The break out comedy game of 2013, Surgeon Simulator, originally developed by Bossa Studios in a 48 hour game jam has received its first major update for the game’s port to the iPad. The update includes localisation into 13 new languages as well as free DLC content featuring extraterrestrial surgery. Surgeon Simulator is a simulation game, with players taking on the role of a surgeon who must perform various operations including heart, kidneys and brain transplants. The game is well known for its many youtube videos showcasing various personalities playing the game and experiencing frustration at the difficult, user-unfriendly controls. This game has definitely entered the gaming zeitgeist and has even had crossovers with other famous titles.
Launched last month on the iPad, the internationally acclaimed game left its mark on the paid App Store charts by surgically inserting itself into the top 3 overall in English-speaking countries. You can buy the iPad version of the game here and the PC version from Steam here.
Now in its third year, Oz Comic-Con has been making some serious waves. Already this year they have seen two awesome conventions in Perth and Adelaide, as well as a special Benedict Cumberbatch Q&A session last month. Now the traveling expo of everything pop culture is finally makings its way to the east coast, and it is bringing with it some very special guests.
Leading the charge has been a man who portrayed some of TV‘s most iconic characters. From Captain James T. Kirk through to Sgt. TJ Hooker and even the enigmatic Denny Crane, William Shatner is loved by the pop culture community, and he is leading the charge to Sydney and Brisbane Comic-Con, alongside some serious A-Listers. Joining Captain Kirk will be Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones), Booboo Stewart (The Twilight Saga, X-Men: Days of Future Past), Chris Judge (Stargate SG:1) and many more.
You can get tickets to the Brisbane and Sydney shows now through ozcomiccon.com. The event will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 6 and 7, and the Sydney Harbour Expo Centre on September 13 and 14. Make sure you grab your tickets soon because they will likely sell out fast and make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Oz Comic-Con news as it becomes available.
It looks like New Atelier Rorona will be making its way to the West just like the other Plus titles in the Arland trilogy. Today a rating for Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland appeared on the Australian Classification Board which is known for revealing a game’s localization before the company’s own announcement. In fact the same thing happened back with Atelier Totori Plus as that too was rated before Tecmo Koei could announce the game’s release in the West.
While the game has not officially been announced for release in the West, this is a pretty good hint of things to come and is good news for fans of the Atelier series as Rorona has been given a lot of revisions compared to the other titles in the series.
That being said, it is interesting to see that Australia’s rating board believes that this game, just like Totori, is more violent and mature than even the bloodiest games that have been released in recent years.
A few months ago NIS America announced that they had acquired the license for Fusé: Memoirs of a Huntress and now that anime film has been released. This means it can now be purchased through NIS America’sonline store at a discounted price of $39.99 where the release will also come with a tear-resistant poster. This release can also be purchased at a number of other online retailers but will not include the aforementioned poster.
Fusé: Memoirs of a Huntress has been released on a single Blu-ray disc and includes a hardcover art book with a collectible slip case. The story of the movie follows Hamaji, a young huntress from the mountains who stumbles into the middle of a vendetta against a group of human-dog hybrids named the Fusé.
Classic point and click adventure game Shadowgateis being rebooted by Zojoi and Reverb Triple XP. The game was originally released for Mac in 1987. The reboot is being developed by the two original directors of the game, Karl Roelofs and Dave Marsh. The pair successfully raised enough money on Kickstarter to fund the reboot.
The new Shadowgate game is updated for modern audiences. The game will feature hand drawn artwork, new puzzles, and support for 4k resolutions.Thereboot will be released for iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows. It will be priced for $19.99 with a 25% discount for all pre-orders. The Adventurer Pack and the Hero Pack are available for purchase that will also include special bonus items like wallpapers and soundtracks. Order your copy at the official Shadowgate site.
People can complain all they want about DLC, Free to Play, and so on. Yeah, it bothers me, but seeing a once applauded publisher deliver something just for the sake of cashing in on another person’s idea – well that kind of takes the cake.
Rovio are the latest in the trend of Flappy Bird inspired clones, with their new title dubbed “Retry”. Sure, people will buy it and play it – the Angry Birds publisher has been a trusted namesake on the iOS market, but what happened to integrity? I hated Flappy Bird. It was a game that wasn’t a game, but instead an idea to make the consumer feel like they had to keep going because they were not winning. Its the same kind of thing that we see in slot machines, but translated with happy pixels with the accessibility factor coming in the form of your iPhone. Watch the trailer for Retry down below, and of course you will probably purchase it, but Rovio, I frankly would expect better from you. Enjoy your millions while they last, as it only costs you the supporting beam holding up your brand.
To the reader, I am sorry I am so ranty, but to myself this is about the same thing as seeing a celebrity use their last sliver of fame to get a free meal when they have a wallet full of cash.
Overview
Zombies, the walking undead, there are millions of fans of these monsters all over the world and as such they have spawned a multitude of media based upon the idea of the living dead. The mobile gaming platform is a breeding ground for zombie games and the latest in a long line of them is Route Z, another game that tasks you with mowing down zombies in your trusty vehicle.
This is not the first game of this type, heck the concept itself has been done several times over on the mobile platform most popularly in the game Zombie Highway. So what is it that sets Route Z apart? Well nothing really, it is ultimately another zombie game that brings little to the medium that hasn’t been done before, but it does manage to be a fun game in spite of it.
Gameplay
Route Z puts you behind the wheel of a car in the third person perspective with the task of running down zombies and avoiding obstacles strewn across your path. The game is controlled by tilting your device making use of gyro controls to steer your vehicle like a steering wheel would. It is nothing really new but it works well enough to prove to be a spot of fun.
The game features a great amount of in-app purchase options which is not exactly something that adds favorably to a game, however if you are the type who doesn’t mind popping some bucks on game you downloaded for free to get things that you can earn for free by playing the game, then maybe you might not find such in-app purchases so questionable.
At its core, Route Z is a simple game, run down zombies get points, hit obstacles you die and start again. It is very simple yet is often afflicted with some weird lag issues during intense portions, not only that but there are some tedious loading times for the game. There is a fair amount of unlockable content, but most of it can be bought through in-app purchase.
If you’re looking for the next zombie game on mobile this is it, whether it is any better than the ones you played before is subject to opinion. Route Z is a routine example of a zombie game on mobile devices, not a bad one by any means, but far from a great one.
Visuals and Audio
Aesthetically there is likewise nothing special on show here in Route Z. The visuals are very familiar looking and not impressive enough to warrant the hefty loading times the game bares. The zombies themselves lack definition which is rather odd considering they are one of the major focal points of the game. The cars however are pretty well designed and appear to have had at least a little bit of time spent on them.
As far the soundtrack goes for the game, the word ‘forgettable’ comes to mind. There isn’t anything substantial to grasp at here and it just passes as a decent backing selection for the game. One can’t help but feel that they could have done something better, but the result is nothing but a pedestrian effort.
Overall
If you’ve played one zombie game on mobile you’ve likely played them all and Route Z is proof of that. It comes off as a poor attempt of game that has been made for mobile dozens of times. It offers very little that hasn’t been seen before and it is only as fun as the other games that it follows. Whether you’ve played Zombie Highway or Vroom! this is one game you probably will feel like you’ve played before. It is a shame really because Moonshark do seem to be a developer with some talent, if only they put more creativity into the mix. Route Z is a fairly fun but ultimately forgettable game that brings nothing new to table opting to repeat the same beats we’ve seen dozens of times before.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
A live action adaptation for the popular manga series Bakuman has been announced and is set to release in 2015. The film will be directed by Hitoshi One with the two main protagonists, Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi, being played by actors Takeru Satoh and Ryunosuke Kamiki.
The Shonen Jump title (created by the same guys that did Deathnote) revolves around two aspiring mangakas and the challenges they face when creating manga for Shonen Jump Magazine. The series began in 2008 and finished in 2012 on its 20th volume, since then three anime series have been adapted from the manga. Check out our review of the first season.
Not only does the plot of the series fit well in a live action setting, but all off Mashiro’s drawings will be done by the original illustrator of the manga, Takashi Obata. While Obata will be created as part of the staff, at the time of writing it has not been announced whether or not Tsugumi Ohba (co-creator of Bakuman/Deathnote) will have any involvement in the adaptation.
Keep your eyes on capsule computers for further updates on the live action Bakuman film and let us know what you think about the series by leaving a comment down below.
Ever since the PlayStation 2 classics started rolling out fans of the Shin Megami Tensei series have been hoping that a few specific titles would be released under that label and now their wish has been granted. Today Atlus USA has placed Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne up on the PlayStation Network where it can be purchased herefor $9.99.
In Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne players have just witnessed the “Conception” and have been turned into a demon. Now they must try to navigate through the aftermath and try to bring order to the chaos overtaking the world. It also appears that there will be another SMT release sometime in the future as the announcement closed out with the following: “Is that it? Are there more PS2 classics to come? It’s getting hot in here with all these SMT releases…”
You may never have heard of Fruitbat Factory but they have been giving smaller Japanese titles an English translation and release on the PC such as 100% Orange Juicebut now they are going to be taking a big step in localizing a PS3 title called Eiyuu Senki – The World Conquest. Eiyuu Senki is a visual novel/tactical RPG that was originally developed by Tenco and published in Japan by MAGES last year.
There is currently no set release date for Eiyuu Senki but it will be released in North America and Europe at the same time. The title is an adaptation of a PC eroge that was toned down for release on consoles and given a number of improvements. Eiyuu Senki features over seventy characters drawn by Oyari Ashito and other industry artists. Players find themselves in an alternate version of the world where all of the famous characters of history and legend are now beautiful women and they must fight against others to try and conquer the world.
While the game has not officially been announced for release in the West, this is a pretty good hint of things to come and is good news for fans of the Atelier series as Rorona has been given a lot of revisions compared to the other titles in the series.
