Bulkypix has just launched the Summer Sales for 2013 where over the course of August, from the 1st to the 22nd, over 30 different games will be seeing discounts. Bulkypix has announced that the following games will be part of the sale for today:
Penumbear (Taco Graveyard) – Is on sale for iOS. Players can help Penumbear escape the dark castle with platforming and puzzle solving. Be sure to check out our own review.
Jazz: Trump’s Journey (Egg Ball) – Is on sale for both Android and iOS. Experience the adventure of Trump as he tries to form a band and win the love of Miss Poppy, in a game that is akin to the real life of Louis Armstrong. Players can also check out our review.
Yesterday (Pendulo Studios) – Is also on sale for both Android and iOS. A thriller adventure game set in New York, players will have to unravel a mystery with three playable characters to solve a series of killings. Find out more in our review.
The Sandbox (Pixowl) – Free on iOS, with special promotions for the Summer Sales. The Sandbox is literally that, allowing players to build and do what they want in the game world, and now players can get some special promotions through in-app purchases.
Kung Fu Rabbit (cTools) – Now available for Free on Android. Utilize your Kung Fu skills to defeat the Universal Evil and save the students of the temple. Hard to argue with a price tag of free, but if you need more convincing check out our review.
These are only the start of the sales however, so fans of Bulkypix’s games should keep checking to see which of their games will be going on sale in the days to come.
While inFAMOUS: Second Son developer Sucker Punch and Sony have previously talked about developing for the PlayStation 4 in their last video, this time around they’re looking to be more showy in the newest behind the scenes video released today. Titled “Smoke & Mirrors” the video focuses on the smoke-based powers that Second Son main character Delsin utilizes as a weapon.
Looking both visually striking and very versatile, the powers Delsin will wield in inFAMOUS: Second Son certainly seem to be getting quite the boon from the power of the PS4 in how much can be done with the particle effects. Absorbing more smoke from environmental objects like chimneys and destroyed vehicles, Sucker Punch has also done a great job tying the powers to the surroundings.
Those wanting to see the behind the scenes of Second Son‘s smoke abilities can watch the video for themselves embedded below. Players will be able to experience the powers for themselves when inFAMOUS: Second Son releases exclusively for the PS4 after it launches.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 Studio:Sunrise Publisher: Madman Format: Blu-ray (reviewed), DVD Release Date: June 19, 2013 Price: $59.95 – Available Here
Overview Madman has wasted no time in bringing this hit sci-fi series to the crisp Blu-ray format once given the go-ahead. While originally a DVD-only release in the West years ago, it’s only until recently that the powers that be have allowed us to watch the series in glorious 1080p as intended. When Code Geass debuted, Studio Sunrise created an original work that weaved their trademark mecha action with deeply personal and political intrigue, taking anime fans by surprise.
Season one left us with a tremendous cliffhanger and a penultimate confrontation. R2 is set to take things even further as the war between Britannia and Zero’s Black Knights is far from over. It will be impossible to talk about R2 without some spoilers, so if you haven’t seen Code Geass yet go watch the first season now and check out our review before continuing!
Story After the white-hot ending of the first half, chances are you’re frothing at the mouth to find out what happened right? Too bad, you will be all but confused for the duration of the first episode. Area 11 has been more or less pacified and a forced peace has returned everyday life. Obviously such a peace cannot last, and things eventually do get back on track in a rather spectacular way. Lelouch continues his global vendetta against the Holy Britannian Empire, reuniting old comrades and picking up new faces such as the mysterious Rolo.
The second season sees the conflict begin to spread outside Area 11 when the Chinese Federation is embroiled in the war between the Britannians and Japanese. Acting as Zero, Lelouch exploits every geopolitical opportunity to further his revolutionary goals such as kidnapping the Chinese Empress to use as a hostage. The battles feel fast-paced and grander in R2, particularly against the numerous Chinese forces where Lelouch is forced to use every strategic trick to gain victory. Defeat does happen occasionally, and it hits home just how seemingly insurmountable the odds are.
What makes the battles even better is the constantly evolving technology during a war. Knightmare Frames receive upgrades as newer models are rolled off the production line. Flight systems take the Frames to the sky with some spectacular aerial battles and Britannia’s elite Knights of the Round make things very interesting.
One of the key differences between the first and second season is Suzaku’s knowledge that Lelouch is in fact Zero. This means it’s a whole different playing field regarding the cat and mouse game the two have kept going since the start of the show. As the situation escalates, the plot starts twisting erratically leaving you second-guessing every few episodes. R2 is infamous for the amount of plot twists Sunrise has managed to fit in a series, a benchmark they approached but didn’t quite reach with Gundam 00 Season Two.
While some might not enjoy the turns that the narrative takes, it’s an incredible ride at the very least. The deaths of some characters will leave you stunned, while those you thought were dead might return in a glorious fashion. The chaos of it all and the story pacing late in the series fits perfectly with the disorder Lelouch wrecks upon the world. Ultimately, his desire to settle the score with his father and avenge his mother is fulfilled in a manner you will never see coming.
Visuals Code Geass R2 maintains the exceptional standard of animation that began in the first season. You’ll notice it’s a lot more colourful as the colour palette is expanded upon with shiny new Knightmare Frames, characters and set pieces. The Blu-ray version really does bring out the detail in this series.
As mentioned in my review of season one, Code Geass has a unique art style that’s characterised by elongated bodies that might be a hit or a miss depending on the viewer. It’s still great artistic work by Sunrise that holds its own against the latest anime shows.
Audio There’s something about the sound in Code Geass that still makes it one of my favourite audio works in action anime. I don’t know what it is, whether it’s the Radiation Wave gun effect, the whir of the grappling hooks on the Knightmare Frames or the outstanding musical score. The sound design and soundtrack work together to create a memorable experience Code Geass wouldn’t be the same without and an aspect many newer anime simply lack.
This is a show that features both a very capable English voice cast and an emotionally powerful Japanese track alike. Norio Wakamoto as Emperor Charles vi Britannia gets more screen time in R2 and is the obvious highlight here, whose voice will shake you to the bone.
Extras
Madman’s Code Geass R2 release is a typical two-disc, 25 episode series with no extra features of note. There is a pretty cool reversible cover with some saucy C.C. art, though (the character, not Capsule Computers!). For those curious, Madman has used Manga UK’s discs which is also a Region B Blu-ray release.
Overall There really isn’t much more I can say about this show that hasn’t already been said before. It’s one of the modern classics of anime, mandatory viewing for anyone that needs to be convinced about this medium’s potential to tell one heck of a story. Years on from its original debut it remains a benchmark that we think back to with fond memories and often struggle to find an anime experience that surpasses it.
Whether you love this second season, or for whatever reason hate it, it’s undeniable that you’ll be feeling plenty of emotions by the ending credits of the final episode. For existing fans, the Blu-ray version is finally here and the one to own and relive the series in luscious 1080p. For curious newcomers it’s the best way to start, and for that the rest of us are envious. End the rebellion with R2 and witness the phenomenon for yourself.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Liverpool FC put pen to paper today to sign a new 3 year partnership with Electronic Arts Inc. What does this partnership mean for the fans? Liverpool FC fans will be able to play selected fixtures through the season at their home ground, Anfield. There will also be monthly chances to win prizes all season long through the EA Sports Goal of the Month competition where fans can upload their best goals to be in with a chance of winning.
Jamie McKinlay, Vice President of Marketing at EA Sports drove home the importance of an authentic sporting experience, saying, “We’re looking forward to delivering that authenticity, as well as a wide range of new and engaging initiatives for this historic club and its fans.”
Over half a million registered Liverpool FC fans will be able to experience playing their favourite players like never before with new, improved 3D digital head scans of some of the fan favourites. Players like Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge, and Phillipe Coutinho are just a few of the players that will be stunningly rendered in FIFA 14 when it is released on the 27th of September. The Xbox One and PS4 versions will be released later in the year and the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC will all be supported in the UK.
Fans of Liverpool FC will have access to a lot of extra content from EA, including a free downloadable cover of FIFA 14 featuring three of their top players, match simulations, wallpapers, and behind the scenes images of a pro-player competition where it will be determined if anyone can dethrone Jose Enrique from his title of “FIFA King of Anfield.”
Barcelona F.C, one of the great powers of the football world also made a deal with EA this week. Read more about it here. Be sure to check out the Liverpool Fifa 14 trailer below.
Wargaming have released today the latest tutorial video for their flight combat MMO, World of Warplanes. Viewable below, the video details specific traits and combat objects of each specialised plane class while showing some surprisingly pretty visuals.
Currently in its beta phase, newcomers to the free-to-play MMO can learn all about the ins and outs of air superiority, whether in a fighter, ground attack craft or heavy fighter.
Things can get chaotic, so the tutorial goes over the basics of cooperation within a flight unit which is the key to success, no matter which class you choose.
World of Warplanes for the PC sees players build a career as a virtual pilot and engage in 30 player dogfights during the so-called Golden Age of military aviation – from the biplanes of the 1930s to jet fighters from the Korean War.
Gamers from North America can sign up here, while those in Europe can head here.
A spin-off from the Jackass franchise (weird typing that word in relation to such a juvenile thing) has been born with Paramount‘s Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – a Johnny Knoxville vehicle where he reprises his role of the title character, created and featured in the previous Jackass films. Here’s the official synopsis:
86 year-old Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companion, his 8 year-old Grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll). This November, the signature Jackass character will take movie audiences along for the most insane hidden camera road trip ever captured on camera. Along the way, Irving will introduce the young and impressionable Billy to people, places and situations that give new meaning to the term ‘child rearing’.
The duo will encounter male strippers, disgruntled child beauty pageant contestants (and their equally disgruntled mothers), funeral home mourners, biker bar patrons and a whole lot of unsuspecting citizens. Real people in unreal situations, making for one really messed up comedy.
Magic the Gatheringis without a doubt one of, if not THE most popular trading card game in global circulation. Highly renowned for its easy to learn mechanics, distinctive strategic game style, immersive lore and stunning card artworks, the game has continued to grow in popularity for the past twenty years. Considered a card game for the adult audience when compared with the likes of Yu Gi Oh! and Vanguard, MtG has firmly cemented itself as the game to play for casual and hardcore tabletop gamers alike. But who exactly are the brains and working folks behind the design of this phenomenon? One such man is Aaron Forsythe’ the director of research and development for the MtG card game. This editor was one of a lucky few fortunate enough to have a chance to meet and chat with Aaron, having just flown in to be in attendance at PAX Aus 2013.
During a brief media roundtable in the Magic the Gathering freeplay area, a few lucky media reps, including myself got the chance to sit down to and pick his brain about some of the questions we had about what happens during the creative process of MtG. Aaron had only just arrived in Melbourne at the time, and it was clear that he was experiencing a little jetlag as he sat down to join us media monkeys. This was nothing a packet of jelly lollies didn’t fix, and soon we got straight into the questions.
After some introductions, praise and thanks were exchanged. We exchanged some personal stories about how much we play the MtG card game. As one might have expected, Aaron is of course, an avid MtG player himself, receiving his fair share of challengers in both the physical card game and the digital Duels of the Planeswalkers game. The roundtable actually featured a variety of players of different skill levels, one casual, one hardcore, and myself, the intermediate level player. It became pretty apparent that our varying levels of and experience exposure with the game created three very separate lines of questions.
The novice player’s questions centred largely around the new Duels of the Planeswalker game, as well as the player reception of both digital and card games. Aaron revealed that part of the appeal of the Duels of the Planeswalkers was not only getting newbies to the series engaged with the game, but also being able to reach out to fans who had played it in a past, but had taken something of a hiatus from playing. He inferred that drawing these long time fans back in to the fun was part of what made the MtG community so strong because of the wealth of experience. It was interesting to hear because this description was not all that different to the position I was in with MtG several years ago.
The hardcore player’s queries inquired about the games’ mechanics and the competitive nature of the games and tournaments. This was focused around technical aspects of both the digital and physical card game regarding AI and competition fairness, and brought up a few well known issues regarding balancing of certain core sets and combinations. Aaron’s responses were fairly level headed and he made mention that since the game is always evolving and changing so quickly, its very difficult to take note of a ‘common complaint’, simply because there isn’t one. With so many players with so many play styles and so many interpretations of the game, it’s impossible to 100% balance the game. That said, that afore mentioned evolving nature is why one glaring issue never hangs around for too long.
My own line of questions was centred more around Aaron’s own personal involvement with the franchise. After all, how often do you get to find out what the creator of a great game thinks about said game? I was particularly interested in finding out what elements of the MtG lore he enjoyed, and what areas that MtG could potentially expand into. As well as that, I was also interested to find out what has helped inspire the game to become the big hit it is today. Aaron mentioned that while the entire feel of the game is set to traditional fantasy, the ethos of the game is more akin to that of a superhero story, where the player, and many of the significant Planeswalker characters are the said heroes.
He made a mention that his particular favourite character of the series was the Vampire Lord Sorin Markov. His reasoning was that Sorin challenged the perception of what “Black” magic is. Often thought of as a magic of evil, Sorin brings a regal sense of sophistication and honour to both the lore of the game, and the Black colour play style. He said that Sorin is not clear cut good or evil. He protects the future of the human race, because vampires will always need humans to survive in something of a symbiotic relationship. It was this deep level of consideration for a single character that I found particularly memorable, and thought provoking.
Overall, the roundtable proved a very interesting experience. We got some very strong insight into the creative process behind Magic the Gathering, but we also got to know one of the creative minds on a personal level. Closing out the roundtable he also gave us all some practical advice when it comes those strange looks players sometimes get when they admit to playing a collectible card game. His thoughts:
“Those looks will never go away. But Geek Shiek is hot right now. Games are hot. Fantasy is hot… This turnout here is amazing. Treat it like a compliment, because it’s only going to be more prominent from here.”
The Capcom Network Games Conference was held yesterday in Japan, where Capcom introduced their upcoming online titles currently in development. Amongst the many social games revealed, some more information on the next-gen title Deep Down was released, which was first unveiled in a concept video back at the PlayStation Meeting 2013.
While we have the Tokyo Game Show to look forward for more insight (it will also be playable at TGS), it seems Deep Down is in fact an Online Only “Leading” RPG – naturally requiring an internet connection to play – as translated from the source; this official teaser site. The PS4 is the single platform announced for the title, although exclusivity to Sony‘s future flagship console hasn’t been confirmed. The Panta Rhei engine was also detailed. Check out the teaser trailer shown at the presentation directly below.
Minneapolis game developer Soul and Vibe Interactive Inc. announced that they have entered into an agreement with Mexico-based Larva Game Studios. The companies will collaborate to develop two new video game properties for the Soul and Vibe label, Soul and Vibe’s original IP (Intellectual Property) Grimwhiskers, and Larva Game Studios’ original IP Last Day On Earth. Larva Game Studios is to develop the games whilst Soul and Vibe will produce, publish, market, and manage distribution of the titles.
Ken Gratz (Product Development Director of Larva Game Studios) commented:
“Larva’s and Soul and Vibe’s team share a common goal of producing engaging and original content. This partnership will allow us to share our creativity with the world through Soul and Vibe’s distribution channels, and achieve greater consumer reach beyond what we are capable of alone. There is quite a bit of talent and experience in both companies, and I look forward to continuing this already synergistic relationship.”
Grimwhiskers takes players into the heart of the Caribbean with a band of misfit pirates on a quest to recover their most prized possession: their ship. Stolen from them by a diabolical, and seemingly smarter, enemy it is up to the crew to fight for what’s theirs, through a world of voodoo and magical lore. Draw weapons and run, jump, tumble, climb, swing, board, swim, and war-cry your way to fortune and glory. The game will be developed for consoles, mobile devices, and personal computers.
Set in the year is 2022, Last Day On Earth throws you into a disastrous time for humanity. The Earth as a whole faces a looming catastrophe, as an alien race called “The Hive” has successfully breached every developed nation’s defences. The aliens launch systematic in the hopes of destroying the last bastion on Earth: the island of Utopia. The game itself is a fusion of the third-person shooter and tower defence genres, furthering the atmosphere of conflict and struggle. Players are free to destroy and use the environment, collecting items and combining them to create traps, explosives, or upgrades to weaponry. Whatever it takes to hold off the aliens. The game will be released on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
Peter Anthony Chiodo (Soul and Vibe CEO and President) stated:
“We are very excited to work with the talented development team at Larva on Grimwhiskers and Last Day On Earth. Grimwhiskers is a great IP that we are excited to share with gamers, and the studio has put a lot of hard work into Last Day On Earth. Larva has a very strong creative and programming talent; the play mechanics and overall tone of Last Day On Earth make it a very compelling gaming experience.”
Jorge Morales (Larva Game Studios’ CEO) added:
“Soul and Vibe’s multi-platform game development and launch strategy is ideal in today’s dynamic gaming industry. Tony has assembled a very impressive team and we are eager to start working with them to develop games that will excite and engage players the world over, from the United States to the fast emerging Latin American market.”
Keep an eye out for more information regarding the release dates for Last Day On Earth and Grimwhiskers. For more information, visit Soul and Vibe Interactive Inc. and Larva Game Studios on their officialsites and Facebookpages.
It was briefly revealed on Sony’s online media store Mora this Tuesday that the Kizumonogatari movie will be released in Japanese theatres this fall. Since its brief announcement Mora has taken down the listing, but one feels that this was probably to cover their mistake rather than because the date was wrong. Kizumonogatari is being produced by Aniplex who are owned by Sony Music Entertainment so the date appearing on one of Sony’s own distribution services seems very likely to be accurate.
Kizumonogatari details the events of what happened before Bakemonogatari that up until now have only been explained in the novel and in flashes of text at the beginning of Bakemonogatari’s first episode. It will go over Koyomi Araragi’s fateful encounter with a vampire and how he manages to maintain his humanity after being made one himself.
SHAFT is animating the movie that seems to be set for this fall. It is just one of the 16 light novels written by Nisioisin in the Monogatari series, 5 of which are being adapted in the currently running Monogatari Series Second Season. News of the final release date and any new projects by Nisioisin, following the ending of Bakemonogatari and his other project Medaka Box will surely be reported here.
