Ever wanted go on a Rampage and whist keeping it Retro at the same time? Well now you can! Retro City Rampage has just been released on XBLA today, now you can take on the ”EVIL” GOOD GUYS as they stop at nothing to protect the good citizens of Theftropolis and Rampage all over their fair city by stealing over 40 different vehicles, and using over 25 awesome weapons and power ups!
The game contains over 80 story missions and arcade challenges that will keep you busy for quite some time with the added bonus of being able to challenge your friends and show them who the real Crime lord of Retro City Rampage is!
Are you man enough to take down Theftropolis? If you are pick it up for only 800MS points here. Or if you’re not sure try out the demo here. For more information on the Retro City Rampage check out their official website here.
The Front Line Studio:TPS Company Publisher: Shadowbox/Madman Format:DVD/Blue-Ray (reviewed) Release Date: 07/11/2012 Price:$29.95 – Available here
Overview:
The Front Line is an ambitious war film from Korean director Jang Hun. The film is set in the very last few moments of Korean War on the Eastern front line of the Aerok Hill, where the North and South have been fighting to the bitter end. This South Korean film attempts to reach into emotional depths with the atrocity of war, and it mostly successes though its action however aside from this, the film’s story and characters comes off as quite lackluster.
Story:
Much of The Front Line’s story takes place in the lead up to the 1953 ceasefire. If you’re unfamiliar with your Korean War history, the film doesn’t do much to fill you in but then again there’s much to explain, the war is ending soon. Kang Eun-pyo, played by Shin Ha-kyun, a Defense Security Command officer is sent to the front line to investigate a death of a Captain and a possible mole from the South. The film begins as sort of a mystery film as to who-done-it, but after that’s revealed it then progresses into your standard war film. Though it’s nice to see a mix of genres, initially at least.
He finds Alligator Company and Aerok Hill, the territory they’re fighting over. The hill itself changes hands regularly, being control by the North one day and the next, by the South. Each time hundreds on both sides, are killed in the process, all for a few meters on the map. As the peace talks are coming to a close, both sides vow for control of the hill. In the mists of arriving, Kang is reintroduced with an old friend Kim Soo-Hyuk, played by Ko Soo, who he though was dead. Once a meek and mild student, Kim has become a lieutenant and a harden solider, much to the surprise of Kang.
There are a few turns and I would go as far as twists, but more so kinks in the story that go to change it up a bit. Without spoiling the story too much, we are shown the North’s perceptive for a bit and their reactions to the events that take place side-by-side the South’s, an interesting device that you don’t necessary see in Western films. But in saying that being a South Korean film there are a few scenes that don’t really work as they’re intended.
For example, a major plot point in the film is a hidden box that’s used to communicate between the two sides as the hill swaps control regularly, it becomes a tool that’s used by both sides to send supplies and letters to. However the introduction of it is handled poorly, the scene itself attempts to be light-hearted and comical and doesn’t really suit the serious war nature of the film. Which also isn’t helped by the fact this particular scenes is sandwiched between a tense standoff. If you’re used to watching South Korean films then these nitpicks may not bother you as much, but for someone who isn’t use to these Korean cultural niches it may come off as a bit weird.
Supporting characters are a solid addition to the film, which is overall acted well. From the North defector who’s helping out the South played by Ko Chang-seok, the young solider who’s suddenly fill the position of Alligator Company’s new Captain, played by Lee Je-hoon and Kim Ok-bin the film’s only female character who play’s an enemy sniper. All performances in the film are very good, and played in a realistic manner, portraying the grim, realsim of individuals at war with one another.
There are a few flashbacks within the film that shed light on Alligator Company, though the very first of which flew over my head and lost its importance, which would of later helped explain a few things later on in the film. The Front Line’s story overall is decent for a war film, though nothing exceptional. And the ending is done quite nicely fitting in with the meaningless of war themes the film expresses.
Visuals & Audio:
45,000 bullets fired, 14,000 actors, 150 stunt people, and 24,000 explosions it says proudly on the box, and from that I’m guessing you can make up your mind of the action. Action scenes in The Front Line are defiantly a highlight. They’re handled very well with handheld camera work though into the mix. The battle scenes are gritty, bloody, and realistic. The reveal of the hill itself for the first time is a sight to see – all the better in high definition as well.
The filmmakers have really gone for a realistic look and feel in this movie. And no detail has been spared. The film looks dark and gritty as it should. The battlefield itself is grey and brown with dead bodies scattered all over it. It’s a bleak sight to see and one that is so genuinely, and faithfully recreated on screen.
And speaking of high definition, sound is similarly crystal clear. Sound in the fight scenes is realistic and dominating, and a beating soundtrack accompanies them. Of particular note, the final battle has a quite a movie score to it which may in fact jerk up a few tears. English subtitles work fine and without a hitch for non-Korean speaking viewers.
Extras:
And now for the extras which there are only a handful of, and are all in standard definition for some reason. There’s a brief making-of the film which incudes a few insightful interview with the cast and crew about the costume, location, and recreating of the battlefield. There’s also a highlighs reel of the film which is been included. Not sure why you would want to watch this when you’ve just seen the entire film, but hey it’s there if you really want it. And the official trailers are included as well.
Overall:
The Front Line isn’t just another generic war film, though it does lack in several areas, but by the time the film is over you will be shaking your head at the atrocities of war. Asides from the odd cultural mismatches in story and character for non-Korean viewers, The Front Line is still an enjoyable film to watch.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
If you live in San Mateo, CA and you’re dying to get your hands on DmC then you’re in luck! Capcom will be holding an exclusive hands-on session for Devil May Cry (DmC) on Wednesday, January 9th between 6PM and 9PM PST. You’ll be able to hang out with the awesome Capcom staff at the Capcom office lobby and play an exclusive demo with some levels/areas that have not been shown to the public yet.
Capcom will be giving away prizes plus feeding you pizza while your having the time of your lives playing DmC, how awesome is that! Now as DmC is rated M for Mature, you’ll need to be over the age of 17 to attend, or if you are allowed to come and your not over the age of 17 you’ll have to bring your parents or a legal guardian along. Space is also very limited you to register you’ll have to RSVP over on the Capcom-Unity page here.
If you do end up attending let us know if you enjoyed the event. Also, stay tune we’ll be running a DmC giveaway that will be going live in the next few days on site, so make sure you check back soon for a chance to win a copy of the game plus a T-Shirt.
Remember how Compile Heart revealedthat their next game would be a sequel to Mugen Souls called Mugen Souls Z? Well today the company chose to reveal some screenshots for their upcoming title and with it we see a decent upgrade to the visuals as well as some new information.
The first piece of new information is the fact that it looks like at least a few characters will be returning to Mugen Souls Z, such as Chou-Chou herself as well as her servant Ryuto. Also revealed is Shirma’s appearance and a piece of artwork of her being released from a coffin-like prison.
Mugen Souls Z will be released sometime this Spring exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and Western gamers should keep an eye on it, since NIS America did end up localizing the first game in the series, there is a decent chance it’s sequel will also be released overseas.
Monkey Punch has made a name for himself with his legendary thief manga series Lupin the 3rd, however instead of another Lupin anime series, we will be treated to another anime adaptation of one of his works, this time it is of Phantom Thief Roman.
Phantom Thief Roman is best explained as Lupin the 3rd meets Bakumatsu era Japan. The titular thief calls himself Roman despite his real name being Manjiro, he bares a striking resemblance to Lupin with the addition of a beard. All in all it looks like a roaring good time, the kind of fun that only Monkey Punch knows how to create.
You can check out the trailer for Phantom Thief Roman below. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section.
AKB48 Maniacs get excited! Is your body prepared for the cosmic explosion of gooey pop-music and giant robots? It better be, because you might just explode due to overwhelming pure delight. AKB48 are getting the band together again for a second season of the AKB0048 anime series.
The second season of AKB0048 will be simply titled AKB0048 Next Stage. The new season will focus on the AKB48 girls in a future world after a galactic war and ecological disaster left the world in disarray. The world has since been placed under a dictatorial regime in which music is banned. In order to right this wrong the AKB48 girls will pilot mechs to save the world from these music-hating dictator bastards.
You can check out the trailer for AKB0048 Next Stage below to help save the world. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section.
Painted Skin: The Resurrection Studio: Ningxia Film Studio Publisher:Vendetta Films/Pinnacle Films Format: DVD (Screener Reviewed), Blu-Ray Release Date: January 9, 2013 Price: $15.78 (Available Here)
Overview
Painted Skin: The Resurrection is a supernatural fantasy film that took the Chinese box office by storm, becoming their highest grossing domestic film in history. A sequel to 2008’s Painted Skin, the 2013 blockbuster brings back together many of the original cast, although for the most part they play completely different roles; the one true constant is Zhou Xun as Xiaowei, the Fox demon. To a westerner who, while being a fan of foreign cinema, has not seen Painted Skin before it, I was intrigued by The Resurrection. Have the film-makers painted a masterpiece, or is the resurrection short-lived?…
Story
The Resurrections carries on from the first film as we see the ancient fox spirit, or “demon”, Xiaowei entombed in her prison of ice. Along comes a bird demon, Que’r, who cracks open the ice and releases her. The two journey together, searching for the one man who would willingly give his heart to Xiaowei to devour so that she may become mortal and escape the far-reaching, forever-pursuing cold that aims to imprison her once again. After an unnecessary time-skip of one month, we see Xiaowei being chased by unidentified men. This leads to a masked avenger of sorts, coming to her aid and rescuing her. Xiaowei believes this mystery man to be the one who will offer his heart, but he resists her charms – something that no man is supposed to be able to do.
It is revealed that the man is actually a woman…and no ordinary woman, but Princess Jing (Zhao Wei). She is travelling in to the White City to see Huo Xin (Chen Kun), a general whom she was infatuated with 8 years prior. She wishes to rekindle that spark with Huo Xin, but Huo Xin is haunted by the time he couldn’t save her from a black bear, who clawed her face and left her disfigured – the reason she wears a solid gold half-mask. He does not believe himself worthy of her love, which is the catalyst for her seeking any way possible to be with him…including offering her heart to Xiaowei in order to live in her image as he was already shown to be enthralled by her.
However, Princess Jing is arranged to marry a Prince of the Tianlang clan, and has been ignoring her responsibility to do so. Because of this, the Tianlang march to the gates of the White City, finding her actions to be a declaration of war. And so, the Princess and Xiaowei make the desired deal to essentially swap lives. Let’s just say that the two come to regret that decision. The story is repetitive in it’s hook of “changing skin” and the slow burn of a 130 minute runtime is just too much to sit through without getting bored.
The love triangle, of sorts, is where the heart of the film lays, and it portrays a nice sentiment. But the length at which the screenwriters have gone just to come to the same old predictable conclusion of nearly every romance film out there is ludicrous. And when the acting is almost as bad as the script, then you know you’ve got a film that has few redeeming qualities. Chen Kun has this constant, blank look on his face – I don’t know if he’s supposed to be confused, hurt, in shock or sad. It’s all the same expression here. Setting aside 2 hours to sit through a convoluted love story with less than average acting shouldn’t appeal to anyone.
Visuals & Audio
Painted Skin: The Resurrection has very few shining moments in the visuals department. They don’t come from the special effects or compositing, which are equally bad (B-Grade, straight to-DVD quality stuff). They mostly come from the costume design and use of colour throughout. The costumes of the Tianlang clan in particular look great and bring a unique character to their people. Although dressed in all black, which isn’t exactly original, they bring with them a sense of danger when they arrive on the scene. The editing, however, is atrocious in moments, primarily during action scenes. Movements and shots are sped-up and then immediately slowed down, disorienting the viewer and causing them to miss details all together. I have no idea whose brilliant idea that was and how the Director/Producers could okay those edits.
The music is consistently over-dramatic when contrasted with the comical, colourful visuals and acting. Speaking of comical acting, Fei Xiang (born Kris Phillips) plays the Witch Doctor of Tianlang and having to learn, memorise and speak a completely fabricated language for the role seemed to be a tough challenge. His cadence and accent sounded like that of a person who is a complete foreigner attempting to speak the local dialect, but is terribly transparent in doing so. Can’t blame him though; the director insisted on created this new language which was not entirely necessary.
Something I felt was really silly was the fact that the “demons” in their human forms, would make the noises of their respective animal spirit. For instance, Que’r – the bird demon – would cock her head as a human and, every time, a bird’s ‘coo’ would be heard. And then there’s the subtitles, which were terribly translated; “tempurature“, “the hold it just like her highness”, “your last change to be with”…whoever translated it and worked on the print probably can’t speak English themselves. Or maybe it was some program that no one bothered to double-check. Either way, it was really inaccurate.
Overall
Before I continue with my overall impressions, I just want to clarify that with this copy we reviewed being a screener, there were no special features or even menus, so I can’t comment on those aspects of the DVD release. Painted Skin: The Resurrection is a mess of a film. Anyone outside of the Chinese culture will not like this film. It’s a Chinese-made film, for a Chinese audience, who are used to the fantastical, romanticised, melodramatic drivel that it is. But the story isn’t the sole fault of the film, nor necessarily is it the prevailing one. It’s the sum of it’s parts that ultimately lets the film down.
The acting is, for the most part, mediocre, the editing choices are awful, the visual effects are sub-par, it’s over-long by at least 30 minutes and the fact that the subtitles are often nonsensical due to poor translation doesn’t help. I couldn’t wait for the film to end, and that’s a rarity for me. Has it got heart? (pun intended) Yes, it does. But that’s about all. If only the film could paint itself a new skin…
Mahoromatic I’m Home TV Specials Review Studio: GAINAX Publisher: Madman Format: DVD Release Date: Out Now! Price: $25.98 (Buy Here)
Overview
Mahoromatic I’m Home TV Specials are the extra OVA episodes of the Mahoromatic Anime series released by Madman and Animated by GAINAX. The original series ran for 24 episodes and featured the robotic maid Mahoro as she looked after the wellbeing of her new master Suguru. We have reviewed the series previously, so be sure to check out our review for that here.
The OVA series is pretty entertaining, but does it manage to bring along the feel of the original series? Or does it feel like a cheap fill in product to milk the franchise? This may be covered in the rest of the review below.
Story
The Mahoromatic I’m Home TV Specials follow a storyline told just after the second story arc begins in the main story. The story told in these two special episodes is to do with the opening of a special maid themed cafe for some kind of town festival. As you can probably guess, the main group of characters quickly turn to Mahoro for assistance in running the maid cafe and in training each of them into maids themselves.
The story itself is quite basic and only seems to exist to act as a minor story in the Mahoromatic universe. Really, it doesn’t add anything major to the Mahoromatic story line and exists mainly as a fan service or additional content for only the bigger fans of the series. There’s not much in these episodes for viewers that have yet to see the main series and for those who have, it only adds a few hilarious scenes and a little bit of progression for Mahoro and Suguru’s relationship.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a story without some kind of opposing force added to the mix. In this set of specials, this would be the antagonists from the second half of the storyline looking to either capture Minawa, or do something more sinister with her. This causes Mahoro to act to not only save Minawa, but also to try her best to to make sure the maid cafe runs as smoothly as possible.
The fight scene in this special is incredibly well animated but I’m not sure if it really added anything to the story. Also if you get the chronology of viewing wrong with these specials and are trying to match it up with the series, you may accidentally spoil yourself big time. Definitely watch this after you’ve seen the main series.
Visuals
Mahoromatic I’m Home TV Specials animation quality is very similar to that of the TV series animation quality. It’s very hard to complain about as the animation is quite fluid and the visual style is quite impressive. I actually really enjoyed the amount of detail that the staff had put into this series, it is quite impressive.
One thing that I really, really liked about this specials visuals is the amount of detail put into the action sequences. Sure there is only one or two action sequences in the special, but they are incredibly well done. I just loved the way they use multiple angles and the way that they somehow made an apparent amount of depth to each action, even if this is a flat medium.
Each of the characters look just like they did in the main series, which is always important for specials to have. This means that fans can expect the detail and visuals to follow suit. And they really have, Mahoromatic I’m Home TV Specials follow the main shows look and feel quite well. It’s not as visually comedic, but it’s still Mahoromatic.
Audio
Mahoromatic I’m Home TV Specials has two audio tracks. One in Japanese and the other in English. Both of these audio tracks come in 2.0 stereo mixes and sound quite good. Personally I prefer the English dub for this series as I find the Japanese audio a little grating when it comes to character voices, but other than that, listen to whichever audio track you prefer. If you choose the Japanese track, you also get a full set of subtitles to go along with what is being said.
All of the sound effects are pretty cool and really exemplify the audio quality of the series. The one thing I’m disappointed in is the lack of 5.1ch recording, however, this series was made when 2.0 was standard, so it’s really not that big of a deal.
Extras
Mahoromatic I’m Home TV Specials is very lite on extras. It only comes with textless opening and ending themes as well as the usual Madman trailers. However, you could consider the cover itself as an extra as it reverses into something with some pretty pretty looking artwork.
However, I’m on the camp that this entire disc itself is more of an extra, as opposed to be being a full stand alone release. I mean, it is only two episodes and it is incredibly lite. Why could this not have been included in the main release?
If you’re someone looking to purchase an anime series with a plethora of extras, this release will not satisfy you in that regard. However, if you consider this as an extra to the main series, then you will be quite pleased.
Overall
Overall Mahoromatic I’m Home TV Specials is a purchase that only a Mahoromatic fan should be making. It carries the original series’ look and feel pretty well, but it’s not something that you should use to introduce new fans with. It’s an entertaining watch, but the comedy is toned a little from the original run just a bit.
As someone who is a massive fan of Mahoromatic, I’d heartily recommend this to other fans. However, if you only liked the original series or if you’re just looking to get into the series, you’d be better off starting with the original series and going from there.
With the surprising recent news that Tomb Raider will have a multiplayer mode, you may have begun to wonder which studio would be in charge of creating Ms. Croft’s online offering. Wonder no more.
In a post on the official Eidos forums, it was confirmed by Crystal Dynamic’s Community Manager MeaganMarie that Tomb Raider‘s multiplayer game mode will be done by their sister-studio Eidos Montreal.
Eidos Montreal is the same studio that has worked on Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the upcoming Thief 4. Both Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics are owned by parent company Square Enix.
More information will be released at CES in the next couple of weeks.
Renegade Kid have delivered a lot of love to the eShop for the 3DS in 2012, with the likes of Mutant Mudds, Planet Crashers, and Bomb Monkey all making a splash on the service. What could possibly stop the developer’s upward trend on the service? Well, the answer is piracy. In a recent blog post, founder Jools Watsham spoke about the subject, and how it could put an end to the developer’s support for the system.
If piracy gets bad on the 3DS, we will have no choice but to stop supporting the platform with new games. Some say that piracy leads to more game sales, claiming that it enables players to try before they buy. Bullshit. The percentage of people who will spend money on a game that they already got for free is surely very small – especially with so many “free” games already in the market. The line between what should/should not be free is getting very blurry.
I know this is a controversial subject, but Mr. Watsham makes a good point. A lot of DS, Wii, and now even 3DS owners make the argument of creating homebrew with hacking, which leads to some amazing things. However, you can’t have good without the bad, and piracy is made possible with the same hacking exploits.
When you download games through illegal means, it isn’t Nintendo that suffer. It’s the little guys, like Renegade Kid, WayForward, and all of those small-time devs that can’t afford the means for a widespread release. Purchasing Mutant Mudds will ensure that Renegade Kid will be able to keep producing sequels and other great titles to the service – and that goes for every single publisher out there, big or small.
I know this might sound a bit arrogant to that crowd that love their homebrew, but if your unit gets bricked, you got what you deserved. Sure, you just wanted to play Super Mario Bros. 3 or Donkey Kong Country on the 3DS that you paid money for, but those same exploits are being used to create rom dumps of games that a dedicated team worked hard on for months or even years at a time.
I really get tired of the “taboo” that the subject of piracy holds. If you download it and it was not obtained through legal means, you are now slapping each developer in the face, as you STOLE their creation and by doing that, you are silently informing them that their hard work is not worth your time. I don’t care if it’s a bad game, or from some greedy publisher like EA. Stealing is stealing, and those who are willing to pirate the 3DS version of The Sims are just as likely to go out and grab a rom for Code of Princess or Virtue’s Last Reward – both of which are produced by companies that print games in low numbers.
Before the comment section gets flooded with excuses for the subject, I think everyone should follow some smaller developers on Twitter. Watch them revel in excitement as their game comes out, and actively thank anybody who has feedback. They are living their dreams and trying to create pieces of entertainment that we all can enjoy, and exploits and rom dumps from cheap, plastic software (known to many as the R4) are hurting that.
I’ll leave this topic with yet another excerpt from Jools Watsham’s blog, as it needs to be read by anybody who are still archaically defending the subject of piracy:
If these hackers really want to mess with the guts of a 3DS, why not become legit developers for it and let the world enjoy their talents? Many of today’s great programmers used to be hackers back in the day. It is a great way to learn the craft. Putting ones efforts towards the creation of legit games instead of potentially crippling the market seems like a much more fulfilling path.
Monkey Punch has made a name for himself with his legendary thief manga series Lupin the 3rd, however instead of another Lupin anime series, we will be treated to another anime adaptation of one of his works, this time it is of Phantom Thief Roman.
AKB48 Maniacs get excited! Is your body prepared for the cosmic explosion of gooey pop-music and giant robots? It better be, because you might just explode due to overwhelming pure delight. AKB48 are getting the band together again for a second season of the AKB0048 anime series.
