The Red Bull Music Academy has released a bunch of brand new stills from their documentary film about making music in what is an ultra-competitive industry, called ‘What Difference Does it Make?’. Check the gallery out below.
The talent found within – including the legendary Q-Tip as seen above – are just the tip (pun not intended) of the iceberg; Philip Glass, Nile Rogers, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, James Murphy, Debbie Harry and Erykah Badu are also joined by equally iconic names such as Brian Eno, Giorgio Moroder, Rakim, Skream, Bernie Worrell, Egyptian Lover, Ken Scott, Thundercat, Richie Hawtin, Stephen O’ Malley and more. The film releases globally on February 17, before making its way online for free. You can watch the official trailer for the film here.
Vertiginous Golf has bounced back on course, since the original steampunk mini golf game series, Vertigolf was released in 2003. Kinelco and Lone Elk Creative have recreated the sport, by manipulating physics and the perceived ideals of golf within a dystopian universe. Vertiginous Golf is currently in the beta-testing stages, with the development team planning Steam Early Access in March to work with the gaming community, before the full launch version arrives later next month on PC, Mac and Linux.
Vertiginous Golf is a first-person sports simulation that takes players into Vertiginousphere, an exclusive realm in the skies that comprises of floating golf courses. Vertiginous Golf is definitely a long-shot from the typical golf simulator, such as Everybody’s Golf, but the diverse landscape offers a fascinating journey and mysterious story. As the game is still in beta, there is no definitive narrative yet for players to piece together. However, the opening sequence distinguishes that ‘Vertiginous Golf’ is a store accessible to the public, where people can escape their overcast lives and virtually experience the wonders of sunlight, using Edward V Frohlich’s Vertiginous Levitation Systems.
The unique and impressive layout across the endless sky is the perfect atmosphere for partaking in this bizarre golf game. Vertiginous Golf serves as a dream world for golfers, with a great variety of holes and a suitable companion. The golden mechanical hummingbird serves as a handy guide for players to visually jump ahead of their shots and get a birds-eye view of the gorgeous sky-lands. Additionally, there are several zoom out cameras for players to flick through using X to appreciate the entirety of Vertiginousphere.
At the moment, there are 9 holes and a tutorial course for players to challenge themselves in the beta. As a way for players to monitor their progress, every golf ball movement is traced with a glowing pink ribbon. That being said, the visual scope becomes more cluttered with each stroke in the same area. Fortunately, players have the option to rewind strokes and redeem themselves from unlucky shots. However the ‘rewind power’ is drained according to the distance the ball has travelled and can only be recharged when players use the putter wedge. With Steam Early Access, the development team will be introducing twice as many courses and new abilities for players to control the direction of the ball by curving the shot left (hook) and right (fade).
Based on the holes so far, the level of difficulty is dependent on the player’s ability to utilise the surroundings and barriers to their advantage. The latest beta version offers an exceptional range of technological systems, including; helicopter drones, directional powered pipes, moving carpets and blocks and a teleportation sphere spitter throughout the golf course. The extensive design for each new hole allows players to search for alternate routes and strategise the best method to reach the flag. An interesting addition in the game are the ‘free stroke holes’, which act as hole-in-one-shortcut that display the number of strokes required before the hole closes. Following the current build, the development team plan on implementing an extended replay system, as well as local and online multiplayer to ensure that players get the most out of the golf courses and tournaments.
One of the slight issues in Vertiginous Golf is the control mechanism, which restricts players from powering their shots to the optimal velocity. Despite the players’ ability to rewind bad shots, the power for each swing (using spacebar) rises too quickly and cannot be adjusted. Consequently, when it comes to hitting the ball in the Green Room, where the flag resides, players will struggle to effectively manoeuvre the golf ball precisely into the final hole. Upon completion, players are scored accordingly to the number of strokes over par and can review their scorecards for each hole. As development proceeds in Steam Early Access, it will be interesting to see how the controller support will change the gameplay and what type of new achievements players can earn in the game.
The graphic design is outstanding thus far, with the implementation of Unity3D to create a beautiful Victorian-era themed universe. Vertiginousphere is breathtaking and will have players spending more time flying around the realm as the golden mechanical hummingbird, rather than playing golf. What I found to be the most surprising element of the beta version is the classy and stylish harmonious soundtrack in Vertiginous Golf. The original music composed by Luchs and I, transcends players into the dystopian universe that establishes a hypnotic mindset for concentrating only on pitching and putting the golf ball.
Vertiginous Golf is definitely on the right course to becoming a successful browser title, with the hardworking developers Kinelco & Lone Elk Creative and support of the Vertigolf community. Of course, there are a few adjustments that need to be addressed before launch, mainly the controls for powering shots and story completion. Steam Early Access promises to be a significant opportunity for players to partake in development decisions and contribute to this ridiculously unique golf game.
That is the ominous title of today’s news coming straight out of Wizards of the Coast. The world leading card and strategy game designers have officially announced the latest “From The Vault” set for the world-renowned Magic: The Gathering trading card game. The latest set is titled: From the Vault: Annihilation.
The Set Symbol for FTV: Annihilation
From the Vault collections gather together a select number of highly powerful (and highly popular) cards from Magic’s storied history, usually with a shared theme and reprint them in a special box set. This time around, the theme is (you guessed it) Annihilation. We as of yet don’t know the full contents of the box, but I am going out on a limb here and guessing that “Decree of Annihilation” will feature somewhere.
What we do know is that like most other From the Vault products, Annihilation will contain:
15 Premium foil cards, including 6 with new art.
An exclusive Spindown D20.
A collector’s guide.
Each card has been printed using a foil process unique to the From the Vault series.
From the Vault: Annihilation will be available world-wide in English only, and will have an extremely limited print run.
All cards are black bordered and tournament legal. This means that these cards are legal for use in any tournaments where the original printings are still legal.
From the Vault: Annihilation will be released on August 22nd for a RRP of $34.99. However it is important to note that since these are incredibly limited print-runs, the price is sure to skyrocket (the previous From The Vault set jumped up to around the $300 mark at one point).
So what will we see from From The Vault: Annihilation? Lots of board-wipe effects, creatures with the Annihilator ability, or just ridiculously overpowered cards from Magic’s history? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to check out our coverage from this weekend’s Born of the Gods Prerelease. Remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Magic: The Gathering news as it becomes available
Overview When a series such as Naruto makes it into the five hundred episode range, viewers have obviously taken a liking to the franchise and have become invested in what will happen to these characters. Throughout the original Naruto anime and now Naruto: Shippuden, we’ve seen Naruto and Sasuke turn from enemies, to reluctant allies, to friends, to bitter enemies. However no matter how dark Sasuke’s path seemed to turn, Naruto always believed that he could bring his friend back to the light. Now, after the events of the last set, will Naruto: Shippuden Set 17 be able to capitalize on the major developments that took place?
Story With the Five Kage Summit successfully repelling Sasuke’s attacks and Danzo on the run, Madara has revealed his plans to the remaining Kage. Madara has revealed that he wishes to use the power of the jinchuuriki to revive the origin of the tailed beasts, the Ten-Tailed beast. With the power of this creature he will use the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the moon to give himself complete control over everyone on the planet. When the Kage refuse to turn over Killer B and Naruto, the last two jinchuuriki, Madara declares that the Akatsuki will hold open warfare against the five great nations in order to complete his plan.
After this declaration, the remaining Kage agree to form the Allied Shinobi Forces with the Raikage as the leader. At the same time, Killer B is locked in combat against Kisame in battle. Focusing back on Naruto and the Konoha 11, Sakura approaches Naruto to confess her love to him, in an effort to free him from his promise of trying to bring Sasuke back to the village. When Naruto doesn’t believe her, she leaves and asks for the help of Kiba, Lee, and Sai in order to track down Sasuke so that they can deal with him.
As Sakura’s determination leads her to take steps she never thought possible, Madara brings Sasuke to where Danzo is currently hiding, allowing Sasuke to face off against the man who ordered the elimination of the Uchiha Clan. With the Allied Shinobi Forces beginning to mobilize and organize for the upcoming world war, Sasuke facing off against Danzo, Sakura heading towards Sasuke’s location to put an end to him, and Naruto reeling at the fact that his friends are preparing to eliminate Sasuke, the set brings with it a battle of great importance as well as the strain of friendship between the members of Team 7 and what Sakura and Kakashi are prepared to do.
While it is difficult to follow up on the events of the summit, this set does a rather spectacular job by moving the plot forward with a number of important battles. Viewers see Killer B facing off against Kisame, followed by the multi-episode battle between Sasuke and Danzo, and finally the confrontation between the members of the original Team 7. While it is great to see a story move along without fighting and there are a few episodes near the end of the set that are focused on preparation and digesting the events that had taken place over the past episodes, most of the story told in Set 17 occurs during Sasuke’s battles.
That being said, there are a fair number of flashbacks throughout this set but before you get too concerned over this fact, it actually helps drive home the emotional impact that Team 7 is feeling. While flashbacks are often the bane of long running series such as Naruto, and most of the time they are used to either emphasize a character’s death or to provide filler material, this time the flashbacks are focused on the times that the team has shared in the past, such as Sakura’s love for Sasuke and her tearful begging to Naruto to bring Sasuke back to the village, Kakashi’s thoughts of fighting a previous pupil, and Naruto’s undying devotion to his friend.
With emotions running high and a world war between the Allied Shinobi Forces and the Akatsuki, Set 17 delivers one of the battle viewers have been waiting for and the emotional confrontation of Team 7 as they come face to face with what Sasuke has become, which is a man twisted with thoughts of revenge and hatred and nothing else. All of this is done while remaining on focus with no filler and using meaningful flashbacks, though they do feel a bit over-done by the time the confrontation ends.
Visuals Another of the banes that weekly shōnen shows such as Naruto suffer, is inconsistent animation quality and unfortunately that remains a problem in Set 17. The beginning of the set features some nice looking animation while focusing on Naruto and Sakura’s conversation as well as Naruto’s conversation with Gaara, but whenever the focus switches elsewhere the background details and basic quality suffers.
Oddly enough, while most of the action that takes place between Killer B and Kisame as well as Sasuke’s fight with the members of Team 7 remain impressive looking with fluid movement, the quality actually takes a dive during Sasuke’s fight with Danzo. There are noticeable animation issues and loss of detail in the characters’ designs as they fight and even Sasuke’s Susanoo is poorly presented in the battle, which is a real disappointment considering how long fans have been waiting for this fight.
Audio As one would expect considering the running length of the Naruto series, Viz Media has retained the voice actors for all of the characters presented in Naruto: Shippuden Set 17 with no new characters really introduced or focused on. As such, viewers can expect the same high quality voice work they have come to expect from the series, even with Killer B’s English rhyming being as painful as the Japanese dub.
As far as background music goes, viewers can expect the same standard themes throughout with nothing changed or no standout themes. The opening theme found in this set is “Lovers” by 7 Oops and it is not only enjoyable to listen to but also very fitting considering the choices Sakura makes in this set. As for the ending theme, it is “Freedom” by Home Made Kazoku and it is a much more rock themed song and light-hearted in comparison to the opener.
Extras As far as bonus features go, Naruto: Shippuden Set 17 comes with a number of on-disc extras, though a number of them are fairly standard for a release such as this. There is a clean version of the opening and ending theme, English Credits, and trailers from other Viz Media shows. Accompanying these extras are six pages of original storyboards from the episodes, an art gallery consisting of ten pieces of character art, and an omake.
There are two mini-shorts about a minute long found in the omake, with the first one focusing on how Guy, Neji, and Tenten have not been given much screentime and are fighting for who gets to appear and the second showing Sai, Sakura, and Naruto looking at magazines in a convenience store. These little shorts have been given an English dub and provide us with some of the standard Naruto comedy which was mostly lacking in the main show this time around.
Overall While animation quality continues to be a plaguing factor in the series, Naruto: Shippuden Set 17 manages to deliver both action as well as emotion. A number of important fights take place in this Set and, although the series ends up going overboard on the flashbacks, they help drive home the feelings that Sakura and Naruto are struggling with when dealing with Sasuke. With the Fourth Great Ninja War declared and the Ninja Alliance preparing to face off against Madara and the Akatsuki, things continue to heat up in Naruto: Shippuden.
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 Ultimate Battle Arena Challenge. That’s right, time to put your thinking caps on and create the best, the most bad-ass battle arena you can possibly think up. Will you make a WWE-Inspired wrestling ring, or make a fully interactive FPS styled map? Whatever you choose, just make sure it is awesome!
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 Winter Sports 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.
“Toast Time”…a game where you’re put in control of a piece of toast, a happy little slice of bread that has been cooked to perfection, a tasty little treat for young and for old. Our hero is called TERRY which stands for; Toast-ejecting Recoil and Reload System, and he’s what stands between us and the hostile invaders coming for us. All I can say about “Toast Time” at this point in time is that it is one of the quirkiest little mobile games I’ve played in a very long time and, for me; quirk is king. It’s a nice little game that doesn’t ask too much of the person playing it but gives back a great deal of enjoyment, the way mobile games are supposed to be!
Gameplay
It’s quite hard to place “Toast Time” under one particular genre because it mixes a great deal of them yet only fits loosely into them so, yeah, it’s quite a hard one to pin down. It’s an arena shooter that isn’t quite an arena shooter, it’s a tower defence game that isn’t quite a tower defence game. It’s sugar, beans and cream all mixed together to create one tasty cup of coffee. Basically you tap to do pretty much everything, everything being pretty much just “shoot”. Shooting sends TERRY flying in the opposite direction which sometimes can make killing an enemy quite difficult but it just works as being part of the fun.
The tower defence aspect of it is that there is an actual literal times somewhere on the stage, it both counts down and works as the item you have to defend. Shoot the enemies and don’t let them get to the timer, that is basically all “Toast Time” is and it works so damn well. The quirkiness just oozes out of this game like uncooked egg in some French toast; you equip yourself with different types of ammunition throughout the game, from baguette lasers to bagel scatterguns you get them all and each one of them is bread-based so the humour never really stops. There’s actually a fair bit to do in this game, there are a bunch of equipables to make your TERRY look what you consider to be cool and even other game modes to keep you occupied though I found that I didn’t really stray from the main game type, it was enjoyable enough to keep me there so that’s where I stayed but I did try the other ones out for the sake of this review and it was a nice little change of pace.
Visuals
The game had an overall old-school vibe mixed with the aesthetics of a virtual pet from the 90s. The game was made up entirely of pixel-like blocks that gave it the old look and just added to the already high level of quirkiness. Don’t be angry at me for using “quirkiness” a lot because it is going to happen regardless. I absolutely love games that are made up entirely of pixel-art, there’s something about it that sends a jolt into my brain and makes me nostalgic and I don’t think I’m the only one. It’s also great for visuals to match the vibe that the gameplay gives off, too many times have I seen a great looking game that just falls flat when it actually has to be played.
The colouring system works great too and it’s not because there are plenty of them or that they’re vibrant, it’s that it gives a nice feeling while playing through a level. The colour of the levels change depending on what the environment is like; during the first set of levels you’re on what looks to be a farm and the colour is a light blue, during the second set of levels you’re in what looks to be Egypt (because of the pyramids) and the colour is a light orange. Sometimes I think the saying “less is more” may actually be true and in this case, yes, it’s absolutely true.
Audio
The music within “Toast Time” is probably exactly what you are expecting it to be at this point in time; entirely chiptune and much like the visuals of the game it fits in perfectly. You cannot have such an old-school-looking game without having an old-school soundtrack to back it up, it would be ungodly. Luckily “Toast Time” did everything right. For the most part the music is pretty joyful, it’s chirpy and positive though so is the game, no surprises there. All the sound effects are great too, I really can’t single any out because you’re hearing so many things at the same time but, in general, the game just sounds great.
Overall
Look let’s be entirely honest here; the game is in absolutely no way groundbreaking, if anything it’s a massive step back in time rather than a couple steps forward, that doesn’t mean it is bad though because it is absolutely perfect for mobile gaming and for a majority of mobile gamers. It is pretty much perfect for what it is. You don’t expect much from it but what it gives you is enough for a giggle and enough for you to be able to sit there and play the game at least for a while. It looks good, it sounds good and it plays good, it hit positive on three counts and there’s no way I can discredit any aspect of the game simply because it is “basic”. Let’s make a toast…to “Toast Time”! Well done, old chap!
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Ah, Tamriel. Lands rich with lush, vibrant flora, diverse, deadly fauna, and a wide range of sentient races, each with their own worldviews and problems. From heavily populated metropolises to dark, ancient dungeons and beyond, through tales of heroism and intrigue, the world of The Elder Scrolls has long captured the imagination of fans.
In recent years, those fans, many of whom have poured hundreds of hours over multiple games into Bethesda’s fantasy universe, have begun to question whether a multiplayer mod could be released for the enormous single-player games. Bethesda’s answer was The Elder Scrolls Online, an MMORPG set in Tamriel. I recently had an opportunity to take part in the game’s Beta. Here are my impressions.
Character creation in the Beta combines elements of both traditional Elder Scrolls and modernized MMO character creation, leaning more to the latter. You choose one of the traditional 9 races, each of which belong to one of three factions. After that, you pick one of four classes: the tank-like Dragonknight, the arcane Sorcerer, the sneaky, cunning Nightblade, and the noble Templar. Having only four classes feels somewhat underwhelming compared to its contemporaries, but players will find that classes feel more open than other similar titles. Be sure to check out our preview footage below this article to see it in action.
The story will take you from the prison of the dead to Stros M’Kai, where you’ll meet a group of companions. From there, you’ll travel the world, dealing with your own journey as well as the tasks you take on from people of Tamriel. Thus far, the storytelling is well done and the voice acting top-notch, helping to bring a sense of vitality to the world.
Combat is, undoubtedly, one of the largest aspects of The Elder Scrolls Online. Like its contemporaries, you will learn class-based skills as you level up. These are accessed via the hotbar. Unlike other MMOs, though, fans of the franchise should feel at home swinging their maces, staves, and blades in real-time. Lost with this entry are the directional swings from the single-player entries, but you can left-click to swing, hold to perform a charged attack, right-click to block, and double-tap a direction to dodge. It helps give the MMO a feeling of dynamism in combat.
As you complete quests, take out enemies, and level up, you’ll earn two forms of reward. You’ll get points to spend upgrading your character’s health, stamina, or magic, and you’ll get skill points. Within the skill menu, you’ll work up through three trees, each with a different focus. For example, the Templar has a combat-focused tree, a spellcasting tree, and a healing tree. When you unlock a skill, you level up that individual skill as you play, eventually earning the right to further refine it’s effects. Each tree also has an “ultimate” skill you can use to great effect, albeit much less frequently than normal moves. If you would rather place your skill points elsewhere, though, you can upgrade your armor proficiencies, racial abilities, combat style (two-handed weapons, dual wielding, weapon-and-shield, etc.) and more. It’s fun and rewarding to see your skill trees progress, but it still feels like skill progression lacks a true sense of satisfaction.
Questing in ESO feels like standard fare for RPGs. You’ll talk to someone, get a task, then go carry out that task. To its benefit, though, ESO rarely has you doing the boilerplate “kill X of these” quests to earn your reward. They tend to be well-written, with fun or interesting stories accompanying them. Have you ever seen an Orc beg you for help because he’s afraid to slay a beast but his mother wants him to become a notable warrior? They’re well entertaining beyond the quest rewards, and that’s largely due to Bethesda’s attention to narrative. They also make navigating to quest objectives a little easier, with the compass telling you if it’s on a different floor than you. Early impressions for those interested in story content bode well for the final release when it hits store shelves.
Fans of the franchise will feel right at home with the exploration mechanics in ESO. Like the single-player entries before it, the world of Tamriel is filled with wondrous sights to stumble upon, many of which may contain hidden treasure or an interesting bit of sidestory. As you wander around the map, nearby sites will show up on your compass. Finding them will mark them on the map so they’re easier to track down later should the need arise. Players will also notice that many of the world’s containers (boxes, crates, backpacks, etc.) are searchable, allowing you to enter an area and go buck-wild on Dwemer jars, just like you could in the good old days. New to ESO, however, are items known as “skyshards.” These are hidden throughout the world, and ever 3 you find will grant you a permanent skillpoint, adding even more incentive to scour Tamriel.
The Elder Scrolls Online is a beautiful game, hands-down. When you travel around the world and look at everything, it’s easy to see fantastic attention to visual detail is being placed on the game. Everything from house spiders to characters and gear to the cityscapes are well laid out and visually pleasing. Dungeons feel dark and dank and jungles feel vibrant and alive. It will be interesting to see what more they can churn out before retail.
The sound design in the early build I played already has more polish than most of the other games on the market. With involvement from composer Jeremy Soule, the soundtrack is set up to bring a wonderful sense of atmosphere and emotion. The voice acting, mentioned earlier, feels sincere and well-delivered, delivering a sense of weight to even the most piddling sidequest.
As good as the preview build looks, there are a few things that may concern long-time fans of the series. ESO is an Elder Scrolls game built on an MMO framework – not the reverse fans have wanted for so long. Character classes are built on archetypes, which is more rigid than Elder Scrolls games tend to be. Inventory is based on a limited number of spaces instead of weight. You also can’t manage personal inventory while in a loot screen. Some things can easily be fixed before or shortly after launch.
Overall, The Elder Scrolls Online has had a solid first showing. Fans of the franchise looking to play in Tamriel with friends should definitely keep their eyes peeled for this game. If it stays the course, it will deliver excellent narrative, compelling voice work, and a beautiful, intriguing world to explore. Hard-line fans of the single-player games may not be happy with all of the changes, but it’s ultimately poised to deliver what fans have been asking for – an Elder Scrolls experience with an online framework.
For screenshots taken from our time with the early build, be sure to check out our gallery below. You can also check out video footage of the game below this article. Be sure to come back to CapsuleComputers for all your Elder Scrolls Online news!
Oh we love the days where some “J-Stars Victory Vs.” news come knocking at our door and it just so happens that today we’ve been gifted with a brand-new trailer that not only shows the game and its character in action but it also goes for four minutes which is just fantastic, no thirty second video today! Namco Bandai Games just started streaming the video, it shows a bunch of the previously announced characters as well as some of the newly announced ones like Kenshiro and Raoh from “Fist Of The North Star“.
This video will deffinitely get Shonen Jump fans excited, it showcases some incredible-looking fights between our heroes and their enemies like Goku/Vegeta Vs Frieza, Luffy Vs Akainu, Naruto/Sasuke Vs Madara, and so many more. “J-Stars Victory Vs.” is looking better day by day and us here at Capsule Computers cannot be more excited for it! Head down to our featured video section below to give the video a watch and let us know who else you’re hoping to see join the roster in the coming weeks.
Mixing genres can get hard for developers nowadays. People seem to be demanding more out of pop culture products (and products in general) which means they don’t just want the cliché action story or a silly romantic tale. Mixing genres isn’t a new concept in any way but it is something that I believe has not been entirely mastered and, while some do it extremely well, others find it hard to walk the fine line between two styles of storytelling.
“Btooom!” is an Anime that possesses both action and romance which is a combination of genres I find odd but also one that watching “Btooom!” helped me, somewhat, come to terms with. It’s not your average love story but nor is it your average action one, it lies somewhere in between the two and I can see why fans around the world love it.
Story
“Btooom!” is a warfare-based video game that exists within the story of…”Btooom!”. It’s a console game that has taken the world by storm and, although not everyone plays it like in Animes such as “Sword Art Online”, but it has enough of a fanbase to be considered one of the biggest games worldwide. Ryouta Sakamoto is a real loser and the story’s main protagonist. How unfortunate. He’s a 22 year old man that lives at home and is unemployed, that’s not what makes him the loser though, what makes him a loser is that he spends all day in the dark playing “Btooom!”, he’s never had a job and he mistreats his mother in a way that you can’t really look past.
He’s a grade-a loser but he think he is pretty awesome since he is ranked extremely high worldwide in “Btooom!”. One day our fearless hero wakes up on what seems like a deserted island. With his backpack to one side of him and a sling of bombs to the otherside of him, he soon realises that he is in some deep trouble. After being attacked by a “crazed” man using bombs, Sakamoto confirms his theory that this is an island where I grave game is taking place and that game just happens to be almost like “Btooom!”. Now begins what will be the most terrifying time of his life but it seems as though his years of playing “Btooom!” are going to come in handy out there on the island.
Let’s be honest here, this type of thing has been done before; some young gamer gets forced into a situation that brings his favourite game into reality. It’s been done time and time again but the fact is…there’s no problem with that, it’s how it is executed that counts in the end and I feel as though the storyline of “Btooom!” has been executed properly. I wish I could say the same about it’s characters though. There’s none of this “virtual reality” stuff going down in “Btooom!”, these people are brought to a deserted island and THAT is where the game goes down.
What I enjoyed the most about the setup is that not everyone on the island were players of the game, I believe there was actually only three of them, the others just had to learn what has to be done to win and how to go about it, others just could not grasp what was happening and were quickly disposed of. The characters though…let’s just say most of them were not written well, including the main ones that took up most of the screentime. There were inconsistencies in a great deal of characters, they would almost forget what just happened or make silly comments that really pushed me away from the series. Things like Sakamoto realising and confirming that he has timed explosives but questioning why they didn’t explode straight away once he threw them.
I appreciate the “real” themes that made up some of what the characters are in regards to their personality but, at times, I felt it became a bit too much and was played on well beyond its acceptable limit. Dark themes like rape were present a great deal of the time and a particular character continuously came into contact with these disgusting male characters, she was constantly on the verge of…you know what, and I felt that they could have toned it down a bit.
I understand it wanted to be, for lack of a better word, “real” and the story itself was quite hellish but it just wasn’t necessary. That is what I felt. Character interactions were bland and they bored me most of the time. You could absolutely avert your gaze or focus on other things while watching this series and still pretty much understand what was going down. The good thing about “Btooom!” that somewhat makes up for everything it lacks is that it has great pacing. Within 12 episodes they did a great deal and told one heck of a story. Yes, some things were skimmed over but really it was still done well. I’ll give “Btooom!” credit for that!
Visuals
“Btooom!” is a hard Anime to pin down when it comes to its visual style. It doesn’t necessarily have a style of its own, it looks a great deal like a lot of Anime out there so I can’t exactly give it any points for style alone. The characters looked quite real but, in true Anime style, still disproportional in certain ways. What it did nicely was environmental shots, they looked absolutely incredible because they had a lot to work with. This wasn’t an Anime set in a normal city, it was set on a seemingly tropical island. There were beaches and forests and lakes for these people to swim in and bathe in, if folks weren’t dying left right and centre this place would be a paradise! Unfortunately they all are.
I’ll also give props to the animation within “Btooom!”, it’s an action series but action scenes are few and far between so it’s not often you get to see some all out slaying, when you do though…it’s some damn good stuff! Unfortunately it being on a DVD didn’t do as much justice to the actual animation, I don’t often notice this but it seemed grainy and often rough when kicking into adrenalin-fueled scenes. I’ve never seen something like that on a Blu-Ray but I often notice it when watching high-quality Anime on DVDs. If I’m to recommend anything it would be to watch this one on Blu-Ray just to see how good the animation can get. It can sometimes look sloppy but it has been over a year since this series was made and released so it does have time against it. Try to not let that get to you.
Audio
I’m so very divided on the audio aspect of “Btooom!”. It has a brilliant soundtrack but a terrible voice cast so you can see why I’m so torn. Musically this series absolutely rocked the house. It blended so many different genres and used them accordingly to get some incredible results. At times it was almost like watching something like “Cowboy Bebop”, the music was jazzy and a little bit funky but constantly changed between heavy rock and orchestral numbers and it all really tied situations together.
I always like a nice soundtrack and I have to say I took a fair bit away from this one. Unfortunately the voice acting was not as good as the music. A lot of the actors and actresses fell flat and made the characters come across quite silly, I suppose I can’t put all the blame on them because the dialogue that was written for them was sub-par to say the least. Most characters were extremely anoying and even the characters that weren’t annoying were just unnecessarily arrogant-sounding. Sometimes these characters’ tones would not exactly match up to situations and it really hits hard especially when you’re meant to be watching such a crazy event unfold.
Extras
There really wasn’t much to see here. It basically had the usual Anime extras. Things like clean opening and closing sequences came as extras, alongside trailers and whatnot. There were a couple “Btooom!” digests on the disc which pretty much recapped what was going on within the series as well as gave info on characters that you probably didn’t already know. The given info isn’t entirely interesting though, it basically outlines characters and gives you information that you probably don’t even care about like blood type and body dimensions. It was a nice touch but it really added nothing though it still gets points for being around.
Overall
“Btooom!” is a good little Anime that does a lot right but it also does a few things wrong. Not every Anime can be perfect, not every Anime can even get close to being perfect and that includes this one, the good thing is that “Btooom!” also doesn’t get close to being terrible so I would still consider it a great series that many people would enjoy but, as the CC Review Guidelines say; “A fine product that would be best suited to a preferred audience. There may be a few flaws, but most will find the offerings provided enjoyable enough to warrant a purchase.”, I don’t often quote the guidelines but I feel as though they perfectly represent my thoughts on this series.
Romance and action together in one place can be a hard thing for people to grasp but I still feel as though “Btooom!” blends them well…even if the characters can’t really have any bearable conversation. It’s a good series but I suggest you all do a little research before jumping into it, either way I think a lot of people will find something great to take away from this series.
With last episode’s glimpse into the world of the Second Platoon, it’s time to shift perspective and take a look into some different members of DOGOO. Namely the First Platoon. Numbering only three E-Gene Holders, this elite squad is assigned a transport mission of presumably high priority. But as we all know is the case with anime, no mission ever goes smoothly from the get go…
It would seem that Sio just can’t avoid spotlight, as the episode begins with the First Platoon mulling over the ramifications of a new recruit. Apparently Geronimo, assumed leader and “Princess” of the First, believes the Second to be nothing more than a bunch of wimps and this new recruit to be rather lackluster. Though this could just be arrogance and bravado talking, it may hint at some truly amazing escapades that have occurred off screen. Maybe the fights we’ve seen thus far aren’t the greatest threats humanity has faced? Either way, it’s still rude. That being said, not everybody in the First Platoon has it out for Nobunagun, in fact quite the opposite. That’s right, time to throw another name into the relationship equation because Gaudi’s got the hots for Sio, a fact that is topic of ridicule for the less than polite Cyx. Poor Gaudi, saddled with two women who seem to mess with him for fun, in playful way of course, though it’s still kinda mean.
Now there’s a face you can trust
After their mission goes south in a big way, we get to see the First Platoon in action. In far more extreme conditions than usual, Geronimo and Cyx decide to take the smart option and contact HQ. But in these hazardous temperatures, trekking 3km is no easy feat. What’s that? Cyx can turn into a snow mobile? Well isn’t that a convenient, yet still oddly specific power to possess. Anywho, once at their destination we meet Gonda, a scientist spending his days alone doing sciency stuff. Now, if you recall the opening sequence of the episode, the sudden disappearance of his co-workers may come as a shock…as it rightly should. Gonda is just a little bit confused…and a lot violent. After taking a joke just a little bit to seriously, he snapped and decided that living wasn’t something his companions should do anymore. These events set this episode apart from those previously, as it is the first time we’ve witnessed a human enemy. Though still connected to the Evolutionary threat, albeit in a strange way, we’ve never seen how E-Gene holders handle such an opponent. Apparently they don’t. Whether a rule or personal code, Geronimo forbids the use of AU Weapons on anything other than monsters. In addition to being overkill in its purest form, crossing that line would definitely put DOGOO in a different light. Gonda’s slip into insanity also expresses a much darker side of the Evolutionary threat. I mean, how would you react to seeing one of those creatures, let alone thinking that you ate one?
Some people just can’t take a joke
Over the course of their stay at the Suspicious Inn, Geronimo’s blase attitude is revealed to be a cover for her sharp mind. While Cyx is still holding out hope for a less blizzardy tomorrow, Geronimo has already pieced together the clues and determined the danger of the situation. This lends credence to her confidence in the First Platoon, as well as showcasing that even front line DOGOO soldiers can be perceptive outside of battle.
Throughout the episode, we also learn more about each characters individual quirks and skills. Though the youngest, Gaudi is shown to have a powerful AU Weapon that he utilises rather creatively. He also apparently has a fantastic sense of smell. Do you know what explosives smell like? I sure as heck don’t. Cyx’s odd weapon on the other hand is shown to serve as transport for Geronimo, though hopefully this is not the sole function of her power. Shown briefly at the conclusion of the fight with the escaped Evolutionary Threat, Geronimo’s weapon is shown to possess incredible offensive power. We also briefly see that, much like Sio, Geronimo’s personality shifts in the midst of battle. Unlike her usual collected self, she lets out a few battle cries when attacking, not to mention her glowing red eyes and crazy smile. Looks like the mental rush can affect anyone.
GERONIMO!
So there we have it folks, the first chapter in the story of the First Platoon. Just a little bit different than the Second don’t you think? That being said, there’s still quite a collection of personalities in this elite division, so I’m sure they’ll mix nicely should the divisions ever cross. Should that come to pass, I’m sure that the already chaotic mess of love interests will get even more convoluted. I wonder how Sio will react if she finds Gaudi’s new prized possession…
