NIS America has released a fully english trailer for Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel and shows off not only the anime-styled cutscenes that we will be treated to while we play through the game as well as bits of the gameplay as well. But what is really interesting is the fact that there is a lot of information given out about the game itself.
As you can see when you watch the trailer you will notice that this game will bring an end to the Ar Tonelico series apparently and also features plenty of singing girls and JRPG fun that NIS America is known for. Also the game will come with a dual audio option which means you can choose to hear the characters sing in either English or Japanese depending on which one you like.
Also shown is the Premium Edition which is currently up for pre-order now from any of your standard retailers and of course from the NIS America store itself which has a Purge Party calendar that you can order for a few dollars more. But regardless of that, the game will be arriving on shelves on March 15th exclusively for the PS3.
When Sony Ericsson does a smartphone announcement, they do it right. They have uploaded a multitude of videos that range from being your standard commercial type videos to interviews with the heads of companies already announced to be developing games for the Xperia Play. Besides the interviews however you can get your first look at what the games will actually look like when they are played on the phone. Nothing very pretty but the fact that you will be able to play PS1 games is still a huge factor for me.
You will be able to catch all of the videos below without having to try to navigate Sony Ericsson’s YouTube page.
So you have just announced one of the biggest smartphone releases perhaps since the iPhone itself. What do you do next? Release the specifications of course so that everyone can pick through them. Sony Ericsson has released the Xperia Play’s official specs and will include what appears to be a battery life of over 5 hours which is a significant increase compared to what has been said about the NGP and the 3DS.
Also included in the specs is the fact that the phone will be using a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an embedded Adreno GPU graphics processor. Sure these specs may not sound like a whole lot but it means that the phone will be able to easily run some of the best PS1 games with little trouble, and be as if you were playing on your own TV at home, if not better. Catch the full specifications below:
At Sony Ericsson’s MWC 2011 press event today, the company announced their new phone that has been under much scrutiny as of late, the Xperia Play phone. While this phone is called something different, it is in fact the PlayStation Phone that many people had been clamoring about for months as bits of information were leaked out by companies in China and other leaks.
The Xperia Play is the first smartphone to get the PlayStation seal of approval and will use Google’s Android platform Gingerbread. The good news is that despite being just announced the Xperia Play will be available in March of this year with users in the United States that follow a Verizon Wireless cell phone plan getting first dibs on trying it out.
The Xperia Play won’t be your standard smart phone. No in fact it will be the first Android phone that comes with PlayStation Suite which was announced just recently at Sony’s press event when the NGP was announced. This means that Sony will be able to let users buy PSN content and various PlayStation 1 titles. You won’t even have to buy a certain game because according to Sony’s Kazuo Hirai, the phone will come preloaded with what they are saying is a “Legendary PS1 title.”
Play’s Software will also include a Xperia Play game launcher which will allow players to buy content that as been designed specifically for the Xperia which means that you won’t always have to play PS1 titles on your phone. Companies already announced to be developing games for the Xperia Play are Electronic Arts, Gameloft and Glu Mobile.
So there it is folks, the PlayStation Phone has finally gotten a name and a release date. No sign of a price however but it definitely looks like an interesting bit of technology. Also, what could that legendary PS1 game be do you think?
Naruto fans will be doing air kicks in excitement once they see the latest trailer for aruto Shippuden: Kizuna Drive for the Playstation Portable!
Taking place in the Naruto Shippuden universe, this title will be an original adventure featuring a mysterious clan powerful enough to create a new Jinchurriki. Players can battle alone or can team up with mates with co-op gameplay, and is set for a Spring 2011 release. A demo is available now, and anime fans should definitely check it out, or at least watch the epic trailer below, as it is filled with lots and lots of ninja goodness!!
Overview:
Various anime have taken references from other media to help build themselves up. There is your usual source material of being created from a manga or a light novel but what if that source material featured heavy references to another source. Pandora Hearts the anime was created from the manga of the same name, but what is really interesting is the fact that they draw upon the world of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass to base itself around. Now we’ve already seen episodes 1-13 and what they have to offer. How does Xebec Anime Studio and NIS America close out the story of Pandora Hearts in Volume 2?
Art:
Before I go into the artwork it is good to mention that, as with Volume 1, Xebec has used a film grain effect that will make some people believe that the production values are low, but in fact is a choice by the production company. Now this film grain can cause some people to not enjoy the way that the anime looks if they prefer a crisp image but in fact the film grain actually fits perfectly with the themes of the anime, especially during the fights that take place. Plus after watching a few minutes you will not even realize that there is a grain effect on the image.
Once you look past the grain, you will find a well done, Victorian gothic styled environment. The character designs are well done and the environments that they explore, both the dimensions and the real world are animated well enough. As I said before in my previous review, the characters are designed with a more Victorian England style of clothing and have appearance relatively similar to that time period. Also I must say that the Will of the Abyss is one of the best looking characters in the anime itself, short of Alice of course.
Audio & Subtitles:
The spoken language for the anime is Japanese which means that watchers of the anime will be forced to read the subtitles, unless they know Japanese of course. This is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on whether or not you prefer English dubs or listening to the original Japanese voices. The Japanese voice work though is really well done and matches the characters perfectly.
Junko Minagawa provives the voice of Oz while Kosuke Toriumi provides the voice of Gil. Perhaps the best performances are done by Ayako Kawasumi as Alice and Kana Hanazawa as Sharon. These voice actors are perfect in their roles and will be pleasing to the ears, regardless of whether or not you know what they are saying without the subtitles.
As far as the musical aspect goes, Yuki Kajiura handles most if not all of the original sound track. The dramatic themes that she uses are very well done and can draw out the emotion of the scene perfectly. The songs themselves may sound familiar if you have heard her work before, but if it is your first time then you are in for a treat. The opening and ending music is suitable, but not worth much praise or notice on the other hand.
Now the subtitles themselves are white lettered and unobtrusive which is exactly what viewers are looking for in regards to subtitles. On most screens they will appear just under the black line of the widescreen viewing area which means that they will not be in the way of what is happening on the screen. I didn’t encounter any translation issues either from what I watched which is a plus.
Story:
The story picks up immediately starts where the last volume left off with Alice being captured by Cheshire Cat and Oz and Gil attempting to rescue her despite the fact that they will be at the mercy of the Cheshire Cat in his own dimension. Oz suffers the attacks of Cheshire cat continuously, both mentally and physically until he is saved by what is left of Jack Vessalius. Jack shows him the Tragedy of Sablier which began much of the mystery that the series holds within itself.
During the events of the Tragedy of Sablier Oz finds Alice murdered and this causes him to truly lose his mind and causes him to use the power of B. Rabbit through his contract to Alice and starts to destroy the Cheshire Cat’s dimension until Gil snaps him out of it by reminding him that the whole reason they came here was to save Alice.
After successfully saving Oz is completely engrossed in trying to find the truth behind the mystery of what happened at the Tragedy of Sablier. There are many different things which occur however that continues to delay his quest for finding the truth behind what happened, including the fact that the Citizens of Baskerville continue to pursue him and that the Will of the Abyss is continually hunting Alice to kill her once and for all.
Those who have watched the first Volume will already know the depth of the mysteries and the plot twists that compound on top of one another as the story progresses. While these mysteries are intriguing, the best parts of the anime are the character interactions. The characters are some of the best that you can find in any anime and has plenty of character development. I can’t imagine how many times animes have introduced the characters of a story, only to leave it at that. Pandora Hearts looks into every characters’ past and delves into different facets of their personality.
Unfortunately, the story does have one downturn and that is in the ending. The manga that it is based off of is still continuing today in Japan, which means that the story has to have an anime original ending which leaves a lot of mysteries unanswered and can leave watchers wanting more or at least have some more questions answered for them. Despite all of this though, if you enjoy plot twists and character development then you will definitely find Pandora Hearts to be one of the best to fit that category.
Premium Edition:
As with Pandora Hearts Volume 1, Volume 2 comes in an oversized hard black box that has the Pandora Hearts title and Volume 2 Premium Edition on one side with white ivy designs on the top and bottom of the box, while the other side shows off a very impressive portrait of three characters from the anime. Rather than a more gothic styled portrait like Volume 1, Volume 2 has a portrait that shows the Will of the Abyss, a cat (name withheld), Jack and Gil in a very cheerful looking atmosphere, minus Gil of course.
The two slim DVDs that are included in the package feature Jack on one cover with Break on the other and with the first disc holding six episodes and the second disc holding six as well. Of course the best feature of the second disc is the fact that it contains all of the special omake (bonus scenes) that feature the main characters acting completely different than they would normally and are often very hilarious and show the funny side of most of the characters. Of the four omake included, I found 9th Time’s the Charm?! to be the best, but it will be up to you to find your favorite.
Perhaps the most interesting bonus that comes with the Premium Edition is the hardcover art book which reads right to left as if it were from Japan itself and features information on certain characters in the story and explains their backgrounds as well as provides a more detailed description of certain events in the story such as the Tragedy of Sablier. Personally I would recommend reading the explanations until after watching the show to avoid spoiling parts of the storyline. But after the character explanations are beautiful pieces of full colored art work which shows the characters in a number of different situations that are a sight to see. Also at the end is the second half of the Gilbert in Wonderland which takes a fun turn compared to Gil’s usual serious side. The small manga is a nice addition but people who haven’t read the first half from Volume 1 may be a bit confused about what is happening despite the short length.
Overall:
Yet again Xebec and NIS America have delivered a great anime to US shores and have done so with plenty of extra bonus features wrapped up in a great looking package. Even more bonus features than were in Volume 1. Pandora Hearts Volume 2 is much more serious than the first volume though as the series tries to wrap up many of the mysteries involved in the storytelling and some may call it even better than the first volume because of this. Despite a lukewarm ending Pandora Hearts Volume 2 definitely belongs on your shelf next to Pandora Hearts Volume 1 and will not disappoint viewers.
Devil May Cry 4: Refrain Platform:iPhone (Reviewed), iPad, iPod Touch
Publisher:Capcom
Developer: Capcom Mobile
Genre: Hack n’ Slash/Beat em’ Up
Release Date: February 3, 2011
Price: $5.99BUY NOW!
Even though this port has had so much taken out and downgraded for the iPhone, DMC4R is actually still a real blast to play.
The Devil May Cry series is proudly standing near the top of Capcom’s mountain of A-listers, right up there next to Street Fighter and Resident Evil. Now making cameos in games outside the franchise and even sporting its own anime, the saga saw a major change recently with lead character Dante not being the main protagonist in Devil May Cry 4 on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Now the title comes as Devil May Cry 4: Refrain on the iPhone to blow us away all over again. Thanks alot Capcom, we’re still trying to recover from the original title! However the question stands clear: can DMC4 still be as awesome when downgraded for a mobile phone?
While the story is decent, its executed and told poorly, however the very seldom still images like this one look beautiful and are nice eye candy, but sadly most gamers will just skip through these.
Presentation
Devil May Cry 4: Refrain Is filled with style and is just bursting with ‘cool’. From the fonts to menu screens, this game is bursting with character. Its dark demonic focusing on dark colours but throwing in a lot of bright crimson and red to freshen things up. From character designs to the music to the game play, everything is about style and looking cool, and it hits the mark with ease. The only major set back presentation-wise is the unfortunate telling of the story. While a decent storyline does exist, it is executed poorly through a mix of in game animations which are decent at best, to a bunch of really nice art work and uninspired narration. The mix of the 2 styles really seems out of place, and honestly the story is almost impossible to follow, and anyone except a hardcore DMC fan will more than likely just skip the cinematic all together, which is a darn shame.
The combo and ranking system really makes pulling off combos feel very rewarding, and preforming stylish kills can become easily addictive!
Gameplay
The engine behind Devil May Cry 4: Refrain is by far the highlight of the game, and Capcom has done its best to emulate the high adrenaline rush for the iPhone provided by the superior console games, and its come pretty close. The analog stick is at most times good, and depending on which option players choose they can have 3 buttons jump, devil bringer, and attack-which automatically decides if you should slash or shoot, or two separate buttons for guns and sword. Neither really change the game too much, but its still a nice option to have included. What makes the gameplay shine however is its epic combo system. A bar is shown which can be built up with each hit, and when filled you achieve a new grade-either D for Deadly, C for Carnage, B for Brutal, A for Atomic, then S for Smokin! Gaining these grades is alot of fun as to link hits together to create combos requires a mix between taking on multiple enemies at once, and using combinations between all buttons. After a certain amount of hits, opponents will be sent flying either away or upwards, when sent upwards, one can jump to land a few mid-air hits, or when sent flying away, the devil bringer attack can pull them closer to you for a few more hits like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat’s harpoon ‘Get Over Here!’ move. Also, guns can be used to shoot far away enemies which help links chains of attacks, and it can also be charged up among a few other techniques. This depth is really easy to master and is alot of fun, and with the ranking system-very, very rewarding.
Refrain has many flaws, but its gameplay, soundtrack and style are so great it truly makes up for the aspects it lacks in.
However not all elements of the game are as spot on, unfortunately the camera angles are often pretty terrible and are often so far away you can occasionally feel disconnected from the action and you can sometimes be surprised by enemies that are off screen, making it hard to find who to attack. Sometimes with only a few enemies on the screen at once combat doesn’t feel as chaotic as it should, but this reviewer doubts the iPhone in most cases can’t take too much more so it’s not that big of a deal. Possibly one the games biggest flaws is it’s level design. While there are a few interesting ideas thrown in here and there which do their job of breaking up the action and keeping the system fresh, its easy to get lost in levels as they arn’t all so straight forward, and some puzzles arn’t explained or implied very well so they are a bit more difficult than you’d expect for a game you don’t wanna think with-just button mash. However, this isn’t so bad it gets rid of the gameplay.
In video games, a bullet to the head has always been not that big of a deal. I suppose bullet-proof vests cover your face too somehow, maybe?
Hardcore Devil May Cry fans will be disappointed to hear that Dante isn’t a playable character, however word is he will be a downloadable character in the future, and this is just one of a few things missing in this port. However since it’s gone from the most powerful home console gaming system of all time to a device that’s been built for text messages and calling people-it’s actually pretty impressive what Capcom has managed to squeeze into this game. One of the biggest highlights as well as the combo system is the boss battles though. No exaggeration here- these are some of the best boss battles you will play on the iPhone. These are epic, amazing and will blow you away. Its really surprising how climatic these feel on an iPhone game, and you really get that stylish cinematic Devil May Cry feel to it, truly breath taking, and comes close to competing with it’s original source title. Whats nice to see is there is quite a bit of replay value to the game, as you can unlock extra features which can really switch up the gameplay as well as customisation options which really make up for the short ten levels of Refrain, a nice bonus.
Theres an unwritten law in video games: All games must include either a Ice Boss or a Water Temple. No questions asked!
Graphics
The graphics of Devil May Cry 4: Refrain are a mixed bag. Some scenes like in boss battles and some particular effects thrown in here and there are nice and the character models are decent, especially on the enemies you fight against. However the textures arn’t always as nice or as detailed as I’d like, as sometimes they seem a little basic. Not all models are smooth, especially in levels that arn’t as dark and gloomy and are more bright in colour where the edges can seem a little rough, but it isn’t always the case. While the graphics arn’t perfect though, they are good and they do get the job done, just expect more Devil May Cry 1 than 4 in this department, and to be honest it usually isn’t as good as the first one, but the graphics are still good enough.
No idea why this guy is in such a heated mood, he probably should cool off and chill out!
Audio
The Devil May Cry franchise is well known for its awesome Industrial soundtrack, and this Refrain is no exception. Its dark, its exciting and it feels evil. Very gothic and to be simply put and said, its just very good! Swapping between creepy, quiet and haunting tracks to hard-hitting, fast-paced industrial tracks that really gets you in the mood to slay demons and it stays true to the style of the franchise. It’s probably one of the best soundtracks you’ll hear on an iPhone game. Only problem is often it goes quiet between enemies, but since they appear in every room, the music is going soft to loud receptively and it gets old fast. In most cases, it would’ve probably been nicer to just keep the combat music throughout, since fighting is all you really do in Refrain. Furthermore, while the sound effects and occasional voice acting is done with absolute perfection, they aren’t executed as nicely as they could’ve been with the reuse of lines such as ‘Be Gone!’ repeated what seems to be every 5-10 seconds, and gets really annoying quickly.
Hope you like killing things, cause your gonna do ALOT of it in this game!
Conclusion
While making Devil May Cry 4: Refrain, I believe Capcom knew it was fighting a loosing battle, as it is impossible to equal possibly one of the greatest beat em ups available on a next generation home console. This game has a lot of small things holding it back and it is far from perfect, however it’s combo system is so good it makes up for at least 70% of it’s problems. Furthermore, the soundtrack is memorable and could probably even hold its own on a cd against other soundtracks, has some of the most epic boss battles you’ll probably have on the device (or at least from my experience so far) and the entire game is just over flowing with style.While many fans of the original may really hate this port, keep in mind that the iPhone does not have the capabilities of your Xbox 360, so what Capcom have done to translate it and still keep its signature style and gameplay is commendable. This is all on the same device you call your boss on to say your late for work, or checking your twitter or facebook under the table in class. While many things aren’t done amazingly, at the end of the day this title is really, really fun to play, and is a delight to all button-mashers out there. Easy to enjoy for both hardcore gamers, fans and even casual players, this game is easy to recommend to any fans of the beat em up genre, as it is one of the best options available on the system. However, if you have a choice between the iPhone and the home console versions, I recommend DMC4 over DMC4:R. Refrain is amazing by the standards of an iPhone game, and the original is amazing by the standards of a next gen home console game which are much higher, just keep that in mind.
Devil May Cry 4: Refrain isn’t the greatest beat em up of all time, but its easily one of the best for the iPhone.
PROS
Great Controls
Awesome Combos
Addictive and rewarding ranking system
Epic Boss battles
Amazing soundtrack
Good replay value
It’s Devil May Cry 4-on your iPhone!!!
CONS
Story is told poorly
Some graphics and texture issues are a bit rough
A few uninspired level design and puzzles
I give Devil May Cry 4: Refrain for the iPhone a devilish:
Fighting fans will be happy to hear that the Mortal Kombat story trailer for Liu Kang was released today and he is looking as brutal as ever! The trailer shows us a look into the fighter’s storyline, as well as demonstrating his fighting technique and showcasing his musical theme.
Interestingly enough, the character has undergone a few subtle changes. These include a new teleport move and most importantly, his signature bicycle kick now now longer defies gravity, but now looks much more realistic, more like a move used by Keanu Reeves in the first ‘The Matrix’ movie. The trailer also has cameos from characters such as Raiden and Kano, as well as two other noteworthy fighters. First of all, it appears Shang Stung’s appearance which changes in almost every game now is more like how he appeared in MK2 and at the end of MK Shoulin Monks, and takes the form of Reptile at one stage. The cameo that caught my attention most however is the inclusion of Bo’ Rai Cho from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Nothing is confirmed or announced if he will appear as a playable character in the game, but so far he seems to be the only new character from the MK universe related to this title from a game outside the original trilogy.
The trailer also includes the song “Liu Kang’s Theme” by DJ and producer Congorock. Liu Kang’s Theme will also appear the album “Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors” and will be released in April 2011, and the track is now currently downloadable on Amazon here and iTunes here. This is the second theme to be released, first of which was Mileena’s which you can read about here. The trailer also includes shots of goodies included in the kollector’s edition, which is also worth checking out.
Get as excited as you Kan! Mortal Kombat for the PS3 and Xbox 360 is shaping up to be a really Krazy looking game!
inFamous had your standard morality system which you played either good or bad Cole and depending on your choices, it made the citizens of the city hate you, change your appearance, and also provide a different ending. Some people may have found this black and white, evil and good, system relatively overused and the developers of inFamous Sucker Punch have decided to show the difference this time around.
In the latest videos released for inFamous 2 we see a few different ways that your choices in the game will effect the world and the missions. There is one video which shows off the good way to handle a mission which involves saving the police and helping them out with the cops’ help, or you could be doing the other method which involves blowing the entire enemy complex away with a street car full of explosives. These decisions may seem relatively similar to what you were presented with back in inFamous 1 but we shall see.
There sure are going to be a lot of different dungeons in Skyrim, especially after hearing that there are eight different dungeon designers working on the project. Today Bethesda released a handful of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim concept art which shows us a few different areas that are just begging to be explained and explored.
We see a mountain top temple with what appears to be wolves attacking two people, as well as the fact that a viking like warrior is about to take on a bear that is standing over the body of a dead woolly mammoth. Also we see what appears to be some sort of catacombs and a cool looking statue. Sure concept art always looks better and more detailed than the finished product, but if these areas even look half as good as they do on paper, I’m even more sold then I already am.
