Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Dragon's Dogma


I guess this game is very good, nice combat and customization, big world, lots of quests, epic-wannabe story...



But I've tried 2 times to play this game and I couldn't stand it, my reasons

1. Partner IA is awful.
2. I hate these kind of "open world" games, I'm not the realm's f. delivering service
3. There are too many loading screens on every scripted scene.

Did I like it? No thank you.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like "modern" open world games
- Don't hate western rpgs

I rate my experience with a 2 out of 10.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Sonic Generations




Another great Sonic game!

Its stages are new versions of stages from the different Sonic games, going form the first Sonic to Sonic Colors. Each stage has one act that is played in 2D with classic gameplay and another act played on 3d with modern gameplay.



As a bad point I would mention that the game is too short and too easy, I finished the game on my first playthrough with many "A" and "S" ranks. Though there many optional things to do like finding collectibles and completing challenges. There's also a shop with equipable skills which I didn't use.

Visually looks stunning using all the modern techniques, what an awesome job. I really hope Sega keeps this line of work (*stares at Sonic Lost World*).

Did I like it? Yes.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like Sonic games

I rate my experience with a 7.5 out of 10.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Mirror's Edge












This is a 1st person platformer game.

I thought this was a pretty bad idea as the 1st person camera is used mostly for action games or slow paced adventures. When I played I understood the decision, it is made to give the player the runner feeling: hearing the fast-breathing while sprinting, the wind on the ears, even the jump feeling is well made. I love the result.



It plays based on parkour which involves a lot of running, jumping, climbing, different paths... like any platformer. It also have some combat scenes, thankfully most of them are optional as there's always another way to solve the situation. Maybe one of the flaws I found are the forced combat situations which aren't very fun and a few parts with imprecise platforming that I had to repeat over and over.

The game is very short, which is bad because there isn't much else to do. Story is entertaining enough, I don't use to care much about it on these games. It looks pretty unique too, with lots of bright and white tones combined with strong colors. Music has cool tunes too.

Did I like it? Yes!
I think you will like it if you:
- Want a different platforming experience

I rate my experience with a 8 out of 10.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Sonic Colors


















Finally! I had a blast playing this game. I love the 3d sections as I love the 2d ones, no experiments this time, just a fast and intense Sonic experience.

Gameplay is the usual: jump, dash and crouch as always plus some new gadgets that give some new ways and possibilities. Unlike the last Sonic games, this time I didn't find any trouble with controls being imprecise, everything was smooth.



Also the story pace is fast and it doesn't interrupt the gameplay which helps a lot for people like me who look for a "plug&play" game. Length is good, plus there are some nice optional modes and collectibles to find.

Visually looks very good, fast, colorful and with lots of details; I was very surprised that this runs on a Wii (plus I played with the WiiU upscaling). Music is nice too.

So far this is the best 3D Sonic I've played.

Did I like it? Very
I think you will like it if you:
- Don't hate 3d Sonic games

I rate my experience with a 8.0 out of 10.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Demon's Souls


The first day I played this game I thought this was just another button mashing action rpg and I was having fun, I killed the first boss without much trouble and was advancing pretty steadily through the first world until the second boss.

Then Demon's Souls started, that big armored guy was one-shotting the hell out of me, I lost all the souls (experience points) many times, also having to walk every time all the way to the boss killing again the enemies on the way and sometimes dieing too on the process. Until I had enough, I had the feeling I was wasting my time and put the disk back to its box, never again.



The next morning I woke up with Demon's Souls on my head, I think I understood everything: Of course, the game is designed this way! It is a trial of why I play, of how I face problems and learn from my mistakes. I put the game back on and enjoyed this extremely fulfilling experience until the end.

Did I like it? Much.
I think you will like it if you:
- Have hands with a few fingers on them
- Like gaming

I rate my experience with a 9 out of 10.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

The Last Story




This is a nice try to establish a "new" way for the jrpg genre. I say "new" because it kinda reminds me to FFIV, in both games the story develops at a pretty fast pace where a lot of things happen very quickly and with no fillers, giving a short but intense experience.

The bad side is that the exploration is very little and limited, luckly the main city is big enough and there are many optional things to do (which I didn't do).



The combat is real time, player controls one character and can give orders to the rest. Encounters aren't random and they're kinda scripted and tries to give some strategic component to the battles but it ends up being a bit chaotic, most of times just rushing foward gave me the best outcome. Still it's fun to play.
 Customization is weapon-based, I didn't have much fun here. There's also a lot of visual customization that some people seem to apreciate but in the end doens't affect to the gameplay.



The story is okay but nothing new; there is a chosen one and a princess again. Thankfully characters have that "Sakaguchi" spirit that makes them very likeable, that saved the game to me. Music is good enough but not outstanding as usual and graphically the city and characters look beautiful, dungeons not so much.

Finally the simple multiplayer is good for a quick cooperative or competitive match.

Did I like it? Yes.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like action rpg

I rate my experience with a 7.5 out of 10.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Remember Me










This is some kind of adventure-beat'em up. Combat is based on a few special skills and customizable combos with moves that have different effects like healing or lower the skill cooldown. Combos only involve button press without directional input and there's also some of the unpopular QTE events, but it's fun and challenging enough.



Most of exploration is similar to Uncharted with a few climbs and jumps to do but there's zero challenge here, having hidden places and collectables to find help to make it more entertaining.

The story is pretty sci-fi, it is about memory merchants and hunters, and it is told in an original way with some interactive parts, I loved it. Art direction and music are excellent too, I'm buying all the merchandising I can find!



Remember Me is a refreshing game, I really wish those games get sold and rated way more than they actually do because is an unique experience.

Did I like it? Yes very.
I think you will like it if you:
- Are looking for a unique experience
- Don't hate beat'em up
- Don't mind a straightfoward exploration

I rate my experience with 8.5 out of 10.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Persona 4 Arena




If anyone could make a Persona 4 fighting game, they are Arc System Works as their aproach to story modes is very similar to the jrpgs dialogs and development plus it is nicely split between every available character.

I'm not very good at these games but I think the gameplay is very complete with many technical moves that I will never be able to execute. That's why I appreciate the "casualized actions", they are a very nice addition to help noobs like me that allows me to advance through the game without mastering each character moves. I'm not sure if this unbalances the online/competitive matches.



The presentation is excellent, keeping the vibrant colors from the rpgs, sprites are very detailed and re-mixes some tunes and adds some cool new songs.

The story is fun enough, at least is not as messy as in Blazblue and the characters keep their charm, plus is good to see Mitsuru, Akihiko and Aegis again.

Did I like it? Yep, I had fun.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like Persona 4
- Don't hate fighting games

I rate my experience with a 7.5 out of 10.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

The Last Remnant


This is an rpg clearly focused on battles because the storytelling is kinda poor but interesting enough to not hate it.

Music is nice, graphics are pretty specially the particle effects, I liked the character designs of the different species and some city designs remind me a bit to FFXII.



I got really addicted to the combat system, it's some kind of tactical turn-based combat with customizable squads and formations, where every squad unit is also customizable (specially on pc version) and has the usual rpg role (mage, healer, warrior...) inside a squad, giving an wide range of strategies. It may be tricky to understand the system but it is very challenging and rewarding.



The game is slow to start but is probably one of the games I've spent more hours playing (and not done the 100% yet), not only because it's addictive but also has a long story development and lots of quest chains and hidden places to discover.

Did I like it? Yes!
I think you will like it if you:
- Have enough patience for the slow start
- Like tactical rpg

I rate my experience with a 9 out of 10.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Suikoden V


This is a game that I have enjoyed "in excess", because I think it doesn't really excel in any area in particular but I can recommend it to anyone because it doesn't disappoint.

The story reminds me to the first Suikoden games, it doesn't try to "innovate" by telling the story from different points of view nor weird naval stories. It just tells a big, entertaining and epic plot plenty of turnabouts, treasons, surprises, etc. Which is what I loved from the series.



One of the things that I liked the most are the characters, I loved following their development and thats probably what kept me goind foward, I just couldn't stop, I wanted to know more about the plot and about the characters and loved so many of them. Plus as usual, there are more than a hundred characters to recruit.

Combat hasn't changed much, there are a few tweaks/evolutions on its mechanics but the spirit is the same, fast-easy random combats and challenging bosses.
 For the rest it keeps the usual rpg elements like towns, shops, exploring, etc. Very entertaining for any jrpg lover.



In the end this is a game I can't forget, I had much much fun, I loved the cast and it really felt like a true Suikoden experience.

Did I like it? Very
I think you will like it if you:
- Love Suikoden series
- Like jrpg

I rate my experience with a 9.5 out of 10.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Heavy Rain





Heavy Rain is an awesome experience, it's like an interacive movie that takes advantage of the videogames lenght, immersion and intensity. Yes some gameplay features could be avoided but they made me feel like I'm part of the story and my actions really matter.

The plot is about a murder investigation, I love those so I enjoyed a lot. Characters act and look very realistic, I felt really immersed into the world. Plus graphics are superb, the character models are the best I've seen so far, enviroments and lighting are nicely done too.



My main complain is how everything starts, the whole thing about Jason running away in the mall and the events that happen feel very very cheap and incoherent, it's not concordant at all with the quality of the remaining game.

Complaints aside, the game's presentation is excellent and it is a different but original and intense way of experiencing a game (or a movie).

Did I like it? Yes, it's really intense!
I think you will like it if you:
- Aren't looking for action
- Like thrillers

I rate my experience with a 7.5 out of 10.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Final Fantasy V

This is probably the less valued Final Fantasy game from Squaresoft's golden age, but for me is my 2nd favorite Final Fantasy and one of the best games I've played (always on my criteria, shoo!).

It has all the Final Fantasy elements: crystals, active time battle, random encounters, different worlds and travel methods, nice graphics, invocations, etc.

The music is awesome as usual, Clash on the big bridge and the main theme are amongst my favorite themes ever.



What makes this game one of my favorites is the Job system, being able to choose the characters class from a original and varied set of different classes with their own habilities which some of them can be shared with another classes.
 This gives a whole lot of different choices and party setups to try, these class possibilities are my favorite thing on a game because it means that there's a whole lot of different strategies and approaches on combats, and I love this!



I enjoyed the story too, some people say it is not as emotive as the other games but I don't remember any FF game with a very emotive story, intense yes but not emotive for me (objection! I still get moved by the song dedicated to Laguna).

Did I like it? Yes!
I think you will like it if you:
- Like jrpgs
- Stop comparisons

I rate my experience with a 9.5 out of 10.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Suikoden Tierkreis



To me this is a typical rpg with a few Suikoden details.

It isn't bad as jrpg because it has many good features like good combat with the usual front-back line party setup, exploring is good enough, many towns, equipment choices and dozens of characters to recruit.




But it really failed to keep me entertained. I think the plot quality is very low, I never felt attached to any character and I found the pace too slow. I just coulnd't play for more than 2 straight hours while on other Suikoden games I had to force myself to stop.

In the end as jrpg I think it will keep many people entertained, but there are better choices.

Did I like it? I got bored from time to time.
I think you will like it if you:
- Forget Suikoden series exist.
- Love jrpg

I rate my experience with a 6 out of 10.