As the days draw closer to the release of Battlefield 4, DICE and EA are giving even more detail on the amount of customization that players will have in the game. It seems that Battlefield 4 isn’t going to stop at just weapon customization, but have vehicle customization as well to ensure that players can tank and heli the way that they want to.
Prefer armor piercing over explosive rounds or vice versa? Because that is one of the options players will be given in Battlefield 4 when waiting for a round to start. Perhaps a camo to make vehicles harder to see, or throw caution to the wind and make vehicles easier to see and fear.
Battlefield 4 gives players so many options and new challenges with dynamic elements that it’s really too much to tell about, so those wanting a nice look can check out the trailer embedded below. While those wanting to read the full write up on the “Road to Battlefield” can check out the dev blog in anticipation for the games release October 31st for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, with Xbox One and PS4 to follow.
Over the weekend the team at Namco Bandai Games began streaming a new trailer for the upcoming One Piece 3DS game; One Piece Unlimited World Red. The game’s new trailer has come off of some news that we had last week which spoke about the three new, game-only characters that were introduced, well now we have some actual footage of those characters in action. Just to reiterate: The three unique and game-specific characters are Red who is the over-dressed and pale man, Pat the talking Raccoon-man and Yadoya, the woman who is shown in what seems like a shop front.All these characters were designed by Eiichiro Oda himself and are said to be key characters within the story which, although is said to be different, seems like it is based around the events of the New World Arc.
We see characters like the dragon from Punk Hazard and Hordy Jones from the Fishman Arc make appearances alongside the new character Red so who knows what’s in store for us. Alongside the two different 3DS XL systems that coincide with the game, which was announced a while back, will also be a download code for both a costume for Luffy which is from the One Piece Strong World film and an extra Marineford Quest where ace becomes a playable character. The new 3DS XL systems will be shipping around Japan on November the 21st of this year, so far the game itself does NOT have a release date so continue looking on the site for more news and info as it is released.
Now you can head down below to watch the awesome One Piece Unlimited World Red Trailer and, if you’re interested in this style of game, I suggest you also check out the upcoming action, fighting game which just so happens to feature Luffy as one of it’s main characters; J-Stars Victory Vs.
In Dodge This!, endless hordes of runners await you. Armed with your trusty cannon, you must stop then from reaching their goal. Meanwhile developer Imagination Studios has armed their title with wonderful presentation, solid controls and familar gameplay. This quirky, casual shooter is packed with fun and surprises, although it may not hold your attention span for long. It’s not perfect, but Dodge This is a solid title for iOS devices.
Gameplay
Contrary to the title, you’re not really expected to dodge anything in Dodge This. Instead, you must fire at cannon fodder and stop them from reaching the other edge of the screen. Again, contrary to the title, they don’t really try to dodge your shots for the most part, which makes the endless firing at endless runners all the more fun. Players manoeuvre their cannon via on-screen controls or gyroscope and fire by tapping the screen. Personally, I prefer the on screen controls but gyroscope works efficiently too. This is all done in first-person perspective but sorry FPS freaks – this casual title has more similarities to carnival games where you throw baseballs at milk bottles than a Call of Duty title. Power ups and upgrades also await you with a slight push towards in-app purchasing which proves to be slightly disappointing. Still with a large variety of enemies gameplay proves to remain interesting. These vary from offensive bomb-throwing opponents and others that vary in speed, hit points and more. Daily objectives are also thrown into the mix to keep things fresh to make earning in-game currency for these upgrades easier. Still in-app purchases seem a little pushy, but if one enjoys the gameplay enough this can be overlooked.
With plenty of variety in opponents, weighted ammunition, upgrades and wacky environments you’d think Dodge This may tick all the boxes for an engaging title, however the formula quickly pulls it down and falls flat. Without a gimmick or stand out element to entice the player, Dodge This is forced to rely on it’s repetitive gameplay and quirky presentation. While it remains entertaining on a superficial level, the gameplay remains all too simple and repetitive. After playing for a short while, many gamers will probably have a very “been there done that” attitude towards the game.
Audio & Visual
For what Dodge This lacks in the gameplay department, it surely attempts to make up for it in presentations. Quirky themes and characters all filled with personality ranging from military men to wizards to chickens flying out of your cannon. Textures are simple and cartoony with bright colours that are sure to bring smiles and animations are fairly decent. It can be a little rough around the edges at times but for the most part the childish atmosphere is enough to disguise the incredibly average gameplay. Sound effects are efficient and and the music is of what you’d expect in a carnival themed title. It’s fun, it’s friendly and it gets the job done.
Overall
Dodge This! doesn’t have any major flaws – it’s presentation is spot on and filled with personality, controls are solid, there’s plenty of variety….there really isn’t too much to complain about. However there isn’t much in the gameplay that stands out either creating a very familiar and lacklustre experience. While it may feel incredibly average, you don’t have too much to lose as it is free-to-play if you ignore all the in-app purchases that are highly encouraged. Regardless, if your a fan of arcade fun and shooting people in the face, Dodge This may still be worth a go. After all it’s free so what’s the harm right?
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview
The works of Osamu Tezuka are simply legendary. Princess Knight is a series that comes with the pedigree of the God of Manga himself. Tezuka is the visionary that helped create manga and anime in the form we know it today. One of his earliest works was Princess Knight and at nearly 50 years old, it isn’t exactly an exaggeration to say that it shows its age.
While it looks its age, there is a sense of timelessness to Princess Knight that transcends time and space entirely. Princess Knight serves as a gateway to anime’s past, giving a glimpse into the brilliant mind of Osamu Tezuka and his creative genius that set the foundations for modern anime.
Story
The tale of Princess Knight is one that has been echoed in all forms of media over the years. A young girl is born into a man’s world and must find her own path through life. What Tezuka does with this story however is simply magical. He takes what would otherwise be a tale of belonging and turns it on its head. Princess Sapphire doesn’t simply want the world to accept her for who she is, she wants the change the world.
Sapphire is a Princess who must be a Prince to succeed the throne. With the dastardly Duke trying to steal the throne for himself at every turn, Sapphire has a true nemesis to joust with. The Duke represents the ways of the world and the corrupt traditions that it is built upon. She wants to tear it all down and built an equal world. It would have been easy for this to become preachy, but Tezuka straddles the line perfectly, creating a magical adventure that is underpinned with a genuine sense of rebellion.
Tezuka wrote this story at a time of great change in the world, gender equality was an issue the world was confronted with at the time and this definitely feels like his take on the situation. He bounces back and forth over the first cour of episodes, but as the series goes on he comes to reach an intriguing conclusion. Princess Knight proposes that gender doesn’t mean anything, it doesn’t define who we are or who we can be, it is not an identity. You are who you are, whether you are a man or a woman and it is an interesting thought pondered by Tezuka all those years ago.
At its core though, Princess Knight is simply an enjoyable adventure series that will no doubt bring a smile to your face. Tezuka had a brilliant story-telling mind and Princess Knight is animated evidence of that brilliance. This particular collection ends on solid stopping point but albeit one that leaves you hanging for more of this wonderful series.
Visuals and Audio
Time waits for no one and unfortunately it hasn’t treated this lovely series too well over the years. Aesthetically it is still every bit as appealing but unfortunately there is some clear deterioration to some of the series that can hamper the experience at times. It is an inescapable part of life and sadly Princess Knight comes with some wear and tear visually, but it is undoubtedly an authentic experience.
The art evokes the feeling of older Disney works such as Bambi, with a magical spirit behind it that brings this world and its characters to life. Tezuka’s art style is definitely distinct and Princess Knight is instantly memorable for that very reason.
Princess Knight’s soundtrack is relatively well kept over the years and holds up nicely, all the while brimming with nostalgic feelings for a time that many of us never lived. It is a suitably uplifting composition that has stood the test of time.
This release does not happen to feature the original Japanese audio due to the number of differences between the Japanese and English versions of the series. Instead this release features the English version in its original state. The dub is understandably hamfisted but carries the time of the series well, there are no real stand outs from the cast but it is well rounded enough that makes for a solid ensemble.
Extras
With this release of Princess Knight, Hanabee Entertainment have not actually included any special features. Being a 26 episode collection of a retro anime series this is completely understandable. With the English dub this makes for a solid release of a classic anime albeit one that is relatively bare bones. Regardless of its lack of extras, if you are looking for an old school anime release, this is more than worth the price of admission.
Overall
With Princess Knight, Osamu Tezuka made a timeless classic. While it may not hold up to today’s standards, it remains a captivating relic of anime’s past. This series came at a time of great change in the world and it wears that revolutionary notion proudly. Creating the character of Princess Sapphire was a true master stroke for Tezuka. She is an icon of rebellion and an ambassador of change. Her adventures and struggles are ageless. No matter how many years may pass, Princess Knight will always remain an important series for anime.
If you are looking for a retro rewind on the anime medium, Princess Knight would be a good place to start. The series is a true classic, that despite showing its age, actually holds up quite nicely for the most part, largely due to Tezuka’s sharp vision and inspired story-telling style. This is definitely worth a look in for all anime fans and hopefully this marks a changing in tides in the industry which will lead to more retro series being given new life on home video. Let’s hope that Princess Knight will lead that charge. Regardless of all that, Princess Knight is an Osamu Tezuka classic that serves as a reminder of just how magical anime can truly be.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Fourteen teams will be taking the stage at the League of Legends Season Three World Championships; after competing against the top ranked teams across the world, battling through the Online Qualifier on the Mac and PC.
This will be the third World Championship after the first ended in 2011 with over 1.6 million viewers watching. League of Legends, as a sport, has become so large that the United States considers Pro-League-Players to be professional athletes, granting them Visas to compete within the states.
The first mach begins today and will last until October 4th; you can see the full schedule here. Teams are competing for the million dollar first prize, their own champion skin, and the Summoner’s Cup.
If you plan on visiting Los Santos with your early copy of Grand Theft Auto V, disconnect your console from the internet while playing until the official release date on the 17th of this month. Microsoft is banning Gamertags and consoles that are running GTA V due to a few bootlegged copies floating around on the internet along with a spike of leaked gameplay. There hasn’t been much news on the PlayStation Network of this happening, for those with a early copy on the PS3, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t at risk.
These early copies and gameplay leaks have stirred the hornets nest at Rockstar and they’ve issued a statement saying that any content posted before the release of GTA V, what so ever, will be removed.
“No pre-release leaked footage of any kind: Any posting of in-game footage from leaked copies of the game prior to its official release date will be taken down, regardless of how the game was obtained. This includes ‘early unboxing’ videos.”
It doesn’t matter if you’ve acquired your game legitimately or only posted a small amount of content online; reports of accounts being banned and content being removed have sprung up all over the internet. Its unclear exactly what accounts are being targeted and how, but we’re here to warn you to STAY CLEAR! Why take the risk? It’d be like jumping into an ocean full of sharks with a suit made of meat.
Atelier Meruru Plus: The Apprentice of Arland Developer:GUST Publisher:Tecmo Koei Platform:PlayStation Vita Release Date:September 3, 2013 Price:$39.99 – Available Here
Overview The Vita has had its fair share of ports in its comparatively short lifespan, but sometimes these ports have been so well done that they are the “ultimate” version of the game. Tecmo Koei has made quite a practice in bringing its console games to the Vita, as we’ve seen with Dead or Alive 5 Plus and Atelier Totori Plus. Now they’ve brought over the ‘Plus’ version of the last game in the Arland series, Atelier Meruru Plus, but is it worth the download?
Story For those familiar with the game, the story will be quite familiar to all of you, but for newcomers to the game, Meruru is the princess of the Kingdom of Arls. However the kingdom is so small and so far behind the times, to the point where they have almost no advanced machinery, skilled villagers or anything unique, that it is going to be absorbed into the Arland Republic in five years.
Despite being only a few years away from merging her nation with Arland, Meruru doesn’t really care too much about this problem because a famous alchemist by the name of Totooria Helmond has settled in Arls and Meruru has taken quite a liking to not only her, but her occupation as well. This causes Meruru to shirk her royal duties and run off to Totori’s workshop and become Totori’s apprentice in alchemy.
With the help of Totori, Meruru manages to convince her father, the King of Arls, to let her become an apprentice and work on becoming an alchemist under one condition. Meruru must use her skills with alchemy to build the Kingdom of Arls into one that will entice more people to settle in the nation. As such, Meruru must reach specific population counts within a certain period of time to continue learning with Totori.
Unlike many JRPGs there is no doom looming over the horizon, nor is there some evil force of nature ready to lay waste to the kingdom if Meruru fails to meet her goals. Instead all that happens is a bad ending where she isn’t able to continue her studies in alchemy. As such while there isn’t such a deeper goal, like Totori trying to find what happened to her mother in the past game, the story is very lighthearted and focuses more on Meruru’s journey to build up her kingdom and the various friends that will help her along the way.
By building up a rather charming cast of characters, and introducing a number of returning characters from Totori and even Rorona herself, albeit a loli version of her, Atelier Meruru Plus offers players numerous characters to interact with and develop relationships with. You see, the game has a rudimentary affection system where special events with characters can be unlocked either by performing tasks with them or taking them on journeys with you.
As you make your way through the game, there are numerous endings that can be unlocked upon completion, but it is worth noting that, while a new ending has been added in Meruru Plus, it is still not possible to achieve the best ending without playing through the game more than once. As far as the game’s storyline goes, besides including all of the DLC characters from the PlayStation 3 version and allowing them for use in our party, the story remains very much the same thing found in its PS3 counterpart.
Gameplay As with every Atelier title, Atelier Meruru Plus is based around a time system. Players are given a time limit where they must reach certain goals within a limited amount of time and time passes whenever the player does pretty much anything. Creating items with alchemy, recovering in bed, fighting enemies, gathering ingredients, traveling between places, all of these tasks take time and as such the player must always keep an eye on the clock when they debate about what to tackle next.
Atelier Meruru splits itself into a few different parts, completing official quests from the King’s right hand man Rufus or accepting quests from the Adventurer’s Guild in the tavern to raise your popularity level with the people make up one part, while gathering ingredients and taking out enemies, also for ingredients and leveling of course, take up another part while the majority of your time will be spent creating items in Totori’s workshop.
Interestingly enough, the requests can be anything from picking all of the plain grass from a field, to slaying a strong monster, slaying a number of monsters, slaying all the monsters in a specific area to open up a path or delivering a specific amount of goods, usually ones that have to be created via alchemy, to a specific place. These quests are often varied enough that the player won’t find them too repetitive and once the player completes these requests, they will receive the DP they need to develop the kingdom.
However as I mentioned before, there is one specific meter players must keep an eye on besides however many days pass. This meter is your popularity meter, which can only be increased by taking jobs at the Tavern. These jobs are similar to what players experienced in Atelier Totori, however the time limit for these jobs has been removed. Whenever the player finishes these jobs, they will receive a bit of money and a boost to their popularity level.
If the player’s popularity falls too low, they will find their population dropping, instead of increasing. It is quite difficult to actually allow your popularity to fall that low as a number of these quests are stunningly easy to complete with the help of some in-game stores. There are also a few requests you will sometimes receive from your friends as well, which tend to be a bit more complicated, and completing these requests will boost your friend level as well as provide a nice cash bonus.
Now while players will be balancing their time between development requests and popularity boosting missions, the core element to Atelier Meruru is still alchemy. The alchemy system is as great as it was in past Atelier Arland games, as players will have to gather certain ingredients from either out in the field in gathering points, by defeating enemies or even buying them from a store to create items using alchemical recipes. Items with a higher quality will boost the final product’s quality with a higher quality level allowing the item to deal out more damage, heal more or finish quests faster. Thankfully creating items is easier than ever, as Meruru’s recipe book will even show players if a certain recipes ingredients can be made with things they already possess.
Players will often need to create items to turn in quests, as well as to buff out their own team as Meruru, Totori and Rorona can deal out special attacks using disposable weapons created in alchemy. Now Atelier Meruru uses your standard turn based combat system where the player’s characters will take turns attacking with the enemy. However, if an enemy happens to turn their attention to Meruru, her two escorts can potentially block the damage with their own body with the use of the assist gauge.
This gauge, which fills up as players attack and receive damage, can also offer players a chance to create a string of combo attacks if Meruru uses an item to damage the opponent. This gives heavy hitting allies a chance to deal out twice as much damage in only one turn. Enemies can be quite difficult at times however, and there are a number of times that the difficulty level can spike, with enemies taking a drastic difficulty increase only one area away from smaller, weaker enemies.
There seem to have been a few tweaks to Meruru’s gameplay as it appeared easier to gather some ingredients and build facilities earlier on and while still difficult at times, some of the more difficult monsters appear to have been taken down a tad to allow for easier entry to some of the more difficult sections of the world. Along those lines with the help of all the DLC characters to choose from and a few new dungeons in this version of the game there is a lot to help you get on your way in the game.
Visuals Despite being transferred from the PlayStation 3 down to the PlayStation Vita, Atelier Meruru Plus looks as great as it originally did. Perhaps it is thanks to the way that the game’s graphics were originally created, with a soft and varied color palette and detailed, but not overly so, character models used throughout the game, it is simply gorgeous looking on the Vita’s screen. It is worth noting that there is a bit of fan-service throughout the game, but nothing that even comes close to what would be considered legitimate pandering.
Nothing has been lost in translation as far as the character portraits and battle screens go, as the character portraits remain as detailed and expressive as they can be while the characters remain nicely detailed both exploring the field and entering combat against the various creatures Meruru will have to take on as she hunts down ingredients. It is worth noting that the fields themselves can still be a bit bland at times, but this was also an issue found in the original version of the game.
Audio
With Atelier Meruru Plus Tecmo Koei has retained the English dub work originally provided by NIS America so gamers will be treated to the game’s old voice cast, which means that it does carry over the same problems that the original version had. That being that the voice acting is hit and miss at best with some of the side-characters having simplistic voice acting but thankfully Meruru’s English voice actress and all returning characters make up for it with their performances. Of course the Japanese voice track is available at any time if players wish to listen to that version instead.
As for the game’s soundtrack, it is quite enjoyable with a wide range of background music used throughout the game. Exploring fields or a town will be accompanied with soft adventuring music while the battle music will fit the mood well and even changes in tone whenever a specific battle is going to be a hard one.
Overall The original Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland could be seen as the best game of the Arland series and featured an enjoyable cast of characters, an easy to use and understand alchemy and combat system, and gorgeous visuals. Atelier Meruru Plus’ jump to the Vita has lost none of this in translation and has instead gained not only a bunch of new content that was DLC in the prior version, but some tweaked gameplay all with the added bonus of being able to carry it with you wherever you go, making it a must have game for any RPG loving Vita owner.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Codemasters has released a new video revealing a new car, (I should say an old car shown in the video section below) for an extension for their upcoming game F1 2013. The 1976 Ferrari 312 T2 which will be playable for all F1 2013 gamers who sign up to RaceNet, Codemasters’ free online community hub. The race car also stars in the F1 movie ‘Rush’ a biopic of F1 driver Chris Hemsworth, which opened in theatres this weekend.
F1 2013 is the latest in the official F1 video games with the launch date set for early Oct and is on the three standard platforms, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Pre-orders are already available including Steam pre-orders for PC.
This edition is a premium package with a release limited to just 10,000 units in the UK. This collector’s edition expands the game to a full simulation of the 2013 season, which is still ongoing, with also additional classic content from the 80’s and 90’s when the races where more exciting and dangerous.
We see two additional classic tracks, Imola and Estoril and in the trailer for the F1 2013: Classic Edition, we not only see the iconic 1976 Ferrari 312 T2 in action, but also legendary drivers that defined their eras including Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher.
RaceNet is open to advance sign ups and it offers of a powerful range of features. These include the new ability to set Time Trial challenges for friends, receive new game play challenges, track in-game progress and compare stats against friends.
With such a amazing component, this years F1 2013 certainly took themselves to a new level. Also next year there will be change in the F1 world such as the downgrades of the V8 F1 engines to V6s and this would resonate to the game play of F1 2014, so this is a great chance for gamers to race speed machines as well as experience the classic drivers and their race cars.
Konami Digital entertainment, only the other day, announced that a playable demo for Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 is now available for download on both the Xbox 360 through Xbox Live and on the PlayStation 3 through the PlayStation Store. The team behind PES 2014 boast that this game will have major advancements in both gameplay and graphics. they will utilize the “FOX Engine” in this release to bring soccer fans and gamers an experience like no other. Both the players’ movements and the movements of the soccer ball will both be more realistic than ever, this advancement allows players to be more engulfed in the gameplay. Customization is also another big element with players being able to see personalized animations and celebrations of their characters.
The Heart System will bring things like the crowds at the stadiums and the players’ energy to the forefront as players experience something entirely different with these elements actually effecting the turnout of matches and games. The demo will allow players’ to experience all the new and improved aspects of the game without a great deal of restriction that demos usually have. You’ll have the choice to play as eleven different, fully licensed teams and will be able to experience unique and individualized gameplay. It’s available now on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 and will be released on the 24th of September, so scratch that Soccer itch with the Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 Demo.
If you haven’t been living under a rock since 2001, you’ll probably recognize the name Cortana. Cortana, a fictional artificial intelligence and hologram within the Halouniverse, may now be going head-to-head with Siri as Microsoft’s “virtual assistance technology”. According to an inside source:
“Cortana will be more than just an app that lets users interact with their phones more naturally using voice commands. Cortana is core to the makeover of the entire ‘shell’–the core services and experience–of the future versions of Windows Phone, Windows, and the Xbox One operating systems.”
If this rumor has weight, we’ll be one step closer to real Spartans and Plasma Grenades, and I’m okay with that.
