Page 4139 – Capsule Computers

Queen’s Blade: Exiled Virgin Review

-

December 2, 2013

Queen’s Blade: Exiled Virgin
Studio: ARMS
Publisher: Siren Visual
Format: DVD
Release Date: 16th October 2013
Price: $49.95 – Available Here

Overview

Queen’s Blade: Exiled Virgin is an Anime based on a visual novel that has had many iterations and actually a couple story sequels too. It mixes adventure, fantasy and eroticism that definitely targets a certain type of Anime fan. The story follows royal daughter Leina in her quest to be victorious in the battle of the Queen’s Blade but you’ll read more about that soon. As stated in the rating, Queen’s Blade: Exiled Virgin is full of violence, sexual references and nudity and is really not for the younger audience. This is the first of the series’ many Anime titles and, essentially, it works as the kicking off point for the rest of the story, if there’s anywhere to start on this Anime it’s right here.

Story

Queen’s Blade: Exiled Virgin follows the adventure of Leina who is part of the royal family that has a fairly wide rule in the land that the series is set in, she’s in constant need to escape from the family and actually does so many times before we’re actually introduced to her. She eventually does escape with a thief who captured her when she escaped previously in the hopes that the royal family will reward her. Leina travels with Risty the thief and finally gets a glimpse of what life is like outside of the walls of the royal castle, she sees that the world around her is full of poverty, disease and downtrodden people.

She hears of a tournament called the “Queen’s Blade” where the lands best female fighters come together to do battle, the woman who wins gains ultimate control, power, wealth and basically whatever else you can imagine. As you can probably already tell; Leina plans to enter the tournament, win and finally have the power to change the land for the better. The story is actually very interesting and, to a degree, very in-depth but had it been done differently it would have been so much better. Had a storyline of this calibre been placed within an Anime series that wasn’t made with the intentions of getting an audience, let’s say, “excited” I could imagine it being something incredible.

The story is almost pure adventure and what I enjoyed about it was that adventure. Leina travelled through a few different lands which were all based on different areas of the globe, she came from a section of the world that closely resembled Europe, she met fellow female fighters that came from an area based on ancient Japan and she even fought an enemy in what seemed to be a very authentic-looking pyramid reminiscent of those in Egypt, so I wouldn’t consider the landscape of this series to be a boring one but, once again, if it wasn’t filled entirely with fan service it may have gone down much differently.

All the characters were two dimensional, they had these one-track minds and they were all hyper sexual, none really showed any qualms about being mostly naked. Leina did show embarrassment at first but she soon came to, essentially, not give much of a damn at all. There were a lot of scenes that were unnecessarily sexual and other which, had a male been thrown into the mix, would be considered extremely distasteful and out of line. There was basically only one male character and he only ever popped up in maybe three or four scenes, all other side characters were simply bumbling idiots or, once again, very perverted.

Without getting too much into the details of the story, it did leave on a cliffhanger that was extremely cool, possibly the best scene of the show was the ending scene, the way they executed that was actually really well done I just feel like they should have done that the whole way through. There was so much they could’ve done with the backstory and the stories of the individual characters but instead they chose to focus on the sexual tension between them all.

There was some backstory for certain characters, it turns out they were the characters that actually kept their clothes on the whole time, but it was minuscule and when compared to the rest of the series was highly insignificant.I’ll look at it from a different perspective: For those out there who enjoy this type of thing, there was just enough story to justify what happened throughout the series. All the fights that began with the reveal of one or both breasts of the female fighters all, in a way, made sense according to the story. I’m trying my best to see this from every angle but it has already gotten difficult.

Visuals

Queen’s Blade: Exiled Virgin is an older series so I never really expected as big an animation level as titles released in 2013 so I went in with a, let’s say, opened mind about how it would come across aesthetically. It’s animation is good at best and, while it seems to get better during certain combat scenes, it stays mostly average the whole way through. Unfortunately the next point I want to make is more of a backhanded complement than anything else: The costume design is actually very impressive on some of the characters, the backhanded part is that most of these characters wear barely anything.

Certain costume themes are fantastic but it is taken away to a certain degree when armour is basically just a small chest plate and a tight G-String. It varies from character to character, Leina’s design would have to be my favourite because, while still skimpy, it does actually resemble real armour whereas the others are just designed to simply “excite” the audience. It is clear that all of these costumes were designed to show as much of these ladies’ bodies as possible despite the fact that they are in a constant flow of danger and battle, it is fan service to the extreme and I’m sure people that enjoy that kind of thing will absolutely love the ways these characters and their costumes are designed, I just found that it was far too overboard.

Audio

It’s unfortunate to say but a great deal of the audio in this release was all too forgettable. The music fit fairly well but it felt as if I had heard it all before, almost like it was a general set of tracks that had been used in other releases similar to this. I’m sure that wasn’t the case but it just didn’t feel like the most amount of effort could have been put into it, in saying that though I will give the series points for having a score that fits well despite the different styles and themes that continue to shift and change throughout the series. The voice acting throughout the 13-episode series was, once again, fairly good.

Much like a lot of other similar titles it seems as though only a few voice actors made their mark while a great deal of the others were just unlucky enough to land bland or infinitely annoying roles. Thankfully the best voice acting in the series came from the main character, Leina, so we’re lucky enough as an audience to have to sit through her dialogue a lot more than the others. I dont really think these actresses got a chance to do the best they can considering most of the characters were laughably serious, sarcastically cute, overly sexual or just straight out moaning. I can’t imagine these being the best roles to make s voice acting impact.

Extras

I will give credit to the fact that this release came with a great deal of sweet extras that I can imagine fans of the series will really get into. It comes with the usual stuff like Anime trailers, TV Spots, clean opening and closing sequences, but it also comes with the series’ four OVA episodes alongside Voice Actor Interviews and footage from the Tokyo Anime Fair. I actually enjoyed watching the extras moreso than I enjoyed watching the actual series and that was strictly on in industry basis, I enjoyed seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff like the Voice Actor Interviews and what not. I feel as though, had the series been executed a bit better, I would have enjoy the extras a great deal more but that’s just obvious. There’s no physical extras but I can’t take points away for that because it is simply a standard release.

Overall

Queen’s Blade: Exiled Virgin is what it is, that’s the most simple way it can be put. It has traces of action, a great deal of adventure and enough eroticism to make a pornographic film jealous and while it didn’t quite work for me it may work for many others and, I guess, I can see how. I’ll say it right now; don’t bother getting into this Anime if you’re looking for a well fleshed-out story because that’s not what it is, it’s story could’ve used work and with a bit more effort put in it could have been something a lot better.

The series is for those who are fans of fan service, simple as that, it gives us characters and reasons for them to be together or even near each other and what that leads onto is exactly what you may be looking for, the fact is that the series doesn’t hide this, it knows what it is, it doesn’t come at you like a adventure/fantasy and then surprise you. It’s good for what it is but it is definitely for a suited audience so don’t just jump into it without a thought.

The Shivah: Kosher Edition Review

Claire Phillips

-

December 1, 2013

2

The Shivah: Kosher Edition
Developer: Wadjet Eye Games
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Platforms: PC (reviewed), iOS
Release Date: November 21, 2013
Price: $4.99 – Available Here

Overview

The Shivah, first developed and released in 2006, was the first game from designer Dave Gilbert, who after the success of The Shivah would go on to form indie studio Wadjet Eye Games. Wadjet Eye are best known for point and click adventures like Gemini Rue, Primordia, and the Blackwell Series, each of which feature heavy science fiction or paranormal themes, designs and characters. The Shivah in contrast is utterly grounded in the real world and features a Rabbi as it’s main character.

The trademark pixel art of Wadjet Eye is still here, and fans of the developer are in for a treat if the game has never quite made it to their radar before this 2013 overhaul. The Kosher Edition boasts a new soundtrack and some overhauled artwork, and has also been ported to the iPhone and iPad.

Story

Players take control of Rabbi Russell Stone, a somewhat cynical man who is having a crisis of faith. His synagogue is empty and run down, his congregation abandoning him because of his increasingly negative view of the world. After one particularly lonely service, Rabbi Stone is visited by the police. An ex-member of his congregation – Jack Lauder – has been murdered, and Rabbi Stone has inherited a large sum of money from Lauder’s will. Stone and Lauder parted on very bad terms, so the police and are suspicious of the circumstances surrounding Lauder’s death. Stone is equally curious and decides to investigate the murder and clear his name, paying a Shivah call to Lauder’s widow as his first point of call.

It’s a credit to the writing of The Shivah that a female atheist with no knowledge of the Jewish faith can become attached to a middle aged New York rabbi within the confines of a two hour point and click adventure. Stone is immediately likeable, and the dialogue options include a wonderful “rabbincal response” option which plays on the joke of the opening sequence – “Why do rabbis always answer with a question?”.

Stone’s journey is dark, at times bleakly comical, and centers around the nature of morality. As well as his own doubts about his faith, Stone must contend with corruption, and the nature of power and respect. Whilst the point and click mechanics and puzzles are strong, it is Stone and the dilemmas that he faces that make The Shivah stand out as an experience.

There are multiple endings available depending on your in game choices, which is surprising itself for such a short game, but it is the strength of the main character that really drives home the weight of these decisions. The need to have the right thing happen, not just as a player wanting to win a game but as someone willing Stone to succeed, is a sure indicator that The Shivah is a success.

Gameplay

The Shivah is a point and click adventure, so that conveniently about sums up the gameplay. Movement is simple and the interface works well. Moving between areas is handled by a basic map, and locations disappear when there is no more to be found in them, making The Shivah a frustration free experience. In contrast to most adventure games you’ll actually pick up precious little items, instead progressing through close observation to your surroundings and linking together noted clues to draw conclusions. It is incredibly refreshing to play a detective story that actually feels somewhat realistic, abandoning the old notion of ‘combine things till it works’ in favor of nurturing your inner Sherlock.

The inventory slides down from the top of the screen, and the only frustration I had with the game was the fact that you couldn’t do this when using a computer. Rabbi Stone carries around a Yiddish phrasebook, which you have to consult to figure out passwords. Given that the words were totally unfamiliar to me I had to go back and check them occasionally, which means extending sequences as you have to log out of the computer to check the phrasebook. Utterly minor, but that is the significance level of the flaws that The Shivah has.

Audio & Visual

Wadjet Eye games have a very distinct visual style, and as the first effort from the developer The Shivah is no different. For the re-release things have been given an update, with the character portraits coming in for particular attention. If you’re not a convert to this type of pixel art then this game isn’t going to convince you any different, the locations and scale of it are fairly simple.

The Kosher Edition also boasts completely new music, which is subdued and melancholy but fits the rest of the game perfectly. Voice actor Abe Goldfarb is utterly convincing as Rabbi Stone, and the rest of the cast give solid performances – the only quibble is the quality of the recordings, some of the loud moments are prone to crackle regardless of how high or low your system volume sits at.

Overall

The Shivah is a brief experience that will hit home with a very particular niche of gamer. For those that sit in that particular corner of point and click fandom it will be an enjoyable and thought provoking experience anchored by a strong and memorable main character. The art style is classic Wadjet Eye, and whilst the lack of any science fiction or fantasy stylings may make The Shivah less interesting on a visual level, it does have more emotional weight than some of it’s younger siblings. Certainly worth picking up if you are a fan of Wadjet Eye Games.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Don Bradman Cricket 14 Official trailer

Andrew Day

-

December 1, 2013

3

A few days ago, the highly anticipated Ashes Cricket 2013 was cancelled following a long and troubled development cycle. Cricket fans felt like they had been bowled out for a duck, and had no idea what the future of video gaming cricket had in store. Well, like the true Aussie legend that he is, Sir Don Bradman has come to our rescue with the upcoming Don Bradman Cricket 14.

Don Bradman Cricket 14 is being developed by Big Ant Studios and published by Tru Blu Entertainment (the two have worked on previous Aussie-sport based games such as AFL Live and Rugby League Live). Not much is known about the game, other than the fact that it will fill the void in cricket fans hearts, but today we get our first glimpse with the official trailer hitting the web.

Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think in the comments? Are you a cricketing fanatic who can’t wait to hit some digital sixes, or are you too scorned from Ashes Cricket 2013 to open yourself up to more cricketing games just yet? Let us know, and as always be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Don Bradman Cricket 14 news as it becomes available.

LocoCycle Xbox One Review

Vicky Martin

-

December 1, 2013

0

LocoCycle
Developer: Twisted Pixel Games
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Platforms: Xbox One (Reviewed) Xbox 360
Install Size: 13 GB
Release Date: November 22, 2013
Price: $19.99 – Available via the Xbox Games Store

Overview

Well known for their innovative and character-driven indie titles, Twisted Pixel Games is back on the Xbox market with their ambitious Xbox One launch title, LocoCycle. When I first heard the title ‘LocoCycle’ during the E3 announcements, I thought the game resembled a crazier version of Happy Wheels (don’t pretend like you haven’t played it at least once). Twisted Pixel Games takes both previous and next-gen players into a quirky extreme of entertainment; where the assassin motorcycle controls the Mexican mechanic. So let’s determine whether this outrageous adventure embraces a wild ride or crashes into a dead end.

Story

The story begins with an absurd live-action sequence, featuring the Chairman of Big Arms (James Gunn) celebrating the creation of two strategic AI motor vehicles with potential buyers. Here we are introduced to I.R.I.S. (Lisa Foiles) and her to-be-nemesis, S.P.I.K.E. (Robert Patrick); both sophisticated and armoured fighting motorcycles. When a storm breaks out and lightning strikes I.R.I.S, she is taken by a bodyguard to a mechanical shop for service. The Mexican, Pablo (Freddy Rodriguez) is assigned to take care of the motorcycle, and starts sweet talking to I.R.I.S. during repair; “Vamos a ver lo que está pasando en el bebé”; only to become dumbfounded by her ability to speak and understand him (and every other language that exists in the human race). I.R.I.S. tunes into a television advertisement in the shop for the Freedom Rally in Scottsburg, Indiana and forces Pablo to help her escape, by dragging him along for the ride.

As LocoCycle progresses, the story is framed through drawn-out full motion videos, revolving around the Government Agency trying to pinpoint the motorcycle’s destination by utilising S.P.I.K.E (unsurprisingly) and activating the mysterious project. As for the live-action footage, it was unclear as to how relevant each of the cut scenes were in storytelling and keeping the audience engaged. Players have the option of watching the film within the game, although the dry sense of humour throughout LocoCycle would convince them otherwise.

Gameplay

LocoCycle is built into a short singleplayer campaign and provides players with the option to go through different missions at their own pace, none of which has a level of difficulty to choose from. Players will find that the gameplay is relatively simple, quick to learn and tedious, based on the insane amount of repetition carried throughout the game. After the first, of five chapters (each with three parts), it became apparent that the gameplay style was reiterated throughout and ironically, does not offer players the room to move outside the boundaries of the game.

Players are constantly pushed forward on the road; dodging and/or destroying obstacles (vehicles, road blocks, explosives, armed agents), quick-timed events for bonus points and engaging in endless combat against agents and different types of outlandish bosses; Big Science Balls, Cruisin Bomber, Agent Vel-Fro, S.P.I.K.E. and many more. It was frustrating having to go through the same type of enemy wave in each level; especially considering there were no specified check-points to save the game.

Nevertheless, the most impressive aspect of the gameplay is the fast-paced martial arts fighting style; combining the combo attack damage of both Pablo and I.R.I.S. by using the variety of skills, such as flame mode, earned through melee and combat technique upgrades. I thought it was handy to provide players with an upgrade system after completing missions, allowing them to spend their HP on various fire weapons and boosting health and turbo, for the motorcycle and her companion.

I thought the appraisal – BEARDED, APOCALYPTIC, MINDBLOWING – for excellent hit combos, worked well as an incentive for players to do their best. Additionally, players are rated based on kills, accuracy, best combo percentage and overall grade. The purpose of this rating system is directly related to the leaderboard, for players to compare their overall scores. However, I found the achievements for exceptional performance in different levels to be more rewarding, including, ‘Back in Yo Face’, ‘Conquered Canyons’ and ‘Adio Mexico’.

Visuals

On a visual spectrum, LocoCycle uses a vibrant art and cartoonish style, that better suits the graphics quality for an Xbox 360, rather than the Xbox One. For a game that focused on travelling a great length, it was disappointing to see nothing beyond the mundane and very basic scenery through the highway, snow tracks, waterways and farmlands. The camera switching that followed I.R.I.S. and Pablo and their next human or environmental hazard was visually disorienting, particularly during combat. If Twisted Pixel spent more time on in-game visuals, than live-action footage between levels, the visual experience would be more rewarding for players.

Audio

The highlight of LocoCycle was the original music score and lead audio, conducted by Matt Chaney, a.k.a. “CHAINSAW” and the orchestration, assembled by Donald Grantham. The fast-paced and endearing soundtrack differed from Twisted Pixel’s trademark silly tracks, by taking a more serious approach to the in-game atmosphere. However, the downside was having to listen to the painful and ongoing dialogue between I.R.I.S and the wailing Mexican. Of course, players have the option to turn off the voice through settings and use subtitles instead, but it’s harder to follow the motorcycle’s objectives that way.

Overall

LocoCycle is not your average racing game, instead Twisted Pixel Games delivers players with an action packed fighting game with two unlikely characters; a Mexican mechanic and rogue motorcycle. Although the original idea is far-fetched, especially for an Xbox One launch title, it was the repetitive gameplay that triggered the downfall of LocoCycle. The game did not excel into a wild ride nor crash into a dead end, but the execution was definitely not up to the high standards for next gen consoles. I was disappointed that I could not entirely control I.R.I.S. and Pablo and make my own decisions in-game; rather I was limited to following the set path of the motorcycle to Scottsburg, Indiana. That being said, LocoCycle is a decent game that deserves a test-ride, whether that be on Xbox 360 or Xbox One is up to the players.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Ace of Diamond Episode 7 Impressions

Luke Halliday

-

December 1, 2013

0

Ace of Diamond
Episode 7 – The Two Batteries

Last time in my Ace of Diamond impressions for episode 6, I wondered who would be the man to bring out Eijun’s inner diamond – who would be the one to make him shine? Well with this episode it looks like we have our answer and his name is Chris.

After the intense game between the first years and upper classmen, talk has spread like wildfire throughout the school about some of the upstart rookies that left quite an impression. Of course the most impressive was Furuya, who was instantly placed in the first string for Seidou. But more interesting is the developments for Eijun and Haruichi, both of whom are moving up in the world, straight to the second string. Sure its not quite the first string, but Eijun definitely has a real chance to shine in second string games. He now has a platform to improve himself and his first real step towards become the Ace of Seidou.

Coach Kataoka now has his work cut out for him with two upstart pitchers both keen to become aces. He must assign them both a mentor to help them with their training. He introduces Eijun and Furuya to Chris (a second string veteran) and Kazuya (the star player of Seidou, with whom the boys are already acquainted). Eijun is dead set on Kazuya becoming his mentor, but Kataoka has other plans and much like has become the norm with Ace of Diamond, something unexpected happens – Eijun is paired with the mysterious veteran Chris.

Eijun is far from pleased and Chris isn’t exactly happy himself. We soon come to learn that Chris has quite a reputation. Chris is known as the rookie killer, why is that you may be wondering? Well it is because every player he has mentored has been ruined by his training techniques. Will Eijun be the next on the chopping block of Chris? Well that remains to be seen. My bet is that Eijun and Chris will struggle with each other’s conflicting personalities for quite some time, before ultimately finding a common ground. But this is Ace of Diamond after all, so it will most likely play out entirely different.

The thing that really defines Ace of Diamond however isn’t Eijun’s determination to be ace, it is his journey to unite a team as an ace. He wants to be the guy that brings everyone together. Characters like Chris seem to be placed in his way for him to win over. Eijun is constantly in a position of having to prove something to someone. It is a story that fits like a glove for the character of Eijun and I expect to see him unite Seidou one by one as a true ace. That is of course a long way off for Eijun, but we are seeing this journey etched out clearer and clearer with each passing episode.

Ultimately this episode marks a major step forward in Eijun’s journey and introduces a character who looks to be a major player moving forward. Chris has all the makings of a classic sports anime antagonist turned mentor and his odd couple relationship with Eijun is sure to make for some interesting viewing as the series progresses.

Ace of Diamond is definitely making a case for itself as the best sports anime this year and with emotion running high and writing this good it is hard to imagine anything coming close to the awesome watch we are getting with this anime. Each episode feels over too soon and that is the real benchmark of a great anime series, the kind of anime that you just don’t want to end, that is Ace of Diamond.

Check out more Ace of Diamond impressions HERE.

Ace of Diamond Episode 6 Impressions

Luke Halliday

-

December 1, 2013

0

Ace of Diamond
Episode 6 – Head to Head

Finally at long last, Eijun gets his opportunity to prove himself. After the long road to the mound, Eijun gets to pitch after Coach Kataoka gives him a go, after an impressive round batting. Through Eijun on the batting side of things we see that there is more to him than meets the eye. While we have seen that on the field he is hopeless besides on the mound, he proves here that he has some real meddle with a bat in his hand.

Well while in a normal match he would do pretty decently, this isn’t a normal match. Eijun and the rest of the first years are taking on the best of the best at Seidou. Eijun gets lucky and with some help from the enigmatic Haruichi, he does something that the first years have not been able to do so far the entire game: get a run. Once again Ace of Diamond defies the expectations of the viewer to great effect.

After all of that we see the kind of thing that makes sports anime so great. The triumphant moment in which Eijun gets his taste of the dream, for that short time he is the ace of the team. His curved straight pitch proves to be a surprise to the upper classmen and for the first time we see Eijun gain the recognition of his peers. It is a great moment that proves to be a satisfying pay off for the weeks of humiliating defeat that he has suffered.

Unfortunately the honeymoon is over all too soon. There is a fatal flaw in Eijun’s pitching strategy, that being that he makes all pitches a battle of power. He doesn’t pitch with a goal in mind other than overpowering his opponent. This proves to be his undoing when he comes head to head with his room mate and resident king hitter for Seidou, Asuka. In their exchange, Asuka absolutely slams the ball straight out of the park scoring himself a jaw-dropping home run.

The interesting part of this exchange isn’t Asuka defeats Eijun, but it is how Eijun responds to it. While onlookers of the game ponder if the home run has hurt Eijun’s confidence. However they are quickly silenced when it is revealed that Eijun is more motivated than ever in this total defeat. He is absolutely thumped here but it serves as a source of motivation and determination for him to improve and become a stronger player. That tells you a lot about Eijun as a player and as a character. They say that there are sore losers and even sore winners, I think Eijun is the opposite, a good loser and a good winner. That is perhaps his defining trait, a defeat to him is a lesson learned. On the flipside to Eijun a victory is the pay off of the lessons learned. It is a very interesting development for Eijun and definitely one that defines him as a passionate good sport through and through. That is the Ace of Diamond way!

The direction from here is anyone’s guess, but I think that Coach Kataoka’s comments at the end of the episode will play a big part in the future of Eijun as a player. Kataoka describes him as a baby who has just learned baseball. There are a number of ways to take this, but I personally see Kataoka looking to want to see Eijun mature into a man. He definitely sees something special in Eijun, but right now he is still a diamond in the rough waiting for some shine. That brings us to the question, who is the man to bring out Eijun’s inner diamond? I don’t think we will have to wait too long to find out.

Check out more Ace of Diamond impressions HERE.

Capsule Computers Indie Build-a-Bundle is Live

Jamie Laike Tsui

-

December 1, 2013

0

The Capsule Computers Indie Bundle is live in a brand new format. For the first time ever, buyers can build their own Capsule Computers Indie Bundle from a choice of eight fantastic games. Each game starts at a minimum of $0.75 and at least two games must be purchased. Buyers can select from:

Spaceforce Constellations
Uprising 44: The Silent Shadows
Tommy Tronic
SlideTapPop
Xotic
Power of Defense
Non Flying Soldiers
Jelly All Stars

In addition, four games will be unlocked as bonuses as bundle sales goals are reached. Only one title, Dead Hungry Diner, has been revealed at this time. Like every Capsule Computers Indie Bundle, a portion of the profits goes to support the Australian Red Cross.

Warcraft Film Pushed Back To 2016

Roger Ma

-

December 1, 2013

0

If you’ve ever wanted to see the world of Warcraft on the silver screen then you’ll have to wait a bit longer, as the much-fabled and rumoured Warcraft film adaptation has been moved till 2016 at the latest.

Directed by Duncan Jones (Moon and Source Code), Legendary Pictures’ Warcraft was to be released on December 18, 2015. However, that’s also the same day as Star Wars: Episode VII’s release date. And to avoid much competition between the two blockbuster films, Universal Pictures has decided to move Warcraft to March 11, 2016.

If Warcraft fans have waited this long for a Warcraft film, then we’re pretty sure another three more months won’t be that bad. Check out the official tweet from the Warcraft twitter sent out today.

Release date for WARCRAFT from @Legendary Pictures released by @UniversalPics is moving from December 18, 2015, to March 11, 2016.
— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) November 27, 2013

Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess Review

Travis Bruno

-

December 1, 2013

2

Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Publisher: FUNimation
Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
Release Date: December 10, 2013
Price: $34.98 – Available Here

Overview
Usually six years after their creation most shōnen series would have already spawned a few movies during that time frame. However unlike other titles, Fairy Tail has only been given one anime movie at the moment, with even Toriko featuring more movie releases. However quantity rarely equals quality and now that the first and currently only Fairy Tail movie, Phoenix Priestess, is coming to North America, is it worth picking up?

Story
Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess begins with a ritual being held at a place called the Fire Village where two halves of a powerful magic relic called the Phoenix Stone is being protected. During the course of the ritual the village comes under attack by an unknown force of soldiers who annihilate nearly everyone in the village with only a priestess managing to escape with half of the Phoenix Stone after the village chief sacrificed himself for her.

We then join the signature Fairy Tail team: Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Wendy, and the cats, as they are attempting to catch the leader of a bandit group. After failing to do so and preparing to get a scolding from the guild master, Lucy encounters a woman with a strange bird that suddenly passes out near her. The woman’s name is Éclair and she has been suffering from a case of amnesia as long as she can remember, with only her Momon, the odd looking bird, to keep her company and take care of her.

After listening to her story, the Fairy Tail guild offers to help her in any way possible, which she reluctantly agrees to since she has a disdain for all mages and magic. After part of her amnesia clears, she realizes her purpose and that she still carries one half of the Phoenix Stone and as she slowly begins to reveal the purpose behind the stone and her past, the small nation of Veronica has hired a dark guiled named Carbuncle to take the stone from her at any cost.

With Éclair’s past coming into focus and the true meaning of the Phoenix Stone revealed, the Fairy Tail members must travel to Veronica to save their friend and also put a stop to a force capable of eliminating all life on the planet, whatever the cost.

Many shōnen movie plots either involve poorly developed villains or a story that barely is worth paying attention to, leaving only the most die-hard fans wanting to see their favorite characters in action. Thankfully Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess doesn’t suffer either of these problems. While there is indeed an enemy force to be taken down, the enemy is far from a mastermind but the eventual force that springs up from his plans serves as a suitable creature that needs everyone to band together and take it down and the emotional outcome from its defeat is certainly memorable.

It also helps that while this tale involves most of the Fairy Tail guild, members of a new guild called Carbuncle, Éclair, and the land of Veronica, the character development focuses entirely on Éclair and Lucy. The two become friends and Éclair learns to trust mages even while Lucy does everything she can to protect her which leaves most of the cast as minor side-characters that help drive the action along.

Continuity can be a difficult thing with anime movies based off of long running series. However that isn’t an issue as far as Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess goes. Instead it features another issue that people only following the English release of the anime and not the English manga or legal streams will experience. You see, Phoenix Priestess takes place after a number of significant events take place in the main Fairy Tail storyline which not only sees a few characters, such as Lisanna and Gajeel’s partner Panther Lily introduced to fans ahead of time and the return of Laxus to the Fairy Tail guild.

Despite the time-line issue, Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess has everything a fan of the series would want from a movie storyline. Not only is Lucy given more emotional development from her interactions with Éclair but many members of the cast also receive their time in the spotlight. Erza faces off against an opponent with similar skills, Natsu and Gajeel take on powerful opponents, though Gajeel’s opponent immediately feels mismatched, and Gray and Juvia work together to take down an enemy all while numerous pieces of comedy drop here and there to break up the action and drama of the story.

Visuals
While I’ve never been one to complain about the magic circles that appear during the normal Fairy Tail anime, this movie has probably spoiled that for me. Throughout the entirety of the film all of the magic being performed, both by new wizards and old, is done without the use of the CG magic circle and it actually helps make the fights flow better and all of the action appear more fast paced since there no longer is a pause between moves.

The overall artwork in the movie appears a little bit better than your standard anime episode, with a softer color palette this time, a few sequences which look amazing, and even a fair amount of blood shed, but there are a number of times that the animation quality nosedives in mid-distance shots. It is also worth noting that since the movie also takes place post time-skip, a few character designs have been changed and the newly introduced Panther Lily also makes an appearance in both his standard and combat forms.

Audio
As is standard with a release from FUNimation, both the original Japanese voice track as well as the newly recorded English dub are available in the release of Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess. Considering the time-line from the movie, this is the first time that viewers will hear the English voice of Panther Lily which is handled by Rick Keeling. Rick handles the voice well and although Lisanna also appears in the movie, she only has one line.

The rest of the English cast has retained their roles and provide an admirable job with their voice work while Éclair’s voice is handled wonderfully by Jessica Calvello. The basic background music in the movie uses a number of standard themes that Fairy Tail fans have come to know and love and as for the opening and ending theme, we have “200 Miles” by Jang Keun-suk and “Zutto Kitto” by Aya Hirano, the Japanese voice actress of Lucy.

Extras
For Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess we have a standard set of bonus features which include a textless opening theme and closing theme, with the closing theme being the end of the movie, the original trailer for the movie, the US trailer, and trailers for other FUNimation anime.

The only other bonus feature happens to be Fairy Tail the Movie, Prologue: “The First Morning” which is a twelve minute long episode that explains how Éclair and her bird companion Momon met. Sadly this bonus feature is provided with Japanese voice work only as an English dub was not recorded, which is an odd decision.

Overall
Despite the issues of introducing characters out of sequence, Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess offers an enjoyable side-story with everyone’s favorite cast of characters that not only sees them facing off against some new opponents but also provides an emotional final battle to close out the film. Thanks to the removal of the magic circles, the combat has never looked better and any fan of Fairy Tail would be doing themselves a disservice if they choose to pass this up.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Little Bit Evil Review

Matthew Vella

-

December 1, 2013

0

Little Bit Evil Review
Publisher: CP Decision
Developer: Crazy Panda Games
Platforms: iPhone (reviewed), iPad
Release Date: 18/11/2013
Price: $1.99 (Available Here)

Overview

It’s been a while since I’ve played a fun tower defence title on iOS, so thankfully Little Bit Evil has arrived to quench my thirst. Featuring some adorable graphics and a lengthy, challenging campaign, Russian developer Crazy Panda Games has a top quality game on their hands! While not perfect, Little Bit Evil is a strong recommend to strategy fans looking for great time waster on their mobile devices.

Gameplay

Little Bit Evil isn’t an extremely technical tower defence title, but it’s not too casual either, maintaining a nice balance welcoming to all types of players. It’s gameplay is as traditional as it can be, where players must build towers in particular areas to stop hordes of enemies reaching the goal you must protect. By killing opponents you gain souls, which can be spent on upgrading your towers during combat to assist you. A nice touch included is that by collecting currency from victories, players can also permanently upgrade the stats of their towers, making them stronger than they normally would be. This adds a nice RPG element into the mix and another layer of strategy to give players an edge in combat, and players will need all the help they can get as difficulty is intense. Levels are rather lengthy with huge amounts of waves per battle, as your opponents aim to make it a war of attrition to slowly wear you out. However it seldom feels like it’s impossible, so fighting for your life doesn’t seem so bad. Furthermore special moves are included to you are able to personally contribute to combat via lighting strikes and calling out a massive hulkish demon that a “little bit evil” itself. Levels introduce new enemies with information to mix things up, but it should be noted that the game doesn’t explain itself very well, making it an experience where you need to teach yourself for the most part, which isn’t that hard as most things are self explanatory. Still, it could be something to consider improving. Besides the additional challenge modes added to each level, there’s nothing more to say about Little Bit Evil. Controls are simple and work fine and it plays exactly as you’d imagine it would. It isn’t entirely creative, but it doesn’t aim to be incredibly unique either. It’s just a solid game that plays good. Simple, but good.

Audio & Visual

Little Bit Evil is charming, filled with charisma with engaging graphics to entertain the player. However, animations can be choppy and don’t always flow as well. A small, nit-picking problem I personally found is the character designs don’t really suit the characters. What I’m referring to is you play as the trolls/orcs/monsters/whatever you want to call them, while you fight a bunch of clumsy, chubby, non-threatening humans. While designs all look great and adorable, there is no fear or threat from the people you must mindlessly slaughter which is a massively missed opportunity for the game. Audio is also a bit of downer, with a cringe-worthy theme song in the intro and a soundtrack that doesn’t loop very well at all. It feels as if Crazy Panda cut corners here, as making a looping soundtrack really would’ve been a lot better, as the awkwardly faded out songs with silence between the tracks can really lower the adrenaline of a match. Voice overs are great and sound effects convey the action well, but sadly the soundtrack doesn’t reach the same standard.

Overall

Little Bit Evil is a simple and fun tower defence title. Gameplay is straight forward and fun, but also challenging. Visuals are cute and controls are solid, but sadly the soundtrack, confusing concept of character design and presentation of tutorials let it down a little. Regardless, Little Bit Evil still stands as a good example of strategy gaming on iOS devices and is definitely worth picking up if you’re into the genre.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.