Welcome to the 21st episode of CC Powerslam, Capsule Computers Wrestling Podcast! In our twenty-first episode we discuss the rise and fall of Ryback, Daniel Bryan’s upcoming title shot, predictions for Summerslam and the possibility of the Corporation being revived by Mr McMahon.
Send all your wrestling questions, suggestions, predictions and feedback to [email protected]
Topics discussed:
– Summerslam
– The Corporation revival in the cards?
– Ryback’s future
– Daniel Bryan’s title shot
– Does Damien Sandow have star quality?
– Is Cody Rhodes the next big face?
– Ryback and Randy going Corporate?
– Vince vs Triple H power struggle
– The curious case of Brock Lesnar
Feedback:
Send an email to [email protected] and let us know what you think of the podcast or what you’d like to hear or any suggestions you might have.
Tekken Card Tournament was released in April, and since then has amounted to over 4 million downloads across all platforms. Since we first heard about the game, there were rumblings and musings that there would be physical trading cards to accommodate the mobile game. Today those rumors become a reality, as Namco Bandai have announced the official release of the physical trading card booster packs. They are available in sealed booster packs of 5, with a grand total of 191 cards.
Namco Bandai Europe Senior Vice President, Oliver Comte said of the game
The support of the Tekken fans for Tekken Card Tournament has been incredible, and with the launch of the physical cards we’re giving them even more exciting possibilities to enjoy the game … These cards bring so many extra features, not least of all is the ability to take the mighty Heihachi and its rare powers into battle.
As Comte mentioned, each card will bestow special unlocks and abilities to the mobile game. You access these through scanning a QR Code that is present on each of the 191 cards. Once scanned, you will unlock awesome features like; valuable power ups, collectible art, new cards via the card fusion system, augmented reality characters, plus extra chances to get super rare powers for Heihachi.There are also 9 special Art Cards that feature exclusive designs for the game.
No Trading Card Game would be complete without the ability to play like cavemen, away from mobile devices. These Tekken Cards offer players the chance to play a streamlined and simplified version of the game without needing to reach for their iPhone or Android devices, however their true functionality is still reserved for the Tekken Card Tournament game.
Tekken Card Tournament is available for download on iPhone or iPad through the App Store, on Android and Kindle through Google Play and the Amazon App Store, Or through your web browser. Namco have also been so kind as to put up a trailer for the physical cards, which you can check out below. The trailer shows some of the ways that the cards will interact with the game and vice versa.
You can grab the booster packs at any EB Games store, or on their website starting today. Let us know in the comments below if you plan on picking up any of these, and be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Tekken news as it becomes available.
Paramount‘s action/comedy Pain & Gain, directed by Michael Bay and starring Dwayne ‘The Rock Johnson, Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie, will be hitting Australian cinemas in a mere 3 days on August 8 (our review will be up tomorrow), and today we’ve got some of the final promotional clips from the film to get your blood pumping (iron).
Directly below is a clip aptly titled ‘Wood Bat’, as it shows Dwayne’s character threatening a man who is withholding information from the Sun Gym Gang with said weapon. An intimidating man of that size holding a baseball bat…yeah, I’d do what he asks. Check it out.
And embedded below is the other clip entitled ‘Big Bitches’. It shows Mark’s character speaking some hilarious dialogue as he tries to motivate Anthony Mackie’s to go along with his cash-making plans so he can wine and dine (emphasis on dine) those “plump” ladies he loves. We know of his affinity for the larger women after a previous clip of him with Rebel Wilson’s character, who promised she could do some “penis magic“ and help him with his…testicular issues (don’t do steroids folks!).
EarthBound fever is here and it has been running red-hot! This cult-classic, JRPG from all the way back in 1994 has returned, big time, with it’s Virtual Console release on Nintendo’s newest money-maker, the Wii U. Any educated nerd knows what EarthBound, or Mother, is and if you didn’t know what it was before then I guarantee you know what it is now, especially with it’s re-release. Like a lot of people out there I’m new to EarthBound but I feel like an old fan, considering the amount of research I’ve done on the game, and I absolutely love it! I missed it the first time around because it was released the year I was born so I’m real happy that it was brought back. There are a lot of reasons why EarthBound is an incredible game and why it has been and will continue to be an incredible game and I’ve decided to list just a few of the reasons why I think EarthBound is a game that can’t be stopped!
The Transition Into Our Generation:
I mentioned just above, and I’m sure you already know, that EarthBound(Mother 2) has just been re-released on the Wii U Virtual Console, that’s fantastic! It makes me want to scream; “Fuzzy Pickles” because what makes this release even greater is that the game wasn’t changed in any drastic way. The music is still the same, the look is still the same, the gameplay is still the same and for all intents and purposes it’s still the same game! The fact that someone could take an old game, plop it onto a next generation console and have it already be incredible is such a great feat. I’m the type of gamer that prefers to have the latest and greatest of games, I won’t continue playing Pokemon Black and White 2 because I would rather just wait to play Pokemon X and Y, that’s the kind of guy I am yet when I picked up EarthBound to play I never thought to myself “Jeez, I’d rather be playing [insert game here] than this crap”, not once!
The Dark Story:
It doesn’t really seem like it would have a very deep and dark storyline, the game is often so colourful and bright but play it enough and you release that this game is not exactly what it seems. The game goes in and out of the shadows when it comes to the story, it really does, one moment you could be in a happy, little village chasing butterflies and fighting neighbourhood dogs and the next minute you could be fighting off zombies as they attempt to engulf a town. As the game goes on you can feel it getting darker and darker, the Giygas fight (The final boss) as up on the top of peoples lists as one of the scariest, and hardest, boss fights around. The theories and stories behind Giygas and his battle are enough to send chills down spines.
The game creator himself, Shigesato Itoi, has said that the “inspiration” behind Giygas’ lines during the final fight with him came from when he was a young boy and he accidentally walked in on an adult movie where it showed a rape scene, this is disgusting and terrifying on it’s own but for a little boy to have seen would have been extremely traumatizing. He’s also stated that while writing those lines him and his co-writer wouldn’t finish up and leave until they were both on the verge of crying, this right here shows how deep the game goes and the effect on both it’s creator and it’s audience. You can definitely feel the heart and soul put into this game. There are so many theories behind a lot of the characters and battles in EarthBound, I honestly suggest you give them a read even if you have no interest in the game.
The Audio and Visuals:
Beautiful. Just beautiful. This game has been praised for it’s audio and visuals since it was first released and you can see why. The game looks fantastic, the enemies and characters are all quirky and it’s style is done in such a way that it will go from cute to creepy in the span of a single fight and that’s just with the visuals. The 8-bit soundtrack is real funky and I found myself having more fun with it when I was listening to the music alongside the gameplay. The music behind the game is so good that there is an actual soundtrack that you can buy for it. Even rapper YTcracker released an album dedicated to the music in this game, it’s called; EarthBound: Adventures of The Soundstone. The animation holds up in this day and age, it doesn’t feel like you’re playing an old Pokemon game where you can tell how dated it is.
The EarthBound Legacy:
This may be the biggest reason to play this game. Without EarthBound there wouldn’t be as many great JRPGs around nowadays. In a time where RPGs were all fantasy-based, where you’re aknight that fights dragons and saves the princess, EarthBound dared to be different, dared to be “weird” and became a cult classic because of it. Ness, the main character of EarthBound, has been a staple character in every Super Smash Brothers game since the very beginning, they even added in Lucas (Protagonist of Mother 3/Fan name: EarthBound 2) to the last iteration of the game without his game ever being sold outside of Japan. EarthBound has created some of the worlds most dedicated fans with people translating games and even offering the translations to Nintendo for free with the hopes that everyone outside of Japan might get a little more of a taste. It’s left such an impact that 19 years later Nintendo has brought it back and it’s still a crowd favourite that has not only continued to make money but continued to be a great game.
Well there you go! Those are just a few of the big reasons why I think EarthBound is an unstoppable juggernaut of a game. I’m going to continue hoping that Nintendo give us more EarthBound in the future the same as all of you out there. Let us know why you love EarthBound and why you think more gamers out there should start playing it! Hit us up in our comments section below. Keep your eyes on the site and your eyes on the stars because you just don’t know what’s out there!
Need a nice bag to carry around those things that you carry outside of a tote bag? Well, Nintendo have got an answer for you – as for the first time in months, a snazzy new item has been added to the Club Nintendo Rewards section.
Of course the bag is a pleasant sight- and at only 400 coins, this makes for a decent way to cash in some of those stockpiled coins. If you haven’t already, you can also pick up Pikmin 3, which is in stores today for the Wii U, and stay tuned as tomorrow marks a brand new set of digital rewards for the service.
This is one of those articles where we remind you that a game came out. Usually, I would talk about the game, mention the features, and so on – but this is Pikmin 3, the long-awaited sequel that has had a ton of coverage thus far, and if you own a Wii U, it should be high on your priority list already.
Rock Pikmin, flying Pikmin, and new heroes are what this title is all about, polished up in one complete package that is sure to be a familiar yet satisfying entry in the franchise that Nintendo have been steadily promoting for over a year. You can pick up your copy today via any retailer or the eShop, and if you have yet to pick up a Wii U, the steady stream of titles behind this one are more than enough reason to splurge a bit.
The Live Gamer Portable (referred to from now on as the LGP) is AVerMedia’s latest entry into the game footage capture market. It is designed to record footage from a PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U but will also work with any type of component connection which means it will be compatible with some of the older consoles such as the Wii and Gamecube, however you will not be able to record anything that use only the old yellow, white and red composite cables to connect to a TV.
The LGP can record in up to 1080p at 60 Mbps, which in plain english means very high quality, high definition video. A big feature of the LGP is the ability to record straight to an SD card without the need for a PC, which is rare among capture devices. AVerMedia continues to support the device with new firmware and drivers and a recent firmware update has enabled recording to the SD card in 1080p. Buyers should be aware that only an SD card of Speed Class 10 is able to be used with this feature, so you should factor in the extra cost of a new SD card if you are considering purchasing the LGP. I didn’t have access to a Class 10 SD card at the time of this review so I can’t say too much about the straight to SD card functionality, but from the manuals it seems very simple to do and I would recommend it as the way to go when recording from a PS3, but this will be touched on later.
Let’s start with what’s in the box and the device itself. The contents of the box feature a large assortment of cables and some other goodies, including:
Live Gamer Portable recording unit.
Quick Installation Guide
HDMI Cable
Component Video/Stero Audio Dongle Cable
Mini USB Cable (which is the sole way of powering the device)
3.5 mm Audio Cable
PS3 Cable
Protective Bag
3 Month Complimentry Trial to XSplit, which allows you to live stream your recorded footage.
The device itself is small, stylish and durable. Truly representative of the name portable, the device is light and about the size of an iPhone 5. All the functonality and inputs and outputs are clear and obvious to the user. The cables are all of a decent length and appear very durable while the included protective bag is made of a nice soft suede like material which will protect your LGP from the elements while you are carrying it around. In terms of system requirements nothing special is required. The LGP ran perfectly on my very basic non-gaming laptop and I saw no performance issues at all. Windows 7/8 are required and Apple fans will be disapointed to learn that the LGP is incompatible with MAC’s.
My first twenty minutes or so trying to set up the device to record my Playstation 3 was rather frustrating. While the manual describes how to connect the device to the PS3 which is simple enough, it doesn’t explain the settings that you have to change. It wasn’t until I went to download the firmware update and latest drivers (which took about 20 minutes along with downloading and installing the latest RECorder software) that a note was present that contained a link to a YouTube video that explained the connection process step by step. These instructions were clear and easy to follow but needless to say the PS3 connection guide should have been easier to find.
If you are planning to switch alot between recording your PS3 (I can’t speak for the other consoles) through the LGP to a laptop and just playing through a standard HDMI connection, be prepared for alot of fussing around with cables and settings. The picture quality on the television became saturated with brighter colours and lost some sharpness when played through the LGP connection, but it wasn’t too large of a change and the picture quality showing the recording on the computer seemed unaffected, so the lower picture quality shouldn’t carry over to your recordings.
All that being said, once you get it up and running the simplicity and functionality of the LGP begins to shine through. Recording is as simple as pressing the ‘hot button’ on top of the device. No software needs to be open but you can have the RECentral software open to see the recording and adjust settings. Stopping a recording is just as easy with just another tap of the button. The light atop the LGP let’s you know the status of the device and this works great for somethings but not for others. An example of when this works is how the light stays one colour when in standby but then will pulse red when recording, letting you know all is going well. An example of when this isn’t so great is when theres an error, as I encountered when first trying to record straight to an SD card. I was then aware there was an error, but was not sure how to handle it as I didn’t know what the error was. The device could of been telling me there was an error with me using the wrong SD card or perhaps there was something wrong with my setup which was also the case.
The picture quality the LGP can record in is really stunning and doesn’t disapoint. The good thing about reviewing a device like this is that I can easily let the picture quality talk for itself. The above picture of Tekken Revolution was taken using the LGP’s frame catpure and you can also view the videos below to get a feel for the quality I am talking about. Both videos were recorded in 720p however the first video featuring footage from The Last Of Us was captured with a tiny 0.3 mbps where as the second video was taken with 12 mbps. As you can see 0.3 mbps is far from the best quality, especially with alot of movement on screen, but still manages to provide a good picture and is still a decent option if you are low on storage space. This six minute video weighs in at a mere 48 MB. The video is better viewed in HD, so click hereto view the below video on YouTube if you wish.
In comparison, the second video below recorded at 12mbps provides a very clear picture, but the file size comes in at 143 MB for a video that has a duration of only 1:40. Again, the difference is more visible in HD, click here to view the below video on YouTube and set the quality to 720p to see what I’m talking about. The LGP can record in even better quality with the best settings being 30 frames, 60 mbps and full 1080p (you can get 60 frames by turning the resolution down to 1280 x 800 or lower), however you could imagine the file size being rather large. The great thing is the RECentral software tied in with the LGP gives the user a myriad of options so that they can adjust the balance of quality and file size to suit their needs.
In terms of audio, the LGP can capture source audio from the HDMI (as the above videos demonstrate), AV in cables, or from another audio source that you can connect through the 3.5mm audio cable. I also had the option to use my laptop’s included microphone to record my voice. For those that like to record live commentary, you can record the commentary audio to a seperate mp3 file, leaving your source audio intact. As you can tell from the two demonstration videos, the audio comes in crisp, clear and without delay, regardless of the video quality settings you have set.
The RECentral software that is tied in with the LGP looks neat, is easy to use and includes several different options to match up with the users skill level. I am a true novice at recording gameplay footage, however was easily able to use RECentral to change options such as file type, the destination folder, video quality and more. The newbie mode takes care of the options for you and simply let’s you detect which source the video is coming from, however even as a rookie, I didn’t have any trouble using the pro menu options. One thing I found strange was that only the amateur option gives you a preview of what the video quality will look like, I found this feature handy but wasn’t a fan of how the amatuer settings were represented so tended to stick towards the pro menu. It would of been nice to see that preview be distributed across all the skill level options. For those that like to stream live directly through sites like Twitch, you can also do that through the RECentral software as well as utilise the TimeShift function which allows you to go back and start recording from previously buffered footage. It should be noted that RECentral does lack any kind of video editing utilities, so you will need to utilise a seperate program for your editing needs.
In conclusion, when you get the Live Gamer Portable up and running after a rather tedious setup process, you will be very pleased with it’s performance and capabilities. All the functions are there for both a total rookie and an experienced game footage capturer to record the videos they want, how they want. The portability aspect and compatibility with a range of devices with different connections is a plus, as is the rather unique straight to SD card record mode. At a respectable price, I would definitely recommend the AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable to those with the correct hardware looking to get into the gameplay recording scene or those looking to upgrade from an older capture device.
Bohemia Interactive and Andrew Gluck AKA Dslyexci from ShackTactical returns with another Community Guide video for ArmA 3. After covering infantry combat, multiplayer team work, the alpha to beta status changes, Gluck is ready to teach players how to tackle one of the most challenging vehicle in ArmA 3.
The helicopter is a beast of a machine to fly, the pilot needing to manage the pitch, the rudders, and the basic weapon systems. For those looking to learn how to fly, the Community Guide: Helicopters video is a great starting point.
ArmA 3 is the latest iteration of the realistic combat simulator series. The new game is currently in beta, and is available as an early access game from Steam and Bohemia Interactive.
It used to be that a gamer was easy to define, you had a console that played games or built a PC rig and that was that. Today we play games in web browsers, on our phones, even our user interfaces are becoming increasingly “gameified”. We’ve arrived at a point where what you would traditionally define as a gamer has become a grey area. This episode we tackle this very question.
Sometimes it’s hard to describe things. You have a clear idea of what it is in your head and the moment you try and put words to it everything fumbles out of your mouth and it sounds like nonsense. This is not what our show is about. What it is about… is, well it’s about a lot of things. It’s about life, it’s about love, it’s about you.
The Uncanny Valley is a documentary styled show that tells stories about people who love things not because they’re cool; but for the pure sake of loving them. It’s about that time you camped out in the rain for first screening tickets to Star Wars; but it’s not about Star Wars. It’s about all those hours spent putting together and crafting the perfect costume for that cosplay convention; but it’s not about anime. It’s even about how you took first place in that Starcraft competition; but it’s not about video games.
This is a show about the people who never let that childlike love of things escape.
Be sure to also check out both Episode 1 and Episode 2 of The Uncanny Valley below.
Episode Three can be viewed below along with our special B-Sides on What is a Gamer. Be sure to also visit the official Uncanny Valley Facebook page HEREfor more information and details for season two of the series.
Here we are, back for another week with CC Comic Zone! Once again I am Frank Inlgese and this week I’m going to go for something a little different. The past two weeks I’ve spoken about Relatable Protagonists and Older Characters inComics, Manga and Graphic Novels but this time around I’ve decided to try something new by doing something I’m going to call: CC Comic Zone – Character Spotlight. Character Spotlight will have me talking about some of my favourite characters in illustrated media and it will also be used as a way to introduce you to characters you may not know yet that I continue to reference throughout CC Comic Zone. The first CC Comic Zone – Character Spotlight will be on Luther Strode, the titular character from both The Strange Talent of Luther Strode and The Legend of Luther Strode which are some of the most action-packed titles I’ve ever seen. Let’s begin shall we?
Luther Strode was a normal high school kid, he loves his mum, he loves his friends and he has a crush on a cute, punk-ish girl named Petra but Mr. Strode also gets the crud kicked out of him daily by a meat-head named Paul. That’s a fairly standard existence for a lanky, nerd like Luther Strode, it’s also what makes him a really good main character. I’ll explain that soon enough. Eventually Luther decides that “enough is enough”, he needs to find a way to stop this from happening, it’s ruining his life and he just can’t stand it, well Luther happens to find an advertisement in a crummy magazine, an advertisement for something called “The Hercules Method”. “The Hercules Method” boasted that it was a fast way to become strong both physically and spiritually, it’s a training regimen for your entire being and to Luther it was his last chance at stopping this problem once and for all, even if it is a long shot.
He begins training, he follows the steps and in no more than a week or so he has changed drastically, he’s no longer this string-bean of a man, he no longer has the muscle density of linguine, he’s a hulking mass of pure muscle. This is where the problems start for Luther Strode. He goes to school and shows Paul who the big dog is by breaking his jaw with a single punch but over the next few days some weird things begin happening, he breaks into a hallucination where he kills Paul, his best friend Pete and basically everybody standing around him, lucky it was just a hallucination but it was just too real for Luther to handle, he doesn’t know what to think and he definitely doesn’t know what to do about this new found “talent”.
Let me just say that the story gets extremely epic and extremely gruesome as it continues, I’m not going to spoil anything for you, this is just an introduction after all. I think I like the character of Luther Strode so much because he was a normal guy who had real-life problems. Not only was he dealing with school and being attacked by bullies but he also had his Mum to think about who, before the series had started, was attacked by his father who continuously beat her. The fact that, once you dig a little bit deeper, Luther didn’t just want to become strong for himself but for his Mother is such a great thing for a character to have, especially a character like him that, by the end of the first book, is nothing but a bloodthirsty, killing machine that has been thrown into the world of carnage.
You tend to forget Luther’s origins by the time you’ve finished the book because this second “person” really takes the spotlight and you go to your friends and say something like “Jeez, Luther absolutely destroyed those guys” and you forget that Luther, essentially, was like us. He’s also one of the greatest Anti-Heroes that I’ve ever seen, honestly, I believe he is. He doesn’t just KILL any antagonists, he turns them into a piles of dead flesh and pools of stale blood. He destroys anything in his way but I don’t believe he’s ever killed an innocent person. Luther seems to take down lower thugs the same way he takes down powerful enemies which shows that he has not one shred of restraint, as long as he knows they’ve done wrong he kills them without a second thought. It seems like Strode has two modes: Kill and Not Kill. There is no grey area for Mr. Luther Strode.
Strode’s transition from The Strange Talent of Luther Strode (First storyline) to The Legend of Luther Strode (Second storyline) is one that doesn’t seem drastic but it really is. It’s five years after the first story which means five years of more blood and carnage. Luther doesn’t seem to “turn off” in The Legend Of Luther Strode, he’s always on guard, he’s always ready for a fight and you know what’s funny? He still has the heart of his high school sweetheart Petra. Despite the events of both stories she still wants to be with him, or at least, be around him because, unlike the audience, she remembers Luther as he used to be and not so much as he is now.
That’s why I think Luther Strode is an outstanding character and the star of some outstanding comics. Now that you’ve seen my view of Luther Strode let me know what you think of him after reading this, hit up the comments section below because I’d love to hear your thoughts on Luther Strode and on anything to do with CC Comic Zone. The Strange Talent of Luther Strode and The Legend of Luther Strode are both created by the extremely talented Justin Jordan, Tradd Moore and Felipe Sobreiro. Did I get you interested in Luther Strode at all? Check out the Official Website here if I did and stay tuned for the next CC Comic Zone.
[email protected] and let us know what you think of the podcast or what you’d like to hear or any suggestions you might have.
