If you have never heard of the Hayarigami games then we won’t hold it against you, since the series focused around supernatural horrors has only been released in Japan so far despite three titles being released. That being said, it looks like Nippon Ichi Software is gearing up for a new game in the series as they have just launched ateaser website for Shin Hayarigami.
At the moment the teaser website currently is only showing that the game will be released on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita and that the full website launch will occur on May 1st. Considering how many titles NIS America has taken up and localized since the last Hayarigami title was released, it will be interesting to see if this game might be reconsidered for a Western release.
Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions have announced that principal photography has begun in New Orleans on the Terminator reboot, directed by Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World, Game of Thrones).
The film, written by Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry), will star a returning Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as Jason Clarke (The Great Gatsby, Zero Dark Thirty), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Jai Courtney (Divergent, Jack Reacher), J.K. Simmons (Men, Women & Children, Up in the Air), Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games, The Spectacular Now), and Byung Hun Lee (RED 2, G.I. Joe: Retaliation), the latter of whom is rumored to be the antagonist Terminator.
Interestingly, “the Terminator reboot” is exactly how the producers are referring to the picture, neglecting the oft-used subtitle “Genesis”. It looks like a name change may occur by the time the marketing machine truly starts up. The Terminator reboot is scheduled for worldwide release on July 1, 2015.
London – 24th April 2014 – Indie collective Owl Cave have teamed up with UK independent publisher Mastertronic to bring the acclaimed point-and-click adventure game Richard & Alice to Steam!
Richard & Alice, the debut game by indie PR specialist Lewis Denby and Starbound lead writer Ashton Raze, is a mesmerising story-driven tale about family, loneliness, desperation and the weather – set in a post-apocalyptic world. Following the game’s success on greenlight, it will soon launch on Steam with additional features like achievements, trading cards, badges and emotes.
Richard & Alice tells the story of two inmates in a curious future prison, set in a world where years of heavy snowfall have caused chaos and disorder around the globe. Investigate the circumstances of their incarceration and discover the secrets hidden within as the complex narrative unravels and you become immersed in this dark and powerful tale.
There are secrets, lies and lots of snow.
Lewis Denby from Owl Cave commented: “It’s a great thing to see Richard & Alice heading for Steam. This is a game we decided to make because we wanted to explore character stories in video games, and the original plan was for a small free game we could bash out and move on from. That we’re here now, writing quotes for the Steam release PR campaign, is quite something!”
Ashton Raze from Owl Cave added: “I am very excited to see Richard & Alice on Steam, because it meant I got to design trading cards and emotes. This was a lifelong dream of mine, and finally that dream became a reality. The game being on Steam in itself is exciting but TRADING CARDS! Seriously. The achievements were right fun too. You’ll not find things like this in a novel.”
Andy Payne, CEO of Mastertronic, said: “It is both and honour and a pleasure to work with Lewis and Ashton as we love ‘Richard & Alice’. We wanted to help bring their work to a wider audience on digital platforms and shine a few extra lights on this wonderful game. Narrative in games is a personal passion of mine, I hope this game finds its way into many, many game players hearts and minds. It deserves to.”
Richard & Alice will be coming soon to Steam for Windows PC.
Time to dust off your portals of power and grab your Skylanders figurines for another trip into the world that brings toys to life and combines them with all the magic of videogames. Activision have officially revealed the next installment in the massively popular Skylanders franchise; Skylanders Trap Team.
All Skylanders games have their own unique gimmick that separates it from those that came before it, but I don’t think anything has been such a leap forward for the franchise as Trap Team. The Portal of Power is being upgraded to the Traptanium Portal, which in addition to sending your Skylanders into the game world, will also allow you to capture and then PLAY as the villains from the series. That means with this new game players will be able to play as Kaos for the first time!
Like Swap-Force before it, Skylanders Trap Team will be available on both current and next-gen consoles on October 2nd. There is lots to see with thie new game, so make sure you check out our gallery below and the trailer below that. With so much news coming out, make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Skylanders info as it becomes available.
Aksys Games has released the first in what will be a series of developer diaries for Mind Zero which is currently set to be released on May 27th in North America and May 28th in Europe. These developer diaries will feature people from both ZeroDiv and Acquire as they talk about the game.
Since this is the first diary, it features ZeroDiv CEO and Mind Zero producer Takayuki Harakami talk about the game’s world and the story behind the title. Check out the video below and keep an eye out for Mind Zero when it is released physically and digitally in North America and digitally in Europe.
Today a new developer diary for Abyss Odyssey was released by ACE Team and Atlus USA. In this developer diary Art Director Edmundo Bordeu talks about the way players will be able to not only make their own character unique but also how the community will be able to work together to beat the game’s final boss.
The three main playable characters in the game are all highly customizable and special attacks will be unlocked as the player advances through the game and since only three of these attacks can be equipped at any time and further customized with buffs, players can create a playstyle all their own. As for the community goal, the more players defeat the final boss in the game the more forms and challenges will be unleashed which means players can find new challenges awaiting them even after they have cleared the game once before.
Overview Generally any console or handheld relies on the company that created the device to put out titles that will help it thrive. However in the case of the PlayStation Vita, Sony has mostly dropped the ball in this regard but thankfully numerous publishers have taken up that ball and ran with it. One such publisher is NIS America who has brought numerous niche Vita titles to the West with their latest release being 2013’s Demon Gaze. So now that Demon Gaze has been released in English, is it a worthy entry into the Vita’s line-up of English titles?
Story Demon Gaze starts out with the extremely familiar premise of an amnesiac hero named Oz (his name can be changed to whatever the player wishes) who suddenly wakes up in the land of Misrid down in a dungeon. After being chased by a demon, Oz faces off against the demon and manages to defeat it and seal it away thanks the extremely rare power of being a Demon Gazer.
As a Demon Gazer, Oz has an ‘Evil Eye’ that allows him to capture defeated demons and carry them into battle as assistants. Because of his lost memories, he begins to live with the people who found him and brought him back to the Dragon Princess Inn. However since he has already been there for a while, he has an IOU to pay off and the inn’s manager, the mysterious and oft-scary Fran Pendoll, is asking for Oz’s help to seal away a number of demons to pay off his IOU as well as pay rent anytime he returns back to the inn from his time in the dungeons.
Along with Fran, who has an unknown mission that centers around Oz’s success, besides the penny pinching manager Fran the inn is the home to many other residents and mercenaries including the listless Prometh, an ambitious Elven alchemist and item shop owner named Lezerem who always bickers with the weapon shop owner Cassel, a perverted maid named Pinay, and most important, the former Demon Gazer Lorna who Fran leans on for support.
While a number of these characters may seem like they simply fill a basic NPC role at the inn, many of these characters have their own ambitions and are likable and funny enough to stand out of their basic role. This is especially true with Fran, whose odd behavior and abilities are slowly hinted at as the player progresses through the story and as more information about each character is revealed this creates an interesting narrative that players will find themselves sinking hours into to see the next tiny piece of the story.
Unfortunately thanks to the way the game is set up, not only do the clearing of the dungeons take quite some time to complete, there are many times that the story will slow down to a crawl as the player has to complete a basic task before advancing and certain story elements will be introduced only to sit idly for hours despite the player progressing in the game.
Gameplay Demon Gaze is a dungeon crawling RPG through and through. Players are able to customize their player from the get-go with a number of character portraits ranging from male to female and numerous races, though the game will always act as if the player is a male. The same option is given to any party members you wish to bring with you into battle as each character is created as the player wishes, which is a necessity for a game as difficult as Demon Gaze can be.
After shelling out a large amount of money to Fran, players can “rent” an extra room for a party member to stay in allowing up to five total fighters to join the player at any given time. Players can choose to accept a randomly generated fighter of Fran’s choosing but players will want to create their own as they will be able to choose the race, class, and portrait for their new ally. It is worth noting that as mentioned before, anytime players come back from a dungeon they will be required to pay a certain amount of rent money that increases depending on the amount of characters in your party as well as the higher their level is. If you cannot afford to pay your rent Fran may forgive you for a bit if you pay it back quickly, but you don’t want to make her too angry…
Creating a balanced team is essential in Demon Gaze as the title pulls no punches when it comes to venturing through the numerous dungeons in the world. While the player’s first endeavor or two into the first dungeon will seem easy, it is merely there to help players get used to the game before throwing them into the fray. This means setting up a team where your party can be split into two rows, usually with melee fighters in the front and spell users in the back, is essential and a healer is almost always a class to have.
Anyways, once you venture into a dungeon it is very much what one would expect from this time of the game with players traveling through the dungeon in a first person perspective where hidden paths and items can be found and battles with enemies occur randomly and at specific spots where monster icons are located. The goal in these dungeons is to find a certain number of circles that are hidden in the dungeon and use gems obtained from enemies or the item shop to summon monsters through.
By battling these monsters players will be able to seal the circle which can then be used as a save point and once every circle has been sealed, the demon of the dungeon will appear and allow the player to fight against it. It is worth noting that these battles are often accompanied by huge difficulty spikes as these demons are nothing to scoff at and can easily eliminate even a battle hardened team which makes saving often at conquered circles a must.
The battles themselves are fairly simplistic but fun at the same time, as players will generally fight against mobs of monsters in rows, sometimes four deep, and they can take them out in turn based combat where players make use of melee attacks, skills, ranged attacks, and magic to eliminate the enemies. However even the most simplistic battles can be dangerous and although there is a button you can press to always repeat your last actions, it is a good way to find a member of your party dead and the rest of the team in danger.
Earlier I mentioned that defeated demons can be used to help the player in battle and they are able to make use of them in a number of ways. These demons can be equipped to give the player various assistance while traveling through the dungeon, with Chronos being an absolute must at times thanks to hazardous floor panels in many areas, as well as summoned into combat. When summoned into a fight, the demon will act as an independent fighter that can use various abilities at their own volition and also receive damage from enemies. This is helpful for many fights but if your Demon Gauge, which depletes every turn the demon is out but can be replenished from defeating foes, reaches zero, the demon will become enraged and attack the player as well.
Now if you haven’t been paying attention, Demon Gaze is a challenging game as players can be sometimes run into a large number of enemies or face off against a boss that they are ill prepared for and death means an immediate return to the menu screen with a complete loss of progress. This means that players will often need to grind for experience points to make sure that their team is up to snuff, which can also be problematic as newly recruited team mates start at level 1 and there are a few gimmick dungeons which limit the player’s capabilities.
Not only does Demon Gaze require the player to grind for experience points to level up their party, but also for equipment. The gems I mentioned earlier all are named after certain equipment pieces, such as shield gems, light armor gems, spear gems, etc. and using these gems at circles ensures that the summoned enemy will drop that item. Unfortunately the item can be anything from a useful and powerful addition to your arsenal to a trash piece of equipment.
Herein lies the grinding for equipment issue where players often need to hunt for better equipment as buying it outright is extremely expensive, though junk equipment can be sold for money or converted into ‘ether’ which can be used to upgrade gear a little bit into the game. While this difficulty may seem insurmountable at times, it is a real thrill to conquer a boss after fighting hard to level up and gear up for the fight and the combat is fun enough to never feel like a chore. Plus, if you really have to, there is an option at the inn that will allow the player to change the game’s difficulty but even then do not expect a cakewalk.
Visuals Since Demon Gaze is a first person dungeon crawler players will be traveling through a number of pre-set dungeons that each has their own theme ranging from the ruins of a city, a jungle, a dungeon literally underwater, and more. While it is unfortunate that these dungeons aren’t randomly changed up, it has allowed the developers to create nice looking dungeons that have varying mechanics.
As for the designs of everything else, the player has a large number of character artwork to choose from and each of these portraits are amazing looking which will make it hard to choose your team’s appearance at times, though this can always be changed at the bath. As for the enemies players encounter there is a nice amount of variety for each dungeon with some intricate looking designs, but some of the more basic looking creatures do suffer from a bit of palette swapping.
Now it is worth noting that this game does have a bit of fan-service here and there. A fair number of the character portraits expose a lot of skin of some races such as the Elves or Ney, plus there are a number of scenes here and there in the game where players will encounter either Pinay doing something perverted or one of the other girls in their underwear but this is limited at best and is enjoyable for gamers who like a bit of fan-service here and there such as myself.
Audio As with most of NIS America’s video game releases, Demon Gaze sports both the newly recorded English voice track as well as the original Japanese voice track. The option to switch between these tracks is available at any time and the English dub sounds suitable enough though the only time most of the dialogue is actually voiced is for story segments.
As for the game’s sound effects when players create a character they can choose from a number of grunts and yells that that character will make in combat which adds some variation here and there. The game’s background music is actually filled with some rather enjoyable tunes that accompany traveling through a dungeon well and the battle music is actually accompanied by Japanese lyrics which does wonders for these fights by making them feel more intense and worthwhile.
Overall The bottom line is that Demon Gaze is a great dungeon crawling title that takes everything that makes these games worthwhile and excelling at it. Sure things can be challenging from time to time but rarely does the game feel like it is being unfair as players are encouraged to learn through experience and grind through levels to gather up all different kinds of gear to equip their party however they wish. With a story that picks up pace as the player progresses, a charming cast of characters back at the inn, and an engaging battle system that never grows old Demon Gaze is a must have for any fan of this genre.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
Description
A quest crammed with puzzles in the heart of Paris
Professor Weismann has disappeared.
After arriving in Paris to present his latest invention, the Time Camera, at the Universal Science Congress, Professor Weissmann disappears without a trace.
His daughter, Laura, believes he has been kidnapped. Aided by Eustache, the Professor’s cat, Laura sets out on the trail of a mysterious sect, whose symbol is 9 elephants.
The intrepid duo is confronted by a series of challenges, and each has to draw on their powers of invention and deduction to unravel the plot at the heart of this extraordinary adventure.
Follow our two intrepid investigators across Paris as you’ve never seen it before, a combination of fantasy and the Crazy Years.
Converse with colourful characters with secrets to share.
Solve over 230 puzzles to reveal the secret of the 9 elephants.
Plunge into the heart of the capital, and savour this extraordinary tale featuring a modern art exhibition, poisoned oranges, a magician’s cat, a cyclist, an accordion champion, an esoteric conspiracy, the Paris catacombs, the destruction of the Eiffel Tower and… 9 elephants.
– Solve over 230 puzzles with 8 different gameplays
– Explore Paris’s most enigmatic locations
– Encounter 20 delightful and mysterious characters,
– including a cat
– Savour the city’s fascinating atmosphere
– Zoom in on the puzzles by pinching the screen.
*****
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The Blackwell Epiphany is the fifth and final entry in Wadjet Eye Game’s point and click adventure series following on from The Blackwell Deception. Rosa and Lauren Blackwell have been saving souls with the help of wise ass ghost Joey Mallone since 2006, so there are a lot of plot points and character mysteries to be resolved before the series can take off into the light.
The basic premise of the series is that the Blackwell family, here represented by protagonist Rosa, are Bestowers- able to save lost souls and send them on to the afterlife. To aid them they are tied to a spirit (Joey), which only they and the ghosts that they save can see.
Gameplay
Blackwell gameplay is traditional point and click with a twist. Rosa brings the normal set of protagonist actions whilst the spectral Joey can pass through objects and blow things around. The two can be switched on the fly, and there’s now a “Call Rosa/Joey” button to use if the characters end up in different scenes.
Gameplay hinges on conversation and investigation, progress depending on how much you know rather than the combination of objects in your inventory. What object puzzles there are, are simple affairs that usually net Rosa keys and pieces of paper (Joey has a lot of puffing to do).
Ferreting out little snippets of information is the name of the day. To aid in this Rosa has her mobile phone which can search the web, make calls and cross reference notes to open up new lines of inquiry.The notes function is a great mechanic but it feels underused in Epiphany, largely limited to drawing conclusions that are obvious anyway. There are occasions when Rosa fails to register information that’s already been uncovered, leading to bouts of frustration where you know what you need to proceed but the characters don’t.
The gameplay – in terms of mechanics and puzzles- is a little underwhelming, but the Blackwell series has never been about fancy puzzles and burgeoning inventories. Character and story have always been at the heart of the series, and Epiphany has that in spades.
Story
At the start of Epiphany we find Joey and Rosa up to their usual business- walking the streets of New York to try and find lost souls that need help to move on from the physical realm. Sent to a derelict apartment block by series regular Detective Sam Durkin, they find the ghost of a young woman and quickly move into action. Together they must scour the building for clues and try and piece together who the young woman is, learning enough about her to persuade her that she is dead and needs to move on.
So far, so Blackwell, but it is what happens after this that sets the plot of Epiphany in motion. Leaving the building, Rosa and Joey witness a murder. To their horror the soul of the dead man is torn apart in front of them, screaming all the while. With even the dead no longer safe Rosa and Joey must uncover the truth behind the awful act. Who did it? Why? How?
Epiphany is longer and bigger in scope than the previous Blackwell adventures, clocking in at approximately five hours and putting Rosa and Joey through events that are more emotional and more dangerous than ever before. Although the same saving souls set up applies (and there’s a lot more of them than usual), there is more focus on the big picture, on tying up elements and threads from the previous games. If you haven’t played a Blackwell game before then don’t do yourself a disservice by starting here.
There are some slow patches here and there and one scene which for me telegraphed a significant reveal, but having watched Rosa and Joey develop over the course of the series it’s all forgiveable. The game might not convert anyone who isn’t a fan of this kind of thing, but fans of the series will be delighted.
Audio & Visuals
The Blackwell series and Wadjet Eye Games are known for their retro pixel art and Epiphany is no different. Whilst the backgrounds and menus retain a similar style, fans will note that Rosa and Joey’s close up portraits have continued to evolve, and that the backgrounds have a little more twinkle to them than before.
The settings have more dynamic detail, with swirling snow complemented by small touches that bring the city to life; neon signs flicker, cabs drift past and silhouettes move in distant windows.
The navigation screen is a beautiful rendition of the New York skyline and the locations are a diverse lot, taking in everything from a derelict apartment block to the slick interior of a member’s only gym- there’s even a quick trip back to the 1930s.
Blackwell isn’t running on a big budget but it certainly makes the most of what it’s got, with the main theme of the series and other snippets of music heightening the tension and emotion of the story. There are some atmospheric sound effects doing some subtle work and the voice acting is pretty decent throughout. Rosa doesn’t quite convey the emotion you would expect from some of the scenes, but the banter between her and Joey is still lovely to listen to.
My one bone to pick with the game’s presentation is a particular section where the screen rumbles every few seconds. Depending on how quick you are with the puzzles this can last anything from ten to twenty minutes, and trying to process highly pixelated art and text that’s jiggling up and down gave me a screamer of a headache, so beware if you ever have issues with shaky cam style stuff. It’s only one segment, but it’s a particularly significant one.
Overall
The final entry in Wadjet Eye’s signature series brings everything that fans would expect, but what’s unexpected is that everything is brought to an end so well. The puzzles aren’t anything to shout about and the plot does stretch the capacity of a small budget release, but Rosa and Joey have always been the main draw and they get plenty of attention here. The Blackwell Epiphany is a great end to a gem of a series- fans will love it.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
BANDAI NAMCO Games America brings new installments in the Froggy series to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
San Jose, CA – April 24, 2014 – BANDAI NAMCO Games America today announced the launch of both Froggy Jump 2 and Froggy Splash 2, sequels in the wildly popular Froggy series, for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
In Froggy Jump 2, players will discover a new, rich world filled with platforms, asteroids, wormholes and more crazy mayhem. With bonus stages to discover, unique power-ups to grab, and accessories to buy in the shop, the adventure never ends! New multiplayer features let players compete with their friends and reach record-breaking heights!
In Froggy Splash 2, players will kick their little critter as far as possible to collect items and unlock beautiful locales! Kick harder, launch faster and break friends’ records with all new power-ups! Simple one-touch controls are accessible to all, but the dynamic physics keep the gameplay new and interesting.
Froggy Jump 2 is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at http://www.AppStore.com.
Froggy Splash 2 is available for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at http://www.AppStore.com.
About Invictus Games Ltd.
Invictus Games Ltd. is a premier Central-Eastern European video game development studio, with a wealth of experience creating detailed racing and casual games.
Invictus has over 15 years of experience developing offline and online titles on iOS, Android and PC, partnering with global companies such as BANDAI NAMCO Games.
