It was 30 years ago when alien ships first tried to rain lasers down on earth in Galaga. To commemorate this momentous occasion, Namco Bandai are celebrating Galaga’s birthday a little early with the release of an App for iOS devices. The App features modernised remakes of four titles from the Galaga series: Galaxian, Galaga, Galaga 88 and Gaplus. The App also comes with a rather impressive commemorative 30th-anniversary opening-movie. While the App itself might be free, you will need to make an in-app purchase to obtain Galaga, Gaplus, and Galaga 88 for the current price of $9.99. Make sure you check out the remake of this arcade classic and wish it a happy 30th birthday on the 23rd of July! Galaga 30th Collection is currently available at both the Australian and US App Store.
Oh, I say old chap! New images of the legendary fictional sleuth’s upcoming game, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes by Focus Home Interactive, have come to light. It will be the famous detective’s first adventure developed especially for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 home consoles – although it will come to PC as well.
Doctor Watson will of course be in tow, and given a resurgence in the icon’s popularity from the recent Sherlock Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, this game could well be a hit. The five screens show the lush environments you will be carrying out your investigations in as you use all your wit and cunning to resolve dastardly murders and narrow down the list of suspected culprits until only the perpetrator remains.
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes will be available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in late 2011.
Move over Horrible Histories, Swords & Soldiers is now available on the App Store featuring a range of barbaric warriors for iOS users to command at the touch of a finger. Swords & Soldiers is a funny, action-strategy game for the iPhone and iPad. The game features an army of Vikings who are out on a quest to create the ultimate BBQ sauce, the Aztecs who are out to defend the Holy Pepper and lastly Chinese warriors who manufacture explosive Chinese toys. Build your own forces and defeat your enemies using berserkers, dart blowers, giant boulders, ninja monkeys and many more. Swords & Soldiers contains hilarious characters and storyline, split screen multiplayer for iPad, three epic campaigns with unique challenges, fully customisable Skirmish mode and full Game Center support. Published by Chillingo, developed by Two Tribes and based on the original by Ronimo games, Swords & Soldiers is available on both iPhone ($2.99US/$3.99AU) and iPad ($4.99US/$5.99AU) now. Stay tuned to Capsule Computers for a review of Swords & Soldiers coming soon.
Team 17 today announced the release of Worms: Special Edition for Mac, available for purchase from both the Apple Mac App Store and the Mac Game Store. Worms: Special Edition is a standalone Mac Store version of the recent PC best-seller Worms Reloaded, featuring the classic combination of turn-based strategy and comic mayhem.
Releasing at $9.99/£5.99/€7.99 in the US, UK and Europe, Worms: Special Edition includes up to four-player offline turn-based multiplayer, a shed-load of crazy and classic Worms weapons, all new high-definition landscape themes, new landscape editor, new play modes, hats, forts, skins and speech banks. There’s even a single-player experience with tutorials, deathmatches, races, fort games and puzzles.
Over 3,000 multiplayer gamers will battle it out for a prize pot in excess of £30,000, as i43 – the latest in organiser Multiplay’s thrilling Insomnia Series of events – expands into Telford International Centre.
Taking place over the August bank holiday weekend (26th – 29th August 2011), i43 will see gamers compete across a range of titles, each battling for prestige and prize money in what is recognised as the UK’s premier multiplayer gaming event.
The Insomnia Series of LAN events is a British institution, playing host to some of the biggest eSports tournaments in Europe – indeed, it is the host of the UK qualifiers for the World Cyber Games.
Organisers expect over 5,000 spectators to pass through the doors over the weekend, which includes dedicated exhibition space alongside the fiercely contested competition area.
The events prove a massive draw, even for those not attending. The competitions are streamed online all weekend and historically the i-Series has seen over 170,000 unique viewers and close to 10,000 concurrently – and this weekend’s high-profile billing is expected to set a new record for certain tournaments.
Now in its 43rd iteration, the i-Series has frequently been dubbed ‘The Glastonbury of Games’ due to its festival atmosphere, with on-site camping, round-the-clock entertainment and events, and a main stage featuring world class entertainment. Parties, giveaways, celebrity appearances all take their place alongside the 3,000-seat competition.
“The i-Series of multiplayer events have always been a sight to behold, but in our new home at the Telford International Centre, it’s going to be our biggest and best yet, says Craig Fletcher, Managing Director, Multiplay. “The prize fund already sits at more than £30,000 – but we expect that to rise significantly as we head closer to the main event. We’ll also soon be confirming the games on show at the event shortly, which will include the year’s biggest forthcoming titles. With a real community feel, i43 offers something completely unique to UK gamers – so much more than a bunch of pods in a hall.”
“eSports is the fastest-growing competitive sport in the world,” says Craig Fletcher, Managing Director, Multiplay, “Sponsors and exhibitors who will be making i43 the largest yet include Samsung, ASUS and Kingston with loads more just finalising their involvement before announcement.”
Full details of confirmed companies so far:-
Samsung – showcasing its latest gaming and electronic devices
PC World – offering a wide range of equipment for purchase at the show and bringing many partners to demonstrate their products.
Medion – unveiling top-of-the-range gaming PC’s, monitors and peripherals .
Fileplay – the leading content distribution company whose platform will host the live streaming and video on demand replays.
Iiyama – the monitor and touchscreen specialists will be showing off its wares
ASUS – tonnes of freebies and a Left 4 Dead 2 survival championship
Riot Games – sponsors of the League of Legends WCG tournament
Aquatuning – showing off their latest hardware and handing out awesome freebies
ESET UK – Andy the Android will make a triumphant return with an on-stand tournament and ace giveaways
Kingston – sponsors of the Counter-Strike Source Cup.
Pro Class TV – Coverage of the FIFA tournament including well known celebrity appearances (more soon!).
Quiet PC – showing that powerful can also be quiet!
Razer – sponsoring the international Starcraft 2 tournament.
Triple Widescreen – the makers of the iMotion Racing Seat will be speeding into i43
Ttesports – Sponsoring the Heroes of Newerth Tournament and showcasing their range of gaming hardware and peripherals.
Kustom PC – try out the latest hardware which will really help raise your game
Antec – showing all their latest range of PC products.
Team Dignitas – once again returning to i-Series, with its brilliant ‘beat the pro’ competitions
A full competitor “Bring Your Own Computer/Console” pass costs £92 for the whole weekend including camping. There are also options for those unable to bring their own equipment with “Turn Up and Play” passes costing £50 for particular tournaments and PCs being available for rent for £150 inclusive of the full entry pass.
Spectator passes start at £5 for a day access to the exhibition or £25 for the whole weekend including camping. Of course for those who can’t make it, there will be free internet coverage of the event streamed live through Multiplay’s site in High Definition.
For more information on the event, head over to iseries.multiplay.co.uk
Will anyone based in the UK be attending? It’s a pretty hardcore interest so I expect most people interested may well have been planning to attend this straight after participating in last year’s, but there’s always room for new entrants.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have released a new trailer for Snowblind Studios’ upcoming Lord of the Rings: War in the North, showing how the game will intersect the plot of the trilogy. The trailer features exerts from the movie, as well as the vocal talents of Sir Ian McKellen who, as you should know, plays Gandalf.
As the ring bearer’s adventure begins to the East, a new threat arises in the North. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North takes gamers to the unexplored locations of Northern Middle-earth, while also encompassing regions and characters of the trilogy of films. Crossing paths with Aragorn in Bree, seeking Elrond’s counsel in Rivendell, these recognisable names and locations from the movies show how the two are intertwined and will set our Fellowship’s journey in motion. Traversing the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood – gathering place of Sauron’s forces – the Fellowship of three begins an expedition to Gundabad and to Carn Dûm itself, their path forever splintering from their brethren in the East.
Lord of the Rings: War in the North is scheduled for release this August on PS3, PC and Xbox 360
Cubic Ninja is a game for the Nintendo 3DS console that has been published by Ubisoft. In this game players take control of a Cubic Ninja and have to rescue a princess from a labyrinth of puzzles involving physics and physical movements of the 3DS device.
Story
The story of Cubic Ninja is very basic, in that it is almost non-existent with exception of a few bits of text that plays at the beginning of the game and some other of forms of storytelling at other points points during the game.
The story is very basic and it involves a princess that has been kidnapped and features a ninja named CC who must go through a labyrinth and rescue said princess. The story to me feels as though it was added on to the game in order to give the players a sense of purpose within the game. I’m going to be honest, the story really feels unneeded within this game, from a pure gameplay perspective anyway.
For reference, the Pink cube on the cover is the Princess.
Gameplay
Cubic Ninja features a very basic gameplay style that can lead to some unexpected complexities. The game features a series of levels with each having 100 puzzles within. The puzzles begin with an easy difficulty, but get increasingly more difficult as you progress.
As progression increases as does your main Ninja, CC’s, abilities. These range from a Shrinking ability to more traditional ninja arts, such as shuriken throwing. Early on in the game, these abilities are not that useful and in some cases, even useless. Of course, it depends on the requirements of the puzzle, but these abilities can be used on any puzzle after you have unlocked them. Which is kind of cool.
The Puzzles consist of finding your way from an entrance to an exit. The puzzles are between these two points and usually involve switches and dodging traps. Occasionally, you’ll need to use a ninja power to help achieve some of your goals. Of course, the main part of the puzzles are purely navigation. That is, finding your way from the start to the finish. But, this is generally a difficult feat, as it is never simply a straight line, nor is the world always flat. The game utilises the 3DS’ gyroscopes to control CC. That means that you must physically tilt your 3DS unit to move, unless you switch to a control scheme involving the slide-pad.
In quite a few of the puzzles, you’ll find that you will need to lay the 3DS down completely on it’s back or completely face down in order to get CC to fall to the back of a room, or against the camera depending on your situation. The slide-pad control scheme addresses this by delegating the come closer mechanism to the X button. I must point out that turning the 3DS completely facedown has gotten me killed a few times, to my annoyance.
Also, something I didn’t particularly like with the gyroscope mode is that the game disables the 3DS’ 3D capabilities when playing with this control type (which is also the default control scheme). While enabling slide-pad controls does allow you to play in 3D, the default control scheme is slightly more fun, but you also lose the depth which is required for some puzzles, as well as the faux-sharpness that the 3D illusion brings. While this isn’t particularly game-breaking, it does feel a little off, and it isn’t something that I felt too comfortable with. Considering the boss fights are also controlled with physical movement, comfort is amazingly key.
There’s a really good feature in this game though, and it’s a mode that allows you to create custom levels using parts gathered during the campaign missions. Utilise your creativity and make puzzles that your friends can’t complete, mwuahahahahahaha!
Overall, the gameplay of this game is puzzling at times (by nature),and some design decisions are a little strange.
Graphics
The graphics of Cubic Ninja are basic and if you’re using the default control scheme, not 3D. Well, not stereoscopic 3D anyway, it still uses 3D modelling.
The graphics of this game are incredibly basic, even if the 3DS is capable of outputting much better looking graphics. The art style is comlplimented by this basic look, but I feel that a little more effort in the modelling department could have made for a much more entertaining look within the game.
As I stated in my opening statement for this section, the game is only stereoscopic 3D when utilising the slide-pad control scheme. While I understand that moving the 3DS around with 3D on would be a little clumsy, it is a little strange coming into the game expecting it to be fully 3D during exploration, as the cover says, only to find that it is being projected in two dimensions without so much as a mention in-game. I mean, even if the cover isn’t technically lying, it is a little misleading.
Overall, I wasn’t overly impressed by the graphics, but I can’t quite say that they were so bad that they were game-breaking.
Audio
Cubic Ninja features a very James Bond/ Mission Impossible-esque soundtrack. It is quite enjoyable for the first few times you hear it, but quickly gets old. Also, the James Bond stuff dissappears very quickly and is replaced by a more generic score, which you will notice rather quickly.
Most of the sound effects within the game are very simple, but for a game of this type, complex are not exactly needed. I’d say that the few sound effects within the game are quite well done and fit the game nicely, which is a nice touch for this title.
I found that the audio in this game was rather poor with the exception of a few key points. It was really not at all well done, and I believe that prolonged gameplay sessions was not what the developers were aiming for.
Overall
Cubic Ninja is a disappointing game from a publisher known for publishing some pretty high-grade titles. The game itself had amazing potential to be fun, but all I found was a very misleading game with gameplay that would probably do well on an iPhone. Even visually this game is more reminiscent of an iPhone title than a fully fledged 3DS title.
Looking for an in-depth look inside the anime industry? Want to know what goes on behind the scenes of dubbing companies? Want to know the secrets of anime? Then look no further than Animaze, a brilliant anime documentary series that is free to stream online.
Animaze features an interesting inside look at the anime industry, with several interviews with industry experts and big players in anime. The documentary was shot of several years with a lot of interesting discussion and food-for-thought to be had.
Madman has openly endorsed the documentary series, which actually features Madman employee, Sly, in an interview regarding the Australian anime industry.
You can find the documentary series free to stream at the Animaze website.
Following the announcement of the Rurouni Kenshin anime remake, it’s become increasingly evident that a full-blown revival of the franchise.
Just today, it has been announced that a live-action film adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki’s samurai epic has been green-lit and slated for a 2012 release. But that is not all, the producers of the upcoming live-action film plan to make the film into a trilogy or quadrilogy.
Rurouni Kenshin follows the story of Himura Kenshin, the titular Wandering Samurai with a dark past, as he travels through Meiji Period Japan offering services such as protection and aid to atone for his past sins.
As more details on the revival of the epic samurai franchise come to light, stay tuned and keep your blades sharp.
Genre: Animation/Kids Produced by: Cartoon Network Running Time: 291 minutes Available for purchase at: Madman Online Store ($24.95)
Overview
Sometimes when I revisit shows from my childhood, I sit there and think to myself, “What were you thinking?” Some cartoons had terrible voice-acting, even more had unengaging storylines, but the truth is that most were just made in terrible taste.
Johnny Bravo Season One is a bit like cheese – it smells disgusting, but it tastes better with age. When I first picked up the DVD, I literally stopped for a moment and thought, “Do I want to watch this? Wasn’t he a chauvinistic pig? Won’t I just realise how much he objectified women? [insert more rants about gender stereotypes here]”. As I watched it though, I realised that while the show is below-par in relation to other Cartoon Network shows of the same era, it tastes far better on my filmic taste buds than it did ten years ago.
Plot
Johnny Bravo is a blonde, egotistical, dim-witted man who lives in Aron City with his mother, Bunny Bravo. His life revolves around combing his hair, hitting on women, flexing, hitting on more women, flexing some more, and striking various poses to show off his muscles. Each episode of Johnny Bravo Season One involves Johnny and a woman; be it through helping the ‘damsel in distress’ (which is used lightly, because the women in this series are often very strong and Johnny only thinks they’re in distress), doing things to impress women, or trying to find beautiful women, Bravo is always doing his part to impress the other gender.
The village most guys can only dream of.
The storyline often features impossible plots (such as Johnny attempting to seduce Amazonian women, or a werewolf woman who will offer Johnny a great time only if he can deal with her in her wolf state), but overall the series holds far more realism than other Cartoon Network shows of the era – think Cow and Chicken, who spawned from human parents. Many of the plot lines could actually happen in real life; however, the stories are far more entertaining to adults than they would be to children. As a child, you search for imaginative storylines that transport you to another world. In Johnny Bravo, it’s pretty much the same world we currently live in, but with a few minor tweaks. In fact, when I watched Johnny Bravo Season One, it just seemed like an average night out clubbing where an egomaniacal man hit on me. The fact that adults can watch it and relate more than kids is a worry, but like I said before, it’s in much better taste when I can actually understand what it means when an Amazonian woman tries to use Johnny as a virgin sacrifice and he yells out “But I’m not a – “ before being dropped in the volcano.
Aside from general storyline, the constant women-chasing episodes can become quite repetitive. Thankfully, Johnny sometimes has things to do besides hit on women: he drinks too much of a muscle-building product and becomes fat, he explores different jobs to pay for his mum’s Mother’s Day present, and babysits a boy with godlike superpowers. One thing that is refreshing to see is that Johnny Bravo Season One doesn’t have the backup segment like Dexter’s Lab or Cow and Chicken did – it’s far more enjoyable to have three episodes of Bravo goodness.
Characters
The main character in the series, Johnny Bravo, sounds exactly like his name: a guy who thinks that he is god’s gift to the world. He’s loosely based on Elvis with his slick blonde hair, his sunglasses, and his voice; however, while Elvis romanced women, I don’t think he romanced them quite as much as Johnny. Johnny’s escapades are crazy, and his own belief in himself and others’ perceptions of him are quite deluded – but that’s just a massive part of why the series is enjoyable. We all love to watch guys (who think they are a ladies man) get shot down, and it’s even better when they do it with the terrible pick-up lines and attempts that Johnny does. I suppose there is also a positivity to be found in Johnny’s spirit (in spite of his oversized ego); no matter how many times he gets shot down, he never loses faith in women or says anything bad about them. If you watch straight episodes of Johnny Bravo though, he can get very irritating and repetitive.
Under all that muscle is a guy who has…well, more muscle.
In fact, all of the characters seem to lack depth and all got on my nerves at points. All seem to be so heavily based on stereotypes that they just become a walking cliché. Suzy, the girl next door, can be sweet, but really she is like every other child – cute until she wants something, and then she just becomes whiny and a bother. Carl is a nerdy oddball who everyone would run away from if he was on public transport, and Bunny Bravo is a typical mother when the series begins, but becomes more eccentric as the season progresses. Come to think of it, most Cartoon Network characters aren’t developed as the episodes are designed to be standalone, but in Johnny Bravo Season One’ s case it’ very noticeable.
Audio and Visual
Visually, the animation is exactly the same as it is in other Cartoon Network classics: minimalistic, yet appealing. Johnny’s appearance is probably the most commendable aspect: the parody of Elvis’ image shows at least some intelligence on the part of the creators. Children may or may not understand it, but it’s a clever play on a traditionally recognisable figure which makes for an interesting image on screen. Johnny’s constant flexing is also entertaining as hell – if someone made a drinking game for every time Johnny Bravo flexed, everyone would be passed out before the end of the first episode. I would have to say everything else is generic, but it makes perfect sense: if the animation formula ain’t broke, don’t try and fix it.
Bright colours, nice shades, and an awesome voice.
Going back to Johnny’s flexing for a second: I’d have to say the noises that accompany it are truly what makes his flexing as funny as it is. In Johnny Bravo, it’s the sound which makes the series good rather than average. The voice acting for Johnny is a classic example of the sound injecting the visual with life: Jeff Bennett’s voice was so good that I half-expect him to look just like his character in real life. The sound effects also contribute wonderfully and drive the narrative further, with the noises for Johnny’s running (or for Johnny getting rejected by a woman) adding to the overall effect of the story.
DVD Extras
Unfortunately, this DVD does not come with any extras; however, I am aware Madman often releases special features with later seasons (they did this for Courage the Cowardly Dog). I’m not sure if it really would have made a difference if Johnny Bravo Season One had been released with extras – I probably wouldn’t have watched them anyway as I’m already too “Johnny-ed” out as it is.
Final Comments
Overall, Johnny Bravo Season One is a show that grows better as you grow older – as long as you can overlook the egotistical side of Bravo that many could deem immature. Like cheese, age has worked in its favour; however, like that old chunk of blue cheese you spread on crackers, the show is only good in moderation (I would even go as far to say small doses). It can get repetitive and the characters may be flat, but in the end it’s a good, solid dose of the old school Cartoon Network shows we all know and love.
It was 30 years ago when alien ships first tried to rain lasers down on earth in Galaga. To commemorate this momentous occasion, Namco Bandai are celebrating Galaga’s birthday a little early with the release of an App for iOS devices. The App features modernised remakes of four titles from the Galaga series: Galaxian, Galaga, Galaga 88 and Gaplus. The App also comes with a rather impressive commemorative 30th-anniversary opening-movie. While the App itself might be free, you will need to make an in-app purchase to obtain Galaga, Gaplus, and Galaga 88 for the current price of $9.99. Make sure you check out the remake of this arcade classic and wish it a happy 30th birthday on the 23rd of July! Galaga 30th Collection is currently available at both the Australian and US App Store.
