While many gamers rejoiced when an R+ rating was introduced into the Australian Gaming market, there were also many who saw it for the facade that it was, realising that very little had actually changed. Those gamers who whole heartedly supported the decision were blinded by bloodlust, certain they would never miss out again on the sexual deviance and gratuitous violence that fellow gamers in many other countries had always enjoyed.
The classification board unfortunately has a tricky little rating up its sleeve, called RC (Refused Classification), which it will always throw on the table when controversial franchises like Mortal Kombat or Grand Theft Auto bring out new installments. This time around, Saints Row finds itself under the spotlight, with its upcoming title being refused classification by the board, and consequently is currently banned from sale.
The Government Classification Board stated, “Saints Row IV“, includes interactive, visual depictions of implied sexual violence which are not justified by context. In addition, the game includes elements of illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards. Such depictions are prohibited by the computer games guidelines.” While this goes a long way towards helping to keep violent games away from children, a classification system that can be simply trumped by a RC rating seems somewhat redundant, and still goes no further towards allowing consenting Australian adults to enjoy their games in the same format as everyone else.
The games publisher, Deep Silver and Developer, Volition are planning to rework some of the games code to bring it in line with Australian territory laws. Saints Row IV is set for release August 2oth for PS3, XBox 360 and PC.
Com2uS has announced the newest title to be added to their extensive lineup: Brave Heroes.
What comes after the largest battle between the strongest kingdoms to ever exist? During times of peace, the remaining Heroes who represented many powerful, cunning kingdoms come together to battle one another in epic challenges straight out of the blood-thirsty fights of ancient colosseums!
The game will feature two modes: RPG and Real Time Strategy simulation. The addition of online gameplay enhances the strategy aspect by incorporating friends, enemies and true-to-life interaction on a global scale. In order to advance through the game, players will have to learn to master the Hero along with items, equipment and power ups.
Brave Heroes features over 30 warriors, wizards, assassins and more, including characters from other titles such as Dead City. Players can choose and evolve their own personal Hero, each with unique skills and abilities, according to play styles and personal taste.
Namco Bandai Games have just announced that their latest title Storm is now available for download on the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace for the Xbox 360 console.
Storm is a game that puts you in control of nature, in what amounts an ethereal and ambient gaming experience, the likes of which are simply unheard of. It is a relaxing game that allows you to play either Adventure, Challenge of Spirit modes, each a pleasant delight to say the very least.
The game is available now for only 800ms , be sure to check your Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace here to buy it. Namco Bandai Games have also released a trailer for Storm which you can see below.
Less than a month after Grid 2‘s release, Codemasters have revved their engines and shifted into fifth gear with the release of the game’s first post-launch DLC pack. The Super Modified Pack is available NOW on all platforms and costs 480 MSP on XBLA, or £3.99 / $5.99 / €4.99 for PC and PSN. The pack contains four cars, which according to the developers have been:
Modified to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of the car by some of the world’s leading tuning specialists to compete in time attack events, and deliver a unique racing experience across GRID 2’s game modes..
The cars that are included in the Super Modified Pack are:
Auto Gallery Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) – this iconic edition of the Skyline develops a huge 890hp at 8100 RPM from its 2.8 litre turbo-charged engine.
Tomei Cusco Subaru Impreza WRX STI – the industry leading Aerodynamics kit from Voltex combines with a 4WD system to deliver huge amounts of grip and precision.
Mazda RX-7 PANSPEED– this record breaking car’s new engine is positioned deep inside the bay for a low centre of mass and perfect weight distribution.
5ZIGEN Honda Civic Super Modified – this lightening quick front-engine, front-wheel-drive racer is the ultimate turbo-charged example of the classic Honda Civic.
I personally have no idea what most of that means, but what I do know is that the cars look great and handle like a dream. To mark the occasion, Codemasters delivered a trailer with all of the new vehicles in action, that you can check out below. Don’t forget to check out our review of Grid 2, as well as head over to the game’s official online community; RaceNet. For all the Grid 2 news as it becomes available, stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
Cosplay, celebrities, comic books, and more – the annual Supanova Pop Culture Expo was held over the weekend, and here’s just a few little things we learnt over said weekend.
1. People love their Cosplay
Who would have thought that Australia’s largest pop culture and anime convention would attract cosplay from almost every tv, anime, movie, video game fandom imaginable? No surprise here, but people LOVE their cosplay, and it made for an incredibly unique show atmosphere and for a very interesting Cosplay Championship run by Madman.
There’s something about walking around a place where in every direction you look there’s a person dressed up as your favourite character from an anime series, movie, or video game.
2. …and will brace rain, winds, and the cold
Props to you guys that put in all that effort in making your costumes awesome – and bracing Sydney’s miserable, wet, and cold weather. Rain greeted nearly all attendees at this year’s Supanova and didn’t go away for much of the weekend. Shout out to the guys dressed as the 300 Spartans who wore nothing but cloaks and underwear as they waited in the cold and rain to get into the venue.
3. Should have brought my 3DS
If you’re an owner of a 3DS and didn’t bring it to Supanova, then you’ll be kicking yourself right now, and if you did then your street pass would have been going off the entire weekend.
Nintendo weren’t the only video game publisher present in the building, as Namco Bandai also had their own booth but, arguably,it wasn’t as cool. They lacked Nintendo’s beanbags and Pokemon seats #JustSaying.
4. Waiting in lines suck
Yes they do. Waiting in line for food, for signings and photos, toilets, and even getting in to the place; the lines at this year’s Supanova seemed longer than ever. And it is then no surprise that Sydney’s Supanova this year ranks as Supanova’s biggest ever event to date.
5. How to pronounce Alan Tudyk’s last name
Beloved pilot of Serenity in Firefly, and psychopathic killer in Dollhouse, Alan Tudyk is beloved by fans around the world – but how many know how to pronounce his last name correctly? As we found out during his Supanova Q&A, it’s one of his most asked questions, that and if Firefly will ever return. For the record it’s pronounced “too-dick”, and yes he pointed out that does bring up many jokes.
6. We’re all (secretly) Star Wars nerds
They say the world can be split between two kinds of people, those that like Star Wars and those that like Star Trek. But if Carrie Fisher’s appearance at Supanova is anything to go by, we’re secretly all Star Wars fans at heart. Accompanied by her very own entourage made up of the 501st Division, Rebel Legion, Mandalorian Mercs, Jedi and Sith alike, Carrie Fisher graced the stage to a packed out theatre. A crowd size only rivalled by Karl Urban and Alan Tudyk.
7. ‘Look under your chair’ moments are awkward
We all like last minute special guest announcements, especially when it’s Man of Steel, 300 and Watchmen film director Zack Snyder and even more so when announced that he’ll be doing a free signing as well. But what we don’t like is that moment afterwards when the MC says “now look under your seats to see if you have a token.” This isn’t Oprah (EVERYBODY GETS A CAR!!), and not everyone got a signing token meaning that only a limited number of people got to go for the signing. Sad-face.
8. The Hoff still got it
David Hasselhoff’s an 80s/90s icon that perhaps has an even larger following today than ever before. He’s a larger than life character and anyone who saw him at Supanova knows what I’m talking about. Singing his way into the audience at his Q&A, he talked at length about Knight Rider, Baywatch, and what he’s doing now. Putting his shameless self-promotion aside for a moment, The Hoff delved deep into a really motivating and inspirational speech that was honestly somewhat awe-inspiring. It’s not every day you get to see The Hoff live in person.
9. Deadpool rules
Out of all the cosplays at Supanova, Deadpool seemed to be the most popular. With High Moon Studio’s Deadpool video game coming out soon (like really soon), the merc with a mouth’s presence was more than noticeable with a many dressing up as the loud mouth mercenary.
10. Girls like Merlin – a lot
To accurately describe the Merlin Q&A would be like describing a fangirl’s dream, and that’s essentially what it was. The Merlin knights answered questions from a mostly female audience with a handful of males in the crowd, which made for a very funny panel. With questions coming thick and fast, everything from the boys’ favorite haircare products to what pranks they pulled on each other were answered – much to the giggling of the audience.
And that’s a wrap for Supanova Sydney 2013. It was the biggest Supanova event to date, and it will be coming back bigger and better next year. Be sure to check out the photo gallery for this year’s Supanova below and also on our official FACEBOOK PAGE HERE. Be sure to check out our COSPLAY recap and photos here as well.
“What would you do with one million dollars?” … in Gran Turismo 6, that is. Polyphony Digital are a generous bunch. It’ll definitely kickstart your journey to buying and building your dream garage.
But with over 12oo cars to be available in the upcoming Sony PlayStation 3 driving simulator, that money would surely run out faster than you’d like, however, it’ll enable a massive advantage over others who did not pre-order GT6 from Amazon. Not only will you be gifted $1 million in-game credits for pre-ordering from the online store, but you’ll also receive an Amazon exclusive 4-Car Pack, which includes:
Tesla Model S Signature Performance ’12
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7 ’14
BMW Z4 GT3 ’11
Nissan GT-R Nismo N24 Schulze Motorsport ’13
Click here to secure your copy and these great bonuses right now. And check out the accompanying trailer embedded below to see the cars in-action.
At Supanova 2013, we were lucky enough to catch up with Lauren Tom, the voice behind one of Futurama’s most loved characters Amy Wong.
She’s most renown for her voice work on such shows as Futurama, King of the Hill and many, many others she’s also recently been in Season 7 and 8 of Supernatural as Linda Tran.
At Supanova, she gave two Q&A sessions on both days of show, speaking about all things Futurama and answered just about anything that came to the audience’s mind, a real treat of fans.
While it’s unfortunate that Comedy Central’s announced that Futurama’s be cancelled again. Lauren Tom says she’s hoping out of another miracle to bring the series back for the third time.
Check out the full video interview embedded below!
Company of Heroes 2 Developer:Relic Publisher:Sega Platforms: PC (Reviewed) Release Date: 25/06/2013 Price: $59.99 (Available Here)
Overview
Company of Heroes 2 is the long anticipated sequel to one of the most unique and promising new titles in the RTS world. The series first came to my attention when a complimentary copy of Opposing Fronts arrived with my 9800GT graphics card a few years ago. I was immediately impressed by the look, feel, and overall structure of the game. It made for very entertaining gameplay and the weather elements added a deep sense of atmosphere that other Strategy titles failed to offer at the time. As a result it set itself a very high bar of expectation and I was very keen to see how the developers had approached this problem. This time around Relic Entertainment and Sega have teamed up to bring us what looks like just the right amount of what we liked, and just enough changes to keep both die hard fans and newcomers to the series very happy indeed.
Gameplay
The essence engine makes a real difference here and destructibility and reactive terrain is a huge part of what makes this feel like a sequel. The Essence 3.0 engine gives everything a DX11 sheen that just adds the overall polish that the earlier titles needed without making any unnecessary or drastic changes. Your zoom and camera rotation now feel much more fluid and worthwhile, as I found myself taking a greater interest in enjoying various camera angles than I did in the previous games. The new weather and Trusight systems add various tactical advantages and disadvantages, as well as adding more strategic options and satisfying ambush opportunities overall. This feels like a solid, tasteful improvement on a classic without needlessly trimming away anything that defined the original and worked well. Units are much more reactive than in the Open Beta and vehicle path finding is much more intelligent and articulated.
The Campaign focuses on the large scale battles that occurred between Russia and Germany at the height of the Second World War. Spanning several years from 1941 to 1945, it holds a much wider focus than previous Campaigns in the series. Beginning with the Battle of Stalingrad, players take control of the Red Army to engage in battles where Order 227 (‘Not a step back’) was of heavy emphasis. The missions (being historically based) have a certain depth and atmosphere that make them very engaging and the scale and co-ordination of the level design is admirable. However, there is a slight lack of variety between each mission in terms of play strategies. Visually they are very varied, rich, and interesting but in terms of gameplay its a slow trudge forward every time. But to be honest it doesn’t really matter, as the Campaign only makes up a small portion of the Single Player game modes.
The Theatre of War was where I spent the majority of my time. Essentially there’s three sub-categories within this one, and as a result, there’s plenty of variety to make up for what the Campaign is missing. Co-Op Scenario lets you partner up with a human player and take on teams of A.Is in a variety of situations, maps and remains highly customizable. It’s very fun and is a nice break from the competitive multiplayer element. Then there’s Solo Battles, which gives players the chance to hold their own with limited resources in harsh conditions, and A.I Challenges. The latter is incredibly fun and very in depth, almost to the point of being a separate campaign within itself. Here players are given the opportunity to choose either side of the conflict and hold a certain area for a given amount of time. One memorable challenge involved holding a point for four days, and depending on when you called for reinforcements you received bonus units for holding out. As the A.I had no victory counter, it made the skirmish feel like a genuine challenge, you start with equal forces but quickly finding yourself patching holes in your territory. Well worth investigating, is the A.I Challenge mode.
Skirmish and online multiplayer is the bread and butter of the series, evidently, and the main reason that players are drawn to the RTS world. Here a new matchmaking system is at play and its as efficient as it is streamlined. I was struggling to set up an A.I Skirmish at first during the Beta stage but after quickly noticing the small computer icon in the top right corner of each player slot I quickly worked things out. Once you do, it’s very efficient and jumping into a custom game is a matter of about thirty seconds and four clicks. The level system earns players unlocks such as new commanders, bonuses to add to one of your five custom loadouts, as well as vehicle skins and other special items. The range of maps isn’t overly extensive but it’s varied and caters for all types of player combinations. The game handles latency issues well and overall there’s not a lot to say, it’s the multiplayer fans of the series know and love, but with the gameplay and visual improvements that make it a definite sequel.
Visuals
Now visually it’s an utter triumph, in many ways. First of all the physics. Now as the Open Beta offered no access to the video settings, which was an understandable move, I was very curious to see what the improved physics were truly about. After jumping in and pushing everything as far as the rig would allow, I began to see what they mean here by improved destructibility. Nothing is more visually surprising than watching an entire office block spit chunks before falling of its own accord as the result of a misplaced rocket barrage.
I wasn’t expecting the physics system to be so in depth, and quickly realized this error when observing the level of variable physics detail in the options, ranging from ‘Off’ to ‘Maximum’ with several levels in between. The screen rotation and zoom turns this from an RTS into something out of a feature film in the blink of an eye, and takes on a whole new perspective when combined with DX11 lighting, textures and weather effects. The terrain reacts to pretty much everything and setting up a camera in the woods is a great way to get a feel for this. The unit textures are great and shadows are fluid. The whole thing is just crisp, and there’s as much visual variety as there is in terms of game modes.
Audio
The audio is of exceptionally high quality, as it was in the originals but much like the improved visuals a definite increase in clarity is present here. The music is also exceptionally well produced and compliments the historical tones of the campaign perfectly. A slightly newer addition in terms of gameplay audio that surprised me was the a new approach to unit dialogue. It’s much more varied and situation relevant than in previous games and even at times very funny. Tastefully so, as well, it didn’t feel like a noticeable alteration to a perfectly good series. Just a subtle bonus.
Overall
Relic and Sega have quite possibly hit the nail on the head in terms of releasing a sequel that both pleases the existing fanbase and makes some minor improvements to draw new players in and reward die hard fans with a polished experience. The gameplay and unit variety makes this one to delve into for a fair while and there’s certainly a great deal there to keep players occupied. When I first fired it up I honestly didn’t know where to start, which was a great feeling, I must admit. Overall, Company of Heroes 2 has made something special here, and with lots of post release support on the cards, this is certainly worth investing in, even if you aren’t too absorbed by the Campaign. All things considered, it’s an absolute win.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Muramasa Rebirth Developer:Vanillaware Publisher:Aksys Games Format: PlayStation Vita Release Date: June 25, 2013 Price:$39.99 – Available Here
Overview A few years ago, bringing a slightly upgraded version of a game to another platform was something brand new in the industry but nowadays it is becoming common practice. However rarely does a title feature a complete shift in publisher and translation via this transition. Originally released back in 2009 by Ignition Entertainment on the Wii, Muramasa: The Demon Blade has now been brought to the PlayStation Vita under the name Muramasa Rebirth. Only now, Aksys Games is behind the reigns of the title, the question is though; does this Vita version deserve your attention?
Story The story of Muramasa Rebirth has been unaltered from the original version of the game which means that there are still two story paths to play through. The game takes place hundreds of years ago in feudal Japan and the powerful swords created by Muramasa over the years have become highly valuable killing tools, creating battles amongst the various warriors attempting to own said blades. As demons run rampant and the souls of the helpless fall beneath demonic blades, two warriors move amidst the bloodshed towards their own goals.
As mentioned earlier, players have the choice of either selecting either Kisuke, a ninja who has lost his memories and is seeking revenge, or Momohime, a princess who has been possessed by the spirit of a warrior attempting to further his life by possessing someone else, only to be stuck in the body of Momohime. While these stories are individual, they do feature a few crossing points.
It is worth noting that there are still multiple endings for each of the characters, giving the already decent gameplay length of each story an extra boost by providing additional endings per character. Considering the amount of dialogue in the game there is quite a lot of exposition throughout the game and some knowledge of Japanese lore can be required to understand everything going on but for the most part the story gives us plenty of motivation to keep moving forward.
Visuals For those who may not know, Muramasa Rebirth is made by a certain studio in Japan named Vanillaware. Those who have heard of the company will likely know what to expect while those who haven’t will be in for an amazing treat as Vanillaware creates some of the most artistic and beautiful looking games through pure artistry.
The common trend in video games is to either make something extremely realistic or very un-realistic with strange proportions, anime graphics or something else but Vanillaware presents Muramasa Rebirth as something of a work of art. Every environment and character that the player comes across looks like it was pained on an oil canvas thanks to the impressive level of detail that has went into every visual aspect of the game. It is worth noting that some enemy types do become a bit repetitive but the outlandish looks of the boss enemies you encounter during your time in Muramasa Rebirth more than make up for the limited enemy types.
Audio It is worth noting that Muramasa Rebirth has not been given an English dub of any kind, rather than that Aksys Games has re-translated the title into what can only be described as a more accurate version of the original Japanese dialogue. As such, the voice work, of which there is an abundance of, in the game is entirely Japanese but this is fitting for a title steeped heavily in Japanese mythology and landscapes.
As far as background music goes, the title has a number of fitting tracks, which work well whenever the action picks up and provide a soothing feeling whenever the player is simply exploring an area outside of combat.
Gameplay Muramasa Rebirth may seem like a rather straightforward action game at first, but it tends to be quite a bit more complicated than that. Before beginning the game players are given the choice of two difficulty levels and it is worth noting that the easier option does dumb down the difficulty of the game quite a bit, removing some of the challenge so gamers looking for the full challenge will want the latter option.
The reason for this is because despite featuring rather straightforward hack and slash combat, players will need to balance switching through the three swords they can equip at any given time to make sure that none of them break during battle. You see, swords have a strength meter which rises as spirits are absorbed from the environment and defeated enemies and this meter is depleted whenever special attacks are used related to the blade as well as blocking. A broken sword not only cannot be used for defense but it barely does any damage to enemies.
Plus, switching between blades in combat can allow the user to cause damage to every enemy on the screen when done at the proper time. Plus, there are two types of swords available for use in the game, a normal samurai sword “blade” which is used for stringing together long combos and moving quickly around the area via dashes and a long sword which is slower but deals more damage and caries a sense of momentum when swung, allowing for more enemies to be hit by the blade. This means that sometimes switching between these blades can be crucial to defeating specific enemy types.
The combat difficulty is alleviated somewhat thanks to the fact that players now have the ability to customize their button actions, allowing for more a more comfortable playstyle, but as far as the Vita’s touch screens go there are no options available to use these and it is likely for the best as the fast paced action of the combat requires the precision of simply pressing buttons.
Alongside basic combat Muramasa Rebirth features some minor RPG elements by giving players experience points for enemies they defeat and allowing them to level up, which raises various stats and allows the player to equip stronger blades. In fact, there are over a hundred blades available for use in the game, many of which can be forged by collecting souls from defeated enemies and eating food to keep your spirit up.
The food not only serves as a way to create items, but also a way to heal damage and gain temporary stat bonuses by cooking food with acquired ingredients from the world. If there is any drawback to Muramasa Rebirth’s style of combat and the ability to explore multiple maps in a short amount of time it is the fact that many of the environments you travel through don’t feature any enemies and while the game is gorgeous looking, traveling through numerous maps with nothing happening can be a bit problematic.
It also is troubling that there is a decent amount of backtracking to be had in Muramasa Rebirth. As players unlock various blades that can cut through barriers that were blocking previously inaccessible areas and given the fact that the Vita is a portable system and there is no option to save anywhere. This means that gamers may find themselves stuck backtracking through an area and nowhere near a save point when they have to put the handheld in their pocket or quit out without saving when their attention must be turned elsewhere.
Overall Muramasa Rebirth features everything that the original title had all wrapped up in a much prettier and easier to access package than before. With a simpler control scheme, plenty of replay value, a gorgeous art style that is only accentuated by the fact that the Vita’s screen presents it perfectly and deeper than average side-scrolling action, Muramasa Rebirth surpasses the original in every way and sits comfortably as one of the best and most stunning action games on the Vita.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Christine Cabanos has voiced a number of roles over her career and looks to have an even brighter future ahead of her in anime voice work. You can check out the interview in all its video glory below. Be sure to let us know what you think of the interview in the comments section below.
