As the end of 2013 is soon approaching, it is of great importance that gamers plan ahead for the New Year’s Eve celebration. Capsule Computers have constructed a resourceful guide for ending this year in-game.
Console Wars: It is important for players to choose consoles suited to their gaming preferences, rather than deciding on new consoles based on overall ratings and success. That being said, next-gen consoles (Wii U, Xbox One, PS4) are not the only options for gamers to end this year with. Don’t forget about the long-standing consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and even the Gamecube), that redefine the importance of childhood for players.
GOTY: Based on the Game of the Year Nominees, there have been a vast range of exceptional games that have made 2013 a memorable year. Be proud to remember the most highly anticipated title, The Last of Us, the remarkable expansion of Pokémon X & Y and many more exclusive games this year. Before 2014, players should challenge themselves to complete one of the nominated games from each category.
Single vs. Multiplayer: Usually the game determines whether players can switch between solo and companion mode. For New Year’s Eve, players are advised to change their style of gameplay (if their games permits it) to explore all components of the endless gaming world.
Take on the challenges in the CC Guide for NYE and to all fellow gamers, have an amazing new year!
I don’t think there is any question about it anymore. With this episode, Ace of Diamond may very well have just become the best sports anime of 2013. It is almost too good to believe. How is it that a sports anime can be so real and down to earth yet all the while reach out of this world heights? This is one hell of a roller coaster ride of an anime and it is undoubtedly a different breed of a sports anime. What we are witnessing here is something truly special, unfortunately something this great is still criminally overlooked by the anime community at large.
This is the episode that the entire series has been building to. Every plot point, every character note, it all has been heading to this fateful moment, the moment when Chris gets called onto the field. That’s right, much like I speculated last week, Chris was allowed to play and on top of that he even got to form one hell of a battery with his student Eijun. It is stuff like this that made many sports anime fans fall in love with the genre. The moment of triumph against all odds, the turning of the tides, a comeback of epic proportions.
After floundering for a number of pitches, Eijun’s new technique clearly still needs some honing. Regardless of that, he has come quite far in such a short time, so much so that even Coach Kataoka takes notice. Eijun is turning heads one way or another and despite not getting a single strike out, its clear that he is being noticed. Its not until Coach Kataoka makes a fateful decision to switch out Ono in place of Chris. Quickly Chris turns the entire game around with a game plan that can only be described as the work of an ace. At heart, Chris is a true ace and within minutes unites the entire team under his battery with Eijun.
Having turned the tides of the match all the while allowing each and every player the chance to show their stuff, Ace of Diamond leaves us hanging at a critical moment in the game. The boys at Seidou are mounting their comeback, but the question still looms overhead, is Chris’ injury healed or not? I’m not sure how much his injury will come into play as the game progresses, but I get the sense that things won’t go so smoothly. The game hinges on the fundamental chemistry between Eijun and Chris but the wild card of Chris’ injury still remains. Whether or not it even comes into play is anyone’s guess.
Ultimately this was the episode that solidified what I’ve believed for quite some time now. Ace of Diamond is an incredible anime series. It is character driven which is in and of itself is rare in the sports genre. Rather than focusing on game after game, we see the inner working of this team and their dynamics as players and people. This isn’t just about winning or losing, this is about these character’s hopes, dreams and passions.
That is what really sets Ace of Diamond apart, it is all about the characters and it has more than its fair share of memorable ones. It goes without saying that Chris is one of the best characters in anime this year. His story arc and growth as a character has been beautiful to say the very least. In fact he is such a well-developed character that one could imagine a spin-off based on the character. That is how important the story of Chris has become to Ace of Diamond and how pivotal his connection with Eijun is.
Ace of Diamond just gets better and better with each passing week. The journey we have taken with these characters has been a memorable one and it is one that I don’t want to be over. Here’s hoping this one ends up being more than 1 cour long.
Anime studio ufotable has finally shared a glimpse of its upcoming adaptation of popular visual novel Fate/stay night via a 3-minute trailer, showing off brand new animation and a remix of Shirou Emiya’s theme music. Be sure to see it below.
The trailer features plenty of footage from the prequel, Fate/Zero, as a build-up to the continuation that stars Kiritsugu Emiya’s adopted child as the hero. Several scenes from the opening of the recent PS Vita port Fate/stay night Realta Nua are reused before we finally see some original animation for the new sequel.
Fate/stay night was originally animated by Studio DEEN and later received an anime movie adaptation titled Unlimited Blade Works. It is widely hoped that the new version by ufotable will adapt the Heaven’s Feel route of the original visual novel.
It looks like Tecmo Koei is going to continue to bring the Atelier games to the PlayStation Vita now that the Arland trilogy has concluded. In this week’s Dengeki PlayStation it has been revealed that Atelier Ayesha Plus is being developed for the Vita by Gust and it will be released on March 27th in Japan where a limited edition version of the game will come with a mini-crystal paperweight.
The Vita version of the game includes downloadable content from the original PlayStation 3 version, our review of which can be found here, and both Marion and Odelia will be available to join your party right from the beginning of the game. Since Escha & Logy has already been released in Japan, does this mean that sometime soon we’ll be hearing about a Plus version of that game as well? Probably.
What a mess. Nagi no Asukara has to be the biggest love polygon I’ve seen in a while. It seems most of what everyone had to say was said in this episode. Hikari’s father, the head of the village, finally makes landfall and meets Miuna who amusingly calls him her grandpa. Since Akari is getting married to her dad, her relationship to what was once this stranger will change also.
Meanwhile, Manaka, Chisaki and Tsumugu head to town to buy a kimono for the wedding ceremony. They pick out a nice which shimmers and sparkles when placed against ena skin, perfect for Akari. Tsugumu meets his mother too, and interestingly their relationship isn’t too good. In fact, he hardly wants to talk to her and excuses himself by saying his friends are there. Manaka and Chisaki are a little confused, but understanding.
In a heart-warming moment, Akari meets her father where she discusses recent events. She takes this opportunity to thank him for everything he has done since their mother passed away. I really feel for the guy as he’s in the middle of all this and yet he acts to calm and humble. Being the village elder, he has a daughter who wants to leave and marry on the surface. Not exactly an enviable position.
Chisaki gets some alone time with Tsumugu on the way back while Manaka is sleeping, and she apologises for her comments a couple of episodes ago. Now I don’t know about the rest of you but I feel Tsumugu was the one out of line back there, despite not being wrong. The way he said it was fairly tactless, but that’s Tsumugu being perceptive as always.
Preparations for the Boatdrift Ceremony are almost done as Hikari raises a giant flag, impressing Manaka in the process who funnily asks herself when Hikari became a man. Back at the Sea Village, children are beginning to fall asleep and are carried to Lord Uroko who will begin the hibernation process. The friends are a little shocked, thinking they resemble corpses. One of the adults pinches Hikari’s skin to see if his ena has been thickening and it isn’t, because he’s been sneaking in meals without permission.
The biggest event of the episode is when Kaname pulls yet another trick card after stating that things can’t go on like this. After almost catching Chisaki confess to Hikari, he directly asks Hikari what he thinks of Manaka. In front of Chisaki and Manaka. Putting everyone on the spot, this move is the equivalent of flipping the monopoly board.
Hikari says he loves Manaka. Manaka runs out of the room. Chisaki angrily tells Kaname that what he did was too much, and runs after Hikari. This scene is especially powerful as we see a side of Kaname we haven’t seen before. Putting his head lamentably on the desk, he says that he’s trying hard as well.
Chisaki and Hikari have a brief chat outside, where she confesses her love to him and says she’s happy just to get it off her chest. Manaka meanwhile arrives home only to run away again when she is freaked out by how close her mother is to hibernating. Not knowing where to go she desperately swims to the surface, thinking fleetingly of Hikari, only to be caught by Tsumugu’s net once again.
It seems like the two’s second encounter is fate, just when she thinks of Hikari it seems like Tsumugu is in the spotlight once again. What will she do and who will she choose?
Now that Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd has a release date in Japan, Sega has released the opening movie for the game and you can check it out below. The video features the song “Decorator” which was created by the music group named Livetune.
The game is currently set to be released on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in Japan on March 6th and if you keep an eye out at the end of the trailer you’ll notice the game’s box art also being revealed. Currently Sega has not announced any plans to bring Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd over to the West, but with PlayStation 3 version of the game already out here and the Vita title on its way, one can hope that a localization announcement may come sometime in the future.
Respawn Entertainment and EA have released a new trailer for Titanfall and this time around they are focusing on introducing what they are describing as the workhorse of the battlefield, the Atlas titan. It also is described as being able to our-perform any competing technology on the battlefield despite its age.
The trailer can be seen below and in it we see some new footage of the Atlas in action as it takes on both enemy infantry and opposing titans. This follows the reveal trailer earlier this month which showed the Ogre titan type. Currently Titanfall is set to be released for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC on March 11.
It looks like shortly after the shipping out copies of Class of Heroes 2 on the PSP a few months ago, Gaijinworks and MonkeyPaw aren’t about to sit idle for the rest of the series. After a preview of a new video game magazine Retro went live, an ad appeared in the preview saying that Class of Heroes 2G would be “Coming Soon” to the PlayStation 3.
The game was first released in Japan in July 2010 and it features a number of upgrades over the original version, such as additional voice work for NPCs, more in-game music, a dungeon called the Gate of Darkness, trophies for players to unlock, something described as dual-screen play, and of course better looking spritework.
Introversion is cramming in one last major update to Prison Architect before the year’s end. The game has been updated today to alpha 16. The update improves AI behaviour, adds procedurally generated landscape, introduces forestry for gardeners, improves mod support, adds a road gate that will create a secure passage across roads, and makes a ton of bug fixes.
Prison Architect is a prison building simulator. Players will need to keep their prisoners under control while building the ultimate prison or face dangerous riots and breakouts. The game is currently in alpha status and is available for purchase through Steam’s Early Access program. The game is 33% off the normal price of $29.99 during the SteamHoliday Sale.
The game which successfully replicates the world of Naruto will officially start its Open Beta on December 26, 2013 at 10 a.m. Those who are interested can now sign up and try the game at http://naruto.gamehop.com.
Naruto Spirit is a cherished product as its creation consumed a lot of resources and manpower of Young World Technology. With young employees filled with enthusiasm and passion, Young World has made this game the most successful web-game in Vietnam with more than 10,000 players in the game at the same time.
Its success in Vietnam inspired Young World to reach more Naruto fans by going global. And on December 18, the company kicked off its Close Beta for the English version of Naruto Spirit, which was its first step to becoming a global game publisher.
In the game, users can use the “Transformation” feature to transform into any of their favorite characters and freely use their unique skills however they want. This feature has been voted as one of the top 5 interesting aspects of the game. The other four are good actions and effects, several massive combat events, QTE feature, and the Tailed-Beast series.
On the Open Beta start day, Naruto Spirit will open 3 more Servers:
– (Server 4) KAKASHI – 11:00 AM, GMT+8 (Oceanic)
– (Server 5) ROCK LEE – 02:00 PM, GMT+0 (Europe)
– (Server 6) NEJI – 02:00 PM, GMT-3 (US)
Together with the opening of new servers are many big events such as King of Arena, 5 Days Action, Warmish Christmas, and a lot more. This is a great chance to hunt for valuable rewards.
