First Wave of TV & Entertainment Apps Coming to Xbox One Unveiled
11 November 2013, SYDNEY AUSTRALIA: Microsoft Australia announced the first wave of entertainment app partners coming to Xbox One in Australia.
The line-up includes a combination of local content providers, international apps and Microsoft created apps, coming to Australia between launch on November 22 and Autumn 2014.
The local apps launching on the platform will be Network Ten’s tenplay, SBS ON DEMAND and Quickflix, with Xbox also confirming availability of a series of global apps available in Australia including TED, MUZU TV, Twitch, Crackle and Machinima.
In addition to the entertainment apps coming from partners, Xbox One will also feature Xbox Fitness, Xbox Video, Xbox Music, Internet Explorer, Skype, SkyDrive and Upload.
Jeremy Hinton, Interactive Entertainment Business Lead, Microsoft Australia said: “Xbox One is designed to be the centre of the living room experience with gaming, television and entertainment. That’s only possible with great content, and we are thrilled to have such a strong line- up of local and international content available at launch in Australia.”
The launch of Network Ten’s tenplay app on Xbox One is part of Ten’s TV Everywhere strategy and represents another step in Ten’s digital evolution. The tenplay app – which is already available on web, mobile, tablets and smart TVs – will provide Xbox One users with access to Ten’s new, best-in-class catch-up video platform and unique live streaming experiences.
Rebekah Horne, Network Ten’s Chief Digital Officer, said: “tenplay has been a hit with consumers since it launched in late September this year and we are delighted to be able to offer Xbox One users the tenplay experience. From November 22, anyone with an Xbox One console will be able to enjoy all their favourite Network Ten shows.”
“All the entertainment apps coming to Xbox One will be integrated into the OneGuide, a personalised experience to view Xbox One content. With the power of Kinect, people will be able to use the improved Kinect sensor to their television experience with the sound of their voice or gesture commands,” said Jeremy.
SBS ON DEMAND, SBS’s dedicated catch-up viewing service, will be completely integrated throughout the Xbox One platform.
SBS Chief Digital Officer, Marshall Heald, said: “Xbox One provides SBS with a great new opportunity to provide our audiences with on demand access to all their favourite SBS shows. Coupled with our recently unveiled 2013-2014 programming line-up that features more thought-provoking, powerful and daring commissioned content than ever before SBS continues to demonstrate its leadership as an innovative multi-platform broadcaster.”
The Quickflix app will provide the latest blockbuster movies and television shows, often fast tracked from the US, direct to the Xbox One.
Stephen Langsford, CEO, Quickflix said: “The Xbox One is a great audience fit for Quickflix content and love the unique elements of the Xbox One, allowing people to multi task, take Skype calls and snap content while experiencing their favourite movie or TV show,”
“The strength of our local entertainment offering shows Microsoft’s dedication to providing Australians with a premium experience at launch, where they will be able to make the most of unique features like HDMI pass through, Skype on the big screen, instant switching through local and international content and all a simple voice command away. These entertainment apps are going to be totally new experiences for Australians when they see how they work with Xbox One,” said Jeremy.
The new generation console launches on November 22 in Australia.
JOIN BEST BUDS MORDECAI AND RIGBY IN THEIR VERY OWN 8-BIT VIDEO GAME ADVENTURE IN REGULAR SHOW: MORDECAI AND RIGBY IN 8-BIT LAND
Video Game is Based on the Emmy® Award-Winning Animated Comedy From Cartoon Network
Sydney Australia – November 11th 2013 – D3Publisher (D3P) and Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE) today announced Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit Land is now available in Australia and New Zealand exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS™ system in its first foray into the video game world. Developed by WayForward, in close collaboration with the show’s creator JG Quintel, Mordecai and Rigby prove that a day in the life of Regular Show is anything but.
In Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit Land, best buds Mordecai and Rigby get transported into a variety of mysterious video games, where they’ll have to use their best skills and unique abilities to traverse the various challenges to escape and get back home in this brand-new ‘eggscellent’ journey. This hi-jinx filled adventure is packed with action platforming, side-scroller space shooting, old-school top down video game mania, and comes fully loaded with fan-favorite characters and humor from the show.
“With Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit Land, our sister company, D3Publisher, and WayForward have created an incredibly fun and awesome experience for fans of all ages” said Mathieu Piau, EMEA Marketing Director for NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe. “As the game captures the essence of Cartoon Network’s TV series Regular Show, it will allow players to follow a hilarious story and its characters, created by the very talented JG Quintel”.
Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit Land is now available in Australia and New Zealand for the Nintendo 3DS™ system.
If you would like a review code for Nintendo Shop for Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit Land on Nintendo 3DS, please respond to this email.
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About NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S.
NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S., part of NAMCO BANDAI Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive content for platforms including all major video game consoles and PC, with marketing and sales operations in 50 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australasia. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises, including PAC-MAN™, Tekken™, SOULCALIBUR™, NARUTO™, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, Dragon Ball®, GALAGA™, RIDGE RACER™ and ACE COMBAT™. More information about the company and its products can be found at http://www.namcobandaigames.eu or www.facebook.com/namcobandaigames.europe.
About Cartoon Network Enterprises
Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE) is responsible for building consumer products and merchandising programs for a wide range of brands by securing and supporting long-term licensing partnerships across all categories. As the global branding and merchandising arm of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, the division manages the consumer product programs for the networks’ award-winning original programming, brands and characters including Ben 10, Adventure Time, Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball, The Powerpuff Girls, Adult Swim and more. CNE also serves as the exclusive global licensing agent for LazyTown Entertainment and the PGA of America for the youth marketplace.
Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com) is the #1 U.S. television network among boys 6-11. Currently seen in 99 million U.S. homes and 194 countries around the world, Cartoon Network is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s ad-supported cable service now available in HD offering the best in original, acquired and classic entertainment for kids and families. In addition to Emmy-winning original programming and industry-leading digital apps and online games, Cartoon Network embraces key social issues affecting families with solution-oriented initiatives such as Stop Bullying: Speak Up and the Move It Movement.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.
About D3Publisher
D3Publisher is a leading worldwide publisher of interactive entertainment software for all platforms, including console and handheld gaming systems, personal computers, smartphones, and tablets. The company also owns development studio Vicious Cycle Software, Inc., and its technology platform, Vicious Engine 2™. For more information about D3Publisher and its products, please visit: www.d3publisher.us.
Some information regarding Attack On Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind’s DLC have been released and it seems as though players will be able to take control of Captain Levi alongside Eren, Mikasa and Armin. It will be called the “Levi Route” and will put you in the shoes of the fearless captain as you play through the same story but from his point of view. Not only that but once you’ve finished his storyline you can then use him within the multi-player mode. he is said to have special weapons and parts that come along with his character and those are also usable. We’ve known all along that Levi would jump in as a playable character in some way or another, he’s crucial to the story and he’s a fan favourite that I couldn’t imagine being left behind, what’s funny is that Spike Chunsoft have also stated that part of his gameplay will involve cleaning in some way. I don’t know about all of you but I’m looking forward to that the most!
– The Only Screenshot From The DLC Released –
Alongside the release of this little snippet of information came the release of another promotional video for the game. I have had my doubts about this game ever since it came out but the extra little bits of gameplay that you can see in the video are, somewhat, warming me up to the game. The footage shows the ability to ride a horse outside of the safe walls as you can jump back and forth fro the horse, killing Titans in between. It has also shown footage of Eren’s Titan transformation so it seems like his Titan form also makes a playable appearance even if it is for a short while. The game is set for release, in Japan, on the 5th of December on the 3DS and there’s still no word of a Western release but for now enjoy the Promo Trailer.
Hajime No Ippo – Rising Episode 6 – The Distance Between Me And Glory
The episode where it all comes to an end, the fight that is, and I never expected it to go down quite the way it did. We’re met with Aoki’s “Frog Jump” from the last episode just to put it all back in perspective for those viewers who had forgotten how exactly the last episode ended. This episode was actually fairly dull, nothing much happened visually yet so much actually happened, it all makes sense in context though so it wasn’t exactly a flop of an episode.
Both Aoki and Imae are done, neither one was making much ground over the other and they weren’t exactly standing their ground either, they were just…there, “duking” it out in the middle of the ring, they no longer had the energy to punch, at this point in time all they were doing was slapping each other. There were some big hits sprayed out across the length of the episode but, for the most part, it was a lethargic crawl to the finish line and it wasn’t looking good for either of them.
The episode had a fair bit of metaphorical explanation throughout, it had flashbacks to Aoki’s past as well as a big flash back to Imae’s and it was all done to bring the fight to a nice close. The women once again made an appearance as a source of power for both of these men and I think they went about transitioning into it was really slick and really smooth. Aoki, for the third time in this match, went for his “look away” technique where in which, if you don’t know, he literally looks away from the ring in an attempt to have the opponent do the same so that he can take advantage of their averted gaze.
Aoki leans back and looks to the side of the ring but this time Imae doesn’t go along with it despite the fact that his natural reactions are leading him that way, the crowd is stunned to see that Imae has kept his focus on the ring, at least, that’s what they thought had happened. In true Hajime No Ippo fashion, the humour mixes in with the fighting in a fairly subtle way but you get the idea that Aoki is just trying everything he can at this point to win, even if it’s more of the same tricks.
For most of the match Imae’s focus has been on his opponent but in this particular instance it seems as though Aoki moved in such a way that a full view of Imae’s ex-girlfriend Sachiko could be seen out in the crowd watching the fight, if it wasn’t for her being there, Imae would’ve succumbed to Aoki’s tricks once again. Despite the fact that Imae doesn’t look away, Aoki being the idiot that he is, still crouches into the “Frog Jump” position and goes for it!
This time, though, Imae dodges and, while Aoki is flying through the air, beats him down with one swift punch to the ribs. The flashback showing Imae and Sachiko’s relationship earlier on in the episode was very interesting; basically it showed the two in high-school as Imae defends Sachiko who is being teased for the way that she looks, he swears to become strong enough to protect her but, over the years, his need for strength to protect actually took over his life more than his relationship with her resulting in their inevitable breakup. This was highlighted once again as Imae noticed her in the crowd.
The fight continues on slowly, both men now have a woman to fight for and neither of them will give up. It becomes a battle of sheer will by the end of the fight and, oddly enough, it ends without a knock-out. They make it to ten rounds where in which it is left up to the judges to select a winner by points alone. In the end it ended up being a tie between the two combatants, something that I never saw coming, which means that the belt never changes hands and Imae stays the champion.
I though it was a fresh take on this type of Anime, there was no actual winner, the fighters were on par and it just so happened that, by default, the champion kept his belt. It was a nice ending though because both fighters intended to destroy the other with both of them thinking they were better than the other, it crushed the both of them yet built up their spirits to know that they stood on equal ground, it was just a fantastic way to end it.
They came “full circle” with the lovers of the fighters being reintroduced as reasons for fighting on which made the episode where they featured to actually be of great service to the Anime, had they left that aspect of the fight at episode four it would have been a waste of a small arc but they brought it back and made it relevant again, it was a big issue for both fighters so it’s great to see that they didn’t let it go to waste. Fantastic fight, fantastic boxers and still a fantastic Anime. Here’s hoping that Takamura makes his fighting début in this season within the coming episodes! That’s my hope for the next couple of weeks. Check out more Hajime No Ippo – Rising Impressions HERE.
Garfield has been around for many many years at this point in time and, like a great deal of the older franchises, it seems as though developers and publishers from all around the world intend to keep these old flames burning brighter than ever. Sometimes it works and sometimes it just doesn’t, either way these types of games are constantly in circulation. Garfield Kart is one of these games and it actually isn’t as bad as originally perceived, it isn’t the most outstanding game but it isn’t a sorry excuse for one either, it walks a very, very fine line.
Gameplay
Garfield Kart is your typical smartphone racing game, it really doesn’t do anything to revolutionize the racing genre but I never really expected it to do so anyway. It’s easy and simple to play and you can really pick it up at any free moment for a race. The kart is controlled by the tilt of your mobile device but it can be changed so that you use on-screen arrows to direct your vehicle, I chose to stay with the tilt and, once I altered the sensitivity, I was a demon on the racetrack. Alongside the steering is a button to skid, this helps you drift around tight turns and actually gives you a speed boost which is in direct correlation to the amount of time you spent in a drift, that alone makes gameplay a great deal more enjoyable.
You collect power-ups that can be shot backwards and forwards as well as certain items which give you a speed boost or a shield, the game is very reminiscent of Mario Kart because, fundamentally, that is exactly what it is. It almost feels like a mobile port of Mario Kart at times and with the name Garfield Kart I’m not sure who exactly they’re fooling. There are a great deal of tracks, characters, karts and equip-able items to keep you going with the game for a very long time but, unfortunately, they are unlocked with in-game money which you collect on the track, it’s not that they give you a money prize at the end of the race, you’re forced to collect coins from around the track. I found this to be unfair considering that, in single player mode, other drives could pick up your money, coins do not re-spawn on the track so once you’ve lost them they’re not coming back until you restart the race.
This made it very hard to actually unlock anything, luckily the races are actually fun to go through again and again. What I didn’t like about racing was the fact that, once you’ve won a race, there’s no indication that you’ve actually progressed. While, on the menu screen, you are told to win the race to progress but once you’ve done so there are no options that allow you to simply continue onto the next track which takes away the sense of accomplishment entirely. I have to say though, the game is incredibly addictive, I’ve been constantly playing it and I tend to go back to the first track because it seems as though I’ve mastered every twist and turn of it.
At the end of the day this is really what people look for in a mobile game, what people don’t look for is an economic system where in which it is better to spend real money to progress faster in-game, had it not been this way the game would have been much better but, unfortunately, this is the way that mobile games are now and I really don’t think there is any stopping it. It’s great for kids who really just want four or five tracks to play on, I can’t imagine them getting bored of it any time soon but, me being a seasoned gamer, I tend to look more a great deal more. The multiplay was a nice little addition to the game but I never really felt the need to go and play it much, I tried it out for the sake of the review and, while good, It just didn’t hit me like I thought it should have.
Visuals
Straight out of the gates this game looks…great! All the animation and characters models are incredibly smooth, their designs are fairly basic but, for Garfield, it works perfectly. The tracks are all fantastic-looking and the animation is great. I’ve had people look over my shoulder while playing just to say “Wow…it actually looks good.”, which is a big thing to say at first glance. The aesthetics of the game really did take me by surprise and, even now, my first explanation of the game to others is; “Yeah, it looks good!”, it’s hard to look down on a game that is smooth and looks well. The colours are great and they do remind me of Garfield in his prime as a comic in the newspaper, if only we could forget that terrible movie.
Audio
I would say that the audio is just as good as the visuals but, unlike the visuals, the music and sound effects get annoying. It has a very chirpy soundtrack which, at first, kind of puts a smile on your face but that soon passes as the sounds of pies hitting your car or UFOs abducting you gets incredibly frustrating. It’s soundtrack is nice but I wouldn’t consider it to be anything more than that, for kids playing it I’m sure it is fantastic but, as an adult, I tend to just switch my phone on silent and play that way. It adds to the game in a small way, sound always does so, but it’s not crucial to the enjoyment of the title in any way.
Overall
It’s a great game for a while, there isn’t a lot wrong with the game at all apart from the glaring issue which is the way you go about unlocking certain things, I would have stuck with the game for so longer had I been shown some progress from the amount of time I put into coming first in races, I have nothing to show for my efforts because I put more time into winning than into searching for coins and getting them before others did. I just felt it to be unfair but, profit-wise, what an incredible idea for the company. For children playing this game I can imagine it being great and, to a certain degree, for adults too. It’s a good way to spend $0.99 and it’ll keep you entertained for a while despite there being some issues with the progression of the game. Either way, it’s cheap and it gets the job done for the most part.
Living in a world of imitation is something that both helps and hinders the world of entertainment in weird ways. Obviously, since there is no need to be entirely original it allows for a lot more books to be written, films to be made, and anime to be produced, but at the same time we find ourselves with another problem; the fact that nothing is original. I hate to be too critical of Noucome since it doesn’t claim to be anything special, but this week it has proven that when the idea that separates you from the rest of the anime around you wears thin, falling back onto archetypes seems to be the only way to keep the story flowing.
As I mentioned last week, Noucome is no work of Shakespeare, but to be honest if you looked at the advertising and somehow got that impression then frankly, you’re mad. Silliness, laughs, and otaku pandering is what you should expect and that is what it delivers. One thing that is certain though is that this show is hilarious, and this week was no exception. With the introduction of the generic imouto character, Hakoniwa Yuragi, the door was opened to a whole host of typical little sister related humour, and the jealousy that so often comes between younger sister characters and love interests. However, it really is something that we see SO often. Whenever there is a filler episode and the writer has run out of ideas, why not just throw in the main character’s little sister to spark some irrational jealousy and make the lolicons throw their money at the screen in hopes of future merch and doujins? Why not indeed…
To cut a long story short, it was generic, cheap, and in all honesty I expected a little better from Noucome considering its relatively decent writing so far. I could go on about how the ‘little sister’ character has been worn out over the years and how adding her proved to have no significant effect whatsoever, but I will avoid that for the sake of my sanity and for the tone of this review. Instead, let’s talk about what this episode did right. Heck, how could you go wrong when the episode had so much Yukihira!
We already know that Yukihira secretly loves Kanade, but it would seem that her emotions are becoming a lot more obvious to the people around her. Luckily for her, Kanade is the oblivious main character of a romcom so it would take someone branding it into his retina for him to notice, but the well-endowed member of the opposition team Reikadou Ayame noticed her jealousy. In fact, Yukihira had several moments weakness in this episode that she only just managed to cover up and once she actually had to leave the room when it all became too much for her. If there is one thing that keeps me coming back to this show it is the possibility of her and Kanade actually getting together. There are only 5 episodes left, so I doubt it will happen, but they have written Yukihira into a position where I really want her to end up happy.
It is really hard to classify Noucome. In places, especially when it comes to some of the jokes surrounding the absolute multiple choice and even just Kanade in general, the writing is superb and I can barely contain my laughter. Unfortunately, that brilliance is offset by most of the side characters who have little to no impact on the story and who you hardly care for at all. If you take a look at Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, one of the best recent examples of an episodic highschool romcom, there is not a single character that I don’t care for at least somewhat. The same can be said for Oreimo, Oreshura, and I would even go as far as to include something that was quite a bad anime like Nakaimo. Noucome’s problem is that it has overloaded us with characters to the point where some of the main cast have become insignificant. Chocolat is written to be an idiot with barely any appealing factors, but at least she has some relevance to the plot. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Yuuouji who ever since episode 1 has shown us just 2 things: she is an idiot, and she gets embarrassed when someone sees her underwear. Wow … Groundbreaking character traits right there. What baffles me is that this episode we were introduced to even more characters that I doubt will end up contributing anything to the anime and we still have at least one more to go! Focus more on your foundation before building bridges or you’ll just end up with a crap bridge.
Funny as always, but nothing particularly new. It took an entire episode to find the last member of their team and next episode should be the beginning of the tournament. Although, I did say that last week, so for all I know they could decide to spend another episode looking for the mysterious, masked member of their team that has yet to be introduced. Will Noucome be able to pick itself up and prove that is has some character behind its onslaught of comedy? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Oh, and the ‘what-if?’ scenario … Genius … Saved the episode in my opinion … Laughed for a straight minute.
For more reviews of this season’s best and worst anime head over to our Anime Impressions page and check them out!
We live in the year 2013 and if you’re a pop culture fan and you’re NOT aware of Rooster Teeth Productions you’re seriously missing out on what’s quickly becoming one of the greatest things of our generation. They’re known for a great deal of things, from comedy to action, and work on so many different media formats that it is almost impossible to miss them. Rooster Teeth started their rise to greatness with the release of “Red Vs Blue”, an action/comedy that was created entirely through Halo’s in-game recording software.
From there they’ve have continued to expand to become the media juggernaut they are now. Their latest venture? A semi-anime series created by animator Monty Oum that takes what we’ve seen in old-school Anime and does it’s best to bring it into the new age with incredible fight scenes, unique characters and a fairly beautiful art style. This is RWBY.
Story
RWBY has an interesting story that, while fairly unique itself, is very reminiscent of older Anime titles. What I mean by that is it sports many of the cliché or “classic” tropes that a dated Anime storyline would have, that’s not to say that “cliché” is a bad thing, certain “cliché” things are as such for a reason, why would people use them if they were something negative? Allow me to explain further: RWBY is about a young girl, Ruby Rose, who is a masterful user of a “Gun-Scythe” and a great fighter all around that gets accepted into a prestigious school, Beacon Academy, which specialises in the training of Hunters and Huntresses who are a class of fighter specifically trained to combat dark monsters called Grimm.
Ruby enters the school with her sister, Yang, and quickly learns that the years spent here will not be easy ones. Throughout the course of the first few episodes she meets her, now “rival” Weiss Schnee and silent ally Blake Belladonna. Together these four girls will make up what is to be “Team RWBY” hence the name of the series.
The characters within RWBY are all incredibly unique and while some have storylines that, yes like I said, are very cliché, the characters and their personalities all fit well together like a big jigsaw puzzle. Character interact extremely well, they all have defined personalities which is a big “plus” for any Anime fan, especially me. Having certain information about the series really does help you understand the story and characters a fair bit more and it’s not only knowledge of other Anime titles, it’s also knowledge of what the development team used as inspiration for the series.
You can very much tell that certain aspects of RWBY were inspired by, not only Anime, but culture and lore, be it the Grimm who are similar enemies to the “Hollows” from Bleach or the character Sun Wukong clearly inspired by the character from the Chinese Novel Journey To The West, either that or Dragon Ball Z, it doesn’t really matter because in the end the team makes it their own.
The fact of the matter is that the RWBY development team have clearly tried what many others have done but failed at and that is the transition between Japan and the Western Countries. I would very much compare this series to “Avatar: The Last Air Bender/The Legend Of Korra” simply by the way both series’ have been executed, it’s East meets West and they’ve done it, I’d say, almost perfectly. There are certain things that the series is lacking, some characters are almost TOO cliché as well as their storylines but for every one that doesn’t work, another one works twice as well.
In the end it is very much like Yin and Yang and the only way to truly get a grasp of what I’m saying is to simply watch it through for yourself, I guarantee you’ll understand my points more if you’ve actually seen the series. I could be looking at it the wrong way and I know this series has an extremely big fandom so I’m just going to remind you it is MY opinion and I’m trying to look at it from as many angles as I possibly can. Overall though the actual way the story progresses and pans out is fantastic and the pacing really does the rest of the series justice because they have the time to flesh out certain aspects and they allow the audience to understand things alongside the characters, very well done.
Visuals
If I was reviewing the series as a web series and not a home video release I would be giving the visual side of it so much more credit but I’m not going to ignore the fact that it is originally a web series sully my take on how it is aesthetically, I’m going to walk a thin line here. As a series overall the visuals are “pretty good”, I’m talking in general here.
It is all CG animated which is perfectly fine in the generation of Anime we live in with almost half of the series’ coming out using small bits of CGI in their episodes. Being perfectly honest, the character models look a little rough, which is to be expected of a web series but not of a full release Anime which is what it has become, it’s still not going to muddy the waters though because the action scenes spread out through the first volume more than make up for it’s roughness.
The animation isn’t too good during scenes where there is only talking but, to be honest, it doesn’t need to be, it would be nice if it was because it gives a series an all over professional look but what really matters the most is the high-octane, high-action scenes and RWBY possibly has the greatest fight scenes I’ve ever seen in an series. There’s no denying it.
Character designs are down right fantastic and, much like the action scenes, I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed with the designs of individual characters, all their costumes and weapons match their personalities and there’s no denying that it all just fits in harmoniously. The use of colours is also done really well, it’s obvious to see who is who and that’s something you need during the fight scenes. The world itself also looks great, once again, a little rough but still very stylish and very well done. When it comes to style RWBY has one of it’s own and it harnesses it like no other.
Audio
Much like the Visuals, the Audio has it’s times where it isn’t as good as it could be and it just seems to be the voice acting that tends to let it down just a little bit. For the most part the voice acting is fantastic, the actors and actresses get their point across but it is clear that some are better than others and it may be the comparison of professional voice actors and those who don’t have that much experience that let the team down.
Characters like Ruby herself and Nora, who you’ll see as you watch, quickly became my favourites because their voices as well as their personalities, it just seemed to add a depth to the character and a certain air to the character that I didn’t feel from other ones unfortunately. The music is absolutely fantastic though, not just the opening theme but the entire score is great. Most of the music is fairytale-like but it tends to kick into overdrive during those more intense scenes, the mixing and matching of styles makes for a memorable soundtrack.
Extras
Despite the lack of physical extras like a reversible cover, a small poster or artwork of some kind, the release does have a couple gems that make the release all the more worthwhile. Behind-the-scene videos as well as the directors commentary gives good insight into the creation of a series and, if you know anything about the Rooster Teeth team, you’ll know that anything behind-the-scenes is more comedy than documentary so you’re in for a good time. The last extra is a Fan Art Highlights reel which is basically exactly how it sounds, you’ll love this if you’re a fan of the series’ art and fanart to be more specific. I would’ve liked to have seen more but, considering it’s a first release, this is actually pretty good.
Overall
The series is absolutely fantastic. There are certain things that set it back but I don’t consider them to be blinding issues that will force the viewer into having a bad experience watching the series, it makes up for everything that it lacks in a huge way and, with the way that it is set out, as soon as you even think about not watching any more of it, it drags you back in and keeps you there for a while. Fans of Rooster Teeth will love it with a fair bit of the usual personalities making an appearance and fans of Anime will love it because on a fundamental level it has almost everything to offer. Obviously I can’t give it a perfect score because…well…it’s not perfect, however it is incredible and I can’t imagine people having more of an issue with it than the ones I’ve stated throughout the review. It’s funky, it’s memorable, it’s RWBY.
Furmins was Finnish developer Housemarque’s first venture into iOS development, released back in February, 2012. Now, the Super Stardust HD makers have licensed their mobile puzzle game to the creators of Jetpack Joyride, Beatshapers, for its porting and release on the PS Vita. Although a completely different platform, the Sony handheld utilises touch screen mechanics much like smartphones do, and so the gameplay experience here is almost exactly the same. Is it worth picking up? Well, owners of the original version need not concern themselves with this release, but everyone else should read on to find out.
Gameplay
Furmins features 108 levels spanning 9 distinct game worlds (final one being free DLC). The goal of the player is to get their Furmin/s from the starting position to the basket across the play area. Being a physics-based game, the Furmins will follow the rules of physics and therefore need some direction. There are a few key tools in doing this. In any given layout, there will be static objects that can not be altered, and then there will be moveable ones signified by a glowing outline. The player can organise these how they see fit in the pause state before tapping the play button on the top right of the screen to watch the level play out.
One of these interactables made known early on in ‘Warming Up’ (the 1st world) is the trampoline. Strategically placing these will bounce your Furmin/s into otherwise impossible places to reach in order to collect candies on your way towards the ultimate goal of the basket. Collecting all candies on screen is another condition for 100% completion and is necessary to achieve a 3-star rating for each level. The third condition is to reach the basket within the specified time limit – taking longer doesn’t fail you, but you won’t earn that third star. There is also a bonus for completing a level without using all of the provided objects. Later, conveyor belts, bumpers, ice blocks, regulators and ropes will be gradually introduced moving into the latter part of ‘Homelands’ (the 2nd world).
Conveyor belts and bumpers can both be controlled by tapping anywhere on the touch screen, or on the rear touch pad. Doing so will reverse the direction of the conveyor belts, and activate the bumper respectively. When both are employed on the same level, the player must take note of the fact that using a bumper will also affect the conveyor belt’s direction, and vice versa, which can be easily forgotten. Ropes objects can’t be moved outside the radius permitted by their “leash” and regulators suck in any Furmins in its vicinity and shoots them out the other side. Ice blocks are cool (sorry… okay, not sorry, pun intended) in that they thaw out at different times, adding an extra timed component to the proceedings.
With all of these mechanics considered, the game’s puzzles can get fairly complicated, with persistent trial and error becoming a necessity in progressing through it all. And all of those stars you earn act as a currency that can be paid to unlock each world at your discretion; you’re not locked into engaging them in the order they are listed. And in regards to the 8th world, ‘Cosmic Adventures’ – the toughest of them all – each individual level therein costs between 3 and 5 stars to unlock. Scores can also be compared with friends on the integrated leaderboards, so there is an added competitive edge and incentive to replay levels.
Visuals & Audio
Each Furmins levels is set against a colorful, high contrast and rich painted backdrop with 3D elements such as clouds, leaves and fog to create a sense of depth. Everything in the foreground – from interactable puzzle elements to decorative objects – follows in the visual tone of the level. With all of that being said, for some reason the visuals just don’t click and feel disconnected. Maybe it is the mix of 2D and 3D pieces, the basic, non-descript gold U.I elements or the bland model design… either way, there is a lack of consistent graphical theme.
As a prime example of the inconsistent visuals, look at the image above; you’re collecting candy-stripe lollies with a furry creature amongst roman columns… huh? It’s just an odd aesthetic overall. Audio-wise, there is a much stronger motif. The music is generally extremely airy with wind instruments at the forefront of the score. The instrumentation in major scales aids in presenting happy, playful, dream-like environments. The sound effects on the other hand are more generic. When your rating is being calculated for a completed level, the Furmins squeal with each star attained, reminding of Angry Birds and how the birds squawk much in the same way.
Overall
Furminsis a challenging puzzler with a very good volume of content. The 108 levels will keep players busy – especially the more casual of us – for a substantial amount of time. The major gripe is the price point, which is more than triple that of its iOS counterpart. The only difference between them is the integration of the rear touch pad on the PS Vita, with no additional levels or content of any other nature. For that reason, it is hard to recommend shelling out more money for what is essentially a non-enhanced title. If you’re an iDevice owner, check Furmins out on the App Store first. If you’re not, then shelling out $10 is suddenly not such a big deal.
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During BlizzCon 2013, Blizzard unveiled more news regarding their free collectible card game, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft; set to be released later this year on PC, Mac, iPad and on iPhone and Android in the future.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft invites players to build a strategic deck, based on the nine epic Warcraft heroes from the World of Warcraft classes; Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior. There are over 300 cards available for players to unlock, via completing practice games against A.I. opponents, earning gold in duels to purchase card packs, winning a chest of loot based on your result in the Arena and disenchanting expert cards in your collection, to receive Arcane Dust to craft other cards of your choosing.
Check out the Hearthstone Fireside Duel below, between the Priest vs. Hunter, narrated by the director of the game itself, Ben Brode.
This unfortunate news came about on Friday when Madman Entertainment, one of Australia’s largest Anime distribution companies, announced that they will be ceasing their ongoing stream of this seasons’ big action series Kill La Kill. The high-octane, battle Anime produced by Studio Trigger has been running for just over a month at this point in time and, unfortunately, there was a problem with it’s service hosted by Madman that lead to the end of the streaming through the company. According to Madman, unfortunately the site servers were accessed before the actual broadcast of a particular episode in Japan, the footage of the episode was then distributed around the internet illegally.
It’s such a terrible thing to have happened to the company and, for the most part, people are hoping they can bounce back from this, I guess it just goes to show that there’s no such thing as being “too secure”, this kind of thing has happened before and it will happen again but it is still an occurrence that isn’t exactly welcome. Hopefully, like a lot of other companies, Madman will bounce back faster than you can say “Mako Mankanshoku”.
