After extensive testing through Steam’s Early Access program and a few delays, Divinity: Original Sin is finally ready for prime time. Larian Studios’ co-op isometric RPG launches today after months of testing and a massive Kickstarter campaign that raised just shy of a million dollars on Kickstarter. PayPal pledges made during that period pushed the total crowdfunding to over a million dollars.
Divinity: Original Sin serves as a prequel to the well received Divine Divinity series. The game features turn based combat in the classic isometric view. Players will be able to create the exact character they dream of with the deep class-less character system and extensive dialogue options. The game costs $39.99 on Steam and runs on Mac and Windows.
Developers from The Farm 51 sat down in front of the camera to talk about the development of their new shooter Get Even. The developers hired tactical instructors and rented a shooting range to provide the team a chance to learn how to fire and handle firearms that would make into the game. Additionally, the sound engineer was able to record gunfire for the game at the firing range, providing Get Even with realistic gunfire sound effects.
Get Even is a first person shooter from Polish developers The Farm 51. The game is designed to be the most realistic shooter possible, integrating itself with technologies like Oculus Rift. The title will be released in 2015. No word on which platforms Get Even will be launched on, but the game will be released on Steam as the game was successfully Greenlit on Steam.
Extend Interactive are excited to announce that their forthcoming 2D-tactical strategy game, Panthera Frontier, will be exclusively available for Windows Phone 8. The independent games developer and publisher is inviting everyone around the world to take part in the free open BETA program, to join as Captains of the famous Panthera Federation fleet.
Panthera Frontier allows players to command an impressive fleet, with the power to recruit and train the best soldiers to form the strongest army. Following the invasion and devastating war, it is up to players to conquer the evil tyrant ruler, Wolf Empire, and restore their galaxy.
Explore a wide range of missions, treasures and resources
Devise clever strategies for offense and defence, including weapon selection
Customise and upgrade spaceships as the story evolves
Rescue civilians and be careful about distinguishing allies from foes
Be weary of hostile ships and carefully managing resources
With any tactical-strategy expedition, success relies on the player and their decisions, plans and tactical operations. Check out the free BETA here for Panthera Frontier and let us know your thoughts of the game in the comment section below.
Are you a Disney Infinity aficionado? Do you spend more time in the Toy Box than your five year old cousin? Well you are in luck because the guys over at Disney and Avalanche Software have announced the inaugural Disney Infinity Toy Box Summit.
Coming to you from Utah, the summit will pit the incredibly talented Toy Box artists from around the world in a super-powered Toy Box creation competition. As if that wasn’t enough, the summit will feature the following:
Five of the recently Avalanche-hired Associate Community Level Designers to act as mentors. They will be offering tips to the newly picked artists on how to create the best Toy Boxes.
Panels and roundtable feedback sessions with the developers
Exclusive hands-on preview of Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes
Tour of the studio
Keynote addresses from Disney Infinity executives
Live streaming webcast for public to attend in real time
In addition to all that, three aspiring attendees from the US will have the chance to join through Disney Infinity’s first ever video contest. Fans will be tasked to create a video that celebrates their favourite Disney movie using the Disney Infinity Toy Box. Disney will provide a Contest Fan Kit including approved music, graphics, and game capture tutorials to help increase the quality of video content created. Winners will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the summit and 10 additional runners up will receive a Captain America Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes Figure.
There’s a lot going around and it is good to see that Disney are still maintaining support for Disney Infinity 1.0, even though Marvel Super Heroes is just around the corner. For all the sweet Disney news as it becomes available, make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
Transformers movies always make a big splash when they hit the screen, and the latest installment; Transformers: Age of Extinction is no exception. The film has been out for a little under a week and if you haven’t seen it, it is ok – we have some new footage to share with you before you buckle up and drive down to your nearest cinema. Paramount Pictures have shared the latest featurette for the film, and it focuses on all those sexy new cars you know and love.
Check out the New Cars Featurette below and let us know in the comments whether or not you have already seen the latest outing of the robots in disguise, and what you thought about it if you have. We reviewed the film not long ago so make sure you check out our thoughts here and to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Transformers news as it becomes available.
Overview Giving a character, especially a lead character, memory loss has become such a well-trodden path in the entertainment industry that it isn’t even a path anymore, but something that has been used so much it is almost a ditch at this point. That being said, rarely does having an amnesiac protagonist do irreparable damage to a product which is probably why it is so common. As such, with Amnesia being an anime adaptation of a popular otome game involving memory loss, does the series stand out enough to be worthwhile?
Story Amnesia begins with the Heroine, who is never actually given a name by the way, attempting to escape a burning building only to have a vision of drowning. Despite these surprising scenes playing out, the Heroine is suddenly working at a café where she awakes in the back room after passing out on the serving floor.
This would be problematic on its own, but the girl wakes up to find that she has complete and total amnesia to the point that she has no idea who she is, where she is, or who any of the people coming in to speak with her are. Despite this odd situation, things become stranger when a mysterious spirit that only the Heroine can see named Orion appears to talk to her about her memory loss and how if she were to tell anyone about her loss of memory it might accelerate to the point where she might be unable to function as a human.
As such, Orion tells the girl to try to live out her life and continue working as a waitress at the café and speaking with the people who might be her friends in an effort to try and bring back some of her memories. As she begins doing this, she slowly tries to figure things out and even triggers a few random memories that point out her relationship with some of the men around her only for it all to come to an end when she tumbles off of a cliff.
Or so one would think. Instead the time has reverted back to August 1st, three days prior to what happened at the start of the series and not only are people acting differently and mentioning certain events in different ways, but one of the men she once knew is now acting like her boyfriend. Things continue to progress as such with the series attempting to try and dabble a bit of each male character’s pairing with the Heroine through a method that keeps viewers in the dark for far too long, though you will likely figure it out before the series decides to reveal the information during a massive info dump in the last couple of episodes.
That is pretty much all there is to Amnesia sadly. While the series does have a few entertaining aspects, it is hampered by a dull as dishwater female lead. Seriously, not only is her lack of a name an issue on its own, the girl just goes with the flow of things and rarely makes any effort to be interesting or even question what is happening to her. This blank approach might work for an otome game, but not for an anime where we have to actually have a lead character seem at least somewhat interesting. Though that seems to be asking for a lot since the male characters that she is paired up with tend to be as generic and unlikable as they come.
The only real interesting element of Amnesia is the character Ukyo who I won’t go too much in-depth due to how many spoilers surround the character, but his motivations and personality are a highlight of the series and fairly memorable despite being surrounded by an extremely lackluster cast of characters. In the end Amnesia does try to wrap everything up, though it does so by not only pulling random details together but also does so in a way that only seems to try and push the viewer into the game it was based off of.
Visuals If there is one thing that Amnesia has going for it is the color palette and the amount of detail that Brains Base put into the world. All of the characters in the series have amazing looking clothing with a ton of detail that looks great against an even better looking backdrop.
The characters themselves are fairly standard looking for an otome style adaptation with a variety of pretty boys coming in all different sizes and looks. One thing that really does stand out for me is the design choice with every characters’ eyes as they look incredibly well done with most characters’ eyes having two colors that connect in the center.
Audio Sentai Filmworks has given Amnesia a full English dub and have also provided the original Japanese voice track for people who prefer that option. That being said, the unlikable Heroine remains insufferable sounding in either voice track, so take that as you will to how terrible of a character she makes. As for the rest of the cast, the English voice work for the males is handled well enough though considering the voice actors have to try and match their characters’ personalities, you shouldn’t expect much.
The background music in Amnesia is fittingly forgettable but it is worth noting that the opening theme “Zoetrope” by Nagi Yanagi is a nice sounding intro for the series. On the other hand, the ending theme, “Recall” by Ray, is as standard as you can come for a series such as this one.
Extras Oddly enough, this release does not even contain a clean version of the theme songs, instead the only bonus features are the ‘Lost Diary Entries’ which are three minutes of dubbed content involving an almost completely non-moving scene where the Heroine reads events form her diary from before the incident and trailers for other Sentai Filmworks anime.
Overall While there are plenty of otome adaptations out there, the way that Amnesia: Complete Collection is handled should be an example of how not to create such an adaptation. While the series might have had some decent ideas at heart, Ukyo and the art style are the only real saving grace for this series since there really isn’t much going for it. Amnesia that fails at most of what it tries to do by presenting a forgettable lead character with an equally unlikable cast of male characters across the backdrop of a storyline that takes forever to do anything. Amnesia is a good name for this anime because in the end, you will likely forget about this series in the same amount of time it took you to watch it.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Logitech has announced some impending additions to their case+ iPhone 5/5s accessory line: the +trip, +wallet and two new colour configurations for the case+“system” itself. Marcus Fry, Managing Director of Logitech ANZ, stated;
We designed the case+ system to offer sleek protection and increase the functionality of your phone, without sacrificing style. Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to deliver on that promise, with new solutions that can be mixed and matched with our existing lineup to provide the functionality you want. The Logitech case+ system is the only case you’ll ever want.
Above, you can see the Blue Glacier option for the iPhone case, with Red Plum being the other new colour (not shown). Next to it is the +wallet, which allows you to keep your cards and cash neatly tucked within the stylish, slim cover. It features magnetic coupling and Magnashield technology, creating a barrier to prevent demagnetisation. And finally, on the left here is a look at the +trip, the rear of which works as a clip with minimal footprint. The +trip utilises a magnet to securely attach your phone to the mount, enabling true hands-free use in your vehicle, and comes with a universal adapter so that essentially all smartphone models are compatible.
Each will retail at RRP $29.95, poised for simultaneous launch at the end of July, 2014.
Icon Home Entertainment is bringing well-received British romance-drama Belle to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital on September 10. The film was in development limbo for more than six years before it finally enjoyed its theatrical release in the UK and U.S. last year.
Directed by Amma Asante (A Way of Life), who won the ‘Director to Watch’ honour at the 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival, Belle follows the titular character, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of Royal Navy Admiral John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) as she falls in love with a vicar’s son who aids her in influencing her great uncle, Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) to work to abolish slavery in England. The film also stars more fresh faces in Sam Reid and Sarah Gadon, alongside veterans Miranda Richardson and Emily Watson. Sydney Morning Herald referred to it as “a sumptuous costume drama… all the elements of a Jane Austen novel”.
Icon’s most forthcoming home media release is Pompeii on July 23. Also, check out our review of Ender’s Gameon Blu-ray, courtesy of Icon.
Overview
Remember when you had to blow the dust out of your cartridges? That wonderful 8-bit music? Even if you were born after the NES-era, developers have been trying to emulate the charms and quality that the late 80’s/early 90’s brought us for years now. We have received retro platformers, RPGs, and so on, and while many are great, nearly every title aside from a very select few have been so absolutely full of nods and cheesy jokes that make you forget that you are actually trying to enjoy the game and relive it all, thrusting the player right back into today’s world and into what feels like a cheap Youtube video. Yacht Club Games are the new kid on the block (made from a team that was formally with WayForward), and are ready to change the way we think about the past by delivering a lovely little title by the name of Shovel Knight. Is Shovel Knight able to dig up something fresh with that older look attached, or is this another case of a ho-hum experience? Let’s find out.
Story
The story in Shovel Knight, like most retro-inspired titles is rather minimal. You play as the brave Shovel Knight, who is out to save his dear lady Shield Knight. It isn’t exactly the romance of the ages, but it works in the same light of titles such as Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mega Man, which both convey a minimal story that sticks with the player and delivers that urge to progress onward. While the story is small, the world within Shovel Knight is the truly special element that pulls the game together. During your journey, you can stop at villages and other locales to catch up on the gossip and other goings-on occurring through NPCs. While some of these chaps come off as rather basic, others spew dialogue that are sure to put a smile on your face, with sharp, witty writing that keeps you in this retro universe – without making you feel like you are playing a game. This makes the villages a pure delight to explore, and deepens an otherwise shallow narrative ten fold.
Gameplay
Think DuckTales. Think Super Mario Bros 3. Add in some Mega Man. Now top that off with a bit of Earthbound. Those are ingredients that are clearly in this recipe, and they come together to make a magnificent feast for the player. At its core, Shovel Knight is a platformer. The player must walk through the 2D levels, armed with a shovel and defeat enemies until they reach a boss. Beating a stage unlocks more of the world, so its almost like each stage is its own little compact locale, with each featuring their own theme and mechanics to keep the game fresh.
Shovel Knight controls wonderfully as well, and its obvious quickly that polish was a major factor when Yacht Club designed each pixel within the game. Shovel Knight has one strike attack with his shovel, and can also use the tool to dig up treasure. Much like DuckTales, the player can also hop on the weapon to smash enemies and obstacles from above with a pogo attack. As the player progresses, this tool can be upgraded by spending funds at shops, and the player can also take advantage of health consumables such as turkey (or is it chicken?) to get a nice boost of health. That’s really all there is to it, and the simplicity pays off when navigating the clever design of the game itself.
I mentioned that ever stage plays differently, and that is mainly due to the themes being turned up full blast in order to fully take advantage of the setting. Early on, the player will have to traverse a dark landscape that sometimes blacks out, making you wait for a flash of lightning before taking that next step safely. Others are a bit friendlier in terms of challenge, using elements like spaced out single platforms and spikes to serve as an obstacle, and the famous water stage that so many NES titles featured – where sensitive bubbles must be quickly hopped upon to cross over to safety. You will die, make no mistake about it, but the difficulty here comes with a swerve. Multiple checkpoints can be found in each stage and light up as passed. If the player thinks this makes the game too easy, then they can smash the checkpoint and take an offering of loot that will benefit them later. Its a nice balance of choice for those that want bone-crunching hard difficult or would prefer to just enjoy the rich gameplay.
The bosses are really the stars of the game, and every Knight encountered usually comes with a decent challenge attached and a lengthy health bar. Unlike Mega Man, these bosses never feel impossible, but instead act like a delicious exclamation point to an already fulfilling stage. Sure, the mid-bosses and enemies are fine even if palette swaps are utilized a bit too often, but its these moments that capture the essence of all of the great ideas brought forward by a stage, and put them all together for a fitting finale. Will you love every stage? Well, I kind of doubt that, but you will remember them – and considering how easy it is to forget today’s retro retreats, that is definitely a good thing.
Visuals and Audio
Even though Shovel Knight kind of markets itself as a long forgotten NES classic, the visuals are just a bit better. Shading and color modernize this title, making it look crisp and fluid, with animations and lovely artwork dancing before the player’s eyes. The characters look great and this is one title you can tell a lot of love, time, and devotion was applied to by the art style alone. The menus do resemble a very basic NES platformer from the past, but this is just a minor gripe and doesn’t harm the game at all. I understand that we are experiencing a classic atmosphere, but if the bottom screen were displaying a bit more flavor, Shovel Knight would have definitely managed to let even more of its boasting personality shine through.
There really isn’t any voice acting present within Shovel Knight (to be expected), and the dialogue sequences and quirky sound effects do a great job of making up for that. Its the music however that captures what Yacht Club were truly after. All of the 16-bit era tunage blasts through the speakers and can only be described as one utterly awesome soundtrack. I don’t know if this is music I would listen to away from the game, but it is easy on the ears and is just as playful (and serious) as the main protagonist.
Overall
Shovel Knight is a fantastic gem that needs to be played by all. With its retro stylings, we could have seen a lot of different products turn out here, but what we get is an experience that feels pure and untouched by the act of parody. This is the kind of originality that we have been missing this generation, and after completing that final moment in the game – its hard not to do it all over again due to the polish and layers of quality that make our Knight’s armor shine like gold. Yacht Club Games may be a newer developer, but with Shovel Knight leading the way – its hard not to be excited about what the future holds.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
A new trailer for Spike Chunsoft’s Danganronpa: Another Episode was released and while it does contain some footage we have seen before, it also focuses on showing off some of the special properties of Komaru Naegi’s megaphone weapon. This megaphone has the ability to shock enemies and destroy them, hack objects, and even control a Monokuma for a certain period of time.
It is worth noting that the trailer also gives us the first in-game glance at the Warriors of Hope who are a group of five children that act as leaders of the “Monokuma Kids” and slaughter adults. These children are called Masaru Daimon – The Hero, Utsugi Kotoko – The Warrior, Jatarou Kemuri – The Monk, Nagisa Shingetsu – The Sage, and Monica – The Mage.
Currently Danganronpa: Another Episode is set to be released in Japan on September 25th while the second game in the series, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, is set to be released on September 2nd in North America by NIS America.
The trailer below does contain spoilers for Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.
Above, you can see the Blue Glacier option for the 
