Today the television commercial for NBA 2K14 was released and I should know, I saw it at least ten times while watching sports earlier today. Anyways, 2K Sports has released the commercial online as well and you can check it out below. For those wondering, the accompanied song is “Step Into a World” by KRS One.
The footage of the game is said to be from the PlayStation 4 version of the game, though it is also coming to the Xbox One as a launch title and current generation consoles on October 1. For those who don’t know, anyone who pre-orders the game will also be able to get the King James bonus pack when the game is released.
Idea Factory, the parent company to Compile Heart and the maker of many games such as the Hyperdimension Neptunia, Record of Agarest War, Hakuoki series and many other titles, including one brand new teaser, has always had most of their titles brought to the West through various third party publishers. While some have slipped through the cracks, such as Monster Monpiece shown to the right, it seems that they are going to be trying to take matters into their own hands.
Today it was announced that they are opening up a base in California called Idea Factory International with former NIS America president Harusato Akenaga as the CEO. The company’s website, which will launch soon, can be found hereand a statement from the company can be found below:
“As it increases the volume of various content it wishes to make available globally, Idea Factory International intends to focus on providing general and overall information regarding Idea Factory properties to NA and EU fans, as well as strengthen the Idea Factory brand around the globe.”
Today it was revealed that Viz Media has acquired the license for Coppelion and will begin streaming the anime on Hulu and their VizAnime websitestarting on October 2nd. To go along with this announcement the company also released a preview trailer for the anime which can be found below.
For those who don’t know, Coppelion follows the story of three girls who are members of an elite special forces team named Coppelion who enter the abandoned city of Tokyo after the fallout from a nuclear meltdown. Coppelion also happens to be one of the many series that I am aiming to pick up this season.
With the Fall 2013 anime season about to kick off and many of our anime writers already putting out their picks, I figured that it was time that I make my own list. While we started this back in the Winter 2013 season and continued into Spring 2013, I skipped the Summer season but in place of that, I’ve come back with a rather massive list of shows that I’m giving a shot this season.
Coppelion In the year 2016 a nuclear meltdown has caused the Japanese government to evacuate and abandon Tokyo. However despite their attempt at rescuing people, nearly the entire population of Tokyo is killed in the meltdown. After twenty years have passed, a distress signal triggers the formation of a Special Forces unit consisting of three girls called “Coppelion.” The girls are sent into the city to find survivors but will likely find much more waiting for them in this long abandoned land.
Despite being the first pick on this list, which is ordered by debut date not preference, there isn’t a whole lot attracting me to Coppelion outside of its premise of adventuring through an abandoned city after a nuclear fallout. However after checking out a few previews it looks like it is going to feature some nice sci-fi action and special abilities, making it worth a shot.
Outbreak Company Picture your standard otaku who loves anime, visual novels, manga and all kinds of things moe and place him in a household where the father is a light novel author and his mother designs eroge games and right there is an interesting, albeit bland sounding, series. However take that otaku and suddenly make him the “moe” ambassador to a brand new nation in a parallel world and you have yourself a show.
Being a light novel adaptation there is always the chance that this might fall short of expectations or suffer from a terrible cliffhanger ending, but it does feature everything I like in a show. It has a fair share of politics and it will tackle some social issues as the world the character ends up travelling to ends up on the brink of war. With politics, harem building and some cute looking character designs this is an easy pick up for me.
IS: Infinite Stratos 2 Would saying that I watched the first season of Infinite Stratos count as enough of a reason for picking up this second season? Well it pretty much is going to have to. Despite there being more than a few years between the two adaptations, I’ve always hoped that a second season would be introduced as it was one of the better harem series in recent memory since, while a few girls ended up being relegated to comedic relief, there were still three frontrunners for the winning girl. It looks like the harem antics will continue throughout season 2 as well as the introduction of a few new girls that may or may not end up in Ichika’s harem.
Kill la Kill Studio Trigger has been making quite a name for itself. Made up from GAINAX members who were with the company back when Gurren Lagann was created, Kill la Kill is probably one of the most talked about shows this season. The anime will be an original series that seems to be very action oriented with the students’ uniforms providing them with special powers.
The pedigree behind this series is worth at least checking out and when you add in the interesting looking character designs and combat samples that they have shown so far it makes Kill la Kill an easy pick up this time and probably an early winner for anime of the season.
Freezing Vibration Same as Infinite Stratos 2, Freezing Vibration is the second season of the Freezing series and after checking out the first season I am going to continue to follow this action fan-service series throughout its second season. Despite featuring plenty of breasts and panty shots, there is much more to Freezing than fan-service as the combat has always been bloody and, occasionally, gory, as fighters have limbs sliced right off of their bodies.
While it is worth noting that Freezing Vibration will apparently skip over a story arc involving main heroine Satellizer’s family, it is likely for the best as it wouldn’t be fit for television, especially when it would take place right at the beginning of the season.
Yuusha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shuushoku o Ketsui Shimashita Raul has trained his whole life to become a hero and slay the demon lord. However just before he becomes a certified hero, the demon lord is defeated by someone else, leaving him with no valuable skills in society. While working at a magic shop as a part-timer, a new hire comes in asking for a job and on her resume it says that the reason she is looking for a job is because her father was defeated and that she is the demon lord’s daughter.
There have been A LOT of anime adaptations for demon lords and heroes coming together this year and not only have I seen them all, I’ve enjoyed them and this one looks no different. From the sounds of things there will be some heavy comedy aspects as well as bits of romance here and there making this romcom an easy pick up as it is right up my alley.
Log Horizon Sword Art Online is fresh on the minds of many people and love it or hate it (hate it), the idea of becoming trapped in an MMO is something that many people are familiar with now. However it looks like Log Horizon may just be able to take that plot and run with it far better than SAO ever did. After logging into a fantasy MMORPG, 30,000 gamers are suddenly trapped in the fantasy world and after getting acclimated to their new world, a group of gamers join together to form a guild.
There are two reasons that this could easily be better than the aforementioned anime, first the author for this anime happens to be the one behind the Maoyuu Maou Yuusha series which was intricate in plot and detail and also this series appears to focus more on the group working together with a bit of a lighter tone and a more fantastical element than simply one man running around like a loner in a black coat.
Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! Wrestling fan-service. Wait I need to mention more than that? Well “Wanna be the Strongest in the World” follows an idol who has turned into a pro wrestler because her friend and co-worker were hurt when they encountered an aggressive female wrestler by the name of Rio. To try and get revenge, the former idol Sakura enters the ring to try and climb the ranks and take out Rio.
One look at the series will immediately tell you why this show is one for me. While probably very basic in plot, the amount of ecchi fan-service offered in this series is simply too much to pass up.
Unbreakable Machine-doll The source material for Unbreakable Machine-doll is something that I’ve been following for a few months now so seeing an anime adaptation makes this an easy call. The story revolves around Akabane Raishin who enters into the Royal Academy of Machine Arts where all of the students have special Automatons that fight in their place. However Raishin is accompanied by a very special Automaton named Yaya who acts just like a normal human and is unbelievably strong… which is good since his test scores place him as the second to last ranked student in the entire school. There is a lot of potential for some good action in this series as well as some nice character interactions between Yaya, Raishin and the various classmates he comes across.
Non Non Biyori If you had showed me Non Non Biyori a few years ago I would have ignored it and went to watch something else entirely. Recently however the simple slice of life shows and moe anime have begun to look better and better to me with their simplistic stories and gags that almost always make me laugh. Sure this may end up being forgetful but hell; moe comedy is going to keep me watching it no matter what.
Tokyo Ravens Despite being born into a family of powerful spirit users, main character Harutora lacks any ability with the supernatural. This lets him live a relatively normal high school life until his childhood friend returns and drags him into a world where his dormant powers awaken.
Supernatural action is always high on my list of shows to watch and thanks to the animation style and the premise, it is going to be an easy series to check out.
Blazblue Alter Memory Would saying that I’ve played most of the Blazblue games be enough of a qualifier here? Well anyways, Blazblue Alter Memory will be a video game to anime adaptation and while it works sometimes, like with Hyperdimension Neptunia in Summer 2013, it can easily go wrong. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle the various twists and turns that make up Blazblue’s storyline and where exactly the anime will jump in to the series, though from the looks of things it will feature content mostly from the second game.
Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Lovecome o Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru Damn, long list and here we are at the end with the anime of the season with the longest name. Anyways, the story follows a boy named Kanade Amakusa with the power to literally choose his own future. At random times he is given multiple choice questions in his head that will determine the outcome of events. Despite what may seem like a gift, the choices aren’t always good ones and when it may involve you in a harem filled journey through high school things are going to get difficult.
A romcom is an easy pick up here and while it may not sound all that different from your standard light novel high school romcom, the multiple choice aspect of choosing your future seems to be an interesting enough hook that will keep me interested if it is worked into the series well enough.
Unlike the others I have no honorable mentions, if they are on this list they’ll be the ones I check out unless someone convinces me otherwise sometime after the season starts.
The guys over at Nintendo never seem to stop. First the 3DS has had its astronomically great year, and now the Wii U is picking up speed. However, there are still a tonne of great games to be released before we flick our calendars over to 2014, and Nintendo want us to know about it.
The broadcast will be at 12am tonight, so if you are one of those insomniac Nintendo fans, then you will be able to watch the presentation here. Don’t worry if you can’t stay up that late, as we will be sharing all the news right here after the presentation’s conclusion. So as always, be sure stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Nintendo news as it becomes available.
A few weeks ago, I got the privileged of reading and reviewing the first two volumes of Gestalt Comics’Changing Ways. The books, written and artfully illustrated by Justin Randall were visceral, raw, emotional and had me absolutely glued to the page from the moment I opened the cover of Book 1, to the time I read the last line of Book 2. Even after reading, I wanted to know more: more about the characters, the world, more about everything that is Changing Ways.
So with that in mind, I took my questions straight to the man himself. Justin was gracious enough to have a brief chat with me, and I tried to make the most of it, and cover as many important topics as I could. In our chat we talked about the future of the books, his inspirations and even the potential TV series. Check out the interview below, and I hope you find it as insightful as I did.
1. Firstly I want to say that the two volumes of Changing Ways had me absolutely glued to the page. What inspired the story?
Moths flying around a lightbulb is where it all began. Creatures repetitively banging their head against a bright light is how I think many people live. Working in jobs they don’t like to buy crap they don’t need reminds me of the moth. There’s also a Carlos Castaneda reference concerning moths carrying knowledge which always made me think the moth should have known better.
2. You previously worked on a few of the Silent Hill books, as well as 30 Days of Night: Eben & Stella. Did working on those popular horror books help with the design or story for Changing Ways?
Not really, no. It did help me tighten my art style immensely but it didn’t have any impact on the Changing Ways story or Design. I paused production on Changing Ways prior to my work on 30 Days of Night. The biggest impact was deciding to redo 20 pages of Changing Ways art because my technique had developed considerably after working with IDW.
3. The tone and pacing of book 2 felt vastly different from the first. Was this a conscious decision, or just a side-effect of how the story came together?
The pacing and concepts are very much inspired by film. The pacing for book 2 was influenced by a film call The Darkness (the one by James Balaguero, starring Anna Paquin) in which I was aiming for a slow paced start that would hopefully creep up on the reader. That movie had a deep affect on me and I desperately wanted to capture a similar sense of foreboding. Films like No Vacancy or The Texas Chainsaw massacre (1974 version) had a direct influence on the pacing and sense of dread in Changing Ways book 1.
4. Following on from that, the art style is quite different between the two, with lots of shadows and rain obscuring things in the first, while the second is a lot brighter and everything is out in the open. I interpreted this as signifying the change in the characters from being scared and unsure, to being fully aware and no longer running. Was this your intention, or am I looking too deep?
I wouldn’t say you were looking too deep (that’s impossible for Changing Ways) just in a different direction. The idea was to let the readers hide in the open from the rest of the world like our protagonists had to. From here I can litter the world with little hints for the reader as to what may be happening in cities and other populated communities (sneakily hiding visual hints for repeat readers is my favourite part of making comics). From here, I was hoping for some mild, reader anxiety before the climax of book 2 punches them in the throat.
5. The time jump of 10 years between books was unexpected for me as a reader. Will the later stories jump the same amount of time, or do you see Book 1 as more of a prologue to everything that is happening in the Changing Ways Universe?
Well you’re perhaps going be annoyed, confused or intrigued when I tell you that the story for book 3 occurs immediately after book 1 content and the book 4 story will begin where book 2 left off. I’m attempting to create an experience that you’ll remember as opposed to a regurgitated Hollywood formula with safety nets. I’m also mixing genres so expect to see some sci-fi events mixed with the psychedelic (and a generous lathering of horror).
6. Changing Ways seems far from over, and I’m sure everyone wants to know; when will we be seeing volume 3?
Early 2014 after which I will continue to write the series but with a new interior artist.
7. Fans of yours, or people who had seen the ABC documentary “Comic Book Heroes,” will know that Changing Ways has been in talks to be adapted to a TV-series. Has there been any developments on that front that you are able to share with us?
Nothing much new to share although if it makes the screen, expect to see an even earlier introduction to the Changing Ways universe, starting in Miami Florida with the Black Dawn Motorcycle gang.
8. You teach at Curtin University in WA. Is Changing Ways on the compulsory reading list for your class?
Hehe, no, it probably has too much swearing in it, but we do stock it at our bookshop.
I would like to thank Justin Randall for the opportunity. We certainly learned enough to tease us with the future of Changing Ways, both in print and possibly on-screen. You can grab Changing Ways Book 1 and Book 2 from the Gestalt Comics online store, and remember that Book 3 will be launching early 2014. So, as always, for all the Changing Ways news as it becomes available, stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
BulkyPix, the publishers behind iOS games like Dead Effectand Orborun, have announced their newest title, Type:Rider, set to release on iOS and Android on October 10.
We’re completely surrounded by them, yet we usually pass them by, without ever giving a second thought to what they are or how they came to be. We tend to take fonts for granted. Using a mix of puzzle and platforming, development studio Ex Nihilo is aiming to help us remember the history and evolution of typeface as we know it today.
Type:Rider‘s features include:
9 original levels (plus a secret one), each based on a unique font
An amazing visual and sound atmosphere
Solves riddles with increasing difficulty
4 ways to control your characters (including Gamepad)
A game which combines fun and knowledge
Optimized for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 or more recent
For more information, you can check out their official website here. Also be sure to watch the making-of video below this article.
T.E.C 3001 Developer:Phoenix Game Studio Publisher:Bulkypix Platforms: iOS (iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad) – Reviewed on iPad Release Date: 26th September 2013 Price: $2.99 – Available Here
Overview It’s time to take to cyberspace and make your way through the lanes of the virtual world. Also you’re a robot. Collect batteries, dodge obstacles and enjoy the techno beats. Race to the end and test your metal.
Let the fun begin!
Story “In T.E.C 3001 (Tesla Energy Collector), you are guiding a cutting-edge technology robot to collect virtual space energy leftovers for humanity.”
At least that’s what the description says. In all honesty though, you’re a sprinting robot, what more story do you need?
Gameplay Run, rush, haste, burst, jump, charge, dodge, slide. Pretty much sums it up. In game, you take control of a nameless robot who runs ever forward in order to collect precious batteries for non-descript purposes. But when do games ever make anything easy? Naturally on your straight line sprint, you’ll run into a number of obstacles designed to impede and destroy our precious robot runner.
Not sure what construction was thinking because the pathway your robot follows is littered with walls of varying sizes. Of course, hitting a solid wall at high speed hurts and results in existence failure. So watch out. Luckily, the robot has a few options available to dodge sudden death. One of the more fragile material, glass barricades can be decimated via use of the charge function, granting a short and intense burst of speed. This also aids in bettering your overall time for the course. In regards to the more solid obstacles, the option may present itself to poweslide underneath it. If the wall is short however, you can simply jump over it. Dangerous chasms also present a hazard, luckily the game includes a double jump function. That being said, some of the larger jumps require maximum air time, thus forcing you to time your jumps well.
Starting off simple
Using these skills, you can choose the path of least resistance as occasionally levels will present you a divergent path. Some have more jumps, others take it slow with long stretches of track. Your choice. Plus, the game has checkpoints so if you choose wrong you don’t have to start over completely. A very helpful mechanic.
The game itself also includes a few different game modes. The core type, of course, revolves around you running to the end of the course, collecting batteries along the way. In this mode you are able to jump, charge and slide, dodging obstacles and turning freely. The second mode provides you with the same abilities, but limits your side to side movement into three lanes. This limitation actually helps to an extent, as it removes the dangers of free turning, which becomes increasingly difficult as you build up speed. The third game type throws you into a straight run with a series of arrows lining the track. The goal of this game type is to activate a speed increase whilst over a green arrow, which are positioned between red and yellow arrows. Timing is key, the closer to the green arrow, the faster you become, allowing you to complete the course with a better time. Finally, the game grants unto us an Endless Mode. This mode, which I’m sure you’ve guessed, never ends. Run, be free. Go faster and faster until you run into a wall and explode…it’s more fun than I’m making it sound. Enjoy the action with friends, splitscreen means twice the running and crashing…again, still fun.
Head for the horizon
Visuals and Audio As you make your way through cyberspace you may take not of the suprisingly colourful and picturesque backdrop. Though the core colour is black, it is accentuated by a neon grid. Over the course of the game, and sometimes within the same level, the colour of said grid changes. Blue, green, orange, pink, a bevy of colours to spice up your jaunt through the virtual world. These backgrounds also house
The soundtrack is chock full of techno music, which is fitting given the cyberspace setting and robot. The music is also pretty varied for an iOS game, containing about fourteen different tracks. This keeps you from hearing the same exact tune over and over again, which can be a problem in these simple objective games. Another nice little touch is the sounds that the robot itself makes. Whilst it isn’t overly loud compared to the soundtrack, if you pay attention you can hear the robot’s joints move as he runs, jumps and slides. Another small distraction that prevents the game from being boring and makes it feel complete.
Gonna make it, gonna make it…
Overall T.E.C 3001 yet another simple, easy to enjoy runner game. The courses themselves are fairly long, though the checkpoints serve to break up the levels and prevent them from becoming too frustrating. The game also provides a fair amount of variation in the levels, though in the end each mode boils down to running. Whilst the controls themselves are simple learning the exact placement of buttons is important, as looking away from the track probably won’t end well. Enjoy the splitscreen multiplayer and race your friends, or enemies, whatever. Run, jump, slide, charge and enjoy.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Devolver Digital has today announced their partnership with Kuno Interactive to bring out Defense Technica to PC and MAC. From the name you can probably guess this is another entry into the popular tower defense genre, with players needing to defend the nuclear core from biomechanical beasts using a variety of heavily armed robotic towers which can all be upgraded with different features and attack patterns. The flow of the battlefield can be affected by changes in weather, enemy paths and even in the terrain, meaning players need to pay attention and react quickly if they want to defend the core successfully. The game features gorgeous graphics in a futuristic setting with epic music to go along with all the action.
Defense Technica is set to launch on PC and Mac via Steam and other digital download services this October 24, 2013. If you pre-order the gamenow from Steam you will receive 20% off the price. If you want to see the game in action before spending your cash, check out the games announcement trailer below. The mobile version of the game has already seen great success across both Apple and Android so check out their respective app stores if you are interested in playing the game right now.
Every Dragonball game I have ever played has tried, but rarely succeeded, to add a gripping new feature that makes the game both more enjoyable and challenging. Most end up just feeling like a cheap gimmick to artificially lengthen the replayability of the game and are not overly fun or rewarding. What Battle of Z seems to be going for though sounds a lot more interesting than anything else they have come up with lately.
GENKI, a new energy gauge that allows you to perform a series of epic attacks and combos, is the latest feature to be added to the Dragonball franchise. While this may seem like nothing new at first, the GENKI feature actually has a surprising amount of use, in-fight and out. By ticking certain boxes during a mission, players will be given a ‘GENKI request’ when they have completed the fight, giving them the ability to add their GENKI to a shared pool that is constantly being added to by players all around the globe.
By contributing, you will earn special Premium Points (PP) that will give you access to unique items that will give your favourite characters much needed boosts like special attacks. The ‘Limit Jewel’ is one item that can be purchased using PP and it lets certain characters use their ultimate moves such as Goku’s Spirit Bomb or Vegeta’s Final Flash. Dragonball Z: Battle of Z is coming to Xbox 360, PS3, and PS Vita in early 2014.
