TEAM NINJA AND DARK HORSE COMICS LAUNCH PART TWO OF THE YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z DIGITAL COMIC SERIES
A River of Fire Awaits Yaiba as The Legend of the “Heartless” Sword Continues
Team NINJA and Dark Horse Comics today launched part two of the three-part YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z digital comic series continuing the saga of the cyborg ninja’s legendary sword named “Heartless”. Part two finds Yaiba continuing on his quest to attain the mystical “Heartless” sword, encountering a new ally along his way. With different motivations, but both ultimately in the name of revenge, the two must work together in unexpected ways to conquer “the River of Three Crossings” and reach the Storm Temple.
Initially released digitally with an all-new full color print comic to be available with first run retail releases of the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft versions on March 18, 2014, the series is brought to life by Writers Tim Seeley and Josh Emmons, Artist Rafael Ortiz, Colorist Carlos Badilla with special cover art by James Harren. The comic will be available for free download at the Dark Horse Digital Store, www.digital.darkhorse.com, as well as through the Dark Horse Comics app (available through iTunes & Google Play). Additional information can be found at: https://digital.darkhorse.com/profile/4128.yaiba-ninja-gaiden-z-2/.
In YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z, players will battle fierce zombies as Yaiba, a cyborg ninja who will do anything to get revenge and stay alive. Cleaved in two, he is brought back to life with cyber-technology. Brandishing his ninja sword and the mecha weapons in his cyber arm, he slaughters zombies with brutal, over-the-top abandon. Step into a stylized living comic book where stunning graphics depict a world gone mad. Hordes of undead can only be stopped by Yaiba’s willingness to use any means necessary to get the job done. Will he kill by turning his cyber arm into a razor chainsaw for slicing up undead—or just rip off an opponent’s arms to use as zombie nunchucks? Both possibilities fill Yaiba’s heart with twisted laughter in this collaboration between famed developers Team NINJA and comcept’s Keiji Inafune.
YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z will be available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft March 18, 2014 and Steam® (PC) on March 21, 2014. This title has been rated M (Mature) by the ESRB.
SACRED 3 DELIVERING ACTION-FILLED FANTASY TO CONSOLES AND PC THIS SUMMER New Reveal Trailer Showcases Epic Arcade Hack ‘n’ Slash Gameplay
LARKSPUR, Calif., February 19, 2014 – Deep Silver revealed the first glimpse into Ancaria today with a new trailer for the upcoming third installment to the famed franchise, Sacred 3, which slashes its way to PC and consoles this summer. Sacred 3 takes players deep into the Ancarian fantasy realm, where they will need to band together if they are to have any hope of vanquishing the deadly tides of evil. Sacred 3 will be released this summer for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and for the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft as well as Windows PC, featuring incredibly immersive and engaging co-op gameplay.
“The paramount development goal for Sacred 3 has been to create a seamless online and offline co-op experience”, said Remy van Leeuwen, Brand Manager of Deep Silver. “By creating a game built around the central concept of co-op gameplay, we’re expanding the series to new audiences without compromising the rich lore and fantasy of the Sacred universe.”
Sacred 3 features classic arcade Hack ‘n’ Slash action centered around drop in, drop out cooperative multiplayer for both offline (2 players) and online (4 players) play. The game brings back fan-favorite characters such as the Seraphim, Ancarian, Khukuhru and the Safiri, and introduces a new character, Malakhim. Each character class features its own unique skills and weapons which can be upgraded to match the player’s very own combat style. Master the art of war and fight your way through enemy hordes and try to outshine your fellow companions on your way to become the greatest hero of all. Victory Is Ours. Glory is Mine.
Deep Silver develops and publishes interactive games for all platforms, seeking to deliver top-quality products that provide immersive game experiences driven by the desires of the gaming community. The company has published more than 200 games worldwide since 2003, including the best-selling zombie action Dead Island™ franchise, the critically-acclaimed Metro™: Last Light and the smash hit action adventure Saints Row IV™. Deep Silver is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Media, GmbH, and includes the renowned development studio Deep Silver Volition, based in Champaign, IL. For more information, please visit www.deepsilver.com or follow us on twitter at @deepsilver.
IndieGala and Capsule Computers are teaming up to bring to you a brand new indie bundle. For a minimum of $1.00, buyers can snag a copy of the following games:
Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos (Steam)
Hero Siege (Steam)
Dead Sky (Steam)
For the first 12 hours of the sale, buyers can snag all eight games for $3.99. There are 3-4 bonus Steam titles that will unlock in the coming days for those who pay at least $5.99.
The two highest paying contributors will each get a Razer Taipan mouse and free worldwide shipping, courtesy of Razer.
Be sure to buy your copy of the IndieGala Capsule Computers Bundle, as the bundle is worth $160 if purchased separately. Snag your copy here.
Gameforge and Sproing Developing MOBA-RPG For Tablets
20 Champions For Launch | Real time Multiplayer Battles | Free-To-Play
KARLSRUHE, GERMANY – February 19, 2014 – Online games publisher Gameforge and Austria’s leading game developer, Sproing, are working together on a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena for tablets under the working title Sigils: Battle for Raios. The free-to-play title unites MOBA and role playing gameplay and impresses through excellent game balance making for exciting PvE and PvP matches. Additionally, the game features atmospheric art style, a variety of playable Champions and arenas, a user friendly matchmaking system as well as detailed statistics and leaderboards.
Battle is calling
Intense multiplayer battles in a wide variety of arenas form the centerpiece to Sigils: Battle for Raios. Thanks to the intelligent matchmaking system, there’ll always be a suitable opponent to face off against in the next battle. It is also possible for players to team up with friends in order to go up against other Champions or against computer controlled AI monsters. All battles are synchronized and take place in real time – a feature that only a few tablet games are currently able to offer.
Sigils: Battle for Raios is designed so that it is easy to get into the game; whilst it goes on to present a serious challenge for expert players thanks to a broad range of tactical possibilities.
Unique Champions with impressive abilities
All Champions have their own personal abilities that they combine in a variety of ways for attack and defense. Ranging from huge tanks, through dynamic damage dealers to potent support classes – for every gameplay style there is a matching Champion. At first there will be 20 different combatants available for selection. Further Champions will be integrated into the game in future updates.
Sigils: Battle for Raios is based in a highly detailed fantasy world and comes with an extensive background story which unfolds over the course of playing the game. The RPG genre shows itself through Champions who gain experience and level-up over successive rounds of playing. In addition, players defeat opponents to loot gold or valuable equipment with which they can permanently improve their Champion and also personalize them according to their own desires.
Extensive player statistics and leaderboards make detailed analyses and comparison possible, thus ensuring added playing incentives.
The features of Sigils: Battle for Raios at a glance:
– Innovative game principle, combining MOBA and RPG elements
– Optimized for tablets
– Immersive PvP and PvE battles in real time.
– 20 Champions with impressive abilities
– Permanent Champion leveling
– Multifaceted equipment items
– Atmospherically designed fantasy world with epic Champions
Infographic: The Battle for Europe has Begun in Stronghold Kingdoms
London, UK – 19th February 2014 – Firefly Studios has released a new infographic containing gameplay stats on the first few days of play in ‘Europe’, the recently released game world for Stronghold Kingdoms. Europe launched on February 13th at 3pm GMT after ranking consistently as the top requested feature among the Stronghold Kingdoms community.
Following the world launch players immediately began building castles and villages near their real life towns and cities. In the case of the more aggressive players the natural next step was to attack their medieval neighbours, which they did in droves. Just over three days after launch 1,200,000 village buildings had been placed, 325,000 battles fought and 40,000 castles built. The more economic farmer and trader players were also spurred on by the world launch, making 500,000 trades with their local markets and sending out more than two million scouts to forage for resources and equipment scattered across the battlefield.
Europe quickly became the most successful world launch in recent history for the popular MMORTS, with 10,000 players joining within 90 minutes of the launch. Although Firefly expects the number of new players to go down, currently almost half of all server traffic for the game is going to Europe. It is currently the most active game world with a peak of more than 7,000 concurrent users.
Kingdoms remains one of the most popular games on Steam, with nearly 3 million registered players from over 100 different countries. It can be downloaded for free at www.strongholdkingdoms.com.
About Stronghold Kingdoms
Stronghold Kingdoms is the medieval online castle game. Join hundreds of thousands of players in a rich world of Lords, Ladies, Bumpkins and Barons as you build your village, research new technology and strive to be the greatest in the land. Construct mighty castles to defend your lands against insolent intruders, develop your economy and trade your way to victory, lead your fellow noblemen to war and control of the Kingdom. Build, besiege, pillage, farm, explore, research, vote, trade and banquet your way to the throne! For more information please visit www.strongholdkingdoms.com or follow @SHKingdoms on Twitter.
About Firefly Studios
Firefly Studios is an independent PC game developer specialising in real-time strategy and MMO titles. Formed in 1999 by Simon Bradbury and Eric Ouellette, the company has brought to market a number of high profile and commercially successful strategy games, including the Stronghold series with lifetime sales of over six million. Firefly has offices in the UK and US. For more information please visit their website at www.fireflyworlds.com or follow @fireflyworlds on Twitter.
GAMESTOP TO GIVE AWAY FREE DLC CODES OF JIMI HENDRIX’S “FOXEY LADY” FOR BANDFUSE: ROCK LEGENDS
GameStop Customers Purchasing the Game Will Receive Iconic Guitarist Jimi Hendrix’s Explosive Hit
Campbell, CA — February 19, 2014 — Realta Entertainment and GameStop announced a special promotion for GameStop customers who buy BandFuse: Rock Legends, the music video game designed by musicians for people that want to play music. The promotion will run from February 19 to March 28, and features an exclusive code to download Jimi Hendrix’s hit “Foxey Lady (Live from the Miami Pop Festival).” The track will be available in the BandFuse: Rock Legends’ Music Store while quantities last.
Only on BandFuse: Rock Legends will aspiring musicians receive the unique opportunity to learn to play like Jimi Hendrix. Players who redeem the free DLC code will be able to play “Foxey Lady (Live from the Miami Pop Festival)” on guitar, bass, and vocals, in single-player or as a band. Players have the choice of five difficulty levels including the full lead and rhythm transcriptions and can view specially selected Jimi Hendrix video footage while playing.
“We are pleased to partner with Realta Entertainment to offer both gaming and music fans of all ages this GameStop exclusive,” said Marianne Kee, senior merchant for GameStop. “This offer allows Bandfuse: Rock Legends fans a chance to learn and play guitar riffs just like those captured in the live performance of Jimi Hendrix playing his classic hit ‘Foxey Lady’ at the Miami Pop Festival.”
“Foxey Lady (Live from the Miami Pop Festival)” joins the two other Hendrix DLC songs “Fire” and “Love or Confusion” from the album Are You Experienced (1967), as part of 15 signature songs from the legend’s catalogue coming to BandFuse: Rock Legends in 2014.
In addition to the Hendrix songs, the BandFuse: Rock Legends Music Store also features epic songs from The Offspring, Incubus, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Boston, Yes, Blues Traveler, Pantera, and Filter. An expanded library of backing tracks for players to create and record original music is also part of the DLC catalogue. Each downloadable song with music video, multi-instrument support and learning modules is $2.99, and each backing track is $1.99.
Reigniting the music genre with the only true multiplayer experience on console, supporting two guitars, a bass, and vocals, BandFuse: Rock Legends’ stellar lineup of acclaimed talent, authentic animated tablature, and lag-free audio unleashes a full band experience for players of all skill levels. Players jam using authentic animated tablature and a fully unlocked library of 55 massive genre-jumping songs ranging from rock to metal and punk to funk.
The platinum cast of in-game legends includes master guitar instructor Slash, Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society), Mike Ness (Social Distortion), Bootsy Collins (Parliament-Funkadelic), George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob), Zoltán Báthory and Jason Hook (Five Finger Death Punch), and Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom). Later this year, Jimi Hendrix will be integrated into the game as a rock legend, which will include interviews with present day guitar greats talking about his technique and experimental style paired with archival video footage from his illustrious career.
BandFuse: Rock Legends is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and is out now in North America and Japan on Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 system, with a European release coming soon. To learn more about BandFuse: Rock Legends, please visit www.bandfuse.com, ‘Like’ the game on Facebook, follow @BandFuse on Twitter and watch the dev team rock out on Twitch.
Get ready Whovians! Hub Productions Whoniverse is only two weeks away! Stars of the hit series Doctor Who (Although after 50 years, I don’t think I need to point out it is a hit series) Matt “The Doctor” Smith, Karen “Amy Pond” Gillan, and Arthur “Rory William” Darvill will be touching down in our sun-baked land, and gathering together for a reunion that transcends space and time.
The Doctor and his companions will be traveling around the country, stopping off at the following locations:
Sydney, March 1st – Qantas Credit Union Arena (formerly Sydney Exhibition Centre)
Perth, March 3rd – Riverside Theatre, Perth Exhibition and Convention Centre
Adelaide, March 8th – Adelaide Convention Centre
Melbourne, March 9th – Melbourne Park Function Centre
You can still get your tickets now, although you might want to be quick (especially for those more exclusive meet and greet tickets). We have a bit more info on ticketing here, and for more information about the event itself be sure to check out the Hub Productions website. Yes we know that The Doctor is never supposed to cross paths with Amy and Rory again for fear of ripping the universe asunder, but I am sure it will be fine. For all the Doctor Who news as it becomes available, be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
Overview While some shōnen anime can air week after week without break, often suffering from filler episodes, other series are usually given one or two thirteen episode seasons to tell a story. Then there are series such as Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan which has already been given a twenty six episode season which now continues with Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan – Demon Capital. While the first season may have been lacking in a number of areas, will the start of Demon Capital pick up the pace?
Story For those unfamiliar with the first season, Nura: Rise of the Yōkai Clan follows the story of Rikuo Nura, a teenage boy who attends classes at school and lives a relatively normal, albeit somewhat sheltered, life. At least that is what his classmates are led to believe, as Rikuo is actually part yōkai, though only a quarter of his blood is yōkai while the other three quarters are human.
He lives in a house full of yōkai from the Nura Clan, a once powerful yakuza style group of yōkai and is protected by a number of close yōkai friends and his grandfather, Nurarihyon the Supreme Commander of the clan. Thanks to his yōkai blood he can transform into his yōkai form at night and after successfully managing to eliminate a powerful threat against the Nura Clan, Rikuou, who previously did not wish to become the Third Heir to the Nura Clan, begins to accept his role.
Now the start of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan – Demon Capital actually begins with a flashback to when Rikuo was a young child and his father was still alive. During this flashback Rikuo remembers seeing the person who killed his father, a mysterious young girl with black hair. Back in the present, two men arrive in town and after clashing against members of the Nura Clan, are revealed to be onmyoji, both of which have close ties to Rikuo’s friend Yura.
After battling against both Yura and Rikuo after revealing his secret, these two men inform Yura that a powerful yōkai by the name of Hagoromo Gitsune and her clan have been destroying seals in Kyoto in order to bring about a dark force. Following a flashback explaining the relation between Gitsune and the members of the Nura Clan, Rikuo is determined to put a stop to Gitsune as well as protect Yura and, after some preparation, sets off to Kyoto with both old and new allies.
Now if it sounds like the description of the story there is a bit erratic, it is likely due to the fact that I do not wish to spoil too much of the story as Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan – Demon Capital Set 1 constantly moves at a steady pace with little downtime. While flashbacks can be seen as crutches and padding, they are used wisely in this set as not only are we able to see how Rikuo was as a child, but also the face of his father’s killer. Not only that, but the multi-episode flashback explaining what happened four hundred years ago in Kyoto provides viewers with extra details about Rikuo’s new foes as well as meaningful backstory.
Another crutch that this set avoids is the training arc. Since Gitsune and her minions are terrifying opponents to face off against, Rikuo is sent to train in the excluded village of Tono to master his yōkai abilities. In this segment viewers are introduced to a number of new yōkai, many of which stick around, as well as a few action segments which take up much of this set. Whenever the story isn’t being advanced there is usually someone fighting against someone else as battles are abundant in this set, with onmyoji battling yōkai, yōkai fighting yōkai, and more. These action segments are nicely handled and it is good to see Rikuo actually entering the fray himself now that he has learned new techniques.
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan – Demon Capital Set 1 manages to constantly keep things moving at a brisk pace while expanding upon the story of the Nura Clan and rarely shifting the focus elsewhere, though there are a few slow moments that focus on the Paranormal Patrol. It is also worth noting that although this set contains the first thirteen episodes, the thirteenth episode is a recap of everything that has happened over the first twelve episodes of the set.
Visuals The artwork and animation for Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan remain strong and interesting in this release, thanks in part to the unique appearances of many of the yōkai that appear in the show. The characters are nicely detailed with interesting designs and the backgrounds are fairly varied, though it is worth noting that most of the action takes place at night due to Rikuo’s limitations.
As for the battles, the animation remains fluid and impressive looking with no noticeable drops in quality. These battles are a real highlight for the series, as they often revolve more around trickery and special abilities than simply using brute force, though when brute force is necessary it is just as nicely handled as the battles of wits.
Audio With Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan – Demon Capital Set 1, Viz Media has retained the voice actors and actresses that performed characters in the first season. The English voice cast continues to handle their characters nicely, especially with the voice change between Rikuo’s yōkai and human form, and the new characters that are introduced in this set are also handled well. That being said, the Japanese voice track is also available for anime fans that prefer that option.
The background music for the series has a nice Japanese style theme to it which is fitting for the series and works well, though most of the tracks are still fairly forgettable. As for the opening theme, we have “Hoshi no Arika” by LM.C which is a fitting theme that works well for the series, and “Orange Smile” by Katate Size as the ending theme, which is a change of pace featuring bubbly sounding music focusing on the three main girls of the series.
Extras As far as bonus features go, we have some of the standard offerings for a Viz release. There are ten pieces of production art from the show, all of which are black and white sketches of characters and yōkai, only the clean opening with no clean ending theme which is odd, an omake, and trailers for other Viz anime series.
As for the omake, it is a three and a half minute collection of English dubbed shorts. These shorts are roughly thirty seconds in length and are all fairly humorous and mostly focus on the female members of the Paranormal Patrol, though one does focus on the Tengu members of the Nura Clan.
Overall Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan – Demon Capital Set 1 starts out strong and manages to keep up the pace throughout the release, barring the final recap episode of course. With Rikou and the majority of the Nura Clan, as well as some new allies from Tona Village, venturing into Kyoto to face off against a new foe, viewers are in for a treat as this set not only provides viewers plenty of backstory and build-up for the upcoming action, but also features plenty of action and a plot that surpasses that of the first season.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
NASCAR fans get ready to start your engines! NASCAR 14 has just officially launched on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. The game puts players behind the wheel in the world’s greatest race-cars and get into the wild high octane NASCAR action.
NASCAR 14 is of course the latest and greatest installment in the popular NASCAR racing game franchise, it features brand new improvements to the NASCAR series and an intense online multiplayer mode to go head to head with racers around the world. There will also be monthly DLC packs valued at $5 each so that the action never stops in NASCAR 14.
You can check out some awesome gameplay footage in the video below to get an idea of what to expect in this phenomenal racing game experience that is NASCAR 14:
The game is available now on multiple platforms. So whether you are an Xbox 360 kind of guy or prefer to play it with style on the PlayStaton 3, NASCAR 14 is ready to roll on either machine.
To celebrate the launch of the game, Deep Silver have also released a launch trailer for the game which covers the full spectrum of what NASCAR 14 has to offer players. Take the launch trailer for a spin below and be sure to pick up NASCAR 14 now.
Recently JAST USA announced that their English translation of the Steins;Gate visual novel has gone gold which means that the game is all set to be shipped out to people who purchased the limited edition set of the game on March 31st. For those who haven’t went for the limited edition version of the game, a standard physical edition will be released a month later on April 30th for $39.95. Both versions can still be pre-ordered on the company’s website here.
To go along with this announcement, the company has released a trailer for the game featuring the translated English text. Currently there is no word about whether Steins;Gate will be released on any platforms other than the PC.
