PlayStation 2

Romancing SaGa

November 8, 2005

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Mike Carabajal /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/romancingsaga/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Role-playing games: probably the most protected genre to video game fans. Usually, these games come in series, so when you change something, the gaming community goes nuts (see [i]Final Fantasy[/i] magic systems). Well, of course, the big dogs on campus are Square Enix-if you think RPG, you think Square Enix. It’s that simple.

Now, the [i]Saga[/i] series goes back a ways, though I’m not too familiar with it. I do know that previous incarnations did not get the best of reviews, and as I have gotten older, I pick and choose my 40+ hour games very carefully. As a big fan of character design, when I saw the art direction in [i]Romancing Saga[/i], it naturally piqued my interest. So it was only a matter of time before I got a hold of the game. When I did, I found a favorable RPG experience.

[heading]’I don’t trust actors'[/heading]

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/romancingsaga/ss03_thumb.jpg[/floatright]It’s funny that the movie [i]Team America[/i] comes to mind when I saw the character design. They look like puppets, mixed with super deformed anime art. It was a weird look, but one that grows on you. The game itself is beautiful. I really fell for the character design itself despite the strange direction it took. However, [i]Romancing Saga[/i] does a great job of immersing you in a world full of dungeons, villages, and big royal cities. Small things like thugs, paupers, and beggars are around the corner in the slums, and of course, the stuck-up type, in the nice part of town. Good detail to the NPCs, most of whom have interesting stuff to say, and you WILL be talking to them a lot.

[heading]OK, kid, just go[/heading]

The strange thing about this game is while it does have a central story arch (which you have to find), the game is pretty freeform. It keeps you on tab, however, so it’s nothing like [i]Morrowind[/i] freeform but pretty loose for an ‘attack, magic, item’ RPG. You choose from the get-go one character to play and then you take on his or her story. You will, of course, run into the other main characters and get to learn some cool backstory on them as they come and go. I love party members, so when I was able to pick up various members (and boot them) from pubs and various places, I was excited. It’s always cool to travel around with a diverse party, and especially one that looks cool. Of course, you can tell the generic characters from the actual real party members-but hey, the more, the merrier.

As far as quests go, you just have to look, ask, and pay attention. Sometimes upon arriving in a town or village, something will trigger; thus you must investigate. Other times, you can pick up jobs from some shady folks or just offer a lending hand. Again, it’s all up to you. You can spend hours just not doing anything in particular, looking about to find what to do. That frustrated me a bit, but when I got on an actual quest, it was dungeon crawling as usual.

[heading]Classes! Battles! Dungeons![/heading]

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/romancingsaga/ss05_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]I love the class system used in [i]Romancing Saga[/i]; you must speak with various mentors in towns to learn new class abilities. Like most RPGs, learning some classes and leveling them up will get you some other classes. So you really get to make your characters personalized. There are a lot of classes as well, so those of you who are particular can really plan ahead. Good stuff here.

The battle system is pretty cut and dry, although each time you use your weapon, it wears. Also, you must save BP in order to perform special attacks (mages, that means you). So you just can’t go out there swinging your best material because you will find yourself fighting with your hands and not being able to do much of anything. Trust me, it happened to me.

Money is a tad bit hard to come by, so you must go searching for chests in various dungeons, forests, and such. You learn proficiencies that can be used outside of battle-these will help you get to places and uncover hidden things. Save your money because these proficiencies are what get you more bank roll.

[heading]Square Enix, baby![/heading]

Yes, I’m a bit biased-so what? Although I can tell it like it is, [i]Romancing Saga[/i] is not the best RPG I have played, but it’s damned good. I found myself at work wondering which class to take and whom to give it to. When a game does that to you, it’s done its job. In a world with a lot of cookie-cutter RPGs, [i]Romancing Saga[/i] is a breath of fresh air. It’s worth a rental if your wary, but a purchase if you’re a fan.

Zatch Bell!: Mamodo Battles

November 8, 2005

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Ben Jacobs /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/zatchbellmb/cover.jpg[/floatleft][i]Zatch Bell!: Mamodo Battles[/i] is not the worst anime-inspired game ever to hit consoles. The Super Nintendo is home to a slew of these. However, recently, the fighting-game genre has seen some high-profile titles based on anime that both perform well as a video game and offer a lot to fans of the anime. The [i]Budokai[/i] series comes to mind. Unfortunately, [i]Zatch Bell[/i] is simply not one of these games.

I am not a [i]Zatch Bell[/i] fan. I have never seen the anime, and frankly, after playing this game I am not sure I ever want to. I gather from the cutscenes that there are puppet thingies involved. Zatch would like to become king of these ‘Mamodo,’ and he needs a human counterpart to help out. There is even some sort of major battle going on to see who gains this Mamodo throne. This plot is thrown around in a story mode that lacks any sort of depth or charm. The cutscenes feel like they were ripped straight out of [i]Fire Emblem[/i] but subtract any interesting plot or genuine feeling. The story mode is extremely confusing. It has you wandering around menus and heading into areas with absolutely no indication of where you are supposed to go or why you are supposed to go there. You will spend a large amount of time selecting a place to go, reading a lame cutscene, and then trying another one until you find a place to fight. Extremely poor.

Speaking of fighting, this is a fighting game. [i]Street Fighter[/i] didn’t have a good story mode either, so why can’t [i]Zatch Bell[/i] still hold up? Unfortunately, the fighting in this game is not the bee’s knees. You control, basically, two characters: a Mamodo and his/her human helper. The puppet people beat the crap out of each other while your human person can cast spells to cause a lot of destruction. That is it. You can punch and you can zap things. There are very few moves to speak of, but [i]Super Smash Brothers[/i] this is not. You will spend half of your time in fights trying to get your character to face the right way, so you might not even notice the lack of a depth in the fighting system. Throw in some blocking and it is back to the old-school fighting days before crazy things like ‘balance’ and ‘combos.’

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/zatchbellmb/ss02_thumb.jpg[/floatright]So this game has to have something good going for it, right? It does. The game looks spectacular. The character models all look like the anime drawings. The attacks are well animated and interesting to look at. There is even a neat soundtrack you can jam to while you hit the attack button for the 1151st time. What the characters may lack in development (it is hard to tell from this game), they make up in personality. Knees shake, expressions are made. The game comes to life. It controls pretty well, too, except when you happen to move the wrong way and start attacking the air. They are responsive at the least.

I think anime fighting games are a great concept. Who doesn’t want to see their favorite characters beat the tar out of each other? If you are a fan of [i]Zatch Bell[/i], wait until this is in the bargain bin. Everyone else should steer clear for good. There are much better fighting games you could be playing.

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction

September 19, 2005

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Ed Zitron /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/incrediblehulkud/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Sometimes, at night, I sit and wonder why people can’t understand the good fun in mindless, amoral destruction. Admit it, dear readerA

Batman Begins

July 18, 2005

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Chris Rasco /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/batmanbegins/cover.jpg[/floatleft]Movie-to-game adaptations have long since been the whipping boys of the gaming industry. Having not yet seen the [i]Batman Begins[/i] movie, I figured I would go in with a blank slate and no preconceived judgments. Now coming away from the game, I can safely say I would rather not see the movie if it is anywhere as bad as the game I had to play.

[i]Batman Begins[/i] is a stealth-based action game that makes use of fear and stealth as its primary weapons. The game takes you from the monastery in the Himalayas where Bruce Wayne learned his extensive array of martial arts skills back to Gotham City to track down a madman known as Falcone to try to unlock the mystery behind a new hallucinogen he is smuggling in.

The game does a great job of capturing the dark overtones of the new film, and the voice acting is provided courtesy of the cast of the film and is quite good. You will also be treated to cut scenes from the movie to advance the plot in the game.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/batmanbegins/ss02_thumb.jpg[/floatright]The graphics on the PS2 version of the game were pretty standard fare, and I did experience quite a few slowdowns and lags during my time with the game, but that is often the case with my PS2.

The controls for [i]BB[/i] were easy and straightforward. Batman has two attack buttons that you can use to string together neat combos of attacks when fighting one or more enemies. You will also get to make use of interrogation techniques and final moves to finish off your enemies. Oftentimes, you will be forced to interrogate an enemy multiple times before being given the option to finish him off. When these are available, you will be alerted by a note in the top right of the screen. This is typically where context-sensitive hints will be shown, such as grapple points and various other things.

My main complaint with the game was all related to how linear it was. Most games have some sort of linearity because there are triggered events that advance the plot. Many of these games don’t feel linear due to their expansive environments or the fact that you can free roam until you are ready to advance the plot. [i]BB[/i] lacks an expansive environment and the lack of areas to explore make you follow their strictly linear game path out of pure necessity. After playing a few levels, I got tired of finding the “alternate” path, stealth-killing one or more enemies, and using the environment to raise the area’s fear meter and then ambushing the remaining enemies. While this sounds like it might be fun, it gets utterly boring after the tenth time.

I mentioned that stealth and fear are a huge part of the game, so let me explain. As you kill enemies, you build up a reputation that increases the fear in opponents. The higher the fear factor, the less likely they are to actively attack you. Using a crane to take out a group of them raises the fear factor of the area causing them to drop their weapons and be slightly disoriented.

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/batmanbegins/ss05_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]Along the way, you will also collect and use various gadgets, such as a grappling wire, flash bangs, and bat-styled ninja throwing stars. The use of these items will also be limited to times to which the game allows you. That got a little irritating.

True Batman fans may be able to look past the shortcomings of the game and find an enjoyable experience, but I took the linear gameplay and inability to use weapons unless prompted as a sign that you were barely playing a game and merely watching a promotional tool for the new movie. The game just didn’t do it for me and basically ruined my interest in the movie as the whole fear gimmick seemed very cheesy. I can’t honestly recommend that anyone run out and buy [i]Batman Begins[/i]. If you absolutely must try it out for yourself, feel free to rent it, but this one is probably enjoyed over a weekend and not worth the purchase.

Ace Combat 5

June 30, 2005

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Will /

[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/acecombat5/cover.jpg[/floatleft]If you have ever played an [i]Ace Combat[/i] game, you should already know what to expect from [i]Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War[/i]. It’s a good simulation-looking flight game with an arcade feel. On top of that, it has absolutely stunning graphics and an interesting storyline.

[i]Ace Combat 5[/i] takes place in an alternate reality, similar to our near future. There is a war brewing between two rival nations. You are Blaze, a rookie pilot who soon becomes the leader of one of the most decorated squadrons in the conflict. The reason behind the war and Blaze’s relationship with his fellow pilots unfold in the heat of battle and in the beautifully crafted cinematics between missions. This actually can make the story hard to follow. The radio chitchat in missions can be both helpful and extremely annoying. A lot of it tells parts of the story, but at inappropriate times. When I am making a bombing run on a heavily fortified complex with projectiles and explosions all around me, I’m not in the mood to hear about how beautiful the bird of peace is. The scripted chatter can also be somewhat confusing. After you have destroyed the enemies in the area, it is weird to hear allies complaining about enemy fire and being shot down. The cut scenes, however, are mostly interesting and worth a watch.

[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/acecombat5/ss02_thumb.jpg[/floatright]The gameplay itself should not disappoint fans of the series. The attention to detail might be intimidating when watching the gameplay, but the game itself is very easy to pick up and play. And if you are nervous about jumping into a mission right away, there is an optional multi-step tutorial mode, which is quite helpful. Like other [i]Ace Combat[/i] games, the core concepts are dogfighting and ground assaults. With the large quantity of heat-seeking rockets each plane carries, most dogfights require you to get behind an enemy, fire off two missiles, and let them do the work. A few missions are actually easier if you conserve ammo, but if you can get into range, enemies aren’t entirely difficult to destroy with your machine gun. Mission objectives aren’t extremely exciting. You have the traditional escort, base assault, base defense, and intercept missions. Then there are the attacks against large enemy vehicles, which strikingly resemble boss fights.

The most innovate gameplay feature in [i]Ace Combat 5[/i] is the implementation of wingmen. Unfortunately, it is a mixed blessing. Your three wingmen add a touch of depth to the story. They are with you in the heat of combat, and their radio chatter does a good job of portraying their personalities. Too bad their personalities are clichA

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