Activision started it all with Skylanders, then Disney followed suit with Disney Infinity, now Nintendo is trying to get a piece of the action. The company has announced that they will launch a series of figurines based on its popular characters that you can interact with.
It will most likely be renamed, but for now it is being called the Nintendo Figurine Platform (NFP) and it is going to available on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. From the information released so far, the whole thing works much like Skylanders. The figures themselves will be able to store data, enabling them to interact with a range of Wii U and 3DS software.
“What is especially unique about NFP is that it is not classed as an accessory product of a certain software title but as a platform itself. “The figurines, which consumers can buy and collect, are going to work with multiple software titles to be released in the future, and we are aiming to develop more software titles compatible with the figurines.”
– Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.
We might be seeing the NFP range for Wii U on shelves by the end of this year, with the 3DS figures coming next year. Nintendo hopes to showcase the system and some figures at E3 2014.
Overview Long running series can be difficult to keep up with and they can also be a pain in the pocketbook. Trying to follow and purchase a series that has already hit the two hundred episode mark can be quite pricey so every so often FUNimation begins re-releasing series in large collections at a discount price and a series that has been given this treatment often is One Piece. So now that One Piece Collection 9 has been released, is it worth picking up?
Story
One Piece Collection 9 starts during the final episode of the G-8 story arc involving the members of the Straw Hat Pirates escaping from the heavily armed and tricky base. As one would surmise, this one episode wraps up with the crew escaping from the G-8 base and continuing on with their journey through the Grand Line.
After passing by a doomed pirate ship with a distraught and unorganized crew, the Straw Hats arrive on a special island where every creature and plant grows either incredibly tall or incredibly long compared to normal. Once they explore the island, a new set of pirates called the Foxy Pirates led by a strange looking man named Foxy the Silver Fox. The Foxy pirates feature a humongous crew and it is soon revealed how they managed to accrue such a large number of crewmates when Luffy is challenged to a Davy Back Fight which he foolishly accepts.
Now instead of being a basic fight, a Davy Back Fight involves the two pirate crews competing in various events such as boat racing, dodgeball, and roller-skating. After each event is completed the victorious crew is able to choose one member of the opposing crew to join their crew. With Luffy at risk of losing his crewmates to this cheating opponent, he and the rest of his crew must pull out all the stops to make sure they do not lose any of their friends.
While One Piece is obviously a shōnen series, it is a different change of pace here with various sporting events replacing the basic one on one battles that permeate the series as now most of the fights have a specific goal or are themed in some way. Each event has its own twist and the Foxy Pirates never play fair and try to humorously cheat the Straw Hats into defeat.
This change of pace is only refreshing for so long though before it becomes tedious. Unfortunately this entire arc drags on for far too long and the while the Foxy Pirates’ antics and Foxy’s personality and devil fruit ability are interesting for a bit, they are far from memorable and eventually it will feel like this arc was simply stretched out to try and fill up as much time as possible.
Once the crew navigates past the Foxy Pirates a new arc begins where everyone on the Going Merry except for Robin lose all memory of what happened after they joined Luffy’s crew. This causes a lot of problems especially since Robin is the most recent member of the crew at this time and does not know the details of how everyone managed to meet up.
This arc also makes use of a lot of flashbacks as the crew members remember their past and their goals which is a useful refresher in case anyone happened to forget I suppose. As one would expect, this causes some interesting conflicts between the crew which is mostly focused on humor as they try to figure out what is happening to them though some minor action does occur later on in the arc.
One Piece Collection 9 finally stops treading water in the last few episodes of the release when the crew stumbles upon Admiral Aokiji who reveals to the group that Robin is a dangerous person before ultimately attacking them because he believes they will be a threat in the future. This short bit of action contains the only actual story development of the entire collection and it also serves as a way to demonstrate how strong the Admirals are as even Luffy is left at his mercy.
Sadly while this release does bring viewers all the way up to Water Seven, there is little to actually be seen here. Although the group’s dealings with the Foxy Pirates served to strengthen their bonds and also offer a different way for fights to be held, the jokes in this arc quickly wear thin and although the potential for humorous misunderstandings and conflict is explored when the group loses their memories, it too is wrapped up with little actual action and continues to beat the same drum of the Foxy Pirate arc about bonding the crew together despite already being incredibly close.
Visuals Interestingly enough, the first episode on this release is presented in 4:3 as it was the final episode presented in that format before episode 207 brought the series into modern day 16:9. There is a nice jump in quality with the new aspect ratio as one would expect and the series’ colors look as bright as ever on the release. The designs of the characters remain the same as ever though there are a few changes here and there with Luffy and the girls.
The series’ trademark cartoonish facial expressions are on display throughout these arcs and are used heavily with all of the cheating that takes place in the Foxy Pirates’ arc. For the few action scenes that are available in the release the animation stays fairly consistent but artwork for the basic sections of the release are terrible looking at times with the quality falling all over the place including body parts changing color when moving slightly in frame or looking distorted from anywhere except a close-up shot.
Audio One Piece Collection 9 comes with both the English dub as well as the Japanese voice track so viewers can choose which one they prefer to listen to. The English voice cast is the same as viewers will remember and give fitting performances for their characters and the new enemies that appear are voiced well enough, especially with Foxy’s annoying voice fitting his character style.
The background music throughout the release is what viewers have come to expect from the series at this point in time, not really memorable but fitting when it needs to be. There are a number of opening and closing themes throughout the release, with the first episode having a terrible sounding English opening alternative, and these are fitting but remain fairly unmemorable throughout.
Extras With this release of One Piece Collection 9 there are a number of on-disc extras that come in the form of three textless opening themes and three textless closing themes, four commentary tracks featuring members of the English voice team, the US trailer for the series, and trailers for other FUNimation anime. As far as the physical bonuses are concerned, the release comes with a basic slipcover with the same artwork as the DVD case.
Overall One Piece Collection 9 may be a decent release for those who are into One Piece for only its brand of humor, but anyone looking for much more than that will quickly be disappointed as there is very little action to be had throughout the release. In fact this collection feels almost entirely composed of filler material and even the animation and artwork nosedive constantly throughout the release. This discounted release is probably the best way to pick up these episodes to complete your collection or continue on with the series but don’t expect too much to happen in it.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
The first look at the upcoming live-action film adaptation of the wildly popular shonen mangaBakuman has surfaced online. The image that has made its way onto the web features the two protagonists of Bakuman, Mashiro and Takagi, collectively known as Muto Ashirogi.
It has been revealed that Takeru Satoh of Rurouni Kenshin fame will portray Mashiro while Ryunosuke Kamiki known for his voice work on Summer Wars and Spirited Away will take on the role of Takagi.
The image of the film can of course be seen above. Be sure to let us know what you think of these casting choices and the way in which these actors look in the roles by leaving a comment below.
Overview
Originally written as a set of light novels by Gen Urobuchi, Fate/Zero is a prequel series to Type-Moon’s visual novel Fate/Stay Night. With the change in author and animation handled by ufotable, the result was a darker and more serious take without the fun harem elements of Fate/Stay Night which was made within the confines of an eroge game.
The first half was excellent, with plenty of suspense and a few intense encounters between the Masters and Servants of the 4th Holy Grail War. We were left on the verge of a climactic battle that saw Saber, Rider and Lancer team up to defeat an out of control Caster. With much of the story yet to be told, how does Collection 2 fare in concluding this grim epic?
Story
Fate/Zero follows seven Masters, mages chosen to fight in the Holy Grail War, and their Servants, heroes summoned from history and legend, as they fight to the last man standing until a winner claims a wish that can be granted by the Grail. At the conclusion of the first half, only one Servant is dead. That means a lot of stuff has to happen in the second half, and viewers will not be disappointed with the crazy flow of events here. Mentioning them here would count as spoilers so you would have to take my word for it, Collection 2 of this anime is intense.
There is plenty to absorb from the narrative of Fate/Zero, particularly in this second half. Kiritsugu Emiya continues his ruthless crusade to obtain the Grail for the good of the world, as he sees it. His ideals clash with his Servant Saber, who is essentially a polar opposite, more than ever. Each Servant and Master is dealt with as an individual. Their goals and hopes unravel one by one, whether by deceit or by harsh reality, and the result is either glory or despair.
Viewers learn a heck of a lot more from the characters such as each Servant’s past and their reasons for wanting the Grail. You’ll see just how wildly different these personalities are, whether it’s Kirei’s complex, evil nature or Rider’s simple yet heartwarming relationship with Waver. We also get a whole two episodes of Kiritsugu’s tumultuous past. These flashback episodes are a dramatic shift from the usual fare, offering a rare, gritty and realistic look at the Fate universe and revealing how Saber’s Master became the man that he is.
Aside from the gripping narrative and fascinating characters, there are some heavy themes running throughout Fate/Zero. Through Kiritsugu, we learn that to be a true hero means giving up part of your humanity. That to save one means to sacrifice another. While it’s a sombre message, hope is alluded to in the last episode where we are introduced to Shirou Emiya and are led to the beginning of Fate/Stay Night.
It’s safe to say that the second half of Fate/Zero is a much darker and action-packed affair than the first. Urobuchi lives up to his name as characters start dropping like flies and the true face of the Holy Grail, first revealed in Fate/Stay Night’s Heaven’s Feel route, rears over a shocking ending. If you don’t know the source material there are plenty of surprises and plot twists to enjoy.
Unfortunately Fate/Zero is not without its issues. The second half falls foul of bizarre pacing issues due to the allocation of two precious episodes to what’s merely a flashback. This forced the studio to rush the final confrontation and even omit some minor, but important, details throughout the show.
Visuals
Once again ufotable nails the animation department with feature-film-like quality packed into every episode. Characters are splendidly drawn and the battle scenes look simply fantastic. It’s not quite at the level of ufotable’s previous work The Garden of Sinners, where the art and atmosphere is pretty much perfect, but it’s still up there among the best.
There are fewer quality drops than the first half, too. Huge discrepancies like in episode 11 are nowhere to be found here but it’s worth noting that the Blu-Ray/DVD release have been touched up in comparison with the original Japanese TV aired episodes. If you love high-quality visuals with ridiculous production values, Fate/Zero will definitely spoil you.
Audio Yuki Kajiura’s beautiful score continues to sweep you off your feet in Collection 2, with new and even more exciting compositions featured. Her melodies are definitely one of the more memorable aspects of Fate/Zero. Kalafina returns once again with the emotional “To the Beginning”, the new opening theme while Haruna Luna lends her voice for the poignant “Sora wa Takaku, Kaze wa Utau” as the ending theme.
Both are a dramatic shift from the more upbeat songs we heard in the first half, mirroring how dark the second half really is. The voice actors also turn it up a notch, as the script becomes more emotional and, at times, hysterical. Again, most of the English cast perform amicably with only a couple of voice actors sounding out of place in their roles.
Extras
Fate/Zero Collection 2 is a standard release which offers the second opening and ending themes in textless form.
Overall
It’s little wonder why so many fans are waiting with bated breath for ufotable’s next big project; an adaptation of the original Fate/Stay Night. The magic of Type-Moon seems to run through the studio’s blood as Fate/Zero is ultimately a winner. Incredibly strong character interaction, meaningful dialogue and decisive battles. It’s as visually impressive as it’s emotionally powerful.
Collection 2 features more action and more plot than the first half, with events happening quickly and with serious impact. As mentioned above it is, however, a little rushed at the end. Whether it’s due to time restrictions or poor foresight from the team, the anime stumbles in its pacing especially during episode 24. But despite this it still manages to be damn good and you’ll be left thinking about it long after the final credits.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
After the announcement of the new Pokemon game remake last week the internet has exploded once again with “Hoenn-centric” memes in celebration of the upcoming release. Now, a week later, the good people at “Nintendo” alongside their brothers and sisters over at “Game Freak” have brought us the first peak at the game. It has been labelled as a “sneak peek” video that features the legendaries of the generation “Groudon” and Kyogre”.
The video only goes for a short thirty seconds and doesn’t actually show much but it does a damn good job at generating more hype for the remakes. Head down below to check out the “Pokemon: Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire” sneak peek video. The games are set for a release this November so I urge you to stick to the site in the coming months to catch and and all new information as it is released.
We’re giving away 10x Capsule Computers CC IndieGala Every Monday #6 bundle packs which includes a total of 6 fantastic PC Indie games. (See below for list of games)
FRACT OSC is a musical adventure about exploration. Players will wander around the world and solve puzzles to bring sleeping machines back to life. Along the way, they will unlock the parts required to create their own music studio.
Story
FRACT OSC does not have a plot at all. The game is focused purely on the music and the exploration.
Gameplay
Exploration, puzzle solving, and music making are the main themes in FRACT OSC. The exploration aspect of the game kicks in immediately. Instead of a traditional menu, players are thrown right into the game when FRACT OSC is booted up. Upon wandering around the area, I discovered an array of monitors. This was the music studio. As I completed puzzles in the game, parts of the studio unlocked, becoming a fully fledge synthesizer. A portal led me to the main playable portion of the game.
FRACT OSC is split into three zones. The Lead Synthesizer, Bass Synthesizer, and the Pad Synthesizer zones represent the three unlockable sections in the studio. Each zone has are comprised of two distinct puzzle types that will become progressively harder as the game continues. Scattered in between are smaller unique puzzles that are a little more out of the way. These are discovered through exploration and will reward players with an achievement. Each zone is capped off with a final puzzle that will challenge players to recall (or screenshot) previously explored areas that provide a hint on how to solve the final puzzle.
The puzzles in FRACT OSC have a nice bit of variety. Some are more traditional puzzles that could easily be found in a 2D game, while others make better use of them game’s first person perspective. However, even the 2d styled puzzles have a certain level of physicality that will have players moving around the environment. All of the puzzles will cause the music to shift and react, creating a wonderful and trippy effect. My biggest complaint with the puzzles is that the basic puzzles are the same two puzzles, with simply a higher level of difficulty. I would have appreciated a little more variety in the levels.
The exploration aspect of FRACT OSC is a bit of a mixed bag. Exploring for the special achievement puzzles often means wandering around a good bit. The path to the basic puzzles that will unlock studio parts tends to be a straight forward affair.
FRACT OSC’s controls are pretty standard FPS fare, though noticeably absent is the ability to jump. Pressing right click will lock the view and allow players to interact with the world using a mouse cursor and the left click. The game’s UI is set up to work well with this system, allowing for gamers to focus more on puzzle solving and less on getting minute movement down to interact with the game. This system allows for a perfect balance between mouse based puzzle solving and maintaining the first person feel of the game.
The synthesizer studio is a surprisingly easy to use music creator that allows players to create their own tracks in the theme of the game. The first puzzle in each zone will unlock the specific music pad in the studio. As more puzzles are completed in the main game, new ways to change the music such as volume and gravity are unlocked in the studio. The tracks can be exported and shared with friends. This is definitely a fun addition that provides a little extra value to FRACT OSC.
Visuals
According to the developers, the visuals in FRACT OSC are inspired by the Tron series. The game is full of dark muted colours interspersed with bright fluorescent splashes of colour. The resulting effect is a very sci-fi retro look that really suits the synthesized music. There are some visual indicators which provide some hints on where players to head off next. They are a bit of a mixed bag, though. Some, like appearing pathways, are extremely obvious. Others, like posts sticking out of the ground, can be too few or too obscure to be helpful.
Audio
What makes FRACT OSC such an impressive experience is the way the game’s music works its way into everything in the game. Visual elements in the puzzles pulse and flash with the music. Attempting to solve a puzzle will subtly change the game, while solving more and more puzzles in a zone will cause the music to go from an eerie silence to the entire music track in its full glory. The soundtrack by Mogi Grumbles is an absolute pleasure to listen to, and the fact it is integrated so well in the game is an added bonus. The only strange thing about the game is that there is no way to control the volume of the game in the menu. There are options for video, game controls, but no options for sound.
Overall
FRACT OSC is a great package. There is little wonder why the developers made out like a bandit in a train robbery at many indie game festival award shows. The developers did an absolutely fantastic job mixing the music into the game. There are some small improvements that could be made, as I would have liked to see more variety in the puzzles. However, FRACT OSC easily earns its place as a must-experience indie game.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
After the commercial and critical failure of Aliens: Colonial Marines, the Aliens franchise is in dire need of an awesome reboot. Luckily, The Creative Assembly have got us covered with this year’s upcoming first person horror experience; Alien: Isolation. A lot of buzz surrounds this game, but there is still so much to learn before it hits store shelves later this year.
To give us a little bit more of an insight into the game’s world and its characters, the developers have compiled a nice little trailer titled “Creating the Cast.” We have attached the trailer for you to check out below and I don’t want to spoil too much, but this looks like it will be an awesome adaptation of the Alien lore that features all the characters you love from the original films and combines it with just the right horror elements to make a memorable game.
So check out the trailer and let us know if you are excited or still jaded about Colonial Marines. As always folks, stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Aliens news as it becomes available.
Tropico is well known as the default Caribbean Dictator simulation game where the player can enforce their will on the island populace with ease, but can the people serve more than one master? Tropico 5 seeks to answer this question by introducing multiplayer to the Tropico series. The trailer below teasing this new multiplayer element is largely sparse on details but it appears that players will be able to co-operate together in building their island nations, as well as engaging in aggressive acts of war against each other. How many players the game will support in multiplayer mode is currently uncertain and it remains to be seen how exactly this will be implemented in terms of gameplay.
The developer for Tropico 5, Haemimont Games, will attempt to re-educate -er, I mean: win you over in a live stream of a gameplay demo next week via Twitch.tv on Thursday 15th of May at 19:00GMT/20:00CET. The audience will be able to ask the devs questions and I’m sure we’ll be able to learn more details about how exactly multiplayer will work in this traditionally single-player series. The link for the can be found here.
As well as the new multiplayer feature, the game will have a number of new elements which we have mentioned previously on this site. Overall, I look forward to trying out this new installment in the series and the new elements which are being added in. What say you?
The game itself will be released by Kalypso Media on PC on the 23rd of May, with Xbox 360, Mac, and PS4 versions available later this year.
“Don’t believe it all, find out for yourself, check before you spread, the News(Beat) of the world!” It’s that time again folks! Park your butts in your seats, and get ready for this week’s Xbox Newsbeat! Newsbeat is your one stop shop for all the amazing news that Microsoft HQ churn out. Seriously, it is like those guys are game-making machines or something! This week is rather small, only containing 4 Xbox One articles (I also feel like I should apologise for my outburst at Windows Phone last week… but I’m not going to). So hit the lights and play my music, because it’s time for Newsbeat.
Coming Soon: New Audio Controls and Opt-In Setting to Help Improve Voice Recognition
So if you are a regular here at Xbox Newsbeat, or you happen to OWN an Xbox One, then you will likely know that the guys over at Microsoft have been working on tweaks and changes to make the console run more smoothly and be a better experience for players. Even though the last update just rolled out last week, they are already preparing for the next set of patches. These will largely relate to how you can speak and listen to your console.
The first big announcement here is the fact that when snapping two different apps, you will now be able to select which of the two is louder. I personally cannot wait for this feature, as I frequently have trouble hearing my favourite episodes of Breaking Bad while trying to play Lego: The Hobbit.
Secondly, players will have the option of opting-in to a program that will allow for better voice recognition. The more people that opt-in mean the better that the Xbox One and Kinect can be.
Forza Motorsport 5 Meguiar’s Car Pack Now Available
Are there just not enough cars for you in Forza Motorsport 5? Well if you are a Forza Car Pass owner, or willing to shell out $13.50 then you can grab yourself the latest Car DLC Pack for the game. The Meguiar’s Car Pack includes 10 top of the line luxury vehicles that have been designed from the ground up for Forza players to enjoy. You will be able to race and customise the following gorgeous rides:
2013 BMW M Performance M3 Racing Car
1986 Alfa Romeo GTV-6
1958 Aston Martin DBR1
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air
2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato (Villa d’Este)
1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS-396
1940 Ford De Luxe Coupe
1966 Ford Lotus Cortina
1973 Mazda RX-3
1968 Dodge Dart HEMI Super Stock
Kinect Sports Rivals Kicks In New Content
If you have been holding off on getting Kinect Sports Rivals, then I might just have the news piece for you. The developes over at Rare have created a new slew of content based on some of their most popular game franchises. These new challenges will include story elements and characters from games both past and present. Here they are:
Banjo-KazooieChallenge Pack
BattletoadsChallenge Pack
Blast Corps Challenge Pack
Perfect DarkChallenge Pack
Viva PinataChallenge Pack
I just want to point something out to people who might have been skipping through. There is officially Battletoads content in Kinect Sports Rivals. While it isn’t the next-gen brawler experience that people have been clamoring for, for over 10 years, it is still a start. In addition to the challenges, the Kinect Sports Hub also has a few new features for players to enjoy:
Team-based photo gallery backgrounds
Greatest moments videos
“Kinect Sports Rivals” Island news button
News Articles in the “Kinect Sports Rivals” Hub
“New!” “Kinect Sports Rivals” story button banner
“Sunset Overdrive” Ignites the Awesomepocalypse with First Gameplay Video and Day One Edition Details
Just yesterday, Microsoft and Insomniac Games released the first gameplay trailer for the highly anticipated Sunset Overdrive. Today, we can talk a little more about the special Day-One edition of the game. Like many of the first-party launch titles for Xbox One, Sunset Overdrive will award early adopters with some extra goodies. These include:
“Nothin’ but the Hits” gun:An overcharged version of the High Fidelity gun that launches limited edition, priceless, multi-colored vinyls that do increased damage.
“It’s Me! Fizzie!” outfit: Fizzie is more popular than you because he has a great marketing budget. So, why not dress up as him and get in on some of that fame?
“Hardcore! Hammer”: You ponder buying the Day One Edition of “Sunset Overdrive.” A spot check reveals that if you do, you can equip a mighty hammer made from a bat and spiked dumb-bells. You buy the Day One Edition of “Sunset Overdrive.”
That’s it for another week of Xbox Newsbeat. I hope you have all satisfied your hunger for sweet, delicious Xbox One news and savored the aftertaste. Let us know in the comments below which of today’s headlines grabbed you most and remember to check back to Capsule Computers for the latest installment of Xbox Newsbeat.
