This video right here is a real gem and not one to pass up. If you’re a fan of the TMNT franchise you’ll already know about this cool TMNT game coming out which is set for release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and on the PC through Steam, it’s called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and it’s looking damn fine! It’s looking fairly gritty and, honestly, it’s unlike a TMNT game we’ve ever seen before which is really good and in a generation of gritty, fairly dark, reboots of old series’ this one is sure to win over audiences.
The guys behind the game (Activision Publishing and Red Fly Studio) wanted to give players new visions of familiar places. New York City will your playground, as it usually is for the Turtles, and it’s gritty, neon-saturated style will be sure to help you get the different feel that this game is going to be sending across to you. The team wanted you to not only see the different world of the game they also want you to hear it and feel it inside yourself as you play, that’s why they went to Hip-Hop Producer and Collaborator, Just Blaze.
In the video, which you can see below, Just Blaze takes the audience through the creation of the sountrack and how he related certain songs to certain characters and places to help aid the player into feeling more immersed in the world and story. He also talks about the challenges behind put a new spin on and old classic and also how he draws inspiration through working on a series like this that he has loved since he was a child.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is set for release on the 28th of August on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and the PC (Steam). It will only be released for digital download so keep an eye out for it on the web and keep your eyes on the site for any and all new information to be released.
Kumotion, a new-on-the-scene mobile game publisher, announced today that Pocket Titans, an adventure RPG, will be ready for gamer consumption in September on iPhone and iPad.
Pocket Titans is a turn-based RPG puzzle adventure game. Set in a fantasy world with mages, rogues, and orcs, it blends tactical decision making with casual puzzle play to create what is being described as “Candy Crush meets XCOM meets Game of Thrones.”
Developed by two gentlemen over the last 18 months, the game will come with 8 playable character classes, 30 enemy classes, boss battles, and head-to-head two-player battles.
Pocket Titans is currently undergoing closed beta. When it releases in Semptember, it will be priced at $0.99/€0.79/£0.69. You can check out their official website here.
You thought you’d be seeing the new characters here but instead you got, I, Dio!
As the weeks and months roll by we’re seeing more and more from the CyberConnect2/Namco Bandai game JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle. We’ve seen so many characters added and so many crowd favourites making their return to the screen, or even debut, this time we’re seeing two more characters added. The developers behind this game can really do no wrong when it comes to adding characters to the roster, it seems as though every JJBA character has his or her own fan base so no matter what it’s bound to make someone happy in the end.
Funny Valentine.
The characters President Funny Valentine from the Steel Ball Run part of the series and Kosaku Kawajiri from the Diamond is UNbreakable part of the series will both be added into the game. We have extensive information on exactly what there move-sets are going to be like but hard-core fans of the series can do some educational speculation as to how they will fight.
Kosaku Kawajiri.
The game is slated for release in Japan on the 29th of August on the Playstation 3, so not too far away, we have no idea when or even if it will ever hit our shores but fans all over are praying that it won’t be too long until we see some awesome JoJo’s Bizarre Adventureaction! Keep your eyes on the site for any news or information to be released and head down to our comments section below and let your voice be heard.
It’s finally here! An English-Dubbed trailer for the Blue Exorcist movie! On Tuesday of this week Aniplex of America posted the very first English Trailer of the movie and it’s pretty awesome. It’s funny because the Blue Exorcist series was only every released with Subtitles in North America, and subsequently everywhere else, so this will be the first English showing of the franchise. Aniplex is schedualing a re-release of the DVD/Blu-rays with dual audio which will be broken up into two parts and are set for release in both July and September which means the first part should have already been released.
The actual trailer itself doesn’t give too much away about the plot but we do have the Official Synopsis from Aniplex of America:
Set at a time when True Cross Academy is in the midst of preparing for a festival celebrated every 11 years, a mysterious demon named Usamaro suddenly appears. Since Usamaro’s appearance, strange events have been happening across True Cross Academy. It’s up to Rin and the other exorcists to figure out what is going on before their city falls apart.
The supernatural, action-packed Anime is real popular all over the world and that’s why Aniplex of America has decided to partner up with Eleven Arts to screen the movie in six different cities across the United States. Places like LA, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, New York and Katy, Texas will all be showing the Blue Exorcist Movie so if you live in any of those areas it’s time to start getting excited! You can see the full list of theatres and dates here. Head down to the Featured Video section below to check out the trailer and don’t forget to hit up our comments section just below that to drop us a line.
Razer is pushing into the software side of gaming as of late, looking to branch out from hardware only initiatives. Razer Comms is one of their projects, which provides gamers with an all in one chat solution. With the help of feedback from over ten thousand users, Razer has updated the software to add file transfer, improved audio quality, and extra servers located around the world.
Razer Comms provides players with a instant messaging service with IRC style group chat features and VoIP chat. The software supports in game overlays and multiple groups, allowing gamers to keep their friends organized. It is available for free at the official Razer Comms site. Razer Comms requires a computer running Windows Vista and above.
The Arkham Games have all had one very important gameplay mechanic in common; the lack of any multiplayer capabilities. This lack of multiplayer split everyone down the middle, some gamers feeling that multiplayer is an important facet of gaming today, while others believe that a single-player experience like the Arkham games didn’t need it. Today Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment have announced that Batman: Arkham Origins will be the first game in the series to be getting a multiplayer component… and it looks like it will be AWESOME!
The multiplayer game is being developed separately from the single-player campaign and is being handled by Splash Damage (the guys behind the Doom 3 Multiplayer). The game mode will pit three teams against each other. The first two will be teams of three squad members, each from a rival criminal faction (either the Joker or Bane). The third team will only be two players, but they wont just be any two. The team of two will consist of the Dynamic Duo themselves; Batman & Robin.
The game mode looks to combine the stealth and combat mechanics that the franchise is known for, and introduce third person shooter elements. Warner Bros have been kind enough to provide us with a kick-ass trailer, which you can check out below. As a side-note, the trailer also gives us more of a chance to listen to Troy Baker’s Joker voice from the game (which I personally am a big fan of; it sounds like a younger Arkhamverse joker). Also, and this is fairly obvious but I feel it needs to be said anyway; this also means that Robin is confirmed for the game.
Warner Bros have been giving us plenty to get excited about for this game, recently the Copperhead character reveal, and now an awesome looking multiplayer mode. I sure am excited for Batman: Arkham Origins global release on the 25th October, 2013 on PS3, Xbox 360, PC and WiiU. As a heads up, the multiplayer mode is as of yet NOT confirmed for the Wii U version.
Again, check out the awesome multiplayer trailer below and let us know in the comments below what you think about Arkham Origins’ multiplayer mode; does it look cool, or do you wish that it would stay as a single-player experience? As always, stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Arkham Origins news as it becomes available.
Directed by James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson, Tower Block is a modern day thriller set amongst the backdrop of a low-income apartment building. After a sniper targets the residents, it is a story of survival and escape before they are all picked off one by one. Sheridan Smith (Mrs Biggs), Jack O’Connell (Wuthering Heights, 300: Rise of an Empire), Ralph Brown (Alien 3, Jack the Giant Slayer) and Russell Tovey (Sherlock) lead the cast through what is a formulaic and at times nonsensical thriller. Despite a conclusion that anyone can see coming a mile away, and some lackluster acting performances, Tower Block does well to always keep you in a state of suspense, never knowing who is going to bite the bullet next.
Story
After two masked men brutally beat and murder a teenager in the middle of an apartment block hallway, the local police are trying their best to gather any information that will lead to the arrest of those responsible. Fearing reprisal if they speak, none of the residents of the tiny, dilapidated apartment building are willing to say a word. Not even Becky (Smith) who tried to help the boy is willing to step forward. Three months later, the residents find themselves the target of a sniper who is organised, efficient and deadly.
From here the story is about this group of people and their struggles to make it out of the apartment building alive. The killer has thought of everything through, from barricading doors through to placing booby traps around the building. The plot is a little nonsensical at times, and the ending can be seen a mile away, but Tower Block manages to keep tensions high, and have you constantly worrying about who will die next.
The characters all feel like they were lifted straight out of a textbook on stereotypes. You have the older couple, the abusive mother, the teenager obsessed with Battlefield 3, the deadbeat flatmates and the strong single woman. These stereotypes and the characters themselves aren’t that bad, but not enough is done with them. Aside from the shock value of someone dying, I didn’t find myself caring for much of the cast. The only really interesting character is Kurtis, and quite frankly he is an ass. A lot of this might come down to the acting, as the performances just didn’t draw me to many of these characters.
The movie also has its fair share of red herrings, and what-if scenarios to try and distract the viewer and have them piece together the story on their own before the dramatic reveal towards the end. The problem is that the outcome is obvious, and there are a tonne of better ways that it could have been handled.
Visuals
Most of the movie takes place in the small corridor outside the apartments of the would-be victims. The hallways is dank, dark, gloomy and cramped, which adds to the feelings dread and desperation that the movie presents. The fact that the hallway is a confined space also leads itself to the feeling of being “Trapped.” When watching, I was constantly reminded of rats in a cage who are all struggling to get out.
The camera work on Tower Block isn’t the greatest. Everything is over-exposed and all of the colours feel washed out. The combination of the two results in a movie that is filled with a lot of bland colours, with a lot of greys and dull blues. You feel sad just watching the movie, which is I guess a double-edged sword, as it helps capture you in the moment and presents the feeling of hopelessness that the characters are going through, but at the same time everything just looks boring and uninteresting.
Audio
This film is distinctly British. By that I mean that everyone speaks with a thick English accent which can be occasionally difficult to decipher. The moments where it is difficult to understand weren’t too common, and typically only happened when the characters were getting overly frantic and speaking quickly. Regardless, if you are not good with accents then you might have a bit of trouble with this one.
When it comes to music in a movie, I typically have the belief that music should be present in such a way as to add to the mood or tone of the film, without the audience member necessarily noticing it is there. This is something that Tower Block pulls off sublimely. It wasn’t until about half-way into the movie that I actively thought about the music and how I had barely noticed it up until that point. Going back, it wasn’t because it was absent, but carefully subtle so as to do its job. Tower Block’s quiet, ominous music really goes a long way.
While the music is done nicely, the sound effects can sometimes leave a lot to be desired for. The main sound effects are fine; things like doors slamming or the sound of a bullet ricocheting are done near-perfectly. The problem lies in the subtler stuff. It may sound nit-picky, but the sound that a garbage bag makes as you pick it up is distinct, and almost universally known, and the choice to omit such a sound kind of kills the feeling of life in the film. It isn’t just one instance either, there are several moments where you would expect a subtle background noise to play, and when it doesn’t you are reminded that you are indeed watching a movie.
Extras
This version of Tower Block was very much a bare-bones release, with no added extras or bonus features to speak of. The only options you are given upon loading up the disc are to; play the movie, select a chapter, or test the sound. Also the menu text for the unselected options was a pale off-white colour which made the white highlighted text hardly stand out, resulting in a menu that was more difficult to navigate than it should have been.
Overall
I guess you could say that Tower Block is a pretty average film. The good balances the bad almost perfectly. Uninspired acting and largely uninteresting characters are balanced by one well-played a**hole. Perfect music is balanced by washed out visuals, and the nonsensical plot is balanced by the tension and stress of worrying who will die next. All in all, Tower Block doesn’t add anything to the typical thriller formula, nor will it be remembered as anything other than a B-Movie. Regardless, if you are just looking for a thriller to switch your mind off and enjoy, then it might be worth your time (unless you struggle understanding accents).
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
2k Games‘ non-stop barrage of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified news and media continues with a new trailer, aptly called ‘YOLO’ – “you only live once” for those squares out there… See it’s genius, because in the game, each soldier only li…ah, you got it.
The threat of permadeath forces you as the player to make the best tactical decisions possible as you call the shots and order your squad around in the fight against the invading aliens. In the video, however, it would seem this commander is not exactly fit for the job. Hell, he’s just plain negligent. Check out the humourous trailer embedded below and click here to read about 2k Marin‘s post-launch DLC plans for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC title, out August 20.
Earlier this month over at the Australian Penny Arcade Expo, PAXAus, us here at Capsule Computers were able to get an interview with the director of the latest Dynasty Warriors game, Dynasty Warriors 8. Atsushi Miyauchi is the director of the Dynasty Warriors 8 video game and has been working on the franchise since the second Dynasty Warriors game in the franchise.
Dynasty Warriors is an action game based on the Simulation game from Tecmo-Koei called Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It’s an action game where players take on the role of a lead character and battle hordes of enemies. It’s a unique series with a large fanbase.
CC: Could you please introduce yourself?
AM: My name is Atsushi Miyauchi and I am the director of Dynasty Warriors.
CC: What was the inspiration at the start of the Dynasty warriors series? And how far has it deviated from that initial vision?
AM: Originally at Tecmo-Koei we have a simulation game called romance of the three kingdoms and it about 14 years ago there was a talk about where the users would prefer action games, so we thought an action game based on romance of the three kingdoms so that’s how the game came to be. The company also created an action team called omega force, which is the teams name, and they were created specifically for the purpose of creating action games.
CC: You’re the director for Dynasty Warriors, do you think that directing an action game is much different to directing, say, an RPG or an Adventure game?
AM: Since my experience has only been as the director of dynsasty warriors i cant say much for directors of other genres, it will probably be a bit different. Previously I worked on a project called blade storm which is more of an adventure, it had action, but it was definitely more of an adventure game and from seeing that and the way the team worked was much different to the way the team works now. So I can sense that there is some kind of difference between the styles.
AM: As for Dynasty warriors itself it’s probably, as an action game, its probably its own genre of action game itself; so its probably even separate from other action games.
CC: With Dynasty Warriors, there was a tie-in with Hokoto No Ken (Fist of the North Star). Did you have any kind of role with that?
AM: Not directly involved with the project as I’m with another project team, but we did help review the game internally.
CC: As a game developer, do you play games yourself?
AM: Of course!
CC: What is your favourite game franchise of all time? Note: Translator uses ichiban here.
AM:Ichiban?
AM:Gran Turismo or Uncharted.
CC: Final Question: Do you have anything else that you would like to promote with Dynasty Warriors or anything else that you’re working on?
AM: For Dynasty Warriors 8, what we’ve added to the game, we’ve added an additional storyline a what if storyline for all four of the Kingdoms. It’s an alternative storyline that what-if certain characters or officers hadn’t died in battle. What would have happened then in the course of history. So it’s definitely original, originally made by us, so definitely can’t be seen anywhere else.
AM: We also have 77 characters available in this game, 10 more from the previous version, so it’s the most characters in a Dynasty Warriors series, so everyone will definitely enjoy it and find at least one character that they can enjoy.
CC: Thank you.
AM:Thank you T/L:Thank you.
If you haven’t already checked it out, we have a review for Dynasty Warriors 8 up already. The game is out now for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 devices. Dynasty Warriors 8 is published and developed by Tecmo Koei.
EA has announced today that it has signed a deal with football powerhouse Barcelona that will see EA Sports hold exclusivity rights to feature it in its games such as the upcoming FIFA 14.
“Joining a world class football club like Barcelona as an Official Club Partner is a fantastic opportunity for EA SPORTS and our fans,” said Laurent Colette, Chief Marketing Officer, EA SPORTS.
What this means in gaming terms is that players can choose the Barcelona team with new shiny in-game models and play in the Camp Nou football stadium.
FIFA 14 is coming out this September 24 in North America and September 27 in Europe for every platform but the Wii U. Check out the latest Barcelona trailer below.
