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Gangsta Volume 1 Review

March 31, 2014

Gangsta Volume 1
Author: Kohske
Illustrator: Kohske
Publisher: Madman Entertainment
Release Date: 10th March 2014
Price: $14.95 – Available Here

Overview

“Gangsta” began its run back in 2010 and, to this day, has 24 chapters under its belt. Unfortunately though Western countries haven’t had a chance to get their hands on it…until now. After fours years, fans of Manga outside of Japan can finally indulge themselves thanks to the people over at “Viz Signature” and Australia’s very own “Madman Entertainment”. With detailed visuals and a twisted mob-based storyline I found it hard to believe this didn’t make it to Western audiences earlier but we have it now and that’s all that really matters so let’s focus on that.

Story

Set in the city of “Ergastulum” – a dark and twisted urban area filled with gangsters, thieves, prostitutes and everything in-between – the story of “Gangsta” follows two men; Worick and Nic working under the name “Handymen” who will do almost anything for some cash. From cleaning your gutters to killing your neighbour, the “Handymen” will do it…as long as you offer them the right price. Volume 1 follows the men as they enter into a mafia turf war, it seems as though a bunch of new “gangsters” have decided to call some of the already-occupied streets of “Ergalstrum” their home and the mafia family who’ve owned the the area for quite some time aren’t ready to back down. Between them and the cops, Worick and Nic find themselves between a rock and a hard place but this is just the beginning of the storm that’s stirring above “Ergalstrum”, one that will be remembered for generations to come.

That’s just the start though. What I found to be fantastic about “Gangsta” is that it doesn’t treat the audience like idiots, it doesn’t straight up tell you what is happening and how, it simply shows you what it needs to and lets you figure out the rest. The greatest example of this is Worick and Nic’s past, how they first met and how they came to be what they are today. There are plenty of mafia-based animes, mangas, tv shows and movies around, we’re in no “mobster movie” drought right now but it is storylines like the one within “Gangsta” that really rejuvenates a love for a classic sub-genre like the mob film. Within the world of “Gangsta” there are certain people who are referred to as “Tags”.

They’re called this simply because of the dog tags they wear which works as a kind of warning to those around them. These “Tags”, though almost entirely shrouded in mystery throughout the first volume, are said to be unimaginably powerful beings. To have character types like them in a seemingly normal/realistic storyline is something that I happen to be quite a fan of and something that I believes adds a certain “twist” or “spice” to what would usually be your standard storyline. As of the first volume nothing much has really come to light about the story as a whole but the foundation has clearly been laid out so I can only imagine the coming chapters and volumes are going to go above and beyond what we saw in this one.

Visuals

I’m a huge fan of the visual style of “Gangsta” an I think maybe because it has aesthetics that are actually quite similar to that of “Fullmetal Alchemist”…though the two really shouldn’t be compared. I’ve always been a fan of the grittier-looking mangas as opposed to the more “cutesy”style we see an abundance of and “Gangsta” really has the art of drawing “grit” mastered, in my opinion. Character illustrations are fairly clean for the most part but all it takes is an intense situation to have the visual style change from clean to that of an extremely detailed and dark image. Kohske, the author/illustrator, clearly takes a great deal of pride in his work with the non-combat scenes being pretty much as well-drawn as the combat scenes which we all know is when a manga (and even anime) gives itself a chance to truly show how good it looks.

Something I think is both brilliant and daring about “Gangsta” is that Nic (one of the two main characters) is actually deaf so he spends most conversations communicating in sign language which is shown by both proper sign language movements but also by a black-coloured speech box with white wording. Nic rarely speaks but when he does the lettering and speech box are drawn to be quite rough with each latter varying in size, I fell like this was the perfect way to portray his, somewhat, inability to speak and the trouble he puts himself through to verbally communicate with those in the manga that cannot communicate to him via sign language. Characters have large features, most notably their hands, and it seems to work as an art style so damn well but I can’t exactly put my finger on it as to why it does. Aesthetically I cannot complain about “Gangsta”, it does everything it needs to be a good manga and sometimes it even goes above and beyond.

Overall

“Gangsta” Volume 1, perfectly kicks off the series. It not only gives you a glimpse at both the comedic and action-packed sides of the series, it also gives you just enough information to spark an interest in the past of these characters while simultaneously lighting a fire in your heart that is fueled by your want for the next volume. A good manga has to have two things; well-illustrated scenes and a compelling story, “Gangsta” manages to achieve both those feats in the first volume as it lays down as much as it possibly can in anticipation of the next release. Dealing with dark themes like organised crime, segregation, prostitution and violence, “Gangsta” is a pure mobster story with enough over-exaggeration to keep audiences glued to the page. What else can I say?

Company of Heroes 2: The Western Front Armies Announced by SEGA

Kane Bugeja

March 31, 2014

Company of Heroes 2: The Western Front Armies Announced by SEGA

Company-of-Heroes-2-The-Western-Front-Armies-Screenshot-01 — **This used to be such a nice neighbourhood…**

SEGA has announced that Company of Heroes 2 will see a new standalone multiplayer offering: The Western Front Armies.

Company of Heroes 2: The Western Front Armies takes players back to the Western Front first introduced in the original Company of Heroes. Of course, being a new addition to the franchise, this jaunt back into familiar territory introduces two unique collections of new content: the US Forces and the German Oberkommando West. Each individual army will also be available as a standalone purchase via digital download, providing new players with a minimal entry point into the massive Company of Heroes 2 multiplayer community.

Each of these armies presents distinctive tactical gameplay options, along with new infantry, team weapons, vehicles, abilities and upgrades on a total of eight seasonal multiplayer maps. Also included is a new progression system that introduces even more unique content into the game and enables players to dive deeper into the tactical and strategic aspects of the game than ever before. All Company of Heroes 2 players can then battle across 31 maps (along with more than 1000 community maps available on Steam Workshop) in auto-match multiplayer, regardless of what content they already own, even if they have just purchased the new Western Front Armies. Definitely a cool feature.

Greg Wilson ( Executive Producer at Relic Entertainment) said:

“We know how much fans love the setting of the original game and we have responded to their request to revisit the Western Front. By offering Western Front focused content to Company of Heroes 2, we are giving players a brand new set of tactical options that significantly expand their multiplayer experience. At the same time, it has never been easier for new players to get access to our vast multiplayer community.”

The Western Front Armies is set to launch in June and will be available on Steam $29.95. So grab your weapons and jump back into the fray as Company of Heroes returns to battle. The war begins again.

Australian PS Plus April Instant Game Collection

Nathan Farrugia

March 31, 2014

Australian PS Plus April Instant Game Collection

Another month brings with it another offering of free games thanks to Sony’s PlayStation Plus game service for all of their current consoles. The games coming to the Australian market are all listed below and will be available to download from April 2nd.

PS4 – Mercenary Kings – Developed by Tribute Games and touted as a cross between the old school 2D shooter Metal Slug and Borderlands. This title has yet to be released so will be available for free just one day after it’s launch. Check out the trailer below.
PS3 – Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 – Developed by Konami this is the biggest rival to FIFA in the soccer market and a great one at that. Pro EVO soccer 2014 is built upon the FOX engine and features tighter ball control than ever before..
PS3 – Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time – One of Sony’s most famous mascots in Sly Cooper. The story goes that a time-travelling villain is scouring the past to pinch the Cooper clan’s biggest burgling secrets. Compatible with Cross Buy, Cross Play and Cross Save so you can play it on the Vita and continue your adventure.
PS Vita – Hotline Miami – Assume the role of a mysterious antihero on this 2D top down shooter that has won many awards and is also compatible with Cross Buy.
PS Vita – MotoGP 2013– Step into the shoes of a rider in career mode challenging you to rise from your Moto 3 wildcard entry to take on the very best in the MotoGP championship covering every racer of the season.

To check out reviews or the latest new on any of those titles mentioned, please click the gold links. The following titles will no longer be available come April 2nd so make sure to download them before then if you plan on playing them. Once you download them you can play them for as long as you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription.

PS3 – Dead Nation Apocalypse Edition
PS3 – Tomb Raider
PS3 – Borderlands 2
PS Vita – Smart As
PS Vita – Pixeljunk Monsters Ultimate HD

This month saw a very different line up from the North American store, which will receive Batman: Arkham City, Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse for the PS3 and Stealth Inc.: A Clone in the Dark, Pixeljunk Monsters Ultimate HD and Velocity Ultra for the Vita. Let us know in the comments what games (if any) you will be downloading this month.

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Review

Jamie Laike Tsui

March 31, 2014

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platform: Mac, Windows (Reviewed)
Release Date: 25 March 2014
Price: $39.99 USD – $44.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

After the controversial launch of Diablo III with the Auction House and the major gameplay changes compared to Diablo II, Blizzard set out to address many long-time fans’ feedback with the Reaper of Souls expansion. The much despised auction house was shut down in favour of a new loot system, along with a complete revamp of the difficulty settings. Though all Diablo III players would benefit from the new gameplay changes, owners of Reaper of Souls would be able to take advantage of the new game content such as the new Act V storyline, Adventure Mode, and the Crusader class.

Story

After Diablo’s untimely defeat at the end of Diablo III, a new villain has stepped up to challenge the Nephalem. The archangel Malthael has reappeared and rebranded himself the Angel of Death. After Malthael attacks Tyrael and the members of the reformed Horadrim Order and steals the Black Soulstone, the Nephalem is summoned to the city of Westmarch to save the day.

Casting an archangel as the villain of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is a nice change of pace from the usual demon enemies. The new plot continues to explore the story of the angelic realm, which brings some more balance to the overall lore. From the large overarching plot down to the small idle conversations in town, the writing is top notch. In fact, I found the small talk in town to be the most impressive. The humorous snippets serve as an excellent foil to the grim world of Diablo.

I really appreciate the fact Reaper of Souls provides optional side quests for several of the NPCs which caps off their ongoing stories from the base game. I found myself rather attached to my followers after spending hours listening to their dialogue while slaughtering thousands of demons at their side. Finally being able to see their story come to a close was one of the most satisfying moments for me in the game.

Gameplay

Personally, Diablo III was a bit of a disappointment. The game that was released at launch was not terrible, but I felt it was not up to Blizzard’s standards. There was a large laundry list of things that needed to be done post-launch to bring the game up to snuff. The Auction House, in both its real money and gold forms, was a much hated part of the game. Classes needed serious balancing and long term replayability needed to be addressed.

After almost two years of tweaking, adding, and adjusting has culminated in Reaper of Souls and patch 2.0. As a note, it is impossible to review Reaper of Souls without addressing the gameplay changes that patch 2.0 brought to the game. The gameplay changes was implemented for all players via the patch, while the new additional game content was made available for Reaper of Souls owners.

With the removal of the auction house, a new loot system has been implemented in the game, known as Loot 2.0. The amount of overall loot players will encounter has dropped, but the quality of loot that is suited to the player’s character will now constitute a vast majority of the drops. Those returning to the Diablo III will notice the difference instantly. There are less trips to the auction house to empty the bags of rare items and less trips to town to sell/salvage the rest. Legendary drop rates were buffed significantly and made Bind on Account, except for a small two hour window where legendary items can be traded to party members present during the item’s drop. The new loot system may be familiar to those who played Diablo III on the consoles, as Loot 2.0 is a tweaked version of the console system. Loot 2.0 is makes for a more satisfying game. Players are now rewarded with appropriate loot for playing the game, instead of grinding enough gold to buy the right loot on the auction house.

The difficulty system has been reworked to better scale to player levels. Normal, Nightmare, Hell, and Inferno has been replaced with Normal, Hard, Expert, Master, and Torment I-VI. The game now scales the difficulty to the host’s level, while providing better bonuses as the difficulty level rises. Torment is the only difficulty that drops the new level 70 legendary items. I found the new difficulty system scales at a smooth rate for the most part, but the difficulty jump between Master and Torment I is a bit steep.

Reaper of Souls brought new content in form of a new act, the Adventure Mode, the Crusader class, and a ten level boost to the level cap. Act V’s length is about on par if not slightly longer than the previous acts in the game. In comparison to previous acts, I find the dungeon design to be more maze-like. The city of Westmarch has become one of my favourite places in the entire game with its many small optional side quests and its close quarters. Malthael is a fantastic end boss to cap a strong Act V. I personally found him to be a much more technically challenging boss compared to previous bosses and an entertaining fight.

The real bulk of Reaper of Souls’ replayability rests in the Adventure Mode. Once Act V has been completed, players complete random bounties in different areas in Adventure Mode. These bounties are short 10-15 minute exercises that can be chained together for a bonus chest with extra loot. Blood Shards and Rift Keystones drop as additional rewards for completing the bounties. The Blood Shards can be traded in for random items that have a small chance of rewarding the player with a legendary items. Five Rift Keystones can be used to open up a Nephalem Rift that will generate a random dungeon where players will kill enemies until a Rift Guardian appears. These guardians are an extremely powerful version of a random mob in the game. Upon death, they will drop a generous amount of loot, money, and experience. The Nephalem Rifts usually take thirty minutes or longer to clear, and provide lots of opportunity for marathon runs of Diablo III. Adventure Mode is a much needed addition to the game that provides relief from grinding the same campaign over and over again.

Reaper of Souls builds on Loot 2.0 by adding new items scaled for the extra 10 levels. Additionally, the Mystic has been introduced to the game. For a price, she is able to transmogrify items to look like the basic weapon models in the game and any legendary item previously looted. More importantly, the Mystic is able to enchant weapons by replacing an unwanted stat with a new random stat. Considering the important of gear with the correct stats in Diablo III, the Mystic is an important addition that will turn amazing gear into the perfect item.

Diablo III’s cast of characters had an interesting hole. The Paladin from Diablo II was replaced by the Monk. The archetypical heavily armoured warrior of light was demoted from a playable class to a Templar follower. Reaper of Souls sought to answer demands for the return of the heavily plated warrior by introducing the Crusader. On paper, the Crusader is a great idea. They are heavily armoured warriors that wield mostly physical and holy abilities to punish their enemies. It is clear that a lot of inspiration has been drawn from the Paladin class from World of Warcraft. However, on launch the Crusader is extremely underpowered and needs some serious balancing compared to Diablo III’s original classes. It is fair to point out the older classes has underdone almost two years of balancing and tweaking, while the Crusader has only seen several months of beta testing. Currently, the Crusader seems to be struggling with overall low DPS compared to other classes and a seriously underpowered melee experience. Although there are some really appealing ideas for the Crusader, the class needs serious work to better balance the Crusader compared to the other classes in the game.

Visuals

Reaper of Souls’s brings some new visual design with the new areas found in Act V. The city of Westmarch easily takes the crown as the best area in the game, breaking away from the traditional caves and dungeons in favour of a dense urban area. Blizzard has designed the new enemies to reflect the fallen angel motif, though the player will also plough through legions of familiar zombies, skeletons, and ghouls on their way to Malthael. The cinematics continue to be blockbuster quality, easily standing on par with the giants of Hollywood.

On the technical side, Reper of Souls is no more taxing than Diablo III. The game ran just as well the pre-expansion game and has equally low minimum system requirements. With the settings turned up to max, the Reaper of Souls still looks great.

Audio

Blizzard continues its tradition of fantastic orchestral scores with Reaper of Souls. The music is moody and gives the game an epic feel. The voice acting continues to be of excellent quality. The sound effects are spot on, and big battles provide a very satisfying wall of sound.

Overall

Hands down, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is the game Blizzard should have delivered two years ago. The game brings the much needed changes to the itemization system, the death of the despised Auction House, more sensible replayability options, and a great Act V to boot. Diablo fans that were turned off by Diablo III should really consider coming back to the game and giving Reaper of Souls a chance to change their minds. Though the Crusader class needs some serious balancing, Blizzard delivers a highly polished experience that is a pleasure to play.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

The Last Tinker: City Of Colors Preview

Chris Chu

March 31, 2014

The Last Tinker: City Of Colors
Developer: Mimimi Productions
Publisher: Unity Games
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4

The Last Tinker: City Of Colors is a new upcoming action adventure title from Mimimi Productions and Unity Games (the publishers of titles such as Archangel, the iOS and Android Fantasy Action title). The game touches on current day issues like culture and racism. It really provides a breath of fresh air when traversing Colortown, the city where Koru, the main character of the game, has to overcome the Bleakness in order to restore color to the world. The game’s graphics are very cute and colorful.

In The Last Tinker: City Of Colors, Koru lives in the slums of a place known as Colortown, which is a small town in Tinkerworld. Anything can be built from paper, glue, and color. The opening scene starts off with the description of Tinkerworld and some nice pictures of the world created by paper and glue. However, the city of Colortown is in danger as the city divides itself into districts based on color. Only in the outer areas of the city are the people still acting normal, but as Koru discovers, he’ll start a chain of events that will lead his world into trouble. The narration is excellent and really provides a light-hearted atmosphere as you begin the game.

Right off as you start, your screen is filled with different colors and Koru’s home. Tap shows up and tells us to get ready for the race and that he’ll train us on the way. As you get acquainted with the movement scheme, Tap guides you with what buttons to press or to use. WASD is to guide Koru around. The mouse is your method of looking around your environment. The space key is used to sprint and hop onto other platforms, making navigation in this game quite easy. Besides running and jumping everywhere, you’ll have to maneuver across tight ropes and up ladders to make your way to your objective.

Additionally, combat in the game is quite easy to understand. Using your left-mouse button, Koru will punch in front of him. Clicking continuously will lead to him chaining a combo together, where the fifth attack deals more damage. So far in the build that we’ve received, the combat seems to be pretty self-explanatory. You can swap targets in the middle of attacking, leading to more coverage if you’re being overwhelmed.

In the build, your main goal is to earn 500 Crystals (the currency used in The Last Tinker: City Of Colors) so that you can enter the race. One part of the journey is to go through a fighting workshop with Brik. The lizardman teaches a bunch of rookies the art of fighting and how to become good at it. To complete his workshop, you have to complete 3 different objectives. One of them is to hit your target 5 times without hitting the same one twice. Doing this was fairly easy, as you only had to adjust your character’s point of view to get Koru to attack another target. Your target will be highlighted yellow, so it makes tracking your movements fairly easy. The second objective is to dodge roll, which you can do with your right-mouse button. Using this to escape your enemy’s attack is important to beat the game. The last objective was to hit a punching bag 15 times in a row. Finally, you had to take on the other new recruits by yourself, which is actually quite entertaining once you start fighting them. You have to dodge and swap attacks between them to make sure they don’t get a hit on you. Once you’re finished collecting the crystals, you enter the race. One of your main rivals, Bolzo, shows up to discourage you. As the race begins, Bolzo cheats and takes off before the sound off. As you twist and turn around the trail, Bolzo tries to stop you with whatever trick he has.

Through all of his tricks, Bolzo manages to get first place in the race. Tap calls him out on this and Bolzo simply gives up the prize, but promises to take revenge on Koru and Tap. As you make your way back to your hideout, Bolzo and his goons show up. Bolzo punches Tap and retreats, leaving you to deal with his 8 or so buddies. As you seek medical attention for your friend, the Purple Spirit shows up at your home. The Purple Spirit is one of the world’s Color Spirit. Noticing the trouble that’s been brewing in Colortown, it seeks Koru’s help to fix the problem. Koru is a tinker, one of the last ones. Because of this, Koru has the power to fix the problems that’s been infesting Colortown.

Overall, the game has huge potential. The brief gameplay demo that we’ve been able to try has so much to offer. From the amazing graphics and the detail that’s put into it, to the soundtrack that really set the atmosphere for the game, Mimimi Productions has set a high standard for this game, and they’ve delivered with this first build. I’m excited for what’s to come during the summer as they release the full version of this game. The puzzle and adventure/action elements of the game is sure to appeal to gamers of all types. What’s more important is the very important messages and themes that the game is trying to impart within its player, which I respect. The Last Tinker: City Of Colors is an absolute delight, and is easily on my to-buy list when it comes out this summer. With over 8 hours of gameplay on the full version, it’s no wonder why the title won the “Best Game In Show, Audience Choice” award at the Casual Connect 2014 conference in Amsterdam. If interested, make your way to their website here to get more information on the game.

Maya The Bee: The Ant’s Quest Review

Frank Inglese

March 31, 2014

Maya The Bee The Ant’s Quest
Developer: Studio 100
Publisher: BulkyPix
Platforms: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (Reviewed), Android
Release Date: 27th March 2014
Price: $4.19 – Available Here

Overview

“Maya The Bee” was actually first released as a book for children all the way back in 1912. The book’s original writer was a German man by the name of Waldemar Bonsels who I guarantee would have never imagined his creation would come so far. “Maya The Bee” has been almost every single form of media throughout its run; comic books, a tv series, a film, even an opera written for children and now, in this day and age, a series of video games. The first “Maya The Bee” video game was released for the Gameboy Colour back in 1999 and the latest one to be released is the one this review is about; “Maya The Bee: The Ant’s Quest”.

Story

The original “Maya The Bee” book had a storytelling style quite different to that of this game, not that it is a bad thing though, it’s simply just interesting. The book dealt with many real-life issues like nationalism, racism and the long for individualism and freedom in a “hive-mind” society. “Maya The Bee: The Ant’s Quest” jumped to the other side of the storytelling spectrum, instead of having the game focus on more hard-hitting subjects and themes it decided to shoot more towards a younger audience with the story simply being; “The ant Queen is sick and she needs some medicine that’s made up of different fruits, since the ants don’t know what to do without their queen it is up to Maya to jump in and save the day”. Once again; it isn’t bad that the stories are so drastically different, the first book was published over 100 years ago and so much has happened in between. Clearly some changes were made. Personally, for an mobile title like this, the small bit of story it gives you is all you really need. It doesn’t often come up and there’s no real story “progress” so really you aren’t missing much by totally ignoring the short opening sequence.

Gameplay

“Maya The Bee” plays similar to Nintendo’s “Pikmin” series. It was clearly inspired seeing as the developers themselves have related their game to that of “Pikmin”. You play as Maya who flies around environments recruiting different types of ants, each of which do different things; the soldier ants fight enemy wasps, the worker ants break down obstacles and the transporter ants carry things like boulders and the fruits you need to bring back to the ant hill. You’re tasked with going through different levels, solving puzzles, finding secret treasures and beating the clock but since your average time to finish a level is somewhere near 500 seconds, you can pretty much always take your time.

There are bosses to fight throughout the game and I actually enjoyed going up against them because the way you combat them is quite old-school and very clever. For example: The very first boss is a huge wasp that dashes at you, breaking down rubble and carrying boulders into the middle of the arena works to stun the wasp when he runs into it. Once he’s knocked out you just sick your soldier ants on him and, hey presto, the guy is done for! I did enjoy this game but I also found it to get boring after a while. A sense of monotony did loom over me while playing but going at the game in short bursts is the way I feel it is to be played but puzzle-freaks will probably go at this title with everything they’ve got and I guarantee they’ll love it. It’s a mix between a puzzle game and an adventure game so tread lightly unless this type of game is your “thing”.

Visuals

Simply: The game looks great. Yes, there are a few key visuals that are a little bit “lackluster”, for lack of a better word, but it’s overall visuals really make up for what solitary visuals lack. The only thing I took a major dislike to was how Maya herself wasn’t entirely animated well. Her character model had a great deal of edges when when the developers really should have put the time and effort into smoothing her out as much as possible. The only reason this was a big deal for me is because most of her idol animations make her out to look quite angry only because her cute, round eyes weren’t as smooth as they should be and caused her to seem as though she was furrowing her brow.

For the most part though the game was well-polished and Maya herself is one of the most adorable characters I’ve seen as of late, I can honestly see child fans falling for her cutesy charm hook, line and sinker. The game has nice, vivid colours and I was very impressed by it all. Something I found odd was that the game didn’t seem entirely optimised for iPad use, while playing on my iPad the certain images looked stretched and weren’t as crisp as what it would look like on the iPhone or iPod Touch. While I can’t exactly take away big points for that, it would have been nice to be able to see a beautiful, more detailed version of the game on a bigger device like the iPad.

Audio

The game has a nice little soundtrack but unfortunately it isn’t anything special. What I enjoyed the most about the game auditorally was Maya’s voice, though her voice actor never actually spoke, she did make cute sounds for when Maya is reacting to certain situations and it just added to the likability of the little bee. Though, in saying that the soundtrack wasn’t anything special, it did do a good job for the game that suited it very well. It wasn’t over-encompassing in any way, the tracks were quite light and made for quite a comforting vibe. even when fighting the bad guys you never truly felt like you were playing through some sort of hostile game so the music did what it was meant to do. Kids will love this game, the music is “tip-toey” (as I like to say), it gives off a nice vibe and it matches the entire game very well.

Overall

Adult or child, you’ll find something you like about this game. Though clearly directed more towards children I wouldn’t advise for adults to pass this one up. If you are a fan of games like “Pikmin” and are looking for, let’s say, a mobile version of the game then I’d recommend “Maya The Bee: The Ant’s Quest” to you because, essentially, it’s “Pikmin Lite” and it plays very well. While its price may be a little steep for the more casual mobile game players, if you love puzzle games and cute aesthetics than it is well worth the price. If you can look past the little things that aren’t entirely “up to scratch” you’ll enjoy this game through and through so maybe it’s the one for you.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Nobunagun Episode 13 Impressions

Kane Bugeja

March 31, 2014

Nobunagun-Episode-13-01 — **The Nightingale soars again**

Nobunagun
Gun No. 13: Nobunagun

So here we are folks, the final act of humanity’s struggle with an alien invasion force who seeks to claim our shores. Were it not for the superhuman abilities of history’s best, brightest and most brutal, we would have fallen years ago. So as Earth’s final bastion of rebellion stands before their greatest foe yet, the only thing left to do is hope they can pull through again. It’d be kind of a downer if they didn’t…

Nobunagun-Episode-13-02 — **The final bullet**

I’m just gonna come right out and say it, my prediction was a little bit off last week regarding the reveal of the Florence Nightingale E-Gene. IT would seem that it is indeed one E-Gene per person and my theory about quelling vicious personalities with ones of temperance was wrong. As we learn via flashback description, Nightingale and Jack the Ripper are indeed two historical figures of note…they just also happen to be one in the same. I’ll just let that sink in for a moment. The so called “Angel of Crimea” a renowned nurse, even to this day, is also one of the most well known serial killers of all time. That being said, her motivations were not entirely monstrous (as the series depiction of the Ripper would seem to denote). Apparently, Nightingale possessed the unique ability to hear a mysterious voice analogous to God. This voice both led her to become a nurse and commit murder on the streets of London. To save London. From bio-terrorism. So Secret Agent Florence Nightingale murdered women injected with terrible strains of bio-weapons in order to save Europe, all because of a mysterious voice that only she can hear. Don’t you just love Nobunagun’s revised history? I’ll admit it does seem a little convenient that Jack would unlock a new power right when it was needed, but this is anime after all. Eleventh hour superpowers are all the rage. A minor twist however, is that he did not unlock it to save himself, but rather Nobunagun. Who, in turn, is revealed to be crucial to the world’s survival. SO SAYS THE VOICE.

As Jack and Sio fought within the evil alien battle ship, a majority of the action was in fact taking place with the rest of the E-Gene Holders. In their final strike against the remaining “boss” Invasion Object, Geronimo, Cyx, Gaudi and Gandhi really got a chance to show off their true combat abilities. The manner in which they aided each other in the assault was fluid and logical (in an insane way), showcasing that despite all the fighting, they are in fact a team capable of supporting each other. Even Gandhi managed a hero moment when he protected Gaudi from an incoming barrage of spikes with his not-barrier things. It was nice to see this battle receive the attention it did because, though Sio and Jack’s attack was highly dangerous, it was in fact the main goal of Operation Stone Forest. The second battleship wasn’t even a part of the calculations, it just kinda appeared. Glad the anime didn’t fall into the trap of caring too much about the protagonist and let the other characters fall by the wayside. Though the same can’t really be said for the countless other E-Gene Holders who net roughly 5 seconds of airtime over the course of the series. I’m curious what other historical figures got the reincarnation treatment.

Nobunagun-Episode-13-03 — **A well earned rest**

After winning their respective battles and saving the world, the Holders earned themselves a little rest and relaxation. Naturally this allowed the episode to end in a similar vein to where it began: awkwardly. A fun kind of awkwardly. Despite the hardships they faced together on the battlefield, the E-Gene Holders are still a dysfunctional collision of personalities that makes you wonder how they’ve managed to work together this long. Poor Sio adds Cyx to her ever expanding list of female friends who are “too familiar” with her on a daily basis. Of course, this situation allows the male E-Gene Holders one last moment of anime pervertedness because that’s how saviours act apparently. Seriously, Capa had a camera with him and we already know what he does with his E-Gene ability in his spare time. Poor Sio.

That aside, we also get to see some actual development on the relationship front. Unfortunately, Hunter’s heroics and subsequent use of his wish (for winning the body count competition, much to Gernimo and Jack’s chagrin) were not enough to ingratiate him in the eyes of Galiko, who still remains focused solely on Vidocq for whatever reason. The main development would, of course, have to be between Jack and Sio. Possessing her usual cutesy awkwardness, her joy surrounding Jack coming to her rescue is cut short as he explains he was following his E-Gene’s orders. Devastating. Of course this immediately followed by him kissing her, explaining that his E-Gene had nothing to do with it this time. Well played Jack. I thought it was nice to see the series end by following through on what it had hinted at throughout. A lot of series love to hide behind the ambiguity of character’s interest in each other, letting the fanbase decide how it plays out. Though, in all honesty, that’s a bit of a cop out. Just finish plot points, some will like it, some won’t. I liked this one. Though I do feel that the moment didn’t have a much impact as it could have. Though there were hints that Jack liked Sio in return, it was sort of glazed over in order to focus on more action sequences. Some smarter time management throughout the series definitely could have enhanced this final scene. Though it was cute. I’ll give it that.

Nobunagun-Episode-13-04 — **A new beginning…**

So, the Invasion force is crippled but still kicking. I guess that means that the world is not yet free from the Invasion Objects and there may just be more E-Gene adventures somewhere down the line. Though if this is where the journey ends, that’s fine too. Nobunagun was never a series that tested your emotions in a grand way. It never inspired true fear or created poignant moments of sadness, but there was one thing that made the series what it was: a sense of fun. From the quirky protagonist, to the even quirkier bundle of colleagues she was thrown in with, Nobunagun certainly knew how to enjoy itself. Sure the fight scenes would’ve been more intense if there was the threat of death that more serious anime carry with them, but that’s not what the series was going for in my opinion. I mean, the cast ranges from Jack the Ripper to Mahatma Gandhi, existing as souls to power ridiculous weaponry in order to save the world from alien fish. If you were expecting a serious anime based on that, you’ve only got yourself to blame. Also the title, and subsequently the titular character’s name, is a pun. Which is all kinds of awesome. I guess you could say that, all in all, this strange little series was Nobunagood.

Check out more Nobunagun Impressions HERE.

Vikings: The Complete First Season Review

Mateja Simovic

March 31, 2014

Vikings: The Complete First Season Review

Vikings
Studio: MGM
Publisher: MGM Television, 20th Century Fox
Format : Blu-Ray (Reviewed), DVD
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $42.98 – Available Here

Overview

History has not been kind to the Medieval Pagan cultures of Northern Europe. Within the modern cultural mindset, hearing the word “Viking” evokes images of horned helmets, longboats, and bearded sea raiders attacking helpless monks. This percept has largely been shaped by the historical accounts which have survived from that period, and in this area the victims of Viking raids most certainly had an upperhand. Common knowledge of this remote but historically important culture is surprisingly limited and cliched, which is a problem this tv series aims to rectify.

In Vikings, we see the eponymous culture as much more than the simple sea raiders and barbarians of our cultural zeitgeist. Certainly aspects of it can be quite can be bloodthirsty and confronting to an audience and it is not for the feint hearted. These characters aren’t mere caricatures, they are people with ambitions, jealousies, and complex moral quandries. This makes them ideal subjects for a historical drama and in my opinion; infinitely more interesting than another series which might have depicted them as solely seaborne vandals. Although, if you’re interested in just that interpretation of Viking culture there is a games you can check out here…

Story

The narrative of the series takes cues from real historical events and individuals, mixed in with details and characters from Viking sagas. The series focuses on the trials and tribulations of Ragnar Lothbruk (based off of the protagonist of the saga of Ragnar Lodbruk) and his family. We witness the ambition and drive of Ragnar to raid westward, across the Ocean which captivates those around him to take their chances with him. This (as you might have guessed) turns out to be a very successful and profitable gamble. This ultimately leads him to confront his liege, Earl Haraldson, who disagrees with Ragnar’s ambition and often times insolent disobedience. After the Earl plots against him, Ragnar is forced to confront Haraldson in order to keep his family safe and free as well as keep his dreams of sailing West alive.

For every success that Ragnar obtains, however, a new problem arises. Largely this occurs from his own greed and ambition which forces him into many confrontations. With his wits and strength alongside the support of his wife ,Lagertha, and brother, Rollo, he is able to overcome the obstacles he encounters… to be honest though, when you’re backed up by a shieldmaiden and a berserker there isn’t really anything which can stand in your way for long. The plot is largely well paced and intense, although it does lose some of its force by the end of the season.

The show aims to give its you a holistic view of Viking life and culture. We are shown the large, world-changing events such as the Viking raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne in 793AD (which many historians take as the beginning of the ‘Viking Age’) alongside smaller scenes of family life in the Viking Longhouse. It is very interesting to watch the small, personal dramas of the characters play out such as the jealousy Rollo has for his brother Ragnar’s success, and Athelstan’s (a monk kidnapped from the raid on Lindisfarne) loss of faith in Christianity. The problem is that when you place these scenes next to the parts which depict the revolutionary events of the past, it is difficult to remain interested. When compared to these historical forces, homestead life doesn’t amount to a hill of beans (or whatever it was that the Vikings farmed) but there is always some intrigue or action sequence just around the corner to spice things up.

Visuals and Audio

Vikings is beautifully shot and directed with great cinematography. The sets are all meticulously constructed and give a real sense of being transported to another time and place. Exterior shots were made on location in Ireland and the rocky landscape standing in effectively for Scandanavian fjords and the Baltic sea. The benefits of using real physical sets are clear to be seen here with the actors freely moving through and interacting with the sets and locations for their performance, a mundane feat made impossible with a green screen. Costumes and props are of a similar high quality and only the most die-hard of historians would be irked by some of the anachronistic details… although, if you’re one of those people then you really shouldn’t be watching a historical drama to begin with.

The action scenes are par excellence and one of the great gems within the show. I do not recall Medieval combat having looked so good cinematically, which is compounded by the fact that most of the combat is essentially brawling… BEAUTIFUL brawling albeit. This isn’t the combat you’ll get in the likes of Braveheart and Kingdom of Heaven with armies clashing on the field of battle. Instead, we have a tighter focus with clashes between smaller warbands. This allows for some interesting direction in terms of action and I would argue that it is to the show’s benefit.

The soundtrack is largely unremarkable but is largely satisfactory. It complements the setting, tone, and pace of each adequately but nothing sticks out in this humble writer’s opinion. One song that you WILL remark upon is the opening theme of If I had a Heart by Fever Ray. It’s dulcet tones complement the opening credits perfectly and give a taste of the world that we are stepping in to.

Extras

The extras on the discs are a great addition to anyone who is interested in learning more about the production side of the Vikings show or about the historical Vikings themselves. Interviews with the cast and crew give a greater appreciation for them as characters, and it’s a pleasure to hear them talk candidly about their experiences working on the project. Since this is a History channel production, it should be unsurprising that there is a short, interesting documentary on Viking society included… what is surprising for the History channel is the lack of aliens in said documentary (ZING!). There are also several little ‘mini-doco’ vignettes which go into detail about the lands the Vikings visited and the weapons which they used, which was also quite interesting and enjoyable.

Overall

The North men have come and they have made their presence known and you certainly get to see a side of them in Vikings which isn’t normally portrayed in fiction, but is this to its merit? I would argue ‘yes’.

For all the shortcomings of the mundane melodrama of Ragnar and his family, we are still given a unique, intimate gaze into a (fairly) accurate portrayal of a long dead culture. Norse mythology is captivating, and it’s almost just as captivating to watch characters who earnestly believed such tales to be the history of their world and their gods simply living their lives. There is also plenty of brutal action and violence for those of more martial tastes (such as yours truly) as the Vikings didn’t gain their barbaric reputation for nothing, a fact that the show capitalizes on. The virtues of Vikings far outweighs its flaws and you’ll find its more than worthwhile to sit through a couple of lulls to here and there to enjoy the magnificence that is this show.

Now grab your sword and strap on your shield for Valhalla awaits!

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Filth Review

Zac Elawar

March 30, 2014

Filth
Studio: Steel Mill Pictures, Logie Pictures
Publisher: Icon Home Entertainment
Formats: Blu-ray (Reviewed), DVD, Digital
Release Date: April 4, 2014
Price: $29.98 – Available Here

Overview

Filth is what many called the “unfilmable”. Based on the novel of the same title by Irvine Welsh, Filth is the fourth film to be adapted from the author’s works, the most high profile of which being Trainspotting (1996). It stars James McAvoy (Wanted, X-Men: First Class) in what could fairly be considered his defining role as Bruce Robertson, or “Robbo”, a Detective Sergeant of the Edinburgh Polis in Scotland who is one of the most deplorable and, well, filthy people in existence. Despite McAvoy’s potentially deterring prediction that “there will be people that walk out of the cinema”, the movie opened at number one at the Scottish box office. And now you can revel in the filth on home media.

Story

Filth begins with a monologue from Bruce’s wife Carole (Shauna Macdonald), commenting on their marriage and how being “the ultimate tease”, keeps the spice in their marriage. Apparently the two are quite similar, both knowing exactly how to get what they want. Carole then walks a tunnel, witnessing the murder of a Japanese student at the hands of a gang of punks. We’re then introduced to Bruce Robertson, who is literally one of the worst human beings you would hope never to come into contact with. Eyeing a promotion to Detective Inspector (Lord help Scotland if this were their calibre of police enforcement), “Robbo” begins his scheming in a plot to ruin his workmates and fellow promotion chasers’ reputations, and therefore their chance of “winning”. He dispassionately calls these manipulative ploys “the games”. It’s in these “games” that Bruce gets to showcase to the audience – sometimes in breaking the fourth wall – just how vile, misanthropic, racist, sexist, homophobic and downright casual he is in going about it all, the latter of that long list being the most worrying as there seems to be an absence of any semblance of a conscience.

As per Bruce’s personal assessments, Dougie Gillman (Brian McCardie) is “your average Scottish copper”, and poses a ‘serious challenge to his promotion prospects’ at 5 to 1 odds, which means he must be “eliminated” (bit dire, don’t you think?). Peter Inglis (Emun Elliott) is Bruce’s main threat at 2 to 1, although his obvious closet homosexuality presents himself as an easy target for Bruce to expose to a still uneducated and discriminatory society. The resident rookie of the bunch, young Ray Lennox (Jamie Bell) is also a junkie, but is a long shot at 20 to 1… oh, and not because of the drugs, but because he is more interested in pursuing the office secretary. Gus Bain (Gary Lewis) is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, though Bruce states that a single-digit IQ has never held a policeman back before, giving him 7 to 1 odds. And finally, there’s 10 to 1 odds Amanda Drummond (Imogen Poots), whom Bruce is convinced is sleeping with Chief Inspector Bob Toal (John Sessions). On top of the planning and manipulating of his co-workers, Bruce indulges in copious amounts of alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex. Of note, he has repeated rendezvous with Chrissie (Kate Dickie), Dougie’s wife, who likes to ‘turn off each other’s gas’, i.e., code for asphyxiation.

As the film progresses, Bruce suffers from increasingly traumatic and confronting hallucinations. Not only does he periodically imagine frightful visages of animals on humans’ bodies – including his own, which is a pig, aptly – he also drifts into a surreal rendering of a psychiatrist’s office, with Jim Broadbent playing a creepy, disquieting and provoking portrayal of Dr. Rossi, responsible for medicating Bruce for his bi-polar disorder. The audience starts to become privy to developments earlier in his life, and recent, that have led to his current, self-destructive state. Everything falls apart as the viewer begins to sort of feel bad for the man, who by no means deserves it. In fact, by the end of the film, the character himself reprimands the audience for feeling so. It’s one of those films that can easily be understood, but still deserves a second viewing for a new perspective with the myriad foreshadowing and symbolism placed throughout. That’s if you can even sit through it in the first place, as the film is filled with graphic language and high impact sex scenes that may turn some away. Then again, with a film called Filth, and source material written by Irvine Welsh, I doubt watchers would be coming in blind.

Visuals & Audio

Filth‘s 2.35:1, 1080p video transfer maintains the original look of the film to a tee, from the gloomy, low-light, unsaturated scenes of daily life, to the much sharper and brighter hallucinations Bruce suffers from. Much of the film features a muted colour palette, representing the gloominess of a constantly overcast Scotland. It also reinforces that this is by no means a glamorous life you are witnessing unfold. Bruce’s visions of his “Self”, manifested as a mad-hat, evil scientist take on his psychiatrist don’t present themselves as overly trippy, instead relying on different camera techniques and the pure strangeness of his surroundings to sell the experience. The lossless Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is clear, however you wouldn’t be blamed for needing to turn on the subtitles as the dialogue incorporates Scots language and rhyming slang, intermixed with the more common Scottish English.

Clint Mansell (a busy man, responsible for the score of current box-office smash NOAH) has created an overall tense score, utilising very off-putting melodies and electric guitar riffs that sound like they were pulled from a thriller such as 28 Days Later. Although, the movie does open with his own faithful version of the uplifting ‘Winter Wonderland’ – given that the film during Christmas season – yet multiple tracks have an overwhelmingly sad tone to them, composed with a purely orchestral instrumentation. A favourite is ‘The Games’, in which Mansell appropriates part of George Bizet’s ‘Habanera Act 1′ from ‘Carmen Suite No. 2’, dropping an octave and lending a more appropriately mischievous air to the track. The talented composer also employs the traditional sounds of Scottish bagpipes here and there for some local flavour. Mansell perfectly captured the varying mood swings experienced by both Bruce and, through audience involvement, the viewer.

Overall

Just like the star of the film – who is absolutely brilliant here – once intimated, Filth will draw you in and repulse you at the exact same time. Although it doesn’t go as far as the novel, if it did we’d probably never see the film come to fruition. In its condensed interpretation, most would agree that the R 18+ rated picture is disturbing enough, and successfully conveys all the important, layered narrative elements that Welsh is known for in his writing. There are some notable differences, such as the existential monologues of Robbo’s tapeworm being replaced by the surrealist hallucinations involving his psychiatrist. The blu-ray transfer is flawless, with spotless visuals and crisp audio. The only disappointment here is missing out on any special features, especially after hearing about a few deleted scenes that, let’s say, take proceedings to a whole new level of distastefulness (if that is even possible). The infamous “Angus” sequence is among them. Regardless, provided you have a sick sense of humour and can stomach a high degree of vulgarity, you’ll be able to appreciate Filth for the achievement in British cinema it is.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

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