Do you hate reading? Still trying to wrap your head around the super-complicated concepts of New Super Mario Bros 2? Well, Nintendo have you covered! They’ve released a video that explains the features that put the “new” in New Super Mario Bros 2, and it looks like the same sorta stuff you’d expect, with a few added twists.
With so little time for plumbing these days, Mario’s income seems to be largely dependent on whatever he can find during his perpetual quest to save the princess. This time the bling is an even bigger focus, and from the looks of it, by the end of New SMB2 he should finally be able to afford a locking door, to keep Bowser out.
Most of the new features revolve around new ways to collect coins, like Gold Rings, Gold Blocks and the much-hyped Coin Rush mode.
This info video is a little unneccesary, but it still provides a bit more detail on the game. Especially if you hate reading, and have missed all the info released via the medium of text so far.
Honey and Clover Complete Collection Studio: JC Staff Publisher:Madman Format: DvD Release Date: May 23, 2012 Price: DvD $59.95 (Buy Here)
Overview
Honey and Clover is described as a series that involves a rather confusing love triangle and a strange sense of humour. Fortunately, the series is not as confusing as any and all media will portray it as being, unless of course, you have the intelligence of a plank of wood. The complete series is 36 episodes and two bonus episodes in length, making this a pretty decent looking package for the Anime aficionado. A plethora of extras and a decent art-style are only bonuses at this point.
Story
The story in Honey and Clover Complete Collection follows a small group of guys and girls who are connected to each other through their tenure at an art school. However, what puts the story into motion is this one new student named Hagumi, who enrols at the school and immediately gains the attraction of one of the male main characters named Shinobu. Hinobu isn’t the only one with attractions to the opposite sex though, it seems that almost everyone in this series is attracted to someone else of the opposing gender. However, the attractions are never really mutual and are all connected in a kind of love-triangle, which can make for some interesting drama.
My most favourite part of the story though, would have to be the characters themselves. What I mean by most favourite isn’t so much that the characters themselves are good, but it’s more that they fit some kind of archetype designed to attract certain viewers. For instance, we have the aloof guy that everyone tries to appease, the shy, yet prodigious girl that nobody should have any reason to swoon over yet they do, that one plain guy and a few others. I liked this because it was completely rediculous to have these kinds of characters in the first place. No one person is one type of behaviour their entire lives, but for some reason these guys and girls are just that.
The series is meant to be a comedy series, but really, aside from a few laughs, the show just seemed pretty flat. I suppose one must first understand the source material or something, but really, the comedy didn’t work for me. Maybe someone with a much better sense of humour will appreciate the comedy, but I wasn’t too impressed.
Visuals
Visually speaking, Honey and Clover Complete Collection was a step back into the days between hand-drawn animation and CGI. The early 2000s era of astonishingly great animation, just before the rise of CGI found today.
What I really liked about this series was it’s character designs. Each character has a kind of plain look, while still retaining an air of mystery, or even a little style that separates them from most Anime characters. The best way to explain it is that these characters look plain, while most other anime go for grandiose designs that sometimes fail to deliver.
Another thing that I really liked about this series was that all the backgrounds and the like had that hand-drawn and detailed look that seems to have dropped off in modern times. I don’t know why, but in one of the opening scenes we see the complex that the main characters are residing within and it immediately filled me with nostalgia because of the way it was drawn.
My one major gripe with the art is the character Hagumi. She is played up to be this cute character and is supposed to be of an adult age. However, she looks like she is, at the most, 12 and all the “cute” things that she is seen doing throughout the show annoyed me like hell.
The opening animation for the series was incredibly well done and is a complete change of pace from the usual hand drawn anime opening. A relic opening such as this one can only serve as a reminder to the creativity once shown in a now stagnating industry.
Audio
Honey and over Complete Collection has a rather decent soundtrack attached to it. However I found the first two opening and endings completely annoying, at least on an audio level. This also applies to the second opening and closing.
What made things a little unbearable with the English soundtrack was not that the English actors didn’t do a good job (they fit the roles just fine), its that it had this kind of metallic background ring to the audio which was not present in the Japanese language option.
The one character who’s voice I found most annoying on both audio tracks was the character Hagumi. She has to be the most annoying character in the entire series. I think that they were going for a kind of cute sounding voice, but they completely missed the mark and left her sounding like a long annoyance. To make things worse, she is one of the main characters of the series and so she gets plenty of screen-time as well.
Extras
Now the Extras are really what make this package worth getting. The series boasts an amazing Extras set which are sure to take up the majority of your time that isn’t set aside for watching the series. The following is a list of extras as labelled by the cover –
KABA.chan tries voice acting
Tokyo Anime Fair footage
Making of the Animated Opening
Textless Opening and Closing
English Production Credits
Original Japanese Production Credits
Screening Tea Party
Cultural Notes
Production Art
Trailers
This is probably one of the more extensive Extras list that I have seen and they are sure to add a plethora of value to this series.
Overall
Aside from a few good points and a copious amount of extras, I’d definitely recommend against getting this series if you are not partial to romance anime series. The whole concept, I felt was dealt with in a way that was inferior to other productions in the same genre. However, If you’re looking for a series that has a good value for money, this one would probably be your best bet. The series bolsters a plethora of extras, 36 entire episodes with two bonus episodes and a storyline that will keep you engaged, even if one particular character is annoying as crap.
It’s completely up to you on whether or not to get this series. I personally didn’t enjoy it, but I can see where people who enjoy these kinds of things would.
With the main industry becoming somewhat stagnant, I’ve found myself drawn more to the independent game developers community lately. I’ve stumbled onto some real gems, but unfortunately, a lot of them don’t get the attention they deserve.
This new segment, which I intend to make semi-regular, will highlight an indie game I’ve discovered or have been playing. They won’t be reviews, per se, but simply try to promote some of those lesser known games you should get in on.
The first Indie Pick is Plith, the debut release from Ya2, an indie developer based in Rome. In Plith, players construct chains of cogs, with the aim of transferring the energy from a spinning starter cog to a stationary target one. Sounds simple, and during the tutorial levels it is. But it’s not long before other cog sizes, obstacles and play spaces ramp up the challenge.
Cogs must be placed on pegs, and the arrangement of these on the board usually indicates the path players must take to build their cog chains. A path of pegs may look quite simple, but the relationship between the different cog sizes means the ones you are given in a level may not mesh in the way you expect. The challenge comes from determining how to use the given cog types in the space provided.
Cogs come in three sizes, and the relationships between them vary. Large cogs will mesh together only either directly above, below, left or right of each other, medium cogs will mesh together diagonally, and small cogs are useful for bridging gaps between the others. The elements are simple to understand while you play, yet the complicated ways they work together are difficult to explain in writing. That’s often a sign of a great central mechanic: straight forward enough for players to pick up quickly, but deep enough to allow for many puzzle possibilities. That’s good news, considering the game boasts over 100 levels.
The puzzling gameplay is wrapped up in a story about the end of the world. It’s 2012, the year pop culture and the realm of historic myth tell us Earth is due for a cataclysm, and Plith presents it as the gears driving the universe being damaged. To restore the rotation of the Earth, players must…connect cogs.
The presentation is lacking some polish, however. The visuals and audio are serviceable but not mind-blowing, and the interface can be somewhat cumbersome. Thankfully, the central mechanic is strong enough to keep things interesting.
If you’re a fan of puzzle games, Plith is definitely worth the miniscule asking price of $3.99. It’s available now on Desura,Indie City and on Ya2’s own site. If you’re too tight for that, there’s a free demo to try out.
Capcom have officially confirmed that Australia and New Zealand will also be receiving a special Collector’s Edition for the hotly anticipated Resident Evil 6.
The Collector’s Edition comes with an apocalypse worth of zombie goodness, which is great so see considering this is arguably the ‘biggest’ Resident Evil title to date. The special Resident Evil 6 Collector’s Edition includes the following:
Exclusive RE6 hardback artbook showing concept art from the game
Avatar DLC code for 360 owners OR an exclusive Dynamic Theme for PS3 owners
The RE6 forces emblems – High quality enamelled zinc alloy emblems of the three main protagonists (Leon, Chris & Jake) squad insignias, mounted and set in a limited numbered frame authenticated with signatures from Senior producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi , Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi and RE6 Director Eiichiro Sasaki
All of the above amazing goodies are bundled together in the ‘Needle Bomb’ collectors box (as seen in the RE6 announce trailer) with lenticular images
All of this of course comes right along side the game itself. You can see the contents of the Collector’s Edition in the image above. The Resident Evil 6 Collector’s Edition is exclusive to EB Games and JB HI-FI and will be limited in number, so be sure to pre-order your copy quick before they run out.
Resident Evil 6 is slated to be released on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 later this year on the 4th of October.
We Are Tekken is now live! This is the chance for artists and musicians worldwide to be a part of the Tekken legend.
Namco Bandai are calling all artists and music producers to help re-imagine the Tekken universe by creating original artwork or by remixing one of six selected tracks from the upcoming Tekken Tag Tournament 2 soundtrack. Winners will be hand-picked by the Tekken team and will be featured in the collector’s edition art book or CD to come with the We Are Tekken edition of Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
To launch the project and provide inspiration, Namco Bandai has collaborated with a number of notable artists. Remixes of the game’s original track have been done by electro house artists Crookers, Busy P, Siriusmo, Jokers of the Scene and His Majesty Andre; drum’n’bass producers Logistic and Benton; moombahton rising stars Sazon Booya among others. Artwork has also been re-imagined by comic artists Neal Adams, Alan Kupperberg, Daniel Govar, Jock, Ben Willsher and Jon Davis Hunt; low-brow legends Frank Kozik and Vince Ray; illustrators McBess and Adam Haynes; and graphic artist Superdeux.
For full details on how you can be a part of We Are Tekken, check out the Tekken Facebook page, or check out the remix compeition directly at the Juno Dowload website.
The competition is now live. Entrants have until July 16 to submit their work and winners will be announced July 23rd.
Remember that Japanese Pokemon game that came out a while back with the keyboard? Well, it looks like Pokemon fans will be able to type along to their favorite critters soon, as Nintendo is set to launch Learn With Pokémon Typing Adventure this fall in Europe.
The main strategy of this title is exactly as it would seem, with players typing the names of Pokemon as they appear in order to perform a catch. There are over 400 Pokemon included as well, which makes for a good usage of the bundled in keyboard that retails with the game (which is blue tooth compatible). As you would expect, Learn With Pokémon Typing Adventure is aimed towards the younger market, but considering how computers run the world these days, it seems like a fine product to teach kids how to type. As of now, nothing has been announced for North America and it seems a bit unlikely, but never say never as weirder things have happened. Those of you in Europe can rejoice though, as Learn With Pokémon Typing Adventure launches this September.
It was a quiet week. It was a slow week. It was a tiresome week. But hey, there is a bigger 3DS now I suppose? So soon too! Oh bugger it all! Well at least there isn’t a sequel to Russell Grant’s Astrology for the 3DS yet. Thank god for that.
Square Enix and IO Interactive has continued to release their Hope News Time images and this time around the factitious newspaper is reporting about a massive slaughter inside of one of Hope’s social clubs, apparently no one saw the gunmen or heard any shots, but fourteen people were found dead from bullet wounds.
The full newspaper can be seen below and those who have been paying attention will likely note that this means that players will be taking on a social club with about fourteen targets when Hitman: Absolution is released in stores later this year on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Pokemon Black & White 2 are bound to be huge when they hit this fall, but if early numbers are any indication, this duo may be the biggest success in the franchises’ history. The Pokémon Company recently revealed that Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 have surpassed the one million mark in pre-orders, with a total amount of 1.16 million hit on June 17th.
Yeah, yeah, we know these games sell, but these numbers really show how much fans still care about that classic Pokemon formula. These titles will of course feature a brand new story, taking place after the events of the first story and will also include many of the past species from the start. Fall seems a long ways off for us in the west, but this is just the beginning and you can be sure that there is even more promotion and hype to come in the near future.
Capcom’s new IP Dragon’s Dogma seems to be doing quite well as the publisher revealed late yesterday that they have shipped one million copies of the title around the world. Of those copies, 92,000 units sold in under a week in the U.S. while 437,248 copies have been sold in Japan as of last week. Considering the new and rather risky seeming development of the title, it looks like the game is doing quite well.
Capcom is hoping to ship 1.5 million copies of the game by the end of March 2013, and considering they have already reached 66% of that goal, it seems quite reasonable to assume it will be reached. Capcom also revealed that they are planning to turn Dragon’s Dogma into a franchise and are planning on releasing more games in the series sometime in the future.
