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Capsule Computers Presents: The 2013 Game of the Year Nominees

Can you believe it is already the end of 2013? We have seen a ton of fantastic deliveries in excellence this year, with entire franchises bringing in fresh change to revitalize a namesake, as well as new titles popping up that certainly gave us a lot to talk about. 2013 had a bit of everything, with sequels, reboots, remakes, and much more being delivered in order to send off each console with a bang. That’s right folks. We are not just at the end of an era, but the end of a generation.

That said, it is time to reflect and celebrate greatness, and with that comes Capsule Computer’s 4th annual Game of the Year Awards. Below you will find all of the nominees, to which the winners will be decided by our team of dedicated writers. Which titles stood out? What made us shout for glee? Here are your nominees for the year of 2013.

The Rules

We indeed have a very strict rule list while nominating and selecting winners for the Game of the Year awards we deliver. The first rule is that the game must have scored high enough in its review to merit a nomination compared to all other nominees. Once that is decided, we also had to go by impact, which means how much coverage we had for that said title during the year. No one title can take home two awards so that every winner is unique, and if that instance does apply, the game with the second highest number of votes will retain the prize for the lesser category. Platform awards (such as Best Xbox 360, PS3, ect) must go to titles of exclusivity at the time of release. Two podcast nominated categories will be a part of the Game of the Year awards, but are excluded from the nominations due to their unique nature. To see our original review for each title, just give the name a click for a full opinion on each.

Best Reboot

Why did we do a best reboot category? Well, we already have a remake section for these awards, but reboots are NOT remakes, and deserve a separate set of praise. These titles were made by teams trying to breathe new life into established franchises that most of us thought ran their course. Tomb Raider has been the most anticipated for a couple of years now out of the list, but DmC also shined (despite outside criticism) in its own way, taking lessons from other experiences and making one hell of a thrill ride. Rise of the Triad and Shadow Warrior didn’t make quite the impact, but certainly delivered enough to make this list as well of titles that made us remember why we loved these franchises to start with. Your nominees are as follows:

Tomb Raider
DmC
Shadow Warrior
Rise of the Triad

Best Remake

Moving right along and as mentioned, we also have a Best Remake category. Sure, we have played these gems before, but they were redone with love and gave us a chance to play old favourites without feeling the grit and darkness of age. New visuals, remastered soundtracks, you know how these games go. These five titles hit the right chord with all of us, and the nominees are:

DuckTales: Remastered
Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker HD
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS)
Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara

Best Original IP

Fresh off remakes, let us talk about originality. It takes a lot to create something that can be deemed truly original. This means no other experience has been done quite like the few titles you are about to see, and while some included familiar faces, these new brands were made with enough of an open door to keep us excited for a future instalment somewhere down the road. The nominees for Best Original IP are:

Tearaway
The Last of Us
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Project X Zone
The Wolf Among Us

Best PC

There was a bit of a debate if we should have a “Best Indie” category this year. Yeah, there were a ton of solid indie titles this year, but in my book, all games should be judged on the same level of production. I mean, look what happened last year when TellTale’s Walking Dead swept our own and several other publications Game of the Year ceremonies. That wasn’t quite an indie game, but it was a small studio who produced such greatness to start with. Back on topic, the PC has seen a good number of indie titles, with some of those shining over the big budget blockbusters that barely made a whimper on our radar by comparison (Sim City, I am looking at you here). Our list reflects that, and without further ado, here are the nominees for Best PC game of 2013:

Dusty Revenge
Valdis Story: Abyssal City
Guncraft
Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians
Aarklash: Legacy
Papers, Please

Best iOS/Mobile

In my opinion, the mobile circuit took quite a blow in 2013. With the ever-changing atmosphere of free-to-play and micro transactions running rampant, it was hard to find a quality mobile title that you could download and truly feel proud of. The iOS still delivered thanks to the same developers who built it however, and the gems that stuck around were certainly worth celebrating. Your list of Best iOS/Mobile nominees are:

Joust Legend
Badland
Dead Man’s Draw
Pure Chess
Tetris Blitz
Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf
Kamikazi Pigs
Oceanhorn

Best Xbox 360

We are already at this console as it did not pack quite the punch in 2013 in terms of exclusives. By punch, I mean a poke – as the Xbox 360 only has two nominations in that category, and even though they are both great in their own way, it really is a shock that there wasn’t more due to how little complaining we heard from the fanbase out there. Here are your nominees:

Battleblock Theater
Gears of War: Judgement

Best Wii U

The Wii U has persevered this year despite so-so sales and a library that is still quite limited. Despite that, we still got some amazing titles from Nintendo’s latest console, and they are four titles certainly worth raising a glass to. While we dream of Super Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, and X, we still have some fantastic titles to experience in the meantime. Those nominees are:

Pikmin 3
Super Mario 3D World
Toki Tori 2
Game & Wario

Best Playstation Vita

I wish I could say that the Vita will be around forever, as it is a beautiful device, full of potential. With the Playstation 4’s arrival and the PS3’s eventual exit however, there are not a lot of games that we have been able to look forward to. Thankfully, there have been a handful of top-notch productions and all of which were nominated:

Atelier Meruru Plus: The Apprentice of Arland
Killzone: Mercenary
Tearaway
Soul Sacrifice

Best Nintendo 3DS

The 3DS had the best year of ALL TIME! Now that I let my own bias out, it goes without saying that the 3DS made for the best comeback story in years during 2013. Nearly every genre was touched by Nintendo and multiple third parties, and it was very hard to narrow down the best of the best to our maximum of six nominees. Those six that made the cut are those that remain in our 3DS, where we go back – time and time again to get an everlasting portable experience like no other. The nominees for Best Nintendo 3DS are:

Pokemon X & Y
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Fire Emblem: Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Shin Megami Tensei IV

Best Playstation 3

If you are going to go out, go down with a greater impact than your arrival. The Playstation 3 went from a console with few exclusives, to a booming playground that has one of the most loyal fanbases in existence. Sure, we still got a few years with the platform, but I doubt any other year will be as big as 2013 – where we seen some huge surprises and shake-ups. The nominees are:

The Last of Us
Dragon’s Crown
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory
God of War: Ascension

Hidden Gem of the Year

Lets face it. Not every game can win an award or be nominated. It all comes down to fitting in specific categories and being scored appropriately, and that in itself makes it hard for some of our favorites to receive a nomination. Well, we at Capsule have this covered, and have one long list of nominees for one very unique prize – which is the Hidden Gem of the Year for 2013. The nominees are:

Ittle Dew
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Mercenary Kings
BIT.TRIP Presents… Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Monaco: What’s Yours Mine
Defiance
Remember Me
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Kentucky Route Zero
Magrunner: Dark Pulse
Shadowrun Returns
Diablo 3

Most Anticipated

While looking back, it is also good to look forward. 2014 already looks stacked with the Xbox One and Playstation 4 on the horizon, and the Wii U even has a few tricks up its sleeve. Here our the nominees for the Most Anticipated title of 2014 (excluding delays):

Destiny
Titanfall
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Super Smash Bros
Infamous Second Son
Dark Souls II
The Witcher 3

Game of the Year

We made it to the big one. The one award that goes out the game that could very well be considered perfect. This will be a title that is going to see love for generations to come, as it left an unforgettable impression on the industry and delivered in every way imaginable. Some could be considered blockbusters, while others are simply sleeper hits. Either way, our list is quite grand and every single one of these nominees deserve a round of applause for simply making it big in one of the busiest release years in history. The 2013 Game of the Year nominations are:

Pokemon X & Y
The Last of Us
Grand Theft Auto V
Super Mario 3D World
Bioshock Infinite
Tomb Raider

And there you have it! Join us soon when we reveal the winners, and a special thanks to every single company that brought us these little masterpieces. Remember, these nominees are just our opinions, and the true Game of the Year comes down to what entertained you. See ya next week, and remember….Play Hard or Don’t Play at All!

The Devil is a Part Timer, Senran Kagura, and latest Hetalia anime to be given home release

Travis Bruno

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December 16, 2013

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While we know that FUNimation has picked up the streaming rights for a number of series, they don’t always pick up both the streaming rights and the home release rights at the same time. That is why this weekend FUNimation has announced that they have picked up the home release rights to bring The Devil is a Part-Timer!, Senran Kagura, and Hetalia The Beautiful World to North America on DVD and Blu-ray, though Hetalia will only be getting a DVD release.

At the moment the company has not announced any release dates for these series though we can likely expect them sometime later in 2014 or early 2015.

Third season of Senki Zesshō Symphogear announced

Travis Bruno

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December 16, 2013

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Third season of Senki Zesshō Symphogear announced

Great news for everyone who happens to be a fan of the Symphogear series, a few days ago during the Sympogear Live 2013 event a third season of the series was announced. Currently details about when the series would be starting have not been released but the official website will be updated when they are ready to announce something.

The anime has seen some mild success in Japan and the second season’s character CDs have sold incredibly well. Currently FUNimation owns the streaming rights to the Senki Zesshō Symphogear series but has yet to announce any plans of releasing physical versions of the series in English.

Madman to release The Wind Rises, poster and trailer revealed

Luke Halliday

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December 16, 2013

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It is that time again! Madman Entertainment have just revealed their 5th announcement for their #12AnnouncementsOfXmas promotion. This time they have announced something truly huge. Madman have just announced that they have acquired the license for the final film of anime legend Hayao Miyazaki.

Hayao Miyazaki is the legendary visionary from Studio Ghibli that has brought us classics like My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away. His final film before his retirement was The Wind Rises. Madman have acquired the rights to distribute The Wind Rises throughout Australia in a theatrical release on February 27th, 2014.

The film has been nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Foreign Film. Being Miyazaki’s final film it is certainly an important one for Studio Ghibli as they close the chapter on the incredible legacy that was forged by this anime icon.

Stay tuned for more announcements in Madman’s #12AnnouncementsOfXmas promotion. You can check out the poster for the theatrical release above and check out the trailer for it below.

Accel World Set 1 Review

Travis Bruno

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December 16, 2013

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Accel World Set 1
Studio: Sunrise
Publisher: Viz Media
Format: Blu-ray, DVD (Reviewed)
Release Date: November 26, 2013
Price: $44.82 – Available Here

Overview
Technology has reached a point where people will freely spend hours of time playing a game on the computer, focusing on their cell phone, or simply escaping from life. Even before .hack explored the possibility of a real virtual world, many stories have explored that possibility. Although one of them reached a stunning level of popularity that overshadowed one of the writer’s earlier works, Accel World. Now that Viz has brought the first half of Accel World to North America, does Accel World deserve your attention?

Story
The story of Accel World takes place in 2046 where, fifteen years prior, scientists were able to develop a piece of technology that was called a “neuro-linker.” These neuro-linkers have allowed everyone to simply wear a collar around their neck which instantly allows them access to a completely integrated virtual network.

People use their neuro-linkers to take notes on virtual keyboards, move icons around, and pretty much anything they want with the sky being the limit. There are even virtual spaces where people can enter a virtual world using an avatar where they can do anything from simply hang out with friends to play games online through true virtual reality. However even as technology advances, the hearts of humans do not and bullying is just as much of an issue in the future as it is today.

As such, a young teenage boy named Haruyuki is forced to use a little pig avatar in the virtual world and in the real world he is relentlessly bullied by a number of people at school which leaves the poor kid with crippling self-esteem issues where he believes that even the two friends he still has are only with him and doing nice things out of pity. That all changes when the most popular girl in school, a girl named Kuroyukihime invites him to the upper classman’s lounge and introduces him to an entirely new aspect of the neuro-linker, something called Brain Burst.

The Brain Burst program accelerates the human mind to such a speed that for every sixteen minutes that pass in the accelerated world, only one second passes in the normal world. After almost instantly clearing up his bullying problems, Kuroyukihime takes Haru under her wing after Haru learns that the Brain Burst program is actually a virtual reality fighting game. Anytime someone wishes to use the program and take advantage of a situation, such as pass tests, succeed at sports, or any number of things, the program requires a point to use.

The only way to gain these points is by fighting in the virtual world, however if one were to lose all of their points the program will instantly uninstall from their mind and in Haru’s case, separate him from Kuroyukihime. With the program using the user’s latent abilities and mental history to create a fighting avatar, Haru finds himself with a one of a kind avatar capable of using an ability no one has ever possessed in the history of the game. By joining forces with Kuroyukihime, Haru begins to work through his own issues while learning more about this virtual world.

Now if this sounds a bit complicated then that is good, because the series goes to great lengths to introduce viewers to the various aspects of the Brain Burst program. This does mean that the beginning of the series tends to be a bit wordy, the fact that a bulk of this information is given to viewers at the start and slowly expanded upon over the course of the first twelve episodes is to the series’ benefit.

Haru tends to be a wimpy character at the start but it is clearly shown that this is due to the way that he has been treated and also thanks to his physical appearance. There are some elements of the dependence of technology explored in here as well, as prior to Haru’s knowledge of Brain Burst he would use it to run away and hide, and after Brain Burst is introduced it is treated as a cure-all where many users would do anything to keep the Brain Burst program thanks to its benefits.

Thanks to the amount of information provided to viewers to start everything off with, the Brain Burst program is a bit easier to understand and as such viewers can then enjoy the enjoyable character element of the series and some real world comedy, which for this first half focuses mostly on Haru, the relationship between him and his friends, and even some new friends that are made after struggling alongside them to take down a shared enemy. This first set ends on a rather solid stopping point at the conclusion of an interesting arc which explores Kuroyukihime’s past and expands upon a number of potential problems that may arise in the future.

Visuals
You have to give Sunrise a lot of credit for what they were able to do with Accel World. You see, every time the Brain Burst fighting program is activated it takes players to a ruined version of their current area and seeing the stark parallel between the two worlds is quite striking thanks to how incredibly detailed most of the background scenery is.

As for the characters themselves, the real world character designs have some basic clothing designs but they have some wonderful looking facial expressions. That being said, there is some rather odd anatomy at work for a certain character named Niko which makes her body look strangely proportioned, though considering Haru’s appearance it isn’t too odd. As for the designs of the avatars they are varied well enough and have some great looking designs that look even better when they are in action thanks to fluid animation.

Audio
Viz Media has given Accel World Set 1 an English dub and the original Japanese voice track is also available in the release and while the English cast does a great job with their characters, I must say that I am quite pleased that Kira Buckland managed to do such a great job with Kuroyukihime’s voice as she has the largest speaking role in the series and a lot of the explanation sequences wouldn’t have been tolerable if it wasn’t handled well.

The series’ background music has been rather impressive throughout Set 1 as it does a great job to help bring out the most in any particular moment. As far as the theme songs go, the opening song “Chase the World” by May’n and ending song “unfinished” by KOTOKO feat. FripSide are both increadible songs that are paired with some great animation sequences, making them nearly impossible to skip past.

Extras
As far as bonus features go, with this DVD release of Accel World Set 1 a very basic set of on-disc extras have been included. The case itself is simplistic and only features a packed-in slip for Neon Alley with the discs featuring art of Haru and of Silver Crow.

The on-disc bonuses feature a clean version of the great opening and ending themes, a trailer for Accel World, trailers for other Viz Media releases and also an art gallery that consists of twenty two images that focus almost entirely on character art for the main cast and some of the side-characters.

Overall
Accel World Set 1 manages to throw a lot of information the viewer’s way at the start of the show but this is nicely handled thanks to some great voicework by the English cast and because of how built the world is, there is time to explore the characters and take viewers through a number of story arcs in the first half of the series. With great artwork, fluid animation, and an enjoyable storyline with a likable cast of characters, Accel World Set 1 sets the stage for a great series that will continue to unfold in the future.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

2K Announces Availability of Sensei Wars for Smartphones and Tablets Worldwide

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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December 16, 2013

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2K Announces Availability of Sensei Wars for Smartphones and Tablets Worldwide

Train an army, build a dynasty, and become the fiercest leader to walk the Earth in the latest combat strategy game to hit the App Store, Amazon Appstore, and Google Play

Join the conversation on Twitter by using hashtag #SenseiWars

Sydney, Australia – December 16, 2013 – 2K today announced that Sensei Wars, a new combat strategy game set in a charismatic, 3D Asian art style, is now available for download worldwide on select iPad®*, iPhone®, iPod®, iPod® touch, Android™, and Amazon Kindle devices.

Sensei Wars challenges mobile gamers to rule a 3D world by building and defending a thriving rural village, creating alliances, and training an army of lethal soldiers to conquer other players’ base camps and resources. Each player begins with an immortal Sensei warrior, a controllable and versatile offensive and defensive unit that masters skills from three different fighting styles, and embarks in warfare alongside additional military units, such as Monks, Samurai, Ninjas, and Dragons, as they are unlocked.

“In developing Sensei Wars, Cat Daddy Games worked hard to incorporate features we hadn’t seen before, as well as create an experience that resonates with a wide variety of mobile gamers to keep them coming back,” said Harley Howe, co-studio head of Cat Daddy Games. “From being able to explore the game from a 360-degree perspective, to defining the Sensei’s fighting style, Sensei Wars adds a layer of depth and control combat-strategy fans can’t experience anywhere else.”

For those preferring strength in numbers, Sensei Wars offers dynamic co-operative gameplay elements to assist in the race to the top of the leaderboards, through forming allegiances with other players, sharing reinforcements, and working together in battle.

Sensei Wars is now available for free to download on the App Store, Amazon Appstore, and Google Play for select mobile devices.

For more information on Sensei Wars and 2K, visit Facebook and @senseiwars on Twitter.

*Supported mobile devices for Sensei Wars includes: iPad 2 and up, iPad mini, iPod touch 4 and up and iPhone 4 and up.

Cat Daddy Games is a 2K studio. 2K is a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

Man Behind Kuroko’s Basketball Poison Threat Crimes Arrested

Luke Halliday

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December 16, 2013

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After more than a year on the loose, the man behind a string of criminal acts perpetrated against the author of Kuroko’s Basketball and others involves with the popular manga series has at long last been caught.

Having sent over 250 threat letters, some of which contained lethal doses of poisonous chemicals, the man behind these crimes has been formally arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitean Police Department with charges of ‘obstruction of business’ for his poisoning of Kuroko’s Basketball snacks in the 7/11 convenience store chain.

The man, 36 year old Hirofumi Watanabe, gave the following comment upon his arrest, “I’m sorry. I’ve lost.” As of this time there is no known motive for these criminal acts. However due to the nature of the threats being aimed at Tadatoshi Fujimaki the author of Kuroko’s Basketball, many have speculated he has a connection of some kind and perhaps a grudge against him. Of course that is merely speculation at this point in time.

Stay tuned for further updates on this criminal’s arrest as this case further develops.

‘Machete Kills’ His Way Onto Home Media on March 12

Zac Elawar

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December 16, 2013

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Icon Home Entertainment will be releasing Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital formats, nation-wide, on March 12. “Trained to kill. Left for dead. Back for more.” Machete (Danny Trejo) returns for more grindhouse action and gore.

As the director himself states, “Machete Kills is the movie that shows Machete is truly a super hero.” He is now on the right side of the law, and after losing his partner in a sting operation gone wrong, is contacted by the President of the United States. He has a proposition – a mission that would otherwise be deemed impossible for any other man. FilmInk called the film “pure, unadulterated fun.” The movie also stars Michelle Rodriguez (Fast & Furious 6, Avatar) and Jessica Alba (Sin City) reprising their roles from the first, along with Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Vanessa Hudgens, Antonio Banderas and Lady Gaga as La Chameleon.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag PS4 Review

Sergei Lazarev

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December 16, 2013

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Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag PS4 Review

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PS3, PS4 (reviewed), Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, Wii U
Price: $59.99 – Available Here

Overview
Many thought that the Assassin’s Creed franchise was running out of steam with the release of Assassin’s Creed III, which seemed to divide fans more than the previous entries. Ubisoft pushed ahead, however, with their army of developers and kept the fundamentals largely intact. It’s safe to say the approach worked and players once again are taken on a historical adventure with that ominous back story still very much alive.

You could say Ubisoft got fairly lucky here as well, as Black Flag had the pleasure of launching on the next-gen consoles almost side-by-side with its current-gen counterparts. We delved to see how it stacks up on the PlayStation 4.

Story
Set in the early 18th century, players take on the role of Edward Kenway who is an aspiring British privateer hoping to make a name for himself in the West Indies. The huge reward that comes with piracy turned him to a life of plunder on the high seas facing powerful empires, intrigue and betrayal among his own fellow pirates.

Interestingly, the Assassin Order, which is so prevalent in previous games, doesn’t play as big of a role for most of the game as one would expect. Edward obviously becomes an Assassin but at the same time he isn’t really an Assassin. In fact, he is at odds with the Order for a good chunk of the story despite wearing their uniform and skewering foes with the hidden blades. Also unclear is just how he became so adept from the start of the game, with no real training unlike Ezio who honed his skills over many years.

As players take part against the Spanish and English Empires with volleys of cannon-fire, the Templars are ever present and continue to scheme in order to control human civilisation by unlocking the secrets of the Precursor Race and their high-tech artifacts.

Although Revelations was the last game I played, I noticed a lack of real urgency in Black Flag. The Assassin Order seems almost inept at combating the Templars while Edward himself hardly takes an interest until the end. The focus on the micro-plot, which is about the pirates, is done amazingly well and reminded me of classic literature about betrayal that accompanied wealth during the age of exploration.

But that comes at the expense of the macro-plot to an extent as players exit the animus less frequently. Speaking of which, we now have a first-person view when we’re in the “real” world and activities consist of hacking other employees for more top secret data regarding the Templars. That’s right, this time you are a new character who works for Abstergo Entertainment, inspired by Ubisoft’s game studios. We’re breaking the fourth wall here, people. But by using this logic, does that mean Ubisoft is run by the Templars as well?

Gameplay
Those familiar with Assassin’s Creed will jump in without any problems as usual. Ubisoft has maintained the free-running, sword-slashing formula for Black Flag but with one clear distinction: naval battles have been tuned to near-perfection. You will find yourself sailing, fishing, sinking enemy ships and upgrading your own more than running and climbing on foot.

Ubisoft has made on the largest maps yet where you can destroy and take over coastal forts, explore uninhabited islands, hunt for whales, dive for shipwrecks and of course board ships for money and materials. All while navigating storms that threaten to sink you with “rogue waves” and waterspouts. The more powerful your ship becomes the greater chance you have of taking on the floating fortresses known as man o’ wars. There is just so much to do and you’ll spend countless hours trying to collect and upgrade everything.

While the tremendous naval aspect is a welcome improvement, the action on firm soil is starting to become a little weary. It’s still much easier to just kill everyone rather than take your time on assassination missions. There is still a huge reliance on tailing and eavesdropping stealthily and the game mechanics and AI get in the way of making this any more enjoyable and believable from the previous games. Moving forward, these features must evolve beyond existing limitations as they are fundamental to most missions.

Outside the animus you can walk around your office taking part in hacking mini-games for precious information on Assassin’s Creed’s true story and your predecessor, Desmond, as the plot inside the animus doesn’t really kick off until later in the game.

Multiplayer stubbornly returns, and while most players will stick to the singleplayer, it’s there for others to dabble in. It’s largely the same as before but without the deathmatch mode. Instead you’ll be trying to fool other players into thinking you’re a harmless NPC before assassinating them. You can create your own custom character and improve your skills but again, it’s doubtful you’d remain here when the next game comes out.

Audio
The sound design is great as always especially during naval warfare with the cannons, cries from your shipmates and the splintering of wood make for an awesome experience. Voice-acting is among the best in the series and the music matches the atmosphere impeccably with some fast-paced string instruments during battle.

Unfortunately I encountered a lot of weird glitching during sword fights where the sound doesn’t keep up with the action and it lags behind. I’m not sure if this is isolated to the PS4 version or if every platform encounters this.

Visuals
Year after year Ubisoft has used more or less the same engine for Assassin’s Creed with some heavy tweaks to keep things looking good. Black Flag is the nicest looking game in the franchise to date and while the textures are still looking flat and facial models a little uncanny, the water and weather effects are outstanding. The locations in the game allowed the team to use a more vibrant colour palette with bright blue skies, lush vegetation and emerald water.

Following the mad obsession over next-gen game resolution, Ubisoft released a patch that upped the PS4 resolution from 900p to 1080p and improved anti-aliasing. While this in no way brings Black Flag in-line with true next-gen, it cleans the picture up and makes for a smoother experience that more or less matches what one would expect on the PC. Until the inevitable 2014 entry, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is still a PS3/X360 game which sees a welcome improvement when played on the PS4 or Xbox One consoles.

Overall
I honestly had my doubts when Black Flag was unveiled, thinking Ubisoft would rely on gimmicks like dual-wielding and the ever-so-loved pirate theme. But playing through it has made me realise Ubisoft continues to craft some pretty amazing stories in a historical context. I can only applaud them for giving us these intriguing games that show off a slice of history while making us think about the possibilities presented in the sci-fi conspiracy aspect.

While the original concept of “assassin” is almost tossed to the wayside by the 6th entry in the series, Black Flag is one heck of a pirate tale that is as addictive as it is intriguing. There simply hasn’t been an Assassin’s Creed game this captivating since Assassin’s Creed II. If you’re wanting an action adventure title to add to your (tiny) PS4 library, this is the one to buy even if you haven’t played the previous games. If you’re a fan and you have a PS4 then there is no excuse not to get Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag with a few extra bells and whistles.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Ultra Street Fighter IV – Online Practice and Team Battle Modes Added

Frank Inglese

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December 16, 2013

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Street Fighter never really dies, each Street Fighter game gets two or 3 iterations before they move onto the next and it seems as though nothing has changed with Capcom’s latest title; Ultra Street Fighter IV. Over the weekend at the Capcom Cup Tournament in San Francisco, it was announced that the new release of the game will have two extra modes for fight fans to get into. Online Practice and Team Battle are the two modes that have been added to the game. Online Practice is pretty much exactly how it sounds; you head online and you go up against another player both with the intentions of just mucking around and sorting out how exactly to use the different characters. Team Battle, on the other hand, allows you access to three-on-three matches, there’s no better brawl than a six man brawl.

Ultra Street Fighter IV will be available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sometime in June, it will cost $14.99 to upgrade from the original Street Fighter IV and it will cost $39.99 for the stand-alone copy of the game. A note to all you PC users out there: The game is set for a release for you guys sometime in August, once again the upgrade will cost you $14.99 but this time the stand-alone game will cost you $29.99, it’s a digital-only release so you can see why. Before you rush off to get your pre-orders in for the new game, you should check out the Ultra Street Fighter IV – New Modes and Features Trailer which you can see below. Keep fightin’, people!