Are you ready for the next adventures of the robots in disguise? Transformers: Age of Extinction is only a few weeks away, and Paramount Pictures have given us another look at some of the Autobots. New pictures have been revealed that show us close-ups of Bumblebee and Optimus Prime in a few different poses, and they look freaking awesome. From a close-up of Bumblebee, to a shot of Optimus wielding his sword and preparing to battle, these shots really show off the new designs for some of film’s most iconic robots.
Make sure you check out the new pictures below, some of which would make killer desktop backgrounds. Transformers: Extinction will be airing on a silver screen near you on June 26th and stars a killer cast that just recently added John Goodman and Ken Waranabe, so make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Transformers news as it becomes available.
Iconic Brands Hatch racing circuit revealed in World of Speed
UK’s best loved racing circuit Brands Hatch is the latest reveal from My.com for their beautifully designed upcoming action-racing game, World of Speed.
Brands Hatch is one of the most iconic sporting venues across the globe and the UK’s favourite racing track will be featuring in World of Speed, providing long straights allowing players to put the metal to the pedal, as well as competing in daring overtakes around curves and bends.
Keep up with all the latest news about World of Speed, by liking on Facebook, following onTwitter and +1’ing on Google+.
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About World of Speed
World of Speed is a AAA massively multiplayer online action-racing video game, which introduces a new level of connected competition to the racing genre. Developed by the award-winning team at Slightly Mad Studios, World of Speed allows players to hop into the driver seat of their favorite cars and race across real world circuits and tracks carved from the streets of real world cities. As an online experience, players will be able to create and join in-game Clubs, compete against other players and teams in a variety of diverse team-based gameplay modes, interact and show off in the Airfield social hub and dominate the world in Territory Wars. World of Speed is a free-to-compete experience and will be available in 2014 on PC.
About My.com My.com is a subsidiary of Mail.Ru Group, the largest Internet company in Russian-speaking countries with the audience more than 100 million users (comScore, September 2013), that is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:MAIL, listed since November 5, 2010). My.com’s vision is to build an integrated communication and entertainment platform, dubbed ‘Communitainment,’ beginning with a family of mobile apps: myMail, myChat, and myGames.
Viz Media has recently detailed their digital manga updates for the month of May and alongside a number of standard updates we also have a few license rescues here. But before we get to those the full color official graphic novel of All You Need is Kill has already been released and is priced at $8.99. The other big release is the digital release of Volume 2 of Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma priced at $6.99.
Other releases set for May 20th include Phantom Thief Jeanne Volume 2, Psyren Volume 16, Strobe Edge Volume 10, Otomen Volume 18, Boys Over Flowers Volume 36, and Knights of the Zodiac Volume 28. On May 27th the final volumes of Phoenix and Whistle! will also be released.
As for those license rescues, both the Fate/Stay Night manga and Future Diary manga have been picked up by the company for digital release at the moment. As such Viz is planning on releasing the first volume of Fate/Stay Night and Future Diary digitally on May 20th and each of these volumes will cost $4.99 a piece.
If you are on the fence about picking up Aksys Games‘ XBlaze Code: Embryo when it is released on June 24th then we have some good news for you. Over on the PlayStation Blogit has been revealed that a demo version of XBlaze Code: Embryo will be released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita this Tuesday on May 13th.
For those who haven’t been following the game, XBlaze Code: Embryo takes place 150 years before the events that take place in the Blazblue series and follows Touya Kagari, a sophomore at Hakuou North Academy. When on his way home one day from work, he ventures into an off-limits area after hearing a noise only to find a man gravely injured. When this man attacks him and Touya is saved by a small girl named Es his normal life changes into one where danger is everywhere.
Today Compile Heart has released a three minute long teaser trailer for Omega Quintent that introduces us to the five idols that must save the world from the “Beep.” Despite being three minutes long the majority of the footage shows a performance of the song “Inchoate Voice” from all five members of the group.
In case you missed it, Omega Quintet is a PlayStation 4 idol based RPG where a dark entity known as “Beep” attacks peoples’ minds and conventional weapons are completely ineffective against them which makes their rapidly increasing numbers a dangerous prospect as they quickly spread throughout the world. The only way that humankind can fight against the Beep is through Songstresses which are the five girls in the idol group named Otoha, Kyouka, Kanadeko, Nene, and Aria.
Block Story is a voxel based adventure game. Originally released for iPhone and Android, the game has been ported to Windows and is now part of Steam’s Early Access program. The game merges sandbox styled voxel exploration with RPG gameplay. It features cross platform compatibility, allowing players to play on their mobile device on the road, then come home and pick right up from their computer.
The game offers Story, Creative, or Hardcore worlds that are randomly generated based on a wold seed. Similar to many other games in the genre, Story mode will allow players to roam around the world, complete quests, and craft items. Hardcore is similar to Story mode, but death is permanent in this mode.
Creative mode will give players access to every block in the game to build whatever they can dream up. The mode is pretty standard fare. Block Story does not do anything special with the mode to differentiate itself.
Story and Hardcore modes are the major focus in Block Story, as its RPG features differentiates it from the other legions of similar games on the market. As part of the tutorial, players are immediately assigned quests to help them get acquainted to the game. The idea has a lot of potential to help provide some direction for those turned off by the open ended nature of voxel exploration games. So far, the quests are a rather droll kill x number of enemies or bring me y number of items sort of deal. The quest text’s writing is also pretty weak, but since the game is currently in Early Access, there is plenty of time for improvement.
The game’s controls are a bit clumsy. Currently, it is brutally obvious that Block Story is a port from touch screen based mobile devices. There are several on screen buttons for menu, flight, quest logs, etc that can be clicked on or accessed by hot key. These buttons can be pressed with a cursor if escape is pressed, which brings up the mouse cursor. These big chunky buttons are not worked into the UI in a clean manner, instead just sitting on the right hand of the screen. Since they cannot be interacted with until escape is pressed, it would be a much better idea to make them more subtle or hide them completely until escape is pressed.
The library of items is pretty vast. Players are able to craft a wide variety of weapons, armours, and even vehicles. Some item recipes are locked from the beginning of the game, requiring players to complete certain quests for access. Instead of having a traditional durability system, usable items like pick-axes and swords are manufactured in stacks. Each use destroys one item from the stack. The system is workable, but needs some serious balancing. Overall, the recipe costs for items are a bit on the expensive side. It would be nice to see the developers increase the initial stack size of usable items on creation. More importantly, the price of lighting needs to be dropped significantly. Considering players will spend a lot of time underground digging, the cost of lighting is rather high. The weakest level of lighting requires an entire 1/3 of a wood block from a tree, a piece of wax harvested from a bees nest from certain trees, and a fire block, which costs 1/8th of a piece of coal after the initial fire is made from a stick, a piece of coal, and three pieces of stone for just two candles. The much brighter torch requires an oppressive nine fires and eight pieces of sand.
I really enjoy how player progression is implemented in the game. Even basic actions like digging will provide player with a steady stream of experience. Every level will provide extra points that can be spent on improving a wide range of stats, from weapon proficiencies to digging speed. The system provides some permanent progression missing from many games in the voxel sandbox genre.
The world controls could use some improvement. Though the overall controls work fine. Currently, it is impossible to interact with blocks like the tool box when a block that can be placed in the world is equipped. Even more frustrating, NPCs can only be spoken to if the player is empty handed or carrying a tool. A weapon will attack the NPC and turn them hostile. Considering there are only four quick access slots available, it can make interacting with tool boxes a real chore. The automatic jump ability makes scaling a single block a lot easier, but it seems to be a bit fussy. When underground, especially with low ceilings, the auto-jump does not always kick in, leaving hte player to jump up each block manually. I do like the fly ability, which allows players to fly short duration by using up their mana pool. It makes exploring caves and getting out of deep chasms a lot easier.
Switching between mobile devices/storing worlds and characters in the cloud is achieved with DropBox. I like the idea that the player is in possession of their uploaded content. However, the characters and worlds must be separately uploaded to DropBox and is not done automatically. Switching between mobile and desktop is definitely not seamless with these two extra steps.
One of Block Story’s biggest strength is its graphics. Considering the game is in Early Access, the game runs very smoothly, without any hiccups, FPS issues, or sudden dips in frame rate. The game supports different skin packs, but the default one itself is already nice to begin with. Ores give a very distinct coloured glow, making it easier to spot from a distance. I would like to see some tweaks to the candle and lantern’s glow colour as it gives off a very unnatural banana yellow glow. All blocks give off the same destruction animation, no matter the block type. It is a little strange to see blocks that display items smaller than the voxel size being destroyed as the original voxel size becomes painfully apparent.
The music is a bit slim right now. There are short spurts of music here or there. The sounds effects are good, though slightly lacking at times. For example, when hacking away at a block with a pick axe, there is silence until the block is actually broken. It seems a little disjointed, but I expect things to be added, now that the developers have a lot more memory and storage space to work with compared to the mobile platforms.
Block Story is pretty rough around the edges right now. The content is what you would expect from a mobile game and the developers have some ways to go to bring it up to desktop standards. The idea of merging voxel exploration with RPG mechanics has some serious potential, and the developers are just beginning to dig in. The game is in an absolutely playable state, but some gameplay tweaks are needed. For those who are a huge fan of the mobile game, Block Story is a definite must buy, even this early in development, just for the ability to continue an existing game on the desktop. The developers have a great idea in Block Story, but some further development is required.
AIE and Wargaming team up to send top games and film alumni off to Italy
Sydney, Australia, May 12, 2014 – Academy of Interactive Entertainment is inviting its top alumni to a very special and important event this June in Tuscany, Italy to reconnect, network and examine innovation in education.
The event aims to cement stronger relationships between alumni and encourage ongoing involvement in the education curriculum from alumni who now hold influential roles in the games and VFX industries.
“This is going to be a fantastic event for AIE,” said John De Margheriti, AIE CEO. “We created AIE in 1996 as a non-profit organisation to grow the games and animation industry in Australia. This is both a celebration of the alumni that have blazed the trails into the industry and also a rare opportunity to re-connect and gain their valuable insights,” he enthused.
AIE alumni can be found in studios around the world including Weta Digital, Bioware, DreamWorks and Rockstar. Alumni will be flown to the event, which will run over three days in the Tuscany region. This event is being generously supported by Wargaming, the award-winning videogame developer behind World of Tanks.
“Wargaming and BigWorld have a long association with AIE providing curriculum input, expert speakers and employment opportunities for graduates,” said Stephen Wang, CEO of BigWorld. We’re proud to be able to make this event possible and are looking forward to meeting Alumni and seeing what they’ve achieved.”
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About AIE:
Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) is Australia’s most awarded 3D animation, game design and visual FX educator. AIE pioneered the development of specialist game qualifications and continues to innovate through industry partnerships and dynamic teaching. AIE Campuses are located in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Seattle and Lafayette.
AIE courses are practical, career-focused and delivered by industry experienced teachers in a seriously fun and creatively-demanding studio environment. AIE is the current ACT Small Registered Training Organisation of the Year and National Finalist for the Australian Small Training Provider of the Year Award.
About Wargaming:
Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped more than 15 titles and employs around 1600 professionals across such key regions as North America, Europe, Russia, Asia and Australia.
Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to the mid-20th century warfare that will include the company’s flagship armored MMO World of Tanks, launched in April 2011 and currently boasting 65 million players worldwide, the flight combat World of Warplanes, named one of the most anticipated MMOs, and the naval World of Warships, scheduled for release in 2014.
In June 2012, Wargaming announced the Wargaming.net Service, the epicenter of a battle centric gaming universe that will gather the series under a single portal — www.wargaming.net.
“Good Smile Company” – a Japanese manufacturer of hobby products, most famous for their line of “super deformed” figurines, as well as others – today announced their next “Nendoroid” product and it’s one that is sure to get old-school “Pokemon” fans from around the world super excited!
Trainer Red will be the next figurine the company will be releasing and it may possibly be one of their best. Late last year the world was blessed with the short series “Pokemon Origins” which followed the original trainer (Red) on his adventure to be the very best. Well one can only assume this piece of merchandise has been in the works since the series’ release because the Red “Nendoroid” figurine is based upon the Red we all saw in the mini-series.
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The figurine will come with three interchangeable facial expressions, four arms parts, five hand parts, three leg parts, the original starter “Pokemon” featured in generation one (Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander), a “Pokeball”, a “Masterball”, a “Pokedex” and the trainer’s backpack. The “Trainer Red” figurine will only be sold in “Pokemon Centers” around Japan and through the “Amazon.jp” website, both of which will be selling it for 4,500yen.
The preorder period is set to begin on the 24th of May and will continue up until the 29th of June with the actual release date being on the 27th of September so you’ve got some time before you need to rush onto the web to import yourself one of these fine pieces of “Pokemon” merchandise.
Russian indie developers The Mandragora have brought their rogue-like platformer Skyhill to IndieGoGo in hopes of raising $15,000 to fund development. Players begin stuck in their penthouse suite of the Skyhill Hotel after a biological catastrophe. Beastly creatures that were previously human now roam the halls along with hazards that block the way. Players will need to wander around the hotel to scavenge for supplies and crafting materials in a desperate attempt to survive. There are three playable characters planned at this time.
To help raise awareness for their crowdfunding campaign, The Mandragora have released a playable demo of Skyhill. It can be found on the official SkyhillIndieGoGo page. Be sure to also vote for Skyhillon Steam Greenlight.
Originally shown during a convention, the second trailer for ufotable’s Fate/Stay Night was previously viewable as low quality, off screen footage. Now the anime studio has finally released a high quality version featuring a number of the characters including Saber fighting Lancer. Check it out below!
The trailer introduces a number of returning characters from Fate/Zero including Kirei Kotomine, Rin Tohsaka, Saber, Sakura Matoi and even a casual Gilgamesh. The music seems to be yet another remix of the series’ trademark Sword of Promised Victory theme. It appears that ufotable isn’t focusing on just one of the three routes of the visual novel as fans previously hoped, but utilising content from all three to (hopefully) create one awesome story.
Fate/Stay Night follows Shirou Emiya as he is caught up in an age-old war for the Holy Grail between seven Masters and Servants. Released first in the franchise, the series takes place 10 years after the conclusion of Fate/Zero. Check out our recent review of the prequel HERE.
