PS3

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

May 26, 2010

PS3 / Reviews / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

EA Sports’ FIFA series has enjoyed incredible success, especially in the recent years. EA has also put out FIFA World Cup games to commemorate the championship itself, and this year we get 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. While I’m not a veteran of the FIFA series, I have played one every now and again, and consider it to be the best around when it comes to soccer video games. However, many people criticized the last World Cup game. Does this title redeem the FIFA World Cup name?

The presentation, as expected, is top notch. The player models all are great, the crowds are incredibly realistic, and the stadiums themselves look incredible. The crowd will react depending on how well the team they are rooting for is doing, and it is clear there was a lot of attention to detail when it comes to these little tweaks. The player animation is very solid as well, and the commentary is well done. EA has done another fine job in the graphics and sound department and delivered a very realistic looking and sounding soccer game.

The first thing you will notice when you start up the game is the ability to choose options that will cater to you depending on how much of a FIFA Soccer veteran you are. You can choose the beginning difficulty level, and change your control scheme to suit your needs. There is even a two button control scheme that allows you to pull off all of the basics very easily. Sure, this control scheme does not allow for the precision that veterans are used to, but it allows for all players to get into this game. The controls, no matter which scheme you select, are as responsive as you can get. 

There are many different modes and options to choose from. You can jump straight into a match if you would like with the “kick off” option, which is easy if you are just looking for a quick match to play by yourself or with friends. You can start a random match by either pressing the start button, or you could select a match using the right analog stick right from the main menu to pick two teams straight away. This game definitely gives you plenty of ways to jump straight into the action. And of course, you can actually play through FIFA World Cup itself as any team you’ve selected.

Captain Your Country is a new mode, although it’s basically the World Cup version of FIFA Soccer’s “Be a Pro” mode. You either play one to four different players on specific teams (you can basically pick four different teams), and you can select a specific player from the team(s) or create your own. The character creation is pretty good, and has plenty of options for crafting your own soccer captain. 

From there, you see your captain’s own personal website where you can check your stats, your ranking among other captains, manage your team, train your captain, and eventually go on to play different matches. And you are scored based on how well you play in different matches. Overall, this mode is full of plenty to do, with lots of depth for true soccer fanatics, and it probably will last you quite a long time.  

The online play is where the game is really lacking. The online options seem very limited, and although you can play through the World Cup with friends, either competitively or cooperatively, the lack of online support with Captain Your Country is very disappointing. Also, I had problems connecting to matches on many different occasions and a lot of them I did connect to seem to be very laggy. Let’s hope that these small issues are ironed out soon, because they really hamper the online experience.

When it comes down to it, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa plays a great game of soccer, and has plenty of new modes and improved features that will keep you coming back for more. If you’re a FIFA Soccer fan or just a soccer fan in general, this is definitely one game that is worth adding to your collection. 

Pros: Amazing presentation and player animation; solid controls; Captain Your Country is a great addition that will keep you busy; easy for all players to get into; plenty of modes and options to choose from

Cons: Online options are lacking, and online can be laggy at times

Record of Agarest War

May 16, 2010

PS3 / Reviews / by Graham Russell Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Record of Agarest War‘s path to U.S. release was a strange one. Released in Japan a few years ago, Agarest saw an English release in Europe pretty quickly (as Agarest: Generations of War), but no one seemed to be moving to bring it to America. Why? Well, for one thing, it’s a classic Compile Heart game, with lots to do, an emphasis on flavor over mechanics and very little in the way of mainstream appeal. So what does Aksys do? It releases Agarest in a not-so-mainstream way: a super-limited, super-creepy box set on 360 and a digital release for PS3.

I promised myself I’d leave the creepiness of the special edition out of this equation, as it really doesn’t have anything to do with the content of the game.

So, given that the game appeals to a niche audience, how is it? There are certainly some promising elements to the game. The battle system is similar to tactical RPGs like Disgaea, Vandal Hearts and Final Fantasy Tactics, though it uses a series of simple boards rather than interesting levels to traverse and fight on. It emphasizes staying in formations to “link” attacks, allowing everyone to execute all attacks for the turn at once if planned correctly. Waiting, though, gives you a few more Action Points to use, letting you use stronger moves, and most attacks can only be directed at one enemy, so the challenge is using moves most efficiently and staying in formation after executing attacks.

Characters are somewhat customizable. You can equip different moves depending on the character’s move slots and weapon slots, and you can choose what stats to increase when leveling up. (You get 10 points to spend when you level, and stats a character is “better” at cost fewer points, so it’s up to you but certainly guided in a particular direction.) 

You get more characters than you use, and you can capture monsters and use them as well. (Monsters have limited movesets, but special qualities.) The game emphasizes story, but the characters themselves are never really that endearing. It’s a good thing, too, because you only use them for a few hours.

The game progresses through 5 generations of characters, each with their own stories, protagonists, enemies and worlds. Oh, and love interests. This is where the game takes the decisions you make in each era and makes them affect the next. Three girls each generation are potential brides, and the decisions you make and branching paths you take appeal to certain ones over others. At the end, you marry one, and the next generation’s protagonist takes on a bit of the look and some of the battle characteristics of that person. (The mage girl makes your character into a Magic Knight, while the fighter girl makes your character a tough Warrior-type.)

Of course, this game is long and, at times, tedious. To combat that, Compile Heart threw in “titles” to earn. These are essentially achievements separate from the game’s Trophies, but earning these gives you little item packs. Many times, the items are used at the Blacksmith as part of Agarest‘s in-depth forging system.  

Graphics and sound were an afterthought, for them as well as me. The engine uses Disgaea-style sprites (which feels just a bit lazier every time it crops up on the PS3), and there are really only about four or five songs in the game. It’s really repetitive. Run your own soundtrack with it, and you’ll be fine.

Ultimately, Record of Agarest War is not the dating-sim game it’s marketed to be, but that’s probably for the better. It’s actually a solid, way-too-deep-at-times tactical RPG with a charming look and free DLC. (The DLC isn’t much…just some item packs and extra dungeons. It’s hard to argue with free, though.) It’s completely without crossover appeal, but it’s worth it if you like what it has to offer.

Pros: Crazy-deep systems (and lots of them), hours of replay value

Cons: Not at all polished, audio and visuals leave a lot to be desired

Plays Like: Vandal Hearts, Disgaea

Final Fantasy XIII

May 16, 2010

PS3 / Reviews / by Shawn Vermette Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Final Fantasy XIII is possibly the most anticipated game in the entire celebrated series, so it should come as little surprise that, while it is a great and entertaining game, it just isn’t as good as all the hype made it out to be. Honestly though, it would have to have been one of the best games of all time to live up to the hype. It is still a must play for any fan of the series or the genre, there are just a couple of minor issues that prevent it from rising to the top.

The story is one of the highlights of Final Fantasy XIII, and it draws you into the world of Cocoon right from the start. Right from the opening scene to the end game cinematics, you’ll be drawn into the worlds of Cocoon and Pulse until the game is won. Perhaps the only downside to this is that Final Fantasy XIII is an extremely linear game. As you move forward from chapter to chapter, you’ll rarely revisit previous locations, and there is little room to go off the beaten path, even at the end of the game. 

As usual, Square Enix has changed the battle and leveling system for Final Fantasy XIII, though they are both reminiscent of previous entries in the series.  The battle system is very autonomous, and it appears to expand and improve upon the Gambit system of Final Fantasy XII. Called the Paradigm system, each character is given a role to play, and automatically chooses an action to do from a list of abilities for the specified role. Throughout the battle, you can switch out paradigms, or sets of roles, at will. This allows you to quickly heal your party when needed, or quickly switch everyone to an offensive role to do more damage. The only problem with this system is that battles are more about strategically choosing and switching between paradigms than it is about actually controlling any of your characters. Another aspect of this system is that if your lead character is killed, you lose. Any other character can be revived if they fall in battle, but not the lead. Additionally, your entire party is healed between battles. You might think this would make the game easier, but you’d be mistaken. Square Enix uses this as a way to increase the difficulty of every fight in the game. After the tutorial is over, which does take awhile, nearly every fight will be a high tension affair with death hanging in the balance if you are not smart with your paradigms.

The leveling system is called the Crystarium and is extremely similar to the Sphere Grid system of Final Fantasy X. Each character has their own Crystarium, rather than sharing a large grid as in Final Fantasy X. Instead each role shares a place in the Crystarium. As you collect Crystarium Points(CP) during battles, you can use them to upgrade your characters in various predetermined courses. You can upgrade any role you wish for a character, with upgrades for HP, strength, and magic along the way to learning new abilities for each role. Any abilities learned are only able to be used when assigned that role in battle, though the HP, magic, and strength upgrades are always present.

Graphically, Final Fantasy XIII is beautiful and impressively detailed. It is easily the most graphically impressive game I’ve played yet on any system. Oddly enough though, the cinematics look better on the 360 version while the actual game play looks better on the PS3.

The soundtrack of Final Fantasy XIII is great work as usual. It doesn’t have the instant classic feel of most previous Final Fantasy soundtracks, but it is definitely top quality work. The only disappointment I had with the soundtrack was the lack of the classic victory song. A variation of it has been in every Final Fantasy game until this one, so it’s sad to see it go. As far as the voice acting, it is definitely the best cast of voice actors Square Enix has used so far, although Vanille’s voice is irritating and annoying.

One other side note is that the loading times for the 360 version of the game are shorter than the loading times for the PS3 version.

Overall, Final Fantasy XIII is a great game, with much to recommend it. Unfortunately, the linearity and the somewhat self-controlled battles keep it from being among the elite of the Final Fantasy series. If you love Final Fantasy, be prepared for yet another epic fantasy. If, however, you aren’t a fan of JRPGs or linearity in games, there is little here that will change your mind.

Plays Like: Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy X

Pros: Story is intriguing; Graphics are impressive; Soundtrack and voice work are great; Battles are epic affairs; Characters are great

Cons: Vanille is annoying; combat system sometimes feels like it is playing itself

Blue Toad Murder Files

April 11, 2010

PS3 / Reviews / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle is a murder mystery that draws more from children’s television than the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. You’ll need logic and observation to solve the 12 puzzles provided in each episode, but the puzzles are simple enough that you won’t be left scratching your head. And in the off chance that a puzzle is beyond you the game won’t lock you out of further content – just choose to bypass the puzzle and you’re free to move on with the story.

Puzzle types are fairly standard. You’ll solve riddles, anagrams, math puzzles, and you’ll answer questions based on how well you paid attention to the story cinematics. The puzzles don’t change from play to play, but what really sets Blue Toad apart is that each mystery can be played by up to four people. Each puzzle is set against a timer, and the only penalty for missed attempts is a lesser medal awarded after the puzzle is solved (one miss means a max of silver, two misses means a max of bronze). In addition to puzzles not changing, the narrative doesn’t branch or randomly change either which means that the killer is always the same and that the replay value is absolutely zero.

Replayability aside, the first trip through The Mysteries of Little Riddle is very enjoyable. The characters are entertaining caricatures, the story is full of twists and turns, and the whole package satisfies my love for dialog and situations that are brimming with over-the-top British charm. The visuals feel cartoony, and that is not intended as an insult. The cartoon aesthetic allows the characters to have bigger than life personalities and personality quirks which help you to solve the murders. We can’t all be Sherlock Holmes so it’s nice to be thrown a bone. It’s nice to feel smart – even if the game did have to push me in the right direction to get there.

Blue Toad Murder Files is fun the first time, but each chapter can be played in about an hour, and with no reason to replay since the puzzles never change and the answers are flashed up on screen if you give up you’ll only be coming back to visit Little Riddle when picking an easy to pick up game for a group of four.

Plays Like: Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Clue

Pros: Great aesthetic, friendly to gamers of all ages

Cons: No replay value, very short

 

MLB ’10 The Show

April 7, 2010

PS3 / Reviews / by Shawn Vermette Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Last year, Sony took baseball games to new heights with MLB ’09 The Show. It was by far the best baseball game available on the market, and I eagerly awaited this year’s installment to see how they would improve on the tried and true formula that was so much fun last year. Unfortunately, MLB ’10 is something of a mixed bag. It does improve upon last year’s game, but only by a fraction.

The gameplay was already spot on, so it was nice to see that rather than try to tinker with something that already was working very well they tried to improve the aspects of the game that didn’t work as well. In order to hit or throw the ball, all you need to do is simply press the X button. The longer you hold it down, the harder you throw it. This old, yet simple mechanism is far more enjoyable than trying to hit or throw the ball by flailing the right thumbstick (I’m looking at you, MLB 2K10).

The franchise mode is one of the deepest I’ve ever seen in a sports game, and should satisfy almost any fan of sports simulations. You can control everything from the players on your 40-man roster to the regular season draft. You can control what kind of advertising your team has; how much you spend on scouting, training, and medicine; even what stalls and vendors you have in your stadium and how much they charge! There’s a rule 5 draft you can participate in, salary arbitration, waiver wires, anything you can associate with professional baseball is in the Franchise Mode (except for the steroids and work stoppages, they left those out). All of this is great and amazing to find in a baseball game, but none of it is new.

The next mode you should check out is the Road to the Show mode. This is where you create your own rookie player, customizing everything about him you could ever imagine, and then enter the draft. After being drafted by a team, you’ll get sent to AA with the goal of improving both your in-game stats, and your overall stats. Each game you’ll get points to upgrade your player based on how well you played. All of this is old hat for The Show series, the only real addition to this mode is the ability to play as a catcher and call the games for your team. Sony claims that you’ll get points based on how well you call the game, but from my time with it, I never noticed any penalty for calling a bad game, or a benefit for calling a good one. If you’ve been wanting to play as a catcher, then this is there for you, but I preferred not being held responsible for every pitch in the game.

As far as playing MLB ’10 online, it definitely plays better than MLB 2K10 does, largely due to the better controls. It does have a little bit of lag, but it is noticeably better than MLB ’09 was. MLB ’09 was unplayable online, while MLB ’10 is easily playable, you’ll just need to get used to a little bit of lag between pressing a button and the action happening on screen.

This year, they also added a Home Run Derby to the mix. In the Home Run Derby, you can select almost as many competitors as you want, then duke it out elimination style. The top half of the field will advance every round until a winner is crowned. It’s not a huge addition, but it’s the only mode that more than 2 people can play at the same time.

Graphically, MLB ’10 is the best looking baseball game available. The players are very detailed and the stadiums look exactly like the real ones, right down to the smallest detail. However, the commentary isn’t as good as it is for the 2K series. I like the voices better in The Show, but the variety of comments just isn’t there.

In the end, MLB ’10 The Show is the best baseball game out right now. It may not make a lot of changes or additions to last year’s model, but sometimes improving a proven concept is a better idea than making changes for the sake of change.  

Pros: Graphics are gorgeous and almost realistic; Controls are responsive and simple; Road to the Show is addictive; Franchise mode is best out there

Cons: Online play is still laggy

Plays Like: MLB ‘09

 

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