Xenoblade Chronicles

I'll make it short: art is excellent, gameplay is realtime-cooldown based combat that hardly gets boring, customization is relevant, music is superb, story is long and very well paced, characters are likeable, the world is huge and the game gives a lot of freedom to explore it. Plus there's a ton of optional content very well scattered though the world.

Everything is in a perfect balance on what I expect from a game that I don't know what else to say, try it for yourself and decide :P.

So a game that had me for 120 hours through the story without getting tired, enjoying every scene, fight, conversation, exploring that world and having adventures. After so many hours of this I became really fond of the entire cast, then add an emotive ending and it's just normal for anyone to cry here. Cry Count = 4 (Chrono cross, Persona 3, MGS4 and Xenoblade)

Did I like it? My 3rd favorite game ever.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like jrpg

I rate my experience with a 10 out of 10.

Tomb Raider (2013)

I never was very attached to the Tomb Raider games, I played a few of them but never spent more than 1 hour so I cannot compare much but as I liked this new one I may say that it's different from the others.

It's a very fun action game, trying to always offer a few ways of resolving situations (usually killing and reaching places). Entertaining but easy, too easy, I'm not very good at these games and still made the 100% in 15 hours. Not just the enemy encounters are easy but the jumps, exploration, finding secrets, everything is there to quick-pleasure the player, it's like the fast-food of gaming.

I apreciate the relative freedom to explore and find collectibles, that made the game less repetitive and quite enjoyable.

Overall it is a good experience with excellent graphics, presentation, nice acting and okay music.

Did I like it? Yes
I think you will like it if you:
- Want more Lara Croft
- Enjoy easy-action games

I rate my experience with a 7 out of 10.

Two Worlds 2

This is another western openworld action rpg, with very nice graphics (on pc) and immersion and I was having fun with it.

The combat is very arcade, kinda reminds me to Diablo and I have fun with that. There's also a lot of customization options with crafting and improving equipment, increasing stats, learning new skills that define the playstyle, etc.

I was pretty excited by the game, it looked epic with boat travelling and the huge world map with lots of secrets to find. Then it was over. The biggest continent is reserved for multiplayer game only, no more single player campaign. My mistake for hating spoilers and not researching about the game.

And this left me an empty feeling, I stopped travelling by boat and trying to find hidden places.

Did I like it? For a short period, yes.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like western action rpgs
- Going to play online

I rate my experience with a 5.5 out of 10.

Sonic Unleashed

Okay this is starting to feel better, Sonic speed stages are fun with a few diferent paths to take and things to find, with parts using the 3d perspective from the last games and other parts using the old 2d perspective, new controls like a "instant" lateral move and a drift feature that reminds me to Mario Kart, and fast, maybe too fast that sometimes I need to "hand-brake" to choose a different path.

Controls aren't perfect though, it needs a bit more refinement to make them less imprecise.

And then there are the Sonic-Wolf stages; a lot of long and slow paced stages based on punching enemies, jumping and climbing that are very boring and unoriginal to me, reminds me to Ratchet&Clank gone bad.

Story is the usual, this time the conversation parts are back but they are minimal and without the awful exploration segments from Sonic The Hedgehog 2006.

So far my favorite keeps being Secret Rings, followed by this Unleashed, Black Knight and The Hedgehog 2006.

Did I like it? I liked 50% of it.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like Sonic games
- Can get through the Sonic-Wolf levels.

I rate my experience with a 6 out of 10.

Catherine

This may be a "too weird" game for some people, but as I'm "weird too" I quite enjoyed it.

This is a very gameplay focused game, it's a puzzle game where I needed to climb and climb through piles of boxes, moving them in a way that allowed me to continue climbing (or die trapped). There aren't many moves available just run, push, pull and climb, but the variety comes from the different box behaviors, like one that break, slide, attack, etc.

About the Story don't expect anything epic as is also part of the "too weird" portion, it is some kind of love story that for me it is very original because I haven't seen many games with this kind of storytelling before which makes it very entertaining. Music can be kind of cool-creepy which goes along the game too.

So I the best part of this game is clearly the gameplay, the concept may be a bit hard to explain for me but I think that it can be pretty addictive.

Did I like it? I had to force myself to quit it.
I think you will like it if you:
- Don't hate weird puzzle games (game's kinda hard to recommend)

I rate my experience with a 7.5 out of 10.

Uncharted (saga)

I guess I don't understand this saga because I fail to see what's so special about it.

First I want to mention that I don't like too much shooting games, thats why I probably enjoyed more the first Uncharted and Golden Abyss than Uncharted 2 and 3 that are supposed to be the top ones. This is probably because, in my point of view, they've gone from what I seemed like a Tomb Raider revamp to a 3rd person shooter with a cinematic setup and a few jumps to do. And I prefer the Tomb Raider pace, but I guess shooters it's what it sells.

I mean the latest Ps3 Uncharted seems more focused on killing people than the first, I may be wrong because I played it a long time ago, but I remember spending way less time shooting things and more time exploring and finding secrets, this is probably why I liked Golden Abyss too, I think it has many more optional things to do.

Still the game presentation is excellent as expected and graphics are very good.

Did I like it? Yes but not that much.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like casual shooters
- Don't mind linear games

I rate my experience with a 6 out of 10.

Lost Odyssey

I think that if this game was called Final Fantasy it would have way better reviews than it had as Lost Odyssey and sold more units than the current FFXIII.

As jrpg is an excellent example, containing everything I like about them like a story that keeps me entertained and likable characters. Okay some story parts are bland and characters may behave in an irritating way, but I think it's passable and the whole adventure is quite enjoyable.

Combat is turn-based with random encounters with ring mechanics that reminds a lot to Shadow Hearts, it's pretty entertaining and challenge is good enough, specially on boss encounters. The way to learn new skills is pretty original that "forces" the player to use most of the party members. There are some overpowered passive skills, but overall is pretty balance.

There's a world map with many things to explore and secrets to find, like the old times. Exploration is fun and based on minor puzzles which is way better than going through linear halls.

The game graphics and presentation are excellent, specially the first 20 minutes are astounding, specially the intro with the impressive transition between cinematic and the first combat scene. This is probably one of the main downsides, the game puts the player expectations too high and it never goes back to that quality, this leads to dissapointment.

About the music I'm speechless, this soundtrack deserves its own concerts.

Did I like it? I loved it
I think you will like it if you:
- Don't hate jrpgs

I rate my experience with a 9.5 out of 10.

Ninja Gaiden 2

This is my de-stress game, it offers me the simple but challenging fast action I need from time to time to get the evil out of me ;).

Blood, cutting heads, dismembering people, doing ninja things... all with a varied collection of upgradeable weapons and magic spells that offer many different playstyles.

It is also very challening, every combat needs to be carefully fought or one may get blocked on the next boss due lack of items, which also can be fun because it happened to me a few times and I had to try and try until I managed to do a perfect boss kill.

This is also one of the few games that got me into completing the game in every diferent diffitulty, mainly because in this game a higher difficulty doesn't mean only higher enemy stats but they also act way harder and deadly requiring a change of approach/strategy on the same enemy depending on the difficulty level, and thats what I'm always looking for on harder difficulties.

I don't remember about the story nor care, no exploration (well, a few hidden things has), this is a fast-paced action game that gives me what I want.

Did I like it? Bloody yes.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like action games
- Like challenges

I rate my experience with a 8 out of 10.

To the moon

This is a 4 hour intense visual novel whose only weapons are the story and music.

When there is no motion capture, shaders, polygons, voicing, dlc...  what's left?
Talent.

Did I like it? I played it non-stop and it was worth it, cry count = 5.
I think you will like it if you:
- Have a heart
- Don't mind the 16 bit visual style

I rate my experience with a 9.5 out of 10.

Black Moon Chronicles

This is an interesting strategy game, the combats are based on squads that can contain a limited number of trainable troops plus some hero units that join through the game, I think I've seen many games using this formula latetly.
 Customization is based on building and improving quarters that allows to buy more powerful troops and abilities.

Technically has lots AI and gameplay troubles like strange behaviors and imprecisions. But I remember having tons of fun with sieges and all that, It wasn't an easy game to me when I was 15 years younger, now I can easily exploit it.

Story is okay and not very intrusive, like the old games that let me play instead of making me watch endless scenes and has 4 campaigns with different difficulties instead of the usual difficulty option, which is kinda original.

And then there is the music, for my taste this game has one of the best game soundtracks I've ever heard. If I remember this game through so many years it's only because of the music, it's a pleasure.

Did I like it? Yes
I think you will like it if you:
- Like real-time strategy games
- Are curious enough to try an old game

I rate my experience with a 6.5 out of 10

Sonic Lost World

I don't see what's wrong with this game, it's awesome!

The pace is similar to the old Sonic games, even in 3d stages and finally there's way less automation, which is good because now it feels again like the platformer that competed with Mario.

There are the usual 2D stages with additions and also comebacks from the mega drive games. And 3D stages have a new style and now can be played as a platformer with a nice sonic speed.

The game looks pretty neat, not better than Generations (pc version) but has a more "Nintendo-ish" visual style.

It is not very long but has some very nice designed stages that offer a decent challenge where the number of lives is important again too, like the old times!

I've been waiting for this since I saw Sonic Xtreme images years and years ago and I think this is one of the best modern Sonic games out there.

Did I like it? Yes!
I think you will like it if you:
- Are a Sonic fan
- Like platformers

I rate my experience with a 8 out of 10.

Metal Gear Solid 4

I'm not sure how he does it, I have the feeling that I spend more time watching scenes than playing the game, but still I remember it as a awesome game.

The gameplay is the usual from metal gear solid, many different approaches to resolve the situations which is like allowing to choose the level of challenge by oneself. I also comes with some good additions, I haven't yet played MGS3 so I'm not sure what's really new and what not.

Graphics, music and presentation are superb. There are always some things that are "too japanese" like the postures and some character backgrounds and behaviors.

But in the end the story moved me, he knows how to play with my feelings. Cry Count = 3.

Did I like it? Yes.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like other metal gear solid games
- Don't mind scene-heavy game

I rate my experience with a 7 out of 10.

Western RPG

Presentation is excellent, the setup outstanding: I don't know exactly how or why but I'm the chosen, commander of troops, slayer of dragons, worlds postal service, everyone likes me...

The world is huge and random, empty and boring. People will always ask me for favors, usually the same ones, like there was no other in the entire realm to do it, no competence, aren't there more adventurers? I feel so lonely, what an empty world, I really prefer a little lively and scripted world, like in a book.

Graphics are good, there are a few stunningly looking scenes required to show on the media but the rest is usually mediocre, not very fantasy-like with the same forests I see everyday nor the copy-paste scifi/medieval dungeons.

Combat is... a mess: mash the buttons, repeat the rutines, spam skills, auto-attack, the most effective strategy is to go for it with all I got until enemies stop coming. Difficulty levels are only a stat increase, enemies keep making the same stupid mistakes, they seem based on the guys with deficient accuracy and skills that appear on hollywood movies.

The story seems an excuse for the characters or the world to show off, evil guys are only evil on dialogs because on the field they behave with the same IA, no dirty tricks nor behaviors, just their equiped skills and limited combat script.

Pretending is the main problem for me, they want to make a whole living world but they clearly aren't capable of doing it. Wouldn't be better to make it a smaller but more intense and fullfiling experience? Nope this is what people buys, bigger is better, twice if it has an espectacular trailer.

Did I like it? This was just a rage post, don't mind me I just wanted to let it go. I'll buy the next mass effect so I can hate it again.
I think you will like it if you:
- Want quick and easy "fun".

I rate my experience with a 2.5 out of 10.

SMT: Persona 4

I think Atlus has some of the best development teams ever, they've been doing this for so many years and always improving their last job. It was a difficult task to improve Persona 3 but they managed to hit the spot again, they know what to keep, drop or change.

Improves the combat, finally the full party is controllable on combats again, no more IA dependence. Social link mechanics got better, it's minor details but help making a better experience. And finally no more tartarus, this time dungeons are move varied and original shaped.

Keeps all the scent: the Persona system, fusions all over again, challenging combat and a good and darker-than-usual story.

The story is about a murder investigation, I love these so I really enjoyed it plus I think it is very well done and told. I keep loving the characters and their behaviors that Atlus manages to make and they're excellent again, I prefer this cast than most of the Persona 3 cast.

The graphics are very good, specially on the PSVita and music repeat the pop style formula again and I freaking love it, I still keep listeting this and P3 soundtracks on a regular basis, damn I really want to attend one of those Persona music concerts.

[Little ending Spoiler begin]

What keeps it from the perfect score is the last impression it left on me, is that the ending is not very emotive to me, I prefer Persona 3 in this case ;).

[End of little ending Spoiler]

Did I like it? Very.
I think you will like it if you:
- Don't hate jrpg

I rate my experience with a 9.5 out of 10.

Final Fantasy VII

This is probably the game I've finished more times in my gaming life, it has everything I need to have fun:

Engaging story: I always wanted to keep moving foward to know more about the story, it's on these times that I don't care much if the game is linear.

The materia system is also very original, lots of different available materias, combinations, upgrades, mastering, plus being influenced by the character equipment in many ways. I think this is system is very complete and well thought.

The usual active time battle system is even more entertaining thanks to the materia combinations there are lots of skills to try and diferent ways to approach a combat. Boss fights are challenging enough, specially for someone who hates level grinding like I do.

Graphics may have aged bad but I still like them and never had any problem with. Music is just awesome.

To me nearly everything is perfect, but I'm not giving it a 10 because some things feel rushed, character story development is very low on some cases, story sometimes feels too linear and it left many unanswered questions on me. But these are all very minor details, the game is still one of the best.

Did I like it? Hell yes.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like jrpgs

I rate my experience with a 9.5 out of 10.

SMT: Persona 3

Here Atlus shows us how to renew a good rpg:

- Step 1: Face-wash, adapt the graphic style to a more current and attractive one, while keeping the cool "disgusting" style of some designs. Also the jump from 2d to 3d is very well done. Same with music, it choose to go with pop music which gives it a unique style, plus the songs are excellently composed, I absolutelly love the soundtrack!

- Step 2: Maintain the core mechanics, dark atmosphere, challenging turn based combat, dungeon exploring, demons, fusions... Though it dropped the demon negotiation which is still a core feature on the Shin Megami Tensei main series.

- Step 3: New additions, appart from fusions, personas are obtained as a post-battle reward. And the main addition of the game are the social links. This consists in doing social activities with the many characters that appear on the game's world which allows to obtain more powerful fusions, new personas plus experiencing little but very interesting side-stories (damn you sun arcana!).

As negative points I would mention that exploring the tartarus can get a bit repetitive and the other negative point is that on combat the rest of the party are controlled by IA, giving problems from time to time. But thankfully this is solved in the PSP version of the game where the player can control the entire party.

Finally the story is dark, long and engaging as always, maybe this time I didn't become too fond of some of the allied characters but this was compensated by the other social link characters. Also the ending... it just left an awesome feeling on me, Cry Count = 2 (Chrono Cross was the first).

Did I like it? Yes, at the end I was speechless.
I think you will like it if you:
- Don't mind a "happier" Shin Megami Tensei atmosphere
- Like jrpg
- Don't hate anime style

I rate my experience with a 9 out of 10.

SMT: Persona 2

It's has been a long time since I played this, so pardon if some of the info is incorrect.

This is composed by 2 games: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment which explain a similar story in some kind of parallel/alternate realities but still related between them.

Combat is similar to the first Persona, challenging turn-based random encounters fought with melee,gun and magic attacks where Personas define the strenghts and weaknesses towards different types of attacks and also the magical skills that the character has available. This time the fights use a normal turn-based formation abandoning the grid-formation system from the previous game (which is something that I  forgot to mention in the original review :S).
 Dungeons aren't 1st person anymore, now it has the 3rd person camera view that will continue through the next Persona games.

As for customization, there's the same tarot-card persona creation, fusions and demon negotiation with can end up with the demon fighting back, giving a present, giving tarot cards or spreading a rumor.
 Rumors are a new addition that plays an important role through the story and some also affect on the shops inventary, on the dungeon, and many other things.

The story is very interesting on both games, which one is better is a matter of taste, I think none disappoints. I keep loving the characters, I may like or not their personalities but their behavior is realistic, so disliking some of the characters isn't a bad thing, it happens in real life.

This time music is okay, I don't remember any special tune like in Persona-PSP. Graphics are nothing special with some cool demon designs.

Did I like it? Yes.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like Shin Megami Tensei atmosphere
- Don't hate jrpgs

I rate my experience with a 8.5 out of 10.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

As a Platinum and Metal Gear fan, I love it. There isn't much on the Metal Gear part aside from Raiden and the codec conversations, but there's a lot from Platinum.

The gameplay is very good, action focused on combos, cutting things into pieces and getting some determined body parts from the enemies. It can be a bit confusing at first, specially on defensive moves, but I think I learned about it in a very natural way, which is way more rewarding than being treated as a stupid gamer.

Normal battles are challenging, I was always fighting my ass to avoid using medpacks because I would need them for the boss fights. Bosses are so cool and hard fight, always with their own mechanics that makes them unique and their own powerful metal song to enhance the experience.
 I have to highlight the last boss fight, after so many tries I loved so much destroying him with the "It has to be this way" tune playing on the background, it left me with a big f.you grin.

On the customization side, I could upgrade Raiden stats, learn new skills, upgrade the weapon or get another one. There are a few weapons to choose but I haven't tried anything else than Raiden's main sword, although it's good to have choices. There's also some fire weapons like missile launchers which prove useful in some situations, plus the usual metal gear gadgets, box included ^^.

On the bad side and though I'm okay with the difficult gameplay mechanics, sometimes this is a problem for me because I tend to forgot about them, and if a few months later I want to play again I'm forced to do the tutorials again, which bores me a lot so I end up never playing it again. This has happened me a few times on Platinum games,

Did I like it? Yes.
I think you will like it if you:
- Are a Platinum/Metal gear fan
- Want a challenging action game

I rate my experience with a 8 out of 10

Shining Force saga

Shining Force

Shining Force is (was) Sega's tactical rpg, it has little similarities to Fire Emblem like every unit being represented individually on the battle field, the combat screens showing the 2 involved characters and being able to promote the units.

But for the rest is a pretty different game, it doesn't rely on the rock-paper-scissors system and magic tends to be more powerful. Also turns are spread between the player and enemy units depending on their speed stat that gives this game a different combat style.

Battles are usually challenging and fun, outside battles there are little exploration areas with a Dragon Quest style which is cool, equipment customization is similar too.

I barely remember the story it was good but I did not like the characters too much, graphics are okay with that Camelot Software Planning touch.

Did I like it? It was okay.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like (old) tactical rpgs

I rate my experience with a 6 out of 10.

Shining Force CD

This is a compilation/remake of game gear's Shining force games, it includes a new campaign and new features. The concept is simplified a la Fire Emblem (dialog->foce setup->battle) but combat is entertaining as always and I had plenty of fun with this game.
Did I like it? Yes.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like (old) tactical rpgs

I rate my experience with a 7 out of 10.

Shining Force 2

A true improvement, I think this is where the saga takes off. Combat is even more entertaining, more unit types, weapons, abilities, powerful magics.

This time the story is very interesting and I liked the characters way more than before. It keeps the exploration features from the original.

Did I like it? Yes, awesome.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like tactical rpgs

I rate my experience with a 8.5 out of 10.

Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon

It's a gba remake of the first Shining Force which I enjoyed more than the original, it includes a few new features and new graphics.

Did I like it? Yes, awesome.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like tactical rpgs

I rate my experience with a 6.5 out of 10.

Shining Force 3

The definitive sequel, overall the game keeps the entire Shining Force spirit and increases the epic feeling, battles are bigger and fun, more powerful magics, tons of different units plus there are lots of hidden/optional characters to recruit.

I loved the characters and enjoyed the story a lot, though it is divided in 3 games that explain the events from 3 different points of view which can get a bit repetitive.

Did I like it? Yes, epic.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like tactical rpgs

I rate my experience with a 9.5 out of 10.