Pokemon X and Y is FINALLY here! Have we caught them all? No…. But we’re getting there! This week on CC Unplugged, Luke Halliday, Philip Federico, Kane Bugeja and Frank Inglese go bonkers for Pokemon X & Y, giving their opinions of the game so far, while also sharing their Pokemon Team and also the names of their Pokemon. We also speak about Grand Theft Auto V, and other open world games. We also discuss a number of titles such as Watch_Dogs, Assassins Creeds IV, Call Of Duty Ghosts and Battlefield 4. It is a show full of…stuff, and you should tune in and check it out!
So grab a space shuttle, tell your friends, and prepare to get UNPLUGGED WITH LEGEND SWAGGY!
Be sure to listen to our past CC Unplugged episodes here.
SPONSOR PLUG
Special Mention to our partners over at Razer, us here at Capsule Computers are geared by gamers, for gamers. Check them out on Twitter and Official Website.
Zumba Fitness World Party has players travel around exotic locations while working their bodies to 40+ new high-energy routines and a soundtrack featuring the likes of Lady Gaga, Pitbull and Daddy Yankee. The game includes a new World Tour mode and all-new visual presentations.
For more details on the game’s soundtrack, including a comprehensive list, check out this earlier article.
For those of you who have waited to catch a glimpse of the legendary NBA 2K series on the next-generation of gaming consoles, you’re wait is over. 2K Games have just released a trailer for NBA 2K14 which features PlayStation 4 gameplay footage. This is the first next-generation gameplay footage for NBA 2K14 and it is simply out of this world.
You can check out the impressive PlayStation 4 version of NBA 2K14 in the trailer below. Be sure to check out our review of the Xbox 360 version of the game here for an idea of what this latest installment is like. Let us know what you think in the comments section.
University is a wonderfully odd place. Some would call it a right of passage, taking you on a journey of self-discovery accompanied by some of the best friends and the most deluded basket cases that you could ever dream of meeting. So far, I feel like Golden Time has painted us a fairly accurate picture of university life, albeit with a much higher concentration of gorgeous women, but all in all it has been a pretty down to earth representation. After a rough start, this show managed to pick itself up and dust itself down in episode 2 so will it continue going strong into episode 3?
Last episode set us up for a club trip with Banri and Kouko and that is exactly what we got, but since the club member never really explicitly told them the name of the club it could have been any number of obscene things. As a general rule, university clubs are split into three types: sports, special interest societies, and then there is the grey area where the unofficial ‘clubs’ lurk. In the case of my university this is made up of a multitude of oddities like the Viking Society, the Super Villain Society, and it used to include a Pirate Society before they somehow plundered enough members to become official. However, clearly none of those sounded nearly crazy enough to Golden Time, so this time around we find our protagonists being indoctrinated into a religious cult preaching the truths of the universe…
Honestly, this isn’t completely unrealistic judging by some of the people I’ve met at university, but it is certainly what you would call a worst case scenario. They might have been in a bind, but what this allowed for was a chance for the audience to ponder how Banri and Kouko would react in a situation completely out of their comfort zone. At first, both seemed lost despite their best efforts to think of an escape plan, but then Banri surprised me.
In episodes 1 and 2, Tada Banri came across to me as a nice guy with some unusual emotional depth, but little else stood out about him except his underlying amnesia backstory. What I didn’t expect was for him to be so cunning! In no way did I think that he would be able to lie so convincingly and to an extent I guess I was correct in that assertion considering he actually had to tell the truth about his amnesia to make it sound convincing. After seeing his reaction to the text message in episode 1 that reminded him of his amnesia I assumed that it was a very touchy topic, but after getting Kouko into this situation he wanted to get her out no matter what, even if that meant sacrificing his own privacy.
Episode 3 was an even bigger tease than episode 2 when it came to implying a growing bond between Banri and Kouko, but their relationship still has a long way to go. From the beginning, they are both exceedingly flawed characters, but there are parts of their personalities that are a mirror image of each other. Amnesia left Banri with absolutely nothing. Waking up to a world where everybody is a stranger, even your parents and closest friends must be terrifying. Suddenly, you have no place anymore and even if you tried to become the person your friends once knew and loved, you would no longer be yourself. You’d feel invisible. Faux-depression or not, Kouko muttered those exact words last episode and I think her playing them off in this episode was merely an act, or at least she recognises that it was at least 10% true. Their situations are not that different, but until something groundbreaking happens involving the apple of Kouko’s eye, Mitsuo, it looks like Banri will be trapped in his beta male role for a little longer at least.
Pacing has not been Golden Time’s strong suit in the first 3 episodes, but being so heavily character based I am willing to give it some leeway. As long as we keep getting long, revealing dialogues like this week then it can go as slow as it wants because I love that kind of anime. Call me brainwashed by Bakemonogatari, but I think seeing some insight into a character’s feelings this early on is invaluable because when everything hits the fan the emotional impact grows ten-fold knowing how soul destroying it must be for them.
All Golden Time is missing now is a big twist. Something that will drop Kouko into reality. I have no clue what will happen, but my speculation is that Mitsuo will meet another girl and all of a sudden Kouko’s entire world will come crashing down around her. She said it herself, she doesn’t feel, “complete,” without Mitsuo because she has lived her entire life around him. To have him suddenly torn away from her after she felt so betrayed when he moved university to avoid her will trigger something titanic in Kouko, but as for what that will be I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Golden Time has got the ball rolling now and despite its pacing being less than perfect, it is still standing up as a great romance with some very true to life emotions. The drama hasn’t started yet, but I am seeing the first signs of a simmer and once Kouko comes to the boil I think we’re going to see something quite special. Keep an eye on this little gem, it might surprise you.
For more anime impressions from the CC crew and myself, covering all of fall’s best and worst, check out our Anime Impressions section!
Hanabee Entertainment have just made another major acquisition announcement. They have confirmed that they have acquired the license for popular anime series Little Busters.
They revealed that the series will be released across two collections, the first of which will release on the 8th of January, 2014. The releases will be on DVD and Blu-Ray and feature dual audio. Little Busters will retail at $59.99 on DVD and $64.99 on Blu-Ray.
This looks to be another brilliant title acquisition from Hanabee. Stay tuned for further information on the Hanabee release of Little Busters as it comes to light. Be sure to let us know what you think of the license acquisition in the comments section.
BEYOND: Two Souls is Quantic Dream’s second PlayStation 3 exclusive after the critically acclaimed Heavy Rain. Creative Director/Writer David Cage has once again attempted to bring us on an emotional journey, this time in following the life of Jodie Holmes – a young girl who is connected to a mysterious entity she calls Aiden. As opposed to Heavy Rain, BEYOND veers away from straight drama and more towards the supernatural action sub-genre. In starring high calibre Hollywood actors such as Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe, however, you’re guaranteed powerful performances nonetheless. But, does the “game” part of the experience hold up, or does the title further fuel the criticisms of simply ‘creating an interactive movie’ levied at the developers?…
Story
BEYOND: Two Souls explores 15 years of Jodie Holmes’ life, from the age of 8 to 23. Beginning with a ‘Prologue’, Jodie appears torn between the living and the dead, her memories jumbled. The ensuing game is her attempt to piece together the events of her life, although because her memory is fractured and failing, we as the player experience them out of order. At least, that’s the simplistic reasoning for the non-linear plot. Jumping to the ‘First Experiment’, Jodie is under the supervision of DPA (Department of of Paranormal Activity) researchers Nathan Dawkins and Cole Freeman, who conduct tests on her ability to ‘telepathically’ see cards in another room, and move objects with her mind. Of course, we as the audience know that her ‘power’ has nothing to do with telepathy.
Aiden – a spectral being – is practically connected to Jodie at the hip and many times does what Jodie asks of him. This is realised fairly quickly by the pair of researchers. Skipping forward to ‘The Embassy’ some 12-odd years later, we see Jodie on her first undercover mission with the CIA alongside agent Ryan Clayton. This is the formula the plot adheres to, as we constantly dart between time periods and ‘Chapters’ in Jodie’s life. Even after completing the game – with all individual chapters unlocked – you can not play them chronologically without exiting the following loaded chapter, returning to the main menu and manually entering the next. The purpose of this plot device is unknown… why David Cage chose to tell this tale in such a specific, broken structure baffles me.
Unlike the bond between our lead characters, the plot feels disconnected because of it. Contextually, no impact would be lost by telling the story in chronological order. The fact that multiple chapters are literally 5-10 minutes long and feel like filler doesn’t help engage the player either. Also, tonally, the game shifts numerous times and can be quite jarring in doing so. If told sequentially, these sudden, drastic transitions between each unique ‘Chapter’/time period Jodie experiences would be perceived much more positively, and understood more easily. Nonetheless, the underlying narrative elements, such as the inherent loneliness as Jodie’s relationship with Aiden pushes everyone away, is communicated effectively throughout.
Unfortunately, BEYOND: Two Souls is less a dramatic exploration of these deeper concepts, and more of a cinematic, supernatural action entry. Eventually, we are introduced to the concepts of ‘rifts’ in-between the “Infraworld” and our own, with the DPA building “condensers” and containment fields to keep evil spirits at bay. It all gets a little too ridiculous whilst taking itself completely seriously. The dialogue gets repetitive as Jodie has to explain her ‘gift’ to everyone, but it is also exceptionally clichéd, with overused lines like “do this for me” and “get going, before I change my mind” making me wonder if David Cage bit off more than he could chew with an idea that was too foreign and unrelatable to produce a realistic script for. There’s also an abrupt character transformation that feels forced and reaching (no spoilers, naturally).
Gameplay
Gameplay-wise, BEYOND: Two Souls borrows a lot from the mechanics established in Heavy Rain. What that means for gamers frustrated with the former title’s stiff controls is that, well, they can expect to be even more frustrated with BEYOND. Jodie frequently does not respond to navigational controls, and forget about the possibility of getting her to do a sharp turn. The animation system in place initiates prepared cycles only when scripted, so if you’re hoping to enter a jog or run on demand, you’re out of luck – Jodie will only speed up when the scripting calls for it, and even then she is entirely too slow. Frequently, when returning back to Jodie after controlling Aiden – all the while keeping the left thumbsticks pressed upwards – Jodie will not flow into a forward stride and you will have to release, and then re-do the motion.
Some interface elements have hanged since the last game by the studio, with the ‘White Dots’ being one of the biggest. Basically, any interactable object in an environment will project a white dot over it to signify this. Depending on if the object in question is above, below, or to the side of Jodie, you must move the right thumbstick in that direction to interact with it. My natural instinct was, instead, to move the thumbstick in the direction of the dot relative to its position on the screen from my perspective. This would have been much more accommodating, and at least offered a fuller range of motion for the stick, as you are otherwise restricted to the dumbed down 4-way directionals only.
Speaking of a neutered range of motion, the half-circle rolls and farther complicated gestures made capable with the stick are rarely seen. In fact, I maybe encountered the former 3 times across the whole experience. I don’t think people complained that Heavy Rain wasn’t basic enough… quite the contrary, gamers wished it was more involved. Yet BEYOND is even less so. The revamped, HUD-less, prompt-less ‘quick-time events’ that slow time and require you to instinctively match Jodie’s intended motion in combat or chases works relatively well, although it also suffers from keeping things too basic and not instructing more challenging, complex gestures. Every so often, the requested motion isn’t very clear either.
All that being said, there is larger gameplay variation in BEYOND: Two Souls than in previous Quantic Dream titles. You’ve likely seen the stealth sections shown in prior trailers, as well as the motorcycle escape (which is not a cinematic, but a fully controllable sequence; you can even turn off/on the headlights!), but there is also a submarine and underwater section, short as it may be. Aiden is the highlight of the gameplay, as you travel through walls to eavesdrop on optional conversations, choke people out, possess people to do various acts and practically wreak havoc. He is also the main defence against the aforementioned evil spirits, and in solving primitive environmental puzzles. The ‘Duo’ mode – where a second player takes control of Aiden using another Dualshock or touch-screen device – does the job and allows the involvement of others which is always a plus.
Visuals & Audio
Graphically, BEYOND: Two Souls at times proves to be a taxing affair for the PlayStation 3. The attention to detail in the world is impressive, but as expected, it’s the character models that impress most. The expressions of the actors are translated through the full performance capture process extremely well and combined with the quality of the shaders and skin textures, the characters are really brought to life. The lighting system in place creates very realistically lit environments, with the rainy ‘Train Escape’ scene being a prime example. That being said, darker scenes can occasionally look too dimly lit and, otherwise, there are rare instances of texture pop-in.
Sony helped bring in the big guns for the music department of BEYOND: Two Souls, with the legendary Hans Zimmer (Inception,The Dark Knight Trilogy) collaborating alongside protege Lorne Balfe (Assassin’s Creed III, Crysis 2) to provide the score for the game. The main theme in particular sticks in the mind, with its distorted descending run in the background and then the ascending two-notes which increase in tempo as the drums kick in. Overall, the score is laden with string-pieces, and although a sombre chorus punctuates ‘Jodie’s Theme’ and story, the emotional impact of the complete work is weakened by the recurring supernatural motif.
Overall
It saddens me to say this, but BEYOND: Two Souls disappointed me. That’s not to say it’s a bad game, but I was expecting more, which is why I may read highly critical. The non-linear plot created a discordance between myself and the story, never truly engaging to the fullest as it darted back and forth in its timeline, and to chapters which were glorified cutscenes at that, with literally minutes of content. Compounding this was the general silliness of the “rifts” and “condenser” story devices, as well as the overly clichéd and often times simple, repetitive dialogue. That being said, the performances of all actors involved is phenomenal and carries the story, which does leave a lasting impression regardless of its flaws.
Navigation is even more rigid and frustrating than in Heavy Rain. Jodie is incapable of nuanced movement and sometimes flat-out refuses to turn in certain directions. The range of gestures prompted in-game have been reduced, and the natural inclination to move the right thumbstick to the ‘white dot’ relative to its position on screen has been ignored in favour of the more unconforming 4-way directional bearings relative to Jodie’s general position. The entire Aiden character mechanic is great, however, and the eventual variety in gameplay (as basic as they may be) is appreciated. At the end of the day, BEYOND: Two Souls may be aggravating, but is still worth experiencing for its uniqueness.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
The merchandise continues to roll in for Attack On Titan and, like I’ve said in the past, it just seems like nothing is going to break it’s stride any time soon. The latest update to the Attack On Titan merchandise release is that of a “not so colossal” kind; it’s Capsule Machine Figurines. Yes! All around Japan, capsule machines are being filled to the brim with a set of four different Attack On Titan figurines and, let’s just say, they’re not all that…pleasant.
Two of four of these tiny figures are quite gory with one of them being Eren in Titan form splattering a smaller Titan with his fist, like we saw in the series, and the other being an unfortunate man being eaten by a Titan. The other two are look great! One of them is Mikasa using her 3D Maneuver Gear to escape a Titan and the other is the appearance of the Colossal Titan and Eren striking back. They look gross, they look good and it’s all very typical of Attack On Titan.
Nintendo, in conjunction with Sega, announced today that everyone’s favorite plumber will be joining the fastest hedgehog on earth for more Olympic fun! Unlike London, though, Mario and Sonic, and friends are headed to Sochi for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games!
Set to release in Australia and New Zealand on 9th November, Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 will feature 16 different Olympic Events, 8 Dream Events, and more! You’ll even represent your country in the online rankings once the game drops!
Sochi 2014 will be the first game of its kind to utilize the Wii U Gamepad and controllers in tandem! You’ll perform individual and team events. You can even ice skate together using one controller!
For a few screenshots and the Wii U boxart, be sure to check out our gallery below. You can also check out the trailer for the game below this article as well as visiting the game’s official website here.
With many indie developers upset with the lack of transparency in the Steam Greenlight process, Surprise Attack Games is launching the Bigger Boat Service to help indie developers sell their game on other platforms. The service will handle the application process for big name services like Amazon, GOG.com, GamersGate, and GameFly Digital while freeing up precious time for developers to work on their games.
“Our core goal has always been to help independent developers by taking on some of the publishing or marketing tasks without impacting on their independence,” said Chris Wright, Managing Director at Surprise Attack Games. “Bigger Boat is a great example of that – we take something that is problematic for a small team and provide an easy way for them to unlock extra revenue.”
Currently, Megabyte Punch, Ironclad Tactics, Metal Dead, Critical Mass, Huntsman: The Orphanage, Dungeon Dashers, and Jack Houston and the Necronauts are all signed up with the service.
Steam released a slightly smaller batch of games and applications that has been Greenlit this week.
The following titles will be available in the coming weeks and months for PC when the developers feel their product is ready. Some will enter Steam Early Access and others will be released as finished titles.
