Ever wanted to play a videogame on the big screen at a cinema? Well, Capsule Computers were lucky enough to have the chance to do so today at an event held by Alienware and Dell. The event was to showcase the new range of gaming laptops that have just recently been released, and what better way than to hook one of those bad boys to the big screen and let us gaming enthusiasts duke it out in a Need For Speed tournament. Okay well, the tournament was rather unofficial, as we casually tried to out do each others best scores. I am not ashamed to admit that I didn’t fare to well, but hey. That’s not what is important here.
What is important, is that we got to play through some of the latest PC titles on some rather impressive, brand new, Alienware laptops. Available for a test run were all three of the latest models; the M18X, M17X and M14X. Also available were some desktop computers with the same games loaded on them. Technical specifications for the laptops can be found here. Each laptop comes with an Intel Core i7 chip, Windows 7, and variable screen sizes and amounts of RAM. Starting at $1,799 and going all the way up to $4,299, these refreshed laptops may not be the easiest on the wallet. But man, do they look spectacular.
As I said, the event took place in a cinema, with one of the laptops being projected on the big screen. The rest of the laptops and PC’s littered the cinema floor: illuminating the dark hall with their technical prowess. As you can see, the laptops feature a number of lights in a variety of colour, which make for a wonderful looking machine.
After a brief introduction we were free to play around on all the laptops. Testing out games like Starcraft, Diablo III (the server actually worked for the most part) Call of Duty, Need for Speed and Mass Effect 3. Each game played well, whether it was laptop or desktop, with remarkable speed and stunning graphics. Overall, it was a great event and was exciting to get a look at the new range of laptops coming out from Alienware. I think I best start saving my five cent coins sooner rather than later.
In anticipation of the September release of Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition, this new video released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment goes behind-the-scenes with professional insights from Game Director Sefton Hill of Rocksteady and foley artist John Roesch (The Dark Knight, The Matrix, Inception, Fight Club). Viewers get a chance to head into the studio where skilled foley artists create the sound of beating up Mister Freeze, and go out to the world famous Warner Bros. Studio to capture the sound of live gunfire in an urban environment reminiscent of the streets of Arkham City.
The video comes in advance of the release of Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition, out on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on 7th September. It gives a fascinating insight into how the audio is handled for a game as big as this – just hope you can still enjoy the game of the year edition now you know it’s actually a man in a room breaking some celery.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team Platforms:Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PlayStation 3, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, PC Release Date: 15/05/2012 Price:1200 Microsoft Points
Overview:
Making Sonic the Hedgehog 4 an episodic game was a pretty peculiar move, and when the first episode was released back in 2010 it received a fairly mixed reaction from both fans and critics. The game was far from being a disaster as it was actually a step in the right direction, bringing the franchise back to its glory Mega Drive/Genesis days. However, it was far from being ideal as the game had its issues in terms of the level design, core mechanics, and visual/art style. Episode I was a fairly good game for what it was, it wasn’t broken, but its shortcomings prevented it from reaching the unanimous acclaim and greatness that its Mega Drive/Genesis predecessors so deservingly enjoyed.
After a major hiatus, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is back again with its second episode. The nearly two year gap actually proved to be worthwhile as it gave developers enough time to really build a better game.
Story:
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II picks up where the first episode left off, but the main plot actually ties in with a cult classic title, Sonic the Hedgehog CD, which was originally released for the Sega CD/Mega CD back in 1993 and then later ported to numerous platforms last year. In fact, Sega’s decision to release a Sonic CD port for numerous digital platforms was largely because of the fact that Sonic 4 Episode II was going to be somewhat of a sequel to it.
Sonic CD introduced a new foe by the name of Metal Sonic, a creation of the series’ antagonist, Doctor Eggman. Years after facing defeat at the hands of Sonic in Sonic CD, Metal Sonic has been revived once more by Dr. Eggman, and now they work together to once again engage in all things evil. Sonic once again steps up to the task of putting a stop to their evil scheme, but this time he is joined by his longtime friend, Tails.
Visuals and Audio:
If there was one thing about Sonic 4 Episode I that immediately annoyed fans of the series, it was the game’s visuals as it resembled a really ugly PopCap video game, and the art style lacked the same charm and character that made Sonic games so cool in the past. Fortunately, Sonic 4 Episode II features a very significant improvement in the visuals department, as this is one fine looking game.
Visually, Sonic 4 Episode II has about the same quality as Sonic Colors and the excellent Sonic Generations. The game features some nice and crisp 3D graphics with a lot of detail, plenty of eye watering effects, and good use of dynamic lighting. Everything is pretty much built with polygons, giving it a very nice 2.5D look akin to the Classic Sonic sections of Sonic Generations. The backgrounds and stage visuals in particular look really impressive, as they have a ton of colour, variety, and detailed artistic touches. The 3D character models look really nice and animate well, a huge improvement over the dull and lifeless character models in Episode I. The art direction is pretty solid too as it adds a lot of personality to the various levels in the game, and the boss designs are actually refreshing and memorable this time around.
Musically Sonic 4 Episode II, like the first episode, tries to recreate the chip-tune music of the Genesis/Mega Drive Sonic games, and it does a fairly decent job. The soundtrack is a definite improvement over the first episode, with many tracks being quite catchy and memorable, and having just about the same charm as the chip-tune tracks of the 16-bit Sonic games. In fact, traces of classic Sonic tunes can clearly be heard in the soundtrack of Sonic 4 Episode II. Unfortunately, some of the more annoying and grating tracks from the first episode can still be heard in Episode II, in particular the infuriating boss theme.
Gameplay:
Sonic 4 Episode I was a fun game but it was mechanically flawed, and with a fast paced twitch heavy game like Sonic, every minor intricate detail matters. Sonic 4 Episode II is a significant improvement as the game mechanically feels a lot more refined and spot on, but that said it still is very much like the first episode. Sonic still feels rather heavy and a bit sluggish as you can sense a lot of weight when he runs and jumps, but the momentum issues from the previous game has been addressed to a large degree, making this a relatively more faster paced and precise experience. The homing attack is also back again but like the first episode there are still some instances where it is a bit of a hit/miss affair, and while these instances are minor, they still cause a fair bit of frustration during the more intense and twitch-heavy moments of the game.
Sonic 4 Episode II blows the first episode completely out of the water in terms of level design. Gone are the out of place gimmicks and awful design choices that plagued the first episode (torch puzzle…enough said), as this game features some truly entertaining and rich level designs that will make you want to keep coming back for more. The levels are big with plenty of routes, and they feature that ideal mix of platforming and high speed loop tearing action that defined the 16-bit Sonic games. You can clearly see that the developers adopted the same design philosophy that was showcased in Sonic Generations, as the levels are very fairly complex and challenging, but never in a cheap or unfair way. Levels still have gimmicks but they integrate nicely enough, such as sandstorms, oil spills, and even underwater sections. Also worth noting is that the levels in Episode II are inspired by classic Sonic levels, but in a good way as they still are quite refreshing and unique.
Tails the two tailed fox returns as Sonic’s sidekick, constantly following and mimicking Sonic and giving him a helping hand. The co-op aspect is very much similar to how it was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), but this time they’ve added some special tag-team techniques to add a little twist to the level design and platforming. The sections that require the use of tag-team maneuverers are pretty intuitive and blend seamlessly with the core Sonic gameplay. Now the good thing about the game design is that it doesn’t overdo the whole co-op aspect, the moments where you have to work with Tails are intuitively placed and not too frequent, so the game is pretty much a traditional Sonic game where you mainly take control of Sonic. What’s also cool is that you can enjoy two player co-op via local and online multiplayer.
As with any Sonic title, Chaos Emeralds are present and all seven need to be collected in the special stages to unlock Super Sonic. The special stages of Sonic 4 Episode II are directly based on the ones in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), with some added bells and whistles, and the obvious modern graphical touches. These stages require you to run on-rails through a pipe, collecting a set number of rings before passing through a checkpoint, but along the way are plenty of traps and obstackles that you need to quickly avoid. The stages are as hectic and fun as they were in Sonic 2.
The boss battles in this game are really awesome, which is suprising considering how absolutely awful and frustrating they were in Episode I (the final boss of that game is easily amongst the worst boss designs in recent memory).They’re massive, very challenging, and put up a much more satisfying fight than your standard Sonic boss battle. Metal Sonic offers not just one, but three thrilling and fast paced battles, and Eggman takes control of some truly monstrous mechanical behemoths. The boss designs and patterns are pretty clever and intuitive, forcing players to fight smart instead of strolling through as they would in traditional Sonic games.
Now in an attempt to add some validity and purpose to the episodic structure of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, the developers decided to take a page out of the legendary Sonic 3 & Knuckles and add a little ‘Lock-On’ gimmick. Back in the day, Sonic 3 had an expansion called Sonic & Knuckles, and the unique cartridge lock-on feature would allow you to play the complete game with some new bosses and levels. With Sonic 4, they try to imitate this idea, albeit quite poorly.
If you own both Episode I and Episode II on the same platform, then you will initiate a ‘Lock-On’ which will unlock a whole new episode titled ‘Episode Metal’. In this episode you take control of Metal Sonic and learn about his story after the events of Sonic CD. While this all sounds very exciting, it actually ends up being a throwaway extra. Metal Sonic has only 4 acts/levels, each taking place in a slightly redesigned version of the four main Zones in Sonic 4 Episode 1. Metal Sonic plays exactly like normal Sonic, and the levels aren’t really that interesting and they don’t even feature boss battles or special stages. The actual ‘story’ aspect is pretty much pointless and non-existent, as it doesn’t really tell you anything new. So basically, Episode Metal should not compel you to go out and purchase the inferior Sonic 4 Episode I. Sonic 4 Episode II has enough quality to keep players satisfied, and if you just happen to own Episode I, then Episode Metal will offer a short lived distraction that feels like an afterthought.
Overall:
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II is a profound improvement over its predecessor, an ideal case where the developers take serious note of community feedback and criticisms in order to make a better game. The game improves upon the first Episode in just about every aspect, not just incorporating suggestions from fans, critics, and the general gaming community, but also adopting some of the best aspects of their recent successful Sonic titles.
The the core mechanics and physics still need a little bit of work, as there are moments where Sonic feels a tad bit heavy with the homing attack being a bit of a nuisance (I personally think it’s best suited for 3D Sonic games). Also, there needs to be a more compelling connection between each of the episodes, to give gamers a greater incentive to purchase them all. While it is a pretty cool idea to have that little ‘Lock-On’ gimmick between Episode I and Episode II in order to unlock ‘Episode Metal’, it unfortunately feels like a throwaway extra as the Metal Sonic quest is uninspiring and lacking.
Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II is a step in the right direction and another solid entry to complement the fairly recent revival of the franchise. Episode III with Knuckles as a playable character? Yes please!
What’s French, colourful, cute, and features a cowboy hat wearing squid called Clint? That would be The Game Bakers Squids, a ‘casual RPG’ that has seen over 1 million downloads so far on iOS, and has just been released on to PC. The team behind the game have years of experience working on AAA games, but have thankfully taken all this expertise and used it to produce something that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Set in an underwater world threatened by encroaching black goop, a team of uniquely skilled Squids must protect their home from destruction against ooze infected crabs and shrimp. The gameplay mechanic is a simple one – grab a squid by the tentacles and chuck it at the enemy!
The iOS version scored an ‘excellent’ 9 out of 10 capsules here on CC, so it’s impressive stuff. If you’re not one for portable gaming then now is the time to check out what could be an excellent little addition to your desktop: if your interest is indeed tickled by some colourful kookiness with a bit of RPG and strategy, then head over to the Game Bakers website.
Namco Bandai Games have just announced the details of the launch of Tales of Graces F in Australia. As part of a special incentive for gamer’s to buy the title on launch day, Namco have announced that their will be a ‘Day One’ Edition exclusively available on the day of the game’s launch.
The game itself is said to launch on August 30th, 2012 and the ‘Day One’ Edition will pack a plethora of Tales goodies for fans to sink their teeth into. Along side the game itself there will also be a special art book, original soundtrack, behind the scenes video footage, exclusive DLC and a Playstation 3 Tales theme all wrapped in a neat folded box package.
So be sure to pick up the game on August 30th in order to get the special ‘Day One’ Edition of Tales of Graces F. What do you think of this special edition? Let us know in the comments section below.
This past generation, I’m sure many of you have seen a ton of Ben 10 games on shelves. The young licensed hero has seen nearly every platform known to man, and has been in many action, racing, and platforming romps to keep fans of the series busy. The brand new series, Ben 10: Omniverse is set to launch this fall, and with it will come a game by the same name for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, 3DS, DS, and the WiiU.
Here are a few details for you to chew on until then:
Ben: 10 Omniverse, players will be immersed in exciting action-brawler gameplay featuring the new art style inspired from the show. Gamers will have the power to switch forms and battle as one of 13 playable alien heroes, including never-before-seen aliens like Bloxx and Gravattack, as they work with either Ben or Rook to defeat the evil plans of a fierce villain, intent on destroying the world.
Ben 10: Omniverse gives fans the option to play single-player or two-player co-op mode (for all platforms except the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS), where one player controls Ben and his alien forms and the other can play as Rook with his Proto-Tool, a high-tech multifunction weapon designed to battle evil.
Ben 10: Omniverse is being developed by Monkey Bar Games for all platforms except for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, which are being developed by 1st Playable Productions. The Ben 10: Omniverse television series is produced at Cartoon Network Studios with Matt Youngberg as supervising producer. The series will premiere on Cartoon Network this fall.
The quality we have seen of the Ben 10 games is debatable to those who are not in tuned with the series, but it’s nice to know that the WiiU will have something for everyone, and that the other consoles will be seeing some kid-friendly love this fall while the bigger titles hit the shelves, balancing out the lot.
Cat Planet Cuties Studio: AIC Plus+ Publisher: FUNimation Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date: May 15, 2012 Price: $69.98 – Available Here
Overview: As far as we know, human beings are currently the only intelligent life form in the galaxy. However there are plenty of pieces of work which describe situations where humans encounter life forms from another planet. Most of the time these aliens are quite hostile and humans are usually either killed in massive amounts or manage to coexist with various treaties. However what if the alien race we happened to encounter was not strange or hostile but actually quite similar to us, minus a few furry additions. Originally called Asobi ni Ikuyo in Japan, does Cat Planet Cuties offer a purrfect story of a boy and his catgirl?
Story: A strange message, the origin of which is unknown, has been received by nations all over the world, saying “We are going to drop by.” However the fact that this message has been appearing all over the media doesn’t concern Kio Kakazu who was living a rather basic life in highschool. That is until he encounters a beautiful girl wearing cat ears and a tail at a party with his uncle. Kio wakes up the next morning to find this beautiful girl in his bed wearing practically nothing.
However this girl isn’t some cosplaying beauty, she is actually an alien girl named Eris who has been sent ahead of the rest of her race in an effort to investigate Earth before making contact. Eris comes from a race of cat people called Catian who live on a world called Catia. Having a hot alien catgirl may sound like it is all fun and games but not everyone is happy to see that she is here. With the Japanese military moving in, a strange ragtag group of people wishing to have a “beautiful encounter” with an alien that looks nothing like humans and a mysterious organization waiting in the shadows Kio and Eris are in for a lot more than a simple catfight.
At its very core Cat Planet Cuties can be seen as a harem anime with plenty of ecchi elements mixed in. We are quickly introduced to all of the main characters of the series which are actually quite refreshing as they break out of your standard harem archetypes. Rather than being perverse or socially inept, Kio offers a kind main character who handles nearly all of the situations he encounters splendidly, though he is still a bit dense when it comes to the other females in his life.
The refreshing male lead is joined by a small number of female characters who all shine on their own as well, with no one girl receiving any special focus. In fact, his longtime friend Minami and Aoi provide some of the best moments of the show which is quite impressive given the fact that they have to compete with a busty catgirl. Aoi is a very shy girl who has difficulty communicating her feelings while Minami is loud and hands on but keeps her feelings locked away.
Both of these girls have plenty of secrets of their own however and as these secrets are revealed we are presented with a number of twists and turns in the storyline which keeps things going at a brisk pace. Despite its ecchi harem roots, Cat Planet Cuties offers a surprisingly well thought out storyline with a relatively large number of characters and plenty of action as well in the form of explosions and gunfire.
Even with a great storyline, Cat Planet Cuties is without doubt an ecchi anime with plenty of harem elements. Eris herself just happens to be close to her first “heat” meaning she is looking for her mate, which she just happens to find in Kio. As such there are plenty of sexually charged moments where Eris certainly wants Kio all too herself. Despite this however Cat Planet Cuties never turns down that road and remains relatively innocent minus all of the breasts that are shown on screen at any given time.
Those who love fan service will certainly receive an eye-full and more as the women in Cat Planet Cuties often are scantily clad or have their clothing off, disintegrated off, blown off or simply taken off. Along with all the fan-service is plenty of tongue in cheek humor about the genre as a whole. The show offers plenty of funny moments which will often leave the viewer laughing as well as a few dramatic ones as well. This creates something which is hard to find in a genre polluted with mindless harem titles, a genuinely enjoyable ecchi title which offers an enjoyable storyline with interesting characters which often switches gears between humor and action.
Visuals: Visually Cat Planet Cuties is quite enjoyable and not because of all the fan service it contains (which is quite a lot). The character designs are impressive and well detailed, with a multitude of outfits and science fiction elements thrown into the mix. This is especially true with all of the Catian characters with their catgirl appearances and animation very well done.
To go with the great character design, the backgrounds viewers are presented with are equally appealing, with a few of these backgrounds are exceptionally well detailed. This level of quality continues with excellent animation which remains consistently exceptional during action scenes.
Audio: As standard with a FUNimation release, Cat Planet Cuties contains both the original Japanese voice track as well as the new English dub. While the Japanese voices have performed their jobs admirably, it seems that the English casting has surpassed the original. Tia Ballard’s performance of Eris is well done as she continues to perform excellently in her roles and the rest of the cast did a great job placing emotion into the characters they were voicing.
In fact, one of the standout performances for the entire team comes during Episode 09 where the song, “Oira wa Sabishii Spaceman” was translated fully and nearly the entire voice cast sang the words impressively. In fact, as mentioned by the voice actors themselves in one of the commentaries, the song may end up sticking in your head. The opening song for the series is “Now Loading… Sky!!” which is catchy and enjoyable to listen to, while there are actually three different ending songs which rotate every episode, with two episodes receiving special ending songs.
Extras: Cat Planet Cuties comes with quite a plethora of bonus content. There are your standard inclusions of trailers for past and upcoming FUNimation releases as well as the English trailer for the show itself, as well as a clean version of the opening song. There are also clean versions of all five ending songs which is an impressive collection, though perhaps it would have been nice to also include an easy to access version of the English song sung in Episode 09.
Alongside these extras there are a number of small bonuses which is simply a collection of bonus bumpers at the end of each episode. The Ichika Special!!! which is a consecutive version of these bumpers is a cute little diversion featuring English commentary by the character Ichika.
There are also two episode commentaries included in this release. Episode 01’s commentary features Scott Seager, the ADR director, Monica Rial who voices Aoi Futaba, Tia Ballard who voice of Eris. This commentary doesn’t follow the episode much but will provide plenty of laughs as Monica and Tia spend most of the commentary joking around and talking about how they sometimes compete for roles.
Episode 09’s commentary features Christopher Bevins, the voice director, Aaron Dismuke, the voice of Kio, and Brittney Karbowski the voice of Manami. This episode commentary actually follows the episode plot a bit as the three discuss a number of characters including the mysterious Ichika. They even explain a number of references the show makes including why A&W appears so often.
Finally we have the bonus OVA episode which wasn’t included in the original broadcast of the series. This episode doesn’t feature any actual plot development but does place the main cast in a series of different games where the winner can select a prize they want. This OVA is the same length as a normal episode and is enjoyable to watch, especially if you haven’t seen enough fan service yet.
Overall: Cat Planet Cuties certainly makes a name for itself by being a fun and enjoyable show which may have plenty of fan service but also a great storyline worth sticking around for. Watching the Catians slowly experience everything Earth has to offer while also dealing with a number of problems creates an appealing story. As mentioned before, the harem ecchi genre may be full of mindless shows with plenty of breasts but Cat Planet Cuties will likely silence any naysayers about the genre and offer a great viewing experience to anyone who wants to pick it up.
Rockstar Games’ Max Payne 3, the Assault Rifle class of weaponry serves as the meat and potatoes to Max’s arsenal and staple diet; the G6 Commando, MD-97L, FAL, and my personal favourite the AK-47 all deliver powerful long range accuracy while still being agile enough to handle enemies at shorter distances with their rapid rate of fire, and high-capacity magazines.
Armed by various factions of enemies in Max Payne 3 from vicious favela gangs to paramilitary commandos, these intimidating two-handed killing machines can literally make mincemeat out of unlucky foes. They’re even more fun to use once you switch to bullet time, making the mincemeat even more tender!
To help you familiarize yourself with the battle-proven Assault Rifles check out the video below that show off the individually modeled components of the daunting G6 Commando. Imagine the fun you can have once Max switches to bullet time and pulls the trigger on this awesome piece of weaponry!
Who’s already picked up a copy of Max Payne 3? Let us know what you think of it in the comments section below.
Probably the biggest why hasn’t this come out yet? game for the iPad finally was released today. Popcap is rolling out Bejeweled HD around the world in the next 24 hours. The game supports the new iPad’s Retina screen and sports four game modes, Classic, Butterfly, Diamond Mine, and Zen. Giordano Bruno Contestabile, Bejeweled franchise business director at PopCap Games says that “This native adaptation is one of our best yet, and will enthrall players with fantastic HD graphics and optimized gameplay. As Bejeweled further evolves, we’ll continue to bring exciting new iterations, updates and content to millions of new and existing players.”
Bejeweled HD will set you back $4.49 AUD or $2.99 USD on the App Store. Buy it here.
While Kingdoms of Amalur may have been praised as a success by Electronic Arts, the developer, 38 Studios may not be seeing dollar signs. In fact the only thing the company is currently looking at is a rather substantial debt they owe the Rhode Island government.
It was revealed by WPRI that Rhode Island gave 38 Studios $75 million in an effort to get them to relocate from Massachusetts. This was done to generate jobs and tax revenue for Rhode Island, however it seems that taxpayers may not be too happy when everything is said and done. You see, 38 studios missed their last payment of $1.25 million and are now behind that much. As such, if 38 Studios can’t afford to pay their bills, taxpayers may have to pay for them. The final total will reach up to $112.6 million by 2020 which is just lovely…
