~GameChain~

[Angelo Credo]

As requested, here's my Prince of Persia 3/Two Thrones review.

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Prince of Persia 3/Two Thrones.

The Prince of Persia series follows the story of a young prince (Who, if you’ve played the rest of the games since like 1989, you’ll discover he isn’t actually a descendant, just married the princess.) who’s rule over Persia is cut rather short.

In the first game, he unlocks the Sands of Time, a powerful source that can manipulate the time line, preventing his death, pausing time and redoing his actions and eventually screwing up the time line up until the point that he gets hunted down.

Now, I feel the need to explain the events of at least the second game because PoP: Two Thrones is as Follow-On as you can get, literally starting right from where you left off at the end of Warrior Within, and with explaining Warrior Within, I have to explain some of Sands of Time, the Sands of Time is where the Prince first discovers the Dagger of Time and the Sands themselves, he unleashes the sands, turning everyone in Persia into a disgustingly deformed monster made entirely of sand.

Because he had the sheer luck to possess the dagger as well, he was one of the only ones not affected, you can probably see where I’m going with this, he ends up trying to change the timeline, stopping himself unleashing the sands while trying to end the reign of the Vizier, who wants to use the sands for his own evil gains.

He stops the Vizier, meets a lovely lady in the progress but never manages to truly stop himself unleashing the sands, so he goes for the next best option, stopping their creation altogether, so off the Prince travels, being hounded by this demon of time known as the Dahaka which basically works as a manifestation of fate, it keeps the timeline in balance, because of the events of the first game, the Prince really threw the timeline off it’s course, so to rectify it, the Dahaka gives chase, attempting to remove the Prince from the timeline while at the same time undoing his actions from the previous game.

The Prince eventually stops the creation of the Sands, defeats the Dahaka and floats off to Babylon with yet another lovely lady.

Now, I know this is all very brief, but frankly, play one Prince of Persia and you’ve played them all, I didn’t feel like doing an entire retrospective of every game’s plot so far, just what’s necessary to explain Two Thrones.

Two Thrones is entirely a continuation of the previous game, the Prince is a little less hardened than he was in Warrior Within, he gets the Dagger back once more, has a new love and returns to Babylon…

Only to find his city in ruins, being overrun by the Vizier, why you ask? Because with the destruction of the Sands, the events of the first game never actually happened, the Vizier is still alive and well and the Sands are about to be unleashed yet again.

Now, the Prince’s new girl happens to be the physical manifestation of the Sands, she gets killed off and the Sands return once more to the world, the Prince also reclaims his Dagger, but this comes at a price.

You see, the Prince didn’t quite get away, he becomes tainted by the Sands and has another consciousness accompanying him, this isn’t quite revealed until a good bit into the game, this second half comes in quite useful, he gives you combat tips, clues on how to beat puzzles and other such useful hints, which admittedly is pretty handy considering the difficult of the actual game.

The Prince also has this tendency to change into the physical form of his second half, which is basically a sand creature form of himself, now this form is much stronger in combat, more agile and has a cooler selection of moves, one of which being the Daggertail.

This thing works like a chain whip, striking down foes around the Prince and being able to swing across large gaps using it, now, you can’t change into this powerful form when you want, it happens when the game dictates it should and can only be removed by entering water, which is surprisingly hard to come across, believe it or not.

Puzzles in this game are fairly intuitive, requiring an actual brain to complete most of the time, combat is enjoyable, if a little broken at times and the Speed Kill system…Well, I’ll go into detail about that now.

The Speed Kill system brings a new element of surprise and sneakiness into the Prince of Persia games, even though it does suck, it pretty much allows you to take down enemies in mere seconds as opposed to the large amount of time you’d spend otherwise, the downside is this, it’s very random, you have to have superhuman reflexes to pull it off sometimes and when you throw that into combat, all strategy goes out the window.

Linking back to the puzzles, they’re genuinely hard and are at times, rather confusing, take this one for example, in one part of the game, you have to raise these platforms in a certain order and have them finish at a certain height to advance.

It sounds simple enough, but it’s rather perplexing, you have to raise each individual platform by jumping over to them without dying, two out of the three have blocks above them, so you can only move them to a certain point before they stop dead and by moving one, you of course, move another platform that is linked to that block through some arbitrary designation.

It takes a lot of thinking to work out, I appreciated this simply because it actually made you work to progress and it felt like a challenge.

On to the combat, while it’s basically exactly the same system as the last two games, it feels a little more ham handed, slower, more sluggish and genuinely irritating, I never fully grasped why realism meant sluggishness and sheer speed reduction in yours moves, the Prince is meant to be this spry, young kid, not an old man who’s in fear of breaking a hip.

Bad combat aside, Speed Kill system aside, what always made the Prince of Persia games was the sheer difficulty of the puzzles, you’re going to be welcome to this game whether or not you’ve played the rest, it’ll fill in the blanks for you so you’re not obliged to suffer through the other two and it’s pretty user friendly, it suffers at times with some bad design choices, but nothing is ever perfect.

Overall, despite what I’ve said negatively, I’d call this game one of the best games of 2005, easily, again though, despite this, some major problems still blight it, biggest of which being the combat, it’s not as free form as it was in Warrior Within, it’s bland, nowhere near as open and nowhere near as enjoyable, the story makes up for it, along with the puzzle systems, but I keep forgetting at times, Prince of Persia never really was about the combat.

So if you’re reading this, buy it, have a good time, enjoy the puzzles and the impressive storyline, but don’t expect to get any thrills from the combat.

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Scores:

IGN: 9.0/10

Gamespot: 8.4/10

1up: B-

Gamepro: 4.2/5

Armchairempire: 8.0/10


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Pros & Cons

PROS:
Impressive storyline.
Deep characters.
Intuitive and intelligent puzzles.
Beautiful environments.
Amazing cut scenes.

CONS:
Less than adequate combat system.
Speed Kill system is terribly lacking.
Puzzles can become a little repetitive at times.

 

[Stylish Nereezy]

has anybody done the "ninja gaiden II"

 

[Angelo Credo]

Not just yet I don't think.

Did you request it? Or do you want to do it?

 

[Keaton]

I haven't but I can do if no one else is ^__^

 

[Angelo Credo]

Let's both do NG2 review! I've been itching to review the game and I'd love to see yours Keaton. :lol:

 

[Keaton]

You got a deal

 

[Angelo Credo]

Awesome! *Highfives K-Man* ^_^

 

[Angelo Credo]

Ninja Gaiden 2

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Ninja Gaiden 2 follows the pursuits of a young ninja known as Ryu Hayabusa, having previously saved the world from great beasts known as Fiends, and stopping his master utilizing the power of the Dark Dragon Blade, now young Ryu is back to stop the reawakening of the Archfiend and take down the 4 Greater Fiends along the way.

The idea is that, after returning to your home village after what was frankly, a great first two levels, you find that this demonic statue used to seal the Archfiend has been stolen, and as such, you set out on a quest to reclaim it and stop the Archfiend from being unleashed upon the world yet again, so a pretty basic, unimaginative storyline there then…The first bullet between the eyes.

Luckily for Team Ninja, it’s immediately compensated for by the immense combat system, the intuitive combos, weapons and different strategies for each enemy dependant on your weapon makes up for practically everything wrong with this game.

The combat is so realistically impressive that it’s hard not to get a little excited when you pull off a graphically awesome obliteration technique and end up taking off your enemy’s head plus throwing a few pints of blood everywhere to boot, it’s all quite interesting, and the Ultimate Techniques that differ with each weapon are amazingly impressive, you let off in a flurry of supercharged attacks that can decimate armies of foes within a few seconds, this coupled up with the twin blades you get during the course of the game make for some impressive movie footage.

Speaking of which, a mode known as Ninja Cinema allows you to go back through your previous recorded gameplay, allowing you to see precisely what’s wrong with your technique, correct it and defeat anything that stands in your way with some training, while also allowing you to go back and watch those brilliant combos you pulled off, along with your best stride of the level.

So, it sounds like a good game already and it certainly plays like one, but here’s the thing, while it’s easy to assume that everything sucks and that a game that sucks will never turn good, never expect a good game to stay good either, because here’s the problem, the difficulty.

Sure, Ninja Gaiden has always been known for it’s immense difficulty, that’s fair enough, but in a console first it’s a little too much, there are many 360 owners who never experienced the original Ninja Gaiden and as such, are not used to the perplexing difficulty of the game, it’s like running headfirst into a brick wall, then shooting yourself in the foot, ripping off one leg and then injecting anaesthetic into the other, making it near impossible to move forwards.

Basically, if you’ve never experienced Ninja Gaiden before this, it’s safe to say that you’re not welcome at the Ninja Gaiden 2 party, although if you’ve got the sheer balls and determination you could just about get through it without too many snapped controllers, the difficulty is actually amazingly frustrating, leaving even the most hardened of gamers out there in tears, now, I’ve been gaming for most of my life and I sucked at this on the first play though, just because I’d gotten rusty.

It’s scary to think that there are people out there worse than me, I feel sorry for anyone that is and suffers through this game, it can be a huge chore and you know what the biggest slap in the face is? The ending isn’t even worth the effort, I’ll let you cry in anger over it for yourself.

Now here’s the bit where I make a few more good comments before crucifying it, for all it’s flaws, Ninja Gaiden 2 isn’t a bad game, it’s very well written, very well designed, graphically pleasing and makes you want to play on, no matter how frustrated you get, it’s enjoyable at times but murderous at others, but here’s the killing blow, Ninja Gaiden always has been irritating beyond necessity, I get the feeling that Team Ninja’s design brief was along these lines.

“Let’s create a game designed to irritate, annoy and aggravate, but let’s make it in such a fashion that makes it addictive.”

And it seems to be working for them, because it’s a popular game, but the difficulty slays everything good about it in one killing blow, there’s no denying that it can really shine at times, but regardless, what it brings to the table is difficulty that makes you wish you were never born and I wouldn’t blame you if you tried firing it into the sun.

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PROS & CONS (Contribution to Dante Aseroth for this idea.)


PROS:

Awesome combat system.
Graphically pleasing.
Intuitive combo system.
Deep characters.
Nice level design.

CONS:

Unnecessarily difficult.
Bad and clichéd storyline.


Reviewer Score:
8/10: A flawed game with some irritating points, but makes up for it with the intuitive combat, deep characters and clever combo system.

Other Scores:
Gamespot: 8.0/10
Gamesutra: 82/100
Actiontrip: 8.5/10
1up: B-

 

[Stylish Nereezy]

^^^Sweet i'm gonna get it on friday

 

[Keaton]

I will add mine tonight or tomorrow, havent had 5 mins to write more than an intro ^___^ gj btw

 

[Angelo Credo]

:lol: I eagerly await your Ninja Gaiden 2 review Keaton!

 

[Sparda™]

It's time for Old Snake here....

- METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS -

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the most technically stunning video game ever made. It's also a fine example of storytelling prowess within its medium, combining gameplay and narrative so slickly and beautifully that it's impossible to extricate one from the other. It's likely you will emerge awestruck from your first play-through, wishing the experience would continue yet nonetheless satisfied with its conclusion. It's difficult not to sound hyperbolic when discussing MGS4 because every part of its design seemingly fulfills its vision, without compromise. There is no halfway.

Fully realized, lengthy story sequences will come as no surprise to anyone who has played a Metal Gear game. You'll spend a good half of MGS4 watching cinematics, but it would be a grave misinterpretation to assume that great gameplay takes a backseat to the story. Rather, these two elements are tightly intertwined, and this tapestry is held together by an important technical thread: Cutscenes that are rendered fully in real time within the game engine. It's impressive enough that these scenes look as good as any pre-rendered cinematic you've ever watched. It's even more amazing when those same scenes transition without pause into gameplay, and the same hulking mesh you watched lumber about in the cinematic is looming above you. The subtle animations, the lush environments, and the rich textures are the same in and out of story sequences, and the effect is so seamless it may take your breath away. You can skip past the scenes if you prefer, but doing so would soften the experience. The story sequences carry more weight because of the intense gameplay that precedes them--and the gameplay feels more compelling because the story gives you powerful reasons to care about your mission. The high point of this fusion occurs in an exciting and memorable split-screen sequence that simply must be experienced.

Talking about what, exactly, is going on in the plot in the midst of MGS4's grand sweeping gestures is to risk spoiling each little surprise as it emerges. Snake, suffering from the rapid onset of aging, now must cope with stiff joints in addition to the looming specter of Liquid Ocelot's newest plans. This is Snake's final hurray; yet as the story reaches one height after another, the juxtaposition of huge set piece battles and formidable bosses with Snake's deteriorating body creates tension and gravity even beyond the series' usual pretensions. Some new plot strands emerge while others get tied up, and old friends (and enemies) refuse to be forgotten. You'll also bear witness to a few reunions--some bloody, some teary, and some legitimately shocking. Parts of it are overblown, to be sure. The musical score gets heavy-handed and the voice acting and writing are frequently dogmatic, so while there are plenty of subtle moments, subtlety isn't really MGS4's strong suit. But it doesn't need to be. After all, the fate of the world hangs in the balance, and judging from a few silly attempts at humor that don't work, developer Kojima Productions was wise to err on the side of melodrama.

The gameplay proper is familiar to fans, but it's been cleaned up and expanded, holding as many twists and surprises as the story. For starters, both gunplay and close-quarters combat are more satisfying. Regarding melee, the controls have been streamlined, making it less cumbersome to grab an enemy soldier or perform a stealthy blade kill. Shooting mechanics are even more improved, so much so that shooting your way out of a pickle is just as enjoyable as sneaking around it. There are a huge number of weapons to play with; so many that you'll probably finish the campaign without using many of them. Yet, quality wasn't sacrificed for quantity: Every weapon feels just right, from your handy operator sidearm (best when upgraded with a silencer) and standard issue assault rifles to a powerful railgun. The standard over-the-shoulder view is fine for the most part, but you can gaze down the sights from a first-person perspective. Both views can be further improved with various enhancements, such as laser sights and scopes.

Not that you don't have all the tools for completely avoiding your enemies if you choose that route. Snake's got the basics covered: crawling, hugging walls, peeking around corners, and hanging from ledges, for example. Cover mechanics are tighter than ever, so you can crouch and take potshots from behind cover with ease. There are also a number of important gadgets that will make your life easier in this regard. The most obvious of these is your OctoCamo suit, which takes on the texture of your surroundings when you're prone or pressed against cover. Not only does this make it simpler to avoid watchful eyes, but it's also a cool visual effect. Eventually, you'll be able to camouflage Snake's head, and a few of the available camo options are bound to stir some fans' nostalgia. The Solid Eye is your other major tool, as it expands your compass into a sonic-sensitive radar and allows you to use night vision and a tactical first-person view. These are helpful gadgets indeed, even during boss fights, like a stirring encounter in a blinding blizzard.

----------------

Continuing......

 

[Sparda™]

Continuing.....

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Regardless of the tactics you use, the level design and enemy artificial intelligence work in tandem to create unparalleled gameplay. If you go stealth, hiding in that rusty barrel isn't a perfect solution. Your foe may look at it suspiciously, kick it a few times, and eventually blow your cover, so don't expect to be able to trick your way through as you might in other stealth games. In full-on firefights, enemy teams will flank you, use cover to their advantage, and throw grenades with precision to force you out of hiding. Most of your surroundings, inside and out, are littered with objects and cover opportunities, from a trek through a South American jungle to a nostalgic journey through a snowy island base. Each level is more-or-less linear, but within the confines of these areas, you still have remarkable room to explore the various gameplay options and test the limits of your foes. Some enemies are standard soldiers, though many others are wonderfully imaginative. The colossal mechanical Gekkos, for example, are unpredictable and keep you on your toes, while female operatives that pounce from wall to wall intensify an early escape scene.

Later in the game, a few set piece battles deepen the core gameplay even further, including a few peerless on-rails sequences. One of these, a motorcycle chase, is as close as any game has gotten to translating the excitement of similar moments in films to a game format. Another level, which features a gigantic automaton, showcases destructible environments where walkways collapse on top of each other and the screen fills with smoke. In all of these cases, the controls are excellent, with the exception of that same mech's third-person view a bit later on (the first-person view works infinitely better). The interpretation of Metal Gear Solid as an interactive film still applies, but in a way you may not have expected: These levels make you feel like the star of your own action movie.

Boss battles are stimulating, though they aren't all that difficult. Nevertheless, a few of them are tricky and require you to put some thought into your tactics because just riddling the boss with bullets isn't going to ensure victory. Early on, it's clear that you'll be encountering the four members of the Beauty and the Beast unit--female supersoldiers that are as psychologically complex as they are fun to battle. These battles are long and normally require you to fight other enemies in addition to your primary target. In one of them, you can use your night vision to track your target's footprints and use the wind direction to your advantage. In another, you'll dodge missiles from flying creatures while taking on the main boss.

The gameplay and story would, perhaps, not be as effective if Metal Gear Solid 4 did not look and sound so impressive, but truth be told, it's an amazing piece of technology. From the gritty textures of concrete walls to the effective lighting and shadowing, there are few aspects you could reasonably fault. In the biggest battles, billows of smoke fill the screen and blood splatters against the camera--all while meticulously designed helicopters fly overhead and ad-hoc team members take potshots from behind grungy dilapidated vehicles. Yet in the midst of the visual drama, it's the little things that are likely to provoke awe. Small details, such as how Snake rubs his sore back when his stress levels get high or the authentic manner in which he ascends staircases, create as much atmosphere as cluttered underground tunnels and war-torn Middle Eastern cities. You will have to wait through some scattered install periods (just under 20 minutes worth, in total) and the occasional loading screen, and you may find some frame rate drops and low-res textures here and there, but these aren't issues in light of MGS4's impressive graphical accomplishments.

The sound design comes together nearly as well. The soundtrack on its own is rather pompous, but in context, it works just fine to create the appropriate mood for any given cutscene or battle. The voice acting follows suit but succeeds far better. Because the growling voice of David Hayter's Solid Snake is so good, the rare hamming from the mostly excellent supporting cast is easily forgotten. But the sound effects are unforgettable and excellent across the board. The Gekkos emit blood-curdling moos like gargantuan cows, explosions are outstandingly obnoxious, and everything from the clicks of the Solid Eye to the laughter and screams of the beastly bosses are top-notch.

On top of it all, Metal Gear Solid 4 offers some enjoyable online 16-player action to complement its superb single-player experience. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are represented, of course, and they play just fine, assuming you don't approach the online component as a standard shooter. The maps are beautifully rendered and packed with detail, and while not every mechanic is as wonderful in multiplayer as it is in single-player (hiding in your cardboard box won't usually get you far, for example), it's all good fun once you adjust to the pace. The multiplayer star, however, is sneaking mode, a Team Deathmatch variant in which one player plays as Snake and another supports him as the Metal Gear Mk II. Shooting others is amusing--but sneaking enthusiasts will enjoy the violent, stealthy game of hide and seek you play as Snake. Playing support is equally entertaining because as Mk. II, you can go invisible, creep up on other players, and zap them with your electronic tentacle. It's a blast. Other modes include base mission, in which teams compete to conquer bases; a capture and defend mode; and rescue mission, which is similar to the same mode in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Unfortunately, the process of creating an online account is laborious, so expect to take a few minutes to enter a litany of information (a pain if you aren't using a keyboard). Thankfully, the variety of customization options and sheer numbers of players online mean that this process is quickly forgotten.

If the story-heavy presentation of previous Metal Gear games taxed your patience, Metal Gear Solid 4 won't change your mind. For anyone who appreciates games that rise above the simple act of pushing a few buttons and pulling a few triggers, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a stimulating ride that you won't soon forget. You'll want to see what happens next, yet when its long campaign draws to a close, you'll wish it would continue. That's not just because it's a well-told tale, but because that tale is woven through a thoroughly impressive game that tops its predecessors.

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ORIGINAL CREATOR OF THE REVIEWS BELOW (Dante Aseroth)

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Rankings

1UP.com - A-

Computer and Video Games - 9.5/10

Edge Magazine - 8/10

Eurogamer - 8/10

Famitsu - 40/40

Game Informer - 10/10

GamePro - 5/5

GamesMaster - 97%

GameSpot - 10/10

GamesRadar - 9/10

GameTrailers - 9.3/10

IGN - 10/10

Official PlayStation Magazine (US) - 5/5

Official PlayStation Magazine (UK) - 10/10

X-Play - 5/5

---------------

Review Compilation


Metacritic - 96%

Game Rankings - 93%

TopTenReviews - 3.81/4

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Sales

Release Date - June 12, 2008

As of June 26, 2008 - 3 million copies

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Pros & Cons

PROS

- A brilliant mixture of storytelling and gameplay
- Mind-blowing audiovisual presentation
- Tight and compelling shooting mechanics
- Gratifying stealth mechanics
- Lots of cool gadgets and weapons that you can tailor to your own style of play.

CONS

- Storytelling is heavy-handed
- The single-player experience ends.

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Sources

GameSpot

Wikipedia

 

[Angelo Credo]

Nice review, highlights very well the points that I enjoyed about this game.

Shame that is disappointed me when I played it, overhyped games make me suspcious as opposed to excited and MGS4 is one of the most overhyped games of all time.

Still, great review Mr Dante. ^_^

 

[Angelo Credo]

Review of GrimGrimoire requested, didn't write it myself, credit will be given at the end of the review.

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GrimGrimoire

What is a grimoire, and how did it get so grim? It's a good question, but there are far more important reasons for you to pick up a copy of GrimGrimoire than just to find out the answer. Instead, play it because it's a colorful, original strategy title with a big heart and compelling gameplay. It's also an arresting display of painstaking artistry, overflowing with imposing mythical creatures and amusing unit designs. It's not every day that a game this unique comes along, and while it's got its share of minor flaws, it's a delight to play and hard to forget.


GrimGrimoire's story is one of many strengths, though you'll first be inclined to dismiss it as a Harry Potter knockoff. After all, you play as a new student in a famous school of magic that protects the philosopher's stone--and is presided over by white-bearded professor Gammel Dore. Sound familiar? Well, obvious Rowling references aside, the similarities are completely superficial. Sweet-natured student Lillet Blan finds herself in the midst of a confusing magical melodrama that comes into focus only because she relives the same five days over and over again, Groundhog Day style. Each pass-through clarifies dozens of questions as you slowly unravel the weird, wonderful tapestry that ties together an odd and charming collection of misfits and miscreants. The setup is terrific, but the payoff is the cast of larger-than-life characters. A snarky devil, a wandering ghost, an earthbound angel--they've all got something to hide, and the web of lies that they weave would make even a politician blush. The dialogue is clever and accompanied by gorgeous 2D character portraits presented in traditional Japanese RPG style.

But make no mistake: This is no role-playing game. GrimGrimoire is real-time strategy, and like in most strategy games, you've got to collect resources, churn out some units, and attack the bad guy. That's where grimoires come in. Grimoires are spell books, and learning their contents lets you place runes on the battlefield. They come in four flavors: necromancy, sorcery, glamour, and alchemy. Each discipline contains three grimoires, giving you a total of 12 runes to summon. Runes are comparable to your everyday RTS structure, and placing one lets you create a number of different kinds of units. They also grant you the rough equivalent of a tech tree, so each one can be leveled up, and in turn can produce stronger, more effective units. So as in most strategy games, you create a bunch of workers--in this case, elves, imps, and other cutesy creatures--and send them off to collect resources. Here, it means gathering mana from the various crystals on the map. Then you place your runes, build your combat units, and set out for map control.

While GrimGrimoire does an outstanding job of transporting PC-centric strategy mechanics to the PlayStation 2, it's the differences that make it legitimately great. For starters, you don't view your map from overhead. Instead, each mission is a castle cross-section that at first glance makes it look like a side-scrolling platformer. Every map is an amalgam of hallways and stairwells that most units must traverse to get from one point to another. While each one looks much the same as the last, the placement of various features like mana crystals and barriers make each map functionally different. Thus you need to take into account the path your units must take to their destinations, which may involve climbing stairways and crossing enemy territory. Top-level units like chimeras cross the map without such concerns, but come with their own sets of needs and strategies.

While the first few hours will lead you to believe that success is only a matter of building a bunch of mythical creatures and rushing the artificial intelligence, unlocking new grimoire pages and runes proves that's anything but the case. Units like fairies and demons have fairly standard melee or ranged attacks, but as you level up and summon new familiars, the intricacies become noticeable and fairly complex. It's tempting to build a powerful unit like a dragon and send him out to do massive damage, but even a dragon has its counters, and the rock-paper-scissors relationship between unit types ensures that you react to your enemy and build a well-rounded army. Support units are an absolute must in these cases, and can turn a battle topsy-turvy in a matter of seconds. A chimera is a powerful and awe-inspiring aggressor, but astral units are impervious to his rotating claws. On the other hand, a homunculus can make astral units turn physical for a short period, which lets the chimera make toast of your ghosts. Because you're rarely limited to a single discipline, you've got access to any rune at any time, and it makes for a smorgasbord of support possibilities and attack options.

All of these detailed unit interactions require a good amount of babysitting, but while that's a chore in most RTSes, it's an absolute pleasure in GrimGrimoire. A lot of that has to do with how varied unit mechanics are. You don't just summon a dragon--you summon its egg, and then must incubate it before it hatches. A morning star must be equipped with ammo to attack, but can hold only five charges before you must return and reload. A grimalkin can put an enemy to sleep, but you must command it to cast the spell, or it's demon fodder. All of this requires you to move around the map, issuing commands and keeping your units in check, but it makes for a wild and crazy time. This would create a big mess in a standard RTS, but here, the maps are small and your high-level units take up half the screen, so it's never unmanageable.

A few other elements help make battles easy to handle, such as how the game pauses when you select any unit, and the handy pull-up map that lets you quickly jump to any spot on the battlefield. On the other hand, there are times when it's tough to find units or group them in meaningful ways. Welcome features would include a rally point feature to get your worker units automatically gathering once summoned, and a quick way to locate a particular unit. There are plenty of times where a small area will get cluttered with units, and while you can cycle through available ones with the D pad, it's tough to choose the exact one you want on the fly. These are small nitpicks, but they may throw players of traditional strategy games for a loop. Yet it's all part and parcel of the game's warm embracing of micromanagement, and while it sounds peculiar at first, it's great fun in practice.

GrimGrimoire is absolutely dripping with visual class. It's not a technical powerhouse, so the sprite-based units and 2D backgrounds won't push the limits of your PS2 hardware. But it doesn't matter, because it's often stunning to watch in action. The frightening majesty of a dragon slowly crossing the map is a breathtaking sight, yet it's the tiny details that make the visuals sing. Character portraits in cutscenes pulse when they breathe, blobs goopily bounce from crystals to runes, and it all exudes a sweet, vibrant charm that's hard to resist. The appeal doesn't transfer evenly to the sound design, but the soundtrack is cute and quirky, and spells and attacks sound great. The acting and unit voice-overs are hit and miss, but rather than grate over time, they grow on you.

It'll take you a couple dozen hours to finish up the story, but you can return to any map you want once the mission is complete--and you'll definitely want to. You can't beat a screen crawling with unicorns, golems, and demons, and the difficulty ramps up nicely as the game progresses from a walk in the park to a flurry of insanity. GrimGrimoire is a fun and terrific gem waiting to be discovered. It may not be the most fully featured strategy game, but it's brimming with magical wonder and is easily recommendable.

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Written by GAMESPOT.

Gamespot scores: 8.4/10

Gamespot PROS:

-Complex story is populated with enchanting, memorable characters
-Intricate strategic gameplay built around balanced unit relationships and exciting battles
-Gorgeous aesthetics and unit designs.

Gamespot CONS:

-Keeping track of units can be tough
-The maps all look the same.

SOURCES
Gamespot.

 

[Trish67]

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a game available on PS2, PS3,Xbox360, Wii, PSP, PC, nentindo DS and MAC PC. In this game you can once again explore Hogwarts, unlike the previous game, Goblet of Fire, where you could only access challenges through Dumbledore's pensive. Order of the phoenix allows you to play as Harry, as well as, in certain parts of the game, do you play as Fred and George, Sirius Black and Dumbledore, however through most of the game you play as Harry.
The goal of the game is to run around Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry,completing challenges, meeting characters, playing mini games, and basically following the plot of the movie/book.
An interesting feature in this game that has not be done in any of the previous Harry Potter video games is that the games characters were designed to look like the actors who play them in the movie, and also many of the actors voice the characters they play in the flims...
Here is the complete list of the actors who voice the part they play in the films....;
* Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
* Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
* Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
* Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley
* Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood
* Katie Leung as Cho Chang
* Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort
* Natalia Tena as Nymphadora Tonks
* James Phelps as Fred Weasley
* Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
* Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
* Alfred Enoch as Dean Thomas
* Afshan Azad as Padma Patil
* Shefali Chowdhury as Parvati Patil
* Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick
* Louis Doyle as Ernie Macmillan (Not in the fifth film)
* Josh Herdman as Gregory Goyle
* Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley
* Tiana Benjamin as Angelina Johnson (Not in the fifth film)
* Hugh Mitchell as Colin Creevey (Not in the fifth film)
* Nick Shirm as Zacharias Smith
* Charlotte Skeoch as Hannah Abbott (Not in the fifth film)
* Jamie Waylett as Vincent Crabbe
* Luke Youngblood as Lee Jordan (Not in the fifth film)
* Timothy Bateson as Kreacher
* Alan Rickman as Severus Snape
* Gary Oldman as Sirius Black

Note: Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter, was only able to provide the physical form for Harry in this game, as he 'was busy performing in Equus' on the London stage.

The game itself has been received with mixed opinions - although this is common with tie-ins. Most critics seem to prefer the Wii version due to the wand-like Wii Remote controls. But this can also be achieved on the ps2, ps3, and 360 by simply using the right analog stick.
The casting of spells is taught by various other characters to Harry, who practices them first, then is able to use them. In the PC version of the game, different movements of the mouse while pressing either the left or right mouse button allows Harry to cast spells. In the Nintendo DS version, the stylus is used to cast the spell.

[edit] Spell strength

During the game, you will earn "Discovery Points" and "Discovery Levels" by discovering various secrets in the game - when you collect a certain number of Discovery Points, your spells will become more powerful (ranging from level 1 to 13). As you rise in Discovery Levels, the following traits are going to affect your spells:

* Strength - Reparo repairs objects faster, Accio/Depulso summons/pushes objects at a greater range, combat spells do more damage etc.
* Range - Combat spells will fade out and fall to the ground at lower levels, increasing the level increases their range - eventually leading to infinite range.
* Behaviour - Stupefy, Rictusempra and Petrificus Totalus gain more spells cast in one casting; some start moving from a straight line to a random track to improve chances of hitting the opponent.

Dumbledore and Voldemort (playable in a mission) have a special level, which is not achievable by Harry. Stupefy and Rictusempra cast two more individual spells than Harry, Petrificus Totalus moves in a pattern like Rictusempra, Levicorpus waddles around, while Expelliarmus achieves a very large amount of damage.

In the Nintendo DS version, the spell strength only has three options : Uno, Duo, Tria.

It is overall a very good game...it gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Sources:
Wikipedia
My own gaming expirences

 

[Angelo Credo]

Nice review there Trish, an informative read, I'll still be steering clear of the HP games if the first one was any indication to go by.

 

[Trish67]

Soul Calibur 4
June 12, 2007 - Namco's announcement of Soul Calibur Legends for the Wii a few weeks back was a big surprise for fans of the legendary swords and souls fighting series. But the big announcement was yet to come. Today in Japan, Bandai Namco Games announced Soul Calibur IV for the PS3 and Xbox 360. This true fighting sequel in the series is expected to see Japanese, North American and European release in 2008.

The PS3 verison will feature Darth Vader as a playable character and The the 360 version will feature Yoda.

It appears that all previous characters will return such as Amy, Cervantes, and many others.
also there is addition of some new characters in additon to Yoda and Vader.

More to come, when the game comes out....
it is said to come out some time this summer.

scources
IGN
XboxFanboy