Compared to most of Tecmo Koei‘s games, there exists a somewhat recently acquired franchise which is often given very little publicity and that happens to be the Atelier series of games. But it seems that since Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is set to be released in a few weeks, the company has decided to release a launch trailer to show off the various highlights of the game as well as most of the characters players will meet..
The trailer can be found below and as you may have noticed, this is the first in a long time that there have been two playable protagonists in an Atelier game. Currently Atelier Escha & Logy is set to be released on March 11th in North America and March 7th in Europe.
Time to hit those power buttons, tell your Xbox One to “Xbox: Go Home,” and get ready for another chock-a-block edition of Xbox Newsbeat, the number one stop for all the news regarding Microsoft’s gaming platforms. This week we have 7 hard-hitting news bites with 6 of them regarding Xbox One, and the final one for the still-awesome 360 (sorry again Windows Phone. Maybe next time). So since we have so much news from Microsoft HQ, we’d best get to it!
Introducing A Truly Next-Gen Twitch Experience on Xbox One
TwitchTV is the internet’s most popular video streaming service, and it is finally making its way to Xbox One! With the simple voice command of “Xbox: Broadcast!” those who have downloaded and set-up a Twitch account will immediately have their gameplay video sent out onto the world wide web for Twitch’s 45million+ subscribers to watch. Twitch will be available from March 11th, just in time for Titanfall.
Multiplayer and Party Updates for Xbox One Coming in March
We spoke last week about the new invite-only beta test for the new multiplayer and party features that will be coming to Xbox One in the near future. Well now we can officially tell you that these updates will begin rolling out over the next few weeks. The update will being some enhancements and updates to the multiplayer and party systems of the console, but will also have some behind the scenes stuff that will help developers make their games a reality, as well as improvements to the Kinect Voice Commands.
Chaos Rises with a Gang of New Content in Third Dead Rising 3 DLC Episode
The third chapter in Dead Rising 3’s slick DLC campaign is now here with “The Untold Stories of Los Peridos – Chaos Rising.” This new chapter puts you in the role of a renegade biker; Hunter Thibodeux who must escape from prison, seek revenge and fight for control of his gang. This new side story features a new mission, zombie-slaying weapons, over-the-top vehicles and more – all of which carry back to the main game.
Chaos rises is available stand-alone for $13.45, or as part of the season pass for $39.99. Check out our review of Dead Rising 3, as well as our review for the last DLC; Fallen Angel.
“Ryse: Son of Rome” Developer Talks Mars’ Chosen Pack and Game Updates
Microsoft Studios and Crytek have opened the gates of the Colosseum once again and handed players one hell of a reason to take up arms again in Ryse: Son of Rome. Available now through Xbox Live is the most ambitious add-on to date; the Mars Chosen Pack. Available for $11.95 or as part of the Season Pass, “Mars’ Chosen Pack” adds new maps, a character skin and a brand-new cooperative gameplay type called Survival Mode. You will also get 5 new maps (with two being made specifically for Survival mode) and a new character skin; The Legionary.
“Zoo Tycoon” Receives Association of Zoos & Aquariums Stamp of Approval
The developers of Zoo Tycoon intended for their game to not only be fun, but also to teach players the responsibilities of running a zoo. To this end, they reached out to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) to provide expert advice on animal behaviour, what animals need from their enclosures and how they need to be cared for in real zoos – all in order to make the most authentic and educational experience possible while still being enjoyable.
However, the collaboration didn’t end once the game was shipped out. The AZA Tiger SSP’s Tiger Conservation Campaign was chosen as the first Community Challenge non-profit organisation and will receive a $10,000 donation from Microsoft in support of efforts to reduce the number of Sumatran tigers killed, displaced or caught in snares after the “Zoo Tycoon” community reaches its goal to collectively release 1,000 Sumatran tigers into the wild in the game. So seriously guys, start freeing those tigers!
New Developers Sign On to ID@Xbox
ID@Xbox is a program designed to make it easier for independent developers to get their games made, and available on the Xbox One platform. Since its launch, more than 200 independent game developers have signed on, and are using Xbox One dev kits to make their dreams into a reality. The first lot of games are already at Microsoft for certification and will hopefully be available on the Xbox Games Store in the coming weeks.
Red Bull TV Bring Heart-Pounding Action to Xbox 360
Time to round off this week’s Newsbeat with some high-octane 360 news! Red Bull, makers of energy drinks and sponsors of extreme sports have announced that owners of Xbox 360 consoles are able to download and watch all the action from Red Bull TV straight on their consoles. Red Bull TV specialises in high-quality programming that takes you behind the scenes and up close and personal with inspirational stories, people and lifestyles in sports, music, and culture. All Red Bull TV films, shows, clips and live programs are available to Xbox Live Gold members on Xbox 360 around the globe at no additional cost.
So that’s it for another week of Xbox Newsbeat! Lots of sweet news to digest, and some cool game DLC to go and grab! Which of these bulletins jumps out at you the most? Let us know in the comments below and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the sweet Microsoft news as it becomes available
With Tecmo Koei releasing Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends soon, the company has released a comparison trailer showing how the PlayStation 4 version of the game is a significant improvement over the PlayStation 3 release. The trailer can be found below and from the looks of it, the PlayStation 4 version will feature more detailed character armor, more enemies on the screen, and oddly enough appear darker than the PS3 version.
Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends for the PlayStation 3 and Dynasty Warriors 8: Complete Edition, the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita version that includes both Xtreme Legends and the original Dynasty Warriors 8, is set to be released on March 25th in North America.
A new trailer for Chou Megami Shinkou Noire Gekishin Black Heart was released by Compile Heart today and this trailer highlights a number of the new characters that are in the game as well as the way gameplay will unfold. More details about these characters can be found on the game’s website here.
Currently Chou Megami Shinkou Noire Gekishin Black Heart is set for release in Japan on May 29th and at the moment the Vita title has not been announced for release in the West, though NIS America either has, or is, localizing most of the Neptunia games including the spin-off singing game.
Dandy: You got 205 in Flappy Bird? Meow: Don’t judge me…
Space☆Dandy Episode 8 – The Lonely Pooch Planet, Baby
In my long time as an anime fan, I have watched some seriously non-content shows. For goodness sake, I even sat through all of Lucky Star! But at least Lucky Star taught me the pros and cons of chocolate cornet bread which is more than I can say for this episode of Space Dandy! I don’t know who ‘wrote’ the script for this episode, but surely when they looked down at their work and noticed that it was several blank sheets of paper with a crude crayon drawing of Dandy and a dog, beautifully adorned by a macaroni art Aloha Oe, they must have seen something wrong with it. Maybe Watanabe put it on his fridge and the production team took that as a go ahead. Or maybe this is Space Dandy’s attempt at a troll? Either way, I think it is pretty apparent that I wasn’t a fan.
Even in the future, cameras are naturally drawn to cats.
Touching down on this week’s planet, Dandy. Meow, and QT emerged from their ship to find a barren planet entirely made of scrap and garbage. QT rushed off to find spare parts for the Aloha Oe, Meow went on the hunt for food, and Dandy was left with the ship, on the lookout for aliens. From then on, the episode can literally be summed up by: Dandy finds dog, dog dies, two ‘fleas’ jump from the dog to Meow, the fleas turn out to be little aliens that control machines, they infect QT, QT attacks Dandy and Meow, they accidentally kill the fleas, and the planet implodes, taking Dr Gel’s ship with it. Oh, did I forget to mention they were there? That’s because they did absolutely nothing significant except die.
It was about this time that Meow realised he had lost Scrapheap Challenge.
I have cursed myself with this anime. Because I so desperately want it to be good, I have a ridiculous amount of patience with Space Dandy, but episodes like this ware my patience thin. We have seen what Space Dandy is capable of and a number of episodes have been brilliant and I have praised them as such, but then you get episodes like this and episode 2 where so little of significance happens that they’re hardly worth watching. The first half of the episode was only there to introduce the Machinima Brothers (the fleas) and their part in the second half was so minute (forgive the pun) that the 10 minute set-up was made utterly meaningless. It felt like how The Simpsons sets up every episode i.e. something completely unrelated happens for 5 minutes, eventually ending up at the main body of the episode. In all honesty though, I would sooner watch any episode of The Simpsons than episode 8 of Space Dandy, even the awful recent seasons… Yes, it was that bad.
Just one of many lost photos from the Aloha Oe Christmas party.
The only redeeming feature of this episode was the plagued fridge that Meow stumbled upon which was a nice, subtle reference to Cowboy Bebop. Sadly, unlike that episode which was an awesome Alien parody that served to show a more silly, human side to Spike Spiegel, Space Dandy lacked any of the action, charm, and even the jokes that made that episode so memorable. Where was the intelligence of the zombie episode, the character depth ofepisode 5, the sheer awesomeness of Dandy surfing an explosion into space? Nothing made this episode stand out at all and that is seriously disappointing after its recent great form.
Herrreeee’s QT!
Luckily, next episode looks to be held on a planet considerably more interesting than the ball of garbage that this episode floundered on. We’re heading to the planet of the living plants! If that fails to immerse me back into my delusions that Space Dandy is a good series then I don’t know what will… Until next time.
Space Dandy is simulcasting in both subbed and dubbed formats and can be found airing on Adult Swim’s Toonami block or streaming on FUNimation in the US. UK viewers can catch it streaming on Wakanimand Australian viewers can catch it streaming on Madman with new episodes – both subbed and dubbed – up on the Madman Screening Room each Monday, at 1am AEDT.
For more impressions of winter’s best and worst, head over to our Anime Impressions page.
Nippon Ichi Software has opened up a new teaser website for a currently unrevealed title. At the moment there is no countdown on the site and the only hint comes in the form of interactive letters that can be clicked on by a glowing green fairy.
You can check out the site here and the letters can be assembled into random order, but putting them in the above order will make the letters glow and cause some background music to play. We will probably learn more about the title soon but from what it looks like, this may be a new Nippon Ichi Software IP which may make its way to North America sometime in the future by NIS America.
Today Namco Bandai has revealed a number of new screenshots for Tales of Zestiria which highlight the new character revealed a few weeks ago. This character happens to be Mikurio, Slay’s childhood friend. Mikurio is a member of the Family of Heaven which are often seen as an object of faith and can only be seen by people with high spiritual power.
Unlike Slay’s more rash personality, Mikurio is calm and collected. These screenshots also show the Mabinigio Ruins which is a dungeon that players will be able to explore in the game. Tales of Zestiria is currently set to be released worldwide sometime in the future.
Following their innovations with Project Christine and the Nabu Smartband, Razer have announced a new feature of their Game Booster software that automatically save game data to the Cloud, called Save Game Manager. Currently in beta, the feature backs up users’ progress to Dropbox, with more cloud storage services to be enabled upon full release.
Save Game Manager is compatible with over 2,000 titles, with that list to be further expanded by Razer‘s software engineering team as new games are released. Users may also manually add games, essentially meaning that every game will be supported in the future. Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director Min-Liang Tan, said;
We continually work to enhance the gaming experience for our Community. There are few things that take the fun out of gaming more than lost game progress or disappearing settings. It is our hope to rid the world of such frustrations and help make sure that losing game info never happens again.
Razer’s free Game Booster software is a simple to use game launcher with performance enhancing utilities and screen capture tools to go along with the save game backup. Check out its features below, and click here to download.
Game Booster – Boost your game and PC lifespan while keeping it in top shape.
Maximizes your system performance to give you higher frames per second, by automatically shutting off unnecessary processes and applications when you’re gaming, and resuming them when you’re done
Configures and optimizes your PC’s settings for peak gaming performance
Keeps your components up-to-date with the latest drivers, so you always get the best out of your system
Defrags your disks, prioritizing your game folders for faster loading and enhanced system efficiency for even smoother gameplay
Save Game Manager – Never worry about losing a save game again.
Automatically backs up save game files onto your favorite cloud storage services whenever your progress is saved. After all, lost save games don’t respawn!
Keeps your game settings in the cloud, so you won’t have to memorize resolutions, anti-aliasing multipliers or anisotropic filtering definitions anymore
Syncs as many save game files as you want for safekeeping, free of charge
Game Launcher – Experience enhanced PC gaming.
Catalogs and presents your entire library of games in a robust command center for easy access
Scans your PC to find your existing games, keeping your collection up-to-date without you lifting a finger
Screen Capture Gallery – Immortalize your best gaming moments.
Captures your epic moments in HD with a customizable hot key
Records videos of any length without unwanted watermarks
Shares your game walkthroughs and winning streaks in just a few clicks, so you can show off to everyone on Facebook and YouTube
Wargaming has just released a trailer for World of Tanks that briefly showcases their upcoming developer diaries. To be released throughout year, these videos will be focusing on the major improvements the game will receive in 2014.
Mike Zhivets (World of Tanks Producer) said:
“It will be a truly transformative year for the game. Enhancements planned for 2014 touch upon the very core of World of Tanks, and each of them will overhaul the look and feel of the title, inducing the tank combat experience we deliver with a whole new level of realism and immersion.”
Sometime within 2014, World of Tanks is set to receive a revamped graphics render, adding a greater level of detail to vehicle models and providing for a more realistic gaming environment. The technical enhancements in the game will also extend to its physics engine. This will include introducing more responsive gaming environments, dynamic suspension and damageable small parts, such as turrets which can be completely blown off. Gameplay will also be enhanced with the much requested Historical Battles and a new meta game functionality entitled Fortified Areas.
While you’re waiting patiently for the dev diaries to release, feel free to check out the introductory trailer and screenshots below. The World of Tanks just got prettier…still equally as violent though.
Kill la Kill Episode 20: Far from the Maddening Crowd
Since transferring to Hannouji, Ryuko has been through a lot. Over countless tests of strength, skill and tenacity, she has always remained resolute. Within the violent insanity of it all there has always been one thing driving her forward, one purpose that forced her to stand again and again against unspeakable odds: her past. The desire to avenge the father she ignored in life, to see justice be done…but that is no longer the case. With last week‘s revelation, a new Ryuko was born…and she is far from the one we know.
She who would turn her back on the world…
We’ve seen it before. Rage. That which almost consumed Ryuko once before. Only it’s not quite the same this time around. In it’s previous incarnation, Ryuko’s malice was focused on Nui Harime, a single foe which drove her into the grasp of madness. But now Ryuko knows the truth of her existence and her anger is now directed towards her new opponents: everyone. Gripped by her emotions, she decided that she is not, nor has she ever been, a human and is therefore no longer a part of the world. Not a student. Not a friend. Nothing. She does not even consider Senketsu an ally, as it is her who was the true weapon created by Dr Matoi. If anything, Senketsu was a way to conceal the truth of Ryuko’s origins, having her believe that every feat of strength was owing to the Kamui that she wore. Combined with the fact that her father’s entire life was also nothing more than a cover story, Ryuko’s only memento of her family is deception. Not only that, but her true family has stood against her time and time again. With all this information bearing down on her, it’s no wonder the poor girl snapped. Not even a perfectly timed, and hilarious, burst of Mankanshoku exposition is enough to break her out of this downward spiral. So you know it’s serious. Just look at how she fought Nui. Without the guise of humanity guiding her, Ryuko simply smiled as she drove a blade through the girl’s heart. It was brutal.
A glimmer of hope remains
All that said however, it is not truly anger that plagues Ryuko. It is something far more powerful and dangerous: fear. Even Mikisugi notes that in the midst of her tirade against the world, Ryuko was crying. Each of her criticisms of humanity were justifications, her way of trying to bastardise a world that she can no longer be a part of. Not human. Not Life Fibre. Caught in the middle, yet belonging to neither. Even those who carry the same curse of existence stand against her. Her own mother, someone who is supposed to care about her, sees her as nothing more than an interesting being, an experiment gone horribly right. It is this same “mother” that Ryuko has begun to bear a frightening resemblance to. Though their reasoning is different, both now stand against a world they do not connect to. It is assumedly this manner of thinking that allowed Ragyo to corrupt Ryuko and turn her subservient weapon. Whilst forcing Junketsu onto the lost protagonist, she showed Ryuko visions of a happy life. One of family, of normalcy, of love. Everything Ryuko had clamoured for, everything she had fought for her entire life. Compared with the reality she now dwells within, it’s no wonder why she accepted Ragyo’s lies and turned her back on herself. It was honestly heartbreaking to see Ryuko in such a state. All she could do was cry as she finally stopped fighting and simply let go of all the pain.
Tears shed for a life not lived…
However, this utterly depressing turn of events proves just how confused Ryuko was after learning the truth. Throughout her screaming and flailing, not once did she ever hurt anyone. Though she threatened violence, she demonstrated her power on COVERS and empty buildings. Her words served to push everyone away in an attempt to protect them from her, having deemed herself unworthy of joy. If anything, Ryuko wished to free them of the burden of having a “monster” as a friend. Even in her darkest moments, her compassion still shone through, if only briefly before it was snuffed out by Ragyo. She tried to turn them against her, so that they would not have to feel pain when she left their lives. The same pain she escaped from by succumbing to the will of Junketsu.
With Ryuko now caught in the depths of despair, there was only ever one person who could replace her. In a reversal of roles, it is now Satsuki on who the world’s hope rides. Despite the stern and cruel actions that made us view her as a typical anime villain, Satsuki is now a beacon that may just be Ryuko’s final hope. Her magnetic personality truly shines through in the fact that, after all that has happened, her Elite Four still follow her unquestionably. It was actually rather sweet to see them all reunited, after the pure worry they expressed when they learned of her capture. These facts serve to dispel any questions you may have had regarding Satsuki’s humanity, cementing her as a misunderstood hero. Which is good, because we really need one.
Can hope conquer despair?
As the only glimmer of hope left in the world, and with the future on the line, Satsuki partners herself with the only one able to stand up to Ryuko’s power: Senketsu. Though he despises the former President, Senketsu’s love for Ryuko is greater. In a complete inversion of their previous encounters, Ryuko now stands above Satsuki, looking down on the “foolish girl” who would dare stand against her. As the two begin the fight that will decides their fates, we can only hope that Satsuki’s indomitable will can break through Ryuko’s shattered psyche. It just has to…
