The Summer 2011 release schedule of new downloadable content for Yoostar 2 has been announced and will become available for purchase through Yoostore, Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PlayStation Network. Scenes from blockbusters such as “His Name was John Conner” from The Terminator to the more child friendly “I Love You” song from Barney (brings back childhood memories people?) are included in this batch which will hopefully add more enjoyment and variety to your interactive ‘acting’ experience for you and your friends. New individual scenes and scene packs will become available every Tuesday.
In conjunction with Kinect for Xbox 360 or PlayStation Eye for the Playstation 3, you can act in your favourite movie or tv scenes and portray your favourite characters. With 80 scenes presented in the game and hundreds more available online, you can put on your best award winning performance and tackle movie greats such as The Godfather. If ‘serious’ isn’t your strong point then why not do an ad-lib from a scene in the Hangover? Done correctly, this will surely give you plenty of laughs and get the party rolling!
The Summer 2011 release schedule includes:
Individual Scenes
· American Graffiti – Drag race
· Anchorman – Squirrelly newscast
· Animal House – Bluto impersonates a zit
· Barney – I Love You (song)
· Being John Malkovich – A metaphysical can of worms
· Being John Malkovich – Gender-bender
· Being John Malkovich – I’m a puppeteer
· Being John Malkovich – Job interview at Lestercorp
· Beverly HillsCop – You eat a lot of red meat
· Coming to America – A woman who will arouse my intellect
· Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Voodoo economics
· Kick-Ass – Shut up and pick your weapon
· Kindergarten Cop – Anatomy lesson
· Kindergarten Cop – Mrs. Hagley’s a lot better than you
· Matrix Revolutions – Lock and load
· The Princess Bride – The promise of a woman
· Some Like It Hot – Fuzzy end of the lollipop
· Some Like It Hot – Real hot!
· Some Like It Hot – You own a yacht?
· Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country – My response would be, ‘Go to hell’
· Star Trek: The Next Generation – Live long and prosper (Season 3 – Episode: 23 – Sarek)
· The Terminator – His name was Connor – John Connor
· Trading Places – Broken vase
· War of the Worlds – Bombs don’t unscrew
Video Backgrounds
· Fast Ride Through a Tunnel
· Fireworks Over Cityscape
· Shallow Ocean Floor (free)
Scene Packs
Eddie Murphy Pack
· Coming to America – My job is garbage
· Norbit – That fine, skinny girl
· Nutty Professor – Grandma’s crush
Star Trek – Jean-Luc Picard Pack
· Star Trek: The Next Generation – The first duty of a Starfleet officer
· Star Trek: Next Generation Season 3 – It is a good day to die
· Star Trek: Next Generation Season 6 – Q, you are not God
· Star Trek: Generations –I take it the odds are against us
· Star Trek: Generations – The death of Kirk
Three Stooges Pack
· Brideless Groom – 500,000 bucks
· Disorder in the Court – Take off your hat
· Disorder in the Court – Thanks Courty, you’re a pal
It was already known that LittleKuriboh was attending, but the guest list just got a little bigger as two of the members of Team Four Star a comedy/parody group and the creators of DragonBall Z: Abridged are going to be coming as well which is big news for all those abridged series fans, getting not only LittleKuriboh but Team Four Star as well at the same convention.
The two members coming are Scott “KaiserNeko” Frerichs from Lake Charles, L.A and is the voice behind Zarbon, Burter, Trunks, King Kai and Gregory. He will be joined by Nick “Lanipator” Landis from Minneapolis, MN creator of the Yu Yu Hakusho: Abridged series.
Do you Smell-el-EL-EL-EL! What the Rock….is cookin! THQ have now announced the pre-order incentive for the upcoming WWE ’12, which is due out later this year, and those who put down cash before the game releases will be able to unlock the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. This offer is available at all participating retailers in North America, Australia, and New Zealand and will let players unlock the current version of The Rock, with all his signature moves in tow.
This announcement comes shortly after Gamestop gave word that they will be giving away an alternate attire for The Miz, which is nice I guess for you Miz-heads, but I think The Rock is a much more worthy incentive. Stay tuned as once Amazon, Best Buy, and all the other major retailers reveal their exclusive bonuses for WWE ’12, we will be sure to keep you updated (c’mon Trish Stratus!).
If your in America and are a No More Heroes fan you have been missing out on Heroes Paradise the remake of the original with HD graphics, along with some new gameplay features. It has been out awhile now in other country’s but at last the chance to check it out in America is available.
This week the demo for Heroes Paradise came out on the American PSN store, giving you the chance to try it out utilizing the move controls or if you wish just your normal controller. The games release is still a little while off 16th of August, but the chance to give Travis Touchdown a go in his new HD style is ready and waiting.
Some of Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge’s gameplay mechanics are shown in this trailer courtesy of Alternative Software, European distributors of the game in development at Sidhe. It’s looking to be fairly spot-on thus far; hand-offs, dummies, off-loads, line-outs, rucks and scrums all seem to have been implemented thoughtfully by a team that clearly understands rugby. It may be shaping up to be one of the best interpretations of the sport in a long time, probably since its ancestor, Jonah Lomu Rugby on the original PlayStation.
The game (due for release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in Q3 2011 to coincide with the Rugby World Cup) boasts a wealth of features and content, which include:
-Play in Single Match Mode, Competition Mode, and multi year Career Mode as well as extensive help and Tutorial Mode options available for players new to the sport;
-93 teams and 31 stadia featured including official team and competition licenses for the All Blacks, the Qantas Wallabies, the USA Eagles, Tri Nations, Bledisloe Cup, Super Rugby teams, Aviva Premiership Rugby, TOP 14 Orange, RaboDirect PRO12, ITM Cup, and Ranfurly Shield;
-Enjoy the game with groups of friends locally, or compete in online multiplayer with support up to 4v4 via PlayStation Network, Xbox LIVE, or Steam;
-Create or customise players, teams, and competitions using the extensive customisation tools to shape the game to your own preferences and keep the game fresh season after season;
-Dynamic presentation delivers a true on-field rugby experience with enhanced replay angles, lifelike cut-scenes, rich sound, and real-time commentary from seasoned rugby commentators Grant Nisbett and Justin Marshall.
Perfect Blue, one of Satoshi Kon’s masterpieces, is not only one of the best Anime movies in existence, but also one of the greatest movies in existence. The movie has an excellently written story with some incredibly realistic characters, some of which may not even exist (depending on your interpretation of the film). The film has a fair amount of differing angles in which the movie can viewed from (metaphorically speaking) and may require additional viewings to get the full idea of what is going on with the entirety of the plot. The film follows a small section of life of a Pop-Idol turned actress, Mima, through her transition between these two points. The transistion is not as nice as it could be when she is made to do some unsavoury things in her career as an actress, as well as having several unfortunate events happen around, causing her to question her reality.
This is one of those films where if you watch it straight through from the beginning to end in the first viewing, you will be able to see what was happening, the level of sanity degradation in the characters and how they end up getting to point b from point a. But, when you watch it a second time (which you will feel you need to do at some point), you’ll find that your reasning the first time around may have been a little off and you’ll find yourself trying to reinterpret the way things happen and connect with each other. On your first viewing, you’re almost guaranteed to take all of the dialogue and actions literally, as though it is what is actually happening. But, when you go back, you pick out all the dialogue and all the actions that may not match with the reality of situation, or that may not even actually be being told by those characters at all. Like I remember this instance where the police dude and lady are talking to Mima in a hospital, as per their direction by their script within the movie, but if you listen closely and with the right viewing angle, what they were saying may not have been in the context of the movie (within the film) at all. What if the show they were starring in was actually reality?
Story
Mima is a Japanese Pop Idol who was the star member of the pop trio CHAM. This changes early on when she announces her decision to leave CHAM to begin work as an actress in movies and television shows. Over the course of the film, we see Mima take on various jobs as an actress thyat all begin to kind of meld together into a kind of alternate reality. Only, from what I can tell, we’re viewing most of this film from Mima’s viewpoint, which could mean that we are actually viewing Mima getting caught between two completely different worlds, and maybe even her getting them mixed up.
This state isn’t helped when Mima discovers a website to a blog that covers her day to day to affairs, as though it was written by her. Of course, we know that Mima isn’t very computer literate, as she didn’t even have one up until slightly before visiting the website. What further aggrivates Mima’s condition is when key members of staff invloved with Mima’s acting career all start to die in a murdered fashion. We actually see how a couple of them are killed, and we also get to see that it was possibly Mima herself that did the murdering. Maybe this is what was sending her further and further into insanity?
Mima isn’t the only character with delusions though, her own manager – Rumi – wants nothing more for Mima than to keep herself as a Pop Idol. Rumi even goes so far as to even dress herself as Mima to try and trick the woman into staying as a pop idol. Or was it murder her and take over her life? Such is the confusion brought about by the movie. Another delusional character is Uchida, the guy who runs Mima’s Place (the web blog), he believes that he is the only person for Mima and feels that he is responsible for her safety. This is shown to be a little irrational over the course of the story, where he is seen taking odd jobs at locations that Mima is working and is even convinced by either a fake Mima, or a Mima of his own imagining, to kill what he see’s as an imposter to the real Mima.
The story is filled with events such as these, which go over and build the intrigue and mystery surrounding the confusing events of the entire movie.
Characters
Perfect Blue is filled with many interesting characters, from the members of CHAM to the background cast that shouldn’t stand out but do. Each character has an interesting story to themselves which helps build on the overlying theme that is the movie. I shall briefly talk about each character below.
Mima –
Mima is the main character of the film, and as such, the movie is about her. Mima was the star member of a pop trio called CHAM until she decided to leave the group for her chance to become an actress. Her decision to become an actress has negative implications on her life when her manager and some fans take it upon themselves to try and sabotage her career. During her tenure as an actress, she is called upon to do some unsavory things which may have had an impact on her overall mental wellbeing as well as her goodwill by her fanbase.
Rumi –
One of Mimas managers and a character who acts as a voice of reason towards Mimas career as an actress. She can be frequently seen fighting on Mimas behalf against some of the more unsavory aspects of her career. Though, if you look at the film in the right way, Rumi may be acting upon her own views of how Mima should be seen by the public and maybe not for how Mima herself wants to be seen. She may also be the agent behind some of the murders within the movie.
Uchida (or Me-Mania) –
Me-Mania is the webhost of the popular website, Mima’s Room, as well as an all arounder stalker and shadowy type. He is frequently seen acting on what he believes is best for Mima and her pop group CHAM. He suffers delusions of his own, which may or may not be fatal to himself.
Tadokoro –
Mr. Tadokoro is Mimas male manager. Unlike Rumi, he woudln’t mind seeing Mima make it as an actress and pushes her into doing what he believes would be best for her career as an actress. However, this does not mean that he is not insensitive to her needs, you can see him distressed at points about the kinds of things he gets Mima into. Tadokoro mainly serves as a counterbalance to Rumi and as a driving force behind Mimas change form a pop idol into an actress.
The movie also features an amazing supporting cast, many of which are designed around confusing the viewer while also acting as an anchor between realities. They may also serve as a way of hinting the plot to viewers, depending on how you view the film.
Animation
Modern day Anime seem to have this bright an simplified design, clearly done so to get episodes out weekly so as to keep on schedule. Anime movies tend to be more detailed than their series counterparts, so it’s natural that Perfect Blue has a much better visual quality than anime series of the time. It is also amazingly detailed in comparison to modern anime series, and was at least as detailed as the movies of it’s period.
Everything is amazingly detailed, but it’s not detail that I found I should be commenting on. I found that the movie used certain visual techniques to help identify particular scenes as a certain type of reality. For instance, when the show is showing scenes of Mima in the hopsital while she’s acting, there is some kind of blurring effect used to demonstrate this scene. It is also used in scenes that are linked to this scene.
Overall the animation quality is fantastic, though, there is a noticable shake between frames as you will find with most classic anime movies and series. Though, it is possible that this is a legitimate technique used by the director, but I’m pretty certain it’s just because it is a victim of a by-gone era.
Audio
The Audio in Perfect Blue is of an amazing quality. The audio is mixed very well, with voices and the like never being drowned out by the background sounds or music unless it is essential to the scene for it to do so. Like in a particular scene involving a large crowd and lots of, errr…, unsavory business.
Anime movies and series tend to come from Japan, and as such have a Japanese dub option. The movie also comes with an English dub which is amazingly well produced. I’d say that while there are some things that were changed in the dub, like the arrangement of some lines, nothing of value was lost during translation. Which, in this kind of movie, would have killed the entire story.
Though, of course, for anime purists, the Japanese audio is there and is the way to watch it should you feel the urge to watch it in it’s original format in order to get the complete story. It isn’t required viewing to understand the film, but seeing stuff written in subtitles can help cement some of the concepts into your mind.
Extras
The DVD package comes stocked with amazing extras. The most noticable of these is a lecture on understanding the movie.
Anyone looking to understand this movie should give this a watch. Of course, the film is open to interpretation in any number of ways, this is a good way to compare your own thoughts with someone else. There are some parts I disagree with in the lecture, but I wont get into it here.
The dvd also includes some amazing CHAM music videos as well as trailers and interviews with the cast and producers.
Overall
Overall, Perfect Blue is an amazing film that should be seen by any and all indiviuals regardless of their interest in Japanese animation or animation in general. The movie is an amazing work of art that, not only gets you to question what is going on with the characters, but also what is going on in regards to the events themselves.
If you have not already seen Perfect Blue, or know someone that has not yet seen Perfect Blue, I’d advise you to show it to them ASAP!
Welcome to the NHK Complete Series Tag Line: Welcome to the Conspiracy Produced by: Funimation(US) Siren Visual (AU) Run time: 600 minutes, 24 episodes Language: English, Japanese Genre: Black Comedy, Character-based Drama, Romance, Philosphical Release Date: 22/06/2011 Available for purchase at Siren Visual Online Store ($49.95)
Overview:
There is a cultural phenomenom in Japan known as Hikkikimori or Recluse. It refers to the growing number of young people in Japan who have secluded themselves from society for one reason or another and prefer the warm comfort of their home, only leaving in extreme circumstances. Welcome to the NHK, takes a bold look at the not often spoken of Hikkikimori syndrome and fearlessly explores the life and psyche of a Hikkikimori and sheds light on the brutal reality of reclusive life.
Story:
Welcome to the NHK, tells the story of Tatsuhiro Satou, a recluse living off his parent’s allowance in his unkempt apartment. The idea may leave you wondering how a whole 24 episodes can be squeezed out of this and I’ll admit, I certainly was. But the way NHK goes about telling this story is both brutally honest, heart-breakingly human and most of all intelligent.
Over the course of 24 episodes, we grow to understand Satou, as both a Hikkikimori and as a human in general. He is a man with anxiety, fears, depression and yet through a faint glimmer – hope.
The story is told with such sharp intelligence, it is easy to be swept up in the wonder of it all. From the character interactions to the quiet moments of damning solitude, Welcome to the NHK knows what story it’s trying to tell and never once faulters in doing so. Whether it has it’s characters wishing they were dead, living in filth, longing for a past long lost, becoming addicted to hentai games or even falling in love, NHK will have you glued to the story from start to finish, with the ending leaving you longing for more.
It’s rare to come across a story told with such honest humanity, that to miss NHK would be to miss a story-telling experience. It is without a doubt one of the most true, fiction stories of the past decade. I don’t think I will be forgetting NHK any time soon.
Characters:
With such a brilliant and colourful cast of characters, NHK weaves in and out of each characters mind spill some of it onto our screens for us to see. The characters are each so beautifully crafted it is simply quite an achievement.
I personally found myself deeply engrossed in the happenings of each characters daily lives and feel that each had a satisfying conclusion to their individual storylines. Although they may not have completely changed since the start of the series, that isn’t what signifies their growth over the series. It is the fact that the series ends with a sense of hope for each character. Although they may not have changed their ways too drastically, they definitely are steering towards a brighter future.
The hopes, dreams, sadness, joy and most of all humanity, is what I will remember about these characters. I felt and cared deeply about what happened to them along the length of the series and that is what has resonated with me since watching.
Artwork:
The animation and artstyle are composed superbly and suit the series perfectly. The backgrounds are crafted with such intense detail, to the point that the world is at points more refined than the characters themselves. But this is what works for NHK. It is that contrast between the detailed perfectly crafted world and the ill-defined character models that provide a magnificent juxtaposition for what this series is about.
Although the characters may be in a constant state of change and unstability, the world keeps moving steadily onward, with only slight changes occuring yet staying stable none-the-less. While the characters may be fall apart, the world is not. That is an important part of NHK that unless you stop and look for a minute or so may pass you by.
The animation was well composed, with some truly beautiful imagery, such as Satou running through snow towards Misaki in the final episode (a moment that will stay with me for a long time). Overall a superb job by the art studio.
Audio:
Without a doubt one of the best parts of this series is it’s beautiful soundtrack. NHK’s soundtrack oozes melancholy and hope. Without the soundtrack so many scenes would not hold the same emotional weight or mood. When a soundtrack’s omission could alter the entire mood and atmosphere of a series you know it has succeeded.
The opening theme is instantly memorable and the endings are each good in the own right. However like most ending themes do not break into the echelon of greatness. That’s not to say it’s not good, it is, but it’s just not something you’re going to remember this series for.
The voice work is great on both audio tracks, however I preferred the English track over the original Japanese, for no real reason other than I find it easier. The standout voice performance is easily, Chris Patton as Tatsuhiro Satou. As Satou he captures, both the characters sadness and gleeful insanity. I can not picture any other actor playing it as well as Patton.
Special Features:
As usual with Siren Visual releases there is little to no special features. This is a constant problem with all Siren releases and it has become a recurring statement in reviews of Siren products. However it is something must be said. As usual you have a slipcase cover, which admittedly is nicer the average slipcase and is quite visually pleasing. Also we have noitaminA DVD trailers which is not really worth a look unless you are interested in purchasing them.
In general it would just be a much nicer experience with Siren DVD’s if we could recieve more special features, such as interviews or something of the like. I must however comment that this is in my opinion Siren’s best release to date.
Conclusion:
Welcome to the NHK is a series that will be remembered many years from now for what it has accomplished. Whether it is a show for everyone is a different matter. Because it is simply not for everyone. If you do not fancy, deep psychological introspection or surreal imagery or brutally truthful story-telling this is not for you at all. However if you are that way inclined, what are you waiting for? Welcome to the NHK is one of the best anime series to come out of the last decade and anyone who calls themselves an anime fan can’t truly do so without giving this show a go.
Therefore I give Welcome to the NHK Complete Series:
Who love you? Yes, I know we certainly do. But do you know who also loves you? Rockstar, that’s who. Dropping the price of two of their best sellers on the iOS App Store from now until Monday, August 1st. If you head there now you can pick up Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (iPhone/iPad) for $2.99 down from $9.99 and Beaterator for $.99 down from $2.99. If you don’t know, GTA: Chinatown Wars is a complete GTA experience in 3D rendered from an isometric perspective. It’s a fantastic game, and we here at Capsule absolutely loved it. Beaterator (iPhone) is developed with Rockstar and music producer Timbaland and is a simple to use yet extremely deep music creation app.
So head over to the App Store today before time runs out!
Konami has announced the release date for Pro Evo 2012 on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC today. The latest football simulator in the franchise will be released in the Americas on September 27, and in Europe and Oceania on October 14.
PES 2012 is packed with plenty of features and improvements from its 2011 counterpart. The AI and controls are improved, and Konami has introduced a new Teammate Control system (read more about that here) which allows the user to control two players at once. There will also be improvements to defense and controls, and enhanced animation – including managers which can be seen wandering on the sidelines.
Unfortunately, Konami still hasn’t confirmed a release date for the title on Nintendo Wii, PSP, and PS2, however they are saying this release date will be decided shortly.
Check out the video below, which outlines some of the features of PES 2012. Alternatively, you can check out other news on Pro Evo 2012 here.
So we have already seen parts of Chicago in Need for Speed’s The Run, Death from Above trailer at E3, which looked awesome, and the guys at EA are back with more juicy footage this time showcasing the strip from San Francisco to New York. Entitled Run to the Hills, the trailer highlights many of the environments playes will get to compete in as well as what is required to triumph and keep progressing through the race. Starting in Nevada in the middle of the pack, players have to battle through the desert and challenging ever-changing terrain to claim glory. Anyone who is a fan of the franchise can visit the official site
