Today Atlus has announced what fans of Etrian Odyssey will be getting if they choose to pre-order Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl before it’s October 1st release date. Anyone who pre-orders the game will be given a box set which includes the game itself, a seven-track music CD that contains a live version of the game’s opening theme alongside other tracks.
Also included in this package is an art book containing character art, notes from the developers and comics. The “Etrian Untold, Unseen, Unheard” collection, as it is called, can be seen below and will be the same price as the normal game, $39.99.
DYING: Sinner Escape is a horror/adventure romp that is headed to the iOS, and if you are just now catching wind of Nekcom Entertainment‘s title, now is the time to take notice. This game has the player take control of Colby Davis, who has a backstory driven by guilt and torment.
Have you ever heard of the phrase “locked away”? Well, that is the concept here, as Mr. Davis has dove into his own misery and walled himself in, and must turn to his ex-girlfriend Ruby and what is left of himself to find his way out – all while tackling the self-accusations and guilt for the death of his mother and unborn brother.
That is a hell of a narrative created by the mind that brought the world SAW (yes, that game franchise), and you can check out DYING: Sinner Escape to find out the conclusion when the game launches on the iOS on August 14th, or wait for the Vita version which is due out sometime later this year. For now, check out the trailer down below.
Adventure Time follows the story of Finn the Human and Jake the Dog, Finn’s best friend and adoptive brother, as they adventure through the Land of Ooo. Together the two best friends adventure far and wide, saving princesses and defeating evil kings. Adventure Time is set in a surreal, dreamlike world, where Finn is the only human among animals and many other non-human beings. Complete with outlandish humor and loveable characters, Adventure Time tookCartoon Network by storm. Making its way onto the internet, Adventure Time has become a world favorite. Part of the reason Adventure Time does so well is because it’s throws together things that no normal cartoon would, and explore themes that are original and different to most cartoons. This is what people want, originality.
Adventure Time Fionna and Cake features sixteen episodes, including a special feature Little Did You Know. The feature episode Fionna and Cake depicts a gender bending world, where Finn is a girl, voiced by Madeleine Martin, and Jake has become a cat, voiced by Roz Ryan. The entire casts’ gender has been switched. The other episodes share a wide range of adventures, and the special feature has pictures and character profiles of the main characters from the quirky American cartoon.
Story
Adventure Time is an ideal show for airing worldwide. It dosen’t have a plot, so there is no real story, but that dosen’t matter. AdventureTime isn’t a show that needs to have a continuing story line too keep its viewers interested and wanting to watch more.The strange and quirky adventures of the Finn and Jake keep the audience eager to watch more episodes. As the DVD features 16 episodes, there isn’t much point in me going into depth about each episode’s story. Instead, I’ll go into detail about the plot of Fionna and Cake and briefly touch over the synopsis of every other episode.
Fionna and Cake is an episode unlike any other. This episode features fairytale conventions such as shy love between a prince and a girl, singing and an evil witch. Instead of featuring Finn and Jake, the episode features Fionna and Cake, the gender-bender versions of the two lead characters. Set in a gender-bending universe, Fionna and Cake are helping Prince Gumball set up for his Bi-annual Gumball Ball when they are attacked by the Ice Queen. Ice Queen is furious that Fionna keeps “ice blocking” her, and in her rage attacks Fionna, cake and Prince Gumball. Fionna saves Gumball, and in return, he asks her to join him in the castle gardens.
Cake is adamant that Gumball has asked Fionna out, but Fionna disagrees. After Cake pushes it, Fionna finally agrees to go, only to prove Cake wrong. After flirting back and forth and singing a soppy romance duet, Gumball eventually asks Fionna to his dance, as his girlfriend. After rushing home with the good news, Fionna and Cake get to work, putting together a last minute outfit that, as happens in all fairytale-style stories, looks stunning. Prince Gumball takes Fionna up to his room. Viewers can now begin to guess what’s going to happen next, but a twist ending changes everything, leaving the viewer thinking only one thing; what did I just watch?
In Storytelling, Finn goes on adventuring through the woods in order to find a real-life story filled with romance, suspense, drama and fighting that he can tell Jake, who is sick in bed.
In a bid to help the Princess in The Other Tarts, Finn and Jake accept the dangerous task of delivering rare tarts to the Candy kingdom ceremony. After deciding to use trickery and deception to protect the precious tarts, Fin and Jake soon realize how hard it really is to keep the tarts safe.
After riding the Goblins of their spank-happy king in The Silent King, Jake takes over the kingdom, but soon realizes that their strange rules and odd ways are not something he wants to be a part of.
Princess Bubblegum has entrusted her precious plant to Finn and Jake. They must baby sit the plant. Death in Bloom sees Finn and Jake through the underworld as the Endeavour to rescue the plants soul from Death before Bubblegum returns from her meeting.
In the episode Still, the Ice King has stolen into the tree house and froze Finn and Jake so that they can bond. In order to escape the wacky bonding session and, Finn enters the astral and attempt to summon his astral beast.
Wizard Battle sees Finn and Jake battling wizards from around the Land of Ooo in a strictly Wizard-only contest. They defeat the other wizards, and come head to head with the Ice King. It is up to Finn and Jake to stop the Ice King from winning the ultimate prize; a kiss from the lovely Princess Bubblegum.
Finn, Jake, BMO, Bubblegum and Marceline must overcome their differences and play in a genuine band in order to open the Door Lord’s gate and retrieve their stolen items in the episode What Was Missing.
After another plague of Candy Zombies attack in From Bad to Worse, Princess Bubblegum has succumbed to the undead/ Finn, Jake and their friends must race against the clock in order to find a way stop the plague from spreading, but things just get worse and worse by the minute.
In Marceline’s Closet, Finn and Jake play cloud hunt in Marceline’s house, but become trapped in her closet after she returns home.
Finn and Jake reveal Ghost Princess’ tragic past as they attempt to find the cause of her death in the episode Ghost Princess.
Finn is once again rejected by Bubblegum in Incendium, Jake searches for another girl for him and ends up in the Fire Kingdom, attempting to win its princess.
In the episode Card Wars, Finn and Jake play an epic card game, but Jake soon becomes overly competitive.
In Princess Cookie, Finn and Jake are called to solve a hostage situation after a rogue cookie has takes over the Candy Kingdom.
After annoying Princess Bubblegum’s people with his weird and disturbing ways in You Made Me, Bubblegum helps the Earl of Lemongrab to resolve his issue of being alone and misunderstood.
After a run in with the Ice King in Lady & Peebles, Finn and Jake disappear. Princess Bubblegum and Lady Rainicorn step up and search for the missing friends.
Visuals
Adventure Time is no ordinary cartoon. Based in a surreal world inhabited by weird creatures with even weirder antics and behavioral patterns, it’s a cartoon unlike another, and it’s visuals fit right in. The character designs are really out there, with princesses made of gum, talking animals with glasses for eyes and kings made of ice.
Each character has their own distinguishing features and none of them look the same – even the Cuties are all designed differently. Each character, as weird and strangely shaped and colored as they are, fit in perfectly with the cartoon. These characters keep the viewers coming back. It’s easy to favorite characters from Adventure Time, especially when they look cute, adorable and downright awesome.
The bright colors easily attract the viewers, and the different colored characters easily catch the eye. There is no in depth coloring and texturing, it’s not needed. The solid colors keep the cartoon atmosphere. It’s bad enough that the logic attacks the viewers brain, if there were intricate textures, the cartoon would be too powerful, and would proceed to assault the eyes of the viewers.
The cutesy, awesome and outlandish designs are great, and fit in well with the cartoon itself. The simplicity of the visuals is what really makes Adventure Time great. The story lines for each of the separate episodes can get really complicated, so complex, intricate designs would probably overload the audience.
Audio
The audio, in the sense of fitting in, is the same as the visual aesthetics. It slots in perfectly because it’s always so quirky and outlandish.
To begin with, the theme song is a quick little tune played one a ukulele. Using a ukulele has given the theme song a different twist to it. Most cartoon theme songs feature more mainstream instruments like guitars and drums as opposed to a ukulele.
The dialogue is filled with random conversations and quirky, sometimes twisted, humor. The dialogue fits in well with the atmosphere of the cartoon, and the twisted jokes suit the characteristics of the characters.
Extras
The DVD features Little Did You Know, a special feature that has a biography of the characters, providing their name, species, age and explaining a bit about the characters and their role in Adventure Time. It’s a great way to get to know you favorite characters a little bit more.
Overall
Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is a DVD filled with some of the best episodes that have been released. The feature episode Fionna and Cake introduces a whole new aspect to the show and gives Adventure Time a whole new level of “what?” It’s a great cartoon that can keep its audience entertained with a brand new adventure each episode.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Nihilumbra – odd name and all is headed to the Wii U. Now, for those unfamiliar, the artistic puzzle/platformer first launched for the iOS a little over a month ago, but developer Beautifun Games are keeping those cogs turning with a new and improved version made specifically for the Wii U.
Here are some deets on the new features included:
The WiiU version of the game will have all the new improvements of the HD remastered version (such as the voice acting, or the enhanced weather effects), and we are also preparing a new game mode that will make use of the possibilities of WiiU’s controller.
Other than “soon”, there is no true date for this gem, but keep an eye out – as it is only one of MANY titles headed to the eShop for the platform. Get used to the name Nihilumbra however, as we will be bringing even more news as the date draws near.
S2 Games, developers of the free-to-play Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) Heroes of Newerth, today introduced their brand-new title, Strife. Unlike many other MOBA’s where players are often in it for themselves and part of a rather mean spirited community, Strife is set to offer rich, community-driven gameplay paired with mechanics that make teamwork easy, rewarding and satisfying for all. Putting an incentive on cooperation is a key focus of the game, so rewards are gained by working well within a team rather than simply placing the highest on a leaderboard.
Strife is also aiming to make great strides in MOBA storytelling, delivering an engrossing world with a layered backstory to further connect players with the heroes they choose. It all begins when the invasion of the Dharkwave, harbingers of darkness foretold by prophecy, is imminent, promising catastrophe upon the world. Its only hope is an Army of Light, forged in the crucible of battle to hold the line against their impending arrival. Players must overcome “The Trials of Strife,” as well as one another, to prove themselves as champions worthy to face the Dharkwave.
S2 games have taken great care in the artwork and character design which can be seen in the cool looking artwork above. They aim for players to really connect to their characters and for units to be not only fun and intuitive to control, but also feature their own definitive style. Everything from the pets they fight with to the crafted weapons and items they bring to battle is informed by the look, feel and personality of each hero.
Strife will be available this winter and is promising a realm of conflict, competition and glory. For more information on Strife, visit the Official Strife Website and check out the trailer below for your first look at the game.
Bohemia Interactive announced the release date for their upcoming military simulationArmA 3 as September 12th, 2013. The game was the first game introduced under Steam’s Early Access program and is now in beta phase. The game will launch with full mod tools, several showcases, firing drills, and scenario editor. However, the full launch will not include a campaign. Instead, the campaign will be released as a free three part DLC in the months following the launch.
To celebrate the launch, the developers will be hosting a live stream on Twitch.TV on Saturday August 10th at 17:00 UTC. They will be streaming ArmA 3’s release candidate and will show off Altis, the 270 km² main island.
ArmA 3 is the latest addition to Bohemia Interactive’s long running military simulation series. The game features combined arms combat that brings infantry, vehicles, and remote control drones together to dominate a battle space. ArmA 3 is currently available for $44.99 USD at Steam or the Bohemia Interactive Store while the game is still in beta. The price will rise to its full price when the game launches in September 12th.
Overkill Software is working themselves up into a frenzied pace and are releasing a steady stream of videos leading to the upcoming launch of their co-op shooter PayDay 2. This eight minute long video follows the Quality Assurance team robbing a bank. The team almost pulls off a perfect stealthy run, when things go wrong. The police show up and the robbery erupts in a vicious firefight.
PayDay 2 is a co-op FPS that puts players in the shoes of the PayDay gang, a crack team of thieves led by Bain. He is a shadowy mastermind pulling the strings in Washington D.C. The game will be released on August 13th, 2013 for Windows PC and August 13th-16th for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
The latest game in the famous Ultimafranchise was released to the rest of the world this week. Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar is the first Ultima title to be released on the mobile platform and has been available in Canada as a soft launch title for some time now. The initial Canadian release was deemed successful, so no modifications or updates have been made to the game itself.
Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar is an online RPG that takes place after Ultima IV. Britannia is under siege by a plague that is destroying the land and corrupting the people. Heroes have gathered to find the source of the plague and purge it from the lands. The game is available for free on iTunes and runs on iPhone 4S/iPod Touch 5th Gen/iPad 2 and above.
Based on the show of the same name, Spartacus: Legends brings the intense combat to the console along with some awesome customization options. The game has an in-depth fighting system allowing for merciless attacks on your enemies using varied attacks and weapons. The game puts you with the task of building the ultimate house of gladiators during the latter end of the great Roman Empire where gamers must fight in order to become the strongest in the ancient land of Capua. Gamers are able to rise up from the rank of a lowly slave and wanna be gladiator up the ladder to become the Champion of Capua.
As well an intense campaign mode, Ubisoft also delivers many ways to deck out your gladiator, many different weapons and armors are available to choose from and players can execute additional attacks in order to better defeat your bloodthirsty foes as you progress through the ranks. Spartacus: Legends is available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Overview
Games in the “Shoot ’em up” category have, unfortunately become rarer in recent years. The days of quarter munchers like 1942 and Raiden are long past, so when a shoot ’em up makes a debut, it’s worth checking out. How does Abyss Attack hold up? Is it a treasure to be raised from the deep or should it be buried at sea? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
The gameplay for Abyss Attack is pretty straightforward. While most arcade-style shoot ’em ups give you direction pads, a shoot button, and a bomb button (or maybe more), Abyss Attack keeps it very simple.
You’ll use tilt controls or your finger on the touch screen to maneuver your ship. You just move it in the direction you want to go, and it’ll get you there. It’s very intuitive, but occasionally misses the mark as it seems that some finer maneuvering is lost with this approach. Using your finger can also become frustrating as it obscures your view of the game.
The fire button you were used to for so long? Kiss that goodbye. Abyss Attack made the right choice and just had you firing all the time. Given that most folks could have wedged a paperclip or penny on the fire button for their own games growing up, this seems like the appropriate decision to make. Given the cramped screen space of a mobile device, it’s nice to avoid a button you would only hold down all the time anyway.
While Abyss Attack is a solid shooter for the most part, it has several issues that detract from the overall experience. As already mentioned, there are hazards to using the touch controls as you sometimes lose some fine maneuverability. In a genre where some of the games become known as “bullet hell shooters” due to the high density of enemy projectiles on screen, that’s a huge deal. Abyss Attack doesn’t overload you on enemy projectiles like many of its cousins, but the controls are an issue nonetheless.
Occasional screen chugging can be an absolute nightmare with a shoot ’em up. Abyss Attack has times when everything works with no hitches. At other points, the framerate feels like it’s crawling, and that can cause serious damage to your run.
The most egregious offender related to design problems, though, is the continual insistence to bore microtransactions into the skull of every consumer it can get its hands on. Abyss Attack will use every single chance it can get to remind you that you can spend real money in-game. No, thank you, I don’t want to buy more crystals.
You died on your run? That will cost you 300 crystals. If you’re having a great run, that doesn’t seem too unfair. The real problem is that it will bring you back with ONE HEART (of which you start with three). Get hit again? That’ll cost you 900 crystals. “Oh, don’t have that much? You can buy more now!” It could be somewhat more excusable if it the game didn’t already cost $0.99, that could be somewhat excusable as “freemium.” This just feels like a money grab.
Visuals & Audio Abyss Attack looks great. Monster designs are unique and colorful. They feel natural and dangerous, and they stand out well in contrast to the deep, dark sea around them. Boss monsters are also big, colorful, and fun to look at. The added ship designs you can unlock add a little bit of variety to the game as well.
The soundtrack is pretty chill but it feels right at home in the setting of the game. Sound effects are right on, too. Squishes from organic life as they’re hit by bullets, the crunch of your ship as you take a hit – it all evokes the setting and action quite nicely.
Overall
Overall, Abyss Attack is a solid shoot ’em up. The graphics and sound are both well designed and fun. The decision to keep you shooting constantly is a great choice, too. Unfortunately, occasional control hiccups, screen chugging, and an egregious freemium push on top of charging to buy the game really dampen what could have been an otherwise fantastic experience.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
