From the developer Die Gute Fabrik comes the brilliant puzzle/platformer, Where is my Heart? It was released on the PlayStation Network November 8th, 2011, and after two years the game is finally making it to the PC universe.
Copenhagen Game Collective has yet to announce a specific date, but they have said September of 2013. ‘Where is my Heart?’ will be also coming to OS X and Linux. The game play has gotten a nearly perfect score from critics all over. The story and art are inspired by German fairy tales, mythical creatures from Central Europe, and pictogram aesthetics from Japan. Wrap that all up, and you get one amazing indie game.
A new episode has just been released today for DeNA’s popular mobile card battle game Transformers: Legends. The new episode is titled Junkion Reunion and involves an epic reunion on the planet Junkion.
The Junkion Reunion episode gives players new opportunities to get exclusive episode only cards to add to their decks for use in some intense card battles.
Available in the episode are 7x Episode Bonus Sharpshot Cards which can be attained in the Episode Space Bridge or simply for 500 Ruby Medals and 5x and 3x Episode Bonus Sharpshot Cards which can be attained only with Ruby Medals.
Guilty Crown: Part 1 Limited Edition Studio:Production I.G Publisher:FUNimation Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date: August 27, 2013 Price:$89.98 – Available Here
Overview Reinventing a genre or coming up with something fresh and exciting is a difficult task in an age where many forms of entertainment are accessible at the drop of a hat and numerous stories are created every few months. Some stories use clichés as crutches to stay with the norm and simply make due with pleasing a set number of people while others attempt to try something different. Now that FUNimation has brought Guilty Crown to North America, does Guilty Crown: Part 1 manage to get the ball rolling on what may become a strong series?
Story Our story takes place in 2039 Japan where, ten years prior, a massive outbreak of a virus termed the ‘Apocalypse Virus’ ran rampant through the nation. As Japan’s entire infrastructure begins to crumble, they seek help from the rest of the world and an organization called the GHQ is formed to assist Japan in not only containing the virus, but also keeping its government afloat.
However now that ten years have passed, the GHQ still remains in Japan and while various members of the population occasionally fall ill with the virus, many people are beginning to grow restless as their government is controlled by outside forces, ultimately turning the country into a police state. This has given rise to a resistance group named Funeral Parlor who seeks to cause trouble for the GHQ wherever possible and as Guilty Crown starts, it seems they are on the cusp of obtaining their greatest weapon.
Enter the main character of the series, Shu Ouma, a high school boy who has issues reading the feelings of those around him and awkwardly makes his way through school with only a handful of friends that are kept at arm’s length. Upon returning to what appears to be his home away from home, Shu finds a woman named Inori, a popular internet songstress, huddled over in pain alongside a little robot. Before Shu can find out exactly what is going on, GHQ agents called the Anti-Bodies enter and take Inori into custody, on account that she is a member of Funeral Parlor but don’t notice the robot that accompanied her.
With the robot providing a guide, Shu finds himself deep in the ranks of Funeral Parlor with a special vial. Shortly after meeting with the group’s leader, Gai, the GHQ begin massacring the city, forcing the group to act. After being told to flee with the vial and protect it with his life, Shu stumbles upon Inori as she is about to be killed and attempts to save her life at the risk of his own. By doing so, the vial shatters and triggers the ‘Void Genome’ hidden within, giving Shu the ‘Power of Kings.’
Gifted with this power, Shu is able to draw Voids, special tools unique to each individual, from those around him. After drawing Inori’s Void and dispatching the threats to the city with her sword Void, Shu is drawn, if not practically forced, into Funeral Parlor as he now is their only real hope at victory. This leads to numerous situations involving Funeral Parlor and Shu gathering allies, thwarting the GHQ’s plans as the main storyline is built through side events and ultimately begins to culminate in the last few episodes of Part 1.
At surface level, Guilty Crown features numerous clichés that are all too familiar with anime viewers at this point. From a post-apocalyptic police state to a withdrawn high schooler suddenly gifted powers that struggles with whether or not he should use these abilities, Guilty Crown is something that walks a well tread path. However despite the numerous clichés that run rampant through Guilty Crown, there are rather unique circumstances pertaining to Shu’s situation that surpass a few of them.
Thanks to the nature of his abilities, the only time that he can make use of them is by drawing out the Void of someone near him, rendering the person unconscious, leaving them completely vulnerable to danger around them and causing short-term memory loss, leaving them with no memory of the event as Shu guiltily uses their hearts in combat. Even on the emotional level, things are not always as they seem, especially when it comes to the enigmatic Inori. Despite growing closer to Shu, going so far as to transfer to his school and live with him, it begins as simple military procedure as she serves as both his watch dog and body guard, but eventually grows into more as the series moves along and the story continues to develop and drops hints about a potentially dangerous past that the two shared.
Thanks to the episode count of the series, Part 1 of Guilty Crown only contains the first eleven episodes of the series and ends up leaving viewers with a hefty cliffhanger. However at this point there have been numerous plot points revealed, sometimes at a rather blistering pace that feels rushed, hints about both Shu and Inori’s past and more given to viewers to entice them into continuing the series into Part 2.
Visuals One thing that viewers will immediately notice when watching Guilty Crown is how impressive the series looks both at a standstill and in motion. The character designs are incredibly detailed and varied well enough amongst the cast and the background scenery tends to be just as detailed and varied. Both of these qualities are then made even better by an impressive use of color and great attention to detail.
Guilty Crown really shines its brightest whenever a Void is in use, as each Void has a different look to it and effect in battle, though most of them involve intense, fluidly animated combat sequences with a lot of action happening on the screen at once thanks to the silver banding that most of the Voids exude when in use. It also helps that the various CG elements of the series, such as the Endlave mechs, are blended into the series so well that it is hard to notice the difference between these combined animation techniques.
Audio As per standard with a FUNimation release, Guilty Crown: Part 1 comes with both the original Japanese voice track and their own English dub. Unlike other releases however, FUNimation has not changed the songs sung by Inori into English. Rather at these points, the dubs remain the same as Inori sings in Japanese, probably for the best considering the importance of these songs. The English cast itself is rather nicely handled with each of the voice actors fitting their roles nicely, but not much else.
One thing that Guilty Crown has is an amazing soundtrack. While there are a fair share of simple instrumentals that are played in the background of various scenes, the first half of Guilty Crown features numerous background tracks with Japanese vocals. Every time one of these songs play it helps make that moment feel all the more important, though it is disappointing to see that FUNimation did not provide English subtitles to accompany the vocals to these songs. The opening theme, “My Dearest” by Supercell is accompanied by some rather breathtaking visuals and is quite a treat for the ears while the ending “Departures” by Supercell is a basic ending song that fits the series well enough.
Extras
With Guilty Crown: Part 1 FUNimation has released a Limited Edition version of the anime which, while more expensive, comes with a number of physical bonuses as well. The series comes in a sturdy chipboard holder with artwork of Shu and Inori on the front and houses Part 1 (which has a reversible cover), a holder to replace Part 2 with, and two softcover art books. Both of the art books contain some full color illustrations as well as various production art, background pieces, explanations of characters and notes from the staff and looks at some of the character sketches used in production.
As for on-disc extras, Guilty Crown: Part 1 comes with a number of bonus features, such as standard FUNimation bonus features like two commentary tracks, textless versions of the opening and ending song, with the opening theme receiving two versions, promotional videos and TV spots from Japan as well as trailers for other FUNimation releases.
The first commentary track is for episode 2 and features Alexis Tipton, the voice of Inori, Austin Tindle, the voice of Shu, and Micah Solusod, the voice of Gai. The three spend discuss various bits of the episode and the designs used throughout the series which ends up being mildly entertaining. The second track is for episode 4 and features Monica Rial, the voice of Tsugumi, Emily Neves, the voice of Ayase, and John Swasey, the voice of Segai. Swasey discusses his character a bit and the three also talk a fair bit about the episode and their time dubbing the series.
Outside of these inclusions, there are also a few other on-disc bonuses, such as all of the episode previews, a Guilty Crown 4-Panel Theater which is seven minutes of chibi comedy segments featuring Guilty Crown characters voiced in Japanese, and a ten minute interview with the production staff at New York Comic Con back in 2011.
Overall Despite being cliché on the surface, steeped in clichés in fact, Guilty Crown: Part 1 manages to deliver an interesting twist to a few of these clichés that make them rather interesting but leave too many left untouched. By flinging plot point after plot point at viewers and hinting at more to come as the upfront storyline is delivered at a brisk pace while the sub-plot slowly builds, makes viewers become invested in the storyline and interested in what is still to come. Combine that with some breathtaking visuals, and a nicely handled English dub accompanying an amazing soundtrack and Guilty Crown: Part 1 delivers a gorgeous action packed and intriguing opening that will hopefully be continued throughout the second half of the series.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Nexon Europe are pleased to announce that the renowned gentleman, PSY – who brought the world Gangnam Style; will be appearing in two of their most successful free-to-play PC game titles.
“We’re thrilled to welcome PSY to MapleStory and Combat Arms,” said Paul Lee, Associate Manager of Game Operation Department in Nexon Europe. “With his unique and flamboyant style we have no doubt his presence will keep everyone more than entertained over the next few months. With so many chances to win PSY prizes and game items too, he really has shown himself to be quite the Gentleman.”
The MMORPG, MapleStory, offers players the chance to embark on extraordinary missions to assist PSY during his stay in Maple Town, including rescuing him from an alien abduction. In return, players can earn special in-game items from these events such as pets, hair, t-shirts and unique PSY ring. In comparison, the FPS, Combat Arms gives players a ‘Gentleman’ case each day they log-in for the first week, and a chance to win in-game PSY items once their PSY’s posts have received enough “Likes”.
Check out the trailer below for Combat Arms, featuring PSY’s second hit single ‘Gentleman’. Don’t miss out on this amazing PSY promotion, which will only be available over the next four months for MapleStory and Combat Arms.
The first proper boxing sim for the PlayStation Vita, Real Boxing, has been released across Europe via the PlayStation Network. It’s set to hit the ground running with the inaugural Real Boxing Vita European Championship.
Players will have the chance to test their skills against others from around the world until September 11. The winner will receive another PS Vita to get a friend on board the handheld goodness.
“With the Championship starting today, players can jump into the multiplayer action immediately – we’re looking forward to seeing the result in two weeks time and congratulating the first Real Boxing Champion,” said Remi Koscielny, CEO of Vivid Games.
Utilising Unreal Engine 3, the game features singleplayer and multiplayer modes, customisable fighters, a variety of locations and a real-time deformation engine.
Real Boxing is priced at €9.99/£7.99 on the PSN and is also available on mobiles. The North American version has been delayed “for a short time”. For more info visit the game’s website, Facebook or Twitter pages.
Hugh Laurie (Mr. Watts) and Xzannjah (Matilda) star in Mr. Pip, directed by Andrew Adamson.
On November 7th, Paramount Pictures Australia will be releasing Mr. Pip – directed by Andrew Adamson (Shrek 2) and starring Hugh Laurie (House) – nationwide. Adamson‘s home country of New Zealand will get the film ahead of that date on October 3rd.
Mr. Pip is produced by Robin Scholes (Once Were Warriors), with music by Tim Finn, Costume Design by Academy Award winner Ngila Dickson (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King), and Production Design by Academy Award winner Grant Major (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King). Here is the official synopsis:
Directed, written and produced by Academy Award-nominated director Andrew Adamson(Shrek, Chronicles of Narnia), Mr. Pip is based on Lloyd Jones’ seminal novel (Mister Pip) which won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The film was shot on location in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
Set against the backdrop of civil war in Bougainville, Mr. Pip stars Hugh Laurie (House) as the enigmatic teacher Mr. Watts who reads to his pupils from Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations”. Matilda, a 14-year-old student played by newcomer Xzannjah, is transported by her imagination and the world of Dickens, becoming transfixed by the characters and Mr. Watts’ interpretation of the story. The film also stars Healsville Joel, Eka Darville and Kerry Fox.
Mr. Pip is a wonderful tale of the imaginative power of story and reveals that on an island at war, fiction can have dangerous consequences.
You can view the first official Australian trailer for Mr. Pip embedded below.
The weeks continue to roll by and so do Namco Bandai’sJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle trailers. Everyone is getting incredibly excited about this game, it seems as though even the game development team is giddy with excitement, releasing all of these awesome trailers. The latest trailer is a bit more of a longer one than the last two, this one goes for three and a half minutes and shows off the DLC characters that are available in the game going head to head in all out fightingaction.
The characters they’re focusing on are Pannacotta Fugo, Shigekiyo Yangu and Stardust Crusaders’ own Iggy. They are the most recent additions to the game roster and , I believe, are already available, there has been no release of information to dispute that so far so I’m hoping this is the case. The game was released in Japan today on the PS3 and each DLC character will go for 600 yen each. Head down below to watch the latest trailer and let us know what you think in our comments section just under that.
Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone Studio:Studio Khara Publisher: Madman Format : DVD Release Date: 17th April 2013 Price: $29.95 – Available Here
Overview
Neon Genesis Evangelion would have to be, by far, the most widespread and influential Anime series and franchise to have ever been created. It has spanned over 18 incredible years and, although it showed signs of slowing down during the 90s, it has been a fan favourite for most of those years. Every Anime fan knows Neon Genesis Evangelion and – between the original series, the End of Evangelion movies, the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy and it’s countless marketing adventures – if you didn’t know about it “back in the day” I’ll guarantee you know about it now.
Is it safe? No? Oh then I’ll absolutely pilot it!
Story
The series takes place in Tokyo-3 and it is exactly how it sounds, after a great deal of the earth was decimated during the Second Impact, where in which a large-scale battle lead to a larger scale force of destruction being set loose upon our world, Tokyo-3 has had to “put up” with the ruthless attacks of creatures referred to only as “Angels” even though that is extremely far from what they truly are, but you don’t know that yet so “shush”! NERV is a government agency who have developed gargantuan, humanoid robots called “Evas” which were created with the sole purpose of defending the world against the advances of the Angels and stopping the world from going through what it has already been through once before. Enter, Shinji Ikari. He’s a young boy who was chosen by his father, the fearless leader of NERV, to pilot Eva Unit 01, not seeing his father for many years Shinji seems fairly reluctant and, after a while of indecisiveness and general fear, he pilots Unit 01 and destroys his first Angel. He meets fellow pilot Rei Ayanami, she’s a quiet girl but a killer in an Eva, he also meets two young men from school who he quickly becomes friends with.
Hey there, pretty lady. What brings you to this…giant robot…battle?
Throughout the movie he fights three Angels, each one more difficult than the last and as much as I’d like to get into the “nitty gritty” of the story I really can’t without spoiling something that is best seen by watching the actual film. That’s a big thing about the Rebuild of Evangelion movies; just explaining what goes on isn’t enough to do it justice, people seem to experience it in different ways yet leave it with such fundamental agreements. It’s very fascinating.The story, in my opinion, is absolutely fantastic. I love how Evangelion seems like one thing but it is really an entirely different thing. Looking at the front cover with no idea what this film is about, all you can think is “oh, another robot anime” but it is so much more than that both literally and mentally speaking. The characters develop in a way like no others and, while Shinji really annoyed me at the start with his constant yet justified whinging and whining, the change in character types is well-done and it’s only by the end of the movie do you realise how incredibly brilliant it all is. It hits you like a tonne of bricks and leaves you with countless questions…and this is only the first of fours movies. So not only do you have the “cool” factor, that being giant robots fighting giants monsters, but you also have the psychological factor, it gets your brain ticking and your blood rushing in a way only Evangelion can, that’s why the fans of this franchise are so intense.
Visually this movie is beautiful.
Visuals
Many years ago when the series was just finishing up it seems like the production company ran out of budget for the show which lead to some really dodgy animation and the general populous feeling down-right crummy about it, jump to 12 years later and you’re met with such brilliance, this movie. The way that the animation team literally blend CG animation with traditional animation is just fantastic, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen an Anime movie get this close to visual perfection. The way the characters move and they way the robots do battle, the environments, the sweeping shots, the level of time, money and power put into this movie can be seen at first glance and that is something I have to applaud. The character designs haven’t changed that much since the original release of the series but considering that was never an issue I wouldn’t consider that to be a negative aspect in any way. The development team have managed to keep the old-school feel of the original series within the movies despite the fact that, visually, it is infinitely better.
Alright, there’s no time like go time!
Audio
The music is fantastic and really suits well with the series, the orchestral tracks really blend well with the vibe that the story gives off and the sound effects of the robots and the world the series is based work in such a perfect way. I would like to draw everybody’s attention to the level of voice acting that was in this movie. Now the original cast of the series do the same voices in the Rebuild of Evangelion movies which I think is just awesome but that’s not the point I’m trying to make, I watched this in English and the voice actors for, yes, every character did such a high calibre job on getting the voices spot on. You could feel the emotion, you could feel the sadness and, my God, you could feel the terror of these characters. While there are characters like Rei who don’t speak to often, and when they do they’re extremely quite, you can still get the feel for the character just by the voice of the actor or actress playing them. It is difficult to find an Anime/Anime Movie with English voice actors that put in the hard yards to get it right and Evangelion some how found the ones to do it, I guess that’s why they’ve been doing the same roles for all these years.
Who gets paid to clean THAT up?
Extras
I’m reviewing the “Slipcase Edition” which comes with a dust cover to go over the DVD case which is really nice, it’s very basic and just has the name but it looks nice in a shelf which, I suppose, is what matters. The DVD case has a reversible cover which even has the name of the movie on the flip side of the spine so it is literally a reversible cover unlike a great deal of other releases that only give a small piece of artwork as the flip. The release also comes with a small 20-page book which takes you throught he movie, a small explanation of what it’s like behind the scenes, important parts of the series, some nice pictures and even a fairly long note from series creator Hideaki Anno. The “on-disc” extras are even better, you get the original release of the movie “1.01”, the Angel of Doom promotional music video, Evangelion news flashes, movie previews and trailers. It’s an incredible release.
Don’t tell anyone you saw this, don’t even tell yourself, forget you saw this!
Overall
What more could I possibly say about this movie? I’m a big fan of the movie, despite my lack of interest in the series, and I feel like it’s done so well that it casts such a wide net. I’ve seen non-anime fans enjoy this movie and I think that’s a real testament to the amount of blood, sweat and tears put into this film. I think it’s fantastic on all fronts and, while it’s a bit strange story-wise, I fell like all different types of audiences could get into it as long as they have the slightest bit of an open mind. Each aspect of the movie complements the next. It’s for fans of the genre and for fans of just well put together animated films. It’s number one in my books let me just say that.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Wolverine and The Hulk are finally getting a much needed collaboration in disc form, as SHOUT! Factory have plans to release a brand new DVD featuring the two famed heroes who are about to clash in a battle for the ages. Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk will see Primetime Emmy Award-winning television writer and creator Damon Lindelof (Lost) teaming up with legendary artist Leinil Francis Yu (Secret Invasion) and superstar colorist Dave McCaig for one jam-packed DVD that has been packaged like a comic book with a stunning cover from Yu himself.
Here are some details of the feature as well as the bonus content you can expect:
Synopsis
Dr. Bruce Banner (a.k.a. the Hulk) has been presumed dead since his execution, following his murderous rampage through Manhattan as the Hulk. But when reports start cropping up of an unidentified creature appearing around the globe, Nick Fury begins to get worried. Not because Banner can turn from man to unstoppable monster in seconds, but because Banner’s existence is the one secret that can bring down Fury. So Fury turns to the only man he can trust: Wolverine. And he’s only too glad to take care of Banner – by any means necessary.
Special Bonus Content:
A retrospective interview with legendary artist Leinil Francis Yu and Marvel Knights Animation’s Supervising Producer Kalia Cheng gives fans an exclusive look into the making of ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS. HULK.
You can pick up Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk when it releases on September 10th nationwide at a price set of just $14.97. For a hardcore Marvel fan, this deal is a no-brainer. Check out some artwork below.
Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians made a splash not too long ago, blending its gameplay with music to create a truly unique and unforgettable experience. Today, it was announced that Reverb Publishing and THREAKS‘ gem would be seeing a soundtrack release, which will arrive this October.
”The Beatbuddy game features awesome music that gamers get to experience in each Song level,” said Wolf Lang, Co-CEO and the THREAKS GmbH. “Now fans of the game music will be able to enjoy all the tunes in this great package including some really uniquely arranged remixes that will have Beatbuddy fans bobbing their heads to the groovy beats!”
The first single of the album is the soul-house styled song “Lost In Yesterday” from EUROPA DEEP, which will be out on various download outlets in September (August 30 in Germany). The Beatbuddy digital bundle includes, in addition to the original version and the video, three new remixes of the “Lost In Yesterday” track including a featured remixed by SupaFunk, famous for his crazy, old-school funk arrangements, and produced by Michael Popescu, who has already been featured twice at the Britspotting Awards and the Raindance Film Festival.
Our very own Joe Morgan enjoyed his time with the PC version of Beatbuddy, and you should go give his review a look by clicking here. For now, check out the official music video for “Lost In Yesterday“ by EUROPA DEEP – which is coming soon to various outlets ahead of the soundtrack down below.
