As you may already know, Konami has announced that they are planning on releasing two character specific DLC packs sometime in April, with the first one being Jetstream Sam and the second one being Blade Wolf. Well today a number of screenshots have been released which show off Jetstream Sam’s missions.
As you can see in the images, it looks like Sam will traverse a few of the same areas Raiden already did and also will be able to perform the Zandatsu technique, though it looks like Sam may be just a little bit better than him at it. Anyways, no exact date has been given for the DLC but it has been said that they will cost $6.99 or 720 MSP each.
Today the official websitefor Mugen Souls Z was updated with a brand new trailer showing off the game’s enhanced character creation system as well as some of the bonuses players will be able to pick up if they choose to purchase the limited edition copy of the game or if they were to pre-order the title.
In the video below you can see that Compile Heart has added a number of crossover characters from the Neptunia series including Neptune, Noire and Blanc if you purchase the limited edition version. IF you don’t want to drop the extra money though, you can still obtain Nepgear and Vert by simply pre-ordering the game. Currently Mugen Souls Z is only set for release in Japan on April 25th and no Western release information has been revealed.
Today Atlus USA announced plans for their Western release of Vannillaware’s Dragon’s Crown. While previously confirmed for Japanese release on July 25th, Atlus has stated that Western gamers can expect the title sometime this Summer, which means it may fall around the same date as the aforementioned Japanese release date.
The title will cost $49.99 on the PlayStation 3 and $39.99 on the Vita and will be available as both a digital download and as a retail purchase. As we’ve seen before, the game is a classic side-scrolling beat’em up featuring a unique art style with hideous monsters to face off against with a number of gorgeously drawn character classes. Some of the classes players have access to include a Dwarf, Fighter, Wizard, Amazon, Elf and Sorceress and each of these will have their own unique skill set that can be upgraded by leveling up.
It has been a long time coming, but after suffering quite a few delays, the release of BioShock Infinite is upon us. Gamers around the world right now are picking the title up from their favorite retailers while gamers in North America have under twelve hours to wait until the title becomes available on store shelves.
To commemorate the game’s launch and to tease those who have yet to pick up the game, Irrational Games has released the game’s launch trailer which you can check out below. The title is available for purchase on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and if this trailer is anything to go by, a new bar has been set.
Voting for the semi-finals of the Injustice: Gods Among UsBattle Arena has opened. As you can see from the bracket above, Batman is facing The Flash while Green Lantern is squaring off against Superman. These fights are sure to garner some strong opinions, not the least of which are championed by a plethora of celebrities…
This week there are SIX new opinion videos online. They feature the likes of tournament regulars Wayne Brady, Tara Strong, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes along with: Mr and Mrs Jason Priestly, comic icons Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, actors Scott Porter, Tim Jo and Jon Huertas and MMA legend Bas Rutten (always hilarious). Phew…that’s a lot of debating to be had there.
You can watch their videos at the official Injustice YouTube channel or at injustice.dccomics.com, which is also where you can vote for the winners of this round. Below is the overview video that takes a look at the match-ups and summarises the aforementioned predictions of our experts. Let us know your own predictions and the logic behind them in the comments section.
P.S. Green Lantern has created simulated Kryptonite radiation to stop Superman in his tracks before…just sayin’.
Ubisoft has just released the anticipated Gameplay Reveal Trailer for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag! You can view the footage at the bottom of this article.
The 2 minute video shows many facets of the pirate assassin Edward Kenway’s life, as a narrator describes the features and possibilities in the game for us players. What is still intriguing to me is the relationship between the “infamy and riches” hungry Kenway and the legendary Black Beard, who we’ve seen in the announcement trailer previously.
The two are briefly shown conversing in this trailer, but there is no vocal track. We’ll just have to wait and see. However, this video has plenty of revealing snippets, such as a better glimpse at the ability to dive and retrieve treasure from underwater and the fact that sharks can and will attack you whilst doing so; uncharted territory for the franchise, but the fresh addition is definitely welcome.
Again, check the Gameplay Reveal Trailer out below and let us know what you think in the comments!
It’s been three weeks since I started the Anime Girl of the Week where I select one female character from a currently airing anime and place the spotlight on them by providing background information, personality details as well as a slew of fan-art and official artwork.
This week we have a special character mostly because of her name. She is from the anime series Maoyuu Maou Yuusha and she is none other than the Maou herself. If her name seems a bit odd it is thanks to the fact that all of the characters in the source material for the series do not have specific names. Instead they are called exactly what they are, with the Maou being called the Demon King, the Hero simply being Hero, the princess of the dragon’s being named Dragon Princess and so on.
Now it is worth noting that there will be plot spoilers for the anime series itself below, though not in the images themselves if you choose to look through them. That being said, this also only contains information revealed in the anime and the manga of the series, not the original light novel.
The world of Maoyuu Maou Yuusha is in the middle of a prolonged war with humans battling against demons. In an attempt to slay the current Demon King, the humans have raised a Hero to fight against her and put a stop to the demon scourge once and for all. However when the Hero makes his way to the Demon King’s castle, he is surprised to find that not only is the Demon King a woman, but she also has no desire to fight him. Instead she comes up with a plan, a way to end the war where neither the demons nor the humans will be victorious but instead co-exist with one another.
Maou is the 43rd ruler of the Demon Realm and despite her relatively youthful appearance, she is over a hundred years old though her exact age has not been revealed. By becoming the Demon King she must enter the Royal Tomb of the Demon Kings to receive their power and proof of authority. However by doing this she also risks being possessed by Demon Kings past and losing herself forever. She is extremely intelligent thanks to the fact that she has access to the “Outer Library” which contains thousands of books which contain knowledge not of their own world. In an effort to bring peace to the land, she leaves the demon realm with the Hero and travels to the land of the humans.
Her horns are simply a head-band and can be removed whenever she has to pass herself off as human. In the human realm she is known as the Crimson Scholar and thanks to her knowledge she is able to introduce numerous ideas and items that improve the life of the humans significantly, such as the ability to tend their crops better, different types of edible plants, a printing press and more. However due to her influence and the tenuous balance of the various nations of the human world, she is seen as a threat by both the church and the Central Nations.
While highly intelligent and confident when it comes to business, Maou is easily flustered whenever things take an unexpected turn. She quickly falls in love with the Hero after they begin moving forward with their plans and because of this she often acts like a love-sick girl when in private. Not only does she get jealous whenever another woman approaches the Hero but she is also concerned over her own appearance, as she finds her voluptuous body a problem at times thanks to the Head Maid, her servant, always calling her large chest useless flesh. Because she was able to track the Hero’s progress for so long, she created a hugging pillow with his image on it and whenever she spends a long time away from the Hero and is lonely she will bring it back out.
Currently Maoyuu Maou Yuusha has not been licensed for English release in the West but it is available for streaming on Crunchyroll.
Wow well this is certainly surprising. Three years after the first anime season ended, it seems that the Freezing manga will be getting a second anime season. Today it was discoveredin Japan that the 18th volume of the Freezing manga features a wraparound jacket band that reveals that the second anime season has been green lit.
Currently it is unknown when the second season will air, but it is worth noting that FUNimation did release the anime in English last year. The story of Freezing follows Kazuya, a boy who enrolls in a special academy where skilled female fighters known as Pandora train to fight against the Nova aliens. When Kazuya encounters the “Untouchable Queen,” one of the strongest fighters in the academy, he finds himself set on becoming her partner.
Shakugan no Shana: Season 3 Part 2 Studio: J.C.Staff Publisher:FUNimation Format:Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date: March 26, 2013 Price: $69.98 – Available Here
Overview: It’s been a long time coming and after multiple releases and reviewing Part 1 of Season 3, here we are with the final half of Shakugan no Shana Final. Part 1left us with a stare down between Yuji and Shana just before they were about to clash once more. Does Shakugan no Shana Season 3 Part 2 manage to continue the season’s momentum and provide a satisfying ending? We shall see.
Story: As Shana and Yuji begin fighting against one another atop of the Snake of the Festival’s body his resurrection has started something called “mistquakes” all around the world and anyone who can sense power of existence can feel these tremors. Knowing that their group has failed, the Flame Haze army makes a last ditch attempt at preventing the resurrection of the Snake of the Festival and it appears on the battlefield.
While the first half of the series left Yuji and Snake of the Festival’s final goal a mystery, as the two emerge from the gate the Snake of the Festival reveals his “Grand Order.” With the resurrection of his body he is aiming on creating a paradise known as Xanadu, an exact replica of the normal world where all Crimson Denizens will have an unlimited supply of power of existence and will no longer have to fight against Flame Haze or go hungry ever again.
Upon hearing this declaration, many in the Flame Haze army completely lose their will to fight as many Flame Hazes’ purpose in life is to fight against the Crimson Denizens. As such, Shana and the rest of the main characters on the side of Outlaw must fight in a losing battle as they attempt to salvage what is left of their forces and withdraw.
However when it is revealed that the creation of Xanadu will doom the real world to eventual destruction, the Flame Haze and Shana must put a stop to Bal Masqué’s plans once and for all. With new powerful allies stepping into the fray, can Shana stop Yuji before he does something irreversible and find her own happy ending?
Throughout the many Shana releases, the series has always taken it’s time to slow things down and let viewers catch their breath with bits of slice and life and romantic comedy. However while Part 1 of Season 3 had a bit of backstory and early development, Part 2 almost entirely focuses on the battle between the Flame Haze and Bal Masqué. Ultimately the only mid-way break in the action is present only for Shana and the rest to regroup, reach out to Flame Haze still willing to fight and plan their next course of action before heading into the final battle.
This release benefits greatly by keeping things concentrated on the ending. While a number of new characters are introduced throughout this second half, there isn’t much time spent developing them into much more than powerful warriors on the side of good. While this works well in keeping with the fast pace of Season 3, it does mean that these fighters are nothing more than powerful named characters simply filling up the battlefield.
In fact, the second half of the season does feel rushed at times and a couple of battles seem to be cut completely out for the sake of time. Despite this brisk pace there is a bit of character development here, mostly focused on the secondary members of the cast however. One thing that does stand out as a rather huge flaw in the series however is Yuji’s reasoning for his actions. While they may make sense on their own, the way he went about things seems like a major problem that, if handled any other way, could have avoided much of the drama of this season. Of course, if things went smoothly there wouldn’t be a climactic battle then would there?
Anyways, being Shakugan no Shana Final, there is indeed a finale present in this release. However those who have been watching the series from the beginning may find that the ending is less than satisfactory. As mentioned above, Yuji’s motivation for his actions are paper-thin at best and even after failing in their goal, everything still manages to wrap itself up with a smile on its face and everyone somehow moving on from the anger that was so prevalent just a couple of episodes earlier. While it probably is best that things were wrapped up nicely, a shoe-horned twist that manages to create such a conclusion will probably leave a sour taste in the mouths of many.
Visuals: Shakugan no Shana: Season 3 Part 2 continues to present a rather impressive visual package for the earlier half of this release, as the Flame Haze fight against the Denizens in various locations and have to partake in a retreating battle. However in the latter half of the release, the fights all take place in a very washed out city that remains constant throughout each fight, which is a major detriment compared to how vibrant the show can be at times.
As for the fights themselves, they are presented with fluid animation and a number of new abilities and character designs are shown off when new fighters are introduced. However it is worth noting that some rather shoddy CGI work is introduced for a number of special effects in Part 2. Also it is worth noting that once again the ending credits play over the last couple of minutes of multiple episodes which is not only distracting but also obscures a few of the action sequences.
Audio: Throughout the release viewers are presented numerous side-characters that are introduced to the series and each of them have been given decent voice work, though nothing too noteworthy considering most of these are simply meant to fill the battlefield. As for the main English cast they continue to impress with Cherami Leigh’s voicing of Shana still fitting Shana’s character perfectly.
As for the background music, most of the soundtrack is rather forgetful however there are a number of instances where the background music worked so well that it really helped that moment stand out. The second half of this season continues to use the ending theme to remarkable effect by playing the ending song thirty seconds or so before the episode ended. While the song did change from “I’ll Believe” the following ending themes, and there are many of them, continued to impress. As for the opening theme, we have “Serment” which is fitting for the series but rather forgetful overall.
Extras: This release features a number of bonuses including a promo video, the US version of the trailer, trailers for other FUNimation releases a clean version of the opening theme and a clean version of the five different ending themes that are presented in this half of the season.. Accompanying these standard bonuses we have two commentary tracks as well as the final Shakugan no Shana-Tan: Final Destruction 2. This Shana-tan is nearly ten minutes long and is rather hilarious, but it does feature a Japanese dub only and over half of the special is an extended “Why? What? Shana-tan Finale.”
The first commentary track is for Episode 14 which features Jerry Jewell the director of this season and interestingly enough the commentary is actually chopped in half in this release. The first half of the commentary features Scott Freeman who voices Haborym while the second half features Kent Williams who handles the voice of Alastor. This is an interesting take on commentary, but probably necessary since the first commentator only played a minor role. As for the second commentary track, we have Cherami Leigh the voice of Shana and Jerry Jewell again providing commentary over Episode 24. Being the final episode the two discuss various aspects of the show at this point.
Overall: It has been a long time coming and here it is, the finale of Shakugan no Shana. With Shakugan no Shana: Season 3 Part 2 viewers are presented the conclusion to everything that has been built up over the last eighty or so episodes. However anyone who has stuck with the series since the beginning will likely find the ending not only rushed but phoned-in as well. This means that while everything may wrap up nicely with great voice work and decent battle animation in bland environments, poor character motivations and an unsatisfactory ending to such a long running series will leave viewers feeling unfulfilled.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Fan-favourite anime series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha has had its third theatrical film announced following the release of the second movie on Blu-Ray and DVD in Japan. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 3rd: Reflection was revealed at the conclusion of the celebratory “Lyrical Party V”, further announced on HMV Anime’s Twitter page, and hints at a new story.
The Nanoha anime series consists of three seasons which are being summarised in the ongoing films that boast high production values. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is a pure take on the “magical girl” genre, beginning with the third-grader Nanoha who transforms after encountering an injured ferret. To restore balance in the universe she must find and collect the Jewel Seeds that have been given form as monsters, but Nanoha soon finds there are others like herself that have ulterior motives.
The news that the third film may not follow the events of the third season, StrikerS, is a departure from the previous strict track record of adaptation. Although with StrikerS regarded by some fans as a lack lustre “threequel” that features the main cast as more grown-up, this might surely intrigue many.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and its sequel, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s, were licensed and dubbed in the west by Geneon USA. Sadly, following the company’s collapse Nanoha is yet to be reacquired by any western distributor.
