Moscow, 2013. Suddenly the sky is falling, and where is everyone going to run but the Metro that was designed as a safe haven against nuclear attack?
A dilapidated Moscow is the subject of the Metro: Last Light life action short film. In stark contrast, there is the inside of the Metro, their last beacon of hope. The lucky ones get through, but the rest are not so lucky. The last, a baby, who we can assume to be Artyom. 20 years later a man emerges from the Metro to meet the ruins that were once Moscow.
The film is only four minutes long, but they’ve managed to pack a lot of story, scale and emotion into it. Given the fact that they are all speaking in Russian, the film translates exceptionally easily. And the scale is just fantastic, from the amount of people running towards the Metro, and streaming through its doors, to the shot of Moscow twenty years later. Not to mention the absolutely haunting soundtrack and atmosphere to the whole film. The detail and effort that has gone into this film is impressive, and speaks well for what we can come to expect from Metro: Last Light.
Check out the live action short film below. What do you guys think? Is it what you were expecting? Or does it fall short or exceed or expectations? Does this convince you that you really should keep an eye out for the game as it draws closer to the release date? Because it certainly has made me keener for it.
Metro: Last Light will be released on Xbox 360, Wii U, PC and Playstation 3 in early 2013. For more information on the game as it comes, keep tuned to Capsule Computers.
Autumn Dynasty Developer: Touch Dimensions Publisher: Bulkypix Platforms: iPad Release Date: May 24, 2012 Price: $4.99 USD/$5.49 AUD Get it Here
Overview
The RTS genre is a bit thin on the iPad, which is surprising considering the iPad’s expansive screen. Touch Dimensions and Bulkypix decided to fill this gap with their latest game Autumn Dynasty. Autumn Dynasty is a stylish RTS drawing inspiration from ancient China. The game is pit against big names like Sega’s Total War Battles, does it have what it takes to shine?
Story
Autumn Dynasty takes place in the Autumn Empire, a place heavily inspired by China. The legend of the Thousand Sun Weapon and firedust has ensured peace in the Autumn Empire, but a rebellion is brewing against a corrupt government. The peasants are revolting against the government, refusing to slowly starve to death as the nobles become fat through the peasants’ labour. Masked rebels lead the rebels into battle, hoping to steal the secrets of the Autumn Empire under the guise of leading a righteous revolution. The story follows very affable heroes and skillfully mixes humour and an epic plot line the keep player interest. Some characters, such as General Li, could be a little one dimensional at times Autumn Dynasty provides an entertaining story to keep players riveted.
Gameplay
Autumn Dynasty comes with a fully-fledged campaign mode with online multiplayer that supports voice chat over WiFi and Bluetooth. The game plays like a stripped down RTS such as Age of Empires. There are no peasant units in Autumn Dynasty. Gold is generated via farms and buildings are built by combat units. Building construction is limited to several pre-determined spots on the map. The unit limits are rather low in comparison to say the original Starcraft, but the screen is kept visually full as a single unit is representing by multiple small troops. This unit representing by an actual unit of troops is best mirrored by the Total War series. The RTS elements of the game is so well executed that I feel Autumn Dynasty would easily find a home with some modifications for PC controls as an indie PC release.
The game is controlled by buttons on the UI and drawing commands for units on the battlefield. On a whole, the controls are perfect. The developers seem incredible aware of the platform they are working with and apply the touch screen subtle and logical ways. The drawing method can be slightly cumbersome when ordering units to move long distances. One thing surprisingly missing from Autumn Dynasty is unit rules of engagement settings. The stealth mission would have really benefitted from the ability to order my units to not engage the enemy so I could issue commands to other units. Instead I was stuck to select and hold my finger on the units I needed to not move to ensure they would not go running into combat with little regard for personal safety.
The campaign is of decent length. However I wish there was an easy difficulty setting. The difficulty level of some missions can be rather punishing. Unit battles generally boil down to rock, paper, scissors type affairs with unit special abilities changing the tides of battles. Those who are less gifted in micromanagement will struggle on the normal difficulty. Mixing smart controls with traditional RTS gameplay, Autumn Dynasty, Autumn Dynasty is a shining example of the RTS genre on the iPad done right.
Visuals
One of Autumn Dynasty’s main draw is the traditional Chinese style art and for good reason. Autumn Dynasty is a gorgeous game. The game’s art style is catchy and unique. Every part of the game fits the style. If left alone, the game looks like it was torn out of a historic art book. The animations are beautifully done; it is a pleasure to see the little individual stick figures that compose a unit do battle with each other. Thankfully the game is Retina ready as I dread how my beloved stickmen would look if it was not. Autumn Dynasty’s visuals are easily my favourite part of this game.
Audio
Autumn Dynasty provides a strong audio experience. The sound effects are well implemented and a pleasure to listen to. One of the most impressive things about Autumn Dynasty is the music. It manages to capture the Chinese style of the game without becoming tacky or stereotypical to the point of parody. Although music does not play throughout the game, it cues in always at the right time melding seamlessly into the game.
Overall
Autumn Dynasty easily earns its way onto the must have list of any iPad gamer. Although players who are not experience or extremely skilled with the RTS genre may want to be aware they are in for an extremely challenging experience. Those lacking patience may want to sharpen their skills on other RTS games before tackling Autumn Dynasty. Autumn Dynasty mixes fantastic RTS gameplay, wonderful audio, and a unique art style and for $4.99, Autumn Dynasty is a great deal and highly recommended.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OVA Collection Studio: Bones Publisher: FUNimation Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date: May 22, 2012 Price: $24.98 – Available Here
Overview:
There has certainly been a lot of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood lately, with one shot sets being released before each of the two collections of the series proper. So, with The Sacred Star of Milos, reviewed HERE, and Collection 1 having been released already it is now time for the OVA Collection before the release of Collection 2. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a series with plenty of room for exploration, with plenty of side characters to choose from, so how do the OVAs handle such a wide cast to pick from?
Story:
There are 4 OVAs that come in the collection, which all star different characters in the major role. The cover art is a bit misleading however seeing as it features Hohenheim and he doesn’t appear in any of the OVAs himself. But, they do at least work to focus on different characters in the different ones.
The first OVA, “The Blind Alchemist”, is unfortunately probably the weakest of the 4, as it is focused on Ed and Al on a side investigation into human transmutation. This time around they are seeking out a blind alchemist who is reported to have successfully achieved it. The reason this is the weakest is that it is simply a side story that introduces new characters and doesn’t really explore anything new with the brothers, very similar to The Sacred Star of Milos, though much shorter.
“Simple People” does a lot better in terms of what it brings to the viewer. This one focuses on both Winry and Lt. Hawkeye, though the brothers Elric do feature heavily in it. The OVA fills in a bit of the gap between flashbacks of the series and where it actually begins, to explore the changes between the Lt. and Winry from when they meet after the military first visits Ed after the incident. It’s much better in character exploration than “The Blind Alchemist”, but not quite the best of OVAs.
The next OVA is “The Tale of Teacher” and it actually provides a healthy backstory on one of the more interesting things only mentioned in the series. Going into just how Izumi Curtis, the Elric brother’s teacher, was able to survive alone on Mt. Briggs, unfortunately it does go very much like the brothers story in the series. However, there is a special bonus story after the credits that it probably the cutest thing Izumi has ever been in.
The final OVA, “Yet Another Man’s Battlefield”, focuses entirely on how Mustang and Hughes met and formed their friendship. This probably the best OVA of the bunch however as it gives the much needed exploration of Hughes that the series was deeply missing. It doesn’t quite make up for how little there was of Hughes though, but it definitely provides a better look at the man.
Visuals:
The visuals of the OVAs themselves definitely match up to the visuals of the series, not suffering the same problems that The Sacred Star of Milos had in terms of quality. The art style is nice in that the backgrounds are very detailed, with the characters put in over top of these. Where some people might think this awkward, it really does provide a different aspect of the more animated characters moving around in a flatter, picturesque environment, that fits with the general themes of the shows, such as focusing on the characters more than actual location.
The extras that come are considerably lower quality, but seeing as they are simply humorous and designed to look as such, they work for what they are. The art style is great for looking so much like a short one line comic, such as those in a daily newspaper. The drawing is quick and dirty, with a lot less time spent on the backgrounds and almost exclusively on the characters, which still look very quickly done. It’s definitely nothing to write home about, but as a whole shouldn’t ruin the experience of the extras, if it does you’re probably enjoying it wrong.
Audio:
There is a wide variety of music throughout the OVAs as they feature a fair number of characters, themes, and moods. Almost all the OVAs play the military chorus over the credits, while the first OVA has a slowly more melancholy music over the credits to fit the “lesson” that they learn, there is also different music for the credits of the bonus Izumi story that is light and all strings that caps off that mini-OVA very well. As for the music that plays during the OVAs stories, they all seem to fit their respective parts, i.e. very slow strings for building drama, etc.
As per usual this release comes with both the English dub and the original Japanese dub, however in terms of voice acting, the English is simply just okay, but I found it much more preferable to simply read the subtitles and listen to the Japanese voice track instead of listening to Ed’s English voice work, which for whatever reason I find to be kind of grating. The rest of the English dub unfortunately falls kind of flat, it terms of fitting tension and drama the Japanese is probably the ideal way to go. Although, in the episode of Fullmetal Four-Panel Comic Theater that features Ed and Al’s younger sister, the voice is perfectly cute in both versions, and while a joke would have been awesome to hear more of.
Extras:
The extras packed on the OVA Collection are a tad light, as the only real special feature is the 16 Fullmetal Four-Panel Comic Theater. This is pretty interesting to watch as they are mostly part of the story taken in aside and finding some aspect to make a joke out of. Watching all of it straight through follows the plot of the series in chronological order, so in some ways it can serve as a kinda of recap or refresher after being away from the series for a while. While not all the jokes are hilarious, they are worth the watch.
Interestingly or not, depending on outlook, some of the jokes or dialogue change quite a bit depending on English or Japanese, which doesn’t mean it’s instantly something that should be watched twice to see both. There are only a few that change, the most obvious being Mustang’s answering machine.
The range of characters featured in these episodes is far larger obviously, but also delves into more fan favorite characters, such as automail mechanic Garfiel from Rush valley. It’s really a grab bag of whatever could be poked at for fun throughout the series, from the complexities of the Bradley Family, to the varying explorations of Winry’s personality, to the homunculi, to the variety of Mustang’s men, it runs quite a gamut in terms of topics.
Overall:
The Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OVA Collection does provide a solid addition to the the series in terms of character development and backstory, though it is kind of hard pressed in terms of actual content. Only 4 OVA episodes, with the only special features being the Fullmetal Four-Panel Comic Theater, there isn’t an over abundance of bang for the buck, but it does equate to about the length of a movie, so the price of a movie certainly fits. The music is good, the voice overs are solid, and the visuals deliver what one expects from the series. While there isn’t much content it is understandable what with all the other releases probably getting the major focus in terms of that, so content is solid enough.
Two Tribes’ puzzle/platformer Toki Tori seemed like a great game for fans to get their hands dirty designing their own levels. While an editor for the first game was eventually released, it was still a little user unfriendly.
But with the release of Toki Tori 2, a level editor will be available from day one. This is thanks to the Steam Workshop, which provides a solid platform for browsing and sharing user-created content.
The editor is included in the latest build of the Toki Tori 2 beta, with full Steam Workshop functionality available in a later update. It should be interesting to see what the testers can do with the tools at their disposal.
If you want to participate in the beta, and try out the current build of the game and the editor, email your details to [email protected].
If you think that that title sounds a bit crazy just wait until you see everything Square Enix has to show off in the trailer they released today for Sleeping Dogs. In this trailer we are shown practically everything that the game will have to offer, including racing impressively designed cars, singing karaoke and taking part in cock fights.
But those are just small distractions, the real meat of Sleeping Dogs appears to be the amazing looking combat system. The undercover cop Wei Shen is a master of martial arts and will use his abilities to further his undercover work as a Triad member. To do this he will have to take out multiple thugs of all shapes and sizes, using whatever tools he can get his hands on, including fish it appears. Keep an eye out for more information about the game as the release date of August 14th grows closer.
Have you by chance downloaded Mighty Switch Force yet? Well, if you haven’t, it’s a spectacular eShop title that comes from the gaming gurus behind Shantae, and is well worth your digital bucks. Those who already have the title and newbies to the game alike are in for a treat today, as Wayforward have released a huge update, adding in 5 new levels and a retry button for speed runners. This DLC of sorts is free to all who own Switch Force and will cost nothing extra for those who are just discovering this gem.
IF you’re more into the classics, the virtual console is seeing a bit more life this week with Game and Watch Gallery 2, which of course originally seen life on the Game Boy. Chef, Vermin, Donkey Kong, Helmet and Parachute are featured within, and players can choose to play either the original and updated versions of each for just $3.99.
Finally, we have a Madagascar 3 trailer in Nintendo Video this week, as well as a nice little puzzler by the name of Snakenoid Deluxe for the DSiWare that is priced at $4.99.
Yes, this is a pretty decent lot this week, but remember, we do have the 1st of the month approaching rapidly, meaning more freebies for Club Nintendo Rewards members, so prepare your coins and remember, the more you download, the more coins you earn!
Fans of the Ys series will be happy to hear that Xseed has revealed the official release date for Ys Origin on Steam as May 31st. Alongside this announcement the company revealed the below gameplay trailer showing a decent amount of action and some rather impressive looking artwork. When Ys Origin is released it will cost $19.99 for those of us in North America, €15.99 in Europe, £12.99 in the UK and if you happen to live in Russia then it’ll cost you 399 rubles so have fun with that pricing breakdown.
Now this marks the first time that Ys Origin has been released in English since its original release in Japan back in 2006. Despite being a relatively late entry into the series, Ys Origin is actually a prequel to the main series and will take place seven hundred years before the adventures of Adol and Dogi. Besides the English translation, Xseed has also added Steam achievements, cloud support, leaderboards, widescreen capability and even game pad support for those who don’t like to play with their keyboards.
PopCap Games released the latest game to the Amazing Adventures series Riddle of the Two Knights. Amazing Adventures Riddle of the Two Knights is a hidden object adventure game that will take players from the crowded bazaars of Morocco to the snow capped mountains of Switzerland after a mysterious medieval chessboard is unearthed with the pieces missing. Players will hunt down the playing pieces of the chessboard in 25 exotic locations with over 2000 hidden objects to be found.
The game has a free 60 minute trial and the full game can be purchased for $19.95 here.
Konami Digital Entertainment has released more screenshots for the upcoming release of Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition. Set in the gallery below, they do offer a better understanding of how some the features will actually play out. By the screen above, players can see that the skins seem to be different options for the enemies and setting, but still remaining as frogs during play apparently.
Other screens that players can check out in the gallery show off some of the other modes, though for the most part it is a little hard to tell what exactly is going on to figure out how they will play. They look to fit the “hyper” of the name as well, with the neon of some of the screenshots. There still isn’t a release date set for Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition yet unfortunately, so we’ll see how long before players get a chance to try the new spins the game brings to the classic title.
The long awaited full body case for the iPhone 4/4s from BASEONLELABS is finally out. TheGunnerCase is finally available for order to customers everywhere. Those who have pre ordered the GunnerCase have had their orders shipped.
The GunnerCase’s design is inspired by the recoil pads in shotguns and rifles. 16 collapsing internal air cells help absorb impacts and drops, providing the same protection as a case twice as thick. The GunnerCase feels rigid and is constructed from a lint repellent material. The case is only available in black and can be purchased for $39.99 at BASEONELABS’ website. For those waiting on the iPhone 5, purchase a GunnerCase now and get a coupon for a discount for the iPhone 5 GunnerCase.
Two Tribes’ puzzle/platformer Toki Tori seemed like a great game for fans to get their hands dirty designing their own levels. While an editor for the first game was eventually released, it was still a little user unfriendly.
