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We Without Wings Review

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October 9, 2013

We Without Wings
Studio: Nomad
Publisher: FUNimation
Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
Release Date: October 8, 2013
Price: $64.98 – Available Here

Overview
In recent years, making an anime adaptation of a PC eroge has become something of a rare occurrence as the focus has mostly shifted to adapting light novels. However for a time many years many popular visual novels were animated and developer Navel has had a fair bit of success with its first adaptation, Shuffle!. Now that the anime adaptation for their third game not based on the Shuffle! series, We Without Wings, has been released in North America by FUNimation, is it worth checking out?

Story
Everything needs a twist to stay relevant and try to keep itself afloat in any industry. In the anime industry it is almost essential that some memorable aspect is added into any story to help it compete against sometimes up to twenty other anime airing at the same time and boy does We Without Wings pack quite a twist that not only makes for an interesting viewing experience, but also one that is so confusing and jumbled up that it almost requires re-watching the first half of the series once the other shoe drops.

That being said, We Without Wings follows the story of Haneda Takashi, a high school boy who lives a pretty basic life at home with his younger sister and spends his time at school with a fake girlfriend that he has been with for over two years. Takashi has a secret though, and that secret is that he is capable of entering an alternate world where he is a hero capable of defending the land from any number of threats.

It also happens to follow the story of a happy go lucky guy named Chitose Shuusuke who is a real pervert that happily harasses the girls at his favorite café, Alexander’s. After a few days he becomes a regular worker at the café and begins working alongside a new girl named Hiyoko Tamaizumi that just so happens to be the author of a book he is reviewing.

Finally there is Narita Hayato, a man better known as “Drac” thanks to his habit of only coming out at night. Drac navigates the night life with ease as he takes care of any jobs that are thrown his way, but this also pairs him up with a number of unsavory characters as a gang war is about to break out with him right in the middle of it. To top that off, he then becomes entangled with the younger sister of one of the gang leaders, Naru Otori, as he searches for her missing bike and ends up with more than he was expecting.

To go any further into the story of these three people would be entering spoiler territory, but the three do share a very common bond that ties all three of them together. This bond creates something that is not only very interesting to experience but also something that makes We Without Wings turn from a basic harem series into one that actually requires viewers to pay attention and follow along as the series progresses.

Now We Without Wings makes an absolutely terrible first impression. The first few episodes are a mess of rather huge proportions as it tries to introduce most of the cast and the big players in the storyline but thanks to the fact that the anime boasts a mind-boggling number of characters, many of which have unique quirks of their own to follow, it quickly becomes a mess. Add that to the fact that we have three protagonists to follow and you have a series which introduces itself has issues keeping focus on any major story before jumping to another story with another character.

After a few episodes of this mess, the We Without Wings finds itself a nice and steady pace to introduce viewers to the various aspects of the world while also starting to give hints as to what the connection between the characters is before revealing it entirely a few episodes later. Interestingly enough, this twist is so intriguing that as mentioned before, viewers will probably want to check out the first few episodes once again and keep an eye out for various clues that they may have missed before.

While it may have a trainwreck of a start, We Without Wings quickly comes into its own as it brings everything together as the series progresses. It also manages to find a nice balance between humor and drama, though there are a few snippets of forced humor which fall flat. There are still a few loose ends left over by the time that the series ends, unfortunately with a somewhat generic ‘undetermined’ ending with no specific girl selected, but viewers will likely be pleased by the ending that is presented once this rather enthralling harem anime finishes.

Visuals
While the fact that this anime was adapted from an eroge and also was a harem type series may have been enough of a hint, it is worth noting that We Without Wings features an overwhelming level of fan-service. If there is a female character there is likely going to be a panty shot of her at least once and likely many more times and there are bare breasts aplenty as characters find themselves in various situations of undress.

To top that off, there is even a pretty intense sequence of events later in the series which may have a few people checking what show they are watching once it comes around as it tops anything shown before that point in sexuality. That being said, the fan-service is rather nicely handled for the most part as numerous sexy outfits and underwear are displayed and while it is thrown in the viewer’s face often everyone watching this show should know what they are getting into, though a little of it is a bit borderline in some regards.

As far as the actual animation and character designs are concerned. The characters all have a unique look to them, though they do tend to be a bit stereotypical for a series such as this. Facial expressions are nicely handled for close-ups but group shots see the facial expressions usually deform slightly or low quality compared to the rest of the scene.

The reason for this is thanks to the fact that the various background scenes and environments that are shown off in the anime are nicely detailed and varied enough considering there are three main characters to follow in the series. Also as mentioned before, with an abundance of outfits for these characters to wear there is plenty of variety on display.

Audio
As is usual with FUNimation, We Without Wings has been given an English voice track to accompany the original Japanese dub. The English cast features a few veterans but also contains a number of fresh voice actors and voice actresses taking on their first roles. Despite this being their first time dubbing, the English cast is nicely handled and there is even a nicely sung English closing song for one episode.

As for the series’ soundtrack, it is generally forgettable except for a few standout moments when major elements of the plot are revealed as the background music is usually is key in these moments. As for the opening and ending themes, the opening theme “Spread Wings” by Miyuki Hashimoto and the ending theme “NEVERLAND” by Miyuki Hashimoto are rather standard fair and generally are easy to skip through, especially since the opening has its fair share of spoilers.

Extras
For We Without Wings FUNimation has provided a number of bonus features, including your standard textless opening theme and closing themes, the US trailer for the series, trailers for other FUNimation products and two episode commentaries. However they have also included an OVA which is simply called 00 and is included in the main episode list despite being simply a side episode.

The first commentary on episode 4 includes Scott Freeman the voice of Drac and Zoe Latimer who handles the voice of Naru. It is interesting to note that this is Zoe’s first job as a voice actress and the two mention how complicated the story can be at times. As for the second commentary we have episode 8 which features Joel McDonald the voice of Takashi and Rico Fajardo who handles the voice of Shuusuke. Interestingly enough this is also Rico’s first time doing commentary and first major role with FUNimation.

As for the OVA episode, it is titled “90 Percent More Skin” and there is a reason for that. Despite having no real placement in the plot of the series it features almost every female character as they attend a hot spring and take part in nude baths, various massages and lewd posing that is sure to top off any fan service level that may not have been reached in the main series.

Overall
When We Without Wings began, it seemed like the beginning of what was going to be a long haul. However as it progressed it revealed that there is actually a rather interesting twist to everything that leads to an interesting story underneath the piles of panties, mounds of breasts and plethora of characters. While its animation may suffer at times and the story could have been handled better, We Without Wings offers an entertaining anime that viewers have to pay attention to so that they can keep up with all of the events occurring at any given time.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Spartacus Legends Announces Tournaments

Joe Morgan

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October 9, 2013

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Ubisoft, the publishing giant behind the likes of Rayman Legends and much more, announced the start of a new battle mode for the free-to-play fighting game Spartacus Legends.

Called “Tournaments,” the new mode will be a player versus player battle mode where players will compete in four week-long tournaments to vye for the title of “Champion of Capua.” The tournaments will take play from Monday to Sunday and awards will be given each week based on the total number of points earned during the week. Rewards include silver, titles, equipment, boosts, and banner items, with the top title, “Champion of Capua,” being awarded to only the top one percent of players over the course of a series.

For more information, you can check out the official website here. You can also check out the official trailer for the new content below this article.

Just ‘Cos Cosplay Competition at EB Expo 2013

Kane Bugeja

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October 9, 2013

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Just ‘Cos Cosplay Competition at EB Expo 2013

eb-games-expo-photos-2013-154 — **Master Chief demonstrates how to make tea**

Everybody likes to play games, at least everybody who decided to attend EB Expo 2013. But some players take it all a step further and bring their favourite characters into the real world. Why? Just ‘Cos…see it’s funny because it has two meanings…Anyway, a number of gaming fans decided to grace the expo stage to showcase their skill and prove their cosplay better…or just have fun, each to their own.

Amidst the crowd of costumed contestants were certain hallmark characters. One Commander Shepherd cosplayer explained the process of creating authentic looking N7 armour. Creating the scored effect of battle damage apparently involved a hot knife, from which injuries naturally arose. That’s commitment for you. Self proclaimed “sick chick” Lara Croft also made an appearance, discussing the difference appearances of the treasure hunter between the games and movie.

eb-games-expo-photos-2013-169 — **Final Fantasy crossover anybody?**

But, just like in every competition, people want to know who won. But let’s have a little build up first shall we? Coming in second place was the ominous figure cloaked in black, coffin and crow in tow. That heavy hitter from the skyborn city of Columbia, Bioshock Infinite’s own Zealot of the Lady. Ranking in at numero uno was that AI we all stand by, that little blue lady who helps the big green soldier: Cortana. Congratulations to the Day One winners.

eb-games-expo-photos-2013-160 — **Songbird is a lot less fierce in person**

Congratulations to all who entered and showed off their sewing, molding and posing skills that brought their characters to life. Not everybody can win, but hey, everyone had fun and chances are they’ll do it again. Why? Just ‘Cos.

Check out the full EB Games Expo Gallery photos on our Official Facebook Page here.

F1 2013 Review

Nathan Farrugia

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October 9, 2013

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F1 2013 (Standard Edition)
Developer: CodeMasters
Publisher: Codemasters
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: October 4th
Price: $79.99 – Available Here

Overview

F1 2013 is the latest in the annual Formula 1 series of games and Codemasters fourth effort to capture the essence of the sport since picking up the license to developer F1 2010. Coming into this review I have not played the previous entries in the series nor am I particuarly well versed in the world of F1, so I will be coming into this game with a different, fresher perspective from most reviewers. That being said it is still easy to appreciate the game on its technical merits and ability to replicate the sport which it does a fantastic job of.

Story

Story is probably not the right word here but the game does feature a career mode. You start your career as a rookie and are challenged to pass the initial training days which comprise of simple challenges which serve as tutorials to the games controls and how to handle your F1 vehicle. These challenges can all be replayed to gain better medals, the better you do, the better the teams you can sign with once you complete the training camp. The challenges are good to go back to if you want a break from pure racing and have a similar feeling to the license tests from the Gran Turismo series.

You then go through a full 19 race season while in the mean time receiving emails from team mates and getting into the news for your feats. The career feels pretty standard but provides a sense of structure to the racing as well as replicates the real job of an F1 racer. There are some small cutscenes that play at certain moments like when you meet your team or when you do well in a race which are a nice touch and remind you that there is a personal element to the racing and it’s not just you controlling the car.

Gameplay

As you would expect about 95% of the time in F1 2013 it will be you racing against your opponents on one of the 19 tracks (and some classic tracks) present in the current F1 season. Controls are very simple. Shoulder buttons are accelerate and break, gear up and down with the face buttons as well as activate your DRS, L1 activates KERS and R1 changes camera angles of which there are 7 to choose meaning you should find one you like rather easily. F1 2013 delivers a great sense of speed which is what you would expect in a game featuring some of the worlds fastest vehicles.

In terms of control, this game tips the scales much more towards simulation than arcade. Coming from a background of more arcade like racers such as Need For Speed I soon found that cuttings corners and causing crashes will not be tolerated and penalties will be awarded to you should you cause those infractions. I’m not all that familiar with F1 but I could use the game as a faithful reference point to begin to learn the sport and I soon found out it’s all about positioning; making sure you are taking corners at the right angle, defending your position from the person behind you and taking the shortest line on a long straight to help shave those seconds off your lead time. Mastering the use of DNS (adjusting the wing on the back of your car to gain enhanced speed when within a second of the car in front) and KERS (which is like a short speed boost using kinectic energy that recharges each lap) is also important if you hope to gain a spot on the podium at the end of the race. Managing your tyres and fuel is also important so it’s not just about who has the best skills on the track but who can manage their car the best as well.

As a rookie it was important the game was inviting and thankfully there are lots of options for beginners to help them keep up. By default, a line of squares helps guide you around the track in the most efficient way with the boxes being coloured to show how hard a corner is so you can adjust your breaking. There’s alot of direct driving assistance also such as break assist and automatic gear switching. As a rookie coming into the game and the sport in general I found this very helpful. Each track features a hot lap video you can watch which tells you the best way to tackle the track with a video and voice over that walks you through it. A replay feature is also present that allows you to go back in time to before you made a mistake and rectify it, meaning you are not heavily penalised for your error, however these are limited in uses to maintain balance. This doesn’t mean the hardcore fans have been forgotten, as alot of the way the game plays can be customised to your liking. Controls, damage simulation, braking assistance, the main HUD and even the rules of F1 can be changed to suit your preference. If you want a full, realistic experience, turn off all the helpers, turn the race distance up to 100% and complete a full race as it would be played out in real life. You won’t be expected to sit there for ages completing your race though as you can save during a race whenever you like in any of the game modes.

Speaking of game modes F1 2013 doesn’t dissapoint in variety. There’s career mode as I detailed earlier, a shorter 10 week season mode where you can choose a rival to defeat in races, time trial mode, time attack mode which pits you against a ghost and grand prix mode which is like quick play, and that’s only about half! Scenario is one of the more interesting game modes and places you in certain parts of a race with specific challenges that would match up to the challenges a racer would face throughout their career. My F1 mode allows you to see all your stats and personalise your racer with a different helment and assign them a name, nationality and an audio name from a decent selection.

After a lot of fan request, F1 Classics mode has also been included in this years entry. F1 Classics takes you back to a simpler time featuring legendary drivers, cars and a couple of tracks and pit you in a range of challenges from time trials to special scenarios like overtaking team Ferrari and finishing ahead of them. You can really feel the absense of modern technology in this mode as KERS and DRS are not present and your car takes longer to break and is much harder to get back on track. It’s nice to see Codemasters pay homage to the sports beginnings but it is ashame that the 90’s content is locked to the classic edition of the game or has to be purchased as seperate DLC.

F1 2013 also features multiplayer with split screen, LAN and online with quick race, custom race and co-op championship. Unfortunately it took about 10 minutes to get a session going in quick race and that was with only 3 other racers but the problem might rectify itself as more users get their hands on the game.

Visuals

Visually the game is rather impressive with detailed car models and tracks. The lighting system is great and textures are of high quality. Tracks are faithfully recreated from their real life counterparts and all the small details are there. Menus are rather basic but are functional and are simple to read and navigate as is your heads up display. Small features such as the first person view you have of getting into your car at the start of a race are nice extras and help increase the immersion. The game runs very smoothly and I never experienced a framerate drop my entire time with the game, even in the online modes.

In classic mode, a slight sepia filter overtakes the screen and your modern HUB is replaced by a PS1 feeling HUD complete with old style gold fonts. It’s a small effect that goes along way to capturing the time period and helps you get a better feel for the classic time when these cars and racers were the kings of their era.

Audio

There isn’t too much too say in the audio department except that everything sounds as it should, from the iconic noise an F1 vehicle’s engine makes to spinning your tyres in the dirt. The crowd cheers when you drive past the larger seated areas which is a nice touch. The instruction provided to you by your pit crew is helpful and adds to the sense of simulation. The games features a few ‘prestigious’ sounding tracks present on menus and results screens that do suit the sport and the game well but it might of been nice to have some licensed tracks for variety.

Overall

Basically if you are a fan of Formula 1, you are going to love Codemaster’s attempt to simulate the sport with F1 2013, especially if you have been absent from the series for a while. The experienced racing team has managed to design an authentic representation of the sport in terms of atmosphere and the large number of game modes offers great replay value. Racing feels great with good controls and a high sense of speed and races can be customised to your liking so you can have the experience you want to have. If you don’t like F1 but are still interested in more realistic racing titles or getting into the sport, the game can definitely still be enjoyed and serves as a great doorway into the world of Formula 1 racing thanks to the tutorials and assistance the game offers to beginners.

Wargame Red Dragon Spreads the Fight to Asia in First Screenshots

Simon Wolfe

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October 9, 2013

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Wargame Red Dragon Spreads the Fight to Asia in First Screenshots

It looks like developer Eugen Systems and publisher Focus Home Interactive haven’t run out of ideas yet in what looks to be a yearly series of Wargame titles. After announcing and revealing Wargame Red Dragon at Gamescom, more information and the first screenshots are being released on the title that will be taking the combat to Asia.

While the first two games in the series were focused on European conflict, Wargame Red Dragon is set during the conflicts between 1975 and 1991 between the Asiatic countries. This means players will be getting their hands on plenty of new vehicles, plus the addition of watercraft. With 5 different countries to choose from and a total of 450 new units to command to bring the total above 1300, Red Dragon is set to be a worthy successor to Airland Battle.

Those wanting to see the screenshots can check them out by clicking on the images in the gallery below, though no information has been revealed as to a release date or if it will be releasing at launch outside of PC.

Hands-on with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Naval & Fort Demo

Zac Elawar

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October 9, 2013

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Many of you may have seen the Naval & Fort demo from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag that was shown at Gamescom back in August. Well, at EB Games Expo 2013, we were able to actually play the demo, and on the PlayStation 4 no less!

The demo begins with the cutscene between Captain Edward Kenway and his first mate Adewale, where they discuss their place in the world. They fight for the Jackdaw – their “country” – and desire the riches of one Governor Torres of Cuba. Firstly, being on the PlayStation 4, it looked fantastic, and the fact that I was holding the new Dualshock 4 didn’t even enter my mind… I’ve played more than a few titles with the controller now and it already feels natural. And after needing to use the triggers for shooting and running, it’s worth noting that they work splendidly – the one aspect of the Dualshock 3 that I had any major gripes with.

As gameplay begins, the objective becomes clear: destroy the fort defences. Our first experience with the naval mechanics is both familiar and foreign. As in Assassin’s Creed III, bracing and changing speeds by setting the sails return as key interactions, but there’s also a bit of new here. As we advance closer to the fort, a couple enemy ships come into sight. We brace as the red cone of light warns of an attack, and fire back. Using the left trigger to aim, we observe the newly represented cannon guides that project as you aim. They arc and show the specific point/angle of impact, also giving a more accurate sense of distance.

After shooting and damaging the enemy schooner with our cannons, we utilise the swivel guns to further dismantle the ship. The implementation of the weapon seems to have changed in Black Flag; not able to be used simply after waiting out a timer, the swivel gun is only effective once a ‘triangle’ prompt displays, acting as targets. Once these are visible, you can finally hold down the button to aim the shot. In the demo, they only seemed to appear after already doing substantial damage to the opposition. So it is apparent that the designers do not want you to be able to spam the use of the swivel gun for an easy battle and a quick victory, which I actually appreciated.

Seamlessly, looking back will automatically select the explosive barrels carried on the Jackdaw. So when you press the trigger to fire, you instead release them and can then blow them up by shooting them with the swivel guns (or, of course, time their release well and they’ll hit an enemy, exploding on impact). We sink the first and look to do the same to the larger brig, but find ourselves with the opportunity to board it instead. We initiate the boarding with the press of a button after sailing besides it. It’s not like parking a car in a tight spot – you don’t need precision. Once the prompt appears and you follow it, the ship automatically docks next to the helpless opposition.

You then have the option of jumping over and finishing the fight hand-to-hand, or softening the foes even further with some swivel gun shots. When they surrender, you can adopt the crew or use its resources to repair your ship. Turning our attention solely to the fort defences, we attempt to avoid falling into the line of sight for their mortar attacks – the range of which are signified by yellow cones of light to clarify the difference between them and regular ship attacks – while blasting away. Once they have been destroyed, we smoothly leap int the ocean, swim to shore and begin our assault on the commander of the fort and his forces. As the chaos ensues, Edward flips on his hoodie and we race through the battle to reach the commander in question.

Only truly forced to confront one soldier in the process, we quickly blow past him, effortlessly shooting others in the vicinity with the dual pistols functionality, which is easily achieved – almost with a semi-auto aim. Coming face to face with the commander, we brutally cut him down with our cutlass. The basics of hand-to-hand controls are largely untouched, but then again, we didn’t have much of an opportunity to try out Edward’s whole arsenal and link it together with the above-mentioned dual pistols. With the ultimate objective completed, we enter the war room, engaging a closing cutscene.

The demo may have been brief, but it was an especially effective slice of the naval combat. Having wanted a good pirate game for such a long time – and being a fan of the franchise – I can hardly wait until Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag releases for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U on October 31st; the Xbox One and PC on November 22nd, and the PlayStation 4 on November 29th, Australia-wide. You may also want to read our interview with Game Director Ashraf Ismail and Senior Game Designer Michael Hampton.

South Park: The Stick of Truth Impressions

Andrew Day

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October 8, 2013

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We previewed Ubisoft’s South Park: The Stick of Truth a little earlier this year, and we loved what we saw. The game managed to perfectly recreate the tone and feel of the show, while managing to provide an awesome turn-based arcade experience. The game was shown again at this year’s EB Games Expo, but taken from a different point in the story. With that in mind, I decided to check it out and see if the game is living up to the fans’ lofty expectations.

South Park: The Stick of Truth is a love letter to the franchise. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have their fingers well and truly in the pie that is Stick of Truth, and it shines through brilliantly. Not only does the game LOOK like an episode of South Park, but it feels and even sounds like an episode. All of your favourite characters and their respective voices are back, and add a real authenticity to the game. Storyline-wise, the you fill the role of a new kid in the town, who has happened to arrive in the midst of the latest craze-gone-wild; LARPing. The LARPing storyline also pulls double duty in explaining the game’s RPG elements in a way that makes them a part of the story.

The game plays like a traditional turn-based RPG. You control the “New Kid,” and engage in a series of battles against other kids (there are other enemy types, but only kids were present in the demo). Using traditional RPG mechanics, you select your weapons and do battle, timing your hits for maximum damage. The best comparison to a modern game that I can think of would be the Paper Mario franchise. Timing your hits perfectly deals more damage, and blocking and deflecting are also time based, and keep you on your toes throughout the battle.

During the brief demo, I got to see a variety of different weapons in action. Things like the Vibro-blade (actually a vibrator), the “Staff of Major Boobage,” and the F***ing Ninja Stars all acted very differently to one another, and required different skills and timing to use effectively. This variety in the combat speaks favourably to the game, and should hopefully result in an experience that avoids repetition (which is a common problem in turn-based RPGs). Outside of battle, you have access to small spells to help you traverse the over-world, get to new areas, and even sneak up on enemies. It is surprising how well all of the elements in South Park work together in the RPG setting.

The demo I saw at the expo was quite brief, but from what I saw, combined with our previous experiences leads me to believe that this will be a solid entry for South Park fans and RPG gamers. South Park: The Stick of Truth will be hitting store shelves on December 12th on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, and fans of the series really shouldn’t miss this one. For all the South Park news as it becomes available, be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers.

inFAMOUS: Second Son Interview with Brand Development Director Ken Schramm

Zac Elawar

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October 8, 2013

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inFAMOUS: Second Son is my most anticipated title announced for the PlayStation 4 to date, so I scrambled especially hard at the EB Games Expo 2013 to secure an interview with Sucker Punch Productions Brand Development Director Ken Schramm to speak with him about the game. We talked about Delsin’s Native American background, the difference between superheroes and superhumans, just what the heck you may be able to do with neon powers and a whole lot more. Be sure to read until the end as Ken gave us some extra nuggets of information after we stopped recording…

Something I’ve always wondered about is the fact that Delsin Rowe is of a Native American bloodline. What was the inspiration for giving him this heritage?

Well, the whole thing is he’s not just Native American, but the area that Seattle is in – the Pacific Northwest – there’s a big, big, big tribal culture and all that. I mean, look at Lake Sammamish… everything is named pretty much after Native American tribes. And there’s so many… that’s where Lewis and Clark were, in that area, so that’s where all the Native Americans were. Because they’re coming down from Alaska, and that’s where they first populated the United States. So we’ve got a lot of Native American culture in Seattle and it’s basically to pay tribute to those people – it’s their land! They’re a part of it, and what better way to pay tribute to them than by making our hero a representative.

And so did you find ways to integrate that culture into the story? I wonder if we might see a connection between his abilities and the spiritual realm in that culture?

Oh, we did. You start off the game in his village, and that transport vehicle that I talk about – it was on its way out of Seattle, but it just happened to be near his village when it wrecked. So Delsin goes in there and helps the first conduit out; he didn’t know what was gonna happen. So he absorbed that first power and he realised after the fact what happened, so he knows there’s a whole bunch of other conduits in that truck that went into Seattle… the DUP’s (Department of Unified Protection) trying to chase him and get him out of Seattle, so you’ve got your story right there.

So was that an early decision in the conceptual phrase to place the game in Seattle this time around?

Here’s the deal with Seattle; we made New Marais – an off-shoot of New Orleans, if you will, and Empire City everybody always makes it New York City – but, you know, how many development companies have an opportunity to make a game in their own home town? So instead of calling it Seaport or something like that, I mean we live there for goodness’ sake! If we can’t get this real city right, then we have no business making a real city, period! So, what better timing to go to a real city and to our home town. We were very fortunate to build our home town. Now, I’m not sitting here telling you that if you go on Google Maps you’re gonna take a tour of Seattle, right?

However, there’s sections like the Pacific Science Centre – which has the Space Needle, and the Monorail. If you go to Seattle, and you stand in there and you see all the dinosaurs, you’re gonna go ‘no way!’ because we got that right. We wanted to get certain sections… that Post Alley, we got the Elephant Car Wash in there, we got Lincoln’s Toe Truck in there. So you can start to understand the kind of businesses we went after – you’re not gonna see Starbucks, you’re not gonna see McDonald’s or anything like that…

Only the true identity of the city…

Yeah, we’re getting our Seattle, not the commercial Seattle. The Crocodile’s in there – which is a local bar – that’s where one of our boss battles happens. So, you know, the owner of the Crocodile was like ‘this is awesome! Yeah, go for it!’ It’s just exposure for them, it’s not like we’re making a terrible game or anything.

Did you feel more free to do all of that, and maybe feel a little easier with the option of creating a brand new protagonist?

Yeah, that’s certainly the case. Let me back up a little bit. Obviously it was the choice of the fans to whether we followed the canon – with the trophy data and all that, you’ve heard me say that spiel before – but it’s true, I mean they determined the outcome of how we were gonna make this game. And so, we knew we were gonna have a new hero now and were going to need new powers – we’re not gonna put him in the same playground, right? So, we thought of other cities; sure, Vegas pops up, right? Other cities pop up in the United States… Chicago, there’s a lot of cities that have a lot of flavour. Hey, we looked at international cities as well. But like I said, we got an opportunity to build a real city – let’s build ours!

How influenced are the power by the environments themselves? Because with inFAMOUS, we had electricity which is a very urban power, and then in the sequel we had fire and ice, which were more elemental. Now, it seems like a more industrial route…

I’m not sure whether it was/is the environment; the environment is definitely a part of it, and it weaves into those details. But, you get into most open world games, you’ve got guns and rifles and all that stuff, but we’re shooting things out of your hands, right? So we’re trying to find powers that… it’s our job as designers to be creative. We don’t want to do something that you guys all know. If you’re familiar with a power, say, from a superhero that’s been an IP forever or something like that, you’re expectations are almost to ‘okay, did it play better than that?’. But we’re trying to find powers that you’re not normally common with. When’s the last time you heard of a neon power?! Okay, you see what I’m saying? Smoke, fire – you can understand that a little bit – but even with smoke, you’re seeing the transitions and stuff, but neon?! ‘What the hell are you gonna do with neon?!’ Well it’s coming… wait ’til you see the other powers, you’re gonna go ‘what?!’

That actually ties into a thought I had, which is – with Delsin being an absorber of powers – you have license to explore so many abilities, but you also don’t want to ‘dry up the well’, so to speak. Because for future iterations, you guys will have to be even more creative to do something that hasn’t been seen before, and you’ll be competing against yourselves in that regard.

Oh yeah, well we only have two years to make the game too, right? So we can’t throw every power we can think of in our imaginative bank at ya, right? So we gotta be very due diligent in what we do for this title, and make sure that it plays well. The key thing is the power sets; you’ve seen smoke, we’ve teased neon… we’re gonna have other powers. And these power sets act differently. To get these power sets to begin with… you know our drain mechanisms; if you drain smoke from a car or whatever – you can think of all the ways you can drain smoke – you’re gonna have the smoke powers.

If you drain neon signs, or whatever has lights, you’re gonna get the neon powers. It’s all about the environments and sucking out of the environment, so if it doesn’t work well with the environment, it’s not gonna be a power! So you can probably predict a little bit, if you think about the environment and uses and how it can be a power – that’s the line of thought that you should be thinking about for what’s gonna be the other powers. It’s not gonna be elemental powers; you’re not gonna see water or something like that. That’s too common.

And how much the did the capabilities of the PlayStation 4 free you up to explore something so hard to nail down, in regards to physics, particles and such, as smoke? Is it something you couldn’t have done, realistically speaking, on the PlayStation 3?

Well, when you think about it, in inFAMOUS 1 and 2 we had electricity. You just got different variants of the power of electricity. That’s all we could do… not all we could do, but that’s the parameters we were set within that game. Here, we don’t have those same parameters. So, different power sets means what? Different particle effects, different explosions, different FX, different gameplay type. Traversal, parkour – a main staple in our game… can’t play an inFAMOUS game without climbing all over. But who’s to say with smoke and neon, you have to traverse in the same way?

There’s very unique ways… you’re gonna traverse in smoke one way, but with neon there’s several other ways. Smoke, you’re gonna be able to go up a pipeline. You think you’re going to be able to do that with neon? Probably not! But that’s not to say there’s not a special thing we’re doing with neon too, right? Trust me, with each power set you’re going to be able to get around in our environment in a very unique way and a very fun way. Just because you can do it in different ways, it still has to have that underlying common denominator – fun!

I’m very intrigued to see more about neon, because on first consideration, some may think of it as a fairly passive power…

Yeah, neon… light. Light’s not so passive if you… there’s lots of things you could do with light; there’s speed, there’s power. I mean, you could imagine… you’re trying to get me to say more about what’s going on with neon! [Laughs] I get it. Good job, good job.

I’m just really intrigued is all! So you mentioned the draining mechanism; I assume it’s like a cycling of powers where only one can be equipped at any given time? So if I currently have smoke powers, but would really benefit from neon in a given situation, I need to find a source of light and once I’ve drained that, my smoke powers go away until I decide to do the same process?

That’s absolutely how the mechanism works. And you can pretty much bet that our level designers are gonna put you in situations when you probably have smoke, and you go ‘shit, I really wish I had neon right now’, and you go to find neon. You can definitely bet we’re gonna put you in situations where you’ll want to switch out your powers.

With the direction of the narrative being influenced by fan choice, what would have happened if the ‘bad ending’ was picked as canon in inFAMOUS 2?

Well, we’d have Cole!

So you would’ve had to find new ways to make him fresh too, and bring him into the next-gen…

Yeah, who knows what… we’re talking speculation because that’s obviously not the canon we went with, but, if the trophy data had said the bad canon, obviously Cole would be in this game. Now, would he still be an electrical superhuman? Ehh, we could always write things – I mean he probably would! But who’s to say he couldn’t take something else. We could always draw some canon… superhumans, I mean, c’mon! Don’t get me wrong though, everything in our game – and this is the key about inFAMOUS games – everything in our game is pretty much grounded in reality, except the powers. If you take that out of play, it’s just a city… it’s just environmental stuff. But he’s just able to draw from it and use the environment to his advantage. Key to the game, right? I mean, that’s what an inFAMOUS title is – it’s about an everyday guy who suddenly gets superhuman powers and he has to figure out what to do with them. That’s where Delsin’s at, and so was Cole.

Speaking of the pillars of inFAMOUS, I’m assuming we’ll be seeing the morality play and karma system make a return?

Yeah, I mean I haven’t talked about it much at all to be honest with you. But, it’s a staple of our game just like parkour is – karma is another pillar of our titles. So even though I haven’t talked about it, you can bet that it’s gonna be in our game some way, somehow. Now, whether that’s through progression of powers, through storyline, through gameplay… who knows how we’re gonna do it. We’re working on it right now. In our development processes, we’re building up all the stuff that’s going on in the missions and stuff like that and then we’ll decide how it flows from there. Gotta get that storyline, those missions, all that stuff correct and then we’ll worry about all the “fluff” if you will.

And then of course there’s the expected side missions and such…

You bet. It’s an open world, so yeah, you’ll have your collectibles – what they are right now, I can’t tell you – but yeah, you’ll have your collectibles. Will you have your side missions? Sure, of course.

And how big can we expect the map to be? Obviously it’s Seattle, but surely it’s scaled down…

Fair question. Well, we’ve got about 4 or 5 months left in development I think, so right now I couldn’t tell you exactly how big it is, but you can tell your fans and let them know that it’s gonna be similar in size to the first two games. I think inFAMOUS 2 was very similar to inFAMOUS 1 in size and scope – it’s gonna be along that scale, if not bigger.

As much as this is the third title in the series, Second Son does feel like a refresh or restart. Does it feel like that to you guys in the studio?

It’s important that your fans should know – and I hope they know this – yes, this is a brand new game, and yes, inFAMOUS is in the title and yes, it’s the third game in a franchise. However, by no stretch of the imagination do you need to have played inFAMOUS 1 and 2 to play this game. The canon that we’re talking about, yes, that’s from past players determining how this game was built, but just because of that the people who are buying new PS4’s and new gamers who are coming into the fold are not gonna sit there and say ‘what the hell is happening here? Why am I jumping into a story that is half-baked already?’. We can’t do that – that would be suicide!

I think that might be it for us, thank you so much for your time! We can’t wait to see more.

Oh, no worries. I can’t wait to show you more.

So, as alluded to in the opening paragraph of this article, the conversation continued after we shook hands. We didn’t want to keep Ken from his busy schedule as he literally had minutes before he had to go on stage and present the game over at the EB Live! Arena, but he was just so enthusiastic about speaking on it. He proceeded to clarify that Delsin does not steal powers from other conduits in the traditional sense, as they themselves do not lose their abilities.

He also stated that – using the DUP agents you may have witnessed in the E3 demo, who could manifest concrete platforms, as examples – just because you encounter a conduit who utilises their ability in a particular fashion, that doesn’t mean when you eventually absorb them, Delsin will use them in the same way. He has a special, individual interpretation of each power he comes across. And that woman who is seemingly in charge of the DUP, who featured in the first reveal trailer and then whose silhouette was seen again in the Fetch trailer… Ken hinted that she is the source of the concrete ability and may just be the boss whom Delsin absorbs said power from.

So, thanks again to Ken Schramm for making the time and to Sony PlayStation Australia for allowing us the opportunity. inFAMOUS: Second Son has a tentative release date of February, 2014.

Mighty Quest for Epic Loot Hands-On Preview

Luke Halliday

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October 8, 2013

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This past weekend at Ubisoft’s EB Expo 2013 booth, we got to go hands on with the hottest commodity in PC gaming with Mighty Quest for Epic Loot. The action RPG tower defense game was undoubtedly a fan-favourite at Ubisoft’s booth with the game garnering quite a crowd of players ready to quest for the titular ‘epic loot’.

Immediately upon getting hands on with the game, I found myself amazed at how approachable the game’s control system was. It was remarkably user-friendly and quite inviting to those who aren’t exactly hardcore PC gamers. It utilizes a simple control layout that is easy to learn, opening up the game to all walks of gamer skill.

While the game is still in beta at the moment, there wasn’t any real bugs to be seen in our time with the game. It was well polished and the gameplay experience was fun and intuitive.

The game itself is relatively simple, challenging you to take on enemy castles to try and defeat their defenses and gain that epic loot. On the flip side of that you can also build up your own defenses to protect your castle from devastating damage.

On show at the EB Expo 2013 demo of the game was two different yet distinct classes of characters. We had the Knight and Archer, both of whom play completely differently. The Knight is a more melee based character that attacks head on. The Archer however prefers to stand back and attack from afar, never coming into the line of fire. Both classes have their advantages and disadvantages. For example the Knight takes a large amount of damage during his head to head clashes, the Archer doesn’t do as much damage with his weaker long range attacks but he takes less damage.

The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot hits the right balance between simple and fun, becoming a glorious mix of the two. It may not be the most complex game out there but its certainly one of the more entertaining ones. It has a Diablo-esque vibe, but not at all serious. It is the sense of humour underneath Might Quest for Epic Loot that makes it so endearing.

The game’s detailed castle creator tool and simple yet addictively fun battles make for a solid mix of complexity and simplicity. While the game is still in beta, it is hard to tell due to the sheer polished veneer that Might Quest for Epic Loot has.

We previously did a CC Impact! live-stream playthrough of the game which you can see here. You can also enter into the closed-beta for the game on the official Mighty Quest for Epic Loot website.

The Crew Hands-On Preview

Luke Halliday

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October 8, 2013

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At EB Expo 2013, Ubisoft showcased their upcoming PlayStation 4 and Xbox One racing title The Crew. We were able to go hands-on with the open-world racer and get a glimpse at what looks to be the future of racing games.

The first thing that becomes apparent when playing The Crew is just how immense and dense the world of the game truly is. There didn’t seem to be any end in site. If you are to go by Ubisoft’s claims, the game features the entire United States of America in digital form. Unfortunately due to time-restrictions we didn’t have the opportunity to journey the immense world in its entirety, but we can confirm that it is huge in every sense of the term.

As for the driving itself, it comes off as somewhat loose, leaving the player feeling not so heavily in control of the vehicle more so overseeing its journey. It was an odd feeling to say the very least. Large motions on the controller only result in small responses and speed is somewhat difficult to temper.

The multiplayer components of the game were quite impressive. We were fast-tracked from our various destinations across the United States all the way to Miami, Florida. At Miami we engaged in a game of cat and mouse with an enemy vehicle. The goal given to us was to take out that driver. Doing so proved to be quite challenging as the AI was actually very intelligent, taking shortcuts and side streets to avoid capture.

Visually the game was utterly gorgeous and bursting with detail. Everything about the game’s aesthetics was absolutely astonishing and it is truly a showcase of the power of the next generation of video-game consoles.

All in all, The Crew looks to be an interesting next gen racing game, if only for its grand scale open world that is just begging to be explored. The controls could be a little tighter but they were good enough that it didn’t negatively influence the experience. The real take away from The Crew is the incredible possibilities that are available in regards to open worlds on next gen consoles. I for one eagerly await to see what else these new machines can do.

The Crew is slated for release on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in early 2014. This is one game that racing fans should keep on their radar, The Crew may very well be the next big thing in racing games.