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| Review - Football Manager Handheld 09 |
| Tuesday, 2 December 2008 |
 The Football Manager series on PC has evolved from its Championship Manager roots and become the premier football title. On the PSP there hasn't been much in the way of serious competition but that hasn't stopped them from trying something different and innovating with this years iteration.
Football Manager Handheld 09 comes with a series of refinements and improvements. For the first time the game features a 2D match engine along with the feature to hop between different countries rather than being limited to the run nation. Both of these new headline features aren't without their fair share of problems though. There is also improved transfer code which helps make selling those unwanted players easier. The game also has two new skins, the dark skin in particular is gorgeous and very pleasing to the eye.
The 2D match engine shares none of the same code as the PC version and as such starts from scratch, with this in mind it will come as no surprise that the match experience has its fair share of glitches. Strange sights such a defender running at the keeper one on one and then laying it back half the length of the pitch rather than shooting are common place and using the pitch for tactical analysis can be very hard. Instead much more can be garnered from the brilliant text that gives plenty of hints and tips at where players are being beaten or how attacks break down. Some decisions have clearly been made with the format in mind as well, only goals or near misses are shown and even then it is only the smallest of glimpses. This helps to keep the action going quick and fast and means that games don't drag on, the option for full match highlights would be welcome. SI have had a fair stab at improving the match day experience and should be praised for their efforts and as a starting point the engine looks to have a solid enough framework to build on.
The database problems arise from the hardware only being able to handle X number of players existing in the game at any one time. Things are fine when running one nation with every team having their full first team, high profile reserves and a smattering of exciting youngsters, teams abroad have a decent selection to pick from. When running with extra nations though the game has to spread its players thinly across all of the leagues running meaning that not all teams have their full complements of players and some even having very noticeable first team absences. There seems no solution though unless SI can push that bit more out of the PSP. It is a shame that their is no way to install the database in full on a Memory Card and run them off this faster solid state rather than streaming off the UMD, whether this is even possible or simply pie in the sky is another matter.
There are many other aspects that people would argue mean the handheld version is a poor relation to the its PC brother. This is however not the case as the developers have taken all the key features and distilled them down to their most common form. Take the media involvement, whilst the PC version has taken things a step further and created media conferences. Rather than offering a ream of time consuming options all of which are either positive, negative or no comment related Handheld simply offers these three simple offers. This is by no means a bad thing however has is helps keep the pace to that more suitable to a handheld game where you may just be catching five minutes here or there. It strikes the right mix between just enough whilst not being to much.
If you are looking for a game that can both fill a quick five minutes and offer hours and hours of gameplay this is the one for you. The game has the usual 30 season limit plus all the unlockables fans have come to expect. A bigger database adds to the experience as well offering more players than ever.
 As always finding the right tactics is key to success
The game has improved with each passing year and this is no exception yes there are a few niggling faults, but this doesn't detract from a core experience that will see you spends hours and hours pouring over it's simple text based interface. It may not be the flashiest most graphically intensive PSP game out there but it certainly tests the systems' durability as you will find yourself putting in the hours - time to think about picking up a spare battery for those long distance journeys.
 Labels: flameboy, Football Manager Handheld, PSP, Reviews
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posted by flameboy @ 19:45  |
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| Review- Final Fantasy IV DS |
| Friday, 10 October 2008 |
 Remakes. They seem to be everywhere these days with companies looking to draw on their rich heritage and bring their old classics to the new generation. Or, taking a more cynical view, remakes are seen as companies being low on inspiration and looking to make some quick cash by repackaging their old material. Final Fantasy IV is undoubtedly a classic game and where better than the DS, with its booming RPG market, to unleash the game once more upon us.
Even with a passing interest in gaming you will have at least heard of the Final Fantasy series. The series was always known by gamers worldwide, but were something of a rarity in the west due to some games in the series not making it out of Japan. Back in the day, FF IV was in fact known as FF II in the west but since the release of FF VII, the numbering of the games became standardised worldwide. Now, if that has made you are unsure whether you played FF IV before or not this should clear it up for you: it’s the one with Cecil and Golbez. Fans of Final Fantasy often highlight this fourth entry as being the best of them all- it blew peoples minds back when it first released on the Snes, so is it all just nostalgia, or is FF IV worthy of this remake?
The game opens with some gorgeous (though not perfectly compressed) FMV with music that will tug at your heartstrings if you are an FF IV veteran. Beginning a new game, you play as Cecil the Dark Knight of Baron. Cecil has always been the most loyal of servants to his king, however recently he has began to question the king’s motives more and more. I won’t go into the details of the story, but as you can guess, things spiral out of control leaving the fate of the county and world in your hands. The adventure is a lengthy one, however it plays out deceptively rapidly as the story is well segmented and always driving you forward. You always know where to go next whether you have played FF IV in the past or not.
Unlike FF III, there is no job system. Each character has their own specialities and areas of expertise meaning your party will always be diverse, leaving you to worry about little more than levelling them up- which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As in FF III you would have spent a hefty amount of time levelling up each character as well as each individual job, meaning the game became a huge grind. In comparison, FF IV is much more focused. You have Cecil who will be your “tank” and others who will be your white mage, black mage, etc, which allows each character to have their own role and play their very deliberate parts in the story. In battle you line up with a maximum of five party members (split between being front and backline) and rather than being strictly turn based, battles are played out in the groundbreaking and acclaimed ATB system. With active time battle, everyone has their own bars that fill up before they can take their turn, making for something that’s more engaging than your standard turn based affair. To add extra spice to proceedings, FF IV is an RPG that is less about power levelling and more about utilising good tactics in battle- a lot of the time, if a boss beats you, the answer is not simply to spend time grinding but to adjust your approach to the battle.
So with FF IV already being available on GBA, is there any point to pick up the DS one? Well, yes I would have to say there is. The DS game has sufficient additions to warrant your time and money and I’d even go as far as to say it’s the ultimate version off FF IV on the market. Sadly, the extra content added to the end of the GBA port is missing, but FF IV includes Augments, an all new (and incredibly charming!) Namingway sidequest, an auto battle feature as well as possibly one of the best New Game + features in any game yet.
Augments are one-time abilities that you receive when characters leave the party or can be found in certain locations. They are difficult to find and as for the ones you do uncover, seeing as when equipped they cannot be removed, you will find it rather daunting as to whether you should actually assign them or not. Through the augments you will gain such abilities as counter, darkness and a variety of others. They allow for some extra customisation and are fun to play around with, but it would be nice if you could remove them if you do find a particular ability would be better suited to someone else.
Auto-battle allows you to give each character a preset move which they will continually use when you enable auto-battle, which can be turned on or off with a press of the X button. Auto-battle is most useful for random battling where you would normally just be attacking your way through with little need to think, if you just sit back and allow auto-battle to take you through the boss fights then you will be decimated. It’s a good feature, which will save you from hammering the A button as you slash your way through random battles in the field.
The New Game + feature encourages you to play through the game three times in order to get the most out of it. You carry your Augments over allowing you to have certain abilities from the get-go. Even if you normally find yourself playing through your games once and then shelving them, Final Fantasy IV on DS will genuinely coax you back for more.
What is a letdown is that while Square-Enix said there was a lot of the game left on the cutting room floor back in the nineties, the additional story content in this remake is negligible. You will notice some scenes here and there that are new, but on the whole this is basically the same FF IV as it always was. On the plus side, the story while not being as impacting as it was on the Snes, it is still good enough to make you want to keep playing. New players will find it clichéd, but you should keep in mind that FF IV was one of the games that set the standards for how a strong story could be delivered in games. At key junctures, the major scenes are played out as voice acted cutscenes. The voice acting is in general of a fine standard- however Kain’s voice is a lot deeper than personally I ever imagined it to be.
Musically, the title is also top notch. The stars were truly in alignment when FF IV originally came out because Nubuo Uematsu’s soundtrack is one of the most recognisable in the whole FF series, with Theme of Love even becoming part of the Japanese curriculum.
When all is said and done, FF IV is worth playing by everyone. Veterans will simply adore this trip down memory lane, and will enjoy toying with the Augments as well as spotting new scenes. Newbies will also find a lot to enjoy with this remake. It may seem fairly archaic if you have been brought up on more recent RPGs, but with a 3D make over, the game can be enjoyed by today’s DS playing generation. Heck, its even worth trying FF IV out if you have played and dislike proper turnbased RPGs- the ATB system keeps things more interactive, so its worth having a go before you dismiss FF IV as just another boring RPG.
 Labels: DS, fantasy, final, iv, Reviews, rpg
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| posted by darksnowman @ 13:10 |
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| Review- Mega Man 9 |
| Monday, 29 September 2008 |
Retro remakes are all the rage at the moment. With the recent Bionic Commando; Rearmed setting a very high standard for a retooled NES game can Mega Man 9 deliver in the same fashion?
The Mega Man franchise has in recent years become more famous for the way Capcom have milked the series over the years. Many old school fans of the series have become disillusioned as numerous spin offs have been born and the story has become more and more convoluted. Each of these new additions to the series seem to have added another layer or take on gameplay that simply wasn't needed. This however is a return to the principles the series built itself upon and is more like a direct sequel to Mega Man 2. It shares everything with it right down the same graphics, gloriously reimagined for todays consoles. No HD visuals, no hand drawn art style just plain old good 8 bit NES graphics. It would be incredible if someone could find a way to dump a ROM of this onto a NES cart and play it on the machine. (not that Gaming Corner condones piracy, this kind of experiment would purely be for fun!)
It can't be helped that there is this niggling feeling that this game could have used the kind of face lift that we recently saw in Bionic Commando. That helped the game to come kicking and screaming into the 21st Century world of HD. Purists will love the retro throwback whilst people will find the looks jarring and it may even make the game unplayable for those who don't wish to return to the days of old.
It is not only graphically where this title could be accused of coming up short. Whilst the music is fantastically retro and 8 bit it is not as memorable as the tunes from both Mega Man 1 and 2. There is something missing and none of the tracks are quite as catchy. Retro remixes of the old tunes may have been more preferable but would not have been in fitting with the graphics.
This all sounds very negative so far, but where the title really excels is the core gameplay. The basic premise is the same, work your way through 8 levels and beat the bosses. The clever part this system is you can tackle the bosses in order you wish, reach the end of their level and beat them and you will be rewarded with a power up that will help your adventure. Certain power ups help beat certain bosses, working out this order is an important part of the game. The platforming is as sweet as ever and those looking for a challenge will certainly be pleased. The level design is definitly up there as some of the best out there and is leagues above the most recent Mega Man games. The normal game is also supplemented with a smattering of current gen features such as in game achievements which help to increase the longevity of the title.
So which is the best version? Well purists would say that the Wii version is the best as it uses the classic patented D-Pad design that was present back in the NES days. Microsoft fans would argue that the inclusion of Xbox Achievements sets their version a cut above the rest, however the 360 controller does have D-Pad issues. Whereas the PS3 version with its own direction pad perhaps offers the best controlling HD smoothed version. Whatever the case if you are old school Mega Man fan you will find that whatever version you get this game will satisfy your need. There is set to be DLC for the game but so far it has only 100% been confirmed for Wii.
Mega Man is a NES game through and through it comes with a smattering of modern features yet it is clearly a product of the original era that the franchise was born during. Fans of the series will welcome the return a simplier day whereas casual gamers will be turned off by the decidedly ancient looking visuals and the difficult gameplay. One things for sure Mega Man has returned and is back to his best.
Labels: PS3, Reviews, Wii, Xbox 360
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| posted by flameboy @ 19:34 |
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| Review- Premier Manager 09 |
| Sunday, 7 September 2008 |
As the new English Premiership season starts to get going the inevitable deluge of footballing titles look set to hit every format out there. Premier Manager 09 is one of the first to hit the market, we grab our sheepskin coat and prepare for a long hard season in the dug out.
Allow me to make a slight personal digression before we start this review properly. I am an old school Premier Manager fan, many years ago I went to some game exhibition in London and picked up a number of games. One being a light gun pack with a clay pigeon shooting game (the trigger for that gun broke within a few months) but it was Premier Manager on the Amiga 500 Plus that kept my attention for hour upon hour. I remember with fond memories working my way up from the conference (which the game required you to do) up to being Liverpool manager and winning the title five out of seven seasons including three trebles a feat I am never likely to emulate in any other management game. There are also plenty of other great features the game had; using a telephone to ring staff members for example. I played Premier Manager 2 and 3 and the Amiga but neither captured the magic of the original. After those three I moved onto the Championship Manager series and then the Football Manager series but I still remember with much fondness my Premier Manager careers of yesteryear.
As Football Manager and Championship Manager continue to add feature upon feature and make the stats increasingly more in depth, Premier Manager has sent itself in a different direction. The other two titles are released later in the season and at full retail, whilst Premier Manager is clearly targeted at the masses released as the season kick offs and at a cheaper budget price. This has lead to title having a far more casual feel to it and it does pay off. Other management games are always finding themselves compared to glorified spreadsheets as people simple don't get them. Premier Manager however has a chunky easy to use graphics centric interface, where everything has it's own icon with text prompts also available. The Hub screen really shows off this design principal as it shows all the information in one single place with a ton of options for your next decision.
The casual side to the game also changes the way many players of the genre may be used to buying and selling players and interacting with your staff. Instead taking the form of drop down menu systems the game has a conversation tree system. Anyone familiar with RPG or point and click games will be right at home with this system and it helps keep things really simple. A typical transfer will involve you clicking on the player making your interest known and then talking to their chairman agreeing a price, before sitting down with the man himself and negotiating terms. All your choices are context sensitive so what will you pick will have a definite bearing on the answer you receive. Whilst in principal the practice is the same the execution is very different and makes for a more fluent easy to use system. One great feature not seen any football Sim before is the press conferences feature, you can be approached by journalists and asked questions or can call them in yourself and set your own agenda, this is a great feature and really shows off the possibilities of the conversation tree system.
One place the game really falls down is in on match days. Whilst it would perhaps be too much to expect the depth and diversity of the Football Manager 2D match engine or the Prozone power of Championship Manager, a competent means of viewing the action is a must. Bearing in mind the casual audience the game is aimed at it seems obvious to put a lot into a match engine as it is where your hard effort is rewarded and a great looking system will help keep gamers gripped. Premier Manager has a 2D match engine that is plane awful. Whilst it looks fine in screenshots (see below) as soon things start moving it jitters all over the place and it can be near on impossible to keep track of the action unless you play matches at the mind numbing slowest speed. Another problem highlighted when running in slow motion is the games inadequate AI as players seem to stroll around at leisure and break formation with regular abandon.
This however is not the only problem there is no text based commentary either. As mentioned already this is a casual game so there aren't the mounds of stats to pour over. With all this in mind it can be very hard to work out why you are actually losing matches, other than the fact your team perhaps had less shots and less possession and of course less goals. There is for example no way of telling if you defenders keep getting beaten in the air or are just off the pace. Would it have been that hard to include even the most simple of text commentaries? Just to give some indication of what is happening other than a poor 2D engine or the other option a simple symbols based system. It unfortunately makes the match experience boring and lacking in the suspense one would expect. LMA Manager on consoles which was also a more casual experience got it spot on with its match engine and made much better efforts at keeping players interested.
One final blight on this games resume is the transfer system. Whilst it is easy enough to buy and sell players they are woefully inaccurate when compared to real life. Lauren of Portsmouth going to Chelsea for £8 million anyone? Fancy seeing David Beckham play at Fratton Park? David Nugent to German giants Bayern Munich? Emile Heskey back to Liverpool for £10 million? Manchester United seemingly spending all their transfer budget on 3 ageing left backs? DONE. Other management have prided themselves on depicting real life transfers before they happen and having a realistic sytem based on the current climate. It's hard to say the same about Premier Manager as it just all feels so random.
All in all this is not a terrible game but it's not great either, younger gamers may find it fun but the casual gamer with an interest in football will perhaps find it that bit too frustrating to deal with the lack of feedback from matches. With Football Manager, Championship Manager and FIFA Manager all looming large on the horizon it is hard to recommend as each of them has tutorials and various options to make the gameplaying experience more streamlined and beginner friendly.
If it was a Premiership team it would be Middlesborough, plenty of potential but never gonna break into the higher echelons whilst being solid enough to only briefly flirt with the idea of relegation. (Blimey that's the most praise you will ever see me giving Gareth Southgate, I still remember THAT miss in Euro 96)
 Labels: PC, PS2, Reviews
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| posted by flameboy @ 11:28 |
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| Review: Toki Tori (Wiiware) |
| Sunday, 17 August 2008 |
Toki Tori by developer Two Tribes is a simple premise- you are plonked in a 2D level and there is a number of eggs you must collect. That's it. Well there are a few other things that spice it up- items like bridges, teleportation device, freeze-o-matic and hoover amongst others, as well as baddies to avoid. It might not be a huge list, but things can get pretty complicated and taxing nonetheless. Sound like fun? Well probably not from that description. The thing is, Toki Tori has an addictive edge where, even on the most difficult of levels, you always think you are on the verge of success so you want another go... and another... until you eventually perfect your approach and complete the level. Its made difficult because you only have so many uses of each item in each level- meaning you have to plot things out and make sure you use the items in the right places and not waste them, lest you be looking at that last egg and have no means to reach it. Even the baddies need to be used to your advantage. Each and every level has a very deliberate layout, which you will realise the deeper you get into the game- each single gap, platform, ladder, baddie... everything must be given consideration as you formulate the winning strategy for each stage.
In the early levels everything is straightforward as you are eased into proceedings but its not that long before you will be scratching your head. When stuck you will find yourself staring at the screen, working through how to reach the eggs in your head. Waiting for that moment of enlightenment, that elusive eureka moment when it all becomes clear to you. On completing a particularly tough level you realise how logical - and oft-times obvious - the solution was. You wonder how you could be so stupid when the solution was staring you in the face all the time. You'll jump straight into the next level to prove to yourself that you aren't that thick, but 15-20 minutes later, you will be stuck once more.
The game is made up of four worlds with ten initial levels each and then a selection of hard levels for each world after that, which takes the number up to seventy. There is next to no story, but that doesn't matter. As you play, Toki Tori will leave you messages on the Wii message board, keeping you up to date with his adventure, which is a nice touch. Graphically, its all good. The only glitch I came across was in the sound department- when you zoom the camera out to look at the level, some sound effects will continue even though the game is, in effect, paused. For example, if you zoom out when Toki Tori is flapping down off a ledge, the sound of his flapping wings will continue.
If you are worried about what control methods are available, then there's nothing to be afraid of. The game supports Wii remote (you can play it purely with the IR pointer, a la Zack & Wiki), Wii remote + nunchuck and the classic controller. If you use the remote at all, then it can be fun to switch between items as you have the choice of pressing left and right on the d-pad, or flicking the remote left and right.
What it all boils down to is that if you are looking for a game to appeal to the side of you that enjoyed games like Zack & Wiki and the Lost Vikings, then get Toki Tori because playing as a chicken has never been so good. It may seem pricey at 900 Wii Points, but its genuinely worth it.
 Labels: puzzle, Reviews, toki, tori, wiiware
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| posted by darksnowman @ 15:34 |
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| Review: No More Heroes |
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 It’s not too brash to say there just isn’t enough unpredictability in modern gaming. Sure, there’s enough variety of genres covered across the board, but nothing that quite flicks the Vs to the majority and runs around the field with its testicles showing. Legendary oddball Goichi “Suda 51” is clearly annoyed at this state of cosmopolitanism, and with No More Heroes, he has created one of the most unique games of this generation.
Of course, coming from the man who brought the world Killer7 and promotional toilet roll, it probably isn’t surprising to learn that No More Heroes isn’t exactly what you would call a genre game. If it is to be classified as anything, it would probably be best described as an arcadey-style action game, with sandbox adventure elements and several death-dealing mini-games with a nitrogen-powered motorbike thrown in the recipe for good measure. The story isn’t exactly sober, either.
No More Heroes starts with the main protagonist (well…) of the game, Travis Touchdown succeeding in auctioning for a “beam katana” lightsabre weapon on the internet, but then unintentionally being flung into a league of the country’s top assassins, and the name of the game is that you have to kill to survive. The basic gameplay thread that ensues sees you progressing up the league by taking out all the killers above you. This obviously comes free with the exhilarating opportunity to slice through dozens of personalityless suited goons in the main levels.
It should be noted that before all this even begins, the first thing you notice about No More Heroes is its how gorgeous it all is. Taking a leaf out of Killer7’s book, the whole game has a seamless cel-shaded visual direction. Married with the over-the-top violence and frankly unnecessary amount of f-bombs, it isn’t hard to look at this as a colourful variant of Sin City. However, unlike Frank Miller’s knack at creating interesting characters and engaging set pieces, Suda 51 much prefers to parody the inspirations it borrows from, from the instantly hateable dialect of Travis to villains that would make a Bond movie cast blush. However, not all these parodies are as harmless as these.
For example, the streets of the overworld are full of amusingly brain-dead civilians and blocky vehicles have laughably disproportionate collision boxes. Of course, while these “flaws” may be intentional, they’re still evident. It soon becomes a chore to navigate around the sterile Santa Destroy, and the mundane but financially necessary side missions just make the game outside the missions seem like a hub that you’ll come to dread. But mark our words: for the main missions – it’s more than worth it.
Being 10 bosses above you, there are 10 main levels to progress. Each one is totally different from the last in terms of design, gameplay mechanics, types of enemies and even one-off gimmicks. One level saw you simulate Travis’ dream about a 2D shoot’em up; so you were actually playing a vertically scrolling shooter for that part of the game. Suda 51’s own personal tastes shine through in No More Heroes, and they’re executed sublimely. It’s the boss battles themselves, though, that are really the game’s forte. A hugely diverse range of characters with mad settings and even madder, over-sized weapons – you’ll be biting at the bit to knuckle down and get scrapping. The fast pace and ridiculous difficulty ensures you’ll forget about the relatively simplistic controls (it’s essentially one button to swing your sword).
No More Heroes certainly isn’t a short game; clocking in at around 13 hours, with no room for multiplayer. The manic fights you’ll have will guarantee at least one replay, and there’s a wide range of collectable clothes for dedicated finishers. But it will always be the first time you play through it that you’ll remember. From the shocks and scares to the surprising and downright weird - with No More Heroes, Grasshopper has succeeded in making one of the most creative and diverse games so far this year. It’s an experience that truly needs to be experienced.
Labels: No More Heroes, Reviews, Wii
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| posted by D_prOdigy @ 15:16 |
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| Review: Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS) |
| Sunday, 3 August 2008 |
We’re more familiar with the roguelike subgenre nowadays through entries in the “Mystery Dungeon” series such as the well-known Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games. Due to the Pokémon theme, it has somewhat helped to bring the Mystery Dungeon series to the masses. However, it’s Shiren the Wanderer who leads by example in being Chunsoft’s original core series. So its here, questing with Shiren and Koppa that the true Mystery Dungeon experience can be found. How good can a game that relies on being randomly generated ultimately be?
Shiren the Wanderer isn’t a new game at all; it is in fact a 1995 SNES game that has been re-released on DS. The premise is a simple and linear one: basically, you are aiming to complete the main dungeon by making it from your starting location right the way to the goal, the lair of the Golden Condor. What sets Shiren apart from other RPGs is this roguelike tag we all associate with it and other games of its ilk. What this means is that unlike most other videogames, death is a very real threat. Sure you die in other games, but it’s easy enough to restart and not lose a lot of your progress. In Shiren the Wanderer when you die, that’s it. You go back to the inn at Canyon Hamlet, the first village and lose all your items, experience as well as any companions you may have picked up along the way. Its every bit as brutal and sadistic as you would imagine it to be, but this is where the true art of Shiren lies. Very rarely will you find that you are killed cheaply. Each time you die, you will learn something new about how to play the game and you will be wiser for your next run through. Its best to think of it in terms of Super Mario Bros., whereby your aim is to get from world 1-1 all the way to Bowser’s Castle in one go. A game over in Mario is the equivalent of death in Shiren- if you get a game over at Bowser’s Castle then you have to start over from 1-1, no power ups, no extra lives, no nothing. All you have is the knowledge of how to play and get to Bowser’s Castle, and you will know why you died and be ready for it on subsequent attempts at rescuing that pesky princess. Obviously in Mario you can learn the layout of levels but due to the fact that each floor in Shiren is randomly generated, it’s a different challenge. Nevertheless what you learn is techniques for best defeating bad guys, what to do when certain situations arise and when its best to use items you pick up. It’s the thinking mans game.
 Gameplay is grid-like and highly strategic. You have the illusion of walking around freely, but in effect each step you take and each action you make constitutes one turn. Baddies and townspeople will only move when you move, meaning you can take as long as you need to think out your strategy for each situation you find yourself in- you are never rushed, and you play at your own pace. You may be put off by the prospect of the randomly generated dungeon floors, but when you get into the adventure, it’s this very feature that keeps things fresh. No two play-throughs are the same, meaning you never get settled into a gameplay rhythm and you always have to think out your approach to clearing each floor as its never the same as last time.
Graphically, Shiren the Wanderer is nothing special if you are expecting modern day visuals. However the graphics are charming and do the job adequately, harking back to the 16-bit days of gaming. Locations are all varied, with towns, forests, cliff sides and caves helping to differentiate between each section of the journey. Where Shiren the Wanderer is found lacking is in the special effects department. When you use items and staves, there is a small animation but no flamboyant effects that we are accustomed to in other RPGs. On the other hand this doesn’t hurt the gameplay, and means the action isn’t broken up as you wait for Shiren to swing a stave or read a scroll. The dual screens of the DS are put to good use, giving you the option to customise what each screen displays- using one screen for displaying gameplay and the other for the map is the set up of choice.
The music is by Koichi Sugiyama and whilst some would argue that the music is a weak point in Shiren the Wanderer, they are wrong because when you listen to it and get into the game, everything blends together seamlessly. The music isn’t in your face or overpowering but it complements the eastern themed atmosphere of Shiren’s adventure perfectly and so it’s difficult to criticise it.
An unexpected aspect to Shiren the Wanderer is that it encourages players to join together and help each other out. On a play through, you are allowed to be revived three times, and all kinds of options are available so as to give you the best opportunity possible of being rescued. You can send or receive your rescue request via local DS communication, via Nintendo WFC where friends or random adventurers can rescue you and failing that, you can have a password generated that you can give to others so they can come and revive you. This community aspect is greatly encouraged, and makes you realise you are not alone in the quest to reach the Golden Condor.
 All in all, do not allow yourself to be put off by Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderers harsh exterior. You are going to die, so accept it and open yourself to this alternative style of play because when you get into it, Shiren provides one of the best experiences available on DS. There are workarounds to the setback of losing all your items upon dying- you can store your gear at various warehouses along the way meaning you can leave things to pick up on subsequent play-throughs. There is a lot more to this adventure than the main dungeon that will lead you to the Golden Condor. After completing the main quest you will open up new dungeons to test yourself in. As well as this there are side quests to get involved in, sidekicks to befriend and recruit and if you so decide you can take the time to upgrade your weapon and shield- but don’t get too attached, because its certain you will die and lose them sooner or later.
There is a lot to sink your teeth into with Shiren the Wanderer, so cast off your doubts and preconceptions about how RPGs are supposed to work and embrace Shiren, the roguelike Wanderer with an open mind.
Second Opinion
Aaron "D_prOdigy" Clegg
The meat and bones of Shiren certainly does sound like a pretty acquired taste… and that very much is the case. If you don’t like “hardcore” games that see you dying and starting from the drawing board several times a play-through, you’d be forgiven for being rather put off by Shiren. But if you’re willing to have an open mind, and are interested in knowing what it’s like to be challenged by a video game, you won’t find a better tool to test you. It’s going to make you angry at the world, but Mystery Dungeon games have never been interested in holding your hand, and the beast gets its kicks from baffling you by radically changing the over-world every time you perish. That’s not to say the world of Shiren never feels familiar. You’ll find yourself stumbling across friendly NPCs time after time, who acknowledge you as a warrior, and always remember you. It’s this sort of design choice that makes Shiren feel constantly new, without totally changing things every hour.
On a personal note, I must highly recommend Shiren to these snobbish gamers who consider themselves “hardcore”. After playing this extensively, I think it’s safe to say that no-one can consider themselves to be anything but mere mortals until they’ve mastered Chunsoft’s 1995 epic. It may be a 13 year old relic, but in this day of 7-hour shooter-fests, it’s the freshest game I’ve played all year.
Labels: DS, dungeon, mystery, Reviews, shiren, wanderer
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| posted by darksnowman @ 20:13 |
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| Review: Defend Your Castle |
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Wiiware so far is a service that has shown a wide variety of gaming experiences can be offered at affordable prices. Whilst the likes of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles; My Life as a King have the challenge of proving themselves worthy of the higher end prices, it as the bottom of the scale that things can be far more interesting.
Some of the games priced at the lowest current price point 500 points have the challenge of justifying the purchase whilst also admitting that the title is unlikely to be as fully fleshed out as the bigger titles. The advent of browser based gaming becoming a more prominent part of PC Gaming has led to simplistic free games becoming more readily available. Defend Your Castle is one such game that this very much applies to considering its origins. XGen Studios originally released the game on their website as freely available Flash game on in your web browser. The game has built up a very big fan base and avid following as well as leading to a flood of clones. So with all all this in mind the big question is whether this game is worth 500 points?
The basic premise of the game is exactly what the title says; Defend Your Castle. You have to defend your kingdom by fighting off an onslaught of enemies. Things are a bit laid back at first as you effortlessly fling away from the stickmen, but once you reach about Level 20 things step up and notch and the game really starts to become a challenge. As the games ups the ante a variety of different enemies begin to appear, stickmen armed with lolly pop, bigger bottle top headed grunts and so on. As your progress through the game points can be spent on improving the castle which will in turn help to make defending it that tiny bit easier. The first upgrade is the pit of conversion which allows you to throw in stickmen and add them to your ranks, they can then be allocated to each of the castles various departments. The most simplistic of these is the Archery, whereby allocating more converts results in a higher rate of fire. The best is by far the Mage turret which allows for wealth of spells to be unleashed on the unsuspecting enemies. The first of these is an eraser which rubs out the stickmen's drawn bodies as their button heads tumble to fall, the more you allocate to this the turret the better the spells.
The game is made infinitely more fun and intuitive by the inclusion of motion controls. There is no better feeling than flinging stick men up in the air with a flick of the wiimote, it feels much more involving than mouse driven controls ever could. Aside from the throwing of enemies the game also uses the standard pointer based controls we have come to expect from Wii titles. It makes defending out your troops between the various stations easy and seamless. Finally the D-pad is used to unleash your magic attacks on the unsuspecting enemy.
Defend Your Castle on Wii along with the unique control system also comes with a radically new and improved artistic style. Whilst the flash version had simplistic stickmen and quick drawings for the rest, this iteration offers far more. Everything is presented using real world objects; the stickmen are drawn in felt tip pen and have buttons for heads who occasionally charge the castle with lolly pop sticks, the castle is made up of a series of paper cut outs, the pit of conversion is a paint bucket and finally the clouds are made from the cheap see through toilet paper you used to have at primary school and are carried across the screen by blue pieces of string! All of these make for a truly fantastic looking and unique looking game, there is a special magic to found in the sense of glee experienced when discovering another real world object being used to feel the invaders. With this in mind its perhaps best to leave a few surprises and not wreck them all!
Unfortunately there is very little in the way of diversity and options in the single player. There is just defending you castle from level one upwards. However where this game really comes into its own is in multiplayer. It adds a whole new element to the gameplay as you fight towards the common goal of wiping out all the enemies whilst at the same time competing for the points to be crowned King of the Castle. Up to four players can indulge in the fun and with the maximum number of competitors things can become very manic and disorientating but that's all par for the course and part of the fun.
This is a perfect example of old school basic game design enhanced by the Wii's motion based controls which helps to offer an experience you won't get anywhere else. So back to the question is this worth 500 points? The answer is yes, it offers enough and is presented in such a great way that its brought up and above the flash version and if you find yourself wanting a cheap title to pass the time then there are few better than this on Wiiware the moment.
 Labels: Reviews, Wii, wiiware
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| posted by flameboy @ 10:53 |
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| Review: Rock Band Hardware |
| Wednesday, 30 July 2008 |
 Right the big contender to the Guitar Hero crown is here! Under the name of Rock Band, it offers everything Guitar Hero has up to this point offered but with the additional two band members being added into the fray with a possible 4th.
In my possession is the PS3 version of the package which comes with a wireless guitar, wired drum set and a wired USB base microphone. The key differences between this and the XBOX360 package which not many people will know is that you do not get a wireless guitar with their package unlike the PS3. On the upside the 360 version does come with a USB hub included so you can have enough USB ports to plug everything up and still have room for other things. The first niggle about the PS3 version is that it does NOT come with a USB hub so for anyone who owns a 40GB PS3 like me then you would not have enough USB ports to have all three peripherals plugged in at the same time.
Right so onto the instruments...
Rock Band Guitar
The first thing you noticed that is different is that the guitar as pictured though despite being a clarified toy does not look too much like one (unlike the guitar hero ones with the big coloured buttons for all to see).
The head of the guitar comes with plastic knobs which resemble the tuning cogs in a real guitar; this adds a lot of realism to this little guitar where in the case of guitar hero it is slightly bumped using the same colour as the head so it is barely noticeable.
As mentioned previously before you cannot see coloured buttons but upon closer inspection you see that the edges of the neck are coloured. This allows the player to see the colour of the button without it spoiling the illusion that you are playing a “real” guitar to anyone else watching you. At the base of the neck there is another five buttons which are identical in colour but small in terms of the width. These buttons are used for certain sections of the song which requires a solo. It provides a physical and visual impression that you are actually hammering on and hitting the high notes which many solos are so fond of having.
One comment I have to make about the buttons after logging in excess of fifty ish hours on both the guitar hero wii and rock band guitar is that the rock band buttons do feel more “sticky” in the sense that it takes longer to pop back up. This is more of an observational thing rather than a thing which affects game play.
The strummer bar has be vastly improved over their guitar hero counterpart, where the guitar hero version would give me a massive click on a strum up or down the rock band one is silenced and without actually opening up I would not know how it works but trust me its near silent compared to the former.
With both guitars there is the presence of a whammy bar which provides you and your friends with hilarious “wah wah wah wah” sounds during the longer notes but that is where the similarity ends. The Rock Band guitar has a flicker switch which allows you to switch the effect star powers, it includes echo, none, wah wah and two other ones I cant remember. This allows you to add effects which make the song sounds better during star power which was often a problem with guitar hero where I would find one of my friends refusing to use the whammy bar because it “ruins the song”. At least here we can match it.
One final note with the guitar is that the buttons placed next to the bar is poorly done so. I have often found whilst using the bar that it would go back into the guitar to the point where my fingers would hit the start button by accident but if you are careful and not OTT it shouldn’t happen.
Rock Band Drums
Right here is the defining aspect in the music simulator experience; the drums! Consisting of 4 pads and a bass pedal where he three left most pads are various drums and the right most one is the cymbal. Between the two centre drums is a D-pad and button configuration which various based on what system you get it for. As the self-appointed drummer in the experience I have had a lot of play time with the set and what I have found as noteworthy point number one is that when you hit the pads they are extremely LOUD! Hit at medium strength it gives you large CLUNK sound due to the vibration of the wooden included drums sticks and the plastic hollow esque drum pad.
This problem IMO ruins the experience of rock band where the other players of the game would not be able to enjoy the song and get immersed into their own parts because they are constantly being haunted by the clunking of the drummer in the back. Whilst it could be quickly solved by putting a bath tower over it, it isn’t a long lasting fix as it found that the tower falls off whilst playing the hectic songs. This problem can be solved easily by say buying quietening pads from ebay for like a tenner but in my situation I just cut up some free mouse mats and stuck it on with some double sided tape (at least till the rubber gum pads I order arrive).
The next point is the bass pedal which goes on the bottom of the set. During play it is extremely responsive especially for double or triple bass notes but the entire pedal structure is extremely light and when you release the pedal really fast it sort of launches itself up.
Now here is the major gripe when it comes to the pedal... THE INFAMOUS SNAPPED PEDAL!
I have experienced that problem recently today and kit has happened to countless other people where even with normal play the pedal would snap. The problem is the way to play real drums is to press the pedal down with the ball of your foot, the way the rock band pedal is build is so that it does NOT support pressure that far up the pedal.
To be honest harmonix should have seen this happening, it is really begger’s belief that it had not been picked up by any of the testers of the game.
Rock Band Microphone
Nothing special just a normal standard USB microphone with plenty of cable and a weighty base. Can be a bit quiet on some songs though.
To summarise, Bass pedal = :(, Guitar Strumming = quieter, Drums = too loud but overall very good implementation harmonix .Labels: Music game, Reviews, Rock Band
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| posted by AeroScap @ 22:54 |
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| Reviews Policy; What does it all mean?! |
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Ok so whilst we have posted about this in the past it is now time to explain the scores a bit more indepth and their relation to one another.
Ok so we have a very unique scoring system based on the UK University System, whilst it is very specific an article on the blog has been posted previously it merely explained why we had picked a different system not why what each socre meant. With a 10/10 scoring system it is fairly simple what each score means, although the definition of average has definitily become altered in recent years. We feel our scoring system demonstrates enough range in scores to work well and clearly detail what is excellent, average and what is sub-standard. The title of 1st Class Honours for a great game is a very grand title for it to hold, just as Fail is an awful title to be used for a game. Here is a basic breakdown of each of the scores;
1st Class; Exceptional, not perfect, but excels in many areas and in what it aims to achieve.
2:1; A fantastic title that just falls short of excellence, perhaps for notable flaws such as camera system, but these can only be notable flaws not game breaking flaws.
2:2 Above Average, a grade given to a game that succeeds on many levels and has perhaps some potentially gamebreaking flaws, but no real major flaws, but is also devoid of enough merits for it to achieve the higher rankings.
3rd Class Average, a perfectly playable game, that does little to offend whilst at the time doing nothing to demonstrate it is anything more or anything less than average. May have noticeable flaws.
Pass A title that is below average but is not without its merits as a game.
Fail For a title to be described a fail, it has to be so bad, it should have been abandoned long ago in the infancy of its development cycle.
So there it is laid bare the basic criteria by which we mark our games. We of course do have plenty of other ways we differentiate good from bad and certain policies we bare in mind when reviewing, but for now these shall shall remain closely guarded. In truth they should be the sort of thing that reveals itself through the writing as we champion certain gaming traits.
Finally we will soon be updating our reviews with new graphics showing each of the scores next to each other with a graphic displaying the exact score the game recieved. This is to help give the scores context to new readers not familar to the system as well as remind those who may have forgotten.
Here's a little demo of what we mean;
In the very near future a more snazzy and robust version of this graphic with highlighted scores will be showing on the bottom of every review.Labels: Policies, Reviews
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| posted by flameboy @ 12:18 |
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| Space Invaders Extreme Review |
| Monday, 28 July 2008 |
If you are an old school Space Invaders fan (who for some crazy reason doesn't already own this game) and have been waiting for the franchise to be brought kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, then close this window, log off and rush to your nearest gaming emporium. Honestly just go, you don't need to need this review and nothing that is said here will mean a jot of difference. This is the game for you period.
Still here?! Very well then. Space Invaders has appeared in many many guises down the years and on over 22 platforms, but has never quite managed to recapture the magic of the original. Some have even seemingly done their best to try and tarnish the franchises good name. Take Space Raiders (no not the popular corn based crisps) for the PS2 and Gamecube a 3D version where you run through urban areas as characters such as street teen Justin and fashionista Ashley. It was so far removed from what made Space Invaders great it was a total train wreck and not worth any ones time and effort; Space Invaders fan or not.
One crucially important feature of the original Space Invaders was the music. The MIDI music was perfect in its execution, it heightened the tension of the game and gave a sense of impending doom as the aliens got closer and closer. Space Invaders Extreme takes this premise and turns it on its head by incorporating a very modern obsession in todays gaming; rhythm game mechanics. This helps to bring the game up to a modern standpoint from an audio perspective and helps to make it relevant in the current gaming climate. Any game can add sounds here and there in an attempt to give it rhythm, but to get it right is another thing all together. Space Invaders Extreme adds blips, beeps and pings all over the place which all fit in with the games soundtracks. There is nothing more satisfying than entering fever mode and hearing the sound rush out of your headphones (arguably the best way to play).
Space Invaders Extreme also benefits from simple refinement of the classic formula. Players engage the aliens through increasingly difficult wave after wave before fighting a boss battle to progress onto the next stage. Bonuses are given for killing aliens of the same colour, wiping out an entire row, getting a combo without missing. The bonuses take both the form of extra points and strongers weapons depending on the colour of the enemy killed. Hitting UFO's is interesting as they both provide high points and the enjoyable bonus rounds. These take the form of little mini rounds whereby the player has to complete a certain take for example wipe out ten UFO's in 30 seconds. Completing this results in fever time which is abound with bonuses that get the higher scores and higher ranks.
The graphics are crisp and for the most part simple and faithful to the series, whilst still appealing to the Geometry Wars/Lumines generation. One problem some people may have are the graphically intense backgrounds on the PSP version. Whilst they are a good fit for the game and tie in nicely with the music they can be distracting, this however is not a problem as they can simply be turned off.
Controls on both versions are as tight and reliable as you would expect. On PSP the analogue nub works just as well as the D-Pad on both systems. The DS version however does have one great touch that nudges it up a notch with the inclusion of support for an optional paddle controller (compatible with Arkanoid also) that plugs into the GBA slot on the bottom of the DS. This provides a truly old school control system and helps make the controls and experience feel even closer to the arcade classic.
If you are a fan of the franchise, don't already own it and still havn't been convinced by this review, then seriously what's going on? If your are newcomer to the franchise, give it a go. The series is brought up to modern standards and thrives, without losing what made it a classic back in 1978. Space Invaders Extreme will offer some of the most addictive handheld gameplay you will find on either platform and can be regarded as an essential purchase for all.
 Labels: DS, PSP, Reviews, Space Invaders, Taito
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| posted by flameboy @ 21:52 |
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| Review: Beijing 2008 |
| Saturday, 26 July 2008 |
 Ive always been a fan of Athletics games (although not the actual sport for some reason). I used to play one a lot on the N64 with friends, although for the life of me I can't remember which one. Anyway, this is why I was quite happy to hear an official Olympics game was coming out and I decided to rent it.
Ive got mixed feelings about this game, hopefully you'll understand why as I carry on with this review.
One nice feature of the game is that its Xbox Live leaderboards are linked directly into the game, so the World Records you see on the screen are the records that people have set from all over the world. Now while this is a great feature, its already proven to be very flawed. One of the first events I tried out was the Pole Vault. Looking at the World Record I was shocked to see that it was over 600m! I'm sure some people may find it hilarious to have scores this high, I didn't. I think it actually takes a lot of the fun out of it. This is a game in which the basic premise is to compete against other people to get the highest score/time possible. Now with these new ridiculous scores (brought about by cheating or glitches I don't know which) then fun for me is taken out. I know now that I will never be able to gain a World Record by normal means so why bother at all?
Still, I don't want to complain too much as it is still an enjoyable game. There are a wide variety of events. All the ones you would expect are there. Some of my favourites so far have been the diving, where you choose the type of dive you want and then use the two thumbsticks to line up the dive correctly. Archery is another good one, having to account for the wind and the feeling when you get a ten. High Jump I found every interesting, instead of with all the other athletics games Ive played where you just button mash to get up speed then jump at the correct time, here you actually have to press buttons at the correct time in the run up, almost turning it into a quick time event.
The rest of the events are pretty similar to those you would have seen before, either mashing the correct buttons to gain speed or wiggling the thumbsticks. Another change though is the starting of races, gone are the instances of just button mashing as soon as the gun shoots. Now instead you hold one of the shoulder buttons down and a bar starts to fill up, the speed of this depends on how hard you hold the button. Now when this bar gets to the red section you have to run, the trick in this is to time it perfectly so that you hit the red just as the gun sounds, otherwise you get some pretty slow starts. I'll admit that I haven't quite gotten used to this yet so my starts tend to be pretty poor!
I have been impressed with the graphics in Beijing 2008. The character models seem top notch to me, with expressive features and definitely looking more human than the older Olympic games I played before this! Unfortunately the crowd can be a bit repetitive, watching 50% of them all tilt their heads in the same direction and style every now and again can get a bit distracting.
Playing this game was always going to be best on multiplayer. I tried it out with goaferboy and we had some fun trying to beat each others times and going head to head in certain events. I have not had the chance yet to try it with more people but I thinks its safe to assume the multiplayer would be great fun with a full four people playing.
Overall I would say Beijing 2008 is a good athletics game, although a lot harder than previous athletics games I think this does spur you on a bit to work harder. As I mentioned before, the World Ranking problems really have made it hard for me to want to event attempt going for records and that's why currently this game wont get a higher score than I would have given it just from the normal play through. I can only hope that a patch might be released at some point to fix this. If not then I wont be playing it on single player a whole lot after the initial career.
Oh, and one more thing to note...............MY THUMBS ARE KILLING ME FROM ALL THE BUTTON MASHING!
Labels: Reviews, Xbox 360
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| posted by Happenstance @ 11:39 |
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| Review: Hail to the Chimp |
| Thursday, 24 July 2008 |
It would be easy to dismiss Hail to the Chimp at nothing more than just another party game. If you were to do that you would miss out on some of the funniest presidential banter you are ever likely to see in a game.
It is of course worth bearing in mind very few other video games have ever aimed in delivering this particular brand of comedy. Satire is the comedic flavour being used with the colourful animals providing witty remarks and a walrus doing his best impression of Ron Burgundy prsenting the news on GRR News. The news reels and advertisements throughout the game provide the political flavoured laughs and do in fact cover a very extensive range of issues. However you will find yourself occasionally groaning at some of the more terrible and cheesy jokes. It could be argued that Hail to the Chimp has few highlights as game bar this humourous look at the USA's election system.
The game uses a very unique and funky art style with a paper grain effect used in abundance. Each character is bright and vibrant and can have a variety of accessories plastered on them to make them look truly garish. The levels fit in with this ton using bright colours and sharp contrasts to make areas stand out, it can still be hard to keep a track of things.
Despite earlier saying this game should not be dismissed as just another party game, unfortunately the gameplay does fall into the genre's stereotypes. All of the games humorous content is delivered outside of the actual game which means it is largely devoid of laughs. To simply sum it up, the game suffers from very shallow gameplay and simplistic mechanics.
 There are a choice of different stages each with their own unique twists as you would expect, all of the games different modes can also be played on each of these stages. All of the varying types of games don't be differ too much to be honest and it actually three other candidates collecting clams which represent votes, there are different game types but they only vary in the way which the game collates the clams into votes. This can be handy if you are better at dashing and grabbing clams for the ballot for example, than keeping hold of the most clams for 2 minutes. It could be seen as a way of representing the multi-faceted of the presidential election system and can be used to tactically try and win your favourite stages, demonstrating how not every state has to be won. Clams can be acquired by simply running into them and picking them up as they appear on the stage, or more aggresively fight for them. It is shame however that the combat mechanics descend into button mashing. This gives little risk-reward balance to fight as it feels so random and unfair, coupled with it feeling boring, only helps to add to the games full repetitive structure.
The game offers little variety in multiplayer just giving you chance to play each of the battles with friends instead of the AI. The computer controlled characters deserve a mention if only for how extremely unbalanced they are. They either kick your ass, beating you into submission or you do exactly the same and serve that up to them. There is no such thing as a close battle at the AI seems either too easy or too hard. So with this in mind it is hard to recommend this game if you are only going to play it solo and without mates!
Whilst the game is indeed funny there is little to keep you coming back once all the jokes have been seen and this happens far too quickly. Some of the jokes do stand up to repeat viewings but not the vast majority and they in fact start to grate and it become increasingly frustrating. It's a problem the game as a whole suffers as there is simply not enough to keep your attention. It would have perhaps benefited from being a cheaper downloadable title to make up for its shortcomings, instead its a budget price disc game that is barely worth it and suffers from severe longevity problems.
Labels: Playstation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360
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| posted by flameboy @ 16:13 |
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| Review: Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Xbox 360) |
| Wednesday, 23 July 2008 |
I have recently started renting games from LoveFilm as a way to attempt to keep up with games and even try new ones that I may not have before this. The latest of these is Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit.
This game actually snuck up on me, I have never been a fan of the anime series, nor have I played any of the previous Dragonball games but when I noticed the the demo on the Live Arcade I figured why not?
DBZ: Burst Limit is basically a beat'em up but with story included not only between fights but actually during them. This was a major factor in me playing the full game as it gave it an edge of the other generic fighters you may come across. Playing through the game though holds one problem for people like myself who are not familiar with the show, they seem to skip key moments in the story so one moment you will be fighting on Earth and the next you are on another planet. Or maybe one character is incredibly annoyed in a cutscene but you have absolutely no idea why.
The fighting, which of course is the main feature of the game is good. You really feel some power behind these characters when you land the stronger moves. Performing an Ultimate Finish can can be very rewarding (took me ages to manage it, unlike goaferboy who did it first time!). There is a wide choice of characters, all of which tie into the anime series and are unlocked as you progress through the story.
The graphics in this game are strong, it really transfers the feeling of an anime show over to a game well. The voice acting is typical for an english dub, pretty over the top but gets across the information well enough.
The game does feature online play but unfortunately with my gold account currently I will have to wait to review this side of it.
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit can easily be played as just another button masher. Hell, when I started playing it for the first time thats how I played it. Once you start learning the moves though and play through the tutoral it becomes a lot more in depth. You really have to work on your timing in the game, knowing what buttons to press and when. It really does help when you get into the more difficult fights.
Apart from the seemingly missing scenes I only really have one other complaint. A lot of the cutscenes get repeated, just replacing characters in them. This can happen a lot and once you notice its happening, it becomes annoying. Pulling you out of the scene is never a good thing and thats what the repeated fights etc does.
This is definately a game I would recommend, moreso to fans of the anime. But as you can see from this review, I have'nt watched it and I still really enjoyed playing the game.
Labels: Reviews
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| posted by Happenstance @ 11:31 |
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