The Indie Gala Every Monday bundle is back this week with its fourth iteration. For a single purchase of $3.49, buyers can snag $70 worth of Steam and Desura games. The following titles are in the Every Monday #4 indie bundle:
Crystal Towers 2 is a platformer inspired by classic 90’s DOS games. Bernard has been tasked to prevent the world’s music from being stolen. He will slowly grow in power, learning new spells and finding new items, as he conquers 33 levels. Be sure to vote for Crystal Towers 2 on Steam Greenlight.
Love by Fred Wood is a retro styled platformer that aims to balance accessibility with challenge. Players will be able to drop their own respawn checkpoint, allowing players to tune the difficulty level based on their own skills.
Scourge: Outbreak is a third person co-op shooter that will pit players against the Nogari Corporation. The game supports four player co-op and 4v4 competitive modes.
Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World is a point and click adventure game. Kaptain Brawe is trying to solve the mystery of two kidnapped alien scientists in this hand drawn adventure game.
Shad’O is colourful dream-like tower defense game about a boy who has lost his memory. Players will need to survive the onslaught of enemies in a world littered with the boy’s shattered memories.
Legends of Aethereus is a physics based action RPG in a world rebuilding after the Three Great Skyfalls. The Ancient Skyfall Relics hold the promise of great power for the wielder. Now, the people of Aethereus are in a race to control the relics.
For the first 24 hours of the sale, gamers can snag all six titles for $1.99. Buy your copy of the Indie Gala Every Monday #4 indie bundle at Indie Gala.
I’ve heard of getting boned but this is just ridiculous!
So now that Majin Bone essentially threw the kitchen sink threw a window onto an exploding tractor popping a wheelie, the stakes are most certainly raised, although they lack any sense of urgency. Things are beginning to reach a fever pitch and Majin Bone is starting to hit its stride as its main story arc seemingly finally kicks into gear.
What we learn this week is that Shougo’s bone is a special bone for some inexplicable reason. So much so that aliens are invading Earth in order to steal his bone. Tsundere blue-haired Aussie Luke informs Shougo that bones have a mind and will of their own and that they need to resonate and connect with their user in order to work. Unfortunately for Shougo, for some unexplained reason his bone decides to screw him around and not resonate with him, essentially being boned by his own bone.
This week we get to see the whole Bone Boys Brotherhood (as I have dubbed them) get into some serious action against the invaders in the digital world. Not much is explained about who the aliens are, why they so badly want Dragon Bone or what exactly bones even are. That is thus far Majin Bone’s greatest flaw, it just doesn’t explore any of it’s elements other than at immediate face value. “Here is an alien, he wants the bone thing but that bone is ours so lets fight him” Is essentially the gist of the entire series up until this point but by and large it has worked for the most part.
The CG improves this week and we get a pretty fun battle sequence with Luke, Antonio and Tyrone going against a group of invaders in the digital world (another part of this series that has not even been even slightly explained). Each get to show off their own individual combat styles, Antonio doing his best Eddie Gordo (Tekken) impression and Luke going for a bit of a swim all the while Tyrone just kind of pummels things. Shougo doesn’t make it into the fight because his bone rejects him. Why it rejects him is up to debate, but I’m betting it has to do with the fact that he was kind of bitching out and not wanting to fight, but you now it’s only a hunch (that is probably right).
Antonio continues to shine as comedic relief here as he randomly appears at Shougo’s school pretending to be a window cleaner, only to quickly drop the charade and begin juggling to the amusement of the rest of Shougo’s class. He is through and through a very stereotypical character who plays heavily into the Brazilian racial stereotypes, but he is just such a fun character that it doesn’t matter in the slightest. Heck he even debuts a new catchphrase in this episode ‘Oh! Dynamite!’ may just have given ‘This is Japanese plate spin!’ a run for its money.
The episode wraps with the conclusion that Shougo must somehow reconnect with his bone after it harshly rejected him right before a battle. The story is a little contrived and almost seems too soon of a development when we have hardly even seen Shougo don the bone so far. This is the kind of plot point that generally arises late in a series, to run this kind of a story line so early is a little confusing but it should be interesting to see how it plays out. My guess is that Shougo will form a bond with the bone, also I suspect the bone will probably start talking to him because this is Majin Bone and it is a ridiculously silly anime series.
All in all this was a pretty good episode. It took things to a whole other level and actually gave the story some actual stakes (the end of the world and what not). Yet another solid Majin Bone.
Upcoming anime M3 that dark metal has been given a trailer which Daisuki has streamed on its YouTube channel. You can check out the trailer below, showing off some of the characters, mecha design and the theme song “Re:REMEMBER” by Japanese pop artist May’n.
M3 that dark metal is about a group of eight boys and girls who combat Admonitions, manifestations of humanity’s despair and chaos, while their past and present lives are caught in a complicated web.
Daisuki has recently announced that it will be streaming the anime weekly from tonight, 2am JST April 22nd, worldwide via the official site, iOS app and YouTube channel.
“Aniplex of America” announced over the weekend that they have already put into motion some plans of theirs regarding the upcoming anime “Sword Art Online II” and how it will be distributed. They revealed that they will be streaming the series across the world as it airs in Japan so that fans all over the globe can experience the show at almost the exact same time.
“Sword Art Online II” will be distributed digitally through the “Aniplex” site once the episodes air much like a great deal of their other shows. This season will follow on from the previous one and, despite still being called “SWORD Art Online”, it will revolve around the use of firearms as opposed to that of blades and magic, two elements featured in the original “SOA“.
Stick to the site for any and all news as it is released. You can expect more information to be unveiled by “Aniplex” in the coming months so keep your eyes out for that.
The episode from last week, “Who Will Be The Judge?!“, delivered us an awesome gift; the brand-new opening theme song for the series and damn is it a good one! That being said…the episode from this week brought us something even better. Something that I will assume no fan of the series saw coming. We were graced with the showcasing of the official ending theme song for the season and it just so happens to be a little song titled “Walk Like An Egyptian” by a pretty well-known band called “The Bangles”…yes, take a hot minute to let that one sink in before we move on.
I’m going to go ahead and say that, with only three episodes in, this series has already made it onto my list of animes that are without a doubt perfect in one way or another. “Stardust Crusaders” lands firmly on that list as one of the most outrageous and unnecessarily “badass” series’ I’ve ever had the privilege to experience. Episode 3 “The Curse Of Dio”, in my opinion, truly kicks off the series. The adventure is about to begin so strap in, hold on tight and anticipate nothing because, no matter what you think will happen next…it’ll be wrong.
– A Serious Case Of “Flesh Bud” –
A Serious Case Of “Flesh Bud”.
Followers of the series up until this point may recall the events of the last episode; Kakyoin was introduced, Jotaro and him had a bit of a “biff” and then our hero brought the transfer student back to the Kujo manor for assessment. Having the family meet in the main room, Joseph and Avdul give their diagnosis on what exactly Kakyoin’s problem is and it just so happens to be…yep; a serious case of “flesh bud”. Now this isn’t you’re average, run of the mill “flesh bud”, no it’s much worse. This particular ailment was brought about by none other than the main antagonist of “Stardust Crusaders”; the man formerly known as “Dio Brando”, who is now known simply as “DIO”. The crew silently freak out for a little bit before Joseph decides to open his old trap and explain, once again, that it’s simply too late for poor Kakyoin.
Closely inspecting what looks like the worst pimple ever, Joseph determines that beneath the growth and buried into the center of Kakyoin’s brain is a thin but sturdy “stinger” which, if not removed quickly and precisely, will mean trouble for both the operator and the patient. What I love so much about the “Stardust Crusaders” crew is that everything is too hard but at the same time everything is far too easy for them. For every negative comment about a situation there’s an opposing comment that makes the “naysayer” look like a whinging idiot. Joseph says “it’s too late”, “it’s far too hard” and “he’ll die” but Jotaro says “Nah, I can do it. It’s all good, old man”. To me, that’s the perfect metaphor for the series; just a bunch of shonen-type, conflicting ideas and ideals that result in unintentionally hilarious antics as well as some of the most defiant and action-packed shows of “badassitude” to ever be spotlighted in anime and, let’s be honest; that’s what makes this series royalty.
– A Night To Remember –
A Night To Remember.
Before Jotaro and Joseph can even begin bickering over Kakyoin’s swift operation, Avdul feels as though this is the perfect time to chime in with a story about his past. Luckily the story is actually relevant seeing as it is one that revolves around him meeting DIO. Many years ago in a small village somewhere in the heart of Egypt a young Muhammad Avdol – a fortune teller and all around mystical man – wanders the back alleys on what I’m assuming is on of his nightly “spirit walks”. Bounding up some steps he notices a malevolent presence, one that he’ll surely remember for the rest of his days…that is, if it doesn’t kill him. At the top of these steps is an odd man, almost nothing but a shadow. Avdul does his best to quickly investigate the situation, he describes the man to himself: Long, golden hair. Near-transparent, alabaster skin. An air of sensuality the likes of which he’s never experience…it can be no other.
This man, this silhouette, this specter of the night…it’s none other than DIO! Avdul, understanding the dangerous position he is in, jumps through a window and runs off into the night only barely escaping DIO’s carnal but benevolent embrace. If you were to read a transcript of Avdol’s description of DIO not knowing it was from “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”, one would probably assume it an excerpt from a book in the “Twilight” series which, if I’m to be entirely truthful, is a series of books I’d read had DIO been written in as the main character instead of the sparkly teen that has taken the hearts of many young ladies. Avdul lives to fortune tell another day and even though it was an incredibly dangerous experience for the man…he did get a good story out of it. “You’ve got to live a life worth commenting on” as comedian Pete Holmes says.
– The Doctor Is In –
The Doctor Is In!
Having heard just about enough of Avdul’s story, Jotaro jumps in to save Kakyoin. Having a stand that is incredible precise and faster than lighting really helps in this exact situation so Jotaro doesn’t exactly hesitate to get in and get his hands dirty. Holding Kakyoin down and letting his Stand do the bulk of the operation, our hero begins the procedure. Almost as soon as his Stand grips the “flesh bud”, it reacts by digging into Jotaro’s hand with one of its tentacles. Yep, it has tentacles. The longer the operation goes on, the deeper and deeper the “flesh bud” gets to Jotaro’s brain in an attempt to make him the next brainwashed victim. With the animation quality slightly bumping up and intensity rising, our jacket-clad hero puts the pedal to the metal and yanks the “flesh bud” out of Kakyoin’s face!
“Star Platinum” rips the bud in half and tosses it to Joseph who uses his Stand “Hermit Purple” to eviscerate what was left of the thumb-sized thought-manipulator showing us that “overkill” is not only acceptable in “Stardust Crusaders”, it’s encouraged. Kakyoin regained consciousness part way through the operation so, as you can imagine, he’s pretty shaken up so he heads down for a bit of a nap to recuperate. The next five to six minutes of the episode is basically filled with friendly banter as the group sit and discuss what just happened. It was a little odd and seemed to me like a bit of an intentional time-waster but I don’t know nearly enough about episode production and development so I can’t exactly “slam” it for doing what it did. It’s all good though because the next few scenes are real juicy ones!
– Mama’s Got A Stand?! –
Mama’s Got A Stand?!
It’s the next morning and everything seems “normal”. Old man Joseph has gotten up out of bed and is quick to begin complaining, calling out “Holly! Holly!” to no reply. Kakyoin sits up in bed and ponders his life up until this point, something we all do on occasion. Avdul is nowhere to be seen, my guess is that he’s somewhere being mysterious. Jotaro is really the only person doing what he’s supposed to be doing; getting up and getting ready for school but as he leaves the house he realizes something is wrong, something he never thought he’d think twice about. He recalls that usually his mum comes and gives him a kiss before he leaves for school, even though he makes out as if he’s too “cool” to get a kiss from his mum he actually couldn’t just leave without figuring out exactly why a kiss from mummy wasn’t delivered this morning.
Jotaro being Jotaro he jumps to the worst possible conclusion; something is wrong! Unfortunately for him…he was right. The group hears a scream from the kitchen, it sounds like Avdul, so they all dash to see just what the heck is going on. The audience is met with a terrible vision of Holly on the ground in what looks to be some sort of critical condition. Avdul being the quick-thinker he is explains that Holly, having Joestar blood coursing through her veins, has also developed a stand but it is one that is far too powerful for her to control and it is now damaging her body. After a slight freak out by the loving (grand)father, the group decides it is now time to track down DIO assuming that killing him will save her from the grips of the uncontrollable Stand. A proper explanation wasn’t entirely described but I feel like that’s the most educated assumption, especially for a series like this.
– Where In The World Is Dio Brando? –
Where In The World Is Dio Brando?
Deciding that now is the time to begin a more thorough search for DIO, the group gathers once again for what I’m going to call a little “family meeting”. Joseph and Avdul explain that they’ve never been able to exactly track DIO, they’ve no idea where it is he’s hiding and the race to find him has truly begin so there’s no time to waste. Pulling out all of the photographs taken by Joseph using his Stand ability, the gang look through them noting that they are all far too dark to determine a location. One thing not mentioned by the characters is that DIO looks to be naked or partially naked in each and every one of the photos, all of which were taken at different times over a course of a while. This leads me to believe that DIO is constantly in the nude. It’s lucky I’m not the character of Joseph Joestar in this series because I probably would have stopped trying to take the long-distance pictures after the first nude shot of my family’s mortal enemy. After another act of quick-thinking, Jotaro decides to use “Star Platinum” to help find out exactly where DIO is. Not only is his Stand agile and precise but he assumes it has good eyesight too.
With nothing else to try, Avdul and Joseph decide to let Jotaro give the pictures a good old look. After a long stare at the naked body which once belonged to a member of his family, Jotaro has “Star Platinum” sketch a certain interesting figure seen in the background of the image. Fast, strong, precise, 20/20 vision and apparently artistic talent that would make Van Gogh spin in his grave; “Star Platinum” begins to sketch one of the most detailed pictures of a common fly that I’ve ever seen but, guess what? It isn’t so common. Avdul takes one glance at the fly and takes off to find a book about insects assuming he can trace exactly where that fly is from. It turns out he’s right and he swiftly confirms that this particular fly is native to Egypt, a place that Avdul is extremely familiar with and a place where he actually met DIO once before…why did you not just try there in the first place? Anyway, moving on. After Avdul went to all the effort to figure out exactly where this fly comes from, in walks our old friend Kakyoin who explains to the group that he met DIO and was infected with the “flesh bud” when his family and he went to Egypt not too long ago…YOU COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING EARLIER, KAKYOIN! Calm down, Frank. Just take it easy.
– What Time Is It? (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Time!) –
What Time Is It? (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Time!)
Now they know where DIO is and they’ve got even more incentive to go and kill him, there’s nothing stopping the group from heading out so that’s exactly what they do. Leaving Holly in the caring hands of some of the world’s best doctors – obviously provided by the “Speedwagon Foundation”, God bless Robert Edward O. Speedwagon – the Joestar family alongside Avdul and Kakyoin head to Egypt! Episode 3 is over but it has done a great thing; it’s truly kicked off the “adventure” portion of the series and has pushed it to a place wherein which “Stardust Crusaders” can really show exactly why it is one of the most popular “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” parts in the history of the series. This show has piqued my interest in a huge way and, within three episode, has already outdone the last season. Bring on episode four! I can’t wait another week!
Check out the “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders” anime on Crunchyroll and check out more episode impressions HERE.
Perhaps the most popular anime of all time, Dragon Ball Z is receiving yet another retelling of its classic good vs. evil story featuring adventure, comedy and what everyone loves to remember, the epic fights. This time the battle is being bought to Blu-ray, marking one of the first times the full series is being completly brought to Blu-ray outside of a few movie releases and the discontinued ‘level’ sets. Does this latest release do the series justice or is this just another attempt to cash in on the massive fanbase?
Story
I’d be surprised if anyone is reading this review and isn’t familiar with the story of the Saiyan Saga of Dragon Ball Z, but I’ll keep spoilers to a minimum if you are looking to experience the story for the first time through this release. Season One contains episodes 1 – 39 of the series, covering the Saiyan Sage which includes a number of key fights against Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta among many training sequences and self contained adventures. Memorable villians and new characters such as Vegeta, Gohan and King Kai are introduced, new bonds are forged and tested and many infamous fighting techniques such as Special Beam Cannon and Destructo Disk are shown for the first time.
There is a great mix of action and storytelling as the Dragonball universe is greatly expanded upon in comparison to the earlier Dragon Ball. The fights are full of action and there is a great mix of dominance and evenness within the fights as they ebb and flow, allowing characters to showcase their full power and techniques whilst also keeping you on the edge of your seat as you contemplate who will be the victor. Season one sports the full cast of Z-warriors so you get to see the likes of Krillin, Tien, Yamcha and even Chiaotzu enter the action before they become vastly outpowered by the Super Saiyans.
This is the full original broadcast of the anime and not the much shortened Kai version which removed alot of the filler episodes, of which there are quite a few in Season One. These filler episodes often aren’t the most interesting or fun (particularly the one’s involving Gohan), so people who want a shorter and sharper series to watch might prefer Dragon Ball Kai, which is also available on Blu-ray and has had a similar remaster done.
Visuals
There are three things Dragon Ball Z purist are very vocal about it when it comes to the series being released. Colour correction, amount of grain and the most controversial, aspect ratio. Dragon Ball Z is an old anime that first aired all the way back in 1989, way before the HD era. This means the show first aired in the old 4:3 aspect ratio but has been converted to widescreen for this release without the option to view it in its original form, resulting in about 20% of the original image being lost. This does look odd in some scenes with the very top of character’s heads being cut off, but Funimation have said they have reframed each scene individually so no important details are lost, and for the most part they aren’t, but there is still a very heavy loss in picture. Grain has been completely removed so the picture is much clearer and was a neccessity due to the move to Blu-ray as the film would of looked horrible with the grain kept but some would say the effect is overdone and the picture loses detail thanks to that removal. Colour saturation has been fairly heavily increased, meaning colours are brighter than how they were originally intended which does sometimes have a detrimental effect on the source material as colours seem too simple and deeper colours like the orange of the character’s uniforms appear too bright. You can make your own judgements about these changes by looking at the above and below images which you can click for a full size comparison.
Saying all that, if you’re not a super hardcore fan or don’t mind these changes then the quality offered by this Blu-ray collection is high. The series looks pretty good in HD, especially considering the age of the anime and the fact the art style tended to be poorer in these earlier episodes. Colours are vibrant, lines are bold and all the action is crystal clear. One small problem that is noticeable only on still shots is that the image will sometimes wobble and distort, which can be a bit distracting but isn’t present too often and is most likely due to the old age of the source material rather than the remastering process.
The original boxart looks fantastic and if you go on to purchase the rest of the series then they will all link up to form a cool ‘mural’ representing all the key moments and characters of the anime. Menus are clean and simple with nothing to complain about on that part.
Audio
There’s no need for dub vs. sub battles with this release as the audio caters to fans of both. The default audio is set to the Funimation English dub with the original Japanese Audio track and is presented in True HD Dolby 5.1 surround sound and is awesome with the volume turned up, with sounds coming from the appropiate speakers when required. The other audio options are original U.S. broadcast which is presented in Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and finally the full Japanese audio with original music and voice which is presented in TrueHD Mono. The final option does sound rather old and muffled due to its age but has got a bit of an upgrade thanks to Blu-ray HD sound. The classic Japanese audio track is often touted as a classic and sounds great here. Many of the memorable tracks from the English broadcast didn’t come until late in season two and it would be the fair to say the dub music is less than impressive during season one so the dub with original music is the clear winner here in terms of quality.
As for the voice acting again you have choices of English and Japanese. The work of the Funimation voice cast still holds up very well today and characters just sound right, however you do get the feeling the voices that aren’t carried over from Dragonball are still coming into their own at this early stage in the series and do sound notably better in later seasons. People seem to either love or hate the Japanese cast so if you wish to watch the show in its original form or not will be your choice.
Extras
Special features are pretty scarce as they always have been with Dragon Ball releases, but there are a few extras there. The biggest is a sneak peek at a behind the scenes featurette that gives an insight into the legacy of Dragon Ball Z and the remastering process which features interviews with some of the managers and voice actors. Apart from that, there is also a U.S. trailer which highlights the differences between the original and remastered versions, textless opening and closing songs and trailers for a few other animes. Nothing to write home but nice to see a bit of effort being made as well as the promise of future special features in upcoming releases. One thing I found dissapointing is that the episode guides included in the orange brick DVD set are nowhere to be seen with this Blu-ray release, which is a shame as they featured episode information and interesting character biographies. Finally, if you were looking forward to seeing the ‘next time on Dragon Ball Z’ segments then those are also missing from this release, however the previous episode recaps are present.
Overall
It’s hard to give an accurate score to this release especially when considering who will be buying these Blu-rays. Hard core fans most likely won’t due to the cropping and other visual issues mentioned in this review and it’s unlikely that new fans will randomly pick this up due to the age of the anime, especially when they are probably only aware of Dragon Ball Z Kai’s existence. The release will look nice to those who aren’t purist and are not aware they are losing a portion of the image and the classic story with it’s memorable cast of characters and epic fights is still as timeless as ever, even if there are a few dull moments during the fillers. The sound quality offered is top notch, which is probably the highlight of this package but most likely won’t be enough of a push for people to splurge on the Blu-ray, especially with a lack of any noticeable extras. To sum it up, if you’re not a hardcore purist then this release will satisfy you’re nostalgic cravings and is a decent entry for new fans, otherwise you are most likely going to look elsewhere for your DBZ fix.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
I’m not entirely sure what fans are most excited about in regards to the upcoming “Godzilla” movie: Is it that we’re finally going to see a good “Godzilla” flick or is it that Brian Cranston may just be the one to take him down? Either way, fans are extremely excited for Gareth Edwards’ take on the “tokusatsu” classic and, from the trailers alone, I don’t think we’ll be disappointed.
Friday saw the release of the latest trailer; at only about 30 seconds long it doesn’t exactly show us much of what we haven’t already seen…apart from a nice (almost) “full-body” shot of our Japanese friend while giving us a nice serving of the new, but impressively classical and iconic, “Godzilla” roar.
The film – directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Bryan Cranston alongside Ken Watanabe – is set for a theatrical release in Australia on the 15th of May and in North America on the 16th which isn’t too far away. Stick to the site for any and all news as it breaks and don’t forget to head down below to check out the “Godzilla” trailer as well as to hit up our comments section.
Overview
The Trials series has become a global success, gaining fans worldwide all of whom are enamored with the special kind of gaming experience that can only be found in a Trials game. It’s not quite a racing game, it’s not quite a puzzle game, it’s not quite a side-scroller, but it is a Trials game. Now here we are with Trials Fusion the latest and greatest installment in the series and it builds upon and takes the formula of the series to greater heights than ever before.
Gameplay
Trials Fusion is quite a heavy game, it is absolute jam-packed with content and that becomes immediately apparent from start-up. The second you open up the game you are bombarded with a multitude of options, modes and menus. It is a lot to take in and requires a bit of leg work to navigate your way to something you want to do. It was a little difficult to figure out where the start but it seems the best place to kick things off is in the game’s career mode.
Progressing through the career mode unlocks vehicles, tracks and a multitude of other goodies for you use in the career mode and outside of it. Unlocked vehicles carry over to the online parts of the game as well as local multiplayer to boot. The career tasks you with taking on challenges and completing tracks with a reward system based on medals coloured bronze, silver and gold.
At its core, this is a racing game with puzzle elements. To make certain jumps you must perform a certain trick or build up a certain level of momentum or none at all. There is a lot of depth in this regard that will get you thinking in a complex way about how to approach each stage in order to gain the greatest results.
The game itself plays quite simply with triggers being associated with acceleration and breaking, whereas the control stick commands your characters leaning behaviours, whether he leans back or forward. The balancing part of leaning makes for a detailed mechanic that can be tricky to master but easy to grasp. It is all part of the mastery of the simple yet complex game that is Trials Fusion.
Also featured in the game is a detailed creation tool that allows you to develop and craft your own tracks which can then be uploaded for the world to see. This sharing ability allows for a great deal of creative flair among the community of Trials Fusion and gives a near infinite level of playability to the game as new players are constantly building new tracks for you to tackle.
On top of the creation tool is the multiplayer aspects of the game which have you compete side by side with other racers. The match ups are generally scored by least crashes and final placing in the race. It makes for a lot of chaotic fun when multiple players are letting loose and going nuts with it. It is truly fun and that is Trials Fusion’s M/O: pure fun.
Visuals and Audio
As far as visuals go, Trials Fusion has a rather unique aesthetic, mixing between rugged country terrain and hyper futuristic utopias. The graphics are crisp and nicely presented, the mash up of styles creates a memorable and lasting image giving Trials Fusion a distinct look that will stick with you long after playing. The flurry of lights and colour is gorgeous and the various terrains are all very well done.
The soundtrack for Trials Fusion is likewise very well made and it happens to feature the unforgettable theme song of the game ‘Welcome to the Future’ which will burrow its way into your consciousness and set up camp. It is a catchy tune that captures the feeling of Trials Fusion perfectly. It caps off an all around great audio composition.
Overall
Sometimes simple fun is all you need and for the most part that is what you get with Trials Fusion, a game that is simple by and large yet capable of immense levels of complexity beneath its surface. Ultimately it is an enjoyable gaming experience that is really unlike anything else on the gaming market right now. If you are looking for some addictive fun or just something different from the pack, Trials Fusion has your hook up.
With this latest installment, the Trials series solidifies itself as one of the best IPs going today and quite a promising one at that. The future holds many possibilities for Trials and with Trials Fusion we get a welcome to that future. This game will knock your socks off so hard you won’t want to put them back on. Trials Fusion rocks and rolls.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Thanks to the remarkable team of independent developers, Midgar Studio, Fusty Game, and Hideki Naganuma, the greenlit title, Hover: Revolt of Gamers opens for support on Kickstarter today at 18:00 EST. The futuristic 3D parkour game invites players to form a resistance of Gamers to rise above the oppression enforced by the tyrannical Mayor and reclaim their rights to video gaming consoles.
Recruit a team of extra terrestrial ethnic groups and take control of the metropolis, by rescuing persecuted citizens from security drones, infiltrating control centres of the anti-video games propaganda and retrieving gaming consoles confiscated from the population to dethrone the new Mayor. Players are encouraged to explore the verticality of the city, running at full speed, jumping from wall to wall, doing air tricks and using their experience points to unlock new abilities and personalise each of the recruited Gamers – see the amazing screenshots in the gallery.
Hover: Revolt of Gamers promises to offer a very immersive gaming experience (adapted for the Oculus Rift), with specific local multiplayer modes for PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U. Before Kickstarter goes live, check out the developers presentation video of Hover below and the official website here.
From Scooby Doo teaming up with Batman to King Kong going one on one with Godzilla, and the plethora of characters that appear alongside Rodger Rabbit, crossovers are a big part of entertainment. Seeing two popular characters either fight side by side or against each other makes all of our dreams come to life. Now Capcom and Level 5 have decided to put their hat into the ring with Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright. Combining two hugely popular puzzle franchises leads to some pretty lofty expectations, and while the end result doesn’t quite get there we are still left with an enjoyable product that fans of either (or both) franchises, or puzzle games in general will get a huge kick out of.
Story
On a dark and stormy night, after being involved in a horrible accident, a young girl knocks on the door of the infamous Professor Layton’s office asking for help and babbling about witches and the supernatural. After taking on the case, the ever curious professor ends up transported inside a magical book and into a small medieval town known as Labryinthia. Layton puts on his detective hat and is adamant about protecting the girl, and unraveling the mystery. Meanwhile, Phoenix Wright and his assistant Maya are making a trip to London for work when they too are sucked into the book. Phoenix soon discovers that there is a girl who has been accused of witchcraft and starts to build his case to free her. After the two hero’s paths cross, they each realie they are trying to reach the same goal, albeit with different means and the game is on.
I will be frank here; as much as I have enjoyed every installment in the Professor Layton series, not a single character has ever endeared themselves to me and quite simply I could take or leave the whole universe. On the other hand, Phoenix and his crew have all felt unique and special to me as I have played through their many adventures. Despite their differences, both companies have brought their big guns to the show and seeing Layton and Wright bounce ideas off of each other and work together to unravel the mystery, while still arguing and competing with one-another is still a sight to behold. Neither character hogs the limelight and it really feels like a fantastic collaboration piece rather than one character just making a cameo in the other’s universe.
Gameplay
Professor Layton and Ace Attorney are some of the most well renowned and popular puzzle franchises on the market today, and having them both together is a dream come true for many people. This game manages to bring us samples of each world and combine them into one package. To this end, it is not quite the best installment in either franchise, but it definitely delivers on the
While they are both challenging puzzle games, Professor Layton and Ace Attorney couldn’t be further apart. Luckily instead of trying to completely combine the two different styles, each character plays their own certain way – Layton’s story sections play out exactly as they would in one of his own games, and Phoenix is right at home gathering evidence or behind a courtroom desk yelling “OBJECTION!”
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask seems to be the inspiration for the puzzle-solving sections of the game, and has the player investigating areas of interest by moving around with their stylus (or the circle pad if you so choose). Areas of interest sparkle and allow players to gather all the clues they can to solve the mystery. You can also find hint-coins that can be exchanged during some of the game’s more challenging puzzles in order to help you out a little bit. Solving puzzles in a timely and accurate manner will unlock you Picarats that are used to purchase bonus content from the game’s menu.
During the witch-trial sections of the game, you will play as Phoenix Wright as he cross-examines witnesses to uncover the truth. You will present evidence and try to uncover lies, deciet and just plain old contradictions on the witness statements. Presenting the wrong information or evidence at the wrong time will result in a strike. You will fail the mission if all of your strikes have been extinguished. Picarats are also awarded at the end of each section and increase in value the better you do. A cool little feature of this game is the fact that Phoenix can be cross-examining more than one witness at a time. When you are presenting evidence to one witness, another may speak up. This adds an extra level of challenge and intrigue to the events and will keep players on their toes. Hint coins earned during the Layton sections of the game can also be spent during the witch trials to help you out.
While both entrants are strong showcases of their individual franchises, neither is the top of their game. The puzzles on both sides while challenging don’t hold the same spark as the solo outings for each character. In the end, the gameplay is fun but could (and possibly should) have been so much more.
Visuals & Audio
So I think the elephant in the room is the vastly different art-styles between the two franchises. The Ace Attorney series has always stuck to that traditional anime-style of art, where the characters and settings all look somewhat realistic, and with high levels of detail but with a lot of straight line-work and exaggerated hair and clothes. This is in stark contrast to the layton series which delves more into the Studio Ghibli style of artwork, with characters and settings that have really outlandishly shaped (seriously, look at the shape of Layton’s head) and with less detail.
What is amazing is that the two styles manage to blend almost seamlessly with one another. Even when Professor Layton and Phoenix are on the screen at the same time, they just sort of look like they belong together. It isn’t until you take yourself away from the game that you realise how different they really do look. Huge credit to the art directors on this one for their seamless integration of the two universes.
While the game has some amazingly animated and voiced cut scenes, the in-game dialogue sections are a little less refined. Often the characters will be speaking alongside the text at the bottom of the screen, but almost arbitrarily the voices will just stop and leave only the text behind. It is a pretty common thing to happen in video games, but the way it is done here feels disjointed and jarring. Not only that, but the fact that only part of the game is voice acted makes it feel a little out-dated in 2014.
Overall
When you combine two beloved franchises together, you set yourself some lofty goals for your end product. Whether it is Scooby Doo Meets Batman, or Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright you always want the result to be greater than the sum of its parts. Sadly, while Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright is a solid game, it doesn’t quite reach that lofty expectation, and while we are left with by far an above-average puzzler, it is neither the best installment in the Phoenix Wright or Ace Attorney franchises.
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