Well, these are exaggerations on both counts but... you get the idea.
I do not consider myself a hard core gamer but there were a few grand games that I played hard and long on the PS3: Oblivion, Fallout, Grand Turismo, Demon's Souls. Of these, Demon's Souls was the only Platinum I've ever earned and it clocks at over 500 hours of pure fear, strong anxiety and intense frustration punctuated by brief moments of pride and joy brought by the hard earned sweet victories.
I started talking about Demon's Souls because to us, PS3 gamers, Dark Souls is NOT the first coming of unspeakable terror onto our consoles. Dark Souls is the SECOND coming. And what a visitation this promises to be :)
Okay, here it is, after the first few hours. I am going to post updates (not spoilers) as I progress through the game.
THE COMMONS
Deomon's Souls has many, never-seen-before, amazing innovations. We hoped and we expected to see most of them again on 'chapter two' and Dark Souls does not disappoint even though Dark's seems to be a Universe unrelated to Demon's. It's not even a parallel Universe (I like to think of parallel Universes as those in which the other fellow Dark Souls players exist - if running around as a hollowed-out soul you can call 'existence'. It's a different world but a lot works in seemingly familiar ways.
Here's what I would call the Demon's heritage:
- One-save only. And this is a BIG thing because the game saves itself every couple of seconds. Once you get hurt or you hurt someone you didn't mean to you can't go back to the previous save because there's no such thing. Unless you have one hand on the power cord ready to pull it, everything you do has consequences and you can't go back and try again. Be VERY careful when you talk to them merchants or blacksmiths because one unintended slap and they will never deal with you again.
- Human vs. Soul form. Can't be invaded by other players while in Soul (Hollow) form. As a Human you can invade other words, help others, seek help.
- Classes. You pick yours from 10. Not exactly the same as in Demon's though.
- Stats. Again, 10 different categories, some differently named, some totally new like 'humanity' and 'attunement'.
- The ability to seek help and to help others. I believe that you can have up to 3 others helping.
- The Stones. They are of different colors but they have uses not unlike the Demon's stones, possibly more: to seek help, to leave messages, to invade.
- Souls as currency of the land and the price price you must pay to level up. And you lose them all every time you die so... use them (buy, uplevel) before you lose them.
- Every time you rest all non-boss enemies respawn.
- The ability to play nasty and invade other players' worlds.
- Blood stains. You can see how others died.
- Second (and ONLY second) chance. You can recover lost souls if you can touch your own blood stain before you die again.
- Messages. Can leave messages but don't expect to be able to type away detailed clues. You pick your message from a pre-approved list.
- Incredibly precise combat. Each class of weapons acts differently and you can see/feel the difference between hitting flesh, bone or armor.
- Uchigatanas!!! Need I say more? These are by far the coolest katanas you'll ever swing in any game and probably the best you can get through this one at least through mid-game. Demon Souls most terrifying black phantoms (invading players) where the 2-Uchigatana dudes. Most, possibly all of the Demon's weapons can be found in Dark: Claymores, Halberds, Clubs, Axes, Estocs and so forth.
- Practice makes perfect. Like Demon's Souls, this is a struggle for perfection because in most instances only perfect or near-perfect attacks and defenses will save you from yet another horrific death.
- Continues the Deomon's tradition of no difficulty levels. Like its predecessor, there's only one difficulty level on Dark and that's 'very easy', as in 'very easy to get yourself killed'. Seriously, for anyone who played Demon's, Dark feels like the second or third playthrough only you start at a low level, have no weapons or armor and find yourself in completely unfamiliar territory now so it takes a little bit of dying, observing and experimenting before your learn the ropes.
THE DELTAS (new and never seen before)
This, I'm sure, is going to be a growing list and I'm going to update it as I progress into the game. If what's going on in this game can be called 'progress'.
- One-world design. This appear to be a huge world but gates, bridges and passes are all well guarded so be prepared to shed a lot of blood and die a lot to earn your right of passage. Unlike Demon's which had a hub that was the only connection between the several separate 'worlds', Dark's world regrions are very much interconnected and much of the fun and mystery is your gradually discovering and unlocking sometimes secret doors and passages.
- The healing system. The role of 'grasses' is drastically reduced (there are some mosses that you can still use to cure ailments) but Dark doesn't make it as easy when it comes to your ability to recover health. It's no longer near-unlimited.
- The Covenants. Each of the 9 will open new play modes and, as always, every action brings about consequences. Joining may appear an easy decision but separation can be painful and costly.
- Pyromancy as a THIRD class of magic, joining sorcery and miracles. For anyone who likes fire and explosions... it's awesome.
- The Gifts. Interestingly some seem to have no effect while others such as the Magic Key you get if you pick the class of Thief is quite useful.
- Danger times 2. It may be just because I'm a little rusty playing Souls or because I know Demon's so well now it's like a walk in the park but Dark appears to be a lot harder. But... we play, we learn. We shall see :)
- More color. Can't imagine Demon's with colors but in this world the occasional bright splashes blend well and don't subtract from the feeling of danger.
- No Luck. You COULD get lucky in Deomon's Souls but that's no longer the case. That particular stat has disappeared, replaced by your ability to hold 'humanities' which you lose every time you die.
- Sweet revenge. One of the covenants mission is to hunt down and kill those nasty dark phantom bullies.
- And, of course, Dark Souls does away with all the gentleness and hand-holding occasionally found in Demon's. It really does. Remember that nice Russian lady in the Nexus that you must kill if you want your Platinum? Gone! My first impressions: don't trust anyone because everybody seems to be either evil or insane.
THE STORY
Not quite sure what's expected of me yet and I don't think I should spoil anyone's fun anyway. There is a prologue, of course and, clearly, terrible things happened that caused this not to be a happy world. Need to investigate some more but I'm not sure who's to be trusted, who should be used, who can be a friend.
MY RATING
If Amazon's 5 stars stands for 'I love it', what would be the star count for "I love it, I fear it and, 80 hours into the game I'm obsessed by it"? Well... 5's the limit :). I expect to spend hundreds of hours playing this game and, hopefully, with a little or maybe a lot of help from my friends and a lot of priceless advice from some of the game-focused sites - I will name my favorites on a comment to this review.
Friday, August 11, 2000
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles | 9.0
First and foremost, I gotta start out with the one aspect of the game I hated the most-- the voice acting. Oh sure, you've heard whining about it countless times, but this game seems to find room near the bottom of my list of worsts. It's not sound quality, that's definetly there. But if you've played Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night and loved the voices in that game, you'll feel cheated here. I can't help but comment how late-20th century "American" the new voices sound --both in accented speech and in chosen words-- for something supposedly set in 16th century central Europe. Anyone remember how erotic Maria sounded as she pronounced "Richter" in CSOTN? That's gone. Gone is the deep, dark voice of Shaft, replaced with what sounds like a mid-20-year-old. So is Dracula's commanding voice of grandeur. It may just be me, but almost all the voices are replaced with, what seems like, an almost identicle voice actor to every character in the game (aside a few of the females). I'm sure they are different, but...they are just TOO similar for my tastes. I haven't played through completely to give my full accessment, but there IS an option to change it to the original Japanese voices. Are these the same Japanese voices as 10 years ago? Probably not, but Japan does a much better job picking appropriate voice actors for their games than we (Americans) do.
I really don't mean to b*tch and moan, but the game had alot of other things that kind of irritated me. For instance, if you want to play CSOTN or Rondo of Blood from the main menu, select it, then go grab yourself a Latte, because it takes at LEAST 45 seconds for the game to load. Music, too, from these classic games takes a few seconds to load. No, it's not the end of the world, and this is a minor nitpick, but when you're used to the PSX version smoothly transitioning music between tracks, you really notice the 3 - 4 second silence. This probably could not be helped.
Okay, now for the good stuff. The plot is the same as almost every other Castlevania-- Dracula is back, and your job is to kill 'im. The graphics are GREAT in the remake game. The backgrounds, baddies, and cut scenes, though short, are a real treat for something on this platform. It has alot of replay value, since you need to accomplish a few things before getting the best ending. The music, most remixed, a few new "replaced" themes, is fantatic (EXCEPT for Dance Of Illusions, which kind of disappointed me). The sound effects-- most were really good, and some were...not. For example, a few of the cut scenes were stock. The "crashing" door the Minotaur made sounded like loud knocking. The skulls Death controlled made a humming harmonica-ish sound, which just came off as silly. Other than that, the rest was gravy.
Before you purchase, take note that this is modeled after classic Castlevania, where the controls are stiff, the baddies have the upper hand in movement, and it takes REAL skill to maneuver your character around and out of danger. This means 4 - 5 hits equals death, whether it be at the blade of an enormous ax, balls of fire and chaos, or simply landing on a frog. Also note that because of it's age and genre, the characters can be slow for some. This is old school at it's finest, my friend.
If you've trained yourself not to care at all about some aspects and love the Castlevania series, then give this game a shot. But if it's the complete package of cutting-edge graphics, music, control, plot, and voice work, you'll have some complaints.
PROS:
It's Castlevania
Original Games Symphony Of the Night, Rondo Of Blood
Improved Graphics and music on the remake
Switch between Japanese/English voices
Old school feel / Challenging
CONS:
Nothing too new
Voices and dialogue completely changed, and suck big time
Old school feel / Difficult for some
If you beat the game, viewing the ENTIRE list of credits is mandatory... EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
I really don't mean to b*tch and moan, but the game had alot of other things that kind of irritated me. For instance, if you want to play CSOTN or Rondo of Blood from the main menu, select it, then go grab yourself a Latte, because it takes at LEAST 45 seconds for the game to load. Music, too, from these classic games takes a few seconds to load. No, it's not the end of the world, and this is a minor nitpick, but when you're used to the PSX version smoothly transitioning music between tracks, you really notice the 3 - 4 second silence. This probably could not be helped.
Okay, now for the good stuff. The plot is the same as almost every other Castlevania-- Dracula is back, and your job is to kill 'im. The graphics are GREAT in the remake game. The backgrounds, baddies, and cut scenes, though short, are a real treat for something on this platform. It has alot of replay value, since you need to accomplish a few things before getting the best ending. The music, most remixed, a few new "replaced" themes, is fantatic (EXCEPT for Dance Of Illusions, which kind of disappointed me). The sound effects-- most were really good, and some were...not. For example, a few of the cut scenes were stock. The "crashing" door the Minotaur made sounded like loud knocking. The skulls Death controlled made a humming harmonica-ish sound, which just came off as silly. Other than that, the rest was gravy.
Before you purchase, take note that this is modeled after classic Castlevania, where the controls are stiff, the baddies have the upper hand in movement, and it takes REAL skill to maneuver your character around and out of danger. This means 4 - 5 hits equals death, whether it be at the blade of an enormous ax, balls of fire and chaos, or simply landing on a frog. Also note that because of it's age and genre, the characters can be slow for some. This is old school at it's finest, my friend.
If you've trained yourself not to care at all about some aspects and love the Castlevania series, then give this game a shot. But if it's the complete package of cutting-edge graphics, music, control, plot, and voice work, you'll have some complaints.
PROS:
It's Castlevania
Original Games Symphony Of the Night, Rondo Of Blood
Improved Graphics and music on the remake
Switch between Japanese/English voices
Old school feel / Challenging
CONS:
Nothing too new
Voices and dialogue completely changed, and suck big time
Old school feel / Difficult for some
If you beat the game, viewing the ENTIRE list of credits is mandatory... EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Thursday, August 10, 2000
Devil May Cry 4 | 8.5
Firstly, let me say that this game is wonderful, as the title of my review would lead you to believe otherwise. I have followed the DMC series since it's initial release in October of 2001, through the horrendous disappointment that was DMC 2 in 2003, and the controller-shattering goodness that was DMC 3 in 2005, so, it's safe to say that I had HIGH expectations (as most did/do) for this sequel. For fans of the original and the prequel, nostalgia will abound, both in good and bad ways, but for some gamers requesting an NG or GoW experience, well, you're not going to find that here. Instead, you're going to find gorgeous graphical presentations on BOTH systems, well done but sometimes cheesy voice acting, some back-tracking (think classic DMC and you'll get it), and completely offensive (as compared to defensive) gameplay filled with enough challenge to satisfy fan boys and newcomers alike.
My biggest complaint about Devil May Cry 4 is also my biggest praise: Old School. For whatever reason, the developers decided that recycling levels and bosses would be a great idea, and, in theory, it is, because you are using two different characters who play, suprisingly enough, rather differently during a majority of the confrontations . My first thought was that Nero is the "Richter Belmont" stand-in for the "Alucard" Dante, and I wasn't too far off. The possibilities of heavy-hitting, nasty looking combos out of Nero are almost endless, thanks to the inclusion of the whip-like Devil Bringer, whereas Dante, with the ability to switch weapons AND styles on the fly leaves ample opportunity for, we'll call it, ecclectic devil destruction. Seriously, the combat in this game is fast, fluid, and aggressive, and may take some getting used to for newcomers to the series. Don't think that I'm equating it to a Dynasty Warriors experience, but more like NG sans the defensive tactics.
The sound in the game, while not top quality or reinvented, fits the experience perfectly. Techno-Rock + Goth-Classical Music certainly add to the experience, considering the locales, which I'll get to later. If you're wanting a brief summary of the music for this game, just listen to any other DMC soundtrack and you'll be right at home. Also, the voice acting in this game is fabulous, in part due to the recruitment of Johnny Young Bosch as Nero, who, after Trigun, Bleach, and Wolf's Rain, to name a few, has had more than enough time to master the honing of paper characters into vocalized existence. Dante is played by the same voice actor that played him in DMC 3, so not much has changed in that dept. My only complaint comes in the form of the translation from Japanese to English, as some of the phrases uttered by the characters come off as silly, childish, or simply confusing. Outside of this, being a fan, I couldn't ask for anything more.
Graphically speaking, this game is pretty. It may not be Uncharted pretty or Mass Effect pretty, but, for a beat-em up game, they are more than enough to satiate the pixel gods. Character-wise, the game is polished and flowing, with hardly any aliasing, clipping, or tearing involved. Location-wise, the game shines, as each location, although there are few, evokes a distinct feeling once entered and explored. What I'm trying to say is that each locale has it's own vibe, that, if you let it, will suck you in, that is, until the back-tracking begins (again, remember old school DMC). My biggest complaint about the graphical presentation of this game comes in the form of shadowing. In some stages of the game, it resembles the blocky, almost super-deformed style of the original DMC, whereas, in others, the shadows are cast almost haphazardly, not appearing in their natural position at all. All in all, however, the graphics are truly a beautiful aspect of the game that do not hinder the enjoyment level of this game in many ways.
Overall, this game is a must buy for any action-adventure fan. Notice that I did not bash the game for the 20 minute install time (PS3 Only) or the fact that, in essence, this game is DMC 1 Redux. If you loved, missed, ranted, or raved about the old style of DMC, well, then you're in for a suprise, as Devil May Cry 4 delivers on all fronts with a retraced but enhanced formula that, while good and bad, has influenced games like God of War and Ninja Gaiden since the series' original inception in 2001. In the immortal words of some guy I'll never meet:
My biggest complaint about Devil May Cry 4 is also my biggest praise: Old School. For whatever reason, the developers decided that recycling levels and bosses would be a great idea, and, in theory, it is, because you are using two different characters who play, suprisingly enough, rather differently during a majority of the confrontations . My first thought was that Nero is the "Richter Belmont" stand-in for the "Alucard" Dante, and I wasn't too far off. The possibilities of heavy-hitting, nasty looking combos out of Nero are almost endless, thanks to the inclusion of the whip-like Devil Bringer, whereas Dante, with the ability to switch weapons AND styles on the fly leaves ample opportunity for, we'll call it, ecclectic devil destruction. Seriously, the combat in this game is fast, fluid, and aggressive, and may take some getting used to for newcomers to the series. Don't think that I'm equating it to a Dynasty Warriors experience, but more like NG sans the defensive tactics.
The sound in the game, while not top quality or reinvented, fits the experience perfectly. Techno-Rock + Goth-Classical Music certainly add to the experience, considering the locales, which I'll get to later. If you're wanting a brief summary of the music for this game, just listen to any other DMC soundtrack and you'll be right at home. Also, the voice acting in this game is fabulous, in part due to the recruitment of Johnny Young Bosch as Nero, who, after Trigun, Bleach, and Wolf's Rain, to name a few, has had more than enough time to master the honing of paper characters into vocalized existence. Dante is played by the same voice actor that played him in DMC 3, so not much has changed in that dept. My only complaint comes in the form of the translation from Japanese to English, as some of the phrases uttered by the characters come off as silly, childish, or simply confusing. Outside of this, being a fan, I couldn't ask for anything more.
Graphically speaking, this game is pretty. It may not be Uncharted pretty or Mass Effect pretty, but, for a beat-em up game, they are more than enough to satiate the pixel gods. Character-wise, the game is polished and flowing, with hardly any aliasing, clipping, or tearing involved. Location-wise, the game shines, as each location, although there are few, evokes a distinct feeling once entered and explored. What I'm trying to say is that each locale has it's own vibe, that, if you let it, will suck you in, that is, until the back-tracking begins (again, remember old school DMC). My biggest complaint about the graphical presentation of this game comes in the form of shadowing. In some stages of the game, it resembles the blocky, almost super-deformed style of the original DMC, whereas, in others, the shadows are cast almost haphazardly, not appearing in their natural position at all. All in all, however, the graphics are truly a beautiful aspect of the game that do not hinder the enjoyment level of this game in many ways.
Overall, this game is a must buy for any action-adventure fan. Notice that I did not bash the game for the 20 minute install time (PS3 Only) or the fact that, in essence, this game is DMC 1 Redux. If you loved, missed, ranted, or raved about the old style of DMC, well, then you're in for a suprise, as Devil May Cry 4 delivers on all fronts with a retraced but enhanced formula that, while good and bad, has influenced games like God of War and Ninja Gaiden since the series' original inception in 2001. In the immortal words of some guy I'll never meet:
Wednesday, August 9, 2000
Kingdom Hearts 2 | 10
I play a lot of Resistance 2 and COD4 & COD:WAW. Resistance for its massive battles & COD for the great graphics and super tight play. Killzone 2 is a great blend of each.
There are a lot of complaints about the controls, but none from me. The guns are weighted and recoil as you would expect. The characters move like heavily armored soldiers carrying heavy artillary might. I could see it as an issue if it wasn't equal, but everyone is playing at the same speed and after a very short amount of time, I can say without fail that I am pretty quick with the M82 and plenty of online players that are far superior to me will light you up as quick as any game of Halo or COD.
As far as the graphics, online there is no dropoff compared to the single player. This is the best looking game I can remember playing. I had a difficult time going back to Resistance because it looked terrible after KZ2.
The single player game is ...about like every other signle player FPS that I can remember. Follow a line shoot guys, etc. I only played for a couple of hours to get familiar with the controls before playing online so I can't really speak as an authority on the single player.
The online game has all of the usual suspects as far as game modes go. The new exception is being able to string any of the five together that plays as single game. If you have a squad that you enjoy playing with, this is great. If you jump into a 25 minute game and get stuck with a team of half-tards, prepare to be frustrated that you have to wait 25 minutes to get credited with your experience. It's also worth noting that KZ2 has a similiar level up / xp system that unlocks various items like COD 4. It's about what you'd expect.The battles are awesome and where KZ2 really takes the cake for me is the whole package with 30 people at a time. My biggest complaint with COD4 is 12 player battles on medium sized maps. It is too easy for people to camp and the middle of the screen remain empty for extended periods - especially in hardcore modes where you are playing 1 shot kills.
Killzone 2 doesn't reinvent the wheel and doesn't really offer anything new in terms of gameplay. A similiar thing has happened with the fighter genre. You can only "play guns" in so many different ways, so the next logical step is perfecting the genre, and right now, Killzone 2 is at the top of the heap.
UPDATED:
I purchased the downloadable map packs, Titanium & Steel. One takes place on a moving train, the other in the cruiser shown at the opening of the game. The train is a sight to behold and a snipers dream come true as the action funnels to visible choke points and the map is very narrow. The Vekta cruiser is multi-leveled and circular in shape. It's a stark contrast to the rest of Killzone with bright lighting and vibrant colors. The pack cost $6.00 and both are fun to play. The only problem is not many people appear to have purchased. It is common to find lobbies with the new map pack OR the originals. They're great to see in motion, espcially the train, but not a mandatory purchase at all.
I have such a problem with connection, that I've found myself going back to COD4 & WAW despite preferring Killzone 2's gameplay. Not only am I frequently disconnected, but it logs the PS3 offline and occassionaly locks up the system and requires a hard restart. I've even found myself having to restart my router becuase it locks everything up and I have to reboot my connection. It is exceptionally frustrating to play partial matches and get kicked (especially the longer games) and pop in COD or Resistance and have no issues.
Finally - Clan battles. Ugh. Oddly enough, COD felt like you had to be in a clan to enjoy the game. In fact, it's almost mandatory (log into a match with just a bunch of guys versus a party and get ready to die...a lot, no level balancing). KZ seems to be the opposite. Clan battles have rampant cheating and cheapness you just don't see in the big open matches. I played in a couple clan matches and virtually every negative I'd heard about them was evident(not respawning in deathmatch, hiding the the radio in your base, etc.). I've had a much better time just going from game to game until I find a group that is competitive on both sides. The good rooms are typically set to automatically balance, so a room with a few good players on both sides can be as much fun as any clan battle.
There are a lot of complaints about the controls, but none from me. The guns are weighted and recoil as you would expect. The characters move like heavily armored soldiers carrying heavy artillary might. I could see it as an issue if it wasn't equal, but everyone is playing at the same speed and after a very short amount of time, I can say without fail that I am pretty quick with the M82 and plenty of online players that are far superior to me will light you up as quick as any game of Halo or COD.
As far as the graphics, online there is no dropoff compared to the single player. This is the best looking game I can remember playing. I had a difficult time going back to Resistance because it looked terrible after KZ2.
The single player game is ...about like every other signle player FPS that I can remember. Follow a line shoot guys, etc. I only played for a couple of hours to get familiar with the controls before playing online so I can't really speak as an authority on the single player.
The online game has all of the usual suspects as far as game modes go. The new exception is being able to string any of the five together that plays as single game. If you have a squad that you enjoy playing with, this is great. If you jump into a 25 minute game and get stuck with a team of half-tards, prepare to be frustrated that you have to wait 25 minutes to get credited with your experience. It's also worth noting that KZ2 has a similiar level up / xp system that unlocks various items like COD 4. It's about what you'd expect.The battles are awesome and where KZ2 really takes the cake for me is the whole package with 30 people at a time. My biggest complaint with COD4 is 12 player battles on medium sized maps. It is too easy for people to camp and the middle of the screen remain empty for extended periods - especially in hardcore modes where you are playing 1 shot kills.
Killzone 2 doesn't reinvent the wheel and doesn't really offer anything new in terms of gameplay. A similiar thing has happened with the fighter genre. You can only "play guns" in so many different ways, so the next logical step is perfecting the genre, and right now, Killzone 2 is at the top of the heap.
UPDATED:
I purchased the downloadable map packs, Titanium & Steel. One takes place on a moving train, the other in the cruiser shown at the opening of the game. The train is a sight to behold and a snipers dream come true as the action funnels to visible choke points and the map is very narrow. The Vekta cruiser is multi-leveled and circular in shape. It's a stark contrast to the rest of Killzone with bright lighting and vibrant colors. The pack cost $6.00 and both are fun to play. The only problem is not many people appear to have purchased. It is common to find lobbies with the new map pack OR the originals. They're great to see in motion, espcially the train, but not a mandatory purchase at all.
I have such a problem with connection, that I've found myself going back to COD4 & WAW despite preferring Killzone 2's gameplay. Not only am I frequently disconnected, but it logs the PS3 offline and occassionaly locks up the system and requires a hard restart. I've even found myself having to restart my router becuase it locks everything up and I have to reboot my connection. It is exceptionally frustrating to play partial matches and get kicked (especially the longer games) and pop in COD or Resistance and have no issues.
Finally - Clan battles. Ugh. Oddly enough, COD felt like you had to be in a clan to enjoy the game. In fact, it's almost mandatory (log into a match with just a bunch of guys versus a party and get ready to die...a lot, no level balancing). KZ seems to be the opposite. Clan battles have rampant cheating and cheapness you just don't see in the big open matches. I played in a couple clan matches and virtually every negative I'd heard about them was evident(not respawning in deathmatch, hiding the the radio in your base, etc.). I've had a much better time just going from game to game until I find a group that is competitive on both sides. The good rooms are typically set to automatically balance, so a room with a few good players on both sides can be as much fun as any clan battle.
Killzone 2 | 9.0
If the game is good, it has become a rhetorical question. The game is like a house, but keep doing what we now is whether the game where the hype will make. After playing we can say that it lived up to expectations. This is because virtually every important aspect in this game to perfection is simply developed and that is all that counts here now. Criticism is not really close, it is minimal in contrast with what the rest is negligible. But now is an honest answer to why this game the hype to know what is important and that we answer you give in this review. Read on to so quickly find out what makes Killzone 2 as good.
There are several factors that make this huge hype, they bring some to doubt, and now we are happy for these doubts. Every aspect that we critically look at Killzone 2 in a game is absolutely amazing, the game developed and provide a good score lead. Graphics will be stunned everyone, the gameplay any gamer will know and appreciate the audio level is extremely strong. But what is so special with the graphics? It has been shown that many people know this now. Yet the graphics are only good to her right when you're playing the game.
Graphically the game so incredibly strong that it is a delight for the eye. In terms of level design each level has some variation. So you, you are in small confined spaces, on moving parts and open fields. What all this so special is that each level is designed graphically different, thus you get a good feeling as a player in terms of variety and you notice that you, your in a different location. Moreover, the unprecedented level of detail each. For example, the walls have fallen and propaganda posters hanging everywhere, this is only a fraction of what is to be observed. Levels that are broken and where it is a mess because of the war, half burnt flags bijhangen bleak and so on.
The attention to detail is so incredibly strong in this game that Guerrilla Games to talk about perfectionism when it comes to completing the various levels. All you should also read as something in itself and is certainly not in contrast with the gameplay. If you even take the trouble to quietly look around at different locations then you will notice how much time and effort the developer has put into it and that makes the game so graphically very strong. It is not just that it looks so nice, it looks extremely tight in another. The level of graphics remain the entire game on one line and that is why the game includes a graphic master.
What this also plays a major role is the animations. Regularly while playing the game we watched precisely express what the Helghast do, and then in particular their movements. A strong example, which unfortunately in many games at all is that perfectionism interacts as NPC's movements or to make certain items that they just are always hovering above or beside you so soon as one player just not feeling. Killzone 2 We found in a moment where two soldiers climb over a fence and it looked so incredibly good that we overcame the feeling that the game animation in that area is so incredibly good Guerrilla simply be called a king.
We just described just a moment, but this is so much more common and that makes the game visually very strong. Each plane is in fact worked to perfection. The design and decoration of the levels is so detailed that you can simply conclude that nothing in terms of graphics Guerrilla a new standard. Until now, it was the strongest Uncharted graphics if you ask most editors. This is so different since early January 2009. Killzone 2 is graphically so overwhelming that we can talk for hours about through. Yet we can not resist a detail report. If you have a Helghast shooting death once you look at the eyes, which slowly deaf.
Look, that's something you normally your shoulders for pick up, but if these details occur continuously in the game, then it seems obvious is not it? Then there is the audio, now there are many good shooters with an appropriate range of actors who provide voices. Some games do this well is unfortunately not others. Killzone 2, there is nothing to be desired. Each major character has his own voice and they are all convincing voice. Plus the benefits that Guerrilla has chosen not to use Dutch voice actors. The game is entirely in English, but the Dutch still to understand what is being said in conversations there are subtitles.
This is again only a small part of the big picture, but the point is that here is thinking about it and that money for every aspect of the game. As mentioned above, each character has his or her own voice and all sound pretty convincing. For example, what jumps out well in the credibility of the characters is Visari. The leader of the Helghast, he has a voice that really suits them perfectly and when he speaks. Against the ISA soldiers or his men, then you almost hear the emotion in his voice and that is another aspect that Killzone 2 simply very good makes.
Not only the voice acting is good in this game, the soundtrack is like the first part is very fat. Joris de Man is once again responsible for a decent soundtrack and we've been able to tell that he succeeded in his work. The music plays well into the action, once you're fully in the fight, the music also very exciting and hard. Once the battle is over take the weather, interactive music and sounds so good. Indeed, it fits in the atmosphere of this game and that is important. Still not talked about the sound of the weapons and the numerous explosions. To review not too long to tell us only the following about the preceding sentence. The audio is also thick in the parts order, now it sounds perhaps a bit cliche, but really not much we can do about it.
Then we come to perhaps the most important part of the whole review, the gameplay. How overwhelming the audiovisual aspect is, the gameplay is a title that probably will stand or fall. Now the game has three components, the singleplayer, and multiplayer battles. The single is an unprecedented adventure that on the normal difficulty in one hours and ten to twelve runs. Here you get all aspects Killzone 2 very strong for you and you choose, you start to enjoy the end. The levels are varied, the battles are constantly different and that's important. So sometimes you get bad a few Helghast soldiers under your nose, but it can also run in the dozens.
Beautiful aspect here is that the Helghast are not stupid. They have a good AI inherited from Mr developers and you will know. Frequently we were in a fierce battle and when we thought that peace had returned we found the time to go. Not knowing that there was a Helghast who was hiding behind a set of objects for us coolly in the back to attack. This is for several times and that many variations and what example we did realize that the AI is thick in order, as the Helghast know you're a sniper rifle.
Normally it is quiet as you zoom in and find out target shooting and rotten, that Helghast are constantly moving so the sniping is a lot harder. This contrasts with the action that almost the entire game to the issue of the gameplay in the singleplayer is one to remember. Then there is the chaos, before the impression was already cited the chaos that constantly dominates the atmosphere is largely determined and we now several times throughout the game from A to Z by play, we have noticed that the good atmosphere in this game is because it is such chaos. Because the levels are so well designed you imagine, you are in a real war. The Helghast defend many points in their real lives and all they have.
It is a huge mess, all around you hear pops, both near and far and then the two sides together by running around and shooting everything that moves. Chaos at the top and if one aspect is what makes the gameplay like no other, that's it. The singleplayer is a great wild ride, which may have been relatively linear set that has one of the best rides in my life has become part. If that's not enough says that game, Killzone 2, is the case. Usually we can summarize all aspects rather short and well reflect the reader. But a game like Killzone 2 offers so much that I'm already on page four when there are two gameplay elements should be discussed.
Thus, the editors also very much the mode "battle" played, this is actually exactly the same as multiplayer. Here you only play against bots. All are playable multiplayer maps and playing against bots is most entertaining. The bots can be set in terms of skills and accounting but you a decent chunk of them have at the moment you put high on their level. This mode is similar in wording might be relatively easy to describe so we can quickly go to the multiplayer itself. Remember that in any case this mode is really a welcome addition and certainly will provide entertainment for many hours. Sad fact is that not one more man on PlayStation 3 playable.
The multiplayer. We can very long or quite short on talk. Let us only briefly about it. The overall conclusion is simply that this is also very strong and greatly extends life of Killzone 2. The game has a number of maps based on the single player levels and include the ISA and Helghast fight their fights online. Now that multiplayer is slightly different from normal. You play a match because several species type games. So take a round can easily run half hours as it types like team deathmatch multiplayer, marked man, capture the flag and search & destroy pass. These types alternate for five to ten minutes, and the team with the most total points wins the round.
Then it takes a completely even fight once more rounds, so you know it. A good night is necessary to try to go completely loose in the multiplayer. Playing in the multiplayer itself, well, very simple. This works fine and so far we have not encountered any problems. It is pretty cool and if you an avid Killzone player than you are, here in the coming years will enjoy them enormously. It is also agreed that a game species level system so you know, your character as you gain experience points for each save an individual style that you can assign and interpret it as creating a private soldier with the various possibilities that the game you offers.
This will allow the variations later in the game properly and be extended through proper clan support will not be long before the first clans to all specialist members appear. This may in battle clans with similar members will be unnerving and, perhaps for many an aspect to look forward to. Forget the superficial terms and similar levels of Call of Duty. Killzone 2 is the multiplayer game of choice. Also in this section of the game there was virtually no downside to detect us. Or do they? It was unfortunate that we have so far been able to find an option to just deathmatch or any other type to play herself. The multiplayer itself or again very great, so after several hours you would actually not play back. Guerrilla simply combines everything into one type and it works!
Killzone 2, say what a game. If there is one game that Sony will have fame in 2009 than it was Killzone 2. Virtually every aspect is superb and everyone worked so far has played the game, which it is now clear. This game should just go get an absolute winner! Guerrilla Games just put themselves on the map again as one of the best developers in the world and while they may be more than proud of the work they are delivered with Killzone 2. This game is really fantastic and then I speak for several people from the editors. You! Killzone 2 just go out on February 27, when a game this year is the highest level, then it is this one.
There are several factors that make this huge hype, they bring some to doubt, and now we are happy for these doubts. Every aspect that we critically look at Killzone 2 in a game is absolutely amazing, the game developed and provide a good score lead. Graphics will be stunned everyone, the gameplay any gamer will know and appreciate the audio level is extremely strong. But what is so special with the graphics? It has been shown that many people know this now. Yet the graphics are only good to her right when you're playing the game.
Graphically the game so incredibly strong that it is a delight for the eye. In terms of level design each level has some variation. So you, you are in small confined spaces, on moving parts and open fields. What all this so special is that each level is designed graphically different, thus you get a good feeling as a player in terms of variety and you notice that you, your in a different location. Moreover, the unprecedented level of detail each. For example, the walls have fallen and propaganda posters hanging everywhere, this is only a fraction of what is to be observed. Levels that are broken and where it is a mess because of the war, half burnt flags bijhangen bleak and so on.
The attention to detail is so incredibly strong in this game that Guerrilla Games to talk about perfectionism when it comes to completing the various levels. All you should also read as something in itself and is certainly not in contrast with the gameplay. If you even take the trouble to quietly look around at different locations then you will notice how much time and effort the developer has put into it and that makes the game so graphically very strong. It is not just that it looks so nice, it looks extremely tight in another. The level of graphics remain the entire game on one line and that is why the game includes a graphic master.
What this also plays a major role is the animations. Regularly while playing the game we watched precisely express what the Helghast do, and then in particular their movements. A strong example, which unfortunately in many games at all is that perfectionism interacts as NPC's movements or to make certain items that they just are always hovering above or beside you so soon as one player just not feeling. Killzone 2 We found in a moment where two soldiers climb over a fence and it looked so incredibly good that we overcame the feeling that the game animation in that area is so incredibly good Guerrilla simply be called a king.
We just described just a moment, but this is so much more common and that makes the game visually very strong. Each plane is in fact worked to perfection. The design and decoration of the levels is so detailed that you can simply conclude that nothing in terms of graphics Guerrilla a new standard. Until now, it was the strongest Uncharted graphics if you ask most editors. This is so different since early January 2009. Killzone 2 is graphically so overwhelming that we can talk for hours about through. Yet we can not resist a detail report. If you have a Helghast shooting death once you look at the eyes, which slowly deaf.
Look, that's something you normally your shoulders for pick up, but if these details occur continuously in the game, then it seems obvious is not it? Then there is the audio, now there are many good shooters with an appropriate range of actors who provide voices. Some games do this well is unfortunately not others. Killzone 2, there is nothing to be desired. Each major character has his own voice and they are all convincing voice. Plus the benefits that Guerrilla has chosen not to use Dutch voice actors. The game is entirely in English, but the Dutch still to understand what is being said in conversations there are subtitles.
This is again only a small part of the big picture, but the point is that here is thinking about it and that money for every aspect of the game. As mentioned above, each character has his or her own voice and all sound pretty convincing. For example, what jumps out well in the credibility of the characters is Visari. The leader of the Helghast, he has a voice that really suits them perfectly and when he speaks. Against the ISA soldiers or his men, then you almost hear the emotion in his voice and that is another aspect that Killzone 2 simply very good makes.
Not only the voice acting is good in this game, the soundtrack is like the first part is very fat. Joris de Man is once again responsible for a decent soundtrack and we've been able to tell that he succeeded in his work. The music plays well into the action, once you're fully in the fight, the music also very exciting and hard. Once the battle is over take the weather, interactive music and sounds so good. Indeed, it fits in the atmosphere of this game and that is important. Still not talked about the sound of the weapons and the numerous explosions. To review not too long to tell us only the following about the preceding sentence. The audio is also thick in the parts order, now it sounds perhaps a bit cliche, but really not much we can do about it.
Then we come to perhaps the most important part of the whole review, the gameplay. How overwhelming the audiovisual aspect is, the gameplay is a title that probably will stand or fall. Now the game has three components, the singleplayer, and multiplayer battles. The single is an unprecedented adventure that on the normal difficulty in one hours and ten to twelve runs. Here you get all aspects Killzone 2 very strong for you and you choose, you start to enjoy the end. The levels are varied, the battles are constantly different and that's important. So sometimes you get bad a few Helghast soldiers under your nose, but it can also run in the dozens.
Beautiful aspect here is that the Helghast are not stupid. They have a good AI inherited from Mr developers and you will know. Frequently we were in a fierce battle and when we thought that peace had returned we found the time to go. Not knowing that there was a Helghast who was hiding behind a set of objects for us coolly in the back to attack. This is for several times and that many variations and what example we did realize that the AI is thick in order, as the Helghast know you're a sniper rifle.
Normally it is quiet as you zoom in and find out target shooting and rotten, that Helghast are constantly moving so the sniping is a lot harder. This contrasts with the action that almost the entire game to the issue of the gameplay in the singleplayer is one to remember. Then there is the chaos, before the impression was already cited the chaos that constantly dominates the atmosphere is largely determined and we now several times throughout the game from A to Z by play, we have noticed that the good atmosphere in this game is because it is such chaos. Because the levels are so well designed you imagine, you are in a real war. The Helghast defend many points in their real lives and all they have.
It is a huge mess, all around you hear pops, both near and far and then the two sides together by running around and shooting everything that moves. Chaos at the top and if one aspect is what makes the gameplay like no other, that's it. The singleplayer is a great wild ride, which may have been relatively linear set that has one of the best rides in my life has become part. If that's not enough says that game, Killzone 2, is the case. Usually we can summarize all aspects rather short and well reflect the reader. But a game like Killzone 2 offers so much that I'm already on page four when there are two gameplay elements should be discussed.
Thus, the editors also very much the mode "battle" played, this is actually exactly the same as multiplayer. Here you only play against bots. All are playable multiplayer maps and playing against bots is most entertaining. The bots can be set in terms of skills and accounting but you a decent chunk of them have at the moment you put high on their level. This mode is similar in wording might be relatively easy to describe so we can quickly go to the multiplayer itself. Remember that in any case this mode is really a welcome addition and certainly will provide entertainment for many hours. Sad fact is that not one more man on PlayStation 3 playable.
The multiplayer. We can very long or quite short on talk. Let us only briefly about it. The overall conclusion is simply that this is also very strong and greatly extends life of Killzone 2. The game has a number of maps based on the single player levels and include the ISA and Helghast fight their fights online. Now that multiplayer is slightly different from normal. You play a match because several species type games. So take a round can easily run half hours as it types like team deathmatch multiplayer, marked man, capture the flag and search & destroy pass. These types alternate for five to ten minutes, and the team with the most total points wins the round.
Then it takes a completely even fight once more rounds, so you know it. A good night is necessary to try to go completely loose in the multiplayer. Playing in the multiplayer itself, well, very simple. This works fine and so far we have not encountered any problems. It is pretty cool and if you an avid Killzone player than you are, here in the coming years will enjoy them enormously. It is also agreed that a game species level system so you know, your character as you gain experience points for each save an individual style that you can assign and interpret it as creating a private soldier with the various possibilities that the game you offers.
This will allow the variations later in the game properly and be extended through proper clan support will not be long before the first clans to all specialist members appear. This may in battle clans with similar members will be unnerving and, perhaps for many an aspect to look forward to. Forget the superficial terms and similar levels of Call of Duty. Killzone 2 is the multiplayer game of choice. Also in this section of the game there was virtually no downside to detect us. Or do they? It was unfortunate that we have so far been able to find an option to just deathmatch or any other type to play herself. The multiplayer itself or again very great, so after several hours you would actually not play back. Guerrilla simply combines everything into one type and it works!
Killzone 2, say what a game. If there is one game that Sony will have fame in 2009 than it was Killzone 2. Virtually every aspect is superb and everyone worked so far has played the game, which it is now clear. This game should just go get an absolute winner! Guerrilla Games just put themselves on the map again as one of the best developers in the world and while they may be more than proud of the work they are delivered with Killzone 2. This game is really fantastic and then I speak for several people from the editors. You! Killzone 2 just go out on February 27, when a game this year is the highest level, then it is this one.
Tuesday, August 8, 2000
Luigi's Mansion - Dark Moon - 9.0
Gamecube’s Luigi’s Mansion (one of my old personal favorites) finally got itself a sequel after more than a ten year long wait. In the Mario franchise where it’s grown to be mostly mindless multiplayer action with a plethora of endless minigames and reboots, Nintendo gave Player 2 another chance to shine with Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon.
In the last game, a mysterious letter congratulates Luigi on winning himself a mansion in a contest despite never entering one. He rings up Mario to meet him there to celebrate and by the time Luigi arrives, he finds his brother missing. He gets help from the quirky Professer E. Gadd and searches the spooky mansion armed with the Poltergust 3000 (a powerful ghost sucking vacuum) and a flashlight to save his brother.
In Dark Moon, Luigi returns with an admittedly less interesting reason other than the ghosts are acting up, doing what ghosts do and all. But as you progress in the game, you piece together a whole other reason for the sudden increase in paranormal activity. He’s back with new gadgets (and an upgraded Poltergust 5000) to take down those pesky ghosts, new areas, and with a variety of new ghosts to wrangle.
The 3D’s bells and whistles surprisingly doesn’t hinder gameplay, but makes it rather fun. For the Gamecube, a lot of Luigi’s movements were controlled via the second analog stick like aiming the flashlight or wrangling ghosts into your vacuum of doom. The 3Ds cleverly uses its gyroscope and accelerometer capabilities in a way that really adds to the movement. If you’re not up for moving the 3Ds up and down to aim, the same can be achieved with a button press and I like how it allows you the freedom to choose which you prefer.
Luigi tip-toes through the dusty corridors in a state of nail biting terror, nervously humming along to the background music in a way that makes me wanna pet the screen to calm him down. The ambiance is just as great as the last game with great lighting and sound effects. Everything responds to your exploration as you go through the game and there are many puzzles to solve reminiscent to the Legend of Zelda series, something that I felt is an improvement. Ghosts now have different strategies you have to figure out when trying to clear a room. Some like to hide in furniture like a game of hide-and-seek while some use head gear or items to keep from getting dazed by your flashlight and it makes the game more challenging and never boring.
My only complaints are the lack of checkpoints and the grading system. When your health drops to zero, you restart from the beginning and you have to go through all the stuff you discovered before which can be a pain. The grading system, while fair, judges for your time and I felt that was a bit much considering that I’m one of those OCD kinda players where I have to look through everything in every room so getting a bronze made me grind my teeth in frustration. It was my first playthrough and I didn’t feel the need to rush, but I’ll gladly play it over again to reach the best score since you’re able to replay areas and missions you’ve unlocked in the past so it kinda makes up for it.
Despite those small annoyances, it’s one heck of a game I feel that any Nintendo 3Ds player would enjoy it even if they haven’t played the last one. Gamers who played Luigi’s Mansion the will love Dark Moon because it improved everything they loved without losing anything that made it awesome in the first place; a formula every sequel should follow.
In the last game, a mysterious letter congratulates Luigi on winning himself a mansion in a contest despite never entering one. He rings up Mario to meet him there to celebrate and by the time Luigi arrives, he finds his brother missing. He gets help from the quirky Professer E. Gadd and searches the spooky mansion armed with the Poltergust 3000 (a powerful ghost sucking vacuum) and a flashlight to save his brother.
In Dark Moon, Luigi returns with an admittedly less interesting reason other than the ghosts are acting up, doing what ghosts do and all. But as you progress in the game, you piece together a whole other reason for the sudden increase in paranormal activity. He’s back with new gadgets (and an upgraded Poltergust 5000) to take down those pesky ghosts, new areas, and with a variety of new ghosts to wrangle.
The 3D’s bells and whistles surprisingly doesn’t hinder gameplay, but makes it rather fun. For the Gamecube, a lot of Luigi’s movements were controlled via the second analog stick like aiming the flashlight or wrangling ghosts into your vacuum of doom. The 3Ds cleverly uses its gyroscope and accelerometer capabilities in a way that really adds to the movement. If you’re not up for moving the 3Ds up and down to aim, the same can be achieved with a button press and I like how it allows you the freedom to choose which you prefer.
Luigi tip-toes through the dusty corridors in a state of nail biting terror, nervously humming along to the background music in a way that makes me wanna pet the screen to calm him down. The ambiance is just as great as the last game with great lighting and sound effects. Everything responds to your exploration as you go through the game and there are many puzzles to solve reminiscent to the Legend of Zelda series, something that I felt is an improvement. Ghosts now have different strategies you have to figure out when trying to clear a room. Some like to hide in furniture like a game of hide-and-seek while some use head gear or items to keep from getting dazed by your flashlight and it makes the game more challenging and never boring.
My only complaints are the lack of checkpoints and the grading system. When your health drops to zero, you restart from the beginning and you have to go through all the stuff you discovered before which can be a pain. The grading system, while fair, judges for your time and I felt that was a bit much considering that I’m one of those OCD kinda players where I have to look through everything in every room so getting a bronze made me grind my teeth in frustration. It was my first playthrough and I didn’t feel the need to rush, but I’ll gladly play it over again to reach the best score since you’re able to replay areas and missions you’ve unlocked in the past so it kinda makes up for it.
Despite those small annoyances, it’s one heck of a game I feel that any Nintendo 3Ds player would enjoy it even if they haven’t played the last one. Gamers who played Luigi’s Mansion the will love Dark Moon because it improved everything they loved without losing anything that made it awesome in the first place; a formula every sequel should follow.
Kingdom Hearts 10
Yeah, I know "adequate" isn't exactly an attention grabber for a review but I couldn't think of another way to describe this game. However, I will elaborate.
The game's plot revolves around multiple dimension-like worlds in the Disney and Final Fantasy universe. Kind of like a Mickey Mouse version of the show "Sliders". Anyway, you have to travel to all of these worlds looking for your standard bad guys the Heartless. Your main character, Sora, holds the key to defeating the Heartless and setting things right again. I'm not kidding, he actually uses a weapon called a "keyblade". And you thought the gunblade was original. In your travels you'll go to Agrabah (home of Aladdin), Wonderland, Neverland, Olympus, Tarzan's jungle, and others. All the while encountering critters from Disney cartoons and Final Fantasy games.
Being a Final Fantasy fan, the major draw for me in this game was seeing Final Fantasy characters from Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 10. Unfortunately, this is one aspect of the game that disappoints. Cameos are limited. I haven't played through the entire game but it seems that the only characters playing significant roles are Leon (aka Squall from FF8), Cid (from FF7), and a little bit from Yuffie (FF7) and Aerith (Aeris/FF7). Sure old favorites Cloud and Sephiroth make appearances, but they don't play major roles in the game. And in the end, you could easily replace them with normal, original NPCs. Square's number one reason for including them is to pander to the Final Fantasy crowd. Mission accomplished, I bought it.
You'll mostly be encountering Disney characters. Disney NPCs, Disney party members, even Disney summon monsters. For me, all that Disney stuff would make me vomit, but it isn't as childish as you would think. Donald and Goofy provide you with battle support and they're good for a laugh in cutscenes. On the downside, all of the worlds I've seen so far are Disney worlds, nothing from Final Fantasy, or at least anything original - except for the first island you start on, and that reminds me of Besaid from FFX.
The voice acting in the game is short. Most of what you see are dialogue boxes or speech bubbles instead of actual voices. But the voices that are in the game are excellent. Square and Disney actually hired some professional talent for a few of the non-Disney characters. And even the Disney characters are voiced by either the original voice actor from their respective movies, or the actor from the TV series spinoff (in a few cases). The dialogue is a little choppy in some areas, but it's not as ridiculous as some of the translated dialogue in other games.
Play control. Jeez. Controlling your character is relatively easy. Battles are a little tougher because of the battle menu, but they do provide a few shortcut buttons for magic, etc. The absolute worst thing is the platform jumping. Between the camera angles and your nitwit sidekicks, it's difficult to land some jumps. Donald and Goofy are constantly in the way, they follow you around like the characters in Final Fantasy 8 do, unfortunately you can't walk through them. I had to push Goofy off a ledge a few times just to see where I was going. They do add a remedy for the problems - a first person "look around" view. It helps to see around and to line yourself up with a jump, but it doesn't help if you turn the camera around to look for a platform only to see that annoying duck standing in your way. And in battle they were basically useless for me. After playing Devil May Cry, I'm good enough with melee sword combat that I don't need the backup of a giant dog with a shield and a duck who can't hit a monster the size of a building with a fire spell.
The minor problems aside, the game has its strengths. The story and the cutscenes make you feel like you're actually controlling a Disney movie - not necessarily a bad thing. And the freedom of movement in battles was a nice change from turn-based Final Fantasy combat. It's no Final Fantasy X, but Kingdom Hearts ranks as one of the best RPGs I've ever played.
Pros:
-Great battle system
-Top notch voice acting
-Music is good and it sets the mood in certain areas
-Original and engaging story
Cons:
-Donald and Goofy get in the way
-Other members of your party aren't very helpful in battle
-Final Fantasy angle not as prominant as many would like
Overall I gave it four stars taking into consideration the flaws. If you're looking for an original RPG, I would recommend this game. But if you're looking for a Final Fantasy clone, this isn't it. Otherwise I think everyone should give this game a shot. Rent it first, and if you like it then buy it.
The game's plot revolves around multiple dimension-like worlds in the Disney and Final Fantasy universe. Kind of like a Mickey Mouse version of the show "Sliders". Anyway, you have to travel to all of these worlds looking for your standard bad guys the Heartless. Your main character, Sora, holds the key to defeating the Heartless and setting things right again. I'm not kidding, he actually uses a weapon called a "keyblade". And you thought the gunblade was original. In your travels you'll go to Agrabah (home of Aladdin), Wonderland, Neverland, Olympus, Tarzan's jungle, and others. All the while encountering critters from Disney cartoons and Final Fantasy games.
Being a Final Fantasy fan, the major draw for me in this game was seeing Final Fantasy characters from Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 10. Unfortunately, this is one aspect of the game that disappoints. Cameos are limited. I haven't played through the entire game but it seems that the only characters playing significant roles are Leon (aka Squall from FF8), Cid (from FF7), and a little bit from Yuffie (FF7) and Aerith (Aeris/FF7). Sure old favorites Cloud and Sephiroth make appearances, but they don't play major roles in the game. And in the end, you could easily replace them with normal, original NPCs. Square's number one reason for including them is to pander to the Final Fantasy crowd. Mission accomplished, I bought it.
You'll mostly be encountering Disney characters. Disney NPCs, Disney party members, even Disney summon monsters. For me, all that Disney stuff would make me vomit, but it isn't as childish as you would think. Donald and Goofy provide you with battle support and they're good for a laugh in cutscenes. On the downside, all of the worlds I've seen so far are Disney worlds, nothing from Final Fantasy, or at least anything original - except for the first island you start on, and that reminds me of Besaid from FFX.
The voice acting in the game is short. Most of what you see are dialogue boxes or speech bubbles instead of actual voices. But the voices that are in the game are excellent. Square and Disney actually hired some professional talent for a few of the non-Disney characters. And even the Disney characters are voiced by either the original voice actor from their respective movies, or the actor from the TV series spinoff (in a few cases). The dialogue is a little choppy in some areas, but it's not as ridiculous as some of the translated dialogue in other games.
Play control. Jeez. Controlling your character is relatively easy. Battles are a little tougher because of the battle menu, but they do provide a few shortcut buttons for magic, etc. The absolute worst thing is the platform jumping. Between the camera angles and your nitwit sidekicks, it's difficult to land some jumps. Donald and Goofy are constantly in the way, they follow you around like the characters in Final Fantasy 8 do, unfortunately you can't walk through them. I had to push Goofy off a ledge a few times just to see where I was going. They do add a remedy for the problems - a first person "look around" view. It helps to see around and to line yourself up with a jump, but it doesn't help if you turn the camera around to look for a platform only to see that annoying duck standing in your way. And in battle they were basically useless for me. After playing Devil May Cry, I'm good enough with melee sword combat that I don't need the backup of a giant dog with a shield and a duck who can't hit a monster the size of a building with a fire spell.
The minor problems aside, the game has its strengths. The story and the cutscenes make you feel like you're actually controlling a Disney movie - not necessarily a bad thing. And the freedom of movement in battles was a nice change from turn-based Final Fantasy combat. It's no Final Fantasy X, but Kingdom Hearts ranks as one of the best RPGs I've ever played.
Pros:
-Great battle system
-Top notch voice acting
-Music is good and it sets the mood in certain areas
-Original and engaging story
Cons:
-Donald and Goofy get in the way
-Other members of your party aren't very helpful in battle
-Final Fantasy angle not as prominant as many would like
Overall I gave it four stars taking into consideration the flaws. If you're looking for an original RPG, I would recommend this game. But if you're looking for a Final Fantasy clone, this isn't it. Otherwise I think everyone should give this game a shot. Rent it first, and if you like it then buy it.
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