Square Enix has released the first video in what appears to be a set of behind-the-scenes videos for Tomb Raider which will give fans of the series a chance to take an in-depth look at a number of things which are being done to reinvent both the studio itself and the Tomb Raider franchise.
For the video the company has enlisted the help of Geoff Keighley who has also chosen to get some help from Zachary Levi. The video itself can be seen below and in it we are introduced to Camilla Luddington who was previously announced as the new voice of Lara. In the video we see her perform a bit of mo-cap work as well as hear about how emotional a number of her recording sessions can be.
Last Sunday Sydney hosted iFest, an Indie Games Festival that allowed Australian developers to show off their wares. The festival was judged by John De Margheriti, the CEO of BigWorld, who is known for his huge role in the Australian gaming industry. The winner of iFest was Red Knight Games who created Grapple Knight, the guys who we actually got to interview at Supanova. Check out our interview with them HERE.
Red Knight Games have the mission statement of creating games that are easy to pick up and hard to master, while also creating empowering experiences for the player. Despite only being formed earlier this year, the company seem to doing quite well for themselves, with their first project, Grapple Knight.
Grapple Knight has been in development for three months, although the game went under a redesign that took two or three weeks to create the demo that they showed off at Supanova and iFest.
Charles, one of the team’s two artists explained:
“The game prior to this demo was a lot more clunky and didn’t feel good. We’re really glad about our decision to undergo the redesign, and the results show.”
Red Knight Games are aiming to release Grapple Knight by the end of the year. For more information on Grapple Knight, or Red Knight Games, keep tuned to Capsule Computers or head over to the Red Knight Games website HERE, like them on Facebook HERE, or follow them on Twitter at @RedKnight_Games.
Heading to SMASH! 2012 this weekend? Well why not be prepared? SMASH! have released a a full day schedule for their event, which details all the goings on of the convention.
You can check out the event schedule above (click to enlarge). SMASH! 2012 will be taking place this Saturday, the 14th of July at the Sydney Convention Centre in Darling Harbour. The event boasts such huge international guests as Shinichiro Miki, Sakura Tange and Yuko Miyamura, all of whom shall be holding a panel at the event in which they shall interface with fans (timing of these panels is listed in the schedule above).
Will you be heading to SMASH! this weekend? What are you looking forward to the most this year? Let us know in the comments section below.
Proving that as long as their is still a teet, it can be milked, in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump it was revealed that a new Dragon Ball anime film was in production with a release date of March 30th, 2013.
This is the first Dragon Ball anime production since the reboot series Dragon Ball Z Kai. It is currently unknown whether the film will feature an entirely new original story or be based upon the events of the manga. All that is known currently is that the film’s production will have heavy overseeing by Akira Toriyama (series creator).
What do you think of a new Dragon Ball film? Is enough enough or should they just keep on making Dragon Ball for the next 9001 years? Let us know in the comments section below.
Killer Elite Studio: Ambience Entertainment, Palomar Pictures, Omnilab Films Publisher: Open Road Films Format: DVD (reviewed), Blu-ray Release Date: 18 July, 2012 Price: $24.98 – Available Here
Overview
Killer Elite is probably the most fitting title for an action movie starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro and Dominic Purcell. The film probably sold itself on its cast list alone, who really cares about the plot when you have a cast like that? Especially with the promise of action scenes, explosions, and pitting Clive Owen against Jason Statham, it seems that Killer Elite has everything going for it to make it a good action flick, so does it carry itself based on the actual film itself?
Story
Killer Elite is based on ‘The Feather Men’ by Ranulph Feinnes, a book that revealed a big conspiracy theory behind an ex-SAS society. The truth behind the book is somewhat contested, but that certainly doesn’t stop it from being a good story, and also the perfect movie to be made into an action film.
The film is full of conspiracies, secret societies, and other intriguing things although to be honest they aren’t gone into enough to make then a truly interesting part of the story line. Still, there is certainly enough depth to them to set them apart from other action films, and the difference must be noted.
Killer Elite does depart from normal action films, though it does it in a subtle way that you only really notice if you think about it. One of the most noticeable differences between Killer Elite and your standard action flick is that there is no black and white to the movie, just a whole bunch of grey.
This is something that certainly shouldn’t be underestimated, most movies – action or not – can’t avoid falling into that pattern. It certainly helps that both sides of the movie have likeable, popular action hero leading men. It might actually throw you off a bit, not knowing which side you want to root for without the movie guiding you to who you should support.
The action parts of the film do well for themselves, bringing all sorts of violence, chase scenes, and interesting ways to kill people while making it seem like an accident. The main part of the story line involves killing some targets while making it seem like accidents, which sounds difficult but seems to be accomplished with a scary amount of success and with not that much planning. This isn’t any Oceans 11 where they stand around discussing plans, they pretty much just jump into it, leaving as much room to cover both separate sides of the story line as possible.
There’s also a romance story line thrown in there, but it doesn’t drift into the stereotype with that either. It does feel a little slotted in, like it could have been there or not and it wouldn’t have made a huge difference.
Visuals
The camera work is fast-paced, a bit messy, and matches the style and theme of the movie perfectly. Exploring everywhere from Australia, to the Middle East, to England and the movie covers a bit of the scenery, although it also recognizes that the type of people who would be interested in the movie would really not care that much about the scenery.
Audio
The soundtrack to the film is a mix of English punk, Middle Eastern, and your standard full throttle action soundtrack. Its fairly enjoyable and a couple songs are bound to get stuck in your head. The soundtrack does a good representation of what the film is like, with that combination of cultures.
Special Features
The special features include a Making of Killer Elite featurette and deleted scenes. Given that the movie has a run time of almost two hours its no surprise that it had to be cut down, and for those who think there are some plot holes and missing pieces, the deleted scenes are a good way to fill in the blanks. The featurette explores what went on behind the scenes of making such a balls-to-the-wall action film, and gives a nice insight into what goes into making such a film.
Overall
Killer Elite fulfils its action movie requirements, while also going above and beyond in terms of some twists on an old formula. It has some awesome action scenes, interesting plot developments, and the fact that it isn’t a Hollywood flick is somewhat obvious in the feel and how the story is handled. While there are some explosions, the film is a bit more subtle and the killing even seems a little understated at times.
Killer Elite is a great movie for those who enjoy action movies, but would like to see something a bit different, and who don’t mind a change from the norm.
The first trailer for Ubisoft’s movie tie-in for The Expendables 2 has been released and it looks somewhat promising, going for an arcade/casual four player co-op experience rather than a first/third person shooter. Explosions, bullets and more explosions what more could you want from a video game?
Anuman Interactive announced their latest interactive adventure game today. Criminal Investigation Agents – Petrodollars follows Frances Keegan, a smart special agent with the Federal Tax Bureau, the US Government’s tax police. She is an oil industry expert who is on the trail of a suspicious bank transfer on behalf of Gold Oil Company when Frances discovers Gold Oil’s ties to the lead suspect in her former partner’s disappearance, Klaus Fredricks. Now, players must help Francis Keegan go from solving white collar crime to unmasking her partner’s murderer. Criminal Investigation Agents – Petrodollars will be released July 13th on PC, Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
There have been a few reports lately that the 3DS XL will likely be getting a system bundle some point after it is being released. As for the game meant to be bundled with the 3DS XL, it is currently thought that The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask will be given the 3D treatment similar to the Ocarina of Time.
These rumors have stemmed from an image, seen to the right and clickable for full size viewing, appearing online. As you can see, the image features a purple 3DS XL as well as a Majora’s Mask logo on the bottom right corner. Nintendo has yet to make any statement about this photo, though we have reached out to them for comment.
Update: This image has been confirmed as false, though it certainly would be any Legend of Zelda fan’s dream.
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt Studio:Gainax Publisher:FUNimation Format:DVD Release Date:July 10, 2012 Price:$64.98 – Available Here
Overview: There are very few anime which don’t take themselves seriously and even fewer of these titles end up being released in North America. Sometimes when these anime are brought overseas, they are adjusted for the audience, similar to how FUNimation took Shin Chan, which was primarily a children’s show and turned it into a raunchy riot full of pop culture references and more.
On the other hand, FUNimation’s most recent release, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, or better known simply as Panty & Stocking, doesn’t need any special adjustments. Instead, FUNimation has brought forth perhaps one of the foulest mouthed anime to come out of Japan and they have done so in uncensored form, giving the actors free reign with their dialogue. Does Panty & Stocking contain enough wrong to make it so right for your money?
Story: Daten City lies between the border of Heaven and Hell and because of its unfortunate location, the city is always plagued by evil spirits that take the form of various ghosts. The ghosts can come in all shapes and sizes and can cause mass chaos and destruction whenever they form. However the citizens of the city are not on their own, as two angels reside in the city under the eye of the local priest. Now if only one of them could stop having sex with anything that moves while the other is too busy eating anything sweet.
These two angels, called the Anarchy sisters are Panty and Stocking. They have been kicked out of Heaven due to the fact that their behavior is unbecoming of a heavenly being. To try and buy their way back into heaven they must destroy any ghosts they come across and receive Heaven Coins by making them “repent.” These two are monitored by an over the top priest named Garterbelt and are accompanied by their… pet like creature named Chuck.
Now while this may sound like a relatively simple story all on its own, that promises chances at redemption and plenty of action, it is far from it. The reason for this is simply because Panty & Stocking really never takes itself seriously as a show, thus creating some of the most off the wall and unpredictable antics viewers will likely ever see.
Panty is a nymphomaniac who would be much happier spending her time sleeping with four guys at once, while Stocking is a glutton for sweets who happens to love bondage, which seems to be trait shared with the priest Garterbelt. Throughout the series these two angels act like anything but angels, often causing more damage than the ghosts themselves, all while swearing like sailors.
With this off the wall style, there is pretty much zero continuity between episodes barring a minor closing story arc. Instead the story mostly follows a monster of the week type style with the Anarchy sisters screwing and eating anything that moves, then fighting against whatever adversary pops up to stop their fun. But you know what? This formula and style work perfectly when combined together, creating an unpredictable laugh-riot of a show that will be impossible to forget.
Visuals: Interestingly enough, Gainax began creating Panty & Stocking with a style similar to what they had called “American Animation” and then ran with a rather simplistic looking art style that featured the characters appearing with slightly pointy character models. However the art style found in Panty & Stocking changes abruptly from time to time, either dropping in quality to an even more simplistic style which appears to be mocking “chibi” comedy moments.
Along these same lines there are a number of times that the animation will take a drastic turn for the better, such as during transformation scenes, where the artwork will become extremely detailed and high in quality. While shifting in quality like this would usually be a detriment for a series, Panty & Stocking makes it feel like these shifts are also part of the series’ jokes.
Audio: As standard with a FUNimation release, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt does contain the original Japanese voice track for those who would prefer it, though all of the rolled R’s and Japanese voice actors swearing in English can’t compare to what FUNimation has done with the English dub of the show.
Panty is voiced by Jamie Marchi while Monica Rial is handling the voice of Stocking and hearing these two go at one another and saying their outrageous lines is absolutely wonderful. Each voice actor has done a stellar job bringing these characters to life, and this praise doesn’t just end at the main characters. Even Colleen ClinkenBeard, Scanty’s voice, Cherami Leigh, Kneesocks’ voice, and Garterbelt’s voice actor Christopher Sabat have outdone themselves with this raunchy show.
The stellar voice acting of the series is accompanied by some stellar music as well. While Panty & Stocking may feature a rather simple opening song, the ending song “Fallen Angel” is not only a surprise given the series’ tone but also a joy to listen to. Besides these songs, the series is also rife with stunning background music and character themes, including both transformation sequences and the Anarchy Sisters’ theme song, making the show quite a treat for the ears, albeit one full of curse words.
Extras: While the main series of Panty & Stocking can be watched multiple times for viewers to pick out little things they missed before, there are also a number of bonus features included in the release, a whole disc of them in fact. Of course there is your standard set of bonus features, such as clean opening and ending songs as well as trailers, but there is so much more included. To start with there is a collection of short one minute long clips called Panty And Stocking in Sanitary Box which have received an English dub, as well as a long set of outtakes from the English cast. These outtakes are actually broken up into mistakes, favorite moments and dirty jokes from the cast.
There are a number of other extra features which still feature the Japanese dub only, meaning viewers will have to watch these with English subtitles only. Some of these include a making of clip as well as the ghost explosion collection and documentary. Among these the documentary is an interesting watch as some of the little pieces of information revealed about the explosions and the set-pieces are surprising.
Overall: Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt takes the anime standard and does unmentionable things to it as the series is unlike anything else you will probably find in the anime world. This is helped further by the fact that FUNimation has done a stellar job localizing the anime for English speaking audiences. To top it off the show features tons of pop culture references both old and new while also offering an original experience that will keep viewers laughing at the raunchy antics of the Anarchy Sisters while never knowing what could happen next.
Super Mario Bros. Super Show! All Steamed Up Classic Collection Studio: DiC Publisher:Beyond Home Entertainment Format: DvD Release Date: June 27, 2012 Price: DvD $19.99 (Buy Here)
Overview
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show All Steamed Up Classic Collection is a collection of episodes from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show series that aired back in the 80s. It stars Lou Albano and Danny Wells as the main characters Mario and Luigi.
The series is a kind of hybrid of live-action sequences and animated episodes sponged together to make an entertaining show. The show is also based on a video game series, Super Mario Bros., and adapts Mario and Luigi’s adventure in a different medium. Does this work? Read on to find out.
Story
The Super Mario Bros. Super show is one part live action shorts and another part 20-minute animated episodes combined together to make a complete series. Much like most cartoons from before the 90s, the series doesn’t have all that much continuity between episodes, making it an adventure of the week kind of deal.
The way each episode lays out is there will be a live-action opening sequence and a live-action story that will generally involve some kind of guest-star getting into some kind of shenanigans that will have to wait to be resolved by the end of the episode. After this live-action opening story, there will be a cut to an animated opening and then there will be a 20ish-minute animated episode involving Mario, Luigi and various other characters from Super Mario lore. Finally, towards the conclusion of the episode, it will cut back into the live-action story and resolve that before cutting to the credits.
I’m not entirely sure why, but to me the series didn’t really feel like it was connected between episodes. I’m not sure if it should have or not, but there was this overwhelming sense of discontinuity from the series. For instance, in one episode they might be in World 7, and in the next they will have almost travelled across 10 more worlds. If I recall correctly, in the games each world was pretty interesting, so I don’t see why we should have missed out on all of these extra adventures.
One of the best parts of this series is the overly cliched Italian-American dialogue. A lot of people will probably disagree with me here and will say that it’s really bad and not one of the best things of the series. But really, to me anyway, I felt that it was so bad that it was good. Although I will mention that there are too many pasta mentions in the show; and why does Princess Toadstool sound like an Italian-American?
What was really strange for me was that some of the enemies didn’t behave the way I would have figured their characters would have behaved from what I could perceive from the games. This is fine though, as it adds a new dimension to some creatures that I didn’t think existed.
Video
I actually really quite enjoyed the visual quality of the series. In my opinion the animation has aged pretty okay in comparison to other animated works that are very near impossible to watch today, when compared to the past. However, I have to say that the live-action film bits do look a little dodgy compared to the animation and shows of today.
The one thing that I absolutely love about the Super Mario Bros. Super Show is the live-action opening sequence of Mario and Luigi. For some reason, having the the real-life actors performing while having the opening song playing in the background is just really awesome to watch and when it’s coupled with the ending of Captain Lou (Mario) ‘doing the Mario’, it’s just amazing. In my opinion, this show is worth the purchase just for the opening and endings.
The characters resemble their game-versions quite well, which I largely attribute the success of this show to. I also like how each episode has it’s own look and feel, much like each level in the video games.
Audio
The most awesomest thing about the Super Mario Bros. Super show is the opening and ending sequence’s audio. I mean seriously, a rap song about the Super Mario Brothers? A hilarious ending track involving a dance called ‘The Mario’? How is it that things from before my time are way cooler than the things from after my time. For reference, my childhood was super-awesome and counts as before my time.
What is also really cool about the Super Mario Bros. Super Show is that the series lifts sound effects and background audio from the games, making the show tonnes more authentic and way more entertaining to watch. Seriously, this is like one of the greatest things ever about the show, I think that a blind person could even have fun watching this.
However, as I stated in my story section, the dubbing is very Italian-American. It also heavily references things like pasta and other cliched Italian cliches. However, I don’t feel that this is detrimental to the show, even if it does seem incredibly corny.
Extras
Unfortunately, I could not find any additional features or extras on the discs. However, with such a classic and possibly obscure series, it’s amazing that they’ve even gotten the episodes back and in working order. So, unless you count a Spanish track as an extra, I’m afraid there isn’t really any that I could find.
I don’t feel that this lessens the value of the package, considering it’s not like it was something that was withheld from us. It’s just something that probably never existed in the first place. Although, conversely to this, I do feel cheated out of The Legend of Zelda Show, considering it is promoted in every single episode on these two discs.
Overall
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show All Steamed Up Classic Collection is an excellent package for fans of classic animation and video games. As a show, the series is quite entertaining and is very easy to watch. As a package, the show is an excellent investment and a great addition to anyone’s collection of video games and video game themed items.
I would definitely advise everyone to pick this up, either for themselves, or their kids as soon as they can. This is because of the reasons that I have listed in the review and I believe that is an excellent series.
