You may remember a unique looking game called Lily Bergamo that was revealed late last year by Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacture. Well, it has become something else. Famitsuwas able to take a chance to interview Suda and GungHo’s CEO Kazuki Morshita and in this interview it was revealed that Lily Bergamo has now been changed completely into the gritty free-to-play PS4 title Let It Die.
In the interview it is discussed that while they were developing Lily Bergamo, they decided to change the game into one with online gameplay and survival aspects thanks to “soul searching” by the company. It was also confirmed that the previous protagonist Tae Ioroi has been removed entirely and players will now be able to create their own avatars.
As such, Let It Die will be a title that takes each players’ created avatar and as they die in the game, their avatar will start to be displayed in other player’s games. This means that the more deaths that occur the more players will see other avatars. It is also said that although players will start with zero equipment, they can gain weaponry and amor by killing enemies and taking it from their corpses.
Despite all of this judging from fans of Grasshopper Manufacture’s past titles and what Suda 51 is known for, the general fanbase is taking this announcement as something that might have been better left to die.
Today Sega released their first ‘English’ trailer for Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd. The reason I say English like that is because similar to the first game, it appears that the lyrics of each song are going to remain in Japanese but presented in English lettering.
That being said, it is still great news that Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd is heading to the West and it is still scheduled to be given both a retail and digital release this Fall in North America and Europe. The E3 trailer can be found below where the song “Two Breaths Walking” is shown off.
SYDNEY, 11TH JUNE 2014 – BANDAI NAMCO Games Europe is proud to reveal new details about ONE PIECE: Unlimited World Red exciting “Story Mode”. All true fans will be delighted to discover that a “Difficult” mode has been added after the first play-through! Thanks to this new difficulty threshold, players will see the ONE PIECE universe through an even more thrilling angle; all the enemies and bosses will become much stronger and offer rare items and rewards!
In the Story Mode, all soon-to-become Pirates will be able to fight against:
Shanks and his powerful Haki
The stunning Empress: Boa Hancock
Trafalgar Law, aka “Surgeon of Death”
Aokiji and his freezing powers
Lots of other well-known bosses!
For all the fans eager to get their hands on this brand new game on its Release day, they will be getting very unique content thanks to the “Straw Hat Edition”:
Exclusive Costumes: 10 outfits – Luffy Strong World Adventure Outfit & the Anniversary Pack with 9 outfits commemorating Japan’s 15th anniversary of the One Piece animated series.
A unique quest where the 2 brothers are re-united: “Flame Fist & Straw Hat”
The challenging and promising ONE PIECE UNLIMITED WORLD RED game will release across Australia & New Zealand on 26th June 2014 for PlayStation®3, PlayStation®Vita, and Nintendo 3DSTM. For the latest news and updates, check www.OnePiece-Game.com. For the latest videos, check bngames.eu/OPunlimitedworldredvideos. For more information about BANDAI NAMCO Games’ entire line up, go to www.BandaiNamcoGames.eu.
Sumthing Else Music Works, the record label dedicated to licensing and distributing video game soundtracks, announced at E3 that it has acquired the rights to distribute the original soundtrack of Enemy Front, featuring the musical scores from CI Games’ new first-person shooter title set during World War II. Composed by Cris Velasco (a man who has credits in Company of Heroes 2, Mass Effect 3, and the God of War series), the Enemy Front original soundtrack is available for pre-order on their website, as well as iTunes and other digital music stores. The composer had this to say about this work:
“At its core, Enemy Front is a story of redemption and survival, this gave me an opportunity to write the score as more of an emotional journey, rather than a typical combat score. The Warsaw Uprising is something that hasn’t been addressed in games like this before so I felt a responsibility to do it justice. I was honored to be asked to provide the music and I truly hope everyone enjoys the music as much as I enjoyed writing it.”
Enemy Front was developed and published by CI Games and distributed by BANDAI NAMCO Games America, Inc. The title hearkens back to a time when every second FPS had a level based on D-day and the enemies were pixelated Nazis (were we ever that young?). Th game declares itself to be the first WWII FPS of the new generation with upgraded visuals and interactive combat sandbox gameplay. With the backdrop including a number of famous European locations, players will take on the role of Yankee war correspondent Robert Hawkins, as he fights with Resistance Fighters against the Nazi war machine (not literally, this isn’t Wolfenstein) in France, Germany, Norway, and Poland.
Enemy Front will be released for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on June 10 in North America and June 13 in Europa.
Ubisoft have made an announcement in regards to their next installment in the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six franchise with the snappy title: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. The game is slated for release in 2015 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Ubisoft Montreal, who have worked on previous Tom Clancy games including the Splinter Cell series and previous Rainbow Six games, will be taking the lead on the development of the new first-person shooter title. Inspired by real world counter-terrorism operations, the game will have a focus on close-quarter fire-fights and combat. In a series first, players will be able to engage in a new gameplay mode called ‘siege’.
“As fans of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six and tactical shooters in general, we set out to create the game we always wanted to play within the counter-terrorism universe. We asked ourselves ‘how could we capture the incredible tension and unique tactics of these confrontations?’ We found the answer in the Siege gameplay and procedural destruction. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is the game that Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six fans have been waiting for, and first-person shooter players will be drawn to its unique gameplay.“ – Creative director at Ubisoft, Xavier Marquis
The new mode will allow defending players to transform the map into a modern day fortress while attacking players attempt to overrun their position. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege will give players pretty neat tools to set up their defences including barbed wire, deployable shields, mines, and more. Likewise, players will be given a variety of tools to breach these defences including drones and sheet charges. With these elements introducing new gameplay mechanics, we might see a return of the tactical planning element which made the original Rainbow Six a PC classic.
In furtherance of this game design, Ubisoft Montreal will make use of their proprietary Realblast engine to create game environment which react realistically to player behaviour… mostly by being destroyed. This will all be in relation to factors such as the caliber of ammunition and the amount of explosives used by the players. With these factors now in play, new tactical opportunities open up such as leveraging the destruction in tactical ways. For example: Why go around a wall, when you can go blow through it? Why go up a set of stairs, when you can simply shoot through the ceiling? With enough explosive, any part of the level can become a new access point.
I’m sure players will have a lot of fun messing around with level design in real-time when the game is finally released in 2015.
“All You Need Is Kill”…to think; only a few months ago this particular story was barely known. Not to say it was unpopular, it was just that a small audience were aware of such a tale. Now…well now it has grown into a pop culture goliath! What was once just a Japanese Sci-fi novel has now become a manga series, a graphic novel and a feature-length film starring Hollywood royalty Tom Cruise. What was the catalyst that set “All You Need Is Kill” ablaze with popularity? Some say the book itself while others say it is the movie. I’m not too sure about that, but what I am sure of is that there IS a reason behind it’s success and it may just be the story it tells. (Read the Travis Bruno review of “All You Need Is Kill” by clicking here)
Story
Keiji Kiriya is a Japanese soldier currently fighting in a war against interplanetary monsters known as the “Mimics”. These alien creatures arrived on Earth with only one thing in their sights; complete and utter domination. Our planet couldn’t just sit back and let the Apocalypse rain down upon them so they begun their counterattack. Soldier equipped with power suits titled “Jackets” are thrown into the fires of war with the hopes that we will be the ones to come out victorious…but hope is not something the existence of a planet can survive on. Keiji dies at the hands/tentacles of the Mimics one fateful day but id reborn the next, left with nothing but feelings of Deja Vu.
Death falls upon Keiji once more but, the same as last time, he awakes to live out the same day again and again. He soon realizes that he has retained his memories from before the last time he died and uses this new found “ability” to train himself into becoming the greatest soldier and the Earth’s only hope at stopping the seemingly inevitable invasion. He alongside fellow soldier Rita (also known as the “Full Metal Bitch”) will do everything they can to figure out the “Loop” and to stop the Mimics once and for all, saving Earth and its people. It’s a great storyline.
“All You Need Is Kill” has one of the most unique and interesting plot lines I’ve honestly ever come across. It’s like a mix between “Groundhog Day” and “Independence Day”. It’s quite intelligent and the original novel being such a success has made evident by the explanation of the story and characters within it. The only problem I have with the graphic novel adaptation – unfortunately it is a big one – is that it is massively rushed. You’re not given all the information you possibly could have, you’re left only with the fundamental parts of the story.
Basically enough so that a reader can understand what is happening but is left wanting so much more. Sometimes the dialogue did not even make sense because of how compressed the entire telling of it was and it really made for a disappointing read. It took me barely half an hour to complete the graphic novel and by the end I felt as though I had just read a long issue of a comic. The good thing is that it tells a fantastic sci-fi story that really any fan of the genre can get into and enjoy, the bad thing is that it’s so compressed it looses gravitas which is something a tale of this caliber absolutely needs.
Artwork
Lee Ferguson – the illustrator for the graphic novel – has quite an impressive art style. It’s both simply yet detailed and was utilized properly to nicely show the effects of war and the destruction of a battlefield. Set out like a typical graphic novel of its kind, “All You Need Is Kill” featured some beautifully gritty illustrations alongside a well-suited colour palette that, while sometimes vibrant, was dark and dank enough to highlight the grizzled effects of intergalactic war. I did find it sometimes hard to actually understand what it was that I was seeing and some things did fall to the wayside or blend in to other illustrated pieces but, for the most part, it was well put together and looked great.
Overall
Don’t let the hype surrounding “All You Need Is Kill” cloud your vision; the graphic novel IS good but it is clear that it is also lacking. It seems as though it’s heavy compression of the story is what is truly setting it back. Had the graphic novel been a little longer, I could imagine it would have been a great deal better. It’s such a great story to let yourself become engulfed by but you can’t exactly do that when you’re not getting the full story.
If you’re a fan of the original than the graphic novel may be something you’d love to purchase and I urge that you do because it is you who will be able to appreciate it the most. A good comic book/graphic novel must both look good and read good, “All You Need Is Kill” only does one of those things and it seems as though it just wasn’t enough.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
In the midst of the E3 2014 festivities, ATLUS have today revealed that they will be releasing a special edition version of their upcoming 3DS title, “Persona Q: Shadow Of The Labyrinth“, in North America. The game’s special release, titled “The Wild Cards Premium Edition”, will come with a whole bunch of “Persona-centric” goodies bound to get both new and old fans of the series extremely excited!
This premium edition of the game will come with eleven Tarot cards (all modeled after those featured in the game), a “Persona Q” art book, the official soundtrack of the game (titled; “Sound Of The Labyrinth”) and an official “Persona Q” 3DS XL hard case which had only been available in Japan up until now.
– Standard Edition –
Fans not wanting all these goodies – though I don’t know who wouldn’t – can purchase the standard release of the game which, if they preorder, will come with the aforementioned Tarot cards. “The Wild Cards Premium Edition” will be sold for $79.99 and the standard edition will be sold for $49.99.
It was only North America that is to be getting these releases, unfortunately Australia nor Europe were mentioned but my hope is that we get word of it reaching our shores sometime soon. “Persona Q: Shadow Of The Labyrinth” is set for a North American release on the 3DS sometime this Fall and in Australia and Europe sometime after that.
Overview There is a good chance that until a few months ago, you may never have heard of Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s novel All You Need Is Kill. However now that that novel has been adapted into a Hollywood movie called Edge of Tomorrow, not only have manga adaptations been created but even a western style comic of the novel has been produced for North American release. However is this graphic novel simply a quick cash-in or something that is good enough to stand on its own?
Story Earth is under attack by alien creatures called Mimics and despite the best efforts of the United Defense Force, humanity is gradually losing the war against these creatures. As such when we join soldier Keiji Kiriya he is the last man in his unit left alive, unfortunately he won’t be for much longer and the only person keeping him company is doing so because she needs to take equipment from his corpse.
Such a bleak ending isn’t the end for Keiji however as he wakes up in his bunk like nothing ever happened. Despite the strange feelings of déjà vu he continues his day like usual, only to enter battle against the Mimics once again and see that everything is unfolding the exact same way as before. Keiji realizes that he is stuck within a loop of death where he is forced to live the same day or so every time that he is killed.
Instead of despairing about his situation, after hearing some advice from his trainer he takes every loop as a chance to better himself by learning new techniques, mastering the ‘Jacket’ armor soldiers wear, and wielding a weapon capable of actually slaying Mimics without leaving yourself too vulnerable to attack. After dying over a hundred times and seeing things unfold this way, he realizes that there is something different about a certain enemy Mimic and by doing so, he catches the attention of the “Full Metal Bitch” Rita Vrataski, the US’ heroic female fighter.
From then on we learn about Rita’s past as well as her own situation of being stuck in the loop created by Mimics that explains how they are able to defeat the forces of humanity so easily. By discovering a way to escape this loop and take advantage of his abilities, the two continue to battle until the stark truth of the situation forces Keiji to take drastic action.
Now… it is obviously difficult to try and present a novel that is over two hundred pages long in a comic book that is less than a hundred pages. So some things need to be watered down but unfortunately there are a lot of things from the original novel that are watered down so much that readers are presented with the bare minimum detail.
There is generally no transition between scenes as Keiji and Rita jump from situation to situation and while some details of their situation are explained, it is so threadbare compared to what is explained in the actual novel that readers will probably be scratching their heads a bit at the twist that the writer throws at readers in the last few pages.
Artwork As I mentioned earlier, this release of All You Need Is Kill is being handled with a Western style theme meaning the artwork is styled similar to comic books. Therefore it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to hear that Lee Ferguson, the main artist for this release, has worked on numerous comics in the past including some X-Men series and his own series called Miranda Mercury.
The art provided for this release is nicely stylized with a great representation of the Jackets that the soldiers must wear into battle and the Mimics are also notably alien looking and although any amount of gore is kept to a minimum there is a nice sense of action as well as drama in each panel thanks to the coloration of certain panels’ backgrounds.
Overall All You Need Is Kill’s graphic novel adaptation is by no means bad, but it significantly dilutes a lot of details that readers would need to actually get the most out of the story. Thankfully it does have all of the major details to convey the overall story of All You Need Is Kill as well as some nice looking artwork, but it feels like this release would have benefited from being longer so the author could properly convey the missing details that end up making the story better.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
It would seem that Final Fantasy VII just cannot be stopped. Not even time itself can dent the appeal of this loved instalment into the colossal franchise now numbering fifteen in Roman numerals, though this is in no way indicative of how many games have actually been released. Regardless, the list of titles bearing VII is set to grow by one, as Square Enix have announced a new experience exclusive to the mobile platform: Final Fantasy VII G-Bike.
Now if this name seems familiar to you VII fans, that’s because you may have played G-Bike before in a little place called The Gold Saucer. Pulled directly from this world of wonderment, the new and improved G-Bike will help you relive the time you spent ignoring the world’s peril and decided to play games instead. For shame. The new version will feature completely new graphics and a form of customisation that will help you throughout the levels. In addition to racing down the Midgar Highway with the wind rushing through your impossible hair, you will also be forced to fight some familiar boss monsters who just love to get in your way. Naturally, Cloud has his trusty Buster Sword with him, so feel free to blow away any foes you encounter. It’s way more effective than honking the horn.
No specifics have been given regarding the release date of G-Bike, though we do know that it’s in development…so that’s a start. Check out the trailer below, enjoy the rockin’ soundtrack and prepare yourself to ride the Hardy-Daytona once more. It’s kinda the coolest.
Do not adjust your eyeballs friends because you have indeed read correctly, the Blue Blur is heading to the big screen. After some speculation towards the end of last year, it would seem that Sony and Marza Animation Planet are indeed in collaboration to produce a live-action/computer-animated hyrbid film based on the franchise we all know and love…and hate sometimes…damn underwater levels.
The film will be produced by Neal Moritz, who worked on the Fast & Furious franchise, whilst the screenplay will be written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux, both former members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe. Takeshi Ito and Mie Onishi from Marza are also serving as producers and Toby Ascher is serving as executive producer. Though there may be some doubts emerging over the shift to a hybrid style, the animation is being handled by Marza, who have worked on the CGI in a number of past Sonic the Hedgehog titles. The company also produced the visual spectacle that was Space Pirate Captain Harlock, which despite mixed reviews was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize for Animation for the Year. So you know they’ve got the skills to make this film look good.
Though no details regarding the film have been released in this early stage, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that we’ll see the core cast of the franchise make the transition into the realm of feature films. Will this be yet another fun loving Sonic adventure full of quips and rings, or will the filmmakers decide to do one of those gritty reboots that seem to be so popular nowadays? Most assuredly not, but it sure is fun to think about.
