Harry is back again, and this time he is ready to use his defense against the dark arts training to really take Voldemort down a notch (and to clean up Hogwarts.)
Based on the fifth movie and book of the same name, Harry Potter has returned from his fateful encounter with Voldemort only to find that no one believes him. Even worse, his only hope of learning protection has been snuffed by his newest defense against the dark arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge. So what is a boy-wizard to do? Teach himself with the help of his friends. Thus forms Dumbeldore’s Army who bands together with the Order of the Phoenix to face the big baddie and his Deatheaters once more.
As Harry, your main objective for the game is to navigate the many levels of Hogwarts, finding people and going to classes. The exploration of the campus provides small deviations from the near linear storyline that feels suffocatingly confined. Even when it benefits you to poke around, you are constantly and annoyingly nagged by Ron and Hermione that you should probably get to class to further the plot. I could imagine you get side tracked and need to ask them where to go, but with magic footprints leading you to your goal the goading by friends was unnecessary and really made me want to zap them with the cruciatus curse. Leveling is accomplished by finding/earning orbs which are literally everywhere; from completing teacher requests to fixing broken statues there are plenty of opportunities to enhance your spells. A more refined leveling system with fewer opportunities to gain orbs would have made me feel like I wasn’t the janitor for the entire school.
Graphically this game does not feel like a multiplatform release; it holds its own nicely within the PS3 catalog. Hogwarts never looked better; a strong feel of the movie pervades everywhere you goA
Namco’s Tales series has never had the acclaim of Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, but fans are just as devoted. So, when the company announced Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology, it seemed like a promising concept: put all the series’ best characters in one game, and let players mix and match their team.
Players start their quest by creating a character and choosing a class. Many times, this character is alone in battles, so choosing a mage or healer is not really a viable option. However, as the game progresses, players unlock magic-using classes that aren’t so handicapped, and switching to those at a higher level can please those who like spellcasting.
The game progresses using a standard quest structure, a departure from the series’ usual linear storyline. Though some advance the plot, many require simple, monotonous errand-running. Luckily, the battles themselves feature the full battle system from Tales of the Abyss. The gameplay hasn’t been dumbed down for a handheld, and this adds to the game’s authentic experience. Also included is the complex cooking system and the replay value-adding quest for Grade points.
Namco included many aspects of previous Tales games, which are sure to please fans of the series. Adding in the classic characters is a brilliant idea, and making a party of favorites is the real charm of Radiant Mythology. All the details are there; the characters learn the same moves, are voiced by the same voice actors and are shown using the original illustrations. However, they are completely detached from their storylines, which is disappointing. The plot is ultimately the game’s weak point, if only because the previous games had such good ones.
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology is a worthy add for fans of the series, but it lacks that engrossing storyline that made the previous games so popular. It’s a solid title, as long as it’s not the first Tales game played.
A great war has decimated the proud Transformers race, and the relic containing their essence, the A
Namco dropped a sweet one on us all today when they announced that they had made the first official demo of the upcoming Beautiful Katamari available on Xbox Live. The demo is currently only available to North America. Hopefully, in the very near future it will be released to the rest of the regions.
Beautiful Katamari is slated for a fall release on the Xbox 360 and is promising the same unique gameplay that made it a popular title back on the PS2, but with brilliant new HD graphics. Namco is also promising another memorable soundtrack, something that I am definitely looking forward to.
I am going to grab this when I get home today and I suggest you do too.
The stealth genre is already well represented in gaming. Heavy hitters like Metal Gear and Splinter Cell have loyal followings and sell well each release. I can understand why a developer would want to get a piece of the pie. In order to do so, you have to bring something new to the table; Vampire Rain doesn’t.
The game’s premise shows some real promise: you are an agent with an elite team of vampire hunters. So, Splinter Cell in a world of vampires. Sounds pretty sweet, right? Unfortunately, the idea failed to transition to execution, because what gamers put into their consoles is dead on arrival.
You play Lloyd, a member of a government agency that handles under-the-table operations. Your mission is to eradicate the vampire problem in Los Angeles before it spreads to the rest of the world. Lloyd is pretty well armed but his best weapon is the ability to remain undetected. The point of the game is to complete a series of objectives; every time you reach one objective you see a cut scene, unfolding the game’s plot bit by bit. In order to complete these objectives you must remain unseen because your side arm and assault rifle do little to vampires. Vampire-killing in this game is pretty much pointless; they are essentially indestructible and will kill you in two or three easy swats.
There is good news in the fight: vampires make lousy guards. The game uses the tried and true cone of vision that Metal Gear made so popular. If you are outside the cone, no matter what line of sight the vampire has on you, you will not be seen. If you do cross a cone of vision, warnings flash on the screen so you have time to back away before the vampires engage. They don’t even leave their post to investigate. Often times the undead do not even have a patrol route. They just stare in one direction, taking in the rainy evening I suppose. This makes the act of sneaking around foes fairly simple. The path you must take, however, is anything but.
Your progress is dictated by how well you complete the missions that are assigned to you. Usually your team will instruct you to go alone and complete a certain task; take down a satellite to destroy your enemies communications, for example. The objectives are pretty straight-forward, and a map clearly shows you where they are. The problem is just getting there.
Vampire Rain hardly lets you use multiple paths. Trial and error reveals exactly how you must get past a certain section. The game takes away almost any ability to A
