Might and Delight, the studio behind the upcoming Shelter, have released a sample of gameplay footage in the form of a video for everyone to watch. The game appears to be about the survival of a mother badger and her younglings, and it looks as though players will find themselves fending for the mother and her cubs.
To quote the Press Release:
“We have been dying to show a lot more of Shelter and couldn’t keep things under wraps anymore. It’s still a game very much under development, but we’re thrilled to finally show some gameplay footage”, says Andreas Wangler, lead level and game designer, Might and Delight.
The trailer will showcase key game play elements such as the hunt for food that is the most important aspect of life out in the wild for the badger mother and her cubs. The more they eat, the more they grow and the more active they become.
“Food isn’t everything though” Andreas continues. “We also wanted to show you some of the dangers you’ll encounter where the mother must work to shelter her cubs from the perils of the wild.”
Be sure to check out the gameplay video embedded below for more info. Check out the Greenlight page for more details.
Rain Games have today released a trailer for their upcoming side-scrollingadventure puzzle game, Teslagrad. In Teslagrad, players are tasked with using magnetism and other electromagnetic powers to adventure through the game and solve puzzles in order to advance to the end. The game is entirely hand-drawn and has a nice steam-punk aesthetic to it.
In the trailer we see how a lot of levels have a kind of mood to them, enhancing the games atmosphere and giving it a nice charming feeling. It’s also interesting to see how some of the puzzle aspects are introduced in each of the levels shown.
All footage in the embedded trailer below is from the Alpha build of the game. Be sure to check out their Greenlight page for more info.
Deep Silver‘s Metro: Last Light made its long awaited launch on May 16th, 2013 and can be best described as a must-have game.
The game which now has over 1 million ‘Likes’ on the official Metro: Last Light Facebook Page, is clearly a cut above the rest with its now wildly popular gritty atmospheric gameplay. Once you enter the Metro, excitement and intrigue awaits.
We at Capsule Computers recently reviewedMetro: Last Light to which we gave critical acclaim. Scoring Metro: Last Light a 9 out of 10, we stated that “Metro: Last Light is a haunting experience with excellent combat all taking place in one of the most memorable settings you’ll experience in quite some time.”
Deep Silver have released a trailer highlighting the superb quality of Metro: Last Light which can be seen below for your viewing pleasure. It goes without saying that this is a game that you really do not want to miss out on.
You can enter the Metro now by picking up a copy of the game in stores now on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. So what are you waiting for? Enter the intriguing world of Metro: Last Light now and prepare to have your mind blown by the incredible experience that can only be found in the Metro.
As you may know, Tuesdays are usually Famitsu leak day and one of the pieces of information from the magazine is the announcement of a new fighting game called Phantom Breaker: Extra for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The name Phantom Breaker may ring a bell considering there was an XBLA release of a brawler spin-off from the game and an attempted English localization of the first Phantom Breaker game that may never see the light of day, though we did preview an early English version of the home release.
Currently no details have been announced for the game, but considering they are calling it Extra it may be an enhanced version of the original title, which may be why 7sixty’s localization efforts have hit such a snag.
Today, thanks to leaks from this week’s Famitsu, it has been revealed that Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate‘s roster will be expanded with two new male fighters, though new is only somewhat true here. The magazine has announced that Ein, the character Hayate is while suffering from amnesia, and Virtua Fighter’s Jacky Bryant will be added to the game.
These two join the previously announced Momiji as new fighters and Jacky Bryant is actually the fourth fighter from the Virtua Fighter franchise, joining the likes of Akira Yuki, Pai Chan, and Sarah Bryant. Tecmo Koei has announced that the game will be released in the West but never provided an official release date, but today it was also revealed in the magazine that Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate will be released in Japan on September 5th.
When some Japanese games are brought to North America, they are given limited runs and this means that it can be difficult to obtain a copy of a rare title if enough time has passed and no one is willing to part with their beloved game.
Thankfully with digital distribution becoming more common, many of these titles have become available for download and today NIS America has announced that Mugen Souls is now available for purchase on the PlayStation Network for $39.99. Who knows, if enough JRPG fans show interest there may even be a chance for Mugen Souls Z in the West. As for the game itself, I found it highly enjoyable with it’s over-the-top style and bright chibi visuals, though it may not be for everyone. You can check out my full review for it here.
Nisemonogatari Part 1 Studio: SHAFT Publisher:Hanabee Format: DVD Release Date: May 1, 2013 Price: $49.99 – Available Here
Overview The recent Monogatari franchise has become insanely popular amongst its core fan base with the coming of Bakemonogatari a few years ago. It introduced a fascinating, if a little disorienting, way of storytelling through clever conversations and haphazard camera and art techniques that proved entertaining enough for the series to grow.
Essentially a sequel-but-not-quite, Nisemonogatari is the next installment. While Bakemonogatari explored multiple character arcs over the course of the series, Nisemonogatari is just one story focusing on two, previously-minor characters.
Story The story continues on from Bakemonogatari, where Koyomi Araragi helped five girls be rid of their supernatural illnesses. This time however, they all seem to be doing fine as the plot of Nisemonogatari focuses on his sisters, 15-year old Karen who is a fiery tomboy in a tracksuit and 14-year old Tsukihi, a quiet girl dressed in a kimono who is capable of going hysterical. Known as the Fire Sisters at their school, the duo are essentially wannabe super heroes that look for trouble (particularly Karen).
A mysterious swindler, Kaiki Deishu, has returned to town. He was the one who originally tricked Hitagi before Bakemonogatari story and the curse that had befallen Nadeko Sengoku before is spreading throughout their city. Naturally the Fire Sisters try to put a stop to him, only to find it isn’t as easy as they think.
It may come down to personal preference, but I find the story developing tighter and more cohesive than in Bakemonogatari due to its single narrative and fewer episodes. The talking may seem drawn out and overly edgy at times, but unlike Bakemonogatari I felt that it wasn’t as obscure but rather more down to Earth.
Every interaction is genuinely entertaining though, with Koyomi’s encounters with his sisters and familiar characters like Mayoi Hachikuji always a whole heap of fun. The vampire girl Shinobu now has a voice, much to the delight of fans, along with plenty of fan-service despite the 300-year old being in an underdeveloped body.
She acts as an adviser to Koyomi, and seems to always be the one in control of the conversation. Nisemonogatari goes all out with the fan-service during conversations, but it’s done in such a matter-of-fact way you’re hardly surprised anymore.
Fans of Senjougahara will be disappointed though, as she hardly plays a significant role in the first half of the series. The other girls do show up despite the focus on the Fire Sisters, and are accompanied with the obligatory fan-service.
Action does happen occasionally, and it always surprises you how sudden and over-the-top it can be. The fight scene between Karen and Koyomi in episode seven, for instance, was absolutely insane.
To sum up the direction of the story in Nisemonogatari so far: less serious, more mischief and more fan-service while keeping the essence of its predecessor. Which, for me, is perfect for a side-sequel like this.
Visuals SHAFT continue to use their trademark art here. Quick cuts, bizarre backgrounds and head tilts. I can see why some people would find it irritating to watch, but it’s beautiful in its own way.
The colours are vivid, the scenery has incredible detail and they’ve certainly mastered the art of making a conversation somehow fascinating. When action does happen, it’s surprisingly over-the-top and violent, making you want to rewind those scenes and wonder how the heck SHAFT pulled it off.
What makes the show interesting to look at it is how they made ordinary places like a bathroom, for instance, feel almost alien. You sometimes have to pause at a new location to orientate yourself and to familiarise with the setting.
All this comes together into a package that isn’t pretentious or flashy in a high-budget way. I see it as pure fun and it really works your imagination.
Audio The sound work here is just as you’d expect from Bakemonogatari, where character voice is dominant. 95% of what you will hear is someone talking. Now that’s fine when the voice acting is skilled and you’ll be glad to hear it’s expertly handled in Nisemonogatari.
I have unfathomable respect to these voice actors, as the script seem ridiculously demanding. This release is Japanese only with English subtitles, so be prepared to challenge your reading skill to its limit.
The music works really well to complement the constant talking as in order to hold your attention in an anime like this, the visuals and music must work together. It’s funny that you’d be hard pressed to remember the sound track, because it almost becomes ambiance while you’re watching. The music is essential to the experience, but it never particularly stands out. The opening and ending themes are nicely composed too.
Extras The real highlight of Hanabee’s release is the packaging. Not to be overshadowed by the fancy yet expensive Blu-ray import over in North America, Hanabee have designed an original hardcover book case much like their Bakemonogatari release. This doubles as a collector’s item and I can only hope they extend this design to their other releases.
I’m a big fan of Blu-ray discs, but this design makes getting the DVD version preferable to a standard box, regardless of format. Inside are pages of stills, character designs and art from Nisemonogatari and two discs with 7 episodes spread across them. There aren’t any on-disc extras though, unfortunately, aside from a few trailers for Hanabee’s other anime releases on disc two.
Overall Firstly, anyone curious would have to have seen Bakemonogatari as this launches straight in assuming you know all the characters. As someone who enjoyed Bakemonogatari but found some of the story arcs drawn out due to personal preference, Nisemonogatari so far is a delight to watch.
Nisemonogatari panders to what fans loved about the original, whether it’s fan-service or the molestation of Mayoi, and injects a whole load of fun in the mix. The plot never seems as serious as Bakemonogatari’s, even if there is a threat to Karen and Tsukihi regarding the dark swindler, but we’ll see how far the story goes in part two.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Infinity Ward have released the behind-the-scenes trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts that they showed during their Xbox One Reveal presentation, which can be viewed embedded at the bottom of this article.
In it, Executive Producer Mark Rubin and the Call of Duty: Ghosts development team discuss the all-new world, story and characters, and take you inside the new, next-gen engine. We alluded to these earlier, but now you get to hear it from the guys themselves. Also, click through on the above link to see first screenshots and the reveal trailer.
Call of Duty: Ghosts releases globally on November 5th, 2013. You can pre-order early through the official website.
The team over at Parrot have released a film for their AR. Drone 2.0 flying device that showcases the variety of situations that the AR. Drone 2.0 can potentially withstand. In the film, we see the AR. Drone fly through the fire and the flames, watch as it starts dancing in the rain and through the thin ice before it never quite starts the breaking of the wall.
What’s interesting about this particular video is that it is shot entirely in slow motion on the Phantom Flex HD camera, which seems to be an insanely high quality camera capable of amazing slow motion capture. The rate at which this shot was filmed was at 1200 frames per second, which is an incredible amount and nearing 100x what the eye can see.
Lighting in chiaroscuro, a black set with invisible boundaries… The scene is set up. The singular shape of the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 appears in a halo of light…Its engines pushed to their maximum, the quadricopter takes off in a mad dash during which it has to brave the elements rising up in front of it, including water and fire…The extreme slow motion enabled by the high speed Phantom Flex camera reveal the magical and fascinating spectacle of the sturdiness of the machine faced with the elements: the flames sucked up by the rotational motion of the propellers; droplets exploding on its blades…The sound track, an astonishing rock version of Beethoven’s Ode to joy, highlights the beauty of the images and the power of the flying machine.
To create such precise images, Parrot used a high speed HD Phantom Flex camera for the first time.
As the video states, this video is a stunt and should never be replicated at home unless you are a professional. However, would you say that this is an accurate representation of the drone? Watch the trailer embedded below and let us know what you think.
I think that the content within this analysis should come with a warning, so in the words of the great River Song, this article contains “Spoilers, Sweetie”. This is because we will be focusing heavily on the events that occur within the final episode of the latest run of Doctor Who. This is an episode that has left us on a cliffhanger of epic proportions, and that has also left a lot of us with many questions. However, for this analysis, we will be focusing on the biggest question of all: just where does John Hurt’s The Doctor fit into the Doctor Who continuity?
As we previously reported, the final episode of the series was leaked early to pre-order customers over in the US, so some viewers have had an opportunity to analyse this final scene for a bit longer than most of us. However, the rest of the world has only had roughly a night or so to postulate on the identity of this latest incarnation of The Doctor.
At the moment, the consensus within the Doctor Who community is that he is the regeneration between the Eight and the Ninth Doctor based around a few facts:
The Doctor references that he does some terrible things.
He forgoes the name of The Doctor.
He is dressed in a way that resembles both the 8th and 9th Doctors clothing.
The 11th Doctor consoles him in a way that makes it seem like he is familiar with the things that this Doctor has done.
Now, if we were to take these as they appear, it would mean that we will be getting either a new season of the series set within the Time War, or we would be getting a spin-off series happening concurrently to the current run of Doctor Who. As it stands, either of these happening would be pretty awesome as I’m sure a lot of fans (myself included) are curious as all heck to find out what happened during the Time War. That period has the potential to be one of the greatest Sci-Fi action series of all time.
However, I believe that the fandom has missed out on a lot of the subtle hints strewn throughout the episode that reveals that this is actually the next incarnation of The Doctor, and quite possibly even be his final incarnation. Now, initially when I went online after the episode had aired, I kind of expected a lot of viewers within the fandom to have a similar view to myself based on what was shown within the episode. However, this was not the case. As I stated above, I am perfectly open to the reveal as being a previous Doctor, but the way a lot of things clicked together in the episode led me down an entirely different path.
Whilst re-watching the episode on the ABC iView to verify my theory, I noticed a line that the Great Intelligence spews out when he brings the 19th century Britain crew to the entrance of The Doctor’s tomb. He talks about all of the names that The Doctor has gone by and what we have to remember is that, contextually speaking, this tomb is of The Doctors future, not past. The names that the Great Intelligence is actually referencing are the ones that The Doctor has yet to be known as. If you listen to the line carefully, you’ll notice that none of the names listed are anything that The Doctor has previously stated he was known as. The Final Darkness, Slaughterer of 10Billion and The Cruel Tyrant; none of these are anything that The Doctor has yet to be known as.
Let’s look at those titles a little more closely. While it’s possible that as the incarnation between the 8th and 9th Doctor he did actually rule over something as a cruel tyrant during the Time War, this kind of goes against established canon. The canon states that during the Time War, he committed an atrocity and then Time Locked the event. While being a tyrant is atrocious, it assumes that he still led some kind of overwhelming force. It has always been assumed that The Doctor ended the Time War solo.
Now, let’s add the Slaughterer of 10 Billion to that. It’s starting to make a bit more sense, maybe he actually did lead 10 billion inhabitants to war as a cruel tyrant. However, the Time War was a war between Time Lords and Daleks, with a few minor time-traveling forces thrown into the mix. 10 billion is not a minor force. There aren’t even that many Time Lordsand Daleks. Do you know what has close to 10 billion people though? The Earth. While it’s doubtful that a current version of The Doctor would rule over them, a future incarnation might see it as a good idea given a certain set of circumstances.
And finally, let’s look at The Final Darkness. This assumes that he is an end-point. A final boss. The bad guy. The villain of villains. This is a point that you don’t come back from. You can’t just regenerate away that kind of evil. This is why it has to be the final incarnation of The Doctor that does these things. Not only that, but the canon specifically states that at The Doctors final regeneration he becomes The Valeyard. And while a storyline about a dark Doctor would be good, a more dramatic story would be the one about how he goes from a cheerful happy-go-lucky Doctor into the dark and twisted Valeyard.
“It was a minor skirmish by The Doctors blood-soaked standards, not as great as the Time War, but enough to finish him. In the end, it was too much for the old man. […] And he will have other names before the end – – Storm, the Beast, The Valeyard-“. This was stated by the Great Intelligence towards the middle of the episode, a version of the Great Intelligence that I believe is a future version of himself. It’s almost as if The Doctor hasn’t yet hit his lowest point. This seems to be a build up to something that will probably be revealed later in the episode. Quite possibly even the point in where The Doctor is consoling himself about the bad things he’s done while he’s rescuing Clara.
The first hint that I picked up on was actually a little later in the episode when Clara and The Doctor are traversing through the catacombs below the TARDIS. As the scene goes, they’re traveling through and suddenly Clara is taken aback and realises that she has a lot of memories from her previous self before The Doctor reset the universe in a previous episode. Now, a lot of fans would have just dismissed this as tying up a loose end from earlier in the series. I know I sure did. At the time, anyway.
The reason I picked this scene out is that later on The Doctor, The Great Intelligence and Team Britain have made their way into The Doctors tomb and The Doctor is explaining all about how time creates scars and how journeying through time is serious business when he suddenly collapses. Now, this isn’t a normal kind of collapse, if you watch the scene with Clara’s scene from earlier in mind, you’ll notice that the same effect is played as The Doctor falls over, indicating that he is receiving the memories from Doctors past and possibly even future. Now, it is my interpretation that The Doctor now knows what it is that he will be doing in the future and as such, this scene ties in directly with the final scene later on in the episode.
Okay this next hint isn’t exactly big, but it is noteworthy if you look at it hard enough. In the scene where The Doctor makes out with the incredibly beautiful River Song, she makes a reference about Clara still being alive because she is still mentally linked with her and that is how she is still around to make out with The Doctor. A scene later, we find out that Clara is alive and standing in an area that is rather barren and possibly an area where The Doctor has been exiled, or has exiled himself to. Those of us paying extra attention, will have noticed that it is actually Trenzalore. As far as continuity goes, this episode is the first time that he has been to the planet. If not, then the TARDIS might have been okay with landing there right near the beginning of the story, heck, even The Doctor would have been a little more okay with heading there. He’d definitely know the secret entrances to his own tomb.
Lastly, I have to admit that the conversation at the end with The Doctor and The Doctor does really push the point that what he did has already happened. However, due to the effects of wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey and the possibility that The Doctor had retrieved his memories from a future time stream, as shown earlier in the episode, it is entirely possible that he simply talking to himself in a manner that he himself would accept. Alternatively, it seems like he already did it because he has the memories of doing it because of the convergence. I will concede that this portion of the episode does contain some Evangelion level of meta-physics to it and it’s entirely possible that all of this particular scene existed solely within the realms inhabiting The Doctors mind, even if this was supposed to be all of The Doctors own time stream.
The last piece of evidence I would like to present is the way in which the final scene was presented. There was no resolution sequence; instead we received a cut stating that it’d be resolved in November. Add to that that The Doctor was introduced with a flashy on-screen display, instead of just being treated as a past self. We can tell from this that it’s possible that we will be getting an off screen regeneration with the 11th Doctor very soon. Maybe not in November, but definitely before the end of the next season. Either that, or we’re getting a spin-off series/movie. There is no other reason to add captions to that scene other than to introduce a new Doctor because the older one was not available to shoot a regeneration sequence (here’s a picture of Matt Smith with a shaved head for a movie role, here’s another story with casting confirmations), or that it is impossible for storyline reasons. Moreso, on the production side, they could have really cast anyone as that version of The Doctor, but we have to think about why it was that the scene was portrayed in that way on screen.
There is actually a hint here that Moffat has been alluding to since the beginning of the sixth season, or the second of the eleventh Doctors series, where The Silence states that The Doctor will fall at Trenzalore. We didn’t see this happen on-screen (unless you count the fact the he fell over), which leads us to believe that this Doctor will be dying very soon. Quite possibly even in November where the next episode is stated to air.
While it is possible that John Hurt’s portrayal as The Doctor is the incarnation featured within the Time War, and I still think it’d be incredibly cool if he was, it appears that a lot of subtle hints have been strewn out and about within this latest episode. These hints can be interpreted in such a way that will lead the viewer to see that he is actually going to be the next Doctor. It is clearly evident that the Doctor Who team is doing something with this new character, but if I was to put anything down on it, it’d be on the side that he is a future Doctor and not a past one. Also, BBC, Doctor Who Time War movie when?
