Bitsquid is pleased to announce that their Bitsquid Engine will power Paradox Interactive’s two upcoming titles, War of the Vikings and Magicka: Wizards War.
War of the Vikings, developed by Fatshark, is a new third person melee game that serves as a follow-up to War of the Roses. Players will customize their Viking and engage in brutal skill based combat in settings inspired by actual Viking battlegrounds across Europe. “The Bitsquid Game Engine is a great technology that enables us to develop better games at a faster pace. With the source code we have full flexibility. Features like real time collaboration and instant drop in play is great for productivity,” said Fatshark CEO, Martin Wahlund.
Magicka: Wizards War is a strategy game that fuses traditional MOBA gameplay with Magicka‘s signature spell system and witty humour. Players will team up and go head to head using four elements that can be combined to create hundreds of different spells.
Bohemia Interactive has released one last update to the ArmA 3 Beta before the final release in September. The star of the update is Steam Workshop integration. Previously, scenario makers would have to share their creation on third party websites and forums. Now, ArmA 3 scenario makers can share their creations on Steam Workshop where they can be downloaded, rated, and commented on by the community. Additionally, the update brings a plethora of bug fixes and improvements.
ArmA 3 is the latest addition to Bohemia Interactive’s military simulator. The game features overs 290 km² of land to explore and is currently in beta testing. It can be purchased at a discount until the final release at the official Bohemia Interactive Store and on Steam.
Since the last trailer from E3, there hasn’t been too much more on the parkour/zombie game Dying Light from developer Techland of Dead Island fame and publisher Warner Bros. To make up for such a long wait, a 12 minute gameplay video has been released showing off not only the parkour that players will be utilizing to move through the environment, but the change that comes after night fall as well.
While some of the mechanics may look very similar to Dead Island such as the graphics and some of the weapons, i.e. the electric knife, the parkour moves make all the difference. Using zombies as launch points, leaping straight over zombies as well, and climbing poles to get to better heights all open up the map an incredible amount. Plus, the drastic change in enemies after dark helps make Dying Light much its own game.
Those wanting to see the footage for themselves can watch the gameplay video embedded below. Dying Light is set to release for both current consoles Xbox 360 and PS3, next generation consoles Xbox One and PS4, and PC in 2014.
While the last dev diary covered the addition of super powers to Saints Row IV the newest, and likely final before the big release of the game itself next week, talks more about the characters. From Daniel Dae Kim coming back as Johnny Gat, to the two different Shaundi’s, plus the players choice of the Boss him/her self, Volition and Deep Silver have it cut out for themselves to try and bridge the favoritism between Saints Row 2 and Saints Row The Third.
Check out the newest dev diary embedded below to hear what the developers and voice actors have to say about the characters in this over the top adventure. Saints Row IV will be releasing next week for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC and if there are any doubts about getting the the craziest Saints Row yet be sure to read our Saints Row IV Review.
Those looking forward to the upcoming Rambo The Video Game have a little more incentive to preorder as today Reef Entertainment announced that a series of limited edition figurines would be offered, though interested buyers will have to choose between the two of them.
While a full list of which retailers will be offering which figurine is still on the way, those in Australia need not worry as theirs are already detailed. Those wanting the First Blood figurine with John Rambo with his M60 can receive it by preordering from JB Hi Fi, while those preferring the Rambo: First Blood part 2 figurine with his RPG can preorder from EBGames.
Those wanting to see a full size version can click on the image above to get a better look, though the base of each figurine is not finalized just yet. Rambo The Video Game will release near the end of this year for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
Pro Evolution Soccer publishers, Konami, announced today that they have secured all of Chile’s top flight clubs to be a part of the next Pro Evolution Soccer game.
The 13th game in the Pro Evo series will feature all 18 Primera Division sides which is sure to excite South American fans. Pro Evolution has had trouble securing official licenses for teams ever since FIFA got a stranglehold on the market so this is big news for the brand that has stood resolute despite EA’s dominance. The president of Konami Digital Entertainment, Tomoyuki Tsuboi, wants their new game to resonate with fans all across the globe. He especially wanted to drive home the importance of fans being able to interact with their beloved hometown teams and players even though the sport is celebrated globally.
Boasting Kojima Production’s new FOX engine, Pro Evolution Soccer 14 marks a huge forward stride in the game’s level of immersion and fluidity. Everything from how the player receives the ball to how he puts it into the back of the net is set to be revolutionised in the next release which will be landing in stores on the 24th September in North, South, and Central America. Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 will be supported on PS3 and Xbox 360 as well as PC later in the year. Read our review of the previous game in the series, Pro Evolution Soccer 2013, here.
You will embody Garrett the Master Thief, who is entangled in the growing conflict between Baron Northcrest – believing that the old and the poor are holding back his city – and the oppressed masses led by Orion, the voice of the people. In a city on the brink of revolution, Garrett’s skills are all he can trust as he walks the fine line between politics and the people. Check out the official box arts below directly below, and beneath that is the newly released ‘Uprising’ trailer, made for Gamescom 2013.
Overview
In the current anime landscape, sports anime are a dime a dozen. The genre is undoubtedly tried and true, but after a while many of them tend to blur together. In a landscape so cluttered with the same old sports anime, how does one stand out? Well it’s simple really; do something new and defy expectations.
Chihayafuru, although hard to pigeonhole, is technically a sports anime. But what makes Chihayafuru so good is that it is so much more than that. It focuses on the game of karuta and the passionate people who play it. Chihayafuru is a series about romantics and their impassionate love. Love comes in many shapes and sizes. For these romantics, it is in the shape of karuta cards.
Story
Chihayafuru Part 1 serves as an excellent introduction to the world of Chihaya and friends, beginning with the Childhood arc it showcases the origins of Chihaya’s passion for karuta and the bonds she created over the game. It is through this arc that we come to understand the workings of karuta and the appeal of the game.
Karuta is a game focused heavily of memorization and reflexes. Remembering the cards location isn’t enough to win, you must also be fast enough to take the card. The series gives the game a sense of beauty both through its representation of the poetry behind the game and the way it portrays the complexities of the sport. It is easy to understand why these characters love karuta so much, with the game almost being portrayed as a character in and of itself with it’s own distinct personality.
Over the course of this collection, we see Chihaya and Taichi form their school karuta club, compete in tournaments and grow as both people and players. This is undoubtedly a coming of age story, but there is also a deeper underpinning theme that lies at the series core. Chihayafuru is a love story, not in the sense one would expect, but a love story none the less. Love is something almost anyone can relate to, regardless of whether it is for something or for someone. Most have felt a kind of love at some point in their life and that is where the emotional resonance comes from in Chihayafuru.
Passion and conviction are the driving forces in Chihayafuru and each and every character has a bit of both to their credit. The cast is well rounded with a multitude of unique well-developed characters who are rich with personality and story. Each of the main cast has a complex personality with multiple layers, each telling a story in their own right. How they all connect though is what is really special about Chihayafuru. All of these characters bond over their passion, they love karuta and for these people who otherwise would likely have never met, karuta brings them together.
The only problem with this otherwise excellent collection is that it concludes on one hell of a cliffhanger. It ends with Chihaya and friends as they prepare to enter the Omi Jingu tournament, also known as ‘the one they spent the whole series so far trying to get into’. It is a tasty cliffhanger that will leave you hungry for more.
With all of its heart and all of its soul, Chihayafuru Part 1 is an excellent release from Siren Visual and a great starting point for the series. If you have yet to experience the magic of Chihayafuru, don’t wait any longer, go pick up this release now. This is one of the most important anime releases of the year and one that should be on all anime fans radars. Chihayafuru is pure brilliance.
Visuals and Audio
One of the most amazing parts of Chihayafuru is the way Madhouse animates the game of karuta. There is so much beauty in that animation, with the characters movements having a sense of fluidity akin to poetry in motion, you couldn’t ask for more from Madhouse. On top of that the characters themselves are incredibly well designed and quite distinctive. Each character tends to have their own colour palette that is ascribed to them, a concept that works a real charm in adding to the personality of each. The design work overall is commendable and proves yet again that Madhouse may very well be the highest quality animation studio going today.
In terms of audio, Chihayafuru implements an incredible soundtrack that mixes pop-based rhymthms with traditional string compositions. The opening and ending themes are likewise stunning, in particular the infectious opening theme by 99RadioService. An all round impressive composition from top to bottom for Chihayafuru. Unfortunately however this release does not feature an English dub, instead only featuring the original Japanese audio track with English subtitles. This may not be an issue for die hard fans but it may alienate casual viewers looking for a dub release.
Extras
Siren Visual have done a decent enough job on this particular collection of Chihayafuru, managing to bundle in the standard clean music videos to top off an already great product without going all out. Here is to hoping however that Part 2 comes bundled with a bit more bang in terms of bonus content, especially considering this is a subtitled only release as it is. More content surely wouldn’t hurt and for an anime like Chihayafuru, it deserves it.
Overall
Chihayafuru has enough heart and soul to fill the Tatsuta river. It is all about passionate people chasing their passions and finding happiness in that love of theirs. There is a message that underpins this series and it is that if you love something enough, there isn’t anything that can pull you away from it. If any of this speaks to you on any level, then Chihayafuru is a series worth your time. It plays all the right cards and wears its heart on its sleeve and we wouldn’t have Chihayafuru any other way.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
With Battlefield 4 set to be released in a couple of months, DICE and EA have begun “The Road to Battlefield 4” blog series where they will discuss the various changes they have made to the game and the hurdles they had to overcome along the way.
In the second post to the blog, DICE’s Core Gameplay Designer Alan Kertz has detailed all of the new and tweaked elements that will be in Battlefield 4’s multiplayer mode. This includes an in-depth look at the Field Upgrade system and how the company has listened to fan feedback to better balance the multiplayer. The full, exceptionally detailed, blog post can be read here. Also revealed today were the new skins for the multiplayer classes, with US, Chinese and Russian variants, which can be found below.
If you’ve already picked up the first half of the first season of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan then you’ll be happy to hear that Viz Media has just announced that the second half of the first season will be hitting store shelves next week on August 20th.
Set 2 will cost $44.82 US/$43.24 CAN on DVD while the Blu-ray version will run for $54.97 US/$66.15 CAN. Set 2 includes episodes 14-26 and as far as bonus features go, this second set will only feature production art and the official trailer for this release.
Viz Media has provided a synopsis for Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan Set 2 below:
In Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan Set 2, the Nura Clan faces a menacing new threat: the 88 Demons of Shikoku, led by Inugamigyobu-Tanuki Tamazuki! Tamazuki sets his plan in motion to weaken the Nura Clan by targeting their key source of power – the local deities of Ukiyoe Town. In the absence of Supreme Commander Nurarihyon, Rikuo’s resolve to become the Third Heir is put to the test, as he must unite the clan to face Tamazuki and his malicious weapon the Devil’s Blade!
