Thursday, June 20, 2013

Zone of the Enders HD Collection (PS3)

As my 100th post, I thought it was appropriate to do something special.  What's more special than two games in one?  So let's get started.  I've never done a double review.

Zone of the Enders is an interesting concept.  On the one hand, it has very solid gameplay.  Every action is fluid and controlled.  It is very easy to get used to and you progressively get better as you play.  This progression moves at a natural pace, you never feel like you are being punished but you know when you are doing badly.  The key difficulty I had with this game was the fact that I got lost in what to do at one point.  It may have just been me but I had no clue what to do.

2nd Runner improves on the first game in every way.  You still get that natural but now it is ramped up.  The missions are much more varied this time and the bosses more unique.  Sometimes it can be frustrating when bosses absolutely demolish you but you always feel like trying again.

The story in both games starts out pretty normal and then gets out there.  By the end of 2nd Runner, I had no idea what was even going on or why.  It was a fun story to get through though.  The game itself does have some flaws.  It often crashed for me when I tried to actually leave the game.  It would often hard boot my PS3 until I started exiting to the XMB first and then turning it off.  Even after I started doing that though, it would graphically glitch some of the menus.  I'm sure they fixed this in the patch but it wasn't released when I played this.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Mortal Kombat (SNES)

This is a game that goes back to my childhood.  I used to watch my older siblings play this during the summer.  They would never let me play it cause it was too violent but they let me watch.  I have to say, when I finally got to play it.  It was fun.

The problem is, now this game seems clunky to me.  It has not held up well and there are much better games.  Going back, I would have loved to play this.  Nowadays though, I won't play this game.  It's still a decent game if you are really into old fighters.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

ClaDun: This is an RPG (PSP)

Randomly generated content is usually a draw for me.  It gives me a lot of content and lots to do in a small package.  Every adventure is different.  This game is one of those games that I played for hours and hours and hours just because I was having fun.

The concept is simple.  Make it to the end of each dungeon.  The story dungeons are not procedural and have set layouts.  Those are not the major draw.  Rangeons and the brethren are what draw me in.  You never know where you will end up and often you find yourself in over your head.

The combat is fun, the character creation was awesome, and the story was passable.  Yes there is lots to do and the game can technically never end but there is just so much fun to have.  Don't pass this game up.  There is a lot in this game and it is definitely worth playing.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Legend of Zelda (NES)

Nothing beats a classic.  This is the game that really started my love of games.  There is nothing about this game that doesn't define the genre it helped create.  It is one of the originals and every designer should be forced to play this game.  Only games that can be as creative as this should be made in the future.

The game is simple, it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles.  What it inspires is a sense of adventure.  It basically sets you in a world and tells you to go.  It doesn't tell you where to go and when to do certain things.  It's up to the player to figure it out.  This is what modern games are lacking.  Sure you can challenge a player with difficult challenges and impossible odds but this game does all that and achieves something modern games miss, it's fun.