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Totems: Game of Conquest Review

October 13, 2013

Totems: Game of Conquest
Developer: Timecode
Publisher: Timecode
Platform: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone (Reviewed)
Release Date: 3 October 2013
Price: $1.99 – Available Here

Overview

Totems: Game of Conquest is a strategy heavy board game for iOS. Players will take turns placing totems on a board to control territory for points. The larger the territory, the greater the points awarded. The winner is the player with the most points at the end of the game.

Story

Totems: Game of Conquest is a board game, thus lacks a story.

Gameplay

Strategic board games have a long and proud history. Legendary strategy based board games with extensive history like go, shogi, and chess have been joined by contemporary titles like Ticket to Ride and The Settlers of Catan. Totems: A Game of Conquest seeks to join this storied list with its gameplay based on the “4-Color Map Theorem.” According to the theorem, no map needs more than four colours to colour each section without having any two adjacent sections sharing the same colour.

Totems: Game of Conquest is a board game for two to four players. Depending on the map, three or more types of totems are randomly dealt to players. Each player will have a hand of six totems. Players will take turns laying one totem onto the board to take control of a territory. If a totem is placed on a territory adjacent to a territory controlled by a totem of the same animal, the player will take control of the entire coloured territory and gain points. As more adjacent territories are controlled by a single animal type, the points awarded will be multiplied. Players take turn laying down totems until the entire map is controlled by players.

The game shares a similarity to the classic game of Go as it is extremely simple to learn, but is difficult to master. The rules of the game can be easily learned from the short tutorial, but the strategies available to the player are endless. The game’s difficulty rises sharply as more players and more types of totems are introduced to the game. There are a eight maps available for play, some support only two players while others support two to four players.

The game supports single player and multiplayer play. Single player will pit players against the surprisingly competent AI. Multiplayer can be played through Pass and Play mode, local WiFi, local Bluetooth, or through Game Center. Online multiplayer is played like chess by mail. Players can have several games running at the same time and the game will be played turn by turn. When it is the player’s turn, an iOS notification will pop up. Players can challenge their friends or find random gamers to play against. Pass and Play mode was a little more difficult to find initially as local players need to be added in the local “Play” mode. I would have appreciated some sort of indication that adding players to the list of local players would trigger the Pass and Play mode.

Visuals

Totems: Game of Conquest is presented like a classic board game. The graphics look great on Retina displays. Board games iPads are matches made in heaven, but the smaller iPhone screens tend to pose a bit of a challenge. However, Totem’s gameplay elements are very easy to identify, even on the small iPhone screen. Stylistically, the game draws a lot of inspiration from Mesoamerican culture.

Audio

Since the game is mentally intensive, the sound effects and the music in Totems: Game of Conquest seek to be a subtle part of the experience. There are small sound effects for placing down totems and drawing new ones from the pile. The music is very restrained and will not distract from deep thought. The subtlety is an excellent design decision that benefits the game experience immensely.

Overall

Totems: Game of Conquest has all the requirements to become a classic board game. It is simple to learn and requires an impressive amount of strategy. The game takes the simplicity of Go, mixes it with elements of Risk, and then presents it in a beautiful package.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Batman: Arkham Origins Goes Mobile at NYCC

Andrew Day

October 13, 2013

At this year’s NYCC, Warner Bros. announced that they will be debuting a new Batman: Arkham Origins game for iOS and Android devices. The free-to-play game is being developed by Netherrealm Studios and will be a brawler much like previous DC Entertainment super hero games on mobile devices; Injustice: Gods Among Us and Batman: Arkham City Lockdown. It will retain the same visual fidelity and similar control scheme to previous games, and as such will be a game that fans of any age and skill level can pick up and play.

Batman: Arkham Origins will be launching on mobile devices soon after the launch of the console version, later this month. Check out the gameplay trailer for the mobile version below and let us know what you think in the comments. As always, for all the Batman news as it becomes available, stay tuned to Capsule Computers… Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel.

Kromaia Preview

Jamie Laike Tsui

October 13, 2013

Kromia
Developer: Kraken Empire
Where to Buy: IndieGoGo

Kromaia is Kraken Empire’s upcoming arcade shooter. The game is a throwback to the old style arcade shooters with scores of enemies being hurled at the player and unlimited ammunition. The game has won awards at Freeplay 2011 and HóPLAY 2010. Kraken Empire is seeking funding to complete the single player campaign through IndieGoGo. Currently, the Score Attack mini-game is available to play for those donating $10 USD or more to the campaign.

The Score Attack demo features four armours, each with a unique style of attack. The amber Alpha armour provides a straight firing bullet backed up with a shotgun like secondary attack. The red Mu armour fires a laser in two different modes. The primary fires a single short laser pulse while the primary attack fires a steady beam for a several seconds. The green Tau armour fires short range missiles that locks onto nearby targets, while the secondary attack will lock onto several nearby enemies and unleash a deadly salvo of missiles. Finally, the blue Psi armour poses one of the greatest player challenges. Its primary attack is a close ranged slash that obliterates almost everything close enough with one swipe. The secondary attack will throw a giant shuriken that will stun and disorient enemies for a short time, which allows players to safely close the gap between them and the enemy. Secondary attacks have a short recharge time depending on the armour which encourage liberal use of the special abilities.

The demo is meant to showcase the technology behind Kromaia. The AI is designed to adapt to the player’s style to provide a unique challenge. The effect is most apparently when using the Psi armour. Normally, my play style consists of strafing the enemy to dodge incoming danger while keeping them at range. Since Psi’s abilities are focused on close combat, I cannot rely on my usual tactics. I noticed the game immediately compensated by throwing close ranged suicide bombers far earlier in the game.

The physics engine is a big part of Kromaia. The game moves the armour based on its thrusters. Players are able to move in all directions with ease. The controls are best used with the mouse and keyboard, though the Xbox 360 controller is an option. The armours are able to move like a helicopter, but with simpler set of controls. But even with the simplified controls, a skilled player can start dodging and weaving through the plentiful asteroids.

Kraken Empire is providing a very easy way to hop into modifying the game. Kromaia allows full access to XML files that provide modifiers for practically everything in the game. The team says gamers should be able to make small changes like tweaking the player’s speed and large changes like creating new types of enemies with the XML files. At this point, there is little documentation on the XML files, so it will be a matter of trial and error. However, I see this providing some extra longevity to the game as players create new scenarios with the tools.

Personally, the lack of crosshairs was a bit of a challenge for me. When flying forwards, the weapons will usually fire straight ahead, so lining up enemies is not difficult. But once the armour begins strafing, aiming tends to require the player to “walk” the projectiles onto target. Of course this affects the Alpha and Mu armours the most, but I would have also appreciated to see a crosshair for Psi’s secondary ability.

Kromaia’s visuals looks like an interpretation of the internet from the 1980s. The environment reminds me of the Tron franchise. The enemies on the other hand feel more Japanese in nature with their sterile white bodies and clean lines. The game does a great job portraying fast movements in an a vast area. The long trails of colour that follow in the wake of the armours provide an impressive visual display.

Surprisingly, Kromaia’s visuals really shine when the game is played on a 3d monitor. Although 3d displays is not officially supported, the game was a jaw dropping experience when played on a Nvidia 3D Vision monitor. Kromaia is a perfect game to demonstrate the joys of 3d gaming.

My only gripe with Kromaia’s visuals is the menu system. All the major menu entries are supposed to be pictograms of some sort. However, the images used for each menu option has no discernable meaning to them. The only way to figure out what they do is to highlight them with the cursor, to reveal the English description. Although I suspect this decision was made for immersion purposes, it gets in the way of navigating menus quickly.

The audio is a little bare at this point. There are sound effects and music, but there is little variety at this point. However, what is there compliments the game well.

Kraken Empire is seeking funding to finish Kromaiai’s single player campaign mode. They currently have the framework for an excellent retro styled shooter reinterpreted for a modern generation of gamers. It is already a fantastic title to demonstrate 3d gaming. Retro shooter fans and 3d gaming nuts take notice, Kromaia is ready to knock your socks off.

The Wolf Among Us – Episode 1: Faith Review

Simon Wolfe

October 12, 2013

The Wolf Among Us – Episode 1: Faith
Developers: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games, Warner Bros.
Platform: XBLA (Reviewed), PS3, PC, Mac
Release Date: October 11nd, 2013
Price: $4.99 – Available Here

Overview
When Telltale Games was able to achieve multiple game of the year awards last year with The Walking Dead, they were finally able to cement the fact that not only could adventure games still work in the current game market, but be done extremely well. Taking an already hot property and crafting a quality game that is able to resonate characters and player actions proved to be a more than winning formula, but a highly praised one.

Now Telltale Games has started releasing a new episodic game series before The Walking Dead Season 2, which is based on another well liked, though not as well known property, Fables. The Fables comic series depicts a world where the Fable creatures have left their fairy tale world in favor of New York City, many of them relying on glamours to maintain a human appearance, and the series has been one of the longest running series for Vertigo comics, part of DC. Th The Wolf Among Us game series acts as a prequel, showing off what happened immediately prior to the start of the comics. Does this new series stack up against the accolades bestowed upon The Walking Dead or are players better off waiting until Walking starts back up.

Story
The Wolf Among Us kicks off with Bigby Wolf, the fabled Big Bad Wolf already on a case and arriving at the scene. Acting as sheriff for the Fable folk living in New York City, the game does a good job to quickly establish just how the situation is supposed to work. Through only a few lines of dialogue, players that aren’t familiar with the Fables comics are able to get up to speed on a few of the laws that they have to live by and leaves how Bigby works as the sheriff up to the player. Trying to turn over a new leaf from his Big Bad Wolf days? Still his bad self, but with power in his hands? Or indifferent to it all, just trying to do his job? These choices make one of the best aspects of the first Episode, letting players decide Bigby’s internal motivations for themselves.

The main focus of the game is the investigation, starting off with Chapter 1 and carrying through to the end, the investigation takes may twists and turns depending on the choices Bigby makes throughout. Who he suspects and the order in which places are investigated have big impacts in how the case progresses, all of which shows just how good Telltale is at making these kinds of of games and ensuring that players see how their choices impact everyone and everything around.

Gameplay
While very similar to the gameplay style of The Walking Dead, there are some changes that do change up the play style and speed up gameplay just a bit. The ability to walk just a bit faster speeds things up enough to feel worthwhile, whether used simply to explore the areas Bigby is investigating or when replaying entire chapters to see what difference choices can make. The biggest difference between the two though is that Bibgy does have a job to do, unlike Lee simply trying to survive and making decisions about who will and who wont make it through with him, Bigby is much more active looking for answers, questioning people, and getting into scraps.

Even though this is simply the first episode, the choices that must be made have drastic changes as to the direction the investigation looks to be going. Being able to see how other players choose at the end of the episode also makes a big impact as to how to feel about the choices that they made and seeing how everyone else has chosen so far. There is plenty more to explore in the game outside the main investigation and the inclusion of the “Book of Fables” gives additional depth. Meeting characters, searching certain objects, and making certain decisions can unlock short bios on characters, places, and Bigby’s backstory. These are not only great for Fables fans looking for even more on the universe, but those that have only played the game wanting to find out more about this deep world and making a great reward for those who try to find everything.

Visuals and Audio
While using the same cell-shaded style as their other games, The Wolf Among Us feels like a great fit for the style as many of the characters are not entirely human, as well as to match the comic book feel. Even more so in that some of the characters switch between their Fable form and human form. Besides the art style, the game is also very dark to fit the noir feeling of the investigation that Bigby has to undertake, even the parts of the game that appear to occur during the day maintain the gloomy atmosphere.

The voice acting is well done in matching the different characters, though slight pauses that occur from having to quickly decide responses and as the game must switch between the dialogue for specific choices that have been made. There is also a lot of swearing, throughout the entire game, which matches the investigation side and the M rating, though may surprise those that aren’t used to how the characters work in Fables and come incorrectly expecting something more kid friendly. The art isn’t the only aspect that matches the dark and noir feeling, as the music throughout the episode also captures the same spirit. Always managing to catch the feeling of a hard investigation, even if the sheriff is the Big Bad Wolf.

Overall
Those that pass up The Wolf Among Us because they aren’t as familiar with Fables, or haven’t seen it saturating the market as much as The Walking Dead will definitely miss out. A different beast of a game that focuses on trying to solve a difficult case, instead of pure survival. It is thanks to these differences that The Wolf Among Us is able to hold its own. This isn’t just rehashing old ideas with a new property, this is really something new and different, but just as good because it is from a team that knows how to make a good game and story.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Island DLC Trailer

Sergei Lazarev

October 12, 2013

Ubisoft has released a gameplay trailer of the Black Island Pack, exclusive to GameStop pre-orders for Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag. Check it out below. A season pass was also announced days ago.

The DLC features Captain Morgan’s favourite ship which sank off the coast of the island full of high-grade sailing equipment. Players can explore the Black Island and recover these items that are being searched for by pirates.

The Black Island Pack includes:

The dark and dangerous treasure-hunting mission on the Black Island
The deadly Black Ship
Legendary silver flintlock pistols used by Captain Morgan
And Valuable multiplayer items!

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag’s release dates seems to be fairly scattered. The game is out on October 29 in North America and October 31 in Europe for the PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360. PlayStation 4 users get the game on November 15 in North America and November 22 in Europe.

Xbox One will see the game on November 22 worldwide while PC gamers will be able to play it in North America on November 19 and Europe on November 22.

Full Deep Down presentation from Tokyo Game Show released

Travis Bruno

October 12, 2013

While we saw a little bit of Capcom‘s Deep Down shown off at Tokyo Game Show last month the entire video wasn’t released online until today. The ten minute video which shows off the entirety of their presentation, which clocks in at a little over ten minutes long, can be found below.

Also found below is a glimpse at Deep Down‘s multiplayer mode which considering the game is a free-to-play online RPG for the PlayStation 4, this is probably something one should check out if they are looking into picking up the console when it is released mid-November.

Deep Down PS4 Gameplay Demo

Deep Down PS4 Multiplayer Gameplay

SMT: Devil Survivor Overclocked released on the 3DS eShop

Travis Bruno

October 12, 2013

You may remember and if you are a gamer like myself, you probably took advantage of the deal that Nintendo held earlier this year where if gamers purchased and registered Shin Megami Tensei IV and Fire Emblem Awakening they were able to get $30 in Nintendo eShop credit.

Well Atlus sure hasn’t forgotten about it because they have just dropped a game on the eShop which provides a perfect opportunity for fans of the Shin Megami Tensei series. Today Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, the enhanced 3DS version of Devil Survivor originally released on the DS, was released on the Nintendo eShop for $29.99.

Black Mirror: The Collection Review

Claire Phillips

October 12, 2013

Black Mirror: The Collection
Studio: Zeppotron
Publisher: Madman
Format : DVD
Release Date: October 2, 2013
Price: $34.95 – Available Here

Overview

Black Mirror is a British television series that casts an eye over the influence of technology in our lives. It is an SBS Home Release that brings together two episodes from Season 1 (the third is missing due to music clearance issues) and the entirety of Season 2. Creator Charlie Brooker (Dead Set) has said that if technology is a drug, then Black Mirror is a look at its side effects.

The Black Mirror of the title is every screen that has come to dominate our lives in the digital age – that of smartphone, television, and computer. Every facet of our digital existence comes up for examination over the course of five episodes. Each is set in a slightly different version of the present or the near future and features a stand alone story and characters. The show has seen two critically acclaimed seasons, winning an International Emmy and having one of it’s episodes – The Entire History of You – optioned by Robert Downey Jr’s production company for a full movie treatment.

Story

The first episode of Black Mirror comes out of nowhere and grabs you by the throat. The National Anthem opens with a phone call that wakes the Prime Minister of the UK in the middle of the night. The young, popular Princess Susannah has been kidnapped, and to secure her release the ransom demands that the Prime Minister has sex with a pig on live national television.

From there things snowball, dragging the viewer on a journey that is brilliantly paced; horrific, funny, sickening, and engrossing. The Black Mirror theme is prominent – the video ransom note is uploaded to YouTube and goes viral before it can be suppressed, the public responds on Twitter, and everyone has a device in their hand at all times. It’s edge of your seat stuff until the very end, and is so effective because it is horrifyingly plausible. The viewer is forced to examine the ugly face of a world who’s moral boundaries and norms have been obliterated by the internet.

The Entire History of You takes a step into a near future where everyone is implanted with a memory recording, playback, and editing device called a Grain. The story has a more intimate scale, focusing on a young married couple and the emotional fallout of an awkward dinner party. The episode explores the consequences a device such as a Grain would have on many aspects of life – employment, relationships, identity theft, sex, and it’s all very cleverly done.

It isn’t as electric as The National Anthem, relying on a relationship dynamic instead of a rapidly developing plot. Whilst the characters are believable and well acted they aren’t entirely sympathetic. Fortunately the concept of the Grain is strong enough to carry the episode and make it another solid piece of social commentary. It is all too easy to see people’s real life addiction to Facebook morph into something like this with Google Glass just around the corner.

Season 2 has a more emotional opening act, Be Right Back. Young couple Martha and Ash move to a new home in the country. Martha is then left devastated when Ash dies in an accident. At his wake Martha is told about a new service that might help her grieve, and is reluctantly signed up to an online tool that gathers all the information a person has ever posted online and collates into a functioning personality. Martha is repelled by the virtual Ash at first, but after making a life changing discovery she is compelled to engage with him.

Whilst the idea of digital resurrection is provocative it is Martha’s emotional journey that is the focus of the episode, much to its strength. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one will be familiar with the beats of the grieving process that Martha goes through, and whilst it doesn’t sustain that hook through to the end it is still a thought provoking episode.

White Bear is an entirely different journey. A woman wakes up surrounded by pills and bandages on her wrists, with no memory of who she is. The TV next to her shows nothing but a strange symbol. Outside the house the few people she can find refuse to communicate with her, instead filming everything she does on their phones. After fleeing a man who tries to kill her, she runs into another woman – the only person she has met so far who seems normal. She explains that 90% of the population have been brainwashed by the signal on the television, and do nothing but film what they see on their phones. Others who have been unaffected have taken advantage of the newly lawless society and roam the streets hunting people for the entertainment of the watchers.

Initially White Bear is a little hard to take seriously, but evolves beyond the skepticism to deliver one of Black Mirror’s best episodes.

Politics gets a turn in the final episode of Season 2 – The Waldo Moment. Jamie is a comedian who voices cartoon bear Waldo on a crass comedy talk show. After doggedly pursuing and mocking a candidate in the local by-election, Waldo himself is put up for election by producers keen to exploit the character. Jamie, always reluctant about his work as a trash talking bear, is forced to play along in a political campaign that continues to gather momentum as people flock to Waldo’s anti-establishment attitude.

The episode plays into well established opinion about politicians and the games that they play, giving it a fresh spin for the age of social media. Jamie’s ups and downs as he tries to come to terms with his new role are not as dramatic as some of the character arcs of previous episodes, but Waldo is more comedic an episode than some of its pitch black brethren.

Visuals & Audio

Every episode of Black Mirror is constructed around a convincing world. No matter what vision of the future it visits there are always plenty of details – both big and small – that ensure complete immersion. Things are kept simple with little in the way of flashy techniques, allowing lighting to set the tone and making sparse use of music. That simplicity extends to the design of some of the future tech that appears in the episodes, which nudge viewers into a future that seems entirely possible – laptops with gesture control, subtly futuristic mobile phones and the way people’s eyes change when they use their Grain implant. Nothing ever seems stupid or outrageous, instead coming off as genuine possibilities if we were to pursue our current technology to the extreme.

Overall

Black Mirror : The Collection is an excellent series. It is thought provoking without being glum or sanctimonious, and never pushes a particular agenda on its audience. Every episode has something interesting to say or something shocking to reveal, and given the wide breadth of topics it covers there is going to be something here for anyone who has embraced the digital age. The National Anthem and White Bear are particular stand outs, but every episode will make you think, make you talk, make you share. It is a show that holds up a mirror to society and dares to show an ugly reflection. Watch it.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

REBORN Kickstarter launched with new goal

Travis Bruno

October 12, 2013

Some of you may have read about a new Kickstarter that was set to be launched back at the end of September for a game called REBORN that would be released on the PS3 and PS4. Well the Kickstarter was delayed a bit as the company received a lot of feedback about the title and after evaluating some of their details, they have chosen to now launch the Kickstarter and have also increased the amount they are asking for.

The Kickstarter originally was going to ask for $150,000 but now the goal is currently set at $200,000. For more details about what the game has to offer the Kickstarter page can be found here while more assets and details for the title can be found here.

Valve Shows off the Steam Controller in New Video Demo

Jamie Laike Tsui

October 12, 2013

One of the engineers at Valve sat down in front of the camera to show off the Steam Controller prototype. The demo unit is missing the touchscreen in the middle of the controller. Four physical buttons are in its place. This is the exact same version that 300 lucky testers will receive when Valve begins beta testing.

The video shows off Portal 2, Civilization V, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Papers, Please gameplay using the controller in legacy mode. The most impressive portion of the demo is without a doubt Papers, Please as it is a mouse intensive game that requires an incredible amount of speed and accuracy.

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