Today Eleven Arts has announced that they will be teaming up with Sentai Filmworks to bring a new omnibus film to North America called “Short Peace.” Short Peace is a film by Akira’s director Katsuhiro Otomo which features four short animated films that have been created by some of Japan’s greatest animators.
This includes “Possessions” which was nominated for an Academy Award this year, that follows the story of a lone travel confronted by unusual spirits in an abandoned shrine, Gambo, a short that features a mysterious white bear defending the royal family from red demon, A Farewell to Arms, which follows men battling robotic tanks in a post apocalyptic Tokyo, and finally Combustible, a movie following a tale of love, honor, and firefighting in ancient Japan.
There will be special screenings of the movie held at thirteen different locations across the United States on March 3rd. There are additional screenings that will happen on April 2014 and for full information about the screenings, including the theater locations and prices, you can find them at Eleven Arts’ website.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s and iPad. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
Description
When hunger strikes, grab a shotgun and put some dinner on the table. Lock and load and put those sharpshooting skills to the test as you blast flocks of ducks out of the sky.
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DINNER TIME
These ducks don’t hang about! Aim using either traditional joystick or immersive gyroscopic controls and get trigger-happy. With over 150 missions and a pantry full of side quests from Granny, there’s plenty to get stuck in.
QUACK ATTACK
From slingshots to rail guns, dynamite to robots – there’s nothing this duck destroyer won’t use to get his paws on a delicious meal. Load up on power-ups in the store and come out guns blazing!
FLIGHT OF THE FOX
A simple errand to fetch dinner takes this fox on an adventure that’s out of this world! Chart his journey as he’s plucked from his humble home and thrown into the Arctic and beyond in fully-animated cut-scenes.
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Game Features
• A fun and frantic arcade shooter
• A massive adventure spanning 50 levels and hundreds of missions
• Tons of fun weapons and power-ups to play with
• Your choice of immersive gyro and joystick controls
• Fully-animated cut-scenes charting Red Fox’s massive adventure
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Today NIS America has released a few new screenshots as well as a gameplay clip to highlight the combat system that is used in their upcoming dungeon-crawling RPG Demon Gaze. As you can see below, combat will take place in a first person turn based battle.
We are also shown some of the enemies that players will be encountering in the game as well as how demons that you capture will be able to help you out in a fight. Currently Demon Gaze is set to be released on April 22nd in North America and April 25th in Europe as both a digital and retail title.
Overview There are tried and true themes that run rampant in anime and manga, especially in shōnen and shōjo series. When you factor in the fact that many people prefer something familiar while also wanting to see something new at the same time, you also find a number of similarities between other series, even if they don’t fall into the same genre. Anyways, although the appearance of Kamisama Kiss may bring up thoughts of other series starring silver haired animal eared characters, does this shōjo series stand on its own legs?
Story Nanami Momozono hasn’t had the easiest life as her father has issues with money. However she has managed to get by despite being poor for most of her life but when the series begins Nanami’s life hits rock bottom. Her father has flaked on his gambling debts and she has been evicted from their apartment as part of their payment after he ran away. As such, Nanami is forced to live on the street with no hope, no real talent and no one she can call a close friend.
Just when her life was at its darkest point, she saves a mysterious young man from being attacked by a dog. To reward her for her assistance, this young man offers her his home as thanks and kisses her on the forehead. Despite this offer sounding too good to be true, she accepts only to find out that this house is an old shrine that is falling apart. As she regrets getting her hopes up, Nanami is surprised to find out that she has now become a “Land God” thanks to powers she was given by the stranger she helped out.
As such, she is now the god of the shrine and with this new role comes two strange children yōkai willing to assist her and a fox yōkai named Tomoe. You see, the former Land God, Mikage, has been missing for twenty years and now Nanami must take on his role, which leaves the silver haired Tomoe rather annoyed at the fact that not only has Mikage vanished again, but he must now serve a human girl after she forces him into a contract with a kiss.
Now that Nanami is the new Land God, she must deal with not only everyday high school girl life but also yōkai that are trying to obtain her powers, answer prayers, protect the shrine, and deal with Tomoe. Despite these challenges, Nanami tries to keep a positive outlook on life and soon she finds herself gaining new human friends and also meeting new yōkai who are willing to be a bit more than just friendly with her. With the potential for pink flowery romance around her, how will this human god handle her new role?
Now I may not be the most experienced shōjo viewer around, Fruits Basket and more recently Kimi ni Todoke have been standout series for me and it is really hard not to call Kamisama Kiss a really basic shōjo romance story. The series does not delve into the reverse harem such as Hakuoki or Fruits Basket, although there is potential there as many of the other male yōkai that appear around Nanami seem to develop feelings for her.
Now despite being basic at its core, there are a few things that make Kamisama Kiss stand out from the rest of the shōjo crowd outside of the yōkai flavor added into the mix. The first element is the fact that Nanami is a likable character with a determined personality that tries to improve herself and is always moving forward. Rarely will Nanami be a reactionary character as she usually will try to take the initiative which forces Tomoe to follow along and protect her.
Along those same lines, the relationship that is built between Nanami and Tomoe is enjoyable to watch as the story moves at a fairly brisk pace and their feelings for one another do not appear out of nowhere, as it is clear as the episodes go on that Tomoe starts to develop feelings for Nanami. Even if he is in denial about it until the final episode, the evidence for Tomoe’s feelings begins to mount as he struggles internally with his decision.
Another positive aspect about Kamisama Kiss is the amount, and variety, of the humor on display thanks to Tomoe’s grumpy attitude and eagerness to use his transformation and fire abilities on other yōkai and the way that Nanami reacts to almost every outlandish situation she is placed in, as well as the way that both Nanami and Tomoe tend to anger each other. As far as the drama factor goes, the show is mostly bubbly but does try and implement some misunderstandings about Tomoe as well as issues with his past and Nanami’s confidence in herself but almost every attempt at drama feels forced and rather unnecessary.
Visuals Again while I am not the most versed in romantic shōjo series around, I do know that most of the character designs on display in Kamisama Kiss are as characteristic as they come for a series such as this. The female characters are your standard fare with Nanami being the only real standout while the boys all have the bishie pretty boy look about them. Oddly enough, despite the fact that the whole yōkai aspect is available, we see very few interesting or detailed yōkai designs outside of the small shrine familiars and even they are basic looking.
The quality of the animation is a real roller coaster of decent quality to very shoddy looking scenes with very little movement in favor of using the standard glittering shōjo backgrounds. Thankfully these are used relatively sparingly and a lot of the background scenery is impressive looking whenever the series moves away from Nanami’s high school. It is also worth noting that despite the release being on Blu-ray, the series does not take advantage of the improved format in any way and barely looks any better than the DVD version.
Audio With Kamisama Kiss we have been provided with an English dub recorded by FUNimation as well as the original Japanese voice track. Tia Ballard does a wonderful job as Nanami while J. Michael Tatum handles the role of the moody Tomoe nicely. As for the rest of the cast, they handle their roles nicely though the shrine spirits sound very grating in both voice tracks.
As far as background music, there is your standard shōjo soundtrack which is largely forgettable, but it is humorous that any time a certain yōkai named Kurama appears that he always has a certain theme song to back him up. The opening theme for the show is “Kamisama Hajimemashita” and the ending is “Kamisama Onegai” both by Hanae and both very soft sounding and fitting for a romantic shōjo series such as this.
Extras Now this Kamisama Kiss version reviewed is the minimalistic release and not the one that costs $129.98. Still, there are a number of on-disc bonuses available in the form of a textless version of the opening song, all versions of the ending theme, though it is worth noting the only difference is the clips shown in the ending animation. There are also trailers for other FUNimation anime and the US trailer for Kamisama Kiss, and three commentary tracks.
There are two audio commentaries, one for episode 1 which features Jerry Jewell, the director, Tia Ballard, the voice of Nanami and episode 12 that sees the return of Jerry Jewell who is joined this time by J. Michael Tatum who handles Tomoe. There is a third commentary track for episode 6 which is a real treat as it is a video commentary featuring Jerry Jewell, Tia Ballard, J. Michael Tatum, Sean O’Connor, the voice of Kurama.
Overall Although Kamisama Kiss looks and sounds very similar to your standard shōjo romance series, there are a few elements which help it stand out from your basic shōjo anime. The fact that the romance between Nanami and Tomoe actually begins to develop at a believable rate and doesn’t feel forced is a nice touch, especially when you factor in the amount of comedy that the show provides. Kamisama Kiss moves along at a nice pace and is a charming show that shōjo fans will adore while it’s on, but not come back to.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
LCDemakes, have announced that their newest title Snip and Chu is available now for the iPad. Based on Shaun Britton’s comic of the same name, the game is merely one part of the greater Snip and Chu universe.
Featuring beautifully authentic artwork, faithful controls and quirky sensibility, Snip & Chu puts players in control of Chu – a piece of gum – out to rescue his friend Snip, himself a discarded toenail, from the RecyKiller, a deranged robotic cleaning machine out to destroy all rubbish.
True to its old school style, gameplay centres around platforming. Said platforming will also take place across two LCD screens ala Game and Watch systems of the 80s and 90s. Beginning on the lower screen, player must guide Chu past numerous hazards on his way to the top, and to his dear friend Snip. With each successive rescue, the difficulty will increase and the hazards will become a lot more…hazardous. So stay safe and rack up those points.
Snip and Chu is out now on the App Store (for iPad only), so check it out and bear witness to a tale of true friendship from somewhere you’d never expect. The comic is also available on the App Store, so give that a look while your at it. To get you in the mood for some retro garbage (I mean that in a good, plot relevant kinda way) check out the screenshots below.
Duck Destroyer is a free, casual, shooting gallery-esque iOS title developed by Kojo Games, and published by Chillingo. Now, Red Fox is hungry, you see, but he is also a trigger-happy maniac who likes his duck blackened and crispy. Instead of hunting in the wild like a normal animal in the great food chain of nature, he prefers to grab a stick of dynamite, a pump-action shotgun and a make-shift, coin-collecting robot (will explain later) and he’s all set… to infuriate PETA, the RSPCA and any other wildlife protection organisation there is (maybe that’s on the developers, actually).
Gameplay
The player sits with a 2.5D perspective in Duck Destroyer, and a substantial degree of control over the camera, which can be moved left to right and up and down. Combined with the parallax scrolling effect, there is a great deal of perceived depth on-screen. The player can opt for virtual joystick or gyroscope control schemes, which can be switched between at the tap of a finger mid-stage. Ducks fly past in either direction at varying speeds as the clock winds down, dropping coins or just plain dropping dead as you take aim and fire. Each of the 150 levels included have a set of three conditions that, when met individually, provide you with a star. Doing particularly well and surpassing a specified score will net you extra coinage. Obtaining just one star will unlock the next level. The player also has a total of three hearts, representing their overall health. That’s right, these ducks aren’t all pushovers… some will pop up from behind the foreground or background and throw tomatoes, snowballs, you name it. Every hit takes away one heart, although shooting them first solves that problem. I’ve found that if you hear/spot the culprit, and they’ve yet to attack, looking away and keeping them off-camera seems to avoid any potential damage.
Bunches of balloons carrying crates full of useful items can also be shot down. Inside may be a Pill (health refill), Clock (additional time) or Snail (slowdown) amongst other things. These boosts can also be bought with coins in-menu, or earned via completing Granny Quests, which are basically achievements. I.e., “Gold Rush – Gather 1000 Coins” with a reward of 100 coins itself. There are three tiers to each quest, with increasingly demanding tasks and better rewards on offer. Boosts and objects, such as dynamite, can be equipped at the start of every level and subsequently utilised by tapping the desired item at the bottom of the screen. Four objects can be equipped at one time, not including your main weapon and trusty robot – from automatically collecting coins for you, to helping gun down those pesky ducks, robots can assist on multiple fronts, although the offense-centric ones are expensive to unlock. As you progress, different “enemy” types are introduced, able to withstand a higher number of bullets or fly at a faster rate, for example. They necessitate an upgrade of your own arsenal, which can be managed by replaying levels for more coins, or succumbing to the ease of micro-transactions. Yes, you can pay for pretty much anything in this game… even to reduce a cooldown-like effect on your gun.
Visuals & Audio
Duck Destroyer is an extremely colourful and vivid game that ventures into environments you wouldn’t expect. Each setting has its own unique visual style, with very few assets being reused. On the Farm, you’ll see Farmer ducks (aptly), Pilot ducks, Fatties (offensive, but okay…), Angry Woodcutter ducks and more, most of which are wearing some sort of flannel design to reflect their surroundings. On the Snowy Mountains, you’ll encounter Yetis, – of both the on-foot and hang-gliding variety – Skiing ducks, Snowboarding ducks, Flying Stripy Sweater-wearing ducks (creative with these names, aren’t they?) and, my personal favourite… Angry Hockey Player ducks! And of course, in Space, there is a futuristic aesthetic, but the highlight has to be the Alien duck – grey and lanky, with bill and all! The further into the game you get, the busier the screen can become, although sensory overload is never an issue. The music in the game is playful and upbeat, which ordinarily wouldn’t mesh with the motif of dead animals, but the cartoonish art aids in creating an appropriately lighter mood. The fully animated cutscenes aren’t entirely necessary, and can be somewhat flat. Then again, this isn’t a Pixar production, and it add a nice touch of flair nonetheless.
Overall
Duck Destroyer is a fun title, but it is guilty of the exact same, overt ploy that every free iOS title with in-app purchases utilises. It features intermittent ads – which is a fair source of revenue – but then shamelessly goes overboard with gameplay elements such as putting timers on resource and weapon cooldown, allowing players to pay to speed up said timer, and having both Stars and Coins used as currency to update/unlock/repair items. The developers do offset this by gifting a small amount of coins with every daily start-up of the game, but with the options to pay to remove ads and “buy all weapons”, the cooldown timer at the very least is a totally unnecessary and superfluous addition that just influences users to spend more. Of course, the game can be played without spending a dime, but it does get difficult to progress when certain level conditions can barely be met without needing to purchase a better weapon… otherwise, you’ll eventually be forced to wait for your gun to repair itself, and those sweet daily coin dumps to supplement your pocket.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview Earth Defense Force is a funny series. No, I am not talking about the humor (which is on point and often hilarious), but funny rather for the fact that it has a cult following for simply going outside of the norm. Instead of making a war shooter about reality, Sandlot have done the opposite and changed the formula to their liking, built around short but epic battles with giant, beastly bugs. Forget that the slightly mediocre and rather forgettable Insect Armageddon ever released for a second, and think back to the first release, which was Earth Defense Force 2017. That is kind of what the developers want us to do with the latest Earth Defense Force 2025, as this title all about moving on in a big way. The features are broader, the bugs are nastier, and the campy dialogue is still cranked to the max. Is that enough, or does this follow-up prove that some titles are just made to be a flash in the pan? Let’s find out.
Story
I almost feel like giving an opinion about the story to Earth Defense Force 2025 is doing it a disservice. You are not supposed to care, and this title doesn’t want you to care – as it simply stitches together 2017 with this romp and moves about its day, without a worry in the world. Its been seven years since the last attack, and your squad must save the world from giant insects, robots, reptiles, and plenty of other creatures before everyone’s doom is met.
Yep, that’s about it. Its kind of like a Godzilla movie with no script and a lot of extra costumes. It looks so bad its good, and the player simply gets to enjoy themselves by playing a minor part in a role among a full feature B movie. Before anyone thinks I am trying to take away the awesome stylings that EDF 2025 brings, I’m not. I’m simply putting down my own perception, as I found the whole plot to not really move – yet still provide blast of organized chaos that truly makes the charms from the team involved shine.
Gameplay
This is where it all comes together. As I mentioned, you are of of the Earth Defense Force. Not so much a starring character, but a member of a winning team – nevertheless. Players from the start can pick from one of four classes of soldier. The most basic is the Ranger class, which can utilize a heavy amount of weaponry such as various guns, rocket launchers, grenades, and also take advantage of the many vehicles within the game. Next up is my personal favorite, which is the Wing Diver. This class can take to the skies due to their jet pack for a limited time, scoping out the area and coming from above with quick attacks.
Air Raider is that class you don’t really want to be stuck with – as the action is less involved. Ordering massive air attacks, healing (while offering protection), and bringing in toys for the Rangers to play with in the form of vehicles may sound strategic, but not being at the center in this chaotic battlefield is just a bit stale – to put it nicely. The fencer rounds things off by offering the heavy artillery. Slow – but armored, waddling – but strong, this class acts as a fine balance to the squad, and while it isn’t fun to play as that Air Raider, multiplayer is better for each as everyone’s task at least feels important, even if the enemies seem to fall in the same format with little strategy needed.
The controls, much like in past EDF installments are still tight and functional, providing an easy scheme to wrap your head around for a fun and simple experience. The game is in third person (but the perspective can be changed), and revolves around a mission based scenario, where the player must trek through cities with their squad, freeing the poor townsfolk from the grasps of waves of enemies until each are obliterated, one by one. Sure, there are some objectives – but even breaching new areas and destroying bases doesn’t feel too involved, as the game never seems to try to get the player to focus anything but the destruction. You get a ton of weapons to toy with and with each class, this adds up to one of the broadest loadouts ever for a game of this span, so that really isn’t a bad thing. Remember the classics where you were provided with a decent amount of weaponry, but all that really mattered was to get in there and kill? Earth Defense Force has and continues to go with that gimmickry, not allowing itself to be fully realized in order to provide a more enjoyable and mindless time for every player who joins in.
That is both a curse and a blessing, as not attempting to break out of the mission-based formula hurts the experience. I understand what Earth Defense Force 2025 wants to do, and it achieves its mission of nonsensical combat without question. There are times where the glitches can come in and literally break the game, but this is a “get in there and go!” themed thrillride, and starting over due to a real bug isn’t that frustrating. What is frustrating are the thoughts I felt while getting to the latter stages. The variation of enemies kept me satisfied personally (as almost everything is over the top, especially later in), but not having enough of a change of pace made me feel like I was doing the same thing, over and over on foes that felt different to fight, but came with the same result upon defeat. Sure, its rewarding to take down a bizarre dragon or an annoying spider that leads to death quickly, but you can only have so much of boom before the explosions become expected and predictable. Sure, this game has a ton of content that will keep you interested, and customizing your character with unlocked weapons while playing with the insane vehicles dropped is delicious, but why not offer just a fraction of substance to make the meal filling?
Like most arcade shooters, this one is built for re-playability, and as I mentioned, that comes quite easy due to the amount of content included. Split-screen multiplayer is almost as fun as it was to play titles like 007 and Turok with friends, and the online function ran smoothly during all of my many experiences with it, with others joining in on some intense missions where thoraxes fly like graffiti, raining from the sky. This is the kind of game that requires little brain activity to play, and almost feels soothing due to how mindless this piece of entertainment actually is.
Visuals
Now we get to the part where things go south, north, and all over the place. The visuals in Earth Defense Force 2025 are not great. The environments lack detail, there is a heavy amount of clipping, and the enemy designs, while still eye-catching, are a bit basic overall. That isn’t too much of a problem as the game is still a blast to play. Until you get a ton of enemies on the screen at once, that is. You see, EDF has always had a framerate issue, and this follow-up is no different. At times, the game comes to a complete crawl, which takes away that soothing factor I spoke of and results in more of a headache with enemies slowly running through walls and each other to get to you. The spider that is new this time around also suffers, as even though it presents a fun challenge of dodging a dangerous, spitting web, it actually is broken with the web going through walls and buildings that should be protection otherwise.
Audio
The sound I actually liked. The soundtrack is generic and easy to tune out, but the voiceovers and dialogue give EDF 2025 a bit of a boost in the charm department. Citizens scream bloody murder while running on the streets, and your team are known for making quick and obscene one liners that really highlight the tongue-in-cheek nature that has made this series continue to appear in the west. The enemies themselves don’t really do much to capture your attention with sound effects even though the hisses and scowls are present, which is only a light offense as some more polish in that area would have definitely provided a bit more insanity for players to chew on.
Overall
Earth Defense Force 2025 is a video game that wants you to think it is nothing more than a video game, and I am ok with that as this industry needs to return to that mindset with development. There are no moments of emotion, there are no brilliant dialogue sequences, but instead just a prime focus on destroying enemies and watching them fall into a million pieces. Compared to the rest of the series, 2025 sits with, but not above its predecessors by delivering more options to fans, while stomping on its own foot with framerate problems and clipping that take a bit of the chaos into the wrong direction. Regardless, you will find more fun than frowns in this package, along with a lesson that not everything needs to be a masterpiece to be hung in a museum.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
It’s a cold day in Gotham City today folks. The guys over at Warner Bros. have announced the latest story-based DLC for the caped crusader’s latest outing – Batman: Arkham Origins. The DLC, titled Cold, Cold Heart will span across a multitude of locations (including Wayne Manor) and will retell the story of Batman’s first encounter with the chilly Mr. Freeze. The DLC will also introduce new weapons and a new suit for batman that will allow him to traverse the frigid landscape.
You will be able to download Cold, Cold Heart on April 22nd across all platforms (except Wii U). It is available either stand-alone or as part of the complete Season Pass for the game. If that wasn’t enough to get you shivering with excitement, then check out the short teaser trailer below! After shaking the snow off of your shoulders, let us know if you will be downloading this one. If you haven’t played Arkham Origins yet, then check out our in-depth review, and as always be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Batman news as it becomes available.
Dark Souls II is literally only two weeks away! The latest installment to the Bandai Namco action/RPG is almost here, and the developers have given us a special behind the scenes look at the game with their latest video – Dark Intentions.
This developer diary goes into the general premise for the game as well as a behind the scenes look at some of the inspirations and motivations that the team had when creating this highly anticipated sequel. You should definitely check out the video below (don’t worry, it is spoiler-free) and let us know in the comments below how excited you are for the next stage in the Souls saga. With Dark Souls II hitting store shelves in 2 weeks time on March 13th, make sure you check out our in-depth coverage of the game’s first few hours, and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Dark Souls news as it becomes available
Virtual reality (VR) gaming has been the just stuff of science-fiction til Oculus Rift came along. It is thanks to them that we may see a functioning virtual reality headset on the shelves in the near future. Though for a while, it seemed that they would monopolise the VR market, as indicated when Valve teamed up with Oculus Rift and the tests to use the headset with Microsoft.
However, Sony gone off and worked on their own VR headset for the PlayStation 4. Unlike Oculus Rift, who has been keeping the outside world up to date on their development, Sony has been a little more mysterious. They want to make sure that their new product is in good order before fully revealing it, and there is a rumour that it may be at the next Game Developer Conference in March. The anonymous tipster responsible for the prediction even states:
“The quality and resolution are really, really good. People will definitely be impressed with what Sony’s built”.
Only time will tell if see if the rumours are true and we finally get to see Sony’s headset, which from released images looks a lot sharper than the Oculus Rift head gear. Nonetheless, it looks to be that virtual reality is the next milestone in the gaming industry, we just have to wait for it.
