HOLY COW MICROSOFT! This week, in addition to the regular deals of the week, Microsoft is discounting a ton of merchandise on the Xbox Live Marketplace. For example, you can get the Halo Wars DLC for 400 MS points each (hopefully if everyone buys it, we can get a sequel, although it probably still won’t be the same without the original developers behind it.) Also on sale is Alien Breed 1 & 2, plus Darwinia+ and Defense Grid. There is also A HUGE PRICE REDUCTION on the Red Dead Undead Collection (basically, this includes all the DLC for 1000 MS points.) Finally, on April 1, you will be able to pick up Comic Jumper, Fallout New Vegas DLC and the Deadliest Warrior for 1/2 off. To see the whole list of deals, check out Xbox.com here. What will you be picking up?
EA has released Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 on the iPhone and iPad, with some awesome features that will make your commute between holes go faster than a bird plummeting to the ground after it was hit by your screaming golf ball. The game will take advantage of the retina display on the iPhone and the huge display of the iPad. In addition, it is possible to play with friends over Bluetooth or local wifi. Skins, match play and new golfers like Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Paul Casey, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Paula Creamer are included. Plus, the Predator fantasy course and the Old White Course at Greenbrier have been developed for their release on the Apple platforms.
Facebook functionality has been put into the game too. “Twice a week, a new Par-3 hole will be chosen for the ‘“Closest to the Pin”’ Facebook Challenge. Players can tee off and see how close they can get to the pin and where they rank amongst their Facebook friends on the leaderboards. ”
People who are familiar with the Atari 2600 days will undoubtedly be excited by the news that Atari is publishing a remake of Warlords, being developed by Griptonite Games. In the summer of 2011, the game will be released on the PSN and XBLA. Included in this game is online/local 1-4 person coop, in which the players must protect their castle from the enemy. Sometimes, these enemies use dragons that disgorge fireballs. Luckily, it is possible to deflect this ammunition or fling it back at the baddies attacking you.
Not only must you defend your stronghold, but you also have to to use your troops to capture and control waypoints that will grant you power-ups and the like.
According to Jim Wilson, President and CEO of Atari: “Warlords infuses the arcade action genre with a bold and vibrant visual style coupled with robust strategy gameplay. It exemplifies our design goals and company strategy as we reintroduce these classic brands to a new generation of gamers.”
Tecmo-Koei has received a lot of hate from gamers over the years, which is usually due to putting out the same old Dynasty Warriors game ever year. Well someone really went out of their way to show it as their office in Yokohama was tagged by grafiti artist. They wrote such wonderful poetry as “die garbage”, “crap game”, and “Tenchu” to name a few.
Not for sure why they wrote Tenchu since Namco-Bandi has nothing to do with the series. Guess they really love Tenchu. There is no information on who the culprit is but this is just silly. What happened to just ranting and crying on the Internet?
Stay tuned we’ll have our review of Dynasty Warriors 7 in the next few days. Keep an eye out for our live video gamplay stream as well.
WAGNARIA!! Complete Series Produced by: A-1 Pictures Licensed by: NIS America Contents:2 DVDs containing episodes 1-13, Premium Edition Box and Art Book Language: Japanese with English subtitles Official Website:WAGNARIA!! Price:$43.99-47.99 Available for purchase at: Right Stuf, The Anime Corner Store, Anime Castle, NIS America’s Online Store
Overview:
There are many ways that anime has tackled slice of life material. The usual set up would either revolve around the characters’ home or high school but that appears to be a bit too common now. Especially for the people at Aniplex’s A-1 Pictures because they have adapted WORKING!!, a yonkoma (four panel) comic manga and turned it into an anime series. Now, NIS America has brought it overseas as WAGNARIA!!, and with a unique setting and characters will it be an enjoyable slice of life comedy?
Story:
Nearly the entire show takes place inside the place where all of the characters work, Wagnaria. The restaurant has become understaffed after becoming more popular. The manager, Kyoko Shirafuji, passes along the task of hiring a new worker onto Poplar Taneshima who accepts the task. Now Taneshima has a special trait about her which attracts Sota Takanashi to even help her out in the first place after she bumps in to him on the street.
What makes Taneshima unique is the fact that she is extremely tiny. Takanashi originally mistakes her for a lost child but is quickly told not to worry because Taneshima is actually a seventeen year old high schooler and needs a part-timer to help out at the restaurant. Now after hearing this Takanashi readily accepts her offer due to his love of anything small. Little did he know that, although Wagnaria is just a normal restaurant, the staff that work there are far from normal.
Now as a whole WAGNARIA!! doesn’t exactly have much of a plot. There is no objective in mind or task to be accomplished other than to serve the customers and “do their work.” Of course considering the series is of the slice of life genre it does not require a driven plot. Rather episodes mostly progress at a simple pace with the characters interacting with one another in the restaurant with only minor interaction with the customers. There are plot points which are followed throughout the series but these can be seen more as running gags and it actually holds the series together well while keeping the watcher laughing all the while.
Artwork:
There is one thing that caught my eye as I began to watch WAGNARIA!! and that was the fact that the characters’ hair coloring manages to avoid the “halo” effect that is prominent in nearly every anime that is made today and is shaded impressively. Plus there are plenty of vivid colors that help keep the viewer’s attention on the characters with their great designs added into the great coloration. The backgrounds for the most part help set the fact the characters are working in a family restaurant but isn’t impressive or lackluster; simply suitable. The few moments when the anime turns away from the restaurant we see some more impressive backgrounds and design which shows that the main reason for the lack of noticeable backgrounds in the restaurant were due to setting constraints.
Audio & Subtitles:
The voice actors who are playing the characters do an impressive job of handling the voice work. The personalities of each character really shine with the voices that are matched to them, especially Soma and Sato the kitchen staff. What is surprising is the opening sequence for the anime. The opening song “Someone Else” is extremely catchy and timed perfectly with the animation making it a great way to set the mood for the viewers. The ending song “Go To Heart Edge” is also enjoyable to listen to but not as impressive as the opening.
Now WAGNARIA!! uses the original Japanese dialogue which means that the whole series is subbed. Some people may be turned off by this aspect but there are those who do appreciate the original voices with subtitles. As far as the subtitles themselves they are suitable enough and I only noticed a handful of grammatical errors throughout the thirteen episode series.
Characters:
Now every anime is held together by how the characters interact with one another, but this is especially evident in the slice of life genre when there usually isn’t a plot to follow. Now the workers of Wagnaria are no slouches when it comes to having unique personality traits and each of them ends up bringing something interesting to the restaurant and to the show.
Our main character Sota Takanashi appears to be the most normal of the workers but that is only because his personality trait is less evident than the others. Takanashi has an extreme affinity for anything that is small and cute. This ranges from children, tiny animals, toys and Taneshima. Though his actual fondness for these small things is only because he wants to protect them and only happens to see Taneshima at the same level as a “water-flea.” His constant affection for tiny things appears frequently throughout the show and is the whole reason he joined Wagnaria in the first place.
Now before I mentioned that Poplar Taneshima is vertically challenged. Being a worker at a family restaurant this causes her to have more than a few problems with her height. She is often mistaken for a middle schooler, or even worse an elementary school student thanks to her small size and she often requires help around the back of the restaurant with certain tasks. Her sensitivity to her height is only made worse by Takanashi’s (or in her case Katanashi) constant reminder she is tiny and Sato’s teasing.
Rounding out the three characters with the most focus in the anime is Mahiru Inami. Now Inami is one of the strangest girls to work at Wagnaria, mainly because she suffers an illness. This illness is androphobia, better known as a fear of men. She is so extreme in her illness that she punches any man without hesitation which leads to her constantly pummeling Takanashi as the manager told both of them to work together to try and fix their respective problems. Inami manages to work at Wagnaria by serving only the female customers and taking out her built up frustrations on Takanashi in the back.
Now earlier I mentioned that the manager of the restaurant is extremely lazy, her name is Kyoko and does absolutely zero work around the restaurant. Instead she only eats parfaits that are made for her by Yachiyo Todoroki. Now Yachiyo has a unique trait of her own, and that is the fact that she always carries a katana strapped around her waist and is more than willing to pull it out whenever someone threatens her close bond with Kyoko. Kyoko responds in same by providing a dominating force in Wagnaria and helps keep the restaurant from coming under any trouble.
The chefs of Wagnaria are Jun Sato and Hiroomi Soma and although Sato appears to be the most calm and collected worker at Wagnaria he actually is far from it. Sato is unusually helpful in the back and often helps Taneshima when she needs help, of course that isn’t when he is teasing her about her height or making designs with her long hair. This usually only happens however when Yachiyo has finished telling him a story about the manager for certain reasons…. Soma appears to be the quiet member of the workers but there is a saying that one should always watch out for the quiet ones. Soma is extremely deceiving and often blackmails various members of the staff with his knowledge about their lives or pasts that they don’t want revealed to the rest of the staff.
Now various other characters appear throughout the series, with Aoi Yamada helping to round out the final main cast later in the series. Yamada is a very cheerful but apparently clumsy girl whom is found by the head of the restaurant Hyogo Otoo, who is never at the restaurant because he is searching for his lost wife. Yamada has a mysterious past around her and is “suffering selective amnesia” after falling and hitting her head. Yamada appears later in the series and sees various workers at the restaurant as “perfect family members” to make up for her forgotten family.
Sota’s sisters also make an appearance occasionally and range from either a wild drunk who can’t manage to stay in a relationship, a shut-in romance author, a younger sister with a habit of twisting her elder sisters around, and a divorced lawyer. Sota’s sisters are evidently the reason for his love of small things as even his youngest sister is quickly passing him in height. Their diverse personalities create a hectic home life for Sota who tries to keep the household from imploding on itself.
Premium Edition: WAGNARIA!! comes inside of a hard white collectors box. As per standard with NIS A’s premium editions the box is oversized to help store the rest of the contents of the package with ease. On one side of the box we see Sota in his waiter uniform walking to the left side of the box with Taneshima in her waitress outfit walking to the right side of the box. In the top right corner is the anime’s title and yellow caution sign logo with a knife and fork inside the sign. On the flip side of the box is a large picture of Inami in her street clothes that is cute looking. Also the pictures are completely crisp and avoid of any pixilation issues which were a problem in the previous release.
Now the two DVDs come inside of slim cases with one disc containing seven episodes and the second disc containing six episodes. Also on the second disc are the clean versions of the endings, meaning no credits in the way of the animation. Unfortunately it is a disappointment that the opening was not also provided as bonus content as it is a major highlight of the series.
Now onto the best part of the premium edition, the hardcover artbook titled WAGNARIA!! Special Sample. Inside of the book are a number of different character sketches and background pictures. The highlight of the art book however are the character pictures and descriptions about their personalities, a relationship chart showing off the relationships between each character and of course a few four-frame comics that the anime is based off of. The artwork inside the book is pleasing to look at and the comics are humorous, though best read after watching the anime for full enjoyment.
Overall:
WAGNARIA!! does everything right as far as being a slice of life comedy goes, especially with a little bit of romantic comedy as well. There may not be a central plot but with characters as unique as the ones working at Wagnaria there certainly doesn’t need to be one. The humor is usually well set up and the only person I could see not enjoying the comedy is someone with a bad sense of humor. With great artwork and a cheerful opening each time WAGNARIA!! welcomes you with a smile that you will experience throughout the series.
In an effort to help push Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D’s presence to everyone who is willing to listen, Capcom has released a new trailer today for the game. The interesting thing about this trailer is that it focuses solely on Wesker and Jill and their abilities in the game itself. Now The Mercenaries 3D contains the popular Mercenaries mode and that is pretty much it.
There currently has yet to be a release date given for every country in the West yet but the game is currently set for a June release in Japan. This means that a release internationally should happen shortly after if things go well for the 3DS only title.
Feel like playing an over the top looking side scrolling action game? Then you should be prepared for Moon Diver because coming out of left field with little previous notification is Square Enix’s latest action title that is currently exclusive to the PlayStation Network. Being released today in the U.S. and tomorrow everywhere else Moon Diver will cost $14.99 and is a timed exclusive only so Xbox 360 owners shouldn’t have to wait too long.
Now Moon Diver is set in the year 2081 and the Earth now lies in ruins, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Players take the roll of the Moon Divers, five different characters with unique powers and special moves that are not only bright and colorful but deadly as well. The trailer released alongside the launch announcement certainly has an anime-esque feel to it but also looks to be a unique experience. Also if it seems like the game may appear similar to the classic title Strider, there is a good reason for that as Moon Diver is also created by Koichi Yotsui who had also created Strider.
No, we didn’t forget about you, and we are sorry for making you wait for this 007 podcast. We are back on the wagon now and ready to take you through the weeks latest news at full throttle.
Listen in as go through what were playing, like Dragon Age 2 and Homefront. We also review the XBLA version of Torchlight, and we go through the collectors edition of Yakuza 4. Even more news and reviews are also talked about; look below to get an idea of everything we talked about.
Just remember, its Computers, Capsule Computers. 🙂
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
We all know it was bound to happen. A new electronic device was created and released to the public. While some people around the world haven’t even had the chance to buy it in stores yet, others are busy destroying them in interesting ways. In a video from MicrowaveShow (guess what that is about) we see a 3DS utterly destroyed inside of a specially designed microwave.
Of course it was even better that the person who destroyed the 3DS not only turned it on but also had the camera running at the same time. Then again the actual handheld only lasts for a second before shorting out and then becoming a literal fireball. The leftovers could only be described as a completely slagged piece of technology. Watch the destruction of $250 below and ignore the filmer’s annoying voice. Do you think that is covered in the extended warranty?
So your Kinect may be sitting under or above your TV screen and its only purpose lately has been to collect dust and be cleaned periodically. Don’t you wish that there was a bit more variety in the games you could play on it? Well thankfully you won’t have to wait too long for the newly surfaced title Heavy Fire: Afghanistan which was developed by Mastiff Games.
The title has flown under the radar for quite some time but actually will make use of the Kinect on the Xbox 360 version of the game and place players in the middle of Afghanistan for this rail based shooter. Of course the title is also being released on the PlayStation 3 and the Wii so don’t expect anything too stellar. It almost appears that the developers aren’t sure what to say about the game in this description.
Enemy Contact. Open fire! Defend the base. Lock down the streets of the local town. Hunt down the enemy in the forests. Rescue the hostages from the caves. Sweep the enemies out of the mountains. Fly in helicopters. Ride in tanks and trucks. Take it to the ground and get up close and personal with the enemy. Your objective is simple: Grab the biggest gun you can find, then knock out the enemy with your Heavy Fire!
Below you can catch a trailer for the game which uses the Wii version of the title to show off what it is capable of, an odd choice. Either way the release date that has been touted on Amazon and Gamefly is April 12th which sets the title within only two weeks of release. Of course another telling sign is that Amazon has the title available for pre-order for only $17.99… usually not the best sign. Also maybe not the best taste in the world to make a game for a currently in progress conflict.
