The game that has garnered over 6 million players online, and over 1 million on the iOS alone, gets a title change. PyramidVille Adventure will now be known as PyramidValley Adventure!
Developed by Kobojo and published by BulkyPix, PyramidValley Adventure lets you become the greatest Pharaoh in history! Available for free on the app store since January 26th of this year, the now renamed PyramidValley Adventure lets you play as Egyptian greats Cleopatra and Ramses as you unlock houses, buildings and decorations, trade with characters from around the world, build and upgrade your ships for travel to new destinations and engage in 3 mini-games on your sailor’s boat.
In honour of the name change, PyramidValley Adventure is expanding! Now, those players who surpass level 18 will be afforded the opportunity to branch out past the Nile Valley and build a thriving city on the Mediterranean Coastline! You will find the latest screen-shots and trailer below!
The Wii U version of Scribblenauts Unlimited is going to feature some rather unique exclusives in the form of characters and items from both the Super Mario series and The Legend of Zelda series. As you can see in the image shown above, these characters will follow the Scribblenauts style.
5th Cell and Warner Bros. have said that Maxwell will be able to summon the Nintendo characters as well as items from their world and “discovered Nintendo characters and objects will behave in the fun and fantastical ways they do in their respective game worlds.” This is going to make for some rather interesting interactions considered how much freedom players have in a game like Scribblenauts.
As the headline clearly states, Razer will be hosting a competition to win a one-of-a-kind in the entire world Star Wars themed Razer Blade gaming laptop valued at $15k. They are also giving away Star Wars packs including, mouses, keyboards, headphones and more to second tier winners.
On the Sweepstakes Razer had this to say:
“Star Wars provides the benchmark by which all entertainment media is measured, and the Razer Blade is the standard for true portability, power and innovation in PC gaming,” says Robert ‘RazerGuy’ Krakoff, president of Razer USA. “The opportunity to work with LucasArts and BioWare on this fun project is a testament to our common love of great entertainment and ensuring the best possible experience for fans.”
So make sure you enter at this link. I know I have. I want this laptop. May The Force be with you.
Rockstar Games had a bit of trouble getting Max Payne 3’s “Hostage Negotiation” DLC pack out to fans. Such trouble in fact that it was meant to be released back in September, but due to some unknown issues the company had to delay the launch of the DLC until an unannounced time.
Well today Rockstar revealed over Twitter that they will be releasing Max Payne 3’s “Hostage Negotiation” DLC on October 30th. The price will remain unchanged at $10 or 800 MSP depending on your platform. Hostage Negotiation adds in four new multiplayer maps, two new rifles, a new Explosive Burst booby trap, more cosmetic options and a new avatar faction.
Forza Horizon is going to be branching out into more diverse racing types soon with the new expansion pack coming in December. Specifically the “Forza Horizon Rally Expansion Pack”, that will be released Dec. 18th, but that’s still a long ways off, so the exact details are a little thin as the plan is to release more information in the intervening weeks. What has been released however is that the expansion will include new events, cars, and achievements, and be available for 1600 MS Points.
What has been better detailed though is the Season Pass, which will include the “Rally Expansion Pack” also, but that’s not all it includes. In addition to the expansion, the Season Pass will include access to the 6 monthly car packs that will be releasing once a month for (you guessed it) 6 months.
The first month has 6 cars to add to the game:
2012 Ferrari 599XX Evoluzione
2012 Lamborghini Aventador J
2012 Gumpert Apollo Enraged
2012 Alfa Romeo 8C Spider
2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air
If you should happen to be more interested in only one or a few monthly car packs than the Season Pass, they will be individually available for 400 MS Points each. However, monthly car packs aren’t the only additional cars with the Season Pass as exclusive to the Season Pass are 5 cars that will be available once a month for 5 months, starting in November with the 2006 Lamborghini Miura Concept.
With all that said, it looks like Microsoft Games and Turn 10 Studios are really hoping to provide content for their players for quite some time, hopefully the demand is there for it.
One of the most anticipated titles for the Wii U is Nintendo’s Pikmin 3, but unfortunately that game won’t even be making it into the release window for the console. It was already known that Pikmin 3 wouldn’t be a launch title, but this reveal from the latest Iwata Aks column reveals that Pikmin 3 is going to be released sometime in Spring 2013, meaning at the very best Pikmin 3 will be released five months after the Wii U’s release in North America.
Of course, there are plenty of other launch titles and launch window titles that may make consumers eager to part with their money, but this is certainly unfortunate news for those who are excited just because it is a new Pikmin title.
Naughty Bear strikes again in real life footage of Paradise Island. The beaches are covered in freshly slaughtered stuffing, and there can only be one explanation. If you don’t invite Naughty Bear to the vacation getaway, he is going to kill you. Consider that a lesson learned.
Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise is available now on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for 1,200 MSP or $14.99 respectively. Try out the demo for a whirl, and look at our pleasantly evil review (here). Naughty Bear can only capture our hearts in so many ways – just don’t let him bleed you to death. Take a look at the “Beach Massacre” below to understand the wraith behind such a cute bear.
DanceStar Party Hits, the sequel to 2011’s DanceStar Party, is now available in retail and online stores in Australia and New Zealand. DanceStar Party Hits features 160 dance moves and 40 new tracks for everyone to dance to. DanceStar Party Hits also lets you step into the role of choreographer with the ability to create your own routines. It also offers a workout mode, where one can check out the amount of calories one has burned off with the in-game calorie counter.
DanceStar Party Hits will retail at the recommended price of AU$39.95 and does require the Playstation Move controller. Last year, Capsule Computers got their hands on DanceStar Party and gave it an 8 out of 10, a score which will surprise some. That review can be found here. Of course, Capsule Computers will be giving their thoughts on DanceStar Party Hits in the near future, so stay tune for that review.
Not that long ago the newest DLC for Serious Sam 3: BFE had hit Steam for PC, but now those looking to get the same Sam on Xbox will be getting their chance today. Serious Sam 3: BFE and Serious Sam 3: Jewel of the Nile, the DLC that had just hit Steam, are up for download on the XBLA for just 1200 MS Points each.
Serious Sam is what first-person shooter games used to be, where monsters were huge, guns were loud, and the hero had no need to cower behind a chest-high wall. Now players can check out what Serious Sam is all about in this prequel to the original, Serious Sam: The First Encounter.
With the main game featuring 12 campaign missions including co-op for 2 to 4 players in the campaign or survival, as well as available in the DLC, which also includes even more co-op modes like Coin Co-op and Classic Co-op. Players interested in getting Serious Sam 3: BFE and and Jewel of the Nile can find them on the XBLA or Xbox.com HERE.
K-On!! Season 2 Collection 1 Studio: Kyoto Animation Publisher: Madman Format: Blu-Ray (Reviewed), DVD Release Date: September 5, 2012 Price: $64.95 – Available Here
Overview
Season two of the slice-of-life/musical comedy anime K-On!! comes to Blu-Ray and DVD almost two whole years after it’s first airing. Adapted from the original manga, written and drawn by Japanese artist Kakifly, K-On! Season 1 proved a great success, and the series’ signature opening and ending themes’ singles all debuted in top 5 positions in the Oricon music charts in Japan.
K-On!! Season 2 Collection 1 contains the first 13 episodes of the, long-form, 26 episode second season. Fans who caught the Season 2’s TV run will undoubtedly show bias in purchasing this 2 disc blu-ray set, but is it worth it for those who are uninitiated – like myself (although I’m surely part of the wrong demographic!) – and fans who’ve just seen the first season? Read on to find out in my review!
Story
In this 2nd and final season, the popular and notoriously light and fluffy show continues to follow the antics of the Sakura High light music club, and while the main characters are getting older, the series still appeals to a primarily young and teen female audience. Lead guitarist and vocalist Yui Hirawasa, bass player Mio Akiyama, keyboardist Tsumugi Kotobuki and drummer Ritsu Tainaka have started their senior year at Sakura High. Although this should prove to be an exciting time for the group, the girls realise that their youngest member, rhythm guitarist Azusa Nakano – who is still a junior – will be the remaining member of the light music club should the club cease to expand before graduation, likely getting cut from the school budget.
And so starts a seemingly futile campaign to entice others to join the light music club. This is the main story focus underpinning most, if not all, of these 13 episodes – some more heavily than others. The season starts off on a bad note (genius, I know) for the girls as, even after a rousing performance at the school’s freshman reception, the door to the music room did not greet any new visitors or prospective band members. Fast forward after a field trip to Kyoto that we see in episode 4, episode 5 shows Azusa, who stayed behind, hanging out with Yui’s sister Ui and their mutual friend Jun Suzuki. It’s at this point that the seeds are undoubtedly planted for an eventual expansion of the light music club’s numbers when the three Juniors have a quick jam session. Up until and including this point in the story the girls were unsuccessful in finding new members for the light music club, however it would be safe to say that the episode’s events could indeed be foreshadowing the future.
Featuring only the first half of the 2nd season, Collection 1 does not portray many important developments in the overarching story, leaving the important stuff for Collection 2. Most of it is cutesy, girly, disconnected fluff, and although ultimately inconsequential, it will make you laugh and smile with a certain charm constant throughout. A nice moment involves a Summer Festival which the girls attend, that reiterates the motif of friendship and youth as the girls connect on common ground – their love of music – and enjoy and treasure their time together with graduation on the horizon. The collection does end with promise after Jun starts to sway on an earlier decision to not join the light music club.
Visuals
Kyoto Animation have done it again with their great, distinct visual style and well established and detailed characters and backdrops. They’re probably one of my favourite studios for it as I just love the aesthetic. And in widescreen, 1080p high definition, the detail really shines through. The instruments featured are very accurate in their presentation, with Zildjian logo on the drum’s cymbals and the flawlessly recreated guitar pickups for instance. The use of colour is also very effective, with it being drained from a character completely if they are feeling scared or worried; it really helps portray those emotions their state of mind.
The one criticism I could levy would be of the character designs themselves. To me, there isn’t much to set the characters apart from each other. Although that can be excused as being the drawback of having them all in school uniforms, which is a must for the story and setting, there still could have been a few more unique visual aspects added to their designs to further individualise them. In fairness, that’s a criticism that should be placed on the original manga and not on any faithful adaptation, but it’s just something I thought worth mentioning as a newcomer to the franchise.
Audio
The first thing that struck me was the silence of the main menu, which, for a series heavy on the theme of music, was quite puzzling. Regardless, there is usually some sort of background music playing in a menu for any DVD/Blu-Ray release so this was quite a strange omission. The credit roll for each episode is also silent, which I found equally weird. Of course, these aren’t real issues, and barring those two instances, the audio on this collection is in the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio format, and sounds very good.
In the main menu and pop-up menus is the option to flip back and forth between the original Japanese audio track – with English subtitles in yellow – and the English dub. This swap-over even works in the middle of a sentence of dialogue, not requiring or inciting a pause or brash transition of any kind. Diehard anime fans prefer the original language track, but I have to say that the English dub is not unbearable on K-On!!. Whatever your preference, you’re good to go. The music featured in the series is also produced very well, and I think that by now most will be familiar with this fact.
Extras
Now, Anime releases are, generally, not exactly chock full of special features, but this Blu-Ray is bare! There are none of the first disc, with all of them placed on the second. There are four extras, although they barely qualify to be called that. There are clean, textless videos of the opening and ending sequences, and also a video package of trailers from Sentai Filmworks releases, plus the disc credits. That’s it.
Again, I didn’t expect much, but most discs at the very least include commentary, even for just a single episode, and/or an interview with the project’s writer/artist/voice actor…anyone! The lack of extras is very disappointing and drags down the overall rating of the release.
Overall
For fans of the first season in particular, these 13 episodes will satisfy them and excite them for Collection 2. For those who’ve seen Season 2 on tv during it’s original run, they will be happy to know that the video and audio quality hasn’t suffered in the transfer and is still very good, with no obvious issues. The ability to swap between Japanese and English speaking audio tracks, practically on the fly, never goes unappreciated. For the guys out there, K-On!! may not be for you, however it is still a charming, although somewhat aimless, slice-of-life story. What really brought the release down, and will do for most anime releases unfortunately, is the common void left in the special features. However, K-On!! Season 2 Collection 1 is a must have for true fans, despite the absence of any real extras.
