Voltron: Defender of the Universe

Surprisingly this classic series doesn't have many game adaptations. In fact there are only a few. With all of the remakes of classic games from our favourite consoles being adapted to the next gen systems, it is only appropriate that we see a reboot of some classic anime series on these systems as well.

Voltron: Defender of the Universe can be picked up on the Playstation Store or XBox Market. The game sports 12 levels that players can shoot their way through using any one of the five lions that make up Voltron. Each lion boasts different stats, allowing players to choose to their strengths. The 12 stages are broken up into 3 areas of 4 stages. The fourth stage of each area is a Robeast battle that allows players to assemble Voltron in an turn-based battle system. The remainder of the levels require players to explore the map, completing objectives and shooting or pouncing on enemies.

The controls in this game are relatively simplistic. While I did end up playing this on the PS3, I suspect that the XBox version has more or less the same features for gameplay. Players use the left and right analog sticks to move and shoot (very much like many of the other PSN download shooters such as Super Stardust HD) and the L & R top buttons to pounce or use special attacks.

While this game is short, the replay factor is in the online co-op mode and the trophies or achievements (depending on your platform). While there aren't many achievements to be had in the online shop game, it is still entertaining and worth the $9.99 price tag. For those who aren't fans of the series, there may be less forgiveness in the short gameplay and small trophy/achievement set, however, for those who are Voltron fans, this is a worthwhile game to add to your collection.

Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes

I just picked up a copy of Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes for PS3 on a Boxing Week sale and wanted to share a couple of the highlights with our readers. While I did review this game back when it came out for the Wii, there are some elements on the PS3 that make this game that much more enjoyable.

First and foremost, the graphics are much cleaner on the PS3 (especially with HDMI) and the gameplay is also much smoother. Loading times are are much more tolerable compared to the Wii. Trophies are also an added bonus that make games such as this, requiring repetetive gameplay for acquiring items and levels more palatable.

As a whole, this was definitely worth the sale price I picked it up for and I would highly recommend this title for anyone who is a fan of the Dynasty Warriors series and wants a change of pace for the hack n' slash genre.

To view our original post on Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes CLICK HERE.

Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3

After months of waiting, last week marked the release of Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3. When I first heard about this title, I felt more anxious for the release than a kid at Christmas. Of course I had to pick up a copy on release day immediately after work. Needless to say, I have managed to put a number of hours in on this title in the 6 days I have had it, and found myself more and more amazed with the quality of the gameplay relative to the previous two releases.

The developers at KOEI have really gone all out when putting this title together. The first major improvement for me is the animation style used. The entire game is done in cell animation rather than the standard CGI graphics that we see DWG2. When I first saw the screens for the cell animation I was a little turned off. After playing the game though, the cell animation is a very welcomed feature. Another great feature is the integration between the characters and missions. One element that made DWG2 very long was the repetitiveness of the missions. I constantly found myself having to replay the same mission with every character, which can get boring after a while. Having everything integrated makes the gameplay feel more manageable without feeling short.

In speaking about shortening things up, the levels don't take nearly as long to complete. While I do like the concept of playing a level for 20-40 mins in DWG2, having shorter levels in DWG3 keeps the gameplay more interesting. Having a partner assist system is also a very cool feature.

The relationship model between characters has also been improved. I was happy to see that you don't end up having a hard time getting through the game for getting into fights with enemy characters. There are a total of 120 characters and mobile suits to choose from, including many pilots from the C.E. series like Gundam X, Wing, and Unicorn. A final new feature that is a much welcomed addition is the concept of development plans and gold. Mobile Suits can be upgraded and created using money. Character skills can also purchased now rather than obtained through mobile suit experience.

Overall, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 was well worth the wait and I highly recommend it for fans of the franchise and fans of beat em' up games. The objectives of the game are much  more manageable and it is a lot less repetitive than previous versions. Hopefully with this franchise, KOEI and Bandai will look at making more improvements and release a fourth installment.

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers

I have to open this post by saying that I picked this game up for a steal price. While walking through my local Wal-Mart this weekend I saw in the PS3 section that Bakugan Battle Brawlers on PS3 was sitting in the case with a $1 price tag on it. I know, I thought it was a typo too. I was expecting it to ring in for $10 and figured something went wrong with the printing. Turns out though that it scanned in for $1!!!!!!

Now that I have gotten that part out of my system.....I have had the chance to spend a couple of days playing this game now. My first reactions to it as someone who has not had the time to watch the series yet, great game! There is not too complicated of a learning curve when playing Bakugan Batte Brawlers. In terms of complexity, it is very much reminiscent to Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories on PSX.

Essentially the objective of the game is to win Bakugan battles by throwing your Bakugan into the arena and trying to get it to land on cards placed face down known as Gate Cards. The person who collects three Gate Cards through the battle wins. Gate Cards can be won in one of two ways, either you land two of your Bakugan Cores on the same card, or you and one of your opponents throw a Bakugan Core onto the same card and then the monsters inside the core battle.

An interesting element to this game is the need to use power up cards in order to increase G-Power for battles. This adds a large strategy element to the game and doesn't always play into the favor Bakugan who have higher G-Power base stats. G-Power can be obtained through small mini-game challenges before the battle giving weaker Bakugan an advantage. Mini-games are randomly selected (unless specific game cards are used) between 1) Controller shaking challenge; 2)Timing challenge; and 3) Shooting challenge.

Something that I found helped to keep the game interesting was the ability to have 1 on 1; 2 on 2; and battle royal style battles in this game. This obviously creates the opportunity to play this game with 4 players. When playing these modes with the computer, I dind't find the AI to be ridiculously easy or too hard, although I imaging that once I have had some more time to become better acquainted with this game the AI will start to bore me.

The shop aspect of the game gives some incentive for replay of matches. By winning points your world ranking increases, as does your cash flow. Having more cash allows you to buy Bakugan and cards, increasing the customization options for your deck. Each elemental property has the same Bakugan to choose from. A big part of what makes the game interesting is how you choose to employ elemental combinations. Your character is also customizable in appearance creating another element of personal connectedness to the game for some.

My overall verdict of this game is that for $1 is was definitely worth it. I would have been willing to pay the $18 that it was listed for previously. Bakugan Battle Brawlers has peaked my interest to the anime series as well as to the newer Bakugan Defenders of the Core game.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

It has been awhile. During my reading week (2 weeks ago), I had a chance to play Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. This is actually the first game of this franchise I have ever ownded. Previously, I have played the first and second at the acarde however, I never really got into it until now.

I know this title is a bit of a stretch from the usual anime games but my arguement is that many of the Capcom characters have spin off series of their own which promoted the games. Also, this is seriously like the last game I have beaten for awhile... like at least a good year.

So what interests me a lot was the diverse character mash up you can choose from. You can choose characters that you would not be able to see featured in a series, not like Tsubasa Chronicle with many of Clamps characters, which I thought was interesting but have not watched. Additionally, you have the same usual cool characters, the long range, the cheap, etc. For me, who is a rare casual gamer, my purpose is to simply beat it and find out what happen. This is where the dilemma arises. You have 36 characters to choose from (excluding the DLC characters), with different endings; what do you do. As usual, I analyze and develop a team of two that are ultra cheap which I can use constantly with in aiding me acheiving that goal. On top of that, I've actually changed the time limit to 30 secs. All that helped a lot so after a week, I had the stuff for about 10 characters unlocked...

All in all, it's a really fun game mindless beat the crap out of your opponent game, unless you actually want to figure the moves and play online. They could have added more range of attacks because there are some buttons that were complete useless. But hey, they still got me hooked playing it for at least 26 more times...

Fist of The North Star Ken's Rage

I have to say that it is about time. There have been many Fist of the North Star (Hokuto No Ken) games across the various consoles over the years. The original Manga was released in 1983. Having watched the Fist of the North Star Movie about 5 years ago, I was very interested in pursuing the series and the manga. It ended up becoming one of those things that I never really got around to though.

I was extremely excited when I saw the release title for Fist of the North Star Ken's Rage on PS3 a while back. I was even more excited when I KOEI's logo on the box art. Ken's Rage is your standard beat-em-up style KOEI Warriors series game. Although this particular title is not part of the Warriors series, it does play very much the same.

The premise behind the game is to begin with Kenshiro (Ken) and follow through the 10 chapters of his story, which are loosely based off of the manga. As you progress through the story, new characters are acquired to play through the various modes. The game is made up of Legend Mode and Dream Mode. Basically Legend Mode follows the manga while Dream Mode takes more of an approach like Warriors Orochi in allowing you to select characters in a fictitious storyline.

The gameplay in Ken's Rage does require more thought process than just mashing buttons like in Dynasty Warriors. The timing on combos is slower and a little more realistic. More powerful moves have a longer execution time, but do not require the character to stand by idly and get assaulted while charging. The musou system is also customizable, allowing the player to choose from various learned skills to equip as specials.

Characters acquire experience through the level called Karma. When a character levels up the player acquires skill points that can be allocated to purchase active and passive skills. Active skills can be equipped in limited numbers and have the ability to improve stats under certain conditions. Passive skills improve attack, defense, health, and musou stats (or core stats).

The gameplay in this title is phenomenal. The levels are very interactive and require concentration to determine where to go in order to achieve the side missions. The entire map is not visible from the outset and grows as the character explores the various regions in the level.

The graphics are amazing when played in HighDef. There is immense detail and the lines are so clean. Another interesting element is the fact that characters clothes get torn and damaged as the character gets damaged in fights. There is also an option to make the violence extreme (with blood) or mild (without blood). I did not experience any lag when playing the game whatsoever. The music soundtrack is nothing to write home about. It is your typical KOEI heavy guitar, aggressive music that makes you want to kill something (in the game of course). I do like the voice dialog. The characters voices do suit the designs and personalities.

As a whole, this game is amazing. I was so impressed and feel it was worth every penny spent on it. I do highly recommend this game to fans of Fist of the North Star (Hokuto No Ken) and/or fans of the KOEI Warriors franchise as well.

Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes

I have been waiting for a while now for Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes to come out on Wii and PS3 in North America. After playing the Japanese version and not understanding much about what was happening, I had to try this title once the English release was available. The story is loosely based off of the hit anime Sengoku Basara released by Funimation in North America and is also the third release title in the Sengoku series (the first release coming out on PS2 as Devil Kings).


After much debate as to which version I should get, I settled on the Wii edition. One of the big reasons was that Wii really doesn't get a lot of titles that fall into this genre. I was also curious with regards to how the system would handle a game of this caliber. I have to say that the Wii passed with flying colors. We all know PS3 has a powerhouse processor and the graphics come out pristine. The Wii has exceptional graphics and I did not experience any lag whatsoever during gameplay.

The gameplay is very much like the Warriors series games with long levels boasting mindless hack-n-slash gameplay. Just remember that mindless doesn't always mean "bad". In this case, it is quite the opposite. Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes is in fact a really good game. After only two nights of having the game, I managed to keep playing through both Ieyasu Tokugawa and Yukimura Sanada's story modes.

There is an element of strategy to this game as well, which helps to boost the enjoyment factor. Essentially you have an option to choose one of two battles to participate in. Depending on the combination of battles that you select, this can change the face of Japan's history. Since there are so many combinations that you can put together while going through the story for each character, the replay component is high. Just as the Warriors series, you may find yourself playing the same levels over repeatedly to unlock or achieve certain objectives.

Characters gain experience in the game based on number of kills and combos. They are also able to acquire weapons, materials, and currency through the levels. Currency and materials can be used to purchase different seals that strengthen certain attributes of weapons such as attack and defense. Players can also choose various allies to assist them through the levels as they are acquired through alliances in the story.

The soundtrack to the game is pretty good and although much of the music in these games is repetitive, it wasn't annoying.

On the whole, I would have to recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of Devil Kings or any of the Warriors games such as Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. Fans of the anime will also enjoy this one since it is one of the few anime based games that is genuinely good.

Pure

So for the last couple of weeks I've moved into one of my car moods. As a result of this mood, I have been seething to play a new racing game. I typically tend to find myself going for the Gran Turismo style games, but this time I just wasn't feeling it. I needed to try something new.

After buying my XBox 360 Elite last fall and getting the Lego Batman/Pure combo pack as the bundled game, I decided I should at least try this game rather than let it sit on my shelf for a whole year untouched. Normally I'm not into the off-road dirtbike and ATV style games, but I haven't played one in a long time so I thought "what the hell". Needless to say I find myself 3 hours later sitting at my computer writing about it.

I had no real expectations when I walked into this one. Overall I was impressed. I was expecting to sit here and say that if you've played Wave Race, Jet Moto, 1080 Snowboarding, Cool Boarders, Tony Hawk, (you get my point right?) then you've pretty much played them all. The premise in PURE is the same in that you have to optimize combining tricking with racing. Although I have no patience to remember all of the button combinations an unheard of names for tricks, PURE was prety simple to pick up.

After getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter in my first couple of races, I was able to go from zero to hero in about 30 minutes. This is always a plus factor in my books. If I get beat out of the gates for too long by the AI I tend to lose interest pretty quick.

I would have to say that the most favourable part of this games was the ability to customize every last part on your ATV. I have yet to play a game that provided so much comprehensive customization options. Everything from selecting the frame and engine to painting the handlebars. It was also good that as new parts get acquired through the game you can add them to your ATV without having to exit to the main screen (my time is valuable to me, so also another plus factor).

The levels for the most part are pretty well done, having the ability to cross from route to route as you race keeps you awake. I did find it a little difficult to keep control of the ATV after some landings because the damn thing would land facing sideways but somehow manage to correct itself in an instant and go straight. I tended to find myself trying to correct steering that was correcting itself. The controls just take time to get use to more than anything. The way that rankings are also determined in races can get a little confusing while trying to focus on everything else going on. You an jump from 8th to 1st in an instant without seeing yourself pass anyone. A lot of the time this is due to other players failing tricks and falling.

The background music in the levels gets a little annoying. After about a half hour I started to forget it was playing, but its a lot of heavy rock and metal which I'm not exaclty a huge fan of.

On a whole, PURE is a pretty decent game that is great for passing time with. I wouldn't personally go out and spend more than about $20 on this one, but I still think it is worthwhile to add to your collection if its a good price.

Valkyria Chronicles

I ended up getting this game for Christmas almost 2 years ago now when it came out and didn't manage to get into it as much as I would have liked right away. I found the first level (tutorial level) mundane and ended up throwing it onto my shelf to collect dust with the rest of the games I plan to get to but never seem to. After my better half to me that I wasn't getting any new games until I finished the ones I had I decided this summer that i would throw this one in and try to knock it out.

I have to say that I am glad I did. I have spent a number of hours working on completing Valkyria Chronicles and so far it has been worth every minute. I love to play tactics based games and this one certainly delivered. There is a great deal of freedom in how units are used in this game. Basically its a combination of third-person shooter and action-RPG-tactics. The teams are completely customizable and the maps provide enough of a challenge that they keep you engaged for the hours plus that some of them take.

But like all games this one isn't perfect. The biggest downfall I found personally was that you need at least an hour uninterrupted in order to complete the maps later in the game. This can get a little annoying when you want to play a quick game. To be quite honest, this is the only problem that I have with this game. Everything else has done exactly what it is meant to do and entertain me.

I haven't completed the game yet (on the last map now) but based on what I have played so far, the replayability seems pretty high. I will most likely go through the game a second time with the extra mode using all of my team members, stats, and weapons, just to get some of the extra story content. There are also PSN DLC  available, however, I am personally not sold on paying and extra $5-$7 for each extra map. As good as the game is, I am not fully convinced that the extra maps will provide enough enjoyment at this point.

I would definitely recommend this game to all gamers who enjoy third-person shooters, RPGs, tactics, and action based games. This seems to cater to a number of demographics in terms of genres and doesn't disappoint.

 

Mobile Suit Gundam Crossfire

I have found that Mobile Suit Gundam Crossfire is one of the more underrated games on the Playstation 3. I'll admit that when I first purchased this game a couple of years ago when I got my PS3 I was not overly impressed by the game play. This title is definitely one that requires the player to get comfortable with the controls. Having played pretty much all of the Gundam games on previous consoles this one was unique in how the MS control is designed. The game is entirely third person shoot based.

The mobile suits move very slowly relative to games like Dynasty Warriors Gundam. I actually enjoyed this aspect of the game once I got use to it. This makes things much more realistic than the suits that can fly across the world in 2 mins. I also liked the fact that different weapons have slower and faster shot and reload times. The limit on ammo also makes the game more strategic. The way that the map interface works ties a lot of tactical forecasting into the game. Players cannot jump feet first into a mission without considering which suits they will take into battle and the types of weapon combination that they will use.

A different component to the game is that the story progresses based on a timeline or turn system rather than by beating every single level in the game. This causes players to weigh out how and when to make modifications and repairs to their mobile suits.

One element that does detract from this game is the repetitiveness of the levels. Although each mission is unique, you will have to continually repeat the entire story over and over in order to acquire all of the pilots, mobile suits, and upgrades. I am currently on my third time through the Earth Federation Forces (E.F.F.) story and still have about 50% of the Zeon mobile suits locked.

I would recommend this game to people who are patient and can appreciate a game with a learning curve as oppose to one where you just sit down and play. Be forewarned though, it is very easy to lose track of time once you get into this title.

Dynasty Warriors Strike Force

Its been a while since I have done a post about any videogames so I thought I would open back up with this one. I picked up Dynasty Warriors Strike Force for the Playstation 3 about 2 weeks ago now. I have to say that it is a game tis does not disappoint. I was expecting the same hack and slash open concept levels that we are use to in the previous versions of the series. DWSF is a total overhaul from the traditional style of Dynasty Warriors.

The graphics to say the least are amazing on the PS3 with HighDef. The music is still typical of the series. THe gameplay is what sets this one apart though. The game is designed very much like and MMO. You can have up to 4 players co-op online now. Also, the online is integrated right into the single player story mode, making the transition from the two modes seamless. The Quick Match option makes it ideal for finding new people to play with at any point in time. They have also added the ability to build and customize weapons, skills, and essentially characters, just shy of creating your own officer like we have seen in other versions.

To say the least, this game is one of the few out there right now that is worth the money new. I would recommend this highly to anyone who is into the DW series and wants a fresh take on the saga.

Zeta

Warriors Series

I addressed part of the warriors series in a previous post (Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2). In this post I will look at the other parts of the series (Dynasty, Samurai, Orochi). Pretty much all three of the sagas in the series follow the same pattern of hack and slash hundreds of peons on a fixed map. Although I do love killing as many things on a screen as I can, I have tended to find the gameplay of this series fairly linear. From each version (Dynasty Warriors 3-6, Samurai Warriors 1-2, Warriors Orochi 1-2) of the series, KOEI tends to find that adding a few new characters constitutes and new release title. The gameplay itself does not vary a whole lot. Although the large selection of characters seems to keep us coming back for more. The gameplay can be a little tedious at times, especially since some levels can take up to 45 minutes to complete depending on which objectives you are trying to fulfill.

With each new release in the Dynasty and Samurai series, we usually find and Xtreme legends disc following shorty afterwards to provide us with a few remixed levels, new armor, and often a character or two. For the most part, this series has tended to be quite successful despite its repetitive gameplay. The one thing that was pretty cool though was the crossover in the Warriors Orochi series. Although the story line sucked to all hell, the fact that there were 77 characters to chose from in the first one was enough to keep me wanting to play.

KOEI also switched things up by adding in a 3 person team system with tactics encompassing speed, technique, and power. This allowed for players to rotate their characters during gameplay to recharge musou (special) and health gauges.

I would imaging that KOEI will continue to launch these titles as more and more games are releasing for the next gen consoles. I would venture to guess that I will probably be dead before the series as during my funeral Dynasty Warriors 100 will be coming out (I'm joking).

For the most part, if you are a fan of hack and slash games with minimal brain work then this series is definitely what you want to look at.

Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2

This is easily my favorite game on the PS3. I know that many of the reviews out there describe the Dynasty Warriors series as a repetitive hack-n-slash game. I will be the first to admit that there is an element of repetitiveness in this game, along with pretty much all the other Dynasty Warriors/Warriors game. What appeals the most to be about this series and Dynasty Warriors Gundam/DW Gundam 2 is the patience needed to beat the game in its entirety. Of course any individual could pick up the controller, and button mash the square until they have gone through all 6 missions. Where I think this game shines for true gamers is the ability to sit and repeat levels, using some of the crappiest suits and achieve high scores along with the level 4 ranked parts. Also the ability to customize your parts allows for some pretty interesting co-op play and versus matches as players can develop their mobile suits to suit their strengths.

Essentially in this game you have the ability to explore a series of maps where you will take out enemy commanders and conquer different fields to gain advantage in your battle. The new thing that has been added to this game that is really nice is the friendship system. Basically when you kill certain pilots or even encounter them as enemies, your relationship with them changes. As you build different relationships with characters new levels and suits become unlocked. This makes beating the game a little more challenging as you cannot unlock all of the levels with just one character from the outset.

Now my opinion of this game may be a little biased. Gundam is my favorite anime series and I do tend to look past many of the flaws in the games that others would be quick to point out. The reality is that regardless of the game, you will have people who hate it and people who love it. I tend to find that ratings of games are not always the greatest representation of my enjoyment factor when playing a games. I have played games with a 10 out of 10 and hated them and played games that are a 2 out of 10 and loved them. The whole thing comes down to your own style of games and where you emphasize as your areas for enjoyment.

Street Fighter IV

So I recently purchased Street Fighter IV a week ago (I know I'm late). I was a little hesitant when the game released since I remember the classic Street Fighter II series being such an outstanding one. With many new releases of classic games, I sometimes tend to find that they can get watered down in terms of gameplay in order to provide better graphics. To say the least this was not the case with SF4. The gameplay was quite good and the graphics are outstanding. The character expressions, movement delays based on physique, and detail in costumes and dialog kept me wanting to play this game more and more.

The battle system has been significantly improved so that characters have a recovery time after heavier hitting moves. Also the ability to do follow up moves after launching special attacks enhances the quality of fights that can be had.

I was really drawn to the fact that you can have online battles throughout the Arcade mode circuit. The method of matching people on on the PS3 network was not too bad. The ability to change your title and icon and collect new ones for fulfilling certain conditions gives players little things to work towards as they play.

The only downside in this game (at least in my opinion) is the final boss fight (Seth) in Arcade mode. I tend to find that regardless of the difficulty this character is retardedly cheap to fight. It seems that no matter what attack you launch, he can counter, or unleash some crazy combo that is almost impossible to avoid. I tended to find this a little frustrating at times and often it would draw my attention away from playing arcade mode.

Overall this game was well worth the money and I do recommend it to fans of the classic 2D fighter.