Ubisoft have announced that Might & Magic Duel of Champions, the Might & Magic free-to-play online card game, is now available on iPad 2 and above. Now you’ll be able to play against every opponent available, whether on iPads or PCs, since the game will allow for complete cross platform game-play, a first for Ubisoft.
Might & Magic Duel of Champions is being developed by Ubisoft Quebec. The game includes hundreds of new, detailed, collectible cards, all set in the Might & Magic universe. As you develop your skills and strategies, you will be pitted against others in epic battles. You will also be challenged to earn new cards and grow the strength and abilities of your chosen hero’s army. You can enhance your experience and replenish your card supply by visiting the game’s online store.
Might & Magic Duel Of Champions is available now, download it from the iTunes store here. Be sure to check out the trailer for the game below.
Aksys Games have just announce that the compilation of the original BIT.TRIP series for the Nintendo 3DS, BIT.TRIP SAGA, will be available for digital download on the Nintendo eShop starting December 20th, 2012. Each game has been masterfully recreated in 3D specifically for the Nintendo 3DS. BIT.TRIP SAGA is certainly a must own for new adventurers in the BIT.TRIP series or fans of the original WiiWare titles. BIT.TRIP SAGA will be priced at $14.99!
BIT.TRIP SAGA includes the following six WiiWare titles, remastered in 3D for the Nintendo 3DS:
· BIT.TRIP BEAT
· BIT.TRIP CORE
· BIT.TRIP VOID
· BIT.TRIP RUNNER
· BIT.TRIP FATE
· BIT.TRIP FLUX
More information about Aksys Games and the BIT.TRIP series can be found at www.aksysgames.com and www.gaijingames.com. Check out our review for BIT.TRIP Complete here.
Following the release of Wii U, Nintendo looks ahead at what new software is on the horizon for Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL players to enjoy this Christmas, into the new year and beyond. With a diverse range of games for both platforms soon to launch there will be something for every Nintendo 3DS and Wii U owner to enjoy. Check out the lists below for both Wii U retail and eShop titles along with Nintendo 3DS retail and shop titles.
Wii U Retail Titles
Wii U eShop Titles
Nintendo 3DS Retail Titles
Nintendo 3DS eShop Titles
Which games are you looking forward most to playing on either the Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS? Let us know leave a comment below.
Bleach the Movie: Hell Verse Studio: Studio Pierrot Publisher:Viz Media Format: DVD, Blu-ray (Reviewed) Release Date: December 4, 2012 Price:$24.98 – Available Here
Overview: There are a number of anime series that are known worldwide and among these is the Bleach series. Not only is the manga quite successful, the anime has also seen large amounts of success and can be seen on television, Neon Alley and on both Blu-ray and DVD. As such, it should come as no surprise that the Bleach movies created in Japan are brought overseas as well. Now Viz Media has released the fourth movie in franchise’s history, Bleach the Movie: Hell Verse. Is this movie worth your money? Let’s find out.
Story: Away from all the hectic battles he’s been in, Ichigo is living rather peacefully again in Karakura Town where he spends time taking care of ghosts and helping them move on. However when Renji and Rukia appear on a secret mission, weird things begin to happen around Ichigo. While attending school with his friends, mysterious robed figures start attacking the group and attempting to destroy the school. As such, Ichigo, Chad and Ishida face off against these mysterious opponents and struggle against their unknown abilities.
However it quickly becomes apparent that the whole attack was just a diversion. These beings’ true intentions were to kidnap Ichigo’s two little-sisters and while the group manages to save his one sister, Yuzu is taken to Hell. Ichigo is told that these people known as Sinners have kidnapped his sister and the only way to get her back is to follow the Sinners into the depths of hell and free them from their chains which hold them there for eternity.
With his sister’s life at risk, Ichigo encounters a new ally named Kokuto who also happens to be a Sinner, however he wishes to work with Ichigo and try to put a stop to this group. As such, the group enters Hell in an attempt to try and save Ichigo’s younger sister Yuzu, regardless of the consequences and not bothering to seek help in any form.
As far as chronology goes, Bleach: Hell Verse is practically impossible to place thanks to the fact that it obviously takes place after the Arrancar and Aizen story arcs, though doesn’t follow the actual storytelling of those arcs, so ultimately the movie sits outside of the anime’s actual storyline so those looking for some sort of story expansion won’t be finding any here.
The story of Bleach: Hell Verse is almost as formulaic as a shōnen series comes. While there are interesting tid-bits of information revealed about how the Sinners managed to obtain power and why Hell is such a horrible place in a world such as Bleach’s, the only surprising parts of the movie occur after a telegraphed plot-twist. After this occurs there are actually some emotional scenes for Ichigo which makes the movie a little worthwhile, but outside of that there is zero actual character development or additional information provided in this hour and a half movie.
Unlike past Bleach movies which either explored a “what-if” scenario or expanded upon side-characters, Bleach: Hell Verse unfortunately is a series of impressive battles strung together with some interesting but poorly explored plot-points that ultimately delivers nothing but a chance to see Ichigo and his friends lay into some new enemies outside of the show’s main storyline.
Visuals: Bleach: Hell Verse is a gorgeous looking anime, especially on this Blu-ray versions of the movie. The movie looks similar to what one would expect from the anime itself, however with the overall quality of the visuals and animation dialed up to eleven. That being said, the new enemies’ character designs are bizarre by even Bleach standards. As far as the battle animation goes, Hell Verse’s fights are impressively colorful and well-animated with no drops in quality despite the fact that most of the main cast uses their strongest attacks at least a once throughout the movie.
The only time the animation quality of Bleach: Hell Verse manages to drop is whenever Studio Pierrot chose to insert some CGI elements into the environment of Hell. Outside of these CGI elements, the detail put into each environment is breathtaking. In a way, the company managed to create their own version of the circles of Hell by creating different areas Ichigo has to hurry through as he descends deeper into the pits of Hell to save Yuzu.
Audio: As one would expect from Viz Media, Bleach: Hell Verse contains both the original Japanese voice work as well as the new English dub. The entire English cast from the anime is used in the movie while the new characters have been voiced well, although one enemy, and you’ll know who it is, voicework sounds exceptionally obnoxious as if the voice actor was trying to oversell the performance.
As far as background music goes, the movie makes use of many standard background themes including rock instrumental version of Yui’s “Rolling Star.” The movie does not feature an opening song, however the ending theme is “Save the One, Save the All” by T.M. Revolutions and this song serves as a nice fast-paced J-Rock closing to the show. It is worth noting that for some odd reason, Viz Media has not provided any background music to play over the main menu screen.
Extras:
As far as bonus features go, Bleach the Movie: Hell Verse has a small number of extras in the form of original Japanese trailers, trailers for other Viz products as well as two digital art galleries. The “Production Art Gallery” features twelve color character sketches which focus almost entirely on the newly introduced enemies for the movie while the “Illustration Gallery” features nine color illustrations of popular Bleach characters wearing their combat outfits as well as casual clothing.
While a rather basic offering overall, the illustrations of some of the most popular Bleach characters in casual clothing is a nice treat. It is also worth noting that Bleach the Movie: Hell Verse comes in just a standard Blu-ray case with a Neon Alley insert, no slipcase.
Overall: Bleach the Movie: Hell Verse gets the job done by providing plenty of high-impact battles with Ichigo and his friends battling against a whole new set of enemies with a slew of strange powers. However outside of one twist, the movie does little to surprise the viewer or develop the characters in any meaningful way outside of some minor drama. This means that viewers can find beautifully animated battle-sequences strung around a rather rudimentary side-story into a new world never before explored in Bleach but unfortunately that is all.
Toradora Part 2 Studio:J.C. Staff Publisher:Hanabee Format: DVD (Subtitles Only) Release Date: December 5, 2012 Price:$59.95 – Available Here
Overview:
Toradora Part 2 picks up where Part 1 left off hitting the ground running and doesn’t stop until the final credits roll on down on this landmark anime series. With so much steam built up after an excellent first half, does Toradora’s final episodes outdo what came before it? It’s bombastic fun that knows how to tug at your heart strings, it’s Toradora!
Story:
Part 1 of Toradora wrapped up the backstory of Taiga arc in grand fashion and going in to Part 2 the question was, where do things go from here? Well in it’s second half Toradora takes to expanding upon it’s rich cast of characters and telling some truly touching character-driven stories.
With a larger focus on developing the supporting cast and their relationships, it does feel that Taiga and Ryuji take somewhat of a backseat for the first few episodes of this release with a larger focus on Kitamura whom we didn’t get to know too well in Part 1. This is great because of all the cast on show in the first half he is the one most in need of some development and in his mini character arc we see a range and depth from him that we hadn’t seen yet. We see that much like the other members of this colourful cast, he has been hurt. It all concludes in an exciting fight scene between Taiga and the Student Council President which was as intense as it gets in Toradora, the emotions flowing in that scene were simply electric.
The emotional rollercoaster doesn’t stop there however, as things become more and more volatile between these characters we have come to love we are taken on an ride that would leave viewer’s hearts a mess. It is at times heartbreaking and others touching, the range of expression and resonance conveyed in this series is a huge part of what makes it such a classic.
At it’s core though Toradora is about what we see in each other and the things we don’t. This much is true throughout the entire course of the series even leading up to that final moment. We may never know everything about one another but bit by bit we come to see each other more clearly. The blur of experiences, feelings and thoughts that make us up becomes more defined over time, it is up to us who we show ourselves to in the end, our true selves.
The conclusion of the series is one that is relatively controversial for a number of reasons but the largest complaint is that it’s a bait and switch ending that takes an ending that would be much more out of the ordinary and turns it into something more conventional and safe in the end. However I found the opposite to be true, the ending felt wholly faithful to everything we had come to see beforehand and was in line with the general themes of the series. Even if you can’t see something, it doesn’t mean you never will. Some people just see each other better than others do. Such is the case in Toradora. No matter how hard it is to see a future, there is always hope that one day you will.
Visuals and Audio:
Animation-wise this part of the series has a few off moments, but they are few and far between. In the highly fluid fight scenes for exampe the characters are drawn with significantly less detail when in motion, this isn’t too noticable unless you look carefully though and doesn’t really effect the overall quality of the series. The series art has always been appealing and that doesn’t change here, it continues to look gorgeous with very memorable and creative character designs and settings. There are some truly awe-inspiring shots that must be mentioned as well, especially the landscape shots they are jaw-dropping to say the very least.
This part introduces a new opening and ending to Toradora, both of which are great but give off an entirely different feel to the original opening and ending themes. It gives this second half a different vibe than the first, not too drastic a change but a necessary one as a lot more of the serious moments occur in this half. The soundtrack in general continues to be excellent with deft timing and mood-setting. I’d go as far to say it could very well be one of the best OSTs of all time. It’s that damn good.
Extras:
Hanabee have really pulled out all the stops here. I am left in awe by the pure quality that has gone into this release, not only is the presentation of the product excellent but the amount of content is astonishing. Not only does Part 2 come in a special collectors box which can house your Part 1 if you have already bought (which common sense says you would have if you’re buying this one) but alongside the discs for part to is an extra disc for the OVA and omake specials.
The box that houses all of this, which you can see here, is pure quality. It is easily the best box I’ve seen for an anime box set It is very sturdy and has a nice feel to it and simply looks great. I don’t know what more you could ask for from this release besides an English dub. The lack of English dub is the only thing that lets down this otherwise perfect release that goes above and beyond what is usually expected.
Overall:
Hanabee have put out what is without a doubt the best anime release for the year of 2012. Toradora is essential viewing for all anime fans. It has a bit of everything for anyone to enjoy and an honest message about life underneath it all. Toradora is about love, life, the things we see and the things that we can’t. Sometimes we get so caught up in the things we can’t see that we miss out on the things we can. Toradora is something that you can see, something that you should see. It might just change your life, if you open your eyes to it.
Do you want to type them all? Well if looking for a fun yet challenging way to practise your typing skills then the wait is almost over. Pokémon: Typing Adventure for Nintendo DS will be making its way to Australia and New Zealand on 10th January 2013 bundled with the Nintendo Wireless Keyboard. You can research over 400 Pokémon – including Legendary Pokémon – in this unique, typing-based game.
Taking on the role of the latest Elite Typists’ Club your typing skills will be put the test as you try to type the names of Pokémon you come across on your journey to help Professor Quentin Werty (QWERTY) and assist his Paige Down with their research! There are quite a lot of keyboard puns to be had in the great looking take on Pokémon.
The fun can certainly be had for beginners and also typing pro’s, as with all typing games you’ll start off slow but then once your skills advance it will get harder and harder! This is certainly a great way to learn how to type and have fun along the way by unlocking up to 60 different challengers and collecting up to 180 medals but most of all finding all those rare Pokémon that are waiting to be typed up!
Learn With Pokémon: Typing Adventure comes with a special Nintendo Wireless Keyboard that can be used to position your Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DSi XL, Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo 3DS XL system as your hands use the keyboard. Check out the images below for more details.
TAITO’s App Store Holiday Sale has begun! This year’s sale includes all of their shooting games including DariusBurst SP, the entire Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move family, Gardening Mama, and much much more. Check out the list below including links straight to the iTunes store and prices.
Developer: SNK Playmore Publisher: SNK Playmore Platforms: iPad (Reviewed), iPhone, iPod Touch Release Date: December 13th, 2012 Price: $1.99 Get it Here
Overview
Metal Slug 1 is the classic side scrolling arcade shooter that spawned a franchise that almost rivaled Street Fighter in its quantity of incarnations. It was first released to arcades in 1996 and won the hearts of gamers worldwide. The game has been ported to a plethora of consoles and now iOS has received its own port.
Story
Metal Slug 1 is an arcade through and through as there is very little in plot. The game simply drops the player off after a short video demonstrating the controls with the original arcade controls right into the thick of battle. At the end of each level, you get the names of the prisoners you rescued, but beyond that, there isn’t much else.
Gameplay
Metal Slug 1 takes the classic game play and brings it to the small screen. It provides an intense platforming experience that requires both skill and accuracy. The game spans six frantic missions and four difficulty settings. The replayability of Metal Slug 1 is what you make of it. As an arcade game, it is meant to be beaten in a short period of time and replayed in an attempt to beat the high score. I was disappointed to see that multiplayer is only supported with local Bluetooth connections. Considering local co-op is quickly turning into a relic these days with the advent of Game Center and similar services on iOS.
The biggest fatal flaw of Metal Slug is the fact this game needs some sort of physical controller. The accuracy with a touch screen virtual joystick pales in comparison to a physical joystick. I found myself extremely frustrated during Mission 3 which contain a jumping puzzle where failure meant instant death. Although Metal Slug 1 allows the control buttons to be moved where ever is comfortable for the player, the movement stick does not move according to thumb position like most modern shooter controls. Without the movement control centring on the thumb and no physical feedback to figure out what is the neutral position for the controls, Metal Slug becomes extremely frustrating to control resulting in many needless deaths.
Visuals
Visually, Metal Slug is for the most part unchanged from the original. All the original animations and sprites are in place. The game allows players to choose between the original resolution of the game, a stretched 4:3, and a stretched widescreen 16:9 setting. Although the distortion from stretching the game widescreen does not look too bad, it may offend arcade purists.
For the most part, Metal Slug ran smoothly on the iPad 3rd generation, however during the last mission where the screen becomes particularly crowded with lots of enemies and fire, the game noticeably began to slow. I found this a little strange considering the game was meant to run on arcades in 1996 and the iPad 3 easily out-powers those old machines. This may simply be a matter of optimization and hopefully will be addressed in a future patch.
Audio
The audio experience seems to be preserved from the original arcade game. There are still a few words of voice acting intact and the sound effects have survived the test of time. The game can be played without sound as audio cues are unnecessary to beat this game.
Overall
At a $1.99, Metal Slug 1 is probably cheaper than the quarters used up at the arcade. However, Metal Slug 1 for iOS suffers from some control issues that really take away from the experience and some graphic lag on the final mission. If you are a huge Metal Slug fan, then I doubt this review will change your mind, by all means pick up the game, it is in a reasonably playable state. If you are not a fan, I would not recommend Metal Slug 1 without some minor patching and possibly a physical controller of some sort. The game simply does not translate that well to the touch screen.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Well… hold you’re horses. Tecmo Koei in Japan has only announced the following information so don’t get your hopes up. Now, Tecmo Koei in Japan has announced a Collector’s Edition of Dead or Alive 5 Plus for Japan which will cost 9,240 yen compared to a regular copy of the game for 6,090 yen.
Now this Collector’s Edition will include a code to download 12 “Paradise Costumes” which are described by Famitsu as sexy costumes with the “I’m a Fighter” logo on them, as you can see above, a soundtrack for the game, a beginner’s guide to gravure as well as a code that will allow you to download something described as an extreme gravure movie. Also included in this Collector’s Edition is a skin for the game, which may be the one pictured below. Plus, all launch copies of the game will include a free code that unlocks cheerleader costumes for Tina, Kasumi and Ayane.
Famitsu also notes that the costumes will be released as downloadable content sometime after Dead or Alive 5 Plus is released in Japan, though no date was given. Currently Tecmo Koei in North America has not said anything about these bonuses, though we have reached out to them for comment.
You may remember that last week some very bored, or very obsessed, Borderlands 2 fans had dug through the PlayStation 3’s latest game files to discover that the next piece of DLC for Borderlands 2 would be called Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt. Well today Gearbox Software officially announced the DLC as well as it’s release date.
As you would expect, the DLC is called Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt and will be released on January 15th in North America and 16th in Europe. The pack will cost $10/800MSP and you can check out some screenshots of the DLC as well as a trailer for the DLC below.
