Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Fallout 3 (PS3)

This was one of the first games I ever got for my PS3 and it was my first foray into Western RPGs.  I did pick a great game to start off with too.  This game became my passion for 200 hours and I haven't even done everything.

Let me start by saying this game really sets the mood.  It's a post-nuclear Washington D.C. and you are just a lonely person who has left the only home you have ever known in search of your father.  You come to find out that the world isn't as empty as you once thought and it sets up a great adventure.  This game has so much to do and see that you may find yourself just wandering for hours.

Sure the PS3 version had a number of glitches and it would crash often but it was still playable.  I purchased three DLC for this (Point Lookout, Broken Steel, and the alien one).  Each was well worth the purchase.  This game was just so much fun to explore and do things with.  Each place you journey to can have any sort of treasures in it that you just wander for hours trying to find the next piece of interesting loot.

If you have access to anything that can play this game, I say play it.  It really shows how an open world should be, open.  There is nothing stopping you from getting all the map points before doing all the missions or at least I didn't run into something stopping me.  It's great to just wander around and make your own way.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA)

So this is a ported version of what I consider the best Super Mario game of the NES days.  Everything about this game is solid.  I have 100% complete this game which means I got every whistle.  I beat every level.  I did everything.

This game should be taught in developer school's as how to properly do a difficulty curve.  This game has the best curve I've ever experienced.  You never feel like things jump up too far in challenge but you are still staying focused.  Just after a set of hard levels, they sometimes throw a short mindless level at you to keep you from getting frustrated.

This game is what platformers still should be held to in terms of standards.  It is solid, tight, and responsive.  I can't stress just how good this game feels.  When you die, you know why and you know it was your fault.  Nothing ever feels cheap or broken.  I suggest that everybody who plays games at least give this game a try in any of it's iterations.  Sure in this one you could save but even without that, this game is worth it.  A must play in my book.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Arcana Heart 3 (PS3)

Hmmm, a game that I shouldn't like because of the technical aspects of being good at a fighter but then I like because the all female cast.  I subscribe to the notion that if you are going to spend hours looking at a character, it should be an attractive character.  Which is why I like female characters so much in games.

This game is fun and even a complete beginner can find somebody to be good with at times.  With the mix-ups of character and arcana, even mirror matches can play out differently if you each pick a different arcana. See, arcana's each add special moves or effects when used.  They add more flavor to this cast of interesting characters.

I wish I had spent more time with this game.  It is one of the first fighting games I actually spent a lot of time playing with friends.  Sure we move on to new games but this game lives on in my heart as one that I see as fun.  The story mode is frustrating though.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The Last Story (Wii)

This is a game to show just how the Wii could have been had more developers taken the time to look past the motion controls and actually made games for it.  This is a game that helps me understand why the Wii was such an under-utilized machine.  This is a Wii game that brings the question to light, "why didn't more devs do this?"

I am having a hard time forgetting about this game and for good reason.  It has one of the best battle systems I've ever experienced.  Being able to dodge and counter an enemy but still maintaining the turn-based theme is a strange and excellent combination.  The combat is what this game really shines with.  When you lose, you know why and you know what to do next time.  There were only a handful of times when I really felt that the battle was unfair but I kept playing despite it.

The stealth aspects the game are a nice touch but often felt unneeded.  The story was good, a little corny at times, and definitely predictable in the end but good.  This story does something that I have wanted in an RPG for so long, it makes you question your motives at every turn.  You seem to wonder if the path you are walking is the correct one.

All in all, this is an astounding experience and I feel like this is what Final Fantasy XII should have been.  The combat is smooth, responsive, and incredibly fun.  There are a lot of things to this game that can be deep, like the multiplayer or co-op that I didn't even try.  Even the single-player has an Arena that I didn't even touch.  There is a lot to this game but the whole journey is worth it if you stick with it.  Definitely a must buy for any Wii owners.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (3DS)

I've played both versions of this game as this is a remake of a SNES title of similar name.  This is the pinnacle of the SNES platformers in my eyes.  Whereas the other games that came after it weren't terrible, this game was just spot on.  The controls are incredibly tight and you feel like when you make a mistake, you still have a chance.

Not to say this game doesn't have issues.  Some of the effects take an incredibly long time to finish and you have to sit through them every time.  Yes, this is similar to an unskippable cutscene but I can forgive this since this game was before that era and cutscenes were used for different purposes.

The boss battles are all unique and fun.  The stages all have some gimmick and it never feels like they are repeated, which is rare for a game like this.  Usually, due to limitations, they would reuse the same three or four stage designs but throw in new elements.  This game just feels fresh throughout, they never give you the same thing over and over to the point that it gets boring.

This is a must own for any platformer lover.  This shows just how good a game Nintendo can make and they should be applauded for this one.  Sure there is a sequel (I will get to it or have, I am too lazy to check) but this game is bounds above it.  Play this, immediately.