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Okami-san and Her Seven Companions Complete Series Review

Travis Bruno
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Okami-san and Her Seven Companions
Studio: J.C. Staff
Publisher: FUNimation
Release Date: April 3, 2012
Price: $69.98 – Available Here

Overview:
Practically every child has heard a fairy tale of some kind as they were growing up, however only recently have these fairy tales been adapted into other forms of media outside of books and childrens’ cartoons. In fact, there has been a large influx in shows that feature fairy tale characters, including major motion pictures and television series.

However Japan was a little ahead of the game when Masashi Okita’s light novel series, Okami-san and her Seven Companions was adapted into an anime back in mid-2010. Now FUNimation has brought this series to anime fans in North America. Will this series stand out with its various fairy tale references or be crushed beneath the weight of too many references at once?

Story:
At the Otogi High School there exists a certain club that will take care of your problems for a price. However rather than having to pay immediately with money or something similar, you will simply need to promise that you will repay their favor in some way or another in the future. This club is called the Otogi Bank and they are basically a loan club for peoples’ problems and will go to extreme and unorthodox lengths to solve peoples’ problems.

The Otogi Bank has a few strange members already but the two who stand out the most are Ryoko Okami and her friend Ringo Akai. Ryoko may be a bit lacking upstairs (as the narrator references as fan dis-service more than once) but she makes up for this with her rough and violent personality, more eager to get into a fight than do anything girlish which makes her a shining example of a tomboy. Despite her personality a young boy named Ryoshi who is extremely shy has fallen in love with her and after failing to confess to her, joins Otogi Bank in an effort to become her shield and learn more about this wolfish girl.

The majority of the series follows a very basic formula with various issues coming into the Otogi Bank (many of which are also references to fairy tales, such as Cinderella and Snow White) which then must be solved usually with Ryoko, Ryoshi and Ringo leading the way with some help from the rest of the Otogi Bank along the way.  This formulaic approach however grows to be a bit tiresome as the large amount of fairy tales referenced throughout the show begin to pile on one another and those who are familiar with said fairy tale will find themselves seeing zero innovation throughout that episode.

While these main characters are obviously the highlight of the series, each member of the supporting cast receives at least one episode where they are highlighted. It is also worth noting that nearly everyone single one of the supporting cast and even the main characters themselves are references to fairy tale characters, such as Ringo’s obvious reference to Little Red Riding Hood, Ryoshi being the Hunter and more which I will leave you to figure out.

At its core, Okami-san and her Seven Companions is a light hearted romantic comedy sprinkled with some fights and slingshot shooting with only a few shadows of darkness which are revealed later in the series. At the surface Okami is very strong and tries to always put up a tough front while Ryoshi can barely stand being outside amongst people, let alone being stared at.

As the series goes on however both of these characters start to expand on these traits, with Ryoshi’s weakness turning into his strength as he protects Okami both in combat and does his best to support the scared side of herself as he discovers that she only acts tough to hide her fear of bad situations, a sheep wearing wolf’s clothing…

This provides a decent romance story with a shy but determined male character and a tsundere female character who slowly loses her harsh exterior and becomes a little more dere towards the end of the series. However thanks to the format of the show, with an intrusive narrator providing constant commentary throughout every single episode viewers will find it hard to grow attached to characters which on the surface seem human and relatable, are held back by the story book formula.

Visuals:
At first glance, veteran anime viewers will notice that the style used for the character designs is a bit different from what everyone may be used to. However this art style works well with the fact that most of these characters are meant to be similar to characters from a story book. As such there are a few characters who are obviously designed with their fairy tale reference in mind, such as Ringo’s Red Riding Hood appearance.

As such, the characters are well designed and the backgrounds used throughout the series are relatively standard with only a few exceptional looking areas throughout the show. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about Okami-san and her Seven Companions’ animation quality. While fluid for the most part, there are plenty of times where the animation quality will drop during some of the fist fights.

Audio:
Now earlier you may have noticed I mentioned that one of the issues with the storyline was thanks to the narrator. Now Luci Christian does a great job pretending to be a story teller and filling the role of the narrator for the anime, it is a huge detriment to the series as a whole. Rather than taking a back seat to the anime itself, the narrator intrudes almost constantly by saying a few lines here and there which will drown out what the main characters were saying at the time.

Because of these constant intrusions not only does it put a wall between the viewer and the characters, it also grows to be tiresome by the end of the series. For the most part however, the rest of the English voice cast does an excellent job with the dub, with Brina Palencia’s portrayal of Okami-san being the stand out performance amongst the cast.

As for background music we are treated to the standard fare that doesn’t stand out much and isn’t memorable. On the other hand, the opening song for the series is “Ready, Go!” by May’n is enjoyable to listen to and may be one that viewers will enjoy listening to more than once. The ending song is a far cry from the opening however as “Akazukin-chan Goyoujin” by OtoGi8 not only offers an entirely different tone, but is also set to story book styled artwork that is something many will likely avoid.

Extras:
Viewers are given a bit more than your standard inclusions this time around as while this release does contain the standard clean opening and ending songs as well as commercials for past and upcoming FUNimation releases, there is also some audio commentary and a few promotional videos as well. It is worth noting that these promotional videos are very short however and are only given English subtitles so while it is nice they were included, will not provide much in the way of extra entertainment.

The two episode commentaries are much better however, as Episode 1’s commentary features Colleen Clinkenbeard, the voice of Otsu Tsurugaya, and Chuck Huber a writer for the series. This audio commentary doesn’t really follow the episode very much but does offer plenty of humorous jokes and some behind the scenes information about what the company had to do to adapt the show. Episode 6’s commentary features the voice actors of our two main characters with Brina Polencia, the voice of Okami, and Monica Rial, the voice of Ringo. This follows the episode a bit more closely than the first commentary and is also lower key, with the voice actors discussing the characters and the show itself.

Overall:
Okami-san and her Seven Companions’ release falls at a fortuitous time, as the interest in fairy tale adapted media has never been higher. Thankfully, those who are looking to purchase this series will not be disappointed as there is plenty to enjoy despite a few issues here and there. The romance that slowly develops between Okami and Ryoshi is enjoyable to watch as both characters feed off of each other for character development. Despite the overly intrusive narrator there is a great romance story to be found here with interesting artwork and interesting premise.

8-0-capsules-out-of-10

Fast Thoughts – Spring 2012 Anime Part 1

Luke Halliday
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Fast Thoughts – Spring 2012 Anime Part 1

With the Spring 2012 Anime Season upon us, I will be introducing a recurring segment known as Fast Thoughts. In each instalment of Fast Thoughts I will provide quick and concise thoughts on certain topics. At the end of each, I will rate it either a ‘Yes!’ or a ‘No…’ with ‘Yes!’ meaning it is something worthy of your time and ‘No…’ of course meaning something that should be banished to exile on the sun.

This Fast Thoughts topic is Spring 2012 Anime. This will be split into 2 parts, with the second part forthcoming. So without further adieu, here are my Fast Thoughts on the some of the Spring 2012 Anime:

Naruto Spin-Off: Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals:
Why oh why, does this even exist? I mean Bleach was bad, but to replace it with something decidedly worse is just baffling. This is meant to be a gag anime, yet the only time I laughed was when my stream of the episode crashed. The Naruto characters are not at all given the respect they deserve and this series only serves to make a mockery of characters that many love. The jokes are flat, the animation is poor and the entire episode is a bore. What more do I need to say besides:

‘No…’


Kuroko’s Basketball:
It’s been a long time since I have been impressed by a sports anime series from the get go, but I gotta take my hat off to Kuroko’s Basketball. From the very first scene I was enthralled and I must say the concept behind the main character Kuroko and what exactly makes him good at Basketball really threw me for a loop.

The entire idea of excelling in a support role on the team is something I don’t think I have seen touched upon in sports anime in the past. Most series place the main character in the most prominent position on their team, here we have a character whose talent is being like a shadow, going unnoticed and working the ball so fast that the opposition barely knows what just happened.

This is one to definitely keep an eye on as the concept is solid, the animation is great and the soundtrack even better. Could this this be the smartest sports anime in years? I wouldn’t doubt it.

‘Yes!’


Saint Seiya Omega:
Being a fan of the older series I was really excited when I heard there would be a direct sequel, albeit with a new cast of characters replacing the old. I am glad to say that I was pleased with this episode.

It was perhaps a little too slow paced for my taste but we got to see some old school Saint Seiya action and even a cameo from Pegasus Seiya himself. The new characters are pretty interesting and the new protagonist, Koga, has an interesting back story and personality. This could definitely go to some very exciting places if Toei Animation can hold strong with this series.

The music was great and I love Shoko Nakagawa’s version of Pegasus Fantasy. The animation was incredibly fluid and the art style was suitably old school with a modern spin. I am incredibly pleased that Toei could keep the cosmos of Saint Seiya burning. Can’t wait for more.

‘Yes!’


Polar Bear’s Cafe:
The first episode of this show had some pretty good moments. It’s a comedy that revolves around a NEET Panda that stumbles upon a Cafe that is run by a Polar Bear, oh and there is a Penguin thrown into the mix as well. I don’t really know what to think of this. It was just really weird with some good moments sprinkled throughout. Did I laugh? Yes I did, but not enough for me to want to continue watching this on a regular basis. I do think it does have the makings of something better though. So despite my indecision on this show I’m gonna give it a pass as it does show some potential to grow better, also it has an amazing opening theme and video. This might just be strange enough that it could become something interesting down the line.

‘Yes!’


Mysterious Girlfriend X:
What the hell did I just watch? Two words: Drool Fetish. I literally did not find anything that I enjoyed about this first episode. It’s always a warning bell when the first line of dialogue is some kind of bullshit philosophy about the magic of boys discovering sex.

All in all I just found this to be very uncomfortable to watch and the whole drool fetish to be rather repulsive. But to cut a long story short, I will not be watching this again. The animation sucked, the music was just as bad and the entire episode felt like it was something pulled out of the dark end of the year 2000. Not impressed in the slightest. Be gone vile fiend, now please let me forget all about drool fetishes.

‘No…’

This has been my Fast Thought on the Spring 2012 Anime Season, Part 2 will hit next week and will feature thoughts on Kids on the Slope, Tsuritama, Space Brothers and more. Leave a comment below letting us know what you think of the Spring 2012 Anime season as well as what you think of each series.

Top 5 Games That Absolutely Have To Be Played This Easter

Benjamin Webb
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Top 5 Games That Absolutely Have To Be Played This Easter

Easter time, the time of year where we celebrate Christ’s respawn into the land of the living. This holiday is a coming together of friends and family under the sanctity of religion, God and the other holy spirits. Us here at Capsule Computers have gathered what we believe to be the top-most games that represent the true meaning behind Easter and the chocolate eating phenomenae. We shall let out countdown begin –

5. DOOM

Any iteration of DOOM will do, but the classic is one of those games whose highly religious theme and high levels of niceness really reflect the meaning of Easter. The series started as a friendly shooter in the early 90s and has come to become one of the most highly influential videogames of all time. As someone looking for games to play this Easter, that are a reflection of Easter itself, you should definitely start with the first and most iconic shooter of all times.

4. ETERNAL DARKNESS

A game where you play as a religious figure? A videogame where entire sections are played out in a cathedral? Doing battle against demons? This has everything your Easter should be made of. Heck man, the main character even possesses a powerful book of sanctifying power. The final battle of the game is truly a masterpiece that truly shapes the Easter spirit in that you go on to battle the main villain of the game who is in control of demons.

3. BAYONETTA

This videogame features many of heavens Angels as they do battle against the forces of Witches, wielders of Black Magic who may be up to no good. I have chosen this game because of it’s incredibly awesome combat mechanics, great story and the absolute best rendition of any Angelic creature that I have ever seen. This title will not leave you unsatisfied, you will return for another playthrough on the next hardest difficulty. As a bonus, even your kids can play with the one-button control scheme, so now the family can enjoy Easter the way it was meant to be – together, playing videogames.

2. QUAKE

I know that it may seem a little blasphemous to include two titles by id Software, but these guys seem to be the masters of making religious games that are highly suitable for the Easter. Much like the DOOM series, the first game is much more closer to religious symbology than the latter games, but a peek at the backstory of the third tells the tale of how a normal person is kidnapped by demons and forced to conquer their arena. It doesn’t take too much imagination to see what happens next. Even better, these games are pretty old so they’ll run on any pc or laptop, meaning the family can connect to each other via LAN and enjoy the Easter together.

1. BIBLE BLACK

Bible Black follows the story of a normal guy who gets caught up in black magic rituals at his highschool. Fortunately for him, he finds a Bible that gives him great religious power to take down this cult of Witches that have been seduced by the devil. The game features clean material that is highly suitable for all ages and has 12 different endings that players can unlock by going down several different branching paths. Even better is where the game uses actual names of actual Angels and Demons, which adds this extra layer of authenticity to an already highly suitable game. I’d suggest playing this game with your entire family present, sound turned all the way up (so loud your neighbours can hear it) and by hooking your PC up to your 50″ LED television set. Also, be sure to skip the opening cinematic (by spamming left click) if you’re using a PC with a version of Windows above Windows 2000/ME, it crashes the game.

 

 

Sentai licenses Kids on the Slope and Mysterious Girlfriend X

Luke Halliday
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Sentai licenses Kids on the Slope and Mysterious Girlfriend X


Sentai Filmworks have announced that they have licensed Spring 2012 anime series Kids on the Slope and Mysterious Girlfriend X for distribution both digitally and physically.

Both series were also recently announced to be streaming through Crunchyroll, Sentai have confirmed that they will also be streaming both series’ episodes 31 days after they do on Crunchyroll through Sentai’s Anime Network service and also through Hulu.

Kids on the Slope is coming of age story set in the unique setting of a Japanese summer in the year 1966. The story revolves around two young teens who form a bond based upon a love of Jazz music. The series will be directed by legendary director Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) and feature the music of critically acclaimed Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop, Macross Plus).

Mysterious Girlfriend X is a romantic comedy with supernatural elements, revolving around a young teen who becomes addicted to the drool of the new female transfer student, forming what can only be called a ‘drool fetish’.

It is currently unknown whether either series will get a dub or when a physical release is planned for. Stay tuned for more information on these titles as it comes to light.

Source: ANN 

Bluecoats – North And South Trailer Released

Benjamin Webb
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Bluecoats – North And South Trailer Released

Anuman Interactive have released a trailer for their upcoming remake of the cult classic “Bluecoats – North and South” videogame, which will be released on the PC, and iOS devices. The original game was released in 1989 and was about the battle between the armies of the North and South USA.

The developers at Microids have also added a few new features to update the classic, these are –

– The team worked on the original Mini-games (especially The Train and The Fort battles) for more dynamism and fun. For example, new shooting gunfights between strikers and defenders will be available in the Fort sequence.
– The team also made the gameplay of tactical battles sequences more flexible. Now, gamers can play and move their units with the mouse (on PC) or the finger (iOS and Androïd).

The game comes out on May 22nd, 2012. Be sure to check out the embedded trailer below for more information.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Review

Joshua Moris
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Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Review


Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Slant Six Games
Platforms: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PS3
Release Date: March 20, 2012
Price: (Special Edition) $69.99 – Here; (Standard) $59.99 – Here

Overview
Resident Evil has been host to the third person survival horror genre for quite awhile. Operation Raccoon City drastically changes the perspective by placing players in the shoes of the Umbrella Corporation. No longer are the perils faced as the protagonist, the antagonists rule supreme here.

As the horror is quite prevalent, the title evolves into a third person hybrid. Leveling, abilities, and multiplayer are additions that this franchise has not see before. Will it provide a fun and engaging experience? Only one way to find out…

Story
It’s 1998, the Umbrella Corporation has had unrivaled progression in medical advancements of the human body. This international corporation has also been involved in many covert operations with highly questionable legality. Once you join the Umbrella Corporation, you remain for life.

In the depths of the underground secret laboratories, an epidemic is spreading. The cause is linked to a transferable virus given the code name T-Virus. Once administered to a host, the T-Virus will cause the person to become a ravenous zombie. Quickly spreading through the depths of the compound, the Umbrella Security Service (U.S.S) must investigate and destroy any evidence of exposure. With the virus acquiring new hosts, will the U.S.S. be able to prevent exposure of the epidemic? Or even survive?

Gameplay
Establishing the basic moves is a key concept to follow by. The game allows movement with the left analog along with a movable camera on the right analog. Following the basic format for shooters, the right trigger fires your current weapon with an active reload at the end of the clip. Players can also reload their weapon prematurely by pressing (X). When all other available options fail or brute force becomes necessary, a melee can be administered by tapping (B).

Bashing opponents may become tiresome, so finding ammo and grenade refills will make time flow faster. Pressing (A) will allow a player to interact with available objects throughout the environments. Such items include ammo, grenades, health, health spray, anti-viral spray, and data discs, and other rare collectibles. Achievement hunters will try to find all raccoon statues through the storyline.

Before even entering the campaign or any mode, players must enter a squad selection screen. Each character has his/her own unique abilities that provide individualized gameplay. For instance, one of Vector’s abilities allow him to move stealthily without being noticed opposing to Lupo’s incendiary bullets. Choosing your main character is important but developing a support team is also essential. As part of the single player campaign, you will be able to adjust the rest of your team to your liking. A decent group build would include a medic (Bertha), stealth (Vector), assault (Lupo), and ranged attack (Spectre).

Single player campaign provides a difficult playing environment and relies solely on interdependency. Teammates can be killed off quite quickly if a certain level of aggressiveness is not used. While fallen comrades can be revived, your death will lead to a “game over” scenario. Being one of the more annoying aspects of the game, you are not able to switch between characters in single player campaign. Carrying health and anti-viral sprays becomes ultimately important as you would have to restart at a previous checkpoint upon death. One of the only bonuses that single player provides is that you will not be stalled at rendezvous points that require all surviving characters to be present.

Private and public campaigns are available for those that wish a more diverse experience. Attempting a public match will place you once again in the squad selection screen. Similar to before you are able to choose the first character as your main. As players begin to join, your once open slots will be locked with the character of their choosing – granted they cannot take your chosen character.

Advantages far outweigh the negatives in multiplayer campaign. No longer does a single death restart the mission even if you are turned into a zombie. Other active players can gun your character down then revive your body to its former glory. Only until the entire party is wiped will you restart at the last checkpoint making for more of a team effort. Have a microphone? Talking to expert players will definitely give you an advantage by learning secrets of each stage and understanding the concepts of team combat. Calling out incoming targets can only be done with interactive partners as well. One minor setback is collectibles scattered through the levels. While supply crates can provide enough ammunition for a team, individual shell packages are a one-time use. Grenades, sprays, and data discs work similarly leaving your team with fewer available resources.

Invoking a hybrid mix of gameplay, the leveling system provides advancement for individual abilities as well as purchasing new starting equipment. Upon completing any mode a player will gain experience according to the productivity of the event. This can be ranked by the number of kills, deaths, collectibles, and completion time. Points will be attributed to the success of the mode played and allocate money to your available funds. Even though most weapons can be found throughout stages, players are able to purchase each weapon and equip it as their starting weapon.

Ranging from sidearms to assault rifles, the armory is packed full of trigger happy awesomeness. Here is the full list of available weapon types: assault rifles, sub-machine guns, machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, and sidearms. One of my favorite weapons of destruction is the heavy machine gun. As a horde of zombies rush towards your position, a stream of bullets becomes necessary to mow down the incoming threat. Laying down a line of suppressive fire, the heavy machine gun has plenty of ammunition to support a team over long periods of time – that is unless you unload a full clip on one target. Sadly, you cannot holster more than one primary weapon on your person.

Money can also be spent on abilities for a character. Character will have a set of both passive and active abilities that can be used during gameplay. For example, the team’s demolition expert (Beltway) has passive abilities that increase his resistance towards being knocked down by explosions. Additionally, he has several active abilities like fragmentation mine, timed sticky explosive, and laser trip mine. Only one active ability can be used at a time, so the situation should call for an appropriate ability. High traffic areas might spawn opportunities where a laser trip mine or fragmentation mine might prove useful. On the other hand, a timed sticky explosive will prove useful if an enemy is on your tail. Turn around, and give them a little surprise!

Enemies will come after your character in all shapes and sizes. Zombies are the most common and provide a surplus of gun fodder but can mutate to greater forms if not dealt with quickly. The mutated form of the common zombie creates a Crimson Head which develops greater movement as well as sharp claws. Of all the infested zombies types, the Licker is by far the most annoying and interesting to deal with in combat. Licker’s can grip onto any surface but will lose stability by continual blows. If not shot down quickly, these foes will grapple with their tongues. The only way to escape the clutch of this beast is to move from side to side or have a teammate shoot ’em down. Pump a few extra shots into a Licker’s motionless body; they might not be dead.

Streetbike: Full Blast HD Review

Jamie Laike Tsui
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Streetbike: Full Blast HD Review


Streetbike: Full Blast HD
Developer: Turtles Entertainment
Publisher:  Chillingo
Platforms: iPad
Release Date: March 29, 2012
Price: $0.99 Available Here

Overview

Streetbike: Full Blast HD is the iPad version of Streetbike: Full Blast. Pitched as a throwback to classic arcade bike racers, can Streetbike: Full Blast HD fill in the large shoes.

Story

You will have to create your own story as you progress from the lowest Newcomers League to the All-Stars League as there is no story in the game. I’ve imagined my biker to be an orphan who found street bike left by his late father and now races towards glory in his father’s memory.

Gameplay

Streetbike: Full Blast HD consists of several different types of motorcycle races grouped in leagues by difficulty. Each race will give you money that you can save to purchase better motorcycles that will make it easier to pass future races. While on the track, there are money pickups to increase the amount of money awarded and boost pickups that will provide you with a full boost meter to zip around the track with. There is a quick race mode to get into the game fast and. Controls are accelerate, brake, and boost buttons on screen in conjunction with either tilting your iPad to steer or a left and a right button. Every player will be using the tilt controls because the touch screen controls for steering are absolutely unusable tapping the turn button will cause your rider to turn 180 degrees on screen and will turn sharply. Holding the turn button for more than a second will cause your rider to do donuts on the track. On the other hand the tilt controls are sharp and responsive. I found it easy to control the bike and was mastering high speed turns on corners in no time at all. I only wish I was able to lay down in bed and use the tilt controls as they only work while sitting or standing upright.

The racing modes are rather generic such as one on one boss battles, multi bike races, and time trials. The actual racing on the other hand can be pretty fun and intense. The game handles bike physics like an arcade game. Crashes are pretty rare, I found it was next to impossible to wreck the beginning bikes by crashing into walls, cars, trucks, and other riders. As I started with faster and faster bikes, the danger of crashing into other vehicles grew. The tracks range from a casual Sunday ride to hair raising difficulty with multiple hairpin turns. There are 16 tracks spanning eight different themes in the game, providing a decent variety. I do wish there was the inclusion of online multiplayer as racing against real humans is always more challenging and fun than racing against the computer. Over all there is nothing incredibly impressive about Streetbike: Full Blast HD’s game play but besides the touch screen control scheme there is nothing horrific about it either.

Visuals

Considering Streetbike: Full Blast HD is supposed to be the high definition version of Streetbike: Full Blast, the graphics are extremely lacking. On the new iPad, the graphics look extremely dated. The landscape looks like it was torn out of a Playstation era game. Also, as the motorcycle moves forward, the movement of the landscape looks extremely unnatural. The random cars or trucks you find on the road are nothing to rave about either. The models look like several rectangles glued together with the skin of a car or truck placed on top. Thankfully the motorcycle models are an improvement, compared to the rest of the game, they are rather well modeled and skinned. However the biker riding them seems to be an afterthought and worst of all, the crashing animations are horrific. There are no iPad Retina graphics in this game. All in all, there is nothing high definition about Streetbike: Full Blast HD.

Audio

The audio is a mixed bag. The sound effects are pretty good in Streetbike: Full Blast HD but on the other hand, the music is extremely generic. There is a pleasant roar of the bike engines and squealing of the bike tires as your bike rushes forward, though the sounds of impact and crashing leaves room for improvement.  The music unfortunately is extremely generic rock music. There is nothing particularly offensive about it, but it’s not something you’ll remember either. It will get you into the racing mood, but it won’t make you think you’re racing for your life or anything that dramatic. You won’t be missing anything if you turn off the music and play your own.

Overall

Streetbike: Full Blast HD is a mixed bag. Visually the game looks dated, the animations are poor and most of the models are subpar. The sound effects and the actual racing game play is nothing ground breaking but is very solid. The tilt controls are well executed but the touch screen controls are a laughable mess. The game could use some patching and a visual update to improve the graphics and support Retina screens. If you’re willing to look past the lousy graphics you’ll find Streetbike: Full Blast HD to be a solid if not slightly generic racing game.

6--capsules-out-of-10

First Impressions – Path of Exile Beta

Reginald Dizon
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First Impressions – Path of Exile Beta

Path of Exile was opened up to the public last week in the form of a free stress test weekend which allowed new players to sign into a previously closed beta.

Public access to the beta lasted 54 hours with a total of 46,911 new and unique users being introduced to the online action RPG.

With so many people participating in a collaborative gaming environment some weird and wonderful things were bound to occur. On our play through of Path of Exile we witnessed everything from online users claiming to be post-apocalyptic messiahs to being a witch and magically shooting down the undead; both bordering on the realm of absurdity.

After downloading a 3.65GB patch and entering the game you’ll first have the opportunity to choose your class. It’s here where the game first shows signs of high production quality. The voice acting stands out particularly as both a means of delivering the prologue and also immersing you into the game world.

Whilst choosing your class either a guard or a fellow prisoner will mention to you briefly your situation and the context you find yourself in.

Attention Prisoners:

“Ariath has bestowed a gift upon you, a chance to renew your lives. Do well not to squander it”

“Swim straight to the shore, look for others that would help you. You’re not the first exiles and you won’t be the last”

The character animations and the quality of the graphics found during class selection and actual gameplay look amazing taking into account the stage of production the game is in. (Refer to screenshots)

The game begins with your chosen character being marooned on a beachhead. You encounter another survivor who is quickly killed by an undead-creature- after dispatching it your natural course of action is to loot whatever equipment you can from those you kill. (A simple left click) Items that you don’t use are automatically added to your inventory, provided there is space.

One thing that might be a little unnerving for new players is the lack of a tutorial- upon entering the game world you’re thrown into the thick of the action – the game has an easy learning curve however so there is no reason to avoid it. After only a short time playing, you’ll understand the intricacies of the game – no dedicated objectives menu, (combined with the world map) how to join/create parties and the importance of discovering way points (once you die, you’re transported back to the nearest town or encampment- and the distance you have to travel back could be huge- depending on your location) Nearly every single function can be learned just by experimenting or in my experience asking other players.

The game has a global chat function which allows you to communicate directly to other players via chat. Often or not this feature is used for good, productive purposes at other times perhaps not so good or productive.

Whilst spending time ‘exploring’ the game an interesting conversion occurred where a user ‘MajiFem’ began preaching through the global chat about the end of the world – which lead to talk about spreading herpes. (with various comments in between) An obvious attempt at trolling. According to another user, ‘MajiFem’ had been doing a similar thing on another online RPG – SWTOR – so If you thought the game itself was interesting- the possibility of crazy antics would be an added bonus.

With a test rig consisting of a 2.4GHZ Core2Duo E6600; OC Nvidia 460GT and 2GB ram the average frame rate achieved was 60FPS with maxed out settings; the frame rates drop substantially once you enter user-populated areas; with the average dropping about half to 30FPS.

The game overall runs smooth and looks well polished; it would be tough to identify it as a beta let alone an indie developed game. Users have described it as what Diablo 3 should’ve been with gamers participating in the public stress test asking for ways to join the beta indefinitely.

Path of Exile will be released as a Free to Play game supported by in game micro-transactions.

For more information on Path of Exile, please visit: http://www.pathofexile.com/

Frame rates were calculated using FRAPS™

 

Civilization V – Gods and Kings Coming June 22

Benjamin Webb
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Civilization V – Gods and Kings Coming June 22

Coming in June is the latest expansion pack to the famed Civilization series, Gods and Kings which is for the latest game in the series, Civilization V. The date the expansion pack is released will be the 22nd of June, 2012.

This expansion pack brings many new civilizations, leaders, units, technologies, religion, espionage and more. The game is also set to be released on the PC platform, is developed by Firaxis games and published by 2K Games.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V: God & Kings takes players through time as they engage in new quests and global competitions, interact with new types of city-states, and master exciting new systems for land and naval combat. Nine new civilizations, each ruled by a new leader; nine new wonders; three original scenarios; and dozens of new units, buildings, technologies and resources have also been added, offering even more ways for players to expand their empire on their quest to rule the world.

Be sure to check out the official website for more information.

Arkham City Lockdown Update includes Poison Ivy

Jack Joly
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Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment have announced that a new update for the Batman: Arkham City Lockdown App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch is available now. The app is now optimised for the new iPad and features improved game resolution (2048 x 1536), visual effects and details; enhanced user interface elements; and updated hi-resolution wallpapers. The update also includes an original level featuring two new foes – Poison Ivy and Robin, and the Boss missions have been updated to include four brand new Challenge missions.

Those who download the update can also enjoy three different DC Comics that can now be read in the Comixology Viewer that has been implemented into the app. They can also purchase the Batman Year One skin.

The new level introduces a new style of gameplay that has players taking cover as Poison Ivy takes control of the Gotham City police force and turns them into her unwilling henchmen. The new style of gameplay will have Batman facing off against a formidable opponent – Robin.

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