest trading card game. 12 months later and we have a game that manages to do-away with many of the problems its predecessor had, while still throwing up a few of its own.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
“THIS. IS. SPARTA!” The line that started it all and that turned a stylish action movie into a cult classic. 300: Rise of an Empire is the sequel to the 2006 film that gave us giant elephants, dining in hell and of course buff guys with swords. Taking the battle to the seas this time around provides for an interesting take on the mythos established in the first film and shows us more of what this world has to offer. It may not be as good as the original, but with a great villain and some really intense battles, it is still an incredibly enjoyable watch.
Story
300: Rise of an Empire is set before, during and after the events of the original 300 and tells the story of how Xerxes rose to power, and of the battles of Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis. The plot centers around Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton); an Athenian general who killed the original Persian King back in the Battle of Marathon and now wishes to unite all of Greece to oppose the Persian forces. Standing against him is Artemesia (played by Eva Green), ex-Greek citizen who after a lifetime of rape and abuse defected to Persia and quickly rose the ranks to become one of their finest generals.
To separate itself from the original film, all of the battles take place in the waters. However, similarly to the original movie it is filled with the Greek forces using clever tactics to outdo an enemy with vastly superior numbers. Themistokles is a genius tactician and creates such maneuvers as a phalanx of ships, and retreating into the fog to lure his enemies into a trap. When he isn’t engaging in battle on the high seas, Themistokles travels to Sparta to hopefully enlist their aid in the war.
“Ah Themistokles, you old snake!” – Dilios (David Wenham)
Themistokles is a bit of a dull lead role, never sharing too much emotion and his accent seems to fluctuate to and from Australian to Greek depending on the scene. However, Eva Green steals the show as Artemesia; bringing life and energy to the character as well as a deranged look that really makes her a commanding force on the screen. Although we follow Themistokles for much of the film, it is all about the women with Lena Headey’s Queen Gorgo filling a pivotal role in the plot. It is good to see two strong women in film, especially in such a male-dominate niche.
While the first film takes place over a few short days, Rise of an Empire spans a much longer time-period. Even excluding the early flashbacks, we see Themistokles’ journey and the battle itself taking several weeks. Due to this, we get small easter eggs and behind-the-scenes look at what was happening during the events of the first movie. For example, we get to see Themistokles interact with Queen Gorgo of Sparta (Lena Headey) during the time that Leonidas is seeking permission from the council to head to war.
Although we do get to see Xerxes’ rise to power, it is a very short sequence that basically ends up being; Xerxes takes a tip into a pool and comes out taller, balder and covered in bling. It doesn’t give any information about his status as a God-King or really provide any sense of character development. In the end, Xerxes’ character just feels like he is there to completely tie Rise of an Empire to the original 300.
Visuals & Audio
The first 300 grew to infamous popularity largely due to its highly stylised and violent battle scenes. Making use of highly choreographed fighting, well-timed slow motion action shots and an ample serving of blood. Rise of an Empire is no different and employs many of the same tactics as its predecessor, yet somehow feels a little more shallow in comparison.
One notable difference is the way blood is used. Even though it has been 8 years since the original 300, the blood splatters used in Rise of an Empire look a lot worse, oftentimes resembling a cartoon or last-generation video game. Part of the reason this happens was the fact that the film was originally presented in 3D and the blood was made to look like it was coming at you. Unfortunately in a 2D scenario, this is a lot less noticeable and makes the whole effect look rather dated.
While the blood looks a little lacking, the rest of the fighting looks amazing. It is well choreographed and just as stylish as the original. The addition of the naval combat allows for some unique and unexpected battles (including one that involves a horse) as well as being able to easily show the scope of the war at hand. While the original 300 Spartans always looked more powerful than their overwhelming foes, Themistokles’ 200 boats look like nothing in comparison to Artemesia’s 10,000.
The audio is about what you would expect from a movie like this; lots of yelling and screaming and battle cries. Don’t get me wrong, it works but there isn’t much to comment on. If anything is amiss it is the fact that Themistokles’ accent changes frequently which can be a little jarring and take you out of the moment for a short while. In the end though, it is incidental because the battles themselves (which lets face it, is what we watch these movies for) sound as great as they look.
Extra Features
Sadly, 300: Rise of an Empire doesn’t feature any deleted or extended scenes, but that doesn’t mean it is want for special features. The disc is jam packed with behind the scenes footage, and featurettes that showcase the history behind the film and how it came to be.
The behind the scenes stuff covers everything from the training that the actors had to undergoe (including the story of Andrew Pleavin 30 pounds in four weeks to reprise his role as Daxis) through to the amazing work that the prop makers did to make and the special effects work that went into the film. The featurettes themselves focus a little more on the historical basis for both films (and obviously the books) including a look at the warrior women and the master tacticians of the past. These are all great to check out and even if you are a die-hard history buff who knows everything about Greece, you will still get a kick out of seeing how they brought the myths to life.
Overall
300: Rise of an Empire had a lot to live up to this year and while it may never reach the lofty heights of its predecessor, if nothing else it is an enjoyable and stylish flick. Themistokles may not be as exciting a lead as Leonidas, but Eva Green’s performance as Artemesia really steals the show and makes every scene that much more intense. If you just want more “300,” then you absolutely can’t go wrong.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Two manga series that began publication back in 2011 will be printing their last chapters in this month and the next. Koji Shinasakas’ Gambling manga Bakuto had its final chapter released today in this year’s 15th issue of Young Champion magazine and Kodanshas’ Bessatsu Friend magazine will end the series Kyou no Kira-kun (Today’s Kira-kun), created by Rin Mikimoto, in next month’s issue.
Bakuto focuses on High-School student Baku Omura, a boy who challenges students and adults in various gambling styled games and catches out the ones who break the rules. Today’s Kira-kun revolves around Nino Okamura and her pet parrot, and the events that occur after she finds out fellow classmate and neighbor Kira Yuiji’s secret.
Shinasaka has made a comment thanking his fans for all of their support for the manga and Mikimoto’s other series Kin Kyori Renai will be premiering its live action film this October.
At the Evolution Championship Series 2014, Razer unveiled the Razer Atrox Arcade Stick for Xbox One. The fight stick is customisable, tested by eSports athletes and made for modders and competitive gamers alike.
It features eight genuine Sanwa Denshi buttons and an “ergonomically authentic arcade layout”. At the touch of a button, the arcade stick opens up with spaces for the detachable USB cable, bundled screwdriver and alternate bat-top joystick to be stored. Additionally, a limited edition Killer Instinct-themed faceplate was announced after a collaboration with Microsoft. Razer co-founder and CEO, Min-Liang Tan, had this to say about the product;
We designed the Razer Atrox Arcade Stick for Xbox One on the same principles that made the Razer Atrox for Xbox 360 so popular amongst the fighting game community. Professional gaming is growing rapidly into a global phenomenon, and gear like the Razer Atrox Arcade Stick for Xbox One will help fighting game players everywhere dominate the opposition in style, match after match.
The Razer Atrox Arcade Stick for Xbox One will be available in August, 2014 for a RRP of $199.99. Check out the gallery below for images, and for more information on the Razer Atrox Arcade Stick for Xbox One, click here.
Through Xbox, a full walkthrough of the Dragon Age: Inquisition E3 demo has surfaced online, this time commented on by creative director Mike Laidlaw and played as a Qunari Mage. Check out part one directly below, with part two set at Redcliffe Castle embedded at the very bottom of this article. Also released by EA and Bioware are new screenshots that introduce two main characters from the game: Advisor Leliana and Advisor Cullen, which can be viewed below as well. Dragon Age: Inquisition comes out October 9 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.
Dragon Age: Inquisition Gameplay Series – E3 Demo Part One: The Hinterlands
Overview Koushun Takami’s Battle Royale is a novel that many are very familiar with due to its dark content and an extremely successful live-action movie. Despite being filled with numerous deaths and despair, Battle Royale’s death game has a few scenes that will specifically stand out in many readers’/viewers’ mind and that is the scene that unfolds in the lighthouse. Due to this being such a memorable event, the girls in the lighthouse have been given their own spin-off manga in Battle Royale: Angels’ Border. Now with this spin-off being released in North America, should fans of Battle Royale pick it up?
Story For those unaware, the story of Battle Royale takes place in a world where Japan is under the power of the totalitarian rule of Greater East Asia and every year a horrifying military experiment is held where one class of ninth graders from the area is forced into a program where every student of the class is in a battle against one another. These ninth graders are forced to kill one another until there is only one person left standing, or if they choose to not kill each other, then every one of them will die.
Battle Royale: Angels’ Border takes place during the events of the Battle Royale story and while those familiar with the series are aware of some of the events that happened in the lighthouse where six girls have holed up in an effort to survive together only for events to unfold in a gruesome manner that epitomizes the horrific situation these students have been placed in.
The story in Battle Royale: Angels’ Border is told through two chapters, with the first chapter focusing primarily on Haruka Tanizawa and Yukie Utsumi as the two keep watch at the top of the lighthouse. During this time Haruka struggles with her own feelings as she realizes that she is in love with Yukie and will do anything to protect her, even though she knows that Yukie is in love with someone else. Little do they know that while they are up keeping watch, the rest of the girls are beginning to turn on one another.
The second chapter deals more with the events that take place before what happened at Battle Royale and involves Chisato Matsui and Shinji Mimura having a chance meeting on a day off of school where the two discuss past tragedies that have occurred in their families and how they both want to take and live for themselves and not be moved away by the flow of everything around them.
These two chapters wrap up in a manner that anyone familiar with the material expect since this is more about expanding the characters as well as giving a face to the tragedy that takes place in the story since these girls had lives and hope for a future before they were forced to participate in Battle Royale. This creates an emotional and tightly knit story despite being short and readers knowing the outcome, though it feels like there was a missed opportunity here by focusing so heavily on the past in the second chapter.
It is worth noting however that those unfamiliar with the original material will probably not be able to enjoy Battle Royale: Angels’ Border quite as much because not only does the manga only briefly go over the whole situation but also references events that take place outside of the releases’ scope.
Artwork It is worth noting that this is a Viz Signature release, meaning that the release is larger than normal being sized at 8.2” x 5.8” meaning all of the artwork is larger and more detailed than a standard release. As mentioned before, Battle Royale: Angels’ Border is separated into two separate chapters and the artwork for each chapter is handled by a different artist. The first chapter, following Haruka and Yukie, is handled by Mioko Ohnishi, while the second chapter is handled by Youhei Oguma. Both artists have a similar looking style, with Oguma being more detailed with smaller aspects such as clothing and character details while Ohnishi’s drawings having more emotional impact and better character expressions.
This does cause a problem however due to the fact that any time that the story focuses back on the events happening in the lighthouse, there are variations in the way that some characters look, such as Haruka having a completely different hair color. Though this isn’t much of an issue due to the way the second chapter focuses on the past, it is a distracting oversight. There is also a problem with the way that the manga tends to jump from scene to scene with very little transition, which is hinted at in the bonus script.
Extra Content There is a fair amount of extra content included in Battle Royale: Angels’ Border, beginning with a color illustration of the lighthouse and a brief rundown on what the world is like in the story. At the end of the book the original script for both chapters is included and not only does the original script give extra detail about certain scenes that were not shown in the release, perhaps due to page restrictions, as well as alternate ways a few scenes could have been shown. The book closes out with an “Afterword” from author Koushun Takami, talking about writing the story.
Overall Rarely does a side-story add extra detail to the events that occur in the main story, especially over a decade after the original story was released, but that is what Battle Royale: Angels’ Border manages to accomplish. With the lighthouse being one of the iconic moments in Battle Royale, this release adds some extra depth to these characters that once had hope before being thrown into this twisted game, even if it does have a few issues.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
In a very interesting turn of events, NIS America has announced that, while Koei Tecmo is going to be published and localized in North America and Europe by Koei Tecmo, they will be releasing a special limited edition version of Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star when the title is released in North America on September 23rd.
This $64.99 limited edition can currently be pre-ordered through NIS America’s online store and it contains a copy of the game for the Playstation 3, a hardcover full color 26 page art book, the game’s original soundtrack in a jewel case, a collector’s box, and a 16″x23″ Ar nosurge poster. Recently a large number of screenshots and a trailer for the game were released and you can check them out here.
So far the three pop metal idols have performed in France, Germany and the UK, now it seems more gigs have been set up for them in North America and alongside Lady Gaga.
BABYMETAL are currently doing their world tour which began at the beginning of this month, their last two shows were at the Sonisphere music festival and at London’s Forum Theater (which was a sold out gig). Before they head to Canada for the Heavy Montreal festival they will be opening for a few Lady Gaga concerts in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Denver from the 1st of August. The 2014 tour will finish on the 14th of September with their last gig being in Japan.
Check out the video of their London gig down below and leave us a comment below about what you think of BABYMETAL.
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