WIN: Skylanders Tower Case We have 3 Skylanders Tower Cases to give away (click here for more info about the Skylanders Tower Case), courtesy of our friends at Activisionto give away and YOU can win one. The pack consists of the following!
So how do you win? It’s easy! Just follow these simple steps:
Answer the following question and post it on Capsule Computers Facebook page. : Question : What’s your favourite Skylander character and why? + also let us know what part of the world you are from!
The competition ends on the 15th of Apri! We’ll be picking 3 lucky winners to receive this great prize! Keep an eye on the Capsule Computers Facebook Page as we’ll be announcing the lucky winner just after the 15th!
Do not forget that you MUST Like both pages FIRST then post your answer on the Capsule Computers Facebook wall, in order for your entry to be considered. The question once again is:
“What’s your favourite Skylander character and why?” + also let us know what part of the world you are from!
Razer have announced that they will be releasing a left-handed Naga mouse for those gamers who happen to be left-handed and unable to use the current Naga mouse thanks to its right-handed design. The planned release follows a campaign the company had on their Facebook page, stating that if a certain post got over 10,000 likes by April 21st, they would be releasing the mouse. A couple of days later, the limit had been reached and since then, the team have announced that they will be releasing the left-handed version of the mouse.
“That Facebook post generated more buzz than we could’ve ever imagined, which proves that there have been a number of gamers that have had their needs ignored for some time,” said Tan. “We pride ourselves on being gamers ourselves, and we all know that there is no substitute for gaming with your dominant hand.”
The mouse is to feature the following specifications –
17 MMO-optimised buttons
Program up to thousands of different in-game commands.
Maximum Comfort for Long Gaming Sessions
Game for days with the Razer Naga’s ergonomic design, optimised for easy access to every button.
Custom Interface AddOns for MMO Games
Organise your skills and eliminate visual clutter with the Razer Naga’s in-game custom interface AddOns (available for World of WarcraftTM and Warhammer Online: Age of ReckoningTM, and more).
Product Features:
5600dpi Razer Precision 3.5G Laser Sensor
1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time
200 inches per second max tracking speed
Zero-acoustic Ultraslick™ mouse feet
17 MMO-optimised buttons (including 12 button thumb grid)
Optional MMO-specific software AddOns
Unlimited character profiles with AddOns
Approximate Size : 116mm (Length) x 70mm (Width) x 46mm (Height)
Approximate Weight: 134g
Does this mean that Razer will also be releasing a Naga Hex for lefties in the future? Hopefully. But for now, The left-handed Naga is a great deal for gamers whose hands are dominated by the left.
Recently, Razer released a gaming mouse pad in conjunction with the elite Starcraft II clan, Team Liquid. The success of this product has caused a continued working partnership between Razer and Team Liquid in terms of branded merchandise.
Of this merchandise, the upcoming Razer Blade will be made available with Team Liquid branding in the near future. On team Liquid, RazerGuy had this to say –
Robert “RazerGuy” Krakoff, President, Razer USA said,”With nearly a decade of relentlessly passionate support of the StarCraft community, Team Liquid has grown to become one of the most trusted brands in e-Sports.It’s just awesome to work with partners who are in line with the way we think, and who understand the importance of helping the community grow.”
And in response to this partnership, Team Liquid had this to say –
I’m proud to continue working with Razer in the future,” said Victor “Nazgul” Goosens, CEO, Team Liquid. “Over the last year I’ve learned a lot about Razer and the way they do business. It was a great experience, and we really appreciate working with Razer. We’re happy that Team Liquid can continue to grow with their continued support.”
Razer is one of the largest proponents of organised gaming tournaments and the whole E-Sports movement and are likely to continue supporting this area with the creation of better and better gaming devices, peripherals and the like. Razer is one of the largest and most recognisable brand by gamers around the world (and they are also one of my favorites).
Be sure to check out the Team Liquid webpage and the Razer website for more info.
THQ have announced the latest DLC for Saints Row The Third, this time a standalone expansion pack, as you take on Zinyak in a virtual reality dimension.
The Dominatrix enables you to use a whole array of super powers including Mind-bending Telekinesis, “Really, Really” High Jump as well as Fast Sprint, Shiny Blue Force Shield, and Shiny Blue Fireball Projectile-of-Doom (sounds like Genki had a part in the naming of these).
You will also get to use new Dominatrix weapons, including the Floppy Alien Tentacle Bat, the Fire-in-the-Sky Alien Abduction Ray, and the Alien Anal Probe.
As you delve into the depths of your memory to fight Zinyak, you’ll recruit former saints as you try escape from the Dominatrix and return to ruling Steelport. Does any of this make sense? Only one way to find out, strap it on and enter the Dominatrix.
We Sing Pop! Developer: Wired Productions Publisher: Nordic Games Platform: Wii Genre: Singing Release Date: 23rd March
Overview:
Nordic Games are back with another entry in their We Sing line of karaoke games, this time in the realms of pop music. They’ve already tackled Rock and UK Hits, but it’s crazy that it has taken them until now to take on the staple of every mainstream listener’s musical diet; pop music. Bring on the cheesy tunes and chart-toppers, past and present.
Gameplay:
Nordic Games have put together a varied setlist of 30 tracks, spanning many different eras of music up until the present day with recent songs. One such modern example is ‘Rolling in the Deep’ by Adele. She’s an artist who has seen an insane amount of success over the past 12 months, and a sure-fire way to shift more copies, even if it isn’t the easiest song to do karaoke to. Another big British anthem on the disc is Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’, again a tad daunting for sing-along, although there are more light-hearted songs on the game that suit karaoke better, like ‘Hey Ya!’ by Outkast, a song that appears on countless games, and Y.M.C.A. from the Village People.
The full tracklist is as follows:
Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
Bruno Mars – “Just the Way You Are”
Coldplay – “Clocks”
Cyndi Lauper – “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
Enrique Iglesias – “Hero”
Fergie – “Big Girls Don’t Cry”
Flo Rida ft. David Guetta – “Club Can’t Handle Me”
Florence + the Machine – “Dog Days Are Over”
Hanson – “MMMBop”
Jason Mraz – “I’m Yours”
Jessie J – “Nobody’s Perfect”
Kelis – “Milkshake”
Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
Lady Gaga – “Born This Way”
Nelly Furtado – “I’m Like A Bird”
Nicole Scherzinger – “Don’t Hold Your Breath”
Outkast – “Hey Ya!”
Owl City – “Fireflies”
Peter Andre ft. Bubbler Ranx – “Mysterious Girl”
Pussycat Dolls – “When I Grow Up”
Rihanna – “Don’t Stop the Music”
Scissor Sisters – “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin”
Sonny & Cher – “I Got You Babe”
The Killers – “When You Were Young”
Tinie Tempah ft. Eric Turner – “Written in the Stars”
Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby”
Village People – “Y.M.C.A.”
Wet Wet Wet – “Love Is All Around”
Wham! – “I’m Your Man”
Wretch 32 ft. Example “Unorthodox”
As I said before, there are 30 tracks, each one including its original music video and fully compatible with all the interchangeable options. However, it’s surprising how far a selection of 30 songs goes, or rather, how far it doesn’t go. Once you’ve sorted the tracks you like from the ones you don’t, suddenly 30 tracks seems a little thin on the ground. While as it stands the game is good for one night of entertaining – which could be all you need it for – it doesn’t have enough choice to keep you coming back. This isn’t for lack of trying to keep you interested, as Nordic Games have included loads of options to mix things up. But ultimately it comes down to not having enough singing material.
There are plenty of smaller details to customise and choose from in We Sing Pop! (the exclamation mark is its official title, I’m not quite that excited). You can sing the full song or half of the song, choose a difficulty setting that suits you, and on songs that are duets you have the choice of singing along to either part, or both if you like. There’s even a timer running along the top of the screen so you can see how long you have until the humiliation ends and your go is over.
Singing a karaoke are offered, the difference being that when singing the artist’s voice is included on the song so you accompany them, whereas in karaoke their vocals are removed to leave you on your own with only instrumentals.
Obviously it is the multiplayer aspect of the game that houses most of the options, as We Sing Pop! Is designed as a party game. Unfortunately, all modes except ‘pass the mic’ are locked if you only have one mic, leaving your party severely hindered should you only have the one mic, although you would probably already know you’d be limited by this going into the evening. Other spin-off modes designed to inject some fun and competition into proceedings include; Blind, where the visual cues like the scrolling lyrics are removed; First to X, where two teams have to reach a certain score, at which point the song ends and the winner basks in their newfound higher social status, perhaps fist-bumping fellow revellers; there’s even the added challenge of an Expert mode for anyone who actually thinks they can sing.
Visuals & Audio:
Each song features its own music video, which plays in the background or can be watched at your leisure in the ‘Jukebox’ mode. The sound and video quality of these are good, and the tone recognition technology behind the scoring seems to give fair results. If you are actually singing in tune you will be rewarded accordingly.
The menus aren’t the sleekest thing ever but you can’t complain; they serve their purpose, the colour scheme and layout clear and legible. Everything is simple to navigate, and touches like difficulty ratings out of five stars for each song aid the music selection process.
Overall:
We Sing Pop! Has strengthened the We Sing brand further; you get a quality of service you wouldn’t get from the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band for vocals, as this is a devoted singing game. In all honesty, though, the setlist isn’t all that different from previous efforts, with similar artists and songs to previous We Sing games. It’s definitely all pop-themed, but at only 30 songs it runs out of steam fast, and even faster if you own previous games in the series. A quality singing game, but a longer setlist would have been nice.
Jewel Master: Cradle of Persia Developer: Cerasus Media Publisher: Rising Star Games Platform: Nintendo DS Genre: Puzzle Release Date: Out Now
Overview:
Rising Star Games are back with another game in their ‘Cradle of…’ puzzle franchise. This time we’re in ancient Persia, with Persian themed buildings and resources as you match-3 to develop a Persian colony on your Nintendo DS. As well as being part (and mostly) match-3, part of the game is like a management sim where your success on the puzzle grid earns various quantities of food, building materials and gold with which to further your civilisation.
Gameplay:
You slide small square icons together on a grid to match them up in sets of three and remove them from the grid. The aim is to destroy the shaded squares to complete the puzzle, at the same time earning resources for your building expansions that correspond to what was in the squares. For example, shifting lots of sets of three (or more) of gold and silver coins on the puzzle will gives you points in this category, and the same applies to the wooden logs you’ll see, which contribute to building materials, or foodstuffs, which contribute to your settlement’s nourishment.
Once you have accumulated enough points in the necessary areas and meet the build criteria, you can add these new features to your settlement and watch it grow. That is, provided you have completed the level to unlock the next patch of land for building, because a set number of levels unlocks the next building allotment. There’s no doubt that this civilisation builder extension gives more depth to the game and livens it up beyond just a trawl through a set of puzzles, but it is very limited. Still, it’s perfect for the Nintendo DS, and acts as a stop-gap between puzzles so it isn’t just a slog to get them all done.
You guide your city through a number of eras by completing the puzzles, in the process earning enough of everything for the next upgrade. In doing so, you also increase your personal status, and an expansion also prompts a tile sliding puzzle where you complete a picture of your new building, though thankfully you are able to skip this should you wish to.
The match-3 puzzles of the main game get progressively more difficult, and a variety is achieved in what would have otherwise been a mundane task by the use of different objectives and different shaped grids. The objectives for each puzzle is always changing; sometimes you’re destroying certain types of pieces, or unlocking chained up tiles before you can progress. The grids are always different shapes and sizes, and they increase the difficulty with ease by isolating certain pieces and giving you less space, making it more difficult to execute lines of three or more, or in some cases even move at all.
A time limit ensures you never get too comfortable, but isn’t overbearing, as more time is added for each combo. Finishing combo after combo can also amount to in-game power-ups to help you clear the grid quicker, such as dynamite, which causes explosions to destroy everything in the vicinity. There are also ‘joker’ pieces to help clear the grid without combos, which is a good inclusion as sometimes it gets difficult to find a combo, so this helps to reshuffle the pieces a bit. In addition to adventure mode, there’s also Tourney mode and Blitz mode both to be unlocked, which allow you to play through old puzzles you’ve already unlocked and new ones.
Visuals & Audio:
The presentation is adequate, because, most important of all, the game boards are clear and it is easy to distinguish the various pieces from one another. Each looks distinct and the resolution is high enough to know what each object is supposed to be. The settlement you create is basic but charming, and creates a real sense of progress that you wouldn’t get from a completion bar slowing increasing as you worked your way through the puzzles. You really feel like you are getting somewhere, and there are even little animations of buildings being built as your city grows before your eyes.
The sound, on the other hand, isn’t great, but the beauty of the Nintendo DS is that it’s so simple to turn the sound off. Simply turn down the slider if it isn’t to your taste. There’s also the in-game sound options to tamper with if there’s only one specific aspect of the sound that is bugging you.
Overall:
All in all, the combination of building sim and match-3 puzzler works well in Jewel Master: Cradle of Persia. Of course it is mainly match-3 puzzling, but the building parts play a small enough role to remain interesting, and they are a far better measure of your progress than any percentage progress meter could ever be. The graphics aren’t pushing the system to its limit, but there’s no need to. They’re colourful and clearly presented so that you can clearly see what all the icons have been designed to look like. The previous ‘Cradle of…’ games were successful and there’s no reason why Jewel Master: Cradle of Persia shouldn’t be popular too. It offers some excellent match-3 puzzling if you’re looking for that for Nintendo DS. Whether people will be interested with the casual nature of this market and the supremacy of cheap iPhone games, we will have to wait and see.
Fans of 5pb’s ‘Uni;Verse’ franchise, will be pleased to know that their upcoming title Robotics;Notes will be getting an anime adaptation. This series will follow after it’s predecessor’s Steins;Gate and Chaos;Head which also previously got anime adaptations.
The anime series will be produced by legendary animation studio Production I.G. and will air in the infamous late night ‘noitaminA’ anime block. The series will premiere in Fall 2012.
The video-game of Robotics;Notes will be released on June 28th, 2012 on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in Japan. Be sure to let us know what you think of Robotics;Notes getting an anime adaptation in the comments section below.
Everyone loves a good puzzle game and iOS is a ripe environment for them. Today we have Buzz Monkey and Chillingo’s Rinth Island. Chillingo is known for publishing great puzzle games, do they have another hit on their hands?
Gameplay
For the most Rinth Island provides a challenging without being difficult to the point of hair pulling experience. Rinth Island is a get from point A to point B type puzzle game, leaving a variety of traps, switches, pitfalls, and other environmental puzzles to navigate. I appreciate the fact that puzzles require a bit of timing and physical agility to complete. The puzzling levels are all tubular in shape which brings vertical element to the gameplay and gives Rinth Island a unique look. Adventure mode allows players to slowly work through the puzzles with a light story attached. Areas are broken up into smaller chapters, which are further broken up into five puzzles each. Once you complete a level, Timed, Steps, and Collection mode can be played, increasing the difficulty and variety of the game. Timed and Steps mode limit the time or steps players are allowed to take to complete a puzzle. This is a mode that rewards efficient puzzle solving and perfection. These two modes should only be accomplished when you know how to execute the puzzle like the back of your hand. There is almost zero room for error in these modes. Collection on the other hand encourages players to not only complete the puzzle but reach lesser used areas of the puzzle to collect all the crystals on the map. These extra modes are well executed, providing a bit of variety to game play without feeling tacked on as last minute.
There are two control schemes, touch controls and a control pad. I personally found the control pad to be the preferred way of playing Rinth Island. I found the touch controls to be just fine while playing on the iPad but down right intrusive on the iPhone. The controls were receptive, but on the small screen of the iPhone I found my fingers covering up the game play. This wouldn’t have been a huge issue if it wasn’t for the fact the game already is so small on the iPhone. It simply makes an already difficult problem worse. Thankfully, the control pad puts arrows on the left hand corner of the screen that is out of the way and extremely useable.
To further increase the variety in the game, Rinth Island has a level designer mode and players can download other people’s level to play. Theoretically, this allows for infinite game play. Downloading levels is a snap and I found the level editor very easy to use. Simply start putting down blocks like that famous coloured building block toy of your youth and you’ll have a level in no time. I love the fact that testing your level is simply a button away. It almost feels like the developers themselves used the level developer to create their levels and then simply shared the tools. In a day where seeing mod tools released for a game is the exception rather than a rule, I really appreciate Rinth Island’s inclusion of a level editor.
Unfortunately there is one thing that really irritated me about Rinth Island. To start, you are given three rewinds to work with. When you are stuck, you can use a rewind to move back several moves and correct an error you made. Once you are out of rewinds you are stuck with either completely restarting the level or purchasing unlimited rewinds for $0.99. In the beginning few puzzles, restarting a level isn’t a huge deal. The puzzles are relatively simple and short. But as the puzzles become more difficult and more complicated, restarting becomes a real pain. As levels progress, there are more and more areas in the game where it is possible to become permanently trapped, forcing either a restart or a rewind. I found the game started to test my memory just as much as it tested my puzzle solving skills. If I ever became stuck, I would have to be able to repeat all my movements and then correct myself. If this happened at an end of a level and I was still experimenting with ways to complete a puzzle, it would end up that I wasted a lot of time restarting the puzzle. It eventually made me feel that the developers were trying to nickel and dime me by dragging out my game play experience until I became so exasperated and spent another $0.99 cents to get the ability to rewind my game. Frankly, I would have much rather the game cost me $1.99 up front and skip the whole unpleasant business of feeling pressured to purchase the unlimited rewinds.
Audio & Visuals
The music is well chosen, fitting in perfectly with the visual style. The music is airy and pleasant, the sort of music I’d love to listen to if I was on an island, even if it was an island lacking in puzzles. On the other hand, I wish there was more variety of songs to listen to. Sound effects are solid for the most part, but the giant rolling coconut sounding like a rolling boulder irritated me. It wasn’t that the sound effect was bad, but I always figured a rolling giant coconut would sound more like rolling a wood ball full of water.
Rinth Island is happy and cheery game with lots of bright colours and sunshine. The graphics are appropriate for younger children who are old enough to comprehend the puzzles. The visual style would be at home beside Animal Crossing and Legend of Zelda games on the DS. There is a good level of variation in the visual style between chapters. Thankfully this keeps things looking fresh as you conquer the puzzles. The game is best suited for the iPad as the camera is zoomed out rather far to accommodate the large areas. Playing on the iPhone is a bit of an eye strain due to the small size. On the iPhone 4, I struggled to see the game clearly if the phone wasn’t at least a foot and a half near my face. It definitely takes away from the lovely visuals and makes purchasing costumes and pets seem rather pointless.
Overall
Rinth Island is a solid puzzling experience that is bright and fun. The level editor and the ability to play other players custom made levels is an incredible bonus to a game that is already packed with a lot of variety and replayability. For $0.99 Rinth Island is an incredibly great deal. However, the $0.99 price to unlock unlimited rewinds left a really bad taste in my mouth. The ability to rewind the game makes the game a lot less frustrating. Considering there are so many areas in every puzzle to get permanently stuck and forced to restart a puzzle, I would have much rather seen the game priced at $1.99 and had the rewind feature added. I strongly recommend purchasing Rinth Island, but before you purchase, realize that chances are for most players the game will spend at least $1.98 on Rinth Island, not $0.99.
Earlier today in a Press Release hand-delivered to special organisations, such as ourselves, EA, Ubisoft and Activision announced their plans to merge companies by the end of 2012. At the end of the merging process, the triad of companies, now merged into one, will release their planned games to the public. One game of notable concern seems to be a merging of each companies top selling franchise; as if this was a statement being made to gamers as a representation of the new conglomerate. We currently believe this to be some kind of “Assassins Creed: Modern Warfare of the Battlefield” type of thing.
On the merger, CEO of future Sony, Kevin Butler, had this to say –
“Us here at future Sony are pleased with this upcoming merger from the Triad of western publishers. This can only lead to quality titles in the future of gaming, which will be beneficial to gamers all over the world” Kevin Butler stated to reporters earlier this morning, “we can only see the future of gaming travelling forwards and becoming a more dynamic experience for players everywhere.”
Will this be the end of gaming? Or will this merger become the shining beacon of light that the industry seems to be lacking right now? Nobody knows. What do you think about the news of this merger, what will the affect on the ending of Mass Effect 3 be? Let us know in the comments section (below) or the Forums.
If you hate the plastic feel of screen protectors but too scared to go naked with your brand new iPad, SGP has the solution for you. They are now accepting pre-orders for the GLAS.t screen protector for the new iPad and the iPad 2. The GLAS.t is made out of a 0.4mm thin layer of tempered glass that has an oleophobic layer just like your iPad screen that will resist smudges and fingerprints. For safety’s sake, if you some how manage to crack or chip the GLAS.t screen shield, it will break apart in pieces that are not sharp. This is good news for parents with small children or klutzes. The SGP GLAS.t is available for pre-order for $69.99 at SGP’s site and is expected to ship in 3-4 weeks.
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