Demon's Souls (PS3)

There are few words that perfectly describe this game. Difficult?  Yes.  Frustrating? At times.  Fun? Well, let's go over this.  This game is one of the few games this gen that I would genuinely say is difficult.  Not difficult because of bad controls or by unfair advantages by the enemy.  This game is difficult at the core and the only person you have to blame when you lose is yourself.

When setting out, it's simple.  Go through the level and survive.  Once you know everything you need to know about the controls (which the tutorial level explains pretty well), it is just you against the world.  The world doesn't like you, in fact, the world hates you.  Everything is out to get you.  Even the NPCs that you save will be helpful at times but you never know who to trust.

There are a large variety of weapons in this game.  Each has it's strengths and weaknesses.  In fact, I went through most of the game with the beginning weapon that I had modified.  Once you find the right weapon, it is very hard to change up since every weapon feels different.  I played as a battlemage, usually with a single-handed sword (although I switched to a katana at the end of the game) and some magic.

This game is difficult.  Very much so, but deaths usually come in two forms: your own fault and completely cheap.  The "your own fault" deaths usually come during difficult fights where you make a mistake and you know you messed up.  This usually comes from rushing.  That's the number one rule of this game, you don't rush.  Rushing leads to death.  The second form is moderately rare.  Like an enemy glitchingly throwing you off a cliff or shooting you from incredibly far away.  These can be frustrating but dealt with.

I liked this game.  I didn't like it for a while but I liked it.  Sure it can feel unfair at times but when you know what you are doing you can prevail.  Never have I felt more satisfaction than when I finally finished this game. That feeling of accomplishment is just too much to give up on this game.  If you want a difficult game, play this.  If you can't put up with being challenged, don't.  This game is definitely not for everybody but worth every minute.  So the world might be mended.  So the world might be mended...

Soul Calibur V (PS3)

It had been a while since I had played a Soul Calibur game.  In fact, the only other game in the series I had played was Soul Calibur II on Gamecube.  My how this series has changed.

The character creator is the key draw here.  Creating my favorite characters from other games is hilarious at times and sometimes they come out really well.  In fact I have spent more time making characters and play as them than playing with the stock characters.  The story is weak but it isn't the worst fighting game story that I have seen.

This is a rare occasion of a game that I have actually played online.  Bouts are fast and incredibly great.  Sometimes you hit a terrible lag point to where the match ends but that isn't that often.  It has been a while since I have played online, so I don't know if it has gotten worse.

As for trophies, they are difficult to get.  I rarely talk about trophies but some of these are ridiculous.  I have to say that I usually dislike online trophies.  Anything that requires me to be the top of something is just not fun.  I play games to have fun and relax.  I don't want to have to learn the ins-and-outs of a fighting system just to get all the trophies.  It's a growing trend I wish would disappear.

Castlevania (PC)

How would one play this on the PC?  This is a very popular NES game.  I must have used an emulator!  Wrong!  I purchased this game as part of the Konami Classics Collection.  It came with the first three Castlevania games and Contra/Super-C.

So how does this game fair on the PC?  Not bad.  The controls translate decently well.  The game looks good on a wide screen despite the 8-bit graphics.  This is a pretty simple game.  Try to live from point A to point B.  You have a whip and various magic items at your disposal.  Each magic item has advantages and is good for something.

The platforming is solid, the combat is fun and patterned.  The bosses are difficult and fun.  I never finished this game.  I would love to but I lost all my saves and didn't feel like playing much anymore.  I made it to the Frankenstein and Igor battle.  It was difficult but not the notorious Death difficulty.

Balloon Fight (3DS)

I received this game free as part of being the 3DS Ambassador that I was.  I will make this short.  It is a game, where you do things. Honestly, I haven't played this game all that much.  It is fun but very simple.  You are a balloon fighter but have to pop other fighter's balloons.

It's a fun way to spend some time but it is definitely an old game.  It hasn't aged well either.  As arcade type games go, it is pretty good.  If you don't feel the need to play this game, the only other game I can think of that is like this game is Joust.  Both are great games.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP)

Kingdom Hearts has always been a guilty pleasure of mine but it has felt that every game since the original have been steadily going down in quality.  This game was a pleasant surprise and helped me get back into the series.  Sure this game has some frustrating points (namely the last bosses) but it was a fun ride.

Let's get down to business, I've always been a fan of action-RPGs where you have the control of what attacks you are using and who to attack.  This game gives me that freedom.  Sure, just like the original, you just wail on enemies but it seems varied this time since you rarely have a friend to help you out.  In fact, being solo is what makes this game challenging.  In the first game, Donald would save you.  All you had to do was survive long enough.  This game, there is no safety net.

The various different battle styles were interesting but often would appear at worthless time.  I often would get the fire style with Terra when I was fighting enemies immune or absorbent to fire.  This was not as rare as I would have hoped.  Fighting the last bosses were frustrating as well because it often felt like I had to constantly be on guard.  I also felt I had to be flawless just to win.

This was a great game and I wish they would have expanded on it better.  By that I mean not have such repetitive worlds or scenarios.  Here's hoping the next games in the series have even more fun in them!

Hydlide (NES)

This is another one of those games that I haven't finished but I never plan on it.  This is a game I picked up ages ago for around $2.  I feel really bad for trying this game.

This is the perfect example of a mess.  Nothing about this game is redeemable.  You are dropped into a world with no explanation as to how to play or even what to do.  I'll make this short, you don't want to know what to do.  Save yourself the trouble and don't even bother looking into this game.  I feel like I paid too much for this game.

Of course, people will tell you that this is just a difficult game and you will be surprised if you give it a chance.  I don't want to give this game a chance.  I hope this gets my point across.  Don't play this game, don't even look at it.

No More Heroes (Wii)

Balls to the wall action, insane amounts of violence, and sexual overtones that are not really overtones.  All these things are phrases that I would probably not describe this game because it doesn't give an extreme enough description.  Let's get this out in the open, this is one of the most tedious games I've played in a long time.  The only saving grace is the boss battles.  Those are more than worth purchasing the game for.

The time between boss battles is spent doing jobs, brawling for cash, and fighting cannon fodder.  Sure this get tedious, actually it is always tedious.  You do level up some skills with money and finding balls and things but once you have certain moves and the best beamsaber, the cannon fodder becomes even more tedious.

Like I said earlier, the boss battles are the best parts.  In fact, if you ignore the other parts of the game...these are easily the best and most well-designed boss battles I've ever fought.  Each boss has a pattern and a set of times when you can hit them and when you should be wary.  Learning this will help you be successful.

I also have to say, this has the craziest writing in any game I've played in a long time.  Everything is insane and just to the point of insanity that it is beyond believable.  The sexual overtones add some humor to the game but at times it can get a little rough if you aren't into that.

All in all, this is a good game and should be part of anybodies Wii collection.  The action is great if you can look past the terrible pieces that are between bosses.  Plus, what game lets you play with a cat and it does nothing to effect the game at all?  Only a handful.

Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! (PSP)

If you compare this game to the first game, this game is much, much better and much, much harder.  As platformers go, this game is probably the most challenging one I've ever played.  This game isn't challenging because of bad controls or unfair conditions, it is difficult because of the design.  It was designed to be difficult.

This is pretty much the same as the first game, run, jump, and climb to stay alive.  You have to try your hardest in each level and each level just gets harder as time goes on.  The story is ridiculous and it should be.  N1 is good at that.  They are incredibly good at writing things that are funny.

The key draw is the new mode, Asagi Wars.  This adds even more by adding weapons and a life bar.  Plus the story adds more to a great character.  It also has one of the most difficult bosses I've ever faced.  In fact, the last boss in this game is the most difficult game that I've ever faced.  And I loved it.

This is a game that pushes you.  It pushes you to try to be better at gaming in general.  Sure at times it is unfair and you just want to give up but making it to the end and seeing everything it has to offer.  It is the most satisfying thing I've ever been through.  Yes, I love platformers and I love this game.  Sure I got really mad at it a lot but I persevered and it made me a better gamer.  If you want to challenge yourself, buy this.

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)

Few people will say this game is great.  Few people will understand what the game was trying to do.  The fact is, the game changed the formula a lot.  It was very linear, which is indeed not a very good thing.  But the game had something that was missing from some of the more recent JRPGs.  It had a battle system that tried something.  Sure, part of it didn't work and auto-battle made many people lazy but overlooking this, you can see a great system.  Paradigms and shifting can make the game take on many forms.  Fighting an enemy that is resistant to most things, what do you do?  You have options.  You can have to commandos and a sentinel tank it.  Sure that means you will likely not get a good ranking.

Or you could be smarter and try to use saboteurs and synergists to give you the edge.  Or build the gauge with ravagers.  There are many possibilities.  This gives battles depth.  You can be cheap and auto-battle and tank, but miss out or you can try to be smart and go for the record.  It's up to the player.

The other key thing I love about this game is the soundtrack.  It is simply brilliant.  It evokes emotions at times that most games only wish they could.  The boss battle themes for the main antagonist being some of the best in the series.

Sure this game had flaws but if you try to understand what they were trying to do with this game.  You will have a great time.  The story does fizzle out in the later chapters and it really stops making sense at times.  If you are looking for a good time and you can look past some of the flaws, you can have a great time.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA)

I bought this game just as Partners in Time was coming out.  I was eager to play a Mario RPG since the last one I had played was for the SNES.  I have to say, I was gladly surprised at how much fun this game was.  It was incredibly fun.

The bits I can remember cause it has been years since I beat this have all been good.  The story is awesome, well-paced, and well-thought out.  The combat is the key draw to this game.  It's a turn-based RPG but each attack has a context sensitive cue to do more damage.  I got to the point where I could do most of the difficult attacks without the easy mode turned on for them.

This is one game I would play again had it not been for the last boss.  This is the only really challenging part of the game and such it should.  This boss doesn't break the barrier of being frustrating though.  Once you know what you are doing, you can do it but it is difficult nonetheless.

Through out the game, you know who will be the boss.  You don't expect it to be difficult but you know who you are fighting.  You learn everything you need to know to defend yourself and you are given every opportunity to use those skills.  That's how a game should end.  Using what you have learned throughout the game to win.

For being a GBA game, I was surprised with the depth and the amount of content.  It was a great game and should be in anybodies collection.  Plus it has some hilarious moments and the whole game just has a great feel to it.