Welcome to Talking Crap, a show were a bunch of game journos talk about crap. In this episode we discuss the age of the vocal game developer, Cliffy B’s bro mentality getting out of control, the responsibility that comes with using the social media platforms such as Twitter and whether or not you should ever meet your hero.
You can check out this episode of Talking Crap in the video below. What do you think of the latest episode of Talking Crap? Wanna have your say? Well youu can talk some crap in the comments section below.
Fuelled by the current depressing state of educational games, designers Brainworth have created a new game hoping to energise the market.
Var and the Vikings is a fresh take on educational gaming that teaches artificial intelligence programming through a hybrid puzzler/platform game. The game manages to integrate its educational content seamlessly so that players don’t actually realise they are learning while they process the game mechanics. Players control one Viking, and then use an artificial intelligence interface to automate their Viking team mates. When they succeed the Viking then navigates the platform by jumping over hurdles, fighting against enemies, and pushing obstacles out the way.
Ben Sand, the CEO of Brainworth has said that “Improving education is the most pressing moral issue we face. Educational games are the strongest answer to this challenge.”
The United States spend over $1 trillion a year on education but only $21 billion on video games. However many students spend more time gaming than studying, and thus if educational games were manufactured so that people actually wanted to play them, games such as this could be seen as a fix to the education problems in the US and beyond.
The Kickstarter campaign for Var and the Vikings ends on Sunday March 23rd, by which point they hope to have raised $31,000. Brainworth hope to develop Var and the Vikings by adding new levels, creating a multiplayer mode, and eventually an ipad version. But whats more Brainworth hope to “change education forever with serious games that are incredibly fun and engaging.”
At the end of eight hours of intense gaming and fragging, two teams from the ANZ division of the Call of Duty Championship emerged victorious. Team Immunity and Mindfreak eSport have both walked out of a hail of gunfire from 32 other professional gamers to claim the two best team positions across Australia and New Zealand. Check out our previous coverage of the Championship here.
The Captain of Team Immunity, Albert Nassif said “It’s a great feeling to take out the Call of Duty title in Australia, and we can’t wait to go to Hollywood and play for the big bucks against the world’s best”.
The Senior Vice President of Activision in the Asia Pacific thought of the event as a great success, stating that such a positive reaction to the Championship from not only the gamers involved but also the public, shows how Call of Duty still has a faithful following “down-under”.
“The successful launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops II last year showed the continued strength of the Call of Duty franchise locally so it’s wonderful to be able to give back to the loyal community with the Call of Duty Championships”.
Immunity and MindFreak eSport are now set to appear in Hollywood along with 22 other teams from across the globe to compete for the ultimate prize of a share in one million dollars. A high prize which is set to motivate any player, regardless of country. Last year the latest game in a long series, Black Ops II officially became the biggest selling entertainment product of all time, with over one billion in sales over just 15 days.
Some of you may or may not know that last week I started a new weekly feature here on Capsule Computers where I will select one anime girl from a currently airing anime series and put them in the spotlight by providing background information on the girl as well as various images consisting of fan art and official artwork.
This week I have chosen to select one of the school idols from Love Live!. Love Live! follows the story of nine girls who form a school idol group in an effort to save their school by increasing it’s popularity and enrollment rate. The anime series is actually part of a project started by ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki G’s Magazine with help from Sunrise studio for the animation and Lantis for musical work. Since the project began back in 2010, various music videos featuring the girls of Love Live! and their idol group µ (pronounced Muse) have been created for fans.
Of these nine idols, the anime girl of the week is Yazawa Niko who is a third year student at Otonokizaka High School. Originally Niko was against the forming of a school idol group and believed that the girls forming µ were amateurs who couldn’t compare to real idols.
The reason for her anger is due to the fact that when she first joined Otonokizaka High School, Niko formed an idol group with other girls in her class. However as time went by, all of the members of the group abandoned Niko because they could not keep up with Niko and her demanding training regiment. After witnessing the girls’ determination and being backed into a corner, Niko eventually relents and becomes the seventh girl to join µ.
Since Niko has looked up to idols and tried to become one since she was a child, she seems to try the hardest out of the nine girls though often she tries so hard to be cute that it backfires on her. This means that despite trying the hardest, the other girls in the group may ignore her efforts due to her personality. She often performs the motions shown above while saying “Niko Niko ni!” in an effort to be as cute as possible, though she often does it when trying to avoid scrutiny or when she is nervous.
While she can be seen as an angry person, her anger is usually a facade for her true feelings and her joy of being in an idol group, though given her nature of switching personalities on the fly she often lets her true feelings slip through to the surface, especially when frustrated.
Since Niko is an idol and a singer, I have included the below song featuring Niko singing Bokura no LIVE Kimi to no LIFE solo. Both Niko’s standard voice work and singing voice is provided by Sora Tokui,
Currently Love Live! has been licensed for home release by NIS America under the name Love Live! School Idol Project and the series is currently being streamedwith English subtitles on Crunchyroll.
Of course we all know about the co-op driven Star Trek title that is due out April 26th, bringing together familiar faces such as Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Uhura, Chekov and Sulu – but today two new characters have been announced exclusively for the game, expanding the Star Trek Universe further.
The first character is none other than a female Vulcan scientist by the name of T’Mar. T’Mar’s role on the ship is of high importance, as she plays both a role of intelligence and infatuation for Kirk.
“T’Mar is the captain of the space station and was a childhood friend of Spock,” says Paramount Senior Vice President and Executive Producer Brian Miller. “Her blend of incredible intelligence and unexpected beauty prove intriguing to Kirk.”
Along the journey, players will also encounter the Vulcan leader, Surok. Surok is one of the lone survivors of a vicious attack on the New Vulcan planet by the villainous Gorn, making his own tale part of one of the many motives that drive this cast to complete their objective.
“When we crafted this story we wanted to make sure the player realizes that the usually logical, Spock can have very emotional connections to the ones he cares about,” adds Miller. “Surok was one of Spock’s childhood mentors and is also T’Mar’s father. Together, they are helping to lead the colonization of New Vulcan.”
As you can tell, there is a lot of work within the narrative going on within this new Star Trek video game, and in just over a month – fans of the franchise and co-op games alike will be able to climb aboard and see if the wait was worth it.
Incipio Hive Response Manufacturer: Incipio Platform: iPhone 4/s Price: $29.99 Buy it Here
The release of the iPhone sent ripples through the mobile gaming industry and forever changed the face of mobile gaming. Nintendo and Sony suddenly felt a little crowded, like when Microsoft entered the console wars. Although some hardcore gamers would be quick to decry mobile phones as a “casual” game platform, it has become obvious that iOS and Android devices are here to stay. The only problem with gaming on a small phone is design. The device are designed to be as small and sleek as possible for casual use. Long-term use can lead to hand cramps. Enter Incipio with their Hive Response case.
The Hive Response is a two-piece case comprising of a silicone core for impact protection and a rigid polycarbonate frame that clips onto the centre of the phone. The case comes in three colour combinations, black/black, white/dark grey, and white/turquoise. A free Incipio Vanity Kit containing a screen protector, cleaning cloth, and applicator card is included to improve the value of the case.
The silicone core is a thick covering that has two large bumps on the back of the case on the top and the bottom. These bumps mimic the ergonomics of a console controller when the iPhone is held horizontally. The bumps are large enough to be noticeably more comfortable to hold but not so large that it is difficult to put into a pocket. The silicone material used is extremely thick, making this a perfect case for the extremely clumsy gamer. The case is named the Hive Response because the silicone has honeycomb shaped cut-outs provide a strong but light structure. I found myself comfortably using the iPhone for without any hand cramps with this case.
The biggest problem with the case stems from the silicone core. It quite literally stinks to high heaven. The scent is the unfortunate cross of ground cumin and body odour. I found this to be incredibly strange considering silicone is supposed to be inert and tends to smell like nothing. The silicone has a very powdery feel to the case, so I assumed maybe it was some sort of left over material from manufacturing that was causing this unpleasant scent. I rolled up my sleeves and gave the silicone core a good scrubbing with some soap and hot water. After a few washes and some time, the smell was a little less intense, but was definitely still there. Since silicone is usually odourless, I am left to wonder what material the Hive Response is actually made from.
The polycarbonate backing is provides rigidity for the case. It only covers the middle half of the case. The polycarbonate backing seems to hold the silicone case in place and provide a comfortable area to rest the fingers on. It will not add much to the already excellent protection for impact and scratches.
Installing the case is simple for the most parts. The silicone core slips onto the iPhone with a slightly loose fit. It is not loose enough that it will fall off without the polycarbonate backing. In fact, the case could very easily be used without the back clip. Next, line up the plastic piece so the hole on the right side lines up with the raised rectangle with the Incipio lettering and snap the other side of the plastic part in. It is a relatively easy install, but because the silicone is a little on the looser side, the plastic piece has a tendency to stretch the silicone core. I had to wiggle the plastic piece a little and push in stray parts of silicone into place to get the perfect fit. Once the case was installed, there were zero issues of the case coming apart as the plastic piece’s fit is extremely tight.
The case’s coverage is extremely good. The Hive Response has extra thick pieces of silicone on the corners of the device cut in a very high tech looking angle. Short of dropping the phone face down onto the corner of a desk, this case will survive extremely rough treatment. There is an extremely generous lip on the case that covers a small portion of the phone’s front face. This lip will help keep the phone from being scratched when rested face down on a dirty surface.
The buttons on the phone are covered. There is a raised imprint for each button. The volume buttons have a very decent button cut out, however I found the sleep button could have had a larger raised cut out. Because of its location, the cut out for the vibrate switch is extremely deep. This can become a problem for people with extremely wide fingers. I have extremely small hands compared to the average North American person and I noticed my thumbs struggled a little to reach the vibrate switch, forcing me to use another finger.
The cut out for the 30 pin dock connector, camera, and speakers are sized perfectly. The case will accept almost any 30-pin cable. Unfortunately, due to the thickness of the case, the case is not compatible with any docks. The headphone cut out is one of the largest I have seen. The Hive Response is one of the few cases that accepted every single headphone cable I owned, from the tiny official iPhone ear buds to the extremely large cables on my Shure SE215 and AKG Q701s.
The Hive Response is one of those cases that are difficult to score. On one hand, it is a comfortable case to hold that provides an incredible amount of drop protection. It looks high tech and manages to stay light due to the honeycomb design. As advertised, it is comfortable for extended gaming sessions. On the other hand, this case literally stinks. I do not know many people who fine the scent of cumin pleasant. I personally love food with cumin in it, but the smell of the case still manages to annoy me. I really have no idea if this is an isolated issue. So, if you are a heavy iPhone gamer looking for a comfortable case, I recommend purchasing it from a retailer with a return policy. At least that way you can return the case if you find yours smelling like cumin.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
During the BAFTA Awards, Irrational Games’ Ken Levine took to the stage to deliver a lengthy Q&A presentation on their upcoming game Bioshock Infinite. The title of his presentation was ‘From Shodan, to Big Daddy, to Elizabeth: The Evolution of AI Companions’.
Irrational Games have now released the entirety of Ken Levine’s Bioshock Infinite presentation on their official Youtube channel for the viewing pleasure of Bioshock fans. The presentation video can be seen below this article.
What do you think of Ken Levine’s lengthy BAFTA presentation? Let us know your thoughts on this presentation and Bioshock Infinite in the comments section below.
The official site for the second Gintama movie, titled: “Gekijoban Gintama Kanketsu-hen: Yorozuya Yo Eien Nare” or for those of you who DON’T speak Japananese; “Final Gintama: The Movie: Be Forever Yorozuya”, has started, as of monday, streaming 2 teaser trailers; one that goes for 15 seconds and the other going for 30 seconds, the content of the trailers is the same one is just at a faster pace than the other.
The short teaser tells us that this film will include a brand-new “Final” story that will be written by Gintama creator Hideaki Sorachi.
Going back to the title; This movie will feature two different Gintokis; one in the present and one in the past. As of right now we don’t exactly know how they’re going to come together. The movie COULD be part flashback, somehow relating to the present plot or it could take the path of a time-travel movie and have old and young Gintoki fighting side by side. What we DO know for sure is that this film will be completely new and very unique.
We are under the impression that this will be the end for Gintama: The Series considering it’s time slot will be taken up on the 4th of April this year, it will be replaced by the new anime series “Aikatsu!”
It’s been a humongous week for Injustice: Gods Among Us news. We’ve had two long-rumoured character reveals come to light – Ravenand Doomsday – but now, we have confirmation that the star of the Nine Network’s upcoming action programme ‘Arrow’ (has been out in the States for quite some time), Stephen Amell, has lent his likeness and voice-over to an ‘Arrow’-themed skinned version of Green Arrow in Injustice: Gods Among Us.
This skin/version can be unlocked by fans who vote on the Injustice: Gods Among Us ‘Battle Arena’ and may be available as DLC down the line. Speaking of the Battle Arena, the quarter-final match-ups have taken place and the resulting action can be seen below:
Batman vs. Wonder Woman
The Flash vs. The Joker
Aquaman vs. Green Lantern
Superman vs. Green Arrow
So, what did you guys think of the fights and their results? Disappointed by the victors? Who did you vote for/think should have won. Let us know in the comments section below. And remember to visit injustice.dccomics.comto cast your votes on all future battles. For those who are unfamiliar with the competition, its rules or the prizes at stake, go herefor more information. I will leave you with the semi-finals bracket:
Today Gust shared another video in their countdown to the PlayStation Vita release of Atelier Meruru Plus this week in Japan. The video is six minutes long and features Director Yoshito Okamura once again talking like an NPC.
This time around the video focuses on the various items players will use as well as some brief comparison shots between the PlayStation 3 version of Meruru and the Vita version. As you can see in the video below, it looks like the Vita version hasn’t suffered too much of a visual downgrade, though it appears to have blurred slightly compared to it’s console counterpart.
Welcome to Talking Crap, a show were a bunch of game journos talk about crap. In this episode we discuss the age of the vocal game developer, Cliffy B’s bro mentality getting out of control, the responsibility that comes with using the social media platforms such as Twitter and whether or not you should ever meet your hero.
