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Hidden Agenda Interview with PopCap Games

February 6, 2013

“An interview conducted with PopCap Games”

PopCap has recently launched the beta for their Facebook title, Hidden Agenda. And I have acquired much needed information from the stealthy hands of Hidden Object Executive Producer, Kurt Busch. Hidden Agenda has been discovered!

Question 1: I would first like to begin by asking, “Who are you, and what is your role in the creation of Hidden Agenda?”

I’m Kurt Busch, the Executive Producer for Hidden Object games at PopCap and the General Manager of the Vancouver studio. My role in the game was to build a team to take everything we learned creating successful HOG franchises like Mystery PI and Vacation Quest and bring this sort of fun to Facebook. About a year ago, we built a small team around Rick Davidson, the Game Director, and started experimenting with what worked best.

Question 2: According to the initial screenshot release, animals were depicted as the community population. What drove the theme of animal characters?

This was suggested by Nelson, our Lead Artist on the project. His idea was to make everyone animals but treat them as regular characters – no corny animal names or gags. As soon as he did this, everything seemed different. Characters immediately became more sinister, or silly, or endearing.

Question 3: Continuing from the previous question, is there symbolism behind the chosen characters and the roles that they play?

We were working with the idea of two competing families and – as it worked out – all the members of the progress-driven family wound up being carnivores and all the members of the traditional family were herbivores. This wasn’t intentional, but it shows the kind of message you can get across about a character just by trading on what different animals represent. When the head of a family is an apex predator, you know you should really watch yourself around him. Incidentally, we weren’t entirely consistent on that division.

We leave it to the player’s imaginations as to whether the characters are actually animals, or if this is a metaphor for their human personalities. We’ve found that players have an immediate rapport with the characters without requiring a lot of description or dialogue. When you see a lion, you immediately assume he’s forceful and aggressive and at the top of the food chain. Then to add a layer of depth, we created a hidden agenda for every character in the game – something that each character is hiding but the player can discover.

Question 4: Will Hidden Agenda be exclusive to Facebook? If so, why was this venue chosen over the more traditional PC/Mac release?

It’s launching as a Facebook exclusive and it was designed specifically for the way people play Facebook games. In our regular PC/Mac titles, the Hidden Object experience is very casual and relaxed. It’s all about taking your time to discover all the visual little nooks and crannies of a scene. On Facebook, it’s more about dropping into this little world a few times each day and making progress on unraveling the town’s many secrets. Also, we wanted to try building a game where we could roll out new content and mysteries every week instead of every few months.

Question 5: Since the title will be released on the social network, how will interactions between friends help propel a player’s progress? Will there be rewards for helping others like “energy boosts” to extend the playing experience?

You can help out your friends in a number of ways. If you choose to join a crew to inspect a crime scene, you’ll make progress in finding clues more quickly. In the town meta-game, you’ll be able to find specific items for your friends. Eventually, we’ll give you the chance to hide objects in your friends’ towns. We also have some very creative ideas that will definitely help you out if you’re playing with friends who are around the same level as you.

Question 6: Being free-to-play will guarantee more casual players to dive in Hidden Agenda. What is the affordability for the premium content?

Hidden Agenda is divided up into Jobs and Cases. Jobs are sort of scavenger hunts in the town that let you earn currency, energy and special investigative gear like fingerprint kits and security camera tapes. You can always buy these items if you want to do fewer jobs.

Cases are mysteries made up of multiple Hidden Object scenes. Each case has an additional premium scene, meaning a special Hidden Object Screen. Finding all the clues in it will give you access to special graphic novel pages that tell you more of the backstory behind the characters and the case.

Question 7: I haven’t heard of this game being developed in rumblings anywhere, and it is being released in early 2013 – not far away. Has there been a hidden agenda for Hidden Agenda?

Well, we ARE a Hidden Object Games studio! We should be able to hide stuff. We started doing prototypes with a small team back in late 2011. We tried a Blitz model and decided that didn’t work. Then we tried a more traditional, case-based PI game and we felt we were a lot closer. When Rick and his team joined in late January, he started exploring the idea of creating a world where EVERYTHING – the scenes and the town and the tasks – became a Hidden Object Game. We tinkered with a town-building mechanic and decided it got in the way of the whole-world-is-a-HOG approach. Then we just kept our heads down and worked away. We’ve been in closed beta within PopCap for the last few months and just started opening it up to the public recently.

Question 8: Like other hidden object games provided by PopCap, can we expect cameos from Bejeweled and other titles?

Yes you can. Don’t be surprised if you find a Zombie on your lawn.

Question 9: Beyond the hidden object content, how many types of alternative mini-games will be available?

Every part of the game is a Hidden Object experience, but that doesn’t mean every moment of gameplay is a traditional Hidden Object scene. The entire meta-game is made up of different types of scavenger hunts throughout the town, and these weave in elements of memorization, matching and general hunting around.

In terms of the traditional HOG scenes, we’re launching with a conventional seek-and-find mode and a Blitz mode. We’re implementing a Spot-the-Difference mode for early in the year. We have a couple other modes that we’ll roll out later in the game.

Question 10: Hidden object games are not necessarily known for having extensive playing time. How will Hidden Agenda combat repetition and extend the playability for its players on the social network?

Most Hidden Object games on Facebook have turned the HOG experience into a sort of memory game to promote repeat playability. This has turned into some fun moments in some games, but we approached it differently. We make the repeated investigation of the scenes an opportunity to uncover new clues to advance the case. And the team brought the HOG experience out into the town, with repeated quests to find objects, suspects, friends and characters. When you’re exploring the world in Hidden Agenda, you’re always trying to find something.

That concludes the interview with PopCap’s HOG Executive Producer Kurt Busch. Since you have gathered some classified “interrogation” information, go on over and check out Hidden Agenda on Facebook (here).

Paul Walker to Play Agent 47 in Hitman Reboot

Zac Elawar

February 6, 2013

THIS is our Hitman?! Meet the new Agent 47 everyone!

So, it was announced today, via Deadline, that the Hitman film reboot is going into full motion with Paul Walker cast as Agent 47…

The script is being written by the screenwriter of the first film (which was a critical failure), Skip Woods, as well as Mike Finch. It will be directed by commercials director Aleksander Bach in his feature-film debut. (Now, I just want to iterate that the following is my opinion alone here, and I am not necessarily representing the site’s overall opinion.)

It’s funny because, according to the article, Fox International Pictures sees this film as a potential hit, especially in the international market, based on the video game series’ sales numbers in those overseas regions. But, they haven’t seemed to consider that those same fans of the franchise might not be receptive to this casting choice…and I think I’ be safe in saying that’s an understatement.

Of course, the first film broke $100 million and people were complaining about Timothy Olyphant being cast back then too – I personally think Olyphant is an amazing actor though. So, there’s a good chance that this “reboot” will still make it’s production cost back in box office sales, and possibly make a profit, thanks to the average movie goer (and teenage girl). But, why alienate the very audience that put the games – the source material – on the map?

Why not cast a great actor, who can carry an action film (alone) and has been proven to be able to play a bad-ass, like Mark Strong. Mark Strong is one of the busiest actors in Hollywood for a reason; he’s that good. And he looks almost exactly like the character design for Agent 47! I usually give the benefit of the doubt, but you could be blind and still see this is a mistake. End rant. Let us know what you think about this casting news in the comments below. Have any alternative choices in mind?

Real World Racing – Open Beta Demo

Joshua Moris

February 6, 2013

Playstos has released a demo version of their upcoming title – Real World Racing. The title is a top-down racing game that features real topographic maps taken from satellite imagery. The developers have done this to give players the feel of racing in our physical world. Touched up with 3D environment effects, racing from a bird’s eye view will have you looking at cities around the world in a different perspective.

RWR Open Beta Demo Features:

Online Multiplayer up to 16 players
3 Tracks from the final game, set in Rome, Berlin and London
6 Cars from the middle point class in the final game
Single Player Arcade Mode
Time Trial Mode
Garage for car browsing and customization

To gather further analysis of Real World Racing take a look at our preview of the title (here). Play the open beta demo by downloading the title at the Real World Racing website.

DDR Classroom Edition Comes to Fresno

Simon Wolfe

February 6, 2013

DanceDanceRevolution Classroom Edition was announced and released as a means for schools to encourage their students to have healthy activity through the means of the game. The game itself was helped funded by The California Endowment for their Building Healthy Communities plan and now the game has been integrated into all eight middle schools of the Fresno Unified School District.

Hoping to set the trend for the rest of the state of California, the Fresno middle schools students will utilize DDR Classroom Edition, which tracks steps, body mass index (BMI), and caloric burn rate. What makes this somewhat different than your standard DDR game is that instead of limiting the game to a maximum of 4 pads for players to use, DDR Classroom Edition allows up to 48 wireless pads to track each student’s progress separately.

It’s great to see games being shown in a positive light to help school kids to get more active and hopefully to live healthier lives, as one of the main targets for improvement DDR Classroom Edition hopes to help is childhood obesity. Time will tell if DanceDanceRevolution Classroom Edition is everything they want it to be, so here’s to all those kids in the Fresno middle schools. Get up and get down.

New Sherlock Holmes Title Unveiled – Crimes & Punishments

Joshua Moris

February 6, 2013

Frogwares Studio is ditching their homemade engine and taking up the Unreal Engine 3 for their latest addition to the Sherlock Holmes franchise, Crimes & Punishments. Boosting graphical quality and detailed environments, the Unreal Engine 3 will break players away from sidelining the investigations to become fully involved. Crimes & Punishments puts the player in the driver’s seat with several crimes to solve where decisions provide multiple conclusions.

Those that appreciate the traditional Conan Doyle’s novels will be please to hear that the story for Crimes & Punishments has taken the same route. To catch a glimpse of the coming title gaze at the screenshots provided below. Follow Frogwares’ progress of the title at their Twitter (@Sherlock_Game) or Facebook (here).

Dead Island Reaches Sales Milestone

Simon Wolfe

February 6, 2013

So we know that Dead Island sold well enough to warrant a sequel, seeing as that will be coming out April. But just how many copies of the first game have been sold since its original release back in September 2011? Well, according to publisher Deep Silver the game has just passed 5 million copies sold, including retail and digital versions of the game. Seeing as those sales cross 17 months, that is a pretty solid worldwide sales rate.

Deep Silver, and its parent company Koch Media, are fairly impressed with their numbers and are hopeful that it will translate to good sales for Dead Island Riptide when it releases. But not to be thought of as a one-trick pony Koch Media’s International Commercial Director Menno van der Bil has stated that, “Further new IPs with an innovative angle and maybe even a surprising touch can be expected from Deep Silver.” Plus with their acquisition of Saint’s Row and Metro, they now have already established IPs to be part their “overall IP strategy”.

Namco Bandai 50% off PSN Sale

Luke Halliday

February 6, 2013

Namco Bandai have announced that they have commenced a 50% off sale for selected titles and DLC on the PlayStation Network. The discounted titles range from PlayStation 3, PSP and PS Vita games as well as DLC of course.

The titles on discount for 50% off are as follows:

PlayStation 3:
RIDGE RACER 7: 3D License Version – $9.99
NAMCO MUSEUM ESSENTIALS – $4.99
NOBY NOBY BOY – $2.49
ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS – $24.99
PlayStation Vita:
RIDGE RACER – $12.49
TOUCH MY KATAMARI – $12.49
PSP:
SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny – $19.99
TEKKEN 6 – $19.99
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja Impact™ – $19.99
DLC:
ACE COMBAT ASSAULT HORIZON DLC – prices between $1.99 to $7.49
Dark Souls: Atorias of the Abyss – $7.49
ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS DLC Pack – $7.49

What do you think of Namco Bandai’s 50% off PlayStation Network sale? Will you be picking up any of these titles? If so, which titles? Let us know in the comments section below what you think of this awesome sale.

Domo The Journey Review

Matthew Vella

February 5, 2013

Domo: The Journey
Developer: Playlithium
Publisher: Horse Feathers Inc.
Platforms: iPad, Ipod Touch, iPhone (Reviewed)
Release Date: 21/01/2013
Price: $1.99 – Available Here

Overview:

For those unaware, Domo is the beloved mascot of Japanese television station NHK, where he often stars in his own stop-motion sketches during commercial breaks. In the western world however, he is pretty much just a less-feminine Hello Kitty. Domo has been starred in various forms of media from english manga to even video games (mostly on the DS), now Domo hits iOS devices in Domo: The Journey. Unfortunately however, the entertainment value is much like that Domo keychain I once owned: pocket sized.

Gameplay:

Simply put, Domo The Journey: is your typical generic platformer with no aspirations to be anything more. You have an virtual D-pad to move your character around, and you have to get to the goal at the end of the level. Sometimes you can get power ups like a guitar or a camera to fend off enemies, and these have to recharge. Those two sentences pretty much describe the entire game’s premise. The controls are clunky and unresponsive at times, and occasionally collision detection can be an issue. Jumping isn’t flawed, but it is does take some getting used to as while Domo can double jump, his second jump is significantly shorter than his first, which players may take some getting used to. Level design is uncreative and at times seem unorganized with just a bunch of platforms thrown onto the screen randomly, especially in the later levels.

On occasion the game will try and freshen things up with things such as a Donkey Kong-styled mining cart or snowmobile levels, but these fail to make the game any more fun or less frustrating. On rare occasions there are boss battles,which are not always at the end of each zone, that require little strategy and frankly aren’t any more exciting than the standard stages. The final boss in particular is pretty stressful as much like the rest of the game it’s filled with bugs and collision detection issues that just make you want to scream. You’d think this game had no testers at all…but according to the credits there was three of them. A shop is also available to buy upgrades and such, but these are all extremely over priced. Thankfully you do get some credits for free each day, but this doesn’t help too much. So unless you want to slave away for unnecessary long periods of time your be forced to buy coins with your real money (freemium style) which not only seems unfair, but also unnecessary. Either that or you go without, your choice.

Audio & Visuals:

Domo encounters similar problems with the audio & visual aspects along his journey. While the music may be uninspired it isn’t terrible, but the sound effects could use some improvement. Hearing Domo jump for example is an odd and annoying noise and being a platformer that’s one sound effect the developers should’ve had nailed from the get go. The worst offender is the animation, which tends to be very choppy; and not in the cool stop-motion animation way the original Domo sketches are like. Alongside collision detection issues, animation responses can be off, so knowing when either your or an enemy is damaged can occasionally be a problem. Also if you lose one life there is a death animation, but if you lose all lives it cuts straight to the game over screen. It’s a small nit-picking problem, but Domo: The Journey is filled with small issues like these. Aside from that, stages are rather static with not much going on. Art design and colors do the job right, but keep in mind the main characters are licensed by NHK so it’s not much to credit the developer on.

Overall:

Long story short, Domo: The Journey is an unpolished disappointment with very few redeeming qualities. Gameplay is buggy, controls are stiff, collision detection can be a problem, animation is choppy, sound effects could use some improvement and makes little to no attempts at doing anything creative. Even the most hardcore Domo fans will be let down by this title. If this was free or $0.99 maybe it’d be easier to go easy on this title, but keep in mind it’s on sale for $1.99 and is filled with problems. Better luck next time Playlithium.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Red Johnson’s Chronicles: One Against All Review

Zac Elawar

February 5, 2013

Red Johnson’s Chronicles: One Against All
Developer: Lexis Numérique
Publisher: Anuman Interactive (Microïds)
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PSN, XBLA
Release Date: Out Now
Price: $19.99 (Available Here)

Overview

Red Johnson’s Chronicles: One Against All is the 2nd entry into the Red Johnson’s Chronicles series. Much like its predecessor, ‘One Against All’ was first released on the PlayStation Network, before marking the series’ début on Xbox Live Arcade and finally making its way onto the PC in 2013, a year after it’s initial release. The first game had some great puzzles, but many experience-dampening issues (review here). Has Red redeemed himself in this second adventure?…

Story

The story takes into consideration the events prior, but quickly flashes forward 6 months after the intro, which shows how the cliffhanger confrontation at the end of the first game concluded (I would warn SPOILERS, but you won’t play this for the story…trust me). Red Johnson now has a $150,000 bounty on his head, put out by crime boss Uncle Teddy. He decides to find a place where he can lay low, hence the 6 month hiatus from his usual surroundings. He now frequents a crappy bar in the docks district, laying claim to a decrepit underground subway station as his hideout. But, Red soon finds out that he’s a living, breathing trouble magnet, and he can not simply run or hide from it…

The dive’s french waitress, named Abbie, gives Red a box and a complimentary drink. The box turns out to be a computer, and the first riddle is quickly unraveled by Red, which displayed a well-timed warning that his drink was poisoned. Red promptly throws down the cup, and discovers a severed finger was inside. It’s clear Red isn’t as safe as he hoped. Red loses no time in returning to his hideout to analyze the finger – with his almost magic-like ‘analyzer’ (creative name!) – which results in a harrowing revelation…the finger belongs to his younger brother, Brown. Yes…Brown Johnson…

Oh, and his search for who sent this threat and who, perhaps, has his brother, leads him to find his older Brother…Black Johnson. I can’t make this up people. Throughout Red’s journey to save his brother, we learn a lot about his past and his relationship with his family. Characters such as the enigmatic Saul, incompetent cop Officer Robert and hopeless drunk Ringo return and join new entities, the strange and cryptic Derlik and the dangerously devilish Niki. The story develops well enough, but it’s not the highlight of the game. It’s not that it’s necessarily bad, but it just doesn’t grab you.

Gameplay

Unfortunately, there’s not much I can say about the gameplay that I haven’t already said in my review of the series’ previous instalment (link above). The control scheme issues I noted have not been rectified, which really irritates me. I just don’t understand how it has been ignored all this time. I must mention, however, that the meaningless choices (such as which screw to unscrew first) have been excised and that there are much fewer gesture-based elements and quick time events. Also, Saul returns to take on the same purpose as in the first game; being your human hint-guide.

The puzzles are just as hard, if not harder. Niki leads Red on somewhat of a scavenger hunt as part of one puzzle, which is a fleeting, but new wrinkle in the game. The blacklight has been replaced by the UV lamp, which can pretty much be brought up on most every puzzle, instead of being restricted to specific ones like the blacklight. But, that doesn’t mean it is needed on every puzzle, so that in itself is somewhat of a meaningless alteration. Something I do like is the fact that clues now cost different values depending on how helpful they are. Clues all being $200 was a criticism of mine in the first’s review, so I’m happy to see this change.

Visuals & Audio

‘One Against All’ retains the same visual theme, tonality and color scheme as the first game, but takes place in a different setting, albeit still a section of Metropolis. A far cry from Red’s headquarters, his hideout is a dirty, abandoned subway station; a real mess with discarded cans of processed foods, stray pieces of (probably damp) newspaper and an exposed electrical wire hanging from the ceiling. This consistency in visual design is something that does wonders for Metropolis’ reputation as a dingy, run-down city. Other locations communicate the same vibe, like ‘Brown’s Squat’, and ‘Duncan’s Dive’ which I’m sure you can easily envision just by reading their titles. The latter will certainly be familiar to anyone who’s been to a old, grotty bar in their lifetime.

The character designs are a lot more flamboyant and unique this go around, with each new character’s look clearly speaking to their personality. Derlik flat-out reminds me of The Riddler from Batman (the Arkham City version). Now, I know the Riddler’s hat is a bowler and not a top-hat, but I’m speaking on the overall air about him…the look in his eyes, and also the voice-work. After all, he is the evil mastermind of the game, leaving puzzles for Red to solve. Niki is another eccentric character. Being a female bounty hunter, they had to sexualise her (it was expected) and make her appearance that of a sadomasochistic mistress, wearing a complete black leather get-up. It reads well, but it’s a bit of a cliché.

Audio-wise, most of the established music from the first game is present in its original form, so I guess we can always consider it, along with the visual theme, to be the consistent thread in the presentation of the series moving forward. The old loop that plays during cut-scenes, however, has been replaced by a darker, more subtle one that has a better flow and doesn’t abrasively restart after every quick-time event encountered (one of my complaints from the first game). During certain puzzles, a more tense and foreboding background track has been included, and a stinger plays now during revelations that make the scene feel more dramatic. It mostly gels well, except for the stinger as it’s a bit camp and doesn’t exactly hit at the climax of the scenes it’s used in.

Overall

Red Johnson’s Chronicles: One Against All is of a (slightly) higher production value than its predecessor, but it shows. The presentation is more dynamic, especially in the cut-scenes; the voice-work on Red Johnson himself is much improved, and the dialogue is less ridiculous, carrying a darker tone. But, even though certain gameplay features/mechanics were improved upon – such as the increasing cost of successive clues, which I had hoped for – the control system is largely unchanged and is still a major problem for me. A shame that nothing was tweaked in the most important aspect of its design.

Also, I found the game to be shorter than the first, which is disconcerting considering it’s priced at a higher price point than the first game. Overall, however, with many of the presentational flaws being resolved – including my audio-related complaints from the first game – I have to give this sequel a higher score. It could be argued that I was too tough on the original to begin with, but if developer can’t get the control scheme on a point-and-click adventure right, in two outings, I can’t in good conscious give a higher score.

Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 1-28-13 Review

Travis Bruno

February 5, 2013

Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 1-28-13
Publisher: Viz Media
Release Date: January 28, 2013
Price: $0.99 per issue – Available Here

Overview:
One of the biggest complaints that people raise against the English manga world is the fact that translations of their favorite manga take far too long and lag too far behind the original Japanese releases. Well Viz Media has started to make a shift in the manga world by making their digital Weekly Shonen Jump simultaneous with Japan’s releases for a number of series. We’ve seen the first issue debut does the follow-up issue for January 28th keep things going?

Toriko:
Toriko takes the cover page and front place in this week’s issue with a two-page color spread featuring Toriko facing down the powerful Starjun. When we last saw Toriko the Gourmet Corp had invaded the Cooking Festival competition and Starjun had managed to capture poor Komatsu with Toriko staring him down.

This chapter focuses heavily on set-up for the next few chapters as the Heavenly Knights pair off against the Vice-Chefs of the Gourmet Corp while demonstrating some of their abilities early on in the clash. The artwork is exceptionally detailed with many of the main characters showing off their skills while a few monsters sent by Gourmet Corp continue to roam the field. The translation seems well done with sound effects translated as well. This chapter serves as a good set-up for the battles on the way which will likely take up the next few months of Toriko’s manga.

One Piece:
One Piece follows after Toriko with the Straw Hat pirates and the Marines finally finishing off the last of Caesar’s forces and his back-up. Now that these two teams have managed to put an end to this threat, they must plan their next move and try to sort out their differences.

Chapter 696 focuses heavily on the after-math of this large arc as the split up members of Luffy’s crew finally come together now that the battle is done and begin to wind down. Not only do we see some of the series’ comedy return to One Piece in this chapter but a few previously unresolved issues are quickly fixed within only a couple of panels. This chapter crams a lot of detail and characters into one chapter and feels rather rushed as they try to tie up a few final plot points before revealing the next step in Luffy and Law’s plan.

Naruto:
The last chapter of Naruto saw the Ninja War reaching its peak as Neji, the first main side-character, killed off by a powerful attack from Obito. As Naruto begins powering up the army with the Kyuubi’s chakra his conviction towards defeating Obito and Madara has never been stronger and the army launches their strongest counter attack yet.

After last week’s emotional impact from Neji’s death, Naruto and his newly powered allies say their final goodbyes for Neji’s sacrifice and put into action the plan laid out by the HQ before it was destroyed. As such, this chapter mainly focuses on the massive Ninja army unleashing various attacks and restriction techniques to deal what may be the first actual damage to their enemies. Not only does this chapter focus heavily on emotion such as Lee’s final goodbye to Neji but it also features a number of powerful moves being unleashed, a number of which taking up a two-page spread as they slam into Obito and Madara. However it seems things are about to slow down significantly next chapter as the focus switches to Sasuke’s group.

Nisekoi:
After a few chapters of random pieces of story and character development spread across various slice-of-life rom-com events which have been quite funny, it seems that things are about to move into plot development territory.

As the days have gone buy it is approaching Christmas time and while the gang is trying to sort out their Christmas plans and hold a party, Chitoge suddenly grows very concerned. It turns out that her mother is coming home to spend time with the family and if her opinion is anything to go by, Raku better straighten up and play the fake boyfriend part well or he’ll be at the wrong end of a vicious and powerful woman. The series always excels at offering hilarious slice-of-life comedy and over-the-top facial reactions and this chapter is unofruntalte light on both of those things. While it still offers a few laughs, the obvious focus here is set-up for an actual story-arc. As the story begins to move forward again, we’ll have to see how Raku handles Chitoge’s mother.

One-Punch Man:
This new manga certainly entered into things with a bang. Featuring a rather oddly drawn hero called One-Punch Man the hero took down a vicious looking demonic creature with only one blow after it managed to destroy a very large area.

Considering the fact that the series literally started last week, we’ve seen no backstory so far for what One-Punch Man is about and this second chapter looks to expand things by going back in time three years. In this chapter we see a new creature and even stranger character design that honestly looks terrible as the hero receives a little bit of backstory, but not enough to expand much of anything. As such, this chapter feels more like filler backstory than anything else which is disappointing in only the second chapter.

Bleach:
Last chapter it was revealed strongest warrior in the 13 Guard Squads of Soul Society isn’t quit who we thought it was as Kenpachi must now face off against a character in mortal combat that has done a complete about-face as far as personality is concerned, Unohana.

Would it be bad to say that it feels like this chapter was over in around thirty seconds? Well perhaps not, since this was certainly an easy translation job for Viz’s team with only a few text bubbles and the entirety of this chapter focuses on the intense combat between Unohana and Kenpachi as we learn that these two characters have quite a bit of backstory to them which will likely be revealed over the course of their life and death struggle to train Kenpachi into a stronger fighter.

Cross Manage:
The first match that the girls’ lacrosse team turned out to be quite difficult last chapter but through the team’s great teamwork and persevierence the girls have managed to push towards a victory in the first game of the lacrosse tournament. As such the team must work hard to aim towards another win.

Sadly I’ll admit that I am unfamiliar with this series as a whole, but this chapter focuses on the girls’ second game while the manager Sakurai explains his team positioning to the Soccer Club manager and the woman who has a crush on him, Hayami. For those curious about the rules of lacrosse and some of the game’s positions this chapter serves well to explain a few situations while also exploring a bit of romance between the dense coach and the girl who admires him. As far as artwork goes, some characters feature odd artwork but the lacrosse game itself and the rule explanation was handled well.

Kintoki:
This is quite the special issue because of one reason, it includes Kintoki. Kintoki is a one-shot (meaning one chapter only) manga from the famous Akira Toriyama known for the hit series Dragon Ball. As such, it is always huge news whenever he puts pen to paper again and now that he has, this thirty page story has been included in the latest Weekly Shonen Jump featuring a rather familiar looking art style reminiscent of his Dragon Ball days.

The story follows Toki, the last of the Kinme Clan, a group of people known for golden eyes and amazing combat abilities. He lives alone in the wilderness but when one of his visits to the closest town puts him at odds against a young lord, Toki must fight against his lackies and reveal his abilities. To say that this one-shot was full of nostalgia would be an understatement thanks to how similar many of the fighting sequences and appearance of the characters were to the iconic Dragon Ball manga. The story itself is also rather interesting and I could see it becoming a full blown series if Toriyama chooses to take the story beyond a simple one-shot.

Overall:
This second issue of Viz’s Weekly Shonen Jump keeps the pace moving rather fast with a number of action packed chapters mixed in with plot advancing chapters with only a couple in-between fillers. Unfortunately, One-Punch Man is floundering right off the bat, but that is made up for with the impressive battles found in Naruto and Bleach. Of course for those looking for more than action, Nisekoi continues to provide a few laughs while Cross Manage’s focus on the second game and rules of the game keeps the manga interesting.

Of course, any issue featuring the well-known Toriyama is already something special, but the story introduced in Kintoki could easily be taken to the next level. Ultimately this issue contained some rather impressive artwork and some good story development, though those looking for more of Toriyama’s work should keep an eye out for next week’s issue when the fully colored Dragon Ball Z manga chapters begin debuting.

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