Page 4592 – Capsule Computers

Australia eShop Update for May 31st Brings us Vintage Zelda

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May 29, 2013

Zelda fans, REJOICE! Nintendo have brought back two classics this week to the Australian eShop, with those being The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages – which both originally launched on the Game Boy Color. If you act now, you can also get a discount, and since these two work together to share items and such – that is most helpful.

Also this week comes a bit of the usual fare with downloads for Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, some discounts on classics, and Denpa Men across the 3DS and Wii U.

Check out the deals for this week below.

Title		Platform	Available on		Price Point
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Nintendo)		Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console, Game Boy Color)	Nintendo eShop from 31/5/13		Special offer until 20/6/13: AUD$ 6.50 (NZD$ 8.50) Non special offer price will be AUD$ 7.80 (NZD$10.20)
Game Description: Onox, the General of Darkness, has imprisoned the Oracle of Seasons to drain life from the land. Link must control the seasons themselves to turn the tide of evil! Change seasons at will – like conjuring winter to cross rivers – to solve puzzles and explore the land. Befriend animals to aid you, collect mysterious rings and conquer eight dungeons to recover the Essences of Nature. Plus – link with The Legend of Zelda™: Oracle of Ages™ via passwords to conclude your quest. Unlock secrets in both games, carry over items and reveal the ultimate boss battle!
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Nintendo)	Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console, Game Boy Color)			Nintendo eShop from 31/5/13	Special offer until 20/6/13: AUD$ 6.50 (NZD$ 8.50) Non special offer price will be AUD$ 7.80 (NZD$10.20)
Game Description: Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows, has captured the Oracle of Ages to change history! Link must bend time with the Harp of Ages to save the Oracle, but the clock is ticking… Embark on a time-spanning adventure, where your actions in the past affect the future. Befriend animals to aid you, collect mysterious rings and conquer eight dungeons to recover the Essences of Time. Plus – link with The Legend of Zelda™: Oracle of Seasons™ via passwords to conclude your quest. Unlock secrets in both games, carry over items and reveal the ultimate boss battle!
THE “DENPA” MEN 2: Beyond the Waves (Genius Sonority)	Nintendo 3DS (Download)			Nintendo eShop from 31/5/13	AUD$13.00 (NZD$17.00)
GGame Description: The Denpa Men are mysterious little creatures that float around radio waves. They all have their own territories. You can’t see them with the naked eye, but you can use your Nintendo 3DS™ to find them and catch them. In this RPG, you can form a team of the Denpa Men you caught and take them on an exciting adventure across the world, in order to save the hero’s family. If you played the previous game, you’ll be able to transfer your hero and to bring all of your friends from the previous game into this one!
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games™ (SEGA)	Nintendo 3DS (Download)			Nintendo eShop from 31/5/13	AUD$ 49.99 (NZD$59.99)
Game Description: On your marks and get set for the world’s greatest sporting event as Mario & Sonic head to the London 2012 Olympic Games. Hosted within the truly iconic setting of London, the games are back, bigger and better than ever before, bringing even more multiplayer fun and excitement to friends and families everywhere.

Special offers

Title

Platform

Price

Available

Ghosts’n Goblins

(CAPCOM)

Wii U
(Virtual Console, NES)

Nintendo eShop from 31/5/13

AUD$ 6.50 (NZD$ 8.50)

Ghosts’n Goblins is 50% off for users who bought Super Ghouls’n Ghosts™ on Nintendo eShop on their Wii U.

Special offer valid until 6/6/13(NZD$ 0.30)

Toki Tori 2

(Two Tribes)

Wii U
(Download)

Nintendo eShop from 31/5/13
until 6/6/13

AUD$ 14.99 was AUD$ 19.99

(NZD$17.99 was NZD$ 23.99)

Zumba Fitness Returns with Zumba Fitness World Party

Dustin Spencer

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May 29, 2013

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Majesco are back and bringing their most successful franchise to a new generation of gamers. Today, it was announced that Zumba Fitness World Party would be the next big step for the franchise, bringing the top fitness title to consoles during 2013. This title will be covering quite a few platforms as well, seeing a release in October on the Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 with Kinect, and the newly announced Xbox One sometime later this year.

Also announced today was the first ever on-the-go fitness title, Zumba Dance – hitting mobile devices this summer.

This franchise will be receiving a complete overhaul since we last seen it with Zumba Fitness Core, and that is a good thing. Check out the details for yourself:

“Innovation defines our Zumba franchise strategy this year,” said Jesse Sutton, chief executive officer, Majesco Entertainment. “World Party’s next gen debut features an exciting new aesthetic that complements the game’s theme and brings the player around the world in an immersive exploration of movement, music and culture. What’s more, our first mobile tablet game, Zumba Dance, breaks new ground as a motion-based app that tracks calorie burn in a flexible on-the-go fitness format. Both of these products exemplify our vision for franchise growth—leverage new technology to create marketable, differentiated experiences on current generation systems while expanding the brand across next gen and mobile platforms.”
“The World Party game has always been a dream for us,” said Jeffrey Perlman, CMO, Zumba Fitness. “Zumba blurs the lines between fitness, entertainment and culture. As such, we wanted to create a game that explored different dance cultures from around the world. World Party unites the player with the global community of dance through an interactive experience that delivers both physical and emotional benefits.”
The world is your dance floor in Zumba® Fitness World Party. This engaging interactive game takes you on a cultural joyride around the world as you burn up to 1,000 calories per hour with more than 40 high-energy new routines and an unparalleled international soundtrack featuring Lady Gaga, Pitbull and Daddy Yankee. Learn to love your workout with this fun, freeing fitness journey that expands your horizons with an abundance of new and returning features.

Features Include:

40+ fresh songs including chart-topping hits, new Zumba originals, and eclectic tracks from regional musicians. Full soundtrack to be announced.
A new visual presentation complements your travel to exotic worldwide locations with an extraordinary cast of 14 celebrity Zumba instructors including: Beto, Gina Grant, Kass Martin, Melissa Chiz, Heidy Torres and Loretta Bates.
30+ cultural dance styles, from Cumbia to Swing to Hip-Hop and Bollywood plus new additions like Blues, Capoeira and Girly Funk.
The New World Dance Tour mode unlocks songs from each region in a progressive trip around the world realized through on location videos.
Streamlined Progress Tracker Plus tallies all your stats: technique score, calories burned, achievements earned, fitness goals met, and more.
45 new classes of varying lengths cater to your schedule while the Custom Playlist feature enables you to choose your favorite music and routines.
Low, medium, and high intensity routines tiered for all skill levels plus an expanded Learn the Steps mode with eight tutorial modules.
Two-player support on Xbox One and Kinect for Xbox 360 and four-player support on Wii U and Wii.
Unlock behind-the-scenes videos, artist interviews and souvenirs to stay motivated as you play.

Fans who register for their virtual passport on zumbafitnessgame.com get access to a $10 discount coupon off the game exclusively from GameStop along with behind-the-scenes content and multiple entries in the World Party Sweepstakes that will send one lucky winner and a friend to an exotic destination featured in-game.

I am still feeling the burn since my review of Zumba Fitness 2, and that one game made myself a believer in the phenomenon for consoles, even though I am a bit out of the target demographic. I am happy to see this franchise returning either way, as this proves there is still life in the dance/fitness genre. Stay tuned for June folks, as E3 will bring us even more on this fitness party. For now – check out the first Passport to Party clip as well as the shiny teaser trailer down below.

Insomniac Games’ Tips and Tricks for Fuse

Zac Elawar

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May 29, 2013

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Fuse – Insomniac Games‘ first new IP since Resistance was introduced in 2006 (excluding the Facebook game Outernauts) – releases tomorrow in Australia. But Americans have already got their hands on the team-based shooter, and the developers have released a helpful Tips and Tricks video, which can viewed embedded at the bottom of this article.

They will help you learn how to combine your Fuse-powered weapons to gain maximum points in the co-op campaign, master the intricacies of the wave-based “co-petitive” Echelon mode, and watch as Insomniac’s lead designer strategically leaps between agents at will, during combat, to elude dangerous scenarios. Insomniac intentionally made Fuse a challenging experience to master, so use these developer tips to stay a step ahead during frantic fire-fights.

Also check out our Fuse hands-on preview and interview with Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price. We hope to have a review of the full release up soon.

New Club Nintendo Reward Emerges for a Limited Time

Dustin Spencer

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May 29, 2013

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New Club Nintendo Reward Emerges for a Limited Time

As many of you know, we consistently bring updates on all of the Club Nintendo goodies as they emerge. This week is no different, but comes with the first new physical piece of merch to hit the service in months. What you see above is the Super Mario Accessory Box, featured with a bright green design with a dashing Koopa leading a variety of other famed faces.

You can get this prize now for just 700 coins if you live in the U.S., but keep in mind that this product is limited, so you might want to act fast. I have some old Nintendo Wii Remotes lying around that need a space of their own, so I personally think some of my coins just got spent. Remember, the digital rewards will indeed be updating on June 3rd, so stay tuned for that as once they are revealed, we will be sure to bring even more updates.

Amusement Park Content Available for SimCity

Zac Elawar

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May 29, 2013

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EA knows that everybody loves theme parks. Okay, maybe not everybody…I’m not exactly fond of roller-coasters. But, your Sims love them, and now you can fulfil their dreams of having an amusement park in their city!

The Amusement Park content pack has been released for SimCity and enables players to build the ultimate in innocent fun, with three unique entrances and nine different rides/attractions including the Bigfoot Roller-Coaster, Ferris Wheel, Carousel, Go-Kart Speedway and more. Successfully managing the park will turn your city into the tourist destination. Along with all these additions, there are five new missions to play through within the Tourism specialisation tree. Checked out the new Edgewater Bay map provided with Update 4.0? Maybe it would be the ideal location for such a magical place.

You can purchase this digital expansion at an early Mayoral special price of $9.99 right here.

Pixelry Hands-On Preview

Joe Morgan

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May 29, 2013

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Indie developers Evelend Games aren’t new to the scene. Though they aren’t a household name yet, they have worked on three games. Pixelry is their newest contribution to the world of video games.

So, “What is Pixelry?” you may ask. Originally Kickstarted back in March, Pixelry is an 8-bit PC game that plants you firmly in the role of a knight in Pixelville. Wanting nothing more than to win the hand of the princess, Arianna Annabelle di Grandigund Hyacinthe (yes, that’s actually her name), you’ll have to train and work your way up the ranks to become a renowned jouster and earn your shot at winning the grand tournament.

You’re initially given a view of the land of Pixelville. From there, you can go to several different locations. First and foremost, you’ll probably want to stop by the barn. There you can customize your horse and, once between contests, race to earn money. Though it’s relatively limited customization (pick three colors for the horse’s cloak and the horse’s color), it gives a great sense that the steed you ride in competition truly is yours.

Beyond the barn, you can stop by your home to view your statistics and customize your flag (also known as your heraldry). Once you’ve finished there, you can wander over to the store to get goods that will aid you on your journey. You could also head to the forge to upgrade your gear, even helping the smith out some to earn a discount. On your way to the tavern, be sure to swing by the academy and check your rank. From the tavern, you can sign up for local tournaments or schedule exhibition matches against other trainees.

Pixelry really is aiming to get back to the roots of gaming. Keeping the controls simple suits the game surprisingly well. You’ll only need access to the arrow keys, space bar, and escape key. The game would literally be right at home on an NES controller.

While menu navigation is pretty straight forward, combat is somewhat more nuanced. You’ll use the left and right arrows to slow down or speed up your steed while the up and down keys will raise or lower your shield accordingly. Pressing the space bar will alter the angle of your lance for a chance to get around your opponents defenses. After a few tilts, you can be sure that one of you will be taken off your horse, while the other wins fame and wealth.

Once you’ve made a name for yourself within the kingdom, you’ll have a shot at bigger tournaments, higher stakes, and so on. You’ll have to be sure to upgrade your gear. Heading into a tournament with a weak lance or shield could mean the end of you.

The graphic design in Pixelry is 8-bit to its core. Everything from you and your horse to the single-pixel townsfolk traveling the roads in Pixelville scream of an era long gone by when controllers were shaped like bricks just as the characters on-screen were. It’s loaded with charm and enough style to keep you looking forward to every match.

The music in Pixelry is light-hearted and warm. Though it sounds like it was generated using antiquated hardware, but it gives it a unique appeal and aesthetic feel that flows right in with the rest of the game.

Though Pixelry is bringing a fun, light-hearted experience to the table, it is still evident that the game is in an alpha state. A couple of issues hamper the experience somewhat, though I’m confident Evelend Games can easily work those out before launch. For example, there are times where the English localization could use some work. Also, though the game’s progress is saved, the settings are not, so I have to go in and change the language to English every time I fire the game up. There are also the occasional spelling mistakes that could be quickly handled.

Even with a few of these issues currently present, the game is a lot of fun to play and experience. This game is certainly one to keep your eyes and ears peeled for. With some more work and content, Pixelry could be a game that really grabs attention in the days and weeks ahead.

Company of Heroes 2 Goes “Above the Battefield” in New Trailer

Simon Wolfe

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May 29, 2013

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With less than a month to go, Company of Heroes 2 seems to be on a trailer frenzy with the single player trailer released just last week. Now the sequel to Company of Heroes is getting another trailer from developer Relic Entertainment and publisher SEGA, this time focused on commanding troops instead of entrenched with them.

It’s not hard to see why Company of Heroes 2 is focusing their trailer on its strategy and command gameplay with how over abundant FPS style games have become. Plus the trailer does show off a little bit of things players can’t find many other places, land-to-land missiles for example, though it would have been nice to see some actually commanding in addition to all the pretty graphics.

Players can watch the trailer for themselves embedded below to prepare for the release of Company of Heroes 2 for PC on June 25th, 2013 when players will be able to try their hand at commanding troops for themselves.

Dogs of War Online Reveals First Three Factions

Kane Bugeja

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May 29, 2013

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Independent video game studio Cyanide has revealed the first three playable factions in the free to play multiplayer game Dogs of War Online, inspired by Rackham’s Confrontation miniatures game expansion. The game will feature:

The Army of the Lion

The Barhan soldiers of the great kingdom of Alahan are the defenders of Virtue, Justice, and Light. Each day, their army fights against those who seek to enslave the inhabitants of Aarklash. Its emblem, the Lion, represents the memory of its divine ally, the Chimera, and for the qualities the legendary animal stands for: strength, courage, and nobility. On the battlefield, the Barhans are brave fighters, inspired by the feats of their ancestors. Their book of spells draws from the forces of the Elements and their knights, who are the dauntless heirs of tradition, never waver when charging at the enemy. Each battle waged by the Barhans is proof that with a valiant heart, nothing is impossible!

The Army of the Wolf

Whether roaming the wild lands or defending their territories, the Wolfen, half-man, half-wolf predators, instill fear into the heart of their enemy. Born to counter the unwavering ambitions of the Craftsman, the god who sought to overthrow order, they are the protectors of nature and the keepers of the balance of Creation. On the battlefield, the Wolfen are formidable fighters, guided by their predatory instinct. With deadly claws and fangs, they possess no need for clever tricks, but may resort to crude weapons made of stone, wood, and bone when faced with the technologically advanced arsenal of other nations. The Wolfen worship the moon goddess Yllia, whom they consider their creator, and they revere the constellation of the Wolf.

The Army of the Ram

A wave of un-dead, herded by lords reawakened from the grave, along with corrupt-minded living leaders make up the army of Acheron in all its macabre splendor. This army has its fearsome troops and the hunger for power driving the master necromancers at its side. With the Ram as its emblem, the symbol of the eternal alliance binding them to the horned lords of the Abyss, Acheron builds its strength century after century. All that matters to the liches and the necromancers who form the elite is the accumulation of power and knowledge, which feed their perversion. And the living who remain can only await their inevitable fate to be plucked from the dead as the elite’s most useful servants.

Each army will contain various fighter types, allowing players to build their own army, though harmony will have to be maintained or troops may desert your army. The battles themselves are turn based, reinforcing the spirit of the board game as well as adding a tactical aspect. Players are able to fight alone or play in a co-op mode in order to increase rewards.

Dogs of War Online will be available for free on Windows PC in Q3 2013. For more information, check out the official site or go to the Dogs of War Online Facebook page.

Atelier Escha & Logy’s latest gameplay video focuses on field exploration

Travis Bruno

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May 29, 2013

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Today Gust has released a new gameplay video for Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky and this time around the video is focused around field exploration and harvesting ingredients which can be used to create various alchemical items and complete side-quests.

As you can see, the field exploration remains mostly unchanged from Atelier Ayesha though it does appear that the enemies move slower than in past games. Anyways, check out the trailer below and if you are curious about the PS2 game shown at the end, it is worth noting that all first print copies of the game in Japan come with a code for Mana Khemia 2 as an early buyer incentive.

Sonic Lost World debut trailer released with gameplay footage

Travis Bruno

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May 29, 2013

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We knew it was coming and today Sega unveiled the debut trailer for Sonic Lost World which will be released exclusively onto the Wii U and 3DS sometime later this year. In the video, which can be seen below, the new enemies hinted at a few days ago are revealed to be “The Deadly Six.”

In Sonic Lost World, the blue-blur will have a number of new abilities including wall-running and vaulting over small ledges and leaving enough after-images to make a Dragon Ball character jealous. Currently little else is known about the game’s storyline but it seems to stay true the the old-school platforming style fans love with a mix of Mario Galaxy added in.