Microsoft has a little bit of sports celebrity star power on their side in the newest commercial for the Xbox One. The commercial features professional football (soccer) player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who previously declared himself the ambassador of Xbox One to France on Twitter earlier this month.
The commercial is of course made for a French audience, so all the dialogue is in French, but fans can still enjoy seeing Zlatan face off against a young fan in FIFA 14 on the Xbox One. The Xbox One Ambassador or #TheOne wouldn’t be complete without a high backed chair and embroidered jacket either. Those wanting to see if for themselves can check it out embedded below.
Sony has released a new trailer today showing off a bit more of the features that PlayStation fans can enjoy when using the PS4 and PS Vita together. Calling the two systems “Perfect Partners”, the video goes over just how much PS4 owners with a PS Vita can do from the handheld. Keeping up with friends with voice chat and checking out PS4 trophies, in addition to playing the console’s games remotely the duo offers something only they can do the other consoles this generation can’t.
Certainly providing a unique experience, it works out well for those already having a PS Vita when they picked up a PS4. Whether already having both or just having one or the other be sure to check out the trailer embedded below to see what they can do together. Don’t forget that PlayStation Plus works across both the PS Vita and PS4, as well as the PS3.
Grab all the Rewards! – InnoGames Introduces Major Holiday Events!
Forge of Empires, Grepolis, The West and Tribal Wars dish out presents like there’s no tomorrow
Hamburg, November 29, 2013. Today,InnoGames announced several in-game holiday events, launching the festive season and bringing new challenges and many bonuses to the virtual worlds of Grepolis, Forge of Empires, The West and Tribal Wars. Forge of Empires and Grepolis will already start their events this Sunday, providing bonuses and rewards for the coming weeks.
In Forge of Empires, Frosty the snowman returns, bringing several quests with him – all revolving around creating a festive spirit for the cities’ population. Each day he presents a new quest to the players. Solving these results in stars as rewards, which can in turn be used to open presents. All presents contain gifts for players, but some even unlock completely new buildings, decorations and Player Avatars.
In Grepolis, the goddess of luck, Tyche, made a calendar and erected a beautiful tree for players to decorate – a decoration can be unlocked daily by opening a window in Tyche’s calendar and spinning the holiday wheel of fortune. Also, the Greek goddess will bestow numerous mighty boosts upon those who spin the wheel, from an increased recruitment speed to a massive cost decrease for city festivals.
Fans of the West will especially celebrate on the 19th of December, which is the day the holiday shop opens. Many unique sets can be picked up there, including several entirely new ones – and players can freely decide whether they want to spend nuggets or their hard-earned dollars.
Finally, the lands of Tribal Wars will receive special visitors later in December – mysterious travelers have set up shop and they are looking to trade their valuable goods. Players might profit heavily from peaceful trade relations. But they might also try and attack the heavily fortified merchant’s posts.
With about 110 million registered players, InnoGames is one of the world’s leading developers and providers of online games. The Hamburg-based company has scored major successes with games such as Tribal Wars, The West and Grepolis.
Power Rangers Megaforce was announced way back in April and now today it is finally available in Europe and Australia for Nintendo 3DS. Coming from Namco Bandai, Power Rangers Megaforce puts the players into the role of the heroes as they level up on their way to stopping the Warstar aliens.
In honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise, Power Rangers Megaforce also lets players unlock skins of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. So those wanting to take part in taking on and defeating the Warstar aliens, can find Power Rangers Megaforce on Nintendo 3DS in both retail stores and digital download from the Nintendo e-Shop.
Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage is billed as a Wuxia tale from Beijing based indie developers S-Game. The 2D platformer draws inspiration from Asian martial arts tales and Japanese hack ‘n slash games to create an intense combo based experience. Players will control two skilled swordsmen as they fight their way to eliminate the shadowy organization known as Mirage.
Story
Soul and Shang are two sword wielding assassins who are part of the mysterious organization called “Cabal.” They have been sent to follow the steps of their fallen comrade Jade and eliminate Mirage, the organization Jade was investigating before his untimely death. Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage’s story is told through cut scenes and a few short in-game conversations. All of the voice acting is done in Mandarin with English subtitles. The translations are extremely rough, with poor grammar, some bad translations, and very little literary style. The plot is rather confusing and forgettable for the most part. I struggled to figure out what was going on until the last three levels of the game. Things definitely became much easier to grasp and more interesting during those last few levels. The story may be more captivating for those who understand Mandarin, but for English speakers, this is definitely not a game to play for the story.
Gameplay
Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage is a 2d action platformer with a focus on long chain kills. Players will try to build long enough chain attacks that will outpace the depletion rate of the Coolness meter. Once it hits S rank, players will be able to attack enemies for gold currency that can be traded in for a variety of other currencies in game. These can be spent on new skills, items, and upgrades. There are a lot of things to purchase and rewards are based on skill and difficulty level, so it is rather unlikely that the player will be able to purchase everything on the first play through. There are four difficulty levels in game. The game has a steady rise in difficulty level as the game progresses.
Players will play Soul, a heavy brawler who is capable of teleporting short distances to avoid attacks, and Shang, a light and agile fighter capable of summoning Kee Swords to protect him and do ranged damage. In single player, Soul and Shang can be tagged in and out which will allow players to choose the best play style for the situation. Soul and Shang handle differently enough that it is in the best interest of the player to swap them in and out as needed. Some modes like Tower, Boss Rush, and Duel can be played with two players locally with either two people sharing the keyboard or some combination of controllers and keyboards. Disappointingly, Story Mode can only be played in single player.
Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage is currently rated on Steam with full controller support, which is a bit liberal on the definition of “full controller support.” I find the menus rather difficult to navigate with the controller and sometimes the controller does not work at all. The store menu is probably the worst menu to navigate due to its tightly packed nature. Other than problems with the menu, I find the game’s controls to work very well and they are easily customized.
The menus are mostly translated. There is one point at the end of the game where the screen prompt to move in and out of the cabins are still in Simplified Chinese characters. There is a light attack icon beside the label, so it is possible to figure out what the game is asking the player to press.
Visuals
Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage is a pretty game. The Beijin based developers infuse the visuals with a hearty dose of Chinese influence. Although there are several standard enemy types, almost each level has their own variant of the enemies, from masked assassins to chainsaw wielding robots. Shang is very easy to discern in a big brawl with his purple clothing and bright yellow Kee swords. However, I found myself visually losing track of Soul in several levels as his clothes share a similar colour palette as most of the enemies in game.
Audio
Unfortunately, not being fluent in Mandarin means I cannot fairly comment on the quality of voice acting in Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage. The sound effects are rather average with some excellent effects and some very poor effects. The footsteps sound very awkward, but are often overpowered by the sound of carnage and death. It appears that each character has only one or two really noticeable grunt of exertion while fighting, which becomes really obvious during combat.
On the other hand, the music in Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage is fantastic. It is an intense and frantic listening experience that compliments the gameplay nicely. The soundtrack sounds like a Kung Fu movie soundtrack was thrown in a jar with a classic arcade fighting game soundtrack and vigorously mixed.
Overall
Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage is a good title, but it has its flaws. The translation is flaky, the story is rather forgettable, and the sound effects could use some work. However, it makes up for its shortcomings with solid gameplay, beautiful visuals, and an excellent soundtrack. Any gamer who is willing to look over the story and focus on the gameplay will be rewarded with a great experience.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview
There is a certain timelessness about the works of Osamu Tezuka that transcends all boundaries. The creations of Tezuka are universal in their messages and appeal to all walks of life with their resonance. Princess Knight is one of Tezuka’s best works and in this second part of the legendary anime series, things pick up right where they left off in part one. Sapphire now must face the consequences of the truth she has bared her entire life, the fact that she was born a girl in a man’s world. It is a tale that was far ahead of its time, one that has become timeless. This is Princess Knight.
Story
The truth has been revealed and the kingdom has fallen into the dastardly clutches of the villainous Duke. Sapphire was revealed to not be the prince that the kingdom knew her to be, but rather she is a princess. This story arc dives deep into the pain of being a girl in this man’s world. She looks to spark a revolution and overturn tradition and ultimately Princess Sapphire becomes the heroine that we always knew she could be.
She dons the persona of the Phantom Knight, a mysterious vigilante rebelling against the Duke. Through the Phantom Knight we see the Princess Knight series veer into darker territory, dealing with identity and the role that gender plays in it for Sapphire.
What is most compelling about Princess Knight however is the way in which Tezuka tackles gender equality. Sapphire doesn’t view herself as anything less than equal and it makes her all the more stronger for it. She is proactive in her efforts to bring about a change in the thinking of the kingdom and goes the extra mile to prove that gender doesn’t mean anything and it certainly doesn’t make you who you are or define who you can be.
Tezuka’s thoughts and concepts found in Princess Knight would no doubt have been somewhat controversial back when it was first released. In this series you can undoubtedly see where many other anime series would later draw inspiration from. Sapphire is a strong protagonist that earns her respect and place in the world through sheer determination and belief in herself and her own personal identity.
For what is ultimately a children’s anime programme, Princess Knight does tackle some heavy subjects, but it does so in a way that is subtle. It never comes off as in-your-face or forced upon viewers, instead it simply underpins the lighter portions of the series and makes for some nice layers to the story that Tezuka is weaving.
Princess Knight is clearly a very influential anime series and this second part kicks things up a notch by taking the foundations laid in part one and taking them to greater heights. The story telling is impeccable and the characterization is highly detailed and rich with life. This is a series that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, it is universal in its message and immortal in its heart.
Visuals and Audio
The animation has obviously aged over all these years and it does show in this release. While there are some stretches of episodes that can be rather choppy here and there, it is by and large a brilliant restoration release that maintains this landmark anime series for modern audiences, serving as a window into anime’s past. It is far from the quality that anime fans would expect from their modern anime but if you go in with an open mind you may just find the old-school aesthetics have quite a lot of charm to them.
Princess Knight’s soundtrack is great to say the very least. It is tonally on point and adds atmosphere and tension in all the right places. Much like the previous part’s release this one is English dub only and does feature some shonky performances at times, but for the most part it is a pretty solid effort and gets the job done well enough.
Extras
Hanabee Entertainment have done a great job with their part two release of Princess Knight by compiling a total of 26 episodes on this 5 disc collection. On top of that they have featured a number of on disc bonus content such as a line art gallery, trailers and a very special Japanese langauge pilot episode for the series (English subtitled of course). There is a lot of history in this release and it is a dead set collector’s item for any hardcore Tezuka fan.
Overall Princess Knight part two takes the series to greater heights than ever before, tackling some hard topics all the while expanding upon its world and characters in superb fashion. The mind of Osamu Tezuka is without a doubt an intriguing one and the universe he has created with Princess Knight is one that you won’t be able to keep your eyes off of.
There is a reason why Osamu Tezuka’s works are considered to be anime classics. It is because Tezuka is a very special creator with a vision that is more often than not far ahead of his time. Princess Knight is one such series. The concept and characters are so well defined yet the story surrounding them is one that rings true in the modern day just as well as it would in any era. Timeless in a way that few could ever dream of.
If it’s a look into the past of the anime medium you’re after or merely a fun old school romp, Princess Knight is the perfect choice. There is so much to love about this series and its message. It is all about being who you want to be, not who the world thinks you should be. I think that in one way or another, everyone can relate to that ideal. That is why Princess Knight is universal and that is why this anime is legendary.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Australia’s PlayStation 4 launch has become even bigger following Pizza Hut’s announcement that 660 PS4 consoles will be given away over the course of the month, every hour starting this Tuesday at 4pm, December 3. Not only that, but winners will receive one of the following games of their choice: Drive Club, Knack or Killzone: Shadow Fall. We assume Drive Club will be given when it’s released, seeing as it was delayed until 2014.
To enter the draw to win, all hopefuls have to do is order a large pizza and cross your fingers. Most Australian retailers are completely sold out until 2014, so this is a chance to get one before Christmas.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer Pizza Hut customers the best chance of winning a PS4 in time for Christmas. Each entry will be valid for 24 hours, or 24 draws, so the chance of winning remains high. We are expecting thousands of entries so get your orders in,” says Fatima Syed, Head of Marketing at Pizza Hut.
Custom designed pizza boxes celebrating the PS4 promotion will contain a competition sticker and a unique code. Visit the Pizza Hut website, enter your details and the code from the box to register a chance to win. The hourly draws commence at 4:00pm on December 3 until 3:00am December 31.
Are you ready to enter the wonderful world on Mario? Well it is time for gamers all around the world to once again go wild in the Mushroom Kingdom with the imminent release of Super Mario 3D World tomorrow exclusively for the Wii U.
Super Mario 3D World has all the critics raving across the globe, with many calling it Mario biggest comeback to date, with some brand new innovative gameplay bringing Mario and friends into the next generation of gaming.
In anticipation of tomorrow’s release of Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo have dropped some assets for the game which you can check out in the gallery below. Featured in the gallery is official artwork for the game as well the game’s boxart and logo.
Be sure to pick up the superb Super Mario 3D World tomorrow and get ready for the wild ride of fun, thrills and adventure that awaits you.
Madman Entertainment have just officially announced the acquisition of the anime adaptation of the cult-classic action video-game Bayonetta. The anime adaptation is title Bayonetta: Bloody Fate and focuses on the lost memories of Bayonetta and the bloody fate that awaits her.
Madman confirmed that they plan to bring the anime to Australia and New Zealand in 2014. However no exact details on their release plans have been outlined at this point in time. Full details on the release are expected to come in the near future so stay tuned for further updates on Madman’s release of Bayonetta: Bloody Fate as it emerges.
Namco Bandai Games is ready to let their cosmos burn with the first batch of DLC for Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers having just launched. The DLC will introduce a new level of customization for player’s Saints. The ‘Power of Gold’ set allows several of the Bronze Saints to become Gold Saints such as Seiya, Ikki, Shun, Hyoga and Shiryu. Not only that but there is the ‘Greece Costume Set’ which brings in even more alternate costumes for the Saints.
The game features the expansive cast set to appear in this Saint Seiya fighting game. Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers is set to feature a total of 50 characters. The game is exclusive to the PlayStation 3 console. Be sure to pick up the DLC now for some brand new costumes for your favourite Saints!
