Last week we learned that Fi will be a playable character in Hyrule Warriors and now we have a gameplay trailer from Koei Tecmo showing off how exactly she will fight against enemies in the game. Those who have played The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword are familiar with Fi’s origins and as such it should come as no surprise that she does not use any weapons outside of her own abilities and transforming into a sword to dispatch her foes.
You can check out the gameplay footage below and be sure to keep an eye out for Hyrule Warriors when it is released in North America on September 26th and a week earlier on September 19th in Europe.
While we already know that XSEED Games is bringing Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed over to North America for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, it was up in the air regarding a European release for the title. Well today NIS America revealed that they are going to be handling the European relase of the game and are planning on releasing it on October 10th.
It is worth noting that XSEED has not actually announced a release date for the game in North America at the moment, but going by this announcement we can likely expect it here in the States within the next few months.
NIS America describes the game as follows:
Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed is an open-world action RPG in which players undertake numerous missions in a virtual recreation of Akihabara, Tokyo’s popular ”Electric Town” district. The player’s goal is to identify vampires called “Synthisters” with the help of an in-game smartphone app, then engage them in battle to strip their clothes off so their bodies are fully exposed to sunlight. Boasting a unique combat system in which everyday objects become weapons, multiple story routes, a varied cast of characters based on common anime and video game tropes and a narrative dripping with social satire and subtle nods to Japanese pop culture, Akiba’s Trip is a present-day supernatural adventure for the gamer in all of us.
Today Viz Media announced that they will be holding a special theatrical showing of Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The Advent during the 2014 Japan Film Festival of San Fransisco. This event is being presented alongside the 2014 J-Pop Summit and the screenings will be held on July 23rd at 7PM and again on July 27th at 7PM.
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The Advent will be shown with its original Japanese voice work and have English subtitles. Tickets will be sold at $13 each and can be purchased here. For those who can’t make it to the theatrical showing, you can also pick up Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The Advent as it was released on Blu-ray and DVD earlier this year.
For those who are unfamiliar with the movie, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III – The Advent takes place a year after Griffith was imprisoned by the Kingdom of Midland and the Band of the Hawk has since been on the run and is nearly breaking apart. To everyone’s surprise, Guts returns to the Hawks and begins to search for the imprisoned Griffith.
An all new Dragon Ball Z film has been announced to be in the making with Akira Toriyama once again spearheading the project. Leaked before it’s official announcement on Saturday through popular Japanese magazine V Jump, it comes as no surprise another film is in the works after the great success of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods it. Details are thin as of right now but we do know some information. First, the movie will open during the Golden Week string of Holidays next Spring in Japan (April 29th to May 5th). Secondly, the story that the film will revolve around was actually intended by Akira Toriyama to be a part of the original serialization of the Dragon Ball manga , meaning it will most likely take place during the time of the canon story. Third, Toriyama has stated he has been busy making new character designs for the film. Lastly, Toriyama also promised more action and that the film will be “utterly funny”.
It’s great to see another Dragon Ball Z film on the horizon especially as Battle of Gods was generally well received. We are still unsure if this is a sequel to Battle of Gods or will take place before hand meaning there will be no Super Saiyan God Goku. Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods is currently doing an English theatrical run at selected theatres in the States. Check here for details on that tour.
Indie Gala and Capsule Computer’s Every Monday Bundle has reached sweet sixteen! To celebrate the momentous occasion, Every Monday Bundle #16 contains seven games. For one price, buyers will get:
One Finger Death Punch– A brawler where every attack matters. Prepare to break years of button mashing habit with this game.
Galactic Arms Race– Evolutionary Game’s top down shooter mixes Diablo’s loot system with classic space games like Freelancer and Star Control.
Ichi– A one button puzzle game that will challenge even the most keen puzzle fan.
Rhythm Destruction– Curios Panda Games has mixed shoot ’em ups with the music genre in one rocking bullet hell.
Dysan the Shapeshifter– Also known as Dungeon Gate, players will be able shape shift into any NPC creature they encounter in this open world RPG.
Millie– Even millipedes dream of flying! Help Millie achieve her goal by sending her to the local Aviation School in this challenging puzzler.
Cafe 0 ~The Drowned Mermaid~– The visual novel genre is huge in Japan and is growing in popularity in the West. Cafe 0 send players on a journey about coming to terms with death. Be sure to vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.
The indie bundle is $1.49 for the first 24 hours of the sale. After, the price will go up, so pick up your copy at Indie Gala before it’s too late.
We already know a good deal about Assassin’s Creed Unity, and we still have a few months until it releases. Today, Ubisoft are ready for you diehards to take away even more knowledge as a shiny new trailer has dropped, detailing Arno, one of the main characters who is out to find the powers behind the French Revolution.
Sure, the clip looks nice and aside from the controversy surrounding female protagonists, no one really has much room to complain about the latest chapter in the Assassin’s Creed franchise that is shaping up nicely. Check out the clip below and drool over some decent gameplay footage, seasoned with some narrative.
Also as you may or may not know, today was Bastille Day. Bastille Day marks the day that the French Revolution began and to commemorate that day the company also released a bit of a twisted history lesson which can also be found below.
Early access on Steam has been great for PC gamers as it formalized open beta testing, allowed gamers to experience games, buy games before release, take a closer look at the progress of game development and even caused some accidental early releases. Well now it seems that Sony is planning to bring this system to their PlayStation 4.
Would something like Early Access work on consoles? The PC platform has proved there is an advantage and a market for alpha and beta versions of games. Sony might be trying to adopt early access to get ahead of their competitor, Microsoft’s Xbox One.
Sony told Gamasutra that recently this idea has been floating around the office and that they are already taking actions towards making early access and open beta tests available for future PS4 titles.
That’s one of the massive conversations we have internally — that, at what point does a game meet standards of release? We still at some point ensure that we’re being mindful of the consumer … Honestly, we’re working through that right now. We’re figuring out what’s ok. We obviously have our tech requirement checklist that people have to adhere to. So we’re internally discussing, what does that list look like this? What are the caveats? Stuff like this. So it’s still a project that a lot of minds are considering. No details yet, but it’s something on the top of my mind every day. – Adam Boyes, Developer and Publisher at Sony
There are downsides that Sony is concerned about such as gamers being negatively influenced by buggy and undeveloped games. There is also the cold reality that some games never get finished. Developers may shut down or abandon projects before the full release and Sony needs to decide if they pick up Steam’s terrible habit of not offering refunds.
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.
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