Unfortunate news for fans of the Mother/Earthbound series. Shigesato Itoi, the creator of the franchise, has taken to twitter to kill all speculation of a potential fourth installment of the unique RPG series, claiming that a Mother 4 game is “impossible”.
Many fans have speculated a possible Mother 4 game could release on the Wii U console, but it appears that all hopes of that have been quelled. It should be kept in mind however that Itoi may simply not be involved with a potential fourth installment.
Itoi has not given further explanation as to why he feels Mother 4 coming to fruition is impossible, so it is still up in the air as to what exactly he means by such a statement. We will keep you updated on this story as it develops.
Currently airing anime series Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet has a character design competition courtesy of Japanese art website pixiv. Artists who think they have what it takes can submit their design of a crew member on the Gargantia ship who will make an appearance on the show’s last episode.
The art entries will be judged by the anime’s director Kazuya Murata and the studio Production I.G. The lucky winner also gets a bundle of Gargantia merchandise as well.
Contestants must be members of pixiv and have to tag their submissions with “ガルガンティア乗組員” – meaning Gargantia Crew. Entries must be submitted by May 12 11:59p.m. and the site has posted all the rules to the contest here, albeit in Japanese.
To get an idea of what you’re up against, the official page is posting entries that are already submitted by artists.
Known as Suisei no Gargantia by its Japanese title, the anime series is currently being streamed by Crunchyroll and its Blu-ray box sets are up for pre-order on Japanese stores with English subtitles.
Check out my first impressions of this sci-fi series here.
If you’re a fan of Anime and Manga you will definitely know what Naruto is, even more, you would definitely know it’s creator Masashi Kishimoto. Now if you’re a fan of Mr. Kishimoto’s work then get ready because he’s got something a little bit awesome to unleash into the Manga community.
Viz Media, the North American publisher of the Weekly Shonen Jumps magazine, has released a small, four-page preview of a one-shot manga called “Mario” which is, yes, made by Masashi Kishimoto. In the preview we see a man in suit talking business with a less-than-keen Yakuza member. It’s not much but I think it’s safe to say we’ve got ourselves a gangster story.
Mario will debut in Japan on the 2nd of May through Jump SQ and us westerners will be seeing it on the 13th of May. Keep an eye out on the site for updates on this one-shot over the next couple of weeks because this one is going to be awesome! Take a look at the few pictures that have been released in the Image Gallery below.
Black Rock Shooter: The Game Developer:Imageepoch Publisher: NIS America Platform:PSP (PS Vita Compatible) Release Date:April 23, 2013 Price: $19.99 – Available Here
Overview: Black Rock Shooter probably has the strangest origin story. It originally began as a drawing on the Japanese website Pixiv by a Hatsune Miku fan, which spawned the song Black Rock Shooter which in turn allowed an OVA, multiple manga series and even a full anime series to be created using the character. Now after some delay, NIS America has brought Black Rock Shooter: The Game, a PSP title released in Japan in 2011. Being the first ever Black Rock Shooter release to ever come to North America, was Black Rock Shooter: The Game worth the wait?
Story: It is interesting to note that anyone who may be familiar with the various Black Rock Shooter anime or manga releases likely will know that pretty much every release containing the titular character is more or less a self-contained story that features BRS coming from a number of different origins and battling against various foes.
In Black Rock Shooter: The Game, players are introduced to a post-apocalyptic world where an alien invasion has wiped out almost every human on the planet. In fact there are roughly a dozen humans still alive battling against the invasion and as these last survivors begin to fall, they must use their last trump card, Black Rock Shooter. BRS is introduced as something of a human clone with abilities far surpassing anything a human could ever wish to accomplish and she will need to use all of her abilities to annihilate the aliens and various other enemies which will stand in her way.
As far as story length goes, Black Rock Shooter: The Game actually can take around thirteen to seventeen hours to complete, however the length of a story doesn’t always equal quality. In fact in BRS:TG’s case, the story can be very painful at times thanks to the fact that almost every character you come across will fit into an archetype we have seen a million times before.
While BRS herself is developed nicely as she grows to be more familiar with the world and being able to interact with those around her, the rest of the characters are terribly generic. Because of this, many may feel disenchanted with the experience despite a few unique plot points and nicely handled main character.
Visuals & Audio: Now before we go into the graphics of BRS:TG, it is worth noting that the title was originally created back in 2011 and is at its core, a PSP game (though it is playable on the PS Vita.) However despite its age and the aging system it was developed for, this title is actually surprisingly decent looking. Black Rock Shooter retains her signature look and wields some nicely detailed weaponry and the various characters and bosses that she comes across compliment the art style well.
Even the environments in the game are nicely varied and given a decent amount of detail. While the setting may be a post-apocalyptic world there are a number of interesting twists that place players in unique landscapes to fight against the enemies they come across. Now unfortunately when it comes to basic enemies, not only are they poorly designed but the game suffers from the age old trick of palette swapping enemies later in the game, causing basic fights to become even more repetitive.
However one thing that does make up for the repetitive basic combat is the fact that BRS:TG sports an excellent in-game soundtrack which does a great job enhancing the action. It is worth noting though that NIS America did not provide any English dub for BRS:TG, so the only audio option is the original Japanese voice track with English subtitles. This isn’t too much of a loss however thanks to the fact that the original cast did a great job with the characters, but there are a few lines of dialogue which go without translation during some of the game’s boss battles.
Gameplay: With a title such as Black Rock “Shooter,” many gamers will be expecting BRS:TG to be a game involving plenty of shooting and while they certainly aren’t wrong, the developers behind the title have actually created an engaging and somewhat brilliant battle system. While a bit off-putting at first, the combat system actually manages to bring the game to a new level by offering fresh combat mechanics designed around an old principle.
You see, whenever players run into enemies as they are exploring an area, they are placed in a battlefield where they will have to aim and shoot at the enemies to defeat them from a third person, over the shoulder, perspective. However BRS is not able to move on the battlefield freely and is locked into a “on-rails shooter” style system. Players are given the basic options of shooting enemies, blocking incoming attacks or dodging out of the way of attacks. The only direct control the player has over BRS is her aiming reticule to shoot at the various enemies on the battlefield.
To make things even more interesting, Black Rock Shooter: The Game also features a sort of turn based mechanic where every action the player does, short of blocking, fills up a “heat” gauge which will stun-lock the player for a short period of time if it fills up fully, leaving her at the mercy of the enemies’ attacks for a dangerous period of time.
There are numerous RPG aspects to the title as well and these are worked into the game via a leveling system where BRS gains experience points after each battle and levels up with automatic stat distribution. By leveling up players also have a chance to unlock a skill which can be used in battle. These skills are called “active abilities” and each of them has a special trait to them, either damaging all enemies on the field, delivering destruction to one opponent via free-aiming or lock on and more. There are even buff type abilities which allow BRS to use her various attacks and dodges to an increased effect without worrying too much about the heat meter.
As it stands, this combat system is what makes BRS:TG a great title and although it may not be the most challenging game, being successful at reading enemy attacks and aiming to take down foes is essential to surviving some of the more challenging opponents you will face off against. Things can be made a bit easier thanks to various passive abilities that can be unlocked, of which players can equip as many as they wish. These passive abilities usually boost the player’s stats or offering special status effect boosts to their normal shots.
Once the player has finished the title, it is interesting to note that there is a decent amount of replayability found within the game. Players have the option to replay levels or tackle challenges to unlock extra skills, pieces of concept art, new cutscenes and even some extra costumes for the main character. This not only helps expand the title’s length but also gives completionists something to aim for.
Overall: Black Rock Shooter: The Game starts off relatively weak thanks to some very poor writing and character development, but an amazingly enjoyable combat system helps make up for the title’s lack of imagination. Put that together with a great soundtrack and some nice visuals for a PSP title and BRS:TG is a great experience that is unfortunately bogged down by repetitive enemies and it’s unimaginative storyline.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Unique indiesurvival game, Don’t Starve, is getting a bunch of new tweaks and changes based on community feedback since its launch.
In particular, the boffins at Klei Entertainment are adding new settings for experienced players that speeds up early gameplay. This gives players, who know how to survive the first in-game week, a quicker start in a more challenging world.
The preset offers you an assortment of random items and crafting materials at the start of your game. In addition it configures the user-changeable sliders on its own to make the game more difficult and even adds some harder areas that were only in adventure mode before.
Finally, apparently some players couldn’t find adventure mode as easily as the devs would have hoped. The Divining Rod is now a craftable item, rather than findable, and include a description that gives players the hint of its usefulness to escape.
Robotech is one of the most instantly recognisable and renown franchises in the history of animation. The story of the Robotech universe centers around the conflicts of the Earth against alien threats as the Earth is a planet known to be rich in the power source called Protoculture.
The upcoming movie in the Robotech Universe: Robotech: Love, Live, Alive is the second movie to come from the franchise. Us here at Capsule Computers had the chance to talk to Steve Yun and discuss this latest film and its relevance to the Robotech universe.
CC: Hi there. Could you introduce yourself and your position/role on the Robotech film Love, Live, Alive?
Steve Yun: Hi I’m Steve Yun, I’m the VP of New Media at Harmony Gold, and I’m the script editor and associate producer on Love Live Alive.
CC: Robotech is obviously a massive franchise and has been around for quite a while. However, there may be new fans to the franchise that are not quite aware of the history of the show, would you be able to briefly summarise what Robotech is for them?
S: Robotech is the adaptation of three Japanese anime series which came out in the 80’s. In it, a space ship crashes to Earth and reveals that there are advanced alien races waging war across the galaxy. Humans research it and develop giant transforming robots to fight off several alien invasions. For many people working in the anime industry today it was their first exposure to Japanese animation.
CC: Could you explain to us what is Love, Live Alive?
S: Love Live Alive is a retrospective special that originally came out in the 80’s and was never brought over to western audiences. We’ve finally adapted it for the Robotech universe, adding new scenes and new animation to expand it from being mostly music videos to being a full-length feature. It follows Lancer, one of the main characters from the “New Generation” segment of Robotech, while he recounts his experiences with the people that become his friends over the course of the series, and explores a few new mysteries about his character.
CC: What’s interesting about Robotech is that it covers what seems to be three timelines, could you introduce where it is that Love, Live, Alive takes place within the story?’
S: Love Live Alive is somewhat concurrent with The Shadow Chronicles.
CC: How long has Love, Live, Alive been in production and what makes this movie unique?
Steve Yun
S: Love Live Alive has been in production for the last year, and is unique in that it features both old and new animation. It was originally a project started by Carl Macek, the original producer of Robotech, a few years ago but unfortunately he passed away. We’ve continued it to completion, sort of as a way to let Carl give his final farewell to the fans.
CC: Will we be seeing the return of any familiar characters?
S: Yes, it features most of the major characters from the “New Generation” segment of Robotech.
CC: Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles came out a few years ago and never actually managed to finish off the storyline involving the Invid. Will Love, Live, Alive be doing this?
S: No, instead of being a sequel, Love Live Alive is a side story, something they call a “gai-den” in Japanese.
CC: If Love, Live, Alive does not complete the Invid storyline, will we be seeing a sequel to The Shadow Chronicles that does?
S: Yes, we do have a planned sequel for The Shadow Chronicles, which will be called Shadow Rising.
CC: I was reading your biography that our friends over at Beyond Home Entertainment sent over and this line particularly stood out to me: “While still a young college student and part-time hacker in 1998…”.. Could you, maybe, hint at any hacks that you have undertaken (I’m a security student myself, personal interest here)?
S: Haha, nothing too much I’d brag about now, I wrote that a long time ago and hackers have gotten so much better since then. Nothing fancy by today’s standards.
CC: One of the main draws of Robotech are the series transforming Mecha. Will we being seeing the return of any models used in each series?
S: It features several classic mecha and ships in new animated battle scenes.
CC: A thing that has always been popular in Robotech is that each series has had some kind of Idol character, will we being the return of any new idol characters or will we have a new idol character (or, like, none)?
S: We are treated to a new concert performance by Yellow Dancer.
CC: Where can I buy a Variatech mecha, not a model, like an actual transforming jet fighter?
S: So I’m told by Australian fans that unfortunately there isn’t official toy distribution in Australia and that you’re forced to buy most of your Robotech toys from American retailers? I can’t promise anything but I’ll speak to our toy licensee to see if there is anything that can be done about that.
CC: This Robotech movie, are you aiming it at a mature audience considering that the fans growing up with Robotech are now an older audience, or are you trying to make the film as accessible as possible?
S: I suppose that since it is a retrospective, it is aimed at our long-time fans, but at the same time since it summarizes most of the last season of Robotech it also works as an introduction to Robotech for new viewers.
CC: Can we, maybe, get an exclusive promotional image to showcase some of the film to the fans reading this at home?
Australian Mortal Kombat fans can finally rejoice, as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainmentare extremely pleased to announce that Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition (our review) is out now Down Under on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.
Mortal Kombat: Komplete Editionoffers a content-rich version of 2011’s acclaimed Mortal Kombat, which has sold more than four million units worldwide and was named 2011’s Fighting Game of the Year by Game Informer Magazine, Spike TV Video Game Awards and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.
Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition brings all the award-winning content together for the ultimate experience, delivering the original, critically acclaimed game along with all previously released downloadable content (DLC). The DLC includes fan-favourite warriors Skarlet, Kenshi and Rain, as well as the infamous dream stalker Freddy Krueger. The game also provides 15 Klassic Skins and three Klassic Fatalities (Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Reptile).
The team at NetherRealm is thrilled to have the Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition launch in Australia. The inclusive experience in the Komplete Edition delivers the adrenaline-pumping, action-packed fighting that sets the Mortal Kombat franchise apart.
Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition is, infamously, rated R18+ and is finally available in Australia for $39.99 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
So obviously you’ve heard of the new game from The Behemoth called BattleBlock Theater, if you haven’t educate yourself. Well, now that we’re all sure you know about BattleBlock Theater, it seems this Thursday will be the day perfect day for players to explore the Multiplayer Arena mode of the game. Why you ask? Because that’s when The Behemoth themselves will be going at it against all the rest of the world.
Hmm, thinking about it, perhaps players should get started right away on the multiplayer, so they can be a little more experienced when having to face down the likes of The Behemoth. Interested in watching or questioning the devs over playing against them? Well fine, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the festivities, as the devs will also be hosting a live stream of the event on their Twitch TV Channel where players can ask and comment away.
So be sure to secure the date, as Thursday The Behemoth will be going fist to face in BattleBlock Theater against everyone they meet from 3:30 until 4:30 PST. Cycling between three devs playing and chatting amongst six other devs, it is sure to be a grand affair.
Mars: War Logs Developer: Spiders Publisher: Focus Home Interactive Platforms: PC (reviewed), PS3, 360 Release Date: April 26, 2013 Price: $19.99 – Available Here
Overview I find it bizarre that around the same time I began playing this a private Dutch organisation started accepting applicants for a one-way trip to the Red Planet, a colonisation effort set to launch in 2023. Mars: War Logs is the latest in our long-running fascination with the close neighbour, and by now I’m beginning to think that planting our feet down on the surface is probably not the best idea.
Focus Home Interactive’s action RPG follows the conventions of the successful, conversation-driven formula that gamers have appreciated in some of the bigger titles over the years. Here we have an ambitious, cyberpunk offering built on a relatively tight budget but with an attractive price tag to match. Is it worth the six month voyage and getting dusty over? Pack some clothes, oh and no need for a pressure suit, they can breathe over there now.
Story Mars: War Logs is set in the future, in a time long after Mars was partially terraformed for human colonists and a century since the planet’s society lost its semblance of order. Amidst all this chaos there are “guilds”, companies managing the most precious resource, water. They also happen to be at war with each other. A young soldier, named Innocence, from the guild of Aurora finds himself a prisoner of war of the enemy guild, Abundance.
The player is almost led to believe they’re taking on the role of this kid but instead he is the voice of the story, the keeper of these “war logs” and a companion to the player’s character, Roy. Roy, known as Temperance in Aurora, is a prisoner himself and gives off the impression of a certified badass with a mysterious past. He also wields lightning, an ability limited to the mysterious guild-serving Technomancers who seem to be at odds with you at every turn. What follows is a dramatic prison escape and a decision to choose sides later on as is fitting for a western RPG these days. The best way to describe the actual storytelling is it’s like a diary being read out to you, interspersed with fairly B-grade narrative points.
It’s a solid storyline that doesn’t take risks. Nothing really raises eyebrows (other than Innocence almost getting deflowered by a prison welcoming) and you follow the breadcrumbs to a slightly rushed ending. The dialogue is fairly crude but satisfactory enough to propel the narrative forward. Ultimately, while the setting on Mars and the background of how things came to be is intriguing, the story is unlikely to captivate an audience in a memorable fashion.
Gameplay
It’s clear that gameplay mechanics are the focus of Mars: War Logs. The game ticks off all the areas on the WRPG list: a main quest line, side quests, various hubs (that while serve their purpose aren’t explorable much), conversations with clear-cut moral choices along with skill trees and a weapon upgrade system. Combat is a very intimate affair, as you’ll be cracking skulls more often than not. It’s also not exactly easy either, especially starting off, and you’ll find charging and button mashing rarely works. I was repeatedly swarmed by enemies before mastering the block, counter and evade moves. Sneaking is always an option throughout the game, and although you’d be hard-pressed to sneak past the whole game, it provides a very helpful way of hitting first and dealing more damage.
Weapons primarily consist of crude melee objects like pipes which you can upgrade as long as upgrade slots are available, and it’s a nice touch seeing how these weapons change appearances. Ranged nail guns and explosives can be used, but have very limited ammo and work as a skill you unleash rather than tote as a weapon. Electric Technomancy is like magic in any other RPG, it consumes your “Fluid” allowing limited use but it slowly regenerates and can be increased with skills and item upgrades. Thankfully it’s really satisfying to use, providing a welcome way of putting distance between your enemies and frying them in the process.
Romance options are all here and no different to what you’d normally find in a WRPG. At one point Mary, a potential lover, just recovered from trying to kill me before asking if I want to sleep with her. It almost seems like an obligatory feature they wanted to include, rather than anything meaningful. Needless to say the event was typical of a love scene in a game – a quick embrace followed by some touching then fade to black.
The skill tree will be familiar to anyone who has played The Witcher 2, as it’s almost identical complete with a branch for Technomancy that is locked until a certain part of the game is reached. That’s not a bad thing, as it’s a system that works remarkably well and isn’t too complicated nor simple. There’s plenty of upgrade parts and items to scavenge in the game world, and you’ll find yourself methodically searching scrap heaps and bodies for them. Although the Mars setting is fairly gritty and realistic the NPCs simply don’t react to what’s going on. For example there’s a massive battle raging in the street between the player and soldiers with Technomancers. But the people on the streets continue on as they were. You can hardly blame the AI, but it does break the immersion a lot.
Visuals We’re nearing the end of this generation and many of us have been spoiled by fancy tech demos and trailers of the future. From a technical point of view, the graphics of Mars: War Logs are satisfactory but hardly anything to write home about. There is only so much a team can do for a downloadable title that tries to go toe-to-toe with the heavyweights of the genre.
Having said that, you hardly notice the graphics while you’re playing as the engine merely serves as a vessel for all the quests, combat and conversations in the game. It never tries to thrust itself into your face. It’s just there, fully aware of its limitations and modest about it. The animations are smooth however, and everything falls into place during combat. As awesome as it would be, it’s too much to ask for a particle system that can generate dust storms and the sort. The art style though is definitely one with a gritty and cyberpunk feel, and the concept art behind this project is pretty outstanding.
Audio Maybe one of my biggest complaints for Mars: War Logs is the sound as a whole. When a game doesn’t amaze visually, it’s often clever sound design and music that really sets it apart and makes the experience memorable. The game, however, is just too quiet. Maybe sound doesn’t travel far on Mars but other than the player and the NPC they’re talking to, you can’t really hear a thing except a very soft wind. The typical sounds of a prison camp, or a market, simply aren’t there. I found myself alt-tabbing frequently to put music on as running between locations with hardly any in-game music or sound effects is not fun, at all.
The voice-acting here isn’t stellar, but it does the job and some of the lines are genuinely funny at times. When a lot of action is happening though, the voice volumes don’t really match the visuals. For instance, a character yelling as they move away from the screen sounds just like they are next to you in the recording studio rather than outdoors.
Overall Despite the quirks and rough coat of paint, Mars: War Logs is still a worthy effort. Anyone who enjoys WRPGs like Mass Effect, The Witcher and Dragon Age will find something to take from here even if it’s all been done before. One thing that surprised me was the almost complete lack of bugs. Normally we find glitches and even game-breaking bugs in AAA titles, but War Logs is almost rock solid.
At the end of the day this a downloadable title at value price, but one that offers a pretty robust, action RPG experience. The game follows conventions almost too much though, and in the future I’d love to see the team carve out an RPG that stands apart from the crowded market. In the meantime, welcome to Mars and enjoy your stay.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Ubisoft are pumped to announce that their standalone retro-futurist, cyber-shooter Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is now available for digital download on PC for $17.95, Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 (1200 Microsoft Points), PlayStation Network for $21.95 and retail PC for $19.95. Our reviewwent up this morning. Here’s an official description:
Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon lets players get the girl, kill the bad guys and save the world in a VHS-era vision of the future! As Sergeant Rex Colt, you are “part man, part machine, all American”; a state-of-the art Mark IV cyber-commando on a mission…of vengeance. You’re out to bring down your old commanding officer and his battalion of ruthless killer cyborgs and you’ll stop at nothing to get the job done. Hollywood action icon Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Aliens, and The Abyss), returns in this explosive 80s style sci-fi vision of a dark future. Turn off your VCR, plug in your video game cabinet, and get ready to experience all of the thrills of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.
The soundtrack by Power Glove (whom I could not say enough good things about in our above-linked review) is available on iTunes for $16.99 and is also offered with the PC retail version releasing on May 2nd. Check out the launch trailer – “Robo-Balls to the Wall” – below.
