Man of Steel is just around the corner and it seems Warner Bros. don’t think we are excited ENOUGH for the upcoming Superman epic. After a brand new trailer, dropping just last week, we are treated to yet another bunch of teaser footage for the already much-hyped superhero flick. The marketing team at WB have been working in over-time on this film as over the last two days alone there have been three new TV spots for Man of Steel; each has given us a some brand new footage to keep our interest.
The TV spot, which you can take a look at below, has taken a much more light hearted and fun approach than most of the other promotional footage so far. For all the latest Man of Steel information as it becomes available, be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
Teslagrad is the upcoming platformer from Rain Games which adds adventure and platforming elements with magnetic based puzzles. The following preview is based on an Alpha build of the game and almost all of the information presented within is likely to be subject to change. Teslagrad will be made available on the PC and is currently listed on the Desuraand Steam Greenlight services.
What makes Teslagrad interesting is that it is a puzzle-based adventure platformer. While those elements are nothing new, the games gimmick is what truly makes Teslagrad what it is. As you can probably already guess from the title, the game utilises mechanics based around the basic principles of electromagnetism. Of course, early on in the game, the puzzles based on those skills are rather simple to work through. Though, they do very quickly increase in difficulty. The puzzles aren’t just based on activating things in the right order. For some puzzles, you have to also time things correctly. One example of this is early on in the game where you have this platform. What you have to do is make it so that it is repelled magnetically upwards, but before it can settle upwards, you have to change it’s polarity so that it is then repelled across the room whilst you’re still on board. The puzzles are interesting like that.
Some of the things that look like they will kill you in the game, don’t. This was quite interesting as there are these 4-legged spider-things that occupy a lot of the early game. Initially, they’re pretty easy to avoid; however, later on you actually need to get hit by them in order to clear an area. This is because they pass on an electromagnetic field onto the player character. Sometimes this is dangerous as they will magnet you into things that will kill you, but other times they’re necessary.
One of the things that are a bit odd about Teslagrad, at least so far, was that the story was told entirely through interaction within the game. For instance, right at the start of the game, the player is treated to a brief scene where a few angry looking non player character’s are running through a town and end up at the player characters house. It is unknown as to why it is that they’re there, but it is evident that this is just a reason to have the game push the player forward. The player needs a reason to kick the game off, and as such, the game gives it to them.
This is definitely a visual game, with a clear amount of effort behind the aesthetics of the game. At a glance, it has a simple vibe to it, one that is quite cartoony. However, once elements start coming together, you can kind of tell that the world has some kind of darkness to it. Even more, in motion, there is a lot of attention being paid to the back and foregrounds of each area, with visual elements gliding in the foreground as players travel, as well has having the backgrounds perspective shift subtlety.
By default the games controls are linked to WASD for movement and the arrow keys for your skills. As a control scheme, this is workable, but it really is not the most comfortable control scheme. Players should take the time to re-adjust all of the settings to their comfort, assuming they defaults are uncomfortable or confusing. However, for this play through, the default controls were used and they only offered a minor level of confusion in some instances. What is odd was that there was no controller support for the game. We have to remember that this was an Alpha build, so it is likely that the controls and control options will be expanded in the future.
As a gamer that loves audio, it was a little saddening that the build had not yet had any background music implemented, or if it did, it wasn’t working on this machine. For a game that is so bent on having an atmosphere, even having a trailer released about it, it was kind of disappointing that this was not reflected enough through the audio. I expect that the finished product will have a backing score, so this is just a minor disappointment that will likely be alleviated.
One thing that is important to take away from the experience of a game is the way it feels and the resonance that the game leaves the player with. As it stands right now, Teslagrad is definitely a game that will leave a good feeling and impression on any player that takes the time to play through it.
Football Manager 2014, produced by Sega, is set to be the first in the series to release on Linux, and to feature crossplay on Linux, Mac and Windows. This was revealed by studio director of Sports Interactive, Miles Jacobson on Facebook who said :
So the promised snippet of #FM14 news. As well as being on Mac & Windows, it will also be on Linux. With crossplay. One price for all 3 – so if you have a Macbook, Windows laptop and Linux desktop (for example) you’ll be able to play the game on each of those machines via Steam.
There was also some good news in regards to Football Manager 13with it being announced that the title had just become the best selling game in the Football Manager series, and Jacobson thanking all the fans for their support.
Unfortunately no details about gameplay or feature updates, nor the release date was announced. But as soon as any news drops, Capsule Computers will be sure to let you know.
John Leguizamo made history by participating in Super Mario Bros.: The Movie as Luigi. Sure, we all have our opinions on it, but as of recent, the actor took it upon himself to create a speech for the 20th Anniversary of the film.
In video form, Mr. Leguizamo recalls his time creating this legendary film, as well as the perils of shooting with the constant problems on set. It’s quite an interesting video to say the least, and whether you like it or not – is one nice way to celebrate one of gaming’s little oddities that has went down in history for being one of the first film adaptations of a medium. Check out the clip below and also our review for Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon here.
If all of the recent news about the Xbox One wasn’t worrying enough, it looks like anyone who is eager to import games from other countries is going to be out of luck when it comes to the Xbox One. Speaking with Digital Trends, a Microsoft spokesperson said “Similar to the movie and music industry, games must meet country-specific regulatory guidelines before they are cleared for sale. We will continue to work with our partners to follow these guidelines with Xbox One.”
This means that anyone who imports a game will need to have a Xbox One with that region’s code. It is worth noting that most Xbox 360 games are region locked but the console itself is not, as the choice falls to the publisher. This new twist is unfortunate but not too unexpected, and given the lack of Xbox support in Japan it likely won’t affect too many games.
Given the series’ popularity this was only a matter of time. Today 0takomu found a promotional poster which was released to bookstores in Japan that is announcing the anime adaptation of the romantic comedy manga Nisekoi which has been running in Weekly Shonen Jump since November 2011.
Interestingly enough, the manga has seen quite a bit of popularity in the West as well, as it is part of Viz Media‘s digital Weekly Shonen Jump and its digital manga volumes have been topping the company’s digital sales charts.
The announcement poster can be seen below and for those who don’t know, Nisekoi follows the story of Raku Ichijo who wears a locked pendant around his neck and the owner of the key was his childhood love. Raku is an average high schooler who also happens to be the son of the leader of the local Yakuza gang. However when he is engaged to a rival gang’s daughter named Chitoge, his current crush and a number of other girls around him start falling for Raku.
Tiger & Bunny: Volume 2 Author: SUNRISE Illustrator: Mizuki Sakakibara Publisher:Viz Media Release Date:July 9, 2013 Price:$9.99 – Available Here
Overview Since the first release of Tiger & Bunny in North America in February, Viz Media has also started bringing the manga for the series over as well. So far with Volume 1 we’ve seen that the story follows that of the anime very closely much to its benefit. Now with Tiger & Bunny Volume 2 hitting stores, does the manga successfully take the greatness of Tiger & Bunny and translate it into print?
Story As those familiar with the series should already know, the city of Sternbild is protected by a number of heroes that are called NEXT, a special type of human that has developed super abilities. These heroes participate in a television program called Hero TV where the heroes’ triumphant rescues and captures of criminals are televised to the public, but also where they compete against one another for the title “King of Heroes.”
When we last left the heroes, veteran hero Kotetsu had been forced to partner up with a rookie with the same abilities as him called Barnaby after Kotetsu’s sponsor was purchased by another company. The two reluctantly began working together but thanks to their conflicting styles and work ethic, Kotetsu prioritizing the safety of the public and acting on instinct while Barnaby cares only for television time and points, the two were off to a rocky start.
This second volume picks up after the events of the ice-rink and slows down the pace a bit to focus on the characters and their relationships with one another. There is a bit more focus this time around on building Kotetsu and Barnaby up as a partnership, but their conflicting personalities and Barnaby’s inability to see Kotetsu as anything more than a burden continue to drag their working relationship down.
It is worth noting that the manga continues to cover the material from the anime very closely and this volume actually contains the events that occur during the third and fifth episode of the anime, while the events of the fourth episode are mostly glossed over. The comedy that comes from the odd couple of Kotetsu and Barnaby continues to be the highlight throughout the manga, though this volume is more action and background oriented than the former.
There are a few new scenes and reactions included in the manga, but for the most part a number of scenes are skipped entirely and while Blue Rose and Kotetsu’s background are explored a bit throughout this volume and more of Barnaby’s past is revealed, there is a certain rushed feeling to the events portrayed in Volume 2.
Artwork The illustrations handled by Mizuki Sakakibara remain very impressive with the heroes outfits being nicely detailed and with a great deal of effort put into make sure the characters’ faces are expressive when they are out of their suits. The lack of sponsor placement remains consistent throughout the volume which means that, outside of Origami Cyclone’s focus on sponsors, they will likely remain omitted throughout the manga series.
As far as the backgrounds go, there are a few nicely detailed scenes and a number of two-page spreads including the debut of Tiger and Barnaby’s “Good Luck Mode” which is nicely detailed on paper. It is worth noting though that unlike the previous volume, there is an overabundance of plain or empty backgrounds used in panels.
Again Viz has impressed with their work with the manga’s translation and handling of the text. Each sound effect has been translated into English and the insertion of the English text hasn’t damaged the original artwork in any way even when the text is inserted over the image itself and not within a basic voice bubble.
Extra Content This second volume is unfortunately rather barren as far as extra inclusions are concerned. When readers open this volume there is a nice color page featuring Kotetsu and Barnaby in kimonos and a small image of Blue Rose also in a kimono. Outside of that there is a minor color image following that with a basic image of Kotetsu and Barnaby in street clothing and the volume closes out simply with a preview of what readers should expect in Volume 3.
Overall With the second volume of the Tiger & Bunny manga the status quo seems to be established as far as the artwork goes with impressively detailed character outfits and facial expressions, though the backgrounds in later have suffered. While told in a slightly altered way, the story of Tiger & Bunny continues to be nicely handled in this manga adaptation, even if it skips a number of scenes without much in the way of new additions.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Disney Infinity is the new toy based game that allows gamers to insert their Disney Infinity toys into the virtual realm. Monsters University received the star treatment today with the release of new screenshots,character images, and a gameplay trailer.
Monsters University is Pixar’s upcoming prequel to the hit movie Monsters, Inc. The series goes back to Mike and Sully’s time at Monsters University as they train to be the finest fear raising monsters. Like any good university, Monsters University’s rival is Fear Tech and there is a prank war going on for school pride. Mike, Sully, and Randy are planning to take Fear Tech on at their own campus. Fear Tech’s campus does not appear in the film, so game developers Avalanche Studios worked with Pixar to design Fear Tech. Along with the previously announced Toybox Mode, gamers will be able to experience Monster University for themselves by customizing the campus and pulling off pranks.
Disney Infinity is scheduled to be released on August 18th, 2013 in North America and August 20th in Europe.
Itching for those old days where arcade cabinets gulped down your hard earned quarters with reckless abandon? For the price of 200 quarters, 2000 MSP, or $49.99 USD, players can now play seventeen of Capcom’s classic arcade titles on Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace or the PlayStation Store. Fifteen of the titles have been in previous arcade packs and two are making their debut in the All in One Pack. No more visits to the change machine! Capcom has also released a new trailer to celebrate the launch of the titles.
With the announcement of the Xbox One, much news has been circulating regarding the new console, including much hype surrounding a patent Microsoft filed last November. The patent outlined an achievement system very much like that which already exists on the 360, except this time, incorporating various achievements for simply watching TV. Users could be rewarded for anything from watching a major event through to the completion of entire seasons of various shows.
Implementing this system would surely open up many lucrative advertising opportunities for both Microsoft and other brands, who would love nothing more than for their brand or product to be tied into various achievements. Interactive advertising such as this is an exceptionally powerful tool, requiring much more of the participants attention, and creating incentives for them at every step to continue utilising the service.
Aside from its appeal to achievement junkies, I cant see how the average person will be overly impressed by a system that essentially promotes excessive amounts of unhealthy behviour, and im sure the majority of us need no constant reminder of the amount of time we spend glued in front to our TV’s and monitors.
