Category Archives: RPG

Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews, RPG

Soul Sacrifice Review | Part 1 – Slaying Solo

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Monster Hunter is a handheld system seller. That’s a fact, particularly in Japan. Yet we’ve only heard the slightest of rumours about the mega-series bringing its giant-chasing exploits to Sony’s underperforming handheld.

We don’t know if it’s a case of Sony not being able to agree a deal with Capcom, but until that champagne spraying day arises, Soul Sacrifice is here to carry the burden and an hefty amount of expectation in the face of the Vita’s barren landscape of recent or future releases. Continue reading Soul Sacrifice Review | Part 1 – Slaying Solo →

Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews, RPG

Rainbow Moon Review – Grinding to the moon and back

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With PS3 RPG numbers being on the worryingly low side, I certainly wasn’t expecting one to appear on the digital PSN platform, but that’s exactly what developers SideQuest Studios have given us. Their ambitions are clearly high and I couldn’t wait to see if they could pull it off. Continue reading Rainbow Moon Review – Grinding to the moon and back →

Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews, RPG, Xbox 360

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Review)

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The beautiful and the damned

If you didn’t finish Final Fantasy XIII, you’ll have saved hours of your life from a torturous grind. However, the story was one of the best the series has ever done. The brooding star, Lightning, was a fantastic character that proved you can have a female lead that eschews the tiresome ‘big boobs, brassy attitude’ design and we were gifted an understated portrayal of conflicted charisma. A real boot up the backside of the series’ recent rosters if ever there was one.

After the closing scenes of the last game, Lightning disappeared almost as soon as she was reunited with her younger sister, Serah. This leaves the sequel without its leading lady. I wasn’t convinced that Serah had what it takes to take over the lead, but Square-Enix have done a great job at building her into a solid character. They must have been really confident in her as the old cast only really appear as cameos, admittedly perfectly timed ones.

Continue reading Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Review) →

Platforms, PS Vita, Reviews, RPG

Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention (Review)

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After a strong launch line-up the Vita’s release schedule has been worryingly quiet. It has also been without anything resembling a decent RPG to really get our teeth into. Hopefully that’s all about to change as Disgaea 3 gets a re-release.

We’re not entirely sure why NIS didn’t release Disgaea 4 instead as it’s generally seen as the superior title. What you have here is a full priced game that has been out on the PS3 since 2008 and available for under a tenner today. On the plus side, Absence of Detention does come with all the separate DLC from the PS3 game, including an extra four chapters. Not that you’d miss it, this game is huge. You can level up to Lv. 9999 type of huge.

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Platforms, Reviews, RPG, XBLA, Xbox 360

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale (Review)

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The legendary Dungeons & Dragons universe has never really had the game to stand tall in its legacy. While the more popular brand, Games Workshop, has the Dawn of War games and soon the very tasty looking Warhammer 40K: Space Marine to keep gamers coming back. So it’s about time D&D had another roll of the dice with us.

Daggerdale takes the Warcraft route for its XBLA/PSN debut and be warned fellow-console gamers, it’s a bit PC-beardy. The best way to go would have been to try to replicate a slick combat title like last-gen’s Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance as this slow style of combat is always going to feel a little stale on consoles.

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Action, PlayStation 3, RPG

Yakuza 4 (Review)

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It can be a bit of a tough sell trying to get pumped up for Yakuza 4, seeing as it’s been out in Japan for a year and they’re getting close to the release of the zombie-packed sequel Yakuza of the End. But hell, Yakuza 3 was a pretty damn awesome beat em’ up adventure game and we won’t be seeing the Kamurocho walking dead anytime soon so let’s just try and enjoy it.

Unlike the past games you’ll be playing as four different characters, each of whom has their own storylines although their paths occasionally cross. Each of them also has a different fighting style and access to some exclusive character-specific minigames and side-quests.

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PlayStation 3, Reviews, RPG

DC Universe Online (Review)

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After what seems like an eternity of waiting, PS3 gamers finally have a MMORPG. A genre that never took off on PS2 has been given another shot by dropping the genre’s staples of orcs and elves for the more intriguing world of DC superheroes.

If you’ve waited this long another two hours won’t hurt and that’s how long it takes to install the game. You’ll be needing 15GB of space too, most of which is taken from the disk, but at least 2GB needs to be downloaded. There’s a bit of unwanted PC-style experience for you already.

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Beat 'em up, PlayStation 3, PSN (PlayStation Store), Reviews, RPG, XBLA, Xbox 360

Castle Crashers (Review)

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Talk about delayed, Castle Crashers originally appeared on XBLA in 2008, it then hit the US PSN Store in August, which is where the demo ensnared me. I’ve had to wait until now for a European release PSN release. But was it worth the wait? Hell yes. Hell, yes.

This retrotacular title is a side-scrolling beat-‘em-up with a few simple RPG elements thrown in for good measure. It’s great fun on your own, but to get the most out of this game you should really fire up the multiplayer. You can have up to four players with drop-in co-op action. You can even play it online, but this can throw up problems when you both want to be the same character (because it’s the only one you’ve spent ten hours levelling up) so one of you will be on Level 30+ while the other is Level 1. At least you can revive team-mates. Continue reading Castle Crashers (Review) →

PSP, Reviews, RPG

Phantasy Star Portable 2 (Review)

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For months I’ve been feeding a slew of PSP Minis into my PSP in a vain quest for something with a little substance. Then September rolls up and throws a new Kingdom Hearts title, Valkyria Chronicles II and now Phantasy Star Portable 2, or PSP2, just to mess with the search engines.

Sega’s long-standing series is more sci-fi orientated than the usual RPG-fare, but there’s plenty of familiarity that is universal to the genre. Don’t be worried if this is your first look at the series, the story is relatively new and doesn’t punish newcomers. For those that did play the last game, it’s now three years later after the Seed were defeated, but guess what, peace never lasts. Good thing too seeing as you’re a freelance mercenary. Continue reading Phantasy Star Portable 2 (Review) →

PSP, Reviews, RPG

Valkyria Chronicles II (Review)

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Many fans, myself included, were worried that the transition to PSP from PS3 would be an awkward one for the well-loved original title. We needn’t have worried though as Sega have managed to get the PSP to really stand up to the challenge.

The story for this tactical JRPG once again takes places in Gallia a small country in fictional Europa, after the war that took place in the original. This time around the conflict isn’t based around an invasion, it’s a civil war. You don’t need to have finished or even played the first game to enjoy this one as the story is new and uses a different set of main characters. Fans of the original will enjoy some cameos and will most certainly settle into the combat much easier. Continue reading Valkyria Chronicles II (Review) →

Beat 'em up, PSP, Reviews, RPG

Young Thor (PSP Minis Review)

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Young Thor is a traditional side-scrolling platformer / beat ‘em up title. It follows the journey of Thor on his way to rescue four maidens from Hel, ruler of the Norse Underworld.

Combat is pleasingly simple and the lack of depth is hidden by the way you can attack enemies in different body parts for better effects. Numbers fly off enemies to indicate the damage done and when these numbers turn yellow, you know you’ve just discovered a weak spot. For example, the best way to deal with the tall trolls is to jump over them, turn around in mid-air and give them a crack to the back of the head. Continue reading Young Thor (PSP Minis Review) →

PlayStation 3, Reviews, RPG

Demon’s Souls (Review)

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For many, Demon’s Souls will be like Marmite, with its love it or hate it appeal. That’d be fine except many gamers will be struggling to get the lid of the damn thing. This RPG game’s tutorial gives you a few weak enemies while going over the controls and just as you start to think ‘this isn’t so bad,’ a boss appears and kills you in one hit. Welcome to Demon’s Souls, meatbag.

In this dead Soul form, your health is greatly reduced and you’ll have to defeat a boss to get your body back. To avoid going insane, it’s best not to think of yourself as ‘dead’ in the traditional sense. You’ll be spending most of the game in this state, so just get on with it. Continue reading Demon’s Souls (Review) →

Action, PlayStation 3, Reviews, RPG, Xbox 360

Alpha Protocol (Review)

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‘What a difference a few extra months in development makes,’ was what we all thought when Arkham Asylum finally arrived. With an even bigger delay preceding the eventual arrival of Obsidian’s Spy RPG many gamers started to worry about the condition of the nevertheless eagerly awaited title.

The idea of being able to actively affect the story with your own choices in conversations and via your actions had minds swimming with possibilities of combining gameplay styles of the legendary JB trio of James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer. Continue reading Alpha Protocol (Review) →

PlayStation 3, Retro, RPG

3D Dot Game Heroes (Review)

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If you’re the type of gamer that squealed with delight seeing the huge list of retro RPG game included on last years Mega-Drive compilation, this game is most definitely for you. In-jokes to the genre are the norm here along with a long list of frustrations and an almost inevitable argument between fans (and probably lawyers) about it being a homage or rip-off of some Nintendo game with a green midget.

The games unique twist is the updated retro graphical style. The story explains it in an amusing way, as the old 2D Kingdom of Dotnia is rarely visited anymore so they revamp their world into ‘3D’ to get with the times, hoping everyone will love them again. It’s not ‘put on glasses’ 3D, everything is made from cubes instead of squares. The whole story would probably fit on a beermat (evil guy stealing orbs, kingdom threatened, you hero). Continue reading 3D Dot Game Heroes (Review) →

PlayStation 3, Reviews, RPG, Xbox 360

Resonance of Fate (PS3 Review)

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If the likes of Final Fantasy XIII and White Knight Chronicles haven’t been hardcore enough for you as JRPGs, then this game from Tri-Ace would love to dominate you in a cruel way that your sick mind will love.

The cutscenes are nice to look at despite large amounts of foppishly designed miserable emo teens and them not really explaining anything well at all. The towns of the game world make a decent effort of cramming in a lot of detail too. The dungeon or linked arena levels are very sparse and repetitive though. Continue reading Resonance of Fate (PS3 Review) →

Action, Beat 'em up, PlayStation 3, Reviews, RPG

Yakuza 3 (Review)

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How to describe Yakuza 3? Well it’s an RPG beat ‘em up stuffed with a huge variety of mini-games to distract you from the games story that involve multiple Yakuza gangs and government conspiracies in Tokyo and Okinawa. Oh and you look after an orphanage too.

Players new to the series are welcomed by detailed compilations of cutscenes from the first two games that make a decent effort of bringing you up to speed. Long story short, Kazuma (that’s you) climbed the ranks to become the 4th Chairman of the Tojo Clan of the Yakuza, didn’t fancy it and went to start an orphanage on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Continue reading Yakuza 3 (Review) →

PlayStation 3, Reviews, RPG

White Knight Chronicles (Review)

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I don’t want to say JRPGs are like buses but come on! In little over a month around now starved console gamers are getting Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Final Fantasy XIII and now the very late in translation PS3 exclusive, White Knight Chronicles. The Wii even got a Final Fantasy game too!

Well enough complaining just book the whole of March off and get stuck-in. RPG fans may be interested to know that this game is from Level 5, the well respected developers of the critically acclaimed Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Dark Cloud and Rogue Galaxy. Continue reading White Knight Chronicles (Review) →

Beat 'em up, Reviews, RPG, Wii

Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Review)

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Who would have thought one of the Wii’s most engrossing games of recent months would totally forgo any motion controls and be a 2D side-scrolling RPG slash-em-up? That’s right; you can sit and play this Wii game all afternoon without worrying about waking up the next day feeling that familiar tightness in every muscle. Well, your thumbs might take a slight pounding, but nothing the little brutes can’t handle. So dust off the pad for this one folks. Continue reading Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Review) →

First Person Shooters, PC, PlayStation 3, PSN (PlayStation Store), Reviews, RPG, Xbox 360

Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta (Review)

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After over 120 hours of play, this is the end of Fallout 3. The vault dweller isn’t rummaging around post-nuclear war America anymore though. Or post-nuclear war earth for that matter.

After being foolish enough to investigate yet another troubling radio signal he’s beamed up to an alien spaceship poised above the planet. He wakes up on a table surrounded by little green men with imminent laser probes getting too close to comfort. Continue reading Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta (Review) →

First Person Shooters, PC, PlayStation 3, PSN (PlayStation Store), Reviews, RPG, Xbox 360

Fallout 3: Point Lookout (Review)

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It’s about time you got to go on holiday in Fallout 3 after all you’ve been through. The new setting of Point Lookout feels like a lost Silent Hill waterside boardwalk, complete with deserted buildings and an eerie fog smothering everything. Sure, it’s no Hawaii, but choice is quite limited in a post-apocalyptic world.

The majority of this substantial map is made up of swamps populated with rednecks, mirelurks, tribesmen, ghouls, toxic bogs and enough radiated water to wade through to guarantee the vault dweller will never have (normal) children. Continue reading Fallout 3: Point Lookout (Review) →