3D2 Entertainment, an independent studio based out of Barcelona, Spain, have revealed The Crow’s Eye – an investigative horror-adventure game inspired by titles like Bioshock and Amnesia: The Dark Descent, as well as by creepy folklore.
The team has started to roll out the viral beginnings of the game, with the letter below signaling that “things are going from bad to worse at the University of Crowswood.” Though not much else has been unveiled regarding the story, you can check out the first teaser trailer for The Crow’s Eye – currently in development for PC – embedded at the bottom of this article.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
Description
A magnificent garden and a huge property that shelter a great secret, this is your inheritance!
An unexpected letter informs you that you have inherited the estate of a very old friend. But, you are far from imagining what awaits you on your arrival.
After having spent many childhood summers there, the estate you have inherited is abandoned and in a state of total disrepair. While you are tidying up one of the rooms, you stumble upon a page from a secret diary belonging to the house’s previous owner. As you read it, you realize that it is actually addressed to you! What secret is this mysterious diary hiding? Is there more to this estate than a simple inheritance?
KEY POINTS
• Visit your huge estate freely as you search for clues.
• Relive moments from the property’s past through recurring flashbacks.
• Use various objects to access the most secret places in your property.
• Discover all the objects you need in the different scenes!
• Unearth the secrets of this estate with the help of your loyal companion: Bent!
• Retina Display (iPod touch/ iPhone)
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ZOJOI AND REVERB TRIPLE XP ANNOUNCE SHADOWGATE COMING THIS SUMMER
Return To Castle Shadowgate In This Complete Re-Imagining Of The Classic Point-And-Click Adventure That Started It All
Twain Harte, CA – May 6, 2014 – Development team Zojoi and indie games partner Reverb Triple XP announced today that the complete re-imagining of Shadowgate, one of the most renowned point-and-click adventure titles in video game history, will be available later this summer on PC, Mac, iOS and Android tablets. Fans can now pre-order PC and Mac versions of the title and get in on exclusive goods by visiting the Shadowgate website, www.shadowgate.com.
Like the original, Shadowgate features danger at every turn and lots of ways to meet your untimely demise…
Zojoi is comprised of industry stalwarts Karl Roelofs and Dave Marsh, the original talents that made the first iteration of Shadowgate. The fantasy adventure game was an instant classic and one of the most popular, well-received titles in the MacVenture series on a plethora of computer-based systems. It then continued its surge in popularity on the Nintendo NES, GameBoy Color, and later on the Nintendo 64 system. After a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012, Karl and Dave are back, completely rebuilding the Shadowgate saga while accounting for today’s advanced technological and graphical capabilities.
“Dave and I are incredibly thrilled to be returning to Castle Shadowgate after all these years,” said Karl Roelofs, design director at Zojoi. “When we created the MacVenture series, we knew we had something special on our hands – the initial response from gamers around the world was overwhelming! Shadowgate has remained near and dear to not only our hearts but to those who remember the haunting original, greatly evidenced by the support our Kickstarter campaign generated. The past few years we have been hard at work re-building and updating the Shadowgate experience and cannot wait to inspire, challenge, and terrify an entire new generation of players.”
Nearly 30 years after the original version premiered on the Macintosh, Shadowgate returns, fully re-imagined and updated for today’s gaming landscape. With 4K-capable resolutions, Shadowgate not only features a stunning level of hand-painted detail but also tons of new mind-bending puzzles and more objects to interact with to help you on your quest. There are also plenty of throwbacks to the original version, so veterans and newcomers alike will all relish their journey through Shadowgate… if they survive.
“Discovering amazing indie game developers like Zojoi and helping power their success is exactly what Reverb Triple XP is all about,” said Tracie Snitker, president of Reverb Triple XP. “We see the tremendous potential in delivering Shadowgate to today’s gamer and we are working side-by-side with Zojoi to create customized programs for this unique game. We continuously evolve our initiatives to be ahead of the curve with versatile, aggressive marketing and PR strategies for indie developers around the world.”
Shadowgate is coming to PC, Mac, iOS and Android tablets late this summer at the retail price of $19.99, but gamers impatient to get a leg-up on their journey can pre-order the PC and Mac versions today to reserve a copy for only $14.99 – a 25% discount off full retail price. Or choose the “Adventurer Pack” to receive the full game at release plus wallpapers and a digital Shadowgate calendar. For the true fans of high adventure, the “Hero Pack” includes all the other pre-order items plus a complete digital soundtrack, digital art book, beta tester access with in-game credits, and access to the game one week before launch! Full details on pre-order incentives and pricing can be found at www.shadowgate.com.
For upcoming Shadowgate announcements visit the game’s official Website www.shadowgate.com, follow the development team at Twitter, and “Like” Shadowgate on Facebook.
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About Zojoi Studios
Based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia, Zojoi is an independent game developer helmed by industry legends Karl Roelofs and Dave Marsh, whose first title Shadowgate was a smash success on the original Apple Macintosh. The duo went on to help create the other titles in the popular MacVenture series (Déjà Vu, Déjà Vu II, and Uninvited) and ported these timeless classics to no less than 10 other platforms. Zojoi’s mission is to create memorable gaming experiences, either with remakes of their renowned originals or entirely new properties.
About Reverb Triple XP
An extension of interactive entertainment agency Reverb Communications, Inc., Reverb Triple XP provides a spectrum of services customized to focus on the needs of indie game developers. Reverb Triple XP powers up titles that stand out with excellent gameplay, creative design, and that elusive fun factor. Once chosen, our team of game industry veterans works with the game developers to fully understand and play the title, then execute on world class marketing, PR, social, production and distribution services that are fitting for games of the highest quality. A cornerstone of the Reverb Triple XP program is that developers retain creative control and ownership of their intellectual property as well as receiving a custom solution tailored to their needs.
SOUND DIRECTOR EXPLORES THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN DRAKENGARD 3
Updated Website Offers Music Samples and Additions to Online Novella
Sound Director, Keiichi Okabe, shares his thoughts on the working relationship between music and gameplay in Drakengard 3, the prequel to the Drakengard series.
LONDON (6 May 2014) – Square Enix Ltd., today unveils a developer interview video that highlights Okabe’s involvement with the title and his thoughts on the role of music. Fans can also hear samples of the game’s soundtrack in the new ‘Music’ section of the updated website, http://www.drakengardgame.com.
There, fans can also learn more about the gameplay of the title, as well as learn more about the backstory of the Intoner’ Disciples. “Dito,”“Decadus,”“Octa” and “Cent,” the latest chapters for the Drakengard 3 novella, are now available online under the “Novella” section.
The Drakengard 3 Collector’s Edition is now available for pre-order via the Square Enix Store for £59.99, while stocks last. The regular edition is also available to pre-order via digital download on the PSN, and anyone pre-ordering via the PSN will receive the Japanese Voiceover for free.
For more information on Drakengard 3, including the video interview with Okabe and other press assets, please visit the official links below.
A prequel to the original Drakengard, Drakengard 3 transports players to a medieval world where six goddess-like sisters known as “Intoners” have brought peace to the earth with their power to manipulate magic through song. Harmony is disrupted, however, when the eldest sister, Zero, attempts to murder her younger sisters with the help of her dragon companion Mikhail. As the story progresses, players find themselves in a battle to unravel the mystery of Zero and learn her true intentions.
Featuring the series’ signature brand of action Drakengard 3 pits players against hordes of fiends and foes in remorseless hack-and-slash combat. Quickly switch weapons to launch devastating combo attacks to vanquish enemies that can only be defeated with the correct weaponry. Plus harness the power of your dragon for combat, allowing you to charge, bite, trample your foes and even demolish buildings.
Drakengard 3 will be a digital-only release in Europe and PAL territories.
About Square Enix Ltd.
Square Enix Ltd., a part of the Square Enix Europe business unit, develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content in Europe and other PAL territories as part of the Square Enix Group. Square Enix Ltd. also has a global network of leading development studios such as IO Interactive™, Crystal Dynamics® and Eidos Montréal. The Square Enix Group boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY, which has sold over 100 million units worldwide, DRAGON QUEST® which has sold over 62 million units worldwide and TOMB RAIDER® which has sold over 35 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix Ltd. is a London-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
DRAKENGARD, FINAL FANTASY, CRYSTAL DYNAMICS, DRAGON QUEST, EIDOS, IO INTERACTIVE, SQUARE ENIX, the SQUARE ENIX logo, SPACE INVADERS, TOMB RAIDER and TAITO are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Square Enix Group. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
MORE CHAOS AND CARNAGE IN ICEBERG INTERACTIVE’S GAS GUZZLERSEXTREME: TWO NEW DLC PACKS COMING SOON
Full Metal Frenzy and Full Metal Zombie DLC Packs Offer New Arenas, Cars, Modes, and More
Haarlem, the Netherlands – May 6, 2014 – Iceberg Interactive announced today that Gas Guzzlers Extreme, the fast, furious, trigger-happy, metal-tearing, rubber-burning, sparkplug-breaking and engrossing multiplayer combat racing game for PC that shipped last summer, has two new DLC packs coming soon to Steam – Full Metal Frenzy and Full Metal Zombie. Gas Guzzlers Extreme is available for PC and Mac on Steam with a Linux version currently in development.
Download the brand new Gas Guzzlers Extreme Full Metal Frenzy DLC screens
The first Gas Guzzlers Extreme DLC pack, Full Metal Frenzy, will debut on Steam next week and features two new race arenas, three new game modes, a female announcer, and many more new additions.
Full Metal FrenzyDLC Includes:
Two levels (arenas)
Two new cars
One new team skin for all 20 cars, including police skin with siren and lights
Female announcer voice-over
Two new power-ups
Three new game modes
The second DLC, Full Metal Zombie, will launch summer 2014, complete with nine different types of zombies and a thrilling new game mode Defend the Base.
Full Metal Zombie DLC Includes:
One new level (arena)
One New car
One new team skin, for all 21 cars
Nine zombie types and animations
One new game mode ‘Defend the Base’
Gas Guzzlers Extreme is an enormously addictive racing game loaded with guns, cars, and an extensive set of great multiplayer maps. Providing an exciting new twist on the combat racing genre, Gas Guzzlers Extreme brings players to the next level of competitive gaming with intense team battles.
New cars, maps, and game modes will turn up while progressing through the Gas Guzzlers Extreme crash course. Level up low performance vehicles through speed and bullets to design cars that will rule the streets. Players can pimp their ride with fresh rims, stickers, and paint job to create the ultimate ride and progress through the game to crash and burn their way to glory.
Gas Guzzlers Extreme Key Features:
Adrenaline-filled combat racing, featuring a blood-pumping single-player campaign with more than 12 hours of gameplay.
Fast-as-lightning multiplayer tournaments with seven different modes (Classic race, Power race, Battle race, Knockout, Death match, Last man standing, and Capture the flag); with up to four teams available in team play mode.
350+ miles of road across 40 tracks, eight arenas and seven different environments.
12 unique weapons, on-track bonuses and power-ups.
Instant play with vicious AI Bots populating multiplayer match while other players join in.
Beautifully displayed high-definition visuals with extensive vehicle damage, motion blur effects and custom paint jobs.
Full force feedback controller support as well as keyboards, joy pads, joysticks and racing wheels.
Steam Achievements.
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ABOUT GAMEPIRES
Gamepires expertise resides in the highly rendered and superior graphics gaming environments and relies on combining exquisite knowledge in physics and gameplay development with top-class graphic layouts. The team consists of creative groups of developers and designers continuously oriented towards innovation and perfection in game production, their daily passion. This has resulted in a unique game engine, the best of breed gameplay, design and art for each and every entertainment solution we produce. In the last 15 years every Gamepires team member has been engaged in some of the bestselling and top technology gaming products. Their experience and knowledge guarantee the highest performance and usage standards possible.
ABOUT ICEBERG INTERACTIVE
Iceberg Interactive (www.iceberg-games.com) is an independent video game publisher founded in 2009 by an international group of games industry veterans. Iceberg operates in the vibrant European games market through retail publishing and worldwide via direct relationships with dozens of digital download portals. With a distinct focus on the genres of simulations, adventure, strategy and MMO/action games, Iceberg has successfully released digital hits in European retail, such as Killing Floor, Wings of Prey, APB Reloaded and Endless Space — but is also known to back indie developers in getting their games into both the retail and digital space.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
Description
Do you like difficult and beautiful games with an unusual gameplay? Then “theBoxes!” is just the game for you!
Our game features:
• The game is COMPLETELY free! There are, of course, game purchases, but you can go through the entire game without them;
• Absolutely new gameplay based on laws of physics;
• Simple to manage;
• Beautiful detailed graphics that you’ll love at first glance;
• Excellent music;
• Updates and new levels added all the time;
We can go on and on, but you can download our game and see for yourself.
Nexon Europe announces that Carlo Ancelotti will be the new face of United Eleven
World’s top manager Carlo Ancelotti will be the promoter of a brand new football management game
Luxembourg, 6th May 2014: Today, Nexon Europe has the pleasure to announce the partnership with the chief of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti. The multi-title winning titan of football will be the new face of United Eleven, the highly anticipated upcoming football management simulation game.
Carlo Ancelotti has demonstrated his management prowess time and time again, achieving enormous success in professional football with various clubs. The team work and personality of his squads together with his tactical nous have been key features in Ancelotti’s accomplishment throughout his career. The key aspects of United Eleven follow these traits perfectly, as the game focuses on building a united team and competing head-to-head against other football managers.
A press conference will be held on Thursday May 8th 16:00 in central Madrid, InterContinental Hotel, to mark the occasion of Ancelotti’s involvement with United Eleven, during which he will inform the press about his partnership with Nexon Europe.
“We are honoured to begin the first chapter of United Eleven with Carlo Ancelotti,” says Kenny Chang, CEO of Nexon Europe. “With the remarkable and distinctive strategies and tactics that Carlo Ancelotti has shown in the real football world, he is the perfect representative of the core features of United Eleven. I believe anyone who strives to be the best football manager in United Eleven will be inspired by Ancelotti’s experience and achievement. All in all, we’re enormously pleased he’s on board.”
Developed by NHN BlackPick Corporation , United Eleven combines the actual names and faces of over 50,000 football players registered at FIFPro with the most sophisticated match engine available – all accessible via browser and with mobile compatibility. It provides a complete football management experience by recruiting, training, and substituting players. Everything from team selection to tactics and player chemistry will need to be considered if victory is to be achieved.
The pre-season, which will be Beta testing for United Eleven, will begin on 15th May. The game will be published in Europe, North and South America, Oceania and North Africa in 8 languages: English, German, French, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish.
Established in March 2007, Nexon Europe is one of the leading publishers of free-to-play MMOs in Europe. The company has brought the worldwide hit casual MMORPG MapleStory to Europe in May 2007, and the successful FPS Combat Arms in January 2009. With the launch of the 3D action MMORPG Vindictus in 2011, Nexon Europe has strengthened its position as a promising publisher in Europe. Next to these in-house franchises, Nexon Europe was also able to acquire and fully operate Atlantica Online, an innovative, tactical MMORPG; Dekaron, an authentic action MMORPG set in a grim fantasy universe; and the action-packed FPS War Rock. The recent additions to its growing portfolio are Navy Field 2 alongside the legendary FPS game Counter-Strike Online in Turkey. For 2014, the company’s first browser-based full-scale MMORPG Arcane Chronicles and fun-packed, action-fighting game Lost Saga will join as new line-ups. Furthermore, with United Eleven, a browser-based, cross-platform football management game, Nexon Europe is seeking to reach diverse players globally. For more information on Nexon Europe and its games, please visit the official website at www.nexoneu.com.
About NHN BlackPick Corporation
NHN BlackPick is a Korean mobile/online game developer and publisher that separated from NHN Entertainment, one of the most successful mobile/PC game companies in Korea. NHN BlackPick is continuously expanding its portfolio from well-recognized PC MMORPGs, to sports simulation games, such as United Eleven, EOS, and Baseball 9ners. In addition to the success of The Brain, a casual mobile game targeting adults who are 50 years of age and older, NHN BlackPick focuses on expanding business capability with its new mobile racing games. To bolster its competitiveness, NHN BlackPick has a large-scale goal of servicing various games in the global market with the launch of United Eleven.
Director Keith Parmer presents the dramatic thriller, Swelter, a violent tale of greed and retribution that stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Grant Bowler. Discover the story of the most notorious robbery in Las Vegas history on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital on June 11, courtesy of Transmission Films.
If you’re a fan of the Ocean’s films then you’ll fit right in to the heist. Swelter follows a group of five men known as the “Rat Pack”, who hit the Sapphire Casino for over one hundred million dollars. After 10 long years of imprisonment, the four men finally escape to hunt down their former accomplice and remaining ten million in stolen cash. However, resolving the past turns towards a road less taken – a dying desert town – where the target is not only a law-abiding sheriff, but someone who cannot remember his ‘ratbag’ history.
Overview Having come into publication in 1986, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has amassed quite the roster of quirky characters and strange abilities. One might even go as far as to call them bizarre. Regardless, with all of the climactic battles that have taken place throughout the JoJo timeline, it’s only natural that fans would wish to relive them. Thus, All Star Battle came to be.
A truly diverse roster…some assembly required
Story As I’ve already mentioned, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a phenomenon unto itself. With a massive 28 years of content behind it (with more still being produced) the developers really couldn’t ask for more. Countless, battlefields, a bevy of odd characters to work with, eight storylines to recreate. Truly the basis of a fantastic story…if only the game had used it. Look, I’ll be fair here, the game does include a number of the central characters you’d expect in a JoJo title, that’s not the issue here…it’s the story. The game’s so called “Story Mode” throws you into the world of each character who has worn the name JoJo, from Phantom Blood to JoJolion, it’s all there. Vaguely. That is to say that Story Mode itself features no form of cutscene to set up each fight, relying on simple and short blocks of text. Essentially, if you haven’t actually read the manga or seen the anime (for the earlier parts), you may find yourself fairly confused. Of course, the low number of stages doesn’t help this. For example, after four brief paragraphs explaining Dio’s transformation into a vampire, Jonathon Joestar and Will A Zeppeli fight…in Dio’s mansion. As fans would know, the heroes of Phantom Blood didn’t arrive at Dio’s mansion until well into the arc. Also, despite being a representation of Jonathon’s Hamon training, he has access to every single move, including the climactic Sunlight Yellow Overdrive. Now I understand that some titles (especially fighting games) utilise a form of gameplay and story segregation, but come on. Basically, this is a fighting game through and through. The story mode really only serves to unlock additional characters and maybe give you a refresher on the broader points of JoJo.
BRANDOWNED!
Gameplay Alright, onto some positives. Despite possessing a rather eclectic mix of fighting styles, as we’d expect from JoJo, the game does an excellent job of maintaining balance between the fighters. Spanning the entirety of the JoJo franchise and the many forms it has taken over the years, characters are divided into five main categories: Hamon, Vampirism, Mode, Stand and Mounted. Naturally, each of these classifications possess their own unique abilities and require slightly different methods of controls. Allow me to explain. Hamon, though able to cancel the healing abilities of Vampirism, rely solely on regular kicks and punches that limit their range. However, they are also the only fighter type able to charge their Heart Heat Gauge without outside assistance. Vampirism allows characters to restore small amounts of damage taken over time (unless damaged by Hamon) and grants a draining element to attacks that restore health and Heart Heat. Mode characters are also share this ability to regain health, though trade out draining attacks for the chance to briefly transform mid-battle for a power boost. Stand wielders are, of course, able to summon their spiritual extensions and utilise them in combos, altering their moveset and providing range to every move. Finally, in a photo finish, we have Mounted. Racing into battle atop mighty steeds, these characters are able to attack both with and without their mount, providing them with two movesets…and a horse.
In addition to the abilities lent to them by their respective fighting style, some characters enjoy further individualisation. One clear example would be the extra power up method of each character from Part 7, better known as Steel Ball Run. True to form, these fighters are able to collect pieces of the Corpse, increasing their combat acumen and strengthening their moves. Opposing players may knock these pieces from an enemy’s grasp by dealing enough damage, though Steel Ball Runners may simply pick them up again later. It’s a vicious cycle. Due to their nature and fighting style, Vampires and the Pillar Men of Part 2 also share a unique trait: aversion to sunlight. As such, unless they are bested in story mode, Dio, Esidisi, Wamuu and Kars are usable only on night time or indoor battle stages. As if there weren’t few enough stages to choose from already. Though the attention to detail is a nice touch.
WHAM!
In addition to regular combos, characters also have access to more powerful techniques known as Heart Heat Attacks and Great Heat Attack. As characters give or receive damage, their Heart Heat Gauge fills. Once sufficiently filled, certain button inputs will unleash a character’s unique ability, such as Dio’s classic steamroller attack.
As mentioned before, All Star Battle includes a default story mode for you to play through, “reliving” the moments of the JoJo franchise. Just to compound the concept of challenge, battles will occasionally place extra conditions upon victory. For example, when fighting Kars, both your attack and defence are lowered whilst he gains the ability to regenerate health and Heart Heat…so not fair. As you progress through a chapter however, you are awarded with Gold, a currency that allows you to purchase Support, such as an attack boost, should any battle become particularly difficult. This concept is also carried through to Campaign Mode, wherein you challenge the Avatars of other All Star Battlers. Utilising a system that forces you to deplete an Energy Gauge in order to begin a fight, Campaign Mode allows you to unlock medals that, in turn, allow you to customise your fighter’s taunts and sound effects. It’s pretty cool. However, with each expenditure of the Energy Gauge, there is a small chance that you will encounter a Boss. Besting said boss in combat will unlock rarer customisation options, allowing you to alter a character’s colour, costume and/or dialogue. Even cooler.
Though Story and Campaign are the bulk of the game’s predefined content, the Western release of All Star Battle decided to throw in an Arcade Mode. Forgoing the intricacies of the other modes, Arcade simply pits you against eight AI fighters for the sheer thrill of it. But, when all is said and done, there is one thing that defines a fighting game:Versus Mode. Well you’re in luck because All Star Battle does indeed include a Versus Mode, with both online and offline options. Talk about being spoiled for choice. As you’d expect, this mode grants you the ability to battle any opponent across the world, even one physically sitting next to you! Remember when videogames let you do that? No gimmicks, no Gold, no Support, just a good ol’ fashioned JoJo battle.
At least he’s honest…
Visuals Belonging to the wave of games still being released on what is now the old generation of consoles, All Star Battle’s graphics are not the best. However, as with most JoJo material, it covers up any sign of weakness with inexorable style. Utilising a specialised engine known as the JoJo Shading Requiem, the entire game possesses the look of its manga source material. This creates authentic representations of each present character, rather than an off model 3D recreation. This is definitely a benefit to the game, as it allows you to visually enjoy fights as you would with the manga. Plus how else could you represent the hulking masses of muscle that make up each JoJo character?
The same courtesy of detail given to the characters is also lent to each stage, though they number few. Though the stages themselves are flat sections of land within a larger environment, the little touches in the background are a nice little touch that remind you where, and when, in the franchise you are fighting.
Audio Though localised for Western audiences (as we all know too well), the game includes only the original Japanese audio. And that’s just fine. Fans of the anime franchise will recognise the voices from Parts 1, 2 and even the currently running 3rd arc. This serves to unify the vocal representation of characters across the franchise, preventing the disconnect that arises from utilising multiple voices across multiple formats. Of course, every character outside of these parts has never actually been voiced before, so All Star Battle is their first speaking role. Though I have to say, every character’s voice is a perfect fit for their personality. That isn’t to say some voices don’t get annoying through repetition, but they are true representations of the fighter. Just a note for all you All Star Battlers out there, spamming Jotaro’s attacks will earn you the ire of your opponent. There’s only so many times one can hear “ORA ORA ORA” and retain their sanity.
This is as close as he gets to “nice”
Overall JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is about as true a recreation as you can get. Flamboyant characters, intense shading, ridiculous powers. All the hallmarks of the franchise that we have come to know and love. Which is good, because in order to truly appreciate the game, you need a strong interest in JoJo. Though newcomers will enjoy the combat system, enjoyment of Story Mode requires previous knowledge of every single Part. I know that fighting games are in fact mainly about the fighting, but when something as central as story seems like an add on, it can really limit a game’s appeal. This of course is unavoidable in All Star Battle, as playing through Story Mode is required to unlock more than 50% of the roster. All I’m saying is some cutscenes would have been nice. I mean they already had an entire vocal cast, why not fully utilise them? All in all, All Star Battle is a fun, crazy game with a solid combat system and an interesting roster of fighters. Just don’t go in expecting to truly relive the series.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview Comedy comes in different many different forms and everyone’s sense of humor is different so while some people might enjoy a show’s style of comedy others may avoid it entirely. This can cause a lot of issues when starting a show that can be nonsensical as few shows can thrive off of comedy with no backbone to keep the show together. With Cuticle Detective Inaba now available in North America, does this comedy series manage to keep it together while making viewers lose it?
Story In the world of Cuticle Detective Inaba police dogs are more than K-9 units, they are actual cross-species humanlike creatures called Secret Dobermen that possess special powers that make them invaluable resources when solving crimes with their human partners. Or they would at least if every Doberman was willing to listen to their partner such is the case with Hiroshi Inaba.
Hiroshi is an ex-police dog who is now running a detective agency that takes on various jobs and employs two assistants in the form of Yuuta, a crossdressing boy with a yandere style obsession with Hiroshi, and Kei, a teenage boy with an obsession for felines and perhaps the only normal acting person in the entire show, who works for the company as an assistant to try and earn money after growing up poor.
Shortly after the start of the series Hiroshi’s former partner in the police Ogino appears at the office and asks for Hiroshi’s help in capturing a new mafia organization that has moved into Japan and is causing problems for everyone. They are the Valentino family and their leader Don Valentino has a taste for money. Literally. You see Don Valentino is a goat and while he eats normal money he also prints out almost carbon copy counterfeit money in its place.
This is where things in Cuticle Detective Inaba get strange if they weren’t already as basic premise of the series is Hiroshi and Ogino attempting to capture the Valentino Family during one of their random schemes but usually letting them get away either by arguing with one another or simply not paying attention. Throughout the series the focus shifts between either these two groups messing around or directly highlighting one of the two groups which works well considering outside of the goat leader, there is a man devoted to the Don whose head is always covered with a burlap sack, a nearsighted assassin with a height fetish, and a genius scientist with her own quirks.
Things get a bit more serious once the story, yes there actually is one… or at least a semblance of one, starts to come into play by introducing Hiroshi’s younger brother Haruka, who Hiroshi left the police force to search for, and his organization called NORA. Due to Hiroshi always spending time working with the police and not spending time with him, Haruka has joined this group in order to eliminate the police force and make the Secret Dobermen the go to force in Japan.
Things run much deeper than that however as the comedy takes a bit of a backseat to a fair bit of drama as the dark nature of the police force is slowly revealed as the phantom leader of NORA, Sōmei, reveals how corrupt the police are by fabricating evidence and torturing confessions out of scared innocents in order to close a case. With so many lies compounding ontop of one another this not only caused the Secret Dobermen working with the police to start to lose their minds but even Sōmei’s partner became a victim of the corruption which ultimately leads to the creation of NORA.
This serious tone is really needed in a show like Cuticle Detective Inaba which literally doesn’t know when to turn the comedy off. I’ve mentioned in the past how some comedy series will shoot off jokes at random to try and get a laugh or try various kinds of gags to make viewers laugh. Well in the case of this series, Cuticle Detective Inaba is a machine gun on full auto as it throws everything it can at the viewer without holding back. Outside of the few serious episodes or moments scattered throughout an episode, everything that happens is a joke.
Hiroshi’s special abilities when holding a piece of hair in his mouth? A joke thanks to his powers usually being comedic and the fact that he’s a huge hair fetishist. Every character is a running joke and is eccentric to the extreme with Yuuta always trying to kill Ogino because Hiroshi acts like a tsundere puppy dog around him as only the smallest example. Despite seeming serious even NORA is full of oddities as Haruka’s brother obsession and weak body quickly become running jokes as well as Sōmei’s need to possess a body and perverted habits.
Even with Kei being the only sane one in the group, since Ogino’s terminator style body and overly doting father mode rules him out, a lot of the comedy comes from him responding to the absurd things happening around him, though whenever the focus is turned towards cats then he becomes yet another running joke in a show that tries so hard to be funny and throws so much at the viewer that there is going to at least be something here for most viewers, if they feel like trying to keep up with the pace the show sets. But even then, sometimes too much simply becomes too much and not everything can be a homerun and for every joke that will had me laughing there were another ten that simply seemed like forced comedy.
Visuals
It is pretty clear going into this show that Zexcs either didn’t have much of a budget or that they simply wanted to use the best style that would fit the show’s comedy and I believe that it is the latter. This is because while everything will shift from normal anime style to chibi looking then back to normal in a few seconds time frame, it is all for the sake of comedy. This is especially true when you consider how the Don looks almost all the time along with Hiroshi’s chibi reactions.
The series occasionally takes a big jump in quality for specific sections, primarily whenever something dramatic is happening and, again for the sake of a delayed laugh, everything was drawn extremely seriously for half an episode to have a big payoff at the end. The bright comical art style helps the cheap looking animation style actually pull its weight rather than drag the series down.
Audio It is worth noting that Cuticle Detective Inaba has been given a subtitle only release so the Japanese voice track is the only dub available. This works well for the most part thanks to the nature of the jokes which would probably not work half as well as they do in Japanese if they had to be translated into English. The Japanese voice actors work well in their roles and the fact that Don Valentino’s way of speaking works best in Japanese also points towards this Japanese only release being for the best.
That being said, the series’ background music is entirely forgettable and not once throughout the show did it catch my notice in any regard, even during the aforementioned moments of drama. The opening theme “Haruka, Nichijou no Naka de” by Junichi Suwabe, the Japanese voice actor for Hiroshi, is fitting for the show while the ending theme “Prima Stella” sung by Toru Okawa, the voice of Don Valentino is played off as a joke.
Extras Cuticle Detective Inaba: Complete Collection does not feature any special bonus features as it only includes the bare minimum in the form of a clean version of the opening and ending animations, trailers for other Sentai Filmworks anime, and disc credits.
Overall Cuticle Detective Inaba’s frenetic pace is one that works against it to start with as it can be incredibly difficult to get into. There are just so many jokes on a rapid fire pace that even people with a great sense of humor will find it hard to laugh at everything because for everything that seems funny there are twenty other jokes that will fall flat in a matter of a minute. Thankfully since every member of the cast has their own hyper-exaggerated eccentric nature, this series that thrives on being quirky and strange manages to be enjoyable with nice touches of drama added throughout to flesh out this random comedy.
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