While people may have thought it was a long shot, XSEED Games has been proving that sometimes the longest shots are the best and it sounds like they are trying to do that once again. Today the company has announced that they will be localizing Akiba’s Trip 2 for release in North America under the name Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed for release on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
Despite being the second game in the series, this is a standalone title which was released in Japan last year and in the game players will venture into Tokyo’s “Electric Town” better known as Akihabara, where they will need to face off against vampire-like enemies in “over-the-top, highly stylized role-playing action.”
Akihabara, shortened to Akiba, has been invaded by “Synthisters” who attack otaku like vampires and feat on their will to live and talk with other people. Only by exposing them to direct sunlight can these enemies be destroyed but even clothing can protect them from the sun. As such, players must roam the highly detailed streets of Akihabara to defeat the Synthisters and strip them of their clothing to defeat them.
Currently XSEED is planning on releasing the game both digitally and physically sometime this summer and while the game is confirmed to include Japanese audio, they are looking into English voice work. However the best news of all is that they will not be removing anything from the Japanese release.
Overview
Pac-Man Museum is the latest collection from Namco to celebrate everyone’s favorite yellow dot-chomper, and has arrived digitally for a wide variety of consoles. Instead of throwing in random titles like Dig-Dug however, this ensemble is all about Pac-Man and his growth over the years. This means we have nine different titles (ten if you add the downloadable Ms. Pac-Man), all coming in at a nice entry price with some guaranteed nostalgia to be had. The question is, do these ports serve their purpose in quality, or is this just another case of “box them all together”? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
Obviously, the most stand-out title within Pac-Man Museum is the original. You chomp dots, bag ghosts, and gather fruits until the maze is clear, and that is basically it. You would think that this much loved port would at least feel a little aged by now, but I didn’t find that to be the case at all. All of the addictive and memorizing qualities stand strong in Pac-Man, which really shows us why this game has always been one one of the most iconic creations of all time in our industry. Then again, it also shows us that lightning never really struck twice for Namco, and the other titles on this collection – even the decent releases, give us an interesting retrospective on sequels that truly reflects where were, are, and going with the many brands we see today.
The follow-up that came a few years later dubbed Super Pac-Man is an interesting title, but one that never holds any weight as it is confusing as it is boring. Instead of gathering pellets, the goal now revolves around collecting keys. Once doors are unlocked, a large “super pellet” can be consumed to turn our round hero into a much large beast who is able to roll over ghosts. Sure, there are a lot of stages and the idea is unique, but this title doesn’t prove to be as inviting or as addictive of the original, which is why it is now one of the obscurities that has been packaged in due to name alone. Speaking of obscurity, Pac & Pal is also an odd entry. Never seeing a release in the west, this title allows Pac-Man to navigate a maze without pellets to flip cards that reveal fruit. It is kind of a match game, but with spit-able projectiles, with a green ghost by the name of “Pal” who stays out of the way but steals fruits if you don’t catch up to her in time.. Yeah, it sounds like an ideal concept on paper, but it never comes together as anything more than a mild, if not frustrating distraction. Also, I hate you “Pal”.
Since we’re going in chronological order here, Pac-Land is the next title up and is the first platformer featuring the man in yellow. Ghosts can be eaten with the appropriate pellet, special boots give Pac more bounce, and fruit serves to rack up bonus points on the fly. Yeah, it is your standard Pac-Man themed platformer, and one that doesn’t do a lot – but still comes off as entertaining due to the simple controls and familiar atmosphere. There are also a good number of secrets hidden within, so while I don’t imagine many will be playing the oddball out of this collection the most, it will definitely be one of the main areas where the most replay value is found outside of the original and Championship Edition.
Pac-Mania in my opinion feels like the first reboot the series had as it goes back to the old formula of collecting dots while evading ghosts. Pac-Man can now jump over ghosts (which believe it or not is a game changer for the good) and the AI of the ghosts have been improved along with the quantity, adding a new challenge for players to sink their teeth into. This 3D reboot also features themed locations, which are pleasant to see and power-ups such as point and speed boosts to give the player a bit of an edge. Sure, its decent and at the time I’m sure it looked groundbreaking, but I still feel like this game captures the formula of the original, but doesn’t quite reach that golden pellet it was truly going for, and that is to be the title to truly redefine the franchise.
Pac-Attack is another odd title, as it seen a release on consoles and handhelds during the early 90’s, mainly due to the puzzler craze that was still running wild due to the successes of Puyo Pop and Tetris. Players have pieces they must assort at the bottom of the game board that come in combination with pellets. You must stack this pieces in the correct format, as Pac-Man will come attached after a few moves and run straight forward to gobble pellets and potentially clear the board. This title is going to be either a love it or hate it for most. On one hand, the multiplayer is fun and the mechanics are understandable, but on the other you have a game that just feels a bit lacking overall. I almost want to say I played Pac-Attack the most during my time with this collection, but I still don’t feel I appreciated the gameplay as it seemed a bit too luck based and can become tedious due to its design, even in this day in age where puzzlers are made up of thousands of unique ideas.
Pac-Man Arrangement is a lot like Pac-Mania, but adds in boss battles and other ideas to yet again revitalize the formula. Imagine a large ghost made up of a great deal of smaller ghosts, and the chaos of chasing down these said ghosts IF you can run fast enough to get to a super pellet. That is the true big addition within Arrangement, but small gameplay mechanics add in a little flavor to make it feel more distinct, such as dash and warp panels. Pac-Man Championship Edition needs no introduction as it in my opinion did what could never be done with this entire franchise. Due to addictive and lightning fast gameplay, new ideas, and all of that neon, Championship Edition makes a large statement about the age old formula that speaks volumes, proving that a new ideas plastered on an old formula can indeed work with the right gimmickry attached, and with the game once again revolving around score with its new coat of polish, it is no surprise we have seen this title re-released abundantly in just under seven years.
Pac-Man Battle Royale is new to us here in the console world and for most will be the reason to buy this collection due to its current exclusivity. The concept is to navigate the mazes with friends, where the player with the highest score is the victor. Sadly, while the multiplayer only title is a blast to play with friends, it comes with no online functionality. That isn’t a deal breaker due to how enjoyable this little romp is, but it is a bit head-scratching why this feature was not added in to an already modernized set-up.
Visuals
I won’t detail each title individually here, as that could take more time to read and the graphics flat out do not matter. The brightness however does, and that is where a few titles miss their mark. These are ports purely from the original incarnation, meaning if the title was not in HD then, it will not be now. I have no problem playing older titles with darker graphics at all, that is not the problem. The problem is that when you jump from playing a great looking game like Pac-Man or Championship Edition and then step into the world of something like Pac-Attack or Pac-Land, the visuals just look a bit dark and muddy. If these were stand-alone, it would be a bit different – but due to the fact that these are in a collection with other titles, it is a slight downer that we couldn’t see a little more effort put forth to sharpen those pixels up. The backgrounds however and menus that you can customize with your own unlockables look fantastic however, and you’re sure to be racking up achievements just to unlock another trophy that is always in display at the center of the experience.
Audio
The audio is a different story entirely. Its hard to make the classic sound effects and tunes sound bad, and thankfully, this collection “scores” with its bubbly and legendary themes that infected arcades years ago. That famous “waka waka”, the intensity of the chase for a ghost, and everything in-between help bring the life out of this faceless mascot, making an experience that comes forth as familiar and welcome during any incarnation, good or bad. Sure, some of the tweaked and re-imagined titles in this collection are weaker in this area such as Pac-Attack, but there are more rainbows than dark clouds here in terms of audio, which are sure to leave the player humming Pac’s praises for days after a long session.
Overall
Pac-Man Museum isn’t the best collection you can find on consoles, but it may be the most important. I started this little history lesson thinking it would just be a collection of titles we have seen Pac-Man in, and not a lot more. After experiencing each however, I now think of it as a look back at one of the greatest mascots of all time who never could quite get out of his own shadow, but gave us a bunch of solid (if not forgettable) footprints on his journey around the top of the mountain. Sure, there are a lot of “Museums”, but those wanting purely Pac-Man and his pellet loving self are sure to find hours upon hours of score topping greatness that still can’t be beat in these hallways filled with reflection.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Today, during an episode of the Japanese children’s show “Oha Star”, a brand-new trailer for the upcoming Pokemon XY Anime movie “Cocoon Of Destruction & Diancie” was revealed. This will be the second trailer to have been released at this point in time with each of them running for a short 30 seconds and only giving us a brief look at what the movie has to offer. If you missed the article a few weeks ago regarding the storyline of the movie, an excerpt describing the storyline is just below:
The movie will take place in “Diamond Ore Country”, a small settling deep underground where a peaceful colony of “Carbink” live along with their princess (you guessed it) “Diancie”.
It seems as though the source of energy that powers this country is produced by a powerful crystal to which “Diancie” is said to be one of the only species of Pokemon powerful enough to create and maintain it but this generation’s crystal is slowly dying and the current “Diancie” has not yet developed the power to recreate it. Ash (being the main character) eventually meets up with this “Diancie” and their small group of friends head off on an adventure to find “Xerneas” the legendary Fairy-type Pokemon which possesses a divine power unlike any other.
During their adventure they stumble across something terrible; a cocoon which holds the Pokemon of pure destruction; Yveltal, who once brought a great calamity upon the country of “Kalos”. I’m very much hoping we see a clash between the two legendaries and, seeing as how every Pokemon movie follows the same type of structure, I can imagine that is exactly what we’ll be seeing. (The full article can be seen by Clicking Here).
Within the trailer we see a Mega Scizor and a Mega Absol in action as well as the two Pokemon X and Y legendaries, Yveltal and Xerneas, going head to head. The film is looking to be pretty action packed and, seeing as its going to be animated by the same team who have been developing the new Pokemon XY Anime series, we can assume the battles within it are going to be intensely cinematic and infinitely cool! Anyway, enough out of me, head down below to the featured video section to catch the new trailer and stick to the site for any and all news to be released in the near future.
The game utilizes the Warhammeruniverse and mixes it in with good old fashion American football. The development is currently on its way, with the game expected to be released this year in 2014. Players will have the ability to build up their stadiums as they progress through the game, creating a lively atmosphere that will completely immerse you into the football culture. The game will feature single and multiplayer, in addition to other innovative ideas that have not been shown yet.
For more information on this exciting title, check out their official site here.
Vividred Operation is coming soon to Australia and New Zealand courtesy of Madman. The publisher has posted a trailer of the upcoming anime earlier today which you can check out below.
Vividred Operation is set in a future where all the world’s energy is produced by the Manifestation Engine, developed by the grandfather of 14 year old Akane Isshiki. Suddenly, a mysterious enemy known as the Alone appears, hell-bent on destroying the engine. Akane’s grandfather has also made powerful Palette Suits to be worn by Akane and her friends to combat the threat.
Vividred Operation will be released as a subtitled-only DVD later this year at a price of $59.95 which you can pre-order here. The anime received a PlayStation 3 game adaptation in Japan last year.
I was lucky enough to find a new blank journal. The last month has been written on scraps of paper. Too bad it wasn’t food. I haven’t eaten in days and clean water is getting harder to find. I’m not sure how much longer my body can hold out while trying to avoid the Nether…
Nether is Phosphor Games’ latest project. The game is a survival based FPS with RPG elements. The game is currently part of Steam’s Early Access program and is receiving regular content updates based on recommendations of the player base.
The world of Nether is a gritty post-apocalyptic city like New York. It has been almost ten years since the mysterious event known as “The Cull,” which turned 2/3 of humanity into Nethers, teleporting beings who roam the streets attacking survivors. Other players are just as dangerous as the Nether, as player versus player combat is enabled. Players will need to manage their thirst and hunger while they scavenge the city for weapons and resources.
As almost a decade has passed since The Cull, humanity has done its best to go back to some level of normal, forming small outposts around Anti-Nether devices that protect the area from the Nether. Here, players can complete quests, join tribes, visit weaponsmiths, buy supplies, store items in the global inventory, and fight back the occasional Nether invasion. These havens provide players with a safe space to be protected from PvP while within its borders and for a short time after leaving the area. However, players will have to manage the risk and reward of visiting the safe zones as they tend to attract other players, which raise the chances of interacting with a hostile player.
Players will create a character and connect to one of the many 64 player servers located around the world. Each character can carry a certain amount of weight based on their equipped backpack and can equip only two ranged weapons (a side arm and a long arm), melee weapon, and a few cosmetic items. As experience is earned from surviving long periods of time, completing quests, and killing both players and Nethers, players are able to assign skill points into the talent tree to get bonus abilities like steadying one’s breath while zoomed in with a rifle scope and blocking frontal attacks in melee combat. As death is permanent, players will lose all their spent all skill points, some money, and personal inventory on death and must start fresh. Recently, Phoshor Studios has implemented account experience that will award players with small bonuses, which takes away the sting of losing a high level character a bit.
Balancing PvP has been Phosphor’s major projects. The March update has brought a tribe system which aims to help encourage some teamwork without completely killing the PvP oriented nature of Nether. Players will join one of several tribes in return for account experience bonus points. Players are provided with reputation points that will result in bonuses for killing Nethers and enemy tribe members, while punishing those who kill fellow tribe members.
One of things that makes Nether distinctive among the crowded multiplayer survival genre is its urban setting. Currently, only a quarter of the map is available for play, but the city takes inspiration from major American cities like New York City and Chicago. The map is full of tall crumbling skyscrapers that provide tons of vertical space to explore. Resources are already scarce and usable weapons are even scarcer. Players will have a bit more luck looking for smoke columns and lights for resources, but the Nether seem drawn to these areas, just like the players. Occasional supply drops will also become a flashpoint for action as scavengers battle each other for the goodies.
The Nether are a formidable foe, especially in numbers. There are currently several species of Nether, each with their own habits and attacks. They are hard of sight, but their laser sharp hearing will cause them to come to the assistance of other Nethers and investigate loud noises like gunfire. Without serious firepower, players will find that it is extremely difficult to survive fights against only a few Nethers. The AI is still work in progress, as the ability to lose Nethers by hiding has just been implemented with the March update.
One of the weakest points with Nether at the moment is the lack of visual variety. Many buildings have been reused. Save for a couple of specific buildings, there are only a handful of standard buildings that have been rejigged slightly. Hopefully, these buildings will be replaced as development continues.
The game does seem to be a bit of a solo affair. In my experience, players weren’t particularly chatty, but were willing to watch how I behaved before choosing to attack or go their own way. Servers tend to hover around the 15-30 player mark, which isn’t bad considering there is only a portion of the map available at this point.
Although the game is pretty early in development, Nether manages to be a fun and tense game. There are some really solid ideas in the gameplay and the developers seem to take player feedback seriously. Combat is a strikes a good balance between deadly realism and more drawn out battles. Phosphor Games has great idea for a setting, but needs to provide a little more life in the city at this point. Nether has all the right ingredients to be a fantastic game.
Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars is currently set to be released on April 15th but gamers in North America won’t have to wait that long before trying out the title. Today Atlus USA has announced that they are planning on releasing a demo for both versions of the game on March 25th and they have also said that if you manage to complete the demo you will be given a nice bonus to use in the full game.
To go along with this announcement the company has also detailed the Mecunite ability that Star Children can use to transform into giant deadly robots. By using valuable ‘Bonding Points’ players can turn an entire team of children into a devastating force capable of turning the tide of battle in the player’s favor even if they might be about to lose.
Today Tecmo Koei has revealed a number of pre-order bonuses for Deception IV: Blood Ties in Europe for when the game is released on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita on March 28th. Gamers who pre-order the game from specific stores will be given special bonus traps for use in the game.
This means that pre-orders at GAME will be given the “Guillotine Lite” which is a sadistic trap that involves an axe falling from the sky. For people wanting something a bit more elaborate, pre-orders from Amazon will include the “UFO?” trap that will blow away enemies and for those who are eager to humiliate their enemies, the “Queen’s Heel” will be given to pre-orders from the PlayStation Store. Finally people who pre-order the game from independent retailers can make use of the “Golden Horse” trap which is a bit self explanatory.
To find out what type of evil player you are, Tecmo Koei has launched a “Evil Style Quiz” that can be accessed herewhich will determine the type of play style most fitting to the player’s personality. To go along with this reveal you can check out a large number of new screenshots as well as the game’s box art below.
Titan Comics, the hugely successful comic book and graphic novel publisher, has only just announced that they plan to release two brand-new European graphic novels worldwide this September. After the exponential success that came with the first issue release of the previously French-only graphic novel “Snowpiercer”, Titan Comics have decided to continue with their idea of bringing European comic books and graphic novels to the rest of the world in the hopes that they gain just as much success as “Snowpiercer” itself. “Elric: The Ruby Throne” and “Void” are the two graphic novels that have been chosen to be released next and, simply by looking at these comics, you can tell that they are going to be great sellers around the world.
– Elric: The Ruby Throne –
“Elric: The Ruby Throne” – written by Julien Blondel and illustrated by Robin Recht, Didier Poli, and Jean Bastide – is a graphic novel based off of the “Elric of Melnibone” novels written by Michael Moorcock, a fantasy title that will surely make fans of the the classic genre as well as the original literature extremely impressed. “Void” on the other hand – written by Herik Hannah and illustrated by Sean Phillips – sits at the very opposite end of the genre spectrum. It is a classic science-fiction story that revolves entirely around an isolated man who was the only survivor of a prison ship that was destroyed. Both graphic novels seem to have a classic style and I personally think they’re two fantastic publishing choices, each of which will be well-received and will result in some fantastically high sales.
– Void –
Both of the graphic novels will be released this September; “Void” will get its release early in the months on the 2nd while “Elric: The Ruby Throne” will get its release later on the 16th. They will be available in all good comic book retailers including digital distributors like the Titan Comics (click to go to site) website itself and through ComiXology (click to go to site) so keep an eye out to make sure you get the first issue as soon as it gets released. Unfortunately we have no preview images to provide for all of you interested but keep your eyes on the site for any and all new information regarding these comics (and everything else pop culture) as it is released.
Eyes to the sky, alien lovers, because today Titan Comics have brought us news of a brand-new comic that is soon to be released and this one…well, let’s just say it’s out of this world. Our friends over at Titan Comics have just announced that they’re bringing the new comic book series “Alien Legion: Uncivil War” to shelves across the globe starting on the 25th of June with Issue 1 of the series. Some of you out there may actually be aware of the original “Alien Legion” series, I can imagine all who’ve read that one will be mighty excited to get their hands on this one.
“Alien Legion: Uncivil War” revolves around a group of alien marines tasked with returning a broken and blood-filled galaxy to a state of peace. It’s a crazy, action-packed and high-octane sci-fi adventure written by Chuck Dixon (Punisher War Journal, Savage Sword of Conan, Batman and the Outsiders) and Carl Potts (The Punisher, The Incredible Hulk) with brilliant artwork illustrated and coloured by Larry Stroman (Wolverine, The Punisher).
The classic series returns, blasting its way into an all-new battle-scared, laser-ravaged adventure! In a galaxy savaged by strife, torn by civil war, boiling with spilt blood, Alien Legion is a cosmic military force doing its damnedest to keep the peace by being always ready for war.
At the tip of the Legion’s multi-species spear is Force Nomad – the worst of the worst fashioned on the white-hot forge of battle into the best of the best. Now the squad’s grizzled veterans are on what should be a boring milk run; shepherding refugees fleeing a civil war ripping apart their system. Could be a good chance to to toughen the newbies of Nomad into soldiers… until straight-up peacekeeping descends into full-scale war!
As mentioned above; Titan Comics plans to release issue 1 of the series on the 25th of June, it will be available in all good comic book retailers including digital distributors like the Titan Comics website itself so keep an eye out to make sure you get the first issue as soon as it gets released. For those of you not quite convinced by this article, maybe a few preview images will do the trick.
Lucky for you the good people over at Titan Comics have provided some preview pages for all of you out there to take a peek at so head down below this paragraph to cop a good eye-full of some deadly, alien, comic book action but don’t forget to head down to the comments section below that to let us know what you think.
