April 2007

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales

April 13, 2007

DS / Reviews / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is a game with multiple personality disorder. First it’s an RPG. Then it’s a card battle game. Later, it’s a compilation of minigames. Then it’s an RPG again. Breadth of gameplay styles is ordinarily a good thing, but there’s not a clear core gameplay mechanic. The minigames get especially challenging, and this only serves to further separate them from the simple story with an obvious focus on younger players.

When the game begins, the player – the titular chocobo – is settling down for story time with his friends. Then a black mage comes by and offers to read from his new book, an evil force is unleashed upon the world, and all the chcobos except you are imprisoned in cards. Bebuzzu, the aforementioned evil book, would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for random storybooks found around the world map that can alter the world around them. Need to go up a cliff? Just keep playing the A

Valhalla Knights

April 13, 2007

PSP / Reviews / by Jeff Stolarcyk Make a comment! / Tweet it!

XSEED has an inconsistent, albeit brief, history as a game publisher. Shadow Hearts: From the New World is stellar, but Wild Arms 4 leaves a lot to be desired. So Valhalla Knights, the latest XSEED-published game, is a bit of a cipher, at least in terms of predicting its quality. After playing the PSP action/role-playing game, though, it becomes clear that Knights is a missed opportunity.

Between real-time combat, a job system, and a highly customizable party of adventurers, Valhalla Knights finds itself cribbing from too many other, more established franchises. Even the visual design of the game seems lifted from Vagrant Story in some spots, in others Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. And with a title that evokes Norse mythology, well, I shouldn’t have to spell that out. Valhalla Knights feels so much like a hodgepodge of other games’ ideas that it never manages to define its own identity.

The story of Valhalla Knights focuses on a reticent young adventurer with amnesia trying to remember his (or her) past. Your hero can be any one of the starting classes. Players progress through the game by interacting with the Guild and taking on missions. The Guild is also where you can purchase new characters to fight alongside you, either elf, dwarf, human, hobbit, or machine. Expanding the party whenever possible is integral to progressing through the game; certain encounters simply cannot be done without a big group. It is always better to hire a new party member than it is to upgrade the existing party’s gear, which is an uncomfortable change of pace from the norm. That mentality takes a lot of getting used to, which isn’t necessarily a negative, but is worth noting.

Combat, by the way, is a total chore. Thankfully, Valhalla Knights doesn’t indulge in random battles, opting to let players see monsters roaming on the field. Ally AI is generally good, but combat is a dull affair sometimes broken up by bouts of frustration. If you’re not traveling with a big enough party, you’re dead, as stated earlier, but the real annoyance is the behind-your-back camera perspective, which makes it difficult to judge distances accurately.

This same camera angle proves just as vexing in the field, and can only be moved by toggling the first-person view and turning. In cities, and especially in dungeons, having to do this frequently is not fun. The tendency for sameness that runs through the environments doesn’t help matters, either.

Of all the things Valhalla Knights tries to be, though, it feels like it tries to be like an MMO game first and foremost. Leading a large party through a dungeon to grind levels, anyone? Like the .Hack games, though, the gameplay model seems lifeless without other people to truly interact with. The game does offer ad hoc multiplayer, though, in both co-op and vs. flavors.

Valhalla Knights is certainly not a bad game, but it’s nothing to get excited about, either. If you have an RPG itch and have the few superior role-players already on the platform, it might be worth checking out to you, at least as a rental. If you can overlook the game’s shortcomings there’s enough customization to keep you occupied for a few hours.

Honeycomb Beat

April 13, 2007

DS / Reviews / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Puzzle games either last for forever or for 15 minutes. If the gimmick takes hold, it never lets go and people are still clearing lines 20 years later (Tetris) or being adapted into oddly captivating RPG hybrids a la Puzzle Quest (Bejeweled). Honeycomb, like its dual-colored DS cousin Polarium, just doesn’t grip the player, and it’s not apparent why. The key elements are there: simple gameplay that scales as the game progresses, puzzle mode, and timed challenge mode.

Honeycomb Beat is trying to capitalize on the success of Q Entertainment’s Lumines – this much is obvious from the title. Beat implies that there is a rhythm component to the game, but it’s just what Hudson has decided to call the tap of a hexagon – or honeycomb.

In puzzle mode, the player is supplied with a random assortment of honeycombs – all of which are either orange or white. The goal is to turn all the honeycombs white in the prescribed number of moves. There’s no time limit, but there is a par value for each puzzle. Shoot 10 over par and you get to try again. Every time a puzzle is cleared the adjacent puzzles (arranged in a honeycomb pattern) are available to the player. To break up the tedium A

Dance Dance Revolution Universe

April 12, 2007

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Chris Massey Make a comment! / Tweet it!

It’s been close to a decade since Dance Dance Revolution took the world by storm. Who would have thought stepping on arrows could ever been so popular? Now as we’re entering the next-generation of consoles, DDR is following suit with the first DDR game for the Xbox 360, Dance Dance Revolution Universe. Sold alongside a 360-enabled dance pad, Universe displays a lot of qualities seen in the Ultramix series and takes advantage of Xbox Live with online play and leaderboards. Probably what is most evident is that players of any difficulty level can get into the game with the new tutorials geared towards beginners. Although there are a few low spots in the quest mode and online play, Dance Dance Revolution Universe holds a formidable pace in the DDR universe.

Maybe the best way to begin this review is to say that I myself am a complete novice when it comes to DDR. That being the case, it’s a good thing that Universe is probably the most beginner-friendly version the series has seen thus far. Even if you’ve never set foot on a dance pad in your life, Universe dumbs it down to the most basic of concepts by not only adding in a lengthy (if not monotonous) dance pad tutorial but an entire difficulty mode tailored to the dance-impaired. Series veterans will surely want to forego all of this, as things can get right down to hand-holding standards. Seeing as how this is the first next-gen DDR, though, it seems appropriate that Universe makes a point of educating the masses in foot-stepping.

Once you clear through Game Mode Lite, (or just completely bypass it altogether) you’ll have access to the Master Edition, which has a seemingly endless line of game modes to choose from. There’s probably everything that DDR fans have come to expect, including the basic game mode where you play through songs and party mode that allows for local multiplayer. Quest mode is also available, where you go through North America completing challenges to earn money. Challenge mode, workout mode, and even an edit mode where you can create your own step-lists make Universe a pretty large experience.

As for the track listing, it varies between different genres. Tracks by Chris Brown, Goldfrapp, Cascada, Depeche Mode, a remix of Kylie Minogue’s A

QuickSpot

April 12, 2007

DS / Reviews / by Graham Russell Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Namco Bandai’s QuickSpot is a frustrating, gimmicky effort that annoys more than it entertains.

The game consists solely of the “spot the differences” game, the children’s activity with two pictures with slight things separating them. There are two main modes: Rapid Play, which focuses on speed, and Focus Play, which focuses on finding all the discrepancies. Then, with a Brain Age-like presentation, the game keeps track of your “brain activity.” Also tacked on is a “fortune” mode that seems completely unrelated to anything.

The game was finished in 2005, and it’s no wonder it wasn’t a priority to get it stateside. It has many of the gimmicky flaws found in earlier DS titles. Engrossed by the touch screen, developers decided to make players circle each menu item to select it, rather than just letting someone tap it or push a button. This becomes extremely frustrating. Also, “boss stages” in the main game involve rubbing the screen and blowing into the microphone. The days when that was innovative and fun are over, Namco. Also, the soundtrack is just weird. The most frequent tunes are techpop remixes of Ave Maria and Joy To The World, for crying out loud.

This title does have a few redeeming points, though. Special modes unlocked by playing the mundane main game throw in some variety. The multiplayer is adequately engaging, with hot potato-like Time Bomb and single-card game Scramble. Namco Bandai also throws in as many of its series as possible for cameo appearances, making longtime fans smile, if only for a second.

QuickSpot is geared toward casual gamers, and in some ways, it succeeds. However, due to its lack of variety, there are better, deeper games, and until casual gamers buy 10 DS games a year, this game will go on without an audience.

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →