Sunday is usually family fun day… when your kids remember that they have a father, who has been working tirelessly throughout the week to support you all. Ungrateful cretens! Sorry… I might be working through some daddy issues myself. Anyway, if you’re looking for that great Sunday day out with the family, EB Games Expo 2013 has you covered!
The EB Expo Sunday Family Day kicks off at 10am (doors open at 9:40am) this Sunday, the 6th, with a Skylanders SWAP Force event where 2,500 free Skylanders toys will be given away during a very special EB Live presentation. Resident villain KAOS will appear to do battle with Master Eon; the classic struggle of good vs evil enacted on stage for the enjoyment of all the kids in attendance. The entertainment continues with a Good Game Live Show in the EB Arena at 1pm, starring the hilarious Jimmy ‘Giggle’ Rees, Dave Callan, Andrew Hansen, Gus Ronald, James Cottee and the TV show’s co-hosts Hex & Bajo, of course.
The excitement doesn’t end there as the expo will host the first ever Video Game Parade in Australia, celebrating video game culture from 3:30pm. There will be twenty-two floats that will circulate the showgrounds with a selection of EB Games’ favourite gaming characters and personalities, including EB’s infamous hero Buck. Also taking part in the parade will be a legion of Storm Troopers from the 501st alongside a life-size tank (kids love tanks!!), the Just Dance Crew, CosPlay winners, and Hex & Bajo making a reappearance. Other free activities for the little ones will include a roaming magician; Balloon Artist; Colouring-in Activity Zone Water Transfer Tattoos; Face Painters and a Caricature Artist.
The Showgrounds Map
Nintendo Australia has also announced their lineup of titles on show and playable for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, including Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Words; Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze; Super Mario 3D World; Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy; The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD; Wii Party U and Sonic Lost World. Fans can also get their hands on the soon-to-be-released Nintendo 2DS, launching October 12th alongside the above-mentioned Pokemon X & Y. Other kid friendly titles present are:
SWAP Force
SIMS 4
Just Dance 2014
Disney Infinity
Lego Friends
Lego Movie: Video Game
Leo Marvel: Super Heroes
Pacman and the Ghostly Adventures
Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don’t Know
Hot Wheels: World’s Best Driver
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure
General Admission, Multiplayer, and Family Passes are all still available for purchase in over 380 EB Games Australia stores, through www.ebgames.com.au and www.ticketek.com.au. The Family Pass admits 2 Adults and 2 Children access to the festivities from 9am to 4pm for $119.
Fall approaches… The titans have fallen silent, the goddesses have been conquered, but now approaches a fresh wave of anime, in numbers greater and far more powerful than we ever could have prepared for. They come bearing mechanical monstrosities larger than the eye can believe, swords that pierce the heavens themselves, and hair that could rend the universe asunder. Are you ready to face … The Autumn Anime Season! … Because I know I’m not! Hi, everyone it’s James here and for my first time at Capsule Computers let me run you through my top 5 picks for the fall season.
Weirdly enough, the season hasn’t even started and this seems to have already fallen under a lot of people’s radars which I was not expecting. Granted, I am a sucker for a good romcom, especially when it seems like it will prioritise jokes and plot over simple fanservice. However, what everyone seems to be forgetting is that Golden Time is written by the same person that brought us Toradora, one of the best anime series ever made in my opinion. But aside from the female protagonist looking almost exactly like a more mature Aisaka Taiga (which was reason enough for me to watch) the actual plot itself seems to have a bit more depth to it than your average romcom. Being of the seinen demographic and set in a university/college, should mean that the characters demonstrate more ‘real-life’ feelings and the relationships should hopefully have more to them than the ‘girl sees boy, boy EVENTUALLY sees girl’ approach that has become exceedingly stale over the years. There are rumours that Golden Time will be a 2 season long affair in which case I will be keeping a box of tissues by my side for the next 6 months to soak up tears of sorrow, tears of joy, and hopefully not tears of disappointment.
For me, this series will determine whether I continue believing that KyoAni are the golden gods of the anime world or whether they will fall into the sea of humdrum that lies below that pedestal. Hyouka was the last masterpiece series that came out of Kyoto Animation before they decided it would be a good idea to retreat into their shell, only producing anime that received an honourable mention in their self-run light novel competition. Since then we have seen Tamako Market which was moe-blob garbage that couldn’t hold a candle to K-ON!; Chuu2koi which was good, but fell short in the end; and Free which despite handling its plot well, rehashed the same sport manga story we’ve seen a million times before. Not only that, but they recently confirmed a second season for Tamako Market, and teased one for Free which makes my blood boil thinking that their beautiful animation style is being wasted on these severely below average anime.
It is time for some plot! Luckily for us that is exactly what Kyoukai no Kanata is bringing to the table. Falling under the rare, dark fantasy genre, this anime follows a girl with the power to manipulate blood called Kuriyama Mirai. Ostracised from her fellow students, she readies herself to jump from her school rooftop when she is saved by a second-year boy called Kanbara Akihito. This triggers a chain of strange and disturbing events and that leads me to believe that this might be the series that I have been waiting for KyoAni to make for so long. Plot, feelings, beautiful animation, and that signature touch that only they can put on a project. Let’s hope it lives up to its title and goes beyond the boundaries.
Autumn seems to be the season of awesome female protagonists and girl power is exactly what you’re going to see in this hot-blooded action thriller. All you should need to know about this anime is that it is being made by the same people that made Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann so it is guaranteed to be pure unadulterated insanity. Trigger are an animation company renowned for their extremely stylised animation techniques, their no holds barred approach to action, and the ever unique and beautiful worlds that they create. Kill la Kill seems to tick all of those boxes judging by the trailers, but what is interesting about Kill la Kill is how little of its plot has been divulged. Remember, Gurren Lagann was simply described as an anime about a digger and his big bro who wanted to see the world above them and look where that ended… Kill la Kill’s plot goes as follows:
On a quest to unravel the secrets surrounding the death of her father and to locate the, “woman with the scissor-blade”, Ryuko Matoi found herself at a school called Honnouji Academy. There the school is under the command of an elite group of students granted superpowers by their “goku uniforms”. At the top of the chain of command is the school council president, Satuki Kiryuin, who it emerges knows the secret behind the scissor-blade. After being granted powers by a rogue, sentient goku uniform, Ryuko is ready to fight. What will she discover? Who or what lies at the end of the mystery? Make sure you watch and find out!
As I mentioned earlier, I am a sucker for a good romcom, but then again I always end up watching every gimmicky romcom that is released and nothing is more gimmicky than Noucome. One thing that always remains constant with fanservice-y, silly romcoms other than being hilarious is that they always try to differentiate themselves in weird and wonderful ways which never cease to amaze me. In this particular case the protagonist is cursed with “absolute multiple choice” which means that quiz-style questions will fall before him at random intervals and he has to pick one of the options given to him. This could mean he’d be walking through school and be asked whether he wanted to take off his uniform or jump out of a window and have to pick one or the other. One day though he is given an obvious choice, does he want a) A beautiful girl to fall before him, or b) To fall from the roof in girl’s clothes. Of course, he picks a) and all of a sudden a radiant, blonde girl called Chocolat literally falls before him, thus triggering the most silly harem/comedy that I have had the pleasure of hearing of in a long time.
My faith in this show, while slim, comes mainly from the studio, Diomedea. Any studio that can produce both Shinryaku! Ika Musume, and Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sō Desu yo? has earned their stripes in comedy as far as I’m concerned, so I hope that Noucome will follow in their recent trend of excellent anime.
Last on my top 5 list comes the darkest anime of the season by a country mile, Pupa. I decided to check this one out after hearing from a close friend that it is the best manga they have ever read, and from another that it is the worst. Upon finding out what it was about, I was instantly intrigued. Ever since I read the visual novel Saya no Uta, I have been fascinated with anime that can exhibit that same depth of darkness and Pupa can certainly do that. The synopsis is this:
The story follows a boy and his little sister called Utsutsu and Yume Hasagawa. Utsutsu loves his little sister dearly as any good big brother should. When Yume sees a strange red butterfly though she begins to change. All of a sudden Utsutsu is plunged into hell when his dearest sister is turned into a man-eating monster. He tries to do everything he can for her, letting her devour his flesh while searching for a way to save her. But when he is infected with Pupa, his normally friendly attitude is shattered and he develops an unusual, violent side.
Strange and violent, this dark horror will entice anyone that wants something a little different as the cold autumn settles in. Enjoy…
Make sure to check out our Autumn reviews week by week as the episodes are released. I will be reviewing Golden Time and Noucome so if you’re a fan of drama, comedy, and romance, then make sure to keep an eye on the Anime Impressions section, only at Capsule Computers.
Gaming hardware maker and eSports supporter Razer has announced that it will be the official organiser of the Capcom Cup Asia Finals 2013 and its qualifiers. The Razer Atrox Arcade Controller is the official arcade stick for the tournament, repurposed into the Atrox Streetfighter IV AE Collector’s Edition for the Xbox 360.
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition will be the main attraction, with qualifiers to be held in Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, November 8-10. The top two players will represent the Asian region in the Grand Finals in Norther California, December.
Have a look at the qualifier details below:
Korea – 19 October 2013, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. B1 CafeID Team House Doksan-Dong 963-6 Gasan-Dong Seoul
Taiwan – 26 October 2013, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
1F., No. 57, LN. 10, Jihu Road
Neihu Dist., Taipei City 114
Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Singapore – 2 November 2013, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Tough Cookie Gaming Café,
35 Selegie Road #02-25B Singapore
If you’re a Street Fighter player and if you think you have what it takes to land the hadoukens, feel free to register on the official site.
The Xbox One is little more than a month away from release and Ryse: Son of Rome, as one of the Xbox One exclusives has been gathering its fair share of attention. The Crytek powered game has had its supporters and its dissenters, but one thing most people have agreed on is that the footage that has been shown has been absolutely stunning.
Well now you can see just how far the visuals have come with this brief video. The clip shows how the original E3 build of the game looks in comparison to later builds that we have seen. Take a look for yourselves:
Looks pretty sweet hey? A few editors here at Capsule Computers managed to get some hands on time with Ryse: Son of Rome, as well as a few other games just last week, so click here to check out our thoughts the game. However, more important than our thoughts are yours, so let us know in the comments below what you think of Ryse. Will you be picking it up, or is it just not your thing? Remember that for all the Ryse: Son of Rome news as it becomes available, be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers
Oh have you not heard? I was under the impression that everybody had heard…
That’s right comedy fans, bird is the word as the Family Guy: Season 12 DVD hits store shelves this week. Follow the exploits of one of TV’s funniest families with Peter, Brian, Stewie, Meg, and the rest of the Family Guy cast in one of the most outrageous seasons yet. Giant chicken brawls, Quagmire getting giggity with Meg, and Brian and Stewie traveling back in time to the pilot episode (and highlighting just how different the show has become over the years) are all par for the course in this season.
The season 12 contains 23 different episodes, all of which are uncensored and contain the footage as it was originally intended. In addition, fans are treated to over 3 hours of never before seen special features, including;
Scene animatic from “Seashore Seashell Party” with Slide-by-Slide Commentary
Looking Back to the Pilot
Full Episode Animatic from “Back to the Pilot”
Fishin’ Around With Ricky Gervais
Audio Outtakes With Ricky Gervais
Ron MacFarlane Reads Viewer Mail
Scene animatic from “Family Guy Viewer Mail #2” with Side-by-Side Commentary
Never before seen “Deleted Scenes”
That’s a whole lot of satirical, in your face comedy for animation lovers to really sink their teeth into. Family Guy: Season 12 from 20th Century Fox will be out on October 2nd all across Australia, and with this season’s crossover episode with the Simpsons, what better way to get you ready for it than with an entire season’s worth of Family Guy. Will you be picking it up, or are you too afraid that you will be asked the inevitable question ‘have you heard?’ Either way, let us know in the comments below, and for all things Family Guy, be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers… Giggity
Bohemia Interactive has just announced the release of the first update for Arma 3, which will implement a whole host of tweaks and fixes for the PC game covering issues from the back armor of a tank to enemy AI to the quality of moonshine. Full details of the update can be found on the Arma 3 website, but players who already own the game will find the changes implemented automatically via Steam.
In addition to the update a post-launch campaign is still due for release, coming in three seperate episodes of DLC. Details regarding a release date for the campaign DLC are yet to come, so players will have to make do with the islands of Altis and Stratis until it drops.
With Sankarea: Undying Love’s anime adaptation set to be released in a few days on October 1st, FUNimation has revealed that there is an issue with the anime that makes it so that there is still censoring in the home video release of the series. This means that the various scenes that were censored when the anime was originally streamed and shown in Japan, are still censored on this release.
FUNimation has said that this is due to an issue with the original material they received and have released a statement, including a way to receive an unedited version of the anime, which can be read below.
In regard to the release of the Sankarea DVD & BluRay content, FUNimation had originally released this set with the materials provided to us. We will be receiving additional home video masters. Customers who wish to receive the unedited version may do so by emailing [email protected] along with a copy of your original receipt, and a physical mailing address (no PO Boxes please).
Once the replacement discs are authored we will begin to process your request. Thank You.
It looks like the remake of Hyperdimension Neptunia, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1, is going all out. Not only have they decided to revamp the game’s graphics, combat system and exploration but they have even given the game’s opening video an upgrade.
Rather than reuse the original video from the PlayStation 3 version of the game, a new opening video has been created for the game and along with that comes a new theme song which is called “Miracle Portable Mission” and is performed by Nao. While Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 is set to be released in Japan soon, it is currently unknown if NIS America, the company that has brought nearly every Neptunia title to the West, will localize the title.
While the game’s release date has been up in the air for a bit, today it has been confirmed that gamers looking forward to Valhalla Knights 3 won’t have to wait much longer to pick up and play the title. XSEED Games has announced that Valhalla Knights 3 will be released at the price of $40 on October 15th.
Recently a trailer was released detailing the various races that players can play as and now a new trailer has been released that talks about the various classes that players will be able to play as once the game comes out in a couple of weeks.
Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower Studio:Studio Pierrot Publisher:Viz Media Format:Blu-ray, DVD (Reviewed) Release Date:September 17, 2013 Price:$19.98 –Available Here
Overview When an anime manages to reach a certain level of popularity not only will more seasons be ordered, but the occasional movie or spin-off will also be created. Of the many popular shōnen series at the moment Naruto has been one of the longest running series and because of this, a number of movies have been made. The latest movie to make its way to the West is Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower courtesy of Viz, but is this movie worth the time it takes to watch?
Story Team 7, consisting of Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato, are given the order to track down and put a stop to the plans of a rogue ninja named Mukade. Mukade is currently seeking out a powerful Ley Line lying beneath the ruins of Loran that was sealed long ago by the Fourth Hokage and if he manages to access it, he will gain immeasurable power.
Upon finding him, it is revealed that Mukade is a puppet using ninja and despite their best efforts, Mukade breaks the seal and begins to unleash the power of the Ley Line. While the power spills out of the Ley Line and absorbs Mukade, Naruto and Yamato attempt to stop him and are also sucked into a beam of light, leaving Sai and Sakura alone.
Naruto awakens to find that he is still in Loran, but rather than being a desert wasteland the city is thriving. While still trying to figure out where he is, he encounters the queen of Loran, Sara, and a group of Leaf Ninja who are there on a secret mission. The Leaf Ninja squad explains that Naruto has somehow traveled back in time with the power of the Ley Line and they are also there to put a stop to someone who came from the future seven years ago.
Despite her disbelief, Queen Sara quickly learns of the plight of her people as Mukade’s plans are unveiled and Naruto must try to put an end to his machinations with the help of the Leaf Ninja that not only consist of two people with jutsu’s strikingly similar to some of his childhood friends’ but also a man who looks like he just might be the Fourth Hokage, Naruto’s father Minato Namikaze and for fan pleasing services, a young Kakashi.
The time travel aspect of The Lost Tower isn’t a new concept but it does open the door to a number of possibilities that can be explored when you consider how Naruto never met his parents. Sadly thanks in part to Naruto’s own idiocy and Minato not wanting to know about the future, the family connection is barely explored. There are a few bits of team work between the two but unfortunately that is the best that viewers will be provided. Also as I mentioned earlier, a young version of Kakashi plays literally a bit part in the movie and seems to be included just to please fans for the thirty seconds he is on screen.
Instead of family bonding or anything else, the focus lies squarely on Mukade and Queen Sara. However both of these characters end up being rather poorly presented as Mukade plays a background villain for much of the movie and barely feels like a threat until the closing minutes of the movie and Sara fits the stereotypical role of an inept ruler not wanting to believe that she may have been lied to by someone close to her. While she does start to make strides in becoming a better character throughout the movie, she ends up becoming rather forgettable and mostly serves as a way for Naruto to keep powering forward.
Where The Lost Tower actually falls in the Naruto time-line is a bit difficult to determine, at least the events that take place in the present, however thanks to at least one hint dropped by Naruto himself, it occurs after the events involving Jiraiya and Pain. However regardless of its placement in the series, it means little to the overall storyline thanks to the fact that, except for Naruto, none of the present day cast is involved nor are they able to recall what exactly happened.
In the end, while there are a few battles to see and the climactic confrontation between Mukage, Naruto, and Minato is quite a sight to see, there is pretty much nothing of note in The Lost Tower’s story. Nothing is explored, nothing is expanded upon and in the end it feels more like simple filler than anything else, but it does serve as a nice distraction from the main story.
Visuals Considering your standard landscape in a Naruto episode usually consists of rural, Japanese style buildings or forests, watching the various fights take place in a sandstorm or in a wide array of tunnels full of pipes and equipment is a nice change of pace. There are also numerous skyscrapers and various other elements added into the movie with a fair bit of detail as pre-ruined Loran was something of a jewel in the desert.
As for the characters and fighting, the various designs of the enemy puppets are the same style we’ve seen from the main Naruto series, albeit with more futuristic-like abilities and are almost all the same looking,while Mukade’s design can best be described as mob member #4 thanks to his lackluster appearance that would serve better as a background stand-in. That being said, Naruto, Sara, and Minato are nicely detailed with their fair share of action shots while the quality of the animation during fights always remains top notch as the ninjas duke it out with puppets and Mukade’s final form.
Audio As one would expect, all of the standard voice actors for Naruto reprise their roles in this movie and for those who don’t like the English cast the Japanese voice track is also available on-disc. The main cast sounds just as one would expect and Sara’s voice actress, Eden Riegel, handles the character nicely including her brief singing section.
The movies’ soundtrack is pretty standard with a number of themes from the anime revamped for this movie release. It is worth noting that the final battle theme does fit nicely with the action but for the most part it is relatively forgetful.
Extras With this DVD release of Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower Viz has provided a few basic bonus features as well as an animated short called “Naruto and the Three Wishes.” The basic extras include Japanese trailers for this movie as well as the yet to be released Blood Prison Naruto movie, a clean ending theme and trailers for other Viz anime.
The animated short is fourteen minutes long and has been given an English dub. This short takes place before the time skip and features all of the younger ninjas messing around on an island. While there Naruto uncovers a magic lamp with a genie inside that will grant them three wishes. The short provides a fair bit of comedy as they all fight it out to see who will be able to use the last wish.
Overall Whenever a movie is made for a shōnen series, the events rarely ever have any effect on the actual storyline. However thanks to this caveat, they usually are capable of delivering unique interactions or special power reveals that wouldn’t work in the main series. Unfortunately Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower does neither of these things. While there is some nice action to be had, the bland focus on the story, the missed possibilities and the lackluster villain leaves The Lost Tower buried beneath the sands of time.
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