Remember when Cranky Kong got announced? Well, I have a feeling we will be seeing more of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as Nintendo are planning a Nintendo Direct in mere hours to showcase a selection of titles releasing in early 2014.
As usual, the show will be hosted by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of Europe President Satoru Shibata, but other than those two, we know nothing of what will be shown (aside from Wii U and 3DS titles). I would expect to see some clips from already announced titles, but it is Nintendo we are talking about here, and with these Nintendo Directs, it is best to expect the unexpected. Check out all of the locations you can view the event below, as well as times.
To tune in, check out the Nintendo Direct website on 18th December at 2pm GMT, where the broadcast will be streamed.
With the holiday season nearly upon us and plenty of cold months still ahead, it seems like it is the best time to settle down with a good book or a whole bunch of manga. Thankfully, it seems gathering a large quantity of manga will be cheaper than ever now that Viz Media is holding a 20% discount on all of the digital manga found on Viz Manga and their Viz Manga App.
The sale starts today and will run until January 15, 2014. More than 2,000 volumes across 170 different series including popular series such as Naruto and Bleach are now on sale, but manga releases between now and then will also be discounted, including the digital debut of the soccer manga Whistle! which will be released on December 31.
Today Viz Media has announced that four Pokémon manga have been released on various digital bookstores. They are now available on the NOOK, Kindle Fire, and Kobo eReaders, as well as the iBooks and GooglePlay stores.
The series that are available now for the first time ever on these platforms include Pokémon Adventures Volumes 1-14, Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Adventure! Volumes 1-8, Pokémon Adventures: Diamond & Pearl/Platinum Volumes 1-4, and Pokémon Black and White Volumes 1-4. These manga cost $3.99 to $4.99 per volume and are all part of Viz’s Perfect Square imprint. This continues Viz’s trend of releasing their manga on digital platforms and making it easier for readers to take their manga everywhere they go.
Disney recently announced that they are working on a completely free-to-play online space combat game that is based on the Star Wars franchise. The game, Star Wars: Attack Squadrons, will focus on player-versus-player combat, allowing pilots to engage in dogfights in three different gaming modes.
There is Free-for-all, Team Dogfight, and Base Defense. The game will also allow heavy customization of your favorite Star Wars aircraft to make them to your exact specifications. When you win, you can earn rewards to further enhance your pilot and your aircraft. The game will allow you to team up with your friends and conquer your opponents.
Area 52 Games, a Seattle-based studio that has a focus on PC and mobile games, is developing Star Wars: Attack Squadrons. There’s no release date planned yet, but the beta, which you can sign up for here, will begin next year.
While BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma has been out in Japan for a couple of months and has even seen a few DLC characters already, Aksys Games has just announced that the latest Blazblue title will be released in North America on March 25th as a PlayStation 3 exclusive.
As we’ve already heard, there is both a standard version of the game as well as a $79.99 limited edition that will include a 40 page full color art book, a soundtrack CD, a Petite Nendoroid of Rachel Alucard, a special features Blu-ray, and a poster with fight moves on it. It is also worth noting that all first run copies of the game will come with a download code for Yuki Terumi.
Ubisoft and Blue Byte, the team behind Settlers Online, announced today that they’ve launched the annual Christmas event for online strategy game Anno Online, with plenty of goodies for players.
From now on, players will find an imperial ship on their islands. They’ll also get access to several exclusive features which include:
The Great Imperial Orphanage – You’ll take on several quests to help provide the Emperor with materials, good, and clothes for the task of building an Imperial Orphanage.
Adventurer went missing – Along with Captain Ramirez, you’ll be able to explore the whole Island and find the Adventurer.
Exclusive Items – During the event, you’ll get access to the Oriental embassy, Enhanced bakery, and more. Some special items, like a Christmas tree, will give players productivity buffs.
Along with the exclusive features, the game has also received an update with reworked advisor messages and user interface. For more information or to try the game, be sure to check out their official website here.
We already know that Date A Live is getting a second anime season thanks to an announcement made immediately after the final episode of the first anime season wrapped up. However until now we did not know when the second season would begin.
Today the official websitefor the anime has been updated and the second season will be airing during the Spring 2014 broadcast, an exact year after the first season. For those who don’t know, Date A Live follows the story of Itsuka Shido who possesses a unique ability to suppress the powers of dangerous spirits after making them fall in love with him. FUNimation picked up the streaming rights to the first season but have yet to announce any home release plans.
This month’s issue of V-Jump has announced that two new characters will be joining the J-Stars Victory VS roster. Korosensei from Ansatsu Kyoshitsu will be joining the game as a playable character while Neuro Nogami from Neuro: Supernatural Detective will be joining the game as a support character.
Namco Bandai also released a new trailer for the game which can be seen below. The trailer highlights a number of dream match-ups that can now happen within the game, a preview of the Japanese voice work for the title, and also give us a few seconds of gameplay footage showing Korosensei in action.
Thanks to the latest issue of Famitsu not only do we have a release date for Namco Bandai‘s next Idolmaster game but some additional details have been released as well. The Idolmaster: One for All will be released for the PlayStation 3 in Japan on May 15th and it will be avialable both at retail and as a digital download, with a special limited edition that comes with a number of bonuses for those who go the retail route.
Anyone who pre-orders the game will be given codes that will unlock exclusive idols for The Idolmaster: Cinderella Girls and The Idolmaster: Million Live mobile games. The additional details for the game include the fact that while players will still play as the producer for 765 Production, players will be able to witness the idols’ private lives as well as their work lives.
Overview What if you could tell the future? It’s an idea that humans have pondered upon for centuries. We are creatures of desire and the desire for some foresight is one that many have had at one point or another. Will you ace your exam? Will your crush return your feelings? Will you win the lottery? When will you die?
Future Diary embodies this desire in its high stakes battle of survival. What would happen if God gave you the power to see the future? How would you use that knowledge. That is the fulcrum of Future Diary, a compelling survival game anime with one hell of a hook.
Story In a game of life and death, the power to tell the future can be game changing. Such is the case with the survival game at the centre of Future Diary. Each player in this game is given a ‘Future Diary’ which provides them with reports of future events, at times even report of their death.
It is a tense tale to say the least and Future Diary wrings out every ounce of suspense it can. Each episode in this first collection by and large revolves around a villain of the week structure, but it works well at introducing the premise and crafting engaging insular story lines within the grander story at hand.
A real highlight in Future Diary is the superb cast of characters it features. Characters like Yuno and even our ‘hero’ Yuki are multi-layered characters with a surprising amount of depth to them. There in lies a great deal of intrigue, as the story unravels so too do these characters true selves. It is truly a thrill to watch.
The interactions between the characters is just as much of an interesting experience. They develop together as the series progresses and make for what is one of the bet ensemble casts in anime for quite some time. The chemistry between these characters is simply electric, making these insane situations they find themselves in feel very genuine, something that is really no easy accomplishment especially in a series with such a high death toll.
While there is some pacing issues in some points, giving a feeling that some steps were skipped over in the story telling process, Future Diary never ceases to be interesting. It just keeps throwing curve ball after curve ball at viewers and treats them with a relative amount of intelligence, taking a light-handed approach rather than a heavy-handed one. It doesn’t hold your hand through everything and trusts viewers to understand and following its story even at its most perplexing.
What really stands out about Future Diary however is that despite how dark and brutal it may be, there is an underlying playfulness to it that gives it a genuine sense of fun to proceedings. Because of this Future Diary transcends being just another action anime and becomes something truly memorable.
Visuals and Audio In terms of aesthetics, studio Asread have done a great job in giving the series a unique look. It borders between grim and light-hearted in a strange mash-up that manages to work wonders here. The character designs are very memorable and often betray their true selves in superb juxtaposition. Yuno for example appears to be a sweet wholesome girl, but her looks betray her personality. It is that contrast that makes this such a visually stimulating experience. What we see isn’t always what it seems and Asread studio capture that brilliantly.
As for the score, Future Diary hits all the right notes, reaching great heights in the big moments and remaining consistent even in the quieter moments. Consistency is a valuable asset to any anime series and Future Diary is all the more stronger because of it.
This release also happens to feature an English dub alongside the Japanese audio track. The English dub comes from Funimation and it must be said, they have done a great job with it. The casting is spot on and brings this series into English in a big way. Each performance echoes the original Japanese while also transitioning it into English superbly.
Extras In terms of extras and bonus features, Madman Entertainment have done a solid job in bringing this anime down under. They have included a multitude of special features that prove to be great value for money for this release. Included are insightful episode commentaries, textless opening and ending themes, TV spots and trailers. The real highlight though has to be the bonus ‘omake’ shorts. They provide further depth to the characters as well as being worth a real laugh, they are well worth the watch for what they bring to the table. All in all this is a great all around release for Madman Entertainment.
Overall Future Diary is one of the most must-see anime releases of the year. The central survival game at the core of Future Diary is half Battle Royale half Eden of the East, a mash-up for the ages no doubt. It is a compelling thrill ride that shocks as much as it excites. With the first collection concluding in a way that leaves you begging for more, you’ll undoubtedly be left hanging on the edge of your seat after this one.
Despite its minor pacing issues, it proves to be a pulse-pounding action anime the likes of which don’t come by often. The series has a killer hook that will keep you engaged from start to finish. Whether its brutal battles or explosive confrontations, you won’t be able to look away from Future Diary.
This release from Madman Entertainment is one that you don’t want to miss out on. Future Diary is all kinds of fun and an anime you won’t soon forget. If your future doesn’t have you watching Future Diary it is time for some serious course correction. Future Diary is bloody good fun.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
With the holiday season nearly upon us and plenty of cold months still ahead, it seems like it is the best time to settle down with a good book or a whole bunch of manga. Thankfully, it seems gathering a large quantity of manga will be cheaper than ever now that 
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