As SMASH! 2013 ended, it was time for most people to head on home and rest up after a long and fun day of panels, discussions, merchandise hunting and cosplaying. However, for a sizeable group of people, the night was only just about to begin, for the night would bring out one of the most fun dance party events that has been hosted in Sydney. Themed after the Vocaloid sensation and starring two of Japans leading Vocaloid DJ’s Hachioji P and kz, was the first ever Vocaloid Night party.
What a night it was over at the Pontoon Bar across the bay from the Sydney Convention Center. It was amazing to see such a large turnout of Otaku, Anime aficionados, Vocaloid fans and even some regular people coming along to see what the night had in store for them. Not only was there great music, but we also had Anime and Vocaloid themed cocktails to enjoy. Seeing as it was a Vocaloid event, I personally stuck to the cocktail “Hatsune“, named after the most famous Vocaloid, which was quite nice.
Assisting with the night were a few of the members of the group running the Neko Nation event here in Australia, which focuses on remixes of Anime, gaming and touhou music. It’s really great seeing the local events helping each other out to help grow and nurture for a growing culture here in Australia.
The club itself was a bit smokey, which was most likely to help with the awesome lighting and laser effects coming from the stage which really added to the atmosphere of the event. Adding onto this was the amazing electronic soundtracks being played over the course of the evening, and everyone was dancing to their best.
Of course, the stars of the night were the two Japanese guest DJ’s, Hachioji P and kz, both of whom had the crowds cheering, chanting, making a lot of noise and in some cases, singing along to their favourite Vocaloid tunes. In fact, I’d say that as great as the local talents were, the two DJ’s were the best performers of the night. Hachioji P played a really great set in the middle of the event and kz closed the event with an amazingly high energy performance which left the crowd chanting for more. And to be honest, I’m not sure that kz was expecting that kind of reception as he seemed rather flustered and humbled by the praise of the crowd. There was some really nice energy flowing from the crowd to the stage and then back. Which was amazing to be a part of.
Vocaloid Night 2013 was a successful event in that it achieved the things I was looking for from a musical event. A great and enthusiastic crowd, talented DJ’s and a sense of community and comraderie improvised from a joined and collective fandom. This was a great night and it would be a shame if there wasn’t a follow up to this event next year.
In time for this week’s release of Payday 2, Episode 4 of the PayDay 2 Web Series is now available on YouTube. Episode 3 left off after a brutal fistfight cleared Hector’s strip club. Episode 4 starts with Special Agent Griffin talking Mr. Steele, the owner of the First World Bank. She is looking for clues to track down the PayDay crew and suspects Mr. Steele is involved. At the same time, a corrupt politician known as The Elephant is working his way into Bain’s Crime.net but getting in isn’t that easy.
PayDay 2 is a co-op FPS set to be released on Steam on August 13th, 2013. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions will be released worldwide between August 13th to 16th.
At this years SMASH! Sydney Manga and Anime Show! Mindscape were holding a competition for fan-art of the conventions mascots. The artwork was submitted by fans to Mindscape and then put on display at the convention to eventually be judged and have a winner chosen.
What made this competition interesting is that it was themed after a ZombieApocolypse and was also open to entrants that may not be attending the event physically. This means that the competition was open to a potential large amount of entrants.
On display were some great entries. Hopefully Mindscape will be hosting competitions like these at future events. If you were at SMASH 2013 this year let us know what you thought of the artwork on show in the comments section below.
This year at SMASH! Sydney Manga and Anime Show, much like the last few years, there was a maid cafe set up to service attendees that made bookings. At the cafe, participants were served by both maids and butlers some fine treats and other kinds of delectables.
The maid cafe is well known as an event based on the Japanese maid cafes that are favourited by otaku types. Typically the staff are dressed in older style maid outfits and are usually quite cute. The maids at SMASH! were no exception to this. Thankfully we were able to take some photos of the cafe and the maids.
As always, the maid cafe was a huge success with it being booked completely out and being quite busy for the entire day. We’re sure everyone that attended had a great time. If you did attend let us know what you thought of it in the comments section below.
In Rockstar‘s Grand Theft Auto Vgameplay premiere video, the online component of the game was glimpsed at in the tail-end of the trailer before the narrator promised; “which we will show you properly soon”.
Now, we have confirmation of the reveal date for Grand Theft Auto Online – this Thursday, August 15th. Not only will we receive our first detailed gameplay video of the online modes, but embargos on the first press previews will also be lifted. This will all be released through www.rockstargames.com/GTAOnline, but you can be sure that we will be covering it on the day and sharing it with our readers as promptly as possible.
Overview From wondering why we’re here to ending up on the wrong side of a panther, the Red vs Blue Best of Bundle has it all…It has a lot…The best of, that’s the whole point. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, maybe. Machinima, shorts and animated adventures. Let’s begin shall we?
Welcome to Rooster Teeth!
Story The Best of Bundle is split over three discs, divided into Red vs Blue (RvB), Rooster Teeth Shorts (RT Shorts) and Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures (RTAA). Each series receives its own unique presentation.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Elites and Spartans, Rooster Teeth Productions presents…The Best Red vs Blue DVD Ever. Of All Time. (PS Its a joke from the show) Presented under the guise of a prime time, first (and only) annual awards ceremony, The Best DVD Ever compiles the greatest moments of RvB under the honour of being a “Best of”. Each award is presented by one of the numerous cast members from the series, from staples such as Church and Sarge, to those that were left behind, like Sister and Crunchbite. Over the course of the ceremony everything from “Best Driving” to “Best Couple” is covered. Opinions fly as the red carpet banter and on stage monologues question the moments that made the cut.
The best of the best…
The Best of Rooster Teeth Shorts presents the a fake documentary titled: The Kinda True Story of Rooster Teeth Shorts. Depicted as a serious account of the rise and fall of an internet tyrant, the documentary completely reinterprets the context individual short. In that it actually gives them context. Rather than a series one-shot jokes, each short is depicted as an event that occurred over the course of Rooster Teeth. Everything from the unfortunate circumstances of Gavin’s early employment, to the mysterious appearance of a button wielding warlock, all is explained. Kinda. Connecting a series of random collection of seemingly unrelated events certainly creates an interesting company history.
The Best of Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures is exactly that. The Best of…Most of. But who ever said the best of couldn’t be everything. Nobody, that’s who. The DVD showcases the numerous stick-armed adventures of the RT Podcast crew in stunning 2D, covering their “average” day to day lives. In between the cavalcade of animation, the employees of Rooster Teeth and subjects of each short share their own opinions, and clarifications, on the stories of their lives.
…and the rest
VisualsandAudio As one would expect from Red vs Blue, the award ceremony is presented completely via machinima. There is in fact an award for Best Visual Effect, showcasing the top standard of RvB animation. That being said there is also an award for Worst Visual Effect, harking back to earlier days. An RvB sans animation team. Simpler times.
RTAA is presented in its simplistic carton style, a fact the employees consistently point out. But that’s part of its charm. The DVD does however show the evolution of the animation since its premiere episode. What began as a somewhat crude series of skipping images creating a scene, became a series of fluid, less-crude animations. The eternal scowl of Animated Gus, the liberties taken when designing the RT Kids. What’s not to love.
Wha’ if, there was a lot of you?
The audio for the RvB Award Ceremony was…dramatic. Trumpets, fanfare. Just like a real award ceremony only machinama-y. Insults, innuendo and threats fly as the Blood Gulch crew, and a couple of Freelancers, host. Amidst all of the visual achievements, there is an award for Best Song, an honour that goes to the original opening theme of The Blood Gulch Chronicles, the aptly named, “Blood Gulch Blues”. Although it’s not the main focus, you also can’t help but notice the other songs in the background of certain award winning scenes, such as “Falling Towards the Sky”. This of course being heard alongside screams, explosions and the sound of super soldiers punching each other. The tune “I Am the Best” also plays over the credits of the RvB Awards, complete with music video.
Without spoiling the experience, audio is quite prevalent in the bonus season 5 short “Slo Mo Love”. It’s…interesting. The spoof trailer “Angry Birds” also comes complete with dramatic instrumentals, belying the intensity of the feathered artillery.
What are you…chicken?
Extras The RvB Best of Bundle features a bevy of extras. Every menu throughout the three DVDs has idle animations, in which various thing happen. Caboose talking to nobody, Super Saiyanimated Burnie, even Gus…’disposing’ of some other cast members. Stick around long enough an you’ll see some things.
The Best of RvB contains the standard extras as well. A trailer for Season 10, The Best of RTAA and The Best of RT Shorts. There is also a rundown of Achievement Hunter’s release schedule as ‘explained’ by Kara.
Where’s the Halo guy?
Along with those already mentioned, The Best of RT Shorts also features trailers for A Simple Walk into Mordor, Day 5, Immersion and RWBY (Red and White). The DVD also features a blooper reel, full of all the missed lines, laughter and general chaos that you don’t get to see. Also included in the extras is two bonus shorts from season 5, titled “Slo Mo Love” and the currently unreleased “Girls, Girls, Girls”. An option is also included that allows you to watch the shorts alone in their original stand alone format, without the Kinda True documentary in between linking them together.
The same option is provided in the DVD, allowing you to watch the shorts without the employee banter in between if you so desire. There is also an extra special 3D animated adventure, bringing “Gus Doesn’t Want to go to Vegas” into the next dimension. Darque Chcolate also makes the same transition, though only in the menu screen. The blooper reel for the scripted “Attack of the Burnies” also makes an appearance, as does time lapse footage of a RTAA being created, showing just how much effort goes into creating each and every frame.
It’s about to go down, Jersey Style!
Overall The Best of Red vs Blue Bundle is what it says. It’s a collection of some of the most memorable moments of RvB, RT Shorts and RTAA. The collection gives an overview of the various series and, coincidentally, provides trailers to see the rest. If you want to watch some Rooster Teeth productions, check out the Best of. All of which are found in this sizeable package…Bow Chicka Bow Wow!
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
The biggest prize in e-sports history hung in the balance last night as the 2 best DOTA 2 teams in the world stepped up to the grand final stage. Over 1 million people tuned in from across the globe on streams, at pubstomps, or if you were lucky enough to be there, at the Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington. The mood was electric, the teams ready, and the crowd barely had time to catch their breath as play after play was executed perfectly by these true masters of this fantastic, emerging game.
After a thrilling lower bracket final, the Ukranian powerhouse Na’Vi (Natus Vincere) managed to overcome an extremely strong Neolution Orange team to secure their place in the grand final against Alliance. To give credit where credit is due, Orange fought bravely in this tournament and their endurance was unmatched, having played more games than anyone else after dropping into the lower bracket quite early on. Their star player of the internationals had to be Mushi who seemed able to play any single hero he wants in any position while still being astounding.
As the build up to the grand final started, the feeling was like no other. The main hall was packed, twitter feeds were going wild, and as the Aegis of Champions was illuminated on centre stage the reality of that $1.4 million prize suddenly hit. Everybody thought Na’Vi had gone mad when they picked their first draft, opting to not only let Alliance take the most broken character in the game, Io, but picking a team of glass cannons themselves, seemingly hoping to shut Alliance down in the early game. Needless to say the risk didn’t pay off and match 1 was a complete wipe-out, giving Alliance the early lead. Standing strong though, Na’Vi played some of the finest DOTA I have ever seen and managed to pull back 2 games giving them the lead with just one more match to win for the championship.
Alliance are not a team to throw everything away on a risk though, and after a shock to their system they went back to what they know best … cool, calculated precision. The final 2 games were a lot harder on the meta-game and less shock picks were seen, but this meant that Alliance’s signature strategy of sitting back, getting farm, and coming out ahead in the mid/late game was allowed to thrive. 2 magnificent strategic games of DOTA later and the Alliance fans in the Benaroya Hall erupted as their team threw down their headsets and lifted the Aegis of Champions high and proud.
Alas, my earlier predictions of Na’Vi coming out on top after the group stages were wrong, but I did say never count out Alliance so I take some kind of personal victory in that! If you want to read my ranting about losing all my rares and general anime discussion then I can be found at @JamesMapley on twitter and be sure to follow @capsulecomputer for all the latest gaming and anime news, reviews, and discussion as soon as they go live.
Slated to be the biggest DLC yet, Apocalypse will feature two brand new multiplayer maps and two re-imagined fan favourites:
Pod: A failed utopian community from the 70’s has left stacks of dilapidated residential pods nestled into an abandoned cliff side in Taiwan. Its residents long gone, the modernist compound now hosts frenetic combat as players must run atop the pods, as well as navigate their multi-tiered interiors for a strategic edge.
Frost: Fresh snow meets explosive gunpowder in this snow-capped European city, where the bridge over a frozen canal separates it into two sides, requiring players to employ multi-level traversal strategies to outsmart and ultimately outshoot their enemies.
Takeoff: Fans of “Stadium” from the original Call of Duty®: Black Ops First Strike DLC will find themselves at home on “Takeoff.” Marooned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, this remote launch site is all about close-quarters combat, combining tight corners with open spaces for intense encounters.
Dig: An adaptation of the fan-favourite “Courtyard” from Call of Duty®: World at War, where two archaeological dig sites in Afghanistan become the perfect playground for combatants eager for hectic, unceasing confrontations. Treyarch, has retained the spirit of “Courtyard” with two major chokepoints, a wide open layout and raised platforms, but has provided fans with a fresh take on the multitude of paths.
The history books never mentioned this…
In addition to these maps, players will be able to experience one of the most horrifying and imaginative Zombies experiences to date: Origins. Featuring the four original heroes from the very first Zombies map, Tank, Nikolai, Takeo and Rictofen, players will be sent into a Dieselpunk France circa World War I.
Unleashed after the Germans unearthed the mysterious “Element 115,” this next chapter in the Zombies legacy will explore the saga’s origins as players reunite with an unlikely band of soldiers that come together to defeat the greatest evil the world has ever seen, using a period-specific arsenal that includes Wonder Weapons that harness supernatural powers, a diesel-drone and Mark IV tank, as well a new perk machine and power-ups – and that’s just the start. Players will need all the help they can get to succeed in defeating the undead, as well as evading an unprecedented 1,000-foot tall robot abomination. In this stylized undead adventure, they’ll need every advantage if they have any hope of surviving one of Treyarch’s deepest Zombies experiences to date.
Acclaimed band Avenged Sevenfold is also set to lend their song “Shepherd of Fire” (from their upcoming album “Hail to the King”) to Origins, to be featured during the intro cinematic. Famed comics illustrator Alex Ross, famous for his work with Marvel and DC, will also provide original artwork featuring the Zombies heroes.
Mark Lamia (Treyarch Studio Head) said:
“Apocalypse is Treyarch’s grand finale to Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It is the perfect culmination of our efforts, and fan feedback, with two all-new multiplayer maps for players to experience for the first time, and two fully reimagined fan-favourite multiplayer maps from past games – and Origins, our most epic Zombies experience to date. Apocalypse is a DLC pack that our fans will never forget.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops II Apocalypse will be available August 27th on Xbox Live for 1200 Microsoft Points, with release on other platforms to follow. For more information, visit the official site and Facebook page. Every story has a beginning…
At this year’s D23 Expo, Disney were proud to announce the second set of figures and Play Sets for their upcoming game; Disney Infinity. Some of the characters we already knew about and were just waiting official confirmation, while others were unveiled for the first time.
Toy Story fans can rest easy as Buzz, Woody and Jessie will be leading the charge for Disney Infinity’s second wave, which begins in October. Buzz and Jessie come included in the Toy Story in Space Play Set, which will feature Andy’s toys finding a new home for the Pizza Planet Aliens. Woody will come as a single-figure, and all three will also be usable in the game’s Toy Box mode.
Other figures we knew about but that are official are; Jack Skellington, Wreck-it-Ralph, Vanellope von Schweetz, Phineas and Agent P. Alongside them will be newly announced Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa (both from Disney’s upcoming film; Frozen) and most importantly; Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey (I for one was really expecting Mr. Mouse to be included in the first phase)
Disney Infinity and the first wave of figures and power discs will be available next week, August 22nd, on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U and PC, with the Phase-2 figures being rolled out from October all the way through to early 2014. With the release date so close, you had better be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Disney Infinity news as it becomes available.
AMVs, or Anime Music Videos, are one of the many ways in which fans can express their love for their favourite shows and songs. Open to worldwide and Australian contenders, SMASH! 2013 put creativity and technical skills to the test with the very awesome AMV Screenings, Finals as well as the winner of the new “Blitz” category. Read on!
It was eye opening to see just how many different kinds of AMVs are possible during the screenings of the entries. There were drama flicks set to pop music, action epics with heart-pounding beats along with innovative shorts dubbed over with unexpected tracks.
One of my favourites had to be the thrilling “Bloody Memories” featuring Blood-C: The Last Dark. There was just something so effective about its production and it hit home hard, viscerally. A close second would be the Valkyria Chronicles anime synced to the Fast and the Furious 6 trailer. It had to be seen to be believed! Check the SMASH! site page for a huge list of the viewable entries.
The action-packed Fate/Zero was spotted in several entries.
AMVs were placed into 4 categories: Action, Comedy/Parody, Drama/Romance and Upbeat/Dance. The competition also had 4 Special Awards up for grabs including the Judge’s Choice, People’s Choice, Best Technical and the Aussie Award, made for homegrown editors. All winners displayed a keen sense of coordination, passion and skill.
The Blitz AMV Tournament is a new competition for shorter videos with a length between 30-90 seconds and no categories. Editors are free to make anything they want to impress the judges. Once the top few are chosen, editors go head-to-head with specific and challenging themes. The Blitz finalists had to base their AMV around the theme of Australia, which would have been tough since there’s barely any anime around that feature this continent!
Guilty Crown proved to be surprisingly popular this year.
Nevertheless both of the finalists did an outstanding job and the winner, KonohasOrangeFlash, pulled it off with the iconic Men at Work – Land Down Under. You can check out the editor’s compilation below!
Seeing the colossal effort at this year’s showing has inspired me to continue dabbling in the art of AMV making. If you have any music playing in your head and a passion for anime, give it a try and get creative! If you’ve ever made an AMV, let us know about it! Make sure to check out the official SMASH! site along with the rest of our coverage of this year’s event.
