Welcome to another episode of CC Indie Spotlight with Editor in Chief Phil Federico aka MasterAbbott, where we demo the latest and greatest of indie gaming.
This episode features Delver, a first person action rogue-like dungeon crawl available on PC and Android with crunchy pixels developed by Chad Cuddigan. Take the role of an adventurer that tries their fate in the dark dungeons (and probably dies horribly). Fight monsters, grab loot, hoard potions, and level up! In this spotlight we’ll teach viewers the basics of game and run through the first few levels.
For more information on Delver, check the official Delver website. The game is still in early access stages but can be purchased on Steam for only $7.99, a message from Chad explains more:
“Delver is in an unfinished beta state at the moment and has it’s share of bugs and rough edges that need filed down, but it’s very playable. Help us guide the direction of the game with your early access help and feedback.”
Check out the indie spotlight video below and let us know what you think of game in the comments section!
Nagi no Asukara Episode 13 – Fingertips Beyond Reach
Wow, where do I even begin? Maybe they should stick to the wooden maiden at the next Ofunehiki ceremony? This episode finally brought preparations for the boatdrift ceremony to a head and with some pretty severe consequences. Gods of the sea typically don’t mess around, whether it’s Neptune or Poseidon, and Nagi no Asukara’s is hardly an exception.
The start of the episode has Tsumugu caring for Manaka after snagging her in his fishing net once again in episode 12. She was going through some fairly emotional thoughts at the time, and this surface-dweller is once again her “sun” in dark times. She also reveals her admiration for the sun ever since she was little, and always looked up beyond the sea toward the unreachable.
Manaka isn’t the only one who is retrospective at this stage. Hikari is thinking about Manaka and her place in his heart, as well as everyone else’s feelings for those around them. How the world seems to work against them, battering them around like bits of wood drifting in the ocean. He meets Manaka and tells her how he feels, following on from the awkwardly forced confession previously. What follows is one heck of a statement of love, not just for Manaka, but for everyone. Hikari sure has changed since we first saw him.
It turns out Manaka had something to say as well, but she defers it until after the ceremony. I think we all know that by now, in anime, whenever they say they’ll talk about it after…well they never get the chance. Are we wrong on this point? Let’s hope so.
So the kids all get ready for the ceremony, leaving behind their parents who are just about ready to hibernate. The feeling these farewells give off is almost like they’ll be the last. With a few more preparations, including Kaname reminding Chisaki that he confessed to her, the ceremony is about to begin!
Throughout the whole series we’ve been reminded about the Ofunehiki. But I don’t think any of us realised just how much of a spectacle it really is. As Hikari waves the huge flag the chanting music starts and hundreds of lights along the beach are lit. Under the sea, Lord Uroko makes his own preparations and extinguishes the Sacred Fires throughout Shioshishio. The boat entourage with Akari as the “sacrifice” departs from the shore, guided by the underwater spirit fire that lights a path.
While the friends all make their wishes to the Sea God, he awakens, creating five massive whirlpools around the escort of ships. It seems that the damn thing actually worked and the Sea God is dead set on taking Akari away. A massive wave bowls Tsumugu overboard while Akari is thrown into the whirlpool with Manaka and Hikari diving after her. The whole situation descends into absolute chaos.
The following events happen so quick I don’t even know how to describe them. As Tsumugu falls unconscious, Chisaki grabs him and starts swimming back to the surface, afraid that he will drown. Uroko at this point renders Hikari’s dad unconscious so that he doesn’t interfere. Kaname joins Chisaki in bringing Tsumugu back to the ship but they fail to notice the massive bridge pillars beginning to weaken.
Kaname is thrown off the ship as the stone pier collapses and Chisaki screams. His fate is unknown. Manaka meanwhile is struggling to rescue Akari and offers herself to the Sea God instead. As Akari is let go, Manaka is dragged down and slammed into the sea bed. Akari and Tsumugu are saved, but in exchange Kaname and Manaka are now gone.
What a calamitous episode. I can’t even wrap this anime impression up properly as I’m still in shock. See you in episode 14!
Single-rail Vehicles and Multiple-platform Availability Coming to Transit Strategy Game
STOCKHOLM — January 3, 2013 — Paradox Interactive, a publisher of games and a jumper of turnstiles, today announced the forthcoming release of Marvellous Monorails, a new expansion for Cities in Motion 2, the transit-planning strategy game from Colossal Order. Paradox also announced that the entire Cities in Motion franchise will be released for Linux computers, allowing strategy and simulation fans to experience the game on an entirely new platform. Linux support will be added the same day the new expansion is released.
“We believe in Linux as a platform for the future of gaming,” said Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive. “Gamers who currently use Linux are a smart and demanding bunch, and they expect versatility and an experience that fits their personal preferences, which makes our games a great fit. We’re bringing Cities in Motion to Linux because we believe it’s just the type of game that Linux users will enjoy.”
In Marvellous Monorails, Cities in Motion 2 players can add five all-new monorail vehicles to their transit fleets, and give their cities a new look with elevated rails to carry them. Monorails, which work best on circular layouts, are ideal for inner-city connections, and offer a more affordable alternative to metro lines, with a choice of cars from big-and-slow to speedy-but-expensive.
In Cities in Motion 2, players must design, construct, maintain, and expand a multifaceted transit network that serves the needs of a growing city. Fleets of vehicles, including buses, trains, ferries and subways, must be assembled and set in motion on player-created tracks and routes, providing affordable and efficient transit between growing residential and commercial centers. As players engineer their systems, the city will grow dynamically around them, keeping players on their toes with increased population, congestion, and budgetary concerns.
Fans of video game trivia rejoice! The wacky people who drink Guinness and write books about records have released the 2014 version of the Guinness Book of World Records: Gamer’s Edition. The Managing Editor, Stephen Fall, stated that for this edition: “we decided to deliver the solid facts and fundamentals of gaming that enthusiasts demand to know.” and that “these facts and more are at your fingertips with the new Guinness World Records 2014 Gamer’s Edition book”. This edition catalogues the notable (and some notorious) achievements within the gaming community and industry. Notable entries this year include:
Largest Video Game Collection – Currently held by a video game history and design lecturer (who else?) in America, Michael Thomasson, with a whopping 10, 607 games in said collection which is estimated to be worth $700 000. How many of these titles he has actually played is yet to be cleared up however.
Longest Marathon on a Dance Game- Also held by a Yankee who earned herself the acclaim after playing Ubisoft’sJust Dance 4 for 49 hour, 3 minutes, 22 seconds. The record recipient, Carrie Swidecki, gave herself the moniker of ‘Ambassador of Exergaming’ and aims to fight childhood obesity in schools (a fact which I would argue should earn her more praise than the record itself).
Fastest Completion of Warner Brother’sBatman: Arkham City – Sean “DarthKnight” Grayson completed the game in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 19 seconds. He would have finished earlier if some of the fights in the game had gone better. His surprisingly valid excuse for his sub-par performance was that “I’m not actually Batman”.
Fastest Game to Gross $1 Billion – To the surprise of no-one, Grand Theft Auto V won the recognition of this title after selling 11.21 million units in the first 24 hours of its September 17 release which generated approximately $816 million dollars. It then went on to breach the $1 billion dollar threshold three days after release on the 20th. What is surprising is that GTA V was not just content with claiming this title within the interactive medium, but also smashed records previously held by films such as TheAvengers and Avatar. If nothing else, it’s a good time to be Rockstar…
Other records (which caught my eye) include:
First in-game pizza delivery system (Everquest II)
First video game to become a licensed bank (Entropia Universe)
Most fish in a video game (Runescape)
I’m thankful to know that all these questions I have asked (and not asked) can finally be answered, but I don’t believe that this edition has an entry that answers the question that keeps me awake at night… namely; which game has the highest number of player character wearable hats?
My gut tells me it’s probably Team Fortress 2, but the possibility that I might be wrong terrifies me…
Welcome back for this week’s iOS Game Suggestions. If you missed last week’s, or are new to the suggestions, click on the link below and check out what cool games you should be picking up for your iOS device along with the introduction on how the suggestions work. (suggestions 1 has how it all works)
A quite week on iTunes due to the Christmas and New Year Holidays! There are still a few must-buy games this week in all departments, FREE, 99c and over 99c. This week I’ve suggested a total of 11 great quality titles. Make sure you check them all especially… Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Feed Me Oil 2, Eternity Warriors, Hyper Race just to name a few.
Break down below :
6 – FREE Games 2 – $0.99c Games 3 – Over $0.99c Games
As always for this week’s suggestions are all new titles that you should take a look at and consider spending your hard earned iTunes cash / time on. Well the Free games just below certainly should all be given a shot as they won’t cost you anything!
For The Cheapskates – FREE GAMES
MASTERABBOTT’S FREE GAME PICK OF THE WEEK!
Eternity Warriors 3– Price : FREE – Publisher –Glu (The most acclaimed action/RPG game returns with 3x the Heroes, 3x the Dungeons and 3x the Loot!! As the last Demon Tower fell, the people of Northern Udar cheered their new hero. Their cheers, however, were short lived. Corrupted by demon magic, the last of the great Dragons unleashed a horrible evil upon the world by unsealing the Eternity Sword. Mawzok’Kahl, Lord of Hell, self-proclaimed Heir to the World, sets his sights on the kingdoms of Udar. And as suddenly as it came, it seems as though peace in Northern Udar has once again been snuffed out.) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Jet Car Stunts 2 – Price : FREE – Publisher –True Axis (Sequel to the award winning Jet Car Stunts. WARNING: This game will challenge you. Crazy stunt driving on outlandish courses. Insane jumps. Ludicrous speeds. Manic car handling. Outrageous jet physics.) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Dungeon Crisis – Price : FREE – Publisher –108km Tech (Combining action with realtime 3D RPG elements, Tower-Defense features and interactive environments that bring you a gaming experience unlike anything you’ve seen on the iOS platform.) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Restaurant Town – Price : FREE – Publisher – nanobitsoftware(Save the restaurant by creating perfect meals for you customers! The better you cook the happier your customers will be! Expand and decorate your restaurant with unique items!) on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Can you Escape 2 – Price : FREE – Publisher –Kaarel Kirsipuu (The people who brought you Can You Escape invite you to enter the challenging sequel. The purpose of this game is to break out of the rooms. Solve the puzzles and find all the hidden objects that you have to use in the rooms in order to advance to the next floor.) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Color Quest – Price : FREE – Publisher – XIMAD (Help Ollie and Mo save the World of Color from the evil Magician in this new match-3 puzzler! Color Quest is a new take on the familiar Match-3 favorites that will keep you busy for hours! In this colorful, fun world you’ll meet Colorlings and help them free their land from magical, black oil creatures that destroy color wherever they find it! In your quest you’ll use many fun boosts, like the Magic Sorter, the Color Rocket and the Paint Shuffler! But even these power-ups might not help you if you don’t plan your moves accordingly – the evil Magician has worked hard to keep your brain thinking and fingertips tapping. ) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
For The Bargain Hunters – 99c Games
Hyper Race – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Kyle White (Hyper Race is a must have app for all casual and serious gamers alike. It features exhilarating speeds, mind blowing graphics, and a rare balance of fun and challenge factor that will keep you coming back for more. Try to keep up with the fastest jet cars in the galaxy. Each consecutive lap ups the speed, and the thrill!) runs on iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
Endless Nights – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Nations Software (Endless Nights is a role-playing game in the rogue-like tradition, which means randomized adventure areas, random dungeons and a different adventure each time you play the game. The TitanFire system used in the game provides for strategic combat by putting an emphasis on defense and on developing strategies to break through the defenses of your opponent during combat.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
For The Millionaires – All games over $0.99
MasterAbbott’s over 99c Pick Of The Week!
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – Price : $4.99 – Publisher – SEGA (Race as Sonic and a host of legendary All-Stars and prepare to transform! Speed across land, sea and air in a high velocity battle to the finish line, as your amazing transformable vehicle changes from car to boat to plane mid-race. Racing on mobile will never be the same again!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Feed Me Oil 2– Price : $2.99 – Publisher – Chillingo (Channel oil into the gaping jaws of surreal living worlds in Feed Me Oil 2, the sequel to the groundbreaking and genre-defining Feed Me Oil. Guide gallons of the stuff around a series of mind-bending mechanical designs using new and improved physics. Watch as the oil moves realistically around each level and through the air, water and along ice in four fun-filled chapters. ) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Fighting Fantasy: Island Of The Lizard King– Price : $5.99 – Publisher – Tin Man Games (The world famous Fighting Fantasy interactive gamebook series continues! Ian Livingstone and Tin Man Games present Island of the Lizard King! You can relive the adventures on Fire Island on your phone or tablet, lovingly updated for digital devices. Presented in full colour with realistic physics-based dice rolling for battles, auto-mapping, an auto-updated adventure sheet and stat keeping.) runs iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
There you have it folks these games should keep you busy for quite some time well until next week at least. I’ll be back next week for another dose of iOS goodness, in the meantime if you would also like to suggest your own suggestions, please feel free to share them in the comments section below or in the iOS forum section on the site here.
Paradise awaits, although you’ll have to bring war to its shores before you can enjoy its luxuries. The Europa Universalis IV expansion pack Conquest of Paradise is now available for pre-order through major digital retailers. It releases on January 14 for PC, Mac and Linux. Check out the pre-order announcement trailer below:
In Conquest of Paradise, you will command your ships on a journey to the West, discovering a new world. It also introduces the option to play as a Native American nation, mastering the federation mechanics along with unique national buildings, events and ideas. Taking control of a Colonial Nation is also an option in the pursuit of domination or liberty from your motherland.
The new video developer diary below showcases the Colonial States and the new mechanics and expanded gameplay found within. You can find all written developer diaries right here.
Nisekoi: False Love Volume 1 Author:Naoshi Komi Illustrator: Naoshi Komi Publisher: Viz Media Release Date: January 7, 2014 Price: $9.99 – Available Here
Overview Romantic comedy manga can thrive or end up cancelled depending on how the series begins. Even the most stereotypical manga can turn into a franchise with over a hundred chapters and counting if it has enough going for it. Some of you may have heard of the mangaka named Naoshi Komi before as he has tried his hand at a few manga series before, but none of them took off until his latest manga, Nisekoi, hit Weekly Shōnen Jump back in 2011. Now that Viz has brought the first volume of Nisekoi: False Love to print in North America is this manga series worth picking up?
Story Raku Ichijo does his best at school and is looking forward to going to college and becoming a stand-up member of society who helps others. There is a problem with this as he also is the only son to the local yakuza gang and he is not only protected by tough looking thugs anytime he leaves the house but his home life is rife with distractions as the yakuza members either end up hurt in conflict or pestering him about becoming the next leader.
Recently things have been getting noisy in the town and the yakuza gang has been getting into a lot of fights with a rival gang that has recently moved into their territory. Still, Raku does his best to let this pass by him and attend school where he fantasizes about Kosaki Onodera, a girl in his class that he has had a crush on for quite some time. When he arrives at school he is suddenly kneed in the face by an athletic blond girl he has never seen before.
This girl turns out to be a new transfer student named Chitoge Kirisaki and after their initial meeting and forced pairing by the teacher, Raku and Chitoge simply cannot stand one another. To make matters worse, when Chitoge hit him in the face Raku lost a locket he has held onto for the past ten years. You see, ten years ago he made a promise with a young girl, of whom he has no recollection of, that they would meet and when she used the key to his locket, they would marry.
Despite their hate for one another, things get become even worse when Raku returns home and he is told by his father that he will now be pretend dating the daughter of their rival faction in an effort to avoid an all-out bloodbath in the middle of the city. This girl just happens to be Chitoge and now not only does Raku have to deal with this violent girl he hates and act as her fake lover, it has put any chance he might have had with Onodera on hold. Can this odd couple manage to keep up the charade and avoid a war or will Raku’s sanity be lost in the process?
As with many romantic comedies, Nisekoi: False Love’s premise is something fans of the genre have likely seen before, but this time repackaged a bit differently but you know what? Even with the initial setting being rather standard, Nisekoi manages to make it work and it does so with great characters and enough great comedy to make me laugh every single chapter.
Although this is just the start of Nisekoi and currently only Chitoge, Raku, and Onodera have been given any time to develop, the situation that Chitoge and Raku have been placed in, as well as their constant dislike for one another and complete opposite tastes in pretty much everything make the series hilarious. Put this alongside the numerous visual gags that the series uses throughout the chapters and it would be nearly impossible for anyone to read through the volume without laughing.
Chitoge’s tsundere act is almost entirely tsun as she reacts violently to anything Raku does while Raku simply wants to try and avoid being caught in the lie while also trying to not push Onodera too far away with misunderstandings. Volume 1 ends with a nice cliffhanger concerning Raku’s locket after giving readers enough to care about the characters and invest in where the series will go from here.
Artwork Now one thing that stood out for me throughout Nisekoi and is probably the best part of the manga is how Naoshi Komi handles each character’s face. The reaction faces found throughout this volume are outstanding as they can be all over the pace in quality but regardless of that the over exaggerated expressions as each of the character’s react to any given situation is absolutely wonderful and the highlight of the series.
Outside of the character expressions, the characters have a fairly standard design with a few noteworthy panels given some impressive level of detail, usually highlighting Chitoge or Onodera in an emotional moment. The backgrounds are fairly standard with some basic linework and Viz’s translation of the series does not obscure any of the artwork and flows fairly fluidly.
Extra Content Nisekoi: False Love Volume 1 comes with a few basic inclusions throughout the volume. At the end of each chapter readers are given a simple sketch of something from the chapter, usually a look at something from behind the scenes of the events occurring during the chapter and spaced throughout the volume are a few four panel gags about Raku and Chitoge taking care of some rescued animals and a karaoke moment.
Overall Nisekoi: False Love’s first volume helps highlight all of the strengths that this series has going for it right at the beginning as readers are given some time to learn a bit about Raku’s past and experience how Raku and Chitoge get along, or should I say not get along, with one another. With hilarious moments in every chapter and priceless facial expressions, Nisekoi: False Love Volume 1 does nearly everything right to ensnare the reader and keep them looking forward to the next volume.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
With the new year comes a new batch of anime and with the Winter 2014 anime season rolling in everyone here at Capsule Computers is tossing up their Winter 2014 Anime Picks and this time around it is my turn to unveil a long list of shows that mostly are sequels but feature a few originals and adaptations too. We have a bunch of ecchi looking shows, a harem here and there and probably one of the most anticipated anime in quite some time this season. So with 2013 firmly behind us, can this Winter season kick everything off with a bang?
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren
After dodging a possible ending in the first season and receiving a few OVAs since the first season ended, Kyoto Animation is back with the second season of Chu2Koi. This time around it looks like Yuuta and Rikka are now living together, probably due to Rikka’s older sister continuing with her dream of becoming a chef, and a new girl suffering from 8th grade syndrome appears to get in-between the two of them.
I wasn’t initially sold on the first season of Chu2Koi but over time it quickly won me over. After looking through a few promotional materials for this second season I’m concerned about the change in appearance for one character but if this season is anything like the first then I won’t have any regrets for picking it up.
Gin no Saji 2nd Season
Again, Gin no Saji was an anime that I wasn’t enthralled by back when the first season was about to air. Despite being from the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, I thought that a farming series would be pretty boring. Thankfully I was proven to be wrong as Gin no Saji ended up being a series I watched immediately and was looking forward to each week.
Perhaps it is due to the down to earth feel of the anime or the likable cast of characters, but seeing this second season continue from where the first left off is one of my most anticipated for the season.
Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha
A girl named Fushimi Inari is shy, a bit dumb, and clumsy but she doesn’t let it get her down. She has a crush on one of her classmates but has issues expressing her feelings towards him. One day she saves a baby fox from drowning in a river and a fox goddess named Ukanomitamanokami gives her the power to change her form.
This is an interesting looking series with the potential for a lot of great comedy with a twist of supernatural elements to it. I’m a sucker for a good romcom and Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha looks to be right up my alley in that regard.
Mahou Sensou
Takeshi Nanase has a dark past and due to certain circumstances he has a fake relationship with his childhood friend Kurumi Isoshima. Despite this he lives a basic high school life but this changes when he encounters a girl passed out on the school campus. The girl’s name is Mui Aiba and after she wakes up, she apologizes to Takeshi because not only is she a magician, but he has now become one as well, thrusting him into a new world of magic and danger.
Modern magic tales are starting to become a dime a dozen but one of my biggest regrets last season was initially passing up Tokyo Ravens thanks to a simplistic start. Over time the series has grown to be one of my favorite and it is possible that Mahou Sensou could go that same route.
Maken-Ki! Two
You probably noticed that I just put out the review for the first season of Maken-Ki!, found here, since it was released in North America. Despite this release I watched the first season when it debuted in Japan and I am looking forward to see where this second season could go now that they may try to focus on developing the story a bit more.
However now that Xebec has taken over as the animation studio, it could also become a series that relies even more on its fan service and ecchi content than ever before. That being said, that will probably still keep me watching it unless there is some extreme light-bar censorship and if that happens to be the case then this will be dropped like a rock.
Nisekoi
Ah another romcom and this one happens to not only have Shaft at the helm but is also a series that is already about to debut in North America through its manga release. Nisekoi follows Raku Ichijou, who made a promise to his childhood sweetheart years ago related to the pendent he wears and a key he gave the girl. Years later he has a crush of his own in high school but when a violent girl named Chitoge Kirisaki is forced to become his fake lover to quell the anger between their mafia families, the two find themselves having to pretend to be lovers despite hating one another.
Nisekoi has had quite a following in the West thanks to Viz including it in their digital Weekly Shonen Jump line-up and thanks to the likable characters and reaction faces that I can’t wait to see, Nisekoi is an easy pick up for me.
Nourin
Whenever an idol leaves the entertainment business most fans are sad for a bit but move on to the next big thing. That isn’t the case for Hata Kosaku who is the biggest fan of the recently retired idol Kusakabe Yuka. Despite studying at an agricultural school, it takes his friends forever to convince him to leave his room and come back to class, but when he does return a new transfer student arrives. This transfer student just so happens to be the recently retired idol Yuka has entered the school under the name Kinoshita Ringo, giving Hata a chance of the lifetime to become friends with his idol.
Lately it seems that idols have been pretty quick to quit their jobs and focus on other things. Last season we had one quit to become a wrestler and now one is joining a farming school. Still, I’ve seen series all about baking bread before and this one looks like it could easily be a lot better than that and being another romcom, this time by Silver Link, it is an easy pick up.
Saikin, Imouto no Yousu ga Chotto Okashiinda ga
There just has to be an ecchi show right? This time around we have a show where a girl is living with her step brother Yuya, but while she never has had any feelings for him before when she is possessed by a spirit of a young girl named Hiyori Kotobuki, that is about to change. Hiyori must use the girl, Mitsuki, and her body to fall I nlove with Yuya before she can move on to the afterlife causing plenty of problems for her.
Well, like I said there had to be an ecchi show and outside of Maken-Ki! Two this looks to be in the running for second place. This one could easily go either way, though glancing through the manga points towards yes, but for now it seems to be interesting enough to check out and see where things go from there.
Seitokai Yakuindomo＊
If it feels like forever since Seitokai Yakuindomo’s first season aired then you would be correct since it has been three and a half years it was given its first season and even though we’ve had a drip feed of OVAs since that first season, fans of this hilarious series have been starving for the second season.
For those who don’t know, Seitokai Yakuindomo follows the student council of a newly co-ed school where the male lead, Tsuda, is wrangled into becoming the only member of the student council which has two girls that constantly make perverted jokes and another one with a severe height complex. Throughout the first season and all of the OVAs this series has been golden and now that a second season has finally arrived I couldn’t be happier.
Sekai Seifuku: Bouryaku no Zvezda
It is a typical goal for a super villain to try and conquer the world, but no one has ever done it and even the logistics of world domination seem impossible. However a little girl named Kate Hoshimiya seems like she will finally be able to do it through something she is calling the Zvezda Plot.
Information about what this original series actually has to offer has been slim outside of a few pieces of promo art and a couple of previews, and that has been enough to pique my interest enough to give it a shot.
SoniAni: Super Sonico The Animation
Those familiar with the company Nitro Plus probably have seen Super Sonico in some form or another as she has been their mascot character for years. Now she is being given her own anime series. From what has been described, Sonico will be an 18-year old college student who plays the guitar in a three girl band. One time during a performance she is forced to play alone as the other two members of the band cannot make it in time and it seems that this performance will take her to a brand new level.
This is a bit of an iffy show but again it has the potential for both fan service and some great music, both things that I have a hard thing passing up. I’ve seen Sonico in many forms in the past and this looks to be an interesting take on the character.
Space☆Dandy
An anime so hotly anticipated that not only has it been picked up around the world by licensors already, but FUNimation is even going to be simuldubbing the series, something that I don’t believe has ever been done before. There is good reason for this though as Space Dandy comes from the same man who made Cowboy Bebop and follows Dandy, the “dandiest man in space” as he ventures through the galaxy in search for aliens that no one has ever seen before.
I was initially skeptical over the hype that Space Dandy was receiving but after checking out a few of the promotional videos it was easy to see that the hype was worth it and I will be right there alongside everyone else watching to see if this will be the next big thing.
Wake Up, Girls!
An entertainment company named Green Leaves is about to go out of business. They once managed the careers of some of the best idols around the nation but that time has long since passed. Now that they are about to run out of anyone who can help them turn it around, the president Tange comes up with an idea to create a new idol group. On this order, the manager of the company, Matsuda, is sent out to find new talent and whe he meets a certain girl, it turns out to be a fateful encounter.
While I’m sure that nothing can surpass Idolm@ster as far as an idol series goes, not even Love Live! though it sure came close, I’m all up for giving this series a shot to see where it can go.
Quite a few shows to try and pick up this season, how many will make it to the end and who knows what might be picked up along the way. I must say though that I will be continuing at least a few series from last season to this one and those happen to be Log Horizon and Tokyo Ravens. Log Horizon has quickly become a favorite of mine while Tokyo Ravens turned itself from a disappointing start into a series with quite a bit of story and intrigue behind it, so it’ll be interesting to see how the second half of these series turn out alongside the rest of the Winter 2014 season.
This little piece of news goes out to those of you who happen to love some serious old-school action and the stars that made them great. Transmission Films have just announced that their brand-new action movie “Ambushed” – starring Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV, Masters Of The Universe), Vinnie Jones (Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Randy Couture (The Expendables) and directed by Giorgio Serafini (Johnny’s Gone) – will be getting a home video release on the 8th of January this year.
For those of you who have no idea what this action flick is about, the Official Transmission Films Synopsis is as follows:
Frank (Daniel Bonjour) and Eddie (Gianni Capaldi) are two club-level drug dealers in LA who like to think they’re big time. The problem is, the big time isn’t exactly knocking on their door. Desperate to increase their business they rip off their middleman in a murderous bid for greatness, setting off a dangerous chain of events involving a ruthless crime boss, a dirty cop and the federal agent, who is chasing them all.
With their lives on the line, Frank and Eddie manage to convince crime boss Vincent Camastra (Vinnie Jones) that they are the next best thing for his wide-ranging criminal enterprise but they quickly run afoul of Jack Reiley (Randy Couture), the dirty cop that wants in on the new action.
As mentioned above; “Ambushed” is set for a release on the 8th of January 2014 (this year) and is absolutely perfect for people who love macho action flicks that get the heart pumping and get the blood boiling. The movie will be released on both DVD and Blu-Ray with the Blu-Ray containing a digital copy of the movie, the DVD version will be sold for $29.99 and the Blu-Ray version will be sold for $34.99, both will be sold at any and all good film retailers. Get ready for the action-packed, crime drama “Ambushed” because it’ll be hitting shelves soon!
Feed Me Oil 2 Developer: Holy Water Games Publisher: Chillingo Platforms: iPhone, iPad (Reviewed), iPod Touch Release Date: 2nd January 2014 Price: $2.99 – Available Here
Overview
Puzzle games seem to be all the rage lately, especially when it comes to mobile gaming and I believe it is because they’re the most accessible, they’re easy to pick up and quick to put down when necessary, they’re basically everything that is good about portable gaming and the people over at Chillingo seem to know a good title when they see one. Feed Me Oil 2 is a sequel that has been long awaited by many puzzle-lovers and mobile gaming-enthusiasts, and it seems as though it has returned just as good as ever. It sticks to the classic system and all around art style that made the first game such a hit, although there doesn’t seem like a huge change; why fix what isn’t broken?
Gameplay
Feed Me Oil 2 basically plays the same as the first one but, for those of you who have played neither, I’ll take you through it bit by bit: You’re put onto different stages wherein which you must get a large amount of oil from one side of the stage to an empty and usually small hole somewhere within the stage, it’s not always on the other side of the level, it may be right under where the oil spout is but that’s where the puzzle comes in. You’re given a few different items that you can place throughout the stage to help lead the stream of oil to where it needs to be, items like long clock pieces, fans and small cannons all work to redirect the oil. If you’ve read my previous iOS game reviews you’ll know that I happen to love when a game is simple and easy, especially if it is for mobile device, yet keeps you entertained with a type of difficulty that is determined only by how well you think in puzzle situations and Feed Me Oil 2 seems to get it right on the nose. Simple, easy and challenging. This probably goes without saying but I think the level designs are great and very clever, half the credit goes the aesthetics of it (which I will talk about a little later) and the other half goes to the actual layout of obstacles for a player to overcome; some of them are quite obvious and some of them really make you think.
The game also has a star rating, the better you complete a level the better star rating you get, each level has three stars to obtain and getting the stars unlocks more levels for you so it gives you some incentive to actually go through the stages and do well rather than just rush through. There’s a help system in the game wherein which a small hand pops up on the screen and moves one of the items into the spot that it “should” be placed, this is to help in situations where you are utterly stuck, you cannot do it often but that was fine with me because I had a bad experience with the help option. When I actually used the hint option to move a piece of equipment around the stage it actually didn’t work properly, the little hand came out and moved a piece of equipment but when the oil started to flow it totally missed where the helping hand had put it, what makes it worse is that the piece was then locked in place forcing me to exit out of the level and re-entering and, while that doesn’t seem like a big deal, it DID get rid of one of my hint uses so I wasn’t too happy about that.
Visuals
The game has an odd aesthetic style to it that, although incredibly weird, does remind me of old children’s books where the environments are almost living though in the games case it seems as though the environments actually are living. Environments constantly move though they don’t move to get in your way or to disrupt the game, it works to show that the levels are more than just flat images and I think it was done nicely. A lot of the levels you play through are very soft-looking and very well designed, they’re anything but basic and they work to a nice degree. All the environments are extremely colourful and vibrant yet are designed in a very Tim Burton-esque vibe to it all, it works though because the whole theme of the game deals with the effects of oil within areas that cannot contain it…at least, that what it seems like. The physics of the actual oil hitting walls and sloshing over small bumps looked absolutely fantastic.
Audio
I actually didn’t quite mind the music within this game though I have to say it did get a little bit annoying after the fiftieth time I heard the song and it’s slight variations. The great thing about the music was how it fit within the visual style of the game, just playing the game while hearing the music and taking note of the environments allows you to see that they all kind of fit together like puzzle pieces. The music is very light-hearted, the best way I can describe it is like a slow country track, it doesn’t force you to speed through the game or anything, it actually encourages you to take your time with a level which is nice. I never thought I’d enjoy the sound of a banjo but I guess we learn something new about ourselves everyday. There really wasn’t much to the audio aspect of this game, there were the sounds of the oil splashing around the stage but apart from that it seemed like it was just the music which I’m not saying is a bad thing because it didn’t necessarily need it but I still think it couldn’t have hurt.
Overall
What else can I say about Feed Me Oil 2? It’s a great little game that has some fantastic looking level designs and an art style that’s quirky, different and makes for some nice environments. The game is easy to pick up and play without a second thought and it’s just as easy to put it down and pack it away once you’re done for a session, perfect for travelling and perfect for filling in time while waiting on something else but I’ll still say it’s a kind of game that you can sit there and get into even though I’m not the type of person to do so I can imagine others would. There are little things that this game could have done better but I can’t honestly say it took that much away from the full game, it’s just little things that you notice throughout the game. All in all it is a fantastic title that a lot of puzzle-lovers will really enjoy and for $2.99 there really isn’t much to loose.
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