Square Enix have just released a brand new trailer for Kingdom Heart HD 1.5 ReMIX highlighting Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. The trailer is a mini video called “All about Kingdom Hearts Final Mix” and as such focuses heavily on Final Mix.
You can check out the brand new trailer below for a look at the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX version of the popular Kingdom Hearts Final Mix game. For those who don’t know, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was the Japanese exclusive reissue of the original Kingdom Hearts game that features additional updates and content not present in the original game.
Be sure to check out the trailer and let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Wargaming has announced new Soviet, German and Chinese war machines in Update 8.8 for its MMO title World of Tanks.
“Update 8.8 will introduce some very cool new machines into the Soviet and German lines,” said World of Tanks Producer Mike Zhivets. “Strengthened with the addition of even more medium and heavy vehicles, the game’s roster will offer players extra variety, while the re-balance within the German line will provide for a more well-rounded experience”.
The Ruskies will receive an alternative branch of Soviet medium tanks, starting at Tier 6. This new line will include the A-43 (Tier 6), the A-44 (Tier 7), the Object 416 (Tier 8), and the Object 140 that will take its place as the Soviet’s top medium tier option.
Two new vehicles will be added to the German arsenal. The Tier 4 DW heavy chariot and the Tier 6 VK3002 (M) medium tank. The VK3001H heavy tank will be moved to Tier 5, undergo re-balancing, and become a heavy tank, just as the VK3601H.
The Chinese aren’t forgotten, as two new premium vehicles – the Tier 8 T-34-3 medium tank and the 112 Tier 8 heavy tank, as well as a new battle arena with the autumn setting Tundra – are added.
PC players can’t have all the fun, as World of Tanks is coming soon to Xbox 360.
A set of all-new screenshots has been released for VEGA Conflict, a space-based strategy game for the PC by studio KIXEYE Australia. These guys were formally known as 3 Blokes Studio.
It’s described as a story-driven MMORTS that “blends the boundaries of realism and science fiction, providing surreal gameplay and futuristic imagery”.
Check out these features:
Manage and launch fleets into orbit to loot other players’ bases and take down lucrative enemy cargo ships
Construct and customize over 10 different warships with special armor and unique weapons
Engage in real-time, synchronous PvP and NPC combat against live players around the world
Join in or form alliances with other players in your sector
Explore and conquer a massive 24/7, evolving universe
Compete in monthly in-game events for exclusive prizes
A trailer was released earlier this year and is viewable below. For those curious you can sign up to play for free here. There has been a bit of a lull in space games lately, but for a more peaceful experience check out the unique Take On Mars rover simulation.
DeNA and Hasbro have announced the release of the new War Dawn episode for the card battle game Transformers: Legends. The episode will be available to play from August 7th through to August 13th.
After the attack on New York City, the Autobots have gone on the offensive and taken the fight directly to Megatron’s minions! An elite group of infiltrators and spies led by Mirage, are on the hunt for the Decepticons, but Starscream has a secret weapon – the Combaticons!
Blastoff, Swindle and Vortex are leading the counterattack, and they need your help! Will they be able to intercept the Autobots? Or is this the only the beginning?
Mirage
Blast Off
Transformers: Legends is available for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android and is free on both the App Store and Google Play. The War Dawn episode is available in game now. For more information, visit the official site. Transform and Roll Out!
The pre-orders will open up worldwide next Tuesday on August 13th and the pre-orders can be made at TRIGGER’s online store. All pre-orders will be shipped from Japan in early September, but at the moment no exact price has been set for the Collector’s Edition set. Those who do purchase it will receive a Blu-ray containing the 26 minute episode as well as a 66 minute making-of video called “How the Magic was Born”, a 112 page art book and the a physical CD containing the original soundtrack for Little Witch Academia.
Natsume’s Book of Friends Season 4 Premium Edition Studio:Brain’s Base Publisher:NIS America Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date: July 2, 2013 Price:$69.99 – Available Here
Overview Natsume’s Book of Friends has been around in manga format for over eight years and the series has been given multiple anime seasons over the years. However despite the first anime season coming out in 2008, the series remained unlicensed in the West until last year when NIS America acquired all four seasons of Natsume’s Book of Friends for release. Now that the first three seasons have been released, the fourth and currently final season of Natsume’s Book of Friends has been released to stores. While the manga may still be ongoing, does this fourth season bring the series to what may be the end of the series?
Story Considering the fact that this is now the fourth season of Natsume’s Book of Friends, jumping in at this point will leave viewers missing some key plot points. However thanks to the ongoing nature of the series, it isn’t as unforgiving as one would expect from an anime in its fourth season. The story follows Takashi Natsume, the grandson of a Reiko, a girl with the ability to see Yokai, an ability quite rare amongst the humans in the story.
Thanks to Reiko’s ability to see spirits, she began challenging the numerous Yokai, Japanese spirits/demons, and if she could defeat them, Reiko would take their name and place it in her “Book of Friends” as she saw the Yokai as companions, not servants. However by holding a Yokai’s name, one is given power of them and thanks to Reiko’s exploits; the book is brimming with Yokai names. This makes it desirable to both evil Yokai and humans alike who wish to gain the power the book will offer.
Natsume possesses not only the same ability to see Yokai as his grandmother, but he has also inherited the Book of Friends, which makes him a target for not only those simply wanting their names back, but also for Yokai who wish to do him harm. However Natsume is not alone as a powerful Yokai he calls Nyanko-sensei serves as his bodyguard, first because of his desire for the Book of Friends but despite his gruff attitude and constant statements of only wanting the book, his companionship for Natsume has grows more evident every season.
Now while there is some brief narrative covering Takashi Natsume’s past newcomers and returning viewers are immediately thrown into the ongoing story of Natsume and the various Yokai surrounding him. There are a handful of story arcs presented in season four, the first one placing Natsume right at the heart of things as Matoba and his clan of exorcists struggle to deal with Yokai in the forest while the Yokai themselves simply want to return the forest to the way it was.
While it may seem like something that could lead to a season spanning plot, this issue ends up being resolved rather quickly, as is the case with most Yokai encounters in Natsume’s Book of Friends. After this there are a handful of one-off episodes that include Natsume encountering more Yokai either by chance or handling their requests when they approach him.
This may seem like it would create a rather formulaic season, Natsume’s Book of Friends finds a nice balance between one-off episodes and mini story arcs. In fact, a number of these one-off episodes actually provide some of the best scenes in this season, as we see how an old friend of Natsume saw him back when he used to attend her school, as well as some very touching moments during the final arc of this season as we see Natsume return to his home and deal with one of the issues that has plagued him throughout the series, his family and where he really belongs.
Throughout the series we have seen Natsume struggle with who he is as he dealt with his gift that isolated him from other humans his age. Witnessing Natsume come to grips with who he is as a person and accepting what his new family means to him brings the season, and possibly the series, to a heartwarming conclusion.
Visuals One of the things that has always made Natsume’s Book of Friends stand out for me, is the way that the animation studio has consistently used classic Japanese Yokai appearances which fit with the traditional Yokai folklore. Obviously not every Yokai presented had legends passed down for it, but outside of a few human Yokai, one of the best parts of Natsume’s Book of Friends has always been the Yokai designs and season four is just as impressive in that regard, especially when it comes to some of the newer Yokai introduced.
As for everything else, the normal human designs remain rather basic compared to the oft highly detailed Yokai appearances and the series has a very soft color palette which works well with the tone of the series.
Audio As with all of NIS America’s other anime releases, Natsume’s Book of Friends Season Four has been released with only the Japanese voice track, meaning that viewers are simply presented with English subtitles. This isn’t too much of an issue however thanks to the stellar voice work from the original Japanese cast and a story that would likely lose something in translation from Japanese to English.
As far as this season’s soundtrack goes, there are numerous gentle tracks that work well for an anime as meaningful as Natsume’s Book of Friends can be. Numerous times throughout this season these background tracks are successfully used to accentuate the scene in which they are played. As far as the opening and ending themes are concerned, the opening theme “Now, This Time” By Hiiragi and the ending “Treasure” by Marina Kawano are fitting for the series and are what fans have come to expect at this point.
Extras Natsume’s Book of Friends Season Four has been given NIS America’s Premium Edition treatment meaning it comes with both an oversized chipboard artistic slipcase, an art book and some minor on-disc extras. The on-disc bonus features are sparse, with only the clean opening theme and clean ending themes, trailers for other NIS America releases and the original Japanese commercials for the season.
As for the case itself, it hasn’t been given a glossy finish, leaving it with a textured surface that fits with the theme of the series, something I’ve come to notice with NIS America’s premium editions as they had similar textures used for House of Five Leaves. The art book offered is fully colored and provides brief episode synopsis, character designs for the newly revealed Yokai and humans for this season as well as designs for Natsume and Nyanko-sensei. Clossing out the art book are some staff comments from Director Takahiro Omori and a number of full page promotional art pieces from this season.
Overall Natsume’s Book of Friends Season Four may just be the ending of the series for anime fans as the manga continues, but it can easily be accepted as the final destination for this series. While offering bits of humor and interesting storylines involving strange and intriguing Yokai, season four brings us to an emotional acceptance by Natsume as he embraces his new life, even while he accepts the terrible past that has plagued him throughout the series.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
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 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 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!
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.
Today with the help of 
