As many of you may know, you can queue up demos and other content on your Xbox using Xbox.com. However, it was recently discovered that there is a small glitch in the service. If you try to add a demo to your queue but are not logged into the site just yet, you might accidentally purchase the item instead. After you click the “Try Game” button and log in, Xbox.com acts like you tried to buy, giving you a “Confirm Purchase” button. So be sure to read every button from now on so you don’t accidentally buy one of those overpriced “Games on Demand.”
However, this may not be an issue in a few weeks, as Microsoft has promised that their web team is working to fix the problem.
SOPA, one of the worst bills in US history, has garnered the support of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The ESA supports publishers and developers and is responsible for events like E3. However, their support of SOPA has made them enemies of gamers, techies, journalists and ANYONE that uses the internet. After all, SOPA would give governments nearly unlimited power over the Internet if enacted and many are worried that our free speech would go out the window. Nearly everyone (except for content holders and the ESA) agrees that the bill should be killed. Thankfully, Epic Games agrees that this bill should die.
Although they are a member of the ESA, they have written that: “We do not support the current version of SOPA. We are members of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a trade organization that is working with legislators to refine the bill. Epic Games supports efforts that would stop overseas websites profiting from pirating our games, but we have to do that in a way that’s compatible with freedom of speech and due process of law.”
In addition, 38 Studios has also spoken against SOPA, writing: “Based on the SOPA bill’s current structure, 38 Studios believes that the bill requires further restructuring and review to ensure it both preserves rights and protects intellectual properties. Please know that we take this issue very seriously.
Trion also has come out against the proposed legislation saying: “We definitely do not support SOPA. We’ll be calling the ESA about this.
Hopefully each of these companies will get the ESA to change their mind and keep this bill from becoming law.
Rayman Origins was one of the more anticipated and highly rated platformers of last year, and it has already been released on the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii consoles. However, the game is also coming to the Playstation Vita and Nintendo 3DS. Now, we have a release date for the 3DS version of the game, at least in Europe. Ubisoft has confirmed that the game will launch on the portable machine on March 16, 2011. So far, a North American release date for the game has not been set. You can pick up the game onXbox 360, PS3 and Wii right here for 50% off.
Finally! It’s about damn time a game came out where you can play as a crazy cat lady-or at least a character resembling one! Enter Meow Maze by RoboNacho Systems, LLC for iOS devices. In Meow Maze, players control a typical cat-loving old woman (A.K.A half of all Youtubers these days) who must help rescue lost kittens in a bunch of different mazes and bring them home safely to their ‘kittie-momma’! As you know, kittens are very fragile and sensitive creatures, and that means of coarse it’s critical that you perform this task as quickly as possible for some reason. The faster you succeed the more coins you can win and collect, which I assume the kittens are giving you? Don’t question it-Pacman doesn’t make sense either and that’s one of the highest grossing games of all time!
Rescuing kittens will lead to earning coins to upgrading your character, as well as unlocking other levels and gathering items, but the interesting thing about this title is there are infinate levels as they’re all randomly generated each time you play! The game also features both single and multiplayer support as well where players can go head-to-head via Game Center Support.
So is Meow Maze Purr-fect or as fun as cleaning out a dirty litter box? Find out for yourself! In collaboration with Daily App Dream, Meow Maze has been currently FREE for a limited-time promotion since yesterday! So what are you waiting for? Pick it up NOW!
Namco Bandai have certainly chosen an interesting advertising strategy for Soul Calibur V. That being the new advertisement poster you can see to the right, which features a quite impressively endowed woman and something about Soul Calibur V as well.
The advertisement was placed in various Japanese magazines, all of which probably saw an increase in sales this past week.
It is certainly interesting that Namco Bandai would use this type of advertising for the game and it definitely shows the audience they are targeting with the next instalment in the franchise. That audience being predominantly male and probably horny.
Be sure to let us know what you think of this delightful piece of advertising in the shoutbox and comments section.
Because there is a new Kingdom Hearts game coming out for the Nintendo 3DS, Square Enix thought long and hard how they could possibly promote the new title other than having the name Kingdom Hearts attached to it. So after long deliberation they came to a conclusion – plush toys.
That is right, Square Enix plan to release plush toys based upon the ‘Dream Eater’ character from them forthcoming title and I gotta say, it’s too cute too hit with a big oversized Key. So instead of doing that you should buy this plush and cuddle it and have tea parties with it.
The little critter which can be seen to the above is named ‘Wonder Nyan’ and will be priced at ¥3,800 when it is released in Spring this year to coincide with the release of Kingdom Hearts 3D.
The Guild Season 4 Studio: Microsoft Publisher: Siren Visual Format: DVD Release Date: December 16th, 2011 Price: $19.95- Available Here
Overview: The Guild has become an internet phenomenon since it’s first season and continues to be one today. Whether it is it’s unique mixture of parody and tribute of massively multiplayer online role playing game players, or it’s inherent sadness surrounding the lives of it’s titular Guildies, there is a lot to engross yourself in with this popular web-series. So how does it’s fourth season weigh up?
Story:
For those picking this up following the third season, the story picks up right were it left off with Codex having come to the shocking realisation of her betrayal of The Guild. She decides to hide the act of betrayal from The Knights of Good for the mean time and things develop from there.
Fourth seasons are usually the point in which a show has finally found it’s grove and that is definitely the case here with The Guild. In most cases the third season marks the point in which a series solidifies it’s direction for the rest of it’s run, that is also true of the previous season which introduced villains and deeper plotting for the series all of which continue on in the fourth series.
Part of what makes The Guild so enjoyable is the fact that it is so relatable to it’s target audience. The majority of the people watching this show have most likely tangled themselves in an MMORPG at one point or another and this series dives into both the life of players of the game type and of gamers in general. All while not holding any bars when it comes to laying on the darkness underneath it’s zipping jokes and often crude humour.
The series’ heart is the condition of these people, each of them suffers a severe personality dysfunction and is socially inept. There are hints at the pasts of these people or their backgrounds but we never get the full picture and honestly, sometimes its better not knowing. All we need to know here is that these people are socially awkward and they clearly had something in their past that made them that way.
When it comes to humour, The Guild fires away at a rapid pace with each actor having great comedic timing. While some of the jokes fall flat, all in all this series is perfect for a good laugh. Unfortunately though a lot of the jokes rely on the viewer having some knowledge of video-games so some jokes may be lost on certain viewers.
For those who are in the know when it comes to gaming, there is a great amount for them to sink their teeth into when it comes to the content on show in The Guild, whether it be the rich characters and fully realised world, the humour, the drama or anything else The Guild has in it sleeve, there is so much enjoyment to find in this little series.
Visuals and Audio:
When it comes to the visuals of The Guild, there is not a whole lot to say other than that the sets used are incredibly memorable and the world is fully realised by some incredibly well done presentation especially when you consider that this was a web-series. Being what it is, there is enough memorable aesthetics to get a passing grade.
The series does feature a pretty decent soundtrack, with of the course the opening and ending theme song being the most apparent track. While the opening track is catchy and well suited to the series when marathoning through these episodes it can without a doubt become an irritation at times. All in all though there is some pretty good work for the audio when it comes to a web-series.
Extras:
If you aren’t sure about buying this because of episode length, Siren Visual have given you plenty of reason when it comes to special features, with a plethora of goodies for viewers to dive into after they finish watching through each episode. My particular favourite was the stroke of brilliance known as ‘Game On’, which is a Bollywood Music parody, sung by none other than Zaboo and Codex. It’s a great little music video for a song that is incredibly catchy as well as humourous.
Not only that but there are plenty of other great extras packaged in such as ‘The Making of ‘Game On”, a Cheesybeard’s commercial, Audio commentary with the cast, creator, director and producer, a gag reel, a table read and even the script which is readable as a PDF file on your computer.
There is just so much packed into this DVD that it is an absolute steal for Siren’s asking price.
Overall: The Guild, is a great comedy series for gamers. It is sure to bring them a lot of enjoyment as they find themselves relating to these characters more and more with each episode. Unfortunately that is also the problem with The Guild, in that it does not work as well when watched by someone outside of that audience. But the series never tries to be anything it’s not and that is a comedy series made by gamers for gamers. Whether you are a fan of the series already or a new comer, The Guild Season 4 is a great comedic series to spend some time with if you are the person it’s aiming to reach.
Whenever NIS America releases a new anime, their standard practice is to release a premium edition version which, although it comes with a number of special bonuses such as a collectible art case, a fancy fully colored art book as well as the standard 2 disc package. However one of the drawbacks from the premium edition is that they usually cost around $69.99 for the premium edition, usually containing only 12 or 13 episodes.
However the more frugal and long waiting anime fan can now take advantage of NIS America’s new line of standard edition releases. A number of anime that they have released over the past year will be getting a standard edition release on January 24th. This includes Volumes 1 and 2 of Pandora Hearts, PERSONA -trinity soul- and Our Home’s Fox Deity. These volumes will run from $39.99 to $44.99 which is a decent discount for anime lovers. The standard editions will come in one DVD case with your standard box art and a few on-disc special features, so special feature lovers won’t miss out on everything. To pick up or pre-order these standard editions you can do so atNIS America’s online store.
It seems that a change-up may be occurring at Sony, one at the very top ranks of the company. Sony’s current “executive deputy president” Kazuo Hirai seems to be advancing his position and taking over the role of President of Sony. This news comes out of the Japanese website Nikkei as the website reports that Kaz Hirai will be taking over the role in the coming months.
This means that the current president Sir Howard Stringer will be losing at least one of his titles, though he will still be listed as CEO and chairman at Sony, which is still quite a high ranked position within the company. At the moment this can be taken as a likely rumor as Sony has not announced the change of power within the company itself. Still… Nikkei is one of the most respected Japanese news reporters so it is doubtful this is a false report.
Welcome to Capsule Computers’ weekly anime segment, Anime Say! Each week I will be diving into some of the biggest anime related topic of the week and having my say on anything that matters in the anime world.
This week, I go through my top 5 worst anime series of 2011. What anime made the cut for worst anime of 2011? You can check out this week’s Anime Say! below.
Got any questions for Anime Say? Send all your queries to [email protected] and I will do my best to answer anything you can throw at me.
What do you think of the eighth episode of Anime Say? Let us know in the shoutbox and comments section.
