Today Koei Tecmo released a large number of new screenshots for Samurai Warriors 4 and they have broken these screenshots into showing off the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. To go along with these new screenshots a gameplay trailer showing off the PlayStation 4 version was also released and all of those things can be found below.
These screenshots highlight some of the new characters that will be available in the game and some of their techniques. Currently Samurai Warriors 4 is set to be released in North America on October 21st and in Europe on October 25th.
Overview Anyone who is familiar with visual novels of any kind is probably familiar with the fact that many of these games involve choices that the player must make and depending on these choices, they will be progress down a certain route. Well what if these choices had to be made to actually date a person who has the potential to destroy a city? That is where Date A Live comes in and now that the first season has been released in North America, is it worth picking up?
Story Thirty years prior to the events that begin in Date A Live, the world was devastated by a massive disaster called a “spatial quake” that killed millions of people. Since that day various spatial quakes have appeared around the world at random times, though they were rare until five years ago when they began again but this time mostly in Japan. The populace has learned to prepare for these massive disasters that tear apart the landscape and generally leave nothing left alive, but even then the amount of damage they produce and the constant threat of these spatial quakes haunt the lives of the populace.
That doesn’t seem to bother a certain high schooler named Shido however, as he begins his day with his little sister Kotori gleefully dancing on his bed to wake him up. Being the loving brother he is, Shido lets her off with only minor teasing and promises to meet her later in the day for a family dinner. Despite their plans, a spatial quake alarm sounds and although he should be heading to shelter, he runs to try and protect the stubborn Kotori.
Along the way he finds the epicenter of the spatial quake where he is surprised to find that the source of these quakes seems to be a beautiful girl who begins to attack Shido thinking he is trying to kill her. He doesn’t have much time to react to this however as a squadron of flying female soldiers called the AST, a special task force created to attack the beings that come from spatial quakes and drive them away, appear and begin attacking the girl resulting in Shido passing out.
Things don’t get much better when he wakes up, as he learns that his little sister is actually the commander of a special organization aboard an invisible aircraft that has been created to tackle this situation in a different manner. Kotori explains to Shido that these spatial quakes are caused by Spirits, and that Shido has the power to seal away their power by raising their affection for him and eventually kissing them, allowing these Spirits to live a normal life and avoid causing any additional damage.
Despite sounding rather odd, this actually plays out rather well and creates an interesting harem style story that is a bit different than your average series. This is helped by the fact that as Shido begins to date these Spirits, the first of which is the naïve first spirit Shido names Tohka, he is coached through his dates with them by a team of, for lack of a better term, perverts, and his sister Kotori as they give him various dialogue choices similar to what one would find in a visual novel.
The entire premise works very well thanks to that fact and how likable the cast of characters are in this series. As the series progresses we see how things work with the naïve but devoted Tohka and another more reclusive and shy Spirit named Yoshino, only for things to become a bit more complicated as Shido’s classmate and AST ace, Origami, who seems to have a stalker obsession with Shido, begins to make moves on him as well.
While the first half of the series works well in this regard and there are a number of more humorous episodes focused around some harem antics in the middle, things begin to take a dark turn as Shido encounters a homicidal Spirit that seems all too eager to become close to him, a returning face from the past with numerous secrets, and a blow close to Shido that brings the series to a head with the final episode wrapping up that arc, but leaving plenty to continue on with in the already aired second season.
Rather than follow the standard flow of a harem series, Date A Live stands out as being exceptional by keeping the core cast of characters small enough to manage and giving actual storyline reasons as to why Shido has to date these girls as well as keep them happy with him while also delivering a ton of humor that fans of the genre will be eating up. While some questions are left unanswered and vague, especially regarding Shido and Kotori, it is clear that more will be revealed as the series continues to progress which is a good thing since Date A Live is a series that comes highly recommended.
Visuals If there is one thing that can be said about Date A Live outside of its great humor, is the fact that the series has some amazing looking artwork and character designs. While Shido is far from special and the standard look of most of the normal characters is simple, the Spirits in this series really stand out as special looking thanks to how detailed their normal clothing is as well as their appearances. That doesn’t even touch upon their Astral Dresses, which are the outfits they are in when using their abilities, as these outfits are not only even more detailed than normal but thanks to how colorful the series is, really standout as special.
The same can be said for the many action sequences that occur in Date A Live, as the Spirits often clash with the AST or one another in spectacular form that rarely ever sees the animation quality take a dip. In fact, the only time the quality drops at all is when a character reacts to a ridiculous situation for the sake of comedy. It is worth noting that there is some fan-service in this show, but it is very tame considering it is limited to swimsuits and some very partial nudity that really shouldn’t bother anyone.
Audio With the release of Date A Live FUNimation has provided an English dub alongside the Japanese voice track and it pretty good for the most part. While Bryn Apprill, the voice actress for Kotori, does an amazing sounding job with the character and the rest of the cast does well, Michelle Rojas’ voice work doesn’t mesh very well with Tohka’s innocent somewhat idiotic nature after she is sealed away.
There are a few nice sounding pieces of background music used throughout the series but as one would expect, most of the tracks are fairly forgettable. The opening theme “Date A Live” by Sweet Arms is an amazing sounding opening theme, while the series makes use of three different ending themes, “Save the World” and “Save My Heart” by Iori Nomizu are the most common ending themes while “Strawberry Rain” by Iori Nomizu is used once but is actually the best of the three.
Extras There are a number of on-disc bonus features found in Date A Live, with there being a clean opening theme, all three clean ending themes including an extended version of Strawberry Rain, various promo trailers, a teaser for the second season, two commentary tracks and the OVA episode. The two commentary tracks are for episodes 4 and 7 and feature the ADR director Joel McDonald in both, posing the voice cast various questions following the theme of the series.
Also included in this release is the OVA Date to Date which is listed as episode 13. This OVA takes place sometime after Tohka was sealed but before the appearance of Yoshino and it focuses on a date with Origami that the group tries to fail on only for a number of hilarious events to occur and is closed out with another date with Tohka that is also humorous and contains a bit of a call out to the second season’s twin spirits.
Overall Date A Live is a fun series that leaves some questions unanswered in favor of continuing the series later, but provides more than enough entertainment in this first season thanks to its unique premise and a likable cast of characters that work well together to provide viewers with plenty of hilarious moments. With top-notch character designs and an enjoyable storyline Date A Live’s first season is certainly worth checking out.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Dead Shark Triplepunch are proud to announce the official launch date of their award-winning game, Epigenesis, for August 1 on Steam. The futuristic FPS title originated as the champion of Make Something Unreal Live 2013 and won ‘Game of the Year’ in the Swedish Game Awards.
Epigenesis is the ball sport of the future, a fast-paced multiplayer game that requires teamwork, tactics and precision to ensure world domination is achieved.
Since Steam Early Access opened late last year, Dead Shark Triplepunch have made significant improvements for the official release, including;
New queuing system with one-button matchmaking, an easier way to find and join matches
New maps for single-player mode: GranArena, MixedArena and LegacyArena
In addition, the developer confirmed a tournament with Cooler Master for European teams to enter, with prizes from their PC gaming gear catalogue. Further details about the tournament will be available soon on the official site here. Check out the epic release trailer below for Epigenesis and get ready to play August 1!
Continuing what has now become tradition for the publisher, Deep Silver are asking Dead Island fans what they want in the Dead Island 2Collector’s Edition, set for release in Spring, 2015 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
By midnight of July 14, be sure to click through and complete the linked survey to have your say. Plush toys, license plates, areal zombie… these are just some of the options for inclusion in the collector’s edition. For those unaware, Dead Island 2 picks up from the end of Dead Island, and also the upcoming Escape Dead Island, several months later after the military has placed California under full quarantine. It will feature “seamless multiplayer for up to eight players who cooperate, compete or simply coexist in a truly social, new-gen multiplayer experience”. I’m still wondering how they will include a real zombie!
Activision and Bungie have pulled back the veil on their Collector’s Edition offerings for Destiny. Fanatics with some money to spend will have three options to choose between: the Digital Guardian Edition, the Limited Edition and the Ghost Edition.
The latter two are only available while supplies last, as they include some premium items. Check out the official video embedded at the bottom of this article, which shows the developers talking through the editions and their contents. For more information, click through to visit the ‘where to buy’ page on the Destiny website. I’m a collector myself, and a real-life replica of the 343 Guilty Spark… I mean Ghost, is pretty damn cool. Destiny releases on September 9 for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.
In what is sure to be exciting (but not all that surprising) news for all the Pokemon Trainers out there, Nintendo’s upcoming Third Generation remakes; Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are going to be bringing back one of the best gameplay features from their original iterations; the Secret Base. The Secret Base is a customisable area that trainers can show off their individuality by setting up decorations, mazes and even traps for passerby to visit. You can also create certain battle rules in your Base, turning it into your very own Pokemon Gym!
After creating your Base, you will be able to share it with other players around the world with StreetPass, or by creating and sharing QR codes. When you are inside a player’s Base, you can invite them back to your own where battling them will bestow you with a variety of skills like faster egg hatching and instant Pokemon leveling up.
I personally was never a big fan of the original Ruby and Sapphire games, but the new enhancements to the Secret Bases have me ridiculously excited for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Will you be picking up one (or both) of these games at launch? Let us know in the comments below and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the awesome Pokemon news as it becomes available.
Today Activision and Sledgehammer Games released a new behind the scenes video for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and while the last video focused on the game’s art direction and graphics, this time around the video highlights how the team at Sledgehammer worked on implementing proper sound design into the game.
Audio Director Don Veca explains how the company has re-worked the way guns will sound in the title and also how players will likely never hear the same sounding impact in the game. You can check out the full video below and keep an eye out for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare when it is released on November 4th for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Fans who have been waiting for MangaGamer to announce the release date for the Adults Only PC title Imouto Paradise! will be happy to hear that the game has been given a solid release date and it is now set for release on August 22nd. Imouto Paradise! can be pre-ordered here(18+ Only) for a discounted price of $40.45 compared to the title’s normal price of $44.95.
Created by Moonstone, the story of Imouto Paradise! follows a boy named Souichirou Nanase who is on summer vacation. While a quiet life over the summer might be boring, he has five little sisters in his household that keep him company. These girls range from the motherly Aya, tsundere Rio, mild mannered little Hiyori, spunky Koharu, to the quiet and mysterious Michika.
Each girl will have a route of her own and as one would expect, a harem route sounds like it will also be available.
With the help of over a million dollars in crowdfunding, Larian Studios has released a prequel to the Divine Divinity series. The brand new tale will be familiar to Divinity veterans, while laying the foundation for new players. Divinity: Original Sin stars two Source Hunters on their quest to prevent the end of time. The game supports co-op, splitting the party of four characters between two players. Divinity: Original Sin also boasts extensive modding support through Steam Workshop, allowing modders to create their own epic campaigns.
Story
Divinity: Original Sin serves as a prequel to the Divine Divinity series. The game focuses around the two source hunters, known as Roderick and Scarlett by default. Initially, the duo is summoned to Cyseal to investigate the murder of a local councillor, after the mystical energy known as source is suspected. Their adventure soon turns to a much larger goal, after a magical misfire leads them to the end of time. A maelstrom draws nearer, threatening to end the infinity of time itself. Our two source hunters have been placed in the unique position of not existing in the threads of time, allowing them the chance to steer the world away from its impending doom.
Though the overall plot is a little archetypical at time, Divinity: Original Sin’s writing is solid. The story is strong and the world feels alive. The game is littered with extra side quests and NPCs that seem to have lives beyond serving some sort of quest requirement for the players. NPCs tend to be a pretty chatty bunch, with extensive conversation options. The weakest link seems to be the random conversations the two source hunters have. Often times, the conversations feel corny and forced. This most likely stems from the fact these conversations are supposed to define each source hunter’s personality stats.
Gameplay
Divinity: Original Sin is an isometric RPG. Players will have full control of character creation for their two source hunters. Though the game provides a few standard “classes” to start off with, these are completely optional. Divinity: Original Sin opts for a classless system, where all abilities and talents can be purchased as long as the stat or skill requirements are fulfilled. Skills are broken down into eight skill categories. Ability points spent in these categories raises the number of skills that can be learned from books, which are purchased from NPCs. The classless system works well, though I find tracking down books can be an expensive pain and the system is not really newbie friendly. The requirements for skill advancement are not clearly spelled out. I spent a few levels trying to figure out when I could advance my character skills. On the other hand, requirements are very clear for talents.
Combat is turn based, with each turn equaling a short amount of real time outside of combat. The game transfers seamlessly between real-time exploration and combat. Once the player makes the first strike or is spotted by the enemy, the game automatically rolls for initiative and combat begins. Divinity: Original Sin forgoes traditional grid or hexagon shaped battle maps for a more freeform method. Distances are measured in meters as characters can move around freely, more closely mirroring table top miniature combat systems. I believe Larian Studios struck the right balance with their method, as it feels more natural. There is room for improvements, though. Certain area of effect spells do not always alert the player that they may be risking friendly fire. I have lost track of how many lightning spells have resulted in accidentally stunning my own party members. Some sort of warning during the preview phase would be appreciated.
An important part of combat is the environmental effect system. A wet character will take more damage from air based abilities like lightning bolts and hacking away at a zombie can spray poisonous guts everywhere. Careful use of the environmental effects can create choke points to help control the flow of combat, which allows the free roaming movement in combat to shine.
It is important to note that combat is not scaled to the player’s level. Instead, enemies will remain at a certain level. If a quest is too difficult, players will have to return at a later time. Unfortunately, finding out the quest may be just slightly out the player’s reach may happen in the middle of a battle where the enemy simply overwhelms the party. The quick save function will probably be the player’s best friend, as Divinity: Original Sin is rather merciless due to its lack of scaling and hints on level range.
The sneaking system is very good. Initiating sneak will break the character away from its group and hide the player under an object, Metal Gear Solid style. The screen will darken and the enemies’ line of sight are shown as bright cones. Success works on a mix of stealth checks and player skill.
Larian Studio turns mundane charisma checks into a battle of wits. When the two source hunters disagree on a matter (such as in co-op play) or butt heads with a NPC, a game of rock, paper, scissors must be played. Every win will add a number of points based on the character’s charisma skill in certain types of social interactions, with results favouring the overall winner. It is a neat way to give players with low charisma scores a chance to feel accomplished when overcoming a duel of wits.
Divinity: Original Sin supports two player co-op. The second player can drop in and out using a variety of connection methods. Because the game is DRM-free, connection options outside of Steamworks are available. A full blown game browser and direct connections are all supported, a welcomed rarity in the days of EA’s Battlelog and Steam invites. The incoming player is assigned control of certain characters by the host. The idea is the each co-op partner controls a source hunter, and the remaining two characters should be divvied up accordingly. Personally, I found not being able to send a scaled version of my own character into other people’s game a tad disappointing, as I lacked the same emotional attachments to my friend’s characters. On the other hand, I can see how bringing in a scaled version of my own source hunter could throw the group composition.
The controls are excellent for the most part. The game is controlled with the mouse, with keyboard being used for hotkeyed spells and moving the camera around. I found clicking and holding the mouse to move characters was usable, but not the best method of controlling character movements. Characters moved faster and smarter with single clicks directing characters as clicking and holding the mouse would result in the characters walking to their destination, instead of a full blown run.
Visuals
Divinity: Original Sin does a great job of moving the isometric RPG genre into the modern age. The game boasts all the bells and whistles of modern graphics. The world is colourful and detailed. My only complaint is when the graphics are maxed out, the game uses bloom effects a little too liberally.
The UI does not break away too far from tradition. The basic ability hotbar is available at the bottom of the screen, a minimap on the top right, and character portraits on the top left. The character screens are well organized and remind me of classic pen and paper RPG character sheets. My only complaint is that shuffling characters around in the correct battle formation can be a little tricky. The positions cycle based on who is the active character. I would much rather see a battle position that is based on pre-set positioning.
Audio
Divinity: Original Sin boasts solid sound effects and an good cast of voice actors. For the most part, the acting is spot on, though there are some misses, mostly related to over acting. Strangely enough, once the Pet Pal talent is learned, I discovered the animals tend to sound more like a terrible B movie after thought. It is almost as if the voice actor was provided no direction when in the sound booth. Luckily the animal interactions only account for a small portion of the game’s conversations.
The real shining star is the soundtrack. The music is vivid, emotional, and, at times, breaks out from the traditional fantasy epic soundtrack. Those who purchase the Digital Collector’s edition are in for a real treat, as a copy of the soundtrack is included in the game’s files in its uncompressed glory. Composer Kirill Pokrovsky may not have the name recognition like Nobuo Uematsu or Jesper Kyd, but he has created a smashing soundtrack that deserves to share shelf space with these men.
Overall
Divinity: Original Sin is the game fans of older RPGs like Neverwinter Nights and Baldur’s Gate have been waiting for. The game contains an extensive campaign that will easily provide several weekends of solid gaming. The developers have provided the public with extremely in-depth mod tool that allow modders to create complex campaigns of their own, further extending Divinity: Original Sin’s lifespan. The game boasts solid traditional RPG mechanics and a few innovative ideas. The game could use a few tweaks to make the game a little more newbie friendly. The graphics, sound effects, and voice acting are solid and the soundtrack is easily a contender for game soundtrack of the year. Divinity: Original Sin is highly recommended for gamers and a must buy for RPG fans.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Microsoft have announced thatProject Spark is coming to retail this October. The Project Spark Starter Pack will release for the Xbox One on October 7 in the U.S., October 9 in Asia-Pacific countries and October 10 in Europe.
The package will include a significant amount of premium content, from the inaugural sci-fi pack ‘Galaxies: First Contact’ and the warrior champion character Sir Haakon “Hawk” the Knight to the first instalment of an episodic campaign adventure in ‘Champions Quest: Void Storm’ and much more. All of this content included in the disc-based version will also be made available digitally for Xbox One and Windows 8.1 on the same day. And if you’ve been creating since the beta launched back in December, you won’t have to worry about losing any of your content as the game will simply update upon install, so everything will remain intact.
For now, join millions of other creators and players at www.projectspark.com and check out the gallery of screenshots from the Starter Pack below.
