We’re back with the Capsule Computers Podcast Episode 010. We’ve got a smaller show for you this week as we’re doing a quick wrap up on what we thought of E3 2011. We cover a little bit of what we’ve been playing and get into Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo’s showings for the year. Find out what we’re looking forward to and what we think of the Nintendo Wii U.
Thanks for listening and let us know what you think! 🙂
Send all your video game or podcast questions, hints, suggestions and feedback to [email protected] Thanks for listening. Copyright Capsule Computers Pty Ltd – All Rights Reserved
Genre: Animation/Black Comedy/Kids Produced by: Cartoon Network Running Time: 291 minutes Available for purchase at: Madman Online Store ($24.95)
Overview
Sometimes, truly great cartoons take a lifetime to appreciate. These are the cartoons that, when seen through the eyes of an eight-year-old, seem bizarre and nonsensical (remember listening to Vengaboys’ song Boom, Boom, Boom and thinking people just wanted to hang out in a room together?), but as we grow up, something in our brain clicks and we say “Ahhh…so that’s what it all meant!”
I’ll admit it: as a child, I found Courage the Cowardly Dog lame, confusing, pointless, and most of the time, it was just plain creepy. However, after life walloped me with a hefty dose of growing up, and then privileged me with a love of cinema, television, and animation, I found that I viewed Courage’s adventures through a completely different lens the second time around.
Plot
Courage is a small, fuchsia dog that was abandoned as a puppy. He was found and adopted by Muriel, a lovely elderly woman that lives with her husband Eustace on a farm in the middle of Nowhere – quite literally. Courage is, despite his name, absolutely terrified of everything and everyone; the smallest movement or slightly paranormal event can make his eyes pop out of his head and send him shaking. However, this doesn’t serve well for him because Nowhere is plagued with strange happenings: monsters, aliens, demons, insects, and things that go bump in the night. When Muriel and Eustace are in danger, it’s often up to Courage to muster up his…well, courage and find some way to save the day.
The aptly-named Freaky Fred…so, so, so freaky.
As per all of Cartoon Network’s classics, Courage the Cowardly Dog works in episodes of about 8-10 minutes. Each episode houses its own little storyline, and is designed to exist as a standalone segment so they can be broadcast at anytime and will still make sense. The shorts are varied in quality, but as this is the first season of Courage there is a clear creative progression: I found the further I watched into the season, the more overwhelmed I was at how intelligent the series was with its intertextuality and psychological implications that many children wouldn’t understand at the time. One notable episode was Freaky Fred, where Muriel’s nephew Fred visits their home. Fred has a fetishistic obsession with shaving hair (although children would just think it’s a regular ol’ obsession), and tries to shave Courage’s fur. The narrative was told in a voice-over, and was so reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven that I actually got chills down my spine. Here, Dilworth really proves that children’s shows can be for adults as well, and, once he finds his stride, the series offers so much density in regards to knowledge and parodies.
The narrative, of course, centres itself around black humour – which, I believe, I didn’t know existed until I was in my teens – and it takes a comedic approach to otherwise dire situations. I do remember that as a child, however, the black humour didn’t register and the show was just genuinely terrifying. While Dilworth features wonderful moments of randomness just to keep the kids laughing, for children that don’t register the difference between black humour and horror it can be a frightening and daunting experience to watch Courage the Cowardly Dog. Upon revisiting it as an adult though, the true genius of the series clicked in my brain – I am glad I had the experience of watching the show as a child and then the chance to watch it a decade later and appreciate it fully.
Characters
Cartoon Network always has featured as few main characters as possible in order to fill up their limited time with stories about the protagonist. Courage the Cowardly Dog is no different: Courage, Muriel, and Eustace are the only consistent characters throughout the series – although, true to form, Dilworth has thrown in a few recurring baddies just for good measure, such as Katz and Dr Le Quack.
Sometimes you have to refer to your computer for help. I’m betting he wasn’t Wikipedia-ing anything.
Courage himself is the one thing that keeps the story going. He’s the small, bright coloured dog who’s adorable yet cowardly, and naïve yet houses an overactive imagination. Courage often curls up in a ball on Muriel’s lap, and is always willing to help her – but he’ll probably get terrified every step of the way. He’s the sweetest pet and even when he gets scared all the time – a less than desirable trait in a dog, I would imagine – he is still so likeable for his big heart.
As the central figure, I’d have to say he truly is one of a kind, and that’s his core appeal. He’s always going to save the day, but how scared he gets while doing it is a completely different story. In other words, Courage is the quintessential metaphor for the subtle lesson addressed to every member of the audience: no matter how terrified you are, you can still find the courage within yourself to do what’s moral, what’s right, or whatever it takes to protect the people you love.
Muriel Bagge is a package deal with Courage: a grandmotherly figure that cleans, cooks, takes care of her family, and is never judgmental. She is always ready to help Courage or Eustace out, she scolds in a loving and polite manner, and she is so stereotypical that she embodies every single grandma figure in the history of cliches. If Courage is (wo)man’s best friend, then Muriel is a dog’s best owner. Whilst she is a constant character, she’s one that nobody ever tires of because she treats our favourite fuchsia dog so well and is so morally unwavering. With that being said, Eustace is Muriel’s antithesis: a mean old man who is constantly mocking Courage, and is so lazy and cruel that sometimes you just wish Courage would bite him in the butt. He occasionally has his redeeming qualities, but for the most part he’s the one that balances out the loveliness of the Bagge home.
The recurring characters are a delight to see, and in fact they give the show an overall consistency that otherwise would have been lacking. All of the villains are quirkily evil, but it’s because of that trait that their presence is so welcomed throughout the series. Dr Le Quack has to be the best one though: he uses his hypnotic skills for his own personal gain, and is a comedic mirror of the greed and exploitation often found in the world.
Audio and Visual
While the shows from the classic Cartoon Network period all seem to maintain a sort of stylistic cohesiveness about them, Courage the Cowardly Dog stands out. The show is slightly darker than the others in terms of colours and animation (although Courage’s bright pink fur helps to balance that out) and Nowhere as a setting is as depressing as it sounds. In fact, whenever there were flashes of colour in flowers or in the sky, it was such a welcome relief to my eyes that I paused the show to enjoy the variation in palette. I do feel that because the show was a black comedy, the animators felt more free to express themselves visually – and it was a welcome sight from other cartoons like Johnny Bravo and Cow and Chicken where everything is so consistent it’s boring.
Muriel as a demon…thing.
One of the best features of the animation occurs whenever Courage is trying to warn Muriel or Eustace of something. Of course, he can’t verbally communicate with them; instead, he creatively metamorphoses into an impersonation of whatever it is that’s threatening them. The animators went wild with these impersonations, and they pulled it off spectacularly: each animation is a great way of communicating the show as a visual element rather than a show that is about constantly talking.
Audio-wise, the show has excellent voice-acting and SFX, and an average soundtrack. Eustace and Muriel’s voices couldn’t have been picked better – it’s as if their voices were picked first and the animation drawn to suit them. Courage’s voice is sometimes odd, but for the most part it suits the cowardly nature in him. The most iconic lines of Courage’s – “What do I do? What do I do?!” and “Either something’s up, or my name is [insert some ridiculous name here]…and it’s not!” – wouldn’t have been the same without Marty Grabstein’s great interpretation of Courage’s tone, pitch, and accent.
The SFX work synonymously with the rest of the show, and always contribute to the atmosphere of the segment. However, the soundtrack was a little bit of a hit-and-miss. While the music was often very well-orchestrated, sometimes it felt a bit choppy. Even as the opening credits cut out, it’s very obvious that the cut had been done mid-word and it sounds too amateur for the rest of the series. Of course though, a show like Courage the Cowardly Dog can’t be perfect, and it is better that it fell on soundtrack than anything else.
DVD Extras
The DVD came with no extras, which is a major disappointment. I do know that Courage the Cowardly Dog Season Two comes with the original pilot from the What a Cartoon! Compilation, but as far as special features go there was absolutely nothing.
Final Comments
Courage the Cowardly Dog is one of the most intelligent and hilarious cartoons that I have seen for a long time. When I first received the DVD, I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to force myself to watch the series one gruelling episode at a time. However, I was pleasantly surprised and have discovered that some shows deserve a second chance (and after a decade, I think it’s a warranted second-go) to make their way back into your heart. Either this show is great and I loved it, or my name is Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock…and it’s not.
Loving Life with Hello Kitty & Friends
Publisher: Rising Star Games
Developer: Bergsala Lightweight AB
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Mini-game/Girly
Released: 17th June
Hello Kitty is a brand that has built up into an iconic powerhouse over the last couple of decades, with merchandise ranging from school supplies to packaging. It has even had its own anime television show for young children. While it goes without saying that Hello Kitty invests most its time in appealing to young girls, this hasn’t stopped previous videogame outings on the Nintendo DS because with the console’s casual audience, there is obviously an audience of young schoolgirls for it.
In Loving Life with Hello Kitty and Friends you take on the role of Kitty and the whole gang’s in tow to join in on the fun: the rabbits of assorted colours, the pink sheep, the penguin and the floating fairy people. Before you’re wowed by even more of my encyclopaedic knowledge of the Hello Kitty characters, it is worth saying that I’m both too old and the opposite gender to the target audience of the game, which is why it’s worth me giving an outlook on the game from both perspectives.
The game is broken down into five numbered tabs, with each one taking you to a slightly different area of the place where Kitty must call home. The first of which, obviously, is Kitty’s home, or more specifically, her room. Here you can fine-tune your outfit by changing you clothes and adding accessories like bags or necklaces, or even indulge in a spot of interior design by choosing the furnishings, carpet and wallpaper that suits you. Unfortunately, the options are quite limited and redecorating your room only allows you to select a new piece of furniture in place of an old one, not move it around and reorganise the layout of the room. The clothes are similarly limited as there are only a handful of different outfits which are then repeated in many alternative colours.
On the other hand, you can add to your wardrobe and your belongings with some retail therapy by visiting the fourth tab. Tab 4 is the ‘Let’s Go Shopping’ tab, which plays host to four shops: the Home Interior Shop, the Sanrio shop, the Picture Shop and the Clothing Shop. Each provides you with something to add to your room or your outfit, with home and fashion accessories available for purchase using the in-game currency of ‘Puros’.
Which leads me on to tabs 3 and 4, the ‘Let’s Work’ sections of the game. The second tab is where a small market is located – it’s small in that there’s only three shops: a restaurant, a flower shop and a supermarket. Work elements of the game are the first part to introduce mini-games, with each one handled by some sort of mini-game. Some of these carry an accommodating time limit such as the flower shop mini-game in which you must select the right path while walking through a garden to find the correct flower, while others carry no time restrictions, like the supermarket game where you can freely scan items through the till and enter the necessary numbers to earn your Puros reward. In respect to the time limit, it has been well-designed to suit the typical player, a young and inexperienced gamer who will probably just be learning the ropes with this being one of their first games.
The other work tab sets you to work in the food court in the Hot Dog Shop, the Fresh Juice Shop, the Sandwich Shop, the Ice Cream Parlour and the Fast Food Restaurant. More mini-games ensue, with a mini-game for each stall, again accompanied by a monetary reward for passing the challenges. The final tab is the ‘Let’s All Play Together’ area, offering up an extra six mini-games (Tag, Concentration, Fly on a Broom, Catch the Right Ball, Let’s Dance, Ring Toss), taking the grand total up to 14. These mini-games vary in length, with some of the more recognisable games like Concentration, a match the symbols card game played against the AI, proving more enjoyable than some of the more obscure shorter games. For example, the Tag game was over in about 3 seconds flat due to the confined ball pit space the game takes place in meaning your friends end up running into you.
All the mini-games suffer from the same faults in that they don’t change. There is no increase in difficulty, meaning there’s little difference playing them a second time around aside from changes in combinations in the sequence-based games, which makes repeated plays tiresome and undesirable. The graphical style is clean – if ambitionless – with a series of static screens presented mainly using a colour palette of pinks, pale blues, white and yellow. The sound would have been passable if not for the squeaky screeching narrator who exclaims “Let’s Play…” every time you click on something, which likely even cause six-year-old girls to turn their volume down/off. It’s not a bad game for first timers due to a forgiving level of difficulty, but even the most inexperienced players will have seen everything it has to offer within two hours of play and would be hard-pressed to extract any more entertainment out of it beyond this point.
Dungeon Siege III Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Versions: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PlayStation 3, PC Release Date: June 21st 2011 Price: $59.99 US, £49.99 UK, $109.99 AUS
Overview: Many years ago, Gas Powered Games developed the first Dungeon Siege title. Since then Dungeon Siege II was released and both of these were PC exclusive. With Dungeon Siege III we see the franchise’s debut on the home console, as well as a new development team as Obsidian Entertainment and Square Enix have teamed up to bring this dungeon crawling experience to everyone that wants it. Now dungeon crawling RPGs have become a rarity, especially on consoles. Does Dungeon Siege III have what it takes to possibly revive this genre?
Story: The story takes place in the Kingdom of Ehb which was founded by the 10th Legion many years ago. The Kingdom of Ehb was prosperous for many years, until the murder of the King. With the King dead, the Legion was blamed for the failure and a woman named Jeyne Kassynder has raised the people in a revolt against the 10th Legion. Jeyne, the leader of the Church of Azunai wields strange powers and under her lead, the people have brought the 10th Legion to the brink of destruction. Only a few of the Legion’s descendants still remain, and they have been gathered together by a man named Odo in an effort to restore the Legion to its former glory.
Players are given a choice at the beginning of the game to choose between four different members of the Legion. The four characters that players are given the choice to play as are named Lucas Montbarron, Anjali, Reinhart Manx and Katarina. Each has their own backstory and will have unique moments throughout the game that will change depending on which character you are playing as. This choice certainly helps create a great way for players to replay the game without feeling like they have done everything once already.
The only thing hindering the replay value is the lack of a New Game+ option which is truly a disappointment because after finishing your first playthrough with a fully powered character, and then being forced to play as a level 1 again is going to drive some people away from replaying the title again.
Being the third title in the series, Dungeon Siege III’s storyline has a few references to past events in other Dungeon Siege titles. Thankfully however, no actual knowledge is needed of the other Dungeon Siege games and there is a plethora of lore and texts to unlock which will help explain certain things as well as expand the DSIII universe.
Now besides the main storyline, there are also a number of choices to make in the game. However these choices aren’t very engaging because a number of the games main dialogue choices actually don’t have any bearing on the game itself outside of providing the illusion of choice. A few decisions you make may affect things in the future, but for the most part you will find yourself ignoring side dialogue simply because it is the same thing you’ve heard plenty of times before.
Graphics: Any good dungeon crawler needs some variety in their levels, and Dungeon Siege III delivers that well enough that you will not find yourself walking through similar areas often. The environments themselves are very well detailed and you will usually not have to worry about loading times simply because of how well the maps are streamlined together. Normal combat flows well without issue and the effects of the spells you cast are impressive in appearance.
The character models are decent looking and look as well as one would expect in a current generation title. There is a small issue with the way that loot appears on the ground however simply because, with the high view of the camera, it is difficult to see at times. Also as far as the loot goes, there are a number of items which will appear to look the exact same no matter what variety of them you pick up, whereas more diversity in the appearance of the equipment would have certainly been beneficial.
Audio: The musical score of DSIII is rather impressive. The soundtrack focuses entirely on fantasy styled music which fits perfectly with the dungeon crawling genre. The music is certainly one of the best touches to the game and the battles sound good as well, with gunfire and swordplay sounding as realistic as possible.
Unlike the music and sound effects, the voice acting is very disinteresting. The people that were hired to perform the voice work couldn’t sound less interested in the rolls that they are playing. The fact that there is very little emphasis or put into their performance you will find yourself feeling that the whole story is becoming dull simply due to the voice work. The problem persists throughout the game, even with main characters in the storyline and not just NPCs.
Gameplay: Since players are able to select one of four different characters to play with, each one of them has a unique way of playing. There are long range focused characters as well as those who are strictly melee and players can base their character selection to their playstyle. The character’s playstyle is well varied, with Katarina being a personal favorite of mine due to the introduction of her magical guns to the fray of swords and sorcery.
Besides the style of play and the weapons they use, each character will have unique loot to their character. Every character can wear a ring or an amulet but every other item they can equip will be unique to their person, with other loot showing up as a gray outline.
Any dungeon crawler needs to have a lot of different loot. Dungeon Siege III provides this wonderfully. The amount of loot you will obtain can be anywhere from a few pieces of gold dropped from your enemies to a small rainstorm of items coming out of a chest. There are certain weapons that are obviously better than others, and these are highlighted in either Blue or Green depending on their strength.
Players are given the ability to “transmute” items they don’t want in their inventory. The transmutation option will instantly get rid of an item and provide a couple of gold pieces instead of the true worth of the item. Because of this option players can spend a lot of time in their inventory comparing statistics and benefits between different pieces of equipment before finally settling on what they wish to use and what to get rid of.
Now Dungeon Siege III also contains an upgrade and leveling system for the characters. These level ups are based around the abilities that players can learn. Every character will have six unique offensive abilities and three unique defensive ones. Players can learn a new ability once every few levels and if they use a certain ability enough in combat, it will become Empowered. This means that it will gain a permanent upgrade that will make it stronger or more beneficial to the user.
Besides the abilities there are also the Proficiencies. You will obtain proficiency points every time you level and they will be used to upgrade your abilities in one of two ways. There are limited amounts of proficiency slots for each ability which means you will have to choose the best way to upgrade your favorite ability to help out your playstyle. Finally we have the Talent tree. The player can upgrade each talent up to five times and they can improve their character through passive upgrades. The amount of character customization may appear thin at first but it is actually quite well done, with a lot of diversity available for those who wish to mold their experience the way they wish to.
Dungeon Siege III has the option to let players play online, with up to four players playing at once. There is a fatal flaw here however. If you join another players game you will not be able to take your favorite character with you, nor any of the other characters you worked on upgrading as partners. Instead you will be tossed into the game and forced to pick any of the characters that haven’t already been selected. Then you will not be able to take any of your loot, gold or experience back to your own game and this is likewise for those who join your game.
Players have the option of playing offline, privately or public. The problem with a public game is that you will often get people who join your game and will simply leave immediately if they find you are not in a part of the game they enjoy. Also, due to the way that the camera forces the player to have a high view point (practically top down) the camera completely fails during four player co-op. It will become shaky and will struggle to follow the action, often forcing players to fight at the edge of the screen or spasming between characters.
There is the option for drop-in co-op which is enjoyable for those who want to play with their family or with a friend that has stopped over which is a nice touch. Otherwise you will have an AI partner always that will assist you during combat, usually as well as any other player could.
Overall: Dungeon Siege III is a rather enjoyable game for the most part. Those coming to have a true dungeon crawling experience again will not find themselves left wanting after they are done with the title. An average playthrough of the game will run around nine hours until completion. Though there are a decent number of sidequests to help distract from the main storyline as well as the amount of replayability that the title offers to extend total playtime. Unfortunately the stunted multiplayer aspect means you will often be better off only playing with trusted friends or locally. Dungeon Siege III provides an adequate experience but never goes above and beyond to really set itself apart and live up to its namesake.
I give Dungeon Siege III:
A copy of this title was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.
If you don’t already know about ThinkGeek, I feel very sad for you. This store is one of the most awesome stores I have ever come across and it fits just perfectly into my weekly nerdy niches. I mean if you write ‘nerd store’ or ‘geek store’ this is the first result! So please let’s check out this store with me.
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan volume 1 Tag Line: Becoming the Lord of Pandemonium! Author: Hiroshi Shiibashi Release Schedule: Bi-monthly (every 2 months) Publisher: Viz Media Release Date: 10/4/2011 Available for Purchase at: Madman Online Store ($14.95)
Overview:
Most manga have growing pains when they first start off, with the first chapter usually being the most interesting for the first 10 or so chapters. These first 10 or so chapters are the most critical point in a manga series – the make or break point. If you don’t get off to a good start, your manga will fail and will be cancelled from serialization in it’s respective manga magazine. In order to save themselves from such a fate, the first 10 or so chapters are usually vastly different to where the series will eventually go. So that makes it extremely difficult to judge how good a series potentially can be or will be. Most tend to drag their feet and build a popular formula that will last for several chapters until they know they have built enough of a following to try something different without risk of cancellation.
That is exactly the case with Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan volume 1. The majority of the volume is dedicated to a tried and true formula, excluding the first and last chapters. This creates a sense of the story dragging it’s feet without much in the way of development outside of the first and last chapter. Not many series can successfully pull this off and many haven’t survived the dreaded first 10 weeks. However Nura has succeeded and moved on to be rather successful. Read on to find out why.
Story:
Nura follows a story many of us may have seen before but in an unusual setting that at first may catch you off guard. You have the hidden world of the Yokai (Monsters), that has been kept secret from humans for centuries. It is an interesting setting and provides something not often seen done. Although the concept of Yokai is something that is so thoroughly engraved into the Japanese culture lexicon that it may not be as much unfamiliar ground as it is for us Westerners.
The storyline itself is somewhat of a mash up of ‘Reborn’ and even of a dash of ‘Bleach’. But I have to say it feels as though it very greatly draws inspiration from ‘Reborn’. Particularly in it’s titular character Rikuo Nura, whom is essentially Tsuna Sawada with Yokai blood. Both want nothing to do with the world thrust upon them (Yokai dynasty for Nura and Mafia family for Tsuna), yet both have a side of them that comes out in dire circumstances that is calm, cool, collected and ready to take up the mantle no questions asked (Night form Nura and Hyper form Tsuna). If Shiibashi was not influenced by Reborn in any way I would be extremely surprised.
The first chapter of the volume introduces us to the world of the Yokai and our hero Rikuo Nura who is set to become the third Supreme Commander of the Yokai clan. It does a good job at introducing things to us and is the stand-out chapter of the entire volume. However from there on out, right up until the last chapter we are privy to school based comedy about Rikuo’s classmates exploring supposedly haunted places. It’s rather dull and drags on at a snail pace, with little to no character development besides 2 of Nura’s yokai friends enroll at his school who get a bit of development. But it’s nothing to write home about.
The succeeding point of Nura is it’s potential. I can see it developing into far greater and more interesting arcs. I can also see myself investing in these characters with some time. The volume ended with what seems to be the beginning of the first story arc. This is a great sign for the series moving forward.
Characters:
It’s difficult to judge the characters so early on, we haven’t seen a lot about them apart from Rikuo. Unfortunately the characterization isn’t on the same level early on as such greats as ‘Hunter x Hunter’ and ‘One Piece’ were. But there is enough potential to fill a truck.
I found myself particularly interested in Rikuo Nura’s night form and his grandfather Nurarihyon. They both are shrouded in a fine veil of mystery and I definitely want to know more about them. I can’t say the same really about any other characters and I am already beginning to find Rikuo a little irritating in how stupid he can be in his normal form (inviting an exorcist into your house full of your Yokai family? Seriously Rikuo?).
Though as I said there is a lot of potential here and for this volume it did good enough of a job to make me care about what would happen to these characters.
Artwork:
Probably the most defining part of this series and in particular this volume is the great artwork. I love the character designs and overall art-style of this volume although it can feel rather cluttered when a large portion of Rikuo’s Yokai clan are shown in all their hideous glory.
The first chapter struck me as both visually verbose, yet painstakingly detailed. From the wrinkles upon Nurarihyon’s brow to the unrequited poetry of sakura petals blowing gently in the wind, Shiibashi has put a great deal of effort into his artwork and it truly shines through.
The only thing I can hold against the artwork is the ugliness of it at times. But that is to be expected, I mean this is a series about yokai. I percieve it as perhaps an intentional juxtaposition to the beautifully drawn human characters. The yokai are by definition ugly, evil creatures who lurk in the shadows, with the goal of only bringing ‘kyofu” (lit. The Fear). Whereas the human’s are the innocent untouched canvas who can either become dark or stay pure. It’s rather brilliant for Shiibashi to be able to convey that with artwork, but he does so masterfully.
Conclusion:
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan volume 1 overall does a great job conveying what this series is about and where it could potentially take us. Although it may suffer from growing pain this volume, it seems to have great things to come with the beginnings of the first main story arc forming in the final chapter.
I will definitely be checking out volume 2 of this series and consider it too be one of the best new manga series I have read in a fair while. With interesting characters and concept Nura will undoubtedly take us to some interesting places, we just have to sit tight and wait patiently to get there. If you enjoy Reborn or Bleach this may be up your alley and I definitely reccomend it to fans of the Shonen genre or action manga in general.
Child of Eden Developer: Q Entertainment Publisher: Ubisoft Platform: Xbox 360/Kinect compatible (Reviewed), Playstion 3/Playstation Move compatible Release Date: June 14, 2011 Price: $39.99 (Available HERE)
Premise:
When was the last time you decided to turn on your motion control device for your respective console? In the past, motion controls revolutionised the concepts of gameplay and interaction by adding physically controlled elements into the games we would play. It was a technology that changed the industry in the past five odd years. However, many motion control functions have been met with disdain by the hardcore gaming demographics. True enough that motion control technologies such as the PS Move, the Kinect and the Wii motion sensors have been undermined by the overly extensive range of ‘casual’ games released over this time period.
So what if game developers decided that it was time for a change back? To release a quality set of games that target the hardcore gamer demographic that built the foundations of the modern industry? In what is being hailed as one of the most anticipated games of the year, ‘Child of Eden’ is the newest release title to come from the creative mind of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the same game designer behind the highly acclaimed titles ‘Lumines’ and ‘Rez’. Using the current generation of consoles’ technology to augment the visual design of the game, ‘Child of Eden’ attempts to deliver a breath taking experience that appeals to the senses of sight, sound and, through motion technology, even touch. All of this is centred around a Rail-Shooter genre of gameplay. The question is, can this entice hardcore gamers to start using their motion control device again?
Story/Campaign:
The story of Child of Eden is introduced in the opening cinematics of the game. So, guess what folks? It’s the FUTURE. Again. But unlike the many video game archetypes we have played through over the years, mankind is not under threat from mass extinction, natural disasters, alien hordes or any of the things we’ve come to expect from the shooter genre in general. The only thing mankind is at threat of losing just happens to be the INTERNET of all things.
We are told that in the year 2019, the first human child is born in outer space, on board the international space station. Named Lumi, this young girl dreamed of experiencing the natural beauty of planet Earth for herself, but it was unattainable in space. She expressed her emotions through song, which was projected down to the people of Earth. Just before her passing, mankind had developed the means in which memories and feelings can be recorded. Her memories were chosen to be recorded and archived. Since that time, mankind has thrived in an era of space exploration. The collective knowledge of the human race is now stored in an archive accessible anywhere in space. This new Internet system comes to be known as ‘Eden’. Jump forward a few hundred years. In the 23rd century, scientists attempt to re-create Lumi within the Eden archive itself.
This cuts to a surprising cinematic which combines CG graphics with an actual live-action persona. We see a young girl garbed in white awaken in a digital garden. Players can pretty safely assume that the girl is the newly created Lumi, and the garden represents Eden. Having an actual actress perform in cinematics is a nice touch which I feel helps individualise the game from others in the game genre. As she begins to explore and interact with the world around her, she is clearly overcome with a sense of joy and curiosity. However, when she discovers that Eden is not in fact the real Earth, like the original Lumi desired to see, we see a deep state of depression wash over her. At the same time, we see that the garden around her begins to crumble and succumb to some kind of corruption. Whether this is because of Lumi’s distress, or whether this is some form foreign corruption to Eden itself is up to the player’s own sense of speculation. I favour the former theory, but that’s neither here nor there.
The cinematic is ended with a simple message. “Save Eden. Save Lumi.” Simple but powerful words.
The storyline of ‘Child of Eden’ is set apart pretty distinctly from the gameplay elements. The plot essentially revolves around a concept of purification. The players are set apart pretty independently from the story and universe, as they have no player avatar with whom they can interact. Essentially the purpose of the game is to purify the corruption that has spread because of Lumi, or in spite of her. As players progress through successive stages of the game, we see Lumi’s crop up at certain points singing or dancing as the players go about fixing the Eden’s corruption. Besides the afore mentioned cinematic elements, the game features little story beyond that. Personally I feel the level of story delivered is appropriate for the genre, providing just enough to give players a sense of what they are doing in this digital world. As an On-Rails shooter, a copious amount of story does not affect core gameplay unless there is too much of it. Limiting Lumi’s appearances and the theory behind this evolving concept of the internet works effectively in leaving the building of the rest of the universe up to the imagination of the player.
Gameplay:
I had the chance to play through the Xbox 360 port of Child of Eden. It must be noted immediately that the game IS playable either with or without the Kinect motion system. However, having played with both motion control and handheld controller, it must be said that the gameplay feels more fluid and natural when the player makes use of the motion controls. It provides a stronger sense of interaction with the digital world in that the player’s own movements are helping shape and change the universe surrounding. The game is still completely playable with the controller, but if one were to pick up this game without making use of the Kinect, then they would only be doing themselves a disservice.
Of course when mentioning motion controls, the controls themselves have to be responsive to player commands. Otherwise gameplay descends into the “waggle-fest” that has characterised so many Wii titles. Thankfully, the game’s motion controls are highly, and surprisingly accurately responsive to player input. This may be due to the fact that the only elements of the body the Kinect needs to sense are the player’s hands. Just as a Kinect user would interface with the Xbox Kinect menu , so to do the player interact with the in-game menus. The same mechanic is used to aim and scroll around the world of Eden when players are dropped into the action.
As previously mentioned the game fits into the genre of an On-the-rails shooter. Player have no choice in regards to where they move about Eden, but rather interact with objects and enemies along a preset route. It must be said that the game feels confined in this regard, however I feel this issue is something of a two sided coin. On the one hand, players have very restricted controls in terms of interaction, but on the other, the world of Eden is strange and confusing in nature. Attempting to traverse this strange digital landscape would be nearly impossible, as physics and dimensions seem non-existent in digital space. The plane is constantly shaping and twisting in reaction or movements, colours and sounds. Restricting movement to a preset path may limit the players interaction, but not at the cost of immersion (which is better achieved with motion control use.)
The aim of each level is the same: purify as much of Eden as possible whilst maintaining your own health. The purification process occurs by defeating enemies by use of either the lock-on shot, or the Tracer. These are the only 2 weapons present, besides the Euphoria “Bomb”. For a majority of the game, players will find themselves using the lock-on shot, controlled by the use of the player’s right hand in Kinect mode. This is a basic target-then-fire mechanic. Player points can be maximised by targeting up to 8 enemies at once. Players will need to switch weapons to the Tracer to defeat specifically corrupted purple enemies, and to shoot down enemy projectiles. The switch is an easy transition from use of the right hand, to that of the left. The Tracer can also be used to defeat stock enemies, but it does not allow players to string together combos for points. When enemies are defeated, they sometimes drop health and Euphoria bombs to help players out of a bind. The gameplay start simple, but gets more intense the further the player proceeds into the successive stages. The game itself is actually quite simple to play, but the difficultly curve really jumps ahead during the mid sections of the game. However, the raw FUN factor is still there.
When it comes to gameplay elements, I really have no complaints beyond one thing: longevity. A great game will often compel players to come back and play through it again. Since Child of Eden is not the sort of game one would direct at the casual game market, the hardcore players would expect to get a decent level of length of out their titles. This can be achieved either through an extensive campaign, or through use of a multiplayer function. Unfortunately, Child of Eden skips on both. No multiplayer is included within the game (which can be taken as a blessing by some), however, the limitations of the levels available really hinders the game’s replay value. This may be rectified with the possibility of DLC updates in the future, but as the game stands, the only replay value to really be had is in obtaining achievements, or posting scores on leaderboards. Neither is really core to the gameplay, so many players will likely overlook these as replay incentives. Aesthetically however, if players want to feel a unique sense of escape, then by all means, Child f Eden is a decent enough venture from reality. However, for a game that tries to bring hardcore players back to motion controls, I feel that potential has been hampered by the game’s unfortunately short length.
Visual/Audio:
Visually, the game certainly stands out from other games of a similar genre. When most people think of games in the Rail Shooter genre, they tend to liken them to titles such as House of the Dead, Star fox and even arcade machine titles like Time Crisis. A previous game, also developed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, REZ on the SEGA Dreamcast featured a very similar style of combining a Rail shooter game with a digital graphic extravaganza. Rather than using realistic human environments and recognisable features, the game deviates from the norm in creating a rail shooter experience that feels different. It lacks the violence level we come to associate with shooter type games, but it is still a heck of a lot of fun to play.
I will say this right now, Child of Eden is a very aesthetically pleasing game. The visuals and vision of Eden are unique. The bright colour schemes accompanied by dark backgrounds provide a sense of wonder and beauty, but at the same time a feel of entrapment and restriction. It really stands out to the player that this is meant to be a beautiful place, but it has been corrupted. The visuals themselves borrow very strongly from naturally inspiration. The environments that the player will experience can vary from a wide variety of places, but all have a very similar techno feel to it. One stage feels like being in outer space and entering the Earth. Others are presented as a digital ocean, or a digital forest. The design of objects and enemies in the world are very similar in their natural inspirational roots too. Many players will often run across the jellyfish-like and bird-like enemies. Even the final bosses look pretty, which makes it a real shame when you have to destroy them to purify them. Bosses can include creatures of legend, like a phoenix, and real creatures which are known for their relative “beauty”, such as a digital whale.
On a side note, I find it a little humorous how Eden is presented to the audience. It is shown off to be a natural garden full of beauty, knowledge and wonder. But then, let’s remember that this is the INTERNET we’re talking about people. The same human internet we have now. And we’ve been told it’s been corrupted. I’m surprised it wasn’t already. :\ And knowing some of the stuff that’s out there, it really doesn’t seem like a place you’d associate with a wonderful natural garden. Let’s just say if people on Facebook try to “friend” Lumi, then that would be the least of our worries.
In terms of the sounds presented, the music compliments the visuals very well. The techno beat combined with the digital life visuals provide a strong impression of artificiality. This highlights to the player that this universe is not in fact part of reality, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t hold its own definition of beauty. The singing that compliments it is performed by a female VA, which is heavily implicit of Lumi’s own songs which are foreshadowed in the games’ opening sequences. As far as sound effects go, Child of Eden makes distinct actions clear by complimenting player actions with appropriate sounds. It should however be noted that the enemy defeating sound effects leave a little to be desired. Defeating enemies over and over again to the same visual and audio effect can get a little droll. But overall, the experience is a worthwhile, and unique one.
Conclusions:
As a hardcore gamer, I tend to be wary and often overly critical of games that utilise motion controls simply as a gimmick to market the titles to the casual demographic. Ever since games and the “gamer” image became more socially marketable, many hardcore players carry a lot more resentment for motion control technology than they’d like to admit. I myself was somewhat dubious when I first heard that a rail-shooter was coming to the Kinect system. However, what has been presented as a first entry into the genre for the Kinect has pleasantly surprised me. It should be said that this game will not appeal to everyone. Gamers stuck in the competitive multiplayer “COD” mentality probably won’t get too much of a kick out of this, but there are plenty of gamers out there who like to mix it up. If so, then this one is worth the time. It could have gone for longer, but what has been presented to us is a solid entry into the motion control market.
Xbox360 Players who are currently disappointed with their Kinect so far should go out and give this one a try. Who knows, it might change your mind. Child of Eden is also scheduled for a September release on the PS3 that will also feature PSMove compatibility.
If you want a gameplay experience that is really, truly unique, then Child of Eden is most certainly a game for you.
Cow and Chicken Season One Genre: Animation/Kids Producer: Cartoon Network Platform: DVD Running Time: 291 minutes Year: 1997
Price: $24.95 (Buy Here)
Overview
Growing up as a child in the 1990’s, I have fond nostalgic memories of both morning and afternoon cartoons. While Japanese imports were usually on the menu for breakfast, my afternoon diet consisted of a healthy dose of American surrealist-style cartoons, usually aired on Cartoon Network. Animation variety shows like The What a Cartoon! Show, introduced me to a range of new cartoons that presented a wacky and outrageous style of animation I had grown to love from watching series like Ren and Stimpy. One of these shows I had the fortune of being introduced to, was David Feiss’ Cow and Chicken. It’s always a strange moment being transported back into the shoes of my younger self. Firstly, the shoes tend to be really small and hurt my feet, and secondly former tastes tend to not stand the test of time.
Plot
Mama had a Chicken, Mama had a Cow, Dad was proud, He didn’t care how. The first line from the series theme song pretty much sums up the plot of the show. Cow and Chicken are brother and sister, who were brought onto this world by two human parents, who for some reason are represented by two pairs of gendered legs. The back-story to how two pairs of human legs spawned not only a chicken (the chicken came first in this situation) but also a cow, is never addressed apart from the former mentioned line “he didn’t care how”. If we as an audience all join Dad in his blissful ignorance of not caring how, then the show is much easier to swallow. The series revolves around Cow and Chicken and their bizarre adventures, which are most often or not instigated by The Red Guy.
There series doesn’t have an over-arching narrative running through. Consistencies emerge such as Cow and Chicken being students at the same school and being close in age. It’s revealed in this season that Cow is 6 years old, and that Chicken is older, so both are rather young to be going on such wacky adventures if you ask me. Some inconsistencies include The Red Guy who has multiple names and occupations, all of which seem to hinder the goals of Cow and Chicken. The show is broken down into small segments of 8 minute shorts, with the final short in the episode being a unrelated to Cow and Chicken, called I Am Weasel. The episodes never extend stories across segments, apart from one story that spans across two Cow and Chicken segments titled The Ugliest Weenie.
Characters
The two most obvious characters are clearly Cow and Chicken. Firstly, Cow is a cow. She is around 6 years old, has a starting weight of 600 pounds, an udder. You know, a Cow. In terms of her personality, Cow is rather slow. Chicken tends to mock her for her lack of maturity and intellectuality, as she is often mostly concerned with playing with dolls. She also has an alter ego, Supercow. Cow puts on her purple onesie and cape and flies of to the rescue (mostly to rescue Chicken), spouting Spanish and she flies. Chicken is the older brother of Cow. He is often mean to his younger sister, as well as his friends and family, and is often very selfish in his actions. Despite this he still has a sense of morality and often attempts to save his sister from danger like a good older brother. The Red Guy is another major character. As I said, he serves the purpose of instigator, which is probably fitting seeing as he is a pantless devil. Many of the jokes, such as his numerous names, revolve around the fact that he doesn’t wear pants ever, which he seems to be rather proud of. Minor characters include Chickens friends Flem and Earl, as well as the parents and teacher of Cow and Chicken. These characters tend to just be background and not really add much to the plot.
Considering that Cow and Chicken season one also features the segment I Am Weasel it is worth mentioning the main characters from this as well. The series revolves around I R Baboon who is a moronic red-butted baboon who is constantly trying to undermine and humiliate Weasel of whom he is jealous of. This segment doesn’t often feature reoccurring minor characters and tends to be very short on plot due to its lack of airtime to develop any real character development. It tends to get a bit repetitive.
Audio and Visual
I feel that the animation is attempting to emulate the extreme surreal nature of cartoons such as Red and Stimpy but just falls short of the mark. There is a lot of emphasis on over the top gestures, which at times push the characters into odd off-model positions that tend to not really sit well. Similarly, backgrounds tend to be very warped in their perspective and lack any extreme detail, which seemed to be a trend that spanned across the 1990’s in animations. These aren’t necessarily bad things for everyday audiences. As a child I really enjoyed the hyperbolic expressions of the characters, but sadly this fondness hasn’t aged well and I just found it a little messy. There also tends to be a lot of visual gags focused on the naked rear end or misspelling words, making the program a little less visually sophisticated than other Cartoon Network series.
To match the bizarre visual nature of Cow and Chicken, has some pretty off the wall voice over acting. The primary actor in Cow and Chicken is none other than Charlie Adler who did a whole bunch of stuff in the 90’s including Aaah!!! Real Monsters, Rocko’s Modern Life and even The Smurfs. Most recently Adler has been the voice of Starscream in all three of the Transformers live action films. Alders vocal feats don’t go unnoticed in Cow and Chicken, playing the role of Cow, Chicken and The Red Guy. The range in pitches, intensity and accents is nothing short of impressive.
Conclusion
Cow and Chicken is not a bad show by any means, it just feels a little dated to me and is very typical of the style of animations that were coming out of America in the 90’s. The humour is a little esoteric and lacking maturity so it won’t be up everyone’s alley. The crazy animation and voice acting style might be a bit much for some, but then again there are huge fan bases that do enjoy this type of cartoon. I think it is a little unfortunate that the series is broken into three parts per episode, taking away some of the character developments that could be pushed further, in particularly the highs and lows in brotherly/sisterly affection that Cow and Chicken go through. Still, for a slice of quintessential 90’s animation, check out Cow and Chicken season one, even if only to view a short segment to test out your taste buds.
Much like the fresh batch of skins we received for Sektor and Cyrax a couple weeks back, Noob Saibot and Smoke will also be getting new skins donning their classic attires next week. This DLC will come free with Kenshi (who also makes his long awaited debut to MK9 on the same day) or with the latest compatibility pack and will be available on July 5th for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of the game.
Along with the announcement, a new trailer was also revealed that shows the once linked warriors in action, looking better than ever in their downloadable attires. With all of these Klassic costume additions as of late, I am curious if Sonya may be the next chosen to receive her older wardrobe (pigtail and all). Either way though, MK fans have another reason to celebrate as Netherrealm are yet again offering up free DLC to further support Mortal Kombat. Check out the new trailer below.
The other day, a few of us here at Capsule got a chance to check out some upcoming games from Gameloft. Staying in-line with their mantra of only releasing games in the digital distribution space, they had a few mobile releasees to show off as well as some PS3 games. I have to say, regardless of what you may think of the company, Gameloft is certainly doing quite a bit right. I think their business model of sticking to digitally distributed games is forward thinking, and they’re a technology first company. You can’t argue that Gameloft has one of the best engines for mobile game development out there.
While I was there I got a chance to check out Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem in 3D which will be available on 3D capable Android handsets. While I wasn’t wowed by the 3D (more of a hardware problem than anything else) I have to say it was used to good effect with depth of field. The game itself is inspired by the Ultimate Spider-man series of comics and you’ll explore levels and beat up some bad guys while you make your way to the classic Spider-Man bosses. The controls used a standard virtual thumb stick and action buttons and you’ll have over 20 fighting combos and moves.
I also had a chance to check out the Silent Ops for iOS and Android devices, which is a third person stealth action game in the line of James Bond mixed with a dash of Splinter Cell. You’ll switch between 3 operatives with different play-styles who work for a secret agency called Ubiquity, as you travel around the world to uncover a plot that could change the very fate of humanity. This was a very early build but I was able to check out a few different levels showcasing the jet setting nature. I really like the tone Silent Ops has and I’m genuinely interested to see how it turns out.
The last game I got to check out was 9mm. Developed for iOS and Android devices, 9mm is a Max Payne styled third-person shooter set in L.A. gangland where you play as a pissed off cop who, with his team, kill a drug lord and decide to take the millions in cash they uncover. Your whole team becomes a target for revenge and you have to take out the head of the gang that’s hunting you before it’s too late. Much like Max Payne you have some “bullet time” at your disposal which is used with good effect. One event in particular sticks out where I crashed down through a sun window on the roof of a building and automatically went into slow motion and I managed to pull of 3 head shots before I hit the ground. There is no cover mechanic so it really just turns into a straight up shoot fest,which winds up working really well for the game. Even in this early state 9mm was polished, played well and looks like it’ll be a great addition to your iOS library if you’re jonzeing for a Max Payne fix.
Traditionally Gameloft has been known for releasing titles that were a little less than original. While that’s still mostly the same today, you can certainly see that they’re growing more comfortable and starting to get more creative in their scenarios. While talking with the guys I was pleased to find that they see this as well and are working on creating new identities with their future releases. Gameloft already has the technology, with some more unique titles under their belt they’ll really be a company to watch. I feel they’re certainly headed in the right direction and can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next.
