Football fans can kick around the adidas brazuca early in the EA Sports 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil demo for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, available to download right now. Xbox Live Silver subscribers will have to wait until April 9.
Eight national teams are included in the demo: hosts Brazil, England, Mexico, United States of America, Japan, Ivory Coast, Australia, and New Zealand. Playable are Kick-Off matches of any combination of the listed teams, using the aforementioned match ball, in the Estadio do Maracana – host stadium of the World Cup Final. A video has also been released showing the new tricks and celebrations you can attempt in the demo – watch it below! EA Sports 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil will be coming out on April 17 in Australia and New Zealand. Click here to check out a quick video walkthrough of the plethora of modes featured in the final release.
“Running out of space to store all your vehicles or just looking for another place to chill? You’ll soon be able to own multiple properties in GTA Online as part of the forthcoming High Life Update”
After the Business Update, Rockstar are keeping up the consistent GTA Online updates through Autumn with a bunch of new content, from the anticipated Capture Creator and co-operative Heist missions to new vehicles, weapons, attire and more. Here is a breakdown of when you can expect in the coming months, straight from the ever-detailed developers themselves:
Capture Creator: Coming next week, the Creator community will be able to make their own original customized Capture Jobs and add to the over 3.5 million (and counting) player-created Deathmatches and Races currently available on Social Club. Strategically place pick-ups, define weaponry, set location, and tweak tons of other variables to make your own unique Capture Job for others to take on. We will also be reviewing your homemade Capture creations to stamp standout experiences as Rockstar Verified.
The High Life Update: The High Life Update will allow you to expand your foothold in Los Santos with new high-end apartment options, the powerful Bullpup Rifle, new wardrobe items, the Dinka Thrust motorcycle and three new lavish cars to choose from, including the Super class Pegassi Zentorno. The High Life Update will also feature the debut of multi-property ownership in GTA Online, which means you’ll be able to own two distinct properties (with garages) simultaneously. All this plus the new Mental State player statistic, which is designed to let you see just how passive or psychotically unhinged fellow players in your session really are, and a slew of new Jobs.
Heists: Coming this autumn to Grand Theft Auto Online, team up with your most trusted Crew members or with random other mercenaries in Grand Theft Auto Online to pull off cooperative Heist Missions for glory and profit. We know many in the GTA Online community have been looking forward to this update — stay tuned for much more information to come.
“The new Dewbauchee Massacro and Pegassi Zentorno racing down West Eclipse Blvd”
And later this year, look for even more additions to both Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V, including more holiday-themed updates, some very exciting Story Mode DLC and much more.
Continuing Refinements Based On Your Feedback
Ever since the launch of GTA Online, we’ve been continuously monitoring how the community is playing the game as well as all player feedback sent to us at our [email protected] address to see what you’re liking, disliking, and what should be addressed in upcoming GTA Online Title Updates.
A recent update addressed an issue that we saw with the way motorcycles and bikes handled while in the air. As it turned out, many members of the GTA stunting community were disappointed to discover that this fix made pulling off certain popular bike tricks and stunts virtually impossible, so we’re going to be restoring the original in-air motorcycle/bike physics in an upcoming Title Update. In general, we are open to keeping unintended ‘glitches’ in the game if players enjoy them and they aren’t causing any negative impact to gameplay or fairness in any way.
Renowned GTA stuntman Kwebbelkop upon hearing about our plans to roll back the handling update.
“The Bullpup Rifle, coming soon to Ammu-Nation.”
There are many other ongoing improvements to expect as we continue to dedicate attention towards refining and ensuring the most fair and fun experience possible for everyone. In upcoming Title Updates and via dynamic tuning, you can expect:
The addition of a ‘Non-Contact’ option for Races. This will allow you to play standard Races with collisions disabled between player vehicles. Other players will appear as semi-transparent and you’ll still be able to collide with non-player traffic, structures and other scenery, but this mode – for those who want to play it – will eliminate the “rubbing is racing” mentality that some wish to avoid.
Players will be able to call Lester and have him tell his cop buddies to turn a blind eye to any crime you may or may not be committing for a short period of time.
As a reward for players who leave feedback on Jobs, there will be some bonus RP granted every time a player likes or dislikes content after playing it.
GTA$ payouts will be increased when completing Parachute, Races, Deathmatches and LTS Jobs with less than 4 players.
As part of our ongoing commitment to target cheaters and keep the game as fair as possible, we are closing RP exploits and will be adjusting the RP totals of players who we know for certain to have gained illegitimate RP by cheating. Your RP will only be adjusted if you participated in mods, hacks, DNS redirects, manipulation of cloud files, or other similarly nefarious behavior. If you grinded short legitimate missions or otherwise gained a small amount of RP without modding, your RP should not be affected by this correction.
We’ll be fixing the issue where players who had upgraded personal vehicles prior to Title Update 1.10 were only able to sell them for $10,000.
These are just a few of the ongoing tweaks and enhancements in the works — and as mentioned above, we are interested in hearing what YOU want to see, so please hit us up and let us know what you’d like to see added to the world of Grand Theft Auto Online.
It’s time for kick-off! Konami has just announced that Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 is available for free digital download on the PlayStation Store for PlayStation Plus subscribers.
This announcement comes hot off the heels of the release of the World Challenge DLC for PES 2014. The game is touted as the most realistic soccer game on the market. The free digital download promotion is only set for a limited time so be sure to download PES 2014 as soon as possible or otherwise you might just miss out on the action and excitement of the world game known as soccer.
Be sure to let us know what you think of this announcement in the comments section below.
“Jagged Alliance: Flashback” Launches Closed Alpha for Kickstarter Backers and Unveils Q2 Release for Steam Early Access
Selected Kickstarter Backers Can Now Access the Closed Alpha, with Steam Early Access Rolling Out in Q2
Copenhagen, Denmark — April 3, 2014 — Danish developer Full Control announced today that Jagged Alliance: Flashback is now in Closed Alpha and can be accessed by eligible Kickstarter backers. Receiving over $350,000 in funding through crowd-sourcing platform Kickstarter, Jagged Alliance: Flashback has been in development since June 2013 and is due to launch in late 2014.
Additionally, Jagged Alliance: Flashback will launch in Q2 on Steam Early Access for everyone, making the game available to all who like cheesy one-liners and tactical turn-based combat. Developer Full Control seeks to collect early feedback from the community through Steam Early Access to enable all fans of the series to have an active part in the development process. Through the additional funding new features and content can be added to make the game that fans of the franchise have always imagined. In order to get access to the closed alpha, or more information, visit: http://www.jaggedallianceflashback.com/
“We are happy to announce that Jagged Alliance: Flashback is finally in Alpha, with Steam Early Access close on its heels”, said Thomas Lund, CEO of Full Control. “Fans of the franchise will be excited about the return of the beloved turn-based action of the original game, and we can’t wait to get feedback from our Kickstarter backers and the rest of the community when Early Access on Steam begins. So go ahead, talk to us! We want to make this game as great possible for the fans of the franchise, which is also why we have chosen to focus heavily on the modability of the game.”
Based in the late-1980’s on the fictional Caribbean Island of San Hermanos, “The Prince”, the elected president, uses his powerful military forces to stop a rebellious group who are attempting to overthrow him. “The Prince” does not play by the rules and the revolutionaries are powerless against his military forces. The rebel leader gets arrested, and the insurgent army dissolves. Once players arrive on San Hermanos to get the rebel leader out of prison, things take a turn for the worse.
Gameplay features a unique mix of deep turn-based tactics, role-playing and sector management. The Kickstarter campaign, and now the Steam Early Access release, gives fans the opportunity to determine the scope and scale of Jagged Alliance: Flashback by directly influencing the shape of the game and participating during its development.
History of the Jagged Alliance Franchise:
Jagged Alliance was first released in 1994 and is still counted as one the best turn-based strategy games of its time. After the release of the refined Jagged Alliance 2 in 1999 over time the series became a classic never forgotten by its fans. The franchise received a reboot in 2010 with Jagged Alliance – Back in Action, which received mixed reactions from the community and press after its departure from turn-based action gameplay. Full Control plan to reset the franchise with the launch of Jagged Alliance: Flashback through Kickstarter.
About Full Control
Full Control is a small independent studio based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Over the years they have specialized in the genre of turn-based strategy games and have several productions in their portfolio, including the upcoming project, “Jagged Alliance: Flashback” and the recently released, “Space Hulk”, a turn-based videogame adaptation of the hugely popular Warhammer 40k boardgame.
Overview Since the advent of science and the evolution of theoretical conceptualism, people have dreamed of performing the greatest, most confusing feat known to man: travelling through time itself. Of course, this would require an inherent understanding of the universe and true knowledge of how time flows, if it flows at all. Despite the seeming impossibility of piercing the veil of time, some stalwart dreamers insist that it is more than a possibility, rather it is an inevitability that has by all reasoning already been achieved. Such is the nature of time travel. Though amidst the infinity of theories that surround this concept, I doubt any foresaw that the machine that would help shatter the bonds of time would be the humble microwave.
He who dreams of impossibility
Story We begin our journey through time on an average day in the not so average life of Rintaro Okabe, though he prefers to go by his self appointed nom de guerre: Kyoma Hooin. Whilst at a lecture being given by his number one competitor in the race to build a working time machine, Kyoma’s life begins to slide deeper into the realms of insanity when a satellite crash lands on the roof of the building he is in. A scream from the distance leads him to stumble upon the scene of a murder, a traumatic event that rocks the mad scientist to his core. Perhaps more than even he realises, as it would seem that he is the only one who remembers the day that transpired. To top things off, the very person he saw lying dead not hours ago is alive and well. Refusing to believe that he is indeed a “mad” scientist, Kyoma leans dives head first into his research, defying all logic by coming to the only logical conclusion: time travel.
As the mysteries of time travel slowly unravel around our hapless genius, a gaggle of curious followers congregate around the experiments of the Future Gadget Laboratory. After a brief period of trial and error, it is revealed that it is in fact a humble microwave that serves as the key to the door of untold possibility. Through a combination of happenstance and vaguely grasped science, Kyoma acquires the tremendous ability to send texts into the past. Though originally content with achieving such a feat, science demands progress, and so our band of trailblazers begin to experiment with the most dangerous facet of time travel: changing the past. Though limited to a mere 36 bits of information, their texts (henceforth dubbed D-Mail) do indeed alter the past, though the degree to which they do so is unpredictable. Naturally, our intrepid scientists continue onwards and upwards, pushing the bonds of sensibility and chance…until they push too far.
As the time travel experiments spiral further and further out of control, Kyoma’s very sanity begins to bend under the strain. As the only one who remains aware of their effects on the past, he is forced each time to assess the world and determine just what has changed. After suffering through countless manipulations of time, Kyoma is slowly transformed into a tortured soul, lost within an unstable world. One of his own making. Forced to bear the terrible curse of knowledge, Kyoma’s boisterous personality is slowly chipped away, leaving behind a man who truly understands the power of consequences. With his closest friends unaware of Kyoma’s traumatic ordeal, the series slowly shifts focus until the supporting cast is rendered somewhat inconsequential. Though they indeed remain crucial to Kyoma’s very life, each alteration of time serves to “rewrite” them to a degree. Calling into question the very idea of individuality. After all, how can one truly know themselves when their very memories exist as the result of a text message?
Meows everybody feeling today?
Visuals Consistent with its existence as a more subdued series set in the “real” world, the characters of Steins;Gate a rendered rather realistically. Though the classic anime traits are present, there is a distinct lack of excessive flair. For reference, the most grandiose article of clothing present within the series is a plain white labcoat. Though the visuals represent characters, they are not the sole differentiating feature, allowing their personality to bloom unhindered. The subtlety of the character designs also allows a great deal of focus to be placed on facial expressions. Portrayed in a truly powerful manner, the looks that flash across a character’s face are but one facet of unequivocal importance that imbue a sense of humanity into the moments that shape the series.
As the series delves deeper into the harsh reality of bending time to one’s will, the visuals alter to reflect the darker tone. The first glimpse of corporeal time travel can only be described as horrific. The image that emerges from attempting to cross a singularity may sound ludicrous on paper, but the visualisation is nothing to laugh at. Simply put, gel is volumes more frightening than you’d expect it to be.
If looks could kill…
Audio Without a doubt, Steins;Gate possesses a truly fantastic English dub. One of the most fast paced and manic ones I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing in fact. Rather than simply producing a translation of the Japanese dialogue, the writing staff poured effort into creating script that falls perfectly into the Western lexicon. Not only does this keep each piece of dialogue interesting, it endears the characters to an audience and culture beyond their original conception. Characters speak with such a bizarre combination of lingo that you wouldn’t be hard pressed to hear scientific jargon that inspires dictionary consultation, directly followed by pop culture references and “street” phrases. It’s truly a rich tapestry they weave. Naturally, this hastened manner of speaking is often imbued with copious amounts of sarcasm, used to belittle and embarrass those it is directed at. The discussions of the main cast can most aptly be described as scathing. However, as the plot adopts a decidedly more sombre tone in its later episodes, so too do the characters. Whether it be sadness, apathy, fury, disbelief, shock or any other emotion, the characters a played with an inherent believability that makes these moments truly touching to witness.
Due to the emphasis the series places on dialogue, music does not often factor into the equation of a scene. Instead, haunting silence is the go to choice for amplifying moments. That being said, music will occasionally fill the background, though not for any extended period of time.
Extras Steins;Gate possesses quite a grand bonus side if you enjoy additional information. Episodes 1,12,19 and 24 all receive the audio commentary treatment, performed by various members of the cast and crew. Should you be uncertain regarding the physical set up of the series, a handy map of Akihabara is also includes, providing a brief overview of where each major locale, such as the Future Gadget Laboratory, is in relation to each other. Textless versions of each opening and ending theme, along with a trailer for the second half of the series serve to round off the extra features.
He who answered the call
Overall Steins;Gate is truly an experience unto itself. Rather than presenting a slow build up, you are thrown into the deep end right from the outset, forced to piece together the story in tandem with the characters themselves. What begins as an illogical, upbeat foray into the realms of theoretical science, slowly transforms into an unforgiving tale of consequence, trauma and an unrelenting desire to set things right. With a tremendous performance given by each member of the cast, this wonderfully written series will draw you completely into the bizarre, unfortunate, unbelievable circumstances that create a truly incomparable series. El Psy Congroo.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
In some news that is sure to delight WWE fans, Viagogo the worlds largest ticket marketplace has expanded their partnership with the WWE. This new expanded partnership will now make Viagogo the official WWE international ticket marketplace for Asia, Australia, South America and Europe.
Through Viagogo, WWE fans will be able to purchase and sell tickets for WWE live-events within their countries and regions. Viagogo’s aim is to give people secure access to sports and entertainment events that they love and now with WWE in their stable of official sports and entertainment partners, WWE fans are in on the action.
Be sure to let us know what you think of this partnership in the comments section below.
With the release of Mugen Souls Z now less than two months away, NIS America has chosen to release some new English screenshots for the game. This time most of the screenshots focus on dialogue or a few events that take place in the game, though a few images of the game’s combat system are still included.
Mugen Souls Z is still set to be released on the PlayStation 3 in North America on May 20th and in Europe a few days later on May 23rd. In this sequel, Syrma has awoken to put an end to an ancient threat and she will be helped out by the previous game’s protagonist Chou-Chou and the rest of her friends.
Do you remember the game that Kadokawa announced they were working on last year? Well it looks like it will be making its way West when it is released. Today NIS America has come forth with a surprise announcement saying that they will be publishing Natural Doctrine in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita sometime in the Fall.
This currently marks the first game announced by NIS America that will be released onto the PlayStation 4 and it is a strategy RPG that features cross-play and cross-save. As for the story of Natural Doctrine, players will take control of a fresh faced adventurer seeking a rare and expensive material named Pluton and on their first trip to try and collect some you encounter a new threat unlike anything the kingdom has seen so far.
Well my friends Sakura Trick is over, twelve episodes have gone by and they were very interesting to say the least. Although the series has ended I am 4 impression posts behind so now it’s time to play catch up.
9-A: Year-end Debut S.B.J.K
It’s New Year’s Eve and Haruka is on the phone with Yuu, both of them are watching Yuus’ favourite artist on TV and Haruka is singing the lyrics of the song. The dilemma of this story begins when Yuu is called down so she can eat with her family, however Haruka doesn’t want to hang up as she wants to be the first person to say Happy New Year to her, this selfish and also jealous reason is what earns her the title of S.B.J.K or Shitto-Bukai Joshi Kousei (Jealous high school girl). When Mitsuki walks in and tells Yuu to come down and have dinner Haruka suggests talking to her whilst Yuu goes down to eat, Yuu would rather eat with her family (as it is tradition) however Mitsuki comes up with a lie so that she can have some alone time talking to Haruka.
The conversation starts out awkward as Mitsuki suddenly becomes sceptical about what she can say to Haruka; she starts off with the usual good evening, but then messes up one of her questions (which Haruka interprets as a joke). It’s not long before their talk turns into a regular conversation that contains a brief mention about a senior graduation, this little bit of info is a small teaser to the events that will occur in the next three episodes. At the end of the talk Yuu barges in with anger on her face as she found out her older sister lied to her, we then get a shot of the hungry Sonada parents as they wait for their daughters in order to start eating. The yuri kiss at the end is actually done through the phone this time, as the two girls give their final good byes they hang up on the greeting that they both wanted to say to each other from the start… “Happy New Year.”
Although I didn’t like the abbreviation title, it was great seeing Yuu making the most out of it to fully torment Haruka, her reasons being so were pretty justifiable too as it does sum Haruka up in a nut shell. The phone conversation with Mitsuki was the least enjoyable part of the story, however the awkwardness didn’t linger on and there was a genuine connection shown between the two of them (which Mitsuki will get the wrong idea about in the second third of this episode)
9-B A Sour Plan?! Take Two
Whilst walking to school in the chilly weather Mitsuki begins to wonder why Haruka wanted to talk to her the previous night; we then get one of Mistukis’ “oh so enjoyable” fantasies about Haruka which Is followed by a sliver of jealousy shown when she sees Yuu linking arms with her. When Ikeno and Iizuka catch up to Mitsuki she grabs ahold of Iizuka and links arms with her, this brings about no effect to Mitsuki and a lot of confusion and irritation to Iizuka. When Ikeno mentions Yuua and Haruka took a different pathway to school they begin to tail them in order for “Mitsuki to link arms with Yuu.”
The pathway leads to a children’s playground and Ikeno is the first to spot the two girls inside a large dome; yes they took that path so they could kiss each other, but once caught Haruka quickly makes up a story about planning a surprise event for Mitsukis’ graduation.
This cover up story was not only good, but it also didn’t feel like it was pulled out of thin air. Haruka was genuinely planning a surprise party for Mitsuki and you can see her disappointment when she overheard, a nice and quick response yet at the same time a ruined surprise for a friend. When Mituski begins to walk back she trips over a (small) stone, quick to respond Haruka manages to catch her and also receive an accidental kiss on the forehead, as you can imagine Mitsuki is read with embarrassment and runs off at road runner speed. This third ends with Ikeno questioning why Yuu and Haruka had to discuss the surprise party all alone, rather than inside the classroom and thus the suspicion begins…
You may have noticed (and I hope you did) that instead of writing halves, I mentioned this episode being in thirds. That’s right folks, we have special extra that is both longer and more entertaining than the
Yuzu-Chan Becomes One With The Wind!
Iizuka just got her license and finds joy in riding her new scooter and almost runs her instructor over, Ikenos’ maths notebook is destroyed after a rather interesting game of house with her younger siblings and Haruka gets the daylights scared out of her from one of Ikenos’ practical jokes. This has got to be my favourite extra of them all; all three stories are short, sweet and focus around the two funniest characters in the show. The interactions between Ikeno and Iizuka are wonderful and really highlight their personalities; it also offers a nice break from the main storyline and succeeds in delivering good laughs in such a short time period.
With the introduction of Ikenos’ suspicions plus the mention of a graduation ceremony, the last three episodes focus mainly on those topics and no doubt affect Haruka and Yuus’ secret being exposed; the two main stories in this episode set a good enough foundation for things to develop and in episode ten, you can bet that they do.
Sakura Trick is animated by Studio Deen and is currently being streamed, byCrunchyroll. Don’t forget to check out our Anime Impressions page to see what shows the other Capsule Computers anime crew is watching this season.
Last month Atlus USA released the first in what is going to be a series of videos showing off the enemies that players will be able to possess in Abyss Odyssey and today the company has chosen to release the next video in the ‘Know Your Enemy’ series by highlighting the Bauta foe.
The Bauta is a masked swordsman and you can check out how this enemy will control in the video below. In this video a member of Atlus’ testing department is controlling the character while the last video, featuring Judith, was performed by one of the game’s designers.
