One may remember a certain game that was announced by Konami a few months ago called Blades of Time. Well, since that announcement there unfortunately has been very little news from Konami about the title, such as when we can expect to see it released in North America and Europe. Well at least half of that question was answered today, as Konami released the below trailer that contains a March 15th release date for Europe.
We’ve reached out to Konami in North America to see if they would be willing to shed some light on the release date in North America, until then you can check out the below trailer which features the same Ayumi from X-Blades, however with a more realistic look and more clothing, as she destroys plenty of enemies with fast paced combat featuring both guns and swords. Also she apparently has been spending quite a lot of time in the United Kingdom given the way her accent sounds…
For the ladies! Case Mate has announced a new coloring scheme for their Kayla Clutch series of smart phone friendly clutches. Following the trend of fashion, Case Mate is now offering the Kayla Clutch in bright and bold Color Blocked styles. Made from genuine leather, the Kayla Clutch can carry most smart phone devices in a magnetic closure pouch and has a zippered compartment for credit cards, ID cards, money, and anything else needed for an exciting night out. The Kayla Clutch can be carried on the wrist with the included wrist strap or across the body with the included detachable metallic chain.
The clutch has been featured in the fashion magazine InStyle. The Color Blocked Kayla Clutch is available for $90 USD from the Case Mate website. If $90 dollars is out of your budget or you are seeking a more conservative coloring scheme, the Kayla Clutch is available in black with out the metallic chain for $50 USD.
It seems that Street Fighter x Tekken is indeed coming to the PlayStation Vita, though those who are waiting to play the title on Sony’s brand new handheld are going to have to wait quite a long time. In fact, it will be such a long time that they will need to wait until the Fall of this year.
However that wait will not be in vain, because Capcom has announced today that the PlayStation Vita version will include 12 brand new characters that will not be available in the other versions of the game. From the Street Fighter side, we’ll get: Elena, Guy, Cody, Sakura, Dudley and Blanka. Newcomers from the Tekken side will include: Alisa, Christy, Jack, Brian, Lars and Lei. Currently there is no word if these characters will be released as DLC for the other versions of the game, or if we can expect an Ultimate Street Fighter x Tekken in the Fall as well.
Call of Duty Elite continues the 9 month long content season with the release of the map Overwatch. The map is located on top of a New York City skyscraper under construction. Fight your enemies on a near symmetrical map with multiple routes of attack. But be careful, one false step and you will fall 70 stories to your untimely death. This is the third content drop of twenty promised in the 9 month long Elite content season.
Overwatch is available to all Call of Duty Elite subscribers on Xbox Live. No word on a release date for Playstation 3 or PC. So Playstation 3 and PC players will have to wait a little longer.
Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge Premium Edition Studio: SHAFT Publisher: NIS America Versions: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date: February 7, 2012 Price: $55.99 – Available Here
Overview:
Normally when you look under a bridge you will find a number of things there. Most of these things will be garbage, some stray animals, somebody living there or if you happen to live in Chicago then maybe even some body down there instead. However one thing you wouldn’t normally find is a blossoming community full of strange people with hilarious personalities.
You see, under a bridge that spans the Arakawa river in Japan there exists one such community, where a musician wears a giant star on his head, a man believes he is a kappa and that barely scratches the surface of the strangeness occurring under the bridge. NIS America brought us the first season of Arakawa Under the Bridge, the review of which can be found here, during the summer of last year and has now brought us Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge. Is the second season of those who live under the bridge just as zany as the first?
Story:
For those who have never seen the first season, the story of Arakawa Under the Bridge follows a man named as Ichinomya Ko, the heir to one of the largest and most powerful companies in the entire world. However there is one rule that dominates Ko’s life and that is the fact that he refuses to owe anyone a favor or be indebted to a person. As such anyone who helps him out before he can deny it must be repaid in kind or else it would go against everything that Ko is.
However when his life is saved by a strange woman named Nino at the Arakawa River his life is changed forever as she requests that he become her boyfriend/lover. As such Ko’s life takes a drastic turn for the crazy as he moves in under the Arakawa Bridge, receives the new name of Rec (short for Recruit) and lives with a community which is home to some of the strangest people you will ever meet.
Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge starts off where the first season left off, with Rec continuing to live his life under the Arakawa Bridge and trying to co-exist with the out of control crazy actions occurring everywhere around him. While Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge doesn’t follow much of a story structure, instead most episodes, which themselves consist of multiple mini-episodes, serve very little connection with one another.
As such don’t expect to see too much story development here; in fact that is one of the drawbacks to the series as a whole. While the comedy of Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge is a shining star that would make even Hoshi jealous, the pacing of the story is dreadful and whenever a joke falls flat it crashes and burns in a spectacularly drawn out fashion. While most of the jokes will leave you laughing, there are a few scattered throughout that will feel like they have been extremely overused, especially ones which have carried over from the first season.
Now while some jokes may be overused, the heart of the show is still its diverse cast of characters that always have something unexpected up their sleeves. In fact the majority of the comedy you will experience is through the various cast’s interactions with one another and their daily lives while Rec tries to play the straight man to their random comedic antics. The first season of Arakawa served more as an introduction to all of the characters we are seeing in the second season, though a few more are introduced and given plenty of screen time. The second season focuses more on the interactions between those living under the bridge and provides plenty of side-splitting humor, though some of the jokes are obviously hit and miss.
Of the newly introduced characters the Amazon who is built like a weightlifter with a personality of a maiden-in-love. The Amazon is also followed around by a group of three strange men who call themselves the Tengu that always watch out for her. These four join the regular cast who all have unique silly personalities who create most of the comedy whenever these personalities have to interact with one another. Unfortunately the poor pacing returns when it comes to the characters, as there is very little actual development here for any of the side characters as they are mostly there for pure comedy purposes.
Despite the heavy focus on comedy, two characters still sit as the stars of Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge and they are Rec and Nino. These two’s developing relationship with one another provides plenty of cute and enjoyable moments as their naiveté about how to handle a relationship creates plenty of funny moments throughout the series. As such the couple feels more real, despite the fact that both of them have their own unique quirks just like everyone around them and will leave you smiling whenever the two share a charming moment together.
It is worth noting that there is very little introduction or backstory given on Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge, so while it is potentially possible to enjoy season two as a standalone viewing experience, it is highly recommended that viewers watch the first season beforehand as they will get the most out of their viewing experience and more laughs as they understand a bit more about each of the characters’ personalities.
Visuals:
One of the highlights of the characters is that none of the bare any resemblance to one another in regards to character designs. Each character has their own, often strange, design that makes them who they are and are visually pleasing. This is only helped by the fact that the series uses a vibrant color palette which accentuates the well-drawn backgrounds.
The animation quality is rather consistent throughout the show with minor character deformations only used for sight-gags as well as multiple flashes to Rec’s face or other character’s faces in standard SHAFT fashion. The Premium Edition comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD versions, with the Blu-ray version of the show clearly superior as it emphasizes the vibrancy of the colors used throughout each episode.
Audio & Subtitles:
Now it is immediately worth noting that NIS America’s release of Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge, like the first season, does not contain an English dub which means those who are watching the show will need to leave the subtitles on to understand what is going on at any given time. The subtitles themselves are fairly accurate and translate what is happening well enough.
As for the Japanese voice actors, all of the characters have seen their roles reprised from the last season, which is beneficial to the series as the voice cast performs the same great job they did from the past season. Rec’s voice actor Kamiya Hiroshi provides excellent voice work and his interactions with Miyuki Sawashiro’s voice work for Nino work well together, though the Amazon’s voice-switching often seems out of place and her more girly voice is grating to listen to. As far as music goes, the background music is alright, but doesn’t do too much for the series as a whole. One thing that does stand out however is the opening song “COSMOS vs. ALIEN which is your standard J-Pop song, but set to a very strange opening sequence that works perfectly for the song. The ending song, “Red Coat” isn’t as intriguing as the opening but still does a fine job ending the show.
Extras:
As standard with NIS America’s Premium Edition releases, Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge comes with two slim DVD sized cases as well as a 32 page hardcover art book inside of an over-sized collectible chipboard slipcase. This collector’s slipcase features a glossy finish as well as artwork on both sides, with most of the main cast featured on one side and the other side featuring the new characters introduced this season, the Amazon, the three Tengu and the Creator.
The on-disc bonus features included are some TV spots from Japan, an end card gallery which features all of the artwork shown at the end of the show in a brief slide-show as well as commentary from the various Japanese voice actors for the first four episodes of the season. The audio commentary isn’t too simple to access however, as viewers need to watch the episode normally and then switch both the audio and the subtitles over to the commentary selection, as the commentary is still in Japanese and needs English subtitles to be understood.
The 32 page art book is likely one of the best that NIS America has released in quite a while. While it contains brief character summaries of the newly introduced characters and your standard episode summaries and a few pieces of artwork there are tons of interviews inside the book with the cast and production staff from Japan. These interviews contain nearly everything would want to know about the show, the actors and even the opening and ending songs. While there really isn’t as many pieces of artwork, the massive amount of interviews with the original staff and information about the show overshadows any artwork that could have been included in this version.
Overall:
While the story main progress extremely slowly and focuses more on making viewers laugh with comedy that always seems to come out of left field, this is beneficial to the series as a whole. While things could easily have gotten more serious from time to time the comedic essence of Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge would have been lost if things became too dramatic at any given time. As it stands however, Arakawa is still an original and funny anime that stands out from the rest by having unique anime characters with strange personalities that you won’t find anywhere else besides under the Arakawa bridge.
One of the PS Vita’s many launch titles is Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition. Following up the console release, Sega’s latest entry into the Virtua Tennis series has just received a brand new launch trailer. The game sports a roster of 22 star players, and boasts a host of new features that take advantage of the Vita’s new tricks, including full touch screen control which you can be mix and match with the analogue sticks as you see fit. Two players can even play against one another on the same handheld too, and there is also an online multi player that supports up to four players.
Perhaps the most unusual feature however is the first person perspective mode, which allows players to use the motion control capabilities of the Vita to step into the shoes of their player. Virtua Tennis 4 :World Tour Edition is released alongside the Vita itself, so will hit shelves on February 22. Will it be one of your launch day picks? Make sure and check out the trailer below.
Warp Publisher: EA Developer: Trapdoor Platforms: XBLA (reviewed), PSN, PC Release Date: February 15, 2012 (XBLA) March 13, 2012 (PC, PSN) Price: 800 MSP – Available Here
Overview
Warp is an interesting twist of an action sci-fi with progressive puzzles. Our known reality has changed by taking the role of an alien character named Zero. No longer are we subjected to the limits of not passing through walls nor becoming a doppelganger of different objects. By channeling these acquired abilities, there is hope to escape our capturers – humans…
Story
Being a small, orange tinted alien might not startle many observers. This being said my first sight of human existence was not a pleasant one. Covered from top to bottom in suits, the being walked towards me with a strange breathing mask. Scared with little room to run, I was trapped to their devices. Stretched in long white cloth, they began to hurt me under a bright light. Using sharp metal and machines, I quickly blacked out to block the pain. As I woke up I noticed they blocked me in a room and continued to watch closely.
Warp does well to transmit emotions to its viewers, and the story is the vessel for this transference. The recaptured moments above display the intensity that was felt at the game’s beginning. Starting off scared and alone, you soon discover that you are not the only alien that is being tested. Hope stirs within to find other hostages, and combined determination compels you to escape.
One distracting aspect that deters attention from the storyline is the amount of deaths that may occur. Levels become progressively harder to navigate and require pin-point warps that separate life and death. However, each new level begins with a cinematic that re-boosts the story. For all the non-story enthusiasts, you will be glad to know that you may skip all film shorts.
Gameplay
The title gained its name from the most widely used ability, warp. As your alien walks about using the directional pad or left analog stick, you may also teleport a small distance in front of the character. Working as a catalyst for Zero’s additional abilities, warp can provide a quick exit to an unopened door or even a leap of faith across a room littered with lasers. An option may appear to the player to warp into an object. So go ahead with your gut feeling and jump into a scientist!
Trapdoor decided to think outside the box for abilities and unique controls. If you decided to warp into a scientist, you will be pleased to find out that you can turn into a personal frag grenade. Wiggling the control stick around enough will cause the body to become severely bloated until it explodes. Blood spatters the immediate area, and Zero appears in the targets last location.
Upon adventuring and obtaining alien artifacts, you acquire the learned abilities: Echo, Swap, and Launch. The skill echo allows the character to create a ghostly form of yourself and move outside of your body within a limited radius. Echo can be used as a distraction to move enemies away from their current location. Swap continues the use of echo by switching places with an object. The echoed Zero is able to swap locations with the original Zero by hitting “A” on an object. Launch can be performed by pressing “B” and using a direction. Note this can only be performed while warped into a barrel or other interacting items.
Beyond the main controls, players can collect grubs – yummy alien food – to advance known abilities further. Spending acquired grubs at upgrade shops can provide advanced skills such as faster warp, silent warp, stealth frag, show grubs, and fast recovery. Upgrades have separate costs giving the player an individualization factor for Zero. Silent warp and movement cost only 4 grubs a piece while its speedy counterparts cost 14 and 12 grubs. Customization is not required to win, but enhanced skills make levels easier to complete and can add more mischievous fun.
While grubs are used as enhancement tools, film canisters can be found throughout the game as well. Canisters withhold valuable research about the alien species, and destroying these items will damage the human’s research. Finding them becomes less of a problem by gaining the “Show Container” perk in an upgrade shop.
Abilities and perks sound cool, but what about the enemies you get to use it on? Scientists are the easiest opponents to manipulate and most amusing to torture. Often you will catch one running to a corner and huddling in a fetal position. But do not take scientists for fools if there is an alarm system nearby. Upon hitting the alarm, armed guard(s) will target your location with a one shot K.O. With a single shot Zero will fall to the ground and ooze out his orange life-force.
Warping around shots or into objects are useful avoidance maneuvers for most guards. Yet as you move through levels, the scientists will discover Zero’s weakness in water. Whenever Zero touches a fluid, his powers instantly drain and only recover once out. Eventually you will come to meet guards that are surrounded by fluid barriers and are virtually impenetrable by the warp ability. Have a handy barrel nearby? Launch it at him, and I guarantee that shield won’t last long. Be quick to dispose of the body before he recovers.
Warp would not be complete without the increased intensity of boss battles. Upon facing the evil Commander for the very first time, you are stuck inside a room surrounded by glowing pillars. Zero has little options of attack at this point, so provoking an attack close to the pillars is the best option. The warp ability can hide you inside barrels, but even reinforced barrels will crumble under the strength of the Commander’s metal arm. Let him destroy the room, and the ceiling will come crashing down.
Beyond the normal gameplay, players can experience a challenge zone where Zero can test out his learned abilities. The very first challenge mission entails warping from platform to platform without falling to your death. Completing challenges within a set time frame will award you with bronze, silver, or gold medals. Additionally, your timed score will be posted online to garner competition amongst fellow aliens.
Audio/Visual
The very first time I warped into a human body was probably the weirdest moment in my gaming career to date. As a planned event, the camera moves horizontal to the warped body while an on-looking scientist is watching the damage unfold. The player is queued to move the analog back and forth to bloat the body and cause an explosion. Blood spatters the room, and the watchful scientist begins to have a meltdown. Seeing this happen once just makes you want to do it again!
Level design is intuitive and presents new challenges that are visually stimulating. Quarantine may be considered the darkest area of the game and demands close attention. Alien mines are littered across the floor, and upon detonation a bright orange glow with emanate from its position. Purposefully setting off these floor bombs will brighten a room enough to find a safe passage.
During the challenge missions I felt a close bond with a completely unrelated title – Metal Gear Solid VR Missions. The correlation of colors brought back memories of timed trials and a purpose to complete the mission in the fastest time possible. Warp replicated that feeling and provided difficulty that separates the casual gamer from the die-hards.
Adding the joyous warping around levels are the sound effects. Whether you hear small alien sounds or human screams, the gameplay is only complimented by their additions. Scientists running away pounding on locked doors makes for heaps of fun, but not as much fun as making them go “splat”.
Overall
Warp delivers a solid performance across the board with minor issues. The storyline is creative and offers an unique perspective from an alien point of view. I felt in tune with Zero’s need to escape and wanted to understand the purpose of his captivity. The curiosity does seem to fade by continuous deaths at a certain part of your journey (laser encased room). However, puzzles require trial and error, and this is a perfect example of perseverance.
The challenge mode may prove to be very difficult to master. I believe most gamers will strive to complete this mode with all bronze medals rather than try to complete at a gold rank. The die-hards will strive to complete with the fastest time possible and attain higher ranking on the global leaderboard.
At 800 Microsoft Points, Warp is well worth the cost. Even though the game can be completed in a small time frame, achievements and challenges offer additional gameplay.
Coming this March from Madman are a wide and varied list of films to tantalise evryones tastes, whether you are a fan of romance, thrillers, documentaries, or combinations of the aforementioned theres simply something for everyones tastes.
Starting off the list is “Bill Cunningham New York”, an in-depth look at the humble NY fashion photographer who accepts no money for his work, thus maintaining creative control and breaking all moulds and pre-conceptions of rich greedy intrusive paparrazzi types.
Next up is Sylvain Chomet and Jacques Tatis “The Illusionist”, which follows an aging magician with even more antiquated tricks trying to adapt to a changing world. Somewhere along his journey the magician encounters Alice, and despite their language barriers they form a bond and enter learning curve into human connections.
“Perfect Sense” is the most intriguing of the group, starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green, whose strengthening love for each other is having a profound effect on the rest of the world by weakening the populations sensory perceptions. Perfect Sense introduces us to a world that has to been forced to adapt to life without smell, taste and other vital traits, an intersting concept which will atract much interest with apolcalyptic fans.
From director Rachid Bouchareb, who has brought along his Days of Glory Cast is “Outside the Law”, the intertwining story of 3 Algerian brothers who after having to flee their homeland and living vastly seperate and differing lives, are reunited in Paris after years apart. Next up is the quirky “Abel”, about a young boy, who on returning home from a psychiatric ward, believes himself to be the father of his family. All is well and the family accepts the odd situation until their real father returns and things start to get interesting.
Making up the rest of the March releases are some exceptionally interesting documentaries including, “Tents”, which traces the origins of the NY fashion phenomena, particularly in relation to the Bryant tents, which finally consolidated eveyrthing under one roof, “Ben Lee’s Catch my Disease”, which documents the life of the popular and secretive Sydney based singer Ben Lee, as well as Persecution Blues about the impact of the closing of the Tote music venue in Melbourne. Also available early in the month is Battle Royale 2, It takes a Thief Season 2, The Unknown War, Sherlock Holmes in New York, Danger 5, and my personal favourite Megafactories which gives an in-depth look into many huge well known companies such as Coke and Lego.
There are also 2 new Anime release to add to your collections. The first is Bleach The Movie 3: Fade to Black and Mardock Scramble – The First Compression Complete Collection.
2K Games and Yager Development’s upcoming Spec Ops: The Line has finally received an official release date: June 26 in North America and June 29 internationally. The latest game in the long running Spec Ops series, Spec Ops: The Line sets to explore a war torn, sandstorm-ravaged Dubai.
Those that pre-order the game will automatically receive a free upgrade to the Premium Edition, which includes a slew of multiplayer perks and in-game content:
First week double XP
Early access to AK-47
Early access “Officer” Rank
FUBAR Pack
Spec Ops: The Line is set to be released on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.
Game Show returns as Spike takes the reigns yet again, Phil gets a Vita, Australia finally gets an R18+ rating officially approved and we for some strange reason can’t stop referencing Charlie the Unicorn.
Cast: Alexis Ayala, Philip Federico, Ben Webb & Michael Marr
