13 public reviews
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A mixture of sparkles and chainsaws only Japan can conceive. When Suda51 ’s name is tied to a project, the most reasonable expectation is a complete disregard for sanity. His special brand of twisted logic has spawned unique experiences the likes of Killer7 and Shadows of the Damned though none appeared as overtly sexualized as Grasshopper Manufacture ’s latest featuring a chainsaw-wielding, barely-legal…
In recent years, JRPGs have fallen away from the mainstream Western market. Nowadays, they serve people whose time and mentality allow for dense experiences wrapped in an anime lining. Many companies are busy trying to identify with North America and Europe, but others are still pushing Japan's wackier sensibilities, unfazed by the declining demand. NISA and Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten fall into the latter…
When classic shoot ‘em ups like Ikaruga and new, HD titles like Söldner-X 2: Final Prototype are sold for cheap via download services, a $50 retail product such as Deathsmiles becomes a questionable purchase. If one were to judge solely on playtime, they’d see a game that lasts 20 minutes. Calling that a pittance isn’t an exaggeration; it’s fact. In most shoot ‘em ups, the underlying value comes from challenge and…
Nothing interesting came out this week in terms of video game releases and, as a result, I decided to dig through the bowels of my collection to find something horrible to play. I’m not a masochist by any stretch of the imagination, but I figured that reviewing a bad game would be humorous for anyone who frequently reads my reviews. Therefore, I fished out my PlayStation Eye, a camera peripheral for the PlayStation…
Skate 2 is a sequel nobody asked for. The original Skate played competently, looked fantastic, and finally usurped the Tony Hawk series’ off its throne. Frankly, any problems with Skate could’ve been rectified with a patch or downloadable content. I could hardly fathom the need for a sequel, yet the developers managed to squeeze enough creative juice to justify another entry. The result can be perceived as a…
Being born in 1989, I never experienced the 8-bit era of gaming. While my collection consists of classics from Bionic Commando to Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, I never had the pleasure of walking into a store and buying a brand-new NES game. I could preach about the Super Nintendo’s excellence all day, but the aesthetics of 8-bit games are undeniably charming and refreshingly archaic. Thankfully, the release of Retro Game…
C ontrary to previous games in the series, Resident Evil 5 is no longer about the scares or the tension. Instead, Capcom’s latest entry capitalizes on action more than fear. While the more blatant shift in focus may be upsetting to long-time fans, comparing Resident Evil 5 to its predecessors is doing it a disservice; it’s an excellent action title all on its own and it’s also a phenomenal way to start off the…
As arcades slowly fade into obscurity, developers are ignoring hardcore fighting game fans more than ever. Even though series like Soul Calibur, Tekken and Virtua Fighter keep coming out, none of them come close to the balance of the Street Fighter series. Combo mastery and timed button presses still determine the winner, but competitive play has quickly become an afterthought as new Street Fighter games have been…
I will admit that when first saw Valkyria Chronicles, I was not the least bit impressed. Despite all the positive attention the game was getting, I found myself unwilling to put the disc in my PlayStation 3. Even after venturing to my local game retailer and plunking down the 60+ dollars, weeks went by until I finally took the shrink-wrap off in a fit of boredom. Fortunately, my sheltered existence during winter…
Whenever I go home for winter break, the games I play generally fall into the JRPG genre because they typically take around 40 hours to beat. Aside from Valkyria Chronicles and Chrono Trigger DS, the only other game I managed to complete was Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. After spending 70 hours with my eyes glued to screen, I beat the final boss, set down the controller and said, “This… is the best game of 2008.”…
As a fan of the Castlevania series, I’ve been waiting for a game worthy enough to oust 1997’s Symphony of the Night as the best game in the series. I initially thought Order of Ecclesia, the latest Castlevania game for Nintendo DS, would finally break the 11 year wait. But thanks to some of the game’s more demanding factors, it seems that my wait will continue. I certainly believe this is the best original DS game…
Space marine? Nay, space engineer. When I look at a game like Dead Space, I find it hard not to be reductive. The setting is in space, the hero is equipped with plasma weaponry and an alien infestation needs taking care of; that description alone should resonate with anyone who has played a sci-fi shooter in the last year or two, and for good reason. Despite the cliché first impression, it became hard for me to…
Spore, the next game by Sims creator Will Wright and development studio Maxis, has finally made itself into players’ hands after much hype and numerous delays. Despite all the ambition behind this game’s ideas, I was disappointed when I booted it up and started playing. The ideas promised by the developers fell short of the ideal, and what I played seemed like a mutated, lesser counterpart. This creature evolution…
