Nobunagun
Gun No. 11: Operation Stone Forest (Part 1)
Having spent the better part of last episode force feeding Vidocq a helping of humble pie, it’s time for Sio’s plan to commence. With only nine E-Gene Holders currently available, these heroes will have to fight the odds in addition to the creatures that threaten humanity’s continued existence. But honestly, a ragtag group of teenagers imbued with power by an otherwordly figure with the sole intention of utilising them to fight an alien threat, where do they come up with these radical ideas?
Each more stoic than the last…
Undeniably the coolest part of this episode was seeing Sio continue her streak of confidence and finally assert herself as a valuable member of the E-Gene team. Having devised the operation herself, she retains command of each facet throughout and leads from the frontlines. Even amidst the chaos of her own assault she remains calm and collected, clearly expressing her acceptance of her latent E-Gene persona. That being said, as the episode progresses, Sio slips further and further into said personality and acts unlike her usual self. Though not the first time this has happened, it was definitely her longest bout in the Nobunaga mindset. At one point she simply demands that Capa and Newton hold out for 10 minutes, despite the fact that they only believe they can hold out for 5. The fact that she enforced this and yet remained so verbally polite just served to make it all the more terrifying. In essence, this fight was a complete inversion of Sio’s previous combat situations. Rather than slipping into the ways of Nobunaga at just the crucial moments, she spent a majority of her time acting like the warlord, only briefly reverting back to herself to fawn over the tanks she enlisted.
It was also interesting to see a comedic element of the anime blend into the plot, if only in a minor way. Calling upon her tendencies as a self proclaimed military otaku, Sio explains exactly which tank she requires for her plan, specifying everything from the navigation system utilised to the muzzle velocity of the shells fired. So complete was her knowledge of the tank that the Commander was openly impressed, citing her talent for memorising data. Even Saint Germain gave a light applause. On the topic of tanks, it was rather ingenious for Sio to utilise the limitations of human weaponry and transform it into a strength. It was nice to see that, despite the undeniable power of the E-Gene Holders, humanity can still pitch in every once in a while. Though it was definitely cool to see the new ways in which the Holders utilised there powers. Such as Gandhi and Cyx forming a battering ram or Sio using her bandolier as a shield of sorts.
The E-Gene life can be hard sometimes
As much as the episode was about Sio, it was also interesting to see how the other DOGOO members reacted to following her lead. Surprisingly, they all handled it rather well. Gandhi cited previous moments where Sio has exceeded expectations, and decided to follow her once more without any reservations. Even the First Platoon has faith in the plan, to a degree. Though she voices her doubts, Cyx still follows the plan completely, even allowing Gandhi to ride her…her transport mode I mean…the bike/tank/snow mobile thing. Don’t judge me, you try and say that without sounding euphemistic. Anyway, the E-Gene Holders definitely have a sense of duty that outweighs any of their own personal qualms, showing a form of maturity in these unique characters.
On the other side of the war for planetary dominance, we are given a brief glimpse into the hive mind of the Invasion Objects. Through the eyes of an unknown creature, we see the events of the series thus far, revealing the fact that each Invasion Object possesses the innate ability to see the souls each Holder possesses. Thouhg I’m not sure the impact that will have on the series, if any at all. This alien recap also serves to cement the fact that the creatures are indeed learning. Perhaps moreso than previously thought. Whilst viewing a particularly awesome display of protagonist power, this entity takes special interest in our heroine…and begins to recite her name. Though note completely eloquent yet, the fact that these creature possess the capability of speech opens up a whole branch of possibilities for the future of the series. Will we see dialogue between opponents? Will the Objects adapt to use weaponry? Will they become more humanoid in form, since it seems to be working so well for our heroes? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
The face of a hero?
Just when you though everything was wrapped up in a nice little package of victory (despite the episode having Part 1 in the title), a second tentacle creature emerges from the oceans depths and takes Sio by surprise. Me too honestly. I mean, did it really need to get so “familiar” with Sio? Anyway, with this unexpected threat holding our heroine hostage, just what will happen next? Hopefully more action and less alien groping. It’s just weird is all…
Hozuki No Reitetsu Episode 10 – Dinner Of The Ten Kings Of The Afterlife/Diets Are Hell
Another week, another episode and I’m so glad because I cannot get enough of Hozuki No Reitetsu. Welcome back to another installment of Hozuki No Reitetsu Anime Impressions, I hope you’ve all been as excited about this new episode as I have! This week marks the release of Hozuki No Reitetsu episode ten: An episode where in which ten good old friends (who just so happen to be the kings of hell) get together once again for a feast and a good old talk but with eating and drinking comes a great deal of weight gain and, for a man the size of King Enma, it’s probably NOT a good idea to gorge yourself on the offerings of the dead…even if they ARE delicious!
Dinner Of The Ten Kings Of The Afterlife:
It takes more than just one demon king to rule over hell, in fact, it takes TEN of them to do that and we should all be thinking the lords up in paradise that they’re not all as goofy as the King Enma…I don’t want him to be the only one in charge of my afterlife. Every once in a while the ten kings of hell decide to come together to break some bread and to celebrate each other the only way they know how; with a feast to end all feasts.
Throughout the episode we’re introduced to all ten of the kings but the most impressive introduction is the one done through song by Hozuki himself, who would have thought Hozuki could make learning fun. I wouldn’t say a great deal happens in the top half of this weeks episode, it’s basically a huge dinner with some interesting characters but none of them seem to actually be any of the ten kings…it’s just the usual suspects. What I didn’t exactly enjoy about this half was that they didn’t take the chance to make the ten kings goofy, silly or give them any real outstanding personality traits.
They were simply used as a group of normal-type demon/people that contrasted the odd relationship between Hozuki and Enma. While that was a good way of going about showing just how ridiculous the pair are side-by-side, the audience has already come to an understanding that Hozuki and Enma are mental, this episode could have been used to show some interesting new characters and there was plenty of room for some mass gags but the opportunity wasn’t taken.
That’s not to say it was a bad episode because it still featured some goofy conversation, I just feel it could have been executed a great deal better. What I DID like about this half of the episode is pretty much the usual; I found it interesting when they went into small detail about the afterlife and how they judge the souls of the dearly departed, how they deal with all the food offerings for those who have passed on and what each of the kings exactly do. Though I don’t know too much about the Japanese belief systems I have a feeling Hozuki No Reitetsu is fairly accurate even though it is over exaggerated and silly.
Diets Are Hell:
Leading straight off from the first half of the episode, despite a new name, this half revolves around the consequences of overeating and generally not caring about your diet. UNfortunately for a big man like King Enma he has Hozuki to help him loose a couple of kilos, sculpting him into a beautiful shape that doesn’t resemble a football. The half episode kicks off with King Enma not being able to reach down to the ground to grab his pen, realising he’s too fat to move around he decides to hit the gym once he finishes off work and Hozuki, who’s always within hearing range of every single character in the anime, insists that he comes with him as a personal trainer. Hozuki being Hozuki you can already imagine the pain King Enma is going to be put through but he isn’t alone because our friends Nasubi, Karauri, and Shiro (alongside his gang) decide that maybe its time for them to loose some weight as well, even though Shiro is the only other one of them to have a weight problem.
First they start off at the gym, while the others are just doing their own thing King Enma is being looked over by Hozuki who is a personal trainer you DON’T want looking over you. Hozuki seems to believe in “tough love” thinking it will make it a lot easier for Enma to loose weight and will probably build more character, though it’s not like the king of hell needs more character. After seemingly normal gym exercises don’t seem to be working, Hozuki calls upon the help of Oko the most beautiful resident of hell.
He assumes that she’d have some amazing workout/diet tips for the group and, well, he assumes correct. She leads them on a weightless excursion through both the coldest and hottest parts of hell, assuming that going in between blistering heats and freezing colds help to make the metabolism stranger and faster but all it really does is get them lost in a blizzard. They find shelter and quickly ditch the diets as they pray to whatever Gods a demon prays to that they could get something to eat and when a friendly demon stumbles across them and takes offers them a nice warm meal and some drinks back at his home, the group rushes off to fill their bellies.
What I really liked is how this half episode came full circle with the start showing King Enma unable to reach his pen on the floor and the end showing the exact same thing only, this time around, he’s just going to keep his mouth shut about wanting to lose some weight. It’s just anojther kooky episode of Hozuki No Reitetsu and I think I enjoyed this half of the episode more because it was just silly rather than also somewhat educational. Though I enjoy when Hozuki No Reitetsu delves deeper into Japanese mythology I also enjoy it when they just get outright stupid with it so I’m fairly happy either way, it just so happens that this particular half of the episode was one that I favoured more. The series is still doing well overall but I have noticed a decline in the humour over the past couple weeks and I just hope it picks back up soon because I truly want to enjoy this series while it lasts.
Check out more Hozuki No Reitetsu impressions HERE.
This makes four! Last week we brought you some news straight from “David Production” – an animation studio that has recently been working on an anime adaptation of of Horihiko Araki’s long-running Shonen anime “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” – in the form of a promotional video focusing on one of the characters from season three of the “JJBA” anime; Noriaki Kakyoin.
The promo video from last week was the third to be released for the series, the first one revolved solely around an older Joseph Joestar, and are released with the intention of (re)introducing audiences to characters they may or may not have seen in the past in the lead up to the actual release of the series which is set to begin its air on the 4th of April. This week the the video promo centres around a man that goes by the name of “Jean-Pierre Polnareff”; another one of the main characters within the third season of the “JJBA” series titled “Stardust Crusaders”.
Much like the character introduced in last weeks promotional video, Jean-Pierre Polnareff makes his first appearance in the series as an enemy to the “Stardust Crusader” team though, after a swift and decisive battle between Polnareff and Avdul, they realise he is just another victim under the influence of…ugh…Dio. His stand, “Silver Chariot” gives Polnareff the power of intense strength and, eventually, brilliant speed. His stand is not one to be taken lightly. The video takes you through Polnareff’s first introduction to the series and the group as well as his connection to Dio and the search for his sisters killer. Fuminori Komatsu who you may know from anime series’ like “Inazuma Eleven” and “Golgo 13” will be the voice of “Jean-Pierre Polnareff”. He is the sixth voice actor to be announced for the series alongside Daisuke Ono (Jotaro), Unsho Ishizuka (Joseph), Kenta Miyake (Avdol), Daisuke Hirakawa (Kakyoin) and Takehito Koyasu (Dio).
This series is looking to be absolutely amazing and it isn’t too far away from starting its run on the 4th of April which is barely even a month away. For now though, we have the brand-new promotional trailer for Jean-Pierre Polnareff in the featured video section below. Head down there to check it out and don’t forget to drop us a line in the comment section just under the video.
If someone told me three years ago that Respawn Entertainment under EA were going to make a game that blended twitch-shooters with parkour, jet packs and giant gun-toting robots, I would’ve told them they’re crazy. Yet here we are. Titanfall has landed and it’s looking to be a leading first-person shooter IP going into the new generation.
Titanfall focuses on its core strengths, team-based multiplayer with versatile gameplay while making the whole thing seem as part of something bigger. Whether it’s the opening drop zone before every match, the deliberately placed AI bots or the indigenous wildlife (read: dinosaurs) swooping in to pick off hapless players.
Pretty much every AAA shooter these days is exciting, right? Well Titanfall is probably one of the few right now that has your brain and reflexes making a thousand calculations during every skirmish. Before you know it you’ve back stabbed an enemy, cleared a room, jumped out of a window before wall running off a building, called down a Titan from orbit and laid waste to anyone foolish enough to be in your sights.
That is until their Titans find you and you’re sending bullets back with your force field, catapulting out of your burning husk before hitting the ground and doing the same thing again. Except this time you might grab a rocket launcher and hang off the back of your friend’s Titan, providing some vital anti-armour support. Whichever method you choose, you’ll find yourself dropping down over and over again. Check out the trailer below for yourself.
No the article title was NOT one huge typo, “Durarara!!” is back and its crazy cast of characters are going to shake Ikebukuro in a whole new way! It was announced over the weekend during the “Dengeki Game Festival” in Tokyo that a brand-new “Durarara!!” anime has been greenlit for production. The series, set two years after the events of the first anime, will follow the same characters after a short time skip and will detail the events within the second arc of the original “Durarara!!” light novel written by Ryohgo Narita.
A few of the people that worked on the last “Durarara!!” series as well as “Bacanno!” (an anime series that came before it) or returning for the production of this new series. This time around, “Brain’s Base” (the studio behind the first series) will not be leading the development of the series, instead it will be a new studio called “Studio Shuka”. So far no detailed information regarding the story has been released but those of you out there who have read the light novel probably have a good idea of the events to come. The tagline “They are are coming back to Ikebukuro” is all us fans of “Durarara!!” have right now but I think it is just enough to keep us excited.
Stick to the site for any and all news as it breaks and don’t forget to share your excitement in the comments section below.
After three delays, South Park: The Stick of Truth is finally here! Originally to be published by THQ, the RPG was planned for release in March, 2013. It wasn’t long after it’s first delay to just a month later in April that THQ infamously filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. In their assets auction, Ubisoft bought the publishing rights to the title, confirming a second delay to December of the same year. The final delay saw that date changed to March, 2014. Fans of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s iconic TV show have waited a long time, and expectations were held high throughout. If the game bombed – after an entire year of delays – the disappointment would be immense. Luckily, South Park: The Stick of Truthforces us to respect its authoritah and delivers.
Story
Welcome to South Park. You’re the new kid in town, and boy what a “quiet mountain town” your parents decided to move to. Pushed outside to go and make new friends, “the new kid” steps in as Butters is bullied by another kid. Befriending the innocent, wholesome Butters grants you an introduction to Cartman, who rules as the “Wizard King” of the KKK (Kingdom of Kupa Keep). Yes, the racism starts strong and early in South Park: The Stick of Truth. The “Grand Wizard” (pick a moniker and stick with it already!) takes it upon himself to christen you “Douchebag” and enlists you in the ever-waging war against the Elves (for whom Kyle is King) over possession of ‘the stick of truth’. Just as the conflict heightens, a new threat arises, leading to a Government cover-up, military intervention and… Nazi Zombies?! What began as a children’s game of make-believe turns into a true struggle for South Park’s very existence. Throughout the 12-14 hour experience, all major South Parkcharacters are encountered, along with some of the more minor ones too, but every single one gets their just focus and spotlighted moments. References to hundreds of episodes worth of television can be found around every corner, with the signature South Park sense of humour and spirit in tact and permeating throughout.
Gameplay
South Park: The Stick of Truth presents itself as a light role-playing game, although the mechanics do deepen significantly as the game wears on. That being said, the learning curve remains gradual. At times, the game will feel almost too easy, especially if you take your time to explore, sell junk, do side-quests and consequently find/be able to afford new equipment. At the start of the game, you are tasked with selecting a class, although the differences between the four available are not drastic enough to dramatically change your gameplay experience. They are: Fighter, Mage, Thief and Jew. Fighters can utilise heavy armors and two-handed weaponry, but then again, so can the others. The real thing that makes each class unique is their inherent special abilities. The Mage makes use of the elements, i.e., in South Park flavour, “Dragon’s Breath” – holding lit firecrackers in the face of an opponent – whilst the Thief is a master of inflicting debuffs, such as with “Backstab”, which causes bleeding in enemies, and “Mug”, which stuns victims. The Jew class calls upon religiously-themed abilities, such as “The Sling of David”, which can backfire and hurt the player if not executed perfectly, and “Plagues of Egypt”, which leaves the enemy awash in pestilence, rained upon by frogs, bombarded by fiery hail and sufficiently aggravated by flying insects.
RPG fans will be familiar with much of the conditions that player can attain or place on a foe, such as “Attack Down” or “Defense Up”, but then there are states like “Pissed Off”, which results in the recipient being blinded by rage, focusing their next attacks on the attacker and being unable to utilise any special abilities until they calm down, so to speak. It’s a fantastic example of how a classic RPG element is twisted to feel right at home, tonally, within the context of a South Park game. Potions and other items can be consumed in the midst of battle, and do not take up your turn, allowing you to follow up with an attack. The aforementioned special abilities use up PP, while “fart attacks” – or magic – use up Mana, the latter of which does not replenish automatically. Juvenile, but that’s the way we like it! In battle, magic quickly became an after-thought, yet outside of battle they proved to serve a much more imperative purpose. Along your journey, teachers of the arts will bestow upon you the knowledge of a new kind of “magic”. The Dragonshout is your standard blast; the Cup-A-Smell enables the player to direct the gaseous emission; the Sneaky Squeaker can be controlled and detonated at will, distracted those within its putrid radius; and the Nagasaki… well, it’s name says it all… it can destroy boulders for God’s sake. It’s the nuke of ass-attacks.
Modifiers can be applied to armours and weapons in order to add offensive and defensive effects such as “Does 100 Frost Damage” or “Takes 25% Less Damage from Grossed Out Opponents”. There is a lot of variety in opponents and their resistance to different debuffs. Some can even enter a riposting or reflecting stance, enabling them to counter melee and long-range attacks respectively. Active buddies on the battlefield – of which there are 6 in total, but only one allowed at a time – each come with their own exclusive set of attributes and capabilities. Kenny, for instance, who chose to identify as a girl and dress up like a princess, can die in conflict, but needs no “Revive Potion”… instead, he is automatically resurrected after two turns, playing off his invincibility. Much like the farts, each of these characters has an ability that can also be used outside of combat. Butters, who is your first companion, can be ordered to heal an injured soul in the open-world, although this functionality is only remembered when it is mandatory to progress. Part of the reason why is that the iconography signifying where/when a moment calls for its use is very faint. The same can be said for fast travel points on the map, which are greyed out until you interact with one in the physical space. Exploration is a key element to the game, as is making Facebook friends. Doing so sometimes requires the completion of a presented side quest – specifically, Al Gore’s ManBearPig hunt features an entertaining conclusion.
Can you remember them all? List them in the comments section below.
Any handle or access point that is painted gold can be opened/used, with junk ripe for looting everywhere you look. This junk can be sold at any merchant’s for spare change, basically, but it all adds up. Your character can be customised to the umpteenth level, and if you’ve got the money to spare, I recommend going to Tom’s Rhinoplasty and shelling out $175 for “The Hoff”. Besides costume sets, there are 30 hidden Chinpokomon to find and collect, as well as 120 Facebook friends to meet. Why is the social network so prevalent in this game? Because, for every increasingly large number of friends you make, you are granted a perk point that can be used to unlock a perk. Similarly, upgrades for your special abilities can be unlocked for every XP level you reach. As the wackiness unfolds, and you find yourself being probed aboard an alien spaceship (banned for Australia/Europe, sadly), dealing with underpants-hunting gnomes, and… shrinking and taking an excursion up someone’s rectum (“the OFLC meter is going crazy!”) – not all in the same level, mind you – you’ll periodically be dealt the tools to teleport to previously unreachable points, shrink to fit in cracks (wait for it) in the wall (ha!), blast through obstacles and use the environment to your advantage, executing simple traps and finding hidden locations/loot as you clear out an area. In all, there are more than basic RPG elements at play, giving more depth to the overall gameplay. Some of the systems could have been better integrated and differentiated, but South Park: The Stick of Truth always remains a fun time.
Visuals & Audio
Trey and Matt made it a point to find a developer who could recreate the two-dimensional animated style that South Parkemploys, and after showcasing a couple proof-of-concept pieces to the duo, Obsidian were deemed to be the right fit. Now, having played through the game for myself, interacting with the environments and combing over every detail, its that much clearer from a fan/gamer’s perspective that the right choice was made. Pixel for pixel, this isSouth Park. A highlight, however, is visiting Canada and watching the graphics regress into 8-bit form as the nation’s blocky presentation from the animated series is taken to the next step; 8-bit musical renditions of “Oh Canada!” (and a couple other surprises) also accompany your travels therein. The game literally transforms into a take on the original The Legend of Zelda, which for true gamers is a real treat. As mentioned, visual callbacks abound, from the subtle to the not-so subtle. Cruise by each of the main cast’s homes, and enter their closets to reveal archive-like hoarders’ collections of items, costumes and more from episodes past. One in particular cannot be opened as, well… somebody refuses to come out from inside (did you see the clue?). Trey and Matt reprise all of their voice roles, and the writing is what you’d come to expect (offensive, ludicrous, gross, hysterical!). One of my favourite early Easter Eggs can be found inside Cartman’s bedroom, where you can play tracks from his Faith +1 album.
Overall
South Park: The Stick of Truth is like playing a new season of the TV show. Its creators Trey and Matt have found excellent partners in Obsidian Entertainment who, together, have created a great, typically controversial, vulgar, hilarious, and fun RPG. It’s 100% trademark South Park, ensured by the writing and heavy involvement of both showrunners, and I see absolutely no possible, conceivable way for fans to be disappointed with the title. Some gameplay elements were undercooked and/or underutilised, and even at the Hardcore difficulty setting the combat could prove quite easy, but these perceived drawbacks are handily overshadowed by the authenticity and hysterics of the digital world and its crazy, eccentric inhabitants. One can only hope that we see some DLC in the future, as there was a fair amount of content featured in earlier promotional materials and screens that has since been cut for final release; I’d personally love to battle crab people and fight emo’s in a cemetery (they have it coming). Just promise me this, “never fart on someone’s balls”. That’s an important life lesson right there. Poetic. Oh, and that you’ll buy the game… unless you’re under 18 years old. In which case, “nyeah-nyeah-nyeah-nyeah-nyeah-nyeahhhhh!”
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Frankenstein is a historical masterpiece that has travelled through the centuries, with a greatness of wonder and scientific legend. Director, Stuart Beattie and screenwriter, Kevin Grevioux (producer of Underworld) reconstruct Mary Shelley’s story of Frankenstein in this film adaptation, I, Frankenstein, with the aim of developing a new tale for the monstrous creation. With Aaron Eckhart taking lead as Adam, the audience should expect the buried remains to be redeemed on screen. However, not all scientific legends are designed to be resurrected.
Story
In a modern dystopian universe, Victor Frankenstein’s magnificent invention ‘Adam’ is brought to life and cast amidst a centuries old war that exists between Demons and Gargoyles. The film quickly plunges into a series of action sequences, spliced in with scenes of the monster being betrayed or hunted. I, Frankenstein disregards the vital story, with very little screen time dedicated to how Adam was bludgeoned back to life by a madman and what came of Victor Frankenstein.
Starting at the cemetery, Adam is confronted by demonic fiends who are seeking the scientific journal of his existence for the Demon Prince, Naberius (Bill Nighy). The Demons are adamant about recreating Victor Frankenstein’s method for resurrecting the dead, to fulfil their own ends of returning descended Demons. Whereas, the Gargoyle Order are portrayed initially as the righteous side that take Adam into their “secret” headquarters to safeguard the unique creature. Only, the High Queen Leonore (Miranda Otto) is more driven to protect the journal and Gargoyles, instead of Adam.
There were moments in the story that were completely illogical and failed to uphold succinct narrative progression. After Adam decided to flee in hiding for 200 years, he returned as the hunter of Demons, determined to find Naberius and put an end to the war for the sake of humanity. When the Gargoyle Order discovers the return of Adam, they imprison the creature instead of helping him. Funnily enough, Adam states earlier to the audience, “Trusting others is a mistake you only make once”. The changing motivations and goals of the characters within the film, especially the Gargoyles, contradict the plot and impede the storyline. I found myself questioning whether Adam should move on with his own existence and not care about whether the human race survives this war.
The most intriguing elements of the story revolved around the experimental research on rats in the Wessex Institute, where the Demon Prince, disguised as Charles Wessex, had been conducting his master plan to awaken the dead. Dr. Terra Wade (Yvonne Strahovski) serves as a changing point in the film that reiterates the reasoning behind Adam’s actions; a creature in need of a companion.
Visuals
Cinematographer, Ross Emery does an exceptional job in capturing an amazing 3D visual experience for the audience. As each of the demons are slain and descended back to Hell, they are accompanied by an impressive looking pillar of fire that erupts forth and snakes its way through the air before smashing back into the ground below. However, the excessive fireworks display saturates the screen and becomes too overwhelming for viewers to appreciate the battle sequences. The special effects utilised for the super powered fighting scenes in I, Frankenstein are spectacular and stands as a highlight for the film. The fight between Adam and Demon Prince in Wessex Institute was glorious to witness, as well as the struggle with another Demon in the abandoned warehouse.
One aspect that was questionable, was the fact that the film emphasised that the “war must be fought in the shadows”. Yet every conflict that the Gargoyles engaged in takes place either in the middle of the street, or ends in the utter destruction of buildings. In that same vein, the secret base of the Gargoyle Order is a giant castle in the middle of a (presumably) well-populated city.
A little visual cue that I did notice was that around Adam’s eyes were what first appeared to be thick black rings. However towards the end of the film, I noticed that the rings were actually a dark shade of green – a little nod to the theatrical past of the character where he was the green-skinned monster that we have all come to know.
Audio
Composers, Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek maintain an adventurous theme of music, to suit the atmosphere of the film. The fast paced and drilling succession of music climbs into a crescendo that becomes too apparent in every action-packed sequence. Nevertheless, the score for I, Frankenstein does a good job at capturing the dark and gothic styling of the monster. If there is any real downside to the way the movie sounds, it is the fact that Aaron Eckhart uses the same voice for Adam that he does for Two-Face in The Dark Knight. Being such an iconic character in the past, it made it difficult to differentiate between the pair when watching this film. I could not help but wonder whether or not Adam was going to start flipping a coin.
Overall
I, Frankenstein is simply an over-the-top action film that draws on Demons and Gargoyles, much like Vampires and Werewolves from Underworld. The film bastardises the rich history and impact that the original novel has left on the world. Whereas Mary Shelley’s novel, is about the hubris of man and how technology can run rampant (depending on your interpretation). The truth is that Frankenstein’s monster, Adam is misplaced in this film, which would have been better off without his inclusion. On a final note, it is important to know that Frankenstein’s Monster has become so imbedded into western culture; people have been incorrectly referring to him as Frankenstein. However, in this film adaptation, the movie manages cleverly warp that so Frankenstein is the monster’s surname (as Victor Frankenstein was his father). Unfortunately, the Demon’s still refer to him by the name “Frankenstein,” which enrages the character in much the same way that die-hard fans of the franchise do.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
The fifth and final game in the long-running Blackwell adventure game series from Wadjet Eye Games is coming soon and from today onwards, The Blackwell Epiphany can be preordered to secure a heap of special preorder bonuses. For seven years Rosa Blackwell and her Jazz-era ghost partner Joey Mallone have helped the recently deceased find peace and cross over, but what they didn’t know is that their work comes a price and until now they didn’t even know it. The PC game features full voice acting as well as some excellent retro sprite work.
On April 24, preorder customers will get The Blackwell Epiphany as a DRM-free download, along with the following special bonuses:
Exclusive video interviews with voice actors Abe Goldfarb (Joey) and Rebecca Whittaker (Rosa) discussing their work on the series
Exclusive New York City video tour with series creator Dave Gilbert showing and talking about the real-world locations that inspired the Blackwell games
Exclusive virtual invite to the Blackwell Epiphany launch party — streamed live from Dave’s apartment the evening of April 24! (Includes a hangout / Q&A session with members of the dev team)
Blackwell Epiphany MP3 soundtrack
Free Blackwell Epiphany Steam key that can be redeemed at launch
The Blackwell Epiphany launches on April 24th and can be preordered for $14.99 from here. When it launches, the game will sell from the Wadjet Eye website, GOG, and Steam. You can check out our review of the Blackwell Trilogy by following the link.
Overview In the video game industry gamers have come to expect certain titles to be released annually. There will almost always be a yearly release for sports fans or first person shooter fans, but rarely do we have yearly releases for RPG players. However for the last ten years Gust has been doing just that with their Atelier series and even after being purchased by Tecmo Koei they have remained fairly strong every year. Now that their latest entry into the series, Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky, has been released have they managed to keep up their fairly impressive track record?
Story The story of Atelier Escha & Logy revolves around the small village of Colseit, best known for their apple orchards, where both a fresh young alchemist by the name of Escha Malier and a more skilled alchemist from a major city with certain circumstances forcing him to move named Logix Fiscario, or Logy for short, have begun working for the city’s Research & Development team. Because they are new recruits they have to start from the bottom and work on building the city back up a bit and eventually expand their focus into bigger things such as why the world is currently suffering from a massive catastrophe.
You see, one of the main reasons that Colseit has an established R&D team is due to a mysterious floating ruin in the sky that simply goes by the name “Unexplored Ruins” because no one has ever ventured there before. As such, one of the main goals of the game is to reach these ruins but as with a few of the past games in the series, the main story in Atelier Escha & Logy isn’t a major driving force although there are some very interesting and incredibly challenging revelations that occur later on in the story.
What makes Atelier Escha & Logy’s story worthwhile is something that Gust has always seemed to implement into their RPGs to various levels of success and in this title they have done an amazing job. For those unfamiliar with the Atelier series’ strengths I am talking about the characters of course. In many of my past reviews for games in the Atelier series, especially in the Arland trilogy, I mentioned that the characters in the game would make the whole thing worthwhile and that the old saying that the greatest part of a story is not in the destination but in the journey.
Well not to sound like a bit of a broken record but that description fits Atelier Escha & Logy perfectly. The characters in the game all have a goal of their own and a unique likable personality that never feels out of place in the game and will have players struggling to choose a favorite since every character, including our two leads, are developed nicely. Especially Logy as his past is only hinted at initially and is eventually developed later on in the game.
Now as you may have noticed, we have two lead characters in the form of Escha and Logy and although players can choose to play as either character at the start, the overall story remains pretty much the same overall regardless of which alchemist you choose, although there are some unique scenes and a few developments exclusive to each character. It is also worth noting that, while Atelier Escha & Logy features a number of different endings like past Atelier games, this one has endings that are character specific so you will not be able to see all of the endings if you only choose to replay as the same character, giving this title perhaps the most replay value of the series.
Gameplay Now anyone familiar with the Atelier series probably knows what to expect in Atelier Escha & Logy but for those who may just be looking into the series now, the game is broken down into four sections: alchemy, combat, quest completion, and exploration. All of these segments then fit into the time limit that is placed on players as they must reach certain goals in a set period of time to continue on their journey. This might sound brutal but it this time constraint is fairly forgiving if you manage your time correctly and do not make any accidental side trips as your goals can almost always be met long before the set date.
Players will have to complete these tasks either by synthesizing items with alchemy, gathering items from exploration, or defeating a set amount of monsters and while many of these quests can be story related, it is good to spend some time on the side-quests as they can not only provide the player with additional items and recipes, but a way to test their skills and occasionally kill time.
Now before I touch upon the revamps to the battle system, it is worth noting that the alchemy system in Atelier Escha & Logy remains very simple at the forefront but incredibly complex at the same time as players will need to balance the cost vs reward of creating specific items that may need to be used to complete a request or be used in battle, the time that it takes to create such an item, and then the grade and value of the ingredients necessary to add specific bonuses to the created item.
Despite how deep the system can be at times and how complicated players can take their alchemy, the game never feels like it throws too much at the player at any given time and allows them learn at their own pace. It is also interesting to note that although both characters are alchemists, the majority of the alchemy will be performed by Escha as she is more skilled with item synthesis while Logy is better with forging equipment.
Now as for the exploration aspect, players will need to traverse a map and explore fields to gather ingredients for synthesis and again all of these factors take time and days can pass relatively quickly when you are in the field, so it is always good to keep an eye out on what specific items you may need or where you should be heading next as gathering items from one spot can take up to half a day of in-game time when there are numerous gathering spots in one field.
As players travel in these fields or occasionally dungeon areas they will encounter a number of monsters which can be attacked on the field for a pre-emptive strike. Once players enter battle they will be presented with the standard turn based battle system that the series has used for a while but this time things have been changed around a bit. You see, up to six fighters can take part in battle now and the support gauge is now contained in one bar instead of each character having a support gauge of their own.
Now players can only really fight with three characters at any given time, with three other fighters serving as back up. These three back up members can be called in to deliver extra damage or take a hit for the player, but they can also be swapped out with the front fighter. This is a useful tactic to move a wounded character to the back as all characters in the back will regenerate some health which is useful for difficult battles.
As for the support system, by creating a single gauge the company has made combat a more fluid affair that doesn’t limit the player too much and leave them wide open. By creating this one gauge system which fills up whenever the player gives or takes damage, it is easier for the player to call in numerous supporting attacks to deal a large amount of damage to one enemy or protect a vulnerable character from an incoming attack.
By allowing players to have six usable characters in a fight but still limiting them to three active fighters at any time Gust has made these battles not only a bit easier but also more enjoyable as the pace has been improved significantly over past titles and feels quite fast at times. That being said, even with the refined battle system there are a number of difficulty spikes that can catch players off guard, so it is always wise to make sure you are well equipped for long journeys, especially those that involve a story mission.
Visuals Another thing that has always been a highlight of the Atelier series is how gorgeous the games can look and I can say that although I had some concern about how Atelier Escha & Logy would look considering it is using a new engine and Ayesha lost some of the charm of the Arland trilogy, I can happily say that this game is wonderful looking. It is also nice to note that the mouth flap issue has been revised and a characters mouth actually stops moving once they are done speaking.
The character designs are incredibly well detailed with clothing that feels unique to the series. Plus the soft coloration used in the game makes for quite an eye-pleasing experience and although the places that you can explore still are lacking in detail, they have been improved upon. It is also nice to note that the character animations and battle animations are handled nicely and work well with the new system.
Audio It is nice to note that Tecmo Koei has not made the same mistake twice regarding the voice track option as the company has provided both the newly recorded English voice track as well as the original Japanese voice track for those who prefer that option. For what it is worth, the English cast handles the characters quite nicely with Escha being the standout of the bunch, but at least the option is there.
Now although I found myself initially concerned for Atelier Escha & Logy’s soundtrack upon hearing the game’s intro song, I am pleased to report that Gust has continued to provide excellent pieces of background music for their games. Atelier Escha & Logy’s soundtrack is wonderful with numerous tracks fitting a variety of scenes and even though a few themes may be overused, they never wore out their welcome simply because of how impressive they were.
Overall Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky brings us the tried and true method of storytelling that has served Gust so well for so long and I wouldn’t have it any other way. With a time limit helping to keep the player focused on advancing and a cast of characters that you can’t help but enjoy, this feels like a great continuation for the series, especially when you factor in the refined combat mechanics and the nice inclusion of two playable protagonists to give players even more incentive to play through the game more than once. Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky has everything fans of the series could want and might even serve as a nice entry point for those who are still sitting on the fence on this long running series.
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Since Tecmo Koei has already finished releasing their developer diary series for the game, they have chosen to release a new set of screenshots that show off a massive boss battle that players will need to go through at some point in the game.
The boss appears to be Mayan related and fairly gigantic as it seems that the boss has a number of powers to unleash. You can check out the screenshots below and be sure to keep an eye out for Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z when it is released next week on March 18th in North America and March 21st in Europe.
