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Bakemonogatari Part 1 Blu-ray Review

August 8, 2013

Bakemonogatari Part 1 Blu-ray
Studio: SHAFT
Publisher: Hanabee
Format: Blu-ray (reviewed), DVD
Release Date: July 31, 2013
Price: $49.99 – Available Here

Overview
Bakemonogatari, a title that can be translated as “Ghost Story” is a fairly recent hit in the anime industry. The light novels written by popular author NisiOisin have spawned continued adaptations such as Nisemonogatari, Nekomonogatari and Kizumonogatari.

Bakemonogatari, the first of which to receive an anime, has been re-released in Blu-ray format by the folks at Hanabee. Previously, only the pricey import by Aniplex of America was available in rich 1080p. Is this bizarre, supernatural anime for you? If you’ve already seen it, is this the set to own? Read on to find out!

Story
The plot launches right away, leaving almost no time for the viewer to orientate themselves. Koyomi Araragi is a fairly normal high school student who happens to be part-vampire. Being the token nice guy in the anime, he gave his blood to save a vampire and in-turn sacrificed his humanity. Although Meme Oshino, a Shinto exorcist in a Hawaiian shirt, helped him become mostly human again with a few perks such as a rapid healing ability. This is already set up once the show starts, as Koyomi’s back story is only established with clues and offhand conversations. Speaking of conversations, these make up the bulk of Bakemonogatari and are arguably its main selling point. While some action does happen, the back and forth conversations can be intense if you can keep up with the flow.

The series is split into several arcs as Koyomi meets various girls who are possessed by troublesome spirits, usually because they have issues themselves in some way or another. The typical harem elements are obviously here, albeit stylised upon with an art direction characteristic of SHAFT. You could almost call this a harem for classy folk. Ancient Japanese lore and superstition is heavily borrowed from, with paranormal ailments caused by crab, snail and snake spirits.

When push comes to shove during the rare action scenes, it’s simply spectacular. Possibly something of a mix between Tarantino and Sin City, you see limbs break and blood splatter viscerally. It’s really unique in this respect.

Bakemonogatari is riddled with frames of writing that offer clues and insights into character thoughts. These flash by way too quickly however, to the point where you’d have to pause to read everything. Being a subtitled-only release with no English dub, this makes it pretty much impossible to read. You can keep watching without reading these bits just fine, but it is disappointing as any normal person would simply miss this element in the anime. Personally I’m not prepared to pause what I’m watching every few seconds, but if you love these quirky aspects then more power to you. It makes for a unique experience at the least.

Another niggling issue is that the general consensus agrees with “Senjougahara” as the proper way to spell one of the girl’s names in English. For some bizarre reason the translation went with “Senjyogahara” which really stands out in the subtitles. Again, a small issue but it just doesn’t make sense given that it’s incorrect.

The plot and story arcs are the major focus here, with hints of an even greater back story. It is a little frustrating when characters keep referring to events that you haven’t seen or know about, though.

Visuals
Bakemonogatari combines modern and crisp animation with eclectic art design. Backgrounds and scenery are often jumbled, random bits of objects that are interesting to look at, if not making much sense. Bakemonogatari’s visuals fit perfectly with the direction of the anime. While the quick frames and shots are part of the show’s appeal, it does get tiresome at times. The quality has been beefed up from the previous DVD release to what you’d expect from a shiny Blu-ray that hasn’t been upscaled.

At the end of the day, this is top quality production and it’s hard to genuinely fault Bakemonogatari anywhere in its visual department.

Audio
The music in Bakemonogatari is hard to pin. It’s probably best described as a mix of pondering, subtle tracks that match the atmosphere and help keep the conversations going. Melodies range from playful to the fittingly creepy as supernatural scenes play out. The opening and ending music themes are a treat to listen to as well. It’s a neat touch to have different theme songs for each arc, reflecting the girl Koyomi is busy helping. It has to be said that Kimi no Shiranai by supercell remains one of the best songs in the franchise.

This is a Japanese audio release with no English dub. While this is a minus, Bakemonogatari may be simply too “Japanese” to dub effectively. The show relies a lot on speech nuances, play on words and inside jokes to the point where I can’t see it working in another language, unfortunately. That being said, the Japanese cast perform outstandingly.

Extras
You might remember Hanabee released this is in a special art book format for the DVD version. Well the Blu-ray release, labelled Region B, is in a standard box this time which is a little disappointing. On the plus side the image quality is loads better, not just an upscale, and I think that’s a decent tradeoff. On the second disc you get a set of clean openings and endings which is great as there’s multiple themes in this show.

Audio Commentary from the voice cast is available and is a welcome addition. Part 1 includes 8 episodes and deals with three of the girls in the series. While eight episodes isn’t enough for a roughly full price release, it’s difficult when the studio decides to release an odd 15 episodes overall.

Overall
It’s surprising how popular Bakemonogatari became when it first aired in 2009-2010, and its rabid fans continue to reap the benefits in the form of multiple sequels and DVD/BD releases. This isn’t for everyone, particularly if you’re after a concrete, linear plot with action. I would call this an example of anime for hipsters, but that would do Bakemonogatari a disservice and unleash a horde of angry emails. Instead, I’ll say it takes the stereotypes of the medium and weaves them into a haphazardly brilliant piece of art that is sure to even make you laugh at times.

Part 1 wraps up the pretty brutal Suruga Monkey arc, with the only hint of what’s to come in the form of the remaining heroines, Nadeko Sengoku and Tsubasa Hanekawa. For the Western viewer, Bakemonogatari was the start of Studio SHAFTs fame that later culminated in the insanely popular Puella Magi Madoka Magica series. If you know and love the show, now is the perfect time to pick up Part 1 in crisp 1080p. If you haven’t seen it, well you should probably see it anyway, interested or not. At least you will know what all the fuss is about.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Worms Clan Wars Review

James Mapley

August 8, 2013

Worms Clan Wars
Developer: Team 17
Publisher: Team 17
Platforms: PC (reviewed)
Release Date: 15th August 2013
Price: US$24.99, GBP£18.99, EUR€22.99 – Available Here

Overview
In this modern day and age where high octane action and graphical fidelity are so important in gaming, I can’t help but stifle a laugh at the fact that a game that is essentially squeaky 2D sprites shooting bazookas at each other still manages to remain such a powerful gaming icon. In fact, there are very few games that command the same level of nostalgic fun as the Worms franchise. Armageddon is arguably one of the most enjoyable games to ever grace the PC platform and as Worms tries to remain relevant in a scene that is being constantly redefined by an array of hot new indie titles, the question on everyone’s lips is, “Can this new iteration live up to its peak that has not been reached since Armageddon in 1999?”

Story
Worms has never really been a game with a particularly engaging story; in fact some of the best games in the Worms Franchise have not even featured a story mode at all! True to form, the actual plot in Worms Clan Wars is minimal. Instead, the 25 single player missions teach the player how to employ their entire wide arsenal of weird and wonderful weapons to their most destructive capacity. These missions come in a variety of forms including tactical races using ninja ropes which still feature the new, more realistic physics introduced in Revolution, as well as the standard worm-related carnage we all know and love. The game also features an extra 10 “Worms Ops” missions that take a more time trial style and once again, are fun despite their complete lack of plot or direction.

Gameplay
Not to take away from the story mode which is indeed a great deal of fun, but when we take a look at the multiplayer aspect of Worms it makes everything else seem completely irrelevant. As with all the great Worms games, there is nothing more fun than gearing out your own little team of worms and sending them out to meet their makers in a barrage of exploding sheep and old ladies. As a child, I used to spend more time actually designing my team than fighting with them, and now that is even truer because there are so many more features to choose from. Not only are there the 4 different types of worms now, but the amount of customization is mindboggling, and it is only going to get bigger with the new implementation of the Steam workshop. This will allow players to submit their own hats and other customizable features, which as Team Fortress 2 has shown makes for a lot of strange and awesome designs.

Compared to previous Worms games this iteration definitely has the most complex battle system of them all. Sure, you can just charge in gung-ho with 4 fat, tanky worms and hope for the best, but now that you have things like water falling as well as the new unfamiliar weapons to worry about, there is a lot of room for shrewd tactical play. What is wonderful about Worms as a whole though is that you can still do reasonably well in a game by not overly trying and dumping airstrike after airstrike of cows onto your opponents and prodding them off of precarious ledges into the watery depths below. Worms Clan Wars somehow manages to add more tactical elements while retaining the integral core of stupid fun that made the series so popular in the first place and that is its greatest triumph.

As far as the new clan feature is concerned I like the concept behind it, but I can’t really see people investing in it as heavily as Team 17 seems to think they will. The cool added element of customization in the form of clan emblems, ranks, etc is definitely fun, but I am skeptical as to how many people will play Worms on a regular basis because of it. To be fair to Team 17 though they have given it their best shot and to be honest if the integration of smart phones to record stats and the possibility of building clans of up to 120 people doesn’t hold people’s interest, then it just isn’t meant to be. Worms Clan Wars is definitely not in the same league as Guild Wars 2 which works off of a similar group based premise and Guild Wars 2 was never quite the phenomenal success that it was hyped up to be. Worms is great, but you’re never going to get people playing it for extended periods of time because it has the depth of a puddle. It isn’t like a MOBA where each hero/champion has builds and skills to learn. Worms is most fun when it is a party game, and trying to make it competitive on a large scale will not be successful I fear.

Visuals/Audio
I don’t think I am wrong in saying that Worms is never going to be the most aesthetically pleasing game on the market, but it has certainly come a long way since the blocky 2-D sprites of the late 90’s. Nowadays the maps are vibrant, dynamic landscapes, far bigger and more interactive than they used to be. In the backgrounds CG objects are now being utilized which is a huge improvement on the pixelated starry sky that featured in older games. But most notably of all, the weapons all have their own unique animations now and the shots actually feel like they have some weight behind them which greatly adds to the overall feel of the game. Saying that Clan Wars is a step up from Revolution graphically though could only be justified using finicky details that barely matter. If all you want is a Worms game prettier than the classic ones then I would recommend just buying Revolution when it falls in price upon Clan Wars’ release.

I was disappointed to see that Clan Wars had a similar problem to Revolution where it wouldn’t run on certain integrated graphics cards despite saying it would in the system specs. Disappointing that Team 17 didn’t listen to customer feedback about that issue. So, if you game on a laptop I would do some research before buying this game.

As always your little wormy soldiers will have you pulling your hair out with their helium-charged squeals, but by now I’m sure anyone who has played a Worms game is used to that. Conversely, the background music is calming and fits each of the maps perfectly. As a whole package the game is bright, colourful, and chirpy and the fact that the very nature of the game means that you can pick it up and put it down so easily makes it a wonderful game to blow off some steam between shifts.

Overall
To answer our earlier question, Worms Clan Wars is about as close to Armageddon as a Worms game has come since. In ways it is far superior, for instance the sleeker graphics, the clan-based multiplayer, and the absolutely endless customization possibilities. Unfortunately, I can’t see the clan system taking off, and whether the Steam workshop will produce much is for the community to decide. Everything new in the game is a good idea and I hope for the franchise’s sake that it does somehow amass a following, but if multiplayer isn’t your thing it is essentially Revolution with a few extra bells and whistles.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Nexon Cash (NX) Bonuses in Summer Sale

Joshua Moris

August 8, 2013

White Marine's Set — (White Marine’s Set)

Nexon Europe has started their summer sale event by including an 30% increase to any NX purchase from August 7th to August 11th. Putting the savings into perspective, you can purchase 30,000 NX and receive an additional 9,000 NX for free!

Let’s make this interesting then… Let’s say you wanted to buy the latest White Marine’s outfit on Nexon’s Free-to-Play MMO, Dragon Nest. The set currently costs 11,700 NX and would not normally be covered on a $10 Karma Koin purchase (10,000 NX). However, this sale would give you 13,000 NX and make the White Marine’s outfit available to you. So hop on over to any of Nexon’s games and purchase some Nexon Cash before the sale ends on August 11th!

Wonderful 101 Nintendo Direct This Friday

Andrew Day

August 8, 2013

Last night’s Nintendo Direct Presentation was short, but very very sweet. Satoru Iwata (CEO of Nintendo) and Satoru Shibata (Nintendo Europe President) managed to pack information about 32 games into a 30 minute presentation. We got information about the new Animal Crossing Plaza, Rayman Legends, and the upcoming Zelda Games, as well as a heap of release dates, and a tonne more.

One game that was noticeably absent from the presentation was the upcoming Wii U title; Wonderful 101, which is set to launch later this month. Fear not fellow Nintendoites, as the Big N aren’t silly enough to leave us in the dark so soon before the game’s release. At the end of the broadcast, we were informed that there will be a special Nintendo Direct Presentation entirely focused on the Wonderful 101.

This special broadcast will be played TOMORROW (Friday, 9th August) at 12am. You can check out the video here when it goes live, but if you miss it we here at Capsule will be providing all the news from the video, so be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Wonderful 101 news as it becomes available.

Black Ops 2 Gets Origins Trailer

Joe Morgan

August 8, 2013

Activision, the publisher behind first-person shooter giant Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and the rest of the franchise, released a new trailer today. Named “Origins”, the trailer gives a little bit of a teaser for things to come.

The trailer, which you can watch in the video player below this article, is fairly minimal, but we can deduce a few things from it. First of all, it appears to be showing off upcoming DLC content. It seems like a fair assumption given the Black Ops 2 name tied with it. It also shows four characters, one of which looks pretty similar to Reznov. Second, we get a quick sneak peak at a giant, massive robot. Is it driven by man or an artificial intelligence? Time will tell.

Could this be a twist on the ever-popular Zombie mode? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain – Call of Duty has some interesting things yet to come.

Mononoke Review

Frank Inglese

August 8, 2013

Mononoke
Studio: Toei Animation
Publisher: Siren visual
Format : DVD
Release Date: 22nd August 2013
Price: $49.95 – Available Here

Overview

The supernatural and ancient Japan seem to go hand in hand and lately the world has seen a lot of what this combination can do within Anime, some get it right and some fall through the cracks, Mononoke is one of those ones that is neither, Mononoke seems to make it’s own rules. This horror-filled, supernatural, detective story is an odd one both visually and aesthetically. It seems to hit you in a way that not a lot of other titles can.

Story

Mononoke is the “spiritual sequel” of a series called Bakeneko but the good thing is that the stories don’t entirely link up, basically the only thing the two titles have in common is the main character and an encounter he has from his past in one of the many small story arcs that make up the series. Which brings me to my first point: The set-up, storywise, for Mononoke is very much in the “Monster of the week” category. The story of the series is made up of little, individual and unique stories. The main protagonist, only called “The Medicine Vendor”, travels around this skewed vision of Edo in search of ghostly aparations or Mononoke which is the way they refer to these happenings, each time he finds one he does a bit of detective work and kills it. It’s actually that simple. While the stories within the big story aren’t so “simple”, that’s the best way to describe it all. The mythology behind every event was great and , considering I’m a big fan of the supernatural, I really enjoyed it. Even when it got that little bit too weird at some points you tend not to mind because you’re already under the impression of a twisted reality.

While I enjoyed watching this man roam around Edo killing supernatural beasts and while I also enjoyed the small stories and their mythological tales I did find the pacing to be quite elongated and, to be honest, fairly boring. I understand that because the stories were detailed it needed to be spread over two or even three episodes but I found that by the last episode I no longer cared at all about what was happening. Repetition does not help this series at all, it seems as the the Medicine Vendor says the same lines over and over again to all these different characters and while they don’t know what’s happening and need explanation, the audience doesn’t and that’s where it ruins it for me. One thing I did enjoy was the way episodes were introduced, it was set out like a traditional Japanese play with opening acts, closing acts, plenty of theatrics and extremely over the top characters. They really brought that to life.

Visuals

This series blew my mind when it came to aesthetics. To put it bluntly; watching Mononoke was like running through the Edo period of Japan high on acid. Everything was askew, the colours were incredible, it was as if they threw a woodblock carving into the 70s. At pints within the series it was hard to tell what was an illusion and what was reality which is fantastic because you felt the same way the clueless characters would’ve felt. The great thing that the visuals to to the viewer is that they force them into the position of meaningless characters instead of the know-it-all, hero of the day, main character. It was set out like a a traditional Japanese play, characters had plenty of makeup and the over all style seemed like it was intentionally meant to look like an Ukiyo-e play. Characters were designed in a way that made them look like rough paintings on wooden blocks and I thought that fit in perfectly with the entirety of the series.

Audio

More than anything, the music in Mononoke was excellent. It was traditional, it was haunting at times and it helped me circle in on the events that were transpiring. The voice acting was good but the characters were quite boring, not every character was but the ones that counted were. The big thing that got to me was the repetition of dialogue, it was the same thing every two or three episodes and I got sick of hearing the dull, monotone voice explain the same thing over and over again. Unfortunately it’s just one of those bad things that seems to stick out. There is no English audio which isn’t a bad thing because I believe if a series is meant to be strictly Japanese there should be no English voice acting.

Extras

The extras are fairly standard in this release. Clean opening, clean closing and trailers which is the usual set up for Animer releases. One thing that was great though was a small “documentary” labelled “Making Bakeneko” which is exactly how it sounds. It’s just nice to have that little extra in a release and I guarantee it would’ve made fans of the first series happy. There was also a reverse side to the cover which had a picture though unfortunately is was just a larger version of what can be seen on the front cover.

Overall

Mononoke is great for people that love Edo Japan, supernatural tales and detective stories because that’s exactly what it is in a nutshell. It’s a great short series but unfortunately it’s set back by a few things that I just couldn’t overlook. I wouldn’t suggest you overlook this one though because aesthetically it’s beautiful and the sounds of Edo Japan will be ringing in your ears for days on end. It’s one of those Anime series’ that forces you to think about it when you are away from it which I think is fairly rare. Look what it lacks isn’t style, nor is it lacking it’s intense moments, it actually doesn’t lack anything, there’s just far too much repetition and I feel like it’s a bit stretched out but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked as a series, it’s still fantastic and it still does what it intends to do; it gets you confused and forces you to question what is real. Don’t pass this one by.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

JJBA: All-Star Battle’s Newest Promo Video Is Action-Packed!

Frank Inglese

August 8, 2013

CyberConnect2’s new JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure game, All-Star Battle, is set for a release in Japan later this month which means people around the world are getting ready to start the incredible, supernatural and action-packed brawl that is JJBA: All-Star Battle. Well the people over at the All-Star Battle game HQ have added more fuel to the burning fire in our hearts by releasing a brand new Promotional Video of the game.It spreads over 5 miutes and it is just oozing with action and flare in a way only JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure knows how. They show off every series within JJBA and they also give us a glimpse at the two newly announced characters, one of them being Funny Valentine. They also show what seems to be a customisation option within the game. Head down just below this post to check out the full video and don’t forget that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle hits Japan on the PlayStation 3 on August the 29th.

One Piece-Themed 3DS XL and New Unlimited World Red Trailer

Frank Inglese

August 8, 2013

Yes, some awesome One Piece-related news has been announced today that’ll make fans of the series go crazy. First up is the announcement of two different One Piece-themed 3DS XL systems that are planned for release alongside the One Piece Unlimited World Red game. Namco Bandai Games will be releasing two different styles: One is the “Luffy Red” system and the other is the “Chopper Pink” system which you can see just below. Both the One Piece Unlimited World Red game and the newly-designed consoles will be available for pre-order this Thursday and are set for shipping on the 21st of November.

Namco Bandai Games have also released a second promotional video for the new One Piece Unlimited World Red game. The video shows a couple different elements of the game but mostly expands on what we saw in the very first trailer. They show off each of the playable Straw Hat Crew characters and once again they show the action, 4-player co-op style of gameplay. Once again; pre-orders will open up on Thursday so do your best to get your hands on that bit of treasure.

Zen Studios Unleashing KickBeat for PS3 & PS Vita

Nathan Farrugia

August 8, 2013

Zen Studios are best known for their pinball titles, but have been stepping into other genres as of late with their most recent title CastleStorm. There all new game KickBeat, which has been in development for over 3 years for the PS Vita will now be releasing on both the Vita and PS3 on September 3rd. To add to the excitement, the game will be available as part of the cross buy promotion, meaning if you buy it for either console you can play it on both! KickBeat is a merging of the rhythm and fighting game genre and the result of a question asked by Neil Sorens, the Creative Director of Zen Studios:

“What would happen if we took a beat matching game, replaced the abstract cues like bars, arrows, and button icons with kung fu fight scenes, and set it all to incredibly intense music?”

To tie in with the announcement, a factsheet has been released detailing all the cool features KickBeat has to offer players.

Key Features

KickBeat offers players several innovative ways to interact with music!
Beat matching mechanics with a Zen Studios original take on an acrobatic style of martial arts, turning every song into a raucous battle.
KickBeat features a music analyzer that allows players to create new tracks from their own music libraries.
A hard hitting soundtrack featuring licensed tracks from a diverse lineup of artists from well known bands such as Pendulum and Marilyn Manson, to indie pioneers Celldweller and Blue Stahli, to hidden talents like electronic music producer Voicians and Taiwanese rapper Shen Yi.
The first music game with fully 3D interactive characters!
Beautiful art style with animated cut scenes and an immersive story!
Online multiplayer! Battle against other players in toe to toe fighting action. Collect orbs to power up and unleash powerful attacks against your opponent!
Compete with friends and post your scores to worldwide leaderboards!

Story Overview and Main Characters

Because we’ve put all this effort into making characters a central focus of the game, we needed to give these characters a human touch. Otherwise, they’re just animated props. Our story revolves around a love struck and unlikely hero drawn into a battle for control of the world’s music. It’s light hearted fare, but we’ve done a bunch of hand drawn and fully voiced sequences that really bring the characters to life.
Lee (male) and Mei (female) are the story protagonists.
Master Fu is the leader of an ancient, secretive sect of monks called the Order of the Melodic Fist, who have been the guardians of Sphere of Music for centuries.
Lee is the unlikeliest of hero’s, but he is chosen to fight to reclaim the music that has been stolen by Radio Earth, led by Mr. Halisi, owner of Entertainment Earth and leader of those who would use music for power and control.

Zen Studios recently played KickBeat live on their Twitch channel, so head there if your hungry to see more of the game and the embedded trailer below hasn’t quenced your thirst for rhythm kung fu action.

Rayman Legends Shows Off Wii U Exclusives

Simon Wolfe

August 8, 2013

At the end of this month Rayman Legends will be releasing onto consoles, which is probably why Ubisoft deems it a good time to post their latest video for the game focused on the Wii U version of the game. The Wii U version will have multiple gameplay features exclusive to the system thanks to its unique GamePad and Nintendo itself.

The major feature of Rayman Legends being toted by the screenshot above is the Mario & Luigi costumes for Rayman and Globax respectively, which players will be able to unlock in the game in as few as 20 minutes. But, even more than that the game will feature up to 5 players, as the fifth player will be playing as Murfy who can protect and aid the other players using the GamePad.

For a full look at all the Wii U’s exclusive features be sure to watch the video embedded below. Rayman Legends is set to release on August 30th, 2013 for Wii U, Xbox 360, PS3, PS Vita, and recently announced PC.

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