Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment (PSVita)

I was never big on anime based games.  When I first started watching Sword Art Online, it wasn't a terrible show and I thought the game couldn't be that bad.  It was way worse than I could have imagined for several reasons.

Most of the time when a developer tries to convert an MMO-like game to a single-player experience, it comes with some kind of tradeoff.  Usually it ends up being a bunch of fetch quests or just a boss rush simulator.  This game is both.  The world feels empty and the characters you meet will mostly ignore you.  For being an MMO simulation, this world feels hollow.

It doesn't help that the combat is also not all that engaging.  True to MMO fashion, it is all about using as many skills as you can and then watching the cooldowns.  It is pretty neat that you get to use different kinds of weapons and each weapon type is useful against a different type of enemy.  It does add a little strategy.  It is a shame that 85% of the bosses you fight are weak to one type of weapon though.  

The story in this game would have been game if the translation wasn't so terrible it is nearly broken.  It is almost as if the whole script was just run through Google Translate and then pasted in.  I've been told this was fixed in the PS4 version of this game but on the Vita, it is gibberish at best.  This really does hurt another big feature of the game, which is the dating-sim aspects.  It is hard to romance a girl when you don't have a clue what they are talking about.

All in all, this wasn't a terrible game.  I made it through and I didn't absolutely hate it.  If I can finish it and the 80+ hours contained within, it can't be that bad. It wasn't fun but if you like Sword Art Online, it is worth playing.  It does introduce characters that aren't in the anime and they do carry those characters into future games.  So it is almost required to play this before some of the other games.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS (3DS)

I've always been a fan of Super Smash Bros.  Ever since the first game back on the N64, I have enjoyed each entry and loved pitting my favorite characters against each other.  This was the first time the series was ever portable and I have to say that it was an incredibly fun ride.

Super Smash Bros. is the epitome of party brawler.  The player basically picks a character, I usually choose random, sets up CPUs or other players, picks a stage, and it starts.  An all-out, no-holds barred fight to the end.  Each character has unique abilities with some feeling similar to others but each being just a bit different.  There are ranged characters like Samus or close up characters like Donkey Kong and everything in between.

What makes this game so much fun is that each battle feels different.  Even if you play the same CPU level character on the same stage, there is always something different in how each match plays out.  There are a ton of characters to master or just mess around with.  Everything feels solid and the controls are tight. 

I can't really find much fault with this title.  I love the concept, the characters, and everything about the game.  There is multiplayer for those with friends.  There is a robust amount of single player content though too, with a classic mode (with varying difficulty), challenges, etc.  So much to collect and do.  I've spent hundreds of hours playing almost every Smash Bros. game and sometimes I've still not gotten everything.  If you own a 3DS, you need to own this game.  It is a must have for any collection.