You heard right, Hunter fans, Crunchyroll have today announced that they have secured simulcasting and streaming rights for the most anticipated new anime of the Fall 2011 Season, Hunter x Hunter.
This is a surprise announcement coming at the eleventh hour, with only a day until the massive premiere of new series tomorrow on the 2nd of October, 2011.
Hunter x Hunter will be simulcast 60 minutes following the original Japanese airing. Talk about efficient! The series will be available in the following territories: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. So if you live in one of those lucky countries, rejoice!
Be sure to check out the first episode (titled Journey x And x Friends) of Hunter x Hunter starting tomorrow, it’s not to be missed!
Been wanting a nice way to spend some of those Club Nintendo coins? You’re in luck. Nintendo have recently added a set of 12 hand-drawn cards that take us through the history of their handheld line. From the Game & Watch to the 3DS, it’s all there in crisp, photo form with information about each handheld detailed on the back.
This whole set is currently going for just 300 coins. I know it’s just cards, but little things like this really make a good conversation piece and if you are a handheld buff, this set is sure to please, regardless. You can be taken to Club Nintendo’s page for the item here.
It was stated, shortly after Dead Island’s release, that Techland’s first priority would be to fix any bugs that they come across and other issues that hinder player enjoyability. Now it appears that this priority has caused the delay of the game’s DLC plans as earlier today it was revealed via Dead Island’s Facebook page that the Bloodbath Arena DLC was delayed.
The post states that the company is “working hard to make the Bloodbath Arena DLC available as soon as possible. However, due to further polishing of the main game the finalization of the DLC code has been delayed. We know that many fans are eagerly waiting for it and apologies for any inconvenience. We expect to announce a release update next week.” While delays for DLC, especially one that is free to people who bought the game new is always a bad thing, but fixing bugs should always be a companies main priority.
Soccer may not be the biggest thing for residents of the United States, but it is a huge thing all over the world. FIFA Street was an attempt to spice up the sport and give fans something different from the standard soccer gameplay. EA revealed back at Gamescom that they were planning to reboot the series and release it some point in 2012.
It appears that the release window has been narrowed significantly as VG247 reports. Last night at FIFA 12’s launch event in the UK EA revealed this fact and also copies of FIFA 12 contain a pamphlet with the new release window for the reboot. So what do you think they will change in the upcoming soccer reboot?
Those hoping to hit up Serious Sam: BFE next month on October 18th are about to be a little disappointed because Croteam has announced that the game has been delayed a month to receive a bit of extra polish and will be released on November 22nd instead. Davor Hunski, Chief Creative at Croteam said that “The game is playing wonderfully and looks great, so we are going through to balance the difficulty and fine tune the code to eliminate any technical issues at launch.”
This is a good sign honestly, as games that are released early despite having a few bugs are usually poorly received despite high hopes. So although the delay is a bit untimely, it will hopefully benefit everyone in the end when this PC exclusive release occurs.
Overview
When you have an anime that ranks in the top 3 on Japan’s Oricon sales chart and spawns not one, not two, but five singles that take Japan’s musical charts by storm, you know you’ve got something special. Enter: Angel Beats! an anime that is a force to be reckoned with. Angel Beats! combines many elements of various anime genres, mixing together well to make something truly special much likeSummer Wars did earlier this year. Now Angel Beats! arrives on Australian shores thanks to Siren Visual, complete with all 14 episodes and with both the Japanese and English audio tracks. So what are you waiting for? Hurry up and see what all the fuss is all about!
Plot and Character Development
The opening scene of Angel Beats! hits you hard within the first few seconds: protagonist Otonashi Yuzuru wakes up dead. He finds himself trapped within the afterlife, where other students his age exist until they can resolve emotions that held them down during their lifetime. The audience is then introduced to the unique concept of The Afterlife Battlefront, a group of rebellious students led by Yuri Nakamura, who purposely try and stay in this world in fear of being reborn as anything other than human. By doing so, they declare war on God and although hesitant at first, Otonashi is recruited as a member of The Afterlife Battlefront. Angel Beats! boasts an unique setting but what helps the premise excel is the execution of both it’s humour and it’s heart-felt moments. While these two contain opposite tones, both are done exceptionally well and the transitions between the two are done so smoothly it never appears out of place, forced or squeezed in. One particularly interesting theme throughout is in the afterlife nobody can die. This leads to many unique instances of slap-stick comedy, as well as some crazy battle tactics and over-the-top situations. Almost every character has their own catchphrase and often results in some reoccurring jokes, most of which just become more humorous overtime.
Angel Beats! has many intense moments pushing it’s story forward, filled with both emotional and physical obstacles that the Battlefront must overcome, and should have otaku at the edge of their seats through its many exciting plot twists and cliffhangers concluding most episodes. However in some instances this can be a downfall of Angel Beats!, as there are one or two misleading moments where a character may misunderstand something that will lead to building up suspense, resulting in either nothing or very little which can be unsatisfying to viewers. This however happens on rare occasions throughout the 14 episodes of the series and is mostly overshadowed by it’s brighter moments. Possibly the biggest highlights of Angel Beats! are the episodes that are dedicated to exploring the often tragic backstories of the Battlefront’s members such as episode #3 My Song. These episodes can be very touching and breaks up the humour nicely as well as creating a deeper understanding of the setting, plot and characters which results in a lot of well established character development.
There are many interesting characters in Angel Beats!. Yuri, leader of the Battlefront steals the spotlight with every scene she appears in, with attractive confidence and leadership which is second to none. Although Otonashi Yuzuru is the main protagonist, for earlier episodes Yuri seems to drive the story forward, and as Otonashi begins to understand her, so does the audience. Otonashi is also a quite and interesting character, but his backstory will engage viewers more as the series progresses as he recovers from a case of amnesia. Arguably the most entertaining character development seen throughout the series is with the Battlefront’s main antagonist, Angel/Kande Tachibana, who is surrounded in mystery and undergoes many changes throughout the series. Many members of the supporting cast stand out as well such as comedic relief characters such as TK who loves dancing and speaks in broken English and pop culture references, and music groupie Yui who is loud and hyperactive who shares an interesting love/hate relationship with Hinata who is closest to Otonashi. There are a few other engaging cast members in the series such as Ayato Naoi who deserves a notable mention, but many of them do not get as much character development and exploration into their backstories as fans would appreciate. If only the series was a bit longer, the writers would’ve been able to go deeper into them. While a few characters of this massive cast do blend into the background, most stand out and prove to be very entertaining characters, it’s just unfortunate not all of them are shown in as much depth as others. With that being said however, the ones that do go in depth with their backstories are told wonderfully.
The biggest flaw of Angel Beats is that it unfortunately tries to squeeze in too many ideas into only 14 episodes. It swiftly changes from a comedy, to a romance, to an action/adventure filled with mystery and suspense, to it’s major focus on musical performances, to touching on religious beliefs and morality among many other topics that often don’t go into enough depth to fully satisfy the viewer. Instead the audience just gets a taste of what could’ve been flawless if only it had more episodes. The beginning of the series is much more a comedy and slowly becomes more and more of a serious action/adventure as it goes on, but the change feels natural and humour does continue throughout each episode so it still feels like your watching Angel Beats!. What doesn’t work however is the focus on the romance element of the anime does feel a little a bit rushed in at the end. This is easily forgivable though, as the climax and the final unexpected plot twist is really touching and does make a very satisfying ending to the anime itself.
Animation
Simply put, Angel Beats! looks superb and it’s pretty clear it’s had an impressive budget behind it. While some character designs are clearly more creative than others, most of the main cast are very memorable in both their character design and personalities. The colours and shading capture the emotion of each scene accurately, which is important as the heart-felt moments are often what drives the anime forward. Action scenes contain very fluent animation that are adrenaline-filled and are just as hyperactive of the rest of the show. However the animation shines it’s brightest in it’s many Sakuga scenes, which are mostly during musical performances. These really capture your attention and even viewers such as myself who aren’t fans of J-pop music will find themselves engaged in these scenes as the animation is truly outstanding here.
Audio
Music is a major focus in Angel Beats, and it’s obvious just from the opening theme with Angel/Kanade playing a very memorable piano melody in the song My Soul, Your Beats!/Brave Song. But don’t take my word for it, check the Japanese Oricon weekly singles chart, where it debuted at #3, and sold about 80,000 copies in its first week of sales! Throughout the series a band known as Girls Dead Monster are featured throughout, and their songs are played in Japanese. Oddly, this never seems out of place in the English dub. Five singles were released in Japan from Girls Dead Monster, a testament to how great the composition of these tracks are. On top of all this the English dub is just as great, notably the performances by Blake Shepard as Otonashi and Brittney Karbowski as Yuri. One fun aspect that deserves a mention is the voicing of TK in both the Japanese and English dubs by Michael Rivas and Adam Van Wagoner respectively. The dialogue of this comedy-relif character is awfully bizarre as he’ll only say slightly understandable English phrases, often quoted from pop culture. Whilst he speaks full English in the English dub, he speaks in just almost fluent English with only a few Japanese words thrown into the Japanese dub. He is a character surrounded in mystery, and in the Japanese dub never mentions why he doesn’t speak much Japanese, just that ‘he’s a mystery.’ It is a lot of fun swapping between each dubs and hearing the minor differences in his voice, so it adds a bit of unique re-playability to it.
Verdict
Angel Beats! takes the best from multiple worlds and attempts to squish it all into one, and surprisingly this interesting mix works for the most part. It’s downfall however is that many of these awesome ideas are not realised in as much depth as they have the potential in doing so, due to the series being so short. However, what is there is truly wonderful, as it presents and conveys these ideas remarkably well and fits them together so they do feel natural. What’s there is simply put, amazing. The emotive, heart-felt scenes are nothing short of beautiful, the action will have your heart beating out of your chest and the humour should be appealing to even those who aren’t big on anime-styled humour, so it’s just jumping from one great idea to the next. Angel Beats! is a must watch for any fan of anime, pick it up now from Siren Visual!
PROS
Great mix of adventure, action, emotive drama and comedy
Great voice acting in both English and Japanese dubs
Awesome Soundtrack
Really satisfying conclusion
Nice animation and superb Sakuga scenes
CONS
Needs to be longer in order to properly explore all it’s interesting themes
Some characters have much more interesting designs and backstories than others
Romance element is wonderful, but feels a bit squeezed in
Over the past 5 years, we have assisted Mama in cooking, crafting, gardening, and babysitting. All that work though calls for a bit of a vacation and gaming’s #1 mother is now ready to take the whole family camping in Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures. While this title still thrives on participating in mini-games to complete tasks, it also changes things up with a bit as players can take control of one of Mama’s children and explore each campsite. So how does Mama’s trek to the great outdoors add up? Here is my review for Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures.
Gameplay
Aside from the whole “camping” premise, there really isn’t a plot to follow within Outdoor Adventures. Instead, the player must take the role as Mama’s child and perform certain chores to make this trip a delightful one for the whole family. The campsite Mama chose is quite a large one and is made up of several different locations such as a forest, a beach, and a mountainous area for the player to explore, with each location broken down into a set number of stages.
I would really say that this entry in the series plays out as two halves throughout the entire game. A good portion of the time, the player must use the touchscreen (or D-Pad) to control their kid and “find” Mama or Papa within each stage in order to progress. Luckily, these touchscreen controls are responsive and the top-down view makes it easy to explore. Your kid is also equipped with 8 hearts for an HP bar of sorts, as there are enemies such as crabs, monkeys, and other outdoor creatures that can cause a bit of damage when crossed. These foes play a much larger role in the “exploration” part of the game though, as they make worthy obstacles for fetch quests.
At times, players will have to perform tasks such as feeding animals that block paths or collecting a set number of items for Mama or Papa. To do this, you must ensure no wild animals touch you as your load will drop to the ground and the whole process will then have to be repeated. This was one of the only true frustrations I had with Camping Mama, as the kid you play as is not very speedy and is very prone to getting hit by the many creatures within the game. I think part of this was also my impatience for the mechanic though, as I later learned that each animal’s walking pattern was meant to be studied so players can safely travel through using proper timing. It’s a lot smarter of a scheme than it appears to be, but I still found it to be one of the least enjoyable elements within the entire experience.
If anyone has every played a Mama title, they should definitely know about the vast amount of mini-games that are packed inside. Camping Mama is no different, as there are over 100 to complete in all that each have their own distinct feel and format. To access one of these mini-games, the player must trigger an event within each stage such as running into an animal, reading a sign, or by simply finding a parent. Some of these mini-games revolve around cooking, while others have the player interact with the many animals found throughout the environment. Due to the mass variety, I could literally ramble on all day about every game that can be found, but to shorten things a bit, we’ll just go over a few for now.
The cooking games usually consist of the player having to slice, prepare, and cook foods on the touchscreen. Now I won’t go into too much detail about these moments as if you played any Cooking Mama title, you should know what to expect as the same kind of mechanics are utilized here. Taking a page out of Crafting Mama’s book, some activities will have the player craft an item from the many elements found in the wilderness. If the player has to make a slingshot for example, they must cut their stick, slice through leather, and then attach the elastic band in a multi-part game. The other mini-games have you mix it up with the animals and outdoor environment as well, with the likes of tossing bananas to hungry monkeys, tracing a picture in sand before a wave washes everything away, and dodging enemy boars in a jumping challenge. While some of these can be a bit dull, I enjoyed well over half of what I played as Camping Mama makes each mini-game easy to pick up and play while giving fans of the series some new elements to toy around with.
Even after you complete the 36 stages, there still is quite a lot left to do thanks to the many collectibles scattered about the campsite. Completionists are sure to love all of the hidden badges and items thrown in as well, as these alone give a ton of incentive to revisit past locations. A challenge mode is also available, letting campers replay mini-games to best their star ranking. With all of the mini-games, exploration segments, and content added in, I can easily say this very well may be the largest and most fulfilling Mama game to date.
Graphics/Audio
If you enjoy crisp and colorful visuals oozing with that classic “Mama” charm, you will be in paradise on this camping trip. Mama and Papa still look about the same, so not much can be said on their character designs, but the animals and varied environments come together perfectly create an upbeat and jolly atmosphere. I did find some of the design choices a bit odd and unfitting at times though with the likes of penguins waddling around in a sunny and green landscape though, but even with that, most should have no problem wanting to give the new exploration segments a full run-through. Animations are also delightful as Mama still has her same flaming eyes and seizure like shaking to scare younger players into giving it their all for each activity.
Over the years, I have always wondered why Mama is voiced by someone who sounds as if they just learned the English language, but I think I have now accepted it as just another trademark that makes her character so endearing. Honestly though, who doesn’t love to hear “Even Better than Mama!” after successfully completing a mini-game? The little boy in the game isn’t given the same detail with dialogue, as he mainly just squeals “OUCH!” when in pain. As far as music goes, nothing is too memorable, but I can say that the melodies provided did a decent enough job at complimenting the new outdoor locales and are sure to make any younger player enjoy the experience until the very end.
Overall
Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures delivers the same charms and solid gameplay that the Mama loyal should expect while introducing new elements that keep the overall experience fresh. There are a few moments of frustration with the new exploration mechanic, but most will easily look past these flaws and immerse themselves in all of the mini-games that truly capture that outdoor theme. I know some cast off this series as a whole due to it’s casual nature, but you can’t deny that the franchise’s ability to branch out has kept Mama as one of the most prominent video-game personas of this generation and this title just adds to that already impressive resume. So pack up those sleeping bags and get ready to gather around the fire, as Mama’s latest outdoor outing is well worth the trip and free of any pesky misquitos.
Produced by: Sunrise Distributed by: Madman Entertainment Media: DVD Genre: Action, Sci-fi, Mecha Runtime: 121 minutes, 1 DVD Rating: M Available from:Madman $29
PREMISE
The Gundam anime series has long been known for receiving mixed receptions when introduced into the Western markets. While widely loved by the Japanese anime audiences, the series is not as well known by western audiences, as it often has to compete with the likes of Transformers and other giant robot oriented TV spots. However, the two seasons of the Gundam 00 series were widely embraced as one of the best mecha anime series to date, rivalling in popularity to series such as Code Geass and Gundam Wing. As one of the latest series Gundam 00 presented a highly original story, constructed an entirely new universe in which it could be told, presented an absolutely kick-ass soundtrack and presented viewers with some of the greatest animated mecha battles to ever grace the screens of the audience.
As an avid fan of the Gundam 00 series, I was naturally very eager to see how the story could be expanded upon, and excited about the prospect of a grand finale worthy of what is probably my favourite anime to date. The Gundam 00 movie A Wakening of the Trailblazer continues the story of the Gundam pilots of the 00 series as the creators of the Gundam multiverse venture for the first time into a realm never before explored in an Gundam series: First Contact. Not only is A Wakening of the Trailblazer the first original Gundam movie since Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, but it is also the very first Gundam series to introduce an alien race into the continuity of the story. To many hardcore Gundam fanatics, this decision will no doubt leave some speculating as to how successful this venture might be. Will the story be a worthy ending to one of the most loved Gundam series in existence, or will this venture into unknown territory yield disappointing results?
‘2314 A.D.
The new government of the Earth Sphere Federation is carrying out a program of peaceful reconciliation, and preparing for the appearance of the Innovators who will lead the human race into a new era. But the return of a derelict Jupiter exploration ship marks the beginning of an unprecedented crisis. What are the alien entities known as Extraterrestrial Living-metal Shape-shifters? What do they want? And will Setsuna F. Seiei and his fellow Gundam Meisters be able to answer these questions before humanity is wiped out?
Featuring the popular heroes from the TV series in an all-new original story, and depicting the first appearance of alien life forms in the Gundam saga, this theatrical feature will amaze you with its breathtakingly animated spectacles of space combat and invite you to mind-expanding adventures throughout the solar system and beyond!‘ – DVD Blurb
STORY
The events of the movie pick up where the series was pretty much left as the end of Gundam 00 season 2. With the war for humanity’s reformation over, the Gundam Meisters of the private armed organisation Celestial Being have gone their separate ways. Some choosing to keep fighting to maintain the peace, others choosing to travel. The finale of 00’s second season was one which was loved by many of the fans. It did an excellent job at providing both an epic final confrontation and an epilogue to the fates of all of the significant characters. The film opens at a point 2 years after the final confrontation. Celestial Being is still taking routine missions to keep the peace, but has widely been accepted as the a group of heroes amongst humanity. Information is now shared openly between them and the United Earth Federation, and humanity readies itself for further exploration into the stars with a new race of humans known as Innovators.
It is at this point when an idealised form of peace is realised that a new threat presents itself. A long lost exploration cruiser sent to Jupiter 130 years prior suddenly makes a re-appearance. Parts of the ship crash down to Earth and suddenly a long string of strange events begins occurring across the planet. People begin to report machines suddenly coming to life and consuming human beings for unknown reasons. It is surmised that the entities responsible are in fact, an alien race. The aliens have the ability to shape-shift into various forms of living metal, which earns them the name of Extraterrestrial Living-metal Shape-Shifters, or ELS for short.
With a new conflict brewing on the horizon, and the fate of the Earth at stake, the Gundam Meisters of Celestial Being are once again forced to take up arms, this time not so prevent a war, but rather ensure the survival of Humans and Innovators alike. The entire reason for the armed interventions and reformations they carried out in the prior series’ was to unite humanity for the “dialogues to come” with the races they would inevitably encounter in space. Now the final stage for Celestial Beings plan for reformation has been set. And their final mission about to begin.
For newcomers to the Gundam 00 series, or the Gundam multiverse as a whole, A Wakening of the Trailblazer is not a particularly good place to start. It should be noted that for many who might watch the movie with no background knowledge to the series will most certainly struggle in understanding what is going on, and who the characters are. The concepts, battle techniques, Gundam capabilities, relationships and universal structure are all assumed knowledge. While for fans of the series like myself this isn’t a problem, I can understand it becoming one for other viewers. The assumption of knowledge unfortunately limits the degree in which viewers can immerse themselves within the story.
As a whole, I have to say that unfortunately the story does not hold together as well as one would hope for in a grand finale. The story tends to jump around from place at different stages, and even then, it holds together only just enough to get it across the line. The concept of an alien invasion is presented, but reasoning not provided until the very end. While I understand this is part of the mystery behind the alien race, a little more background information on the ELS would have been nice. I do have to give the creators credit for attempting to integrate aliens into the story, but the execution could have been performed better. And to its credit story did do a good job at addressing underlying themes presented but not expanded on in the series, such as possible romances and the re-use of older mobile suit models. It provided expansion to the story which, as a Gundam fan was good to see. Without giving too much away however, the ending of the story was executed VERY poorly. As the final note that the series would leave on, it left a very bitter taste in my mouth. A clear climax was built up to, but an ensuing confrontation is never realised, and the epilogue is just plain disappointing. I actually found myself creating alternative explanations for the ending scene that would not fully destroy my memories and love for the 00 series. When a movie forces the viewer to do that, it’s an indication of poorly handled storytelling. Ultimately it is a subjective area, but I believe that the 00 series would have been better off story wise being left at the end of season 2.
CHARACTERS
Setsuna F Seiei
The protagonist of both this movie and the 00 series, Setsuna F Seiei is the Gundam Meister that pilots the series’ signature Gundams, 00-Raiser, and subsequently the 00-Quanta for the movie. As the first purebred Innovator , Setsuna garners a huge responsibility not only as an ace Gundam pilot, but also as one of the few people able to reform humanity. Using the power of his 00 Gundam’s twin drive, Setsuna is able to create a space in which the minds of living beings can interact and come to an understanding. His capabilities become a key plot device during the course of the movie. Overall Setsuna appears to be a very tortured character in this movie. Not only is he daunted by the weight of his responsibilities as an Innovator, but also by the fact that his character gets very little development beyond what has been seen in the series. The fights he is engaged in are often lacking and despite his role as the main character, he seems to the get the short end of the stick in terms of screen time.
Lockon Stratos
Lockon Stratos is the master sniper of Celestial Being. Taking on the mantle and codename from his deceased older brother Lockon II (as he’s referred to by the fanbase) pilots the newly introduced Sniper type Zabanya. His attitude is fairly laid back and carefree, but in battle, he is 100 percent serious about getting the job done. Following the finale of season 2, Lockon II has stuck with Celestial Being as a Gundam pilot. Lockon most certainly takes a back-seat in terms of story development during the movie. His entire personal story was resolved close to the end of season 2. Interestingly however, Lockon and Allelujah share what is probably the majority of the combat screen time of the film.
Allelujah Haptism
Allelujah is the Super-Soldier of Celestial Being. As a former military experiment, Allelujah possesses not only abilities with Quantum Brainwaves, similar to that of Innovators, but also a destructive, psychotic split personality. When his other half Hallelujah returns in the movie, he appears just as brutal and dangerous as he was in the series itself. When the two work in unison, they provide devastating, but effective results. Along with his partner Marie Parfacey, Allelujah rejoins celestial being after 2 years of travelling the world. For the movie, they pilot the two-person flight-type Gundam Harute. Like Lockon, Allelujah and Harute Gundam probably receive the most screen time during battle sequences.
Tieria Erde
Tieria is an oddity among the ranks of Celestial Being. His consciousness is transferable from his body to Celestial Beings mainframe computer system, making him a combination of both man and machine. When he reappears in the movie, he has created a new, identical looking body for himself to assist his allies in taking on the ELS threat. Piloting the newly developed Assault type Gundam Raphael, he re-joins the fight, much to the delight of the fans. However, his character suffers from similar issues to Setsuna in that his role in the story has been drastically reduced from what it was in the series.
Others
The Gundam 00 movie is filled with too many characters to comment on, but for those who have watched the series, many will be happy to note the return of a majority of the characters from the series, as well as a few introductions to completely new characters. Minor characters such as the Setsuna’s rival Graham Aker and Celestial Being’s Feldt Grace receive a good deal of attention and development, while others like Saji Crossroad take a back seat for a good deal of the ride. The new characters are also a degree confusing, especially one of the scientists named Meena Carmine, who is a dead ringer for the psycho-queen Nena Trinity from the series.
Ultimately it feels like the presentation of characters is trying to do it’s best to stick to the continuity of the universe, which is admirable. Had many of them been omitted entirely, the movie would be accused of not remaining faithful to the ongoing plot. One might criticise the movie for having an over abundance of characters, but I feel that chances are, if one are interested in seeing the movie, then they probably already have a good background knowledge of the characters and story as it is so far. Whether or not the character appeals work for certain viewers will ultimately be a subjective matter to how familiar they are with the already existing material.
AUDIO / VISUAL
Despite the flaws that occurred with A Wakening of the Trailblazer’s story and execution, the visual designs and audio features were absolutely stellar. One thing that can never be said of this movie is that the battles are lacking. The battle scenes depicted are intense, high-speed and buffered with plenty of laser blasts, beam swords and explosions. The battles in which the Gundam’s themselves are involved are the most fun to watch. The combination of both anime styled art for the mobile suits and the metallic 3-dimensional CGI for the ELS forces provides a great contrast between the human-like mobile suits and the inhuman nature of the alien race. The visual designs of the mobile suits of the film also adheres very strongly to the types of suits and evolutions of different machine models from the series. Naturally, with 2 years, passed, one would expect to see some degree of difference. And while the battles are intense and numerous, they are also very well drawn and animated to the extent that viewers will pretty much always be able to tell what is going on, so that the battle scenes are not simply reduced to explosion-fests akin to the Transformers live action films. The fight banter is well fleshed out and individualised for each character and suit, and the special effects added to the battles are highly satisfying to watch.
The designs of the new mobile suits is an area I also feel garners a commentary, especially in regards to the Gundams themselves. I really particularly like the designs of Lockon’s Zabanya and Tieria’s Raphael. Both have taken the designs of the formerly goofy looking Cheridum and Seraphim Gundams and turned them into newer, more badass versions, outfitted with new weapons, armour and abilities. However, Allelujah’s Harute really looks and feels no different from the old Arios model from season 2. Most disappointing of all however is the flight of 00-Quanta. After a huge degree of build up regarding the new capabilities of the 00-Quanta, which looked a heck of a lot like a re-designed, twin drive Exia Gundam, the viewers are shown next to nothing of it. It appears only for a brief moment, but never engages in a satisfactory form of combat, which I found pretty disappointing, especially given the epic build up given to it.
The audio soundtrack however, matches the movie very well. The film takes much of the iconic battle and background music from both seasons 1 and 2 and re-releases them as slightly edited, but far more epic sounding versions. The new Trans-am power up theme had me stuck to the screen the moment it began playing. The sound effects are similarly ported over from the series to maintain the continuity and flow of the universe. The voice acting is also an area which I feel the movie did a good job in perfecting. One of the largest debates that still rages on between anime fans the English vs. Japanese dubs of the soundtrack. Similar to seasons 1 and 2, the movie does a great job and translating the vocals into English with the Western vocal cast. Brad Swaille returns and does a superb job as Setsuna F Seiei, capturing the very essence of his character that we loved to see from moments in seasons 1 and 2. Regardless of which side of the debate you find yourself on, the DVD does provide for both English and Japanese dubs. But as far as the English dub is concerned, it is performed very well, barely even editing story or voice segments to any unacceptable degree.
CONCLUSIONS
As the grand finale to the Gundam 00 series, one could most certainly leave out the “grand” part of that description. The story presented, while an expansion into areas of interest for the fans, ultimately did not pay off. The plot barely holds together, and the resolution and ending to the story of the 00 series were highly disappointing. However, despite the criticisms that one might have, one should still see the film for what it was: an experiment. For the Gundam series to venture into the realm of extraterrestrial contact, I feel that doing so must have been considered a gamble on the part of the creators. Ultimately I viewed the film as an experiment that yielded negative results. While still a Gundam movie, it was no ‘Endless Waltz’. While it is my personal opinion that the Gundam 00 continuity could have been left without A Wakening of the Trailblazer, the film itself is still an intense experience and hugely entertaining. The mecha battles are performed spectacularly and in the end it is still a fun film to watch through for any Gundam fan.
Now, what do you get when you mix a chicken in a very bad mood, a collection of different weapons, a totalitarian governement headed by penguins and a thirst to bring it down? You get Ratloop Asia’s Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, announced for release on the PSN. The game will hatch upon the world on October 18th at the price of US$11.99.
This platform adventure game follows the exploits of Hardboiled Chicken, a rebel who’s ultimate goal is to take down authority… I mean the penguin government of Albatropolis. He wants to take down the head penguin, who has become a totalitarian stooge running the city to the ground. There is also a co-op storyline. You and a friend will become two budgies on a mission to save the general’s daughter.
So, what can we expect from Hardboiled Chicken and his mission of mass destruction:
15 Chapters in the Solo Campaign.
10 Chapters in the Co-Op Campaign.
An assortment of puzzles throughout the levels.
Stereoscopic 3D support.
Mini-stories about Hardboiled’s past and the truth behind the penguin leader and his government.
Various weapons, including pistols, shotguns, Uzis, MP5s, M60s, AK-47s and the ultimate weapon… Brain Bugs!
Exclusive music from indie band New World Revolution plus unlockable music videos.
This game has only been announced for a US release. So, are you going to save the city from a crazed up penguin and its penguin filled government? Sounds like some penguins have some explaining to do, but even then, Hardboiled Chicken might not give them the chance.
Com2Us have today released a new game for purchase on iOS devices titled Piggy Adventure. As part of the Piggy Adventure release event you can purchase the game for a limited time price of 99 cents on the iTunes store here.
Piggy Adventure is a puzzle game that features 3 cute animals named Steezy, Haden and Moochew, that have the goal of bringing back colour to the world of Avalon. Through physics based puzzles, Piggy Adventure is sure to challenge even the most intelligent gamer, with over 40 mind-bending puzzles and 40 achievements to match.
Not only that but Piggy Adventure features social media integration, leaderboards and level recordings that can be uploaded directly to Youtube. With so many amazing features, you definitely do not want to miss out on Piggy Adventure. Get it while it’s hot!
