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Anime review: Bayonetta: Bloody Fate (DVD)

January 6, 2015

anime/anime review/Bayonetta/Bayonetta 2/Bayonetta Bloody Fate

Review by Matt S. Bayonetta 2 was one of the best games released last year. And by Wii U standards it was a commercial and critical hit, landing both our Nintendo Wii U game of the year award and a highly commended for the overall game of the year award,…

The Australian games industry in 2015; why consoles are the big opportunity

January 6, 2015

Australia/Financial results/report/Straight Right/Tantalus

Report by Matt S. The Australian games industry can look forward to a positive 2015, with the increased adoption of the new generation of consoles, the cheaper lower value of the Australian dollar and the growing power of digital distribution all compensating for the complete absence of any interest from…

Review: Monopoly Family Fun Pack (Sony PlayStation 4)

January 5, 2015

board game/Monopoly/Monopoly Family Fun Pack/PlayStation 4/PS4 Review/Reviews/Ubisoft

Review by Matt S. I think Ubisoft has done everything it can to accurately encapsulate Monopoly in digital form. Since picking up the license from EA earlier in the year Ubisoft has taken the opportunity to kickstart the new partnership with Hasbro by releasing a very down-the-line take on the…

Interview: The CEO of gumi Asia on Chain Chronicle, Brave Frontier, and F2P mobile publishing

January 5, 2015

Brave Frontier/Chain Chronicle/David Ng/gumi/Interview/Interviews

Interview by Matt S. Last year one free-to-play game really impressed us – SEGA’s Chain Chronicle, which was localised for the market by gumi Asia, a Singapore-based developer, localiser, and publisher. A massive hit in Japan, I was keen to see how gumi Asia sees that English-speaking Asian and western…

review-flyhunter-origins-sony

January 5, 2015

Flyhunter Origins/Indie/platformer/PlayStation Vita/Reviews/Steel Wool Games/Vita Review

Review by Pierre-Yves L. Designed by a team of animators with experience at the almighty Pixar, Flyhunter is the story of Zak, a janitor on a spaceship, that gets himself in a heap of trouble; he gets bored and accidentally releases the spaceship’s valuable cargo… and its captain. Someone should…

Manga review: 20th Century Boys (Volumes 2-5)

January 4, 2015

20th Century Boys/Manga/Manga review/Naoki Urasawa

Review by Matt S. The first volume of 20th Century Boys was a well-crafted opening chapter to a manga that was clearly going to need more time to develop. Back when I reviewed that volume I suggested that we’d have a better idea of whether it would be compelling over…

The games of January; quality over quantity

January 2, 2015

Dying Light/Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires/Heroes of Might and Magic III/Hyperdimension Neptunia RE;Birth 2/Raven's Cry/Saints Row/Saints Row IV/The games of January

List by Jim S. It’s the first month of 2015! Traditionally the most quiet month for new game releases, January 2015 isn’t really any different, which is a good thing since it will give people a chance to knock off some of the backlog from last year. With that being…

Monogatari returns with Tsukimonogatari, streaming free

January 2, 2015

anime/anime news/Aniplex/Daisuki/Monogatari/Nisio Isin/Shaft/streaming service/Tsukimonogatari

News by Clark A. 2015 is upon us and that means there’s a whole slew of new anime on the horizon (and that the Gregorian calendar progressed as expected). If you’ve spent the holiday break chipping away at the old backlog, you’ll be pleased to hear that there’s already a…

Anime review: Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl Standard Edition (Blu-ray/DVD)

January 2, 2015

anime/anime review/Blu-ray/comedy/DVD/Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl/NISA/Shaft/slice of life

Review by Clark A. Shaft is a studio so wedded to avant-garde works –Mekakucity Actors and the Monogatari series spring to mind – that Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl initially struck me as an uncharacteristic instance of it animating a conservative franchise. Rooted in increasingly oversaturated high school slice of…

Review: Klonoa: Empire of Dreams (Nintendo Wii U)

January 1, 2015

2D platformer/Bandai Namco/eShop/Game Boy Advance/Klonoa/Klonoa: Empire of Dreams/puzzle platformer/Retro/Virtual Console/Wii U

Review by Clark A. Platformers that drown the player in obtusely hidden collectibles often don’t sit well with me, even if the game itself is a terrific example of the genre. Developers incorporate ensembles of near-useless baubles to inject games with additional hours of life, but the result is more…

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