Female vocalists ChouChou and True will be performing the OP and ED for the Suisei no Gargantia sequel OVAs, the news was recently confirmed on the official website of the anime which will be premiering the first episode in September this year.
Both vocalist provided the opening and ending tracks for the anime Buddy Complex which aired at the beginning of the year; True will be performing the opening song Hajimarai no Tsubasa (The First Wings) for the Gargantia sequel with ChouChou singing Taisetsu na Takaramono (Precious Treasure) for the ending.
The two OVAs will take place six months after the events from the last episode of the anime; a new character has also been introduced for the sequel who appears to be another messenger for the Gargantia. The premier of the first OVA will be screened in Japan across 10 theaters, the second episode plans to screen in April next year.
Senior Editor Jamie kicks off a brand new play through of Larian Studios’ Kickstarter-funded RPGDivinity: Original Sin. Viewers will get their first taste of the game’s class-less character system and an introduction to the vile murder of Councillor Jake. For more information, be sure to check out our Divinity: Original Sinreview.
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Sniper Elite III is the latest in a series of WWII games that put you in the role of a sniper for the allied forces. While previous instalments had their problems, this time around the developers have listened to the fans and created a more fluid and fun experience. Open level design, great new mechanics and a sense of freedom and power really underlie this game and make it worth picking up.
Story
Set during 1942 (prior to the events of Sniper Elite and v2) in Africa, our hero, Karl Fairburne must fight against the infamous Afrika Korps and their incredible Tiger Tanks to put a stop to Hitler’s war machine before it can build the Wunderwaffe (Wonder Weapon) which will decimate the allied forces and quite possibly wipe them off the map.
The story is well-rooted in history while still maintaining enough elements to be accessible to gamers everywhere. The protagonist is your standard action-hero; quiet, stoic and driven, which really makes the whole game feel like a massive action hero power fantasy. The story itself is fairly thin and incidental to the whole gameplay experience. Although that being said, it would make a pretty cool movie if they were ever inclined to go that way.
Gameplay
By the time you get to a third game in a franchise, you usually have all the bugs and kinks worked out. It seems that Sniper Elite III has definitely done this, managing to improve on Sniper Elite V2, by eliminating a lot of the problems that players had like the linearity of levels.
Sniper Elite III doesn’t have all that many levels, but each of them will take you a considerable amount of time. Finding the perfect vantage points and taking out enemies without being spotted is a slow and purposeful process but even taking the “I’m just going to run and gun,” option will have you spending upwards of an hour on some stages.
There is not a whole lot of mission variety in Sniper Elite III, which is expected since snipers in the real world never have all that much variety in their day-to-day jobs. While it is authentic, it provides a gameplay experience that can get a little waning and repetitive after several missions.
One of the coolest gameplay mechanics of Sniper Elite III is definitely the ability to mask your shots with ambient sounds. An enemy may hear where your rifle shot came from in the open air, but wait till a plane passes overhead or a nearby machine malfunctions and you can pick off the krauts in near silence. Should your rifle be heard by the enemy however, they will have an idea as to where you are (as indicated by a ghostly silhouette of yourself at the position) meaning you can either try and pick them off before they circle in on you, or relocate to another spot and set up once again. This little thing keeps players on their toes and never resting on their laurels.
Previous Sniper Elite games suffered from incredibly linear level design. For the most part this has been done away with, giving the player a more open field to play in, as well as providing a tonne of different options and approaches to each of the missions. While some areas of the game still feel like a bottle-neck, they are fewer and further between than before.
The core focus of Sniper Elite III is without a doubt the freedom. You are free to approach missions however you choose, you are free to tackle optional objectives or leave them by the wayside, you are free to pick your weapons loadout and most of all you are free to make the game as easy or difficult as you would like.
Aside from the industry standard difficulty settings, you can customise each individual facet of the gameplay experience. Want useless enemy AI but super realistic bullet physics? You can have that… Or the inverse if that is your more your style. The world is your oyster here in Sniper Elite III.
Visuals
Visually, Sniper Elite III is an impressive game. While it may not be the best looking game on the market, it still has a lot of detail, a wide field of view and most importantly – colour. Being set in the desert gives Sniper Elite III bright blue skies, interesting landmarks and just a general change from the washed-out brown that many modern games have.
The Sniper Elite games have become infamous due to their graphic and stylish x-ray kill shots. When you fire at an enemy with your sniper rifle, a bullet-time cinematic will play that follows the bullet’s trajectory out of the gun, through the air and into the enemy. When it hits the enemy, you will get an internal shot of their muscles and bones, and you will see in gory detail as their eyes explode from having a bullet pass through them, or the back of their spine shatter outwards.
The effect is impactful and really draws you to the damage that these firearms can do without making it seem outlandish. The effect is great the first few times, but eventually players may turn it off because you can only see the back of somebody’s skull shatter so many times before it impedes on the actual gameplay experience.
Audio
There isn’t much to say about the audio here. It is really low-key and unobtrusive which helps players to focus in on what they are doing, in order to make the perfect kill. Since the game relies on abient noise as a gameplay mechanic, it is definitely a pleasure that this noise sounds authentic and realistic.
All of the game’s cinematics are narrated by the protagonist, who’s hardened gravelly voice really sets the tone. His voice allows for the opening of each level to feel less like a video game and more like a real military briefing, and gets you in the zone for the action that is about to unfold.
The sound of your gun firing is probably the most important sound in the game, and even without being super knowledgeable on guns I can say that they all sound great. The way that they sound, combined with the controller vibration as I pulled the trigger really did sucker me into the experience and made it a whole lot more enjoyable.
Overall
Sniper Elite III really stands out from other shooters. Its down to earth, almost realistic approach to war really makes the player feel like they are experience combat first hand, but that they are also in total control. This is definitely helped by the level design and freedom of choice that allow you to approach a mission exactly how you would like. While it gets a little repetitive at times, it is a fun experience without being over the top.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
The upcoming Dr Who series 8 promises to be a lot darker than its predecessors, with Peter Capaldi taking the role of the magnificent Time Lord. In the action-packed official trailer for the BBC sci-fi series, the 12th Doctor is determined to fix his past mistakes by travelling back into the darkest timelines. Let’s hope that his companion, Jenna Coleman doesn’t regret her decision to join him – for the Doctor may not be a ‘good’ man, after all.
Get your dose of the new Dr Who, when the latest series returns August 23 on BBC One.
With the release date for Super Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS drawing ever closer, the number of unknown spots on the roster is getting smaller and Nintendo look to be decreasing that number yet again, as they have started a countdown for a new fighter intro video that will be unveiled at Midnight in Australia. Not even a single clue has been revealed as to who this new mystery fighter will be but we will do know the video will last for 3 minutes and it will be an all new character, joining latest reveals Mii Fighter, Pac Man and Lady Palutena.
If an early leak is to believed (and at this point it is hard to doubt it due to being spot on with other character reveals), than the next character to be revealed could be Shulk, the main character from the Wii RPG title Xenoblade Chronicles or the Chrous Men from the DS game Rhythm Heaven. You can check up on the countdown and watch the video live when the time comes through the Nintendo YouTube Channel or just watch it embedded below. Place your bets in the comments below as to who the new fighter is going to be or even who you want it to be. If you miss the live unveil don’t worry as we are covering aspects of Smash Bros. news as it becomes available.
Edit: Xenoblade Chronicles director Yuchiro Takeda has been reported to have retweeted a tweet from Nintendo about the new character being revealed, giving further evidence in support that Shulk will be the character revealed.
With the end of the FIFA World Cup it’s time for a new tournament to look toward a new tournament, and what better then the Seventh King of Iron Fist Tournament. Tekken is back with it’s 7th main series installment after the release of a few other titles like Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and the free-to-play Tekken Revolution. The announcement was supposed to come at the EVO fighting game tournament taking place in Las Vegas this weekend, however a logo and video was leaked early and has since been removed. Not much is known about Tekken 7 at this early stage but people were able to gather a tiny bit of information before Bandai Namco made sure the video was erased from the Internet.
Tekken 7 will run on the Unreal 4 engine to achieve high visual quality and will most likely be exclusive to the new PS4 and Xbox One consoles. For now that is all we know but we expect the leaked trailer to be legitimately available to us before the days end. Check back later for the update.
EDIT: The trailer has now been officially released and you can view it below. No gameplay is shown but a few minor story details are revealed.
Overview
The final episode of The Wolf Among Us is finally here, which means that it’s time to see how this story comes to a close. What started out as a simple murder investigation flourished into a much deeper look into the Fabletown community and how Bigby handled it every step of the way. While previous episodes suffered from a lack of exploration and actually finding clues to piece together, it will be interesting to see if the trend continues through here or remain much more focused on the dialogue. Let’s see what Episode 5: “Cry Wolf” has to offer.
Story
The previous episode, “In Sheep’s Clothing”, left off in a fairly large cliffhanger, with Bigby finally confronting the Crooked Man, who appears to be at the heart of Fabletown’s current problems. Unfortunately, the room is also filled to the brim with all of Crooked Man’s associates, which means that it won’t be as easy as just taking the man into custody. It is easy to guess what will happen next as other character’s have previously noted that “everything” goes to shit when Bigby is around and of course this is no different.
So, while the previous episode dealt with Bigby and Snow trying to find Crooked Man’s hideout location, “Cry Wolf” sees Bigby trying to find and detain those that actually took part in the murders. With all the choices that players have been given however and the choices presented here as well, it is easy to see just how different things can be depending on what players had done previously, as well as how they handle the chase, whether to chase after the true murder or the shot caller.
Actually getting to those responsible in fact is just another set of worms and choices, as surprisingly players have quite a bit of personal choice as to what happens to the perpetrators. The story doesn’t just end with getting whatever justice the players choose, but are forced to face their actions from the past episodes and ultimately see how the community feels about how the justice should go as well. This adds another level of complexity that is both surprising and entirely welcome, as to whether the player’s choices as Bigby have really been for the best.
After the justice has been matted out, thankfully the story doesn’t just end and players are offered a look into how the Fabletown community has changed thanks to Bigby’s efforts or lack of effort. The epilogue covers just about every major character and where they fit into the community now, from Toad and his son, to Flycatcher, and Nerissa now that there has been some form of justice for the death of her friends. However, not every single aspect is wrapped up in a nice neat bow, so it is entirely possible that there is more to explore in the Fables universe, which would certainly be welcome.
Gameplay
Like the previous episodes the style of gameplay remains almost entirely the same, though there feels as if there is a lot more action in this Episode than previous ones. Much of the decisions are made through dialogue options as Bigby decides what to say to everyone, but the additional dynamic choices in combat or other action sequences is certainly a nice change of pace. Best yet, is that when dealing with how to finally deal with the big bad there isn’t a binary choice of how to handle it, instead having a much more complicated set of choices to make about what the punish is they should receive.
There is still the considerable lack of exploration, and as with Episode 4, there is a major lack of things to look at and explore. This can be a little understandable as the driving force of the episode was bringing the bad guys to justice, but even during the epilogue all Bigby really does is talk to the other Fables, but could have been a great opportunity to actually look around the Business Office and see what has changed with Snow getting put in charge or side conversations with lesser characters. While it is still a great ending, being part of an adventure game it would have been nice to get one last chance to just take a moment and experience the little details.
Visuals & Audio
While Episode 5 doesn’t have any new characters to show off, there are a few new character designs for some of the characters players have already met. The biggest one being of course Bigby’s true form, which after 5 episodes of lead up to is just as fantastic and over powered as anyone could hope from an 8 foot tall wolf. The other new character design is the fable-version of Bloody Mary who has now been a thorn in Bigby’s side for 3 episodes. The voice acting is still just as well executed as previous episodes and continue to impress with how well they work despite the choice of dialogue option and emotion situation. The voice acting is by far the one of the best aspects of The Wolf Among Us as a whole and the most consistent.
Overall
After 5 episodes of chasing down the murder of the two girls in the first episode, “Cry Wolf” provides a conclusion that fits the tone, style, and nature of the world of Fables, as well as gives plenty of options as to how justice should be met. While it still has a slight lacking in the exploration department, this episode has more action to help combat the small overuse of dialogue in the previous episode. With art and sound that stands up to the quality expected of a Telltale game, the conclusion of The Wolf Among Us gives almost everything one could hope for in an adventure game.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Troubling news is leaking out of Crytek UK; game director for Homefront: The Revolution, Hasit Zala, has resigned from his position this week. Stories have been getting out that the studio is facing some degree of financial troubles and has apparently had staff refuse to come in as the studio unable to pay them. Earlier this month, development manager Ben Harris left the studio which compounds the recent departure of Zala in terms of the effect on upper management within the studio.
The status of the studios current project, Homefront: The Revolution, is currently up in the air but was set to be published by Deep Silver. The game was slated to be an open world first-person shooter and is a sequel to the original Kaos Studios developed and THQ published; Homefront game.
Anime themed cafes are a great way to further immerse yourself in the overall atmosphere of a series, Macross Frontier fans will get their chance to experience this when the MacrossF Café and Bar opens at Namcos‘ Characro on the 27th of July.
Located in Ikebukuro Tokyo, the Characro will have all the traditional elements of a themed cafe; dishes and drinks inspired by the anime series, special merchandise that can be purchased within the cafe and decor that fully captures the essence of the show. In this case the MacrossF Cafe took its inspiration from the Nyan Nyan Restaurant in the show, fans will also be happy to know that the opening day will be on Alto Saotome’s birthday, a special cake dish and coaster will be available until August 10th.
Unfortunately the cafe is not open to all the public as theofficial website requires you to make a reservation, further more you only stay inside the cafe for a total of 100 minutes for each reservation. The Characros’ Macross theme celebrates the 25th anniversary of the series, let us know what you think about the cafe and what other anime themed cafes you would like to see by leaving a comment down below.
With the anime adaptation of Ao Haru Ride premiering last week mangaka Io Sakisaka should be feeling pretty happy, and now that another one of her manga has been confirmed for adaptation she and her fans will be over the moon.
Strobe Edge has been green lit for a live action adaptation, the news was announced in the August issue of Bessatsu Margaret magazine which published the manga from 2007-2009. The 10 volume series focuses on Ninako Kinoshita and the complications that occur when she falls for Ren Ichinose, who happens to have a long term girlfriend.
At the time of writing no official dates have been given, but keep your eyes on Capsule for updates concerning the adaptation. Not only is Strobe Edge being adapted into live action, Ao Haru Ride will be premiering it’s live action film this year in December, hopefully if all goes well we will be seeing an anime for Strobe Edge in the near future too.
