Disney and Pixar have announced today that it will be releasing a sequel to the 2003 hit Finding Nemo. The film is called Finding Dory and is set to be released in 2015.
Often teased by Ellen Degeneres who provided the voice of Dory in the first film and is reprising the role in the sequel, the film is set roughly a year after the events of the first one and centers around the Blue Tang Dory on her own adventure to reunite with her loved one whilst learning about the meaning of family along the way. An excited Ellen Degeneres had this to say about the announcement:
“I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time…I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating ‘Toy Story 16.’ But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is—it’s got a lot more Dory.”
Parts of the film will take place around the California coast line and Nemo, Marlin, the Tank Gang from the dentists office and other recognizable characters from the first film are all set to return. Andrew Stanton who directed the first film is also making a return to the series.
Will you be helping to find Dory when this film hits the box office in 2015? Let us know in the comments below.
Though the series has yet to be released, Aniplex USA has already purchased the rights to Valvrave the Liberator. As an original project of Sunrise, the studio behind Tiger and Bunny, Cowboy Bebop and numerous mech anime, Valvrave may prove to be another hit series, something that Aniplex is surely hoping for.
The series itself is set in space. In year Shinreki (True Calender) 71, 70% of the human race no longer lives on Earth due to the creation of a space city known as the Dyson Sphere. Amongst the Dorrssia Military Pact Federation and the Atlantic Ring United States (ARUS) lies a small neutral nation known as JIOR that is economically prosperous. When the Dorrssian Army invades JIOR, high school student Haruto Tokishima discovers the mysterious humanoid weapon Valvrave.
Only time will tell if this will become another hit Sunrise series. Check out the trailer below and get a look at Valvrave in action.
After a delay, ShootMania Storm is finally approaching its final release date, so developer Nadeo and publisher Ubisoft are putting together a launch event with a pro tournament to celebrate the occasion. This isn’t going to be just any tournament though, as the grand prize will be $100,000.
The launch event will be taking place April 6th-7th at Cobb’s Comedy Club in San Francisco and all fans 18 years or older are encouraged to come and check it out. Fans will be able to watch the pro tournament, talk to the pros, get their hands on some swag, and compete for prizes of their own.
The launch event isn’t the only thing Ubisoft and Nadeo have planned however, on the release date, April 10th, the first players will be able to take part in the “ShootMania 4 All” launch party. Those interested in “ShootMania 4 All” can check out the website HERE to find a location near them to participate.
ShootMania Storm will be releasing April 10th for PC, players interested in the game can pre-order it from Steam HERE.
The teaser trailer for the new “Space Pirate Captain Harlock” remake movie was shown in Japanese theatres last weekend and it looks freaking incredible! Entirely CG animated this film looks beautiful and epic. Now if you haven’t seen it go and check out the first teaser released in February here.
Leiji Matsumoto’s original manga of the same name revolves around the title character, Captain Harlock, rebelling against the earth government and fighting for humanity with his crew aboard his space ship the Arcadia. The manga spawned an anime series, a few small features, a sequel and now this.
We have writer Harutoshi Fukui (Mobile Suit Gundam UC novels) who has built the story revolving around modern society and it’s issues, and Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) is intending to direct the film with the latest technology in the style of a Hollywood production. The budget for this movie is incredible having the highest production budget to be ever put into a Toei Animation project hitting about the equivalent of over 30 Million U.S. dollars.
The Space Pirate Captain Harlock remake will open in Japan sometime this fall. Stay tuned for more.
Now go and check out the NEW teaser in our featured video section below and don’t forget to drop us a line in the comments section just below that.
The Stinky footboard is a controller which is controlled by the feet. The innovative pedal controller goes live today on Kickstarter with a goal of $75,000.
As it says on the Kickstarter page
Our innovative technology allows for lightning-quick action with precise control all the while keeping your foot resting on the footboard in a relaxed, natural position. This means more functionality; improved gameplay, enhanced performance; and increased actions per minute (APM), all while keeping control and your fingers on the action.
Benefits of the Stinkyboard controller include:
Allows simultaneous actions such as in FPS games players can strafe, change guns and throw a grenade without taking their fingers off the AWSD keys
Increases actions per minute (APMs) for RTS gamers
Makes it easier to access additional key bindings for MMO players
Shaves precious seconds off for eSports players
Simplifies controls for beginners
The Stinky footboard offers plenty of customization for gamers and could indeed be used for many games. For example, an alternative pedal mechanism in racing games, or to assign kick combos in fighting games or action games. All in all, quite useful!
Pre-orders for the Footboard can be placed via their Kickstarter page. The controller will be available for sale in June for $119.
Rising Star Games’ Super Black Bass 3D, the newest entry into the long-running sportsman’s franchise, has broken the water and landed on store shelves today. Released for the Nintendo 3DS, the franchise has seen 16 releases across 7 different platforms, making it one of the most prolific fishing series in video games.
With its first release on the 3DS, Super Black Bass 3D touts a whole host of features including:
Catch fish with Super Black Bass 3D’s “Real Rod System” featuring realistic movement controls
Multiple Game Modes
Hundreds of fish to catch across various competitive locations
Changing conditions that affect your fishing: changing seasons, weather conditions, and time of day
Upgradeable fishing gear
Domestic / International rankings – Give yourself a Master of SBB alias and challenge fellow anglers from around the world
Closest experience to real fishing on the Nintendo 3DS
Longest running video game fishing franchise
Be sure to read some of our othercoverage regarding the game. You can also check out the official website here.
Race fans rejoice, the new DLC pack for Forza Horizon has been released today! Dubbed the “April Top Gear Car Pack”, the packs six cars have been hand picked by the staff of “Top Gear” magazine and members of Turn 10 Studios; two of the cars are actually making their debut: the 2012 Bowler EXR S and the 2011 Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato. Included free for all Forza fans is also the rare 2002 BMW M3-GTR.
As well as the aforementioned cars the pack includes the 2011 Ford Transit SuperVan, which has been detailed to include Le Mans stripes and 3.2 liter 198 horsepower engine. The 1998 Mercedes-Benz AMG Mercedes CLK GTR is a “street” car that is nearly identical to the racing model that dominated the Le Mans series, offering blazing speeds to keep the competition at bay. Last but certainly not least is the 2012 Aston Martin Vanquish; stylistically similar to the classic AM look, it also features a noticeable upgrade in the engine department offering 526 horsepower in a V12 for extreme power no matter the situation.
The “April Top Gear Car Pack” can be found on the Xbox Live Marketplace exclusively for 400 Microsoft Points, or as part of the offered Season Pass for 4000 Microsoft Points. Gamers in need of additional information can visit the official site, www.forzamotorsports.net.
Casual games really only need to do one thing – be addictive. Sometimes I wonder if they’re specifically targeted to be competitors to soapies to suck in the much coveted stay at home parent/disaffected student demographics. What ever gimmick they use to get you over the line, flinging cute objects at ugly ones, generating great speed or simply tapping at stuff, the genre demands above all else a slick execution. Here we have a game with a pretty absurd gimmick – use sentient crockery and house hold items (wizards are house hold items, right?) – to stop storms from destroying houses from across the USA. Inasmuch ‘Drip Drip’ is a success, but will mummies across the nation take to game?
Story
You’re from elite drip collector based in the United States. I had no idea that was a job. I want this job so bad. Well, I thought I did, but the amount of complete wrecks you have to help save makes the role seem far less glamorous that the title makes it sound. If only I could be elite at something. I digress, but to be honest that’s the whole story.
For a while there I wondered it there was a social commentary sitting behind the window dressing here. Maybe a climate change angle? Perhaps something about poverty in a post-hurricane Katrina America. I thought it was that one for ages. Seriously, why did we have to fix half these places when they were obviously health and safety hazards. Did these building have heritage listings? Were they the birthplace of some historical figure? In that sense I guess it had a deeply implied narrative in there somewhere. In a far more literal sense you’re just a dude fixing stuff before it breaks.
Gameplay
Does this game reach the standard I previously set for casual games (i.e. to be addictive)? In a word, yes. The developers at Imminent Games have done their research (or watched that episode of Extra Credits about the Skinner Box). Rewards will keep you around long enough, giving you the full tool box of abilities toward the end to dominate and feel pretty good about yourself on the two lower settings. Simultaneously, you’re going to have to master the game in order to get all five stars for each level.
Stars are not just given for not screwing up too bad but are attached to specific achievements such as keeping the basement below a quarter capacity and making sure you’ve dumped all the water before game’s end. You can tell they’ve used this with the intention of tweaking the game play to keep you on your toes. For example, the dumping all the water before the level is over mechanic seems simple enough, but certain leakage types, like water that is seeping between floors, keep leaking after the rain has stopped. Even though you may have dumped the water out, the bucket will return to its previous resting place and may ruin your attempt at a perfect score.
While the gameplay is considered, it isn’t complex. Unlike other casual games, such as Angry Birds, the mechanic is both simple and complex. Or put more accurately, the game is complex because the mechanic is simple. Drip Drip on the other hand is so boxed in with its functionality there’s no room for interesting emergent gameplay. The difficulty ramps up as the set pieces gain complexity not because you’re required to learn more techniques. Perhaps this will impact how replayable the game is after your first playthrough if you aren’t addicted to maxing everything out.
I think the stand out achievement for this game is that it’s complete. It’s a whole device drawn out in all the ways they could have conceivably created for a game about collecting water. Drip Drip pays attention to the details it considers being worthy of including and that’s fine. In fact, it’s a better achievement than some AAA games manage but they’re dealing with a whole other world. There’s a lot here to do but not as much to sink your teeth into.
Visuals
I want to say the visuals are crazy but that’s not quite right. Maybe strange? The whole aesthetic is well executed but the paraphernalia associated with this world just doesn’t work for me. Anthropomorphic stuff is usually cute and that’s definitely the style they’re going for here but I just don’t find brooms with googly eyes appealing. It feels a little off kilter without any creep factor to make up for it. It’s well executed and this may just be a personal taste thing here. The game is about collecting water from houses that are being flooded so what could I expect?
Most enemies and traps look cool and are animated well. The ghost looked like they didn’t even try but that’s splitting hairs. A lot of the choices just didn’t make sense, especially when they could have had the same impact on gameplay if they chose something else to represent that impact. Lightning, sure that makes sense. A lightning god that looks like Moses from South Park? I’m not so sure. Why do aliens care if a happy little bucket does or does not dump water out of a window? I guess the sight of a living bucket is strange enough to warrant a probing though.
Audio
The audio is exactly what you’d expect from a game like this. It’s well synced, gives you a satisfying sense of feedback and alerts you that stuff off of screen needs attention. The sound of rain pouring is always soothing, and made me kind of sleepy a few times. After you finish getting 5 stars on each level you could use the title screen as a sleeping aid. Outside of that there’s not much about the audio that brings this game to the next level. It does the job that’s required of it and it does it well.
Overall
Casual games are a fickle beast. Separating greatness from another solid addition is a fine line. For me, that fine line is being so simple that it’s almost primal. Drip Drip is too closed in how its mechanic can be applied to get to that level, yet it sure is solid. The game does have its quirks though. Am I the only person who can have an existential crisis while playing a casual game? Why am I repairing all these houses that have clearly been abandoned for years? How many talented drip collectors were pushed aside so that I could reach the top of the pile, to be one of the few elite? If you want to tap away the hours in front of your screen or hammer out a level while you wait for the bus you can get a lot of mileage out of this game. I just don’t too many people coming back to it after they’ve finished all the levels.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Rockstar Games have just announced the official cover Art for Grand Theft Auto V as shown above. The official cover art features the three main characters that you’ll end up playing in the game: Franklin, Michael and Trevor along with a few other random images of people, vehicles and cute and friendly animals you’ll end up meeting, driving or shooting at in the game.
You can grab the cover art as a wallpaper or background at www.rockstargames.com/downloads now. Be sure to check out the official website for Rockstar Games here, and their Twitter page here. What do you think of the box art? Let us know in the comments section below.
Today Atlus announced that they are planning on bringing Shin Megami Tensei IV over to North America this Summer. The game focuses on the “Samurai” which are the protectors of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado. Players play as a fresh Samurai who must work with various factions and prevent Mikado from being overrun by demons.
The game features all new demons, dungeons and story arcs that have branching plot lines, StreetPass functions, various decisions that can have “lasting repercussions” and plenty of voiced dialogue. Shin Megami Tensei IV will be sold at $49.99 when it is released sometime this Summer exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS. To go along with this announcement, the company also released the below batch of images featuring in-game screenshots, artwork and a glimpse at the anime cut-scenes in the game.
