NisiOisin‘s latest novel in the Monogatari series, the long awaited Owarimonogatari, is set to be released this fall according to the NisiOisin Anime Project’s Twitter account. This news comes just days after the supposed release date slip-up by Sony regarding the Kizumonogatari movie, also set to release this fall.
Fans that can’t wait to dive into the latest novel will be glad to know that the first story entitled “Ugi Formula” will be published on September 9th in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine. This particular story in the Monogatari series will detail the events of when the main character Koyomi Araragi meets a strange new girl called Ugi Oshino.
After being teased by a tentative April release date and then a summer release date that never happened, fans will be relieved that this seems to finally be set in stone. The sequel to Owarimonogatari is still seemingly planned for next year, but whether Zokuowarimonogatari meets its planned release date better than its predecessor is yet to be seen.
An anime adaptation of Monogatari’s second season is currently being aired and news of any future Monogatari developments can be found in our anime news section.
Warner Bros and Turbine Inc’s upcoming MOBA; Infinite Crisis is shaping up to be one hell of a game. Based on the DC Comics Multiverse, the game will see heroes and villains from not only DC’s main continuity, but also lesser known counterparts from their ‘elseworlds’ comics. Characters like Cyborg and Zatanna will join forces with Gaslight Catwoman (from Batman: Gotham by Gaslight) and Nightmare Batman (who first appeared in Batman & Dracula: Red Rain).
Today, Warner Bros have put up the first installment of a special behind the scenes video feature for Infinite Crisis. The video has memebers of the creative team Jeffrey Steefel, Brent Schmidt, Cardell Kerr and Chris Clay as well as DC Entertainment icons Geoff Johns and Jim Lee as they discuss why the game is being made and how it is being developed.
The video is definitely worth a watch if you are a fan of DC Comics, or MOBAs in general, as it looks like Turbine are bringing some interesting stuff to the table. You can check out the video below, and if you want to try and get into the game’s beta before its official launch, then you can do so here. If you also want to pre-order the game and become a Founder, then you can do so at this link.
The game’s roster is already impressive with 12 awesome champions to choose from, and there looks like there is no end in sight. So to stay up to date with all the Infinite Crisis news as it becomes available, stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
Paradox Interactive, cultivators of epic facial hair (their words, not ours), have just announced an all-new multiplayer action title called War of the Vikings that utilises the technology used in the 2012 medieval squad-based combat game War of the Roses – both are developed by Fatshark Games.
Be prepared to enter the Viking Age, where fighting is in every red-blooded male’s DNA. Whether sacking England as the mighty Norsemen, or defending the nation as a brave Saxon, you will design your own custom warrior with rich customisation options. The skill-driven, close-combat experience has never been so visceral or brutal before, with large scale 64-player battles amongst authentically inspired settings and with era-accurate weaponry. Executive Producer for the War of the Roses franchise, Gordon Van Dyke, said;
War of the Roses was a fantastic experience for us to launch, and as it’s evolved over time, eventually growing into its current Kingmaker edition, we’ve been inspired many times over by the possibilities of the close-combat genre. It’s clear to us that that there are many more experiences we can share with our players, and War of the Vikings is our next step in establishing Paradox and Fatshark as leaders in the art of online war.
History Comes to Life (and then you kill it) – Historically inspired content from the Viking Age, including levels and environments, weapons, helmets, shields, and heraldry
Close Combat and Ranged Ravaging – Skill-driven fighting blends swinging, blocking, and dodging with intense ranged combat, including arrows, spears, and throwing axes
Mod Your Squad – Enhanced squad features allow players to define a role for their warriors in battle using custom squad perks to buff your hirdmen
A Viking to Your Liking – Design your own Viking or Saxon warrior, choosing everything from weapons and armor to battle perks, customized taunts to unhinge your foes, and a variety of beard options
Pick Your Battles – Game modes include up to 64-player epic battles, new hardcore “Pitched Arena” mode with 32 players and no respawns, and a Training Ground to test out new character builds
War of the Vikings is scheduled for release in Q1 2014. Check out the announcement trailer embedded below. You can sign up for the War of the Vikingsalpha here, and find more information on the title at www.warofthevikings.com.
The game is set to feature an in-depth physics system, creating a more realistic experience. A player physics system is included, taking each cricketer’s height and weight into account, altering their movement, power and speed accordingly. The physics system also applies to the cricket ball itself, providing realistic bounces, catches and rolls.
Bowled through the Big Ant wickets
The game will also include:
Career Mode, allowing you to take control of an aspiring young cricketer and take him through the ranks to International glory.
Unique Batting and Bowling Controls, giving full 360 Shot control and Line and Length delivery without pitch markers.
A fully featured fielding system that allows you to run down the ball and slide to prevent a Four, catch a high ball on the boundary rope, or knock down the stumps to take a vital run out.
Appeal and Electronic Review system allowing for the first time challenges of the umpires decision.
Practice Nets, Hone your skills to perfection before taking to the field.
Dynamic time of day, Weather System and Pitch Degradation that are based on real world data with effects occurring in real-time throughout a days’ play.
The Cricket Academy, allowing for unparalleled customisation of your Cricket experience, creating Teams, players, Tours, Competitions, Match Types and even Umpires.
More than 4000 Community created Players and teams ready to download and use in game.
An online Save system that lets you continue your match whenever you want with online opponents.
Caught…or throwing in celebration
Sebastian Giompaolo (HES Managing Director) said:
“It is indeed an honour to be able to bring the greatest player to a technology savvy generation of fans in what promises to be the greatest cricket game of all time. Big Ant Studios have been working hard on this title for four years and we at HES are really excited with what they have been able to achieve. It is far superior to any cricket game in the market.”
Don Bradman Cricket 14 will be released on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC later this year. For more information, visit the official site. The legend continues…
Overview
The Tales Of series has been around for about 15 years. After more than decades of incredible fantasy tales, we arrive at Tales of Xillia, the latest installment of the series that has come to the West. Fans of the series likely know that Tales of Xillia was given a sequel already in Japan which is simply titled Tales of Xillia 2. The game undoubtedly has a lot of hype surrounding it, but is it the next great chapter in the tale or is it a tale best left forgotten?
Story
After so many games in this long-running series, how do you keep things fresh? Well for the thirteenth installment in the main Tales series, Namco Tales Studios have taken a very interesting approach to this game and it really is make or break.
Unlike previous Tales games which opt for a more traditional fantasy style setting, Tales of Xillia has a more sci-fi-fantasy mash up kind of feel reminiscent of another popular JRPG series’ thirteenth installment. It is a very fresh setting for the series, but it could be one that might just make or break it for long time fans of the series. This is definitely a departure from the norm, but one that is deeply fascinating. The world of Reive Maxia is gorgeously detailed and brimming with life.
The plot itself is told from two different perspectives, allowing the player themselves to choose which one they would like to play through. The choice is between Jude and Milla, a male and female protagonist. This is something never before seen in the Tales series but it is something that is very much a welcome addition to the game. While the main arc of the game remains largely unchanged depending upon your choice of main character, the perspective is what matters most. The eyes you see the world through and the feelings you experience largely come from the character you choose. It is an ingenious concept that gives players a reason to play again to see the other side of the story.
Although Tales of Xillia does try new things and tells an interesting story with some equally interesting characters, it does ring hollow emotionally, instead opting for a cool tale instead of a touching one. If you enjoy a story for emotion and heart this may not be the Tales game for you, as Tales of Xillia is somewhat lacking in both, struggling to leave a lasting impact.
Gameplay
Tales of Xillia shakes things up a lot in terms of story, characters and setting, but it is for the most part traditional Tales in terms of gameplay. Other than a few new additions, it sticks closely to the working formula that the series has developed and proven tried and true.
The battle system is largely untouched, running in an action-RPG style allowing you to roam freely and attack and defend freely. This system has been part of the Tales series since the beginning, becoming more refined with each passing game. Tales of Xillia is easily the most refined incarnation of the Tales battle system. It has a dynamic feel that is both easy to grasp and difficult to master. There is a great level of depth to combat that grows deeper and deeper as you progress through the game.
There is also a lot of fine details in the game that unless you take the time to truly explore you would easily miss out on. There is a number of side-quests and other manner of goodies to uncover if you explore. Sadly though it feels as though the exploration element that has always been a significant part of the Tales series has had some of the emphasis taken off it and placed more on the story of the game. The exploration is there but you have to make it happen instead of it occurring naturally.
The game also features a new means of travel which does cause the game to feel somewhat linear and even a little bit easy, that is the fast travel feature. While this is becoming more commonplace in the JRPG scene, it really didn’t need to be included in Tales series and it was not exactly a welcome inclusion in Tales of Xillia. It makes the world feel smaller and the game feel linear, which is never a good thing in a JRPG game such as this.
Despite that, Tales of Xillia is a very fun game, that stays mostly true to the form of the Tales series, being both addictive and challenging, a devious combination to say the very least. Tales of Xillia has a fresh feel to it all the while retaining what makes the series great, it is hampered by some issues, but ultimately rises above them.
Visuals and Audio
In terms of aesthetics, Tales of Xillia may just be the best in the series. It features a gorgeous array of colourful settings, each more inviting than the last, begging to be explored. Not only that but there is some incredible anime cut-scenes that really add a greater level of depth to the characters and world, bringing both to life in stunning animated sequences. The only complaint I have about the anime cut-scenes is that there is not enough of them, they are incredible, if only we could have gotten more to enjoy.
The game also features a great soundtrack composed by Motoi Sakuraba, which harkens back feelings of older Tales games while taking the series in a bold new musical direction. One unfortunate part of the game’s audio is the English dub which is sadly not up to par with the series high standard of voice acting, with several character being stiffly portrayed with jarring line readings. Not only that but there is a distinct lack of emotion in some character’s voice work, specifically Milla.
Overall
So is Tales of Xillia worth all the hype that has surrounded it? Well, yes it is. The game is a lot of fun and takes the series in an intriguing new creative direction. As with all change, there is going to be some hiccups along the way and Tales of Xillia has a few of them. While it may not be the best Tales game, it is certainly a very good one. If you are looking for the Tales you know and love, you may find yourself shocked by Tales of Xillia, this is a very different take on Tales, but it ultimately is a necessary one that will move the series forward.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
World War II strategy game Company of Heroes 2 has been taken down from Steam in Russia and other Eastern European territories, following a 17,000-strong petition by unhappy players. The publisher of the region is 1C-SoftClub, and it is unlikely this will have any effect on distribution in Western countries by SEGA.
The discontent stems from its singleplayer component and what critics believe is a misrepresentation of events on the Eastern Front of the war. Gamers in support of the petition aren’t happy with the typical stereotypes that are slapped on the Red Army, in contrast to the heroic and honourable portrayal of American and British forces in the first Company of Heroes game.
The narrative in Company of Heroes 2 differed to the original by using a main character who retells what made him feel disillusioned with the war. The Eastern Front was arguably the most horrible theatre of war in one of the world’s worst conflicts, with war crimes committed by both sides after Nazi Germany’s invasion. Gamers take issue with the fact that the focus was only on the Soviet side.
A video was recently made by TheBadComedian, summarising the issues Russian gamers have and it can be viewed below. Check out our recent review of Company of Heroes 2 as well.
Should a game be removed due to a petition with 17,000 signatures? What kind of precedent does this set? Balancing historical accuracy with a marketable plot is no laughing matter.
Giant Spacekat, the Independant mobile development studio, happily announced today that their iPad game, Revolution 60, has successfully reached it’s kickstarter goal. Because of it’s swift funding, it only took about a week to hit their goal, stretch goals have been unlocked for additional funding to bring the game to both the PC and the Mac. You can continue to contribute on their kickstarted page here.
Brianna Wu, Head of Development at Giant Spacekat, had this to say:
“We’re pleased and very grateful to the players for helping us reach our first funding goal to complete development on Revolution 60 for iPad.“Now with our stretch goals unlocked, we are looking forward to bringingRevolution 60 to PC and Mac. If our stretch goals are reached every backer will receive a copy of the PC and Mac versions of the game at launch”.
A PC version of the game has already been slated considering they have reached the $5,000 mark, if the kickstarter reachers $10,000 the company will also create a version for the Mac. As with the PC version, each backer will receive a free copy of the Mac version upon launch.
Giant Spacekat’s Official Revolution 60 story synopsis and game description:
Years in the future, in Revolution 60 an American orbital weapons platform has drifted off course, threatening an international incident. Chessboard, a special ops group led by an artificial intelligence, has tasked a team to rendezvous with the station and regain control. In this crucial mission players are cast as Holiday, a Chessboard assassin who must decide if her loyalty is to her friends or to the mission. Featuring an all female cast starring anime legends Amanda Winn-Lee and Marieve Herrington, players undertake a series of missions, and make difficult moral choices that have significant effects on the game outcome so that every ending is different.
Revolution 60 really is a mobile gaming revolution with it’s intense story in which the main character lives or dies depending on your decisions, it also boasts some complex animation which is quite a big feat for a game on the iOS. With its full facial animation and it’s fluid combat features as well as it’s adaptation to both the habbits of a hardcore gamer and a casual one this game seems hard to beat. Keep your eye on the sit and keep contributing to the kickstarter (see link above) so we can eventually see this game come to live right in the palm of our hands.
It has been announced that residents in Australia will be able to take part in a special competition for Sony‘s upcoming PlayStation Vita exclusive, Killzone: Mercenary. The contest allows fans to submit their own “contracts” which will detail what they would do or how far they would go for a reward of $10,000 Australian Dollars. You can read about our hands-on time with the game here.
Any applications will be judged on creativity, originality, skill and passion for the Killzone franchise as well as the PlayStation Vita. The person who wins will be flown to Sydney to carry out their contract under supervision before they are given their reward. The contest ends on August 16th and can be entered here.
That’s right folks, Sega are interested in buying Atlus and gaining the rights to all of their series including the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, much like how they previously brought Platinum Games under their pretty old umbrella.
As you may or may not know, Atlus’s parent company has been a bit of a silly goose when it comes to their finances and has hit some pretty dire straits. As such, Atlus is now up for sale and as Bloomberg reports, Sega is one of twenty companies interested in getting their hands on the company.
It seems that the sale will be finalized by the end of this month with an expected sale price of 20 billion yen, which is about 203 million USD. Sega certainly seems to be the front runner for the acquisition of Atlus but that of course remains to be seen until the news breaks later this month. Maybe if it does all go ahead we can see a Shenmue x Shin Megami Tensei crossover? Or maybe the long awaited sequel to My Disney Kitchen? Only time will tell.
Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends Studio:AIC Build Publisher:FUNimation Format:Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date:August 13, 2013 Price:$69.98 – Available Here
Overview Usually in anime, a main character is presented to viewers with either a slew of friends from the start or is able to quickly attract friends or allies due to their unique personalities. However what happens when a number of misfits come together? Well that is what the anime Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, also known as Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, explores. Now that the first season of the anime has made its way to North America, is it worth checking out?
Story Kodaka Hasegawa has had no luck finding friends after transferring into a private Catholic school. Not for lack of triyng of course, since despite his best intentions everyone around him seems to think he is nothing more than a brute and gang member. This may be due to his naturally dirty blonde hair (a common Japanese “gang member” sign) and angry looking demeanor which causes even teachers to shrink in fear from him.
Whenever he tries to spark up a conversation with someone, they usually always run away in fear before he can explain himself, causing numerous rumors of his ruthlessness to circulate throughout the student body. Finding himself friendless and alone, he suddenly finds his fellow classmate Yozora Mikazuki standing alone in a classroom talking to herself. It turns out; she wasn’t talking to herself, but an “air friend.”
After some discussion where the two find out that neither of them have any friends, Yozora creates the “Neighbor’s Club,” a club for people who have no friends to try and find ways to make some, though she does so in such a way that only those desperate enough for friends will apply. It just so happens that within minutes, a new girl appears wanting to join the club. Much to Yozora’s chagrin, it happens to be the most popular, talented and busty girl in the entire school, Sena Kashiwazaki.
It turns out that although boys fawn all over her, Sena has no real friends of her own since guys only want to be near her for her looks and the girls all hate her because of her unwavering popularity. The club grows in number throughout the rest of the season, seeing the inclusion of a Rika, a brilliant but isolated scientist who admits that she is a complete pervert who only cares to join the club for Kodaka, the “bullied” and feminine looking Yukimura who wants to be Kodaka’s lackey to become more manly, the club’s advisor, Maria who happens to be a ten year old nun who is highly intelligent, but has a habit of simply calling everyone poop and even Kodaka’s little sister, also lacking in friends due to her obsession with an anime that sees her dressing up in gothic clothing, speaking like a vampire and wearing a red contact lens.
Every time that the Neighbor’s Club comes together, they try out numerous activities that one would do with their friends, including playing video games, singing karaoke, going swimming at the pool or beach and even staying at a camp overnight to tell ghost stories. While each of these activities usually would be run-of-the-mill in a standard anime, the fact that each of these characters are so broken makes each activity unique in its own way.
Haganai is clearly presented as a harem comedy as it quickly becomes apparent that most of the characters have feelings for Kodaka, even if the man himself is too dense to realize it. Thanks to the fact that most of these characters have never had friends before, their awkward interactions with one another and attempts at the simplest tasks create numerous hilarious scenes. It also helps that thanks to the broken nature of their characters, they each have running-gags throughout the series which are constantly played for laughs.
Sena and Yozora are always at odds with one another, often with Yozora tormenting Sena about her breast size or sheltered lifestyle (though the venomous Yozora does take things too far at times), Maria and Kobato (Kodaka’s younger sister), devolve into child arguments as they fight over Kodaka, Yukimura’s feminine body and Yozora’s purposely misleading advice and even Rika’s constant perversion all create a highly entertaining series that takes a light-hearted tone throughout much of the series.
It is worth noting that while the series does place all of these misfits together, it doesn’t do much else beyond that. While hilarious more often than not, there is little in the way of progression for any member of the group and while there is some character development for the three main members of the cast, the misfit group remains just as they were even as the final episode on the release plays. While a second season has already aired in Japan and will likely see release in the West, the “status quo” nature of this first season will leave viewers wanting much more by the time everything ends.
Visuals Perhaps one of the first things I should mention about Haganai is the fact that the series has quite a lot of fan-service accompanying it. One of Sena’s highlighted traits are her large breasts, which usually are the focal point of many camera angles, including shots at the characters’ butts and numerous swimsuit appearances. There are also numerous suggestive looking scenes where no nudity is shown, as well as a handful of sequences where a girl’s breasts are fully exposed with nipples, including the loli characters. This is by no means a negative to the series, since it is a harem comedy, but it is worth noting for those who may not appreciate such a focus on fan-service.
Anyways, Haganai features some rather well designed looking characters, each with a unique look and numerous outfit changes throughout the season. The character animation does suffer a bit at long-range and even at mid-range, but everything is smooth looking and impressive. This includes the numerous background scenes that are shown throughout the season, including a number of religious looking areas since the school is meant to be a Catholic institution.
Audio Since this is a FUNimation release, Haganai has been given an English dub to accompany the original Japanese voice track. Surprisingly enough, the English voice work is quite impressive given the range of characters and the back-and-forth that most of them have with one another. It is worth noting that Yozora’s “Meat” nickname for Sena is retained but shifted out occasionally with other jabs at Sena’s large breasts, but outside of that their interchanges are unaltered and presented clearly in English.
There are a number of inserted songs including a handful of songs sung by the English cast inserted into the anime which is a nice touch, especially considering the fact that the background music used throughout the series is basic at best. The opening theme for this first season is “Zannenkei Rinjinbu” and it is sung by all of the female members of the Japanese cast and the ending theme is “Watashi no Ki-mo-chi” which is sung by Yozora’s Japanese voice actress. Both of these themes are nicely animated and also enjoyable to listen to, making them hard to simply skip past.
Extras As far as bonus features go, Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends comes with a standard set of extras, though it is padded out a bit with some extra Japanese promotional footage. Included on the disc are Blu-ray and DVD spots, original commercials, promo videos, and TV spots in Japanese as well as the US trailer, trailers for other FUNimation releases, clean versions of the opening and ending theme as well as two commentary tracks.
The first commentary track is for episode 2 and features Jad Saxton, the voice of Sena, Whitney Rodgers, the voice of Yozora and Jerry Jewell, the voice of Kodaka. The three spend most of the commentary discussing random things as well as events in the episode itself, including Sena’s nickname and the obvious fact everyone watching the series will figure out by the series ends. The second commentary is for episode 8 and features Zach Bolton, the voice director, Alison Viktorin the voice of Kobato and Kristi Kang who voices Maria. These three spend the nearly all of the commentary discussing the episode itself though they do spend a bit of time focusing on Kobato in particular.
Overall Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends offers a hilarious first season with such a broken cast of characters that it will be impossible to forget about them once the last episode airs. With great visuals, an over-abundance of fanservice and a nicely handled English dub, Haganai brings a lot to the table but unfortunately doesn’t do a whole lot with it beside give viewers plenty of laughs. This is great for what it is but will leave some viewers hoping for some actual development whenever the second season heads stateside.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
