Game Reviews Thread

[Brother]

You know the drill. This is the place where all you budding writers can freely express your views on all of your favourite games, past and present.

I'm sure by now that you know we expect a fairly decent level of review. Effort, no less than two hundred words and some sort of grade or grading system preferably.

Current Reviews

[Rag]

Psychonauts - PS2 version

This game falls neatly into the category of Flawed Masterpiece, in my mind. On the one hand you have an entertaining, well thought out story, genuinely funny jokes, and a a cast of very likeable, uniquely designed characters - the kind of quality, in this department, that few games can match. The gameplay isn't bad, either, with each level having you do a wide variety of different things, from taking part in races to straightforward puzzle solving. On the other hand, though, you have quite a few technical flaws, and a disappointing number of glitches that seem to have cropped up as a result of a sloppy conversion from Xbox to PS2.

Because it started out on a more powerful system, most of the textures have been reduced a great deal in quality. Leaves on trees look like a green smudge, while the faces of some minor characters are horribly blurred. All these cut-backs, and you still get a lagging frame rate and long, long loading times when moving from one area of the camp (essentially the game's hub world) to another. Some of the glitches seem to crop up as a result of the PS2's slower loading as well. At times, when you converse with a character you'll see their mouth start moving before their voice clip has loaded, and from the rest of the conversation onward it'll be out of sync with the animation. The other glitches I know of involve the left and right speakers becoming out of sync in the music, giving an annoying echo, or a certain range of sound effects disappearing altogether, forcing you to reset the game in order to fix the problem.

But despite this big stack of flaws, Psychonauts remains one of my favourite 3D platformers of all time. This is not a game in which you'll find lazy, run-of-the-mill level design: everything has been carefully planned out, and there are plenty of little background details for the astute player to pick up on. I won't bother explaining the context in which these levels take place or any details about the story, as it would take paragraphs, and you can just read other reviews for that. But I will say that it's refreshing to see so much thought and effort put into a game's setting, characters and visuals.

With regards to sound, the music is pretty much average aside from a couple of memorable tunes, and it certainly does its job. The voice acting, on the other hand, is one aspect in which the game really shines. Each character's voice matches them perfectly, and fits in neatly with the top quality animation in the cutscenes. It simply can't be faulted - even the minor characters who only get a few lines are handled well.

On the whole I'd recommend this game to anyone, if you can tolerate the minor glitches. And if you're an Xbox owner, I'd say it's pretty much a must-have title.

If it weren't for all those little technical faults, I'd score the game much more highly. But they can't be ignored, so it'll have to be an 8.3/10.

[AmishOpiate]

Mortal Kombat: Deception PS2 2004

Among the innovations that stemmed from Mortal Kombat II, and there were many, the big new buzz was about the juggling system, the ability to keep your opponent in the air through a variety of hits. Just when gamers had become tired of the cross-ups in Street Fighter II, here we had a new gimmick which was simultaneously intuitive and incredibly demanding. Of course, Midway wasted no time in killing the golden goose with the releases of MKIII and some ill fated movies, with things coming to a crashing halt with the action-adventure Sub-Zero game which just about killed the franchise. In fact, we didn't hear much about Liu Kang and company until the 2002 Deadly Alliance, and even then the reception was more of nostalgia than genuine excitement. Still, true innovations tend to survive all manner of things, and such was the case of the juggling system, one hallmark MK could always be proud of.

This brings us to the 2004 release Deception, where the intricate dial-a-combo system has never been more on display, and the negatives and positives are as clear as they ever were. Like DA, a large portion of the side gameplay is done through combo training, and these thumb busting segments will be enough to drive some people away forever. Still, nothing beats the rush for the one-out-of-20 time you actually pull one off; there is nothing like bouncing your enemy all over the place before whipping out your sword for the final whack. Most of this is only evident in the Konquest mode, but you do have to pass in order to unlock many hidden characters, so this material is not as optional as it was in DA.

Getting to the meat of the game, this sequel takes off with the bad guys winning and resurrecting a great undead army, only to be thwarted by another, even more evil king, Bowser-wannabe Onaga. With pretty much every A-List character killed in the prologue, it is up to some MK3 castoffs to bring peace to the realms, and that is where all those combos come in.

The main arcade sections work well, each fighter retains three fighting stances, and the ability to draw a weapon at will. The character selection is somewhat slim at first, but you can get by on the much missed Melena and Baraka until additions show up (even Liu Kang, who has been dead in storyline for a couple years now). The graphics are all top notch, although the music does not rise above standard MK fare. Fighting is very tactical, and is more dependent on button pressing than mashing. That said, once you get a couple of special moves under your belt, it is not that hard to get by until the aforementioned Onaga, whose 'Hulk Smash' style reminds you why MK boss battles suck.

The other main mode is Konquest, with you playing as Shujinko, who we follow from childhood to old age as he sets in motion many of the events leading up to the Deception storyline. The gameplay is free-range GTA style, but not done as well (which is to be expected). There are sidequests you can attempt to get Koins to spend in the Krypt, a sort of store where you can buy everything from concept art to additional characters. Also, new to Deception, you have to get keys in this mode in order to unlock certain items in the Krypt, so you can't just earn the money by fighting. Each realm that you must clear has about three soul crushing training sessions in which you have to pull off many multi-hit style branching combos to advance, not an easy feet for anyone considering how sensitive the controls are. The whole experience is very off-putting, made even more frustrating because you can't skip it, unless you wanna sacrifice playing with most of the characters. At the end of the ordeal, Shujinko becomes playable in arcade mode, and you can continue running around picking up what you missed (including stuff you won't have access to until Konquest is beaten.)

The other two modes available in the game are MK versions of Chess and Puzzle Fighter, neither of which are that deep, but are wonderful as diversions. Especially after the grinding of Konquest, it is nice to do something a little different. It should be said that it is only 'chess' in the loosest sense of the world, but still, fighting for squares is pretty cool in a Star Wars kinda way.

Overall, it is the totally anal combo system which veterans will eat up that will drive newcomers away, especially after they break their fingers (and smash controllers) in Konquest mode. Deception does everything MK games have always done well, and that is problem. Juggling is still a pretty cool idea, but making the next installment more accessible would do wonders for all involved, and prolong the life of this once great franchise.

7/10

[Rag]

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - Gamecube

I was pleasantly surprised by this game. I gather that there were another eight FE titles before it, most of which weren't released where I live, but this was my first, so I was coming to it without any real expectations or knowledge of the other games. I’d just heard that it was from the makers of Advance Wars, and that was enough for me.

I'll start with the presentation, since, having completed the shambolic Makai Kingdom just before starting on this, that's the first thing that really struck me about it. Everything is finely polished, from the sleek menu graphics to the special effects for attacks, character sprites, and even little details like your stats changing when you level up. Aside from six beautiful FMVs, the story scenes mostly consist of static sprites talking against varying backgrounds, but you’re also occasionally treated to still images of certain key scenes, which appear to be hand-painted. The background graphics in battles are surprisingly detailed and realistic too, which I didn't expect in a grid-based game like this - again, this is a stark contrast to the horrible, mismatching floating boxes that comprise your arenas in Makai Kingdom.

There are only really two things I can complain about with regards to the game's visuals: Firstly, as other reviews have said, the battle animations could be a lot more fluid and dynamic, instead of just having one character calmly strolling up to another, stabbing them with a spear, and then assuming a relaxed posture while they get smacked with a sword. And secondly, the sprites in the cutscenes between battles really needed a wider range of poses and expressions. As far as I could tell, each character only had two of them - smiling and not smiling. This is not good when so much of the game is spent staring at these sprites as they converse.

The story can best be described as decent. It starts off relatively uninteresting and run-of-the-mill. You're mercenaries, a war starts, you rescue a princess; usual stuff. As the plot progresses, however, it becomes more interesting and complex, and while it still can't be described as original, there's definitely nothing wrong with it – plot twists are clever and make sense, characters' reactions to everything that happens to them are very convincing and realistic, and on the whole it's all intelligently put together. Ike, the lead character, also becomes one of the best heroes I've seen in this type of game. His no-nonsense attitude, sharp wits and sheer strength of character as he goes from being a simple rookie to a hardened mercenary, a commander, and finally reluctantly takes the title of General, makes him pretty much impossible to dislike.

The one real flaw in the story department is that the permanent deaths of characters don't really affect much. Three of the characters you can fight with are brothers, for example, and yet when I let one of those brothers die in battle there was no reaction from the other two. They never mentioned him in conversation or even showed any sign of grieving. I think if the developers are trying to make you feel more responsible for characters with this irreversible death thing, they need to go all the way and have these deaths affect others. Make the fallen lower the group's morale, or show their gravestones after battle. Anything to make it more meaningful.

The deaths of characters leads me to the only real complaint I have about the gameplay: You can't make permanent save files mid-battle. It's possible to "suspend" your game, so that you can reload from where you left off, but when you do reload that save file is then deleted. That means that if you make a mistake, you can't reload from an earlier save file in that battle – all you can do is restart the fight right from the beginning. This is very bad when, near the end of a long two-hour skirmish, a character you were fond of is killed. Still, though, restarting a battle from scratch isn't always bad, as it gives you an opportunity to try a different approach if your initial strategy failed, and that can really make a difference.

And that leads me to the actual game mechanics. This is easily the most strategy-oriented RPG I've played. Although characters can level up and boost their stats, these things only help you a little bit. What really matters is how you use these characters, what weapons you give them and how they match up to the weapons used by the enemy, how you manoeuvre them, how you use them as part of a team, and so on. The fact that dead comrades are gone for good also forces you to think more about the moves you make, and the gameplay becomes more rewarding as a result.

Finally, another of this game's strengths is its replay value. Although the battles you fight are fixed, you're still pretty much bombarded with decisions to make throughout, meaning that there are plenty of ways to do things differently when playing through a second or third time. There are more than forty playable characters, each with a unique look, personality and history, but the vast majority of them are entirely optional – you have to do certain things to get them to join you, such as talking to them with a certain character mid-battle – and with so many characters to choose from, I reached the end of the game without even trying some of them out.

Overall, this is simply a very high quality title, and a must for anyone who likes a good strategy RPG. The next Fire Emblem game for the Nintendo Wii appears to be a direct sequel, so any Cube owners who haven't tried this yet and have a passing interest in the upcoming Wii game should definitely try it out.

8.8/10

[Words of Ivory]

Kingdom Hearts II - PlayStation 2

Right from the start Kingdom Hearts II suffers from one major flaw. Unfortunately, it is one that could prove to be a fatal deterrent for any casual newcomers to the series.

For the first few hours of gameplay, the whole thing crawls along at a nauseating snail's pace. Poorly managed tutorials, awkward dialogue, and banally simplistic combat make for a very uncomfortable beginning, and you may start asking yourself why exactly you're bothering to continue playing when, for the most part, you're simply not enjoying the experience.

This is made all the more irritating by the pretentious, hackneyed storytelling that kicks off the story, leaving no place for explanation of past events for those who haven't played the two past iterations of the series, and it's execution is a far cry from the charismatic nature of the previous game. It makes for a very awkward opening.

First appearances in this case though are thankfully deceiving. The game soon falls back into the comfortable familiar feeling of the first game, as your party of three travel from world to world (most of which are Disney themed again, of course), meeting up with many old faces, and a number of new ones.

Special mention must go to the world set around the Disney movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Though Square's talent for exemplary graphical flare is no secret, the quality of animation and sheer visual faithfulness to its source material is truly outstanding; it is experiences like this within the gameplay that drive you forward through the game, in anticipation of what you will discover next.

The battle system, initially coming across as a one dimensional, cumbersome button basher, slowly begins to open up new layers of complexity as you team expands and news skills are opened up for you to use. The variety of options are plentiful, but despite the obvious improvements made over the first Kingdom Hearts, but sadly unnecessary; at the end of the day, tactical play is a choice but never a requirement, due to the low and even difficulty level throughout. Its mechanics are solid, there's no question about that, but its polish is only surface deep; the rest is window dressing.

But then, Kingdom Hearts II isn't really about its combat, or its challenge. It's a marriage of Eastern and Western conventions and design, and an adventure of epic proportions that will drive many to want to keep playing, simply to find out what wonder lies around the next corner. Many will find it hard to resists the game's charm, and the story it weaves is a compelling and charming, though heavily disjointed in some places.

It never quite reaches the same heights of the first game; the same sense of new wonderment is rarely met in this one, simply because it is an evolution of its predecessor, and not an entirely new experience. It is by no means a bad game though, as the score should tell you. Many will be left with the feeling that there is something truly missing in the game, that if Square Enix looked harder they could make it something more than it is... yet the player is still compelled to continue, regardless.

The game itself is a contradiction on many levels, but in a game that somehow managed to make a tangible existence of every Disney movie and Final Fantasy game in one coherent plot, what else would expect? At the end of it all, it makes a quirky kind of sense, and it's a genuinely enjoyable experience for that alone.

- 7 / 10

[Dragon]

Hi all,

Plot Summary: 8/10 Your a craftknight in a tournament to become the newest craftlord. Surely no problem could occur in a city full of craftknights and craftlords ...

Gaming: 10/10 Highly addictive gamplay. Battles are a side scrolling 2D enviroment with real time play; very similar to tales of phantasia.

Although the top feature of this game is not the battles but the way you have options at many points of what to say. At certain junctures this can alter the story and dependent on your response the other characters will respond differently.

Graphics: 10/10 They meet the best graphics I have seen on the GBA thus far and are the characters seem very much like anime characters.

Music: 9/10 I have given this high because I actually had the sound on for several hours before the repeated background noise getting to me and normally I crack after 30 minutes.

Overall: 9.5/10 I could have played this for many more hours if I hadnt run out of plot and enemies to kill. I recommend RPG fans play this game.

Dragon

[Vilagen]

Edit: God, it's about time I fixed my grammar errors.

Final Fantasy XII Review
Lord of the Stars

So just recently I played through Square’s newest Final Fantasy game on the PS2 known as FFXII. After spending about a good month and 75 hours on it, I would say that I would have a fair right to judge the game.

First of all, I think I should mention that liked what I have played of Mitsuno's games. Tactics is my favorite game in the Final Fantasy series and even though I did not think that Vagrant Story had the best gameplay, the story was still fantastic. The man also did some of the Ogre Battle series that, while I personally never played, I heard great things about. Hearing that the same director create the next Final Fantasy game had me anticipating FFXII from the start.

My thoughts concerning FFXII? Good, but at the same time mildly disappointing. Did I enjoy playing through FFXII? Yes, I did, or I would not have put 75 hours into it. But at the same time there was a feeling of repetitiveness and a lacking background of the world in FFXII that made me feel bored at times.

First of all let me get the little things out of the way. Graphic wise, it looks good. Cinematic scenes looked fantastic, the best that the PS2 could offer. The beautiful beginning gives you a taste of CG at its best. The real-time graphics? It seems like it’s a bit of a step back compared to what I have seen the PS2 do throughout its life, but the visuals are not bad by any means. The game still has facial emotions and shows good details of the main characters. Vaan, for instance, has more of a tan than most of the party, and Basch with his scar on his head. Have I seen better graphics on the PS2? Yes, but only by a bit. FFXII still looks great.

The music this time around was not conducted by Noboru (though he did contribute one song). This may make FF fans cry and moan and all, perhaps saying it is a bit blasphemous and all, but I personally have no problem with who did the music, that person being Hitoshi Sakimoto. He did a great job in Final Fantasy Tactics and Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is nearly my favorite videogame soundtrack, so of course I would welcome the man and I found him to deliver. I personally viewed this game's soundtrack the same I always viewed the others' in the series; generally good with a few memorable ones thrown in. The Ozma Plains, the Highwaste and Lotown are only a few of the tracks that I thought were exceptionally good. Hitoshi seems to have a particular style of composing music, and while I have a hard time saying what it is, you can always recognize it. That isn’t a bad thing in this instance, as I usually enjoyed hearing the background music and thought it worked well for whatever area you were in.

At the same time though, Noboru has made music that one would listen to without the game needing to give it substance. While you could say the same with Final Fantasy XII’s soundtrack, one could easily tell that it was made to fit the game over anything else. But then again, that is what soundtracks are supposed to do, so I am not going to argue about that, just merely pointing it out.

So now let’s get to one big factor of the Final Fantasy series. Story. This is where I would say that Final Fantasy XII ranks the least in out of any category. Trust me, it’s pretty hard for me to say that, being a big fan of the games that I played by Mitsuno, but I have to say it.

People who might have just began Final Fantasy XII recently may be wondering what I am talking about, and I would not blame them. Final Fantasy XII starts off like a rollercoaster in a way, having a bit of a slow start but then all of the sudden excelling down with incredible speed with twists and turns. This is how Final Fantasy XII begins and the story was strong for many hours, a good 20 and then some. You are introduced to many interesting characters, exciting landscapes and towns and even though the story is highly influenced by Star Wars (with a tiny bit of Lord of the Rings), it still has its own touches that kept it exciting.

But then that goes away. The story goes strong and then all of the sudden seems to hit a stop sign. Character development and plot become non existent at one point, and even though it starts to get better again, it never picks up to how it was earlier. To be quite honest, I started to lose interest of the plot. You just started to go to one place to another just because of a suggestion here and there, but no real motive other than “you should go here because it’s the best bet you got” or “you should go there because it’s the best bet you got”. In the beginning going through a dungeon or a going to a destination had great reasonings, purposes and motivations behind it. But after half way through that all dissapears, and the story just started to bore me. There is a lot of traveling but a lot less development to count for that. I doubt that was intentional, but that is what happened. The ending suffers from the same time, which made me feel cheated, because I felt there was more that needed to happen and more that I needed to learn about the world of this Ivalice. Instead, the ending comes abruptly and left me feeling very unsatisfied. It isn't because it's a bad plot, but because it had the bones to be a great one and failed to live to its own potiental.

Some people may also complain about the character development of the game. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with a lack of huge back stories to everyone. In fact, I felt that it was more real that you could understand why the characters were part of this quest earlier in the game instead of keeping it a secret till the end. Ashe wants her country back, Basch is a true royal knight who honestly wants to restore Dalmasca and keep order, Balthier is needed for his ship and connections, etc. You pretty much learn and understand what the motivations are of each character within just the first few hours of the game. You do learn some extended background of Balthier and Fran as the game continues, but their reasons of staying never really change.

My personal complaint about the characters in Final Fantasy XII is that I never got a feeling of them being a team. Even though they travel together, they are still distant to one another and like to keep to themselves or personal collogues only. Other than traveling together to fulfill their quest, there was almost nothing else that were keeping them together. Personally, I like it when there is interaction between everyone in the group, giving you that feeling that they trust or depend on one another, that they are allies and still a team, and heck, I don’t know, friends even. At one point in the game Vaan says that Ashe will be a great Queen because she has great friends, but I never felt like I saw that connection.

So it is time to explain the biggest change in Final Fantasy XII compared to the rest of the series. Yes, that is the gameplay. Every Final Fantasy fan knows that, without playing it, XII is not the same experience that you know of the other Final Fantasy games being. Yes, anyone can say that every Final Fantasy game is different, but you truly do not understand how different this one Final Fantasy game can be compared to the rest until you experience it yourself.

Even though I personally did not find the story to be the best, there is no way that I can say the same about its gameplay. This new system is called Active Dimension Battle (ADB) system, and it is a bold move for the series. Think of it like a mix of ATB and RTB. You run around a field, or dungeon, and the screen never changes when you get in a fight. Instead, you draw out your weapon (and shield perhaps) and just start giving commands to fight the enemies. You only control one character at a time while the others either do what you tell them to do manually, or you assign them gambits.

What are gambits you may ask? They are a list of commands given to your members, telling what actions to perform. The most you can have on each character are 12, and the gambits that are higher on the list are the ones that will take priority over the others. For instance, if you have:

1. ally’s HP<70% = Cure
2. target nearest enemy = attack

that means that if the character has the gambit on that person will heal anyone who has their HP below 70% before they will attack the nearest enemy. But if they have their gambit like:

1. target nearest enemy = attack
2. ally’s HP<70% = heal

that means that the character will continue to attack the enemy first and will not heal any ally until there are no enemy targets around to target, no matter how low anyone’s HP gets. (This is why it’s more important to prioritize healing gambits).

There are other things that this game has to offer, and those are the Marks and Hunts. Marks are when you hunt down a monster that someone petition for you to destroy and hunts involve hunting down the rare monsters that pop up every now and then. They are a bit different, Petitions being more like tasks of duty to perform for a person and hunts just being…hunts.

Petitions are the main beef of the game and are what will test your gameplay and strategy. When you agree to a petition you have to find the person who put up the sign, get the details, find the mark and defeat it. Some of those creatures are hard when when they are first available. You may find yourself destroying bosses, but yet fleeing from your mark many times. They generally have a lot of HP and strength for that time of the game and can usually kill even you strongest members in short time, resulting in much healing and reviving. But these are the creatures that truly keep the gameplay and game interesting, forcing you to rethink your strategy and re-customize your equipment or gambits to fit that hunt. And I have not even mentioned all the little secrets and extras that I never found or took the time to complete.

There is also one other change, and that is the license board. This board is essential to do anything in the game. You start off at one spot and then when you purchase another spot on the board, using License Points (LP) the ones next to it become available to buy. Basically you start off at one spot and have to work your way through the board one square at a time. Now, you might use this to get some skills, like more HP or better attack. But most of the board involves unlocking equipment that you must purchase on the board before you can use said equipment. The same goes for said techniques and magic. Sure, you might have that Fire spell or that Broad Sword, but if you do not possess the spot on the license board you can’t use it. (There are exceptions for very very few things).

Some people may complain about having to purchase spots on the License Board to equip crap, but after awhile of playing I started to understand why. It’s not about what skills or accessories or spells you unlock that determines a character, but mostly the equipment they wear. You want a mage who has good attack power? Unlock the mystic equipment while unlocking swords or spears. Want a powerful attacker with a long range weapon? Heavy Armor with guns.

Granted, after awhile you can pretty much start to purchase wantever you want if you put the time into it; which makes the whole point behind the license board being about customization pretty pointless. I think that if the License Board had more restrictions it could have worked better. In Final Fantasy Tactics you needed to get Job Points for that class you if wanted to learn particular skills. Yet you were still given a huge variety of what you could choose and customize and yet only allowed so much. You could have a Monk with the Dragoon’s Jump ability and perhaps could equip heavy armor from the Knight class, but at the same time he could not perform any magic or geo or move that he already learned unless he gave up being a Monk or having the Jump ability. Restirctions in Tactics made sure that no character could do whatever they wanted. In XII though, anyone can become a good attacker and mage at once.

Overall, Final Fantasy XII is a great experience, and if you are an RPG fan and Final Fantasy fan, you most likely will enjoy this if you have an open mind towards its gameplay. The game keeps everything that makes a good Final Fantasy and I have not even mentioned that it probably has just as many subtle references to other Final Fantasy games like IX did, heck, probably more even. And I have not even talked about the other extras, like the bestiary that not only explains each monster you slain but also gives you some more information about the world of FFXII. For the sake of mentioning it, the voice acting is excellent as well.

At the same time, the story started to get boring and at times I felt like playing this game was a chore. It felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again at times and by the time the game ended I felt like there was more that needed to be explained. While it does leave a good place for the spin-off sequel, Revenant Wings, to pick up, almost every other Final Fantasy game did a good enough job explaining its own world and story to the point where they didn’t need a sequel.

Overall, I give this game an 8.5 out of 10.

Pros:

+ Good story during the first half of the game
+ Great visuals
+ Excellent and unique gameplay
+ Wonderful score
+ Good voice acting

Cons:

- Bland story during the second half of the game
- Ending leaves you feeling dry
- Easy to break the license system; needed more restrictions

[Jack]

Here's two reviews. First another Final Fantasy XII review.

Final Fantasy XII - My Verdict

After 5 years, endless sequels, pointless ports and remakes Square finally offer up to us a long awaited addition to the main series we all know and love.

Too many people are giving this game bad rep, just because it doesn't confine to the moody angst ridden main character, a nimble thief or any other childish nonsense. XII has a certain kind of panache, a kind of depth not seen in full in any other Final Fantasy game.

More akin to FFT, FFXI and VS, XII sets itself in a politically rife nation about to war with its neighbour. One of the odd things I noticed upon starting the game is that unlike the others where you start before any major disturbance, XII drops right in the action with an initial flashback of our main character's brother.

This wasn't a welcome change in my opinion, I felt more like I was passing by as the controller of the character, as opposed to feeling like I am inside BEING the character (something I would have pinned down as a classic trait of an RPG), maybe thats just me.

The introduction of Vaan. Thats more like it. A 'street-rat'and an orphan (hmm, maybe this is more like FF than I thought) scurrying around doing odd-jobs for money. So far the world is inhabited by a variety of races, with obvious differences, unlike its predecessors.

The character designs are one of my pet peeves about the game. Vaan and his washboard stomach, Basche's similarity to everyone else from the Empire and Penelos irrelevance to the story.

The story from this point onwards is pretty linear, with few twists and turns (but they are there, and boy are they good). I get the feeling that the storyline is alot more subtle, as with a lot of aspects of the game, opposing the usual "PRINCESS I WILL SAVE YOU!!!!!!!" something that was mocked in FFIX and effective in most games.

Is the story too shallow? No. You just don't get it if thats what you think. Final Fantasy 12 is a grown up version of the series. Where as VII focussed on humour, VIII introduced a little political story, IX was a renesance and X was well.... a decent game, XII is the bigger-brother, the daddy.

Next up the battle system. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, XII's battle system is the most logical progression. You can see from VIII to X that Square are trying to make the battles feel more like they are on the world map as opposed to some random generic backdrop. With the PS2's power and the amount a game can contain it is only right to have the battle take place on the world map. You still enter a battle and exit in some sense. You even have the fanfare at the end of boss battles.

The introductions of Gambits make battle's run smoothly, you can effectively program your characters to fight in an effective and efficient way (if used correctly) What with "Ally: KOd > Phoenix Down" equipped to one of your members.

Licenses allow the characters to be FULLY customisable, this does however take away the characters connection to the story in a sense, but if used correctly you can keep you Warrior, Healer, Mage and whatever if you so wish. Complete with some familiar weapons.

Summons? OOOOHHHHHH YYYEEEESSSSSS..... The return of Espers are welcome, but be aware you only get 5 standard espers in the game, all the others you have to side quest for.

Which brings me nicely on to the masses of side quests. Square Enix have obviously tried to make this game like an offline, single player MMORPG, one of the features used are hunts. You can kill monsters for items, specific monsters, for cooler items. Which is good, but time consuming and detracts from the main story if you get too obsessed. Various other side quests are available, including 'secret' espers and 'secret' items/weapons whatever.

You can however, chose to just play the story. The game does try to get you in the mood for hunts what with two compulsory hunts thrown in now and then.

My main criticism for the game has to be the varying difficulty of battles and dungeons. The game is very dungeon centred, which has its merits and its....un-merits? However they start off simple, get very hard then get very easy. Silly. Boss battles are ridiculous, the hardest you will possibly fight are the Demon Ga--Walls and a Status loving Wyrm. Actually scratch that, any status inflicting boss is a pain in the materia.

The game plods along nicely and convinces you that this is the best game you have ever played. I'm not joking, it really does. Really. Really really.

The music of the game is slightly less mood setting but equally as epic as previous games, sorry Nobuo we like XII. At times I could have sworn I was in FFIX or FFVIII I was even wondering around Mt. Gagazet at one point.

I wont comment on the ending, since, well, play it yourself. It's a finally Fantasy ending to quite possibly the most un-Final Fantasy Final Fantasy I have played.

The Verdict

This game is a must. Whether you hear positive or negative comments, this game is a must as both a gamer and a Final Fantasy fan. If you have any amount of sense you'll love it. If you didn't.. then fair game.

The great things about this game easily cancel out the bad things.

I hope I haven't missed anything out, if I have I'll likely add it in at some point.

[Jack]

Sorry for the double post, but this thread is dying.

Dragon Quest VIII - One Year On.

So it has been precisely one year since I acquired Dragon Quest VIII, and about 9 months since I actually last played it. But it takes a certain type of game to make me feel nostalgia. The real reason I haven't been playing is last summer I found a life, and in September I grew up.

However I found myself, three weeks ago, humming a tune I found familiar. It was the title screen tune of DQVIII. "Yeah...so..play it" I hear you scream, the bad news is that my PS2 is currently in my currently uninhabited flat in my university halls. I am home.

One year on, a sequel in the works and I am dying to get my hands on my PS2 controller once more. Why? Because this is probably one of the top 5 RPG's...nay games... to hit this pivotal of consoles. And with my loyalty for Sony fading fast now is the best time to get back to the quest.

Why is it so good? Because it is. Because DQVIII feels like one of the RPG's of old, the ones we always reminisce about, but looks nothing short of a masterpiece. Long gone are the 20px tall dragoons, the flattened out world map! Long gone are the unclear tasks and the vast world maps with 3 main cities. Dragon Quest VIII brings all this to a fully, cartoon-esque 3D world.

How many of you have played Final Fantasy X or XII? How many of you found the games challenging enough? I know I didn't, 30 hours into FFXII and I was finished. 30 hours into Dragon Quest and I'm still getting my arse kicked by all of the major bosses.

The graphics of this game are superb, don't let the idea of Cell Shading put you off, this is no Windtalker. Ok you do get the characteristic characters of the artist to blame for Dragon Ball Z, but who cares when you’re talking to the loveably cockney Yangus. The difference in personality is also fantastic; although you don't get too much character evolution you do get a vast difference in party from a Horse-Princess to some posh girl. The only downside however is that Jessica is a horrible looking character, but fret not young one you can have your pervy way and dress in her in two different outfits. The dancer is by far the more aesthetic.

Gameplay is of a classical nature; you have the usual controls and menus you'd find in those other popular RPGs, complete with Alchemy Pot. But what drastically lets the game down is the lack of Save Points or items to revive your character; this is best done at any church in any town. So stock up on those Chimera Wings to teleport yourself.

The battles are instantly a favourite for you turn based fans, with added humour. There is nothing better than catching the dancing bug, or scaring your opponent with a fierce "RRAAAAWWWWRRR". However these comical moles and dancing peppers are not to be underestimated, the bosses in this game require a lot of work and a lot of training. Levelling up is something out of World of Warcraft. "[Character] reaches level 21, you need 19986544478955143557 EXP to gain next level" but again, don't let that put you off, finding those bigger sword wielding foxes makes a difference.

The music in games is one of the boxes I tick whilst looking for a game. And DQVIII has some of the best music I have heard aside from Final Fantast IX's.

Dragon Quest VIII gives more than a gentle nod to the RPG's we grew up with, it not only embraces them fully it rubs it's wet nose right into it's crotch while wagging it's tail in approval. Sick of the evolution of the ADB well get your hands on this instead.

I don't see a single reason why anyone would not want to play this game. Square loyalist? It doesn't matter anymore; you have a reason to play this game. Enix loyalist? Don't worry Square didn't touch it; they just have their name alongside yours now.

Get it. Play it. Make love to it. It deserves it. I know I can't wait to get back to university.

[Vilagen]

Over this nice free time I had of Winter Break I decided that I would buy a few videogames that I have been meaning to play since I decided that I would not bring a single console to my campus. One of the two games I bought over break was Halo 3. This is not a review of that game because I could easily break that down in one word; fulfilling. Granted, I understand that its multiplayer is a lot of fun but I bought it to “finish the fight” as they said. Too bad that two days and 6 to 8 hours of gameplay later I was already done. Granted, there were a number of levels that felt like the good old campaign Halo experience but overall it was way too short and over too soon. So I needed a game that that I hoped would fill that empty void I felt for content. That game was bought about two weeks later and it was Super Mario Galaxy. This is a review of that game.

Super Mario Galaxy Review

Allow me to start off by saying that I was not interested in the game when it was first presented. It was not because it looked terrible, but at the same time did not impress me. That changed after seeing a bunch of gameplay videos from various sites (and because Smash Brothers got delayed). To put it brief, not only is Super Mario Galaxy one of the best things you can buy for your Wii, but it is also one of best platform games I have ever played. It is just pure fun, with a lot of quirky gameplay that only Nintendo could pull off. I can not over-exaggerate the quality of this game.

The game starts off like a typical Mario game. Mario is invited to the castle for a festival, Peach is kidnapped and Mario is left to explore a number of bizarre worlds to find a bunch of Star Pieces and get Peach back. This time the ‘lobby’ where you access the levels is a small flying castle in outer space. (Which I believe is called the Observatory). It is occupied by lumas, little star creatures, and a new character named Rosalina which you happen to learn a little bit about if you choose to read the novel segments that take place in the library every now and then. The bizarre worlds in this game are called galaxies and in these galaxies are planetoids, those small round things that look like small planets. Instead of having open ended levels like in Mario 64, where you could grab almost any star that you wanted no matter which one you choose, you really can not do that in this game. Instead, each star is its own obstacle course in a way and the level is redesigned depending on what star you are going after. While there might be people out there that were all for the open ended aspect of the levels, I personally love this idea more since it adds more to the levels and shows the little bit of extra effort that was put into this game. There is always something new to each level because of this variety and it is probably one the reasons why I never felt bored playing through this game.

Just like Mario 64, there are a number of stars you can get regularly in each level by just choosing a star and finding it by the hint, or in this case the path that is laid out for you. There are two types of galaxies though, the major ones, which usually have 6 stars and minor ones that usually only have one. Now, the minor galaxies you can complete on your first play through, but the major ones involve a bit more effort. First, you have the three regular stars you are supposed to grab, but each level also contains one hidden star and two comet challenges. You may be wondering what Comet Challenges are. In this game, each galaxy will have a different kind of comet that will eventually come to its atmosphere. These comets involve you to grab a star that you have previously gotten but with an extra challenge. These challenges are going to be one of these four for each galaxy; courage comet, which will have you go through a boss or course with only one point of life, a speed run comet which will have you grab a star within so much time allowed, a cosmic comet which is where you have to race a cosmic Mario to the star first and there is another comet that will raise the speed of the enemies. (Be warned that with that last comet it usually involve whomps, who kill you instantly if stomped on.) Again, each level only has one of those four comets that will arrive on its atmosphere. Each level has a predetermined kind of comet that will arrive as well, so you do not have to worry if it will be one kind of comet or another. Now, aside from those comets, there is the purple comet that will visit each galaxy as well. The purple comet involves you grabbing 100 coins that are laid out throughout the stage. Sometimes there might only be 100 coins exactly that you have to find or at other times you will have a certain amount of time to grab 100 of 150 coins that are laid out. The purple comet does not become available until after you beat the main game, so they are mainly just the perfectionists that are trying to grab every last star. (Be warned that the purple coin stars are some of the harder stars to get in the game.)

On the topic of stars you, only need 60 out of the 120 to beat the game but in order to experience everything you will have to obtain them all. (Twice actually.) In this way, Super Mario Galaxy difficulty fits many types of gamers out there. While it is easy enough for children to pick up and beat it still leaves a number of challenges that will frustrate some of the best of us. The boss battles are very easy in this game unfortunately but considering the fact that the true challenge is gathering all the stars that can be forgiven to an extent.

The control scheme is another aspect that adds to the gameplay and experience. It is easy to pick up and play; if you are a veteran of platform games and have a basic understanding of how to use a Wii controller then the controls will just come naturally. You have the jumps that Mario had back from 64: the triple jump, back flip and long jump. He does not punch or kick at all in this game but instead has this twist move that you do by just jerking the controller a bit. While you will use that particular gimmick a lot but, it never becomes a nuisance. There is quite a bit of swimming to do as well in this game and although there are some slight problems concerning the camera angle and trying to grab bubbles here and there to put back up your air meter, it is fine most of the time. Also there are new tokens to pick up now other than coins, in fact you will probably value coins for a sake of health instead of trinkets to gain a one up. The new tokens you will be gathering are called star bits and instead of having Mario to touch them you can just grab them by pointing at them with the wiimote. Star bits are considered snacks to the lumas and there are times that you will use them to feed hungry one, all of whom will transform into planets or even minor galaxies. (Keep in mind that when you feed a hungry luma odds are that you are on your way to a secret star.)

Now, there are problems with some of the control schemes. It seems like Nintendo wanted to take advantage of the Wiimote and add a few, well, gimmicks. Some of the gimmicks work just fine, like the sticky webs you have to pull and release to send Mario flying a few places, or the bubble that you blow around in an isotropic view. There are two particular things I hated playing though, the Ray Surfing and the big pinball like thing that Mario balances on. Controlling these vehicles was a pain, and many lives were wasted because of how hard it is to coordinate with them. The pinball is the worse of the two and has left me wondering who the hell thought it was a good idea. I guess it adds something more to the game, but it is more of a nuisance than anything else. The only good thing to say about either of them is that you use them very rarely in the game.

The visuals for this game are spectacular. It is a game that you actually get what you see. Any pictures or videos you have seen look just as good on your own TV. You do not need HD or anything fancy to gawk at what Nintendo pulled for this game. They definitely put their all into this one from the textures to the lighting and shadowing of the all the different worlds. Not only that, but the music is phenomenal. A few tunes that stand out, like the observatory theme, the last level music, and a volcanic theme late in the game. I am not saying that Mario Galaxy’s score feel is compelling or epic, but it is definitely an improvement in the series. A good reason being why the music sounds so well done is because it was orchestrated, a move that I hope Nintendo continues to take from now on.

So overall Super Mario Galaxy is nearly a perfect game with its only faults being some clumsy control schemes and very easy boss fights. Do not let that discourage you, for the gameplay is tight and solid, the graphics are nice and shiny, the platforming is fun and the music well composed. It also has a lot of content for your amusement. If you intend to get everything in this game you will spend many hours doing so, yet never get bored in the endeavor.

Pros:
+easy and solid control
+excellent levels and very great concepts
+wonderful visuals
+good music

Cons:
-some sloppy gimmicks thrown in
-boss battles are a little too easy

Score:
9.6 out of 10.

[AmishOpiate]

Guitar Hero 3

So, I own a PS3.

Yeah.

As anyone who owns this system knows, there aren't really many good games for it, and no killer apps which would make it a must have over the Wii and 360. Sony seems to be waiting for FF13 to swoop in and save them, but when you consider Squares reputation with getting games out on time, that doesn't really seem like the smartest course of action. Point of all this being that GH3 is the first game I have bought for the PS3 in forever, and I really could have bought it for the PS2 and not lost all that much, but you gotta make that $600 worth it somewhere right?

The game is pretty much the same GH we have been playing for a couple of years now, with a few additions which we will get to in a second. The guitar is now wireless, which is nice, but I have heard some people have been having technical problems with theirs. The songlist is, I think, better then the second game, and doesn't really have anything horrible on it that can't be skipped. The first big change is in career mode, where you have to win a guitar battle against a 'boss' in order to proceed. The way you do this is collecting Battle Gems (which you earn similar to Star Power), and then launching them at your opponent. Some of these attacks are pretty meaningless for the computer, others, like breaking a string, are crippling, so winning these things is all a matter of luck. It isn't that these battles are not fun, but they add a degree of randomness and frustration to the series that wasn't there before, and they are mandatory to proceed (I have read some reviews saying these battles can be skipped. They can't).

The graphics recieved a major upgrade, but everyone is still pretty deformed (even though the female guitarists look much more do-able this time around). Strangely enough, they added a fan service character who is an underage Japanese school girl to the mix. I don't know who would use...oh wait, I can think of someone.

The last big negative is their is no quick play multi-player mode, and you have to unlock all the songs you would play with a friend in a dual career mode, which sucks if you play with people who are more casual then you. Also, there are songs which can only be unlocked if you play co-op career mode with a partner, which sucks if you have no friends.

Like me.

/cry

Overall, this is a decent upgrade, but GH is losing its shine in a big way. Rock Band is better if you play with a large group of friends, but this game is still the way to go if you are an obsessed loner.

Like me.

/cry

Oh well, there is always FF13.

[Raebus]

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

It's the most recent game I've been playing so I'll post it here. Now, I never thought it would actually work, the combination of Resident evil and a light gun game. I played the other attempts and they were average, it was my love of Resident evil that gave it such a high rating. I played it during new years eve with Shauna and it was brilliant. First of all, this game is based on Resident evil zero, 1 and 3 with subchapters thrown in but you have to unlock them by playing.

I guess I'll start with the controls. This game suits the wii perfectly, the control system atleast and if you combine that with a wiizapper add on, you get the feeling of actually being there shooting zombies in the face and at times, in the groin (Even though that does nothing, it still feels empowering).

The Graphics are good for the wii and comparable to the Resident evil 1 remake for gamecube and most definetly Resident evil 4. The texture can be kind of horrible at times but the models are fantastic. I'm not meaning to sound like wii fan here because it isn't always perfect but it gives off that creepy feeling which you'd expect with a resident evil game. Whilst they might not make you shit yourself, it'll certainly make you jump like a little girl at some points.

Haha, now comes the sound. Saying the sound brings you back to the real world and destroys any atmosphere is an understatement. At times it sounds like midi's which don't match well in most situations within the game.
Your walking through a corridor, silence, then zombies break through the windows and all you can hear is a shitty mobile phone quality ring tone disguised as a rock song.

Thats all I've got to say about the sound, not too good. I've failed to mention one thing by now, the voice acting, which is HILARIOUSLY bad. Some of the lines that are said are so brilliantly unintentionally comical and Wesker was given the best voice of all, it sounds like someone who's eternally constipated.


The most important aspect though, is the gameplay! In this department it rises about sound and slightly above graphics. You get what you expect, you follow a set path and meet a cringe inducing scene filled with cheesy dialogue then zombies appear randomly like ninja's and you blow heads off (Rarely, these moments are kind of random). You get to choose from a number of weapons before you start and whilst whilst in game. Switching through them is done with the Z button, as easy as walking or breathing.

Shooting zombies, shooting zombies and more shooting zombies but the controls make it feel kind of fluid and it never got boring when I was playing through it. Now, random bosses get thrown in at the end of each level and as you all know, Nemesis is in it which pretty much means during the last chapter of the Resident evil 3 section, he'll be breathing down your neck constantly with his disgusting breath. They're all pretty easy, you just have to figure out the pattern or their weak spots.

All in all, it's a good game for the RE fans and gamers alike. If you don't expect much going in, you'll be pleasantly surprised and if all your asking for is a game involving zombies and guns, lots and lots of guns, then you're getting what you ask for. Recommended.

[Malice]

Crysis - PC

From the makers of the seizure-inducing Far Cry, comes a game that blows its predecessor out of the water. First and foremost, Crysis is an amazingly fun game to play. What I enjoyed from the off was the non-linear game play and the multiple ways you could set about achieving your aims.

If your machine can handle it (maybe you work for NASA or something) then it will literally feel as though you are playing through a hollywood film. If I stand still and am overlooking a huge harbour or something, I'll treat myself by throwing all the graphics onto full just to admire the scenery. I think my PC would burn a hole in the floor if I tried to play through the game on those settings though.

The plot line is pretty ludicrous. Set in the future, you and your uberteam of badasses are dropped in to rescue a bunch of archaeologists who have been taken hostage by the Korean People's Army on a remote tropical island. Set in the future, this time you have a technically advanced battlesuit capable of giving you bursts of ultra speed, strength, armour or a cloak with which to bead the badguys (instead of a hawaiian shirt).

While the game is extremely fun to play, I did begin to tire of the gameplay somewhat. They are clever in that they throw so many men at you at once that it becomes difficult to get bored of playing, but at the end of the day it is easy enough to just stealth your way past entire patrols as you speed toward your next objective. There are also a few kinks in the game that are just immensely frustrating. For example, I managed to kill myself while throwing a melon with super strength at a wall of a house, which then knocked the wall down and the roof caved in onto my head. Likewise, while standing on a box, I picked up a box next to me and died (apparently crushed to death?). Now, I touch nothing in any of the houses whatsoever!

Likewise the vehicle segments, where huge HumVee jeeps will find it near on impossible to drive over a metal mesh fence that is horizontal on the ground. This segment could be vastly improved, as even my futuristic tank struggled over simple foliage. You also explode if you drive into anything at over 20mph or something similar.

Still, not to detract from the game, you can make your own fun in it. Whether you want to just Decloak-headshot-recloak every guy you come across with a pistol, or swim around the entire island for a laugh, it's up to you (watch out for the sharks though ). All guns blazing doesn't really work though, but hollywood-esque bailing out of a car as it ploughs into a house full of bad guys works a treat

[Vilagen]

Scurge Hive

About a year ago I picked up a DS game that kept catching my eye on store bins. It was only ten dollars, and the reviews seemed fair so I decided to just give it shot. That game was Scurge Hive, and only a few hours ago I finally beat it for the first time. It was a game that I kept putting down now and again, but it always drew me back into its world.

To say that Orbital Media got its “inspiration” for this game from Metroid is like saying EA’s LOTR: The Third Age gameplay was “inspired” by FFX. The name of the main character is Jenosa Arma, a female bounty hunter requested to interrogate an alien breakout that happened on what I think was called the planet Inos. These aliens are called Scurge, and Jenosa gets to meet them right at the start as these aliens invade her ship and start to infect her body. After evacuating her ship and crash landing on the planet, Jenosa is stuck to carry out her mission. The game’s story is nothing that stands out from the ordinary when it comes to an alien outbreak, but it is not bad either.

Scurge Hive is actually a port of the GBA game, and from what I know of the GBA counterpart, it is as direct of a port as you can get. (Or they might have been released at the same time, I am not too sure.) The only thing that I am aware of the developers adding was a map on the bottom screen of the DS, which is definitely convenient, but it would have been nice if could have added a little bit of content here and there. It barely takes advantage of the touch screen either, but that is not a big issue considering what kind of game this is. From the pictures I have seen of the GBA game, the DS version does look a bit more crisp and smoother, but it does not change the fact that it is still a sprite based game. That is not necessarily a bad thing though, for the sprites and visuals look excellent if you take it for what it is, and considering the fact that the PSP still releases games with sprite filled characters, I do not see what the big problem is with the DS doing the same. The environments are well done, very colorful and yet gloomy in some areas. If the GBA version looked like this then it was a very good looking game, and even on the DS it still holds up.

As mentioned before, the game is a 2D isometric shooter. It starts off with Jenosa only having the most basic abilities, jumping and shooting. Just like the Metroid formula that this game is borrowing, Jenosa will find more and more upgrades that will allow her to perform more actions and provide her with a wider arsenal of weapons. Some of these upgrades involve a link cable that attaches to floating orbs which hurl her across platforms, the ability to double jump, freeze enemies, slow down time and a bit more. Orbital Media did a good mimicking the Metroid formula. You get one upgrade after another in an orderly fashion that allows you to continue the game. One difference from this Metroid formula is the way Jenosa gains more health. Instead of finding any kind of energy power-ups, Jenosa gains experience points by absorbing a green ooze that comes out of each enemy. The more of this ooze you obtain, the more experience you gain. For every level you raise Jenosa, she’ll get about 15 more hit points. Also, this ooze replenishes your health.

Scurge is set around five different stages with the power plant being the “hub” or base you could say. Before you can access through each world, you have to find the appropriate warp for the area. Each world takes about one to two hours to beat, and they also involve you activating a warp to get to the corresponding world’s boss. The bosses in this game are very well thought out and most of them will test your skills since you are practically never given any kind of ability to heal during boss battles. On the other hand, activating these warps in each world can be tedious since it involves you pulling six generators around to their appropriate spot. It doesn’t involving pulling them from room to room nor usually through large areas, but it does become tedious and it would have been neat if Orbital Media could have thought of more puzzles.

If there is a difficulty I had to choose for this game, it would be merciless. Every room is crawling with waves of enemies, and it would not be so annoying if they did not respawn every time you left. It really sucks when you get knocked out of a room by an enemy’s blast, thus having to go back and kill everything again. Despite that, because every enemy drops health, there usually is not too much trouble pulling it off. The game is relentless though, and if you are like me and happen to get lost exploring everything now and then, you will end up killing thousands of enemies by the time you are done. Talking about enemies, I do give a game a thumbs down on variety. Not counting the bosses, there might only be about ten to fifteen different species of enemies. Most of the enemies you encounter are just different colored versions of ones you come across earlier.

One other factor concerning your health is the corruption meter. As you play through the game, this meter will gradually raise up to 100%, and when it does you start to lose health fast. It will not kill you, but when you are only left with 1hp then in most causes it might as well. Decontamination Platforms, this game’s version of the save station, is what brings it back down 1%. I find this feature to be double edged: it does add a neat factor to the difficulty of the game, but at the same time it goes up really quickly. It probably takes less then fifteen minutes to go 100%. Take that into consideration; about every fifteen minutes you have to reach a save station. That can be annoying. Before anyone calls this feature a rip off from Metoid Prime 3, keep in mind that the game came out a year before MP3. When thinking about it, that’s kind of ironic.

Scurge Hive is a nice mix of a 2D platformer and shooter. There are pretty cool upgrades to obtain, obstacles to get through, neat boss fights and more then enough enemies to kill, though there should have been more of a variety of them. Due to its isometric view, it can be a bit hard to aim your weapon and perform your jumps at times, but you usually will not have too many problems. I have not mentioned sound yet, but there is nothing to say. The soundtrack is nothing memorable, but it does accommodate to the game. There are a few bonuses when you beat the game, one is being able to change Jenosa’s costume, and you usually unlock a harder difficulty setting as well, but there is not too much to do once you beat it. Overall it is a good game. Not great, but good nonetheless, and for $10 it could be one of the best deals you come across. If a sequel is ever announced, I would be slightly interested.

7/10

[AmishOpiate]

King Of Fighters XII

I finally got around to deleting my god awful SFIV review, and will now try to demonstrate that I am, in fact, capable of writing an acceptable game evaluation. This makes me not so different then SNK, who always seem to be gasping in the wake of Capcom, trying to prove that they belong in the race. Drenched in the tsunami that was SFIV, we now have King Of Fighters XII, which just sort of seems to...exist. SNK is not trying to break new ground as much as they are trying to not become irrelevant, and while this is certainly an admirable goal, it doesn't make for a compelling gaming experience.

The big draw of KOF is the art-style, apparantly hand drawn over more than a years time. This is a big deal because SNK has been reusing the sprites for this title over a period of years, and now we finally have a reimagining, of sorts. The core fighting system is pretty standard, although there is a Critical Counter system which might be interesting down the line. When your CC gauge is full, you can stun your opponent for a damaging massive create-a-combo which can turn the tide of a fight. The controls are fluid and smooth, even though special moves can put up a big fight when you are trying to call them out.

Game modes are where SNK hits a problem, and cements its lovable loser title yet again. The single player mode is made up of five time trial matches, fought in 3 on 3 teams. That's it. No boss. No endings. Time trial is a horrible choice because it encourages the type of tactics which will get you killed online. Moving onto online, it is a little laggy but not as bad as you may have read on another forum. The KOF team has issued a statement that the netcode will be fixed, so I give them the benefit of the doubt on this. Most annoying flaw is that the instruction book does not contain a movelist for the characters, so it pretty much useless. Speaking of characters, a lot of fan favorites are missing, not the least of whom is Mai, the buxom ninja who might be the most recogniable SNK fighter out there. The game is also light on backgrounds; what is there is beautiful, but there are only six to choose from. I would have liked to have seen some more thought put into the package, as it seems half-done.

Overall, KOF gets a 6/10, and I do not think it is worth the money I paid for it. It is a nice break from SFIV, and could spawn a great sequel, but right now it feels like an unfinished product which is more a skeleton for DLC then something that shines right out of the box.

[Vilagen]

Retro Review:

Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

So a few months ago, Nintendo finally offered the one particular Zelda game that I was holding out the longest for. Many fans of this series hail Ocarina of Time as, well, basically the best thing ever for any console. And I’m not here to say there is anything wrong with that. OoT was certainly a blast and still holds up today. For me though, my Zelda favorite is not OoT or even Link to the Past. For me is has been Majora’s Mask, a game that received mix reactions among fans. This game initially came out to the States around 2000 and was one of the few games on the N64 that required an expansion pack to play, which probably did not help its popularity. Set in an alternate world of Termina, Link goes on a quest to stop the terrible fate bestowed upon it. In three days, the moon will collide and destroy everything in its wake.

First of all, its gameplay is basically the same as OoT in its bare necessities. For those of you who have not played OoT, or any other 3-D Zelda game for that matter, Link has the obvious ability to swing his blade, along with shoot projectiles in first person mode, lock onto enemies and ride his pony. Link is certainly no Hyubasa, but the control and speed that Link performs at will work just fine. In fact, in this particular Zelda game you do not play as Link in just his human form; with the aid of certain masks he will be able to transform between being a deku, goron and zora. (Along with one last transformation, Fierce Deity, for those that decide to go above and beyond.) Each form has different abilities and allows Link to traverse through the many challenges and puzzles that Termina has to offer him. For example on certain spots deku Link can shoot out of the ground and hover to another destination, goron Link can roll around as a blazing fireball and zora Link has the ability to cause players to forget about the main quest as they swim like a missile under water. It is slightly annoying that you will have to go to the pause menu to switch between items and masks you want to place on the “c-sticks”, but this little hiccup is nothing much to complain about and many games are still guilty of this anyway.

Now earlier I mentioned something about stopping a moon in three days. In case you are wondering, why yes, there is a three day period before the moon falls which becomes the pivotal mechanic of this Zelda title. Each game hour is approximately one minute in our own time. If you were to say “72 minutes is not enough time to beat a Zelda game,” then congratulations captain obvious, you’re correct. After completing the first three day cycle, the player is given the ability to reset back to day 1 practically anytime they wish by playing The Song of Time. Of course, there are consequences for going back to day 1. First of all, Link will lose all his rupees, arrows and bombs he is carrying on him. There is a way to preserve rupees in a bank that defies the very fabric of time through the power of stamps. Replenishing your arsenal is hardly a problem though, for there are certain areas any player can warp to that always has an abundant supply of what you need. What put certain players in a frenzy though is that all dungeon progress is automatically reset. Initially this sounds horrible, but not so actually. For anyone that is familiar with the Zelda formula, one would know that every dungeon always consist of an item that gets added in Links arsenal. Majora’s Mask is no different in that aspect; for once you get that dungeon’s weapon you basically cut its length in half. In other words there are check points in place for those that fail to complete an entire cavern on their first run. Even then Nintendo gave players another option to extend time. Playing The Song of Time backwards allows players to slow the flow of time in half, allowing a cycle to go up to about 140 minutes.

Once a dungeon is cleared the area that the dungeon was at will be cleared of its ailment but once time is reset, so will the effects of completing a dungeon. There are four major areas in the game that are north, east, west and south of Clock Town; each of which has a dungeon. Until the dungeon boss is defeated, the land will be in a cursed state. For example, the water that flows through the Southern Swamps is originally poisoned. Once the dungeon boss is defeated, the poison disappears. There are certain things that can be done only while an area is in its clean state. Now, while resetting time puts everything back in a mess, crawling through an entire cavern is not necessary again. Instead, you have the choice to warp to the dungeon’s boss right at the start, thus saving a lot of time. Perhaps some people may get annoyed of having to fight the same boss again in order to accomplish some other quest, but its interesting mechanics like those that make Majora’s Mask what it is.

While there may be only four dungeons to explore, don’t let that fool you into thinking that this is drastically shorter than other Zelda titles. This game offers quite a bit to do, not to mention that there are always a few quests to complete before the next cavern can be accessed anyway. First of all, each dungeon has a mini quest of its own of finding 15 stray fairies inside of it. All 15 must be found in one cycle, but finding each set will net you an award if you return to the fairy fountain before resetting time. Also, very early in the game you can acquire the Bomber’s Notebook, which allows you to access many side quests involving quite a few people around Termina. (Well, mainly the people in Clock Town.) Time is an important element in completing these quests, for it usually involves performing certain tasks at certain places at the right time and day during the 72 hour cycle. There are a few quests that tie into one another as well, some in bigger ways than others. Prizes can consist of pieces of hearts or the chance to invest in something, but usually what will be given to you are masks. There a bunch of them, about 24, each of which does its own unique thing. Granted, some of them are just used to get a prize or just another mask, but others, like the bomb mask and the ever useful bunny ears mask are definitely ones you may keep putting back in your inventory. And as mentioned earlier, masks are what Link uses to transform into other beings.

Since this game took advantage of the N64 expansion pack, it does look a bit smoother than Ocarina of Time even though it is using the same kind of graphic engine. I did notice that some areas have an interesting blend of colors that compliments this game’s mood and tone. While not the best soundtrack in the world, the music works for a Zelda title. The tune that plays during the last 6 hours of the cycle is especially eerie and because of that it may stick in your head for a while. The Song of Healing is another catchy tune as well. Just like in Ocarina of Time Link does use his instruments to learn a few tunes, but you mainly use most of them to pass through obstacles or puzzles, or simply just warp around. One very important thing to note is how the save feature works. The game can only be permanently saved when the player returns back to day one. Of course, this is to add to the element of challenge by making the player set goals and engage in different activities each and every run but without going in over their head. Soft saves are available by the owl statues found throughout Termina, but anyone familiar with soft saves knows that it means that you must quit that current session in order to use it and once reloaded the save disappears. Running out of time is not an instant game over, but you do loose all the progress you made during that particular cycle.

The emphasis on time and masks are not the only distinct differences in this Zelda title. Without a shred of hesitation, I can honestly say that this is the most demented and darkest Zelda game out of them all. Its sense of humor, trembling setting, the slight sense of impending doom, strange innuendos, just about everything about this game gives off a strange and disturbing vibe. Heck, keep in mind that this was the game that procreated Tingle, or just watch a youtube video of Link transforming from one form to another. (Showing my buddies that for the first time was a guilty pleasure of mine.) My favorite example of this game’s more sinister vibe is watching how Clock Town and its citizens transform as the moon comes closer. On day one everything seems fine and cheery, but by the third night the place is nearly abandoned. The people who you can still find in Clock Town have different reactions; one person is in denial, another one is plain terrified and some others are just accepting to the cold fact that they are going to die. There is one particular exchange at the ranch that is just downright depressing. Majora’s Mask is definitely a lot harsher than its other Zelda brethren.

(Oh, and how can I forget the Happy Mask Salesman?)

Recommending this game is a tough thing to do. While I, and many in fact, enjoyed and even loved this addition to the Zelda franchise, there were still those that abhorred it as well. It is extremely different to your average Zelda game, demanding a bit of a learning curve, taming and tolerance. If you want to see a Zelda game that is freaky, bizarre and incredibly foreign to any other title you might have played before this, or you just love the game like myself, then go ahead and download it. It is well worth the $10. Just remember to keep an open mind as you play through this. Generally speaking, I think this is a wonderful game all around and shows off one of Nintendo’s better examples of what they can do when they choose to take a risk.