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Magic: The Gathering – Manipulative Monstrosities Review

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October 13, 2013

Magic: The Gathering – Manipulative Monstrosities Intro Deck

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Price: $19.99 official site here

Magic: The Gathering Intro Decks aren’t designed to win tournaments, or be unbeatable in any of the game’s formats. Their primary purpose is to provide a pre-made deck that new players can pick up and play, secondary to this is that they typically introduce and make use of the new rules implemented in the set they are from. In this way Intro Decks provide a great first stop for anyone jumping into Magic: The Gathering.

NOTE: Since Intro Decks are made for newer Magic: The Gathering players, I wrote the review to reflect that, and used some terminology that only Magic players will understand.

Manipulative Monstrosities is an Intro Deck from the current Theros set. It is a blue/red deck, and as the name suggests, makes heavy use of the Monstrosity ability, and also allows you to control how you draw cards in your deck through the Scry ability. Most of the cards in this 60-card deck will make use of at least one of these abilities.

For those who don’t know, Monstrositiy is an effect where you pay a certain amount of mana and then your monster becomes bigger. They gain a set of +1/+1 counters, and often a second ability will trigger. To best demonstrate this ability, lets check out the face-card for the deck: Shipbreaker Kraken.

So Shipbreaker Kraken is a 6/6 creature for 6 mana. Definitely not a bad thing to smack down onto the table, but lets take a closer look. Shipbreaker Kraken also has a Monstrosity ability; Monstrosity 4. By paying the 8 mana, Shipbreaker Kraken then becomes a 10/10 creature, and you get the option of tapping up to four of your opponent’s creatures and having them remain that way until Shipbreaker Kraken leaves the field. It is an expensive cost, but it works well in the intro deck. A whole bunch of creatures in this deck make use of Monstrosity, but all of them are different. Here are some more creatures in the deck that make use of Monstrosity.

So aside from playing creatures down and making them massive with monstrosity, the deck also relies heavily on the Scry mechanic. Scry was introduced in 2004 in the Fifth Dawn set, and has since been reintroduced in Theros. Scrying basically means you get to look at the top card (or cards, depending on the amount you can Scry) of your library and either putting them back on top, or on the bottom in any order you like. Effectively this lets you stack your own deck mid-game, and if used right can be devastating for your opponent. Check out Omenspeaker (one of my personal favourite cards not only from this deck, but from Theros period).

Omenspeaker lets you Scry 2 when she enters the battlefield. So basically you get to look at the top two cards of your deck, and decide which of any you want on top, and which if any you want at the bottom. It really helps if you are looking for a particular type of spell to finish off your opponent, or a land so that you can finally trigger Monstrosity.

Being a blue/red deck, there is a lot of control and burn going on aside from the Monstrosity and Scry mechanics. Blue makes use of a lot of stalling tactics, while red does its best to deal damage as quickly as possible. Cards like Wall of Frost, and Shock are staples of these two styles of play, and both are present here. However, I haven’t touched on the deck’s second rare card: Curse of the Swine. This card turns your opponents creatures into pigs! Check it out…

Awesome right? This card is fantastic, and really ties the deck together nicely. Nothing better than having a bunch of Monstrous creatures on the field, than your opponent only having a bunch of pigs to try and stop them with.

So there is Manipulative Monstrosities for you. It wont be winning you any matches at the Pro Tour, but for an intro into Magic, as well as the more in-depth mechanics of Monstrosity and Scry you really can’t go wrong. Also don’t forget that if you are picking up an Intro Deck, that it comes with two free booster packs too, so you might get something to customise your deck with and make it even better!

One final thought on the Intro Decks in general: I noticed when I was playing with them, that the cards feel quite different, almost slippery in comparison to normal. Due to this, they got dirty quicker and were also harder to shuffle, so if you plan on using them a lot you might want to invest in some sleeves (although you should be doing that anyway!).

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

NBA 2K14 Review

Luke Halliday

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October 13, 2013

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NBA 2K14
Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K Games
Platform: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PlayStation 3, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Price: $89.95 – Available Here

Overview
‘We started from the bottom, now we’re here!’ – Those words from the Drake song that plays frequently throughout NBA 2K14 serve as a battle cry for 2K Games’ NBA 2K franchise. Now 14 years in, the NBA 2K series has come a long way and with NBA 2K14 we get a celebration of the series in a way that any fan would die for.

It is only fitting that this game features a mode focusing on Lebron James’ path to greatness as it is truly a culmination of the NBA 2K series’ own path to greatness. This is without a doubt the best game in the long-running series and a true classic of the sports game genre.

Gameplay
From top to bottom, NBA 2K14 shines with polish. While on the surface it may not appear to bring much new to the table, but if you take the time to really soak it all in, you’ll see that 2K have taken the formula that has made the series such a hit and shined it up to near perfection.

The basic core gameplay has become tighter and more refined than ever before. It couldn’t be easier to jump in and have a game of basketball and the controls are easy to pick up no matter your skill level. Having such a control scheme is integral to a game like this which works superbly as a pick up and play style game as well as a serious intense playing sort of game.

The game features many of the same game modes seen in NBA 2K13, with the career mode, shoe creator and season mode all returning among many others. Besides the returning features however we have the brand new inclusion of the Lebron James ‘Path to Greatness’ mode, which much like the theme song says, you start from to bottom and work your way to the top. It is a fun mode and for fans of the legend that is Lebron James it is a real treat. Interestingly though it isn’t simply about reliving King James’ best moments, it is about making moments of your own. A welcome surprise and one that proves to be quite a lot of fun.

Perhaps the mode that will see you having the most play time however is the standard exhibition match mode. It is a simple click through to set up a game, you can once again play currently ongoing matches as well if you are following along with the NBA, which of course many players surely would be.

One of the highlights of the game is of course the online multi-player mode which allows for a multitude of players to jump in on a game with one another and battle it out on the court. The online mode is smooth as silk and the gameplay does not suffer under the pressure of online whatsoever. It runs smoothly and makes for some truly great challenges when taking on some tough opponents around the world.

What really stands out with NBA 2K14 though is just how tight the game’s mechanics feel. Whether it is the split second timing of a perfect shot of the precision passes or interceptions, 2K have nailed the mechanics here. This kind of refining is much welcome in a game like this which mostly builds upon a pre-existing formula. It’s the little bits of fine tuning that make all the difference.

NBA 2K14 may not be a major leap forward for the series but it’s a brand new shiny coat of paint that cleans up the rough edges of its predecessor quite nicely. Not only that but there is simply hundreds of hours of content to explore in this game, making it the most deep and immersive NBA 2K game thus far. There is so much to see and do, NBA 2K14 is packed to rafters with content to slam. All of this goes into making this the best NBA 2K experience to date.

Visuals and Audio
As far as aesthetics go, NBA 2K14 is a highly realistic visual experience. Each player has been painstakingly captured in near photo-realistic graphics, bringing them to life in digital form. From the way they move down to the way they look, 2K recreate each player in great detail. The courts are also well represented being quite vibrant and true to real life in design.

One of the major highlights of this game is its incredible soundtrack. As we have come to expect from 2K over the years, NBA 2K14 features a blockbuster soundtrack comprised of some of the hottest licensed tracks going right now. With the previously mentioned ‘Started From The Bottom’ by Drake being the forefront of the soundtrack, you’ve got a great headliner. However it isn’t just Drake’s track that makes this audio compilation so superb, there are tracks like Kanye West’s ‘All Of The Lights’ and Imagine Dragon’s ‘Radioactive’ that will find their way into your head and set up camp, repeating over and over in your mind’s eye for days. It is truly a sign of a great video-game soundtrack when the songs become so ingrained in you that the sound of them make you think of the feeling of playing the game and with NBA 2K14 this soundtrack does that.

Overall
From the bottom to the top, NBA 2K14 has solidified the NBA 2K franchise as arguably the greatest basketball gaming series of all time. Last year when I reviewed NBA 2K13, I pondered how 2K could possibly top it. With NBA 2K14 they showed us that they not only could top it but they could do it 10 times better.

Now I must ask this again, how can 2K top this game? I’m not sure they can, but I look forward to seeing them try with NBA 2K15. With the sheer amount of content they packed into this game, NBA 2K14 has reached the greatness at the end of this 14 year long epic path the series has taken. NBA 2K14 is an absolute slam dunk!

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Family Guy Season 12 Review

Andrew Day

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October 13, 2013

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Family Guy Season 12
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Format: DVD
Release Date: Out Now
Price: $39.98 – Available Here

Overview

Family Guy has been delighting fans for years… While at the same time, pissing off a whole generation of people. Often dismissed for its crude humor and over the stop bits, Family Guy is a love it or hate it show. Family Guy Season 12 continues this tradition, and offers a non-apologetic laugh a minute animated series. However, behind a lot of the comedy there are some poignant social commentaries that add a real depth to the series. The show isn’t as funny or outrageous as it was a few years ago, but it is definitely still enjoyable for fans. Being uncensored really helps it too, as the random and unexpected f-bombs really liven up the show.

Story

If you don’t know by now, Family Guy revolves around the Griffin Family; Peter (the overweight patriarch), Lois (the easily agitated housewife), Chris (the slacker teen-boy), Meg (the punching bag teen girl), Stewie (the genius and possibly homosexual baby) and Brian (the articulate and opinionated family dog). While there are no over-arcing plot points for Season 12, each episode is self-contained and will provide hours of hilarity for those who can handle it.

A lot of the storyline elements in Season 12 relies on viewers having known the characters in advance. Although some character development does happen on-screen, and allusions to previous episodes are made, a lot of the jokes are for the enjoyment of long-time fans. ‘Forget-Me-Not’ is a prime example of an episode that will be enjoyed more by long-term fans, as it follows the friendship of Peter, Brian, Quagmire and Joe after they mysteriously lose their memory and are the only people left on earth.

For a show that is often seen as ‘low-brow’ and over the top, there is a startling amount of depth to Family Guy, and that shines through in Season 12. Family Guy is a comedy show through and through, but there are episodes that have a more emotional pull, and some that toe the line and will make viewers feel uncomfortable. A prime example is early on in the season; “The Story of Brenda Q,” which focuses heavily on the sister of regular cast-member Quagmire, and how physically and emotionally abused by her boyfriend. There are still plenty of jokes made here, but they will give you the “haha… Oh I feel bad having laughed at that,” feeling. However, this episode, as well as a few others in the series don’t feel so much about the laughs, as they are making a poignant social commentary. “The Blind Side,” also does this, as Brian dates a blind woman who hates dogs, so he actively pretends to be something he isn’t in order to win her affections.

The series doesn’t feel as funny or fresh as it did a few years ago, and sadly it has gotten to the point where it often feels like it is just being random for the sake of being random. Regardless, there is still a lot to like here, and it is amazing to see that after 12 Seasons, it is still going strong, with episodes that can make you laugh, feel uncomfortable, and make you say “Shut up, Meg!” … Oh, and there is another giant chicken fight in there too.

Visuals

Family Guy has come a long way since it debuted in the 90s, and this DVD showcases that perfectly. The series is presented in high definition, and the characters, scenes and even the backdrops all look absolutely stunning. You even get to see how far the series has come during the episode ‘Back To The Pilot,” where Brian and Stewie travel back in time to the very first episode of Family Guy. The character personalities and how they have changed are highlighted here, but it is nothing in comparison to how different the show looks. Stewie even remarks a few times how the animation wasn’t top-notch back then, and it really highlights how far the show has come.

Audio

The audio here is great, and the voice cast behind the show give it their all. Seth McFarlane, the series’ creator does a lot of the voice work, and he tries to provide different voices for as many characters as possibly. He is joined by other regulars Seth Green, Mila Kunis, Alex Borstein and others, to voice the enormous amount of characters that populate Quahog.

Family Guy Season 12 is uncensored, and I cannot over-emphasise how much funnier that makes the show. Although Family Guy doesn’t rely too heavily on swearing for its humor, when it does, it will come straight out of left field and really add something to the joke. A special shout-out goes to “The Blind Side,” where Peter keeps falling down a flight of stairs, and whenever he does, a string of profanities erupts from his mouth, and will almost certainly cause an eruption of laughter for yours. The uncensored nature also creates a greater flow for the series, as you aren’t suddenly brought out of it with a loud “BEEP” sound.

Extras

Gamily Guy Season 12 is riddled with extra features and bonus content for fans. The first that any fan will notice is the extended and uncut scenes that were not presented on TV. sometimes they are just small additions, and others provide more context to the story, or an extra joke or two. Once you get past the episodes themselves, you will also find that there is a wealth of additional content here. From scene and full episode animatics, to more deleted scenes, audio outtakes, commentary and even an appearance by Ricky Gervais (who appears as the Dolphin, Billy Finn in the episode ‘Be Careful What You Fish For,’ there is a heap to keep fans interested even after you have watched the episodes 2 or 3 times over.

Overall

Family Guy Season 12 is a great show to watch. Sure it will always have its naysayers, and people who think it should be done away with for good, but longtime fans of the series know that there is more to it than over the top jokes and crude humor. The amount of depth shown in Season 12 shows that although the show may be a little past its prime, it is still at fighting weight and has a few more title bouts left before it hangs up the gloves for good.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Totems: Game of Conquest Review

Jamie Laike Tsui

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October 13, 2013

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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

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October 13, 2013

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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

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October 13, 2013

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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

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October 12, 2013

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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

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October 12, 2013

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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

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October 12, 2013

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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

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October 12, 2013

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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.