The heritage of the upcoming title is known for being brutally difficult. Players dive deep into dungeons and other dangerous fantasy locations to take on everything from skeletons and undead knights to dragons and more.
The teaser trailer, which you can watch in the video player below this article, gives us a few quick flashes of what appear to be a blacksmith hard at work creating armor and weaponry, anvil and fire in tow. Some concept art can also be seen through the flashes. It teases a more in-depth ‘Forging a Hero’ video coming soon.
Although many people are drooling at the sight of the new PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, there are gamers out there who will be sticking to their PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for a little while longer.
For dedicated Battlefield players, EA is making the transition from current-gen to next-gen easier by allowing for a one time carryover when Battlefield 4 players upgrades their console. Once they move to the new console, all multiplayer progression and premium membership content will carry over to the new console. This will save gamers from having to buy Battlefield Premium twice when switching consoles.
The only catch is that Xbox 360 buyers can only upgrade to a Xbox One and PlayStation 3 owners can only upgrade to the PlayStation 4. So those looking to change sides and play with the competitor will have to pay extra.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will of course be part of Ubisoft‘s presence at GamesCom this year and as an added benefit to the fans, Ubisoft will be doing something special in the form of artwork. Bringing in an artist to do live artwork during GamesCom attendees will be able to throw out ideas for the artists to use and incorporate into the art.
This announcement was made via the short video which has been embedded below and brings plenty of ideas to mind. Just what kind of art will be made will be dependent on what those attending come up with, so there is an number of possibilities. Hopefully someone might suggest a nice picture of all three generations of the Kenways having a great game of catch because Assassin’s Creed is all about family, right?
EA and Humble Bundle are teaming up to make a massive donation to five great charities. For a minimum of $1.00, buyers can snag a copy of Dead Space, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Crysis 2 Maximum Edition, Dead Space 3, Medal of Honor, and Mirror’s Edge. All of the game come as Origin keys and the games that are also available on Steam will also come with a Steam key. For those who beat the average price, buyers will also receive a copy of Battlefield 3, The Sims 3, The Sims 3 Late Night Expansion Pack, and The Sims 3 High-End Loft Stuff.
The Human Rights Campaign, watsi, the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation will be receiving EA’s share of the profit as a charitable donation. The bundle can be purchased at Humble Bundle with a variety of payment options including BitCoin and PayPal.
Things have been very silent from Telltale Games on the The Wolf Among Us front as we haven’t had much besides the screenshots from back in May. That however has changed today with the release of its premiere trailer, which gives a nice look at just who the main character is, Bigby Wolf.
Sheriff of the Fable-d community tasked with keeping its peace, players will be able to experience the chain of events that preceded the beginning of the Fable comics from Vertigo, a branch of DC, itself part of Warner Bros. From pigs, to flying monkeys, from princesses, to The Big Bad Wolf, The Wolf Among Us has everything a fairy tale conglomeration could want.
Check out the trailer embedded below, to see a taste of what The Wolf Among Us will hold before the first episode is released for XBLA, PSN, PC, and Mac. Those going to Pax Prime will be the first to see the game in action as it will be showing at the event.
With a much bigger world to explore in the next Witcher game from CD Projekt RED players will definitely have many more people that they will be meeting along the way as Geralt follows his path killing monsters. A “cruel and gritty” world that players will be exploring, especially the No Man’s Land area, the developers at CD Projekt RED wanted to ensure those looking forward to the game can know what to expect, which is why they have released a new cinematic trailer today.
“Killing Monsters” not only does all of this, but shows off a bit more of just how good Geralt is at what he does. It seems the No Man’s Land might just be as cruel as it sounds if what is seen in the trailer persists in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Though it will just be a matter of time to see if it is.
Those wanting to see Geralt killing monsters can view the trailer embedded below, while those wanting to experience being Geralt as he kills monsters will have to wait until The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt releases in 2014 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Mad Max, Avalanche Studios and Warner Bros. upcoming open-world action game set in the universe of those unforgettable movies is still a little while away from being released. However, that doesn’t stop us from enjoying some sweet wasteland storytelling while we patiently wait.
In conjunction with DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. have begun publishing a motion comic that will serve as a prequel to the game. The story will Introduce and follow the exploits of Chumbucket, the driven yet unusual mechanic who will be a major player in the upcoming title.
The motion comic is being penned by Tom Taylor (Who also works on the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel book) and illustrator Jason Shawn Alexander (who currently works on the digital-exclusive Legends of the Dark Knight). With such a wealth of talent behind them it would be hard to imagine the story not being 100% awesome. For our lucky readers out there, we have embedded the first two chapters of the motion comic right here. Check out chapter 1 below.
Pretty badass right? Well if you still want more, then be sure to check out Chapter 2 below. Warner Bros. will be putting out a few more of these until the Mad Max game launches next year, so for all the Mad Max news (be it video game, movie or comic book) stay tuned to Capsule Computers. Also, don’t forget to check out the first gameplay trailer for Mad Max right here.
Sage Fusion 2 Developer:Kidalang Publisher: Kidalang Platforms: iOS (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad), Blackberry Z10 – Reviewed on iPad Release Date: 14th August 2013 Price: $1.99 – Available Here
Overview Enter, once again, a galaxy of social turmoil. Church and government hold equal ground and stalwart supporters of each clash over ideals. Join a crew that doesn’t feel very strongly about either and follow as they are thrown into a battle much bigger than themselves.
You know it’s for real when Hymns are involved
Story Continuing on from Sage Fusion, the story begins with merchant Marlon Zigler and his trusted bodyguard Alvonse Brin on their way to a very important meeting. However the rendesvous with their client Mr Heinlein is delayed when their spaceship, the titular Sage Fusion, is stolen. Matters are made much worse when Marlon’s pride and joy returns to Capistad…very fast. Having drawn the attention of the Citywatch, Marlon and Alvonse must use ‘inventive’ means in order to reacquire their crashed ship.
Their quest eventually brings them to cross paths with Vientiane, a Tarrant agent seen in the opening of Sage Fusion. After having met some unfortunate circumstances of her own, she is kidnapped and placed in the completely pleasant sounding, and in no way suspiciously named “Compassion Centre”. Naturally, it is up to Alvonse to rescue the damsel from the clutches of evil. Worse, an evil disguised as good.
Try and guess who the protagonists are
The situation only escalates from there. Alvonse and friends must now deal with two of the most dangerous aspects of space…religion and politics. Amidst the chaos of interplanetary combat, the game explores the fragile balance and confusing results of a society torn between faith and economy, as well as raising some very interesting questions regarding the nature of humans. What classifies as a human? How much influence should religion have on society? Are the masses stupid, or just clinging to hope?
Similar to the first game, story is expressed through written dialogue. Also like the first game, there is the occasional grammatical error. Whilst this isn’t a particularly big deal, it can subtract from the dramatic moments. Such as when a character exclaims, “It would have been a very big trouble,” or “You arrive just in time.” The game will also quite randomly alter tense and sometimes switch between first and third person.
God Universal…it’s like God+1
Gameplay Sage Fusion 2 features the same gameplay style as the first. In order to move around the overworld, simply tap where you wish to walk. Entrances to new areas will be indicated by a flashing dual arrow, which can be tapped again to proceed. Clicking on various points of interest, like people and items, will unlock new option, such as talking to people and picking up items.
The game also includes some minor puzzle element. Occasionally in order to pass through areas, certain objects or actions are required. Though it is possible to miss the needed conditions, the game is generally lenient, with characters repeating facts that might be helpful ie Hints. The few side quests have similar elements, requiring a decent amount of backtracking and collection.
Not the classiest merchant in the galaxy
When combat is engaged, the player characters take the left of the screen and enemies take the right. Like moving, combat is controlled by tapping. Players are able to attack, use items (such as healing kits and grenades) or simply pass. Each character possesses a list of available attacks, from singular strikes, to rapid fire assaults which damge every enemy in battle. Each of these moves costs a different amount of Attack Points (AP), limiting the use of the more powerful techniques.
With each attack launched, a shield icon appears above the enemies head. The goal being to tap the icon as close to the start of an attack as possible. Tap too early, the attack does less damage, too late and and the enemies will block your attack. This same principle is applied to blocking. Also, by successfully blocking an enemies attack players can regain AP, allowing them access to higher grade attacks.
Omniblaster!? Yeah, they don’t stand a chance
Visuals and Audio Sage Fusion possesses a unique hand-drawn style…Most likely stemming from the fact that it’s hand drawn. The backgrounds are detailed and varied. Each individual screen is. At certain points of the story, the game cuts to large illustrations of character above their dialogue, usually denoting an important conversation. The game also displays detailed illustrations for critical events, such as discussions of Alvonse’s past. Character animation is also handled very well. During combat, attacks are animated smoothly and each move possess a unique animation.
The game possesses a very dramatic sound track. Whilst exploring Capistad, a grand orchestral tune can be heard. Trumpets, violins and piano create a surprisingly intricate and robust soundtrack. This gives the world a grander sense of scale and creates a certain dramatic flare. Certain tunes also fittingly possess an underlying sci-fi vibe.
In the way of sound effects the game is fairly sparse. There’s the classic explosions, punches and alarms. All the trademarks of action. Having said that, due to there only being written dialogue, the game can feel quiet at times.
I walk a lonely road…
Overall Sage Fusion 2 is more intricate than the simplistic gameplay lets on. Despite the futuristic setting, the core of the game revolves around the conflict between religion and politics, and all those caught in between. Characters are explored, bad guys are punched and t-shirts are sold (it’s a side quest thing). All in all, Sage Fusion 2 is an interesting game that raises some valid philosophical points and lets you shoot space thugs with dual pistols. Awesome.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
The sequel of the highly controversial I Spit On Your Grave has gotten a second official trailer that is sure to keep horror fans on the edge of their seats! From Anchor Bay and CineTel Films, I Spit On Your Grave 2 is a horror flick from the rape & revenge subgenre. The basic idea is girl gets raped, girl kills bad guys. I guess you can say it’s like the complete opposite of Warm Bodies or something. While the previous I Spit On Your Grave was a remake of the 1978 film (known as Day of the Woman before it’s re-naming and re-release), this story is completely original.
Synopsis: Naturally beautiful, Jessica (Dallender) has just settled into New York where she, like many other young women, is trying to make it as a model. But what starts out as an innocent and simple photo shoot soon turns into something disturbingly unthinkable! Raped, tortured and kidnapped to a foreign country, Jessica is buried alive and left to die. Against all odds, she manages to escape. Severely injured, she will have to tap into the darkest places of the human psyche to not only survive, but to exact her revenge…
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is story of two brothers who set off to find a tree which can cure their sick father. In this modern fairytale, you control both brothers, solving puzzles and heading across the game’s vast landscape. The game is filled with beauty and horror, love, loss and sadness and is an experience unlike any other on Xbox. Unfortunately the game is ultimately let down by its frustrating controls, which results in an experience that is far more fun to watch than it is to play.
Story
Brothers is a modern take on the fairy tales that your parents used to read to you as a child. It has all the things you would expect; trolls, rolling countrysides, big bad wolves, giants, and a life lesson about the world around us. Although the game begins with a tragedy, the beginning sequences are still brightly lit and have a kind of charm and carefree nature to them that makes you feel safe and happy. This false sense of security makes the game’s eventual turn into dark territory really jarring.
The game’s pace is fantastic, and the sudden shift in tone isn’t jarring because it doesn’t flow with everything beforehand or anything like that, but simply because the developers wanted you to feel safe in this world, and that is suddenly stripped away from you. The point that I noticed that “We aren’t in Kansas anymore” was when I saw a man tied to a tree preparing to hang himself. Having just come from saving a happy duo of trolls, this was quite a shock and even without the game prompting me, I rushed towards the man, even though it was completely out of the way of where I was supposed to be heading.
Moments like this happen several times through the game (usually accompanied by an achievement for you hunters out there), and they are the kind of moments that allow you “take the good with the bad.” a brightly coloured landscape may have a man about to hang himself, but a dark and twisted forest may lead to something beautiful.
There is no dialogue in Brothers, not a single bit. The closest you get to actual speaking is when the brothers talk in a nonsensical language (without any subtitle translation). I initially was taken back by this, and was disappointed in it. However as I got into the game, I saw that the non-verbal communication plays a huge part. Everything from how the brothers react to certain objects, through to characters and threats looming in the distance. Brothers masters the art of the non-verbal communication, and this allows the player to flesh out the story on their own, as well as projecting their own imagination into the setting.
The brothers each act differently to any situation, which allows character building and depth to shine through even without a single word being uttered. Be it mourning over the death of a friend, or playing basketball with a kid from the next village, the brothers react differently and uniquely to the situation at hand. This becomes prevalent later as the game goes on its dark path.
Gameplay
Underneath its vibrant, fairy tale setting, Brothers is a puzzle game. You control the two nameless brothers on their journey across the land, utilising their strengths and weaknesses to solve puzzles and get ever closer to the tree that will save your father’s life. There is no real combat in Brothers, where even the boss fights are simply just puzzles you have to solve more expediently than others.
In order to solve the puzzles, and traverse the game’s surprisingly large world, you control both brothers simultaneously. That’s right, your job is to maneuver two players simultaneously. Each brother’s movements are mapped to a different thumbstick, which they also have their own interaction button. ‘Older Brother’ is controlled using the left side of the controller, while ‘Younger Brother’ is done using the right. The controls are simple, fluid, and responsive but they do suffer from one huge problem: they are incredibly frustrating.
Despite the ease of control and the simplicity behind the game, moving the brothers along feels like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time. You will probably think to yourself that it is an easy thing to move two characters at once, but you couldn’t be further from the truth. All it takes is the briefest lapse of concentration and you will be running one of your characters into a wall, or dropping him from a ledge, putting a premature end to the puzzle you are trying to solve. While I was playing, I was trying to tell myself “it is ok, you’ll get used to it,” but you just don’t. Moving two completely different characters at the same time is foreign and the brain and fingers just don’t like it. It is especially bad if for some reason the brothers cross paths on screen, my brain flipped out whenever it happened and it took me a few moments of wagging my thumbs around on the control sticks to regain proper control.
I also had some troubles trying to get used to how the camera moves. Camera controls are mapped to LB/RB and rotate around in a circle when you press the corresponding direction. The problem is that (for me at least) the direction the camera moved felt awkward. Pressing LB would cause the camera to spin anti-clockwise, while pressing RB moved it clockwise. It, much like the other controls in the game just felt foreign and unintuitive.
Visuals
The landscapes and backdrops for Brothers are to put it mildly; absolutely beautiful. From a viking/nording inspired township through to cliffs littered with the corpses of fallen giants, everything looks like a wonderful piece of artwork. There were many times through the game where I would just stop and stare off into the distance, taking in the beauty and wonder that the game was showing me.
Lighting plays a big part in the game’s beauty. Even though the game had a distinctly cartoonish feel, the golden glow of a sunset against the leaves of a tree just looked so real and natural. The beauty of the landscapes also allowed for some amazing juxtaposition with the darkness of the world, and vice versa. There is a definite emotional feeling after overcoming a hardship, to be greeted with a beautiful sight, and Brothers catches it perfectly.
The only problem with the visuals is that the same love isn’t put onto the character the models. Although the brothers in particular still look great, they are no where near as refined and great looking as the world around them. Usually this is not noticable as the camera stays a nice distance away from the brothers, but still those moments where we are looking at their faces and clothes up close make them look flat and uninspired.
Audio
The music for Brothers is expertly composed, and insights the same emotional experience that the visuals do. The combination of a beautiful backdrop and soft, humbling music is enough to just make you stop and stare for minutes on end. Conversely, the feeling of a brightly lit, colourful area can be sapped immediately by somber, depressing music.
Music captures people in a way that no other art form can, and its use here proves that. Without the background sounds, the game would just simply not be the experience that it is.
Overall
With its themes of love and loss, as well as a story that is largely left up to the player to interpret, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is definitely a modern fairytale in every sense of the world. Its gorgeous backdrops and engaging characters make this not only a worthy title to download, but make it more than worthy of being the first game released in this year’s Summer of Arcade. It dares to be different with its controls and gameplay, and although it doesn’t always hit the mark, kudos have to be given for trying. Brothers could very well be Xbox’s answer to Playstation’s Journey, a unique experience unlike anything else available on the console. Sadly, I think that Brothers will always be remembered for its shortcomings, which is a shame because what it does well, it does really really well.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
