It seems like Play-Doh is finally ready to get into the educational gaming market, the first time in the 55 years the brand has existed. With Hasbro and PlayDate Digital working together Play-Doh has arrived onto mobile with Play-Doh Create ABCs.
Specifically designed as a learning aid for children, Play-Doh Create ABCs was developed with the help of Dr. Michael Cohen, an expert in preschool education. The game is designed to help teach letters and sound matching three modes of play:
• Write & Craft: every successful letter made transforms into an exciting reward. When a child completes a letter, they get the chance to craft their own a reward out of ‘virtual’ Play-Doh and save it in their personal ‘Create & Share’ Zone.
• Create & Share: in this mode, children can enjoy all the colorful, animated objects they’ve created by building their own custom pictures. Parents can easily share them with family and friends using the Send to Camera function!
• Letter Matching: the Match button allows kids to enjoy matching letters and pictures. By grouping letters with objects that start with the same sound, the game reinforces initial letter sounds.
With the ability to make separate profiles for each child and reports for the parent to check their progress, Play-Doh Create ABCs provides tools to ensure children are using the app to the full potential. Those wanting to check the app for themselves can download it for $2.99 on iPhone or iPad from the iTunes App Store.
While Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers had already been confirmed for PS3 in Japan, it seemed doubtful that the game would be seeing any sort of a Western release, but it seems that Namco Bandai Games America has been paying attention to where Saint Seiya is being followed, which is why the game will be seeing a release in Mexico, Latin America, and Brazil.
Mexico and Latin America will see the game released as Los Caballeros Del Zodiaco Soldados Valientes with localized Spanish subtitles, with Brazil seeing it released as Os Cavaleiros Do Zodiaco Bravos Soldados with localized Brazilian Portuguese subtitles. In addition to this Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers will also be releasing throughout Europe.
Fans of the show should be pleased to know that playable characters will include those from the Sanctuary, Poseidon and Hades arcs, while facing against enemies one-on-one following the anime storylines. Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers will also include combos and special moves straight out of the show, as well as leveling and improving their healths, strength, and Cosmos Power Gauge. The game will also feature online matches in the form of versus and ranking.
Those interested can check out Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers trailer that was also released embedded below. Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers is currently set to come out this Fall exclusively for PS3 in Japan, Europe, and South America.
The next set of DLC for Injustice: Gods Among Us is on its way with a release of July and while last time it was focused on bringing fan favorite Mortal Kombat character Scorpion to the fight, this time if comes in the form of a is a new skin for Superman and his foe from the movie Man of Steel. Yes, General Zod will be lending his skills to the arena as he faces off against the other DC characters.
To better show off the Man of Steel skin for Superman and General Zod’s new look, thanks to NetherRealm Studios‘ take on the character, NetherRealm and publisher Warner Bros. have released a gameplay trailer pitting the new Superman and Zod against each other.
Players can watch the trailer embedded below to see General Zod and Man of Steel Superman in action before the DLC hits Injustice: Gods Among Us on July 2nd. General Zod will be priced at 400 MS Point on Xbox 360 or €4.99 (£3.99) for PS3, while the Man of Steel skin will only cost 80 MS Points on Xbox 360 or €2.99 (£2.39) for PS3. Check out our review of Injustice Gods Among UsHERE.
Kiki’s Delivery Service Studio: Studio Ghibli Publisher: Madman Entertainment Format: DVD, Blu-Ray (Reviewed) Release Date:May 22, 2013 Price:$39.95 – Available Here
Overview: Kiki’s Delivery Service has finally received the Blu-Ray treatment, following suit of other titles in the legendary Studio Ghibli film library. Much like many of those other Studio Ghibli titles, Kiki’s Delivery Service is a coming-of-age tale that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. There is a certain universality that is unique to Studio Ghibli and that is heavily present here in Kiki’s Delivery Service. It’s a story of the adventure of a lifetime, the search for identity and independence.
Story: There comes a time in a young girl’s life where they begin to long for independence they want to grow up, often quicker than they really should. Kiki wants to be independent and in turn wants to grow up. It is common for young girls to feel this way. For one reason or another they are all too eager to mature often forgetting what it means to be a kid in the process.
The film revolves around young witch named Kiki as she sets on a journey of self-discovery. Over the course of the film she encounters different struggles and a colourful cast of characters all the while gaining independence, identity and a true home. It is as Ghibli a story as it gets, but it isn’t without its flaws.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is really a mixed bag for the most part, but the sum of its parts make up for the scatter-shot style of the plot. At it’s core it is a very simple story about breaking free and discovering who you are, but the layers on top of that can somewhat confuse the message a little bit, making it somewhat murky in the process. Kiki seeks independence and through that she finds her identity and through that she comes of age and through that she discovers what truly matters to her. It’s too much piled on top of one another, giving less importance to each point. Thankfully Kiki is a strong enough character backed by the superb direction of Hayao Miyazaki, which ultimately gives Kiki’s Delivery Service the glue to bring all of its pieces together to make a sublime film that is every bit as fun as it is touching.
The genuine sweetness at the heart of Kiki’s Delivery Service is what makes it so great. It is a sweetness that even few Ghibli films accomplish, it transcends the middling issues with the film, pushing it to greater heights thematically and emotionally. It may not be the best Ghibli film, but it is an incredible anime film to say the very least. It is hard not be swept up in Kiki’s journey and even harder not to fall in love with this heart-filled film.
Visuals and Audio: This is a great example of the importance of Blu-Ray to anime. Kiki’s Delivery Service looks absolutely stunning on the Blu-Ray format, further amplifying the already phenomenal aesthetics of the film. Studio Ghibli are known for their gorgeous visual work in the anime medium and Kiki’s Delivery Service remains one of the studio’s best outings to date. The sprawling seaside landscapes paired with the classic Ghibli character designs is a winning combination to say the least. It could even be argued that if it weren’t for Kiki’s Delivery Service’s inspired setting, we would not have gotten the seaside Ponyo film from Ghibli. This certainly feels like a precursor to that film at times.
Kiki’s Delivery Service also notably features a brilliantly composed soundtrack from Joe Hisaishi, the man behind many of Ghibli’s other great soundtracks. While Kiki’s Delivery Service does feel rather quiet in comparison to the more grandiose Ghibli music style, it builds a slow burning atmosphere that has major dividends in regards to what it adds to the overall experience. This particular release features the English dub alongside the original Japanese audio, both of which are brilliant.
Extras: This is without a shadow of a doubt the definitive release of Kiki’s Delivery Service. Madman Entertainment have packaged more special features into this Blu-Ray than you can poke a stick at. Included in this incredible release are a plethora of featurettes, behind the scenes vignettes, storyboards, trailers, infographics and much much more. There is honestly more content than you could ever hope for in a home video release and Madman deserve all the praise they can get for making this release happen.
Overall: Kiki’s Delivery Service is a classic anime film by all counts. Nearing 25 years since it first premiered, this is a timeless film that is every bit as good today as it was in 1989. They say the greatest films are the ones that never grow old, Kiki’s Delivery Service is young forever. There is a certain magic to this film that can only come from Studio Ghbili and it is one that has made it so that this film hasn’t aged a day in all these years, it is just as moving and just as fun as it ever was.
The Blu-Ray treatment was a long-time coming for Kiki’s Delivery Service and Madman Entertainment have truly crafted the definitive release of this movie. There is no better release on the market, it is that simple. If you are looking to pick up this film, look no further than this excellent Blu-Ray release. This is the release to own and for the sheer amount of content on disc, this one is a real steal.
There is something so heart-warming about Kiki’s Delivery Service that makes it such a great film to watch. It is that inner Ghibli sweetness that makes you feel, even just for a moment, that the magic on screen is real. Kiki’s Delivery Service is a magical film that will have you utterly bewitched from start to finish.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is a reminder of the magic of movies and the wonders of anime. It will cast a spell on you that you won’t soon forget.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
In 2014, writer and illustrator George Pérez will be celebrating 40 years of professional experience in the comic book industry. On June 21st 2013, Supanova Sydney kicked off with an intimate MasterClass led by Pérez exclusively for those with a Supa-Fan Pass. For those unaware of his work, Pérez has worked on Avengers, Wonder Woman and even co-created The New Teen Titans. Sporting an awesome M&M’s shirt, Pérez wasn’t shy of telling everyone he had never taken an art class and wasn’t even sure what he was going to do, but the result regardless was a very entertaining and informative illustration class focusing on how he likes to tell stories with visuals.
Firstly, he took suggestions from the audience to draw his first page. This resulted in drawing a story of an airforce combat, ending with a horse being ejected out of plane…for some reason. Pérez was open enough to admit he hates drawing planes and when he once had to draw horses for an Avengers story when he wasn’t used to drawing them. He did so anyways to challenge himself, stating that if an actor can’t ride a horse he will learn to do so for the film or the actor will lose his job. Pérez came across as a man who enjoys stepping out of his comfort zone in regards to illustration, as he knows it will often lead to improvement. He stated “If I’m cursing at a writer when I see the script I’ll be a better artist. The more I hate you, the more I’ll love you.”
Sketches of this plane story concluded with a cliffhanger, stating he feels every page should end with a panel to motivate the reader to want to turn to the next page. It also shifted focus on the pilots, focusing on the human element of the story. This prompted an audience member to ask how an artist would go around doing so with a character like Iron Man who has his face hidden. Pérez than began to scribble out an Iron Man page, showing the audience that the human element and emotion is all within the body language. He said some artists decide to try and put emotion into the helmet but he said that’s a “cheap” way of conveying emotion as a helmet doesn’t have feelings.
All this talk about body language moved the conversation towards facial features. He said every great character has their own noticeable silhouette and began to demonstrate by drawing the silhouettes of Superman, Green Lantern and Captain Marvel. He said every character should be unique and even demonstrated by showing the way he draws specific ears. He then drew the ears of Captain America, Hawkeye and Superman just to prove how important such a small detail can be. He even went as far to say that when drawing the Teen Titans he would often draw them all with shaved heads, just to make sure he got their facial features accurate. Pérez made note that these facial features is some aspiring comic book illustrators actually lack. While many try to be creative and put their own spin onto some characters, they can lack the smaller aspects that make the character who they are. He said in these situations he would be looking through someone’s portfolio where he’d recognise the costumes but not the characters.
After this and quick Q&A, George Pérez concluded the MasterClass by handing out the sketches he had just made to members of the audience. With such great attention to detail it’s easy to see how Pérez is such an influential figure in the comic book world, and this MasterClass really showcased is amazing talent. This informative and entertaining appearance will not be final appearance at Sydney Supernova 2013, as he will also be appearing this Sunday to give a seminar entitled George Pérez: From Avengers to Teen Titans at 2:20pm.
Tonight at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo 2013 Preview event, a small team of us here at Capsule Computers were able to attend a few panels.
One of these was the Merlin Knights: Arthurless panel, where a small group of the Merlin cast – listed on the right, except Bradley James was replaced by Tom Hopper – were on stage performing a question & answer session with a mostly female audience…the two male writers who attended felt extremely outnumbered, and oddly petrified.
The Merlin Knights: Arthurless panel was a rather entertaining panel to be in attendance for. The thing about these types of panels is that usually, the people anchoring the panel will talk a bit about themselves and their show, but for this particular panel, we were thrown straight into a Q&A session.
Now, with this Q&A session, we had kind of expected the large female contingency (apparently Merlin’s key demographic – women of any and all ages!), but it was skewed beyond compare. This fact led to some rather interesting questions being asked of the cast members. The best example of this is when an audience member asked (paraphrased):
What’s it like being in chainmail and the cold?
To which Mr. Hopper responded:
[…] I f****n’ hated the chainmail […] gets really heavy and you get really depressed […]
The panel had a really great atmosphere throughout it and there were plenty more hilarious questions and answers throughout the panel; from topics such as the boys’ favoured haircare products, the various pranks that would be pulled on set (Tom had his shoe hidden and was filmed searching for it endlessly) and each of their first acting gigs. Eoin claimed to play Jesus in a Nativity Scene play…at the age of 10! Jesus grew up quick!
The three showed a natural chemistry and were funny to listen to. Tom even made fun of his own character Sir. Percival’s affinity for being sleeveless, and even topless around the other men on the show much of the time. Again, paraphrasing;
The guy is sleeveless half the time […] he has to be hiding something.
In regards to industry talk, the lads were asked about their upcoming projects and dream jobs. Rupert stated his love for the pressure that comes with stage acting as opposed to film or T.V., before the trio gave us some info on where we can see them in the immediate future. Tom will be featuring in a television series called Black Sails where he will be playing a pirate; Eion a show that’s a “mix between M.A.S.H. and Grey’s Anatomy” called The Night Shift – created by some of the same crew that worked on Breaking Bad. It will hopefully premiere on NBC by the end of the year, barring any delays.
Overall, an extremely entertaining time with some very humble, humorous guys. Oh, a lady named Wendy gave Eion a stuffed Koala to go along with his Brainy Smurf plush that he apparently carries around with him quite a bit. He said they could be “sex buddies”. Yeah… that happened. Check the sire over the next couple days as we hopefully get to interview numerous guests and continue our coverage of Supanova 2013.
Opening night of Supanova brought to screen the talented Steve Worland; screenwriter for the film ‘Bootmen’ and TV series ‘Farscape’ and ‘Big Sky’, script editor and actor in the short ‘Rust Bucket’ and action adventure novelist for the titles ‘Velocity’ and upcoming sequel ‘Combustion’.
At the beginning of the seminar, Steve explained to the audience that screenwriting is extremely hard to write, but extremely powerful when you get it right. Steve described the cinematic style of screenwriting as “an edited, yet more interesting version of real life”. Which is very true, based the appeal of screenplays as a portrayal for how our lives should be.
Screenwriter Steve Worland.
Steve handed audience members a variety of stand-out scripts, such as Alien, to read through. With the example of the 1977 Star Wars: Episode IV -A New Hope, Steve gave a very detailed explanation of the three act structure required in all scripts to the audience. Act 1 consists of setting up the main character, Luke Skywalker and an inciting incidence that leads to him following his father’s footsteps as a Jedi Knight. Act 2 requires development of all characters, Luke, R2-D2, Obi-Wan and Han Solo as they cross paths in order to save Princess Leia. Act 3 draws together the final climax of Luke and Han destroying the Death Star and saving the Rebel Alliance, illustrating to the audience that the main character has learnt something that was imperative in reaching their final goal.
I thoroughly enjoyed Steve’s masterclass at this year’s Supanova 2013, as it taught me that scripts take a few months to get out a final draft, they should be interesting, unexpected, but logical and it is important to always stay one step ahead of the audience, to ensure that they keep turning the next page of the script. Be sure to also check out our interview with Steve here.
If you don’t know Steve Worland he is a fellow Aussie who has worked deeply in film and television both in the USA and here in Australia. He has written scripts for Working Title and Icon Productions and has also worked in script development for James Cameron.
CC: So how did you start off in the business? What made you want to do this work as a ki- *I was cut off*
Worland: Starwars! Yes! I was eleven! That resonated with me on a different level. You see at that age there was nothing like it! This cool science fiction stuff really resonated with boys of that age. That sci-fi stuff hadn’t really been around. That’s where most of us got the spark to get into screen writing or film-making, after that initial spark you tend to look out into the world and see the bigger picture of sci-fi. That’s when you start to realise you want to do it for the rest of your life.
CC: The movies of this generation; it’s obvious they’ve changed. Do you think that’s for the better?
W: Look you get what you deserve ultimately. The Batman stuff, the Spiderman stuff, it’s working…to a point. It’s just not working on the level I’d like to see it work. I enjoy the Batman films, same with the Spiderman films and even The Man of Steel but I just love the originals. What I loved about the original Superman was the characters! Ultimately if you can create characters that resonate with and touch the audience you’re onto something good. The movies are getting darker and grittier, we see it in The Dark Knight, what’s more interesting than that is the relationships between the characters like Alfred and Bruce Wayne, the emotional connection tends to be what really grabs people. You have to have both of those things, when you lean to much one way that’s when they tend to loose me.
CC: What character from the new generation of movies grabs you in that way?
W: Look, the things that resonate with you are usually the things you see when you’re young. I love Robocop as a character. He’s this damaged guy who is remembering the life he once had, he just wants to do good. You know? He’s such a tragic character and he’s also a big smart-arse, you need to have that balance, you need the tragedy and you need the kick-arse to be one! You want him to be cool, you want him to save the day, it’s finding the balance that wins it for me. I don’t know what the new Robocop will be like but I can imagine.
CC: Do you have a favourite style of storytelling?
W: Deffinitely for me it would have to be the action/adventure. We really don’t have a lot of guys in Australia that are doing this. There’s literally ten of us and we all know each other. We have this American Cultural Imperialism that has taken over the country. I love America, I do but I also tend to get sick of it. We all like to see Hugh Jackman and Russel Crowe on screen, we like to see Chris Hemsworth as Thor because they’re Aussies and we feel connected to that! What I try to do in my novels is take an American form, keep the form, keep the Americanism of it yet meld it with this great sense of Australia. You get the big buzz of the American story yet with the Australian element that you can hook into and resonate. You want to create something that feel familiar to people yet keeps it fresh, the audience has to be able to understand it yet feel delighted while viewing it. You don’t want to create stuff that feels cliche’, you want to turn that cliche’ into something fresh and new. That’s why I loved the movie Psycho; it took the thriller, slasher concept and twisted it around on it’s head. That’s what you’re looking to do. Everybody has seen everything.
CC: With these new movies being released are they doing that right? Are we doing the apocalypse right? We’ve seen so many zombie movies and now we have World War Z where the zombies are faster and different.
W: Well I think that’s why people loved 28 Days Later because the zombies were so different, they twisted the zombie things up. We had the original Day of The Dead which turned into a bunch of those 80’s zombies movies and now we have The Walking Dead, World War Z, the idea is that you can keep the old wine but you just have to put it in a new bottle, you’ve actually got to create something about it that makes it relevant to you. What am I going to create that will make YOU want to go see my zombie movie? Is it Brad Pitt? Is it the wave of zombies? You have to appeal to the mass audience.
CC: Well we have to finish it there, thank you very much for taking the time with us today!
W: Thank you! It was a pleasure!
We would like to thank Mr. Worland for taking the time to sit with us and for the Staff at Sydney Supanova for allowing us to use their conference room for the interview. Also check out our Supanova’s Screenwriting Masterclass with Steve Worland here.
Disney have today proudly unveiled their latest game to all mobile and tablet gamers. Where’s My Mickey is the latest installment to the hugely popular Where’s My… franchise, after the highly-rated Where’s My Water? and Where’s My Perry?
Where’s My Mickey? is being launched as a tie-in to the upcoming Mickey Mouse Cartoons that will be shown on the Disney Channel (in Australia). The game itself will feature small episodes where players have to complete the puzzles in order to see the conclusion of these episodes.
Where’s My Mickey will follow the same style as the previous installments, where players use their fingers to dig through the dirt in order to direct water to Mickey Mouse and complete the stage. Mickey’s water seeking adventures will feature additional hazards and mechanics such as: clouds, weather, rain and plants. The game will also feature 20 XL-Levels, specifically for iPad and Tablet owners.
Where’s My Mickey is available right now on iPhone, iPad, Android and Android Tablet Since a picture is always worth 1000 words, Disney have also released a trailer for the game, which you can check out below. For all the Where’s My Mickey news as it becomes available, stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
Ubisoft‘s free-to-play gladiatorial smack down simulator; Spartacus Legends is set to release next week on XBLA (a little later on for Playstation owners). Putting you in the role of what is effectively a manager, you are tasked to recruit slaves, train them up and enter them into a gladiatorial ring. The better your gladiators do in combat (see: the more opponents they maim and kill), the more fame they, and in turn you get. More fame brings more money, more weapons and more opponents to eviscerate.
We got our first look at Spartacus Legends last year, but since then Ubisoft have been largely quiet about the game. Today however, in lead-up to the game’s impending release date, Ubisoft gave us a brand new trailer for the game. Saying that the gameplay will be violent is an understatement. Despite the game’s less than cutting-edge visuals, the kill-moves look absolutely visceral, and will likely have you cringing as a man’s head is disembodied from its torso.
Check out the trailer below, and remember that you can download the game on XBLA on June 26th, 2013, completely free of charge. We will be sure to update everyone when the PSN version will be available so for all the Spartacus Legends news, be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
