Front Mission 3 Review

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(More customer reviews)This game is awesome. It takes place in the not so distant future, where battle mechs called wanzers dominate the battle field. You are Kazuki Takemura(but you can change your name)and you work for a wanzermaking/testing company. You become trapped in a world wide conspiracy andyou must get to the bottom of it by fighting tons of battles in your andyour allies wanzers. The combat system is turn based and your wanzers canlearn battle skills such as tackle,zoom, or stun punch. Move your mech,choose your attack, and then sit back and watch the battle cinematics.Wonderful graphics and gameplay. A must have for gamers who love battlemechs, turn based games, or any type of gamer. Squaresoft did a lovely jobwith this game.

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Rhapsody, A Musical Adventure Review

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(More customer reviews)This lighthearted, charming RPG has lots of appeal for preteen and teenage girls because the main character is a sixteen-year-old girl named Cornet. The heroine of this story, Cornet dreams of meeting and falling in love with a handsome prince. One day in the woods, she is rescued from an evil witch's cronies by a young man who turns out to be Ferdinand, prince of the kingdom she lives in and heir to the throne. Ferdinand will soon turn eighteen, and is looking for a bride. He and Cornet soon begin to fall in love, but Ferdinand is then kidnapped by the evil witch. The rest of the game follows Cornet's quest to find and save Ferdinand. Although the game was rather short (it only took me ten hours to complete) it was just so fun that I didn't mind. The songs were really cute. I hope Atlus decides to bring the other two games in this series to America. I'd certainly buy them the day they came out. Rhapsody's no Final Fantasy, but it's definitley an enjoyable game that I'd highly reccomend.

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Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love Premium Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)Sakura Wars is part of a long running series that, from what I have recently learned, was pretty prominent on the dreamcast and on into the PS2 era due to hybridizing dating sim elements (relationship building, player choosing responses to text prompts similar to KOTOR, and rewards/detriments for not building some kind of relationship with the other players) with solid srpg gameplay.That was a long sentence.Anyway, this is the latest installment of this game.I am not a fan of the series by any means-the previous games are all in Japanese, and I don't plan to learn that any time soon.So why did I pick this one up, and rate it so highly?

Two reasons-PS2 releases are getting more and more scarce monthly (and I love my black box), and the sheer novelty of the game.I have been at this game for a number of hours and so far, I don't regret the purchase in the slightest.

The graphics are solid (with still shots that change to reflect facial expressions and changes in situation), the voice acting is entertaining (and, if you get the premium pack, you get the full Japanese voice as well as the American on two separate game disks-that's right-YOU GET TWO COPIES OF THE GAME), the amount of engagement during conversations varies from button mashing, keeping meters up trying to be convincing, and other controller-based mini games (so you really can't get too bored with it), the transitions between fmv, conversation screens, and in game activity are really well handled, and the combat is awesome.The first fight took me nearly an hour, starting as a ground-based assault and moving to a space battle above the statue of liberty.This is where the relationship part of the game pays off, as my strong relationship with one of the other characters let us pull of a wicked group attack.Pretty ambitious stuff here.

One last note on the combat-I have to be honest here.One thing I hate about SRPGs in general is the grid-based movement and attack system.People don't move in plus signs.SW lets you move free-form, spending points for movement in any organic shape you want, in any direction you want.In the ground battle I was talking about, I had one of my party slip around the enemy up some stairs and attack from the side while the rest of the group used long range attacks.Very satisfying feature and added a lot to my sense of engagement with the game.Your space battles are done very similarly as well, though limited somewhat by dimensional space.

My only real gripe with the game is how long it takes at times to get to the action.But the setup work you are doing beforehand with party interaction makes sense, so this complaint is minimal at best.

Like I said earlier, the field is getting pretty empty in terms of PS2 games, with original releases being even more scarce.I figure if enough people buy this one Sony will get the idea of continuing this sort of thing for its loyal fan base.BUY IT-I am loving seeing this one at the top of so many best seller lists right now (even if I know the reason behind it).

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Product Description:
Sakura Wars: So Long My Love is a single player strategy role-playing game (SRPG) and the first game in the popular Japanese Sakura Wars franchise to be released in North America. The game features both an exciting and fast-paced mech/air battle system and a unique, sim-based storyline. This in-depth storyline allows for character interaction that plays a major role in the progression of game action as the players interactions with various characters in the game can ultimately change the story content and even the final outcome. In addition, the PlayStation 2 Premium Edition contains several extras, including an artbook, poster and limited edition packaging.

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Saiyuki: Journey West Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this game today because I like Tactics games. Overall, it's a pretty good game with no really noticable problems. It's got everything a good tactics game should have, Interesting characters, good story, fun gameplay and a pretty good class system.
At the begining of a new game, Saiyuki lets the player choose if they want to be a boy or a girl. I'm assuming this leads to multiple endings, but since I haven't beaten the game yet, i'm not sure. Anyway, the game puts whoever you choose in charge as your main protagonist. The story starts out with the player seeing a vision from a goddess, who tells him/her that they must travel from their home in China to a temple in India. I'm not going to reveal any more of the story since I don't want to give anything away.
The battles are standard ones in any normal tactics game. You are put in control of about 5 - 10 guys on a 3D battlefield, and you must complete objectives such as "kill all enimies" or "get to this point". This is a fun and challenging aspect that some people will enjoy, and some will be bored by.
In all, Saiyuki is a fun game that will appeal to anyone who likes tactics games. However, if you don't like tactics games, this won't change your mind.

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Front Mission 4 Review

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(More customer reviews)As a major fan of Front Mission 3 for the PlayStation I was excited upon hearing the news that Square-Enix was making a sequel to my favorite single-player tactical-strategy game.The only thing missing from Front Mission 3's excellence was great graphics.With the arrival of Front Mission 4 on the PlayStation2 I thought the rough-graphics problem would be solved and I'd have the perfect game.
Unfortunately life has a way of playing dirty tricks.Oh sure, the graphics are much improved over FM3 with greater detail and far smoother animation.But the colors are downright bland!Also, many areas in the game appear overly dark, making it a challenge to view the screen easily unless the lights are off.I suspect the developers were going for realism here.
The length of the game disappointed me as well.For the amount of time spent working on your characters' skills and statistics the number of actual plot-developing missions is minuscule.There are only 29 stages in all!By comparison, FM3 contained a staggering 128 stages played out through two scenarios!Admittedly, FM4's stages are bigger and take longer to complete, and there are simulator battles to play.But FM3 had simulator battles, too!
Now that the bad is out of the way let me let you what was good about FM4:
Graphics - already touched on this.MUCH better than FM3 except for the colors & lack of lighting.
Sound - the most refined part of FM4.Heavy, realistic, perfect.Great use of bass!
Music - very appropriate for the events onscreen.High quality.
Speech - the main characters now speak in select cut scenes and the voice-overs are extremely well done.The accents and voice tones are very accurate to their respective nationalities.No bad acting here!
Battle System - more involved than in the last game.The Link system adds a fun new level of strategy to the gameplay.New specialized backpacks increase combat options.
Customization - a slight increase in variety of weapons and parts.Better colorization options but the blandness + darkness at times makes it almost moot.
Control - takes some getting used to, but adequate.In a tactical, non-twitch game like this it's not a detriment.
Battle Maps - daytime shifting and weather effects add new depth to missions.Battlefields are significantly larger than in FM3.
Character Skills - no more randomness in acquiring new battle skills to help towards victory!Instead characters buy skills they want as they become available!The challenge is getting the funds needed to afford them.
And finally, FM4's greatest improvement over FM3...the chaotic E-mail/virtual net system is gone!
I'd have to say FM4 doesn't match the gaming experience FM3 gave.Don't get me wrong...it's a fantastic game for as long as it lasts.The plot is solid.Just don't expect as huge a jump in quality as I did or you'll be disappointed.

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Product Description:
Front Mission 4 offers the spectacular visuals and advanced tactical warfare you crave. It's 2096, and two young soldiers will decide the future of the world. Fight for the future in gigantic walking tanks!

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Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness Review

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(More customer reviews)A fairly direct port of the popular PS2 game "Disgaea: Hour of Darkness", "Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness" mostly keeps things the same, though a few new features are added.

The game should be familiar to anyone who has played the original Disgaea, but as a refresher for those who haven't: Disgaea is a turn-based tactical role playing game. Using a grid system, characters move, attack, and use special abilities. The RPG element comes in as characters improve through battling, compared to the disposable soldiers of many RTS games. There are, furthermore, many classes to choose from, including warriors, mages, and thieves. This is a system seen in games like Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, and many others.

For its part, Disgaea brings a lot of elements that are unique to it and its sequel. For example, the RPG system includes not only the effects on the character's leveling up, but also a teacher/student system that grants abilities to other characters. Geo Symbols, another feature of Disgaea's combat, are colored pyramids that, when put on certain location types, can give off various effects to connected areas. The ability to lift and throw characters, either as an offensive attack or to give allies a boost in a certain direction, is also present. Units with similar types can use team-up attacks that boost their power when they're near each other.

In Disgaea, you take the role of Laharl, the Prince of the Underworld. After being awoken from a 2-year nap, Laharl finds that his father, the King, has passed away, and in his absence the underworld has been rife with conflict over who the next overlord will be. With his faithful vassal Etna in tow, Laharl seeks to regain control of his empire. The story and dialogue are rife with comedy - unusually clumsy assassins, parodies of the Power Rangers and Flash Gordon, and the general apathy that Laharl's underlings display toward him. The writing is excellent, and the PSP edition allows you to use both the English and Japanese voice acting.

The graphics have been well maintained in the transition to the small screen. They actually seem to fit better on the PSP, without as many obvious pixels and edges. Both the graphics and the sound are unchanged from the PS2 version, the only new features being the aforementioned dual language audio choice and a new music changing option.

As a whole, Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness is a good port of a solid game. It doesn't change much, but there wasn't much that needed to be changed. If you've played the game before, though, it's not exactly worth buying again.

8/10.

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Product Description:
A deep strategy RPG experience with an exceptional story, a fantastic script, and a host of loveable characters and settings. Upgraded graphics and art for the high resolution widescreen PSP Display. Geo Cubes add special effects in the battlefield, completely shifting the balance in the blink of an eye. The first time for multiplayer in the Disgaea series.

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Gladius Review

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(More customer reviews)Gladius is a turn-based tactical strategy game. That is, your gladiators and your enemies each take turns moving and attacking in a grid-based arena. Gladius is very deep and can be complex if one does not take the time to learn how to really play it. I had this game for a month before I really discovered how great a game this is. I would reccomend the strategy guide as well, to help you spend your gladiator's earned Skill Points more effectively.
There is so much customization and character development - it is great! The gold you earn from battles is spent on better Weapons, Shields, Armor, Helmets, and Accessories. The graphics are very good, and the "paper doll" representation of your character looks great as you try on all the different equipment. Just like in Japanese RPG's, your character stats change colors, red or green, to indicate if the equipment will help or hinder your chance of success in the arena. You can also customize the color of your character's hair, skin color, armor, and clothes. They also have four different styles of outfits you can choose from for each character - you can make all your gladiators the same color (i.e. team colors) or just make them all individually completely different. It's really cool.
As you earn more Experience, your Level or stats goes up - Hit Points(HP), Defense(DEF), Power(PWR), Damage(DAM), Accuracy(ACC), Initiative(INI), Constitution(CON), and Move Rate(MOV). As these abilities go up, the better your gladiator will perform in the arena. Different equipment will also change these a bit. For instance, a certain sword might increase your DAM by 2, but reduce your DEF by 1 which might be good for your offensive-heavy Samnite, whereas your Archer might prefer a weapon that increases ACC but decreases MOV, or whatever. That's just two examples, but the customization is limitless.
Your gladiators are divided into 5 classes - Light, Medium, Heavy, Support, and Arcane . Combat works on a paper-scissors-rock style. Light beats Heavy, Heavy beats Medium, Medium beats Light. Support and Arcane classes are best used from a distance (arrows and lightning bolts, obviously.) As you go up in Level, you also earn Skill Points. These are used to customize your fighters even more! Each character has dozens of different Skills to potentially learn, but you will never earn enough Skill Points to learn them all, so you must select few that complement the gladiator to your liking the most. Once again, I recommend the Gladius strategy guide to help you choose the best Skills for each Class - there are so many branches to develop your character, it can get daunting and hard-earned Skill Points unwisely spent.
The Swing Meter is what keeps the combat from getting boring and static. Just like in golfing games, it's a meter at the bottom of the screen. You have a normal hit(yellow), critical hit(red), and miss zone(blue). It's not too terribly difficult to score critical hits on a semi-regular basis, but it makes you pay attention and be involved in how your fighters do in battle. Enemy A.I. is actually OK. During the fights where the object is something other than all-out combat, (i.e. Points Battle, Barrel Break, Defend the Statue, or King of the Hill) the computer will do some dumb things, but during true battle the computer will stomp you if you don't employ the right tactics and appropriate gladiators (luckily, you can preview who your opponents will be beforehand, so that you may assemble your team with the best advantage.) You are the leader of a gladitorial School, so you are able to recruit a large variety of fighters to choose from.
This game is HUGE. It will take a long time to go all the way through it. You must travel with your School through 4 different lands and compete in numerous Leagues and Tournaments, with the ultimate goal of being able to take on the best Schools in the High Tournament in Caltha.
Each land you travel through (Nordagh, Imperia, Windward Steppes, and Southern Expanse) all have an average of 3 to 7 towns. In each town, there are numerous Leagues and Tournaments to compete in.
Please give this game a try. If you enjoy deep and involved games that can quickly consume hours of your free time, this is a game for you. I hope this game does well, so that we might be able to look forward to Gladius II.

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Product Description:
An epic gladiatorial saga comes to life in this combat/role-playing game with a sweeping narrative, stunning environments, and insanely detailed graphics. In the fantasy world of the game, the darkness of the Great War has passed and the lands of Gladius are peaceful once more. Now combat takes place only in the gladiator arenas, where schools from around the world compete for the title of Imperial Champions. You will follow the grand saga of two young heroes, Ursula and Valens, as they recruit and train a team of warriors and compete in the gladiator games. Battle with deadly weapons and powerful magic as you learn vital combat tactics while you enhance and customize your own characters. Strategic possibilities are nearly endless, with 16 character classes and over 100 unique character types from which to choose.

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Fire Emblem Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a big fan of Nintendo's Intelligent Systems; who wouldn't be after Paper Mario, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Advance Wars 1 & 2, and Metroid Fusion? Their latest game is Fire Emblem, a long running series in Japan making its first English debut.
Comparisons to Advance Wars are inevitable - turn-based strategy game, grid map, and little groups of units battling it out. At the first play, it may feel too similar to some gamers, but differences emerge making Fire Emblem a completely separate interpretation of how to make a tactical strategy game. The RPG elements included in Fire Emblem provide depth and character without sacrificing simplicity. Characters only use one type of weapon and no armor. When characters reach a certain skill level, they can advance to a new class (i.e. knights to paladins) which allows the character to use another type of weapons, further extending their usefulness. The weapon types follow a rock-paper-scissors approach, or in this case, swords-lances-axes. There's three types of magic that interlock in a similar manner. While the outlying mechanics are simple, when facing down various enemies in the battlefield, maneuvering your squad to get the right match-ups is a challenging and ultimately pleasing puzzle.
One of the notable features of Fire Emblem is frail mortality of the characters. When characters die in a level, they cannot be brought back to life and do not return for subsequent battles. Exit stage left, thank you for playing. Fire Emblem tries hard to keep the player as honest as possible by transparently saving after every menu selection. If you try to cheese the game by turning off the GBA right as a character dies, when you turn your system back on, you'll be treated to the same death scene each time you load your game. The only way to save your characters from death replaying the entire level- levels can span 30-45 minutes, and restarting can be a serious sacrifice to save a less favored character.
To further burden the decision of whether to let a character die, characters that end up along side each other develop support relationships that provide bonuses when they fight together. It takes a long time to develop these relationships and the bonus are worth the effort. A death of one of a partner in one of these relationships seriously effects the other's effectiveness, therefore it becomes even more difficult to allow one player die.
While the rigid approach the game takes to standard save/reload cheese may come off as annoying, it does much to make the game world more vivid to the player. Characters are almost as close to living things as could exist in a videogame format. You become attached to them because they can be so fragile and you think seriously about the consequences of leaving a weakened party member exposed to enemy forces. (In a brilliant turn, the game allows some characters to rescue other characters and pull them from dangerous situations.)
That said, the scenarios are entertaining, well scripted, and have a wide enough amount of variety to keep the player on their toes. Some levels feature fog of war, indoor battles with doors and breakable walls, anti-magic wells, or special requirements like defending a certain character. My favorite levels are ones where your group of a dozen soldiers has to split up and accomplish different tasks, almost in a Mission Impossible-style. Deciding who to bring on the mission, how to divide them up, equipping them correctly, and synchronizing the battle so that everything falls into place is supremely satisfying.
There's nothing that an experienced gamer hasn't seen before in Fire Emblem, but I've never seen those components stripped to their essence and combined in such a elegant matter. Fire Emblem is the only console strategy game that can be compared favorably to Advance Wars, and that's all the praise I need to give.

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Product Description:
Fire Emblem challenges you to fight for your birthright -- the throne of a nation!

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Jeanne d'Arc Review

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(More customer reviews)With so many great looking RPG titles coming to my favorite handheld (the PSP) these past few months I have certainly had my hands full trying to play and complete them all (Hope I don't get fired from my day job).Catching my attention this time is a "Level 5" PSP exclusive title by the name of "Jeanne D'Arc."This game is everything a Strategy RPG (SRPG) should be and more.Outstanding graphics, an intriguing story and an unbelievably easy pick up and play control scheme.So let get in to the particulars of this wonderful title...

Story: 8.0
The story, which is based very loosely on the story of Joan of Arc, because it is so loosely based on the real story, it is very entertaining.Jeanne D'Arcs' story blends history and fantasy beautifully, it starts with a Young King Henry getting possessed by some demonic power.His father who possesses one of the five armlets that were created to defeat these demons centuries ago, tries to save him but is too late as the demon consumes King Henry.Then enter Jeanne a girl who witnesses her village being attacked by demons, comes across one of these armlets and also believes she hears a call from God instructing her to kill the demons that rampage her village.This ancient armlet is said to be able to transform it's wearer into a great armored warrior.The story progresses mainly with three characters, Jeanne and her two friends Lianne and Roger.Many other characters throughout their journey are introduced and play apart in the main plot, but the majority of the time they are expendable at best.It is the three main characters and their interesting personalities; however that keep the story very interesting.

Graphics: 8.5
Jeanne D' Arcs' graphics are in a word, amazing.The 2D cel-shaded graphics used to bring the colorful and vibrant characters to life are absolutely gorgeous.The developers really impress by creating a product that can really show what the PSP is capable of.To start the adventure and throughout players are treated to some very beautiful anime cut-scenes, which are worthy of praise by any anime fanboy alive.This coupled with gorgeous backgrounds, magic spells, and Jeanne's' armlet transformations are enough to satisfy anyone craving some PSP eye candy. You honestly have to see this game in action to truly appreciate it; online screenshots do not do it any justice.

Sound:7.5
Every thing as far as background music and battle sounds like arrows whipping and other attack sounds were great. If I was a little disappointed about anything though, it would have to be the voice acting or the lack there of.It would have been nice to here them shout out some of their battle cries as opposed to having to read them in a little bubble. This is a VERY minor complaint though; it just would have been nice to hear seeing as how the voice acting in the anime cut-scenes were so great.It is also a little unfortunate that the anime cut-scenes don't include subtitles, because you'll miss a lot of the story if you play with the sound off.

Gameplay: 10
This area is where Jeanne D'Arc shows that it belongs amongst the handheld Strategy RPG greats.I could not find any flaws in the gameplay, I repeat no flaws in the gameplay what so ever.This game competes with other Strategy RPGs, by using what has always worked.You'll have at your disposable by mid game a small army, but in most cases you will only be able to take 6 in to battle.In some cases you may have less to choose because some characters are default depending on the battle.This of course adds to the tactical experience as to what members you want on the field and where to place them so you are victorious.Thankfully though the game allows you to re-visit some of the places you fought battles to make sure you can get to level up everyone in your party.

Like in any good SRPG these battles take place on a grid, and players are limited to a number of spaces they can move with an attack or use of an item/spell ends that characters turn. As players begin to find different characters with different weapons and abilities, the tactics will continue to change. Lancers, for example, can hit two spaces ahead of them, instead of one and Archers can attack from long distances causing more damage from above.

During battles, players can attack, use skills or cast magic spells. These skills can be added by collecting skill stones which players get when they defeat an enemy.Your characters can only carry six of these stones at any one time once again adding to your decision process before going in to battle, because there are more than a hundred of these stones in the game.With these stones you can choose different skills and put the on each of the characters before each battle.These skills can range from making stronger regular attacks, alter stats, or attack a number of enemies at once.Some stones can only be used by specific character types, so choose carefully.

Later in the game you will come across a character that will allow you to combine these stones. By combining two skill stones, a new one is created which will give you even more powerful abilities.This is the main reason I loved this game the customization is so deep, but yet so simple to use.Some of the new abilities created will allow players to counter enemies before they attack you, run longer distances, instill massive damage, and more.

There are also two neat and innovative features in this game that have not been seen in others.These effects are called the "Burning Aura Hotspot" and "Joint Defense".

With the "Burning Aura Hotspot" a hotspot will appear behind any enemy that is attacked and any party member who stands in that will get an attacking boost. If the "Burning Aura" falls on a character already occupying the space, the Aura will move with the character, giving them the ability to use the damage bonus elsewhere.

The other feature is "Joint Defense", which when characters are no more than one space apart, they will combine their defensive abilities reducing the damage caused by enemies significantly.This feature is especially useful when fighting a tough boss.

Bottom Line:

With Jeanne D'Arc's simple, and easy to understand battle system it is amazing how much depth there is here.Anyone with half a brain cell can pick this game up and start playing with out any frustrating with menus, customization, gameplay.I am betting most SRPG fans are probably awaiting the two other great SRPG's on the horizon for the PSP in the way of Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea for PSP.Both are due out this year and are sure to be better than excellent. But, Jeanne D' Arc is a new and original title no one has seen before on any system and should not be missed by any PSP owner.Lastly let me say that after having tried almost all the SRPG's available for the PSP I was left disappointed after every one.So what do I have to say about "Level 5"s latest addition to the PSP Library?Just two words to them...Thank YOU!!

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Jeanne D'Arc PSP

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Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones Review

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(More customer reviews)It is a time of peace, suddenly, your country of Renais is attacked by your ally, Grado.They are after the Sacred Stone, but why would they want the very thing that sealed the Demon King away centuries ago?

Welcome back to the realm of Fire Emblem.This installment had nothing to do with the other game (which is a little disappointing) but it still is as good as the first.So, what's new this time around, well first off, there's a difficulty selection available from the start (you had to unlock it in the first).There's beginner, which explains the game and has a tutorial, normal, for those of us who played through the first one and know much of the controls, and difficult, for those who want a challenge.

I got to say that I'm glad that they've added this feature so we don't have to listen to the idiotic tutorial (its good to look at it if your a beginner, but its still annoying).Anyway, the core of this game is essentially the same with some added features.

These added features include that of choosing what you want your character to turn into.For example, in the first game, thieves could only become an assassin.However, in this game you have a choice of an assassin, which is a killing machine (if you have the Killing Edge equipped), or become a Rougue, which is a thief who doesn't need lockpicks to open doors and chests.This adds a lot to the game too.

The other neat feature is the ability to walk on the world map and choose where you want to go.This system, I would compare it to that of FF Tactics Advance because you can run into monsters who are also new to the series.

There's also a Tower of Valni that is like an endurance round.You can leave whenever you want to, and its not required that you go there.

The storyline this time around is predictable but still can be classified as good.I mean I figured from the start what was going to happen, and most of your predictions will come true.

My favorite thing about this game are the main characters, Eirika and Ephraim.They are twins but seem to be complete opposites.Eirika is the peace loving princess who hates war, and Ephraim is the one who runs off trying to find pride in fighting.

So, should you pick up this game?Yes, if you liked the first one, but wanted more or if you haven't played the first.No, if you are tired of the gameplay from the first game because all you are going to get is the recycled form of the original.

PROS
- Good game with good stratergy ideas
- You have the choice to choose if you want the tutorial
- The added walk on the map feature is very useful
- The ability to choose what your unit will become

CONS
- The story is way too predictable
- A lot of this game is recycled from the old game (can be good or bad)

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Product Description:
For generations, the nations of Magvel have lived in perfect peace. Now, defying all reason, the Grado Empire has invaded neighboring Renais. Twin heirs to the throne of Renais, Eirika and Ephraim fight to free their kingdom and uncover the secret behind their former ally's treachery in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

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Disgaea 3 Absence of Justice Review

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(More customer reviews)Pros:

+A lot of good gameplay
+An overall charming story
+Lots of things to do off the beaten path
+A Huge emphasis on strategy
+Well done anime inspired art

Cons:

-Still a few problems with the camera
-By now the graphics need an improvement to better bring the story to life.The anime inspired art is really nice, but how about an anime scene or two to really convey a character's feelings or actions?Beyond that, the battlefield and character sprites look exactly like they did in the first two games.A graphical update would've been really nice.

In 2003, Disgaea came out and breathe some new life into the Tactical Strategy RPG.It quickly became a cult classic.Disgaea 2 came around and stayed true to the first by changing very little.In that sense, Disgaea 3 can be summed up as being a continuation of the things that worked in the first two games.If you enjoyed the first two Disgaea games, then you'll like Disgaea 3.

Disgaea 3 focuses on Mao as he tries to overthrow is Overlord of a father for destroying his game console.It's a joke of a story but it's meant to be such.In all honesty it isn't much of a bad story at all once it gets going.The story is told through still shots of the characters facing one another as the dialog pops up on screen.There's voice acting, although some of it is quite forgettable.But there's also a good sense of humor, mainly because the story doens't take itself so seriously.Disgaea 3 knows what it is and doesn't try to be anything more.It makes the overall experience of it fun and satisfying.But as the story progresses it actually becomes about so much more than a mere broken Slaystation Portable.

The story is charming overall, but the presentation of it isn't so much.Certainly character portraits carrying the story out isn't so bad, but by now Disgaea should be willing to take its production values to new levels with the Playstation 3.An anime cutscene or something to help bring some of the more dramatic moments to life would've been really nice.

Battling in Disgaea 3 is no different than it was in the previous two games.You move characters around the battlefield executing attacks.Disgaea has always had a huge emphasis on strategy mainly because of the Geo Panels.Depending on the placement of Geo Panels and the placement of Geo Blocks, characters can be granted certain bonuses ranging from an attack boost to even some that aren't going to help you at all such a hindrance to your defense.Disgaea 3 also brings back the bonus gauge where after a battle you can get certain bonuses depending on how much damage you've done or how many panels you've destroyed.Even by the third installment, the Geo Panels system manages to be unique.The Geo Panels also help to make a difference in your strategy.You'll find your level doesn't mean much if the enemy you're facing has a huge boost by the Geo Panel he's standing on.

Disgaea 3 also keeps the level cap incredibly high.You can go all the way up to level 9999.It might seem like the game puts more emphasis on level and brute force, but chances are you'll find there's still a lot of strategy involved in the game, and that's mainly because there's so much outside of the story to do, and the Geo Panels provide a neat puzzle element to the game.

The biggest problem, however, is that it doesn't look any different from the first two games.You're basically getting a Playstation 2 game on a Playstation 3 console.Tactical Strategy RPGs have never been the best looking games, but Disgaea 3, despite being on the Playstation 3, looks almost exactly the same as the first two games.There isn't a real noticeable improvement in the game's artistic or graphical design.The anime inspired character portraits are very nice and detailed, but the overall look of the game isn't much.It also still suffers from the camera angles.While you can rotate the camera you'll find that there's not much else you can do with it.Pillars and other environmental objects will still be in the way.

Disgaea 3 is a good game.Excellent for Disgaea fans.It may play the same way, but that isn't a bad thing at all.What may not settle well with some gamers, however, is that it's a Playstation 3 game that would've been better suited for the Playstation 2.

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Product Description:
The Famed Disgaea series goes next gen on PS3! With high-definition graphics, including beautiful high-res 2D sprite art and stunning spell effects, one of the most highly-acclaimed and beloved strategy RPG series is making the jump to the next generation of gaming with Disgaea 3 Absence of Justice for PLAYSTATION 3. Re-enter the world of Disgaea and experience all of the humor, zany characters, thrilling action, and unmatched excitement in this all-new over 100 hour adventure!

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Valkyria Chronicles Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Over the years, my interest in RPG's had started to wane to the point where I ignored some of them simply due to the time investment. While they're great games and all, they take so long to finish and with a busy gaming schedule this year, it's hard to sink another 40 hours into one game when you could've beat 3 others and had a raucously good time on their multiplayers. However with Valkyria Chronicles, not only did it look stunning but it had a unique way of fighting and seemed to have that certain "something" where you probably don't really know what you're getting into but you want it anyway. But we warned, this isn't an RPG to be taken lightly but like a lot of things, the more you put into it then the sweeter the rewards.

Story: It's a period meant to feel like Europe in the 1930 though with a couple changes. Europe's divided in 2, The Federation and the Eastern European Imperial Alliance or just simply Empire, the latter of whom tries to do anything and everything to get what they want. What they want is ragnite, a valuable and incredibly useful resource and where it's abundant is the small country in the middle, Gallia, who has ties to neither side. But when the Empire invades and with a strange, powerful race thought only to exist in legend for a weapon, it's up to Welkin Gunther, Alicia Melchiott and several others to bring down the powerful Empire.

Graphics: The team behind this game worked on the highly-praised Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast and while the art style and character designs are similar, Valkyria is really in a class of its own. Using Sega's Canvas engine, they decide to create a different approach to the visuals and while Okami was made to resemble a painting, Valkyria looks more like a drawing that's being animated at lightning speed and it's gorgeous. Kind of reminds me of the cutscenes for the Final Fantasy Tactics port for the PSP only more colorful. The 3D fighting visuals are also welcome and the "boom" and "ratta" visuals showing up when you explode something or fire your weapon has a great charm to it. It's not going for realism so don't compare it to tech-heavy games but what it lacks in realistic lighting and photo-realistic characters, it makes up for in style and art.

Sound/Music: Ditto for the music which was done by Hitoshi Sakimoto who did the Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story and Odin Sphere soundtracks though he's probably best known (positively or negatively depending on how you see it) as the composer for Final Fantasy XII. The soundtrack here is pleasing and there's some good themes but it doesn't really have any tracks that can stand outside the game but when it's on in the game, it's welcome. Using an option to change the language to Japanese or English and either or, the voice acting is quite well-done though some roles are either overacted or lacking in emotion but I didn't mind either tracks.

Gameplay: One can make a case that Valkyria's combat is a 3D version of a chess match, with soldiers and tanks replacing the rooks and queens but essentially here's how it works: a map reveals your position of your characters as well as known enemy positions. You then select who you want to control (which uses up CP, a certain amount of "moves" you can make your characters do with tanks taking up 2 of them), game switches to a 3D view and you can run where you want to go which drains an AP gauge and if you run out, you stop permanently till the next turn. Found in the stages are places that could make good cover such as sandbags. When you've found your spot, you can press R1 which brings up your targeting where you can aim where you want to shoot, throw your grenade or to use a first aid on members with low health and after your turn it's best to crouch and end your turn right away to minimize enemies firing back (which is unfair because they counterattack your attack in addition to when your attack is over so they're really getting 2 shots at you so it's best to end your turn quickly).

Here's where it gets fun: you basically have 5 classes from standard scouts with decent weaponry to long-range snipers (Marina is my preferred one due to her cute and deadly bad***ness), shocktroopers with assault rifles, lancers who are perfect for nailing tanks and engineers who can either replenish your ammo, fix/build places for cover or provide tank maintenance though they're more susceptible to damage. Knowing who to use and where to use them is key. Should a character lose all their health, they're knocked out but here's the kicker: they'll be gone forever unless you get a member of your team over, a cutscene will show a medic rushing in and that member is taking off the field, still able to be used later but gone for the rest of the battle. While you get many reserves anyway, it's probably best to keep your entire team alive.

Speaking of your team, you get 20 people to use in a battle unless stated otherwise in the battle so that can make levelling up tedious right? Wrong. Using the headquarter tab (the whole narrative is played out like a book with pictures on the page being your cutscenes/battles), you can level up your characters in an amusing drill instructor way but should you say level up your snipers, every single one of your snipers levels up as well and not just whoever you use the most. Your equipment can be upgraded for better accuracy, health and whatnot and your tank can be fitted with spare treads should the enemy blast yours off leaving you immobile or strengtening the range of your fire. But don't think this game is immune to grinding as it's best to click the Skirmishes tab and take on the battles which can be fought as many times as you want and it's not just recommended, it's almost necessary since enemies after a certain amount of time will positively own your *** so why not fight fire with fire and make your guys just as tough.

I know this fall and winter has been a particularly crowded season, especially those who own all 3 consoles and the 2 handhelds (like me) but I implore you not to miss Valkyria Chronicles. It doesn't have the advertising of Gears of War 2 or the recognition of the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII but this game is well worth tracking down.

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Product Description:
Valkyria Chronicles is set in a fictitious continent reminiscent of 1930s, Europe divided in two and ruled by the Empire and the Federation. The Empire has set its sights on invading a small neutral country called Gallia, which is situated in the middle of the two great empires. The game follows a hero named Welkin and his fellow soldiers of the Federation-s 7th Platoon that are fighting against the Empire, who is intent on unifying the continent under its power. The Federation discovers that the Empire possesses a secret weapon, known as the -Valkyria-- an ancient race with special powers thought to exist only in legends. With this new discovery, the fate of the Federation-s ability to win the war and a hope for a better future hangs in the balance.

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The Lord of the Rings: Tactics Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been skeptical about the LotR games since I bought the PC version of Fellowship of the Ring -- not a bad game, but definitely not what I was expecting.I waited a couple of days before opening this one because I was preparing myself to be let down.Wow!Was I wrong...

LotR: Tactics is a turn-based, combat-centric strategy game based on the movies more so than the books.If you leave all the geeky fact-checking behind (trust me, I know how difficult that is... the LotR movies without Tom Bombadil???Arwen with a sword???) and just concentrate on the game, you'll get much more enjoyment out of it.

There are six playable heroes - Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Sam, and Frodo - that appear in the Fellowship portion of the game, some are required for certain missions, others are selectable.I haven't played the other side yet, but you are also able to run the game playing the evil forces (cool!).Each character has skills that can be upgraded by purchasing buffs between battles, and all characters have access to a common pool of items you can purchase.Each character is ideally suited for one specific purpose, but mastering the game requires knowing the right combinations of skills that will accomplish goals fastest.

The combat system is pretty straightforward, as is the movement system.It is imperative to master movement strategies, as this will determine what skills and attacks are usable in various situations.Characters typically move 3 spaces per turn, but may have their movement limited by the movement of opponents or other characters.When a player character moves into contact with an opponent, the move ends for that character, which may impact other movement for the round.Because the game simultaneously moves all players/opponents, the axiom applies that the best laid plans go out the window when the battle starts.

After moving, a character can elect to attack, use an item, or make use of a skill.A melee attack can be waged against an opponent in base-to-base contact with a character, while a missile attack (bow & arrow or thrown object) can be waged against remote targets, subject to line of sight.Any character can use an item purchased between battles, but forfeits the right to an attack on that turn.Just so, skills may be used in place of an attack, with a wide variety of results, based on the character performing the act.The skill may be a special attack, a magic spell, a performance booster for one or more characters, or a special ability (Legolas and Aragorn can do light healing and provide fear resistance bonuses to allies).Each skill use requires action points (AP), which each character has to a certain degree.Controlling AP use is almost as important as monitoring character health.

Unlike real-time strategy games, the turn-based format is fantastic for a handheld console.RTS would require a larger view area or constant panning, with little time to actually enjoy the game.The turn-based design allows the player to get a larger scope of control with a big-picture mentality.It also gives you the essential time you need to link movements and skills together.Fans of CCGs will quickly master the integration of these skills into unique and devastating combinations.

The controls are very easy to grasp, and the tutorial does a fantastic job of showing you almost everything you need to play the game.Graphics are excellent, despite a couple of comments I've read elsewhere.Try using the joystick to zoom in and out on characters, or to rotate your battlefield view; make sure to scan the battlefield for terrain features, layout of obstacles, and premium sniper positions for your archers.

Game play roughly follows the advancement of the story, interspersed by clips from the films.I haven't purchased any UMD-based movies yet, but if the picture is as crisp as the clips in the game, I'll be out picking up some titles this weekend.

Finally, keep in mind that the name of the game is "tactics."This should be enough to remind you that it centers on combat, uses only items and skills related to combat, and features playable content only related to battles.

I've had this game for five days now, and have stopped only to sleep and let my battery recharge (much to the chagrin of my wife).To this point, I have only played the hero missions, but I'm preparing to go back now and play as Sauron's minions.Should be a blast.Don't hesitate: pick up this game!!!

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Product Description:
Lord of the Rings Tactics puts players in the universe of Middle-Earth, for adventures that go beyond the books and films. This tactical RPG game lets players guideAragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Frodo, Gandalf and Sauron, among others. In turn-based action, you'll use your strategic abilities to gain advantage over the enemy and determine the future of Middle-Earth.Simultaneous turn-taking in single and multiplayer

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