First screens of Halo 4 have made their way onto the internet ahead of schedule. They were planned to be released tomorrow but are now doing the rounds on the internet, showing off the graphics which, according to Halo 4 principal engine programmer Corrinne Yu, will be the ‘best looking’ on Xbox 360.
“It’s the best looking game on Xbox and any other consoles we ever made and we’re all from AAA studios,” she said. “So proud of team.”
The screens were also confirmed to be legitimate by 343 Industries’ assistant director of photography Paul Featherstone, who confirmed they were taken by him with a “debug cam with in-engine depth-of-field”.
Prototype 2 will be getting a release on 24 April 2012, in the meantime some information has been revealed regarding the vehicles that will be featured in the game, these vehicles can be hijacked and used to further add destruction. This time some information has been shared about the Tank vehicles.
Tanks are heavily armored and they have removable Gatling guns. The tank will allow players to easily bulldoze through environments and cause some impressive real time damage. Players will also be able use the Tendril Finisher move to remove the tank’s turret.
Prototype 2 will be released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the PC on 24 April 2012.
There was this rather interesting ‘leak’ recently which some sources are claiming to be the very first screens of Doom 4.
These screens basically show off a gritty city environment that has been hit by several wars and natural disasters. Some of these screens show a real time tornado, wrecked up buildings and streets with abandoned war machines and vehicles, and lots of blood stains.
It looks nothing like a traditional Doom title, which is why most people are sceptical about it. You can check them out in the gallery below, take it however you like.
Fairy Tail: Part 4 Studios: A-1 Pictures, Satelight Publisher: FUNimation Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date: March 20, 2012 Price: $54.98 – Available Here
Overview: Over the past few months FUNimation has brought us nearly a monthly release of Fairy Tail’s first season. After a minor delay they have now brought us the final part of Fairy Tail’s first season. We’ve seen quite a lot over the past thirty six episodes from all three parts, of which Part 1’s review can be found here, with Part 2’s hereand Part 3’s here. In a world full of shōnen series Fairy Tail stands out as one of the freshest of the pack by far, however does this freshness stay for Fairy Tail: Part 4?
Story: As per standard with Fairy Tail’s past releases, minus Part 1 of course, we jump into Fairy Tail: Part 4 in the middle of a story arc. Those who have seen Part 3 should remember that the story had taken a turn for the darker side as Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Juvia race to try and help Erza out in her battle in the Tower of Heaven against someone she once held dear, Jellal.
However things were not going very swimmingly for the Fairy Tail crew when we last saw them, Erza had been captured and imprisoned in a playing card by Sho, Natsu was on the brink of defeat from Fukuro and Lucy was forced to face off against a possessed Juvia. However nothing can keep a Fairy Tail member from helping out their comrades. The battles against each of Jellal’s mercenaries are your standard fair with nothing too exceptional to speak of, most ending a bit too quickly. With Jellal’s plan of using Erza as a human sacrifice to resurrect a deadly and powerful wizard from the past nearly coming to fruition, the Fairy Tail members must fight harder than ever to put an end to his evil plans while not dying in the process.
After the grandiose conclusion to the arc Part 3 cliffhangared on, we are given the final arc for season one, one that will present perhaps the largest challenge for the Fairy Tail guild. You see… while fighting against your enemies, even those stronger than you, may be something that can be accomplished through sheer force of will… what will happen when Fairy battles against Fairy?
Angry with the current state of Fairy Tail, Laxus, grandson of the current guildmaster Makarov, has taken it upon himself to rid the guild of its so called “weaknesses.” To do this he and his team have taken the women of Fairy Tail hostage, including Lucy and Erza, by turning them into stone. With the threat of their deaths imminent and specific rules laid down by Laxus and his crew, friend must battle against friend in an effort to save their friends…
With Part 4 consisting of these two story arcs we see the culmination of Erza’s character development throughout the Tower of Heaven and confront her past to come to grips with who she is. Besides Erza, a number of other characters are given some additional development, with most of it surprisingly focusing on the secondary characters of the guild. If there is one thing that can be taken away from watching Fairy Tail, is that its robust cast of characters are never left in the dark for very long as we see nearly every named character in battle in some way as they fight against one another in stupendous battles.
While it should be no leap of the imagination to say that jumping in at Part 4 would be detrimental to viewers, obviously it is. Considering Fairy Tail: Part 4 literally starts in the middle of a well-developed story arc is already an issue for those who’ve yet to catch up on the last few seasons. While new viewers may be able to satisfy themselves with the final arc of this season, there will be a lot lost in translation at this point.
However this should not detour anyone who has already watched all three parts of Fairy Tail so far and personally I must recommend picking up the past arcs as Fairy Tail stands as one of the fastest rising anime in the West with little reason to slow down and plenty of more episodes that could potentially be on the way.
Visuals: We see only a small amount of characters introduced during Part 4 however this is made up for with plenty of action to make up for the lack of character introduction. That being said, the characters that are introduced are designed well enough with plenty of visual flair and uniqueness, retaining the fact that no two characters will look alike.
As mentioned before there is plenty of action to be had as we see nearly every Fairy Tail member in action in some form during Part 4. This also means that viewers are treated to plenty of different kinds of magic being used against each other and plenty of special effects demonstrated because of this. While seeing a number of older characters use their attacks has always been visually appealing, seeing the secondary characters in action, including Mirajane’s well-designed Satan Soul form.
That being said, while most of the battles are given an adequate level of consistent animation, there are a number of times that the animation quality drops significantly. It is also unfortunate that most of these quality drops have been during the larger battles, including Natsu’s battle against Jellal and the later battles in Part 4. While these drops in quality shouldn’t hinder your viewing too much, they are noticeable enough.
Audio: As per usual for a FUNimation release Fairy Tail: Part 4 contains both an English dub as well as the original Japanese one for those who enjoy listening to that version. All of the characters from the past three parts have retained their voice actors and we see plenty of other voice actors get a chance to say at least a few lines here and there as well. The newly introduced characters’ voicework is handled well enough though doesn’t stand out too much from the rest of the cast.
Fairy Tail’s background music is the same as ever; with alright background music during most of the battle scenes that help add to the mood a little bit, and plenty of reoccurring themes throughout the series. These songs should be more than familiar to viewers by now, though it is a tad unfortunate not much else is presented to the viewer.
As far as the opening and ending songs are concerned for Part 4, we are presented with “R.P.G. ~Rockin’ Playing Game” by SuG as the opening song and “Kimi Ga Iru Kara” by Mikuni Shimokawa as the ending tune. If these two songs and accompanying animations are familiar to you, it is due to them being included for the final episode of Part 3. It is unfortunate that the same opening and ending is re-used this time around but considering the songs were adequate enough they still are for Part 4.
Extras: With Fairy Tail: Part 4 we see a number of standard inclusions from FUNimation which includes trailers for past and upcoming releases, a clean version of the opening song as well as a clean version of the ending song. Also included with this release are two episode commentaries, a commentary provided for Episode 39 “Give Our Prayers to the Sacred Light” and Episode 45 “Advent of Satan.”
For Episode 39 we see Tyler Walker, the ADR Director and Rob McCollum who voices Siegrain, Jellal and Mystogen for the series. The commentary for this episode is a little funny but interesting enough to listen to as we hear Rob explain how he had to work in subtle differences to each character to keep them unique.
Episode 45’s commentary is given by Tyler Walker again, John Burgmeier who provides the voice of Freed and head writer as well as Monica Rial who is lead writer for FUNimation and the voice of Mirajane. This commentary has little comedic value but is actually quite informative as we learn that a number of the writers have actually been able to read the manga of the show and have used it to keep their writing consistent throughout the series and better adapt the show for American audiences.
Overall: With this release we see the end of Fairy Tail’s first season in North America as well as the currently licensed amount of episodes from FUNimation. This final part of Fairy Tail provides a satisfactory conclusion to the Tower of Heaven arc and more than enough action to keep the blood pumping with the final story arc. Fairy Tail: Part 4 still provides a very enjoyable ending to season one with plenty of action which for once doesn’t leave off in a cliffhanger. However there is no need for such a cliffhanger ending this time around as Fairy Tail’s first season will leave viewers begging for a second season once the final episode finishes.
The whole console exclusive characters business is getting a little crazy now as as the PlayStation Vita will getting twelve extra characters. They are Blanka, Cody, Dudley, Elena, Guy, and Sakura from the Street Fighter universe, and Alisa, Bryan, Christy, Jack, Lars, and Lei from the Tekken universe.
These characters are going to be downloadable content and there have been reports suggesting that these characters may also appear on the Xbox 360 version. Speaking of which, Mega Man and Pac Man, who are at this stage exclusive to the PlayStation 3 version, may at some stage appear on the Xbox 360. This information regarding the Xbox 360 version has not been confirmed by Capcom as of yet.
Back in December 2011, Banpresto and Toei collaborated to create the one-shot OVA anime Kyousogiga. They had streamed it through multiple outlets (notably Youtube and Nico Nico Douga) to which it garnered a great deal of success and acclaim.
The little OVA that could has today been confirmed to having been green-lit for a full length anime series based upon it. The full length series will expand upon the world conveyed in the OVA and explore the characters and plot more than the 20 minute OVA could. This news came directly from voice actress Kazuki Yao during an event for Kyousogiga earlier today.
Kyousogiga tells the story of an alternate world in which the existence of Yokai has become public knowledge, to the point that Yokai live freely alongside humans.
The new Kyousogiga anime series is set to premiere at some point in the future. However no solid date has been attributed to the project as of yet.
Freud and Jung are arguably the most entertaining psychologists, as well as some of the most recognized names in the field of psychology. David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, Eastern Promises) directs A Dangerous Method, a movie about these two legendary men.
The film examines the real life event of Dr Jung and Freud meeting and how psychoanalysis emerged from this meeting and their relationship. It is based on the non-fiction book by Kerr, A Most Dangerous Method: the story of Jung, Freud and Sabina Spielrein. The movie features Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings) as Sigmund Freud, Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) as Carl Jung and Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Carribean, A Dangerous Method) as Sabina Spielrein.
This movie is guaranteed to be as interesting as it is dramatic, and will be a must watch for those of you who enjoy their intriguing dramas, especially given that it is based on real life events.
Check out the trailer for the movie below. What do you guys think? Would you be keen to watch this movie?
A Dangerous Method is coming to Australian cinemas on March 20, 2012.
I think everyone remembers the whole “on rails” E3 fiasco that Fable: The Journey went through last year, and since then, we have heard very little about the game itself or any information about how this Kinect title will actually control. Luckily, Microsoft seem to be ready to share some tidbits and have went as far to create a home page for Fable: The Journey on Xbox.com.
On the page, we see 5 new screenshots (which you can view below), along with more details of how this experience will play out. As far as the screenshots go, things look slightly better from what we seen on display. Yeah, it still looks like it’s on rails as horse carriages and first person-views are still very present, but it does look like there is some type of movement as there are a couple other perspectives shown. Judging by the overview posted as well, this Fable will be more on the humorous side (much like Fable 3) and be more aimed towards fan who have enjoyed the past few entries.
I want to want this title so bad, but I still am not sold with this new information. Fable was a series about character development and lore and has taken a turn towards gimmickry and fart jokes as of recent. Hopefully this The Journey will be a smash hit for Molyneux and his team…but without shaking that dark cloud I just don’t see this one taking off like it should upon release.
Oh yeah, the release date…12/31/2799. They did tell us the Kinect was the technology of the future, after all.
Gantz: Perfect Answer Studio: Shuiesha Publisher: Madman – Eastern Eye Release Date: February 15, 2012 Format: Blu-Ray Disc (Reviewed), DvD Price: $34.95 (Buy Here)
Overview
“Your lives have ended.
How you use your new lives is entirely up to me.
That’s the way the cookie-crumbles.”
Gantz: Perfect Answer is the second and final chapter in the Gantz movie franchise from Japan. The movies are based on the Manga series by the same name, but alter some elements to better fit a movie. The manga was renown for its gratuity, both sexually and with violence and has amassed a pretty large fan following. I myself am one of those fans.
Story
Gantz: Perfect Answer takes place just after the events of the first film. The main character, Kei Kurono, is living with his deceased friends younger brother and works part-time at a burger joint to support his studies. It is at this time that we are also re-introduced to his love interest, Tae Kojima.
“Hi, I’m a homely and plain girl that you’re not supposed to notice in your day to day life.”
The basic story in Gantz is that when it is that you die, and you are selected, you are taken to this room with a black orb and are pitted against alien monsters who’s intentions are not made all that clear. You get told to kill something, and then you do. The more you kill, the more points you receive and if you reach a certain threshold of points, you can set yourself free, or resurrect a player that has died during the game. There was also a difference here between the movie and the manga, where you could also purchase a special weapon for your private use in battles, but this was not present in the movie.
I really loved the mystery aspect of this story, and I’m pretty sure that they adapted one particular segment of the story from one of the manga’s arcs, which I thought was pretty cool. I have to say though, that while this is adapted from the manga, it has it’s own unique story. So while there are segments that seem like they were lifted, the majority of the movie is new material. I’d have loved to have seen a straight up adaptation of the manga in both parts of the movie, but the original story present in the second part is so well done, that I didn’t mind it being almost completely different.
The original Gantz works featured an emphasis on violence and tits, and not so much on the mysteries of the Gantz itself, whereas the movies are the opposite. Yes, there is action and yes there is a little blood and guts, but ultimately, it’s nowhere near as graphic as the manga, or even the first movie. The mysteries presented in this movie keep you drawn to the characters and the story that the movie is presenting, what is Gantz, who are these Men in Black types? And just why do people get sent to the Gantz room anyway? Some of these questions are answered, while others are not.
Ultimately, I found the story to be quite intriguing and am quite satisfied with it.
Visuals
Visually, Gantz is a treat, especially for a Blu-Ray Disc movie. There was nothing wrong with the film from a visual stand-point when it came to the technical levels of the quality. At 1080p, there was no stutter or weird artefacts that are sometimes prevalent in movies on this format.
The X-Gun (not named in the film) looks just like the one from the manga.
One thing that really struck me with this film visually, was how they seemed to have forgotten about one key concept of the black suits worn by the Gantz team. And that concept is basically when you need to enhance your speed or strength, the suit would bulk itself up to meet your demands. However, in this movie, I didn’t notice the suit bulk up in any significant way, which was a huge shame as it was included in the first movie.
What’s a movie based on a game of death without battles? Gantz: Perfect Answer has some amazingly choreographed fight scenes, which are also very well directed and engage with you on an impacting level. The aliens have some amazing effects thrown onto them to represent their abilities. Regeneration, extra-generation and the like look brilliant. Blood effects, awesome! The weapons used in these battles are amazingly impressive and almost too accurately portray the weapons in the manga.
One of the more unrealistic things in this movie, visually speaking, is that all the characters look they’re models. Well, I guess that the actors actually are models, but still. Everyone just seems a little too pretty. Take Tae Kojima for example, she’s supposed to be this plain/ ordinary looking girl that most guys would overlook. Not in the movie! I found her to be the most attractive female on the cast, though, it could be due to some kind of cultural dissonance, rather than her actually being the prettiest.
Gantz: Perfect Answer is a visual beast, especially on the Blu-Ray Disc, and people who love their moves sharp, fast and awesome will definitely fall in love with this film.
Audio
I have to say that Gantz: Perfect Answers tune that plays during the intro sequence is simply amazing. It somehow captures the essence of the movie while also being catchy and memorable. Fortunately all of the audio in this movie is as good as this tune.
“I think there’s danger over there, but I have to tone down my expression to keep myself pretty.”
What I particularly loved about the sound in the movie was that all the weapons sound how I envisioned them to sound whilst reading the manga. This was an amazing treat for me, and it felt as though the creators of this film had validated the manga as it’s source material through the use of the sounds, in my mind at least.
One gripe with this version of Gantz: Perfect Answer was its lack of an English Dub. I don’t think the original movie had the dub down here in Aus either, but I had seen the first movie on an imported BD and it had an English dub on it. While reading subtitles and watching the film wasn’t particularly hard, it’s understandable that some people may not be that interested in reading as they watch, or may simply lack the skill-set to do so.
The 5.1ch soundtrack included with the film gave a great sense of cinematographic direction within each scene, which really amplified the atmosphere of the film. The movie also includes a 2ch soundtrack for those of you without a surround system.
Extras
Gantz: Perfect Answer has a small selection of special features which are both interesting and worth taking a look at. The special features are as follows –
The Making of Gantz: Perfect Answer
Fight Choreography
Trailers
These should prove to be an interesting view for you, especially if you’re interested in the making of the film, or the awesome work that went into the choreography.
Overall
Gantz: Perfect Answer is one of my favourite films of this year, and it has only just begun. I will definitely be adding this to my cycle of movies that absolutely have to be rewatched regularly. If you purchase this Blu-Ray Disc, you will not be disappointed.
Max Payne 3 has, from the beginning, boasted a strong story line with some great graphics and a tight sense of gameplay. However, it wasn’t till now that those separate from the game development have been able to get their hands on the game and give it a go, myself being one of the lucky ones to be given a shot at one of the chapters. And, can I just say, drool.
I was allowed to play Chapter 3, which is set after Max has moved to São Paulo and his boss has received a ransom note for his missing wife. Because, as usual, Max can never have a simple job. Ever. The cut scene at the beginning of the chapter is a marvel in itself, there is a grittiness to it that fits Max’s character like a glove. There are plenty of smash cuts, comic book style visuals, and it just looks awesome. The voice acting is some of the best I’ve experienced, and the tension in the room is palpable. So, in terms of creating an environment, Max Payne 3 gets a big tick.
The transition between cinematic and gameplay is seamless, the only thing that will really alert you is the appearance of your health bar in the bottom right corner. There aren’t any load screens, no wait time, it just flows straight into it. It’s this, along with the fantastic look and feel of the cinematics that makes the game feel more like an interactive movie. There’s no break to the flow, at all, and that really improves gameplay in a way I didn’t really consider possible.
Even though Max Payne 3 is a third person shooter, everything about it feels like a first person experience. The controls are smooth and you can play around with lock if you like, with either manual, soft lock or hard lock options. The whole game is influenced and sensitive to Max himself, so when he’s been seriously injured (in the cinematic, not in gameplay) the screen flashes, fades in and out, and is generally in a state of distress.
Bullet Time and Shoot Dodge are two new aspects being brought to the table by Max Payne 3. Both of these are designed to help you with the large quantities of Brazilian men who are trying to kill you by slowing down time and giving you a bit more breathing space. Personally trying to incorporate another method into a typical shooter situation was a slight adjustment, and it wasn’t necessarily flat out required, although on ‘Hard’ I’m sure it would be, but it would make your life a lot easier, and once it becomes a standard then other games just won’t quite be as fun. There’s something immensely satisfying about taking out a group of ten street gang thugs.
Another big thing is Revenge Kill. Without this option I’d be lying in the gutter far more times. The ability to cheat your way out of death by shooting the bastard that shot you is another aspect that will help you conquer the hordes. Sometimes finding him is a bit tough, although the person you are aiming for is the only one who will turn the aiming crosshair red, and the crosshair is aimed in his general direction.
