Happy launch day, everybody! It’s here, it’s finally here! The 12th of October has arrived at that means Pokemon X and Y for the 3DS has been released and with that release has come, what I am assuming to be, the final trailer AND the launch trailer for the title. It is another live-action and CGI animation mix and it looks better than the last, we see evolutions and old-school Pokemon and…it’s just great. As you can tell I may be over-excited for this release but honestly who isn’t? If you’re anything like me and have woken up a little bit before the stores are actually open than this trailer is just for you! Head down to our Featured Video Section below to catch the Pokemon X and Y Launch Trailer and let us know what you think about the trailer and the game in the comments section below!
ABC has announced a “back 9” order for Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, giving the series a full-season pick up. This will bring the season to a total of 22 episodes, including the 3 episodes that have already aired. It’s unsurprising really, since there has been incredible amounts of hype for this show since before it even had a release date. Furthermore, Marvel has also revealed that Titus Williver will reprise his role as Agent Blake from the Marvel one-shot “Item 47” in the sixth episode of the series, “FZZT”. Here’s ABC’s description of said episode:
When floating bodies turn up, Coulson and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D must hunt down an elusive killer. No one is safe–not even the team–on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Is Agent Blake that elusive killer? Or is he the one who isn’t safe? Or is he teaming up with Coulson again? Looks like we’ll have to wait and see!
Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D airs every Tuesday on ABC 8PM EST.
From the moment you wake up in the morning you’re presented with a million different choices. Do I stay asleep? Do I want to shower? Cereal or bacon? Casual or formal? Coffee or Tea? The world as we know it is shaped by decisions both small and large from what to wear to whether to go to war. So, of course, like with every other premise ever, a harem comedy has to be made about it immediately. Sporting a hideously obnoxious name, a main character with a gimmicky power, and more “plot” than you could break a bra with, Noucome is here to fill the silly-but-I-can’t-stop-watching-it role for this autumn season.
Upon translation the title reads, “My Mental Choices are Completely Interfering With My School Romantic Comedy,” and that is incredibly telling and accurate. As you might expect Noucome is a no holds barred romantic comedy, but with a twist. That being the main character, Kanade Amakusa, and his supernatural predicament whereby at completely random times he will suddenly be presented with a choice that he has to make otherwise he undergoes blinding head pain. For example:
Choose:
① Read this beautifully written review
② Backflip through a flaming hoop and then read this beautifully written review
Fortunately for you readers, you have one option that is quite frankly amazing and one that is still great, but you also have to risk your life for the luxury of treating to your eyes to my linguistic mastery and flawless opinions. For Kanade though, this is rarely the case and he more often than not gets presented with two equally awful options and he has to just pick the one that leaves him with the most dignity (though he seems to have lost that a long time ago). Throw in a kuudere best friend, an overly cheerful CEO’s daughter, a loli teacher, and a Sena Kashiwazaki lookalike who fell from the sky and you have yourself an anime.
As I pointed out in my Autumn Picks, the studio behind Noucome is Diomedea; an odd little company who have a habit of making series that could be considered to have controversial themes, especially Kodomo no Jikan that was refused a North American release both in manga and anime format. However, recently they have toned their content down a little and everything that they have produced in the last few years has been tremendous in my opinion. Whether Noucome will be a descent back into ecchi territory is yet to be seen, but after testing the waters with the recent Mondaiji-tachi OVA it would not surprise me if they planned to do just that.
What I can credit Diomedea for however is the shockingly good animation that I did not expect them to worry themselves with for a series like this. Mondaiji-tachi was beautifully animated, but in all honesty it needed to be to reflect the wonderful world of Little Garden and to do the action scenes justice. Noucome is not a series that was in desperate need of amazing artwork, but they decided to make the most of it anyway, unlike J.C Staff with Golden Time. Certainly, Noucome is not going to give Shingeki no Kyojin a run for its money and as far as harem comedies go, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai still looks better by comparison, but it definitely goes far beyond the call of duty and I have no complaints with the artwork so far.
Being a primarily silly series it was fairly obvious that there would be no plot in episode 1 and that is exactly what we got. Immediately we were dropped into an amusing, but highly dragged out history of the greatest choices of all time which if you knew enough about Japanese history and had a bit of general knowledge to back it up was actually really funny. Granted, I predict that it will be the most intelligent joke of the series, but intelligence is not what I came here looking for! I came here looking for fanservice and comedy, and while we got the latter in abundance, I am shocked to say that there was barely any fanservice in the entire episode. In fact, Kanade got more naked than any of the girls did so kudos to Diomedea for not just trying to hook people in with boobs like so many other poor series.
Episode 1’s primary role was to introduce the main cast and it did so in a way that was genuinely completely inoffensive and made me actually laugh out loud at times. First of all we met Furano Yukihira, a sharp, but passive, silver-haired girl who reminds me of a cross between Miyako Shiina (Majikoi) and Yozora Mikazuki (Haganai). Being English, I love passive-aggressive, sarcastic wit and so I always adore kuudere characters. She cracked me up and I really hope we see a lot more from her since she is masterful at making the main character suffer in hilarious ways. I was less fond of Ouka Yuuouji, the rich CEO’s daughter, but in her defense she was not given a lot of screen time so forming an opinion of her this early would be unfair. The real surprise character so far though came crashing into Kanade’s life when he was given the choice between a beautiful girl falling from the sky, or his incredibly odd, neighbour who is a bit portly to say the least and would likely crush him to death. Obviously choosing the beautiful girl, he was astonished when she actually fell through the clouds and landed on top of him. The stunning girl in question is called Chocolat and I look forward to seeing her turn his already crazy life upside-down next episode.
All in all, Noucome was a pleasant surprise! I went into it thinking it would be a characterless smutfest, but I left actually quite looking forward to the next episode. If you go into it expecting it to be more than a generic harem comedy you will be disappointed, but it does what it does well and it looks beautiful which definitely does no harm.
Keep an eye on Capsule Computers’ Anime Impressions section for more autumn reviews and make sure to come back next week for episode 2 of Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Comedy wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru.
Welcome back for this week’s iOS Game Suggestions. If you missed last week’s, or are new to the suggestions, click on the link below and check out what cool games you should be picking up for your iOS device along with the introduction on how the suggestions work. (suggestions 1 has how it all works)
A average week on iTunes! As always, it started slow and ended slow. But still as always, there are many must-buy games this week in all departments, FREE, 99c and over 99c. This week I’ve suggested a total of 13 great quality titles. Make sure you check them all especially… F1 Challenge, Steampunk Tower, Runnercraft, Advenchewers, Type:Rider, Football Heroes just to name a few.
Break down below :
2 – FREE Games
6 – $0.99c Games
5 – Over $0.99c Games
As always for this week’s suggestions are all new titles that you should take a look at and consider spending your hard earned iTunes cash / time on. Well the Free games just below certainly should all be given a shot as they won’t cost you anything!
For The Cheapskates – FREE GAMES
Football Heroes – Price : FREE – Publisher –Run Games (Football Heroes is inspired by classic football games but modernized with controls specifically designed for touch-screens. Take on challenging teams in Single Player and claim the Cup Trophy, or play multiplayer anywhere via online, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Build and customize the ultimate team and fight your way to the end zone using special moves and perks to bring home the victory for your hometown. You have never seen a football game quite like this…) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Arcade Ball – Price : FREE – Publisher –Mobage (Bring the classic American arcade bowling experience everywhere with Arcade Ball for iOS! With a quick flick, roll the ball up the ramp and into one of the numbered holes for points, tickets tokens and achievements. Arcade Ball is easy to learn and easier to love: Play by simply flicking your finger across the screen. Tilt your device to add spin. Simple to play, impossible to stop! Win enough tickets to go on a shopping spree for fun prizes, custom lanes, and custom balls! Over 100 prizes across multiple collections!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
For The Bargain Hunters – 99c Games
Steampunk Tower – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Chillingo (Tower defense on the rise! Take charge of the immense Steampunk Tower and help the eccentric Lord Bingham protect his precious Etherium Mine. As the Imperial Army’s foot soldiers and mechanical monstrosities march into battle, fortify your epic spire with machine guns, cannons, lightning coil, saw launchers and more. ) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Advenchewers – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Warner Bros (Harness the mighty power of bubble gum in a high-flying adventure from Warner Bros.! When the world is faced with its darkest moment, there’s only one thing to do…CHEW. Become an AdvenChewer and soar to your father’s rescue before he’s forced to serve an evil General. Using special bubble gum and friendly birds, fly through treacherous landscapes of cascading ice caverns, boiling volcanoes, and more. Float your way to the top of the leaderboards and crush your Facebook friends’ high scores as you pop the General’s plans and save your family. ) runs on iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
KAMI – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – State Of Play Games (A beautiful and relaxing paper puzzle game. KAMI is deceptively simple: fold out coloured paper to fill the screen in as few moves as possible. Relaxing and easy to pick up, you’ll soon find yourself deep in contemplation to perfect each puzzle. Created by State of Play, famous for their handcrafted aesthetic, KAMI has been created with real paper in an elegant Japanese theme. ) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Random Runners – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Ravenous Games (The Random Heroes crew is back for more fun! Random Runners is a spin on the Random Heroes game in runner fashion! Play as a misfit group of heroes on their run-and-gun adventure taking on the most cliché bad guys ever, zombies! Choose your character, choose your weapon, and give ’em hell! Featuring both level based and endless gameplay mode, you can compete for high scores on the global leaderboards.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Har Mo Ny – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Borderleap (har•mo•ny the addictive puzzler is pleasing to the eye, music to the ears and challenging to the brain! Your objective is simple, yet deceivingly complex: rearrange the blocks according to a harmonized palette of colors. Blocks may only move horizontally or vertically and each block must use up all its moves. Sophisticated color palettes range from simple boards with 3 colors up to incredibly challenging 10-color boards. As levels increase, so does the intricacy and beauty of each color palette. ) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Forword Rush – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Everplay (Use your fast reflexes and word building skills together in this brand new experience! The first of its kind, Forword Rush is a smart, slick, and stylish word adventure game that becomes more challenging as you progress through a variety of levels across three worlds. ) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
For The Millionaires – All games over $0.99
F1 Challenge – Price : $2.99 – Publisher – Codemasters (Complete over 90 racing events and recreate thrilling moments from the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™ in F1 Challenge – an officially licensed FORMULA 1™ videogame.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Runnercraft– Price : $2.99 – Publisher – Interstellar Games (The premium block inspired endless runner has finally arrived! Come experience a blocky world like never before! Navigate perilous obstacles while collecting materials to craft items and power-ups to help you along the way. How far can you run?) runs on iPad. BUY NOW
Type:Rider– Price : $2.99 – Publisher – Bulkypix (The European cultural TV channel Arte innovates and launches its first video game ! Immerse yourself in this fascinating and unique experience to uncover the history and secrets of Fonts & Characters ! Play as 2 dots and travel through the ages of typographic styles and techniques. From the rock paintings of prehistoric times to Pixel art of the 2000’s, solve all the riddles by riding the most popular fonts and characters (Garamond, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Pixel, Comic Sans…) in a very captivating musical and visual environment.) runs iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
Ring Run Circus – Price : $4.49 – Publisher – Kalio (Play in a dream world of connected circus rings, perform as three star acrobats and solve more than 50 tricky, skill-based puzzles in the world’s first RING-FORMER. Soar and float through levels as the speedy and elegant Nina. Slap those who get in your way with proud Ned or play as Grandpa Nelson to change the order of things. Ring Run Circus is a ring-former: a platformer set on rings. Master each character and use them together to solve tricky puzzles.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Duet Game – Price : $2.99 – Publisher – Kumobius. (Enter a mesmerising trance of co-dependence in Duet — a minimalist experience that will expand the limits of your perception and radial dexterity.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
There you have it folks these games should keep you busy for quite some time well until next week at least. I’ll be back next week for another dose of iOS goodness, in the meantime if you would also like to suggest your own suggestions, please feel free to share them in the comments section below or in the iOS forum section on the site here.
Military simulator Arma 3 is to receive the first episode of its singleplayer campaign on October 31, Bohemia Interactive has announced. Titled Survive, the free DLC will see players take on the role of a regular soldier stationed in the fictional Republic of Altis. The game was released last month for the PC, without its campaign component as planned.
The soldier is named Ben Kerry who’s part of a US-led, NATO peacekeeping mission in the Mediterranean which is already in a drawdown phase. This leaves the area vulnerable to CSAT forces, creating a heated flashpoint. Arma 3’s sandbox will be expanded upon with new weapons, animations, 3D objects and scripted modules.
“Looking forward to the forthcoming episodes, we’ll continue to expand Arma 3’s sandbox with additions such as new vehicles,” says Jay Crowe, Creative Director.
This week, EA Mobile has some big updates for its iOS and Android titles. Firstly, The Sims Freeplay has received its much demanded Teen update, adding the ability to grow your Sims from childhood to adolescence.
Teens can get their passing grade in Sim Town High, experience their first awkward kiss and even become famous with an appearance on Teen Idol! Should they gain a certain amount of fame, you can celebrate them by building the Sim Town sign and receiving extra bonuses when collecting Town Map rewards. Finish its construction to receive the Teen Idol Mansion, the perfect pad for your Teen. And finally, to get players in the Halloween spirit, six new ghosts have also invaded Sim Town in the Teen update. Fans who catch them all by Halloween have the opportunity to receive spooky new items and costumes.
The Sims FreePlay Teen update is now live on the App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore. Download The Sims FreePlay for free here.
And finally, EA Mythic’s mobile reboot of the cult classic PC game Dungeon Keeper is enjoying a similarly early debut on Google Play this week. Australians can play the diabolically fun title today, building the ultimate underground lair and summoning dark forces to do their bidding. From Imps and Trolls, to Bile Demons and Warlocks, you’ll need more than your wit to stop enemies bent on destroying your dungeon’s heart. To thwart your invaders, you must strategically lay traps and maximise your defences. Then, go on the offensive and attack enemy dungeons, plundering their resources in the process. Comically sinister with addictive PVP/PVE, Dungeon Keeper will soon become your guilty pleasure.
Dungeon Keeper will make its full worldwide launch on the App Store and Google Play this Summer.
In select countries – including Australia – Dragon Age fans can take advantage of the early release of free-to-play title Heroes of Dragon Age for Android devices by downloading it from the Google Play store. Heroes of Dragon Age lets players collect legendary Dragon Age heroes from across the Dragon Age universe and bring them to life in strategic 3D combat.
Heroes of Dragon Age will make its full worldwide launch on the App Store and Google play later this Spring.
Anime streaming service Daisuki.net has announced a new category on their website, Daisuki TV, which is set to open up a whole new world of content for the otaku-minded user. The first batch of goodies include JAM Project music videos, a special comment from Sword Art Online staff and a unique show about Japanese culture called Gattsuri TOKYO. This comes just as Daisuki announces a free iPad App for streaming its anime.
Starting from October 10, four music videos from popular anime song group JAM Project will be made available: “MAXIMIZER”, “Wings of the Legend”, “Believe in my existence” and the latest work “THUMB RISE AGAIN”. Formed in the year 2000, JAM Project has been a staple in many anime and video game theme songs such as Super Robot Wars, while founding member Hironubu Kageyama is best known for singing most of the legendary Dragon Ball Z songs.
Also added is a special message from the Japanese cast of Aniplex series Sword Art Online which is currently streaming on Daisuki. The clips features comments from the voice actors Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Kirito), Haruka Tomatsu (Asuna) and the Director himself, Tomohiko Ito.
Finally, a show about Japanese subculture made specifically for an overseas audience, Gattsuri TOKYO, will be added. New Yorker DJ “Michael” explores traditional topics like Japanese food, festivals, clothing and Mt. Fuji. But also covered are other topics like seiyu (voice actor) school, illustrations and otaku culture. The series will be streamed as eight 15-minute subtitled episodes which will also be shown on Japanese TV, too.
Daisuki will of course continue adding more music videos, behind the scenes anime content and insightful TV series in the near future, so be sure to visit the check their website often.
Two Tribes have just announced that they are pulling the plug on Toki Tori 2+‘s level editor on the Wii U version of the game. They have confirmed that due to poor sales numbers and some technical difficulties they ultimately decided to scrap the mode.
Don’t fret though if you are a Wii U player, Two Tribes have you covered. If you play on Toki Tori 2+ on the Wii U, you will be able to pick up the game on Steam for free and have all the fun you can muster with the level editor on the Steam version.
For more information on this change to Toki Tori 2+ on the Wii U, check out the official Two Tribes website here.
Tomorrow is the 12th of October, 2013. That date doesn’t only mean that Pokemon X and Y will finally be release, but it also signifies the launch of the latest addition to the Nintendo handheld console family, the Nintendo 2DS.
The Nintendo 2DS is essentially a Nintendo 3DS without 3D capabilities and hinge to shut it. What it does do however is everything else the 3DS can do but for a cheaper and more affordable cost.
The console is set to release in two colour variants: Black + Blue and White + Red. Both versions of the console look great and contain just as much power as the 3DS console.
The Nintendo 2DS surely looks to be a superb entry point device for those wanting to get in on the excellent handheld gaming action but unable to just over the price curve.
Each purchase of the Nintendo 2DS includes the following: the Nintendo 2DS System, Nintendo 2DS stylus, AC Adapter, SDHC Memory Card 4GB, 6 AR Cards and User’s Manual.
You can pick up a Nintendo 2DS starting tomorrow for the standard retail price of AU$149.95. This certainly looks to be a great entry point for those yet to make the jump at Nintendo’s handheld offerings.
Big news for Forza Motorsport and Top Gear fans. It has just been officially confirmed that Top Gear’s The Stig will be getting digitized in the upcoming Forza Motorsport 5 realistic racing video-game. Not only will he simply be in the game, but you can actually race against The Stig, which is obviously a dream for many Top Gear fans.
Players will be able to race on the Top Gear test track. This is the first time The Stig will appear in the Forza Motorsport games. You can check out the announcement trailer for The Stig’s Digital Cousin below. Forza Motorsport 5 is exclusive to Xbox One and will be released on the 22nd of November, 2013.
Avengers without super powers assemble!
