Arcanum: of Steamworks & Magick Obscura Review

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(More customer reviews)Arcanum is a game that appeals to a certain audience.If you like figuring out alternate solutions to problems, you may enjoy this game.Fans of the Fallout games will find a similarly well-thought-out setting and sense of humor.Fans of complex RPGs will be delighted by the depth and length of the game.
If you thought Diablo was a great RPG, well, don't bother with Arcanum.The only thing they have in common is that you have a character that grows over time.Diablo was a linear hack-and-slash adventure with clearly defined characters and simple mechanics.Arcanum has a non-linear path and complex character options.Furthermore, if you try to bash through every situation, you will have your head handed to you, especially at the beginning of the game.
Specific likes:The setting, that of a fantasy realm going through an industrial revolution (with some Steampunk-like technology thrown in), is fantastic.The character creation options are varied and give you a great deal of control.The plot is long and involved.Some of the voice acting is quite good, and the background music is very appropriate, if a little monotonous at times.The system for using technology is a lot of fun.Characters can literally take bits and pieces of things and assemble them into everything from hand grenades to healing salves.
Specific dislikes:The combat system has a few odd points.Grenades and such somehow never harm you or your party, so you can throw them with impunity at folks standing right next to you.Critical hits and misses are ludicrously common, with sometimes drastic results, such as self-inflicted damage, dropped or damaged weapons, scarring or even crippled limbs.It reminds me of the old D&D Wandering Damage table some pundit proposed, with entries like, "Cut yourself shaving, consult limb loss table."
Graphics are pretty bland.You can't really tell your party members from people on the street -- although the clothes they wear do make a difference in appearance, at least.The graphics seem to be at about the same level as X-COM: UFO Defense in terms of utility, although they are far more detailed in Arcanum than in that game.
The interface for interacting with party members can be pretty frustrating.You can tell them what to do and what to use, but they have minds of their own, and sometimes they aren't so bright.They will quite willingly run between a gun and a target, and they pick up anything that might be lying around, including stones, old shoes, and bits of fluff.Sometimes, this is useful, but you'll find yourself scanning their inventories on a regular basis.
Overall, if you are in the target audience mentioned above, you can expect a four or even five star rating for this game.If you are not, then three would probably be more acurate for the average gamer, and those addicted to different genres that require a fast mouse and a short attention span will probably rate it as a two or less.

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Product Description:
Arcanum is the first game to come from the development house Troika Games, LLC, started by former Fallout team members Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, and Jason Anderson. This team takes the depth of gameplay and world-building in role-playing games to entirely new levels of realism and excitement.Arcanum creates a compelling new world where magic and technology coexist in an uneasy balance. As Arcanum opens, the mechanical age has only recently arrived in this ancient land where Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and other races have learned to survive in the new sprawling industrialized cities. But this radical shift from magic to technology has created a potentially explosive situation. As the townspeople and other thinkers begin mass production of light bulbs, batteries, eyeglasses and guns, the Mages grow leery. This tightly wound setting is the starting point from which the character must set out on his quest.Classless, point-based attribute system allows for limitless creativity in guiding your character's development.Complex stat system underlies every event taking place within Arcanum

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Final Fantasy VI Review

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(More customer reviews)As a fan of the original "localized" version of Final Fantasy VI (named Final Fantasy III to keep with the American Final Fantasy numbering scheme), I have long awaited a portable release of this game.I can say, with certainty, that Final Fantasy VI is and always has been one of the best (if not the best) games in the series.While I'm overall very pleased with this re-release, there are a few caveats to the port that fans of the original might notice.

To speak of the game itself, it is a masterpiece.

The story is captivating, keeping the player interested to the very end.The plot involves many of the traditional Final Fantasy themes (balances of natural forces, quests for power, a floating continent), but weaves them in subtly without being overbearing.

The characters are very memorable and grow as the story progresses. Each of the protagonists has their own quirks and weaknesses, and many of them have to overcome their personal demons in order to face the final challenge of the game.In addition, Final Fantasy VI provides a quirky antagonist.While the Final Fantasy predecessors all served up vague, devil-like antagonists with little personality other than to state that they are the source of evil, Kefka is quirky.His dialogue is written with a sense of humor where necessary, and his back story provides further impetus for the protagonists.Kefka is the first Final Fantasy villain that fans truly love to hate.Also, the gameplay is fun and varied.The esper system (used to learn magic in the game) is powerful and customizable, yet still simple enough for everyone to pick up and understand.The addition of a special armor / accessory class (relics) provides a simple way for players to know what equipment will cause what effects.The dungeons are challenging but not frustratingly long or inaccessible.

With all that said, this port of the game is decent enough but does have its drawbacks.

The graphics are just as beautiful as in the Super Nintendo / Famicom version and don't suffer a significant slowdown as with the Final Fantasy IV advance remake.The sharper screen of a Nintendo DS best showcases the visual beauty of this game, and those playing on an older Gameboy Advance or even SP might miss some detail.

The soundtrack to this game is one of Uematsu's masterpieces, and the port does a decent job of recreating the experience with the Game Boy's limited hardware.The music has been slightly remixed to fit in the fewer channels that the portable system allows.While many of the tracks have been "jazzed up" to cover the lack of extra instrumentation, the transferred soundtrack is still a slight downgrade from the original.While new fans of the game are not likely to notice, old schoolers who played the original incarnation will stand to be slightly disappointed.

Lastly, the game has been retranslated and relocalized, overwriting some of the heavily criticized decisions made by original translator Ted Woolsey.In many aspects, this serves to help the game.The vagueness that came from Woolsey's Western-interpretation of the plot has been somewhat cleared up.In addition, some of the character interactions that would have once seemed vague and misleading now show clear direction.Not all of the changes are for the better, however.The new translation also censors a few of the games scenes, seemingly for brutality (ie, Celes's incarceration).Also, and this will probably only affect those familiar with the original, the new translation has changed the lyrics of "Aria di Mezzo Carattere."While the new translation better fits with the music, the Aria is considered one of the most memorable moments in the series, and the difference is likely to irritate old fans.

Final Fantasy is a brilliant series with many brilliant games, but in my opinion, the true beginning of Final Fantasy as a dynasty is here.The game is more grown-up in many aspects than those before it and still shines as brightly as some of those that have come after.While this is an imperfect port of the original, porting a game always requires some sacrifices.The developers made decent choices, given the options that they had.

Whether you're an old fan back to reminisce or new to the series, Final Fantasy VI Advance will provide hours of intrigue and fun.

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Product Description:
Hot on the heels of Final Fantasy IV Advance, Final Fantasy VI Advance will soon be available to handheld gamers. However, this is more than a simple port-every aspect of the game has been reviewed and enhanced. Additionally, a host of brand-new elements have been seamlessly merged with the original game, providing unexpected surprises for longtime fans. With new dungeons, new job classes, and other exciting features, both old-school players and newcomers can enjoy this genre-defining Final Fantasy title in a portable format!

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Syberia 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)It was a story about Beno?t Sokal's "Syberia 2" that got me interested in playing the game and so I picked up "Syberia" knowing full well that this was a two-part game.So for me it was pretty much one giant adventure and since the original "Syberia" is available at a reduced price nowadays there is no reason not to go back and start at the beginning.There is a recap of "Syberia" cinematic available at the start of this game, but why anybody would skip the first half of the game and miss out on being introduced to Oscar and the other automatons of Hans Voralberg, the eccentric inventor who longs to see the fabled Syberian mammoths before he dies is beyond me.

At the end of "Syberia" our heroine, Kate Walker, the New York City attorney who was sent to Valdeline to close a deal on the Voralberg Automaton Factory had decided to turn her back on her job and family to join Hans Voralberg on his automaton train heading through a frozen wasteland towards the legendary island of Syberia.The first stop is the town of Romansbourg where Kate will end up acquiring a few more companions for the trip, although not all of them are wanted.Hans' failing health will be a problem throughout this journey, but if Kate does get Hans to Syberia alive then nothing else matters.

Players control Kate Walker through the standard adventure game interface consisting of an inventory screen, a document screen, and Kate's cell phone.Fortunately, since Kate has turned her back on her employer, Marston, and her mother (No more calls from Dan the annoying and cloying now ex-boyfriend!), the cell phone is reduced to a minor part of the game.However from time to time we see a cinematic where we learn that Marston has sent somebody after Kate to find her and bring her to her senses and back home (the last two not necessarily in that order).So we keep waiting for this guy to show up and either cause trouble or give Kate some help (I actually liked the way that element played out).

The strength of this game are the graphics.My nephew, who knows a lot more about what is available in the realm of computer games, assures me that these are cool graphics.There are some nice renderings of water throughout both games and I like the attention to detail here where people walking across snow leave footprints.We even have real time snowfall in this one as well.There are also strange mechanical gadgets at every stop along the way and a lot of things built out of mammoth tusks in the last part of the game.The cinematics are pretty impressive and you have the option of going back and watching them over and over again to your heart's delight.The music is also quite good, especially when you get to the key moments of wonder in the story.

The weakest part of the game is finding some of the hot spots.A couple of times in each game I missed some tiny object on the floor I was supposed to be picking up and several times it took a while to find whatever I needed to find to insert a key or throw a switch.So be prepared for some moments of frustration as you know you are missing something and keep going in circles for a while.But there is almost always a point like that in any of these games (I spent three days ranting and raving while trying to find Brad and give him what he needs in "Phantasmagoria").

As you would also expect the puzzles in "Syberia II" are a standard mix of fairly straightforward efforts in logic (I almost want to say "real world" solutions but we are playing a game looking for living mammoths on a mythical island) and those that require hit and miss trial and error for extended periods of time.A big helpful hint would be to take notes of things you see in terms of diagrams and drawings.Unlike "Syberia" there are not a lot of manuscripts and other things that you can pick up and put in your inventory to read later (however, the few you do have are pretty interesting in terms of the story).So a pattern that you see can be the clue to how things have to be arranged down the road.You will also find the quirky uses for things like a Russian doll (you will carry this one around for a long time before you use it), a fish skeleton and a flask of water.

I really think you have to consider the two games as one big one."Syberia" was a bit more interesting simply because this is where we find out what is going on and what Kate is doing.In "Syberia" the goal was to find Hans Voralberg, who was pretty much a mythic figure.Then, once we found he was a real person, the goal then became to find Syberia, which is the focus of "Syberia II."But then the whole idea that Kate was undergoing some sort of rite of passage here was never a major part of the story's appeal.Basically the mystery ends with "Syberia," but the adventure continues in "Syberia II."Kate Walker does have a character arc over the entire adventure, but it is Han's quest to find the reality represented by the doll of the mammoth with its rider that is the driving force here.

Final Note: There were a couple of points in the game (outside the monastery and on the back porch of the cabin) where there were lines of color on the screen and the game crashed.Do not panic: all you have to do is go into your options and reduce the detail level to low and everything will be fine.

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Product Description:
In Syberia II players pick up directly where the classic first game left off, for a more amazing, immersive adventure. Join Kate Walker and expert automaton designer Hans Voralberg as they search for a place that every scientist says does not exist. Travel on trains into realistic arctic landscapes, solving mysteries as you pursue a legend to the ends of the world.

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