66 public written reviews
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This review doesn't need to be long - if you liked God of War 1 and don't mind a slighty scaled-down portable version, you will probably like this game. I am a little burned out on the franchise, but found myself compelled to keep playing as the pacing of these games is usually very well done. There were a few technical hiccups, but otherwise the game was very visually impressive for a portable title. The end of the…
I have always loved the Ridge Racer series since the day I got my PS1. Ridge Racer on the PSP does a great job of bringing together the best parts of the series into a memorable portable title. I love arcade style racing games, and Ridge Racer and Wipeout have always been at the top of the heap. With the release of Wipeout Pure and HD, the franchise carried on the legacy of the series while upgrading the graphics to…
Let me come right out of the gate by saying that every RPG fan owes it to themselves to play this game. While some may walk away feeling that FF XIII is not their cup of tea, Square-Enix has done an impressive job of evolving many elements of the RPG formula. Since there are simply too many points worth noting, I'll approach this review in the bullet-pointed Kotaku style: What I Liked: The music - Masashi Hamauzu…
Having quit halfway through Ninja Gaiden Sigma due to absurd checkpoints, I was overjoyed to see that almost all my complaints from the first game have been addressed in the sequel. At it's core, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is a gorgeous, fast-paced action game that allows you to perform flashy combos with a variety of weapons. The game gives you enough challenge to incent you to learn the different moves and experiment…
For purposes of full disclosure, I love the Advance Wars games (with the exception of Day of Ruin). I picked up Field Commander for the very reason that every review that I read of this game clearly stated that it was a pure rip-off of Advance Wars. In my mind, a copy of a great game is still likely to be a great game, right? After playing Field Commander for 5 minutes, one thing became painfully clear: This game is…
Maybe I'm spoiled, but my first introduction to the tower defense genre was PixelJunk Monsters. Monsters is one of my favorite games of all time, and a game that really set the bar high for the entire genre. Playing Ninjatown just made me appreciate all the things that Q Games did right with PixelJunk Monsters. The towers (ninjas) all felt nearly identical aside from the standard melee vs. ranged unit. Everytime I…
Hideo Kojima games have always been hit or miss with me. While I have enjoyed the crazy story, technical prowess, and overall charm of several games in the Metal Gear Solid series, I always hated MGS3 for all the giant "features" (also known as design flaws) that define that game. From the horribly broken camera, to the uneven difficulty, to the overall frustration, ZOE 2 seems to pick right off where MGS3 left off.…
After playing through FF 13, I wanted to go back and play through a couple of older RPGs to remind me of the way these games used to be. Suikoden was one of my favorites at the time it came out 15 years ago and several years after. However, after my most recent playthrough, I'm starting to realize that charm and nostalgia carried what is otherwise an average game. For anyone deciding whether they should give this…
Read the full review Not as good as I remembered, but still fun
Excellent Naruto game. Highly recommended to any fans of the manga/TV series. The fighting system is fantastic and offers much of the small input/big output gratification that God of War characterizes. The option to select English or Japanese voices was also appreciated. While there are some mission types in the main mode that will get tiresome, the story arc missions are as good or better than watching the TV…
One of my favorite RPGs of all time. Continuing where Persona 3 left off, Persona 4 improves upon some of the criticisms of the last entry (lack of control over party members, limited music, lack of dungeon variety). The murder/mystery storyline kept my attention throughout the game and had some very gripping moments and character interactions. The beauty of Persona 4 is the amount of freedom and lack of repetition…
I walked away from this game with two primary thoughts: 1) The developers had some great ideas about how to push storytelling forward in video games; and 2) I'm pretty sure that someone at the developer hates me for making me play through an endless string of fetch quests and minigames. I enjoyed the story and actually wanted to push forward and see what happened next. Also, I thought that the dialogue was very good…
Let me begin by commenting on the most important two elements that this game has to offer. It looks incredible and will satisfy anyone with some FF VII nostalgia. Since that alone should be enough to sell most fans on the game, I'll move on to some of the details. Crisis Core's story and characters actually eclipse FF VII by a wide margin. Memorable characters such as Aeris, Tseng, and Sephiroth are brought to life…
As a strategy game fan, I enjoyed playing a game outside of the usual stable of franchises such as Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics. The gameplay is very unique, mainly bringing the concept of empowering certain characters to gain additional turns by chaining kills. Combined with the skill system, the core concepts of this game make for what could have been an interesting game. However, I couldn't help but feel…
I have always been torn over this game as it is so memorable yet so full of flaws. The combat and puzzles are absurd, so I recommend putting the game on the easiest difficulty to allow yourself to focus on enjoying the fantastic atmosphere, subtle yet gripping story, and one of the all-time great soundtracks (both music and sound effects). While there's a lot of fun to be had in this game, be prepared to be…
I skipped Tools of Destruction, but have played every other game in the series. This is one of the finest games I've had a chance to play. The game looks amazing, has a great sense of humor, and maintains a good pace throughout that propels you to visit just one more planet. I can't say enough good things about this game. Mr. Zircon was a standout and should win video game character of the year. I also loved the…
Read the full review Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
akonnick March 02, 2010 After about 3-4 hours, this game's flaws got the best of me. While there is some charm here, the braindead pathfinding of your party members, usually spotty Wii controls, and repetitive gameplay just don't add up to a fun game. While many would have you believe that the game is very open-ended, you are never deviating from what the developer wants you to do at that very moment. I spent half…
Playing through it for the 4th time. Best of the Fire Emblem series and one of my favorite games of all time. Great continuation of Path of Radiance's story with improvements in several gameplay areas such as bonus experience system, new weapons , simplification of supports, and others. Also, the in battle animations are greatly improved and feel much more like the flashy animations of the GBA games. This game is…
One of my favorite games of all time and the best strategy game available on the GBA or DS. The addition of branching promotion options adds a lot of variety and the streamlined roster of characters (compared to 6 and 7) makes for far fewer throwaway characters. The story is excellent and concise compared to 4 and 7, which spend way too much time dwelling on needless background information. While many criticize this…
