Well with last week’s glimpse into the daily lives of the First Platoon, it’s time to switch focus back to our friends in the Second. It’s back to business as usual when some Invasion Objects decide to go for a little joyride across the high seas, their destination: humanity’s end…Too dramatic? Regardless, it would seem that the old adage “Dead men tell no tales” might not be entirely true…
Ever the ladies man
We begin the episode with a trope that has permeated anime, and more, throughout the ages: everyone outside of the main cast is useless. In this case, that duty falls on the American Navy. When Invasion Objects unite and raise the Musashi, an old Japanese warship, from the depths of the ocean, panic is the general consensus. However rather than call DOGOO, the organisation specifically created for such a task, the US Navy would sooner engage in thermonuclear combat. You know, to save face. Not the smartest move, not by a long shot. I guess the series just wants to remind us just how much of a threat these Objects are and why DOGOO is necessary. Wouldn’t be too compelling a story if just anything could beat them now would it?
Before the Second Platoon launches their attack on the ship (Codename: Musashi Wonder), we get to witness a smidge more of Galiko’s power. For recon purposes she is able to launch four spheres, uncoincidentally named after the four Galilean moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. However, though she collects the data, it is Vidocq who devises the plan of attack. Something he seems incredibly proud of. Though little of Vidocq’s nature has been revealed, we now know that he takes joy in his schemes, flashing a devious smile whenever he reveals a key component that somebody has overlooked. He is also able to utilise his power as a DOGOO operative rather efficiently, requisitioning an entire US Navy tanker for his plan.
Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?
Though nowhere near the focus of the episode, it is revealed that Nobunagun has greatly improved her skills. Designated the mission’s gunner/sniper, for obvious reasons, she has no trouble hitting her target, a moving vessel, from a moving vessel. Though I’m sure Galiko’s visual uplink aided in the aiming process, the sheer fact that Sio wasn’t a focus of the mission proves that progress has been made. It is also in this mission that we learn, despite their colossal destructive power against Invasion Objects, AU weapons barely dent conventional armours. Though it is explained no further as of yet, this limitation may have been imposed by DOGOO (the alien) in order to limit damage in the vicinity of an Evolutionary attack. Probably why all of Sio’s missed shots to date didn’t decimate the environment, that would’ve been bad.
More than anything, this episode gave Sio’s military otaku personality time to shine. I mean, it was a case involving a revived Imperial warship, what’d you think would happen? Though played of for laughs, her knowledge is considerable, allowing her to differentiate between hte Yamato and Musashi (both sunken ships) based on nothing more than a video feed. It is also this knowledge that gave her a certain sense of intuition that the other characters appeared to lack. With everyone so focused on how to stop the Musashi, very few wondered why they revived an Imperial ship and even fewer wondered how. Sio’s contemplation on the Invasion Object’s ability to replicate the Musashi’s functions, along with desire to personally put the ship to rest, led her to a strange discovery. It is her hypothesis that the Objects somehow tapped into the memories of the long dead crew and reshaped the Musashi to their will. If this is indeed the case, it opens up a bevy of possibilities for the series. Perhaps the Objects will decide to utilise their parasitic nature and simply control humanity. Remember, not only did they harness the desires of fallen soldiers, they also directly piped information into Sio’s brain. So at the very least we know that their ability works on the living. And if E-Gene Holders are susceptible, what of the civilian populace? More than that, how would E-Gene Holders combat fellow humans? Or is it possible to take another path? Can Invasion Objects be molded into thinking a certain way? Into becoming allies of humanity? But I digress.
It’s not healthy to get so wrapped up in your work
So, with their mission completed, the Second Platoon earned a little R&R and decided to visit the beach. Cue mischievous behaviour. Poor Sio is more than a little embarrassed about her school swimsuit, especially since Jack was there. What, you thought that the sexual undertones had dies down? Please, this is Nobunagun we’re talking about. You could cut the romantic tension with a knife. A big one. Anywho, with the Second’s time in the sun officially begun, it’s time once again for the First Platoon to report for duty. I wonder who’ll have more fun?
The tides are turning in Noragami, but are they for the better?
This week Noragami takes on the ideas they have been building since episode 1 head on. The idea that Yato may actually be a dangerous merciless god is put on the forefront here and the bond between him and Yukine is so badly damaged that it is hard to imagine how it could be repaired at this point.
We get confirmation of Yato’s dark past in the introduction of another war god dead set on vengeance against Yato. It turns out Yato killed her regalia in the past, why he did it is still not known. This woman is a walking arsenal and utilizes about a dozen different regalia, overcompensating much? The core issue remains the dark side of Yato and she seems to be someone who has been directly victimized by him. It is hard to see her as a villain at the moment when considering just how badly Yato had hurt her in the past.
There is a problem building in Noragami these past two episodes that has only just begun to sink in with me. That sweet balance I spoke about several weeks back is completely off. The dark side of things has completely tipped the scales here, throwing any of the more light-hearted moments off the radar completely. What’s left is a rather depressing show, dripping in angst and at this point lacking severely in a sense of hope.
Is there any possible way to repair the bond between Yato and Yukine? If there is, it certainly isn’t apparent. So while Noragami loses that sweet balance between dark and light, it does become a very interesting psychological drama here.
Yukine is a boiling pot of angst and Yato continues the be the most intriguing character on the show. Yato is never an easy book to read. He has so many different sides to him but there doesn’t seem to be any real tether between them. That through line may very well be the enigmatic Nora, who appears once again at the end of this episode. Could she be the tie that binds the many faces of Yato?
Intriguingly the real highlight of this episode turns out to be Hiyori. She struggles with the knowledge that has begun to build up against Yato and desperately tries to protect Yukine from his wrath, going so far as to lie for him to cover up his stealing of a skateboard. In that one scene Yato is more fearsome than he has ever been, never has he felt so much like a god.
Hiyori’s struggle proves to be the most interesting. She is the most human character in this story and she teeters between both worlds dangerously. Yato proves to be the poison in the well for her and one has to wonder how long it will be until she becomes corrupted by his dark side. She does however have an intelligence to her that keeps her grounded, she has street smarts and realizes the situation surrounding her and is ready to stand up for herself if push does come to shove.
So where does this leave Noragami? Well it is at a pivotal moment right now, at the halfway point of an anime things are usually gearing up to the final straight and that much looks to be true here for Noragami. The question now is, will it make it to the finish line or crash and burn along the way? It is honestly hard to tell at this point. The warm soul beneath the cold surface was what brought Noragami to the game, but that warm soul has been slowly fading these past few weeks. With that soul flicker out or with it ignite and light up the dark? Regardless, the battles between the near and far shore will still rage on.
The Pokemon world is hot with “Diancie” fever right now! A brand-new legendary Pokemon has just been announced so you can imagine the electricity that is flowing through the hearts of each and every Pokemon fan around the world. It’s not just the game that is getting some attention news-wise today though, it also happens to be the upcoming Pokemon XY anime movie, a film titled; “The Cocoon Of Destruction and Diancie”. This film was recently renamed from “The Cocoon Of Destruction” to add the “and Diancie” part just as the new Pokemon was revealed which means they’ve always had plans for this movie to revolve around the new legendary but just didn’t want to give anything away. Now that “Diancie” has been revealed and the name of the movie has been changed I suppose the ‘higher-ups” thought that it was now fine to reveal the plot of the new movie to us all.
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. This movie is set to hit Japan on the 19th of July, which isn’t that far away, though no actual Western release date has been revealed. If this movie follows the trend that the other movies have set, I doubt we will be waiting too long to get our hands on it. Unfortunately no new assets for the film were released but I’d imagine we’d be seeing some in the near future so stick around.
Late last week we brought you all some news of a brand-new Pokemon that had been revealed through Japan’s CoroCoro magazine. This legendary Pokemon, “Diancie“, is a fairy/rock type that has also been locked in to star as the main focal point of the upcoming Pokemon XY anime movie; “The Cocoon Of Destruction And Diancie”. Today brings us some more news regarding the new addition to the already extensive species lineup and it comes in the form of an official North American reveal.
Alongside some nice new images and a short introduction video, this news also came with a bit more information regarding what exactly “Diancie” is within the Pokemon world: It turns out that its physical resemblance to the Pokemon “Carbink” is not just a coincidence with its official Pokedex entry stating that “Diancie” is; “A sudden transformation of Carbink. It’s pink, glimmering body is said to be the loveliest sight in the world”.
Information regarding its distribution have also been released but all that really has been said is that the method behind its distribution will be revealed within the upcoming Pokemon movie. To complete your full introduction to “Diancie” I suggest you head down below to our featured video area where you can check out its Pokemon X and Y reveal trailer. Enjoy and stay tuned for any and all new information to be released.
Overview Visual novels come in many shapes and sizes, but in the West they rarely come at all. There has been difficulty in the past to even have popular titles such as Phoenix Wright localized for fans, and many other fairly popular titles that are simply visual novels rarely are released outside of the PC. As such, when NIS America announced that they would be bringing the first game in the Danganronpa series to the West in the form of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, fans rejoiced. Now that this title has been released, did they celebrate too soon?
Story Hope’s Peak Academy is a school that will only accept the best of the best from the high schools around the nation. This means that only the “Ultimate” student of any category can enter the hallowed halls of the school and those who graduated from the academy are guaranteed success and the best life imaginable with connections reaching all the way to the top. While fourteen students have been invited to the school based on their skills, such as being the Ultimate Swimming Pro or the Ultimate Gambler, one Ultimate student simply got in because he was lucky.
Thanks to a raffle held by the school, an average boy named Makoto Naegi, has been called the Ultimate Lucky Student and is invited to join the academy. However when he reaches the school gates the Ultimate Lucky Student will soon find himself in surrounded by despair as he suddenly passes out. Upon awakening, Naegi finds himself locked inside of a school with a giant vault like door guarded by Gatling guns and thick metal plates embedded over every window.
As Makoto, players learn that not only has he been locked in this school but the other fourteen Ultimate students have been locked in with him. They assemble in the gym and are greeted by a strange stuffed-bear named Monokuma who informs them that they are now locked in this school for the rest of their lives. Of course there is one way to graduate from the school and that is to murder another student and get away with the perfect crime.
Monokuma is a stickler for rules however, and since it would be boring if someone were to kill everyone at the school to escape, any time a murder is committed a class trial must be held where the surviving students will attempt to figure out real murderer. Makoto and the others must be sure about their answer, for if they choose wrong, that person will graduate and everyone else will be punished, but if they choose correctly, only the murderer will be punished.
With fifteen “Ultimate” students trapped in a school and the sadistic Monokuma making the situation worse, it is only a matter of time before someone snaps and the murderous game begins. Considering the nature of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and how it is a mystery title, that will be as far as we go here but let’s just say that as players progress through the chapters they will slowly begin to realize that there is much more going on behind the scenes as numerous revelations occur throughout the title.
That being said, whenever players aren’t investigating murders or something else, the cast of characters players find themselves trapped with are all enjoyable in their own right, with colorful over-the-top “Ultimate” personalities that players can interact with and learn more about whenever they have some free time. Some characters are expanded a bit more than others, but considering the fairly large cast for a game such as this, they mesh together quite nicely.
Gameplay All of the dialogue in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc plays out with a visual novel style allowing players to talk to various characters and occasionally respond to certain topics via a “Re:Action” system to advance the dialogue. While everything is calm and simple, players are free to explore the school at will, allowing the player to walk through the halls and various rooms, examining bits of furniture for pieces of dialogue or collecting Monocoins that can be redeemed to gather presents or unlock pieces of art or cutscenes in the main menu.
During this free time players can also choose to talk to other students and spend some extra time with them, learning more about their past or their personality and even giving them a present to try and become better friends with them. Becoming friends with your fellow classmates is similar to a Social Link in Persona, where players will either unlock a special skill that can be used in a class trial or more skill points to allow more skills to be equipped. There is only so much free time available in a school like this however and when time is up and the day advances, the story will as well. Though it is worth noting that a “School Mode” that allows players to interact with characters without the horror of the killing game breathing down their necks is available once the game is completed.
When free time is over, the deadly nature of the game is rampant as the cast discover that one of their classmates has been murdered. With Monokuma alerting everyone that a body has been found, the bulk of Danganronpa begins. Players will first begin examining the crime scene and various areas around the school as they gather clues that are stored away as “Truth Bullets” to be used in the class trial. These investigation sequences are fairly straight-forward and gamers usually can only leave an area or begin a trial once they collect every piece of evidence available.
Once they do, the Class Trial begins and herein lies the best part of the game. These class trials involve every member of the surviving cast attempting to figure out what happened and choose the murderer and to do this players must make use of their Truth Bullets and navigate through a number of mini-games to come to truth. Since all of your classmates can discuss what happens, most of the action revolves around Nonstop Debates where players will need to target specific statements to shoot down with evidence.
Other minigames appear in the form of an anagram puzzle, multiple choice answers, Bullet Time Battle, a potentially challenging rhythm game where players will need to rapidly try to get the point across to a difficult member of the class, and closing argument style puzzle where the player will need to try and put piece of the puzzle together and explain how the crime happened from start to finish, with extra unnecessary pieces of information mixed in to throw the player off the right track. While these sound simple, wrong moves can quickly earn the player a game over as Makoto only has so much trust to work with.
These sections of the game can be made harder or easier depending on the difficulties players chose at the start of the title. There are Gentle, Kind, and Mean options for Action and Logic, with there being more options to throw the player off base the higher the difficulty level for both options. The game also makes fair use of the Vita’s touch screen, allowing the player to advance text by tapping the screen or taking certain actions in class trials, such as shooting statements down with Truth Bullets.
Visuals Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a highly stylized game with a few different styles mixed in. Most of the environments that players will examine will be a mixture of 2D and 3D while all of the character portraits are 2D, but highly detailed and expressive.
Class Trials are a real sight to behold, especially during Nonstop Debates as players can see and hear their fellow classmates arguing and growing more frustrated or desperate as a trial drags on. There are also some rather gruesome looking death scenes in the game, and punishments that occur as well, all of which are stylized with pink blood and, as sadistic as it sounds, amazing looking.
Audio With the release of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc players have the option to play the game with the English voice work provided by NIS America or the original Japanese voice track. There is no option to switch the dialogue in the game while you are playing it, but if you choose to return to a previous chapter you can always select a different language. That being said, the English dub is nicely handled and although the game isn’t completely dubbed, with most of the basic visual novel dialogue being unvoiced, the Class Trials and important scenes are completely voiced and are rather impressive sounding in English.
As far as the soundtrack is concerned, the title features a wide range of background music that always seems to fit the theme of what is happening at the time. There are a number of highly enjoyable pieces of music found inside of Danganronpa and it really helps add to the feel of the game.
Overall Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc could have easily gone wrong somewhere but I am happy to report that that isn’t the case. Gathering evidence can be fairly simple endeavor with there being little room for error; players will find themselves enthralled with the Class Trial segments of the game and the characters that are trapped within Hope’s High Academy. In the end, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a game that is impossible to put down as players will want to continuously push forward and see what will happen next.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Unhack Developer:InvertMouse Publisher:InvertMouse Platforms:PC (Reviewed), Mac Release Date: February 12, 2014 Price: $5.00 – Available Here
Overview
Visual Novels are few and far between in the Western video-games market, let alone Visual Novels made outside of Japan. That is why Unhack is such a breath of fresh air in a market growing stagnant with the same old song and dance. Unhack from indie developer InvertMouse is a truly unique experience for the PC, blending the Japanese Visual Novel genre with puzzle game elements to great effect. What really sets Unhack apart from the crowd however is its rich story and concept. You’ll find yourself absorbed into the digital world of Unhack as its colourful cast sets out to ‘unhack’ the system and take down the 5K Worm. This is riveting stuff and you can only find it in the innovative Unhack.
Gameplay
Sprawling across a massive 10 episodes, Unhack is an ambitious game to say the very least. It reinvents the puzzle game genre all the while taking the very notion of visual novels and turning it completely on its head. What we have here is quite a special game and it is a must-play game.
The core gameplay in Unhack is simple yet complex puzzle mechanics. You control your unhacker with the WASD keys to move in all directions through a maze like level, avoiding enemies, unlocking gateways, defeating enemies and taking down big bad bosses. All of this plays out alongside an elaborate visual novel story which overlays that core puzzle element. The characters, the story and the intricate details that play out over these 10 episodes are all simply remarkable. InvertMouse has crafted something truly genius here and it is astonishing to think about.
The game has a number of different difficulty options, giving the game a spice of challenge the higher up you go, the puzzles are already brain benders to begin with and they only become more and more hard as you increase difficulty. However it is in the challenge where Unhack proves to be most enjoyable. While you are absorbed deeply into the engaging story of Unhack, you’ll become addicted to the puzzles.
As you progress through the game, the twists and turns the story takes will prove to shock you just as much as intrigue you. There is a particularly pivotal twist in episode 10 that this reviewer did not see coming. It is the mark of true story-telling excellence when you can still surprise the audience in unexpected and compelling ways. If you’re looking for a game that will tell you a tale you won’t be able to look away from, then Unhack is it. In an age where story-telling in gaming has become pedestrian and dulled to appease the simple minded masses, Unhack tells an intelligent story about self acceptance. It is thrilling narrative at its finest.
All in all the gameplay experience that Unhack provides is simply uncharted territory. What we have here is something new, something fresh and you’ll be hooked from start to finish on this wild thrill-ride of a journey of unhacking.
Visuals & Audio
The aesthetic design of Unhack is rather genius really. Blending the anime inspired artwork of the character designs with the digitized neon world of Unhack works wonders here, creating an artistic juxtaposition that manages to balance the differences in visuals into a happy middle-ground that feels like a natural extension of one another. It is bright, colourful and lively graphic work and it looks gorgeous in every regard.
The soundtrack is equally as impressive, with some spellbinding musical arrangements that will tantalize the senses. On top of that is the excellent voice work in the game. InvertMouse has gone to great effort here to provide some superb voice acting for these characters, bringing in anime voice actress Xanthe Huynh, who has previously voiced characters in anime such as K-ON! and Sword Art Online. The acting is excellent across the board and truly brings these characters to life.
Overall
InvertMouse has done something wonderful with Unhack, this indie developer has created something unique, something genuinely special and something that must be played to be believed. It takes the puzzle genre into bright new territory, puts a spotlight on the under-appreciated visual novel genre, mixes both together into what results in one hell of a game.
While Unhack’s anime inspired style may not be for everyone, but if you are willing to give this game a chance, you’ll find yourself experiencing something unlike anything else in gaming right now. Unhack is an innovative new game and for the price tag, it is an easy decision to make. This is a game that simply must be played. InvertMouse prove themselves to be an indie developer worth your attention. Unhack is brilliant, intelligent, creative gaming at its very finest.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
A week has gone past us already, and it is time for the awesome folks over at Disney to shower us with free Disney Infinity maps in this week’s Toy Box Challenge. As with previous weeks, there are five free maps for Disney Infinity owners to download, as well as a new Toy Box Submission Challenge, and a video that showcases the winners of the previous challenge. Without further adieu, lets get into it!
TOY BOX SUBMISSION CHALLENGE
This week’s Toy Box Submission challenge will be a tricky one. The theme for this week is the Aladdin Challenge! Make a wish, and get ready to build yourself a whole new world. To come out on top of this week’s challenge, make sure you use all of the Aladdin set pieces at your disposal to recreate Agrabah.
As always, you can create and share your Toy Box creations though, using these instructions:
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U
Bring up the Pause Menu and select “Online/Multiplayer.”
Then select “Toy Box Share” > “Disney’s Toy Boxes” > “Submit to Disney.”
Follow the prompts. You’ll be asked to give your Toy Box an original name and description. Choose carefully – they will be shown to everybody if your Toy Box is featured.
iPad
Bring up the Pause Menu and select “Toy Box Share.”
Then select “Disney’s Toy Boxes” > “Submit to Disney.”
Follow the prompts. You’ll be asked to give your Toy Box an original name and description. Choose carefully – they will be shown to everybody if your Toy Box is featured
TOY BOX COUNTDOWN
This week’s Toy Box Countdown features the top 5 user generated maps that were submitted to Disney for the previous Valentines Day Challenge. Check out the video below to see the top 5 entrants in the challenge. All of which you can download right now!
That’s another week of Disney Infinity updates for you passionate Disney fans out there. Were you happy with the Toy Box Countdown winners? Will you be downloading any of the maps (wither from the winners, or from Disney)? Let us know in the comments below, and remember that for all the Disney Infinity news as it becomes available, stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
On Valentine’s Day at the Time to THRIVE Conference for the Human Rights Campaign in Las Vegas, actress Ellen Page took to the stage her views of civil liberties for LGBTQ youth and culture and beautifully expressed her own experience to the community.
Ellen Page declared “I am here today because I am gay and because maybe I can make a difference to help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility. . . I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out, my spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered.”
It was truly amazing to see the Oscar nominated star of ‘Inception’ and protagonist in Beyond: Two Soulspublically come out live as a lesbian, with the hope that she can serve as a role model for equal rights for everyone- no matter what their sexuality is.
Back when CD Projekt RED started development on The Witcher, released for PC in 2007, the team consisted of a mere 20 employees. Now, with the third instalment in the series poised to become the biggest RPG of 2014, the Polish developer has grown to employ 220 of the most talented individuals in their respective fields – that’s an immense growth spurt, the benefits of which are being reaped on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
I was extremely excited to be able to attend a live, 40 minute demonstration of the title by the studio’s Head of Marketing and PR, Michał Platkow-Gilewski, and QA Analyst Łukasz Babiel, both of whom also answered questions in an open-floor forum format following the conclusion of the demo. They opened with a brief presentation, getting us up to speed on the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, although everyone in the room was quite familiar. I nominated The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for Most Anticipated title in our2013 Game of the Year Awardsafter all (the fact that it didn’t win should not be held against me!). And let’s get your most burning query out of the way up top – no, we were not enlightened as to the release date of the game. It looks like we will have to wait a little while longer before that piece of information is divulged. Sorry fellow monster hunters!
The portion of this 100 hour epic (50 hours of side-quests, 50 hours of main quests) we were treated to takes place about halfway through the central plot. ‘The White Wolf’ has set off to meet an old friend named Crach, who is Jarl an Craite, part of the Skellige region – a rugged, wind-swept archipelago, the design of which was inspired by Norse and Celtic mythology. The Jarl might have some pertinent information relating to the reappearance of the Wild Hunt, an unstoppable spectral force that Geralt – and the player – knows all too well. Yet, the threat of being plunged into a world of despair due to these ghostly riders isn’t the only one plaguing the Northern Kingdoms, with the powerful Nilfgaard Empire striking a deadly blow and inciting another war that has already taken its toll, with little end in sight. The anarchic No Man’s Land has been ravaged by conflict before, and Skellige, as well as the port city of Novigrad, are preparing to ensure they do not suffer the same fate at the hands of a global Nilfgaardian onslaught. Geralt arrives on horseback at Craite’s city gates, and meets with Crach, who communicates the destruction of the village Dalvik, burned to the ground at the hands of the Four Horsemen-like Wild Hunt. The sole survivor of the raid, Bjorn, escaped to Fayrlund, and so that’s where Geralt is headed next.
The sheer scale of the game world – 35 times larger than that of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings – is evident even in navigating the Jarl’s castle; Geralt had to descend a long flight of stairs just to reach a wooden elevator operated by a network of pulleys, evocative of a medieval contraption. Michał expressed how the development team needed to add new forms of transportation to better and quickly traverse the various environments, from the aforementioned lifts to boats and, finally, horseback riding. On the way down, the player has a moment to appreciate the detailed, living world and the impressively far-reaching draw distance. The world feels alive, organic and natural, to the point where weather changes actually affect people’s behaviours. For instance, if it is raining, villagers will run for shelter, and if it’s deathly cold, they will seek a source of warmth. If faced with an attack, they will defend themselves, whether you are involved or not. Approaching storms can be spotted from afar, and will eventually reach you, affecting your steering ability and wreaking havoc on your vessel. The new economic system in place sees merchants charge more for fish the further they are from the sea, for example. And if the fisherman providing said fish run out, they will set sail to catch some more. Also, depending on whether it is broad daylight or night, certain creatures may go into hiding, awaken, or even become stronger/weaker.
Moving onwards, our guests took the opportunity to explore a little off the beaten path, so to speak. They pointed out Points of Interest, which are littered throughout the map. These locations are not necessarily pivotal to specific quest-lines, but may feature an abandoned shack or a shipwreck like the fishing village we were shown, inviting the player to examine their surroundings, learn more of the lore and perhaps discover hidden items. Soon, we come across a group of bandits about to set fire to a lone, occupied cottage atop a hill. The player can choose not to intervene, but Łukasz and Michał deemed it about time we saw some action. Here, we get our first glimpse at the revamped combat mechanics. Initially, Łukasz selects his sword from a scroll wheel that also holds all of the Witcher Signs, however the latter are conveniently able to be quick-swapped between on the fly without having to enter any interface element or pause combat. Immediately noticeable is the increased speed, fluidity and responsiveness of the Geralt’s swordsman skills, which play out from a selection of 96 new animation sequences, from parries to stabs and slices. Sign usage is also faster, able to be utilised fluidly as an integral part of your offensive arsenal. Each of the five Signs now have a primary and secondary application, i.e., the Igni fire blast can be held to develop into a flamethrower.
After easily dispatching of the three ransackers, we get back on the horse (literally) and spot what looks like a short, abandoned tower. Unfortunately for us, a Fiend is roaming the area and we’ve walked right into it. Fiends are big beasts with horns reminiscent of antlers, who charge at you with little warning, but get stuck in solid objects shall they miss the target. They sound like your basic charging foe, right? Sidestep them and you’ll be fine… but there’s more than meets the eye with the Fiend. In fact, that’s just it… it has a third eye. And it uses this third eye to pull you into a darkened vision of the surroundings, in what is almost like a hallucinogenic effect. It eventually wears off, but does a great job in disorienting the player. As Łukasz demonstrated for us, casting a Quen forcefield around Geralt is advantageous here, knowing that this particular enemy likes to charge and considering that, in the altered state of the world, you would not be able to see it coming. Once enough damage is dealt, the Fiend flees back to its hideout, resulting in a prompt for Geralt to follow its tracks and finish it off. Łukasz chose to move forward, finally making our way to Fayrlund and Bjorn. The man was visibly distraught (for good reason), but also frustrated that no one would believe the tale he was spinning… except for Geralt, that is.
Bjorn spoke of the Wild Hunt and the destruction they caused, continuing on when questioned by Geralt that they proceeded to board a ship made from the hands of the dead, familiar to the monster hunter as Naglfar. Before we could advance, a fellow villager interrupted to alert everyone to the murder of Bjorn’s own brother, Arnulf. Poor guy can’t catch a break! All gather at the site, just upon the edge of the town and the outlying forest. The scene reminds of a ritualistic killing, with the victim entwined in roots. Geralt offers his services, although the elders of the town – led by one named Harald – are adamant against pursuing what they believe to be a deadly woodland spirit. The younger members of town are spoken for by Sven, who are interested in paying Geralt his fee in order to hunt down this monster. Geralt doesn’t just jump into situations like this without a bit more info, so he heads off into the woods in order to find clues about the culprit. Using Witcher Senses, Geralt can see strange markings, as well as prints on the ground. Soon, he comes across a circles of stones brandishing claw marks. Through all the evidence, Geralt infers the identity of our killer – a Leshen. Examining the newly unlocked bestiary entry, we learn that the Leshen is strong enough to break through basic parries, can be summoned by destroying a set of totems and is invincible so long as it can feed off a “marked” soul.
Returning to the township, the player has two options – speak to Sven or Harald. Opting for the former, we disclose the knowledge to Sven, who asks who the marked one may be. Suspecting Harald due to his inexplicable resistance to sorting out this quandary, we approach him with Witcher Senses active, but find no unusual visual traits. Unfortunately, a girl that Sven has shown interest in is the marked one, although she is none the wiser, when usually the marked one exhibits unbecoming behaviour. Sven concedes to the understanding that he must “take care of her”, lest the Leshen will simply be resurrected upon defeat, and she will be lost regardless. With that settled, it’s down to business. Geralt proceeds back into the woods, searching for three totems. A murder of crows circle overhead, signalling the location of each totem in succession. As Geralt attempts to reach and burn them with Igni, the Leshen tries to impede him in hiding, by summoning damaging roots from under the ground. Once the totems are burnt and dismantled, the Leshen appears. It manifests from the previously mentioned murder of crows, needing to be at close range in order to do significant damage with a downward swipe that knocks Geralt back. At medium range, it can summon roots just like earlier, and if you get too far away, it will de-materialise back into the murder of crows to quickly cover more distance, before re-materialising beside you, ready to break your guard.
Defeating the Leshen is a matter of timing your evasive manoeuvres and attacks. Łukasz may have taken a beating, but he prevailed. He picks up the Leshen trophy and treks back into town, only to realize that Sven and his crew were, let’s say, the equivalent of “trigger happy”. Nonetheless, Geralt gets his pay, and soon it is revealed through a signature Witcher flashback that the town survived the Leshen by a meagre 3 months, being brutally pillaged thereafter. Michał and Łukasz detailed the alternate approaches to this side quest, such as siding with Harald instead. If that were the path we chose to take, he would suggest a sacrificial offering of a wolf on an altar, although I can not imagine that appeasing the Leshen for very long. You could also banish the marked one, but how effective would that be in keeping the Leshen away? The duo were also quick to point out that the flashback we saw is something that will be encountered hours later in the final build, though they played it immediately afterwards to give us an idea of the consequences of our actions, whether direct or indirect. What was especially great to hear is that, should you decide to revisit Fayrlund post-raid, Geralt will find it in ashes and devoid of life – this truly is a persistent world.
That concluded our time gawking at the stunning RPG, which still has a long way to go. The version we witnessed was weeks old, maybe more, and a new renderer – with Direct X 11 soon to follow – is being implemented as we speak. Michał and Łukasz answered some of our inquiries relating to unseen mechanics and features, such as the Alchemy and Crafting elements. They stated, “The potions will work in a different way than in The Witcher 2. So now you will prepare them, you will drink them before a fight, but you can release the effect of those whenever you want. So it’s not like you’ve drunk the potion and you have 30 seconds of boost and then it wears off. You can start the fight in the moment it suits you, and if the fight proves hard, you can just release the effect through your metabolism. But if the fight is easy, you can preserve that and use it in the next fight.” They also assured us that Kinect-integration and the like will only be considered if it can offer a “cool” functionality, without breaking immersion. “We will just not use that just for the sake of having one line of the back of our box.” Finally, they elucidated to us that the inventory will be akin to a decidedly more traditional, classic grid system, and the story will have a definitive end – ergo, you will not be able to continue past end-game and tie up loose ends, yet they feel you make of the experience what you will, and missing out on one minor interaction here or there is not such a big deal. It’s your prerogative how you tackle the game.
Seeing the game in person and coming to understand what kind of herculean effort goes into creating a game of this scope and ambition is a treat. CD Projekt RED had to write new streaming technology, and adopt a more capable middleware to optimise memory use, and facilitate the humongous world, which I must reiterate is 35 times larger than that found in The Witcher 2: Assasins of Kings… an open, persistent world! It’s beyond impressive, and being a fan of the franchise, I can’t wait to actually get my hands on the title, although that may have to wait until E3. Check out the gallery of up-to-date screens below!
Reality Squared (R2) Games have fully released League of Angels, the fantasy MMORPG that arised as a closed Beta since December last year. The Beta test proved to be a tremendous success, with over 200,000 players joining the League of Angels.
As previously mentioned, publisher R2Games will bring the game to life by sponsoring League of Angels Cosplayers, including Maridah, Ginny McQueen, HezaChan and Heroes of Cosplay star, Riki LeCotey (a.k.a. Riddle). Accordingly, players who sign up for the official LoA Newsletter, shall get the chance to see exclusive live-action cosplays of some of the Angels, along with further game news and updates.
League of Angels is a browser-based strategy game, that takes players on a magical array of quests to becoming a legendary hero; from training Angels to massive PvP matches and fierce event challenges. It is time to re-awaken the Angels by signing up for the free-to-play game today on the official League of Angels website here.
