For those that have been eagerly awaiting the return of the highly acclaimed Diablo series to the gaming market, many will be quite pleased to know that the official Diablo 3 community site has now gone live on Battle.net. Some might wonder how the community site differs from the Main newspage on Blizzard’s main page.
Like other promotional community sites for upcoming video games, the site provides fans with a large variety of media releases, forums, fan-art and community sections, and even competitions. And it must be said, Blizzard and the Battle.net community certainly know how to make interesting contests: Including a writing competition, and a Beard Growing contest in the likes of the Medieval settings of the Diablo universe! But even if you’re not up for engaging with other fans in Diablo 3, then you should still check out the Game Details page, which promises to provide a huge wealth of information regarding the playable character classes, items, crafting and in-game NPC characters and allies. Most of the specifics aren’t online yet, but it’s still worth adding to your internet browser’s “favourites” tab.
Heck even if you’re not a huge Diablo fan yet, it is still worth the time to check it out. It’s just what us gamers need to truly get psyched for what is looking to be one of the hugest game releases of all time.
You may remember that late last year, NIS America and Imageepoch entered into a partnership with one another. Despite their being news of Imageepoch developing multiple games in Japan however, no news was announced regarding the potential outcome of this partnership and what it meant for fans of Japanese games. It certainly seems like it is good news, as today NIS America announced that they have acquired the license of Black Rock Shooter: The Game and will be working on bringing it over to North America in the future.
Black Rock Shooter: The Game is a PSP title and currently has no release date but Jack Niida, producer at NIS America says that “this is a title that many fans have been waiting for and it definitely lives up to the hype” and that they are “working hard to get it out as soon as possible.” Black Rock Shooter: The Game takes place in 2032, years after Earth had been devastated by an alien attack. BRS is an android specifically built for battle, unfortunately by the time she was activated, only twelve humans remain alive on Earth…
Eden of the East: Paradise Lost Studio: Production I.G. Publisher/Localization: Madman / FUNimation Release Date: August 23, 2011 Price: $34.95 Blu-ray – DVD – Buy Now!
Overview:
While most anime are created by using a previously created work, such as a manga or light novel, as a building block or as a source, other anime are entirely original works. Such was the case with Eden of the East back when it first aired in 2009 by Project I.G. studios. The anime not only was an original creation, but it has also caused the creation of two separate theatrical releases, the first releasing shortly after the anime finished up in Japan and the other near the beginning of 2010.
Now Eden of the East’s second movie, Eden of the East: Paradise Lost, has made its way to North America courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment. Those reading below should know that this is not a review on the entire series, but the second movie and are recommended to watch the first movie, if not the entire anime series itself first before jumping into the second movie.
Story:
As I just mentioned, Eden of the East is quite a long series, and with this second movie it will come to a close. The first movie, The King of Eden, took place roughly half a year after the events in the anime itself, and found Saki searching for the since disappeared Takizawa. Once she discovered that he was in New York City, she found that he was once again without his memory.
The Seleção (special selected people given 10 Billion Yen to originally save Japan) have begun to move against Takizawa, not only targeting both him and Saki, but also those close to him. Paradise Lost picks up near the end of King of Eden, where Saki and Takizawa are riding a private jet back to Japan, though once again it seems that Takizawa has lost all memory once again.
Thus begins the potentially final story for Eden of the East; as the once again memory-less Takizawa not only has to regain his lost memories, but also finally put an end to “the game” that every Seleção has become wrapped up in. I will not go into further detail as to what this final storyline will be, as doing so would be a disservice to those who have watched Eden of the East since the beginning. Though I will mention that the illusive and mysterious Mr. Outside makes his appearance in a way that not many would have expected.
Though along the way, many secrets will be revealed and loose ends are tied up, but those who have watched the entire series will remember Eden of the East to be one of the most intriguing, if not at times convoluted, storylines they will experience. The ending should satisfy most viewers as it not only is fitting for the show’s premise, but also helps solve the biggest challenge posed by “the game” that Mr. Outside originally proposed.
There is a small problem with Paradise Lost however; albeit one that should be expected. Eden of the East: Paradise Lost is the final movie in a long series spanning both anime and a separate movie. Considering the fact that this movie picks up nearly exactly where The King of Eden left off, means that those who have not seen the first movie, let alone the anime series itself, will be sitting in the dark as to what events will be occurring. For fans who have been watching the entire series, this isn’t a problem in the slightest, however for those who were to purchase this DVD/Blu-ray without prior knowledge they would be utterly lost with what they were watching, as little is actually explained as that has already been done in past media and find themselves jumping in at a point as deep as the Mariana Trench.
Artwork:
It should come as absolutely zero surprise when I mention that Production I.G.’s animation work is simply outstanding in this final release. Not only was the show itself already receiving higher production values than your average anime due to being a movie release, but they really outdid themselves with the quality this time around. The level of detail is simply gorgeous and I found no animation flaws as the animation quality was quite fluid.
The character designs retain their same appearance and not much has changed in their appearances, though that is for the benefit of the show. There is a decent amount of CGI used in the show which looks decent, though it does stand out heavily from the beautifully detailed backgrounds that Paradise Lost presents at nearly every turn.
Audio:
Eden of the East: Paradise Lost comes with both the original Japanese and the English dubs which means you will be able to choose however you prefer to watch your anime. The Japanese dub is well done as would be expected, but what is equally exciting is the fact that the English dub at times is superior to that of the original. The voice work provided by the English cast is something to behold, and those worried about sudden changes in casting, don’t worry, the cast from the past Eden of the East shows return to reprise their roles.
The Opening and Ending songs are both provided by the same band, School Food Punishment, with the opening song named “Future Nova” and the ending called “After Laughter.” What is most impressive actually about the opening music is the very smooth and has an enjoyable beat, while also being placed against some rather impressive CGI for most of the song. The ending “After Laughter” plays while the credits roll along the side. The song is enjoyable and School Food Punishment’s lyrics are uplifting, though have to be read as the song is in Japanese.
Extras:
Eden of the East: Paradise Lost comes with a couple of unique Extras to go along with your rather standard accompaniments. First there are your usual advertising trailers for upcoming or recently released FUNimation works, as well as a trailer for the Eden of the East anime series, King of Eden and Paradise Lost movies. There is also the original Japanese TV commercial for the show as well as a preview for what to expect in the movie.
Besides these relatively standard inclusions, there are also two exceptional additions to the Extra content provided with Paradise Lost. First is a video interview with Director Kamiyama, where a number of questions are asked via textual pop-ups and are then answered by Kamiyama. As one would expect the interview is in Japanese so subtitle reading is necessary, though it is certainly recommended to watch this Extra regardless of your audio preferences.
Finally we have the U.S. Cast Commentary. This commentary plays throughout the entire movie when selected and overrides the actual show audio, meaning you will be watching the show with the voice actors from the English dub of the anime providing commentary as well as discussing their characters and providing insight into the storyline. This is a must see, especially for fans of Eden of the East or for fans of specific English voice actors, as this gives us a chance to hear them out of character.
Overall:
I’ve mentioned several times over the course of this review that Eden of the East is not only a complicated story, but also an expansive one as well. Spanning an anime series, one already released movie and finally concluding in Paradise Lost, Eden of the East had plenty of loose ends to tie up and many fans could be concerned with how such an expansive story would be wrapped up.
Personally I believe that fans will find this ending satisfactory as not only does the ending leave the smallest hint that the story could continue if the studio so pleases, but perhaps is best left as a mystery, similar to what much of Eden of the East was.
No not the greatest trailer ever, just a trailer of the NBA’s Greatest for 2k12. 2K Sports have released a trailer showing off this year’s legend lineup, slowly giving us a good picture of what this game is going to be like after a quiet few months. With the lockout depressing any hype for the upcoming NBA season, at least we can still be excited for the game.
The trailer features some moves by the NBA’s Greatest including their teammates, and in case you missed the list of 15 legends that the game will be centred on, check it out here..
With just over a month left until the October 4th release date, we are still eagerly waiting to see how the game will approach the association and live season modes while the stalemate is still in place, but at least we know we can look forward to playing with some of our favourite legends.
A few weeks ago I got the chance to visit the Mana Bar in Melbourne for a hands-on preview of Deep Silver’s upcoming tropical zombie-slaughterfest, Dead Island. The guys from GAME TV were also skulking around, interviewing people and taking in the impressive tiki-zombie decor. A video of the night surfaced yesterday, and this writer can be seen sipping on a Health Potion while trying out the game, and giving tips on chainsaws and shanking your zombified loved ones in the neck. It also shows the level of dedication that the venue and visitors put into giving the night the right atmosphere, with huge tikis, torches, skulls and creepy/awesome zombie makeup all round.
Today marks the beginning of Rift’s half birthday party, a weeklong celebration thrown by developers Trion Worlds to mark the MMORPG’s first hugely successful six months on the planet. Subscribers and newcomers alike are all entitled to a slice of the cake, and in order to make sure there’s cake for everybody, Trion are even asking you to bake your own! That’s right people, there’s a baking contest.
If your icing skills are a bit lacking these days have no fear, there are two other contests out there this week, Ace of Achievements and Screenshot Savant. All three are described by Trion as follows:
• Ace of Achievements – Accomplish as many achievements as possible August 25-31 for the chance to win big!
• Birthday Bakeoff – Dust off that cake tin and get cracking on an epic confectionary creation! Submit pictures via facebook and the official forums of your most Rift-acular birthday cake.
• Screenshot Savant – Submit a screenshot of your character celebrating Rift’s half-birthday in the least appropriate spot (or fashion) for a party in Telara. He or she who parties the hardest wins the prize!
In return for your gaming/baking/partying skills, you have the chance to win one of three desktop gaming rigs for the grand prize (an HP PC, i7 3.2 GHz Quad-Core, Nvidia GTX580, 9GB RAM, 160GB SSD,& 1TB HDD), with runners up recieving NVIDIA GTX460 video cards, and all winners getting six months of game time.
In addition to the contests subscribers will receive extra XP, more PvP Prestige and Favor, plus a special surprise birthday gift (more cake?) . For full details of those bonuses, check out Capsule Computer’s previous coverage of the party.
Rift’s half birthday week runs from 25 – 31 August, and full contest rules and details can be found here .
One more thing. Trion Worlds do not want you to click here. Seriously. Never.
SEGA have released some new footage of the updated match engine for Football Manager ’12 with a particular focus on the goalkeepers.
From what we can see the match engine seems to run a fair bit smoother than the previous edition and goalkeepers have definitely got a bit smarter, acting more like a Casillas rather than a Gomes. This will certainly help take some frustration away from watching the opposition getting a goal out of nothing, however could be more frustrating watching some could-of-been-amazing goals getting saved by a chump.
It will be great to see how consistently smooth the engine runs and from what they’ve shown the engine seems to look quite a bit better.
FM12 will be out at the end of the year, apparently before Christmas available on PC, Mac and also confirmed for PSP.
This week Marvel Studios has released the first trailer for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. The sequel is set several years after the original 2007 Ghost Rider film, Spirit of Vengeance takes a darker approach to takes franchise, and features the Marvel Comic’s villain Blackout as the main antagonist. While the original wasn’t exactly critically acclaimed, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance appears to fix a lot of the issues of the first film, providing a much more demonic presence to the character played by Nicholas Cage, who reports that the film will include a newly filmed origin sequence. There is one eyebrow raising point of the trailer though-Ghost Rider pees fire. Why? Who knows! Chances are somebody at Marvel Studios thought it was a lot more bad ass than it really is. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is set to ride into theatres on February 12, 2012. Get ready and watch out for his Penance Stare!
We’ve seen plenty of screenshots from Arkane Studios’ Dishonored. We’ve seen sneaking ones, environmental ones and even those about to enter combat, but no actual images of combat in progress. That is until now as you can see both above and below. In the latest batch of screenshots released by Bethesda, we see roughly what combat may end up looking like as you play the role of a supernatural assassin.
Besides that screenshot we are also shown a house full of poor people that have died from the plague, only to be wrapped up and left to rot in their homes, as well as rats clustered at the edge of a street light. You can see all of the images below, or you could also visit Dishonored’s website which just launched here.
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and the brilliant mind behind some of our generations most popular and successful electronic products has resigned as CEO of the company. Citing an inability to perform his duties as the primary reason Jobs has called for Tim Cook to be his replacement. The market has reacted as well with Apple shares that were suspended now diving by seven percent.
Jobs has recently survived a battle with pancreatic cancer and has been on medical leave from Apple from the 17th of January. Of the company he has nothing but praise and best wishes saying “I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.”
Jobs will remain on with the company as Chairman of the board, director and employee, and hopefully will remain in good enough health to continue his incredible innovation. He was responsible for bringing an almost bankrupt firm to the second most valuable in the country.
